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How the Fear of Losing My Job Helped Me to Grow Note: This is a guest post by Karl Staib of Work Happy Now! Working for a company that might be cutting jobs can force the energy right out of you if you don't take some steps to set your perspective on the positive. There are usually three perspectives that dictate our emotional outlook. Relaxing in the now. Imagining that things will get better. The problem itself. Out of the three options, which one do you think will only make problems worse? Maybe the question is a little too easy, but why do so many people keep doing it? Worrying is bad for your happiness Worrying is a common habit that makes us feel like we are accomplishing something, when in reality we are only creating more fear. Most of us have been in situations where we feel like we might lose our jobs because we don't connect with the person that holds our fate in his/her hands. There are three main ways people handle this situation. Just keep going. The select few just keep going about their day, trying their best and not feeling bothered by the day to day drama, knowing that any mistake that they have made is in the past and there is nothing they can do about it now. Imagine how it will get better. Another group of emotionally smart people see the problem and imagine how it will get better. Their optimistic outlook helps them get through difficult situations. They aren’t any different than you and me, but they know that worrying only makes the situation worse. Fret. Then there is the majority of the people that fret until the situation passes. I used to be in that fretting group. I had a job that kept me on the fringes of being fired for a couple of weeks. Every little mistake left this lingering feeling that today would be the day the HR manager would walk up to my cubicle and tell me, “I’m sorry to tell you that we are going to have to let you go. Please gather your personal belongings so I can walk you out.†My stomach churned every time I walked through the entrance. My sleep was sporadic throughout the night and all I wanted to do was quit. I stayed on because I needed the money and that need outweighed any uncomfortable feelings. There I was, caught in thoughts of worry. I tried not caring, but that didn’t work. I tried the technique of imagining my work life getting better, even if it was only a five minute conversation at the copier with a co-worker. That helped, but only to a certain level. I was still feeling uneasy until I applied a little creative action. As the days passed and I still had a job, I tried things to help keep my job. I showed up a little earlier than usual. I offered to do other people’s work. I came up with a youth outreach program at our closest high school. The managers loved it. I was back in the good graces of my manager, my co-workers and the other managers. I always kept my resume updated and I sent it out every weekend. The economy wasn't doing well, so I had to stay with what I had, but it was an emotionally tough time. By getting into the thick of my fear I learned two valuable lessons: Help Others Achieve Their Goals Use that fear, which is usually focused on what will happen to you, and allow that focus to help someone else. When you are worried about making a mistake, you may be afraid to make good decisions. Ask co-workers if you can help them with a project that they are working on. By giving them your time, you are making yourself more useful and taking your focus off the fear. You'll be surprised at how people will react toward your kindness and your boss will want to keep someone that makes a difference in other people's lives. Create Action By creating action out of your fear instead of waiting for the hammer to drop, you will be able to steer yourself out of trouble. You may be on the cusp of being downsized, but don't let that stop you from being active in your work. When you keep yourself moving, you'll be creating an environment that helps you stay focused on the moment instead of letting the fear take over. Who knows… you may be able to inject some new life into your job and encourage management to keep you. When you use your energy to focus on the fear, you’re only increasing your awareness of the problem, which by default increases your worry. By moving your energy toward something constructive you can reduce your worry and accomplish something important. Karl Staib writes about unlocking and kicking open the door to working happy at his own blog: Work Happy Now! If you enjoyed this article, you may like to subscribe to his feed or read one of his most popular articles, 7 Tips to Process Your Stress Faster. If you like this article, please give it a thumb up in Stumbleupon. Thanks a lot! =) | Mid | [
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Non-human animals used during the research and investigation of human diseases provide a useful means of better understanding the disease without the added risk of causing harm to an actual human being during the process. Many drugs, treatments and cures for human diseases have been developed by first being tested in animals (see, e.g., Greaves et al., 2004, Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 3, 226-236; Olson et al., 2000, Regul. Toxicol. Pharmacol. 32, 56-67). One of the drawbacks for using non-human animals in research of human diseases and preclinical trials is that a drug showing efficacy when applied to animals may not be effective in human due to the difference between target human protein and animal protein. Such disparity of drug efficacy may result in expensive pre-clinical and clinical failure. On the other hand, human-animal protein difference may lead to a miss of candidates effective in treating human diseases when animal model is used to screen or test drugs. For example, Avastin, a neutralizing antibody of human Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and a drug inhibiting human cancer angiogenesis, interacts poorly with murine VEGF, while it blocks human VEGF's binding to human VEGF receptor (Ferrara et al., 2004, Nat Rev Drug Discov. 3, 391-400). This dramatic disparity is resulted from a single amino acid difference between the human epitope that Avastin binds to and the corresponding murine epitope (Fuh et al., 2006, J Biol Chem 281: 6625-31; Muller et al., 1998, Structure 6: 1153-67). It has been reported that 19 amino acid residues of VEGF participate in the interface of the complex of human VEGF and its neutralizing antibody (Muller et al., 1998, Structure 6: 1153-67). Comparison of human and mouse VEGF sequence shows that among the 19 amino acid residues only one residue (Gly88) in human VEGF differs from its counterpart in mouse (see Muller et al., 1998, Structure 6: 1153-67). Therefore, in order to search and evaluate drug candidates in treating a human disease, there are needs to develop animal models in which a human gene is introduced to express a human protein in the animal cells and to mimic the human disease. Furthermore, in order to prevent the interaction between the drug candidates and the human protein being interfered by the endogenous animal proteins, there are needs to have endogenous animal gene corresponding to the desired human gene being damaged, such that the introduced human gene operably replaces the corresponding animal gene. Some transgenic animals in which one human gene replaces a corresponding animal gene have been made to meet the needs. For example, transgenic mice in which human VEGF gene replaces endogenous mouse VEGF gene has been made to study the role of human VEGF in normal and pathological angiogenesis (US Pat Pub No. 2010/0162415 A1). However, transgenic mice expressing only one human gene have limitations in searching and evaluating drug candidates in treating human diseases because, to exert their effects on the human diseases, the drug candidates often need to act in a desired way on a targeted protein-protein interaction that underlies the physiological process of the human diseases. For example, a neutralizing antibody of human VEGF inhibits angiogenesis by blocking human VEGF's binding to human VEGF receptor. A neutralizing antibody candidate may not show any effect on transgenic mice expressing only human VEGF as the expressed human VEGF may not interact in the same manner with murine VEGF receptor as with human VEGF receptor. Therefore, there are needs to develop animal models expressing both human proteins involved in the targeted protein-protein interaction that underlies the physiological process of the human diseases. This disclosure provides a transgenic animal expressing at lease two human proteins whereas a first human protein dynamically interacts with a second human protein, whereas the consequence of the interaction between the first human protein and the second human protein forms a part of a cascade of signaling pathway that direct cellular changes. In some preferred embodiments, when the second human protein interacts with a third human protein in the cascade of signaling pathway, the third human protein is also introduced into the transgenic animal. More preferably, when the third human protein interacts with a fourth human protein in the cascade of signaling pathway, the fourth human protein is also introduced into the transgenic animal, and so forth, until the whole cascade of signaling pathway is completely introduced into the transgenic animal. | Mid | [
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Effect of feeding glyphosate-tolerant (roundup-ready events GA21 or nk603) corn compared with reference hybrids on feedlot steer performance and carcass characteristics. Three experiments were conducted to compare the feeding value of genetically enhanced corn (Roundup Ready corn events GA21 and nk603) with nontransgenic hybrids. The four treatments included two separate reference hybrids (REF), the near-isogenic control hybrid (CON), and the genetically enhanced corn (RR), resulting in two preplanned comparisons of CON vs. RR and RR vs. the average of REF. In Exp. 1 (RR event GA21), 175 steers (BW = 427 kg) were fed in 25 pens with seven pens per corn hybrid, except CON, which contained four pens due to limited quantities of that hybrid. In Exp. 2 (RR event nk603), 196 steers (BW = 420 kg) were fed in 28 pens with seven pens per corn. In Exp. 3 (RR event nk603), 200 steers were fed in 20 pens, with a similar treatment design to Exp. 2 and five pens per corn. All experiments were conducted as completely randomized designs and utilized corn produced at University of Illinois (Exp. 1 and 2) and University of Nebraska (Exp. 3) research farms under identity-preserved protocols. In all experiments, DMI, ADG, and feed efficiency were similar (P > 0.30) between RR and REF. In Exp. 1 and Exp. 2, RR was not different (P > 0.25) than CON for growth performance. In Exp. 3, RR was not different from CON for ADG and DMI (P > 0.15) or for feed efficiency (P = 0.08). No differences were observed between RR and CON or RR and REF for carcass weight, longissimus dorsi area, and marbling scores in any of the experiments. Subtle differences were observed between RR and either CON or REF for fat depth in each experiment; however, cattle fed RR were not consistently greater and varied from either the CON or the REF (but not both contrasts) within an experiment. Based on these results, insertion of glyphosate-tolerant genes had no significant effect on nutritive quality of corn. Performance and carcass characteristics were not influenced, which suggests that Roundup Ready corn is similar to conventional, nontransgenic corn when fed to finishing feedlot cattle. | Mid | [
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/* Small program to test the features of vf_bmovl */ #include <unistd.h> #include <fcntl.h> #include <string.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <SDL/SDL.h> #include <SDL/SDL_image.h> #define DEBUG 0 static void blit(int fifo, unsigned char *bitmap, int width, int height, int xpos, int ypos, int alpha, int clear) { char str[100]; int nbytes; sprintf(str, "RGBA32 %d %d %d %d %d %d\n", width, height, xpos, ypos, alpha, clear); if(DEBUG) printf("Sending %s", str); write(fifo, str, strlen(str)); nbytes = write(fifo, bitmap, width*height*4); if(DEBUG) printf("Sent %d bytes of bitmap data...\n", nbytes); } static void set_alpha(int fifo, int width, int height, int xpos, int ypos, int alpha) { char str[100]; sprintf(str, "ALPHA %d %d %d %d %d\n", width, height, xpos, ypos, alpha); if(DEBUG) printf("Sending %s", str); write(fifo, str, strlen(str)); } static void paint(unsigned char* bitmap, int size, int red, int green, int blue, int alpha) { int i; for(i=0; i < size; i+=4) { bitmap[i+0] = red; bitmap[i+1] = green; bitmap[i+2] = blue; bitmap[i+3] = alpha; } } int main(int argc, char **argv) { int fifo=-1; int width=0, height=0, xpos=0, ypos=0, alpha=0, clear=0; unsigned char *bitmap; SDL_Surface *image; int i; if(argc<3) { printf("Usage: %s <bmovl fifo> <image file> <width> <height>\n", argv[0]); printf("width and height are w/h of MPlayer's screen!\n"); exit(10); } width = atoi(argv[3]); height = atoi(argv[4]); fifo = open( argv[1], O_RDWR ); if(!fifo) { fprintf(stderr, "Error opening FIFO %s!\n", argv[1]); exit(10); } image = IMG_Load(argv[2]); if(!image) { fprintf(stderr, "Couldn't load image %s!\n", argv[2]); exit(10); } printf("Loaded image %s: width=%d, height=%d\n", argv[2], image->w, image->h); // Display and move image for(i=0; (i < (width - image->w)) && (i < (height - image->h)); i += 5) blit(fifo, image->pixels, image->w, image->h, i, i, 0, 1); // Create a 75x75 bitmap bitmap = (unsigned char*)malloc(75*75*4); // Paint bitmap red, 50% transparent and blit at position 50,50 paint(bitmap, (75*75*4), 255, 0, 0, 128); blit(fifo, bitmap, 75, 75, 50, 50, 0, 0); // Paint bitmap green, 50% transparent and blit at position -50,50 paint(bitmap, (75*75*4), 0, 255, 0, 128); blit(fifo, bitmap, 75, 75, width-50-75, 50, 0, 0); // Paint bitmap blue, 50% transparent and blit at position -50,50 paint(bitmap, (75*75*4), 0, 0, 255, 128); blit(fifo, bitmap, 75, 75, 50, height-50-75, 0, 0); // Blit another image in the middle, completly transparent blit(fifo, image->pixels, image->w, image->h, (width/2)-(image->w/2), (height/2)-(image->h/2), -255, 0); // Fade in image for(i=-255; i <= 0; i++) set_alpha(fifo, image->w, image->h, (width/2)-(image->w/2), (height/2)-(image->h/2), i); // Clean up free(bitmap); SDL_FreeSurface(image); return 0; } | Mid | [
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A widely adopted standard for wireless communication is the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard. The 3GPP standard has had many revisions, including an evolution into the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) standards. The LTE standards also continue to evolve, such that there are multiple releases, one of which is the LTE standards Release 12 (e.g., Rel-12). The LTE standard includes a specification of a rate matching block or module, both at the physical layer at the transmitter of the base station (e.g., an evolved NodeB or eNB) and at the physical layer at the transmitter of the user equipment (UE). Rate matching is performed over code blocks after turbo encoding. An LTE turbo encoder provides three output streams of the same length for each input stream, the first stream being the original input stream called a systematic stream, and the remaining two streams are interleaved versions of the input stream called parity 1 and parity 2 streams. These three streams are the input of the rate matching block. At the rate matching block each of the three bit streams may be arranged into a matrix, C, having 32 columns by R rows. If the number of bits, D, at each of the three bit streams is not divisible by 32, each stream may be prepended with null bits so that each will contain full double words, e.g., a double word contains 32 bits and after prepending the number of bits in each of the three bit streams is a divisible by 32. The data may then undergo a series of operations which modify the order of the bits: permutation, transposition, bit shuffling and bit selection. Bit selection may include pointing to a starting point of a combined bit stream (e.g., a data stream that includes all three data streams) and removing the null bits. The starting point is typically not at the beginning of the combined bit stream. The combined bit stream, starting at the starting point and without the null bits, may then be forwarded to the next block at the transmitter. Known systems mark the null bits when they are inserted, before the permutation, and remove them in the bit selection sub-block, after all bit ordering operations are done. However, marking costs in more memory accesses and longer processing time required for the series of operations performed at the rate matching block. One marking method includes using a full byte to represent a single bit of data. Another bit in this byte indicates if the bit is a null bit. Clearly, this method is very inefficient in terms of memory usage and processing time. | Mid | [
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The present invention pertains to applicators, and methods of using such applicators, for applying a product. In particular, the present invention is directed to an applicator for the application of a product, such as a cosmetic product or a care product, for example, to the eyelashes, eyebrows, or other types of hair. The invention also relates to an applicator system including the applicator and a receptacle for containing the product to be applied. European Patent Application EP-A-0 474 934 discloses a brush for applying mascara to eyelashes. The brush includes a circularly-symmetrical cylindrical body and brush members aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the brush. The brush members have circular cross-sections and are offset relative to one another in the longitudinal direction. German Patent Application DE-A-2 559 273 also discloses a brush for applying mascara. The brush includes a hollow, circularly-symmetrical cylindrical body and brush members aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the brush. The brush members have triangular cross-sections. Long sides of the triangular cross-sections are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support. European Patent Application EP-A-0 204 466 also discloses a brush for applying mascara. The brush has brush members aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support. French Patent Application FR-A-2 564 712 discloses an applicator having two arrangements of teeth aligned parallel to one another. The teeth have bases with triangular shaped cross-sections. A short side of each triangle shape is parallel to axes of alignment of the teeth. A height of the triangle shape, extending from the opposite vertex, is perpendicular to the axes of alignment. French Patent Application FR-A-2 748 636 discloses a mascara applicator including thin teeth arranged parallel to the longitudinal axis of the applicator. It would be desirable if such known devices could be further improved to be capable of taking up a relatively large quantity of substance and thereby provide satisfactory endurance between refills. It would also be desirable if such devices could be improved to engage hairs, in particular the eyelashes, so as to smooth the substance over their surfaces and to lengthen them. One aspect of the present invention relates to an applicator for applying a product to at least eyelashes and/or eyebrows. The applicator comprises an application element configured to apply a product to at least the eyelashes and/or eyebrows. The application element comprises a support, and at least one row of teeth extending from the support. At least one of the teeth comprises a base having an oblong cross-section. According to one aspect, the oblong cross-section is angularly positioned in a direction forming a non-zero acute angle with the axis of the row. According to another aspect, the oblong cross-section is angularly positioned in a direction forming a non-zero acute angle with the longitudinal axis of the support. In yet another aspect, the oblong cross-section is angularly positioned in a direction forming a non-zero acute angle with the axis of the row and a non-zero acute angle with the longitudinal axis of the support, wherein the two angles may be identical, substantially identical, or different. As used herein, the xe2x80x9cdirectionxe2x80x9d of the angular positioned oblong cross-section refers to the direction in which a longitudinal axis of the oblong cross-section is arranged. For example, when the oblong cross-section is substantially rectangular shaped, the direction of such a cross-section would correspond to the longitudinal axis parallel to the two longer sides of the rectangular shape. As another example, when the cross-section is substantially in the shape of an ellipse, the direction would correspond to a major axis of the ellipse. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9caxis of the rowxe2x80x9d refers to the axis along which the teeth in a row are arranged. For example, the axis of the row could be substantially straight or curved. The axis of the row could be either identical to or different from the axis of the support. The teeth in the row may be a succession of consecutive teeth. The applicator may have just one row of teeth (or more than one row of teeth), essentially forming a comb. Alternatively, the applicator may have more than one row of teeth disposed around the applicator, essentially forming a brush. For example, the applicator may include one row of teeth disposed on a substantially opposite side of the applicator as another row of teeth. In another aspect, more than one tooth may have a base with an oblong cross-section and one or more of such teeth may have a base positioned in a direction forming a non-zero acute angle with the axis of the row and/or a non-zero acute angle with the axis of the support. For example, all of the teeth could have bases with oblong cross-sections angularly positioned to form non-zero acute angles with respect to the axis of the row and/or the axis of the support. When a plurality of the teeth have angularly positioned oblong bases, the direction of each cross-section could be either substantially the same or different and/or each direction could form substantially the same angle with one or more of the axes. Optionally, the angular positioning of the bases of the teeth provides an application element capable of taking up a quantity of substance that is sufficiently large. The angular positioning optionally also enables the teeth to engage hairs, in particular the eyelashes, while the application element is being moved relative thereto, in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the support. For example, an applicator according to the invention may make it possible to have a relatively large quantity of substance between the teeth while spreading the substance onto the eyelash surface, without the teeth losing their capacity to engage with and curve an eyelash. In one aspect, bases of at least two consecutive teeth in the row may either contact one another or lack contact with one another. In another aspect, consecutive teeth in the row may be mutually overlapping when the application element is observed from the side, in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the row and/or the axis of the support. Optionally, the overlapping teeth may form a substantially V-shaped notch therebetween, and the notch may be configured such that a hair is capable of being engaged therein. For example, the bottom of the notch may be situated at a non-zero distance from the support. The profile of the above-mentioned V-shaped notch may converge towards the support. The notch may be configured so that substance present between the teeth may be spread in a satisfactory manner over the surface of the hair engaged in the notch, all the way to the end of the hair. There are many different possible shapes for the oblong cross-section of the base. In one possible embodiment, the oblong cross-section may have a substantially rectangular shape. In other examples, the oblong cross-section may be substantially in the shape of an oval, an ellipse, or a triangle. In another aspect, one or more teeth may have a tapered cross-section extending over at least a portion of the tooth height from adjacent the support toward a tooth free end. In still another aspect, at least some of the teeth may have a free end portion having a shape chosen from cylindrical, substantially cylindrical, and curved. In one embodiment, a tuft of bristles may be mounted on the support. For example, the tuft may be along the row of teeth. Optionally, at least the support and the teeth are an integral, one-piece arrangement. For example, the application element may be formed by molding, die stamping, or any other method of shaping material. In a further aspect, one or more of the teeth may comprise a gliding agent for improving gliding of the hair on the teeth. The gliding agent may be chosen from polytetra-fluoroethylene, graphite, silicones, molybdenum disulfide, and derivatives thereof. The gliding agent could either be a coating on an exterior surface of the teeth or a filler incorporated in plastic material of the teeth. For example, the teeth could be formed by molding plastic material containing the gliding agent. The gliding agent may prevent hair from being gripped too strongly by the teeth, and thereby improve application comfort. In an even further aspect, the application element may be formed of a material chosen from elastomer, metal, and alloy. In yet a further aspect, the application element may have a first end and a second end opposite to the first end (e.g., front and rear ends), wherein a number of the teeth between the first end and the second end may range from about 20 to about 50. Alternatively, the number of teeth in a row of consecutive teeth may range from about 6 to about 50, or from about 10 to about 35, or from about 15 to about 32. The teeth may be made of either the same material as the support or a different material. The height of the teeth may vary. The height of each of the teeth may range from about 0.5 mm to about 15 mm. Alternatively, the height of each of the teeth may range from about 0.5 mm to about 10 mm. Alternatively, the height of the teeth may range from about 7 mm to about 13 mm. In yet another aspect, the row of teeth may comprise teeth having bases offset in alternation, at least in part, on either side of a geometrical separation plane containing the axis of the row. In one example, the above-mentioned angle(s) formed by the direction of the cross-section and at least one of the axes is less than or equal to about 45xc2x0. In one more aspect, the support may have a polygonal cross-section in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the support, and the application element may further comprises a plurality of rows of teeth, each on a different main face of the support. In one optional arrangement, a stem (e.g., wand) may be provided with the application element being on an end of the stem. The stem may extend from a handle element configured in the form of a closure cap for closing a receptacle. The application element may be integrally molded with the stem. The application element can be disposed on a distal end portion of the stem. The application element may be made more flexible than the stem. For example, the application element may be made of a plastic having greater flexibility than a plastic used to make the stem. Greater comfort may be obtained when using such an applicator. As an alternative, the stem may be more flexible than the application element. For example, the stem may be made of a plastic that is more flexible than the material used to make the application element. It is possible, for manufacturing reasons, to use a relatively inflexible material to make the application element and to compensate for the inflexibility of the application element at the time of application, using the flexibility of the stem. The longitudinal axis of the support and the longitudinal axis of the stem may be parallel or form a non-zero angle. The applicator may be part of a system including a receptacle configured to contain the product. A cosmetic product, such as mascara for example, may be contained in the receptacle. The receptacle may include an opening configured to permit passage of at least a part of the application element into the receptacle. The receptacle may have a wiper configured to remove excess product from the teeth of the application element when the applicator is removed from the receptacle. In an embodiment, the wiper is deformable, and may include a block of open-cell foam or an elastomeric lip, or other similar suitable configurations. The system also may include a cap disposed on an end of the stem opposite to the end of the stem at which the application element is disposed. The cap may be configured to sealably close the opening of the receptacle. The application element may be produced by molding plastic as a single piece with the applicator stem and with a sealing member configured to seal the receptacle closed when it is not in use. The sealing member may have a surface shaped to fit in a sealed manner into the neck of the receptacle. There are many different types of receptacles that could be used with the applicator system. For example, the product could be stored in a tube-like receptacle. This tube may be made of a flexible material which when squeezed can dispense product onto the application element of the applicator device. Other dispensers also can be used to dispense the product onto the application element, such as a pump-type dispenser, for example, and are considered within the scope of the invention. Alternatively, the receptacle could be configured to hold a solid cake of the product. This solid cake could be moistened in order to enable the applicator device to be loaded with product by placing the application element in contact with the moistened part of the product. Alternatively, the application element could be moistened and then placed in contact with the product to transfer moisture to the product. When the product is contained in either a dispenser or a cake arrangement, the proximal end of the applicator device may lack a handle or a cap, since the applicator device can be arranged such that it is not stored in the receptacle containing the product or closing off such a receptacle. In such an arrangement, the stem itself can be used as a handle. Another aspect of the invention includes a method of applying a product to the eyelashes using an applicator or system as described in the preceding paragraphs. The method includes loading a product on at least some of the teeth and placing at least some of the teeth in contact with the eyelashes such that the product coats the eyelashes. The loading may include inserting at least a portion of the applicator into a receptacle containing the product, removing the applicator from the receptacle, and wiping the excess product from the teeth, for example, with a wiper. The loading alternatively may include either dispensing the product from the receptacle onto the teeth or contacting the teeth with a solid cake of product. The solid cake of product may be moistened and the teeth may be placed in contact with the moistened cake of product. In the latter form of loading, the moistening of the product may include either moistening the product and then contacting the teeth with the product or moistening the product with a pre-moistened applicator. The method may optionally comprise gripping the eyelashes between adjacent teeth. In one example of a method according to the invention, the product being applied is mascara. If the mascara includes fibers, the method may further include orienting the fibers with the teeth such that the fibers are substantially parallel to the eyelashes as the product is applied. The applicator of the invention, as described above, may be used for applying a cosmetic product, such as mascara, to the eyelashes. However, the applicator could be used to apply other products to other surfaces. In addition, the applicator according to the present invention could also be used to comb the eyelashes or eyebrows, for example. The application element and stem could be configured to permit connection and disconnection of the application element from the stem. With such a structural configuration, the method may further comprise connecting the application element to the stem. The method may also comprise selecting the application element from a group of differing application elements. Aside from the structural and procedural arrangements set forth above, the invention could include a number of other arrangements, such as those explained hereinafter. It is to be understood that both the foregoing description and the following description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. | Mid | [
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[Feminist strategies 2]. This article is the second in a two-part series promoting the use of feminist strategies in nursing. Part one--in last month's issue--identified some of the myths in nursing. It focused mainly on the traditional scientific research methods upon which nursing research is based. In part two, the author defines the feminist approach and attempts to demonstrate the way nurses can use this approach to focus nursing care on women's specific needs. This approach consists of recognizing the components of patriarchal ideology, its myths and the reality of women and men. Feminism has restored the credibility of intuition, good listening skills, compassion, commitment and tolerance. They were long believed to be "feminine" and passive. These qualities do not discredit the women who possess them--many of whom are nurses, rather, they add to their competence. How can feminist nursing knowledge shed light on the different factors specific to a woman's life? Menopause, nutrition and domestic violence are examples presented by the author to address this question. Once nurses increase their knowledge of these factors--that up until now were not identified as women's needs--they will be able to rely upon their own capabilities to develop new methods of data collection, communication skills and promotion of their own professionalism. Through these conclusions, the author praises the feminist movement. | High | [
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The Real Deal Los Angeles The Real Deal Los Angeles State bill would exempt projects tied to 2028 Olympics from CEQA Sen. Steven Bradford proposed bill that would benefit Inglewood’s Clippers arena in his district September 06, 2017 06:00PM A rendering of the Crenshaw/LAX project (credit: Metro) State Sen. Steven Bradford has “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” on his mind. The lawmaker proposed a bill last week that would impact all transit-related projects that would make L.A.’s 2028 Olympics more accessible to visitors and residents. It would exempt such projects from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), including the new L.A. Clippers arena in Inglewood and a transit service connecting a future stop on the Crenshaw/LAX line to Inglewood’s Forum — both of which fall in Bradford’s legislative district. Some of the L.A. Olympics biggest cheerleaders, however, are not on board. Gene Sykes, head of the Olympic bid committee LA 2028, issued a letter to Bradford saying the bill isn’t necessary, the Los Angeles Times reported. “While we appreciate any efforts to support the Games, as the LA 2028 plan does not require building any new transit infrastructure, a CEQA exemption is unnecessary and we request that references to the Olympics be removed from the legislation as amended,” Sykes said in a statement. Mayor Eric Garcetti’s spokesperson echoed the same sentiment, and said the Mayor’s office did not request the bill’s amendments. In fact, Garcetti only saw the final draft of the bill on the day it was proposed. The bill, called SB-789, would give the developer of the Clippers arena more power to take private property through eminent domain and halt a judge’s ability to block the project, according to the L.A. Times. Bradford said he proposed the bill because the Olympics and construction of the Clippers stadium were too important to risk stalling through CEQA. [LAT] — Subrina Hudson | Mid | [
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First Class Room 9: Maths Stations First class do maths stations three times weekly. In our maths stations their are four fun activities. Each group gets to do two activities daily. Station 1: pairs were counting regular sets of bottle caps. Their partner put out two handfuls of caps, and they then had to count out the caps and record their answer on a mini whiteboard! Station 2: pairs were counting irregular sets. Their partner put out two handfuls of irregular items – teddies, bottle caps and lollipop sticks, and the other person had to count out the items and record their answer on a mini whiteboard! Station 3 : pairs were estimating and recording the amount of items in a set. Estimating is when we guess a number! Station 4: this was so much fun! Pairs had to match a number to a counted set of giant hoops! | Mid | [
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Rather than keeping their best code to themselves, software engineers can register their creations with the government, creating a marketplace of functionality. Anyone creating new products can save time and money by licensing, rather than reinventing. If the patent system actually worked anything like that, software patents would be a no-brainer, but it doesn't, and they're not. In fact, quite the opposite. Instead, the patent office contains vaguely worded descriptions written and held by lawyers, not for accelerating innovation, but for taxing it. Reality of the software patents system Software patents, as practised, are legalised extortion. Someone brings a product to market, born from their own minds, built with their own hands, and shipped through the sacrifice of their own families. Before they ever see their first paycheque, they start getting letters from those lawyers: "That's a nice little app you've got here. It would be a shame if someone sued you for patent infringement." In actual patent infringement, there would be an inventor with an invention whose sales are damaged by some dishonest party's copying for the intended purpose of siphoning off some of those sales. Situations such as that one do exist, but the patent system doesn't seem to do a good job of rectifying them. Instead, the question of patent infringement stands in as a threat, in the form of a lawsuit. Simply asking the question of whether a product infringes on a patent can cost millions of dollars. That's why such lawsuits are rare. Right or wrong, it's cheaper to settle. Apparent cost of doing business That is the depressing calculus that enables extortion. Compared with the threat of bankruptcy, signing a licence with a patent troll such as Lodsys seems like a much better decision. The little more than half a percent of revenue is just the cost of doing business. But as uncovered at the Appsterdam Legal Summit in October — where app makers and intellectual property attorneys came together to discuss these issues — the settlement offer is only made to look like the easy choice. For example, the Lodsys 'licensing fee' of 0.0575 percent of revenues above $10,000 (£6,300) doesn't seem like much, but that carries with it an auditing clause that allows it to open your books at leisure. Moreover, you'll continue paying that licensing fee even when the patent expires or is found invalid. Worse than that is what... ...the organisation will spend the money on: getting more money out of other app makers. Giving in to this process creates a kind of viral licensing. It's hard to clean a virus from your system, but it beats passing on the infection to everyone you know. It's even more sinister than that. As revealed by the investigative reporters at National Public Radio — the closest thing the Americans have to the BBC — the patent troll Lodsys is one of thousands of shell companies leading back to a Silicon Valley start-up called Intellectual Ventures. Founded by a former Microsoft executive and funded by a who's who of Valley money, the wave of soulless trolls turns out to be coming from none other than Silicon Mordor. The incestuousness of the Valley makes extorting other Valley companies a zero-sum game. Instrument of Silicon Valley hegemony Suddenly it becomes clear why Lodsys has cast such a wide net, sending demand letters to app makers on multiple platforms in countries around the world. These software patents are not just a tax on technology — they are an instrument of Silicon Valley hegemony. Europe offers the first major challenge to that hegemony as the growing tide of anti-intellectualism in the US reverses the brain-drain experienced by Europe in the 1930s. The opportunity presented to Europe by the US patent system is not in falling in line, but in building a wall. If American technologists are not able to practise their craft, provide for their families, and do business in their native land, let them come to Europe. An American app maker living in Europe can use jurisdictional barriers and their own shell companies to protect themselves from the American patent system. We want them here. Even if they only lived here for a year before going home, such an influx of American knowledge would contribute to a new golden age of European technology, just as scholars fleeing the fall of Byzantium sparked the Renaissance. Europe's best route out of the downturn That's just what Europe needs to pull itself out of the Great Recession. Technology creates high-quality jobs and makes everyone's lives better. At the other end of the spectrum are shady, unregulated industries that make obscene amounts of money for an ultra-smart, ultra-arrogant, ultra-greedy elite. If American technologists are not able to practise their craft, provide for their families, and do business in their native land, let them come to Europe. The last time American lobbyists sold us on one of their unregulated money-making ventures it got us into the mess we're in now. Last time it was built on the backs of homeowners, and homeowners inevitably suffered. This time it's built on the backs of technologists. It's time for Europe to go its own way. It's often said that Europe follows the US, but 30 years behind. Normally that's considered a bad thing, but having just seen the US fall off a cliff, we'll need that lead time to save ourselves. The UK often seems to be torn between following its former colonies in the States or its former enemies in Europe. You're welcome to make your own decisions, of course. If you pursue the US down the road of software patents, we'll take your technologists too. Mike Lee is an international adventurer, like Indiana Jones, but with engineering instead of archaeology. Before embarking on a life as a costumed superhero, he shipped product for Apple, President Obama, and your mother. In between winning the Apple Design Award and travelling around the world, Lee co-founded Tapulous, makers of the first popular iPhone game. When he's not wrestling tornados or changing the world, he enjoys drinking, smoking, and causing a ruckus. He was last seen in Appsterdam, world capital of app development. | Mid | [
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Q: Disable-web-security in Chrome 48+ I have a problem with the --disable-web-security flag. It is not working in Chrome 48 and Chrome 49 beta on Windows. I've tried killing all of the instances, reboot and run Chrome with the flag first of all, tried different machines as well. In the beta I can see the warning popup ("You are using unsupported flag.."), but CORS is still being enforced. Public version seems to ignore the flag completely. There seems to be no news or people reports about that, so it might be a local issue. Will be grateful for help or any related info. A: I'm seeing the same thing. A quick google found this question and a bug on the chromium forums. It seems that the --user-data-dir flag is now required. Edit to add user-data-dir guide A: Mac OS: open -a Google\ Chrome --args --disable-web-security --user-data-dir= UPD: add = to --user-data-dir because newer chrome versions require it in order to work A: Update 2020-04-30 As of Chrome 81, it is mandatory to pass both --disable-site-isolation-trials and a non-empty profile path via --user-data-dir in order for --disable-web-security to take effect: # MacOS open -na Google\ Chrome --args --user-data-dir=/tmp/temporary-chrome-profile-dir --disable-web-security --disable-site-isolation-trials (Speculation) It is likely that Chrome requires a non-empty profile path to mitigate the high security risk of launching the browser with web security disabled on the default profile. See --user-data-dir= vs --user-data-dir=/some/path for more details below. Thanks to @Snæbjørn for the Chrome 81 tip in the comments. Update 2020-03-06 As of Chrome 80 (possibly even earlier), the combination of flags --user-data-dir=/tmp/some-path --disable-web-security --disable-site-isolation-trials no longer disables web security. It is unclear when the Chromium codebase regressed, but downloading an older build of Chromium (following "Not-so-easy steps" on the Chromium download page) is the only workaround I found. I ended up using Version 77.0.3865.0, which properly disables web security with these flags. Original Post 2019-11-01 In Chrome 67+, it is necessary to pass the --disable-site-isolation-trials flag alongside arguments --user-data-dir= and --disable-web-security to truly disable web security. On MacOS, the full command becomes: open -na Google\ Chrome --args --user-data-dir= --disable-web-security --disable-site-isolation-trials Regarding --user-data-dir Per David Amey's answer, it is still necessary to specify --user-data-dir= for Chrome to respect the --disable-web-security option. --user-data-dir= vs --user-data-dir=/some/path Though passing in an empty path via --user-data-dir= works with --disable-web-security, it is not recommended for security purposes as it uses your default Chrome profile, which has active login sessions to email, etc. With Chrome security disabled, your active sessions are thus vulnerable to additional in-browser exploits. Thus, it is recommended to use an alternative directory for your Chrome profile with --user-data-dir=/tmp/chrome-sesh or equivalent. Credit to @James B for pointing this out in the comments. Source This fix was discoreved within the browser testing framework Cypress: https://github.com/cypress-io/cypress/issues/1951 | Mid | [
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This invention pertains to digital imaging. More particularly, this invention relates to methods and apparatus for reducing colorant used in digital printing. A digital printer receives image data from a computer and places colorant, such as ink or toner, on a sheet of receiving material, such as paper or transparency plastic. The printer may use a variety of different technologies to transfer colorant to the page, including inkjet, thermal dye transfer, thermal wax, electrophotographic, silver halide, and other processes. High quality digital color printers typically use a combination of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (“CMYK”) colorants, although some printers may use more than or less than these four colorants. Each individual colorant commonly is referred to as a “channel,” with the amount of colorant for each channel typically specified as a percentage between 0 and 100%. Thus, on a four-color printer, the maximum amount of colorant that may be specified is 400%, corresponding to 100% on all four channels. If excessive colorant is used, however, undesirable image artifacts such as bleeding (an undesirable mixing of colorants along a boundary between printed areas of different colorants), cockling (warping or deformation of the receiving material that may occur from using excessive colorant), flaking and smearing may result that produce an unacceptable print. In severe cases, excessive ink may cause the receiving material to warp so much that it interferes with the mechanical operation of the printer and may damage the printer. In addition, for many color printers, satisfactory density and color reproduction can generally be achieved without using the maximum amount of colorant. Therefore, using excessive colorant not only may cause undesirable image artifacts and may damage a printer, but it also wastes colorant. Generally, the amount of colorant needed to cause undesirable image artifacts (and therefore be considered excessive) depends on the receiver material, colorant and printer technology. To minimize the effects of excessive colorant, previously known printing systems often include colorant limitation devices or methods. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional colorant limitation system is described. Colorant limitation system 10 includes colorant limiter 12, which receives input data and provides colorant-limited input data to print output device 14, which generates a print document in accordance with the colorant-limited input data. Previously known techniques for limiting colorant usage, such as the system of FIG. 1, have typically performed colorant reduction without including the effects of actual print output device performance. For example, Allen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,662 (“Allen”) describes a process for controlling ink volume in liquid ink printing systems by comparing the total specified ink volume per pixel to a selected maximum total ink volume per pixel. Depleted ink volumes are formed by applying a scaling factor to each pixel, or to those pixels having ink volumes that exceed a threshold ink volume. Likewise, Li et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,872,896 (“Li”) describes an ink limiting algorithm in which pixels that exceed a total ink limit are reduced, with some pixels reduced to values that are significantly below the total ink limit. Neither Allen nor Li, however, describe ink limiting methods or apparatus that include a direct measurement of actual printer behavior or specified behavior as part of the ink reduction determination. Indeed, previously known colorant-reduction techniques typically are optimized for speed, and do not consider variations in engine state that may significantly affect print device output. For example, a print output device may include one or more color channels, with each color channel having a nominal output response. As a result of ageing or device imperfections, one or more color channels may have an actual output response that differs from the nominal response. For example, the output of one color channel may be only 50% of the nominal output. As a result, although the specified amount of colorant for that channel may be 60%, the actual amount of colorant provided by the channel may be only 30%. Nevertheless, a conventional ink limitation algorithm would operate in the usual manner, although the print device actually can tolerate a higher specified amount of colorant because the actual output has already been limited by some other mechanism or defect. In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for performing colorant limitation that prevent unnecessary colorant limitation. It further would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for performing colorant limitation that include the effects of actual print device performance. It also would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for performing colorant limitation that may be modified to accommodate changes in print output device performance. It additionally would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for performing colorant limitation that include the effects of specified device performance. | Mid | [
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--- title: Master.PageSheet Property (Visio) keywords: vis_sdr.chm10714000 f1_keywords: - vis_sdr.chm10714000 ms.prod: visio api_name: - Visio.Master.PageSheet ms.assetid: 8ec4d38a-79fe-018d-9bc8-3a9c0221f018 ms.date: 06/08/2017 --- # Master.PageSheet Property (Visio) Returns the page sheet (an object that represents the ShapeSheet spreadsheet) of a master. Read-only. ## Syntax _expression_ . **PageSheet** _expression_ A variable that represents a **Master** object. ### Return Value Shape ## Remarks Every master contains a tree of **Shape** objects. Constants representing shape types are prefixed with **visType** and are declared by the Visio type library in **[VisShapeTypes](visshapetypes-enumeration-visio.md)** . In the tree of shapes of a master, there is exactly one shape of type **visTypePage** . This shape is always the root shape in the tree, and the **PageSheet** property returns this shape. The page sheet contains important settings for the master such as its size and scale. It also contains the Layers section that defines the layers for that master. Assuming that there is at least one shape on the page, you can use the following macro to get a master's page shape: ```vb Sub MasterPageSheet_Example() Dim vsoShape As Visio.Shape Dim vsoShapes As Visio.Shapes Dim vsoMaster As Visio.Master Set vsoMaster = ActiveDocument.Masters.Item(1) Set vsoShapes = vsoMaster.Shapes Set vsoShape = vsoShapes("ThePage") End Sub ``` | High | [
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Frontal lobe hypometabolism and impaired insight in Alzheimer disease. The authors examined the relationship between impaired insight regarding cognitive and functional deficits and frontal cortex hypometabolism in 41 patients with Alzheimer disease (AD). Regional cerebral glucose metabolism was determined with (18F)fluorodeoxyglucose and positron emission tomography. Level of insight was measured with the clinician-rated Neurobehavioral Rating Scale, and severity of global cognitive impairment was determined with the Mini-Mental State Exam. Inaccurate insight was correlated with glucose metabolic rate in the right lateral frontal cortex (Brodmann areas 6 and 45, and the lateral aspect of Brodmann areas 8 and 9) after controlling for global cognitive dysfunction. The findings from this study help to further elucidate the neurobiological mechanisms underlying impaired insight in AD, indicating a link between this important clinical phenomenon and dysmetabolism in a focal region of the right prefrontal cortex. | High | [
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Welcome to Magle International Music Forums! A community covering a wide array of musical genre. You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and articles. By joining our community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members, upload your own music and photos, and access many other special features. Registration is absolutely free so please, join our community today! My New VPO Project... I just purchased this console to replace the two-manual Moller that received minor flood damage. As far as I can tell, this console was made in 1953 by the American Organ Company and upgraded in the mid-'90s with Peterson components. Since it has MIDI, it should not be a problem converting it to VPO. The hard work will be identifying an appropriate sample set. Most of the stops are not labeled. So I practically have a blank slate from which to work. Your suggestions for filling in the blanks are most welcome. Love the "Gigout" ... and that organ in general. Hard to believe it was way back 6+ years ago being there. Still very fond memories of playing that instrument, even if the lady didn't appreciate the music, I'm sure that the other people wandering in and out did enjoy hearing the organ. | Mid | [
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Eugene Kurtz Eugene Allen Kurtz (December 27, 1923 – July 7, 2006) was an American composer of contemporary classical music. He received an M.A. in music from the Eastman School of Music in 1949. His instructors included Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, and Max Deutsch. He served as a guest professor of composition at the University of Michigan, the Eastman School of Music, and several other universities. His notable students include John Burke, Roger Briggs, John S. Hilliard, and Robert Morris. His best-known composition is The Last Contrabass in Las Vegas (1974), for double bass and female narrator, which was composed for Bertram Turetzky and his wife Nancy Turetzky, who have performed it frequently. He was also commissioned by Radio France. Kurtz was born in Atlanta and served in the U.S. Army during World War II; he first arrived in France in 1944. He settled in Paris in 1952, living there until his death there of a lung infection at the age of 82. References External links Eugene Kurtz entry from International Who's Who in Music Eugene Kurtz biography Obituary (French) Eugene Kurtz remembrance Audio sample of The Last Contrabass in Las Vegas Category:1923 births Category:2006 deaths Category:20th-century classical composers Category:Musicians from Atlanta Category:American male classical composers Category:American classical composers Category:American expatriates in France Category:Eastman School of Music alumni Category:Pupils of Darius Milhaud Category:University of Michigan faculty Category:20th-century American composers | High | [
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No change: foreigner internment centres in Spain Draft regulations for the running of Spain’s Foreigner Internment Centres fall far short of the hopes and demands of those campaigning for better guarantees of the rights of detainees. Spain has a number of specially designated administrative detention centres for immigration detention; most are along its Mediterranean coastline, with one in Madrid, the capital. These Foreigner Internment Centres (Centros de Internamiento de Extranjeros – CIE) are operated by the police. In January 2012, when the government finally began drafting regulations to govern the operation of these centres, campaigners hoped that this would involve a full review and would be an opportunity to move towards an alternative model giving more consideration to the basic needs of detainees and guaranteeing their rights. However, the current draft regulations do not pick up on any of the proposals put forward in previous years from various sources – except for the designation of detainees by names instead of by numbers. In some cases, they are even more restrictive than current practice. Furthermore, the drafting of the regulations offered an ideal opportunity for social and political debate between entities in the political, social, union and business spheres on the need for CIEs and the fitness of these institutions – an opportunity which was not taken up. An evaluation of the draft regulations undertaken by a group of nearly 20 Spanish organisations and networks[1] highlights a wide range of concerns. Police management: In 2012, the Ministry of the Interior expressed its wish to modify the management of CIEs so that the police would only be responsible for security in the centres rather than the entire operation, as is currently the case. However, according to the draft regulation, the Ministry of the Interior will retain exclusive competence over the CIEs and each centre will continue to operate under a Director who is a police officer. Lack of information: Most detainees do not understand why they are in a CIE. The resulting uncertainty and lack of information generate anxiety, vulnerability and distrust. The draft regulations ignore detainees’ need for: information on their legal situation: When they enter a CIE, each detainee should be interviewed in a language that they understand, to have their situation explained to them; they must also be kept informed of the latest administrative and legal rulings affecting them. prior warning of the date and time of expulsion and the location of their destination, including flight information: Detainees live in a state of great anxiety, knowing that they could be expelled at any time of the day or night without prior warning. Advance notification would allow them to, for example, inform family members in their country of origin in order to be met at the airport, say goodbye to friends and family in Spain or inform their legal representative in order to ensure that all possibilities of legal defence have been explored.[2] access to records or possibility to request copies of their records: A record is kept on each individual in the CIE but these are only available to lawyers. Restrictions on communications: The draft regulations only allow for telephone communication by payphones. The total ban on the use of mobile telephones in CIEs raises constant complaints from detainees for various reasons. Many detainees have contact telephone numbers in their mobile phones that they do not keep in their heads; CIEs place limits on the length of telephone calls; and for family members, friends and lawyers, it is very difficult to call a CIE detainee and speak with them as the telephones are in high demand. The use of a mobile phone, even if only within certain timeslots and under certain conditions, may be their only form of communication with the outside world, and should be allowed. Moreover, detainees are unable to receive and send faxes, or photocopy documents. They have no access to email or the internet. This hinders communication with their lawyers and with the outside world, and from seeking information or carrying out necessary business. Restrictions on visits: The CIEs currently have a daily timetable for visits. However, the draft regulations restrict visits to two days per week (except for partners and children). There is no reason given for this retrograde step. Reduced opportunities to register complaints: Individuals detained in a CIE can currently present complaints to the CIE Supervisory Court. However, the draft regulations state that all petitions and complaints must be submitted to the Director, who will examine them before referring them, if he/she considers it necessary, to the appropriate department. Given the many and repeated complaints by detainees on conditions and reports of attacks, it is essential that detainees be given the opportunity to write directly to the court without having to go through the Director of the CIE itself. Control and security: The draft regulations provide for: the possibility of restricting or cancelling visits; prohibiting the entry of items for detainees; inspection of dormitories and personal property of detainees; and personal searches of visitors and detainees (including, for the latter, the possibility of being strip-searched). There is no clarification of the justification for such restrictions, nor of the procedures to be followed, leaving it open to discretionary and abusive implementation. The regulations also state – ambiguously – that isolation cells may be used “for the period of time which is strictly necessary”. The Ministry of the Interior has ignored the ruling by the Supervision Courts of Madrid that limits use of this measure to a maximum of 24 hours. The regulations suggest camera coverage within CIEs as a possibility, not as an obligation; however, this equipment can be a key element in controlling possible abuses and in complaints investigations. Lack of specific care for vulnerable populations: The regulation makes no reference at all to the conditions of internment and care for specific vulnerable populations. They cite no mechanism for the identification and protection of refugees, victims of trafficking, stateless individuals or minors, nor do they provide a procedure to prevent refoulement. Provision of medical care within the CIEs will continue to depend on the Ministry of the Interior and contracts with private companies, instead of allowing Spain’s public health service to inspect and determine the medical care on offer. There is also no mention of the consequences of interning people responsible for children. Restrictions on access by external organisations: The draft Regulations do cover the possibility of access to CIEs by organisations in addition to those contracted to provide services but, in some CIEs, on more restrictive terms than those currently in place: NGOs “could be authorised” to make visits, say the draft regulations but without explanation of the criteria governing that authorisation, which leads to the assumption that it will be at the discretion of the Director. Authorisation will be granted “for interviews with those detainees who request this”; in other words, NGOs will be unable to visit anyone who has not made a prior request. The Director must be asked for prior authorisation for each visit and details of the purpose of the visit must be provided. For NGOs that make regular visits to a CIE, a procedure of general accreditation for visits would make more sense. For the reasons discussed above, the draft regulations for CIEs in Spain must be subjected to thorough revision prior to the approval currently expected by the end of 2013. [2] The CIE Supervision Courts for Madrid and La Palmas have demanded a minimum of 12 hours’ written warning in Madrid and 24 hours in Las Palmas. This is a good practice that should be extended to all CIEs as part of the regulations. Book traversal links for No change: foreigner internment centres in Spain Disclaimer Opinions in FMR do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors, the Refugee Studies Centre or the University of Oxford.CopyrightFMR is an Open Access publication. Users are free to read, download, copy, distribute, print or link to the full texts of articles published in FMR and on the FMR website, as long as the use is for non-commercial purposes and the author and FMR are attributed. Unless otherwise indicated, all articles published in FMR in print and online, and FMR itself, are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND) licence. Details at www.fmreview.org/copyright. | Low | [
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Q: Using sscanf to extract some values gcc 4.4.2 I have the following code: char channels[] = "NumberOfChannel = [2]"; sscanf(channels, "%*[^=]= %d", &chan); I am wondering what this means. As far as I can tell. It is ignoring the equals sign. '^ ignore the character =' Would that be correct? Many thanks, A: %*[^=] The [^=] means match a string which contains no =. This is a POSIX extension. The * means discard the matched result. (BTW, to correctly get chan you need sscanf(channels, "%*[^=]= [%d]", &chan);.) | Mid | [
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Q: boost read_until does not stop at delimiter I'm using the boost read_until function to facilitate receiving and parsing HTTP messages over a socket. So what I'm trying to do is read_until from the socket until \r\n, which I think should give me one line of the HTTP header. (Each HTTP header line ends in \r\n, per the standard.) However, what I'm actually getting from read_line instead is the entire header, several lines long. (The header ends in \r\n\r\n, or in other words, a blank line. Also, per the HTTP standard.) Here's a code snippet. sock is the socket file descriptor. boost::system::error_code err; io::streambuf request_buff; io::read_until(sock, request_buff, "\r\n", err); // read request line if (err) throw Exception(string("Failed to read HTTP header request line from socket: ") + err.message()); cerr << "Read " << request_buff.size() << " bytes." << endl; istream request(&request_buff); try { request >> m_strMethod >> m_strPath >> m_strHttpVersion; } catch (std::exception& e) { throw Exception(string("Failed to parse HTTP header: ") + e.what(), e); } if (!request) throw Exception("Failed to read HTTP header"); if (!alg::istarts_with(m_strHttpVersion, "HTTP/")) throw Exception(string("Malformed HTTP header: expected HTTP version but got: ") + m_strHttpVersion); string strTemp; while (std::getline(request, strTemp)) { cerr << "Extra line size = " << strTemp.size() << endl; cerr << "Extra line: '" << strTemp << '\'' << endl; } What I expect to see is output indicating it read the number of bytes in the first line of the HTTP message and no "Extra" output. What I get instead is the number of bytes in the entire HTTP header, and a blank extra line (which maybe is because the >> operations didn't consume the newline at the end of the first line) followed by every other line in the header, and another blank line (which indicates the end of the header, as noted above). Why is read_until reading more from the socket than the first line of the header and putting it into request_buff? Note, I used netcat to receive the request and it's coming through okay. So the HTTP message itself appears to be correctly formatted. A: The documentation may seem to imply this: "This function is used to read data into the specified streambuf until the streambuf's get area contains the specified delimiter." But look closer: until the streambuf's get area contains ... So, it doesn't promise to stop there. It just promises to return to you as soon as it read the block that contains your delimiter. | Mid | [
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A schoolgirl who left the Jehovah’s Witnesses after learning of its alleged failure to protect vulnerable women has blasted the organisation in a powerful speech to her classmates. Holding back tears, she recalled her personal experiences as a member of the church and how she was taught everyone outside the religion, including her father, would be sent to Armageddon. She also highlighted women’s lowly position in the hierarchy of the organisation and how they are viewed as inferior to men. “They cannot teach men. They cannot even speak at a podium in front of men as I am doing now,” she said. “They are not to question any decision made by a men. That is slander.” Dissenting from the orthodoxy on church doctrine and practices is forbidden as a Jehovah's Witness and those who do are shunned by religious leaders. Independent thought is discouraged and is thought to have been introduced by the devil. The most shocking allegations relate to women the girl spoke to, who were members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and wished to remain anonymous. One, she called Jane, was allegedly interrogated by the church elders after she was raped, while at work as insurance salesperson. The elders apparently said she tempted men by the way she dressed and that men were “only human”. In order to be forgiven and not be excommunicated, or “disfellowshipped,” Jane was forced to dress more conservatively, quit her job and worst of all drop the charges against her attacker. Another, called Donna, was allegedly molested by a man in her congregation when she was a young girl, but did not tell anyone because she knew nothing would be done. It is claimed Donna was then abused physically and emotionally throughout 14 years of marriage and when she went to the church elders for support she was told it was her fault and should be a better wife. Eventually Donna secured a divorce from her husband, but her torment did not end there. She was “disfellowshipped” from the organisation, which meant she was unable to speak to her friends or family members in the church. “To make matters worse her children were taught not to speak to her because she was evil, they were isolated by her ex-husband and know nothing other than this religion. They are also terrified of disappointing their father and their god,” the girl said. “The religion is separating a capable and loving mother from her children. Nothing could be more devastating for a mother.” The church has battled with previous allegations of silencing victims of sexual abuse, to avoid embarrassing the church, but have always vigorously denied any wrongdoing. In 2015 a Californian court ordered the Watch Tower Society, the company which runs the Jehovah's Witnesses, to pay $2.8m in damages after failing to disclosure the past abuse of a congregation member, which led to the sexual abuse of a nine-year-old girl. After learning all the religion has hid from its members the girl finished her speech by saying she wanted “no part in it”. “It is a religion that preaches love and acceptance, but the reality is everything is conditional. Love and acceptance is only extended as long as members practise absolute obedience and question nothing, ever,” she said. “This religion destroys lives, destroys families and they do it largely unchecked… because they are really good at silencing the people who leave.” | Mid | [
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[What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] Amazon says its new headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, will bring 25,000 jobs. It will also bring more crowds, more noise and, yes, more toilet flushing. It might seem mundane, but what happens in the bathroom matters: New York, for all its modern conveniences, sits atop a century-old sewage system used by more people than ever before. Every time someone flushes, washes their hands or takes a shower, all that household wastewater (and worse) flows down into 7,500 miles of sewer pipes. Most of these pipes also do double duty, collecting rainwater runoff from rooftops as well as streets. When these sewer pipes get clogged by humans — flushing baby wipes anyone? — or simply overloaded with rainwater, it becomes everyone’s problem. The “combined sewer overflows” are discharged directly into nearby rivers, bays and creeks instead of going to wastewater treatment plants. Raw sewage also backs up in homes, creating a stomach-turning mess. Long Island City residents say these backups and overflows already happen whenever it rains hard — and 25,000 more Amazon workers will only make the problem worse. But city officials say they are ready to take on whatever comes down the pipes. Here is why. | Mid | [
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Kappa/lambda ratio as parameter for evaluation of therapy-resistant epilepsy of childhood. In a prospective study we tested the hypothesis whether an alteration in the immunoglobulin light chain kappa and lambda is an expression of an autoimmune mechanism. We investigated 152 children (84 boys, 68 girls, age 12 months to 16 years). Immunoglobulins were analyzed by kinetic nephelometry. The patients were grouped according to clinical and laboratory parameters. A high kappa/lambda ratio caused by high concentration of the kappa-chain was found in children with therapy-resistant epilepsy. 58% showed a high kappa/lambda ratio, in 28% no distinct association was possible and in 14% false-positive results were obtained. In seizure-free children immunological markers were specific in 71%, whilst 25% could not be characterized and 4% showed false-positive results. This alteration of immunoglobulins therefore can be used as a diagnostic parameter. | High | [
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#-*- coding:utf-8 -*- """ This file is part of OpenSesame. OpenSesame is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. OpenSesame is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with OpenSesame. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. """ from libopensesame.py3compat import * # OpenCV is used to read the video file import cv # PyGame is used to control the display import pygame from pygame.locals import * from libopensesame import item from libqtopensesame.items.qtautoplugin import qtautoplugin from libqtopensesame.widgets import pool_widget from libopensesame.exceptions import osexception class video_player(item.item): description = u'An OpenCV-based image-only video player' def __init__(self, name, experiment, script=None): """ Constructor. Arguments: name -- The item name. experiment -- The experiment object. Keyword arguments: script -- A definition script. (default=None) """ self.duration = u"keypress" self.fullscreen = u"yes" self.frame_dur = 50 self.video_src = u"" item.item.__init__(self, name, experiment, script) def prepare(self): """Opens the video file for playback.""" if self.experiment.var.get(u'canvas_backend') != u'legacy': raise osexception( \ u'The video_player plug-in requires the legacy back-end!') item.item.prepare(self) path = self.experiment.pool[self.var.get(u'video_src')] # Open the video file self.video = cv.CreateFileCapture(path) # Convert the string to a boolean, for slightly faster evaluations in # the run phase self._fullscreen = self.var.get(u'fullscreen') == u"yes" # The dimensions of the video self._w = int(cv.GetCaptureProperty(self.video, cv.CV_CAP_PROP_FRAME_WIDTH)) self._h = int(cv.GetCaptureProperty(self.video, cv.CV_CAP_PROP_FRAME_HEIGHT)) if self._fullscreen: # In fullscreen mode, the video is always shown in the top-left and the # temporary images need to be fullscreen size self._x = 0 self._y = 0 self.src_tmp = cv.CreateMat(self.experiment.var.height, \ self.experiment.var.width, cv.CV_8UC3) self.src_rgb = cv.CreateMat(self.experiment.var.height, \ self.experiment.var.width, cv.CV_8UC3) else: # Otherwise the location of the video depends on its dimensions and the # temporary image is the same size as the video self._x = max(0, (self.experiment.var.width - self._w) / 2) self._y = max(0, (self.experiment.var.height - self._h) / 2) self.src_rgb = cv.CreateMat(self._h, self._w, cv.CV_8UC3) def run(self): """Handles the actual video playback.""" # Log the onset time of the item self.set_item_onset() t = pygame.time.get_ticks() start_t = t # Loop until a key is pressed go = True while go: # Get the frame self.src = cv.QueryFrame(self.video) # Check for the end of the video if self.src is None: break # Resize if requested and convert the resulting image to # RGB format, which is compatible with PyGame if self._fullscreen: cv.Resize(self.src, self.src_tmp) cv.CvtColor(self.src_tmp, self.src_rgb, cv.CV_BGR2RGB) else: cv.CvtColor(self.src, self.src_rgb, cv.CV_BGR2RGB) # Convert the image to PyGame format pg_img = pygame.image.frombuffer(self.src_rgb.tostring(), \ cv.GetSize(self.src_rgb), u"RGB") # Show the video frame! self.experiment.surface.blit(pg_img, (self._x, self._y)) pygame.display.flip() # Pause before jumping to the next frame pygame.time.wait( self.var.get(u'frame_dur') - pygame.time.get_ticks() + t) t = pygame.time.get_ticks() if type(self.var.get(u'duration')) == int: # Wait for a specified duration if t - start_t >= self.var.get(u'duration'): go = False # Catch escape presses for event in pygame.event.get(): if event.type == KEYDOWN: if event.key == pygame.K_ESCAPE: self.experiment.pause() if self.var.get(u'duration') == u"keypress": go = False if event.type == MOUSEBUTTONDOWN and self.var.get(u'duration') == \ u"mouseclick": go = False # Release the camera # Note: This function appears to be missing. Perhaps it's ok # and Python will release it automatically? # cv.ReleaseCapture(self.video) class qtvideo_player(video_player, qtautoplugin): def __init__(self, name, experiment, script=None): video_player.__init__(self, name, experiment, script) qtautoplugin.__init__(self, __file__) | Mid | [
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# Created by: William Grzybowski <[email protected]> # $FreeBSD$ PORTNAME= pycparser PORTVERSION= 2.20 CATEGORIES= devel python MASTER_SITES= CHEESESHOP PKGNAMEPREFIX= ${PYTHON_PKGNAMEPREFIX} MAINTAINER= [email protected] COMMENT= C parser in Python LICENSE= BSD3CLAUSE LICENSE_FILE= ${WRKSRC}/LICENSE USES= python USE_PYTHON= autoplist concurrent distutils NO_ARCH= yes do-test: @cd ${WRKSRC} && ${PYTHON_CMD} tests/all_tests.py .include <bsd.port.mk> | Mid | [
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727 F.2d 1118 Stockton (Luther J.)v.Department of the ArmyStockton v. Departme NO. 83-975 United States Court of Appeals,Federal Circuit. NOV 25, 1983 Appeal From: SPB MSPB. | Low | [
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All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy . My love of instant noodles started out with Top Ramen, just like every other American kid. Now more than 30 years later, after having sampled over 670 different noodle varieties, I, the Ramen Rater, have come up with a list of favorites. It changes from time to time as I discover new ones, but here's the current list of noodles from around the world. Most of them can be found at Asian groceries or online. 10. Singapore: Koka Instant Non-Fried Noodles, Spicy Black Pepper Flavor This stuff is amazing. It contains a block of instant noodles that are exceedingly light and low in fat but not low in taste, especially with the garnish pack's "seasonal" veggie flavorings. It has a nice peppery flavor and a little heat but not overwhelmingly so. It's a real treat and goes great with eggs. 9. Hong Kong: Doll Instant Noodle, Artificial Chicken Flavor Yeah I know, chicken instant noodles, how boring! But not this one. The broth is very good, warming your insides on a cold day. It's another one that gets even better with eggs—add the egg(s) with about 45 seconds remaining of cooking time in the pot to make the broth even heartier. It's a very relaxing bowl of noodles. 8. Japan: Sapporo Ichiban Shio Ramen Noodles This is a very recent addition to the Ramen Rater's Top Ten list. Having tried Shio instant noodle varieties in the past, I had a feeling this would be a good one, and it truly was. Very hearty noodles with an almost buttery-tasting broth, it's even more of a meal with added baked chicken, green onions, and a hard-boiled egg. And it comes with a little packet of sesame seeds! 7. Korea: Nong Shim Shin Ramyun Black Premium Noodle Soup Twenty years after the introduction of the well-known Shin Ramyun, Nong Shim brought out Shin Ramyun Black. A huge block of noodles, a veggie packet that also contains freeze-dried beef, a red spicy seasoning, and onion and oxtail soup packets, this combination is a an insta-noodle onslaught of epic proportion. Best enjoyed with an egg, bok choy, and a single slice of American cheese, as recommended by EatYourKimchi.com. 6. Japan: Myojo Hyoubanya no Chukasoba Noodles, Oriental Flavor Very good and very traditional for Japanese instant noodles. Noodles are a little chewy and the broth has hints of seafood. Yet again, it gets even better when you cook a couple eggs cooked with the noodles along with baked chicken, salt, and pepper. 5. Indonesia: Mie Sedaap Instant Kari Spesial Bumbu Kari Kental Like spicy? Like curry? This one from Indonesia fills both criteria and then some. The noodles are good but the real star here is the broth; a bit greasy and so flavorful. Not only is there a curry hotness but also sweetness too. It's excellent with a couple fried eggs. 4. Japan: Sapporo Ichiban Japanese Style Noodles Chow Mein This stuff is great. It's cooked with a small amount of water as the noodles gobble it all up. Sweet and salty, plus it comes with a packet of ground seaweed to make it even more enjoyable. Goes well with a little bit of roast beef and chopped onions. 3. Japan: Nissin Yakisoba with Mayonnaise / Mustard Packet Yakisoba is a very commonly enjoyed dish in Japan, and this variety puts a unique twist on it. You fill the box with boiling water, then there's a little drain spout to get rid of excess water. Add the flavoring and stir—then comes the fun. A little packet dispenses mayonnaise out of one reservoir and mustard from another! It's quite good, especially the vegetable part. Nothing to add to this one; enjoy in its native state! 2. Indonesia: Indomie Mi Goreng Rasa Ayam Panggang, BBQ Chicken Flavor First off, it's a jumbo pack, which means even more of it. It also comes with a whopping five seasonings, from sweet soy sauce to spicy chili sauce. The noodles are served drained without a broth. The flavorings in concert with a couple fried eggs, some pickled ginger, and fried shallots make this one unmissable. 1. Indonesia: Indomie Special Fried Curly Noodles Truly the best instant noodles I've ever had. I love these. The noodles are flat, very tasty; the seasonings provide a broad range of flavors, both spicy and sweet. Enjoy it with some turkey, fried eggs, pickled ginger, fried shallots and Sriracha. All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy. | Mid | [
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Hope Versus Trump DONALD TRUMP’S presidency is turning out to be every bit as dangerous and divisive as progressives across the world feared. The rhetoric of his campaign and that of his supporters during the election saw great concern in the US and beyond about prospects of a rise in racism, sexism, misogyny, Islamophobia, anti-semitism and homophobia. Now, his first spate of executive orders have confirmed the worst of our fears. He has targeted migrants and Muslims in the first weeks of his presidency, confirming that many of those already facing persecution and discrimination are set for an even harder time in the years ahead. The most attention of course — and global outcry — has been concerning what has been termed the “Muslim Ban.” Trump signed an executive order blocking travellers from seven countries, all of which are Muslim-majority — Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia — from entering the US for 90 days. New refugee admissions are suspended for 120 days while Syrian refugees are banned indefinitely. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. In an interview, he said he continues to believe waterboarding works and talked about bringing it back, though it is outlawed in the US as torture. This has again faced significant opposition — his new defence secretary, retired general James Mattis, is on record as saying he does not believe waterboarding is effective and has reiterated it is illegal, as have top Republican congressional leaders such as speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan. And of course, he has no solutions to inequality, poverty, lack of public services and social injustice at home — with “Obamacare” repeal firmly on the agenda. Defence of Obamacare and the demand for public healthcare for US citizens is also an issue on which many are taking to the streets in the US. Additionally, on the international stage, vital agreements and examples of co-operation are also on the receiving end of the Trump administration’s ire — whether it be for international disarmament or to take vital steps to tackle climate change. Indeed, Trump has approved construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, which had both been halted during Barack Obama’s administration amid outcry from environmental and Native American groups. When it comes to neighbouring Latin America, Trump has said he will go ahead with building a wall on the Mexican border, with his supporters accompanying this with militaristic and jingoistic interventions. This has led to a backlash from left-wing presidents in the region, including Evo Morales of Bolivia and Rafael Correa of Ecuador, who said there needs to be “a regional stand to defend the main type of mobility, which is human mobility, the defence of human rights, [and in] reminding the United States that they have been a country of migrants.” Perhaps most worryingly in terms of international affairs and foreign policy, national security adviser Michael Flynn made a surprise appearance at one of the daily press briefings to announce that the administration was putting Iran “on notice” after the country conducted a ballistic missile test. In a major attack on women’s right internationally, the global gag rules has been reinstated — this Reagan-era rule (that was not in effect for most of the Obama years) bans international NGOs with US funding from providing abortions or offering information about abortion. This includes testifying about the impacts of illegal abortion. George Bush followed a similar course to Trump on this issue and according to Engender Health, a global women’s health organisation, the Bush-era cuts resulted in more than 20 developing countries losing access to US-provided contraceptives. Around the globe, many NGOs were forced to shut down or downsize, reducing the availability of family planning services, HIV programmes and maternal and child health programmes. At the time of writing, over 1.8 million people here in Britain have signed a petition arguing that Trump not be accorded a state visit and I was delighted to address one of the big anti-Trump demonstrations in London. Jeremy Corbyn led the way in calling for no state visit to Trump, writing to Theresa May to demand that she withdraws the offer, saying: “I support the demand of millions of British people. “Donald Trump should not be welcomed on a state visit to this country while he continues to propagate his anti-women, anti-Muslim and anti-Mexican policies. “His invite should be withdrawn until the executive orders are gone and every element of them repealed.” Let no-one be in doubt that the current Labour Party leadership will oppose all those who fan the flames of fear at home and abroad and be proud to be part of this global movement of hope, that is also a burgeoning movement here in Britain, that will stand up to Trump and for a fairer future. | Low | [
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Q: Textbox not clears when clicks the submit button I am trying to clear the txtSubTotal text box after clicking the PROCEED button. It's not working though I tried some code examples, even in SO. btnProceed/HTML <input type="submit" name="btnProceed" id="btnProceed" value="PROCEED" onclick="clearSubTotal();"/> clearSubTotal()/JS function clearSubTotal() { $('#txtSubTotal').val(''); } txtSubTotal <input name="txtSubTotal" type="text" id="txtSubTotal" size="15" value="<?php $sql=mysqli_query($connection,"select sum(amount) from sales_temp"); $row = mysqli_fetch_array($sql); echo $row[0]; ?>"/> form/HTML <form id="manageSalesForm" name="manageSalesForm" method="post" action="<?php echo BASE_URL?>includes/functions/sales_functions.php"> Appreciate your help on this. NOTE: Found that on the second button press, the text box clears. How to set this correctly for the first button perss? ADD button/JS function submitdata() { var listItemName = document.getElementById("listItemName").value; var listStock = document.getElementById("listStock").value; var txtUnitPrice = document.getElementById("txtUnitPrice").value; var txtQuantity = document.getElementById("txtQuantity").value; var listCustomer = document.getElementById("listCustomer").value; var txtReceiptNo = document.getElementById("txtReceiptNo").value; var TheDate = document.getElementById("TheDate").value; // Returns successful data submission message when the entered information is stored in database. var dataString = {listItemName:listItemName, listStock: listStock, txtUnitPrice: txtUnitPrice, txtQuantity: txtQuantity, listCustomer: listCustomer, txtReceiptNo: txtReceiptNo}; if (listItemName == '' || listStock == ''|| txtUnitPrice == ''|| txtQuantity == ''|| listCustomer == ''|| txtReceiptNo == ''|| TheDate == '') { salesitemsAddFail(); } else { // AJAX code to submit form. $.ajax({ type: "POST", url: "/pms/includes/functions/sales_temp_functions.php", data: dataString, cache: false, success: function(html) { //reload the sales datagrid once add the item details to temporary table (sales_temp) $('#list').trigger("reloadGrid",[{page:1}]); window.location.reload(); } }); } } $('#btnProceed').click(function(event) { event.preventDefault(); // stops form submission $('#txtSubTotal').val(''); }); ADD button/HTML <td width="46"><button type="button" name="btnSave" id="btnSave" onclick="submitdata(); check_qty(); showSubTotal();">ADD</button></td> sales_functions.php <?php //Start the Session if(!isset($_SESSION)) { session_start(); } include ("/../../pages/sales.php"); include("/../../dbutil.php"); if(isset($_POST['listCustomer'])){ $customer = $_POST['listCustomer'];} if(isset($_POST['staff'])){ $user = $_POST['staff']; } if(isset($_POST['btnProceed'])){ $result=mysqli_query($connection, "INSERT INTO sales(cus_id,item_id,stock_id,receipt_no,qty,unit_price,amount,user_id,purchase_id) SELECT C.cus_id, I.item_id, S.stock_id, $receipt_no, ST.qty, ST.unit_price, ST.amount, U.id, P.purchase_id FROM customers C, items I, stock S, sales_temp ST, users U, purchase_items P WHERE ST.staff='$user' AND C.customer_name='$customer' AND I.item_name=ST.item_name AND S.stock_code=ST.stock_code AND ST.purchase_id=P.purchase_id"); //Update available qty from purchase_items relevant only to the logged in user(sales_temp table may have records from multiple users) $resultUpdate=mysqli_query($connection, "UPDATE purchase_items P INNER JOIN sales_temp ST ON (P.purchase_id = ST.purchase_id) SET P.avail_qty = (P.avail_qty - ST.qty) WHERE ST.staff='$user'"); //Delete records relevant only to current user. Here 'WHERE' clause use to prevent deleting other user's records. $resultDelete=mysqli_query($connection, "DELETE FROM sales_temp WHERE staff='$user'"); if (!$result) { printf("Errormessage: %s\n", mysqli_error($connection)); } // use exec() because no results are returned if ($result) { } else { echo '<script type="text/javascript">', 'salesAddFail();', '</script>'; }} ?> A: I found the solution, added the do_onload(id) to calculate the total on loadComplete event which is triggered after each refresh (also after delete) function do_onload(id) { //alert('Simulating, data on load event') var s = $("#list").jqGrid('getCol', 'amount', false, 'sum'); jQuery("#txtSubTotal").val(s); } And changed the phpgrid code accordingly. $opt["loadComplete"] = "function(ids) { do_onload(ids); }"; $grid->set_options($opt); | Low | [
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Following the MotoGP season finale, riders returned to the Valencia circuit on Tuesday for the start of a two-day official test. Tuesday marked the first time that official timing has been available for testing with Michelin tyres, replacing Bridgestone as exclusive supplier from next season, while some riders also began work on the 2016 single ECU system. Marc Marquez went fastest on his fourth lap then fell at Turn 3. Cal Crutchlow set the pace shortly after, then also fell (at Turn 5). Marquez returned to the top on his tenth lap, where he remained until the end of the day. Repsol Honda and Movistar Yamaha sent their 2016 prototypes out on track at the end of the day. As well as Marquez and Crutchlow, Tuesday saw front end falls for Pol Espargaro, Aleix Espargaro (twice), Eugene Laverty (twice), Maverick Vinales, Alvaro Bautista, Stefan Bradl, Jack Miller, Tito Rabat and Andre Iannone. All riders walked away. Some riders, including Crutchlow, were faster than during Sunday's race. Scott Redding, Loris Baz and Eugene Laverty were making their Ducati debuts for Pramac, Avintia and Aspar respectively. Jack Miller was riding at Marc VDS for the first time, alongside rookie team-mate Tito Rabat. Testing, which took place between 10am and 5pm, continues on Wednesday... 1. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V)1m 31.551s(Lap 10/47) 2. Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15)1m 31.639s +0.088s(30/61) 3. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V)1m 31.681s +0.130s(11/49) 4. Maverick Vinales ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)*1m 31.720s +0.169s(36/59) 5. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1)1m 31.767s +0.216s(32/41) 6. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V)1m 31.911s +0.360s(8/54) 7. Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)1m 31.937s +0.386s(10/40) 8. Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)1m 31.997s +0.446s(32/67) 9. Aleix Espargaro ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)1m 32.005s +0.454s(36/47) 10. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15)1m 32.073s +0.522s(57/66) 11. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP15)1m 32.214s +0.663s(30/52) 12. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1)1m 32.401s +0.850s(45/57) 13. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP15)1m 32.442s +0.891s(46/47) 14. Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2)1m 32.468s +0.917s(35/38) 15. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V)1m 32.594s +1.043s(33/47) 16. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V)*1m 32.673s +1.122s(82/84) 17. Stefan Bradl GER Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)1m 32.721s +1.170s(34/46) 18. Loris Baz FRA Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2)1m 32.943s +1.392s(52/53) 19. Yonny Hernandez COL Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2)1m 33.046s +1.495s(31/57) 20. Alvaro Bautista ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)1m 33.061s +1.510s(66/66) 21. Eugene Laverty IRL Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP14.2)1m 33.253s +1.702s(39/46) 22. Takuya Tsuda JPN Suzuki Test Rider (GSX-RR)1m 34.591s +3.040s(54/55) 23. Nobuatsu Aoki JPN Suzuki Test Rider (GSX-RR)1m 36.338s +4.787s(12/24) Official Valencia MotoGP records: Best lap: Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha 1m 30.011s (2015)Fastest race lap:Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha 1m 31.367s (2015) | Mid | [
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Q: FMB alteration based on derivative and noise value I'm still working on my procedural terrain generation and kind of sniffing ideas from Sean Murray (No Mans Sky programmer). So I watched this GDC17 presentation, but some things just don't make sense to me: Altering amplitude based on currentGain AND noise value? This just makes all heights (large noise val like 1) do no alteration and the small ones to make the amplitude really tiny. How does that represent Altitude Erosion? The audio also doesn't help much, has he isn't going into code detail. Any ideas to makes sense out of this? A: This sounds like a technique similar to the one Giliam de Carpentier describes in his "Swiss Turbulence" example in this article: Normally, lots of material on the surface of mountains gets displaced from the peaks to the valleys over time, carving gulleys on its slopes and smoothing the valleys below. ... To smoothen the valleys, the algorithm also uses an [amplitude update] calculation that is slightly different from the original turbulence function. Here, the [amplitude] is not only multiplied by gain for each octave, but also by the (clamped version of the) intermediate values of the sum of the noise octaves. This causes the amplitude for finer details to fade out quickly near valleys, but remain quite potent near peaks. To compensate for the on-average decrease in amplitude, the gain parameter should be a bit larger than ‘normal’ (for example, 0.6 instead of 0.5). Does that idea of attenuating amplitude more aggressively in low-lying zones to smooth them, while allowing higher-altitude regions to stay more bumpy, help answer your question? | High | [
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Heiligenberg (Leusden) The Heiligenberg is an estate near the Dutch town of Leusden. The estate is located on a high hill, the "Heiligenberg" (Holy Mountain), which dates from the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago. On this hill, then known as Hohorst, bishop Ansfridus of Utrecht founded a small abbey around the year 1000. The abbey was moved to the city of Utrecht around 1030, as St. Paul's Abbey, but the Heiligenberg remained in their possession until 1592. In 1637, the house became an estate. It was torn down in 1843, after which the currently existing building was erected. References Category:Buildings and structures in Utrecht (province) | Mid | [
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Erotomania and senile dementia of Alzheimer type. A case of erotomania in a 75-year-old female with senile dementia of Alzheimer type (SDAT) is described. This case demonstrates the presence of an elaborately systematised delusion in SDAT, and the influence of the progression of SDAT on this delusion. | Mid | [
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Antiestrogenic activity of two 11 beta-estradiol derivatives on MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Two 11 beta-derivatives of estradiol (E2) were tested for their potential antiestrogenic activity in the MCF-7 breast cancer model: one contained a phenoxydimethylaminoethyl side-chain (RU 39,411), the other a pentafluoropentylsulfinyl side-chain (RU 58,668). The former compound displayed mixed estrogenic/antiestrogenic properties, while the latter indicated only an antiestrogenic activity. Both the compounds produced a growth inhibition of MCF-7 cells at doses related to their binding affinity for the estrogen receptor (ER); E2 suppressed this inhibition. The compounds also down-regulated the estrogen binding capacity of the cells but failed to reduce ER mRNA levels, indicating that the grafting of their side-chains prevented this antagonistic effect usually observed with steroidal estrogens. Assessment of ER levels by enzyme immunoassay revealed a marked increase with RU 39,411 and a decrease with RU 58,668; different mechanisms of action should, therefore, be considered. Finally, the estrogenic activity of RU 39,411 was demonstrated by its strong ability to induce synthesis of the progesterone receptor; RU 58,668 failed to display this agonistic activity. | High | [
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Oki beverages are infused with 10 mg of active hemp extract per bottle and come in two different formulations: iced teas and flavor-infused water, each ranging in four different 16oz flavors. Oki supplements are available in tinctures or capsules that range in doses from 600-1800 total mg of Active Hemp Extract. All products contain non GMO, natural and organic ingredients and are plant based and Vegan friendly and packaged in sleek 100% recyclable glass containers. "We created the Oki line as a powerful new offering that restores balance and focus to our everyday lives when we need it most – whether during recovery from a workout or getting ready for the day ahead," said Jim Bailey, President and CEO of Phivida. "Following the success of our Vida+ line of full spectrum hemp oil extracts and capsules targeting the clinical market, the Oki launch is the next milestone in our journey to bring premium products to broader consumer and retail audiences." The initial bottling production run of Oki products was 100,000 units, with an additional 150,000 currently scheduled. Distribution is planned to a broad range of retailers through its exclusive national agreement with Natural Specialty Sales (NSS), an Acosta company and a recognized leader in the U.S. natural/specialty retail channel trade. NSS's national network includes major retail banners such as Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, and National Co-op Grocers. The Oki line of beverages is currently only sold in the U.S. "The size of the functional beverage market is estimated to be approximately $14 billion and the hemp extract market is poised to explode to $2.1 billion by 2020," said Mike Cornwell, Chief Marketing Officer at Phivida. "We're proud to be able to offer consumers a new line of products that could benefit them, using formats like beverages and supplements, which are relatively unchartered by other companies in our category. We truly are in the midst of very exciting times." Research-Driven Product Development As part of the company's ongoing initiatives to transform the lifestyle and natural health foods and beverages sector, Phivida conducted four months of consumer research which uncovered insights into the beliefs, attitudes, motivations, and emotions that drive behavior – as well as growth opportunities, product, ingredient and packaging trends – in the hemp oil functional beverage space. Key findings from the study included the following: Consumers who are aware of the benefits of Active Hemp Extract are most likely to be higher users of functional beverages, consuming an average of 4 products a week, versus only 1.5-2 times a week for those who are unaware of such products Active Hemp Extract-aware consumers are most likely to be immersed in more health-conscious lifestyles As it relates to preferred beverages, Active Hemp Extract-aware consumers are more likely to list functional beverages as their favorites, and do not tend to use fruit juices, sodas, and other beverages that contain processed ingredients or high levels of sugar Active Hemp Extract-aware consumers also prefer simple sleek and clean bottle designs. According to the results, the most preferred benefits consumers had for Active Hemp Extract were to reduce anxiety, boost immunity and aid relaxation. "This research was valuable in advancing and validating our product design," added Mr. Cornwell. "Oki beverages are completely aligned with the preferences of functional beverage consumers with product testing scores as high as 80 percent from our sample group of 1,200 individuals." More information about the new line of Oki beverages can be found at the New Official Oki website "www.feeloki.com", Instagram and Facebook page "@feeloki" and the official launch video can be viewed on the Oki YouTube page "feeloki". ABOUT Phivida Holdings Inc. Phivida Holdings Inc. is headquartered in Vancouver, BC with operations in San Diego CA. Phivida is a premium functional food and beverage company focused on whole plant nutrition and natural ingredients that help best maintain overall health and balance in the human body. The company infuses organic active hemp extract into a variety of premium \ beverages and clinical products for everyday health. Phivida embraces and celebrates a return to organic, natural, plant-based foods and beverages, and a focus on holistic health and wellness. The mission is to help reduce the world's dependence on pharmaceuticals and provide food and beverage choices that allow customers to live a balanced healthy lifestyle. For more information, visit phivida.com SOURCE Phivida Holdings Inc. For further information: Website www.phivida.com, Toll free +1 (844) 744-6646 (ext. #2), Email [email protected]; Investor Relations: Craig MacPhail, NATIONAL Equicom, 416-586-1938, [email protected]; Media Relations: Amie Lauder, NATIONAL Public Relations, 416-586-1943, [email protected] Related Links www.phivida.com | Mid | [
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At BYM we believe in helping you create a unique spa experience for your guest. We believe the spa is a home away from home and the spa lounge is a big part of the experience. The spa lounge is the living room of your spa. Its where guest escape from the outside world if only for a few short minutes. The spa lounge should match your CONTINUE READING… Waiting areas should not be an eye sore. Stylish spa owners know that their clients should be relaxed—starting as soon as they walk in the door. If you’re looking for a way to spruce up your waiting area, try making original furniture. The two main perks? It’s environmentally friendly and no one will have the CONTINUE READING… Pictured Above: Tutti Fruitti Popcorn made with popcorn, dried strawberries and dried blueberries Celebrate Independence Day all weekend long with a few sprinkles of red, white and blue in your lounge. It’s easy to incorporate the holiday as a snack theme for your lounge here are a few ideas : Red, White, and Blue Cake Pops CONTINUE READING… Looking for a few great snacks to nibble on in between clients? Our group of fab beauty writers recently got the munchies and lucky for you were sharing the treats that held us over until meal time…take a look! 1. The Good Bean Chick Peas in Thai Coconut Lemongrass Munch, munch, crunch chickpeas are full of CONTINUE READING… | Low | [
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[Suicidal behavior in the aged]. Suicide in the elderly has been underemphasized in gerontological research. This deficit is even more surprising as the aged, especially the very old male group, have the highest suicide rate in the population. This pattern has not markedly changed over time. The very old male is at highest risk of suicide, a fact still waiting for a conclusive explanation. Epidemiologists have predominantly investigated four groups of risk factors for suicide in old age; (1) chronic and painful illnesses, (2) psychiatric disorders (mainly depression), (3) conflicts and stress in interpersonal relationships, and (4) social isolation and loneliness. Suicide finally results from stressful life events, losses and conflicts, which, through an accumulating effect, end up in hopelessness and despair. The research literature does not offer a convincing explanation for the characteristics of suicide in old age. Sociologists (e.g. Durkheim) have tried to explain suicide in the aged by stressing the "anomic" situation in old age, characterized by disintegration, the "roleless role" decreasing influence and weakening ties to groups and institutions in society. Psychiatrists on the other hand (e.g. Ringel, Henseler) offer explanations derived from a psychodynamic point of view. In their opinion, suicide is the final solution to a severe neurotic crisis. The psychiatric explanation for suicide tends to neglect stressful life events, losses and environmental influences which result in an intolerable life situation, and finally in a self-destroying reaction. The life-event paradigm and the cognitive personality theory give the opportunity to develop a model in which environmental and psychological (personality) variables can be exemplified. Furthermore, their interdependence can be described. The function of this model is primarily heuristic. It can stimulate more specific research in the field of suicide and suicide attempts in old age. | High | [
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FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE: Following the stoppage of most Ravn flights, the North Slope Borough has announced an agreement with Ryan Air to serve North Slope villages as early as this weekend. “I am happy to announce today that we have reached an agreement with Ryan Air to provide services to our villages that were impacted by this news,” Borough Mayor Harry K. Brower said in a news release. North Slope residents said multiple communities there relied solely or primarily on Ravn for air service. “We understand the hardship Alaska businesses like Ravn Air are currently facing, and we appreciate their willingness to work with Ryan Air regarding the utilization of their existing facilities on the North Slope,” Brower said. “Details on facilities use and routes are still being worked out but our hope is to have Ryan Air operating in our communities this weekend.” The borough and airline are working to ensure essential passenger service, bypass mail and freight service continues across the North Slope, according to the join statement by Ryan Air and the borough. ORIGINAL STORY: Ravn Air Group, which flies passengers to more than 115 Alaska communities as well as mail and freight, suddenly shut down many routes Thursday, citing coronavirus-related revenue declines. The decision rippled immediately through far-flung, flight-dependent Alaska communities from Unalaska to the North Slope, leaving some at least momentarily without any passenger service. The company is cutting its fleet from 30 planes to three, and eliminating routes to smaller villages that relied on RavnAir Connect for travel as well as deliveries and medical services. The company also notified the U.S. Postal Service it could no longer bring mail to 180 communities, mostly in the northern part of the state, a USPS spokesman said Thursday. The notice left postal officials scrambling to find another way to get the mail to rural Alaskans. Ravn had already reduced its schedule after experiencing a 90% drop in demand amid booking declines due to COVID-19, according to a company spokeswoman. Gov. Mike Dunleavy on March 27 banned all nonessential travel within Alaska. The company announced in a statement Thursday it was taking “further actions to drastically cut costs” and further reducing flying operations by 90%. Ravn is shrinking its fleet to three De Havilland Dash 8s. That allows the company to continue service to communities it’s federally required to serve and continue flights to other markets served with the planes, the statement says. These are the only communities Ravn is serving now: Kenai, Homer, Valdez, King Salmon, Dillingham, St. Paul, Bethel, Aniak, St. Mary’s, McGrath and Unalakleet. All RavnAir Connect aircraft will be parked and all operations stopped, the company says. RavnAir Alaska Dash 8 flights will continue to operate. The company notified the Federal Aviation Administration of the reduction on Thursday. An agency spokesman couldn’t immediately say how many communities get commercial air service from Ravn alone. RavnAir Group provides direct flights between Anchorage and larger communities like Fairbanks, Homer and Bethel. But the majority of Ravn’s destinations were smaller Bush villages that relied on RavnAir Connect for essential deliveries and medical services, as well as routine travel and commuting, according to the company website. House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, who represents the Bristol Bay region, expressed concern about the availability of fewer flights to transport COVID-19 tests collected in the region for processing. Alaska State Troopers said they do not expect the situation to limit troopers’ ability to respond to rural communities. The Alaska Department of Public Safety plans to rely on other air carriers and its own aircraft, said spokeswoman Megan Peters. “Our department employs qualified pilots who routinely respond across the state for calls for service," she said. “Our essential services will continue uninterrupted.” In Bethel, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. has been planning to provide COVID-19 testing in a majority of villages. Asked if the flight reduction would impact those plans, a spokesman said, “YKHC has reached out to the governor’s office for more information on Gov. Dunleavy’s plan regarding Ravn. We are awaiting reply.” Grappling with Ravn’s departure Unalaska, an Aleutian community of 4,000 with the busiest commercial fishing port by volume in the country at Dutch Harbor, relies on Ravn for direct Anchorage flights. A Ravn flight overran the runway at Unalaska last year, killing a Washington state man. It was the country’s first crash-related fatality for a U.S. commercial airline in a decade. The city got word from Ravn midday Thursday that service would stop as early as Friday, according to city clerk Marjie Veeder. Unalaskans had already experienced a reduction from multiple daily flights to nine a week. “Then down to 4 flights per week,” Veeder said in an email. "Then today — discontinuation.” City officials said in a written statement Thursday afternoon they hope the discontinued air service was temporary and were “exploring options for continued commercial passenger service for our community" with the Alaska Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation, governor’s office and others. The Ravn departure has left 17 villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region without air service, according to Andrew Flagg, station manager for Yute Air in Bethel. Yute is trying to start serving as many communities as possible, Flagg said. “We can’t fill them all in. We’re not a big airline. We’re doing our best,” he said. “We’re going to do our best to not leave anyone stranded and if anyone’s sick, even the charter service will pick them up.” The manager of the Alaska Commercial store in the Yukon River community of Mountain Village found out Ravn was shutting down that route at about 10 a.m. Thursday when he read a newspaper story about it. “I called my supervisors,” store manager Porrin McCambridge said. “They called Ryan Air.” Ryan Air will be handling all of the store’s deliveries for what should be the same cost, McCambridge said. Asked about the personal effect of the shutdown, he said medevacs should be able to handle emergencies and coronavirus protections mean there’s little travel anyway: “At the moment, nobody is allowed to fly in or out of Mountain Village.” North Slope Borough officials couldn’t immediately comment on the Ravn decision. Northern Air Cargo, which delivers cargo and mail, uses Ravn employees to load and unload mail and freight at Utqiagvik. Ravn on Thursday told the company that station will continue to operate despite the shutdown, according to NAC vice president and general manager Gideon Garcia. “We foresee no disruption in the delivery of bypass mail or freight to Barrow,” Garcia said. 'Extremely difficult decisions’ More than a dozen Ravn Connect planes were parked at Palmer Municipal Airport by late afternoon; one after another landed at the Mat-Su airport through the day. Hageland Aviation Services Inc., which is owned by Ravn Air Group, has a Part 135 maintenance facility at Palmer, according to airport superintendent Frank Kelly. Ravn brings planes in regularly for routine maintenance and storage depending upon their needs, Kelly said in an email. Ravn CEO Dave Pflieger sent employees a message Thursday saying the company plans to apply for federal aid: “These are extremely difficult decisions that are essential to our ability to weather this crisis and successfully recover in the future, and it is for that reason that we will intend to apply on Friday for financial support from the U.S. government through the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES).” The former Era Aviation (now Corvus Airlines), Hageland Aviation Services and Frontier Flying Service out of Fairbanks – now a cargo and charter service – all operate under Ravn Alaska’s brand. Ravn Air Group formed in 2015 as a Delaware corporation when private investor groups bought a majority interest in an Alaska-based group of operators. Private equity firms J.F. Lehman & Co — which focuses on defense and aerospace — and W Capital Partners bought in. One of the founders, the Hajdukovich family of Alaska, kept a minority interest in Ravn Air Group. John Hajdukovich was the longtime owner of Frontier. We're making coronavirus coverage available without a subscription as a public service. But we depend on reader support to do this work. Please consider joining others in supporting local journalism in Alaska for just $3.23 a week. SUBSCRIBE NOW The company faced scrutiny after suspending service for weeks last year in the wake of the fatal plane crash that killed a Washington state man. A Ravn-operated Saab 2000 carrying 42 people overran the runway at Unalaska’s airport . A federal report on the probable cause of the crash is not expected to be released for some time. The company’s decision this week to suspend service to many small Alaskan communities came as a surprise to the U.S. Postal Service, communications manager David Rupert said Thursday. “There wasn’t long-term planning that went into this,” Rupert said. “Normally you do, you have some long-term planning that goes into this. This was not.” Postal officials are hoping to find alternative providers as soon as possible, he said. USPS Transportation officials have filled the loss with other temporary service providers with only a few routes to be filled, according to a statement issued Thursday afternoon. Dunleavy at a press briefing Thursday evening said other airlines were looking at stepping in to fill the gaps left by Ravn. Representatives of several Alaskan air carriers including Yute and PenAir said they’re in discussions about their roles. Ravn bought PenAir and its assets, including the Saab 2000 planes, out of bankruptcy in 2018. Grant Aviation CEO Rob Kelley said in a statement that the company has been “in non-stop and ongoing talks with the USPS and local hospitals in the markets we serve in an effort to make sure we do everything possible to continue to support rural Alaska’s passenger and cargo/mail delivery needs and help fill in the gaps where Ravn was the sole air carrier.” Alaska’s congressional delegation in a statement Thursday called Ravn’s announcement “very concerning news for Alaskans — especially for our remote communities. We have worked hard to support federal programs like bypass mail and Essential Air Service, and we will continue to work to make sure that mail, as well as vital goods and services can continue to be delivered to rural Alaskan communities. There will undoubtedly be gaps, but Alaskans across the state are coming together to develop solutions.” | Low | [
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In one sense, that's what happened; guns needn't be fired to do their work. But the real story is more complicated and nuanced. The invasion incited neighbor fears and stirred up suspicions about a house down Monument Road that has served for years as a boarding facility for people dealing with disability, addiction and homelessness. The house was built 50 years ago in what was semi-rural scrubland. Today, the property marks the transition to the prosperous subdivisions between Grand Junction and the public land playgrounds to the south. At some point, the residence was substantially remodeled into a sprawling el-Rancho-Spanish-eclectic-style stucco with a shaded porch. Its surround of trailers, outbuildings and corrals wouldn't merit a second glance on a country road twenty miles from here. With enough upkeep, the house would still fit in with the developing area called the Redlands. But its poor residents probably never will. The owner, a woman with a generous heart, had taken in boarders who needed in-home care. With time, their needs became more than she could serve, so she rented to others who could pay well below market rent. When the break-in occurred, eyes turned down the road, ready to assign blame to "the homeless" who might be skulking up the trails that run alongside our subdivision. The property was not quite what police would class as a "nuisance house," but miscellaneous complaints and calls had put it on a county watch list. Since I know two brothers who were staying at the house, I asked if indeed the man had come from there. He had. *** In Colorado, a citizen has no duty to retreat before resorting to the use of deadly force when faced with imminent peril in his or her home. Our neighbors, wrenched awake by the commotion and finding this crazed stranger in their house, would have been acting within the law if they had blown him away and obliterated any narrative other than self-defense. The man, bloodied from his plunge through the broken glass, was apparently under the influence of drugs. He babbled about the Mexican Mafia chasing him. He was missing a shoe and his bare foot and legs where riddled with cactus spines from his run through the desert. For the moment, our neighbors had no way of knowing whether he was paranoid or whether his pursuers would soon come charging down their driveway. Yet, despite their own fear, they recognized a terrified human being seeking sanctuary and calmed him as they waited for the cops. *** Last night, we held a neighborhood meeting to air out concerns about crime and to inform folks about what had just happened. According to the deputies who are working to address issues with the house down the road, the recent event was atypical of such break-ins, which usually involve criminals preying on criminals or people involved in disputes with each other. While we can't rule out all risk, the officers conveyed that they didn't regard the property as being a likely source of danger for its neighbors. We are barely on the law enforcement radar. While still dealing with the disquieting after-effects of the invasion, the homeowners have responded with compassion. They hope the perpetrator can get help for his addiction and escape the paranoia that recently made him flee California to join his stepfather in the house down the road. No torches were lit last night, and perhaps a few were extinguished. Neighbors, at least those who attended the meeting, now have a better sense that our area is safe and what they can do to keep it that way. They have a stronger commitment to watch out for each other. One even asked if the woman who owns the house can get some help in more effectively screening and managing her rentals. Still, under the same circumstances, other households might've exercised their rights differently. How quickly prejudice and suspicion can balloon into fear, and fear into a perceived threat. How easy it is under stress to act without fully understanding the situation. In a national political climate that fosters fear of the Other, how reasonable it is to believe your castle is ever in need of defending. This is Colorado. We are not all bleeding hearts here on the Redlands. Some of us have guns in our houses and a determination to assert our right of self-defense, even if it means killing a stranger. Fortunately, drawn by the bright security lights, that desperate man picked a house where he was greeted by a shotgun and two kind and deliberate hearts. Small businesses and nonprofits have a lot in common: They operate on thin margins, develop strong local ties and support their communities’ economic and social wellbeing. But what happens to those strong bonds when an online retailing giant comes in with a deal that benefits one side and threatens the other? That was the question at the heart of a recent mini-rebellion led by a feisty western Colorado bookseller, who heard her favorite community radio station, KAFM, promoting a new fundraising partnership with Amazon. Margie Wilson, owner of Grand Valley Books and another bookstore in Grand Junction, asked, “How does a community-supported organization expect to keep receiving local business support when they encourage their members to shop for books and other products on Amazon?” At issue was the benign-sounding AmazonSmile program. AmazonSmile lets charities use Amazon’s technology to raise funds from supporters via click-and-forget transactions. After a one-time signup, it automatically uses 0.5 percent of a qualified sale to benefit a nonprofit designated by the purchaser. These are sales, says Amazon, that were going to the company anyway. The consumer feels good about supporting a chosen charity, and the organization raises more money without added fundraising overhead. For cash-strapped nonprofits with limited technical resources, this looks like a risk-free helping hand. To Wilson and other main street business owners, it felt more like a slap in the face. A powerful competitor that participates little in the hometown’s charitable or civic affairs was harvesting local goodwill, customer browser information and purchases that sent dollars out of the community. Wilson decided to take a stand. She enlisted customers, friends of the station and other business owners to ask the KAFM Board to reconsider its participation. The board did — and then voted to terminate its AmazonSmile partnership, saying: “The fundraising method that sparked the controversy arose out of new technology, but the KAFM Board determined the resolution needed to come from an old ‘technology’ — neighbors helping neighbors.” The reversal with Amazon shouldn’t make a dent in the station’s revenue. (The average consumer spends just under $1,000 annually with Amazon. That’s $5 per donor who signs on to the program.) Indeed, I talked to another local nonprofit exec who says its AmazonSmile relationship is not considered a source of charitable dollars. Rather, it’s used more like a cash-back credit card for comparison shopping and making large purchases of items that are hard to find locally. Her search for a solid gallium supplier, for example, led her to a small Ohio company. She estimates this approach has saved thousands of taxpayer dollars on the science kits it produces for public schools. Not all products sold on Amazon compete with local retailers, and some of the “Amazon” sellers are actually small businesses searching for customers beyond their communities. So why should local nonprofits be concerned about healthy relations with businesses that do compete with Amazon? Online sales transactions support Amazon’s business model but not the more participatory relationships most nonprofits want to cultivate. In other words, “I gave at Amazon” could become the new line, “I gave at the office.” Rob Bleiberg, executive director of the Mesa Land Trust, empathizes with fellow nonprofits seeking creative ways to expand fundraising, but also appreciates how good ideas don’t always produce the desired results. His group once enlisted two businesses to collect a voluntary 1 percent surcharge from their customers to support land preservation. While the experiment was well received, the land trust lacked the resources to scale up the program beyond the original cafe and bike shop. When ownerships changed, it was discontinued. Bleiberg said small businesses give his organization “wonderful support,” and he counted off the ways: Cash donations, owners serving on the board, memberships, event underwriting, publicity, ties to national suppliers, and providing matching funds to attract donations. Last year, he said, 65 businesses wrote checks for over $30,000, covering about 7 percent of his organization’s operating budget. And some owners gave as individuals, too. In addition, three local establishments sponsored events and drink promotions earlier this year that raised several thousand dollars for a bike trail project. All these events help build community among like-minded people, and they produced sales that stay in town to recirculate in the local economy. Local business owners “use the bike trails and see expansion as a good amenity for the town, they’re good citizens, and their support is good advertising to a compelling demographic,” Bleiberg said. On one of those points, at least, small businesses and Amazon agree. [This post first appeared as a column distributed by Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News (hcn.org). It's also cross-posted at my author site, charliequimby.com.] It's been quiet here as my volunteering has been interrupted by a busy travel schedule. This entry is cross-posted from my author blog as "The old news and a few remarks on events intervening." Last night, we heard artist Andy Sturdevant describe his residency for Coffee House Press's In the Stacks program. He'd taken items from old issues of a community newsletter and updated what had happened in the intervening years. This morning my wife found a letter folded in sixths marking a spot in a volume of Orwell's essays. Its discovery, common vintage and similar typeface to that newsletter may have simply been a coincidence... Each Sunday night for seven years, almost without fail, my father cranked seven pieces of onionskin and six carbons through a manual typewriter and then with brute force wrote his way to the bottom of the page.* He never revised and rarely made typos or other errors. I can't remember a letter from him that left more whitespace than was needed for the date and standard salutation, Dear Everyone, and the signoff, Love, with Mom + Dad written by hand. The letters started when his one and only baby daughter left home. They ended when he fell into the severe depression that led him to end his life. The reports were detailed yet succinct, one paragraph per subject, though the thread might range widely. In his letter dated July 27, 1980, he manages to cover my sister finding a job and playing in the state softball tournament; one brother planning to come home and then being unable to get time off; another brother and his wife visiting, then driving with my parents partway across the state before splitting off to their home. As he wrote that evening, the same brother called with the news that my mother and father were about to become grandparents for the first time. A lot of life packed into that narrative of one week—and that was only the second paragraph. Certain themes recurred—local politics, charities and public service boards, and travel, usually together and mostly for work (him) and public meetings (my mother was the town's first woman mayor). Story threads came and went—a home-built gazebo project it seemed would never be completed, racketball (sic) adventures, and a Subaru he'd won in a lottery that behaved like a gift horse with bad teeth. Here he is reporting on the annual bank picnic: Had it in Lincoln Park and had to have the police clear the pushers out of the park for the picnic, then in the later evening they picked up some of the jobs corps boys who thought they were making off with a keg of our beer, but it was actually an empty keg. Guess we'll have to find a better place or give up our annual picnic. The group has gotten too large for the usual back yard picnic. Yes, the floating G is a sign of man who types fast and hard, barely waiting for the shift. You could tell if you'd received the top copy. Some of the periods might be drilled right through the sheet. His letter-writing wasn't Art, but it was an art. His own family had scattered with good reason, and the pieces would join only briefly and uneasily. Unlike today's Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/email, which might as well be for Dear Everyone, his letters reached his children through the Postal Service. There were six of us around the country. Had a daughter not finally arrived, the Quimby family might have grown beyond the reproductive capacity of that day's carbon paper technology. My father was a bank president by then. He could have dictated the letter. He could have dashed it off longhand and had his assistant type it. Either way, he could have had it photocopied, sparing the recipient of the stack's bottom copy from too much squinting and head scratching. But that would use the bank's dime and set a poor example. He addressed the fading image problem in his own frugal way, rotating which copy each child received. Somehow, he kept track. I no longer remember the sequence or the order from week to week. Perhaps we all got to experience the sensation of slowly going blind, followed by a miraculous recovery. But it might have been that our vision seemed to gradually improve, until we were plunged back into a faint and disappearing realm. Neither of those subtexts seems quite right, but I am sure of one thing. He took care to the very end to keep it straight. _______ * If you find the ancient technology references here puzzling, I hope you can find a parent and ask them. I'm back in Grand Junction until May, and with a throttled-back book schedule, I'm posting here again. The first day back at the Day Center after a long absence always requires some adjustment. New rules get posted. The volunteer crew has changed. I have to reacquaint myself with where certain supplies are stored. But most of all, I brace myself for the news. It could be good, of course. Someone went back to work. A couple who'd been camping found a place to live. A court-assigned rehab is going well. But it could also be bad. Someone's in prison. A couple's split and lost what tenuous support they gave each other. The lessons learned in rehab weren't applied on the street. No one I know has died since I left last spring. At least from what I've heard. It's only my first day back. It's kind of a mixed deal seeing people again. That they're here means they're alive and holding it together well enough to use our services. But it also means they haven't gotten out of their homeless state. A woman I hadn't seen for a couple years was back today, as was a man who'd supposedly left to live with a relative in Wyoming last year. These people who get called transients are often simply trying to better their situation. What looks like random chaos or vagrancy from the outside is sometimes a stab at improvement or survival made by a person with few resources. The grass looks greener. An old family rift seems like it's repaired. Somebody knows somebody who might have work. Or it's just gotten too uncomfortable where they are. There's a couple here I love whose troubles and craziness and addictions have finally blown them apart. The shortness of the fuse was apparent last spring but because I believe in their deeper goodness, I had hopes. He shared with me what's happened since I went to his sentencing hearing. It was the usual mix of insight and acceptance of blame jumbled up with tales of financial irresponsibility, crazy infatuation and an attempt to puzzle out whether a certain winning Powerball number could possibly have been random. I tried to follow his Kaballah-like calculations, which were mathematically correct but unmoored from reason. Finally, he looked at me and said, "It's hard for me to occupy my mind every day." Time is a very different burden for people with no job, no prospects and no home. I talked to his wife later. I asked how she was doing and she told me a story about how last December she'd reached the end of her rope at 4 AM, standing wrapped in a sleeping bag outside the Mission, which is about as low as you can go to find shelter against the remarkable cold that had hit the valley. It's where the sex offenders and men released from prison submit themselves to Jesus because it's the only place that will take them in. Her cell phone rang at 5 AM. "It was my sister, who never calls me. She was calling to tell me she'd just won $5,000 in the lottery, and she was going to rent me a room." I know the place. It's a house a few miles from us on Monument Road. "I'm covered through February and then I'm going to take over payments." I don't know what will happen down the road. The house is about three miles from town and there's no transit. She's fallen back before. But I can see why her husband might be wondering if the lottery numbers are truly random. Last week I got the great news Monument Road has been selected by independent booksellers as one of ten adult fiction titles for the American Booksellers Association's fall "Celebrate Debut Authors With Indies" promotion. That means traveling to New York City for the BookExpo America and hobnobbing, however briefly, with booksellers and librarians from around the country. Having a novel about to launch will forge a new relationship with booksellers, and it's gotten me thinking more deeply about my personal history with the book business—as a customer, store employee, book scout, book marketer, reviewer—and builder of non-compliant stairway bookcases. Admittedly, my experiences span a lot of years, but it's sobering that so many of these important places exist now only in memory. As I visit stores in conjunction with the book promotion, I'll write about them. But meantime, I'll do a series of posts about the places that left me booksmitten, starting with the first important shop in my life. ----- I grew up in a small resort town in Colorado that had no bookstore I can recall, but the public library had a great selection of books for young people and I was allowed to use some of my paper route money to subscribe to comic books. My parents belonged to Book of the Month Club and ordered all the titles from the We Were There series of (mostly American) historical novels written for children, with titles like We Were There on the Oregon Trail and We Were There with the Pony Express. Those books made me feel like pre-teens could be part of great events and not just play sports and solve improbable mysteries. (I think my nifty child's book plates came as a perk for subcribing.) When I was 15 my family moved to Grand Junction, where I finally experienced a real bookstore. I bought Alan Ginsberg's Howl at Readmore Books, an independent bookseller on Main Street, and sampled exotic writers like ee cummings and Ezra Pound at the library. But the library also sheltered me from the scandalous local author Dalton Trumbo and who knows what else? The changes occuring in America during the mid-60s rarely made it in the local news and they surely didn't fit with the community mores in a smallish western city. As kid who tilted well left in a conservative area, I had very few peers and no approved venues for expression. Readmore became my lifeline to the rest of the world. It was vital to my intellectual and political development not just as a bookstore but as a source of periodicals—especially those dedicated to new and controversial voices. Alongside more mainstream journals like The New Yorker and The New Republic, I could find magazines like Ramparts, Avant Garde and Fact—publications that did not appear on the library shelves or at the drugstore. Readmore is gone now, but its spirit is carried on by two indies on Main Street, and its importance to a developing young writer abides in my bones. The man I'll call Martin walks around the corner and back before coming in the front door of the Day Center. That's a common approach by first-time visitors since the building has no sign to identify us—just a partially glassed-in vestibule that might once have been the entry to a defunct dry cleaners. Right now, though, it's a pretty good bet this is the place he's been sent to learn about services for the homeless, since through the window he can see a man with two black eyes who's too intoxicated to be admitted. Martin's a small man in his 70s with a round, pleasant, hypertensive face and white hair. Imagine actor Ray Walston, long past his My Favorite Martian days, playing a leprechaun. Only this leprechaun is towing an oxygen bottle with one hand and grips the handle of three-footed cane with the other. Martin has toddled over from the Rescue Mission, a few blocks away. The Rescue Mission specializes in recently released prisoners who are trying to get reintegrated into straight society and need a stable address to give their parole officer. He told me upon release he was dropped on a street corner in Denver with a box of his possessions that he couldn't transport, given his walker and oxygen bottle. He went into a store to call a cab, and by the time he came back out, his box was gone. He doesn't say how he got to Grand Junction, and I don't ask. With new guests, my job is to be welcoming, orient them to our services as well as what they want to know about other help, and collect some basic information. Are you homeless? How long? Where are you living? Are you a veteran? Disabilities? Employed or looking for work? We also ask if they have identification and for contact information for another person we could reach in case of an emergency. Many do not have driver licenses. They have a state ID card, a corrections ID or need to replace a lost ID. A fair number list a local relative, and a similar number, including Martin, can't supply the name of anyone at all. In Martin's case, he had a Colorado Corrections ID and another card that identified him as a registered sex offender. In my forthcoming novel, Monument Road, a young man working in his sister's day care center is accused of inappropriate touching. Joe Samson, a local reporter, decides to use the case as a hook for a deeper investigation. He interviews the police official responsible for tracking the county's sex offenders: The captain unrolled his bundle, a county map covered with colored plastic tapes, the sort used to mark legal documents for signature. “Every one of these tabs represents a registered sex offender,” he said. “About half of these are in Grand Junction, the rest in the county’s jurisdiction. The vision is to be able to generate a map from the database and see all our sex offenders in one place.” He paused. “So to speak.” The map covered McLearn’s desk. In places, the tabs were stuck atop each other, as if a load of autumn leaves had been dumped on a neighborhood. Joe’s eyes scanned immediately to the Redlands. No flags close to his house. He looked for the Crimmins-Diaz address. There was a scatter of red and yellow tabs on Orchard Mesa, but none very near Wee Amigos Day Care. McLearn said, “County-wide, we’re watching more than four hundred. The number’ll just keep growing, because once these guys register, it’s tough to get off the list. If they stay clean, they can petition for removal, but who wants to be the judge who decided a guy was not a threat—then he goes out and abducts a little girl?” “So the numbers keep growing, the problem looks worse, the public cries out for more protection and the numbers grow some more.” Joe meant to phrase it as a question. “You could put it that way,” said McLearn. “I didn’t. There are definitely predators you want to supervise forever. But that’s only about four of the four hundred guys we’re tracking. The rest—especially your child molesters—their risk of re-offending is way lower than your average criminal.” “And why is that?” Joe asks. “Do the extra restraints work?” McLearn shuffled through a drawer, then gave up looking. “A while back, there was a big hue and cry over child molesters living near schools and playgrounds. The state did a study before passing a new law restricting where they could live. It found their distance from schools and such didn’t make any difference. You know what mattered most?” “I’m guessing it wasn’t some extra-special public humiliation,” Joe said. McLearn gave him a sharp look. “I mean, it seems like a funny system, where a paroled drug dealer or murderer could move in next door and you wouldn’t know it, but you get notified about a guy who got a sixteen-year-old pregnant. So what does matter most?” “Support systems,” said McLearn. “The guys are more likely to succeed if they have treatment, a job, friends and neighbors who support them. The trouble with shaming these guys—they’re more likely to move away from their support network to get out of range of the pitchforks. We have people come here from out of state exactly for that reason. I don’t want to say community notification’s a joke, but most of the people we have here are unlikely to reoffend. For the most part, you’re already going to know the person who molests your child, and it’s someone you trust.” Before turning south across the bridge to the Redlands, the parkway snakes between the river and a wasteland of rubble bill-boarded with promises of professional spa installation, exceptional dental care and relief from DUI charges. Leonard sees a ladder-racked pickup coming up on his right, racing to pass before the road narrows to two lanes. The truck bed is overloaded with yard waste, paint buckets and miscellaneous unbagged trash that flits in the slipstream coming off the back. Leonard’s in no hurry, but the reckless move irritates him and he holds his place against being overtaken. The driver takes some shoulder before squeezing in at the curve, spinning a salvo of gravel across Leonard’s grille. Through their back window he can see two yahoos bobbing their heads toward each other in celebration of the maneuver. Let it go, he tells himself, just as the driver swerves again only to jolt over an unseen obstacle, sending up a shower of debris. Leonard feels the thump, too, just as flapping newspapers burst in a flock from the truck bed, twist and plaster themselves across his windshield. He ducks down to an opening where he can see to cross the bridge and pull safely aside. By the time he steps out to a clear view of the road, the offenders have disappeared over the rise. He strips off the newspaper and mashes it into a ball. How long has it been since he even glanced at the news? Another habit that slid away with Inetta. Behind him, on the bridge, a stray tire bedevils the traffic. He considers walking back to clear it, but the spot is blind and there’s no pedestrian walk on that side of the bridge. Let someone with a cell phone call it in. He’s spent a year shrinking his attention down to a pinhole, and with it, his sense of obligation to clean up after the careless. Time was, he took on such chores without thinking, hauling strangers out of ditches, offering gas to stranded tourists, snugging up a neighbor’s sagging fence. That was how it was out here. You made your contribution to mutual survival—no recognition or recompense expected. Cowboy karma, he’d heard somebody call it. Inetta might call it grace. But for all that, what did such steadfastness do for his mother and his sister kneeling in the yard. Abner, alone and facedown in his field. Vaughn bent sideways for good. Junior banished and then tumbling through space. Inetta herself, slow walking away from him. No matter what Leonard Self decides about his importance in the universe, if he turns his back on this, the tire will still be off the bridge tomorrow and no one will even remember it was there. He wishes he could talk it out with Inetta, hear again why it matters not to let things slide. He used to step up without thinking on it because simple goodness needed a place to lodge, entrusted closer to the real world than with an all-loving and do-nothing God. He thinks of his own father, for the first time in a long while without feeling a strangle in his throat. Had Leonard’s sense of rightness only been the offspring of his father’s crime, or had he inherited good examples, erased from memory by the final, bloody picture of the man? Leonard had always supposed in his father an anger that became a poison and the poison caused pain and its steady drip called for an end. But how big must a pain be to also consume a wife and a daughter and a son? His old man was a young man then, half Leonard’s age. He should’ve remembered how things change, how the cold lifts and the desert greens and the humming birds come back. Leonard still couldn’t see all the why of his father but he recognized a partial answer in himself. The darkening was not pain but bone-deep numbness. Not nightmares but short dreamless sleep and long wakefulness. Not chaos but an empty, unbudging sameness that Inetta had been able to wave away whenever it gathered, but left alone with it now, he was ready to roll to a stop. Memory is unreliable and historical records provide an incomplete picture, so it's possible the valley I grew up in was not all that warmer than the one I walked through today. I know I didn't own a proper winter coat then, but I was also tougher, perhaps, and went more places in a car. Still, there's no question the air quality in this high desert town is worse and the inversion phenomenon that traps bitter cold for weeks at a time seems to have worsened, too. And we know why. The particular shape of the valley combines with snow cover and weather systems to trap frigid air. Pollutants don't rise, forming a cloud that blocks sun from melting the snow and warming the earth. Since Jan. 18, air quality in low-lying areas of Grand Junction has been worse than Denver’s, a metropolitan center of 2.6 million people. For that matter, the amount of fine particulates — a mix of acids like nitrates and sulfates, organic chemicals, metals, soil and dust particles — trapped above the valley are more concentrated here than in any other city in Colorado. ... [T]he pollution measuring less than 2.5 micrometers — which creates the health risks — is caused by any number of combustion sources. Smoke from wood-burning stoves and vehicle exhaust make up most of it. Other factors include the use of hot water heaters, industrial pollution, the effects of drilling and dust from dirt roads. To climate change deniers, the cold provides an occasion to make gleeful comments about global warming. Others, whose denial has begun to be penetrated by science, have shifted to "yeah, but climate always changes. It's not my fault!" And since climate changes, we have the earth's permission to go on doing what we've been doing. We press on with "reducing our dependence on foreign oil" without really addressing the dependence part. Another way to say it is, we're committed to using up our domestic energy supplies sooner rather than later. No one can live in this valley and deny the massive changes that have taken place on earth or fail to see the relatively little say any puny creatures have had in the matter. But neither can they bundle up in an extra layer, watch their heating bill climb, and breathe lousy air, while believing mankind's fate is out of their hands. This review is also posted at Goodreads. After I wrote it, I thought of James Howard Kunstler's A World Made by Hand, which has a more nuanced and less binary portrayal of the varieties of human experience after society breaks down. ***** I don't usually review books that have been reviewed to death. Better to find a worthy, unseen work and lift it up. But I'm making an exception for Peter Heller's The Dog Stars because I haven't seen a review yet that tapped into the thread it opened up for me. Like Heller's main character Hig, flying over a flu-wasted Colorado looking for someone to connect with, I tried to find a review that spoke to this passage: Still we are divided, there are cracks in the union. Over principle. His: Guilty until—until nothing. Shoot first ask later. Guilty, then dead. Versus what? Mine: Let a visitor live a minute longer until they prove themselves to be human? Because they always do. What Bangley said in the beginning: Never ever negotiate. You are negotiating with your own death. The reviews I've read are enamored with the Mad Max/The Road comparisons with the novel's hopeful endcap to the apocalypse. Or distracted by syntax. Fragments. No punctuation. Sex wands exploding. (Well, Hig hadn't had sex for nine years, so perhaps its rediscovery might be like a Harlequin Romance, but I digress.) Don't get me wrong. The Dog Stars is a read-it-in-one-or-two-sittings novel, but unlike Cormac McCarthy's The Road, this one never brought me to tears. Instead, it made me wonder: Why are so many readers responding to its "hopefulness" or its poetic treatment of a world in both decline and regeneration instead of to the assumption that, even for the sensitive and "weak" HIg, there were so many Others who could simply be blown away because... well, because they weren't Hig. At another point, Hig says: "The ones who are left are mostly Not Nice." Desperate souls whose survival was foiled by HIg and his pal Bangley might be forgiven for thinking the same of the sensitive aviator-poet. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, he ain't. Most of the other humans portrayed in the story are ciphers or caricatures worthy of one of those shooting arcade games the NRA fears is eroding our values. They threaten, they die. A little or a lot. But prove themselves human? Not a chance. This is a serious book by a serious writer, and Heller has clearly posed this divide between two world views that are severely tested by the apocalypse. But there isn't much follow through, and there's even less by the admirers of the book. I'm wondering if Heller is trying to make a commentary on how we are living today—not about the future or some idealized humanity. Hig's partner Bangley and another character he meets after he takes his fool's flight west are both ex-special forces, hardened men who do not make the fine distinctions that will get Hig killed. In fact, they are portrayed as the soldiers and Navy Seals protecting us today, projected into a dystopian future. Although America has not been wiped out by a virus, we are protected by similar men and similar values today. We have the luxury of our poetry and hammock sex and contemplative fly fishing because the Bangleys of the world have our backs. In the real world, that is certainly the view of the Bangleys. The Higs of us who "believe in the possibility of connectedness" would not survive without the ruthlessness and killing skills of hard men. Because Hig finds love and there is new greenery sprouting in the killed forests, we are encouraged to believe there is hope. That the apocalypse isn't so bad. That the end isn't the end. Arabs, of all people, appear to be patrolling American skies. Is that an ironic footnote or a reminder that we have so much capacity to be wrong about Others? It's not Heller's job to spell it out for us. And thank goodness, in his restraint, he didn't. But what about us readers? | Mid | [
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Toronto mayor John Tory mimics Jose Bautista’s bat flip Jose Bautista’s bat flip has launched many tributes already, with one fan getting the iconic moment tattooed on his body, and fellow major league slugger Anthony Rizzo practicing the move in batting practice. Jose Bautista’s bat flip has launched many tributes already, with one fan getting the iconic moment tattooed on his body, and fellow major league slugger Anthony Rizzo practicing the move in batting practice. Now Toronto mayor John Tory gave Bautista’s celebration a nod at a press conference in which he accepted a bet from Kansas City mayor Sly James by tossing a bat into a river in the Royals hometown. | Mid | [
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// // Generated by class-dump 3.5 (64 bit) (Debug version compiled Oct 15 2018 10:31:50). // // class-dump is Copyright (C) 1997-1998, 2000-2001, 2004-2015 by Steve Nygard. // #import <objc/NSObject.h> #import <NewsCore/FCPrivateDataContext-Protocol.h> @class FCAudioPlaylist, FCIssueReadingHistory, FCNetworkBehaviorMonitor, FCPersonalizationData, FCPrivateChannelMembershipController, FCReadingHistory, FCReadingList, FCSubscriptionList, FCTagSettings, FCUserInfo, NSString; @protocol FCContentContext, FCPrivateDataContextInternal, FCPushNotificationHandling; @interface FCPrivateDataContext : NSObject <FCPrivateDataContext> { BOOL _privateDataSyncingEnabled; FCIssueReadingHistory *_issueReadingHistory; FCPersonalizationData *_personalizationData; FCPrivateChannelMembershipController *_privateChannelMembershipController; FCReadingHistory *_readingHistory; FCReadingList *_readingList; FCAudioPlaylist *_audioPlaylist; FCSubscriptionList *_subscriptionList; FCUserInfo *_userInfo; NSString *_privateDataDirectory; FCTagSettings *_tagSettings; id <FCPushNotificationHandling> _privatePushNotificationHandler; FCNetworkBehaviorMonitor *_networkBehaviorMonitor; id <FCPrivateDataContextInternal> _internalPrivateDataContext; id <FCContentContext> _contentContext; } - (void).cxx_destruct; @property(retain, nonatomic) id <FCContentContext> contentContext; // @synthesize contentContext=_contentContext; @property(retain, nonatomic) id <FCPrivateDataContextInternal> internalPrivateDataContext; // @synthesize internalPrivateDataContext=_internalPrivateDataContext; @property(readonly, nonatomic) FCNetworkBehaviorMonitor *networkBehaviorMonitor; // @synthesize networkBehaviorMonitor=_networkBehaviorMonitor; @property(readonly, nonatomic, getter=isPrivateDataSyncingEnabled) BOOL privateDataSyncingEnabled; // @synthesize privateDataSyncingEnabled=_privateDataSyncingEnabled; @property(readonly, nonatomic) FCTagSettings *tagSettings; // @synthesize tagSettings=_tagSettings; - (id)privateStoreWithName:(id)arg1 version:(unsigned long long)arg2 options:(unsigned long long)arg3; @property(readonly, copy, nonatomic) NSString *privateDataDirectory; // @synthesize privateDataDirectory=_privateDataDirectory; @property(readonly, nonatomic) id <FCPushNotificationHandling> privatePushNotificationHandler; // @synthesize privatePushNotificationHandler=_privatePushNotificationHandler; @property(readonly, nonatomic) FCUserInfo *userInfo; // @synthesize userInfo=_userInfo; @property(readonly, nonatomic) FCSubscriptionList *subscriptionList; // @synthesize subscriptionList=_subscriptionList; @property(readonly, nonatomic) FCAudioPlaylist *audioPlaylist; // @synthesize audioPlaylist=_audioPlaylist; @property(readonly, nonatomic) FCReadingList *readingList; // @synthesize readingList=_readingList; @property(readonly, nonatomic) FCReadingHistory *readingHistory; // @synthesize readingHistory=_readingHistory; @property(readonly, nonatomic) FCPrivateChannelMembershipController *privateChannelMembershipController; // @synthesize privateChannelMembershipController=_privateChannelMembershipController; @property(readonly, nonatomic) FCPersonalizationData *personalizationData; // @synthesize personalizationData=_personalizationData; @property(readonly, nonatomic) FCIssueReadingHistory *issueReadingHistory; // @synthesize issueReadingHistory=_issueReadingHistory; - (id)_privateDataControllers; - (void)preparePrivateDataControllersForUse; - (id)initWithConfiguration:(id)arg1 context:(id)arg2 privateDatabase:(id)arg3 privateDataDirectory:(id)arg4 privateDataActionProvider:(id)arg5 encryptionDelegate:(id)arg6 networkBehaviorMonitor:(id)arg7 privateDataSyncingEnabled:(BOOL)arg8; - (id)initWithConfiguration:(id)arg1 context:(id)arg2 privateDataHostDirectory:(id)arg3 privateDataActionProvider:(id)arg4 encryptionDelegate:(id)arg5 networkBehaviorMonitor:(id)arg6 privateDataSyncingEnabled:(BOOL)arg7; - (id)init; // Remaining properties @property(readonly, copy) NSString *debugDescription; @property(readonly, copy) NSString *description; @property(readonly) unsigned long long hash; @property(readonly) Class superclass; @end | Low | [
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Britain is to opt out of a European Union regime for regulating legal highs that would result in only the most harmful new psychoactive substances being subject to full criminalisation. Announcing the decision – which could attract sanctions from Brussels –the Home Office crime prevention minister, Norman Baker, said he "strongly disputes"' the EU claim that 20% of legal highs have "legitimate commercial and industrial uses". The issue could presage a fresh clash between London and Brussels as the proposed EU drugs directive does not include provision for a UK opt-out. Britain already has a tougher approach than much of the rest of Europe to synthetic psychoactive drugs such as Benzo Fury, NBOMe and Mephedrone. The home secretary can issue a temporary banning order, which makes it illegal to supply but not possess the new substance for 12 months while the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs investigates how harmful it is and whether the ban should be made permanent. The Liberal Democrat drugs minister said Britain was ahead of most other countries "in combatting the reckless trade in so-called legal highs, which has tragically claimed the lives of far too many young people". He said the EU's proposals would hinder rather than help because they would slow down action to ban harmful substances when they were identified. "We have already banned hundreds of these drugs and our forensic early warning system allows us to closely monitor their availability so we can disrupt their supply," said Baker. "But we are not complacent. I have commissioned an expert-led review into how our current arrangements can be better tailored to help protect public health and tighten further the supply of such substances." Legal highs are synthetic laboratory-produced drugs that imitate the effect of more traditional illicit drugs including cannabis, ecstasy and LSD. New legal highs have been appearing at the rate of more than one a week, are often available over the internet and are outpacing attempts by the authorities to regulate their use. More than 280 different substances have been identified by EU drugs experts as the falling use of cannabis and cocaine across Europe has been offset by their relentless rise. The new EU directive proposed by Viviane Reding, the justice commissioner, is designed to overhaul a 2005 system for regulating the use of illicit drugs under which it can take up to two years to ban a substance. The European commission proposes a new system of regulation that would allow a substance to be banned within 10 months of being detected. It includes an urgent temporary procedure under which it would be possible to order a particularly harmful substance to be withdrawn immediately for a period of 12 months while a full risk assessment is carried out. But it will also then allow a more "graduated approach" under which only the most harmful substances that pose severe risks to consumers' health will face full permanent criminalisation. Those that have "legitimate commercial and industrial uses" – estimated to be as many as 20% – may face a less draconian response. | Mid | [
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Kawara Museum The (Omihachiman City Rooftile Museum) is a museum in Ōmihachiman, Shiga, Japan, devoted to Japanese-style roof tiles (kawara). Buildings The museum consists of ten buildings with roof tiles which form a whole pavilion. The new tiles on the roof of the museum were blackened to make them look older and thus fit in better with the other buildings in the neighborhood. Exhibits In the permanent exhibition room on the first floor objects are displayed to show the history of Omihachiman roof tiles and the process by which they are made. Images of the city of Omihachiman are displayed at the entrance, and there is a large 3-dimensional photograph of the roof tiles of the houses in Shinmachi street at the innermost corner of the exhibition room. See also Onigawara, a type of Japanese roof ornamentation References External links Omihachiman City information Category:Museums in Shiga Prefecture Category:Ōmihachiman, Shiga Category:Ceramics museums in Japan Category:Museums established in 1995 Category:1995 establishments in Japan | High | [
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the U.S. was not an enemy of his country, saying his country had "many friends" in America. "We have been through two wars together,” he said during his annual nationwide televised call-in show. “The Russian Empire was key in securing U.S. independence." Putin added: "I know the mood of our people, we don't believe America is our enemy ... There is hysteria in the media and it affects the mood, but many people in Russia admire the achievements if the American people, and I hope relations will normalize." Vladimir Putin listens during his annual televised call-in show in Moscow on Thursday. Mikhail Klimentyev / AP The famously private leader also addressed his personal life, saying that his two daughters and two grandchildren reside in Russia. "Despite all rumors, my daughters live here, in Moscow," he said. "My grandchildren are in preschool," he adding, stating that he wanted to keep their identities and ages a secret. "I want them to be normal people, and for that they need to mix with ordinary people. But if I mention their names, they will not be left in peace. This will damage them. Please understand me." In 2013, Putin announced that he was divorcing his wife with whom he has two daughters in their 30s. His children have not been seen in public for years. Putin also blamed domestic U.S. problems for sanctions imposed on Russia. "We have always lived under sanctions, whenever Russia grew stronger there would always be sanctions, throughout history," he said. "There is a U.S. bill to toughen sanctions — why? Nothing has changed why are they talking about sanctions — it's evidence of domestic political problems in the U.S." On Monday, the U.S. Senate reached a bipartisan agreement on a new round of sanctions against Russia, a move that will force President Donald Trump to either sign or veto the measure. The sanctions are in response to a trio of Russian actions, including their interference in the 2016 election, engagement in Syria and the invasion of Crimea. Putin added that while sanctions were painful and "hit everyone," there had also been positive outcomes with Russia getting the chance to shed its dependence on oil and gas exports. "There are pluses. We had to switch our brains on," said Putin, adding that Russia's electronics, aerospace and agriculture industries have all received a boost. His appearance came as questions swirled about his government's interference in the 2016 White House election. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Putin ordered the disruption of the vote. Putin also weighed in on former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired by Trump on May 9. “[Comey] thinks there was Russia’s interference in the electoral process but does not provide any proof again,” Putin said. However, he added that if Comey faced “political persecution,” he could be offered asylum in Russia. Putin has held the heavily choreographed call-in show most years since 2001. F. Brinley Bruton reported from London. Mansur Mirovalev reported from Moscow. | Low | [
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ngAria is a new module developed by the Angular core team. Aria stands for Accessible Rich Internet Applications. It consists of a number of HTML attributes that assist those with disabilities who use screen readers and other devices intended to assist them while using your web application. It's actually very simple to use the ngAria module, so I'm just going to show you this little demo application. It's very simple. You have different form controls here. They each are going to demonstrate for us what ngAria will do just out of the box. What you see below each control is a JSON object representing the control's attributes. Here, we have an ng-model vm.input. This input has a class and so on and down the line here. As I said, Aria consists of a number of attributes added to these form controls to help those using assistive devices. ngAria will add these for us automatically. All that you need to do to use ngAria is be sure to include the module via script tag or however else, and then you need to declare it as a dependency. You just ngAria here in your module declaration, and boom. You have ngAria fully loaded in your app, and you don't have to do anything else. Here, we've added a couple of attributes. Now, we have a tabindex and an aria-invalid is false. Here, we have the same on a Textarea, but we also have a multiline. For Radio, we have aria-checked. Here, it's false, so we can toggle between those two. The tabindex is also getting updated automatically for us. Checkbox also has an aria-checked, and then Range has a couple extras. We have aria-valuemin and valuemax. As I move it, you'll see another one, valuenow. Hide and Show. We're hiding and showing this input here, and these attributes represent that input. You can see that aria-hidden is getting changed, and this is using an ng-show. Here, Invalid. This is of type email. If I type an invalid email, you can see aria-invalid is now true. The screen reader can indicate to the user that this field isn't valid. This field is required, as you see here. We'll say, "Hello." Now, aria-required is false, and invalid is false. If I take that away, then those go back to true. Then we have Disabled here. We've disabled that button. It adds the disabled for HTML just in general, but it also adds an aria-disabled true as well. That's the basic gist. Just to illustrate one other thing that ngAria gives you, it provides a new provider called "$aria." In your function config, in your config function, you can inject $ariaProvider. With this, you can enable and disable some specifics of these tags here. We can just say, "$ariaProvider.config," pass it an object, and then whatever you want to enable or disable, it's CamelCased with that dash being the camel. ariaInvalid is false. Now, it won't put invalid on any of our fields. We could do the same for required. We'll go down here. ariaRequired is no longer there. The one that's a little bit interesting is on the Range, we have the aria-valuemin and max and valuenow. For this one, it's just ariaValue, and it will disable all three of those for you there. Now, we don't have that. That's basically all ngAria. These are the things that are supported, and this will just throw those in for you automatically, which is really nice. I want to note that this is not a replacement for actually thinking about accessibility in your application. This just helps with some of the more common things that you definitely need to do, but there's a lot more that's involved with making your web application more accessible. I'd encourage you to look into that, but that's ngAria. Just go ahead and stick it as a dependency, and you really don't need to do anything else. It should be very helpful for your applications and for users with disabilities. | High | [
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1. Introduction {#sec1-ijms-19-01439} =============== The supercoiling level of DNA is important for vital cellular processes including transcription, replication, and recombination \[[@B1-ijms-19-01439],[@B2-ijms-19-01439],[@B3-ijms-19-01439]\]. The maintenance of DNA supercoiling levels in bacteria relies largely on the negative supercoiling action of DNA gyrase and the relaxation action of DNA topoisomerase I \[[@B4-ijms-19-01439],[@B5-ijms-19-01439]\]. Hypernegative DNA supercoiling has been demonstrated to result in RNA/DNA hybrids (R-loop) formation that can affect both transcription elongation and replication, and consequently lead to genomic instability in bacteria \[[@B6-ijms-19-01439],[@B7-ijms-19-01439],[@B8-ijms-19-01439]\]. Type IA DNA topoisomerase I is a ubiquitous enzyme present in every bacterium \[[@B9-ijms-19-01439],[@B10-ijms-19-01439]\] and is responsible for removing transcription-driven negative DNA supercoiling and suppression of R-loops during transcription elongation \[[@B11-ijms-19-01439],[@B12-ijms-19-01439],[@B13-ijms-19-01439],[@B14-ijms-19-01439]\]. In addition, topoisomerase I function is required for rapid transcription of stress response genes and cellular viability following stress challenges including heat shock, acid, and oxidative stresses \[[@B15-ijms-19-01439],[@B16-ijms-19-01439],[@B17-ijms-19-01439],[@B18-ijms-19-01439],[@B19-ijms-19-01439]\]. *Escherichia coli* topoisomerase I, encoded by *topA*, relaxes negative DNA supercoiling by transiently cleaving the G-strand of underwound duplex DNA, transferring the T-strand and rejoining the G-strand \[[@B20-ijms-19-01439]\]. In earlier work, we have demonstrated that the catalytic activity of *E. coli* topoisomerase I is modulated by the posttranslational modification of lysine acetylation--deacetylation, and the protective effect from excessive acetylation by deacetylase CobB has a global impact on DNA supercoiling and cell growth \[[@B21-ijms-19-01439]\]. Previous proteomics studies have shown multiple lysine residues of *E. coli* topoisomerase I to be acetylated under various growth conditions \[[@B22-ijms-19-01439],[@B23-ijms-19-01439],[@B24-ijms-19-01439],[@B25-ijms-19-01439]\] when cell lysates were analyzed. Most acetylated lysine residues are located on solvent exposed positions, suggesting the potential impact of lysine acetylation on topoisomerase I interactions with chromosomal DNA and with other proteins, or potentially on interactions between topoisomerase I subdomains. Hence, the elucidation of the mechanism of topoisomerase I regulation by lysine acetylation--deacetylation is of significance. Deacetylase CobB, which interacts directly with topoisomerase I \[[@B21-ijms-19-01439],[@B26-ijms-19-01439]\], can reverse both enzymatic and nonenzymatic lysine acetylation \[[@B27-ijms-19-01439]\]. Acetyl phosphate has been suggested to be a critical determinant of lysine acetylation in *E. coli* \[[@B24-ijms-19-01439]\]. Here, we demonstrated that in vitro nonenzymatic lysine acetylation of topoisomerase I by acetyl phosphate affects the binding and cleavage of single-stranded DNA by *E. coli* topoisomerase I. We chose the concentration of 5 mM acetyl phosphate because a previous study has suggested that the intracellular concentration of acetyl phosphate can be as high as 4.5 mM for *E. coli* \[[@B28-ijms-19-01439]\]. Bottom-up proteomics using tryptic digest of topoisomerase I modified by acetyl phosphate treatment allowed the observation of the acetylated lysine residues. The acetylation positions in the tryptic peptides were confirmed using tandem mass spectrometry. We identified Lys13 as a new acetylated lysine site. This residue has been shown in a previous site-directed mutagenesis study to be required for single-stranded DNA cleavage by *E. coli* topoisomerase I \[[@B29-ijms-19-01439]\]. Acetylation of the positively charged side chain at this and other lysine residues in topoisomerase I is expected to collectively suppress the binding and cleavage of single-stranded DNA by topoisomerase I and reduce the enzyme relaxation activity. 2. Results {#sec2-ijms-19-01439} ========== 2.1. Reduction of Topoisomerase I Relaxation Activity Following Nonenzymatic Acetylation {#sec2dot1-ijms-19-01439} ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In a previous study \[[@B21-ijms-19-01439]\], we showed that in vitro acetyl-phosphate-mediated nonenzymatic lysine acetylation reduced the catalytic activity of topoisomerase I. Incubation of 5 mM acetyl phosphate with recombinant topoisomerase I increased the topoisomerase I lysine acetylation level observed by Western blotting with antibodies against acetyl lysine ([Figure 1](#ijms-19-01439-f001){ref-type="fig"}A). A greater than fourfold reduction in topoisomerase I catalytic activity can be observed by relaxation assay with the negatively supercoiled DNA substrate ([Figure 1](#ijms-19-01439-f001){ref-type="fig"}B). We have previously reported an approximately eightfold reduction in topoisomerase I relaxation activity following treatment with 5 mM acetyl phosphate \[[@B21-ijms-19-01439]\]. We hypothesized that acetylation on lysine residues reduced topoisomerase I catalytic activity via affecting specific steps in the catalytic cycle. 2.2. Decreased DNA Cleavage by Acetylated Topoisomerase I {#sec2dot2-ijms-19-01439} --------------------------------------------------------- The catalytic activity of *E. coli* topoisomerase I requires a number of partial steps: the noncovalent binding of topoisomerase I to the single-stranded region of the DNA substrate, the cleavage of single-stranded DNA, and religation of the cleaved DNA strand after strand passage. To determine whether the cleavage step during the catalytic cycle is affected by acetylation, a single-stranded oligonucleotide DNA labeled with ^32^P at 5′-end was used as the substrate for incubation with 1 pmol, 2 pmol, and 4 pmol of nonacetylated and acetylated topoisomerase I. Acetylated topoisomerase I showed approximately fourfold reduced cleavage activity compared to nonacetylated topoisomerase I ([Figure 2](#ijms-19-01439-f002){ref-type="fig"}). Thus, the reduced cleavage activity of acetylated topoisomerase I could partially account for the reduction in enzyme relaxation activity following acetylation by acetyl phosphate. 2.3. Acetylation of Topoisomerase I Reduced Binding Affinity of the DNA Substrate {#sec2dot3-ijms-19-01439} --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We next investigated whether the topoisomerase I binding affinity for the DNA substrate is affected by acetylation using the gel shift assay. ^32^P-labeled oligonucleotide substrate was incubated with increasing amounts of either nonacetylated or acetylated topoisomerase I. Our result showed that acetylation by acetyl phosphate reduced the noncovalent binding of DNA to topoisomerase I ([Figure 3](#ijms-19-01439-f003){ref-type="fig"}). The effect of acetylation on DNA binding by topoisomerase I at the different protein:DNA ratios averaged to be \~2-fold decrease from 3 replicates of the gel shift assay ([Figure 3](#ijms-19-01439-f003){ref-type="fig"}B). Therefore, the reduction in topoisomerase I relaxation and DNA cleavage activity cannot be attributed singly to decreased level of noncovalent enzyme--DNA complex formed at the start of the catalytic cycle. 2.4. Identification of Lysines in Topoisomerase I Modified by Nonenzymatic Acetylation {#sec2dot4-ijms-19-01439} -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Collision-induced dissociation quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (CID, Q-TOF-MS) analysis of the tryptic digest of acetylated topoisomerase I detected 60 unique tryptic peptides ([Table S1](#app1-ijms-19-01439){ref-type="app"}) for a sequence coverage of 58.6%, of which 4 peptides were determined to contain acetylated lysines using tandem MS analysis (ALVIVESPAK(Ac)AK, SSVGHIRDLPTSGSAAK(Ac)K, K(Ac)YLPESPNQYASK, and FSEASLVKELEK(Ac)R) at positions Lys13, Lys45, Lys346, and Lys488 ([Figure 4](#ijms-19-01439-f004){ref-type="fig"}). The detected acetylated peptides were assigned MaxQuant scores \>30 (MaxQuant evidence can be found in [Table S2](#app1-ijms-19-01439){ref-type="app"}). In addition, the integrated areas of the extracted ion chromatograms (EIC) suggest that the abundance for the peptides containing positions Lys45 and Lys346 are lower than the abundance of the peptides containing positions Lys13 and Lys488 ([Figure 5](#ijms-19-01439-f005){ref-type="fig"}). Thus, the scores of assignment for positions 45 and 346 are reported at 31 and 33, respectively, whereas for positions Lys13 and Lys488, the scores of assignment are 75 and 68, respectively. In terms of the probability of acetylation site assignment, positions Lys13, Lys45, and Lys346 have probabilities values of 1, whereas position Lys488 in the peptide FSEASLVKELEKR has a probability value of 0.9, while the other potential acetylation site at Lys484 has a probability value of 0.09 within the same observed peptide. Thus, MaxQuant analysis locates the acetylation at position Lys488. For experimental control purposes, bottom-up proteomic analysis of the nonacetylated topoisomerase I detected 34 unique tryptic peptides for a sequence coverage of 43.7%, without detecting any acetylated peptide. 3. Discussion {#sec3-ijms-19-01439} ============= In this study, we investigated the biochemical basis for the reduction of *E. coli* topoisomerase I relaxation activity following nonenzymatic lysine acetylation by acetyl phosphate. It has been shown that in *E. coli*, nonenzymatic acetyl-phosphate-dependent lysine acetylation is a major mechanism for this posttranslational modification of cellular proteins \[[@B24-ijms-19-01439],[@B30-ijms-19-01439]\]. The positive charge on the lysine side chains are expected to contribute to DNA binding by electrostatic interaction with the negatively charged DNA phosphates. We found that noncovalent binding of DNA by topoisomerase I was decreased about twofold by lysine acetylation. The reduction of noncovalent DNA binding from acetylation would lead to reduced relaxation activity because of noncovalent binding of the DNA substrate is the first step for the relaxation of supercoiled DNA by topoisomerase I. However, the effect of acetyl phosphate treatment on DNA cleavage and DNA relaxation is greater than the effect observed on noncovalent DNA binding. This suggests that there may be additional effects from lysine acetylation on the catalytic steps following initial DNA binding. We did not assay the DNA religation activity of the acetylated topoisomerase I because of the low level of DNA cleavage product obtained. We identified four positions of acetyl phosphate mediated lysine acetylation by bottom-up proteomics. Furthermore, data analysis of the mass spectrometry results indicates that for the acetylated topoisomerase I peptides, the abundances of the peptides containing acetylated lysines at positions Lys13 and Lys488 are higher than those containing acetylation at positions Lys45 and Lys346. Lys45 is located in a disordered region near the bottom of subdomain D4 that cannot be observed in the available topoisomerase I crystal structures \[[@B31-ijms-19-01439],[@B32-ijms-19-01439],[@B33-ijms-19-01439]\]. Lys346 is a surface-exposed lysine in subdomain D3 ([Figure 6](#ijms-19-01439-f006){ref-type="fig"}). Lys488 is located at the interface between subdomains D3 and D4 near the entrance to the interior hole of the topoisomerase I structure. It may be involved in the interaction with the passing strand of DNA during the relaxation of supercoiled DNA by topoisomerase I or the conformational change required to allow access of the passing strand into the interior hole. In this work, we report the acetylation of *E. coli* topoisomerase at position Lys13 for the first time. Other reports on whole proteome analysis of *E. coli* lysine acetylation have not observed the acetylation of Lys13 probably due to gaps in the sequence coverage obtained during mass spectrometry analysis using trypsin to conduct the enzymatic digest of the whole proteome. A previous study has shown by site-directed mutagenesis that mutation of Lys13 to either alanine or arginine \[[@B29-ijms-19-01439]\] greatly reduced the DNA relaxation and cleavage activity of *E. coli* topoisomerase I. The alanine substitution removes the positive charge from the Lys13 side chain similar to loss of positive charge from acetylation. The arginine substitution maintains the positive charge of the side chain, but the bulkier size of the arginine side chain may account for the previously observed unfavorable noncovalent binding to DNA \[[@B29-ijms-19-01439]\]. Acetylation of *E. coli* topoisomerase I Lys13 in vivo could result in immediate decrease of its relaxation activity unless the acetylation modification is reversed by the action of the deacetylase CobB. The potential regulation of topoisomerase I activity and DNA supercoiling by the acetylation stoichiometry of Lys13 under different growth conditions should be further examined in future studies by quantitative mass spectrometry analysis designed to provide the maximum coverage of topoisomerase I. There may be additional lysine residues on topoisomerase I that become acetylated following treatment with acetyl phosphate that were not found in the tryptic digest proteomics. We expect the inhibitory effects from acetylation of each lysine residue to be accumulative. Therefore, even though an individual lysine may only be acetylated in a relatively small percentage of the topoisomerase I polypeptides, a significant portion of the topoisomerase I polypeptides may have multiple lysine acetylation modifications, resulting in reduction of the overall topoisomerase I relaxation activity. We would try to increase coverage of mass spectrometry analysis in further studies of topoisomerase I modification by lysine acetylation in order to identify additional lysine acetylation sites that may be relevant for the catalytic activity. Site-directed mutagenesis involving changes in two and more lysine residues at a time would provide more insights into the biochemical consequence of acetyl phosphate modification of topoisomerase I. It has been shown that while lysine acetylation by acetyl phosphate occurs at a low level in *E. coli*, the nonenzymatic lysine acetylation can still be a critical determinant of for bacterial protein acetylation \[[@B24-ijms-19-01439]\] that might change dynamically in response to changes in metabolism and growth conditions. Proteins that interact with nucleic acids are often rich in lysine residues. Previous studies have shown that nonenzymatic acetylation occurs at other DNA binding proteins of bacteria. For instance, acetyl phosphate driven acetylation at Lys154 of the *E. coli* transcription regulator RcsB inhibits its function \[[@B34-ijms-19-01439]\], and the acetylation can be reversed by CobB deacetylase. Other DNA binding proteins found as acetylated proteins in *E. coli cobB* mutant strain include RNA polymerase, IHF, SeqA, Hu, Fis, and DNA gyrase \[[@B27-ijms-19-01439]\]. Although regulation of DNA supercoiling by CobB can potentially be mediated by deacetylation of Hu, Fis, and DNA gyrase, these proteins have not been shown experimentally to interact directly with CobB. In contrast, direct protein--protein interaction between *E. coli* CobB and topoisomerase I has been demonstrated experimentally using proteome microarray, pulldown, and Streptavidin biosensors \[[@B21-ijms-19-01439],[@B26-ijms-19-01439]\]. The potential selective stimulation of topoisomerase I by CobB in vivo is in agreement with the increase in DNA supercoiling observed in the *cobB* mutant, as well as the partial rescue of the slow growth phenotype of the *cobB* mutant by overexpression of recombinant topoisomerase I \[[@B21-ijms-19-01439]\]. 4. Materials and Methods {#sec4-ijms-19-01439} ======================== 4.1. Acetyl Phosphate Treatment of E. coli Topoisomerase I {#sec4dot1-ijms-19-01439} ---------------------------------------------------------- Purified *E. coli* topoisomerase I \[[@B35-ijms-19-01439]\] was incubated at 0.1 μg/μL with 5 mM acetyl phosphate at 37 °C in previously published conditions \[[@B21-ijms-19-01439],[@B36-ijms-19-01439]\] of 150 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0), 10% glycerol, and 10 mM MgCl~2~ for 4 h. The enzyme was either assayed immediately for topoisomerase enzyme activity or mixed with an equal volume of 2XSDS loading buffer for sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Western blot analysis of lysine acetylation was carried out using mouse monoclonal anti-acetyl lysine antibody (Cell Signaling Technology (Danvers, MA, USA)). 4.2. Topoisomerase I Relaxation Activity Assay {#sec4dot2-ijms-19-01439} ---------------------------------------------- To assay the relaxation activity of topoisomerase I, each protein was serially diluted as indicated and incubated with 180 ng of supercoiled pBAD/Thio plasmid DNA in 20 μL reaction (10 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 50 mM NaCl, 0.1 mg/mL gelatin, 6 mM MgCl~2~). After incubation at 37 °C for 30 min, the reaction was stopped by addition of 4 μL stop solution (50 mM Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, 50% glycerol, 0.5% (*v*/*v*) bromophenol blue). The plasmid DNA was electrophoresed in 1% agarose gel with TAE buffer (40 mM Tris-acetate, pH 8.3, 2 mM EDTA) and visualized with ultraviolet light. 4.3. DNA Cleavage Assay {#sec4dot3-ijms-19-01439} ----------------------- A 59-base oligonucleotide DNA substrate \[[@B37-ijms-19-01439]\] (5′-GCCCTGAAAGATTATGCAATGCGCT↓TTGGGCAAACCAAGAGAGCATAATCTTTCAGGGC-3′, (↓ representing the cleavage site) was labeled with ^32^P at the 5′-end with T4 polynucleotide kinase and used in the cleavage assays. For the cleavage assay, ^32^P-labeled oligonucleotide substrate was added to nonacetylated or acetylated topoisomerase I in 5 µL acetylation reaction buffer along with 10 mM EDTA to favor DNA cleavage over religation. Following incubation at 37 °C for 30 min, the reactions were stopped by addition of 5 µL of stop solution (79% formamide, 0.2M NaOH, 0.04% bromophenol blue). The samples were heated at 95 °C for 5 min and electrophoresed in 15% sequencing gel with 1 X TBE buffer (90 mM Tris-borate, pH 8.0, 2 mM EDTA), followed by analysis with the Pharos FX Plus Phosphorimager (Bio-Rad (Hercules, CA, USA)). The fraction of cleaved oligonucleotide product was quantified by Quantity One 1-D analysis. 4.4. DNA Binding Assay {#sec4dot4-ijms-19-01439} ---------------------- Gel shift assay was used to measure DNA binding. The ^32^P-labeled 59-base oligonucleotide DNA substrate was incubated with nonacetylated and acetylated *E. coli* topoisomerase I in 10 µL reaction (150 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 1 mg/mL BSA, 10% glycerol, 5 mM MgCl~2~, 10 mM EDTA). After incubation at 37 °C for 5 min, the DNA--enzyme complex was separated from the unbound DNA by electrophoresis in 6% native polyacrylamide gel with 0.5× TBE buffer (45 mM Tris-borate, pH 8.0, 1 mM EDTA). The fraction of oligonucleotide bound to the enzyme was determined by analysis with the Pharos FX Plus Phosphorimager. 4.5. In-Gel Tryptic Digestion {#sec4dot5-ijms-19-01439} ----------------------------- Fifteen micrograms of acetylated topoisomerase I and 15 μg of nonacetylated topoisomerase I were electrophoresed in 10% SDS-PAGE gel and visualized by Coomassie blue staining. The sample bands were excised, divided into two parts, and placed in a clean plastic Eppendorf tube prior to in-gel digestion with trypsin. In-gel trypsin digestion was conducted utilizing the Thermo Scientific (Rockford, IL, USA) digestion kit and protocol number 89871. In summary, each gel band was first destained in ammonium bicarbonate in acetonitrile/water. Subsequently, the gel pieces were reduced utilizing a Tris\[2-carboxyethyl\]phosphine (TCEP) reducing buffer and alkylated with iodoacetamide in water. Thereafter, the gel pieces were washed with an ammonium bicarbonate destaining solution twice. Digestion was then conducted by first shrinking the gel pieces with 50 µL of acetonitrile with an incubation time of 15 min at room temperature. The acetonitrile was then removed and the gel pieces were allowed to airdry for 10 min. The gel pieces were then covered with 10 µL of the trypsin solution and incubated at room temperature for 15 min. Finally, 25 µL of the digestion buffer (2 mg/mL ammonium bicarbonate, approx. 25.3 mM) were added to the gel pieces and the samples were incubated for 14 h at 30 °C in a water bath. The supernatant was then separated from the gel pieces and placed in a clean Eppendorf tube. Immediately after, an additional extraction of peptides was performed by adding 10 µL of 1% formic acid to the gel band and allowed to incubate for an additional 10 min. The supernatant was combined with the gel peptide extract and used for mass spectrometry analysis. 4.6. Bottom-Up Proteomics Analysis {#sec4dot6-ijms-19-01439} ---------------------------------- Proteomics analysis of the trypsin digested nonacetylated and acetylated topoisomerase I enzymes was conducted using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. A Bruker Impact HD ESI-QTOF-MS (Billerica, MA, USA) instrument operated coupled to a Prominence LC-20CE Ultra-Fast Liquid Chromatograph (Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan) was used for all the analyses. A Waters XBridge Peptide BEH C18 (300 Å, 5 μm, 4.6 × 250 mm) column protected by a 4.6 × 20 mm guard column was used. Peptides were eluted by a 46 min binary gradient with a mobile phase consisting of 0.1% formic acid in water (mobile phase A) and 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile (mobile phase B) run according to the following timetable: hold 10% B for 5 min diverting to waste; hold 10% B for 2.6 min infusing to the mass spectrometer; ramp to 25% B in 10.6 min; ramp to 30% B in 2.8 min; ramp to 35% B in 6.3 min; ramp to 100% B for 1.7 min; hold 100% B for 4 min then divert to waste; hold 100% B for 2 min; return to 10% B in 5 min; hold 10% B for 6 min for re-equilibration. Flow rate was constant at 0.4 mL/min and oven temperature kept constant at 50 °C. Tandem mass spectrometry data was analyzed utilizing the MaxQuant proteomics analysis suite applying a false discovery rate (FDR) of 1% and a minimum score for modified peptides of 30, and MS/MS searches were conducted applying a 0.5 Da tolerance. For the digest search parameters, trypsin/p was utilized as the digest enzyme allowing up to six missed cleavages. For variable modifications, oxidation of methionine (M) and acetylation of the protein N-term and lysine (K) residues were applied as search parameters, whereas carbamidomethylation of cysteine (C) was applied as the sole fixed modification. In addition, the integrated areas for the extracted ion chromatograms were calculated utilizing Bruker Daltonics Data Analysis version 5.1 with a tolerance of ±0.005 Da for the following masses: 634.3846, 783.8936, 789.4303, and 926.9974 for the ions containing Lys13, Lys346, Lys488, and Lys45, respectively. Finally, the area integration was conducted with an intensity threshold of 1000 and a sensitivity of 99% for all aforementioned masses. 5. Conclusions {#sec5-ijms-19-01439} ============== Nonenzymatic lysine acetylation mediated by acetyl phosphate has been shown to reduce *E. coli* topoisomerase I relaxation activity. Here, we demonstrated the biochemical basis for this activity reduction. Noneyzmatic lysine acetylation reduced the DNA binding and DNA cleavage of topoisomerase I, with greater effect on the latter. We identified Lys13 as new lysine acetylation site in addition to Lys45, Lys346, and Lys488 which have been reported previously. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health under grant R01 GM054226 (to Y.-C.T.-D.) and the National Science Foundation Division of Chemistry, under CAREER award CHE-1654274, with co-funding from the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (to F.F.-L.). Supplementary materials can be found at <http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/19/5/1439/s1>. ###### Click here for additional data file. F.F.-L. and Y.-C.T.-D. conceived and designed the experiments; Q.Z. and M.E.G.H. performed the experiments; Q.Z., M.E.G.H. and Y.-C.T.-D. analyzed the data; Q.Z., M.E.G.H., F.F.-L. and Y.-C.T.-D. wrote the paper. The authors declare no conflict of interest. Topo I Topoisomerase I TCEP Tris\[2-carboxyethyl\]phosphine MS Mass Spectrometry EIC Extracted Ion Chromatograms Q-TOF Quadrupole Time of Flight CID Collision Induced Dissociation {#ijms-19-01439-f001} {#ijms-19-01439-f002} {#ijms-19-01439-f003} {#ijms-19-01439-f004} {#ijms-19-01439-f005} {#ijms-19-01439-f006} | High | [
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The two identified their signatures on panchnama documents and also submitted that a policeman at the ATS office had shown them six sealed bottles that had samples of body parts of Sohrabuddin Three witnesses were examined on Monday by the prosecution in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh alleged fake encounter case and two of them were declared hostile, taking the count of hostile witnesses to 30 in the case. The two men were made panch witnesses by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad on November 26, 2005 in Ahmedabad. On Monday, the two identified their signatures on panchnama documents and also submitted that a policeman at the ATS office had shown them six sealed bottles that had samples of body parts of Sohrabuddin. The prosecutor, however, declared them hostile when they denied having met Mukesh Parmar, the then ATS deputy superintendent of police at the ATS office, who is now an accused in the case. In their statements to CBI on April 9, 2010, the men had said they were going to a Hanuman temple on November 26, 2005, a day after Sohrabuddin’s alleged fake encounter killing, when they were stopped by two policemen who took them to the ATS office. They were told they could help police by becoming panch witnesses. In their 2010 statement, the two men had claimed they were introduced to Parmar, who had instructed them that the samples included the viscera of Sohrabuddin, that it was being seized for further investigation and he had asked the two to become panch witnesses. The statement also claims that the panchnama was drawn in Parmar’s cabin by another person in civil clothes. In their statements recorded by the Gujarat CID in 2007, however, they had not stated anything about Parmar. “I did not meet Dy SP Parmar in the office of ATS. It is not true that we were introduced. It is not true that he is at present sitting in court and I know him. Jaanta hi nahi toh kaise pechaan sakta hoon (I do not know him, then how can I recognise him?),” one of the two witnesses said in court. The other witness who turned hostile also said that while he may have been told that there was a “bade sahab (senior officer)”, he was not introduced to anyone. The third witness was also a panch witness pertaining to weapons seized from Rajasthan police allegedly used in the encounter of Sohrabuddin. The witness said he had gone to the police bhavan in April 2007 as a panch witness. The witness identified two pistols and a revolver. While the witness had said in his statement only three firearms were seized, the sealed packets opened in court also had bullets and cartridges. | Mid | [
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Firearms stores in the separatist-held city of Donetsk in east Ukraine stand empty, the guns that once lined the shelves now sold out or stolen at gunpoint. "In a time of war, everyone wants a weapon. There are just none left to sell or even give away," said manager Alexander Lutsevich in the wood-paneled office of his downtown store. The ousting of local authorities in east Ukraine by pro-Russian rebels, and a flood of weapons into the region, have led to a breakdown in law and order that further complicates Kyiv's efforts to reassert control. The rebels, who oppose the pro-Western authorities in Kyiv, count on the local population for support but some residents and local businesses are angry that the power vacuum is allowing criminals to thrive. German wholesaler Metro became the biggest victim in May when rioters broke into the store and looted it after fighting around a nearby airport. Pictures were posted on the Internet of people wheeling goods away on shopping carts and stories spread that looters had emptied the store's liquor section in a matter of hours. Metro spokeswoman Olesya Olenytska said security concerns had prevented the company assessing damage at the store, which has been closed since May 26. The leadership of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), which describes its armed uprising in terms of democracy and self-determination, is aware of the dangers of being associated with lawlessness in parts of the region. The rebels' regional prime minister, Aleksander Borodai, has threatened to punish people who brought stolen goods from Metro to DNR headquarters as well as those extorting money from people and businesses in the name of the self-styled republic. "In some residential areas of the Donetsk People's Republic, there are various gangs that are using the symbol of the DNR and my name to extort a 'tax' from individuals and businesses," he told reporters. "In fact, they haven't even the slightest thing to do with the DNR." Days after the Metro incident, a group of heavily armed fighters arrived at rebel headquarters in Donetsk to clear the building of looters and stolen goods. Ukraine's Interior Ministry has halted deliveries of commercial firearms to Donetsk, where the rebels have stripped police of their weapons. Deliveries have likewise been stopped to the neighboring rebellious region of Luhansk. Lutsevich's Kyiv-based company, IBIS, had sent its rifles and handguns back to company stockpiles. "We had to do it so the temptation didn't arise to come in and take them by force," he said. Another weapons store owner, who declined to give his name, said he was held up at gunpoint by rebels asking for weapons in the name of their cause. "I managed to hide the valuable guns but had to give away the rest," he said. Power vacuum The separatists rose up in east Ukraine in April following the overthrow of a president in Kyiv who was sympathetic to Moscow and after Russia's annexation of the Crimea peninsula. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is pressing ahead with a military campaign against the rebels after a ceasefire intended to give peace talks a chance expired. Outside the city of Donetsk, people in rural areas have lived in grinding poverty for decades - a motive for some to take up arms against Kyiv - but some fear crime now threatens to rob them of what little they have. Manning a separatist checkpoint outside his hometown of Druzhkovka, former firefighter Stanislav, 52, rattles off a litany of lawlessness in recent weeks: a pharmacy robbed, a gas station held up, water pipes stolen. "In times like these, criminals start coming out of the woodwork. We need someone to look out for security, some kind of order," he said. In sleepy Druzhkovka, people say the new self-proclaimed leadership has brought with it the threat of increased crime, even though crime had long been a problem. "These people, they're not just militants. Lots of people have got their hands on weapons and they act like they can do whatever they want," said Sarhan Avdev, a migrant from Azerbaijan working in a cobbler's store, as he hammered nails into a pair of women's sandals. Inside a Unicredit bank branch, a woman who gave her name only as Tatyana said the violence had made it more difficult to restock cash machines, leaving long queues outside banks. "If there is no authority, no one to answer to, people try to take advantage of the situation, steal, loot," she said standing next to a cash machine covered with a sheet of paper that read "No Money". Criminal past Donetsk has long had a reputation as a haven for criminals, especially in the first few years after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, when organized crime was rampant and rival gangs fought for power and influence. Donetsk province had more registered crimes than any other area of Ukraine, some 48,500 in 2012. It also had more people involved in organized crime than any other region and the murder rate far outstripped the rest of the country, according to the Ukrainian statistics office. Slaviansk, a flashpoint for violence, was on one of the biggest drug-trafficking routes, said Albert Nikiforov, a former Donetsk police officer in charge of cracking organized crime. The extreme wealth that came with the drug trade allowed crime bosses in eastern Ukraine to travel the globe in the 1990s buying up property and opening Swiss bank accounts, he said. That was until Viktor Yanukovych, who ruled the region as governor from 1997 to 2002 and later became president, imposed order on the crime world, finding a delicate balance between business and political interests. Nikiforov said recent violence had upset the balance, "Organized crime has been thrown into disarray by the events and all that's left are common criminals and looters." The separatists accuse law enforcement officials of corruption and turning a blind eye to crime. One rebel commander who calls himself Vostok (East) has, like other leaders, disarmed the local police. He set up joint night patrols grouping officers in uniform and fighters who wander the streets in camouflage fatigues carrying assault rifles. Sitting in his spartan office, a portrait of Soviet-era secret police chief Felix Dzerzhinsky gazing from the wall, Vostok said crime had dropped in the city since he took command. But he added "People have lost the understanding of what is permissible and what is not ... Some can't fight the temptation to take what is not theirs while they believe there is a lack of authority in the city." | Low | [
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The High Cost of Illegal Immigration in America | Oct 2016 “BRENTWOOD, N.Y. — Four dead teenagers. Two weeks. One town. And a ruthless gang, the authorities say, was most likely responsible for the toll. Again. On Sept. 13, Nisa Mickens, 15, and her best friend, Kayla Cuevas, 16, were murdered, their battered bodies found near an elementary school here. A week later and just two miles away, the skeletal remains of two more teenagers — identified as Oscar Acosta, 19, and Miguel Garcia-Moran, 15 — were found in the woods near a psychiatric hospital. Oscar had been missing since May, Miguel since February. Their deaths have been ruled homicides. Brentwood, a hardscrabble town of nearly 60,000 on Long Island, 40 miles east of Manhattan, has reached another crisis point. For nearly two decades, MS-13, a gang with roots in Los Angeles and El Salvador, has been terrorizing the town, the authorities say, especially its young people. Since 2009, its members have been accused of at least 14 murders, court and police records show. School officials are scrambling. Police officers are searching. Students are frightened. Parents are anguished. The authorities say the gang has been in Suffolk County since around 1998, and is organized in cliques bearing names like the Brentwood Locos Salvatruchas. Leaders gather to discuss their lines of business — extortion, prostitution, robbery, drug dealing — and to authorize the killings of chavalas, or members of rival gangs like the Bloods and the Crips, court papers say. In 2009, a 15-year-old boy, Christopher Hamilton, was fatally shot in the head after an MS-13 crew in search of chavalas opened fire with rifles and handguns on a house party on American Boulevard here.” Bombshell: Over 1,000 Illegal Voters in Eight Virginia Localities “More than 1,000 aliens, or residents who are not U.S. citizens, have been free to vote illegally in Virginia. The bombshell disclosure was made in a report released by the Virginia Voters Alliance based on findings from the Public Interest Legal Foundation. The 1,046 Virginia voters may just be the tip of the iceberg, as it’s only the number found in eight Virginia localities, the report reads. The report found that the most illegal votes were cast in 2012, followed by 2008, the year President Obama was elected to his first term. In both years, Obama won Virginia. The disclosure is a major problem for Virginia and the nation. One thousand votes or so is enough to swing a close election in the state. In 2013, the Democratic candidate for attorney general won by fewer than 1,000 votes. It’s also not inconceivable that a presidential race could come down to 1,000 votes or less, as happened in Florida in 2000. Like Florida, Virginia is considered a swing state. The Virginia Voters Alliance looked into the issue first with Alexandria, Virginia. The alliance noticed that the northern Virginia city had more people registered to vote than eligible voters who lived there.” Open Borders Rap Sheet: 30+ Crimes by Immigrant Suspects in September Alone – Breitbart “Breitbart News has compiled a list of criminal incidents across the nation from the month of September, 2016, all of which relate to the United States’ immigration crisis. In the month of September alone, a Turkish immigrant allegedly shot and killed five people in a Washington State mall;an Afghan immigrant allegedly planted bombs in New York and New Jersey injuring roughly 30 innocent people; a Somali immigrant allegedly stabbed nine people at a Minnesota mall; a twice-arrested illegal alien with a prior DUI conviction allegedly murdered a Kansas sheriff’s deputy; an illegal alien and convicted child rapist allegedly shot two California corrections officers; an illegal alien with a prior drug arrest, who had been a recipient of Obama’s executive amnesty, allegedly engaged in reckless driving killing a 12-year-old girl; a three-time deported illegal alien allegedly killed two people on what was described as a crime “rampage;” and a Mexican immigrant and Arizona pastor was arrested after it was revealed that he had allegedly molested children for years, many of whom are believed to belong to his church, and for impregnating one of his victims when she was 13 years old. At the same time, a Department of Homeland Security audit revealed that over 1,800 foreign nationals who were slated to be deported were instead awarded U.S. citizenship.” | Low | [
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Em 2014, cientistas descobriram um asteroide que viaja pelo Sistema Solar "na contramão", isto é, em sentido contrário ao da maioria dos outros asteroides e de todos os planetas que giram em torno do Sol. Agora, um novo estudo publicado por cientistas do Brasil e da França sugere que o asteroide "do contra" é também um "imigrante" de outro sistema planetário, que veio parar no Sistema Solar depois de ser capturado pelo campo gravitacional de Júpiter. +++ Nasa lança nesta terça missão para medir ciclo da água na Terra +++ Leia Também Órbita da Terra já acumula 7,5 mil toneladas de sucata Com base em uma simulação computacional, o estudo foi publicado nesta segunda-feira, 21, na revista científica Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. A pesquisa foi realizada por Helena Morais, da Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp) em Rio Claro e por Fathi Namouni, do Observatório de Côte d'Azur, em Nice (França). “Nós já havíamos construído uma teoria que explica o movimento desse asteroide. E, em 2017, publicamos um artigo a respeito na revista Nature. Para tentar compreender a origem do objeto, fizemos depois simulações em larga escala, que resultaram no novo artigo", disse Helena. De acordo com a pesquisadora, o asteroide com trajetória retrógrada teria sido atraído para o campo gravitacional de Júpiter no final da época de formação dos planetas. Batizado de 2015 BZ509, mas também conhecido pelos astrônomos como Bee-Zed, o asteroide tem cerca de 3 quilômetros de diâmetro e dá uma volta completa em torno do Sol a cada 12 anos - o mesmo período da órbita de Júpiter, mas em sentido oposto. Segundo os cientistas, foi preciso fazer uma simulação computacional em larga escala porque a interação gravitacional com os planetas traz um componente caótico aos movimentos orbitais. Com isso, uma diferença muito pequena nas iniciais pode resultar em discrepâncias enormes depois de bilhões de anos. "Para superar esses problemas, tivemos que fazer um estudo estatístico muito pesado, simulando um milhão de órbitas. Estudos nessa escala nunca haviam sido feito antes. Geralmente, as simulações consideram, no máximo, mil possibilidades", explicou Helena. Com as simulações - que levaram em conta não apenas a influência da gravidade dos planetas do Sistema Solar, mas também o efeito gravitacional de toda a galáxia -, os pesquisadores conseguiram reconstruir a trajetória do asteroide há 4,5 bilhões de anos, quando os planetas estavam terminando de se formar. O estudo mostrou que a órbita se manteve estável desde então. Turistas e imigrantes. No fim de 2017, cientistas identificaram pela primeira vez na órbita do Sol um asteroide extrassolar, isto é, um "visitante" que teve origem em outro sistema planetário. Batizado de Oumuamua, esse asteroide cruza o Sistema Solar periodicamente. Mas o 2015 BZ509, ao que tudo indica, é um "imigrante" permanente. Segundo Helena, o Oumuamua não se instalou permanentemente na órbita solar porque sua velocidade é tão alta que a atração do Sol foi suficiente apenas para curvar sua trajetória, tornando sua órbita um pouco mais hiperbólica. "Precisaria ter vindo com menos velocidade para que a trajetória se tornasse elíptica e fosse assim capturado pelo Sistema Solar”, afirmou a cientista. Estima-se que dos mais de 726 mil asteroides conhecidos até hoje, apenas 82 sejam retrógrados, isto é, circulem na "contramão" do Sistema Solar. O Bee-Zed, porém, é considerado incomum por causa da estabilidade de sua órbita, que permanece a mesma há bilhões de anos. | High | [
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Penny stared at her blank SysBook. It was totally dead. It wouldn’t even turn on. This was not happening, not after all she went through to customize this rig. Over the next few hours, she disassembled it and checked every inch of circuitry and wire. Nothing seemed blown, broken, or even frayed. While she admitted to herself that the crash was a direct result of accessing classified files, she discounted it for two reasons. One, the files on the Cassandra project were fifty years old, and two, she never heard of a way to one-shot an intruding system remotely, not without giving her some kind of warning. Hour four passed and the frustration had really started to set in. “Lt. Penelope Ayala.” A voice said from the doorway. “What!” She snapped as she whirled toward the door. Three MP’s were standing there. “Oh.” * * * * The pirate crew of the Constellation class ship called the Phoenix slept. Nesser was supposed to be flying but, based on the snores that reverberated from the helm, his drink had gotten the better of him. Before turning in, they handcuffed Cal Mason to the wall between the cockpit and the forward docking collars. He started to memorize storage bays, where tools were kept, anything that could come in handy if this situation turns sour. Currently, he was on the lookout for anything that could double as a lockpick. A beeping from the helm pulled Cal away from his search. Nesser snored through it. Finally, Cal heard the door that led to the cargo hold and quarters open. Sasha walked up to the helm and shut off the alert. Trunk followed. “Get him the hell out of here.” Sasha said. Trunk yanked Nesser out of the pilot seat and Sasha took his place. “What the hell, man?” Nesser slurred before Trunk dumped him onto the floor by Cal. “Stay down.” Trunk put a foot on Nesser’s chest and pointed, “When we touch down, we pay you off and you’re gone. Got it?” “We’re getting close.” Sasha said. Trunk nodded. Then they both looked at Cal. “Get up.” Trunk said. Cal stood. Trunk unlocked the cuffs from the wall then re-cuffed his hands together while Sasha dug a pistol out of her locker and charged it. She pulled Cal into the back of the ship where the cargo was being stored. He saw the familiar outline of P52 stowed in the floor among the stacks of cargo. Cal had flown a smaller variant of the short-range fighter back when he was at the Home. That one was a starter ship, a kid’s model, but to him, it was escape. Over the years, he got to know that baby inside out. Cal caught a glimpse of Mahony, the ship’s mechanic, watching from the sleeping quarters. Sasha stopped at a stack of crates. She opened a hidden panel and punched a code. A door popped open with a hiss. All of the separate cargo crates were in fact one big empty smuggling container. Sasha motioned inside with the pistol. Cal scoped it out before he stepped inside. She followed and Trunk sealed it. This container was recently used to smuggle people. There was already a stool and an empty bucket that had an odor about it. Unfortunately for Cal, he was on the bucket side of the container. “Grab a seat.” Sasha said with a smirk. Cal flipped the bucket with his foot and sat down. Sasha sat across from him, the pistol leveled at him. “Won’t your crew need you?” Cal said as he sank down on the bucket. “I think they can handle it. Besides, if Customs catches me on a scan…” Sasha sighed, “let’s just say, it’ll be problematic.” “Maybe the criminal lifestyle doesn’t agree with you.” “Oh no. It suits me fine. Besides, give it a month or two and they’ll forget. You guys always do.” “Come on. Always looking over your shoulder? Not knowing who to trust? That’s no way to live.” “Right, because living and dying at the whim of UEE overlords is really the way to go.” “It’s an honest life.” Cal said without hesitation. Sasha stared at him for a second before chuckling. “Well, as someone who’s seen the receiving end of UEE bombs on Cathcart, you can call it a life if you want but don’t you dare call it honest.” * * * * A horde of ships coalesced into the roughest semblance of a line at the border to the Banu Protectorate. UEE Customs performed a thorough examination before granting access to the jump-point. AutoTurrets and Drones covered every inch of the distance between the checkpoint and the jump-point to prevent runners. The line of ships, most of them traders and haulers, inched forward. The Phoenix slowly drifted toward the jump-point. Trunk was at the controls. Nesser paced around behind him and gnawed on his fingernails. Finally it was their turn. The Phoenix glided toward the checkpoint. A Customs Agent appeared over the Comms. Trunk uploaded the tags. The ship’s body hummed as scanners moved across it. * * * * Back in the container, Cal and Sasha glared at each other. They both looked up when they heard the scanners. Sasha looked back at Cal first. “Look, once we get through, we’re going to make a decision about what to do with you.” She said quickly, “The majority is leaning towards the airlock.” “I see.” “But you have a choice.” she hesitated for a moment, “Come with us.” “What?” Cal didn’t see that one coming. “You saw Nesser, he’s on the outs. We could use someone like you.” Her emerald eyes almost glowed, despite the dimmed light. “Without the rules and orders, life’s wild, unpredictable, passionate. And who knows, maybe you’ll like it. If not, earn your keep for a couple months and you can go back.” “You’re asking me to abandon my friends, my ship, my duty, to save my own life?” Cal actually looked like he was considering it. “If it keeps you out of the airlock, sure.” Sasha shrugged and grinned, “It’s not like they’d ever have to know.” “I’d know.” Cal looked her in the eye, any hint that he considered this proposition utterly vanished. “And that’s enough.” The scanning stopped. They heard the engines kick in. There was that familiar lurch of the stomach of passing through the jump-point. Cal and Sasha returned back to their respective glares. After several minutes, the compartment door hissed and opened. Trunk was there. Sasha pushed past him. Trunk pulled Cal to his feet and brought him back into the cargo hold. Sasha stowed her pistol back at her bunk. Trunk held Cal firm and looked to her. “What’s the verdict?” He said. Sasha was quiet for a moment or two. She looked back at Cal. 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The Trump administration has proposed a radical plan to open nearly all U.S. coasts to oil and gas drilling. This plan threatens marine life, coastal communities, and our climate. Here’s what you can do to fight back. Type in your state, coastal governor, senator, or representative to find out where they stand on Trump's reckless offshore drilling scheme. | Mid | [
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What is wrong with all my friends I know that I am unlike them Just another situation Don't hold me back I don't look up to them They always act so dirty They keep themselves so clean Why can't they find the answers to The questions that are right in front of me I'm so high I'm never low I hold the sky and I'm never letting go You filled my cup I'm good to go So shake me up I'm ready to roll Go - Never letting go No one's ever listening The lines I've crossed somewhere between My head is spinning like a top I don't know when this shit is going to stop They always act so dirty They keep themselves real clean Why can't they find the answers to The questions that are right in front of me I'm telling you these people are not my friends< I'm so high I'm never low I hold the sky and I'm never letting go You filled my cup I'm good to go So shake me up I'm ready to roll Go - Never letting go 11 Comments General CommentFriends who are not really "friends". It makes you feel alone and abandoned. Your "friends" aren't helping you make things better, aren't answering the questions that need to be answered, and you're just "another situation" they need to deal with. You're confused and don't know when this "shit is going to stop" and nobody is ever listening to you. That's why he's telling you "these people are not my friends". I can definitely relate to this song. I feel like that a lot of the times. General Commenti agree with oznifferic but i also think that hes sorta embarrased to be with his friends and hes only really friends with them cuz he always has been and its sorta rutine and now hes starting to realize that he doesnt really know them or even like them anymore... and aallppiinnee keep you fuckin opinions to yourself no one likes you fag General Commentokay, dfunno why i'm doing this cause i don't mind puddle of mudd, but... aallppiinnee is not a fag, and if you're using the term fag to mean gay there's nothing wrong with gay people. anyhow, everyone is entitled to their opinoin. freedom of speech and all that bullshit General CommentI think the song is about drug use, and his friends critizing his drug use, while being hypocritical. They act dirty, meaning they use drugs also, but they keep themselves so clean -- as in, they keep their reputations clean, so they can still be judgemental. "I'll hold the sky" or "in the sky" is often a drug reference. General CommentInteresting thought, Foxfulness. I never thought of it that way. My take on it is like the others'.Though I think, despite it also being that he's with his "friends" just because he always has been, it's also because he really has nowhere else to go. And also, I think it's more him stuck with them rather than vice versa, because of the first line: "What is wrong with all my friends I know that I am unlike them Just another situation Don't hold me back I don't look up to them..." I think the lyrics here are wrong. He says that he doesn't look up to them, because of their actions or whatever it is that they do, and he's saying "don't hold me back, I don't look up to them" as a way to say that they're just holding him back, keeping him from doing the things that he wants to be doing. | Mid | [
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Carlton Day Reed Jr. Carlton Day Reed Jr. (August 11, 1930 - December 8, 2012) was an American politician from Maine. A Democrat, Reed served one term in the Maine House of Representatives (1958-1960) and 4 terms in the Maine Senate (1962-1970). He was born in Bath, Maine and a lifelong resident of Woolwich, Maine. Reed studied until 8th grade in a one-room schoolhouse in Woolwich. He graduated from Morse High School in Bath before attending Colby College. He graduated from Colby in 1953. Following the 1964 defeat of the Republican Party and Barry Goldwater, control of the Maine Senate went to the Democratic Party for the first time since 1911. Reed was elected President of the Maine Senate. Two years later, the Republican Party regained control of the Maine Senate and Reed and his fellow Democrats were relegated to opposition. In 1966, Reed sought the Democratic nomination for governor, losing to Kenneth M. Curtis. Following re-election to his 4th term in 1968, Reed was elected Minority Leader of the Maine Senate. References Category:1930 births Category:2012 deaths Category:People from Woolwich, Maine Category:Colby College alumni Category:Maine Democrats Category:Members of the Maine House of Representatives Category:Presidents of the Maine Senate Category:Minority Leaders of the Maine Senate | High | [
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Category Archives: Medicine The population of Europe has become increasingly more ethnically diverse with an estimated 55% of residents in urban London originating from non-White British backgrounds. Studies investigating populations of various ethnic backgrounds have found the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, … Continue reading → The increased occurrence of both adult and juvenile overweight and obese individuals, termed the “obesity epidemic” in the US and other developed nations, has been accompanied by attendant increases in cardiovascular disease. The consequences of the Western diet on systemic … Continue reading → From Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology As medical devices gain the same kind of pervasive network and Internet connectivity that permeates the rest of our world today, patient care has never been better. The interconnectedness of implantable, wearable and, … Continue reading → For pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes, intensified insulin therapy, with either multiple daily injections or insulin pump therapy, is currently the only method of treatment. To optimize this therapy, insulin analogues are fixed parts of all therapy regimens. Analogue … Continue reading → In 2018, open access journals at SAGE began experimenting with a new style of blog post, to aid authors in reaching new audiences with their research. These new blog posts allow the author to summarise one or more of the … Continue reading → Article title: Quantifying performance of a diagnostic test as the expected information for discrimination: Relation to the C-statistic From Statistical Methods in Medical Research We are entering a new era of “precision medicine” where prevention and treatment is based on tests that … Continue reading → From British Journal of Visual Impairment Audio Description for film and television is a pre-recorded track that uses verbal descriptions to provide information on visual aspects of a film or TV programme. In the UK, it is currently the only … Continue reading → Article title: Risk Factors for Continued Opioid Use in Conservative Versus Surgical Management of Low Back Pain Originating From the Sacroiliac Joint From Global Spine Journal Lower back pain is the most common reason for opioid prescription in the United … Continue reading → Special Section Guest Editor: Urs Maurer and Catherine McBride From International Journal of Behavioral Development This special section is devoted to the topic “Neuroscience and Literacy Acquisition.” It presents some of the most up-to-date thinking in the area of reading … Continue reading → From Chronic Stress Depression is a major public health crisis and can be caused by many different factors, including stress. Though healthy in small amounts, chronic and unpredictable stress can lead to problems with thoughts and feelings. Prolonged difficulty with … Continue reading → From Brain and Neuroscience Advances We reveal patterns of circadian variations in our collective emotions from the analysis of 800M anonymous microposts collected on Twitter across the United Kingdom. We use methods of Fourier analysis and statistical analysis to investigate periodic … Continue reading → | Mid | [
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A system and method for monitoring beverage dispensing from a container. Independently obtained data from a pour event and ring up are matched using a recipe database. The method involves receiving ring up data for a transaction of the beverage dispensing, determining one or more beverage brands from...http://www.google.cl/patents/US7768396?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7768396 - Monitoring beverage dispensing using pour event data and ring up data A system and method for monitoring beverage dispensing from a container. Independently obtained data from a pour event and ring up are matched using a recipe database. The method involves receiving ring up data for a transaction of the beverage dispensing, determining one or more beverage brands from a selected drink recipe using the ring up data and matching the ring up data with at least one of a plurality of pour event data entries using the determined one or more beverage brands, wherein each of the plurality of pour event data entries is obtained independently of the ring up data. Images(22) Claims(19) 1. A method for monitoring beverage dispensing from a container comprising: receiving ring up data for a transaction entered into a point-of-sale device, the ring up data comprises a drink alias; looking up the drink alias in a recipe database to determine one or more beverage brands for the ring up data; and matching the ring up data with at least one of a plurality of pour event data entries received from a tilt sensor attached to the container, each of the pour event data entries comprises a beverage brand, using at least one of the one or more determined beverage brands, wherein said tilt sensor is not in direct contact with the beverage in said container. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing a time window based on the ring up data and including in the time window a selected group of the plurality of pour event data entries. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the ring up data is matched to the at least one of the plurality of pour event data entries in the selected group. 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining an associated volume for each of the one or more beverage brands from the recipe database using the ring up data; and matching the ring up data with at least one of a plurality of pour event data entries using the associated volume. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one of a plurality of pour event data entries has a volume that closely approximates the associated volume of the drink recipe. 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining each of the plurality of pour event data entries using a sensor attached to the container from which the beverage is dispensed, wherein the sensor is attached to the container's neck but does not obstruct the flow of the beverage. 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving each of the plurality of pour event data entries after the beverage is dispensed. 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising matching the ring up data to a number of the plurality of pour event data entries, wherein the number corresponds to the one or more beverage brands from the selected drink recipe. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the ring up data is matched to a composite pour, the composite pour comprising two or more pour event data entries, wherein one of the two or more pour event data entries has a volume that is less than a short pour size. 10. A method for monitoring beverage dispensing from a container comprising: identifying two or more pour event data entries received from a tilt sensor attached to the container and the tilt sensor not in direct contact with the beverage in said container, the two or more pour event data entries (i) each have a same beverage brand; (ii) each occur within a time window based on a first ring up data entry; and (iii) where one of the two or more pour event data entries has a volume that is less than a short pour size, wherein the short pour size has a volume set by a drink recipe; creating a composite pour by adding the volumes of the two or more identified pour event data entries; and matching the composite pour with a second ring up data entry. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first ring up data entry and the second ring up data entry are associated with different beverage brands. 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the matching of the composite pour further comprises: determining one or more beverage brands and associated volume for each of the one or more beverage brands from a selected drink recipe using the second ring up data; and matching the second ring up data with the composite pour using the determined one or more beverage brands and the associated volume. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the composite pour has a volume that closely approximates the associated volume of the selected drink recipe. 14. The method of claim 10, wherein each of the two or more pour event data entries is obtained independently of the first ring up data entry and the second ring up data entry. 15. A method of monitoring beverage dispensing from a container comprising: receiving a number of pour event data entries, each pour event data entry being received from a tilt sensor attached to the container and the tilt sensor not in direct contact with the beverage in said container from a tilt sensor; determining for a selected time window that a number of ring up data entries that is greater than the number of pour event data entries, wherein the ring up data entries and pour event data entries have a same beverage brand; combining volumes of all of the pour event data entries in the time window having the same beverage brand; creating two or more split pours by dividing the combined volume based on the number of ring up data entries, wherein each of the two or more split pours have a same volume and the same beverage brand; and matching each of the two or more split pours to each of the ring up data entries. 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising determining one or more beverage brands and associated volume amount for each of the one or more beverage brands from a selected drink recipe using one of the two or more ring up data entries. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the volume of all of the pour event data entries are combined when one of the pour event data entries has a volume that exceeds the associated volume. 18. The method of claim 15, wherein each of the pour event data entries is obtained independently of the two or more ring up data entries. 19. The method of claim 15, wherein the number of the two or more split pours equals the number of the two or more ring up data entries. Description CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional App. No. 60/850,261, filed on Oct. 10, 2006, the entire disclosure and contents of the above application is incorporated by reference. This application is also a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/990,544, entitled “Service Transaction Monitoring System, Method and Device,” filed on Nov. 18, 2004, which is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/243,545, entitled “Service Transaction Monitoring System, Method and Device,” filed on Sep. 16, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,196,624, which is a continuation of U.S. App No. 09/733,719, entitled “Service Transaction Monitoring System, Method and Device,” filed on Dec. 8, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,504,481, which claims the priority of U.S. Provisional App. No. 60/169,918, filed on Dec. 10, 1999. The entire disclosure and contents of the above applications are hereby incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to monitoring inventory and more specifically to matching pour event data that is independently obtained with ring up data to monitoring beverage dispensing. 2. Related Art Establishments, such as restaurants, bars, nightclubs, lounges, hotels, etc., lose a significant amount of revenue due to pilferage at the point of sale, pilferage of bottles from the bar and storage areas and dispensing of drinks to “buddies.” In addition revenue loss is also attributable to manual and error-prone methods of establishing and keeping metrics. Critical metrics such as pouring cost, pour accuracy and inventory values are calculated as infrequently as once a month, or manually on “inventory” day. The task of counting and measuring beverage inventory and calculating pouring costs is time consuming and open to intentional and unintentional errors. Technical solutions exist that address some of the described problems. For instance multiple serving bottles can be fitted with a control or counting device in the neck of the bottle, or drinks can be dispensed through a gun or other electro/mechanical device. Other solutions include measuring the amount poured prior to serving, or weighing bottles after each serving or at the end of a shift or week. These solutions are typically used in airports and casinos where customer satisfaction takes second place to controls. Further these controlled-pour solutions require cleaning between uses. Existing systems and methods have a negative impact on customers and on the bar aesthetic, and are therefore rejected by the vast majority of establishments. Thus, most establishments, such as casual and fine dining, choose to suffer pilferage and inefficiencies that are endemic to the industry, rather than aggravate their customers with controlled or measured pours and devices that disturb the ambiance and aesthetic of the point of sale. SUMMARY According to a first broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for monitoring beverage dispensing from a container comprising: receiving ring up data for a transaction of the beverage dispensing; determining one or more beverage brands from a selected drink recipe using the ring up data; and matching the ring up data with at least one of a plurality of pour event data entries using the determined one or more beverage brands, wherein each of the plurality of pour event data entries is obtained independently of the ring up data. According to a second broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for monitoring beverage dispensing from a container comprising: identifying two or more pour event data entries each having a same beverage brand that occur within a time window and one of the two or more pour event data entries has a volume that is less than a short pour size, wherein the time window is based on a first ring up data entry; creating a composite pour from the two or more identified pour event data entries; and matching the composite pour with a second ring up data entry. According to a third broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of monitoring beverage dispensing from a container comprising: determining that the number of two or more ring up data entries for a same beverage brand exceeds the number of pour event data entries for the same beverage brand in a time window based on at least one of the two or more ring up data entries; combining volumes of all of the pour event data entries in the time window having the same beverage brand; creating two or more pours from the combined volume, each of the two or more split pours have a same volume; and matching each of the two or more split pours to each of the two or more ring up data entries. According to a fourth broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for monitoring beverage dispensing from a container comprising: receiving ring up data for a transaction of the beverage dispensing; determining one or more beverage brands and associated volume for each of the one or more beverage brands from a selected drink recipe using the ring up data; and matching the ring up data with at least one of a plurality of pour event data entries using the determined one or more beverage brands and the associated volume, wherein each of the plurality of pour event data entries is obtained independently of the ring up data. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a matching system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIGS. 2A and 2B are an exploded view of a sensor device and holder used with embodiments of the present invention; FIGS. 3A-3F are various views of an omega-sensor device used with embodiments of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an overview process in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a matching sub-process flowchart for rail brands in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a matching sub-process flowchart for modifiers in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a matching process flowchart in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; FIG. 8 is a matching sub-process flowchart for short pours in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; FIG. 9 is a matching sub-process flowchart for long pours in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; FIGS. 10A1, 10A2, 10B1, 10B2, 10C1, and 10C2 are a flow chart showing the sub-steps of point of sale (POS) matching in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; and FIGS. 11, 12, 13, and 14 are representative display screens used during the matching processes in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention provides an automated system and process for matching data received from a pour event with data received ring up. The pour event and ring up are independent of each other, but both occur to complete a transaction of providing a drink serving to a customer. The ring up data is associated with entering the transaction, while the pour event data is associated with the act of dispensing a beverage. A successful match links the pour event data with the ring up data, and the linked data may be used for real time inventory monitoring. In some embodiments a successful match may link the data of one or more pour events with the data of one ring up, when, for example, the ring up is for a drink recipe that uses several ingredients. A unsuccessful match indicates an error condition that flags the data and generates an alert. These flagged error conditions are used also for real time inventory monitoring. Such systems and processes of the present invention enhance an establishment's ability to accurately and reliably monitor inventory in real time. In addition, embodied systems and processes of the present invention do not require the establishment to significantly modify its business practices or procedures and thereby do not distract from the ambiance. Embodiments of the present invention are particularly suited to drink recipes containing alcoholic beverages. However, the embodiments are not limited to alcoholic beverages and may be used with other beverages having a high cost per volume ratio. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary matching system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. System 100 comprises a recipe database 102, sensor device 104, point-of-sale (POS) system 106 and matching handler 108. System 100 may be arranged in an establishment, such as a restaurant, bar, nightclub, lounge, hotel, etc. In some embodiments, recipe database 102 and matching handler 108 may be located at different locations, such as a off-site administrative or processing office, than the establishment where the sensor device 104 and POS system are used. In addition, the number of components used with system 100 is configurable and expandable. Recipe database 102 comprises a plurality of master drinks 110 that each specify one or more beverage families 112 and an associated volume 114. Master drinks 110 are standard recipes of various drink servings that are provided to customers. For each master drink 110 one or more drink recipes 116 are specified. Drink recipes 116 include one or more ingredients, each ingredient including a beverage brand 116 in the associated volume 114 specified by master drink 110. Beverage brands 118 are specific brands, i.e. trademarked beverages, of the generic beverage family 112. Drink recipes 116 are configurable depending on the specified beverage brand 118 used for beverage family 112. Beverage families 112 and beverage brands 118 are provided to POS system 106. Optionally, each drink recipe 116 has a drink alias 120 that is provided to POS system 106. Master drinks 110 and drink recipes 116 may be included in a series of lookup tables. Recipe database 102 is configurable such that the number of beverage families/brands may be adjusted, as well as the associated volume. Drink recipes 116 may include additional ingredients not specified by master drink 110. For those additional ingredients, an associated volume is created for the drink recipe. In addition, while most drink recipes 116 are based on master drinks 110, an establishment may create a specialty drink serving having a drink recipe 116 not specified by master drinks 110. In some embodiments, master drinks 110 may be stored in a recipe database 102 at a central location which communicates with recipe databases 102 at one or more establishments. Such establishments may each have different drink recipes 116 stored on their recipe databases 102. Drink recipes 116 may also include a designation that the beverage brand 116 is a rail brand. Rail brand designation indicates that different beverage brands may be used interchangeably in the drink recipe 116. Typically the rail brands will be associated with the same beverage family, such as all beverage brands for rum, all beverage brands for vodka, etc. In some embodiments rail brands may be group according to price, such that lower priced alternatives may be used for drink recipes 116 having a rail brand designation. Sensor device 104 is attached to the inventory, i.e. beverage containers 122. Sensor 104 stores information regarding the beverage family and beverage brand of the container 122 to which sensor device 104 is attached. Sensor device 104 monitors each pour event of container 122 and transmits the measured information, time of pour event, including the beverage family and beverage brand, to match handler 108 as pour event data. Pour event data may also include other information such as sensor identification, operator identification, duration of pour event, cost of the beverage in the container, location of pour event, volume of beverage poured, calculated volume, etc. Sensor device 104 may also monitor when the container is switched, when container is damaged, or the location of the container. In one embodiment of the present invention the pour event data is sent through a wireless communication link to match handler 108. In other embodiments, pour event data may be received by one or more data receivers prior to being transmitted to match handler 108. POS system 106 is used to record, i.e. ring up, the transaction associated with the beverage dispensing. An operator, i.e. bartender, waiter, manager, etc., may select a beverage family 112, beverage brand 118, or optional drink alias 120 from a drink list 124 that corresponds to the pour event. In some embodiments, a sub-list 126 may be used that contains the most frequency types of transactions and the associated drink alias 118. The sub-list 126 may be configured by a operator. The selected items from drink list 124, or sub-list 126, along with data such as the time of the transaction, the location of the POS system 106, POS identification, operator identification, cost, volume, etc., comprises ring up data. POS system 106 transmits the ring up data to match handler 108. Match handler 108 records and enters the received ring up data and the received pour event data. Using match settings 130, match handler 108 links each ring up data entry to one or more pour event data entries. In various embodiments, matching occurs automatically at a configurable interval, or matching occurs upon the request of the operator. Once a match is made, the ring up data entry is linked with the corresponding one or more matched pour event data entries. The linked data may be recorded in an inventory database 132. When no match is made, the error condition may be reported on an alert system 134. The unmatched ring up entry may be recorded in inventory database 132. In addition, any of the pour event data entries that are not matched after checking against the ring up entries may also be recorded in inventory database 132. Inventory database 132 is updated in real time so that the operator may accurately and reliably discern the amount of inventory being used and accounted for in the establishment. In one embodiment, recipe database 102 may be stored on a hard disk drive or optical disk of a computer and matching handler 108 may comprise software running on the computer. The computer may have an I/O port or network port for communicating with POS system 106 and sensor device 104. In one embodiment, the computer operates at the establishment where the pour event and ring up occurs, while in other embodiment the computer is operating at a remote office. When operating at a remote office, a Web server may be used to send data from the establishment to the remote office. Sensors device 104 used with embodiments of the present invention may be contactless sensors such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,504,481, 7,196,624, 7,202,780, and 7,265,673, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 60/850,261 and 60/854,117, the entire contents and disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Other types of sensor devices may include valve control sensors, which regulate the flow of the beverage through a valve port. The sensor device may also be integrated with free pour devices, such as Posi-Pour™ I, II, and 2000 and Liquor Saver 2000 by Magnuson Industries, Inc. Such free pour devices may use a ball bearing valve to regulate portions dispensed by a bottle. The sensor device may also be integrated with monitoring systems such as the scale system and jigger described in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/428,448, filed on Jul. 3, 2006, the entire contents and disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. In a first embodiment of the present invention, sensor device 104 in FIGS. 2A and 2B comprises a housing 210 and holder 204. Sensor device 104 is in housing 210 and is inserted within holder 204. Holder 204 is attached to container 106. Sensor device 104 includes housing 210, having a cup portion 212 and lid 214, for holding a printed circuit board 216. Lid 214 has an upper surface 218 and a lower surface 219. Cup portion 212 has a surrounding wall 220, upper rim 222, and a substantially planar bottom 224. Wall 220 and bottom 224 form a cavity 225 to receive circuit board 216. On upper rim 222, along the inside circumference of wall 220, there is an inner ledge 226 which is slightly below the plane of upper rim 222. Lower surface 219 of lid 214 rests upon inner ledge 226 when assembled. On bottom 224 there are posts 228, and projections 229. Two posts 228 are positioned approximately in the center of bottom 224 for aligning circuit board 216. Posts 228 may extend and contact lid 214 to support lid 214 and to prevent lid 214 from contacting circuit board 216. Projections 229 are positioned along wall 220 for supporting circuit board 216. In some embodiments of the present invention, projections 229 have a smaller height than posts 228. Printed circuit board 216 has an upper surface 230 directed towards lid 214 and a lower surface 231 that contacts projections 229. Circuit board 216 has apertures 232 which align with posts 228 and have a sufficient diameter to fit around posts 228. In some embodiments, upper surface 230 and lower surface 231 do not directly contact lid 214 or bottom 224, which may provide space for placing of components upon printed circuit board 216. The components may be placed on either upper surface 230 or lower surface 231, or both. In one exemplary embodiment, the following components are placed on upper surface 230, by soldering or other suitable techniques. Such components may include microcontroller 234, radio transmitter 236, radio antenna 238, magnetic sensing or Hall effect switch 240, mercury tilt switch 242, battery 244, battery holder 246, pull-up resistors 248 and 250, bypass capacitors 252, 254, and 256, and oscillator 258. Microcontroller 234 has a unique identifier, which may include numbers or letters. While, these components are exemplary, printed circuit board 216 may also hold additional components, such as memory or storage devices and may have any type of circuit layout suitable the shape of housing 210. For example, in lieu of radio transmitter 238, an infrared or other type of wireless transmitter could be used, and, in lieu of magnetic sensing switch 242, a mechanical switch could be used. FIG. 2A also shows sensor device 104 attached to the underside 260 of container 122 using holder 204. In some embodiments, holder 204 may have a substantially similar shape of sensor device 104 and may be slightly larger. Holder 204 includes magnet 270, magnet cavity 272, top portion 274, side portion 276, and flap portions 278. Top portion 274 is a thin, planar portion having upper surface 280 and lower surface 281. Side portion 276 is a wall having a slightly larger perimeter than sensor device 104. Flap portions 278 are generally rectangular in shape and are cut out of top portion 272 on three sides such that flap portion 278 are nonremovably, but flexibly, attached to top portion 274 along edge 282. In some embodiments, four flap portions 278 may be used, although a greater or lesser number may also work with other embodiments of the present invention depending on the dispensing container. Magnet 270 fits inside magnet cavity 272 and may be accessible on lower surface 281. Sensor device 104 fits tightly into holder 204 such that when holder 204 is affixed to container 122, sensor device 104 is securely, but removably, attached to dispensing container 122. Thus, sensor device 104 is relatively unobtrusive and may not block or obstruct the flow of the beverage from dispensing container 122. When sensor device 104 is in holder 204, a lid portion 214 of sensor device 104 comes into proximity with lower surface 281 of top portion 274 such that magnetic sensing switch 240 comes into proximity with a magnet 270 of holder 204. Such an arrangement causes magnetic sensing switch 240 to close. This may be most easily achieved if magnetic sensing switch 240 and magnet 270 are both commonly located upon sensor device 104 and holder 204, respectively. This triggers microcontroller 234 to send data to radio transmitter 236. The data may include a unique identifier for microcontroller 234, the time trigger occurred, duration of tilt and the status of sensor device 104. The status of sensor device 104 is either active or inactive. The status is active if magnetic sensing switch 240 is closed. The status is inactive if magnetic sensing switch 240 is open, when magnet 270 is no longer in proximity with switch 240. Radio transmitter 236 uses radio antenna 238 to send data in a radio frequency, for example a frequency of 219 megahertz, to data receiver (not shown) or computer. Sensor device 104 of the first embodiment of the present invention operates to perform the function of motion monitoring, tilt sensing, data recording and data transmitting. Batteries 244 provide direct voltage to all components of any such circuit. There may be separate ground nets for analog and digital signals which connect only at battery terminals (not shown). A clock of microcontroller 234 may be set by oscillator 258 at an approximate frequency of four megahertz and is connected to oscillator inputs of microcontroller 234 oscillator inputs. Bypass capacitor 252 is connected between the power of microcontroller 234 power and ground to provide current reserves, preferably of 0.1 μF value. Magnetic sensing or Hall effect switch 240 has an output that changes state in the presence of a magnetic field. Output of magnetic sensing switch 240 is fed to an input on microcontroller 234. Power for magnetic sensing switch 240 is provided by an output from microcontroller 234, allowing it to be turned off when not needed to extend the life of battery 244. Bypass capacitor 256, preferably of 0.1 μF value, is connected between the power of magnetic sensing switch 234 power and ground pins. Resistor 250 is a high-value pull-up resistor connected between magnetic sensing switch 240's output and power pins and the output of magnetic sensing switch 240 output is an open-collector. Mercury tilt switch 242 is connected to an input on microcontroller 234. Pull-up resistor 248, which along with mercury tilt switch 242, provides a digital input to microcontroller 234 indicating the state of mercury tilt switch 242. Input of radio transmitter 236 is connected to an output from microcontroller 234. Bypass capacitor 254, preferably of 0.1 μF value, is connected between the power of radio transmitter 236 and ground pins. Antenna 238 is a wireless communication for radio transmitter 236 and is connected to the output of radio transmitter 236. In addition to the position of sensor device 104 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, sensor device 104 may also be constructed to fit around the neck or the side of the dispensing container. Further, when the dispensing container has a tap or a handle that is pulled to release the liquid, the sensor device may be positioned upon the handle as to not obstruct the flow of the beverage. In a second embodiment of the present invention, sensor device 104 has a horseshoe or Omega (Ω) housing shape as shown in FIGS. 3A-3D. The housing shape may allow sensor device 104 to have a tight releasable fit with a variety of differently shaped and sized bottles to which sensor device 104 may be attached. In FIGS. 3A-3D, housing 304 may have a leg 306 that slips over a pour spout or the neck of a bottle (not shown) and leg 306 is inserted into housing 304 to form a loop 308. Leg 306 may operate similar to a lasso so housing 304 may accommodate a variety of different sized bottles. Leg 306 may be flexible to bend or curve around the bottles. Leg 306 may activate the sensor device by toggle a switch 310 such that the leg may not be removed without the switch being activated again. The switch may be activated again when the sensor device determines that the bottle is empty or during an override by a manager or supervisor. As shown in FIGS. 3C and 3D, leg 306 may be inserted into two holes 312 on housing 304 and one or both holes may have toggle switch 310. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B housing 304 and leg 306 are formed in an integrated unibody construction. In FIGS. 3A and 3B there is shown one end 320 of leg 306 may be molded or attached to housing 304 and the free end 322 of leg 306 may be inserted into a hole 324 of housing 304 having the toggle switch 310 therein. Further embodiments may use a tie wrap to secure housing 304 to the bottle. Omega-sensor devices 104 of the second embodiment may have two legs 306 as shown in FIGS. 3E and 3F. An omega-sensor device 300 may have holes, catches, or grooves 330 that are used to allow a tool to be inserted for placement or removal with a tool or tool system. Omega-sensor device 300 may have a switch 332 on the inside portion of one or two of its legs so that when omega-sensor device 300 is pressed onto a bottle switch 332 is activated. In addition, omega-sensor device 300 may have a second switch 334 that can be manually toggled to determine which person is using the bottle. For example, when second switch 334 is off sensor device 300 may indicate employee 1 and when second switch 334 is on sensor device 300 may indicate employee 3. Further, on/off in rapid succession may indicate another employee 3 and so forth. Omega-sensor device 300 may also have a LED 336. Omega-sensor device 104 of the second embodiment may have similar electronic components as the first embodiment for monitoring the tilt of the bottle, recording and storing the data associated with the tilt and transmitting the data to a remote computer or receiver. The omega-sensor device 104 includes a battery which has an operational lifetime of approximately 5 years. The battery, such as a lithium ion or lithium polymer battery, may provide sufficient power of approximately 3.0 volts. In some embodiments the omega-sensor device may use an inductively powered tag/sensor, which does not require a battery, attached to the bottle that is energized by an outside source/receiver (like an RFID tag) and sends its data to the receiver. The inductively powered tag may also be used in combination with a battery that powers other electronic components of the sensor device. Sensor devices of the first and second embodiments may include housings that are made from materials that are impact resistance and water resistance. The housing may have a low profile, aesthetic shape and design which does not infer with the ambiance of the establishment. The sensor device may be stored in temperatures of between −40° C. to 80° C. and have an operation temperature range of −20° C. to 80° C. Sensors device 104 used in the present invention may buffer or store the data to ensure reliable data communication. For example, the sensor device may buffer data using flash memory or similar buffering means for approximately 24 hours after the dispensing event. In other embodiments, in addition to the buffering of the sensor device, the receiver or computer may also buffer data. Sensor devices of the present invention may prevent data loss under a variety of circumstances. Such buffer features of embodiments of the present invention also allow dispensing during catered events which may be held outside of establishments. This allows a caterer to use sensor devices at a wedding or banquet and then send the data stored in the sensor devices once the caterer returns back to the office or establishment. The sensor device may include a transceiver which is able to transmit data and receive communication signals from a computer. The transmission of data may include the location of the sensor device, status of sensor device and any buffered data in sensor device. This allows a user to request that the data be sent at any time from any location. Prior to the transmission of data, the sensor may perform a transmission handshake with the computer to confirm that the data that the communication data is received. Further transmission may hop frequency bands to find a frequency that is not occupied or busy. In some embodiments, the wireless range and reliability may be increased by using a mesh networking. Mesh networking involves each sensor device to receive data from proximate sensor devices and as this network or chain of communications continues along a “path” of sensors the sensor near an internet or computer connected receiver hands over the data from the first or any other or any number of sensors in the network. As the data is handed over from sensor device to sensor device the data unique to each sensor device is linked to its unique number. Thus a sensor device far down the chain may receive data from several sensor devices, e.g. 20 sensor devices, that has been handed from sensor device to sensor device. An advantage of such embodied system is that no Intranet, Internet or computer connection must be directly set up in difficult to install locations and since the mesh networked sensor devices are hermetically sealed and communicate wirelessly through the transmitters and receivers. This increases the portability of the sensor device since the sensor device may be used in multiple diverse locations, i.e. party boats, mountain lodges, sporting events, festivals, outdoor weddings, etc. The sensor devices may further include one or more light emitting diode lights (LEDs) that may perform many functions. The LED may be controlled by the sensor device or wireless through the remote computer or an Internet server. Some of the LEDs may be used when testing the sensor device to ensure that the device is functioning and able to communicate on the wireless RF link. In addition, the LEDs may blink when data from the sensor device is not reconciled with the ring ups on the POS. The LEDs may also blink periodically, such as every hour, to confirm working operation. The LEDs may blink when being attached or removed from the bottle or pouring device. In some embodiments, the LEDs may be programmed to flash or blink in patterns to encourage selling or as part of a promotional/marketing event at the establishment. The sensor devices may calculate the volume of beverage dispensed using the pour rate method described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,504,481, the entire contents and disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. The calculated volume from sensor devices may also be performed by a computer that receives the pour event data. Returning to FIG. 1, suitable POS systems 106 for embodied systems of the present invention include cash registers. In one embodiment, registers allow the operator to enter information regarding the transaction, referred to as ring up data, through entering means, such as keyboard, keypad, touch pad, magnetic swipe card, etc. Suitable register have one or more communication connections for sending and receiving data. Also, the register may have a storage device for recording the ring up data. The register may be a hand held device such as a PDA, cell phone, or other similar electronic devices. Match handler 108 may be implemented as software which operates on a computer such as personal computer, laptop, PDA, cell phone, or other similar electronic device. The computer receives and records pour event data entries and ring up data entries from sensor device 104 and POS system 106, respectively. Additional data may be received from other devices, such as cameras, scales, RFIDs, etc. In one embodiment, the entries are stored on a separated database or location from match handler 108. Every time a beverage transaction is entered, the match handler 108 receives ring up data from the POS system 106. In one embodiment, after each time a container is poured, the match handler 108 receives pour event data from sensor device 104. In other embodiments, after each time a container is titled, the match handler 108 receives pour event data from sensor device 104. It should be understood that an establishment may have one or more sensor devices 104 and POS systems 106. The entries may be stored on a hard disk drive or in memory. When multiple sensor devices 104 or POS systems 106 are used, one computer operating match handler 108 processes and resolves all the ring up entries. The present invention provides an automatic system and method for matching the separate data entries. The data entries come from different sources and are independent of each other. Such matching provides accurate and reliable real time inventory monitoring. This allows establishments to control costs, reduce pilferage, and enhance inventory tracking. The matching occurs without adversely distracting from the ambiance of the establishment. Turning now to the process, the following flowcharts illustrate the process for matching ring up data and pour event data in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. These processes may be implemented as a software program operating on a computer. FIG. 4 provides an overview of an exemplary matching process 400. Match handler continuously enters the received ring up data and pour event data, and to start 402 the match handler loads all the previous unmatched ring up data entries and selects one of the ring up data entries to match. In one embodiment, the match settings instruct the match handler to automatically select the oldest in time unmatched ring up data entry that is loaded. In another embodiment, the match settings instruct the match handler to automatically select the last unmatched ring up data entry that was entered within five minutes. These match settings are configurable and may be modified as necessary. An operator may also command the match handler to select one of the ring up data entries to perform a match process. The selected ring up data 404 is loaded. The selected ring up data 404 may comprise drink alias or the beverage brand entered with the transaction. The process determines whether the ring up data contains a drink alias 406. When a drink alias is present, the process at 408 lookups in recipe database 410 a drink recipe that corresponds to the drink alias. The drink recipe from recipe database 410 indicates the number of ingredients and the beverage brands for each of the ingredients. The ring up data may match several drink recipes, provided that all of the beverage brands associated with the entered drink alias are found in each of the drink recipes. The process at 412 determines if at least one match between the recipe database 410 and ring up data 404 is found, when no match is found, the process flags, at 414, the potential error in the ring up data. The flagged ring up data may be checked at a later time, such as part of an audit or when recipe database 410 is updated. A successful match allows the process to continue 430. Returning to step 406, when a drink alias is not present, the process at 420 lookups the beverage brands entered with ring up data 404 in recipe database 410. Several drink recipes may be found based on the beverage brand. From the several drink recipes, at least one drink recipe is selected at 422. The selection may be made based on the frequency of recipe information used or price of beverage. The process may track previously matched ring up entries to determine the frequently used drink recipes. Frequently used drinks may also be determined by scrapping other environmental data, such as frequent drinks based on holidays, or events, temperature, news, time of day, special promotions, etc., from the establishment. A successful selection of at least one drink recipe allows the process to continue 430. The process may choose several drink recipes having the same beverage brand as the ring up data. When no selection can be made because none of the drink recipes contain the beverage brand, the process flags, at 424, the potential error in the ring up data. The potential error may be as a result of a customer who orders a distinct beverage that does not have recipe. The flagged ring up data may be checked at a later time, such as part of an audit or when recipe database 410 is updated. In step 430, the process loads the each of the beverage brands from the selected drink recipes by pulling the information from the recipe database 410. When using the beverage brands, the volume is not required to be matched. Such embodiments may be used with sensor devices that do not measure of calculate the volume for each pour event. In one embodiment, the process loads both the beverage brands and associated volume, and thus both the beverage brand and associated volume may be matched. The process may determine which match is necessary based on the received pour event data. In addition, other information from the ring up data, such as time, identification of operator, location, etc., may also be loaded depending on the match process settings. Next, in step 432, the process matches one of the drink recipes to pour event data 434. The process determines if a successful match is found 436, and if so, records the match between the ring up data and pour event data 438. When no match can be made, the ring up data 404 is flagged 440. Also, any pour event data 434 not matched may be flagged as well. The process of the embodiments of the present invention may also run a sub-process, or sub-routine, 500 when the drink recipe is designated with a rail brand. The match setting may instruct the match handler to run this sub-process. In FIG. 5 for each drink recipe that is pulled in step 530 of FIG. 5 from the recipe database at 502, the sub-process checks for a rail brand indication in the drink recipe 504. When not present, the sub-process ends 506. When a rail brand indication is present, the sub-process identifies at 508 all beverage brands for the drink recipe. This may include identifying all of the possible beverage brands for a beverage family. During the matching process each of these beverage brands will be used, with the provision that only one of the beverage brands should be linked with the pour event data. A flag is created to indicate the provision for the rail brand matching in 510 and the sub-process ends. The process of the embodiments of the present invention may also run a sub-process, or sub-routine, 600 when the ring up data indicates that the recipe is modified. The match setting may instruct the match handler to run this sub-process. A modification may be made by the operator or at the request of the customer to change a drink recipe. In one embodiment, the modification is entered at the POS system and sent to the match handler with the ring up data. The modification could be an increase in volume or change in the recipe, by either adjusting the ingredients or substituting the beverage brands. In FIG. 6, for each recipe that is pulled from the recipe database 602, the sub-process checks at 604 for a modifier indication in the ring up data. When not present, the sub-process ends 606. When a modifier is present, the process at 608 pulls the modification from the ring up data 610. In step 610, the modification is applied to the drink recipe at 612. A flag at 614 is created for the matching process to use the modified recipe instead of pulling information from the recipe database and the sub-process ends. FIG. 7 is a matching process 700 according to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention. The drink recipe from the recipe database as described above in FIGS. 4-6 is pulled at 702 and loaded by the match handler. When multiple drink recipes are selected, the match handler will pull the information for each of the drink recipes. The drink recipe information includes, for example, the number of ingredients and for each ingredient, the beverage brand and associated volume. In some embodiments only ingredients of a particular type, such as alcoholic beverages, may be included in the information pulled with the drink recipe. A time window is established at 704 based on the time the ring up data 706 was entered in the POS system. The time window refers to a period of time that occurs before and after the time the ring up data was entered. The time window is configurable from 10 seconds to up to about 30 minutes. Also, the time window may be unbalanced, such that the time before and after the ring up is different. One default for match handler is to use a balanced 10-minute window, i.e. 5 minutes before and after the time of the ring up data 706. In some embodiments the match handler optionally creates successively larger time windows when no matches were found. In some embodiments when no match is found, the match handler may run a second process using a different time window. One advantage of using time windows is to limit the data entries that match handler needs to load and process. Time windows take advantage of a general practice that ring up transactions and pour events generally occur in together, even though not always in close succession. The process obtains all the pour event data 708 by loading the data that has a time of pour that occurred within the established time window 710. Each beverage brand, or rail brand if necessary, is checked by match handler to find a pour event data entry having a corresponding beverage brand. The beverage brands for each pour event data entry are checked in the time window, and the system determines if more than one corresponding beverage brand in the pour event data exists 712. When this occurs, the process at 714 determines the time difference between each of the pour event data entries and the ring up data entry. The smallest time different is selected as the pour event that matches the ring up entry in 716. In one embodiment, the process may end the matching process in 720. Returning to 712, when only one beverage brand is found in the time window, then the process returns a match in 720. In another embodiment, such as when the pour event data contains a measured or calculated volume, the process may also match volumes. The match settings instructs the process on whether to match volume, if present, along with the beverage brand. In process 718, the system determines if the selected pour event has a volume that closely approximates the volume of the drink recipe, and a match may be indicated in 720. In one embodiment of the present invention, closely approximation refers to a difference in volume that is less than 30%, and preferably less than 15%, provided that the volume difference does not exceed one ounce. When the volumes do not closely approximate each other, the process optionally may check the pour event with the next smallest time difference in 716 or run a subroutine to determine if a short or long pour has occurred 722. This process is repeated for each of the beverage brands in the drink recipe for the selected ring up data entry. In a second embodiment of the present invention for multiple pour event data entries, closely approximation in 718 refers to one of the pour event data entries that is relatively closest in volume when compared to the other pour event data entries. Such embodiments, may consider both the relative difference in time and the relative difference volume to match the pour event data having the lowest total difference. Match settings instruct match handler on how closely approximate volumes are processed. To summarize the matching of ring up data with pour event data in FIG. 7, the following occurs in one embodiment. Ring up data is matched to a drink recipe. This may be done using the beverage family, beverage brand or drink alias entered at the POS system. The drink recipe specifies the beverage brands and volume. In addition, the time of entering the ring data at the POS system is included with the ring up data and used to establish a time window. All the pour event data entries within this time window are pulled by the match handler to determine if the beverage brand of the pour event data matches the beverage brand of the drink recipe or ring up data. Also, when a volume is associated with the pour event data and the match settings are to match volumes, the match handler determines if the volume from the pour event data closely approximates the volume from the drink recipe. Thus, such embodiments link the ring up data to the pour event data through information in the recipe database. Such linking advantageously allows the ring up data and pour event data to be obtained independently without requiring the operator to manual link the ring up and pour event for each transaction. This independently obtained data speeds the process of the transaction, because no additional steps are needed when the transaction is made. The short pour and long pour sub-process may be used when no adequate match using FIG. 7 can be made in 718. These sub-processes may be used when none of the identified pour events have a volume that is closely approximate to the drink recipe. The short pour sub-process is shown in FIG. 8 and the long pour sub-process is shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the short pour sub-process 800. Short pour sub-process is run for pour event data entries that have less than the volume required by the drink recipe. To begin the short pour sub-process, the selected pour event data entry having the closest approximation in time and volume from FIG. 7 is selected at 802. Next the time window is expanded in 804 by a factor from 1× to 10×, or preferably up to 5×, or preferably up to 3×. In some embodiment the time window is not expanded for the short pour sub-process. Each of the pour event data entries 806 in the expanded time window having a short pour size (SPS) is flagged as a short pour in step 808. SPS is defined for each beverage brand in the drink recipe. The SPS for a drink recipe that uses an ingredient having 1 ounce size may be, for example, 0.3 ounces. Generally, SPS is defaulted at 0.25 ounces for all drink recipes, but may be configured by the operator. Also, SPS may have a lower limit to disregard small pours that indicate a non-pour or error data. The lower limit is configurable and defaults to 0.05 ounces. The selected pour event data entry may be a short pour. In some embodiments, any pour event data entry within the expanded time window, regardless of beverage brand, having a SPS may be flagged as a short pour. This allows, the flagging of all short pours at once which may save processing time when matching other ring up data entries. In 810, when there are no flagged short pours, the sub-process ends at 812. However, when there is more than one short pour flagged, the sub-process determines which short pour(s) should be combined. The short pours may be combined with the selected pour event data entry or other pour event data entries, based on a similarity of beverage brand. In 814, the process identifies the short pour having the smallest time difference with a similar beverage brand for a selected pour event data entry. The short pour and the selected pour event data entry are combined into a composite pour that combines the volume for the similar beverage brands. For short pours that are combined with the selected pour, the volume of the composite pour is checked in 816 to determine if there is a close approximation with the volume from the drink recipe and record the match 818. If not, the sub-process optionally creates a composite pour with the next short pour flagged have the similar beverage brand, if present, with the next smallest time difference. This continues until a composite pour may be formed. If no composite pour is formed, the selected pour event data entry is flagged as a potential error 820. The flagged selected pour event data entry may be later reviewed during an auditing process. For shorts that are combined with other pour event data entries, the volume may be checked when matching that composite pour with a different ring up data entry. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the long pour sub-process 900 from FIG. 7. A long-pour sub-process may be run when the volume of the pour entry data exceeds the volume of the drink recipe. Also, prior to the long-pour sub-process, a short-pour process as described in FIG. 8 may be run to resolve any potential short pours. When a pour event data entry exceeds the volume of the drink recipe, the sub-process determines the number of ring up data entries having the same beverage brand made in the time window 902. The time window may be based on the selected ring up data entry or a combination of ring up data entries within the time window of the selected ring up data entry. When the number of ring up data entries is one or less in 904, the sub-process ends and the pour event data entry is flagged to match the one ring up data entry in 906. Although the volume of the pour event data entry does not closely approximate drink recipe, the two entries are matched and indicated as a potential error. When the number of ring up data entries having the same beverage brands exceeds one, then the sub-process identifies the number of ring up data entries in 908. When, the number of pour event data entries is the same as the number of ring up data entries, then long pour sub-process ends 910. When the total number of ring up data entries exceeds the number of pour event data entries in 908, the total volume of the pour event data entries is combined a representative long pour in 912. One or more additional split pours are created from the representative long pour by dividing the total volume with the number of ring up data entries in 914. The split pours each have the same volume. The number of split pours equal the number of ring up data entries that have the same beverage brand. Next, the sub-process determines if each of the split pours closely approximates the volume of the each of the ring up data entries in 916. When any of the split pours closely approximates the volume of any of the ring up data entries, then a match is made and recorded in 918. If any of the split pours do not closely approximate the volume of any of the ring up data entries, then the split pours and ring up data entries are flagged as an error 920. FIGS. 10A1, 10A2, 10B1, 10B2, 10C1, and 10C2 is a flowchart of a POS matching embodiment of the present invention. In step 5000, a POS reconciliation timer fires. In step 5002, POS system is checked for new ring-ups. In step 5004, it is determined whether there are any ring-ups. If there are no ring-ups, in step 5006, the database is checked for the existence of new dispensing events, also called pours. In step 5008, a determination is made of whether there are new pours. If there are no new pours, then step 5000 is repeated. If, in step 5008, there is a pour, then, in step 5010, a determination is made as to whether the pour falls within the time to match window. The time to match window is a period of time before or after the pour in which the drink should be rung up. The time window is user configurable. If the time period has not expired, then the pour falls within the time to match window and step 5000 is repeated. If, in step 5010, the pour does not fall within the time to match window, i.e., the time period in which the drink should have been rung up has expired, then, in step 5012, the pour is flagged or marked as “unrung.” In step 5014, it is determined whether the work shift has ended. If the work shift has not ended, step 5000 is repeated. If the work shift has ended, then, in step 5016, all pours that were not matched are flagged, and step 5000 is repeated. If, in step 5004, ring-ups exist, then, in step 5018, it is determined whether there is a price look-up number (PLU) in personal computer's database. If there is no PLU in the database, then, in step 5019, the POS ring-up data is discarded and posted to the exceptions report. If, in step 5018, a PLU does exist in the database, then, in step 5020, the drink recipe associated with that PLU is obtained from the database. In step 5022, it is determined whether all the ingredients in the drink recipe have been matched. If all ingredients have been matched, then step 5000 is repeated. If, in step 5022, all ingredients have not been matched, then, in step 5024, it is determined whether there are any unmatched pours in the database. If, in step 5024, there are unmatched pours in the database, then processing continues with step 5032 as shown in FIGS. 10B1 and 10B2. In step 5032, it is determined whether the current pour is of the same brand as the ring-up. If, in step 5032, the current pour is of the same brand as the ring-up, then, in step 5034, it is determined whether the current pour falls within match proximity. Match proximity exists if the time allowed for a drink to be rung up has not expired. In other words, after a pour, there is a set period of time in which the serving person must ring up the drink in POS system. If no ring-up is entered within the set period of time, then a page is sent to serving persons to alert them that a drink has been poured that has not been rung up. If the time period has not expired, then the pour falls under match proximity, and, in step 5036, it is determined whether the pour was a pour of wine or a pour of liquor. This information is contained in the database. If, in step 5036, a wine pour has occurred, then, in step 5038, it is determined whether the volume poured calls for a top-off matching. If the volume of wine poured is less, by a particular configurable amount, than the volume of a full glass of wine, then an additional amount, which is also configurable, of wine from a new bottle was assumed to have been poured to top off the glass. In this case, in step 5040, data from the next succeeding wine pour must be obtained. In step 5042, it is determined whether a successive or next wine pour exists. If a next wine pour exists, and, if the volume of that pour is less than a particular configurable amount, then, in step 5044, it is determined whether the time between the current wine pour and the next wine pour falls within the wine top-off pour match proximity. This is a pre-set time period within which a glass of wine may be topped off with wine from a new bottle. If, in step 5044, the time between the current wine pour and the next wine pour is within this period, then, in step 5046, the next wine pour is flagged as a dispensing event that has already been processed and is merged with the current wine pour and together, matched to the ring-up. If, in step 5044, the time period between the current wine pour and the next wine pour is outside the allowed wine top-off pour match proximity, then processing continues with step 5056 as shown in FIGS. 10C1 and 10C2. In step 5056, the current pour is matched to the POS ring-up. In step 5058, it is determined whether the pour that is being matched was flagged as unrung. If the pour was not flagged as unrung, then processing continues with step 5020 in FIGS. 10A1 and 10A2. If, in step 5058, this pour was flagged as unrung, then, in step 5060, the pour is marked as a match and deleted from the unrung pours screen and the exceptions report. Processing then continues with step 5020 in FIGS. 10A1 and 10A2. If, in step 5042, no next wine pour is located, then processing continues with step 5056. If, in step 5038, the volume of wine poured does not call for a top-off matching, meaning that a full glass of wine was poured, then processing continues with step 5056 on FIGS. 10C1 and 10C2. If, in step 5036, the dispensing event or pour is a liquor pour, then, in step 5048, it is determined whether this is the first pour from a bottle with a newly assigned sensor device. If it is not the first pour, then processing continues with step 5056 on FIGS. 10C1 and 10C2. If, in step 5048, the current pour is the first pour from a bottle with a newly assigned sensor device, then, in step 5050, data from the last pour of the same brand of beverage is obtained from the database. In step 5052, a determination is made as to whether the current pour and the last pour from a bottle of the same brand fall within the liquor top-off match proximity. In other words, if the time period for topping off a glass of liquor has not expired, then the current pour and the last pour fall within the liquor top-off match proximity, and, in step 5054, the current pour is flagged as already matched. Processing then continues with step 5020 on FIGS. 10A1 and 10A2. If, in step 5052, the current pour and the last pour from a bottle of the same brand do not fall within the liquor top-off match proximity, meaning that the time period for topping off a glass of liquor has expired, then processing continues with 5020 in FIGS. 10A1 and 10A2. If, in step 5034, the current pour does not fall within match proximity, then, in step 5035, the serving person is paged. In step 5062, shown in FIGS. 10C1 and 10C2, a determination is made as to whether the current pour still falls within the time to match. If the pour falls within the time to match, then the time period has not expired, and processing continues with step 5020 in FIGS. 10A1 and 10A2. If, in step 5062, the pour does not fall within the time to match, then the time period has expired, and, in step 5064, the pour data is added to an exceptions report. In step 5065, the pour is marked unrung. Processing continues with step 5020 in FIGS. 10A1 and 10A2. If, in step 5032, the current pour is not of the same brand as the ring-up, then, in step 5066, shown in FIGS. 10C1 and 10C2, it is determined whether the “end of shift” matching has been triggered. Triggers for end of shift matching include an end of shift or a period of time in which POS system and/or personal computer has been idle for a configurable period of time. If an end of shift match trigger has not occurred, then processing continues with step 5062. If, in step 5066, an end of shift match trigger has occurred, then, in step 5068, pours of any brand of liquor having a cost within a particular configurable range of the cost of the brand called for in the drink recipe, will be sought. In step 5070, it is determined whether a pour of similar cost exists. If a pour of cost within the set range is located, then, processing continues with step 5056. If, in step 5070, no pour of cost within the set range is located, then, in step 5072, the pour will be flagged as processed but unmatched. Processing will then continue with step 5020 in FIGS. 10A1 and 10A2. If, in step 5024, there are no unmatched pours in the database, then, in step 5026, it is determined whether this drink recipe calls for a small pour ingredient. A small pour ingredient is an ingredient of which a small amount is called for in a drink recipe, such as a splash of a particular beverage. The pour of such an ingredient might not be treated as a valid pour by sensor device and might have been discarded. Thus, in order to account for this ingredient, if, in step 5026, a small pour ingredient is called for by the drink recipe, then, in step 5028, it is determined whether the time required before a pour is automatically created has elapsed. This time is a user configurable period of time, after which system will automatically create a pour for the small ingredient. Thus, if, in step 5028, the time has elapsed, then, in step 5030, a pour for the small ingredient is automatically created. Processing then continues with step 5020. If, in step 5028, the time has not elapsed, then step 5000 is repeated. If, in step 5026, the particular drink recipe did not call for a small pour ingredient, then step 5020 is repeated. Such processes of the present invention may be performed using a human application service provider (HASP) which responds to commands from a user. A HASP allows direct supervision of activities in an establishment on an ad hoc basis. The HASP provides a useful supervising tool to monitoring the behavior of bartenders. Alternatively, such processes of the present invention may use an automated matching service (AMS) which performs the process matching on a schedule. The AMS may have a schedule to perform the process at regular intervals, such as every 1, 2, 3, 5 or 10 minutes or at the end of an hour or day. The schedule may be user-adjusted, but once set the AMS handles the remaining match processes. HASP or AMS may be implemented as software or in a computer. For the purposes of the present application HASP or AMS may be referred to as the system implementing a process of the embodiments of the present invention. The software embodiments of the present invention may include an inventory management system for determining the actual cost of goods depleted based on the inventory value depleted and the POS ring up values. The inventory management system may be at a remote location from the establishment. The inventory management system may generate a purchase order based on the estimated usage relative to the POS ring ups and the monitored depletions. In tracking the usage history, the system may also notify management of any discrepancies that may lead to waste and/or pilferage. Typically, this may result when the system tracks that a liquid has been dispensed using the pour event data but does not locate a corresponding ring up data or payment. This may trigger an alert condition. When a user attempts to dispense without the proper dispensing information or destination information, an alert condition, such as a light or sound will indicate an invalid dispensed serving. A pager that the manager wears may also beep when an invalid serving is attempted or dispensed. The alert condition may be sent a message to a phone or e-mail address. An alert condition may end when a user or another authorized person collects the outstanding payment to satisfy the bill error that started the alert condition. A preferred alert condition is described in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/964,679, entitled “Beverage Dispensing Control System,” filed Sep. 28, 2001, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,504,481, the entire contents and disclosure of which are hereby incorporated by reference. In an embodiment of the present invention a telephone inventory management system may also be used. The telephone inventory management system may use voice recognition to record changes in the inventory. A manager may record the inventory when receiving it or when performing an audit. The telephone may allow the manager to use a cell phone to send the data without the need for a separate piece of electronic equipment. The system may compare the inventory received from the telephone system with the POS information. This may help identify waste/pilferage. The inventory monitoring system of the present invention can also provide real time feedback to the operators. This feedback may come from business intelligence software linked to the inventory database. In one embodiment, the business intelligence software is remote to a plurality of establishments and analyzes the inventory databases associated with each establishment. The business intelligence software may provide recommendations to the operator to sell more of a given beverage brand. For example, the inventory database may indicate that beverage brand X has a high inventory. Beverage brand X may be used a rail brand. The business intelligence software may provide the operator with a recommendation to use beverage brand X for all drink recipes having a rail brand indicator in response to the high inventory. Also, the recommendations may based in combination with environmentally scrapped data. Scrapped data is information of the environment when transactions or pour events are made. This includes information on the outside weather, inside temperature, news events, sporting events, or holidays. The scrapped data may be associated with the ring up and pour event data to find commonalities and trends that may be useful in predicting future sales. The business intelligence software may be used to promote a contest between bartenders. The contest may involve bartenders from several establishments, and ranks the bartenders in terms of sales based on particular beverage brands. The business intelligence software also provides real time feedback to supervisors, such “running low of brand X, get another bottle opened” or “running low of brand X, order more.” Embodiments of the present invention may also calculate employee performance statistics by dividing the profit of an employee by the volume of drinks poured. The volume to profit ratio (VPR) provides a useful tool for the industry to measure performance. Also the ratio could be further refined to calculate the number of drinks sold per liter. Embodiments of the present invention may be used to monitor potential alcohol abuse and alert the operator. Systems may track using the ring up data from the POS system, how much alcohol a customer has consumed. In the POS system, the bartender associates each ring up as made by the bartender by entering the information or scanning a card or code. Also, when entering the ring up the bartender enters the customer information of where the drink is served, i.e. table number and seat position or the bar stool or bar position of the customer. Using a database of alcohol content for each brand, the system can determine how much one person has consumed within a given time period. When an alcohol impairment level has been reached, i.e. too much alcohol has been served, the bartender or manager is warned. The alcohol impairment level may have two levels, such as to indicate when a customer would be over the legal limit for driving while impaired/intoxicated, and over the legal limit for driving under the influence. In some embodiments of the present invention software may link of the serving of alcoholic beverages to customers and designated drivers so as to reduce drunken driving. The system integrates with many establishments throughout an area, such as city or county, so the customer's drinking can be tracked throughout the night. All documents, patents, journal articles and other materials cited in the present application are hereby incorporated by reference. Although the present invention has been fully described in conjunction with the preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims, unless they depart therefrom. EXAMPLES The present invention will now be described by way the following examples that show information that would be displayed by a match handler in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Example 1 The match handler software displays on a screen the information shown in FIG. 11. In this example, the transaction recorded at the POS system indicates the beverage family/brand. There are three different sections: Ring up data entries; Pour event data entries in time window; and Match process information. The ring up data entries include time of transaction at the POS system, identification of operator (Bart. ID), identification of POS system (POS ID), and beverage family/brand. The pour event data entries in time window includes each of the pour event data entries identified by time sensor detect tilt of container, identification of operator (Bart. ID), calculated volume in ounces (Vol.) based on tilt, and beverage family/brand. Match process information has two sections, one for displaying the status and one for displaying the match results. The match results indicate the drink recipes as well as the ingredients for the selected drink recipe. In FIG. 11, the automated system selects the Grey Goose entry made at 09:45:57 at POS terminal 2 by bartender 10. A time window is established based on the time of 5 minutes before and after. Each of the pour event data entries that fall within the time window are displayed. Next, the system identifies one or more drink recipes that use Grey Goose as a beverage brand. The volume indicated by each recipe is checked against the calculated amount from the pour event data entry. Once the volume that closely approximates, i.e. within 30% of the calculated volume, the match handler indicates the selected drink recipe. In FIG. 11, no sub-processes were run to handle rail brands, modifications, short pours or long pours. The system only identified one pour event data entry within the time window and indicates “status” as “match is found.” Even though the pour event data indicates a volume that exceeds the amount in the drink recipe, the system records the match and updates the real time inventory. Thus, an operator would have updated inventory database with the actual amounts instead of relying on the drink recipe. In such an example, when only using the volume of the ring up data or drink recipe, the establishment would not realize the short-fall in the inventory or the extent of the overage/pilferage. Example 2 The match handler software has a similar display as example 1, except that the BART. ID has been filtered out of both the ring up data entries and pour event data entries in FIG. 12. For the selected Schapple Barrel entry made at 08:23:11 there is no corresponding pour event data entry within a time window of 10 minutes before and after the ring up data entry. No recipes are identified and the error status is flagged as “Match not found.” Example 3 Similar to the match handler software display of example 2, the automated process selects Southern Comfort entry made at 03:23:44 in FIG. 13 Using a five-minute time window several pour event data entries are identified. A match between the beverage family/brand from the ring up data and drink recipe is found. The associated volume from the drink recipe closely approximates, i.e. less than 5%, the calculated volume in the only pour event data entry having the same brand. A match is indicated. Also, in the time window, two short pours are identified; 0.25 ounces of Johnnie Walker at 03:25:24 and 0.25 ounces of Bacardi 151 Rum at 03:21:29. Even though the system is matching Southern Comfort, these short pours can be handled during the matching of Southern Comfort. First, the short pour Johnnie Walker is flagged and joined to the closest other Johnnie Walker pour event data entry in the time window. Note that there are two other Johnnie Walker pour event data entries, but the closest one to join was made at 03:26:37. The system creates a composite pour by adding the volume of the entry made at 03:25:24 to the entry made at 03:26:37. The entry made at 03:25:24 is removed from the pour event data entries. In addition, the Bacardi 151 Rum is also flagged as a short pour. However, there are no other pour event entries of the same brand in the time window. The system does not create a composite pour, but the system flags that entry to create a composite pour when matching of other ring up data entries. Example 4 Similar to the match handler software display of example 2, the automated process selects Malibu entry made at 03:23:44 in FIG. 14. In the 5-minute time window, one pour event data entry having the same beverage brand is found at 03:24:41. However, when checking the calculated volume against the volume of the recipe database, the system notes that the volume is exceeded by 100%. The system checks the number of ring ups entries within the 5-minute time window and identifies that one other ring up entry of Malibu exists. The system creates a representative long pour and splits the volume by the number of entries in the ring up database. The number of split pours equal the number of ring up entries. Long pour process is performed by match handler when the number of ring up data entries exceeds the number of pour event data entries. When checking the Johnnie Walker pour event at 03:26:37, the system will not find another pour in the time window with the same beverage brand. Thus, the Johnnie Walker pour event is flagged as an error for an over pour rather than a long pour to be split. Method and apparatus for manual dispensing from discrete vessels with electronic system control and dispensing data generation on each vessel, data transmission by radio or interrogator, and remote data recording | Low | [
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// 在这里写你的事件 package main import ( "fmt" "strings" "github.com/ying32/govcl/vcl" "github.com/ying32/govcl/vcl/rtl" "github.com/ying32/govcl/vcl/types" ) //::private:: type TMainFormFields struct { webView *vcl.TMiniWebview } func (f *TMainForm) OnFormCreate(sender vcl.IObject) { fmt.Println("ok") f.ScreenCenter() f.webView = vcl.NewMiniWebview(f) f.webView.SetParent(f.PnlWebview) f.webView.SetAlign(types.AlClient) // 不知道原因，有些不设置有些反而好些。。。 //SetIEVersion(f.webView) f.webView.SetOnTitleChange(f.OnWebTitleChange) f.webView.SetOnJSExternal(f.OnWebJsExternal) //f.webView.Navigate("https://github.com/ying32/govcl") URL := "file:///" + strings.Replace(rtl.ExtractFilePath(vcl.Application.ExeName()), "\\", "/", -1) + "test.html" f.EdtURL.SetText(URL) f.webView.Navigate(URL) //vcl.Application.SetOnMessage(f.onApplicationMessage) //f.Button3.Click() } //func (f *TMainForm) onApplicationMessage(msg *types.TMsg, handled *bool) { // if msg.Hwnd != f.Handle() { // if msg.Message == messages.WM_KEYDOWN { // fmt.Println("按下", msg.WParam) // f.webView.Perform(msg.Message, msg.WParam, int(msg.LParam)) // *handled = false // // } // } //} func (f *TMainForm) OnBtnGoForwardClick(sender vcl.IObject) { f.webView.GoForward() } func (f *TMainForm) OnBtnGoBackClick(sender vcl.IObject) { f.webView.GoBack() } func (f *TMainForm) OnBtnRefreshClick(sender vcl.IObject) { f.webView.Refresh() } func (f *TMainForm) OnButton1Click(sender vcl.IObject) { if f.EdtURL.Text() == "" { return } f.webView.Navigate(f.EdtURL.Text()) } func (f *TMainForm) OnWebTitleChange(sender vcl.IObject, text string) { f.SetCaption(text + " - ying32") } func (f *TMainForm) OnWebJsExternal(sender vcl.IObject, funcName, args string, retVal *string) { fmt.Println("js call: name:", funcName, ", args:", args) switch funcName { case "testCall": *retVal = "结果" case "runScript": f.webView.ExecuteJS(args) } } func (f *TMainForm) OnButton2Click(sender vcl.IObject) { f.webView.ExecuteJS("alert('执行脚本。');") } func (f *TMainForm) OnButton3Click(sender vcl.IObject) { f.EdtURL.SetText("about:blank") f.webView.LoadHTML(` <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge,chrome=1"> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8"> <title>从字符串加载HTML</title> </head> <body> <p>这是一个从字符串加载的HTML。</p> </body> </html> `) } | Low | [
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Aged Cream Features & Specification Product Features A light cream to grey limestone which is sourced from Tunisia. This tumbled stone has a lightly textured surface and soft aged edges. It can be used in any room in the home and is a practical durable limestone floor. It is frost resistant and can also be used externally. | Low | [
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# -*- coding: utf-8 -*- # # pyhwp : hwp file format parser in python # Copyright (C) 2010-2015 mete0r <[email protected]> # # This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify # it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by # the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or # (at your option) any later version. # # This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, # but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of # MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the # GNU Affero General Public License for more details. # # You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License # along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. # from __future__ import absolute_import from __future__ import print_function from __future__ import unicode_literals from six import with_metaclass from hwp5.binmodel._shared import RecordModelType from hwp5.binmodel._shared import RecordModel from hwp5.tagids import HWPTAG_CTRL_HEADER from hwp5.binmodel.controlchar import CHID control_models = dict() class ControlType(RecordModelType): def __new__(mcs, name, bases, attrs): cls = RecordModelType.__new__(mcs, name, bases, attrs) if 'chid' in attrs: chid = attrs['chid'] assert chid not in control_models control_models[chid] = cls return cls class Control(with_metaclass(ControlType, RecordModel)): ''' 4.2.6. 컨트롤 헤더 ''' tagid = HWPTAG_CTRL_HEADER def attributes(): yield CHID, 'chid' attributes = staticmethod(attributes) extension_types = control_models def get_extension_key(cls, context, model): ''' chid ''' return model['content']['chid'] get_extension_key = classmethod(get_extension_key) | Mid | [
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Bishop, California Bishop (formerly Bishop Creek) is a city in Inyo County, California, United States. Though Bishop is the only incorporated city and the largest populated place in Inyo County, the county seat is located in Independence. Bishop is located near the northern end of the Owens Valley, at an elevation of . The town was named after Bishop Creek, flowing out of the Sierra Nevada; the creek was named after Samuel Addison Bishop, a settler in the Owens Valley. Located near numerous tourist attractions, Bishop is a major resort town; the town is a commercial and residential center, while many vacation destinations in the Sierra Nevada are located nearby. The population of the city was 3,879 at the 2010 census, up from 3,575 at the 2000 census. The population of the built-up zone containing Bishop is much larger, however. More than 14,500 people live in a compact area that includes Bishop, West Bishop, Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, and the Bishop Reservation. It is by far the largest settlement in Inyo County. A number of western films were shot in Bishop, including movies starring John Wayne, Charlton Heston and Joel McCrea. History The Bishop Creek post office operated from 1870 to 1889 and from 1935 to 1938. The first Bishop post office opened in 1889. In order to support the growth aspirations of the City of Los Angeles, water was diverted from the Owens River into the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913. From the 1910s to 1930s, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power purchased much of the valley for water rights and control. The result was substantial change to Owens Valley cultures and environment. The economy of Bishop suffered when farmers sold their land. Jack Foley, a Bishop resident and sound effects specialist, mitigated the economic loss by persuading several Los Angeles studio bosses that the town of Bishop would be ideal as a location to shoot westerns. History and heritage The City of Bishop in Inyo County, California was named for one of the first European settlers in the area, Samuel A. Bishop. Owens Lake was named for Richard Owens, a member of John C. Fremont's 1845 exploration party which included Kit Carson and Ed Kern. Later the entire valley became known as The Owens Valley (see First Settlers below). The Paiute Indians called Owens Lake by the name of "Pacheta" and the Owens River "Wakopee." Geographically, Inyo County is today the second largest county in California with a population of slightly over 18,000 residents. The county is so big that several eastern states put together would fit neatly within its boundaries. Inyo County contains the both the highest and lowest points in the contiguous United States; Mt. Whitney, 14,496 feet above sea level, and Badwater in Death Valley, 282 feet below sea level. A difference of nearly 15,000 feet. The "Inyo" in Inyo County is commonly believed to be a Paiute word meaning "dwelling place of the great spirit," although some scholars are now convinced that it is a mistranslation of the word, "Indio," Spanish for Indian. It is possible that the Paiute were trying to explain to the earliest English speaking settlers in the Owens Valley that this was their land by using a form of "Indio" they had learned from other Indian tribes, who in turn, had learned it from the Spanish or Mexicans, not realizing that not all Europeans spoke the same language. Thus Inyo may actually mean "Indian Land." First American settlers The first American explorers in the Owens Valley of Eastern California included the famous mountain men Jedediah Smith in 1826 and Joseph Walker in 1834. This remote area of California had never been explored by the Spanish and even though it was shown as Mexican territory on early maps, the Eastern Sierra region remained unvisited by them. Present day Walker Lake in western Nevada, the Walker River on the California/Nevada border and Walker Pass in the southern Sierra were named for their discoverer, Joseph Walker. The most renowned early explorer to visit the area was John C. Fremont. He was the first Republican candidate to run for President of the United States in 1856 and later a famous Union Civil War general. Officially sanctioned by the federal government, his 1845 mapping party to the Eastern Sierra included the celebrated Indian scout Kit Carson, for whom the capitol of Nevada, Carson City, was named. Also in the party were Ed Kern for whom Kern County, California was named, and Richard Owens, who gave his name to the Owens Lake near Lone Pine and later the Owens Valley itself. Fremont lost a cannon that he had brought along in case of Indian attacks somewhere near present-day Bridgeport, California (about 80 miles north of Bishop). Perhaps someone will stumble across the rusty old cannon someday. The City of Bishop came into being due to the need for beef in a booming mining camp some eighty miles to the north, Aurora, Nevada, (Aurora was believed to be on the California side of the border at that time and was the county seat of Mono County, California). In 1861 cattlemen drove herds of cattle some three hundred miles from the great San Joaquin Valley of California, through the southern Sierra at Walker Pass, up the Owens Valley, and then through Adobe Meadows to Aurora. Along the way, some cattlemen noticed that the unsettled northern Owens Valley was perfect for raising livestock. To avoid the long journey from the other side of the mountains, a few of them decided to settle in the valley. Driving some 600 head of cattle and 50 horses, Samuel Addison Bishop, his wife, and several hired hands arrived in the Owens Valley on August 22, 1861 from Fort Tejón in the Tehachapi Mountains. Along with Henry Vansickle, Charles Putnam, Allen Van Fleet, and the McGee brothers, Bishop was one of the very first white settlers in the valley. The cattlemen were soon followed by sheepmen who initially struggled with a lack of forage for their stock in the area. Remnants of these early settler's stone corrals and fences can still be seen north of Bishop along Highway 395 in Round Valley (barb wire fencing was not invented until 1873). Establishing a homestead, the San Francis Ranch, along the creek which still bears his name, Samuel Bishop set up a market to sell beef to the miners and business owners in Aurora . One of the residents of Aurora at that time was a young Samuel Clemens who later gained fame as author Mark Twain (see Twain's Roughing It for his comments on our area). By 1862, a frontier settlement (and later town), known as Bishop Creek, was established a couple of miles east of the San Francis Ranch. Though the town continues to prosper, the only reminder of Samuel Bishop's ranch today is a monument placed near the original site at the corner of Highway 168 West and Red Hill Road, two miles west of downtown Bishop. In 1866, the County of Inyo was established from part of Tulare County. The Eastern High Sierra and the Owens Valley was the westernmost frontier in America at that time. In 1871, Daniel Bruhn was one of 41 wranglers herding some 3000 wild Spanish mustangs from Stockton, California to Texas. Their travels took them over the High Sierra and into the remote Owens Valley where they lost over 500 head of horses. The descendants of those mustangs still roam wild on the California/Nevada border just north of Bishop. Water conflicts of the Owens Valley Between 1905 and 1907 most of the land in the Owens Valley was purchased from farmers and ranchers at bargain prices by William Mulholland, superintendent of the Water Department for the City of Los Angeles under the guise of a local irrigation project. Their real goal was to send Owens Valley water south to Los Angeles. By the time the now famous Los Angeles Aqueduct was completed in 1913, it was too late for valley residents to take any action. The aqueduct, 223 miles long, used no pumping stations and only gravity siphons to send water from the Owens Valley to Southern California. The City of Los Angeles receives 70% of its water from the Owens Valley and the Eastern High Sierra. With the diversion of water to Los Angeles, the Owens Lake and lower Owens River dried up and many valley residents were forced to pack up and leave the area forever. For a number of years, Owens Valley residents expressed much animosity toward the City of Los Angeles as can be seen in Dry Ditches, a little book of poems published in 1934 by the Parcher family of Bishop. The Owens Valley-City of Los Angeles conflict was the inspiration of the 1974 film Chinatown, starring Jack Nicholson. Native American cultural heritage Indigenous peoples still live in and near Bishop. They now reside on four Reservations. The southernmost is the Lone Pine Indian Reservation, northward is Fort Independence Reservation and Big Pine Indian Reservation. The largest and northernmost is the Bishop Indian Reservation. Geography Bishop lies west of the Owens River at the northern end of the Owens Valley. It is on U.S. Route 395, the main north-south artery through the Owens Valley, connecting the Inland Empire to Reno, Nevada. US 395 also connects Bishop to Los Angeles via State Route 14 through Palmdale. Bishop is the western terminus of U.S. Route 6. The Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Bishop Community of the Bishop Colony control land just west of the town. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) controls much of the upstream and surrounding area. Bishop is immediately to the east of the Sierra Nevada, and west of the White Mountains. Numerous peaks are within a short distance of Bishop, including Mount Humphreys (13,986 ft.), to the west, White Mountain Peak (14,242 ft.) in the northeast, and pyramidal Mount Tom (13,658 ft.) northwest of town. Basin Mountain (13,187 ft.) is viewed to the west from Bishop as it rises above the Buttermilks. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , over 97% of it land. Bishop is known as the "Mule Capital of the World" and a week-long festival called Bishop Mule Days has been held since 1969 on the week of Memorial Day, celebrating the contributions of pack mules to the area. The festival attracts many tourists, primarily from the Southern California area. Bishop is well known in the rock climbing community. Near the city are numerous climbing spots that attract visitors from around the world. There are over 2,000 bouldering problems in Bishop. The two main types of rock are volcanic tuff and granite. Notable locations Bishop Visitors Bureau Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce City of Bishop Inyo National Forest Supervisor's Office Paiute Indian Reservation Paiute-Shoshone Cultural Center Museum Laws Rail Museum Keoughs Hot Springs Eastern Sierra Regional Airport Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest Climate Bishop, as well as the rest of the Owens Valley, has an arid climate (Köppen BWk) with an annual average of of precipitation, and is part of USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 7. The wettest year was 1969 with of precipitation and the driest 1989 with , although from July 2006 to June 2007 a mere fell. Measurable precipitation occurs on an average of 27.6 days annually. The most precipitation in one month was in January 1969, which included on January 4, the most rainfall recorded in 24 hours in Bishop. Snowfall averages per year. The snowiest season was from July 1968 to June 1969 with , which included the snowiest month, January 1969, at . There is an average of 2.5 nights of sub lows, 134 nights where the low reaches the freezing mark, 100 days with + highs, and 25 days with + highs. Due to the aridity and hot high-altitude sun, there are only 32 days with maxima below and only one per year with a maximum below , and the annual diurnal temperature variation is , reaching in summer. The record high temperature of occurred on July 10, 2002; the record low of was recorded on December 22, 1990 and December 27, 1988. Demographics The demographic information below applies to residents living within the city limits of Bishop; 3,879 in downtown Bishop. The "greater Bishop area," which includes unincorporated nearby neighborhoods such as West Bishop, Meadow Creek-Dixon Lane, Wilkerson Ranch, Rocking K, Mustang Mesa, Round Valley and the Bishop Paiute Tribe includes an additional 11,000 residents. 2010 The 2010 United States Census reported that Bishop had a population of 3,879. The population density was 2,029.9 people per square mile (783.8/km²). The racial makeup of Bishop was 2,867 (73.9%) White, 22 (0.6%) African American, 91 (2.3%) Native American, 61 (1.6%) Asian, 1 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 723 (18.6%) from other races, and 114 (2.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,200 persons (30.9%). The Census reported that 3,771 people (97.2% of the population) lived in households, 36 (0.9%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 72 (1.9%) were institutionalized. There were 1,748 households, out of which 499 (28.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 574 (32.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 181 (10.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 99 (5.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 143 (8.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 10 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 767 households (43.9%) were made up of individuals and 288 (16.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16. There were 854 families (48.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.07. The population was spread out with 925 people (23.8%) under the age of 18, 298 people (7.7%) aged 18 to 24, 1,014 people (26.1%) aged 25 to 44, 1,031 people (26.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 611 people (15.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males. There were 1,926 housing units at an average density of 1,007.9 per square mile (389.2/km²), 1,748 of which were occupied, of which 676 (38.7%) were owner-occupied, and 1,072 (61.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.8%. 1,353 people (34.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 2,418 people (62.3%) lived in rental housing units. 2000 As of the census of 2000, there were 3,575 people, 1,684 households, and 831 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,042.5 people per square mile (788.8/km²). There were 1,867 housing units at an average density of 1,066.7 per square mile (411.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.6% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 2.0% Native American, 1.4% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 6.5% from other races, and 5.4% from two or more races. 17.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 1,684 households out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.5% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.6% were non-families. 44.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.93. In the city the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,338, and the median income for a family was $34,423. Males had a median income of $23,433 versus $24,545 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,660. About 14.0% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.0% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over. Politics and government In the state legislature, Bishop is in . It is also in the 8th State Senate district. Federally, Bishop is in . Bishop maintains its own police force (the only one in Inyo County), but also has a substation of the Inyo County Sheriff's Department on the outskirts of the city. The California Highway Patrol also has an office in town. {{cn|Date=Februars 2020}} Transportation U.S. Route 395 is the main highway serving Bishop between southern California and Reno while U.S. 6 provides access to Tonopah and other communities in Nevada. The Eastern Sierra Regional Airport provides general aviation services locally while scheduled passenger airline flights are available at Mammoth Yosemite Airport. Eastern Sierra Transit offers bus service as far north as Reno, Nevada, and as far south as Lancaster, California. In popular culture A number of western films were shot in Bishop, California: Flaming Guns (1932) The Fourth Horseman (1932) Blue Steel (1934) Roll Along, Cowboy (1937) Cassidy of Bar 20 (1938) The Cowboy and the Lady (1938) Three Faces West (1940) Silver River (1948) Frenchie (1951) The Law and Jake Wade (1958) Will Penny (1967) The band Xiu Xiu has a song titled Bishop, CA on its 2006 album The Air Force. Notable residents Jack Foley is the namesake for the art of adding sound effects to films, with the profession named Foley artist. Television director and producer David Barrett also calls Bishop home, along with his brother, stuntman and NASCAR driver Stanton Barrett. They are grandsons to Dave McCoy, founder of the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. Bishop was the home of Galen Rowell, and his wife Barbara, before their death at the Eastern Sierra Regional Airport. Matt Williams, former Major League Baseball 3rd baseman and former manager of the Washington Nationals, was born in Bishop. Horace M. Albright, the second director of the National Park Service, was born in Bishop in 1890. Artist Robert Clunie lived and painted in Bishop for decades. Artist Alex Stenzel lives in Bishop. Jill Kinmont, noted ski racer who was paralyzed in a 1955 accident, grew up in Bishop. The actor Robert Bray, who portrayed forest ranger Corey Stuart in CBS's Lassie from 1964–1968 and Simon Kane in ABC's Stagecoach West from 1960–1961, retired to Bishop, where he died in 1983 at the age of sixty-five. Tracy Smith, Olympian, world-record holder in the 3-mile, and 6-time AAU national champion, was a Bishop resident in the '70s, '80s and '90s, where he coached the Bishop Union High School track team distance runners. Former child actor Richard Eyer, who played Bray's son in Stagecoach West, was a teacher in Bishop, until he retired. Tod Griffin, a television actor from 1953 to 1961, resided in Bishop at the time of his death in 2002. Mountaineer Peter Croft lives in Bishop. Major Kern W. Dunagan US Army Medal of Honor recipient graduated from Bishop High School. Actor Trevor Donovan was born in Bishop. Cowboy poet Curley Fletcher (1892-1954) was raised in Bishop. Major League Baseball pitcher Hal Gregg lived in Bishop until his death there in 1991. Elisha Vanslyck Cook, Jr. was a character actor in dozens of films, including The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep and Shane, who lived in Bishop until his death in Big Pine in 1995. Media AM radio KBOV 1230 AM FM radio KWTW 88.5 FM KSRW 92.5 FM KRHV 93.3 FM KIBS 100.7 FM KMMT 106.5 FM Television KSRW-LP channel 33 References External links Bishop,CA Visitor Center/Chamber of Commerce Bishop Community/Information Webpage Category:Bishop, California Category:Incorporated cities and towns in California Category:Cities in Inyo County, California Category:Owens Valley Category:Populated places in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.) Category:Populated places established in 1903 Category:1903 establishments in California | Mid | [
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Trisulfur radical anion as the key intermediate for the synthesis of thiophene via the interaction between elemental sulfur and NaOtBu. A facile base-promoted sulfur-centered radical generation mode and a single-step protocol for the synthesis of thiophene derivatives using 1,3-diynes via the interaction between elemental sulfur and NaOtBu has been reported. EPR experiments revealed that the trisulfur radical anion acts as a key intermediate of this process. A plausible mechanism has been proposed. | High | [
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Wednesday, 26 November 2014 Woman throws 10 year old Boy into Imo River over Witchcraft [PHOTO] A 10-year-old boy, Usen Okon, who was thrown into the Imo River in the Ikot Abasi area of Akwa Ibom State, by his aunty over witchcraft accusation, has survived the ordeal. According to PUNCH, Okon was under the care of his paternal aunt, identified simply as Ekaeyen, at Etebi community in the Esit Eket Local Government Area of the state as his parents had died. A few days ago, Okon was aroused from sleep by Ekaeyen who took him to her husband and asked him to confess to being a wizard. When Okon denied the witchcraft accusation, his aunt threatened to throw him into a river. sponsored post The Senior Project Manager, Mr. Ayobami Ojedokun, of NGO - the Humanist Association for Peace and Social Tolerance Advancement and its partner, Child’s Rights and Rehabilitation Network, who are taking care of the boy told PUNCH: True to her words, on November 16, Ekaeyen actually took Okon to the Imo River and threw him into the water thinking that the boy would drown. The boy came out of the water alive and went to their home, only to be told that her auntie had relocated.” The acting Police Public Relations Officer, Akwa Ibom State Police Command, Mr. Iboro Victor, however said he was not aware of the incident. | Low | [
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This would count as a pretty big leak if it turns out to be true. Buried deep in a Reuters report about Star Wars and Guatemala is a possible leaked plot detail involving the location, and Episode VII. Possible spoilers ahead. Here's the paragraph in question: Yavin 4 and the rebel base return to the Star Wars plot in the forthcoming Episode VII, announced in October by the Walt Disney Co, in which Skywalker comes back to the planet to build a Jedi Knight academy. However, fans said that Disney will likely film those scenes in a studio rather than return to Tikal. Emphasis added. Now, there are a few reasons to doubt this information, since Disney has confirmed nothing about the forthcoming stories since acquiring the Lucas Films properties from George Lucas at the end of October. And also, why would fans have an inside track on where a forthcoming Star Wars movie may or may not be filming? For reference, Episode I filmed in locations like Tunisia and Italy, so Guatemala doesn't seem that farfetched. So where did the story details come from? Well, it could be leaked or off the record information that Reuters didn't realize was not available to the public yet. That would be a very big deal. It seems more likely, though, that it's simply been confused with the "expanded" Star Wars universe. The Guardian explains how this might have happened: Reuters may have confused the storyline for Episode VII with Yavin 4's involvement in the "expanded" Star Wars universe as depicted in dozens of books released in the wake of the original trilogy that hit cinemas between 1977 and 1983. Here, Yavin 4 is indeed the location for a Jedi school, but there has been no suggestion from Disney that the new films will follow the direction of the novels, which Lucas himself never entirely accepted as canonical. And yep, sure enough, there it is. Here's an excerpt from the Star Wars Wikia entry about the Jedi training center: In 11 ABY, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker chose Yavin 4 as the site for the Jedi Praxeum and the headquarters of his New Jedi Order after receiving permission from the New Republic. During his travels, he had discovered a number of Force-sensitives and finally felt ready to begin to train new Jedi. This first class consisted of twelve pupils with Luke as their teacher. Some of those twelve were Kam and Tionne Solusar, Kirana Ti, Madurrin, Kyle Katarn, Dorsk 81, Brakiss, Corran Horn, Streen, and Gantoris. Other Jedi to join soon after were Kyp Durron, Cilghal, Mara Jade, and Dal Konur. The plot sounds pretty cool, but it sounds odd that Disney would go down a previously-written path, especially considering how successful (and good) the Avengers movie was with its original screenplay and plot. [Reuters] | Low | [
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//*************************************************************************** // // Copyright (c) 2001 - 2006 Intel Corporation // // Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); // you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. // You may obtain a copy of the License at // // http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 // // Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software // distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, // WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and // limitations under the License. // //*************************************************************************** // // CIFXRenderable.cpp // // DESCRIPTION // // NOTES // //*************************************************************************** #include "CIFXRenderable.h" #include "IFXCoreCIDs.h" #include "IFXCOM.h" CIFXRenderable::CIFXRenderable() { m_uRefCount = 0; m_uNumElements = 0; m_ppShaders = NULL; m_bEnabled = TRUE; } CIFXRenderable::~CIFXRenderable() { Deallocate(); } IFXRESULT CIFXRenderable::GetElementShaderList( U32 uInElement, IFXShaderList** out_ppShaderList ) { IFXRESULT result = IFX_OK; IFXASSERT(out_ppShaderList); if(uInElement >= m_uNumElements) { return IFX_E_INVALID_RANGE; } *out_ppShaderList = m_ppShaders[uInElement]; IFXASSERT(m_ppShaders[uInElement]); m_ppShaders[uInElement]->AddRef(); return result; } IFXRESULT CIFXRenderable::SetElementShaderList( U32 uInElement, IFXShaderList* in_pShaderList ) { IFXRESULT result = IFX_OK; if(uInElement >= m_uNumElements) { result = IFX_E_INVALID_RANGE; } if(in_pShaderList == NULL) { result = IFX_E_INVALID_POINTER; } if(IFXSUCCESS(result)) { IFXRELEASE(m_ppShaders[uInElement]); m_ppShaders[uInElement] = in_pShaderList; in_pShaderList->AddRef(); } return result; } void CIFXRenderable::Deallocate() { U32 i; for(i = 0; i < m_uNumElements; ++i) { IFXRELEASE(m_ppShaders[i]); } IFXDELETE_ARRAY(m_ppShaders); DeallocateObject(); m_uNumElements = 0; } IFXRESULT CIFXRenderable::AllocateShaders(IFXShaderList** in_ppData, BOOL in_bCopy) { IFXRESULT result = IFX_OK; U32 i; if(!m_ppShaders) m_ppShaders = new IFXShaderList*[m_uNumElements]; if(m_ppShaders) { for (i = 0; i < m_uNumElements; ++i) m_ppShaders[i] = NULL; if(in_ppData) { for(i = 0; i < m_uNumElements; ++i) { IFXRELEASE(m_ppShaders[i]); if(in_bCopy) { IFXCreateComponent(CID_IFXShaderList, IID_IFXShaderList, (void**)&(m_ppShaders[i])); if(m_ppShaders[i]) m_ppShaders[i]->Copy(in_ppData[i]); } else { m_ppShaders[i] = in_ppData[i]; m_ppShaders[i]->AddRef(); } } } else { for(i = 0; i < m_uNumElements && IFXSUCCESS( result ); ++i) { IFXCreateComponent(CID_IFXShaderList, IID_IFXShaderList, (void**)&(m_ppShaders[i])); if(m_ppShaders[i]) result = m_ppShaders[i]->Allocate(1); } } } else result = IFX_E_OUT_OF_MEMORY; return result; } IFXRESULT IFXAPI CIFXRenderable::GetShaderDataArray(IFXShaderList*** out_pppShaders) { IFXASSERT(out_pppShaders); *out_pppShaders = m_ppShaders; return IFX_OK; } | Low | [
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Q: Hide keyboard on scroll in Flutter I would like to hide the keyboard on scrolling a SingleChildScrollView with a focused TextFormField. I added a NotificationListener<ScrollNotification> on top of the SingleChildScrollView, and listen for the ScrollStartNotification. I then call FocusScope.of(context).requestFocus(FocusNode()) to hide the keyboard. The problem occur when the TextFormField is at the bottom of the screen. When i click it, and it get focus, the keyboard appears and moves the SingleChildScrollView up, which again fires the ScrollStartNotification and hides the keyboard. A: Instead of doing with NotificationListener wrap your SingleChildScrollView inside GestureDetector and dismiss the keyboard like this: GestureDetector( behavior: HitTestBehavior.opaque, onPanDown: (_) { FocusScope.of(context).requestFocus(FocusNode()); }, child: SingleChildScrollView(...), ); | High | [
0.66214382632293,
30.5,
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Impact of perinatal prebiotic consumption on gestating mice and their offspring: a preliminary report. To assess the impact of prebiotic supplementation during gestation and fetal and early neonatal life, gestating BALB/cj dam mice were fed either a control or a prebiotic (galacto-oligosaccharides-inulin, 9:1 ratio)-enriched diet throughout pregnancy and lactation, and allowed to nurse their pups until weaning. At the time of weaning, male offspring mice were separated from their mothers, weaned to the same solid diet as their dam and their growth was monitored until killed 48 d after weaning. Prebiotic treatment affected neither the body-weight gain nor the food intake of pregnant mice. In contrast, at the time of weaning, pups that had been nursed by prebiotic-fed dams had a higher body weight (11.0 (se 1.2) g) than pups born from control dams (9.8 (se 0.9) g). At 48 d after weaning, significantly higher values were observed for colon length and muscle mass in the offspring of prebiotic-fed dams (1.2 (se 0.1) cm/cm and 5.7 (se 1.8) mg/g, respectively), compared with control offspring (1.1 (se 0.1) cm/cm and 2.9 (se 0.9) mg/g, respectively), without any difference in spleen and stomach weight, or serum leptin concentration. The present preliminary study suggests that altering the fibre content of the maternal diet during both pregnancy and lactation enhances offspring growth, through an effect on intestinal and muscle mass rather than fat mass accretion. | Mid | [
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Georg Ratzinger Georg Ratzinger PA (born 15 January 1924) is a German Catholic priest and musician, known for his work as the conductor of the Regensburger Domspatzen, the cathedral choir of Regensburg, Germany. He is the elder brother of Pope emeritus Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger). His grand-uncle was the German politician Georg Ratzinger. Early life and military service Ratzinger was born in Pleiskirchen, Bavaria to Joseph Ratzinger, a police officer, and Maria Ratzinger, née Peintner. He has a younger brother, Joseph, who later reigned as Pope Benedict XVI from 2005 to 2013, and a sister, Maria. Early in his life he showed musical talent, playing the church organ already at the age of 11. In 1935 he entered the minor seminary in Traunstein and had professional musical instruction there. In 1941 he encountered for the first time the choir of the Regensburger Domspatzen, which he would later direct, when they performed in Salzburg on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Mozart's death. In summer 1942 Georg Ratzinger was drafted to the Reichsarbeitsdienst to serve Nazi Germany in World War II, and the same autumn to the German Wehrmacht. On June 12, 1944 he was shot through the arm during a firefight in Bolsena, Italy. At the end of the war, he was a prisoner of war of the U.S. Army in the vicinity of Naples, but was released, and arrived at home in July 1945. Education and ordination In January 1946, he and his brother Joseph (later Pope Benedict XVI) entered the seminary of the archdiocese of Munich and Freising to study for the priesthood. At the same time he pursued his musical studies. Georg and Joseph were ordained priests in 1951 by Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber. Afterwards, Georg studied Church music in Munich, while serving in different priestly functions for the diocese. Domspatzen directorship He completed his studies in 1957 and became chorus director in his home parish in Traunstein. In February 1964 he was made musical director, Domkapellmeister, at St. Peters Cathedral in Regensburg, thereby becoming the chorus master of the Cathedral Choir, the Regensburger Domspatzen. As director of this boys' and men's choir, Ratzinger oversaw the recording of numerous pieces (e.g. J. S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio and motets, H. Schütz: Psalmen Davids), concert tours (among others to the U.S., Scandinavia, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, Ireland, Poland, Hungary, and the Vatican; and a tour of Germany every year), and the liturgical activities of the choir. In 1976 the choir celebrated its 1,000th anniversary. In 1977 Ratzinger conducted the Domspatzen at his brother Joseph's consecration as Archbishop of Munich and Freising. They sang in honor of Queen Elizabeth II at her state visit in 1978, and at Pope John Paul II's visit to Munich in 1980; they also gave a concert for the state guests at the NATO summit in 1982 under the auspices of then German president Karl Carstens. In 2010 Ratzinger indicated he would be prepared to testify to aid investigations into claims of abuse at the Regensburger Domspatzen choir in Germany. The Regensburg Diocese said that a former singer came forward with allegations of sexual abuse in the early 1960s, predating Ratzinger's tenure from 1964–1994. Der Spiegel has reported that therapists in the region are treating several alleged victims from the choir. Allegations of sexual and physical abuse under his directorship A man who lived in the choir-linked boarding school until 1967 has contended that "a sophisticated system of sadistic punishments in connection with sexual lust" had been installed there. Der Spiegel quoted the man, a composer Franz Wittenbrink, as saying it would be inexplicable that the pope's brother did not know anything about it. Ratzinger has admitted slapping pupils in the face. He commented: "At the start, I also slapped people in the face, but I always had a bad conscience". He claims to have been relieved when corporal punishment was forbidden in 1980. Ratzinger has denied any knowledge of sexual abuse. A Vatican spokesperson stated that the allegations on sexual abuse, particularly the Regensburg case, are a campaign aimed against the pope and the Roman Catholic Church comparable to Nazi-propaganda. A lawyer commissioned by the choir to look into the accusations concluded that over 200 young singers were abused to various degrees, with at least 40 of the cases involving sexual violence, and that he must assume that Ratzinger had known. A report in 2017 faulted Ratzinger "in particular for 'looking away' or for failing to intervene" and also stated that, "with a high degree of plausibility", between the years 1945 and 1992, 547 boys were victims of physical or sexual abuse, or both. Later life Ratzinger retired from his position as director of the choir in 1994 and has been a canon in Regensburg since 25 January 2009. In 2005, during a visit to his brother in Rome, symptoms of heart failure and arrhythmia led to a brief admission at the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic. On 29 June 2011 Ratzinger celebrated sixty years as a priest and gave an interview on the topic, during which he noted that during the ordination, "My brother was the second to youngest, though there were some who were older." He also noted that "I have the stole and the cassock from that day". He celebrated his 90th birthday (15 January 2014) with Benedict XVI in the Vatican. His birthday was organized by Michael Hesemann and the guests included American journalist Lauren Green, who played the piano, violinist Baptiste Pawlik, English-Argentinian writer Molly Maria Hamilton Baillie, Georg Gänswein and Gerhard Ludwig Müller. The celebrations included personal letter written by Maria Elena Bergoglio to Ratzinger. Honours and awards Black Wound Badge (1944) Iron Cross 2nd Class (1944) Chaplain of His Holiness (1967) Prelate of Honour of His Holiness(1976) Cross of Merit on ribbon of the Federal Republic of Germany (1981) (Bundesverdienstkreuz) Bavarian Order of Merit (1983) Merit Cross 1st Class of the Federal Republic of Germany (1989) Protonotary apostolic (23 October 1993) Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1994) Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class (2004) Honorary citizen of Castel Gandolfo (2008) Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (2009) Pontifikalvesper of Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller of Regensburg Cathedral (25 January 2009 - his 85th birthday) Award of the Fondazione Pro Musica e Arte Sacra (Roman foundation for spiritual art and music, 2010) References External links Ratzinger, Georg, My brother the pope (Ignatius Press 2012 ) Category:1924 births Category:Living people Category:People from Altötting (district) Category:German Roman Catholic priests Category:German male musicians Category:Papal family members Category:Pope Benedict XVI Category:Blind people from Germany Category:Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Georg Category:Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class Category:Recipients of the Bavarian Order of Merit | Mid | [
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Follow Tenders & Trails! Hey! I'm Jillian Bejtlich. I’m a lifelong New Englander with a serious love of the outdoors, adventure, and a pretty serious inability to sit still. I’m plagued by the travel bug, and it seems I’ll try any relatively sane and safe thing once. My big goal in life: Get people outside! The Azores: Getting There, Around, & Lodging A very long time ago after a number of hilariously bad first dates, I made an actual list (yes, like on paper) of what qualities were important to me in a guy. At the very top of the list? Must be willing to travel and explore. Soon after, I met Rob… and the traveling began. In the past five years we’ve been to twenty something states, three countries, and had countless adventures ranging from white water rafting to rock climbing, mountain biking, and hiking. So, I suppose it was no big surprise that for the second year in a row he let me hijack our wedding anniversary and turn it into yet another outdoor focused adventure. This year, we decided to head to the Azores – specifically São Miguel. The Azores are an archipelago (string of islands) 850 miles off the coast of Portugal. If you haven’t heard of it, I’m not shocked. These 9 islands are refreshingly rather untouched by modern tourism. You’ll struggle to find fast food, t-shirt shops, or any of the usual touristy gimmicks. What will you find? Delicious food, intriguing architecture, wonderful people, diverse hikes, and soaring waterfalls. I don’t know how we ever left. As I’ve started to write about my trip, I’ve realized I could write an entire guidebook at this point. So let’s break it up and kick it off with… Getting There & Getting Around Rob and I chose to fly SATA Airlines out of Boston, Massachusetts (BOS). We had utterly low hopes knowing that it was a red-eye, economy seats, and not a very big airline. But from the moment we arrived to check in, we could tell we were in for a good adventure. Everyone we dealt with was so pleasant, and it turns out Terminal E at Boston’s Logan Aiport is the nicest terminal. Who knew! Once we boarded, we quickly got talking with one of the flight attendants (I wish I could remember his name!) who told us all about things to see, words to know, and why he loves the Azores. Soon after we were served a lovely (by plane food standards) dinner with lots of wine, coffee, tea, and Azorean cookies. We didn’t get a single minute of sleep on that flight as our fellow passengers were a lively bunch, chatting away in aisles in Portuguese. The five hour flight flew by SO quick! Upon arriving at João Paulo II Airport in Ponta Delgada (PDL), the good vibes continued. Customs and baggage claim were a breeze – despite our being awake for almost a full day at that point. As for getting back, we flew SATA again and it was just as pleasant! Seeing the sun rise while over the Atlantic Ocean was a first for me. Not a bad view! As for getting around, we knew we’d be spending most of our vacation hiking so any public transportation options wouldn’t work for us. We chose to rent from Hertz and it was a good choice. Rob and I have become so accustom to spending often times a third of our vacation budget on rental cars that we were shocked to find out our rental would end up costing less than $350 for the entire 10 days we were there (with unlimited miles). Gas was definitely more expensive, but our little Peugot 208 was super efficient. PS: You drive on the right-hand side of the road here. For anyone thinking about traveling to the Azores and renting a car, I’m sure Rob would like me to mention three very important things. First off, you have to know how to drive stick – and well! There are a few automatics available for rental, but at about three times the price. Roads are windy, super narrow, often steep, and sometimes slippery (especially on the cobblestone in downtown areas). To make matters even more fun, most parking is directly on the road – so you’ll find yourself doing lots of stopping and going as you yield to oncoming traffic. Second, we never went anywhere without a GPS and a paper map – and you shouldn’t either. Roads are not well marked at all and it’s super easy to get lost. Be prepared! And finally, road signs in Europe are totally different than American signs. Most are intuitive, but some are baffling (and important)! Get familiar with them before driving. We referenced this document a lot once we realized we were confused. This was by far the worst of the roads on the island and the only one we saw with a warning sign. We chose to not drive it and walk down to Farol do Arnel instead. Lodging & Accommodations Of all our travel plans, the one that seems to always go the most awry for us is hotels. Somehow (perhaps due to my excessive research, review reading, and paranoia) we actually managed to pick pretty great hotels this time. For the first few nights of our vacation, we stayed at Hotel Vale do Navio (booked through Priceline) in Capelas on the northern coast of the island. For the price (about $70 per night), it was lovely. The rooms were spacious, the views were wonderful, and the included breakfast was great. It wasn’t exactly my favorite hotel ever due to some little nit-picky items like poor lighting, super hard beds, really bad wi-fi, and a not so friendly restaurant staff, but it worked for us and I’d still give it a good review overall. We especially enjoyed the proximity to a really pretty piscina naturals (ocean swimming pool) and some great coastal views. The view from our room at Hotel Vale do Navio. Stunning, huh? For the second half of the vacation, we stayed at Hotel Marina Atlântico (booked through Priceline) in downtown Ponta Delgada. This hotel was perfect for us: right on the ocean (with a marina view – Rob loves boats), easy walk to the historic area and all the restaurants, and a very comfortable room with a porch. We were also pleased to see a nice buffet breakfast and underground parking included. It was definitely a bit more costly at about $130 per night, but we already know we’ll be staying there again when we return! The marina across from Hotel Marina Atlântico. We spent many hours checking out the boats from all around the world! We noticed the same on our SATA flights. So warm! I’m usually accustom to freezing on domestic flights, so I was far too bundled up – but I didn’t make the same mistake on the way back. And there are so many beautiful hotels in Ponta Delgada, but I think I know which one you’re talking about. We walked by it a few times on the western side of the city, but I can’t recall the name at all. About Jillian Bejtlich Hey! I'm Jillian Bejtlich. I’m a lifelong New Englander with a serious love of the outdoors, adventure, and a pretty serious inability to sit still. I’m plagued by the travel bug, and it seems I’ll try any relatively sane and safe thing once. My big goal in life: Get people outside! | Mid | [
0.579310344827586,
31.5,
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Q: How can I open multiple files (number of files unknown beforehand) using "with open" statement? I specifically need to use with open statement for opening the files, because I need to open a few hundred files together and merge them using K-way merge. I understand, ideally I should have kept K low, but I did not foresee this problem. Starting from scratch is not an option now as I have a deadline to meet. So at this point, I need very fast I/O that does not store the whole/huge portion of file in memory (because there are hundreds of files, each of ~10MB). I just need to read one line at a time for K-way merge. Reducing memory usage is my primary focus right now. I learned that with open is the most efficient technique, but I cannot understand how to open all the files together in a single with open statement. Excuse my beginner ignorance! Update: This problem was solved. It turns out the issue was not about how I was opening the files at all. I found out that the excessive memory usage was due to inefficient garbage collection. I did not use with open at all. I used the regular f=open() and f.close(). Garbage collection saved the day. A: It's fairly easy to write your own context manager to handle this by using the built-in contextmanger function decorator to define "a factory function for with statement context managers" as the documentation states. For example: from contextlib import contextmanager @contextmanager def multi_file_manager(files, mode='rt'): """ Open multiple files and make sure they all get closed. """ files = [open(file, mode) for file in files] yield files for file in files: file.close() filenames = 'file1', 'file2', 'file3' with multi_file_manager(filenames) as files: a = files[0].readline() b = files[2].readline() ... | Mid | [
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Source Source code is shipped in the Windows and Tarball Packages which include the Linux + Windows platform makefiles or use the version control system which is located at github. This open source software project is completely developed in C++. Software developers can help us out by porting SMC to other platforms. The git version control system is located at github which has the latest source code. If you are programming for a school or college for training and education like a programming degree please send us back your improvements. If you create a source code or static code analysis report, please send it to us. | High | [
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34,
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Cutaneous Bacterial Communities of a Poisonous Salamander: a Perspective from Life Stages, Body Parts and Environmental Conditions. Amphibian skin provides a habitat for bacterial communities in its mucus. Understanding the structure and function of this "mucosome" in the European fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) is critical in the context of novel emerging pathogenic diseases. We compare the cutaneous bacterial communities of this species using amplicon-based sequencing of the 16S rRNA V4 region. Across 290 samples, over 4000 OTUs were identified, four of them consistently present in all samples. Larvae and post-metamorphs exhibited distinct cutaneous microbial communities. In adults, the parotoid gland surface had a community structure different from the head, dorsum, flanks and ventral side. Larvae from streams had higher phylogenetic diversity than those found in ponds. Their bacterial community structure also differed; species of Burkholderiaceae, Comamonadaceae, Methylophilaceae and Sphingomonadaceae were more abundant in pond larvae, possibly related to differences in factors like desiccation and decomposition rate in this environment. The observed differences in the cutaneous bacterial community among stages, body parts and habitats of fire salamanders suggest that both host and external factors shape these microbiota. We hypothesize that the variation in cutaneous bacterial communities might contribute to variation in pathogen susceptibility among individual salamanders. | Mid | [
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Non-functioning ovarian fibroma with extensive calcification: case report. A case of a non-functioning ovarian fibroma with extensive calcification in a young Ugandan female is described. Ovarian fibromas occasionally may be bilateral and associated with benign ascites and pleural effusion called Meigs' syndrome or related to a rare hereditary condition known as Gorlin's syndrome. Rarely if functioning, the tumour may produce hormones to cause diabetes mellitus or hypoglycaemia or secrete carbohydrate antigen 125 to clinically simulate ovarian carcinoma. | Mid | [
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The Belarus government used the growing popularity of bitcoin as a tool to boost its technology sector, reported ZDNet. The media agency collected quotes from people who were working closely with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in drafting tech-friendly laws. One of them was a lawyer named Dennis Aleinikov, who helped the government draft a bill that would make foreign companies to receive tax benefits in Belarus. He told ZDNet that President Lukashenko wanted to boost Belarus as a global technology hub, but their oil and the gas-dependent economy didn’t have a budget to run a viral campaign. So, they came up with the plan. Enter Bitcoin Boom The entrepreneurs close to President Lukashenko suggested using bitcoin and bitcoin’s popularity to promote Belarus’ tech sector. In December 2017, at the height of the crypto boom, President Lukashenko signed a decree that gave foreign tech companies unlimited access to Belarus tax-free climate. The order enforced 36 types of tax-exempt activities for tech companies. “Until 2049, there’s zero percent VAT, zero percent corporate profit tax, customs duty, offshore duty, income tax for foreign entities, tax on sales of shares of high-tech park residents, and zero tax on revenues of foreign companies,” Dmitry Titov, the press secretary of the Belarusian high-tech park told ZDNet. Helped by the decree, the ICO industry also gained legal status in the region.. They could now issue tokens, facilitate bitcoin and crypto trading, and run mining enterprises under a tax-free structure which would expire in 2023. “Cutting-edge technology [is a] very nice marketing instrument for a little country,” explained Aleinikov. “We decided that it would be good for Belarus to be the first country to make smart contracts legal.” Shady Companies Approved via Lax Regulations? Global regulators had – and continue to have – severe concerns about how the ICO industry operates. At ideation stages, crypto startups would go on and raise millions of dollars via tokenized public funding. But, in the end, a majority of them failed to turn up with a working project. As a result, over 85-percent of ICO projects failed, and their investors underwent massive losses, reported Bloomberg. These losses further pushed the cryptocurrency industry in one of its most extended bearish phases. So, there is a possibility that Belarus, despite its noble intentions, unknowingly allowed shady companies to operate smoothly. A recent example somewhat points in the same direction. Relex Development, a cryptocurrency-enabled real estate startup, recently received an operational license from the Belarus authorities. At the same time, the firm was facing allegations of insider trading by its community. A Redditor alleged: “Their CMO was caught in manipulating the community which allowed him to accumulate ~4% of the total supply of RLX. When confronted, the team deflected and pushed this situation off to the side. Months went by and as more investigating was done, more light was brought to the table by seeing the damage the CMO did by using alt accounts on Telegram. The issue was brought up again and at the beginning of December, the CMO “stepped down.” More info available on this and this link. Boom is Boom A few bad examples do not necessarily make Belarus a hotbed for poor projects. Just recently, Belarus approved Currency.com, a tokenized securities exchange which raised $8 million investment from Larnabel Ventures and VP Capital. The trading platform allows crypto investors to but tokens that are linked with stocks on Nasdaq exchange. At the same time, there are blockchain solutions firm like Intellectsoft and Smartym Pro working as third-party developers for innumerable crypto projects around the globe. Independent and popular blockchain projects like OpenLedger DEX, CopPay, DEIP and Scorum also hail from Belarus’s hi-tech park. With its friendly regulations, the park has also attracted companies sectors other than crypto. They include firms from machine learning, telecommunications, space, robotics, and information security. Over 260 companies entered Belarus in 2018, leading to an increase in software exports, bring the sector $1.4 billion in FY2018. That earnings were 38-percent more than the previous year. Featured Image From Shutterstock | Mid | [
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#ifndef CLICOMMANDMODE_H
#define CLICOMMANDMODE_H
#include "clicommand.h"
class CliCommandMode : public CliCommand
{
Q_OBJECT
public:
void execute();
QString shortHelp() const;
QString fullHelp() const;
void defineSyntax();
private:
enum ArgIgs
{
MODE
};
};
#endif // CLICOMMANDMODE_H
| Low | [
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Growing Lettuce Indoors Lettuce Growing Lettuce Indoors In Soil Growing Lettuce Indoors Lettuce Growing Lettuce Indoors In Soil growing lettuce indoors in water the winter acres under lights romaine,growing lettuce indoors in containers winter uk soil regrow days,growing lettuce indoors in the winter acres during without soil uk,growing lettuce indoors with led lights romaine from seed kale harvest plus pepper plants in water,growing lettuce indoors in water can you grow how to with kids and gardens containers,5 proven ways to grow lettuce indoors in containers year round growing soil without can you water,growing romaine lettuce from seed indoors in winter uk 3 ways to grow soil,growing lettuce indoors in water can you grow winter the acres bottles,growing lettuce indoors in containers soil can you grow winter 3 ways for a fresh harvest,grow salad greens indoors all winter long under inexpensive shop growing lettuce in containers soil water. | Mid | [
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Q: Navigation bar . What I am doing wrong? OK this is my piece of CSS code . So I'm trying to replace the white color from the ul(unordered list) with the black color when I'll be hovering over it.Want to mention that I want the text to be black,when I will hover the box of a li and not the anchor.Thanks. _____________________________________________________________________________________ body { width: 1000px; font-family: Arial; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; line-height: 135%; } .menu ul { list-style-type: none; text-align: center; background-color: black; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; } .menu ul li { display: inline-block;; padding: 10px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0 1px 0 1px; border-color:white; margin-left:0; margin-right:-5px; } .menu ul li:hover{ background-color: white; color:black; } .menu a { text-decoration: none; color:white; } .menu a:hover{ color:black; } ___________________________________________________________________________ // HTML <!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <title>WORKSPACE</title> <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css" type="text/css" media="screen"> <meta charset="UTF-8"> </head> <body> <div class="menu"> <ul> <li><a href="#">Home</a></li> <li><a href="#">Courses</a></li> <li><a href="#">Groups</a></li> <li><a href="#">Teachers</a></li> <li><a href="#">Students</a></li> <li><a href="#">Resources</a></li> <li><a href="#">Contact</a></li> </ul> </div> </body> </html> A: Instead of making the rule to hover over the a element, change the hover state to the li and target the link. http://jsfiddle.net/LUguq/ CSS .menu li:hover a{ color:black; } | Mid | [
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The Citadel’s leading tackler, linebacker Carl Robinson, will miss the rest of the football season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. Robinson suffered the injury during last week’s 28-10 loss to Chattanooga and will undergo surgery later this month. An MRI exam revealed the extent of the injury Tuesday. A 6-1, 240-pound sophomore from Irvington, Ala., Robinson led the Bulldogs with 54 tackles through five games, with 2½ tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. He will be replaced in the starting lineup for Saturday’s game at Samford by Ian Thompson, a 5-10, 215-pound sophomore from Stratford High School. Thompson has played in all five games this season with nine tackles. ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia is dealing with a big loss heading into its SEC showdown against South Carolina. Michael Bennett, the fifth-ranked Bulldogs’ leading receiver, tore up his right knee in practice and is out for the year, coach Mark Richt announced. Bennett injured the anterior cruciate ligament toward the end of Tuesday’s practice. He will undergo reconstructive surgery, though no date has been set. The third-year sophomore leads Georgia (5-0, 3-0 SEC) with 24 catches for 345 yards and four touchdowns. | Mid | [
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1. Know your risk You want to be able to document every deduction and keep that proof for at least three years from your filing date. Certain ZIP codes, like those in higher-income neighborhoods, have a higher audit rate, says tax attorney Frederick W. Daily, author of five tax-related books, including Stand Up to the IRS. Self-employed workers also tend to get a red flag, especially when they claim a business operating loss "of any size," says Daily. Also on the IRS's radar: those whose overall deductions approach 50 percent of their reported gross income. 2. Avoid round numbers A tax return with lots of round numbers — $1,200 in travel expenses or $1,500 in charitable contributions — suggests that you're just estimating those claims, "and the IRS loves to go after people who don't keep good records," says Daily. "You don't need to include cents, but use the closest accurate dollar amounts, such as $1,260 or $1,525. 3. Explain on paper what you can't with e-filing Do-it-yourself tax preparation software makes for easier and more accurate tax return preparation. But you can get into trouble if you file electronically with software that has no capability to include disclosure statements. You should include such explanations "whenever there's something unusual in your return," says Eva Rosenberg, who is an accountant and an "enrolled agent," a person authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS. If you use a software program, Rosenberg suggests not using its e-filing feature if there's anything that might leave an IRS officer wondering. "Print out your return and attach an explanation statement and mail it in," she says. A new feature this year: "You will able to include PDF attachments with certain forms. Ask if your software supports this." In many cases, a type-written note will suffice to explain such red-flag issues as losses for a small business, a high mortgage-interest deduction or a home office deduction for a regular W-2 employee. In other cases, you'll be able to attach signed documents related to charitable contributions or dependents. 4. Double-check your math It's no surprise that sloppy arithmetic on a paper return can flag an audit. "People list correct numbers but on the wrong line," says Rosenberg. So make sure sums are not only correct but in the correct place. 5. Mind each line Don't forget the easy stuff — your Social Security number, address and signature. "It's a myth that if you fail to sign your return, you will automatically be audited," she says. "The IRS will simply send it back for your signature. But if you repeatedly forget to sign and the IRS believes this is a deliberate pattern, you could face fraud penalties, and unwanted attention on your future returns." 6. Don't claim to be "too generous" The IRS knows that many taxpayers are extraordinarily generous, at least in the charitable contributions they declare. Claims of giving, say, 10 percent of income may trigger attention, as the norm is about 2 percent. So if you're a self-described philanthropist, be prepared to back up claims with written proof. As you give, collect letters or receipts from charities, both for monetary and in-kind donations — especially those over $250. For a big item such as a donated car, you used to be able to deduct fair market value, no matter what the charity did with the car. Now you can claim that amount only if the charity uses the car. If it's sold at auction, you can only deduct the usually much lower price that the car actually commanded. Your receipt should specify what happened to the car, and, if it was sold, for how much. And you should have detailed paperwork on any car donation worth $500 or more. 7. Keep records beyond receipts If audited, you might need to demonstrate that a restaurant receipt actually represents dinner with a potential client, not a night on the town with your spouse. "Receipts don't talk," says Daily, so jot down notes as you go along and keep records. "It can be nothing more than 'dinner with John Smith, prospective sales client,' " he says. But such a log will add credibility to your claim. It's unlikely the IRS will contact your dinner partner, unless there's suspected fraud. 8. Self-employed? Consider incorporating The self-employed who file a Schedule C rather than a corporate return are reportedly 10 times more likely to be audited. "One way to lower that risk is to have an entity, such as an LLC [limited liability company], or any other kind where you can file with a different tax ID number," Daily says. 9. Track your bank transfers If your return is flagged, the auditor will run a total of all the deposits in your bank accounts. "If you move a lot of money between different accounts, it could appear as though you have three or four times more money than you really do," Rosenberg says. Be prepared to document these transfers carefully to show that a deposit doesn't necessarily equal new income. Not having such proof causes "more trouble in audits than any other issue," she says. What triggers an audit? A return can be flagged randomly in an IRS study of the behavior of similar taxpayers, such as those in the same profession. But more often, audits result from: Document mismatches: This includes the income you report not jibing with figures in W-2s, 1099s and other statements. A high DIF score: A top-secret IRS computer program, the Discriminant Inventory Function System, assigns a score to each individual return. "For instance, DIF compares your auto deductions with others in the same profession, your income in relation to others in your ZIP code," says Daily. The further your amounts are outside the averages, the higher your DIF and chance of audit. High income: If you make under $200,000 a year, your chances of an audit are about 1 percent. But based on 2012 audits, the risk approaches 4 percent among people making $200,000 to $1 million and is over 12 percent for those earning more than $1 million. | Mid | [
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bhagwad writes: "In the US, telecom carriers are trying their best to hold on to depleting voice revenues. Over in India, the telecom minister urged carriers to stop charging for voice calls and derive all their revenues only from data plans. Is this kind of model sustainable, where voice becomes an outmoded and free technology and carriers turn entirely into dumb pipes who have no control over what passes over them? This is a step forward and hopefully will make Internet service more like a utility." | Mid | [
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[Dedifferentiated Chondrosarcoma of the Chest Wall]. A 79-year-old man complaining of an anterior chest mass with pain had an abnormal shadow on chest X-ray. A mass, 7 cm in size, with destruction of the right 4th rib was found on chest computed tomography. A F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) corresponding to the lesion showed an abnormal accumulation of FDG with the standardized uptake value(SUV) max=16.19. A malignant tumor of the chest wall origin was suspected and the tumor was resected with the 3th, 4th, and 5th ribs. Histologically, the tumor was diagnosed as dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma. He died of local recurrence about 5 months after the operation. | Mid | [
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Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors: Prevalence and Association with Distal and Proximal Factors in Spanish University Students. We report on the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in Spanish university students and their risk and protective factors (distal/proximal; individual/environmental). First-year university students completed an online survey including Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview (SITBI) items, the screening version of the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) along with adversities and positive relationships during childhood/adolescence, recent stressful experiences, and lifetime mental disorders. Nested logistic regression models were estimated and areas under the curve (AUC) compared. A total of 2,118 students completed the survey (mean age = 18.8 [SD = 1.4] years; 55.4% female). Twelve-month prevalence of suicide ideation (SI) was 9.9%, plans, 5.6%, and attempts, 0.6%. Risk factors of 12-month SI were as follows: parental psychopathology (OR = 1.7, 95% CI 1.2-2.5); sexual assault (OR = 5.6, 95% CI 1.4-22.1); lifetime mood disorder (OR = 5.2, 95% CI 3.5-7.7); and lifetime anxiety disorder (OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.1-2.5). Childhood positive relationships protected from SI were as follows: peers/others (OR = 0.6, 95% CI 0.4-0.9 for the second highest tertile) and family (OR = 0.4, 95% CI 0.3-0.7 for the highest tertile). AUC of the final model was 0.82 (SE = 0.015). Our results indicate a high prevalence of SI among Spanish university students and identify protective and risk factors from a comprehensive conceptual model. | High | [
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This Post is a bit review to Apache security and not contain all details but i want write all of them. When you decide to build a web server based on Open source Os for all web publishing -public or private- all the futures not needed . But sometimes some of them mus tow change carefully. We have to case of Apache using here : Case 1 : In some cases you need to build a simulated ftp server based on HTTP protocol. Case 2 : You need to build a MAIL server with HTTP interface. Such as HORD or SQURRIER MAIL. SO what changes needed ?what kind of futures are usable here for Your jobs ?. In default installation of Apache -as so useful web server – in a big range of open source operating systems you may see auto indexing and directory browsing , its good for HTTP server as FTP server but is it usable as HTTP-mail server ? Of curse response is NO .Why ? Its so simple .In case 1 you just need to give the permission to your users for reading files and browsing directories JUST!.And denied them to reading or browsing other directories . In case 2 the server design may have a complete configuration with case 1 .Here You must use an interpreter for your scripts and language .So is your directory browsing options may not denied is it possible ?.In example an attacker can change his directory to upper or can see most important data such as web server configurations and – or – some log files or a high level script kiddie could copy you password to anywhere .Now your web server is really crackable and an attacker can read your configurations and may change THEM !!. What did you do ? its so good question . 1- You can change permission of all unneeded directories to deny for other users and groups like : “[[email protected]] # chmod -R 700 some directory that you want to hidden from other ” 2- Change the permission of your files to only readable for www and not executable – if you want to use HTML pages – and for script based pages do “[[email protected]]# 644 *.php or other scripts 3- If your server pages is PHP you can change a bit the php.ini file Hi this is 2′nd part of Apache security . We want to look how to safe all of our scripts when we have some sites. In share servers – commercial servers – we can secure our serer by some applications such as Cpanel Plesk or etc. But how can we secure it by hand ?.Of curse its not so simple but its not hard to do. Ok lets to see what we can do ?.Let look to this how to from an attacker. Any of attacker want to get some information to doing a successful attack to any server. But what is information exactly ?yes any information its correct !,all information may help the attacker to entering in to your server . What kind of web server , web server version , Os version and type,mod ‘s of your web server is running , server admin’s mail , dns-server , and …. is a good information to starting an attack. some of the information can’t be hidden but some of may hidden !!!. Ok we can change our server’s operating system name , web server name and type and version by some tools and mods – soon – . All attacks methods are depend to security of your server . Ok we have some changes in our apache configuration. But is it enough?. At the same way :what is the set of security settings for Apache?.Security is a complex of invisible or bit notes.You can’t deny web viewers to looking your web contents in a little range of time .-in fact you can’t tell to users : Do brows my web contents only one time – but you can denied them to browsing all site in a little range of time – or attacking such as directory traversal attacks or denial of service attack – .This attack can give a large amount of server resources .you can detect this attack and ban the attacker . Apache developed by some modules now, we can select our needed modules for protection. Modules may be a helpful tools if you have enough information about how to work this module .Apache have 3 release version : 1.3.X and 2.0.X and 2.X all of this versions can using some modules. For any platforms that you want to work on it may you need to some changes in configurations and giving resources to web server or changing in firewall rules and etc … . But you are module selector and you are lord of Apache world .Deciding which modules are needed is your job and tuning Apache is your art . Its end of section one for now because I have no time to continue . i’ll be back very soon – iwant build a http server on my bsd box all of notes are really -In the next section we look for details . | Mid | [
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977 S.W.2d 806 (1998) Linda VOEGTLIN and David Voegtlin, Appellants, v. William PERRYMAN, M.D., Appellee. No. 2-97-047-CV. Court of Appeals of Texas, Fort Worth. August 27, 1998. *807 Wells, Williford, Felber & Kraatz, Mike Felber, Fort Worth, for Appellant. Decker, Jones, McCackin, McClaine, Hall & Bates, Randy J. Hall, Fort Worth, for Appellee. Before CAYCE, C.J., and DAY and HOLMAN, JJ. OPINION DAY, Justice. This is a medical malpractice case filed by appellants Linda and David Voegtlin in connection with medical treatment provided to Linda from March 17, 1987 through May 13, 1993 by appellee William Perryman, M.D. *808 Perryman moved for summary judgment, asserting that the Voegtlins' cause of action was barred by the two-year statute of limitations set forth in section 10.01 of the Medical Liability and Insurance Improvement Act. TEX.REV.CIV. STAT. ANN. art. 4590i, § 10.01 (Vernon Supp.1998). Perryman also alleged that because the summary judgment evidence established that the Voegtlins had a reasonable opportunity to discover their injuries and bring suit within the two-year statutory period, the open courts provision of the Texas Constitution did not render section 10.01 unconstitutional as to them. TEX. CONST. art. I, § 13. The trial court entered summary judgment in favor of Perryman without stating the ground or grounds relied on for its ruling. On appeal, the Voegtlins argue in four points that summary judgment was improper because their lawsuit was filed within the statute of limitations and, alternatively, because the statutory limitations period violates the Texas open courts provision and is unconstitutional as to them because the summary judgment evidence established that they did not have a reasonable opportunity to discover the wrong and bring suit within the limitations period. Because the Voegtlins knew of the injury and had a reasonable opportunity to bring suit within the statutory period and they failed to do so, we affirm the trial court's summary judgment in favor of Perryman. CHRONOLOGY The operative facts and dates in this case are not in dispute: September 1987Linda notices a peasized knot in her right breast by self-examination and goes to Perryman's office. Perryman examines her breast and arranges for Linda to have a mammogram performed at Huguley Memorial Hospital ("Huguley Hospital"). October 1987Linda has a mammogram at Huguley Hospital. Perryman's assistant informs Linda that the results were "unremarkable." Perryman tells Linda that they will continue to monitor the lump and that Linda should have a mammogram every two years. November 16, 1987The Voegtlins visit with Dr. David Levine, a local plastic surgeon, and express concern that the lump in Linda's breast might be cancerous. Levine recommends a biopsy of the lump. February 5, 1988The Voegtlins go to Perryman's office for Linda's annual exam. David and Perryman have a heated discussion about whether the lump in Linda's breast is growing larger. David asks Perryman about aspirating the lump or doing a biopsy to make a definitive diagnosis. Perryman does not recommend either procedure but again states that they will continue to monitor the lump. July 1989Linda tells Perryman during an office visit that the lump in her breast has grown larger and that two other pea-sized lumps have appeared. September 1990Linda has her annual exam; the three lumps have migrated into one pecan-sized lump. She goes back to Huguley Hospital for another mammogram. Perryman's assistant tells Linda that the results of this mammogram are the same as the 1987 mammogram. March 13, 1992Linda has her annual physical examination by Perryman; the lump has grown to the size of a walnut with dimpling. Linda does not have her biennial mammogram because Perryman's assistant does not schedule the appointment. March 1993Linda makes an appointment for her annual physical exam with Perryman. She informs Perryman's assistant that another pea-sized lump has appeared in her right breast and that she is scheduling a mammogram for herself at Huguley Hospital so Perryman can review the results at her annual exam. May 1993 On May 14, Linda has a mammogram at Huguley Hospital, which she had arranged on her own. She is told that the large lump in her right breast is malignant. Linda arranges to have a specialist *809 examine her. During depositions, she testifies that this is the first day that she and David "probably thought" they might have a legal claim arising from her medical treatment. Linda keeps her appointment for her annual exam with Perryman. He examines the lump in her right breast and states that it should be biopsied. Dr. Knox, Linda's surgeon, tell the Voegtlins that the lump in Linda's breast should have been biopsied sooner. Dr. Evans and Dr. Jones, two of Linda's treating physicians, also state that the lump should have been biopsied earlier. All three doctors tell the Voegtlins that the lump was most likely cancerous in 1987. June 11, 1993Linda undergoes a right modified radical mastectomy. September 1993 Linda states during deposition testimony that she "didn't really [think]" about the fact that they had a legal claim against Perryman until this date. David states in his testimony that they did not discuss the possibility of legal action at this time. On September 22, 1993, David meets with the Risk Management Department of Huguley Hospital to discuss the "wrong" that he believes Perryman committed by not taking a more aggressive approach to determine the nature of the lump in Linda's breast. Following the meeting, David tells Linda that he informed personnel at Huguley Hospital about their circumstances and specifically, that he believes Perryman should have biopsied the lump and that the hospital is responsible. October 4, 1993The Voegtlins meet with the Risk Management Department at Huguley Hospital and express concern that the lump in Linda's breast had not been biopsied even though it had been present since 1987. January 1994The Voegtlins decide to hire an attorney. Late March/Early April 1994The Voegtlins consult an attorney for the first time about suing various defendants as a result of the medical treatment Linda received. November 21, 1994The Voegtlins send a statutory notice of claim to Perryman, which he received on November 23, 1994. January 31, 1995The Voegtlins file suit against Perryman,[1] alleging that he acted negligently by failing to (1) provide adequate care and management of Linda's breast cancer, (2) timely detect Linda's breast cancer, (3) perform and schedule appropriate clinical breast examinations, (4) appropriately monitor the status of the lumps in Linda's breast, and (5) perform follow-up tests or make referrals to specialists for aspiration or biopsy of the lumps. In response to the Voegtlins' claims, Perryman filed a motion for summary judgment, alleging that the Voegtlins' suit was filed after the two-year limitations period. He also asserted that the open courts provision did not apply to their cause of action because they had a reasonable opportunity to discover the wrong and file suit within the statutory period. Finally, he contended that they did not file their suit within a reasonable time after discovering the wrong. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Perryman. STANDARD OF REVIEW In a summary judgment case, the issue on appeal is whether the movant met his summary judgment burden by establishing that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See TEX.R. CIV. P. 166a(c); Cate v. Dover Corp., 790 S.W.2d 559, 562 (Tex.1990); City of Houston v. Clear Creek Basin Auth., 589 S.W.2d 671, 678 (Tex.1979). The burden of proof is on the movant, and all doubts about the existence of a genuine issue of a material fact are resolved against the movant. See Acker v. Texas Water Comm'n, 790 S.W.2d 299, 301-02 (Tex.1990); Cate, 790 S.W.2d at 562; Great Am. Reserve Ins. Co. v. *810 San Antonio Plumbing Supply Co., 391 S.W.2d 41, 47 (Tex.1965). Therefore, we must view the evidence and its reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. See Great Am., 391 S.W.2d at 47. In deciding whether there is a material fact issue precluding summary judgment, all conflicts in the evidence will be disregarded and the evidence favorable to the nonmovant will be accepted as true. See Harwell v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 896 S.W.2d 170, 173 (Tex.1995); Montgomery v. Kennedy, 669 S.W.2d 309, 311 (Tex.1984). Evidence that favors the movant's position will not be considered unless it is uncontroverted. See Great Am., 391 S.W.2d at 47. The summary judgment will be affirmed only if the record establishes that the movant has conclusively proved all essential elements of the movant's cause of action or defense as a matter of law. See City of Houston, 589 S.W.2d at 678. A defendant who moves for summary judgment based on limitations must establish the defense as a matter of law. See Jennings v. Burgess, 917 S.W.2d 790, 793 (Tex.1996); Delgado v. Burns, 656 S.W.2d 428, 429 (Tex.1983). This includes conclusively showing the date on which the statute of limitations period commenced. See Delgado, 656 S.W.2d at 429. When a trial court's order granting summary judgment does not specify the ground or grounds relied on for its ruling, we must affirm the summary judgment on appeal if any of the theories advanced by the movant are meritorious. See Star-Telegram, Inc. v. Doe, 915 S.W.2d 471, 473 (Tex.1995). ARTICLE 4590i STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS In their first point, the Voegtlins assert that the trial court erred in granting Perryman's motion for summary judgment because they filed suit within the statute of limitations. All health care liability claims are now governed by article 4590i of the Medical Liability and Insurance Improvement Act. TEX.REV.CIV. STAT. ANN. art. 4590i, § 10.01. The statute abolishes the discovery rule in cases governed by article 4590i and imposes an absolute two-year statute of limitations on health care claims regardless of when an injured party learns of the injury. See Jennings v. Burgess, 917 S.W.2d 790, 793 (Tex.1996); Morrison v. Chan, 699 S.W.2d 205, 208 (Tex.1985). A person may extend the two-year limitations period for seventyfive days by giving notice of a claim, see TEX.REV.CIV. STAT. ANN. art. 4590i, § 4.01(c), but notice cannot toll a limitations period that has already expired, see Jennings, 917 S.W.2d at 793; De Checa v. Diagnostic Ctr. Hosp., Inc., 852 S.W.2d 935, 937-38 (Tex. 1993). The limitations period provided in article 4590i, section 10.01 runs from one of three possible dates: (1) the date of the tort; (2) the last date of the relevant course of treatment; or (3) the last date of the relevant hospitalization. See Husain v. Khatib, 964 S.W.2d 918, 919 (Tex.1998); Fiore v. HCA Health Servs. of Tex., Inc. 915 S.W.2d 233, 236 (Tex.App.Fort Worth 1996, writ denied). Although the statute specifies three dates, a plaintiff may not simply choose the most favorable of the dates. See Husain, 964 S.W.2d at 919; Bala v. Maxwell, 909 S.W.2d 889, 891 (Tex.1995). Where the date of the negligence is readily ascertainable, the limitations period must be measured from the date the tort occurred. See Husain, 964 S.W.2d at 919. In this case, the Voegtlins contend that the evidence does not conclusively establish the specific date on which the limitations period began to run because Linda established a "course of treatment" with Perryman based on his examinations of her breasts over several years. The Voegtlins contend that the course of treatment began on March 17, 1987, when Perryman initially examined the lump in Linda's breast and continued until the week of May 21, 1993, when Perryman saw Linda for the last time and recommended that she have the lump biopsied. As a result, the Voegtlins conclude that the statute of limitations did not begin to run until May 1993, at the earliest. However, in light of the Texas Supreme Court's recent decision in Husain v. Khatib, we need not determine whether a course of treatment was established *811 between Linda and Perryman to decide the merits of this point. In Khatib, the appellants contended that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment for appellee Tehmina Husain. Specifically, Khatib argued that Husain committed medical malpractice during a negligent course of treatment and that the limitations period did not begin to run until the final day of that treatment, when the cancer was detected. See Khatib v. Husain, 949 S.W.2d 805, 809-10 (Tex.App.Fort Worth 1997), rev'd, 964 S.W.2d 918, 919 (Tex.1998). The supreme court held that the dates of Husain's alleged negligence were readily ascertainable and thus it was immaterial whether the tort was characterized as a failure to diagnose or as an improper course of treatment case due to a misdiagnosis: Khatib's complaint is that Husain was negligent in not taking actionsmammograms, referrals to specialists, proper breast examinationsthat would have led to earlier discovery of Khatib's cancer. Those events, or non-events, occurred on specific ascertainable dates: January 25, 1990, and September 26, 1991. On August 25, 1992, Hussain ordered the mammogram that detected Khatib's cancer. Therefore, any negligence could only have occurred at the latest at the September 26, 1991, examination. Because the last date on which Husain could have been negligent is September 26, 1991, and the Khatibs did not file this action until November 15, 1994, the statute of limitations bars their claim. Husain, 964 S.W.2d at 920. In the instant case, the Voegtlins contend that Perryman was negligent in not taking actions that would have led to earlier detection of Linda's breast cancer, in particular, performing or recommending a biopsy. Those instances occurred in September 1987; February 1988; July 1989; September 1990; and March 1992. In May 1993, Perryman examined the lump in Linda's breast and recommended a biopsy, which is what the Voegtlins wanted. Therefore, Perryman's last opportunity to wrongly or negligently fail to recognize that Linda had cancer, or negligently fail to recommend a biopsy or other clinical procedure, was on March 13, 1992. Because the Voegtlins did not file their action until January 31, 1995, the two-year statute of limitations bars their claim. We overrule their first point. THE OPEN COURTS PROVISION This determination, however, does not end our inquiry. Once a defendant has established that a suit is time-barred by article 4590i, the plaintiff must allege that, under the open courts provision of the Texas Constitution, the article is unconstitutional as applied to her because it cut off her cause of action before she knew or should have known that it existed. See Hellman v. Mateo, 772 S.W.2d 64, 66 (Tex.1989). The burden then shifts to the party seeking to rely on the limitations statute to negate the open courts defense by conclusively establishing that there is no genuine issue of material fact concerning the time when the plaintiff discovered or should have discovered the nature of the injury and the cause of action. See Jennings, 917 S.W.2d at 793; Hellman, 772 S.W.2d at 66. In this case, the Voegtlins timely challenged the article 4590i statute of limitations under the open courts provision as a defense to Perryman's motion for summary judgment. Consequently, to be entitled to summary judgment, Perryman must have conclusively established that no issue of material fact existed concerning the time when the Voegtlins discovered or should have discovered the nature of the injury and cause of action, see Hellman, 772 S.W.2d at 66, and that the open courts provision does not apply to the Voegtlins' cause of action, see Jennings, 917 S.W.2d at 793. On appeal, the Voegtlins contend that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment for Perryman because (1) to the extent that article 4590i bars their cause of action, it is unconstitutional, (2) a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether the Voegtlins had a reasonable opportunity to discover the wrong and bring suit prior to the expiration of the limitations period, and (3) the Voegtlins' uncontroverted summary judgment evidence established that they did not have a reasonable opportunity to discover the *812 wrong and sue within the limitations period and that they filed their lawsuit within a reasonable time after the discovery of the wrong. Article I, section 13 of the Texas Constitution, the open courts provision, guarantees that all persons bringing common law causes of action will not unreasonably be denied access to the courts. TEX. CONST. art. I, § 13. To establish a right of redress under the open courts provision, a litigant must show (1) that he has a cognizable common-law cause of action, and (2) that restriction of the claim is unreasonable or arbitrary when balanced against the statute's purpose. See Diaz v. Westphal, 941 S.W.2d 96, 100 (Tex.1997); Jennings, 917 S.W.2d at 793. The article 4590i statute of limitations is unconstitutional to the extent that it cuts off a cause of action before the plaintiff knew or should have known the nature of the injury or the facts giving rise to the cause of action. See Hellman, 772 S.W.2d at 66; Adkins v. Tafel, 871 S.W.2d 289, 294 (Tex.App.Fort Worth 1994, no writ). However, if the litigant had a reasonable opportunity to discover the wrong and bring suit within the statutory period, the open courts provision does not apply and the lawsuit is time-barred. See Jennings, 917 S.W.2d at 793; Nelson v. Krusen, 678 S.W.2d 918, 923 (Tex.1984); Fiore, 915 S.W.2d at 237. Furthermore, even if the plaintiff did not have a reasonable opportunity to file suit within the statutory period, he may not obtain relief under the open courts provision if he did not use due diligence and sue within a reasonable time after learning of the wrong. See Fiore, 915 S.W.2d at 237. On an appeal from a summary judgment, we must take as true the uncontroverted evidence of the non-movants. See Hellman, 772 S.W.2d at 66. In this case, the uncontroverted summary judgment evidence established that on May 13, 1993, the Voegtlins discovered that Linda had breast cancer. In her deposition testimony, Linda stated that she and her husband first determined that they might have a legal claim at that time. She also testified that her surgeon and two other treating physicians each stated in May 1993 that the lump in her breast should have been biopsied sooner. The evidence also established that the Voegtlins knew at the time that the cancer was discovered, that Dr. Levin had recommended that the lump be biopsied in 1987, and that Perryman had not recommended that procedure until May 1993. The summary judgment evidence also established that during Linda's 1992 annual exam, David had a heated discussion with Perryman regarding whether the lump should be biopsied and that Perryman did not recommend a biopsy at that time or any later date until after Linda's cancer had already been diagnosed. Despite these facts, Linda stated that she "did not really think about" the fact that they might have potential claim against Perryman until September 1993, after completing her chemotherapy. Furthermore, David testified that he and Linda did not discuss the possibility of legal action in September or October 1993. On appeal, the Voegtlins contend that they were only aware of the injury in May 1993 and did not know they had a valid cause of action until they sought legal representation in late March or early April of 1994. The Voegtlins thus conclude that they did not have a reasonable opportunity to discover the wrong until after the limitations period had expired and further, that the suit filed January 31, 1995 was brought within a reasonable time after discovery of the cause of action. In Adkins v. Tafel, the appellants made a similar contention, claiming that they did not learn of their cause of action until their lawyer's medical expert first confirmed that the defendant had committed malpractice. See 871 S.W.2d at 293. We expressly rejected this argument: [A plaintiff] cannot avoid summary judgment merely by alleging they did not know they had a lawsuit against [the defendant] until their lawyer's expert informed them [that the defendant] had committed malpractice. Adherence to this line of reasoning would discourage due diligence by prospective plaintiffs, and it would allow litigants to bring suits for an indefinite period of time, even if they discovered their injuries well within the statutory period. We do not believe *813 the legislature intended such a result when it enacted the Medical Liability Act. Id. at 294. After examining Texas case law, we held that whether a plaintiff knew (or should have known) that she had a cause of action depended on when the plaintiff acquired knowledge of (1) the injury, (2) its cause, and (3) the identity of the potentially culpable party. Id. at 294. Because the Adkins appellants were aware of the facts that gave rise to their cause of action seventeen to eighteen months before the statute of limitations ran, we concluded that the article 4590i statute of limitations was not unconstitutional as applied to them and affirmed the trial court's judgment. Id. at 295-96. In this case, although the Voegtlins testified that they did not consider bringing a cause of action until after the statutory period ran, this is not competent summary judgment evidence to raise a fact issue regarding whether they had a reasonable opportunity to discover the injury for purposes of an open courts challenge. Perryman's summary judgment evidence conclusively established that in mid-1993, the Voegtlins knew of the facts giving rise to their cause of action and should have known that they had a cause of action. Specifically, in May 1993, the Voegtlins had knowledge of Linda's injury (advanced breast cancer), its cause (no earlier biopsy of the lump to diagnosis the cancer), and the identity of the potentially culpable party (the person who had not ordered a biopsyPerryman). The Voegtlins' deposition testimony established that the three doctors who treated Linda's breast cancer told them that (1) the lump should have been biopsied sooner and (2) the lump was most likely cancerous in 1987 when Linda first consulted Perryman about it. In addition, David testified that in September 1993, when he met with Risk Management at Huguley Hospital, he believed that Perryman had acted wrongly in not taking more aggressive actions to determine the nature of the lump. Nevertheless, the Voegtlins contend on appeal that cases of misdiagnosis are more difficult to prove than other medical malpractice cases and consequently require more extensive investigation and preparation before a lawsuit may be filed. Based on this assertion, they conclude that, notwithstanding the summary judgment evidence, they did not have a reasonable opportunity to bring suit within the statutory period. Despite the Voegtlins' contentions, we find that the statute of limitations is not unconstitutional as applied to them. Based on the uncontroverted summary judgment evidence, it is clear that the Voegtlins knew of the injury and the facts giving rise to their cause of action in June 1993. At that time, they had until March 12, 1994nine monthsto file suit within the statutory period. Furthermore, no issue of material fact exists as to whether the Voegtlins discovered or could have discovered the injury and brought suit within the statutory period. Additionally, the Voegtlins offered no competent summary judgment evidence in support of their contention that misdiagnosis cases require more extensive preparation than other medical malpractice lawsuits. Finally, we note that even if nine months was not a reasonable amount of time to file their lawsuit, the Voegtlins' cause of action would still be barred. They waited more than nineteen months after learning of the injury and almost one year after the limitations period had expired to file suit. Accordingly, we hold that, as a matter of law, they failed to file suit within a reasonable time after discovering the injury and thus are not entitled to relief under the open courts provision. See Fiore, 915 S.W.2d at 238 (holding that suit was untimely, as a matter of law, where plaintiffs waited more than one year after learning of misdiagnosis to sue). For these reasons, we overrule the Voegtlins' second, third, and fourth points. CONCLUSION In this case, the statute of limitations began to run on March 13, 1992, the last day on which Perryman could have acted negligently by failing to detect Linda's breast cancer. Because the Voegtlins did not file suit until January 31, 1995, more than ten months after the statutory period expired, their suit was untimely. Moreover, the open courts provision of the Texas Constitution does not apply to the Voegtlins' claims because they *814 had a reasonable opportunity to discover Linda's injury and bring suit within the statutory period, and, further, because their suit was not filed within a reasonable period of time after discovering the injury. As a result, we hold that article 4590i is not unconstitutional as applied to the Voegtlins. We overrule the Voegtlins' four points on appeal and affirm the judgment of the trial court. NOTES [1] Although the Voegtlins also sued Dr. Chapa, Dr. Evans, and Huguley Hospital, those parties were severed and only Perryman's case is before us on appeal. | Low | [
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Fibrous structures formed from a variety of materials, including natural and synthetic fibers in both staple and continuous form, woven or nonwoven, have long been known and used in filter operations. They are formed into a variety of shapes, e.g., cylindrical cartridge filters, and operate as depth filters. A particularly useful filter of this type is disclosed in the pending U.S. application of Pall et al, Ser. No. 568,824, filed Jan. 6, 1984 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,202), and the corresponding published EPO Application Ser. No. 84309094.5 (Publication Number 0 148 638), the disclosures of which applications are incorporated herein by reference. The cylindrical filter elements disclosed therein comprise a fibrous mass of nonwoven, synthetic, polymeric microfibers. The microfibers are substantially free of fiber-to-fiber bonding and are secured to each other by mechanical entanglement or intertwining. The fibrous mass, as measured in the radial direction, has a substantially constant voids volume over at least a substantial portion of the fibrous mass. Preferably, it also has a graded fiber diameter structure over at least a portion thereof. Depth filters function by mechanical straining of particles as they pass through the pores in the structure. In mechanical straining, particles are removed by physical entrapment as they attempt to pass through pores smaller than themselves. The filtering capability of such filter elements, therefore, is determined in large part by the lower limit on pore size. Somewhat smaller pores can be formed by decreasing fiber diameter, e.g., at a constant voids volume finer fibers will yield smaller pores. Unfortunately, reducing the pore size, while it improves the filtering capability, increases the pressure drop and adversely affects filter life. A filter may also remove suspended particulate material by adsorption onto the filter surfaces. Removal of particulate material by this mechanism is controlled by the surface characteristics of the suspended particulate material in the filter medium. Most suspended solids which commonly are subjected to removal by filtration are negatively charged in aqueous systems near neutral pH. This has long been recognized in water treatment processes where oppositely charged, cationic flocculating agents are employed to improve settling efficiencies during water clarification. Colloidal stability theory can be used to predict the interaction of electrostatically charged particles and surfaces. If the charges of a particle in the filter sheet surface are of like sign and have zeta potentials of greater than about 20 millivolts (mV), mutual repulsive forces will be sufficiently strong to prevent capture by adsorption. If the zeta potentials are small, or more desirably, the suspended particles and the filter surface have opposite signs, the particles will tend to adhere to the filter surface with high capture efficiency. Thus, filter materials characterized by positive zeta potentials are capable of removing, by electrostatic capture, negatively charged particles much smaller than the pores of the filter. Synthetic, polymeric microfibers of the type disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 568,824, e.g., polypropylene microfibers, have negative zeta potentials in alkaline media. Accordingly, their ability to remove negatively charged, suspended, particulate material by adsorption is limited. Additionally, they are hydrophobic. Thus, a filter comprising such microfibers, at a given applied pressure, has lower fluid flow rates than would an otherwise comparable filter comprised of hydrophilic microfibers. In other words, if hydrophobic microfibers are used, one must accept either a higher pressure drop across the fibrous mass or a reduced flow rate. Synthetic, polymeric microfibers, though hydrophobic, do have desirable features. They are resistant to chemical attack. They also are clean, i.e., filter media migration is low. It would be highly desirable to retain the attractive features of polymeric microfibers, and of fibrous structures made therefrom, while obtaining the benefits of hydrophilicity and a positive zeta potential. A process for treating normally hydrophobic, microfibrous, polymeric webs to form hydrophilic, microfibrous, polymeric filter sheets with positive zeta potentials is disclosed in Pall et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 397,762, filed July 13, 1982, and in the corresponding EPO Application Ser. No. 83.303952.2 (Publication No. 0 099 699), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. The process generally comprises: (1) applying a first solution or dispersion of precipitating agent to a hydrophobic web comprised of polymeric microfibers to at least partially wet the web with the first solution; (2) applying a second solution of a water-soluble, non-colloidal, cationic, thermosetting binder resin or polymer to the wetted web of step (1) above to form a web wetted with a mixture of the first solution or dispersion and the second solution; (3) working the wetted web of step (2) above to mix the first solution or dispersion and the second solution, thereby facilitating the precipitation of the binder resin or polymer and the distribution in a uniform manner of the precipitated binder resin or polymer as a coating on the surfaces of the microfibers making up the worked web; and (4) drying the coated web of step (3) above and curing the precipitated binder resin or polymer coating. While that process provides excellent results with thin, flexible, fibrous, filter sheets, thin webs, and the like, for thicker three-dimensional structures characterized by structural rigidity, e.g., the fibrous cylindrical structures disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 568,824, it is less satisfactory since working of the structure to mix the first and second solutions in a uniform manner is difficult, if not impossible. The result can be uneven laydown of the coating since the working possible with thinner, non-rigid fibrous material which facilitates the precipitation of the binder resin or polymer and distribution of the precipitated binder resin in a uniform manner is not possible. As used herein, the term "structural rigidity" refers to the characteristic of three-dimensional microfibrous structures being insufficiently flexible to allow them to be worked or manipulated to an extent that a uniform distribution of binder resin can be accomplished as described above. The present invention, then, is directed to fibrous structures, particularly cylindrical depth filters, and a process for their manufacture. Fibrous structures prepared in accordance with the method of this invention are hydrophilic and have positive zeta potentials. As a consequence of the hydrophilicity and positive zeta potential, they have reduced pressure drops at given flow rates as compared to hydrophobic counterparts and enhanced particulate stability for removal of negatively charged particulate material in fluid media. | Mid | [
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Q: Window background color for a Progress Dialog I have this code in order to display progress dialog: @Override public void onPreExecute() { if(progress == null) progress = ProgressDialog.show(MainActivity2.this, null , null); progress.setContentView(R.layout.progressbar_activity); } This is my progressDialog layout. <LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:id="@+id/layout_root" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="match_parent" android:orientation="horizontal" > <ProgressBar android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="wrap_content" style="@android:style/Widget.ProgressBar.Small.Inverse" android:layout_marginRight="5dp" /> <TextView android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:text="@string/loading" /> </LinearLayout> And this is my main Activity layout: <RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="match_parent" android:background="@android:color/white" android:orientation="vertical" tools:context=".MainActivity" > <LinearLayout android:id="@+id/tittle_bar" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:background="@android:color/black" android:gravity="center" android:orientation="vertical" android:paddingTop="6dip" > <Button android:id="@+id/start_progress" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent" android:text="@string/hello_world" /> </LinearLayout> </RelativeLayout> As you see the background color is white. When I click on the button in mainActivity the progress dialog appears, but the background color of the page becomes gray. --------> I want it to be white as default and the progress dialog text as black. what am I missing? A: I solved my problem by adding <include layout="@layout/progress_bar" /> in main Activity layout. Then I gave a name to Progress Dialog in progressDialog layout such as android:id="@+id/progress_bar. And then with this code, I hided the dialog: @Override protected void onPostExecute(String result) { ProgressBar progressBar = (ProgressBar) findViewById(R.id.progress_bar); progressBar.setVisibility(View.GONE); } | Mid | [
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Tuesday, December 31, 2013 The Surge in Iraq created a huge controversy in American politics when it started in 2007. There were arguments about whether the U.S. should send in more troops or withdraw its forces to solve Iraq’s increasing chaos. Since then there has been a lively discussion about how much of a factor the Surge was in combination with other events such as the sectarian cleansing of Baghdad, the Anbar Awakening, the Sons of Iraq, Moqtada al-Sadr’s cease fire, and more in reducing the violence in the country. To provide an inside view of the Surge is Professor Peter Mansoor the General Raymond E. Mason Jr. Chair of Military History at Ohio State University and General David Petraeus’ former Executive Officer from 2007-2008. He recently published a book about his experience during that time entitled Surge, My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War. 1. The Surge was proposed out of a sense of desperation in Washington about the situation in Iraq. In 2005 sectarian fighting had broken out, but after the February 2006 bombing of the Samarra shrine things quickly descended into a full-scale civil war. President Bush heard several proposals about what to do and decided upon the Surge. He said he was “doubling down” and not only changed the military approach but his own handling of Iraq. Can you explain how the president dealt with Iraq before 2007 and its consequences? President Bush believed that his subordinate commanders should be given wide leeway to prosecute the war as they saw fit. In my view, he believed this was a proper reading of the lessons of the Vietnam, a conflict in which President Lyndon B. Johnson was accused of running the war from the White House. Bush erred in the other direction by supporting his commanders with inadequate supervision from above and nearly suffered defeat in Iraq as a result. The civilian and military leaders in Baghdad developed a strategy and operational concept—focused on killing and capturing terrorist and insurgent operatives while transitioning security responsibilities to the nascent Iraqi security forces as quickly as possible—that allowed the insurgents and al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) to embed themselves among the Iraqi people, while creating a security vacuum that nearly caused Iraq to break apart in 2006. By mid-2006, President Bush sensed that something was wrong and he sought a way to reverse the downward spiral in violence. The result was the Surge. 2. On the ground in Iraq General George Casey ordered Operation Together Forward in 2006 try to secure Baghdad. How was the plan executed and what were its faults? There were two iterations of Operation Together Forward, which were cordon and search operations in the heart of Baghdad intended to clear the city of insurgents. In these two large scale operations a significant number of buildings were searched, weapons caches confiscated, and suspects detained. The problem was that once complete, there were not enough forces left behind to secure the areas ostensibly cleared of insurgents. In time the insurgents and terrorists returned, and the security situation continued its downward spiral. 3. Around that same time you were called to the Pentagon to join the Council of Colonels, which was originally organized by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to discuss the War on Terror, but eventually came to focus upon the Iraq War. What did that group come to see as the main problems in Iraq, and what were its recommendations to solve it? “We are losing because we are not winning, and time is not on our side,” is how the Council of Colonels announced to the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the United States and its allies were losing the Iraq War. This was a revelation and a shock to them. The main problem in Iraq that we saw was an ethno-sectarian competition for power and resources, exacerbated by the intervention of outside powers such as Iran and the injection of jihadists into the conflict. In our view, the United States had three options: Go Big (mobilize its military power to overwhelm the insurgency), Go Long (configure its support to Iraq to prevail over the long haul), or Go Home (withdraw from Iraq and manage the consequences). President Bush chose a combination of Go Big and Go Long, resulting in the Surge. (AP) 4. The Iraq Study Group suggested that the U.S. gradually withdraw its forces while reaching out to Iraq’s neighbors as the best way to stabilize things in the country. Why did you disagree with that approach? Iraq’s neighbors were part of the problem. As long as states such as Iran thought that they could achieve their aims in Iraq through proxy warfare, negotiations with them were a dead end. We proved this during the Surge when the United States and Iran held three negotiations in Baghdad (Ambassador Ryan Crocker was the U.S. representative) that went nowhere. Furthermore, outside powers could not solve the fundamental issues inside Iraq, which were ethno-sectarian in nature and required a resolution from within. 5. Retired General Jack Keane and the American Enterprise Institute argued for an alternative strategy of a population centered counterinsurgency campaign. Why do you think that approach won over President Bush? President Bush wanted to win the war in Iraq. Not lose. Not tie. Not exit the conflict gracefully. I don’t think General George Casey, General John Abizaid, or the Joint Chiefs ever understood the determination of the president in this regard. As the situation in Iraq worsened, President Bush understood that something had to change, but as he pressed his commanders for solutions, the same stock answers came back. Stay the course. Transfer security responsibilities to the Iraqis. The strategy is working, but will take more time. As 2006 progressed, the president realized something had to change. The surge seemed the only viable alternative strategy, and he adopted it as his own. 6. Even before the Surge started in December 2006 a raid upon an Al Qaeda safe house discovered a treasure trove of documents about the group’s strategy for Baghdad. What did those papers reveal about the organization, and what kinds of plans were made to counter it when the Surge began? The raid revealed the importance of the “Baghdad Belts,” or the regions around Baghdad that were in effect insurgent and terrorist sanctuaries. From these regions the insurgents and terrorists could inject violence into the capital city at will. As the document made clear, to control Baghdad, we had to control the Baghdad Belts. As a result, more than fifty percent of the extra combat power provided by the surge ended up being deployed outside Baghdad in al-Anbar Province and the Baghdad Belts. 7. Many have tried to simplify the Surge down to a troop increase, counterinsurgency tactics, and a dynamic leader in General Petraeus. In fact the new strategy was made up of many different elements. Can you go through what those were and how they worked together? General Petraeus has done a wonderful job of describing the new strategy in his Foreword to my book, adapted as an article in Foreign Policy, which can be accessed at here. The surge was a holistic strategy to change the war in Iraq. It featured a new (or at least, one evenly applied across the force) operational concept that stressed the overriding need to protect the Iraqi people from insurgent, militia, and terrorist violence. More forces were needed to realize this goal. Gen. Petraeus also realized that to contain the violence in Iraq, the reconcilable elements of the insurgent and militia opposition (including detainees in coalition custody) needed to be brought into support of the Iraqi government, so outreach to these groups was part of the strategy—bringing the Awakening into play and resulting in the creation of the Sons of Iraq. Targeted strikes to kill or capture irreconcilables were also part of the surge—to eliminate from the equation those who refused to be part of the solution to the conflict. To give the Iraqi people hope for the future, nation building aspects to improve the economy, provide jobs, and deliver essential services were also stressed. If strategy is defined as the provision of ways and means to secure an end, then the Surge was most definitely a new strategy. PM Maliki was fine with the Awakening as long as it stayed in Anbar but when the US started the Sons of Iraq program he was opposed (AP) 8. After General Petraeus found out about the Awakening in Anbar, he decided to try to replicate it throughout the country with the Sons of Iraq (SOI). He was hoping that this would lead to local reconciliation and eventually be connected to the central government. A major barrier to that was Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. What were some of the struggles Coalition officials went through trying to convince Maliki of the advocacy of the SOI, and did he ever seem to fully accept the program? Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki welcomed the Awakening as long as it was confined to al-Anbar Province, a region of little concern to his government and the Shi’a constituency which he represented. When the Awakening and its offspring, the Sons of Iraq, approached areas of greater concern to Shi’a Iraqis, such as Diyala Province or Baghdad, then Prime Minister Maliki and his administration were reluctant to embrace the movement. Gen. Petraeus attempted to assuage Prime Minister Maliki’s concerns by pointing out that it was better to have former insurgents inside the tent, as opposed to outside the tent trying to tear it down. Furthermore, we could gather biometric identification (fingerprints, retina scans) of the Sons of Iraq, along with their personal information, which would make them vulnerable to reprisals should they backslide. Gen. Petraeus also realized that whoever paid the SOI would have control over them. Initially, the paymaster was Multi-National Force-Iraq, but later it was the Iraqi government. This gave Maliki great control over the Sons of Iraq. Despite these certainties, he never warmed to the program, although he is probably now regretting his decision not to do so. 9. One reason that Sunnis seemed willing to join the Sons of Iraq was that they realized that they were losing the civil war. You quoted one U.S. Army Colonel that worked on reconciliation that said, “The Sunnis recognize that they’ve lost, and they’re coming to the table.” The Anbar Awakening also expanded at this time from its start in Ramadi to across the province. Moqtada al-Sadr announced a cease-fire in the middle of 2007, and Premier Maliki eventually went after his militia with the 2008 Charge of the Knights campaign in Basra, Maysan, and Baghdad. This has created a debate within the United States over whether the Surge was the main catalyst for security improving in Iraq or whether it was a combination of the Surge and those other developments in Iraq. What are your thoughts on the matter? The Surge was the catalyst that brought to fruition a number of factors that influenced the outcome of the war in Iraq. Without the Surge, the Awakening would have remained a local movement confined to Ramadi or, at most, al-Anbar Province. Without the improved security conditions in Baghdad created by the Surge, Muqtada al-Sadr would never have offered a cease-fire after the gun battle between his militia and the shrine guards in Karbala in August 2007. Without the Surge, Prime Minister Maliki would not have felt emboldened to confront the Jaish al-Mahdi in Basra, Sadr City, and Maysan Province. On the other hand, the Surge would not have had the same results had it been attempted earlier in the war. It needed the other elements at play in Iraq in 2007 to succeed. 10. President Bush went from delegating Iraq policy to Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and the Pentagon from 2003-2006 to being hands on during the Surge. Why did you believe this was the proper approach for all presidents to take when it comes to conducting a war? In his book Supreme Command, Eliot Cohen analyzes the war leadership of Abraham Lincoln, Georges Clemenceau, Winston Churchill, and David Ben-Gurion, and concludes that hands-on executive leadership is required to ensure success in war. President Bush read Cohen’s book early in his presidency, but didn’t internalize its lessons regarding what kind of leadership was required in difficult endeavors. For the first six years of his presidency, President Bush empowered his key subordinates to wage the war in Iraq without a lot of supervision from the White House. Finally in 2006, Bush realized that he needed to take a hands-on approach to fashioning a strategy to win the war. The resulting concept, the Surge, would not have succeeded without his involvement and support. This example, along with many others, shows the need for presidents to be intimately involved in the details of the strategy for waging war. 11. From late-2007 into 2008 Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I) started concentrating more and more on Shiite militias and Special Groups that were run by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Qods Force commander General Sulaiman. There have been many stories about these operations and some of the interactions between Sulaiman and General Petraeus. Can you speak about what MNF-I’s strategy was to counter the Iranians and whether it was effective or not? MNF-I realized that Iranian support of Jaish al-Mahdi Special Groups was a destabilizing factor in Iraq. Part of Gen. Petraeus’ Surge concept was the even-handed treatment of Sunni insurgents and Shi’a militia operatives. Petraeus pushed very hard to ensure the targeting of extremists of all sects, with excellent results. After the capture of a number of Iranian Qods Force operatives in Iraq, Iran withdrew most of its personnel from the country and moved the training of proxy forces back to Iran. Although MNF-I was able to reduce the effectiveness of Iranian backed operatives, it could not eliminate Iranian influence on the war in Iraq. 12. Throughout the entire Surge there was great skepticism about its effectiveness. That was seen when General Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker had to testify before the American Congress. Less well known was the fact that sectors of the military such as the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Admiral William Fallon who was commander of the Central Command at that time were opposed to the new strategy as well. What were their concerns, and how did they attempt to affect policy? The Joint Chiefs of Staff were concerned that the provision of the Surge forces to Iraq would cause deterioration in the readiness of U.S. ground forces due to the excessive strain put on the Army and Marine Corps by the Iraq War. President Bush gave an excellent reply to these concerns in his meeting with the Joint Chiefs in the Tank in the Pentagon in December 2006 by pointing out that the worst thing that could happen to the U.S. military would be to lose the war in Iraq. All other considerations, in the president’s mind, were secondary. But the Joint Chiefs were lukewarm at best about the Surge, a mindset bolstered by the elevation of General George Casey, the former commander of MNF-I, to be the Army chief of staff in February 2007. Casey didn’t believe the Surge was the right strategy for Iraq, and his presence on the Joint Chiefs dampened what little enthusiasm they had for the new way forward. Admiral Fallon likewise did not believe the Surge was the right strategy for Iraq. Like Casey, Fallon believed that U.S. forces should slowly withdraw from the conflict and allow the Iraqis to fight it out among themselves. He put sand in the gears of the process of providing reinforcements to Iraq to slow it down, much to the consternation of General Petraeus. 13. One of the main goals of the United States from 2007-2008 was to reduce violence so that Iraq’s elite could focus upon politics. Do you think that was achieved by the end of the Surge, and if so what were some examples you saw? The Surge accomplished its goal of enabling the competition for power and resources in Iraq to move back into the realm of politics, at least the kind of politics that doesn’t use bombs and bullets to make its point. In the winter of 2008 the Iraqi Council of Representatives passed a number of laws, such as amnesty legislation, de-Ba’athification reform, and an annual budget, that showed that Iraqi legislators could make deals with one another. After the Charge of the Knights operation in Basra and the clearing of Sadr City in the spring of 2008, all but one of the political parties in Iraq gave a vote of support to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The provincial elections of 2009 brought a large majority of Iraqis of all sects and political persuasions to the polls and brought the Sunnis back into the political process. The wheels started to come off the bus after the presidential election of 2010, when the United States backed Maliki’s candidacy for another term as prime minister instead of supporting the winner of the elections, Ayad Allawi. After that election the Sunnis lost faith in the political process and the jihadists were once again able to make inroads among them. The current violence in Iraq dates to that ill-considered decision, not to the outcome of the Surge, which ended in July 2008. Monday, December 30, 2013 Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki just turned a military tragedy, which rallied much of the country behind the government, into a campaign against the Anbar protest movement. In the middle of December 2013 Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) set up an elaborate trap, which resulted in the death of much of the leadership of the Army’s 7th Division. Baghdad then launched a massive military campaign in Anbar that almost all parties and much of the public supported. In the midst of this offensive however, the prime minister decided to go after the Anbar demonstrators by claiming that they were behind the terrorists, and then ordered the detention of Parliamentarian Ahmed Alwani of the Iraqi Islamic Party who was one of their leaders. The lawmaker was captured, but not before a shoot out that resulted in several deaths and brought out hundreds of people into the streets in Anbar in support of him. Now the government is demanding that the protest sites close. In doing so, Maliki turned a national moment into a personal vendetta against his opponents. In the middle of December 2013 Al Qaeda set a trap for the army, which turned into a rallying point for much of Iraq. On December 16, the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) started a new operation in Anbar. On December 21, the Army’s 7th Division received news that an AQI camp had been discovered in Adham along the Ninewa border. The leadership of the division went to investigate the site believing that it was abandoned, but in fact it was a trap set by the Islamists with booby traps and suicide bombers. The result was that the 7th Division Commander General Mohammed Karawi, his assistant General Mohammed Nauman, and the heads of the 27th and 29th Brigades were all killed. In response, Baghdad immediately ordered a massive campaign against AQI. Most of the political class came out in support of the government, and there were rallies in major cities backing the security forces as well. Several tribes in Anbar also rallied behind the ISF and said they were going to help with the new security crackdown. Sheikh Mohammed al-Hayes for example called on all the sheikhs in Anbar to fight AQI during a meeting in Ramadi, and said that the soldiers dying against the terrorists were mostly native Anbaris. Amidst all of the divisions and sectarian tensions this was a rare moment in Iraq. In recent history there have been few times where Iraqis have rallied behind the flag. The deaths of the officers provided one of those events where both the elite and common people came out to express their support for the security forces and the fight against Al Qaeda. Rallies in Babel and Karbala in support of the security crackdown in Anbar (Al-Mada) In the midst of this nationalist sentiment Maliki decided to destroy the mood and follow his own political agenda. First, the prime minister gave a television interview where he claimed that the Anbar protest sites were harboring Al Qaeda leaders. After talks with local and national politicians the premier seemed to back down, but he didn’t. On December 27 he said that day’s Friday’s prayers were the last for the sit-in sites since they were areas of sedition and threatened to burn down their tents. The next day he ordered the arrest of parliamentarian Ahmed Alwani from the Iraqi Islamic Party who was one of the leaders of the activists. He had an outstanding warrant out for him since September for his sectarian verbal attacks upon Shiites during the rallies. In one speech for instance he said that the followers of Iran were in the country, meaning Shiites, and that they should be beheaded without mercy. The raid on his house led to an hour-long gunfight that ended up killing Alwani’s brother and five of his guards. Politicians from all different parties condemned the move saying that it only inflamed tensions. In Anbar, there were immediate protests in Fallujah and Ramadi in support of Alwani, his clan the Albu Alwan gave the government 12 hours to release him or face the consequences, the demonstrators’ Pride and Dignity Army was deployed to the demonstration sites, and they promised to fight anyone that used force against them. At the same time the ISF put armored vehicles around the protest areas, and the security forces stopped an investigative committee from parliament who wanted to look into Alwani’s arrest from entering the province. Acting Defense Minister Sadoun Dulaimi went on to say that Alwani would be released if the protests were ended, turning the lawmaker into a virtual hostage. Once again, local officials such as Anbar Governor Ahmed Diab, the provincial council, and sheikhs tried to mediate between the central government and Anbaris. Beforehand Maliki was in talks with Anbar politicians and sheikhs to negotiate an end to the demonstrations. Then when the 7th Division officers were killed he went back to making threats and demands against the sit-ins. This has been the prime minister’s long time modus operandi to offer concessions on the one hand, and then use the stick to intimidate people. The premier could not have picked a worse time however to go after his opponents, because it destroyed the nationalist feelings that were spreading throughout the country. MP Alwani giving a speech at the Ramadi protest site (Al-Mada) Rallies in support of Alwani in Anbar, and armed checkpoints set up in Ramadi March in Ramadi Dec. 28, 2013 (AFP) Rally in Fallujah Dec. 28, 2013 (Mohammed Jalil) Fallujah (Mohammed Jalil) Fallujah (Mohammed Jalil) People gathering before a march in Ramadi near Alwani's home as gunmen watch guard Dec. 29, 2013 (AFP) (AFP) (AFP) (AFP) Armed checkpoint in Ramadi Dec. 29, 2013 (Mohammed Jalil) (Mohammed Jalil) (Mohammed Jalil) In one swift move Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki wrecked the chance to unify much of Iraq against Al Qaeda, so that he could take on the Anbar protest movement. The death of the army generals from the 7th Division was a perfect opportunity to reverse the worsening security situation by getting the public behind the government. With popular backing there would have been more intelligence coming in, and less passive support for the insurgency. Instead, Maliki instantly turned to the sit-ins, and restarted his feud with them, which he had just resolved a few days before, and was in the process of negotiating an end to. The prime minister could not pass up the chance to use the military campaign in Anbar to go after the demonstrators as well. By doing so he re-ignited tensions in the province, and probably gave the activists renewed life, just when it looked like they were losing steam with the loss of their political and tribal allies. Now there’s talk of war in the governorate, and that can only end badly for all involved. Any use of force by the ISF would only turn more people towards militancy, because it would just be the latest example of Baghdad not caring about them and the failure of national politics to solve anything. There could not be a better example of the premier’s short-term thinking. He like the rest of the elite only thinks about his own political future, and the country constantly suffers as a result. Violence is already increasing in Anbar as Al Qaeda is trying to re-establish itself there. Now things are on the verge of getting much worse if Maliki forces the matter with the demonstrators. Even if he walks away from the edge it would still be bad, because the attempt to negotiate an end to the protests will be over as well. The prime minister’s inability to think big picture has thus undermined his own work, and now things are much worse in Anbar when they were already heading in the wrong direction. UPDATE Anbar officials claim they worked out a deal with Defense Minister Dulaimi to take down the Ramadi protest site, which was done by local police today, December 30. This was said to be done peacefully, but fighting broke out in Ramadi and Fallujah with 10 dead, 7 gunmen and 3 police, and 43 wounded, 29 gunmen and 14 soldiers, and a mosque in Ramadi was head calling people to jihad against the government forces. Politically the Iraqi National Movement is threatening a boycott of government in protest. Thursday, December 26, 2013 After several attempts at reconciliation between Anbar’s provincial government and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to end the on-going protests there events turned for the worse in December 2013. The premier claimed that the demonstration sites were a base for Al Qaeda and demanded that they be ended, and hinted at a crackdown. Just before that Sheikh Hamid al-Hayes accused the death of his nephew upon the Ramadi protests as well, and threatened to use violence unless the perpetrators were turned over to him. It seemed like either the government or Hayes’ tribe was about to storm the Ramadi protest camp, but then things suddenly calmed down. Stepping back from the brink was best for all concerned, but it was another sign of the decline of the protest movement. In the middle of December Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki attacked the Anbar protest sites as a terrorist haven and threatened to close them down as a result. Maliki said that the situation in Anbar was allowing insurgents to operate there. He claimed that had allowed the province to become a base for Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), that 30 of its leaders were hiding amongst the protesters, and called for those that did not support the Islamists to exit the demonstration sites immediately. Anbar Governor Ahmed Diab backed the premier and had the security forces surround the Ramadi protest area. It seemed like some sort of crackdown was imminent as one of the protest organizers Sheikh Mohammed al-Fayadh told the National Iraqi News Agency. This was a change in tone for the prime minister who had recently been in talks with Governor Diab, the governorate council, and sheikhs such as Ahmed Abu Risha to offer some concessions that might end the demonstrations. The death of much of the leadership of the 7th Division on December 21 by AQI in Anbar’s Horan Valley likely led to Maliki’s reversal on the protesters. Baghdad launched a major security operation in the governorate in response, and the premier probably thought he could force an end to the demonstrations at the same time. Fortunately there was a step back from the brink. Speaker of Parliament Osama Nujafi tried to mediate by making a series of calls to political leaders in the country. He eventually secured a guarantee from the prime minister not to storm the protest sites. Governor Diab also ordered the security forces to withdraw from the Ramadi camp as well. If Maliki had followed through with his threat to clear out the protesters there was a good chance that it would have led to a bloodbath like what happened in April in Hawija when dozens of people were killed and wounded by the security forces during a raid on the demonstrators there. Afterward there was an explosion of violence across western, northern and central Iraq by insurgent groups and tribes, which has not subsided since then. That should have taught Baghdad that force was not the way to deal with the protests. All of the rhetoric by Maliki might have been brinkmanship anyway to scare people to leave the sites rather than an actual threat. At almost the exact same time there was another crisis dealing with Sheikh Hamid al-Hayes. At the beginning of December the sheikh’s nephew was gunned down in Ramadi, and Hayes said his murderers fled into the protest camp there to escape. He gave the organizers 48 hours to turn over the suspects or he would use force to close them down. Hayes was an early supporter of the demonstrators, but has since turned against them. At the beginning of the month for example, he claimed that Al Qaeda was taking over the movement. The provincial council stepped in and got Hayes to back down a bit. The major reason why protests in Anbar and other provinces have been able to sustain themselves for so long compared to previous ones is that it had support of three powerful groups. Those were political parties such as Speaker Nujafi’s Mutahidun and the Islamic Party, tribes likes Hayes and Abu Risha’s, and the clerical establishment. In recent months however, the activists have lost the backing of Mutahidun and many of the sheikhs as well. That was shown by Hayes’ tirade against the Ramadi site. This too might have played a role in Maliki’s threat against Anbar as well, because he could see that organizers did not have the strength that they had before, and might have even found a local ally in Hayes to shut down the protests. These two events are further signs of the problems the Anbar activists are running into. They started in December 2012 after Maliki issued arrest warrants for some of then Finance Minister Rafi Issawi’s bodyguards who hails from Fallujah. They quickly spread to other provinces such as Ninewa, Diyala, Salahaddin, Baghdad, and Tamim. Since the 2013 provincial elections more and more of their supporters have abandoned them. Mutahidun has been scared by the resurgence of Al Qaeda in the governorate and would like to get on to ruling Anbar after its victory in this year’s vote, and that has led it to open talks with Maliki. Hayes and Abu Risha have joined it, and come out in support of Baghdad as well. They have all had a series of meetings with the prime minister, and gained a number of concessions over security and development. This led some organizers to threaten militancy by reviving the idea of forming a Pride and Dignity Army that would supposedly protect Sunnis from the government. Governor Diab responded by calling on the protesters to suspend their activities until after the 2014 national balloting for parliament, and condemned them forming any armed group. He was then criticized by the Islamic Party, activists, and some sheikhs. Without the support of notables in Anbar the demonstrations would not be able to maintain themselves. It is due to this backing that they have been able to build large tent cities and feed the thousands of people who have attended for the last twelve months. Now the pressure is beginning to mount on them not only from Baghdad, which has always been there, but from groups within Anbar itself, which could eventually mean the end of the demonstrations. The Anbar protests were at the brink with threats coming from not only the central government but a local sheikh as well, but that was luckily averted. Now the question is what will come of the movement. They are slowly losing their allies with local voices now calling for their end. That doesn’t mean the protesters will go home any time soon, but the signs are growing that they have lost their luster. Mutahidun wants to focus upon security and governing. Anbar’s sheikhs have been divided since the end of the Awakening, and those rivalries are coming out again. That is the bigger picture that has emerged from the recent events, and bodes ill for the future of the demonstrations. In the middle of December 2013 thousands of Shiites from around the world celebrated Arbaeen by making a pilgrimage to the holy city of Karbala where the Shrine of Imam Abbas resides. These pictures are from Agence France Presse's Mohammed Sawaf showing pilgrims in Karbala on Dec. 22 and 23, 2013. Tuesday, December 24, 2013 Dr. Michael Knights of the Washington Institute for Near East Studies recently testified to a joint committee of the United States House of Representatives that Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) couldn’t help but overstep itself. During the early part of the Iraq War the Islamist organization tried to impose its foreign version of Islam upon Iraq, and intimidated and executed those that disagreed with it. It was actions such as those that eventually turned many Iraqis against it. Today, AQI is making a comeback establishing bases again within the country and carrying out a dizzying array of bombings. As the group looks to gain territory it is returning to its bad habits, which will eventually cost it sometime down the road. As part of its Soldier’s Harvest campaign Al Qaeda is seeking to take and hold areas of Iraq. It has already established itself in regions of Anbar, Diyala, Salahaddin, and Babil provinces. There the group is not only setting up bases and training camps, but also once again trying to dictate its version of Islam upon the populace. Al-Shorfa recently interviewed several people from the village of Jura south of Samarra in Salahaddin governorate, which was temporarily under AQI control. During that period Al Qaeda began passing out flyers setting out rules on how it wanted people to act and behave. Those included not working for or cooperating with the security forces, all women had to wear the hijab, men could not wear western style clothes such as trousers, shirts, and neckties, parents should not buy PlayStations for their children, and schools had to separate boys and girls. A store that sold western clothing was bombed, and some residents were publicly whipped for breaking these strictures. These are the exact same tactics that Al Qaeda followed before that turned much of the population against them. In Anbar for example, many sheikhs complained about how the Islamists would kill anyone that disagreed with them. It murdered sheikhs, beheaded some and booby-trapped others with explosives. It dragged women and children out into the streets to discipline them and scared people into follow their orders. The Islamists went from allies of the Iraqis to their enemies. After a few years of this type of rule many locals turned against the organization. The same thing is likely to happen again as AQI moves into towns like Jura and attempts to impose its will over it. Al Qaeda may be a successful terrorist organization, but it will never be a popular movement. Its form of Islam is too strict and foreign for Iraqis to ever accept. Its threats against men for wearing t-shirts and blowing up a store that sold them is just one example of how the group will over overstep its welcome. AQI is only just now attempting to gain territory in Iraq, and therefore has only been able to hand out its flyers in a few places. If it is able to spread its influence it will eventually anger the locals. It will then be up to the government to take advantage of the situation by reaching out to the people and offering them protection and safety from the extremists. Given Iraq’s intense divisions and the short-term thinking of its leaders it’s not clear that Baghdad is able to think in those terms. As Dr. Knights pointed out in that same Congressional hearing the security forces have purposely abandoned counterinsurgency tactics, because the central government did not want to work with the populace. If the security situation worsens it may be forced to otherwise the country will only descend further into violence, and it will be just as much the authorities fault as the insurgents. SOURCES Knights, Dr. Michael, testimony on “The Resurgence of al-Qaeda in Iraq” to Joint Subcommittee Hearing, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, 12/12/13 Professor Nadje Al-Ali is a professor of gender studies at SOAS, University of London. She has authored several books and articles on the history and present state of Iraqi women including Iraqi Women: Untold Stories From 1948 to the Presentand What Kind of Liberation?: Women and the Occupation of Iraq, and was one of the editors of We Are Iraqis: Aesthetics and Politics in a Time of War. The Iraq War has given rise to a number of contradictory stories about women in Iraq. One is that Iraqi women were liberated and on the rise under Saddam, and then all that was reversed after the 2003 invasion as religious parties gained control and attempted to impose their views upon society. An opposing view was that Iraq was a typical Arab Muslim country where women had a secondary role, but then the Americans freed them from these restrictions. To try to provide a clearer picture of what women have gone through both before and after the fall of Saddam Hussein is an interview with Prof. Al-Ali. 1. The Baath took power in Iraq in the 1968 coup. It had a modernizing vision for Iraq, which Saddam Hussein partially implemented when he assumed control of the country. Part of that was opening up opportunities for women. That accelerated during the 1980s when many men were drawn into the military for the Iran-Iraq War. What exactly was the Baathist vision for women and what kind of policies did Saddam carry out during the 1970s and 1980s? Iraqi women at university in Iraq in the 1970s The Baath regime came to power in 1968, and Saddam Hussein actually became president in 1979, so there was a decade when he was vice president. The Baath Party’s ideology initially was very secular, Arab socialist, and nationalist, and I think very similar to other post-colonial secular leaders in the region like Ataturk and also the Shah of Iran. In the 1950s and 60s and 70s in many countries in the region there was a push to modernize and an understanding that this process meant pushing women into education and the labor force. This process was sped up in the Iraqi context because of the economic conditions. In the early 70s there was an oil crisis, and then afterward oil prices shot up and so all the oil producing countries had their economies boom. While some of the other countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait dealt with this boom and expanding economy by trying to bring in foreign laborers the Iraqi government tried to mobilize its own human resources, 50% of which was women. In the 70s there was a very strong push for women’s education. Lots of schools were built, lots of universities were built, lots of scholarships were made available to women, also to study abroad to get M.A.’s and PhD’s. There were systems in place that allowed women to have families and children and work. For example childcare was free, and transportation to work and school was free. Those were the kinds of systems put in place that allowed women to have active working lives. And when I say women I mean mainly the urban women, although in the countryside there were also literacy campaigns. There was also something called the General Federation of Iraqi Women that was like the female branch of the Baath Party, and it was responsible for implementing some of the state’s modernizing policies. For instance, it had a big campaign to raise awareness about health and hygiene, how to feed children, and it also had a very successful literacy campaign. At the end of the 70s Iraq actually received a prize from UNESCO for being the country that managed to raise its female literacy the quickest. Saddam posing with Iraqi school girls in the 1970s You can speak about the ideology of the Baath, which was secular and socialist in outlook with a centralized state and wanting to modernize. In other ways it was just being pragmatic. It was responding to the situation on the ground and decided that it had human resources and it should take advantage of them. Lots of Iraqi women, even those who were in opposition to the regime and who might have suffered under the regime, who I have talked to think with nostalgia about the 70s when there was an expanding economy, social-economic rights, and the state was quite generous. In my mind, it is not true that Saddam Hussein and the Baath Party lasted so long just because they brutally repressed the population. I think they also bought off the expanding middle class. In terms of social-economic rights, in terms of access to education, health care, having a house, a freezer, a car, people could do quite well if they didn’t open up their mouths. This was all in the 1970s Than in the 1980s there was the Iran-Iraq War. During that period things changed drastically. Lots of the state funding, instead of channeling it into education, health care, and child care, it got channeled into the military, and that’s when things started to shift. But because it was such a long war where thousands and thousands of men fought and died that also meant that over a long period of time women started taking over many of the roles that men initially played not only in terms of different jobs in the labor force, but also in the state bureaucracy and administration. So women became very visible in the 80s. There was also a shift in state ideology. It wasn’t about the good Iraqi woman being the educated, working woman like in the 70s, but in the 80s the good Iraqi woman became the mother of future soldiers. At some point, Saddam Hussein said that every good Iraqi woman should have five children. The government made abortion illegal, contraception illegal, and it gave very generous subsidies to baby foods, and things like that. 2. In 1989 the Iran-Iraq War ended and there was a demobilization of the military, and then shortly afterwards Iraq invaded Kuwait and faced international sanctions. How did those changes affect the status of women? What really had a devastating affect upon Iraqi women was not the Gulf War in 1991, but the 13 years of economic sanctions. To my mind I feel that part of history should not be forgotten. You can’t actually understand contemporary Iraq without understanding the impact that the sanctions had on society. Lots has been written and talked about the humanitarian crisis that occurred during that period in terms of health care and education. When it came to women it really triggered a shift to greater social conservatism. That had different causes. One was that when people are fighting and struggling over resources and over jobs there is often a call for women to go back home and look after the children. That happened in Iraq where in some parts you had up to 70% unemployment. The state couldn’t afford all these generous welfare policies anymore or pay salaries. A large percentage of Iraqi women who had been in the public sector were suddenly told the state couldn’t afford them to work anymore, because they couldn’t pay for child care, transportation, and salaries. The other thing was that by the 1990s there was a huge demographic imbalance between men and women because more men had been killed in the Iran-Iraq War and Saddam’s political persecution had driven more men to flee the country. By the 90s there was 55-60% women, with many female-headed households and many widows. Before there was an extended family network that would support people, but by the 90s each nuclear family was just busy surviving. One of the things that happened was that there was an increase in prostitution. That was also partly pushed by the regime and a class of nouveau rich and war profiteers who made lots of money from smuggling. The big impact wasn’t that suddenly there was so much more prostitution, but that there was an awareness that there was more prostitution. Eventually the regime crackdown on prostitution, because although it was initially behind creating the market for it the regime got very embarrassed when the Jordanian government complained about the number of Iraqi women who came to Jordan to work as prostitutes. Afterwards it was a matter of protecting the honor of the nation, so Saddam’s son Uday brutally cracked down on a number of prostitutes and pimps and publicly beheaded them. In the aftermath there was a panic and lots of families became very protective of their daughters, sisters, and wives. Lots of Iraqi women told me that in previous decades, female students had been able to go after school or university for coffee or ice cream with their friends, but during the 90s, they weren’t able to do that anymore. They had to dress much more conservatively. Mobility became more difficult. The dress code became much more constrained. Even more seriously polygamy increased during the sanctions period. As families were struggling to survive some families agreed to have their daughters get married to older men who had more money as a kind of survival strategy. This shift towards greater social conservatism in the 90s is an important background in order to understand what happened after 2003. Also, lots of people had left by 2003 including many secular, educated, and middle class people, and this has had an impact on what’s going on today. 3. After the 2003 invasion the Coalition Provisional Authority said that it attempted to make some changes to the country that would empower women as part of transforming the society. They set up a quota system for example that reserved 25% of the seats in parliament for women. Do you think the Americans were able to make any progress for women? First we need to challenge the idea that the United States installed the quota system. The quota system was enshrined in the constitution and previously in the Transitional Administrative Law despite objections from the CPA, particularly Paul Bremer. In the spring of 2004 a delegation of Iraqi women’s rights activists went to see Paul Bremer, and asked for 40% representation in the parliament saying that women actually make up the majority of the Iraqi population. They told him that Iraqi women had played an important role in keeping the country together during the dictatorship and the Iran-Iraq War, and now women wanted a piece of the new Iraq. Bremer looked at them and said “We don’t do quotas.” It was only due to intense lobbying on behalf of Iraqi women’s rights activists and transnational women’s solidarity by international organizations and media coverage of this lobbying that the Transitional Administrative Law and later the constitution included a compromise 25% of seats quota for women in parliament. This was due to pressure from Iraqis and international groups, not because the Americans put it together. Secondly, I personally think that a quota can be a positive thing, but not in and of itself. If a quota is the only thing there is then it is not doing that much to represent women. What has happened in Iraq is that the 25% of parliament who are women are to a large extent the wives, sisters, and daughters of male politicians. They are also often very conservative male politicians. One should say that it has allowed some outspoken women into the parliament, but that is just a small number. It’s also complicated because over a period of time women who initially looked towards how the men were voting before they put up their own hand started to develop their own views and voices and sometimes work across religious and ethnic lines with other women on some issues that are less controversial like access to health care for example or education. On the other hand without the quota there probably would be hardly any women in the parliament. If you have conservative Islamist members of parliament you might as well have some of them be women. But that doesn’t mean they protect women’s rights, and we need to be clear about that. Another thing to be said about the quota is that it is not applied consistently. It is applied in parliament, but not in the ministries or within any of the important committees that decide things, so it is quite inconsistently applied. A quota only really works if it is linked to other measures and policies, so if it is just a quota and everything else is gender blind then it is really only cosmetic. 4. There are many religious parties that run the country such as the Dawa, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, the Sadrists, the Iraqi Islamic Party, etc. What kind of impact have those parties had? I think we need to distinguish between an Islamic view, which many Iraqis were ready for because after all they had experienced a brutal dictatorship for several decades, which was secular. So as a reaction to that many people thought that a more Islamic government would be the solution. I think that the Islamist parties that have come to power post-2003 are not just Islamists but sectarian. I hold the politicians who lived outside of Iraq for a long time and were in the opposition partly responsible for the increase in sectarianism. I don’t think it’s right to say that sectarianism didn’t exist before 2003, and certainly Saddam Hussein played on sectarianism and he did stir up sectarian sentiments, but these new political parties helped by the CPA, which based the Iraqi Governing Council on ethnic and sectarian divisions, and then the first elections institutionalized sectarian politics. So it’s not only Islamism, which is already problematic, but its Islamist-sectarianism imposed from above. I think right now on one hand many people are really fed up with the Islamist-sectarian politicians, and on the other hand I think sectarianism is really deep and engrained, much more so than it was during the height of sectarian tensions in 2007. Speaking more specifically about women clearly they are getting it from both sides. On the one hand they have now been exposed to a government that’s largely been based upon Islamist politics, which is either ignoring issues related to women or the laws around like the Personal Status Code, which is a set of laws that governs divorce, marriage, and inheritance. There is a strong push to create one that is a more conservative interpretation of Sharia law as opposed to the one before that has been in place since 1959. That one was alsobased upon Sharia law, but it was a progressive reading. I think women are now being used by the Islamist government to show that they are different from the previous regime, which was secular. At the same time, women are being used by insurgents and various militia groups to show resistance to western imperialism. So women are being crushed by both sides by these conservative Islamist forces. Children heading to school in Baghdad (NY Times) 5. You talked about how woman had a lot more opportunities in the 1970s and 80s, and how that changed during the sanctions period. How about today because most U.N. reports that talk about women in terms of schooling and work force participation show very low numbers? One big issue is security. Sending your children to school in general is scary for many parents. For girls, parents worry even more, especially in neighborhoods that are not safe. There are threats in terms of kidnapping, forced prostitution, and trafficking. Lots of young women are being trafficked out of Iraq. Those kinds of risks and threats and lack of security negatively impact young women’s education as well as labor force participation, because parents worry about sending their daughters out. Women do work, but there is a lot of unemployment in Iraq generally so there is competition for jobs. I have a lot of contacts in universities, and women work there, but their opportunities are very limited. 6. Looking into the future Iraq is a country that has a lot of potential. Do you see opportunities for women opening up for them in the coming years? Defintely. Iraqi women have been extremely resourceful, creative and courageous over these past decades, and they will continue to be so in the future. There is a very active women’s movement across central and southern Iraq as well as in Iraqi Kurdistan. Women are not only lobbing for more equality and women’s rights, but they are also at the forefront of the opposition against authoritarianism, sectarianism, and corruption. I have been very impressed by some young women who are determined to educate themselves and make a difference in Iraq. However, I think that short-term, or even the next decade, will be extremely tough for women as they are squeezed between Islamists, corrupt politicians, a police and judiciary that is not very sympathetic to women’s plights, such as various forms of gender-based violence, mafia-type gangs and militia, as well as a revival of conservative tribal leaders and practices. IRAQ HISTORY TIMELINE TWITTER About Me Musings On Iraq was started in 2008 to explain the political, economic, security and cultural situation in Iraq via original articles and interviews. If you wish to contact me personally my email is: [email protected] | High | [
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Johansson - Extra Each participants was asked to give a urine sample 4 times during the day, so that their adrenaline levels could be measured. This is a physiological measure. Their body temperature was recorded at the same time to give an indication about how alert a person is. These measures were combined with a self-report where each participant had to say how much caffeine and nicotine they had consumed since the last urine sample. They also had a list of emotions and feelings such as sleepiness, well-being, calm, irritation and efficiency. These were on a continuum from minimum to maximum and on a millimetre scale. The score was how many millimetres from the minimum base point the participants had marked themselves to be feeling. This combined method of physiological measures and self-reports gave some good quantitative and qualitative data that enabled Johansson to comapre the 2 groups and have some understanding of the impact of higher stress levels on the participants. | Mid | [
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Case: 17-14959 Date Filed: 08/29/2018 Page: 1 of 9 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 17-14959 Non-Argument Calendar ________________________ D.C. Docket No. 1:15-cr-00222-ODE-JKL-1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus ANTONIO LEDON JONES, a.k.a. Antonio Deangelo Jones, a.k.a. Shorty P, Defendant-Appellant. ________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ________________________ (August 29, 2018) Before WILSON, NEWSOM, and JULIE CARNES, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Case: 17-14959 Date Filed: 08/29/2018 Page: 2 of 9 Antonio Ledon Jones appeals his 130-month sentence for possessing with the intent to distribute heroin. He argues that his sentence was procedurally unreasonable because the district court failed to sufficiently state its reasons for imposing its sentence. He also argues that his sentence was substantively unreasonable because, he says, the district court failed to give adequate consideration to other similarly-situated offenders and placed excessive emphasis on his criminal history. Because we conclude that Jones’s sentence is reasonable, we affirm. I Jones pleaded guilty to one count of possessing with the intent to distribute heroin, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). According to the presentence investigation report, by age 40, Jones had accumulated more than 20 prior convictions. Those crimes include, among other things, possessing cocaine, battery causing injury to a police officer, aggravated battery (three times), selling heroin, theft by shoplifting, and willful obstruction of law enforcement officers. The PSI concluded that Jones qualified for the career offender enhancement, resulting in a guidelines range of 151 to 188 months imprisonment. At the sentencing hearing, the district court adopted the PSI’s guideline calculations. At the request of the parties, it varied downward one offense level, resulting in an adjusted guidelines range of 140 to 175 months imprisonment. 2 Case: 17-14959 Date Filed: 08/29/2018 Page: 3 of 9 Both Jones and the government requested a 72-month sentence. The government noted that Jones was arrested as part of its “drug market intervention” initiative in The Bluff, a neighborhood in Atlanta. The government argued that Jones was less culpable than other defendants arrested as part of that initiative because he was arrested at the beginning of the initiative, before the government had given fair warning that it would start arresting individuals in that area who sold drugs. The district court disagreed with the parties’ position that the career offender designation was inappropriate, concluding that “the career offender designation in Mr. Jones’s case is not merely technically correct, it’s actually correct.” The court noted that Jones has “an extremely serious criminal history involving both drug crimes and crimes of violence,” and reasoned that there was no “strong reason here for going below the bottom end of the career offender guideline range.” The court further noted Jones’s “pattern” of selling drugs, and found that “there is a very high risk of recidivism.” The court concluded that “even taking into account the argument that the defense and the Government have made I just don’t think a 72- month sentence is the right sentence in this case.” The court continued, “I think a sentence of 140 months is more appropriate given Mr. Jones’s significant criminal history.” The court then allowed Jones to present a chart showing how his crime compared to other defendants arrested as part of the drug market intervention initiative. The court concluded that the chart didn’t “add[] a lot,” given that Jones 3 Case: 17-14959 Date Filed: 08/29/2018 Page: 4 of 9 “has a terrible criminal history.” The court then imposed a 130-month sentence, which was 10 months below the bottom of the guidelines range. II In reviewing the reasonableness of a sentence, we first determine if the district court committed a significant procedural error such as miscalculating the guideline range, treating the sentencing guidelines as mandatory, failing to consider the relevant 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors, selecting a sentence based on erroneous facts, or failing to explain the sentence selected. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007). Assuming we find no procedural error, we then ask whether the sentence is substantively reasonable in light of the totality of the circumstances and the Section 3553(a) factors. Id. A Jones argues that the district court imposed a procedurally unreasonable sentence by failing to state the reasons for the imposition of the sentence. 1 A sentencing court must state in open court the reasons for its imposition of the particular sentence. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(c). To satisfy Section 3553(c), the district court’s reasons must be specific enough to allow an appellate court to meaningfully review the sentence in the manner envisioned by the sentencing guidelines. United States v. Parks, 823 F.3d 990, 997 (11th Cir. 2016). “The 1 Our review is de novo. United States v. Bonilla, 463 F.3d 1176, 1181 (11th Cir. 2006). 4 Case: 17-14959 Date Filed: 08/29/2018 Page: 5 of 9 length and amount of detail describing the district court’s reasoning depends on the circumstances.” United States v. Ghertler, 605 F.3d 1256, 1262 (11th Cir. 2010). A sentencing court is not required to incant the specific language used in the guidelines, articulate its consideration of each factor, or state that a particular factor is not applicable, so long as the record reflects the court’s consideration of many of the factors. United States v. Bonilla, 463 F.3d 1176, 1182 (11th Cir. 2006). The district court needs only to set forth enough to demonstrate that it considered the parties’ arguments and had a reasoned basis for exercising its own legal decision-making authority. Ghertler, 605 F.3d at 1262. We conclude that the district court adequately explained why it sentenced Jones to 130 months imprisonment. The court heard argument from both parties about “what a reasonable sentence would be in this case.” The court acknowledged Jones’s mitigating circumstances—including his difficult childhood, the small amount of drugs involved in the instant offense, and the showing of support from his family—but nonetheless determined that a significant downward departure was not justified in light of his “significant criminal history” and “very high risk of recidivism.” The court also heard further argument about how Jones compared to other defendants arrested as part of the same initiative, but rejected those arguments because Jones’s “terrible criminal history” warranted a higher 5 Case: 17-14959 Date Filed: 08/29/2018 Page: 6 of 9 sentence. We therefore conclude that the district court satisfied its responsibility under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(c)(2). B Jones also argues that his below-guidelines 130-month sentence is substantively unreasonable. We review the reasonableness of a sentence under the deferential abuse-of-discretion standard. United States v. Irey, 612 F.3d 1160, 1188-89 (11th Cir. 2010) (en banc). We will affirm any sentence that falls within the range of reasonable sentences, even if we would have decided that a different sentence was more appropriate. Id. at 1191. The party who challenges the sentence bears the burden to show that the sentence is unreasonable in light of the record and the Section 3553(a) factors. United States v. Tome, 611 F.3d 1371, 1378 (11th Cir. 2010). A district court must select a sentence that is “sufficient, but not greater than necessary,” to reflect the seriousness of the offense, promote respect for the law, provide just punishment, deter criminal conduct, and protect the public. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(2). In making its selection, the district court must also consider (1) the nature and circumstances of the offense and the characteristics of the defendant, (2) the kinds of sentences available, (3) the sentencing guideline range, (4) the pertinent policy statements of the Sentencing Commission, (5) the need to avoid sentencing disparities among similarly-situated defendants, and (6) any need for 6 Case: 17-14959 Date Filed: 08/29/2018 Page: 7 of 9 restitution to victims. Id. § 3553(a)(1)–(7). We will vacate a sentence as substantively unreasonable only if we are “left with the definite and firm conviction that the district court committed a clear error of judgment in weighing the Section 3553(a) factors by arriving at a sentence that lies outside the range of reasonable sentences dictated by the facts of the case.” Irey, 612 F.3d at 1190. Jones asserts that the district court gave “undue weight to [his] criminal history, which he had in common with” other defendants arrested as part of the initiative. Br. of Appellant at 32. But the weight to give to each factor under Section 3553(a) is a matter committed to the sound discretion of the district court, United States v. Clay, 483 F.3d 739, 743 (11th Cir. 2007), and the court is permitted to “attach great weight to one factor over others,” United States v. Rosales-Bruno, 789 F.3d 1249, 1254 (11th Cir. 2015) (quotation omitted). Here, as the district court explained, Jones had a “terrible criminal history,” which was more serious than the criminal records of other defendants arrested as part of the initiative. It was reasonable for the district court to conclude that the 130-month sentence—10 months below the bottom of the guidelines range—was appropriate considering “the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of this particular defendant.” Jones also asserts that the district court “failed to give adequate consideration to the sentences of other … defendants” arrested as part of the same 7 Case: 17-14959 Date Filed: 08/29/2018 Page: 8 of 9 initiative and “created unwarranted sentencing disparities between” himself and those other defendants. Br. of Appellant at 32. But the court did consider the sentences of other defendants arrested as part of the initiative. Specifically, the court considered a chart prepared by Jones’s counsel comparing him to other career offender defendants arrested as part of the same initiative. The court concluded that the chart didn’t “really add[] a lot” because Jones had a “terrible criminal history” which showed a “pattern” of criminal behavior. The court therefore did not ignore the sentences of other defendants, but instead considered them and found that factor to be outweighed by his criminal history. See United States v. Sanchez, 586 F.3d 918, 936 (11th Cir. 2009) (“It is sufficient that the district court considers the defendant’s arguments at sentencing and states that it has taken the § 3553(a) factors into account.”). Nor did the district court “ignor[e] mitigating factors.” Br. of Appellant at 32. The district court acknowledged those factors—including his difficult childhood, the small amount of drugs involved in the instant offense, and the showing of support from his family—but again, concluded that they were outweighed by his criminal history. See Sanchez, 586 at 936. 8 Case: 17-14959 Date Filed: 08/29/2018 Page: 9 of 9 III Given the deference owed to the district court’s decision that the Section 3553(a) factors, on balance, justify the sentence, we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion. AFFIRMED. 9 | Low | [
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Q: pass two promise from one service method angularjs function getOrderItemInfo() { var deferred = $q.defer(); $http.get('v1/order/show') .success(function(res){ var data = res.data; var users = auth.getCurrentUser().children; /* would like to pass deferred.resolve(data); */ users.forEach(function(e){ e.user_id=e.user_id.toString(); }) var finalArray = _.differenceBy(users, data, "user_id"); /* would like to pass deferred.resolve(finalArray); as well */ if(finalArray.length > 0){ deferred.resolve(finalArray); }else{ users.status = "404"; deferred.resolve(users.status); //return; console.log("Does not exist"); } }).error(function(error){ console.log(error); deferred.reject(data.message); }); return deferred.promise; } I want to pass two promise from one function service deferred.resolve(data); deferred.resolve(finalArray); When call this service method return two array is this possible please guide A: you can create an object and resolve that object. deferred.resolve({ finalArray : finalArray, data :data }); | Mid | [
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What is the Tomatometer®? The Tomatometer rating – based on the published opinions of hundreds of film and television critics – is a trusted measurement of movie and TV programming quality for millions of moviegoers. It represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show. From the Critics From RT Users Like You! Fresh The Tomatometer is 60% or higher. Rotten The Tomatometer is 59% or lower. Certified Fresh Movies and TV shows are Certified Fresh with a steady Tomatometer of 75% or higher after a set amount of reviews (80 for wide-release movies, 40 for limited-release movies, 20 for TV shows), including 5 reviews from Top Critics. AUDIENCE SCORE Cyrano Videos Cyrano Photos Movie Info For its third animated-cartoon presentation, ABC Afterschool Special offers a streamlined adaptation of Edmond Rostand's romantic play +Cyrano de Bergerac. The best swordsman and wittiest raconteur in all France, Cyrano de Bergerac (voiced by José Ferrer, recreating his most famous Broadway role) also has one of the largest noses known to man, and it is for this reason that he is reluctant to declare his love for the beautiful Roxanne. This, however, does not prevent Cyrano from helping his handsome but somewhat cloddish friend Christian win Roxanne's hand, simply by surreptitiously feeding flowery dialogue to Christian while the latter pitches woo. Cyrano was produced by the busy Hanna-Barbera studios. | High | [
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Join This Site To join this site, ensure you have logged in with your Wikidot Account and click the button below. Enter the password provided in the news files on game into the box on the next page and click the button there, too. Like most coastal cities, Gotham features a substantial population connected to the sea. Extensive dockworks and fisheries built up near the harbor show hat quite clearly. However it's a feature of the modern era that even those who make their living on the rolling blue don't always know the secrets contained therein. That's mostly for the best. Tonight, a lone, lean man in a long coat walks a lonely, decrepit road at Gotham's edge, glancing back and forth with a frown. There's deep magic here. Dark magic. Old magic. Something brought by the people across the sea eons ago, and it's beginning to wake. He may need some help. The Old Wolf reaches into his pocked and retrieves a cellphone, dialing a number he never uses. "Barbara, can you hear me? There's going to be trouble at the North Shore. Soon." *** In the Clocktower, Oracles face is lit by the flickering from her screens, green eyes monitoring her teams on the ground. The phone ringing elicits a bemused glance, as does the number that appears. "Yes, I can hear you Fenris. North Shore, soon. I'll send some of teams that way. What type of trouble, do you know yet?" The redhead looks grim. This is not usual for Fenris. Through the Oracle network, the wheelchair bound woman speaks "All teams, this is Oracle, support is needed in North Shore. Now. Exact nature of the threat is still being determined. Please acknowledge and advice when you're heading that way." *** Sleep didn't always come easy to Kara, even though her body needed it; it was a fitful time for her often filled with nightmares about Krypton and the things she had seen on Earth. When she couldn't sleep, she often flew. She had no other excuse for flying around aimlessly, her course taking her inexplicitly towards Gotham City. Spying the lone figure in the longcoat on the decrepit road she decides to go check it out. Setting down on the ground not far from Fenris, she asks the man, "Are you lost Sir? It's not very safe to be out at this time of night." She had never been to Gotham but she had heard the rumors. *** "Acknowledged, Oracle," says Robin. He's not far from the shore, and makes his way there quickly enough, batline rapidly carrying him across the city. He stops on a rooftop overlooking the area, scanning below to see what the issue may be. Old guy in trench coat. Supergirl. This latter causes him to doubletake, if briefly. In general non-Gotham heroes steer clear of the city — by and large out of respect for/fear of Batman. But Supergirl is Supergirl. He doubts she has much fear of Batman, and while he's generally heard good things about her, her presence in Gotham might not be the best. "Heads up, Oracle. We have Supergirl on site." *** "So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night." The song is sung in a child-like voice, thought it could just as easily belong to an adult. "I hate to go and leave this pretty sight." There is button mashing going on up there. "So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu. Adieu, adieu, to yieu, and yieu, and yieu." And with every 'yieu', Deadpool kills another person as he plays Assassin's Creed III: Liberation on a PlayStation Vita. With an exaggerated yawn, he pauses his game and stretches his arms, cracking some muscles in the process. "Time for a quadruple B," a big belly burger break for those following at home, he says as he stands up from the green lawn chair with a cherry motif and reaches for the greasy brown bag. Opening it, he allows the smell to rise up and fill his masked nostrils with that intoxicating scent. He unwraps the burger, takes a big bite, and then immediately spits it out, "eww, there are onions in this! Damnit, now I gotta take it back and have a word with Todd. And he looked so confident when he took my order." Just as he was about to hop down, he noticed two people, one was a real cutie, and the other kind of looked like a female version of Superman. And he waited. "Let's see how this plays out?" *** The tall, lean man looks over to Supeprgirl and cants his head slightly. Not the kind of help he was expecting Oracle to send but he'll take it. "No, sadly not." He can't resist. "Not all who wander are lost, you know. And it's about to get less safe here." He can feel the old magic boiling up from the sea. And a moment later, see… something quite literally boiling up from the sea. Draugr. In this case, the sea giving up it's dead in a way decidedly not what the author of that phrase had in mind when it was penned. Everyone present will hear, at the very edges of their hearing, faint snatches of a song somewhere behind… it's a sad, sweet, haunting, piercing melody. One that could wake the dead. And apparently has. "Someone's singing the Siren's song. And the dead are responding." The old wolf plucks a necklace off his neck. In a moment it's a very large sword apparently made of silver. "They will do, as one might expect, rather awful things if allowed to run rampant. Oracle, locate the singer. She must be nearby, somewhere. She has to be stopped." Fenris hasn't noted Deadpool yet, nor Tim, but his voice is clearly audible as he speaks to Kara. "I could probably use some help with this." *** "Acknowledged Robin." Oracle watches the Avatar with the little robin move across her screen towards Fenris. The video feeds for the area are pulled to the centre and enlarged. "A female singer, acknowledged Fenris. Looking now. Robin is approaching your location…." she pauses as she notes the burger eating man "You have someone else on the lawn near you too." There's a number of cameras, and angles, to view, none with sound, it will take Oracle a few moments to locate the singer. *** Kara blinks when the man gets all philosophical on her, but she's distracted immediately by the things boiling up from the sea along with the Siren's Song. The young woman stare's off ahead, knowing now why people left Gotham alone. Then she's distracted by Fenris and his massive sword that just appeared out of nowhere, "Nice sword. Count me in." She couldn't sleep because of nightmares, so beating the crap out of some would be a good remedy she hoped. *** Deadpool. It doesn't take long for Robin to identify the… whatever Deadpool is. Mutant assassin? Successor to Shakespeare's fools? Whatever. Robin knows that this is trouble. "The someone," he tells Oracle in a murmur, "Is Deadpool." Could be good. Could be bad. Deadpool, from what Robin knows of the man, is about as crazy as the Joker, but less sadistic and more whimsical. One can hope. Rather than rushing into things, having heard Oracle's statement about a female singer he uses his ears — and his equipment, plugging a small parabolic microphone into his headset to try and find the source of the music. *** "What is that beautiful music?" Deadpool asks no one in particular. He reaches into his belt and pulls out his mobile, trying to record it, but after around 2 minutes, he'll stop, and try and play it back. But the song is too quiet for the phone to pick up. "Damnit, I knew I shouldn't have bought Canadian. Research in Motion my ass, this Blackberry is more like Rubbish in Motion. Next time, I'm buying Japanese, or at least Korean, definitely something Asian." With a frustrated shake of his head, he'll slip the phone back into his utility belt and do a running jump, followed by a somersault, right into the pavement below. But miraculously, he doesn't die, or even look to be particularly hurt. He'll break the fall by slapping his arms out as he lands on his back, and then quickly roll to his feet, unsheathing a katana during the movement. "Here's Johnny!" He calls out, then says in a lower, quicker voice, like you'd expect as legal jargon at the end of a commercial, "Here's Johnny is a registered trademark jointing owned by the Stanley Kubrick estate and Warner Brothers Entertainment Incorporated, and is used with the expressed verbal, but not written permission of said parties." And to Supergirl, who was just admiring Fenris' swords, he says, "mine's bigger." *** "No doubt." Fenris chuckles and turns to face the wave of dead men walking up the beach. They are not fast. At least not at the moment. They don't look real squishy though. Most are overgrown with some manner of coral, which looks dense and sharp. Many have spikes for hands or claws grown onto their fingers. And there are hundreds. Fenris starts to walk forward. He asked for help and now he has it. Time to do a little spring cleaning. Robin can quite clearly hear the song now. Enough to get a direction, at least. A more precise location may have to wait for Oracle… who just found the singer. She has a gun and a sword and appears to be behind several locked security doors… which fortuitiously have electronic locks. *** "Deadpool." Oracle shakes her head. The man… can be problematic… even when he's fighting on their side. The singer is located "Office building to your left, Robin. Ground floor, 3rd office on the right. I'll unlock the doors as you get there." This communication is shared with Fenris, as well. Now she's found the singer, the systems facial recognition systems kick in… she should know who the woman is very soon… *** Robin, for his part, is already on his way into the building. Direction is enough to get him going, dropping down from his perch and heading in to find the source of the siren song. He's silent, but has extended his bo staff to its full length, cautious, but constantly moving forward and seeking his quarry, going through the doors as Oracle unlocks them. "I'm going in," he notes, probably unnecessarily. Best to keep her posted. *** Kara raises her eyebrows as Deadpool suddenly appears and brags about having a bigger sword, "Uh, cool. So why don't you show me how good you are with it?" Like a cute blonde terminator, Kara starts walking towards the undead sea zombie creatures and starts firing blasts of searing red energy from her eyes. The beams from her eyes cut a path in front of her, mowing down hordes of the creatures as they start moving up on to land. It was fun to cut loose and not have to worry about injuring other living beings. Then she noticed how many more of the creatures there were. Groaning just a little, she asked nobody in particular, "Why does everything bad always come from the water?" *** A katana is a beautiful weapon. They are usually hundreds of years old, made from fairly poor materials, but with the greatest technique. If only Japan had access to better metals, then the katana would have been even better. Weapons such as those are to be respected, honoured, and treated with dignity. Deadpool… uses it to scratch his back. Supergirl presents Deadpool with a genuine motivation. An attractive girl in tight clothing just asked him to show how good he is with a sword. What red blooded Canadian could resist such temptation. So of course, Deadpool reaches for his phone, and begins playing Clash of Clans as Supergirl begins slaughtering the dead people. And that thought makes him ask aloud, "if you kill a zombie, is that really murder? Zombies are already dead." So, is he on their side, or just being a smart ass? Maybe if he had an incentive, like money. Money is always good. *** Fenris really doesn't know Deadpool or he might know what to offer. Really, a two thousand year old wolf-god has had time to get money. He lays into the 'wave' with his blade. Two things are immediately apparent. One) Fenris is not normal. He moves too fast and hits too hard to be normal. Two, Kara is way more efficient. Being able to glare a zombie back to death is definitely faster than swording it. Well, three things, actually. Three, the song hasn't called just humans. The water parts and some thing that looks vaguely like a very, very large crocadile emerges. A crocadile the size of a small cargo ship. The locks open as Oracle disengages them and the song falters just a little as the woman hears them doing so. She reaches over to a switch and kills the lights as Robin nears, laying in wait with that sword and gun as Oracle unlocks the last door. She may want to get those lights back on. *** Oracle does like the feedback, even though she can see what the team is doing via her screens. Thank goodness for Building Management Systems. Oracle was already tapped in and getting the lights back on is quite easy. "Lights coming on, Robin. She's armed with a sword and a gun." She'll give him time to make the necessary adjustments before making the change. *** The results of the face recognition search are returned and the redheads' eyes widen. "HYDRA agent, Robin. Name: Steel Blossom. She's a deadly swordswoman." *** Never enter a dark room without a plan. Robin reaches up to his mask to touch a hidden button below his right lens — and then drops his hand away from the night-vision toggle switch. With the lights coming back on, he doesn't want to blind himself. Rather than simply enter this room, though, he touches a second button, switching to heat vision, and then tosses a pair of smoke pellets through the door. He gives them a few seconds for the smoke to fill the room, and then follows them in, keeping close to the ground to dodge gunfire or a blade, which would usually come toward his midsection. He doesn't speak to acknowledge Oracle's words — that might alert Steel Blossom to his position. *** "Isn't that cute" Kara remarks as she sees the gigantic killer croc appear, if it could even be called a crocodile anymore. Glancing over at Deadpool who was playing video games until the loss of his phone she just shakes her head, "Boys and their toys." The sound of a supersonic boom can be heard and Kara is flying towards the cargo ship sized creature intending to punch it right in the face or fly through it. Whatever got the job done. *** "So much for the Deadphone, I hardly knew ye," comes from behind the mask as the man rapidly shakes his wrist. The rock may have knocked the phone out of his hand, destroying it, but damn, that hurt his hand too. He has a healing factor, but that doesn't mean he likes being hit with rocks. At least, not unless he's paying extra for it. Looking back towards the cargo ship-sized crocodile, he briefly checks his teleporter, "oh yeah, I forgot I was in Gotham, the city so nice, they left it twice." His hand comes up to rub at his chin, "okay, on the one hand, you destroyed my blackberry, and I hated that thing, so that's good. But on the other hand," teleporter engaged, he disappears, reappearing on top of the cargo ship-sized crocodile, "you hurt my hand, so you're gonna have to say sorry, or we just can't be friends." Already knowing which way he thinks the relationship is going to go, he was going to try to stab the crocodile through the head with his sword, in a test of Japanese craftsmanship versus American kaiju. Who knows, maybe this guy could get a gig in Pacific Rim 2: The Search for More Money. But Supergirl had other ideas. He teleported over there, so she would be forgiven for the pain he's probably about to endure. She had no idea he was going to do that. At least she won't have to worry about his medical bills. For one, he's Canadian, and they have universal health care. And if that weren't enough, he also has a healing factor. All he can get out before the sonicboom is a sigh of "oh, crap." *** Oracle cannot hear the banshee scream as the lights come back up and the woman leaps into the smoke at where he was. She misses, but is quick on the recovery, blade coming up and whipping at the boy wonder's head. She's playing for keeps here and means to give Robin a thrashing that will make what the Joker did to him look petty and quaint. Back outside both Kara and Wade go flying to the crocadile-thing which roars it's defiance… just in time for the Girl of Steel and the Man of Scars to go right down the gullet and discover that one, it really, really stinks in here, and two, it's a lot tougher than it looks. Not tough enough to stop Kara, but enough that the impact is quite noteable. Fenris hears the song falter as Robin engages the singer and holds the beach more or less alone. There's a lot less to hold though after Kara did a number on the Draugr and the god-wolf isn't having too much trouble. "Oracle the Draugr appear to be faltering. If we can have light and noise here, as much as possible, it will confuse them. When the song fails, they'll return to the sea where it's dark and quiet." *** Oracle watches the Boy Wonder engage and winces. She watched the thrashing he received at the hand of The Joker… and does not want to see that again. Fenris' request, gets a sharp nod…. and Gothams Information Goddess is already hacking alarm and building management systems for the surrounding structures. "It's about to get very noisy there, Fenris. Lights and Sound in 3…" her hands move over her console, entering commands "2…. " another flurry of tapping at the screen… "and 1…." Security klaxons sound from each and every building, flood lights flare to life… "That is what you wanted wasn't it, Fenris?" *** Steel Blossom may be a deadly swordswoman, but there are a lot of those. On the other hand, he is probably the single best wielder of the bo in the world. His staff shifts upward, catching her sword, deflecting it, and then he twists the staff up and plants it, using it as leverage to swing a kick at her side. He does not consider for a moment the thrashing he received from Joker. You learn from what happens, and you move on. This woman is not the Joker. She may be a fanatic — many of the HYDRA types are, but she cannot be the sort of maniac that Joker is. And thus she has human weaknesses, foibles, psychological flaws that the Joker would not. Sure, he may be one big psychological flaw, but that kind of gets in the way of using his mind against him. *** As Kara ends up right in the stinky gullet of the beast, her nose wrinkling in disgust as she looks to Deadpool, "I thought it smelled bad on the outside." Standing in the muck of the beast's belly she asks the undead ninja assassin, "Any ideas on how we get out of here??" Right after asking the question, she had several ideas; but she was curious how this mysterious and odd 'hero' would get out. It might be more interesting than her method of lasering a hole out or just flying back through the mouth. *** Still not sure how he went from being on top of the beast's head, almost on its back, to being stuck down its gullet, Deadpool has a tape measure out, checking on how big this place is, "we could put the dining room here, and the kitchen over there…" but Supergirl probably isn't as interested in picking out curtains as Deadpool. "Oh, let me think, we could use some C4, my katana, your heat vision, we could tickle it until it sneezed us out, there's the back exit, but if you want to use that one, you're on your own." He doesn't seem to have any remorse for harming the beast, and decides to test its resolve by sticking his katana into it, deep and hard. How tough is it on the inside? Let's fine out. "Oh, and if you fly out, can you save me a tooth. I've always wanted a lucky crocodile tooth." *** Well, the answer is not so tough that Deadpool can't cut through it. Or indeed that Kara can't just punch her way out the ribcage. It just may take a bit of effort. Back outside the croc itself is, like some ancient general, rallying the remaining Draugr about it, seemingly quite upset by the noise and lights Oracle just kicked on. They don't like that at all… but the Croc seems to think that adding Fenris to the collection of people in it's gullet is a good idea. Fenris is a bit busy, still, keeping the slightly less bold but still dangerous normal sized Draugr from moving further into the city (and also away from the annoying lights and noises) so the other two will have to take care of Croc on their own. Robin meanwhile is in a fight. He's skilled. Arguably one of the best. But she knows her weapon well and despite being kicked aganst the wall isn't about to give up just yet. Especially not when she can just bring her gun to bear and cut loose. That might put a small hole in her guard though. And, Oracle may note, there's an electrical panel near her blade… *** Watching the screens in the Clocktower, Oracle pays attention to the combatants, making sure the alarms and lights stay on as she does. "I'm going to light up that panel, Robin." she's already accessing it through the system "If it doesn't arc and catch her, you might be able to use it." *** Robin knows he's up against a difficult opponent. But he has faced the worst that Gotham has to offer, and he's not about to go down without a fight himself. He's a blur of motion, swinging his staff, his fists, his feet, dodging left, right and center. And when Oracle tells him that she's bringing the panel online, he gives a curt nod — not that she can see it — and, allowing Steel Blossom to catch his shoulder with her blade (his staff reduces the force of the blow; his cape keeps him from serious injury), he frees one of his throwing Rs, throws it through the electrical panel, and then attempts to knock his opponent into the electrified weapon. *** Kara is fast and unless Deadpool chooses to teleport out, she grabs him by the scruff of his costume, "Grab your own tooth, we're leaving the way we came in." She flies back out of the beast's mouth, potentially with Deadpool in tow like a little puppy dog; shattering several of the beasts teeth on the way out. Deadpool is abandoned and she just shakes her head at the beast, "Well, it's time for you to take a nap big guy." Kara flies around to the back of the massive crocodile, picks it up by the tail and swings it around a few times before tossing it far off into the ocean. "The Atlanteans can deal with him." *** Deadpool hits a tooth, "owe," then another one, "owe," then another one "owe," and this just goes on. It actually takes seconds, but for the merc with a mouth, it feels like an hour. Did Supergirl really need to drag him along the teeth? Couldn't she have just flown him through the front ones? After he's abandoned, he shouts, "look, Wendy, I can fly," except he really can't. He's heading straight for the water, ready to make one tremendous bellyflop. But thinking that'd hurt, he instead decides to teleport elsewhere, reappearing in a flash of light on the docks, where he'll decapitate one of the undead things, grabbing the soda it had picked up, and was about to drop, right out of the air. He has a sip, making a loud slurping sound, "mmm, strawberry fanta." *** Tim knocks Steel Blossom into the electrified Robin-rang (Round Robin? Something) right as Kara airmils the croc to the Atlanteans. Within a minute of it's departure the undead are headed back to the ocean. With no song to call them they really, really, don't want to be here. Fenris looks about at the two… well, the heroine and Deadpool and smiles a bit, shrinking his blade back down to a necklace and replacing it. "Thank you. Both. That might have gone poorly were it just me." Certainly he'd have been here longer with no one to take care of the song. "Oracle, my thanks to you and your agent." He pauses. "And I think I owe you all a proper meal after that." He tilts his head back toward the city, in invitation, then starts walking. Sometimes the deep dark magic rises… And sometimes the heroes turn up right where you need them. *** "Anytime Fenris. Thank you for the heads up." Watching Robins avatar move away from the scene, the redhead frowns deeply "They were HYDRA Fenris. I've been told to keep an eye out for them. It is concerning." | Low | [
0.516556291390728,
29.25,
27.375
] |
3*j**2 - j**2) + (-j**4 - j + j)*(j - j - 3*j). -2*j**5 Expand ((-6*m + 0*m + 4*m)*(-2 - 1 + 1) - 6*m + 17 - 17)*(-2*m + 5*m - 5*m). 4*m**2 Expand (-2 - 4 + 4 - 5 + 4 + 2 - 3 + 3 + 3 + (1 + 2 - 4)*(-1 + 3 + 0) - 1 + 3 - 3 - 5 + 1 + 2)*(-4 - 3*o + 4). 9*o Expand (-2 - 3 + 4)*(-3*m**2 + m**2 - m**2)*(-2*m**3 - 4*m**3 + 4*m**3). -6*m**5 Expand (6*g - 2*g + 0*g)*(7*g**4 + g**4 - 3*g**4 - 2*g**3). 20*g**5 - 8*g**4 Expand (0*g + 0*g - g)*(1 - 1 + 2*g) - 504*g**2 + 212*g**2 + 195*g**2 - 5*g**2 + 2*g**2 + 5*g**2 + (0*g**2 - 3*g**2 + g**2)*(3 - 1 - 3). -95*g**2 Expand (3 + 2 - 3)*(-2 + 0 + 3)*(2*b - 7*b + 2*b). -6*b Expand (-2 + 2 - 2*y)*(62 - 62 - 10*y**2 + 2*y**3) + 3*y**4 - 2 + 2. -y**4 + 20*y**3 Expand q**2 - 5*q**2 + 3*q**2 + (-3*q**2 + 5*q**2 - 3*q**2)*(-2 - 3 + 6) - 2*q**2 + 3*q**2 + 3*q**2. 2*q**2 Expand (2*r**2 + 3*r**2 - r**2 + 3*r**2 - 1 + 1 + (4*r - 3*r - 2*r)*(-2*r - 4*r + 4*r) - 2 + 2 + r**2 - 4*r**2 + 4*r**2 + 2*r**2)*(2 - 5 + 5). 24*r**2 Expand (2*g**2 - 4*g**2 + g**2)*(2*g + 0 + 0) + 0*g**3 + 6*g**3 - 4*g**3 + (0*g**3 + 0*g**3 + 2*g**3)*(-2 + 3 + 1). 4*g**3 Expand (11*j - 4*j + 6 - 4*j)*(0 - 2*j + 0). -6*j**2 - 12*j Expand (0*n**2 + 0*n**2 + 4*n**4)*(-2*n - n + 2*n) - 2*n**5 + n**5 + 4*n**5 + (-3*n + 6*n - n)*(3*n**4 - 3*n**4 + 2*n**4). 3*n**5 Expand 0*x**2 + 0*x**2 + x**3 - 2*x**3 + 0*x**3 + 0*x**3 + (0*x + 0*x + 3*x**3)*(3 + 3 - 4). 5*x**3 Expand (5*v - v - 2*v)*((0 + v**2 + 0)*(-2*v + 2*v + v) - 2*v**3 - 1 + 1 + 5 - 5 - v**3 + v**3 - 3*v**3 + 0*v**3 + v**3 - 5*v**2 + 5*v**2). -6*v**4 Expand (3*u**3 - 4*u + 4*u)*(2 + u - 3*u - 7). -6*u**4 - 15*u**3 Expand (-2*b**3 + 2*b**2 - 2*b**2)*(-1 + 1 + b) - b**4 + 2*b**3 - 2*b**3 + (17*b**2 - 17*b**2 - 3*b**4)*(4 - 2 - 1). -6*b**4 Expand (0 + 0 - m**4)*(-26 - 5 - 3). 34*m**4 Expand (31 - 42*p + 35 - 66)*(-2*p + 2*p + 2*p**2). -84*p**3 Expand (2 - 2 - 6)*(-1 + 2*j + 1). -12*j Expand (0 - 1 + 4)*(9 - 2 + 3)*(-3*w**3 - 2*w**3 + 6*w**3)*(5*w**2 - 2*w**2 - 5*w**2). -60*w**5 Expand 5*b**2 + 2*b**2 - 4*b**2 + (3*b**2 + 0*b**2 - 4*b**2)*(3 - 4 + 3). b**2 Expand -8 + 8 + m**3 - m**4 + 2*m**2 + (m**2 - 2*m**2 + 2*m**2)*(-7*m + 7*m - 4*m**2). -5*m**4 + m**3 + 2*m**2 Expand (4 - 3 + 1)*(-2*i - 10*i - i) + 0*i + 0*i + i + (4 - 4 + 2)*(3*i + 0*i - 2*i) + 4 + 1 - 2 + 2*i. -21*i + 3 Expand -23*l**5 + 25*l**5 + 10*l**5 + 0*l**4 + 0*l**4 - 2*l**5 + (5*l**2 - 2*l**2 - 2*l**2)*(4*l**3 - 2*l**3 - l**3). 11*l**5 Expand 9*y + 23*y - 16*y + (-4 + 3 + 2)*(-4 - y + 4). 15*y Expand (0*y + y + 0*y)*(0 + 0 - y) + 4*y**2 + 0*y**2 + 3*y**2 + 0*y**2 + y**2 + 0*y**2 + (y - 3*y + 3*y)*(3*y - 5*y + 3*y) - 2*y**2 + 4*y**2 - y**2. 9*y**2 Expand 5*i - i - 6*i + (-1 - 1 + 1)*(3 - 3 - i). -i Expand (3*a**2 + 4*a**2 - 2*a**2)*(1 + 0 - 3). -10*a**2 Expand (-2*v + 1 - 1)*(5*v + v**2 - 5*v) + (0*v - 2*v - v)*(-3 + 1 - v**2 + 0*v**2). v**3 + 6*v Expand (q - 3*q + q)*((9*q + 20 - 20)*(3 + 1 - 2) - q + q + q). -19*q**2 Expand (0*b + 2*b + 1 + 0)*(2 - 4 - 5)*(-4 + 2 + 4). -28*b - 14 Expand (2*l**3 - 2*l**3 - 2*l**3)*((-2 + 1 - 1)*(-3*l + 2*l + 2*l) - 8*l + 5*l + 4*l). 2*l**4 Expand (1 - 1 - 4*t)*(2 - 3 - 2) + 6*t - 6 + 6. 18*t Expand (5*m + 10*m + m)*(2 - 3 + 3). 32*m Expand 2*a**4 + 0*a**4 - a**4 + 4*a**4 + a**4 - 2*a**4 + (0*a**4 + 3*a**4 - a**4)*(4 + 0 - 3) + 1 - 1 - a**4. 5*a**4 Expand (2*k + 0*k - 4*k)*(4 + 46*k - 30*k - 35*k). 38*k**2 - 8*k Expand (6*x**2 - x**2 - 3*x**2)*(-2*x**2 + 4*x**2 + 0*x**2) + (-x**2 + x**2 + 3*x**2)*(x**2 + 0*x**2 + x**2). 10*x**4 Expand (-2*u - u + 5*u)*(-6 + 2 + 3). -2*u Expand (7 - 13*m + 3*m + 9*m)*(-4 + 2 + 0)*(-3 + 2 + 0). -2*m + 14 Expand (2 - 4 + 1)*(-1 - 1 - 1)*(-4*w - 3*w + 5*w). -6*w Expand (2 - 2 + d**2)*(2*d**2 + 2*d**3 - 2*d**2) + 0*d**5 - d**5 + 2*d**5 + d**5 + 2*d**5 - 4*d**5 + 4*d**3 - 9*d**5 + 17*d**5 - d**5. 9*d**5 + 4*d**3 Expand (-2*r + 6*r - 2*r)*(75*r + 72*r - 43*r + 158*r). 524*r**2 Expand (y**3 + 4*y**2 + y**3 - 5*y**2)*(-3*y**2 + 4*y**2 - 13*y**2). -24*y**5 + 12*y**4 Expand (-2 + 1 + 3)*(2*a**2 - 3*a**2 + 3*a**2) + 0*a**2 - a**2 + 3*a**2 - a**2 - a**2 + 3*a**2 + 4 - 4 + a**2 - 3*a**2 - 2*a**2 + a**2. 4*a**2 Expand (-4*p + 3*p + 0*p)*(-3 - 1 + 1) - 20*p + 7*p - 12*p. -22*p Expand (4*u - u - u)*(4*u**3 - 3*u**3 - 2*u**3) + 12*u**4 + 2*u**4 + 2*u**4. 14*u**4 Expand -49*b**3 + 17*b**3 + 9*b**3 + (-2*b + 2*b + 2*b**3)*(4 + 0 - 3). -21*b**3 Expand 1 + 3*h**2 - 1 + 5*h**2 - 5*h**2 + h**2 + 0*h**2 - 4*h**2 + 5*h**2 - h**2 - h**2 + 4*h**2 + (-4*h + 0*h + 3*h)*(0*h + 3*h - 5*h) + h**2 - 2 + 2. 10*h**2 Expand 25 - 24 + 79*g**3 + 2*g**2 - 84*g**3 + (0*g + 0*g - 2*g**3)*(-1 + 1 - 1). -3*g**3 + 2*g**2 + 1 Expand -9 + 9 + j + 3*j - 4*j + 6*j + (-1 + 3 - 1)*(2*j + j - 2*j). 7*j Expand (-4*u + 3*u - u)*(-3*u + u**2 + 3*u) + 118*u**3 - 59*u**3 + 48*u**3 + 2*u**3 - 2*u**2 + 2*u**2. 107*u**3 Expand -4*r**2 + 4*r**2 - 2*r**2 + (1 - r**2 - 1)*(4 - 2 + 0) - 4*r + r**2 + 4*r. -3*r**2 Expand (5*y - 19 + 9 + 11)*(-3*y - 2 + 2). -15*y**2 - 3*y Expand (4 - 2 + 3)*(3*j - j**2 - 3*j)*(-j**2 - j**2 + 0*j**2) + 4*j**4 - 2*j**4 - j**4. 11*j**4 Expand 179*j**4 - 179*j**4 + 18*j**5 + (-2*j**3 - 3*j**3 + 4*j**3)*(j**2 + 0 + 0). 17*j**5 Expand (4*s**2 + 6*s**2 - 4*s**2)*(2*s - 2*s**3 + 3*s**3 - s). 6*s**5 + 6*s**3 Expand -4*h + h + h + (6*h + h + 6*h)*(-4 - 2 + 0). -80*h Expand (2*p**2 + 0*p**2 + 0*p**2)*(-6 - 54 + 6). -108*p**2 Expand (4*b + 6*b**2 - 4*b)*((3 + 1 - 2)*(-3 - 3 + 5) + 4 + 0 - 3). -6*b**2 Expand (-2*o + 6*o**2 + 2*o)*(-4 - 2*o + 4)*(-2 + 2 + o)*(1 - 2 + 2). -12*o**4 Expand (2*c**2 - 2*c**2 - c**2)*(3*c**2 + 2*c**2 - 4*c**2)*(0*c + 18*c - c). -17*c**5 Expand (-2*r + 1 - 3 + 1)*(8*r**2 - 2*r**2 - r**2). -10*r**3 - 5*r**2 Expand 2*y + y - 5*y - 2*y - 4*y + 10*y + 5*y - 2*y - y + 2*y + 1 - 1 + (0 + 1 + 1)*(3*y + 0*y - 2*y) - 1 + y + 1 + 3*y - 2*y - 3*y + 0*y + y - 3*y. 5*y Expand (-14*a + 0*a + 2*a)*(a - 2*a**4 - a) + 5*a**5 - 4*a**5 + 0*a**5. 25*a**5 Expand (-2*i + 0*i + i + (6*i - 3*i - i)*(-2 - 2 + 3) - 2*i + 1 - 1 - 4*i + 4*i - i + 2*i - i - 2*i)*(4*i - 5*i - 3*i). 28*i**2 Expand (x - 2*x + 3*x)*(1 - 1 - 3) + 4 - 2*x - 4 + 3*x - 2*x - 2*x. -9*x Expand -7*n + 10 - 10 + 1 - n - 1 + 5*n - 5*n - 2*n + 2 - 2 + 2*n + (0 + 0 + 2)*(2*n - 6*n + 2*n) + 4*n - 5*n - n + 4 - 4 + 3*n. -11*n Expand (-a**4 - 3*a**2 + 3*a**2)*(-a + 0*a + 2 - 4)*(-2 - 1 + 0). -3*a**5 - 6*a**4 Expand 0*r**4 + 4*r**4 - 5*r**4 + (2 - 2 - r**3)*(-r + r + 6*r)*(2 - 2 + 2). -13*r**4 Expand (4 - 5 + 0)*(-4*v + 4*v + v**5 + (0*v**3 + v**3 - 2*v**3)*(-2*v**2 - v**2 + 0*v**2)). -4*v**5 Expand (2 + 1 - 4)*(-9*t - t + 5*t)*(3*t**2 + 0*t**2 - 4*t**2). -5*t**3 Expand 152*a - 152*a + 5*a**5 + a**4 + 2*a**5 + 0*a**5 - a**5 + (2*a - 2*a + 2*a**5)*(3 - 5 + 3) + a**5 + 0*a**5 + 0*a**5 + 5*a**5 - 2*a**5 - a**5. 11*a**5 + a**4 Expand (5*o**2 - 5*o**2 + 2*o**2)*(14*o - 22*o - 4*o**3 + 7*o). -8*o**5 - 2*o**3 Expand (4*m**2 - 4*m**2 - 3*m**2)*((1 + 1 - 1)*(-4 + 0 + 3) + 8 + 7 - 5). -27*m**2 Expand (-4 + 1 + 2)*((-1 - 2*j + 1)*(5 + 2 - 5) - 9*j + 3*j - 10*j). 20*j Expand 3 + 2*k - 3 + 2*k**2 + (-3 - k + 3)*(-k - 4*k + 3*k) + k**2 - 5*k**2 + 3*k**2. 3*k**2 + 2*k Expand (0*k + 0*k - k**4 + (-k**2 - k**2 + 4*k**2)*(k**2 + 0*k**2 + k**2) + k**4 - 5*k**4 + 5*k**4 + k**2 - k**4 - k**2)*(-k + k + k). 3*k**5 Expand -1 + 2*w + 1 + 2*w - w - 3*w + (-w + 0 + 0)*(-2 - 2 + 5) - w + 0*w + 0*w + 2 - 2 - 2*w + (-2 - 1 + 5)*(w - 3 + 3) + 35*w + 25*w - 11*w. 47*w Expand -x - 3*x + 2*x + 2 - 2 + x + (3*x + x - 6*x)*(-3 + 2 + 0) + 0*x - x + 2*x - 3*x + 2*x + 0*x. x Expand (-1 + 5*l - 2 - 2)*(l - l + 2*l**3). 10*l**4 - 10*l**3 Expand (-1 + 1 + 4)*(-11 - 4*a + 11)*(-2 + 2 - 4). 64*a Expand (3*c**4 - 4*c**4 + 2*c**4)*(-3 + 0 + 2)*(-2 - 1 - 1)*(1 - 1 + 3*c). 12*c**5 Expand (1 - 2 + 2)*(a**5 - 5*a**5 + a**5) + 81 - 81 + a**5. -2*a**5 Expand (2 - 1 - 2)*(-47 + 47 + 137*l). -137*l Expand (-4*r - r + 4*r)*((2*r + 2*r - 10*r)*(-3*r**2 + r**2 + 0*r**2) + 0*r**3 - r**3 + 4*r**3). -15*r**4 Expand (-3*p + 3*p - p**2)*(5*p**3 - 2*p**3 - p**3) - 2*p**5 + 3*p**5 - 3*p**5 + (-2 + p**2 + 2)*(-2*p**3 - p**3 + p**3) + 3*p**5 + 3*p**5 - 5*p**5. -5*p**5 Expand (5*l - 10*l - 2*l)*(0*l + 0*l + l**2). -7*l**3 Expand (-3*l**4 - l**4 + 5*l**4 + (l - l + 2*l)*(-2*l**3 + l**3 + 3*l**3) - 3*l**3 + 5*l**4 + 3*l**3)*(-l - 2*l + 2*l). -10*l**5 Expand (-7*b**4 - b**4 + 0*b**4)*(8*b - 2*b - 2*b) + 2*b**5 - 2*b** | Low | [
0.510739856801909,
26.75,
25.625
] |
Hard Boiled A History Of Violence With A History Of Violence, Tom Breihan picks the most important action movie of every year, starting with the genre’s birth and moving right up to whatever Vin Diesel’s doing this very minute. Prev Next View All Hard Boiled (1992) A few minutes into Hard Boiled, John Woo’s 1992 masterpiece, two gunrunners attempt to flee from one of those Hong Kong teahouses where people carry birdcages. They’ve been making a deal, but a couple of supercops have shown up to bust them, and they’re just trying to escape. They shoot indiscriminately at a staircase behind them, wounding and killing bystanders. One of the cops in pursuit is Chow Yun-Fat, the De Niro to Woo’s Scorsese. As Chow pushes a woman away from oncoming fire, a bullet shatters the tile near his face. He grimaces and falls backward, but doesn’t give up his pursuit. Instead, he slides down the staircase’s bannister, shooting two guns at the gunrunners. They’re both dead by the time he touches the ground. The whole time, Chow never stops dangling a toothpick out of the side of his mouth. This is possibly the single coolest thing I have ever seen anyone do in a movie. Hard Boiled is full of absurdly, impossibly cool moments like that. That toothpick stays in Chow’s mouth until the very end of that bugshit opening gunfight. Chow is pursuing the criminal who killed his partner, and they’re shooting at each other across the teahouse’s kitchen. Chow, under heavy fire, dives across a counter and gets himself covered in flour. When he lands, he looks like a ghost, and he finds himself with a gun to his enemy’s forehead. He spits his toothpick at the guy and pulls the trigger as blood splashes all over him. The toothpick gets to have a complete emotional arc. Later, in an equally amazing warehouse shoot-out, Tequila, Chow’s character, will rappel from the ceiling like the pro wrestler Sting, shooting a machine gun in every direction—this, after two groups of mobsters have shot each other to pieces. One guy will jump a motorcycle at Tequila—the idea being, I suppose, to land on him—and Tequila will shoot the motorcycle and make it explode in mid-air. Mad Dog, the movie’s ridiculously badass villainous-henchman character—one who will get a much-deserved heroic death about an hour later—will light a cigarette on some random exposed flame, a by-product of all the chaos that’s erupted in the preceding minutes. And those two shoot-outs, in the teahouse and the warehouse, are nothing compared to the endless, insane climactic hospital gun fight, one that essentially takes up the last 45 minutes of the movie. The hospital shoot-out is probably the most excessive stretch of gun violence ever committed to film and also the best, and Hard Boiled is full of moments like those. Hard Boiled is the single greatest movie from the single greatest action movie director of all time. It’s Woo’s masterpiece. By the time Woo made it, he’d spent a half-decade revolutionizing Hong Kong action cinema, changing the way gunfights looked and replacing period-piece kung fu legends with effortlessly cool gangsters as the sort of default heroes of Hong Kong movies. Immediately after making Hard Boiled, Woo decamped for Hollywood, embarking on what was, for a while, an extremely successful mainstream American directing career. But before he took that journey, he showed that he could beat American action movies at their own game, pushing the genre to new heights of surreal violence and icy badassery. Taste is subjective and all, but if you have a top-five action-movies list and Hard Boiled isn’t on it, your top five ain’t shit. The actual movie parts of the movie, of course, are complete nonsense. In the stretches in between gunfights, Woo essentially spins his wheels, and nobody quite bothers to make sure the movie’s narrative actually makes sense. Chow and his girlfriend—Teresa Mo, the only woman with anything to do in the movie, and it still isn’t much—spend way too much time decoding musical messages from Tony Leung’s undercover cop Alan. Chow also spends too much of the movie playing smooth-jazz clarinet in a club where Woo himself plays the ex-cop bartender who dispenses terrible aphoristic advice (“If he really was my friend, I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment, whether he was right or wrong”). There are fun moments in there. Alan, undeniably cool, claims that he hates making origami paper cranes, and that’s why he makes them each time he kills a guy. Meanwhile, the station chief gets so pissed off at Tequila that he switches languages entirely, cussing him in out in English for some reason. But it’s really worth wondering whether undercover cops are really out here massacring unarmed criminal colleagues just to impress their new criminal bosses. My thinking is probably not! And while we’re at it, would a gangster really keep all his guns hidden underneath a hospital, and then would he really attempt to take the entire hospital hostage when a couple of cops came close to finding those guns? And in that final shoot-out, so many civilians die that the whole thing would have to be considered a massive, grand-scale police failure. But while those narrative quibbles might occur to you while watching Hard Boiled, they never get in the way. Woo was never about plausibility anyway; his greatest American movie, after all, revolves around the idea that John Travolta could get surgery switching faces with Nicolas Cage. Instead, all that really matters is the feeling—the beloved Woo themes of brotherhood and self-sacrifice in battle—and the sheer kinetic force of the filmmaking. Woo is one of those filmmakers whose characters say a whole lot more when they’re shooting at each other than when they’re actually talking. Consider, if you will, the movie’s famous unbroken three-minute tracking shot—a groundbreaking sequence that would pave the way for similarly mind-bending long-take action scenes like the ones in Children Of Men, The Protector, and season one of True Detective. The scene is a triumph of planning and choreography, with Chow and Leung shooting their way through hospital hallways, setting off explosions and sending bodies flying through windows. But it also has character beats deeper than anything you’ll find in the movie’s non-gunfight scenes. Leung makes a tragic mistake, goes through deep and roiling self-doubt, and does his best to power through it. Chow talks him through it—partly because he loves and respects the guy and partly because they’ll only survive the fight if they’re both completely in the moment. There’s dialogue, but they tell most of it through facial expression and body language, and they do it in between bursts of gunfire. It’s something no other filmmaker could’ve pulled off. In this column, I try to highlight the action movies that were the most important and influential of their respective years. But it’s hard to call Hard Boiled influential. Plenty of movies have tried to imitate the dazzled beauty of its violence, but none have really come close. Woo, tragically, still has yet to make another movie with Chow. After making it, the director spent decades away from Hong Kong cinema; the next thing he made was 1993’s ridiculous and fun-as-fuck Van Damme vehicle Hard Target—easily my favorite Van Damme movie, but still a far cry from what Woo was making at home. There are distant echoes of Hard Boiled in a few dozen subsequent movies, but this isn’t a Die Hard/Lethal Weapon situation in which the movie helped establish a winning formula. Hard Boiled stands alone. Still, it’s impossible for me to consider giving the movie’s spot to anything else. Almost no action movies are as beautiful, as brutal, as rewatchable, or as straight-up great as Hard Boiled. Very few are as iconic. Woo and Chow have both done amazing things, before and since, but it seems unlikely that either will ever equal the vision of Chow sprinting through a hospital, clutching a nameless infant, and shooting untold numbers of enemy henchmen. The baby, cooing and smiling, gets blood splashed on its face. Chow thanks it for pissing on his pants when they catch on fire. Chow sings nursery rhymes while executing attackers. There’s just nothing else like it, and there never will be. Other notable action movies of 1992: The year’s big runner-up has to be El Mariachi, the zero-budget debut from Robert Rodriguez. Rodriguez’s independent shoot-’em-up was intended to be a sort of audition reel for Mexico’s straight-to-video market, but it turned out to be a sensation on the American festival circuit instead, for good reason. The movie bursts with energy and inventiveness and charisma, and Rodriguez would get a whole lot of mileage out of the idea of a traveling musician with a guitar case full of guns. And 1992 was also the year that Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal got their biggest mainstream looks. In Under Siege, Seagal played a badass Navy cook who saves an entire ship—and, while he’s at it, all of Honolulu—from a pair of insane hijackers played, in an inspired feat of casting, by twin scenery-inhalers Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey. It’s a good movie that would be great if Seagal didn’t give every single fucking line a sarcastic-eighth-grader reading. That year Van Damme also played a reanimated, searching-for-himself Frankenstein’s monster figure in Universal Soldier, taking on Dolph Lundgren’s wonderful psychotic-dead-guy villain. Universal Soldier had plenty of problems, but it still stands as probably the only kind-of-good movie that director Roland Emmerich ever made, and years later, it spawned a pair of shockingly great direct-to-DVD sequels. There was a whole lot going on in Hong Kong in 1992. With Once Upon A Time In China II, Woo’s old frienemy Tsui Hark returned Jet Li to his iconic role as Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-Hong, and he also gave the world the screen debut of Donnie Yen, who currently reigns as the world’s single greatest screen action star. (Yen is the best thing about Rogue One, and this is not up for debate.) Supercop, the third movie in Jackie Chan’s Police Story series, stands as one of Chan’s most daffily enjoyable, and it features the immortal scene of Michelle Yeoh jumping a motorcycle onto the roof of a moving train—a stunt that Yeoh pulled off herself. With Full Contact, director Ringo Lam gave Chow Yun-Fat a role that rivaled what he did in Hard Boiled for sheer badassery. It’s a gloriously trashy gangster movie that ends with Chow telling his enemy to “go masturbate in hell” immediately after killing him; I can’t recommend it enough. And then there’s the awesomely strange Naked Killer, about a female assassin who murders guys by stabbing them repeatedly in the dick. America just couldn’t compete with that, but we tried. With The Last Of The Mohicans, Michael Mann translated a classic literary adventure into something that really felt like a ’90s action movie and brought Daniel Day-Lewis weirdly close to action-hero status in the process. With Passenger 57, Wesley Snipes essentially gave up a promising dramatic-actor career to dive headlong into B-movie action heroics, and that choice would eventually yield great things, but it would take time. (Passenger 57 itself is plenty watchable, but as far as Die Hard rip-offs set on planes go, it’s a distant third to Executive Decision and Air Force One.) Rapid Fire was the first real action vehicle for Bruce Lee’s son, Brandon, and he got to flex a winning personality and do some great screen fighting, including a scene with perennial henchman Al Leong that continues to fill me with fond feelings. Rapid Fire wasn’t a lost classic or anything, but it showed that Lee really could’ve been something if his life hadn’t been cut tragically short. And Trespass proved the great ’70s action director Walter Hill was still capable of making cool shit, even if he had to cast both Ice Cube and Ice-T to get it made. Next time: With The Fugitive, director Andrew Davis (Above The Law, Under Siege) gives us maybe our best ever adaptation of an old TV show, restoring Harrison Ford to action-movie greatness and scoring a Best Picture nomination along the way. | Mid | [
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Reaction to the birth of a child with cleft lip or cleft palate in Zimbabwe. Cleft lip and palate (CLP) is often a distressful abnormality for both mother and child. In our setting, CLP is generally associated with witchcraft or ancestral spirits. The mother is often accused of infidelity during pregnancy. We wanted to determine the feelings of parents and the wider public towards CLP babies, to establish what parents believed were the causes of CLP and to establish the postpartum marital status. One hundred and twenty-four parents were prospectively included in the study. They were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. One hundred and fifteen mothers and four fathers said they loved their babies. Thirty-eight parents attributed CLP to witchcraft. Nineteen percent of the mothers were divorced. The responses to our questionnaire show that although CLP babies are loved by their parents, the condition is associated with stigma and superstition. | Mid | [
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The association of a cervical length of <25 mm in high-risk pregnancies on neonatal morbidity and mortality in preterm infants. To evaluate and compare the effects of a short cervix (<25 mm) on neonatal morbidity and mortality as opposed to a normal cervical length (≥25 mm). The predictive value of a short cervix on neonatal outcome is also investigated. Preterm infants who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit and whose mothers had undergone a pre-delivery evaluation for cervical length (CL) and cervical cultures were included in the study. Infants were stratified into two groups based on CL measurements (Group 1, CL < 25 mm; Group 2, CL ≥ 25 mm). A total of 203 infants were included in the final analysis. Group 1 consisted of 105 neonates while Group 2 had 98 newborns. Cervical culture positivity rate was 46.7 % (n = 49) in Group 1 compared to 19.4 % (n = 19) in Group 2 (p = 0.0001). Frequencies of early onset neonatal sepsis (EOS) in Group 1 and Group 2 were 31.5 and 18.4 %, respectively (p = 0.032), whereas respective frequencies of proven sepsis in the two groups were 18.1 and 8.2 % (p = 0.037). A CL < 25 mm was found to increase the risk of cervical culture positivity, EOS and proven EOS by odds ratios of 3.63, 2.03 and 2.48, respectively. This is the first clinical study to demonstrate a significant link between CL and each of cervical culture positivity, EOS and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Preterm infants born to high-risk mothers with short CL should be monitored closely for the risk of EOS. | High | [
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Konstantinos Garefis Konstantinos Garefis (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Γαρέφης) was a Greek chieftain of the Macedonian Struggle. Biography Garefis was bornt in 1874 in Milies of Magnesia. His grandfather, who was from Souli, was prosecuted by Ali Pasha, settled in Milies in order to get away. Garefis was of half Epirot and half Sarakatsani origin. Armed actions In 1905 Garefis joined the Macedonian Struggle and became the co-leader of Konstantinos Mazarakis-Ainian's armed group, acting mainly in Vermio. When the action of Konstantinos Mazarakis became known and his group had to be dissolved, Garefis replaced him by organizing his own armed group in the late 1905, expanding the range of action and restoring security to the area. Final moments On August 6, 1906, he discovered the hut in the village of Chernesovo Aridea (now Garefio), in which his enemies were hiding, the komitadjis Lucas and Karatasos. Captain Garefis, with no fear, entered the hut and killed Karatasos and heavily injured Lucas. However, during the clash, he was injured by the men of Luca. Garefis, despite his serious injury, insisted, before he left the field of battle, to see the result of it which was successful. Few days later he died because of the wounds on August 24, 1906. In 1922, Chernesovo got renamed to Garefio to honor him. References Sources Βασίλης Κ. Γούναρης, "Η ιστοριογραφία και η χαρτογραφία του Μακεδονικού Ζητήματος", στην ιστοσελίδα /www.imma.edu.gr του Ιδρύματος Μουσείου Μακεδονικού Αγώνα. Κώστας Λιάπης, "Κώστας Γαρέφης (1874-1906)" Κωνσταντίνος Γαρέφης, 1874 - 1906, "Μακεδόνες Μακεδονομάχοι", p. 58-60 Μακεδονομάχοι - Κωνσταντίνος Γαρέφης Category:1874 births Category:1906 deaths Category:Greek people of the Macedonian Struggle Category:People from Magnesia (regional unit) Category:Sarakatsani Category:People killed in action | Mid | [
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Q: Autocorrelation function problem in Monte Carlo simulation of 2D Ising model Currently, I did a Monte Carlo simulation with the local update and Wolff cluster updated in 2D classical Ising model. I use the autocorrelation function to compare 2 different algorithm in critical temperature (T ~ 2.269). That's what I got. Is it correct? The local updated algorithm didn't show the exponential decay in the beginning. And it will become negative as it pass through 0. What I expect is that it has an exponential decay in the beginning and fluctuate around 0 once the sample become decorrelated. The equation I used to evaluate the autocorrelation function is $$A(\tau)=\frac{\langle Q_kQ_{k+\tau}\rangle-\langle Q_k\rangle^2}{\langle Q_k^2\rangle-\langle Q_k\rangle^2}.$$ A: First, some general remarks: The measurements should be made after the system has equilibrated, i.e., a large number of the first iterations should be discarded before the analysis. They should also be averaged over a number of runs, in order to reduce noise. This plot is better appreciated with a log scale in the vertical axis. Later on, it's important to consider different system sizes. See finite-size analysis. Local updates perform very poorly (see taciteloquence's answer) at the critical temperature - so the general relative behavior of both curves seems fine enough. With respect to it will become negative as it pass through 0 if it's a robust trend, there seems to be something wrong - you can check a good source such as Janke's book (especially Chap. 3 [pdf]), Sandvik notes, or this question in Physics SE. A: @stafusa's answer is great, but there is a specific phenomenon you are encountering here called critical slowing down, which is especially bad for the single-spin-flip Metropolis Algorithm. Near the critical point, the typical cluster size diverges. For the single-spin-flip algorithm, it's really hard to flip these huge clusters, so the autocorrelation time can increase dramatically. Cluster algorithms sidestep this issue by flipping big groups of spins at once. What you are seeing for the local updates is an exponential decay with a really long time constant, which causes it to look linear. To see an exponential decay in the autocorrelations for the local updates, try moving away from $T_c$. To learn more you can take a look at "Overcoming critical slowing down", Gould and Tobochnik, Computers in Physics 3, 82 (1989). Or you can look at p. 79 of "Monte Carlo Methods in Statistical Physics" by Newman and Barkema. | Mid | [
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Article NumberAssembly instructions "Today we do lots of different things in the living room. Socializing, eating, playing video games, sitting with tablets, working, and maybe even sleeping. That’s why the idea behind NYBODA coffee and side tables is for them to be flexible, easy to move, and used in many different ways. On their own or together, as a coffee or side table. As a bonus, the reversible table top has different colors on the two sides, so it’s easy to change the table’s look." | Low | [
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Flooring Xtra Brands Soul Elements Working in parallel with our busy lives, Soul Elements balances life and work in an active world – hard wearing and both kid and pet friendly, these thoughtfully designed Carpet and Flooring ranges work hard for our families. The inherent warmth of timber adds visual interest and liveability to a home. A timber-look is timeless and you can play up it’s natural form, versatility and character with these classic design options that will outlast fashion and fads in any budget. The Soul Elements carpets Zen Garden, Namaste and Pure Balance have been treated with stain-resistant technology to protect the fibres from most common household food and beverage spills. It will not wear off or wash off, it will continue to protect for the life of your carpet. The backing of these carpets is made from 70% recycled PET plastic bottles. It also inhibits any mould or fungal growth where you can’t see it for total peace of mind. | Mid | [
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FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump, with Vice President Mike Pence, leads the daily coronavirus response briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is prepared to use the Defense Production Act but industry has been stepping forward, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Fox News on Tuesday. He also said that the White House coronavirus task force has not discussed a nationwide lockdown, as has been done in other countries to counter the spread of the coronavirus. Pence said during a Fox News town hall that Trump initiated the act that allows the president to mandate production, but added: “Every time we’ve asked American industry to step forward, they’ve said yes. No one has said ‘no.’” | Low | [
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Player News Randal Grichuk went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Sunday's win against the Rockies. Grichuk broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning with a two-run shot off of starter Yohan Flande. The outfielder has been on a power surge, homering five times in his last 13 games, giving him 12 total on the season with 38 RBI and a .288/.338/.564 batting line. Ivan Nova pitched well in Sunday's win over the White Sox, allowing one run on five hits over six innings. Nova struck out seven and walked two on the afternoon. Only a Melky Cabrera RBI single in the sixth inning prevented him from posting six shutout frames. Since returning from the disabled list on June 24, he holds a 3.10 ERA and 1.28 WHIP across 40 2/3 innings. He complained of a fatigued arm after his last start, but that didn't appear to be an issue on Sunday. Assuming the arm's good to go, a home start against the high-powered Blue Jays awaits on the schedule. Brandon Moss sent the Cardinals to a walk-off victory on Sunday with an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Rockies. Moss pinch-hit for Mark Reynolds with runners in first and third and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning against Scott Oberg. Against a shifted infield, he slapped a single where the shortstop would normally have been playing, allowing the winning run to score easily. Moss is now 2-for-11 with two singles and an RBI as a Cardinal. After surrendering a solo home run to Jacoby Ellsbury to open the game, Samardzija would not allow another run until the fourth inning. At which point, the Yankees erupted for five runs. The Bombers achieved this feat without an extra-base hit in the frame, as they slowly and methodically wore Samardzija down with a barrage of singles. The 30-year-old right-hander would trot back out for the fifth inning and the Yankees would greet him with an additional three runs to end his afternoon. This start was something of a disaster, but he had been pitching to a 2.66 ERA over his last eight starts. Overall, Samardzija holds a 4.19 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 114/29 K/BB ratio across 153 innings. A road start against the Royals is up next on the docket. It was Seager's first four-hit game since May 28. He entered Saturday's game in a 4-for-33 slump and has only hit .241 in 79 at-bats since July 1. Seager remains a fascinating prospect and should arrive in the majors no later than 2016. Addison Russell went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's win over the Brewers. Russell took a Kyle Lohse offering for a ride in the second inning to notch his seventh home run of the season. In 299 at-bats this season, he's hitting .237/.303/.368 with 27 RBI and the seven long balls. At 21 years old, Russell is not a finished product yet. Those in keeper formats should just stay the course until he's had more time to develop. | Mid | [
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