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If we need to manipulate data in databases where several hundred tables each contain several million rows, and we need to finish the task before the office opens in the morning, then well need to do more than write optimised SQL.
Its extremely frustrating, if we watch our software take several hours to grind from start to finish, while the performance meter shows that the machine is 60% idle,.
Its even more frustrating, when we see our carefully optimised, multi-threaded program sitting stalwartly on one CPU, leaving the other eleven CPUs doing virtually nothing.
Clearly, what is needed, is a way of accessing the unused capacity of the machine, and harnessing it, to focus on one application. The way we do this, is to take advantage of the fact that Unix is a true multi-tasking operating system. As such, it has a sophisticated process control algorithm, which can be persuaded to devote as much of the machines CPU resources as are free at any given instant, to a given application.
The word application is chosen carefully, to convey the meaning of an operation, or set of operations, which we, the users, want the machine to complete. This is to distinguish it from any computer operation such as a process, task or job, since our application will probably be spread across several of these latter. A simple example of such an application, might be that of extracting data from a few database tables, performing some operations on the data, and putting the results into a different database.
The software architecture, used to achieve this objective, we call a multi-dimensional architecture, to distinguish it from simple programs, which execute all of their code within one process, and on one CPU. These latter programs can be described as possessing a one-dimensional architecture.
What Is Multi-Dimensional Programming?
Fundamentally, multi-dimensional programming is a method of achieving parallel processing, but without the portability problems associated with parallelising compilers, or the need to use a parallel database engine. A multi-dimensional program can be compiled on a single-CPU machine, running a standard Oracle database engine, and the same executable can be transferred to a twelve-CPU machine, where it will automatically yield improved performance, because it is truly hardware-scaleable.
A well-known commercial example of multi-dimensional architecture, is that employed in the design of the Teradata database engine.
Designing an application program to the multi-dimensional paradigm does require a fundamentally different top-level approach, since we have to superimpose the framework of the architecture onto the main body of application code. However, it does not require any fundamental changes in design methodology. This means there are no major upheavals in the way a project is planned or executed.
The architectural framework, which we need to design, is code which permits our application program to interact fairly intimately with the operating system. In order to achieve this, we will require an in-depth understanding of:
Additional code which we will need to write, in order to support the above operations, will require, at least, a nodding acquaintance with some of the following:
All of the above topics are covered in this article, with full code examples, most of which can be re-used, perhaps, as modules in a library, with little or no modification.
Although this article aims to be as database-neutral, machine-neutral and language-neutral as possible, the example code is, quite obviously, Oracle Pro*C, written to run on a multi-processor Sun Solaris machine. However, there is very little either Oracle-specific or Solaris-specific code included and, where this is unavoidable, it is mentioned as such.
Most of the major database vendors support the ANSI standard embedded SQL format, with minor syntactic variations in the way cursors are defined, and connections to the database engine are made and broken. With very little porting effort, most of the example code will work on DB2, Informix and, possibly, others.
For devotees of Pro*C++, we offer the following advice. The Unix operating system is written in C, which is why the kernel system call interface is a C interface. If you can afford the five to nine times performance hit, resulting from wrapping all the system code described here in a C++ layer, then that is your choice, but its a bit like tuning your car for speed, then making it pull a trailer.
Who Should Not Read This Article?
It may be evident, from the above, that this is not an article for those new to either programming, or to the Unix operating system. The design of software architecture occurs at the level of abstraction just above coding, so we have to assume a fairly expert knowledge of, at least, the C programming language. Also, although we will devote a little time to the construction of embedded SQL programs, we will assume that the reader is proficient in the design of efficient SQL queries. Clearly, this implies a high level of familiarity with the workings of a relational database, such as Oracle, DB2, Sybase or Informix.
Many articles on programming techniques are centred around an example application, which is usually too specific, or too simplistic to be of any use in the real world, and which the reader is invited to code and compile, as part of the learning process. We have departed from this model slightly, in so far as we will define a generic, database data extraction application, and derive a series of code modules, which can be reconfigured to suit individual variations.
We will look at two basic architectures, which feature fairly heavily in the information technology field.
This architecture receives data messages, as files, TCP/IP streams, or any other format. It performs some kind of processing on the data, then passes it on to the next destination not necessarily a database.
The functionality embodied in this architecture, is a super-set of that in the message hub. This process extracts data from a database, performs some kind of intermediate processing, then puts the data back into either the same, or a different database.
This is the application on which we will concentrate our coding efforts.
Since either of the above may be implemented as a daemon or background process, which wakes up at a particular time to do its processing, we will also examine the design of a simple, efficient scheduling mechanism.
The Generic Application
It is always easier to relate to an application, if it happens to coincide with ones own line of work. In view of this, we make the following suggestions, as to what our generic application actually does, and invite readers to select that which is most suitable.
The Unix Kernel
It is usually a source of wonderment to PC users, that the whole of the Unix operating system is in one executable. Instead of a hodge-podge of dlls, drivers, and various occasionally-cooperating executables, everything is done by the Unix kernel.
When Unix was first introduced, it was usually described as having a shell, or user interface, which surrounded a kernel which interpreted the commands passed to it from the shell.
With the passage of time, and the advent of graphical window systems on Apollo and Sun computers, in 1983, this model became a bit strained at the edges. However, it still provides a useful mental image of the system, and window systems can be thought of as a candy coat around the shell. In fact, it isnt just X-windows, which has a direct path to the kernel, since TCP/IP also falls into this category/
The following is not intended to be an exhaustive treatise on the inner workings of the Unix kernel, nor is it specific to any particular brand of Unix. However, it is essential to broadly understand certain important functions of the kernel, before we can take advantage of some of its features, to improve the way in which it handles our process.
The Unix kernel possesses the following functionality, much of which is of interest to us, in pursuit of this goal:
All of the most basic operating system commands are performed directly by the kernel. These include:
Since the above commands are actually executed by the kernel, the C compiler doesnt need to generate any actual machine code to perform the function. It merely places a hook in the executable, which instructs the kernel where to find the function.
Modern, third party compilers, however, are ported to a variety of operating systems, and will generate machine code for a dummy function, which itself contains the hook.
The kernel determines which processes will run, when and for how long. We will examine this mechanism, in detail, later.
That, which became networking, was originally designed so that processes could communicate. It is this ability, to pass information quickly and efficiently from one running process to another, which makes the Unix operating system uniquely capable of multi-dimensional operation. All of the most important communication commands are system calls.
Unlike other operating systems, where device drivers are separate programs, which are individually loaded into memory, the Unix kernel inherently contains all of the machines drivers. Contrary to what may be supposed, the entries in the /dev directory are not drivers, they are just access points into the appropriate kernel routine. We will not concern ourselves unduly with the Unix device drivers, as they are outside the scope of this book.
Anatomy of a process
Data segment
Text segment
Thread 1
Thread 2
Thread 3
When an executable is invoked, the following events occur, although not necessarily in this order.
Process Loading
All of the above resources, allocated to a given process, constitute the context of a process. Each time the kernel activates a new process, it performs a context switch, by replacing the resources of the previously running process with those of the current one.
At this point, the scheduling algorithm takes over.
The Process Scheduling algorithm
While the process is running, it runs in one of two modes:
All system calls are executed by the kernel, and not by machine code within the process. Kernel mode has one very desirable characteristic, and that is the fact that system calls are atomic and, hence, cannot be interrupted. One of the most important factors in writing code for high-performance applications, is to ensure that your process executes as much in kernel mode as possible. This way, you can guarantee the maximum CPU time for a given operation.
Kernel threads, such as pthreads, run in kernel mode. It is sometimes worth using a thread, even when doing so doesnt constitute parallel operation, purely to get the advantage of running in kernel mode.
If an interrupt occurs, while in this mode, the kernel will log the signal in the interrupt table, and examine it after the execution of the current system call. Only then will the signal be actioned.
The ordinary machine code, which makes up much of the executable, runs in user mode. There are no special privileges associated with user mode, and interrupts are handled as they arrive.
It may be seen that, during the time that a process runs, it is constantly switching between kernel mode and user mode. Since the mode switch occurs within the same process context, it is not a computational burden.
A Unix process has one of the following states:
The scheduling algorithm is a finite-state machine, which moves the status of the process between states, depending on certain conditions.
Basically, what happens is this.
A process begins to execute. It runs until it needs to perform I/O, then, having initiated the I/O, puts itself to sleep. At this point, the kernel examines the next process table slot and, if the process is ready to run, it enables its execution.
If a process never performs I/O, such as processes which perform long series of floating point calculations, the kernel permits it to only run for a fixed time period, of between 20 and 50 milliseconds, before pre-empting it, and enabling the next eligible process.
When the time comes for a process to run, an additional algorithm determines the priority of one process over another. The system clock sends the kernel an interrupt, once per second, and it is at this time, that the kernel calculates the priorities of each process. Leaving aside the user-level priority weighting, determined by nice the kernel determines priority based on several parameters, of which these are significant::
Swapping and Paging
Of course, the execution of a process is never that straightforward. Only a portion of the code is loaded into memory, meaning that it can only run until another page needs to be fetched from the disk. When this occurs, the process generates a page fault which causes the pager to go and fetch the appropriate page. A similar situation occurs when a branch instruction is executed, which takes the execution point to a page other than those stored in memory. The paging mechanism is fairly intelligent, and contains algorithms similar to those found in CPU machine instruction pipeline controllers. It tries to anticipate branch instructions, and pre-fetch the anticipated page, more or less successfully, depending on the code structure.
Although there are certain similarities, paging, as described above, which is a natural result of process execution, should not be confused with swapping.
If the number of processes grows, to the extent that all available memory becomes used up, the addition of another process will trigger the swapper, and cause it to take a complete process out of memory, and place it in the swap area of the disk.
This is, computationally, an extremely expensive operation, as the entire process, together with its context, has to be written to disk then, when it is permitted once again to run, another process must be swapped out, to make space for it to be reloaded into memory.
So, what does all of this have to do with Performance?
It may be seen from the above, that processes, which are designed for performance-critical applications, should avoid doing physical I/O until it is absolutely necessary, in order to maximise the amount of contiguous CPU time. If it is at all possible, all of the I/O operations should be saved up, until all other processing has completed, and then performed in one operation, preferably, by a separate thread.
As far as threads are concerned, let us consider what happens, when we launch a number of threads, to perform some tasks in parallel.
First, the threads are each allocated a separate stack, but they are not allocated a separate process table slot. This means that, although there are several tasks executing in parallel, this only occurs during the active time of that slot. When the kernel pre-empts the process, execution stops. Multi-threading will not give your application any more system resources.
Further, if we consider a situation, where we have 100 processes running on a machine, and one of them is ours, then we would expect to use 1% of the CPU time. However, if 25 of them are ours, we would be eligible to use 25% of the CPU time.
Thus, If an application can split itself into several processes, running concurrently, then, quite apart from the obvious advantages of parallelism, we will capture more of the machines resources, just because each child process occupies a separate process table slot.
This also helps, when the kernel assigns priorities to processes. Even though we may be penalised for using a lot of CPU time, the priority of each process is rated against that of other processes. If many of these belong to one application then even though the kernel may decide to give one process priority over another, the application, as a whole, will still get more CPU time.
Additionally, if we are running on a multi-processor machine, then we can almost guarantee to be given a separate CPU for each child process. The kernel may juggle these processes over different CPUs, as a part of its load-balancing operations, but each child will still have its own processor.
The incorporation of the above techniques, into our software architecture forms the cornerstone of multi-dimensional programming.
In Summary
System calls
Under pre-Unix operating systems, starting a process from within another process was traditionally performed as a single operation. One command magically placed the executable into memory, and handed over control and ownership to the operating system, which made the new process run.
Unix doesnt do that.
Each process has a hierarchical relationship, with its parent, which is the process which brought it to life, and with its child or children which, in turn, are processes which it, itself, started. All such related processes are part of a process group.
The basic mechanism, which initiates the birth of a new process is fork().
The fork() system call makes a running copy of the process which called it. All memory addresses are re-mapped, and all open file descriptors remain open. Also, file pointers maintain the same file position in the child as they do in the parent.
Consider the following code fragment:
pid_t pid;
switch((pid = fork()){
case 1:
printf("fork failedn");
case 0:
printf("Child process runningn");
printf("Parent process executes this coden");
At the time that the fork() system call is called, there is only one process in existence, that of the expectant parent. The local variable pid is on the stack, probably uninitialised.
The system call is executed and, now, there are two identical running processes, both executing the same code. The parent, and the new child process both simultaneously check the variable pid, on the stack. The child finds that the value is zero, and knows, from this, that it is the child. It then executes some_child_function(), and continues on a separate execution path.
The parent does not see zero, so it executes the default part of the switch() statement. It sees the process ID of the new child process, and drops through the bottom of the switch(). Note, that, if we do not call a different function in the case 0: section of the switch, that both parent and child will continue to execute the same code, since the child will also drop through the bottom of the switch().
Programmers who know little about Unix, will have a piece of folklore rattling around in their heads, which says a fork() is expensive. You have to copy an entire process in memory, which is slow, if the process is large.
This is true, as far as it goes. There is a memory-to-memory copy of that part of the parent, which is resident in memory, so you may have to wait a few milliseconds.
However, we are not concerned with trivial processes whose total run time is affected by those few milliseconds. We are dealing exclusively with processes whose run times are measured in hours, so we consider a one-time penalty of a few milliseconds to be insignificant.
When a parent forks a child process, on a multi-processor machine, the Unix kernel places the child process onto its own, separate CPU. If the parent forks twelve children, on a twelve CPU machine, each child will run on one of the twelve CPUs.
In an attempt to perform load-balancing, the kernel will shuffle the processes around the CPUs but, basically, they will remain on separate processors.
The fork() system call is one of the most useful tools, for the full utilisation of a multi-processor machines resources, and it should be used whenever one or more functions are called, which can proceed their tasks in parallel. Not only is the total run time reduced to that of the longest-running function, but each function will execute on its own CPU.
There is a BSD variant of fork(), which was designed to reduce the memory usage overhead associated with copying, possibly, a huge process in memory.
The semantics of vfork() are exactly the same as those of fork(), but the operation is slightly different. Vfork() only copies the page, of the calling process. which is currently in memory but, due to a bug (or feature) permits the two processes to share the same stack. As a result, if the child makes any changes to variables local to the function which called vfork(), the changes will be visible to the parent.
Knowledge of this fact has enabled experienced programmers to make use of the advantages of vfork(), while avoiding the pitfalls. However, far more subtle bugs also exist, and most Unix vendors recommend that vfork() only be used, if it is immediately followed by an exec().
The original thinking behind fork(), was that its primary use would be to create new processes not just copies of the parent process. The exec() system call achieves this, by overlaying the memory image of the calling process with the new process.
There is a very good reason for separating fork() and exec(), rather than having the equivalent of VMSs spawn() function, which combines the two. That reason is, because it is sometimes necessary, or convenient, to perform some operations in between fork() and exec(). For example, is may be necessary to run the child process as a different user, like root, or to change directory, or both.
There is, in fact, no such call as exec(), but there are two main variants, execl() and execv().
The semantics of execl() are as follows:
execl(char *path, char *arg0, char *arg1char *argn, (char *) NULL)
execv(char *path, char *arg0, char **argv)
It may be seen, that the principal difference between the two variants, is that, whereas the execl() family takes a path, followed by separate arguments, in a NULL terminated, comma-separated list, the execv() variants take a path, and a vector, similar to the argv[] vector, passed to a main() function.
The first variant of execl() and execv(), adds an environment vector to the end of the argument list:
execle(char *path, char *arg0, .char *argn, (char *) NULL, char **envp)
execve(char *path, char *arg0, char **argv, char **envp)
The second variant replaces the path argument, with a file argument. If this latter contains a slash, it is used as a path, otherwise, the PATH environment variable of the calling process is used to find the file.
execlp(char *file, char *arg0, .char *argn, (char *) NULL, char **envp)
execvp(char *file, char *arg0, char **argv, char **envp)
We can now combine fork() and exec(), to execute lpr from the parent process, In order to print a file:
pid_t pid;
execl("/usr/ucb/lpr", "lpr", "/tmp/file", (char *) NULL);
printf("Parent process has executed lpr to print a filen");
The above code only has one problem. If the parent process quits, the child process will become an orphan, and be adopted by the init process. When lpr has run to completion, it will become a zombie process, and waste a slot in the process table. The same happens if the child prematurely exits, due to some fault.
There are two solutions to this problem:
A waited-for child does not become a zombie, but the parent must suspend processing, until the child terminates, which may or may not be a disadvantage. There are options, which allow processing to continue, during the wait, but the parent needs to poll waitpid(), which makes our second solution, described below, a much better option.
If we are waiting for a specific process, the most convenient call is to waitpid(). The synopsis of this call is:
pid_t waitpid(pid_t pid, int *status, int options);
The call to waitpid() returns the process ID of the child for which we are waiting, whose process ID is passed in as the first argument, pid.
The second argument, status is the returned child process exit status, and options is the bitwise-OR of the following flags:
WNOHANG : prevents waitpid() from causing the parent process to hang, if there is no immediate return.
WNOWAIT : keeps the process, whose status is returned, in a waitable state, so that it may be waited for again.
The options flags are of no use to us, so we set them to zero. The status word, however, provides useful information on how our child terminated, and can be decoded with the macros, described in the man page for wstat.
int status;
if(waitpid(pid, &status, 0) == pid){
printf("lpr has now finishedn");
As soon as the child has successfully forked, we must disassociate it from the process group of the parent. This is accomplished by executing the system call setpgrp(), or setsid(), both of which have the same functionality. These calls create a new process session group, make the child process the session leader, and set the process group ID to the process ID of the child.
The complete code is as below:
if(setpgrp() == -1){
printf("Can't set pgrpn");
printf("Independent child process runningn");
These system calls are primarily concerned with files but, since Unix treats almost everything as a file, most of them can be used on any byte-orientated device, including sockets and pipes.
open() returns a file descriptor to a file, which it opens for reading, writing or both. The file argument is the file name, with or without a path, while how is the bitwise-OR of some of the following flags defined in fcntl.h:
O_RDONLY Read only
O_WRONLY Write only
O_RDWR Read/write
O_TRUNC Truncate on opening
O_CREAT Create if non-existent
The mode argument is optional, and defines the permissions on the file, using the same flags as chmod.
Closes the file, which was originally opened with the file descriptor fd.
Returns a file descriptor, which is identical to that passed in as an argument, but with a different number. This call seems fairly useless, at first glance but, in fact, it permits some powerful operations, like bi-directional pipes, where we need a pipe descriptor to become a standard input or output. Also, client-server systems, need to listen for incoming connections on a fixed socket descriptor, while handling existing connections on different descriptors.


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Bundling and the GE-Honeywell Merger
AbstractThe economic theory of bundling has moved from the classroom and academic journals to the public policy arena. Its debut was dramatic. On July 3, 2001, the European Commission blocked the $42 billion merger between GE and Honeywell. A primary reason for their objection to this combination was a concern over bundling. This paper uses the context of the proposed GE-Honeywell merger to address the concerns raised by bundling. We set out the theory as put forth by the Commission and try to reconcile this theory with both the economic theory of bundling and the facts of the case. We discuss what is meant by bundling and explain when it is a potential problem and when it is not. Based on this understanding, we propose anti-trust policy recommendations to deal with the novel issues raised by bundling.
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Bibliographic InfoPaper provided by Yale School of Management in its series Yale School of Management Working Papers with number ysm303.
Date of creation: 05 Sep 2002
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:ysm:somwrk:ysm303
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Web page: http://icf.som.yale.edu/
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Related researchKeywords: Bundling; Antitrust; EU; GE; Honeywell;
Find related papers by JEL classification:
- D4 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure and Pricing
- K0 - Law and Economics - - General
- L4 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies
- C7 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory
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Cited by:
- Oliver Budzinski, 2008. "A Note on Competing Merger Simulation Models in Antitrust Cases: Can the Best Be Identified?," MAGKS Papers on Economics 200803, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
- Oliver Budzinski & Isabel Ruhmer, 2009.
"Merger Simulation in Competition Policy: A Survey,"
Working Papers
82/09, University of Southern Denmark, Department of Environmental and Business Economics.
- Oliver Budzinski & Isabel Ruhmer, 2008. "Merger Simulation in Competition Policy: A Survey," MAGKS Papers on Economics 200807, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
- Flores-Fillol, Ricardo & Moner Colonques, Rafael, 2010.
"Endogenous Mergers of Complements with Mixed Bundling,"
Working Papers
2072/151551, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics.
- Ricardo Flores-Fillol & Rafael Moner-Colonques, 2011. "Endogenous Mergers of Complements with Mixed Bundling," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 231-251, November.
- Noriaki Matsushima & Tomomichi Mizuno, 2009. "Input specificity and product differentiation," ISER Discussion Paper 0745, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University.
- Oliver Budzinski & Arndt Christiansen, 2007.
"The Oracle/PeopleSoft Case: Unilateral Effects, Simulation Models and Econometrics in Contemporary Merger Control,"
Marburg Working Papers on Economics
200702, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
- Budzinski, Oliver & Christiansen, Arndt, 2007. "The Oracle/PeopleSoft case: unilateral effects, simulation models and econometrics in contemporary merger control," IBES Diskussionsbeiträge 157, University of Duisburg-Essen, Faculty for Economics and Business Administration.
- Lars-Hendrik Roeller & Oliver Stehmann, 2006. "The Year 2005 at DG Competition: The Trend towards a More Effects-Based Approach," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 281-304, December.
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Snort Intrusion Detection with the Snort IDSNov 01, 2008
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Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd EditionSep 16, 2008
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Tool Predicts Which Websites Will be Compromised
Carnegie Mellon researchers say 3 million pages could fall down the phishing hole in the next year.
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The US government rolls new best-practice rules for protecting SSH.
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Klaus Knopper announces the latest version of his iconic Live Linux system.
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Kentucky Daily Barge Report
SV_GR111 Frankfort, KY Tue, Aug 19, 2014 USDA-KY Dept of Ag Market News Kentucky Barge Report: Spot bids to producers at selected barge loading terminals on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. US NO 2 YELLOW CORN FULL STORY »
Export Grain Bids
JO_GR850 Portland, OR Tue Aug 19, 2014 USDA Market News Export Grain Bids - Bids for grains for 30-day delivery to United States export ports in dollars per bushel and changes in cents per bushel. Bids as of 12:30 p.m. Pacific time; Subject to FULL STORY »
Minneapolis Daily BASIS Report
MS_GR112 Minneapolis, MN Tue Aug 19, 2014 USDA Market News Minneapolis Daily BASIS Report Actual wheat receipts on the exchange floor: Today's were 185 cars which included 4 trains. Last year's were 106 cars which included 1 trains. Minneapolis Grain Exchange Daily Grain Prices FULL STORY »
CO/NE/WY Elevator Grain Bids
GL_GR111 Greeley, CO Tue Aug 19, 2014 USDA-CO Dept of Ag Market News CO/NE/WY Elevator Afternoon Grain Bids Cash grain bids to farmers delivered to country elevators for Corn, Wheat and Soybeans per bushel; and Sorghum, Millet, and Sunflowers per cwt. as of 3:00 pm. Aug 19, FULL STORY »
Montana Cash Grain Prices
BL_GR110 Torrington, WY Tue Aug 19, 2014 USDA-WY Dept of Ag Market News Montana Elevator Cash Grain Prices Closing elevator cash bids compared to Monday: Winter Wheat 6 to 9 higher, Spring Wheat 7 to 9 higher, Durum Wheat unchanged to 25 lower, Feed Barley unchanged, and FULL STORY »
East River South Dakota Grain Markets - Closing Elevator Bids
SF_GR110 Greeley, CO Tue Aug 19, 2014 USDA-CO Dept of Ag Market News Eastern South Dakota Grain Markets - Closing Elevator Bids (Including some terminal sites) Northeast and Southeast Regions Combined Average Commodity FULL STORY »
South Carolina Closing Grain Bids
CO_GR110 Columbia, SC Tuesday, August 19, 2014 USDA-SC Dept Ag Market News South Carolina closing cash grain bids as of 3:00 P.M. Prices delivered to country elevators or processors. New crop bids noted with (*). US 2 Yellow Corn was steady to 2 cents higher. US 1 Yellow Soybeans were FULL STORY »
North Carolina Grain
RA_GR110 Raleigh, NC Tuesday, Aug 19 2014 NC Dept of Ag Market News North Carolina grain prices paid to producers by location, delivered in bulk, as of 4:00 pm. In dollars per bushel. US 2 Yellow Corn: was 1 to 11 cents higher. Prices were 3.82-4.43, mostly 3.82-4.22 at the feed FULL STORY »
Oklahoma Closing Cash Grain Bids
OK_GR110 Oklahoma City, OK Tue Aug 19, 2014 OK Dept. of Ag-USDA Market News Oklahoma grain elevator cash bids as of 2:00 pm Tuesday. U.S. No 1 HARD RED WINTER WHEAT: .06-.08 higher. 5.85-6.10. Keyes 5.85, Davis 5.90, Hooker 5.92, Eldorado, Frederick, Hobart, FULL STORY »
South Delta Differences
MP_CN005 Memphis, TN USDA Cotton and Tobacco Program, MND SOUTH DELTA DIFFERENCES 19-Aug-14 Color Leaf Staple Mike 32 FULL STORY »
North Delta Differences
MP_CN004 Memphis, TN USDA Cotton and Tobacco Program, MND NORTH DELTA DIFFERENCES 19-Aug-14 Color Leaf Staple Mike 32 FULL STORY »
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Extreme Value Index Estimators and Smoothing Alternatives: A Critical Review
AbstractExtreme-value theory and corresponding analysis is an issue extensively applied in many different fields. The central point of this theory is the estimation of a parameter γ, known as the extreme-value index. In this paper we review several extreme-value index estimators, ranging from the oldest ones to the most recent developments. Moreover, some smoothing and robustifying procedures of these estimators are presented.
Download InfoIf you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Bibliographic InfoPaper provided by University Library of Munich, Germany in its series MPRA Paper with number 6390.
Date of creation: 2003
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:6390
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Related researchKeywords: Extreme value index; Semi-parametric estimation; Smoothing modification;
Find related papers by JEL classification:
- C1 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General
ReferencesReferences listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Olivier V. Pictet & Michel M. Dacorogna & Ulrich A. Muller, 1996. "Hill, Bootstrap and Jackknife Estimators for Heavy Tails," Working Papers 1996-12-10, Olsen and Associates.
- Peng, L., 1998. "Asymptotically unbiased estimators for the extreme-value index," Statistics & Probability Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 107-115, June.
- Jón Daníelsson & Casper G. de Vries, 1998.
"Beyond the Sample: Extreme Quantile and Probability Estimation,"
Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers
98-016/2, Tinbergen Institute.
- Jon Danielsson & Casper G. de Vries, 1998. "Beyond the Sample: Extreme Quantile and Probability Estimation," FMG Discussion Papers dp298, Financial Markets Group.
- Dekkers, A. L. M. & Dehaan, L., 1993. "Optimal Choice of Sample Fraction in Extreme-Value Estimation," Journal of Multivariate Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 173-195, November.
- Drees, Holger & Kaufmann, Edgar, 1998. "Selecting the optimal sample fraction in univariate extreme value estimation," Stochastic Processes and their Applications, Elsevier, vol. 75(2), pages 149-172, July.
- Armelle Guillou & Peter Hall, 2001. "A diagnostic for selecting the threshold in extreme value analysis," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 63(2), pages 293-305.
- M. I. Bar�o & J. A. Tawn, 1999. "Extremal analysis of short series with outliers: sea-levels and athletics records," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series C, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 48(4), pages 469-487.
- Einmahl, J. & Dekkers, A. & de Haan, L., 1989. "A moment estimator for the index of an extreme-value distribution," Open Access publications from Tilburg University urn:nbn:nl:ui:12-125712, Tilburg University.
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Cited by:
- Marco Rocco, 2011. "Extreme value theory for finance: a survey," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 99, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
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Find records of Jewel Myrtle Somers
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I'll always end up with you"Ronnie" I cry to myself. My best friend .... The only one I could ever love he's in jail and it's my fault if I would've just read the message later.....
2 months later
Craig just told more lies about Ronnie I know he didn't get caught with hereon in prison he's too good for that. He wanted to get sober even before he went to prison . But I just couldn't stay sober because all I thought about was Ronnie and how much I love him.but he hates me and I went to see him in prison and all he said was how useless I am . He is right though I am useless and no one would love a faggot like me....
2 Years later
Ronnie is out of jail now... He is starting a new band 'falling in reverse' he wrote an album it was rather about how much he hated me or how he was sober now. And yet I'm still a druggie. God I should just die . Ronnie said I was going to anyways so why not make it come true.....
June 2013
I'm going to rehab today . Maybe when I'm sober I can talk to Ronnie again and get back in Escape th
Random poemI think its amazing about how quickly people can change,
how they grow apart into total strangers
how they say there in love one minute,
but it's gone the next
they say they are happy together and it will never change
but then they never want to speak together again
All one ever wants is to find love
but sometimes it never exsist
sp dip what are you hideing chapter 3Craig slams me agaisnst a wall putting his arm around my neck I praticly see the rage in his eyes "why would you tell Stan to break up wih me??!!" he growels "what!" my mind screams but then i remeber....
"you were beating the living hell out of him" i manage to gasp out. that just makes him more angrey he starts punching my face im loosing alot of blood this was going on for atlest ten minutes
I feel myself blacking out.
suddenly the puching stops and i fall to the floor I try to look up but fail miserbly .
soon the blackness overwelms me but i can hear a soft voice calling my name but i just cant force my eyes open................
What south park charcter i amStan:
[ ] You're the normal kid
[x ] You have an older sister
[ ] You often puke
[ ] You have a poofball hat
[ ] One of your parents is a geologist
[x] Your dad can be really stupid/stubborn
[ ] You have a boyfriend/girlfriend
[ ] You have a lot of talents
Count: 1
[ ] You're Jewish
[] You own an ushanka
[ ] You have an adopted sibling
[x] You easily get mad
[ ] Your hair is curly
[ ] You're diabetic
[x] Green and Orange are one of your favorite colors
[ ] One of your parents is a lawyer
Count: 3
[] You're fat/big-boned
[ ] You get made fun of because of your body weight
[ ] People make fat jokes about you
[ ] You eat a lot of junk food
[ ] You love acting/dressing like Hitler
[x ] You think Ginger Kids have no souls
[ ] You've once made over 10,000 dollars
[] You have a single mother for a reason
Count: 2
[x] You hide your face
[x] You're quiet
[] You love boobies
[x] You're such a pervert with a dirty mind
[] You have cheesed before
[x] You're poor Almost poor,
I never thought ,CuRedI stand at Evans grave theres nothing i would like to do more than scream but I stay silent I look over at the other goths Henreitta is just in shock not moving gerogie is biting his lip to not cry and Dylan has tears streaming down his face.I feel bad for Dylan he loved Evan and i thought Evan loved him as well even though love is for conformists they were just compatable.I sigh somewhat loudly i dont even know why he did this.
I had joined the goth group about 6 years ago. They only let me in because unlike Stan who had joined them for a while in fourth grade I was a true goth. I had alredy smoked and drank coffe so they knew i wasent going to end up like stan. I push some of my black hair out of my face. I'm trying to find Evan I can speak to the dead when i was a kid it used to terrify me but now it dosent bother me that much. I think Evan is trying to avoied us cause he's gonna get a hell of a lecuture from me. Dylan start sobbing more and i go hug him it's all i can do to help if
sp dip what are you hideing chapter 2Damien is watching me I can feel his eyes on me ever since he saw me reading his jornal he's just been watching me. i want to countine reading but i feel like he will notice and i dont want that. Finally the bell goes and i start walkint home it's very riskey since people always throw stuff at me once i got hit with an cell phone which was really starnge. I still feel eys on me so i pick up my pace a little bit.
I finally get to my adoptive parents house and like usal there not there they only got me because they want the $100 check they get for adopting me. But today im happy their not here the would keep asking me what i was reading and they would keep repeting it because of how drunk they would be. I lye down on my bed until i fall asleep. My alarm starts buzzing very loudly and very anoyylingly I hit the snooze butten i want to go back to sleep but instead i pull my self out of bed and slowly get ready.
By the time im done it's 7:30 so i have a bit of time before i have to leave i
Sp dip What are you hideingA Goth girl walks up to me. This goth girl is damiens sister who went goth sometime around when damien became a popular dick. He beats me up more then any of the other kids ever did. Soon the goth girl is face to face with me i blink before she speaks " I made a copy of damiens jornal" she hands me a black book "ive only read the first few pages but it has magic on it so whenever damien writes sometheing it will apper in the book" " why are you giving this to me Alley??" I'm acutally clueless of why she gave me the book "Because ive tryed to not make him a popuplar asshole but it didnt work so im hopeing maybe you can" with that she walks away back to her little goth group
Shes hopeing i can change damien? No one could change damien. but im curios so i start reading his jornal throughout the day. One page sticks out to me he had written a while after he became popular. "what am i doing with my life? ive became a complete douchebag my own sister became goth because she knows i cant stan
K2 confess chapt 6Moments of silence pass the only sound is my now silent sobs. I look over at Star who has a few tears stroling down her face which is very shocking. I'd never thought i'd see Star crying of all people. Stan notcices she crying and pulls her into a hug. Star freezes.
she ushally does this when she has a vishion. She loosens up in a few secounds and realexs. "Cartman" she mutters Footsteps are heard Stan realses Star and Kenny realeses me. Trent walks down with a wooden bat in his hand. Stars eyes widen but shrink within a few moments. he walks to Stan and knocks him out then star then kenny then myself.......
BEEP BEEP BEEP. ugh what is that anoying sound. BEEP BEEP BEEP. Fuck thats anoying i open my eyes im not in the basment any more im in a stark white room "what the fuck??" all the sudden im in a tackle hug. i look down and see Star Stan and kenny hugging me. " how the hell did we get here??" Star laughs " Cartman found our asses and saved us but we were all passed out so it was dif
sp cured 2I'm awaken to my phone going off i look at dylan who is still asleep i grab my phone and look at the I.d unknown i shurg and pick it up "hello??" " i will find him you know and he will be under my control once again" i pause for a moment "mike?" "very good evan dylan will be under my control you cant watch him forever" "fuck you count fagula" i hit the end button on my phone and throw it across the room. dylans green iris open after here my phone it the floor.
He shifts a bit before looking in my blue eyes " why'd you throw your phone?" i think for a lie i cant tell he about mike it would freak him out to much "Jeysea was just being a bitch" he rubs his eyes "thats starange Jeysea isnt ushally like that" " i dont know why she was being like that but thats not important" he sits up but cringes and lyes back down i brush some of his hair out of his face "are you ok??" its a rather stupied qustion its clear that he's not. " yeah im just sore" i dont reply i dont need to i shift to get up
Levi x Reader |To Make A Man Jealous|You let out an irritated noise, as you watched your boyfriend, Levi, who had a more irked expression than you. You were currently curled up on his couch, your bottom lip stuck out in a pout, not enjoying the fact you weren't getting the attention you craved from him. Levi made no effort to say anything, as he continued hurriedly writing with his quill.
You let out a sigh. Then another, and another. Levi's feline gaze went from his paperwork to you, his eyebrows furrowed together in annoyance.
"(Name), if you're just going to sigh like an idiot, I'd recommend to kindly move off your ass and do something productive." Levi half heartedly grumbled to you, and you took note of his thinning patience.
"Whatever," You replied, doing just that, as you got off his small office couch and went to the door. But before you could open it, you cautiously turned around. Levi's eyes were back on his paperwork, his face just as expressionless as always. An idea popped into your mind, as you slowly stroll
Human- (Boxer!Levi x Reader) [AU]
*A/N: Okay, I"m really excited about this fic man! It's another au obviously, but again, the song is what I got this idea from! So, please, listen to the song as you read ;v; and please leave a comment! Boxer Levi here we go!
He acts like he doesn't care.
He walks with the air of a haughty mystery—in fact, the rumors surrounding him multiply by the thousands every hour. A vagabond, a sly hero, a pimp, a cheater, a lady's man, a gentleman (you refused to believe that), and finally underground thug. But his sharp features were devoid of any emotion; steel hues often blank and uncaring, pressed lips sealing any utterance of words, pitch inky hair bold and rebellious against the sheen of his ivory skin. Just the simple normality of his countenance was dangerous, constantly stealing the oxygen from your lips.
And he struck like a viper, his hooks venomous and throws rearing back and aggres
Borrowing (Student!Levi x Shy!Reader) AU [Drabble]
There were some friends you knew well. Others were mere acquaintances. And some would just hit you up for nothing more than to borrow a pencil- Levi being one of them.
By then, the whole friendship structure just collapsed and practically laughed at you for having, well, a bit of a small crush on him. You barely knew each other; it was only during breaks that he would take you from whatever you were doing and asked for paper. Or a pencil. Or your two-page notes on hyperbolic equations. What it was didn't matter.
You noticed he always came to you- and no one else. It made you feel, special, in a way. Especially after seeing Petra constantly offering him supplies and turning it down.
After taking what he needed he just went over to his own group of friends and you would instantly turn your head in his direction, watching him stride so perfectly away from you. As creepy as it sounded, you took in almost every deta
Dave X Reader
(Y/n) was just relaxing on her bathtub, humming to herself.
She finally was free of work and could relax, so why not take a long, calming bath?
But the peace was cut when she heard her phone vibrate, the girl grunting.
She reached for her phone, and saw that it was her friend and neighbor Dave.
'hey (Y/n) im bored
where are you and what are you doing'
(Y/n) sighed and answered the male.
'Home, taking a bath.'
(Y/n) patiently waited for his answer, but as he didn't say anything, she simply shrugged and placed her phone safely back in its place.
(Y/n) and Dave had met when (Y/n) moved in, and eventually became really good friends, so good that (Y/n) trusted the male a key to her apartment.
Maybe that wasn't the best idea.
(Y/n) raised an eyebrow as she heard her front door open, followed my loud steps coming closer to her bathroom.
'Oh hell no-'
Suddenly, her bathroom door opened do reveal Dave himself, liter
Dawn- (Actor!Levi x Reader) [AU]
*A/N: Listen to the song for sure~ The lyrics of the first part are according to that song!
How long has it been?
The question has an obvious and well tracked answer so Levi doesn't have to think too hard. Four years and two months. Of course, if you ask anybody what Levi had done in these past four years, there would be no question that he had essentially evolved into an international sensation, propelling forward in his career, topping movie charts, and even exhaling music CDs when a small audience of fans learned he could sing. Singer, predominant actor, and whatever else he happened to be—they advanced to a frightening degree, all originating from one unforgettable decision that created an infinite series of toppling dominoes.
The blue sky is beautiful
but why am I becoming so insignificant and shabby.
Your sacrifice.
As in…you…sacrificed the purity of your
Guardian Angel [Levi x Reader]
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3lWwMHFhnA Please listen to this while you read!)
A throbbing in your head. Heated blood coursing through broken vessels in attempt to revitalize your body. Muscles pinned to the rough surface on which you lay. And pain, an indescribable pain the inflamed upon every breath.
Each sensation your mind detected, and yet, it was still too pinned into the realm of unconsciousness to even fathom your surroundings.
Then, something soft caressed your wounded cheek, light as a feather. It tickled but it was far more desirable than this torture.
Your weakened mind struggled to pull away, but the gravity of your memories succumbed you further into that terrifying darkness. Memories of your final battle at humanity's side sieved through your mind's eye in broken particles; the plastered grins of your foes, screams of your comrades as they faced their deaths, bones crushed by rubble and giant hands, swords digging into thick skin, and red, so much red, so much blood
Demon!Denmark x Angel!Chibi!Reader Prologue
The devil smirked as the woman in front of him screamed in fear. There was nothing anyone can do, no angels could stop him, he was the king of (Europe) demons. He raised his hand to kill the woman, but a flash of light blinded him. He rubbed his eyes and saw that the woman was gone. He growled in frustration.
" How the blazing fires did she get away?" He growled. Then his little servant, Tino ((lol finland, what you doin'?)) stumbled into the ally to the king.
" K-King Matthias, sir..." Tino mumbled nervously. Matthias whipped around, his eyes glowing red with anger and his sharp wolf-like teeth starting to show.
" What is it, Tino?" He asked angrily. Tino shivered.
" Th-There seems to be an n-new angel t-that is young, b-but ve-very strong and cl-clever....." Tino said. Matthias scowled. So it was the little angel.
" Where is it?" Matthias growled. Tino took out his clipboard from his back somehow nervously and looked through the list.
" Th-there's no data, sir. She seems
Dave X Reader
(Y/n) was trying to pay attention to her teacher, but it was hard.
He was just too boring.
The girl yawned and laid her head down, closing her eyes to take a small nap. The teacher wouldn't notice anyway.
As she was about to fall asleep, she felt something touch her fingertips.
(Y/n) opened her eyes and saw a small note with words written in red, and she knew who it was from.
(Y/n) looked to her side and raised an eyebrow at her friend Dave, who simply pointed to the paper and mouthed 'for you'.
The girl sighed and picked the note up, reading it.
'hey (Y/n), ive got a question for you'
(Y/n) sighed yet again and wrote in another small paper, throwing it carefully at Dave who caught it, reading it.
'What is it? It better be not something about this class 'cause I'm not paying attention.'
Dave silently chuckled and wrote another note, throwing it at (Y/n).
'dont worry, its not about that
wanna be my girl
Insecurities-Romano x Reader
Those voices, he knew they didn't speak the truth. He knew you weren't planning on leaving anytime soon...or were you?
He didn't know anymore. Lovino walked over and sat at the table in the kitchen.
"B-Bella, you're not planning on leaving anytime soon, are you?"
You switched your attention from the oven to Lovino, a look of confusion and hurt splattered across your face. "No, why on earth would you ask that, Lovi? Do-Do you want me too?"
That was when he couldn't handle it anymore. Lovino walked over to you, bringing you into a bone crushing embrace, before sinking to the floor.
That was when you heard the sniffling and you felt something wet dripping onto your shoulder blade.
"L-Lovi? H-Hey, what's wrong?" You asked, shocked because you'd never seen your lover so weak.
Then he pulled his head up from your shoulder blade, looking you in the eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm not as good as my brother or that idiota, Antonio. J-just please, don't leave? Ti amo, bella!"
You brought his head b
Sp kyleMy name is Kyle Brofloski Im a nerdy ginger jew i get beat up at school even my own boyfriend beats me he tells me he has to keep up with his reputation at the end of the day i feel like im almost dead. The only person i feel like i can trust is Kenny he is always there for me no matter what sometimes i wonder if i was with kenny it would be better. But im scared of stan going after me so i just stay silent.
Sometimes i wonder if death would be better. I dont talk as much as i used to and i barley wiegh a thing because i dont eat to much anymore. If i did more people would go after me. I'm tired and beat when my mom asks were all the brusies come from i just tell her im a clutz if i told her the truth she would probably start a war and i dont want that happing again. For the life of me i cant stop cutting it makes some of the pain go away for a while so i enojoy it i know it sounds strange but i just want to feel something other then hate but id rather feel pain then nothing at all so
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scheinbar is a much-loved and well-known deviant. Just one look at her gallery, filled with enchanting photography, will have you mesmerized. A deviant for over 7 years, Christiane can always be found posting inspirational features as well as regularly commenting on other deviations and encouraging and empowering her fellow deviants. We are inspired and insist that you too stop by and congratulate ... Read More
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Hello there gentlemen. We know you've been running the same question on your head for months now. What ring should I buy when I pop her question? Of course, you'd want to get your woman something really special and something that will somehow be a symbol of your love for her. Don't worry we've got you covered. Say hello to platinum diamond solitaire rings. But how do you exactly buy one? Again, you are in luck as we have some expert tips and tricks for you.
Remember the 4 Cs which stand for clarity, color, carat weight and cut.
CLARITY describes the absence of internal and external blemishes on the diamond itself. Diamonds like most minerals on earth are formed after millions of years through pressure from the earth's crust and core. It is common for these stones to have internal blemishes that could appear as small flakes of other color or minor scratches. What are rare are those that have very minimal to none.
COLOR is also a thing to remember. Most people are accustomed to the translucent diamonds but there too are those that have hue in them such as yellow, black, brown, pink and blue.
CARAT WEIGHT is all about the mass of the stone. Of course, the bigger it is, the more rare and expensive it becomes. Remember that solitaire rings were popularized by famous jeweler Tiffany & Co. decades back when they released their six prong version. They are characterized by a single stone set on the metal.
CUT completes the 4 Cs. This is very essential when it comes to luster, shine and fire. The way that a diamond or any other precious stone is cut affects the way in which light travels and reflects from it. The better the cut and the more facets it has, the better its luster and fire. There are many cuts for diamond solitaire rings (i.e. princess, asher, pillow, round, etc).
Additionally, it is important for you to make ample research before you go out and purchase right then and there. Know the jeweler or supplier first and ascertain not only their product quality but their customer service and client feedback as well.
When you have finally bought the best platinum diamond solitaire rings that your beau will love, then all you need is a bucketful of courage to go and ask her the question. Don't worry, she'll say a big fat yes!


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I am blessed with several LIFE long friends. Recently I filled out a referral for a friend and it asked how long I had known the applicant….17 years – not bad for someone under 30. Georgia is another lifelong friend. She and I were roommates at His Kids Camp back in 4th or 5th grade – about 20 years ago. We've stayed friends ever since. Though she lives in Texas now and I rarely get to see her, it has been fun to catch up time to time.
Here is her second daughter, Lyla:
You know those Texans – they like everything BIG…even their bows. Georgia says she is going to get my daughter a Texas size bow…hmmmm.


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Mashery Support Portals Developer BlogRSS Feed
Rate limit consumption via debug headers
We launched a useful little feature recently that allows monitoring of rate limit consumption. This is a feature that needs to be be toggled on via a UI option to be available. When this feature is toggled on, all responses returned from that end-point will automatically include a bunch of Mashery generated headers that display information such as allotted QPS, allotted quota, current QPS, current quota as well as time duration left to quota reset. Useful for e.g. if a developer runs out of allotted daily quota and needs to know when the next call can be made against that end-point.
For e.g. with this option enabled, if a developer is making a call using a package key for a package plan that has method level limits specified, below are some headers that would be included into the response by Mashery
Here's the screenshot of where you would enable this option via Endpoint -> Properties page ( Include rate limit data in response headers)
New Feature: Enhanced Cache Reporting and API Distribution Network
We are pleased to announce the general availability of enhanced Cache Reporting, the latest addition to the Reporting & Analytics provided within the API administration dashboard.
API administrators can now drill-down deep into their API programs and visualize the percentage of API responses that are being delivered from the Mashery cache feature or from their backend infrastructures.
Now, API administrators can proactively identify opportunities to unload non-transactional API traffic from consuming their backend capacity and instead leverage Intel Mashery's globally distributed API distribution network. Customers delivering static data or rich-media content like videos, music, articles, etc…, who have optimally configured their use of the Mashery cache feature would see improvements to their API response times and, for any mobile-deployed products, a seemingly "faster" end-user application experience as data is transferred in less time.
The new reports provide a "birds-eye view" across Packages, Plans, API's, Endpoints, Methods and developers. Each drill-down perspective contains a pair of reports for an overall assessment and a time-trended assessment of how the Mashery cache feature is being utilized. A key benefit of this deep visibility into cache utilization is the potential for our customers to influence internal discussions on how to improve the backend infrastructure with respect to the indicated traffic trends for APIs, endpoints, and methods.
When filtered, the report data tables transition smoothly to become an interactive data visualization for further inspection and insight generation.
The new reports are available for all customers who have the cache feature enabled and can be found within the Reports tab of the Administration dashboard at the following location: For a selected Package or Service > System Status > Cache.
Please see the screenshots below depicting this exciting new feature in action!
OpenSSL Exploit - SSL/TLS MITM vulnerability (CVE-2014-0224)
OpenSSL has released a new exploit notification (CVE-2014-0224), and as with all such exploits, Mashery is working to identify and patch any systems that might be subject to this exploit.
Unlike the previous HeartBleed exploits, we believe this vulnerability did not expose any customer certificate or private key information to an attacker. Whereas, with HeartBleed, customers were required to rotate out their Certificates and generate them with new Private Keys, in this case there is no action needed on the part of Mashery Customers.
We will be providing updates as more information becomes available on this or other security related topics.
Please don't hesitate to contact us via firstname.lastname@example.com or via the self service portal (mashery.com/selfservice) should you have any further questions.
Best, Scott
Scott Farnsworth
Director, Technical Services | Mashery, Inc.
Cache optimizations with If-Modified-Since
We are excited to announce that with last night's release, Mashery has included additional caching optimizations around handling If-Modified-Since header. This HTTP header can be quite useful to improve response times and reduce traffic bandwidth between client applications and your API back-end systems. The way If-Modified-Since header works is very simple. It simply allows any system that honors this header to evaluate if content has been modified since the date specified in the request. If content has not been modified since the date, the system responds back with "304 Not Modified" without sending back the entire payload. This way client applications can reliably use local caches to fulfill responses, speed up response times and avoid unnecessary response payloads getting downloaded from API back-end systems
To understand how this works and to benefit from this feature, you must first enable Mashery cache for the API end-point.
If an application sends a request with If-Modified-Since header against that end-point, Traffic Manager will first check if a valid response can be delivered from cache. If Mashery cache has a valid response, Traffic Manager will evaluate if the cached response needs to be revalidated against API back-end system based on additional directives such as "max-age", "s-maxage", "must-revalidate". If revalidation is not called for, Traffic Manager will return back with a "304 Not Modified" response avoiding request / response roundtrip to the API back-end system. Even if revalidation is called for, Traffic Manager performs additional optimizations and converts the request to a conditional request to minimize traffic bandwidth to your API back-end system. If the API back-end system responds back with "304 Not Modified" in this case, Traffic Manager will deliver the valid response from Mashery cache. If the API back-end system responds back with a "200 OK", response is delivered as usual to the client application and updated in cache.
New Feature: Expanded Cache reports
Mashery is pleased to announce the release of an new expanded set of reports that enables our customers to enjoy new levels of visibility into the API performance benefits provided by our caching feature.
Now, API administrators can drill-down into their technical asset hierarchy and visualize the percentage of traffic that is delivering responses from Mashery's Cache feature or from their backend technical infrastructure. Once filtered, the data table transitions to an interactive data visualization for further investigation and insight generation.
Cache utilization reports are available for all customers and can be found within the Reports tab of the Administration dashboard as follows:
For a selected Package or Service > System Status > Cache
Please see the screenshots below depicting this exciting new feature:
Heartbleed update 4/15/14
It has been a week since the initial reports of CVE-2014-0160, aka the Heartbleed exploit. Over this time we have been working closely with our customers to assist those who might have been exposed to this vulnerability in performing their own risk assessments based on their knowledge of their own systems and the information that we have provided. The purpose of this coordinated investigation is to allow customers to determine their level of risk and execute any required mitigation steps.
For Mashery, this has meant reviewing our infrastructure and connection points with customers to provide that all appropriate systems have been patched and any necessary certificates and credentials have been rotated as security best practices demand. We have sent out multiple communications directly to customers as they relate to specific threat vectors and continue to work with them to install new customer certificates as they come in.
The task of evaluating the risk not only to Mashery but also to our customers has been one that we have not taken lightly. We will continue to stay on top of this issue and message out as appropriate. Please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com should you have any questions or feedback about this process.
Heartbleed Update
While the actual threat window has been closed, we have been working actively with our customers to rotate SSL certificates. We are also continuing to follow through with assessing any additional risks and remediation steps as necessary.
As a reminder, if you are deployed on the Mashery Enterprise network and have not already done so, please open a support case to begin the process of swapping out your SSL certificates. If you have questions or concerns or are not sure if you are using our Enterprise network, please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com
Heartbleed Exploit Security Update
As you are probably aware, OpenSSL released a security advisory yesterday, April 7th, regarding a serious vulnerability nicknamed "Heartbleed", which impacted a large number of Internet applications and services. The vulnerability allowed an attacker to steal private certificate keys or even gain access to data in memory of a vulnerable SSL server. Mashery, along with its service providers, has addressed this vulnerability and believes it has been resolved.
Prior to resolution, some Mashery customers may have been affected by this vulnerability though there is no log information associated with this exploit that allows Mashery to determine whether any systems were compromised. Customers exposed to the vulnerability included only those on the Mashery Enterprise network utilizing SSL certs to enforce secure communication between their consumers and Mashery SaaS systems. API traffic for Customers on Mashery's Premium Network and API traffic managed via Mashery Local were not exposed to the threat.
Mashery's Enterprise network utilizes Amazon Web Services, which incorporates Elastic Load Balancers (ELBs) in traffic management. Amazon has issued statements today containing information on the vulnerabilities with ELBs as well as other Amazon offerings along with resolution information. According to their release, all AWS regions utilizing ELBs have been patched. Mashery is continuing to monitor any additional information released by Amazon and additional, related threats.
If you are using Mashery's Enterprise SaaS edition with SSL transport on API traffic (SSL on the Mashery developer portal is not in scope for this vulnerability), we recommend that you replace your SSL certificate. To begin this process, please open a support ticket with Mashery via self service portal (mashery.com/selfservice) or by emailing email@example.com and our support group will walk you through the process.
We at Mashery continue to take security very seriously and are taking all measures possible to address this. Mashery continues to evaluate this vulnerability to determine if any additional systems were at risk during the vulnerability period. Mashery will provide any updates as they are available. Thank you for your patience on this issue. As always, please feel free to reach out to us if you have any additional questions or concerns.
New Features in I/O Docs
We're pleased to announce the release of several updates to the ever popular I/O Docs tool including
- SOAP support in I/O Docs
- New custom forms engine using Alpaca
- New JSON editor, Ace
SOAP Support in I/O Docs
File this one under "teaching a new dog, old tricks." With I/O Docs support for SOAP APIs, providers can now offer developers a modern tool for a mature protocol. This is especially useful for large enterprises who currently have (or plan to make) their SOAP APIs available but have no easy way to help their developers explore their service. SOAP based web services certainly have their challenges but learning and discovery of the API shouldn't be one of them. If you happen to be using SOAP to expose webservices, in just a few clicks, you can bring the simplicity and power of I/O Docs to your developer audience.
I/O Docs will parse and convert an imported WSDL (XML) into JSON format to generate interactive documentation for both secure and non-secure APIs. Developers simply enter parameter values and make live API calls. SOAP support goes beyond just building an interactive UI based on the schema, types, and bindings; when a developer clicks "Try it", I/O Docs retranslates the JSON objects into XML based SOAP calls and displays the requests/response data, making the learning experience for the developer instant and enjoyable - surely easier than having to generate a third-party SOAP client that generates business-object interfaces and network stubs. By bringing a new school experience to an old school model, I/O Docs makes it easy for enterprise customers to take advantage of the tool of choice for interactive API documentation.
If you've already enabled I/O Docs in the Mashery portal, setting up I/O Docs for SOAP APIs requires no additional configuration or curation of the original definition; the WSDL provides everything I/O Docs needs in order to power itself.
1. From the I/O Docs dashboard, import a WSDL by pointing I/O Docs to a URL
2. Save the translated definition
3. Make SOAP API calls from I/O Docs
I/O Docs WSDL requirements
As with all things SOAP, things can sometimes get complicated quickly. We did our best to adopt common practices in our translation of WS-Security, Schemas, and Types, but there are a few "rules of the road" when using WSDLs to generate I/O Docs; we've written them up and made them available here. Though this is by no means the final definitive list, the guide will help make the journey as smooth as possible.
Schemas and Forms - I/O Docs revs up it's forms engine
I/O Docs definition now includes request schemas to describe the data accepted by API methods (for PUT and POST). Though schemas are not required by I/O Docs, they can be used to do some pretty neat things as shown in the example below. I/O Docs has borrowed the schemas concept from Google Discovery Document Format which in turn is based on JSON Schema V3 for its schema representations. I/O Docs now also makes use of Alpaca jQuery form to provide custom forms based on JSON schema.
Combining the use of schemas with Alpaca* engine, you can now create custom form fields to send JSON objects in the form post. This obviates the need to embed JSON in a text area (yuk!), and removes the potential for other not-so-desired side-effects (e.g, url-encoded POST); the plain truth of it is, I/O Docs becomes easier to use for your developer audience while staying true to your API.
The brief example below uses a schema definition, "Widget", to generate a custom form request for the "InsertWidget" method.
A the top of the I/O Doc definition, a schemas object is created and within it, the Widget is defined.
"schemas":{ "Widget":{ "id":"Widget", "type":"object", "properties":{ "name":{ "type":"string", "description":"The name of this Widget." }, "description":{ "type":"string", "description":"A full length description of this Widget." } } } }
...in the resources section of the I/O Doc definition, the "Widget" schema is referenced in the method request.
"resources":{ "Test Endpoint":{ "methods":{ "insertWidget":{ "description":"", "httpMethod":"POST", "path":"/post", "request":{ "$ref":"Widget" } } } } }
The definition is rendered in I/O Docs as followed. Note that the request body paramater of insertWidget is JSON .
Ace JSON Editor
We've replaced the I/O Docs editable textarea field with the widely used Ace** editor to deliver full blown code editing functionality including: In-line JSON validation, code folding, syntax highlighting and a whole lot more. Thanks to the folks at Cloud9 IDE, Mozilla, and all the developers who contributed to building this amazing editor! Here's a screenshot of Ace in I/O Docs
* Alpaca is a community-led open-source project licensed under Apache 2.0.
** The Ace source code is hosted on GitHub and released under the BSD license ‐ very simple and friendly to all kinds of projects, whether open-source or not.
New Feature: Chart and Legend Interactivity
New Feature: Chart and Legend InteractivityMashery is pleased to announce the release of a new report drill down feature that will revolutionize the way our customers extract insights from our reporting and analytics offering.
This new enhancement is available for all customers and is applicable throughout the reports portfolio.
Our customers can now drill-down to specific content by either 1) clicking on the legend entry for the interesting content 2) clicking on a data point associated with the interesting content.
If at any time our customer can click the newly visible "Reset Chart" button to return to the original chart state.
See diagram below for additional details.
This reporting and analytics enhancement serves as the latest way that Mashery is committed to delivering a steady stream of innovations to our customers.
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Medforce, Inc. is changing its name to ProForce Inc. to better reflect the capabilities of the company. We are a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and specialize in providing critical administrative and professional support services and solutions nationwide to federal government agencies. Whether you need to fill a short term gap or completely outsource a function, we have you covered.
Each organization is unique. A one-size-fits-all approach will never help your organization fulfill its mission. We deliver custom solutions, tailored to your agency, your culture, and your one-of-a-kind challenges. Contact us today to find out how we can help you fill talent gaps and achieve success.


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Drone Videography Peers Into The World Of Extreme Sports
Watch the exploits of marines, surfers, and MMA fighters in this cinematic, drone-aided compilation.>> Read More
Retro Style GIFs Infuse Vintage Portraits With Flashing Psychedelia
These trippy GIFs from St. Francis Elevator Ride give 70s kitsch a modernized twist.>> Read More
Dancing 'Silhouettes' Illuminate This Audio-Visual Performance
Using a needle-covered canvas and an advanced light system, new media studio NONOTAK is re-imagining concert visuals.>> Read More
A Closer Look At Guardians Of The Galaxy's Stellar Computer Interfaces
The computer interfaces in 'Guardians of the Galaxy' are just as beautifully designed as its aliens and explosions.>> Read More
Planning A Trip To Outer Space? Stop By The Intergalactic Travel Bureau
For just $16,000,000,000, the ITB will send you on a trip to Jupiter— and throw in a trip to Mars, free of charge.>> Read More
[Video] Colonies | Vik Muniz And Tal Danino Turn Living Cells Into Art
'Colonies,' the new bio art collaboration between artist Vik Muniz and MIT synthetic biologist Tal Danino, features striking images produced from microscopic photos of bacteria, cells infected with viruses, and cancer cells.>> Read More
Aerial Photos Of Tulip Fields Look Like Abstract Paintings
Simone Sbaraglia's aerial photography explores the complex geometry of tulip fields in all their colorful splendor.>> Read More
Twin Peaks Gets An NES-Style Intro
Who killed (8-bit) Laura Palmer?>> Read More
6 Artists Who Use Waterfalls As Canvases
From the Rain Room to Olafur Eliasson's installation at the Brooklyn Bridge, these six projects creatively interpret falling water.>> Read More
Laser-Powered Tower Shoots Wishes Into The Cosmos
"Wish Tower" appeared at last week's BOOM Festival in Portugal, visualizing the desires of festival-goers as laser beams in the sky. We imagine more than a few first-time attendees asked for a warm shower.>> Read More
A Sea Of Oscillating Pipes Ebb And Flow Over Passers-By In Responsive Sculpture
A 23 x 23 grid of plastic stalactites flow over human heads in kinetic art installation, "Breaking The Surface.">> Read More
Here's How You Turn Sounds Into 3D Sculptures
"Mother," from artists Inmi Lee and Kyle McDonald, has transformed the synesthetic experience into a series of 3D printed sculptures.>> Read More
Aphex Twin Is Dropping Clues On the Deep Web About His New Album
Richard D. James used TOR to reveal the tracklist (and even BPM details) of "Syro," his first album in 14 years.>> Read More
Beautiful Airport Timelapse Turns Flight Patterns Into Shooting Stars
Milton Tan's "The Air Traffic 2" includes rare footage from Singapore's Changi airport that warps planes into surging beacons.>> Read More


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Research boost at Winwick Hospital (From Warrington Guardian)
Text us your news! Start your message Warrington News and send any photos or videos to 80360
Research boost at Winwick Hospital
7:51am Monday 30th June 2014 in News
AN NHS trust in Warrington is helping lead the trend in more clinical research.
The 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation has increased its work in the area of research as highlighted in a league table released last week.
More than half of NHS trusts across the country increased the number of clinical research studies last year, contributing to the drive for better treatments for all NHS patients.
Research is an important part of the NHS and can help find out what are the best treatments for patients.
5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust increased their number of studies from 11 in 2012/13 to 19 in 2013/14.
Jonathan Sheffield, chief executive officer of the National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network, said: "It's great to see a real appetite for research in Warrington. I would like to thank all the patients and carers who have taken part in research, and thereby made a contribution to improving NHS treatments for everyone.
"I would also like to congratulate 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust for increasing their number of studies. We know that research is something that patients really value and these Trusts are creating the opportunities for patients to get involved."
Comments are closed on this article.


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Last Updated: Thursday, June 20, 2013, 15:35
A Tibetan nun who last week set fire to herself in protest at Chinese rule has died, a US-based broadcaster and rights group said.
Last Updated: Thursday, June 13, 2013, 17:59
Five members of a family allegedly attempted self immolation along with their two children claiming harassment by a police officer.
Last Updated: Saturday, June 08, 2013, 15:33
A 25-year-old woman committed suicide by immolating herself after she set her two minor children afire at their house, police said on Saturday.
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 28, 2013, 19:18
Sri Lanka will launch inquiry into the role of the media in the death of a Buddhist monk who set himself on fire.
Last Updated: Sunday, May 26, 2013, 16:59
A Buddhist monk, who set himself on fire to protest the slaughter of cattle, has succumbed to burn injuries, becoming the first Sri Lankan monk to self-immolate.
Last Updated: Thursday, April 18, 2013, 12:03
A young mother died after setting herself on fire to protest Chinese rule, prompting thousands of people to gather near her home and the monastery where the self-immolation occurred.
Last Updated: Friday, March 29, 2013, 14:38
Mounting incidents of self immolations as mark of protest against Chinese oppression topped the agenda of lawmakers as the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile wrapped up its budget session here on Thursday.
Last Updated: Monday, March 25, 2013, 19:08
A man on Monday tried to immolate self and his family in front of the Superintendent of Police office here alleging land grabbing by a BSP MLA.
Last Updated: Monday, March 25, 2013, 10:58
A 30-year-old Tibetan woman has set herself on fire in the latest self-immolation protest against China's political and religious oppression.
Last Updated: Monday, March 11, 2013, 17:19
Several Tibetan women in exile are set to hold a three-day campaign in the capital demanding the presence of a UN peacekeeping team in Tibet.
Last Updated: Sunday, March 10, 2013, 19:55
A self-immolation bid by a Tibetan youth was foiled by police in Dharamsala during a march to mark anniv of failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.
Last Updated: Sunday, March 10, 2013, 18:25
A self-immolation bid by a Tibetan youth was foiled by police in Dharamsala during a march to mark the anniversary of the failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.
more videos >>


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by Zach Burns
Stretched Canvas
Fine art print on bright white, fine poly-cotton blend, matte canvas using latest generation Epson archival inks. Individually trimmed and hand stretched museum wrap over 1-1/2" deep wood stretcher bars. Includes wall hanging hardware.
design from a while back parodying the Obama Hope poster in support of The Dude from The Big Lebowski and his laid back ways, man.
- 98Promote


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To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog:
On March 4, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the section of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) providing protections for whistleblowers applies not only to employees of public companies, but also to employees of contractors that provide services to public companies. The ruling opens SOX whistleblower protections to millions of employees of privately held employers in the U.S.
The case involved employees of privately held companies that provide advisory and management services to the Fidelity family of mutual funds. As is often the case in the mutual fund industry, the publicly-traded funds themselves have no employees, and instead contract with investment advisors like FMR LLC and its affiliates to provide necessary services to advise and run the funds.
The plaintiffs-petitioners in FMR were employees of these contractors who alleged that they were fired due to concerns they raised about accounting practices used at the funds and inaccuracies in a draft SEC registration statement for certain funds. The privately-owned employers challenged the applicability of Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower protections to persons not employed by the public company itself.
The Court examined the relevant language of the statute stating that "no … contractor … may discharge … an employee" who engages in protected whistleblowing activity, and found that the phrase "an employee" in this passage must refer to a contractor's own employee, because (among other reasons) contractors ordinarily have no control over the employees of their clients or customers. The Court also noted that the remedies available to successful claimants under the whistleblower provision include reinstatement and back pay, remedies that a contractor would find difficult or impossible to provide to anyone other than its own employees.
Three dissenting Justices expressed concern that the majority's decision would "open the floodgates" to whistleblower claims by, for example, household employees of the millions of persons who work for (and therefore contract with) public companies. The dissent noted that, because the SOX whistleblower provision covers retaliation for reports of mail, wire and bank fraud, in addition to securities fraud, the majority's ruling would extend protection even to a babysitter terminated by a parent who happens to work at Walmart (a public company), if the babysitter had expressed concern prior to termination that the parent's teenage son participated in an internet purchase fraud. The majority did not dispute that such a situation would be covered by SOX under its holding, but found the dissent's floodgate-opening concerns "likely more theoretical than real. Few housekeepers or gardeners, we suspect, are likely to come upon and comprehend evidence of their employer's complicity in fraud."
The Court's ruling means that even privately held companies – if they have contracts with public companies - must be sensitive to the potential for retaliation claims by employees who raise concerns about securities law violations, wire fraud, mail fraud or bank fraud. Such companies may also need to become familiar with – or have counsel who is familiar with – the regulations governing public companies, so that they can identify potentially protected complaints from employees. Private companies should consider reviewing their disciplinary policies to be sure they have effective procedures in place to respond appropriately to whistleblower complaints.
Topics: Federal Contractors, Lawson v FMR, Sarbanes-Oxley, SCOTUS, Whistleblower Protection Policies
Published In: Civil Procedure Updates, Civil Rights Updates, General Business Updates, Labor & Employment Updates, Securities Updates
DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
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