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平素は格別のご高配を賜り厚く御礼申し上げます。
2020年9月7日現在における新型コロナウィルスの感染状況と
それに伴う政府及び各自治体等の方針を鑑み、
2020年12月末までの【魔界】ホール公演を中止することといたしました。
公演を心待ちにしてくださっていた皆様には大変心苦しい限りではございますが、
何卒ご理解賜れますと幸いに存じます。
来年（2021年）の公演につきましては、
政府や自治体の方針や新型コロナウィルスの状況を判断しながら
再開を目指して準備を進めてゆく所存でございます。 何卒ご理解の程、
よろしくお願い申し上げます。
2020年9月7日 株式会社MAKAIプロジェクト |
//---------------------------------------------------------------------
// <copyright file="PrimitiveConverter.cs" company="Microsoft">
// Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. See License.txt in the project root for license information.
// </copyright>
//---------------------------------------------------------------------
namespace Microsoft.OData
{
#region Namespaces
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.IO;
using System.Xml;
using Microsoft.OData.Json;
using Microsoft.Spatial;
#endregion
/// <summary>
/// Handles serialization and deserialization for a specified set of primitive types.
/// </summary>
internal sealed class PrimitiveConverter
{
/// <summary>Instance of GeographyTypeConverter to register for all Geography types.</summary>
private static readonly IPrimitiveTypeConverter geographyTypeConverter = new GeographyTypeConverter();
/// <summary>Instance of GeographyTypeConverter to register for all Geography types.</summary>
private static readonly IPrimitiveTypeConverter geometryTypeConverter = new GeometryTypeConverter();
/// <summary>Set of type converters that implement their own conversion using IPrimitiveTypeConverter.</summary>
private static readonly PrimitiveConverter primitiveConverter =
new PrimitiveConverter(
new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>[]
{
new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(typeof(GeographyPoint), geographyTypeConverter),
new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(typeof(GeographyLineString), geographyTypeConverter),
new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(typeof(GeographyPolygon), geographyTypeConverter),
new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(typeof(GeographyCollection), geographyTypeConverter),
new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(typeof(GeographyMultiPoint), geographyTypeConverter),
new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(typeof(GeographyMultiLineString), geographyTypeConverter),
new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(typeof(GeographyMultiPolygon), geographyTypeConverter),
new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(typeof(Geography), geographyTypeConverter),
new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(typeof(GeometryPoint), geometryTypeConverter),
new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(typeof(GeometryLineString), geometryTypeConverter),
new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(typeof(GeometryPolygon), geometryTypeConverter),
new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(typeof(GeometryCollection), geometryTypeConverter),
new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(typeof(GeometryMultiPoint), geometryTypeConverter),
new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(typeof(GeometryMultiLineString), geometryTypeConverter),
new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(typeof(GeometryMultiPolygon), geometryTypeConverter),
new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(typeof(Geometry), geometryTypeConverter),
});
/// <summary>Set of type converters that are known to this instance which convert values based on the ISpatial type.</summary>
private readonly Dictionary<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter> spatialPrimitiveTypeConverters;
/// <summary>
/// Create a new instance of the converter.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="spatialPrimitiveTypeConverters">Set of type converters to register for the ISpatial based values.</param>
internal PrimitiveConverter(KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>[] spatialPrimitiveTypeConverters)
{
Debug.Assert(spatialPrimitiveTypeConverters != null && spatialPrimitiveTypeConverters.Length != 0, "PrimitiveConverter requires a non-null and non-empty array of type converters for ISpatial.");
this.spatialPrimitiveTypeConverters = new Dictionary<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(EqualityComparer<Type>.Default);
foreach (KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter> spatialPrimitiveTypeConverter in spatialPrimitiveTypeConverters)
{
this.spatialPrimitiveTypeConverters.Add(spatialPrimitiveTypeConverter.Key, spatialPrimitiveTypeConverter.Value);
}
}
/// <summary>PrimitiveConverter instance for use by the Atom and Json readers and writers.</summary>
internal static PrimitiveConverter Instance
{
get
{
return primitiveConverter;
}
}
/// <summary>
/// Try to write the JSON Lite representation of <paramref name="instance"/> using a registered primitive type converter
/// </summary>
/// <param name="instance">Object to convert to JSON representation.</param>
/// <param name="jsonWriter">JsonWriter instance to write to.</param>
internal void WriteJsonLight(object instance, IJsonWriter jsonWriter)
{
Debug.Assert(instance != null, "Expected a non-null instance to write.");
Type instanceType = instance.GetType();
IPrimitiveTypeConverter primitiveTypeConverter;
this.TryGetConverter(instanceType, out primitiveTypeConverter);
Debug.Assert(primitiveTypeConverter != null, "primitiveTypeConverter != null");
primitiveTypeConverter.WriteJsonLight(instance, jsonWriter);
}
/// <summary>
/// Get the primitive type converter for the given type.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="type">Clr type whose primitive type converter needs to be returned.</param>
/// <param name="primitiveTypeConverter">Converter for the given clr type.</param>
/// <returns>True if a converter was found for the given type, otherwise returns false.</returns>
private bool TryGetConverter(Type type, out IPrimitiveTypeConverter primitiveTypeConverter)
{
if (typeof(ISpatial).IsAssignableFrom(type))
{
KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter> bestMatch = new KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter>(typeof(object), null);
foreach (KeyValuePair<Type, IPrimitiveTypeConverter> possibleMatch in this.spatialPrimitiveTypeConverters)
{
// If the current primitive type is assignable from the given parameter type and
// is a more derived type from the previous match, then the current type is a better match.
if (possibleMatch.Key.IsAssignableFrom(type) && bestMatch.Key.IsAssignableFrom(possibleMatch.Key))
{
bestMatch = possibleMatch;
}
}
primitiveTypeConverter = bestMatch.Value;
return bestMatch.Value != null;
}
else
{
primitiveTypeConverter = null;
return false;
}
}
}
}
|
This invention relates to versatile interlocking circuit and equipment packaging arrangements. More particularly, this invention relates to an interlocking arrangement which preserves a desired circuit status while permitting removal of circuits without interruption even though such circuits normally are essential in providing that level of circuitry status.
In certain applications, it is highly advantageous to provide a desired circuitry status regardless of other necessary activities. One such activity being the removal of circuits which are required to provide circuit continuity for separately testing these very circuits as a unit. For example, the transmission of communication signals via transmission paths is only one among many situations wherein uninterrupted circuit continuity is desirable. In existing telecommunications systems, the number of transmission paths are numerous so that any circuit arrangement associated with accessing or testing the paths must be economical. The large number of attendant connections in telecommunications applications also necessitates extremely high reliability. Furthermore, it would be desirable if such an arrangement were almost foolproof, so that accidental interruptions of circuit status are precluded from occurring. Other desirable features are compactness of size and ease of manufacturing and convenience of installation which become more significant as large numbers of circuit arrangements are required. |
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Johnny Manziel's latest incident in Texas over the weekend -- in which police searched for him via helicopter and are investigating him for possibly assaulting his ex-girlfriend -- was the absolute last straw for the Browns.
They will cut him as soon as they can -- when the league year opens March 9 -- league sources told cleveland.com.
Of course, if a team is willing to give up a late-round pick for Manziel, they'll take it. But they certainly aren't expecting that to happen, especially not after the bizarre events of the past few months. In addition to the police probe, the NFL is investigating him for the second time in three months for allegations that he assaulted a woman.
"He's a train wreck,'' a source close to Manziel all season told cleveland.com.
Browns Executive Vice President Sashi Brown -- who spent time studying North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz and others at the Senior Bowl last week -- made it perfectly clear in a statement Tuesday that the Brown are done with Manziel. It's over. They've had enough.
"We've been clear about expectations for our players on and off the field," Brown said. "Johnny's continual involvement in incidents that run counter to those expectations undermines the hard work of his teammates and the reputation of our organization. His status with our team will be addressed when permitted by league rules. We will have no further comment at this time.''
The waiver wire officially opens Monday, but the Browns have to wait until March 9 to waive him because they rolled all of their 2015 cap space -- $20 million of it -- into next season and don't have the room to absorb the cap hit until then. Manziel is still owed about $4.624 million by the Browns, the remainder of the guaranteed money he received when he was drafted No. 22 overall in 2014.
Manziel signed a four-year deal worth $8,248,596, including $7,998,596 guaranteed. In the off chance that a team claims him on waivers or trades for him, they would pick up his 2016 and 2017 base salaries of $1,169,872 and $1,294,808.
But at this point, it's highly unlikely a team would take a chance on him, given his current state of mind and string of transgressions. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wanted to draft him, and word out of Dallas is that he still loves him. But the Cowboys have no late-round draft picks left and would probably only take a chance on him as a free agent -- if that.
The Browns were actually effectively done with Manziel the final week of the season when he flew to Las Vegas just two days after being ruled out of the season finale with a concussion. According to USA Today, Manziel wore a blond wig and fake mustache and went by the name of Billy so he wouldn't be recognized.
The day of the season-ending 28-12 loss to the Steelers, Manziel missed his concussion treatment and was ultimately fined. The club couldn't reach him all day and didn't know where he was. As the day wore on, they grew increasingly miffed by another huge embarrassment to the club. Those close to Manziel also couldn't locate him that day.
Manziel finally showed up the day after the season -- a day after coach Mike Pettine and general manager Ray Farmer were fired -- but the Browns gave him the cold shoulder, league sources said. Owner Jimmy Haslam was busy addressing the team and introducing Brown, the new football boss.
When the Browns interviewed coach Hue Jackson, he made it clear that he wanted to move on from Manziel, and the club didn't argue. By that time, they had already come to the conclusion that he wasn't their quarterback of the future -- at least not in his present state of mind.
Jackson made it clear that he wants his quarterback to be the face of the franchise and said in a radio interview that if it's true that Manziel went to Vegas during the season finale that would say "non-starter" to him.
Jackson said in an interview on SiriusXM NFL radio that he wants a quarterback "that can elevate this football team, not anybody that's going to tear it down.'
Like Brown, Jackson spent plenty of time studying and interviewing Wentz at the Senior Bowl last week and was impressed. The Browns have the second pick in the draft and will likely take Wentz or Cal quarterback Jared Goff.
Brown also told cleveland.com at the Senior Bowl that Manziel had a chance to be back with the team, but only if he could demonstrate that "football was the most important thing in his life."
Then came the Texas incident, in which police were called to an apartment building early Saturday morning near Texas Christian University, where Manziel's longtime girlfriend Colleen Crowley -- who might now be his ex-girlfriend -- is a student. Crowley's name was not mentioned in the police report, just a 23-year-old female, so it's unclear if she was the woman involved.
When police arrived, they couldn't locate the person who called them, but came across the 23-year-old woman who reported that she had been involved in a disturbance with Manziel in Dallas and possibly other locations. Although she was uncooperative, she managed to express to police that she was worried about Manziel -- whom she described as her ex-boyfriend -- and Fort Worth police launched a search for him.
When he didn't answer his cell phones, police searched the area in patrol cars and then dispatched their Air One helicopter to look for him. Ultimately, he was found to be safe and in no danger. But police in Fort Worth and Dallas are still "actively working'' to determine if Manziel assaulted his ex-girlfriend. On Tuesday, both jurisdictions said they had no update on the probe.
Manziel's agent, Erik Burkhardt, did not return a call and his publicist Denise Michaels, declined to comment.
Last year at this time, Manziel checked himself into inpatient addiction rehab and remained there for 73 days. In his first interview out of rehab, he swore off his signature money sign and his Johnny Football nickname. He moved to a quiet, suburban golf community and had one of his high school coaches, Julius Scott, move in with him for a few months to help keep him sober.
But soon, stories began to emerge of Manziel out partying again. In May, about six weeks after leaving treatment, he threw a water bottle at an 18-year-old who was hounding him for an autograph at a golf tournament in Texas. The photographs included six packs of beer nearby -- the first sign that perhaps Manziel was off track again.
The major red flag went up Oct. 12 in Avon, Ohio when Manziel got in the roadway argument with Crowley and admitted he had been drinking that afternoon. Crowley told police that Manziel beat her and shoved her head into the glass of the car, but she later recanted and he wasn't arrested. The NFL also cleared him of wrongdoing after a thorough investigation lead by chief investigator Lisa Friel.
Upon being cleared -- the same day he was named the starter for the final six games of the season -- Manziel issued a statement saying that league's decision should put to rest any thoughts that he had hurt Crowley.
"I appreciate the NFL's diligence and discretion in reviewing a situation that was both personal and embarrassing,'' Manziel said. "Colleen and I cooperated fully with the NFL's process and completely support their goals of making sure that every family under their umbrella is safer and more secure.
"I'm grateful that the review was so thorough and fair that there should be no question left in the public mind about what actually happened.''
Manziel vowed that he'd no longer be an embarrassment to the organization -- beginning with the upcoming bye weekend. Instead, he partied all weekend in Austin and Columbus, Ohio and then lied to coaches about it, saying the video that surfaced from the Austin bar was old.
Manziel lost his starting job, and Pettine later admitted that Manziel's problems were "deeper-rooted'' than they initially thought when they drafted him. He stressed that Manziel would have to earn back his team's trust.
Instead, he dropped the ball.
As the season wound down, stories of Manziel out partying locally increased. One source told cleveland.com that she sat at a table next to Manziel late in the season at a bar on West 25th Street, and that he sat alone doing shots. She snapped a picture of him, and immediately an employee came over and grabbed her phone and deleted the photo.
The day he was diagnosed with the concussion, Manziel showed up for work disheveled and out of sorts and was immediately sent to the trainer. He was diagnosed with the concussion that day and then ruled out the following day. Two days later, he was bouncing around Vegas as Billy and the Browns knew they had to move on.
The Texas incident -- for which he faces a possible suspension under the NFL's personal conduct policy -- was just more confirmation that Manziel was wrecking the team more than he was "wrecking this league.''
In his eight starts, Manziel went 2-6, including 2-4 this season. He's completed 57 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions and earned a 74.4 rating.
League sources close to Manziel believe he can play in the NFL.
"But not in his current state of mind,'' one told cleveland.com. |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a signal processing method and a signal processing apparatus. More particularly, the present invention is designed to read a candidate signal and a comparison signal for a predetermined time from the signals of content recorded in recording means and to detect a signal with identical content by comparing the candidate signal with the comparison signal. Furthermore, when the signal with identical content is detected, this signal is stored, and the signal which is the same as the stored signal is deleted from the recording means. In the deletion of this signal, by deleting the signal, the recording means is efficiently used in such a manner that the deleted signal can be determined.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, as the capacity of recording means, for example, optical disks and hard disks capable of performing a random access operation, becomes larger, not only computer data, but also various content signals, for example, audio data and moving image data, have been recorded. Furthermore, in removable and portable recording media, similarly to conventional audio cassette tapes and video cassette tapes, signals of broadcast programs, etc., have been recorded in such a manner that these signals can be stored as signals of video and audio content. In addition, when a recording medium is provided in a fixed manner within a signal processing apparatus, a broadcast program which cannot be viewed is temporarily recorded by a timer reservation operation. Also, a recording operation is started from a position at which a broadcast program cannot be viewed in real time, and when a situation capable of being viewed is reached, not only the recording operation, but also a playback operation of the broadcast program recorded on the recording medium is performed at the same time, so that an operation for allowing a desired broadcast program to be continuously viewed is performed. Furthermore, when a recording and a playback of a program are performed simultaneously, the program playback position is also brought closer to the real-time broadcast program being recorded by speeding up the playback speed or by skipping commercial portions.
In recording media, such as video cassette tapes, which are incapable of performing a random access operation, signals of content, such as broadcast programs, are recorded in sequence, and when only a desired program portion is to be played back, a tape fast-forwarding operation and a tape rewinding operation for skipping a portion which is not viewed must be performed. In this manner, since a tape fast-forwarding operation and a tape rewinding operation must be performed each time for a playback in a portion which is not viewed, operations become complicated. For this reason, for example, when a television broadcast program is to be recorded/played back, it is performed such that a sound mode switching position is detected and a commercial portion is skipped. In this process of skipping a commercial portion, it is performed such that that a commercial portion of a stereo mode, which is inserted into a program in which sound is in a monaural mode, or a commercial portion of a stereo mode, which is inserted into a program of a bilingual sound mode, is determined from the switching position of the sound mode, and this determined commercial portion is automatically skipped. However, in a system which determines such a sound mode switching position, a commercial portion of a stereo mode, inserted into a program of a stereo mode, cannot be detected.
Furthermore, there are cases in which signals, of which contents are the same, are recorded in a duplicated manner on recording media. For example, when a desired broadcast program is to be recorded on a recording medium, there are cases in which a commercial of the same content is repeatedly broadcast in the middle of the program. In such a case, commercial signals of the same content will be recorded in a duplicated manner. Furthermore, when a serialized drama is to be recorded collectively on one recording medium, the signals of the opening portion and the ending portion, in which the content is the same, are recorded in a duplicated manner, and thus, the recording medium will not be used efficiently. |
Decision space for health workforce management in decentralized settings: a case study in Uganda.
The aim of this paper is to improve understanding about how district health managers perceive and use their decision space for human resource management (HRM) and how this compares with national policies and regulatory frameworks governing HRM. The study builds upon work undertaken by PERFORM Research Consortium in Uganda using action-research to strengthen human resources management in the health sector. To assess the decision space that managers have in six areas of HRM (e.g. policy, planning, remuneration and incentives, performance management, education and information) the study compares the roles allocated by Uganda's policy and regulatory frameworks with the actual room for decision-making that district health managers perceive that they have. Results show that in some areas District Health Management Team (DHMT) members make decisions beyond their conferred authority while in others they do not use all the space allocated by policy. DHMT members operate close to the boundaries defined by public policy in planning, remuneration and incentives, policy and performance management. However, they make decisions beyond their conferred authority in the area of information and do not use all the space allocated by policy in the area of education. DHMTs' decision-making capacity to manage their workforce is influenced by their own perceived authority and sometimes it is constrained by decisions made at higher levels. We can conclude that decentralization, to improve workforce performance, needs to devolve power further down from district authorities onto district health managers. DHMTs need not only more power and authority to make decisions about their workforce but also more control over resources to be able to implement these decisions. |
82 works from 30 different countries. Behind the camera many Italian directors, who sign as many as 20 of the short films in the competition.
https://www.maremetraggio.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/maremetraggio-section-2019-1.png6281200maremetraggiohttps://dev.maremetraggio.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/190412_shorts_logo_black.pngmaremetraggio2019-05-16 09:13:212019-05-16 10:07:28Revealed the 82 short films of the Maremetraggio 2019 section |
---
abstract: |
The *T*-matrix method is widely used for the calculation of scattering by particles of sizes on the order of the illuminating wavelength. Although the extended boundary condition method (EBCM) is the most commonly used technique for calculating the *T*-matrix, a variety of methods can be used.
We consider some general principles of calculating *T*-matrices, and apply the point-matching method to calculate the *T*-matrix for particles devoid of symmetry. This method avoids the time-consuming surface integrals required by the EBCM.
Keywords: light scattering; electromagnetic scattering; nonspherical particles; T-matrix
PACS: 41.20.Jb, 42.25.Bs, 42.25Fx
---
[**Preprint of:**\
T. A. Nieminen, H. Rubinsztein-Dunlop and N. R. Heckenberg\
“Calculation of the *T*-matrix: general considerations and application of the point-matching method”\
*Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer* **79–80**, 1019–1029 (2003) ]{}
**Calculation of the *T*-matrix: general considerations and application of the point-matching method**
T. A. Nieminen, H. Rubinsztein-Dunlop, and N. R. Heckenberg
*Centre for Biophotonics and Laser Science, Department of Physics,\
The University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD 4072, Australia*
`[email protected]`
The *T*-matrix method
=====================
The *T*-matrix method in wave scattering involves writing the relationship between the wave incident upon a scatterer, expanded in terms of orthogonal eigenfunctions, $$U_\mathrm{inc} = \sum_n^\infty a_n \psi_n^{(\mathrm{inc})},$$ where $a_n$ are the expansion coefficients for the incident wave, and the scattered wave, also expanded in terms of orthogonal eigenfunctions, $$U_\mathrm{scat} = \sum_k^\infty p_k \psi_k^{(\mathrm{scat})},$$ where $p_k$ are the expansion coefficients for the scattered wave, is written as a simple matrix equation $$p_k = \sum_n^\infty T_{kn} a_n$$ or, in more concise notation, $$\mathbf{P} = \mathbf{T} \mathbf{A}$$ where $T_{kn}$ are the elements of the *T*-matrix. The *T*-matrix method can be used for scalar waves or vector waves in a variety of geometries, with the only restrictions being that the geometry of the problem permits expansion of the waves as discrete series in terms of orthogonal eigenfunctions, that the response of the scatterer to the incident wave is linear, and that the expansion series for the waves can be truncated at a finite number of terms. In general, one calculates the *T*-matrix, although it is conceivable that it might be measured experimentally.
The *T*-matrix depends only on the particle—its composition, size, shape, and orientation—and is independent of the incident field. This means that for any particular particle, the *T*-matrix only needs to be calculated once, and can then be used for repeated calculations. This is a significant advantage over many other methods of calculating scattering where the entire calculation needs to be repeated [@mishchenko_book]. Some cases provide even more efficiency: if the waves are expanded in spherical functions, the averaging of scattering over various orientations of the particle compared to the direction of the incident wave can be performed analytically [@mishchenko1991].
In the spherical geometry of elastic light scattering by a particle contained entirely within some radius $r_0$, the eigenfunction expansions of the fields are made in terms of vector spherical wavefunctions (VSWFs) : $$\begin{aligned}
\mathbf{M}_{nm}^{(1,2)}(k\mathrm{r}) & = & N_n h_n^{(1,2)}(kr)
\mathbf{C}_{nm}(\theta,\phi) \\
\mathbf{N}_{nm}^{(1,2)}(k\mathrm{r}) & = & \frac{h_n^{(1,2)}(kr)}{krN_n}
\mathbf{P}_{nm}(\theta,\phi) + \nonumber \\
& & N_n \left( h_{n-1}^{(1,2)}(kr) -
\frac{n h_n^{(1,2)}(kr)}{kr} \right) \mathbf{B}_{nm}(\theta,\phi)\end{aligned}$$ where $h_n^{(1,2)}(kr)$ are spherical Hankel functions of the first and second kind, $N_n = 1/\sqrt{n(n+1)}$ are normalisation constants, and $\mathbf{B}_{nm}(\theta,\phi) = \mathbf{r} \nabla Y_n^m(\theta,\phi)$, $\mathbf{C}_{nm}(\theta,\phi) = \nabla \times \left( \mathbf{r}
Y_n^m(\theta,\phi) \right)$, and $\mathbf{P}_{nm}(\theta,\phi) = \hat{\mathbf{r}} Y_n^m(\theta,\phi)$ are the vector spherical harmonics , and $Y_n^m(\theta,\phi)$ are normalised scalar spherical harmonics. The usual polar spherical coordinates are used, where $\theta$ is the co-latitude measured from the $+z$ axis, and $\phi$ is the azimuth, measured from the $+x$ axis towards the $+y$ axis.
$\mathbf{M}_{nm}^{(1)}$ and $\mathbf{N}_{nm}^{(1)}$ are outward-propagating TE and TM multipole fields, while $\mathbf{M}_{nm}^{(2)}$ and $\mathbf{N}_{nm}^{(2)}$ are the corresponding inward-propagating multipole fields. Since these wavefunctions are purely incoming and purely outgoing, each has a singularity at the origin. Since fields that are free of singularities are of interest, it is useful to define the singularity-free regular vector spherical wavefunctions: $$\begin{aligned}
\mathbf{RgM}_{nm}(k\mathrm{r}) & = & {\textstyle\frac{1}{2}} [
\mathbf{M}_{nm}^{(1)}(k\mathrm{r}) + \mathbf{M}_{nm}^{(2)}(k\mathrm{r}) ], \\
\mathbf{RgN}_{nm}(k\mathrm{r}) & = & {\textstyle\frac{1}{2}} [
\mathbf{N}_{nm}^{(1)}(k\mathrm{r}) + \mathbf{N}_{nm}^{(2)}(k\mathrm{r}) ].\end{aligned}$$ Since the spherical Bessel functions $j_n(kr) = \frac{1}{2}(h_n^{(1)}(kr) +
h_n^{(2)}(kr))$, the regular VSWFs are identical to the incoming and outgoing VSWFs except for the replacement of the spherical Hankel functions by spherical Bessel functions.
Since the incident field, in the absence of a scatterer, is singularity-free, the expansion $$\mathbf{E}_\mathrm{inc}(\mathrm{r}) = \sum_{n=1}^\infty \sum_{m = -n}^n
a^{(3)}_{nm} \mathbf{RgM}_{nm}(k\mathrm{r}) +
b^{(3)}_{nm} \mathbf{RgN}_{nm}(k\mathrm{r})
\label{regular_expansion}$$ is generally used for the incident field. Alternatively, the purely incoming part of the incident field can be used: $$\mathbf{E}_\mathrm{inc}(\mathrm{r}) = \sum_{n=1}^\infty \sum_{m = -n}^n
a^{(2)}_{nm} \mathbf{M}_{nm}^{(2)}(k\mathrm{r}) +
b^{(2)}_{nm} \mathbf{N}_{nm}^{(2)}(k\mathrm{r}).
\label{incoming_expansion}$$ In both cases, the scattered field is $$\mathbf{E}_\mathrm{scat}(\mathrm{r}) = \sum_{n=1}^\infty \sum_{m = -n}^n
p^{(1)}_{nm} \mathbf{M}_{nm}^{(1)}(k\mathrm{r}) +
q^{(1)}_{nm} \mathbf{N}_{nm}^{(1)}(k\mathrm{r}).
\label{outgoing_expansion}$$ The two sets of expansion coefficients for the incident/incoming field are related, since $a^{(3)}_{nm} = 2a^{(2)}_{nm}$ and $b^{(3)}_{nm} =
2b^{(2)}_{nm}$. However, the scattered/outgoing field expansion coefficients will differ, as will the *T*-matrix. Using the regular expansion, the *T*-matrix in the absence of a scatterer is a zero matrix, while using the incoming field expansion, the no-scatterer *T*-matrix is the identity matrix. The two expansions are essentially the same—the only difference is that the incident wave in the incident/scattered wave expansion includes part of the outgoing wave. *T*-matrices for the two expansions only differ by the identity matrix, so $\mathbf{T}^{\mathrm{(in/out)}} =
2\mathbf{T}^{\mathrm{(inc/scat)}} + \mathbf{I}$. The incident/scattered formulation is much more commonly used; the incoming/outgoing formulation gives simpler results for the transport of momentum and angular momentum (that is, optical force and torque) by the field. It should be note that for plane wave illumination, for which the VSWF expansion is non-terminating, the incident/scattered formulation gives a scattered wave expansion that converges over all space, while the incoming/outgoing expansion, strictly used, would give an non-terminating, non-convergent outgoing field expansion. For focussed beam illumination with a finite VSWF expansion, the incoming/outgoing expansion directly gives the total outgoing field that would be experimentally measured. Since conversion from one formulation to the other is simple, either can be readily used for calculation of fields, forces, scattering matrices, or for orientation averaging.
In practice, the field expansions and the *T*-matrix are terminated at some $n = N_{\mathrm{max}}$. For the case of a scatterer that is contained within a radius $r_0$, $N_{\mathrm{max}} \approx
kr_0$ is usually adequate, but $N_{\mathrm{max}} = kr_0 + 3 \sqrt[3]{kr_0}$ is advisable if higher accuracy is needed [@brock]. Although we assume in this paper (as is usually the case) that the incident and scattered wave expansions are terminated at the same $N_{\mathrm{max}}$ (giving a square *T*-matrix), this is not necessary. It should be noted that convergence of the expansion of the incident field is not a necessary condition for the *T*-matrix method to be useful—indeed, for the most common application, scattering of an incident plane wave, the incident field expansion does not converge over all space. However, it does converge within the radius $r_0$—which is the part of the field that can affect the scattering particle—and therefore, the field expansions and the *T*-matrix can be truncated at a finite $N_{\mathrm{max}}$.
For the case of plane wave scattering, the plane wave expansion formula is useful: $$a_{nm} = 4\pi \mathrm{i}^n N_n \mathbf{C}_{nm}^\star \cdot \mathbf{E}_0,\;
b_{nm} = 4\pi \mathrm{i}^{n-1} N_n \mathbf{B}_{nm}^\star \cdot \mathbf{E}_0.$$
The main case of interest for non-plane wave incident illumination is that of focussed beams. A variety of methods can be used, such as plane wave expansion [@doicu1997ao], the localised approximation [@gouesbet1995; @gouesbet1996b; @ren1998; @polaert1998ao], or the point-matching method [@nieminen_focussed].
The only remaining requirement is that the *T*-matrix be calculated. This requires essentially a complete calculation of the scattering properties of the scatterer. This is almost universally done using the extended boundary condition method (EBCM), originally developed by Waterman [@waterman1971], which is so strongly linked with the *T*-matrix method that the terms “EBCM” and “*T*-matrix method” are often used interchangeably. In the next section, we consider some general principles involved in the calculation of the *T*-matrix, and show that an alternative method—column-by-column calculation using the point-matching method (PMM)—is computationally feasible and simply implemented for homogeneous isotropic particles devoid of symmetry.
Lastly, before we continue to consider calculation of *T*-matrices in more detail, we can note that while the incident and scattered fields are usually expanded in terms of VSWFs, other sets of eigenfunctions, such as cylindrical wavefunctions (for scatterers of infinite length in one dimension), or a Floquet expansion (planar periodic scatterers), are more appropriate for other geometries. There is no requirement that the modes into which the incident and scattered fields are expanded be the same, or even similar. In all of these cases, the *T*-matrix method remains applicable.
Calculating the *T*-matrix
==========================
If the field expansions and *T*-matrix are truncated at some $N_{\mathrm{max}}$, there are $N_T = 2 N_{\mathrm{max}} ( N_{\mathrm{max}} + 2 )$ expansion coefficients for each of the incident and scattered fields, and the *T*-matrix is $N_T \times N_T$. Since $N_{\mathrm{max}}$ is proportional to the radius enclosing the particle, $r_0$, the number of expansion coefficients is proportional to $r_0^2$, and the number of elements in the *T*-matrix is proportional to $r_0^4$. This can be used to obtain an estimate of the scaling of computational time for different methods of calculation.
The extended boundary condition method
--------------------------------------
In principle, any method of calculating scattering by the particle can be used to calculate the *T*-matrix. However, the method of choice is almost universally the EBCM [@mishchenko_book; @mishchenko1991; @waterman1971; @tsang1985]. In the EBCM, the internal field within the particle is expanded in terms of regular VSWFs. Therefore, the method is restricted to homogeneous and isotropic particles. Rather than considering the coupling of the incident and scattered fields directly, the coupling between the incident and internal (the $\mathbf{RgQ}$ matrix), and scattered and internal fields (the $\mathbf{Q}$ matrix) is calculated, and the *T*-matrix found from these ($\mathbf{T} = - \mathbf{RgQ} \mathbf{Q}^{-1}$). The $\mathbf{RgQ}$ and $\mathbf{Q}$ matrices are the same size as the *T*-matrix, with $O(N_{\mathrm{max}}^4)$ elements. The elements of these matrices are found by integrating over the surface of the scatterer, an operation requiring $O(N_{\mathrm{max}}^2)$ time per element, so the calculation of the $\mathbf{RgQ}$ and $\mathbf{Q}$ matrices is expected to require $O(N_{\mathrm{max}}^6)$ computational time. The actual calculation of the *T*-matrix, if direct inversion is naïvely used, takes $O(N_{\mathrm{max}}^6)$ time. In practice, the calculation of the $\mathbf{RgQ}$ and $\mathbf{Q}$ matrices dominates the computational time [@kahnert2001].
From this, it can be seen that the EBCM can be expected to be very slow for large particles. However, most applications of the EBCM have been for the special case of scattering particles rotationally symmetric about the $z$ axis. In this case, scattered modes $\mathbf{M}_{n'm'}^{(1)}$ and $\mathbf{N}_{n'm'}^{(1)}$ only couple to incident modes $\mathbf{RgM}_{nm}$ and $\mathbf{RgN}_{nm}$ if $m' = m$, greatly reducing the number of matrix elements that need to be calculated, and the surface integral over the particle surface reduces to a one-dimensional integral over $\theta$, since the azimuthal integration over $\phi$ can be simply done analytically [@tsang1985]. This results in a great improvement in performance, and, in terms of computational time, EBCM is clearly the method of choice for axisymmetric particles. Numerical problems do occur when the scatterer is highly non-spherical. The discrete sources method is designed to overcome these problems [@wriedt1998]. For the even more symmetric case of a spherical scatterer, the scattered and incident modes only couple if $n' = n$ and $m' = m$, the *T*-matrix becomes diagonal, and all of the integrals can be performed analytically, and Mie’s solution to scattering by a sphere [@mie1908] is simply obtained.
In a similar manner, scatterers with point-group rotational symmetry allow significant improvement of the computational time required through exploitation of the symmetry [@kahnert2001; @havemann2001; @baran2001].
Methods have also been developed to calculate *T*-matrices for clusters of particles and for layered particles [@mishchenko_book].
The efficiency of the EBCM for the calculation of the *T*-matrix is such that alternative methods need only be considered if the EBCM is inapplicable (such as when the particle in inhomogeneous or anisotropic), numerical difficulties are encountered using the EBCM (such as for extremely non-spherical particles), or if the scattering particle has no symmetries that can be used to optimise the computation of the *T*-matrix.
Methods other than the EBCM
---------------------------
Methods other than the EBCM can be used to calculate the *T*-matrix. In general, one would calculate the scattered field, given a particular incident field. The most direct way in which to use this to produce a *T*-matrix is to solve the scattering problem when the incident field is equal to a single spherical mode—that is, a single VSWF such as $\mathbf{E}_\mathrm{inc}(\mathrm{r}) = \mathbf{RgM}_{11}(k\mathrm{r})$, $\mathbf{E}_\mathrm{inc}(\mathrm{r}) = \mathbf{RgN}_{11}(k\mathrm{r})$, $\mathbf{E}_\mathrm{inc}(\mathrm{r}) = \mathbf{RgM}_{21}(k\mathrm{r})$, etc, and repeat this for all VSWFs that need to be considered (up to $n = N_{\mathrm{max}}$). The expansion coefficients for the scattered field can be found in each case, if necessary, by using the orthogonal eigenfunction transform (the generalised Fourier transform), and each scattering calculation gives a single column of the *T*-matrix.
Therefore, the calculation of a *T*-matrix requires that $2 N_{\mathrm{max}} ( N_{\mathrm{max}} + 2 )$ separate scattering problems are solved. The provides a criterion for deciding whether it is desirable to calculate a *T*-matrix: if more than $2 N_{\mathrm{max}} ( N_{\mathrm{max}} + 2 )$ scattering calculations will be performed, then it is more efficient to calculate the *T*-matrix and use this for the repeated calculations than it is to use the original scattering method repeatedly. Repeated calculations are expected if orientation averaging is to be carried out, or if inhomogeneous illumination is to be considered, such as, for example, scattering by focussed beams, where there are generally 6 degrees of freedom, namely the three-dimensional position of the scatterer within the beam, and the three-dimensional orientation of the scatterer. Even if only a modest number of points are considered along each degree of freedom, the total number of scattering calculations required rapidly becomes very large, and even if the *T*-matrix takes many hours to calculate, the total time saved by doing so can make an otherwise computationally infeasible problem tractable.
Volume methods are of interest, since they can readily be used for inhomogeneous or anisotropic particles. The two most likely candidates are the finite-difference time-domain method (FDTD) [@mishchenko_book; @yang2000] and the discrete dipole approximation (DDA). In FDTD, the Maxwell equations are discretised in space and time, and, beginning from a known initial state, the electric and magnetic fields at each spatial grid point are calculated for successive steps in time. The number of grid points required is $O(N_{\mathrm{max}}^3)$ for three-dimensional scattering, and $O(N_{\mathrm{max}})$ time steps required, so FDTD solutions scale as $O(N_{\mathrm{max}}^4)$. Therefore, calculation of the *T*-matrix using FDTD should scale as $O(N_{\mathrm{max}}^6)$, which is the same scaling as the EBCM. However, the grid required must be closely spaced compared to the wavelength, and the space outside the scatterer must also be discretised, making FDTD substantially slower than EBCM, especially for smaller particles. However, FDTD is an extremely general technique, and has potential as a method for the calculation of *T*-matrices.
We should add that there is an additional consideration that makes FDTD potentially attractive as a method for calculating the *T*-matrix: FDTD does not assume that the incident wave is monochromatic. Consider the case when the illumination is a brief pulse with a Gaussian envelope. The frequency spectrum of the incident wave is Gaussian, and the scattering of a range of frequencies can be found by taking the Fourier transform of the scattered field [@yee1991]. Even if we are not interested in other than monochromatic illumination, we will frequently be interested in scattering by size distributions of particles. Since varying the frequency for a particular particle is equivalent to varying the size of the particle for a fixed incident frequency, the *T*-matrices for a range of particle sizes can be calculated simultaneously.
The other major volume method for computational scattering, the discrete dipole approximation (DDA), also known as the coupled-dipole method, has been recently applied to the calculation of the *T*-matrix by Mackowski [@mackowski2002], who obtained good results, with reasonable computational efficiency using a moment method to solve the DDA system of equations. DDA lacks the main disadvantages of FDTD, namely the need to discretise space outside the particle, and the need to implement suitable boundary conditions to prevent non-physical reflections from the boundary of the computational domain. Mackowski’s method scales as $O(N_{\mathrm{max}}^7)$ for large $N_{\mathrm{max}}$. There is no need to discuss his method in detail here, and the interested reader is referred to his recent description of the method [@mackowski2002].
Finally, we consider the point-matching method. Like the *T*-matrix method and the EBCM, the point-matching method involves expansion of fields in terms of VSWFs. In the point-matching method, the internal field within the scatterer and the scattered field are expanded as series of VSWFs, and the incident, internal, and scattered fields are matched at points on the particle surface, using the usual boundary condition of continuity of tangential components of the electric and magnetic fields. This gives a system of equations from which the unknown expansion coefficients of the internal and scattered fields can be found. Typically, enough points are used for matching the fields so as to give an overdetermined system of equations, which is then solved in a least-squares sense. Solving the system of $O(N_{\mathrm{max}}^2)$ unknowns using direct matrix inversion can be expected to be an $O(N_{\mathrm{max}}^6)$ problem, with the result that the total computational time is $O(N_{\mathrm{max}}^8)$. In practice, faster methods can be used, and our results indicate a performance of about $O(N_{\mathrm{max}}^7)$ for our implementation.
The point-matching method is an attractive candidate since a *T*-matrix implementation will generally include routines to calculate VSWFs, making the implementation of a point-matching *T*-matrix calculator simple. The only further requirement is a routine for solving overdetermined linear systems. Since the scattered field is calculated in terms of VSWFs, the conversion of the results of a single PMM calculation to a *T*-matrix column is trivial.
Naturally, multiple expansion methods (the generalised multipole technique, or the multiple multipole method) can be used. Since multipole methods exist for anisotropic media [@piller], the method can be used for anisotropic scatterers.
Our implementation of the point-matching method, and its performance, is discussed in the next section.
Point-matching method
=====================
Our implementation of the PMM *T*-matrix calculation uses an incoming/outgoing field expansion (equations (\[incoming\_expansion\]) and (\[outgoing\_expansion\])), rather than the usual incident/scattered wave expansion (equations (\[regular\_expansion\]) and (\[outgoing\_expansion\])), and the internal field is expanded in terms of regular VSWFs: $$\begin{aligned}
\mathbf{E}_\mathrm{inc}(\mathrm{r}) & = &
\sum_{n=1}^{N_{\mathrm{max}}} \sum_{m = -n}^n
a_{nm} \mathbf{M}_{nm}^{(2)}(k\mathrm{r}) +
b_{nm} \mathbf{N}_{nm}^{(2)}(k\mathrm{r}),
\label{expansion_e_inc}\\
\mathbf{E}_\mathrm{scat}(\mathrm{r}) & = &
\sum_{n=1}^{N_{\mathrm{max}}} \sum_{m = -n}^n
p_{nm} \mathbf{M}_{nm}^{(1)}(k\mathrm{r}) +
q_{nm} \mathbf{N}_{nm}^{(1)}(k\mathrm{r}),
\label{expansion_e_scat}\\
\mathbf{E}_\mathrm{int}(\mathrm{r}) & = &
\sum_{n=1}^{N_{\mathrm{max}}} \sum_{m = -n}^n
c_{nm} \mathbf{RgM}_{nm}(k\mathrm{r}) + d_{nm} \mathbf{RgN}_{nm}(k\mathrm{r}).
\label{expansion_e_int}\end{aligned}$$ We use this particular expansion since we are interested in calculating optical forces and torques within optical traps [@nieminen2001jqsrt; @nieminen2001cpc] and this results in simpler expressions for these quantities.
We considered a single scatterer, centred on the origin, contained entirely within a radius $r_0$, and with a surface specified by a function of angle: $$r = r(\theta,\phi)$$
The boundary conditions—matching the tangential fields on the surface of the scatterer—are $$\begin{aligned}
\hat{\mathbf{n}} \times ( \mathbf{E}_\mathrm{inc}(\mathrm{r}) +
\mathbf{E}_\mathrm{scat}(\mathrm{r}) ) & = &
\hat{\mathbf{n}} \times \mathbf{E}_\mathrm{int}(\mathrm{r}),\\
\hat{\mathbf{n}} \times ( \mathbf{H}_\mathrm{inc}(\mathrm{r}) +
\mathbf{H}_\mathrm{scat}(\mathrm{r}) ) & = &
\hat{\mathbf{n}} \times \mathbf{H}_\mathrm{int}(\mathrm{r}),\end{aligned}$$ where $\hat{\mathbf{n}}$ is a unit vector normal to the surface of the particle.
The magnetic fields are given by expansions similar to those for the electric fields: $$\begin{aligned}
\mathbf{H}_\mathrm{inc}(\mathrm{r}) & = & \frac{1}{k_{\mathrm{medium}}}
\sum_{n=1}^{N_{\mathrm{max}}} \sum_{m = -n}^n
a_{nm} \mathbf{N}_{nm}^{(2)}(k\mathrm{r}) +
b_{nm} \mathbf{M}_{nm}^{(2)}(k\mathrm{r}),\\
\mathbf{H}_\mathrm{scat}(\mathrm{r}) & = & \frac{1}{k_{\mathrm{medium}}}
\sum_{n=1}^{N_{\mathrm{max}}} \sum_{m = -n}^n
p_{nm} \mathbf{N}_{nm}^{(1)}(k\mathrm{r}) +
q_{nm} \mathbf{M}_{nm}^{(1)}(k\mathrm{r}),\\
\mathbf{H}_\mathrm{int}(\mathrm{r}) & = & \frac{1}{k_{\mathrm{particle}}}
\sum_{n=1}^{N_{\mathrm{max}}} \sum_{m = -n}^n
c_{nm} \mathbf{RgN}_{nm}(k\mathrm{r}) + d_{nm} \mathbf{RgM}_{nm}(k\mathrm{r}).\end{aligned}$$ where $k_{\mathrm{medium}}$ and $k_{\mathrm{particle}}$ are the wavenumbers of the field in the surrounding medium and inside the particle, respectively.
There are $4 N_{\mathrm{max}} ( N_{\mathrm{max}} + 2 )$ unknown variables—the expansion coefficients $c_{nm}$, $d_{nm}$, $p_{nm}$, and $q_{nm}$. Since the fields are vector fields, each point gives multiple equations—four independent equations per point. We generate a grid of $2 N_{\mathrm{max}} ( N_{\mathrm{max}} + 2 )$ points with equal angular spacings in each of the $\theta$ and $\phi$ directions, giving $8 N_{\mathrm{max}} ( N_{\mathrm{max}} + 2 )$ independent equations. Equal angle spaced points are used for simplicity, although points uniformly distributed about a sphere would be better [@wriedt_gainesville].
The values of the VSWFs at these points on the particle surface are calculated, and used in the column-by-column calculation of the *T*-matrix.
The computation time (which is independent of the particle shape, depending only on the containing radius $r_0$) is shown in table \[computation\_time\]. The calculations were carried out in MATLAB [@matlab] on a 1.5GHz PC. The times taken are reasonable in comparison to computation times for EBCM for particles with no symmetry [@kahnert2001].
$N_{\mathrm{max}}$
-------------------- --- ----- ---- -------
1 0 033 0 041s
2 0 21 0 16s
3 0 55 0 85s
4 1 00 7 00s
5 1 54 30 3s
6 2 14 1 86min
7 2 78 4 95min
8 3 46 12 2min
9 4 17 26 8min
10 4 90 56 3min
11 5 66 1 91h
12 6 42 3 53h
13 7 21 6 35h
: Computation times for calculating *T*-matrices. The calculations were carried out in MATLAB on a 1.5GHz PC. The maximum size parameter $kr_0$ for which the truncation is expected to always be well-convergent is shown. Reasonable convergence can also be expected for size parameters $kr_0 \approx N_{\mathrm{max}}$[]{data-label="computation_time"}
![Computation times for calculating *T*-matrices. The calculations were carried out in MATLAB on a 1.5GHz PC. The time taken scales as $O(N_{\mathrm{max}}^{6.8})$ for $N_{\mathrm{max}} > 2$.[]{data-label="computation_time_graph"}](pmmtmat_time.eps){width="0.6\columnwidth"}
Results of a sample calculation are shown in figure \[scattering\_matrix\], where the diagonal scattering matrix elements are shown, calculated using the PMM *T*-matrix. The scattering matrix elements $S_{11}$ and $S_{22}$ are shown for scattering in two different planes; the effect of non-axisymmetry is evident.
![(a) $S_{11}$ and (b) $S_{22}$ scattering matrix elements for an ellipsoidal particle with axes of length $a = 1\lambda$, $b = 0.2\lambda$, and $c = 0.5\lambda$, and relative refractive index $m = 1.5$. The incident illumination is directed along the $c$ axis of the ellipsoid. The solid line shows scattering in the $ac$ plane (containing the largest area cross-section of the ellipsoid), and the dotted line shows scattering in the $bc$ plane (the smallest cross-sectional area).[]{data-label="scattering_matrix"}](pmmtmat_s.eps){width="0.6\columnwidth"}
The accuracy and validity of the PMM-calculated *T*-matrix will be essentially the same as the accuracy and validity of the point-matching algorithm used in the calculation. Thus, a detailed analysis of our simple proof-of-principle implementation serves little purpose. It is obviously useful to use the best, sufficiently fast, point-matching code available. In view of the mathematical similarity between the *T*-matrix method and the point-matching method, it should be a simple task to adapt any PMM code to the task of generating *T*-matrix columns.
Conclusions
===========
The point-matching method is suitable for the calculation of the *T*-matrix for particles with no symmetry, provided that the particles are not too large. The method has the advantage of being extremely simple to implement within a general *T*-matrix package, since most of the required routines will be shared with the existing *T*-matrix code. This results from the mathematical formalisms of the *T*-matrix method and the point-matching method being essentially the same. Any point-matching algorithm can be used, with multiple expansion origins, automatic convergence checks, and so on. Since the PMM uses the same field expansions as the EBCM, the same numerical difficulties are to be expected for scatterers with large aspect ratios; in such cases, multiple expansion origin algorithms will be necessary. The accuracy of the PMM *T*-matrix will be the same as the PMM which is used to calculate it. Naturally, the usual conditions of applicability of the PMM, such as the validity of the Rayleigh hypothesis, need to be considered.
The PMM explicitly depends on the Rayleigh hypothesis—the assumption that the fields can be represented by the expansions (\[expansion\_e\_inc\])—(\[expansion\_e\_int\]) over all space rather than just outside and inside spherical surfaces circumscribing and inscribing the surface of the scatterer. The validity of this assumption for arbitrary scatterers is unknown. However, the use of an overdetermined system of equation may well extend the method somewhat beyond the strict range of applicability of the Rayleigh hypothesis by providing a least squares approximation of the fields between the circumscribing and inscribing surfaces where the VSWF expansions might be non-convergent. One advantage of relying on the Rayleigh hypothesis is that the fields are given everywhere, including the fields internal to the scatterer (a *T*$^{(\mathrm{int})}$-matrix can be used to relate the internal and incident fields). This applies generally to methods that make use of the Rayleigh hypothesis, such as the generalised separation of variables method [@rother1998]. In contrast to this, the EBCM, which avoids the Rayleigh hypothesis, gives the tangential surface fields on the surface of the scatterer, rather than the internal fields.
The point-matching method lacks the generality of DDA and FDTD. In this respect, the recent discrete dipole moment method *T*-matrix calculations by Mackowski [@mackowski2002] are particularly promising.
Lastly, we note again that FDTD may prove to be a useful method for *T*-matrix calculation since it can be used to calculate *T*-matrices simultaneously for a range of particle sizes.
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|
Mature content notice: Lula: The Sexy Empire contains explicit language, strong sexual themes, partial nudity and is intended for mature audiences.
Get into the erotic movie-making business, put together storyboards, name and edit films.
Climb the ranks of low society: start as a criminal thug on the run and become the erotica mogul of your dreams!
Manage your ever-growing empire whether it's movies or risque boutiques!
Welcome to the erotica business!It's your dream. You're the boss of an international erotica group with film and sound studios, a casting office, marketing department etc! But everyone has to begin at the bottom. So you start up with your attractive girlfriend in a sleepy little town in the desert. But as if that's not enough: You're almost broke and the FBI is after you, too. It's up to you to make the most of your exciting new career as a producer of erotica.The funny erotic pictures inwere created by the well-known illustrator, Carsten Wieland, and give the game its unique atmosphere. Along with the wide array of hidden gags, the innovative 3 stage playing system guarantees long-lasting fun! |
Monday, 24 December 2012
Two weeks ago I had a request from Olly to knit him a Christmas jumper(sweater)!!!! At the rate I work it was never going to happen so I offered to embellish a bought one for him. Christmas sweaters are the latest rage and I shall be taking commissions in readiness for next year. Any takers? Yes that carrot is protruding and I think it is going to have to be re sewn a few times. I may also have to visit him in jail when he gets arrested for indecency. It has caused such merriment. Practice crochet snowflakes came in handy too along with a tie from a boxful that I have been hoarding. Hexagons for eyes. Well, it just wouldn't be right to have a post with no hexagons would it?
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
I have been tuning in and reading your blogs, even leaving the occasional comment. As for sewing, not a lot has been happening. A little something that I made is winging it's way to Sweden but as it is a surprise and hasn't yet reached it's destination I cannot show you. I have made the odd hexagon and crocheted a few snowflakes, not worthy of showing. I need much more practice in that department. I shall endeavour to TRY and do better next year.
I shall leave you with a little video clip made by my daughter Rachel (clever apps again), hope it raises a smile or two. |
Inflammation or infection of the appendix Symptoms include loss of appetite, nausea, low-grade fever and tenderness in the lower right of the abdomen
7
Appendicitis
盲腸炎
8
Appendicitis
an inflammation of the appendix, a finger-like portion of the large intestine that generally hangs down from the lower right side of the abdomen Although the appendix does not seem to serve any purpose, it can become diseased and, if untreated, can burst, causing infection and even death
9
Appendicitis
—Inflammation of the appendix
10
Appendicitis
An inflammation of the appendix, usually caused by a blockage of the opening of the "pouch" and a subsequent infection
11
Appendicitis
Inflammation of the appendix
12
appendicitis
Appendicitis is an illness in which a person's appendix is infected and painful. an illness in which your appendix swells and causes pain |
Aging in cultural context and as narrative process: conceptual foundations of the anthropology of aging as reflected in the works of Margaret Clark and Sharon Kaufman.
Although the discipline of anthropology has much to contribute to the understanding of the nature and experience of aging, it is a relative latecomer to gerontology. After briefly discussing why this is the case, the authors discuss the contributions of two anthropologists who brought a substantive anthropological voice to gerontological discussion of aging. Examining the "ancestral roots" of the anthropology of aging, we spotlight the intellectual heritage of Margaret Clark, arguably the "mother" of this anthropological subfield, and that of Sharon Kaufman, her student, colleague, and a pioneer in her own right. Clark and Anderson's Culture and aging: an anthropological study of older Americans (1967; Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas) remains a touchstone for the concept of situated aging. This examination of value orientations and mental health of older San Franciscans is foundational for understanding aging as an interactive, socially embedded process that is adapted to specific sociocultural contexts. Research and therapies grounded in narrativity and meaning benefit from Sharon Kaufman's The ageless self: sources of meaning in late life (1986; Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press), which articulated narrative thinking as a conduit for understanding, performing, and constructing identity and meaning. Kaufman's work has ongoing relevance to gerontological research on embodiment, chronic illness, and later life social transitions. Their research has continued relevance to contemporary gerontological scholarship and practice, signaling both prevailing and emergent agendas for anthropologically informed gerontology. |
(2008)
NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff,
v.
Victoria ALEMBIK-EISNER, Trustee of the Abraham Henry Madenfrost Revocable Trust, et al., Defendants.
Civil Action No. 1:07-CV-0557-JOF.
United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Atlanta Division.
September 12, 2008.
OPINION AND ORDER
J. OWEN FORRESTER, Senior District Judge.
This matter is before the court on Victoria Alembik-Eisner's motion for summary judgment as to the counterclaim of the AH. Madenfrost Revocable Trust [25] and National Life Insurance Company's motion to dismiss [34].
I. Background
A. Procedural History and Facts
Plaintiff, National Life Insurance Company, filed this interpleader action against Defendants, Victoria Alembik-Eisner, Trustee of the Abraham Henry Madenfrost Revocable Trust ("Trustee"); Doris Gicherman DeMadenfrost; Monica Elka Madenfrost; Jaqueline Jaguit Madenfrost la Alameda; and Amasilis Del Carmen Gonzales Nahmens, on March 8, 2008. The interpleader res is a life insurance policy of $250,000 payable on the death of Abraham Henry Madenfrost ("Madenfrost").
The facts of this case are generally undisputed. Madenfrost first applied for a life insurance policy from National Life in January 1990. See Cmplt., ¶ 10. The application listed the beneficiary as Doris Gicherman DeMadenfrost, his wife at the time. Id., ¶ 11. On May 17, 1990, Madenfrost created a revocable trust named the Abraham Henry Madenfrost Revocable Trust. Id., ¶14. The trust document provided:
On my death the Trustee shall collect the proceeds of any insurance policies of which it is beneficiary and receive any property conveyed to it under the terms of my Will. My Trustee shall continue to hold this property, along with any other property conveyed to this trust during my lifetime, in the Family Trust for the benefit of my spouse and my descendants.
Id., ¶ 15. The trust document also provided that the trust was revocable "so long as I [Madenfrost] am physically and mentally capable of managing my affairs (as determined by the Trustee in its sole discretion. . . .") Id. ¶ 16. Madenfrost named as co-trustees his sister, Defendant Victoria Alembik-Eisner, and her husband, Michael D. Alembik. Id., ¶ 17. Madenfrost submitted to National Life an Absolute Assignment of his insurance policy to the Revocable Trust on May 21, 1990. Id., ¶ 19.
On February 5, 1993, Michael D. Alembik died leaving Victoria Alembik-Eisner as the sole trustee. Id., ¶ 20. Madenfrost and his wife Doris Gicherman DeMadenfrost divorced in Venezuela on November 2, 1993. Id., ¶ 21. Before their divorce, Madenfrost and Doris Gicherman DeMadenfrost had two children, Defendants Jaqueline Jaguit Madenfrost La Alameda and Monica Elka Madenfrost. Id., ¶ 22.
In 1996, Madenfrost was remarried to Defendant Amasilis Del Carmen Gonzales Nahmens. Id., ¶ 23. "While it has been reported to National Life that Madenfrost and Amasilis Del Carmen Gonzales Nahmens had children while they were married, that information has not been confirmed and the names of any such children have not been provided to National Life." Id., ¶ 24.
On October 28, 2002, Madenfrost executed a Notice of Revocation of Revocable Trust directing the co-trustees of the trust "to transfer the assets according to any further directions given to them by me [Madenfrost]" Id., ¶ 25. When National Life received the Notice of Revocation, it wrote to Victoria Alembik-Eisner on November 21, 2002, to ask whether the trust had been given any direction to transfer ownership and, if so, the contact information for the new owner. Id., ¶ 26. Victoria Alembik-Eisner did hot respond to this letter. Id., ¶ 27.
Madenfrost and his second wife, Amasilis Del Carmen Gonzales Nahmens, were divorced in Venezuela on November 24, 2004. Id, ¶ 28. Madenfrost died in Venezuela on April 2, 2006. Id., ¶ 29. Madenfrost was not married at the time of his death. Id., ¶ 30.
On April 12, 2006, National Life wrote to Victoria Alembik-Eisner stating that it was unable to identify the beneficiary of the death benefits payable under the policy due to Madenfrost's revocation of the trust. Id., ¶ 31. National Life asked for information on how the assets of the trust were distributed. Id. On August 3, 2006, National Life received a fax from H.R. Hauenstein, identified as Madenfrost's friend and insurance agent, stating: "Henry [Madenfrost] and his sister, Vicky Alembik-Eisner were at odds. Henry tried to get Rick Alembik who is a lawyer to get Vicky to make the changes Henry wishes to no avail. Henry's only interest was to take care of his second wife and their children." Id., ¶ 32.
On September 5, 2006, Victoria Alembik-Eisner wrote to National Life, making a formal demand of payment from National Life, stating:
You are hereby advised that at the time my brother executed the notice of revocation, and at all times thereafter, he was not physically and mentally capable of managing his affairs. As set forth in the governing document, the determination as to the capacity of the Trustor and the Trustor's legal right to revoke the Trust was given to me, in my sole and absolute discretion, as the sole Trustee.
The policy . . . was in force at the time of my brother's death and was owned by me, as the Trustee of the Trust. My brother had no legal right to revoke the Trust in 2002, and any correspondence he sent to your company was void and of no legal consequence. Under the terms of the policy, the Trust is entitled to payment of the death benefit, subject to any appropriate adjustments, upon the death of my brother.
Id., ¶ 34.
National Life claims that "[w]hether Madenfrost's revocation of the trust was valid under Georgia law is unclear. In addition, the identity of the owner of the policy at the time of Madenfrost's death, and the identity of the beneficiar(ies) of the policy are unclear. Finally, whether Madenfrost sufficiently manifested his intent and took adequate steps to revoke the trust and to change the beneficiar(ies) of the policy to Defendant Amasilis Del Carmen Gonzales Nahmens and his children of that marriage is unclear." Id., ¶ 37. Concerned that it would be faced with multiple litigation and liability, National Life filed the instant interpleader action. Id., ¶ 38.
On March 13, 2007, the court granted National Life's request to deposit $273,535.22 into the registry of the Court. Madenfrost's two children from his first marriage were served with process in the interpleader action. They subsequently signed affidavits which were submitted by the Trustee in connection with her answer to the interpleader complaint. Those affidavits indicate that the two children wished for the insurance benefits to be paid to Victoria Alembik-Eisner in her capacity as Trustee.
With her answer, Defendant Victoria Alembik-Eisner also filed a counterclaim alleging claims of breach of contract, interest, and bad faith denial of claim. She also sought a declaratory judgment that the Trust is the sole owner of the policy and asked the court to determine that this is not a proper case for interpleader based on the fact that National Life refused to immediately pay out the death benefits to the Trust. The Trustee also filed the instant motion for summary judgment as to her counterclaims on behalf of the Abraham Henry Madenfrost Revocable Trust.
On December 17, 2007, National Life filed the affidavit of Madenfrost's second wife, Amasilis Del Carmen Gonzales Nahmens, in which she states that she is the former wife of Madenfrost but they had no children together. She further testifies that she believes Madenfrost's only children to be those he had with his first wife, Doris Gicherman Madenfrost. She and Madenfrost were divorced in Venezuela on November 23, 2004. Amasilis Del Carman Gonzales Nahmens acknowledged that she was aware of the instant lawsuit and understood that proceeds from an insurance policy were in dispute, but she disclaims any right to the proceeds, hoping that they would be paid to Madenfrost's children from his first marriage. Thereafter, National Life filed the instant motion to dismiss asking that because all defendants have been served with process, it be dismissed from the action, granted a permanent injunction against further legal proceedings, and be awarded its costs and attorney's fees.
B. Contentions
The Trustee argues that National Life improperly filed an interpleader action because Madenfrost's attempted revocation could not have been valid under Georgia law and therefore no other claimant had a valid claim on the proceeds of the insurance policy. The Trustee further contends that the court does not have jurisdiction over the interpleader action because there is no adverse or potentially adverse claim. The Trustee avers that National Life is liable to it for breach of contract, interest, and bad faith refusal to pay.
National Life contends that at the time it filed the interpleader action, it had a good faith basis to believe that it was subject to multiple claims because it did hot know whether Madenfrost's revocation was valid and did not know whether Madenfrost had had any children with his second wife. Under these circumstances, National Life argues that it was proper to file an interpleader action. National Life further avers that it cannot be liable to the Trustee because it never refused to pay out the benefits on the insurance policy and paid them into the registry of the court. Finally, National Life asks that the court dismiss it from the interpleader action and grant its motion for attorney's fees.
II. Discussion
A. Nature of Interpleader Action
The crux of the case comes down to a decision about whether it was appropriate for National Life to file an interpleader action or whether it was under an obligation to investigate further and make a determination about the validity of Madenfrost's attempted Notice of Revocation of the Revocable Trust and whether he had any additional children with his second wife.
The Trustee argues that for the court to have jurisdiction, there must be "actual claims" against the interpleader. See Motion for S.J., at 18. The court disagrees with this assertion. Under the terms of the statute, § 1335 can be used where "[t]wo or more adverse claimants, of diverse citizenship . . . [who] are claiming or may claim to be entitled to such money or property. . . ." Id. (emphasis added). Thus, an actual claim need not exist but rather only the possibility that more than one person will claim. It is true that an interpleader action requires "real fear of the vexation arid hazard of conflicting claims." See, e.g., Bierman v. Marcus, 246 F.2d 200 (3d Cir.1957). However, this
remedy was developed by equity so that a stakeholder could avoid being subjected to such hazard and vexation. Thus, in the very nature of the problem it seeks to solve, the federal Interpleader Act requires "adverse claimants" who are claiming or may claim the same fund. Of course, only one claim will ultimately be sustained. Thus, jurisdiction in interpleader is not dependent upon the merits of the claims of the parties interpleaded, and a plaintiff can maintain the action even though he believes that one of the claims is valid and the other, or others, without merit.
On the other hand, that which is advanced as an adverse claim may be so wanting in substance that interpleader under the statute may not be justified. While the stakeholder is not obliged at his peril to determine which claimant has the better claim, he must have some real and reasonable fear of exposure to double liability or the vexation of conflicting claims.
Id. at 202 (quotations and citations omitted). In Bierman, the court concluded that there was only the "pretense" of adverse claims used to "obtain adjudication of controversies other than entitlement to that fund." Id. at 203; see also Hunterv. Federal Life Insurance Co., Ill F.2d 551, 556 (8th Cir.1940) ("It is our opinion that a stakeholder, acting in good faith, may maintain a suit in interpleader for the purpose of ridding himself of the vexation and expense of resisting adverse claims, even though he believes that only one of them is meritorious.").
At the time National Life had to make a decision about to whom to pay out the benefits, it had to consider among the following potential claims: (1) Madenfrost's estate (by virtue of the insurance policy which stated that if no beneficiary was named, the proceeds would go to the estate), (2) Madenfrost's descendants, the children from his first marriage and any from his second (at the time it was not definitively known whether there were any), (3) Madenfrost's second wife (as Madenfrost attempted to revoke the trust assignment in favor of her), or (4) Victoria Alembik-Eisner in her capacity as Trustee. To make a determination as to the proper beneficiary, National Life would be required to interpret the Trust document and its provisions regarding the revocability of the Trust. The question as to the appropriateness of interpleader is not whether one particular claimant ultimately is determined to have the rights to the proceeds. Rather, the question is whether at the time demand for payment was made on National Life, it had reasonable fear of multiple liability. The court concludes that it did.
Victoria Alembik-Eisner argues that there should have been no question that Madenfrost's attempted revocation of the trust was invalid. She further contends that there was no question that Madenfrost had only two children with his first wife and no others. While these facts may be determinative on the merits, they do not mean that National Life had no uncertainty to justify the filing of an interpleader action. The Trustee's argument discounts the August 3, 2006 fax sent to National Life by W. Richard Hauenstein which states that Madenfrost and his sister were not getting along and she had refused to make the changes to the trust that he wished. That correspondence also indicated that Madenfrost had children with his second wife and he desired to care for them through the Trust.
Alembik-Eisner contends that National Life should not be entitled to protection from this correspondence because of prior correspondence between W. Richard Hauenstein and Sherry Gallison, Title Service Representative of National Life. Ms. Gallison wrote:
This letter is a follow up to a voice mail message left for you on 3/13/03, regarding the proposed transfer of ownership of this policy from the trust to the Insured.
You indicated that there has been some difficulty in obtaining the signature of Victoria Alembik-Eisner, Trustee to transfer the policy.
We have reviewed the trust document we have on file and we cannot find that there are any provisions which would allow the Trustor/Grantor or the trust beneficiaries to remove a trustee and appoint a replacement.
We are also unable to use the "Notice of Revocation of Revocable Trust" to make the actual transfer as the document specifically states "the Co-Trustees are hereby requested to liquidate or to transfer the trust assets according to any further directions given to them by me" (the trustor). It would appear that the trustees must sign to make the transfer.
As an alternative perhaps the Mr. Madenfrost could check with his attorney to see if they could request the court to remove Ms. Alembik-Eisner as a trustee and appoint a successor which could then sign for the transfer of ownership.
See National Life's Reply, Exh. G. This correspondence, however, is far from a declaration by National Life that the attempted revocation was invalid. The fact that a claims representative speculated in March 2003 that there were problems with the attempted revocation and corresponded with Mr. Hauenstein, as a representative of Madenfrost, in an attempt to resolve the situation, is not a definitive indicator of the lack of validity of the Notice of Revocation, but rather demonstrates that National Life had been uncertain as to the status of the Trust for some period.
Further, the fact that Madenfrost's second wife eventually disclaimed any right to the proceeds and informed the court that she and Madenfrost had no children does not "make the interpleader action inappropriate but merely expedited its conclusion by obviating the normal second stage" of the action to determine who should receive the benefits of the policy. See New York Life Ins. Co. v. Connecticut Development Authority, 700 F.2d 91, 95 (2d Cir.1983). National Life attempted to locate Madenfrost's second wife at her last known address in Texas, and also consulted with Mr. Hauenstein and the human resources office at Madenfrost's former employer in an attempt to locate her. A private investigator in Texas was not able to locate Ms. Gonzales Nahmens, nor could the Trustee give any information as to her whereabouts. National Life then concluded that she must have returned to Venezuela. It was not until after National Life filed the interpleader action that it was able to locate Ms. Gonzales Nahmens in Venezuela and have her disclaim any right to the insurance proceeds.
The court finds the Trustee's argument that National Life delayed in bringing the interpleader action to be unpersuasive. The potential claimants to the proceeds of the insurance policy were scattered among several foreign nations. National Life's investigation involved communication with Madenfrost's insurance agent, former employer, researching divorce records in foreign countries and other such activities. The court has no doubt that such efforts take time.
Significantly, there is no evidence that National Life has or had any alternative agenda. National Life has never disputed that it would pay out the $250,000. It has only found uncertainty in the consequence of the attempted revocation and uncertainty in the fact of whether Madenfrost had any children by his second wife. The Trustee has presented no infermation in the record from which the court could conclude that National Life was not acting in good faith when it initiated the interpleader action.
For the foregoing reasons, the court has determined that National Life's utilization of the interpleader statute was not in bad faith or improper. The court further finds that there is no problem with jurisdiction because National Life had a reasonable fear that it would be subject to multiple claims.
B. State Law Claims
Numerous courts have discussed the interaction of the interpleader statute with a state law claim of bad faith. For example, in LaMarche v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 236 F.Supp.2d 50 (D.Me.2002), the court found that while the "§ 1335 interpleader action exists to prevent the stakeholder from having to defend more than one action, [i]t does not exist to prevent the stakeholder from having to be a party in any action or from defending independent claims." Id. at 55. The LaMarche court contrasted Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. v. Barretto, 178 F.Supp.2d 745 (S.D.Tex.2001), where the court rejected claims of untimely payment against the insurance company finding that the company had not engaged in "unreasonable or inexcusable delay" in filing the interpleader action. See also Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Co. v. Ensley, 174 F.3d 977 (9th Cir.1999) (granting summary judgment to insurer on counterclaims based on unique facts of case); Dakota Livestock Co. v. Keirn, 552 F.2d 1302, 1307 (8th Cir.1977) (permitting counterclaims in interpleader actions "serves the purpose of Sect. 1335 and Rule 22 by protecting a stakeholder who may be subject to independent liability from double litigation even if not from double liability."). Other courts view the protection of the interpleader action more broadly. For example, in Commerce Funding Corp. v. Southern Financial Bank, 80 F.Supp.2d 582 (E.D.Va.1999), the court stated, "[w]ere the defendants in an interpleader action permitted to carry forward with counterclaims against the stakeholder based upon the same interpleaded funds, the very purpose of the interpleader action would be utterly defeated." Id. at 585. See also Daniels v. Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, 35 F.3d 210, 214-15 (5th Cir.1994) (where an interpleader is found proper, breach of contract and tort claims are collaterally estopped); Barretto, 178 F.Supp.2d at 748 ("The claims of untimeliness of payment against MetLife are the result of its utilizing the protections afforded by the interpleader. Under interpleader rules and the interpleader statutes, MetLife should be shielded from [defendant's] counterclaims, which should be dismissed. MetLife should also be awarded attorney's fees.").
The court finds that these various approaches can be reconciled. While the mere filing of the interpleader action does not "immunize" the insurer from state law counterclaims filed by a claimant, if the interpleader action is properly filed, it is possible that the merits of the state law counterclaims could be rejected. That is to say, the question is whether the counterclaims are independent of the reason for the filing of the interpleader action. For example, in LaMarche, there were allegations that the insurance company did not properly change the beneficiary on the insurance policy. This is a different question than whether the insurance company knew to whom to pay the benefits and whether its decision to interplead rather than pay out was appropriate.
Here, the counterclaims raised by the Trustee relate directly to the reason for the interpleader action. National Life decided it could not pay out the insurance policy benefits because to do so, it would have to make a decision under Georgia law as to whether Madenfrost's attempted revocation was valid, a question which would further involve the interpretation of a legal document outside the insurance policy. Therefore, National Life decided to deposit the funds of the policy into the registry of the court and have a court determine the valid claimant. This context obviously impacts the court's consideration of the merits of the Trustee's state law claims.
The Trustee claims bad faith refusal to pay pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 33-4-6 which provides:
[i]n the event of a loss which is covered by a policy of insurance and the refusal of the insurer to pay the same within 60 days after a demand has been made by the holder of the policy and a finding. . . that such refusal was in bad faith, the insurer shall be liable to pay such holder, in addition to the loss, not more than 50 percent of the liability of the insurer for the loss or $5,000.00, whichever is greater, and all reasonable attorney's fees for the prosecution of the action against the insurer.
Id. Georgia courts have found that to
support a cause of action under O.C.G.A. § 33-4-6, the insured bears the burden of proving that the refusal to pay the claim was made in bad faith. Bad faith is shown by evidence that under the terms of the policy upon which the demand is made and under the facts surrounding the response to that demand, the insurer had no good cause for resisting and delaying payment. Good faith is determined by the reasonableness of nonpayment of a claim. Because the damages are in the nature of a penalty, the statute is strictly construed and the right to such recovery must be clearly shown. Although the question of good or bad faith is ordinarily for the jury, the insurer is entitled to judgment as a matter of law if it has reasonable grounds to contest the claim or the question of liability is close.
Atlantic Title Insurance Co. v. Aegis Funding Corp., 287 Ga.App. 392, 393, 651 S.E.2d 507 (2007) (quotations and citations omitted). As evidence of bad faith, the Trustee points to the same arguments she made with respect to the propriety of National Life's interpleader actionthe fact that Madenfrost did not have children with his second wife, and that Item I of the Trust Instrument vests absolute authority in the Trustee to approve any attempted revocation by Madenfrost.
Although other state courts have explicitly held that a claim for bad faith cannot stand in an interpleader action, see, e.g., Monumental Life Ins. Co. v. Lyons-Neder, 140 F.Supp.2d 1265, 1270 (M.D.Ala. 2001), no Georgia court has so exphcitly held. The court notes, however, that in Morris v. Mutual Benefit Life Ins. Co., 258 F.Supp. 186 (N.D.Ga.1966) (Smith, J.), the court held that the purpose of the bad faith statute "was not to penalize an insurer for appealing to the courts where there are questions concerning an insurance contract which are sufficiently doubtful to justify adjudication." Id. at 192.
The court found above that National Life did not act in bad faith in filing the interpleader action. The court finds likewise that it has not acted in bad faith in refusing to pay out the proceeds of the policy. In fact, National Life has paid out the policyinto the registry of the court. See also Daniels v. Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, 35 F.3d 210, 214-15 (5th Cir.1994) (applying Texas law and holding that if state court determined insurance company's interpleader action was appropriate, insured was collaterally estopped from asserting in federal court that insurer breached duty by interpleading funds).
The Trustee also claims interest under O.C.G.A. § 33-25-10(b)(2) which provides that when no action has been commenced to recover proceeds due under a policy, but a claim has been filed with the insurer, the insurer must pay interest at a rate of. 12 percent beginning 30 days after the date of death until the date of full payment. Id. The code section specifically "shall not (4) require the payment of interest for any period during which an insurer is required to pay interest under any state or federal law pertaining to interpleader." Id., § 33-25-10(c). Here, however, an action has been filed concerning the proceeds and the policy amount has been deposited into the registry of the court which accrues interest. The Trustee has not demonstrated to the court that the Trust is entitled to any interest additional to what is already accruing on the $250,000. The court DENIES Victoria Alembik-Eisner's motion for summary judgment as to the counterclaims of the A.H. Madenfrost Revocable Trust [25].
C. Attorney's Fees
National Life seeks attorney's fees for bringing the interpleader action, in locating and serving Gonzales Nahmens and the other defendants, and in defending against the Trustee's counterclaim. National Life asserts that it has incurred $40,132 in attorney's fees and $8,243.15 in other expenses. The majority of the attorney's fees sought are attributed to Aaron Pohlman, an attorney with the law firm of Smith Moore, LLP, who is billed at the rate of $230 per hour. See Affidavit of H. Sanders Carter, ¶ 3. The expenses include $1,661.34 in translation fees, $160 in private investigator fees, $262.90 for court reporting, $32 in courier fees, and $6,040.56 in attorney and private investigator fees and related expenses in Venezuela. Id., ¶ 4.
In Perkins State Bank v. Connolly, 632 F.2d 1306 (5th Cir.1980), the court discussed the purpose of federal interpleader actions as "protecting] a stakeholder who holds funds claimed by two or more adverse parties from multiple liability." Id. at 1311. "Although costs and attorney's fees are generally awarded by federal courts to the plaintiff who initiates the interpleader as a mere stakeholder, the plaintiff who enters the conflict (by contesting the ownership of the fund or by disputing the correct amount of his liability) will not, in the absence of special circumstances, be awarded any expenses." Id.
State rules of decision which deny an uninterested stakeholder the recovery of attorney's fees interfere with the protective purpose of the interpleader statute and therefore do not bind federal courts. But state rules of decision which merely regulate the recovery of attorney's fees among adverse state law claimants do not hinder the operation of the federal interpleader statute and therefore should be applied as in any other diversity action. Id. Courts note, however, that it is not necessary to award attorney's fees in interpleader actions where the expenses incurred by the interpleader are those which occur in the normal course of business. See, e.g., Correspondent Services Corp. v. J.V.W. Investments, Ltd., 204 F.R.D. 47, 49 (S.D.N.Y.2001); Travelers Indemnity Co. v. Israel, 354 F.2d 488, 490 (2d Cir. 1965) ("We are not impressed with the notion that whenever a minor problem arises in the payment of insurance policies, insurers may, as a matter of course, transfer a part of their ordinary cost of doing business of their insureds by bringing an action for interpleader.").
Wright's Federal Practice and Procedure suggests that awards of attorney's fees in interpleader actions do not involve a great deal of money because "all that is necessary is the preparation of a petition, the deposit in the court or posting of a bond, service on the claimants, and the preparation of an order discharging the stakeholder." Id., § 1719. Five factors relevant to the award of fees are whether: (1) the case is simple, (2) the stakeholder performed any unique services for the claimants or the court, (3) the stakeholder acted in good faith and with diligence, (4) the services rendered were beneficial, and (5> the claimants improperly protracted the proceedings. Id.
Here, the court finds that the number of claimants and-their various locations means that the action was not particularly simple. National Life did locate, serve, and produce the affidavit of Madenfrost's second wife disclaiming any interest in the proceeds, an effort which simplified the proceedings. The court also found above that National Life had acted in good faith and rendered beneficial services. Finally, the court finds that the nature of the Trustee's counterclaim did serve to protract the proceedings. It is not clear to the court why the Trustee did not proffer her claim to the insurance benefits without bringing unnecessary state law claims into the interpleader action. The court finds that the determination of whether Madenfrost had any children with his second wife and the uncertainty of whether the attempted revocation was valid go beyond simple problems faced in the ordinary course of doing business.
For these reasons, the court concludes that National Life is entitled to attorney's fees and expenses for the filing of the interpleader action. The Trustee argues only against the general propriety of granting attorney's fees to National Life, but does not raise any specific argument as to the amount of those fees. Under ACLU v. Barnes, 168 F.3d 423 (11th Cir. 1999), and Norman v. Housing Authority, 836 F.2d 1292 (llth Cir.1988), the court finds that attorney's fees in the range of $220 to $270 per hour and paralegal fees of $125 per hour are reasonable. Further, the court finds that 177 hours of legal work in this matter is not unreasonable considering the factual circumstances of the interpleader claimants and the counterclaims of the Trustee.
D. Summary
The court finds that National Life acted in good faith in filing the instant interpleader-action and therefore denies the Trustee's motion for summary judgment as to the Trustee's state law insurance claims.
With the affidavit of Amasilis Del Carmen Gonzales Nahmens disclaiming any interest in the proceeds of the insurance policy, the only remaining claimant is Victoria Alembik-Eisner as Trustee of the Abraham Henry Madenfrost Revocable Trust. The court discharges National Life from further liability in this action and awards National Life $40,132 in attorney's fees and $8,243.15 in expenses to be paid out of the funds in the registry.
The Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to pay the totality of funds in the registry in this case, less $48,375.15 to Victoria Alembik-Eisner as Trustee of the Abraham Henry Madenfrost Revocable Trust. The Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to pay $48,375.15 to National Life.
III. Conclusion
The court DENIES Victoria Alembik-Eisner's motion for summary judgment as to the counterclaim of the A.H. Madenfrost Revocable Trust [25] and GRANTS National Life Insurance Company's motion to dismiss [34].
The Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to close this case.
|
Weather-related school closings are a constant source of anxiety this time of year. Sometimes the anxiety is generational: "They never canceled school in my day," parents and grandparents complain when a new snow day gets announced. Sometimes it's regional. D.C. isn't as "flinty" as Chicago, President Obama sighed when schools closed during his first winter in the capital. Northerners watched in puzzlement as two inches of snow crippled Atlanta earlier this week.
A new map from Reddit user Alexandr Trubetskoy (a.k.a. atrubetskoy) is sure to stoke this regional competition. Using data "taken from hundreds of various points from user responses...interpolated using NOAA's average annual snowfall days map," Trubetskoy made a map showing how much snow it typically takes to close schools in the U.S. and Canada. Notice that for much of the southern U.S., all it takes is "any snow" to shut schools down. For the Upper Midwest and Canada, two feet of snow are required for a closure.
Trubetskoy includes the following clarifications:
In much of the Midwest and Great Plains, school closing often depends more on wind chill and temperature than on snow accumulation ("cold days"). Thus, this map may be misleading in those areas. Many jurisdictions in California and other western states have significantly varied snowfall, depending on elevation. This makes it difficult to find an "average" number, or often makes it misleading. Urban areas like Chicago and New York have more resources to clear snow and often need more to cause closings. Clarification: The lightest green says "any snow" but also includes merely the prediction of snow. Clarification II: This is snow accumulation over 24 hours/overnight. Hawaii does get snow! Just... not where people live.
Before this map gives Midwesterners a superiority complex, it's worth remembering: School closures say more about an area's infrastructure than the toughness of its citizens. Schools in the South close at the mere hint of snow not because the people who live there are wimps, but because snow is such a rare event—and most cities there don't have a fleet of snow plows the way Northern ones do.
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Know Your Local: LieghAnn Cochran
LieghAnn Cochran loves Russellville almost as much as she loves people.
She's primarily been in the area for most of her life, working for 12 years at her mom's consignment shop.
As a natural people person, Cochran got her master's in College Student Personnel, hoping to work on the Arkansas Tech campus. But when an opportunity presented itself for Cochran to stay at the store, she didn't turn it down.
"To be honest, it was my mom's dreams to have a consignment store, it wasn't my dream," Cochran said. "But then it became my dreams after doing it for so long and realizing that I love what I do."
The people here are her love; she loves talking to the customers, getting in trouble on occasion for talking to them too much.
To stay in Russellville took some convincing on Cochran's part, too. She learned to love it here, realizing that everything she needed was here.
"I didn't realize this until I became an adult myself, because as a teenager, I wanted to leave Russellville," Cochran said. "But once I did graduate college and I saw a little bit of the real world, I realized I don't want to leave my hometown. I love the safety of my hometown."
Now, she's involved with the community and takes steps to advocate for ways to get involved in the community.
"You have to think outside the box," Cochran said. "You want to be able to shop local and help other people out in that sense of the community also. You just want to always make our community better, because it's our home."
-- By Hannah Butler
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The Courier - Your Messenger for the River Valley in Russellville, AR.MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use of or republication of all the local news printed in this newspaper as well as AP news dispatches. |
cortina restoration pt46
Trial fit of front screen was a success. Bulkhead now beginning to be
welded in. Starting on front end rebuild. Our advice is to watch all films
in thier entirety in order not to miss hidden gems. Please comment on the
films. Thanks Cortina fans.
cortina restoration pt47
Mk3 Cortina GXL 1971 Ford restoration of PNO 922K . In this video we
rebuild the front end using new panels. The old cortina front end is cut at
the chassis legs and removed as a rolling unit. Dont forget to leave us
some feedback please and vote. Thanks from team swampy
Copy of Ford Cortina Mk3 -'Swampy' goes home.
My car had same owners for 40 years, bought brand new from Doe Motors,
Maldon, Essex by Neil Herbert Renwick and shared by his brother, Grahame
and mother, Sylvia Renwick.Ford Cortina Mk3 GXL restoration final video.
This is the film were I take the car back to its orginal owners to show the
final restoration. 500+ miles round trip. The film also includes the
Battlesbridge classic car show. 27-28th September 2014. |
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Introduction {#Sec1}
============
Methods to obtain estimates of psychophysical functions describing processes of underlying sensory mechanisms are used in many fields of study (e.g., hearing, vision, or tactile studies). The psychophysical function describes the probability that a stimulus is detected given the stimulus strength and has a sigmoidal form (Gold & Ding, [@CR5]; Leek, Hanna, & Marshall, [@CR8]). Psychophysical parameters describing the psychophysical function, such as the threshold and the slope, can serve as a quantifier of disease, as in studies of audiology (McFadden, [@CR9]), vision (Chauhan, Tompkins, LeBlanc, & McCormick, [@CR1]; Wallis, Baker, Meese, & Georgeson, [@CR22]), and pain (Sandkühler, [@CR13]).
In a simple stimulus detection experiment, subjects are presented several stimuli with varying amplitudes to which the corresponding responses (i.e., detected or not detected) are recorded. From these stimulus-response pairs (SRPs), an estimate of the psychophysical function can be obtained (see Kingdom and Prins ([@CR6]) for an introduction to psychophysical methods). The threshold parameter is a commonly used measure to describe this function and is defined as the amplitude resulting in a 50% detection probability (Klein, [@CR7]; Treutwein, [@CR18]). The steepness of the psychophysical function at the threshold level is described by the slope parameter and provides information about the reliability of stimulus detection by the subject (Gold & Ding, [@CR5]; Strasburger, [@CR16]).
In practice, the neurological and psychological processes underlying the psychophysical function are assumed to remain stationary throughout estimations of threshold and slope in psychophysical experiments. However, fatigue, loss of attention, or a change in decisional criteria (Fründ, Haenel, & Wichmann, [@CR4]; Leek et al., [@CR8]) can result in violation of this assumption. As a result, estimates of the psychophysical threshold and slope might be impaired and are possibly unreliable.
A conceivable consequence of violation of the stationarity assumption is demonstrated in Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}. Figure [1a](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"} presents how a threshold can drift within an experiment from time-point A to B, resulting in a rightward shift of the psychophysical function on the stimulus axis. This rightward shift is depicted in Fig. [1b](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}. The two dashed lines depict the true psychophysical function at time-points A and B, respectively. In between the two time-points, the function shifts as a linear function from time-point A to B while the slope parameter remains stationary. The solid black line represents the estimate of the psychophysical function from stimulus response pairs obtained between time-points A and B when stationarity would have been assumed. As all stimulus response pairs contribute equally to the estimation, the estimate of the threshold will be similar to the averaged true threshold over the time interval A-B. As a result, the slope of the estimated curve is underestimated and therefore falsely suggests a lower accuracy of the subject to discriminate between stimulus intensities.Fig. 1(**a**) True thresholds can drift over time resulting in a different threshold value at time-point B than at time-point A. (**b**) A drift over time in the threshold can be represented as a shift of the psychophysical function to the right (e.g., from the dash-dotted curve at time-point A to the dashed curve at time-point B). A curve similar to the solid line will be estimated when stationarity of the threshold is assumed
A practical example of where non-stationarities are known to occur is when estimating the nociceptive function. Changes in nociceptive thresholds can occur, for example, due to clinical interventions (Olesen et al., [@CR11]) and experimental conditioning stimuli (Pud, Granovsky, & Yarnitsky, [@CR12]). Moreover, nociceptive detection thresholds can show a continuous increase over time during a 10-minute experiment (Doll, Buitenweg, Meijer, & Veltink, [@CR3]). Additionally, observation of the effect of time on estimations could be a relevant indicator of disease (e.g., reduced habituation is present in fibromyalgia and migraine patients (Smith et al., [@CR14]; Valeriani et al., [@CR19])).
If unwanted, the effect of time on the psychophysical function can be minimized by carefully preparing the experiment, such as increasing the time between two consecutive stimuli (von Dincklage, Olbrich, Baars, & Rehberg, [@CR21]). However, these preparations could be impractical for clinical purposes, where only a limited amount of time is available for psychophysical recordings. For these purposes, it is important to be aware of the possibility that the stationarity assumption can be violated. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to observe how a non-stationary process, resulting in a time-dependent psychophysical function, can be identified and how this affects threshold and slope estimates. Moreover, we study how these estimates can be improved by two different estimation procedures.
As a first strategy to improve estimations of the psychophysical functions, the assumption of a stationary threshold could be relaxed by allowing time to have a linear effect on the threshold. Allowing this can be done by including the times at which stimuli were presented in the estimation process (e.g., include stimulation time as a covariate in (generalized) linear regression models). Doing so might improve the slope estimates. However, this improvement might depend on the type of non-stationarity of the underlying processes. Not only linear drifts of the psychophysical function but also more complex nonlinear drifts might occur (Milne, Kay, & Irwin, [@CR10]).
As a second strategy, nonlinear changes in a threshold over time can be observed by using a threshold tracking paradigm. This paradigm uses a time-window including a number of the most recent SRPs to obtain a momentary estimate of the threshold (Doll et al., [@CR3]; von Dincklage, Hackbarth, Schneider, Baars, & Rehberg, [@CR20]). This window is shifted each time a new single SRP is obtained. Therefore, this paradigm could be used as a first identifier of non-stationary behavior.
How threshold and slope estimates are affected by non-stationary processes depends on its time-dependent properties and on the estimation procedure. In human psychophysical experiments, the true threshold and slope are unknown and thus can only be estimated. However, computer simulations allow the true psychophysical parameters to be defined and therefore allow evaluating the estimates. We used a Monte Carlo simulation approach to generate stimulus response pairs. A psychophysical function underlying a non-stationary process was modeled by means of a drifting threshold. The true threshold was defined as (1) a constant function, (2) a linear increasing function, or (3) a saturating exponential function. Three different estimation procedures were used to obtain estimates of the threshold and the slope of the psychophysical function using the simulated SRPs. In addition to the simulations, we illustrate the estimation procedures on data of two human subjects coming from a previous study (Doll et al., [@CR3]).
Methods {#Sec2}
=======
Estimates of the psychophysical functions, in terms of thresholds and slopes coming from three different estimation procedures, were compared by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The simulation procedures described below are similar to the procedures described in Doll et al. ([@CR3]). Several realizations of a psychophysical experiment were simulated using a stochastic psychophysical function to simulate the responses to stimulus amplitudes. Threshold drift was included in the simulations to model a non-stationary underlying process. The true threshold was defined as (1) a constant function, (2) a linear increasing function, and (3) a saturating exponential function with two different time constants. Thresholds and slopes were estimated using one out of the three estimation procedures described in the section "[Threshold and slope estimation](#Sec5){ref-type="sec"}" below. For each of the 12 experiments presented in this paper, 10,000 realizations were simulated. In addition to the simulations, psychophysical data coming from two human subjects were used to illustrate the different estimation procedures in practice. All simulations and analysis were performed with MATLAB 8.1. (MathWorks, Inc., Natick, MA).
Psychophysical model and model parameters {#Sec3}
=========================================
The probability *p* of detecting a stimulus of amplitude *x* \[mA\] was modeled with a logistic psychophysical function:$$\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$ p\left(x;\;\alpha (t),\;\beta \right)={\left(1+ \exp\;\left(\beta \left(\alpha \left(\mathrm{t}\right)-\mathrm{x}\right)\right)\right)}^{-1}, $$\end{document}$$
where *α*(*t*) and *β* were the threshold and slope parameter of the psychophysical function, respectively. Threshold drift over time was modeled as either a linear function *α*(*t*) = *α*~0~ + *θt*, with *θ* set to either 0 or 0.1 \[(mA)/min\], or as a saturating exponential function: $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$ \alpha (t)={\alpha}_0+\left(1- \exp\;\left(-\frac{t}{\tau}\right)\right) $$\end{document}$ , with the time-constant *τ* set to 1 or 3 \[min\]. The initial threshold *α*~0~ and slope *β* were set to 0.3 \[mA\] and 20 \[1/(mA)\], respectively. All simulated thresholds over time are presented in Fig. [2a](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}.Fig. 2(**a**) Four threshold functions were used: a constant threshold of 0.3 \[mA\], a linear drifting threshold with a drifting rate of 0.1 \[(mA)/min\], a slow converging threshold with a time-constant of 3 \[min\], and a fast converging threshold with a time-constant of 1 \[min\]. (**b**) A typical example of the stimulus selection procedure used in the simulations. The brackets represent the set within which a stimulus can be randomly chosen. A not-detected stimulus results in an increase of the set while a detected stimulus results in a decrease of the set
Simulated responses to a given stimulus were classified as *detected* if *ε* \< *p*(*x*), where ε is a random number drawn from a uniform distribution between 0 and 1, and as *not detected* otherwise. The random number generator was shuffled each time a new simulation was started to ensure uncorrelated realizations of simulated responses.
Stimulus selection {#Sec4}
==================
For probing the modeled psychophysical functions by SRPs, stimulus amplitudes, *x*, were selected according to an adaptive probing procedure[1](#Fn1){ref-type="fn"} described in (Doll et al., [@CR3]). The procedure started with a predefined set of 5 equidistant stimulus amplitudes between 0 and 0.3 mA, from which new stimulus amplitudes were randomly selected. All amplitudes in the set were increased by a step size of 0.1 mA after a not-detected stimulus and decreased with 0.1 mA after a detected stimulus (Fig. [2b](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}).
In our experimental paradigm, the time between two consecutive stimuli depends on the corresponding response to the previous stimulus. Human subjects hold a response button in order for the equipment to start applying electrical stimuli. If the button is not released after a stimulus is applied, a *not-detected* stimulus is assumed. After a stimulus is *detected*, subjects are to release the button, and repress it again after about a second. This procedure results in a shorter interstimulus interval after a not-detected stimulus than after a detected stimulus. In the simulations described in this study, interstimulus intervals were set to 1.5 and 3.5 seconds after a not-detected stimulus and a detected stimulus, respectively.
Threshold and slope estimation {#Sec5}
==============================
Three estimation procedures were used to obtain threshold and slope estimates. The first and second estimation procedures were generalized linear regression models with a logit link function. The first procedure assumed a stationary threshold and slope throughout the experiments, whereas the second procedure assumed that time can have a linear effect on the detection probability. From here on, we refer to the first and second procedures as the static and relaxed procedures, respectively.
The static procedure was of the form:$$\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$ logit\;\left(\pi \right)={b}_0+{b}_1X, $$\end{document}$$
where *π* is the estimated detection probability, *b*~0~ the intercept parameter and *b*~1~ the slope parameter for the stimulus amplitude X (i.e. x in Eq. [1](#Equ1){ref-type=""}).The threshold was defined as the amplitude resulting in a 0.5 detection probability:$$\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$ \alpha =X\;\left(\pi =.5\right)=-\left(\frac{b_0}{b_1}\right) $$\end{document}$$
The relaxed procedure was of the form:$$\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$ logit\;\left(\pi \right)={b}_0+{b}_1X+{b}_2T, $$\end{document}$$
where *b*~2~ is the slope parameter for the time T (i.e. t in Eq. [1](#Equ1){ref-type=""}). The threshold *α*(t) was calculated by:$$\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$ \alpha (t)=X\left(t\left|\pi =.5\right.\right)=-\left(\frac{b_0+t{b}_2}{b_1}\right) $$\end{document}$$
Single threshold and slope estimates for the static and relaxed procedure were obtained by including all the available SRPs in each realization. The threshold estimate for the relaxed procedure were based on the detection probability at t = 5 minutes.
For threshold tracks, a shifting time window was used to obtain momentary estimates of the threshold and the slope using the regression model used for the relaxed procedure (i.e., Eq. [5](#Equ5){ref-type=""} with t = the time at the center of the window). The window included 25 SRPs: 12 preceding SRPs, 12 upcoming SRPs, and the current SRP. This resulted in several threshold and slope estimates per realizations. Therefore, to obtain a single estimate, the momentary estimates were averaged resulting in a single threshold and slope estimate per realization.
Analysis {#Sec6}
========
Threshold and slope estimates were only included for analysis when the threshold estimate was between 0 and 5 mA and when the slope estimate was smaller than 50 \[1/(mA)\]. All other estimates were considered unrealistic and therefore were excluded from the dataset. Slope estimates were found to be skewed and were therefore natural log-transformed. To produce equally spaced estimates, threshold and slope tracks were linearly interpolated using a rate of 1 Hz to prevent under sampling.
Human subject experiment {#Sec7}
========================
Recordings of two human subjects who show a non-stationary threshold were selected from a previous study (Doll et al., [@CR3]). These were used to illustrate the different estimation procedures described earlier. Single cathodic square-wave electrical stimuli (with a pulse width of 525 μs) using a 5-needle electrode (Steenbergen et al., [@CR15]) were presented to the subjects' left forearm for 10 minutes. Single threshold estimates were obtained using both the static and relaxed procedures. Moreover, the threshold was tracked over time using the 25 most recent SRPs in the moving time window to obtain a momentary threshold. The relaxed procedure was used for threshold and slope estimation.
Results {#Sec8}
=======
Simulations {#Sec9}
-----------
The mean and 95% confidence intervals of threshold estimates over time obtained by the relaxed procedure and the tracking procedure are presented in Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}. The estimates are clearly dependent on time. The relaxed procedure approximates the nonlinear drift in the true threshold as linear drift, and, therefore results in estimations over time that do not follow the exponential form of the slow and fast converging thresholds. The tracking procedure, however, does follow the drift in threshold, regardless of the modeled drift.Fig. 3Mean and 95% confidence intervals of time-dependent estimated thresholds (i.e., for the relaxed (**a**) and tracking (**b**) procedures)
Figure [4a](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"} presents the mean true threshold and the mean and 95% confidence intervals of single threshold estimates obtained by all estimation procedures and all simulated psychophysical functions. Larger threshold estimates were obtained when the true threshold was increasing over time than when the threshold was kept constant. However, the estimates were similar to the mean true threshold for all estimation procedures.Fig. 4Mean and 95% confidence intervals of estimated thresholds (**a**) and natural log-transformed slopes (**b**) for the different psychophysical functions (1 indicates the constant threshold, 2 the linear increasing threshold, 3 the slow converging threshold, and 4 the fast converging threshold)
Figure [4b](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"} presents the mean and 95% confidence intervals of single log-transformed slope estimates obtained by all estimation procedures and all simulated psychophysical functions. When the true psychophysical function remained stationary, slope estimates were similar to the true slope. When the static procedure was used to estimate slopes of non-stationary psychophysical functions, slopes were underestimated, resulting in more gradual functions than the true function. Slopes were underestimated only when the true threshold was described as a saturated exponential function and estimated using the relaxed procedure. Slope estimates remained similar to the log transformed true slope value when using the tracking method, regardless of the simulated psychophysical function.
Human subject experiment {#Sec10}
------------------------
Figure [5](#Fig5){ref-type="fig"} presents the data of two human subjects where the stimulus response pairs and corresponding threshold estimates are plotted. For subject A, a threshold estimate of 0.56 mA was obtained when the static procedure was used. Using the relaxed procedure resulted in threshold estimates ranging between 0.09 and 0.95 mA from the start to the end of the experiment. Thresholds estimated by the tracking procedure resulted in similar estimates as the relaxed procedure. Estimating a single threshold for subject B, using the static procedure, resulted in an estimate of 0.31 mA. Using the relaxed procedure resulted in an estimate starting at 0.18 mA and ending at 0.44 mA at the end of the experiment. The threshold track estimated that the threshold increased from 0.18 to 0.45 mA from the start until approximately 5 minutes of the experiment. It then gradually decreased to 0.25 mA until 8 minutes and then continued to increase again to approximately 0.44 mA.Fig. 5Human subject data of two subjects. Both graphs present stimuli and corresponding responses, where the crosses and circles indicate detected and not-detected stimuli, respectively. The solid black and dotted line represent a single estimated threshold using the static procedure (Eq. [2](#Equ2){ref-type=""}) and the relaxed procedures (Eq. [4](#Equ4){ref-type=""}), respectively. The dashed line represent the threshold track. The subject in (**a**) shows an increase in threshold over time, which could be assumed to be linear. However, the subject in (**b**) shows an effect of time on the threshold where linearity is debatable
The psychophysical functions, obtained by estimating a single threshold and slope for each of the estimation procedures and each subject, are shown in Fig. [6](#Fig6){ref-type="fig"}. Estimated thresholds are similar for the three estimation procedures. However, estimates of the slope are not similar. The slope for subject A was estimated to be 0.52, 1.96, or 2.78 \[log(1/(mA))\] by using the static, relaxed, or tracking procedure, respectively. The slope for subject B was estimated to be 1.61, 1.84, or 2.56 \[log(1/(mA))\] by using the static, relaxed, or tracking procedure, respectively.Fig. 6Estimated psychophysical functions using the different estimation procedures for the two human subjects
Discussion {#Sec11}
==========
We used a Monte Carlo simulation approach to study the effect of non-stationary processes underlying the psychophysical function on the estimation of psychophysical thresholds and slopes. While the slope of the true psychophysical function was kept constant, the threshold was modeled as function of time. Estimates of the psychophysical threshold and slope were obtained from simulated stimulus response pairs, using three estimation procedures: static procedure, relaxed procedure, and threshold tracking procedure. In addition, we demonstrated the estimation procedures in two healthy human subjects for illustrative purposes.
When the processes underlying the psychophysical function resulted in a constant true threshold, estimates of the threshold obtained by the three estimation procedures were similar to the true threshold. Moreover, when the stationarity assumption was violated due to a drifting threshold, threshold estimates were similar to the mean true threshold value for all estimation procedures. However, it should be noted that approximately 240 SRPs were used for threshold estimation in this experiment. Given this number of SRPs, a high estimation precision is expected, which might be the reason why no relevant difference between the estimation procedures was found. Generally, the reliability of threshold estimates increases when more SRPs are included in the estimation process (Taylor, [@CR17]). When fewer SRPs are available (e.g., fewer than 50), a difference between the results coming from the different estimation procedures might exist. Therefore, all three estimation procedures can be used to obtain threshold estimates whenever the threshold is the only parameter of interest in an experiment and a large number of SRPs are available.
When not only a threshold estimate is of interest, but also the reliability of stimulus detection by the subject, an estimate of the slope can be obtained as well. From the simulation results, it was found that slope estimates were similar whenever the threshold was constant over time. However, the static procedure returned biased slope estimates when the threshold was drifting over time. As mentioned in the introduction, the underestimation is due to the averaging of the psychophysical functions over time (Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}). Accounting for a linear effect of time on the threshold by using the relaxed procedure improved the slope estimates (Fig. [4](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}). However, even though estimates obtained by the relaxed procedure were better than the static procedure, they were still biased whenever the threshold was modeled as a nonlinear function. This bias was no longer visible when the tracking paradigm was used to obtain threshold and slope estimates. As the slope estimates obtained by the tracking procedure are similar or better than those obtained by the other two procedures, we recommend preferring the tracking procedure over the other procedures in experiments where estimates of the slope are required.
In addition to threshold and slope estimates, an estimate of the effect of time on the threshold can be obtained by the relaxed procedure and tracking procedure. The relaxed procedure assumes that the threshold drifts over time with a linear rate. Nonlinear threshold changes are approximated as linear function, resulting in estimation biases. This is not the case when the tracking procedure was used; the tracking procedure assumes piecewise linearity of the threshold resulting in a lower bias, even when the threshold drifts with a nonlinear rate. However, as shown in Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}, the estimation confidence intervals are smallest when the relaxed procedure was used. This implies that the threshold estimation precision per time-point is higher when the relaxed procedure was used than when the tracking procedure was used. Therefore, if it is reasonable to state that the underlying process is either stationary or results in a linear drifting threshold, the relaxed procedure performs better than the tracking procedure. The tracking procedure could be used to obtain an indication on whether linearity could be assumed. For example, from the data obtained for subject A (Figs. [5a](#Fig5){ref-type="fig"} and [6a](#Fig6){ref-type="fig"}), it becomes immediately clear that the psychophysical curve obtained by the static procedure results in a poor fit but seems to be fit better by both the relaxed and tracking procedures. For subject B, however, it is not immediately clear what model to fit to the data. The threshold track shows a non-monotonously drifting threshold, suggesting that neither the static nor the relaxed procedure is appropriate. Therefore, in human subject experiments, the tracking procedure can be used as an indication for threshold behavior over time. If linearity seems reasonable, the relaxed procedure can be used to obtain precise threshold estimates, otherwise, the tracking procedure is recommended.
In this study, a threshold was modeled as either constant or monotonous increasing. However, in practice, non-monotonous varying thresholds may occur as well. For example, in pain experiments, a conditioning stimulus, such as immersing an extremity into painful cold water, might induce a temporary change in the threshold (Pud et al., [@CR12]). Estimating a single threshold in these cases does not reflect any dynamic properties of the underlying processes. Therefore, a time-profile of the threshold could then be obtained by either estimating several single thresholds during the experiment or by tracking the threshold using the tracking paradigm.
Another limitation of the present study was that the slope of the psychophysical function was defined to have a constant value. In human subject experiments, however, the slope might show changes over time as well. Assuming a stationary slope, while the slope is non-stationary is likely to affect the estimation process. However, because we did not model a time-dependent slope, further studies are necessary to identify its effect on the estimation quality.
Conclusions {#Sec12}
===========
We demonstrated that non-stationarities in processes underlying the psychophysical function resulting in threshold drift affect the estimation of thresholds and slopes. Slopes were underestimated, resulting in more gradual psychophysical functions than the true one. Accounting for linear effects of time on the threshold in the estimation process improves the slope estimates. However, slopes are still underestimated when the threshold drifts in a way that is not accounted for in the estimation model (i.e., nonlinear drift). Tracking the psychophysical function over time using a window shifting over time, and then averaging all estimates to obtain a single estimate, results in better threshold and slope estimates, regardless of the non-stationarity. We recommend using the tracking procedure in human psychophysical detection experiments to obtain estimates of the threshold and slope and to identify the mode of non-stationarity.
In the cited reference this procedure was named "random staircase procedure". However, we propose to change this into "adaptive probing procedure" to avoid confusion with the random staircase procedure described by e.g. Cornsweet ([@CR2]).
This research is supported by the Dutch Technology Foundation STW, which is part of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and partly funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
|
Smith College Now Admits Trans Women
After years of criticism, the women's college has formally changed its admission policy.
Smith College has formally changed its admission policy to be inclusive of trans-feminine people.
The prestigious women's college, which in the past has come under fire for refusing to admit trans students, released an announcement this week clarifying that it will consider any applicant who identifies as a woman.
"Applicants who were assigned male at birth but identify as women are eligible for admission," the statement reads.
In the announcement, structured as a Q&A, Smith College also stipulated that it would not accept transgender men or genderqueer applicant who do not identify as female on the Common Application.
However, the "admission policy does not affect students who transition during their time at Smith," the policy notes. "Once admitted, every student has the full support of the college and this includes transmen."
The changes will go into effect for applicants in fall 2015.
Smith College becomes the seventh prominent women's university to announce a formal trans-inclusive policy, following schools like Bryn Mawr College, Simmons College, Mount Holyoke College, Wellesley College, and Mills College.
Smith College, in particular, has come under fire for its policy since 2013, gaining national attention for denying an application from trans student Calliope Wong because she was not legally recognized as female in her home state of Connecticut.
After a Change.org petition gathered 4,000 signatures in support of Wong, Smith's dean of admissions, Debra Shaver, announced that a committee would begin meeting to discuss the needs of prospective trans students. Smith officials said they had temporarily stopped rejecting applications from trans women during that time.
"Is Smith College still a women's college?" is the first question listed in the new announcement. The response?
"Yes. Smith College’s mission — to educate women of promise for lives of distinction — remains unchanged. The board’s decision reaffirms this mission in light of society’s evolving understanding of female identity." |
Whether you’re a player, creator, or developer, your group is always there for you. They give you ideas when you’re trying to come up with the next hit game, backup when enemies are breaking through your defenses, and inspiration when you’re designing the perfect shirt or composing the next hit tune. They’re your new friends, your old pals, and your hard-working partners.
That’s why we’ve rolled out our refreshed Group Details page. From your group’s description to your games, your roles, your allies, and store: everything’s placed front-and-center in a great new interface.
The new Group Details page features a host of improvements. You’ll notice that the Group Wall now features infinite scrolling so you can quickly browse through conversations. We’ve even added the option to cancel join requests if you tried to join a manual approval group. Plus, not only does the new layout put your group members and roles at your fingertips, but you’ll also have access to all the same features and convenience whether you’re using a computer or mobile device. No matter how you play, it’s never been easier to join, promote, support, and keep in touch with your favorite people on Roblox.
Phasing Out Clans
We continuously evaluate our features as we update the platform. Now that we have sunsetted Leaderboards and Player Points, Clans no longer contribute to the Groups experience. For that reason, we are phasing out Clans and giving everyone who purchased one a refund. This will enable us to continue to improve the core experience of Groups and add new features.
Just as you never stop creating and exploring, we never stop looking for ways to make the Roblox platform better. Stay tuned for more updates to Groups in the next few months! |
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if (process.env.READABLE_STREAM === 'disable' && Stream) {
module.exports = Stream;
exports = module.exports = Stream.Readable;
exports.Readable = Stream.Readable;
exports.Writable = Stream.Writable;
exports.Duplex = Stream.Duplex;
exports.Transform = Stream.Transform;
exports.PassThrough = Stream.PassThrough;
exports.Stream = Stream;
} else {
exports = module.exports = require('./lib/_stream_readable.js');
exports.Stream = Stream || exports;
exports.Readable = exports;
exports.Writable = require('./lib/_stream_writable.js');
exports.Duplex = require('./lib/_stream_duplex.js');
exports.Transform = require('./lib/_stream_transform.js');
exports.PassThrough = require('./lib/_stream_passthrough.js');
}
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#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Generate a minimal filesystem for CRUX/Linux and load it into the local
# docker as "cruxlinux"
# requires root and the crux iso (http://crux.nu)
set -e
die() {
echo >&2 "$@"
exit 1
}
[ "$#" -eq 1 ] || die "1 argument(s) required, $# provided. Usage: ./mkimage-crux.sh /path/to/iso"
ISO=${1}
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TMP=$(mktemp -d ${TMPDIR:-/var/tmp}/XXXXXXXXXX)
VERSION=$(basename --suffix=.iso $ISO | sed 's/[^0-9.]*\([0-9.]*\).*/\1/')
# Mount the ISO
mount -o ro,loop $ISO $CRUX
# Extract pkgutils
tar -C $TMP -xf $CRUX/tools/pkgutils#*.pkg.tar.gz
# Put pkgadd in the $PATH
export PATH="$TMP/usr/bin:$PATH"
# Install core packages
mkdir -p $ROOTFS/var/lib/pkg
touch $ROOTFS/var/lib/pkg/db
for pkg in $CRUX/crux/core/*; do
pkgadd -r $ROOTFS $pkg
done
# Remove agetty and inittab config
if (grep agetty ${ROOTFS}/etc/inittab 2>&1 > /dev/null); then
echo "Removing agetty from /etc/inittab ..."
chroot ${ROOTFS} sed -i -e "/agetty/d" /etc/inittab
chroot ${ROOTFS} sed -i -e "/shutdown/d" /etc/inittab
chroot ${ROOTFS} sed -i -e "/^$/N;/^\n$/d" /etc/inittab
fi
# Remove kernel source
rm -rf $ROOTFS/usr/src/*
# udev doesn't work in containers, rebuild /dev
DEV=$ROOTFS/dev
rm -rf $DEV
mkdir -p $DEV
mknod -m 666 $DEV/null c 1 3
mknod -m 666 $DEV/zero c 1 5
mknod -m 666 $DEV/random c 1 8
mknod -m 666 $DEV/urandom c 1 9
mkdir -m 755 $DEV/pts
mkdir -m 1777 $DEV/shm
mknod -m 666 $DEV/tty c 5 0
mknod -m 600 $DEV/console c 5 1
mknod -m 666 $DEV/tty0 c 4 0
mknod -m 666 $DEV/full c 1 7
mknod -m 600 $DEV/initctl p
mknod -m 666 $DEV/ptmx c 5 2
IMAGE_ID=$(tar --numeric-owner -C $ROOTFS -c . | docker import - crux:$VERSION)
docker tag $IMAGE_ID crux:latest
docker run -i -t crux echo Success.
# Cleanup
umount $CRUX
rm -rf $ROOTFS
rm -rf $CRUX
rm -rf $TMP
|
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Rangers stick to script in Game 2
Rangers stick to script in Game 2
ARLINGTON -- Rangers hitting coach Clint Hurdle began drilling the lessons into his players heads during the relaxed days of Spring Training in Arizona
"Use the whole field," he would tell them. "Don't lose confidence with two strikes."
Those philosophies paid big dividends in the bright lights of October as the Rangers roughed up the Yankees' Phil Hughes for 10 hits in his four-plus innings en route to a 7-2 win in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday.
Of the 10 hits, only three of them were pulled. The rest either went the opposite way or to center.
"We were able to get good reads early," Hurdle said. "We spent so much time from Spring Training until now focusing on hitting the ball the other way, hit the ball hard the other way, live in the big part of the field. The guys have been very good about it, very diligent in their work, and it has reaped us some rewards."
In addition to reminding them about it every series, Hurdle would sometimes have them take "no peek" batting practice where all they did was keep their head on the point of contact while hitting the ball the other way.
"Just not try to get result oriented and get caught up in the high flies," Hurdle said.
Five of the 10 hits came with two strikes, another stat that brought a smile to Hurdle's face.
"What we do best is stay aggressive in the strike zone with the fastball and try to spit on spin [lay off breaking balls] until we get deeper in the count with two strikes," Hurdle said. "If there's a ball that we think we can bang that's soft, we'll go ahead and take a whack at it.
"You don't want to hit in two-strike counts all the time, because the league average is .188. But when you get there, know that you still have a pitch to deal with and the guy on the mound is still human. Don't fall into the bad trap where you think you're on the defensive. Stay proactive, you don't have to be reactive. When it's out of his hand, he can't do anything more with it, so you can get something done."
Being aggressive with early fastballs and hitting late-count breaking balls was a strategy that the Rangers followed to the letter, much to the frustration of Hughes, who struggled to find the feel for his secondary pitches.
"They were definitely aggressive," Hughes said. "They were jumping on first-pitch fastballs. They didn't really allow me to get ahead in the counts too many times. You have to give them credit sometimes. It just seemed like all my fastballs over the plate were finding their barrels."
Second baseman Ian Kinsler was 1-for-2 against Hughes with an RBI triple in the fifth, which came on an 0-2 pitch that was driven the opposite way.
"He was throwing a lot of fastballs away, and we're going to take whatever they're going to give us," Kinsler said. "But other than that, we're just trying to see pitches in the middle of the plate and get our hacks in."
Third baseman Michael Young said that the Rangers' approach does not change from pitcher to pitcher.
"We try to keep it as simple as possible," he said. "We want to make sure we're aggressive in the strike zone. We don't want to chase; we never want to get outside the zone. If people throw pitches we think we can handle, we want to make an aggressive pass at it. We try to keep it as simple as possible. [The opposite-field hits] just happened to go that way, to be honest with you."
Steve Gilbert is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. |
Q:
Using Clarifai's models locally
I wanted to ask if it is possible to use Clarifai's system offline, meaning accessing the trained models on the device so it can work without access to the internet.
Thanks
A:
Kunal from Clarifai here.
We support this with our Mobile SDK which is currently in limited preview. You can get more information here, https://www.clarifai.com/get-sdk
|
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Want to talk about stuff? Is the stuff not new thread worthy? Well here is a general discussion thread.
Chris Maule - So the bouncer asked me if I had any knives or guns. I said 'really? There's no way I'm hiding a weapon in these jeans'. He didn't find it very humorous. :-/
DFSniper
03-20-2010 11:06 PM
Re: Soc Gdt
its 1am, im bored, hungry, and not tired one bit.
marvin-martian
03-20-2010 11:36 PM
Re: Soc Gdt
its 230 am and i just got some taco bell on the way home from a friends. mmmmmm
xsvly-fat
03-21-2010 12:46 PM
Re: Soc Gdt
I miss the bacon, potato and cheese burrito from Taco Bell. That was amazing. However two 5 layer burritos for less then 2 bucks :up:
bigred76
03-21-2010 03:57 PM
Re: Soc Gdt
I don't like their 5 layer burrito. Its nasty and gives me the ****s.
shunut
03-21-2010 05:47 PM
Re: Soc Gdt
Taco Bell is nasty.
fatkidfrompbaz
03-21-2010 06:32 PM
Re: Soc Gdt
I love the chicken chalupas
xsvly-fat
03-21-2010 10:09 PM
Re: Soc Gdt
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigred76
(Post 249322)
I don't like their 5 layer burrito. Its nasty and gives me the ****s.
Yeah but its cheap... Aha.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shunut
(Post 249324)
Taco Bell is nasty.
I love Taco Bell. In N Out > Everything else. But we don't have one up here :(
Quote:
Originally Posted by fatkidfrompbaz
(Post 249325)
I love the chicken chalupas
If I'm not broke I always get the chalupas.
marvin-martian
03-22-2010 06:31 AM
Re: Soc Gdt
i like taco bell because its cheap and pretty good. and its open at 3am. fourth meal to ggooooooo. i mean, a beefy 5 layer for 98 cents drive thru. cant beat that. i just with theyd bring back the bacon cheddar gordita crunch. it was delicious...but too expensive.
buffblackbird2002
03-22-2010 09:56 AM
Re: Soc Gdt
Acting on a sarcastic remark is not always the greatest idea. that is all. |
DESCRIPTION (adapted from the Abstract): In the last decade, there has been an explosion in information about biological structure-ranging from the structure of macromolecules to the structure of organs and organisms. The National Library of Medicine has targeted the representation, management, and manipulation of biological structure as a key element of its mission. Biological structure has special attributes that make computing with it challenging, including the variability in an individual structure over time, the range of structures existing within a population, and the variability in the degree of certainty with which we can determine biological structures. Since we use our knowledge of biological structure for a variety of critically important tasks (ranging from drug design to medical treatment planning), the representation of biological structure and of that structure's variation is a particularly challenging and important task. Taking advantage of the results of the previous grant period, we present a two-part plan for continuing our work on using probabilistic representations of structure to generate, modify, and analyze molecular structure. In the first part, we will study the information content of different sources of structural data (both experimental and theoretical), and the effects of this information on the quality of the computed structures. In the second part, we will develop and apply new methods for recognizing the functional features of uncertain molecular models, in order to bridge the gap between modeled structures and their use in predicting/understanding function. Finally, in addition to our controlled tests with synthetic data, we will also test our methods in three biological application areas. First, we will continue focused collaborations with crystallographers studying viral structure, seeking clues to aspects of their function with our site recognition code. Second, we will collaborate with a group studying filamentous proteins and nucleic acids to extend our site recognition code for these molecules. Third, we will test both our model estimation and function recognition capabilities on proteins encoded by the malaria genome. Malaria is an important cause of worldwide disease, and the proteins within its genome have, for the most part, not been the target of experimental structure determinations. Therefore, we will leverage other efforts in malaria genomics within our laboratory by attempting to estimate structures and assess their function. |
Pelvic floor disorders in women with gynecologic malignancies: a systematic review.
Pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) negatively affect quality of life in the general population, and their prevalence in gynecologic cancer survivors has not been systematically described. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of PFDs in cancer survivors. We hypothesized that the prevalence of PFDs in the gynecologic cancer population would be higher than in the general female population. We searched PubMed (1809 to present), EMBASE (1974 to present), and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) through May 2017. The search combined subject headings, title, and abstract words for gynecologic cancer, PFDs, and prevalence. Any studies evaluating the prevalence of PFDs in gynecologic malignancies were included. A total of 550 articles met the designated search criteria and 31 articles were included in this review. In cervical cancer survivors, before treatment the prevalences of stress urinary incontinence (SUI), urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) and fecal incontinence (FI) were 24-29%, 8-18% and 6%, respectively, and after treatment the prevalences of SUI, UUI, urinary retention, FI, fecal urge, dyspareunia and vaginal dryness were 4-76%, 4-59%, 0.4-39%, 2-34%, 3-49%, 12-58% and 15-47%, respectively. In uterine cancer survivors, before treatment the prevalences of SUI, UUI and FI were 29-36%, 15-25% and 3%, respectively, and after treatment the prevalences of urinary incontinence (UI) and dyspareunia were 2-44% and 7-39%, respectively. In vulvar cancer survivors, after treatment the prevalences of UI, SUI and FI were 4-32%, 6-20% and 1-20%, respectively. In ovarian cancer survivors, the prevalences of SUI, UUI, prolapse and sexual dysfunction were 32-42%, 15-39%, 17% and 62-75%, respectively. PFDs are prevalent in gynecologic cancer survivors and this is an important area of clinical concern and future research. |
General of Panzer Troops Friedrich Paulus's Sixth Army and Colonel General Hermann Hoth's Fourth Panzer Army spent September of 1942 battering the Soviet Southeastern Front's 62nd Army (commanded by Lieutenant General Anton Ivanovich Lopatin until relieved in mid-September by Lieutenant General Vasilii Ivanovich Chuikov) back into Stalingrad and to toward the Volga River. The initial German plan for taking Stalingrad had been for the XIV Panzer Corps to penetrate south along the Volga from where it had reached Stalingrad's northern suburbs late in the day on August 23rd. Meanwhile the LI Army Corps would strike from the west, driving the Soviet 62nd Army before it. Finally, Fourth Panzer Army's XXXXVIII Panzer Corps would penetrate the city from the southeast.
Nevertheless, Soviet pressure on XIV Panzer Corps caused Paulus to modify his planned assault. This alteration came at a critical point in the battle when the Soviet 62nd Army was a reeling, beaten force anything but the veteran formation it would become under Chuikov's subsequent command. In particular, the Stalingrad Front's 1st Guards and 66th Armies had forced XIV Panzer Corps to shift assets away from Stalingrad's northern suburbs. Paulus redirected significant air assets north to the corridor battle and on September 5th ordered LI Army Corps to temporarily halt it's advance into Stalingrad. When resumed LI Army Corps subsequent attack ended up being more to the northeast than east, further providing breathing space for a 62nd Army suffering heavily under the hammer blows being delivered by the Fourth Panzer Army's XXXXVIII Panzer Corps (the southern prong of the German advance into Stalingrad). In fact, rather than the German Sixth Army spearheading the initial assault into Stalingrad proper, the Fourth Panzer Army played an equally significant role during much of September. For that matter the linchpin of the German assault into the southern part of Stalingrad early in September of 1942 revolved around the efforts of the understrength but capably led 24th Panzer Division.
Nevertheless, the first week of September had proven tough going for the 24th Panzer Division (pictured with this article advancing in Stalingrad's suburbs). Though this was in part because the division had been so depleted that most of the time it could put no more than three dozen tanks onto the battlefield, the reality was that the Soviet defensive effort also had been extremely stout. Such was the intensity of the fighting that the 24th Panzer Division's commader had been badly wounded, and his replacement killed. Then, after a temporary commander led the division for the better part of a week, Major General Arno Lenski took over as the 24th Panzer's commanding officer on September 14th. However, during these weeks the 24th Panzer was able to work closely with the 14th Panzer Division (also able to field 35-40 tanks) and the 29th Motorized Division (with roughly 25 tanks in running condition and all together with these three divisions forming XXXXVIII Panzer Corps) and pound the 62nd Army's positions south of the eastward flowing Tsaritsa River. This river, because of its position in a deep ravine, helped shield the southern part of the city center from direct attack. Nevertheless the defending Soviet 244th Rifle Division could not hold up to such a concentrated assault. An assault that included not only as many as 100 tanks then in operating condition within the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps three divisions but also featured ample air support from Lutflotte 4. Before we look at this attack it is also important to remember that though the Germans were throwing approximately 100 tanks at the Soviet defenders it could have been worse.
For instance in late July the 24th Panzer Divsion and 29th Motorized Division alone could put nearly twice as many tanks into the field (188 total tanks, 138 of whom on July 30th were operational with the 24th Panzer Division) as they in conjunction could with the additional 14th Panzer Division one month later. Moreover, during July the 24th Panzer Division's daily number of operational tanks had declined by only 37 panzers from when it had started Blue - indicative of the nature of the pursuit operations characterizing a significant portion of that month. But because of the decision to cancel Blue's third phase as planned and the consequent heavy fighting caused by the grant of time to the Red Army to rush reserves into the region as well as the tremendous distances covered by Fourth Panzer Army as it was shuttled form Army Group B to A and then back to B again during the operational dissonance that defined Blue during this period tank readiness rates plunged throughout August.
Nevertheless, in spite of the substantial drop in armored readiness rates as the second week of September had begun, and the Stalingrad Front's first Kotluban offensive peetered out, Luftflotte 4 had been able to concentrate substantial airpower to support the German drive into the city. Between September 5th and 12th alone Luftflotte 4 flew approximately 938 sorties per day. In response, the woefully understrength Soviet 8th Air Army could only respond with a third as many sorties. Even after Stavka redirected the Soviet 16th Air Army to assist 8th Air Army it wasn't enough. On September 9th the 24th Panzer Division (with 24 tanks in operating condition) spearheaded the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps in a drive that threatened to split 62nd Army from the 64th Army in Stalingrad's southern sector and suburbs. At this point, Eremenko (Stalingrad Front's commander) requested Lopatin be relieved. Stavka responded, and General Chuikov took over 62nd Army and its 54,000 men and 115 tanks. Most of the 62nd Army's armor resided in the 27th and 133rd Tank Battalions and 23rd Tank Corps. Chuikov's manpower was spread between the aforementioned armored formations as well as twelve rifle divisions, four rifle brigades, and two motorized brigades.
Chuikov's position couldn't have been worse. The night after he took command the German 29th Motorized Division followed the path blazed by 24th Panzer Division and reached the Volga River in Stalingrad's southern suburb of Kuporosnoe - isolating the battered 62nd Army in Stalingad. In just over one week of fighting the Soviet 62nd and 64th Army's went from putting 104,000 men and 225 or so tanks into the field, to only 90,000 men and 144 tanks on September 13th. Some 54,000 of these men and 100 of the tanks were in 62nd Army, with roughly half of these tanks in the Army's 23rd Tank Corps. In opposition, the German forces fighting in Stalingrad included the 29th Motorized Division, 14th and 24th Panzer Divisions, and 71st, 94th, 295th, and 389th Infantry Divisions as well as three assault gun battalions; all together 80,000 men and 110 tanks and assault guns.
Nevertheless, the Germans inadvertantly helped Chuikov when General Hermann Hoth, commanding Fourth Panzer Army, turned the 14th Panzer Division south to attack the 64th Army's bridgehead over the Volga in Stalingrad's southern suburbs. This left the 24th Panzer Division as the sole panzer division assaulting Stalingrad proper in the middle of September. Moreover, the grind of weeks of intense fighting had virtually taken the panzer out of the panzer division. On most days in September 1942 the 24th Panzer fielded around 20 tanks in operating condition, with the division's armor park peaking at 34 tanks in running condition on October 17th before dropping to around 14 'runners' early in November. This meant that the 24th Panzer division had the equivalent of just over one full strength company of tanks in operating condition on any given day during most of the battle for Stalingrad.
The Soviet attacks northwest of Stalingrad tied down XIV Panzer Corps to such an extant that Stalingrad's southern and central sectors constituted the primary focus of Paulus' efforts in September. To that end, in the middle of the month Hoth transferred command over XXXXVIII Panzer Corps to Paulus. The main German assault began on September 13th, spearheaded by the LI Army Corps in the center and XXXXVIII Panzer Corps to the south. Though the intense German artillery and air bombardment severed much of Chuikov's ability to communicate with his army's component rifle divisions and tank brigades, the 62nd Army still managed to post a strong defensive effort, including against the 24th Panzer Division which faced not only the 244th Rifle Division but the 133rd Tank Brigade's nearly two dozen heavy KV tanks. Chuikov aggressively counter-attacked the slow-going German advance, but achieved little other than weakening his defensive front. As a result, the 71st Infantry Division from LI Army Corps was able to drive east to within hundreds of meters of Chuikov's command post and even reach the shores of the Volga near the vital central landing stage. Nevertheless, the timely arrival of the 10,000 man strong 13th Guards Rifle Division helped stabilize the situation. In contrast, Paulus failed to exploit the 71st Infantry Division's advance.
Nevertheless, on September 15th it was the 24th Panzer Division's turn to lead the way in Stalingrad's southern sector. The 24th Panzer Division divided into two kampfgruppen for it's attack, Edelsheim and Hellermann. Of the two, Kampfgruppe Edelsheim was by far the stronger, containing the bulk of 24th Panzer Division's hitting power as follows:
10 tanks from Panzer Abteilung Lancken
26th Panzer Grenadier-Regiment plus 1st Battalion from the 21st Panzer Grenadier-Regiment
Part of 670th Panzer Jager Battalion (including five 76.2mm self-propelled guns)
2nd Company, 40th Panzer Jager Battalion
4th Motorcycle Battalion (minus it's 1st Company)
40th Panzer Pioneer Battalion's 1st and 3rd Companies as well as all flamethrowers
89th Panzer Artillery Regiment (minus it's 4th Battery)
Within hours of beginning its early morning assault, Kampfgruppe Edelsheim (supported by elements of Kampfgruppe Hellermann and Luftflotte 4) advanced two kilometers into the southern part of Stalingrad and then turned north to slice another two kilometers toward central Stalingrad, losing only five of its 25 tanks in the process (with three knocked out by friendly fire from 71st Infantry Division). Now, four kilometers may not sound like much, but in the context of the fighting within Stalingrad a single day advance of this depth was monumental.
A follow-up thrust on September 16th further destablized 62nd Army's defensive positions to such an extant Chuikov was forced to withdraw his left-wing deep into the city's southern sector, albeit with several Soviet units infiltrating and recapturing important buildings lost in the initial German thrust. The Germans lacked the infantry to consolidate the gains made by 24th Panzer Division and completely encircle the temporarily cut-off Soviet troops. This allowed many Soviet units to escape the carnage in part and dig in amongst the Grain Elevator, Lumber factory, and Food Combine's numerous buildings. Together, this would greatly complicate the German attack as XXXXVIII Panzer Corps was forced to deal with dug-in Soviet infantry not only in areas it thought it had cleared but before it as well. The effort to dislodge these forces from the southern part of Stalingrad would consume much German effort in the final weeks of September. Here again Paulus may have acted imprudently. He yanked 24th Panzer from the line to redeploy north to assist in the attack on the factory district - prematurely as it turned out given the 94th Infantry Division (also with orders to reploy north) and 29th Motorized Division would struggle throughout much of the remainder of September to clear the rest of southern Stalingrad.
Nevertheless, before it was pulled from the line 24th Panzer Division and the 71st Infantry Division had been able to link up on September 17th. This meant that the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps and LI Army Corps held a unified front for the first time in the battle. Furthermore, the 244th Rifle Division and 42nd Rifle Brigade had been cut off in a pocket just south of central Stalingrad. In addition, the Germans had brought substantial combat power into the city center and less than one kilometer from Chuikov's command post near the Volga. All told, the Soviet 62nd Army had been pushed into a narrow strip reaching at best four kilometers west of the Volga and running seventeen kilometers along the river's length. Moreover, the 62nd Army had suffered tremendous armored losses in Southern Stalingrad; totalling 46 tanks and including 23 T-34's. The 24th Panzer Division, however, was down to 23 tanks in operating condition: seven Panzer II, nine Panzer III, 5 Panzer IV (four with the long barrel 75mm gun), and two command tanks. Though the southern half of the city was in danger of falling Chukov once again received timely support as the Stalingrad Front's Second Kotluban offensive kicked off to the northwest of Stalingrad. Moreover, Chuikov received reinforcements that would make the German task that much harder within the city; with this time Eremenko granting him the 92nd Naval Infantry Brigade and 137th Tank Brigade (albeit with the latter consisting of only 15 T-60 light tanks hardly capable of replacing the substantial losses in T-34's endured in the fight against XXXXVIII Panzer Corps).
This highlights something else that is often overlooked within Stalingrad, the reinforcement battle. Though the German Sixth Army hammered the Soviet 62nd Army, Chuikov's command received a steady drip of reinforcements from Stavka that enabled him to largely maintain his army's strength at approximately 50,000 men throughout much of the battle. The 13th Guards Rifle Division's deployment had been crucial in restoring 62nd Army's defensive front at a critical point in the battle when Chuikov's command was on the verge of being totally defeated. In fact, throughout September and October Stavka would feed into Stalingrad nine rifle divisions, two tank brigades, two naval rifle brigades, and numerous smaller units - roughly 100,000 men.
In contrast, throughout all of September and October the Germans only added three infantry divisions to those fighting in the city (100th Jager, 79th Infantry Division, and 305th Infantry Division) all while shuttling 14th Panzer, 24th Panzer, and 29th Motorized Division in and out of the battle. Moreover, the divisions fighting in the city weakened over time. The Sixth Army should have fielded 132 combat battalions in its ranks, yet by mid-September could only deploy 109 battalions. Core divisions participating in the fighting within Stalingrad were already chewed up. For instance, the losses sustained by the 389th Infantry Division meant it consolidated its nine infantry battalions down to six. Moreover, manpower was just part of it. On September 25, 1942 the 389th Infantry Division was short its establishment strength of 587 machine-guns by a whopping 352 such weapons, 115 mortars (having 47 on hand instead of its authorized 162), and on average possessing shortages of 25% in artillery, anti-tank guns, and nebelwerfers
Thus, in spite of booming German armaments production going to the army (fueled by a huge increase in the army's steel allotment) that output was not being used to effectively support Army Group B, no less the Sixth Army and Fourth Panzer Army. During 1942 the German economy dramatically increased its year-over-year production of tanks, assault guns, machine-guns, mortars, light artillery, and anti-aircraft weapons - to name a few such weapons. Now, the typical response there is that the increasingly active Red Army and high tempo of operations eliminated most of that output. However, that's simply not true. For example, though the Wehrmacht wrote off 1,708 armored fighting vehicles as destroyed between July 1st and December 1st the German economy in turn actually produced 2,730 such replacement vehicles with the total inventory of tanks, assault guns, and self-propelled anti-tank weapons rising from 6,749 to 7,798 such vehicles. The majority of these weapons were qualitatively superior to those manufactured earlier in the year - with Panzer IV and StuG's produced in 1942's second half almost uniformly armed with high-velocity cannon for example and replacing older models. For instance stocks of obsolete Panzer II and Pz 38(t) light tanks with the Ostheer dropped from 732 in July to 271 in November. By all accounts in October of 1942 the German army didn't just have enough weapons to equip its 246 divisions, but also equip the growing Waffen-SS, and Ersatzheer - and do so with far more potent weaponry than available the year prior.
As it was, by the fall of 1942 the German army held huge surpluses of weapons such as machine-guns, mortars, 20mm anti-aircraft guns with small but still substantial surpluses of artillery pieces. So why wasn't Army Group B being reequipped as needed? What was going on? Logistics and questionable German decision-making comprises much of the answer to those questions. For instance, during the last six months of 1942 the combination of factory output, the fruits of victory and related capture of enemy models, and additional measures to requisition civilian vehicles for military use meant that the German army added over 100,000 trucks to its fleet. But far too few of these vehicles were being sent to Southern Russia. And this was a huge problem. Though not as much an infrastructure wasteland as North Africa, the reality is that Southern Russia possessed nowhere the rail lines neccessary to support Army Groups A and B. Moreover, increased partisan activity was having a noticeable impact on the availability of rail lines behind the Ostheer's entire front. Regardless of the fact German forces in Russia needed to alleviate this and ideally do so with more of the manpower then sitting in the Egyptian strategic cul-de-sac, cooling its heels in Western Europe, and being used to form new divisions Army Groups A and B also needed those trucks and largely were not getting them.
But beyond logistical concerns we also have German decision-making in other spheres. For intance during the same time the 24th Panzer Division was doing much to clear Stalingrad in spite of having only 25 tanks on average in operating condition the Ostheer actually saw its tank park rise 2,060 machines in July to 2,677 in November. At the same time however spare parts shortages went hand-in-hand with too few trucks and rail lines. As a result and in Army Groups A and B in particular the number of operational tanks lagged the headline numbers quoted above. Again, Army Groups North and Center had enough rail lines available to ship things like spare parts but with Army Groups A and B not so blessed the failure to resource Blue's army's with more trucks, instead for example sending trucks to maintain the thousand mile supply line of Rommel's Panzerarmee in Egypt, was one of many reasons a German war machine producing all the tanks needed by its combat forces was failing to get them not only to where they needed to go but keep them in running condition once they were there. Again, and not for the last time the problems afflicting the German campaign had less to do with shortages in terms of raw numbers of this or that but horrible mismanagement of existing resources and a failure to prioritize.
Nevertheless given all of the above ended up putting Army Group B at the bottom of the priority list in terms of reinforcements - this highlights all the more why the Germans needed to wrap up the fight for the city as fast as possible. For the Germans, the tragic irony is that even with the failure to concetrate economic output where need be they could have done exactly that. The Germans in many cases proved nearly as much a detriment to their chances as did the Red Army. For instance, there was Paulus' lack of timeliness when he reinforced his units in Stalingrad. One can only imagine what would have happened had the 100th Jager Division been available to exploit the 71st Infantry Divisions drive to the Volga in mid-September, or the 24th Panzer Division's near contemporaneous drive through southern Stalingrad; instead of what happened in reality when Paulus waited until September 25th to bring up the division as a reinforcement. In contrast, Stavka acted much more decisively in bringing in reserves when needed. Then again, Stavka had prepared for such circumstances whereas the Germans had not. Now, before you scream 'wait a second the Red Army was generating rifle divisions as fast as they were being destroyed so of course Stavka had the reserves available' - don't forget that for all the post-war talk about German manpower shortages and quantitative factors influencing the war's outcome the reality was that the Germans had enough available combat power to have decisively influenced the battles in Southern Russia: they just chose unwisely in deploying it.
To that point, please note what we are discussing when we are talking about "reserves". The 13th Guards Rifle Division numbered 10,000 men, the 100th Jager Division was a comparably sized force. Yet, the 13th Guards Rifle Division, though virtually destroyed within days of being committed to battle, proved just enough to stop the Germans before they split the city in two and made 62nd Army's survival in Stalingrad completely untenable. The narrowness of success or failure within Stalingrad is often overlooked when the wisdom of the Stavka's strategy in using 62nd Army as a sponge to absorb Sixth Army's attention is considered. Simply put, Stalin and Stavka were playing a dangerous game as they built up their reserves on Sixth Army's flanks.
In both September and October the Sixth Army came exceedingly close to destroying the 62nd Army and taking Stalingrad. If Paulus had been a more aggressive commander, or if the German high command had acted with more deciseveness in prosecuting the campaign in Southern Russia (that Hitler himself had just months before declared would decide the war) then the battle for Stalingrad may have ended well before November began. Regardless of Paulus' tardiness in deploying his reserves, it has to be considered what was possible if Paulus hadn't needed to look over his shoulder as Stalingrad Front pounded into Sixth Army's northwestern flank (a prominent reason 100th Jager wasn't redeployed earlier from XI Army Corps). For instance, if he had possessed even one more infantry or panzer division on hand to exploit circumstances exactly such as those created by 71st Infantry Division or 24th Panzer Division in mid-September then in all likelihood Stalingrad would have fallen.
What makes this all the more galling from the German perspective is that such reserves existed. For instance, veteran German panzer and infantry divisions spent the entire month of September in a strategic dead-end deep in the North African desert with by that point no ability to press further east into Egypt or defeat the British Commonwealth forces arrayed before them. This happened at not only enormous logistical expense to the Germans, but happened at the same time the war-deciding battles in southern Russia played out in such a way that single divisions had an outsized influence on battlefields where victory or defeat came down to mere kilometers or even hundreds of meters. |
Hilda Melander
Hilda Melander (born 1 December 1991) is a Swedish former tennis player.
In her career, she won three singles titles and nine doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 8 September 2014, she reached her best singles ranking of world number 311. On 10 November 2014, she peaked at number 224 in the doubles rankings.
Melander made her debut for the Sweden Fed Cup team in February 2012. In Fed Cup, she realized a win/loss record of 2–2.
ITF finals
Singles (3–4)
Doubles (9–8)
References
External links
Category:1991 births
Category:Living people
Category:Sportspeople from Stockholm
Category:Swedish female tennis players |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to novel photohardenable compositions and to photosensitive materials employing them. More particularly, it relates to free radical addition polymerizable compositions involving the use of borate salts in combination with aromatic ketone photoinitiators to produce a system capable of efficient initiation of free-radical polymerization. These compounds are particularly effective when used in combination with an autoxidizer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Dye-sensitized photopolymerizable compositions are known in the art. A survey of these systems is provided by Eaton, D. E., "Dye Sensitized Photopolymerization," Advances in Photochemistry, Vol. 13, pp. 427-87 (1985). In their simplest form these compositions include a photopolymerizable vinyl compound, a photoreducible or photooxidizable dye and an activator which functions as a reducing agent or an oxidizing agent for the dye. The dyes are excited by light to a triplet state which reacts with the reducing agent or oxidizing agent to yield radicals which can initiate polymerization. There are a number of examples of dye-sensitized photopolymerizable compositions in the patent literature. See Oster, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,850,445 and 2,875,047 (Rose Bengal with hydrazine or thiourea); 2,547,633 (quinoidal family dyes with triorganophosphines, triorganoarsenines or sulfinic acid derivatives); 3,615,452 (phenazine or oxazine dyes and diazonium salts); 3,627,656 (phenothiazine dyes and sulfinic compounds); 3,495,987 (cyanine dyes and bromine donors) and 3,488,269 (thionine dyes and methylenes or methines).
Pursuant to the usual methods known in the art, additives are often included in the photohardenable compositions to more efficiently produce free-radicals from the photoexcited photoinitiators. Among the most popular additives are derivatives of dimethylaniline and other tertiary amines. These tertiary amine additives generally promote more efficient free-radical generation through an autoxidation cycle as described in allowed U.S. Application Ser. No. 300,168 filed Jan. 19, 1989.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,541 to The Mead Corporation discloses free radical addition polymerizable compositions employing a cationic dye-borate anion complex as a novel photoinitiator. The mechanism whereby this complex absorbs energy and generates free radicals is not entirely clear, however, it is believed that upon exposure to actinic radiation, the dye in the complex is excited to a singlet state in which it accepts an electron from the borate anion. The borane radical breaks down and yields a free radical. In solution in the polymerizable compound, ionic pairing of the borate anion and the cationic dye is believed to promote efficient electron transfer.
In U.S. Application Ser. No. 426,819 filed Oct. 25, 1989, the use of borate salts in combination with dye borate initiators is disclosed. |
Q:
How does password_hash/password_verify in php work?
Why does this example from the PHP manual give different results every time it runs?
echo password_hash("rasmuslerdorf", PASSWORD_DEFAULT);
And then, password_verify() knows that ALL those hash match "rasmuslerdorf"! It is like magic to me even the doc stated clearly:
Note that password_hash() returns the algorithm, cost and salt as part
of the returned hash. Therefore, all information that's needed to
verify the hash is included in it. This allows the verify function to
verify the hash without needing separate storage for the salt or
algorithm information.
This function is safe against timing attacks.
echo password_verify ( 'rasmuslerdorf' , '$2y$10$EMawXU7qNS4GzU2Do8bByeb7sSQZxecvmZ6mBrToxsOaY7RMAIGua' ); //=>true
echo password_verify ( 'rasmuslerdorf' , '$2y$10$0vMA2k7LxTBstI/J7clkkuZZ/XtuS1fklVuoM6sl4Fc/aj1avQa5u' ); //=>true
echo password_verify ( 'rasmuslerdorf' , '$2y$10$iuE2EzHMNONAWFKh/4Wyl.dcBxgFaNzAh32va0/gyE4ScqnNr/Uc.' ); //=>true
What is going on? How does password_verify() know some crazy string match 'rasmuslerdorf' but hackers don't?
A:
The password_hash function, internally, carries out these steps:
It picks a fresh random salt each time you call it.
It applies a costly hash function that takes as input the random salt, the password, and other algorithm parameters (e.g., cost factors).
It combines the algorithm parameters, random salt and hash output into an output string that can be parsed to recover them individually.
The random choice in #1 is the reason why it produces different output each time even though you supply the same input. The formatted output from step #3 is what allows password_verify to know the random salt that was chosen by password_hash.
A:
The key to creating a useful cryptographic hash is for the algorithm to be non-reversible, but consistently repeatable. That is:
Given just the output of password_hash('rasmuslerdorf'), you can't get back the string 'rasmuslerdorf'
Given the input 'rasmuslerdorf', you can generate the same output as a previous call to password_hash('rasmuslerdorf')
This allows you to check the user's password attempt against the hash, without ever being able to retrieve their password.
The simplest way to get a repeatable hash is for it to depend only on the input - so, password_hash('rasmuslerdorf') would always return the same value. But that means an attacker can calculate the hashes for a bunch of common passwords, and search a stolen database for a match.
So instead, a good hash algorithm adds a salt, which is just a random string added to the password, to make the hash different each time. In order to repeat the hash function later and get the same answer, you need to know which salt was used when it was stored.
This is what password_hash actually outputs, combined into one string:
The result of hashing the input with a particular salt
The random salt that was used
The hash algorithm that was used
Any other options that control the hash algorithm (e.g. the number of rounds used to deliberately slow down hashing)
This output will be different each time, so we need a different function for repeating the hash with a user's input to see if we get the same answer; this is what password_verify is for:
From the stored string, find the algorithm, options, and salt
Run the hash algorithm with those parameters, and the password the user tried to log in with
Check if the result matches the hash part of the stored string
If running the same algorithm with the same options and hash results in a different result, the user must have entered the wrong password.
|
“Everybody has something to prove each year.”
For Red Sox DH David Ortiz, memorable quotes come easy when you’re hitting .340, launching 50 home runs, and driving in 130. The words just seem to flow out of his mouth when he’s batting over .400 with 5 homers in the 2004 playoffs, receiving plaques that anoint him as the “greatest clutch hitter in the history of the Boston Red Sox.” But what about success stops coming easy? We saw that side of Ortiz too when he called out the media after the second game of the season. In two games, Ortiz was 0-7 and looking somewhat lost at the plate. Let’s take a look at the unabridged version shall we? Note: Note safe for work. “Shit happens. Then you guys talk shit. Two fucking games already. You motherfuckers going crazy. What’s up with that, man? Shit. There’s 160 games left. Ain’t that a bitch.” Welcome to the new season everybody. Ortiz had always been a character, there was no denying it, and now we’ve seen his dark side. His struggles were well documented through the month of April in which he was consistently under the Mendoza line. Although his bat showed some pop on occasion, he wasn’t producing or getting on base.
Last year, he hit .230 in April, followed that up with an average of .143 in May, and failed to hit a home run until the twentieth of May. Not exactly first ballot numbers, or numbers associated with the greatest clutch hitter in the history of the Boston Red Sox. In the same year, he was busted for steroids. While we were mostly dismayed when we learned that the big, likable, oaf who had delivered some of the finest clutch hitting ever was a cheater, it would be a stretch to say that anyone was surprised.
With the Twins, Papi wasn’t a very prolific hitter. He hit 58 home runs for them in six seasons there. Although this can be attributed to injury, it’s clear that he was a much better player for Boston. The year he joined the team, 2003, is when his numbers began to spike. He played a key role in the post season run of 2004 that broke the “curse” that everyone seems to think is the reason that Boston failed to win the World Series for so long. 2003 was also the year that he tested positive for steroids. That was all the evidence I needed. Of course, the announcement wasn’t made until July 20, 2009, but it still didn’t cause any less of an impact on the baseball world.A man I looked up to despite my sworn allegiance against Boston, was nothing but a cheater. I had believed his endless reassurances that he was clean and always had been. So now, not only was he a cheater, he was a lying cheater, and I had completely lost respect for him.
The announcement couldn’t have come at a worse time. It was the first season that Manny would not be protecting Ortiz in the lineup, the Red Sox were in New York for a series against the Yankees and Ortiz already had enough problems with his bum wrist and with his struggles at the plate. Naturally, he used the classic “I didn’t know what I was taking” excuse, further intensifying my new found dislike for all things Ortiz.
Let’s check out how he’s doing today. Of course, we all know about his struggles in the month of April. He was hovering slightly below .200 all month and looked like he was in for a rough season. It was just plain sad watching him stumble around at the plate and even though I enjoyed seeing the Sox lose, it was hard to watch a childhood hero flail around, so clearly out of his element, that it seemed to me that retirement was imminent at the end of the season if this kept up.
Then we got to May. As the weather got warmer, so did Ortiz. He’s been absolutely raking this month, flashing signs of his 2004 form more often then ever since that fateful July day in New York. In fact, he’s hit 8 of his 9 home runs in May and raised his batting average to a respectable .256. He looks comfortable, confident, and seems to be playing with the characteristic unbridled joy that he’s come to personify in the last few years. It would be harder to find anyone happier than Ortiz at this moment, the impact he has on his clubhouse is enormous. It seems that when Papi’s happy, everybody’s happy.
He’s not the only one who’s hot right now, the Sox are steadily advancing in the divisional standings and, while they’re still in fourth place, they seem to be holding down the fort relatively well until reinforcements arrive via the trade market and through some of their injured stars like Jacoby Ellisbury and Mike Cameron returning to action. Among other resurgent sluggers are the Rangers’ Vlad Guerrero who is absolutely hitting the cover off the ball after his worst season since 1996. Given his outstanding history at his new home park in Arlington and the ridiculous amount of lineup protection he gets from guys like Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz, and Josh Hamilton, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see the free swinging slugger back at the top of the league. Another guy is Ty Wigginton of the Baltimore Orioles. Thrust into the action simply to act as another body to put in the field, he’s been smoking the ball, batting over .300 and hitting 13 home runs. This coming after a season in which his home run total equaled 11. While it may not last for guys like this and others such as the Jays’ Vernon Wells, the early successes of these players has been fun to watch.
Obviously, it’s worked the other way for some players. I’ll cite another Oriole, Adam Jones. His struggles at the plate were personified by a low and outside curveball. The idea was, if it was within a four or five foot radius of the plate, Jones would hack at it, prompting him to miss. Badly. And what happened to the Gold Glove defense? Jones has proven this season that while some people can’t chew gum and walk at the same time, he can’t chew gum and field a fly ball at the same time. Two hands Adam, two hands. However, to be fair, the entire team was slumping that month, and he was batting in a new spot in the lineup. His plate discipline has improved over the course of May and he’s currently enjoying the benefits of an 11 game hitting streak.
So what the heck happened? To be perfectly honest, I have no fucking clue. You guess is as good as mine. I don’t see any difference in his swing except for the fact that the ball travels farther. “I just swing hard in case I hit it — that’s it.” Spoken like a true slugger. Ortiz’s road since last July has been a long and winding one; maybe he’s finally hit a nice long stretch of highway to cruise on. |
There was no mistaking it — the lineup of hungry people waiting for free food outside the Mandarin in Etobicoke on Canada Day.
By 3 p.m. Monday, the buffet restaurant was the busiest place by far at the strip mall near Kipling Ave. and the Gardiner Expressway, with all types of Canadians lining up in a queue that still snaked around an entire block hours after the location had first opened to serve free meals to anyone who could show their Canadian passport.
In the line, Celina Parks said she had been waiting for nearly three hours and wasn’t about to give up despite the mass of people ahead of her.
“I like Chinese food and it’s a holiday, so I don’t mind waiting,” said Parks, who was born in Saint Vincent and immigrated to Canada about 20 years ago.
Far behind Parks in line, Keisha Wilson and her 21-year-old daughter Ebony Holmes waited patiently for their turn, though the citizenship requirement meant that — at the end of the long wait — they’d be dining as a duo, not a trio. Holmes’ father is still only a permanent resident, so he didn’t come.
He doesn’t mind, Holmes said, but still, it would have been great to be waiting in line with him. “Especially for a country that was built by immigrants, I don’t think it’s fair,” she said.
The restaurant chain has heard both criticism and support for its decision to reward Canadian citizens with the free meals, but James Chiu, the chain’s 71-year-old owner, said it was never his intentions to exclude anyone.
“Our idea was never to make anyone feel like they don’t belong here — in fact, most of our employees aren’t Canadian yet,” he said.
Monday wasn’t the first time the restaurant has offered promotional free meals, he said — it also did so most recently when Canada celebrated its 150th anniversary. This year, 29 locations across Ontario were open and serving free food to citizens as the chain celebrated its own 40th anniversary, Chiu said.
“I can’t afford to do this every year, but any year that I can is a happy year for me,” he said, adding that extra food, beverages and staff had to be called in at all the participating locations.
Back at the Etobicoke lineup, Danny Dumbrowski, who was waiting in line with his wife Debbie and 7-year-old daughter Ellie, said he’s fine with the requirement, calling it “motivation” for non-citizens.
Not that the location was strict on the passport condition.
Location manager Jennifer Ji said the goal was to accommodate everyone, and nobody was going to be turned back if they couldn’t prove citizenship.
She said she’d seen a few examples where one member of a family who didn’t have citizenship had asked to pay — but that was a proposal she said she couldn’t accept.
“It’s about celebrating. We want people to enjoy this,” she said.
Toronto police Sgt. Jeff Zammit said the lines were much, much longer earlier in the day and some showed up well before the restaurant opened, bringing their own foldable chairs for the wait.
Elsewhere in the city, Rachara Chatterjee, 34, said she joined the line outside the Yonge St. location at 7 a.m.
Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...
She said she and some friends also came the last time the chain had its free-food promotion, though the lines weren’t as long as on Monday.
“We all enjoy free food and you’re just lying if you say you don’t,” she said. |
Here's a "signed" Return of the King for $10! This is a ex-library copy! The seller says that he found the signature hidden on the inner cover. I messaged the seller that the signature was not even a good fake, but he brushed me off "thanking" me for my opinion. eBay has not taken any action. I sent them two complaints: one about forgery, the other about disclaimers. (You cannot list on eBay and then say you don't know if the item is authentic or not.) I hope people don't fall for this. |
Looks like there are going to be a few surprises in Star War Battlefront if you're expecting a re-skinned Battlefield. There are no classes or squads - two things you sort of take as a given in most DICE shooters. Well, any multiplayer shooter full stop.
The info's mentioned in the latest issue of OXM where design director Niklas Fegraeus says players are able to “freely” pick their weapons and gear, rather than select pre-made classes. You can instead unlock and use whatever you want using XP, so it sounds like you won't be tied to set archetypes.
Even more interesting is the move away from squads, Battlefield's familiar five man groupings. Instead of that there's a new 'Partners' feature that links two players together so that they can see each other on their HUDS and spawn on each other to save time getting around. They'll also be able to share whatever they've unlocked, so if you're teamed with a higher level partner, or someone who's bought a different loadout with their XP, then you can have access to a different set of toys.
There's a lot of intriguing ideas here (we've already heard about howStar Wars Battlefront won't have iron sight aiming). The lack of classes and the new unlock system sounds like it'll undoubtedly need a little tweaking and balancing along the way, but that with the partner system could make a huge change to the traditional online shooter template. You'll find all ourStar Wars Battlefront multiplayer info here and youcan read more about the game in OXM's cover story, which is out Friday the 8th of May. Download ithereorsubscribefor future issues. |
# Copyright (C) 2014 Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation.
#
# 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.
"""
Defines data types and models required specifically for VRF (for IPv6)
support. Represents data structures for VRF not VPN/global.
(Inside VRF you have IPv4 prefixes and inside VPN you have VPNv6 prefixes)
"""
import logging
from ryu.lib.packet.bgp import RF_IPv6_UC
from ryu.lib.packet.bgp import RF_IPv6_VPN
from ryu.lib.packet.bgp import IP6AddrPrefix
from ryu.lib.packet.bgp import LabelledVPNIP6AddrPrefix
from ryu.services.protocols.bgp.info_base.vpnv6 import Vpnv6Path
from ryu.services.protocols.bgp.info_base.vrf import VrfDest
from ryu.services.protocols.bgp.info_base.vrf import VrfNlriImportMap
from ryu.services.protocols.bgp.info_base.vrf import VrfPath
from ryu.services.protocols.bgp.info_base.vrf import VrfTable
LOG = logging.getLogger('bgpspeaker.info_base.vrf6')
class Vrf6Path(VrfPath):
"""Represents a way of reaching an IP destination with a VPN."""
ROUTE_FAMILY = RF_IPv6_UC
VPN_PATH_CLASS = Vpnv6Path
VPN_NLRI_CLASS = LabelledVPNIP6AddrPrefix
class Vrf6Dest(VrfDest):
"""Destination for IPv6 VRFs."""
ROUTE_FAMILY = RF_IPv6_UC
class Vrf6Table(VrfTable):
"""Virtual Routing and Forwarding information base for IPv6."""
ROUTE_FAMILY = RF_IPv6_UC
VPN_ROUTE_FAMILY = RF_IPv6_VPN
NLRI_CLASS = IP6AddrPrefix
VRF_PATH_CLASS = Vrf6Path
VRF_DEST_CLASS = Vrf6Dest
class Vrf6NlriImportMap(VrfNlriImportMap):
VRF_PATH_CLASS = Vrf6Path
NLRI_CLASS = IP6AddrPrefix
|
Shopping:The Museum Shop helps make mom’s day special with a 10 percent discount for guests, and Supporting-level members and above get an additional 10 percent off their regular member discount. Be on the look out for exclusive items like jewelry by Rare Rabbit, Michal Taharlev and Spanish designer Claudia Fajardo, and ceramics by Tricia Beaman. Check back next week for more on these shop offerings.
All Spalding House Café patrons on Mother’s Day will receive a 10 to 30 percent discount in the Spalding House Shop. Guests receive a 10 percent discount in the Spalding House Shop, and Supporting-level members and above get an additional 10 percent off their regular member discount. |
Kronors
“Kronors? Are they German?”, the bloke behind the counter of the shop asked me tonight.
As I took my cash out of my wallet, he’d obviously taken a peak inside and noticed the 50 kronor note (about $9) which I’ve kept in my wallet from my trip to Sweden earlier this year.
Speaking of Sweden, I woke early this morning, and knowing my friend’s Sam and Patrick were in Sweden, and were at Skansen, the open air museum in Stockholm, I went to the SVT website to watch “Allsång på Skansen” which I knew they were attending.
For my money, “Allsång” is a great concept for a television variety program, and even though it’s “very Swedish” (there’s a Norwegian version too). I think it has great potential as a television program in Australia too.
Each week, only during summer, they have an outdoor sing-a-long program, where the public comes to the park and watches a range of Swedish favourites sing either a) their latest hit or b) a well-known Swedish song which the audience can sing-a-long with, as they all have copies of the latest book with the words. And if you can’t make it to the park, the words appear on the screen, so you can sing-a-long at home too.
I can just see the program filmed around Australia over summer. Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Kings Park in Perth. Southbank in Brissie. Barnesy. Farnesy. Vanessa Amorosi. Money raised through SMS goes to charity. Hosted by David Campbell. I can just see it, though clearly I’ve spent too much time thinking through the format and discussing it with friends.
But anyway, I didn’t see Pam or Sam on the show. But I did see the Australian group, Ten Tenors perform, and was mightily impressed with the Swedish language skills of one of the blokes in the band,
So it was an early start to the day which, later, at work, was both interesting and productive.
As it was Wednesday, I headed off to the pub where The Best Judge entertained us with further tales of moving house.
He’s off to Sweden soon, as is my friend Grant. And two colleagues from work. And another colleague’s mother-in-law.
As they rebuild Slussen, the main transport interchange in Stockholm, perhaps they should consider a tunnel direct to Sydney as well? I’ll happily contribute 50 kronor to the fund to get it started. |
I installed OpenBSD 5.3 amd64 release on my laptop the other day, and was trying some things out tonight and got into trouble.
I was looking at the apm tools and so started apmd
#apmd
and then tried suspend mode
#apm -z
There was a message that suspend mode will be entered momentarily. After that the system is locked and I can't wake it up. Doesn't respond to keyboard, function keys or pings. I tried pressing the power button for > 5 seconds, and it won't even shut off.
Now I disconnected the A/C adapter and am waiting 3 hours for the battery to drain. That should shut it off, but is it likely to start up when I plug it in again, or am I bricked?
I plugged in a USB-powered chill mat. both to keep the thing cooler as temp regulation was non-existent, and to drain the battery quicker. Power went off after 2 hours, without even the charge-indicator light flashing beforehand.
I plugged the A/C power back in. Machine stayed dark; good. Hit the power switch and it came up as usual. Booted Linux ok. Rebooted to OpenBSD and only thing was it had to check the filesystems first and mark 'em clean.
Seems to be ok. Whewww. Hope I won't fall into that one again too soon.
Thanks, I didn't know about that. On one occasion though I held the power button down quite long ( ~ 15 sec? ) and it didn't shut off. Perhaps it's not supported by my laptop, or it was just that locked up. Maybe I can try it again sometime when the battery is low.
Quote:
Pulling a laptop battery is usually faster than waiting for it to slowly drain.
Yes, I considered that but was leery to do it on a "running" system, partly since I'd never pulled the battery before, and I was a bit nervous etc. Once the chill mat brought the temp down I decided to wait it out. |
With container mounted manual pump dispensers, it is now common to use gas-producing substances, for example, hydrogen peroxide which generates gas when it comes in contact with water containing iron. The stress produced by such positive pressure can result in deformation of the container, cracking, leakage and so on. The problem is particularly acute where, in order to reduce cost or environmental impact, thinner-walled containers are used.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,629 to Michael E. Hardy issued May 19, 1998 deals with the need for passive means to vent gas buildup in containers having pump dispensers attached. Specifically, the Hardy patent provides gas-permeable material preferably in a frame over an opening in the container cap provided in the pump dispenser.
While in the past mechanical means have been used to permit venting of the outside air into the container, such venting means are usually only open upon the actuation of the trigger, for instance. Such mechanical means would also vent built-up gas pressure to the outside. However, during periods of storage the trigger is never actuated and, hence, the mechanical means does not operate to permit venting of built-up gases to the outside.
It is an object of the present invention to provide in a pump dispenser passive means--as opposed to mechanical means--for venting built-up gases from the container without appreciably altering the structure of the pump and without permitting leakage of liquid product if the container tips over. |
Q:
How does unit testing work when the program doesn't lend itself to a functional style?
I'm thinking of the case where the program doesn't really compute anything, it just DOES a lot. Unit testing makes sense to me when you're writing functions which calculate something and you need to check the result, but what if you aren't calculating anything? For example, a program I maintain at work relies on having the user fill out a form, then opening an external program, and automating the external program to do something based on the user input. The process is fairly involved. There's like 3000 lines of code (spread out across multiple functions*), but I can't think of a single thing which it makes sense to unit test.
That's just an example though. Should you even try to unit test "procedural" programs?
*EDIT
A:
Based on your description these are the places I would look to unit test:
Does the form validation work of user input work correctly
Given valid input from the form is the external program called correctly
Feed in user input to the external program and see if you get the right output
From the sounds of your description the real problem is that the code you're working with is not modular. One of the benefits I find with unit testing is that it code that is difficult to test is either not modular enough or has an awkward interface. Try to break the code down into smaller pieces and you'll find places where it makes sense to write unit tests.
|
[The biological effectiveness of the proteins in the specialized product "Ovolact" in the nutrition of patients following reconstructive surgery on jaw bones with congenital deformities].
Postoperative feeding with a special-purpose foodstuff Ovolact proved superior to tube feeding in patients on after treatment following surgical correction of congenital jaw defects. This was evident from assessment of anthropometric and protein metabolism parameters. Nitrogen metabolism underwent positive changes reflecting the product value for maintenance of protein status of the above patients. Therefore, Ovolact can make more effective postoperative rehabilitation in jaw reconstruction. |
Summary: BBC Earth Films bring the most astounding stories from the natural world to the big screen. Audiences are invited to join us on a journey of new discovery, meeting extraordinary characters and following their incredible adventures. BBC Earth Films combine great storytelling with awe-inspiring HD film footage and moving scores from the world's greatest composers to connect audiences with their planet. |
INTRODUCTION
============
Metallic nanoparticles have been a major and ever-increasing research focus because of their enhanced reactivity relative to larger mesoscale and bulk phase materials ([@R1]). Over the past decade, much chemistry research has been concerned with the growth and reshaping of metallic nanoparticles and the inherent modifications of chemical reactivity that may result from changes in their size and shape ([@R2]). In addition, recent advances in photochemistry have relied on the collective electronic resonances (plasmons) of metallic nanoparticles to drive otherwise energetically unfavorable chemical reactions at temperatures and pressures far below those that typify conventional catalysis ([@R3]--[@R5]). In a parallel and equally dominant research focus, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been synthesized and studied intensively for their ability to modify and enhance chemical reactivities ([@R6]). MOFs are complex three-dimensional (3D) networks with regular pores and channels that consist of crystalline lattices of metal cation centers ("nodes") connected by multitopic organic linkers. Since MOFs have a range of intriguing properties including, but not limited to, exceptionally high porosity and surface area, they have been the subject of extensive studies for applications such as gas storage, chemical separations, and heterogeneous catalysis ([@R7]). The integration of noble metal nanoparticles within MOFs has been reported with concomitant enhancements of chemical and photocatalytic activities relative to either nanostructured material alone ([@R8], [@R9]).
There have recently been increased efforts to identify Earth-abundant materials that may be possible substitutes for more precious metals in applications such as plasmonics and photocatalysis. The efforts toward the controlled growth of Earth-abundant plasmonic nanomaterials, such as aluminum ([@R10]--[@R12]), copper ([@R13]), titanium nitride ([@R14]), and other materials, have begun to shift focus to their photocatalytic properties. Beyond the noble and coinage metals, however, the oxidation of metallic nanoparticles is a common occurrence, and the presence of surface or bulk oxides markedly alters their inherent properties, chemical reactivities, and photocatalytic activities toward certain chemical reactions. In this regard, aluminum, the most abundant metal in Earth's crust, is particularly intriguing. Historically, aluminum nanopowders in combination with oxidants have been studied extensively as a potent nanoenergetic material ([@R15]). However, more recent efforts have focused on their plasmonic properties, which can be obtained through precise synthesis methods and growth under highly pristine conditions ([@R16]). Because of the formation of a 2- to 4-nm passivating surface oxide that arrests further oxidation, aluminum nanocrystals (Al NCs) and nanostructures can be quite stable and useful for applications ranging from chemical sensing ([@R17], [@R18]) to optoelectronic devices ([@R19]) to vibrant full-color displays ([@R20], [@R21]) and even water desalination ([@R22]). Their role as plasmonically driven photocatalysts has been recently demonstrated, as photocatalysts themselves ([@R23]) and as plasmonic "antennas" when combined with catalytic nanoparticles and oxides in antenna-reactor complexes ([@R24], [@R25]).
Here, we investigate the bottom-up encapsulation of chemically synthesized Al NCs within a MOF layer. A MOF synthesis approach has been developed, where Al^3+^ ions are etched from the surface oxide and are incorporated into the MOF framework as it is grown, enabling MOF encapsulating layers of varying thicknesses to be synthesized. With the removal of the Al^3+^ ions from the surface, the surface oxide layer retreats further into the Al NC, resulting in a systematic and controlled reduction of Al NC size without changes in the NC shape. We demonstrate the utility of Al NC\@MIL-53(Al) nanoparticles for photocatalysis, showing that the restricted diffusion of reactant species away from the substrate due to the presence of the MOF layer increases the photocatalytic reactivity of Al NCs toward hydrogen exchange and reverse water-gas shift (rWGS) reactions.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
======================
Synthesis of Al NC\@MOF
-----------------------
An illustration of MOF layer growth around Al NC is shown in [Fig. 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}. This synthetic approach is inspired by naturally occurring pseudomorphic mineral replacement reactions, where the chemical structure of a mineral is changed without altering the spatial structure ([@R26], [@R27]). In this case, however, the dissolution of the Al NC surface oxide layer serves as a source of Al^3+^ for the backbone of the MOF, facilitating its growth and eliminating the need to introduce an additional metal precursor. In the presence of the organic linker, the kinetics of Al oxide layer dissolution is coupled to MOF layer growth, resulting in the formation of a uniform Al-based MOF shell layer around the Al core. Along with dissolution of the native oxide layer and MOF layer growth, the Al NC surface beneath the original native oxide is controllably oxidized, resulting in an overall reduction of the Al NC particle diameter (also illustrated in [Fig. 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}). This synthetic approach represents an opportunity to expand the surface chemistry of Al NCs and also provides a method for the highly controlled partial oxidation of Al NCs.
{#F1}
Al NCs were first synthesized using a previously reported method ([@R28]). Transformation of the surface oxide layer into an Al-based MOF layer was accomplished through a one-pot hydrothermal strategy under a reaction temperature of 60°C in a mixed *N,N′*-dimethylformamide (DMF)/H~2~O solvent system (see Materials and Methods for synthetic details). Because of its well-studied coordination in conventional MOF synthesis, 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid (H~2~BDC) was chosen as the organic linker. Once the MOF is grown, the terephthalate (BDC) linker serves as a rigid spacer that connects the 1D parallel chains of AlO~6~ octahedra and gives rise to the rhombic pores characteristic of this MOF, known as aluminum terephthalate \[Al(OH)(bdc)\]*~n~* MOF \[also known as MIL-53(Al)\] ([@R29]) ([Fig. 2A](#F2){ref-type="fig"} and fig. S1). This MOF is of particular interest because of its excellent thermal and chemical stability. It exhibits dynamic shifts between its large rhombic pore and narrow trapezoidal pore configurations, termed breathing modes, depending on the presence and nature of guest molecules and environmental conditions ([@R29]).
{#F2}
Powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD) patterns of activated hybrid nanoparticles show multiple diffraction peaks in the range of 2θ = 5° to 35° and 2θ = 35° to 90°, corresponding to the crystalline lattice of the MIL-53(Al) and the Al NC core, respectively ([Fig. 2B](#F2){ref-type="fig"}), as revealed by a comparison of experimental and simulated PXRD patterns of the MOF region. However, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the experimentally measured diffraction peaks in the MOF region is relatively broad. Considering the amorphous nature of the intrinsic surface oxide of aluminum, it is expected that the MOF shell layer that replicates the oxide layer structure exhibits small crystalline domains. Al crystallinity is well preserved during the MOF formation process: All indices corresponding to metallic face-centered cubic Al appear in the PXRD pattern of Al NC\@MIL-53(Al) with relative intensities of the peaks remaining the same as for pristine Al NCs. This observation verifies that the dissolution-and-growth process preserves the crystalline structure of the parent NC during MOF formation. The characteristic vibrational bands of the MIL-53(Al) MOF formed around Al NCs were identified using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy (fig. S2). Thermogravimetric (TGA) analysis showed that the MIL-53(Al) shell layer was thermally stable up to 450°C (fig. S3).
Transmission electron micrographs (TEMs) show the formation of a conformal MOF shell surrounding the individual Al cores with no free MOF or remaining bare particles ([Fig. 2, C and D](#F2){ref-type="fig"}, and fig. S4). Scanning electron micrographs (SEMs) reveal a drastic change in surface features from the typically smooth surface of Al NC to highly structured surfaces after MIL-53(Al) shell layer growth ([Fig. 2, E and F](#F2){ref-type="fig"}, and fig. S5). The high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron micrograph (HAADF-STEM) of an individual Al NC\@MIL-53(Al) nanoparticle ([Fig. 2G](#F2){ref-type="fig"}) shows a strong contrast between the bright Al core and the darker shell. Analysis of the 3D reconstruction of particle morphology using electron tomography shows the position of the Al NC within its MOF matrix, where the MOF shell uniformly encapsulates the plasmonic core with no holes or gaps; however, the fine surface features observable by scanning electron microscopy ([Fig. 2F](#F2){ref-type="fig"}) were not reproduced in the tomographic reconstruction ([Fig. 2, H to J](#F2){ref-type="fig"}, and movie S1). Elemental mapping of the Al core and MOF shell also supports the structural characterization of a conformal MOF shell layer surrounding an Al NC core ([Fig. 2, K to N](#F2){ref-type="fig"}).
In an alternate synthesis attempt, the previously established synthetic strategy for MIL-53(Al) was performed ([@R29]), where Al NCs were mixed with a metal nitrate precursor and the linker in an autoclave. Complete hydrothermal decomposition of the Al NCs was observed because of their inherent instability in hot aqueous solution (fig. S6). The apparent inability to synthesize Al NC\@MIL-53(Al) by conventional MOF synthetic routes reinforces the importance of the dissolution-and-growth strategy pursued here.
The dissolution-and-growth mechanism uses the 2- to 4-nm surface oxide layer that surrounds the Al NC core, which is independent of Al NC size. Therefore, under identical growth conditions, the MOF layer thicknesses should be uniform and independent of Al NC size as well. [Figure 3](#F3){ref-type="fig"} shows MIL-53(Al) shell layers grown around Al NCs varying in diameter from 50 to 150 nm, exhibiting dipolar plasmon resonances ranging from 350 to 680 nm in wavelength. The optical absorption of MIL-53(Al) is shown for comparison ([Fig. 3A](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). Despite the consistent reduction in diameter of the Al NCs following MOF growth, an overall red shift of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) is observed for all particle sizes after MOF growth, which is dominated by the increased refractive index of the dielectric environment because of the growth of the MOF shell layer.
{#F3}
Single-particle dark-field scattering measurements were also taken for bare Al NC and for similarly sized MOF-coated particles ([Fig. 3E](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). For the bare Al NC, the scattering spectrum exhibits a pronounced dipolar mode around 3.3 eV and agrees very well with the calculated spectrum where the geometry of the particle is assumed to be spherical. The Al quadrupolar resonance around 5 eV lies outside the spectral window and cannot be seen. The MOF coating introduces substantial spectral changes. The quadrupolar and dipolar modes red-shift by around 1 eV and are now both visible in the spectrum. A pronounced narrowing of the dipolar plasmon linewidth is apparent. The calculated spectrum (modeling the MOF as a spherical shell of a refractive index of *n* = 1.5) shows the same spectral changes as the experiment. The slight disagreement for the intensity and energy of the quadrupolar resonance is most likely due to the particle having a nonspherical shape. Analysis of the spectra for a number of particles ([Fig. 3, F and G](#F3){ref-type="fig"}) showed distinct improvements in the FWHM and corresponding quality factor (peak energy divided by FWHM) for the MOF-coated particles compared to bare Al. Theoretical analysis showed that this effect is primarily due to the reduced radiative damping due to the LSPR red shift but with the slight size reduction of the Al core also contributing ([@R30]).
Kinetic control and MOF growth mechanism
----------------------------------------
The coupling between the kinetics of dissolution and growth can be modified by changing the pH of the initial reaction mixture. In nature, the dissolution of oxide minerals (known as chemical weathering) has been well studied in hydrogeochemical processes, where dissolution is influenced by pH and by concentration of dissolved ligands ([@R31]). In Al NC\@MIL-53(Al) synthesis, adding increasing concentrations of acetic acid to the reaction mixture lowers the initial pH from \~4.1 to \~3.5 (in the presence of 30 mM acetic acid). This pH manipulation causes an increase in the rate of dissolution and also reduces the rate of MOF nucleation because of suppression of linker deprotonation. As the reaction proceeds, the pH of the solution gradually increases (fig. S7), increasing the concentration of the deprotonated linker, which can initiate MOF growth and inhibit further dissolution of the Al NC core. By exploiting the sensitivity of the plasmon resonance of the Al NC\@MIL-53(Al) nanoparticle to its core size and its surrounding dielectric medium, we can monitor the pH-controlled kinetic balance of Al NC\@MIL-53(Al) synthesis in detail ([Fig. 4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}).
{#F4}
The LSPR shifts that occur during synthesis, for varying concentrations of acetic acid, are monitored ([Fig. 4A](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). The LSPR blue shift in region (i) suggests that the reaction is dominated by the kinetics of Al dissolution, whereas the LSPR red shift in region (ii) indicates that little or no further Al dissolution is occurring, but rather, indicates MOF nucleation and growth. The growth dynamics of the Al-based MOF was previously studied using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy ([@R32]) to probe the vibrational modes of the free organic linker and metalated linker within the MOF enclosure. In contrast, monitoring the LSPR shift of the Al core provides an in situ probe for a simultaneous kinetic study of both Al^3+^ formation (from oxide layer dissolution) and subsequent metalation of the linker and enables differentiation of the dissolution-and-growth process into its component steps.
The magnitude of the initial LSPR blue shift increases with increasing acid concentration, indicating a greater degree of Al NC dissolution and a greater thickness of the MOF shell layer ([Fig. 4B](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). The particle size distribution shows an \~30-nm average reduction of Al core diameter for MOFs grown in the presence of 30 mM acetic acid ([Fig. 4C](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). This series of dissolution and growth studies indicates that this approach can serve as a method for controlled etching of Al NCs, providing a route for precise tuning of the plasmon energy of Al NCs to shorter wavelengths. In a control experiment in the absence of linker molecules, uncontrolled dissolution of Al NCs within the reaction time scale was observed (fig. S9). In contrast to acetic acid, the addition of sodium acetate to the reaction mixture inhibited MOF growth despite the higher concentration of free linker anion (fig. S10).
To further elucidate the specific mechanism for MOF formation around Al NCs, we investigated the progress of Al NC\@MIL-53(Al) growth by quenching aliquots of the reactant mixture over the course of the reaction. We have identified a four-step mechanism based on pseudomorphic replacement, where corresponding electron micrographs of the nanoparticles obtained throughout the reaction revealed changes to the surface morphology at each step ([Fig. 5](#F5){ref-type="fig"}). Oxide dissolution is initiated by fast hydration of the surface oxide (Al~2~O~3~ + H~2~O ➔ 2AlOOH), followed by a reaction between the newly generated aluminum oxyhydroxy \[AlO(OH)\] surface species and adsorbed H^+^ to release Al^3+^ at the interface in the form of a metal aqua complex ([@R33]). The fast coordination between the aluminum aqua complex (\[Al(H~2~O)~6~\]^3+^) and the linker anion enriches the interface with the metal complex--linker species at a supersaturated concentration that promotes MOF crystal nucleation, followed by further growth. The drawing in [Fig. 5D](#F5){ref-type="fig"} assumes a plausible MOF growth mechanism in a perpendicular manner, where 1D chains of the AlO(OH) extend perpendicular to the NC surface and are connected to each other via linker molecules ([@R27], [@R32]).
![Proposed mechanism of MOF \[MIL-53(Al)\] formation around Al NCs.\
(**A** to **D**) Schematic depicting the proposed dissolution-and-growth mechanism and corresponding TEM images (below) of nanoparticles obtained at various stages \[(A) 20 min, (B) 40 min, (C) 60 min, and (D) 80 min\] showing progressive MOF formation. The particle surface remains visibly unchanged during hydration of the surface oxide layer to aluminum oxyhydroxy \[Al~2~O~3~ + H~2~O ➔ 2AlO(OH)\]. The dissolution of AlO(OH) by reacting with adsorbed H^+^ generates an interface with a high concentration of the aluminum aqua complex (\[Al(H~2~O)~6~\]^3+^) that then quickly coordinates with the linker molecule to form mono- or oligomers of the metal complex--linker species. Localized supersaturation of the solid/liquid interface with coordinated species promotes nucleation of the MOF crystal near the same dissolution site. The onset of the nucleation process after approximately 60 min of the reaction time is consistent with the onset of the LSPR red shift observed during MOF formation (orange dotted line in [Fig. 4A](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). The nucleation process is followed by MOF layer growth that is nearly complete at 80 min into the reaction. We note that, because of thermodynamic equilibrium, the newly generated oxide layer is continuously reestablished while constantly dissolving to supply Al^3+^ for MOF growth. Scale bars, 50 nm.](aav5340-F5){#F5}
The dependence of the AlO(OH) dissolution on the adsorbed H^+^ is consistent with the effect of the initial pH of the reaction mixture on MOF formation kinetics ([Fig. 4](#F4){ref-type="fig"} and figs. S7 and S10) and indicates the characteristic of high-degree pseudomorphic replacement, in which the primary dissolution process needs to be a rate-limiting step compared to the secondary growth step ([@R26]). We suggest that, independent of its dissolution rate, the oxide layer is continuously reestablished because of the thermodynamic equilibrium between oxide thickness and metal-ion diffusion from the surface layer of the metal into an interstitial position of the oxide ([@R34]). As a result, the regenerated surface oxide remains sufficiently thin (2 to 4 nm) for the continuous hydration-dissolution of noticeable oxide quantities (up to 30-nm reduction of Al core size in [Fig. 4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}), which otherwise may not be accessible for a thicker oxide layer ([@R32]).
Gas uptake and plasmonic photocatalysis
---------------------------------------
Plasmonic metal nanoparticles have attracted significant attention for photocatalysis because of their capability to activate chemical transformations on their surfaces under illumination ([@R35], [@R36]). The plasmon resonant interaction of light with metallic nanoparticles leads to the generation of energetic hot carriers upon plasmon decay, which, along with photothermal heating, can drive otherwise energetically unfavorable chemical reactions. Recently, Al NCs have been demonstrated as an Earth-abundant, low-cost alternative to Ag and Au for plasmon-mediated photocatalysis ([@R23]). We have investigated Al NC\@MIL-53(Al) nanoparticles for their gas uptake properties and to examine the effect of the MOF layer on their photocatalytic reactivity relative to pristine Al NCs ([Fig. 6](#F6){ref-type="fig"}). The porosity of the MOF shell layers of the Al NC\@MIL-53(Al) nanoparticles was confirmed and quantified by N~2~ sorption ([Fig. 6A](#F6){ref-type="fig"}) and CO~2~ sorption ([Fig. 6B](#F6){ref-type="fig"}) measurements (see fig. S11 for pore size distribution). The Al NC\@MIL-53(Al) nanoparticle uptake follows a type II isotherm for N~2~ sorption at 77 K, an indication of its microporous (rather than macroporous) nature ([@R37]). In contrast, the N~2~ sorption isotherm on bare Al NCs follows type III behavior, characteristic of a nonporous surface ([@R37]). The gravimetric Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area increased from \~45 m^2^ g^−1^ for pristine Al NCs to \~371 m^2^ g^−1^ after MOF formation. The MIL-53 series of MOFs has been considered to be promising materials for CO~2~ capture and storage ([@R38]). The low-pressure CO~2~ sorption isotherm shows significant enhancement of CO~2~ uptake capacity as a result of MOF growth ([Fig. 6B](#F6){ref-type="fig"}). This enhancement originates from dipolar or quadrupolar interactions between CO~2~ molecules and the hydroxyl groups (--OH) in the MIL-53(Al) framework ([@R39]).
{#F6}
The photocatalytic reactivity of the Al NC\@MIL-53(Al) nanoparticles was characterized for two benchmark reactions of hydrogen dissociation and reduction of carbon dioxide in the rWGS reaction, where the Al NC\@MIL-53(Al) nanoparticles outperform pristine Al NCs under visible light illumination (see fig. S12 for extinction spectrum of the photocatalysts and emission spectrum of the light source spectrum). The rate of hydrogen dissociation on Al NC\@MIL-53(Al) nanoparticles as a function of visible light power under ambient conditions is significantly higher than that of pristine Al NCs without the MOF shell ([Fig. 6C](#F6){ref-type="fig"}), particularly at higher illumination powers \[the isotopic hydrogen exchange reaction H~2~ + D~2~ ➔ 2HD was used to monitor hydrogen dissociation ([@R23])\]. Enhancement of the photocatalytic activity was also observed for the rWGS reaction relative to pristine Al NC ([Fig. 6D](#F6){ref-type="fig"}), consistent with our CO~2~ adsorption results. Similar to our previous work on plasmon-induced hot carrier--driven rWGS, we observed an increased selectivity in product formation under illumination over the traditional thermally driven reaction ([@R25]). Photocatalytic rWGS yields selective CO formation in contrast to the formation of both CH~4~ and CO in thermally driven processes (fig. S13). Using pure MIL-53 (without Al NCs) as a control substrate, although significantly higher MOF weight loading can be achieved compared to Al NC\@MIL-53(Al) nanoparticles, no rWGS photocatalytic activity is observed. This observation confirms the role of the Al NC core as the active plasmonic component in photocatalysis, where the MOF shell provides an enriched adsorbate concentration near the surface of the Al NC core.
Generalizability of Al NC\@MOF
------------------------------
Through the choice of suitable organic linkers and reaction conditions, the present strategy demonstrates a degree of flexibility for MOF-coated Al NCs, including \[Al(OH)(1,4-NDC)\]*~n~* and (Al~12~O(OH)~18~(H~2~O)~3~(Al~2~(OH)~4~)\[btc\]~6~·24H~2~O) \[known as MIL-96(Al)\] (figs. S14 and S15). For example, applying our dissolution-and-growth approach to Al NCs in a solution with 1,4-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid (1,4-NDC) linkers promotes the formation of a uniform shell composed of a \[Al(OH)(1,4-NDC)\]*~n~* framework around the Al NC core. This MOF layer improves the stability of Al NCs in aqueous solution (fig. S16). MOF shell layers can also be grown in nanoparticle complexes such as antenna-reactor plasmonic photocatalysts, consisting, for example, of plasmonic nanoparticles or NCs bound with active transition metal (TM) nanoparticle islands (fig. S17) ([@R40]).
CONCLUSION
==========
Here, we present a generalized approach based on dissolution and growth of the native oxide layer with a variety of different organic linkers. Given the pronounced effect of MOF composition and pore structure on properties and activity, we envision future variations in synthetic conditions and postsynthetic modifications that could result in a wide range of nanoparticles coated with MOF layers. This approach should generally be applicable to any metal nanoparticle with either a native or added oxide surface layer. Combining antenna-reactor photocatalyst complexes with MOF shell layers has enormous potential to significantly expand the types of plasmon-mediated chemical reactions and improve their efficiencies and selectivities, an open and exciting area for future research.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
=====================
Al NC synthesis
---------------
Al NCs were synthesized according to our previously published protocol with minor modifications. ([@R28]) The size of particles was controlled by varying the ratio of tetrahydrofuran (THF)/1,4-dioxane solvents. All glassware, syringes, and needles were dried at 130°C overnight before use. THF and 1,4-dioxane solvents were sparged and dried over 4-Å molecular sieves and were kept in the glove box before use. In a typical experiment, 5 ml of anhydrous THF and 15 ml of anhydrous 1,4-dioxane (Sigma-Aldrich) were mixed in a dry Schlenk flask under argon atmosphere or in the glove box with standard techniques for handling air-sensitive materials. The solvent mixture was heated at 40°C, and 6.0 ml of 0.5 M dimethylethylamine alane in toluene (Sigma-Aldrich) was injected into the ethereal solvent. Next, 0.5 ml of 2 weight % (wt %) solution of Ti(IV) isopropoxide \[Ti(OiPr)~4~\] in anhydrous toluene (Sigma-Aldrich) was injected rapidly into the reaction mixture. The reaction was allowed to proceed for the next 2 hours during which the color of the solution turned from dark black to gray, indicating formation of Al NCs. The as-synthesized particles were transferred to a 50-ml centrifuge tube under a blanket of N~2~, and nanoparticles were isolated by centrifugation at 500*g* for 5 min. The dark brown supernatant containing Ti catalysts and unreacted precursor was poured off, 40 ml of dry toluene was added, and the mixture was sonicated vigorously. The particles were isolated by centrifugation at 2000*g* for 10 min, followed by two cycles of washing and centrifuging in 2-propanol (IPA). Last, Al NCs were dispersed in IPA or DMF and stored at room temperature for future use. During postsynthetic work-up, the surface of the particles immediately oxidizes, and a 2- to 4-nm self-limiting amorphous Al~2~O~3~ layer forms.
Preparation of Al NC\@MOF heterostructures
------------------------------------------
The general approach for the synthesis of Al\@MOFs is based on a one-pot solvothermal strategy. For the synthesis of Al NC@\[Al(OH)(bdc)\]*~n~* in a typical synthesis, a suspension of Al NCs (0.1 mg/ml) was prepared in 12 ml of 1:1 (v/v) mixture of DMF and water. The mixture was transferred into a 20-ml vial containing 0.12 mmol of H~2~BDC linker molecules. The mixture was then stirred or sonicated at 60°C for about 4 hours (sonication was preferred to assure homogeneity of the mixture and minimize particle aggregation because of the relatively high concentration of Al NCs in the reaction solution). The products were isolated via three cycles of washing and centrifuging in DMF. The final particles can be dispersed in DMF, IPA, dichloromethane, methanol, or ethanol. The synthesis can be readily scaled to liters if necessary. For large-scale synthesis, we recommend preparing the linker/DMF mixture first, followed by slow addition of the water in the ice bath to minimize the excess of heat generation from the exothermic water-DMF mixing process. Small variations in the concentration of NCs and linker molecules did not cause discernable effects on MOF growth. For additional shrinkage of the Al NC size by controlled etching of the subsurface metallic Al, various quantities of acetic acid (0.61, 1.83, and 3.66 mmol) were added to the initial reaction mixture containing 0.12 mmol of the linker. Synthesis of Al NC@\[Al(OH)(1,4-ndc)\]*~n~* and Al NC\@MIL-96(Al) was performed under similar conditions to that of MIL-53(Al) by substituting the H~2~BDC linker with 1,4-NDC and benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid (H~3~BTC), respectively.
Preparation of MIL-53(Al) crystal powder
----------------------------------------
MIL-53(Al) MOF as a control for photocatalysis measurements was prepared according to the literature ([@R29]) with minor modifications. Al~2~(NO3)~3~ (1.3 g) and H~2~BDC linker (0.288 g) were dissolved in 5 ml of water transferred to an autoclave. The reaction proceeded at 220°C for 48 hours. The MOF powder was collected and washed several times with DMF to remove the unreacted precursors and was vacuum-dried at 120°C for 2 hours. The final powder was stored under vacuum at room temperature before photocatalysis measurement.
Dark-field measurements
-----------------------
Dark-field scattering measurements were carried out on Electron Microscopy Sciences fused quartz substrates or Silicon Valley Microelectronics fused quartz substrates, prepared by sonication in acetone followed by an IPA wash and then by deposition of 50 nm of gold on top of a 3-nm Ti adhesion layer. The metal was deposited through a Ted Pella Micron Index 1 TEM grid to create a grid pattern, allowing for particle identification. Dark-field samples were prepared by diluting reaction solutions between 50 and 500 times in IPA, sonicating 10 min in a bath sonicator (VWR Model 150D) and three 30-s bursts in a probe sonicator (Branson Sonifier 450) to prevent aggregation, and then drop-casting \~10 μl onto a prepared substrate. After drop casting, samples were dried under a light nitrogen stream.
Electromagnetic simulation
--------------------------
The scattering calculations were performed using a commercial finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method software package (Lumerical FDTD Solutions 8.16.1022). The MOF-coated Al particles were modeled as concentric spheres placed on a SiO~2~ substrate. The diameter of the Al core, the thickness of the Al~2~O~3~ layer, and the thickness of the MOF layer were chosen to be 120, 3, and 30 nm, respectively. A total-field scattered-field light source was used to simulate a plane wave with a 60° incident angle. The collected scattering was calculated by first calculating the far-field scattering of the particle in the air side and then integrating the scattering intensity between the minimum (15°) and maximum (40°) collection angles. To account for the unpolarized light used in the experiment, we obtained the final scattering spectrum by averaging the scattering spectrums calculated from four different polarization angles: 0° (p polarization), 90° (s polarization), 45°, and −45°. The dielectric responses of Al, Al~2~O~3~, and SiO~2~ were taken from tabulated data ([@R41], [@R16]).
Catalyst preparation and reactor experiments
--------------------------------------------
The as-synthesized Al NCs and Al NC\@MOF particles were dried and activated under dynamic vacuum at 150°C for 4 hours before BET analysis. The photocatalysis experiments were performed on the same particles used for BET analysis. The catalysts were prepared by homogeneous dispersion of particles onto a γ-Al~2~O~3~ particle support (Alfa Aesar) at 50 wt % loading. The nanoparticles were mixed with the oxide support particles, and the mixture was ground thoroughly to homogenize the catalyst. Pure MIL-53(Al) MOF without oxide support was used as a control sample, and its activity was compared with the Al\@MOF nanoparticles. All catalytic activities were measured at a total pressure of 1 atm using about 10 mg of the catalyst loaded into a customized stainless steel chamber flow fixed-bed reactor (Harrick Scientific Products Inc.). The reactor set-up synthesis was previously described ([@R25]). The photocatalytic experiments were performed at room temperature without external heating. The catalyst was illuminated using a supercontinuum fiber laser (400 to 850 nm, 4 ps, 40 MHz; Fianium) broadband visible light source with peak intensity at 700 nm (see fig. S11 for source spectrum), and a lens (150-mm focal length; Thorlabs) was used to focus the light to a 1.5-mm spot size onto the photocatalyst, through the quartz reactor window. Thermal activity measurements were conducted in the absence of light and by heating the chamber with a temperature controller (Harrick Scientific Products Inc.). For the hydrogen-deuterium exchange reaction and for the rWGS reaction, a 1:1 ratio of H~2~/D~2~ (research purity, Matheson Tri-Gas) and a 1:1 ratio of CO~2~/H~2~ (research purity, Matheson Tri-Gas), respectively, were continuously flowed into the reaction chamber at a total flow rate of 20 SCCM (standard cubic centimeters per minute). The effluent composition was measured in real time using a quadrupole mass spectrometer (Hiden Analytical Inc.) or a customized gas chromatograph (Shimadzu) equipped with a pulsed discharge helium ionization detector.
Material characterizations
--------------------------
Electron micrographs were acquired using a JEOL 1230 high-contrast transmission electron microscope operated at 80 kV and a JEOL 2100 field emission gun transmission electron microscope operated at 200 kV. HAADF-STEM images, electron tomography, and energy-dispersive x-ray were collected using a FEI Titan Themis3 (scanning) transmission electron microscope operated at 300 kV. HAADF-STEM tilt series images for electron tomography were acquired for Al\@MIL-53 with tilt increments of 3° between an angular range of −66° to +72°. Before tomographic reconstruction, the tilt series images were aligned using the TomoJ plugin for FIJI ([@R42]). Tomographic reconstruction, also implemented with TomoJ in FIJI, was carried out using an iterative reconstruction algorithm of ordered subsets algebra reconstruction technique. Visualization and segmentation of the tomography reconstructions were carried out using Avizo V9.3 (Visualization Sciences Group). The 3D renderings in the main text, supporting movie S1, were generated in orthographic view. SEM images were acquired using a FEI Helios 660 NanoLab scanning electron microscope operated at an accelerating voltage of 5 to 10 kV and a working distance of 5 mm. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) extinction spectra were recorded by a Cary 5000 UV-Vis-NIR spectrometer in reflection mode. Dark-field measurements were carried out in a reflection mode using a custom-built instrument in the Halas laboratory, capable of measuring from 200 to 700 nm. Samples were measured with a 5-nm step size and 5-s integration time. Scattering measurements were correlated to scanning electron microscope images taken on a FEI Quanta 650 scanning electron microscope. Gas sorption studies were performed using a Quantachrome Autosorb-iQ automated gas sorption analyzer. N~2~ sorption was performed at 77 K up to 1 bar, and CO~2~ sorption was done at 273 K up to 1 bar. The samples were activated by heating under vacuum at 423 K for 4 hours before the sorption measurements. PXRD patterns of the activated nanoparticle powders were recorded with a Rigaku D/Max Ultima II diffractometer configured with a vertical θ/θ goniometer using Cu Kα radiation (λ = 1.5406 Å). To assess the thermal stability of the MIL-53(Al) MOF formed around Al NCs, a dry powder of Al\@MOF (\~10 mg) was heated under argon flow (100 cm^3^ min^−1^) from room temperature to 800°C with a ramp rate of 10°C min^−1^. The weight of the sample was monitored by TGA analysis using a Q600 thermogravimetric analyzer. Raman spectra were acquired in ambient atmosphere under an excitation wavelength of 785 nm using a Renishaw inVia Raman microscope. Spectra of each sample were averaged over 50 scans and were baseline-subtracted on the basis of a built-in function of the instrument. A commercial FTIR spectrometer (Bruker Vertex 80v/Hyperion 3000 microscope) equipped with a mercury-cadmium-telluride detector was used to perform infrared spectroscopy.
Supplementary Material
======================
###### http://advances.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/5/2/eaav5340/DC1
**Funding:** We acknowledge the Welch Foundation (grant no. C-1220 to N.J.H.), the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (grant no. FA9550-15-1-0022), and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (grant no. HDTRA 1-16-1-0042) for financial support. D.W. would like to acknowledge the Rice Chemistry department for support. D.F.S. would like to acknowledge the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program under grant no. 1450681. **Author contributions:** H.R. and N.J.H. devised and developed the research. H.R. and D.W. performed the synthesis. H.R., D.W., D.F.S., C.J., S.T., and L.Z. contributed to material characterization. H.R. performed BET measurements and photocatalytic experiments and analyzed the data. M.Z., performed the FDTD simulation of dark-field measurements. H.R., N.J.H., and P.N. wrote the manuscript. All authors contributed to general discussions and edited and reviewed the manuscript. **Competing interests:** The authors declare that they have no competing interests. **Data and materials availability:** All data needed to evaluate the conclusions in the paper are present in the paper and/or the Supplementary Materials. Additional data related to this paper may be requested from the authors. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to N.J.H.
Supplementary material for this article is available at <http://advances.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/5/2/eaav5340/DC1>
Fig. S1. Crystal structure of the MIL-53(Al) MOF formed around Al NC.
Fig. S2. Vibrational spectroscopy of the MIL-53(Al) framework surrounding Al NC core.
Fig. S3. TGA analysis of Al NC\@MIL-53(Al).
Fig. S4. Transmission electron microscopy characterizations of pristine Al NCs and Al NC\@MIL-53(Al).
Fig. S5. Scanning electron microscopy characterizations of pristine Al NCs and Al NC\@MIL-53(Al).
Fig. S6. Attempt for the synthesis of MIL-53(Al) shell around Al NCs following previously established synthetic strategy.
Fig. S7. Influence of the initial pH of the solution on formation of MIL-53(Al) around Al NCs.
Fig. S8. Time-dependent UV-Vis extinction spectrum of the reaction mixture during MIL-53(Al) shell formation around Al NCs.
Fig. S9. The role of organic linker on establishing MOF shell during hydrothermal dissolution of Al NC.
Fig. S10. Influence of sodium acetate on MOF formation progress.
Fig. S11. Pore size distribution of MIL-53(Al) shell layer around Al NC core.
Fig. S12. Spectrum of the light source used for photocatalysis and optical characterization of Al NC\@MIL-53(Al) on γ-Al~2~O~3~ support.
Fig. S13. Product selectivity for thermally driven rWGS.
Fig. S14. Applying the dissolution-and-growth approach to Al NCs in a solution of 1,4-NDC.
Fig. S15. Applying the dissolution-and-growth approach to Al NCs in a solution of H~3~BTC.
Fig. S16. Enhanced stability of Al NC in water through rational MOF coating.
Fig. S17. Coupling catalytically active TM nanoparticle islands to the Al\@MOF hybrid for future photocatalytic applications.
Movie S1. 3D reconstruction of Al NC\@MIL-53(Al) particle morphology using electron tomography.
References ([@R43]--[@R45])
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Q:
Difference between is and as keyword
Please tell what is the difference between is and as keyword in C#
A:
is
The is operator checks if an object can be cast to a specific type.
Example:
if (someObject is StringBuilder) ...
as
The as operator attempts to cast an object to a specific type, and returns null if it fails.
Example:
StringBuilder b = someObject as StringBuilder;
if (b != null) ...
Also related:
Casting
The cast operator attempts to cast an object to a specific type, and throws an exeption if it fails.
Example:
StringBuilder b = (StringBuilder)someObject.
A:
The Difference between IS and As is that..
IS - Is Operator is used to Check the Compatibility of an Object with a given Type and it returns the result as a Boolean (True Or False).
AS - As Operator is used for Casting of Object to a given Type or a Class.
Ex.
Student s = obj as Student;
is equivalent to:
Student s = obj is Student ? (Student)obj : (Student)null;
A:
Both is and as keywords are used for type casting in C#.
When you take a look at the IL code of usages of both the keywords, you will get the difference easily.
C# Code:
BaseClass baseclassInstance = new DerivedClass();
DerivedClass derivedclassInstance;
if (baseclassInstance is DerivedClass)
{
derivedclassInstance = (DerivedClass)baseclassInstance;
// do something on derivedclassInstance
}
derivedclassInstance = baseclassInstance as DerivedClass;
if (derivedclassInstance != null)
{
// do something on derivedclassInstance
}
IL code (for above C# code is in the attached image):
The IL code for is keyword usage contains IL instructions both isinsta and castclass.
But the IL code for as keyword usage has only isinsta.
In the above mentioned usage, two typecast will happen where is keyword is used and only one typecast where as keyword is used.
Note: If you are using is keyword to check some condition and do not have any interest in the typecast result, then there will be only one typecast, i.e.
if (baseclassInstance is DerivedClass)
{
// do something based on the condition check.
}
is and as keywords will be used based on the necessity.
|
Factors associated with compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress among Chinese nurses in tertiary hospitals: A cross-sectional study.
Compassion fatigue is a work-related professional hazard acquired when providing healthcare for patients. This hazard can lead to physical and mental health problems for nurses and may also affect the nursing care quality for patients. However, studies on Chinese nurses' compassion fatigue are scarce, especially large sampled, multi-center empirical research. The goal of this study was to assess the prevalence of compassion fatigue among Chinese nurses, and to explore the factors associated with compassion satisfaction, burnout and second traumatic stress. A cross-sectional design with a convenience sample. Participants were recruited from 11 tertiary hospitals in western (Chengdu, Chongqing), eastern (Hefei), southern (Shenzhen) and central China (Wuhan, Huangshi). A total of 1044 registered nurses from different nursing departments were surveyed. Demographic, work-related information, lifestyle questionnaire and the Professional Quality of Life Scale were used in this study. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, and Pearson or Spearman's correlation analyses were used to compare the differences and examine the relationships between participants' demographic and work-related variables and compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Multiple linear regression models were performed to identify salient variables associated with compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary traumatic stress from among demographic and work-related factors. The mean scores for the dimensions of compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary traumatic stress were 32.63±6.46, 27.36±5.29, and 26.88±5.13, respectively. The age of 36 or higher, being married, higher job satisfaction, good sleep quality and regular exercise were positively associated with compassion satisfaction, while smoking was a negative factor; these five factors explained 25.7% of the total variance. The average number of hours worked per day was a positive factor for burnout, while being married/member of an unmarried couple, job satisfaction, sleep hours per day and sleep quality were negative factors of burnout, explaining 38.8% of the total variance. In addition, we also found that four factors, poor sleep quality, low job satisfaction, more work hours, and second-hand smoke exposure were related to secondary traumatic stress, explaining 9% of the variance. Our findings reveal a serious phenomenon of the poor professional quality of life among Chinese nurses. The results may provide clues to help nursing managers identify nurses' vulnerability to compassion fatigue and implement targeted strategies to reduce nurses' burnout and secondary traumatic stress, while supporting compassion satisfaction. |
Be(II) in aqueous solution--an extended ab initio QM/MM MD study.
An ab initio quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) molecular dynamics (MD) simulation at double-zeta restricted Hartree-Fock (RHF) level was performed at 293.15 K, including first and second hydration shell in the QM region to study the structural and dynamical properties of the Be(II)-hydrate in aqueous solution. The first tetrahedrally arranged hydration shell, with the four water molecules located at a mean Be-O distance of 1.61 A, is highly inert with respect to ligand exchange processes. The second shell, however, consisting in average of approximately 9.2 water ligands at a mean Be-O distance of 3.7 A and the third shell at a mean Be-O distance of 5.4 A with approximately 19 ligands rapidly exchange water molecules between them and with the bulk, respectively. Other structural parameters such as radial and angular distribution functions (RDF and ADF) and tilt- and theta-angle distributions were also evaluated. The dynamics of the hydrate were studied in terms of ligand mean residence times (MRTs) and librational and vibrational frequencies. The mean residence times for second shell and third shell ligands were determined as 4.8 and 3.2 ps, respectively. The Be-O stretching frequency of 658 cm(-1), associated with a force constant of 147 N m(-1) could be overestimated but it certainly reflects the exceptional stability of the ion-ligand bond in the first hydration shell. |
Constitutive activation of nuclear factor-kappaB prevents TRAIL-induced apoptosis in renal cancer cells.
TRAIL has gained much attention for its specific induction of apoptosis in cancer cells but not in normal cells. This phenomenon has been explained thus: that cancer cells dominantly express death receptors while normal cells express decoy receptors. However, recent reports have shown that some cancer cell lines are resistant to TRAIL-induced apoptosis despite the absence of decoy receptors and the presence of death receptors. This suggested the existance of an inhibitory factor. We herein showed that NF-kappaB is a key molecule underlying the TRAIL-resistant mechanism in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell lines. We observed that NF-kappaB is constitutively activated in resistant cell lines. Forced expression of antisense cDNA of IkappaBalpha, a specific inhibitor of NF-kappaB, in TRAIL-sensitive cell lines with a low NF-kappaB activity result in constitutive activation of NF-kappaB and resistance to TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Adenoviral expression of a stable form of IkappaBalpha in the TRAIL-resistant cell lines induced apoptosis. These data suggest that RCC can be classified into two subsets: TRAIL-sensitive RCC with a low NF-kappaB activity and TRAIL-resistant RCC with constitutively activated NF-kappaB. In the former group TRAIL can be a treatment option, while in the latter group a molecular approach targeting NF-kappaB appears to be a promising therapy. |
Five-time Group One-winning sprinter Sole Power has been retired
Five-time Group One-winning sprinter Sole Power has been retired with his form dropping off in three recent starts at Meydan.
Trainer Eddie Lynham said the 10-year-old would spend his days at Horse Park Stud in Ireland.
Sole Power won 12 of his 65 starts and was placed on a further 14 occasions.
He was a dual winner of the King’s Stand Stakes and also the Nunthorpe Stakes, beating Australian horse Starspangledbanner in 2010.
His final Group One win came in Dubai in the 2015 Al Quoz Sprint but he was unplaced in the race last year behind Australian Buffering.
“He’s been a wonderful horse and he’s going out on his own terms as he’s totally sound,” Lynam said.
“His form up to 2015 had been at a very high level, but his form has dipped in recent years as, like all of us, he’s got slower as he’s got older.
“I’ve never trained a more genuine, happier and sounder horse than Sole Power.
“He’ll have a few months at home to chill and then he’ll head over to Horse Park Stud, where a lot of our retired horses go.
“Putting him on the horsebox that one last time, that will be the saddest day.”
*Existing customers only. 2nd Racing bet. Excl SA & WA. T’s & C’s apply. Gamble responsibly. |
Q:
Address operator on big endian system
Many people know the following example to find out whether a system is little endian or big endian:
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
unsigned int i = 1;
char *c = (char*)&i;
if (*c)
printf("Little endian");
else
printf("Big endian");
getchar();
return 0;
}
However, I would like to know whether the following piece of code is also still valid and functional:
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
unsigned int i = 1;
char *c = &i;
if (*c)
printf("Little endian");
else
printf("Big endian");
getchar();
return 0;
}
This basically deals with the question on how the address operator, &, on big endian systems is interpreted.
Suppose that you do not do the type conversion as above and also suppose a big endian system returns you the highest bit address (basically where the int starts), then this piece of code will still print "Little endian" although you are really dealing with a big endian system.
Any comment on this would be really helpful. Thank you in advance :D.
A:
The assignment char *c = &i; violates the constraints in C 2018 6.5.16.1 1. That paragraph says “One of the following shall hold,” and the closest match in the list of options is:
the left operand has atomic, qualified, or unqualified pointer type, and (considering the type the left operand would have after lvalue conversion) both operands are pointers to qualified or unqualified versions of compatible types, and the type pointed to by the left has all the qualifiers of the type pointed to by the right;
char * and int * are not compatible, so the assignment fails the constraints.
That said, if the compiler did accept this statement (which it may, since the C standard permits extensions) and converts the pointer on the right to the type on the left (as assignments should), the result should be a pointer to the lowest addressed byte of the object, regardless of endianness. This is normal for pointer conversions per C 2018 6.3.2.3 7:
… When a pointer to an object is converted to a pointer to a character type, the result points to the lowest addressed byte of the object.
|
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Aurora Begins Supplying German Medical Cannabis Market
Export/Import Permits Received, First 50 kg Shipped
VANCOUVER, Sept. 19, 2017 /CNW/ – Aurora Cannabis Inc. (“Aurora” or the “Company”) (TSX: ACB) (OTCQX: ACBFF) (Frankfurt: 21P; WKN: A1C4WM) announced today that it has received all the required permits to ship dried cannabis flower from Canada to Germany, enabling the Company to begin supplying the German medical cannabis market through its wholly-owned subsidiary Pedanios GmbH (“Pedanios”).
Aurora is now in receipt of a Health Canada issued Export Permit, as well as provisional import status from the German Bundesopiumstelle (Federal Narcotics Bureau), to import medical cannabis products into Germany. On September 18, 2017, the Company shipped 50 kg of dried cannabis from its facility in Mountain View County, Alberta, to Berlin-based Pedanios, Germany’s leading medical cannabis distributor. Import permits for additional product have been secured, and ongoing, regular shipments are scheduled.
Upon delivery to Pedanios, the product will be distributed to a network of more than 1,500 pharmacies across Germany, a country of more than 82 million people. Germany currently represents the largest single federally-legal medical cannabis market in the world, and is experiencing a significant shortage of supply. Through Pedanios, Aurora plans to become a top producer and supplier of medical cannabis products in Germany, as well as other European Union (EU) markets.
This represents a huge milestone for Aurora and Pedanios, and a critical step in our aggressive international expansion strategy. Our team has done an outstanding job accelerating our entry into Europe.
Neil Belot, Chief Global Business Development Officer
This is the first step in unlocking future potential markets in the EU of several hundred million people, and strongly validates Aurora’s acquisition of Pedanios as one of the most significant strategic transactions to date in the cannabis industry.
Terry Booth, CEO, added, “With the receipt of our first international export/import permits and our first shipment to Germany complete, Aurora has further strengthened its position as one of the dominant operators in the global cannabis sector. Germany has more than twice Canada’s population, with a rapidly-growing medical cannabis market that can currently be serviced by only four international producers – three of which have distributed product through Pedanios. Moreover, Pedanios provides a well-established gateway to the wider EU market, which continues to grow as additional countries proceed in improving patient access through the establishment of their own national medical cannabis systems. We will continue to diversify our operations, bring the Aurora Standard to new markets, and enjoy first mover advantages as we aim to set the cannabis industry standard across Europe and beyond.”
About Aurora
Aurora’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Aurora Cannabis Enterprises Inc., is a licensed producer of medical cannabis pursuant to Health Canada’s Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (“ACMPR”). The Company operates a 55,200 square foot, state-of-the-art production facility in Mountain View County, Alberta, is currently constructing a second 800,000 square foot production facility, known as “Aurora Sky”, at the Edmonton International Airport, and has acquired, and is undertaking completion of a third 40,000 square foot production facility in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, on Montreal’s West Island.
In addition, the Company holds approximately 9.6% of the issued shares (12.9% on a fully-diluted basis) in leading extraction technology company Radient Technologies Inc., based in Edmonton, and is in the process of completing an investment in Edmonton-based Hempco Food and Fiber for an ownership stake of up to 50.1%. Furthermore, Aurora is the cornerstone investor with a 19.9% stake in Cann Group Limited, the first Australian company licensed to conduct research on and cultivate medical cannabis. Aurora also owns Pedanios, a leading wholesale importer, exporter, and distributor of medical cannabis in the European Union (“EU”), based in Germany. Aurora’s common shares trade on TSX under the symbol “ACB”.
Original press release: http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/aurora-begins-supplying-german-medical-cannabis-market-645657173.html
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Published by NCV Newswire The NCV Newswire by New Cannabis Ventures aims to curate high quality content and information about leading cannabis companies to help our readers filter out the noise and to stay on top of the most important cannabis business news. The NCV Newswire is hand-curated by an editor and not automated in anyway. Have a confidential news tip? Get in touch |
Solanesol: added value from Solanaceous waste.
Isoprenoids, also known as terpenoids, are the largest and oldest class of natural products known. They are comprised of more than 40,000 different molecules all biosynthetically related via a common five carbon building block (isopentenyl). Many isoprenoids are of commercial interest and are used as fragrances in cosmetics and flavours, colorants and nutritional supplements in foods and feeds as well as being phytomedicines. Their industrial relevance also means they are compounds of high value with global markets in the range of $1 billion per annum. Solanesol is a 45-carbon, unsaturated, all-trans-nonaprenol isoprenoid of high value. Recently this molecule has received particular attention because of its utility, both in its own right and as a precursor in the production of numerous compounds used in the treatment of disease states. Instability in supply and spiralling costs have also lead to the search for sources. In this article existing sources and the potential strategies and tools available to create sustainable biosources are reviewed. |
A native of Russia, Chaga mushroom is actually a parasitic fungus rising on the birch tree. It is irregular in shape and seems like a mass of charcoal. Its black colour is due to the massive levels of melanin. Chaga mushroom is famous in Russia, though its fame is fast growing worldwide. Besides being powerful adaptogenic, the reishi spore oil is an immune booster, an outstanding digestive aid, anti-inflammatory, and anti-viral properties.
The active compound within the Chaga mushroom comes with an essential role in prevention and control over cancer, according to research. Betulinic acid, Inotodiol, and Ergosterol peroxide are the essential compounds with anticancer properties. Betulinic acid induces cell apoptosis and prevents tumour development while Ergosterol peroxide inhibits colorectal cancer. Moreover, other extracts in Chaga mushroom assist the immune system to recognise cancer cells as foreign and invasive; thus prompting our bodies to combat against them.
2. Immune booster
Chaga extracts boost and modulate the defense mechanisms through the creation of immune cells Interleukin-6 and Lymphocyte B. Moreover, the extracts promote the immune system’s capacity to differentiate between foreign cells and also the body’s cells; thus enhancing the accuracy of the immunity mechanism in responding to invasion by alien cells. Chaga extract plays an important role in preventing allergy symptoms by improving the body to recognise its cells better; thus it cannot combat against its cells. In the event reducing the likelihood of occurrence of autoimmune disease.
Also, Chaga mushroom extracts are efficient in decrease in immune system hypersensitivity. Immune hypersensitivity are caused by a severe allergic attack. Such reaction can result in cardiac shock. Being a biological response modifier, Cordyceps Sinensis Extract boosts the immunity mechanism when needed and reduce it when it is hypersensitive.
3. A strong antiviral and antibiotic
Chaga extracts have potent antiviral and antimicrobial properties. For example, Chaga extracts are effective against viruses as they inhibit replication of HIV 1 and prevent Herpes virus from infecting new cells. Furthermore, the extracts are effective in reducing infection as a result of Hepatitis C. The extracts stop the process that bacteria use to activate gene expression (quorum sensing), an essential element of fighting bacterial infection. A cupful of Chaga tea is vital to fight the bacteria which could cause ulcers.
4. Fights inflammation
Chaga extracts reduce overactivated immune responses through decreasing expression of molecules that activate inflammatory responses. Besides, the extracts minimise inflammation in the colon through lessening oxidative stress. Note that, low antioxidant levels can result in inflammatory bowel syndrome, an inflammation of colon cells. Furthermore, Cordyceps Sinensis Extract reduce pain stemming from inflammations, by blocking the effects of enzymes that take part in inflammatory pathways, nitric oxide synthase, and cyclooxygenase-2.
5. Powerful antioxidant
Antioxidants play a crucial role in neutralising free radicles within the body. The free radicles cause oxidative stress. Chaga has got the highest level of antioxidant potency when compared with any other food. The top quantities of antioxidants are caused by the top level of polyphenols inside the mushroom. Besides, the top amounts of Super Oxidase Dimutase, protect body meepqi against destructive outcomes of uncontrolled oxidation and free radicles. The antioxidative properties, decrease the rate of cell ageing.
6. Alleviates Ulcers and gastritis
One of many causes of ulcers is bacteria. As being a potent antimicrobial, Chaga kills the bacteria that triggers ulcers within the digestive system reducing odds of ulcers. Besides, the extracts of the mushroom are essential in cutting inflammation and boosting immunity. Taking a cup of Chaga tea or perhaps a glass of warm water infused with Chaga mushroom powder thirty minutes before meals alleviate pain, and soothes the ulcers.
7. Physical endurance
Chaga polysaccharides reduce lactic acid concentration within the blood during an exercise. Reducing lactic acid reduces fatigue and enhances the whole process of energy production. Besides, the polysaccharides increase the glycogen content of muscles as well as the liver. Moreover, Chaga mushroom extracts, decrease blood urea nitrogen levels, a component that plays a role in fatigue. |
Transport and metabolism of glucose in an insulin-secreting cell line, beta TC-1.
Kinetic characteristics of glucose transport and glucose phosphorylation were studied in the islet cell line beta TC-1 to explore the roles of these processes in determining the dependence of glucose metabolism and insulin secretion on external glucose. The predominant glucose transporter present was the rat brain/erythrocyte type (Glut1), as determined by RNA and immunoblot analysis. The liver/islet glucose transporter (Glut2) RNA was not detected. The functional parameters of zero-trans glucose entry were Km = 9.5 +/- 2 mM and Vmax = 15.2 +/- 2 nmol min-1 (microL of cell water)-1. Phosphorylation kinetics of two hexokinase activities were characterized in situ. A low-Km (0.036 mM) hexokinase with a Vmax of 0.40 nmol min-1 (microL of cell water)-1 was present along with a high-Km (10 mM) hexokinase, which appeared to conform to a cooperative model with a Hill coefficient of about 1.4 and a Vmax of 0.3 nmol min-1 (microL of cell water)-1. Intracellular glucose at steady state was about 80% of the extracellular glucose from 3 to 15 mM, and transport did not limit metabolism in this range. In this static (nonperifusion) system, 2-3 times more immunoreactive insulin was secreted into the medium at 15 mM glucose than at 3 mM. The dependence of insulin secretion on external glucose roughly paralleled the dependence of glucose metabolism on external glucose. Simulations with a model demonstrated the degree to which changes in transport activity would affect intracellular glucose levels and the rate of the high-Km hexokinase (with the potential to affect insulin release). |
Nam Seung-gu
Nam Seung-gu (born 25 November 1963) is a South Korean gymnast. He competed in eight events at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
References
Category:1963 births
Category:Living people
Category:South Korean male artistic gymnasts
Category:Olympic gymnasts of South Korea
Category:Gymnasts at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Category:Place of birth missing (living people) |
South Fork Mayo River
The South Fork Mayo River is a river in the United States state of Virginia.
See also
List of rivers of Virginia
References
USGS Geographic Names Information Service
USGS Hydrologic Unit Map - State of Virginia (1974)
Category:Rivers of Virginia
Category:Tributaries of the Roanoke River |
During a briefing on the category 5 Hurricane Dorian sweeping across the Bahamas and toward the US coast, Donald Trump said: 'All we know is that it's possibly the biggest. I'm not sure I've even heard of a category 5, I knew it existed. And I've seen some category 4s. I don't even think I've heard the term other than I know it it's there and it's the ultimate and that's what we have unfortunately.' Trump has said the same thing – that he has never heard of category 5 hurricanes – at least four times over the last two years, including as recently as May. |
Harold Seidman
Harold Seidman (1911–2002) was an American political scientist who is best known for a classic work in government studies and public administration—Politics, Position and Power: The Dynamics of Federal Organization, now in its fifth edition. He was a well-known expert in Washington DC bureaucratic politics and was particularly expert in the organization of government corporations.
Seidman attended Brown University for both his Bachelors (1934) and a master's degrees (1935). For a time, Seidman worked on the editorial staff of the magazine, The Nation. In 1943, he completed a Ph.D. at Yale University, where he was in the political science department with Dwight Waldo as a colleague.
Seidman was a prolific writer. Between 1930 and 1984, he wrote many articles and books considered important in the field of public administration.
Seidman ended his career in public service and began teaching as a Professor in the Political Science department at the University of Connecticut where he taught from 1971-1984. His collected papers are archived at the University of Connecticut. Seidman then taught at Johns Hopkins University Center for the Study of American Government in Washington, DC until his death.
Category:American political scientists
Category:1911 births
Category:2002 deaths |
Introduction
============
Nanotechnology deals with small chemical materials ranging from 1 to 100 nm, having specific physicochemical properties that are totally different from their bulk materials.[@b1-ijn-12-8735]--[@b3-ijn-12-8735] In the last few decades, nanotechnology has been gaining a tremendous reputation in the field of biotechnology, electronics, drug delivery, catalysis, and so on.[@b4-ijn-12-8735],[@b5-ijn-12-8735] Nanomaterials have size- and shape-dependent properties, which make them totally different from their bulk counterparts, while the bulk materials have size- and shape-independent properties.[@b6-ijn-12-8735] Due to the surface plasmon resonance, metal nanoparticles show different colors by changing shape and particle size.[@b7-ijn-12-8735] The nanoparticles with smaller size than the wavelength of electromagnetic radiations and having high penetrating power are efficiently used as conducting materials.[@b8-ijn-12-8735] Similarly, the melting point of this material is automatically decreased with decrease in particle size, probably up to \<10 nm.[@b6-ijn-12-8735] Metal nanoparticles are very attractive because of its high mechanical strength, thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, chemical stability and large surface area.[@b9-ijn-12-8735] Current advancements in nanomaterials have guaranteed that the metal nanoparticles can play an important role in the different concerned technologies.[@b10-ijn-12-8735]--[@b12-ijn-12-8735]
Nowadays, metal-fabricated nanomaterials have been gaining extensive interest because of their enriched optical, catalytic and antibacterial properties.[@b13-ijn-12-8735],[@b14-ijn-12-8735] Hence, it is made easier to recover and reuse the catalysts by incorporation of magnetic nanoparticles in catalysts or absorbents simply by applying the external magnetic field.[@b15-ijn-12-8735] That is why, different metal nanoparticles, particularly the gold, cobalt, nickel and silver, have been synthesized.[@b16-ijn-12-8735],[@b17-ijn-12-8735] Among these metals, gold and silver nanoparticles are much used in different fields because of their conductivity, inertness, surface plasmon resonance and bright color.[@b18-ijn-12-8735] However, the application of gold at industrial scale is restricted because of its high cost. Nevertheless, copper (Cu) nanoparticles are extensively used because of their low cost in good electrical, thermal, catalytic and biomedical applications.[@b19-ijn-12-8735] Moreover, Cu nanoparticles can act as antibiotics and antimicrobial and antifungal agents particularly in the plastic, coating and textile industries.[@b20-ijn-12-8735],[@b21-ijn-12-8735] Similarly, palladium (Pd) nanoparticles have been widely studied in a wide range of catalytic applications including hydrogenations, oxidations, carbon--carbon bond formation, and electrochemical reactions in the fuel cells.[@b22-ijn-12-8735],[@b23-ijn-12-8735] However, it should be noted that the application of Pd goes beyond catalysis. For example, the property of Pd to adsorb hydrogen has also led to use of Pd-based nanoparticles in hydrogen storage and sensing applications. There are many types of environmental pollutants, Congo red, methylene blue, Rhodamine B, Rhodamine G, methyl orange, eosin Y and nitro compounds.[@b24-ijn-12-8735] The compounds having nitro group are selected on the basis of their utmost importance in environment and in various manufacturing industries in general, particularly in the pharmacology products, aromatic products, dyes and pigments. Mostly, in pharmaceutical sector, the antipyretic and analgesic type of medicines, that is, paracetamol and acetanilide etcare, are synthesized from the 4-aminophenol, which are produced by the catalytic activities of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). Similarly, the aforementioned compounds were prepared by the reduction of 2 nitrophenol (2-NP) and 4-nitroaminophenol (4-NA), respectively. These compounds are mostly used as a source in industry for the production of different pigments, dyes, and so on. Although, the nitro-based compounds have categorized in pollutants and toxic materials which are discharge by synthetic industries after process completion, in terms of waste materials. That is why, its reduction and conversion in terms of sustainability to useful and worthy compounds are very important and the utmost needs of recent world.[@b25-ijn-12-8735]
Since last few decades, metallic nanocomposites are gaining much more attention because of their efficient catalytic, opto-electronic and antibacterial properties.[@b26-ijn-12-8735],[@b27-ijn-12-8735] Although, their simple synthesis via chemical route, that is, concurrent and successive reduction of the precursor ions, gives various morphological composite nanoparticles. However, the nanoparticles have a wide surface for energy and the presence of van der Waal forces and aggregate it readily, which leads to decrease in the specific surface area that comprehensively decreases the catalytic activity. Stabilizers in the form of polymers, surfactants or any other legends are added during reduction reaction in order to protect nanosize material from aggregation.[@b28-ijn-12-8735] Among the following types of bimetallic nanoparticles, Pd-containing bimetallic nanoparticles like Pd\@Ni, Pd\@Au, Pd\@Pt and Pd\@Cu are considered as promising candidates for various organic transformation reactions.[@b29-ijn-12-8735] Moreover, it has been experimentally investigated that the catalytic properties of bimetallic nanoparticles are often affected by a range of factors, like nanostructure, morphological composition of particle, size and shape. The important features that distinguish the bimetallic catalyst from monometallic ones are the tunable nanostructures and surface compositions. The bimetallic nanostructure may eventually be alloy, core-shell structure or mixed monometallic nanoparticles. These different nanostructures establish different catalytic performances.[@b30-ijn-12-8735]
In the present research work, Cu, Pd and the bimetallic Pd@ Cu nanoparticles were synthesized through a known chemical reduction method using sodium borohydride (NaBH~4~) as a reducing agent and trisodium citrate as a stabilizer. The synthesized monometallic and bimetallic nanoparticles were checked for its catalytic and antimicrobial activities. Although many researchers have reported the synthesis and characterization of Cu and Pd nanoparticles, our literature survey shows deficiencies with respect to their antimicrobial activities and catalytic properties as well as in terms of toxic environmental pollutants degradation.
Experimental section
====================
Materials
---------
Copper nitrate trihydrates (Cu(NO~3~)~2~⋅3H~2~O, 99%), palladium chloride (PdCl~2~) and trisodium citrate dihydrate (C~6~H~5~O~7~Na~3~⋅2H~2~O, 99%) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich company and used as received without any amendment and purification. Sodium borohydride (NaBH~4~, 98%) was used as a reducing agent for the synthesis of nanoparticles and reduction of 4-NP (99%). The NaOH (99%), L-ascorbic acid, liquid Mueller Hinton, Luria broth (LB) and ofloxacin were purchased from Merck and Aldrich and used as received. The ultrapurified water was obtained from Milli-Q ultrapure (18.2 MN cm) system and was used in all the experimentation setup. The different bacterial species strains used were *Proteus mirabilis, Bacillus thuringiensis, Shigella flexneri, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeroginosa and Salmonella typhimurium*.
Synthesis of Cu, Pd and Pd\@Cu bimetallic nanoparticles
-------------------------------------------------------
Copper nanoparticles were synthesized by the following procedure as reported by Fang et al with slight modification.[@b31-ijn-12-8735] 0.5 mL aqueous solution of trisodium citrate (0.4 M) and 5.0 mL aqueous solution of Cu(NO~3~)~2~⋅3H~2~O (0.5 M) were added in a flask containing 30 mL deionized (DI) water and stirred constantly. After 30 min, 0.5 mL freshly prepared aqueous solution of NaBH~4~ (0.1 M) was added to the mixture. The reaction was continued till their color turned deep red, indicating the synthesis of Cu nanoparticles. The same procedure was followed up for the synthesis of Pd nanoparticles by adding 0.5 mL aqueous solution of trisodium citrate (0.4 M) and 5 mL aqueous solution of PdCl~2~ (0.10 M) in a flask containing 30 mL DI water, and stirred continuously. After 30 min, 0.5 mL of the already prepared aqueous solution of NaBH~4~ (0.1 M) was added into the flask. The reaction was continued under constant stirring, until the color turned to dark brown, which indicated the successful synthesis of Pd nanoparticles.
Moreover, Pd nanoparticles were deposited over Cu nanoparticles to synthesize the bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles. 0.5 mL L-ascorbic acid (0.2 M) was added to 15 mL prepared Pd nanoparticles (0.5 M) in a given flask with a constant stirring rate. After 30 min, 15 mL of Cu(NO~3~)~2~⋅3H~2~O solution (0.05 M) was added to the reaction in the presence of nitrogen gas. After 30 min, 2.5 mL trisodium citrate (0.5%) was added dropwise to the reaction mixture. In the end, 2 mL NaOH (0.6 M) was added to the mixture dropwise to adjust the pH at 8.5 for 2 h at room temperature, to produce the bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles. The resulting monometallic and bimetallic nanoparticles were centrifuged at 1,800 rpm for 20 min. The proposed compound was gently washed and redispersed in 10 mL DI water.
Structural characterization of Cu, Pd and Pd\@Cu bimetallic nanoparticles
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ultraviolet--visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy was performed using Shimadzu UV-2450 spectrometer equipped with temperature-controlled program (TCC-240A) to study the absorbance maxima and catalytic activities of synthesized monometallic and bimetallic nanoparticles. The phase purity of bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) using Bruker D2 PHASER X-ray diffractometer with graphite monochromator using Cu Kα radiation (λ=1.54056 Å), operating at 30 kV and 15 mA. Similarly, Pd\@Cu nanoparticles were characterized by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The morphology of synthesized monometallic and bimetallic nanoparticles was studied by scanning electron microscopy (JSM 6700F). A sample was dropped on a silicon single crystal sheet, dried by infrared light and carefully placed on conducting glue. The sample was coated with gold vapor in order to make conduction for analysis by using JSM 6700F scanning electron microscope.
Catalytic activities of Cu, Pd and Pd\@Cu bimetallic nanoparticles
------------------------------------------------------------------
Checking out the catalytic activity of synthesized Cu, Pd and Cu\@Pd bimetallic catalysts during the reduction of 4-NP to 4-aminophenol by NaBH~4~ was investigated as a model reaction at room temperature. During the reductive degradation of 4-NP in the presence of NaBH~4~, the following typical procedure was followed. Aqueous solution of each catalyst (0.1 mg mL^−1^) and NaBH~4~ (0.1 M) was prepared. Forty microliters of aqueous solution of 4-NP, 150 μL aqueous solution of NaBH~4~ and 3 mL DI water were added in UV quartz cell followed by adding 15 μL of synthesized Cu, Pd and Pd\@Cu bimetallic catalysts. The progressive sequences of catalysts were investigated by changing observation in the mixture reaction at specific interval within the range of 250--500 nm under UV-Vis spectrophotometer.
During the recyclization experiment, the catalyst was isolated via centrifugation. After centrifugation, the following procedure was used to recover and reuse the catalyst. The catalyst was washed 3 times with DI water and dispersed in 10 μL and reused in the subsequent reaction. The nitro compounds as 4-NP is a typical example of toxic and persistent pollutant present in industrial waste water, soil and effluents that have an adverse effect directly on the aquatic life and human health, in general. The common substance that is regulated by USA Environmental Protection Agency is 4-NP. It is considered as a model for catalytic degradation studies. The catalytic properties of citrate-stabilized Cu and Pd nanoparticles were studied for the reduction of 4-NP in the presence of excess amount of NaBH~4~ in a quartz cell using UV-Vis spectroscopy.
During the process, 1 mL aqueous solution of 4-NP (0.1 mM) was mixed with 2 mL aqueous solution of NaBH~4~ (20 mM). The mixture was adjusted to the desired temperature at 30°C and poured into quartz cell. The catalyst temperature (Cu and Pd nanoparticles) was adjusted to the same temperature. After adjusting the proposed temperature, 0.5 mL of (0.1 mg mL^−1^) each catalyst was separately added into 4-NP solution in the quartz cell to record the decrease in absorbance maxima due to reduction of 4-NP into 4-aminophenol. The reduction rate of 4-NP was determined by calculating the decrease in absorbance maxima at 400 nm, accordingly. In case of bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles, the catalytic properties were studied by using the same conditions as adjusted for monometallic Pd and Cu, respectively. The temperature of mixture and bimetallic nanoparticle catalyst was separately adjusted to 30°C by using water bath with controlled temperature. The reduction rate of 4-NP was determined from the decrease in absorption maxima at 400 nm, within the interval time.
Antibacterial liability assessment of Cu, Pd and Pd\@Cu bimetallic nanoparticles
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The antibacterial properties of prepared Cu, Pd and Pd\@Cu bimetallic nanoparticles were investigated against the Gram^+ve^ and Gram^−ve^ bacteria using common quantitative agar disk method.[@b32-ijn-12-8735] The Gram^+ve^ and Gram^−ve^ bacteria culture was cultivated on LB agar media (20 mL) with pH 7.3 at 25°C. A microbial culture (0.1 mL) suspended in broth containing probably 10^−6^ colony-forming units per milliliter was spread uniformly over the surface of agar plate. The prepared Cu, Pd and their bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles (15 μg)/mL of each catalyst were separately suspended in sterilized distilled water and a blank sterilized Whitman filter paper (No 1, diameter 4 mm) was soaked in the nanoparticle suspensions. The nanoparticle-loaded disk was put over the agar plate by using sterilized forceps.
The above experiment was repeated three times consecutively and the diameters of inhibition zones were calculated after 24 h at 37°C. The antibacterial drug used as a control during the experiments was ofloxacin and the diameters of inhibition zones were measured in millimeters.
Results and discussion
======================
Morphology and size of Cu, Pd and their bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The morphology of citrate-stabilized monometallic Cu, Pd and their bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles was investigated using scanning electron micrographs (SEMs) technique. The SEM images of Cu and Pd nanoparticles showed monodisparity and spherical shape as shown in [Figure 1A and B](#f1-ijn-12-8735){ref-type="fig"} corresponding to their size distribution plots. The average size of Cu and Pd nanoparticles determined by nanomeasure software were adjusted as 40 and 50 nm, respectively. The particle sizes were determined by nanomeasure software.[@b33-ijn-12-8735]
Similarly, the morphology and size distribution of bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles were studied using SEM as shown in [Figure 1C](#f1-ijn-12-8735){ref-type="fig"} with the corresponding size distribution plots. It was observed that the average size of bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles measured by nanomeasure software was 380 nm (0.38 μm). Meanwhile, XRD analysis of the bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles was carried out as shown in [Figure 2](#f2-ijn-12-8735){ref-type="fig"}. The composition and structural verification of the prepared Pd\@Cu bimetallic nanoparticles by using the XRD and energy-dispersive X-ray are shown in [Figure 2A and B](#f2-ijn-12-8735){ref-type="fig"}, respectively. The XRD peaks caused by Cu-Pd bimetallic nanoparticles indexed as a face-centered cubic structure among 2/3 lie on the pure face-centered cubic Pd (JCPDS no 46--1043).
Meanwhile, lattice parameters of Cu\@Pd bimetallic nanoparticle constituents suggest the possibility of alloy structure. A thin film of bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticle sample exhibited diffraction peaks at 41, 48, 70, 85 and 90° corresponding to the crystal surfaces 111, 200, 220, 311 and 222, respectively, compared to the standard diffraction pattern.[@b34-ijn-12-8735] The confirmation of each nanoparticle, that is, Pd, Cu and alloy, formation was proved by energy-dispersive X-ray elemental mapping analysis as shown in [Figure 2](#f2-ijn-12-8735){ref-type="fig"} (B1--3). The Pd\@Cu bimetallic nanoparticle composition was proved by using the EDS and the Pd and Cu detected the peaks of Mo- and carbon-coated SEM grid as shown in [Figure S1](#SD1-ijn-12-8735){ref-type="supplementary-material"}.
The three types of metal nanoparticles, that is, Cu, Pd and their bimetallic nanoparticles, were prepared by using different volumes (0.2--0.6 mL) of trisodium citrate. The effect of change in amount of trisodium citrate was studied by using UV-Vis spectroscopy and the relative change in absorbance maxima for Cu, Pd and Pd\@Cu bimetallic nanoparticles as shown in [Figure 3A--C](#f3-ijn-12-8735){ref-type="fig"}. The absorbance maxima appeared at 600 and 400 nm for Cu and Pd nanoparticles for the different volumes of trisodium citrate. Similar results were obtained for bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles and their absorbance maxima appeared at 415 nm for different volumes of trisodium citrate. The appearance of absorbance maxima for Pd\@Cu nanoparticles at 415 nm showed good deposition of Pd nanoparticles over Cu nanoparticles, and the absorbance maxima of bimetallic nanoparticles were very close to the absorbance maxima of Pd nanoparticles. Moreover, the stability of absorbance maxima for the volume of trisodium citrate indicated the synthesis of same-size Cu, Pd and bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles,[@b7-ijn-12-8735] whereas the increase in absorption peak intensity showed increase in the synthesis of nanoparticles per unit area in medium with increase in volume of trisodium citrate.
Catalytic activities of Cu, Pd and their bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The catalytic properties of prepared monometallic Cu, Pd and their bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles were investigated by reducing 4-NP to 4-aminophenol in the presence of excess amount of NaBH~4~ as a reducing agent. The reduction process was monitored by UV-Vis spectroscopy at regular intervals. After the addition of NaBH~4~ to aqueous solution of 4-NP, the color of the solution changed from light yellow to deep yellow because of conversion of 4-NP to 4-nitropheolate ion as shown in [Figure 4A](#f4-ijn-12-8735){ref-type="fig"}. Similarly, the absorption maxima of 4-NP changed from 318 to 400 nm because of conversion of 4-NP into 4-nitropheolate ion in the presence of NaBH~4~, and is presented in [Figure 4B](#f4-ijn-12-8735){ref-type="fig"}.[@b35-ijn-12-8735] It was also investigated that neither metal nanoparticles nor NaBH~4~ alone can degrade the 4-NP[@b5-ijn-12-8735]. However, by the addition of metal nanoparticles, that is, Cu, Pd and Pd\@Cu bimetallic nanoparticles, into an aqueous solution of 4-NP in the presence of NaBH~4~, a sharp decrease in absorption maxima was observed for 4-nitrophenolate ions as shown in [Figure 5A--C](#f5-ijn-12-8735){ref-type="fig"}. The peak that appeared at 300 nm is assigned to the formation of 4-aminophenols.[@b36-ijn-12-8735] The apparent rate (*k*~aap~) constant and correlation constants (*R*[@b2-ijn-12-8735]) for Cu, Pd and Pd\@Cu nanoparticles were calculated by plotting ln(C~t~/C~o~) versus reaction time for the reduction of 4-NP ([Figure 6](#f6-ijn-12-8735){ref-type="fig"}). The slopes of graph indicate pseudo first-order kinetics.[@b5-ijn-12-8735] The apparent rate constants for Cu, Pd and Pd\@Cu bimetallic nanoparticles were determined from the slopes of linear curve, which were 0.3322 min^−1^, 0.2689 min^−1^ and 1.812 min^−1^, respectively. It was observed that the correlation coefficients (*R*[@b2-ijn-12-8735]) were above 0.99 for all the three types of synthesized nanoparticles. The reduction rate was found to increase 6 times with doping Pd nanoparticles over Cu nanoparticles (Pd\@Cu) as compared to monometallic Cu and Pd nanoparticles. The catalyst was recycled 7 times consecutively by centrifugation at 14,000 rpm and used reduction of 4-NP, with the observation of 1% deficiencies in reuse activity.
Comparative antibacterial properties of Cu, Pd and their bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The researchers have been forced to discover some new antibacterial agents to eliminate the risk of multidrug-resistant bacterial strains. For this purpose, we have compared the antibacterial activates of citrate-stabilized Cu, Pd and Pd@ Cu bimetallic nanoparticles. In the reported study, different nanoparticles against the eight different strains of bacteria were tested. Among these series of setup, *B. thuringiensis* and *S. aureus* were found to be the positive strains and the rest, *Proteus mirabilis, Shigella flexneri, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, S. typhimurium* and *Escherichia coli*, were recorded as the negative strains. With reference to our literature survey, it was found that Cu and Cu-containing nanocomposites had a better antibacterial activity. Therefore, in this work, we have checked out in detail the antibacterial activates of Cu, Pd and their composites through disk diffusion method against the various bacterial strains, that is, Gram^+ve^ and Gram^−ve^.
According to the diffusion method, the antimicrobial properties of Cu, Pd and Pd\@Cu bimetallic nanoparticles were checked against the Gram^+ve^ bacteria *B. thuringiensis* and *S. aureus*. At 37°C after 24 h of incubation, the diameters of inhibitions zones were calculated and found that both the Cu and Cu\@Pd bimetallic nanoparticles had a better sensitivity over both strains of bacteria except Pd, which has no zone of inhibition in the presence of positive control ofloxacin. Kora and Rastogi have investigated that Pd nanoparticles have no antibacterial activities.[@b37-ijn-12-8735] The zones of inhibition of Cu nanoparticles against *B. thuringiensis* and *S. aureus* were found to be at 14±0 and 16±0 nm, respectively, as shown in [Figure S2A and B](#SD1-ijn-12-8735){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. The positive control plate loaded with ofloxacin has a zone of inhibition at 16 mm. The zone of inhibition of Pd\@Cu bimetallic nanoparticles was observed at 17±0 and 20±0 mm. The positive control ofloxacin had presented the zone of inhibitions at about 19±0 mm.
Similarly, the same nanoparticles were used against Gram^−ve^ bacterial strains *Proteus mirabilis, Shigella flexneri, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, S. typhimurium* and *E. coli* to check out in detail the antibacterial properties. The inhibition zones of Cu nanoparticles against the above-mentioned negative bacterial species strains were recorded as 17±0, 12±0, 12±0, 15±0, 12±0 and 19±0 mm, respectively. The positive control sides of ofloxacin inhibition zone against the proposed negative bacterial strains were found as 18±0, 16±0, 14±0, 17±0, 15±0 and 20±0 mm, respectively, as shown in [Figure S2C--H](#SD2-ijn-12-8735){ref-type="supplementary-material"}.
The inhibition zones of Pd\@Cu bimetallic nanoparticles against the six negative bacterial species strains presented above are at 19±0, 18±0, 17±0, 18±0 and 16±0, 25 mm, respectively, as shown in [Figure S2A--H](#SD2-ijn-12-8735){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. The diameter of inhibition zones was different for different bacterial strains for Cu, Pd and Cu\@Pd bimetallic nanoparticles. This difference in the diameter of inhibition zone was due to the composition of bacterial cell wall. The zone of inhibition of The bimetallic Cu\@Pd nanoparticles zone of inhibition was reported with maximum range rather than the standard ofloxacin, which shows that these bimetallic nanoparticles are more effective against all the bacterial strains. The citrate-stabilized Pd\@Cu nanoparticles have shown maximum antibacterial activities than the reported work in our existing literature.[@b38-ijn-12-8735],[@b39-ijn-12-8735]
Conclution
==========
The present research work focuses its efforts to synthesize the monodispersed Cu, Pd and their bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles via known chemical reduction process in the presence of trisodium citrate as stabilizer. The synthesized monometallic and bimetallic nanoparticles had a remarkable stability and increase in amount with increase in volume of trisodium citrate. The highly catalytic and antibacterial activities were observed with bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles. The catalytic activities of monometallic and bimetallic nanoparticles were gaged on 4-NP and an increase up to 6 times on doping Pd nanoparticles over Cu nanoparticles (Pd\@Cu) as compared to their monometallic nanoparticles was observed. Meanwhile, the antibacterial activities were carried out on two Gram^+ve^ and six Gram^−ve^ bacterial strains. The bimetallic nanoparticles had shown the maximum antibacterial activities as compared to monometallic Cu and Pd nanoparticles. Moreover, the antibacterial activities of bimetallic Pd\@Cu nanoparticles were found at a maximum level than the used standard antibacterial drug ofloxacin. It is recommended that the developed findings in terms of catalytic property and antibacterial activities of the proposed compounds will enable the use of bimetallic nanoparticles in the field of catalysis and nanomedicine.
Supplementary material
======================
######
Energy-dispersive X-ray spectrum of Pd\@Cu nanoparticles.
######
Comparative antibacterial properties of copper, palladium and their bimetallic palladium\@copper nanoparticles: (**A**, **B**) Gram^+ve^; (**C**--**H**) Gram^−ve^ bacteria.
All the authors extend their gratitude to the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) and the technical facilities provided by the Department of Biosciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad-Pakistan.
**Disclosure**
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.
######
Scanning electron micrographs and size distribution plots of (**A**) copper, (**B**) palladium and (**C**) palladium\@copper bimetallic nanoparticles.
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Thai Fried Chicken, Har Gau and Sauteed Chinese Cabbage Bento
Sometimes making bento, you don’t have to cook it all. You can combine with frozen food bought from supermarkets. I show you with the following bento ideas. This bento consist of fried chicken nugget, Har Gau bought frozen from the supermarket and some easy stirfried Chinese cabbage. These can be easily eaten by using a chopstick. |
Produced by Christopher Wright, John Campbell and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
(This file was produced from images generously made
available by The Internet Archive)
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
This novel was published in two volumes. This is volume 1; the second
volume can be found at http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/57196
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
Some minor changes in the text are noted at the end of the book.
A SON OF MARS.
_At every Library_,
THE FIFTH EDITION OF
PARIS HERSELF AGAIN.
BY
GEORGE AUGUSTUS SALA.
_Illustrated by the first French Artists._
Demy 8vo, handsomely bound, 25_s._
REMINGTON & CO. 133 NEW BOND STREET, W.
_Of every Bookseller._
A SON OF MARS.
BY
MAJOR ARTHUR GRIFFITHS,
AUTHOR OF
‘THE QUEEN’S SHILLING,’ ‘LOLA,’ ‘A WAYWARD WOMAN,’ ETC.
VOL. I.
_ALL RIGHTS RESERVED._
LONDON:
REMINGTON AND CO.
133 NEW BOND STREET, W.
[_Removed from 5 Arundel Street, Strand, W.C._]
1880.
LONDON
ROBSON AND SONS, PRINTERS, PANCRAS ROAD, N.W.
CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
CHAP. PAGE
I. IN THE MILITARY CRADLE 1
II. THE FARRINGTON FAMILY 16
III. ’TWIXT CUP AND LIP 36
IV. TAKING THE SHILLING 55
V. A CRACK CORPS 74
VI. IN THE BARRACK-ROOM 94
VII. A FRENCH LESSON 112
VIII. THE ORDER BOOK 130
IX. A BALL IN BARRACKS 148
X. MUTINY IN THE RANKS 166
XI. SOME OLD FRIENDS MEET 184
XII. REVELATIONS 202
XIII. FARRINGTON S’AMUSE 219
A SON OF MARS.
CHAPTER I.
IN THE MILITARY CRADLE.
To the right, under the arch leading to the casemate barracks at
Triggertown, dwelt Jonadab Larkins, a deserving public servant
who had enjoyed the proud position of barrack sergeant for some
years. He was like the old lady who lived in the shoe. He had more
children than he could do with comfortably, so he gave it up as a
bad job, and let them do for themselves. Mrs. Larkins, what with
cooking, cleaning, and the family washing, had no spare time on
her hands; and except to yell out shrill cautions which no one
heeded, or threats of corporal punishment which were forgotten as
soon as uttered, allowed her brood to risk their lives as freely
as they pleased. They had many outlets of this kind; one favourite
amusement was to hang themselves to the chains of the drawbridge
leading to the barracks; another to walk along the brick edge of
the counterscarp; but that which all enjoyed most was to watch the
approach of vehicles in the main thoroughfare, and to rush madly
across the road right under the horses’ feet. It was often a very
near thing; and the nearer they went to self immolation the better
they were pleased. But the pitcher goes once too often to the well.
One fine day there was a tremendous disturbance in the street;
a crowd gathered quickly, and presently a message reached Mrs.
Larkins that one of her bairns had been driven over and was killed.
‘Which on ’em is it?’ shrieked the red-armed but pleasant-visaged
dame. ‘Not Rechab, nor yet Sennacherib, nor yet Jemimer Ann?’
No; it was Hercules Albert, the eldest of the family, who was just
then carried in and laid upon the bed.
A lady--a middle-aged lady, with silver white hair and a worn
emaciated face--followed, and looking round with a strange wild
look in her eyes, asked almost hysterically:
‘Is he much injured? Will he live? Where are the people who call
themselves his parents?’
The lad was only stunned, and a little water quickly brought him to.
‘I should have been so grieved had he come to harm,’ went on the
lady. ‘It was my coachman’s fault. It has been a terrible shock to
me; quite terrible. But tell me--’
She looked hastily round, then whispered to Larkins--
‘How did you come by this child?’
The Sergeant stared at her in amazement--
‘Honestly! Why, it’s our own--leastways it’s the mother’s.’
‘Do you mean that you are its mother?’ she asked of Mrs. Larkins.
‘Certainly I do! Do you dispute it?’
‘Mother? Yes. It may be so. But you, you man, you are not his
father? You cannot be. It is impossible, simply impossible. Why,
the child has _his_ eyes; his own dear eyes, I could swear to them
among a thousand. You cannot, you shall not deceive me. How came
you by this child?’
‘He’s not my own son, that I won’t deny,’ said the Sergeant. ‘But
he is my missus’s; she was a widow when I married her, and--’
‘I must have the boy. You cannot refuse him to me. I will buy him
of you; will pay you any price you please. But he must leave this
place. It is no place for _him_.’
And she gazed scornfully at the humble surroundings. The little
dark vaulted room with its one deep recessed window, its inner
space curtained off to form a second bedroom, the litter and mess
about the floor.
‘This is no place for--’
She paused suddenly, and a wild scared look came over her face.
A footman, one of her own people, a tall, black-whiskered and
pompous Jeames, was standing in the doorway, and the sudden
apparition seemed to put a seal upon her tongue.
‘The horses, m’lady,’ said the man respectfully enough, although
there was an accent of authority in his voice. ‘The horses have
been standing nearly half an hour, m’lady, and the coachman says--’
‘Yes, yes, I’ll come at once--at once, Robert. Good people, you
will understand my anxiety for the boy. The blame rested so
entirely upon us. It is an immense relief to know that he is not
injured.’
Then watching her opportunity, she hissed out with frenzied
eagerness--
‘Not a word to a soul; not a syllable, as you value _his_ future
and my peace. I will come again to-morrow, or sooner, unattended.
H--sh, for heaven’s sake, h--sh,’ and she hurriedly left the room.
‘Well, I’m blowed,’ said the Sergeant, drawing a long breath. ‘If
that ain’t the rummest game. What does it mean, missus? Can you
tell?’
Mrs. Larkins met his inquiring eyes quite steadily, and if she was
conscious of any mystery no suspicion of it could be traced in her
voice and manner.
‘She must be off her head--that’s my notion--clean, stark, staring
mad.’
‘And mine too. Yon flunkey was her keeper, I expect. Bound to look
after her and keep her out of mischief. It’ll make a fine talk in
the barracks, this will.’
‘I don’t see why it should. I wouldn’t let on if I was you; don’t
gossip about it at the canteen, Sergeant, or at the sergeants’
mess. What’s the good?’
A docile and obedient husband was Sergeant Larkins, who, through
all the years of his married life, had accepted his wife’s will as
law. Mrs. Larkins was a buxom, bright-eyed dame, who made a man’s
home comfortable for him, so long as he allowed her to rule.
‘You’re right. It’s a folly always to talk, leastways when you’ve
nothing to talk about, and the freaks of a mad woman don’t amount
to much. We shan’t hear no more about _her_.’
Nor did they for days, nay, weeks, but months, and the episode was
fading from their memories, at least from that of the Sergeant,
when the lady suddenly re-appeared unattended and alone.
She looked suspiciously about her as she entered the room.
‘I could not come before. I have been watched. Even now I fear they
are on my track. Quick! Where is the boy?’
Hercules Albert was where he and his brothers generally were--in
mischief.
‘I must see him; my heart yearns for him. And to think that I
should find him thus! How inscrutable are the ways of Providence!
My sweet, my pet, it is balm to my wounded heart!’ And she kissed
and fondled the boy, regardless of the mud with which his dirty
face was encrusted, and of his own evident perturbation and
objection to these endearments.
‘But I must not waste time. I may be disturbed before I have said
my say. Listen: you will let me have the child? You shall name your
own price. I will ask no questions. Keep your own counsel. You
shall not divulge your secrets.’
‘There ain’t no secrets to divulge,’ said the Sergeant stoutly.
‘And you shan’t buy a brat of mine, as though he were a
full-blooded Congo on the West coast.’
‘Wait, Larkins--let’s see what the lady means,’ the practical wife
interposed. Mrs. Larkins was quite quiet and self-possessed, as
she looked her strange visitor full in the face. ‘Perhaps she will
explain. Do you wish to adopt the child?’
‘I do--and more. I wish to educate him to be worthy of his birth,
and of that position which he must some day come to, in spite of
all. He shall have all my love while I live, all my possessions
after death. They are his by right, indefeasible. Has he not
Herbert’s eyes? Is he not my--?’
‘Say no more, Madam,’ Mrs. Larkins interrupted her. ‘If you are in
sober, serious earnest, if you mean what you say--’
‘Surely you would not part with the child, not like this?’
‘We have seven, Jonadab, and it is a fine chance for one. If you
are in earnest, Madam--’
‘Will this prove to you that I am in earnest?’ said the lady,
taking from her purse a roll of bank notes. ‘Here are fifty pounds.
Spend it in outfit; get him proper clothes, books, boxes, all that
a boy wants when he is going to a school. Within a fortnight you
shall hear from me through a lawyer. I will send full instructions,
and a confidential messenger, who shall take Herbert--Herbert he
must be called, not Hercules--Herbert Farrington.’
‘Is that your own name?’ asked Mrs. Larkins, rather hurriedly.
‘Certainly, I am Lady Farrington. You have then heard the name
before? You know me? Say you know me, that you knew Herbert.
Confess that Herbert was--’
‘My lady, you are mistaken; I never knew any Herbert
Farrington--never in all my life!’
Lady Farrington shook her head sadly.
‘If you know, and will not speak, you may do the child irreparable
harm. No matter. It is sufficient for the present that he is mine;
that he passes into my keeping; that I am free to lavish upon him
the whole of my pent-up yearning affection. The rest will come--all
in good time. Heaven bless you, Herbert, and prosper you, and bring
you some day to your own.’
She kissed the bewildered boy repeatedly, shook hands with his
father and mother, and then left the place.
‘I don’t like it, I don’t; blowed if I do,’ said the Sergeant. ‘It
ain’t fair on the youngster, it ain’t--to give him over to that
crack-brained old idiot! Why, you may tell she is mad by her talk
and her ways. Maybe she’ll fatten him up and eat him; or perhaps
she’ll turn him into a <DW7> or a Frenchman. He shan’t go.’
‘You’re a fool, Larkins! But it’s more my business than it is yours
after all. And where’s the harm? Doesn’t she promise fair enough,
and ain’t these notes a pretty certain proof that she is all above
board? We won’t lose sight of the boy--not altogether. We’ll
stipulate that we are to see him sometimes, and then he can’t go
far wrong. But you hold your tongue, that’s what you’ve got to do.
None of your blabbing or gossipping about. If they ask you what’s
become of Herkles, why say he’s got into the Duke of York’s school,
and won’t be back for ever so long.’
‘I wish he had. I could see my way then. But I can’t now, and it
beats me how you can take it all so coolly.’
The honest Sergeant was chiefly concerned as to the little
chap’s future prospects. But although he was not a man of keen
intelligence or of suspicious nature, he was also a little
exercised as to the strangeness of the whole affair. He might
explain the lady’s conduct by calling it eccentricity or madness,
but he could not quite understand the part his wife had played.
He would have been still more perplexed had he returned
unexpectedly from the canteen that evening after all the children
were in bed. He would have found his wife engrossed with the
treasures of a little box which she had emptied on her lap. A few
gilt buttons, a lock of fair hair, a bow of ribbon--that was all.
Yet she wept bitterly as she kissed them again and again, and
restored them one by one to the sacred box reverentially, as though
each was a relic in her eyes.
CHAPTER II.
THE FARRINGTON FAMILY.
Farrington Court was the dower-house of the Farrington family,
where dowagers and heirs apparent resided, according as it might
happen to suit. The Lady Farrington mentioned in the last chapter
had occupied it for years--ever since the death of her husband and
her sons, when the bulk of the property, with the title, had passed
to Rupert Farrington, the late baronet’s nephew. Sir Rupert lived
now at Farrington Hall, with his wife and one son of his own.
Old Lady Farrington, in her losses and her loneliness, was a woman
much to be pitied. She had seen her children die, all of them but
one. He also was dead, but miserably, and at a distance probably
from home. Her husband she had mourned last of all, at a time when
she had most needed strength and support. The new baronet did not
treat her well. She was no doubt fortified by ample settlements.
Farrington Court was hers also, by right inalienable, during her
lifetime. Yet Sir Rupert had had it in his power to put her to
infinite pain, and wittingly or unwittingly had not spared her in
the least. The ejectment from the Hall--her once happy home, the
scene of her married life, where all her children had been born,
and where all were buried, save one--had been carried out with an
almost brutal abruptness, which cut the poor afflicted soul to the
quick. Sir Rupert had driven hard bargains with her also in taking
over the house and the estate; had insisted upon the uttermost
farthing, had denied her many possessions, small and great, which
she valued as reminding her of the past, but which were his,
according to the strict letter of the law. His unkindness pursued
her even to the house which she might still call her own. But hers
was only a life-interest, after all; and, as Farrington Court must
in due course lapse back to the family, Sir Rupert felt bound, he
said, for his own and his son’s sake, to see that the place came to
no harm. His interference and inquisitiveness were, in consequence,
constant and vexatious. He insisted upon inspecting the house
regularly; he must satisfy himself that the repairs were duly
executed, that the gardens and glass houses were properly kept up,
and that no timber was cut down. He did not scruple to tell Lady
Farrington that he looked upon her as a tenant, and by no means a
good one, to whom he would gladly give notice to quit if he could.
These first causes for irritation and dislike deepened in time to
positive hatred. Lady Farrington came by degrees to fear Sir Rupert
with a terror that was almost abject; and when we fear others to
this extent we undoubtedly hate them very cordially too. Her terror
was not difficult to explain. It had its grounds in the conviction
that she was more or less in his power. There was a secret which
she had as she thought kept hitherto entirely to herself, but
which he, as time passed and brought him opportunities for close
observation, had eventually discovered. She herself knew, and by
degrees she felt that he also knew that her mind was a little
unsound.
Lady Farrington had been an eccentric woman even in her husband’s
lifetime. Her ways had been odd; her manners strange. She was
given to curious likes and dislikes, which showed themselves in
extraordinary ways. Thus she hated the wife of a neighbouring
squire--an upstart woman, certainly, but nothing worse than
_gauche_ or ill-bred. Whenever this lady called at the hall the
chair on which she had sat was sent to the upholsterers to be
re-covered. On one occasion, when she came at the time of afternoon
tea, Lady Farrington threw the cup and saucer her visitor had used
into the fire, declaring it should never be drunk out of again. A
more unnatural antipathy was that which she long entertained for
her second son--a dislike which had caused him much misery, and
her much subsequent anguish of mind. As against all this, she had
been extravagantly fond of her husband and her first-born. When
the former left her even for a few hours, she kept his hat and
walking-stick in the room with her, as though to cheat herself into
the belief that he was really in the house; the latter she coddled
and cossetted to such an extent that he grew up weakly and died
young.
But after all her bitter trials and heavy blows, her eccentricity
had developed so rapidly that it might fairly be called by a
stronger name. At first she shut herself up in a private chamber,
surrounded by the relics of happier days, and brooded sorrowfully
over riding-whips, cricket-bats, and all manner of childish toys.
Then she went to the other extreme; threw off her widow’s weeds
and decked out in gay colours, and with a long white veil, drove
about the country lanes in a carriage with grey horses, as though
she were a newly-married bride. When Sir Rupert’s persecution
had grown into a serious annoyance, she concentrated upon him all
the aversion she had once levelled at more innocent objects of
dislike. She never would have admitted him to the house, but as he
would take no denial she consoled herself by throwing open all the
windows and doors, whatever the weather, directly he had left the
house, insisting that the place was unfit for habitation until it
had been thoroughly aired. Then, saying his threats and menaces put
her in bodily fear, she got into the habit of packing all her most
treasured belongings in one or two trunks which she kept locked
in her bedroom, under her own eye, in readiness as it were for
immediate flight.
For a long time Sir Rupert seemed to take but little notice of her
vagaries. When the county folk commiserated him, and inquired
after poor Lady Farrington, he merely shrugged his shoulders and
touched his forehead in a melancholy pitying way. She had had
so much trouble in her time, poor soul. It was very dreadful of
course. But what could be done? She had every care and attention he
could secure for her. He went to see her frequently in spite of her
strange dislike, so did his wife. He did his duty by her as well as
he possibly could. She was harmless, and as he thought perfectly
safe. She had good servants about her; he himself saw to that, and
there was no necessity to put her under restraint--unless indeed,
she became very much worse. If her malady increased to the extent
of endangering the safety of those about her or of the house--by
no means a secondary consideration with him--why then, as a last
alternative, she must be shut up.
He did not conceal from her, however, that this would ultimately be
her fate. More than once he warned her that he knew her condition,
and would some day be compelled to take steps to make her secure.
But he said this with no object but to prove his power, and Lady
Farrington would probably have been left to pursue the curious
tenour of her ways, had not her mania taken a direction which
threatened to be distinctly inconvenient to Sir Rupert.
Of all the woes which Lady Farrington suffered, the keenest perhaps
was remorse for her treatment of her second son. As has been said,
she had looked upon him always with disfavour; Herbert never could
please. Where another more tenderly cared for would have been
gently corrected, he was called wilful, obstinate, perverse, and
sharply chided and admonished. He it was who was always in the
wrong; he it was who led the other boys into mischief. It was
his fault, or said to be his, when the boat upset, or the ice
broke, or the gun went off, or any mishap occurred. As he grew
to man’s estate his mother’s indifference did not soften into
warmer feelings. Poor Herbert failed at school and college, the
obvious consequence of early neglect. He could not pass the army
examination, although he longed to wear a red coat. All he could do
was to roam the woods with dog and gun at Farrington, consorting
with grooms and keepers, enjoying an open air life the more because
he thereby escaped from the house and his mother’s sneers. But
these last, although thus rarely encountered, became at length
unbearable, and one fine morning Herbert was not to be found.
He had gone off, leaving a note to say that pursuit or inquiry
would be fruitless, as he meant to leave England for good and all;
nothing should induce him to return to Farrington Hall.
The blow fell heaviest upon Lady Farrington, who felt that she
had been principally to blame. Prompt search was accordingly
instituted, but all to no purpose.
Some said that he had emigrated, some that he had enlisted, others
that he had gone to sea. No one ever saw him in the flesh again.
Only Lady Farrington, in whom the catastrophe had worked a strong
revulsion of feeling, was positive that she had seen him in the
spirit more than once. He had appeared to her, last of all, just
after the death of Algernon, the eldest son. Nor had he appeared
alone. Hand-in-hand with him was a comely fair-haired girl, with a
baby in her arms. Herbert had pointed significantly to the child,
and Lady Farrington interpreted the gesture to mean that he and
his son were now the rightful heirs of the Farrington title and
estates. This vision she tremulously described to her husband and
to others, but it was treated even by Sir Algernon as a mere dream,
or the hallucination of an over-wrought brain.
Nothing more would have been thought of the circumstances of
Herbert’s disappearance and shadowy return, except as a great and
irreparable sorrow, but for the arrival of a mysterious packet,
a year or two later, which contained a lock of light curly
hair--Herbert’s?--and a scrap of paper, on which was written, in
Herbert’s handwriting, ‘Be kinder to my boy.’
After this, a frantic desire to discover and do justice to her
injured son possessed Lady Farrington, to the exclusion of
all other objects in life. The family lawyers were called in;
detectives, public and private, were employed; advertisements were
inserted in the agony columns of the journals with the largest
circulation in the world. As substantial rewards were offered,
numbers of sons were promptly forthcoming. But not one of them
was the right one; nor was any information which could be relied
upon obtained, neither as to whether Herbert Farrington himself
was alive or dead, or whether, in the latter case, he had left
any heirs. Lady Farrington endured another and a more bitter
disappointment than any she had hitherto experienced in life.
It was not till long after the death of her husband and her
occupation of Farrington Court, that the old theory as to the
existence of a grandson was revived by her. Why or wherefore no one
could understand. Had she come upon any traces of the long-lost
son? Or was it merely that her mind, in its increasing weakness,
worked back into old grooves? Be the cause what it might, Lady
Farrington seemed at times strangely positive that she should find
the missing dear one, or his representative, after all. She often
hinted, darkly and mysteriously, that there was a great surprise in
store for Sir Rupert. Something he little expected would assuredly
come to pass when matters were properly ripe. There was no hurry.
It was better to make all sure before the mine was sprung. No link
in the chain must be wanting. But all would be ready ere long. Then
let Sir Rupert look to himself.
All this gave the baronet, who was really the man in possession,
but little uneasiness. As the next heir, he had heard long ago
of the eager inquiries for the missing Herbert; and although he
had resented them then, he had accepted their impotent conclusion
as an unanswerable proof that his presumptive rights were not
to be impugned. On the death of Sir Algernon his title had not
been disputed, and he had succeeded, as a matter of course. Lady
Farrington had made no protest. There was no shadow of foundation
for a protest. And if not then, would any person in his sober
senses think of disputing his rights now, when he had a firm grip
of the title, property, and place? Only an old mad woman would
harbour such an idea. Even she would hardly dare to raise the
question openly, after such a lapse of years. And who would believe
her if she did?
He told her so, very roughly, when her allusions became more
and more significant. He warned her too that ‘she had better be
careful what she said or did. It was a fact well known to the whole
country-side that she was quite unable to take care of herself,
that she was not responsible for her actions, that her proper place
was an asylum, and she might come to that yet if--’
One day, when he had been taunting thus longer and more bitterly
than usual, she was goaded into making an incautious reply.
‘The cup is nearly full to the brim, Rupert. Your time is fast
drawing to a close.’
‘What new craze is this, Lady Farrington?’ he said, laughing
scornfully, but with a black look on his face.
Sir Rupert’s was a hard dark face, with full eyes rather
prominent, and a long, drooping, black moustache. When he looked
black it was not a pleasant face to see.
‘It is nothing new, Rupert. I have waited patiently, hopefully. I
thought the end would never come. It is near at hand now, although
the consummation has been long delayed.’
‘Your ladyship’s language is, as usual, clear and perspicuous, yet
you will forgive me if I ask you to explain.’
‘Listen,’ she said, as she laid her hand upon his arm, and hissed
out her words slowly one by one. ‘Within a few short months, nay
weeks, whenever I choose, I can produce the rightful heir of the
Farringtons; and he shall come to his own.’
‘This is mere rhapsody, mere raving. You cannot touch me, you know
that.’
‘I can, ay, and I will, miserable fool! You have not the shadow
of a claim to the title and estates. My grandson, Herbert’s son,
lives, and you must make way for him.’
‘Psha! Herbert’s son? How do you know that? What proof have you?’
‘The youth himself. He has been under my charge these five years
past, and more. I found him--I myself found him. I knew I could not
err. He had Herbert’s eyes, he is Herbert’s image; he--’
‘He must have more proof than this if he is to make good his case
in a court of law,’ said Sir Rupert coolly.
‘I know it, and the proof shall be forthcoming. Every link in the
chain.’
‘All right. If it is to be war to the knife, so let it be. But I
tell you plainly that no one will believe a word you say.’
‘They will believe my beautiful boy, my own Herbert’s boy, when
they hear his story from his own sweet lips. He shall come forward
himself when the occasion is ripe for him to speak.’
‘Where is he now?’ asked Sir Rupert, carelessly, but with deeply
cunning intent.
She laughed in his face.
‘No, no, Sir Rupert, I am not to be so easily beguiled. He is safe,
quite safe, to be produced at exactly the right time.’
Sir Rupert gave her another fierce look, which boded her no good,
but he said nothing more. He was not exactly disconcerted by her
positive assertions, which he only half believed, yet his peace
of mind had been rudely assailed. That he must discover the
whereabouts of this mysterious claimant, and test the accuracy
of Lady Farrington’s far-fetched statements, was clear. It was
equally clear that he must, if possible, put a gag upon the old
woman, and remove her where she could work no further harm.
CHAPTER III.
’TWIXT CUP AND LIP.
Hercules Albert--or Herbert, as he was henceforth to be called--was
not a little taken aback by the sudden change in his circumstances,
which followed Lady Farrington’s supposed recognition of him. To
be measured for a suit of black cloth, which befitted best the
Larkins’ notion of gentility; to have a brand new box, painted
green, with sundry new shirts, new boots, and a broad-brimmed
wide-awake hat, all his own; these were so many delicious
surprises, the full effect of which was fully borne in upon him by
the openly-expressed envy of the rest of the family. But it was a
wrench to him when the time came to leave his home--the only one
he had ever known--to lose the companionship of his playmates, and
the warm, though roughly-expressed, affection of the sergeant and
his wife.
‘Be a man, Herkles,’ the sergeant had said, as the boy stood
snivelling at the door of the casemated room, which represented
the whole of the Larkins’ establishment. ‘Eat your cake.’ They
had provided him with a huge slice of bun-loaf, upon which little
Sennacherib Larkins, a freebooter like his Assyrian sponsor, had
made many inroads while Herbert’s attention was distracted by the
new cares of property and the pangs of making his adieux.
‘Eat your cake, and keep up your heart; me and the missus’ll be
over to see you before the month’s out, and we’ll bring Rechab and
Senn and Jemimer Ann.’
‘It’s all for your own good, Herbert,’ said Mrs. Larkins. ‘They’re
going to make a gentleman of you. You’ll get learning, and Latin,
and French mathematics; and by and by you’ll be an officer,
perhaps, and live like a lord.’
The prospect was brilliant, but remote. Herbert, as a child of the
barracks, had been brought up to believe that officers were almost
superior beings. He saw his father, the sergeant, and all soldiers
salute them always, and pay them extraordinary deference. When in
uniform they were resplendent in crimson and gold; when out of it
they drove dog-carts and played cricket and owned dogs, all of
which Herbert would have liked to have done too. Yet the off-chance
of some day becoming an officer himself did not reconcile him to
separation from the best friends he had in the world; and as he
left Triggertown casemates, he wept bitterly, and refused to be
comforted.
If life looked black and forbidding then, it was a thousand times
worse when he got to school. A cross-grained old man--it was Mr.
Bellhouse, Lady Farrington’s solicitor--escorted him thither, and
snubbed him all the way. The old lawyer was a little sick of her
ladyship’s caprices, and considered this last the most serious of
all. But it was none of Herbert’s fault, and the poor woe-begone
home-sick lad did not deserve to be made to answer for Lady
Farrington’s sins. At school he was left stranded, like a waif
of the sea upon an unknown shore. Presently the natives, troops
of little savage school-boys, swooped down upon him to scalp and
torture him. He was pestered with questions, and his hair pulled,
his strange wide-awake was jeered at, and given to the winds.
But the instincts of self-defence are strong, and Herbert, if new
to school life, was not new to the use of his fists. His tormentors
were numerous, but with one or two exceptions were not much older
or bigger than himself, and when it came to a question of blows and
hard knocks he was physically well able to take care of himself.
Presently a ‘straight un’ from the shoulder relieved him of the
most troublesome of his assailants, and a second, planted upon
the nose of a tall bully, proved that Herbert thought nothing of
disparity in height when disposing of his foes. Boys are sensibly
affected by the display of pluck, especially against superior
odds, and Herbert soon gained for himself the respect due to his
prowess, and immunity from further annoyance.
He was vexed and irritated no more, but he went to his bed, a
far more cleanly and luxurious couch than that which he had been
accustomed to in the crowded casemate at Triggertown, with a sad
and sorrowful heart. There are no woes so acute as those of early
youth. Happily they are as transient as they are intense. Herbert
at night was in the depths of woe; next morning he was already in
a fair way to recover his spirits, and before the day was out, in
the excitement of the new life opening before him, he had forgotten
his sorrows and was as happy as a bird. He was just the boy to get
on at school. Brisk and buoyant in disposition, with a well-knit
vigorous frame, a predilection for games of every kind in which,
with a little experience, he soon excelled, he rapidly advanced in
the estimation of his fellows. He was liberal and free-handed too,
which did not make him the less appreciated, and he had plenty to
give away. ‘His people,’ as boys call their friends, were evidently
of the right sort. The old lady with the snow-white hair and large
mournful eyes, who came to see him regularly every month, was right
royal in her tips, and not to him alone, but to any whom he called
particular friends. He got tuck baskets continually and presents of
all kinds to which others administered as freely as himself. These
are substantial grounds for school popularity, and Herbert enjoyed
it in the highest degree.
As he grew in years and developed in strength and good looks, Lady
Farrington’s affectionate admiration knew no bounds. She lavished
caresses on him without ceasing, declaring that he was daily
becoming more and more fitted for the station which would some day
be his.
‘Yes, yes, the end cannot be far off now,’ she said one day as
she sat in the headmaster’s drawing-room, holding Herbert’s hand
in hers and patting it from time to time in the fulness of her
contentment. ‘Who shall gainsay your claim when they see you thus,
my Herbert’s living image? my son! My son, my lost unhappy son!’
and in a moment she was in a paroxysm of tears.
Herbert was quite accustomed to her now. At first he had been
dismayed by her sudden outbursts. The rapid transition from joy
to sorrow, from smiles to hysterical tears, were sufficient to
frighten him, and when to these were added her wild talk, her
bitter self-reproaches, her mysterious hints of his coming
greatness, he scarcely knew what to do or say. But by degrees he
became familiar with her eccentricities, and he felt that although
she might be queer, she was certainly uncommonly kind.
‘I cannot control myself when I think of the miserable past. But,
please God, in you I shall make some atonement for my sins, and
soon, soon,--for the time draws nigh. You are equal, Herbert, I
trust, to a great and arduous trial?’
He was now nearly seventeen, tall and well-built for his age; and
as he shook his light curls and looked steadily at her with his
clear, honest eyes, he seemed the incarnation of youth and hope.
‘I am game for anything, Lady Farrington, only try me. I’d face the
whole world if you asked me.’
‘My own brave boy! The struggle may be sharp, but with such a
spirit the victory is certain to be ours.’
‘When may I know what it is that I have to do?’
‘The time draws nigh. It depends only on you and your fitness to
play your part. You have not neglected your opportunities I know.
Dr. Jiggs gives you a high character. You have profited by his
studies, you have learnt to ride and shoot, and when you come to
your own you will comport yourself as an English gentleman should.’
‘I am a gentleman born, then?’
‘Of the best,’ she replied proudly. ‘You are--why conceal it
longer? Here you have for reasons been still known as Herbert
Larkins, my ward, but you are really my grandson, the only child
of Herbert, my second boy. You are Sir Herbert Farrington, the
rightful heir of the family honours of an old name and wide
estates.’
‘Is this certain, quite certain?’
‘Absolutely--at least to me. I have never doubted from the first.
My instinct assured me I was right when I recognised you in
Triggertown. But as the world needs more material proof I have
sought them out, and hold them now all but one. This also I should
have possessed had not one person failed me.’
‘Who was that?’
‘Mrs. Larkins. She alone can tell us what we want to know, and she
has most unaccountably hesitated or refused to speak. This is why I
have broken with her--why I have forbidden them to come and see you
again.’
These honest people had paid several visits to Herbert at school,
visits he had received with delight. They had ceased suddenly, and
he had wondered greatly thereat.
‘But if my mother--if Mrs. Larkins--’
‘Mrs. Larkins is not your mother, Herbert, of that you may rest
assured.’
‘She was as good as one to me always, I know that. But if she is
the only person who can help us in this matter, was it prudent to
break with her altogether?’ Herbert asked very pertinently.
‘I was annoyed, angry, and they were proud--I will seek them out
again. They are necessary to us. Mrs. Larkins shall speak, and
we will proceed at once to establish your claim. My patience is
exhausted and Rupert’s cup is full.’
This conversation occurred at a time mentioned in a previous
chapter when her relations with Sir Rupert had become more and
more constrained. War had long been imminent between them, but a
rupture had been precipitated by the overbearing harshness of his
ways. She had spoken, therefore, a little rashly and prematurely
perhaps, and in doing so had shown her hand. She had practically
thrown down the glove, daring him to do his worst. He accepted the
challenge, and acted with a promptitude and determination for which
the poor cracked-brained old lady was certainly no match.
His first step was to put a watch upon Lady Farrington’s movements.
Mr. Oozenam, the well-known private detective, was employed, who
set about his task with his usual skill and despatch. Within a week
or two he came with his first report.
‘Lady Farrington goes once every month, often twice, to Deadham
School, in Essex. She has done so these five years past and more.’
‘Of course. The cub, her _protégé_, is there. Well?’
‘A ward of her ladyship’s, Herbert Larkins, is at school there. He
is now seventeen years of age, is tall and well grown, has fair
curly hair and greyish blue eyes. Her ladyship is said to take an
immense interest in him. Their interviews are long. She must be
very liberal to him; the lad is always well provided with money
which he spends freely. He is a fair scholar, has been taught
especially to ride and shoot, has learnt foreign languages and all
extras.’
‘That is enough, Mr. Oozenam. You have handsomely earned your fee.’
‘It has gone very far,’ Sir Rupert said to himself as soon as he
was alone. ‘What an idiot I have been not to have observed her
more closely! But let us hope it is not too late even now.’
And then, after a long cogitation, he called for his carriage, and
driving first into the neighbouring country town, where he made one
or two calls, he bade the coachman next proceed to Farrington Court.
He asked for Lady Farrington, and was in due course ushered into
her private boudoir.
‘The time has come, Lady Farrington, as you were good enough to
say some time back--the time for plain speaking. I mean to put an
end to your tomfooleries once for all. So long as they merely made
you appear ridiculous I could have borne with you, although you
scandalized our name. But I cannot permit you to plot against me
and mine without protest and something more.’
‘Plot?’ she asked, in a voice which anger and agitation combined
to make nearly inarticulate.
‘I have discovered all. You have kept your secret well, but I have
found it out. This base-born pretender--’
‘He is my own grandson. I have the proofs.’
‘They will not bear the test of legal scrutiny, you know that. On
the contrary, I can show that the whole affair is a conspiracy from
beginning to end. That this Larkins is an adventurer--’
‘You will not harm him, surely? It is I, only I, who am to blame.’
‘I shall hand him over to the police, prosecute him, and make him
pay dearly for his attempt to defraud.’
‘You would not dare,’ she cried aghast. Surprise and indignation
combined to confuse her mind, and she did not pause to consider
that he had no grounds of procedure; that his threats were vain,
and could never be put into execution.
‘I shall not spare him nor you.’
‘Then you shall take the consequences. I will proclaim you to be
the villain that you are; will tear you from your present exalted
station, and will send you back to your former poverty and rags.
You shall be dispossessed. You shall disgorge the rents and all
that you have improperly acquired. You--’
He merely laughed at her, mockingly and rudely, which exasperated
her beyond all bounds.
‘Begone, sir! You shall not remain here another second to insult
me. Begone! or--’
He only laughed more loudly and mockingly than before. Instantly
her rage passed into fury which seemed uncontrollable.
‘Begone!’ she cried again, snatching up a sharp-pointed paper
knife and rushing on him with so much intention that Sir Rupert
precipitately retired. She followed him downstairs with a wild
shriek, little recking how completely she was playing into his
hands.
The butler had just admitted several other visitors, who heard and
saw all that passed. Sir Rupert went up to them apparently for
protection, but his first words showed that he was eager for more
than this.
‘Gentlemen, you have arrived most opportunely. You can see for
yourselves. It is clearly not safe to leave her any longer at
large.’
The butler had quelled poor Lady Farrington almost instantly, but
although he held her back she was still furious and foamed at the
mouth.
‘Scarcely. We cannot refuse the certificate,’ said Mr. Burkinshaw,
of Bootle, a local magistrate and magnate. ‘Sir Henry quite agrees
with me, and the doctors have no manner of doubt. Poor woman, she
ought clearly to be put under restraint.’
And she was, without unnecessary delay.
Thus Herbert Larkins lost his protectress just when his fortune
seemed close at hand. The cup was dashed away just before he had
lifted it to his lips, with consequences which were by no means
pleasant to himself, as will be seen in the next chapter.
CHAPTER IV.
TAKING THE SHILLING.
Herbert Larkins was in the class-room when he was summoned to see a
gentleman who had called.
‘I come from Lady Farrington,’ said his visitor, rather abruptly.
He was a tall, dark-eyed man, with a sinister look upon his face.
‘She is well, I hope? Nothing has happened? I half expected her
to-day or to-morrow.’
‘She is well, but she cannot come here, and wishes you to go to her
at once. You are aware, no doubt--’
‘The time then has arrived?’ Herbert said, a little incautiously.
‘It has arrived. You are ready, I presume?’
‘I must speak to Dr. Jiggs. I cannot leave the school without his
permission, of course.’
‘That is all arranged. When you have got your belongings together,
we will start. You are not to return here. You know that, I
presume?’
‘We are going to join Lady Farrington?’
The visitor bowed assent.
An hour or two later they were in the train and on the road to
London.
There was little conversation between them. Herbert was shy, and
his companion by no means talkative or sociable.
‘Where does Lady Farrington live?’ Herbert asked.
‘You really don’t know?’
‘She never told me,’ Herbert replied, looking rather shamefaced.
‘She is a strange person, of that you must be aware. It is
impossible to account for all she says and does.’
‘She has always been most kind to me,’ Herbert said, stoutly.
‘No doubt,’ the other replied, drily. ‘But perhaps that was a form
of eccentricity. People are sometimes too affectionate by half.’
Herbert would have liked some explanation of this speech, but he
could not bring himself to ask for it. He only knew that he began
to dislike this man excessively, and hoped they might never have
much to say to each other.
Arrived in London, they drove from one terminus to another. Fresh
tickets were taken, for which his companion made Herbert pay;
and after a hasty meal at the refreshment-room, they were again
seated in a railway carriage, travelling westward. This second was
a wearisome journey, which continued far into the chill autumn
night. Towards nine they alighted at a station, where their baggage
was transferred to a fly, into which they entered, and were driven
half-a-dozen miles or more. At length they reached a small country
inn, had some supper, and were shown to their rooms.
‘Remember,’ said his companion, as he bade him good-night, ‘our
affair is secret. Keep your own counsel; do not gossip with any one
you may meet here. Lady Farrington does not wish her name bandied
about; so mind you do not mention it to a soul.’
Herbert slept late next morning, and when he went downstairs
he found himself alone. The other gentleman had gone out, they
told him, and would not return till late. Breakfast--what would
he like? He might like what he pleased, but all he could get was
cold bacon and bread, with thin cider to drink. A school-boy has
a fine appetite, and is nowise particular. Herbert enjoyed his
breakfast, as he did also his lunch and his dinner. He felt jolly
enough. He asked where he was, and they told him King’s Staignton
in Devonshire. Was there anything to do in the place? Yes, he
might fish the trout stream, which he did, very much to his own
satisfaction, and spent a thoroughly pleasant day.
But when night fell, and his companion did not return, he began
to feel the least bit uneasy. He ate his trout, however, and his
bacon and bread, and slept the sleep of the young, undismayed by
fears of to-morrow. To-morrow came, but no companion. A third and
a fourth day, and Herbert was still alone. What could it mean? He
felt absolved from the necessity of holding his tongue, and he
asked the landlady if she knew any one of the name of Farrington
in the country round about. He was resolved to go to her ladyship
himself.
‘No, they had never heard the name before.’
He now became more than puzzled. He was filled with an inexplicable
but increasing dread of coming trouble, and he was just beginning
his preparations for returning at once to Deadham, when the
absentee suddenly reappeared.
Herbert was young, inexperienced, and terribly shy. But his was
no craven spirit, and he had enough of school-boy plain-speaking
frankness about him to say,
‘Come, this is a fine lark. You would not have kept me waiting here
much longer, I can tell you. I was just going to cut and run.’
‘You may cut and run as soon as you please,’ said the other
gruffly. ‘The sooner the better.’
‘And what would Lady Farrington say?’
‘Lady Farrington is not in a position to say much.’
‘I should like to see her.’
‘You can’t. She’s gone off in a hurry.’
‘She never was here, or near here. I know that much, for I have
enquired.’
‘You broke through my instructions, did you? Not that it matters
much; and it is time you should know all. Lady Farrington has been
put under restraint. You do not understand? Locked up in an asylum,
I mean. She is mad, insane; and of all her ravings, the wildest
were those which led you to suppose you were somebody, instead of a
beggar’s brat picked up out of the mire.’
‘That I’m not, I’ll swear, and no one shall call me so,’ cried
Herbert, hotly. He looked so fierce, with his clenched fists, broad
shoulders, and light active figure, that the man for the moment was
cowed.
‘I don’t know who you are, or where you came from. But you’re not
what you think you are, nor what Lady Farrington has made you
believe. That is enough for me.’
‘I have her word.’
‘That of a mad woman!’
‘And she has proofs.’
‘Which exist only in her own distraught brain.’
‘That remains to be seen. But who are you? Why are you so bitter
against me? Why did you bring me here?’
‘I am Sir Rupert Farrington. It is I whom this mad old lady wishes
to wrong. She has been seeking what she calls a rightful heir all
these years--only that she may dispossess me. You are not the first
pretender she has set up. But I think it is not unlikely you will
be the last.’
Had he brought Herbert there to injure him? The thought suddenly
flashed across the young man’s mind. But then there were other
people at the inn; the landlady, ostlers, keepers, police not far
off, none of these would knowingly suffer any foul play to be done.
‘I defy you and your threats,’ said Herbert. ‘If I am in a false
position it was none of my seeking, but I prefer to believe Lady
Farrington rather than you. There are others who know of my claims,
and with their help I shall yet put them forward as you will see.’
Sir Rupert snapped his fingers at him. ‘How do you propose to live
meanwhile? Remember you can get nothing from Lady Farrington now.
You cannot go back to the school; I brought you all this way on
purpose that you should not. Besides, I have written to Dr. Jiggs
to put him on his guard.’
‘He would still help me if I asked him; but I do not need to do
that.’
‘You cannot have money hoarded? That would be very unlike a
school-boy. You must be nearly cleaned out by this time. I made you
pay your own expenses on purpose; and there will be the bill here.
You ought to be nearly penniless. You will have to remain here, and
turn farm labourer or starve.’
‘I shall not do that, you may depend. I have been well educated,
thanks to Lady Farrington. I am not afraid of work, and I am well
able to take care of myself. At any rate I look to you for nothing,
and all I wish now is to get away from you and this place.’
Herbert called for his bill, paid it with his last sovereign,
asked the way to the nearest railway station--Newton Abbot--and
started off on foot, determined to get back to London as soon as
he could. Thence he would find his way to Triggertown. The Larkins
were the only friends left in the world; and Mrs. Larkins, as Lady
Farrington had said, was the person who possessed the only link
wanting in the chain of proofs which was to establish his claims.
At Newton Abbot he sold his watch, and had money for his ticket to
London and to spare. Parting with other articles of his apparel
to supply his necessities upon the road, he found himself at
Triggertown upon the third day. How familiar the place seemed!
Six years since he left it--a child, and now returning as a man
he found everything unchanged. He passed up the covered way,
across the drawbridge under the arch, and stood at the door of
the casemate, expecting next moment to see the sergeant and Mrs.
Larkins, and the whole of the brood.
But it was a stranger who came to answer his knock; a small
vixenish woman with a shrewish tongue. She gave him a very short
answer.
‘Larkinses? They don’t stop here. Been gone these years. Where? How
do I know? They got the route right enough; that’s all I can tell
you.’
‘Was there no one in the barracks who could tell him?’ Herbert
asked.
‘No,’ said the woman, abruptly, and shut the door in his face.
The sentry would not let him pass the inner gates. The gate
sergeant, who came up, peremptory and consequential, was still more
inhospitable. Whom did Herbert want? A barrack sergeant of the name
of Larkins? There was no such name in the garrison.
‘Better write to the Secretary of State for War, my man,’ said the
gate sergeant with gruff condescension, ‘or to the Archbishop of
Canterbury. One’s as likely to tell you as another. But you must
clear out of this. Can’t have no loiterers about here. Them’s my
orders. May be the adjutant or the sergeant-major’ll come this way,
and I don’t choose to be blamed for you.’
‘What regiment do you belong to?’ asked Herbert.
‘Can’t you see for yourself?’ Where could this young man have been
raised not to recognise the uniform of the Duke’s Own Fusiliers?
‘Is it a good corps?’
The sergeant was aghast at the fellow’s impudence. Like every
soldier of the old school, he had been brought up to believe that
his regiment was not only a good one, but the very best in the
service.
‘G’long; I want no more truck with you. Clear out, or you’ll be put
out.’
‘What’s your colonel’s name? I want to see him.’
‘You can’t want to see him if you don’t know his name.’
‘I do, though, on business.’
‘Pretty business! A tramp like you can’t have no business here at
all, much less with the colonel or any other officer of ours.’
‘Won’t you pass me in?’
‘I won’t, there, that’s flat.’
‘All right; I’ll wait till some one comes out.’
Herbert coolly seated himself a little way down upon the <DW72> of
the glacis. If the sergeant meant to dislodge him it could only be
by force.
The fact was our hero was meditating a serious step. The
disappointment of not finding his old friends where he had left
them was great. He had perhaps overrated the assistance which Mrs.
Larkins could give him in substantiating his claims, but he had
looked for advice from them as to the disposal of his immediate
future. How was he now, unknown and seemingly without a friend in
the world, to find employment? That was the serious question he
was called upon to solve, and that without unnecessary delay. His
pockets were empty, his clothes--such as he had not pawned--had
reached that stage of irretrievable seediness which clothes worn
uninterruptedly for weeks will always assume. He might or might not
be the heir of the Farringtons. What did it matter who he was or
might be if he died of starvation before he could prove his case?
These wholesome reflections led him to accept the only means of
livelihood which offered just then. He would enlist. Why not?
He had been brought up within sound of the drum; his earliest
recollections and associations were connected with the barrack. The
life might be rough compared to the luxury of Deadham, but at least
he would be fed, clothed and housed, and he need not stand still.
The theory of the marshal’s baton, which every knapsack is said to
contain, is not exactly supported by fact in the British Army, but
times were not what they had been, and he might now hope to rise
rapidly enough. Yes, he would take the shilling and join the Duke’s
Own Fusiliers.
These were the words he addressed to the first officer who issued
from the gates.
It happened to be the adjutant himself. Mr. Wheeler was the beau
ideal of a smart young soldier, quick and energetic in movement,
with an eagle eye to take in the ‘points’ of a possible recruit.
‘Want to enlist, do you? Hey, what, what, what? Where do you come
from? Won’t say, I suppose? Where do you belong to? Don’t know, of
course. What’s your age? You won’t tell the truth. Height? we can
see to that. Health? are you sound in wind and limb? hey, what,
what, what?’
All this time he had been appraising Herbert’s value, had noted his
broad shoulders, thin flanks, his seventy-two inches, and his erect
bearing, as keenly as though he were a slave merchant about to
turn a penny on a deal. The scrutiny was satisfactory. The medical
examination confirmed it, the nearest magistrate sanctioned the
enlistment, and before sundown, Herbert Larkins had joined the
Duke’s Own and had sworn to serve Her Majesty and her heirs for a
term of years.
By a strange coincidence, within a week or two, Ernest Farrington,
Sir Rupert’s only son, was gazetted to the same regiment, and the
two young men presently found themselves in the same squad at
recruit’s drill.
CHAPTER V.
A CRACK CORPS.
The Duke’s Own Fusiliers had the credit of being one of the most
distinguished regiments in the service of the Queen. Its colours
were emblazoned with the victories in which it had shared; its mess
plate was rich in gifts from the great captains and men of mark who
had held commissions in its ranks. It considered itself in every
respect a crack corps, and held its head high always on account of
its thorough efficiency and undeniably ‘good form.’ Its claims to
the latter could not be denied; but its rights to the former were
sometimes questioned by keen-eyed critics and people behind the
scenes. The regiment no doubt turned out smartly upon parade; it
always looked well, and was fairly well-behaved. But there were
flaws and short-comings in its system, hidden a little below the
surface, which in the crucial test of emergency would probably be
laid bare. The gulf between officers and men was a little too wide;
inferiors had no great confidence in those above them, the latter
were generally indifferent, taking but little interest in their
business, as though soldiering was not their profession, but a
chance employment to fill up their hours when not otherwise engaged.
A certain Colonel Prioleau commanded the regiment at the time when
Herbert Larkins enlisted into it; a soldier of the old school, at
times fussy, testy, and sharp-spoken, but really a good-natured
easy-going man. He was without much strength of character however,
and not over-burthened with brains. It was not strange, therefore,
that he should suffer his authority to slip a little out of his
own hands. He was far from supreme in the body of which he was the
ostensible head. English regiments are very variously governed.
This is ruled by the sergeant-major, that by the colonel’s wife;
in another, the general of the brigade or district, with his
staff-officers, works his own wicked will. Some are, so to speak,
self-governed, and the Duke’s Own was one of these. In it, the
will of the body corporate, of the officers banded together like a
joint-stock company, and trading under the name of ‘the regiment’
was absolute law. By and for ‘the regiment,’ everything was settled
and decided. The regimental idea was a species of impalpable
but all-pervading essence, which no one could resist. To quote
regimental custom; to invoke regimental prestige; to talk of the
credit of the regiment; to insist upon the maintenance of _esprit
de corps_, were so many irresistible appeals, so many precepts of
a powerful unwritten code universally accepted, and admitted to be
binding upon all. In its highest form, this thorough-going devotion
might be productive, as indeed it has often proved to be, of
extraordinary good; but it was possible to develop it in the wrong
direction, and this was to some extent the case with the Duke’s Own
Fusiliers. It was generally understood in the regiment that its
credit depended less upon its military proficiency than upon the
dash it cut in the world.
Military matters, in fact, were not held in the highest esteem in
the Duke’s Own. Nobody cared much about them. They were left to be
managed by anybody, anyhow. Now and again Colonel Prioleau raised
a feeble protest, but nobody listened to him or cared. He was told
that the regiment wished this, or thought that, and he immediately
succumbed. Those next senior to him, his two majors, were of little
assistance to him in driving the coach. One, Major Diggle, of whom
more directly, did not pretend to be a soldier at all. According
to his own ideas, he was always much better engaged. The other,
Major Byfield, had, unfortunately, been raised in another regiment,
and was so unpopular that he was worse than a cipher; the Duke’s
Own knew too well what was due to itself to allow an outsider to
dictate to it or interfere in its affairs. The only person who
did anything in the regiment was the adjutant, and he had come by
degrees to monopolise the whole of the power. The colonel gave in
to him more and more, till presently he abdicated his functions to
him altogether. After all, Mr. Wheeler was a smart young gentleman,
not without military aptitudes. He had no dread of responsibility,
and having a fair knowledge of the red-books and routine, disposed
of his work daily in an airy off-hand fashion which was always
refreshing, and which, in the face of any serious difficulty,
would have been absolutely sublime. He pulled all the strings,
decided all the moot points, gave all orders, drafted all letters,
which his humble slave, the colonel, obediently signed; it was he,
practically, who manœuvred the battalion, although his puppet, the
colonel, nominally gave the word of command. It saved everybody
else a great deal of trouble. The men perhaps were not quite as
well cared for and commanded as they ought to have been, the
sergeants looking to the adjutant rather than to their officers,
sometimes exceeded their powers, and carried matters with rather
a high hand. Complaints of tyranny and ill-usage, however, seldom
cropped up, and no suspicion ever arose that the condition of the
regiment was otherwise than perfectly sound.
It was not difficult to understand why the officers as a body
rather neglected their duties. They were too fully occupied
in maintaining the credit of the regiment according to their
own interpretation of the phrase. This meant that it should
be renowned--not for marching and manœuvres, for demeanour,
discipline, and drill--but for its ostentation and display, for the
grand balls and entertainments it gave, for its mess perfectly
appointed, its artistic _chefs_, its exquisite wines. It was for
the credit of the regiment that it should keep up a regimental
drag, a cricket and lawn tennis club, and give weekly afternoon
teas; that during the season six or seven at least of the Duke’s
Own should turn out in scarlet to hunt with the nearest hounds,
that some one amongst their number should take a shooting or a
river, which the regimental sportsmen might honour in turn; that
half the regiment at least should rush up to town from Friday to
Monday every week, and enjoy themselves in loafing about the park
and the Burlington Arcade, or idling away the hours at the club,
and devoutly wishing they were back at their own regimental mess.
These high-flown ideas very rapidly developed into extravagant
tastes, which had reached their highest point about the time when
Herbert Larkins became one of the Duke’s Own. The regiment had only
returned a year or two previously from a lengthened tour of foreign
service, and after their long exile in outer darkness everyone with
any spirit or capacity for enjoyment had been resolved to take
his pleasure to the full. It was expected of the officers of the
Duke’s Own to come well to the front, and this they pretended was
a more potent inducement to them to spend money than any hankering
after personal gratification. So, with but few exceptions, they
launched forth freely enough. It was, with many, a case of the
earthen pots swimming with the brass; but all, or nearly all, were
determined to do their duty to the regiment and go the pace, or
as Mr. Crouch, the sporting quartermaster styled it, ‘go to the
devil hands down.’ What if any serious financial crisis supervened?
Their people would have to stump up; their fathers--probably by
drawing upon a wife’s provision or daughter’s portion, and always
by impoverishing themselves--would pay their debts, but they would
have had ‘a high old time,’ and the imperishable credit of the
Duke’s Own Fusiliers would have been most brilliantly maintained.
The leading spirit and showman of the regiment at this particular
epoch was the junior major Cavendish-Diggle. Diggle was, in his
way, a man of parts, young, pushing, ambitious, passably rich. No
one knew exactly where he came from, or who were his belongings or
his people. One of his patronymics was decidedly patrician, the
other as unmistakeably commonplace. He might be a cousin of the
Duke of Devonshire; and again he might not. When anyone asked him
the question--and it was one he liked to have put to him--he smiled
pleasantly, and said that the Cavendishes were all related, as
everybody knew. But he was not so well pleased when people, envious
or cynical, or both, remarked casually that Diggle was the name of
the great grocers in Cheapside. There was no connection on that
side of course, but the allusion was far from agreeable to him, as
a shrewd observer might have noticed from his face and his avowed
hostility to anyone who dared to make the remark.
There were not many who were bold enough to attack him however.
He could hold his own always. Nature had endowed him with a good
presence and abundance of self-confidence; he could talk well,
had a good voice, and was an excellent _raconteur_. These gifts
were naturally of great service to him; not alone for purposes
of repartee and self-defence; they were also exceedingly useful
in assisting him to obtain that social success which had ever
been one of the principal aims of his life. In his boyhood, when
he had made his _début_ as a second lieutenant in the Duke’s Own
Fusiliers, he had had an uphill game to play. The regiment was
then, as it still aspired to be, eminently aristocratic, and no one
was disposed to welcome a Diggle with rapturous effusion. There was
nothing against the lad, however, except the possible obscurity of
his origin; on the contrary, there was much in his favour. He was
modest and unpretending, fully impressed with the ‘greatness’ of
‘the regiment’ he had joined, falling down readily to worship the
principal personages who were its idols at the time. He sought to
attach himself to one or two of the most distinguished cadets of
noble houses, who were nobodies at home, but made a good deal of
in the Duke’s Own. Diggle’s hero worship, accompanied as it was
by a willingness to bet, play _écarté_, and do good turns to his
superiors--he thought them so himself--met with its reward, and he
soon found himself in the position to enjoy the daily companionship
and friendship of one or two baronets and several lords’ sons. It
was long, however, before he advanced himself beyond the rather
undignified status of a ‘hanger-on.’ His friends and comrades were
very affectionate--with the regiment--but they were not so fond
of him in town; nor did they help him into society, or get him
invitations to their homes. But as time passed, and he gained
promotion and seniority, his persistent efforts gradually achieved
a certain success. He now took a prominent part in regimental
entertainments, was willing to accept all the drudgery of managing
balls and parties, because he thus came more to the front. At
one rather dull country station he struck out the happy idea of
giving dances on his account in his own quarters, which happened
to be large, and at his own expense, and this gained for him
great popularity in the neighbourhood. It was about this time
that he began to lay much stress upon the Cavendish prefix to his
proper name; he always called himself Cavendish-Diggle, had it
so put in the _Army List_ and upon his cards. Then the regiment
went on foreign service, and while stationed in an out-of-the-way
colony, he had the good fortune to be selected to act upon the
personal staff of the governor and commander-in-chief. He turned
this appointment to excellent account. He was soon the life and
soul of Government House, developing at once into a species of
diplomatic major-domo, who was simply indispensable to his chief.
In this way he made many new and valuable friends; a young royalty
on his travels, who was charmed with Captain Cavendish-Diggle’s
devotion to his person; several heirs apparent also, and itinerant
legislators, who took Barataria in their journey round the world,
and who could not be too grateful for all he did for them, or too
profuse in their promises of civilities whenever he might be in
England. All this bore fruit in the long run, when the regiment
returned. He experienced many disappointments, no doubt; for your
notable on his travels, so cordial and so gushing, is apt to give
you the cut direct if you meet him in his own hunting-grounds, at
home. Still there were some did not quite forget the hospitable and
obliging A.D.C.; and Major Cavendish-Diggle, at the invitation of
one, went into Norfolk to shoot; of another to Scotland to fish; in
the London season he found several houses open to him; and he was
finally raised to a pinnacle of satisfaction by Royal commands to
attend a garden party and a court ball.
In the Duke’s Own he was now a very great personage indeed. As both
the Colonel and Major Byfield were married he was the senior member
of the mess; always its most prominent figure; the chief host in
all impromptu parties at home; the great man at all entertainments
abroad. He had now a following of his own; a band of personal
adherents who imitated him in his dress and talk and ways, who
deferred to him, flattered him, and admired him fully as much as
he had the shining lights around which he had himself revolved
when he was young. This homage did not do him any great good. It
confirmed him in the high opinion he had formed of himself: it
indorsed and justified his aspirations, which were now by no means
unambitious, although very carefully concealed. Why should he not
make a brilliant marriage? There were plenty of heiresses about; if
he could but find one in whom the charms of blood and beauty were
united, why should he not go in and win? He was still comparatively
young; he had kept his figure; he was _répandu_ in the best society
and appreciated wherever he went. Who should have a better chance?
And what might he not achieve in the way of future distinction
with a rich and well-born wife to help him in climbing the tree?
These ideas had been uppermost in his mind for some time past.
It was in obedience to them that he had been at some pains to
inform himself whether any likely _partis_ were running loose
about Triggertown or in the country round. But he had so far met
with little success. Hopshire is a county owning many families of
antiquity and repute, but none were especially renowned for their
wealth. Diggle would have gone further afield and commenced his
chase in London, or at one of the great watering places, but he
wished first to exhaust the resources of the neighbourhood. The gay
major was not wrong in supposing that he showed off to the best
advantage upon his own territory, doing the honours of his own
mess, backed up and supported by so many brilliant comrades and
disciples. Just when he began to despair of finding any young lady
who from substantial reasons was entitled to receive his addresses,
he came across the Farringtons. They lived at the other end of
the county. There was a daughter in the house--a very charming
girl, he thought, who, having one brother only and no sisters,
would assuredly be well portioned. This led him to consolidate his
acquaintance with Sir Rupert, to accept many invitations and pay
frequent visits to Farrington Hall.
It was entirely through his advice and intervention that Sir Rupert
sent young Ernest into the Duke’s Own. The regiment would probably
remain at Triggertown for a year or two longer, and this would
break Lady Farrington gradually to the separation from her beloved
son. Besides, Major Cavendish-Diggle would have the young fellow
especially under his wing--a precious advantage no doubt, as we
shall presently see.
CHAPTER VI.
IN THE BARRACK-ROOM.
Within twenty-four hours of his arrival in barracks, Herbert
Larkins was bathed, cropped, clothed, numbered, and, so to
speak, put away. His ‘rags,’ in plain English, his civilian
clothes--invariably so called whether undeniable garments or
veritable rags--had been exchanged for uniform, such as it was. A
recruit, and especially in the fall of the year, when the annual
issue of new clothing is near at hand, gets only things ‘part
worn.’ So Herbert’s shell jacket, his regimental trousers, and his
ammunition boots, were all of them palpable misfits.
He said as much to the corporal of the pioneers, who helped the
quartermaster-sergeant in rigging out recruits.
‘Too large?’ replied the corporal, contemptuously. ‘Wait till
you’re at the extension motions, or at club drill, and you’ll wish
they were more than twice as big.’
‘But my trousers are too long, and--’
‘It’ll be longer before you get another pair. Besides, you ain’t
done growing yet. Two months on full rations, and you’ll be as tall
as a hop-pole. How do you think your legs ’d look then? Showing
half a yard of sock above the high-lows, and the captain ’d be safe
to put you down for a new pair of bags.’
‘And these boots are far too loose. I can’t feel the sides even.’
‘You’ll feel something else afore long, I can tell you, and not
half so soft as leather. Them boots! Why, flash Alick Nokes wore
them till he went “out”--and it ’d take a dozen Johnny Raws like
you to make half a soldier such as him.’
Yet Herbert had really some reason to be discontented with his
personal appearance. Always a trim and dapper youth, his patroness,
Lady Farrington, had loved to see him neatly dressed, and had
cheerfully paid his tailor’s bills when at Deadham school. But
now, speaking exactly, he was not dressed at all; his figure was
only concealed with clothes. His jacket was baggy at the back;
the arms were so long that the cuffs came as far as his knuckles;
his trousers, if they had been tied in at the ankle, would have
suited a Janissary Turk; his forage-cap--it was before the days
of smart glengarries--not yet ‘blocked’ and set up, fell like a
black pudding-bag, over one forehead and one ear. His boots were
quite amorphous, quite without form, and they might have been
void were it not probable they encased a pair of feet shaped like
wedges of Cheshire cheese. So deteriorating was the effect of these
incongruous habiliments, that Herbert Larkins seemed to lose his
erect bearing and springy step; and as he reached the barrack-room,
to which he was presently marched, carrying his kit-bag full of
cleaning utensils under one arm, and his new knapsack under the
other, he hung his head and looked utterly ashamed of himself.
‘Oh! it’s you is it?’ said the sergeant in charge of the room, who
took him over from the corporal of the pioneers.
Herbert recognised the sergeant with whom he had had the colloquy
at the barrack-gate.
‘So you got past the gate, did you? Mind you stop, now you’ve got
in. Don’t try and run off again with your bounty and kit.’
The suspicious sergeant scented a probable deserter.
‘I shouldn’t have come in if I’d wanted to go out directly
afterwards,’ Herbert plucked up courage to say; but the scene was
so new, and he felt so forlorn in his loneliness and his strange
new clothes, that he had not much spirit left in him.
‘Don’t answer me with cheek,’ cried the sergeant, very sharply. ‘I
want none of your slack jaw or back jaw. Hold your tongue, that’s
what you’ve got to do, and do as you’re bid.’
‘Now look here,’ he went on, after a pause; ‘there’s your bed, and
that’s your shelf; mind you keep them clean and proper. Don’t you
try to lie down on the one before the right time, nor put what
ain’t authorised on the other. You’ll be for recruits’ drill
at six sharp to-morrow; don’t let me have to tell you twice to
turn out, and mind you don’t get straying away so that you can’t
answer your name at tattoo roll-call to-night. Mind, too, what
your comrade says; I’ll tell you off to Boy Hanlon because you’re
much of an age; mind him and what he tells you, and he’ll keep you
straight. Lads’--this to the room--‘have any of you seen “the Boy”?’
‘No, sergeant, not these hours past. He’s in the usual place, I’ll
go bail.’
‘The canteen?’
Some of the men laughed and nodded, and the sergeant went off in
search.
No one took any notice of Herbert, as he sat upon the edge of his
iron cot at the far end of the room. Everybody seemed busy with his
own affairs.
But presently some one near the door shouted, ‘Why, here’s “the
Boy”! Duke’s Own! “’Tchun,”’ giving the word of command as though
an officer was approaching.
It was only a wizened little man, who might have been fifty or
barely five. He hadn’t a hair on his fresh cheeks, but
they were much wrinkled as though he were prematurely aged.
Boy Hanlon was one of the oldest soldiers in the regiment. He had
been in it all his life from the time they had picked him up like a
waif or stray on the line of march between Exeter and Plymouth till
now, when he had upwards of twenty years’ service, and was growing
grey-haired. He had begun as a boy in the band, thence he went to
the drums; by-and-bye he became a bugler, from which, although
barely of the standard height, he had been passed into the ranks.
Now, as a veteran who knew his rights and what was due to himself,
he gave himself great airs. No one was half so well acquainted as
he was with professional topics. He could tell you the names of all
the officers past and present, in the Duke’s Own; he was a keen
critic upon drill from his own point of view--somewhere in the
rear rank of one of the central companies; he could pipeclay belts
to perfection, and had not his equal with brass ball, heel ball,
boot-blacking, button stick and brush. But the chief source of his
pride were his confidential relations with Colonel Prioleau, the
present commanding officer. The two had ‘soldiered’ together all
these years, in every clime, and knew each other thoroughly. More,
they had stood side by side at the battle of Goojerat, where the
Duke’s Own had fought remarkably well, and they were the only two
survivors of that glorious day. ‘Boy’ Hanlon--he got his soubriquet
of course from his insignificant size--traded a good deal on that
battle of Goojerat. He was perpetually celebrating the victory. For
one single battle it had an extraordinary number of anniversaries.
Whenever ‘the Boy’ was thirsty--and with him drought was
perennial--he turned up at the orderly room and told the colonel it
was a fine morning ‘for the day.’
‘What day?’ old Prioleau would ask with pretended ignorance,
although he knew and really enjoyed the joke.
‘The great day, of course, colonel; the day of Goojerat.’
‘Why, it was that only three weeks ago; surely--’
‘Well, sir, we’re the only two Goojeraties left, you know, sir, and
I’d like to drink your health.’
It always ended in the same way--the transfer of half-a-crown from
the colonel to ‘the Boy;’ the speedy exchange of the whole sum into
liquor, the most potent description preferred, a free fight, for
‘the Boy’ was quarrelsome in his cups, a temporary relegation to
the guard-room, from which he was sure to be immediately released
by the officer of the day. When Hanlon misconducted himself he
always got off scot free. Colonel Prioleau would never punish ‘the
Boy.’
‘Where’s my towney?’ Hanlon asked directly he entered the room.
They pointed to where Herbert sat disconsolate; and the dapper
little soldier, who was still trim in figure, and straight as a
dart, walked over to the lad and gave him a friendly pat on the
back.
‘Now, young chap, you must brush up, brush up, and show yourself
a man. We’ve to be comrades, you and I, and it won’t suit me to
consort with a chap as is given to peek and pine. What do you call
yourself?’
This was delicately put. Recruits do not always enlist under their
own names; so Hanlon asked, not what Herbert was called, but what
he called himself.
‘Herbert Larkins.’
‘Good; and not a bad looking chap either. Too tall--leastwise I’m
afraid you’re going to grow--’
Hanlon, like many little men, hated those whose inches far exceeded
his own. In the days when there had been grenadiers, it was his
favourite pastime, when at all the worse for liquor, to beard
the giants in their own barrack-room. He called them ‘hop-poles,’
‘sand-bags,’ ‘wooden ramrods,’ and other opprobrious names, and
his onslaughts generally ended in his being carried, bodily, to
the guard-room, under some stalwart soldier’s arm. Now that the
grenadier company was abolished, he disseminated his dislike, and
abused every private who was more that five feet six in height.
‘Too tall, unless you stop as you are. Gin perhaps’d do it; or
whiskey; or perhaps “four” ale--if you took enough of it. Fond of
“four” ale, eh?’
Hanlon’s eyes glistened with a toper’s joy as he mentioned his
favourite fluid.
‘Ah! there’s nothing like “four” ale. I’m under stoppages myself,’
he went on, meditatively, ‘or I’d stand treat. But you’ll have got
your bounty, and the money for your “” clothes. You ain’t
got the price of a glass about you?’
Herbert admitted readily enough that he had the price of several.
He had lost none of his schoolboy freehandedness, and he had
moreover the wit to see that his new comrade might, if propitiated,
prove an uncommonly useful friend.
Hanlon first made Herbert swallow some piping hot tea which was
brought in just then, and gave him the whole of his ‘tea’ bread;
Hanlon’s own appetite was indifferent; and then the two, amid the
winks and jeers of the rest, strolled over to the canteen. The
place was not over full. Nothing stronger than ale and porter
could be sold in it, and the Duke’s Own generally preferred the
Triggertown taverns. So would Hanlon, but he knew that a newly
enlisted recruit would not be permitted to leave barracks.
They had a quart ‘of the best;’ Hanlon called for it--and drank
it, all but a glass; a second quart followed, and a third; and
as the little veteran became more and more steeped in liquor he
grew more and more communicative. He told Herbert all about the
regiment; who were the chief personages in it; he spoke with awe
of the sergeant-major, but of the colonel as a familiar friend.
He described the ways of the officers, the habits and customs of
the regiment, the chances there were of promotion for a smart lad
who’d had any schooling and knew how to keep himself straight. ‘Can
you read? good--and write? better still. If you can only cipher
and do accounts you won’t have long to wait for a lance stripe.
I’ll get it for you, aye and more too. I’ll get you put in the
orderly-room as a clerk, or perhaps the pay office. You shall be a
colour-sergeant before you’re many years older; who knows, perhaps
you’ll be sergeant-major afore you die. All through Joe Hanlon;
poor old Joe Hanlon--Letshavesmoreale.’
From Hanlon drunk to Hanlon sober there was a great distance.
The big promises he made so freely in his cups were all of
them forgotten next day. Yet the little man was, in his way, a
good friend to Herbert Larkins. In the days, arduous and often
wearisome, of the recruit’s novitiate, the old soldier acted always
as mentor and adviser. He taught Herbert all he knew. He helped
him with his exercises, rehearsing the manual and platoon in the
privacy of the citadel ditch, so that Herbert soon won especial
favour with the drill instructor of his squad; he took a pride in
Herbert’s personal appearance, arranged a ‘swop’ for the misfitting
jacket and highlows, contracted with one of the regimental tailors
to alter the baggy trousers in his spare hours.
‘I’ll make you the smartest soldier in the Duke’s Own,’ said ‘the
Boy’ enthusiastically. ‘You’re the right stuff; you’ve got it in
you; you’re a soldier born, every inch. I don’t ask no questions. I
don’t want to know who you are, or where you comes from, but you’ve
got soldier’s blood in you; you come of a soldier’s stock, I’ll
wager a gallon of the best four ale. I like you, lad. You’re free
handed and open spoken, and you’ve got an honest mug of your own. I
like you, and I’ll stick to you through thick and thin.’
The advantages of Boy Hanlon’s counsel and protection were soon
apparent. Herbert, thanks to Hanlon’s coaching, but aided not a
little by his own native intelligence, and the excellent education
he had received, proved an apt scholar in the military school.
He soon learnt his drill, and was passed for duty much more
quickly than was usually the case with recruits. Mr. Farrington,
who had commenced drill at the same time, but who enjoyed the
officer’s privilege of taking it easy, and who was somewhat slow
of apprehension to boot, was still at company drill when Private
Larkins, fully accoutred, and admirably ‘turned out,’ took his
place in the ranks on guard, mounting parade.
It was with a beating heart that he found Mr. Wheeler, the
adjutant, in making his minute and critical inspection, pause just
in front of him.
‘Fall out,’ said the adjutant curtly; and Herbert scarcely knew
whether to expect praise or blame.
‘Colonel’s orderly. Report yourself at his quarters after parade.’
Here was an honour indeed! To be selected on his first
guard-mounting parade, as commanding officer’s orderly--a post
which, apart from the privileges it brought of immunity from
‘sentry go’ and a sure night’s rest in bed, every private soldier
in the regiment coveted and esteemed--was a compliment which
Herbert, and Hanlon also, appreciated to the full.
What befell the young orderly at Colonel Prioleau’s quarters must
be reserved for another chapter.
CHAPTER VII.
A FRENCH LESSON.
Herbert Larkins presented himself with some trepidation at the
commanding officer’s quarters, a house outside, but not far from
the barracks. The hall door was wide open, but he did not go in.
The man whom he relieved told him ‘to patrol up and down in front
of the house--that was all he had to do.’
This he did religiously for half an hour or more, and then he heard
himself called from within.
‘Orderly!’ A clear, sweet voice it was; very musical in its
intonation and very different from the gruff accents to which he
had most recently been accustomed.
‘Orderly!’ again; this time much more sharply spoken, and with
undoubted petulance. ‘How stupid! Why don’t you come when you’re
called?’ and then the owner of the voice appeared. Mahomet had come
to the mountain.
A bright-faced beautiful child; a fair golden-haired girl, not
yet in her teens, wearing a fresh pink and white frock, with pink
ribbons in her sunny locks, and a pink silk handkerchief tied like
a shawl over her shoulders and neck. Herbert took it all in at a
glance, and remembered the picture for the rest of his life.
A very imperious young person, evidently; she had honest kindly
eyes, but her small nose slightly ‘tip tilted,’ and the upward
curve of scorn in her lip indicated a proud, haughty nature, and
the wilfulness of one who, though still a child, had everything
always her own way. An only child, born late in their married
life, Edith Prioleau ruled languid mother and doting father with a
despotism against which they had neither the inclination nor power
to protest.
‘Are you the orderly?’ she asked, almost stamping her foot.
‘Yes.’
‘Yes? Yes--what?’
‘Yes, I am.’
‘Yes, _Miss_, you should say when you speak to me. Do you know who
_I_ am? I am the colonel’s daughter.’
Whereat Herbert drew himself up, and saluted her formally with hand
to cap, as though she were the commander-in-chief.
‘You’re only a recruit, I suppose?’ She spoke quite contemptuously.
‘I never saw you before. I don’t like strangers. I shall speak to
Mr. Wheeler about it. How long have you been dismissed drill?’
Herbert smiled at her intimate acquaintance with military details,
and the smile seemed to give her fresh annoyance.
‘You’re a rude soldier. You shan’t come as orderly again. But
here’--she remembered what she wanted--‘take this list to the
barrack library; be quick, please, and bring me all those books. I
want them at once, please, all. You understand? At once, and all;
and when you come back bring them in to me--there in the back room.’
‘Edith!’ said another voice just then, faintly and querulously,
‘you are losing the whole morning. Your French--’
‘Oh, bother!’ cried Edith, and retired, dragging one foot after the
other, as though loth to return to her studies.
Herbert executed his commission promptly enough, and presently
returned laden with books--some, but not all, of those for which
Edith had sent. He carried them straight into the back room.
‘I am sorry to say, miss, that the “Loss of the Wager” is out,
and so is Maxwell’s “Stories of Waterloo,” but I have brought you
“Thaddeus of Warsaw” and the “Romance of War.”’
Then he stopped short, for he saw that the young lady was not
attending to him in the least. Her head was buried in her hands,
and when she eventually looked up her eyes were suffused with tears.
‘Oh, dear, it is so hard. I can’t make head or tail of it.’
It was only a French exercise after all, about which there was all
this coil. But Edith was not an industrious scholar. In plain
English, she hated books, and would any day throw them aside to get
on her pony to scamper across the Hopshire downs, or ride out to
the drill-field with her father, or to stand by at band practice,
or accompany the regiment when it marched out.
‘I know a little French,’ said Herbert diffidently; ‘perhaps I can
help?’
Edith stared at him through her tears. A private soldier know
French! More, probably, than she knew herself! The notion filled
her with amazement--with gratitude, perhaps, but also with chagrin.
But when, after a few minutes’ close application, he untied the
terrible knot, gratitude overpowered all other sentiments, and she
could have shaken hands with him--almost--in her glee.
‘It’s most extraordinary,’ she cried, dancing about the room with
delight. ‘I never heard of such a thing; you’re the most wonderful
orderly--’
‘You seem very merry, Miss E.,’ said an officer who put his head
into the room just then.
‘Oh, Major Diggle! Just look here.’ And in a few words, volubly
spoken, she explained what had occurred.
‘So you know French, do you?’ said the major to Herbert, in a
supercilious tone impossible to describe. ‘And Latin and Greek
perhaps, and Hebrew?’
‘No, sir, not Hebrew.’ Herbert had drawn himself up straight, and
stood correctly at ‘attention.’ He had already learnt the lesson
of respect due to an officer, and was fully conscious of the great
gulf which separated the major from the private soldier.
‘What’s your name? Larkins? Where were you at school? When did you
enlist? And why?’
Herbert answered all these questions except the last.
‘You don’t choose to tell that, eh? Oh, with all my heart. It’s
none of my business. But now, if Miss Prioleau does not want
you--that will do; you can go.’
Herbert saluted, and walked off.
Directly the door was shut, the major turned to Edith, and said,
‘You ought not to be so familiar with private soldiers. You mustn’t
do that again, Miss E.’
‘I shall do as I please, and don’t choose to be called Miss E.,
Major Diggle.’
He equally hated to be called Diggle without the Cavendish.
‘I shall tell the colonel,’ he said rather angrily, as he left the
room.
She only made a face after him when he had gone, as though she did
not care a bit what he did. There was no love lost between these
two. The child, with intuitive perception, disliked the _parvenu’s_
pretentious airs. He thought her, _en revanche_, a very pert and
forward child, who ought to be snubbed and kept in her place. There
were one or two old feuds between them, too. He had accused her,
although she hotly repudiated the charge, of telling tales. He had
caught her, he declared, looking out of the windows, to see and
tell her father what officers came late for parade. She, on the
other hand, had discovered, and had announced her discovery openly,
that he wore--not a wig--but one of Unwin and Albert’s coverings
for bald heads; and Diggle, who was proud of his looks, did not
like it at all.
It was not likely, therefore, that any friend of Edith’s would find
much favour with the major. But even if she had been disposed to
champion the erudite recruit, so young and obscure a soldier was
really beneath the notice of the great Cavendish Diggle. By-and-bye
Herbert might prove a thorn in the major’s side, and give him many
anxious hours--but that time was still to come.
Meanwhile, Herbert Larkins pursued the even tenour of his ways,
taking the rough with the smooth, but finding that the first
considerably preponderated. What he lacked most were congenial
companions and agreeable occupation for his idle hours. Herbert
found the time hang very heavy on his hands. He could not bring
himself to spend hours with Joe Hanlon in the canteen; nor,
indeed, did ‘the Boy’ wish him to do so. Hanlon was ambitious
for his young comrade, and he knew the way to preferment too well
to encourage Herbert to take to drink. There was nothing left by
way of amusement, after all needful polishing and cleaning-up was
done, but patrolling the Triggertown streets, and frequenting
such ginshops and music-halls as suffered private soldiers in the
Queen’s uniform to pass their doors.
Herbert, as a last resource, turned bookworm. He had attended the
regimental school as in duty bound; but it was soon very clear
that a regimental schoolmaster, however well certificated, could
not teach an ex-sixth-form boy very much. Herbert passed all the
required standards, and was very quickly dismissed as a prodigy of
learning. He might indeed have obtained a billet as an assistant
teacher in the school, but Joe Hanlon supported him in his refusal
of the post. There would be much better openings for him later on,
and in the regular line. All he had to do was to wait patiently for
his ‘lance stripe,’ and this he was certain to obtain so soon as he
had completed the twelve months’ service from the time of joining,
which was the usual time of probation in the Duke’s Own.
The books he read he got from the barrack library, a place well
stocked enough, but not with volumes covering a wide range of
subjects. After exhausting the list of good works of fiction and
travel, he felt himself fortunate at finding ‘Lecky’s Rise and
Progress of Rationalism in Europe.’
One day when Herbert was absent on guard, a volume of this was
lying upon his shelf--in the wrong place--and the captain, who was
inspecting the rooms, noticed it.
‘It’s that Larkins, sir.’ His old enemy the gate sergeant, Sergeant
Pepper, spoke. ‘A young soldier, sir. Very careless young fellow,
sir. No use _my_ speaking to him, sir. Better have his name put on
the gate, sir?’
‘Let me see the book. “Lecky”? Strange! a recruit, do you say?
What’s he like? Smart? Send him over to my quarters to-morrow.’
Captain Greathed was an officer of a somewhat uncommon type.
Thoughtful, studious, steady, he concealed under a quiet demeanour
a true soldierly spirit and keen professional ambition. He yearned
secretly for military distinction, and only bided his time.
Meanwhile he read and pondered deeply the lessons of the past.
He had mastered military literature in all its branches. Had he
chosen, he might have entered the Staff College with ease, and
would certainly have passed through it with distinction; but he was
too fond of his regiment to care to leave it even to study or to
serve upon the staff. He took an interest too in his men, which was
more than many of his brother officers did.
‘I sent for you, Larkins,’ he said to Herbert, ‘to see what you are
made of. You are reading “Lecky;” do you understand it? Have you
read any other books of the kind?’
‘I was always fond of philosophic reading.’
‘You have been well educated, then? You are the man, I suppose, who
did Miss Prioleau’s French lesson for her?’ That story had soon got
about. ‘Well, that’s not everything; let’s see how much you know,’
and Captain Greathed put a series of questions to him which soon
tested the extent of his learning.
‘You ought to do well enough, but book-lore is not everything. You
look strong. Are you active? Are you good at gymnastics? Can you
play cricket, and walk and run well? Try you? We will. Meanwhile
keep straight and steady, and you’ll do. It’ll be your own fault if
you don’t get on.’
From that time forth Captain Greathed took especial notice of
Herbert, spoke to him frequently--an honour highly prized by the
private soldier--advised him as to his reading, and lent him
military books. All this did not pass unobserved in the company,
and it soon became evident that his comrades rather resented the
captain’s undisguised preference for Larkins. The body of the
men in the Duke’s Own were not particularly attached to their
officers, and to be a favourite with superiors was not a certain
passport to popularity with the rank and file. Herbert, in spite
of Boy Hanlon’s championship, found himself kept at arm’s length
rather, and often subjected to innuendoes and sneers.
One day there was some commotion in the barrack-room. Several men
who had been slovenly on parade had had their ‘passes’ stopped.
These permits to be absent from quarters after hours are much
appreciated, and those who had forfeited them were naturally
sore. Herbert, who wished to attend a lecture at the Mechanics’
Institute, had also ‘put in a pass,’ backed by the captain, which
had been granted, much to the disgust of the other men.
It’s a burning shame,’ said one; and others followed on the same
side, but with louder and coarser expletives.
‘A young jiggermy-dandy like you,’ cried a big soldier, Jubbock
by name, who had the reputation of being cock and bully of the
company. ‘What right have you to what’s denied your betters? A
sneaking young lickspittle, who’s got the length of the captain’s
foot. I’ll teach you to--’
Jubbock advanced towards him with a threatening air.
‘Well?’ said Herbert coolly, ‘what’ll you teach me?’
‘To know your master. Take that,’ and Jubbock aimed a tremendous
blow at Herbert, which the latter promptly parried, and with a
smart ‘one--two’ put the great fellow flat on his back.
There was a shout in the barrack-room as Jubbock rose furious and
closed with his opponent. Then came a hubbub of voices. ‘The
sergeant, the sergeant! Sergeant Pepper, the “Real Cayenne!”’ as he
was commonly called when he looked like mischief.
‘What’s this? Quarrelling in the barrack-room? I’ll not have it.
Drop it. Who began it? You, Larkins? Then to the guard-room you’ll
go, double quick. Here, Corporal Smirke, get a file of men.’
‘But t’other chap rasperated him,’ Hanlon put in. ‘Jubbock’s more
to blame than Larkins. If you shop one you must shop the other.’
‘So I will. I’ll run them both in--march them off.’
And so Herbert, with a smarting sense of injustice, found himself
relegated to the guard-house, and locked up for the night.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE ORDER BOOK.
Herbert woke after a troubled night’s rest, disturbed by the
occasional irruption of comrades brought in by the piquet and
patrols, in various stages of intoxication, and the visits of the
sergeant of the guard. The bare boards had been his bed, and he
ached in every limb. It was with a sense of relief almost, although
he dreaded the ordeal before him, that he washed and cleaned
himself up preparatory to taking his place in the ranks with the
rest of ‘the prisoners.’ With them, under escort of the guard, he
was presently marched to the orderly-room, and then, after waiting
half-an-hour for his turn, he was marched into the presence of his
commanding officer, to answer for his alleged crime.
He and Jubbock appeared together before their judge, Colonel
Prioleau. The sergeant, who was the only witness, gave his evidence
fairly, although not without a bias against Herbert, but the
Colonel withheld judgment till he heard the defence.
‘What have you got to say?’ he asked of both abruptly.
‘Please, your honour,’ began Jubbock, ‘we wasn’t fighting at all;
we was only wrastling. This young chap says, says he, he knew a
thing or two about the Cumberland cropper, and I, says I, know’d
more about the Hampshire hug; and with that we had a set-to, and
the sergeant found us at it.’
The old soldier’s tendency to misstatement--to call it by no
stronger name--was very repugnant to honest Herbert.
‘I beg your pardon, sir,’ he put in, ‘he is not telling you the
truth. We _were_ fighting. He struck me, and I knocked him down.’
Colonel looked up a little curiously. Herbert’s accent and his
language were both more accurate than one is accustomed to find in
a private soldier.
‘You did, did you? And would you do it again?’
‘I would, sir, if he provoked me; I’m not afraid of him,’ cried
Herbert, hotly.
‘He’d better try,’ Jubbock said, growing also warm, notwithstanding
the awe inspired by the great man in whose presence he stood.
‘It’s quite evident you can’t agree. There’s bad blood between you
still. Well, you know the old rule--no, Captain Greathed, I won’t
hear a word--young soldiers must find their level, and hold their
own. Besides, there is the old regimental custom. You must fight
it out. Send them down to the main ditch, as usual, and let the
orderly sergeant go with them to see fair play. It’s no use talking
to me, Captain Greathed; I shall stick to the old rule of the
Duke’s Own so long as I am commanding the corps.’
Captain Greathed thought it wisest to let matters take their
course. Any further interference to protect Herbert might have
looked like favouritism, and have done the young fellow more harm
than good. He may have thought, too, that Herbert could give a good
account of his antagonist.
The mill was conducted according to custom, in semi-official
fashion. The orderly sergeant, as before said, and two
bottle-holders--Hanlon was Herbert’s--were the only spectators.
For a long time it seemed a close affair. Jubbock’s weight and
great reach of arm were immensely in his favour. But Herbert had
more science. Self-defence, although fast becoming an old-fashioned
art, was not unknown at Deadham School, and he had grown into an
accomplished practitioner in it. He was lighter, too, and far more
active than Jubbock, and this told in the long run. His adversary
tried in vain to get at him; but Herbert danced around him like
a cork, till by degrees Jubbock lost all patience and struck out
wildly. The wily Herbert promptly seized his advantage, and began
to punish Jubbock severely. After this the victory was not long in
doubt. At the end of the fourteenth round, Jubbock threw up the
sponge, and Herbert was declared, officially, to have won the day.
The result of the fight, noised about as it was in the company,
naturally added greatly to Herbert’s prestige. Jubbock was a
coarse, rough fellow, inclined to be brutal and overbearing, and he
had so long tyrannised over his comrades that his defeat was hailed
with much satisfaction. ‘The Boy’--old Joe Hanlon--was wild with
delight. He was never tired of expatiating upon Herbert’s prowess,
and talked so much about it, taking so much credit to himself, that
you might have thought it was he who had won the fight.
Herbert received even higher approval.
‘So I hear you held your own,’ the captain had said to him one day.
‘I thought it was not unlikely you would. But don’t be puffed up
by your victory. Take heed to your going--Jubbock’s not likely to
love you the more because you have shown yourself the better man.’
There was wisdom in this advice. Jubbock bore malice, as Herbert
soon found, from his sulky demeanour and the way he scowled when he
dared. Hanlon too reported that Jubbock had sworn to be even with
young Larkins yet. But what could he do? Herbert laughed such vague
threats to scorn.
It was not long after this that unpleasant rumours became rife in
the barrack-room. It was clear that the occupants thereof were
not all loyal to one another. The men missed things. First, odds
and ends disappeared. A button-brush, a comb, a tin of blacking
or a red herring bought for tea. Then money went--pence, not too
plentiful with soldiers, and hoarded up between pay-days, in
cleaning bag or knapsack, to be drawn upon as required for the
men’s _menus plaisirs_.
There was evidently a thief in the room.
‘Yes: and he’s got to be found out too,’ said Joe Hanlon. ‘There
ain’t been such a thing known in the Duke’s Own these years past.’
‘No, nor wouldn’t be now,’ said another, ‘if we got honest lads as
recruits. We want no swell-mobsmen and high-falutin dandies with
their grand airs, and their fine talk, who come from no one knows
where.’
‘What d’ye mean?’ asked Hanlon sharply. ‘If that’s a slap at my
towney, I give you the lie, and no two words about it. Larkins is
as honest a young chap as ever took the shilling.’
‘Well, Jubbock said--’
‘It’s just what I thought,’ said ‘the Boy.’ ‘Jubbock means
mischief, but I’ll circumvent him, or my name’s not Joe Hanlon.’
Matters were presently brought to a crisis. Two half-crowns, a
shilling and some coppers were stolen on the day following pay-day,
and the men were growing furious.
‘I’d swear to my half-crown anywhere,’ said one victim. ‘It had a
twist at the edges and a scar on the Queen’s nose.’
‘Let’s all agree to be searched--our kits, and packs, and all.’
‘Yes, yes,’ everybody cried. ‘We’ll call the colour-sergeant, and
do it all regular and proper, so we will.’
There was a general stampede out of the room. Jubbock only was left
in it, and Hanlon, who had been shaving behind the door, and was
not visible.
The men came trooping back, headed by the colour-sergeant--a stout,
consequential little man, who felt that his position was only
second in dignity to that of the commander-in-chief.
‘No man must leave the room. You, Corporal Closky, see to that.
Now, Sergeant Limpetter, we’ll take the beds with their kits as
they come.’
The search was regularly and carefully conducted amid a decorous
silence.
All at once there was a loud shout. The money had been discovered
in one of the packs.
It was Herbert’s.
‘Larkins,’ cried the colour-sergeant, ‘I’d never have believed it.’
There was a hubbub of voices, the prominent expressions being, ‘I
told you so,’ or ‘What did I say?’ followed by a hoarse shout for
vengeance, for condign punishment of the despicable thief.
‘A court-martial! a barrack-room court-martial,’ cried several men
in a breath, and the cry was taken up by the room.
‘Stop! Give the lad fair play,’ said a new voice, and Joe Hanlon
stepped from behind the door.
‘Why, what do you know about it?’ the colour-sergeant asked. ‘Isn’t
the evidence as straight as it can be? He was all but taken in the
act. The money, which is sworn to, is found in his pack.’
‘Aye, but who put it there?’
‘Himself, of course. Who else?’ It was Jubbock who spoke.
‘You did. I saw you.’
The shot told. Jubbock visibly quailed.
‘It’s a lie. I’ll swear I never touched the pack; I’m ready to take
my dying oath--’
‘I saw you, man; I was there, behind the door, shaving, and you
thought you was all alone’st in the room. I saw you go to Larkins’
bed, take the money out of your pocket, wrap it in a rag, and put
it in Larkins’ pack.’
‘I didn’t, I swear.’
‘After all, it’s only one man’s word against another’s,’ said the
colour-sergeant, magisterially.
‘How else could it have got there? Don’t you know,’ Hanlon asked
of Jubbock, ‘don’t you know that Larkins is in hospital, and been
there these three days past? How could he have touched the pack?
He’s not been in the room for three days or more.’
‘That’s right,’ said the colour-sergeant. ‘There’s no more to be
said. Jubbock, I would not be in your shoes. You must go to the
guard-room.’
‘No, no, no;’ the men were all furious. ‘He’s the thief, the mean
hound. Let’s settle it ourselves. A court-martial, a barrack-room
court-martial, sergeant.’
‘Well, have it your own way. Here, Snaggs, Cusack, Hippisley, and
Muldoon, you’re the four oldest soldiers in the company; go into my
bunk and talk it over. Say what’s to be done with him.’
They came back presently.
‘He’s guilty. Three dozen with the sling of his own rifle; that’s
our sentence--’
‘Which I approve,’ said the colour-sergeant, and the informal
punishment was forthwith administered in a way which would have
gladdened the heart of the fiercest old martinet who ever told the
drummer to lay on.
Herbert heard all about it, as soon as he came out of hospital,
and was not sorry for the villain who had so nearly led him into a
terrible scrape. Had the case been proved against him it would have
ruined him utterly, for now at length promotion, humble enough,
but still advancement, was close at hand. Within a week or two the
regimental orders contained a notification that Private Herbert
Larkins, of F company, was appointed a lance-corporal.
This raised him at once above the malevolence of enemies such
as Jubbock. But it gave him work enough for half a dozen. The
lance-corporal, the junior grade of non-commissioned officer, is
a sort of general utility man, whose duties begin at daylight and
do not end at night. He must be always clean and well dressed, or
adieu to hope of further promotion. He must be at the beck and call
of the company sergeants, and ready to fly for the sergeant-major.
He must be peremptory yet judicious with the privates, whom,
although he was one himself yesterday, he is called upon now to
command. Difficult, not to say arduous, as were his functions,
Herbert managed to discharge them to the satisfaction of his
superiors, and soon became known in the regiment as a smart and
intelligent young man.
One evening it fell to his lot to take the ‘order book’ round for
the perusal of the officers of the company. Ernest Farrington was
one of them, and in due course Herbert came to his quarters. He
knocked and heard the usual ‘Come in.’
‘Orders, sir.’
‘Orders! All right. One moment--’ ‘Yes, sir; that’s all I know
about it,’ went on young Farrington, in continuation evidently of
a previous talk. His interlocutor was Major Cavendish-Diggle.
‘You don’t know what became of Lady Farrington? Where is she?’
‘At a private asylum--Dr. Plum’s, at Greystone, the other end of
the county, you know.’
‘To be sure. It must have given Sir Rupert great annoyance. But now
it’s all happily settled, of course?’
Diggle was just then making the running for Miss Farrington,
and wished to be quite certain that there was no fear of future
disinheritance.
‘Absolutely,’ said Ernest. ‘The crazy old creature won’t be heard
of again, probably.’
‘Shall I leave the order book, sir?’ Herbert then asked, and they
remembered they were not alone. They little guessed who their
listener was, and how much they had inadvertently revealed to him.
He had long wished to ascertain the whereabouts of his kind
patroness, and now he knew. What use he might make of the
information did not occur to him. After all, what could a poor
soldier do against such a powerful enemy as Sir Rupert Farrington?
Still the mouse helped the lion. And it was something to know
exactly what had become of poor Lady Farrington. If he could
but come across the Larkins, there might be some hope of his
re-establishing himself, perhaps of again putting forward his
claims. But the only reply he received from the War Office, to
which he had written, was that Sergeant Larkins was employed as a
barrack-sergeant abroad, and could not at the moment be traced.
He must wait, that was clear. But everything comes to him who can
wait, and Herbert was still young enough to be sanguine and full of
hope.
CHAPTER IX.
A BALL IN BARRACKS.
The first of September was a great day always at Farrington Hall.
Sir Rupert preserved very strictly; he was fond of shooting, and
his coverts were always well stocked. They had a large party in the
house; men chiefly, good guns who could be relied upon to do their
share in swelling the Farrington ‘bag.’
This year several of Ernest’s brother officers were to have been
invited, but Major Diggle manœuvred so cleverly that none of them
were asked but himself. He had his own reasons for keeping men away
from the Hall. He was not afraid of rivals, of course--who among
the Duke’s Own was there to compete with him? Still they might
inadvertently interfere with his little game; and he preferred, at
least for the present, to have the field all to himself.
Major Cavendish-Diggle was much appreciated at the Hall. Lady
Farrington, a foolish, inconsequent woman, who was entirely
wrapped up in Ernest, her only son, received the Major almost with
effusion. He had been, oh, so kind to Ernest! She knew it; it was
no use his disclaiming it, and she was deeply grateful to him.
‘Ith thutch a trial joining a regiment; everything tho thrange, and
Erney tho young, tho inexperienced; he would have been mitherable,
quite mitherable, but for _you_.’
Lady Farrington was a large fair woman; so fair as to be almost
colourless. Her manner was not without distinction, and would have
been impressive but for the vapidity of her remarks, and a trick
of utterance due, seemingly, to her having too many teeth in her
mouth, which robbed her words of anything like expression, and
sometimes made them unintelligible. Ernest, her son, greatly took
after her. He was tall, but rather shambling in gait, and still
excessively thin. In voice and manner of speech he reproduced Lady
Farrington exactly. His mouth also seemed full of hot potatoes, or
too full of teeth; and as he had a trick of keeping it constantly
open, as though to cool the potatoes, or air his teeth, his general
expression was vacuous in the extreme. A rather full lower lip
and a very receding chin did not add to his personal charms.
You gathered at once from his face and air that he was weak,
irresolute, easily led, and that he might, if misled, slide soon
into vicious ways.
But he had improved wonderfully since he had joined the Duke’s Own.
They all said so. Even Sir Rupert, dark and undemonstrative as he
was generally, thawed enough to say that he thought soldiering
would make a man of Ernest--if anything would. Letitia, as Miss
Farrington was called, and who in many respects resembled her
father, changed her tone on seeing how much Ernest was changed
for the better. Her attitude towards him had hitherto been one
of patronage mixed with spite. Although outwardly she was very
affectionate--in her heart she bore him a grudge because he was one
of the sex commonly called superior to her own. She was the elder
by three or four years; she had far more brains--‘not that that was
surprising’--as she said when she was more than usually venomous,
seeing that Ernest had next to none. She was a Farrington, as was
evident from her likeness to her father, while her brother was
clearly a Burdakin, like his mother. Why should an absurd and
monstrously unfair custom constitute him the heir and future head
of the family, while she must be satisfied with what her father
might choose to give her as a marriage portion or as a settlement
for life? She had always bitterly resented the Salic law as it
obtained in England with regard to the succession of estates and
titles.
Letitia was, however, much more civil to Ernest now. There may be
many subtle reasons for such sudden changes of demeanour. Major
Cavendish-Diggle was perhaps not remotely connected with Letitia’s.
He was Ernest’s bosom friend; what if he presently developed
into a friend and admirer of her own? Letitia was not exactly
ill-favored, but she was certainly not a beauty in the strict sense
of the term. Dark complexioned and thin lipped, but with a nose
too sharp, and cheek bones too high, her face was not strikingly
attractive to say the least of it; and the fact was being gradually
borne in upon her, as she grew on in years, by the slackness with
which suitors sought her hand. Major Cavendish-Diggle was one of
the first who showed better taste. Why should not men admire her?
She had a neat well-proportioned figure. Her eyes were good, of the
deep brown piercing order; her dark hair was abundant and rich. She
was a good talker, had all the accomplishments of a well-educated
young lady, and a large share of that indescribable air of good
breeding, of that perfect ease in manner and thorough _savoir
faire_, which are only to be seen in women of good station--all of
which Diggle felt would be extremely becoming in a colonel’s or
general officer’s wife. If the thin lips and fierce eyes foretold a
vixenish temper when thwarted, or if the world went wrong with her,
these were bad points still in embryo, little likely to deter so
matter of fact a wooer as Diggle from prosecuting his suit.
Not that he precipitated matters. He could see, with half an eye,
that Miss Farrington accepted his attentions cheerfully enough;
but he was very doubtful whether her parents would look upon him
with equal favour. Indeed, Sir Rupert had more than once spoken in
a way to damp Diggle’s hopes. The baronet held his head high. He
evidently knew what was due to himself. Having passed his early
years as a struggling solicitor, barely able to keep the wolf
from his door, he was now very eloquent about _mésalliances_, and
the proper maintenance of distinctions of class. The major’s heart
misgave him, for reasons best known to himself, when he heard Sir
Rupert inveighing against the annoyance of upstart tradesmen, who,
on the strength of fortunes amassed by not too reputable business
(so he said), aped the manners of their betters, and tried to push
themselves forward into the front rank of society. This very visit
to Farrington Hall, a crusty old county magnate to whom Diggle had
been formally introduced, had remarked rather pointedly upon the
major’s name.
‘Diggle, Diggle, I know the name. To be sure. Get my tea from
Diggle’s. Devilish good tea too--no connection, major, eh?’
At which Major Cavendish-Diggle inwardly shuddered, although he
replied promptly enough.
‘Come and taste our champagne at Triggertown, Mr. Burkinshaw;
it’s far better than the best tea in the world.’ Whereby the
inconvenient question was for the moment satisfactorily shelved.
Diggle knew, therefore, that much circumspection would be necessary
if he aspired to Letitia’s hand. All he could hope to gain was the
girl’s good-will and co-operation, and this, by his assiduous,
although diplomatically veiled attentions, he secured in due course.
Meanwhile he sought and entirely succeeded in making himself
agreeable to all in the house. He talked ‘central fire’ with
Sir Rupert, parochial business and district visiting with Lady
Farrington, who pretended to play the Dorcas in the parish; he
discussed turnips and quarter sessions with the squires and local
magnates, who thought that such matters comprised the whole duty of
man; last of all, he played duets and danced with Miss Farrington
after dinner, in a way she called, and really felt to be divine.
‘It does not bore you to dance?’ she asked him one evening.
‘And with _you_? No, indeed, and really I am passionately devoted
to it.’
‘Some men now-a-days are so fine. They stand about the doors at a
dance like farm servants at a fair waiting to be hired.’
‘That’s not the way with the Duke’s Own,’ said Diggle, laughing.
‘No idlers are allowed when we give a ball. You should see our
youngsters dance; and we have a string band on purpose for dance
music.’
‘Delightful! Do give us a ball, Major Diggle.’
‘With all my heart; when you like. You shall fix the day, and it
shall be the finest Triggertown has ever seen.’
The subject was re-opened another day, when Diggle was not by.
‘Does it rest with him?’ incredulous Sir Rupert asked of Ernest.
‘What does your colonel say?’
‘Oh, Colonel Prioleau’s “not in it” compared to Major Cavendish. We
always call him Major Cavendish, he likes it better. The Major’s
the leading man in the regiment. He does just as he pleases.
There’s nobody like him.’
And Ernest went off into pæans of praise, expatiating upon Diggle’s
innumerable good qualities with all the eloquence (it was not much)
he could command.
But he did not exaggerate the Major’s influence in the regiment.
The ball, which came off a month or so later, was on a scale of
unprecedented splendour, mainly because Diggle had resolved that
it should be so. He had taken the affair altogether into his own
hands. It was he who insisted that the ices should come straight
from Gunter’s, that there should be _foie gras_, plovers’ eggs,
and fresh truffles at supper; it was he who had conceived the
brilliant idea of placing silver-hooped barrels in the tea rooms,
full of champagne constantly on tap. He had commissioned the best
decorators in London to do up the ball rooms; one built, contiguous
to the mess-house, a boudoir, intended for the sole use of ladies,
which was furnished with ivory toilet appliances, and lined with
amber satin throughout; another designed an artificial grotto
filled with blocks of real ice, which, as they melted, fed a
number of fountains, whose waters fell in showers of sweet-scented
spray; a third, entrusted with the floral decorations, grouped
great masses of tropical plants, a wealth of rich variegated
colours in the corridors, before the fireplaces, and in all the
best points of view. There were two rooms for dancing; in one the
inimitable string band of the Duke’s Own performed, in the other a
detachment of Coote and Tinney’s was specially engaged.
‘Ith moth wontherful, thertainly,’ said Lady Farrington, in
raptures, as Diggle received her; and having presented her to quiet
Mrs. Prioleau, who was in duty bound to do the honours, but who was
utterly bored and worn out after the first five minutes, led her to
a seat of state on a sort of dais at the top of the room.
‘Oh, Major Cavendish-Diggle!’ cried Letitia, ‘you have indeed
achieved a most triumphant success. It’s like a scene in
fairy-land. The flowers, and the innumerable lights, the falling
waters. Exquisite, enchanting;’ and she half closed her eyes, as in
an ecstasy of bliss.
‘I wonder what it will all cost?’ growled Sir Rupert, _sotto voce_.
‘A pretty penny. I shall have Ernest overdrawing again.’
The fact being that, although Ernest received a handsome allowance,
his account was perpetually overdrawn. Constant association with
Diggle did not tend to economical ways. What with grouse for
breakfast, and hot-house fruits for lunch; what with great guest
nights, and expensive wines flowing freely, his mess bills were
enormous. Then there were his horses, his dog-cart to take him to
the station, his chambers in the neighbourhood of St. James’s,
his boot varnish, and his new hats once a fortnight, and his fresh
‘button-holes’ every two or three hours. Sir Rupert hardly knew how
the money went, but he knew that the six hundred a year he allowed
his son, which was more than he had enjoyed for years until he
came into the title, did not go half as far as it should, and he
grumbled at the extravagance and ostentation of this great ball.
The baronet was not in the best of humours, therefore, as he
stood upon one of the two raised platforms which had been erected
on each side of the regimental colours, for the accommodation
of the most distinguished guests. The colours were uncased, and
drooped gracefully over a trophy of swords and bayonets, the
whole being under the protection of two stalwart sentries in
full uniform, who stood erect and impassive, like stone statues,
perfectly unmoved by the revels in progress around. It was a
signal honour to be permitted to mount guard in the ball-room,
and only the finest-looking and the steadiest men were selected
for the duty. But the duty was fatiguing, and the sentries were
relieved every hour, the relief being carried out quietly, but
strictly in accordance with the regulations, by non-commissioned
officers carefully selected, like the sentries, on account of their
smartness and gallant bearing.
While Sir Rupert was standing scowling at the entertainment, for
which, without sharing in the honour and glory, he would probably
have to pay, the relief marched in. He looked on at the ceremony
without interest, heard with indifferent ears the trite words of
command, ‘Port arms, take post, shoulder, order,’ and the rest,
when something in the aspect of the corporal in command attracted
his attention, and he found himself looking curiously at the
soldier’s face.
Surely he knew it? Where had he seen it before?
Then with a sudden start he remembered. The man was the living
image of cracked Lady Farrington’s _protégé_--of that lad whom he,
Sir Rupert, had inveigled down into Devonshire, and left there to
starve. Could it possibly be the same man? Did the fellow know him?
Apparently not.
He was still debating the point as the relief marched away, when
all doubts were set at rest by hearing a very young lady, a child,
in fact (it was Edith Prioleau), say laughingly, and with the
accents of Stratford-le-Bow, as she touched the corporal on the arm
with her fan,
‘_En bien, Caporal Larkins, comment vous portez-vous?_’
To which the corporal replied, with a smile,
‘_Très bien, mademoiselle. Et vous?_’
There could be no mistake. Look, name, voice, all were the same.
What a curious fatality! In the same regiment as his son--the true
heir and the false serving side by side. Should he tell Ernest?
Then Sir Rupert, pondering much, came to the conclusion that it
would be best to keep his own counsel, but resolved to put, if
possible, a watch upon the young man.
CHAPTER X.
MUTINY IN THE RANKS.
There was great grief in the Duke’s Own. Colonel Prioleau was
about to leave the regiment. He had commanded it for a number of
years, and would have liked to have gone on commanding it to the
end of the chapter, but promotion to the rank of general was fast
approaching him, and he felt that he must ‘realise’ at least a
part of his cash. Colonels of regiments in old days served for
about tenpence a-day. The rest of their pay barely represented the
interest upon the capital sum they had sunk in purchasing their
rank. By exchanging to half-pay before promotion, a regimental
lieutenant-colonel was able to pull a few thousands out of the
fire; and this Colonel Prioleau did.
There was great grief in the regiment at his approaching
retirement. It was not so much on account of his personal
qualities, although these--more particularly his easy-going
_laissez aller_ system--had long gained him great popularity, but
because the command was to pass into the hands of one who was not,
as the saying is, a ‘Duke’s Own man.’ Major Byfield had exchanged
into the corps some few years previously, very much against the
will of the regiment. Not that there was anything against him.
Appearances were indeed in his favour. He was a quiet gentlemanly
little person, with that slightly apologetic manner, and hesitating
air, which often earn a man appreciation from his fellows, because
they indicate a tacit acknowledgment of his inferiority. Major
Byfield showed himself still more nervous and undecided on joining
the Duke’s Own. Although as a field officer his position was
assured, and entitled him to considerable deference from all, he
seldom claimed it or asserted himself more than he could help. His
brother officers tolerated him, and were civil to him when they
saw him, which was not often; but they yielded him no respect,
and suffered him to interfere very little in the discipline and
management of the corps. What could he know about the Duke’s Own,
or its regimental ‘system?’ He had come from the 130th which,
it was well known, had a very different ‘system,’ although both
were, in fact, ruled by the Queen’s Regulations, and should have
been governed on precisely the same lines. There is a good deal
of mystery made and much stress laid upon the ‘system’ in force
in a regiment. No doubt in many minor details there is a marked
difference, but the broad outlines are, or ought to be, the same.
But it is a favourite dogma, especially with officers in whom
_esprit de corps_ is strong, that no one can understand this system
unless he has been trained in a regiment and assimilated it with
his earliest ideas. So when the major spoke even in a whisper, or
made the faintest hint of a suggestion, he was pooh-poohed and put
down. Diggle, his fellow, although junior field officer, quietly
said that it was all nonsense, that Byfield misunderstood the
situation, that he had better wait till he had longer experience in
the regiment before he presumed to put forward his views.
Major Byfield was thus satisfactorily repressed--but only for the
time. He had views and opinions of his own upon soldiering, and
he was determined when opportunity came to give them full play.
They had long persistently preached up and paraded before him
the system in force in the Duke’s Own, but he had for as long
come to the conclusion that the system was a bad one, and was
resolved to reform it should he ever come into power. His character
was a strange medley of opposite qualities. Behind the nervous
diffidence, which being upon the surface seemed his most prominent
trait, was an amount of quiet self-opinionated obstinacy which
boded ill for those under his orders should he ever have much
authority in his hands. Mrs. Byfield could have opened people’s
eyes had she been permitted to disclose the secrets of the Byfield
_ménage_. The major was as narrow-minded as a woman, and as
prone to mistake the relative proportion of things, to entirely
ignore the main issues, to neglect or overlook broad questions,
and concentrate himself with much tenacity upon comparatively
unimportant details.
These peculiarities began to develop themselves very soon after
he obtained the command. It became evident that the new colonel
was a different man from what was supposed. He had been deemed a
cipher--one who could hardly call his soul his own; but he proved a
fussy, fidgetty, anxious creature, who from nervous apprehension,
backed up by no small amount of self-conceit, promised to make
everybody’s life a burden to him. The officers as a body began to
fear that the good old times were on the wane. The decadence of
the Duke’s Own must have fairly commenced when leave for hunting
was refused and there were two commanding officers’ parades on
the same day. The fact was, the Colonel had resolved to reform the
regiment according to his own ideas, and had already set to work
with a will. The points on which it fell short of perfection were
very clear to his own mind--a weak, but extremely active mind. He
thought the officers neglected their business and knew too little
of it--facts incontrovertible no doubt, although the remedy was
not easy to discover, and needed stronger treatment than Colonel
Byfield was in a position to apply. He felt dissatisfied, too,
with the demeanour of the men in quarters and on parade, and if it
was more within his compass to bring about improvement in these
respects, his task was likely to be surrounded with the greater
difficulty if his officers were discontented and soured. But the
Colonel could not see much beyond the end of his nose, and rushed
forward blindly to his fate.
To come in for a large share of criticism, not to say abuse, from
those under his orders, is too commonly the lot of the regimental
lieutenant-colonel. Colonel Byfield was no exception to the general
rule. Before he had been in command a month, his officers generally
began to disapprove of his proceedings; after three, they disliked
him cordially; and this grew into positive hatred at the end of
six. Of course they kept their opinions very much to themselves.
English officers, however grievous their wrongs, whether real
or fancied, never overstep the bounds of due subordination; and
however much those of the Duke’s Own may have chafed at their
commanding officer’s trying ways and irksome rule, they did no
more than call him a ‘beast’ to one another, and utter frequent
and fervid, but private prayers for his translation to some
other sphere in this world or the next. They bore their burden
bravely enough, silently too and without protest, except when some
graceless subaltern or more artful captain wilfully exhibited an
utter ignorance of the very rudiments of drill by clubbing his
company upon parade, or comported himself disgracefully at the
weekly examinations--offences especially heinous in the eyes of
a Colonel whose greatest ‘fad’ was to make his officers walking
_vade mecums_ or living encyclopædias of military knowledge. The
schoolmaster was abroad in the Duke’s Own, very much to everyone’s
discomfort and dissatisfaction.
Excessive timidity, an exaggerated fear of constituted authority,
were the secrets of Colonel Byfield’s irritating line of conduct.
He was for ever invoking the distant deities of the Horse Guards,
and deprecating their wrath. As for their local chief priest,
the general officer commanding the Triggertown district, whose
authority was much more tangible and near at hand, Colonel Byfield
had for him the most wholesome and abject apprehension. It was to
appease the possible fury of this awful functionary that he worried
and harassed the regiment from morning till night.
‘What will the general say?’ or ‘What will the general do?’ were
phrases continually on his lips. He forgot that, as a matter of
fact, the general, who was an ordinary general, would probably say
or do nothing at all. But this professional ‘Jorkins’ was quoted on
every occasion.
‘I cannot overlook your misconduct,’ he would say to Joe Hanlon,
when brought up for the thousandth time for being drunk. ‘The
general won’t let me.’
‘As if the general cared,’ muttered ‘the Boy’ to himself.
‘I must punish you; I must, indeed.’
‘Colonel Prioleau never did, sir; and I hope, sir--’
‘Colonel Prioleau is not here now, and I don’t choose to be spoken
to in that way. Fourteen days’ marching order drill; and if you
come here again, I’ll try you for “Habitual”--I will, mark my
words.’
‘What’s the good of serving on in the old corps now?’ said Hanlon,
very wroth, after he had done his defaulter’s drill. ‘It’s not what
it used to be. I’ll put in for my discharge.’
He was fully entitled to it. Twenty-one years’ service, all told.
Five good-conduct badges, less one, which his recent misconduct
had robbed him of; for with old soldiers it is strength of head, or
immunity from punishment that brings reputation; and Hanlon, thanks
to Colonel Prioleau’s good nature, had the credit of being one of
the best behaved men in the regiment.
‘I won’t stay to be humbugged about,’ he said, indignantly, to his
comrade Herbert. ‘I’ll take my pension and look out for a billet in
civil life.’
‘What can you get to do?’
‘Lots of things. Commissionaire, prison warder, attendant in a
lunatic ’sylum.’
Herbert pricked up his ears.
‘Do you think you could get the last? I wish you would, and I’ll
tell you why. You’ve never heard my story?’
Whereupon Herbert told it all.
‘I knew you was a nob from the first. I saw it in your talk and in
the cut of your jib. Dr. Plum’s of Greystone, you say. Right you
are. That’s where I’ll go. To-morrow, if not sooner, and I’ll give
you the office--double quick. Hold on a bit, that’s all you’ve got
to do; hold on, and do your duty, and it’ll all come right in the
end. And see here--’
Hanlon looked about him, as if afraid of listeners.
‘Things ain’t comfortable in the old corps, not just now; and
there’s going to be a row. They won’t let on to you,’cos you’re
a non-com, and what’s more, only a recruit. There’s men in the
regiment mean mischief, if they only get the chance; and if they
don’t, they’ll make it, sure as my name’s Joe.’
‘What can they do?’
‘They don’t think or care. All they want is a rumpus, so as to get
old Byfield in trouble and make him leave, and that they’ll be
able to do. Don’t join them, not whatever they say. Keep your ears
cocked, and nip in--only on the right side.’
Hanlon had taken his discharge and got the promise of a billet at
Dr. Plum’s, when the storm actually broke in the Duke’s Own.
Colonel Byfield had been agitated beyond measure at the news of the
approaching move of his regiment to one of the large camps, and
in view of the scrutiny which there awaited him his petty tyranny
had passed all bounds. He had parades morning, noon, and night.
He exercised the men _ad nauseam_ at squad drill, goose step, and
the manual and platoon. He marched them perpetually in battalion
up and down the barrack yard, and he took them out day after day
upon Triggertown Common for light infantry drill. All this, albeit
torture of the most painful description, they could have tolerated
probably without a murmur had not the Colonel, dissatisfied with
the progress made, sentenced the regiment to be deprived of all
leave in all ranks.
This was the point at which the worm turned. One fine morning,
long after the ‘dressing’ bugle had sounded, followed by the
‘non-commissioned officers call’ and the ‘fall-in,’ not a man made
his appearance upon parade. Colonel Byfield and the officers had
the whole square to themselves. The rest of the regiment with the
exception of a number of men belonging to one company, F, formed
up in the ditch, and while the commanding officer was whistling at
vacancy, marched off in excellent order to a distant part of the
glacis, where they piled arms and refused to return.
It would be tedious, and it indeed forms no part of this history to
narrate, except in the briefest terms, the progress of this very
serious military _lâche_. The men, as is usual in such cases, went
to the wall. The ringleaders were hunted out, tried and severely
punished, and the whole regiment was ordered to proceed on foreign
service forthwith. The causes which had led to the disturbance were
closely investigated, and as a natural consequence Colonel Byfield
was placed upon half-pay.
It was for a long time doubtful whether Diggle, who was the next
senior, should be allowed to succeed to the command; but he brought
all the interest he could to bear, and he eventually won the day.
As Colonel Diggle, commanding a corps really distinguished,
although temporarily under a cloud, he found Sir Rupert Farrington
not indisposed to accept his proposals for Letitia; and the
marriage came off just before the regiment embarked for Gibraltar.
It was at Farrington Hall that the conversation turning, as it had
done more than once before, upon the recent mutiny, brought our
hero, Herbert Larkins, prominently to the front.
‘The movement was not general, certainly not,’ Diggle had said.
‘One of the companies, F, Ernest’s in fact, did not take any share
in it.’
‘Does Ernest deserve the credit of that?’
‘Not exactly. It was due rather to an astute young corporal, who
quietly locked the doors of the men’s rooms. They couldn’t get out
to join.’
‘Really? He was promoted, of course?’
‘Yes; he is now a sergeant, and is sure to get on. Oh yes, young
Larkins is sure to get on.’
‘It was young Larkins, was it?’
‘Do you know him?’
‘I think I do. I will tell you about it one of these days.’
Diggle, as one of the Farrington family, would soon have a right to
know.
CHAPTER XI.
SOME OLD FRIENDS MEET.
For some time after their arrival on the Rock, the officers of the
Duke’s Own called it a detestable hole. They were sore at their
expatriation and the manner of it; they regretted the joys they
had left behind, and could see no good thing in the much vaunted
station where they were now relegated for their sins. There was
nothing to be done in the place; the climate was intolerable, and
there was nothing to eat. They had arrived towards the end of the
summer, and the season, never cool, had been unusually sultry.
They came in too for the tail end of a long visitation of the
‘Levanter,’ the much dreaded east wind, which caps the Rock with
a perpetual cloud and makes life miserable to all; and the welcome
change, when it came at length, was heralded by a tremendous
thunderstorm and drenching rains. The Duke’s Own were still under
canvas at the North Front, waiting till the outgoing regiment
vacated its quarters at Windmill Hill, and their encampment was
nearly swept away by the storm. Officers lost baggage, the men
their kits, and the whole regiment united in deep denunciations of
the inhospitable Rock.
Nor did Gibraltar seem to improve upon a closer acquaintance. Its
joys and amusements, what were they after London and the shires?
Racing! the idea was too preposterous. Half-a-dozen tinpot nags
without pace or breeding, cantering round a Graveyard and finishing
in a trot. What sort of sport was that to offer the Duke’s Own,
which had always had its own regimental drag to witness the great
events at home, and which kept open house in its luncheon tent at
Ascot and Goodwood and upon Epsom Downs? The hunting too! heaven
save the mark! To talk of hunting with the sweepings of a few
second-rate kennels, dignified with the name of a pack, when the
huntsman was a local genius, and foxes were said to be so scarce
or so little enterprising that it was often necessary to have
recourse to a red herring! What was such hunting to men who had
been constantly out (so they said) with the Heythorp, the Bramham
Moor, the Pytchley and Quorn?
These were the earliest impressions of Gibraltar prevailing among
the officers of the Duke’s Own. But our friends eventually changed
their tone. By their first contemptuous abstention, they found, in
the first place, that they lost all the fun that was going, and,
next, that, although the sport was second-rate, they could not
excel in it even when they tried. One or two of the Duke’s Own, who
were said to be in all the secrets of the Dawson and John Scott
stables, went in for some of the plates and cups at the autumn
meeting, and signally failed in everything. Later on, when the
hunting season really began, and they turned out in a body in red
coats and the most undeniable tops, to cut everybody down, they
were chagrined to find that it was much more difficult to follow
than they supposed. Red coats and mahogany tops were nowhere at
the end of the first burst. One or two men were completely thrown
out; a few tried the breakneck country between ‘the Rivers’
only to crane at length and turn back from the precipices and
steep inclines. After that first day the Duke’s Own spoke more
respectfully of the Calpe Hunt. By and bye they became less
critical in other respects, and at length, when they had been some
six months on the Rock, entered as fully into its amusements, and
enjoyed them as thoroughly as the oldest stagers in the place.
There was one person, however, connected with the Duke’s Own who
highly appreciated Gibraltar from the first. Mrs. Cavendish-Diggle
found the station extremely to her taste. A bride still in the
hey-day of her married life, full of satisfaction at the importance
of her position as the commanding officer’s wife, with the
attention she thereby received from all the Duke’s Own, Letitia
found soldiering, particularly at Gibraltar, everything that could
be desired. But what she enjoyed most of all was the chance she
now had of bullying the brother who hitherto had had it all his
own way at home. Ernest might be the most worthy at Farrington
Hall, but in the Duke’s Own he was under Colonel Diggle’s command,
and Colonel Diggle was now unquestionably under that of his wife.
How the exquisite and self-sufficient Diggle had succumbed was a
mystery which will probably remain unexplained till the curtain
lectures of the Diggle couple are given to the world. Then it will
no doubt transpire that in the exercise of those inquisitorial
functions which every wife naturally arrogates to herself, Letitia
had come across certain damaging facts connected with the Colonel’s
antecedents which put him completely under his partner’s thumb.
That Mrs. Diggle would come ere long to command the regiment was
already plainly apparent to all, and the fact was not hailed with
particular joy in the corps. Petticoat government in a regiment
is not the most successful with, nor is it the most palatable to,
those most closely concerned. Letitia’s temper was a little too
imperious to be pleasant. She made nipping remarks, and snubbed and
put people down in a way they hated but were powerless to resent.
‘Oh! how can you say so, Major Greathed! You are wrong, _quite_
wrong. She married Lord Chigford’s second son. But then you can’t
be expected to know;’ or ‘It’s not what I have been accustomed
to, Mrs. Moxon. In my father’s house the housekeeper looked to
these things. But then of course you--’ which might be taken to
imply that Mrs. Moxon had been brought up very differently, and
could not be expected to know what was what. Or she lectured
the youngsters when they came within her reach, which was only
when they wanted leave, knowing that without her good word they
could not expect an hour. ‘I hear you are getting sadly in debt,
Mr. Mauleverer. I shall write to Sir George.’ ‘So you were not
at church parade last Sunday, Mr. Smythe. The Colonel was quite
cross.’ ‘Don’t get entangled by any of these bright-eyed scorpions,
Mr. Curzon. You see I know all about it. Carmen Molinaro would
never do for you.’ All of which irritated and exasperated the
officers of the Duke’s Own very considerably.
The man who most cordially hated her, however, was the adjutant,
Mr. Wheeler. He was chafed perpetually by her interference. Nothing
was sacred to her. She rushed into professional matters with all
the effrontery of the fool. So long as she contented herself with
favouring her pets among the soldiers’ wives Wheeler did not care.
It was when she presumed to advise as to the orderly room work,
the correspondence, promotions, and daily routine, that he not
unnaturally turned rusty. Whether or not she read the colonel’s
letters he scarcely cared, but he did resent having to prepare
important despatches from her notes, or send out letters which
she had obviously drafted with her own hand. Nor could he, after
so many years of nearly absolute authority, readily or cheerfully
resign his power in the regiment. Hitherto advancement for the
non-commissioned officers had depended mainly upon his good word.
Now it was becoming evident that their promotion would depend
in future upon that of the colonel’s wife. In one particular
case which nearly affected a friend of ours they had fought
a sharp battle; the adjutant was obstinate, but the lady was
more so, and in the end the latter won the day. It was entirely
through Letitia’s good offices that Herbert Larkins became a
colour-sergeant long before the ordinary time. She had taken a
fancy to the young man--not, you may be sure, because of his
presumed connection with the family, for of that she had not the
slightest inkling--but because it had lain within his power to
do her important service, and because he was a smart, well-grown
fellow to boot. Letitia, like many other ill-favoured women, had a
keen eye for manly beauty.
But she had really reason to be grateful to Herbert. One day,
when he was on guard upon the Upper Road, Mrs. Cavendish-Diggle,
followed by her groom, passed on their way towards the town.
Something startled Letitia’s horse, and, although an excellent
rider, she found he was more than she could manage. After passaging
like a crab along the road for some hundred yards, he took to
plunging and rearing in a way to dislodge the most accomplished
horse-woman from her seat. The groom had ridden up alongside, but
he was able to render little assistance, and his best efforts only
made Letitia’s horse worse. Had not Herbert promptly supervened,
Mrs. Diggle would undoubtedly have been thrown, and probably badly
hurt. But with firm hand on the rein he soon mastered the horse,
then gradually pacified him.
‘I’m sure, sergeant, I’m extremely obliged to you,’ said Mrs.
Cavendish, directly she recovered her breath. ‘What is your name?
I must speak of you specially to the Colonel--Colonel Diggle--you
know me, I presume? and I see you belong to “us.”’
‘Herbert Larkins, Madam, F company,’ said our hero briefly, as he
saluted.
‘Thank you again, so much.’ And with that the Colonel’s wife rode
off.
She did speak of him and his conduct in the most glowing terms.
‘You must do something for him, Conrad.’
‘Certainly, I’ll make him a present; or, better still, you shall--a
watch, or a pencil-case, or something.’
‘No, no; something in the regiment, I mean. Promote him.’
‘He’s very young. Barely a year a sergeant. I don’t see my way, I
don’t indeed.’
‘There are those vacant colours in G company,’ she said, displaying
a curiously intimate acquaintance with regimental news.
‘Colour-sergeant! Impossible!’
‘Surely not, when I ask it.’
‘It would be grossly unfair. Promotions must not go by favour.’
‘Kissing does,’ she replied, as though he might expect no such
reward unless he were more obliging. It was just possible that
by this time Diggle could have deprived himself of the pleasure
without any acute pang.
‘What would Mr. Wheeler say?’
‘That’s where it is. You think far more of displeasing Mr. Wheeler
than of pleasing me. I feel hurt, Conrad; it’s not what I have a
right to expect, considering--’
When she got on this tack the Colonel threw up the sponge. He gave
in about the promotion, although the adjutant, thereby making
Letitia his enemy for life, tried hard to keep him up to the mark.
The whole thing would have been a job of the worst kind had Herbert
been less worthy. But he had really developed into an excellent
soldier, smart, personable, and thoroughly well up in his work. He
had his drill-book at his fingers’ ends, and could handle a squad
as well as any man in the corps. He had learnt by heart all the
details of interior economy, and was fully competent to take the
charge and payment of a company, or to do credit to his regiment in
any position in which he might be placed. All this Mr. Wheeler was
forced to admit; and although he cherished a grudge against Herbert
on account of what had passed, he so loved a good soldier that he
could not bear malice long.
Colour-Sergeant Larkins was indeed fast becoming a very prominent
person in the corps. Some backbiting and no little jealousy
existed, no doubt, but he was the sort of man to soon outgrow and
outlive such feelings. There was much in his manner and address to
make him generally popular. His bright face, his cheerful voice,
his manly straightforward ways, commended him of themselves. But
he had other claims to the suffrages of his fellows. His old
skill in games had not deserted him, and soldiers are very like
schoolboys in their admiration and respect for personal prowess.
The Duke’s Own eleven, thanks to Herbert’s batting and bowling,
won every match always at the North Front. His brother sergeants
felt lucky if they could secure him for a hand of fives. In all
other gymnastic exercises he came equally well to the front. At the
garrison athletic sports, which presently came off, as they always
do, upon the racecourse at the North Front, he carried everything
before him, to the intense gratification of his comrades in the
corps.
The name of Sergeant Larkins was indeed on every lip that day. All
the world of Gibraltar was present. His Excellency the Governor
came in state, so did the general, second in command, and officers
of all grades with their wives; crowds of soldiers of all the
regiments in garrison were there, and all cheered Herbert to the
echo as he carried off the hurdle-race in magnificent style. As
for the Duke’s Own, a lot of them, frantic with delight, got him on
their shoulders, and were carrying him about in triumph, when some
one came up, and with a hurried nervous manner, said,
‘Sergeant Larkins; where’s Sergeant Larkins?’
‘Who wants him?’ said a dozen voices, thinking perhaps the governor
had asked him to dinner, or the Queen had sent to make him a
general on the spot.
‘An old friend. The oldest he’s got, I think he’ll say, when he
sees me and hears my name.’
His enthusiastic supporters dropped Herbert, who came forward to
speak to the inquirer.
‘It’s himself, himself, by all that’s holy! Hercules Albert, don’t
you remember me?’ cried the man, as he seized both Herbert’s
hands, shaking them furiously, and seeming to wish to hug him in
his arms.
It was the old Sergeant Larkins, his stepfather, for whom he had so
long searched in vain.
‘I heard them calling out the name, and it sounded so queer that I
thought I’d have a look at you. How you’ve grown! But tell me all
about yourself. Quick, lad. I want to hear, and the mother she--’
‘She’s all right and well, I hope,’ Herbert asked, as soon as he
could put in a word. ‘Let’s go to her at once. How comes it I’ve
never seen you before?’
‘Only landed from Malta on transfer last week, myself, the missus,
and three of the bairns, that’s how it was. But come along, come to
the mother at once; she’ll be crazy with delight when she sees you,
and so will all the rest.’
CHAPTER XII.
REVELATIONS.
The Larkins family had taken up their residence in a small cottage
on the road to the Moorish Castle. Larkins _père_ was now principal
barrack-sergeant, and as such was entitled to fairly good quarters.
He had aged considerably since our first acquaintance with him. His
hair was grizzled, his gait was stiff as though his ankle-joints
were affected by innumerable barrack inspections, and his eyes were
weak from constant search for nail-holes or other barrack damages,
or the continuous appraisement of fair wear and tear. Mrs. Larkins
had also changed appreciably. She was still buxom, however, and her
voice had lost none of its shrill power when she was aroused. This
was more seldom than of yore. Her children were no longer the trial
they had once been. The two eldest boys were out in the world;
Sennacherib was in the band of a regiment at Malta, and Rechab was
at the same place on board a man-of-war. Two younger ones, Ascanius
and Leonora, were still at home, and so was Jemima Ann, familiarly
called Mimie, now a blooming maiden of nineteen, with a soft voice,
a sweet face, and eyes bright enough to give the heart-ache to half
the young fellows of the place.
The old sergeant preceded Herbert into the cottage, to prepare his
wife for a surprise.
‘Some one I know, Jonadab? Some one I’ve not seen these years? A
colour-sergeant in the Duke’s Own? What are you driving at? I know
no colour-sergeants; for the matter of that none of the Duke’s
Own,’ Herbert heard her say as she came to the door.
The moment she set eyes upon her visitor she started and shook all
over. She seemed dazed, and could frame no word of speech. Then all
at once she gave way, and taking Herbert’s hands in hers, drew him
towards her, kissing him again and again, while tears of joy ran
down her cheeks.
‘What, Hercules, boy! My boy, my own sweet boy! This is a sight for
sore eyes. Where have you dropped from, and in this dress? Come in,
boy, come in and tell us all your news.’
And Herbert was led into the house.
Mimie came shyly forward when she was called to add her welcome
to the brother she had almost forgotten. But she offered him her
cheek quite naturally, and received a sister’s salute, which,
nevertheless, sent the warm blood tingling through her veins.
‘You are a sister to be proud of,’ said Herbert. ‘What a beauty you
have grown!’
‘Grown!’ interrupted Mrs. Larkins. ‘It’s you who’ve grown out
of all memory almost, except to those who love you. But now sit
down and let’s know all about it. What brought _you_ to take the
shilling? and you never let on, not one word. You might have
written to us, Hercules. We, Jonadab and me, have had you always
in our thoughts, thinking you were getting to be a fine gentleman
who’d have nothing to do with the likes of us.’
‘As if I could ever forget my mother.’
Mrs. Larkins made a gesture which might have meant a strong
negative to the expression.
‘When did you leave school? Why did you enlist! You never wrote to
us.’
‘Four years ago. I was turned adrift in the world, that was why. I
wrote over and over again to the Horse Guards, but could not hear
where you were.’
‘And Lady Farrington, did she change her mind, or what?’
‘She went mad, so they said, and they locked her up in an asylum.’
‘Mad!’ shouted the sergeant. ‘Didn’t I always tell you so? mad? She
were madder than Mike Horniblow who shot the Maltee, and as mad as
our old colonel on an inspection parade.’
‘How was she locked up? who did it? Let’s know all that,’ said Mrs.
Larkins.
Herbert recounted fully all that had occurred. His leaving Deadham
School, the visit to the west country, Sir Rupert Farrington’s
ill-treatment.
‘So that’s what the poor soul was after! Searching for a grandson
to succeed to the title and estates,’ cried the sergeant. ‘And you
were the last that she found. Well: it’s an ill wind, you know;
leastways you got the schooling, even if you are none of her kith
or kin.’
‘I suppose I am not, really?’ Herbert asked, looking very hard
at Mrs. Larkins, who met the glance without lowering her eyes.
There was something in her expression which Herbert immediately
understood. There must be an explanation between them, but it could
not take place then and there.
‘How should you be?’ asked the sergeant. ‘Didn’t I take you over
with the mother when I married her at York? The widow Conlan, she
was then, and you her only child.’
‘Conlan is my name then?’
‘By rights, yes; but you’ve took that of Larkins now, and you are a
credit to it; so you may take it for what it’s worth, and keep it
till you can find a better.’
Was there ever a chance of that? Was he really a Farrington after
all, and might he yet prove his claims? Of this no one could give
him a clue but Mrs. Larkins, and he gathered from her manner that
the subject was one which she would only discuss when they were
alone. He had no chance that time of speaking to her on this the
subject nearest his heart. The rest of the evening was spent in
the interchange of personal news, as is the case when friends and
relatives meet after a long separation, and there is so much on
both sides to tell and hear.
But Herbert went to the cottage next day. The sergeant,
fortunately, was at the barrack-office; Mimie was out of the way,
and Mrs. Larkins had the house all to herself.
‘I want to know all you can tell me, mother. Is it not natural? To
whom else should I come? For you _are_ my mother, are you not?’
‘No mother could feel more warmly for her child than I do for you,
Hercules.’
‘Do but tell me, plainly--I am really your son?’
Mrs. Larkins was silent.
‘It is cruel to keep me in this suspense, mother,--for you have
been one to me always. I implore you to tell me the whole truth.’
‘I will, Hercules, or Herbert as you ought by rights to be called.
It is a hard matter to tell you all the tale, for there is shame
and sorrow in it enough, and that for both you and me.
‘I must begin at the beginning. Years, years ago when I was
a bit of a girl in my father’s house, I and my twin sister
Annie--whom I loved dearly, as the apple of my eye--father lived
at Newark-on-Trent; he was a small tradesman, but well enough to
do. Mother died when we were quite chicks, and we grew up to have
things much our own way. Annie was a real beauty, and had dozens
of lads after her always, but she never fancied none of them. At
last luck sent a recruiting party of the 12th Lancers to Newark.
One of them was a young corporal, as proper a chap as ever took the
shilling, fair spoken, well educated, and superior to the common
run. He soon got courting our Annie, and he was the first she
favoured. Father did not like it--not a bit. He hated soldiers, and
was very rough about Corporal Smith. Annie and he had high words
over it, and one day she was not to be found.
‘The recruiters had left the town too.
‘I won’t tell you what grief there was at home. Father was like a
madman, and I was little better. He tried hard to get her back. He
went miles--to the other end of England--after the regiment, but
he never caught them up. He was too late. The regiment had been
ordered off to the Cape of Good Hope. Through the rector, father
wrote to the War Office, inquiring after Corporal Smith and his
wife. The answer came months later, to say that the corporal was
alive and well, but that he had no wife--at least no one according
to the regimental books.
‘Father never held up his head after that, and within the year he
died. I was nearly heart-broken too; but I was young, and I bore
up better. As I was all alone in the world, and had the shop on my
hands, I took a husband, who offered just then--Michael Conlan, a
clerk in a maltster’s at Newark. He was a kindly soul, not over
strong, but he helped me in the business, and we managed to get
along.
‘One night Annie returned--not alone--she had a child with her,
her own, a few months old only, and the two came, seeking shelter
and rest. It was as I thought at first--the old story--betrayed,
neglected, left.’
‘But you took her in?’ Herbert asked, eagerly.
‘Of course. Neither Michael nor myself asked any questions; our
duty was plain, and it was one of love besides for me. All I know
is what Annie herself told me, and that was not much. The corporal,
it seems, belonged really to a higher station in life. He had
quarrelled with his friends and left his home, and wanted never to
see or hear of them again. But when Annie’s child was born--’
‘He had married her?’
‘Annie would not acknowledge it; although her silence told only
against her own sweet name. She wore a ring, but so may any one;
and as to all other proofs she obstinately refused to speak. I
pointed out the hardship to her boy. She admitted that, but said
she had promised and could not break her word. So I did not worry
her, but left her to speak in her own good time. That time never
came. Before Annie had been back a week I saw she was not long
for this world. She pined and pined. She looked eagerly for news
from abroad, but none came from where she sought it, and the
disappointment helped the disease in bringing on the end.
‘On her death-bed I swore to be a mother to her boy--’
‘To me?’ said Herbert, no longer in doubt; and as she nodded
assent, he took her hard hand and kissed it again and again.
‘And nobly you have fulfilled your oath.’
‘I did my best, Herbert. But I have more to tell you. Your mother,
just before she died, gave me a letter. It was from your father
to his friends, and was only to be sent to them at Annie’s death,
or if she was in dire distress. The letter was addressed to Lady
Farrington of Farrington Hall. It was not sealed, and I thought
I might read what was inside. There were only a few words: “From
Herbert to his mother--Be kinder to my boy.” I added a few of your
bright curls, Herbert, and sent the letter on at once. But I gave
no clue as to where it had come from. I wanted no answer. I was
resolved to take no help from any one in doing my duty by you. I
hated the whole of the Farringtons. I so hated the name of Herbert
even, that we called you Hercules Albert instead.
‘Later on I lost Michael, my first husband; and I could not bear
to remain in Newark alone. I sold up the shop and my belongings,
and moved to York. It was there, as Mrs. Conlan, a widow, with one
boy--you, Herbert--I met the Sergeant. Things were not prospering
with me. I married him gladly, and he has been a thorough good man
to me.’
Herbert’s heart was too full for him to speak for some time. Anger,
disappointment, anguish--all three feelings possessed him. He was
angry with his father, sore at heart for his mother’s sorrow,
disappointed that there was no more to tell him.
‘Do you think there was a marriage, mother?’
‘I do. I always did.’
‘It all turns upon that. I may have Farrington blood in me; but
whether or no would matter little if I was not entitled to bear the
name.’
‘You must make up your mind to your disappointment, Herbert. What
clue can we get to the marriage after all these years? Everybody
who could speak to it is probably dead.’
‘My father--perhaps he is still alive.’
‘Would he not have sought us out before this if he had been? But
he has never made a sign. Nothing but a miracle could do you any
good, my boy. Better be contented as you are. And why should you be
cast down? You are young and strong. You have been educated like a
gentleman; have made a first-rate start, and have everything before
you. Make a name for yourself in the world if you can, and don’t
pine after what others might have given you.’
‘How is a mere sergeant to make himself a name?’
‘By sticking to his colours and doing his duty like a man.
Non-commissioned officers have got to the top of the tree before
now. Why should not you?’
‘If we could only have a chance of service--there’s no other hope
for a soldier. But we never have any fighting in these days.’
‘How do you know? You be ready for the chance when it offers,
that’s all you’ve got to do. Get a commission, and you’ll hold
yourself as high as Sir Rupert then, and meet him on equal terms.’
CHAPTER XIII.
FARRINGTON S’AMUSE.
It seemed as if fate had resolved to make Gibraltar the
gathering-place of those with whom Herbert Larkins was destined to
be most closely concerned. Not long after the rencontre with his
best friends, the Larkins’, the news came that General Prioleau
had been appointed to the command of the Infantry Brigade upon the
Rock. Before the year was out, the former colonel of the Duke’s Own
arrived with his wife and little Edith, now fast growing into a
beautiful and attractive girl.
It was not long before Herbert saw her, and had an opportunity of
noticing the change.
General Prioleau, like many others of his rank, had a strong
affection for his old corps, a sort of sneaking regard which,
although it did him all honour, led him to wish that he still
commanded it, and to act very much as if he did. He was not the
first general officer who, entrusted with the charge of several
battalions, narrowed his interest to the one in which he had
himself served. To dry-nurse the Duke’s Own on field days, to take
an active share in its interior economy, to watch over its mess and
all that appertained to the credit of the regiment, and generally
to be as intimately associated with it as though he were still its
colonel, were delights he could not forego. He was continually
sending for Colonel Diggle to talk matters over, an interference
which the great Cavendish resented, but was prohibited from
protesting against, by the rules of the service. Mrs. Diggle was
not, and took full advantage of her exemption from the restrictions
of military etiquette, to the extent of soundly abusing the general
upon every occasion. Not that General Prioleau much cared. He did
not command Mrs. Cavendish-Diggle, and directly he had made her
acquaintance in her new character, he was heartily glad that he did
not.
The general also visited the barracks of his old regiment
repeatedly, on one excuse or another, but always with the avowed
and really sincere intention of doing it a good turn. Now it was
the reappropriation of quarters. Now the examination of drainage.
Now the inspection of the married quarters or the canteen. Edith
almost invariably accompanied him. She was in her element out
here upon the Rock. The _rôle_ she now played was even more
delightful than that of daughter of the regiment. There was much
more importance and more movement in it. More variety too, and
more power. Instead of knowing one regiment only, she now knew
half a dozen. The circle of her acquaintance widened, and her
military knowledge, such as it was. But her heart was with her
first love always--the Duke’s Own. When the general inspected the
old regiment, she stayed by his side through it all. They made her
go in to lunch, much to quiet Mrs. Prioleau’s indignation when she
heard of it; she sat on her pony close by the general, and, to
judge by her remarks, seemed to take an active part in the whole
proceedings. She kept up a running fire of comments.
‘There’s Mr. Wheeler; why, he’s getting quite old. And the
sergeant-major, he’s gray; why do they keep him so long, father?
He must be past his work before this. And Colonel Diggle--is he
a _good_ colonel, father? _I_ don’t think so. Well, as you say,
perhaps I’m not a judge of colonels, but I am of gentlemen, and I
don’t call him a gentleman--not a real gentleman--do you?’
‘My dear,’ the general said reprovingly, ‘you are a little too
fast. Please remember--’
‘He’s not a gentleman according to my ideas. There are lots of
better gentlemen in the ranks--why,’ almost with a shriek, ‘there’s
my friend the learned pig--I mean the learned orderly. And, father,
look! do look! They’ve made him a colour-sergeant--already!’
But her father was not attending.
‘Be good enough to form open column, pile arms, and lay out kits,’
he was saying to Colonel Diggle, which manœuvre satisfactorily
carried out, the general continued his inspection on foot,
accompanied by his daughter, who tripped along, holding up her
habit, nodding to old friends as she went along, and so deeply
interested in holdalls, tins of blacking, and pairs of socks, that
you might have thought kit inspection was the one joy of her life.
‘I am very glad to see you’ve got on so quickly,’ she said gravely
to young Colour-Sergeant Larkins, as she touched him on the arm
with her whip by way of emphasis. ‘You promised well, and I am
pleased to think I was not disappointed,’ went on the young
personage, with the air of a queen-regnant reviewing her troops.
It was a gracious sight, and one no man--an impressionable young
sergeant like Larkins least of all--was likely to forget. The trim
figure in its snow-white habit, the pretty bright face and its
framework of light curls, surmounted with a coquettish little white
hat; the air with which she pointed with her whip to his chevrons
and the bright colours surmounting them, as she tripped daintily
along. Never before or afterwards did Edith Prioleau seem more
bewitching, and Herbert Larkins felt that he could lay down his
life for her then and there.
Perhaps he talked a little more about her than he need have done
when he next visited the cottage near the Moorish Castle. The
Larkins’ house had come to be quite his home, and he went there
whenever he was off duty and could spare time. Life upon the Rock
was a little monotonous for all below the rank of officer, and
Herbert was thankful that he had friends in the place. The narrow
limits of the fortress, beyond which none but the commissioned may
pass except on rare occasions, and then only by special permission,
forbade any great variety of amusement or much change of scene.
The rank and file rung the changes upon guard-house and drinking
shop; when the first was done with for a time they identified
themselves with the other. After twenty-four hours on Ragged
Staff or New Mole, at Landport, Waterport, or the North Front,
there was an especial sweetness for the soldier in ‘black strap’
or ‘partridge eye’--variations of the local wine; while for the
fireproof head which craved for the strongest stimulants, there
was the _aguardiente_, or burning water, a title this engaging
but curiously potent liquid richly deserved. For the sergeants,
in whom steadiness and sobriety were indispensable traits, these
delights were forbidden, and they had but little relaxation after
they had completed their day’s routine, including the preparation
of small returns, the responsibilities of minor commands, beyond a
stroll upon the Alameda when the band played, or the perusal of the
newspapers in the mess.
Herbert was more fortunate. Fond of books, Major Greathed supplied
him with plenty, mainly of professional character, for although
still in subordinate grades, soldiering was becoming more and more
to our hero’s taste, and he was eager to qualify for higher charges
should it ever be his good fortune to rise. But it was greater
pleasure to him still to talk at the cottage over what he had read;
to pour forth to his mother, as he still called her, his ambitious
yearnings, to express with increasing vehemence his vain regrets
that he had not lived in another country and another age.
‘I wish I had been a Frenchman in the last century! No soldiers had
such chances! One day a private, the next commanding a brigade.
You’ll never see such things in our service.’
‘Don’t be cast down, Herbert,’ said warm-hearted sympathetic Mrs.
Larkins. ‘Your chance will come if you’ll only wait.’
‘Yes, wait till I’m grey-haired. And when it comes what’ll it be?
They may make me a quartermaster at fifty, or a second lieutenant
at forty-five. I want my cake now, when it’s sweet and I am fit to
enjoy it.’
‘And offer half to some one else? Is that what you’re dreaming
about?’ asked Mrs. Larkins, with a sigh.
‘Psha! A general’s daughter, a mere child too! What absurdity to
talk like that! No; I prefer to keep to my own station.’
Mrs. Larkins said nothing, but silence is sometimes more eloquent
than words; and Mimie Larkins, who was present, looked up with
a quick blush, which any man whose heart was touched would have
interpreted his own way. The fiction of the relationship between
these two had long since melted away. Good Mrs. Larkins, who had
hated herself for keeping a secret from her husband, had told him
the whole story very soon after Herbert had learnt the truth.
Mimie, too, soon knew that the handsome sergeant who had kissed her
and called her sister was really only a cousin, and as things went
a very eligible _parti_.
Perhaps Mrs. Larkins, womanlike, was a matchmaker too. Why should
she not encourage it? Herbert and her Mimie were cut out for each
other; and if in the long run he should come into his own, why
should not her daughter share his good fortune? Herbert was himself
on the point of accepting the situation and succumbing to his fate.
Mimie was attractive in no ordinary degree. She was a bright-eyed,
sweet-voiced girl, with a gentle confiding manner, and very
light-hearted ways. But then Herbert thought of his great aims, of
the object of his life. To marry at all, at his age, would be to
tie a millstone around his neck, a folly from which he would never
recover.
When a man thinks thus, there is but little fear of his falling
desperately in love. Then came the vision of the little lady, at
present so far above him in station, and he found himself drawing
comparisons in which poor Mimie Larkins came off second-best.
For a time she resented it very bitterly. Mimie’s was a simple
impulsive nature; she was of a yielding malleable disposition,
readily amenable to better influences, but she was also, like every
daughter of Eve, fond of admiration and grieved when it was denied.
Her heart was ready to go out to Herbert the moment she knew he was
not her brother, and as time passed and he made no sign, she grew
more and more discontented and cross. Now, his loud praises of this
Miss Prioleau made her angrier than ever. Little minx, why did she
come poaching upon other people’s preserves? Oh, for a chance of
showing Herbert that others were not so blind as he!
The chance came--all too soon. It was at a sergeants’ ball that
Ernest Farrington first crossed her path, and threw himself at
once, metaphorically, at her feet. His attentions were perfectly
respectful, but very marked, and Mimie was more than flattered by
them. Here indeed was a chance of spiting Herbert! and she availed
herself of it to the full, forgetting, in the pleasure it gave
her, the terrible risk she ran. Her clandestine relations with
young Farrington, who was not slow to follow up his advantage, had
already become far too intimate to promise well for her peace of
mind, when Herbert discovered all.
He taxed her with meeting Mr. Farrington alone upon the Alameda.
She tossed her head, first disdaining to reply, then saucily asking
what business it was of his.
‘I shall tell your mother at once.’
‘Oh, don’t, don’t, please don’t do that! It would kill her if she
knew. I’ll promise never to meet him again. Oh, Herbert, do not get
me into such terrible trouble--you, of all people, to do it too! I
didn’t think you could be so mean.’
Herbert was over-persuaded; at least, he was induced to spare Mrs.
Larkins for the present and determined to try first an appeal to
the other side.
He went to the colonel, Diggle, and told him all.
‘Really, my good fellow,’ said the colonel, ‘it’s no affair
of mine. They don’t belong to the regiment, you see. I cannot
interfere. I am not answerable for Mr. Farrington’s morals. I’m not
indeed.’
Herbert was not to be done. He spoke next to Ernest, the first
time he got a chance.
‘Damn it, sir, what business is it of yours?’ asked the officer
hotly.
‘It’s very much my business. She is my sister--at least we were
brought up together as such,’ the sergeant no less hotly replied.
‘Then why don’t you speak to her instead of to me?’
‘Because I thought an appeal to you as a gentleman,’--there was a
plain sneer in his intonation--‘which I fancied you were, would
have the desired effect.’
‘Do you dare to say I am not a gentleman? By George, I’ll--’
‘I dare do more than that. Listen to me, Mr. Farrington; I swear
you shall not do her harm. I’ll break every bone in your body.’
‘This is rank mutiny, by George. I’ve a good mind to put you in
arrest. Do you dare to threaten your superior officer, sir?’ and
Ernest walked off as the simplest way of ending the discussion.
Herbert had one other card to play. He wrote a full account of the
whole affair to Sir Rupert Farrington, and signed his name.
Sir Rupert would probably have cared as little for Ernest’s
proceedings, from the moral point of view, as did Diggle, but he
had a not unnatural dread of entanglements, especially where so
weak a person as his son was concerned. Moreover, although enraged
against Larkins, and somewhat uneasy at the tone of the letter in
which Herbert made pointed reference to his claims, and hinted
mysteriously at certain close relations between the Larkins’
and Farringtons, Sir Rupert felt it wisest not to enlighten
Diggle further. He satisfied himself with writing at once to his
son-in-law, begging him to let Ernest have leave and send him home.
This Diggle did, without other reason than that Sir Rupert wished
it, and Ernest, very obediently as it seemed, fell into the trap.
The young gentleman was, however, deeper than they gave him credit
for being. He went home by the next mail, but Mimie Larkins
followed him within a week, as soon as she could give her unhappy
parents the slip; and thus, for the second time, Mrs. Larkins had
reason to curse the Farrington name.
END OF VOL. I.
LONDON:
ROBSON AND SONS, PRINTERS, PANCRAS ROAD, N.W.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
the text and consultation of external sources.
Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example,
schoolboy, school-boy; anyone, any one; highlows, high-lows;
wilfulness; ostler; irruption.
Pg 59: ‘eat his trout’ replaced by ‘ate his trout’.
Pg 171: ‘began to develope’ replaced by ‘began to develop’.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Son of Mars, by Arthur Griffiths
*** |
MELBOURNE, Australia -- The most senior Catholic Church leader to be charged with sexual abuse came close to confronting his accusers on Monday in a video-linked Australian court hearing to test the strength of the prosecution's case. Cardinal George Pell's alleged victims began testifying in the Melbourne Magistrates Court against Pope Francis' former finance minister in testimony that cannot be made public.
The complainants, who cannot be identified, are avoiding the intense media scrutiny focused on the cramped courtroom and the company of their alleged abuser by giving their evidence via a video connection from an undisclosed location. The number of alleged victims has not been made public, and their testimony is scheduled to continue for up to two weeks.
The 76-year-old Australian cardinal has denied any wrongdoing and has foreshadowed pleas of not guilty if the committal hearing that is scheduled to run as long as a month finds there is sufficient evidence to warrant a jury trial.
Pell was charged last June with sexually abusing multiple people in his Australian home state of Victoria. The details of the allegations have yet to be released to the public, though police have described the charges as "historical" sexual assault offenses - meaning the alleged crimes occurred decades ago.
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One of the charges was withdrawn last week because the accuser had recently died.
Pell's lawyer Robert Richter did not object to the complainants appearing in court on a television screen Monday rather than in person. But he did question why one would be allowed to appear with what prosecutor Mark Gibson described as a "support dog" while testifying.
"I always thought that dogs were for children and very old people," Richter told the court.
Magistrate Belinda Wallington replied, "No, they're also there for vulnerable and traumatized people."
When Pell last lived in Melbourne, he was archbishop of Australia's second-largest city. He progressed to archbishop of Australia's biggest city, Sydney, before moving to the Vatican as a prefect of the church's economy ministry in 2014. He intends to return to that job once the criminal charges are resolved.
In 2016, it was Pell who was testifying by video to an official inquiry into sexual abuse.
He was in Rome and had health reasons for not making a long flight to testify in person to Australia's longest-running royal commission, the country's highest form of inquiry. It had been investigating since 2012 how the Catholic Church and other institutions responded to sexual abuse of children in Australia over 90 years.
The inquiry issued its final report in December. Pell was questioned about his knowledge of and response to allegations of child abuse when he was a priest and bishop, but no allegation was made that he was a perpetrator.
Pell's lawyers told the court last month that the current criminal charges stemmed from publicity surrounding the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
The lawyers said the first complainant approached police in 2015, 40 years after the alleged crimes, in response to media reports about that inquiry.
On Monday, Richter cited Pell's age and medical condition as reasons why the cleric should be allowed to be accompanied in court by a supporter.
He told Wallington, the magistrate, that he understood the prosecution "has an objection to that support person being a priest, although I can't understand that."
Gibson, the prosecutor, replied, "That's not quite right."
Pell was silent as he entered and left the court to a crush of media cameras and police, as well as throughout the initial 25 minutes of the hearing that was open to the public.
Richter said police had 21 witness statements provided by the defense that were favorable to the cardinal, but were not party of the case.
"These documents are certainly relevant to the alleged offenses," Richter said. "I know it doesn't suit the prosecution because they are exculpatory of the cardinal."
The case places both the cardinal and the pope in potentially perilous territory. For Pell, the charges are a threat to his freedom, his reputation and his career. For Francis, they are a threat to his credibility, given that he famously promised a "zero tolerance" policy for sex abuse in the church. Advocates for abuse victims have long railed against Francis' decision to appoint Pell to the high-ranking position in the first place.
When Pell was promoted in 2014, he was already facing allegations that he had mishandled cases of clergy abuse during his time as archbishop.
After years of alleged cover-ups and silence from the church over its pedophilia scandal, abuse survivors and their advocates have hailed the prosecution of Pell as a monumental shift in the way society is responding to the crisis.
So far, Francis has withheld judgment of Pell, saying he wants to wait for Australian justice to run its course. And he did not force the cardinal to resign. Pell said he intends to continue his work as a prefect of the church's economy ministry once the case is resolved. |
Q:
Why is the Temp.prototype on the MDN Object.create polyfill set to null?
Why does the MDN polyfill for Object.create have the following line:
Temp.prototype = null;
Is it so that we avoid maintaining a reference to the prototype argument enabling faster garbage collection?
The polyfill:
if (typeof Object.create != 'function') {
Object.create = (function() {
var Temp = function() {};
return function (prototype) {
if (arguments.length > 1) {
throw Error('Second argument not supported');
}
if (typeof prototype != 'object') {
throw TypeError('Argument must be an object');
}
Temp.prototype = prototype;
var result = new Temp();
Temp.prototype = null;
return result;
};
})();
}
A:
Yes, exactly. This polyfill does hold the Temp function forever in memory (so that its faster on average, not needing to create a function for every invocation of create), and resetting the .prototype on it is necessary so that it does not leak.
|
Metaflammatory responses during obesity: Pathomechanism and treatment.
Obesity induced inflammation acts as a reflex produced due to altered metabolic homeostasis in accordance to the nutrient overload on the metabolic cells. It involves up-regulation of the genes encoding for cytokines, chemokines and other inflammatory mediators through activated transcription factors - nuclear factor-kB, activator protein-1, nuclear factor of activated T cells and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3. These execute macromolecular innate immune cell sensor - inflammasome to activate caspase-1 pathway resulting in proteolytic maturation. Secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines including TNF-α, IL-6, CRP, IL-1β, etc. from the M1 macrophages of white adipose tissue is increased, whereas there occurs a steep decline in the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines like IL-10, IL-Ra, adiponectin. Not only the adipose tissue, but also the immune cells, liver, brain, muscles and pancreas suffers from the inflammatory insult during obese condition and are exaggeratedly affected. The inflammatory kinases like JNK and IKK apart from inhibiting insulin action and glucose uptake, down-regulate transcriptional process resulting in increased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Macrophage-like Kupffer cells initiate the inflammatory process in the liver preceding the inflammatory signals produced by the white adipose tissue which may further lead to hepatic-necro-inflammation. The muscle-fibre is affected by the cytokines and therefore results in decreased glycogen synthesis. The triggered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis further affects the expression of inflammatory cytokines thus altering insulin homeostasis and initiating glucose intolerance. Anti-inflammatory treatment so as to curb the severity of inflammatory responses includes administration of synthetic drugs to target the actual inflammatory molecules and various therapeutic interventions. |
create table over1k(
t tinyint,
si smallint,
i int,
b bigint,
f float,
d double,
bo boolean,
s string,
ts timestamp,
`dec` decimal(4,2),
bin binary)
row format delimited
fields terminated by '|';
load data local inpath '../../data/files/over1k' into table over1k;
-- Pass non-strings for the first and third arguments to test argument conversion
-- Negative tests: LIST, MAP, STRUCT, UNION
-- Integers
select lpad(array(1,2,3), 4, ' ') from over1k limit 5;
|
Cédric Ravanel
Cédric Ravanel (born 26 November 1978 in Sallanches, Haute-Savoie) is a French professional mountain biker. He won two silver medals in men's cross-country racing at the 2004 UCI World Championships in Les Gets, and at the second stage of the 2007 UCI World Cup series in Offenburg, Germany. Ravanel also represented his nation France at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and has been training and racing professionally for numerous seasons on Team Lapierre International and GT Skoda Chamonix.
Ravanel qualified for the French squad, along with his teammates Jean-Christophe Péraud and defending Olympic champion Julien Absalon in the men's cross-country race at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, by receiving one of the nation's three available berths from the French Cycling Association () and the Union Cycliste Internationale based on his best performance at the World Championships, World Cup series, and Mountain Biking World Rankings. Ravanel rounded out his team's roster as the third Frenchman to complete a 4.8-km sturdy, treacherous cross-country course, finishing outside the two-hour barrier and picking up a fourteenth spot in 2:01:38.
Career achievements
2004
2nd French MTB Championships (Cross-country), Montgenèvre (FRA)
UCI World Championships (Cross-country), Les Gets (FRA)
2006
2nd French MTB Championships (Cross-country), France
2007
2nd French MTB Championships (Cross-country), Montgenèvre (FRA)
Stage 2, UCI World Cup (Cross-country), Offenburg (GER)
2008
3rd French MTB Championships (Cross-country), France
14th Olympic Games (Cross-country), Beijing (CHN)
References
External links
French Olympic Team Profile
Category:1978 births
Category:Living people
Category:French male cyclists
Category:Cross-country mountain bikers
Category:Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Category:Olympic cyclists of France
Category:Sportspeople from Haute-Savoie |
New York Magazine’s Jonathan Chait incorrectly claimed Thursday that it was a GOP donor who first funded the Trump dossier.
Chait wrote that Republicans “have developed a theory of alt-collusion to defend Trump from Mueller.” At the center of this Republican-led conspiracy, Chait alleged, is the DNC and Clinton-funded dossier put together by ex-British agent Christopher Steele.
Early on in his piece, Chait incorrectly stated that GOP donors opposed to a Trump presidency first hired Steele to conduct opposition research.
“During the Republican primary, donors opposed to Trump’s candidacy hired Steele to conduct opposition research into Trump. After Trump won the primary, Democrats continued to finance his investigation,” Chait says. “Steele compiled a now-famous dossier alleging a web of corrupt ties, including blackmail, between Trump, his inner circle, and the Kremlin.”
However, Steele was not subcontracted by Fusion GPS until after the GOP-affiliated donor backed out of the contract with the opposition research firm. It wasn’t until after the GOP donor stopped paying and the Democrats stepped in that Steele was retained by Fusion to create the dossier.
WATCH:
The narrative that Republicans started the funding of the dossier is a common untruth being spread by media outlets. (RELATED: Journos Downplay Trump Dossier Revelations)
Follow Amber on Twitter |
import React from 'react';
import { expect } from 'chai';
import { shallow, mount } from 'enzyme';
import sinon from 'sinon';
import { Provider } from 'react-redux';
import { combineReducers, createStore } from 'redux';
import { slide as Menu } from 'react-burger-menu';
import reducer from '../src/reducer.js';
import decorator from '../src/decorator.js';
describe('decorator', () => {
const ReduxBurgerMenu = decorator(Menu);
const makeStore = (initialState = {}) => createStore(combineReducers({
burgerMenu: reducer
}), { burgerMenu: initialState });
it('should return a function', () => {
expect(ReduxBurgerMenu).to.be.a('function');
});
it('should render without error', () => {
const store = makeStore();
expect(() => {
shallow(
<Provider store={store}>
<ReduxBurgerMenu />
</Provider>
);
}).not.to.throw();
});
describe('inner component', () => {
const toggleAction = {type: 'TOGGLE_MENU', payload: {isOpen: true}};
let store;
let wrapper;
let inner;
let dispatchSpy;
let onStateChange;
beforeEach(() => {
store = makeStore({ isOpen: false });
dispatchSpy = sinon.spy(store, 'dispatch');
onStateChange = sinon.spy();
wrapper = mount(
<Provider store={store}>
<ReduxBurgerMenu onStateChange={onStateChange} />
</Provider>
);
inner = wrapper.find(Menu);
});
it('should receive correct props', () => {
expect(inner.props().isOpen).to.equal(false);
expect(inner.props().onStateChange).to.be.a('function');
});
it('should retain any existing onStateChange callback', () => {
store.dispatch(toggleAction);
expect(onStateChange.calledWith({isOpen: true})).to.equal(true);
});
it('should dispatch single action when toggled externally', () => {
store.dispatch(toggleAction);
expect(dispatchSpy.withArgs(toggleAction).calledOnce).to.equal(true);
});
});
it('should allow multiple menus', () => {
const store = makeStore({
'main': { isOpen: true },
'side': { isOpen: false }
});
const MainMenu = decorator(Menu, 'main');
const SideMenu = decorator(Menu, 'side');
const wrapper = mount(
<Provider store={store}>
<div>
<MainMenu />
<SideMenu />
</div>
</Provider>
);
const mainInner = wrapper.find(Menu).first();
const sideInner = wrapper.find(Menu).last();
expect(mainInner.props().isOpen).to.equal(true);
expect(sideInner.props().isOpen).to.equal(false);
});
});
|
Q:
How to delete 2d array?
How do I delete this allocated pointer?
int (*foo)[4] = new int[100][4];
Is it just :
delete[] foo;
A:
As you have allocated an array you have to use operator delete[]
delete []foo;
That it would be more clear you can rewrite the code snippet the following way
typedef int T[4];
T *foo = new T[100];
delete []foo;
|
Bogus prescriptions fuel illegal drug trade
Law enforcement officials say the latest racket from organized crime rings pushing drugs in North Carolina is flooding local pharmacies with bogus prescriptions.
"They may get five in a car, and they'll take two or three cars," explained Donnie Varnell with the State Bureau of Investigation. "Every five minutes, one will walk into a pharmacy, fill that forged prescription, and go back and get in the car. And then the next person goes five minutes later."
Varnell explained drug traffickers use software readily available on the internet to print their forged prescriptions for narcotics like hydrocodone, OxyContin, and Xanax.
"They're making a lot of money," said Varnell.
A single 30 milligram OxyContin pill sells for about $30 on the street. They're dangerous and highly addictive drugs that can result in death if abused.
"We tell our agents ... 'you're always saving a life.' You know, if I arrest somebody, you know, have I saved that person's life?" said Varnell.
Shannon Ruiz knows how dangerous narcotic painkillers can be. Her daughter Kaitlyn starting taking them after a high school cheerleading injury and became addicted. That addiction killed her.
"I was one of those moms that said, 'Not my child' - just totally blind to the whole addiction," said Ruiz.
She said Kaitlyn got the drugs illegally from a couple in Lenoir County. She died from an overdose at the age of 16.
"When you give someone a narcotic medication, and they die from it, that is a second-degree murder charge," said Ruiz.
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper says a thousand people die in the state every year from prescription drug abuse, and that's higher than the national average.
"You see people operating machinery and driving under the influence," said Cooper. "You're seeing more robberies and burglaries as a result of people trying to get their hands on prescription drugs."
Cooper said one of the ways to curb the problem is potentially using electronic prescriptions. Cooper also wants more pharmacies using the Controlled Substances Reporting System.
The I-Team discovered that only one quarter of pharmacists are registered to use the system.
Jay Campbell is the director of the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy. He says he's urged pharmacies to use the system.
"Is it a useful tool? No question about it. Is it a magic bullet? No," he offered.
Campbell says some pharmacists feel the registration process is too cumbersome and they don't get enough training to use the system.
"We are not contending that it solves all diversion problems. But a quality practitioner should always seek to have access to the informational tools available to them to do their job appropriately. This is a tool to do that," said Campbell.
Agent Varnell told ABC11 he believes pharmacists are on the front lines of this new drug war.
"Pharmacists do not have to fill a prescription, you know. They can decide not to fill that. You know, that doesn't look right," he explained.
As Varnell and his agents work to dismantle the organized drug rings that fill counterfeit prescriptions, Ruiz is on a campaign to raise awareness about people pushing those pills on the street.
"I don't want another child to struggle the way Kaitlyn did. And I don't want another mom to have to bury her child," she said.
Ruiz created a prescription drug education organization in Kinston in honor of her daughter. There's a medication drop box at the Kinston Police Department where residents can get rid of their prescription drugs.
Varnell's agents have trained 4,000 local law enforcement officers to help in the crackdown on organized drug rings. |
INTRODUCTION
============
Initiation of transcription in eukaryotes is a complex process involving many proteins. Although their access to gene promoters requires permissive chromatin structures controlled by histone-modifying enzymes and chromatin-remodelling activities ([@B1; @B2; @B3]), the expression of numerous genes is acutely regulated in response to extra-cellular signals, temporal cues or by factors intrinsic to the cell, for example mitogens, actin dynamics or circadian rhythms ([@B4; @B5; @B6]). In such instances, transcription factors and components of the basal transcription machinery can interact with gene promoters without detectable gene expression ([@B7]). Formation of active pre-initiation complexes, hallmarks of which are phosphorylation of serine 5 (S5) within the carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) of Rpb1, the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII), local modifications to histone H3, including methylation of lysine 4 (H3K4), phosphorylation of S10 (H3S10) and acetylation of lysine 14 (H3K14) and RNA synthesis are detected only in response to upstream stimuli ([@B1],[@B2],[@B8],[@B9]).
The expression of the immediate early (IE) genes c-*fos* and *egr-1* (also known as NGFI-A, zif/268 and Krox24) is triggered by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling ([@B10],[@B11]). Such genes are characterised by serum response elements (SREs) in their promoters, which bind serum response factor (SRF) and recruit ternary complex factors such as Elk-1 ([@B12; @B13; @B14]). Elk-1 is phosphorylated by ERKs (also JNK/SAPKs and p38MAPK isoforms) and recruited to the c-*fos* SRE, but during mitogen-induced c-*fos* expression, events following Elk-1 phosphorylation are less well understood. It has been proposed that upon phosphorylation Elk-1 adopts an active conformation ([@B15]), in which it participates in transcriptional activation through co-activators including MED23 (TRAP150beta/CRSP130/Sur2) and p300/CBP ([@B16; @B17; @B18; @B19]). More recently, it has been shown that inactive Elk-1 is sumoylated and that upon phosphorylation of Elk-1 the Sumo E3 ligase PIASxα, by desumoylating Elk-1 and disengaging associated histone deacetylases (HDACs), serves as an Elk-1 co-activator ([@B20],[@B21]). In these scenarios, the role of ERK is restricted to Elk-1 phosphorylation.
Several reports have described the association of yeast MAPKs with specific gene promoters ([@B22; @B23; @B24; @B25]). Furthermore, human p38 was recently shown to occupy gene promoters during myogenesis ([@B26]) and ERK was found in a complex with the progesterone receptor on the MMTV promoter ([@B27]). These findings are consistent with the proposal that MAPKs may be frequent occupants of signal-regulated gene promoters ([@B25],[@B28]) and imply that they serve additional roles during transcriptional activation besides the phosphorylation of target transcription factors ([@B29; @B30; @B31]).
We studied pre-initiation complexes (PICs) on immobilized, mitogen-responsive SRE promoters and found that both ERK and MSK were recruited to SRE-dependent PICs in a mitogen- and Elk-1-dependent manner. Reconstitution experiments with recombinant proteins indicated that the D-domain/kinase interaction motif (KIM) of Elk-1 was essential for ERK recruitment. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays confirmed the mitogen-dependent phosphorylation of Elk-1 and recruitment of ERKs and MSK1 to the c-*fos* and *egr1* promoters in cells. However, co-localization of phospho-ERK (*p*ERK) with phospho-Elk-1 (*p*Elk-1) in mitogen-stimulated cells was low and exceeded significantly by co-localization of *p*ERK with RNAPII in which the CTD was phosphorylated on S5 (*p*S5-CTD). This implies that the interaction between Elk-1 and ERK is transient and that ERK may subsequently associate with and phosphorylate other targets within PICs, thereby contributing directly to the transcriptional activation of mitogen-responsive genes.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
=====================
Cell culture and nuclear extract preparation
--------------------------------------------
For nuclear extracts, HeLa cells were grown in suspension in Joklik\'s MEM supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum (FCS), 100 U ml^−1^ penicillin, 100 μg ml^−1^ streptomycin, 1% non-essential amino acids, 2 mM [l]{.smallcaps}-glutamine. Cells were serum-starved for 42--44 h in medium containing 0.5% FCS and either harvested directly or after stimulation with 20% FCS for 10 min. Nuclear extracts were prepared from 1.5 × 10^9^ cells, essentially as described ([@B32]).
For ChIP assays and immunocytochemistry, HeLa cells were grown as monolayers, on plastic or glass, respectively, in DMEM supplemented with 10% FCS, 2 mM [l]{.smallcaps}-glutamine, 100 U ml^−1^ penicillin and 100 μg ml^−1^ streptomycin. For reporter assays, NIH3T3 cells were grown in DMEM supplemented with 10% FCS, 2 mM [l]{.smallcaps}-glutamine, 100 U ml^−1^ penicillin and 100 μg ml^−1^ streptomycin.
Luciferase reporter assays were performed as previously described ([@B33]), and *in vitro* transcription assays were performed as described elsewhere ([@B34]).
RNAi knockdown was performed with siRNA from Ambion, reverse-transfected into HeLa cells with the siPORT NeoFX transfection agent (Ambion) according to the manufacturer\'s instructions.
Reagents, plasmids and antibodies
---------------------------------
Streptavidin-coated magnetic beads were from Dynal (Dynabeads M-280 Streptavidin). The generic oligonucleotides for promoter synthesis by PCR were:
b-profor (biotinylated) 5′-CTGCAGGTCGACTCTAGC;
g-prorev 5′-AGTATGTGAGAGTGTAAAAAAGGGCCAAGTGC.
The plasmid pE4-38 CAT, containing the basal promoter from the adenovirus 2 E4 promoter was used to generate the TATA promoter ([@B35]). The plasmids pSRE-CAT and pSIDE-CAT, containing a single SRE or a mutant thereof that fails to bind Elk-1 (SIDE) inserted upstream from the TATA box in E4-38 CAT, were used to generate SRE and DSE promoters, respectively. For reporter assays, analogous pGL3-based luciferase constructs containing a single SRE or DSE upstream from the adenovirus 2 E4 basal promoter were transfected alone or with expression vectors for active RhoA (L63) or C-Raf (259D).
Plasmids containing G-free cassettes used for *in vitro* transcription analyses, pML(C~2~AT), pTATA-B7 and pWT-TATA-(C~2~AT)~19~ (SRE) were provided by R. A. Hipskind and have been described elsewhere ([@B34]).
Plasmids used to express his-tagged Elk-1 FxFP mutants (*FxLA* and *dbl*) were derived from pQE-Elk-his6 and pQE-ElkΔD, respectively ([@B36]) by site-directed mutagenesis.
Antibodies used were as follows: the ElkC and JNK/SAPK are rabbit polyclonal antibodies raised against recombinant proteins; the SRF (H-300), ERK1/ERK2 goat (C-14), MSK1 (H-65), RSK2 mouse monoclonal (E-1), TBP (N-12), p300 (C-20), RAP74 (C-18), MED1 (C-19), Elk-1 (I-20) and *p*Elk-1 mouse monoclonal (B-4) were from Santa Cruz; the MSK1 sheep polyclonal (for immunoblots) and HDAC1 (2E10) and HDAC2 (3F3) mouse monoclonals and phospho/acetyl-H3S10K14 rabbit polyclonal were from Upstate; the *p*ERK rabbit monoclonal (20G11) and p38 (9212) were from Cell Signaling; the MED23 mouse monoclonal (D27) was from BD Biosciences; the RNAPII *p*S5-CTD (H14), *p*S2-CTD (H5) and RNAPII-CTD (8WG16) mouse monoclonals were from Abcam; the AlexaFluor 488 goat anti-mouse/AlexaFluor 568 goat anti-rabbit were from Invitrogen, Molecular Probes.
Generation of pre-initiation complexes *in vitro*
-------------------------------------------------
Streptavidin-coated magnetic beads (300 μg), pre-washed in binding buffer (1 M NaCl, 10 mM Tris pH 7.4, 0.2 mM EDTA), were incubated with biotinylated promoter fragment (20--25 pmol) in binding buffer for 1 h at RT, then washed twice in binding buffer and twice in transcription buffer (12 mM HEPES pH 8.0, 12% glycerol, 60 mM KCl, 0.12 mM EDTA, 7.5 mM MgCl~2~, 1 mM DTT, 0.5 mM PMSF). Nuclear extract (300 μg) was pre-incubated with salmon sperm DNA (3 μg), poly(dIC) (3 μg) in transcription buffer (200 μl) on ice for 15 min. Immobilized promoters and nuclear extract were combined and incubated at 30°C for 45 min with gentle shaking. PICs were washed thrice in transcription buffer with 0.05% NP-40 and proteins were subsequently eluted in 1 M NaCl at 30°C for 15 min.
Reconstituted promoter-binding assays with recombinant proteins
---------------------------------------------------------------
Methods used to generate recombinant coreSRF, his-tagged rElk-1, inactive and active rERK2 have all been described ([@B37],[@B38]). For *in vitro* phosphorylation, rElk-1 (1 μg) and mutant derivatives were incubated with active rERK2 (0.5 μg) in PP buffer (25 mM Tris pH 7.2, 10 mM MgCl~2~, 1 mM DTT, 0.1 mM EGTA, 0.1 mM Na~3~VO~4~, 1 μM okadaic acid, 250 μM ATP) at 37°C, after which Elk-1 proteins were examined by SDS--PAGE and immunoblotting. For promoter binding Elk-1 (3 μg) and coreSRF (0.75 μg) were pre-incubated in PP buffer (4 mM HEPES pH7.5, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM MgCl~2~, 0.2 mM EDTA, 0.1 mM Na~3~VO~4~, 0.1% Triton X-100, 40 mM β-glycerophosphate and 0.5 mM DTT) containing poly(dIC) and sheared herring sperm DNA (60 μg ml^−1^ each) on ice for 10 min prior to addition of 12.5 μg ml^−1^ biotinylated SRE promoter template, incubation for 10 min at 22°C, addition of ERK proteins (2 μg) and further incubation for 20 min at 22°C. Streptavidin-coated magnetic beads (100 μg), pre-incubated in BP buffer containing BSA (1 mg ml^−1^) were incubated with complexes for 1 h, washed three times in BP buffer and eluted in 1 M NaCl for 15 min at 22°C. Proteins were examined by SDS--PAGE and immunoblotting.
Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays
------------------------------------
ChIP assays were performed as described ([@B39]) with modifications. HeLa cells were incubated with 1% formaldehyde at 37°C for 10 min, washed twice in ice-cold PBS with 125 mM glycine, 1 mM EDTA, 1 mM PMSF and collected in 1 ml of ice-cold PBS. Cell pellets were re-suspended in lysis buffer (50 mM Tris--HCl pH 8.0, 1% SDS, 10 mM EDTA, 1× protease inhibitor cocktail) and sonicated to produce DNA fragments of 200--500 bp. Lysates were diluted 10-fold in 20 mM Tris--HCl, pH 8.0, 1% Triton X-100, 2 mM EDTA, 150 mM NaCl, 1× protease inhibitor cocktail and incubated with antibodies over night at 4°C. Immune complexes were incubated with sheared salmon sperm DNA for 1 h at 4°C before the addition of protein G Sepharose beads, pre-blocked with BSA and further incubation for 1 h. Immunoprecipitates were washed with TSE I (20 mM Tris--HCl pH 8.0, 0.1% SDS, 1% Triton X-100, 2 mM EDTA, 150 mM NaCl); TSE II (20 mM Tris--HCl pH 8.0, 0.1% SDS, 1% Triton X-100, 2 mM EDTA, 500 mM NaCl); Buffer III (10 mM Tris--HCl pH 8.0, 1% NP-40, 1 mM EDTA, 1% deoxycholate, 0.25 M LiCl) and twice with TE buffer. DNA--protein complexes were eluted twice with 1% SDS in 0.1 M NaHCO~3~. Eluates were pooled and cross-links reversed at 65°C for 6 h. After proteinase K digestion for 1 h at 45°C, DNA fragments were purified with a PCR purification kit (Qiagen). Primers for the human c-*fos* promoter (−473 to −276) were: 5′-GGGTCCGCATTGAACCAGGTGC (forward) and 5′-GCCGTGGAAACCTGCTGACGCA (reverse); the human c-*fos* gene (+1711 to +1865) primers were: 5′-CTGGGAACTCGCCCCACCTGTGTC (forward) and 5′-CACTGCAGGTCCGGACTGGTCGAG (reverse). Primers for the human *egr1* promoter were as published elsewhere ([@B40]); the *egr-1* gene (+1066 to +1305) primers were 5′-ATTTGCGTCAGCTGTTGTTG (forward) and 5′-CAGCACCTTCTCGTTGTTCA (reverse). For PCR quantification, Aida software was used to measure band intensities from digital gel images. Values represent averages from three independent experiments (error bars = SD).
Immunocytochemistry, confocal microscopy and image analysis
-----------------------------------------------------------
Cells were fixed directly in 2% formaldehyde in PBS for 15 min at RT, permeabilized for 10 min in 0.5% Triton X-100 in PBS, incubated for 10 min in 100 mM glycine in PBS, 10 min in 10% BSA and 5 min in PBS containing 0.5% BSA (PBS/BSA). Incubations with primary antibodies (mouse monoclonal α-*p*Elk-1 (B-4, Santa Cruz); rabbit monoclonal α-*p*ERK (20G11) were carried out in PBS/BSA for 1 h at RT \[for the mouse monoclonal (H14) to RNAPII at 4°C over night\]. Cover slips were subsequently washed four times for 5 min in PBS/BSA and incubated with secondary antibodies (AlexaFluor 488 goat anti-mouse, and AlexaFluor 568 goat anti-rabbit) for 1.5 h in PBS/BSA at RT. Cover slips were washed twice for 5 min in PBS/BSA, twice for 5 min in PBS, for 10 min in PBS containing 0.4 μg ml^−1^ Hoechst 33258 and 10 min in PBS. Cover slips were mounted in Vectashield (Vector Labs).
Images were collected with a Leica SP2 Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM), equipped with a Leica IRBE inverted fluorescence microscope (63× objective, oil-immersion, NA 1.3). The green fluorescence of AlexaFluor 488 or GFP was excited at a wavelength of 488 nm and detected at 498--550 nm using a spectrophotometer detection system; AlexaFluor 568 labelled proteins were excited at 561 nm and detected at 580--667 nm. In all cases, the pinhole was equivalent to 1 Airy disk. Images were collected as single optical sections, averaged 20 times, displayed using the associated Leica SP2 software and compiled using Adobe Photoshop. For image analysis, red and green-channel confocal images were combined into a dual-colour image in Leica SP2 software. Lines were drawn through the nuclei and red and green channel line-scan intensity profiles were obtained. The correlation between the red and the green intensities was determined according to Pearson\'s correlation coefficient (*Rp*). For each nucleus examined, five independent line-scans were performed and averages were derived from 10 values.
RESULTS
=======
Generation and validation of PICs on SRE promoters
--------------------------------------------------
Three simple promoters were used to produce PICs in HeLa cell nuclear extracts ([Figure 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}a). The SRE promoter consisted of a single copy of the c-*fos* SRE, which is known to bind SRF and Elk-1 in a ternary complex ([@B7]), centred 27-bp upstream of a TATA element. The DSE promoter carried a mutated ETS-binding site; the TATA promoter lacked an activating element altogether. Complexes recruited to these promoters in HeLa nuclear extracts contained transcription factors as anticipated. Thus SRF, Elk-1 and TBP bound to the SRE promoter ([Figure 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}b, lanes 2 and 9); SRF and TBP but not Elk-1 bound to the DSE promoter (lanes 3 and 10) whereas neither Elk-1 nor SRF bound to the basal TATA promoter (lanes 4 and 11), irrespective of prior mitogen stimulation of the cells, as indicated by ERK and Elk-1 phosphorylation ([Figure 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}c). Binding of SRF to the SRE, but not the DSE, is enhanced by Elk-1, as reported earlier ([@B41]). Figure 1.Functional analysis of simple promoters used to derive pre-initiation complexes. (**a**) Diagram showing DNA elements present in promoter templates. The SRE sequence is derived from the human c-*fos* promoter with the CArG box centred 27-bp upstream of the TATA box. In the DSE promoter the Ets-binding site is inactivated by a triple point mutation and the TATA promoter lacks an upstream element. (**b**) Nuclear extracts from unstimulated (lanes 1--7) or serum-stimulated (lanes 8--14) cells were used for PIC assembly on SRE (lanes 2 and 9), DSE (lanes 3 and 10) or TATA (lanes 4 and 11) templates. Complexes were isolated, washed and resolved by SDS--PAGE for analysis by immunoblotting with antibodies against Elk-1 (upper panel), SRF (middle) and TBP (lower). Inputs were resolved in lanes 1 and 8; flow through fractions in lanes 5--7 and 12--14. (**c**) Time course of Elk-1 and ERK phosphorylation in response to serum stimulation of HeLa cells. (**d**) NIH3T3 cells were transfected with SRE-Luc3 or DSE-Luc3 alone or with expression vectors for active RhoA or C-Raf, as indicated. Data are from one representative experiment with triplicate points (error bars = SD). (**e**) Circular and linear templates, as indicated, containing an SRE (lanes 1--4 and 9--12) or basal promoter (TATA) (lanes 5--8 and 13--16), were incubated at two different concentrations along with a control template derived from the adenovirus 2 major late promoter (MLP) in transcription reactions with nuclear extracts from serum-starved (−) or stimulated (+) cells. RNA transcripts from SRE templates are indicated with arrows. (**f**) Nuclear extracts from unstimulated (lanes 1--7) or serum-stimulated (lanes 8--14) cells were used for PIC assembly on SRE (lanes 2 and 9), DSE (lanes 3 and 10) or TATA (lanes 4 and 11) templates. Complexes were isolated, washed and resolved by SDS--PAGE for analysis by immunoblotting with antibodies against p300 (upper panel), MED1, MED23, RAP74, HDAC1 and HDAC2 (lower panel). Inputs were resolved in lanes 1 and 8; flow through fractions in lanes 5--7 and 12--14.
Functionality of these simple promoters *in vivo* was confirmed by reporter assays. The SRE was preferentially activated by C-Raf, a component of the ERK cascade, while the DSE promoter responded better to RhoA, which triggers an Elk-1 independent pathway involving the SRF co-activator MAL/MKL-1 ([@B42; @B43; @B44]) ([Figure 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}d). In *in vitro* transcription assays, RNA was transcribed accurately from both circular ([Figure 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}e, left panel) and linear (right panel) templates. However, similar levels of transcription were achieved from both SRE and TATA promoters and regardless of mitogen stimulation, as observed previously ([@B45]). Importantly, this result confirmed that the promoters recruit transcriptionally competent PICs *in vitro*.
Next, we examined PIC occupancy by transcriptional co-activator proteins potentially affected by mitogens. The histone acetyl transferase (HAT) p300 was detected only in PICs formed on SRE and DSE promoters in mitogen-stimulated nuclear extracts ([Figure 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}f, lanes 9 and 10) ([@B16],[@B19]). In contrast to HATs, HDACs have been reported to dissociate from activated transcription factors upon stimulation ([@B46],[@B47]), but both HDAC1 and HDAC2 were detected in PICs formed on the SRE, DSE and TATA promoters irrespective of mitogen stimulation (lower panel) ([@B47],[@B48]). Likewise, the TFIIF subunit RAP74, which interacts with SRF ([@B49]), MED1 (also known as TRAP220 or PPAR-binding protein), a component of the DRIP/CRSP/mediator co-activator complex required for transcriptional activation by nuclear hormone receptors (e.g. thyroid hormone receptor) and other transcription factors ([@B50],[@B51]), and MED23, another mediator subunit shown to undergo phosphorylation-dependent interactions with Elk-1 ([@B17],[@B18]), were on all three promoters and irrespective of stimulation. This recruitment pattern suggests that basal transcription factors and the mediator complex can associate with SRE promoters prior to mitogen stimulation, which is consistent with published data ([@B52]) (see below). On the basis of this data, we concluded that the characteristics of the *in vitro* PICs were sufficient to warrant further characterization of their composition.
Mitogen-dependent recruitment of ERK and MSK to SRE promoter complexes
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Transcriptional activation by Elk-1 in response to mitogens is contingent upon its phosphorylation on multiple sites by ERK and the consequent recruitment of co-activators such as p300 to SREs ([@B12; @B13; @B14]). Although active ERK is known to accumulate in the nuclei of mitogen-stimulated cells ([@B53],[@B54]) the underlying mechanism is incompletely understood. However, several reports of MAPKs associating with gene promoters have appeared recently ([@B22; @B23; @B24; @B25; @B26; @B27]).
Among the proteins present in PICs assembled *in vitro* we identified ERK. As shown in [Figure 2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}a, ERK was absent from PICs formed on SRE, DSE or TATA promoter templates in extracts from unstimulated cells (upper panel, lanes 2--4) but present in PICs formed on SRE promoters in mitogen-stimulated extracts (lane 9). ERK was not detected on DSE or TATA promoter templates (lanes 10 and 11). Immunoblotting for phospho-ERK confirmed bound ERK to be active. Neither JNK/SAPK nor p38MAPK (lower panels) was detected in any of the PICs, regardless of promoter template or mitogen stimulation. These data suggest that mitogens stimulate recruitment of active ERK into PICs assembled on SRE promoter templates. Figure 2.Pre-initiation complexes on SRE promoters contain ERKs and MSK1. (**a**) Nuclear extracts from unstimulated (lanes 1--7) or serum-stimulated (lanes 8--14) cells were used for PIC assembly on SRE (lanes 2 and 9), DSE (lanes 3 and 10) or TATA (lanes 4 and 11) templates. Complexes were isolated, washed and resolved by SDS--PAGE for analysis by immunoblotting with antibodies against ERKs (upper panel), phospho-ERKs, JNKs and p38 (lower). Inputs were resolved in lanes 1 and 8; flow through fractions in lanes 5--7 and 12--14. (**b**) As in (a) except with antibodies against MSK1 (upper panel) and RSK2 (lower panel).
The related mitogen and stress-responsive kinase (MSK) and ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK) are MAPK-dependent protein kinases. Both have been linked to the promoters of IE genes such as c-*fos* and implicated in histone H3S10 and H3S28 phosphorylation in response to EGF ([@B55; @B56; @B57; @B58]). Mutations in the *RSK2* gene are linked to Coffin--Lowry syndrome ([@B59]). Although neither kinase was detected in PICs assembled in unstimulated extracts, we consistently observed the association of MSK but not RSK with SRE PICs formed in extracts from serum-stimulated cells ([Figure 2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}b).
Recruitment of ERK to SRE promoter requires docking motifs in Elk-1
-------------------------------------------------------------------
As the SRE binds Elk-1 whereas the DSE does not, we used recombinant proteins to test whether Elk-1 recruited ERK to the SRE. In the absence of other proteins or in the presence of the DNA-binding domain of SRF (core^SRF^) alone, neither inactive nor active ERK2 was recruited to an immobilized SRE promoter ([Figure 3](#F2){ref-type="fig"}a, lanes 2, 3, 7 and 8). When recombinant Elk-1 was included in the binding reactions, active ERK2 but not inactive ERK2 was recruited into SRE complexes (lanes 5 and 6). Analogous experiments performed with recombinant MSK1 failed to yield promoter complexes containing MSK (data not shown).
ERK interactions with their regulators and substrates are governed by docking domains ([@B60],[@B61]). Within Elk-1 the D domain/KIM and the FxFP motif are important for efficient phosphorylation of Elk-1 ([@B62],[@B63]). Versions of Elk-1 with MAPK docking sites mutated or removed ([Figure 3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}b and c) were used to test their contribution to ERK recruitment into SRE promoter complexes. In a kinase assay with active ERK2, in which phosphorylation of S383 was assessed with a phospho-specific antibody ([Figure 3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}d) deletion of the D-box/KIM (Elk-ΔD) had only a minor effect on S383 phosphorylation whereas mutation of the FxFP site (FxLA) reduced S383 phosphorylation by ERK2 up to 90%. An Elk-1 mutant lacking both docking sites (dbl) was not phosphorylated by ERK2 under these conditions. When the Elk-1 mutants were tested for the ability to recruit ERK into SRE complexes recruitment of active ERK2 was impaired by mutation of the FxFP motif ([Figure 3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}e, compare lanes 4 and 8) and lost with the D box/KIM mutant (lanes 6 and 10). Thus, although the FxFP motif is necessary for efficient phosphorylation of Elk-1 residues critical for activation, only the D box/KIM appears to be essential for ERK recruitment to the SRE. Figure 3.Elk-1 recruitment of ERK to SRE *in vitro* is dependent on D domain. (**a**) The SRE promoter template was incubated with recombinant core^SRF^ alone (lanes 1--3), core^SRF^ and rElk-1 (lanes 4--6) or neither (lanes 7 and 8) along with inactive rERK (lanes 2, 5 and 7) or active rERK (lanes 3, 6 and 8). Complexes were isolated on magnetic beads and analysed by immunoblotting. The arrows indicate ERK2 (upper panel) and Elk-1 (lower). (**b**) Representation of Elk-1 including DNA-binding domain (*ets*), SRF interaction domain (B), suppressor domain (S), docking (D) domain, trans-activation domain (C) and FxFP motif (f). Sites of deletion/mutation are indicated in the corresponding mutants. (**c**) SDS--PAGE analysis of recombinant proteins used in this study, as indicated. Full-length proteins and core^SRF^ are identified by arrowheads. (**d**) Recombinant Elk-1 and the deletions represented in (b) were incubated with active rERK2 for the times indicated and phosphorylation of Ser383 was analysed by SDS--PAGE and immunoblotting with a phospho-specific antibody (upper panel). Elk-1 substrates were controlled with an antibody against Elk-1 (lower panel). N.B. phosphorylation of Elk-1 results in electrophoretic separation of isoforms that increases the signal on the membrane. Relative amounts of Elk-1 proteins in the assay are apparent in lanes 1, 4, 7 and 10. (**e**) The SRE promoter template was incubated with recombinant core^SRF^ alone (lanes 1 and 2), with core^SRF^ and rElk-1 (lanes 3 and 4), rElk-ΔD (lanes 5 and 6), rElk-FxLA (lanes 7 and 8), rElk-dbl (lanes 9 and 10) or without (lanes 11 and 12) along with inactive rERK2 (lanes 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11) or active rERK2 (lanes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12). Complexes were isolated on magnetic beads and analysed by immunoblotting with antibodies against ERK (upper panel) and Elk-1 (lower panel).
Mitogen-dependent recruitment of ERK and MSK to c-*fos* and *egr-1* promoters
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To look for recruitment of kinases to mitogen-responsive gene promoters we examined c-*fos* promoter complexes by ChIP assay and semi-quantitative PCR ([Supplementary Figure S1](http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/gkn099/DC1)). First, we used an antibody against Elk-1 (I-20) used previously in such assays ([@B64],[@B65]). In serum-starved cells, Elk-1 was detected on the c-*fos* promoter, but not within the c-*fos* gene. However, upon TPA stimulation the signal was lost, returning over 1 h ([Figure 4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}a, upper panels, lanes 9--12). In contrast, a second antibody (ElkC) detected Elk-1 on the promoter throughout the time course (lanes 13--16). When cells were treated with the MEK inhibitor U0126, both antibodies detected Elk-1 at the c-*fos* promoter before and during mitogen stimulation ([Figure 4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}a, middle panels). A third, phospho-specific Elk-1 antibody (Elk*p*S383) detected phospho-Elk-1 on the promoter transiently after TPA stimulation, which correlated with the time course of Elk-1 phosphorylation in mitogen-stimulated cells ([Figure 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}c and data not shown). Further experiments confirmed that the I-20 antibody we used detected only unphosphorylated Elk-1 (data not shown). Taken together, these results indicate that unphosphorylated Elk-1 occupies the c-*fos* SRE prior to stimulation and that phosphorylated Elk-1 is present transiently following mitogen stimulation. Figure 4.ERKs and MSK1 are recruited to c-*fos* promoter in response to mitogen stimulation. (**a**) HeLa cells were serum starved or starved and stimulated with TPA (100 ng ml^−1^) for the times indicated, with (+) or without (−) treatment with U0126. Binding of Elk-1 to the c-*fos* promoter was then determined by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). PCRs containing primer pairs amplifying a promoter region containing the SRE (upper panel) or a region of the gene (lower panel) were performed after immunoprecipitation of DNA/promoter complexes with the Elk-1 antibodies indicated. (**b**) As in (a) except binding of mediator components to the c-*fos* promoter was determined by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) with antibodies against MED1 and MED23. (**c**) As in (a) except immunoprecipitations were performed with ERK (lanes 9--12) or MSK1 antibodies (lanes 13--16). (**d**) As in (c) except cells were treated with 500 ng ml^−1^ TPA for 15 min (T) or 20% FCS for 30 min (S). (**e**) Quantification of ERK and MSK binding in three independent experiments similar to those presented in (d). Error bars = SD. (**f**) As in (d) except immunoprecipitations were performed with a histone H3 *p*S10 *Ac*K14 antibody (lanes 7--9).
The presence of mediator components in the *in vitro* PICs ([Figure 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}f) prompted us to examine their behaviour in similar experiments. Both MED1 and MED23 were detected on the c-*fos* promoter both before and during mitogen stimulation ([Figure 4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}b, lanes 9--12). An increase in MED23 was not apparent but a modest stimulation of MED1 binding was observed, as reported previously for the *egr1* promoter ([@B52]).
In parallel analyses, we looked for ERK and MSK at the c-*fos* promoter. In both cases, we detected increased association upon stimulation with 100 ng ml^−1^ TPA, whereby recruitment of ERK appeared to precede that of MSK ([Figure 4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}c, lanes 9--12 and 13--16). When cells were stimulated with 500 ng ml^−1^ TPA for 15 min or 20% FCS for 30 min, recruitment of ERK and MSK to the c-*fos* promoter was pronounced ([Figure 4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}d, lanes 8, 9, 11 and 12). Under these circumstances, we observed a 3--4-fold increase in ERK and MSK occupancy at the c-*fos* promoter following stimulation ([Figure 4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}e).
A consequence of MSK activation is H3S10 phosphorylation \[often with acetylation of an adjacent lysine ([@B66])\], which has been detected in the vicinity of mitogen-responsive gene promoters and correlated with transcriptional activity ([@B57],[@B58],[@B67]). We therefore looked for H3S10 phosphorylation in response to TPA and serum at the c-*fos* promoter. As shown in [Figure 4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}f, H3S10 phosphorylation was significantly greater over the promoter than on the c-*fos* gene and increased following mitogen stimulation (lanes 8 and 9) in parallel with MSK recruitment.
Next, we looked if these observations extended to other IE gene promoters. TPA stimulation transiently increased the level of phospho-Elk-1 at the *egr-1* promoter ([Figure 5](#F5){ref-type="fig"}a, lanes 9--12), which correlated with an increase in MED1 recruitment (lanes 13--16). At the same time, recruitment of ERK and MSK to the *egr-1* promoter also increased ([Figure 5](#F5){ref-type="fig"}b) and higher concentrations of TPA or serum were more effective at stimulating ERK recruitment ([Figure 5](#F5){ref-type="fig"}c). TPA also stimulated H3S10 phosphorylation over the *egr-1* promoter but not over the gene ([Figure 5](#F5){ref-type="fig"}d). Taken together, these data indicate that ERK and MSK are recruited to the c-*fos* and *egr1* promoters following mitogen stimulation of HeLa cells. Figure 5.ERKs and MSK1 are recruited to *egr-1* promoter in response to mitogen stimulation. (**a**) HeLa cells were serum starved or starved and stimulated with TPA (100 ng ml^−1^) for the times indicated and the presence of *p*Elk-1 and MED1 at the *egr-1* promoter was determined by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). PCRs containing primer pairs amplifying a promoter region containing the promoter proximal SRE (upper panel) or a region of the gene (lower panel) were performed after immunoprecipitation of DNA/promoter complexes with the antibodies indicated. (**b**) As in (a) except immunoprecipitations were performed with ERK (lanes 9--12), MSK1 (lanes 13--16) or Elk-1 (lanes 17--20) antibodies. (**c**) As in (b) except cells were treated with 500 ng ml^−1^ TPA for 15 min (T) or 20% FCS for 30 min (S). (**d**) As in (c) except immunoprecipitations were performed with a histone H3 *p*S10 *Ac*K14 antibody (lanes 7--9).
Localization of Elk-1, ERK and RNAPII in HeLa nuclei
----------------------------------------------------
Mitogens were first shown to stimulate nuclear accumulation of ERKs by immuno-staining and confocal microscopy ([@B53]). We used a similar approach to look for nuclear co-localization of active ERK and Elk-1. Immunoblotting experiments confirmed that two *p*ERK antibodies detected only *p*ERKs (predominantly ERK2 in HeLa cell lysates). A rabbit *p*Elk-1 antibody detected *p*Elk-1 in lysates from mitogen-stimulated cells but also high molecular weight species in both stimulated and unstimulated cells. However, a mouse monoclonal only detected phospho-isoforms of Elk-1 ([Supplementary Figure S2a](http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/gkn099/DC1)). As a further test of antibody fidelity, quiescent or mitogen-stimulated HeLa cells transfected with a vector for a GFP-Elk-1 fusion protein were fixed and stained for *p*Elk-1. A high coincidence of GFP fluorescence and immunostaining was observed in the mitogen-stimulated cells, confirming the specificity of the *p*Elk-1 antibody ([Supplementary Figure S2b and c](http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/gkn099/DC1)).
In serum-starved cells weak, punctate *p*Elk-1 staining was seen within the nuclei whereas there was little staining of *p*ERK ([Figure 6](#F6){ref-type="fig"}a, left panels). Following mitogen stimulation, strong, punctate *p*Elk-1 staining was seen, coincident with the appearance of nuclear *p*ERK ([Figure 6](#F6){ref-type="fig"}a, right panels and [Figure 6](#F6){ref-type="fig"}b). No staining was observed with either secondary antibody, either alone or when incubated with unmatched primary antibodies (data not shown). When the *p*Elk-1 and *p*ERK images were merged, coincident staining was apparent although not extensive ([Figure 6](#F6){ref-type="fig"}b left, see inset in middle quadrant), showing that active ERK does not associate predominantly with *p*Elk-1 within the nucleus. Figure 6.Nuclear *p*ERK co-localises with RNAPII *p*S5-CTD. (**a**) HeLa cells were serum-starved or starved and stimulated with TPA (100 ng ml^−1^) for 10 min. Cells were fixed, stained with antibodies as indicated and examined by confocal microscopy. (**b**) Higher magnification images of TPA-stimulated cells stained for *p*Elk-1 and *p*ERK (left column), *p*S5-CTD and *p*Elk-1 (centre column) and *p*S5-CTD and *p*ERK (right column). Insets within merged panels represent 3-fold digitally enlarged areas within the respective nuclei. (**c**) Line-scan analyses of the images shown in (b). Pearson\'s correlation coefficients (*Rp*) for the line scans shown are indicated. Mean *Rp* values (*n* = 10) for coincident staining were: for *p*Elk-1 and *p*ERK 0.13; for *p*Elk-1 and RNAPII *p*S5-CTD 0.33; for *p*ERK and RNAPII *p*S5-CTD 0.41.
To see if the locations of *p*Elk-1 and *p*ERK corresponded to active promoters we looked for co-localization of each with RNAPII *p*S5-CTD as a marker for sites of transcriptional initiation. The distribution of RNAPII *p*S5-CTD corresponded with that reported previously ([Figure 6](#F6){ref-type="fig"}b) ([@B68]). In the case of *p*Elk-1, we saw co-localization with RNAPII *p*S5-CTD ([Figure 6](#F6){ref-type="fig"}b, centre panels). For *p*ERK, foci of coincident staining were even more apparent in the nuclei of mitogen-stimulated cells (right-hand panels).
As an objective measure of nuclear co-localization, line-scan analyses were performed ([@B69]). For GFP-Elk-1 and *p*Elk-1, we obtained a mean Pearson\'s correlation coefficient of 0.79, consistent with a high degree of coincident staining ([Supplementary Figure S2c](http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/gkn099/DC1)). In contrast, the mean value for *p*ERK and *p*Elk-1 was 0.13, which was exceeded by the apparent co-localization of both proteins with RNAPII *p*S5-CTD (means of 0.33 and 0.42, respectively, see [Figure 6](#F6){ref-type="fig"}c). Analogous experiments performed with antibodies specific for CTD phosphorylated on serine 2 (*p*S2-CTD) and total RNAPII-CTD showed that Elk-1 co-localized preferentially with RNAPII carrying *p*S5-CTD, i.e. engaged in transcriptional initiation ([Supplementary Figure S2d](http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/gkn099/DC1)). Taken together, these observations indicate that *p*Elk-1 and *p*ERK localize more readily with active RNAPII than with each other, suggesting that the interaction between *p*ERK and Elk-1 in mitogen-stimulated cells is transient.
Elk-1 knockdown prevents recruitment of ERK and MSK to c-*fos* and *egr-1* promoters
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If Elk-1 is involved in the recruitment of ERK and MSK to SRE promoters, removal of Elk-1 from cells should prevent their access to the c-*fos* promoter. Thus ChIP assays were performed with cells in which Elk-1 expression was first reduced by RNAi ([@B70]). As shown in [Figure 7](#F7){ref-type="fig"}a, a combination of two siRNA species reduced Elk-1 expression in HeLa cells by ∼90%. Parallel analyses were then performed on mock and siRNA-transfected cells that were starved and stimulated with TPA. As anticipated, Elk-1 knockdown caused a significant decrease in Elk-1 at the c-*fos* promoter ([Figure 7](#F7){ref-type="fig"}b, lanes 9--12). Whereas TPA induced the recruitment of both ERK and MSK to the c-*fos* promoter in control cells (lanes 14 and 18), Elk-1 knockdown prevented the recruitment of both kinases (lanes 16 and 20). Furthermore, Elk-1 knockdown also prevented ERK and MSK recruitment to the *egr-1* promoter ([Figure 7](#F7){ref-type="fig"}c). Taken together, these results demonstrate that Elk-1 is required for the recruitment of ERK and MSK to the promoters of IE genes such as c-*fos* and *egr-1*. Figure 7.Elk-1 knockdown prevents ERK and MSK recruitment to c-*fos* and *egr-1* promoters. (**a**) HeLa cells were reverse transfected twice with a combination of two Elk-1 siRNAs or mock transfected. After a further 48 h cells were harvested, nuclear extracts prepared and analysed for Elk-1 expression by SDS--PAGE and immunoblotting. (**b**) Native (−) or Elk-1 knockdown HeLa cells (+) were serum starved or starved and stimulated with TPA (100 ng ml^−1^) for 15 min. Binding of Elk-1 (lanes 9--12), ERK (lanes 13--16) and MSK (lanes 17--20) to the c-*fos* promoter was determined by ChIP assay. (**c**) As in (b) except binding of Elk-1 (lanes 9--12), ERK (lanes 13--16) and MSK (lanes 17--20) to the *egr-1* promoter was determined.
DISCUSSION
==========
In this study, we have examined PICs associated with promoters that contain a mitogen-responsive SRE. We found that ERK and MSK are recruited to these complexes in a mitogen-dependent fashion *in vitro*, that the ternary complex factor Elk-1 recruits ERK directly via its D-domain/KIM *in vitro* and is required for recruitment of both ERK and MSK to the c-*fos* promoter *in vivo*.
Validation of *in vitro* PIC formation on SRE promoters
-------------------------------------------------------
Evidence that the PICs generated reflect the complexes anticipated on SRE promoters included the sequence-specific presence of Elk-1 and SRF, the recruitment of basal factors, co-activators and co-repressors previously reported to interact with SRF and Elk-1 ([@B16; @B17; @B18; @B19],[@B47],[@B49]). Further evidence for functionality was provided by *in vitro* transcription reactions. Although the absence of chromatin precluded activator-dependent transcription, these experiments confirmed accurate initiation and transcription by RNAPII on linear templates analogous to those immobilized on beads. In addition, reporter assays confirmed that the single element promoters used for these studies were functional in cells.
Many nuclear proteins have the potential to associate with immobilized DNA molecules *in vitro* and are potentially present as contaminants rather than valid components of PICs, as earlier analyses of such complexes have indicated ([@B71],[@B72]) (our unpublished data; Vougier,S. *et al.*, manuscript in preparation). A specific concern was the presence of basal transcription factors and mediator components in PICs from unstimulated cells. However, ChIP assays confirmed that MED1 and MED23 occupy the c-*fos* promoter in serum-starved cells, in agreement with our *in vitro* data and results on the *egr1* promoter ([@B52]). Set against that, our conclusions that ERK and MSK associated selectively with SRE PICs was based on their absence from DSE and TATA promoters, their failure to associate without mitogen stimulation (although present in unstimulated nuclear extracts), the absence of related MAPKs and RSKs and corroboration by ChIP analyses of the c-*fos* and *egr1* promoters showing mitogen-induced recruitment of both ERK and MSK. The presence of Elk-1 prior to mitogen stimulation is consistent with earlier *in vivo* footprint analyses ([@B7],[@B73]) and appears to support the view that a stable promoter architecture is established over the SRE. However, as with previous work, the present study does not exclude the possibility of protein turnover at SRE promoters.
Although anticipated, this is the first demonstration of ERK recruitment to mitogen-responsive SRE promoters. However, the presence of MSK chimes with earlier reports of its involvement in dynamic histone H3S10 and H3S28 phosphorylation at IE gene promoters ([@B57],[@B58],[@B67]). We confirmed that H3S10 phosphorylation at the c-*fos* promoter increased with mitogen stimulation and, in addition, demonstrated its correlation with MSK recruitment. Furthermore, the detection of MSK is consistent with the interpretation that MSK rather than RSK2 fulfils this role in response to mitogens at IE gene promoters ([@B55],[@B57],[@B66]).
Promoter recruitment of ERK through Elk-1 docking domains
---------------------------------------------------------
Protein interactions by ERKs centre on the common docking (CD) and extended docking (ED) domains ([@B74],[@B75]) and complementary kinase interaction motifs have been found on ERK activators, substrates and phosphatases alike ([@B60],[@B76],[@B77]). Elk-1 possesses a basic/hydrophobic D domain/KIM and an FxFP motif, each thought to be important for efficient phosphorylation of specific sites ([@B15],[@B63]). The FxFP influences predominantly S383/9 phosphorylation ([@B63]) while phosphorylation sites in Elk-1 for which the D domain/KIM is critical are less well defined, although reagents that might resolve this issue exist ([@B78]). Stable associations between substrates and ERK involving both the D domain/KIM and FxFP motif have been demonstrated ([@B15],[@B63],[@B79]) and a dual interaction model has been proposed based on structural analyses of ERK and MKP3/Elk-1-derived peptides whereby docking is initiated by the D domain/KIM and subsequent favourable orientation of phosphorylation sites determined by the FxFP motif ([@B77]).
Our data provide the first demonstration of an association between active ERK and Elk-1 bound in a promoter complex. In this scenario, the D domain/KIM was the dominant motif and the FxFP made a lesser contribution to ERK recruitment. The severity of the FxFP mutation was confirmed by the virtual loss of S383 phosphorylation. Extrapolating from the model proposed by Zhang *et al.* ([@B77]) to the context of a PIC, it is conceivable that while ERK is associated with Elk-1 via D domain/KIM-CD interactions, FxFP motifs present on neighbouring proteins might engage ERK to promote trans-phosphorylation events. However, the paucity of Elk-1/ERK co-localization indicates that during active transcription, associations between Elk-1 and ERK are likely to be transient.
Nuclear co-localization of Elk-1 and ERK is limited or transient
----------------------------------------------------------------
The resolution and functional assignment of nuclear structures is a complex undertaking. Sites of ongoing transcription appear to be characterized by granular clusters of RNAPII molecules distributed throughout the nucleus yielding a speckled nuclear staining in proliferating (G1) cells ([@B68],[@B80]). A punctate distribution has been observed for a number of other factors and chromatin modifications associated with active transcription, for example H3S10 phosphorylation and H3K4 methylation ([@B67],[@B81]). We observed comparable patterns of nuclear distribution for both *p*Elk-1 and *p*ERK in mitogen-stimulated cells. The degree of *p*ERK-*p*Elk-1 co-localization, however, was low, indicating that the bulk of *p*ERK and *p*Elk-1 are not in complexes together ([Figure 6](#F6){ref-type="fig"}b). This may reflect either the limited number of sites at which SRE promoters are transcribed or the transient nature of Elk-1/ERK interactions in the nucleus. In fact, the highest level of coincident staining was observed between *p*ERK and RNAPII *p*S5-CTD, suggesting that ERK appears to associate to some extent with initiating rather than elongating RNAPII. In light of these and other recent findings, it seems feasible that the association of MAPKs with transcription complexes may be a more general characteristic of acutely regulated promoters ([@B22; @B23; @B24; @B25; @B26; @B27]).
The recruitment of ERK by Elk-1 and the progesterone receptor ([@B27]) as well as the observation of other MAPKs at promoters ([@B22; @B23; @B24; @B25; @B26; @B27; @B28]) implies that there may be other ERK targets within promoter complexes. In fact MED1 appears to be phosphorylated by ERK, influencing its stability and transactivation potential ([@B29],[@B31]). However, several other protein kinases are associated with PICs, including the CTD kinase CDK7/cyclin H (present with MAT1 in TFIIH), CDK8/cyclin C (present in the negative regulatory ARC/Mediator-like complex with Med230/240) and Cdk9/cyclin T/K, part of the P-TEFb complex (positive transcription elongation factor) responsible for the phosphorylation of the RNAPII CTD on S2, promoting elongation ([@B82]). Hence, the identification of *bona fide* ERK substrates in promoter complexes may not be straightforward. For example, we observed promoter-specific differences in *p*S5-CTD levels and confirmed that recombinant CTD can be phosphorylated by ERK2 *in vitro* ([@B82],[@B83]), but phosphorylation of S5-CTD in PICs was not blocked by ERK inhibitors ([@B84],[@B85]). Further analysis of proteins undergoing modification in SRE PICs is currently underway.
SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
==================
[Supplementary Data](http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/gkn099/DC1) are available at NAR Online.
###### \[Supplementary Data\]
We thank Robert Hipskind for plasmids, Marie Smith and Ian Ward for assistance with confocal microscopy and image analysis. This work was supported by grants to PES from the BBSRC (C17917 and C19734). The Open Access publication charges for this article were waived by Oxford University Press.
*Conflict of interest statement*. None declared.
[^1]: Present address: Hong-Mei Zhang, Ningxia Medical College, Yinchuan, Ningxia, China
[^2]: Glenn Hodgson, Environmental Science and Research Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand
[^3]: Stéphanie Vougier, Sanofi-Aventis, Paris, France
[^4]: The authors wish it to be known that, in their opinion, the first two authors should be regarded as joint First Authors
|
162 Mich. App. 123 (1987)
412 N.W.2d 668
PENN MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
v.
DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATION
Docket No. 90490.
Michigan Court of Appeals.
Decided August 3, 1987.
Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone (by Carl H. von Ende, Kevin J. Lesinski, and Lynn Stevens Naoum), for plaintiffs.
Frank J. Kelley, Attorney General, Louis J. Caruso, Solicitor General, and Harry G. Iwasko, Jr., and William A. Chenoweth, Assistant Attorneys General, for defendant.
Before: CYNAR, P.J., and SHEPHERD and B.A. JASPER,[*] JJ.
CYNAR, P.J.
This case involves the consolidated claims of foreign insurance companies doing business in Michigan to recover premium taxes paid under § 440 of the Insurance Code of 1956, MCL 500.100 et seq.; MSA 24.1100 et seq. Defendant appeals by leave granted from a Court of Claims denial of its motion for summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(4) and (8), premised on sovereign immunity. This Court directed the parties to brief the following issues: (1) sovereign immunity and (2) the constitutionality of § 440 of the Insurance Code. The Supreme Court denied defendant's bypass application for leave to appeal.
Between February 28, 1983, and March 29, 1985, fifteen foreign insurers (plaintiffs) filed fifty-nine complaints in the Court of Claims to recover premium tax payments totaling about $147,000,000 for various tax years between 1965 and 1982.
*125 Premium taxes are imposed upon the business written or renewed by the foreign insurer in this state. Payment of the tax is a condition precedent to the privilege of doing business here. Depending on the type of insurance sold, the tax amount is two percent or three percent of gross premium collections. MCL 500.440; MSA 24.1440; MCL 500.441; MSA 24.1441.
By comparison, domestic insurers presently pay a single business tax pursuant to the Single Business Tax Act, MCL 208.1 et seq.; MSA 7.558(1) et seq. The vast majority of the tax years in dispute cover the periods subsequent to the enactment of the SBTA, which became effective on January 1, 1976. The single business tax is imposed on the "privilege of doing business and not upon income." MCL 208.31(4); MSA 7.558(31)(4). The tax base of a domestic insurer is the sum of business income and certain adjustments contained in § 9 of the SBTA. MCL 208.22; MSA 7.558(22) and MCL 208.9; MSA 7.558(9). The tax rate is 2.35 percent of the adjusted tax base, which is allocated or apportioned to this state. MCL 208.31(1); MSA 7.558(31)(1).
Plaintiffs alleged in their separate complaints that the effect of these two distinct tax systems was to impose a greater tax burden on foreign insurers. Relying on Western & Southern Life Ins Co v State Bd of Equalization of California, 451 US 648; 101 S Ct 2070; 68 L Ed 2d 514 (1981), plaintiffs asserted that the premium tax is unconstitutional because it violates the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution, Am XIV, and the Michigan Const 1963, art 1, § 2. Plaintiffs' requests to obtain premium tax refunds were denied by the Insurance Bureau in standard form letters.
Defendant's affirmative defenses to the complaints *126 included the following three defenses: (1) even if the premium tax was unconstitutional, any judicial decision involving the tax should be applied prospectively; (2) plaintiffs' claims are barred by the statute of limitations; and (3) even if the premium tax is invalid, any refunds should be reduced by the retaliatory tax imposed on foreign insurers, MCL 500.476; MSA 24.1476, or the amount of tax which plaintiffs would have been subject to had they been taxed as domestic insurers.
Plaintiffs' fifty-nine complaints were consolidated in separate Court of Claims orders, pursuant to the parties' stipulations. On October 8, 1985, defendant filed a motion for summary disposition under MCR 2.116, contending that (1) the Court of Claims lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the defendant had not waived sovereign immunity from suit and (2) the complaints failed to state a claim because defendant had not waived sovereign immunity from liability. In an opinion and order dated January 16, 1986, the Court of Claims found that it had jurisdiction and that plaintiffs had stated a claim by characterizing their claims as contractual in nature. Defendant's motion for summary disposition was denied. This Court granted defendant's application for leave to appeal. On May 28, 1986, the Court of Claims ordered that fifty-nine additional complaints filed by plaintiffs and other foreign insurers be consolidated, subject to the court's order staying the proceedings pending this appeal.
In October 1986, the Court of Claims ordered that three additional complaints be consolidated in this action, bringing the number of parties plaintiff and complaints to forty-two and 121, respectively. According to defendant's "first amended Exhibit A," filed November 19, 1986, with this *127 Court, forty-two plaintiffs have now filed 123 complaints, requesting premium tax refunds of $255,497,647.82, plus interest and attorney fees.
This Court sua sponte directed the parties to brief the constitutionality of the statutory premium tax. In its appellate brief the state concedes that, because of the premium tax imposed, those coming within the definition of a foreign insurer have a greater tax burden than those taxed under the SBTA. The issue, then, is whether the admittedly discriminatory tax treatment of foreign insurers violates equal protection.
The presumption of a statute's constitutionality is especially strong where tax legislation is concerned. Kostyu v Dep't of Treasury, 147 Mich App 89, 93; 382 NW2d 739 (1985). The party challenging the tax classification must negate every conceivable basis which might support it. American Amusement Co, Inc v Dep't of Treasury, 91 Mich App 573, 578; 283 NW2d 803 (1979), lv den 407 Mich 942 (1979), appeal dismissed for want of a substantial federal question 446 US 931; 100 S Ct 2145; 64 L Ed 2d 783 (1980). American Amusement sets forth the equal protection principles applicable to tax legislation. In that case, this Court stated:
However, this [presumption] is not to say that the states are exempt from the requirements of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment when enacting taxation legislation. As stated in Allied Stores of Ohio, Inc v Bowers, 358 US 522, 527-528; 79 S Ct 437; 3 L Ed 2d 480 (1959):
"[T]here is a point beyond which the State cannot go without violating the Equal Protection Clause. The State must proceed upon a rational basis and may not resort to a classification that is palpably arbitrary. The rule often has been stated *128 to be that the classification `must rest upon some ground of difference having a fair and substantial relation to the object of the legislation.' ... That [a] statute may discriminate in favor of a certain class does not render it arbitrary if the discrimination is founded upon a reasonable distinction, or difference in state policy." [American Amusement Co, Inc, supra, p 577.]
The standard of reasonableness under the rational basis test is whether any set of facts may reasonably be conceived to justify the legislative discrimination. In re Contempt of Stone, 154 Mich App 121, 128; 397 NW2d 244 (1986). The controlling principle with respect to tax legislation seems to be one of equal treatment for similarly situated taxpayers. Some rational basis for a disputed classification must be shown. Armco Steel Corp v Dep't of Treasury, 419 Mich 582, 591-592; 358 NW2d 839 (1984).
The premium tax applicable to foreign insurers has been described not as a "gross profits" tax, but rather as a tax on gross premiums. It is levied as a condition precedent to and in exchange for the privilege enjoyed by a foreign insurer engaging in insurance business. The tax relates directly to the exercise of that privilege in the taxing state. Mutual Life Ins Co of New York v Ins Bureau, 424 Mich 656, 662-664; 384 NW2d 25 (1986). In Michigan, different versions of the premium tax date back to 1869. See for example People v American Central Ins Co, 179 Mich 371; 146 NW 235 (1914).
By comparison, domestic insurers have been taxed under various taxing statutes. Under the Income Tax Act of 1967 (repealed by 1975 PA 233), domestic insurers were subject to a tax on income, as defined in the act, MCL 206.61 et seq.; MSA 7.557(161) et seq. Effective January 1, 1976, domestic insurers were taxed under the SBTA. The single *129 business tax is imposed on the privilege of doing business and not upon income. It is best understood as a value-added tax, although it is not a pure value-added tax. Town & Country Dodge, Inc v Dep't of Treasury, 420 Mich 226, 234; 362 NW2d 618 (1984). In conceding that a tax preference is given to domestic insurers, the state addressed only the SBTA.
The disputed classification scheme is the foreign/domestic distinction. A "domestic" insurer is defined as an insurer formed under the laws of this state. MCL 500.110(1); MSA 24.1110(1). A domestic insurer which does not comply with certain statutory requirements (i.e., maintaining a principal place of business in this state) is treated as a foreign insurer.
In their complaints, plaintiffs based their discrimination claims on Western & Southern Life Ins Co v State Bd of Equalization of California, supra. At issue in that case was a retaliatory tax imposed on foreign insurers. Under California's taxing scheme, a premium tax was imposed on both foreign and domestic insurers, thus bringing into question the constitutionality of imposing an additional "retaliatory" tax on foreign insurers. The retaliatory tax was characterized as being a privilege tax. Although the United States Supreme Court acknowledged that a prior case, Lincoln National Life Ins Co v Read, 325 US 673; 65 S Ct 1220; 89 L Ed 1861 (1945), held that a state may impose a tax on out-of-state corporations for the privilege of doing business in the state without being subject to an equal protection challenge, the Court concluded that Lincoln National was an anachronism. Based on cases prior and subsequent to Lincoln National, the Supreme Court considered it now established that the challenged discrimination between foreign and domestic corporations *130 must bear a rational relationship to a legitimate state purpose. Western & Southern, 667-668. The test is (1) does the legislation have a legitimate purpose and (2) was it reasonable for lawmakers to believe that use of the challenged classification would promote that purpose. Western & Southern, 668. The purpose of California's retaliatory tax was determined to be that of putting pressure on other states to impose a nondiscriminatory tax on insurers and to thereby promote interstate commerce, which in turn would promote California's domestic industry. The retaliatory tax was upheld despite the United States Supreme Court's conclusion that statistical data showed the retaliatory tax to be of questionable value. Western & Southern, 674.
In 1985, or two years after the first complaints were filed by plaintiffs, the United States Supreme Court entered another opinion dealing with the foreign/domestic insurer tax classification. Metropolitan Life Ins Co v Ward, 470 US 869; 105 S Ct 1676; 84 L Ed 2d 751 (1985). At issue in Ward was an Alabama taxing statute which imposed a substantially lower gross premium tax on domestic insurers (one percent) than on foreign insurers (three to four percent). The United States Supreme Court held that neither promoting domestic business within a state by discriminating against foreign insurers nor the encouragement of investments in state assets in a discriminatory manner were legitimate state purposes. Ward, 882-883. The controlling principle seemed to be that a state may not favor its own residents by taxing foreign corporations at a higher rate solely because of their residency. Ward, 878. The case was remanded for further proceedings, during which the state could advance some fifteen other alleged legitimate purposes for the discrimination. Ward, 876, n 5.
*131 Based on Ward, the Supreme Court of North Dakota held that North Dakota's gross premium tax was unconstitutional. See Metropolitan Life Ins Co v Comm'r of Dep't of Ins, 373 NW2d 399 (ND, 1985). Under North Dakota's taxing scheme, foreign insurers paid a gross premium tax, while domestic insurers paid a corporate income tax. The court rejected all the purposes advanced by the state as not being legitimate when furthered by discrimination or, if legitimate, as not being rationally related to the taxing scheme.
In the instant case, the purpose advanced by the state was to establish a reliable source of insurance coverages within the state and to increase the availability of insurance in those areas where the public need is the greatest. According to the state, "but for" the availability of insurance from domestic insurers, many residents and businesses within this state would be involuntarily uninsured.
According to the state, statistical information from 1975 through 1984 shows (1) that there is a direct correlation between the degree of profits generated by a line of insurance and the willingness of the foreign insurance industry to provide insurance coverages for that line of insurance, (2) that foreign insurers will discontinue doing business in this state in a particular line of insurance if that line proves to be unprofitable, (3) that offering a tax exemption for a particular line of insurance will not induce foreign insurers to offer that insurance in this state if it is not profitable, and (4) domestic insurers fill the gap in insurance needs by providing coverage in less lucrative lines of insurance.
Plaintiffs contend that the actual purpose of the legislation was to (1) favor domestic companies and (2) raise revenue at the expense of foreign insurers. In respect to the test requiring it to negate *132 every conceivable basis which might support the taxing statute's constitutionality, plaintiffs argue that the purpose advanced by the state is illegitimate under Ward because the tax accomplishes its purpose, if at all, only by discriminating against nonresident competitors.
We hold that, unlike in Ward, the purpose advanced by the state is legitimate (i.e., making insurance coverages available to residents), but the means chosen are not rationally related to promoting that purpose. The classification scheme is based on residency. Although it is not required that close distinctions be drawn in making classifications, the foreign/domestic classification scheme made here affords no opportunity for a foreign insurer to share in the tax preference given to domestic insurers if it desires to offer insurance in the areas of greatest public need despite the lower profit potential. The classification scheme also permits a domestic insurer to obtain a tax preference over foreign insurers even if the line of insurance offered is in a more lucrative market. Thus the classification is both under and over inclusive and not rationally related to promoting insurers to offer insurance in the high loss ratio areas such as medical malpractice, farm owners multiple peril, liquor liability, municipal liability, and product liability.
If the state's purpose is broader than just providing insurance in hard-to-insure markets and instead encompasses the general purpose of encouraging the creation of domestics, we would find the purpose was not legitimate, based on Ward. The taxing scheme does, in fact, seem more rationally related to promoting domestics than to encouraging insurance companies to provide policies in the less lucrative areas. There is no indication that taxing domestic companies more, or foreign companies *133 less, would change the fact that foreign companies are less likely to provide insurance in high loss categories and domestics will see an open market and provide the insurance. The taxes imposed do not serve as an incentive to provide insurance in high loss categories.
We, therefore, find that the taxing scheme presently used is unconstitutional and this holding will have prospective application only. Although the usual rule is that of retroactivity, the rule is not without exception. In Washtenaw Co v State Tax Comm, 422 Mich 346; 373 NW2d 697 (1985), our Supreme Court gave purely prospective application to its decision requiring that effects of "creative financing" be considered in values of real property used for equalization purposes. The Court noted that the local governments had already collected and spent the tax levies at issue and the administrative burden of reevaluation would be considerable. The importance of the ability to rule prospectively was noted in Placek v Sterling Heights, 405 Mich 638, 665; 275 NW2d 511 (1979):
The benefit of flexibility in opinion application is evident. If a court were absolutely bound by the traditional rule of retroactive application, it would be severely hampered in its ability to make needed changes in the law because of the chaos that could result in regard to prior enforcement under that law.
The importance of flexibility was also pointed out in People v Smith, 405 Mich 418, 432; 275 NW2d 466 (1979): "Like all rules of law its wooden application, resulting in fundamental injustice, is intolerable." The Smith Court held that extraordinary cases are excepted from the traditional rule of retroactivity; we find that this is an extraordinary case. The receipts from the gross premium *134 tax over the years have long since been used by the state and are no longer available for disbursement. Refunds of the magnitude involved here would place undue hardship on the people of this state. Furthermore, the state has justifiably relied on the constitutionality of this tax and balanced the state budget accordingly.
Our decision finds support in a decision of the North Dakota Supreme Court which held that equitable considerations favored giving a pure prospective effect to a decision declaring the state's gross premium tax unconstitutional. Metropolitan Life Ins Co v Comm'r of Dep't of Ins, supra.
Defendant claims that even if the gross premium tax is found unconstitutional the plaintiffs are barred from recovery by sovereign immunity. We need not discuss this issue because of the pure prospective application we have given to our holding.
Reversed.
NOTES
[*] Recorder's Court judge, sitting on the Court of Appeals by assignment.
|
Q:
Does detachNewThreadSelector work any different than NSThread performSelectorInBackground or NSThread alloc/init then [thread start]
Does detachNewThreadSelector work any different than performSelectorInBackground? In my project I use a lot of this:
[self performSelectorInBackground:@selector(startImageDownloads:) withObject:[NSNumber numberWithInt:dataType]];
but would doing this be any different:
[NSThread detachNewThreadSelector:@selector(startImageDownloads:) toTarget:self withObject:[NSNumber numberWithInt:dataType]];
And also, besides being able to access the thread object with imgDlThread, would alloc/init'ing a thread then starting it work any different then the first 2:
NSThread *imgDlThread = [[NSThread alloc] initWithTarget:self selector:@selector(startImageDownloads:) object:[NSNumber numberWithInt:dataType]];
[imgDlThread start];
Thanks!
Edit:
Just realized there's several answers on SO already for the difference (or lack of) between performSelectorInBackground and detachNewThreadSelector, so I guess my only question is:
Is allocating and initializing a NSThread then calling [thread start] any different then the first 2?
A:
The only difference between the third method and the first two is memory management. When you allocate a thread, it retains it's target, only to be released when the thread is deallocated. The detatchNewThreadSelector: and performSelectorInBackground: method both autorelease the resulting NSThread that is created, meaning that, once the thread finishes execution, the target will be released.
In the code that you provided (allocate a thread and start it), you are leaking imgDlThread, meaning that target will never be released, and in turn will be leaked itself. If you autorelease or even regular release imgDlThread after starting it, it will have the exact same effect as detachNewThreadSelector:.
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This was submitted by theotheralice after she graduated high school and started college as an English major.
I miss my friends and my family and my old way of life the same way Cathy longs for her childhood to be wild and free again and I think every woman is savage and hardy and free at heart. We cant be tamed :) right?
“Oh, I’m burning! I wish I were out of doors! I wish I were a girl again, half savage and hardy, and free; and laughing at injuries, not maddening under them! Why am I so changed? why does my blood rush into a hell of tumult at a few words? I’m sure I should be myself were I once among the heather on those hills. Open the window again wide: fasten it open! Quick, why don’t you move?”
This sentiment strikes such a chord with me- I had it put on my inner forearm, as an easily visible reminder that perfection is an illusion. Most of life’s lessons are learned within the “cracks”- the flaws and mistakes that have much to teach us, if we are willing to learn. The artist is Shannon Archuleta.
Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everythingThat’s how the light gets in.
It’s from T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. When I first read it, this is the quote that stuck with me. Then one of my English teachers told me to go knock the universe off its axis and send it reeling. The combination of both of those ideas made me think that maybe I really could do something powerful. It made me think that I could possibly change the world and have an impact. I got it as a reminder to always be insane and creative and impulsive. The teapot is Russell’s teapot and is a testament to my Atheism. The teapot essentially disproves the idea of God because Russell said (paraphrased) that the it was just as likely that there was a teapot floating in space as it was that God existed. I’m also just really fascinated with the idea of the universe and space.
I have a poem tattooed on my full back, with a signature at the end. Is “Annabel Lee“, a very well-known poem by Edgar Allan Poe.
Why did I want the entire poem on me? Because my first love in this life is Poetry; because when I met the brilliant works of Poe – his novels but especially his poems – they burned my soul so deeply that I wanted a sign of this feeling forever engraved also on my body. The whole text, because you never should break a poem in half or more: all, or nothing.
I am a writer, a novelist (was my passion and is becoming my main activity), but I mostly consider myself a poet. When I came to know of Poe’s works and life, I found in him all that I am: tenacity, lack of other’s understanding, inspiration intended as a gift, a turbulent and difficult life however fully realized in Art. Is hard to explain to me, it is easier to see all of this in these signs that I care on the back.
I chose Annabel Lee because is the last poem he wrote before his death – and he never saw it published – and to me it is like “pick up a baton”. For this I have engraved it on the back: my shoulders are guarded by the beauty of this poem; but all of the sadness, difficulty and pain of his creator belong to the past. Maybe, they even can be a guide for the future. I chose this poem also for the music of verses and for this desperate love that “neither the angels…nor the demons…” can ever break. Once I loved a man exactly in this way, and I only pray to meet him again…some day.
So this poem was perfect for me, and now is a part of my skin, after being a part of my spirit.
The tattoo took me about eighteen hours, divided into three days plus one more afternoon to redo some letters. The font is called “Litos Script”.
The black and white picture is from Tony of Atomic Garden-Milan, my tattoo artist, whom I sincerely thank for this great work. |
Q:
problems with gluLookAt
I am trying to test gluLookAt using this code. But I can see only a black screen. What is wrong with this code ? Is there any basic concept about glulookAt (or opengl camera) that I need to understand.
glViewport(0,0,640,480);
glEnable(GL_DEPTH_TEST);
glClearColor(0,0,0,1);
glMatrixMode(GL_PROJECTION);
glLoadIdentity();
gluLookAt(0,0,5,0,0,0,0,0,1);
glMatrixMode(GL_MODELVIEW);
glLoadIdentity();
glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT);
glBegin(GL_POLYGON);
glColor3f(1, 0, 0);
glVertex2d(0.25, 0.25);
glVertex2d(-0.25, 0.25);
glVertex2d(-0.25, -0.25);
glVertex2d(0.25, -0.25);
glEnd();
A:
One issue is the up vector of gluLookAt is in the same direction as the look direction.
All you need to do is set +Y up and it should work...
gluLookAt(0, 0, 0.5, //position is +0.5 along Z (NOTE: 0.5, not 5. see below),
0, 0, 0, //looking at a 0.5x0.5 X/Y quad at the origin
0, 1, 0 //rotated such that +Y is up
);
The other issue is that gluLookAt shouldn't be applied to the projection matrix. It'll work for now but will break lighting later. Move it to the modelview matrix:
glMatrixMode(GL_MODELVIEW);
glLoadIdentity();
gluLookAt(... as before ...);
Assuming the projection matrix hasn't been set, changing the from position of gluLookAt back to your 5 will make the quad disappear. This is because the default projection gives a viewing volume of an orthographic -1 to 1 cube. With the "camera" now too far away it won't see anything. This is where you'll want to investigate changing the projection matrix. Maybe increase the size of the orthographic projection with glOrtho(), or look into the more complex but natural gluPerspective().
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Ju language (Chadic)
Ju is a minor Chadic language of Nigeria.
References
Category:Chadic languages |
The *Herpesviridae* family of viruses (herpesviruses) includes large, enveloped viruses with a double-strand DNA genome[@b1]. Herpesviruses are ubiquitous, and infections can cause morbidity and mortality in livestock, wildlife, and the human population. The nine known human herpesviruses cause a wide range of diseases. Mild infection outcomes include childhood rashes caused by the roseoloviruses (human herpesviruses (HHV)-6A, HHV-6B, and HHV-7) or fever blisters and genital lesions due to herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 and HSV-2), among others[@b1]. However, human herpesviruses also cause congenital birth defects (human cytomegalovirus, HCMV) and potentially lethal diseases such as encephalitis (HSV-1 or HSV-2), fulminant hepatitis (HCMV), and numerous cancers caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)[@b1].
The herpesvirus infectious cycle is characterized by two distinct phases[@b1]. After primary exposure an acute, productive phase of infection known as the lytic cycle ensues during which viral progeny are produced and tissue damage can occur due to viral replication and the host response to infection. Once primary infection is controlled by the host immune response, herpesviruses enter a chronic phase of infection known as latency in which viral genomes are maintained with minimal gene expression in target cells, and viral clearance by the immune system is avoided. Latent herpesviruses retain the capacity to re-enter the productive phase, a process known as reactivation. Once acquired, a herpesvirus infection is incurable, as these viruses establish chronic infections that persist for the life of the infected host. Infected persons therefore remain at risk for developing severe manifestations from herpesvirus infections throughout their lifetimes, especially individuals whose immune systems are compromised by HIV infection, immunosuppressive drugs, or age. Preventive or prophylactic vaccines are only available for varicella-zoster virus, an attenuated virus derived by serial passage in cell culture that protects against chicken pox, a manifestation of primary infection, and shingles, a result of reactivation from latency[@b2].
Herpesviruses (and other DNA viruses) readily undergo homologous recombination during their productive replication cycles, a property harnessed for decades in the generation of recombinant viruses. However, the recombinogenic nature of the viral genome poses a major problem in efforts to generate replication-defective viruses and potential vaccine strains. This is because a replication-defective or severely attenuated mutant virus must be complemented for replication through the use of a helper gene provided *in trans* in a producer cell line. Homologous recombination between the mutant viral genome and the helper gene often yields contamination of the mutant virus stock with wild-type (WT), replication-competent virus. Work with HSV mutants suggests that large deletions of complete genes within the viral genome might alleviate this complication[@b3]. However, this approach is not feasible when large deletions lead to polar effects on the expression of other genes, such as overlapping and convergent ORFs and noncoding RNAs[@b4][@b5]. In addition, retention of a partial gene sequence might be required to maintain antigenic epitopes. Therefore, methods are needed prevent the problem of homologous recombination in settings where discreet mutations in a viral gene are warranted.
Employing synthetic biology, it is possible to create helper genes with completely novel sequences and reduced homology to a viral genome. Codon shuffling is a process whereby codon usage frequency and amino acid sequence is preserved for a given coding sequence, but with synonymous codons shuffled like a deck of cards using computer-assisted algorithms[@b6][@b7][@b8]. Importantly, this type of synthetic manipulation to alter codon distribution in a viral gene effectively changes the nucleotide sequence in a gene of interest without altering the amino acid sequence. In addition, the genetic deck can be manipulated to change any number of variables to potentially increase or decrease protein levels, a consideration for viral gene products that are toxic to the host cell[@b9]. Previously used to attenuate live viruses such as poliovirus and influenza virus[@b6][@b7][@b8], we repurposed the codon-shuffling algorithm to design synthetic complementation constructs in which regions of nucleotide homology to a viral genome are minimized to prevent recombination, yet factors that favor protein production of the complementing construct are maintained or enhanced. Experiments described here demonstrate that codon shuffling provides a method for generating high-titer stocks of a replication-incompetent herpesvirus that is completely devoid of WT virus contamination. We further demonstrate *in vivo* the importance of using such an approach to prevent reversion in a potential vaccine stock.
Results and Discussion
======================
Test system and codon shuffled construct design
-----------------------------------------------
We sought to determine whether codon shuffling of helper genes provides an effective method for complementing mutant herpesvirus. As a test system, we chose murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV68) -- a well-characterized rodent gammaherpesvirus that is genetically related to human pathogens EBV and KSHV and exhibits parallel strategies for persistence in the host[@b10][@b11][@b12]. The replication and transcription activator protein, RTA, is an immediate-early viral gene product encoded by open reading from 50 (*ORF50*) that is absolutely essential for initiation of the gene-expression cascade that drives lytic viral replication[@b13]. The requirement for RTA in MHV68 replication was demonstrated using a recombinant virus in which a translation stop codon and frameshift mutation were inserted into the RTA coding sequence of *ORF50* (ORF50.Stop, RTA-null MHV68) at amino acid 116 in RTA protein[@b13]. Stocks of the RTA-null virus can only be produced in helper cells engineered to express WT RTA protein[@b13]. Given the propensity of herpesviruses to undergo homologous recombination and the necessity for RTA in replication, it is not surprising that WT reversion occurs frequently during the generation of RTA-null virus stocks in complementing cell lines (1 WT revertant in 1 × 10^5^--3 × 10^4^ PFU)[@b13]. Hence, RTA-null virus provides an ideal and stringent test of the utility of the codon-shuffling approach for complementation.
We designed five unique codon-shuffled (CS) RTA complementation constructs, designated CS-RTA1-5, using a codon-shuffling algorithm as detailed in the Materials and Methods[@b6]. Alignments of CS-RTA constructs to WT RTA-encoding nucleotide sequence are shown in [Supplementary Figure 1](#S1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. To briefly summarize, all synthetic RTA constructs maintain the same frequency of codon usage as WT RTA (referred to as the codon-adaptation index, ([Table 1](#t1){ref-type="table"}), but differ with regard to percent identity to WT sequence and the degree of change in codon-pair bias (CPB) and CpG content -- factors potentially influenced by codon shuffling that can influence translation efficiency[@b9] ([Table 1](#t1){ref-type="table"}). CS-RTA1 and CS-RTA2 have the most nucleotide changes across the entire ORF, but CS-RTA2 has a more optimal CPB score than CS-RTA1. Since the mutation that generates a stop codon in the ORF50.stop mutant is in the 5′ region of the ORF, we reasoned that reversion-associated homologous recombination might be limited to the genomic region directly 5′ and 3′ to the stop mutation. CS-RTA3 is a fusion of the first 381 nt of CS-RTA1 with the remainder of the WT RTA sequence, resulting in 136 nt changes and a negative CPB score. CS-RTA4 restores a more optimal CPB score, and was only applied to the first 381 nt of *ORF50*, resulting in 109 nt changes. CS-RTA5 is a fusion of the first 384 nt of CS-RTA2 with the remainder of the WT RTA sequence, leading to 133 nt changes and a corresponding optimal CPB.
Validating functionality of codon-shuffled helper genes
-------------------------------------------------------
Because manipulating CPB and CpG content can alter the translation efficiency of proteins[@b9], we first confirmed that CS-RTA constructs were translated and functional for viral gene transactivation upon transient transfection of 293 T cells. All CS-RTA constructs efficiently transactivated promoters for ORF57 and ORF72, RTA-responsive MHV68 promoters, in comparison to WT RTA in luciferase reporter assays ([Fig. 1a and b](#f1){ref-type="fig"}). As this is a steady-state assay and variations between WT and CS-RTA induction of the two different promoter constructs are not consistent, we reason that differences in promoter transactivation observed are likely the result of small variations in transfection efficiency for the individual samples. For viral complementation experiments, we generated stable NIH 3T12 fibroblast lines by transduction with retroviruses encoding WT RTA, CS-RTA1-5, or empty vector control. Immunoblot and indirect immunofluorescence analyses confirmed that WT RTA and CS-RTA proteins were expressed and localized to the nucleus in stable cell lines generated for complementation ([Fig. 1c and d](#f1){ref-type="fig"}). The expression levels of CS-RTA constructs in immunoblot analyses was highest in the CS-RTA2 and CS-RTA4 stable cell lines, with CS-RTA4 most closely resembling WT RTA ([Fig. 1c](#f1){ref-type="fig"}). For CS-RTA2, the enhanced CBP score may promote more efficient translation, while CS-RTA4 remains similar to WT RTA despite the nucleotide changes present (See [Table 1](#t1){ref-type="table"}).
To determine whether CS-RTA constructs support viral replication, vector control, WT RTA or CS-RTA-expressing cells were transfected with RTA-null ORF50. Stop MHV68 BAC[@b13], and cells were observed over time for evidence of viral replication. As a positive control, vector control cells were transfected with WT MHV68 BAC. Three days post-transfection, GFP (expressed from the MHV68 BAC) was readily detectable in scattered individual cells, indicating that the cells were successfully transfected with ORF50.Stop BAC. In WT and CS-RTA-expressing cells, GFP fluorescence intensity increased and spread to neighboring cells in a manner analogous to WT MHV68 control ([Fig. 2a](#f2){ref-type="fig"}). In contrast, GFP fluorescence remained dim and restricted to isolated cells in vector control cells transfected with ORF50.Stop BAC ([Fig. 2a](#f2){ref-type="fig"}). Thus, complementation of the ORF50.Stop BAC by CS-RTA constructs, like WT RTA, enables propagation and cell-to-cell spread of RTA-deficient MHV68.
RTA-null MHV68 stocks from WT or CS-RTA complementation were generated by propagating two additional passages on cognate cell lines and titrated by plaque assay on WT RTA-expressing 3T12 fibroblasts. Titers of 10^5^ to 10^7^ PFU per ml were quantified for WT RTA and 4 of 5 CS-RTA stable cell lines ([Fig. 2b](#f2){ref-type="fig"}). Interestingly, CS-RTA1, which had the most nucleotide changes and lowest CPB score of all CS constructs, was much less efficient than CS-RTA2-5, yielding titers of approximately 100 PFU per ml. However, CS-RTA2, which has an optimal CPB score and expressed better than WT RTA ([Table 1](#t1){ref-type="table"} and [Fig. 1c](#f1){ref-type="fig"}), also was significantly impaired for complementation ([Fig. 2b](#f2){ref-type="fig"}). This suggests that factors beyond simple amino acid sequence impact the capacity for complementation. Plaques were not detected for any RTA-null MHV68 stocks when parallel plaque assays were performed on vector control cells ([Fig. 2c](#f2){ref-type="fig"}), though single GFP + cells indicative of entry and genome delivery were identified by fluorescence microscopy ([Fig. 2d](#f2){ref-type="fig"}). These data demonstrate that CS-RTA constructs complement RTA-null MHV68 replication without recombination that would enable growth on vector control cells. In addition, CPB and/or CpG content, which likely influence the efficiency of translation (see [Fig. 1c](#f1){ref-type="fig"}), are important considerations for CS complementation constructs.
Evaluating reversion during complementation
-------------------------------------------
We further examined whether production of RTA-null MHV68 in CS-RTA expressing cells prevented WT reversion, as compared to production in WT RTA cells. Given the low yield, virus produced in CS-RTA1 cells was not included in downstream analyses. Virus stocks were concentrated by centrifugation to ca. 1 × 10^8^ PFU per ml in order to increase the sensitivity of detecting revertant WT viruses. Plaque assays were performed for concentrated RTA-null stocks on vector control 3T12 cell lines to identify stocks containing WT MHV68 capable of producing plaques in the absence of the helper gene. While virus produced on WT RTA expressing cells yielded plaques on control cells (reversion frequency in initial experiments of 1.0 PFU per 10^8^ complemented PFU), no plaques were detected for any virus stock derived from cells stably expressing CS-RTA constructs, although titers were comparable on WT RTA-expressing cells ([Table 2](#t2){ref-type="table"}). Of note, the reversion frequencies in our experiments using retroviral transduction to express RTA were lower than previous studies that used plasmid-based complementation[@b13]. While an explanation for this difference is not immediately evident, the previous study used a traditional plasmid-based approach, rather than the retroviral transduction method used in our study, to generate producer cells. We speculate that there likely were more copies of the helper gene present in producer cell lines in the previous study that effectively increased the potential for reversion through homologous recombination.
To further evaluate complementation by codon shuffling, we repeated the complementation experiment with WT RTA and CS-RTA4, the construct with the fewest number of nucleotide changes (109 nt, see [Table 1](#t1){ref-type="table"} and [Supplementary Fig. 1](#S1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}) from WT coding sequence, all present in the first 384 nucleotides of the CS construct. The strategy for evaluating WT reversion is highlighted in [Fig. 3a](#f3){ref-type="fig"}. Each virus stock had comparable titers on WT RTA-3T12 cells ([Fig. 3b](#f3){ref-type="fig"}), yet the virus produced in CS-RTA4 cells did not generate any plaques when plated on 3T12 cells without RTA complementation. In contrast, WT RTA-complemented viruses formed plaques on vector control 3T12 cells ([Fig. 3c](#f3){ref-type="fig"}), with a reversion frequency of 1.12 PFU per 10^6^ complemented PFU. As a more sensitive test, we also performed cytopathic effect assays (CPE) to detect virus reversion. The MHV68 CPE assay is ca. 10-fold more sensitive than plaque assays for revealing the presence of replication-competent MHV68[@b14]. Virus stocks produced in WT RTA-expressing 3T12s induced CPE in 8 of 12 wells of control 3T12s, while stocks derived from CS-RTA4 cells did not yield CPE in any wells ([Fig. 3d](#f3){ref-type="fig"}).
Finally, to test the reproducibility of these observations, we performed ten additional independent complementation trials with WT RTA and CS-RTA4 stable 3T12 cells ([Table 3](#t3){ref-type="table"}, repeats 2 to 11). Of the eleven virus stocks produced by complementation with WT RTA, eight exhibited reversion at a level of detection of ca. 1 WT virus PFU in 10^8^ complemented PFU, with reversion frequencies ranging from 0.12--11.98 per 10^6^ complemented PFU. In contrast, no revertant WT viruses were detected in any of the eleven virus stocks produced in CS-RTA4 stable cells. These results demonstrate that synthetic complementation vectors designed by codon shuffling effectively eliminate the risk of WT reversion when producing high-titer stocks of a replication-defective herpesvirus. Together, these data strongly suggest that codon shuffling has the capacity to limit WT reversion during complementation of mutant viruses. Moreover, based on data for CS-RTA4, we can reasonably predict that alteration of roughly 1/3^rd^ of nucleotides within a helper gene in a region extending approximately 150nt from a distinct lesion in a mutant herpesvirus is sufficient to eliminate reversion using this approach.
Safety concerns of wild-type reversion in a model vaccine stock
---------------------------------------------------------------
A potential goal of herpesvirus vaccines is the preventive or prophylactic vaccination of individuals with increased risk factors for developing severe manifestations of infection. This could include immune suppressed persons, for whom it may be catastrophic to receive a vaccine in which WT virus is present, even at miniscule levels. While subunit vaccines against herpesviruses have been tested[@b15][@b16][@b17][@b18], there currently is not a virus-like particle (VLP) equivalent vaccine formulation in trials. If available, such a vaccine could potentially provide increased protection due to the presence of a broader repertoire of viral epitopes against which to mount an immune response. Replication and latency-defective viruses offer a potential VLP platform, as these viruses essentially would be biologically inert upon inoculation into a recipient host. However, production of such vaccines would necessitate complementation via a producer cell line, and it would be necessary to ensure that such a vaccine was devoid of WT revertants.
Infection of SCID mice with WT MHV68 causes lethality in 100% of infections[@b19][@b20]. To rigorously validate that RTA-null virus stocks derived by codon shuffling were devoid of replication-competent MHV68, we infected severe-combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice with RTA-null virus produced in WT RTA or CS-RTA4 cells. Infection with either 10 PFU or 10^6^ PFU of WT MHV68 served as positive controls for disease in these experiments. Mice infected with 10^6^ PFU of WT MHV68 succumbed by 12--15 dpi, while those infected with 10 PFU succumbed between 18--25 dpi ([Fig. 4](#f4){ref-type="fig"}). Infection with 10^6^ PFU of the RTA-null MHV68 produced in WT RTA cells with a reversion rate of ca. 10 WT PFU in 10^6^ complemented PFU caused death in 3 of 5 animals between 38 and 55 dpi. However, no mortality occurred over a 70 day period for SCID mice infected with 10 PFU or 10^6^ PFU of RTA-null virus produced in CS-RTA4 cells. These data further confirm that application of codon-shuffling technology is suitable for generating high-titer, yet replication-defective, virus stocks. Moreover, this approach also allays the potential safety concerns of WT revertants in vaccine stocks.
Summary and Conclusions
=======================
The propensity of herpesvirus genomes to undergo homologous recombination is a barrier to producing mutant virus stocks that require complementation with a helper gene provided *in trans*. We recoded a helper gene for *ORF50* which encodes the essential rhadinovirus lytic transactivator protein RTA using different permutations of our shuffling algorithm to maintain the amino acid sequence and codon usage, yet explore the impact of CPB and CpG content on complementation. The CS-RTA4 helper gene had \~100 nucleotides changed in the 5′ region of the construct that corresponded to the lesion present in the RTA-null mutant virus. The CPB of CS-RTA4 has an optimal score, and the construct expressed at levels comparable to WT RTA in the producer cell line. Importantly, the RTA-null virus grew to high titer in the CS-RTA4 producer line, but there was no evidence of reversion and replication of these stocks in non-complementing cells. To demonstrate safety, the infection of immune-deficient SCID mice with 10^6^ PFU of RTA-null virus caused no mortality, in marked contrast to 60% mortality caused by an RTA-null virus stock grown on the WT RTA producer cell line that generated revertants.
The application of this technology to produce replication-defective virus stocks will facilitate studies of early infection events in cell culture studies or pathogenesis in animal models, as codon shuffling obviates the caveat of contaminating WT viruses potentially influencing experimental results. We expect that this technique will be readily adaptable to other viral systems, such as adenovirus or poxvirus, in which reversion via recombination of a mutant viral genome with a helper gene frequently leads to WT virus contamination of mutant-virus stocks. In addition, codon shuffling provides an effective method for producing high-titer attenuated -- or even replication-defective -- mutant viruses that offer an avenue as 'smart-design' herpesvirus vaccines. Thus, we propose that replication-defective virus stocks produced with this technology will be safe to use in immunocompromised hosts.
Methods
=======
Design of codon-shuffled RTA sequences
--------------------------------------
Codon bias is a phenomenon based on codon usage and codon occupancy in ribosomes. Codon bias influences codon-pair bias, which describes the frequency of paired codon occurrence in a given gene relative to a known data set[@b9]. Based on the experimentally determined codon usage for a certain species, there are expected frequencies with which distinct codon pairs should occur in a coding sequence. If codon pairs in a gene are overrepresented compared to the expected frequency, the codon pair score will be positive. Underrepresented codon pairs will have a negative score. The codon usage of each RTA-encoding ORF50 construct was determined relative to the codon usage table for *Mus musculus*. The relative adaptation of each codon was used to calculate the codon adaptation index for the entire gene. Codon-pair bias scores were calculated based on the codon-pair bias scoring human reference table, since codon pair bias is highly conserved among mammals.
CS-RTA1 was designed based on the max scramble algorithm previously described[@b6][@b7]. Briefly the algorithm involved stimulated annealing and bipartite matching to optimize the number of nucleotide changes and minimize homology in ORF50 while using the same set of codons. CS-RTA2 was designed with a search algorithm to minimize homology using the same set of codons, but with the aim of achieving a more optimal codon pair bias score. CS-RTA3 is a fusion of the first 381 nt of CS-RTA1 with the remainder of the WT RTA sequence. CS-RTA4 was designed with a similar algorithm as for CS-RTA2, but with parameters to restore a more optimal codon pair bias score, and was only applied to the first 381 nt of ORF50. CS-RTA5 is a fusion of the first 384 nt of CS-RTA2 with the remainder of the WT RTA sequence. Regions of homology less than 6 nucleotides were not counted against the score.
Unique CS-RTA sequences were synthesized by Blue Heron Biotechnology (now OriGene) with the addition of an N-terminal FLAG-tag. An internal *Bgl*II site in ORF50 was mutated in CS constructs to facilitate cloning. The source of ORF50 encoding RTA, plasmid psg50[@b13], was found to have two mutations compared to the published reference genome (U97553.2[@b21]). The nonsynonymous C to T mutation at nucleotide 242 of ORF50 was repaired back to WT sequence. A second silent C to T mutation at nucleotide 1225 was left in the WT ORF50 sequence and was also present in CS-RTA3, CS-RTA4, and CS-RTA5. WT RTA was cloned into the *Xho*I site of pMSCV-puro (Clontech). CS-RTA1 and CS-RTA2 were cloned into the *Bgl*II and *Eco*RI sites of pMSCV-puro (Clontech). CS-RTA3, CS-RTA4, and CS-RTA5 were generated by splice-overlap extension PCR. CS-RTA3 and CS-RTA5 were cloned into the *Bgl*II and *Eco*RI sites of pMSCV-puro. CS-RTA4 was cloned into the *Bgl*II and *Xho*I sites of pMSCV-puro. Fidelity of cloning was verified by automated sequencing. Sequence alignments were performed using Geneious software.
Cells and viruses
-----------------
NIH 3T12 fibroblasts and BOSC23 ecotropic retroviral packaging cells were purchased from ATCC. Cells were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum, 2 mM L-glutamine, 100 units/ml penicillin, and 100 μg/ml streptomycin. Cells were cultured at 37 C in atmosphere containing 5% CO~2~. Murine stem cell virus (MSCV)-based retroviral vectors were produced by transfecting BOSC23 cells with empty pMSCV or individual pMSCV-RTA constructs using lipofectamine (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instruction. Two days post-transfection, retroviral supernatants were harvested and filtered through 0.45 μm filters (Merck Millipore) to remove cell debris. Filtered retroviruses were added directly to NIH 3T12 fibroblasts in culture medium supplemented with 4 μg/ml polybrene. Transduced cells were selected by adding 5 μg/ml puromycin two days post-transduction and expanded in the presence of puromycin for two weeks until puromycin resistant cells were obtained.
Wild-type MHV68[@b22] or ORF50.Stop[@b13] MHV68 BACs were transfected into either vector control cells or cell lines encoding either WT RTA or CS-RTA constructs 1--5 using lipofectamine and PLUS reagent (Invitrogen). Viral supernatants were harvested from transfected cell lysates seven days post-transfection and passaged two additional times on the appropriate cognate cell line to produce working stocks for experimentation. All viral stocks were harvested by two freeze-thaw cycles followed by centrifugation at 500 g for 10 min at 4 °C to remove cell debris. Viral stocks were concentrated by centrifugation at 35,000 g for 90 min at 4 °C followed by resuspension of virion pellets in fresh medium of 1/10 original volume.
MHV68 plaque assay and cytopathic effect assay
----------------------------------------------
Viruses were serially diluted and titrated by plaque assay as described previously[@b23] on vector control 3T12 cells to evaluate reversion for RTA-null viruses and WT RTA 3T12 cells to determine titers of complemented RTA-null stocks. WT reversion titrations were performed by plating undiluted virus directly onto vector control cells in plaque assays on 6-well plates. Cells were fixed with formalin and stained with crystal violet seven days post-infection for plaque visualization and enumeration. Cytopathic effect assays were performed by incubating 50 μl of concentrated virus stocks with vector control 3T12 cells in 24-well plates. Cells were fixed and stained with crystal violet in formalin ten days post-infection, and cytopathic effect was observed.
Mice and infections
-------------------
CB.17 severe-combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice were purchased from Harlan laboratories (Envigo, Indianapolis, IN). All experiments were performed in accordance with a protocol approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Stony Brook University. 6 week old female CB.17 SCID mice were infected with 10 PFU or 10^6^ PFU of recombinant MHV68 in 0.5 ml cMEM by intraperitoneal injection.
Statistical analyses
--------------------
Statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism software. Significant differences in plaque assays were defined using a two-tailed, paired student t-test in which CS-RTA complementation was compared to WT RTA. Significant differences in mortality of SCID mice were defined using a log-rank Mantel-Cox test wherein each infection group was compared individually to the other groups.
Additional Information
======================
**How to cite this article:** Li, G. *et al*. A codon-shuffling method to prevent reversion during production of replication-defective herpesvirus stocks: Implications for herpesvirus vaccines. *Sci. Rep.* **7**, 44404; doi: 10.1038/srep44404 (2017).
**Publisher\'s note:** Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Material {#S1}
======================
###### Supplementary Figure
This work was supported in part by RSG-11-160-01-MPC from the American Cancer Society to LTK and R01-CA167065 from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health to JCF.
GL, SS, LTK, and JCF have a patent pending for the method described in this manuscript.
**Author Contributions** L.T.K. and J.C.F. conceived the project. G.L., C.W., R.Y., S.S., L.T.K. and J.C.F. performed the work. G.L., L.T.K., and J.C.F. analyzed the data. G.L., S.S., L.T.K., and J.C.F. wrote the manuscript. G.L., S.S., L.T.K., and J.C.F. have a patent pending for the method described in this manuscript.
{#f1}
{#f2}
{ref-type="table"} and [3](#t3){ref-type="table"}.](srep44404-f3){#f3}
{#f4}
###### Parametric analyses of codon-shuffled constructs relative to wild-type RTA.
Construct nt changes Codon adaptation index Codon-pair bias score Codon-pair bias score per codon CpG observed vs. expected ratio
----------- ------------ ------------------------ ----------------------- --------------------------------- ---------------------------------
WT RTA 0 0.7319 0.1846 0.0003 0.4524
CS-RTA1 642 0.7321 −67.6708 −0.1160 0.7489
CS-RTA2 614 0.7321 69.2674 0.1188 0.4411
CS-RTA3 136 0.7316 −24.1314 −0.0414 0.5670
CS-RTA4 109 0.7319 −6.8171 −0.0117 0.5244
CS-RTA5 133 0.7207 12.2735 0.0211 0.5262
###### Reversion frequencies of RTA-null MHV68 produced in WT RTA or CS-RTA stable cell lines.
Helper gene used for complementation Titer on WT RTA cells (PFU per ml) Titer on control cells (PFU per ml) Reversion per million viruses
-------------------------------------- ------------------------------------ ------------------------------------- -------------------------------
WT RTA 11 × 10^8^ 11 0.01
CS-RTA2 0.9 × 10^8^ Not detected\* Not detected
CS-RTA3 3.8 × 10^8^ Not detected Not detected
CS-RTA4 6.0 × 10^8^ Not detected Not detected
CS-RTA5 7.0 × 10^8^ Not detected Not detected
\*Below detection limit of 5 PFU per ml. P2 virus stocks (30 ml) were concentrated ca. 100 times by centrifugation. CS-RTA1 complemented virus samples were not included due to low virus titer in viral stocks (below 10^2^ PFU/ml).
###### Reversion frequencies for WT RTA and CS-RTA4-complemented RTA-null virus stocks.
RTA-null MHV68 stocks produced in WT RTA stable 3T12 cells
----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------ ------------------------------------- -----------------------------------
1 1.7 × 10^7^ 19 1.12
2 5.4 × 10^7^ 30 0.56
3 5.4 × 10^7^ Not detected\* Not detected
4 6.9 × 10^7^ 8 0.12
5 6.0 × 10^7^ 15 0.24
6 8.4 × 10^7^ 690 8.21
7 4.2 × 10^7^ Not detected Not detected
8 6.3 × 10^7^ 15 0.24
9 4.2 × 10^7^ 503 11.98
10 6.0 × 10^7^ 38 0.63
11 3.9 × 10^7^ Not detected Not detected
**RTA-null MHV68 stocks produced in CS-RTA4 stable 3T12 cells**
**Repeat number** **Titer on WT RTA cells (per ml)** **Titer on control cells (per ml)** **Reversion per million viruses**
1 2.0 × 10^7^ Not detected Not detected
2 3.3 × 10^7^ Not detected Not detected
3 3.0 × 10^7^ Not detected Not detected
4 3.0 × 10^7^ Not detected Not detected
5 3.6 × 10^7^ Not detected Not detected
6 2.5 × 10^7^ Not detected Not detected
7 2.7 × 10^7^ Not detected Not detected
8 3.3 × 10^7^ Not detected Not detected
9 2.9 × 10^7^ Not detected Not detected
10 3.6 × 10^7^ Not detected Not detected
11 2.7 × 10^7^ Not detected Not detected
\*Below detection limit of 5 PFU per ml. Plaque assay images of repeat 1 samples are shown in [Fig. 3](#f3){ref-type="fig"}.
[^1]: Present address: Google,1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.
[^2]: Present address: Apple, 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014, USA.
[^3]: These authors contributed equally to this work.
|
Proteomic analysis of apoptosis related proteins regulated by proto-oncogene protein DEK.
A nuclear phosphoprotein, DEK, is implicated in certain human diseases, such as leukemia and antoimmune disorders, and a major component of metazoan chromatin. Basically as a modulator of chromatin structure, it can involve in various DNA and RNA-dependent processes and function as either an activator or repressor. Despite of numerous efforts to suggest the biological role of DEK, direct target proteins of DEK in different physiological status remains elusive. To investigate if DEK protein triggers the changes in certain protein networks, DEK was knocked down at both types of cell clones using siRNA expression. Here we provide a catalogue of proteome profiles in total cell lysates derived from normal HeLa and DEK knock-down HeLa cells and a good in vitro model system for dissecting the protein networks due to this proto-oncogenic DEK protein. In this biological context, we compared total proteome changes by the combined methods of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, quantitative image analysis and MALDI-TOF MS analysis. There were a large number of targets for DEK, which were differentially expressed in DEK knock-down cells and consisted of 58 proteins (41 up-regulated and 17 down-regulated) differentially regulated expression was further confirmed for some subsets of candidates by Western blot analysis using specific antibodies. In the identified 58 spots, 16% of proteins are known to be associated with apoptosis. Among others, we identified apoptosis related proteins such as Annexins, Enolase1, Lamin A, and Glutathione-S-transferase omega 1. These results are consistent with recent studies indicating the crucial role of DEK in apoptosis pathway. We further demonstrated by ChIP analysis that knock-down of DEK caused hyperacetylation of histones around Prx VI promoter which is upregulated in our profile. Using immunoblotting analysis, we have demonstrated the modulation of other caspase-dependent apoptosis related proteins by DEK knock-down and further implicate its role in apoptosis pathway. |
Finding Big Bass Without the Big Bass Boat
Old Town’s Predator XL Minn Kota puts a modern bass arsenal anywhere you need it
by: Jack Boudreaux, Traditions Media
(Apr 8, 2016 - )
A bow pierces the morning fog. Ribbons of water stream from either side, cutting a trail through the south Georgia swamp. They glide silently through pad fields, under canopies of Spanish moss, and then… an explosion.
But this is no Rambo movie. The explosion is a bass—the victim, a buzz bait. And rather than a tank, the battle buggy calling the shots is the Old Town Predator XL Minn Kota. From atop its perch, stealthy bass anglers wield the most bass-centric, ultra-portable fishing platform on the planet. They go places no other bass anglers can reach and deploy advanced technology to zero-in on their prey.
Griffin, Georgia’s Randy Vining is one of those anglers. During the week, Vining is an architect. On the weekend, he fishes and guides shoal bass expeditions on the Peach State’s Flint River near Atlanta. Now and then, he makes it down south into the swamps that harbor giant largemouth and a noticeable lack of big bass boats.
“The rivers I fish,” Vining says. “No jon boat can get there. Certainly, no bass boat can get there. You need to be in a boat that maneuvers.”
And maneuver the Predator XL does. With the flip of a tailgate, Vining can load the 13-foot boat into the back of his pickup truck and takeoff to virtually any water. If he can walk to the shoreline, he can fish the water…and he can fish it just like a 21-foot, 250 horsepower fiberglass behemoth on a trailer.
“I like the Predator XL Minn Kota in those backwater swamps,” explains Vining. “Back there, the river is moving a lot slower, if it’s moving at all, and the motor comes in handy. I can put it on the slowest speed it will go and stand up and fish just like I’m in a bass boat. In the deep swamps, you can’t get a bass boat back there where the fish go.”
Vining didn’t begin bass fishing as a Predator junkie. In another life, he filled bags careening across reservoirs in a fiberglass boat—the kind with 30 rods and “just about everything except the kitchen sink” on board. But fishing machines like the Predator helped change his mind. “I sold my boat,” he adds. “There was no need to drag around a huge trailer and deal with all of that maintenance when I could fit it all in the back of my pickup truck.”
Instead of 30 rods, Vining carries three: one for each depth of the water column. But the minimization stops there. Thanks to an attached Humminbird® HELIX 5 SI GPS unit, Vining can not only see what’s below his boat but what’s submerged off each side, whether it’s cover or fish. “That’s a big deal,” he says. “Side Imaging allows me to find fish as I’m motoring along with the Minn Kota. It’s a total game-changer.”
Vining credits the Predator with making him a better fisherman. In a world where you can’t just take off to another side of the lake when the bite slows down, he says you learn to change your tactics to understand what will make the fish bite where you’re at.
And Vining could be anywhere. He can still tackle large reservoirs, especially with the boat’s 45lb thrust, saltwater-grade Minn Kota motor console on board. He can also glide silently through the Georgia swamps into a world untouched by most anglers—a world full of big bass without the big bass boats. |
Depression, medical illness, and interleukin-1beta in older cardiac patients.
A model has been proposed in which atherosclerosis contributes to depression in later life by the effects of cytokines on central monoamine systems. We collected pilot data to test the hypothesis that interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) is associated with depression in a cardiac patient group. Thirty-seven subjects completed research evaluations that included depression diagnosis (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R), depressive symptom severity (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression), medical illness burden (Cumulative Illness Rating Scale), and serum IL-1beta level measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Serum IL-1beta level was not significantly associated with depressive symptom severity or depression diagnosis, whether or not controlled for medical illness burden, age, and gender. IL-1beta level was significantly correlated with medical illness burden. We did not confirm our study hypothesis. The correlation of IL-1beta level with medical illness burden likely reflects its release as part of the "sickness response" in a wide variety of disease states. Further research using a larger sample size and a non-cardiac comparison group is warranted. |
One hundred and fifty-three words! That’s how long the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire agreement between the Israeli government and Hamas is. You don’t have to be a diplomat to imagine that a document this brief and ambiguous marks neither a fundamental change in the balance of power between the two sides nor in the strategic visions that motivated the latest round of violence. The agreement’s main sentence doesn’t even contain a verb, lest either party be responsible for creating the state of affairs it describes. It is this ceasefire against which the UN General Assembly vote upgrading Palestine’s status must be measured.
Each side promised little and has already declared its intention to continue the policies that led to the most recent conflict: Israel shooting an unarmed Palestinian near the border wall, Hamas’ stating it will continue smuggling weapons into Gaza. Both leaderships emerged from the fighting stronger internally while foreign allies promise more financial and diplomatic support than before. The Egyptians might add a verb or two, but no one seriously thinks this ceasefire will last or that it will lead the two parties closer to peace.
The reality is that without changing the dynamics that produced the latest violence Israeli-Palestinian peace will be impossible to achieve. But how to do so when the most powerful forces on each side are so vested in the status quo?
To break this dysfunctional cycle, at least one of the two sides will have to start acting in a way that advances rather than impedes what it has long declared to be its primary strategic goals.
Security has been Israel’s most important strategic imperative since its creation in 1948. For a country born out of the ashes of the Holocaust, any other focus would be foolhardy. But security has also served as the go-to justification for most every aggressive policy towards Palestinians since 1967 – in fact, since the first Zionist settlements over a century ago, whether it’s been replacing Palestinian workers with Jews in Tel Aviv, demolishing homes in the West Bank to make way for new settlements, or most recently, destroying whole neighbourhoods in Gaza to take out alleged weapons caches.
Political and strategic constraints
“What if Hamas was in your neighbourhood?” asked an Anti-Defamation League banner ad that went viral during the most recent fighting. Indeed, which government wouldn’t attack a neighbour that was regularly launching rockets at its civilians?
Palestinians in the West Bank react to the UN vote
The problem with this question, and the logic behind it, is that it assumes Palestinian violence to be the starting point of the conflict. But Gaza’s rockets weren’t launched in a vacuum; they were a response to ongoing Israeli violence – more immediately, to the unprovoked killing of several Palestinian civilians; structurally, to the overwhelming violence of the cancer that lies at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: the settlements. I explained this timeline in my previous column, with my colleague Lisa Hajjar.
The same body of international humanitarian law (IHL) that prohibits Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians also proscribes most of the policies Israel has pursued in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem during the last 45 years, in particular settlements. Their construction is a grave breach of Article 49 of the fourth Geneva Convention (to which Israel is a signatory), which states that “the Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies”. If there’s one reason why Palestinians are so desperate to have themselves recognised more fully as a state it is the realisation that because of the settlements there will soon be little if any territory left to build a state with.
“But Israel isn’t occupying Gaza. It withdrew its settlers and soldiers and got only violence in return!” is a common response to this argument. This is true, but Israel’s “disengagement” meant little to Palestinians in Gaza precisely because it was clearly used as a pretext for tightening its hold on the West Bank and East Jerusalem, rather than serving as the first step in a broader dismantling of the settlement enterprise.
Indeed, if Israel’s primary objective during its 45-year occupation was security, it could have maintained a military occupation from 1967 to the present day without building a single settlement, and in so doing remained in compliance with IHL. However, once Israel began establishing civilian settlements, the occupation became a political-territorial project that directly contravenes international law and is defined by the systematic commission of war crimes. This is why Israel is so adamant about having the PA agree not to pursue war crimes charges at the International Court of Justice or International Criminal Court before it will stop fighting its application for recognition by the UN as a non-member state.
Israel and the US might yet succeed in pressuring PA president Abbas to agree to such a “compromise”, but that victory will not change the larger political and strategic constraints facing Israel. If its leaders want to remain a territorially defined Jewish state, the only way to achieve the desired level of security in the long-term would be to withdraw from the settlements and move quickly towards the creation of the viable Palestinian state whose legal right to exist was endorsed at the UN. The alternative – to maintain an ever-more brutal and oppressive occupation – might well keep Palestinian violence within manageable limits, but at the cost of eroding the country’s already fragile democratic institutions, to the point where Israel inevitably slips into full blown Apartheid on both sides of the Green Line.
Given the overwhelming imbalance of power between the two sides, however, there is little Palestinians can do to affect the Israeli calculus as long as they continue to play by Israel’s rules, whether it’s the Fatah-led PA co-operating with a “peace process” that will never result in a viable Palestinian state, or Hamas and militant groups pursuing resistance strategies that have no chance of forcing Israel to end the occupation.
Territorial integrity and economic autonomy
Let’s be clear, however emotionally powerful the UN vote may be, and even if Israel could be dragged to the ICJ or ICC – something the US will fight tooth and nail, because if Israel can be dragged there, so can the US – the dynamics on the ground still make the realisation of a territorially and economically viable Palestinian state impossible. Israel’s goal will now follow the same procedures it did with Oslo – invest the PA and even Hamas with enough perks and benefits to make it well-nigh impossible for them to leave the “negotiating” process while Israel continues frantically to cement its hold on the West Bank.
The only way to stop this process is to change the balance of power between them, and the only way to do this, given Israel’s overwhelming military superiority and economic development is to change the rules of the game. The only way to do this, despite the UN vote, is to relinquish the dream of an independent Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza and demand citizenship in an enlarged Israeli state, or through a bi-national or parallel state structure that Palestinian leaders have spent a generation shunning instead of developing. Indeed, the UN vote, like Oslo, locks Palestinians even more tightly into a two-state discourse that Israel has already shown a great talent at manipulating to make its realisation almost impossible to achieve.
Forcing Israel to move outside a territorially grounded two-state solution would force Israel to choose between becoming a non-Jewish democracy or – as senior Israeli leaders including Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert have all described it – an Apartheid state.
The problem with such a strategy is that in pulling out of Oslo the Palestinian Authority would literally be dismantling itself. Everyone from President Mahmoud Abbas down to the local garbage man and kindergarten teacher would have to relinquish their salaries and whatever benefits, however slim, have accrued to them in the present system. Hamas and its clients would similarly have to relinquish the political and economic power they’ve gained in Gaza, which has only increased as a result of the latest war.
All Palestinian factions would have to unite around a common long-term strategy of societal-wide, militant non-violent struggle; not merely towards the creation of a democratic state in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, but of a state in which Jews would not fear suffering the fate of ethnic and religious minorities across the region. If that weren’t difficult enough, Palestinians would have to force a hostile Israel to reassume political and financial responsibility for the West Bank and Gaza before they slid into unliveable chaos – precisely the state Israel would seek to create for them.
Israel is keenly aware of the dangers involved in allowing Palestinians to transform their independence struggle into one for political and civil rights, which is precisely why it has, since Ariel Sharon’s tenure as Prime Minister, rhetorically supported the creation of a Palestinian state. But this support was not and today is not as the first stage in creating a viable state with territorial integrity and economic autonomy, if that were Israel’s goal it could have done this at any point during the Oslo era. But rather to continue stalling that process on the hope that both the PA and Hamas will become more politically and economically entrenched in the status quo on the ground and the perks of “statehood” and thus have less incentive to challenge it.
However painful the latest Gaza war, it failed to bring either Israeli or Palestinian leaders, or the two societies more broadly, to the point of changing their perception of the risks and costs of upsetting the conflict’s basic calculus. The statehood vote, for all its symbolic power, won’t change this situation. Without such a change, however, there is little chance of transforming the conflict from one premised upon routine violence and violations of international law towards a peaceful struggle for full and equal rights – and thus security – for all the inhabitants of Israel/Palestine.
Regardless of Palestine’s status at the UN, until one side breaks the mould, rockets and bodies will continue to fall on both sides of the Green Line.
Mark LeVine is professor of Middle Eastern history at UC Irvine and distinguished visiting professor at the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University in Sweden and the author of the forthcoming book about the revolutions in the Arab world, The Five Year Old Who Toppled a Pharaoh. His book, Heavy Metal Islam, which focused on ‘rock and resistance and the struggle for soul’ in the evolving music scene of the Middle East and North Africa, was published in 2008. |
!!! Contest deadline EXTENDED to December 1st 11:59 PM PST !!!
Fan Art Contest | Cosplay Contest | Speedrun Contests
[NEW] Download Model sheets for Ajna, Razmi, Zebei, and Tungar here!
Contest 1: Fan Art
Post fan art of Indivisible anywhere publicly – Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, DeviantArt, Reddit, etc. – with a link to the Indiegogo campaign, and email a link to your post to contests[at]labzerogames[dot]com. The artwork can be of any character or monster from Indivisible that we have shown publicly!
Here’s the link to include: www.support-indivisible.com
Entries must be submitted by 11:59 PM PST on December 1st 2015, at which point the Lab Zero team will choose their 3 favorite entries, and each piece chosen will be given the $500 “Patron” tier, which includes the following:
Physical copy of the game
Ajna figure
Roti plush
Voicemail message from a Voice Actor
T-shirt
…and more!
If you have already contributed to the campaign, you will get a $500 upgrade. For instance, if you contributed $250, you will be upgraded to the $750 tier!
Remember, the team will choose their 3 favorite entries, not the ones that they think are drawn the best.
Fan art already posted before this contest began is still valid to enter, but MUST be submitted via email to the address above to be eligible to win.
Posts on The Skull Heart forums, or other Lab Zero-centric places like r/Indivisible, are still eligible to win, but we encourage you to choose a more general place to post your work!
You may enter as many times as you like!
Entries may be animated!
Entries that depict sex or graphic violence are NOT eligible to win.
Contest 2: Cosplay
Similar to the Fan Art Contest, post a picture or video of yourself online cosplaying as any character or monster from Indivisible with a link to the campaign, and email a link to your post to contests[at]labzerogames[dot]com.
Again, here’s the link to include: www.support-indivisible.com
Entries must be submitted by 11:59 PM PST on December 1st 2015, at which point the Lab Zero team will choose their favorite entry, and the winner will be given the $500 “Patron” tier.
The same rules as the fan art contest also apply to the cosplay contest.
Contest 3A: “Zen” Prototype Speedrun
Complete the Indivisible prototype without killing any enemies and email a screenshot of your game completion time to contests[at]labzerogames[dot]com by 11:59 PM PST on December 1st 2015.
Sample “Zen” run: www.twitch.tv/labzero/v/22678473
Your game completion screen should look like this:
The winner will be given the $500 “Patron” tier.
For complete speedrun contest rules, please see below.
Contest 3B: “Clearest” Prototype Speedrun
Complete the Indivisible prototype – including finding and defeating the secret boss – and email a screenshot of your game completion time to contests[at]labzerogames[dot]com by 11:59 PM PST on December 1st 2015.
Sample “Clearest” run: www.twitch.tv/labzero/v/22681151
Your game completion screen should look like this:
The winner will be given the $1000 “Patron Saint” tier, which includes the opportunity to design an NPC which will appear in the game in addition to everything included in the “Patron” tier.
Speedrun Contest Rules
A picture of the Clear Time screen is acceptable for initial entry, however video or other proof of the entire run must be provided in order to win. If no proof is provided when asked, the run will be disqualified.
Altering of the game files, framerate, etc is not allowed. Changing in-game settings is allowed. (Disabling tutorials is recommended. :^)
Runs can be on any platform, this is not limited to Windows only.
Runs must be from a fresh start or Restart Game; New Game Plus runs will NOT be accepted.
Submitted runs must be on builds from 10-23 or after as shown on the title screen. Runs made on earlier builds will NOT be accepted.
Just in case Mike Z happened to screw up some timer logic for Restart Game, real time will be used instead of any buggy displayed clear times. He doesn’t think he did, but better safe than sorry. :^P
General Contest Rules |
The antiprotozoal activity of methylated flavonoids from Ageratum conyzoides L.
The dichloromethane extract prepared from aerial parts of Ageratum conyzoides L. (Asteraceae), a plant commonly used in folk medicine for a number of illnesses including sleeping sickness, was recently found to exhibit a prominent activity (IC(50)=0.78 microg/mL) against bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, the etiologic agent of East African Human Trypanosomiasis (East African Sleeping Sickness). This extract also exhibited noticeable activities against Leishmania donovani (Kala-Azar, IC(50)=3.4 microg/mL) as well as Plasmodium falciparum (Malaria tropica, IC(50)=8.0 microg/mL). In the current study, we sought for potentially active constituents of Ageratum conyzoides. Extracts prepared with solvents of different polarity were tested for activity against the above mentioned parasites as well as against Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas' disease) and for cytotoxicity using established protocols. The dicholoromethane extract showed the highest level of activity and was chosen for phytochemical studies aimed at the isolation of potential active constituents. Five highly methoxylated flavonoids along with the chromene derivative encecalol methyl ether were isolated. All isolated compounds were previously reported from Ageratum conyzoides. While the chromene turned out to be inactive against the tested parasites, the flavonoids showed activity against the protozoan pathogens, some in the lower micromolar range. However, none of these isolated compounds was as active as the crude extract. This is the first report on antiprotozoal activity of this plant species and some of its constituents. The chemical principle accounting for the high activity of the crude extract, however, remains to be identified. |
Q:
Removing/collapsing duplicate rows in R
I am using the following R code, which I copied from elsewhere (https://support.bioconductor.org/p/70133/). Seems to work great for what I hope to do (which is remove/collapse duplicates from a dataset), but I do not understand the last line. I would like to know on what basis the duplicates are removed/collapsed. It was commented it was based on the median absolute deviation (MAD), but I am not following that. Could anyone help me understand this, please?
Probesets=paste("a",1:200,sep="")
Genes=sample(letters,200,replace=T)
Value=rnorm(200)
X=data.frame(Probesets,Genes,Value)
X=X[order(X$Value,decreasing=T),]
Y=X[which(!duplicated(X$Genes)),]
A:
Are you sure you want to remove those rows where the Genesvalues are duplicated? That's at least what this code does:
Y=X[which(!duplicated(X$Genes)),]
Thus, Ycontains only unique Genesvalues. If you compare nrow(Y)and length(unique(X$Genes))you will see that the result is the same:
nrow(Y); length(unique(X$Genes))
[1] 26
[1] 26
If you want to remove rows that contain duplicate values across all columns, which is arguably the definition of a duplicate row, then you can do this:
Y=X[!duplicated(X),]
To see how it works consider this example:
df <- data.frame(
a = c(1,1,2,3),
b = c(1,1,3,4)
)
df
a b
1 1 1
2 1 1
3 2 3
4 3 4
df[!duplicated(df),]
a b
1 1 1
3 2 3
4 3 4
|
The quality of the Grand Valley’s air has been improving, in general, for the past seven years. But on those rare days when the air does get bad — typically during cold-weather inversions — it is getting really bad.
Those are the conclusions that Michael Brygger, an air quality specialist for Mesa County, has derived from the latest state air quality report, produced by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Brygger said the report indicates that the annual average amount of particulate matter in the air has been declining steadily. Particulate matter is a mixture of microscopic solids and liquid droplets suspended in the atmosphere, according to the state health department.
“The improvements are attributable to automobiles over the years,” he said.
Although the valley has had a growing population and more vehicles in the past decade, the improvements in engines and fuels have helped keep the air clean, he said.
But don’t start breathing easy just yet.
“We are having more episodic events,” Brygger said.
There are two basic kinds of “episodic events.” The first kind is dust storms. These events can carry dust, generally about 10 micrometers in size, into the valley from the deserts.
“Small particles, less than 10 micrometers in diameter (about 1/4 the size of a grain of salt), pose the greatest problems,” according to the state report. “The smallest particles (generally about 2.5 micrometers in size) can get deep into the lungs, and some may even get into the bloodstream.”
Valley residents are not totally at the mercy of wind driven events. There are plenty of air-pollution sources here in Mesa County that can be controlled, among them dust from construction sites, road dust and agricultural activities that include burning, tilling and harvesting.
Valley residents also can take charge of their air and at least partially mitigate the power of the second kind of “episodic event” Brygger referred to: the temperature inversion.
An inversion occurs when cold air is trapped close to the ground by a blanket of warm air. The cold air behaves like a bubble, trapping all the pollutants. Normally, this smog would be whisked out of the valley by the wind, but during an inversion the smog builds into a brown cloud.
“Our winter inversions are getting worse,” Brygger said.
Brygger looks at the state report on air quality, released in August, as an opportunity to educate valley residents about the situation.
Brygger suggests that during an inversion people reduce driving and do not idle their vehicles in the morning before work or use wood burning stoves.
He said people with wood burning stoves can make use of the Housing Resources of Western Colorado wood stove exchange program.
Brygger also urges residents to participate in the county’s regional and transportation planning process, as motor vehicles are a prime contributor to air pollution.
“That is an opportunity for everybody in the county to provide input on transportation in the area, and (transportation) by far has the greatest impact on air pollution in the county,” he said.
Much of the particulate matter wafting through the air during an inversion is 2.5 microns in size, which is typical of smoke and haze.
“They are fine enough to get all the way down into the deep recesses of your lungs,” he said.
More people moving into the valley will put even greater challenges to maintain clean air, but now is the time to plan for the future, he said.
“We are becoming much denser, and the urban plan is to force density to increase rather than sprawl. We need to be sensitive to our neighbors’ health,” Brygger said. |
［ニューヨーク ２７日 ロイター］ - 米抵当銀行協会（ＭＢＡ）が発表した２２日終了週の住宅ローン申請指数（季節調整後）は４．９％低下の３６５．３で、約４カ月ぶりの大幅な低下となった。
３０年コンフォーミング・ローン金利（固定）は４．８４％と、前週から１ベーシスポイント（ｂｐ）上昇した。コンフォーミング・ローンは、連邦住宅抵当金庫（ファニーメイ）や連邦住宅貸付抵当公社（フレディマック）の保証が付く住宅ローン。 |
Adam Byram is a software developer in Oak Ridge, TN. These days, he's making our healthcare system better at his day job and experimenting with VR/AR in his free time. You can get in touch via Twitter or Google+.
Financial
Pay off second mortgage OR refinance into single mortgage (with much lower rate and no PMI) [I’ve been thinking about this and I’m not sure I want to go ahead with this right now. The total cost to ReFi was higher than I expected for the great rates and the reality is that my second mortgage isn’t hurting that much. Given certain things going on in my career right now, holding on to the money seems like a wise thing to do for the moment. At present, about 1/2 of this is already in savings.]
Get my side income up to the point I could live off of it if the need arose (NOT trying to get this to replace my actual income level…although that would be fantastic if it did) [This is about the same or lower than it was at the start of the year – I’m still trying to hit this goal though.]
Maintain at least a 3 month emergency fund (currently at 12 months, but expect some of this to use used for other financial goals) [I’ve got around 6-8 months still hanging around at the moment, so even if I reallocate some of this for the mortgage payoff or towards investments, I’ll still be able to reach this goal just fine.]
Health
Get weight to 190 or lower and keep it there (~25 lbs to lose) [Yeah…still um, working on this one. Good news is I didn’t gain much weight…but I also didn’t exactly lose any either. This one is still doable though…]
Decrease caffeine intake – and keep it down (target is around 1 12oz can of soda per day or less) [I did this one for a couple of months and now I’m back to drinking more soda than I should be. I’ve done a decent job of keeping it out of the fridge at home, but at work, that’s a different story. Going to refocus on this one.]
Drink more water (no particular amount – just when I’m thirsty, grab a water instead of a soda) [I’ve been drinking a moderate amount of water, but I’m still prone to grab a soda…so I need to focus more on this one as well. It’s perfectly doable, but still on the ToDo list.]
Cook (healthly-ish) meals at home more than I eat out (including lunch) [Um, yeah….gotta get the ball rolling on this one too. The biggest problem here is going to lunch with the guys at work. I have to stop that – it’ll help save a bit of money and be a bit healthier.]
Personal & Professional Development / Other
Read at least 1 non-fiction (but not computer related) book a month [I’m going to miss this goal – with everything else going on, I just can’t do this. I do have a couple of new books to read – but not 12.]
Read at least 1 fiction book a month [Same as the non-fiction goal…I’d like to read a couple, but I don’t think I’ll get more than that in this year.]
Attend WWDC 2009 (contingent on other financial goals being met/on track in May) [This one is completed. I went to WWDC a few weeks ago…that reminds me, I need to blog about that…]
Get my passport [Still need to do this one…I’m not in a rush for it though, I’d just like to get it done so I have it for the future.]
Write at least one blog post per week on this blog – just to start writing more [If you’ve checked this blog much you know I haven’t been anywhere close to successful on this one. I need to make time for this, just for my own sake, but I’m not sure if I can do that. I’ll probably put a preference to posting on my business blog over this one and still only post on this one when I have something in general that I want to share.]
So how do I feel about my progress? Financially, I feel really good. While all of the goals aren’t completed just yet, I’m nearly there number wise…and that’s after taking into account the WWDC trip and a trip to Las Vegas. Health wise, I really dropped the ball. I got distracted with too many other things and this set of goals really suffered. I’m slightly disappointed with my progress on the personal/professional goals, but at the same time, I’ve had a heck of a lot happen and learned a lot over the last 6 months. While I may not have accomplished the specific goals I outlined at the beginning of the year, I think I’ve still grown quite a lot in this area so at least progress is being made.
Adam Byram is a software developer in Oak Ridge, TN. These days, he's making our healthcare system better at his day job and experimenting with VR/AR in his free time. You can get in touch via Twitter or Google+. |
[Inhalation of Myramistin in the children presenting with acute respiratory diseases].
This paper reports the results of the clinical observations and special investigations carried out with the involvement of the children presenting with acute respiratory diseases treated with the use of a Myramistin solution for inhalation. The study included a total of 60 children with the above condition at the age varying between 2 and 17 years. Forty patients inhaled the Myramistin solution through a face mask connected to the nebulizer. The remaining 20 children that comprised the control group inhaled Myramistin in the form of a spray. The study has demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method that produced beneficial effect on the clinical symptoms of the respiratory diseases and characteristics of peripheral blood. Moreover, it accelerated the recovery of the patients due to the anti-inflammatory and trophic action of the inhaled solution and promoted normalization of mucociliary clearance. The therapeutic effectiveness of the Myramistin spray was significantly lower than that of the solution. The results of the study provided a basis for the development of the optimal technologies for the application of the Myramistin inhalation solution to the treatment of the children presenting with acute respiratory diseases of the upper and lower parts of the respiratory tract. |
Show HN: An Interpreter for Extended Relational Algebra (Scheme Based) - scvalencia
https://github.com/scvalencia/Coddie
======
siddboots
Hey, this is awesome work! I would definitely consider using something like
this as a teaching tool. Surprisingly, there are very few implementations of a
simple-as-possible relational algebra DSL out there.
I've been working on something in a similar space, i.e. a command-line based
tool for manipulating relational data. Based on my experience, I highly
recommend that you look into the Blaze [1] and SQLAlchemy [2] ecosystems as a
means for covering out some of the items in that TODO list. In particular, you
could write a small module that would translate your query AST into blaze's
and immediately get the ability to target any RDBMS, CSV file, or Pandas
dataframe (and many other backends).
In fact, if I were you I would stop work on the query engine side of it and
directly target either Blaze or SQLAlchemy. This way you can focus your energy
on the fun stuff, which is designing the language!
[1]
[http://blaze.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html](http://blaze.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html)
[2] [http://www.sqlalchemy.org/](http://www.sqlalchemy.org/)
~~~
scvalencia
Thanks!, I'm glad you consider Coddie as a teaching tool. I'll look after
Blaze and SQLAlchemy to focus my energy on the language, which is the part I
enjoy the most.
Thank you very much!
|
.
Wednesday, April 8
Different kind of Entertainment
Today, I am happy; in whole abbreviation terms of it.
I haven't felt this kind of feeling for quite sometime now, and its good. I wish this feeling will last long enough.
I wish.
In a meantime, a friend of mine introduce me to poetic music that been brought by indie's. All those group are known and have been in the industry for years now, but without unnecessary exposures from the media for gossip columns, fame are usually far from them.
The emerging of indie music (indie is a short for independent music; that carries a different vibes and personalities that are totally different from the one we have in the market. The artist that carries indie music are more focused on their productions of music itself rather than any market-catcher indicators. They can be freely expressing their thoughts and ideas even provoking matters in politics or environmental issues.
What makes them really special is that they perform, produce and believe in their products.
And most of them are active with NGOs that promote positive-related issues and it definitely gave them an advantage to make a good introduction to potential fans. Believe me some of them are better than our readily recording artist.
I now searching for places to go for a deep/soul healer; in term of touting beautiful words with unfamiliar melody. |
Mocis xylomiges
Mocis xylomiges is a species of moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in Indonesia (Sulawesi, Java).
References
Category:Moths described in 1880
Category:Mocis
Category:Moths of Indonesia |
Q:
Cannot find Entity Framework 4 annotations
I'm trying to map a POCO class to a table of my DB using annotation.
I need to use Table annotation to specify the name of my table, but I cannot resolve the Table annotation.
Note: I imported System.Data.Entity namespace but It doesn't work.
Which namespace do I have to import to use EF annotations?
NOTE 1
I mean:
[Table("my_table")]
public class MyClass
{
// ...
}
NOTE 2 My Entity Framework dll is v4.0.30319
A:
You should import the System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations namespace.
edit for .net 4.5 and EF 5.0: you should use System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations.Schema.Table Attribute
A:
I need to use the Table annotation
You need to import the System.Data.Linq library, the TableAttribute can be referenced from the System.Data.Linq.Mapping namespace.
|
Q:
my very first php exercise puts '000' on the screen - what is going on?
My code is below.
I set up XAMP, and whatever non-php stuff I type in the html file prints out just fine.
But where is the '000' coming from?
Looks vaguely like some UNIX permissions but again, what is going on?
my lessons mention nothing like this. Thanks.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>OOP in PHP</title>
<?php include("class_lib.php"); ?>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$stefan = new person();
$jimmy = new person();
$stefan->set_name('Stefan Mischook');
$jimmy->set_name('Nick Waddles');
echo "Stefan's full name: " + $stefan->get_name();
echo "Nick's full name: " + $jimmy->get_name();
?>
</body>
</html>
and this...
<?php
class person {
var $name;
function __construct($persons_name) {
$this->name = $persons_name;
}
function set_name($new_name) {
$this->name = $new_name;
}
function get_name() {
return $this->name;
}
}
?>
A:
Use . for concatenating strings
echo "Stefan's full name: " . $stefan->get_name();
echo "Nick's full name: " . $jimmy->get_name();
|
Q:
Ruby on Rails: Error messages not displaying since changing order of a list
I recently asked for help reordering a list of check boxs, Ruby on Rails: re-order checkbox tag
I found a good answer and went away and changed my code. From this,
<div class="tech" STYLE="text-align: left;">
<b>Technologies:</b>
<style>
.split { text-align:left; }
</style>
<p><ul>
<% for technol in Technol.all %>
<li class="split">
<%= check_box_tag "project[technol_ids][]", technol.id, @project.technols.include?(technol) %>
<%= technol.tech %>
</li>
<% end %>
</ul>
</p>
to this,
<div class="tech" STYLE="text-align: left;">
<b>Technologies:</b>
<style>
.split { text-align:left; }
</style>
<p><ul>
<% @all_technols.each do |technol| %>
<li class="split">
<%= check_box_tag "project[technol_ids][]", technol.id, @project.technols.include?(technol) %>
<%= technol.tech %>
</li>
<% end %>
</ul>
</p>
with the project controller action new looking like this:
def new
@project = Project.new
@technol = Technol.new(params[:tech])
@all_technols = Technol.order('tech ASC')
tech_ids = params[:technols][:id].reject(&:blank?) unless params[:technols].nil?
@project_technol = @project.projecttechnols.build
respond_to do |format|
format.html # new.html.erb
format.json { render json: @project }
end
end
I have now noticed that if a user enters a new project, and a validates_presence_of or validates_format_of flags up in my code, the error messages do not show, and instead the I get an error messsage of:
NoMethodError in Projects#create
line #256 raised:
undefined method `each' for nil:NilClass
Extracted source (around line #256):
253:
254: <p><ul>
255:
256: <% @all_technols.each do |technol| %>
257:
258:
259:
It must have something to do with reordering the technologies, but I can't seem to find a fix. Hopefully someone can see where I'm going wrong. Thanks in advance.
EDIT
def create
@project = Project.new(params[:project])
@project.client = params[:new_client] unless params[:new_client].blank?
@project.role = params[:new_role] unless params[:new_role].blank?
@project.industry = params[:new_industry] unless params[:new_industry].blank?
@project.business_div = params[:new_business_div] unless params[:new_business_div].blank?
if !params[:technols].nil?
params[:technols][:id].each do |tech|
if !tech.empty?
@project_technol = @project.projecttechnols.build(:technol_id => tech)
end
end
end
respond_to do |format|
if @project.save
format.html { redirect_to @project, notice: 'Project was successfully created.' }
format.json { render json: @project, status: :created, location: @project }
else
format.html { render action: "new" }
format.json { render json: @project.errors, status: :unprocessable_entity }
end
end
end
A:
In the create method of the controller, or whatever is the name of the action dealing with your submission, make sure you populate again @all_technols before rendering the new view, otherwise you'll get this error!
So in the create action for example:
else
format.html { @all_technols = Technol.order('tech ASC'); render action: "new" }
format.json { render json: @project.errors, status: :unprocessable_entity }
end
|
Pages
Monday, November 24, 2008
kenken
i have never owned a pet animal in my entire life until i adopted kenken. i've always avoided having pets because it would mean commitment. i don't like obligations and responsibilities. although things have changed when i adopted kenken. i actually named him Kenshin (from my fave anime character). he's a snob and a spoiled brat. whenever i'm home, he'd always sleep with me or hang around with me lying on my tummy or leaning on my legs. he never liked other people except me, mum and grandma. my grandma always tease me that he behaves like me.
this morning, my mum sent me a message. ken came home sick yesterday afternoon. they brought him to a vet and was given medicine. she brought him home and was watching after him. before midnight, my mum was supposed to give him medicine when she noticed he's not moving. he's gone. she asked my uncle to bury him this morning.
i won't be seeing him anymore...i'll be missing him a lot...
5 comments:
naku sis, im so sorry about kenken... alam mo, i cant help but shed a tear while reading your blog.. sorry ha, im so emotional about pets these days...maybe youve seen my pet rottweiler din, Major...he is sick kasi, sis. been sick for several months na. it is the big-C.. may cancer sha. he has a bone mass sa left front ankle nya... it has grown so big na, and i know it must be giving him so much pain and suffering...pero sis, mon and i couldnt have the heart to end it for him eh... we've planned to for so long now to have him put to sleep pero hindi ko talaga kaya...this long wait is killing us both... for now, we are trying to give Major the most comfortable life that we can...at least sis, Kenken didnt suffer much. it was relatively quick and easy diba... im sure he is in pet-heaven now, kung meron mang heaven for our pets... ;-)just be happy that you were able to give him a happy home during his life on this earth.sorry, ang senti...
thanks doc. actually, i cried pagkabasa ko ng text ng mum ko, i called to ask her what actually happened. it was sudden, iyak ako sa work.i'm so sorry to hear about Major. i can emphatise with your feelings, i know it's really difficult but hang on sis, cherish the moments with Major. i won't have that opportunity with kenken anymore. sobrang senti mood din ako today. napangiti lang ako with your food shots. :) |
Measurement of subpubic arch angle by three-dimensional transperineal ultrasound and impact on vaginal delivery.
To assess whether antepartum measurement of the subpubic arch angle (SPAA) as a parameter of the bony pelvic outlet can predict vaginal delivery. Between January 2007 and June 2011, 625 nulliparous women with a singleton pregnancy were recruited from the antenatal clinic to be interviewed and have a four-dimensional transperineal ultrasound examination. Ultrasound examinations were performed between 34 and 36 weeks of gestation. Volume ultrasound data were saved for offline analysis, blinded against all other data. The SPAA was measured in the axial plane and logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between SPAA and outcomes of vaginal delivery vs Cesarean section in the second stage of labor, and normal vs assisted vaginal delivery. The association between SPAA and the duration of second stage of labor was also analyzed. Of the 625 women recruited initially, 14 ultrasound data files could not be retrieved, providing a total of 611 ultrasound images for measurement of SPAA. Complete obstetric and ultrasound data were obtained from 593 patients. Mean SPAA was 109.3° (range, 65.6-131.6°). There was no association between SPAA and the odds of a vaginal delivery (odds ratio, 1.01 (95% CI, 0.97-1.06)). However, there was evidence of an association between SPAA and duration of second stage of labor within the subgroup of women with a normal vaginal delivery (cause-specific hazard ratio, 1.02 (95% CI, 1.01-1.03); P = 0.003). SPAA is not useful for predicting vaginal delivery; however, there is an association between this parameter and the duration of the second stage of labor. |
Onward!, the official motto of Calgary, is more apt than ever in the wake of the major flooding the city experienced in June 2013. A year later, the casual visitor would have been hard-pressed to find any traces of the flood. As of November 2016, the only changes visitors may notice are the closure of boating through the Harvie Passage section of the Bow River, and a few remaining sections of bike paths that are closed as a result of flood damage or for riverbank stabilization.
Calgary is Alberta's largest city and Canada's fourth-largest, and is located near where the prairies end and the foothills begin. That makes it the eastern gateway to the Rocky Mountains and an important center of trade and tourism for the western prairies. It is your best point of access for Banff and Jasper, and a worthwhile destination in its own right. Calgary is the heart of the largest metropolitan area between Toronto and Vancouver, with over 1,210,000 people as of 2011 (1.1 million within city limits), making it Canada's fourth largest metropolitan area.
Calgary was founded by the Northwest Mounted Police (NWMP) in 1875 and was originally called Fort Brisebois. (The name was changed to Fort Calgary in 1876, named after Calgary Bay on the Isle of Mull.) The NWMP was sent west to ensure that Canada would not have an American-style "Wild West". Grave concerns about this were raised after the Cypress Hills Massacre of natives by drunken wolf hunters in 1873. Calgary was one of several forts established in Western Canada by the NWMP to ensure a police presence before the arrival of settlers. |
hooks up with hot girl walks her back to party with period blood all over face, hands, and shirt
250 shares |
Q:
consulta multiple sql
Tengo dos tablas una llamada obra con una pk llamada ID_PARAMETRI con datos como nombre_o , direccion , valor ect y tengo otra llamada tabla llamada PARAMETRI la cual tiene un primarykey ID_PARAMETRI y datos como valor_multa ,multa_desface y dias_desface
mi pregunta es como puedo hacer una consulta sql que me busque por el nombre de la obra y me traiga los datos de PARAMETRI segun el id, pero especifiacado los dato que quiero ejemplo
de la tabla obra quiero ver el nombre y el valor y de la table PARARAMETRI quiero ver solo valor_multa y multa_desface
SELECT * FROM OBRA, PARAMETRI;
esta era la sentencia que tenia pero me trae todos los datos de ambas tablas
A:
La sentencia sería con un JOIN que une las dos tablas por su llave primaria / foránea.
Aquí uso dos alias cortos para cada tabla, o y p.
En la lista de columnas pones ese alias y el nombre de columna que necesitas.
Si quieres más filtros los puedes agregar con un WHERE.
SELECT
o.nombre,
o.valor,
p.valor_multa,
p.multa_desfase
FROM obra o
INNER JOIN parametri p ON o.id_parametri = p.id_paramteri;
A:
Me parece extraño que en tus dos entidades, tengas la misma llave primaria ID_PARAMETRI, en algún lado debería de ser una FK o PK según la necesidad que se tenga.
Te comiendo ver teoría de conjuntos aplicada a base de datos te dejo un link
SELECT
O.NOMBRE,
O.VALOR,
P.VALOR_MULTA,
P.MULTA_DESFASE
FROM OBRA O
-- El inner join es la que te hace la intersección por medio de las llaves PK, FK
INNER JOIN PARAMETRI P
ON O.ID_PARAMETRI = P.ID_PARAMETRI
-- cuando son consultas más complejas podrías hacer el filtro en el on por ejemplo, y así evitar el where, en consultas más complejas es más rápido (según mi experiencia)
-- AND O.NOMBRE = 'MIOBRA'
WHERE O.NOMBRE = 'MIOBRA'
otra forma según vi tu pregunta es que lo podés realizar así:
SELECT
O.NOMBRE,
O.VALOR,
P.VALOR_MULTA,
P.MULTA_DESFASE
FROM OBRA O, PARAMETRI P
WHERE O.ID_PARAMETRI = P.ID_PARAMETRI
AND O.NOMBRE = 'MIOBRA'
PS: Consejo no te creas eso de llaves compuestas, ya que al momento de utilizar un ORM por ejemplo, se trabajo una sola llave primaria para cada entidad y sus respectivas llaves foráneas.
Saludos,
|
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