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Why C is faster than assembly
I am very interested in the pros and cons of various programming languages for embedded applications. Although I mostly favor C, I sometimes prefer C++, but I am open to suggestions. I started out writing assembly language and still feel that this is the "real thing". This is a topic I posted about some time ago. I expanded my thoughts in a more recent article on embedded.com
I am always pleased when one of my colleagues offers to write a guest blog, as I think that different views can be interesting. Brooks Moses [who has kindly contributed a number of times before, like here] has some very interesting views and experience to share …
The debates about which programming language is fastest are never ending. Is Fortran faster than C? Is C++ slower? What about Java? The only thing people seem to agree on is that when you really want the absolute best performance on some critical inner loop, you use assembly code.
Like most things people say in these debates, this is wrong.
That's a pretty audacious claim to be making, so let me back this up with some real-world numbers. The Embedded Software Division at Mentor Graphics has recently been writing a computational library for Freescale's new e6500 Power-architecture processors. We call it the Mentor Embedded Performance Library, so it's our reputation (as well as the reputation of Freescale's e6500 chips) that's on the line for this to perform well.
I've recently been working on the elementwise functions in this library — these are the functions that compute the square root or the cosine or so forth for each element in an array. They're pretty simple functions, but there are also about 190 of them in the library, and we have an aggressive schedule that meant I had only a couple weeks to get all of these done.
The e6500 has an AltiVec SIMD vector unit, so the inner loop of one of these functions looks about like this:
for (i = 0; i < N; i+=4)
load a 4-element SIMD vector of input
process it with several AltiVec instructions
save a 4-element SIMD vector of output
Whether you write that in C or assembly, it's going to be slow if you actually write it like that. (For example, a square root function written this way takes 26 cycles for each SIMD vector, while a better-optimized version can do it in 11.) The e6500 CPU can start executing a typical AltiVec floating-point instruction every cycle, but there is a 6-cycle latency between when the instruction starts executing and when the output register can be used by another instruction. If you try to use the output register sooner than that, the CPU waits in a "pipeline stall" until it's ready. That's what's happening here; each AltiVec instruction in the chain of instructions that processes the input is working with the output from the previous instruction, so the CPU is spending most of its time stalled.
Any good assembly programmer knows the way to solve that. The computation for each SIMD vector of four elements is independent, so if we partly "unroll" the loop and compute four of them on each pass through the loop, we can interleave the instructions and avoid stalls. The CPU can start the first AltiVec instruction for the first vector, and then rather than stalling on the next cycle it can start the first AltiVec instruction for the next vector, and so on. Oh, and there are some additional nuances; an e6500 CPU can start a computation instruction and a load-store instruction on the same cycle, so we want to adjust the instruction order to take advantage of that as much as we can. Then, because all these instructions are operating at once, we need to allocate which register is used by which set of computations and make sure that's all kept straight.
Or we could just let the compiler do all the instruction ordering and register allocation. This is one of the things that compilers are particularly good at and have been for decades. Compilers aren't (currently) very good at unrolling loops or converting simple C code to AltiVec instructions, but we can write an unrolled loop in C with GCC "compiler intrinsic" functions to tell it what AltiVec instructions to use. The compiler will then find a near-optimal order for the instructions and allocate the registers in a fraction of a second rather than a fraction of an hour, and we can then take a minute or two to have a look at the generated assembly code to make sure it hasn't done something dumb. The result will be just as good as what someone might write by hand in assembly code.
But that's not "faster", I hear you objecting; it's "just as good." Where does "faster" come in?
Earlier, I said we'd compute four vectors on each pass through the loop. Why four? It turns out that four is a reasonable guess for the best choice, but for some of these functions doing eight at once is better, while for some it's better to do only two, or occasionally only one.
And that's where "faster" comes in. In assembly, changing the number of vectors we do on each pass through the loop requires laboriously going through that ordering and register-allocation step all over again, and probably debugging a few bugs. But, in C, it's a simple cut-and-paste. So simple even a Python script could do it — and that's what I did, and generated a table of the performance results for a bunch of different options for all of the various functions. Here's an excerpt — remember, there are over a hundred lines of this and several additional columns:
|loop unroll amount
|complex multiply
|error function
|natural log
|square root
Loop execution times (cycles per SIMD vector)
It's immediately clear that for square root, division, and addition we want to do eight vectors at a time, but only two for arctangent and cosine, and only one for tangent and arccosine. If we'd written everything in assembly, there's no way we could have done this sort of experimentation in the time we had. About the best we could have done was pick a sample function and try a few things, and then use that to guess the right number to use for all the other functions — and we'd probably get it wrong on many of them. As you can see in the table, guessing wrong can lead to measurably slower code.
So. if you want the absolute best performance on a critical inner loop, write it in C. Or Fortran, or C++; it doesn't matter. Read the generated assembly, and adjust the C code until it looks good. Then experiment with unrolling loops and trying different variations, and measure each one until you get the best numbers. The reason C is faster than assembly is because the only way to write optimal code is to measure it on a real machine, and with C you can run many more experiments, much faster.
Oh, and use the right algorithm; that matters more than everything else put together. Last week I was working on our floating-point sort routine, and after I had a rather good quicksort implementation working, I tried a better sort algorithm and cut the execution time by more than half — again, a win for experimentation. But that's a story for another time!
Post Author
Posted February 18th, 2013, by Colin Walls
Post Tags
AltiVec, assembly, C, e6500, embedded software, Freescale, programming languages
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About The Colin Walls Blog
This blog is a discussion of embedded software matters - news, comment, technical issues and ideas, along with other passing thoughts about anything that happens to be on my mind. The Colin Walls Blog
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2 comments on this post | ↓ Add Your Own
Commented on 24 February 2013 at 19:05
By bandit gangwere
Good analysis. People rush to "optimize the code" but they don't bother to measure or look for the best algorithm.
I have had to optimize code four times in the last 20 years, and knew, by design, where that was going to be. I got the code to work, measured – yep, that needs to run faster – and optimized it. Either re-arraigned the code to help the compiler, or cloned the code and cut out the error checking. I could run the error checking version when time was not critical, then the really fast when time was critical.
Commented on 24 February 2013 at 19:06
By bandit gangwere
BTW, this architecture reminds me of the Floating Point Systems array processors. Adds to one cycle, mults two (and you had to push data thru the pipe, and memory fetches were three.
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The Actuarial Model for Implicit Pension Debt of China
Based on the basic principles of actuarial, with the latest provisions of pension system reform of china, using the individual cost method, implicit pension debt of China in 2009 can be calculated with the model.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
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subset: commoncrawl


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My Communities
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It seems that I always only write in the wee hours of the morning, but thats the only time I have access to the internet. It is so inspiring to be able to look online and read about other peoples struggles with Fibromyalgia. The reason I'm writing tonight is because I was wondering how do you all accept your own limitations...I mean, honestly, I haven't really figured mine out yet. I have always had a very strong will and I am so used to pushing past my limitations...that I can't seem to stop myself from getting angry and bitter because I spend so much of my time hurting...and when I'm not hurting I spend so much of my time "pretending" that I'm not hurting, so that my family won't feel bad. Im absolutely sick and tired of hurting and yet I cant seem to do any little thing anymore without really regretting it. Is it this way for everyone else? How have you learned to manage it? I'm so sorry for complaining and whining so much---I just don't know what to do anymore. Its as if I can't have any more happy moments because they are all weighed down with pain...that stupid deep pain that is always there.Any advice at all is welcome.View Thread
I'm so frustrated right now and I feel so absolutely alone, which is absurd! I' writing on this discussion board as a last ditch effort. This is the point I'm at right now...
I'm so sick and tired of being sick and tired. Same old story, I guess. I really hate to complain about it, but just when I thought it couldn't get worse, it did. This past weekend was possibly the worst flare I have ever had since having been diagnosed a few years back. I feel like I'm slowly but surely turning into a recluse. I encourage my family to do activities without me because I drag them down. There is no way that I can keep up with all of them and all of the activities that normal school age children participate in. I'm so tired of missing graduations, concerts, 4H presentations, I feel like I'm missing everything! If I make myself go, which I do try to, I end up regretting it for the next three days...bare minimum...This past weekend I slept all day saturday, saturday night, sunday, and most of sunday night...I'm really so embarrassed to even be posting this...I feel like such a lousy person! My kids can't even touch me! Neither can my husband for that matter. I feel like a burden--my poor husband took care of the kids all weekend and set up babysitters so I could rest----this isn't the first time, and I feel so bad about it. I know none of us can help the fact that we have fibro, but I absolutlely hate these limitations. I cry all the time, my self worth is down, I miss my children, I miss my husband, I can't go to the doctor because I don't have the money, I am not taking anything other than a B vitamin complex...and I still haven't been able to get the savella back since my last post! I don't want pity, and I am so sad that other people have to go through this too, but I just don't know what to do anymore. My husband tries to understand, but I guess I just don't know how to shake the self doubt and the horrible feelings I have because I can't do all I used to do. My husband says we're going to the doctor, but we can't afford it. Quite frankly, I'm not sure when we can. I feel like I'm falling down a tunnel and my life is staying at the top and I'm falling to the bottom. I can hear and see everything that's going on---I just can't be a part of it.I pray constantly, but lately, I've been too tired to do anything. I hope you are all having "good" days.
Crystal LouView Thread
Oh, how I wish there was some magical formula I could give you to help lift your spirits right now. As of a few minutes ago, I put you on my prayer list...(a list that helps me to remember all the people I'm praying for). I feel your pain and your anguish when I read your post...I don't pity you because I myself hate pity. Sometimes I just want to cry and not get out of bed...I want to roll over,put the pillow over my head, and fall back to sleep...(ha ha...that never works). I wish I could give you inspirational words...words that would rip your pain in half and give your spirits a new lift....The only thing that comes to mind right away is to let you know that your heavenly father knows where you have been, he knows where your are going, and he knows what you are going through. One of my favorite psalms to read is 139. Please read it now, if you can. Sometimes when you are hurting and no one is in your shoes it helps to put things into perspective. It always helps me to feel a little better when I realize that God knows right where I am at.
Will it make your pain go away? Or will it make all these medicines start working? No, honestly it won't. But I want you to take rest and joy and peace in the fact that you aren't alone at all, really.
It won't make this ordeal you're going through any less or any easier, but maybe it will be hope.
Sometimes, because I'm a nurse, and I'm a "do-gooder", I have to make myself say no to things that I really want to say yes to. Sometimes, because I'm a nurse, I know that I must keep going even when my body stops me and begs me to sit for awhile. I've realized after having fibromyalgia for 4 years that I need to listen to my body...it has a way of telling me it's reached it's limit.
As for coping...sometimes nothing makes the pain better. Sometimes, I have to trick my brain...by making it think in ways it never has thought before. Occassionally it works and I've suddenly found myself getting lost in a new skill or hobby. Is there anything you've always wanted to learn more about? I know it won't be easy with the fibrofog, but it might help your self worth....just ideas. Please get some rest....I hope you feel better soon.View Thread
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(WPTZ) Terry Gray watches her 8-year-old Australian Shepard Max with a smile on her lips but pain in her eyes. Her other dog, Emmy, is gone after growing violently ill a few days ago.
"We woke up and she was having a seizure," said Gray. "That stopped. 5:30 she had another seizure. This time it lasted much longer."
Gray said a doctor at the Berlin Veterinary Clinic diagnosed Emmy with antifreeze poisoning. Hours later, the Grays had to put Emmy down.
A search of Gray's Northfield, Vermont property revealed troubling evidence, a container of what appears to be hot dog meat soaking in a chemical.


text:
Rush 3/4 Tights (Women's)
In Stock Product Number: 40994
The features are all about performance, but the design is streamlined and sexy: The Rush tights are made from stretchy midweight GT260 jersey fabric for running, the gym and other fitness activities.
* This product does not qualify for shipping to all countries.
- Wide
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- Secure zippered interior stash pocket
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- Best For:Outdoor & hiking, Travel & lifestyle, Running & fitness
- Midweight, naturally odor-resistant, naturally wicking, breathable
- Midweight 260gm merino
Gender: Women's
Material: 39% merino wool, 45% nylon, 16% elastane
Fit: Slim
Season: F14 S15
Vendor ProductId: 101025
Review ProductId: 40994


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In 1998 the US Army was trying to think of non-lethal ways to incapacitate enemy soldiers. One of these ideas was to induce seizures in them. Spencer Ackerman at i09 gets down to the details:
The [Army's analysis] cautioned that the effectiveness of incapacitating a human nervous system with an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) "has not been tested." But the analysis speculated that "50 to 100 kV/m free field of very sharp pulses" would likely be "sufficient to trigger neurons or make them more susceptible to firing." And a weapon that harnessed an EMP-induced seizure could conceivably work from "hundreds of miles" away. The idea might as well have been stamped "As Seen on TV."
"The photic-induced seizure phenomenon was borne out demonstrably on December 16, 1997 on Japanese television when hundreds of viewers of a popular cartoon were treated, inadvertently, to photic seizure induction," the analysis noted. That cartoon was Pokemon, and the incident received worldwide attention. About 700 viewers showed symptoms of epilepsy — mostly vomiting — an occasional, if strange, occurrence with TV shows and videogames due to rapid, flashing lights.


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One of the more interesting aspects of the WikiLeaks document dump is the persistence of intelligence reports indicating collusion between al Qaeda, al Qaeda-affiliated parties, and Iran. By itself, this should not be surprising. The 9/11 Commission, Clinton-era federal prosecutors, and many others have found evidence of such cooperation.
Read more...
It will take some time to comb through the massive document dump that WikiLeaks unleashed last night.
Is the leak of 92,000 classified documents pertaining to the war in Afghanistan now published by WikiLeaks and reprinted by the New York Times and some European publications a catastrophe? An affirmative answer is certainly suggested by a White House statement that says the document dump "could put the lives of Americans and our partners at risk, and threaten our national security."
Expect this story from the New York Times to restart the discussion on U.S. policies and strategies in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Lt. General James R. Clapper, Jr., the president's nominee for director of National Intelligence, is taking a hard line on information security, but only where it counts.
The first installment of the Washington Post blockbuster, "Top Secret America," by Dana Priest and William Arkin, two years in the making, is finally out today. It paints a surprisingly unsurprising picture of duplication and triplication in the intelligence world.
The 9/11 Commission castigated the CIA for neglecting to collect and analyze intelligence about terrorist financing. It noted that "information about terrorist money helps us to understand [al-Qaeda] networks, search them out, and disrupt their operations."
Private First Class Bradley Manning, arrested in May and transferred from Iraq to a detention center in Kuwait, has now been formally charged with passing a classified video to Wikileaks.org, and also with providing the shadowy website with more than 50 classified State Department cables.
Is there nothing we can do about Wikileaks? Is it really a website where anyone can post any U.S. government secret no matter how injurious it is to American security?
"A senior Korean military commander has been arrested on suspicion of leaking the South's military defense plans to Kim Jong Il's regime," reports The Australian. "The major general, identified only as Kim, arrested by military authorities yesterday, faces charges of supplying confidential information to North Korea."
We may soon have before our eyes the mother of all leaks. "The State Department and American embassies around the world," reports the Daily Beast, "are bracing for what officials fear could be the massive, unauthorized release of secret diplomatic cables in which U.S. diplomats harshly evaluate foreign leaders and reveal the inner-workings of American foreign policy."
Wired has an excellent profile of the Wikileaks mole, one that's worth a read in its entirety. Here's a brief background:
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Obama's 'accomplishment.'
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text:
The Prisoner: Checkmate
(S01E04) "Checkmate" is probably my favorite single episode of The Prisoner. It's a very tight story about how Number 6 thinks he has gained the upper hand on his captors in the Village but ends up being double-crossed by those he thought he could trust.
The chess game using humans as pieces with instructions being shouted out by "the masters" carries with it quite a few allegories, doesn't it? I guess that if you don't have the power, you're just a pawn in their game. (Listen to Bob Dylan's song for that.)
Number 6 still is planning his escape from the Village, and he is on the prowl searching for others to join him. After being persuaded to function as a pawn in the giant chess game, he makes contact with the Queen who, in response to his questions, attempts to steer him to concentrate on the game. Afterwards, they both discuss escape, but he doesn't seem to trust her.
Later on we see the Rook being "treated" at the hospital and he and Number 6 make plans for their escape. The Rook is an electronics expert, so he would be a a natural ally for Number 6. However, as one might have suspected, the Queen is hypnotized to fall in love with Number 6 and is given a locket that also serves as a tracking device.
The Queen professes her love for Number 6, but he's not buying it and he continues to plan with the Rook. A bit later, Number 6 acts a bit nicer to the Queen, and he asks for her locket, which he suspects is being used to keep tabs on him.
The Rook and Number 6 work diligently to build a raft with a transmitter that will help contact someone to pick them, along with some other Villagers, up. As any viewer would surmise, Number 6's plans go awry when Number 2's image appears on the rescuing ship's television screen with the Rook standing beside him, who says he thought Number 6 was one of the "management" and admitted his activities to the authorities. At the end, we see a thwarted Number 6 on the boat taking him back to the Village, escorted by the omniprescent Rover.
"Checkmate" is a fascinating episode as it has many plot twists and turns and really has you believing that Number 6 will prevail. Even though you know ahead of time that Number 6 will still remain a prisoner, you can't help but hope that somehow he will emerge victorious. All in due time...
Until next time
Be seeing you!


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Our long national nightmare is almost over. The trailers and billboards for The Adventures of Tintin will start to disappear as the film opens today in the USA – and the manufactured enthusiasm starts to wind down.
This is not "the future of animation". Mo-cap works for alien creatures, penguins and "apes". It works for games. It will not replace human beings in narrative stories for motion pictures. I'm sure there are clever and correct uses for motion capture technology – outside of James Cameron (Avatar) and Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), I haven't seen it yet.
The Adventures of Tintin is a major letdown. Surprisingly, the core problem for me wasn't the use of mo-cap, but the lack of empathy with the major characters. We are never properly introduced to Tintin, nor why we should care what happens to him. Or why he looks like that. Or has a gun.
The New Yorker and Entertainment Weekly published reviews that summed up my feelings exactly. Even better, enjoy this review published in today's The Detroit News:
Spielberg's 'Tintin' creates animated, nonstop, excruciating headache by Tom Long
A clamorous headache of a movie, it's hard to say who the intended audience for "The Adventures of Tintin" might be.
Is it 60-year-olds who want to relive fond memories of a childhood hero? It's hard to imagine today's youth being taken with a youngster in knee-pants with a funny hair cut that looks plastered on.
Or is this a film for techno-geeks who want to see just how far director Steven Spielberg can push motion-capture animation? To answer that question, he can push it too far. "Tintin" is the sort of nonstop noise parade that quickly becomes exhausting rather than exciting.
You know how Harrison Ford sighed, pulled his gun and just shot a threatening bad guy in the first "Indiana Jones"? You want to do that to Tintin after about half an hour. And he's the hero.
The plot is a mess, essentially just a set-up for scene after scene after scene after scene of animated stunts that have no real effect. It starts out with someone being murdered, then Tintin (Jamie Bell) gets kidnapped and taken aboard a boat where he teams up with a drunkard captain (Andy Serkis) to find clues to a sunken treasure, battling all the while with a dastardly bad guy (Daniel Craig).
This film offers no context – who is this Tintin guy; why does he dress like that; how come the kid wields guns; who pays for his stylist and why hasn't that stylist been shot? Without knowing something about or caring about the character it's hard to invest in the action, especially since it's animated. It should be character first, then story, then action, but "Tintin" reverses all that to disastrous effect. You're just plopped into an action-adventure story with a character you know nothing about.
Unless, of course, you're that 60-year-old reliving fond memories of a childhood hero. In which case, well, have fun. But no one else will.
What did you think? Did you love it? Per our standard "talkback" rules, our comments section is only open to those who have actually seen the film. All other comments will be deleted.


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Iuz' court has twelve men and women who stand in deference to him (The Greater and Lesser Circles/Bonemarch). All are spellcasters without morals. He has three circles of six. Two circles are acquainted with one another, one greater and one lesser. The members of the other do not know of any other member's existence. This third circle consists of a human, a dwarf (Obmi), an elf, a gnome, a halfling, and a half elf. The first two circles compose Iuz's court and the other circle is scattered about the Flanaess. All members of the greater circle are clerics; most are dual classed. (This is developed in greater detail in the Carl Sargent's Iuz the Evil supplement.)
The Drow retinue - consists of three female clerics, three male mages, two greater clerics and the leader of the embassy, they are Eclavdra's entourage. She is an ambassador to the court
He at one time was imprisoned by Zagig at Greyhawk Castle. While he was thus interred, the Hierarchs of The Horned Society - followers of Hades and Tartarus, took over Molag, a city formerly in Iuz's control. According to Rob Kuntz in Oerth Journal 7 Robilar released him and eight other demigods/lesser gods from their prison in the Bottle City level of the castle.
Iuz controls tens of thousands, including one quarter of all the drow elves - those who follow the Elemental Evil (a pantheon solely a ploy of Iuz and Zuggtmoy (see module T1-4)) His agents seek the two remaining Theorparts, as does Graz'zt. He plans keep the Theorpart for himself and he considers himself his father's equal.
He besieges Molag and usurpes the Horned Society. Blackmoor, the Hold of Stonefist, and the Bandit Kingdoms ally with him. He begins construction of a new palace in Molag. By the beginning of Sea of Death he is the self-titled Emperor of Evil and Lord of Pain. He receives tributes from all of the Bandit Kingdoms, the Hold of Stonefist, and the Wolf and Tiger Nomads.
By the beginning of Come Endless Darkness, he has launched a mass attack. It is obscured by Iggwilv and Zuggtmoy. He holds the Initiator, the second key. He takes the Vesve, then the lands west and South to the Velverdyva. He is stopped at Chendl. He holds Furyondy north of the Crystal River. He takes the Shield Lands except for the capital island. The Duchy of Tehn is taken by the Bandit Kingdoms and the Rovers of the Barrens under his direction. The Hold of Stonefist, supported by Iuz, marches on the Theocracy of the Pale. Urnst holds, Highfolk holds. The Great Kingdom and the Scarlet Brotherhood attack northward. The Great Kingdom fights Nyrond, Almor, and the Iron League. Iuz continues to fight south, East, and West. The Bakluni fight the nomads to the North and South and stalemates. The Scarlet brotherhood is on the march. The Pomarj attacks Celene, Ulek and Urnst. No one is winning. The Cabal, the Bladelord, the Catlord, the Obsidian Citadel, the Vesve, and Highfolk are more or less free of conflict.
Dance of Demons The Great Kingdom is in a state of civil war, 100,000 troops, Aerdi's regulars, 1000 humanoid scouts and irregulars. The North and South provinces ally against Ivid. Medigia also vies for control. Nyrond and Almor dispute among themselves. Bandits, and the sea raiders ravage the Iron League. All of the barbarian nations are also at war. Iuz and the Scarlet Brotherhood do not profit either. Entropy is the sole victor, plagues and natural disasters are more frequent. Borders shrink as do populations, resources, and government powers. He and Demogorgon ally and alternate attacks on Graz'zt from opposite sides with aid from Infestix. He is slain on Mycorji by Gord's Blackheartseer. (See Dragon 67 p. 25-26; WoG guide p. 71; WoG Glossography pp 43-44, T1-4 especially pp. 28-29, 121).
In the beginning of Sea of Death she creates a null space for Graz'zt, Iuz, and their factions to meet. It is only capable of holding a few occupants. Iuz, Zuggtmoy, and Szhublox represent one faction, Graz'zt, Yeenoghu, and Kostchtchie represents the other. She declares herself to be non-partisan, but actually favors Zuggtmoy. She discovered the location of the Unbinder, the third theorpart. It lies in the Forgotten City and Iuz and Graz'zt must send mortals (Obmi and Eclavdra respectively) to contest for it. The contest for the theorpart would have the contestants begin at Lopolla two weeks after the meeting. They are to retrieve the artifact and take it to Ulakand or Hokar. She promises both Zuggtmoy and Iuz two Theorparts.
She is allied to Iuz and Demogorgon in Dance of Demons. She owns the Baton d'Agrue, but told Iuz that it was lost. She impales herself on spikes created by the Initiator, she breaks the Baton and is consumed by its emission of energy. (See S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth - especially booklet 1, pp. 2-3, 29-30, booklet 2, p. 8, WG6 Isle of the Ape pp. 6, 43-45, Return of the Eight)
After joining with Iuz, he became a member of Iuz's Secret Circle and was assigned with the task of retrieving the Suss Theorpart. His group went west from the temple towards Enstadt, then to the Welkwood. They consist of three dozen mixed races , pack horses and a few 2 wheeled carts. He leads a company of demi-humans and brigands. He passes through Hommlet's Inn of the Welcome Wench (see T1 or T1-4). His trail of pillaging is too open, so Iuz tells him to lead his pursuers to Molag by sending the brigands there when they reach the Att River. He would then meet Iuz's army at the Vesve Forest. He can communicate directly to Iuz and is shielded from detection by scrying. When in the Vesve, he has foraging parties, with six men in forester's green per party. The main party consists of groups of a a few hundred mixed humanoids: losels, orcs, half-orcs, and gnolls. A lesser mage, subordinate to Keak, has lightning bolt. They also have a dozen bugbears. One of his bugbears has a magic spear, one half-orc has a magic sword, one brigand has a magic scimitar. Obmi and Keak split off into a smaller group including two half-orcs in chainmail, with light crossbows, lances, swords, and dull brown cloaks. The group also includes two brigands who bring up the rear. All of them are on horseback.
He is turned into a toad by Zuggtmoy. He is chosen as her champion in the struggle for the final Theorpart. His strength has been boosted to 19 by Zuggtmoy, and his level raised to 13th or higher during Sea of Death. She and Iggwilv give him the equipment mentioned above. He has a new group with Bolt, a cleric of Zuggtmoy (one of his lieutenants), a half-orc assassin (Obmi's other lieutenant), and several Ullite warriors. He slays the two lieutenants and proceeds on with Bolt and twelve Muzier riders. He looses two bladders on his dust ship. He comes into the city from the side opposite Eclavdra, and moves towards the temple at almost the same speed. He is one mile away from Gord when he, Leda, and Eclavdra's group are one half a mile away from the temple. His martel breaks on the sphere encasing of the theorpart. In the confrontation with Eclavdra at the temple, he singes his beard.
He has a weather control device to help power his ship. His ship is wrecked by a storm 100 miles north east of Gord and 300 miles north of Eclavdra. He has taken Leda. She bargains with him that she will kill Eclavdra and he will get the final key. He attacks Eclavdra with eighty Wenhuli marshmen in the Hool marshes. Thirty of them die. He uses his bronze idol. Vuron pits him against Gord and Leda against Eclavdra at the Hool battle. He offers Gord a chance to gang up on Eclavdra. Gord refuses and kills him.
She has a perfect body with shoulder length tresses of silver hair. She has violet eyes with curling silver lashes. In Sea of Death her skin pigmentation is lightened to the copper color of the Steppe nomads.
Equipment: She wears a filmy violet gown with a large amethyst choker. c. Sea of Death She is given cusps from Vuron to shield her eyes from the sun and allow her travel in the daylight. Her drow weapons are treated with a magic potion, also from Vuron, to allow them to stay above ground without degradation for two to sixteen weeks. She also has a decanter of endless water and a mask of dust and water breathing. She rides a fish shaped craft in the Sea of Dust. She has a staff which can energy drain, carved with leering demons on it. She has a Heward's Handy Haversack and a coffer for summoning daemons.
Mentioned in the GDQ series, she lived for almost 200 years in the Vault of the Drow hoping to rule. Her plans failed so she sought power through Graz'zt. Graz'zt gave her a horde of demons and she waged a civil war to conquer all of the drow. Once she had a taste of power she became dissatisfied with being an elf queen and now deals with demon lords. She is still the Eilserv clan leader and is the ambassador to Iuz's court and is Graz'zt's High Priestess.
She often presumes to be Iuz's equal and has to be put in her place. She
is chosen to be Graz'zt's champion in the race for the final Theorpart. She aspires to become a
princess. She has been cloned, but is completely unaware of her clone,
Leda. Her escort consists of camel riders from the
Paynims. She has brought at least
six retainers with her in the Sandfish. She has four drow fighter
magic-users with her as guards and she entered the temple from the South. At the
confrontation with Obmi at the Temple, she
looses three of her drow guards, but slays Bolt and
takes the theorpart. She is driven into rocks at the Hellfurnaces 100
South East of Gord and 130 or so miles
south of Obmi. She has twelve drow and humans who fight with Obmi at the
Hool marshes. Some of them die. She is slain by Leda in a duel
arranged by Vuron at the Hool marshes battle. Leda takes her place in
Graz'zt's court.
She can make six spheres of Light or Continual Light.
She was cloned fast so her alignment was not settled, nor was her personality. Vuron purosefully had altered her during her creation so that she had no alignment. Her time with Gord settles it to Neutral Good.
Equiptment: Her drow weapons are treated with a magic potion from Vuron, to allow them to stay above ground without degradation for two to sixteen weeks.
She travels with a group of half-drow through Ket. They consist of two cavalier/magic-users, her lieutenants, one assassin/fighter/thief, and four fighters. After they arrive in Ket, she picks up six Ullite horsemen. She lost her memory after Obmi had her caravan sacked although she remembers the name Al-Crevad (Eclavdra). She occasionally slips into cutting remarks appropriate for Eclavdra. As they reach the Suhalt projection, she fights against the evil she begins to recall. She becomes a non-denominational cleric. She takes a ring of invisibility from the Suel pygmies. She desires to kill Eclavdra for her evil, not to achieve individuality. Once she has made it to the 300' diameter cavern. She bargains with Obmi to take her with him so that she can kill Eclavdra and he can get the Theorpart.
She calls for Zuggtmoy during the Obmi-Eclavdra clash at the Hool marshes, and succeeds, thereby alerting the greater powers of the outer planes to the artifact. Hordlings, archeons, winged devils, Type I and II demons, devas, modrons, sladdi, and representatives from all of the outer planes gate in. Vuron arrives and pits her in a death battle against Eclavdra. She wins. By this point her alignment has become fixed at Neutral Good, due to her time spent with Gord. She has to accompany Vuron in the guise of Eclavdra. She accompanies Vuron to attack Iuz in the Cyanic Fens. She is in charge of Pavlag and his fifty conflagrati. Graz'zt and Nergal know about her alignment, but they keep her because of Vuron.
In Dance of Demons she has been sent to Vuron by Graz'zt with
reinforcements: a regiment of Bar-lguras, some Babau-ogres, some Nikomars, some Ssilhex, two regiments of Hezrou, and four
units of Chasme. She bears the Eye of Deception and
uses it to disguise a group of rutterkin as raloogs. She is sent a
messenger to Graz'zt - Vuron hopes to destroy her influence. She now
wears demon armor. She meets Gord in the Soulless Sounding and rejoins him.
Gord gives her the Initiator. She
slays Vuron and skewers Graz'zt. She marries Gord on Yarth at the end of
the struggle.
After the second theorpart was recovered by Zuggtmoy, the city was besieged. Humanoids, daemons, hordlings and demodands fortified the city. Some hordlings revolted. The Dukes of Hell sent Abashi, spined devils and pit fiends to aid Nerull's followers. These and all summoned outer planer things died in the battle. Hell was satisfied and Nerull was ticked. After the Siege of Molag, Iuz usurped the Horned Society.


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Salem State vs. Mass Maritime
March 31, 2009
|Jonathan Falls
|(2, 0)
|Justin Jones
|(2, 0)
|Ryan Gendreau
|(0, 1)
|Scott Aronian
|(0, 1)
|Salvador Silva
|(1, 0)
|Brendan Gill
|12 (0.632)
|Current Record
|Salem State
|go to Salem State page
|Brian Burke
|(2, 1)
|Connor Burke
|(2, 0)
|John Herman
|(1, 0)
|Jake Bickley
|(1, 0)
|Ryan Linn
|(1, 0)
|James Hitchings
|16 (0.762)
|Current Record
|Mass Maritime
|go to Mass Maritime page
|The Game Story:
|The Masachusetts Maritime Academy snapped a 2-2 halftime deadlock by outscoring the Vikings, 5-3, over the last 30 minutes of play en route to a 7-5 non-conference victory this afternoon at Alumni Field.
The Buccaneers received a pair of goals from both junior attackmen and twin brothers Brian Burke (Del Mar, CA) and Connor Burke (Del Mar, CA), and single scoring strikes from senior middie John Herman (Stamford, CT), sophomore middie Ryan Linn (Bourne, MA) and sophomore middie Jake Bickley (Wilbraham, MA).
SSC (3-4) received a pair of goals from both sophomore attackman Jon Falls (Seekonk, MA) and junior attackman Justin Jones (Danvers, MA). Junior attackman Rob Mulroy (Swampscott, MA) added a goal and an assist for the Vikings. SSC freshman attackman Ryan Gendreau (Danvers, MA) and senior middie Sal Silva (Lynn, MA) each recorded an assist.
MMA junior goaltender James Hitchings (Dover, MA) stopped 19 shots while SSC netminder Brendan Gill (Chelmsford, MA) made 11 saves.
SSC's next game will be Saturday, April 4 when the Vikings host the Owls of Keene State College in a 6:00 pm Little East Conference (LEC) match at Alumni Field.


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Panorama of Valle de la Muerte, Chile
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On this page you will find important information about Atkins Water Works based in Atkins, like the address, contact person and details, as well as the email address and home page.
Atkins Water Works
Water & Sewage Company - Utility
For travel by car, directions from your location to Atkins Water Works at 310 NE 1st Street in Atkins, AR will be displayed via link >>my route<< below the map.
Ann Dillion the Manager of Atkins Water Works, Water & Sewage Companies-Utility in 310 NE 1st St, Atkins, Arkansas 72823.
Mailing send it to the following address of Atkins Water Works:
For questions regarding Atkins Water Works contact us directly at Ann Dillion, Manager of Atkins Water Works on the following numbers, or find the appropriate contact on the homepage of Atkins Water Works.
To request more information about Atkins Water Works from abroad please call the international phone number +1.479.641.7853 under which you will be able to speak with Manager Ann Dillion or be directed to the appropriate contact person.
Please send written inquiries and notices to Atkins Water Works from abroad to the international fax number +1.479.641.7052 or to the company email address. Call displayed telephone number to ask for respective email address of Atkins Water Works.
Here are some other interesting Water & Sewage Companies-Utility from Atkins, the County Pope and the U.S. State Arkansas are listed:


text: 'Origin' evolves: A new way to read Darwin's classic Stefanie Posavec 04 November 09 by David McCandless You're looking at Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species – every word of the 1869 edition, in fact, turned into an intricate visualisation. Information artist Stefanie Posavec tracked the evolution of Origin's six editions from 1859 to 1872 and charted its changes. Posavec is renowned for her intricate "literary organisms" – dense, foliage-like visualisations of the sentence structures in books such as Jack Kerouac's On The Road. Those took weeks of hand-tooling in Illustrator. Here, she's teamed up with ecologist-turned-Microsoft-researcher GregMcInerny,who crunched Darwin's opus through Processing, the infovisualiser's favourite app. Posavec drew inspiration from museum displays and botanical illustrations to give the data a Victorian vibe. The outer ring represents the length of the edition. It's divided into four, from outer to inner: sentences; paragraphs; sub-chapters; chapters on the inner ring. Green segments survive to the next edition, orange ones change or die. The darker the colour, the longer it has survived. The inner flowers echo the data in the outer ring – trunks are chapters, sub-chapters stems, sentences leaves etc. Fuzzy placings and structure give the work an organic feel, like specimens pressed under glass.itsbeenreal.co.uk Edited by Holden Frith Comments I love this work - there are some photos of it in situ in the Darwin celebrations in cambridge on flickr in the sets http://www.flickr.com/photos/dumbledad/sets/72157622326989732/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharp-sharp/sets/72157621146041024/ dumbledad Nov 6th 2009 I echo this article's enjoyment of the Victorian sensibilities of this gorgeous graphic, in particular the last line re the organic delicacy of the "fuzzy...specimens pressed under glass." It evokes the ginkgo for me, an all together appropriate little-evolved special metaphor! Kate Marin Feb 8th 2013 Reply to a comment Name Email Comment Submit » Latest on wired.co.uk


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Clinically proven to reduce duration and severity of the common cold.
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These cough and sore drops help soothe sore throats, and
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It contain clean flavour of honey, wild flowers and herbs and it is delicious. This is very effective in controlling the cough and it will cure the cold too.
I used this to help to increase my blood flow as I have heart murmur.It improved my pumping ability.This kind is recommended for heart worm in dog.
This product is AWESOME but MyOTC.com is a blatant company of con artists. From the shipping department to the Internet marketing personnel to the supervisor. I ordered 6 boxes of these cough drops (120 packs) and received only 5 boxes. Because their shipping department had 6 boxes sent on their packing order they assume that is what was sent. My copy said the same thing, 6 boxes sent and yet nothing magically turned my order received into 6 boxes. They kept saying they were sending this problem to their shipping department (7 times they said this) even the supervisor Mr. Shaym said the same thing and then AFTER 45 days of disputing this with them they said they sent my order correctly and to basically HAVE A NICE DAY!!! They held me off so I wouldn't be able to open a dispute with PayPal and have a chance of being refunded. I lost $11.49 on this deal.......HOW MUCH ARE YOU WILLING TO LOSE???
I love the flavor of these and they are very soothing for the throat.


text: Favorite deal Favorited! Get email updates for this deal? NO YES 40% off Sitewide off at Original Penguin Original Penguin is offering 40% off sitewide, including sale items, with coupon code EMP2456. Excludes watches and fragrance. Shipping is $5; free shipping on $75 or more. CREATE ALERT Deal has expired EXPIRED Posted 962 days ago by AgentK Report Report this deal Report an Error Close 40% off Sitewide off at Original Penguin Deals can expire unexpectedly at any time. Problem: Out of Stock Deal Expired Other Error (please explain) Comments: (Optional) Submit


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Happy TogetherItem #: HL.08746919
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As performed by The Turtles. Arranged by Liz Garnett.
Close Harmony for Men. Voicing/Format: TTBB A Cappella. 6.75x10.5 inches. 12 pages. Published by Hal Leonard. (HL.08746919)
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The Turtles' #1 hit from 1967 arranged in Close Harmony will showcase your group at their best!Available separately: TTBB a cappella and VoiceTrax CD. Performance Time: Approx. 2:45.
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Rate Dr. Tiffany M. Jessee
Dr. Tiffany M. Jessee's Ratings
When I first went to an informational seminar about the Lap-Band, I was actually considering a different doctor. However, I ended up not liking how the doctor I went there to see had this attitude. Dr. Tiffany Jessee was one of the other doctors speaking there that night. I stayed after the seminar to speak with her a few minutes and after a few minutes of speaking with her one on one, I knew I had found my doctor and I have not reqreted that decision made in Feb of 2007 and I have lost over a 130 lbs and had a easy recovery after surgery. Dr. Jessee has a great bedside manner so to speak and she basically saved my life. I would recommend her to anyone that is considering the Lap-Band surgery, and I actually have many times. Thanks Dr. Jessee (:
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Great doctor, fantastic follow up. She saved my life.
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Bottom Bracket advice (I know nothing about bottom brackets)
Previous Forum topic
Next Forum topic
Evening gents!
Right, my BB makes a clicking noise when I put any significant pressure on the left crank. I have never done anything with the bottom bracket, because I know nowt about them. I guess it needs replacing as as far as I know theyre not servicable. It's a screw in affair, on my Boardman Team Carbon (2009). Can I buy any external screw in and expect it to fit? Or does it have to be something specific? I really have no idea about BB30 or any of that stuff.
Any advice would be appreciated!
If it is a BB30, its not a screw on job and NOT for anyone who knows nothing about bottom brackets.
Just have a quick squint here http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/workshop-how-to-service-bb30-press...
posted by Gkam84 [9312 posts]
15th March 2013 - 20:05
sorry, that wasn't what I meant. Mine's definitely a screwfit.
To be honest, I didn't know a bb30 was specifically a press fit, I thought it had more to do with shell width. I guess it is a wider shell, but with the bb inside? Man, everyday's a school day...
"I can't believe I ate the whole thing..."
posted by Cooks [521 posts]
15th March 2013 - 20:32
Presuming you haven't changed cranks and are still running SRAM Rival then you'll need a Truvativ 68x73mm GXP B/B.
You can change it yourself providing you have some grease, an 8mm Allen key and an external cup removal tool.
Hope this helps
posted by SpeshRider7287 [75 posts]
15th March 2013 - 20:48
Cranks are the same. I have the tools, and I'm confident changing it, just wasn't sure what I should change it for.
Does it have to be that BB, or are there equivalents?
Thank you!
"I can't believe I ate the whole thing..."
posted by Cooks [521 posts]
15th March 2013 - 21:43
You could change it for a Hope or Chris King if you want to upgrade, but if the original lasted well then just get the same again.
posted by Municipal Waste [237 posts]
15th March 2013 - 21:48
I think I get it now. Any 68/73mm ext threaded bb will fit (with/without spacers)...?
"I can't believe I ate the whole thing..."
posted by Cooks [521 posts]
15th March 2013 - 21:58
sometimes the cups just work a bit loose. I've got rid of clicks by taking the cranks off, cleaning, re-greasing and refitting the cups nice and tight. I use copper grease on parts that don't move.
posted by musicalmarc [83 posts]
15th March 2013 - 21:58
If you change it for a Hope or Chris king you will also need to buy adapters in order to fit without causing expensive damage. This is because Truvativ cranks are thinner at the spindle on the non drive side than other cranks so the hole is slightly smaller. Raceface & Shimano B/B's won't work at all and Truvativ or SRAM B/B's will work no probs.. Again this is assuming you have the original SRAM cranks..
posted by SpeshRider7287 [75 posts]
16th March 2013 - 0:14
Strppied and regreased everything. The LH side definitely feels a little 'grittier' when spinning the bearing by hand. Reassembled, and about 2 miles before the tick was back. Ah well, new bb it is.
Thanks for your help guys!!
"I can't believe I ate the whole thing..."
posted by Cooks [521 posts]
17th March 2013 - 16:20


text:
The Coosa Valley Multiple Myeloma Support Group meets the second Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at Cornerstone Church,324 Mathis Drive, in the Equip Building. This support group serves North Georgia and Northeast Alabama. Patients, family and friends are encouraged to attend. For more information call Melba Trapp at 706-766-4418 or email email@example.com or visit the website at www.coosavalley.myeloma.org
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Functional human brain imaging studies have indicated the essential role of cortical regions, such as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), in romantic love and sex. However, the neurobiological basis of how the ACC neurons are activated and engaged in sexual attraction remains unknown. Using transgenic mice in which the expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) is controlled by the promoter of the activity-dependent gene c-fos, we found that ACC pyramidal neurons are activated by sexual attraction. The presynaptic glutamate release to the activated neurons is increased and pharmacological inhibition of neuronal activities in the ACC reduced the interest of male mice to female mice. Our results present direct evidence of the critical role of the ACC in sexual attraction, and long-term increases in glutamate mediated excitatory transmission may contribute to sexual attraction between male and female mice.
Romantic love is a near universal notion, and is associated with a specific set of physiological, psychological and behavioral traits, most of which are also characteristic of mammalian courtship attraction [1]. The olfactory system has been the focus of the majority of mammalian studies, as it is essential for sex-specific behaviors such as sex discrimination, sexual attraction, mating and aggression [2-6]. In humans, numerous studies have been conducted in order to determine the neural correlates associated with romantic love. Using imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET) or functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), higher brain structures such as primary and associative cortical regions, including piriform, orbitofrontal, temporal and cingulate cortices have been linked to sexual arousal and romantic love [7,8]. Therefore, sexual behaviors are thought to be associated with neural networks of cortical activation.
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is one of the major cortical areas involved in both negative (such as pain and fear memory) and positive (such as pleasure and sexual arousal) affective states [9-12]. For positive affective states, activation of the ACC has been correlated with romantic love, sexual arousal, as well as sexual drive [13-16]. An earlier study also reported that electrical stimulation of sites within the ACC of macaque induced penile erections [17], suggesting the direct role of the ACC in sexual arousal. With the use of immediate early genes like c-fos as a marker, neurons in the ACC have been shown to be activated after sexual stimulation in rodents [18,19]. However, the neurobiological basis of how the ACC neurons are activated and engaged in sexual attraction remains poorly understood. One potential reason is that it is difficult to identify ACC neurons that are activated by sex or sexual attraction in electrophysiological experiments. In the present study, we performed whole-cell patch- clamp recording from neurons in brain slices of transgenic mice in which the expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) is controlled by the promoter of the activity-dependent gene c-fos. Thus, we were able to record in the first time from ACC pyramidal cells that are responsive to female mice. We found that the sexual attraction between male and female mice indeed triggered long-lasting enhancement of glutamate mediated excitatory transmission within the ACC synapses.
Two chamber behavioral test for male-female attraction
It has been reported that pheromones are the major sexual signals used by male mice [20-22]. To investigate the sexual attraction between male and female mice, we designed a behavioral test to evaluate the interactions between the animals. The testing cage was divided in two by a porous divider, with each side further divided into central and side areas. The mice were allowed to freely roam for 30 min and were monitored by a tracking camera (Fig. 1A). We found that the male mice (n = 5) spent significantly more time in the central area than in the side further away from the female mice (n = 5) (P = 0.007, Fig. 1B). However, when two non cage mate male mice were tested, we found no such differences for they spent time in the two areas equally, suggesting that while male mice are sexually attracted to female mice, no such attraction exists between the two male mice (Fig. 1B). To determine whether the differences in time spent in central and side areas were due to hyperactivity, the total distance traveled was examined. We found no differences between male and female mice (Fig. 1C), indicating that the behavioral responses of male and female mice to the testing apparatus were indistinguishable.
Figure 1. Behavioral test for sexual attraction. (A) Photograph and diagram of the sexual attraction test. The two boxes are further divided into side and central zones as indicated by the dashed line. Representative traces showing the movement of the male and female mice for 30 min. Left = female (red); right = male (blue). (B) Male mice (n = 5) spent significantly more time in the central zone than in the side zone (male vs. female) (n = 5), while there is no difference in the time spent in either zone in male vs. male test. * P = 0.007. (C) There is no difference in the total distance traveled between male and female mice in the sexual attraction test.
The ACC is activated and required for sexual attraction
The ACC is well known to be involved in sexual arousal [10,13,14]. However, its molecular substrates still remain unknown. To determine the role of the ACC in sexual attraction in mice, we first used immunohistochemistry to identify ACC activation following sexual attraction. It has been shown that Fos could be used as a marker for neuronal activation following sexual stimulations [19,23]. To quantify neuronal activation in the ACC by sexual attraction, we used double immunostaining of Fos and NeuN (Fig. 2A and 2B). We counted activated neurons (Fos-positive) and total neurons (NeuN-positive) in different layers of the ACC, which was determined by Nissl staining (Fig. 2C). We found that the number of activated neurons was significantly enhanced in layers II/III and V/VI of male mice after exposure to female mice compared to male mice that had been exposed to non-cage mate male mice (Table 1, Fig. 2E–G). However, there was no difference in the number of activated neurons in layer I of the ACC (Table 1). These results indicate that sexual attraction causes selective activation of the neurons in the ACC including pyramidal cells.
Table 1. Density of Fos-immunostained (fos +), NeuN-immunostained (NeuN+) neurons and percentages of double-labeled neurons in the ACC.
Figure 2. Sexual attraction activated Fos expression in the ACC neurons in male mice. (A) Fos immunostaining in the ACC after sexual attraction. The framed area is magnified in (a). (B) NeuN immunostaining in the ACC. The framed area is magnified in (b). (C) The same section as shown by (A, B), was counterstained by Nissl technique; demarcation for neuronal layers in the ACC. The inset (c) is the overlapping of (a) and (b). Yellow color in (c) represents the Fos/NeuN double-labeled neurons. (D) Diagram showing the ACC from Bregma -0.34 to 1.1, where the Fos-positive and NeuN positive cells were counted. (E) Bar graph showing the significant increase of Fos neurons in layer II/III and ACC after sexual attraction test compared to naïve mice. (F and G) The representative slices with Fos staining between sex-attracted group (F) and naïve mice (G). The increased Fos expression was found in layer II/III and layer V/VI. Bar = 150 μm in A – C, F and G; and 35 μm in a – c.
We then performed pharmacological manipulations to see if the activation of the ACC is necessary to affect sexual attraction between male and female mice. It is known that local injection of muscimol, a selective agonist for GABAA receptors, could inactivate the ACC neuronal activity [24]. We found that bilateral injections of muscimol (0.5 μl per side) into the ACC of male mice significantly reduced sexual attraction in the first 10 min (Fig. 3A and 3B). The inhibitory effect is time-dependent, with the effect of muscimol almost completely diminished at 30 minutes after the injection (Fig. 3B).
Figure 3. The ACC is required for sexual attraction. (A) Experimental design for the behavioral experiment after musiimol injection. (B) Local injection of muscimol in the ACC significantly reduced sexual attraction in male mice 10 minutes after injection. The sexual attraction was recovered within 30 minutes. (C) Location of injection sites from all animals included in the study.
Altered synaptic transmission in the ACC neurons after sexual attraction
To study the cellular mechanisms of neuronal activation in the ACC after sexual attraction, we then performed whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in the ACC pyramidal neurons. Based on the firing properties, pyramidal neurons in the ACC were classified into three categories: (i) regular spiking (RS) cells, in which the single spike is followed by a slow afterhyperpolarization (AHP), intermediate (IM) cells, in which the single spike is followed by a fast AHP and a fast afterdepolariztion (ADP), and intrinsic bursting (IB) cells that fired an initial spike doublet (Fig. 4A). We first examined if neuronal firing properties were altered after sexual attraction. We compared the number of firing action potentials after current injection in naïve mice and mice that had undergone the sexual attraction test. Three types of pyramidal neurons were recorded in both group and we found no difference in any of them (Fig. 5). These results indicate that there are not obvious significant changes in neuronal firing properties in ACC pyramidal cells, although we cannot completely rule out other changes that may not be detected under the current testing protocol.
Figure 4. PPF was changed in the ACC after sexual attraction. (A) Sample traces show the three types of pyramidal neurons in layer II/III of ACC. IM, intermediate neurons; RS, regular spiking neurons; IB, intrinsic bursting neurons. (B) PPF of IM neurons (upper) was decreased after sexual attraction in the pathway of Layer V-Layer II/III, while no change has been detected on other two kinds of pyramidal neurons. (C) No interaction between two pathways induced by layer V and layer I stimulations. Time interval between two stimulations was 55 ms. (D) PPF induced by S1 (layer I stimulation) did not change after sexual attraction.
Figure 5. The excitability of pyramidal neurons was not changed after sexual attraction. (A) Action potentials were induced by current injection from 50 pA to 200 pA with 25 pA step. The number of spikes was counted at different current injections to measure the excitability of neurons. There was no change in the excitability of IM neurons between two groups. (B) No change in the number action potentials in RS neurons between two groups. (C) No change in the number action potentials in IB neurons between two groups.
We then investigated excitatory synaptic transmission by recording the excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) in layer II/III pyramidal neurons by focal stimulation in deeper layer V in the presence of GABAA antagonist, picrotoxin (100 μM). Paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) ratio, a commonly used criteria for studying presynaptic release [25,26], was examined in three types of ACC pyramidal neurons. We found that in RS cells and IB cells, there was no difference in PPF between naïve mice and mice after sexual attraction (IB: F1:44 = 0.008, P = 0.927; RS: F1:49 = 1.206, P = 0.279, Two-way ANOVA, Fig. 4B and 4C). However, a significant decrease in PPF was found in IM cells of sexually attracted mice compared to that of naïve mice (F1:89 = 9.825, P = 0.002, Fig. 4B and 4C). These results indicate that synaptic transmission was altered in the ACC neurons after sexual attraction, especially IM cells.
The alteration in PPF is input-specific
To determine whether the change in PPF was input-specific, we performed two-pathway experiments, recording the EPSCs in layer II/III IM cells by stimulating in deep layer V (S2) and layer I (S1) of ACC slices (Fig. 6Aa). First, we tested the independence of the two pathways. We compared S2-induced EPSCs in the absence or presence of preceding S1 stimulation. There was no difference in the amplitude of S2-induced EPSCs with or without S1 (the ratio is 1.01 ± 0.07, n = 4, Fig. 6Ab, c). Also there was no difference in the amplitude of S1-induced EPSCs with or without S2 (n = 4). These results suggest that there is no overlap between the two stimulation pathways. Then we tested PPF of S1-induced EPSCs and S2-induced EPSCs in sexually attracted and naïve mice. We found that while S2-PPF was decreased, no such change was seen in S1-PPF between the two groups in IM cells (Fig. 6B). Moreover, there was no difference in S1-PPF between the two groups in either RS or IB cells (Fig. 6C and 6D). Therefore, the alteration of synaptic transmission to IM cells was input-specific and likely mainly occurred in synaptic connections from presynaptic fibers located in layer V or passing through layer V to layer II/III.
Figure 6. PPF in the pathway of Layer I-Layer II/III were not changed after sexual attraction. (A) No interaction between two pathways induced by layer V and layer I stimulations. Time interval between two stimulations was 55 ms. (B, C and D) PPF induced by S1 (layer I stimulation) did not change after sexual attraction.
Enhanced synaptic transmission to activated neurons in the ACC after sexual attraction
Considering the heterogeneous cells in the ACC, it is important to identify cells that are responsive to the sexual attraction. Next, we took advantage of the transgenic mice in which the expression of GFP is controlled by the promoter of c-fos gene [27]. We found that GFP-positive neurons were widely observed in the ACC of male mice exposed to female mice. To confirm that these positive neurons do express the Fos protein, we performed immunostaining with the antibody. We found that GFP-positive cells were also Fos-positive (Fig. 7A). These GFP-positive neurons were also co-stained with the antibody for NeuN, a typical neuronal marker (Fig. 7B). Therefore, the transgenic mice were appropriate for studying neuronal activation in the ACC following sexual attraction.
Figure 7. GFP is co-stained with Fos protein and NeuN in the ACC of transgenic mice. (A) The GFP-positive cells in the ACC after sexual attraction are overlapped with Fos-positive cells. The framed area was used for magnification in a-c. (B) Some of GFP-positive cells in the ACC after sexual attraction are overlapped with NeuN-positive cells. The framed area was used for magnification in d-f. Bar = 200 μm in (A, B), 30 μm in (a – c) and 20 μm in (d – f).
To study the molecular mechanism of neuronal activation in the ACC, we examined the glutamatergic transmission in GFP-positive neurons by using fosGFP mice. EPSCs were recorded in fos-positive or fos-negative neurons in layer II/III by evoking in layer V (Fig. 8A and 8B). At different holding potentials, we measured the peak current which is mainly mediated by AMPA receptors, and the current 50 ms after the peak, which is mainly mediated by NMDA receptors. We found no differences in the current-voltage (I–V) relationship of AMPA EPSCs between GFP-positive and negative neurons (n = 8 neurons/4 mice from each group, P > 0.05) (Fig. 9A and 9B). In addition, there was no difference in rectification index of AMPA current (0.69 ± 0.04 vs. 0.71 ± 0.05; n = 8 neurons/4 mice from each group, P = 0.73) or AMPA/NMDA ratio (2.8 ± 0.3 vs. 2.7 ± 0.2; n = 8 neurons/4 mice from each group, P = 0.75) (Fig. 9C and 9D). These results suggest that the function of postsynaptic AMPA receptors is unlikely to be altered.
Figure 8. Increased presynaptic glutamate release to Fos-GFP positive neurons after sexual attraction. (A and B) Example of Fos-GFP negative (A) and positive (B) cells from layer II/III of the ACC that was targeted for whole-cell recording dilated with Alexa fluor 594. (C) Typical traces showing paired-pulse stimulations with interval of 35, 50, 75,100, 150 ms in Fos-GFP negative and positive neurons. (D) Decreased paired-pulse facilitation in Fos-GFP positive neurons at interval 35 ms or 50 ms compared with those in Fos-GFP negative neurons. (E) Representative traces showing mEPSC recordings in Fos-GFP negative and positive neurons. (F) Cumulative probability and pooled data (inset) showing the increased mEPSC frequency in Fos-GFP positive neurons than that in Fos-GFP negative neurons. (G) Cumulative probability and pooled data (inset) showing that there is no difference in mEPSC amplitude between Fos-GFP positive and negative neurons.
Figure 9. The postsynaptic responses in Fos-GFP positive neurons after sexual attraction. (A) Typical traces of EPSCs at holding potentials of -70, -40, 0 and 30 mV in Fos-GFP negative and positive neurons. (B) The pooled data showing the normal I–V responses in Fos-GFP positive neurons. (C and D) The rectification index (C) and AMPA/NMDA ratio (D) for EPSCs was similar in Fos-GFP positive and negative neurons.
We then compared PPF of GFP-positive and GFP-negative neurons (Fig. 8C and 8D). Consistently, we found significant decreases of PPF at 35 ms and 50 ms intervals in GFP-positive neurons (35 ms interval, 0.92 ± 0.08 vs. 1.40 ± 0.19; n = 8 neurons/4 mice in each group, P < 0.05, Fig. 8E and 8F). Although we did not confirm if recorded GFP-positive neurons are IM cells, our recent data found that about 50% layer II/III pyramidal cells are IM cells (unpublished data). To confirm the possibility of enhanced presynaptic glutamate release in GFP-positive neurons, we examined the miniature EPSCs (mEPSCs). We found that mEPSC frequency in GFP-positive neurons (5.8 ± 0.8 Hz, n = 8 neurons/4 mice) was larger than in GFP-negative neurons (3.0 ± 0.5 Hz, n = 8 neurons/4 mice) (P < 0.01, Fig. 8E and 8F). However, there was no significant difference in the amplitude of mEPSCs between GFP-positive and negative neurons (n = 8 neurons/4 mice, P = 0.64, Fig. 8E and 8G). These results indicate that presynaptic glutamate release was increased in the GFP-positive neurons.
In the present study, we focused on sexual attraction and the ACC, a region known to be associated in pain and pleasure [11]. We found that the ACC is robustly activated in male mice after exposure to female mice, as demonstrated by Fos expression, and pharmacological inhibition of the ACC could reduce sexual attraction. Although the excitability of ACC pyramidal neurons was not altered, the excitatory synaptic transmission was enhanced after sexual attraction. By using transgenic fosGFP mice, we found that sexual attraction induced functional increases of presynaptic glutamate release to activated neurons in ACC slices. Our results demonstrate the critical role of the ACC in sexual attraction, and provide the first evidence for the cellular mechanism of the ACC neurons involved in the sexual attraction.
Evidence from animal studies indicates that the central supraspinal systems controlling sexual arousal are localized predominantly in the limbic system. The ACC has been implicated as an unique area for evoking affective state such as romantic love [15], and a PET imaging study showed that the ACC is specifically activated during the excitation phase of sexual stimuli in men [7]. In the present study, we used Fos expression as a marker of functional activation of neurons in the ACC. We found that all layers except layer I are activated bilaterally in the ACC, suggesting that sexual attraction results in specific pattern of activation. The results are consistent with previous reports mapping the brain areas involved in sexual attraction [19,28], and establish the critical roles of the ACC in the sexual behaviors. However, due to limitations in using Fos as a marker, future studies must be conducted to elucidate the exact inputs to and outputs from the ACC after activation by sexual attraction. The significance of the activation of the ACC is probably not on the perception of sexual stimulation, which is fulfilled by rodent olfactory systems. Rather, we propose that the activation of the ACC affects positive emotional state, leading to sexual behaviors. In favor of the role of the ACC in sexual attraction, we found that inactivation of the ACC by local infusion of muscimol reduced the interest of male mice to female mice.
How could the ACC neurons be activated by sexual attraction? Fos expression is due to the conversion of extracellular signals into early genomic activation, which indicates that a signal transduction event has taken place in those activated neurons. Therefore, we hypothesized that functional alterations occurred in the activated neurons in the ACC after sexual attraction. To test this, we used fosGFP mice, a useful tool able to link sensory stimulation in animals to functional neuroanatomy and electrophysiology. In brain slices, we could detect GFP signals and performed whole-cell patch clamp recordings in GFP-positive neurons. We found enhanced presynaptic glutamate release, as shown by decreased PPF and increased mEPSC frequency. However, postsynaptic response was unlikely to be altered, since no changes were observed in the response mediated by either AMPA or NMDA receptors. We propose that the increased presynaptic glutamate release is the main trigger for the activation of neurons in the ACC following sexual attraction. This raises two essential questions which will require further insight into the function of the ACC in sexual attraction: (1) what signal triggers the increased glutamate release? and (2), what are the functional consequences of Fos activation?
In sum, our results provide a first mouse electrophysiological model for studying the sexual attraction in forebrain areas. At a single cell level, we are able to demonstrate a long-lasting changes in glutamate mediated excitatory synaptic transmission within the ACC, a cortical region known to be critical for sexual desire, attraction, and romantic love in human imaging studies. The use of transgenic and gene knockout mice in future will provide powerful tools to explore cellular and molecular basis of key brain functions of human such as love, sex and attraction between man and woman.
Adult C57BL/6 mice were purchased from Charles River (9–17 weeks old). The transgenic fosGFP mice were obtained from laboratory of Dr. Alison Barth (Carnegie Mellon University). All mice were maintained on a 12 h light/dark cycle with food and water provided ad libitum. All protocols used were approved by The Animal Care and Use Committee at the University of Toronto.
Sexual Attraction Test
We devised a novel test to measure the degree of sexual attraction. The testing apparatus consisted of a rectangular box with a divider in the middle. The divider had numerous holes that were large enough to allow for vision and olfaction yet small enough to prevent physical interaction. For each test, mice were placed on opposing sides of the divider and were allowed to move freely within the box for 30 minutes. The more time the animal spent in the central area (area closer to the opposite sex), the greater the sexual attraction. The movement of the mice were tracked and recorded by a video camera tracking system (Ethovision, Noldus VA). Each mouse was individually placed in the rectangular box prior to testing for 10 minutes for acclimatization. None of the animals, whether male or female, were sexually experienced prior to the experiment. Although we did not monitor the female hormone cycle stage, we found similar sex attractions between male and female mice.
Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings
Coronal brain slices (300 μm) containing the ACC from six- to eight-week-old male mice were prepared using standard methods [29]. Slices were transferred to a submerged recovery chamber with oxygenated (95% O2 and 5% CO2) artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF) containing (in mM): 124 NaCl, 2.5 KCl, 2 CaCl2, 2 MgSO4, 25 NaHCO3, 1 NaH2PO4, 10 glucose at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
All electrophysiological experiments were performed at room temperature. An Olympus BX51WI microscope (Tokyo, Japan) with infrared DIC optics was used for visualization of whole-cell patch clamp recording. Excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) were recorded from layer II/III neurons with an Axon 200 B amplifier (Molecular devices, CA) and the stimulations were delivered by a bipolar tungsten stimulating electrode placed in layer V of the prefrontal slices. EPSCs were induced by repetitive stimulations (duration is 200 μs, intensity is adjusted to induce EPSCs with amplitude of 50–100 pA at 0.02 Hz and neurons were voltage clamped at -70 mV. The recording pipettes (3–5 MΩ) were filled with solution containing (mM): 145 K-gluconate, 5 NaCl, 1 MgCl2, 0.2 EGTA, 10 HEPES, 2 Mg-ATP, and 0.1 Na3-GTP (adjusted to pH 7.2 with KOH). Alexa fluor 594 (100 μM) was added in the intracellular solution to identify the expression of fosGFP as well as neuronal morphology. When current-voltage relationships were measured, K-gluconate was replaced by equomolar CsMeSO3 and 5 QX-314 chloride was added in the internal solution. Picrotoxin (100 μM) was always present to block GABAA receptor-mediated inhibitory currents and monitored throughout the synaptic currents. Access resistance was 15–30 MΩ and was monitored throughout the experiment. Data were discarded if access resistance changed more than 15% during an experiment. Statistical comparisons were performed using the Student's t-test or two way ANOVA test.
Confocal imaging
To image GFP-positive neurons, a confocal microscope (Fluoview FV 1000, Olympus, Tokyo, Japan) was used [30]. The laser with a wavelength of 488 nm was used for GFP excitation and 633 nm was used for Alexa fluor 594.
Ten animals, divided into two groups, were anaesthetized with isoflurane and perfused with 0.1 mol/L phosphate buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.2–7.4) via the ascending aorta followed by 4% paramaformaldehyde in 0.1 mol/L PB. The brains were then removed, and postfixed in the same fixative for 4 h before cryoprotection in PBS containing 30% sucrose overnight at 4°C. Every fourth sections of 25 μm thickness, serially cut through the brain in cryostat, were collected. Sections were then used for c-Fos and/or NeuN immunoreactivity.
Sections were sequentially incubated with the following solutions: (1) a solution of 3% bovine serum albumin (BSA, Sigma, St. Louis, USA), 0.3% Triton X-100 containing rabbit antibody against c-Fos (1:6000, Calbiochem, USA), or a mixture of rabbit antibody against c-Fos (1:6000, Calbiochem, USA) and mouse monoclonal antibody directed against NeuN (1: 400, Chemicon) for 2 days at 4°C, (2) Rhodamine-conjugated goat anti-rabbit (1:200, Chemicon), or a mixture of rhodamine-conjugated goat anti-rabbit (1:200, Chemicon) and FITC-conjugated goat anti-mouse (1:200, Jackson ImmunoResearch) antibodies in PBS containing 3% BSA and 0.3% Triton X-100 for 24 h at 4°C. For 3-3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB) reaction, biotinylated goat anti-rabbit IgG (1:200; Vector) was used in the second step and these sections were further incubated with avidin-biotin-complex (elite A, B; 1:200; Vector). All sections were rinsed with PBS (3 × 10 min) after each step. The signals were visualized under epifluorescence microscope or processed with DAB as chromogen using DAB kit (Vector, Laboratories, Burlingame, CA). No staining was observed on brain sections when the primary antibody was omitted from the protocol. Images were captured with the assistance of Image-Pro Plus 5.0 software, and all the parameters used were kept consistent during capturing. After microscopic observation, sections were then counterstained by Nissl technique for cytoarchitectural examination.
Data analyses
Results were analyzed by t-test or two-way ANOVA followed by post-hoc Student-Newman-Keuls test to identify significant differences. All data are expressed as mean +/- SEM. In all cases, P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions
MZ designed the study. LJW, SSK, XL and FZ carried out experiments. LJW, SSK, XL and MZ wrote the manuscript.
Supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR66975, CIHR84256), the EJLB-CIHR Michael Smith Chair in Neurosciences and Mental Health, and the Canada Research Chair to M. Z. L.-J.W. is supported by postdoctoral fellowships from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Fragile X Research Foundation of Canada. We thank Dr. Alison Barth (Carnegie Mellon University) for providing transgenic fosGFP mice.
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Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers reacts after a foul from... News PhotoBasketball - Sport,Blake Griffin,Facial Expression,Foul,Full Length,Los Angeles Clippers,NBA,NBA Pro Basketball,P.J. Tucker,Phoenix - Arizona,Phoenix Suns,Sport,US Airways Center,USA,VerticalPhotographer Christian PetersenCollection: Getty Images Sport 2013 Getty ImagesPHOENIX, AZ - JANUARY 24: Blake Griffin #32 of the Los Angeles Clippers reacts after a foul from P.J. Tucker #17 of the Phoenix Suns during the NBA game at US Airways Center on January 24, 2013 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Clippers 93-88. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)


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Jonathan Adler, Nathaniel Stewart
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The American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) -- the world's largest airport organization, representing thousands of men and women across the country who manage and operate the nation's airports -- pledged its support today in working collaboratively with the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection to grow the PreCheck trusted traveler program to accommodate additional fliers as quickly as possible.
"Airport executives long have advocated for the adoption of a robust, nationwide trusted traveler program to better identify and scrutinize potential threats while improving passengers' experiences at the airport," AAAE President Chip Barclay said. "The recent announcement by TSA that the agency intends to bring its PreCheck trusted traveler program on-line quickly at additional airports is welcome news, and airport executives are eager to play an active role in the successful deployment of the program at their facilities.
"Airport executives anticipate great success with the PreCheck program and recognize that the next challenge will be moving from a largely airline-centric program in operation at a handful of airports to one that is operational for large numbers of travelers at airport facilities across the country," Barclay added. "Airport operators are uniquely situated and qualified to play a key role in assisting TSA in efficiently and effectively growing participation in PreCheck or a similar trusted traveler program."
Barclay noted that over the past decade, AAAE and individual airports have worked closely with TSA and the technology community to implement specific programs, including Registered Traveler (RT). In roughly one year, the RT program enrolled more than 250,000 travelers at 24 airports, proving the security and efficiency benefits that adoption of these programs provides.
PreCheck in its current form is available only to certain elite travelers on specific airlines and participants in the CBP Global Entry program. Barclay said that airport executives would like to see the program expanded to accommodate as many additional travelers as possible in an airport-centric, community-based effort. Barclay added that while airline-based programs and Global Entry are good avenues in enrolling qualified participants, additional efforts will be needed to accommodate a broader range of qualified travelers -- a goal that airports, the traveling public, and the government share.
Additional views from AAAE were outlined in a letter sent today to TSA Administrator John Pistole and CBP Acting Commissioner David Aguilar, which can be viewed here.
"Airports are confident that in partnership with TSA they can help facilitate the deployment of a robust trusted/known traveler program that focuses on enhanced security above all else in addition to expediting the travel experience," Barclay said. "We are eager to work with Administrator Pistole and his team to make the promises of PreCheck a reality for a broad range of qualified travelers at airports across the country."
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