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/*--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. * Licensed under the MIT License. See License.txt in the project root for license information. *--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/ import { expect } from 'chai'; import { getNullChannel } from '../testAssets/Fakes'; import { OmnisharpChannelObserver } from '../../../src/observers/OmnisharpChannelObserver'; import { OmnisharpFailure, ShowOmniSharpChannel, BaseEvent, OmnisharpRestart, OmnisharpServerOnStdErr } from '../../../src/omnisharp/loggingEvents'; suite("OmnisharpChannelObserver", () => { let hasShown: boolean; let hasCleared: boolean; let preserveFocus: boolean; let observer: OmnisharpChannelObserver; setup(() => { hasShown = false; hasCleared = false; preserveFocus = false; observer = new OmnisharpChannelObserver({ ...getNullChannel(), show: (preserve) => { hasShown = true; preserveFocus = preserve; }, clear: () => { hasCleared = true; } }); }); [ new OmnisharpFailure("errorMessage", new Error("error")), new ShowOmniSharpChannel(), new OmnisharpServerOnStdErr("std err") ].forEach((event: BaseEvent) => { test(`${event.constructor.name}: Channel is shown and preserveFocus is set to true`, () => { expect(hasShown).to.be.false; observer.post(event); expect(hasShown).to.be.true; expect(preserveFocus).to.be.true; }); }); [ new OmnisharpRestart() ].forEach((event: BaseEvent) => { test(`${event.constructor.name}: Channel is cleared`, () => { expect(hasCleared).to.be.false; observer.post(event); expect(hasCleared).to.be.true; }); }); }); | Mid | [
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Q: Where is the visual studio build task path relative to I have a solution with 5 projects and have realized I really do not understand what im doing when looking at the options in an azure pipeline build. Mainly my confusion is in dealing with the different paths and predefined variables that are part of the pipeline environment. I've been watching a ton of youtube and pluralsight videos. I get the basic concepts, its some of the details that I'm stumbling over. So here is part of the yaml file. variables: solution: '**/*.sln' buildPlatform: 'Any CPU' buildConfiguration: 'Debug' - task: VSBuild@1 inputs: solution: '$(solution)' msbuildArgs: '/p:OutputPath="$(Build.BinariesDirectory)\$(Build.BuildId)"' platform: '$(buildPlatform)' configuration: '$(buildConfiguration)' Questions: (1) The solution variable is obviously mapping to any sln file via wildcards, but relative to what path? (1a) How does one specify an individual project within a solution containing multiple projects? (2) When the build task executes, what path is this being done in ? (3) Nowhere in the docs (that I could see) does it say you need to construct a path for the output of the build task, I had to find someone elses example. If the above task didn't provide /p:OutputPath values, where would the build results be found? (4) Build.BinariesDirectory - if this is relative to a hosted build agent, is this secure if config files with passwords are part of the build? In other words, since I am sharing a hosted version of a visual studio instance, are my files ever accessible to other users even by accident? A: All paths are locations within the Pipeline.Workspace folder. 1: the wildcard is relative to the Build.SourcesDirectory folder. 1a: the solution property also support a project file instead of a solution to build a single project 2: I don't understand the question. Do you want to know the working folder the msbuild task is executed in? Why do you need to know this 3: by default, the project builds to the output path specified in the project file. This is usually a relativebin folder in the project directory. 4: build.binariesdirecrory is an absolute path. If you share the build machine with others users any have sensitive data in this folder you should clear it at the end of your pipeline. If you use a microsoft hosted pipeline agent, you don't need to clean it. Each build provisions a clean build agent. Other users won't be able to access your files Also see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/pipelines/build/variables?view=azure-devops&tabs=yaml | Mid | [
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Q: select value from subfield that is inside an array I have a JSON object that looks something like this: { "a": [{ "name": "x", "group": [{ "name": "tom", "publish": true },{ "name": "joe", "publish": true }] }, { "name": "y", "group": [{ "name": "tom", "publish": false },{ "name": "joe", "publish": true }] }] } I want to select all the entries where publish=true and create a simplified JSON array of objects like this: [ { "name": "x" "groupName": "tom" }, { "name": "x" "groupName": "joe" }, { "name": "y" "groupName": "joe" } ] I've tried many combinations but the fact that group is an array seems to prevent each from working. Both in this specific case as well as in general, how do you do a deep select without loosing the full hierarchy? A: Using <expression> as $varname lets you store a value in a variable before going deeper into the hierarchy. jq -n ' [inputs[][] | .name as $group | .group[] | select(.publish == true) | {name, groupName: $group} ]' <input.json A: You can use this: jq '.[]|map( .name as $n | .group[] | select(.publish==true) | {name:$n,groupname:.name} )' file.json | Mid | [
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Heritability of heat tolerance in a small livebearing fish, Heterandria formosa. Climate change is expected to result in an increased occurrence of heat stress. The long-term population-level impact of this stress would be lessened in populations able to genetically adapt to higher temperatures. Adaptation requires the presence of genetically-based variation. At-risk populations may undergo strong declines in population size that lower the amount of genetic variation. The objectives of this study were to quantify the heritability of heat tolerance in populations of the least killifish, Heterandria formosa, and to determine if heritabilities were reduced following a population bottleneck. Heritabilities of heat tolerance were determined for two lines of each of two source populations; two bottlenecked lines (established with one pair of fish) and two regular lines. Heat tolerance was quantified as temperature-at-death (TAD), when fish acclimated at 28 °C were subjected to an increase in water temperature of 2 °C/day. Mid-parent/mean offspring regressions and full-sib analyses were used to estimate the heritability of TAD. Heritability estimates from parent/offspring regressions ranged from 0.185 to 0.462, while those from sib analyses ranged from 0 to 0.324, with an overall estimate of 0.203 (0.230 for the regular lines, 0.168 for bottlenecked ones). Fish from the bottlenecked line from one source population (but not the other) had a lower heritability than did those from the regular line. These results show that the populations tested had some potential for adaptation to elevated water temperatures, and that this potential may be reduced following a population bottleneck. This should not be construed as evidence that natural populations will not suffer negative consequences from global warming; this study only showed that these specific populations have some potential to adapt under a very specific set of conditions. | High | [
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Q: Keras multi-class prediction output is limited to one class I constructed a sequential keras model with 35000 input samples and 20 predictors, the test data output classes distribution is : Class_0 = 5.6% Class_1 = 7.7% Class_2 = 35.6% Class_3 = 45.7% Class_4 = 5.4% After transforming the outputs into binary class matrix utilizing (np_utils.to_categorical) the training accuracy is around 54%, when i do model fitting with test data (15000 samples), all predictions (100%) happen to be for the same class which is class_3 "highest occurrence in training output", what is the cause of this bias and not having a single prediction for other classes? how to make the model sensitive for predicting fewer classes and improve the accuracy especially if the concurrence in training data is low like 1 - 3%. model = Sequential() model.add(Dense(40, input_dim=20, activation='relu')) model.add(Dropout(0.2)) model.add(Dense(10, activation='relu')) model.add(Dense(5, activation='softmax')) model.compile(loss='categorical_crossentropy', optimizer='rmsprop', metrics=['accuracy']) model.fit(X, Y, epochs=500, verbose=1) A: The easiest way to rebalance your loss is to: Define a class_weights dict: class_weights_dict = {0: 1.0 / 0_class_freq, 1: 1.0 / 1_class_freq, ... } Where i_class_freq is a frequency of i-th class. Change your fit function to: model.fit(X, Y, epochs=500, verbose=1, class_weight=class_weights_dict) The model defined above should be equivalent to your model with Bayessian reweighted classes. | Mid | [
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1. Field of the Invention The disclosure relates to a process apparatus and a process method thereof, and particularly relates to a process apparatus capable of pushing a panel-shaped object and a process method thereof. 2. Description of Related Art Through the recent development and improvement in the semiconductor and electronic industries, portable electronic devices such as smart phones, digital cameras, and tablet PCs, etc., are now used more and more commonly. In addition, these products are designed to become more convenient, multi-functional, and exquisite. As the users' demands toward digital products increase, displays, which play an important role in the digital products, also draw the designer's attention. Specifically, the liquid crystal displays (LCD) have now become the mainstream of the displays. However, the LCD is not self-luminescent. Therefore, a backlight module must be disposed under the LCD as a light source for the display purpose. Currently, most of the backlight modules use light bars formed of light-emitting diodes (LED) as the light source. Moreover, the light bars are disposed beside the light guide plate (LGP). The light-emitting diodes may be reflow soldered on a circuit board to form the LED light bar by using the surface mount technology (SMT). To meet the trend of designing the portable electronic products to be lighter and thinner, it is common to choose circuit boards having a thin thickness as the LED light bars. However, during the process of finishing the reflow soldering of the LED light bars and pick uping the circuit board, the circuit board having a thin thickness may bend easily when the user picks up the circuit board bare-handedly, thereby damaging a solder point on the circuit board. Taiwan Patent Publication No. 200642543 discloses a process method for a printed circuit board. FIG. 1A illustrates a flow of the method, and FIG. 1B is a schematic side view illustrating the device shown in FIG. 1A. As shown in Steps a and b of FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, a positioning pillar 72 of a positioning fixture 70 penetrates through a positioning hole 62 of a printed circuit board substrate 60, a positioning hole 42 of a carrying substrate 40, and a positioning hole 82 of a top cover 80, and when a high-temperature soldering process is performed according to Step c in FIG. 1A, bending of the PCB substrate 60 is prevented by the top cover 80 pressing the PCB substrate 60. Although the prior art discloses a technical means to prevent the substrate from bending, the technical means is adapted in the high-temperature soldering process performed to the substrate. After the high-temperature soldering process is performed to the substrate, the user still needs to pick up the substrate bare-handedly, which may easily result in bending of the substrate. | Mid | [
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WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Association of Global Automakers (Global Automakers) urges the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to evaluate spectrum sharing as it considers a series of proposals aimed at expanding Wi-Fi use. Global Automakers is concerned about the potential risk associated with introducing a substantial number of unlicensed devices into the 5.9GHz band as it may compromise the integrity of vehicle-to vehicle (V2V) accident-prevention technology systems. "Automakers are expending significant resources and effort to develop V2V safety technologies because of the potential to significantly reduce automobile crash fatalities, injuries, and congestion on our highways," said Michael Cammisa, Global Automakers' Director of Safety. "There is no room for error when it comes to motor vehicle safety and we want to make sure that the FCC initiative will not interfere with the anticipated benefits that V2V communication systems could deliver." Ten major automakers and numerous technology providers have been working with the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Connected Vehicle Research Program, a pilot study on V2V performance in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Nearly 3,000 cars, trucks, and transit buses are testing V2V and vehicle to infrastructure technologies. The data from the pilot study will be used by the DOT for future potential regulatory decisions regarding communications systems for crash avoidance. "While we do not oppose efforts to expand Wi-Fi, we are concerned about the potential for interference if these other devices are also using the same spectrum," added Cammisa. "Global Automakers and our members are committed to working with the FCC and other stakeholders to evaluate the effect of spectrum sharing proposals on V2V safety performance." The Association of Global Automakers represents international motor vehicle manufacturers, original equipment suppliers, and other automotive-related trade associations. We work with industry leaders, legislators, and regulators to create the kind of public policy that improves vehicle safety, encourages technological innovation, and protects our planet. Our goal is to foster a competitive environment in which more vehicles are designed and built to enhance Americans' quality of life. For more information, visit www.globalautomakers.org. | High | [
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Bimaran Bimaran is a locality, 11 km west of Jalalabad in Afghanistan. It is well known for the discovery of the Bimaran casket in one of the stupas (stupa Nb 2) located at Bimaran. Altogether five ancient stupas are known in Bimaran, all dating to the 1st century BCE-1st century CE: Stupa No1: , in the fields southeast of the Bimaran village. It has a circumference of 38.40 meters. Stupa No2: , in the Bimaran village. It has a circumference of 43.90 meters. Stupa No3: , in the Bimaran village. It has a circumference of 33 meters. Stupa No4: , in the Bimaran village. It has a circumference of 43.9 meters. Nearby is: Passani Stupa No1: External links Bimaran (US Department of Defense) References Category:Jalalabad | Mid | [
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DMZ named top university incubator in the world by UBI Global Toronto’s DMZ at Ryerson University has been named the number one university-based incubator in the world by UBI Global, a Stockholm-based firm that gathers and analyzes data on global incubators and accelerators. The incubator is tied for first with the UK’s SETsquared out of over 200 programs in its category worldwide. UBI Global analyzes factors like funding raised by startups, jobs created, survival rate of companies, and number of coaching hours per company per month. “At the DMZ, we understand that economic vitality is fueled by growth-driven incubation and acceleration programs that accelerate the success of the next generation of innovative businesses and prepare them for global expansion,” says Abdullah Snobar, executive director at tthe DMZ. “The UBI ranking is helping us better understand ways to push boundaries in order to create impact not just for our entrepreneurs, but also for our country’s contribution to the global startup ecosystem.” Thanks for the post Jessica. ? While there was no award for it… It was amazing to see Ontario as the leading region in the world having finalists in most awards categories, and winning several! (Georgian College Accelerator Centre – Waterloo, UofT and Minister Reza Moridi to name a few) | High | [
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If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. Perhaps could be used in education to teach users how-to-write-your-first-filesystem. While I agree and feel there really doesn't need to be another filesystem, we don't know what this FS offers that makes it ideal for its purposes. It could actually be really nice, but of course as with all open source filesystems, the problem is adoption. ext2/3 has been around for a long time and there's still not very good support for those in either Windows or Mac. I think the developer is relatively smart, because he is smart enough to write a file system. I also think he wants to see it upstreams because it would feel nice for him and be good for him. But I think he wanted to experiment with file systems and write something easy and then find a purpose for it. I don't think he is smart enough to write a scalable journaled file system with metadata, checksumming, transparent compression, cryptography, snapshotting, deduplication, etc. Originally Posted by schmidtbag While I agree and feel there really doesn't need to be another filesystem, we don't know what this FS offers that makes it ideal for its purposes. It could actually be really nice, but of course as with all open source filesystems, the problem is adoption. ext2/3 has been around for a long time and there's still not very good support for those in either Windows or Mac. Useless 99% of portable devices need to operate with at least one Windows PC or a Macintosh. Until there's an IFS driver for windows and a proper Mac driver, any filesystem released for portable devices is a useless waste of devloper time. All 3 people that are exclusively Linux users are going to use this and everyone else is going to ignore it. If developers want to start pushing their technologies they have to aim for interop. Anything less just isn't acceptable anymore. Especially for low level stuff like Filesystems. We have OpenGL, OpenAL, SDL, and Fat32. Until you're ready to add your filesystem to that reasonably prestigious lineup. You won't get adoption. Linux already has ~50 filesystems most of which are useless outside of their niches due to lack of interop. | Low | [
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Includes $30 million equity investment in MoneyGram and commercial partnership leveraging blockchain-based technology Provides Update on Refinancing DALLAS, June 17, 2019 /MoneyGram/ — MoneyGram International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGI), one of the world’s largest money transfer companies, announced today that it has entered into a strategic agreement with Ripple, a provider of leading enterprise blockchain solutions for global payments, that will enable MoneyGram to utilize Ripple’s xRapid product, leveraging XRP in foreign exchange settlement as part of MoneyGram’s cross-border payment process. The partnership supports the companies’ shared goal of improving the settlement of cross-border payments by increasing efficiency and reducing cost through RippleNet. Through this partnership, which will have an initial term of two years, Ripple will become MoneyGram’s key partner for cross-border settlement using digital assets. As part of this partnership, Ripple has made an initial investment of $30 million in MoneyGram equity, made up of common stock and a warrant to purchase common stock. Ripple purchased the newly-issued common stock (including the shares underlying the warrant) from MoneyGram at $4.10 per share, which represents a significant premium to MoneyGram’s current market price. In addition, at MoneyGram’s election, Ripple may fund additional purchases of common stock or warrants up to $20 million at a minimum price of $4.10 per share. “I’m extremely excited about Ripple’s investment in MoneyGram and the related strategic partnership,” said Alex Holmes, MoneyGram Chairman and CEO. “As the payments industry evolves, we are focused on continuing to improve our platform and utilizing the best technology as part of our overall settlement process,” said Mr. Holmes. “Through our partnership with Ripple, we will also have the opportunity to further enhance our operations and streamline our global liquidity management. Since our initial partnership announced in January 2018, we have gotten to know Ripple and are looking forward to further leveraging the strengths of both of our businesses.” Today, MoneyGram relies on traditional foreign exchange markets to meet its settlement obligations, which require advance purchases of most currencies. Through this strategic partnership, MoneyGram will be able to settle key currencies and match the timing of funding with its settlement requirements, reducing operating costs, working capital needs and improving earnings and free cash flow. “This is a huge milestone in helping to transform cross-border payments. MoneyGram is one of the largest money transfer companies in the world and the partnership will continue to further the reach of Ripple’s network. I look forward to a long-term, very strategic partnership between our companies,” said Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple. “We are very pleased with the terms of the Ripple investment which supports the Company with permanent capital and additional liquidity,” said Larry Angelilli, Chief Financial Officer of MoneyGram. “This partnership also provides MoneyGram with the opportunity to improve operating efficiencies and increase earnings and free cash flow.” Separately, MoneyGram is providing the update that it continues to make progress toward closing the refinancing of its existing first lien term and revolving facilities and expects to announce the closing of that transaction next week. About MoneyGram MoneyGram is a global leader in omnichannel money transfer and payment services that enables friends and family to safely, affordably, and conveniently send money for life’s daily needs in over 200 countries and territories. The innovative MoneyGram platform leverages its leading digital and physical network, global financial settlement engine, cloud-based infrastructure with integrated APIs, and its unparalleled compliance program that leads the industry in protecting consumers. For more information, please visit MoneyGram.com Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains forward-looking statements which are protected as forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are not limited to historical facts, but reflect the Company’s current beliefs, expectations or intentions regarding future events. Words such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “project,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “pursuant,” “target,” “continue,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The statements in this communication that are not historical statements are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Specific forward-looking statements include, among others, statements regarding the company’s projected results of operations, specific factors expected to impact the company’s results of operations, and the expected restructuring and reorganization program results. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: our ability to consummate future common stock and warrant Issuances under the agreement with Ripple, our ability to close the Company’s contemplated second lien term facility or complete the refinancing of its first lien term loan and revolving credit facilities; our ability to compete effectively; our ability to maintain key agent or biller relationships, or a reduction in business or transaction volume from these relationships, including our largest agent, Walmart, whether through the introduction by Walmart of additional competing “white label” branded money transfer products or otherwise; our ability to manage fraud risks from consumers or agents; the ability of us and our agents to comply with U.S. and international laws and regulations; litigation or investigations involving us or our agents; uncertainties relating to compliance with the agreements entered into with the U.S. federal government and the effect of the Agreements on our reputation and business; regulations addressing consumer privacy, data use and security; our ability to successfully develop and timely introduce new and enhanced products and services and our investments in new products, services or infrastructure changes; our ability to manage risks associated with our international sales and operations; our offering of money transfer services through agents in regions that are politically volatile; changes in tax laws or an unfavorable outcome with respect to the audit of our tax returns or tax positions, or a failure by us to establish adequate reserves for tax events; our substantial debt service obligations, significant debt covenant requirements and credit ratings; major bank failure or sustained financial market illiquidity, or illiquidity at our clearing, cash management and custodial financial institutions; the ability of us and our agents to maintain adequate banking relationships; a security or privacy breach in systems, networks or databases on which we rely; disruptions to our computer network systems and data centers; weakness in economic conditions, in both the U.S. and global markets; a significant change, material slow down or complete disruption of international migration patterns; the financial health of certain European countries or the secession of a country from the European Union; our ability to manage credit risks from our agents and official check financial institution customers; our ability to adequately protect our brand and intellectual property rights and to avoid infringing on the rights of others; our ability to attract and retain key employees; our ability to manage risks related to the operation of retail locations and the acquisition or start-up of businesses; any restructuring actions and cost reduction initiatives that we undertake may not deliver the expected results and these actions may adversely affect our business; our ability to maintain effective internal controls; our capital structure and the special voting rights provided to designees of Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. on our Board of Directors; and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of the Company’s public reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 and the Company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2019. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in the Company’s SEC filings. The Company’s SEC filings may be obtained by contacting the Company, through the Company’s web site at ir.moneygram.com or through the SEC’s Electronic Data Gathering and Analysis Retrieval System (EDGAR) at http://www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement. SOURCE MoneyGram Associated Links Associated Links | Mid | [
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#ifndef __GPIO_H__ #define __GPIO_H__ #ifdef __cplusplus extern "C" { #endif #include <xboot.h> enum gpio_pull_t { GPIO_PULL_UP = 0, GPIO_PULL_DOWN = 1, GPIO_PULL_NONE = 2, }; enum gpio_drv_t { GPIO_DRV_WEAK = 0, GPIO_DRV_WEAKER = 1, GPIO_DRV_STRONGER = 2, GPIO_DRV_STRONG = 3, }; enum gpio_rate_t { GPIO_RATE_SLOW = 0, GPIO_RATE_FAST = 1, }; enum gpio_direction_t { GPIO_DIRECTION_INPUT = 0, GPIO_DIRECTION_OUTPUT = 1, }; struct gpiochip_t { char * name; int base; int ngpio; void (*set_cfg)(struct gpiochip_t * chip, int offset, int cfg); int (*get_cfg)(struct gpiochip_t * chip, int offset); void (*set_pull)(struct gpiochip_t * chip, int offset, enum gpio_pull_t pull); enum gpio_pull_t (*get_pull)(struct gpiochip_t * chip, int offset); void (*set_drv)(struct gpiochip_t * chip, int offset, enum gpio_drv_t drv); enum gpio_drv_t (*get_drv)(struct gpiochip_t * chip, int offset); void (*set_rate)(struct gpiochip_t * chip, int offset, enum gpio_rate_t rate); enum gpio_rate_t (*get_rate)(struct gpiochip_t * chip, int offset); void (*set_dir)(struct gpiochip_t * chip, int offset, enum gpio_direction_t dir); enum gpio_direction_t (*get_dir)(struct gpiochip_t * chip, int offset); void (*set_value)(struct gpiochip_t * chip, int offset, int value); int (*get_value)(struct gpiochip_t * chip, int offset); int (*to_irq)(struct gpiochip_t * chip, int offset); void * priv; }; struct gpiochip_t * search_gpiochip(int gpio); struct device_t * register_gpiochip(struct gpiochip_t * chip, struct driver_t * drv); void unregister_gpiochip(struct gpiochip_t * chip); int gpio_is_valid(int gpio); void gpio_set_cfg(int gpio, int cfg); int gpio_get_cfg(int gpio); void gpio_set_pull(int gpio, enum gpio_pull_t pull); enum gpio_pull_t gpio_get_pull(int gpio); void gpio_set_drv(int gpio, enum gpio_drv_t drv); enum gpio_drv_t gpio_get_drv(int gpio); void gpio_set_rate(int gpio, enum gpio_rate_t rate); enum gpio_rate_t gpio_get_rate(int gpio); void gpio_set_direction(int gpio, enum gpio_direction_t dir); enum gpio_direction_t gpio_get_direction(int gpio); void gpio_set_value(int gpio, int value); int gpio_get_value(int gpio); void gpio_direction_output(int gpio, int value); int gpio_direction_input(int gpio); int gpio_to_irq(int gpio); #ifdef __cplusplus } #endif #endif /* __GPIO_H__ */ | Low | [
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Q: USB thumb drive - why does file transfer speed vary so much? The thumb drive is FAT32. I often transfer files from the thumb drive to an internal HDD (Ext4). Sometimes, the files are transferred at about 15MB/s. Sometimes, the files are transferred at about 150MB/s. Sometimes, I don't know what the transfer rate is but a 3GB file will take less than 10 sends to be transferred. It seems to me that this speed difference is related to whether USB2 or USB3 protocol is being used at the time, although I don't know what the transfer rates are supposed to be for these protocols. In any case, why would it vary? Is there any way that I can always achieve the higher rate? A: Some things that could be the reason: The transfer rate depends a lot on the file count/file size - more so on a filesystem like FAT32. Are you sure the files were actually written completely when you measured the end time? I would guess the 3GB file was not yet finished writing, for example. Possibly some files where in the buffer cache in the fast case. Did you drop the cache before testing? You can do it by echo 3 | sudo tee /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches | High | [
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175 Ariz. 219 (1993) 854 P.2d 1205 STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Richard D. HOVEY, Sr., Appellant. No. 1 CA-CR 91-1587. Court of Appeals of Arizona, Division 1, Department E. June 8, 1993. Grant Woods, Atty. Gen. by Paul J. McMurdie, Chief Counsel, Criminal Appeals Section, and John Pressley Todd, Asst. Atty. Gen., Phoenix, for appellee. Thomas A. Thinnes, Phoenix, for appellant. OPINION VOSS, Presiding Judge. Defendant Richard D. Hovey, Sr., appeals from the trial court's order modifying the manner in which he pays restitution. This court lacks jurisdiction to decide this issue on direct appeal. Because the defendant therefore lacks an adequate remedy at law we treat the matter as a petition for special action, accept jurisdiction and grant relief. State v. Perez, 172 Ariz. 290, 836 P.2d 1000 (App. 1992); Rule 1, Rules of Procedure for Special Actions. BACKGROUND Defendant pled no contest to one count of fraudulent schemes and artifices and five counts of theft. He was placed on *220 seven years probation and ordered to pay $293,504.00 in restitution. The court originally ordered that defendant pay restitution of $500.00 per month, subject to modification as his earnings indicate. Beginning in 1989, the court annually reviewed the defendant's earnings and modified his monthly restitution payment accordingly. At the September 1991 annual review, the court ordered defendant's monthly restitution obligation increased from $1,370.00 to $3,000.00. The court ordered this increase despite defendant's uncontested testimony that he had no liquid assets, had recently lost his job, and was the obligor on a recent $40,000.00 IRS tax lien. DIRECT APPEAL Defendant appeals from the trial court's order, arguing that the court erred when it modified the amount of his restitution payments without considering his current economic status. We agree with defendant that the trial court is required to "consider the economic circumstances of the defendant" when determining the manner in which restitution shall be paid. Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. ("A.R.S.") § 13-804(D). However, we find that an appeal is not the appropriate avenue for review. A defendant may appeal an order made after judgment only if it affects "the substantial rights of the party." A.R.S. § 13-4033(2). We do not find that this interlocutory order affects the substantial rights of defendant. Defendant may petition the court at any time to change the manner in which restitution is paid based upon changed circumstances. A.R.S. § 13-804(J). Furthermore, the court is precluded from revoking the defendant's probation unless it finds that he "willfully refused to pay or failed to make sufficient bona fide efforts legally to acquire the resources to pay...." Bearden v. Georgia, 461 U.S. 660, 672, 103 S.Ct. 2064, 2073, 76 L.Ed.2d 221 (1983). See State v. Wilson, 150 Ariz. 602, 724 P.2d 1271 (App. 1986); A.R.S. § 13-810(C). Moreover, the nature of this action makes appeal an impractical method of review. We are asked to review an interlocutory order which must be made only after the court has considered the current economic circumstances of the defendant. A.R.S. § 13-804(D). The economic circumstances of a defendant generally do not remain static. In this case we review a court's order based upon information that changed within eight weeks after the order was entered. Our review at this time accomplishes nothing because whatever we decide is based upon stale information. Additionally, the state or the defendant may now petition the trial court to modify in accordance with the defendant's current financial status. For these reasons we hold that we are without jurisdiction to consider this matter as a direct appeal. Accordingly, in our discretion we treat this matter as a special action. State v. Perez, 172 Ariz. 290, 836 P.2d 1000 (App. 1992). DISCUSSION Defendant argues that the trial court's order was "arbitrary without any basis in fact." See Rule 3(c), Rules of Procedure for Special Actions (questions that may be raised in a special action include whether a determination was arbitrary and capricious or an abuse of discretion). We agree. In deciding the manner in which restitution is to be paid, the court shall consider the economic circumstances of the defendant. A.R.S. § 13-804(D). The trial court entered an order increasing the amount defendant had to pay monthly in restitution from $1,370.00 to $3,000.00. The court entered the order despite uncontroverted testimony that defendant had just lost his job. The record indicates that all of defendant's income is from employment earnings. Clearly, the trial court did not properly consider defendant's economic circumstances when increasing his restitution payment. The trial court thereby abused its discretion. The order increasing the restitution payments is vacated. GERBER and LANKFORD, JJ., concur. | Low | [
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Ubojite misli Ubojite misli () is a 2006 Croatian short film directed by Stanka Gjurić. The film was shot on location in Zagreb. Summary The devastating consequences of War started 1991 in former Yugoslavia, where unexploded Land mines in Croatia are still pose a daily threat to life, seen through reaction of a dog. Author show us through the terrorized look of her dog Hooper, how the sun of shell burst has indelibly marked the dog's memory. That nothing may be forgotten. Reception Exceptional reception by the audience in Festival of the First in Zagreb (a competition for artists in which they should represent the works of art, that are not within the domain of their creativity) result that people came every day to watch the film in a gallery in which, among other works, it was exposed all day. This event instigate the author to send film to film festivals. That is how the film Ubojite misli started its journey: through participating in Short Film Corner in Cannes Film Festival, through Toronto (Canada), Film Festival in Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Italy, Greece, Portugal, Switzerland, again France, Spain... A member of the International jury at the 5. Mostar Film Festival (2007) when the film won 1st Award, Valentina Mindoljević commented Award: The decision was unanimous, and all the members of the jury agreed that the film of Stanka Gjurić significantly stands out with its originality. Everything else has already been seen. At the AluCine Film Festival in Toronto, to elucidate the award, Andres La Rota (one of the judges) said that the film is poetic, deeply emotional and upsetting. References External links Category:2006 films Category:Croatian films Category:Croatian-language films Category:Films shot in Croatia Category:Works about the Croatian War of Independence Category:2000s short films Category:Films about dogs | High | [
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---------------------- Forwarded by Vince J Kaminski/HOU/ECT on 03/31/2001 10:25 AM --------------------------- [email protected] on 03/28/2001 09:03:08 AM To: [email protected] cc: Subject: Additional analysis using new distribution Please see attachments. - kaminski_let_02.ZIP | Low | [
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Stents as effective as bypass surgery for heart diseases New York: Drug-eluting stents, a less-invasive alternative to bypass surgery — are as effective as surgery for many patients with a blockage in the left main coronary artery, a study has found. Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery has long been considered the definitive treatment for patients with left main coronary artery disease (LMCAD), in which the artery that supplies oxygen-rich blood to most of the heart muscles is clogged with atherosclerotic plaque. However, stents, which are placed into the diseased artery via a catheter that is inserted through a small opening in a blood vessel in the groin, arm, or neck, are a less-invasive treatment option for many people with coronary artery disease. “Our study has shown that many patients with left main coronary artery disease who prefer a minimally invasive approach can now rest assured that a stent is as effective as bypass surgery for at least three-years, and is initially safer, with fewer complications from the procedure,” said lead author Gregg W. Stone, Professor at Columbia University Medical Center. Further, the researchers found that stent patients had a significantly lower incidence (4.9 per cent) of death, stroke, heart attack, or revascularisation than those who had bypass surgery (7.9 per cent) in the first 30 days after treatment, when serious complications are most likely to occur. In addition, fewer stent patients had major bleeding, infections, kidney failure, or severe abnormal heart rhythms compared to those treated with surgery. Bypass surgery should still be considered standard therapy for those with LMCAD and extensive blockages in the remainder of the heart arteries, although the study did not include patients with severe disease, the researchers suggested. “While bypass is still considered a more durable repair, patients and doctors may prefer a percutaneous treatment approach, which is associated with better upfront results, fewer complications, and quicker recovery,” Stone said. For the study, 1,905 patients with LMCAD and low or intermediate coronary artery disease complexity, were randomised to receive a drug-eluting stent — that releases the anti-proliferative agent everolimus — or bypass surgery. The patients were followed for at least two years, with a median follow-up of three years. “We found that approximately 15 per cent of patients in both groups had a heart attack, stroke, or died within three years. In other words, stents were equally effective as bypass surgery,” Stone noted in the paper published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. Login Dear user, we've recently made some changes in our website to make it more secure & accessible. We request you to Reset your password in case you get any problem in logging in your account. For any help, contact : Support Email: * Password * Please activate your account Please click on the "account activation link" we have sent to your registered email. | High | [
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Q: List View on click listener always returns Apple I set up a listview and an onclick listener from an example I found. The code builds fine and runs. The item number "Position" is correct in the Toast message when clicked but the text always displays "Apple" which is the first string in the array. I think the String text = listText.getText().toString(); line is the issue but all tries fail to correct the problem public class ElsEditTitles extends Activity { String[] StrLabels = new String[16]; // Store Label names to string String StrFile; ListView TitleslistView; Context context; ListView listView; static final String[] FRUITS = new String[] { "Apple", "Avocado", "Banana", "Blueberry", "Coconut", "Durian" }; @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.els_edit_titles); context = this; listView = (ListView) findViewById(R.id.listView); ArrayAdapter<String> adapter = new ArrayAdapter<String>(this, R.layout.list_view_row, R.id.listText, FRUITS); listView.setAdapter(adapter); listView.setOnItemClickListener(new ListClickhandler()); } private class ListClickhandler implements OnItemClickListener { @Override public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> Adapter, View view, int position, long arg3) { TextView listText = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.listText); String text = listText.getText().toString(); Toast.makeText(context, text + " " + position, Toast.LENGTH_LONG) .show(); } } els_edit_tiles.xml <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="match_parent" android:orientation="vertical" > <ListView android:id="@+id/listView" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="wrap_content" > </ListView> list_view_row.xml <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="match_parent" android:orientation="vertical" > <TextView android:id="@+id/listText" android:layout_width="wrap_content" android:layout_height="wrap_content" android:text="Large Text" android:textSize="30dp" android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" /> </LinearLayout> I edited the line by adding the View and it resolved the issue. Thanks prijupaul and egan TextView listText = (TextView) view.findViewById(R.id.listText); A: You need to access the array item for the position in onItemClickListener. Or you can also try changing findViewById to view.findViewById() so that you get the right list item. TextView listText = (TextView) view.findViewById(R.id.listText); String text = listText.getText().toString(); Toast.makeText(context, text + " " + position, Toast.LENGTH_LONG) .show(); | Mid | [
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Q: Recursive Bubble Sort I am having some trouble with this. We basically have been asked to create two versions of a program that will sort an array of 50 items then display the largest numbers in LED's. I have got it working using a basic bubble sort and it displaying. My issue is when I have to do this using recursion. Unfortunately my knowledge on recursion is very limited as I missed the lecture on it -.- He has also not put the notes online. I have had a long google however still can't get my head around it. So I ask a few things. Firstly, could someone explain recursion in relation to a bubble sort using sedo code. Secondly, am I completely wrong with my attempt. int numbers[49]; void setup() { pinMode(12, OUTPUT); pinMode(11, OUTPUT); pinMode(10, OUTPUT); pinMode(9, OUTPUT); pinMode(8, OUTPUT); pinMode(7, OUTPUT); pinMode(6, OUTPUT); pinMode(5, OUTPUT); Serial.begin(9600); } void loop() { resetLEDLow(); genNumbers(); sortNumbers(); displayNumber(); delay(5000); } void resetLEDLow() { digitalWrite(12, LOW); digitalWrite(11, LOW); digitalWrite(10, LOW); digitalWrite(9, LOW); digitalWrite(8, LOW); digitalWrite(7, LOW); digitalWrite(6, LOW); digitalWrite(5, LOW); } void genNumbers() { for( int i = 0 ; i < 50 ; i++ ) { numbers[i] = random(256); } } void sortNumbers() { int sizeOfArray = sizeof(numbers)/sizeof(int); int check = 1; if( check != 0 ) { check = 0; for( int i = 0 ; i < sizeOfArray ; i++ ) { for ( int j = 1 ; j < sizeOfArray ; j++ ) { if( numbers[j-1] > numbers[j] ) { int temp = numbers[j-1]; numbers[j-1] = numbers[j]; numbers[j] = temp; check++; } } } sortNumbers(); } } void displayNumber() { int i = 12; int a = numbers[49]; Serial.println(numbers[49]); while ( a > 0 ) { int num = a % 2; a = a / 2; if( num == 1 ) { digitalWrite(i, HIGH); }else{ digitalWrite(i, LOW); } i--; } } I know that code does not work as when it loops round count is reset to 1 so the condition will never be true thus meaning it will loop round forever and ever. So, what do I need to change or is what I am doing not really recursion at all? Really need some help with this, got my brain going round and around. Edit: Here is my attempt with the new recursion. I have removed code not relevant to the problem. void loop() { int topLevel = 0; int currentSort = 0; int sizeOfArray = sizeof(numbers)/sizeof(int); int numbers[49]; sortNumbers(topLevel,currentSort,sizeOfArray,numbers); } int sortNumbers(p,c,l,numbers) { // Swap if they are in the wrong order if( numbers[c-1] > numbers[c] ) { int temp = numbers[c-1]; numbers[c-1] = numbers[c]; numbers[c] = temp; } // If we have finished this level and need to go to next level if( c == l ) { c = 0; p++; } // Finished if( p == l+1 ) { return numbers; } // Continue to the next place return sortNumbers(p,c+1,l, numbers); } Sort50Rec:-1: error: 'p' was not declared in this scope Sort50Rec:-1: error: 'c' was not declared in this scope Sort50Rec:-1: error: 'l' was not declared in this scope Sort50Rec:-1: error: 'numbers' was not declared in this scope Sort50Rec:-1: error: initializer expression list treated as compound expression Sort50Rec.cpp: In function 'void loop()': Sort50Rec:19: error: 'numbers' was not declared in this scope Sort50Rec:21: error: 'sortNumbers' cannot be used as a function Sort50Rec.cpp: In function 'void genNumbers()': Sort50Rec:42: error: 'numbers' was not declared in this scope Sort50Rec.cpp: At global scope: Sort50Rec:46: error: redefinition of 'int sortNumbers' Sort50Rec:-1: error: 'int sortNumbers' previously defined here Sort50Rec:46: error: 'p' was not declared in this scope Sort50Rec:46: error: 'c' was not declared in this scope Sort50Rec:46: error: 'l' was not declared in this scope Sort50Rec:46: error: 'numbers' was not declared in this scope I am sure part of it is the way I am naming my function and am I right in thinking you can only return one value? Or not? Edit: Fixed error pointed out new error. void loop() { int topLevel = 0; int currentSort = 0; int numbers [49]; int sizeOfArray = sizeof(numbers)/sizeof(int); numbers = sortNumbers(topLevel,currentSort,sizeOfArray,numbers); } int sortNumbers(int p,int c,int l,int numbers) { // Swap if they are in the wrong order if( numbers[c-1] > numbers[c] ) { int temp = numbers[c-1]; numbers[c-1] = numbers[c]; numbers[c] = temp; } // If we have finished this level and need to go to next level if( c == l ) { c = 0; p++; } // Finished if( p == l+1 ) { return numbers; } // Continue to the next place return sortNumbers(p,c+1,l, numbers); } Sort50Rec.cpp: In function 'void loop()': Sort50Rec:19: error: invalid conversion from 'int*' to 'int' Sort50Rec:19: error: initializing argument 4 of 'int sortNumbers(int, int, int, int)' Sort50Rec:19: error: incompatible types in assignment of 'int' to 'int [49]' Sort50Rec.cpp: In function 'void genNumbers()': Sort50Rec:40: error: 'numbers' was not declared in this scope Sort50Rec.cpp: In function 'int sortNumbers(int, int, int, int)': Sort50Rec:47: error: invalid types 'int[int]' for array subscript Sort50Rec:47: error: invalid types 'int[int]' for array subscript Sort50Rec:49: error: invalid types 'int[int]' for array subscript Sort50Rec:50: error: invalid types 'int[int]' for array subscript Sort50Rec:50: error: invalid types 'int[int]' for array subscript Sort50Rec:51: error: invalid types 'int[int]' for array subscript Sort50Rec.cpp: In function 'void displayNumber()': Sort50Rec:71: error: 'numbers' was not declared in this scope Thanks A: You have a redundant check causing an infinite loop. void sortNumbers() { ... int check = 1; if( check != 0 ) { ... sortNumbers(); } } Now, since this is clearly homework, I'll just give some general advice. In general, you use recursion to make a problem of a particular size smaller. Figure out what part of the problem is getting smaller each iteration, and just make each iteration a recursive call instead of a loop (hint: this means you'll probably want to pass some value into the method to tell you the size and/or location of the current iteration). And remember to have a check either at the beginning of the method or before you recurse to check the size of the problem. void loop() { int topLevel = 0; int currentSort = 0; /* You never initialize this - what's supposed to be in it? */ int numbers [49]; int sizeOfArray = sizeof(numbers)/sizeof(int); /* Two things here: you're passing an array (numbers) in where the sortNumbers() function has it declared as an int; and the return value is declared as an int, but you're storing it into an array. */ numbers = sortNumbers(topLevel,currentSort,sizeOfArray,numbers); } /* You're going to have to change this method signature - you're working with arrays, not plain ints. You're changing numbers[] inline, so you don't need to return anything. */ int sortNumbers(int p,int c,int l,int numbers) { /* The first iteration has c = 0, so [c-1] is going to be out-of-bounds. Also, when c = l, [c] will be out of bounds. */ if( numbers[c-1] > numbers[c] ) { int temp = numbers[c-1]; numbers[c-1] = numbers[c]; numbers[c] = temp; } if( c == l ) { c = 0; p++; } if( p == l+1 ) { return numbers; } return sortNumbers(p,c+1,l, numbers); } This isn't how I was thinking of doing it, but I believe it should work once you fix the problems I've pointed out (and possibly some I missed). | Low | [
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Burma sex education magazine banned Burma's first sex education magazine has proven a step too far for the country's censors who have banned it from publication. With its photos of scantily clad women and advice on bedroom secrets, "Hnyo" was pulled after just one issue because it was deemed to have ventured beyond its remit as a "fashion" magazine, its editor Ko Oo Swe said on Thursday. It is the first publication to have its licence revoked since the end of decades of military rule in early 2011. Hnyo - which translates as "enchant" or "hypnotise" - was among the more risque publications to emerge after the abolition in August of pre-publication censorship that was a hallmark of life under the former junta. Information minister Aung Kyi said Hnyo had gone too far by publishing "near pornography", according to the New Light of Myanmar, an official English-language daily. A further six publications - Media One, The Farmer, Ad World, Myanandar, High Speed Car, New Blood and Aesthetics - were warned that some of their content was "irrelevant" and would be monitored for one month, the report said. Burma's media have begun to blossom under a new quasi-civilian government, feeding huge demand from a population hungry for information after years of restrictions. Private newspapers will be allowed to publish daily from April 1, further easing a censorship regime that until last year required everything from fairytales to song lyrics to be submitted in advance for scrutiny. Ko Oo Swe plans to appeal the censor's decision. He hopes to boost his magazine's social content with a greater focus on issues such as HIV prevention, prostitution and tackling violence against women. "I am now trying to apply for a new licence as a health magazine," he said. | Low | [
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Contribution of increased glutathione content to mechanisms of oxidative stress resistance in hydrogen peroxide resistant hamster fibroblasts. An H2O2-resistant variant (OC14) of the HA1 Chinese hamster fibroblast cell line, which demonstrates cross resistance to 95% O2 and a 2-fold increase in total glutathione content, was utilized to investigate mechanisms responsible for cellular resistance to H2O2- and O2-toxicity. OC14 and HA1 cells were pretreated with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) to deplete total cellular glutathione. Following BSO pretreatment, cells were either placed in 250 microM BSO to maintain the glutathione depleted condition and challenged with 95% O2, or challenged with hydrogen peroxide in the absence of BSO. Total glutathione and the activities of CuZn superoxide dismutase, Mn superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione transferase were evaluated immediately following the BSO pretreatment as well as following 39 to 42 hr of exposure to 250 microM BSO. BSO treatment did not cause significant decreases in any cellular antioxidant tested, except total glutathione. Glutathione depletion resulted in significant (P < 0.05) sensitization to O2-toxicity and H2O2-toxicity in both cell lines at every time point tested. However, glutathione depletion did not completely abolish the resistance to either O2- or H2O2-toxicity demonstrated by OC14 cells, relative to HA1 cells. Also, glutathione depletion did not effect the ability of OC14 cells to metabolize extracellular H2O2. These data indicate that glutathione dependent processes significantly contribute to cellular resistance to acute H2O2- and O2-toxicity, but are not the only determinants of resistance in cell lines. The contribution of aldehydes formed by lipid peroxidation in mechanisms involved with the sensitization to O2-toxicity in glutathione depleted cells was tested by measuring the lipid peroxidation byproduct, 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4HNE), bound in Schiff-base linkages or in its free form in cell homogenates at 49 hr of 95% O2-exposure. No significant increase in 4HNE was detected in glutathione depleted cells relative to glutathione competent cells, indicating that glutathione depletion does not sensitize these cells to O2-toxicity by altering the intracellular accumulation of free or Schiff-base bound 4HNE. | High | [
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Potential Intervention Targets in Utero and Early Life for Prevention of Hormone Related Cancers. Hormone-related cancers have long been thought to be sensitive to exposures during key periods of sexual development, as shown by the vulnerability to such cancers of women exposed to diethylstilbestrol in utero. In addition to evidence from human studies, animal studies using new techniques, such as gene knockout models, suggest that an increasing number of cancers may be hormonally related, including liver, lung, and bladder cancer. Greater understanding of sexual development has also revealed the "mini-puberty" of early infancy as a key period when some sex hormones reach levels similar to those at puberty. Factors driving sex hormones in utero and early infancy have not been systematically identified as potential targets of intervention for cancer prevention. On the basis of sex hormone pathways, we identify common potentially modifiable drivers of sex hormones, including but not limited to factors such as obesity, alcohol, and possibly nitric oxide. We review the evidence for effects of modifiable drivers of sex hormones during the prenatal period and early infancy, including measured hormones as well as proxies, such as the second-to-fourth digit length ratio. We summarize the gaps in the evidence needed to identify new potential targets of early life intervention for lifelong cancer prevention. | High | [
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Introduction {#S1} ============ The Manila clam, *Ruditapes philippinarum*, is an economically and scientifically important marine bivalve species with a wide geographic distribution, extending from Europe to Asia ([@B36], [@B37]). Manila clam has a great capacity to adapt to new environments ([@B29]). Its ability to cope with abiotic and biotic stresses is vital to its survival because it has an intertidal benthic lifestyle, and is therefore subjected to cycles of emersion and reimmersion during the tidal cycle. Because juvenile clams settle in muddy or sandy sediments in the intertidal zone and live buried several centimeters deep ([@B35]), they experience daily rhythms of air exposure throughout their lives, which impose physiological stresses, including water loss, oxygen deficiency, thermal stress, and food limitation ([@B17]; [@B6]; [@B11]; [@B20], [@B19]). A tolerance of aerial exposure has long been considered an important trait for survival under acute environmental stress, especially for aquatic animals ([@B14]). Aquatic animals in intertidal areas must cope with being out of the water at regular intervals. Emersion times are longest for animals in the high intertidal zone, so these individuals are often subjected to aerial exposure. Many aquatic species, such as shellfish, can also experience aerial exposure during their harvest and transportation. Therefore, the tolerance of aerial exposure in shellfish is an interesting ecological phenomenon, the molecular and physiological mechanisms of which require clarification, and have received considerable attention in recent years ([@B26]; [@B14]). Previous studies have reported several effects of aerial exposure on the molecular, physiological, and biochemical responses (metabolic costs, antioxidant defenses, fermentative metabolism, etc.) of aquatic mollusks. Oxygen sensors and several pathways (oxidative stress, heat shock stress, energy metabolism, immune functions, etc.) have been implicated in the adaptive response to changes in oxygen availability in several bivalves, including mussels ([@B33]; [@B4]; [@B3]; [@B12]; [@B34]; [@B9], [@B10]; [@B21]), oysters ([@B30]; [@B23]), and others ([@B32]; [@B22]). Bivalves are known to utilize anaerobic metabolic pathways when their tissues are deprived of oxygen ([@B38]). However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying the regulation of the physiological and immune responses to aerial exposure in the Manila clam ([@B35]). Aerial exposure greatly affects the immune functions and stress resistance of shellfish, and can lead to death from oxidative damage, antioxidation, and immunosuppression ([@B16]; [@B14]). α-amylase is a digestive and metabolic enzyme associated with growth and metabolism. α-amylase hydrolyzes amylose to glucose during digestion, which promotes the growth and development of organisms ([@B27]). It is the key enzyme in carbohydrate assimilation in mollusks ([@B25]). Proline hydroxylase (PHD) is a metabolic enzyme that allows the body to adapt to hypoxic environments ([@B23]), and regulates the stability of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) in oxygen utilization. The inhibition of PHD during oxygen limitation stabilizes HIF and permits cells to adapt to hypoxia ([@B18]). Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is an immune-related antioxidative enzyme, which eliminates the superoxide anions (free radicals) produced by immune reactions in the body ([@B1]). In addition, C-type lectins (CTLs) are pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that play important roles in the immune responses and defenses of shellfish ([@B13]). The identification of the genetic mechanisms regulating these physiological, immunological, and biological processes will provide key insights into the adaptive responses of marine bivalves to aerial exposure and aerial exposure stress ([@B8]; [@B24]). In this study, the changes in physiological indices during the process of resistance to air exposure were investigated by monitoring the changes in the metabolic and antioxidant enzyme activities of *R. philippinarum* under the stress imposed by aerial exposure and reimmersion in water at different temperatures. We also monitored the different mortality rates during these processes under different conditions. This study provides new insights into the physiological and biochemical mechanisms underlying aerial exposure tolerance in *R. philippinarum* and extends our understanding of the physiological changes that occur in response to low oxygen availability, the fundamental adaptive physiology of this organism, and the molecular mechanisms operating during aerial exposure. Materials and Methods {#S2} ===================== Experimental Clams {#S2.SS1} ------------------ The experimental clams were collected from Jinshitan, Dalian, China. Those clams had an average shell length of 35.05 ± 2.24 mm and an average weight of 8.96 ± 1.21 g. Before the experiment, all the Manila clams were acclimatized in aerated seawater (31 ± 1 ppt) at 14 ± 1°C for 1 week in lab condition ([@B14]). All the clams were fed spirulina powder daily for 1 week and fasted for 2 days before aerial exposure, and the water was exchanged daily to remove the waste products from the marine invertebrates. Other water parameters were measured during the experiment (pH 8.2 ± 0.2; dissolved oxygen, 8.5 ± 1.0 mg/L). *R. philippinarum* is not an endangered or protected species, so there was no need for specific procedures or approval were required in this study. Challenge and Sampling {#S2.SS2} ---------------------- Totally 360 Manila clams were averagely divided into high temperature experimental group (TH), high temperature control group (CH), low temperature experimental group (TL), and low temperature control group (CL). Each group consisted of three replicates with a total number of 90 clams. The high-temperature experimental group was aerially exposed at 28°C, and the low-temperature experimental group at 4°C ([@B31]) for 3, 6, 12, or 24 h. The aerially exposed groups were then respectively restored to their original tanks at 4 or 28°C for 120 h. Gill and hepatopancreas samples were collected from three replicates of experimental groups and control groups at different time points (aerial exposure: 3, 6, 12, and 24 h; reimmersion: 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h). For the measurement of enzyme activities, about 0.1 g samples of gill and hepatopancreas were pooled within the same group and a 0.9 volume of normal saline was added according to weight (g): volume (ml) = 1: 9. The rest of the collected gill and hepatopancreas samples were stored at −80°C in a freezer for subsequent RNA extraction. The mortality rates of the Manila clams after aerial exposure and reimmersion in the experiment groups and the Manila clams in control groups were calculated at different times during the experiment. In this work, the shell of the clam opened and could not be closed by the adductor muscle, and then the clam was classified as dead. Measurement of Enzyme Activities {#S2.SS3} -------------------------------- For the measurement of enzyme activities, gill and hepatopancreas samples (about 0.1 g) were respectively pooled within the same group and a 0.9 volume of normal saline was added according to weight (g): volume (ml) = 1: 9. The samples were ground at low temperature (in an ice box) with an electric tissue grinder, and centrifuged at 2500 rpm in a freezing centrifuge at 4°C for 10 min. An aliquot (200 μL) of the supernatant was diluted with 0.9% normal saline in a 1:4 ratio for testing. Each enzyme activity index and protein concentration was measured three times by SpectraMax i3 (Molecular Devices, CA, United States) in all replicates. All samples were tested with α-amylase, SOD, and PHD analysis kits manufactured by Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering Institute (Nanjing, China) according to the protocols of the manufacturer. Total RNA Extraction {#S2.SS4} -------------------- Total RNA was extracted with TRIzol Reagent (TRIzol^®^ Plus RNA Purification Kit, Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, United States), according to the manufacturer's protocol. The total RNA concentration was measured with a NanoDrop 2000c UV/Vis spectrophotometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Madison, NY, United States). The quality of the total RNA was confifirmed by electrophoresis on 1% agarose gel ([Supplementary Figure S1](#FS1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). The total RNA was extracted from each tissue of *R. philippinarum*, reverse transcribed to cDNA, and stored at −20°C. Tissue Distribution and mRNA Expression of α-Amylase, SOD, and RpCTL in Manila Clams Under Aerial Exposure Analyzed With Reverse Transcription (RT)-Quantitative PCR (qPCR) {#S2.SS5} --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the tissue expression analysis, the mantle, gill, siphon, adductor muscle, foot, and hepatopancreas tissues were collected from three unchallenged clams, and the total RNA was extracted with TRIzol Reagent (Invitrogen). The first-strand cDNA was synthesized with the QuantiTect^®^ Reverse Transcription Kit (TaKaRa Bio, Shiga, Japan), according to the manufacturer's instructions. For the expression analysis of α-amylase, SOD, and RpCTL mRNAs in the Manila clams under aerial exposure, the gills and hepatopancreases were collected from three challenged clams in the *R. philippinarum*. The qPCR was used to determine the mRNA expression levels of α-amylase, SOD, and RpCTL, with β-actin as the internal control, with the SYBR Green Master kit (Roche, Basel, Switzerland), according to the manufacturer's protocol. The primers for qPCR are listed in [Supplementary Table S1](#TS1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. The experiments were performed in triplicate, with three biological replicates of each sample. qPCR was performed with the Real-Time Detection System (Roche 480 LightCycler), using the SYBR ExScript qRT Kit (TaKaRa), in a total volume of 20 μL that contained 10 μL of SYBR^®^ Premix Ex Taq II (2×), 0.8 μL of each primer, 2 μL of cDNA, and 6.4 μL of H~2~O. The thermal cycling protocol was 94°C for 5 min, and 40 cycles of 94°C for 30 s, 60°C for 30 s, and 72°C for 30 s. The expression of α-amylase, SOD, and RpCTL mRNAs was normalized to that of β-*actin* mRNA, and the quantitative differences in expression between the different samples were calculated with the 2^--ΔΔCT^ method ([@B15]). Statistical Analysis {#S2.SS6} -------------------- All groups were analyzed with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by an unpaired two-tailed *t*-test. *P* \< 0.05 was deemed to indicate statistically significant differences and *P* \< 0.01 highly significant differences. All data are expressed as means ± standard errors (SE). One-way ANOVA followed by Duncan's multiple comparison test was used to compare the effects of hypoxia on the three enzyme activities (α-amylase, SOD, and PHD). Differences were considered significant at *P* \< 0.05. Results {#S3} ======= Effects of Aerial Exposure on α-Amylase Activity in Manila Clam {#S3.SS1} --------------------------------------------------------------- The α-amylase activity in the gills of the Manila clam under aerial exposure at low temperature first increased significantly (3, 6, 12, and 24 h) and then decreased (3 and 6 h) after reimmersion (*P* \< 0.05) ([Figure 1A](#F1){ref-type="fig"}). A similar pattern in α-amylase activity was observed in the gills of the Manila clam under aerial exposure at high temperature ([Figure 1B](#F1){ref-type="fig"}). {#F1} The hepatopancreatic α-amylase activity in the Manila clam under aerial exposure at low temperature is shown in [Figure 2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}. With prolonged aerial exposure, the hepatopancreatic α-amylase activity first decreased significantly at 6, 12, and 24 h, and then increased significantly at 3 and 24 h after reimmersion (*P* \< 0.05) ([Figure 2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}). More significant variation in the hepatopancreatic α-amylase activity was observed in the Manila clam under aerial exposure at high temperature ([Figure 2B](#F2){ref-type="fig"}). {#F2} Effects of Aerial Exposure on SOD Activity in Manila Clam {#S3.SS2} --------------------------------------------------------- The SOD activity in the gills of *R. philippinarum* increased significantly after 24 h under aerial exposure stress at low temperature (*P* \< 0.05), whereas a significant reduction in SOD activity was observed at 6 and 24 h in the gills of *R. philippinarum* after reimmersion ([Figure 3A](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). At high temperature, the SOD activity in the gills of *R. philippinarum* increased significantly after 3 and 6 h under aerial exposure stress, whereas it was significantly reduced at 3, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h after reimmersion (*P* \< 0.05) ([Figure 3B](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). Under aerial exposure at low temperature, the hepatopancreatic SOD activity in *R. philippinarum* increased significantly at 3 h, but was reduced at 12 and 24 h (*P* \< 0.05); it increased again after reimmersion ([Figure 4A](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). Under aerial exposure at high temperature, the hepatopancreatic SOD activity in *R. philippinarum* was significantly elevated at 3 and 6 h, and then increased significantly at 6 and 12 h after reimmersion (*P* \< 0.05) ([Figure 4B](#F4){ref-type="fig"}). {#F3} {#F4} Effects of Aerial Exposure on PHD Activity in Manila Clam {#S3.SS3} --------------------------------------------------------- The PHD activity in the gill of *R. philippinarum* under aerial exposure at low temperature is shown in [Figure 5A](#F5){ref-type="fig"}. It increased significantly at 6, 12, and 24 h under aerial exposure stress (*P* \< 0.05), and when the calm was reimmersed, it first decreased and then increased ([Figure 5A](#F5){ref-type="fig"}). In the hepatopancreas, the change trend of PHD activity was similar to the PHD activity in the gill ([Figure 6A](#F6){ref-type="fig"}) Under aerial exposure at high temperature, the hepatopancreatic PHD activity was significantly reduced at 3 h, increased at 6 h ([Figure 6B](#F6){ref-type="fig"}), whereas that in the *R. philippinarum* gill decreased at 12 and 24 h ([Figure 5B](#F5){ref-type="fig"}). The PHD activity increased significantly from 3 to 48 h after reimmersion (*P* \< 0.05). {#F5} {#F6} Mortality and Tissue Distributions of α-Amylase, SOD, and RpCTL {#S3.SS4} --------------------------------------------------------------- The mortality rates of the clams under aerial exposure for 24 h at low and high temperatures and within 120 h of reimmersion were calculated ([Table 1](#T1){ref-type="table"}). As shown in [Table 1](#T1){ref-type="table"}, there were no dead individuals within the first 24 h of aerial exposure at high temperature (28°C) and low temperature (4°C). The mortality rate was 1.11% after 12 h of reimmersion, and peaked (46.59%) at 48 h after reimmersion in high temperature group. After 48 h, the mortality rate began to decrease, and after 120 h, the mortality rate was 0. In contrast, there were no dead individuals after low-temperature aerial exposure ([Table 1](#T1){ref-type="table"}). ###### Mortality of clams under aerial exposure at low and high temperatures for 24 h and after reoxygenation for 120 h. Aerial exposure and reoxygenation time (h) Mortality at 4°C (%) 28°C mortality (%) -------------------------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------- **Aerial exposure time** 0 0 0 3 0 0 6 0 0 12 0 0 24 0 0 **Reoxygenation time** 3 0 0 6 0 0 12 0 1.11 ± 1.92 24 0 1.12 ± 1.94 48 0 46.59 ± 16.11 72 0 40.42 ± 13.29 96 0 14.28 ± 6.18 120 0 0 The α-amylase and SOD transcripts were predominantly expressed in the hepatopancreas and gills, whereas RpCTL transcripts were highly expressed in the mantle, hepatopancreas, and gill ([Figure 7](#F7){ref-type="fig"}). {#F7} Expression Profiles of α-Amylase, SOD, and RpCTL mRNAs After Aerial Exposure and Reimmersion {#S3.SS5} -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the gills, the relative expression of α-amylase mRNA increased first and reached its highest level at 6 and 12 h under aerial exposure at high temperature and low temperature, respectively ([Figures 8A,B](#F8){ref-type="fig"}), whereas α-amylase mRNA decreased at 3 h after reimmersion after aerial exposure at high temperature ([Figure 8A](#F8){ref-type="fig"}). It then decreased at 48 h after reimmersion after both the high and low temperature treatments ([Figures 8A,B](#F8){ref-type="fig"}). In the hepatopancreas, the relative expression of α-amylase mRNA increased at 3 and 6 h under aerial exposure at the high and low temperature, respectively ([Figures 8C,D](#F8){ref-type="fig"}). The expression of α-amylase mRNA increased at 3 and 6 h and at 6 h after reimmersion following aerial exposure at both high and low temperature, respectively ([Figures 8C,D](#F8){ref-type="fig"}). {#F8} The expression of *SOD* mRNA was higher in the experimental group than in the control group at low temperature ([Figures 9A,B](#F9){ref-type="fig"}). The expression of *SOD* mRNA in the gill increased first between 3 and 24 h under aerial exposure at high temperature, and then decreased significantly at 3 h after reimmersion ([Figure 9A](#F9){ref-type="fig"}). The relative expression of *SOD* mRNA decreased in the gill at high temperature and increased 6 h again after reimmersion ([Figure 9A](#F9){ref-type="fig"}). Under low-temperature aerial exposure, the expression of *SOD* mRNA in the gill increased significantly at 6 h, and again at 12 h after reimmersion ([Figure 9B](#F9){ref-type="fig"}). The hepatopancreatic expression of SOD mRNA increased significantly at 3 h under aerial exposure at both low and high temperature ([Figures 9C,D](#F9){ref-type="fig"}). The hepatopancreatic expression of *SOD* mRNA was significantly higher at 3, 6, and 24 h under aerial exposure at high temperature than in the control group, whereas in the low temperature group, it increased significantly at 6 h and fluctuated strikingly after reimmersion (*P* \< 0.05). {#F9} The relative expression of *RpCTL* mRNA in the gill increased at 3 and 6 h under aerial exposure at both low and high temperature, indicating that aerial exposure promoted the expression of the CTL gene. There was a further increase in *RpCTL* mRNA at 3 h after reimmersion ([Figures 10A,B](#F10){ref-type="fig"}). *RpCTL* mRNA expression showed a similar trend and expression pattern in the hepatopancreas during aerial exposure ([Figures 10C,D](#F10){ref-type="fig"}). The relative hepatopancreatic expression of *RpCTL* mRNA in the clams was downregulated after 3 h of aerial exposure at high temperature but upregulated at low temperature. The hepatopancreatic expression of *RpCTL* mRNA increased significantly after reimmersion for 3 h following aerial exposure at low temperature (*P* \< 0.05) ([Figures 10C,D](#F10){ref-type="fig"}). {#F10} Discussion {#S4} ========== During shellfish harvest and transportation, most shellfish will face the stress imposed by aerial exposure and temperature. Closing the shell is an important way for shellfish to protect themselves ([@B12]). When the shell is closed during aerial exposure, the shellfish is stressed by the low oxygen availability, and the main energy supply mode in the shellfish body probably reverts to anaerobic respiration. The shellfish may then change its energy metabolism from anaerobic to aerobic during reimmersion. In shellfish, the respiration is positively correlated to temperature ([@B2]). Low temperature and humid environments can effectively reduce the aerial exposure stress response ([@B2]; [@B3]). It has been reported that temperature is the major factor affecting the water loss rate and tolerance of aerial exposure in *Corbicula fluminea* ([@B7]). The tolerance time of *Helice tientsinensis* under aerial exposure was positively correlated with the relative environmental humidity ([@B30]), and the survival rates of *R. philippinarum* and *C. fluminea* improved in low temperature and moist environments ([@B7]; [@B2]). In this study, all the clams in the low temperature aerial exposure group survived after reimmersion, whereas a large number of clams in the high-temperature aerial-exposure group died at 48 h after reimmersion, indicating that low temperature can effectively reduce the stress of aerial exposure and improve the clam's survival. A mylase plays an important role in glycolysis, in which it hydrolyzes amylose to glucose and maltose ([@B35]). α-Amylase is a key enzyme in carbohydrate assimilation in mollusks and a possible rate-limiting enzyme in the metabolic pathway ([@B29]). In this study, α-amylase activity increased in the gills and hepatopancreas, but increased less markedly in the high-temperature group. Because the gill is the key tissue of respiration, α-amylase activity increases and decomposition produces more glucose under hypoxic conditions. After reimmersion, the α-amylase activity first fluctuated and then tended to become stable. This may be because reimmersion caused the clam to revert from anaerobic respiration to aerobic respiration. The α-amylase activity in the low and high temperature groups first increased and then tended to become stable, which may be attributable to the increased α-amylase activity induced by the digestion of food filtered from the water after reimmersion. In this study, aerial exposure at high temperature led to reduced SOD activity after 3 h of reimmersion, which then increased and tended to become stable. This may be because oxidative damage to the body inhibited the activity of SOD, which then gradually increased after the body recovered from the stress response and self-adjusting. Our results showed that aerial exposure caused the SOD activity to improve early, to remove excess reactive oxygen species, and then decreased because of the adjustment of organism might be delayed, causing oxidative damage to the organism via oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation ([@B11]). However, SOD activity was inhibited after reimmersion, and the enzyme activity increased in the early stage in both groups, possibly because any damage was repaired and self-regulation reestablished. The expression of the *SOD* gene after aerial exposure for 6 h was higher at the low temperature than at the high temperature, indicating that the expression of the *SOD* gene was more active under low-temperature conditions at this time, and the expression of the *SOD* gene after aerial exposure for 12 h was similar, indicating that its expression during aerial exposure for 6 h was enhanced. Proline hydroxylase is a key regulator of the HIF pathway ([@B18]). In the HIF pathway, PHD controls the hydroxylation of key glycolytic enzymes, such as pyruvate kinase and pyruvate dehydrogenase. PHD may also control the rate of glycolysis in both HIF-dependent and non-HIF-dependent ways by regulating the activities of PKM2 and PDH2. The activity of PHD2 is inhibited by the tricarboxylic acid cycle ([@B5]). The inhibition of PHD stabilizes HIF and allows cells to adapt to hypoxia during periods of oxygen restriction ([@B28]). After reimmersion, HIF decreased and PHD expression was induced. The PHD activity in the hepatopancreas was inhibited after 3 h of low temperature aerial exposure, but became stable after 6, 12, and 24 h, possibly because PHD activity was inhibited to stabilize HIF in an adaptation to hypoxia. The PHD activity in the high temperature group was inhibited at 3 h, increased at 6 h, and decreased thereafter, perhaps because the PHD activity was inhibited to stabilize HIF as an adaptation to hypoxia. Its subsequent reduction may be attributable to the fact that the concentration of PHD induced by HIF decreased, and the adjustment was delayed. C-type lectins are PRRs that play important roles in immune system of clams ([@B13]). In this experiment, the expression of *RpCTL* increased to different levels during aerial exposure at low or high temperature. High temperature aerial exposure caused it to increase more dramatically than low temperature aerial exposure in gill and hepatopancreas tissues. These up- and down-regulated expression level of *RpCTL* were significantly greater in the high temperature group than in the low temperature group, indicating that high temperature aerial exposure had a greater effect on the expression of *RpCTL* than low temperature aerial exposure. Our results suggest that high temperature aerial exposure has a greater impact on the immune response of clams than low temperature aerial exposure, and that the expression of immune-related genes is significantly higher during high temperature exposure. This speculation is supported by the mortality observed during the whole experiment. All the individuals survived during low temperature aerial exposure for 24 h and reimmersion for 120 h. However, individuals died after reimmersion for 12 h following high-temperature aerial exposure, and the mortality rate was maximum at 48 h, at that time the expression level of *RpCTL* was down regulated. Conclusion {#S5} ========== The changes in physiological indices of SOD, α-amylase and PHD during the process of resistance to air exposure were investigated by monitoring enzyme activities of *R. philippinarum* under the stress imposed by aerial exposure and reimmersion in water at different temperatures. At the same time, the expression level of *SOD*, *α-amylase* and *RpCTL* also were detected. We also monitored the different mortality rates during these processes under different conditions. These data indicate that transportation involving long-term aerial exposure should be undertaken in a low-temperature environment. This study provides new insights into the physiological and biochemical mechanisms underlying aerial exposure tolerance in *R. philippinarum* and extends our understanding of the physiological changes that occur in response to low oxygen availability, the fundamental adaptive physiology of this organism, and the molecular mechanisms operating during aerial exposure. Data Availability Statement {#S6} =========================== All datasets generated for this study are included in the article/[Supplementary Material](#FS1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. Author Contributions {#S7} ==================== HN and XY conceived the study and revised the manuscript. KJ, ZZ, BG, and DL conducted the experiment. ZZ, BG, and DL analyzed the data. HN, KJ, and ZZ wrote the draft manuscript. Conflict of Interest {#conf1} ==================== The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. **Funding.** This research was funded by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology through the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFD0901400), the Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System (CARS-49), the Scientific Research project of Liaoning Education Department (QL201703), and Dalian high level talent innovation support program (Dalian Youth Science and Technology Star Project Support Program) (2016RQ065). Thanks for the reviewers for providing insightful and helpful comments to improve the manuscript. Supplementary Material {#S10} ====================== The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: <https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2020.00500/full#supplementary-material> ###### The quality of the total RNA used in this study. ###### Click here for additional data file. ###### The primers used in this study. ###### Click here for additional data file. [^1]: Edited by: Robert Huber, Bowling Green State University, United States [^2]: Reviewed by: Can Li, Guiyang University, China; Xiaoling Tan, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), China [^3]: This article was submitted to Invertebrate Physiology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Physiology | Mid | [
0.597402597402597,
34.5,
23.25
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Accept the updated privacy & cookie policy The TimesofIndia.com Privacy Policy and Cookie Settings has been updated to align with the new data regulations in European Union. Please review and accept these changes below to continue using the website. We use cookies to ensure the best experience for you on our website. Mayawati Mayawati, born on January 15, 1956, is the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and the first dalit woman to hold the post in any Indian state. Influenced by dalit leader Kanshiram, Mayawati joined active politics when the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was formed in 1984. She first won a Lok Sabha seat contesting from Bijnor constituency in 1989. After three short tenures between 1995 and 2003, this is her fourth term in this office. She stormed back to power in 2007 assembly elections winning absolute majority with the support of Brahmins, Thakurs, Muslims and members of other backward classes, the first by any party since 1991 in Uttar Pradesh, despite allegations that she had used her status to amass a large amount of personal wealth. In 2002-2003, Mayawati was charged with misappropriating funds in the controversial Taj Corridor project, which led to discovery of assets allegedly disproportionate to her known income. | Low | [
0.43087557603686605,
23.375,
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Q: assign NSString I have an NSString called animation, which is called with the following (working) code: animation=[rowInDataBase objectAtIndex:2] ; NSLog(@"animation:%@",animation); When I try to perform the following : previousAnimation=animation; The previousAnimation is assigned ccsprite. When I try to logging previousAnimation to check its value with NSLog(@"previous-animation:%@",previousAnimation);, the application crashes unless previousAnimation is NULL What am I doing wrong in my assignment ? A: animation needs to be properly retained. You should create a property with a retain attribute for animation and previousAnimation and set them like this. self.animation = [rowInDatabase objectAtIndex:2]; ... self.previousAnimation = self.animation; Now both values will be properly retained between calls you will no longer have crashing issues. Just remember to release both values in dealloc. A: Are you trying to copy the string? If so you should be doing: NSString* previousAnimation = [NSString stringWithString:animation]; // autoreleased or NSString* previousAnimation = [animation copy]; // retain count 1, need to release otherwise you should retain previousAnimation = [animation retain]; and release previousAnimation when you are done. | Low | [
0.528301886792452,
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Martin Rogers Published Articles How to promote open minded and informed discussion concerning the ‘science and religion debate’ into schools around the world? An introduction by Martin Rogers to the UK initiative which does just that. The aim of the Science and Religion in Schools Project, which is "to encourage open minded and informed debate on the claims of science and those of the major world religions," is to bring the “Science and Religion” debate into schools. The question of how to relate scientific and religious beliefs is both topical and important. It is also fascinating, to teachers and their pupils alike, because there is no single answer. Martin Rogers is the recently retired Director of the Farmington Institute for Christian Studies at Harris Manchester College, Oxford University, where he was an Associate Fellow. At the Farmington Institute he developed, for Religious Education teachers, the Farmington Fellowships, the Farmington Millennium Awards and the Farmington Institute Special Needs Millennium Awards. He studied at Heidelberg and Cambridge (Natural Sciences and History). After a short spell in industry he taught chemistry at Westminster School before becoming Headmaster of Malvern College (1971) and Chief Master of King Edward's School Birmingham (1982). He was Chairman of the Headmasters Conference in 1987. He was seconded as a Nuffield Research Fellow to the Nuffield Chemistry Project from 1962 to 1964 and as Salter's Company Schoolmaster Fellow at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College, London in 1969. Among his publications are: John Dalton and the Atomic Theory (1965), Chemistry and Energy (1968), Chemistry: facts, patterns and principles (1972) (co-author) and Francis Bacon and the Birth of Modern Science (1976). He edited the Nuffield O-Level Sample Scheme, (1965), the Foreground Chemistry Series (1968) and the Farmington Papers from 1993 to 2001. | High | [
0.7014925373134321,
35.25,
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Neural dysfunction in ADHD with Reading Disability during a word rhyming Continuous Performance Task. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a heterogeneous, neurodevelopmental disorder which co-occurs often with Reading Disability (RD). ADHD with and without RD consistently have higher inattentive ratings compared with typically developing controls, with co-occurring ADHD and RD also demonstrating impaired phonological processing. Accordingly, inattention has been associated with greater phonological impairment, though the neural correlates of the association are poorly understood from a functional neuroimaging perspective. It was postulated that only the co-occurring subgroup would demonstrate hypoactivation of posterior, left hemispheric, reading-related areas and, to a lesser extent, alterations in right hemispheric, attention areas compared with controls. A novel word rhyming Continuous Performance Task assesses functional activation differences in phonology- and attention-related areas between three groups: ten boys with ADHD and RD, fourteen boys with ADHD without RD, and fourteen typically developing controls. Subjects respond to words that rhyme with a target word as mono- and disyllabic, English words are visually presented over 90s blocks. Behavioral performance was not different between groups. Some hypoactivation of left hemispheric, reading-related areas was apparent in ADHD and RD, but not ADHD without RD, compared with controls. Right hemispheric, attention areas showed alterations in both ADHD subgroups relative to controls; however, the differences for each subgroup were dissimilar. The dorsal decoding subnetwork may not be grossly compromised in ADHD with Reading Disability. The role of cognitive impairments, including the level of inattention, on phonology requires clarification from a neuroimaging perspective. | High | [
0.658227848101265,
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<h2>f_fdisk</h2>
<p>The f_fdisk fucntion divides a physical drive.</p>
<pre>
FRESULT f_fdisk (
BYTE <span class="arg">pdrv</span>, <span class="c">/* [IN] Physical drive number */</span>
const DWORD* <span class="arg">szt</span>, <span class="c">/* [IN] Partition map table */</span>
void* <span class="arg">work</span> <span class="c">/* [IN] Work area */</span>
);
</pre>
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<div class="para arg">
<h4>Parameters</h4>
<dl class="par">
<dt>pdrv</dt>
<dd>Specifies the <em>physical drive</em> to be divided. This is not the logical drive number but the drive identifier passed to the low level disk functions.</dd>
<dt>szt</dt>
<dd>Pointer to the first item of the partition map table.</dd>
<dt>work</dt>
<dd>Pointer to the function work area. The size must be at least <tt>_MAX_SS</tt> bytes.</dd>
</dl>
</div>
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<h4>Return Values</h4>
<p>
<a href="rc.html#ok">FR_OK</a>,
<a href="rc.html#de">FR_DISK_ERR</a>,
<a href="rc.html#nr">FR_NOT_READY</a>,
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<a href="rc.html#ip">FR_INVALID_PARAMETER</a>
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<h4>Description</h4>
<p>The <tt>f_fdisk</tt> function creates partitions on the physical drive. The partitioning format is in generic FDISK format, so that it can create upto four primary partitions. Logical volumes in the extended partition is not supported. The partition map table with four items specifies how to divide the physical drive. The first item specifies the size of first primary partition and fourth item specifies the fourth primary partition. If the value is less than or equal to 100, it specifies the partition size in percentage of the entire drive space. If it is larger than 100, it specifies the partition size in unit of sector. The partitions are located on the drive in order of from first item.</p>
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<h4>QuickInfo</h4>
<p>Available when <tt>_FS_READOLNY == 0</tt>, <tt>_USE_MKFS == 1</tt> and <tt>_MULTI_PARTITION == 1</tt>.</p>
</div>
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<h4>Example</h4>
<pre>
<span class="c">/* Volume management table defined by user (required when _MULTI_PARTITION == 1) */</span>
PARTITION VolToPart[] = {
{0, 1}, <span class="c">/* "0:" ==> Physical drive 0, 1st partition */</span>
{0, 2}, <span class="c">/* "1:" ==> Physical drive 0, 2nd partition */</span>
{1, 0} <span class="c">/* "2:" ==> Physical drive 1, auto detection */</span>
};
</pre>
<pre>
<span class="c">/* Initialize a brand-new disk drive mapped to physical drive 0 */</span>
DWORD plist[] = {50, 50, 0, 0}; <span class="c">/* Divide drive into two partitions */</span>
BYTE work[_MAX_SS];
f_fdisk(0, plist, work); <span class="c">/* Divide physical drive 0 */</span>
f_mkfs("0:", FM_ANY, work, sizeof work); <span class="c">/* Create FAT volume on the logical drive 0 */</span>
f_mkfs("1:", FM_ANY, work, sizeof work); <span class="c">/* Create FAT volume on the logical drive 1 */</span>
</pre>
</div>
<div class="para ref">
<h4>See Also</h4>
<p><a href="filename.html#vol">Volume management</a>, <a href="mkfs.html"><tt>f_mkfs</tt></a></p>
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0.509090909090909,
31.5,
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In the 10/20 match between Ak Bars Kazan and Traktor Chelyabinsk we followed two prospects playing for Traktor, two players at different stages of their career. They are 2010 eligible Evgeny Kuznetsov and 2006 draftee Andrei Popov (Philadelphia Flyers). Evgeny Kuznetsov played an interesting game. Considering his age he played very well, even if he lacked of some intangibles that needs to work on in order to build a career for himself. An extremely talented player, he is very useful in the offensive zone because of his excellent technique. He can get easily on the scoresheet, but weíll see that he has much to work on. In the gameís first period he has been active, getting a score chance after two minutes with his good stickhandling, but international Swede Mikael Tellqvist saved his attempt. Playing on the third line with veteran Ravil Gusmanov and the other youngster Igor Velichkin he logged an interesting 14:02 TOI. When he has been iced against Ak Barsí top line, his line struggled, but not too much. He displayed good movements without the puck as well as strong skating, and a focused defensive play, at least in the gameís start. Heís by no mean a physical player, mostly because of his size, but despite many other young Russian players, he doesnít escape from the boards play, in a similar way displayed by Dmitry Kugryshev (Washington Capitals) in his early career. In the second periodís start he had the brightest chance of his game, winning a puck along the boards and presenting in front of Tellqvist with the puck on the blade, but once again he couldnít get it past the goalie. As said, if he manages to control very well the puck, he struggles a bit in the own third. With the home team pushing searching for the tie breaker, Kuznetsov has been more busy in the defensive part of the game rather than the offense and it showed as his rushes became rarer and rarer. The third period was probably the worse one: not only he didnít manage to break up offensively, he struggled more in the own third as a result of the home teamís pressure (they were down by two goals after a double by veteran Pavel Boichenko) and it ended up in allowing the 1-2 goal by Dmitri Kazionov (Tampa Bay Lightning): he didnít work hard on defense and allowed a shot to Medvedev, which was deflected in by Kazionov. He was probably a little bit tired as his line was a tad overused in the third periodís start. In the overtime he wasnít iced and Traktor ended up losing this game 3-2 after an overtime goal by Alexei Morozov (Pittsburgh Penguins). Overall he played an interesting match. He displayed all his strong features, excellent technique, flawless skating and lack of fear along the boards, but it was also possible underlining his limits: defensive play and lack of forechecking efforts. But at this stage of his development he clearly looks like a first round candidate, he might even be considered for the WJC despite his very young age. The other player we saw, Andrei Popov (Philadelphia Flyers), played in the second line with Canadians Ramzi Abid and Pierre Dageneis. This line is without a true center and thus he needed to stood up in some cases in the faceoff dots, where he acted well with a 57.1% of success. Heís grown a lot in the last period. He likes playing the puck, but he rarely exaggerates and playing as center gave him a further gear in defensive play, in which he doesnít excel, but has become more reliable. He also played on the PK units and he was on ice during the last two PP goals by the opponents. If in the OT goal he could have done little (his team was on a 3-on-4) he might have checked harder the opponents in the slot in occasion of last minute Niko Kapanenís goal. Overall, he logged a total 19:04 TOI and looked very well, despite the zero in the scoresheet. During this season he has already amassed 14 points in 19 games. | Mid | [
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Q: Win Vista to Win 7 Upgrade problem - Drivers Have just upgraded from Vista Home Premium 32 bit to Win 7 Home Premium 32 bit which appeared to go well but i now have 2 annoying driver problems. Whenever i now boot my computer a message pops up Saying Tages Protection Driver is incompatible and has been disabled. If i check for solutions it appears to be something connected with an application called Sygate Firewall which in turn seems to be part of Norton Security. Strangely it is not something i have ever installed though? Nevertheless as well as not knowing where it came from i do not know how to get rid of it either?! Any ideas?? My IDT High Definition Audio CODEC driver does not seem to work so i have no sound? I will post back if i find a solution but if anyone has any ideas it would be most helpful. A: That driver is installed by several games at part of an anti-piracy solution. Simply update the driver by going here. If you do not play the game it is needed for there is no need to try and fix the driver, simply uninstall it. Go to Control Panel -> System and Security -> Device Manager and uninstall the Tages Protection Driver. | Mid | [
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Determination of the chemical potential using energy-biased sampling. An energy-biased method to evaluate ensemble averages requiring test-particle insertion is presented. The method is based on biasing the sampling within the subdomains of the test-particle configurational space with energies smaller than a given value freely assigned. These energy wells are located via unbiased random insertion over the whole configurational space and are sampled using the so-called Hit-and-Run algorithm, which uniformly samples compact regions of any shape immersed in a space of arbitrary dimensions. Because the bias is defined in terms of the energy landscape it can be exactly corrected to obtain the unbiased distribution. The test-particle energy distribution is then combined with the Bennett relation for the evaluation of the chemical potential. We apply this protocol to a system with relatively small probability of low-energy test-particle insertion, liquid argon at high density and low temperature, and show that the energy-biased Bennett method is around five times more efficient than the standard Bennett method. A similar performance gain is observed in the reconstruction of the energy distribution. | High | [
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Ucon Noah Case If your 13” or 15” MacBook Pro is looking for a classy new home and dropping a few hundred bucks isn’t a concern, search no further than Ucon’s Noah Case (€280/~$366). The design is in collaboration with Rainer Spehl, who has worked with the likes of Nike, Dior, and Gucci in the past. All of the materials are fancy, and the minimalist design offers a great hard case alternative to the many bags out there. It doesn’t smell of rich mahogany, but the frame of the case is made out of solid oak that’s been hand-sanded and -stained—right now black is the only color option. The entire inside is lined with leather, and a hinged top opens to insert or remove your computer. When it’s closed, magnets hold the lid shut and keep your machine secure. | Mid | [
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A prolific batsman in Perth's first-grade competition, where he topped the run tally in 2009-10, Michael Swart was given his initial taste of state cricket late in the season. A mature batsman who debuted for Western Australia at 27, Swart made a duck in his maiden FR Cup game but made up for that with 83 in his first Sheffield Shield match. He also impressed with 57 on a difficult first-morning Gabba pitch and at the end of the season won a contract with Warriors. Cricinfo staff September 2010 | High | [
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Liberals hate Baahubali! Their reasons range from obvious to ridiculous, but they are unanimous in their intense hatred for something so deeply and intensely loved by Indian masses. Baahubali is yet another case in which India’s cultural elite dominated by the left-liberal intellectuals and protected by Congress-communist eco-system stands against the people of the country, against their wishes and preferences. For the masses are head-over-heels in love with Baahubali; they love everything about it. They are swooning over the special effects, the picture perfect sceneries, the admirable characterization, the script, the action sequences and the general ethos of the film which is full of righteous chivalry. On the other hand, most left-liberals absolutely hate the film and are not hiding it. Some choose to keep quiet, some openly express their disgust. They are complaining about many issues, ranging from obvious to ridiculous. Shekhar Gupta is foaming at the mouth on the ‘portrayal of tribals’ in the movie. He accuses Baahubali of ‘shameful profiling’, pitting the city-dwellers against the tribals. On the other hand, the romance between Shiva and Avanthika has been described as nothing short of the ‘longest rape scene’ in India! (1) And these are the same people who virtually campaign for Sunny Leone! One has to ask the question: why does the Left react so strongly to a movie, and always in negative terms? The Baahubali is Unabashedly Hindu To borrow a term from my friend and the editor of this platform, Nithin Sridhar, S S Rajamouli’s Baahubali is unabashedly, unapologetically Hindu. It is! Baahubali – The Beginning sports a scene in which Prabhas as Shiva, uplifts a Shiva Linga and places it under the waterfall for its permanent Abhishekam. In a style which is so reminiscent of the deeds of Hanuman and many other characters in various Puranas, this scene makes the ethos of the film decidedly Hindu. It shows great reverence for the worship of Shiva Linga. It shows the panic of the devotees when the Shiva Linga is lifted by Shiva. It shows how Shiva, the character’s greatness is stamped and legitimized by his being able to uproot and lift a Shiva Linga and placing it under the water. One cannot help but remembering the scene from The Ramayana where Shri Rama lifts and breaks the bow of Shiva to everyone’s surprise. It angers Parashurama who then challenges Rama to string the bow of Vishnu. Rama does that too convincingly proving his greatness as the true avatar of Vishnu. Shiva sports a Shiva Linga as an amulet, wearing it on his chest, much like many Indian sects like the Lingayats. The politics of Mahishmati reminds one unmistakably of The Mahabharata. Bhallaladeva is the elder brother who is unjustly occupying the throne, having killed his dharmic younger brother with deceit. One is reminded of Dhritrashtra and his sons unjustly throwing the Pandavas, sons of Dhritrashtra’s younger brother into exile and dethroning them of their rights to the rule of Hastinapura. While Bijjaladeva shows the characteristics of Shakuni, Bhallaladeva has qualities like Duryodhana. In The Mahabharata, Duryodhana was an evil character from the beginning but he was angered and vowed for revenge when he was insulted by Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas. It was part of the reason that he drove out the Pandavas from the palace and insulted Draupadi by Cheer Haran in front of everyone in the court. In Baahubali, Devasena insults Bhallaladeva and angers him. Bhallaladeva gets Baahubali killed and then imprisons Devasena and humiliates her in front of all Mahishmati for years on end. The similarities are striking! Most strikingly, Baahubali’s Katappa is like Mahabharata’s Bheeshma. In The Mahabharata, Bheeshma vowed to side with the Kauravas as he considered his life forfeit to whoever occupies the throne. He was wise and long-sighted and rued the evil deeds of the Kauravas, but sided with them due to his vow. He had to choose between dharma and his vow. Unfortunately he chose his vow. In Baahubali, Katappa has to go as far as to kill Baahubali, whom he brought up like his son, because he considered himself a slave of the throne. But later on, Rajamouli gives a clever twist to the story in which Katappa both fulfils his vow and dharma. The whole point of the Great War of the Mahabharata was upholding the dharma. The Pandava heroes sided with dharma against the Kauravas, who sided with adharma. Besides other things, Pandavas claim to the throne lay in the fact that they abided by dharma, carefully nurtured their subjects and were immensely popular among them. So is with Baahubali. Baahubali, the character is popular because he cares about his subjects like they are human beings and is not like Bhallaladeva, who is also very brave and a valorous fighter, but does not care about his subjects and considers them as insects. The exile of Baahubali by the scheming of Bijjaladeva and Bhallaladeva is paralleled by the exile of Shri Rama. Shivagami the great queen who loved dharma, was valorous and abided by dharma. But she is instigated to get the son, she herself fed and brought up, killed. It is paralleled by the instigation of Kaikeyi by Manthara to ask for Vanvas for Rama. There are many other similarities between many Hindu epics and mythical stories on the one hand and Baahubali on the other hand. S S Rajamouli himself accepts the inspiration from the world of Hindu mythology: “I was about 7 years old when I started reading comics called ‘Amar Chitra Katha’ that are published in India. They’re not about a superhero, but they encompass all the stories of India, the folklore, the mythology, everything. But most of these stories are about Indian historical figures. I was fascinated by the forts, the battles, the kings, I not only used to read those stories but I kept telling those stories to my friends in my own way.” (2) What is most significant, is that Baahubali wears ‘Hinduness’ on the sleeve. And it does not succumb to the peculiar anti-Hindu secularism from which Bollywood suffers. In the first instalment there was one case when a Muslim foreign merchant is enthralled to see the valour of Katappa and was expected to make a comeback in the second instalment, but the second movie does not feature him, eliminating one typically ‘secular’ trick that Indian movies are fond to play. Unlike Bollywood, where directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali will ruin some of the greatest scenes of their movies with cheesy secular one liners, S S Rajamouli is not apologetic about the Hindu ethos and inspiration of his movie. That something like this can only come from a south Indian director where Hinduism is more of a living reality than the invasions ravaged north, is also a factor in this. Baahubali defies the feminist narrative Baahubali features one of the strongest portrayals of hero and hero worship, keeping in tradition with south Indian movies, with great characters like Baahubali and Shiva displaying heights of old-fashioned valour and chivalry. But very surprisingly it also features strong female characters who are so strong in character that the movie revolves around them. The characterization of Shivagami, Devasena and even Avanthika defies the feminist narrative of Indian women where they are portrayed as victims, downtrodden by men and playing second fiddle to them. Devasena is both a great warrior and a compassionate woman. Avanthika has the traits of excelling in a battlefield but also realizes her female beauty when she meets someone like Shiva. But even then she does not abandon her earlier avatar and continues to fight for what she believes in. Perhaps the strongest characterization is that of Shivagami who rules with dharma, is ruthless with the execution and dispensation of justice, but at the same time is also a great mother. Scheming men like Bijjaladeva cower in front of her and she is single-handedly capable of defying court intrigues with a handful of her supporters. The most iconic image of Shivagami is where she cradles infant Baahubali in one hand, feeding him and slays the conspirators with a dagger with the other hand, displaying that being a mother and a great warrior is possible at the same time. Even the mother who adopted Shiva as her son is also a very strong character. She is also the leader of her tribe and it is her husband who plays second fiddle to her. The feminists are baffled at this. Either they accept a narrative of a ‘free society’ where the women are strong, not at all motherly or feminine in character, and have an inveterate hatred of men; or they accept a narrative of a ‘patriarchal and male-chauvinistic society’ in which men are absolute rulers and women are just for entertainment, where they are abused and discriminated against. And in India they are fond of imposing the latter narrative on Hindu society, culture and civilization, considering it inherently ‘regressive’. But here is a movie which is proudly Hindu and yet shows women in ways which defies categorization according to the feminist handbook. For they are both independent and motherly; brave and beautiful; valorous and feminine at the same time. In the feminist narrative these qualities form two distinct and mutually opposite categories, and cannot be reconciled. However, Baahubali defies this categorization, much to the anguish of the feminists. Baahubali extols Righteous Chivalry Before we look into Baahubali, one look at the respective film industries of America and Europe would be useful in drawing a parallel. One of the most important markers to differentiate the American film industry from its European counterpart is the genre of superhero movies. American film industry regularly makes movies on superheroes, which are reminiscent of mythological and folk heroes of other cultures. The American superheroes are a substitute of the hero and hero worship which is prevalent in traditional societies but which was missing from a society which was a melting-pot of immigrants. In the 20th century it was the Hollywood which helped create this ‘American mythology’ with heroes taken from everyday life and given supernatural and superhuman powers to give them larger-than-life avatars. These superheroes fight for good, and battle against evil, saving the innocent public from ruthless villains. There is no gray shade in this fight against evil and the superhero is always good, and is very confident of his mission. He displays qualities which almost everyone has somewhere hidden inside but which seldom manifest due to inner fears which have shadowed these qualities. This identification with the common man is complete with the part where they have their daily life common avatars of a simple man working in a nine-to-five job. What makes the superhero different is his overcoming of his inner fears and his taking up the mantle of a superhero which is symbolically reflected in his superhero suit. This suit symbolizes the archetypes of valour, courage, fearlessness and most of all righteousness. It completes the hero, making him into a superhero. Despite the critics scoffing at these ‘un-artistic movies’ with no imagination, the superhero movies continue to rule the minds of the American audiences raking in more profits than other ‘mainstream movies’. In short, Americans seem to love superhero movies which portray and glorify what we would call in India as ‘Kshatra dharma’, or the ‘fight for righteousness’. It is a society which still values Kshatra dharma, for reasons which are beyond the scope of this article. European directors on other hand scoff at the superhero culture of American film industry and there are obvious reasons for it. There is no visible superhero culture dominant in Europe and even stories and epics which were written in Europe like The Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series, is taken up by directors and producers based in America and are more appreciated in America than Europe. The recent decade has seen some superhero movies coming out of the former Communist bloc, but what is considered as Western Europe is not very fond of the genre. Europe styles itself as more ‘liberal’, ‘modern’ and ‘sophisticated’ than America and American society, which it considers as ‘boorish’, ‘uncultured’. It accuses American film industry of ‘lacking nuance’, holding it in utter contempt. The reasons for this are rooted in their ‘post-modern’ intellectual ethos, which was ushered in by their experience of the greatest wars that humanity has ever witnessed. The world wars ravaged Europe so completely that the survivors hated it in absolute terms. They had too much of valour and chivalry, too much of wrongly inspired Kshatra dharma. In the next half century they worked to build a society which shuns violence at any cost. Fed up with violence, they went into an overdrive of peace. As a result, it shuns every identity which may lead to violence, and for this purpose feelings like nationalism, patriotism and general qualities like valour, chivalry and courage are also frowned upon as ‘divisive qualities’ as they may all lead to differences and violence. On the other hand, love and sex are considered as universal unifiers, which ‘transcend all differences rising out of feelings like nationalism and patriotism’. Since good and bad are also categories, and categories lead to discrimination and judgment, they also needed to be erased in a post-world war era. Since there is no longer any such thing as good or bad, there is also no question of fighting for it. Same goes with nationalism or patriotism. The very concept of nation or country is ridiculed as another ‘artificial creation’ of man. It is only natural that superheroes, who embody many of the qualities which the ultra-liberal elite of Europe hates, are viewed with derision and their admirers are considered uncultured boors. Art replaces valour and chivalry and since all other categories except the basic human instincts of sex and food are believed to lead to violence, art in post-modern Europe seems to revolve around sex and food. This is reflected in the European film industry. Their obsession with what they consider art; their denial of categories such as good and bad; and a tendency to consider strange as beautiful has resulted in a film industry which displays even the darkest of human tendencies such as BDSM, necrophilia or paedophilia as art and is appreciated by the audience. The results are for everyone to see. The Kshatra dharma has completely disappeared from Western Europe and as a result, its society lies defenceless against the refugees from the Middle East for whom violence is a fact of life. What Europe now needs is a dose of old-fashioned valour and chivalry. The West has a tendency to swing between opposite extremes. From the era of extreme violence they swung to the other extreme of unconditional and unilateral peace. They fail to understand the traditional wisdom of ancient societies like India and China that what is sustainable is a dynamic balance between peace and violence, good and bad. Neither of the two can completely disappear from society. Values like valour and chivalry are as important and worthy of upholding as peace and non-violence. India after independence and under the shadow of Gandhi went into the peace overdrive, though with little results. The official narrative for the Hindu majority was to settle for peace under any circumstance, irrespective of what the other side offered. Honour and self-respect were no longer values worth upholding. Peace was the mantra. The fact that peace was seldom achieved by this unilateral declaration was lost upon the ears of the Nehruvian elite which was high on a daydream of Gandhian utopia. For too long India and the Hindu society has been forcibly fed a narrative of unconditional and unilateral peace and non-violence. Though Indian movies do not lack in violence but generally movies with social message and involving majority or minority community regularly play the great Indian secular drama over and over again. Baahubali freshly delivers Indian society from this unnatural narrative and rightly gives it the dose of valour and chivalry that it needs. Its characters are loving and caring but at the same time have great self-respect and ready to defend it. They recognize the path of righteousness and proudly walk it. On one hand they are ready to lay their lives for the common man, but on the other hand, they are not afraid of rolling heads when it comes to upholding dharma. Bollywood, which has become a footnote to the ribaldry of the Khans punctuated with cheesy secularism of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, has much to learn from Baahubali and much to fear too. For the north Indians too are increasingly loving a story which has a dynamic balance of peace and violence, love and war, and if the Bollywood fails to deliver itself from its current pathetic state, then very soon the north Indian audiences will be taken over by south Indian movies and directors, who are not afraid of portraying even violence for the sake of showing righteous valour, and deck it beautifully in a complete story like Baahubali. This is something which is unpalatable to the left-liberal elite of India, which is already experiencing hard times in Modi’s India. Indians are no longer ashamed of upholding the greatness of their country, the valour of their heroes and are finally embracing their Hindu heritage. For the left-liberal, who grew up on lullabies telling horror stories about regressive Hinduism, this is nothing short of going back to the Middle Ages. As if this was not enough, now even the entertainment industry seems to be overtaken by the likes of S S Rajamouli, who has defied every convention of Indian film industry and taking his inspiration from Hindu mythology delivers a movie which is the greatest commercial success till date. The worst left-liberal nightmare is about to come true, as other directors, following the commercial success of Rajamouli are almost sure to follow in his footsteps, fundamentally changing the face of Indian film industry. An industry which was so far dominated by pseudo-secularist clichés verging on anti-Hinduism, is about to take a U-turn in which movies parading Hindu credentials will become a norm, raking in great commercial benefits. What was a pariah of Indian film industry until yesterday, i.e. the Hindu culture, will become its poster boy. But there is hardly anything which the left-liberals can do. For the times, they are a changin! References- http://www.dailyo.in/arts/baahubali-rape-tamannah-bhatia-prabhas-misogyny/story/1/5507.html An Interview With ‘Baahubali’ Director SS Rajamouli: The Beginning. Forbes.com. Disclaimer: The facts and opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. IndiaFacts does not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in this article. | High | [
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Israeli forces storm Jenin area towns, ransack homes JENIN (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces stormed the northern West Bank towns of al-Jalamah and Qabatia near Jenin on Sunday morning and ransacked several homes. Palestinian security sources told Ma'an that Israeli forces in al-Jalamah stopped a teenage peddler named Muhammad Ibrahim Nuerat from Jenin while he was selling clothes at roadside stand near al-Jalamah checkpoint. The sources added that ten Israeli military vehicles also stormed Qabatia and inspected several homes. Local sources said that the soldiers inspected the homes of Khalil Salih Sabaanah, Ibrahim Said Sabaanah and Mustafa Shamma Sabaanah before they left the town. An Israeli spokesman said that the raids in Qabatia were "routine security activity," but had no information on the raid in al-Jalamah. The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967. | Low | [
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Jon Stewart Savages The Obamacare Website Disaster It's not a stretch to say that "The Daily Show" could become one of the Obama administration's worst nightmares on Obamacare. Four in every 10 of its viewers are younger than 30 — exactly the type of people who need to sign up for the Affordable Care Act to make it work. Stewart focused this time on HealthCare.gov, the federal website where consumers purchase insurance, which has been plagued by glitches and hiccups during a disastrous rollout. The fallout from the shutdown is still hurting the GOP, Stewart said. And to make the country even bluer, all that stands in Democrats' way is a "mildly competent" implementation of the law they fought so hard to pass. "Yes, apparently the HealthCare.gov website has 99 problems, but a glitch is all of them," Stewart said. Stewart seemed baffled by how some of the website's most basic functions — even the calculator — won't work. He also dismissed how Democrats "are trying to spin this turd," like when Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday that the glitches are a good sign of the strong demand. "The No. 1 worry we had before people started was ... will people sign up?" Schumer said. "And the answer to that, overwhelmingly, is yes." "Yeah but, their No. 1 worry was, 'Will I be able to get health insurance out of this thing?'" Stewart said. "And the answer out of that appears to be 90% no." Stewart ended with a jab at President Barack Obama and his speech in the Rose Garden on Monday, when he kept trying to sell health insurance as a "product." | Mid | [
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Tagged: Vladimir Putin And the fascinating e-mails just keep on coming. Jamie Glazov, a relentless alternative media propagandist for Donald Trump, passes along a link to a wonderful article at American Greatness. (Hmm, that name reminds me of something…a campaign slogan, perhaps….) The article is by Michael Finch, who happens to have the very legitimate-sounding title, “president of the David Horowitz Freedom Center in Los Angeles.”... I apologize to regular visitors for my uncharacteristically long absence from Limbo. I have just returned from a visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Canada — but more on that later. For now, I will merely offer a few observations about the week’s big TV event, namely the latest and greatest episode of Trump’s Sellout Summit Series with Global Killers, Season One.... Donald Trump is at the G-7 economic summit making news by acting, as he has done so many times before, as chief spokesman and apologist for Vladimir Putin. Here is a video clip of his response to a direct question about the reason Russia was expelled from the former G-8, namely the annexation of Crimea: Notice how Trump, Mr. Tell-it-like-it-is, begins by completely... For months, various pseudo-conservative voices, and even a few genuine conservatives, have been leaping to microphones everywhere to declare — like a child who covers his ears and shouts “lalalalalalalala” — that all talk of inappropriate Russian connections within the Trump campaign, family, and associates, is a “nothing-burger.” The mere fact that so many of them have literally used this same hideously cacophonous,... There has been a great kerfuffle over Donald Trump’s use of a moral equivalency argument to defend Vladimir Putin against Bill O’Reilly’s description of the latter as “a killer,” to which the Tweeter-in-Chief replied, “There’s a lot of killers, you got a lot of killers. Why, you think our country’s so innocent?” Trump’s cult members, predictably, have doubled down on their master’s moronitude, flooding the virtual universe with every... | Low | [
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ディスプレイを回転してタブレットスタイルでも使えるASUSの14インチノートPC「VivoBook Flip 14 TP412UA（TP412UA-S8130）」が発売された。 無段階で360度回転するヒンジを採用、OSのWindows 10はセキュリティを重視した「Sモード」 VivoBook Flip 14 TP412UAは、タッチ操作に対応した14インチ液晶パネル（1,920×1,080ドット）や2コア/4スレッドCPUのCore i3-8130U、Windows 10 Home 64bitを搭載したノートPC。メモリはDDR4-2400 4GB。ストレージはSSD 128GB。 無段階で360度回転するヒンジを採用しており、ディスプレイを本体底面（キーボード面の裏側）まで開き切ることで、タブレット型端末のように使うことができる。「く」の字に折り曲げてキーボード側をスタンドにすることも可能だ。ヒンジの耐久性については2万回の開閉テストをクリアしたとしている。 ディスプレイは画面占有率が約80%という“狭額縁”デザイン。また、「170°ワイドビューテクノロジー」を採用し、ディスプレイをどの角度で見ても鮮やかな色やコントラストで映像を楽しむことができるとしている。 本体のサイズは幅327×奥行き224.75×高さ17.6mm、質量は1.6kg。バッテリー動作時間は約11.7時間。主な搭載機能・インターフェイスはHDMI、無線LAN（IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac）、Bluetooth 4.1、USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C、USB 3.0、USB 2.0、Webカメラ（30万画素）、指紋認証センサー、SDカードスロット、マイク/ヘッドホンコンボジャック、ステレオスピーカー。 なお、OSのWindows 10はセキュリティを重視した「Sモード」で搭載されているが、ユーザーが解除することができる。 [撮影協力:ソフマップAKIBA②号店 パソコン総合館] | High | [
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3.125
] |
All relevant data are within the manuscript and its Supporting Information files. Introduction {#sec001} ============ In recent years, large scale studies of African glass artefacts have been conducted using scientific methods such as LA-ICP-MS. These include the study of glass beads from southern Africa and east Africa, the studies by Marilee Wood and her colleagues of glass beads from Chibuene, southern Mozambique and from Zanzibar \[[@pone.0237612.ref001], [@pone.0237612.ref002]\] and the monumental study of southern African glass beads by Peter Robertshaw and his colleagues \[[@pone.0237612.ref003], [@pone.0237612.ref004]\]. Dussubieux and her colleagues \[[@pone.0237612.ref005], [@pone.0237612.ref006]\] published reviews of mineral soda alumina glass found in Africa and east Asia. Two types of glass were identified which circulated in Africa: (1) mineral soda alumina (designated m-Na-Al) glass and (2) plant ash alumina glass (designated v-Na-Al). There is a general consensus that there are at least 5 m-Na-Al glass groups, based on the concentrations of U, Ba, Sr, Zr and Cs, circulating in eastern and southern Africa in the 9^th^-- 18^th^ centuries AD \[[@pone.0237612.ref006]\]. It has been suggested that they were manufactured in India or in Sri Lanka. The low magnesia levels (\< 1.5%) in m-Na-Al glass suggests that a mineral alkaline flux (e.g. *reh*) was used to make the glass, and the high alumina contents (c. 5% to 15%) suggests the use of a low quality sand \[[@pone.0237612.ref006]\]. The other type of high alumina soda glass, v-Na-Al, was made with plant ashes. This glass was also found in the Indian Ocean region and in southeast Asia during the 9^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD. High alumina plant ash glass was also found in Xinjiang, China but mainly dated to before the 4^th^ century AD \[[@pone.0237612.ref007]\]. Dussubieux *et al*. \[[@pone.0237612.ref006]\] and Robertshaw *et al*. \[[@pone.0237612.ref003], [@pone.0237612.ref004]\] have identified three types of v-Na-Al glass circulating in the Indian Ocean region. The first two types were found in beads from Mapungubwe, south Africa, Great Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe and Bosutwe in Botswana. The third glass type was used to make vessels. It has been found on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, Pengalan Bujang in Malaysia and Mtwapa in Kenya ([Fig 1](#pone.0237612.g001){ref-type="fig"}). A limited amount of research has therefore been carried out on v-Na-Al glass and it is the least understood type of glass in the Indian Ocean region. Moreover, it is still not certain where the three different types of v-Na-Al glasses identified so far were made. {#pone.0237612.g001} Thus, while chemical analyses have provided evidence for different types of African glass \[[@pone.0237612.ref004]--[@pone.0237612.ref006], [@pone.0237612.ref008], [@pone.0237612.ref009]\], we believe, by including our new data, it is possible to refine the identification of African glass types by examining trace elements associated with silica (Zr, Ti, La and Cr) and alkalies (Cs and Li). This approach has recently been used by Henderson *et al*. \[[@pone.0237612.ref010]\] and Shortland *et al*. \[[@pone.0237612.ref011]\] to provide a provenance and distinguish between production zones for Middle Eastern plant ash glasses in the early Islamic and late Bronze Age periods respectively with some success. Moreover, by comparing with v-Na-Al glass of a broad date range it helps us to understand when and where v-Na-Al glass was used and how its chemical compositions changed over time. The present paper is part of a study on 9^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD Malindi and Mambrui glass found in the excavations of Malindi and Mambrui by a joint archaeological team from Peking University and the National Museums of Kenya in 2010--2013. It focuses on 15^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD glass vessels from Malindi and glass beads from Mambrui. A study of 9^th^-- 15^th^ centuries AD glass beads from Mambrui will be published elsewhere \[[@pone.0237612.ref012]\]. Therefore, by analysing glass vessels and beads from 15^th^-- 16^th^ century AD Malindi and Mambrui in Kenya we aim to: - identify the raw materials that were used to produce these glasses. - compare their chemical compositions with published data for similar glass types and therefore to refine the identification of different types of the understudied type of glass. - suggest possible provenance(s) for v-Na-Al glass. - identify the possible sources of the lead using lead isotope analysis and thereby the location(s) of possible glass workshop(s) that manufactured high lead and tin opaque and opaque yellow glasses. Materials and methods {#sec002} ===================== Archaeological sites {#sec003} -------------------- ### Malindi {#sec004} Between 2012 and 2013, Peking University and the National Museums of Kenya formed a joint archaeological team to excavate the Malindi Old Town in central Malindi, a coastal city on the Indian Ocean in eastern Kenya \[[@pone.0237612.ref013]\]. During the excavations, five areas, CA, CB, CC, CD and CE were excavated. The excavations recovered more than 500 Chinese ceramic sherds, more than 1200 Islamic pottery sherds and about 70,000 local earthenware sherds. European ceramics and Indian earthenwares have also been found. Apart from ceramics, fragments of glass vessels were found. The analysis of imported and local ceramics and radiocarbon dating confirmed 6 stages of occupational history in the Malindi Old Town \[[@pone.0237612.ref014]\]. The relevant stage of occupation for this study is Stage 3 (AD 1370--1520). This is the period when Malindi reached its peak, and it is at this time that Zheng He's fleet might have arrived in the Malindi area (early 15^th^ century AD). The Portuguese led by Vasco da Gama had also landed at Malindi at the end of 15^th^ century AD. The settlement was extended southwards and included Areas CA, CB and CD. Houses made of stone mixed with lime, corallite and mud were also uncovered during the excavations and are dated after the 15^th^ century AD ([Fig 2](#pone.0237612.g002){ref-type="fig"}) \[[@pone.0237612.ref014]\]. {#pone.0237612.g002} A large quantity of Chinese ceramics (e.g. Longquan celadon) and Islamic ceramics (e.g. sgraffito, black-on-yellow, monochrome blue-green glazed wares) were found in Areas B and D \[[@pone.0237612.ref013], [@pone.0237612.ref014]\]. There was a marked increase of Islamic ceramics in Malindi in this period, possibly due to an increase of trade with the Islamic east. All fragments (a total of seventeen) of glass vessels came from Area CA (where the houses were found) in trench 3 context 5. Curiously, no glass beads were found in Malindi. A number of Chinese and Islamic pottery were also found in this context. The dating of the ceramics suggests context 5 is dated to the 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD \[[@pone.0237612.ref013]\]. ### Mambrui {#sec005} A detailed description of the site and its finds has been published elsewhere \[[@pone.0237612.ref013], [@pone.0237612.ref014]\]. Here we briefly describe the site of Mambrui and its finds in the 12^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD when the majority of the v-Na-Al glass beads were imported to Mambrui. The archaeological site of Mambrui is located in the village of Mambrui, which is located 11km from the modern city of Malindi and was excavated between 2010 and 2013 by a joint archaeological team from Peking University and the National Museums of Kenya. Twelve areas (Areas A--M) were excavated and a large quantity of remains, including house foundations, sanitary facilities, smelting and casting furnaces, walls and wells were discovered. The excavators were able to establish the functional areas of the settlement such as a central area, elite residences and craft-producing sectors \[[@pone.0237612.ref014]\]. A large quantity of artefacts was found, including more than 500 Chinese ceramic sherds, about 3000 Islamic pottery sherds, more than 130,000 local earthenware sherds and some Indian earthenware, iron slag, glass beads, and animal bones \[[@pone.0237612.ref014]\]. The majority of the glass beads came from Area MA trenches (T) 12, 21 and 24 contexts 2--4 ([Fig 3](#pone.0237612.g003){ref-type="fig"}). The associated Chinese ceramics suggests contexts 2--4 are dated to AD 1400 --AD 1520. However, glass vessels were not found at Mambrui. {#pone.0237612.g003} During the 12^th^-- 13^th^ centuries AD, the settlement of Mambrui expanded with its eastern boundary almost reaching the coastline, the Qubba Mosque was built and became the centre of the settlement. Elite stone-built residences and iron-making workshops were established near the mosque in Area E \[[@pone.0237612.ref014]\]. Maritime trade with countries such as China also grew substantially in this period and a substantial quantity of Chinese ceramics was imported to Mambrui. Between AD 1275 and AD 1435 Mambrui reached its peak and the settlement continued to expand eastward and southward covering 30 ha. Trade with the Islamic east and China flourished, with large quantities of Chinese and Islamic potteries imported to the settlement. The discovery of Chinese official blue-and-white and Longquan porcelains suggests the Chinese admiral Zheng He and his fleet might have arrived in Mambrui at this time \[[@pone.0237612.ref014]\]. But between AD 1435 and AD 1520, Mambrui began to decline. The settlement area shrank to 15 ha and a reduced amount of Chinese ceramics in this period suggests trade between Mambrui and China had also declined. This could be the result of the Chinese ban on maritime trade after the Ming Xuande emperor's reign (AD 1426--1435) and a decision by the Portuguese to maintain Malindi as a centre for maritime trade at the expense of Mambrui \[[@pone.0237612.ref014]\]. Glass samples {#sec006} ------------- All of the glass vessel fragments (a total of 17) from Malindi were selected for analysis. The glass beads were selected on the basis of shapes and colours and the authors tried to include all possible glass bead types present in the assemblage. All of the glass samples from the Malindi excavations were selected for electron microprobe analysis (EPMA-WDS) and trace element analysis using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Based on the dating of the Chinese and Islamic ceramics found in the same context, Area CA context T3 (5), and radiocarbon dating, the glass vessels are dated to the 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD \[[@pone.0237612.ref013]\] ([Fig 4A--4E](#pone.0237612.g004){ref-type="fig"}). They were coloured in various shades of green ([Table 1](#pone.0237612.t001){ref-type="table"}). Twenty glass beads ([Fig 4F--4O](#pone.0237612.g004){ref-type="fig"}) from the Mambrui excavations were selected only for trace element analysis using LA-ICP-MS. They are dated to the 15^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD and various colours, including various shades of green, turquoise and yellow were selected for this study ([Table 2](#pone.0237612.t002){ref-type="table"}). The glass samples are currently housed in the School of Archaeology and Museology in Peking University, China and permission is required for future access to the materials. All necessary permits were obtained for the described study, which complied with all relevant regulations. {#pone.0237612.g004} 10.1371/journal.pone.0237612.t001 ###### Description of the glass vessels from Malindi, Kenya. {#pone.0237612.t001g} Specimen Numbers Area-Context Date Vessel Forms Colour ------------------ -------------- ----------------------------------- ------------------ -------------------------- G01 CA-T3 (5) 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD Bowl fragment Light green translucent G02 CA-T3 (5) 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD Vessel fragment Light green translucent G03 CA-T3 (5) 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD Vessel fragment Light green translucent G05 CA-T3 (5) 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD Vessel fragment Light green translucent G06 CA-T3 (5) 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD Vessel fragment Light green transparent G07 CA-T3 (5) 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD Vessel fragment Green transparent G08 CA-T3 (5) 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD Vessel fragment Light green translucent G09 CA-T3 (5) 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD Vessel fragment Light green translucent G10 CA-T3 (5) 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD Vessel fragment Light green translucent G11 CA-T3 (5) 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD Vessel fragment Light green translucent G12 CA-T3 (5) 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD Vessel fragment Light green translucent G13 CA-T3 (5) 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD Bowl fragment Green translucent G14 CA-T3 (5) 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD Small bottle rim Green translucent G15 CA-T3 (5) 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD Vessel fragment Dark green ('black') G16 CA-T3 (5) 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD Small bottle rim Light green translucent G18 CA-T3 (5) 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD Small phial base Green translucent G20 CA-T3 (5) 15^th^--early 16^th^ centuries AD Bowl base Yellow-green translucent They are in the forms of bottles and bowls and are coloured in various shades of green. 10.1371/journal.pone.0237612.t002 ###### Description of the glass beads from Mambrui, Kenya. {#pone.0237612.t002g} Specimen Numbers Area-Context Date Shape Colour How it was made Length x diameter ------------------ -------------- --------------- --------------------------------- --------------------- ----------------- ------------------- B04 Heka-1c-T4 AD 1400--1520 Truncated bicone Dark green opaque Wound 16mm x 6mm B28 MD-DT1 AD 1400--1520 Oblate Green Drawn 2.5mm x 4.5mm B41 MA-T25 (2) AD 1400--1520 Octagonal rectangular prismatic Turquoise opaque Drawn 25mm x 20mm B42 MA-T21 (3) AD 1400--1520 Tube Yellow opaque Drawn 28mm x 14mm B45 MA-T21:F4 AD 1400--1520 Oblate Yellow opaque Drawn 1mm x 3mm B50 T12 3 AD 1400--1520 Spheroid Brownish red opaque Wound 4mm x 4mm B52 MA-T24 (2) AD 1400--1520 Tube Green Translucent Drawn 4mm x 4mm B54 MA-T24 (2) AD 1400--1520 Tube Brownish red opaque Drawn 4mm x 2mm B57 MA-T24 (2) AD 1400--1520 Tube Green Drawn 5mm x 4mm B58 MA-T24 (2) AD 1400--1520 Oblate Green Drawn 5mm x 4mm B59 MA-T24 (2) AD 1400--1520 Oblate Light green Drawn 5mm x 6mm B60 MA-T24 (2) AD 1400--1520 Tube Green Drawn 6mm x 5mm B61 MA-T24 (2) AD 1400--1520 Tube Light green Drawn 6mm x 8mm B63 MA-T24 (2) AD 1400--1520 Oblate Green Drawn 4mm x 5mm B64 MA-T24 (2) AD 1400--1520 Oblate Green Drawn 6mm x 5mm B65 MA-T24 (2) AD 1400--1520 Oblate Green Drawn 4mm x 5mm B66 MA-T24 (2) AD 1400--1520 Oblate Green Drawn 3mm x 7mm B67 MA-T24 (2) AD 1400--1520 Oblate Green Drawn 3mm x 4mm B68 MA-T24 (2) AD 1400--1520 Spheroid Green Wound 5mm x 4mm B72 MA-T24 (2) AD 1400--1520 Oblate Green Drawn 3mm x 4mm All of the glass beads are wound and drawn beads and come in different shapes include oblate, spheroid, tube and bicone. Analytical methods {#sec007} ------------------ ### Electron probe microanalysis {#sec008} The glass samples were mounted in cold-setting epoxy resin, and then were ground and polished using standard sample preparation procedures down to a 0.02 μm final polishing solution. The samples were coated with a thin film of carbon of 25 μm prior to analysis, to allow the conduction of the electron beam. The polished samples were analysed by EPMA--WDS, using a JEOL JXA- 8200 electron microprobe in the University of Nottingham Nanoscale and Microscale Research Centre (nmRC). Quantitative compositional analyses were carried out using the following analytical set-up: 20kV accelerating voltage, 50nA beam current and a 50 μm defocused beam. The counting times were 30s on the peak and 15s on the background to either side of the peak. A defocused beam is used to reduce the effect of the migration of alkalis within the samples \[[@pone.0237612.ref015]\]. The EPMA--WDS was calibrated against a combination of certified standard reference materials, including minerals (orthoclase, jadeite, pyrite, wollastonite and MgO), pure metals (Mn, Ti, Cu, Ag, V, Sb, Zn, Sn, Ni, Co., Cr and Zr) and synthetic standards (PbTe, GaP, InAs, KCl, BaF and SrF), and was corrected using phi-rho-z model. The compositions of 22 elements were sought and were expressed as weight percentage oxides. Three areas of interest were analysed in each sample and the mean and standard deviation were calculated. So as to check the accuracy and precision of the EPMA--WDS system and to monitor any drift in the instrument \[[@pone.0237612.ref016]\], six analyses of a secondary standard, Corning B, were included during the analytical run (two sets of analyses at the start and another two sets at the end of the sample run, and another two sets of analyses half way through the analytical run; for the results, see [S1 Table](#pone.0237612.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). ### Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry {#sec009} The glass samples from Malindi and Mambrui were mounted in cold-setting epoxy resin, and then were ground and polished using standard sample preparation procedures down to a 0.02 μm final polishing solution. The polished samples were analysed by laser-ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) in Beijing Createch Testing in Beijing, China to determine the major, minor and trace elements in the samples. A NewWave UP193 nm excimer system and an Analytikjena PlasmaQuant MS Elite model ICP-MS type were used. The laser was operated at an energy density of 2.04 J/cm^2^, a pulse frequency of 10 Hz and with a beam diameter of 35 μm. Helium is advantageous as a carrier gas and was applied in this study \[[@pone.0237612.ref017]\]. Prior to analysis glass standard NIST SRM 610 was used to calibrate the instrument to achieve an optimal state. A 20s pre-ablation time was followed by 45s analytical time. We have adopted the procedure described by Liu *et al*. \[[@pone.0237612.ref017]\] in which by normalising the sum of all metal oxides to 100% and calibrating them against multiple external standards, we can precisely determine major and trace elements without the need for applying internal standards. Five external standards, NIST 610, NIST 612, BHVO-2G, BCR-2G and BIR-1G, were used for external calibration and to calculate the quantitative concentrations for forty-nine elements. They were measured every ten sample sets (for the results, see [S2 Table](#pone.0237612.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Certified values provided by NIST was limited to only a number of values, therefore concentrations from Pearce *et al*. \[[@pone.0237612.ref018]\] were used for other elements. The software ICPMSData Cal. was used to process the data (including correction of instrument sensitivity drift, calculation of element contents). We have used the Si values from the EPMA to calibrate the LA-ICP-MS data for the Malindi glass vessels and the oxides of the glass beads are normalised to 100% assuming that the sum of their concentrations in weight percent in glass is equal to 100% \[[@pone.0237612.ref019]\]. ### Lead isotope analysis {#sec010} Lead isotope ratios were measured using a multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS) of the type VG Elemental in the School of Earth and Space at Peking University. Small fragments of samples were taken from the glass beads and were dissolved in nitric acid, leaching lead into the solutions. The clear solution is then diluted with deionised water. We used ICP-AES to measure the lead contents in the solutions which are then diluted down to the tolerance limit (1 ug/I) of the instrument. Finally, the thalium (Tl) standard SRM997 were then added into the solutions \[[@pone.0237612.ref020], [@pone.0237612.ref021]\]. Repeated analyses of SRM981 were conducted during the analytical run to check the accuracy and precision of the instrument (at the start and end of each sample set) (for the result, see [S3 Table](#pone.0237612.s003){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Results and discussion {#sec011} ====================== Results {#sec012} ------- ### Chemical analysis {#sec013} The full EPMA and LA-ICP-MS results are given in [S5 Table](#pone.0237612.s005){ref-type="supplementary-material"} and the means and standard deviations for selected oxides and elements in the glass samples are presented in [Table 3](#pone.0237612.t003){ref-type="table"}. [S4 Table](#pone.0237612.s004){ref-type="supplementary-material"} presents reduced compositions for all samples which are indicated with a \* in all graphs and tables where applicable. For the glass vessels, we have used the EPMA results for the major and some minor element oxides (Na~2~O, SiO~2~, CaO, MgO, K~2~O and Al~2~O~3~) and the LA-ICP-MS results for other minor and for trace elements. For the glass beads, we have used the LA-ICP-MS results for the major, minor and trace elements. The glasses are all of a soda-lime-silica glass type. The high concentrations of K~2~O\* (2.34% - 4.75%) and MgO\* (3.17% - 5.13%) in the glasses suggest plant ash was the primary alkali flux. All glasses have high concentrations of Al~2~O~3~\* (3.28% - 9.96%), which suggests that impure sand was the main silica source \[8, 22 (p. 114)\]. The CaO\* and SiO~2~\* contents vary between 3.94% and 7.90% and between 54.24% and 68% respectively. 10.1371/journal.pone.0237612.t003 ###### The means and standard deviations of Malindi glass vessels and Mambrui glass beads. {#pone.0237612.t003g} Elements Malindi glass vessels (n = 17) Green Mambrui glass beads (excluding B04) (n = 14) Opaque red Mambrui glass beads (n = 2) ----------- -------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- SiO~2~ 61.89% ± 1.49% 61.73% ± 1.33% 60.90 ± 0.56 Na~2~O 15.86% ± 0.93% 16.30% ± 1.14% 15.25 ± 0.63 CaO 5.48% ± 1.02% 5.59% ± 0.95% 5.47 ± 0.38 MgO 4.41% ± 0.30% 4.51% ± 0.54% 3.82 ± 0.02 K~2~O 3.10% ± 0.28% 3.11% ± 0.56% 3.74 ± 0.38 Al~2~O~3~ 5.67% ± 0.39% 5.61% ± 0.29% 5.55 ± 0.26 FeO 1.15% ± 0.22% 1.32% ± 0.49% 2.47 ± 0.62 MnO 0.08% ± 0.03% 0.07% ± 0.02% 0.09 ± 0.05 P~2~O~5~ 0.42% ± 0.12% 0.40% ± 0.07% 0.42 ± 0 Ti (ppm) 2081 ± 430 2125 ± 432 1828 ± 370 Li (ppm) 8 ± 2 11 ± 4 12 ± 0.6 B (ppm) 146 ± 14 163 ± 21 147 ± 8 Cr (ppm) 23 ± 5 22 ± 3 19 ± 7 Co (ppm) 14 ± 22 82 ± 177 13 ± 9 Cu (ppm) 599 ± 629 6906 ± 2330 11133 ± 363 Zn (ppm) 90 ± 126 50 ± 26 135 ± 124 Sr (ppm) 377 ± 56 365 ± 49 369 ± 23 Zr (ppm) 69 ± 10 70 ± 13 67 ± 9 Sn (ppm) 293 ± 547 178 ± 157 657 ± 382 Sb (ppm) 6 ± 8 13 ± 5 17 ± 13 Cs (ppm) 0.3 ± 0.1 0.2 ± 0.1 0.2 ± 0 Ba (ppm) 417 ± 21 406 ± 15 412 ± 15 La (ppm) 6 ± 1 6 ± 1 6 ± 1 Pb (ppm) 1363 ± 2111 554 ± 729 4011 ± 2995 U (ppm) 0.4 ± 0.1 0.4 ± 0.1 0.4 ± 0.1 The results are displayed according to glass forms and colours. Single samples are not listed. Only selected oxides (in wt %) and elements (in ppm) are presented here. The high concentrations of alumina, potash and magnesia, and the relatively low level of calcium in some glasses show that they belong to the high alumina-plant ash (v-Na-Al) glass \[[@pone.0237612.ref004], [@pone.0237612.ref008], [@pone.0237612.ref009], [@pone.0237612.ref023], [@pone.0237612.ref024]\]. Two glass beads, B04 and B42, are notably different from other glass vessels and beads. B04 has a higher concentration of Al~2~O~3~\* (9.96%) and trace elements associated with the silica source such as Zr (112.67 ppm), Ti (4912.78 ppm), Nd (21.09 ppm), La (25.11 ppm), V (50.75 ppm) and Cr (46.24 ppm). On the other hand, B42 has a rather low concentration of Al~2~O~3~\* (3.28%), Ba (165.22 ppm) and Sr (255.72 ppm) as well as an elevated level of La (15 ppm), Nd (12.09 ppm) and V (30.14 ppm) that are associated with the silica source. This suggests B04 and B42 were manufactured with sand sources different from other glass samples in the assemblage. Therefore, glass beads B04 and B42 will be excluded from further discussion in this paper which focuses solely on v-Na-Al glass. Generally speaking, the chemical compositions of most of the vessel and bead glasses from both sites is quite homogenous which could suggest a single source ([S4 Table](#pone.0237612.s004){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Apart from glass beads B04 and B42, it is noted that a number of glass beads and glass vessels have elevated levels of Na~2~O\* (\>16%) and CaO\* (\>6%) ([S4 Table](#pone.0237612.s004){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). The main compositional difference between the vessels and beads is the elements associated with coloration and opacification, Sn, Sb, Co, Cu and Pb, which are higher in the beads ([Table 3](#pone.0237612.t003){ref-type="table"}). The limited compositional variation includes trace elements associated with the silica used. There is a fairly low compositional difference between the glass vessels and beads related to the sand source used. They all have a relatively low concentration of Zr (avg. 69 ppm for both groups) and Ti (avg. 2081 ppm and 2084 ppm) and the two elements in the beads and vessels are positively correlated. Levels of Cr and La are also relatively low (avg. 23 ppm and 21 ppm; avg. 6 ppm for both groups respectively), but the concentrations of Ba are relatively high, with averages of 417 ppm and 407 ppm in the vessels and beads respectively. The glass vessels and the majority of the glass beads are coloured in variety of green hues, ranging from light to dark green (Tables [1](#pone.0237612.t001){ref-type="table"} and [2](#pone.0237612.t002){ref-type="table"}). All of the glass vessels have high concentrations of FeO\* (0.76% - 1.61%), which is most likely derived from the impurities of sands. The green colour is produced by the presence of iron in the glass often as mixed ferric (Fe^3+^) and ferrous (Fe^2+^) ions \[[@pone.0237612.ref025], [@pone.0237612.ref026]\]. The opaque red glass bead (B50) contains high levels of Cu (11390 ppm) and FeO\* (2.09%). The iron in the glass helps to reduce the copper cation, and by heat treating the glass the copper particles can be 'struck' from the glass matrix, imparting a red colour \[[@pone.0237612.ref027]\]. The high concentrations of lead (6128 ppm) and tin (927 ppm) shows that a tin-based opacifier is present. Glass bead B41 contains a high concentration of Cu (14145 ppm): cupric oxide (CuO) is present in the glass and produces a turquoise blue colour \[[@pone.0237612.ref026]\]. Elevated to high concentrations of lead and elevated to high concentrations of tin in B41, B45 and B50 suggest that a tin-based opacifier (lead stannate) is present \[[@pone.0237612.ref005]\]. The level of lead in these beads vary between 6128 ppm and 75783 ppm and the levels of tin between 927 ppm and 28864 ppm. Further examination with an SEM with BSE imaging and XRD would help to investigate this further. ### Lead isotope analysis {#sec014} Four glass beads, B41, B45 and B50 from Mambrui were selected for lead isotope analysis because of their high lead contents (for the full results, see [S6 Table](#pone.0237612.s006){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). The lead contents were most likely introduced into the glass beads as colourants and opacifiers. Therefore, the lead isotope result reflects the production area of the colourants and opacifiers \[[@pone.0237612.ref028]\]. The lead isotope results show that the glass beads have relatively homogenous lead isotope ratios: ^208^Pb/^206^Pb ratios ranging from 2.0694--2.0945, ^207^Pb/^206^Pb ratios between 0.8362 and 0.8445 and ^206^Pb/^204^Pb ratios between 18.531--18.686. Discussion {#sec015} ---------- The glass vessels from Malindi and the glass beads from Mambrui can be confirmed as plant ash high alumina (v-Na-Al) glass, which has been found in Central Asia \[[@pone.0237612.ref029]\], southeast Asia (e.g. the Island of Sumatra in Indonesia and Malaysia), Mtwapa in Kenya and southern Africa, with rare examples occurring in the west \[[@pone.0237612.ref030]\]. It is characterised by high Al~2~O~3~ and relatively low SiO~2~ and CaO \[[@pone.0237612.ref004], [@pone.0237612.ref008], [@pone.0237612.ref009], [@pone.0237612.ref023], [@pone.0237612.ref024]\]. It is dated to the 9^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD and it became more common in southeast Asia during the 12^th^-- 13^th^ centuries AD and in Africa during the 13^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD \[[@pone.0237612.ref008], [@pone.0237612.ref009], [@pone.0237612.ref023], [@pone.0237612.ref024]\]. Despite a lack of analytical research on sub-Saharan African glass vessels, considerable progress has been made on African glass beads, with v-Na-Al glass beads having been found in southern Africa (Mapungubwe and Zimbabwe beads series, and Madagascar). A comparison between our data and published compositions can shed light on the raw materials, production zones and provenance of Malindi and Mambrui glass. By comparing with v-Na-Al glasses of a broad date range, the authors believe that it will help us to understand when and where v-Na-Al glass were used and how their chemical compositions changed overtime. Without looking at v-Na-Al glass from an earlier time period, it is difficult to redefine v-Na-Al glass groups in a way that puts the Malindi and Mambrui glass into a wider developmental context. While lower alumina soda plant ash glass from the Middle East has been found in Africa, which suggests a glass-trading network between Africa and the Middle East existed as early as the 8^th^ century AD \[[@pone.0237612.ref002], [@pone.0237612.ref004]\], the high concentrations of Al~2~O~3~ in the Malindi and Mambrui glass means (averages of 5.67% and 5.55% respectively) rules out the possibility that they were made in western Asia in centres such as Damascus in Syria, Tyre in Lebanon, Banias in Palestine, al-Raqqa in Syria, Samarra in Iraq, Nishapur in Iran. Plant ash glass from these centres contains relatively low concentrations of Al~2~O~3~ of between 0.5% and 3.5%, with some containing up to c. 4% \[[@pone.0237612.ref010], [@pone.0237612.ref031]--[@pone.0237612.ref035]\] ([Fig 5](#pone.0237612.g005){ref-type="fig"}). The trace elements of such Middle Eastern glasses are also distinct from v-Na-Al glass (see below). ![A biplot of Al~2~O~3~ versus MgO/CaO for Malindi glass vessels and Mambrui glass beads with relevant 9^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD v-Na-Al glass found in Africa and southeast Asia and low alumina soda glass from the Middle East.\ The data is displayed according to compositional groups and sites. Data are from Mtwapa \[[@pone.0237612.ref008]\]; Mapungubwe Oblate series and Zimbabwe series from southern Africa \[[@pone.0237612.ref004]\]; Pengalan Bujang \[[@pone.0237612.ref009]\]; Ghazni \[[@pone.0237612.ref036]\]; Kuva and Akhsiket \[[@pone.0237612.ref029]\]; Nishapur, Samarra and Cairo \[[@pone.0237612.ref010]\]. It shows that Malindi, Mambrui, v-Na-Al and Central Asian glasses are distinguishable from Middle Eastern plant ash glass from Nishapur, Samarra and Cairo with higher levels of Al~2~O~3~.](pone.0237612.g005){#pone.0237612.g005} ### Plant ash {#sec016} It has been demonstrated by Barkoudah and Henderson \[[@pone.0237612.ref037]\] and Henderson \[[@pone.0237612.ref022]\] that the levels of MgO and CaO in plants are primarily determined by the geology of the environment where the plants were grown; while the alkali levels (particularly K~2~O and Na~2~O) in the plants are determined by the physiology of plant species and plant genera \[[@pone.0237612.ref022], [@pone.0237612.ref037]\]. Trace elements such as Rb, Li and Cs tend to be associated with the source of alkalies used in glasses \[[@pone.0237612.ref010]\]. [Fig 5](#pone.0237612.g005){ref-type="fig"}, a plot of Al~2~O~3~ versus MgO/CaO, shows that the Malindi glass vessels and Mambrui glass beads have similar ratios of MgO/CaO and are similar to the Zimbabwe bead series, a group of Mapungubwe Oblate series with low MgO/CaO ratio and the beads from Madagascar. What distinguishes between these African glasses compositionally is their Na~2~O levels ([Fig 6](#pone.0237612.g006){ref-type="fig"}). The Malindi and Mambrui glass and the Zimbabwe series have a higher concentration of Na~2~O (avg. 15.86%, 16.08% and 14.56% respectively) compared to the Mapungubwe Oblate series and the Madagascar glass beads (avg. 13.47% and 13.01% respectively), which may suggest different plant species and/or genera from different geological environments were used to produce Malindi and Mambrui glasses. Trace element analysis also suggests that different sources of plants were used. [Fig 7](#pone.0237612.g007){ref-type="fig"} shows that Malindi and Mambrui glasses are distinguishable from southern African and Madagascar glass beads, some with lower Li/K ratios. ![A biplot of MgO versus Na~2~O for Malindi glass vessels and Mambrui glass beads with relevant 9^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD v-Na-Al glass found in Africa and southeast Asia: Mtwapa \[[@pone.0237612.ref008]\]; Mapungubwe Oblate series and Zimbabwe series from southern Africa \[[@pone.0237612.ref004]\]; Pengalan Bujang \[[@pone.0237612.ref009]\] and Ghazni \[[@pone.0237612.ref036]\].\ The figure shows that the Malindi glass vessels and Mambrui glass beads have higher Na~2~O than the Mapungubwe Oblate glass beads, which might reflect the use of different sources of plant ashes.](pone.0237612.g006){#pone.0237612.g006} ![A biplot of Cs/K versus Li/K for Malindi glass vessels and Mambrui glass beads with relevant 9^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD v-Na-Al glass found in Africa and southeast Asia.\ The data is displayed according to compositional groups and sites. Data are from Mtwapa \[[@pone.0237612.ref008]\]; Mapungubwe Oblate series and Zimbabwe series from southern Africa \[[@pone.0237612.ref004]\]; Pengalan Bujang \[[@pone.0237612.ref009]\] and Ghazni \[[@pone.0237612.ref036]\]. It can be seen that Malindi and Mambrui glasses are distinguishable from Mapungubwe Oblate glass beads with lower Li/K ratios. This suggests different plant species and/or genera from different geological environments were used to produce Malindi and Mambrui glasses.](pone.0237612.g007){#pone.0237612.g007} The Malindi and Mambrui glass appears to be different from the glass vessels from Mtwapa in Kenya, a settlement on the southern Kenyan coast where v-Na-Al glass vessels were found \[[@pone.0237612.ref008]\]. Much of the Mtwapa glass has higher concentrations of soda and/or magnesia than the Malindi and Mambrui glass ([Fig 6](#pone.0237612.g006){ref-type="fig"}). It also has a generally higher MgO/CaO ratios than the Malindi and Mambrui glass ([Fig 5](#pone.0237612.g005){ref-type="fig"}), which means a different type of plant ash, characterised by a relatively high soda and magnesia contents was used to produce the Mtwapa glass vessels. The same applies to the southeast Asian glass from Pengalan Bujang in Malaysia, most of which contains lower MgO/CaO ratios and higher levels of Na~2~O (avg. 17.68%) than the Malindi and Mambrui glass (Figs [5](#pone.0237612.g005){ref-type="fig"} and [6](#pone.0237612.g006){ref-type="fig"}). Surprisingly, a group of glass from Pengalan Bujang has the same or similar Li/K and Cs/K ratios to the Malindi and Mambrui glass ([Fig 7](#pone.0237612.g007){ref-type="fig"}). ### Sand source {#sec017} The high concentrations of Al~2~O~3~ (\>5%) in v-Na-Al glass, along with high concentrations of impurities such as TiO~2~ and FeO, shows that an impure sand was used to produce this type of glass. However, using major and minor elements (e.g. SiO~2~, Al~2~O~3~ and FeO) to distinguish between different sand sources proves difficult. Trace elements such as Zr, Ti, Ba, Cr and La, which derive mainly from the siliceous matrices (quartz/sand and clay) of glass, are increasingly used to distinguish between different sand sources and provide further insights into the raw materials used in glassmaking \[[@pone.0237612.ref010], [@pone.0237612.ref011], [@pone.0237612.ref037]\]. Zr, Ti, Ba, Cr and La can be found in various minerals in rocks or sediments such as zircon (Zr), rutile (Ti), ilmenite (Ti), monazite (La), chromite (Cr) and barite (Ba). The variation of their concentrations reflects the local geology of the sand precursors and allows us to differentiate sand sources used to make glass \[[@pone.0237612.ref038], [@pone.0237612.ref039]\]. We can distinguish between different groups of v-Na-Al glasses using Ba versus Zr. [Fig 8](#pone.0237612.g008){ref-type="fig"} shows that the Malindi and Mambrui glasses plot closely to the Mapungubwe Oblate series, which also has low concentrations of Ba (avg. 486 ppm) and Zr (avg. 119 ppm). They are markedly different from the Zimbabwe series, which is characterised by higher concentrations of Zr (avg. 200 ppm) and mainly higher Ba (avg. 635 ppm) ([Fig 8](#pone.0237612.g008){ref-type="fig"}). Trace elemental ratios (Cr/La versus 1000Zr/Ti) also show that the Malindi and Mambrui glasses plot close to the Mapungubwe Oblate series, with lower ratios of 1000Zr/Ti than the Zimbabwe series (45.15--131.33) but similar Cr/La ratios ([Fig 9](#pone.0237612.g009){ref-type="fig"}). However, looking at [Fig 10](#pone.0237612.g010){ref-type="fig"}, a biplot of Zr versus Ti, it can be seen that the Malindi and Mambrui glass has a rather low level of Zr (avg. 69 ppm for both groups) compared to the Mapungubwe Oblate series (avg. 119.10 ppm). ![A biplot of Ba versus Zr for Malindi glass vessels and Mambrui glass beads with relevant 9^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD v-Na-Al glass found in Africa and southeast Asia.\ The data is plotted according to compositional groups and sites. Data are from Mtwapa \[[@pone.0237612.ref008]\]; Mapungubwe Oblate series and Zimbabwe series from southern Africa \[[@pone.0237612.ref004]\]; Pengalan Bujang \[[@pone.0237612.ref009]\] and Ghazni \[[@pone.0237612.ref036]\]. It shows that the Malindi and Mambrui glasses have similar level of Ba to the Mapungubwe Oblate glass beads but that the difference in Zr concentrations reflects local variations in the mineralogy of the sands used. The difference in the levels of Ba between the Malindi and Mambrui glass beads and glasses from Mtwapa in Kenya and Pengalan Bujan in Malaysia suggests the use of different sand sources.](pone.0237612.g008){#pone.0237612.g008} ![A biplot of 1000Zr/Ti versus Cr/La for Malindi glass vessels and Mambrui glass beads with relevant 9^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD v-Na-Al glass found in Africa and southeast Asia.\ The data is displayed according to compositional groups and sites. Data are from Mtwapa \[[@pone.0237612.ref008]\]; Mapungubwe Oblate series and Zimbabwe series from southern Africa \[[@pone.0237612.ref004]\]; Pengalan Bujang \[[@pone.0237612.ref009]\] and Ghazni \[[@pone.0237612.ref036]\]. It can be seen that Malindi and Mambrui glasses plot close to the Mapungubwe Oblate glass beads with low 1000Zr/Ti and Cr/La. They can be distinguished from the Zimbabwe series glass beads that have high 1000Zr/Ti ratios but similar Cr/La ratios.](pone.0237612.g009){#pone.0237612.g009} ![A biplot of Zr versus Ti for Malindi glass vessels and Mambrui glass beads with relevant 9^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD v-Na-Al glass found in Africa and southeast Asia.\ The data is displayed according to compositional groups and sites. Data are from Mtwapa \[[@pone.0237612.ref008]\]; Mapungubwe Oblate series and Zimbabwe series from southern Africa \[[@pone.0237612.ref004]\]; Pengalan Bujang \[[@pone.0237612.ref009]\] and Ghazni \[[@pone.0237612.ref036]\]. The figure shows that the Malindi and Mambrui glasses plots close to the Mapungubwe Oblate series with low Zr and Ti concentrations. The low level of Zr in Malindi and Mambrui glass compared to the Mapungubwe Oblate series suggests that the former was produced using a similar sand source to the latter but that the difference in Zr concentrations reflects local variations in the mineralogy of the sands used. They also share a similar characteristic to Ghazni glass from Afghanistan.](pone.0237612.g010){#pone.0237612.g010} We suggest that the Malindi and Mmabrui glasses were produced using a similar sand source to the Mapungubwe Oblate series glass beads but that the differences in Zr concentrations reflects local variations in the mineralogy of the sands used. The Zimbabwe series appears to have been produced with an entirely different source of sands characterised by higher concentrations of Zr and Ba and lower ratios of 1000Zr/Ti. Further comparison with Mtwapa glass vessels also shows a marked difference from the two Kenyan glass assemblages. The majority of Mtwapa glass has a lower concentration of Ba and an elevated level of Zr (avg. 112 ppm) \[[@pone.0237612.ref008]\]. [Fig 9](#pone.0237612.g009){ref-type="fig"} also shows that Mtwapa glass has lower Cr/La ratios (1.20--2.52) and higher 1000Ti/La ratios (57.83--98.47) than Malindi and Mambrui glasses. This therefore shows that it is unlikely that Malindi and Mambrui glasses were produced using the same raw materials as Mtwapa glass. The Malindi and Mambrui glasses are distinct from southeast Asian glass vessels from Pengalan Bujang in Malaysia. Most of the Malaysian glass is characterised by a relatively low level of Ti (1136 ppm), much lower Ba (179 ppm) and higher 1000Zr/Ti ratios compared to the Malindi glass (Figs [8](#pone.0237612.g008){ref-type="fig"}--[10](#pone.0237612.g010){ref-type="fig"}). This suggests they were produced from sand sources with different mineralogical contents in different locations. Therefore, there is a high probability that the Malindi and Mambrui glasses share a similar glassmaking tradition to the Mapungubwe Oblate series. They are characterised by an elevated level of Ti and Ba and most have overlapping of Cr/La ratios, and lower ratios of 1000Zr/Ti. However, the Mapungubwe oblate bead compositions display a considerably wider compositional variation. The differences in the concentration of Zr, Li/K, CaO and Na~2~O suggests that the Kenyan glasses are a subgroup of the Mapungubwe Oblate beads compositions and that they may have come from a different glass workshop which specialised in the production of this particular v-Na-Al compositional group. ### Compositional groups of v-Na-Al glass {#sec018} Based on the analysis above and previous research on v-Na-Al glass, the authors have tentatively identified four possible compositional groups of v-Na-Al glass dating to between the 9^th^ and 16^th^ centuries AD. These have been compared with previous analytical research on v-Na-Al glass by Robertshaw *et al*. \[[@pone.0237612.ref004]\] and Dussubieux and Kusimba \[[@pone.0237612.ref008]\], which was mostly based on major and minor elements or by comparing their results with a relatively limited number of glass assemblages. What we have done here is to define compositional groups by using Zr, Ti, Ba, Cr and La associated with sand sources as discriminators ([Table 4](#pone.0237612.t004){ref-type="table"}). Published compositional results for comparable glasses with no trace element results have been excluded due to the difficulty of dividing groups using major and minor elements only. 10.1371/journal.pone.0237612.t004 ###### The means and standard deviations of different high alumina-plant ash glass types in Africa and southeast Asia dating to between the 9^th^ and 16^th^ centuries AD. {#pone.0237612.t004g} Type A Type B Type C Type D ----------- ------------------------- ------------------------- ------------------------- ------------------------- ------------------------- --------------------------- ------------------------- Date 15^th^-- 16^th^ century 15^th^-- 16^th^ century 13^th^-- 14^th^ century 13^th^-- 14^th^ century 14^th^-- 15^th^ century 10^th^-- 17^th^ centuries 12^th^-- 13^th^ century NaO 15.86% ± 0.93% 16.08% ± 1.11% 12.40% ± 2.09% 13.01% ± 1.84% 14.56% ± 2.89% 18.78% ± 1.27% 17.68% ± 1.02 MgO 4.41% ± 0.30% 4.33% ± 0.59% 5.28% ± 1.84% 3.92% ± 0.50% 4.01% ± 0.74% 5.28% ± 0.44% 4.54% ± 0.72% Al2O3 5.67% ± 0.39% 5.55% ± 0.41% 7.18% ± 1.43% 4.96% ± 1.20% 6.51% ± 1.14% 5.73% ± 0.68% 4.95% ± 0.58% K2O 3.10% ± 0.28% 3.15% ± 0.55% 3.30% ± 0.58% 3.12% ± 0.77% 3.54% ± 0.60% 2.72% ± 0.29% 2.53% ± 0.23% CaO 5.48% ± 1.02% 5.50% ± 0.87% 6.13% ± 1.73% 4.29% ± 0.72% 6.54% ± 1.30% 5.08% ± 0.47% 4.02% ± 0.43% Ti 2081 ± 430 2084 ± 418 2556 ± 688 2020 ± 723 2370 ± 407 1532 ± 270 1136 ± 180 Sr 377 ± 56 361 ± 46 489 ± 120 352 ± 125 487 ± 104 400 ± 92 283 ± 35 Zr 69 ± 10 69 ± 12 119 ± 25 110 ± 52 200 ± 38 112 ± 12 94 ± 14 Ba 417 ± 21 407 ± 30 486 ± 126 353 ± 191 635 ± 174 679 ± 816 179 ± 69 1000Zr/Ti 34 ± 3 34 ± 3 48 ± 15 56 ± 24 86 ± 16 75 ± 10 84 ± 15 Cr/La 3.72 ± 0.54 3.53 ± 0.65 3.88 ± 1.51 3.99 ± 2.71 3.63 ± 1.28 2.00 ± 0.32 1.57 ± 0.45 Only selected major oxides and trace elements associated with sand and plant ash sources are presented here. \(1\) Type A--consists of 15^th^-- 16^th^ century AD Malindi glass vessels and Mambrui glass beads, glass beads from 13^th^-- 14^th^ century AD Madagascar \[[@pone.0237612.ref003]\] and the 13^th^-- 14^th^ century AD Mapungubwe Oblate series \[[@pone.0237612.ref004]\]. This group is characterised by elevated levels of Ti and Ba and relatively high Cr/La ratios, but with low 1000Zr/Ti ratios. It is likely that these glasses were manufactured in the same glassmaking tradition and appeared in the 13^th^-- 14^th^ centuries AD in southern and eastern Africa. But by the 15^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD, a subgroup of Type A was found in Malindi and Mambrui and seems to have replaced the earlier subgroup of Type A glass. Although their overall characteristics remain the same, we have noticed some glass compositional differences between the Malindi and Mambrui glass on the one hand, and the earlier the Mapungubwe Oblate series and Madagascar beads on the other hand. It has been noted above that different plant species/genera and/or plants from different geological locations might have been used to produce the Malindi and Mambrui glass assemblages, based on the differences in the concentrations of NaO, MgO, Li and CaO. Moreover, the somewhat lower Zr concentrations ([Fig 10](#pone.0237612.g010){ref-type="fig"}) and 1000Zr/Ti ratios ([Fig 9](#pone.0237612.g009){ref-type="fig"}) probably indicates local variations in the mineralogical characteristics of the sands used and suggests that they were made in different workshops in different geological locations from the Madagascan glass beads and the beads constituting the Mapungubwe Oblate series. Therefore, the authors believe the Malindi and Mambrui glasses represent a subgroup of Type A. \(2\) Type B-- 14^th^-- 15^th^ century AD Zimbabwe series: Despite the use of a compositionally similar plant ash to make especially the Malindi and Mambrui glass, Type B has the highest concentrations of Zr and Ba out of all other groups and a relatively high ratio of Cr/La. A distinctive sand source must have been used to produce the glass in this group. \(3\) Type C-- 10^th^-- 17^th^ centuries AD Mtwapa glass vessels: this group has lower levels of Ba and Ti than Types A and B and lower concentrations of Zr than Type B. Mtwapa glass vessels also have lower Cr/La ratios than Types A and B indicating that sand sources with different mineralogical signatures were used to produce Type C. The higher levels of Na~2~O in Type C shows that a distinctive plant genera/species was used. Current evidence suggests this type of v-Na-Al glass was only used to make glass vessels and can only be found in Mtwapa in Kenya \[[@pone.0237612.ref008]\]. \(4\) Type D-- 12^th^-- 13^th^ century AD Pengalan Bujang: similar to Type C, this group has lower concentrations of Ba and Ti than Types A and B as well as lower concentrations of Zr than Type B. What distinguishes Type D from Type C is the concentrations of CaO, MgO, Ti, Sr and the Cr/La ratios. Type D has lower concentrations of CaO, MgO, Ti and Sr than Type C, and higher Cr/La ratios. This shows that different plant ashes and sand sources were used to make it. This type of v-Na-Al glass has only been found in Malaysia and does not seem to have been used in Africa. Only glass vessels were made with this glass type \[[@pone.0237612.ref009]\]. ### The provenance of v-Na-Al glasses {#sec019} While we can identify different compositional groups of v-Na-Al glass, the provenance of v-Na-Al glass remains elusive. The lack of archaeological evidence for primary glass workshop(s) that fused plant ash and sand to make v-Na-Al glass means we are still unable to provenance individual compositional group of v-Na-Al glass. There is no conclusive evidence to suggest that v-Na-Al glass was manufactured in eastern and southern Africa; in Shanga, eastern Africa, only evidence for glass bead making was found \[[@pone.0237612.ref040]\]. It is assumed that these glass artefacts were manufactured outside Africa and imported from regions that were known to have produced v-Na-Al glass. Possible sources are Central Asia, such as Kuva and Akhsiket in eastern Uzbekistan, suggested by Dussubieux and Kusimba \[[@pone.0237612.ref008]\], Then-Obluska and Dussubieux \[[@pone.0237612.ref041]\] and Carter *et al*. \[[@pone.0237612.ref042]\]; India and southeast Asia have also previously been suggested as the possible production regions for v-Na-Al glass \[[@pone.0237612.ref004], [@pone.0237612.ref008], [@pone.0237612.ref024], [@pone.0237612.ref029], [@pone.0237612.ref043]\]. However, the lack of archaeological and archaeometric data on sub-Saharan African glass means that we cannot fully rule out the possibility that v-Na-Al glass could have been made and/or worked into glass vessels and beads in Africa, although this seems unlikely. Recent analytical research on glass from Termez in southern Uzbekistan (Henderson unpublished), Kuva and Akhsiket (a primary production glass centre) in eastern Uzbekistan \[[@pone.0237612.ref029], [@pone.0237612.ref044]\] and Ghazni in Afghanistan \[[@pone.0237612.ref036]\] may provide some clues about the provenance of v-Na-Al glass. The Uzbek and Afghan glasses are characterised by elevated levels of Al~2~O~3~, high MgO as well as relatively low ratios of Cr/La and 1000Zr/Ti \[[@pone.0237612.ref029], [@pone.0237612.ref035], [@pone.0237612.ref036]\]. They are different from Middle Eastern plant ash glass which generally has higher Cr/La and lower levels of Al~2~O~3~ \[[@pone.0237612.ref010]\]. Looking at the major and minor elements, some of the Kuva and Akhsiket glasses and a small number of Ghazni glass have high concentrations of Al~2~O~3~ similar to v-Na-Al glasses from Africa and southeast Asia \[[@pone.0237612.ref029], [@pone.0237612.ref036]\]. However, it should also be noted that some Central Asian including Ghazni glasses have Al~2~O~3~ below 4% \[29, 44, Henderson pers. comm.\] and may reflect different production zones within it. It is also noted that some of these high Al~2~O~3~ Ghazni, Kuva and Akhsiket glasses have K~2~O below 4%, similar to v-Na-Al glass ([Table 4](#pone.0237612.t004){ref-type="table"}). Henderson *et al*. \[[@pone.0237612.ref007]\] suggest the plants used to make the Uzbek glasses grew on a contrasting geology to those used to make other Central Asian glasses with high K~2~O. The Kuva and Ghazni glasses have similarly high MgO/CaO ratios to Type A, while most of the Akhsiket glass has lower levels of MgO than the majority of the v-Na-Al glass \[[@pone.0237612.ref029], [@pone.0237612.ref036]\]. However, the Na~2~O concentrations of the Kuva and Ghazni glass are significantly higher than most Type A glasses comparable to Types C and D, while most of the Akhsiket glass has similar concentrations of Na~2~O to Type A glasses \[[@pone.0237612.ref029], [@pone.0237612.ref036]\]. Further, trace element analysis reveals similarities between the Central Asian, including Ghazni and v-Na-Al glasses. It can be seen in [Fig 9](#pone.0237612.g009){ref-type="fig"} that the majority of the Ghazni glass has especially low ratios of 1000Zr/Ti and Cr/La similar to v-Na-Al glass. The Termez and Ghazni glasses fall within the area of the Mtwapa and Pengalan Bujang glass ([Fig 9](#pone.0237612.g009){ref-type="fig"}). The Ghazni glass also has rather low levels of Ba ([Fig 8](#pone.0237612.g008){ref-type="fig"}) and Sr. The levels of B in Ghazni glass, which is associated with the alkali source, are also relatively high (\>190ppm) \[[@pone.0237612.ref036]\]. Fiorentino *et al*. \[[@pone.0237612.ref036]\] suggest the glass vessels and bracelets from Ghazni in Afghanistan belong to the so-called Mesopotamian type 1 compositional group, which includes glasses from Veh Ardasir, Samarra and Ctesiphon in Iraq and Nishapur in Iran \[[@pone.0237612.ref036]\]. However, while most v-Na-Al, Central Asian and the Ghazni glasses may have similar MgO/CaO ratios and Na~2~O level to glass assemblages from the area consisting of modern day Iran and Iraq, Cs/K and Li/K ratios in v-Na-Al glasses and some Ghazni glasses have significantly lower Li/K ratios than Nishapur and Samarra glasses \[[@pone.0237612.ref010]\]. Although low Cs/K and Li/K ratios can be found in glass from the Levantine region and Egypt such as some 12^th^ - 14^th^ century AD glass vessels from Damascus and Beirut \[[@pone.0237612.ref010]\], some Central Asian glasses contain distinctly lower levels. Because Levantine and Egyptian glasses have low Al~2~O~3~ levels, it is very unlikely that v-Na-Al, Central Asian and the Ghazni glasses were made in the region, or in the Mesopotamian region. Moreover, v-Na-Al glass and the Ghazni glass contain higher B levels than found in Mesopotamian and Levantine glasses \[[@pone.0237612.ref010], [@pone.0237612.ref036]\]. Furthermore, v-Na-Al glass, Central Asian glass from Ghazni are distinguishable from Nishapur and Samarra glasses based on the ratios of 1000Zr/Ti and Cr/La. Nishapur and Samarra glasses generally have higher 1000Zr/Ti and Cr/La ratios than v-Na-Al glass, Central Asian glass and the Ghazni glass \[[@pone.0237612.ref010]\]. Low Zr/Ti ratios appears to be a distinctive characteristic of Ghazni glasses; glasses from Samarra, Nishapur, Damascus and Cairo all have higher values. Low 1000Zr/Ti and Cr/La ratios are found in 12^th^-- 14^th^ century AD Beirut colorless vessel glasses (Beirut samples 54 and 55) \[[@pone.0237612.ref010]\]. Both are distinctive because they contain more than 4% K~2~O (4.04% and 4.1% respectively) which in any case suggests a Central Asian origin \[[@pone.0237612.ref045]\]. While these 2 glasses have similarly low Cr/La ratios of c. 2, their 1000Zr/Ti values are higher than the Malindi and Mambrai glasses at c. 50 and therefore similar to Ghazni glasses. Moreover, ^143^Nd/^144^Nd and ^87^Sr/^86^Sr signatures for these 2 glasses are distinctive \[[@pone.0237612.ref045]\]. Therefore, our analysis shows that the Ghazni glass is compositionally similar to v-Na-Al glass and Central Asian glass and it is unlikely to have been made in Iraq or Iran as was suggested by Fiorentino *et al*. \[[@pone.0237612.ref036]\] or in the Levantine and Egyptian regions. Trace element analyses suggests v-Na-Al and the Ghazni glass came from Central Asia. The Ghazni glass may well belong to a type of v-Na-Al glass circulating in Central Asia including Afghanistan. Lead isotope analysis suggests opaque and opaque yellow glass from Mambrui might have been produced with lead-tin opacifiers and colourants originating from Turkey and the Middle East such as Iran. Glass beads, B41, B45 and B50, fall within a range of 2.0694--2.0945 for ^208^Pb/^206^Pb and within a range of 0.8362--0.8445 for ^207^Pb/^206^Pb, which is similar to a tin-lead ore from Giresun in northeastern Turkey, a lead ore found in Khaneh Sormeh in Isfahan, Iran, Nakhlak mine in Iran and two glazes from Farinjal in Afghanistan ([Fig 11](#pone.0237612.g011){ref-type="fig"}) \[[@pone.0237612.ref046], [@pone.0237612.ref047]\]. The ^206^Pb/^204^Pb ratios of these four beads also suggest the origin of the lead contents in the glass might have come from these regions which share similar lead isotope ratios ([Fig 12](#pone.0237612.g012){ref-type="fig"}) \[[@pone.0237612.ref046]\]. ![Lead isotope ratios ^208^Pb/^206^Pb and ^207^Pb/^206^Pb of glass beads from Mambrui, ores from Iran and Afghanistan and artefacts from Afghanistan, India, Indonesia, Cambodia and Iran.\ Data are from Phum Snay \[[@pone.0237612.ref048]\]; Lead from Anguran and Arak-Kashan, Anguran mine, Khaneh Sormeh, Nakhlak mine and various Iranian ores \[[@pone.0237612.ref046]\]; Farinjal ores and glazes and a sherd of Ghazni glaze \[[@pone.0237612.ref047]\]; Elazig and Giresun \[[@pone.0237612.ref049]\]. It is noted that the Mambrui glass beads with high lead contents have similar lead isotope ratios to lead ores from Khaneh Sormeh, Nakhlak mines and Kouchke in Iran, and a tin-lead ore from Giresun in northeastern Turkey.](pone.0237612.g011){#pone.0237612.g011} ![Lead isotope ratios ^206^Pb/^204^Pb and ^207^Pb/^206^Pb of glass beads from Mambrui, ores from Iran and Afghanistan and artefacts from Afghanistan, India, Indonesia, Cambodia and Iran.\ Data are from Phum Snay \[[@pone.0237612.ref048]\]; Lead from Anguran and Arak-Kashan, Anguran mine, Khaneh Sormeh, Nakhlak mine and various Iranian ores \[[@pone.0237612.ref046]\]; Farinjal ores and glazes and a sherd of Ghazni glaze \[[@pone.0237612.ref047]\]; Elazig and Giresun \[[@pone.0237612.ref049]\]. It is noted that the Mambrui glass beads with high lead contents have similar lead isotope ratios to lead ores from Khaneh Sormeh, Nakhlak mines and Kouchke in Iran, and a tin-lead ore from Giresun in northeastern Turkey.](pone.0237612.g012){#pone.0237612.g012} At present, we can rule out the possibility that the high tin and lead glass beads were produced with lead sources from southeast Asia such as the Song Toh lead mine in Thailand \[[@pone.0237612.ref048]\] (Figs [11](#pone.0237612.g011){ref-type="fig"} and [12](#pone.0237612.g012){ref-type="fig"}), which has different lead isotope ratios from the Mambrui glass beads. However, a disadvantage of lead isotope analysis is that it is difficult to separate between regions with similar lead isotopic ratios, thus making it difficult to rule out regions with similar isotopic ratios. Moreover, we cannot rule out the possibility that tin-based opacified glass of different origins was recycled and the isotopic signatures of the opacifiers have been distorted. Therefore, at this stage, we can only suggest the source for the lead used in the beads most likely came from regions in Asia Minor and the Middle East, such as Turkey and Iran and can safely rule out regions in southeast Asia and south Asia. The authors intend to analyse the Malindi and Mmabrui glass further using Sr and Nd isotope in order to investigate its provenance in more detail \[[@pone.0237612.ref050]\]. In recent years, radiogenic isotopes (e.g. Sr and Nd isotopes) are proven to be effective to in provenancing ancient glass and sources of sand raw materials \[[@pone.0237612.ref051]--[@pone.0237612.ref053]\]. Conclusion {#sec020} ========== Based on the EPMA and LA-ICP-MS analyses, the glass analysed here from Malindi and Mambrui in Kenya can be classified as the plant ash high alumina glass type. This type of glass is mostly found in Africa and southeast Asia in the 9^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD. Combining our results, especially for Cr, La, Ti, Zr, Ba, Cs and Li, with published research on v-Na-Al glass, we have reviewed the existing compositional characteristics of v-Na-Al glass and are able to identify at least 4 types, of which the Kenyan glass belongs to Type A. The similarity between Central Asian glass from Uzbekistan, v-Na-Al and the Ghazni glass in Afghanistan indicates strongly that v-Na-Al glass of type A was manufactured in Central Asia. Lead isotope analysis further suggests lead-tin opacifiers and colourants came from ores in Turkey and/or Middle East such as Iran. Our results also reveal a complex glass trading network across Central Asia, south Asia and Africa in the 9^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD. While the glass vessels (along with their contents) could have been traded directly from Central Asia, where plant ash glass vessels are known to have been made, to Africa to sites such as Malindi and Mtwapa, there is very little evidence that Central Asian glass was traded directly to Africa. We therefore believe that Central Asian glass could have reached Africa via India, where a thriving glass industry existed in the 9^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD. There is ample historical and archaeological evidence to support this trading network. Cultural and trading relationships between Central Asia and India are well attested in historical and archaeological records. For instance, the conquest of India by people from Central Asia in the 10^th^-- 13^th^ centuries AD led to the growth of caravan trade between India and the Muslim East. Coins of the Delhi Sultanate are found in Central Asia \[[@pone.0237612.ref054], [@pone.0237612.ref055]\]. By the 13^th^ century AD, Delhi became a melting pot of Indo-Muslim culture in India. Scientists and poets from Otyrar, Samarkand, Bukhara and Balh found a 'new Motherland in India and enriched its culture by their work and increased its glory' \[[@pone.0237612.ref055]\]. Indian-Central Asian relations continued into the 16^th^ century AD. The establishment of the Mughal Empire in northern India encouraged and intensified cultural and trading contacts with Central Asia. Indian merchants from northern India started trading in the north to Afghanistan, Iran, Central Asia and Kazakhstan \[[@pone.0237612.ref055]\]. Therefore, it is not impossible that v-Na-Al glass from Central Asia was exported to India, where glass bead making was most renowned in the 9^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD. It was from India where Central Asian v-Na-Al glass and (recycled) opacifiers and colourants from Asia Minor and/or Middle East such as Iran were made into beads and subsequently exported to Africa. But further archaeological and scientific investigations on v-Na-Al glass are needed to provide more evidence to support this hypothesis. Indian glass beads were prized by locals in Africa from the 9^th^-- 16^th^ centuries AD. Portuguese records indicate that locals in Africa were unwilling to accept European-made beads and demanded beads that were made in India \[[@pone.0237612.ref056]\]. Glass beads, such as the East Coast Indo-Pacific series, are said to have been manufactured in northern India and traded to east African coastal cities such as Shanga in the 10^th^-- 13^th^ centuries AD \[[@pone.0237612.ref057]\]. Glass beads from India continued to be exported to Africa before European beads took over the market in the 17^th^ century AD. Therefore, we believe that Central Asian glass could have been traded directly to India where Central Asian glass was manufactured into glass beads, which were then traded to Africa. But so far there are no v-Na-Al glass has ever been found in India, further archaeological and scientific researches on Indian glass and v-Na-Al glass are needed to further support this hypothesis and to ascertain whether v-Na-Al glass was used to make glass beads in India. Supporting information {#sec021} ====================== ###### The results of the analysis of the Corning Glass Standard B (expressed in wt%). The known composition of the Corning Glass Standard B is from Brill (1999). Bdl = below detection limit. (XLSX) ###### Click here for additional data file. ###### The results of the analysis of the NIST SRM 610 and 612, BHOV-2G, BCR-2G and BIR-1G standards (expressed in wt% and ppm). The known composition of the standards are from Jochum et al. \[[@pone.0237612.ref001]\]. (XLSX) ###### Click here for additional data file. ###### The results of the analysis of SRM981. The known ratios of SRM981 is from Cui *et al*. \[[@pone.0237612.ref021]\]. (XLSX) ###### Click here for additional data file. ###### Reduced compositions of the Malindi glass vessels and Mambrui glass beads from Kenya. For the glass vessels, we have used EPMA results for major elements (Na2O\*, MgO\*, Al2O3\*, SiO2\*, K2O\* and CaO\*) and LA-ICP-MS results for minor element FeO\*. LA-ICP-MS results were used for the glass beads. (XLSX) ###### Click here for additional data file. ###### EPMA and LA-ICP-MS results for glass vessels from Malindi and glass beads from Mambrui in Kenya. Results are presented in weight percent oxide/element and ppm/element. EPMA results for the major and some minor element oxides (Na~2~O, SiO~2~, CaO, MgO, K~2~O and Al~2~O~3~) and the LA-ICP-MS results for the minor and trace elements. LA-ICP-MS results were used for the glass beads. (XLSX) ###### Click here for additional data file. ###### Lead isotope analysis results for glass beads from Mambrui, Kenya. (XLSX) ###### Click here for additional data file. We would like to thank the National Museums of Kenya and Peking University for allowing access to the Malindi and Mambrui glass and providing the samples for analysis. All necessary permits were obtained for the described study, which complied with all relevant regulations. [^1]: **Competing Interests:**The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. [^2]: ‡ DQ, YD and HM also contributed equally to this work. | Mid | [
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simplelivingfamily.com ~ Easy to share living room ideas Brick Patio Ideas Tags 85+ Enamour Patio Table And Chairs Set Picture Inspirations Naomi Doyle Patios, 2018-10-05 01:21:14. There are many different kinds of material to consider when looking for patio ideas. The most important elements of the patio would be the colours, textures and designs used: if this works, the patio could be bare and still look inviting and comfortable. Cobbles, flagstone, tiles and cladding are all different ideas to look at, just remember to first look at their qualities before making a decision. Compare their durability, looks, textures, colours and strength. 59+ Cheering Patio High Table And Chairs Image Ideas Simone Tucker Patios, 2018-10-01 01:20:45. A modern idea for decking is to make it black in color. There are new composite materials that can be stained by the manufacturer in a myriad of different colors. This staining will not fade and will not be affected by ultra violet light from the sun. It will maintain the as new appearance for many years and looks amazingly nice directly opposite an ultra-modern kitchen. Just imagine a white marble kitchen floor next to some beautiful jet-black decking - such a contrast will make any home's outside space look spectacular. 90+ Enamour Small Backyard Patio Ideas Image Inspirations Jody Mcclain Patios, 2018-10-17 02:39:00. Summer is here, and if you need some great patio ideas to spruce up the look of your yard, you aren't alone. Even if you don't have a huge budget to work with, you can really make your patio look great. When you spend some time making your patio look gorgeous, you'll look at the area as an extension of your home and you'll want to use it more often. Give yourself permission to get creative and really infuse your patio with your own personal style. Patios are a great place to spend time reading a book, sipping some tea, or catching up with friends and family. 99+ Exciting Fun Rugs For Playroom Image Concepts Aurelia Copeland Playroom, 2018-09-28 05:49:10. What about playroom furniture? How can they make setting up your kid's playroom easier? Well, take a look at the available furniture for kids today and you'll see. If you're going to buy the best ones, you will be able to set up a great playroom! There's no need for expensive wallpapers to improve the ambiance of the room. A few furniture in strategic locations can kick the ambiance up a notch. Your kid will instantly feel "at home" because the furniture helped improve the environment. 25+ Beautiful Blue And White Living Room Curtains Amie Knight Curtain, 2018-09-29 01:42:38. But if you have your heart set on a set of expensive looking blinds why not have a look at some of the faux blind ranges. These blinds have the look of a more expensive blind but cost a lot less.You now not only have the choice of fabric window coverings but you can also find them in aluminum and wood too. These can give a great stylish look to certain rooms.Some people like to have a mixture of styles for different rooms in the house. You could have wood in the kitchen to match the units and maybe aluminum in another room. But most people will still have fabric coverings in the bedrooms. 36+ Wrought Iron Patio Furniture Sets Matilda Rush Patios, 2018-09-26 01:48:37. After you have found the perfect patio idea and built the perfect patio it is important that the furnishings and accessories you choose provide a consistent overall look and feel. There are as many different kinds of patio furniture as there are kinds of patios, and it is important to choose the furniture that best meets your needs. Of course there are a number of things all patio furniture and accessories should have in common, including of course durability and weather resistance. Fortunately there are a number of excellent brands of patio furniture designed to stand up to the rigors of outdoor use while still looking its very best. Blue And White Shower Curtain Matilda Rush Curtain, 2018-09-27 01:52:23. Purple window curtains are appropriate for a variety of rooms. One place where they excel is in the bedroom, where they can lend elegance and opulence, creating a lush, romantic, and relaxing sanctuary. When paired with a dark colored wall, heavy purple drapes can make the room more dramatic looking, masculine, and powerful. Lighter shades of window treatments and wall colors can evoke a sense of serenity and femininity. Navy Blue And White Curtains Luz Hansen Curtain, 2018-09-27 01:52:13. Another thing you can do is create curtains with bed sheets. A nice, ironed navy blue bed sheet with a curtain rod sewn to the end will make a great window covering. Just make sure you leave some extra linen together with the rod to allow enough room for gathering. After you hang the sheet on the window, you can purchase snowflake stickers at a greeting card or general store to place on top of the linens. Wintery snowflakes in glittery silver and white will give a nice winter-wonderland look to windows. Patio High Table And Chairs Linda Richmond Patios, 2018-09-28 05:49:02. With online search engine, you don't even need to get out of the doorstep to do your initial research. Look at home improvement web sites to see what advice they offer. Supplement them with offline magazines and publications. The photos and videos will soon inspire you on the patio themes you can have. Precious Patio Table Set With Umbrella Michelle Bright Patios, 2018-10-01 01:21:36. Before you get to do the fun part of the project, you need to coordinate and plan your patio project properly. This is a structural project, so you will need a designer or planner to assist you by drawing up the ideas and design that you want. This design needs to show the location and exact measurements of the patio so you can buy the right material in the right sizes and quantities. Only when you are one hundred percent satisfied with your design, can you move on to the shopping. 59+ Cheering Patio High Table And Chairs Image Ideas Simone Tucker Patios, 2018-10-01 01:20:45. A attractively planned outdoor patio not merely expands a property's outside living area, but expresses the owners tastes and individuality. Check on the web for inspiration for boosting backyard living, working with small areas, options for renovations and problem solving patio ideas. 29+ Awesome Black Curtain Ideas For Living Room Amie Petersen Curtain, 2018-09-29 01:42:18. Making your own curtains is not a difficult job at all. You do not need to have great sewing skills for making them. Fabric of your choice can be bought on sale. But, while buying the fabric, you should choose the color and design that goes well with the existing decor of your walls as well as the windows. According to the size of the windows, you can make these cheap curtains but they should fit exactly to the windows. Even if the windows are of non-standard sizes, it is not a problem. You should take measurements of the windows and get the curtains done. You can also use a nice and attractive bed sheet as a curtain. A table cloth can also be tried if it fits well to the window. Especially, for wide windows, you can buy a wide bed sheet on sale and convert it into a curtain. Bed sheets and table cloths have already finished edges and hence just sewing a pocket at their tops is enough to use them as curtains. Two fabric panels can also be sewn together to make them into a wide curtain. If you buy fabrics with patterns that suit the existing decor of the home, they can also enhance the appearance of the windows and rooms. | Low | [
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Riccardo Caracciolo Riccardo Caracciolo (died 18 May 1395) was an Italian nobleman from the Kingdom of Naples, who was a rival Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller. Biography Caracciolo was born most likely in Naples, in the first half of the 14th century. He was perhaps a descendant of Niccolò Caracciolo, a chamberlain and marshal of King Robert I of Naples. Caracciolo entered the Order of the Knights Hospitaller at a young age. In 1378 he was appointed as prior of Capua. In 1382, pope Urban VI deposed the order's Grand Master, Juan Fernández de Heredia, who had sided for Antipope Clement VII and, in the April 1383, replaced him with Caracciolo. The latter was supported by the priories of Rome, Messina, Barletta, Pisa and Capua, as well as the prior of Bohemia. They were followed by the knights of England and Ireland in 1384, and later also Hungary and part of Germany. However, the main base of the order, in Rhodes, remained faithful to Heredia. Caracciolo spent his period as master mostly at the papal court, also after Urban died, being replaced by Boniface IX. In 1391 he was chosen as mediator between the warring Republic of Venice and Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan; he later performed the same tasks with other Italian rival communes and lords. He died in Rome in 1395, and was buried in Santa Maria del Priorato. References Category:14th-century births Category:1395 deaths Category:People from Naples Category:Medieval Italian knights Category:Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller Category:14th-century Italian people Category:Medieval Italian diplomats Riccardo Category:14th-century diplomats | High | [
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Sunday, February 10 Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks? Either Goes with Homemade Doughboys Long before Starbucks, long before McDonald's began serving Starbucks-like lattes, there was Dunkin' Donuts. Dunkin' Donuts is the epitome of the Northeast -- not fancy, just fast and reliable. I can remember on frigid, gray winter days, your eyes would tear and your nose would run from the biting wind while you waited in the line that snaked out the door. You didn't mind, though, because the girls behind the counter worked with lightening speed. By the time you made it to the register, you were ready to bark out your order: "Yeah, gimme a dozen donuts. Mixed. And I'll take tree cauffees, two wit cream and shugah, and one black." Five seconds later your order was ready. I was thinking about Dunkin' Donuts this past Wednesday while I was in line at the La Jolla Boulevard Starbucks. A woman in front of me, who was wearing enormous Chanel sunglasses, tried to place an order: "Um, I'll have a skinny double mocha latte. And I'll have. Umm. Let's see. Are there nuts in the low-fat blueberry muffins? OK. Ummmmm. Does the cranberry bread have flaxseed in it?" I thought to myself, "Dear God, if she were in the Branch Avenue Dunkin' Donuts right now (where I have stopped a thousand times in my life), the people in line would have physically carried her out the door and left her in the freezing parking lot still holding her debit card. Branch Avenue Dunkin' Donuts, Providence, RI I told Jeff the story when he got home, and we started reminiscing about Dunkin' Donuts, gray New England winters, and how many years have passed since we had a donut. Since I couldn't run out to Dunkin' Donuts to get Jeff a jelly stick (they don't exist in San Diego), and didn't really want to make donuts, I did what my mom would do: I made doughboys. Jeff and I haven't eaten or made doughboys in over 10 years. So when I announced to him that I was making them this past Saturday, he said, “I don't believe it.” “No, really, I am. It’s for a blog event featuring fried sweets,” I said. “I still don't believe it." It wasn't until I poured the oil in the pan that it sunk in: "Oh, my god, you really are making doughboys," he said. As I was forming the doughboys, I pulled a hole in the middle of each one. Jeff looked at me, confused. “What are you doin’?” “I’m making the doughboys, hon.” “But why are you making holes in them?” he asked. “Cause my mother always made hole in them,” I said. “Well, my mother never put holes in them. Looks like we got ourselves a doughboy domestic here,” he said. Imagine, almost 13 years of marriage, and I never knew he liked his doughboys without holes in the middle. So we did what any successfully married couple would do: we made both. Now you decide how you want to make yours. I'm sending my doughboys to talented bakers Peabody and Helen who are hosting an event called (a la Dunkin' Donuts) Time to Make the Donuts! That's right, they want your sweet, fried treats by Feb. 12th and will post a round-up on the 15th; so hurry! Lightly roll out a room-temperature pound of pizza dough, just enough to smooth it out and make it easier to work with. Don't over-roll or overwork it, or the doughboys won't puff up nicely. Using your hands, form 8-10 doughboys, with or without holes. Don't worry if they're not exactly the same-- they're not meant to be perfectly shaped or uniform in size. Use canola or peanut oil since they have a high smoke point. Pour oil, about 2 inches deep, into a deep, wide pan over medium heat (or to 350 degrees if you have a deep-fry thermometer). Otherwise, test the heat by dropping a little piece of dough into the oil. It should quickly bounce to the surface and be surrounded by tiny bubbles. Add 1-2 doughboys at a time, making sure they have room to float in the oil. Using tongs, gently flip doughboys in the oil until they puff up, float, and turn golden brown, about 30-60 seconds. For toppings, either sprinkle with powdered sugar or with a mixture of granulated sugar and ground cinnamon. And make sure to eat 'em while they're hot! Dissolve in 2 cups of warm water yeast, sugar, and salt. Using a spoon, gently blend. Add 5 cups of all-purpose flour and 2 tablespoons of olive oil to start. Blend just a little bit with a spoon; then, using your hands, transfer to a floured surface. Knead well—adding flour if it’s too sticky—until the dough becomes springy and smooth. It should take a good 5-10 minutes of vigorous kneading. It will be soft and silky when done. Place the dough in a large, clean bowl coated with olive oil or cooking spray, and rub some olive oil on top of the dough. Cover with a clean, dry dishtowel and let rise until doubled in size (at least 2 hours). Once it’s risen, punch it down. Leftover dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Coat the inside of a Ziploc bag with some Pam and drop the dough in; that way it doesn’t stick to the plastic. Allow to come to room temperature before rolling out. Tips for making good doughboys: *Use the freshest dough possible for lighter, puffier doughboys. *Make sure the dough is room temperature, not cold. *Don't overwork the dough when forming the doughboys, or they won't be as light and airy. *Use an oil with a high heat point, like canola or peanut. *Don't over-fry the doughboys or they'll quickly become too brown and hard. There's an old saying about New York and California: "You should leave California before you get too soft and you should leave New York before you get too hard." Now I know you're not from New York, but the north east attitude is what I'm talking about here. And you still have it. :-) I wonder how many quarts of hot oil Peabody and Helen are responsible for? oh my goodness! i too am originally from the East Coast and now live in San Diego. I frequently crave Dunkin Donuts!! My favorite thing is how they measured out the cream and sugar themselves,..you never did it!! I wish they had one out here!!! I haven't been to a dunkin donut, I love starbucks for my coffee and krispy kreme for the doughnuts :).. But I can't stand those people who can't make up their mind at the counter even after the five minutes wait in the line! I am laughing at the visual of the people carrying the chanel gal out the door :D Hilarious post! I love Dunkin Donuts too, but I'm a Krispy Kreme girl at heart! I could scarf down a whole dozen of those little critters in one sitting! Those doughboys look pretty good too! I'll be making my first attempt at doughnuts tomorrow. Yikes! If you never hear from me again, you'll know what happened.;) Susan--Your wonderful post has me wistful for the California Donut Co. in St. Louis. When I was a kid and we went to visit old family friends, at some point, the two dads would run out and return with a couple dozen doughnuts. Later, Marion and I would take our girls there on Saturday morning before starting out on a flea market day trip. I believe that New England has a higher concentration of donut shops than any other part of the country. This is based on working for a company that had offices in Providence and North Attleboro, and whenever I visited the area and needed directions to somewhere the directions inevitably included a turn at an intersection with a Dunkin' Donuts. It was never a good landmark because every intersection seemed to have a Dunkin' Donuts. Oh how I live for doughnuts. I seriously cannot resist them. You can't get Krispy Kremes here but there's a shop next to the Maui airport so you often see Alaskans sporting boxes of KKs to take back with them after vacation. :) God, how I loved Dunkin Donuts when I was younger - munchkins were the de riguer birthday treat to bring into class, and those jelly ones were *prized*. That Time To Make the Donuts commercial lives in my memory alongside the Calgon Take Me Away and Momma Mia That's a Spicy Meatball lines, forever throwing me back to staying home sick and watching The Price is Right. :) I know that La Jolla Starbucks. I'm surprised there's still a La Jollan who doesn't know their 'Bucks order like the back of their hand. "Double shot no-whip non-fat mocha with extra vanilla, please." Those doughboys look divine. There is nothing so tempting to me as a donut. I'm actually thankful Dunkin' Donuts hasn't set up shop in Minnesota yet (and Krispy Kreme has mostly shut down here) because if I had a donut shop on every corner during a mid-winter carb craving? I would never be allowed in a swimsuit again. (P.S. I made your Coconut Lemon Tea Cake last week, only I used Meyer lemons my parents brought me from their San Jose backyard. It was amazing!) You know, there used to be a DD in the Kearny Mesa area until the mid-90's. I used to go there until it turned into the ubiquitous Chinese Food/Do-nuts that populate the southland. I vacationed in Vermont last year, and actually had trouble finding the Dunkin' Donut, you know, the one with the handle? A lot of the shops didn't have them to go with my Coffee regular. (No one knows what that means out here ;() Ooooo, those look so good! I've never really gotten into DD, but where I'm from Krispy Kreme is king. I went to NYC on business a few years ago, and when I got off the train and went up to street level, low and behold there was a KK right in Penn Station! I couldn't help myself...I got two plain glazed that day. i gonna guess THAT lady was from here in seattle! i just made soem fried dough too, beignets, but i cheated and made them from a cafe du monde mix. they were still heavenly with my 'coffee regular'! speaking of which, i was so totally amazed when we have gone back east (to chicago and new york) and i order coffee, and it is perfect with the cream and sugar already added! anne-marie-OMG, I think we're long lost sisters! I had all of the same experiences, except for the Mamma Mia one-- I don't recognize that. judy-I don't know Tim Horton's. Next time I'm in Canada, I'll have to remember that. happy cook-I know, sometimes you don't want to lessen the experience when you love something so much. pip-Ooh, fried pizza? Looks like I'll be trying that too. anali-I'm telling ya, East Coasters would not have the patience out here. It's taken my years! deborah-Oh, thank you! chinook-I know. It seems most families had Sunday traditions with buying the donuts. My husband's grandfather bought them every Sunday for his entire life. We often reminisce about that as well. Thanks for your visit and thoughtful comment. kelly-Sounds like your neck of the woods needs some donut shops! Ever consider buying a DD franchise? ;) I'm so happy you made the cake. It's wonderful with Meyer lemons too; I know because I made a second one! dana-Oh, thanks! ivy-Yeah, my grandmother and mom would make them with the leftover pizza dough. nod-No more old fashioned? That was always my favorite. I would get one for me and a French crueller for my grandmother, then she'd take the little dunk part off of mine for her coffee. And yes, what's with the chinese/donut places? We have often wondered. andrea-KK is in Penn Station? Does DD know about that? ;) cinderelly-Fixing the sugar and cream for you is such a treat, isn't it? Beignets, mmmmmmm good. WOW! I have been in that Branch Ave Dunkin about 100 times, too. My old gym (World Gym, but my friends and I called it Third World Gym) was right across the street. One exit away from my work exit on 146. The best part was the absolute broad spectrum of demographcs at Dunkin: Guys in $1500 suits on their way downtown to Fleet (now gone), plumbers, college students, high school kids, beatnicks, RISD goths. It was always a good reminder that we are all the same--we all got that Dunkin Jones under our variously tattoed (or not) skin! brilynn-It's issues like this one that rank up their with politics and religion. ;) emiline-It's gonna be one seriously delicious round-up. us vs food-Whoops! Better get cracking, or should I say fryin'? ;)I'm with you on the old-fashioned. An oldie but goodie. bellini valli-I love trips down nostalgia lane. kelly-Biscuits with a hole in them? Smart woman. ;) anonymous-OMG, I used to go to that gym many moons ago. You're so right about the mix of people at that DD. I guess donuts are the great equalizer. Thanks for stopping by -- I really enjoyed your comment. pixie-My pleasure. I will check out your family's savory pies. Those are always the best recipes. Susan, I've tagged you for your choice of two memes...check out my blog...hope you'll play.Not sure if the one with the hole or the doughboy without the hole would be better...guess the best bet is to do as you did and make both. I too grew up in RI (and have since lived in NYC, LA, and now Nashville)- I know exactly where that Branch Ave. DD is at!! We only have a couple of DD scattered about Nashville and I've been known to drive 15 miles just to get an iced coffee. And doughboys, oh my (far superior to its cousin, the funnel cake, by the way) Seeing this post has conjured up so many great memories from my childhood. I read your blog on D & D and it was so funny to see BRANCH AV D&D. I live only a few miles from there. If you like your mothers doughboys, next time, you may want to try my mothers doughboys...she stuffed her's with a slice of american cheese. YUMMY! I would suggest on NOT making a hole if you do this, the cheese will oose out. Just spread out your dough, place the cheese down and fold over the dough. I secure mine with the good old fork marks. Try it, they are delicious.April, Johnston, RI So, I know you posted this a while back, but I just felt like telling you that I made these for at a Halloween party last night and they were a great hit! I made them with the cinnamon sugar, but I also tried Alton Brown's recipe for a glaze and they were both really tasty! In Japan, we can only find doughnuts made with cake flour, and while good, they cannot compare with yeast doughnuts. Thank you so much for sharing such a delicious recipe! My dad was so sad when he came here to SD to visit and there wasn't a Dunkin' Donuts here, we thought maybe there was, somewhere. My mom wanted him to bring back a dozen for her, since they missed it. These doughboys remind me of when I was little, my dad and his scouts would have a doughboy booth at the Ferndale county fair, no idea what their recipe was though. Mmmmm! Definitely DD Starbucks is more for the Liberal yuppy crowd who simply thinks it tastes better due to it's high price point. Sorry to ruin your day but Wifi access a good coffee does not make. If your truly into darker Blends Equal exchange makes a far superior blend anyways. Susan- Love that you read my blog! I've been following you for awhile and enjoy your posts. I am not quite a native Rhode Islander... lived here 10 years, took a 7 year trip to Florida then returned. Less than two years later my husband and I had to get out! :) We're in DC now but make trips back home to visit fam. I'm here on a job assignment for the summer so I'm soaking up some quality New England time. Ironically, my life long RI friend made me doughboys for breakfast the other day. She slathers hers with butter and jam... delish!A fun post re: Dunkin vs. Starbucks that will absolutely have you laughing: http://therivervisual.blogspot.com/2010/05/java-wars.html | Mid | [
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The news media have once again been ablaze with reports of Israel’s military attack on Gaza. The historic Israeli-Palestinian conflict has, consequently, returned as a subject of discussion at cafés, salons, and dinner tables. The discussion, however, is not an easy one to have—unless, of course, you are foursquare behind Israel. Criticism of Israel very quickly lands the critic into trouble; accusations of anti-Semitism are fired back as if from an Uzi. What is more, these accusations can sometimes come accompanied by raised voices, red faces, bared teeth, waved fists, and even rude expletives. Sometimes, not even Jews can avoid them. So it is understandable that non-Jews desiring to avoid drama think it best to keep mum. Noticing the problem, and apparently in the interest of free and open debate, a concerned Jewish blogger has recently made waves posting a 19-point guide on how to criticize Israel without being anti-Semitic. The Tumblr blog post has, at the time of writing, attracted 8485 notes. And the BBC deemed it so useful that they even reported it on their news website. As TOO was created for purposes of free and open debate, including Jews and Israel, it seems pertinent that we examine the 19 points. Perhaps we will find in them the Philosopher’s Stone in our efforts to discuss important matters involving Jews without being accused of ignorance and moral turpitude. The points are meant to be considered in no particular order. 1. Don’t use the terms “bloodthirsty,” “lust for Palestinian blood,” or similar. Historically, Jews have been massacred in the belief that we use the blood of non-Jews (particularly of children) in our religious rituals. This belief still persists in large portions of the Arab world (largely because White Europeans deliberately spread the belief among Arabs) and even in parts of the Western world. Murderous, inhumane, cruel, vicious—fine. But blood…just don’t go there. Depicting Israel/Israelis/Israeli leaders eating children is also a no-no, for the same reason. While one can understand the desire to avoid rehashings of the ancient blood libel, this seems a little paranoid in the case of “bloodthirsty”. I do wonder what would happen if we were to start prohibiting certain terms from being used in the presence of people of European ancestry, on the basis that they summon libelous associations. 2. Don’t use crucifixion imagery. Another huge, driving motivation behind anti-Semitism historically has been the belief that the Jews, rather than the Romans, crucified Jesus. As in #1, this belief still persists. There are plenty of other ways to depict suffering that don’t call back to ancient libels. It does seem a bit irrelevant to use crucifixion imagery when discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I have not seen much of it, although this may be because my interests lie elsewhere. All the same, the blogger seems a little dishonest when he says that it was the Romans, not the Jews, who crucified Jesus. Technically, this is correct. But the Jews did contrive to have Jesus crucified. Who was it who brought Jesus to Pilates? Not the Romans, but the Jewish elders, who then asked him to judge and condemn him. Finding him not guilty, Pilates left it to the crowd to choose. And who persuaded the crowd in to choose Jesus to be crucified and Barabbas to be freed? Not the Romans, but the Jewish elders again. This is not a libel, then; just an incorrect use of imagery. 3. Don’t demand that Jews publicly repudiate the actions of settlers and extremists. People who make this demand are assuming that Jews are terrible people or undeserving of being heard out unless they “prove” themselves acceptable by non-Jews’ standards. (It’s not okay to demand Palestinians publicly repudiate the actions of Hamas in order to be accepted/trusted, either.) Now, I have seen such a demand being made by anti-Semites in an effort to put a Jewish opponent on the defensive, only to make a show of highlighting Jewish hypocrisy. The anti-Semite wins either way: if the Jew doesn’t yield, he’s a monster; if he does, he’s a hypocrite, because presumably his actions are not in accord with that public repudiation. Therefore, it can be described as an anti-Semitic trope. Jews know this and would likely not yield to the demand anyway, suspecting the non-Jew of anti-Jewish animus. Yet, trope or not, the demand is not illegitimate if the non-Jewish party in the conversation, acting in good faith, wishes to challenge a Jew defending the actions of Jews in Israel. What is more, similar demands are made daily outside this context, sometimes legitimately sometimes illegitimately, without much controversy. For example, it is routinely demanded of Whites in Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand publicly to repudiate racism, even though the majority of them are not racists and are, often, vehemently anti-racist. Perhaps the blogger has a point and we should ask for this to stop, because it does seem to tarnish a whole race with the misdeeds of a miscreant few. 4. Don’t say “the Jews” when you mean Israel. I think this should be pretty clear. The people in power in Israel are Jews, but not all Jews are Israelis (let alone Israeli leaders). There is a very good point here: we must always differentiate between the political leaders and the populace they allegedly represent. Our experience in the West shows all too well that the political class is often—almost always?—at odds with what Rousseau called the “general will”, and in key areas even actively work against the interests of their voters. It makes no difference that they were elected by a majority of those who voted (which is not all voters), because, in reality, (a) there is no real choice, since the mainstream political parties offer only variant interpretations of the same ideology, and (b) most voters are politically ignorant. Now, I don’t know to what extent that is the case in Israel. Surely, we cannot assume that the will of the political class there necessarily reflects the will of Jews in Israel—I am sure Jews in Israel are often frustrated with their politicians. At the same time, it bears pointing out that while the people in power in Israel are indeed Jews, Israel is a state founded by Jews for Jews, and we cannot, therefore, say “Israel” without meaning “Jews”. It is, however, true that not all Jews are Israelis, in the sense that not all Diasporan Jews hold Israeli citizenship (some do). Yet, into this equation must be included the extent to which Diaspora Jews support Israel and the extent to which they identify with it. A recent example was Chuck Hagel’s mention of the “Jewish Lobby” instead of the Israel Lobby whose opinions need not reflect the opinions of most American Jews (e.g., on the Iraq war where the Israel Lobby and the organized Jewish community strongly supported the war but most American Jews did not). Nevertheless, Israel was founded specifically as a state for Jews; it is considered the homeland of Jews. And while we should be careful to keep in mind that not all Jews support the policies of the Israeli government (some consider them too soft), there may be some justification behind the impression many have that Jews generally support Israel, even if they don’t necessarily agree with the current administration. See the next item. 5. Don’t say “Zionists” when you mean Israel. Zionism is no more a dirty word than feminism. It is simply the belief that the Jews should have a country in part of their ancestral homeland where they can take refuge from the anti-Semitism and persecution they face everywhere else. It does not mean a belief that Jews have a right to grab land from others, a belief that Jews are superior to non-Jews, or any other such tripe, any more than feminism means hating men. Unless you believe that Israel should entirely cease to exist, you are yourself Zionist. Furthermore, using “Zionists” in place of “Israelis” is inaccurate and harmful. The word “Zionists” includes Diasporan Jews as well (most of whom support a two-state solution and pretty much none of whom have any influence on Israel’s policies) and is used to justify anti-Semitic attacks outside Israel (i.e., they brought it on themselves by being Zionists). And many of the Jews IN Israel who are most violent against Palestinians are actually anti-Zionist—they believe that the modern state of Israel is an offense against God because it isn’t governed by halakha (traditional Jewish religious law). Be careful with the labels you use. Another good point. If you hate Jews, say so. Say, “I hate Jews, because . . .” Don’t hide behind euphemisms. Don’t pretend you hate Zionism, but love Jews. Do you really think you’re fooling anyone? Everybody knows what you’re doing. We know it. The Jews know it. And you know it. Using “Zionism” is your way of pretending that you are free from hate; that you are, in fact, just a concerned citizen demanding truth and justice; and that you are successfully wriggling past the anti-Semite label. You may argue this kind of subterfuge is necessary because the consequences of openly disliking Jews are so dire. The thing is, because no one buys it, this makes you worse than a plain-vanilla anti-Semite, since it suggests you are one who doesn’t even have the courage of his convictions—too cowardly to put up. Having said that, the explanation of Zionism provided by the blogger in this item seems to conflict with guideline #4 above, as the latter confirms there is merit to the view that Israel and Jews are to be closely identified, contrary to the guideline’s prescription. There is also a conflict with guideline #11, dealt with further down. Also, it does strike me as sophistry to say that “many of the Jews in Israel who are most violent against Palestinians are anti-Zionist” simply on the basis of their belief in religious law. Do they not also subscribe to “the belief that the Jews should have a country in part of their ancestral homeland where they can take refuge from the anti-Semitism and persecution they face everywhere else”? 6. Don’t call Jews you agree with “the good Jews.” Imposing your values on another group is not okay. Tokenizing is not okay. Appointing yourself the judge of what other groups can or should believe is not okay. 7. Don’t use your Jewish friends or Jews who agree with you as shields. (AKA, “I can’t be anti-Semitic, I have Jewish friends!” or “Well, Jew X agrees with me, so you’re wrong.”) Again, this behavior is tokenizing and essentially amounts to you as a non-Jew appointing yourself arbiter over what Jews can/should feel or believe. You don’t get to do that. Woah there cowboy! Isn’t this precisely what many Diasporan Jewish activists have done in their campaigns against racism (of which anti-Semitism is a form) throughout the West? Not the tokenizing, although the usage of gentile frontmen in certain Jewish intellectual movements could be described as a form of tokenizing, but the self-appointment as an arbiter of what Whites can / should feel or believe. The Frankfurt School, a Jewish-run organization, even had a whole institute dedicated to the task. Quite right, another group—whatever its ethnicity—shouldn’t get to do that! 8. Don’t claim that Jews are ethnically European. Jews come in many colors—white is only one. Besides, the fact that many of us have some genetic mixing with the peoples who tried to force us to assimilate (be they German, Indian, Ethiopian, Italian…) doesn’t change the fact that all our common ancestral roots go back to Israel. Interestingly, this is unlikely to be met with disagreement by anti-Semites—at least American ones. A key contention of theirs is that Jews are emphatically not White. And certainly not all the genetic influx from Europe was the result of forced assimilation. Indeed, probably very little was. Recent population genetic evidence suggests the original Ashkenazi population began with Jewish males mating with European females. If so, Ashkenazi Jews have a strong genetic overlap with Europeans while nevertheless not identifying with the culture and ethnic interests of Europeans. 9. Don’t claim that Jews “aren’t the TRUE/REAL Jews.” Enough said. This is a rather arcane point, but there are anti-Semites who think present-day Jews are a corruption—robots or slaves of the Lord of Darkness, doing his bidding. A common form of this can be found among those who claim Ashkenazi Jews are not the real Jews because they in fact derive from the Khazars, a Turkic people. This notion finds little contemporary support but is useful for those who attempt to combat Jewish interests by denying any biological link between contemporary Jews and Israel. 10. Don’t claim that Jews have no real historical connection to Israel/the Temple Mount. Archaeology and the historical record both establish that this is false. As far as anti-Semitic tactics goes, this one seems very poorly thought out and disingenuous—yet another example of self-deception, like the one highlighted in my response to guideline #5. No point getting into a historical / archaeological debate (but see previous answer), because we must also consider right by conquest, and if we go down that route, and say that conquest confers no rights, then we must begin to consider Mexico’s territorial claims in the American South West, and question the right of Europeans to reside in North America. Can’t have it both ways. 11. Don’t accuse Diasporan Jews of dual loyalties or treason. This is another charge that historically has been used to justify persecution and murder of Jews. Having a connection to our ancestral homeland is natural. Having a connection to our co-religionists who live there is natural. It is no more treasonous for a Jew to consider the well-being of Israel when casting a vote than for a Muslim to consider the well-being of Islamic countries when voting. (Tangent: fuck drone strikes. End tangent.) This is truly baffling. I can’t see how anybody could be so disingenuous as to pretend no conflict of interest could ever arise between the interests of America as a whole and the interests of American Jews when the American government’s support for Israel has cost Americans vast sums of money, led to terrorism in American soil, and cost thousands of American lives. It seems obvious that American interests and Israeli interests diverge, yet the blogger seems to believe that that the actions of the Israel Lobby and the organized Jewish community are motivated first and foremost by loyalty to American interests. Well, that may be so, but only in the form of pretense. 12. Don’t claim that the Jews control the media/banks/country that isn’t Israel. Yet another historical anti-Semitic claim is that Jews as a group intend to control the world and try to achieve this aim through shadowy, sinister channels. There are many prominent Jews in the media and in the banking industry, yes, but they aren’t engaged in any kind of organized conspiracy to take over those industries, they simply work in those industries. The phrase “the Jews control” should never be heard in a debate/discussion of Israel. There are several problems here. Firstly, a fallacy: control does not mean conspiracy. The conflation does occur in anti-Semitic literature, particularly that which, following the Protocols of Zion, blames all of the world’s ills on a secret conspiracy by a cabal of sinister Jews. Frankly, I think only delusional anti-Semites indulge in such fantasies—the idea of being in the know is the means by which they deal with their impotence. Nevertheless, as Michael Kinsley and Benjamin Ginsberg noted, Jews predominate on Wall St., so it should be fair game to think about what the implications of this are. Secondly, there is yet another example of extreme disingenuousness. Jews, for a variety of reasons, including their history, anti-Semitism, and their culture, are highly cohesive and ethnocentric compared to Anglo-American Whites. By this I mean that they recognize each other, they network with each other, they promote each other, and they often think in terms of what is good for the Jews. This makes perfect sense and is not at all sinister, but to say that Jews simply work in media, and that, perceiving themselves as a distinct group with common interests, particularly in a society where (in their minds) the risk of anti-Semitism is ever-present, they never or even seldom use their position, knowledge, and skills to advance Jewish interests in some way flies in the face of evidence. Hollywood has film archives going back decades that abound with a consistent pattern of positive portrayals of Jews and a very strong promotion of messages that promote a vision of society that is beneficial to Jews. Similarly, the news media shows a consistent pattern of support for Israel. This is not merely coincidental, nor a reflection of WASP dominance—although gentiles have cheerfully replicated this pattern. Moreover, a number of prominent individuals from the industry—Marlon Brando, William Cash, Oliver Stone, Rick Sanchez, Mel Gibson, and more recently Gary Oldman—have come out every few years to state the obvious. There is some merit to rejecting phrases like “the Jews control”, as they tend to oversimplify and yes, it is an anti-Semitic trope, which renders an otherwise intelligent discussion of Jews immediately suspect. But the fact that there are many prominent Jews in the media is an important and legitimate topic for discussion, particularly in relation to Israel and in attempting to understand the Hollywood culture of the left. 13. Don’t depict the Magen David (Star of David) as an equivalent to the Nazi swastika. The Magen David represents all Jews—not just Israelis, not just people who are violent against Palestinians, ALL JEWS. When you do this, you are painting all Jews as violent, genocidal racists. DON’T. I’ve seen this in placards and graffiti, and yes, it is an unfair oversimplification. But then, all protest iconography is an unfair oversimplification. The purpose is to draw attention to an issue and produce a concentrated emotional response aimed at instigating policy changes. The people who criticize the policies of the Israeli government by means of this iconic short-hand mean to draw attention to similarities that exist between those policies and some of those carried out in National Socialist Germany. It is a little difficult to avoid the Star of David, given that it features prominently in the Israeli flag (as once did the Swastika in Germany, though it did not represent all Germans even if it was meant to); that Israel is a Jewish state, founded by Jews for the Jews; and that, as guidelines 5 and 11 point out, is to be identified closely with all Jews. This is why some desire Jews to publicly repudiate the aggressive policies of Israel against the Palestinians, so that they, as Jews, may be separated from the Israeli leadership and those who support it. 14. Don’t use the Holocaust/Nazism/Hitler as a rhetorical prop. The Jews who were murdered didn’t set foot in what was then Palestine, let alone take part in Israeli politics or policies. It is wrong and appropriative to try to use their deaths to score political points. Genocide, racism, occupation, murder, extermination—go ahead and use those terms, but leave the Holocaust out of it. I think my reply to guideline #13 deals with most of this, but I can’t move on without highlighting the apparent contradiction in the following sentences: “When you [depict the Magen David as equivalent to the Nazi Swastika], you are painting all Jews as violent, genocidal racists”, from guideline 13; and “Genocide, racism, occupation, murder, extermination—go ahead and use those terms”, from guideline 14. Didn’t the blogger object to all Jews being painted as violent genocidal racists, and in the next breath authorize us to paint the Jewish state as racist and exterminatory? The Holocaust, I am afraid, does come into it too, because it is the most iconic justification for a Jewish state, as suggested in guideline #5. 15. In visual depictions (i.e., political cartoons and such), don’t depict Israel/Israelis as Jewish stereotypes. Don’t show them in Chassidic, black-hat garb. Don’t show them with exaggerated noses or frizzled red hair or payus (earlocks). Don’t show them with horns or depict them as the Devil. Don’t show them cackling over/hoarding money. Don’t show them drinking blood or eating children (see #1). Don’t show them raping non-Jewish women. The Nazis didn’t invent the tropes they used in their propaganda—all of these have been anti-Semitic tropes going back centuries. (The red hair trope, for instance, goes back to early depictions of Judas Iscariot as a redhead, and the horns trope stems from the belief that Jews are the Devil’s children, sent to destroy the world as best we can for our “father.”) Political cartoons rely on stereotypes, and they are quite merciless: in a free democracy, anyone—particularly anyone with power—is fair game. Since when are political cartoons flattering? Here’s a cartoon from Benjamin Netanyahu’s Twitter feed that has a stereotype of a Muslim woman with a baby protecting Hamas military targets, described by Mondoweiss as “racist and Islamophobic.” There is certainly a measure of malice, but also a measure of truth, the source of which is the target’s own behaviour. This is not to say, however, that Jews should necessarily be portrayed as they were in Der Stürmer; this is merely to say that at least some stereotypes are unavoidable, because political cartoons are a means to distil complex issues into a single, instantly digestible image. This image of a Der Sturmer caricature blowing up Gaza by remote control was particularly offensive to Australian Jews. While one can recognize why certain tropes make Jews nervous, I do wonder what stereotypes the blogger would be willing to authorize for use in political cartoons about Israel. 16. Don’t use the phrase “the chosen people” to deride or as proof of Jewish racism. When Jews say we are the chosen people, we don’t mean that we are biologically superior to others or that God loves us more than other groups. Judaism in fact teaches that everyone is capable of being a righteous, Godly person, that Jews have obligations to be ethical and decent to “the stranger in our midst,” and that non-Jews don’t get sent to some kind of damnation for believing in another faith. When we say we’re the chosen people, we mean that, according to our faith, God gave us extra responsibilities and codes of behavior that other groups aren’t burdened with, in the form of the Torah. That’s all it means. I would welcome further clarification on this point.In fact, extreme statements of Jewish superiority are entirely mainstream within the Jewish community, with the late Sephardic leader Rabbi Ovadia Josef famously saying that “the goyim are born only to serve us.” Further, If “when Jews say [they] are the chosen people, [they] don’t mean that we are biologically superior to others or that God loves [them] more than other groups”, then why did God give Jews “extra responsibilities and codes of behavior that other groups aren’t burdened with”? Surely, it was not because Jews were deemed inferior and in need of stricter controls. Additional responsibilities are typically conferred upon individuals who have proven capable of assuming them: for example, when a person is promoted or ennobled, the new position or title comes not only with privileges, but also added responsibilities; that person, in other words, has been chosen because they have been deemed superior to the rest. This is becoming very confusing. 17. Don’t claim that anti-Semitism is eradicated or negligible. It isn’t. In fact, according to international watchdog groups, it’s sharply on the rise. (Which sadly isn’t surprising—anti-Semitism historically surges during economic downturns, thanks to the belief that Jews control the banks.) This sort of statement is extremely dismissive and accuses us of lying about our own experiences. Well, firstly, anti-Semitism certainly exists and it’s certainly ugly, but it has also become very unacceptable in our society. For example, anti-Semitism in America declined dramatically after World War II, but this has never been reflected in Jewish self-perceptions of America. As Elliott Abrams has stated, the American Jewish community “clings to what is at bottom a dark vision of America, as a land permeated with anti-Semitism and always on the verge of anti-Semitic outbursts” (p. 86). At this time, a single anti-Semitic remark by a public figure, for example, can lead to fulminating loss of employment, instant desertion by friends and even family, and a ruthless campaign of demonization in the media. In fact, such is the sensitivity towards anti-Semitism, that anti-Semitism is not even required to produce these results. There is a friendly evolutionary psychologist in America who could tell you a thing or two about this. One of these “watchdog groups” spent years seeking to get his tenure revoked, on the basis that he wrote a book describing 20th century Jewish intellectual movements. Secondly, the so-called “watchdog groups” are not reliable sources. The SPLC, for example, practice yellow journalism, and make it their business to the present anyone who criticizes Jews in the worst light possible, even if it means resorting to distortions and fabrications. These groups also have an interest in keeping the threat of anti-Semitism alive in the public mind: they are funded in large part by Jewish donors and they can’t risk the money drying up. (Which is why some spell their name $PLC.) So, of course, they will always say anti-Semitism is on the rise. I’d like to know if they have ever said it is on a decline. In fact, apparently even Israel needs anti-Semitism, in order to encourage Jews to immigrate. Such cynicism leads to scepticism. 18. Don’t say that since Palestinians are Semites, Jews/Israelis are anti-Semitic, too. You do not get to redefine the oppressions of others, nor do you get to police how they refer to that oppression. This also often ties into #8. Don’t do it. Anti-Semitism has exclusively meant anti-Jewish bigotry for a good century plus now. Coin your own word for anti-Palestinian oppression, or just call it what it is: racism mixed with Islamophobia. I’ve also encountered this “Jews are anti-Semites” in the anti-Semitic literature and yes, it does seem yet another silly tactic by people who hate Jews to make themselves appear mere concerned citizens who want justice. It’s an empty rhetorical point, for sure. As I said, if you hate Jews, say so—it’s not as if you can’t think of at least a thousand reasons. Do us all a favour and don’t pretend you’re a human rights activist. 19. Don’t blow off Jews telling you that what you’re saying is anti-Semitic with some variant of the statement at the top of this post. [“OMG, Jews think any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic!”] Not all anti-Israel speech is anti-Semitic (a lot of it is valid, much-deserved criticism), but some certainly is. Actually give the accusation your consideration and hear the accuser out. If they fail to convince you, that’s fine. But at least hear them out (without talking over them) before you decide that. In spite of all my comments above, it’s certainly a relief to know that anti-Israeli speech is possible without it making one an anti-Semite. Provided we abide by the above guidelines, and work out the kinks, we are in the clear, then, and all the more since we have been even given permission by a person with the correct ethnicity and therefore authorized to speak on the matter. The only problem here is that the way this blogger sees the conversation going is not very realistic. To be accused of anti-Semitism today is very serious; it has dire consequences, socially, professionally, and financially. It cannot be taken lightly. Most gentiles panic when this happens. Some, clearly thinking that attack is the best defense, get angry, or feign righteous anger. It would take a very financially independent person with an preternaturally stoic and calm disposition to do as the blogger recommends. The fact that he had to write such a copious guide proves how difficult this can be. The irony is that, in his effort to be helpful to well-meaning gentiles with views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the blogger’s guidelines have left them with an almost impossible task. It seems a very tricky rhetorical labyrinth to navigate, and, with so many trip wires to consider, one has to wonder whether, intentionally or unintentionally, the end result is a further stifling of the debate. Because another way of seeing it, which admittedly doesn’t qualify as well-meaning, is that the idea is less to be helpful to gentiles than it is to be helpful to Jews. A very reasonable supposition, though one that could be classed as anti-Semitic too. | Mid | [
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## generate:acl ```plaintext Usage: $ pestle.phar magento2:generate:acl Arguments: Options: Help: Generates a Magento 2 acl.xml file. @command magento2:generate:acl @argument module_name Which Module? [Pulsestorm_HelloWorld] @argument rule_ids Rule IDs? [<$module_name$>::top,<$module_name$>::config,] ``` The `magento2:generate:acl` command will generate a new *Access Control Rule* for your module. **Interactive Invocation** ```plaintext $ pestle.phar magento2:generate:acl Which Module? (Pulsestorm_HelloWorld)] Pulsestorm_Pestle Rule IDs? (Pulsestorm_Pestle::top,Pulsestorm_Pestle::config,)] Created /path/to/m2/app/code/Pulsestorm/Pestle/etc/acl.xml ``` **Argument Invocation** ```plaintext $ pestle.phar magento2:generate:acl Pulsestorm_Pestle "Pulsestorm_Pestle::top,Pulsestorm_Pestle::config" Created /path/to/m2/app/code/Pulsestorm/Pestle/etc/acl.xml ``` The first argument is is module you want to create the access control rule for. The second argument is a list of rules, each representing one of level of the access control tree. Pestle will create any nodes needed to reach the bottom of the tree, starting from the `<resource id="Magento_Backend::admin">` node. For example, when you run the following command ```plaintext pestle.phar magento2:generate:acl Pulsestorm_Pestle "Pulsestorm_Pestle::top,Pulsestorm_Pestle::config" ``` pestle will create a tree that looks like this. ```plaintext /path/to/m2/app/code/Pulsestorm/Pestle/etc/acl.xml <?xml version="1.0"?> <config xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="urn:magento:framework:Acl/etc/acl.xsd"> <acl> <resources> <resource id="Magento_Backend::admin"> <resource id="Pulsestorm_Pestle::top" title="TITLE HERE FOR"> <resource id="Pulsestorm_Pestle::config" title="TITLE HERE FOR"/> </resource> </resource> </resources> </acl> </config> ``` **Further Reading** - [Magento 2: Understanding Access Control List Rules](https://alanstorm.com/magento_2_understanding_access_control_list_rules/) ## generate:acl:change-title ```plaintext Usage: $ pestle.phar magento2:generate:acl:change-title Arguments: Options: Help: Changes the title of a specific ACL rule in a Magento 2 acl.xml file @command magento2:generate:acl:change-title @argument path_acl Path to ACL file? @argument acl_rule_id ACL Rule ID? @argument title New Title? ``` The `magento2:generate:acl:change-title` will edit the value in an ACL rule's title attribute. **Interactive Invocation** ```plaintext $ pestle.phar magento2:generate:acl:change-title Path to ACL file? ()] app/code/Pulsestorm/Pestle/etc/acl.xml ACL Rule ID? ()] Pulsestorm_Pestle::config New Title? ()] Configuration Settings Changed Title ``` **Argument Invocation** ```plaintext $ pestle.phar magento2:generate:acl:change-title app/code/Pulsestorm/Pestle/etc/acl.xml Pulsestorm_Pestle::config "Configuration Settings" Changed Title ``` In the above scenarios, running pestle would change the following access control node from ```plaintext <resource id="Pulsestorm_Pestle::config" title="TITLE HERE FOR"/> ``` to ```plaintext <resource id="Pulsestorm_Pestle::config" title="Configuration Settings"/> ``` This command is most useful for changing the default titles after using the [`magento2-generate-acl`](https://pestle.readthedocs.io/en/latest/magento2-generate-acl/#generateacl) command. **Further Reading** - [Magento 2: Understanding Access Control List Rules](https://alanstorm.com/magento_2_understanding_access_control_list_rules/) ## generate:controller-edit-acl ```plaintext Usage: $ pestle.phar magento2:generate:controller-edit-acl Arguments: Options: Help: Edits the const ADMIN_RESOURCE value of an admin controller @command magento2:generate:controller-edit-acl @argument path_controller Path to Admin Controller @argument acl_rule Path to Admin Controller ``` Many Magento 2 admin controller class files contain an `ADMIN_RESOURCE` constant. This constant controls which logged in users can access the page provided by the controller. The `magento2:generate:controller-edit-acl` command allows you to *edit* the string value for this constant **in the controller file**. **Interactive Invocation** ```plaintext $ pestle.phar magento2:generate:controller-edit-acl Path to Admin Controller ()] app/code/Pulsestorm/Pestle/Controller/Index/Index.php ACL Rule ()] Pulsestorm_Pestle::config ADMIN_RESOURCE constant value changed ``` **Argument Invocation** ```plaintext $ pestle.phar magento2:generate:controller-edit-acl app/code/Pulsestorm/Pestle/Controller/Index/Index.php Pulsestorm_Pestle::config ADMIN_RESOURCE constant value changed ``` If the class in question does not contain an `ADMIN_RESOURCE` constant, `magento2:generate:controller-edit-acl` will tell you. ```plaintext $ pestle.phar magento2:generate:controller-edit-acl app/code/Pulsestorm/Pestle/Controller/Index/Index.php Pulsestorm_Pestle::config No ADMIN_RESOURCE constant in class file ``` **Further Reading** - [Magento 2: Understanding Access Control List Rules](https://alanstorm.com/magento_2_understanding_access_control_list_rules/) - [Magento 2: Admin MVC/MVVM Endpoints](https://alanstorm.com/magento_2_admin_mvcmvvm_endpoints/) ## generate:menu ```plaintext Usage: $ pestle.phar magento2:generate:menu Arguments: Options: Help: Generates configuration for Magento Adminhtml menu.xml files @command magento2:generate:menu @argument module_name Module Name? [Pulsestorm_HelloGenerate] @argument parent @callback selectParentMenu @argument id Menu Link ID [<$module_name$>::unique_identifier] @argument resource ACL Resource [<$id$>] @argument title Link Title [My Link Title] @argument action Three Segment Action [frontname/index/index] @argument sortOrder Sort Order? [10] ``` The `magento2:generate:menu` command adds the configuration needed to create a Magento admin menu item. An admin menu item is the link in the left side navigation that points to a specific admin page. It is necessary to generate a menu item as all Magento backend URLs are protected with a unique "nonce token", and this token is generated by the menu system. **Interactive Invocation** ```plaintext $ pestle.phar magento2:generate:menu Module Name? (Pulsestorm_HelloGenerate)] Pulsestorm_Pestle Is this a new top level menu? (Y/N) (N)] Y Menu Link ID (Pulsestorm_Pestle::unique_identifier)] Pulsestorm_Pestle::menu_id_created_now ACL Resource (Pulsestorm_Pestle::menu_id_created_now)] Pulsestorm_Pestle::acl_rule_for_menu Link Title (My Link Title)] Menu Title Three Segment Action (frontname/index/index)] pulsestorm_pestle/index/index Sort Order? (10)] 10 Writing: /path/to/m2/app/code/Pulsestorm/Pestle/etc/adminhtml/menu.xml ``` **Argument Invocation** ```plaintext $ pestle.phar magento2:generate:menu Pulsestorm_Pestle Y \ Pulsestorm_Pestle::menu_id_created_now Pulsestorm_Pestle::acl_rule_for_menu \ "Menu Title" pulsestorm_pestle/index/index 10 ``` The `magento2:generate:menu` command needs to know what module you want to create your menu item in, which (previously generated) ACL rule should control the visibility of the menu, text for the menu title, the `module/controller/action` URL segments that identify the controller/URL, and a numerical value to control the order the menu item will appear in with regards to other menu items at the same level. The above invocations will create a new top level item. If you want to create a sub-menu item, you'll need to use the command in interactive mode and answer `N` to the "is this a new top level menu" question. ```plaintext Module Name? (Pulsestorm_HelloGenerate)] Pulsestorm_Pestle Is this a new top level menu? (Y/N) (N)] Select Parent Menu: [1] System (Magento_Backend::system) [2] Customers (Magento_Customer::customer) [3] Reports (Magento_Reports::report) [4] Find Partners & Extensions (Magento_Marketplace::partners) [5] Sales (Magento_Sales::sales) [6] Dashboard (Magento_Backend::dashboard) [7] (Magento_Backend::system) [8] Marketing (Magento_Backend::marketing) [9] Content (Magento_Backend::content) [10] Stores (Magento_Backend::stores) [11] Catalog (Magento_Catalog::catalog) ()] ``` Pestle will search through any existing menu.xml files for possible parent menus, and ask you to select one. **Further Reading** - [Magento 2: Admin Menu Items](https://alanstorm.com/magento_2_admin_menu_items/) | Mid | [
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“It’s frustrating,” says David Murray, developer of Planet X3, which has raised over $100,000 on Kickstarter. “You Google [a programming problem], it will pull up some forum that will say ‘here’s how you do that, check this link’. You click the link and it’s dead. It’s probably been dead for 10 years.” Murray is not in the same boat as most developers: Planet X3 is a strategy game designed for MS-DOS, the operating system that came out in 1981. It’s the sequel to Planet X2, which Murray released last year for the Commodore 64, the 8-bit home computer released in 1982. Murray self-funded Planet X2 and wound up selling nearly 800 copies of that game, beating his initial order of 500 copies. Now, he’s already pre-sold 2,000 copies of Planet X3 through Kickstarter. Clearly, certain players are hungry for games that run on older hardware. But what are the challenges that come with developing for near 40-year-old systems? Learning a lost art Murray says he can’t say how different the process is from making games for modern systems because he’s never developed for them. But he’s following roughly the same process as he did for Planet X2—he writes the code in Notepad and then uses a compiler called A86 to convert the code into something that can run on MS-DOS. He then opens the final version in an emulator to test it, and frequently copies it over to a floppy disk to run it on his Tandy 1000 MS-DOS computer. "[MS-DOS programming] is a lost art." It’s working well: he’s about 75 percent complete with the game. But that doesn’t mean it’s been an easy ride. This is his first time programming for MS-DOS, and it’s “really, really difficult” at times. With a lack of a community of developers to reach out to, Murray relies on coaching from Jim Leonard, a well-known coder of games for old systems. Planet X3, currently in development “[MS-DOS programming] is a lost art,” Murray says. “If I didn’t have the help of Jim Leonard coaching me I probably wouldn’t have figured out how to do half the things I need to do.” He’s run into an array of problems, many of which stem from the fact that, as well as a digital download of the game, he plans to sell Planet X3 on both 720K (3.5 inch) and 360K (5.25 inch) floppy disks, on which space is very restricted. He also wants to add VGA graphics support, which will take up more space than the CGA version of the game. “As it stands right now there’s no way the [VGA version] would fit on the 360K floppy disk, but as a compromise, I’ll just leave off the VGA graphics from it,” he says. “Most of the machines that have 5.25-inch floppy as their only disk drive are not going to have VGA graphics.” A target mockup of what Planet X3 should look like with VGA graphics Murray has also had to find other ways to save space. The game’s maps are 32K each uncompressed, but he’s found some open-source compression routines that have got them down to 6K each, allowing him to fit them on the disks. Adding VGA support could cause a further headache: it requires 64K of video RAM, instead of the 16K he’s currently working with. “I’ll have to move the entire VRAM area to another place in the RAM," he says. "And then all the code sections that reference where the VRAM is will have to be changed.” To avoid complications, Murray will therefore have to complete the code for other video modes before changing it to add VGA support, which will leave him with two source codes. Working with different video modes, and across lots of different potential machines that can run the game, has also caused some issues with the game’s visuals. When running on the IBM 5150—one of the most popular machines that runs MS-DOS—the CGA composite mode of the game looks fine, “but some of the clone machines, when you pull it up in CGA composite, the colors are wrong,” Murray says. “I couldn’t find any documentation on this online.” After some experimentation, Murray discovered that the issue could be resolved by cycling the color palette, essentially shifting all the pixels over by one, so he added that option to the game. “If water is red and grass is blue, you can hit this to cycle the colors and it will look right,” he says. “The emulator doesn’t have this problem, so I wouldn’t have found out if I didn’t test on the real hardware.” You might think that these issues could’ve been avoided if Murray was just selling a digital download of the final game, rather than a version that could run on near 40-year-old hardware. But having a physical product is a big part of what has drawn in Kickstarter backers, he says, and less than 10 percent of buyers have paid purely for a digital download. "You Google [a programming problem], it will pull up some forum that will say ‘here’s how you do that, check this link’. You click the link and it’s dead. It’s probably been dead for 10 years." “A lot of people want the physical media and box. Granted, a lot of those people will never use the physical media, they’ll use the digital download and they’ll play it on DOS-BOX, but nevertheless, they want to own it, and that’s part of the appeal of it.” And far from feeling restricted by the nature of the system and hardware he’s coding for, Murray appreciates the extra RAM he’s able to use compared to when he was making Planet X2. X3 was supposed to be port of the previous game, but the extra RAM has allowed him to change it more fundamentally. For example, he wanted to build Planet X2 with lots of different building types, but couldn’t because of RAM constraints. He even had to remove a building late in development to make room for enemy AI routines. For Planet X3, he’s been able to create eight buildings, each of which serves a different function. Murray's Planet X2, released in 2017 He’s also polished the UI and lots of the mechanics. In Planet X2, you couldn’t choose where to build a structure: when you selected a building, your builder unit would place it wherever they were at the time. For X3, players will get a movable outline of the building before they decide where to stick it. It’s been a long road for Murray. He says he’s tried to develop several games in the past, but none of them stuck because he couldn’t get feedback from would-be players. For Planet X2, he was able to drum up support through his popular YouTube channel, The 8-Bit Guy, which kept him motivated, despite the fact he had to start over three times during the first eight weeks of development because he realized the concept was “fundamentally not going to work”. Now, he’s three-quarters of the way through a game that has already sold 2,000 copies and—provided he can avoid any further problems—is set to release it in May next year. It’s good to know that whatever type of game players are looking for, for whatever type of system, there will always be a developer willing to put in the hard work to make it come to life. | Mid | [
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Nine Die On A Journey Many More are Making Nine people have drowned off the coast of Yemen after smugglers fearing police arrest, forced fifty six of the Ethiopian and Somali passengers to jump into the sea. This comes just two days after a vessel capsized while making the same journey and leaving seven dead. Map via via csmonitor The Gulf of Aden has been the route out of Somalia and the Horn of Africa for over 14,486 people since January. To date 65 people have died and 36 have been reported missing trying to escape famine, political instability, poverty, and war . | Low | [
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Survivor type TV Show network CBS genre Reality Where to watch Close Streaming Options “Come on in, guys!” “Wanna know what you’re playing for?” “A reward with all the fixins.” “You gotta dig deep!” These are but a few of Jeff Probst’s favorite phrases — also known as Probst-isms — that we hear over and over on Survivor. But which one is the absolute best? We posed that question to the cast of the upcoming Survivor: Ghost Island (premiering Feb. 28 on CBS). So which oft-repeated saying from the host with the most is the ultimate? Find out what the next 20 contestants have to say, and learn the identity of the person who got so into it he almost injured himself before the game even started. Watch the video above to learn all. Survivors ready… GO! (See, that’s another Probst-ism right there!) For a crazy amount of coverage of the upcoming season, check out our Survivor hub and follow Dalton on Twitter @DaltonRoss. | Mid | [
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INFORMATION [FOR GUSTAV HUSAK] ON THE PROGRESS AND OUTCOME OF THE 14TH MEETING OF THE DEFENSE MINSTERS COMMITTEE, 1 AND 4 DECEMBER 1981 IN MOSCOW (EXCERPT) get citation Summary of the 14th meeting of the Warsaw BlocDefense Ministers Committee. The ministers discuss the Solidarity movement and protests in Poland, and how to handle the issue in the media. "Information [for Gustav Husak] on the Progress and Outcome of the 14th Meeting of the Defense Minsters Committee, 1 and 4 December 1981 in Moscow (Excerpt) ," December, 1981, History and Public Policy Program Digital Archive, Published in CWIHP Working Paper No. 21. Translated from Polish by Leo Gluchowski. https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/117850 VIEW DOCUMENT IN EnglishHTML on the Progress and Outcome of the 14th Meeting of the Defense Minsters Committee, 1 and 4 December 1981 in Moscow (Excerpt) Between 1 and 4 December 1981, the 14th meeting of the defense ministers committee of the Warsaw Pact member-states took place in Moscow under the chairmanship of Marshal D.F. Ustinov, defense minister of the Soviet Union. The participants at the meetings included all the members of the defense ministers committee, except Army-General Wojciech Jaruzelski, defense minister of the Polish People’s Republic (PRL). The Polish People’s Army (LWP) delegation was headed by Colonel-General Florian Siwicki, chief of the General Staff and PRL vice- minister of national defense. Each point of the program was discussed in the following order. 1. Analysis of the state and developmental tendencies of the armed forces of theaggressive NATO bloc. The chief of the Chief Directorate of Information and deputy-chief of the USSR General Staff, Army-General P.I. Ivashutin, in the introductory speech, thoroughly analyzed the current state of the international military and political situation. It was consistent with the appraisal made at the 26th CPSU Congress as well as the congress of fraternal socialist countries. The LWP Chief of Staff, Col.-Gen. Florian Siwicki, said in his speech, among other things, that the complex socio-economic situation in the country might produce serious disturbance in arms and military procurement for the LWP as well as for the armies of the alliance in the near future. He then spoke about the significance of the army's political morale. He noted that as a result of the situation in the country, fundamental changes were introduced in party and political work. More time had been spent on it. The quality of party and youth meetings had improved, including the intensity of individual discussions. At this time, in party and political work, almost 60% of the [political training] is dedicated to explaining party and government policies. These policies are aimed at bringing the country out from its complicated situation as well as unmasking the enemy activities of those opposed to socialism, especially those of "Solidarity's" extremist circles. At the end of his speech, Gen. Siwicki said that "at least once a month, at the meetings of the Military Council, an assessment on the state of the military's political morale is conducted, which, at this moment, appears to be satisfactory. Thanks to this effort, the LWP successfully resists the attacks of the class enemy and plays an essential stabilizing role in the life of our country, despite the fact that the conscripts entering its ranks, who found themselves under the negative influence of 'Solidarity', preserved their own ideological and political character." Gen. Siwicki said that the LWP activists support the party and state apparatus. He considers the defense of the socialist states, the snappy battle with manifestations of counter- revolution, to be his duty, to be his highest goal. In connection to the situation in the PRL and its development, alarm was sounded during the discussions concerning that point of the program in the speeches by the defense ministers of the USSR, Bulgaria, the GDR as well as the commander of the Combined Armed Forces [of the Warsaw Pact]. 2. On the state and development of the air forces. Report will be given by a representative of the USSR ministry of defense. 3. On the progress of the resolution passed at the 3rd and 6th meetings of the DefenseMinisters Committee of the Warsaw Pact member-states on the subject of improving thecommand system of the allied armies. Information to be delivered by representatives of the PRL and Romanian ministries of national defense. 4. On the program for the 16th Meeting of the Defense Ministers Committee. Draft to be presented by the Chief of Staff of the Combined Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact member-states. The draft resolutions put forward on this point were unanimously accepted. At the conference, the draft information text to the press, radio and television concerning the work of the 14th Meeting of the Defense Ministers Committee, was prepared for approval. Before discussing the matter of the draft text, a supplement concerning the reaction to the situation in the PRL was put forward, which was sent by Comrade Jaruzelski to the defense ministers committee, with a request that it be attached to the text for the mass media with the following content: "The defense ministers committee has expressed its alarm at the development of the situation in the PRL, resulting from the subversive activities of the anti-socialist forces, who are making it more difficult to fulfill the allied obligations of the armed forces of the Warsaw Pact member-states and result in the necessity of taking the suitable steps aimed at ensuring common security in socialist Europe." Regarding this supplement, the minister of national defense of the Romanian Socialist Republic, Lieutenant-General C.[onstantin] Olteanu, did not express his consent. And he demanded that the text with the contents agreed upon before the meeting of the defense ministers committee be accepted. The remaining defense ministers supported accepting the supplement. A closed session of the defense ministers committee, including only members, took place next, at which it was proposed that the Romanian defense minister and, if necessary, others who need to do this, consult the above mentioned problem with their own political leadership. I reported to you, honorable comrade general secretary and president, by telephone on 2 December 1981on the draft supplement, and I asked for your agreement. After the consultations had taken place, the defense minister of the Hungarian People's Republic, Army-General L[ajos] Czinege, reported that the Hungarian side had agreed to the supplement only in the event of full agreement by all the defense ministers. During the evening of 3-4 December 1981, the draft supplement was changed several times and its final text stated: "The defense ministers committee expressed its alarm at the worsening situation in the PRL. The subversive activities of the anti-socialist forces, behind whom stand the aggressive imperialist circles, has a direct impact on the fulfillment of the allied obligations of the armed forces of the Warsaw Pact member-states. Solidarity was expressed with the PZPR's battle, with all Polish patriots against counter-revolution, with the battle to bring the country out of its crisis. As a result, it was underlined that the Polish nation can rely completely on the support of the socialist states." During the early morning hours, on the last day of the conference, another closed session of the defense ministers committee, including only members, took place, at which it was agreed that the prepared text for the mass media will not be supplemented; but that, apart from this, information will be published in the press by the defense ministers of all the countries, with the exception of the Romanian Socialist Republic. This course of action was agreed upon by all the defense ministers except the Romanian minister. Further details were to be talked over after the protocol was signed. After the session ended, another session of the defense ministers committee, including only members, took place, where Comrade Ustinov familiarized them with the substance of Comrade Jaruzelski's request. He asked that in the current, very complicated, practically climactic period the defense ministers committee express its displeasure with regard to the situation in the PRL and express its support for the present Polish leadership. The chief of the LWP General Staff spoke next. He said that the situation in their country had deteriorated greatly, that the Front of National Unity could be organized and that the party was disintegrating. All this was utilized by enemy forces supported by the "West." In this battle the Polish leadership needs support. Dissolving the firefighting schools was a minor success, to which the counter-revolution responded with very sharp demands to isolate further the party and to weaken the state authorities. It wanted to show its strength and to demonstrate that the entire Polish nation was following it. The "Solidarity" leadership turned to the Sejm so that it would overturn the decision of the government on dissolving the firefighting schools and show a vote of no confidence in the government. Otherwise, they threatened to introduce strikes, including a general strike. It was also counting on an increase in the wave of discontent with the state of provisions, especially before the Christmas holidays. For the above mentioned reasons, Comrade Jaruzelski asked that the diversionary claims of the "West", according to which the PRL did not have the support of its allies, be denied. Comrade Siwicki expressed his conviction that supplementing the text for the press would be a cold shower for the counter-revolution and, at the same time, support the battle by the Polish leadership against reaction. He then asserted that the PRL still had enough power to resolve the situation. This was not about any concrete military steps but about moral and political support for the PRL's party and state leadership. Comrade D.F. Ustinov asserted that the complex situation in the PRL was known and understood by us. That was why such moral support could be helpful and would not indicate the threat to use force. His outlook received the consent of the remaining members of the defense ministers committee, with the exception of the Romanian minister of national defense. The Hungarian defense minister asserted that he would give his consent to supplement the text for the mass media, but only if all the defense ministers agreed. The Hungarian side did not quite understand who was supposed to be helped, because after closing the firefighting school 20 counter-revolutionaries were arrested and then let go. Comrade Czinege turned to Comrade Siwicki with the following questions: Why does Comrade Jaruzelski not turn to the first and general secretaries of the fraternal parties for the request, since it was a political problem? Why did they not resolve the situation themselves? And who ought to be supported if they [Polish party] are always on the retreat? He also added that if they [Polish party] resisted even the counter-revolution would behave differently. Comrade Siwicki said that they had a few scenarios planned against the counter- revolution. There is a scenario to ban strikes, to limit the freedom of citizens, to introduce military courts, and a plan to establish order in the country. Further in the discussion, Comrade Czinege again asserted that the Hungarian side will give its consent only in the event that all the defense ministers agree. Given that two defense ministers would not give their consent, the discussion to accept the supplement ended. After the discussion, a sharp exchange of views followed between the defense minister of the Hungarian People's Republic and the chief of the General Staff of the USSR armed forces, Comrade Ogarkov, who asserted that the Hungarian comrades possibly forgot about 1956 and the bloodshed that occurred at the time. Drawing attention to this was seen by Comrade Czinege as an insult to Comrade Kadar and himself, and he voiced his astonishment as to how a Marshal of the Soviet Union could come up with such a declaration. Comrade Ogarkov added that the Soviet comrades did not want the kind of bloodshed in the PRL that had happened in Hungary and that was why they supported every effort to resolve the crisis situation in Poland. In the talks with Comrades Ustinov and Kulikov, a suggestion emerged about the suitability of raising matters in connection with resolving the situation in the PRL at the meeting of the highest representatives of the communist and worker's parties of the Warsaw Pact member-states. The 14th Meeting of the Defense Ministers Committee ended with the signing of the protocol. In his final speech, the chairman of the conference, the USSR minister of national defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union D.F. Ustinov, underlined the significance of the completed meeting for the strengthening of the defense capabilities of the Warsaw Pact member-states. He thanked the members of the Defense Ministers Committee for their participation in the conference and gave the last word to the minister of national defense of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, who will chair the 15th Meeting of the Defense Ministers Committee in 1982 in Prague. In my speech, I voiced my conviction that the 14th Meeting of the Defense Ministers Committee added to the strengthening of unity, friendship and to a deepening of cooperation between the fraternal armies. I thanked the chairman, Comrade Ustinov, for organizing and leading the conference. I underlined the strong feelings of the Soviet people with our nations and the decisive role of the Soviet Union in our common struggle, measured to ensure the defense of socialism and peace. I assured all the members of the Defense Ministers Committee that during the preparations and execution of the 15th Meeting of the Defense Ministers Committee in 1982 in Prague, we will take advantage of all experiences, most of all from our Soviet friends, for a prosperous conference proceeding. Document summary Summary of the 14th meeting of the Warsaw BlocDefense Ministers Committee. The ministers discuss the Solidarity movement and protests in Poland, and how to handle the issue in the media. Document information Source Type Language Publishers Rights CWIHP - The Cold War International History Project welcomes reuse of Digital Archive materials for research and educational purposes. Some documents may be subject to copyright, which is retained by the rights holders in accordance with US and international copyright laws. To enquire about this document's rights status or request permission for commercial use, please contact the Cold War International History Project at [email protected]. | Mid | [
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Short-, mid- and long-term results of Larrad biliopancreatic diversion. In an effort to reduce the complications of Scopinaro's biliopancreatic diversion (BPD), in 1989 we introduced the modification of lengthening the alimentary channel preserving most of the jejunum-ileum, by creating a short biliopancreatic limb (50 cm) and maintaining 50 cm of common limb (Larrad 50-50 BPD). Of 343 patients who consecutively underwent Larrad 50-50 BPD surgery, 325, 194 and 65 patients were evaluated at 2, 5 and 10 years after surgery, respectively, in terms of surgical morbidity, mortality, metabolic sequelae and weight. Mean age was 41.2 years (range 17-62), mean initial weight 151.2 kg (range 97-260), and BMI was 52.2 kg/m2. Maximum follow-up was 120 months. Mortality was 0.87% and surgical morbidity 7.6%. There were no cases of suture dehiscence, peritonitis or stomal stenosis. Percent excess weight loss (%EWL) stabilized 2 years after surgery and at 10 years was 77.8 +/- 11.2% for morbidly obese patients and 63.2 +/- 11.8% for super-obese patients. The main complications were 43.8% clinical incisional hernia, 2.5% severe diarrhea, 10.8% mild diarrhea and 9.2% constipation. 30% experienced anemia and/or iron deficiency, and 3% required iron parenterally or lifelong zinc supplements. 28% showed preoperative PTH elevation and 30% vitamin D deficiency; these values postoperatively increased to 45% and 43% respectively. Both these alterations were resolved using supplements, although 12% needed increased doses of vitamin D. The incidence of severe hypoproteinemia was 0.29%. No patient required surgical reversal. When independently evaluated, failure rates in terms of insufficient weight loss were 9% at 5 years and 11.3% at 10 years for morbidly obese, and 12.2% and 14% for super-obese patients respectively. According to the BAROS questionnaire, 75% of surgery outcomes were excellent or very good, 18% good, 5% fair and 2% failures. After 2, 5 and 10 years, Larrad's BPD has offered excellent results in terms of weight loss and quality of life, a low rate of metabolic sequelae, including a hypoproteinemia rate < 0.5%, and a revision surgery rate 0%. | High | [
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This application claims priority from European Patent Application No. 98 121 033.9 filed Nov. 5, 1998. The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for shrinking a foil onto an object as defined in the preamble of claim 1 and/or the preamble of claim 10. Such a method and/or such an apparatus mostly are used for packaging objects which are packaged prior to further transport in order to protect them against environmental influences and to increase stability of the packaged object. Generally plants for packaging objects are known in which a shrinking means essentially is formed by an annular shrink frame on which a plurality of heating elements, like gas burners, electroheater bodies or the like, is arranged. For packaging an object, the shrink frame is laterally moved along an object over which a foil hood was pulled. Therein, for shrinking said foil hood the heating means is switched on and the shrink frame is moved along said foil hood in vertical direction such that the foil hood shrinks under the influence of heat and bears on the object. An essential disadvantage lies in that in case of packagings which are unfitted or are provided with different foil thicknesses varying heat charge of the sides of the packaging occurs, as also is the case with packagings not having a basic area of axial symmetry. As furthermore the shrink frame is not build rigidly, by the known apparatus only an object of uniform size can be packaged, since in case of smaller objects the distance to the heating means becomes to large for reaching the shrinking temperature and in case of an object which is to big, the distance to the heating means is to small such that holes are created in the foil or the foil even can be ignited. The uniform energy supply in addition has the further disadvantage that the energy consumption in unnecessarily high as it cannot be adapted to the individual demands during shrinking of a foil onto an object. It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to create a method and apparatus for shrinking of a foil onto an object, in which the energy consumption is minimized and objects of different sizes in particular can be provided with a shrunk-on fail. This object is solved with a method with the features of claim 1 and with an apparatus with the features of claim 10. Preferred embodiments of the invention are cited in the subclaims. In accordance with the method according to the present invention, at least sectionally the temperature of the foil is measured for regulating the heat emission from the heating means to the foil. This permits an individual adaptation of the energy supply during shrinking such that in case of low heat demand for shrinking the foil, energy supply can be reduced and thus the all-over energy consumption of the apparatus is reduced. In addition, by the regulation of the heat emission to the foil the latter can be arranged at different distances with respect to the heating means such that objects of different sizes can be provided with a shrunk foil. In particular, objects with an irregular lateral surface can be provided with a shrunk-on foil better, as in protruding areas heat emission is reduced and in areas recessed with respect to the heating means heat emission can be increased. The advantage of the adjustable heating means additionally lies in that not only different objects can be covered with a shrunk foil but that the apparatus can adapt itself to the position of the object in relation to the heating means. It even is possible also to cover an object not arranged centrally with respect to the heating means, with a shrunk foil without problem, Furthermore, the method can be used for different foil thicknesses or foil materials, as the heat supply respectively is optimally adjustable to the foil. The regulation of the heat emission of the heating means therein permits an energetically optimized shrinking method independently from the ambient temperature and other environmental influences. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the method in accordance with the present invention as defined in claim 1, the temperature to be reached, of the foil essentially is adjusted to a range somewhat above the shrinking temperature in order to minimize energy consumption during shrinking and simultaneously guaranteeing efficient shrinking. Preferably, heat emission of the heating means is regulated by the temperature of the latter. Alternatively, however, also the speed of the heating means in relation to the foil or the distance of the heating means to the foil can be regulated. The individual parameters can also be regulated in combination with one another. If, e.g. the object essentially is of ashlar shape, it is possible in a preferred embodiment of the invention to measure the temperature at least in the central area of each lateral surface. In case of objects of ashlar shape the foil surrounding the object arches to the outside in the central area such that in the central area the distance to the heating means is smallest. For safety reasons, therefore, at least in the central area a temperature measurement means should be provided for in order to avoid creation of holes or ignition of the foil. A simple realization of regulation of heat supply can be achieved, when the heating means consists of several gas burners and regulation of the heat emission is effected by regulation of the volume flow of the gas. In accordance with the apparatus according to the present invention a means for measuring the temperature of the foil and a means for regulating The temperature of the foil are provided for such that the heat emission of the heating means during shrinking can be optimally regulated in correspondence with the respective demands. In particular, the constructional additional expenses due to the additional means are kept into warrantable limits. Preferably, heat emission of the heating means can be regulated by the means for regulating the temperature of the foil, wherein alternatively or additionally also the speed of the heating means with respect tot he foil or the distance of the heating means to the foil can be adjustable. The apparatus can be adjusted to the demands in most flexible manner, if the temperature as well as the speed and the distance can be regulated. Preferably, the means for measuring the temperature includes several measuring units which each are arranged in the central area of the lateral surfaces of shrink frame e.g. annularly surrounding a good to be packaged. In an ashlar object the distance to the heating means is smallest in the central area, since the foil in this area arches away from the object. Furthermore, an air cushion exists between the foil and the object such that this area is particularly suitable for shrinking without heating the object itself. An individually controllable heating means includes several gas burners and/or electroheating bodies, infra-red radiators or the like, which are arranged in or on a shrink frame. By the individual control of the heat emission of the individual heater bodies an almost equal temperature can be achieved at the lateral surfaces of the object to be packaged even if these lateral surfaces e.g. have a varying distance to the heater bodies due to an irregular contour of the object, Even a change of the contour over the height of the object to be packaged does not cause a change in the shrinking temperature of individual foil areas. Thus, also an accurate adjusting of the object to be packaged with respect to the shrink frame is no longer required. Preferably, a cooling blower means for cooling the foil is arranged adjacent to the heating means such that the cooling blower means can blow away a rising stream of heated air which maybe could falsify the measuring results, A particularly simple and reliable means for measuring the temperature of the foil is an infra-red measurement means. | Mid | [
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Q: Vue.js components data not updating when props are updated I'm too confused by this because I have another simple component that is working and is following the same style as the one in error. I have a component alertBox : var alertBox = { template: '\ <transition name="fade">\ <div class="alert" :class="[status]">\ {{ message }}\ <button @click="close" type="button" class="close" aria-label="Close">\ <span aria-hidden="true">×</span>\ </button>\ </div>\ </transition>', props: { alertMessage: { type: String, required: true }, alertStatus: { type: String, required: true } }, data: function() { return { status: this.alertStatus, message: this.alertMessage }; }, methods: { close: function() { console.log('ran close') this.$emit('close-alert'); this.crazyTest(); }, crazyTest: function() { console.log(this.alertStatus) console.log(this.alertMessage) console.log(this._props) console.log(this.$props) console.log(this._data) console.log(this.message) console.log(this.status) } } } Haha couldn't be bothered removing crazyTest method! The alertBox is used in two areas, once on the parent and once on a component within the parent. On the parent it has data binding as such: :alert-message="alerts.createEngineerMessage" :alert-status="alerts.createEngineerStatus" And on the components template is as such: :alertMessage="alerts.createCompanyMessage" :alertStatus="alerts.createCompanyStatus" And in another method after a user action the data within the alerts object on the parent is updated before the alertBox is shown. My crazyTest method confirms this and shows that the props are updated with the new data in the component. However the data properties message and status do not get updated. All values are initialised for reactivity. A: When the component gets rendered your data is set. That's why nothing updates. To solve this problem you could go two ways: 1) watch for changes in your props and update your data. watch: { alertMessage: function (val) { this.data.message = val }, } 2) just use your props directly without copy to data. <transition name="fade">\ <div class="alert" :class="[errorStatus]">\ {{ errorMessage }}\ <button @click="close" type="button" class="close" aria-label="Close">\ <span aria-hidden="true">×</span>\ </button>\ </div>\ </transition>' | High | [
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Dysplasia epiphysealis hemimelica. Clinical, histological and histochemical features. Dysplasia epiphysealis hemimelica is a condition characterised by asymmetrical and uneven growth of the epiphyses of the long bones of the limbs and of the bones of the tarsus and carpus. The growth disturbance is caused by the development of accessory nuclei that exhibit histological and histochemical features similar to those found in ossifying epiphyseal cartilage and in the ossific centres of developing carpal and tarsal bones. The common histogenesis, as confirmed by the authors, could explain the elective localisations of the disorder. | High | [
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Iran Says It Will Build Heavy-Water Reactor Without Agency's Help By NAZILA FATHI Published: November 24, 2006 Iran said Thursday that it would build a heavy-water reactor on its own after the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency decided to remove the item from a list of projects for which it planned to provide technical assistance. ''It is part of the agency's duties to help,'' Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said at a news conference on Thursday after the action in Vienna by the 35-member board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the ISNA news service reported. ''If they do not help, we will do it on our own.'' Iran says that it is building the heavy-water reactor at Arak, 120 miles southwest of Tehran, to produce radioactive isotopes for medical treatments and that the agency should provide it with technical assistance as part of its mission. The agency provides help to promote the peaceful development of nuclear energy, as well as monitoring possible weapons programs. But the United States, European countries and other members that contend that Iran is seeking to develop nuclear arms oppose helping Iran with a plant that would yield plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear weapons. Those nations are seeking sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program in the United Nations Security Council. In what appeared to be a modest concession on Thursday, after Iran said it would make some concessions to nuclear inspectors, the nuclear agency approved technical assistance for seven of Iran's other nuclear energy programs that it determined did not pose a threat of being diverted into nuclear weapons programs. It said the Arak project could be resubmitted for consideration in two years. However, Iran has steadily narrowed over the past year the ability of inspectors to visit a wide range of facilities, and it has so far refused to answer a series of questions the nuclear agency had posed to it. Mohamed ElBaradei, the agency's director, said the project would be delayed. ''If confidence in the nature of Iran's program were to be restored,'' Reuters quoted him as saying, ''the board might consider to revisit the decision.'' However, he told the board that Iran had agreed to let agency inspectors take further environmental samples from research equipment to try to determine the origin of traces of highly enriched, or weapons-quality, uranium found there. Dr. ElBaradei said Iran had also agreed to provide inspectors access to operating records needed to audit the level of uranium enrichment at its Natanz pilot nuclear fuel plant after a prolonged refusal to do so. ''These are important steps in the right direction,'' Reuters quoted him as saying. ''What we really require from Iran is a full explanation of the development of its nuclear program from start to finish,'' Dr. ElBaradei said, adding, ''Then, Iran needs to openly corroborate this explanation with evidence, including records and access to relevant locations and individuals involved.'' | Mid | [
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Q: How good is the JVM at parallel processing? When should I create my own Threads and Runnables? Why might threads interfere? I have a Java program that runs many small simulations. It runs a genetic algorithm, where each fitness function is a simulation using parameters on each chromosome. Each one takes maybe 10 or so seconds if run by itself, and I want to run a pretty big population size (say 100?). I can't start the next round of simulations until the previous one has finished. I have access to a machine with a whack of processors in it and I'm wondering if I need to do anything to make the simulations run in parallel. I've never written anything explicitly for multicore processors before and I understand it's a daunting task. So this is what I would like to know: To what extent and how well does the JVM parallel-ize? I have read that it creates low level threads, but how smart is it? How efficient is it? Would my program run faster if I made each simulation a thread? I know this is a huge topic, but could you point me towards some introductory literature concerning parallel processing and Java? Thanks very much! Update: Ok, I've implemented an ExecutorService and made my small simulations implement Runnable and have run() methods. Instead of writing this: Simulator sim = new Simulator(args); sim.play(); return sim.getResults(); I write this in my constructor: ExecutorService executor = Executors.newFixedThreadPool(32); And then each time I want to add a new simulation to the pool, I run this: RunnableSimulator rsim = new RunnableSimulator(args); exectuor.exectue(rsim); return rsim.getResults(); The RunnableSimulator::run() method calls the Simulator::play() method, neither have arguments. I think I am getting thread interference, because now the simulations error out. By error out I mean that variables hold values that they really shouldn't. No code from within the simulation was changed, and before the simulation ran perfectly over many many different arguments. The sim works like this: each turn it's given a game-piece and loops through all the location on the game board. It checks to see if the location given is valid, and if so, commits the piece, and measures that board's goodness. Now, obviously invalid locations are being passed to the commit method, resulting in index out of bounds errors all over the place. Each simulation is its own object right? Based on the code above? I can pass the exact same set of arguments to the RunnableSimulator and Simulator classes and the runnable version will throw exceptions. What do you think might cause this and what can I do to prevent it? Can I provide some code samples in a new question to help? A: Java Concurrency Tutorial If you're just spawning a bunch of stuff off to different threads, and it isn't going to be talking back and forth between different threads, it isn't too hard; just write each in a Runnable and pass them off to an ExecutorService. You should skim the whole tutorial, but for this particular task, start here. Basically, you do something like this: ExecutorService executorService = Executors.newFixedThreadPool(n); where n is the number of things you want running at once (usually the number of CPUs). Each of your tasks should be an object that implements Runnable, and you then execute it on your ExecutorService: executorService.execute(new SimulationTask(parameters...)); Executors.newFixedThreadPool(n) will start up n threads, and execute will insert the tasks into a queue that feeds to those threads. When a task finishes, the thread it was running on is no longer busy, and the next task in the queue will start running on it. Execute won't block; it will just put the task into the queue and move on to the next one. The thing to be careful of is that you really AREN'T sharing any mutable state between tasks. Your task classes shouldn't depend on anything mutable that will be shared among them (i.e. static data). There are ways to deal with shared mutable state (locking), but if you can avoid the problem entirely it will be a lot easier. EDIT: Reading your edits to your question, it looks like you really want something a little different. Instead of implementing Runnable, implement Callable. Your call() method should be pretty much the same as your current run(), except it should return getResults();. Then, submit() it to your ExecutorService. You will get a Future in return, which you can use to test if the simulation is done, and, when it is, get your results. A: You can also see the new fork join framework by Doug Lea. One of the best book on the subject is certainly Java Concurrency in Practice. I would strong recommend you to take a look at the fork join model. | Low | [
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Abstract: This paper gives a complete description of ultrametric spaces up to uniform equivalence. It also describes all metric spaces which can be mapped onto ultrametric spaces by a non-expanding one-to-one map. Moreover, it describes particular classes of spaces, for which such a map has a continuous (uniformly continuous) inverse map. This gives a complete solution for the Hausdorff-Bayod Problem (what metric spaces admit a subdominant ultrametric?) as well as for two other problems posed by Bayod and Martínez-Maurica in 1990. Further, we prove that for any metric space , there exists the greatest non-expanding ultrametric image of (an ultrametrization of ), i.e., the category of ultrametric spaces and non-expanding maps is a reflective subcategory in the category of all metric spaces and the same maps. In Section II, for any cardinal , we define a complete ultrametric space of weight such that any metric space of weight is an image of a subset of under a non-expanding, open, and compact map with totally-bounded pre-images of compact subsets. This strengthens Hausdorff-Morita, Morita-de Groot and Nagami theorems. We also construct an ultrametric space , which is a universal pre-image of all metric spaces of weight under non-expanding open maps. We define a functor from the category of ultrametric spaces to a category of Boolean algebras such that algebras and are isomorphic iff the completions of spaces and are uniformly homeomorphic. Some properties of the functor and the ultrametrization functor are discussed. | High | [
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Q: jquery-ui autocomplete selecting the only answer I want to have jquery-ui autocomplete automatically select the answer if there is only one answer that comes back. A: I set up the autocomplete with an "open" callback: jQuery('#people_new_user input[type="text"]').each( function(index, element) { var field = element.name; jQuery(element) .autocomplete({ source: "/cf/AutoComplete/People?current="+field, open: openUser }); }); And in the open callback I look to see if there is only one result, and select it if it is: function openUser(event, ui) { // Try to select the first one if it's the only one var $children = jQuery(this).data('autocomplete').menu.element.children(); if ($children.size() == 1) { $children.children('a').mouseenter().click(); } } | Mid | [
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This directory contains OS/platform-specific YANG models for Cisco's Cedge platforms. The directory is _currently_ organized by OS-version, with each sub-directory containing the models for that version. The OS version number is presented as a single number. Thus the YANG models for Cedge 17.2.1 will be in the subdirectory named "1721". Please note that this organization may change. A README file may exist in the version subdirectories with any specific notes relating to the models in the directory. Unless otherwise indicated Cedge YANG Models are subject to the following copyright and license: Copyright 2019 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Redistribution without modification is permitted pursuant to and subject to the license terms contained in the [Cisco API License](LICENSE.md) | Mid | [
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Abstract This guide1 will help you think through when it makes sense to try to “control for other things” when estimating treatment effects using experimental data. We focus on the big ideas and provide examples in R. 1 What is covariate adjustment? “Covariates” are baseline characteristics of your experimental subjects. When you run an experiment, you are primarily interested in collecting data on outcome variables that your intervention may affect, e.g. expenditure decisions, attitudes toward democracy, or contributions for a public good in a lab experiment. But it’s also a good idea to collect data on baseline characteristics of subjects before treatment assignment occurs, e.g. gender, level of education, or ethnic group. If you do this you can explore how treatment effects vary with these characteristics (see 10 Things to Know About Heterogeneous Treatment Effects). But doing this also lets you perform covariate adjustment. Covariate adjustment is another name for controlling for baseline variables when estimating treatment effects. Often this is done to improve precision. Subjects’ outcomes are likely to have some correlation with variables that can be measured before random assignment. Accounting for variables like gender will allow you to set aside the variation in outcomes that is predicted by these baseline variables, so that you can isolate the effect of treatment on outcomes with greater precision and power. Covariate adjustment can be a cheaper route to improved precision than increasing the number of subjects in the experiment. Partly for that reason, researchers often collect extensive data on covariates before random assignment. Pre-tests (measures that are analogous to the outcome variable but are restricted to time periods before random assignment) may be especially valuable for predicting outcomes, and baseline surveys can ask subjects about other background characteristics. 2 Controlling for covariates at the design stage (blocking) The best way to control for covariates is to use block randomization to do it at the design stage even before you start your experiment. Block randomization enables you to create treatment and control groups that are balanced on certain covariates. For example, you might expect that gender and income help predict the outcome variable. Block randomization can ensure that the treatment and control groups have equal proportions of female/high-income, female/low-income, male/high-income, and male/low-income populations. When the blocking variables help predict outcomes, blocking improves precision by preventing chance correlations between treatment assignment and baseline covariates. For more information on blocking and how to implement it in R, see 10 Things You Need to Know About Randomization. The precision gains from blocking (relative to covariate adjustment without blocking) tend to be greatest when sample sizes are small.2 When blocking is done to improve precision, estimated standard errors should take the blocking into account. (Otherwise, the SEs will tend to be conservative because they won’t give you credit for the precision improvement that blocking achieved.) One simple and commonly used method is to regress the outcome on the treatment assignment dummy variable as well as block dummies. When the probability of assignment to treatment is constant across blocks, including the block dummies in the regression doesn’t change the estimated treatment effect, but tends to give a more accurate estimate of the SE.3 If the probability of assignment to treatment varies by block, then you need to control for these unequal probabilities in order to get unbiased estimates of average treatment effects. 10 Things You Need to Know About Randomization discusses ways to do this. 3 How to do it in a regression Sometimes you do not have the opportunity to implement a blocked experimental design (for example, if you join a project after random assignment occurs) or you would prefer to simplify your randomization scheme to reduce opportunities for administrative error. You can still adjust for covariates on the back end by using multiple regression. Remember that in a bivariate regression—when you regress your outcome on just your treatment indicator—the coefficient on treatment is just a difference-in-means. This simple method gives an unbiased estimate of the average treatment effect (ATE). When we add baseline covariates that are correlated with outcomes to the model, the coefficient on treatment is an approximately unbiased estimate of the ATE that tends to be more precise than bivariate regression. To adjust for covariates through multiple regression, use the model: \[Y_i = \alpha + \beta Z_i + \gamma X_i + \epsilon_i\] where \(Y_i\) is the outcome variable, \(Z_i\) is the treatment indicator, and \(X_i\) is a vector of one or more covariates. The remainder \(\epsilon_i\) is your disturbance term—the leftover unexplained noise. When the treatment and control groups are of unequal size, the precision gains from covariate adjustment may be greater if you include interactions between treatment and the covariates (see this blog post for more discussion). For ease of interpretation, recenter the covariates to have zero mean: 4 Why to do it It isn’t absolutely necessary to control for covariates when estimating the average treatment effect in an RCT that assigns every subject the same probability of receiving the treatment. The unadjusted treatment–control difference in mean outcomes is an unbiased estimator of the ATE. However, covariate adjustment tends to improve precision if the covariates are good predictors of the outcome.4 In large samples, random assignment tends to produce treatment and control groups with similar baseline characteristics. Still, by the “luck of the draw,” one group may be slightly more educated, or one group may have slightly higher voting rates in previous elections, or one group may be slightly older on average. For this reason, the estimated ATE is subject to “sampling variability,” meaning you’ll get estimates of the ATE that were produced by an unbiased method but happened to miss the mark.5 A high sampling variability contributes to noise (imprecision), not bias. Controlling for these covariates tends to improve precision if the covariates are predictive of potential outcomes. Take a look at the following example, which is loosely based on the Giné and Mansuri experiment on female voting behavior in Pakistan.6 In this experiment, the authors randomized an information campaign to women in Pakistan to study its effects on their turnout behavior, the independence of their candidate choice, and their political knowledge. They carried out a baseline survey which provided them with several covariates. The following code imitates this experiment by creating fake data for four of the covariates they collect: whether the woman owns an identification card, whether the woman has formal schooling, the woman’s age, and whether the woman has access to TV. It also creates two potential outcomes (the outcomes that would occur if she were assigned to treatment and if not) for a measure of the extent to which a woman’s choice of candidate was independent of the opinions of the men in her family. The potential outcomes are correlated with all four covariates, and the built-in “true” treatment effect on the independence measure here is 1. To figure out whether our estimator is biased or not, we simulate 10,000 replications of our experiment. On each replication, we randomly assign treatment and then regress the observed outcome \(Y\) on the treatment indicator \(Z\), with and without controlling for covariates. Thus, we are simulating two methods (unadjusted and covariate-adjusted) for estimating the ATE. To estimate the bias of each method, we take the difference between the average of the 10,000 simulated estimates and the “true” treatment effect. Both methods—with and without covariates—yield the true treatment effect of 1 on average. When we ran the regression without covariates, our estimated ATE averaged 1.0008 across the 10,000 replications, and with covariates, it averaged 1.0003. Notice that the regression-adjusted estimate is essentially unbiased even though our regression model is misspecified—we control for age linearly when the true data generating process involves the log of age.7 The real gains come in the precision of our estimates. The standard error (the standard deviation of the sampling distribution) of our estimated ATE when we ignore covariates is 0.121. When we include covariates in the model, our estimate becomes a bit tighter: the standard error is 0.093. Because our covariates were prognostic of our outcome, including them in the regression explained some noise in our data so that we could tighten our estimate of ATE. 5 When will it help? When is adjusting for covariates most likely to improve precision? Covariate adjustment will be most helpful when your covariates are strongly predictive (or “prognostic”) of your outcomes. Covariate adjustment essentially enables you to make use of information about relationships between baseline characteristics and your outcome so that you can better identify the relationship between treatment and the outcome. But if the baseline characteristics are only weakly correlated with the outcome, covariate adjustment won’t do you much good. The covariates you will want to adjust for are the ones that are strongly correlated with outcomes. The following graph demonstrates the relationship between how prognostic your covariate is and the gains you get from adjusting for it. On the x-axis is the sample size, and on the y-axis is the root mean squared error (RMSE), the square root of the average squared difference between the estimator and the true ATE. We want our RMSE to be small, and covariate adjustment should help us reduce it. The black line shows the RMSE when we don’t adjust for a covariate. The red line shows the RMSE when we adjust for a highly prognostic covariate (the correlation between the covariate and the outcome is 0.9). You can see that the red line is always below the black line, which is to say that the RMSE is lower when you adjust for a prognostic covariate. The orange line represents the RMSE when we adjust for a moderately prognostic covariate (the correlation between the covariate and the outcome is 0.5). We still are getting gains in precision relative to the black line, but not nearly as much as we did with the red line. Finally, the yellow line shows what happens if you control for a covariate that is not at all predictive of the outcome. The yellow line is almost identical to the black line. You received no improvement in precision by controlling for a non-prognostic covariate; in fact, you paid a slight penalty because you wasted a degree of freedom, which is especially costly when the sample size is small. This exercise demonstrates that you’ll get the most gains in precision by controlling for covariates that strongly predict outcomes. How can you know which covariates are likely to be prognostic before launching your experiment? Prior experiments or even observational studies can offer guidance about which baseline characteristics best predict outcomes. 6 Control for prognostic covariates regardless of whether they show imbalances Covariates should generally be chosen on the basis of their expected ability to help predict outcomes, regardless of whether they show “imbalances” (i.e., regardless of whether there are any noteworthy differences between the treatment group and control group in average values or other aspects of covariate distributions). There are two reasons for this recommendation: Frequentist statistical inference (standard errors, confidence intervals, p-values, etc.) assumes that the analysis follows a pre-specified strategy. Choosing covariates on the basis of observed imbalances makes it more difficult to obtain inferences that reflect your actual strategy. For example, suppose you choose not to control for gender because the treatment and control groups have similar gender composition, but you would have controlled for gender if there’d been a noticeable imbalance. Typical methods for estimating standard errors will incorrectly assume that you’d never control for gender no matter how much imbalance you saw. Adjusting for a highly prognostic covariate tends to improve precision, as we explained above. To receive due credit for this precision improvement, you should adjust for the covariate even if there’s no imbalance. For example, suppose gender is highly correlated with your outcome, but it happens that the treatment group and control group have exactly the same gender composition. In this case, the unadjusted estimate of the ATE will be exactly the same as the adjusted estimate from a regression of the outcome on treatment and gender, but their standard errors will differ. The SE of the unadjusted estimate tends to be larger because it assumes that even if the treatment and control groups had very different gender compositions, you’d still use the unadjusted treatment–control difference in mean outcomes (which would likely be far from the true ATE in that case). If you pre-specify that you’ll adjust for gender regardless of how much or how little imbalance you see, you’ll tend to get smaller SEs, tighter confidence intervals, and more powerful significance tests. Assuming that random assignment was implemented correctly, should examination of imbalances play any role in choosing which covariates to adjust for? Here’s a sampling of views: Mutz, Pemantle, and Pham (2016) argue that, unless there is differential attrition, the practice of selecting covariates on the basis of observed imbalances is “not only unnecessary” but “not even helpful … and may in fact be damaging,” because it invalidates confidence intervals, worsens precision (relative to pre-specified adjustment for prognostic covariates), and opens the door to fishing.8 Permutt (1990), using theory and simulations to study specific scenarios, finds that when a balance test is used to decide whether to adjust for a covariate, the significance test for the treatment effect is conservative (i.e., it has a true Type I error probability below its nominal level). He writes, “Greater power can be achieved by always adjusting for a covariate that is highly correlated with the response regardless of its distribution between groups.” However, he doesn’t completely rule out considering observed imbalances: “Choosing covariates on the basis of the difference between the means in the treatment and control groups is not irrational. After all, some type I errors may be more serious than others. Reporting a significant difference in outcome which can be explained away as the effect of a covariate may be a more embarrassing error than reporting one that happens to go away on replication but without an easy explanation. Similar considerations may apply to type II errors. A positive result that depends on adjustment for a covariate may be seen as less convincing than a positive two-sample test anyway, so that the error of failing to draw such a positive conclusion may be less serious. These justifications, however, come from outside the formal theory of testing hypotheses.”9 Altman (2005) writes, “It seems far preferable to choose which variables to adjust for without regard to the actual data set to hand.” He recommends controlling for highly prognostic covariates, as well as any that were used in blocking. However, he also discusses a dilemma: “In practice, imbalance may arise when the possible need for adjustment has not been anticipated. What should the researchers do? They might choose to ignore the imbalance; as noted, this would be entirely proper. The difficulty then is one of credibility. Readers of their paper (including reviewers and editors) may question whether the observed finding has been influenced by the unequal distribution of one or more baseline covariates. It is still possible, and arguably advisable, to carry out an adjusted analysis, but now with the explicit acknowledgment that this is an exploratory rather than definitive analysis, and that the unadjusted analysis should be taken as the primary one. Obviously, if the simple and adjusted analyses yield substantially the same result, then there is no difficulty of interpretation. This will usually be the case. However, if the results of the two analyses differ, then there is a real problem. The existence of such a discrepancy must cast some doubt on the veracity of the overall (unadjusted) result. The situation is similar to the difficulties of interpretation that arise with unplanned subgroup comparisons. One suggestion in such circumstances is to try to mimic what would have been done if the problem had been anticipated, namely to adjust not for variables that are observed to be unbalanced, but for all variables that would have been identified in advance as prognostic. An independent source could be used to identify such variables. Alternatively, the trial data could be used to determine which variables are prognostic. This strategy too could be prespecified in the study protocol. Because this analysis would be performed conditionally on the observed imbalance, it does not remove bias and thus cannot be considered fully satisfactory.”10 Tukey (1991) notes that observed imbalances may justify adjustment as a robustness check: Although “most statisticians” would accept an analysis of a randomized clinical trial that doesn’t adjust for covariates, “Some clinicians, and some statisticians it would seem, would like to be more sceptical, (perhaps as a supplemental analysis) asking for an analysis that takes account of observed imbalances in these recorded covariates. Feeling more secure about the results of such an analysis is indeed appropriate, since the degree of protection against either the consequences of inadequate randomization or the (random) occurrence of an unusual randomization is considerably increased by adjustment. Greater security, rather than increased precision … will often be the basic reason for covariance adjustment in a randomized trial. … The main purpose of allowing [adjusting] for covariates in a randomized trial is defensive: to make it clear that analysis has met its scientific obligations.”11 Some statisticians argue that our inferences should be conditional on a measure of covariate imbalance—in other words, when assessing the bias, variance, and mean squared error of a point estimate or the coverage probability of a confidence interval, instead of considering all possible randomizations, it may be more relevant to consider only those randomizations that would yield a covariate imbalance similar to the one we observe. From this perspective, observed imbalances may be relevant to the choice of estimator.12 Lin, Green, and Coppock (2016) write: “Covariates should generally be chosen on the basis of their expected ability to help predict outcomes, regardless of whether they appear well-balanced or imbalanced across treatment arms. But there may be occasions when the covariate list specified in the PAP [pre-analysis plan] omitted a potentially important covariate (due to either an oversight or the need to keep the list short when N is small) with a nontrivial imbalance. Protection against ex post bias (conditional on the observed imbalance) is then a legitimate concern.” However, they recommend that if observed imbalances are allowed to influence the choice of covariates, “the balance checks and decisions about adjustment should be finalized before we see unblinded outcome data,” “the direction of the observed imbalance (e.g., whether the treatment group or the control group appears more advantaged at baseline) should not be allowed to influence decisions about adjustment,” and the originally pre-specified estimator should “always be reported and labeled as such, even if alternative estimates are also reported.”13 7 When not to do it It is a bad idea to adjust for covariates when you think those covariates could have been influenced by your treatment. This is one of the reasons that many covariates are collected from baseline surveys; sometimes covariates that are collected from surveys after intervention could reflect the effects of the treatment rather than underlying characteristics of the subject. Adjusting for covariates that are affected by the treatment—“post-treatment” covariates—can cause bias. Suppose, for example, that Giné and Mansuri had collected data on how many political rallies a woman attended after receiving the treatment. In estimating the treatment effect on independence of political choice, you may be tempted to include this variable as a covariate in your regression. But including this variable, even if it strongly predicts the outcome, may distort the estimated effect of the treatment. Let’s create this fake variable, which is correlated (like the outcome measure) with baseline covariates and also with treatment. Here, by construction, the treatment effect on number of political rallies attended is 2. When we included the rallies variable as a covariate, the estimated average treatment effect on independence of candidate choice averaged 0.54 across the 10,000 replications. Recall that the true treatment effect on this outcome is 1. This is severe bias, all because we controlled for a post-treatment covariate!14 This bias results from the fact that the covariate is correlated with treatment. Just because you should not adjust for post-treatment covariates does not mean you cannot collect covariate data post-treatment, but you must exercise caution. Some measures could be collected post-treatment but are unlikely to be affected by treatment (e.g., age and gender). Be careful about measures that may be subject to evaluation-driven effects, though: for example, treated women may be more acutely aware of the expectation of political participation and may retrospectively report that they were more politically active than they actually were several years prior. 8 Concerns about small-sample bias In small samples, regression adjustment may produce a biased estimate of the average treatment effect.15 Some simulations have suggested that this bias tends to be negligible when the number of randomly assigned units is greater than twenty.16 If you’re working with a small sample, you may want to use an unbiased covariate adjustment method such as post-stratification (splitting the sample into subgroups based on the values of one or more baseline covariates, computing the treatment–control difference in mean outcomes for each subgroup, and taking a weighted average of these subgroup-specific treatment effect estimates, with weights proportional to sample size).17 9 How to make your covariate adjustment decisions transparent In the interests of transparency, if you adjust for covariates, pre-specify your models and report both unadjusted and covariate-adjusted estimates. The simulations above have demonstrated that results may change slightly or not-so-slightly depending on which covariates you choose to include in your model. We’ve highlighted some rules of thumb here: include only pre-treatment covariates that are predictive of outcomes. Deciding which covariates to include, though, is often a subjective rather than an objective enterprise, so another rule of thumb is to be totally transparent about your covariate decisions. Always include the simplest model—the simple regression of outcome on treatment without controlling for covariates—in your paper or appendix to supplement the findings of your model including covariates. Another way to minimize your readers’ concern that you went fishing for the particular combination of covariates that gave results favorable to your hypotheses is to pre-specify your models in a pre-analysis plan.18 This gives you the opportunity to explain before you see the findings which pre-treatment covariates you expect to be predictive of the outcome. You can even write these regressions out in R using fake data, as done here, so that when your results from the field arrive, all you need to do is run your code on the real data. These efforts are a useful way of binding your own hands as a researcher and improving your credibility. 10 Covariates can help you investigate the integrity of the random assignment Sometimes it is unclear whether random assignment actually occurred (or whether it occurred using the procedure that the researcher envisions). For example, when scholars analyze naturally occurring random assignments (e.g., those conducted by a government agency), it is useful to assess statistically whether the degree of imbalance between the treatment and control groups is within the expected margin of error. One statistical test is to regress treatment assignment on all of the covariates and calculate the F-statistic. The significance of this statistic can be assessed by simulating a large number of random assignments and for each one calculating the F-statistic; the resulting distribution can be used to calculate the p-value of the observed F-statistic. For example, if 10,000 simulations are conducted, and just 30 simulations generate an F-statistic larger than what one actually obtained from the data, the p-value is 0.003, which suggests that the observed level of imbalance is highly unusual. In such cases, one may wish to investigate the randomization procedure more closely. Originating author: Lindsay Dolan. Revisions: Don Green and Winston Lin, 1 Nov 2016. The guide is a live document and subject to updating by EGAP members at any time; contributors listed are not responsible for subsequent edits. Thanks to Macartan Humphreys and Diana Mutz for helpful discussions.↩ See, e.g., pages 217–219 of Miriam Bruhn and David McKenzie (2009), “In Pursuit of Balance: Randomization in Practice in Development Field Experiments,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 1 (4): 200–232.↩ A brief review of bias and precision: Imagine replicating the experiment many times (without changing the experimental sample and conditions, but re-doing random assignment each time). An unbiased estimator may overestimate or underestimate the ATE on any given replication, but its expected value (the average over all possible replications) will equal the true ATE. We usually prefer unbiased or approximately unbiased estimators, but we also value precision (which is formally defined as the inverse of the variance). Imagine you’re throwing a dart at a dartboard. If you hit the center of the dartboard on average but your shots are often far from the mark, you have an unbiased but imprecise estimator. If you hit close to the center every time, your estimator is more precise. A researcher may choose to accept a small bias in return for a large improvement in precision. One possible criterion for evaluating estimators is the mean squared error, which equals the variance plus the square of the bias. See, e.g., Sharon Lohr (2010), Sampling: Design and Analysis, 2nd ed., pp. 31–32.↩ “Sampling variability” refers to the spread of estimates that will be produced just because of the different random assignments that could have been drawn. When the luck of the draw of random assignment produces a treatment group with more As and a control group with more Bs, it is more difficult to separate background characteristics (A and B) from treatment assignment as the predictor of the observed outcomes.↩ The estimated bias is \(-\) 0.459 with a margin of error (at the 95% confidence level) of 0.002.↩ David A. Freedman (2008), “On Regression Adjustments in Experiments with Several Treatments,” Annals of Applied Statistics 2: 176–196. See also Winston Lin’s blog posts (part I and part II) discussing his response to Freedman.↩ | High | [
0.6697892271662761,
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Yuichi Kodama Yuichi Kodama (児玉裕一 Kodama Yuichi） is a Japanese video director. He has mainly directed music videos and ads. He often produces music videos and ads that are strongly connected or "tied-up" to each other, such as Perfume's "Secret Secret" and Morinaga Milk's "Eskimo Pino", or Amuro Namie's songs and Vidal sassoon's ads. In 2008, he won 3 awards in the Cannes International Advertising Festival, 4 awards in the Clio Awards and 3 awards in the One Show Interactive for a project he did for UNIQLOCK. Kodama is an alumnus of Tohoku University. Music videos 2017 Wednesday Campanella - "Ikkyu-san" 2015 Ringo Sheena - "No verão, as noites / God, nor Buddha" 2011 Tokyo Jihen - "Sora ga Natteiru" Tokyo Jihen - "Onna no Ko wa Daredemo" 2010 Nanba Shiho - "Gomen ne, Watashi" Perfume - "Natural ni Koishite" "Nee" salyu - "Extension" 2009 Sakanaction - "Native Dancer" Ringo Sheena - "Tsugou no Ii Karada" SAWA - "Swimming Dancing" 2008 Perfume - "Secret Secret" Ringo Sheena -"Mellow" Midorikawa Shobo -"Dare Yorimo Anata wo" POLYSICS - "Pretty good" SAWA - "ManyColors" Base Ball Bear - "17 sai" "changes" Mr.Children "Esora" filmed with Morimoto Chie, as "Kodama goen゜" RADWIMPS - "Order Made" Amuro Namie - "NEW LOOK" 2007 POLYSICS - "Catch On Everywhere" "Hard Rock Thunder" Tokyo Jihen "OSCA" "Killer Tune" "Senkou Shoujo" Base Ball Bear - "Ai Shiteru" bird - "SPARKLES" m-flo Crystal Kay - "Love Don't Cry" RIP SLYME - "I.N.G" YOUR SONG IS GOOD "Aitsu ni Yoroshiku" Hitomitoi - "Konayuki no Spur" Rekishi - "Rekishi Brand-new Day" Midorikawa Shobo "OH! G men" "Koi ni Ikiru Hito""Kouetsu no Hito" 2006 Base Ball Bear - "Electric Summer" "Girlfriend" "Matsuri no Ato" Polysics - Electric Surfin' Go Go" "I My Me Mine" MIdorikawa shobo "I am a mother" "Ringo Girl" Go! Go! 7188 "Kinkyori Renai" Ishino Takkyu - "Siren" Captain Straydum - "Fusen Gum" 2005 QURULI - "BIRTHDAY" Ando Yuko - "Samishigariya no Kotobatachi" CHEMISTRY -"Wings of Words" Suneo hair - "Waltz" Midorikawa shobo - "Kao 2005" "Sorezore ni Shinjitsu ga Aru" 2004 Midorikawa shobo -"Baka Kyodai" "Hokenshitsu no Sensei" Dreams Come True - "Ola! Vitoria!" YUKI - "Hello Goodbye" 2003 Suneo Hair - "Uguisu" "Fuyu no Tubasa" "Over the River" "Communication "Seikou Toutei" "Pinto" 2002 Suneo Hair - "Wake mo Shiranaide" "ivory" "JImon Jidou" Ads Only particularly notable ones are mentioned: 2010 Ezaki Glico - "Waterring Kiss Mint Gum" featuring Tokyo Jihen - "Kachi Ikusa" 2009 McDonald Japan ”Quarter Pounder” featuring Amuro Namie P&G -Vidal Sassoon "Bourgeois Gorgeous" featuring Amuro Namie - "Dr." UNIQLO - "UNIQLOCK" Season 5 2008 Morinaga Milk -"Eskimo Pino" featuring Perfume - "Secret Secret" UNIQLO - "UNIQLOCK" Season 2,3,4 Kanebo - KATE "CONFUSION" P&G - Vidal Sassoon "Fashion×Music×VidalSasoon 60s" featuring Amuro Namie - "NEW LOOK" 2007 UNIQLO - UNIQLOCK blog parts NEC - "FOMA N904i" SONY - VAIO Entermercial(entertainment+commercial), featuring RIP SLYME - "I.N.G" 2006 Nintendo：bit Generation Keio Corporation - "Akai Densha Akai Futari" featuring QURULI - "Akai Densha" Filmography Kuso-yarō to Utsukushiki Sekai (2018) References External links Caviar Co., Ltd. Tokyo Video Magazine VIS White-Screen PUBLIC-IMAGE.ORG Interview Category:Living people Category:People from Niigata (city) Category:Japanese music video directors Category:1975 births | Mid | [
0.57286432160804,
28.5,
21.25
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65 Mich. App. 349 (1975) 237 N.W.2d 322 CITIZENS MUTUAL INSURANCE CO. v. CENTRAL NATIONAL INSURANCE CO OF OMAHA Docket No. 22138. Michigan Court of Appeals. Decided October 28, 1975. *350 Milliken & Magee, for plaintiff. Gault, Davison, Bowers & Hill, for Central National Insurance. Frank J. Kelley, Attorney General, Robert A. Derengoski, Solicitor General and Joseph B. Bilitzke and Carl K. Carlsen, Assistants Attorney General, for the Secretary of State. Before: QUINN, P.J., and D.E. HOLBROOK and D.F. WALSH, JJ. PER CURIAM. This is an appeal as of right from a Genesee County Circuit Court order denying the plaintiff Citizens Mutual Insurance Company (hereinafter "Citizens") a declaratory judgment. At issue is whether a motorcycle was an "uninsured motor vehicle" within the meaning of Section 2(d) of the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Act, 1965 PA 198, as amended, MCLA 257.1102(d); MSA 9.2802(d). The case arose from a May 20, 1972, accident wherein Diane Volatta, passenger on a motorcycle owned and driven by Michael Porritt, suffered severe personal injuries when Porritt drove into the path of an oncoming vehicle. On April 5, 1972, Central National Insurance Company (hereinafter "Central National") had issued a motor vehicle liability insurance policy for the motorcycle and furnished Porritt with a binder which he presented at the Secretary of State's office in order to register the cycle and to obtain *351 license plates. The policy contained the following provision: "PART I LIABILITY To pay on behalf of the insured all sums which the insured shall become legally obligated to pay as damages because of A. Bodily injury, sickness or disease, including death resulting therefrom, hereinafter called `bodily injury' sustained by any person; caused by accident and arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of the owned motorcycle. * * *" Central National attempted to exclude passengers of the motorcycle from the benefits of coverage by including the following: "EXCLUSIONS. This policy does not apply under Part I: (m) Under coverage A and B to bodily injury to any person, or damage to the property of any person, while on or getting on or alighting from the insured motorcycle." Diane Volatta was an "insured" under an automobile liability policy issued to her father by Citizens, which policy provided personal injury liability protection in the event of an accident with an uninsured motorist. Citizens therefore commenced this declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration that Central National's passenger exclusion was void as against public policy and that the motorcycle was not an uninsured vehicle within the meaning of the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Act, supra, and the uninsured motorist provisions of Citizens' insurance policy. Section 2(d) of the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Act, supra, provides that the term: *352 "`Uninsured motor vehicle' means a motor vehicle as to which there is not in force a liability policy meeting the requirements of [MCLA 500.3009; MSA 24.13009]." MCLA 500.3009; MSA 24.13009 provides in pertinent part: "(1) An automobile liability * * * policy insuring against loss resulting from liability imposed by law for * * * bodily injury or death suffered by any person arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle shall not be * * * issued for delivery in this state * * * unless such liability coverage * * * is subject to a limit, * * * of not less than $20,000 because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident * * *. "(2) When authorized by the insured, automobile liability or motor vehicle liability coverage may be excluded when a vehicle is operated by a named person. Such exclusion shall not be valid unless the following notice is on the face of the policy or the declaration page or certificate of the policy and on the certificate of insurance * * *: "Warning when a named excluded person operates a vehicle all liability coverage is void no one is insured. Owners of the vehicle and others legally responsible for the acts of the named excluded person remain fully personally liable." (Emphasis added.) Prior to its amendment in 1971, 1971 PA 211, § 2(d), supra, defined the term "uninsured motor vehicle" with a reference to the provisions of the Financial Responsibility Act,[1] particularly § 520(b) of the act, MCLA 257.520(b)(2); MSA 9.2220(b)(2), which briefly outlined the statutory requirements which must be met by a liability insurance policy and also designated mandatory limits of personal injury and property damage liability coverage now contained in MCLA 500.3009(1); MSA *353 24.13009). Citizens, to a large extent, relies on Allstate Insurance Co v Motor State Insurance Co, 33 Mich App 469; 190 NW2d 352 (1971), and other decisions of this Court construing the former statute and in effect argues that the 1971 amendment of § 2(d) did not work a change in the public policy of this state as enunciated in those decisions. We agree with this position. Allstate, supra, involved the validity of an exclusionary clause in an automobile liability policy issued to Judith or Norman L. Bangs which attempted to exclude Norman L. Bangs from liability protection as an operator of the motor vehicle. The court referred to the statutory scheme and concluded: "It is clear that the Legislature intended that no automobile should be registered in this state unless certain requirements have been met. To obtain registration for an automobile one must either have a policy of liability insurance or pay the uninsured motor vehicle fee. The requirements of the liability policy are those set forth in * * * MCLA §§ 257.501-257.532 [now MCLA 257.3009] * * *. "The public policy as delineated by the Legislature requires that the liability policy must be written in conformity with the statutory requirements. The statute does not provide for the type of exclusionary clauses as were contained in the instant policy. Thus, the exclusionary clauses are contrary to the public policy of this state and are therefore invalid and of no effect." Allstate, supra, at 473, 474. In accord with this view are Robinson v Mendell, 45 Mich App 368; 206 NW2d 537 (1973), Cadillac Mutual Insurance Co v Bell, 50 Mich App 144; 212 NW2d 816 (1973), Celina Mutual Insurance Co v Preferred Risk Mutual Insurance Co, 51 Mich App 99; 214 NW2d 704 (1974), overruled sub nom Lilje *354 v Allstate Insurance Co, 393 Mich 259; 224 NW2d 279 (1974), State Automobile Mutual Insurance Co v Babcock, 54 Mich App 194; 220 NW2d 717 (1974). The Legislature obviously remains interested in requiring automobile insurance policies to conform to the dictates of the statute. The theory underlying the Allstate decision was that exclusionary clauses with respect to policies covering a particular motor vehicle which were not contemplated by the Legislature are contrary to public policy and therefore void. A clear intent of § 3009 was to allow an insurance company to exclude from liability coverage only named persons operating a motor vehicle. There are no statutory references to other types of exclusions. It is a familiar rule of statutory construction that the express mention of one thing implies the exclusion of other similar things. Stowers v Wolodzko, 386 Mich 119, 133; 191 NW2d 355 (1971), Marshall v Wabash Railway Co, 201 Mich 167, 172; 167 NW 19 (1918). An exclusionary clause which exempts from liability coverage all passengers of a motor vehicle is at variance with the intent of the Legislature, contrary to public policy and is therefore void and unenforceable. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and hereby grant the plaintiff's request for declaratory judgment. No costs, a public question being involved. NOTES [1] MCLA 257.501 to 257.532; MSA 9.2201 to 9.2232. | Mid | [
0.538647342995169,
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Q: How can I get a list of all columns referenced in a stored procedure? I have a number of stored procedures which use CTEs, temp tables, table variables, and sub queries and I need to get the list of all columns (including database, schema, and table/view) used in the stored procedure. I do not need to get the columns in the temp tables, table variables, or CTEs. I just need the referenced columns which are defined in a table or view in a database on my server. I tried sys.dm_sql_referenced_entities and sys.sql_expression_dependencies but they do not return columns after the first select query or selected in a CTE. A: When a stored procedure is executed it is parsed and compiled into a query plan, this is cached and you can access it via sys.dm_exec_cached_plans and sys.dm_exec_query_plan in XML format. The query plan records the 'output list' of each section of the parsed code. Seeing which columns are used by the stored procedure is just a matter of querying this XML, like this: --Execute the stored procedure to put its query plan in the cache exec sys.sp_columns '' DECLARE @TargetObject nvarchar(100) = 'sys.sp_columns'; WITH XMLNAMESPACES ( 'http://schemas.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2004/07/showplan' as ns1 ), CompiledPlan AS ( SELECT (SELECT query_plan FROM sys.dm_exec_query_plan(cp.plan_handle)) qp, (SELECT ObjectID FROM sys.dm_exec_sql_text(cp.plan_handle)) ob FROM sys.dm_exec_cached_plans cp WHERE objtype = 'Proc' ), ColumnReferences AS ( SELECT DISTINCT ob, p.query('.').value('./ns1:ColumnReference[1]/@Database', 'sysname') AS [Database], p.query('.').value('./ns1:ColumnReference[1]/@Schema', 'sysname') AS [Schema], p.query('.').value('./ns1:ColumnReference[1]/@Table', 'sysname') AS [Table], p.query('.').value('./ns1:ColumnReference[1]/@Column', 'sysname') AS [Column] FROM CompiledPlan CROSS APPLY qp.nodes('//ns1:ColumnReference') t(p) ) SELECT [Database], [Schema], [Table], [Column] FROM ColumnReferences WHERE [Database] IS NOT NULL AND ob = OBJECT_ID(@TargetObject, 'P') Caveat emptor this depends on how you define 'used'. It may be that a CTE within your stored procedure references 5 columns from a table, but then when this CTE is used only three of the columns are passed on. The query optimizer may ignore these extra fields and not include them in the plan. On the flip side the optimizer may decide that it can make a more efficient query by including extra fields in an output to enable it to use a better index later on. This code will return the columns used by the query plan, they may not exactly be the columns that are in the stored procedure code. | Mid | [
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/* tt_glyf.h Copyright 2002 by Jin-Hwan Cho and Shunsaku Hirata, the dvipdfmx project team <[email protected]> Copyright 2006-2008 Taco Hoekwater <[email protected]> This file is part of LuaTeX. LuaTeX 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 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. LuaTeX 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 Lesser General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with LuaTeX; if not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. */ #ifndef _TT_GLYF_H_ # define _TT_GLYF_H_ struct tt_glyph_desc { USHORT gid; USHORT ogid; /* GID in original font */ USHORT advw, advh; SHORT lsb, tsb; SHORT llx, lly, urx, ury; ULONG length; BYTE *data; }; struct tt_glyphs { USHORT num_glyphs; USHORT max_glyphs; USHORT last_gid; USHORT emsize; USHORT dw; /* optimal value for DW */ USHORT default_advh; /* default value */ SHORT default_tsb; /* default value */ struct tt_glyph_desc *gd; unsigned char *used_slot; }; extern struct tt_glyphs *tt_build_init(void); extern void tt_build_finish(struct tt_glyphs *g); extern USHORT tt_add_glyph(struct tt_glyphs *g, USHORT gid, USHORT new_gid); extern USHORT tt_get_index(struct tt_glyphs *g, USHORT gid); extern USHORT tt_find_glyph(struct tt_glyphs *g, USHORT gid); extern int tt_build_tables(sfnt * sfont, struct tt_glyphs *g, fd_entry * fd); extern int tt_get_metrics(sfnt * sfont, struct tt_glyphs *g); #endif /* _TT_GLYF_H_ */ | Mid | [
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An Important Guide On Hiring Skip Bins For Your Waste Disposal Needs If you have started a new project, regardless of what project is about, at the end of the day, there will be a lot of trash collected. As a responsible manager or as the members of the group, you have to be responsible for handling the trash that is collected within the project in the right manner. While some of the trash should be disposed, they are the types of trash can be sent TV used for better causes. When you manage the trash in the right way, you are not only handling a clean project, but you would not be causing any environmental harm. As the amount of waste that is created is high, to collect them can be a tough task. In order to ensure that everything goes smoothly and none of the trash causes any damage to the environment or causes a mess, it is best that you get cheap skip bins Brisbane. When you are hiring these bins, there are a lot of things to keep in mind, such as: The cost of the skip bins When you are working on a project, you will certainly have a budget. Even when you are hiring skip bins, it is wanting that you do not go over this budget because if you do, the completion of the project will be delayed or be of lower quality due to financial disruptions. This is why you have to, first of all, take a look at the skip bin prices so that you can decide on the number of skip bins that you hire that would also be perfect for your budget. Likewise, having considered the budget of the project regardless of what addition you are making to the project you certainly avoid financial limitations. The size and the number of the skip bins Depending on the amount of trash that is collected, the size of the skip bins that you should hire for the project will vary. To have a clear Idea on the size that would be ideal for your project, it is important to look into the work that is done and the amount of material that is used so that you can gain and estimation of the amount of trash that is collected. With this estimation, you will be able to select the right size of bins from a range of sizes for the project. The number of skip bins that you should have for the project would depend on the number of materials that would be collected as trash and also the amount of trash collected. | High | [
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I think it be really cool if Frontier could setup some form of stream or video series where they have actual theme park designers built stuff in the game. Like real active or retired imagineers. To see what they could do using the simple yet powerful tools of Planet Coaster. | High | [
0.6657929226736561,
31.75,
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] |
<?php
/*
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| SkyCaiji (蓝天采集器)
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Copyright (c) 2018 https://www.skycaiji.com All rights reserved.
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 使用协议 https://www.skycaiji.com/licenses
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------
*/
namespace skycaiji\admin\controller;
class Collected extends BaseController {
public function listAction(){
$taskName=input('task_name');
$page=input('p/d',1);
$page=max(1,$page);
$mcollected=model('Collected');
$mtask=model('Task');
$cond=array();
$search=array();
$null_task=false;
if(!empty($taskName)){
$search['task_name']=$taskName;
$searchTasks=$mtask->field('`id`,`name`')->where(array('name'=>array('like',"%{$taskName}%")))->column('name','id');
if(!empty($searchTasks)){
$cond['task_id']=array('in',array_keys($searchTasks));
}else{
$null_task=true;
}
}
$search['num']=input('num/d',200);
$search['url']=input('url','','trim');
if(!empty($search['url'])){
$cond['url']=array('like','%'.addslashes($search['url']).'%');
}
$search['release']=input('release');
if(!empty($search['release'])){
$cond['release']=$search['release'];
}
$search['status']=input('status');
if(!empty($search['status'])){
if($search['status']==1){
$cond['target']=array('<>','');
}elseif($search['status']==2){
$cond['error']=array('<>','');
}
}
$dataList=array();
$taskList=array();
if(!$null_task){
$count=$mcollected->where($cond)->count();
$limit=$search['num'];
if($count>0){
$dataList=$mcollected->where($cond)->order('id desc')->paginate($limit,false,paginate_auto_config());
$pagenav=$dataList->render();
$this->assign('pagenav',$pagenav);
$dataList=$dataList->all();
$dataList=empty($dataList)?array():$dataList;
$taskIds=array();
foreach ($dataList as $itemK=>$item){
$taskIds[$item['task_id']]=$item['task_id'];
if(preg_match('/^\w+\:\/\//', $item['target'])){
$dataList[$itemK]['target']='<a href="'.$item['target'].'" target="_blank">'.$item['target'].'</a>';
}
}
if(!empty($taskIds)){
$taskList=model('Task')->where(array('id'=>array('in',$taskIds)))->column('name','id');
}
}
$GLOBALS['_sc']['p_name']=lang('collected_list');
$GLOBALS['_sc']['p_nav']=breadcrumb(array(array('url'=>url('Collected/list'),'title'=>'已采集数据'),array('url'=>url('Collected/list'),'title'=>'数据列表')));
}
$this->assign('search',$search);
$this->assign('dataList',$dataList);
$this->assign('taskList',$taskList);
return $this->fetch();
}
/*清理失败的数据*/
public function clearErrorAction(){
model('Collected')->where("`error` is not null and `error`<>''")->delete();
$this->success('清理完成','Admin/Collected/list');
}
/**
* 操作
*/
public function opAction(){
$id=input('id/d',0);
$op=input('op');
$ops=array('item'=>array('delete'),'list'=>array('deleteall'));
if(!in_array($op,$ops['item'])&&!in_array($op,$ops['list'])){
$this->error(lang('invalid_op'));
}
$mcollected=model('Collected');
if(in_array($op,$ops['item'])){
$collectedData=$mcollected->getById($id);
if(empty($collectedData)){
$this->error(lang('empty_data'));
}
}
if($op=='delete'){
$mcollected->where(array('id'=>$id))->delete();
$this->success(lang('delete_success'));
}elseif($op=='deleteall'){
$ids=input('ids/a',0,'intval');
if(is_array($ids)&&count($ids)>0){
$mcollected->where(array('id'=>array('in',$ids)))->delete();
}
$this->success(lang('op_success'),'list');
}
}
/*图表显示*/
public function chartAction(){
$GLOBALS['_sc']['p_name']='已采集数据：统计图表';
$GLOBALS['_sc']['p_nav']=breadcrumb(array(array('url'=>url('Collected/list'),'title'=>'已采集数据'),array('url'=>url('Collected/chart'),'title'=>'统计图表')));
return $this->fetch();
}
public function chartOpAction(){
$op=input('op');
$mcollected=model('Collected');
$nowTime=time();
$nowYear=intval(date('Y',$nowTime));
$nowMonth=intval(date('m',$nowTime));
$nowDay=intval(date('d',$nowTime));
if(in_array($op,array('today','this_month','this_year','years'))){
$dataList = array (
'name'=>array(),
'success' => array (),
'failed' => array ()
);
$dateList=array();
if($op=='today'){
for($i=0;$i<24;$i++){
$start=$nowYear.'-'.$nowMonth.'-'.$nowDay.' '.$i.':00';
$end=strtotime($start.' +1 hour')-1;
$start=strtotime($start);
$dateList[$i+1]=array('name'=>($i+1).'点','start'=>$start,'end'=>$end);
}
}if($op=='this_month'){
$endDay=date('d',strtotime("{$nowYear}-{$nowMonth}-1 +1 month -1 day"));
$endDay=intval($endDay);
for($i=1;$i<=$endDay;$i++){
$start=$nowYear.'-'.$nowMonth.'-'.$i;
$end=strtotime($start.' +1 day')-1;
$start=strtotime($start);
$dateList[$i]=array('name'=>$i.'号','start'=>$start,'end'=>$end);
}
}elseif($op=='this_year'){
for($i=1;$i<=12;$i++){
$start=$nowYear.'-'.$i.'-1';
$end=strtotime($start.' +1 month')-1;
$start=strtotime($start);
$dateList[$i]=array('name'=>$i.'月','start'=>$start,'end'=>$end);
}
}elseif($op=='years'){
$minTime=$mcollected->min('addtime');
$minYear=intval(date('Y',$minTime));
for($i=$nowYear;$i>=$minYear;$i--){
$start=$i.'-1-1';
$end=strtotime($start.' +1 year')-1;
$start=strtotime($start);
$dateList[$i]=array('name'=>$i.'年','start'=>$start,'end'=>$end);
}
}
foreach ($dateList as $k=>$v){
$dataList['name'][$k]=$v['name'];
$dataList['success'][$k]=$mcollected->where(array(
'addtime'=>array('between',array($v['start'],$v['end'])),
'target'=>array('<>','')
))->count();
$dataList['failed'][$k]=$mcollected->where(array(
'addtime'=>array('between',array($v['start'],$v['end'])),
'error'=>array('<>','')
))->count();
}
$this->success('',null,$dataList);
}elseif($op=='release'){
$dataList = array (
'name'=>array(),
'success' => array (),
'failed' => array (),
);
foreach(config('release_modules') as $module){
if($module=='api'){
continue;
}
$dataList['name'][$module]=lang('rele_module_'.$module);
$dataList['success'][$module]=$mcollected->where(array(
'release'=>$module,
'target'=>array('<>','')
))->count();
$dataList['failed'][$module]=$mcollected->where(array(
'release'=>$module,
'error'=>array('<>','')
))->count();
}
$this->success('',null,$dataList);
}elseif($op=='task'){
$dataList = array (
'name'=>array(),
'total' => array (),
);
$list=$mcollected->field('task_id,count(id) as ct')->group('task_id')->having('count(id)>0')->select();
$taskIds=array();
foreach($list as $v){
$taskIds[$v['task_id']]=$v['task_id'];
}
if($taskIds){
$taskList=model('Task')->where('id','in',$taskIds)->column('name','id');
}
foreach($list as $v){
if(isset($taskList[$v['task_id']])){
$dataList['name'][$v['task_id']]=$taskList[$v['task_id']];
$dataList['total'][$v['task_id']]=$v['ct'];
}
}
$this->success('',null,$dataList);
}
}
} | Low | [
0.5167652859960551,
32.75,
30.625
] |
Q: Variable not being replaced (learning Dynamic PL/SQL) The below code returns error ORA-00942: table or view does not exist, I think may be because PL/SQL runtime engine(or something I don't know what) is trying to treat table_in as a Table but why would it do so, I have already table_in declared as variable. The ex26011601 table exists with values in the same schema. set serveroutput on declare function tabcount (table_in in varchar2) return pls_integer is l_return pls_integer; begin select count(*) into l_return from table_in; return l_return; end; begin dbms_output.put_line(tabcount('ex26011601')); end; I understand EXECUTE IMMEDIATE would solve the purpose. What I am trying to get is why is it necessary and whats wrong with current statement that 'table_in' could not be treated as variable even after being declared in the scope. Or what is the reason why a variable is not expected there? A: I understand EXECUTE IMMEDIATE would solve the purpose. What I am trying to get is why is it necessary and whats wrong with current statement that 'table_in' could not be treated as variable even after being declared in the scope. As per oracle documentation : Static SQL A PL/SQL static SQL statement can have a PL/SQL identifier wherever its SQL counterpart can have a placeholder for a bind variable. The PL/SQL identifier must identify either a variable or a formal parameter.To use PL/SQL identifiers for table names, column names, and so on, use the EXECUTE IMMEDIATE statement In PL/SQL, you need dynamic SQL to run when : SQL whose text is unknown at compile time For example, a SELECT statement that includes an identifier that is unknown at compile time (such as a table name) or a WHERE clause in which the number of sub clauses is unknown at compile time. SQL that is not supported as static SQL Dynamic SQL | High | [
0.681502086230876,
30.625,
14.3125
] |
172 Cal.App.2d 539 (1959) MARY ELLEN OLSON, Appellant, v. ROBERT NORRIS JONES et al., Defendants; MONTE STUART MINUGH, Respondent. Civ. No. 9509. California Court of Appeals. Third Dist. July 31, 1959. C. Ray Robinson and Charles E. Coff for Appellant. Hansen, McCormick, Barstow & Sheppard and R. A. McCormick for Respondent. SCHOTTKY, J. This is an appeal from a judgment of nonsuit in favor of defendants Minugh following a trial in the Merced County Superior Court arising out of an automobile collision. On the afternoon of December 9, 1956, Monte Minugh, in the company of plaintiff, Mary Olson, and a Mr. and Mrs. Morehouse, was driving his automobile west on Hornitos Road in Mariposa County and collided with the other defendant, Robert Jones, who was driving his automobile east on Hornitos Road. Plaintiff, Mary Olson, was seated in the front seat of *541 Minugh's car at the time of the accident and received injuries growing out of the accident. Thereafter, Mary Olson brought suit against Robert Jones alleging negligence and against Monte Minugh alleging wilful misconduct. C. G. Minugh was joined as the registered owner of the auto driven by Monte Minugh. Plaintiff recovered judgment against Robert Jones for $20,000, but a nonsuit was entered as to the defendants Minugh. Since plaintiff was riding as a guest with defendant Monte Minugh she must, of course, predicate her case against him on wilful misconduct (there is no claim of intoxication), and the trial court ruled that a nonsuit should be entered in favor of Minugh because there was no evidence of any wilful misconduct. [1] Upon an appeal from a judgment of nonsuit it is the duty of an appellate court to consider the evidence and the inferences which reasonably may be drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. [2] All conflicts in the evidence and in the inferences which may reasonably be drawn therefrom must be resolved in favor of the plaintiff, and the court must accept as true all evidence adduced, direct or indirect, which tends to sustain plaintiff's case. (Lashley v. Koerber, 26 Cal.2d 83, 84 [156 P.2d 441].) In the light of this well-established rule, and after a careful study of the entire record, we have concluded that the court did not err in granting respondent's motion for a nonsuit. [3a] The circumstances of the collision were as follows: Defendant Monte Minugh and his party were driving west on Hornitos Road on a dry, clear, sunny Sunday afternoon. The testimony of defendant Monte Minugh was that his speed was about 25 or 30 miles per hour as he approached the place of the accident. He further testified as follows: "I wasn't driving too fast for the road. We were in no hurry. We were merely enjoying a sunny afternoon ride, ... I was merely driving what I felt was the safe speed for that road." The defendant Jones estimated the speed of the Minugh car at about 30 miles an hour when he saw it; he stated, "He wasn't exceeding any speed limit." The plaintiff testified that she never noticed the speedometer on Minugh's car and never formed any estimate as to the speed of the car at any time that day; she never made any protest or comment to defendant Minugh about his driving; and as far as she was concerned he was driving in a satisfactory manner. *542 The prima facie speed limit at the place of the accident was 55 miles per hour. Both Minugh and Jones testified that the speed of the Jones car as it approached the accident scene was about 25 to 30 miles per hour. Minugh could not tell whether or not Jones reduced his speed before the collision, as the accident happened too rapidly. The accident occurred just after the Minugh car came over a rise at a point where the road curved to the right. There was a gradual slope to the crest of the rise and a somewhat steeper slope as Minugh started down the other side. The Minugh car was headed downhill and the Jones automobile was coming uphill when the accident happened. On the north side of the road, to Minugh's right, there was a bank about 6 feet high, just high enough to conceal an automobile approaching the curve from the opposite direction. Defendant Minugh testified that the Jones car was about 50 to 75 feet from his automobile when he first saw it. He saw the Jones car as soon as it was visible. Mr. Minugh further stated: "... I saw him as soon as I cleared the corner where I could see down the road." The testimony of defendant Jones was substantially the same. He was about 50 to 60 feet from the Minugh car when he first saw it. That was when it first came into Jones' line of vision from around the corner. Jones was positive that he saw the Minugh automobile "when it first showed up." Miss Olson, the plaintiff, testified that she saw the Jones automobile as it came around the curve and that was "The instant before we hit it." Mr. Minugh's testimony was that Jones was on his right side of the road when Minugh first saw the car; that the Jones car appeared to be over to its right farther than it actually was, but it seemed to be cutting the corner and coming across to Minugh's side of the road. With reference to the time when he first saw the Minugh automobile, the defendant Jones testified: "... the left side of my automobile was very close to the center of the road. It could have been a foot to the left or it could have been a little the other way but there is no line there, but I was very, very close to the center road with the left of my car." Mr. Jones further stated that his car pulled farther to the left as he approached the point of impact, although he tried to turn it to the right. Defendant Jones conceded that his *543 automobile was some 2 to 4 feet over on the wrong side of the road at the time of impact. In a statement to Officer Maybee, defendant Minugh stated: "We had been on a picnic and were coming back this way so that we could go by that big lake (Merced Falls). I wasn't overdoing the speed limit as I came over the hill, I wasn't going so fast but what I stayed in my own lane. I guess I was going 25. I saw this other car coming toward me, and he was cutting the corner. I didn't slow down right then because I thought he had plenty of time to get back over. When I saw that he was coming straight towards me, I hit my brakes, and then we hit." Minugh's car left 42 feet of skid marks commencing right at or just over the crest of the rise, and the vehicles were then no more than 50 to 75 feet apart. The collision occurred just over the rise, as Minugh started down. There were no skid marks left by the Jones car. Defendant Minugh testified: "Well, naturally, when you go around a corner, especially a blind corner, you have your foot on the brake, and I believe something flashed through my mind that this fellow was going to run into me, and I also at the same time, I thought that perhaps he might have time to turn back. I was wondering why he wouldn't turn back. This probably took maybe a tenth of a second or so, and then I immediately hit my brakes. It all flashed through my mind together, and I can't remember whether I hit my brakes first and was thinking this while I was skidding, or whether I thought and then skidded. But it happened very fast and it is hard to get all these facts in the proper order, I believe." Defendant Jones testified: "It all happened very sudden; just almost unavoidable. When they said accident in this case, they really mean accident. There was nothing intentional." The California rule as to what constitutes wilful misconduct is set forth in the recent case of Gillespie v. Rawlings, 49 Cal.2d 359 [317 P.2d 601]. The facts of that case as stated on page 363 of the opinion were as follows: "The circumstances of the collision were as follows: The weather was clear and sunny. Defendant was driving north on a two-lane highway which curved slightly toward her left. Defendant's husband (who was fatally injured in the collision) was in the rear seat. Plaintiff was asleep in the front seat. Jean Novobilsky, who was driving ahead of defendant at about 50 to 55 miles an hour, saw defendant in his rear view mirror. As defendant came behind the Novobilsky car *544 she turned to her left, out of her lane of traffic, and collided almost 'head on' with a southbound car. There is no evidence of tire or skid marks attributable to defendant's car on the highway after the collision." The court stated at page 367: "On the issue of wilful misconduct, the evidence is insufficient to support a determination favorable to plaintiff. The jury were instructed as follows on this issue:" " 'The words "wilful misconduct" have a meaning in the law, additional to that which they have in common usage. If we were to use the words in their ordinary sense, they would mean simply the indulging in wrongful conduct by conscious choice. Such conduct might consist of doing something that ought not to be done or in failing to do something that ought to be done. But in order to be a basis for liability to a guest under our law, the misconduct must be something more than intentional and wrongful; it must be done under circumstances which show either knowledge that serious injury to the guest probably will result, or a wanton and reckless disregard of the possible results." " 'Wilful misconduct means something different from and more than negligence, however gross the negligence may be. A guest may not recover against her host unless the conduct of the host amounted to wilful misconduct, and that means intentional, wrongful conduct, done either with knowledge that serious injury to the guest probably will result, or with a wanton and reckless disregard of the possible results. ..." " '[I]f you should find that defendant was negligent, and if you should find that she intentionally did something that was wrongful and which was a proximate cause of injury to plaintiff, still a case of willful misconduct is not established unless you further find that such conduct was done with knowledge that serious injury to the plaintiff probably would result, or with a wanton and reckless disregard of the possible results.'" "The law stated in these instructions accords with the law as developed in the cases, among others, of Meek v. Fowler (1935), 3 Cal.2d 420, 425-426 [45 P.2d 194]; Parsons v. Fuller (1937), 8 Cal.2d 463, 468 [66 P.2d 430]; Weber v. Pinyan (1937), 9 Cal.2d 226, 230- 235 [70 P.2d 183, 112 A.L.R. 407]; Porter v. Hofman (1938), 12 Cal.2d 445, 447-448 [1, 2] [85 P.2d 447]; Cope v. Davison (1947), 30 Cal.2d 193, 198-199 [180 P.2d 873, 171 A.L.R. 667]; Mercer-Fraser Co. v. Industrial Acc. Com. (1953), 40 Cal.2d 102, 116-118 [8-14] [251 *545 P.2d 955]; Hawaiian Pineapple Co. v. Industrial Acc. Com. (1953), 40 Cal.2d 656, 662-663 [2-10] [255 P.2d 431]; and Lynch v. Birdwell (1955), 44 Cal.2d 839, 847-848 [8] [285 P.2d 919]. On the evidence defendant could not properly be found guilty of that wanton and reckless disregard of possible consequences, or that knowledge of probable injury, which characterizes wilful misconduct. Viewing the evidence most favorable to plaintiff it appears that defendant's pulling into the southbound lane and into an oncoming car was a culpable error of judgment which amounted to negligence only." Appellant makes a vigorous and lengthy attack upon the judgment of nonsuit. She contends that it is fairly inferable from the evidence that respondent Minugh was driving at an excessive rate of speed on a narrow serpentine road; that he intentionally risked a head-on collision with Jones by holding his course although Jones approached him straddling the center line; that he knew or reasonably should have known that to continue headlong on his course toward Jones without reducing his speed would probably result in serious injury to Mary Ellen, his guest; that his decision to continue heading toward Jones' vehicle also shows "wanton and reckless disregard of the possible result" of his act. Appellant's argument is unconvincing because it is not supported by the record. The fallacy in appellant's argument is well illustrated by the following quotation from her opening brief: "Yet despite the risks of driving on this narrow country road there is evidence that Minugh drove over it faster than 55 miles per hour! As was shown above at page 11, the only speed restriction placed before the jury was the prima facie speed limit at the point of the accident which was 55 miles per hour. As was also shown above at pages 11 and 12, Minugh was cited for and pleaded guilty to violation of California Vehicle Code, Section 510, which is speeding, and also to violation of California Vehicle Code, Section 527, which is driving over the center line of a road. From this a jury could infer that Minugh was driving on this section of road in excess of 55 miles per hour. The above description of the road is such that the jury could further reasonably infer that Minugh's speed was so far in excess of a reasonable speed under all of the circumstances as to constitute wilful misconduct." [4] We do not believe that any inference that Minugh was driving 55 miles per hour can be drawn from the fact that *546 he pleaded guilty to a violation of section 510 of the Vehicle Code, which reads as follows: "No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property." A plea of guilty to a claimed violation of section 510 might be some evidence in support of a finding that Minugh was guilty of negligence, but it would not support a finding that he was guilty of wilful misconduct. [5] For as stated in Porter v. Hofman, 12 Cal.2d 445, at page 448 [85 P.2d 447]: "The mere failure to perform a statutory duty is not alone, wilful misconduct. It amounts only to simple negligence." And as stated in Flannery v. Koch, 103 Cal.App.2d 55, at page 57 [228 P.2d 580]: " 'The mere failure to perform a statutory duty is not, alone, wilful misconduct.' [Citation.] Hence Miss Liberto's failure to stop before entering 14th Street did not constitute wilful misconduct. ..." [6] None of the evidence pointed to by appellant will support a finding of wilful misconduct, for as stated in Gillespie v. Rawlings, supra, "A guest may not recover against her host unless the conduct of the host amounted to wilful misconduct, and that means intentional, wrongful conduct, done either with knowledge that serious injury to the guest probably will result, or with a wanton and reckless disregard of the possible results." [7] Appellant makes the further contention that Officer Keyser's opinions of the safe speed on this road and Minugh's actual speed were admissible evidence; that the safe maximum speed of a vehicle at a particular place is a proper subject of expert testimony; and that Officer Keyser is qualified to give expert testimony regarding speeds. The record shows that Officer Keyser testified that he had had nine years experience as a highway patrol officer; that he was familiar with the roadway at the scene of the accident and had been over it many times; and that he had tested the safe speed for an automobile at that particular corner. He was then asked if he had filed his report of his investigation of the accident and replied that he had. Counsel for appellant then offered the report in evidence. Counsel for respondent objected and the court properly sustained the objection. In Witkin on California Evidence it is stated at page 328: "The requirement of personal knowledge as the basis of a record is the chief barrier to the introduction of a police report of an accident. The *547 report is a 'record of an act, condition or event' (see supra, 286), but is often made by an officer who did not see the accident and includes both hearsay statements of others and opinions of the officer. If so, it is inadmissible. ..." [8] And in Hoel v. City of Los Angeles, 136 Cal.App.2d 295, the court said at page 309 [288 P.2d 989]: "Not all official reports and not all business records are made competent by the cited sections of the code. Essentially accident reports, especially those compiled by police at the scene of an accident--based on statements of participants, bystanders, measurements, deductions and conclusions of their own--fail to qualify as admissible official records or business records. [Citations.] That accident reports are not admissible under statutes such as our Uniform Business Records as Evidence Act (Code Civ. Proc., 1953e- 1953h) was held in Palmer v. Hoffman, 318 U.S. 109 [63 S.Ct. 477, 87 L.Ed. 645, 144 A.L.R. 719]. ..." The following appears in the record: "Q. And did you place upon your report the safe speed limit at this point? A. I did. Mr. McCormick: Now just a moment, I will object again, your Honor, counsel is indirectly attempting to do what your Honor has already sustained. The Court: Yes, that is the opinion of the officer again. That is a question for the jury to determine in this suit from all the evidence in the case, what a safe speed was on a turn upon that mountain on that day. Mr. Coshow: Very well, your Honor. I have no further questions." It thus appears that counsel for appellant did not ask Officer Keyser the direct question as to what his opinion was as to a safe speed at that corner, nor did he make an appropriate offer of proof. The trial court was evidently of the opinion that Officer Keyser's opinion as to what was a safe speed was not admissible, and if the direct question had been asked of the officer, it would have been error to sustain an objection to such a question. For as stated in Enos v. Montoya, 158 Cal.App.2d 394, at page 399 [322 P.2d 472]: "Where, as was here the case, the jury's knowledge of the roadway must be limited to that shown by the evidence, it would seem to be an unrealistic position to insist that what was a prudent speed on the subject curve was a matter exclusively within the jury's fact finding power which should not be 'invaded' by opinion evidence. The proper rule would appear to be to allow such opinion evidence to assist the jury, if the jury, applying *548 proper instructions, such as were here given, deems such evidence to be helpful. As was said in People v. Cole, 47 Cal.2d 99, at 105 [301 P.2d 854, 56 A.L.R.2d 1435]: 'The jurors, of course, were not bound by the opinion of the witness but were free to determine the weight to which it was entitled and to disregard it if they found it to be unreasonable, and they were so instructed.' " (See also Risley v. Lenwell, 129 Cal.App.2d 608, 631 [277 P.2d 897].) Even though the trial court may have been in error in stating that the officer was not qualified to express an opinion as to a safe speed at the place of the accident, there was no error in sustaining an objection to the introduction in evidence of the officer's report. [3b] We have hereinbefore stated the California rule as to what constitutes wilful misconduct. Whether there was wilful misconduct depends upon the facts of the particular case, weighed in the light of the well- settled rule. If under the facts as shown by the evidence reasonable inferences may be drawn upon which a finding of wilful misconduct may be based, a nonsuit may not properly be granted. But where as in the instant case there is no reasonable basis in the evidence for a finding that respondent Minugh was guilty of wilful misconduct the granting of a nonsuit was proper. At most, respondent was guilty of negligence only. The judgment is affirmed. Van Dyke, P. J., concurred. | Mid | [
0.618181818181818,
34,
21
] |
Q: Windows Explorer forgets vertical position after navigating back I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit and I'm having some weird behavior. In Windows Explorer, I'm viewing a directory with lots of sub-directories in "Details" view. I'm scrolled down a bit (see 1st screenshot). I enter a sub-directory (in this case, KDiff3) via double-click, then navigate back via the back button. Now, Windows Explorer has forgotten its original vertical scroll position. It's still highlighting the sub-directory I just came from, but now it's scrolled so that that sub-directory is all the way down (see 2nd screenshot). I've never experienced this behavior before and it's a bit of a pain. Does anybody know how to fix this? A: What makes you think it was ever different? This is how it worked in Windows XP (the earliest version I could test easily) and this is how it still works. I'd like to claim that this is just the first time that you've acutely noticed it. The vertical scroll position is simply a state that is not stored in the history, but derived by scrolling down from the top of the view to the item that was selected. Arguably, your expectation may be biased by how web browsers typically store the scroll position in the history state nowadays. While not a direct solution to your problem I'd like to suggest something that I like to do, sorting by date instead of name. This at least makes it more likely that relevant (recently modified) files and folders are at the top. | Mid | [
0.5493670886075951,
27.125,
22.25
] |
let s:suite = themis#suite('iced.nrepl.var') let s:assert = themis#helper('assert') let s:buf = themis#helper('iced_buffer') let s:ch = themis#helper('iced_channel') let s:test = {'result': {}} function! s:test.callback(result) abort let self.result = a:result endfunction function! s:relay(msg) abort let op = a:msg['op'] if op ==# 'info' return {'status': ['done'], 'msg': a:msg} elseif op ==# 'ns-aliases' return {'status': ['done'], 'ns-aliases': {'baz': 'baz.core'}} endif return {'status': ['done']} endfunction function! s:setup(...) abort let current_session = get(a:, 1, 'clj') let RelayFn = get(a:, 2, funcref('s:relay')) call iced#nrepl#set_session('clj', 'clj-session') call iced#nrepl#set_session('cljs', 'cljs-session') call iced#nrepl#change_current_session(current_session) call s:buf.start_dummy([ \ '(ns foo.bar)', \ '(b|az)', \ ]) call s:ch.mock({'status_value': 'open', 'relay': RelayFn}) endfunction function! s:teardown() abort call iced#nrepl#set_session('clj', '') call iced#nrepl#set_session('cljs', '') call s:buf.stop_dummy() endfunction function! s:suite.get_test() abort call s:setup() call iced#nrepl#var#get({v -> s:test.callback(v)}) call s:assert.equals(s:test.result['msg'], { \ 'session': 'clj-session', \ 'ns': 'foo.bar', \ 'sym': 'baz', \ 'op': 'info'}) call s:teardown() endfunction function! s:suite.get_with_specified_symbol_test() abort call s:setup() call iced#nrepl#var#get('baz/hello', {v -> s:test.callback(v)}) call s:assert.equals(s:test.result['msg'], { \ 'session': 'clj-session', \ 'ns': 'foo.bar', \ 'sym': 'baz/hello', \ 'op': 'info'}) call s:teardown() endfunction function! s:suite.get_with_specified_emtpy_symbol_test() abort call s:setup() call iced#nrepl#var#get('', {v -> s:test.callback(v)}) call s:assert.equals(s:test.result['msg'], { \ 'session': 'clj-session', \ 'ns': 'foo.bar', \ 'sym': 'baz', \ 'op': 'info'}) call s:teardown() endfunction function! s:suite.get_cljs_var_test() abort call s:setup('cljs') call iced#nrepl#var#get({v -> s:test.callback(v)}) call s:assert.equals(s:test.result['msg'], { \ 'session': 'cljs-session', \ 'ns': 'foo.bar', \ 'sym': 'baz', \ 'op': 'info'}) call s:teardown() endfunction function! s:suite.get_cljs_specified_var_test() abort call s:setup('cljs') call iced#nrepl#var#get('baz/hello', {v -> s:test.callback(v)}) call s:assert.equals(s:test.result['msg'], { \ 'session': 'cljs-session', \ 'ns': 'foo.bar', \ 'sym': 'baz.core/hello', \ 'op': 'info'}) call s:teardown() endfunction function! s:suite.get_cljs_keyword_test() abort call s:setup('cljs') call iced#nrepl#var#get(':baz/hello', {v -> s:test.callback(v)}) call s:assert.equals(s:test.result['msg'], { \ 'session': 'cljs-session', \ 'ns': 'foo.bar', \ 'sym': ':baz/hello', \ 'op': 'info'}) call s:teardown() endfunction function! s:special_form_relay(msg) abort let op = a:msg['op'] if op ==# 'info' return {'status': ['done'], 'special-form': 'true', 'msg': a:msg} elseif op ==# 'ns-aliases' return {'status': ['done'], 'ns-aliases': {'baz': 'baz.core'}} endif return {'status': ['done']} endfunction function! s:suite.get_special_form_test() abort call s:setup('clj', funcref('s:special_form_relay')) call iced#nrepl#var#get({v -> s:test.callback(v)}) call s:assert.equals(s:test.result['ns'], 'clojure.core') call s:teardown() endfunction function! s:suite.get_symbol_test() abort call s:setup() call iced#nrepl#var#get("''baz/hello", {v -> s:test.callback(v)}) call s:assert.equals(s:test.result['msg'], { \ 'session': 'clj-session', \ 'ns': 'foo.bar', \ 'sym': 'baz/hello', \ 'op': 'info'}) call s:teardown() endfunction | Mid | [
0.6098901098901091,
27.75,
17.75
] |
Q: Constructing a non-rotating skyhook with a rotating one There are two proposed versions of the skyhook concept: rotating (also known as a rotovator) and non-rotating. They're both meant to reduce the speed a launch vehicle needs to achieve to deliver a payload to orbit. From what I've read so far, it seems that the rotating skyhook requires less mass to achieve the same effect, while the non-rotating skyhook is easier to dock with (and has some other advantages outlined here). Would it be practical to construct a rotating skyhook first (less mass to launch into orbit), then use that to help launch the materials for a non-rotating skyhook? I haven't seen this suggested anywhere else: most of the sources I've read favour one over the other. A: Rotating skyhooks are generally designed to operate from lower altitudes than fixed, to reduce the tether length. This means both that fuel will be being expended to transfer construction materials between the two, and that they will be in different orbits. All orbits around a single body have two intersecting points in the ground track, but normally are different in altitudes which avoids collisions. Since both of these skyhooks are longer then the difference in altitude this makes collision avoidance a problem. It is certainly possible with careful planning but will increase costs. Most designs for both assume an equatorial orbit, but since that guarantees collision one (presumably the rotating one) would need to be inclined and accept the costs of plane change both in earth relative motion for launched cargo and skyhook to skyhook transfer. Note also that failure to avoid collision probably triggers kessler cascade so everybody on earth will want to have input possibly leading to bike shedding. Also relevant is that using a skyhook for bulk mass movement is not free, lifting a mass up the structure drags the rest of the structure down and fuel will need to be expended to bring it back up. This fuel burn can be more efficient than the classical final stage of a chemical rocket, but is still a system cost that means building a rotating skyhook does not automatically make building a fixed skyhook or full space elevator free. A lot of the very hypothetical assumptions around these structures assume building a rotating sky hook is for allowing access to asteroid or lunar resources, and that these resources would in turn be used to sustain and/or expand the skyhook/space elevator capability. So the concept of stepping up the lifting capability is often assumed, but generally not directly as 'build rotation skyhook->build stationary skyhook->build space elevator' but instead use the resources made accessible through each step. | Mid | [
0.628571428571428,
33,
19.5
] |
Friday, March 28, 2008 THE END OF AN ERA It truly is the end of an era. For just about 3 and ½ years, I ran the front door of Club Buca in St. Louis, Missouri. Well, if you haven’t heard yet, I NO longer work at Club Buca. From what I was told, the owner, Tony L. wants to "make a change at the door" and wants more “consistency”. I’m not sure what is more consistent than the same doorman for over three years, but, who knows. I know that in the past few months I have taken more and longer breaks from the club in order to work on various film productions. But I remember the same person telling me “As long as you come back (to Buca), you will always have a job.” I guess you can’t trust anyone’s word anymore. I would like to thank all the wonderful co-workers and friends that I have made over the years, especially Dave, the General Manager. Dave and I have always has immense respect for each other, and I thank him for all he has done for me over the years. I would also like to thank all the friends I have made by simply working the door. You all have kept me smiling and re-affirmed that the world is NOT entirely made up of assholes. Now I am not saying I will never return to Buca for fun or to visit, and many of you will still see me at other venues in time. I am not moving or leaving St. Louis, I will just no longer be in my common post at the door, where all of you have known you can come, say hi, and chat. In fact, I’m not even saying that I will be leaving the nightclub industry entirely. I have a few friends searching right now for a new club for me to work at, and I am gladly taking any suggestions. I admit that I need to make some money, and kind of quick. I know that many of you have heard me say that I will leave the bar industry in the near future, and I still plan for that to be a reality. But I didn’t plan for it just yet, and I truly planned to stay at the one club I felt the most at home. | Mid | [
0.5738045738045731,
34.5,
25.625
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Well-being and prejudice toward obese people in women at risk to develop eating disorders. The literature has found that eating disorders (ED) patients usually have a depression and anxiety diagnosis. However, not many investigations have studied the relationship between ED and well-being. One of the main problems of patients with ED is their body image. These individuals usually see themselves too big but there are not many investigations that focus on how these patients see people with real weight problems. For this reason in this study it is analyzed how women in risk to develop ED see obese people. 456 female students were selected. It was found that women with high scores in the different subscales of the Eating Attitudes Test 26 (EAT-26; dieting, bulimia and oral control) had lower well-being (both subjective and psychological) and worse attitudes toward obese people (measured with Antifat Attitudes Test, AFA, Beliefs About Obese People Scale, BAOP, and Attitudes Toward Obese People Scale, ATOP) compared with women with low scores in the EAT-26. | Mid | [
0.612326043737574,
38.5,
24.375
] |
It many ways was almost a repeat of the December 16 incident in North Delhi on Friday evening but this time there were two alert policemen who foiled the plan. A young boy and girl take lift from a vehicle with unknown passenger as they had no transport back home. Some distance later, the boy is thrown out of the car and three men proceed with the girl in captivity leaving the hapless boy behind. Only this time there was a police vehicle just at the right spot. An assistant sub-inspector and a head constable, both in their fifties, not only chased down the car but also overpowered the three young men ensuring that they were arrested and the girl rescued. It was found that all three had previous criminal records against them. The incident took place around 7 p.m. The couple was returning from Burari and headed towards their respective homes in North East Delhi when they realised that there was no bus or autorickshaw in sight, they were contemplating how to reach home when a car with three men inside stopped and offered to drop them home. “With no other option, they boarded the car. But soon realised that the three men — later identified as Shiv Kumar, Saurabh Kumar Goswami and Sachin Kumar — had ulterior motives. First they snatched the mobile phones of the duo and then asked the boy to get out of the car upon reaching Wazirabad,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Aslam Khan. Ms. Khan added that close to where the boy was abandoned was stationed the PCR van Sugar 9 with ASI Mahender and HC Jagdish. The boy narrated the incident to them and they gave the car a chase as it headed towards the Shahadra flyover. The suspects even tried to hit the police vehicle to prevent it from chasing them but the duo never gave up on their pursuit. They managed to corner the vehicle and one of the two cops got down to take the ignition key out. The duo then overpowered the trio and ensured that they landed where they belonged, police custody. | Mid | [
0.6169354838709671,
38.25,
23.75
] |
Under the Friday-night lights of a suburban high school football game, Chandler's Perry Pumas beat the Marcos DeNiza Padres 23-17, despite getting outscored 10-0 in the second half. Paul Quinn, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound Perry junior, dressed for the game but didn't get in that night. Regardless, his girlfriend and Susan Brock, a devoutly Mormon mother of three and wife of Maricopa County Supervisor Fulton Brock, watched him from the stands. Susan Brock had been forbidden to see Paul by leaders of her Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, her husband, and the boy's parents, Craig and Laura Quinn, more than a year before the October 8, 2010, victory. But this didn't stop the two from secret meetings or stop Brock from showering the boy with gifts. One of the many presents Brock bought for him was an iPod Touch, which she had with her that night and entrusted to Paul's girlfriend to give to the boy after the game. Quinn, now 18, and his girlfriend had trust issues, which led to so many arguments that the girl's parents told their daughter she was no longer allowed to see Quinn. Suspicious of her forbidden love interest, Quinn's girlfriend cracked the password on the iPod and did some snooping before giving it to him. What she discovered confirmed what several people — including the boy's parents, his own LDS church, and Supervisor Brock — suspected for more than a year: 48-year-old Susan Brock and 17-year-old Paul Quinn were having a sexual relationship. In text messages discovered on Paul's iPod Touch, Brock — using the alias "Timmy Turner" — and the boy had a graphic conversation about sex she'd had with her county supervisor husband while the two were on a trip to New York about a month earlier. At one point, Quinn asked Susan whether Fulton Brock's penis was bigger than his. "You are small — half his size on a good day," Susan Brock (as "Timmy Turner") joked, according to cell-phone records obtained by police. "Maybe it will grow with gravity." The boy then jokingly asked whether his penis was the size of a 6-year-old's, to which Brock replied, "Pretty much, but it's all right. You're handsome and kind of nice to look at." Paul Quinn later would tell police that he'd been sexually abused by Brock on at least 30 occasions. As if the story of a devoutly Mormon wife of a powerful county official molesting a teenage boy wasn't fantastic enough, it was revealed that the Brocks' adult daughter, Rachel, had a sexual relationship with the same boy, starting when Quinn was 13. Rachel Brock, at the time, was 18. But sexual abuse is only part of this story. This is also a story about the great lengths to which Fulton Brock went to keep law enforcement from building a case against his wife. It's a story about how the county supervisor abused his powerful position within the community to obtain favors from Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to ensure that certain conversations he'd had with his jailed wife as she prepared for a potential trial were not recorded by detention officers. It's a story about a boy who, psychologists say, learned from his abuser how to manipulate people and took full advantage of his unfortunate situation. It's a story about how the sexual abuse of a boy could have been stopped a year earlier if his church, his school, his abuser's county supervisor husband, and his own parents had alerted police when suspicion first arose that Susan Brock was abusing him. Susan Brock pleaded guilty in January to three counts of attempted sexual conduct with a minor, a far cry from the 15 felony counts on which she initially was indicted. She was sentenced to 13 years in prison for abusing the boy over a span of three years. Rachel Brock originally was charged with seven counts of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of furnishing obscene materials to a minor. She pleaded guilty in June to two counts of child abuse with sexual motivation. She faces up to a year in county jail and 10 years of probation at her sentencing, scheduled for October 20. Meanwhile, news that Quinn had been abused by Susan Brock hit Perry High School within hours of her October 26, 2010, arrest. The person who revealed the situation was Quinn's best friend and football teammate, Jared Neff, who also benefited from Susan Brock's desire to keep the sexual relationship she was having with Quinn quiet. "Everyone found out pretty much the day [the arrest] happened," another classmate and football teammate of Quinn's (who wished to not be identified because Quinn's liaison with Brock has become a "sketchy situation" at the school) tells New Times. "We knew that it was a kid at our school, and then one of his friends told people it was him. "Everyone on the football team joked around about it and would say stuff like, 'Hear you like older women.' [Paul] always denied it." "I went up to him and asked him about it, and he said no, it wasn't him, but everybody knew. You could just tell. After it happened, he walked around all depressed — like he was the saddest kid on Earth. Then, one day, he just disappeared." Following Susan Brock's arrest, Quinn continued to attend Perry High School for more than a month. According to court documents obtained by New Times, he then was sent to a school out of state, where he is undergoing therapy to help put what happened behind him. Marci Hamilton is the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law at Yeshiva University in New York City. She has written extensively about sexual abuse in religious institutions, including the book Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children. She served as constitutional and federal law counsel in many prominent sex-abuse cases involving clergy in state and federal courts, and has testified before state legislatures regarding elimination of statutes of limitations for childhood sex abuse. After familiarizing herself with the case at the request of New Times, Hamilton concludes, "Every adult in this story failed the child because they didn't go to police." Rather, they went to their church. None of the principals in this story agreed to speak on the record with New Times. Multiple attempts to obtain comment from Fulton Brock, Susan Brock, the Quinn family, and LDS officials were ignored or declined. What is described here is derived from police reports, court documents, transcripts of phone conversations between Fulton and Susan Brock, accounts of those close to the case, and expert opinion. The Brock and Quinn families met in 2003 through their respective LDS churches. Susan Brock and Laura Quinn were considered best friends. In 2004, Rachel Brock even went to her sophomore prom with Paul Quinn's older brother — who is her age and was thought by her mother to be a potential romantic match for her. Paul's brother, himself a devout Mormon who completed a two-year mission with the church, ended the relationship with Rachel, saying the two "didn't have the same values." Paul's older brother, it appears, caught the eye of Rachel's mother, Susan, too. Paul's brother later told police how weird he thought it was that Susan Brock continually asked him about his love life under the guise of wanting to set him up with her daughter, and the Quinns later told police they suspected early on that Susan had a "fascination" with their older son. She had offered to buy him an iPhone on several occasions before he went on his mission. She had made similar offers when she took him to dinner upon his return. He declined every time. Luring Paul, however, was easier, the Quinns say, and they believe Brock started "grooming" him when he was as young as 11 by buying him things they wouldn't — including an iPhone when he was in sixth grade. In fact, over the course of the relationship, Brock bought Quinn whatever his heart desired, including several iPods and iPhones, a special edition Xbox 360 and numerous games, underwear, jeans, T-shirts, a sniper rifle, two assault rifles, an M-1 carbine, a bolt-action rifle, a double-barreled sawed-off shotgun, a pistol, and paintball supplies. Following at least 20 of the sexual encounters Brock had with the boy, she paid him $100. She often would bring whatever he and Neff wanted for lunch at school. Even after Quinn's parents told the school — more than a year before Brock's arrest — not to allow the middle-aged woman near their son. "Every day, [Paul] and Jared had food from different places," Quinn's anonymous football teammate tells New Times. "Taco Bell, Jack in the Box — and we always wondered where they got it." Despite instructions to Quinn's school from his parents to not allow Brock near their son, she frequently visited the boy there. Police were never called when she showed up at the school, as Quinn's parents had instructed. Perry Principal Dan Serrano would not discuss the Brock case with New Times, citing the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as the reason. However, he says, "I strongly deny that I or anyone at Perry High School had any knowledge of any criminal activity." Susan and Rachel apparently weren't the only Brock women enamored of Paul Quinn. Neff described a time when Quinn brought the Brock's youngest daughter, Beth Anne — the only member of the Brock family who's the same age as Quinn — to his house when the three were in sixth or seventh grade. Despite Beth Anne's apparent friendship with Quinn, it was her older sister who was the first Brock with whom he had a sexual relationship. During a July 2007 family trip to California, Rachel Brock and Quinn were under a blanket together on the beach. Quinn felt Rachel's breasts as she gave him a "hand job," Quinn told Chandler police. About a month later, Rachel performed oral sex on Quinn as the two sat in Rachel's car as it was parked in front of the home of her county supervisor father. That fall, Rachel went to college at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, but the relationship with Quinn didn't end — when Rachel returned home, she and Quinn had similar sexual trysts. Quinn's girlfriend, meanwhile, always found it weird that a "college girl" would be interested in a high school freshman, adding to her suspicions about her wayward boyfriend (in addition to the text messages between Quinn and Susan Brock, Quinn's girlfriend found naked pictures of other female classmates on his phone). Neff knew of Quinn's sexual relationship with Rachel Brock. Quinn showed him pictures he had saved on his phone of Rachel naked that she had sent him, along with videos of her masturbating. Neff says Quinn told him that the two had actual intercourse at least twice, the last time in July 2010, just a few months before Susan Brock's arrest and nearly three years after Quinn was first abused by both Susan and Rachel Brock. Neff, who briefly dated Beth Anne Brock, told police he always suspected Susan was interested in Quinn sexually but didn't know of any abuse until it came out in the media. About a year and a half before Susan Brock was arrested, Neff says he was playing cards with Paul, Susan, and Rachel, when Susan suggested that the four play strip poker because she had recently lost a lot of weight. There is nothing in investigation records to suggest that the game actually occurred. At the time of the strip-poker suggestion, Quinn already had been sexually active with both Susan and Rachel for about two years. Susan Brock began her sexual encounters with Quinn in October 2007, about a month after Rachel went away to college. Quinn and Susan Brock were alone in her Lexus SUV as it was parked in a partially developed neighborhood near the Chandler airport that month. Susan crawled over the seat, disrobed the boy, and grabbed his penis — the first of about 30 hand jobs Brock would give Quinn over the course of about three years. On most of those occasions, Susan Brock would massage the boy's penis with vibrating sex toys. In one instance, as the two again were parked by the airport, Brock removed her Mormon temple garments so Quinn could ejaculate on her breasts. "I don't know, it was always just the same thing," Quinn later told police. "Rarely would we do it at her house, and whenever we did, it would be [while] on the computer or her iPhone looking at pornography." As Quinn raked in expensive gifts and cash from Brock, the most valuable service Brock provided the boy was the means to continue his relationship with his girlfriend after her parents forbade their relationship. One of the many purchases Susan Brock made for him was a $4,000 diamond ring from Kay Jewelers that, prosecutor Jason Holmberg says, became a gift for Quinn to give to his girlfriend. In addition to the ring, Brock would arrange ways for Quinn to have sex with the girl after the girl's parents had forbidden the two from seeing each other. Brock arranged for the two to have sex on several occasions, made suggestions about which sexual positions they should try, and even provided them with a "sex kit" that included condoms, sexual lubricants, and sex toys. In one instance, Brock drove the two to a mall parking lot so they could have sex in her car. Brock went inside to shop while Quinn and his girlfriend had sex, with the understanding that they would text-message Brock when they were done and ready to leave. Looking back, Quinn's girlfriend tells police, she thought there were times Brock listened as she and Quinn had sex. There were occasions, she says, when Brock arranged for her and Quinn to have sex at Brock's mother's house, where Fulton Brock's wife would "linger." In one case, Quinn literally had to push Brock out the door so he could have sex with his girlfriend. Quinn's girlfriend said she should have known her boyfriend and the county supervisor's wife were having a sexual relationship. She said she recalls times when Quinn was in the backseat of Brock's car as she was driving and would put his feet on the headrest so Brock could rub them. She told police Brock would sometimes talk to Quinn in a "seductive-sounding voice." In retrospect, the girl says, Quinn was confused and probably "felt stuck" in the relationship with Brock. In an e-mail Quinn wrote to his girlfriend's mother following the discovery that he was having a sexual relationship with Susan Brock, he writes, "[It's] obvious you have uncovered my darkest secret that I have been trying to forget about for a very long time, but I really need you right now. I can't share this with anyone besides you all . . . This is very unfair. I wasn't able to see [your daughter] unless I played by [Susan Brock's] rules, and I was afraid [your daughter] would dump me if I didn't see [her]. I am begging you." However, by the time Quinn had written the e-mail, he had "mastered the art of manipulation, deceit, and denial, which were taught to him by Susan Brock," according to Brock's pre-sentencing report. Before he ever was sexually abused by Susan and Rachel Brock, and about the time adolescence started to kick in, Paul Quinn was having what his parents would later describe as "mental meltdowns." At the time, they figured the "meltdowns" were the result of the troubled relationship between Quinn and his girlfriend. Over the course of about five years — beginning before the sexual liaisons started — the Quinns took Paul to several counselors. The Quinns never brought to the attention of Paul's psychologists the possibility that he was getting sexually abused by Susan Brock, despite their bringing those very concerns to leaders in their church more than a year before Brock's arrest. A psychologist who worked with Quinn in the months before Brock's arrest told Chandler Detective Chris Perez that Quinn had "learned to manipulate." In police reports and transcripts of conversations with his jailed wife, County Supervisor Brock repeatedly refers to Quinn as "that little Dorian Gray," a reference to the young, hedonistic pleasure-seeker with loose morals whose beauty infatuates an older man in the Oscar Wilde novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Toward the end of their affair, Susan Brock described herself as Quinn's "personal slave," and the Quinns acknowledged that they had "no doubt their son began manipulating Ms. Brock." After it was revealed that Quinn and Brock had been sexually involved, Brock threatened to kill herself on several occasions. She promised her young victim that she would change her will and give Quinn $300,000 after her death so he could "go to college and become the best lawyer ever." Days later, during a call recorded by the Chandler Police Department, Brock told Quinn she'd "taken too many pills and was starting to scare herself." Quinn then asked whether she yet had changed her will to ensure that he would get the money. When Fulton Brock launched his 2008 campaign for county supervisor, he enlisted the Quinn family to help. According to elections records, three members of the Quinn family were paid $8,730 by "Friends of Fulton Brock" during the 2008 campaign for doing services such as putting up campaign signs and collecting signatures. Paul, records show, was paid $1,660 for setting up, repairing, and removing campaign signs. Laura Quinn was paid $3,422 for collecting signatures. These types of paid campaign jobs often are reserved for the closest friends and family of a candidate. To be sure, the Quinns and the Brocks were very close — their kids went to school together, they were involved in similar social activities, and they often shared dinners and holidays. By 2009, though, the two families were at odds over the amount of time Susan was spending with Paul. The Quinns disapproved of all the expensive items Susan had bought for their son and felt she was undermining their authority as parents by showering him with the gifts. In August 2009, nearly two years after she'd become sexually active with Paul, Susan Brock and Laura Quinn got into an argument after Paul was forbidden from seeing his girlfriend. Brock, also a friend of Paul's girlfriend's mother, told Laura Quinn that she could not be friends with both her and her son — and that her loyalty was to Paul. By this point, the Quinns' concerns over Brock's fascination with their son had been developing for quite a while. Laura told Brock to stay away from Paul, but Brock refused — she said Laura would have to "put her in jail" before she would stay away from Paul. The Quinns told Brock to stop giving cell phones to Paul, another request the county supervisor's wife refused. The Quinns would find a cell phone Paul had received from Susan, and they would return it to the Brocks — often only to find it back in Paul's possession soon thereafter. In October 2009, Paul's father, Craig, talked to a friend who was a former Chandler police officer. Craig explained the situation between his son and Susan Brock, and the ex-cop suggested that Brock might be sexually abusing Paul. Rather than take such a concern to police, the Quinns turned to their church. The Quinns called a meeting with their LDS stake president, Mitch Jones, and the Brocks to discuss their suspicions about Susan's interference in their son's life, and the possibility that she was sexually abusing Paul. Craig Quinn specifically asked Susan — with her county supervisor husband in the room — whether she was having a sexual relationship with Paul. She denied it, but everyone in the room that day knew this was what the parents feared. Yet nobody there bothered to investigate further, much less call police. The abuse continued for another year before police caught wind of the suspicion that a teenage boy and a 48-year-old woman were having sex. According to clergy sex-abuse expert Marci Hamilton, not alerting authorities about suspected abuse is status quo for the Mormon Church. "This, unfortunately, is very typical behavior in the Latter-day Saints church," she says. "They will take calls about abuse either to a stake president or to a bishop, and it doesn't get reported." Under LDS protocol, Hamilton says, it's up to the stake president to decide whether to further investigate suspicions of sexual abuse. She says church leaders often choose not to look into such suspicions, to avoid humiliating the church with a sex scandal. "They don't want to believe it," Hamilton says. "So instead of taking the position of maximum safety and going to the police, they persuade themselves that [the suspicion] doesn't have that much merit. "Then you get exactly what you got in this case — another year of abuse of a kid who shouldn't have been abused in the first place." When Quinn's girlfriend first learned of the affair between her boyfriend and Susan Brock — a year after the meeting with LDS Stake President Jones, when suspicions of abuse were first brought up — she told her mother. But her mother, who then also suspected that Paul Quinn was getting abused, didn't bother calling police. On October 9, the day after Quinn's girlfriend cracked the code on his iPod Touch, her mother called Fulton Brock to tell him she knew his wife was abusing Quinn. Rather than call police, Fulton Brock took his wife to meet with the family's LDS bishop, Matthew Meyers, to confess the abuse. Brock admitted having a sexual relationship with the boy to Meyers, who then called Bishop Troy Hansen, the "ecclesiastic leader" of the Quinn family, to alert him of the affair. Neither bishop called police — or even told the boy's parents about the affair. In addition to calling Hansen about the abuse, Meyers called Salt Lake City law firm Kirton & McConkie, which represents the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Meyers also advised Hansen to "call legal" after learning of the abuse because "um, you know, 'cause it, these things are . . . you know, anything with abuse," he later muttered to Detective Perez. Still, nobody bothered to call police — not even LDS lawyers. The church issued a statement about the abuse, claiming that it and bishops Meyers and Hansen "were instrumental in getting the [Susan Brock] matter reported to law-enforcement authorities," despite the fact that no LDS official who knew of the affair ever told police. Meanwhile, on October 12, Craig Quinn — who'd secretly installed key-stroke register software on his computer — discovered the e-mail Paul had written to his girlfriend's mother, in which he references his "darkest secret." Not knowing exactly what Paul's "secret" was, he confronted his son, who broke down and admitted that he was engaging in sexual relations with Susan Brock. Craig Quinn didn't call police then — he alerted his bishop. As Craig later told police, after meeting with church leaders to discuss the abuse, he was "under the impression" that police would be called. But they weren't, and Quinn said he got "tired of waiting" and, on October 22, called them himself. This was nearly two weeks after learning of the abuse and more than a year after he first had questioned Susan Brock about whether it was going on. Following an investigation into the church's responsibility to report the abuse to authorities, Detective Perez wrote in his report, "It is recommended that Troy Hansen and Matthew Meyers be charged with ARS 13-3620, [failure of] duty to report." The case was handed over to the Pinal County Attorney's Office, which assumed control of the Brock case because of Fulton Brock's relationship with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and county Superior Court (supervisors control the budgets for these agencies). The bishops, however, were not charged with crimes, despite knowing abuse was occurring and failing to tell police. Pinal County Attorney's Office spokesman Kostas Kalaitzidis wouldn't say specifically why the bishops weren't charged. All he would tell New Times is that the County Attorney's Office looks at whether a case is prosecutable in determining whether to go forward. Though Detective Perez may have concluded that the bishops broke the law, prosecutors, apparently, didn't think they could prove it. The LDS church continues to deny wrongdoing in the Brock case. Though it ignored requests for comment for this article, it has issued several more statements on the matter, including the following: "Any allegation that church leaders knew of abuse but did nothing is inaccurate and offensive. The church is extremely proactive in its efforts to protect children from abuse of any kind and works diligently to support and assist victims of abuse. When abuse does occur, we work to see that it is reported to the authorities." Calling the statement absurd, child-abuse expert Hamilton said she gained access to secret LDS temple papers that "show [the church] actually has a policy about concealing abuse." In the LDS' Handbook of Instructions, excerpts of which were provided to New Times by Hamilton, church leaders, even in cases of child sex abuse, are told: "To avoid implicating the church in legal matters to which it is not a party, leaders should avoid testifying in civil or criminal cases reviewing the conduct of members over whom they preside. A leader should confer with the church's Office of Legal Services of the area presidency: • If he is subpoenaed or requested to testify in a case involving a member over whom he presides. • Before testifying in any case involving abuse. • Before communicating with attorneys of civil authorities in connection with legal proceedings. • Before offering verbal or written testimony on behalf of a member in a sentencing hearing, or probationary status hearing." The handbook goes on to advise: "Church leaders should not try to persuade alleged victims or other witnesses to testify or not to testify in criminal or civil court proceedings." Hamilton says, "They don't want anyone outside of the religion to know what's going on; they don't want their religion besmirched. And they're willing to sacrifice the children for their own image." When news broke of his wife's relationship with a teenage boy, County Supervisor Fulton Brock issued a statement the following day, October 27, 2010, in which he described his wife's arrest as "shocking." In another statement, he claimed to be "flabbergasted" by the news. But Fulton Brock long had been aware of the relationship between his wife and the boy before issuing the statements, and he had worked to minimize the consequences for Susan. Susan Brock was arrested October 26 after she was stopped on Loop 101 just west of their home. Detective Perez immediately served a search warrant at the house. From the moment police got to the Brocks' residence, about 11 a.m., the county supervisor was uncooperative, Perez tells New Times. Brock denied having knowledge of his wife's affair with the boy: "You know, Mr. Perez, I'm so reluctant to say anything that would implicate my wife. We did have a meeting with the Quinns several months ago, and Mr. Quinn did give me an iPhone that was either my daughter's or my wife's. That's all I know. I'm pretty much in the dark on this stuff." Perez notes in his report that the supervisor's claim that he was ignorant of the relationship was inconsistent with the facts. Fulton Brock then continued to lie to police, all while making sure they were aware that he was a powerful politician in good favor with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. "Why are there five of you here?" Brock asked Perez before asking whether he needed to "call the sheriff's department" — presumably to have the search stopped, prosecutor Jason Holmberg alleged during Susan Brock's sentencing hearing. Fulton Brock also asked the officers which judge had signed off on the search warrant. After reviewing the warrant, Brock asked Perez, "What is it that you gentlemen intend to do?" Perez told Supervisor Brock that he was looking for cell phones, credit cards, computers, and sex toys (one of them pink), among other items. "This is crazy — a pink-colored phallic sex toy? I have never seen . . . my wife has never . . . could someone have planted that in my wife's car, or my wife's person?" the county supervisor asked Perez. Detectives later found "a number of vibrating devices" in the Brocks' bedroom, one of which Fulton Brock told police he used for his bad back. As for the credit card and cell phone, the county supervisor initially told Detective Perez he had no idea where they could be. However, when Perez pressed him about it later, Brock retrieved both the card and the phone from a locked metal box in his desk and turned them over to police. Fulton Brock's desire to minimize the consequences for his wife didn't start on the day of her arrest. In early September 2010, more than a month before Susan Brock's arrest — and several weeks before he was told about his wife's affair with Quinn by the boy's girlfriend's mother — the county supervisor asked former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley if he could help find a lawyer specializing in cases of sexual abuse of minors. He told Romley it was "for a friend." As first reported by the Arizona Republic, Romley later hand-delivered the names of three defense attorneys to Brock's county office. The day Susan Brock was arrested, more than a month after Romley delivered the list of attorneys to Fulton Brock's office, she told police it was their "lucky day" after she was pulled over on the 101. Susan, it appears, was on her way to meet with an attorney about the sexual-abuse charges she apparently was anticipating. Police were "lucky" because an incriminating note was on the front seat of her car when she was stopped. The note was titled "History" and apparently was intended for an attorney. At the top of the page was a "series of questions, presumably for a person Susan Brock was going to meet with," Detective Perez notes in his report. The third line of the note stated: "How much might we cover in an hr?" Under that line were the following notes: "Mr. Larry Kazan said we could do hr. billing. Your rate is . . .? "Intake treatment SLC goal. Avoiding prison goal. Putting life [in] order, keeping family together. "Mother, daughter, girlfriend, extorted. "Mentally insane defense? "Any sexual felony difference intercourse or fellatio minor?" The note, Perez concluded after subpoenaing a handwriting sample from the county supervisor, probably was written by Fulton Brock. The attorney for whom the note apparently was intended was one of the three on the list Romley had provided the supervisor. Even after Brock was booked into a county jail, her husband used his position to make things as comfortable as possible for his wife — and to arrange special meetings with her that would not be recorded by detention officers. Arpaio's willingness to help the Brocks apparently was unwavering. Fulton Brock told Susan in a phone call: "Well, [then-sheriff's chief financial officer] Loretta [Barkwell] came to me yesterday, and she goes, 'Look, the sheriff wants to get all this craziness behind us, and we wanna bend over backwards, we wanna do whatever we can,' So I thought, Hmmm, maybe the time is right for me to call Loretta and say, Loretta, I got a problem." At one point, Susan Brock complained that she wished the county supervisor had given her a "blessing" before he had left the jail during a recent visit. "You know what? I should have had you give me one yesterday. I regretted that so much after you left," she said. Fulton Brock responded, "I'll get permission again [for the blessing], and . . . the sheriff will make it happen." During recorded conversations, Fulton and Susan censored what they talked about and repeatedly advised each other to save certain discussions for meetings that would not be recorded by detention officers. The following is a conversation between the Brocks after discussing a document Susan had signed while Fulton wasn't present: Susan: "Oh . . . well . . . I will, I will explain everything. I'll tell you why . . . I just needed to, um . . ." Fulton: "Yeah, just tell me tomorrow . . . I don't wanna . . ." Susan: "That's what I'm saying."Fulton: "I don't want to say anything because these, you know, these . . ." Susan: "I know! It's just . . ." Fulton: "These vultures are listening to everything, and they're . . ." Susan: "I know, I know. And . . . soon enough, they won't be interested anymore in what I have." In another recorded conversation, Fulton Brock tells his wife how he had delivered a letter to her friend Christian Weems. It's unclear what was in the letter, but Weems later was charged with trying to destroy evidence against Susan after police learned Weems had been given the password to a secret e-mail account Susan used to communicate with Paul Quinn. Weems pleaded guilty last month to one misdemeanor charge of computer tampering. She's scheduled to be sentenced October 7. Since the news of his family's sex scandal broke, Supervisor Brock basically has been a recluse, which has made his job as a public official awkward. His first somewhat public appearance, where he was forced to face reporters' questions, was in May — nearly eight months after it was made public that his wife and daughter had engaged in sexual relationships with a teenage boy. Following a speech with Sheriff Arpaio (to recovering drug addicts at one of Arpaio's jails), Brock faced a gaggle of reporters who had one thing on their minds: his family's sex scandal, about which he still refused to answer questions. "I can only comment on government-related things today. I'm not gonna respond to anything relative to my family or personal matters," Brock told reporters. Since Brock hasn't addressed these "family or personal matters," the question of whether he is capable of continuing on as a public official has been raised — mainly because he refuses to discuss when he first learned of the relationship and whether he should be held responsible criminally. It's clear that he knew the boy's family suspected a sexual relationship between his wife and their son, that he never called police, and that he never did anything to stop the abuse. It's also clear that Fulton Brock did what he could, as an elected official with powerful friends, to help her evade justice. Aside from his "special" meetings with his jailed wife, compliments of political ally Arpaio, Brock also talked of appealing to Governor Jan Brewer, possibly asking her to pardon his sex-offender wife. During one of the many conversations the county supervisor had with Susan while she was in jail, he mentions that he "ran into the governor today." "Jan?" Susan Brock asked. "Yeah. I had lunch today in Durant's as a guest of a vendor of the county," he said. Susan asked, "Yeah, what did Jan say?" Brock responds, "Governor Brewer was with three other ladies. She was with her chief of staff. They were all having a good time, and I shook her hand, and I said, 'I just wanted to say hello and thank you.' She called me twice, and I said [her calls] meant a lot to me. I just shook her hand, smiled, and started to walk away. She said, 'We need to have lunch.'" Susan Brock then said, "Well, you need to have lunch with her. Wow, that's great!" "She has the power to pardon," the county supervisor told his wife, before Susan added, "I'm gonna need it." The Pinal County Attorney's Office tells New Times there are no charges pending against Supervisor Brock. When asked whether there was a possibility that Fulton Brock would be arrested for lying to police about his prior knowledge of the affair between his wife and Paul Quinn, Detective Perez tells New Times: "Don't hold your breath." This despite Arizona law's decreeing that "any person who reasonably believes that a minor is or has been the victim of physical injury, abuse, child abuse, a reportable offense or neglect [is required to report the abuse to authorities]." Says clergy sex-abuse expert Marci Hamilton: "[Susan Brock's] a sociopath and a pedophile, and what really needs to be known is just how much her husband knew. That [was] a really corrupt and corrosive atmosphere in the [Brock] house, and if he knew about this boy and he didn't report it, that means [he] certainly is an enabler." | Mid | [
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Nanotechnology General News (Nanowerk News) Twenty-five undergraduate students who spent the summer doing real-world research at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering ("CNSE") - including 17 who are New York State residents - displayed their findings at a Poster Presentation on August 8 that marked the capstone of CNSE's 2008 Summer Internship Program. Chosen from among a highly competitive pool of more than 80 applicants, the 25 undergraduate students have academic backgrounds in the physical, chemical, biological or computer sciences, mathematics or engineering. They are from the United States, Canada and Mexico, and collectively attend nine colleges and universities: the University at Albany, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Cornell University, Skidmore College, Hartwick College, SUNY Oneonta, Western New England College, the University of Waterloo and Fundacion Universidad de las Americas. | Mid | [
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Q: jQuery target next `ul` element from `li` with class `active` Cannot figure what I am doing wrong, as I get no errors. Essentially I want to target the very next ul element from the one and only li containing a class of active. My HTML is: <li id="abc"></li> <li id="account" class="active"> <a href="#"><img class="menu-logo-symbol" src=" /img/app/logo-symbol.png">Your Account</a> <ul class="nav-pills nav-stacked sub-nav nav-list" style="display: none;"> <li id="account-details"></li> ...... </ul> </li> I have tried the following: var checkElement = $('li.active').next('ul'); checkElement.slideDown('normal'); and $('li.active').next('ul').show(); and also $('li.active').next('ul').slideDown('normal'); Thanks A: In jQuery, next() and prev() find siblings, or elements at the same depth in the DOM. In this case, since the ul is a child element of .active, you'd actually need to use the find() method like so: $('li.active').find('ul').first().show(); Using first() in combination with find() ensures that it'll only return that single ul element and not any others that may be nested deeper. | Mid | [
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If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. Re: Volume Covers Thread - Part 1 It's very interesting to se Obata's style go from Hikaru no Go to Death Note to Bakuman in one set of images like that. Look at his art at the beginning of Hikaru no Go (the actual manga, not these covers), it looks totally different from anything Obata's done. Yet that last cover looks like the cast of Bakuman with slightly different hair styles. | Low | [
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Somatic mutation and recombination test in Drosophila melanogaster. A novel test system for the detection of mutagenic and recombinogenic activity of chemicals is described in detail. Drosophila melanogaster larvae trans-heterozygous for the mutations multiple wing hairs (mwh) and flare (flr) are exposed to the test compounds for various periods of time ranging from 96 hr to 1 hr. Induced mutations are detected as single mosaic spots on the wing blade of surviving adults that show either the multiple wing hairs or flare phenotype. Induced recombination leads to mwh and flr twin spots and also to a certain extent, to mwh single spots. Recording of the frequency and the size of the different spots allows for a quantitative determination of the mutagenic and recombinogenic effects. This and earlier studies with a small set of well-known mutagens indicate that the test detects monofunctional and polyfunctional alkylating agents (ethyl methanesulfonate, diepoxybutane, mitomycin C, Trenimon), mutagens forming large adducts (aflatoxin B1), DNA breaking agents (bleomycin), intercalating agents (5-aminoacridine, ICR-170), spindle poisons (vinblastine), and antimetabolites (methotrexate). In addition, the test detects mutagens unstable in aqueous solution (beta-propiolactone), gaseous mutagens (1,2-dibromoethane), as well as promutagens needing various pathways of metabolic activation (aflatoxin B1, diethylnitrosamine, dimethylnitrosamine, mitomycin C, and procarbazine). The rapidity and ease of performance as well as the low costs of the test necessitate a high priority for validation of this promising Drosophila short-term test. | High | [
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The necessary minimal duration of final long-term toxicologic tests of drugs. The optimal, and thus mandatory duration of final, long-term toxicologic tests of drugs in animals prior to marketing for use in human beings remains controversial. Some regulatory authorities contend that exposure for 6 or 12 months is adequate. However, the Bureau of Human Prescription Drugs of the Health Protection Branch of Health and Welfare Canada has evaluated a number of confidential reports from manufacturers in which significant, non-neoplastic, pathologic changes occurred only after exposure of animals for more than 1 year. Fifteen examples from these files and the literature are described. These studies support the current Canadian guidelines' requirement for the duration of final long-term toxicologic tests of drugs to be at least 18 months. | High | [
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Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival Canceled Dear friends, family, and loyal Sugar Sand Festival supporters, On Thursday, Florida Governor DeSantis made a recommendation and request to postpone and or cancel all mass gatherings in an effort to slow down the spread of COVID-19. As an organization who is passionate about their charitable work and tourism efforts on Clearwater Beach, it is with great sadness to announce our decision to "sunset" and postpone the 8th Annual Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival presented by Visit St. Pete Clearwater. This community-generated event has created countless memories for both residents and visitors who travel to be a part of an event that celebrates some of Mother Nature's greatest gifts. Simply put, we are heartbroken. In these uncertain times, there is no higher priority than the safety of our guests, volunteers, partners and staff. For those of you who have pre-purchased tickets, we will be contacting you within the next week to issue you a refund. We look forward to saving you a seat on our sugar sand beaches, and leave you with wishes of good health. This situation is unprecedented to all, that is why we must move forward together and "Play Nice in the Sandbox". - Respectfully, Team Sugar Sand. | Mid | [
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With lawmakers likely taking up the measure again during the next legislative session in February, 5 INVESTIGATES asked more than 200 police chiefs and sheriffs where they stand on red flag legislation, as well as other potential changes to gun laws. Laws regulating assault-style rifles and magazine capacities received minimal support from the 60 law enforcement leaders who did respond. However, more than three dozen chiefs and sheriffs, roughly two out of every three, said they would support a red flag law that would give their officers the power to temporarily confiscate weapons from someone in crisis with a judge's order. "Red flag laws, I think, would be enormously helpful to families and law enforcement," said Bill Sullivan, the long-time police chief in Oakdale. The majority of those surveyed did not respond to multiple requests to weigh in on the controversial issue, including the chiefs of police in Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as the elected sheriffs in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties. Sheriff Scott Goddard in rural Crow Wing County said that while the idea of such a law is good in theory, he would not support it because it would create more conflict. "My concern with the red flag is I think we are going to butt heads more," Goddard said. "I think the concept is a very good concept, but I think the actual application is very difficult to do." Local researchers release largest study on mass shootings The debate over red flags will likely be spurred by a nationwide study that will be released this week that found four out of every five mass shooters showed previous signs of concerning behavior, mental health issues or violence. The study, which was funded in part by the Department of Justice, was conducted by researchers with The Violence Project at Hamline University in St. Paul and offers a glimpse into the common traits shared among mass shooters. Dr. Jillian Peterson, a professor at Hamline University, interviewed mass shooters from prison and studied a half-century worth of mass shootings "I mean, we've had shootings that we covered where 60 different kids knew it was going to happen before it happened," Peterson said in an interview with 5 INVESTIGATES last month. The Hamline research mirrors another study released earlier this month by the United States Secret Service that found most school shooters had a history of being bullied or disciplined or engaged in troubling behavior that had not been reported. 5 INVESTIGATES sent the survey to 228 departments in Minnesota. Of that number, 58 departments responded, for a 26% response rate. Here's where the departments that responded stand on a red flag law in Minnesota: After the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office developed a special team, typically dressed in less intimidating plain clothes, that responds to calls of someone making threats to harm themselves or others. Goddard calls it a softer approach in an effort to get people to voluntarily hand over weapons without infringing on due process. "I'm very proud of our program," Goddard said, who also views this issue through his own personal experience. He was shot in the arm during a standoff in 2013. "But I never blamed the gun that shot me, and I never blamed the person who shot me. He was having a mental health crisis," he said. Peterson says, even with Violence Project's new findings, the passion on both sides will determine how the research is received. "So much of these conversations are so emotionally charged — peoples' heels are dug in so deep. It's become so polarizing and so partisan that the goal was to create data because data is the data. It's not opinionated. It just is what it is." Ryan Raiche can be reached by phone at 651-642-4544 or by email here. | Mid | [
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The musicians of the Cleveland Orchestra have vowed to strike and set up pickets outside Severance Hall Monday morning barring a last-minute contract agreement with management.UPDATED: 8 a.m. The musicians of the Cleveland Orchestra went on strike today. As the final notes of Sunday's Martin Luther King Jr. celebration at Severance Hall faded, the musicians were still resolved to strike today. The musicians planned to commence strike demonstrations outside the hall this morning, before a mediated contract talk at noon. Both events overlap with today's community open-house in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The issues involved in the strike are numerous, including not only pay and benefits but also Cleveland's economy, the financial health of the orchestra, and the reputation and rank of the organization among its peers. Executive director Gary Hanson has offered the musicians a three-year contract entailing a 5 percent pay cut in year one, restoration in year two, and a 2.5 percent increase in the third year. Included in his offer, he said, is a "modest increase" to the musicians' health-care contributions. The trims, Hanson has said, stem from a need to reduce expenses in response to declining ticket sales, a hard-hit endowment, and a $2 million budget shortfall. Both he and music director Franz Welser-Most, along with the staff, have already taken cuts. "We are asking the musicians to accept the principle of shared sacrifice that has been embraced throughout the organization," wrote Hanson in a letter to patrons. But the musicians, clearly, see things quite differently. To accept the cuts Hanson has demanded, they say, would be to sacrifice again after a pay freeze in 2004, the loss of a defined-benefit pension in 2006, and continued operation with empty seats in the orchestra. As of Sunday, the musicians were still offering to accept an eight-month pay freeze. "We conservatively estimate we have saved them millions," said bassoonist Jonathan Sherwin, a member of the orchestra's negotiating committee. No less important for the artists is their belief that Hanson's plan would tarnish one of Northeast Ohio's greatest treasures by imperiling the orchestra's ability to attract and retain the best players and lowering its standing among the highest-paid symphonies in the nation. Before last weekend's subscription concerts, the musicians handed out pamphlets to the audience summarizing this position. "The greatness of the orchestra could hang in the balance," said assistant principal clarinetist Daniel McKelway. The public, for its part, has expressed a wide spectrum of opinions. Orchestra sympathizers point to the high price of talent, the considerable cost of instruments, and the intrinsic value of the orchestra to Northeast Ohio. Others say it's unrealistic to demand status quo in a recession and question how salary relates to quality. A strike begun today would mark the fourth in the orchestra's history. Previously, the musicians have struck for seven days in 1967, 41 days in 1970, and two weeks in 1980. Under immediate threat in the current strike is a new collaboration with Indiana University in Bloomington, where residency activities involving a handful of musicians are still scheduled to begin tonight. The full orchestra under Welser-Most is slated to perform there Wednesday, with violinist Leila Josefowicz. This strike also jeopardizes upcoming activities associated with the long-term residency in Miami, where the orchestra is scheduled to begin a busy series of educational activities and concerts under Welser-Most on Friday. The next regularly scheduled subscription concert at Severance Hall is Feb. 4. | Mid | [
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NEW YORK -- Robert James Waller, whose bestselling , bittersweet 1992 romance novel "The Bridges of Madison County" was turned into a movie starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood and later into a soaring Broadway musical, has died in Texas, according to a longtime friend. He was 77. Scott Cawelti, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, told The Associated Press that Waller died early Friday at his home in Fredericksburg, Texas. He had been fighting multiple myeloma, a form of cancer. In "Bridges," a literary phenomenon which Waller famously wrote in 11 days, the roving National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid spends four days taking pictures of bridges and also romancing Francesca Johnson, a war bride from Italy married to a no-nonsense Iowa farmer. One famous line from the book reads: "The old dreams were good dreams; they didn't work out but I'm glad I had them." Waller's novel reached No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list and stayed on it for over three years, longer than any work of fiction since "The Robe," a novel about Jesus' crucifixion published in the early 1950s. The Eastwood-directed 1995 movie grossed $182 million worldwide. Many critics made fun of "Bridges," calling it sappy and cliche-ridden. The Independent newspaper said of the central romantic pair "it is hard to believe in, or to like, either of them." (Publishers Weekly was more charitable, calling the book, "quietly powerful and thoroughly credible.") The New York Times was dismissive: "Waller depicts their mating dance in plodding detail, but he fails to develop them as believable characters," reviewer Eils Lotozo wrote. "Instead, we get a lot of quasi-mystical business about the shaman-like photographer who overwhelms the shy, bookish Francesca with 'his sheer emotional and physical power."' Readers, however, bought more than 12 million copies in 40 languages. "Bridges" turned the unknown writer into a multimillionaire and made Madison County, Iowa, an international tourist attraction. "I really do have a small ego," Waller told The New York Times in 2002. "I am open to rational discussion. If you don't like the book and can say why, I am willing to listen. But the criticism turned to nastiness. ... I was stunned." The novel prompted couples across the world to marry on Madison County's covered bridges. Around the town of Winterset, population 4,200, tourists arrived by the busloads, buying "Bridges" T-shirts, perfume and postcards. Thousands signed in at the Chamber of Commerce office, where they could use restrooms marked "Roberts" and "Francescas." Waller told The Des Moines Register in 1992 that "Bridges" was "written" in his mind as he drove from Des Moines to Cedar Falls after photographing the covered bridges in Madison County. "It's something that's difficult to explain," he recounted. "As I drove home, it just came to me. I had some sort of Zen feeling, a high. When I got home, I threw my stuff on the floor and immediately started writing." The film version was greeted warmly by audiences and critics. The New York Times said that Eastwood had made "a moving, elegiac love story." The New York Daily News said, "On that short shelf of classic movie romances 'Seventh Heaven,' 'Brief Encounter,' 'An Affair to Remember' you can now place 'The Bridges of Madison County."' After the novel's success, Waller left Iowa, where he had grown up, and moved to a ranch in Alpine, Texas, 50 miles from the nearest town. He also divorced his wife of 36 years, Georgia, with whom he had a daughter, and found a new partner in Linda Bow, who worked as a landscaper. Waller grew up in Rockford, Iowa, and he was educated at the University of Northern Iowa and Indiana University, where he received his doctorate. He taught management, economics, and applied mathematics at the University of Northern Iowa from 1968 to 1991. Waller's seven books include "Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend," which unseated "Bridges" on the bestseller list, "Border Music," "Puerto Vallarta Squeeze" and "A Thousand County Roads: An Epilogue to The Bridges of Madison County." The last, a sequel to his monster hit, was prompted by thousands of letters from people who wanted to know more about the characters. "Finally, I got curious and decided I'd find out -- I wrote the book," he told the AP in 2002. A musical was made of "The Bridges of Madison County" in 2014 starring Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale with a score by Jason Robert Brown, but it closed after just 137 performances on Broadway. A national tour kicked off in 2015. | Mid | [
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Withdrawing Cash from JonWoodGaming: I Can Finally Say “I’m a Winner” I had my doubts about whether I was ever going to do it. But I did it. I actually cashed out money from JonWoodGaming. $300 to be precise. How sweet it is. Not all of what I cashed out was winnings, however, since withdrawing money at JWG required that I deposit $25 and then play 4x this amount of money. So of the $300, only $275 was profit. Not too shabby, given that I started with a $5 no-deposit bonus. I can’t crow too much since much of my winnings was due to an error with their program. I figure I legitmately earned about half. I used Neteller to make the $25 deposit. In order to do this I first needed to make a deposit from my bank account into Neteller. Neteller charges %8.9 commission to make such a transaction, which cost me a couple of bucks. Although everything went smoothly with the transaction, I get kind of nervous giving sites like Neteller (and poker sites like Party and bodog) my bank account information. What stops these sites from just taking all my money without my permission? If they were to do this I couldn’t do anything to get my money back. I’m going to my bank today to see if I have any protection from this. I’ll let you know. It took a few days to get my money from JWG – it is in my Neteller account – but after I made the initial withdrawl request, I received an email from Jon Wood, founder of JWG. At first, I thought he was going to explain why I couldn’t keep the money. But it turned out that he was just writing to let me know that if I had any concerns or problems with getting the money that I requested I should email him directly. Pretty stand-up guy. I expressed my appreciation for this gesture and told him how I enjoyed playing at his site. I also told him that if he was interested in some constructive criticism about his site that I had some to give. He emailed me back and said that he was interested in what I had to say. So I gave him about 4 ways the site could be improved. He wrote back and said the site is still in development, that problems were being worked on, and that he would pass along my suggestions to the appropriate people. I thought that this was quite commendable, though I haven’t seen any of my ideas implemented yet. I still have about $126 in my account at JWG and I still enjoy playing at the site, though lately I’ve been playing almost all the time at Hold’em Poker (I’ll explain more about this in a later post). The main reason I like playing poker at JWG is that it moves very slowly compared with every other poker room I’ve played at, and I’ve played at close to a dozen poker rooms. The slowness gives slow thinkers like me more of an opportunity to mull over hands. The slowness also contributes to the friendly atmosphere in the rooms in that it gives players the chance to chat. I don’t do a lot of chatting, but since there aren’t too many players at JWG (I would guess around 30 who play for real money), I’ve come to “know” several of the regulars, and so I sometimes feel comfortable to chat about hands that I’ve played or even about what other players do for a living. Yes, there iss the occasional jerk or altercation. But, overall, I’ve experienced mostly pleasant and civil people. | Low | [
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hat is the y'th term of 4350, 9132, 13914? 4782*y - 432 What is the q'th term of 66, 339, 816, 1497, 2382? 102*q**2 - 33*q - 3 What is the s'th term of -131, -268, -497, -818? -46*s**2 + s - 86 What is the c'th term of -1192, 399, 3050, 6761, 11532, 17363, 24254? 530*c**2 + c - 1723 What is the m'th term of -19821, -39652, -59483? -19831*m + 10 What is the t'th term of 2244, 2353, 2652, 3237, 4204? 16*t**3 - t**2 + 2229 What is the b'th term of 1750, 1970, 2188, 2404? -b**2 + 223*b + 1528 What is the f'th term of -308, -655, -998, -1343, -1696, -2063, -2450? -f**3 + 8*f**2 - 364*f + 49 What is the m'th term of 2837, 2844, 2849, 2852, 2853, 2852, 2849? -m**2 + 10*m + 2828 What is the k'th term of 3669, 3650, 3613, 3552, 3461, 3334, 3165, 2948? -k**3 - 3*k**2 - 3*k + 3676 What is the r'th term of 2663, 3505, 4347, 5189? 842*r + 1821 What is the n'th term of -4033, -8079, -12127, -16177, -20229, -24283, -28339? -n**2 - 4043*n + 11 What is the i'th term of -148, -467, -774, -1063, -1328, -1563, -1762? i**3 - 326*i + 177 What is the a'th term of 1518, 5938, 13264, 23496, 36634, 52678, 71628? 1453*a**2 + 61*a + 4 What is the m'th term of 13253, 26529, 39807, 53087, 66369, 79653? m**2 + 13273*m - 21 What is the x'th term of -15241, -15189, -15137, -15085, -15033? 52*x - 15293 What is the m'th term of -1629, -1624, -1591, -1512, -1369, -1144? 3*m**3 - 4*m**2 - 4*m - 1624 What is the i'th term of 879, 864, 849, 834, 819? -15*i + 894 What is the c'th term of -910, -3606, -8088, -14356? -893*c**2 - 17*c What is the d'th term of 93, 383, 927, 1731, 2801, 4143, 5763? d**3 + 121*d**2 - 80*d + 51 What is the o'th term of -1098, -1251, -1404, -1557? -153*o - 945 What is the y'th term of -8960, -17918, -26870, -35816, -44756, -53690, -62618? 3*y**2 - 8967*y + 4 What is the h'th term of 5182, 10353, 15522, 20689, 25854, 31017? -h**2 + 5174*h + 9 What is the n'th term of 1063027, 1063026, 1063025, 1063024, 1063023, 1063022? -n + 1063028 What is the o'th term of -204953, -204938, -204899, -204824, -204701, -204518, -204263? 2*o**3 + o - 204956 What is the q'th term of -12469, -24957, -37459, -49975, -62505? -7*q**2 - 12467*q + 5 What is the t'th term of -551, -476, -319, -80? 41*t**2 - 48*t - 544 What is the m'th term of -167, -630, -1435, -2582, -4071, -5902? -171*m**2 + 50*m - 46 What is the s'th term of 5697, 22801, 51307, 91215? 5701*s**2 + s - 5 What is the c'th term of 5668, 5658, 5640, 5614? -4*c**2 + 2*c + 5670 What is the n'th term of 5436, 5430, 5424, 5418, 5412? -6*n + 5442 What is the u'th term of -4073, -4094, -4137, -4208, -4313? -u**3 - 5*u**2 + u - 4068 What is the h'th term of 3424, 6913, 10404, 13897, 17392, 20889, 24388? h**2 + 3486*h - 63 What is the h'th term of -806, -1589, -2378, -3167, -3950? h**3 - 9*h**2 - 763*h - 35 What is the y'th term of 830, 897, 970, 1049? 3*y**2 + 58*y + 769 What is the k'th term of -208954, -208956, -208958, -208960, -208962, -208964? -2*k - 208952 What is the d'th term of 457, 1240, 2023, 2806, 3589, 4372? 783*d - 326 What is the t'th term of 463181, 463177, 463169, 463157, 463141, 463121? 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Eight Target BPH Migas in 2014 JAKARTA. Head of Downstream Oil and Gas (BPH Migas) NoorsamanSommeng Andy said, in 2014 BPH Migas has eight goals to be achieved. What is it? First, implementation arrangements, guidance and determination of a fair,consistent and non-discriminatory policies and proposing the aboverecommendation and accurate and careful consideration for the provision ofbusiness activities and distribution of fuel and fuel reserves a nationaldevelopment policy. “We have received approximately 102 District / town associated with meeting the needs of fuel subsidy in the region, ” said Andy , during a hearing with Commission VII of the House of Representatives , on Monday ( 02/24/2014 ) in Jakarta. Second, the monitoring system controlling certain types of fuel , especially road transport sector and fishermen in order to secure certain types of fuel national quotas and tightening control of fuel distribution , either to verify the volume of distribution or sales of fuel storage and handling sales , fuel adulteration , abuse and illegal hoarding fuel. “Thank God the year 2013 we can hit fuel distribution that does not exceed the quota set dusah in the state budget , ” he said. Furthermore , joint utilization of transportation and fuel storage facilities and facilities of the Corporation in the supply and distribution of fuel and gradual opening of the market in areas that the market mechanism is not running or remote areas . “We will also implement and assign to each entity has operational reserves which in turn will become a national buffer stock , ” pungkasya. Then ensure the implementation and control of transportation and trading business through a pipe with a fair competition mechanism , healthy , transparent and accountable , the realization of the development of natural gas infrastructure and increased use of natural gas in the country , the creation of legal compliance , improvement of BPH Migas rulemaking and regulatory tersosialisasinya in the downstream oil and gas fields. The last increase in the utilization of information technology and technology in order to control the supply of markers and distributing fuel from both the demand and supply of the fuel type specific . ” The use of information technology enterprises companion has been going well , and we have also been building a war room so that it can monitor all activities and transactions of business entities in menalurkan subsidized fuel , ” he said. | Mid | [
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You are here Continuing education in Manhattan For nurses and allied health care professionals Mercy Regional Health Center has been providing continuing education for health care professionals for over 30 years. We help local professionals sharpen and develop their knowledge and skills through providerships for nurses, respiratory specialists, and other allied health professionals. The TNCC Provider Course is a nationally recognized verification program designed to provide core-level trauma knowledge and psychomotor skills associated with the delivery of professional nursing care to the trauma patient. It is recommended that the RN participant have at least six months of clinical nursing experience in an emergency care setting. Other healthcare professionals may audit the program in a space available basis, receiving contact hours. This course prepares the participant to recognize life-threatening arrhythmias. Dysrhythmias important in Advanced Life Support will be presented. This course is recommended for those taking the ACLS Provider Course for the first time. This course is designed for health care providers who either direct or participate in the resuscitation of a patient, whether in or out of the hospital. You will enhance your skills in the treatment of arrest and peri-arrest patients through active participation in a series of simulated cardiopulmonary cases. The goal of the ACLS Provider Course is to improve the quality of care provided to the adult victim of cardiac arrest or other cardiopulmonary emergencies. The Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) Provider Course is designed for healthcare providers who initiate and direct advanced life support beyond basic life support through the stabilization or transport phases of a pediatric emergency, either in or out of the hospital. In this course you will enhance your skills in the evaluation and management of an infant or child with respiratory compromise, circulatory compromise, or cardiac arrest. These simulations are designed to reinforce important concepts. The goal of the PALS Provider Course is to improve the quality of care provided to seriously ill or injured children, resulting in improved outcome. ENPC is a nationally standardized course designed to provide you with pediatric emergency nursing knowledge and psychomotor skill experience. The course presents a systematic assessment model, integrates the associated anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology, and identifies appropriate interventions. | Mid | [
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I joined the group the night before, and we are now tramping over tundra and through low willows near a maintenance site for the nearby Trans-Alaska Pipeline. The site, called the Chandalar Shelf, lies in the shadow of mountain peaks as sharp as freshly made Stone Age axes — the beginning of the Brooks Range. It is the group’s third day in the field, and my first, and although the site is actually buzzing with bees, it seems that bee hunting is like fishing. No matter where you go and when you get there, someone always says, “You shoulda been here yesterday.” Or the day before that. Another researcher, Jessica Purcell, an assistant professor in the entomology department at Riverside, said that at the Arctic Circle two days ago, “you couldn’t shake a net at a flower without catching a bee.” She and her husband, Alan Brelsford, both newbies to the bee business, caught 40 each. “We had to let some go,” said Dr. Brelsford, who is starting at Riverside this fall as an assistant biology professor. | Mid | [
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Embedding Dribbble Shots with Jribbble Embed your Dribbble Shots with Jribbble Dribbble is quickly rising as one of the most interesting networks for designers and developers to share their past and upcoming project samples. In this post, I’ll show you how to use the Jribbble jQuery plugin and the Dribble API to share your shots and embed Dribbble images on your website, blog or portfolio page. Step 2) Next, set up the Jribbble script to display your personal Dribbble “shots” (shots are the images you upload to Dribbble). Here’s the standard set up for calling all of a certain users shots, using my own Dribbble username: This script gets all of the specified users shots, then displays them in a list with the title of each shot and the image of each shot, linked directly to the original source on Dribbble’s website. Style the list elements to your liking, and you can display your own Dribbble shots however you’d like! | High | [
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Q: There are Strings in C++? I have been learning C++ with some books from school that are from the 80's and I'm not really sure if they are strings in C++ or just really long arrays of type char. Can anyone help? A: There is a string class in C++. A: Check out the standard library. In the STL, you can find the std::string class, as well as a bunch of other useful classes. The basic documentation can be found here: http://www.sgi.com/tech/stl/ The string documentation can be found here: http://www.sgi.com/tech/stl/basic_string.html The beauty of these stl strings is that they delete themselves; so once you declare them, you can just let them go, and they will handle their own memory. That's true of other stl classes as well (Of course, if you declare a vector of pointers, the vector will get deleted, but the memory the pointers point to has to be handled as well; it's not a total panacea, but it works nicely if you keep that limitation in mind). Finally, I've found that this book is a really good way to learn how to think in STL: Effective STL A: Yes there are strings in C++, someone's gone along and done all the work and coded them for you. They're not in the actual language but in a library called the Standard Template Library, which is practically always supplied along with the C++ compiler (which you probably already have). Internally they are represented with a char array, but it's done in a special way so if the string gets bigger it discards the small char array and makes a new, bigger one. You should really get a newer book! | High | [
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Q: Can a nuclear bomb be used as the power source for a laser beam My previous post "Using nuclear bombs to detect near earth orbit objects" asked about using nuclear devices to detect Earth directed asteroids and low albedo comets. Now I want to explore a method of deflecting them using lasers. Assume we can, by (light, x or gamma rays), actually detect the incoming object on a timescale long enough to attempt to deflect it successfully. Also assume that the NEO does not simply absorb the radation, as a comet might. I don't need much (or anything really) in the answer by way of calculations, my question is simply: Is it in principle possible to convert the energy of a nuclear blast, at any appreciable efficiency level, into the production of an intense laser beam? This intense beam may then be directed at the NEO, possibly producing a deflection in it's path towards Earth. I acknowledge that this process may be considered impossible, as placing delicate equipment near a nuclear blast is generally not recommended for the completion of any project. But in defence of the merits of the question, two points: As far as I remember, the base of the tower used in the Trinity device in New Mexico did not undergo as much damage as was originally expected. The Project Orion spaceship design of the early 1960's proposed using very small nuclear devices. The calculations involved indicated that the vehicle would not be damaged by the estimated number ( in the order of hundreds) of nuclear blasts required to achieve orbit. To sum up my question, can the radiation output of a nuclear device be used, even in principle, as the power source for a laser beam (the laser beam being tuned to whatever frequency is deemed most efficient for deflection purposes.) A: Project Excalibur The idea of a nuclear pumped X-ray laser was one which was investigated in detail in the Reagan "Star Wars" program of the 1980s, backed by one Edward Teller. Tests were carried out by surrounding the nuke with bundles of rods to create a one-pass laser. Apparently it was nowhere near efficient enough to be used in a military context. [That latter fact was reported at the time but is not mentioned in the wiki article] | High | [
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Top Ad Dork Shelf TIFF 2012 Reviews: Part 5 Since we don’t get days off on weeks like this, it’s time to saddle up for part 5 of our ongoing TIFF 2012 coverage. Click on these here links for parts one, two, three, and four if you haven’t checked them out already! And don’t forget to take a look at our overview of the Short Cuts Canada programme! For more information, a full list of films, scheduling, and tickets, please visit tiff.net. The Place Beyond the Pines Special Presentation Director: Derek Cianfrance Not so much a sprawling crime saga, but a multigenerational drama about the relationship of fathers to their sons, Cianfrance’s re-teaming with his Blue Valentine star Ryan Gosling bites off far more than it can chew. At 140 minutes, one would think the film would be something a bit more in-depth than it actually is, but despite all around decent leading performances this isn’t anything more than three very basic characters doing almost arbitrary actions to forward a static three act plot that never takes hold. The lives of a heavily tattooed motorcycle stunt rider turned bank robber (Gosling), his former lover and mother of his child (Eva Mendes), a rookie cop (Bradley Cooper), and a shy teenager (Dane DeHaan) slowly become intertwined throughout the film, but after only an hour in a twist happens that makes the film absolutely 100% impossible to talk about without spoiling. That twist also divides the film into three seemingly separate parts of a trilogy that never get fully developed. What plot there is to speak of relies far too heavily on contrivance and coincidence for it to be profound, and while there are some interesting things going on in the film’s father/son relationships, the actors can’t do very much because aside from Cooper and DeHaan everyone else feels like a cardboard cut out. That doesn’t mean the film needs to be longer, though. It still needs to drop about 40 minutes. (Andrew Parker) Screens Saturday, September 8th, 11am, Ryerson Theatre Seven Psychopaths Midnight Madness Director: Martin McDonagh Award-winning playwright Martin McDonagh segued into film a few years back with the elegantly vulgar hitman movie In Bruges. Though very much a work of genre entertainment, that debut was as carefully and intelligently constructed as his tightest theatre pieces. McDonagh’s follow up Seven Psychopaths is another beast altogether. This insane, blood-soaked dark comedy is a tale of digressions, gleefully toying with crime movie conventions while nurturing hysterically over-the-top performances from a parade of beloved character actors. The plot concerns Colin Farrell’s alcoholic screenwriter (cheekily also named Martin) struggling to write his next film Seven Psychopaths, while his out-of-work actor buddy (Sam Rockwell) and a neckerchief sporting Christopher Walken kidnap the dog of a local gangster (Woody Harrelson) and inadvertently shove the oddball trio into their our surreal crime odyssey. McDonagh never allows the film to settle into a conventional crime movie path, constantly shifting tones and subgenres as the characters demand. The plot is constantly broken up by Ferrell’s strange violent short stories from his script, Rockwell’s imaginary shootouts, or some bizarre side character’s lifestory like Tom Waits’ bunny-loving killer of…er…serial killers. It all comes together in a delightfully self-conscious finale that would make Charlie Kaufman proud, littering the screen with slapstick violence and hilariously delirious performances (Rockwell is a nutball standout, while Walken does his thing in an ascot). A shotgun blast to crime movie conventions with a laugh count to match the bullet count, Seven Psychopaths might not get McDonough another Oscar nomination, but it could add a legitimate cult classic to his resume. (Phil Brown) Screens Saturday, September 8, 3:30pm, Scotiabank 1 Hotel Transylvania TIFF Kids Director: Genndy Tartakovsky While it won’t be much of a game changer in terms of animated children’s storytelling, Hotel Transylvania entertains effectively. It will easily keep youngsters engaged, it looks wonderful, and it’s easily the best thing Adam Sandler has put his name on in ages. After building a remote castle to protect his daughter and provide refuge for monsters wanting to hide from humans, Count Dracula (Sandler) wrestles with his now teenaged (at 118 years old) charge’s desire to see the outside world. During her birthday party, however, an unwanted, dimwitted, Dave Matthews loving American human (Andy Samberg) turns up and nearly ruins everything for the vacationing monsters and Dracula while striking up a relationship with the birthday girl (Selena Gomez). Plot wise, the film (co-written by Robert Smigel) plays to Sandler’s strengths and to the type of film he’s more widely known for making these days. Still, it’s nice to see him play the straight man to Samberg’s crazy guy, and the love story between Samberg and Gomez is really sweet. Powerpuff Girls creator Tartakovsky also creates some stunning visuals with a constantly moving camera to create a real sense of scope and place. The outcome of the film never once feels in doubt, but it’s still fun while it lasts. (Andrew Parker) Screens Saturday, September 8th, 2:30pm, Princess of Wales Theatre Saturday, September 15th, 12:30pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox 2 Thermae Romae Gala Director: Hideki Takeuchi In Japanese entertainment, there is a brand, a flavour that simply won’t resonate entirely with other cultures. Usually in film, that manifests as a directing style that’s too hectic and rapid for Westerners to sync with. With manga, especially comedic manga, it manifests as a floaty-minded romp that lives in its own universe. Thermae Romae, based on a romantic comedy manga series by Mari Yamazaki, carryies all the irksome mannerisms of all that above, unless you love romantic comedy manga. Because it’s really just a live action version of a romantic comedy manga. Thermae Romae means “Roman Bathhouse,” and that’s the focal point of Lucius (Hiroshi Abe), an ancient architect tasked with building the bathhouses for the Hadrianus Empire. Hitting a creative wall, Lucius finds himself moping about his lack of ideas and the state of the Rome within the walls of an older bathhouse. When a strange whirlpool sucks him into the future, specifically a modern Japanese bathhouse, Lucius finds his inspiration, as well as Mami (Aya Ueto) an aspiring manga artist likewise seeking her muse. There are good smiles to be had. Hard not to laugh at a built, naked Roman (well, a very Caucasian looking Japanese actor) in tears over the beauty of a toilet’s bidet function, but the content feels very much lifted from a comic page, and amplified with heinously cartoonishing acting. Another giveaway is the structure, which is episodic with stop-and-go pacing. New viewers will find an alienating brick wall of a comedy, a style too goofy and too bubbly to dig into, while general manga addicts may find something heinously familiar. (Zack Kotzer) Screens Saturday, September 8th, 1:30pm, Roy Thompson Hall Sunday, September 9th, 12:30pm, Cineplex Yonge & Dundas 7 Saturday, September 15th, 7:30pm, Cineplex Yonge & Dundas 10 A Royal Affair Gala Director: Nikolaj Arcel A Royal Affair, the new Danish costume drama from writer-director Nikolaj Arcel, is a uniquely beautiful and frustrating experience. Telling the story of Danish King Christian VII (Mikkel Følsgaard) and the affair between his Queen wife (Alicia Vikander) and personal physician (Mads Mikkelsen), the film attempts to weave intense personal drama within the larger machinations of Enlightenment-era Europe. Madness, passion, adultery and politics intertwine with high stakes and potentially grave consequences. Arcel’s visual eye is at once stunning and confused, as though he’s never quite sure which side of his epic drama deserves more attention. Extreme close-ups and drowned out audio put the audience in the mental space of the characters, but the result sometimes creates a distance between smaller story and the greater political drama. Despite its serious subject matter, A Royal Affair is injected with some great comedic touches that make the drama more engaging, particularly surrounding the mad antics of King Christian; Følgaard’s performance is a highlight. The film still feels long, though. There’s a determination in the direction, but the lack of strict focus causes it to drag when it might otherwise have been an exemplary and sumptuous period drama. (Corey Atad) Screens Wednesday, September 12th, 6:30pm, Roy Thomson Hall Thursday, September 13th, 2:30pm, Visa Screening Room (Elgin) Laurence Anyways Special Presentation Director: Xavier Dolan While Quebecois wunderkind Xavier Dolan can’t seem to restrain himself from inserting what appear to be heavily stylized Dolce and Gabbana ads into his films to pad out an unconscionably long running time of 161 minutes, Laurence Anyways marks the most assured effort from the young filmmaker; a multilayered and decade spanning story about love and the search for identity where even his sometimes egregious stylistic touches seem to have deeper meanings about the nature of conformity and the death of individuality. Chronicling the life of Laurence Alia (a splendid Melvil Poupaud), a 35 year old poet and university professor, who one day in 1989 tells his wife Fred (Suzanne Clement, in a powerhouse performance of numerous layers) that he would rather live life as a woman, Dolan doesn’t shy away from intimately looking at the push and pull between acceptance, selfishness, and the desire to help the person that one loves deeply. Laurence and Fred have a heavily complicated on and off again relationship that drags out sometimes beautifully and painfully over the course of ten years. Despite their pseudo-bohemian appearance and vaguely leftist doctrine of beliefs, Fred can never fully grasp what Laurence goes through and the true dramatic thrust of the film comes from watching her break down as her own sense of progressiveness comes into question. It’s all dramatically weighty stuff told by someone with complete control over their material, even if it does get a bit ungainly at times. (Andrew Parker) Screens Thursday, September 13th, 9:00pm, Elgin (Visa Screening Room) Saturday, September 15th, 9:00am, TIFF Bell Lightbox 2 Smashed Contemporary World Cinema Director: James Ponsoldt Well, this is a weird one to see two days after a bender, I’ll tell you that much. A story about changing lifestyles, Smashed follows a young grade school teacher, Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), whose every evening caps off with her and her husband (Aaron Paul) staggering home from the bar. It isn’t abusive or destructive, the two just undeniably bond over drinking a whole dang lot. When one stupor leaves Kate awakening on top of a garbage mattress, the day after lying to her over-caring principal (Megan Mullally) about the origin of her barf, she begins to rethink her relationship to the sauce. At its best, Smashed is one of two things. Sometimes it’s a sobering drama, about the little things that keep relationships warm, and the decaying process that begins when one precious element is removed. Sometimes it’s a mildly kooky comedy, with a parcel of funny, ongoing jokes to return to at the right times. But Smashed is not always these two things. Smashed often hurdles into the campiest of after-school special morality routines, topped with magical Octavia Spencer black sassy sage wisdom helper. It is an endearing and well played ensemble (not even having mention Nick Offerman yet, as a well meaning, awkward confidant), and interesting thematic ideas are there, but Smashed too often floats on the surface to go anywhere truly intoxicating. (Zack Kotzer) Screens Wednesday, September 12th, 6:00pm, Ryerson Theatre Thursday, September 13th, 5:00pm, Cineplex Yonge & Dundas 7 Rebelle(War Witch) Special Presentation Director: Kim Nguyen Winner of the Best Actress award earlier this year in Berlin, young actress Rachel Mwanza gives a revelatory performance in Canadian director Kim Nguyen’s clearly defined three act look at the life and hardship of a child soldier that takes the audience into a world where young adults are forced to kill their parents (with the chilling line “Guns are your mother and father now,”) and work as fighters for those rebelling against a fictional Sub-Saharan government. As a young woman named Komona who’s valued by the rebel leader for her psychotropic induced visions that can sense danger, Mwanza more than effectively portrays a scared, but strong young woman willing to go to extremes when pushed in an effort to escape and potentially find her own bliss. Nguyen’s film might get started a bit too quickly and feel a bit like a reverse take on Oliver Stone’s Platoon in terms of style, but once the film begins focusing on Komona’s doomed relationship with a young man also perceived as magical, this look at damaged childhood and sever psychological scarring really begins to hit hard with shockingly brutal moments and scenes of profound tenderness. (Andrew Parker) Screens Friday, September 14th, 9:00pm, Elgin (Visa Screening Room) Saturday, September 15th, 3:00pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox 2 White Elephant Special Presentation Director: Pablo Trapero In the Argentinian slums of Villa Maria, two priests attempt to work together to save their flock from getting caught in the middle of a deadly drug related turf war in White Elephant, a thrilling if at times somewhat redundant and padded look at how faith can both help and hinder practicality and decision making in some of the most unexpected ways. The title refers to the giant, crumbling tenement where the priests are based that was once intended to be Latin America’s biggest hospital. Father Julian (Ricardo Darin) takes the more traditional line of prayers and miracles when violence threatens to overtake the constantly tenuous peace of the neighbourhood, while the French Father Nicolas (frequent Dardenne brothers collaborator Jeremie Renier, in his strongest performance to date) wants to try to mediate the conflict and deal with the problems head on, a side effect of being the lone survivor of a brutal slaughter at his last Amazonian outpost where he stood frozen and incapable of helping. While the philosophical arguments at the heart of White Elephant are easy to flesh out, they aren’t as easily integrated into the larger story and character study that’s far more intriguing. If there is one thing that director Pablo Trapero does understand, though, it’s a sense of escalation with a nearly wordless opening 15 minutes and tense conclusion that help to lessen the film’s more uneven elements. (Andrew Parker) | Mid | [
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Q: How to choose the EC2 Instance type of an Elastic Beanstalk environment when creating it using awscli? I've been through all the documentation (I guess). And haven't found a way, yet, to choose which EC2 instance type to use for my environment. A: You can specify it when you create your environment. (It will overwrite what you selected when you did eb init) eb create --instance_type t2.micro http://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticbeanstalk/latest/dg/eb3-create.html You can also set it in your .ebextensions/config option_settings: aws:autoscaling:launchconfiguration: InstanceType: t2.micro http://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticbeanstalk/latest/dg/command-options.html | High | [
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Q: Hardcore integral with absolute value Is it possible to solve this integral? $$\int_0^1\int_0^1\frac{{(y-y_1-\frac{(x-x_1)(y_2-y_1)}{x_2-x_1})(y-y_1-\frac{(x-x_1)(y_3-y_1)}{x_3-x_1})(y-y_3-\frac{(x-x_3)(y_2-y_3)}{x_2-x_3})}}{|{(y-y_1-\frac{(x-x_1)(y_2-y_1)}{x_2-x_1})(y-y_1-\frac{(x-x_1)(y_3-y_1)}{x_3-x_1})(y-y_3-\frac{(x-x_3)(y_2-y_3)}{x_2-x_3})}|}dxdy$$ $x_1,x_2,x_3,y_1,y_2,y_3\in[0,1]$ It would be like adding red area and subtracting green area A: Label the triangle vertices $v_{1} = (x_{1}, y_{1})$, $v_{2} = (x_{2}, y_{2})$, $v_{3} = (x_{3}, y_{3})$, counterclockwise (say), so that the line $\ell_{ij} = \overline{v_{i} v_{j}}$ divides the square into two regions; call the "right-hand" region (not containing the central triangle) $A_{ij}$. Let $a_{ij}$ denote the area of $A_{ij}$, and $a_{0}$ the area of the central triangle. Up to a sign, the integral is equal to $$ 4a_{0} - 3 + 2(a_{12} + a_{23} + a_{31}). $$ In a bit more detail, the function $$ f_{ij}(x, y) = y - y_{i} - \frac{y_{j} - y_{i}}{x_{j} - x_{i}}(x - x_{i}) $$ is (i) only defined if $x_{i} \neq x_{j}$, i.e., if $v_{i}$ and $v_{j}$ do not lie on a vertical line; (ii) positive above the line and negative below (rather than positive to the right of the oriented segment and negative to the left). As long as no two of the vertices lie on a vertical line, however, the integral $$ \int_{0}^{1} \int_{0}^{1} \frac{f_{12}(x, y) f_{23}(x, y) f_{31}(x, y)} {|f_{12}(x, y) f_{23}(x, y) f_{31}(x, y)|}\, dx\, dy $$ is equal in absolute value to the expression above. To prove this, label the areas of regions as shown, with $a_{i}$ abutting $v_{i}$ and $b_{i}$ opposite the central triangle from $v_{i}$. We have $$ \left. \begin{aligned} a_{12} &= a_{1} + a_{2} + b_{3} \\ a_{23} &= a_{2} + a_{3} + b_{1} \\ a_{31} &= a_{3} + a_{1} + b_{2} \end{aligned}\right\} \tag{1a} $$ and $$ 1 = a_{0} + a_{1} + a_{2} + a_{3} + b_{1} + b_{2} + b_{3}. \tag{1b} $$ Rearranging, \begin{align*} 2 - 2a_{0} &= 2(a_{1} + a_{2} + a_{3}) + 2(b_{1} + b_{2} + b_{3}), \\ a_{12} + a_{23} + a_{31} &= 2(a_{1} + a_{2} + a_{3}) + b_{1} + b_{2} + b_{3}. \end{align*} Subtracting the second from the first, $$ 2 - 2a_{0} - (a_{12} + a_{23} + a_{31}) = b_{1} + b_{2} + b_{3}. \tag{2} $$ The blue area minus green area is equal to \begin{align*} a_{0} + a_{1} + a_{2} + a_{3} - (b_{1} + b_{2} + b_{3}) &= 1 - 2(b_{1} + b_{2} + b_{3}) \\ &= 1 - 2\bigl[2 - 2a_{0} - (a_{12} + a_{23} + a_{31})\bigr] \\ &= 4a_{0} - 3 + 2(a_{12} + a_{23} + a_{31}). \end{align*} | Mid | [
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// --------------------------------------------------------------------- // // Copyright (C) 2003 - 2020 by the deal.II authors // // This file is part of the deal.II library. // // The deal.II library is free software; you can use it, redistribute // it, and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General // Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either // version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. // The full text of the license can be found in the file LICENSE.md at // the top level directory of deal.II. // // --------------------------------------------------------------------- #include "../tests.h" #include "dof_tools_common.h" #include "dof_tools_common_fake_hp.h" // check // DoFTools::count_dofs_per_fe_component template <typename DoFHandlerType> void check_this(const DoFHandlerType &dof_handler) { const std::vector<types::global_dof_index> n_dofs = DoFTools::count_dofs_per_fe_component(dof_handler); for (unsigned int i = 0; i < n_dofs.size(); ++i) deallog << n_dofs[i] << " "; deallog << std::endl; } | Mid | [
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Bitcoin was dealt a heavy blow last week after troubled Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, once the largest of its kind, filed for bankruptcy protection in Tokyo. The UK government, however, is reportedly taking steps to welcome the virtual currency. In a meeting with a group of UK traders, Britain’s tax authority, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), said it wouldn’t charge the 20 percent value added tax on Bitcoin trades, the Financial Times reports. The HMRC also mentioned it wouldn’t charge the tax on their margins as well. HMRC will be issuing guidance “shortly” on the tax treatment of Bitcoin, according to the Financial Times. With the planned tax ruling, the UK government would follow in the steps of Singapore, which has bucked the trend by recognizing Bitcoin trading and laying out taxation rules governing transactions made in the virtual currency. Typically, governments all over the world have either been rejecting Bitcoin as a legitimate currency or issuing warnings about the use of it. ➤ Britain to scrap VAT on Bitcoin trades [Financial Times] Image Credit: George Frey/Getty Images Read next: Ellen DeGeneres's Oscars group selfie tweet becomes most retweeted ever, passing one million RTs | Mid | [
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The present invention relates to a method for the preparation of a lanthanum manganite powder which is useful as a material of various kinds of catalysts, electrodes and the like mainly in the form of a sintered body. It is conventional that a powder of lanthanum manganite, which is sometimes partially substituted by strontium to have a composition formula of (La.sub.1-x Sr.sub.x).sub.y MnO.sub.z, in which x is 0 or a positive number not exceeding 0.5, y is a positive number in the range from 0.8 to 1 and z is a positive number not exceeding 3, is prepared by blending powders of each of a specified and weighed amount of lanthanum oxide, manganese carbonate and, optionally, strontium carbonate by a dry process, wet process or a combination of both and calcining the powder blend at a temperature of 1200.degree. C. or higher. The above described conventional method for the preparation of a lanthanum manganite powder has problems in several respects. For example, it is almost unavoidable that a considerable portion of the starting powders remains unreacted in the product obtained by calcination and the amount of the unreacted starting materials can hardly be undetectably small even by conducting the process of calcination at a higher temperature for a longer length of time than usually undertaken. When a lanthanum manganite powder contains a substantial amount of unreacted lanthanum oxide, the sintered body prepared therefrom has a greatly decreased mechanical strength or the electric properties of the sintered body are very adversely affected. Disadvantages are also unavoidable by the high temperature calcination even when the lanthanum manganite powder is to be used in the form of a powder as such as in the applications for thermal spraying and the like because, even by setting aside the costs for the calcination at such a high temperature for a long time, growth of particles is unavoidable in the powder blend to give a semi-sintered mass of coarse particles which must be disintegrated and finely pulverized. As a remedy for the above described disadvantages, Japanese Patent Kokai 4-74721 proposes a method for the preparation of a strontium-substituted lanthanum manganite powder in which an aqueous solution of water-soluble compounds of lanthanum, strontium and manganese in a specified proportion is admixed with an aqueous solution of ammonium carbonate to precipitate a composite carbonate and the precipitates are collected by filtration, dried and calcined to give a lanthanum manganite powder. A problem in the lanthanum manganite powder obtained by this method is that, although the amount of the unreacted starting materials in the thus produced powder can be small enough, the product powder is poor in respect of the flowability behavior so that the powder is not suitable for use, for example, in thermal spraying in which good flowability of the refractory powder is essential, for example, in order not to cause bridging of the powder in the feeder hopper. | Low | [
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[Analysis of the effect of risk factors at gestational diabetes mellitus]. To assesment the effect of risk factors at gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). We collected 427 pregnant women who had done 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) between September 1(st), 2012 and April 19(th), 2013 in Peking University First Hospital, including 74 pregnant women diagnosed as GDM (GDM group) and 353 pregnant women undiagnosed (non-GDM group). Then we conducted a multiple logistic regression to analyze the clinical datas collected from two groups, which included age, pre-pregnancy body weight and body mass index (BMI), body weight during 11-12 weeks pregnancy, body weight during 23-24 weeks pregnancy; and fasting plasma glucose (FPG), triglyceride (TG) , total cholesterol (TCH) , high density lipoprotein (HDL) , low density lipoprotein (LDL), fasting insulin (FINS), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) during early pregnancy; and family history of diabetes mellitus. (1) There were significant difference in age, pre-pregnancy BMI, and FPG, TG, FINS, HOMA-IR during early pregnancy, and family history of diabetes mellitus between two groups (P < 0.05). (2) The risk factors of GDM that have statistical significance included FPG during early pregnancy (OR:4.03, 95%CI:1.62-10.02), family history of diabetes mellitus (OR:3.15, 95%CI:1.66-5.99), TG during early pregnancy (OR:2.13, 95%CI:1.17-3.87),BMI before pregnancy (OR:1.36, 95%CI:1.08-1.70), age ≥ 35 years (OR:1.15, 95%CI:1.05-1.26), early pregnancy weight gain (OR:1.20, 95%CI:1.06-1.35), mid pregnancy weight gain (OR:1.28, 95%CI:1.12-1.47), FINS during early pregnancy (OR:1.09, 95%CI:1.01-1.17). FPG, TG and FINS during early pregnancy, BMI before pregnancy, early and mid pregnancy weight gain, family history of diabetes mellitus and age ≥ 35 years are the indepadent risk factors for GDM. We should pay more attention to FPG and TG during early pregnancy, and put weight management into practise since early pregnancy and try to control pregnancy weight gain within reasonable limits. | High | [
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THROUGH THE FIRE: Breaking Tradition for the Sake of Representation Alan Yang recently won an Emmy for his writing for Netflix’s “Master of None” and used his acceptance speech to bring awareness for Asian representation in media. In one of the best episodes of the series, “Indians on TV,” Aziz Ansari’s character Dev and his friend Ravi (Ravi Patel) are two actors auditioning in New York. The two become frustrated realizing that the roles they are offered are stereotypes and extremely limited at that. Dev points out that it is not just them and that all Asian actors are also treated in the same way. Up until recently there was limited dialogue about Asian representation in film and TV and I believe it is because of our traditional values. Growing up Japanese American, I was always taught to be kind and respectful, to hold my tongue and keep my composure. No one ever wanted to make a fuss about something that was wrong and would attempt to solve problems silently. I watched my late grandfather, Bill Saito, audition and act in stereotype after stereotype, and tell me stories about how they wanted him to speak Chinese but he would just mutter Japanese because no one knew the difference. As proud as I am of his career and thankful for him because he is the reason I am pursuing a career in film and TV, I cannot stand silent like he did. A scene from the 1998 Disney feature “Mulan,” in which the title character was voiced by Ming-Na Wen (with singing voice by Lea Salonga). Right now Disney and Sony are in the works of making a live-action remake of the beloved film “Mulan.” This film is so important to all of us that have grown up as Asian Americans because the most fundamental element of the film is straying away from traditional constructs. Mulan is all of us who wanted to do the right thing so badly that it meant we would have to disappoint the ones we love the most. Growing up in the Asian American community, we all had those moments when the decision to be who we are was more important what was expected of us, but no matter what, how we were raised will always be a part of us. It is how close “Mulan” hits home to us that is has inspired more people to start to speak out about how Asians are treated in the industry. It had surfaced that a spec script of the film would involve a white man double the age of Mulan being the one to teach her to fight and serving as a love interest. From industry members to fans there was outrage, a petition, and dozens of articles that arose expressing the disgust with this spec and the importance of what “Mulan” is and what it should be. This backfire led Disney to promise that there would be no white male love interest and that they are on a global search to find Asian writers, directors, and actors. For once we got what we wanted and all we had to do was say something. What my grandpa and so many others fear is that if they complain about the racist nature of the role they are in, they won’t get cast and so they’ll never work. It is scary to think that if all Asian Americans started to refuse roles, maybe Asian presence on screen could disappear completely. But from what we have experienced with the live-action “Mulan,” it is obvious that if we all come together to express our concerns that we will see results. I want to work in an industry where I could see people like me every day as my colleagues. I want to write a character that relates to an audience on a mass scale that happens to be played by an Asian American because that person deserved the part. And if that means that I have to fight every day to up the current percentage is Asians in Hollywood, then I will do it. I will cause disruption and speak my mind. I am sorry that it goes against how my family raised me, but I want them to see themselves on screen in a way that is true to who they are, not just a monk or a flower shop owner. — Akemi Aiello is a senior at Tisch School of the Arts within New York University. She is majoring in cinema studies with concentration in writing and producing. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo. Instagram ABOUT RAFU SHIMPO The Rafu Shimpo has been the nation's leading Japanese American newspaper since its original publication. We are proud to have served the Japanese American community from our Little Tokyo office in Downtown Los Angeles since 1903. | Mid | [
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