text
stringlengths 8
5.74M
| label
stringclasses 3
values | educational_prob
sequencelengths 3
3
|
|---|---|---|
Q: Jquery ignoring null check if statement I have a function that adds table rows on button click which appends an number counter per table row addition to the rows id. I have a button click that iterates the # of times based on that counter and then it grabs the id's of an with the number counter and checks if they have a value. CODE: $('#showCounter').click(function () { for (var i = 1; i < idCounter; i++) { if ($('[id$="txtName' + i + '"]').val() !== "" || $('[id$="txtName' + i + '"]').val() !== null) { console.log($('[id$="txtName' + i + '"]').val()); } } }); So theoritically, it should only console.log when the textbox' has value but right now so for example I have 3 table rows and 1 row has value, it will console.log all 3 rows. The if statement condition seems to have never been met. Any help would be appreciated thanks. A: The value of a field can not be null, it's always a string value .So do like below:- $('#showCounter').click(function () { for (var i = 1; i < idCounter; i++) { if ($('[id$="txtName' + i + '"]').val() !== "") { console.log($('[id$="txtName' + i + '"]').val()); } } }); | Mid | [
0.581081081081081,
32.25,
23.25
] |
Public Campaign Finance Measure Struggles To Gain Ground In Albany ALBANY, NY (WSKG) – A push to enact a statewide system of public campaign finance for political races appears to be floundering in New York. But advocates have not given up on a proposal that they say would change the culture of a state Capitol where many lawmakers have grown dependent on donations from special interest groups. There have already been 125 fundraisers for legislators’ election campaigns in Albany since the session began. That’s in the just 25 days when the Senate and Assembly met since January. The minimum price for an entry ticket ranges, in most cases, from $250 to $750, although Gov. Cuomo held a fundraiser in New York City March 14, where the minimum ticket cost $25,000. Blair Horner is with the New York Public Interest Research Group, which tracks the events. He spoke on a day at the Capitol crowded with lobbyists, and other interest groups who were vying for the attention of lawmakers to get their item passed, or in some cases, killed. Horner said with the fundraisers at the same location during the evenings, it’s hard not to present at least an appearance of pay to play. Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group, speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) “It’s easy money,” Horner said. “It’s one of the more brazen elements of New York’s disgraceful campaign finance system.” And he said it’s not the lawmakers’ constituents who attend. “No elected official that holds a fundraiser in Albany during the week expects their constituents, from say Elmira, to hop in a car and drive up here and plunk down some money,” Horner said. Horner is an advocate of matching small donor public campaign financing, and Cuomo has released a detailed plan in his state budget. It’s based on a successful seven-to-one small donor matching program that has been in place in New York City for decades. For each dollar contributed to a campaign, the candidate receives seven dollars. Jessica Wisneski is with the government reform group Citizen Action, which also backs the proposal. She said it would be a welcome change from the way state lawmakers currently run campaigns. “We’re asking them to make a cultural shift,” Wisneski said. “It’s not a lot to ask because it’s what the public wants.” She said a publicly financed system would not prevent anyone from raising money for their campaigns by using the current method. But Cuomo has pulled back a bit from his support of the measure. He said earlier this month that while he still wants the provision in the final spending plan, due April 1, he would accept a partial plan. He said details, like how to fund the program could be worked out later. He said he doesn’t believe the public wants taxpayers to pay for the programs. “Could you say ‘we’ll identify the financing, we’ll write a law that commits to it but we’ll figure out the compliance, the details, the lines afterwards’? You could probably do something like that if you couldn’t get it all done,” Cuomo said. “But I believe you have to commit to it in the budget.” The Democratic-led Senate and Assembly included the concept of a public campaign finance plan into their one house budget resolutions. But they did not provide any ideas for setting up a structure. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said he has some second thoughts about whether the public system would work as promised. “It’s not necessarily cold feet,” Heastie said, in an interview with public radio and television. “I voted for it in 2009, but that was before Citizens United.” The 2010 Supreme Court case Citizens United v. the FEC led to a decision that said corporations, not for profits, and unions, can spend an unlimited amount on federal campaigns, as long as they are separate from a candidate’s reelection effort. Heastie said if a candidate’s fund raising is restricted under the public campaign finance rules, then an independent expenditure group, spending unlimited money, could swing an election. “You don’t want to open the door to having IE’s pretty much picking your legislature,” Heastie said. Heastie said New York City elections , where the Democratic primary often determines the winner, are simpler than statewide contests, which often involve multiple political parties. Wisneski, with Citizen Action, remains skeptical of Speaker Heastie’s arguments. She said her group has identified at least 50 Assemblymembers who would vote yes on public financing. And she said they are spending the coming days trying to bring that number up to the 76 votes needed for passage in that house. Recent Posts BINGHAMTON, NY (WSKG) — Women on motorcycles are delivering donated breast milk at stops across New York. They are the Sirens Women Motorcycle Club of New York City and they are leading the Milk Caravan, starting in Valhalla at the New York Milk Bank and ending in Lancaster—just outside of Buffalo. ITHACA, NY (WSKG) - Dairy is big business in New York, but the dairy industry is changing and so is the look of dairy farms. Inside the Cornell Teaching Dairy Barn its breezy and comfortable. The barn is part of the Veterinary School. ITHACA, NY (WSKG) - Cornell University has just received $7.1 million from the Air Force to expand the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS). The new high energy x-ray beams will also be available to manufacturers. The beams allow researchers to see materials at a molecular level to better understand how they fail, performance limits, and how long a part can last. Arthur Woll is the Director of Materials Solutions Network at CHESS. ALBANY, NY (WSKG) - There’s new scrutiny on vaping products of all kinds, as the number of New Yorkers sickened with a disease that is so far related to some black-market marijuana vaping products has now risen to 60. Hundreds of people across the United States have been sickened, and five have died. Southern Tier Actors Read perform 'Mastergate' in the ballroom of the Phelps Mansion Museum. Director Judy McMahon talks about this satire about both Hollywood and the Congressional hearing process, written by M.A.S.H. creator Larry Gelbart. About WSKG WSKG connects you to local and global news and the arts online, on the radio, and on TV. NPR and PBS affiliate. | Low | [
0.5,
33.75,
33.75
] |
Q: Re-enable selection on Firefox dialog I checked the 'Don't ask me again' option at some point, and now these dialogues don't appear any more, but I actually want them to show. How do I enable them? A: Open Firefox and type about:config to the address bar. Navigate to value dom.max_script_run_time, right-click on it and select Reset | Low | [
0.5260869565217391,
30.25,
27.25
] |
Additional Information How back does your Bruins fandom go? You can talk as much about their last Stanley Cup win as you can about fights on the ice from decades past. So, to make your diehard love of this Original Six team clear, put on this pullover for the game. Its vintage touches mark you as a long-time fan, while its jersey styling, including a lace-up front and striped sleeves, adds an authentic finish. | Low | [
0.514462809917355,
31.125,
29.375
] |
Q: Python, using glob with cwd argument to subprocess.call I want to call a subprocess in python using subprocess.call(), with the 'cwd' argument so that this particular subprocess is executed in a different directory. I don't want to use os.chdir() because for future processes later in the program I want to remain in the original directory from where the program was run. BUT, I also want to run this particular subprocess on a set of files matching a glob pattern. So for example, I might want to do subprocess.call(['ls'] + glob('*.txt'), cwd="/my/other/dir/") But of course the glob command doesn't know to look in /my/other/dir, so it fails. How can I do this without using shell=True? A: You could use the CWD in the glob pattern as well. Like glob.glob("/my/other/dir/*.txt"). It will expand with full match, like /my/other/dir/aa.txt. In case you do not want to pass the full path to the executable, cut it off. CWD = "/my/other/dir/" files = map(lambda x: x[len(CWD):], glob.glob(CWD + "*.txt")) subprocess.call(['ls'] + files, cwd=CWD) Or you could just change the directory back after the subprocess has finished. | Mid | [
0.615189873417721,
30.375,
19
] |
# JavaScriptBridge  [](https://cocoapod-badges.herokuapp.com/v/JavaScriptBridge/badge.png) [](https://cocoapod-badges.herokuapp.com/p/JavaScriptBridge/badge.png) [](https://travis-ci.org/kishikawakatsumi/JavaScriptBridge) [](https://github.com/igrigorik/ga-beacon) Write iOS apps in Javascript! JavaScriptBridge provides the way to write iOS apps with JavaScript. JavaScriptBridge bridges Cocoa touch to JavaScriptCore (JavaScriptCore.framework is introduced in iOS 7). You get the power of dynamics of scripting language for your apps. *It is still in development, obviously. You're welcomed to contribute if you find the project interesting!* ## Usage ```objc #import <JavaScriptBridge/JavaScriptBridge.h> ... // Retrieve the prepared context JSContext *context = [JSBScriptingSupport globalContext]; // Add framework support if needed. // ('Foundation', 'UIKit', 'QuartzCore' enabled by default.) [context addScriptingSupport:@"MapKit"]; [context addScriptingSupport:@"MessageUI"]; // Evaluate script [context evaluateScript: @"var window = UIWindow.new();" @"window.frame = UIScreen.mainScreen().bounds;" @"window.backgroundColor = UIColor.whiteColor();" @"window.makeKeyAndVisible();" ]; ``` 1. Retrieve the `JSContext` instance from `JSBScriptingSupport`. The context includes a lot of system classes that has been `JSExports` adopted. ```objc JSContext *context = [JSBScriptingSupport globalContext]; ``` 2. Add `JSExports` adopted classes each framework if needed. By default, `Foundation`, `UIKit`, `QuartzCore` frameworks are included. ```objc [context addScriptingSupport:@"MapKit"]; [context addScriptingSupport:@"MessageUI"]; ``` 3. It is ready to use, writing appliction code and evaluate in JavaScript. ```objc [context evaluateScript: @"var window = UIWindow.new();" @"window.frame = UIScreen.mainScreen().bounds;" @"window.backgroundColor = UIColor.whiteColor();" @"window.makeKeyAndVisible();" ]; ``` #### Manually setting up a new JSContext instance 1. Create new `JSContext` instance instead using `globalContext`. You can separate JavaScript environments to use multiple contexts. ```objc JSContext *context = [[JSContext alloc] init]; ``` 2. Add `JSExports` adopted classes each framework if needed. `Foundation`, `UIKit` and `QuartzCore` frameworks **MUST** be added. ```objc [context addScriptingSupport:@"Foundation"]; [context addScriptingSupport:@"UIKit"]; [context addScriptingSupport:@"QuartzCore"]; [context addScriptingSupport:@"Accounts"]; [context addScriptingSupport:@"Social"]; ``` ### Syntax / Naming conventions **Class name** Same as Objective-C **Variable declaration** Get rid of `Type name` instead use `var` ```objc UILabel *label; ``` ```javascript var label; ``` **Properties** Use dot syntax ```objc UISlider *slider = [[UISlider alloc] initWithFrame:frame]; slider.backgroundColor = [UIColor clearColor]; slider.minimumValue = 0.0; slider.maximumValue = 100.0; slider.continuous = YES; slider.value = 50.0; ``` ```javascript var slider = UISlider.alloc().initWithFrame(frame); slider.backgroundColor = UIColor.clearColor(); slider.minimumValue = 0.0; slider.maximumValue = 100.0; slider.continuous = true; slider.value = 50.0; ``` **Invoking method** Use dot syntax All colons are removed from the selector Any lowercase letter that had followed a colon will be capitalized ```objc UIWindow *window = [[UIWindow alloc] initWithFrame:[[UIScreen mainScreen] bounds]]; ``` ```javascript var window = UIWindow.alloc().initWithFrame(UIScreen.mainScreen().bounds); ``` **Struct (CGRect, NSRange, etc.)** Use Hashes ```objc UIView *view = [UIView new]; view.frame = CGRectMake(20, 80, 280, 80); CGFloat x = view.frame.origin.x; CGFloat width = view.frame.size.width; ``` ```javascript var view = UIView.new(); view.frame = {x: 20, y: 80, width: 280, height: 80}; var x = view.frame.x; // => 20 var width = view.frame.width; // => 280 ``` ## Examples ###Hello world on JavaScriptBridge This is the most simplest way. ```objc @implementation JSBAppDelegate - (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions { JSContext *context = [JSBScriptingSupport globalContext]; [context evaluateScript: @"var window = UIWindow.new();" @"window.frame = UIScreen.mainScreen().bounds;" @"window.backgroundColor = UIColor.whiteColor();" @"" @"var navigationController = UINavigationController.new();" @"var viewController = UIViewController.new();" @"viewController.navigationItem.title = 'Make UI with JavaScript';" @"" @"var view = UIView.new();" @"view.backgroundColor = UIColor.redColor();" @"view.frame = {x: 20, y: 80, width: 280, height: 80};" @"" @"var label = UILabel.new();" @"label.backgroundColor = UIColor.blueColor();" @"label.textColor = UIColor.whiteColor();" @"label.text = 'Hello World.';" @"label.font = UIFont.boldSystemFontOfSize(24);" @"label.sizeToFit();" @"" @"var frame = label.frame;" @"frame.x = 10;" @"frame.y = 10;" @"label.frame = frame;" @"" @"view.addSubview(label);" @"viewController.view.addSubview(view);" @"" @"navigationController.viewControllers = [viewController];" @"" @"window.rootViewController = navigationController;" @"window.makeKeyAndVisible();" ]; return YES; } @end ``` Of course, the script is able to be loaded from external file. ```objc @implementation JSBAppDelegate - (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions { NSBundle *mainBundle = [NSBundle mainBundle]; NSString *path = [mainBundle pathForResource:@"main" ofType:@"js"]; NSString *script = [NSString stringWithContentsOfFile:path encoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding error:nil]; JSContext *context = [JSBScriptingSupport globalContext]; [context evaluateScript:script]; return YES; } @end ``` ###Writing apps with only JavaScript See the [UICatalog](https://github.com/kishikawakatsumi/JavaScriptBridge/tree/master/Examples/UICatalog/UICatalog) example. ## Enhancements ###Define custom classes You can define custom class in JavaScript. It is needs to interact system provided framework. `JSB.defineClass(declaration, instanceMembers, staticMembers)` function defines Objective-C class in JavaScript. Pass the class declaration string to first argument. Second argument is instance method definitions as hash. The hash object inclueds function object, each keys are to be used as method name. **Example** ```javascript var MainViewController = JSB.defineClass('MainViewController : UITableViewController', { // Instance Method Definitions viewDidLoad: function() { self.navigationItem.title = 'UICatalog'; }, viewWillAppear: function(animated) { self.tableView.reloadData(); } }, { // Class Method Definitions attemptRotationToDeviceOrientation: function() { ... } }); ``` **Example** ```javascript var MainViewController = JSB.defineClass('MainViewController : UITableViewController <UITableviewDataSource, UITableviewDelegate>', // Declaration // Instance Method Definitions { viewDidLoad: function() { self.navigationItem.title = 'UICatalog'; }, tableViewNumberOfRowsInSection: function(tableView, section) { return self.menuList.length; }, tableViewCellForRowAtIndexPath: function(tableView, indexPath) { var cell = UITableViewCell.alloc().initWithStyleReuseIdentifier(3, 'Cell'); cell.accessoryType = 1; cell.textLabel.text = self.menuList[indexPath.row]['title']; cell.detailTextLabel.text = self.menuList[indexPath.row]['explanation']; return cell; }, tableViewDidSelectRowAtIndexPath: function(tableView, indexPath) { var targetViewController = self.menuList[indexPath.row]['viewController']; self.navigationController.pushViewControllerAnimated(targetViewController, true); } }, { // Class Method Definitions ... }); ``` ###Modules JavaScriptBridge provides simple module system `require/exports` funcitons, like Node.js. `JSB.require(name)` function enables external module, `JSB.exports` publishes a module. See [example](https://github.com/kishikawakatsumi/JavaScriptBridge/tree/master/Examples/UICatalog/UICatalog/js). ```javascript var ButtonsViewController = JSB.require('buttonsViewController'); var ControlsViewController = JSB.require('controlsViewController'); var WebViewController = JSB.require('webViewController'); var MapViewController = JSB.require('mapViewController'); var MainViewController = JSB.defineClass('MainViewController : UITableViewController', { viewDidLoad: function() { self.navigationItem.title = 'UICatalog'; ... }); JSB.exports = MainViewController; ``` ###For Debug `JSB.log` function is the same as `NSLog`. ```javascript JSB.log('view: %@', self.view); ``` ## Requirements - **iOS 7 or later** - JavaScriptCore.framework ## Installation JavaScriptBridge is available through [CocoaPods](http://cocoapods.org), to install it simply add the following line to your Podfile: pod "JavaScriptBridge" ## Author kishikawa katsumi, [email protected] ## License [Apache]: http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 [MIT]: http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php [GPL]: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html [BSD]: http://opensource.org/licenses/bsd-license.php JavaScriptBridge is available under the [MIT license][MIT]. See the LICENSE file for more info. | Mid | [
0.559585492227979,
27,
21.25
] |
After one year of efforts, the spanish popular legislative initiative for basic income ended without enough signatures to go to parliament. For the past year, a grassroots movement in Spain has been very actively campaigning for the introduction of a basic income by means of a national popular legislative initiative (ILP). Thanks to the efforts of a growing number of basic income supporters, approximately 185,000 signatures were collected – less than the threshold of 500,000 signatures required for the initiative to be examined by the national parliament. The exact number of signatures still have to be counted by national authorities after a validation check. Although the number of signatures collected is considered lower than hoped – organisers said the campaign contributed significantly to spreading the idea of basic income across Spain. The initiative “ILP Renta Basica Universal” was organised by a grassroots coalition formed at a meeting in Madrid organised during the Summer of 2013. This so-called “Movement against unemployment and precarity – for a basic income now” federated various left-leaning organisations such as political movement Baladre, Civic Front, Dignity Camps, and was later joined by many other organisations and the Green Party EQUO. While the idea of universal basic income was plainly stated in the official text of the ILP and viewed as a civic right, in practice the campaign also aimed at urging the government to implement a means-tested guaranteed minimum income in the short run. This strategy was the result of a compromise between the various organisations leading the campaign. The Spanish Initiative officially started on January 15th 2014, right after the end of the European Citizens Initiative which collected almost 300,000 signatures at the EU level and ended on January 14th. The period of signature collection started two months later on March 14th, and was immediately followed by an important participation in the “Dignity Marches”, a broader anti-austerity demonstration involving more than one million people who converged on the Plaza del Sol, the Central Square of Madrid on March 22nd. This was a tactical move to spread the idea of basic income among social movements in Spain. Unfortunately, just like the European initiative, the Spanish campaign suffered from the burdensomeness of the legal procedures required to make a successful initiative. In the case of Spain, it is extremely complicated to collect signatures electronically. In fact, over the last 30 years, only one popular initiative have successfully reached the threshold of 500,000 signatures to be examined by the spanish parliament. It was an initiative aiming at protecting victims of the mortgage crisis. Basic income is now at the forefront of spanish politics For a few months now, the idea of basic income has been in the forefront of political debates in Spain, a development largely due to the series of efforts provided by BIEN’s affiliate Red Renta Basica, the European Citizens Initiative, the ILP campaign and the impressive rise of Podemos. To celebrate their achievements, activists gathered last Saturday on the central square of Madrid. “The goal of the initiative was more about generating 500,000 conversations about the concept of basic income rather than just collecting the signatures” activist Jorge Martín Neira said. Uncertain future for the movement “The project does not end here, insisted the organizers, rather we are entering a new phase. We will not stop until this policy measure becomes reality. As people we need a more fair, human and inclusive society. This is how we will have more freedom as well.” While activists look determined to follow up, it is difficult to predict the destiny of the leaderless, diverse and decentralized movement which was founded for this campaign. | Mid | [
0.570841889117043,
34.75,
26.125
] |
Gene silencing approaches for the management of dyslipidaemia. The key role of dyslipidaemias in determining cardiovascular risk has been well established, and statins often provide effective therapeutic management. However, many patients do not achieve recommended lipid levels despite maximal therapy, and some cannot tolerate high-dose statin therapy. Recently, genetic insights into mechanisms underlying regulation of lipoprotein metabolism have expanded the potential targets of drug therapy and led to the development of novel agents, including development of gene silencing approaches. These therapeutic options include the modulation of synthesis in the liver, maturation in the circulation, and catabolism of lipoproteins. In this review, we discuss the pharmacological consequences of silencing apolipoprotein B, apolipoprotein (a), microRNA 33, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9, and apolipoprotein C-III. New potential targets such as other microRNAs, diacylglycerol acyl transferase-1, and angiopoietin-like protein 3 are also presented. The pharmacological consequences of gene silencing and the advancement of these therapeutic approaches in clinical development will be examined. | High | [
0.677707006369426,
33.25,
15.8125
] |
Lokale Kontakte Morelia-Lazaro Cardenas highway Project description The highway connecting the cities of Morelia and Lázaro Cárdenas in Michoacán state in southern Mexico was subjected to significant maintenance works in 2013 – 2014, with many bridge structures along its length being renovated. A number of the bridges required new expansion joints at each end of their decks, to provide a suitable driving surface for traffic while protecting the deck ends and preventing the passage of water through the deck’s movement gap. mageba scope mageba supplied 70 expansion joints for a large number of bridge structures on the highway: 36 TENSA-GRIP Type RS-B single gap joints (accommodating 110 mm of movement) and 34 TENSA-RSFD cantilever finger joints (allowing 160 mm of movement). The cantilever finger joints, in addition to facilitating greater movements, also minimize noise from traffic crossing the movement gap by providing continuous support to a vehicle’s wheels and thus avoiding the impacts that can result in noise. | Mid | [
0.6117136659436,
35.25,
22.375
] |
Yes I can.1) go into SCM-Manager and create new repository with type svn, assign user and right2) my developer use http://www.eclipse.org/subversive with SVNKit 1.3.5 r7406 connector3) point eclipse to to new repository4) create new folder in repository like: "absdefg-01 - test" 5) and trying to commit or create subfolder in that folder fail. when I reproduce this in Tortoise SVN, folder like "absdefg-01 - test" is work I'd like to add, that until we switch this repository from subversion to SCM, my developer have no trouble with path and there is too many commits, folders and files inside failde patch from start post | Mid | [
0.6055979643765901,
29.75,
19.375
] |
Q: NDK build reporting file doesn't exist on an existing file I'm trying to build mediastreamer2 for Android. I'm using cygwin on Windows 7. While running ndk-build I get the following errors: $ ../../android-ndk-r6b-windows/android-ndk-r6b/ndk-build Gdbserver : [arm-linux-androideabi-4.4.3] libs/armeabi/gdbserver Gdbsetup : libs/armeabi/gdb.setup Compile arm : mediastreamer2 <= mscommon.c cc1.exe: error: /cygdrive/c/Users/SN/workspace/hello-jni/jni/src/../build/android/libmediastreamer2_AndroidConfig.h: No such file or directory In file included from C:/Users/SN/workspace/hello-jni/jni/src/mscommon.c:28: C:/Users/SN/workspace/hello-jni/jni/src/../include/mediastreamer2/mscommon.h:22: 23: error: ortp/ortp.h: No such file or directory In file included from C:/Users/SN/workspace/hello-jni/jni/src/../include/mediastreamer2/msfilter.h:24, from C:/Users/SN/workspace/hello-jni/jni/src/mscommon.c:29: C:/Users/SN/workspace/hello-jni/jni/src/../include/mediastreamer2/msqueue.h:22:28: error: ortp/str_utils.h: No such file or directory In file included from C:/Users/SN/workspace/hello-jni/jni/src/../include/mediastreamer2/msfilter.h:24, from C:/Users/SN/workspace/hello-jni/jni/src/mscommon.c:29: However, /cygdrive/c/Users/SN/workspace/hello-jni/jni/src/../build/android/libmediastreamer2_AndroidConfig.h is an existing file. Any ideas on how to fix this? The Android.mk file is here, and I've added the following lines to it at the bottom before I ran it. include $(CLEAR_VARS) LOCAL_MODULE := mediastreamer2wrapper LOCAL_STATIC_LIBRARIES := mediastreamer2 include $(BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY) A: Only way I found to build it was to do it on Linux. Cygwin didn't work. | Mid | [
0.571748878923766,
31.875,
23.875
] |
371 F.2d 626 S. S. SILBERBLATT, INC. and the Travelers Indemnity Company,Appellants,v.LAMBERT CORPORATION, Appellee. No. 23683. United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit. Jan. 10, 1967, Rehearing Feb. 8, 1967. Richard U. Simon and Simon & Simon, Fort Worth, Tex., for appellants. Harold Clark, Waco, Tex., Gardon A. Dotson and Dotson & McFarland, Houston, Tex., for appellee. Before TUTTLE, Chief Judge, and JONES and GEWIN, Circuit Judges. TUTTLE, Chief Judge: 1 This is the second appeal of this case, arising from the failure of the subcontractor on United States Government Housing Projects to pay the supplier of paint for some 800 family units at Fort Hood, Texas. 2 S. S. Silberblatt, having incorporated S. S. Silberblatt, Inc., successfully bid on the construction of five housing projects for family units at Fort Hood, Texas. Each of the five contracts, however, was entered into by a separate corporation. These were called Fort Hood Housing Corporation No. 6, No. 7, No. 8, No. 9 and No. 10 respectively. The construction contract for each of the projects was executed by Mr. Silberblatt as President of Silberblatt, Inc., and as president of each of the housing corporations. Five payment and performance bonds were executed covering this one construction contract, with Silberblatt, Inc. as principal, and the Travelers Indemnity Company, as surety. A separate bond was executed for each of the housing corporations; each bond covered the particular project to be developed by the housing corporation to which it was issued. 3 Arcotex Painting Contractors, Inc. was the painting subcontractor on the construction contracts. Lambert Corporation supplied paints and painting materials to Arcotex for the five housing projects. It delivered to Arcotex at its Fort Hood Warehouse for use on the five projects $120,585.37 worth of paints and painting materials between March 4,1961 and July 6, 1962. 4 Lambert was not aware of the five separate housing corporations and had no control of or knowledge of the particular project in which the paints and painting materials were used; it merely supplied these items for the one construction project. 5 In February, 1962, Lambert advised Arcotex that further shipments would cease because of non-payment of the then due balance. Silberblatt, Inc., through Mr. Silberblatt, telephoned Lambert, following which Silberblatt, Inc. wrote a letter guaranteeing Arcotex's obligation.1 Thereupon, in reliance upon the letter, Lambert resumed shipment to Arcotex until all five projects were completed. Lambert continued to bill Arcotex at the prices originally quoted to Arcotex. On March 14, 1962, Arcotex paid Lambert $18,000 on its account, leaving with $20,000 still due. Thereafter Arcotex paid for the continued shipments as the invoices for them became due. Arcotex issued its checks in the exact amount of the current invoices due and owing, noting on the checks the current amount due. Arcotex followed the system of applying the payments on the balance due for current shipments. Lambert, on the other hand, credited these payments against the unpaid balance owed by Arcotex. Upon completion of all housing projects and termination of shipments in July, 1962, there remained unpaid on Arcotex's account $20,168.73. Arcotex and Silberblatt, Inc. refused to pay this balance. Notice of default payment was given by Lambert, Inc. to Silberblatt, Inc. and Arcotex by letter dated July 31, 1962, and mailed August 2, 1962, and to Travelers by letter dated and mailed August 24, 1962. Lambert instituted suit on November 13, 1962, against Arcotex, Silberblatt, Inc. and Travelers, jointly and severally. Arcotex failed to answer and an interlocutory decree was entered against it on March 25, 1963. 6 Silberblatt, Inc. and Travelers answered and denied liability. The principal argument of appellants was that each bond covered only the materials furnished for the particular project covered by it; that the payments made subsequent to March 18, 1962, were 'applied' by Arcotex to current purchases, so that the unpaid balance represented paints and materials furnished prior to March 18, 1962, and used in one of the four projects completed on or before April 18, 1962; that recovery must be had, if at all, against the bonds covering these projects; that the notice of default of August, 1962, was not within the 90 day period required by such bonds, and that, therefore, Silberblatt, Inc. and Travelers are not liable to Lambert. 7 The trial court, prior to the first appeal, held that it was unnecessary to determine which particular contract the paints supplied by Lambert were used for. It made a conclusion of law, No. 2, to the effect that: 'Gerrymandered application by the subcontractor (Arcotex) and/or prime contractor (Silberblatt, Inc.) of payment to the running account of the supplier plaintiff (Lambert) would not bar the claim of the supplier who continuously furnished materials received by the subcontractor and used in the projects up to their final acceptance. Under the Miller Act . . . the plaintiff is entitled to recover the balance unpaid on all the materials which had been furnished up to the conclusion of the whole contract.' 8 This court held that the findings of fact made by the trial court were not sufficient upon which to rest the district court's judgment, and concluded that the case must be remanded for further findings under the requirements of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 52(a). 9 In remanding the case this court held, 'A debtor making a voluntary partial payment of his indebtedness to a creditor may direct to which portion of the indebtedness the payment shall be applied, and the creditor must apply the payment as directed or return it (citing Jones v. United States, 7 Howard 681, 48 U.S. 681, 687, 12 L.Ed. 870). Thus the determinative issue is whether Arcotex did in fact direct Lambert to apply to current purchases the payments made after March 18, 1962.' S. S. Silberblatt, Inc. v. United States, 353 F.2d 545, 548 (5 Cir.). 10 Upon remand, the district court expressly made the finding that Arcotex did direct Lambert to apply the payments to current purchases. Nevertheless, the trial court, apparently failing to appreciate the significance of the legal basis of this court's earlier action, proceeded to find that in effect the five separate contracts were one single contract and that the bonding company could be found liable if any one of the five contracts was in default, and timely notice had been given within the termination of the last of the contracts. 11 In view of the law of the case as announced by this court in its earlier decision, and because this law as there stated is correct, we must necessarily decide that the judgment of the trial court against the Travelers Indemnity Company was in error and it cannot stand. This is true because it is only as to the contract entered into on behalf of Fort Hood Housing Corporation No. 10, with completion date on July 6, 1962, that the notice of default served on the bonding company falls within the 90 day period required by the terms of the bond. 12 However, the case as against Silberblatt lies differently. The trial court, on both hearings, treated the letter of February 28th as a guarantee by Silberblatt of the payment of past due items as well as a guarantee that current payments would be made to Lambert. The trial court also found as a fact, on the second hearing, that the condition contained in the second paragraph of the letter relating to delaying payments upon 'the open account,' was satisfied at the meeting held in March of 1962.2 Thus the guaranty signed by Silberblatt on February 28th became final and binding. 13 Appellant Silberblatt's argument on this appeal that this letter did not amount to a guaranty of payment of the past due account does not merit serious consideration. It is plain on its face; it was acted on as such; it was considered by the trial court to be such guaranty; and we find that this was its intended and actual effect. Therefore, the judgment against Silberblatt was correct and it must stand. 14 Appellants' contention that it was error for the trial to include judgment for attorneys fees has been answered by our prior decision in National Surety Corp. v. United States for Use and Benefit of Olmos Bldg. Materials Co., 5 Cir., 327 F.2d 254. Moreover, this contention would have been relevant only if we affirmed the judgment against the bonding company. 15 The judgment as to Travelers must be reversed. The judgment against Silberblatt is affirmed. 1 By letter dated Feb. 28, 1962, Silberblatt, Inc. wrote: 'Mr. Charles Lambert Lambert Corporation P.O. Box 151 Houston, Texas 'Re: Fort Hood, Texas and Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. 'Dear Mr. Lambert: 'Receipt is acknowledged of yours of Feb. 26, 1962 with regard to your account with Arco-Tex Printing Contractors, Inc. at both of the above-captioned projects. 'As explained to you over the telephone, I have assured you that you will receive payment for all materials delivered and used at the above projects, provided that prices are found to be satisfactory. However, I have made no undertaking to pay you immediately against your open account until such time as I have had an opportunity to go over the matter with you and Mr. Abriss on my next visit to Fort Hood, which I expect to be sometime in the early part of March. This was agreeable to you. 'I believe this would work to our mutual advantage, since, although we have never undertaken to guarantee the obligations of Arco-Tex, we will, in your case, make an exception; understandably, we cannot undertake to release funds until we know and can agree on exactly what is involved. 'We are as anxious as you to clarify the entire problem to avoid the continuance of an area of uncertainty, and you need have no doubts that the writer will personally attend to the matter within the time indicated. 'Very truly yours, S. S. Silberblatt, Inc. By: (s) S. S. Silberblatt Shepherd S. Silberblatt President' 2 Finding 8 by the trial court was as follows: 'At a meeting in March of 1962, with representatives of LAMBERT, ARCOTEX, and SILBERBLATT present (Tr. 74, 75, 234) all of the invoices were checked for the purpose of verifying receipt of the material and prices charged. All were verified correct, with the exception of a discrepancy in the amount of $621.00, for which LAMBERT issued credit for $621.00. SILBERBLATT then had a check issued to ARCOTEX for $18,000.00; and ARCOTEX, in turn, wrote and delivered a check to LAMBERT in the amount of $18,000.00, which was applied on the outstanding balance of the open account of LAMBERT. (Tr. 240) SILBERBLATT stated at said meeting that all subsequent shipments would be paid for in full, but that he wished to check further as to prices. (Tr. 241). Findings No. 9 are as follows: 'In June of 1962, the representatives of LAMBERT, ARCOTEX, and SILBERBLATT again went over all shipments and invoices. SILBERBLATT refused payment to LAMBERT for the amount remaining unpaid for materials furnished through February 28, 1962, on the grounds that even though said materials were furnished by the supplier to the subcontractor at the same prices as originally agreed upon, and even though all materials furnished after February 28, 1962 had continued to be billed and paid for at the prices originally quoted by LAMBERT to ARCOTEX, the materials could have been purchased from a different supplier at lower prices. (Tr. 248) Regardless of whether or not the material could have been obtained from another supplier at lower prices, it is an undisputed fact that LAMBERT was the sole supplier of paint and painting material for the 800 housing units in the one contract; that neither SILBERBLATT nor ARCOTEX availed themselves of such lower prices for the contract; and that neither ARCOTEX nor SILBERBLATT were under any obligation to continue ordering, receiving, and using materials furnished by LAMBERT.' | Low | [
0.5074626865671641,
29.75,
28.875
] |
Tiny Times Tiny Times (Chinese: 小时代), also known as Tiny Times 1.0 is the first installment of the film series written and directed by Guo Jingming and based on the best-selling novel of the same name also by Guo. Plot The four young women are classmates in high school and roommates in college. On campus, they start their internships and cope with a series of romantic affairs. After graduation, they continue their correspondence, suffused with misunderstanding and jealousy. However, they have all changed significantly. After graduation, Lin Xiao settles into her job as an editorial assistant at a fashion magazine and acclimatizing herself to the glamorous, high-octane world of haute couture. She meets her demanding and cold boss, Gong Ming, whose melancholic persona is described by Lin Xiao as “a distant, lonely planet in the universe”. Her work puts her relationship with her high school sweet heart, Jian Xi in peril. Meanwhile, Gu Li faces struggle in her relationship with Gu Yuan at the intervention of his mother, who seeks to marry him off to an even wealthier family. Nan Xiang paints to support her fashion design studies, while at the same time struggle with her on-and-off relationship with abusive boyfriend Xi Cheng. Wan Ru worries that her aspirations in life are never really made certain, and the fact that she might not get a boyfriend. Cast Yang Mi as Lin Xiao Kai Ko as Gu Yuan Amber Kuo as Gu Li Rhydian Vaughan as Gong Ming Bea Hayden as Nan Xiang Evonne Hsieh as Tang Wanru Cheney Chen as Zhou Chongguang Li Yueming as Jian Xi Jiang Chao as Xi Cheng Kitty Shang as Kitty Calvin Tu as Wei Hai Wang Lin as Ye Chuanping Ding Qiaowei as Yuan Yi Release and reception Box office The film grossed US$79.7 million at the Chinese box office. Accolades Original soundtrack References External links Category:Chinese films Category:Films set in Shanghai Category:Films shot in Shanghai Category:Films based on Chinese novels Category:Chinese romantic drama films Category:2010s romantic drama films Category:Adaptations of works by Guo Jingming Category:Tiny Times Category:Le Vision Pictures films | High | [
0.6722925457102671,
29.875,
14.5625
] |
Q: c# - listview does not add items when using a delegate Using a worker thread, I am adding items to a ListView, however to do this I have implemented a delegate in the form as shown below in the code sample. Problem: When the ListView.Items.add() line is executed, nothing is added to the ListView What I have tried: I added a button, when clicked, it successfully adds a ListViewItem to the ListView object, as it should. (this is before the worker thread start, for testing/debugging) I have also tried swapping the ListView to a RichEdit in case I had a bug in the code, but the items successfully display in the RichEdit, thus I added another ListView incase the first/previous one was buggy, and without renaming the ListView, I tried adding the items, but without success. What happens in the Delegate: Nothing, after the clear() method, the 4 columns each with headers disappear and nothing is added to the list view Conclusion: My only conclusion is that the delegate is not compatible with the ListView, since I was able to add the items to a RichEdit, but not to a ListView. Is this a bug? Am I doing something wrong? code sample void connected_add_device() { string[] t = { "123", "-1", "sa.d.sdf.s.fg", "sda-f-sd-fgds-gf" }; if (display_connected_Devices.InvokeRequired) display_connected_Devices.BeginInvoke((MethodInvoker)delegate () { display_connected_Devices.Clear(); display_connected_Devices.Items.Add(new ListViewItem(t)); } ); else { display_connected_Devices.Clear(); display_connected_Devices.Items.Add(new ListViewItem(t)); } } For what it is worth, I had a bad GIT commit. After everthing is fixed, this ListView (which before the GIT issue, had successfuly displayed the items) now doesn't display the items anymore. A: Use display_connected_Devices.Items.Clear(); instead. Because display_connected_Devices.Clear(); will clear, like you noticed, the columns aswell. | Low | [
0.5222772277227721,
26.375,
24.125
] |
Munfordville Presbyterian Church and Green River Lodge No. 88 The Munfordville Presbyterian Church and Green River Lodge No. 88 is a historic church and former Masonic lodge building, located at 3rd and Washington Streets in Munfordville, Kentucky. It was built in 1835 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The church was organized in 1829 by the Reverend John Howe. It was the first church in Munfordville. As originally constructed, the building contained a meeting hall for Green River Lodge No. 88 on its upper floor, and the lodge group was still meeting there in 1977. References Category:Presbyterian churches in Kentucky Category:Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Category:Buildings and structures in Hart County, Kentucky Category:National Register of Historic Places in Hart County, Kentucky Category:Masonic buildings in Kentucky | High | [
0.674641148325358,
35.25,
17
] |
Q: ignore characters when using sql distinct or groupby I am using sql distinct to select unique data from csv, how do I make strings like below become one. column1, column2 Young, boy & the dresser, 1 Young boy & the dresser , 2 GPs: who is there, 1 GPs who is there, 2 I am using the code here select distinct(colum1) as c1 from Table sum(column2) as c2 group by c1 Here is my expected result c1, c2 Young, boy & the dresser, 3 GPs: who is there, 3 OR Young boy & the dresser, 3 GPs who is there, 3 A: If comma, colon and trailing spaces are the only issues you have, you could try something like this: select col1, sum(col2) from (select rtrim(ltrim(replace(replace(col1,',',''),':',''))) as col1, col2) t group by col1; | Mid | [
0.581333333333333,
27.25,
19.625
] |
Q: Is there any benefit to login to a website as anonymously as possible, if you've already been there from an identifiable IP address? Here's a basic example of the situation I am in: 1.Friend downloads full-length, new release movie on shady internet site (felony). 2.Uploads it to a randomly created, cloud hosting service account (fake info, such as name/etc.). 3.Uses my home IP address to create the account from my ISP with no anonymity. *Note that this happened over four years ago, and nothing's happened so far. Now he wants to get the movie off the cloud service without tracks leading back to him. But he already logged in and created the create from my home ISP, then uploaded the movie from another IP, so there's a good chance they have logged it and can get straight to me if anyone knew it was illegal content, which I doubt anyone actually checks. Anyways, here's the tough question: Even assuming the fact that he created the account from my home ISP, which is the same account later logged in from a remote IP and which the movie was uploaded from, is it worth it to: 1.Try and login anonymously (Tor, Elite proxy, VPN, etc.) to download it back and close the account. 2.Or would one be just as likely to get in trouble doing it from behind Tor as from the same home ISP? ASSUMING anything happens here, and in hopes that, since 4 years have passed, chances are the only savior here from charges. So basically, is it dumb to try and "get the file back and delete the account" from an anonymous location, or would we be both no more or no less likely to get in trouble downloading it and logging in right from my home ISP than from, say, Tor/Proxy/VPNs? This is all in dire hope that nobody ever knows and this just stays as a silent boo-boo forever. A: Short answer, I do not think that any society will prosecute anyone for removing illegal content. You are just cleaning some mess, that's all you are doing. Would you talk about uploading new content of the same kind, creating new accounts for such usage, etc., then anonymity would be preferable. But here you are just cleaning your account. From a more general perspective, a lot of service are logging the n last IP addresses associated to an account. This information can be useful in a lot of situations, from finding the real account owner as in your case to being able to track down identity theft in case someone tried to steal impersonate you using your own account. The size of this n just depends on the website owner choices, there is no standards about this. | Low | [
0.519480519480519,
30,
27.75
] |
Carlos Martínez Rivas Carlos Martínez Rivas was a Nicaraguan poet, most famous for his poem "El paraíso recobrado" ("The recovered paradise"), a love poem first published in 1944. Early years and time in Spain Carlos Martínez Rivas was born on October 12, 1924 in Puerto de Ocoz, Guatemala, where his parents were vacationing. From an early age, Martinez Rivas showed a special talent for poetry. He won his first poetry competition at age 16 and at age 18, while still a high school student at Colegio Centro-América, a Jesuit school in Managua he wrote "El paraiso recobrado" which was published in 1944. After graduating from high school, Martinez Rivas moved to Spain. While living in Spain he studied literature and philosophy at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and wrote a couple of pieces that were published in "Alferez", a Spanish magazine that also published works by Julio Ycaza Tigerino and Pablo Antonio Cuadra. (1) Mexico and diplomatic career Martinez Rivas moved to Mexico in the early 1950s. There he published his most famous work, a book of poems titled "La insurrección solitaria" ("The solitary insurrection".) "The solitary insurrection" was to become Martinez Rivas's last published work. After Mexico, Martinez Rivas worked for the Nicaraguan foreign service. In this capacity he lived in Los Angeles, Paris, San José, Costa Rica and again in Madrid. After his diplomatic career, Martinez Rivas worked as a professor at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua. He died in Managua, Nicaragua on June 16, 1998. He is buried in Granada, Nicaragua References http://www.filosofia.org/ave/001/a025.htm Category:1924 births Category:1998 deaths Category:20th-century Nicaraguan poets Category:Nicaraguan male poets Category:20th-century male writers | High | [
0.717488789237668,
30,
11.8125
] |
When Dilma Rousseff was elected president of Brazil in 2010, industry was thriving and her goal of stamping out poverty in the world’s seventh-largest economy appeared within reach. Many Brazilians hoped that Ms. Rousseff, a former political prisoner, would establish a legacy as a transformational head of state at home and abroad. So far, those hopes appear to have been misplaced. Ms. Rousseff has been an underwhelming leader on domestic matters and, perhaps most disappointing, on the world stage. While the other three large emerging economies, China, Russia and India, are pursuing muscular foreign policies, under Ms. Rousseff’s watch, Brazil’s voice in the international arena barely registers above a whisper. After being re-elected by a tiny margin last fall, Ms. Rousseff is now facing the most turbulent period of her political career. The economy is sputtering, and Brazilians are enraged by the widening corruption at Petrobras, the state-owned oil company, which has tainted top figures from the ruling Workers Party. With thousands of Brazilians taking to the streets to protest Ms. Rousseff’s leadership, and some calling for her impeachment, the president will very likely be tempted to hunker down and focus on weathering the political crisis. While restoring the trust of constituents will undoubtedly be tough, Ms. Rousseff would be wise to spend more energy looking outward, to help strengthen the country’s economy. | Mid | [
0.5381944444444441,
38.75,
33.25
] |
Receptionist/ Administrative Assistant Central Entertainment Group - Manhattan, NY 10018 This job posting is no longer available on Indeed. Central Entertainment Group, Americas leading Celebrity Influencer marketing and talent Agency, is seeking an experienced Reception/Administration Assistant for our growing Admin Team in our Mid Town Headquarters. The ideal candidate will have at least two years of experience working in a similar position , strong attention to detail, and a personality thats not intimidated by our high visibility clients. Daily responsibilities will include assisting the Office administrator in the following tasks, but are not limited to: Answering phones and directing inquires. Greeting clients. Scheduling conference and meeting room. Keeping office and kitchen supplies inventories and ordering. FedEX, bank runs, postoffice and mailing services. Assisting agents. Backing up our contract administrator Qualifications At least two years of Reception/Admin assistant experience Proactive Problem-solver SmartSheet ,Quickbooks and Quick Base experience a plus This job will offer the opportunity to advance within the company after a qualifying period of time JOB START: First week of August Job Type: Full-time Salary: $30,000.00 to $35,000.00 /year Location: Manhattan, NY 10018 (Preferred) Work authorization: | Mid | [
0.6416040100250621,
32,
17.875
] |
<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0;URL=struct.kevent.html"> </head> <body> <p>Redirecting to <a href="struct.kevent.html">struct.kevent.html</a>...</p> <script>location.replace("struct.kevent.html" + location.search + location.hash);</script> </body> </html> | Low | [
0.25305410122164,
9.0625,
26.75
] |
Q: Exhaustive combinations of lists in python I have a long list of lists in Python that looks something like this: myList=[ ('a',[1,2,3,4,5]), ('b',[6,7,8,9,10]), ('c',[1,3,5,7,9]), ('d',[2,4,6,8,10]), ('e',[4,5,6,7,8]) ] And I would like to enumerate the common values exhaustively ('a:b', ), ('a:c', [1,3,5]), ('a:d', [2,4]), ('a:e', [4,5]), ('b:c', [7,9]), ('b:d', [6,8,10]), ('a:c:e', [5]), ('b:c:e', [7]), ('b:d:e', [6,8]), and the same for groups of four, five, six until all common values have been identified (assuming the lists were longer) Is this possible using the itertools library or sets or a combination of the above? I have been trying to write a function that loops over the original list for every new list I generate but It hasn't been going well! Here is what I have: def findCommonElements(MyList): def sets(items): for name, tuple in items: yield name, set(tuple) def matches(sets): for a, b in combinations(sets, 2): yield ':'.join([a[0], b[0]]), a[1] & b[1] combinationsSet=list(matches(sets(keywordCount))) combinationsList=[] for pair,tup in combinationsSet: setList=list(tup) combinationsList.append((pair, len(setList), setList)) combinationsList=sorted(combinationsList,key=lambda x: x[1], reverse=True) #this just sorts the list by the number of common elements return combinationsList A: I think You can try to use itertools.combinations with itertools.chain nit very good example but It should work. I will use itertools and generators here: lengthes = xrange(2, len(myList)+1) combinations_list = (itertools.combinations(myList, i) for i in lengthes) combinations = itertools.chain.from_iterable(combinations_list) def find_intersection(lists): res = set(lists[0]) for data in lists: res &= set(data) return res result = [(':'.join(i), list(find_intersection(v))) for i, v in (zip(*x) for x in combinations)] or just itertools.combinations def findCommonElements(MyList): combinationsList=[] for seq_len in xrange(2, len(MyList)+1): for combination in combinations: for indexes, values in zip(*combination): intersection = reduce(lambda x, y: x & set(y[1]), values, set(values[0])) if intersection: combinationsList.appen(':'.join(indexes), intersection) return combinationsList | Mid | [
0.5401301518438171,
31.125,
26.5
] |
Haiti politics: Quick View - Protests erupt over fuel price rises Major protests have broken out across Haiti, following the implementation of unpopular fuel price rises at the end of June. Although the government moved to suspend the price increases in response, the protests have yet to come to a halt. Analysis The first round of protests broke out on July 6th in the capital, Port‑au‑Prince, and quickly spread across the country, leaving three dead amid violent demonstrations, roadblocks and sporadic looting. The protests were in response to fuel price increases, announced in May, that saw gasoline prices rise by 38%, diesel by 47%, and kerosene by 51%. Fuel price increases are politically sensitive because they impact all sectors of Haitian society, through rising transportation costs and higher costs for heating and cooking. Such a sharp increase in energy costs, at a time when annual inflation is at double‑digit levels (12.7% in May), would further erode consumers' already weak purchasing power (Haiti's per‑head income is the lowest in the Western Hemisphere). It is for this very reason that previous efforts to raise fuel prices via the retrenchment of subsidies have been unsuccessful. The most recent protests have had the same outcome, with the president, Jovenel Moïse, announcing on July 7th that the fuel price increases would be suspended indefinitely. The policy reversal highlights the weakness of the ruling party in a context in which voters frequently take to the streets to influence policy, and can threaten to oust the government. | Mid | [
0.6101694915254231,
36,
23
] |
Farmland protection at state level hits wall Efforts by state governments to protect agricultural land through purchase of agricultural conservation easement (PACE) programs stalled despite an apparent increase in total acres protected. When Colorado is taken out of the mix, the remaining state-level programs protected 21 percent less land than in the prior year. American Farmland Trust | Nov 23, 2011 According to new statistics released by American Farmland Trust’s (AFT) Farmland Information Center, efforts by state governments to protect agricultural land through purchase of agricultural conservation easement (PACE) programs stalled despite an apparent increase in total acres protected. PACE programs compensate farmers and ranchers for permanently protecting their land with conservation easements that limit future development and keep farmland available for agriculture. The Farmland Information Center’s[3] survey of PACE programs found that during 2010, state programs[4] acquired four percent more easements to reach a total of 12,415 easements nationwide. Protected acres rose eight percent to 2,185,996 acres. But Colorado accounted for 59 percent of the year’s increase in acres. The state more than doubled its annual acres protected from 43,723 acres in 2009 to 95,303 acres in 2010. When Colorado is taken out of the mix, the remaining state-level programs protected 21 percent less land than in the prior year. Colorado completed several large acreage projects. Another bright spot was New Jersey, where in August, Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation allocating $90.6 million to preserve farmland in the Garden State. New Jersey’s State Agriculture Development Committee administers the farmland preservation programs, which include state-initiated farmland protection projects and grants to counties, municipalities and nonprofits. In contrast, at least 16 active state programs either reduced spending or continued not to fund farmland protection projects in the face of tight state budgets. All states together spent $185,204,380, or 21 percent less than 2009, and 45 percent less than the amount in 2008. Cuts in state-level farmland protection funding are particularly ill-timed because PACE activity had started to gain momentum, encouraged by federal funding. From 2001 to 2011, there was a 32 percent increase in the number of active state-level programs and a 127 percent spike in independent local programs. Easements acquired by state programs rose 153 percent from 4,898 to 12,415 while protected acres skyrocketed by 171 percent. Early adopters have realized significant accomplishments; protecting meaningful proportions of their agricultural land base. Continued funding is needed to keep pace with development. Only three states had saved more than one acre for each acre of agricultural land converted: Delaware (1.21 acres), Maryland (1.63 acres) and Vermont (3.28 acres). Five additional states had protected more than 0.5 acre for each acre lost: Pennsylvania (0.64 acre), New Jersey (0.69 acre), Massachusetts (0.77 acre), Connecticut (0.83 acre) and Colorado (0.91 acre). PACE programs do not stop development but ensure that there will be a supply of agricultural land in the future. FRPP allocations Food production, and therefore long-term food security, depends on the availability of agricultural land. Saving agricultural land as the world’s population grows from 7 billion to 9.4 billion in 2050 will help ensure that the global demand for food can be met. Well-managed agricultural land also provides food and cover for wildlife and protects watersheds. It helps control flooding, absorbs and filters wastewater, provides groundwater recharge, and has the potential to generate a source of renewable energy. Working lands support local economies through sales of farm goods, job creation, support services and businesses, and by creating secondary markets such as food processing and distribution. The federal government helped bridge the funding gap last year, releasing $31 million more in Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) allocations than it did in 2009. The FRPP provides matching funds to entities to buy easements on agricultural land. Since its inception in 1996 through 2010, the FRPP has allocated nearly $888 million for easement acquisitions and supporting technical assistance. Of the 25 states that acquired easements through PACE, 22 (or 88 percent) have used FRPP funds. In addition to assisting state PACE programs, the FRPP has worked with local PACE entities and non-governmental organizations in 49 states. Reductions in federal funding or significant changes to the program could further stall farmland protection efforts nationwide. “We hope that Congress will think long and hard about cuts to conservation because conservation spending is vital to our national security. Conservation dollars spent here won’t be undone by future development. A working lands easement program keeps land available for production and invests in local economies,” says Dr. Katherine “Kitty” Smith, AFT Vice President of Programs and Chief Economist. As of January 2011, 25 states have active state-level PACE programs. Montana’s state PACE authority expired in 2003. AFT’s Farmland Information Center conducts an annual survey of state and local PACE programs throughout the country. Results are available online at www.farmlandinfo.org[3]. | Low | [
0.519668737060041,
31.375,
29
] |
[Two models of day hospital for elderly mental patients]. Two new forms of gerontopsychiatric care were analysed: a gerontopsychiatric day hospital (GDH) attached to an outpatient psychiatric center (1st model) and a gerontopsychiatric half-time day hospital attached to an inpatient mental unit (2nd model). Both day hospitals covered mainly patients with functional mental disorders (75.6 and 88.7%, respectively), organic psychic diseases were rarer (8.6 and 2.3%, respectively). In 1st model of GDH the patients admitted with initial stage of mental disorder or during exacerbations of chronic mental disease. Conditions of such day hospital provide opportunity to accomplish a full examination of patients and intensive psychopharmacological treatment. This permits to avoid psychiatric hospitalization in many cases. Patients of 2nd model of GDN could be admitted from an inpatient mental units if their condition remained unstable after a course of therapy or if they had any difficulties in adapting themselves to home life. | Mid | [
0.6353467561521251,
35.5,
20.375
] |
Q: Powershell: How to copy files from one Directory to another I am looking to copy a series of files from one directory to another. Essentially the files are a series of zip folders that are simply changed versions of programs. The files will be named something like: test_1_092.zip in the source directory and test_1_091.zip in the target directory. I don't want the script to look at the numeric portion of the folder, simply the name. Please forgive my lack of knowledge as this is my first foray into powershell scripting. Any thoughts or need more info? A: Something to start with (Get-ChildItem -Filter "*.zip").Name | where {$_ -like 'test_1_*'} | Move-Item -Destination .\1 -Force -WhatIf Please confirm the output from –whatif , then remove it to perform the action. For the relation between the new and old name, please provide some more information. | Mid | [
0.653937947494033,
34.25,
18.125
] |
Sign up or log in to save this to your schedule and see who's attending! Professor Graham Smith is a prominent Māori educationalist and advocate who has been at the forefront of alternative Māori initiatives in the education field and beyond. His academic background is within the disciplines of Education, Social Anthropology and Cultural and Policy Studies. More specifically, his academic work has centred on developing theoretically informed transformative strategies related to intervening in Māori cultural, political, social, educational and economic crises.Professor Smith has been an influential contributor to the development of what he has described in his writings as the ‘twenty-five year Maori educational revolution, 1982 – 2007’. This period saw the development of a range of alternative educational strategies by Maori communities, beginning with Te Kohanga Reo (Maori Language pre-school initiative), through the Maori Immersion elementary school development (Kura Kaupapa Maori), Maori Secondary Schools (Whare Kura) and the emerging tertiary option of Wananga. He has had a ‘hands-on’ approach with respect to his participation and commitment with these initiatives. Professor Smith was the foundation chairperson of the Council for Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi: indigenous-university in Whakatāne. | Mid | [
0.6263982102908271,
35,
20.875
] |
Recently, I decided I really needed to do my homework and dig into what FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) certified wood really is. The answer I got was disappointing to say the least. While I respect what FSC is trying to accomplish, I learned that there are still not sufficient sustainable logging practices taking place throughout this certification. What is even more alarming is what it takes to become FSC CoC (Chain of Custody) certified. Essentially, the FSC applicant pays a fee (considerable in amount) to engage the certification body to "audit" the company. This basically is to analyze the company's practices from operations to supplier's and so on. Where this gets a little blurry is that the lumber company for example now has to receive a CoC certification. What this means is that they have to show documentation tracing back the logs from where they were forested to show that they were "sustainably" harvested. So I dug a little deeper to see what sustainably harvested meant and was forwarded here. And after much digging finally ended up finding the document which outlines recommendations for sustainable harvesting here. Here is where I jump off the FSC bandwagon. After reviewing the documents they outline a series of reforestation practices, planting planning and so on to promote sustainable forestry. However, they also get into how not to "disturb the indigenous peoples through logging" which sent up a "hey whats that?" flag in my mind. The last indigenous people I knew of in North America were the Native American Indians. But wait.... According to FSC requirements, you can log in Africa, China, Russia and Peru. Then ship the logs to be milled in plants in Mexico, China and India and then finally shipped here to the states. Whaa? Whats the carbon footprint for that 2x4?? I was really expecting to see local harvesting promoted, if not a standardized practice such as mulching roots of cut trees to replenish the exact nutrients in the soil new trees need. Or how to selectively cut trees to maintain shade and soil protection as opposed to allowing "controlled clear cutting so long as the eco-system is not changed" All in all I was a little put back by FSC's requirements. Enough griping, now I would like to challenge the Forestry Stewardship Council to reform their protocols and drastically increase the sustainability of the forestry practices currently written into its standards by the following: Jobs - If FSC is truly trying to promote sustained job growth then I believe some in our current US economy would really appreciate a job at a mill in Atlanta or Florida sustainably harvesting our current supply of trees. Fuel Conservation/Pollution - The fact is that Stewardship is cyclical. Stewardship regards all costs and activities to determine its sustainability. Thus the same old way of exporting and importing wood just won't work anymore... so change it. If that means the CEO won't get any FSC certified zebra wood for his desk so be it....maybe he can find reclaimed huh? Global Standards - Great start, just not enough. I recently heard how the treeline in Canada isn't getting as cold as it used to. So the tree ravaging insects that otherwise would have their populations controlled by freezing temperatures are now thriving. This is resulting in complete forest systems being wiped out. The world isn't waiting, change faster. I don't want this to seem like a rant on FSC wood however, if you're going to reform an industry you can't do it by making it easy or even remotely possible by doing the same old practices as before with some minor revisions. | Mid | [
0.5626373626373621,
32,
24.875
] |
Genetic analysis of bristle loss in hybrids between Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans provides evidence for divergence of cis-regulatory sequences in the achaete-scute gene complex. The two closely related species of Drosophila, D. melanogaster and D. simulans, display an identical bristle pattern on the notum, but hybrids between the two are lacking a variable number of bristles. We show that the loss is temperature-dependent and provide evidence for two periods of temperature sensitivity. A first period of heat sensitivity occurs during larval development and corresponds to the time when the prepattern of expression of genes whose products activate achaete-scute in the proneural clusters preceding bristle precursor formation is established. A second period of cold sensitivity corresponds to the time of emergence of the bristle precursor cells and the maintenance of their neural fate, a process requiring high levels of Achaete-Scute. Expression of achaete-scute at these two critical periods depends on cis-regulatory elements of the achaete-scute complex (AS-C). The differences between males, which have only one copy of the X-linked AS-C from D. simulans, and females, which have copies from both parental species, are compared, together with the effects of crossing in different rearrangements of the D. melanogaster AS-C that delete regulatory and/or coding sequences. We provide evidence that bristle loss in the hybrids may result from a decrease in the level of transcription at the AS-C and argue that interaction between trans-acting factors and cis-regulatory elements within the AS-C has diverged between the two species. | High | [
0.682414698162729,
32.5,
15.125
] |
The present invention relates to computing and data processing, and in particular, to an adaptive tile framework. The growth of mobile computing has placed nearly unlimited amounts of information in the hands of users. As the processing power of handheld devices continues to increase, and as the speed of wireless networks continues to accelerate, mobile device users are faced with the growing challenge of managing and organizing their computing resources. Traditionally, the presentation of information on a mobile device has focused on static consumption. Many mobile applications present users with articles, music, and messages for consumption. Yet, as network connectivity increases, more resources traditionally found on a desktop system are becoming available on mobile devices. While this stands to create many opportunities, it has also created many challenges. For example, there are many paradigm shifts that make mobile devices a challenging environment to work in. In contrast to traditional desktop systems, where a user may have constant access to a full keyboard, mouse, and possibly multiple large displays, the interface on many mobile devices is often much more constrained. Interface efficiency is often a critical requirement of a mobile device. Additionally, network connectivity is another distinction between mobile devices and traditional desktop systems. In a desktop system, a computer is often connected directly to a network, which in turn, may be connected via high speed connections and standard protocols to backend servers or the Internet. However, accessing complex functionality that may reside on an external system using a mobile device is challenging because in many cases intermediate, and sometimes intermittent, networks and unique gateways are required to access typical backend systems. Further, given limited interface space available on many mobile devices, accessing feature rich backend services can be a significant challenge. | Mid | [
0.587234042553191,
34.5,
24.25
] |
The Posts You Read Most in 2013 India entered 2013 reeling with the gang rape and murder of a young student in December – a crime that swept the country with grief and unleashed a bout of soul-searching on the state of women in the world’s largest democracy. The year ended with a rookie political party — one born out of anticorruption protests that gripped India in 2011 — defeating political heavyweights in New Delhi. As the new year begins, we take a look at the top 10 most-read pieces on India Real Time in 2013: Advertisement Agence France-Presse/Getty Images #1. Indian Rhino Poachers Shot Dead:A post about one-horned rhinos, a species painstakingly brought back from the brink of extinction over the past century, was our top-read blog of 2013. In March, two poachers allegedly involved in killings rhinos were shot dead by forest guards in the northeastern state of Assam. Assam’s four national parks account for 80% of the world’s nearly 3,000 one-horned species. Manjunath Kiran/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images #2. The Problem With Delhi’s Rich Kids: In India’s capital, the children of the nouveau riche often get whatever they want, apart from happiness, a commentary on our blog read in August. The piece, our second-most read this year, elicited strong responses from India Real Time readers. For some, the blog spoke of a problem that is rarely addressed: malaise and mental health issues among Delhi’s young elite. Other readers had little sympathy for wealthy young people who suffer from depression and boredom. Joanna Sugden/WSJ #3. Where Virginity Is For Sale in India: In April, we wrote about Koppal, an impoverished district in the southern state of Karnataka, where virginity is for sale. The piece, which chronicled the life of devadasis, or girls whose virginity is auctioned off to the highest bidder, was our third-most read of the year. Associated Press #4. What Is a ‘Sexual Potency’ Test? In September, following the arrest of a 75-year-old godman on allegations of rape, we put together an explainer on India’s sexual potency test, which police often require senior citizens to undertake when probing charges of sex crimes against them. #6. Air India’s Dreamliner Nightmare: Passengers aboard India’s beleaguered national carrier, Air India, continued to face jitters midair as one of its Dreamliner jets developed a crack on its outer windshield while landing in Melbourne in November. Another, meanwhile, received warnings of faulty brakes ahead of its arrival in New Delhi. Air India’s troubles with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner aircraft was our sixth-most read for the year. #8. A ‘Rape Map’ of India: In January, after the gang rape and murder of the young woman, our graphics team put out a map detailing the number of rape cases reported in each Indian state in 2012, as well as conviction rates for the crime across the country. The map, which was broadcast by some local television channels, was our most popular graphic in 2013. Reuters #9. Why I’m Not Speaking at Wharton:Sadanand Dhume, who was slated to be one of the speakers at the Wharton India Economic Forum in March, withdrew from the business school conference after the organizers’ canceled Narendra Modi’s scheduled keynote. In this piece, Mr. Dhume, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, explained his decision to pull out over the divisive politician. Tsering Topgyal/Associated Press #10. Live Blog — State Election Results: Four Indian states – New Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan – went to polls in late 2013. Wall Street Journal reporters live-blogged the results from offices of political parties pitched against one another, as well as offered commentary and analysis on challenges that lie ahead for the winners in each state. Share your favorite India Real Time blogs for the year, along with suggestions on what you’d like to read from us in 2014. Click here to read the most-read posts of 2012 and here for 2011. About India Real Time India Real Time offers analysis and insights into the broad range of developments in business, markets, the economy, politics, culture, sports, and entertainment that take place every single day in the world’s largest democracy. Regular posts from Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires reporters around the country provide a unique take on the main stories in the news, shed light on what else mattered and why, and give global readers a snapshot of what Indians have been talking about all week. You can contact the editors at indiarealtime(at)wsj(dot)com. | Mid | [
0.65079365079365,
30.75,
16.5
] |
The present invention relates to a radar sensor having a transceiver device, an analog/digital converter for converting the received signals into digital data, a memory device for storing the digital data as a useful data set which provides the digital data for one recording period as a function of time, a transformation device for calculating one spectrum of the useful data set, and an analyzer for analyzing the spectrum. In particular, the present invention deals with a radar sensor which forms a component of a driver assist system in a motor vehicle, e.g., an ACC system (adaptive cruise control) for an automatic radar-supported distance regulation. A typical example for a radar sensor of the above-mentioned type is an FMCW radar (frequency modulated continuous wave) in which the frequency of the transmitted radar signal is periodically modulated at a certain ramp gradient. The frequency of a signal which was reflected from a radar target and is subsequently received by the radar antenna at a certain point in time thus differs from the frequency of the signal transmitted at this point in time by an amount which is a function of the signal propagation delay and thus of the distance to the radar target, and also of the Doppler shift and thus of the relative velocity of the radar target. The received signal is mixed with the signal transmitted at this point in time in a mixer in the radar sensor, so that a low-frequency signal whose frequency corresponds to the frequency difference between the transmitted signal and the received signal is obtained by pulsation. This low-frequency signal is then digitized in the analog/digital converter using a suitable time resolution. The digitized data is recorded over a certain recording period which, for example, corresponds to the length of the ramp with which the transmitted signal is modulated. Via an algorithm, which is known as “fast Fourier transformation” (FFT), a spectrum is formed from the data set obtained in this way. In this spectrum, each detected radar target is represented by a peak which rises more or less clearly above the noise level. By repeating this procedure using different ramp gradients it is possible to eliminate the ambiguity between the propagation time-dependent frequency shift and the Doppler shift so that the distance to and the relative velocity of the radar target may be calculated. An angle-resolving radar sensor which generates multiple radar lobes slightly offset toward one another is mostly used in motor vehicles, and the above-described signal processing and signal analysis take place separately for each radar lobe, preferably in parallel channels. In order to be able to follow the located radar targets with high time resolution, digital data processing should take place at a bit rate as high as possible. However, the occasional occurrence of errors may not be completely ruled out. Such errors may not only occur due to the fact that the received signal is noisy, but also due to the fact that electromagnetic interference signals interfere with the analyzing electronics or that individual data bits are corrupted during data transmission and data processing (bit aliasing). Further error sources are software errors or hardware errors which are detectable only sporadically under unfavorable circumstances and have therefore been overlooked during quality control. For reasons of traffic safety, the radar sensor should make it possible to locate other vehicles and obstacles as reliably as possible. Moreover, efforts are made to upgrade the functionality of driver assist systems to the point of completely autonomous vehicle control as a long-term objective. To the extent to which new and increasingly complex tasks are assigned to the driver assist system, demands on the reliability of the radar sensor also increase. | Mid | [
0.645933014354067,
33.75,
18.5
] |
Off Main Street / The offbeat side of the news Those madcap politicians A news conference Thursday revealing the expansion plans for Empire Genomics, a life sciences company located on the edge of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, brought out a gaggle of politicians and generated plenty of fodder for us. Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes said she was happy to be in the Western New York Medical Arts Center, and she recalled the difficulty officials had in gaining support for the project. “This was about three or four governors ago – we change them so quickly of late,” Peoples-Stokes said to laughter. Empire Genomics CEO Anthony Johnson then flubbed his introduction of State Sen. Tim Kennedy, calling him “Assembly member,” before apologizing when he returned to the lectern. Kennedy took the demotion in stride and then grabbed the opportunity to poke a little fun at former Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, now the regional director for Empire State Development. “Has Sam Hoyt – have you ever seen him look better? Ever since he’s been working for the governor, he wears a tie to work every day,” Kennedy quipped. The Force is strong with them Tuesday’s news that Disney is buying Lucasfilm and its “Star Wars” franchise prompted a brief search for local fans. We interviewed Larry Tewtewsky and his wife, Janice Mergenhagen, about the deal and the prospect that Disney will produce three more movies. Sure, the Kenmore residents are part of the North Ridge fan group, whose members dress up as characters from the six “Star Wars” movies for various events. But we wanted proof that they’re serious “Star Wars” fanatics. First, they said they’ve seen the original “Star Wars” movie (Episode IV) alone at least 50 or 60 times in theaters or screenings at fan conventions. Their house is filled with “Star Wars” paraphernalia, and not just the Kenner toys from the late ’70s and early ’80s. They have “Star Wars” curtains, blinds, bath towels and bed sheets. They dressed as Jedi for their Las Vegas wedding 30 years ago, and their rings are inscribed with, “May the Force be with You.” “We live ‘Star Wars,’ ” Tewtewsky said. Speaks the truth, does this one. No Goal, and no class Brett Hull can’t leave us alone. Thirteen years ago, the Dallas Stars stole the Stanley Cup from the Buffalo Sabres when Hull scored the “winning” goal in Game Six of the Finals while his left skate was planted in Dominik Hasek’s goal crease. Hull was violating NHL rules, but the league didn’t care. The Cheater still gloats about his “No Goal” and antagonizes still-bitter Sabres fans. (Get over it? We’ll never get over it). Last year, he changed his Twitter avatar to a photo of him holding a miniature Stanley Cup and wearing a “Brett Hull is a Cheater” T-shirt. His latest obnoxious move came just before Halloween, when he tweeted a picture of a jack-o’-lantern carved to replicate the famous, aerial-view photo of his goal, along with this note: “Happy Halloween to all my friends in Buffalo!” Hull’s “friends” didn’t appreciate it. “I hate Brett Hull and pumpkins equally now,” Brian Guarino wrote on WGR Sports Radio 550’s Facebook page, one of the few printable reactions. The maestro assassin A “60 Minutes”/Vanity Fair poll in the November issue of the magazine had mixed news about the public’s knowledge of American history. Sure, 75 percent accurately answered “Who shot Abraham Lincoln?” The problem? Twenty-five percent didn’t know it was John Wilkes Booth. Seven percent thought it was Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated John F. Kennedy, while another 2 percent said it was James Earl Ray, who killed Martin Luther King Jr. And 1 percent selected Michael Tilson Thomas as Lincoln’s assassin. Thomas, of course, served as music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra for most of the 1970s. “Personal note to 1 percent of you (and you know who you are): Michael Tilson Thomas, his three names notwithstanding, is in fact a conductor and composer,” the editors chided. | Low | [
0.52267818574514,
30.25,
27.625
] |
$breakpoints: ( 'small': (min-width: 768px), 'medium': (min-width: 992px), 'large': (min-width: 1200px), ); $brand-color-background: white; $brand-color-content: black; $brand-color-lighter: lighten($brand-color-content, 50%); $font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; | Mid | [
0.611386138613861,
30.875,
19.625
] |
2007 Henrico County’s 2007 NACo Begun in 1970, the annual National Association of Counties’ (NACo) Achievement Award Program is a non-competitive awards program which seeks to recognize innovative county government programs called County Model Programs. Created as a part of NACo’s New County, USA Campaign, the Achievement Award Program continues to embody the grassroots and local government energy the program was designed to promote. The main emphasis of the New County, USA campaign was to modernize and streamline county government and to increase its services to its citizens, goals that are still the main emphasis of the Achievement Award Program today. County governments across the country, working alone and in cooperation with other governments at the municipal, state and national levels, continue to develop innovative and successful programs in a wide range of service areas, including arts and historic preservation, children and youth, community and economic development, corrections, county administration, emergency management, environmental protection, health, human services, libraries, parks and recreation, transportation, volunteers and much more. The Achievement Awards Program gives national recognition to county accomplishments, and has enabled NACo to build a storehouse of county success stories that can be passed on to other counties. This year, Henrico County is proud to note that it has been recognized by NACo with 15 Achievement Awards. When Henrico County’s Enterprise Zone program began in 2003, the Department of Community Revitalization targeted specific areas for economic development and job creation, offering incentives including architectural assistance and grants for fa?ade renovations. In 2006, the County expanded the Enterprise Zone area and added a grant for off-site improvements. In May 2006, to coincide with expansion of the Enterprise Zone, the Department initiated a marketing and promotion effort by creating a cable television show entitled “Enterprise Zones,” updating the Enterprise Zone brochure and Information Packet, and coordinating two special events. Materials and events promoted the Enterprise Zone to business and property owners, real estate professionals, and the general public. From 2003 to mid-2006, over 50 businesses received design assistance and 15 received fa?ade grants. The application’s “Results” describe outcomes resulting from the new promotional campaign. The neighborhood grocery store became separate retail stores and restaurants with tools, house wares, antiques, and barbeque for sale. The enclosed mall re-oriented store entrances toward the major thoroughfares, inspiring owners across the street to also apply for Enterprise Zone incentives as they re-invent their properties. National statistics consistently show that Americans are increasingly overweight and point to the negative effects obesity has on their general health and well-being. To help combat this trend and promote a healthy workforce, the Human Resources Department’s Employee Health Services Division designed a 12-week “Fat Busters” competition that promotes healthy weight loss in a competitive and motivational format. The objective is to encourage beneficial lifestyle changes during a short-term competition that demonstrates the ability to achieve a long term goal – maintaining a healthy weight and improving overall health. By participating in the “Fat Busters” competition, Henrico County employees lost over 1 ? tons of weight during the first two annual competitions and committed themselves to healthy lifestyle changes. Moving from the role of individual contributor to that of a supervisor is often the most difficult change in people’s careers. Seemingly overnight, their contribution is based less on the work they produce and more on the work of those they lead. In their supervisory role, employees are expected to manage performance, implement delegation and diversity strategies, answer questions about rules and regulations, and more. None of these things are studied in school by the average civil engineer or police officer. How to orient inexperienced supervisors to their new role is a challenge to many organizations. Yet Henrico County has had phenomenal success with an initiative that uses a blended learning approach to introduce new supervisors to the many facets of their management role. This initiative provides critical information to supervisors almost immediately after they assume their new role. It offers valuable strategies using no less than eight different learning approaches. The program also includes ongoing support after the supervisor begins to implement these strategies in the workplace. Supervisors report an increase in their performance, in efficiency, in the quality of their work, and in their employees’ satisfaction. They also become more confident and capable because of this innovative initiative. The Henrico County Planning Department worked in conjunction with several local agencies and agencies of the Commonwealth of Virginia as part of the County’s effort to develop appropriate policies for the protection of special needs populations during emergencies. Departmental staff identified facilities housing special needs populations, mapped these facilities using the County’s GIS (Geographic Information System), created a database of facility-specific information (e.g., facility name, type of facility, census, and services offered), and formulated policy changes to help protect vulnerable citizens using these facilities in the event of a catastrophic event. The resulting program has improved the administration and enhanced the cost effectiveness of existing County programs aimed at providing services to special-needs populations and is a source of information to both the public and County agencies. It has also promoted intergovernmental cooperation and coordination in addressing the serious challenge of how to identify populations of citizens particularly at risk during a catastrophic event and provide for their health, safety, and welfare. 6. A.D.M.I.T. Program (Assist Division Members through Interview Training) As a nationally accredited law enforcement agency, the Henrico County Division of Police takes great pride in its mission to provide quality service to its citizens and community through honor, professionalism, commitment, compassion, and accountability. The Division ensures officers are able to fulfill this mission by providing them with the training and equipment to be successful. Some of the best officers then try to make an even bigger impact through promotions or transferring to a specialized section within the Division. The A.D.M.I.T. (Assist Division Members through Interview Training) program is designed to help Division members who, at some point in their career, may aspire to transfer to another section or participate in the promotional process. This program covers the nuances of formal interview training and includes how to prepare a resume for the interview, how to prepare for the interview, how to affect the panel’s perception, and how to successfully complete the interview. During this three-day program, successful leaders from within the Division are brought in to share their interview techniques and assist in conducting several mock boards. Every student writes a resume and completes at least two mock boards, which are video taped for further studying and discussion. Each student is offered advice on how to improve his or her technique and given the opportunity to apply and practice what he or she has learned. On November 24, 2006, the Henrico County Division of Police implemented Holiday Patrol 2006 for 33 days to have a concentrated presence of police officers in and around shopping malls, business districts, and surrounding areas. This was accomplished by deploying officers on foot, bicycles, and police vehicles for high visibility patrol. Despite the current personnel shortages of the Division of Police, this operation was initiated because of the positive response that had been received in the past from the business community, the citizens of Henrico County, and the success of past operations. It was also implemented so that Police could have a dedicated response to calls for service directly generated by the holiday season. To promote the opening of the new 53,000 square foot Tuckahoe Area Library, and to obtain a permanent art collection created by local artists, an art contest was launched. Open to all ages with eight categories of winners, the contest was sponsored by the Friends of the Tuckahoe Library and implemented by the library staff. Publicity was designed and disseminated, entries were received by the library, and a panel of judges selected 32 winners and 16 honorable mentions. To commemorate the opening, pieces of art donated by citizens were professionally framed and hung in the new library. Winning artists received prizes and recognition at a sneak preview of the new facility just days before it was opened to the public. As a result, a stunning collection of art created by local citizens graces the walls of the new Tuckahoe Library and serves as the backbone of its permanent art collection. Library cards are very powerful tools in today’s world, offering access to databases, the internet, books, audio books, and downloadable materials. In an effort to put a public library card in the hands of every Henrico County middle school student, the Henrico Public Library took its registration process on the road and went directly to the students and their parents. Annually, each middle school hosts a mandatory fee collection day where parents are able to pay for many materials (gym suits, locks, etc.) prior to the beginning of the school year. These “Fee Nights” provide an ideal opportunity for the library to enlist teens and their parents as patrons. Formerly, this service was offered at only one middle school. In 2006, this program was expanded to include nine additional schools encompassing the entire County. Laptop computers and library staff specializing in teen services and circulation, as well as the bookmobile, were deployed to all locations. Utilizing wireless network access and mobile computers, families were able to apply for library cards using an online application process. Cards were then mailed to the homes of the families with a letter stating how the card could be activated – by a simple visit to their local library. The Henrico County Department of Public Utilities Operations Event was envisioned as a team-building and cross-training exercise. Over 100 employees in the Operations Division came together for an afternoon of demonstrations and competitions designed to increase understanding and cooperation among the eight sections that make up the Division. An activity was planned for each section to represent the equipment it uses and the types of work it performs. The Utility Marking group conducted a treasure hunt with teams using GIS (Geographic Information System) maps and utility locating equipment. The Sewer Maintenance group developed an ATV (all-terrain vehicle) obstacle course and an elementary crane operating competition. The Pumping Section set up a confined space entry challenge and a wastewater pumping station puzzle to be assembled. The Dispatchers had a radio 10 code quiz. There were also fun events like an egg toss and a tug of war. A hardy lunch was provided for everyone. The Operations Event met all the original goals of the planning committee and, gauging by the positive feedback from the workforce, it had the additional benefit of boosting employee morale. School divisions face several challenges when trying to provide nutritious breakfast meals for students. Often buses arrive late to school after cafeterias have closed for the morning, so students miss breakfast service. Some schools have staffing and facility limitations that make it difficult to provide breakfast. Henrico County Public Schools’ health leadership team researched solutions to this situation and came up with an innovative approach to breakfast for elementary and middle school students. Breakfast-To-Go was piloted in 2004-05. The concept involves the provision of a boxed, name-brand, portable breakfast to students as they enter the building. Milk, an included part of the meal, is distributed by cafeteria staff. The students may eat their boxed meals (whole grain cereals, crackers, fruit juices, and other items) in the cafeteria or they may take the breakfast boxes to their classrooms. Attendance at the pilot schools increased by as much as 40 percent, which was partly attributable to the popularity of this program, and by 2006 breakfast consumption rose to nearly 75 percent. In 2004, the GED (General Education Development) Fast Track Program was developed and disseminated by the Department of Education to all adult education programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This program is designed to give students the extra instruction needed to pass the GED test in eight weeks. It is the goal of the Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS) Adult Education program to target adults within the community who would benefit from GED classes and to extend services directly to off-site locations. HCPS has taken this program into community settings by partnering with the Department of Social Services, Burger King, Adams and Laburnum Elementary Schools, J. Sargeant Reynolds Middle College, and District 32 Henrico Probation and Parole. These partnerships allow organizations to provide services to their clients who might otherwise not pursue a GED due to barriers beyond their control. The employability and quality of life of clients is thereby improved. Each public school in Virginia receives two accountability ratings annually. The state rating is based on the Virginia Standards of Accreditation and the federal rating is based on the No Child Left Behind Act. Continued data analysis is a required activity to maintain success in a rigorous dual accreditation environment. The Department of Research and Planning annually disseminates large amounts of student performance data to Henrico’s schools. Data distribution activities provide division, school, classroom, and student level information after each test administration. In the past, schools have received test data in the form of paper reports. To facilitate data distribution and analysis at the school level, a website was developed. The HCPS Test Data Website is an Intranet-based website used mainly for the distribution of testing results. The site went online in summer 2006. Providing electronic files to principals allows schools to customize their analysis activities to support timely instructional planning so that the needs of all students can be met. The Next Generation Leadership Academy (NGLA) is a unique partnership between the University of Richmond and four school divisions in the greater Richmond, Virginia area (Henrico County, Chesterfield County, Hanover County, and Richmond City). As a response to the school districts’ need for smooth succession planning, 56 aspiring school leaders enrolled in the second year of the nine-month academy. This non-traditional educational leadership program provides high quality professional development sessions each month with the singular focus of improving student achievement. The effort includes targeted training activities in which scholars in the leadership studies field and practitioners from school divisions offer their expertise to rising administrative candidates. Experts in the study of leadership deliver a theoretical portion for the first three hours of the NGLA sessions around such topics as group dynamics and leadership, ethics and leadership, and equity and leadership. During these sessions, aspiring leaders from across school district lines are able to learn together. Sharing lunch allows participants the opportunity to discuss professional concerns while facilitating networking opportunities. For the final three hours of the day, small groups are organized according to district. At this time, division leaders share insights and practical considerations in order that the theory may be applied to modern day school settings. High school students in Virginia are required to complete two credits of health and physical education before graduation. Between the 9th and 12th grades, it is very difficult for many students to complete all required course work as well as participate in a variety of electives. During the summer of 2006, as an alternative to the traditional physical education setting, Henrico County Public Schools piloted an online health and physical education tenth grade course by partnering with Polar heart monitors and local fitness centers (YMCA, American Family Fitness, and Velocity Sports Performance). Contributors also included the American Heart Association and several universities, colleges, and agencies. Students received a downloadable heart rate monitor, school issued laptop, and login status for the web-based automated course and were assigned a teacher to facilitate the 140-hour state-approved course. The 88 students who successfully completed the online course were able to perform physical activity in the target heart rate zone 41 to 49 percent of the time. | Mid | [
0.649350649350649,
37.5,
20.25
] |
The beginning: The above is from the book Jamestown [1607-1907], A Sketch of the History and Present Condition of the Site of the First Permanent English settlement in America, written by Edward Hagaman Hall. The second paragraph says something important: Jamestown, being the first permanent English settlement in America, became “the first successful planting of Anglo-Saxon civilization in the New World”, and the “garden of our people’s infancy in the Western Hemisphere.” Why is this important? Because of the fact that during the last century, after Hall’s book was published, new interpretations of American history began to appear in greater numbers, books which proposed alternate, ideologically-driven views of the origins of the European colonies, and ethnocentrically-driven theories meant to cloud the very story of the origins of Anglo-Saxon civilization in North America, diminishing the role of the English in the founding of this country. These alternate, counterculture views have grown more dominant in recent years, what with the popularity of multiculturalism, so that it has become necessary to re-assert what was for so long taken for granted: the idea that the United States of America originated with English colonists, and that American culture was derived solidly from Anglo-Saxon or Anglo-Norman roots. With this blog I hope to simply re-iterate what has been forgotten or purposely obscured and denied, and I intend to refer to neglected older sources, works which to my mind have more validity and credibility than the later 20th century writings which have too much of the taint of multiculturalism and its ”diverse and inclusive” dogma. I will also touch on current events here and in other Anglosphere countries, as we all face the same existential threat, and as, in my view, we need to re-discover that we have common ground with our cousins across the world. We have all become demoralized by the constant drumbeat, telling us that we of the Anglosphere countries have ”no culture” or the slander that our forefathers were oppressors simply by virtue of having been so successful at exploration and conquest. I hope to focus on Anglo-America but also our ancestral country, England, and our kindred in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and southern Africa. | High | [
0.668316831683168,
33.75,
16.75
] |
Exploring three perspectives on feasibility of a patient portal for older adults. It is not clear whether older adults with chronic disease and their caregivers are likely to use patient portals. Older adults with a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or congestive heart failure were evaluated as well as their caregivers. We explored whether these patients and/or their caregivers were able to use common portal elements. The perspective of informatics experts was ascertained using cognitive walkthrough methodology. Fourteen patients and nineteen caregivers were evaluated. Patients required more time on all tasks than caregivers. Patient comments included a request for written instructions for using the system and a guide for interpreting lab results. Caregiver suggestions included improving color contrast and presentation of the current medication list. In the cognitive walkthrough, numerous problems were identified. Older adults with chronic illness and caregivers were interested in using a patient portal however multiple barriers were identified. | Mid | [
0.649006622516556,
36.75,
19.875
] |
/* * Generated by class-dump 3.3.4 (64 bit). * * class-dump is Copyright (C) 1997-1998, 2000-2001, 2004-2011 by Steve Nygard. */ #import "UIViewController.h" #import "PSController-Protocol.h" @class PSRootController, PSSpecifier, UIViewController<PSController>; @interface PSViewController : UIViewController <PSController> { UIViewController<PSController> *_parentController; PSRootController *_rootController; PSSpecifier *_specifier; } - (void)statusBarWillAnimateByHeight:(float)arg1; - (BOOL)canBeShownFromSuspendedState; - (void)formSheetViewDidDisappear; - (void)formSheetViewWillDisappear; - (void)popupViewDidDisappear; - (void)popupViewWillDisappear; - (void)handleURL:(id)arg1; - (BOOL)shouldAutorotateToInterfaceOrientation:(int)arg1; - (void)pushController:(id)arg1; - (void)didWake; - (void)didUnlock; - (void)willUnlock; - (void)didLock; - (void)suspend; - (void)willBecomeActive; - (void)willResignActive; - (id)readPreferenceValue:(id)arg1; - (void)setPreferenceValue:(id)arg1 specifier:(id)arg2; - (id)specifier; - (void)setSpecifier:(id)arg1; - (void)dealloc; - (id)rootController; - (void)setRootController:(id)arg1; - (id)parentController; - (void)setParentController:(id)arg1; @end | Mid | [
0.6114942528735631,
33.25,
21.125
] |
Recent Changes: 1. Correct work with namespace in the XSD-scheme has been added. 2. Template editors for special data types (date, integer, float, decimal) with control of value insertion have been added. 3. Better work with references (ref) in the XSD-scheme has been implemented. 4. An example demonstrating work w | High | [
0.6833855799373041,
27.25,
12.625
] |
Epsilon becomes the latest victim of data hackers The summary: Epsilon, a professional marketing company that serves thousands of corporate clients, announced that hackers have gained access to potentially millions of e-mail addresses in their customer database. Epsilon claims that only e-mail addresses were compromised and that just 2% of clients were affected. The reaction: This is becoming an all too frequent news item. Epsilon I’m sure will take a public relations hit for this but the ultimate effect to their bottom line will probably be fairly minimal. I can’t imagine many clients leaving them over this. I’ve already received an e-mail from Walgreen’s saying they were a victim. The good news is that companies have become fairly good about getting out in front of data compromises and tend to step up their customer protections as a result. | Low | [
0.5216494845360821,
31.625,
29
] |
LEF-1 gene silencing inhibits pulmonary vascular remodeling and occurrence of pulmonary arterial hypertension through the β-catenin signaling pathway. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has been known to result in progressive pulmonary artery pressures (PAP), pulmonary vascular resistance, and right ventricular failure. Emerging evidence has highlighted the function lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1 (LEF-1) exerts in human diseases along with its potential participation in PAH. Herein, the present study aims to investigate the mechanisms by which LEF-1 affects the pulmonary vascular remodeling in rat models of PAH via the β-catenin signaling pathway. Both pulmonary vascular remodeling and PAP in the rat pulmonary arterioles were observed by using blood gas analysis as well as plasma NO level detection. Cells from the rats were then treated using monocrotaline (MCT) with PM2.5 also being treated with either shLEF-1, HU-308 (agonist of β-catenin signaling pathway) or shLEF-1 + HU-308. Expressions of the following: LEF-1, GSK-3β, β-catenin, PCNA, Caspase-3, survivin, and Bax were all determined by employing both RT-qPCR and Western blot. Cell proliferation, senescence, and apoptosis calculations were all measured by using the CCK-8 assay, SA β-Gal and flow cytometry methods, respectively. Rats that were treated with the combination of MCT + PM2.5, afterwards presented with a noticeably higher degree of pulmonary vascular remodeling and PAP, and reduced plasma levels of NO; besides, the expressions of LEF-1, GSK-3β, β-catenin, PCNA, and survivin were all elevated, while the expressions of both Caspase-3 and Bax were reduced. Following treatment of HU-308, cell senescence, and apoptosis were all inhibited, while cell proliferation had been contrarily enhanced; the transfection of shLEF-1. reversed the tendency. These results suggested demonstrate that LEF-1 gene silencing inhibited the activation of β-catenin signaling pathway, thereby suppressing both the occurrence and pulmonary vascular remodeling of PAH. Therefore, LEF-1 gene silencing may become a novel target for PAH treatment. | High | [
0.70505617977528,
31.375,
13.125
] |
Q: C++11 list initialization weird behaviour on Visual Studio 2013 I'm trying to pass an array to a function and to prevent writing "std::unique_ptr" each time and to make inline construction possible, I introduce a typedef (ItemList) to alias the array. #include <iostream> #include <memory> class Base { public: Base() { std::cout << "Base ctor" << std::endl; }; virtual ~Base() { std::cout << "Base dtor" << std::endl; }; }; typedef std::unique_ptr<Base> ItemList[]; template<typename T> class Derived : public Base { T val; public: Derived(T i) { val = i; std::cout << "Derived ctor" << val << std::endl; }; ~Derived() { std::cout << "Derived dtor" << val << std::endl; }; }; void dummyFunc(ItemList) { } void testFunc() { dummyFunc(ItemList{ std::make_unique<Derived<int>>(2), std::make_unique<Derived<float>>(3.0f) }); } //Entry point int main() { testFunc(); return 0; } This works as intended in a Debug build and prints; Base ctor Derived ctor2 Base ctor Derived ctor2 Derived dtor2 Base dtor Derived dtor2 Base dtor So far so good. But when I build this in Release mode (with all native compilers) I get; Base ctor Derived ctor2 Base ctor Derived ctor3 Derived dtor2 Base dtor The second item in the array is not getting destructed upon exiting the lifecycle of the array. The only way to make it work as I expect, is using a C++03 style initialization or debug mode; ItemList tmpList = { std::make_unique<Derived<int>>(2), std::make_unique<Derived<float>>(2.0f) }; dummyFunc(tmpList); This results in the intended behavior (all destructors called). I have not tested this with any other compiler yet but is this the expected behaviour? What am I doing wrong or am I missing something? Update: Interestingly dtors are called as expected with Base instances; dummyFunc(ItemList{ std::make_unique<Base>(), std::make_unique<Base>() }); Outputs; Base ctor Base ctor Base dtor Base dtor And just initializing the array (without function call) behaves the same as with the function call. A: Switch to Visual Studio 2015. This is probably an implementation bug in VS2013 compiler. | Low | [
0.5265700483091781,
27.25,
24.5
] |
Q: Zxing bar code scanner on Android device using Xamarin.Forms I am trying to use the Zxing code scanner on an andorid device with xamarin forms. created a button to open the Zxing scanner page. however when I am writed like this. it sends to me an unhandel exceptoin: private void BtnPress_Clicked(object sender, EventArgs e) { goToScan(); } private async void goToScan() { var scanPage = new ZXingScannerPage(); scanPage.OnScanResult += (result) => { // Stop scanning scanPage.IsScanning = false; // Pop the page and show the result Device.BeginInvokeOnMainThread(() => { Navigation.PopAsync(); DisplayAlert("Scanned Barcode", result.Text, "OK"); }); }; // Navigate to our scanner page await Navigation.PushAsync(scanPage); } } however if I move it to synchronize way I get this error: System.InvalidOperationException: PushAsync is not supported globally on Android, please use a NavigationPage. attaching my code: private void goToScan() { var scanPage = new ZXingScannerPage(); scanPage.OnScanResult += (result) => { // Stop scanning scanPage.IsScanning = false; // Pop the page and show the result Device.BeginInvokeOnMainThread(() => { Navigation.PopAsync(); DisplayAlert("Scanned Barcode", result.Text, "OK"); }); }; // Navigate to our scanner page Navigation.PushAsync(scanPage); } } and if I change the Navagation.push async to PushModalAsync like this: Navigation.PushModalAsync(scanPage); I move to the Zxing scanner page however it does not start to scan. (crusior event don't move. my main Andorid activity looks like this: [Activity(Label = "QRCode4", Icon = "@drawable/icon", Theme = "@style/MainTheme", MainLauncher = true, ConfigurationChanges = ConfigChanges.ScreenSize | ConfigChanges.Orientation)] public class MainActivity : global::Xamarin.Forms.Platform.Android.FormsAppCompatActivity { protected override void OnCreate(Bundle bundle) { ZXing.Net.Mobile.Forms.Android.Platform.Init(); TabLayoutResource = Resource.Layout.Tabbar; ToolbarResource = Resource.Layout.Toolbar; base.OnCreate(bundle); global::Xamarin.Forms.Forms.Init(this, bundle); LoadApplication(new App()); } public override void OnRequestPermissionsResult(int requestCode, string[] permissions, Permission[] grantResults) { global::ZXing.Net.Mobile.Forms.Android.PermissionsHandler.OnRequestPermissionsResult(requestCode, permissions, grantResults); } } appericate any help thanks. A: You are missing the Navigation on App.cs: MainPage = new NavigationPage(new YourFirstPage()); Instead of simply MainPage = new YourFirstPage(); | Mid | [
0.598382749326145,
27.75,
18.625
] |
A.E. Lynch, rider of Scotch Beg, trained by A. Oliver, reported to the Stewards' Secretaries that his mount hung right and caused interference on the downhill run when shying away from challengers on her outside possibly being influenced by the application of cheek pieces. R.A. Doyle, rider of The Bay Birch, trained by Francis J. Flood, reported to the Stewards' Secretaries that his mount met with interference on the downhill run when being accidentally tightened by Scotch Beg. D.N. Russell, rider of Blue Empyrean, trained by Gordon Elliott, reported to the Stewards' Secretaries that his mount was never on the bridle during this race. The Turf Club Veterinary Officer examined Blue Empyrean, trained by Gordon Elliott, at the request of the Stewards and reported the animal to be coughing post race. B.J. Cooper, rider of Polymath, trained by Gordon Elliott, reported to the Stewards' Secretaries that his mount never travelled during this race and continuously hung to the right throughout. The Turf Club Veterinary Officer examined Polymath, trained by Gordon Elliott, at the request of the Stewards and reported the animal to be coughing post race. A hurdle race for five yrs old and upwards, maidens at starting Weights - 11st 12lb; Mares allowed 7lb Allowances - Horses that have not won a *race allowed 8lb | Mid | [
0.5460992907801411,
28.875,
24
] |
<constant_variable xmlns="http://oval.mitre.org/XMLSchema/oval-definitions-5" comment="Affected IOSXE versions" datatype="string" id="oval:org.cisecurity:var:1973" version="1"> <value>^0*16\.0*6\.0*1$</value> <value>^0*16\.0*6\.0*2$</value> <value>^0*16\.0*6\.0*3$</value> <value>^0*16\.0*7\.0*1$</value> <value>^0*16\.0*7\.0*1\.?a$</value> <value>^0*16\.0*7\.0*1\.?b$</value> <value>^0*16\.0*8\.0*1$</value> <value>^0*16\.0*8\.0*1\.?a$</value> <value>^0*16\.0*8\.0*1\.?b$</value> <value>^0*16\.0*8\.0*1\.?c$</value> <value>^0*16\.0*8\.0*1\.?d$</value> <value>^0*16\.0*8\.0*1\.?e$</value> <value>^0*16\.0*8\.0*1\.?s$</value> <value>^0*17\.0*4\.0*1$</value> <value>^0*17\.0*5\.0*1$</value> <value>^0*17\.0*6\.0*1$</value> <value>^0*3\.0*2\.0*0\.?J\.?A$</value> </constant_variable> | Mid | [
0.5495867768595041,
33.25,
27.25
] |
A sequential enzymatic microreactor system for ethanol detection of gasohol mixtures. A sequential enzymatic double microreactor system with dilution line was developed for quantifying ethanol from gasohol mixtures, using a colorimetric detection method, as a new proposal to the single micro reactor system used in previous work. Alcohol oxidase (AOD) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) immobilized on glass beads, one in each microreactor, were used with phenol and 4-aminophenazone and the red-colored product was detected with a spectrophotometer at 555 nm. Good results were obtained with the immobilization technique used for both AOD and HRP enzymes, with best retention efficiencies of 95.3 +/- 2.3% and 63.2 +/- 7.0%, respectively. The two microreactors were used to analyze extracted ethanol from gasohol blends in the range 1-30 % v/v (10.0-238.9 g ethanol/L), with and without an on-line dilution sampling line. A calibration curve was obtained in the range 0.0034-0.087 g ethanol/L working with the on-line dilution integrated to the biosensor FIA system proposed. The diluted sample concentrations were also determined by gas chromatography (GC) and high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods and the results compared with the proposed sequential system measurements. The effect of the number of analysis performed with the same system was also investigated. | Mid | [
0.635593220338983,
37.5,
21.5
] |
//
// Diese Datei wurde mit der JavaTM Architecture for XML Binding(JAXB) Reference Implementation, v2.2.5-2 generiert
// Siehe <a href="http://java.sun.com/xml/jaxb">http://java.sun.com/xml/jaxb</a>
// �nderungen an dieser Datei gehen bei einer Neukompilierung des Quellschemas verloren.
// Generiert: 2014.02.04 um 12:22:03 PM CET
//
package org.onvif.ver10.schema;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Map;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlAccessType;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlAccessorType;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlAnyAttribute;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlElement;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlElements;
import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlType;
import javax.xml.namespace.QName;
/**
* <p>
* Java-Klasse f�r MetadataStream complex type.
*
* <p>
* Das folgende Schemafragment gibt den erwarteten Content an, der in dieser Klasse enthalten ist.
*
* <pre>
* <complexType name="MetadataStream">
* <complexContent>
* <restriction base="{http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema}anyType">
* <sequence>
* <choice maxOccurs="unbounded" minOccurs="0">
* <element name="VideoAnalytics" type="{http://www.onvif.org/ver10/schema}VideoAnalyticsStream"/>
* <element name="PTZ" type="{http://www.onvif.org/ver10/schema}PTZStream"/>
* <element name="Event" type="{http://www.onvif.org/ver10/schema}EventStream"/>
* <element name="Extension" type="{http://www.onvif.org/ver10/schema}MetadataStreamExtension"/>
* </choice>
* </sequence>
* <anyAttribute processContents='lax'/>
* </restriction>
* </complexContent>
* </complexType>
* </pre>
*
*
*/
@XmlAccessorType(XmlAccessType.FIELD)
@XmlType(name = "MetadataStream", propOrder = { "videoAnalyticsOrPTZOrEvent" })
public class MetadataStream {
@XmlElements({ @XmlElement(name = "VideoAnalytics", type = VideoAnalyticsStream.class), @XmlElement(name = "PTZ", type = PTZStream.class),
@XmlElement(name = "Event", type = EventStream.class), @XmlElement(name = "Extension", type = MetadataStreamExtension.class) })
protected List<java.lang.Object> videoAnalyticsOrPTZOrEvent;
@XmlAnyAttribute
private Map<QName, String> otherAttributes = new HashMap<QName, String>();
/**
* Gets the value of the videoAnalyticsOrPTZOrEvent property.
*
* <p>
* This accessor method returns a reference to the live list, not a snapshot. Therefore any modification you make to the returned list will be present inside the JAXB object.
* This is why there is not a <CODE>set</CODE> method for the videoAnalyticsOrPTZOrEvent property.
*
* <p>
* For example, to add a new item, do as follows:
*
* <pre>
* getVideoAnalyticsOrPTZOrEvent().add(newItem);
* </pre>
*
*
* <p>
* Objects of the following type(s) are allowed in the list {@link VideoAnalyticsStream } {@link PTZStream } {@link EventStream } {@link MetadataStreamExtension }
*
*
*/
public List<java.lang.Object> getVideoAnalyticsOrPTZOrEvent() {
if (videoAnalyticsOrPTZOrEvent == null) {
videoAnalyticsOrPTZOrEvent = new ArrayList<java.lang.Object>();
}
return this.videoAnalyticsOrPTZOrEvent;
}
/**
* Gets a map that contains attributes that aren't bound to any typed property on this class.
*
* <p>
* the map is keyed by the name of the attribute and the value is the string value of the attribute.
*
* the map returned by this method is live, and you can add new attribute by updating the map directly. Because of this design, there's no setter.
*
*
* @return always non-null
*/
public Map<QName, String> getOtherAttributes() {
return otherAttributes;
}
}
| Low | [
0.446428571428571,
31.25,
38.75
] |
Slideshow ( 5 images ) GENEVA (Reuters) - Talks between major powers this month on setting up a committee to lead constitutional reform in Syria will be a “moment of truth” for a credible political process, U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura told reporters on Tuesday. De Mistura will hold separate sets of talks next week, one involving Russia, Turkey and Iran, and the other including the United States and Saudi Arabia, to discuss the makeup of the committee. He said it must not be allowed to become a “long, winding process about the process” but could be the entry point into Syrian government reforms leading to elections after the war. | Low | [
0.46391752577319506,
28.125,
32.5
] |
Q: Java 8 streams do something with an element which has a boolean field I wanna make streams from a list, and do something with an object if an certain field is true. Let me show you what have I done till now: List<UserData> userDataList = new ArrayList<>(); phoneNumbers.forEach(phoneNumber -> { if (phoneNumber.getPrimary()) { UserData userData = new UserData(); userData.setDescription(phoneNumber.getType()); userData.setValue(phoneNumber.getNumber); userDataList.add(userData); } }); So if phoneNumber.getPrimary() == true will do the following task, if not - ignore it. A: Yes, you can combine filter with map to transform the List of relevant elements into a Stream of UserData, and then collect them into a List: List<UserData> userDataList = phoneNumbers.stream() .filter(p -> p.getPrimary()) // or filter(ClassName::getPrimary) .map(p -> { UserData userData = new UserData(); userData.setDescription(p.getType()); userData.setValue(p.getNumber()); return userData; }) .collect(Collectors.toList()); And if UserData has a constructor that takes the type and number, you can make the code shorter: List<UserData> userDataList = phoneNumbers.stream() .filter(p -> p.getPrimary()) // or filter(ClassName::getPrimary) .map(p -> new UserData(p.getType(),p.getNumber())) .collect(Collectors.toList()); A: There is already answer Accepted . but I am going to add alternative solution with one line code; List<UserData> userDataList = phoneNumberList.stream().filter(PhoneNumber::isPrimary) .map(UserData::new).collect(Collectors.toList()); Let's say Your phone number class have few variables; public class PhoneNumber { private String type; private String number; private boolean isPrimary; public PhoneNumber(String type, String number,boolean isPrimary) { this.isPrimary = isPrimary; this.type = type; this.number = number; } // getter setters } Add Your UserData I have added constructor with Phonenumber class.which will make easy of adding your data . since i'm going to use (::) Method Reference. public class UserData { private String description; private String value; public UserData() { } //Constructor with PhoneNumber class public UserData(PhoneNumber phoneNumber) { this.description = phoneNumber.getType(); this.value = phoneNumber.getNumber(); } // getter setter } So let say have a list of phonenumers itearaion with one line. List<PhoneNumber> phoneNumberList = new ArrayList<>(); phoneNumberList.add(new PhoneNumber("Landline","40054638",false)); phoneNumberList.add(new PhoneNumber("Work","90054638",true)); phoneNumberList.add(new PhoneNumber("Office","7891432654",false)); phoneNumberList.add(new PhoneNumber("Personal","40054638",true)); //PhoneNumber::isPrimary this will check only primary //UserData::new will set values Phonenumber to UserData List<UserData> userDataList = phoneNumberList.stream().filter(PhoneNumber::isPrimary) .map(UserData::new).collect(Collectors.toList()); System.out.println(userDataList); System.out.println(userDataList.size()); | Mid | [
0.6540145985401461,
28,
14.8125
] |
Q: column difference in a matrix This is my example matrix goog appl JPM BAC BYD msft TIBX 700.30 500.43 43.56 15.34 23.87 32.33 20.44 800.99 600.23 45.33 14.58 32.55 32.45 21.44 750.34 490.22 43.22 16.34 54.22 34.22 19.22 690.00 540 0 19.45 27.44 36.26 24.54 790.33 650 45.00 18.34 29.47 34.56 23.98 I need to create another matrix with the difference of the price from today to the previous day. I tried using (diff(mat[2,1],mat[2,2]) and then do sapply but am not able to get correct results with diff(mat[2,1],mat[2,2]) gives me numeric(0). Not sure why. Output should have been something like this goog appl JPM BAC BYD msft TIBX 700.30 500.43 43.56 15.34 23.87 32.33 20.44 100.69 99.80 1.84 -0.80 9.55 0.12 1.44 -50.34 -109.99 -2.11 2.34 12.22 0.82 -2.22 -60.30 49.88 -43.22 3.45 -27.44 2.26 3.54 100.33 90 1.98 2.34 2.47 0.56 -0.98 A: You should just be able to call diff on the whole matrix. > mm<-as.matrix(read.table(text="goog appl JPM BAC BYD msft TIBX + 700.30 500.43 43.56 15.34 23.87 32.33 20.44 + 800.99 600.23 45.33 14.58 32.55 32.45 21.44 + 750.34 490.22 43.22 16.34 54.22 34.22 19.22 + 690.00 540 0 19.45 27.44 36.26 24.54 + 790.33 650 45.00 18.34 29.47 34.56 23.98",header=T)) > diff(mm) goog appl JPM BAC BYD msft TIBX [1,] 100.69 99.80 1.77 -0.76 8.68 0.12 1.00 [2,] -50.65 -110.01 -2.11 1.76 21.67 1.77 -2.22 [3,] -60.34 49.78 -43.22 3.11 -26.78 2.04 5.32 [4,] 100.33 110.00 45.00 -1.11 2.03 -1.70 -0.56 A: Try this using apply: Your Data: mat <- read.table(text="goog appl JPM BAC BYD msft TIBX 700.30 500.43 43.56 15.34 23.87 32.33 20.44 800.99 600.23 45.33 14.58 32.55 32.45 21.44 750.34 490.22 43.22 16.34 54.22 34.22 19.22 690.00 540 0 19.45 27.44 36.26 24.54 790.33 650 45.00 18.34 29.47 34.56 23.98", header=TRUE) rbind(mat[1, ], apply(mat, 2, diff)) ## goog appl JPM BAC BYD msft TIBX ## 1 700.30 500.43 43.56 15.34 23.87 32.33 20.44 ## 2 100.69 99.80 1.77 -0.76 8.68 0.12 1.00 ## 3 -50.65 -110.01 -2.11 1.76 21.67 1.77 -2.22 ## 4 -60.34 49.78 -43.22 3.11 -26.78 2.04 5.32 ## 5 100.33 110.00 45.00 -1.11 2.03 -1.70 -0.56 | Mid | [
0.603305785123966,
27.375,
18
] |
/* * * Copyright 2017 gRPC authors. * * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. * You may obtain a copy of the License at * * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 * * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and * limitations under the License. * */ #ifndef GRPC_CORE_LIB_DEBUG_STATS_H #define GRPC_CORE_LIB_DEBUG_STATS_H #include <grpc/support/port_platform.h> #include <grpc/support/atm.h> #include "src/core/lib/debug/stats_data.h" #include "src/core/lib/iomgr/exec_ctx.h" typedef struct grpc_stats_data { gpr_atm counters[GRPC_STATS_COUNTER_COUNT]; gpr_atm histograms[GRPC_STATS_HISTOGRAM_BUCKETS]; } grpc_stats_data; extern grpc_stats_data* grpc_stats_per_cpu_storage; #define GRPC_THREAD_STATS_DATA() \ (&grpc_stats_per_cpu_storage[grpc_core::ExecCtx::Get()->starting_cpu()]) #define GRPC_STATS_INC_COUNTER(ctr) \ (gpr_atm_no_barrier_fetch_add(&GRPC_THREAD_STATS_DATA()->counters[(ctr)], 1)) #define GRPC_STATS_INC_HISTOGRAM(histogram, index) \ (gpr_atm_no_barrier_fetch_add( \ &GRPC_THREAD_STATS_DATA()->histograms[histogram##_FIRST_SLOT + (index)], \ 1)) void grpc_stats_init(void); void grpc_stats_shutdown(void); void grpc_stats_collect(grpc_stats_data* output); // c = b-a void grpc_stats_diff(const grpc_stats_data* b, const grpc_stats_data* a, grpc_stats_data* c); char* grpc_stats_data_as_json(const grpc_stats_data* data); int grpc_stats_histo_find_bucket_slow(int value, const int* table, int table_size); double grpc_stats_histo_percentile(const grpc_stats_data* data, grpc_stats_histograms histogram, double percentile); size_t grpc_stats_histo_count(const grpc_stats_data* data, grpc_stats_histograms histogram); #endif | Mid | [
0.627906976744186,
33.75,
20
] |
/* * 86Box A hypervisor and IBM PC system emulator that specializes in * running old operating systems and software designed for IBM * PC systems and compatibles from 1981 through fairly recent * system designs based on the PCI bus. * * This file is part of the 86Box distribution. * * Implementation of PCI-PCI and host-AGP bridges. * * * * Authors: RichardG, <[email protected]> * * Copyright 2020 RichardG. */ #include <stdio.h> #include <stdint.h> #include <string.h> #include <stdarg.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <wchar.h> #define HAVE_STDARG_H #include <86box/86box.h> #include <86box/machine.h> #include "cpu.h" #include <86box/io.h> #include <86box/pic.h> #include <86box/mem.h> #include <86box/device.h> #include <86box/pci.h> #define PCI_BRIDGE_DEC_21150 0x10110022 #define AGP_BRIDGE_INTEL_440LX 0x80867181 #define AGP_BRIDGE_INTEL_440BX 0x80867191 #define AGP_BRIDGE_INTEL_440GX 0x808671a1 #define AGP_BRIDGE_VIA_597 0x11068597 #define AGP_BRIDGE_VIA_598 0x11068598 #define AGP_BRIDGE_VIA_691 0x11068691 #define AGP_BRIDGE_VIA(x) (((x) >> 16) == 0x1106) #define AGP_BRIDGE(x) ((x) >= AGP_BRIDGE_VIA_597) typedef struct { uint32_t local; uint8_t type; uint8_t regs[256]; uint8_t bus_index; int slot; } pci_bridge_t; #ifdef ENABLE_PCI_BRIDGE_LOG int pci_bridge_do_log = ENABLE_PCI_BRIDGE_LOG; static void pci_bridge_log(const char *fmt, ...) { va_list ap; if (pci_bridge_do_log) { va_start(ap, fmt); pclog_ex(fmt, ap); va_end(ap); } } #else #define pci_bridge_log(fmt, ...) #endif static void pci_bridge_write(int func, int addr, uint8_t val, void *priv) { pci_bridge_t *dev = (pci_bridge_t *) priv; pci_bridge_log("PCI Bridge %d: write(%d, %02X, %02X)\n", dev->bus_index, func, addr, val); if (func > 0) return; switch (addr) { case 0x00: case 0x01: case 0x02: case 0x03: case 0x06: case 0x07: case 0x08: case 0x09: case 0x0a: case 0x0b: case 0x0e: case 0x1e: case 0x1f: case 0x34: case 0x3d: case 0x67: case 0xdc: case 0xdd: case 0xde: case 0xdf: case 0xe0: case 0xe1: case 0xe2: case 0xe3: return; case 0x04: val &= 0x67; break; case 0x05: val &= 0x03; break; case 0x18: /* Parent bus number is always 0 on AGP bridges. */ if (AGP_BRIDGE(dev->local)) return; break; case 0x19: /* Set our bus number. */ pci_bridge_log("PCI Bridge %d: remapping from bus %02X to %02X\n", dev->bus_index, dev->regs[addr], val); pci_remap_bus(dev->bus_index, val); break; case 0x1c: case 0x1d: case 0x20: case 0x22: case 0x24: case 0x26: val &= 0xf0; break; case 0x3e: if (AGP_BRIDGE_VIA(dev->local)) val &= 0x0c; else if (AGP_BRIDGE(dev->local)) val &= 0x0f; else if (dev->local == PCI_BRIDGE_DEC_21150) val &= 0xef; break; case 0x3f: if (dev->local == AGP_BRIDGE_INTEL_440LX) val &= 0x02; else if (AGP_BRIDGE(dev->local)) return; else if (dev->local == PCI_BRIDGE_DEC_21150) val &= 0x0f; break; case 0x40: if (dev->local == PCI_BRIDGE_DEC_21150) val &= 0x32; break; case 0x41: if (AGP_BRIDGE_VIA(dev->local)) val &= 0x7e; else if (dev->local == PCI_BRIDGE_DEC_21150) val &= 0x07; break; case 0x42: if (AGP_BRIDGE_VIA(dev->local)) val &= 0xfe; break; case 0x43: if (dev->local == PCI_BRIDGE_DEC_21150) val &= 0x03; break; case 0x64: if (dev->local == PCI_BRIDGE_DEC_21150) val &= 0x7e; break; case 0x69: if (dev->local == PCI_BRIDGE_DEC_21150) val &= 0x3f; break; } dev->regs[addr] = val; } static uint8_t pci_bridge_read(int func, int addr, void *priv) { pci_bridge_t *dev = (pci_bridge_t *) priv; uint8_t ret; if (func > 0) ret = 0xff; else ret = dev->regs[addr]; pci_bridge_log("PCI Bridge %d: read(%d, %02X) = %02X\n", dev->bus_index, func, addr, ret); return ret; } static void pci_bridge_reset(void *priv) { pci_bridge_t *dev = (pci_bridge_t *) priv; pci_bridge_log("PCI Bridge %d: reset()\n", dev->bus_index); memset(dev->regs, 0, sizeof(dev->regs)); /* IDs */ dev->regs[0x00] = dev->local >> 16; dev->regs[0x01] = dev->local >> 24; dev->regs[0x02] = dev->local; dev->regs[0x03] = dev->local >> 8; /* command and status */ switch (dev->local) { case PCI_BRIDGE_DEC_21150: dev->regs[0x06] = 0x80; dev->regs[0x07] = 0x02; break; case AGP_BRIDGE_INTEL_440LX: dev->regs[0x06] = 0xa0; dev->regs[0x07] = 0x02; dev->regs[0x08] = 0x03; break; case AGP_BRIDGE_INTEL_440BX: case AGP_BRIDGE_INTEL_440GX: dev->regs[0x06] = 0x20; dev->regs[0x07] = dev->regs[0x08] = 0x02; break; case AGP_BRIDGE_VIA_597: case AGP_BRIDGE_VIA_598: case AGP_BRIDGE_VIA_691: dev->regs[0x04] = 0x07; dev->regs[0x06] = 0x20; dev->regs[0x07] = 0x02; break; } /* class */ dev->regs[0x0a] = 0x04; /* PCI-PCI bridge */ dev->regs[0x0b] = 0x06; /* bridge device */ dev->regs[0x0e] = 0x01; /* bridge header */ /* IO BARs */ if (AGP_BRIDGE(dev->local)) dev->regs[0x1c] = 0xf0; else dev->regs[0x1c] = dev->regs[0x1d] = 0x01; if (!AGP_BRIDGE_VIA(dev->local)) { dev->regs[0x1e] = AGP_BRIDGE(dev->local) ? 0xa0 : 0x80; dev->regs[0x1f] = 0x02; } /* prefetchable memory limits */ if (AGP_BRIDGE(dev->local)) { dev->regs[0x20] = dev->regs[0x24] = 0xf0; dev->regs[0x21] = dev->regs[0x25] = 0xff; } else { dev->regs[0x24] = dev->regs[0x26] = 0x01; } /* power management */ if (dev->local == PCI_BRIDGE_DEC_21150) { dev->regs[0x34] = 0xdc; dev->regs[0x43] = 0x02; dev->regs[0xdc] = dev->regs[0xde] = 0x01; } } static void * pci_bridge_init(const device_t *info) { uint8_t interrupts[4], interrupt_count, interrupt_mask, slot_count, i; pci_bridge_t *dev = (pci_bridge_t *) malloc(sizeof(pci_bridge_t)); memset(dev, 0, sizeof(pci_bridge_t)); dev->local = info->local; dev->bus_index = pci_register_bus(); pci_bridge_log("PCI Bridge %d: init()\n", dev->bus_index); pci_bridge_reset(dev); dev->slot = pci_add_card(AGP_BRIDGE(dev->local) ? 0x01 : PCI_ADD_BRIDGE, pci_bridge_read, pci_bridge_write, dev); interrupt_count = sizeof(interrupts); interrupt_mask = interrupt_count - 1; for (i = 0; i < interrupt_count; i++) interrupts[i] = pci_get_int(dev->slot, PCI_INTA + i); pci_bridge_log("PCI Bridge %d: upstream bus %02X slot %02X interrupts %02X %02X %02X %02X\n", dev->bus_index, (dev->slot >> 5) & 0xff, dev->slot & 31, interrupts[0], interrupts[1], interrupts[2], interrupts[3]); if (info->local == PCI_BRIDGE_DEC_21150) slot_count = 9; /* 9 bus masters */ else slot_count = 1; /* AGP bridges always have 1 slot */ for (i = 0; i < slot_count; i++) { /* Interrupts for bridge slots are assigned in round-robin: ABCD, BCDA, CDAB and so on. */ pci_bridge_log("PCI Bridge %d: downstream slot %02X interrupts %02X %02X %02X %02X\n", dev->bus_index, i, interrupts[i & interrupt_mask], interrupts[(i + 1) & interrupt_mask], interrupts[(i + 2) & interrupt_mask], interrupts[(i + 3) & interrupt_mask]); /* Use _NOBRIDGE for VIA AGP bridges, as they don't like PCI bridges under them. */ pci_register_bus_slot(dev->bus_index, i, AGP_BRIDGE_VIA(dev->local) ? PCI_CARD_NORMAL_NOBRIDGE : PCI_CARD_NORMAL, interrupts[i & interrupt_mask], interrupts[(i + 1) & interrupt_mask], interrupts[(i + 2) & interrupt_mask], interrupts[(i + 3) & interrupt_mask]); } return dev; } /* PCI bridges */ const device_t dec21150_device = { "DEC 21150 PCI Bridge", DEVICE_PCI, PCI_BRIDGE_DEC_21150, pci_bridge_init, NULL, pci_bridge_reset, NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL }; /* AGP bridges */ const device_t i440lx_agp_device = { "Intel 82443LX/EX AGP Bridge", DEVICE_PCI, AGP_BRIDGE_INTEL_440LX, pci_bridge_init, NULL, pci_bridge_reset, NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL }; const device_t i440bx_agp_device = { "Intel 82443BX/ZX AGP Bridge", DEVICE_PCI, AGP_BRIDGE_INTEL_440BX, pci_bridge_init, NULL, pci_bridge_reset, NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL }; const device_t i440gx_agp_device = { "Intel 82443GX AGP Bridge", DEVICE_PCI, AGP_BRIDGE_INTEL_440GX, pci_bridge_init, NULL, pci_bridge_reset, NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL }; const device_t via_vp3_agp_device = { "VIA Apollo VP3 AGP Bridge", DEVICE_PCI, AGP_BRIDGE_VIA_597, pci_bridge_init, NULL, pci_bridge_reset, NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL }; const device_t via_mvp3_agp_device = { "VIA Apollo MVP3 AGP Bridge", DEVICE_PCI, AGP_BRIDGE_VIA_598, pci_bridge_init, NULL, pci_bridge_reset, NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL }; const device_t via_apro_agp_device = { "VIA Apollo Pro AGP Bridge", DEVICE_PCI, AGP_BRIDGE_VIA_691, pci_bridge_init, NULL, pci_bridge_reset, NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL }; | Mid | [
0.5966386554621841,
35.5,
24
] |
Best of Boston BEST Insider Running As an Insider Longtime Washington aide to Joltin’ Joe Moakley, McGovern knows where the bodies and the bacon are buried better than incumbent Peter Blute. With Pal Joey sticking around for at least one more term, McGovern, if elected, could be the most… read more » | Low | [
0.49126637554585106,
28.125,
29.125
] |
Q: sql server 2008 filter on big list passed in I am having a performance issue. I am trying to select from a table based on a very long list of parameters Currently am using this stored proc CREATE PROC [dbo].[GetFileContentsFromTitles] @MyTitles varchar(max) AS SELECT [Title], [Sequence] From [dbo].[MasterSequence] WHERE charindex(',' + Title + ',', ',' + @MyTitles + ',') > 0; Where @MyTitles can be a very big number (currently doing a string with 4000 entries seperated by commas). Any suggestions? Thanks A: OK, if you want performance for something like this, then you need to use the best stuff out there. First, create this function for splitting strings (which I got from Jeff Moden about two weeks ago): SET ANSI_NULLS ON GO SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON GO ALTER FUNCTION [dbo].[DelimitedSplit8K] /********************************************************************************************************************** Purpose: Split a given string at a given delimiter and return a list of the split elements (items). Notes: 1. Leading a trailing delimiters are treated as if an empty string element were present. 2. Consecutive delimiters are treated as if an empty string element were present between them. 3. Except when spaces are used as a delimiter, all spaces present in each element are preserved. Returns: iTVF containing the following: ItemNumber = Element position of Item as a BIGINT (not converted to INT to eliminate a CAST) Item = Element value as a VARCHAR(8000) Statistics on this function may be found at the following URL: http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1101315-203-4.aspx CROSS APPLY Usage Examples and Tests: --===================================================================================================================== -- TEST 1: -- This tests for various possible conditions in a string using a comma as the delimiter. The expected results are -- laid out in the comments --===================================================================================================================== --===== Conditionally drop the test tables to make reruns easier for testing. -- (this is NOT a part of the solution) IF OBJECT_ID('tempdb..#JBMTest') IS NOT NULL DROP TABLE #JBMTest ; --===== Create and populate a test table on the fly (this is NOT a part of the solution). -- In the following comments, "b" is a blank and "E" is an element in the left to right order. -- Double Quotes are used to encapsulate the output of "Item" so that you can see that all blanks -- are preserved no matter where they may appear. SELECT * INTO #JBMTest FROM ( --# & type of Return Row(s) SELECT 0, NULL UNION ALL --1 NULL SELECT 1, SPACE(0) UNION ALL --1 b (Empty String) SELECT 2, SPACE(1) UNION ALL --1 b (1 space) SELECT 3, SPACE(5) UNION ALL --1 b (5 spaces) SELECT 4, ',' UNION ALL --2 b b (both are empty strings) SELECT 5, '55555' UNION ALL --1 E SELECT 6, ',55555' UNION ALL --2 b E SELECT 7, ',55555,' UNION ALL --3 b E b SELECT 8, '55555,' UNION ALL --2 b B SELECT 9, '55555,1' UNION ALL --2 E E SELECT 10, '1,55555' UNION ALL --2 E E SELECT 11, '55555,4444,333,22,1' UNION ALL --5 E E E E E SELECT 12, '55555,4444,,333,22,1' UNION ALL --6 E E b E E E SELECT 13, ',55555,4444,,333,22,1,' UNION ALL --8 b E E b E E E b SELECT 14, ',55555,4444,,,333,22,1,' UNION ALL --9 b E E b b E E E b SELECT 15, ' 4444,55555 ' UNION ALL --2 E (w/Leading Space) E (w/Trailing Space) SELECT 16, 'This,is,a,test.' --E E E E ) d (SomeID, SomeValue) ; --===== Split the CSV column for the whole table using CROSS APPLY (this is the solution) SELECT test.SomeID, test.SomeValue, split.ItemNumber, Item = QUOTENAME(split.Item,'"') FROM #JBMTest test CROSS APPLY dbo.DelimitedSplit8K(test.SomeValue,',') split ; --===================================================================================================================== -- TEST 2: -- This tests for various "alpha" splits and COLLATION using all ASCII characters from 0 to 255 as a delimiter against -- a given string. Note that not all of the delimiters will be visible and some will show up as tiny squares because -- they are "control" characters. More specifically, this test will show you what happens to various non-accented -- letters for your given collation depending on the delimiter you chose. --===================================================================================================================== WITH cteBuildAllCharacters (String,Delimiter) AS ( SELECT TOP 256 'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789', CHAR(ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY (SELECT NULL))-1) FROM master.sys.all_columns ) SELECT ASCII_Value = ASCII(c.Delimiter), c.Delimiter, split.ItemNumber, Item = QUOTENAME(split.Item,'"') FROM cteBuildAllCharacters c CROSS APPLY dbo.DelimitedSplit8K(c.String,c.Delimiter) split ORDER BY ASCII_Value, split.ItemNumber ; ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Notes: 1. Optimized for VARCHAR(8000) or less. No testing or error reporting for truncation at 8000 characters is done. 2. Optimized for single character delimiter. Multi-character delimiters should be resolvedexternally from this function. 3. Optimized for use with CROSS APPLY. 4. Does not "trim" elements just in case leading or trailing blanks are intended. 5. If you don't know how a Tally table can be used to replace loops, please see the following... http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/62867/ 6. Changing this function to use NVARCHAR(MAX) will cause it to run twice as slow. It's just the nature of VARCHAR(MAX) whether it fits in-row or not. 7. Multi-machine testing for the method of using UNPIVOT instead of 10 SELECT/UNION ALLs shows that the UNPIVOT method is quite machine dependent and can slow things down quite a bit. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Credits: This code is the product of many people's efforts including but not limited to the following: cteTally concept originally by Iztek Ben Gan and "decimalized" by Lynn Pettis (and others) for a bit of extra speed and finally redacted by Jeff Moden for a different slant on readability and compactness. Hat's off to Paul White for his simple explanations of CROSS APPLY and for his detailed testing efforts. Last but not least, thanks to Ron "BitBucket" McCullough and Wayne Sheffield for their extreme performance testing across multiple machines and versions of SQL Server. The latest improvement brought an additional 15-20% improvement over Rev 05. Special thanks to "Nadrek" and "peter-757102" (aka Peter de Heer) for bringing such improvements to light. Nadrek's original improvement brought about a 10% performance gain and Peter followed that up with the content of Rev 07. I also thank whoever wrote the first article I ever saw on "numbers tables" which is located at the following URL and to Adam Machanic for leading me to it many years ago. http://sqlserver2000.databases.aspfaq.com/why-should-i-consider-using-an-auxiliary-numbers-table.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revision History: Rev 00 - 20 Jan 2010 - Concept for inline cteTally: Lynn Pettis and others. Redaction/Implementation: Jeff Moden - Base 10 redaction and reduction for CTE. (Total rewrite) Rev 01 - 13 Mar 2010 - Jeff Moden - Removed one additional concatenation and one subtraction from the SUBSTRING in the SELECT List for that tiny bit of extra speed. Rev 02 - 14 Apr 2010 - Jeff Moden - No code changes. Added CROSS APPLY usage example to the header, some additional credits, and extra documentation. Rev 03 - 18 Apr 2010 - Jeff Moden - No code changes. Added notes 7, 8, and 9 about certain "optimizations" that don't actually work for this type of function. Rev 04 - 29 Jun 2010 - Jeff Moden - Added WITH SCHEMABINDING thanks to a note by Paul White. This prevents an unnecessary "Table Spool" when the function is used in an UPDATE statement even though the function makes no external references. Rev 05 - 02 Apr 2011 - Jeff Moden - Rewritten for extreme performance improvement especially for larger strings approaching the 8K boundary and for strings that have wider elements. The redaction of this code involved removing ALL concatenation of delimiters, optimization of the maximum "N" value by using TOP instead of including it in the WHERE clause, and the reduction of all previous calculations (thanks to the switch to a "zero based" cteTally) to just one instance of one add and one instance of a subtract. The length calculation for the final element (not followed by a delimiter) in the string to be split has been greatly simplified by using the ISNULL/NULLIF combination to determine when the CHARINDEX returned a 0 which indicates there are no more delimiters to be had or to start with. Depending on the width of the elements, this code is between 4 and 8 times faster on a single CPU box than the original code especially near the 8K boundary. - Modified comments to include more sanity checks on the usage example, etc. - Removed "other" notes 8 and 9 as they were no longer applicable. Rev 06 - 12 Apr 2011 - Jeff Moden - Based on a suggestion by Ron "Bitbucket" McCullough, additional test rows were added to the sample code and the code was changed to encapsulate the output in pipes so that spaces and empty strings could be perceived in the output. The first "Notes" section was added. Finally, an extra test was added to the comments above. Rev 07 - 06 May 2011 - Peter de Heer, a further 15-20% performance enhancement has been discovered and incorporated into this code which also eliminated the need for a "zero" position in the cteTally table. **********************************************************************************************************************/ --===== Define I/O parameters (@pString VARCHAR(8000), @pDelimiter CHAR(1)) RETURNS TABLE WITH SCHEMABINDING AS RETURN --===== "Inline" CTE Driven "Tally Table" produces values from 1 up to 10,000... -- enough to cover VARCHAR(8000) WITH E1(N) AS ( SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 ), --10E+1 or 10 rows E2(N) AS (SELECT 1 FROM E1 a, E1 b), --10E+2 or 100 rows E4(N) AS (SELECT 1 FROM E2 a, E2 b), --10E+4 or 10,000 rows max cteTally(N) AS (--==== This provides the "base" CTE and limits the number of rows right up front -- for both a performance gain and prevention of accidental "overruns" SELECT TOP (ISNULL(DATALENGTH(@pString),0)) ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY (SELECT NULL)) FROM E4 ), cteStart(N1) AS (--==== This returns N+1 (starting position of each "element" just once for each delimiter) SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT t.N+1 FROM cteTally t WHERE SUBSTRING(@pString,t.N,1) = @pDelimiter ), cteLen(N1,L1) AS(--==== Return start and length (for use in substring) SELECT s.N1, ISNULL(NULLIF(CHARINDEX(@pDelimiter,@pString,s.N1),0)-s.N1,8000) FROM cteStart s ) --===== Do the actual split. The ISNULL/NULLIF combo handles the length for the final element when no delimiter is found. SELECT ItemNumber = ROW_NUMBER() OVER(ORDER BY l.N1), Item = SUBSTRING(@pString, l.N1, l.L1) FROM cteLen l ; Yes, it long, but that's mostly comments to explain it and its history. Don't worry, its the fastest thing available in T-SQL (AFAIK only SQLCLR is faster, and that's not T-SQL). Note that it only supports up to VARCHAR(8000). If your really need VARCHAR(MAX), then it can be easily changed to that, but VARCHAR(MAX)'s are about twice as slow. Now you can implement your procedure like this: CREATE PROC [dbo].[GetFileContentsFromTitles] @MyTitles varchar(max) AS SELECT * INTO #tmpTitles FROM dbo.DelimitedSplit8K(@MyTitles, ',') SELECT [Title], [Sequence] From [dbo].[MasterSequence] WHERE Title IN (SELECT item FROM #tmpTitles) I cannot test this for you without your DDL and some data, but it should be much faster. If not, then we may need to throw an index onto the [item] column in the temp table. Here's another version of the split function that uses VARCHAR(MAX): ALTER FUNCTION [dbo].[DelimitedSplitMax] /********************************************************************************************************************** Purpose: Split a given string at a given delimiter and return a list of the split elements (items). Notes: 1. Leading a trailing delimiters are treated as if an empty string element were present. 2. Consecutive delimiters are treated as if an empty string element were present between them. 3. Except when spaces are used as a delimiter, all spaces present in each element are preserved. Returns: iTVF containing the following: ItemNumber = Element position of Item as a BIGINT (not converted to INT to eliminate a CAST) Item = Element value as a VARCHAR(MAX) Statistics on this function may be found at the following URL: http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1101315-203-4.aspx ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Notes: 1. Optimized for VARCHAR(8000) or less. No testing or error reporting for truncation at 8000 characters is done. 2. Optimized for single character delimiter. Multi-character delimiters should be resolvedexternally from this function. 3. Optimized for use with CROSS APPLY. 4. Does not "trim" elements just in case leading or trailing blanks are intended. 5. If you don't know how a Tally table can be used to replace loops, please see the following... http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/62867/ 6. Changing this function to use NVARCHAR(MAX) will cause it to run twice as slow. It's just the nature of VARCHAR(MAX) whether it fits in-row or not. 7. Multi-machine testing for the method of using UNPIVOT instead of 10 SELECT/UNION ALLs shows that the UNPIVOT method is quite machine dependent and can slow things down quite a bit. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Credits: This code is the product of many people's efforts including but not limited to the following: cteTally concept originally by Iztek Ben Gan and "decimalized" by Lynn Pettis (and others) for a bit of extra speed and finally redacted by Jeff Moden for a different slant on readability and compactness. Hat's off to Paul White for his simple explanations of CROSS APPLY and for his detailed testing efforts. Last but not least, thanks to Ron "BitBucket" McCullough and Wayne Sheffield for their extreme performance testing across multiple machines and versions of SQL Server. The latest improvement brought an additional 15-20% improvement over Rev 05. Special thanks to "Nadrek" and "peter-757102" (aka Peter de Heer) for bringing such improvements to light. Nadrek's original improvement brought about a 10% performance gain and Peter followed that up with the content of Rev 07. I also thank whoever wrote the first article I ever saw on "numbers tables" which is located at the following URL and to Adam Machanic for leading me to it many years ago. http://sqlserver2000.databases.aspfaq.com/why-should-i-consider-using-an-auxiliary-numbers-table.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revision History: Rev 00 - 20 Jan 2010 - Concept for inline cteTally: Lynn Pettis and others. Redaction/Implementation: Jeff Moden - Base 10 redaction and reduction for CTE. (Total rewrite) Rev 01 - 13 Mar 2010 - Jeff Moden - Removed one additional concatenation and one subtraction from the SUBSTRING in the SELECT List for that tiny bit of extra speed. Rev 02 - 14 Apr 2010 - Jeff Moden - No code changes. Added CROSS APPLY usage example to the header, some additional credits, and extra documentation. Rev 03 - 18 Apr 2010 - Jeff Moden - No code changes. Added notes 7, 8, and 9 about certain "optimizations" that don't actually work for this type of function. Rev 04 - 29 Jun 2010 - Jeff Moden - Added WITH SCHEMABINDING thanks to a note by Paul White. This prevents an unnecessary "Table Spool" when the function is used in an UPDATE statement even though the function makes no external references. Rev 05 - 02 Apr 2011 - Jeff Moden - Rewritten for extreme performance improvement especially for larger strings approaching the 8K boundary and for strings that have wider elements. The redaction of this code involved removing ALL concatenation of delimiters, optimization of the maximum "N" value by using TOP instead of including it in the WHERE clause, and the reduction of all previous calculations (thanks to the switch to a "zero based" cteTally) to just one instance of one add and one instance of a subtract. The length calculation for the final element (not followed by a delimiter) in the string to be split has been greatly simplified by using the ISNULL/NULLIF combination to determine when the CHARINDEX returned a 0 which indicates there are no more delimiters to be had or to start with. Depending on the width of the elements, this code is between 4 and 8 times faster on a single CPU box than the original code especially near the 8K boundary. - Modified comments to include more sanity checks on the usage example, etc. - Removed "other" notes 8 and 9 as they were no longer applicable. Rev 06 - 12 Apr 2011 - Jeff Moden - Based on a suggestion by Ron "Bitbucket" McCullough, additional test rows were added to the sample code and the code was changed to encapsulate the output in pipes so that spaces and empty strings could be perceived in the output. The first "Notes" section was added. Finally, an extra test was added to the comments above. Rev 07 - 06 May 2011 - Peter de Heer, a further 15-20% performance enhancement has been discovered and incorporated into this code which also eliminated the need for a "zero" position in the cteTally table. Rev 07a- 18 Oct 2012 - RBarryYoung, Varchar(MAX), because its needed, even though its slower... **********************************************************************************************************************/ --===== Define I/O parameters (@pString VARCHAR(MAX), @pDelimiter CHAR(1)) RETURNS TABLE WITH SCHEMABINDING AS RETURN --===== "Inline" CTE Driven "Tally Table" produces values from 1 up to 100,000,000... -- hopefully enough to cover most VARCHAR(MAX)'s WITH E1(N) AS ( SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT 1 ), --10E+1 or 10 rows E2(N) AS (SELECT 1 FROM E1 a, E1 b), --10E+2 or 100 rows E4(N) AS (SELECT 1 FROM E2 a, E2 b), --10E+4 or 10,000 rows max E8(N) AS (SELECT 1 FROM E4 a, E4 b), --10E+8 or 100,000,000 rows max cteTally(N) AS (--==== This provides the "base" CTE and limits the number of rows right up front -- for both a performance gain and prevention of accidental "overruns" SELECT TOP (ISNULL(DATALENGTH(@pString),0)) ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY (SELECT NULL)) FROM E8 ), cteStart(N1) AS (--==== This returns N+1 (starting position of each "element" just once for each delimiter) SELECT 1 UNION ALL SELECT t.N+1 FROM cteTally t WHERE SUBSTRING(@pString,t.N,1) = @pDelimiter ), cteLen(N1,L1) AS(--==== Return start and length (for use in substring) SELECT s.N1, ISNULL(NULLIF(CHARINDEX(@pDelimiter,@pString,s.N1),0)-s.N1,999999999) FROM cteStart s ) --===== Do the actual split. The ISNULL/NULLIF combo handles the length for the final element when no delimiter is found. SELECT ItemNumber = ROW_NUMBER() OVER(ORDER BY l.N1), Item = SUBSTRING(@pString, l.N1, l.L1) FROM cteLen l ; Be forewarned, however, that I only set it up to count up to 100,000,000 characters. Also, I have not had a chance to test it yet, you should be sure to test it yourself. | Low | [
0.5090497737556561,
28.125,
27.125
] |
There are days when I wish HBO's True Blood wasn't based on a popular book series. I'm the type of person who likes to avoid spoilers as much as possible, but because Alan Ball's creation closely follows the plot of the novels, spoilers are almost impossible to ignore. There were plenty of intriguing mysteries set up in the show's first season finale that I could probably find answers to on Wikipedia, but I'd rather theorize, speculate, and see how things play out when True Blood returns for its second season next summer. Read on to see which mysteries and cliffhangers spoiler-free fans will be stressing out over as we anxiously wait for the vampire drama to return. What happened to Lafayette? Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) is one of my favorite characters on True Blood, so I'd love to live in denial and believe that he'll be alive and well in season 2. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case. The show needs some sort of mystery for the second season, and Lafayette being killed by some strange force is a good setup. I'll continue holding out the slightest hope that the foot with the painted toenails that fell out of Andy's car belongs to someone else, but it's highly unlikely. Following the scene where Lafayette was attacked, Bill (Stephen Moyer) told Sookie that he fed after rising from the ground. This was obviously meant to make us wonder whether Bill is responsible for Lafayette's death, but I can't see that being the case. Even in his most weary, blood-hungry state, I can't imagine Bill attacking one of Sookie's friends. He'd also have no reason to plant the body in Andy's car. If Bill's not responsible, who is? It could be Maryann, who we still know nothing about. It could be the senator or one of his goons, especially after Lafayette confronted him in the previous episode. Immature vampire Jessica is also on the list of suspects. She certainly wouldn't hesitate to kill a human being if given the chance. These are just a few of many possibilities, proving that True Blood's next big mystery is going to be just as tough to figure out as this season's. What's the deal with Maryann? Here's what we know about Maryann: she somehow knows Sam (Sam Trammell) and his secret, she likes to hang out with a pig, she's too nice to be trusted, and she has some sort of power. Other than that, Maryann remains a mystery. Her presence in Bon Temps is enough of a threat to convince Sam to throw some money in a bag and possibly skip town, but why is he so afraid of her? My theory is that Maryann could be another shape-shifter, which would explain why she was standing naked in the middle of the road in her first episode. Maybe she and Sam had some sort of crazy shifter relationship and bad breakup. Is that why she had her minion delete his messages off Tara's phone? What will become of the Fellowship of the Sun? I love Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten), but he sure is gullible. He has a knack for stumbling into terrible situations, and it doesn't look like that's going to change in season 2. The first season found him being led around by his penis, but now it looks like his brain will be the organ getting him into trouble. Associating with a cult-like anti-vampire church is a very bad idea. I'm excited about the Fellowship of the Sun storyline, if only because it'll allow Alan Ball to introduce a metaphor for the insane real-life Westboro Baptist Church. Someone had to put up that "God hates fangs" sign that we see during the opening credits every week, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Fellowship is responsible. Which mystery are you most interested to see play out in season 2 of True Blood? Sound off below. | Mid | [
0.610244988864142,
34.25,
21.875
] |
Sauté the onion on a low heat until soft, add the garlic and cook out for a further 5 minutesAdd the grated gingerIn a sauce pan toast the coriander, mustard, cumin and pepper on a medium heat for about 5 minutesPlace the spice mix in a mortar and pestle and adding the salt, grind to a relatively fine powderAdd the spice mix to the pan with the onions and ginger and cook for 5 minsAdd the tomatoes, vinegar, purée and sugar and stir wellBring to the boil for 10 mins stirring constantlyLower to a medium heat and cook for a further 30 minutes allowing the mixture to reduce keep stirring to ensure the chutney does not stick to the bottom of the pan and burnIf it is still not thick enough continue to cook till it reaches a jam like consistencyPour into sterilised jars and place the lids on quicklyAfter one month the chutney is ready to useIt goes really well with strong hard cheeses | Mid | [
0.637450199203187,
40,
22.75
] |
Hexagonal (CONCACAF) In association football, the term Hexagonal (known in English as The Hex) is often used to refer to the final round of FIFA World Cup qualification among the six remaining teams in CONCACAF. The six-team round robin format has been used by CONCACAF since the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification process. It was modeled after the CONCACAF Championship which used the format ever since its second edition in 1965, and served as the World Cup qualifying tournament from 1974 to 1990. The United States, Mexico and Costa Rica have been present in every Hexagonal to date. Mexico is the only national team that qualified for the FIFA World Cup in every Hexagonal. The Hexagonal, or Hex for short, is named for the hexagon (a six sided shape) due to there being six teams remaining in the tournament at the time. United States vs. Mexico rivalry The United States and Mexico have been the most successful teams in the Hexagonal, with Mexico qualifying for every World Cup since 1994. Indeed, the Mexico–United States soccer rivalry has been hotly contested during the Hexagonal. Matches between the two opponents hosted by Mexico often sell out the 100,000 seat Estadio Azteca in Mexico City; matches hosted in the United States are often held in cold northern cities such as Columbus, Ohio. 1998 The first hexagonal round was played in 1997, between March 2 and November 16. Mexico topped the round robin undefeated, being the only team to do so. Jamaica qualified to their first (and so far, only) FIFA World Cup. It was Canada's only participation in the hexagonal round, and their last appearance at the final stage of a FIFA World Cup qualification. 2002 The second edition of The Hex was played in 2001, between February 28 and November 11. It was topped by Costa Rica, who totaled a record 23 points. The Costa Ricans marked the first defeat Mexico has ever had at a World Cup qualification match at home soil, in a match known as El Aztecazo. 2006 United States finished ahead of Mexico based on results between tied teams which were the first tiebreaker. Mexico, United States and Costa Rica directly advanced to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Trinidad and Tobago advanced to the AFC-CONCACAF play-off, where they would defeat Bahrain 2–1 on aggregate to advance to the World Cup. 2010 The six teams that reached the fourth round formed one double-round-robin, home-and-away group nicknamed the "Hexagonal." The top three teams qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The fourth place team qualified for a home-and-away play-off against the fifth-place team from CONMEBOL. 2014 In the fourth round, the three group winners and three runners-up from the third round competed in a double round robin, including a home and away match against the other five teams between 6 February and 15 October 2013. The draw for 'The Hex' was conducted by FIFA on 7 November 2012. The top three teams qualified directly for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals, while the fourth-placed team will play a home-away series against New Zealand, the winner of Oceania. Teams are ranked first by total points in all games, then, if tied, by best goal differential in all games, then by total goals in all games. If still tied, the same criteria are applied to games among the tied teams. 2018 Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama qualified directly for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Honduras advanced to the CONCACAF–AFC playoff; they would be defeated by Australia 3–1 on aggregate. The United States failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since the Hexagonal was introduced; they had qualified for every World Cup between 1990 and 2014. Records Ranking teams * = The team qualified to Inter-confederation play-offs (Since 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualification, the 4th qualifies to play-offs). ^ = The team qualified for World Cup by winning the playoff. All-time table 3 points per win, 1 point per draw and 0 points per loss. Team Most appearances: , and : 6. Most times qualified to FIFA World Cup: : 6. Winners: : 3 (2006, 2010, 2014). : 2 (1998, 2018). : 1 (2002). Most points: , 110. Most points home: , 75. Most points away: , 36. Most won matches: , 32. Most won matches home: , 24. Most won matches away: , and , 8. Most drawn matches: , 18. Most drawn matches home: , and , 7. Most drawn matches away: , 12. Most lost matches: , 26. Most lost matches home: , 9. Most drawn matches away: , 17. Most goals scored: , 100. Most goals scored home: , 70. Most goals scored away: , 33. Most won matches in a tournament: (7 in 2002), (7 in 2006) and (7 in 2006, 2014). Fewest won matches in a tournament: (0 in 2006) and (0 in 2014). Most drawn matches in a tournament: , 6 (1998). Fewest drawn matches in a tournament: , 0 (2018). Most lost matches in a tournament: , 8 (2006). Fewest lost matches in a tournament: , 0 (1998). Most points in a tournament: , 23 (2002). Fewest points in a tournament: , 2 (2006). Most goals scored in a tournament: , 23 (1998). Fewest goals scored in a tournament: , 4 (2006). Most goals covered in a tournament: , 22 (2010). Fewest goals covered in a tournament: , 6 (2006). Best goal difference in a tournament: , +16 (1998). Worst goal difference in a tournament: , -17 (2006). Best result: 6-0 (1998) and 6-0 (2018). Best result home: 6-0 (1998) and 6-0 (2018). Best result away: 0-3 (1998), 0-3 (2006) and 0-3 (2010). Individual Top scorer: Carlos Pavon, 12. Top scorer in a tournament: Carlos Hermosillo, 8 (1998). Hattricks and pokers: Top goalscorers Top goalscorers by tournament References * | Mid | [
0.6426858513189441,
33.5,
18.625
] |
Q: Неправильные аргумент std::map Внутри класса используется карта: std::map<std::string, std::map<std::string, typename Arc> > graph; При попытке сборки получаю: template argument 2 is invaid template argument 4 is invaid template argument 2 is invaid Где Arc - класс определённый следующим образом: class Arc { private: unsigned capacity; unsigned flow; public: Arc(unsigned _flow = 0, unsigned _capacity = 0); virtual ~Arc(); unsigned getCapacity() const; unsigned getFlow() const; void setCapacity(unsigned _capacity); void setFlow(unsigned _flow); bool operator==(const Arc &arc) const; }; A: Уберите это typename, оно тут ни к чему: #include <string> #include <iostream> #include <iomanip> #include <map> using namespace std; class Arc { private: unsigned capacity; unsigned flow; public: Arc(unsigned _flow = 0, unsigned _capacity = 0) {}; virtual ~Arc() {}; unsigned getCapacity() const; unsigned getFlow() const; void setCapacity(unsigned _capacity); void setFlow(unsigned _flow); bool operator==(const Arc &arc) const; }; int main(int argc, const char * argv[]) { map<string, map<string, Arc> > graph; } См. https://ideone.com/Gxzaae | Mid | [
0.641509433962264,
19.125,
10.6875
] |
Model # DCO1010 8x10 Internet #205367644 Discontinued Tayse Rugs Deco Brown 7 ft. 10 in. x 10 ft. 3 in. Transitional Area Rug Frequently Bought Together Product Overview Add flair to a room with this blossoming transitional area rug. A captivating pattern of botanicals in delightful colors to enhance a number of design styles. Espresso brown background with cranberry red, snowy ivory, pear green, ecru gold, mushroom taupe, teal blue and russet. Options include rounds and a three piece set for a coordinated look throughout the home. Machine made of soft polypropylene that is naturally stain-resistant and easy to maintain. Vacuum often on high-pile setting and spot clean when necessary using mild detergent but no bleach. 100% Polypropylene Action backing, use of rug pad recommended for high-traffic areas Machine made in Turkey Stain resistant Vacuum regularly and spot clean; do not dry clean Yarn dyed for vibrant, lasting color Please Note: The digital images and product dimensions on our website are as accurate as possible. Due to differences in computer monitors, some rug colors may vary slightly. Lengths and widths may vary from the published dimensions. We do our best to provide you with an exact measurement, but please be advised that some variation exists. Patterns may vary slightly according to shape and size selected. | Mid | [
0.6212871287128711,
31.375,
19.125
] |
By Larry Keane Joe Biden’s the last man standing, and millions of gun owners are watching. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said so long to the presidential race and now it’s a Biden vs. Trump bout coming up in November. Progressive Sen. Sanders has undoubtedly pushed Democrats to the left, but it’s former Vice President Biden who has made gun control a rallying cry. For left-leaning voters, it’s a “dance with the one who brought you” situation and the #GUNVOTE will matter. During the coronavirus pandemic, hundreds of thousands of new gun owners hopped off the fence, made a purchase and exercised their Second Amendment right to protect themselves, their families and their homes and property. They’re now going to be confronted with a presidential candidate who made a career and a campaign of doing everything to blunt their ability to lawfully own and possess firearms. There’s no shortage of gaffes, distortions and misstatements. Keeping Communities Safe Local firearm retailers, manufacturers and businesses by now should know the deal. Biden has repeatedly proclaimed, “I’m coming after you. Period.” That would be a big mistake. The firearm industry makes the free exercise of Second Amendment rights possible. It’s also the industry that supplies the U.S. military with the small arms and ammunition needed to defend the nation. On top of that, the firearm industry provides law enforcement with their firearm and ammunition needs, including those agents in darks suits and sunglasses that surrounded the former vice president for eight years. Top that off with the fact the industry buoys thousands of communities across the country through jobs and economic support. That is more than 332,000 jobs, and an economic impact of $60 billion in 2019 to be specific. In fact, the industry grew 213 percent since Biden was sworn in as President Barack Obama’s vice president in 2008. Sinking an industry to score political points isn’t winning strategy. A Record to Lose Votes More than 100 million law-abiding Americans own firearms, hundreds of thousands of them recent first-time owners. As they tune in and learn more about the candidates’ records, Biden’s words might surprise them. He repeats the false claim that gun manufactures are immune to lawsuits. He’s pledged to appoint failed presidential candidate and former U.S. Rep. Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke (D-Texas) who vowed to forcibly confiscate lawfully-owned firearms as his gun grabbing sheriff. He was dressed down by a gun-supporting worker at a Detroit auto factory who correctly pointed out Biden’s own erroneous gun claims. The former “Veep” gladly takes assistance from gun control groups like the billionaire Bloomberg-funded Everytown for Gun Safety and Brady Campaign, all while touting his “courageous” support for the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban. That legislation did not reduce criminal misuse of firearms. He calls for banning “semiautomatic assault weapons,” but pillorizes a rifle for cosmetic features that have nothing to do with how the gun operates. He purposely conflates semiautomatic firearms with the military’s automatic firearms to scare those who don’t know the difference. That’s why NSSF has its #GUNVOTE voter education campaign. It provides the candidate’s real words on where they stand on issues surrounding lawful firearm owners. It also helps voters to register to vote, to get educated on the candidates’ position on guns, and to not risk their rights on election day by going to the polls to #GUNVOTE. The election is seven months away, but voters are tuning in to how candidates will affect their lives and livelihood. When it comes to guns, gun owners and the industry that supports them, it’s best to take Biden at his word. Larry Keane is SVP for Government and Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary and General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. | Mid | [
0.5889830508474571,
34.75,
24.25
] |
Intracellular retention of the corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) precursor within COS-7 cells. We investigated the intracellular localization of CRH in transiently transfected COS-7 cells expressing the full-length rat corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) precursor cDNA. CRH synthesized by transfected COS-7 cells is mainly stored intracellularly. In contrast, CHO-K1 cells expressing the same CRH precursor stored and released equal amounts of immunoreactive (IR)-CRH. Ultrastructural analysis revealed that CRH is stored in electron-dense aggregates in the RER of transiently transfected COS-7 cells and does not migrate into the Golgi apparatus. On the basis of the different intracellular localization, storage, and release of CRH in COS-7 and CHO-K1 cells, we hypothesize that the intracellular trafficking of CRH within the constitutive secretory pathway for protein secretion not only depends on its primary amino acid sequence but might also be influenced by intracellular conditions or factors. | Mid | [
0.6482939632545931,
30.875,
16.75
] |
Electricity returns to much of north India after second straight day of outages that sparked chaos in several cities. Power has returned to much of north India after a massive blackout for a second straight day caused major transport disruption and traffic chaos in several cities. Hundreds of millions of people across India were left without power on Tuesday in one of the world’s worst blackouts, trapping miners, stranding train travellers and plunging hospitals into darkness. The blackout comes a day after a mass outage left eight states without power for much of the day. Shailendre Dubey, an official at the Uttar Pradesh Power Corp, said the northern grid collapsed at about 1:05pm (07:35 GMT) on Tuesday. VK Agrawal, the general manager of the grid, confirmed the outage. “We are busy with the revival right now… Both the northern and eastern grids have collapsed. Please allow us to address the problem,” Agrawal told the AFP news agency. Al Jazeera’s Nilanjan Chowdhury, reporting from New Delhi, said the outage had knocked out the capital’s metro system, as well as its traffic lights. Traffic policemen were filling in, but the blackout had resulted in widespread traffic jams. “The reason is the same [as for Monday’s outage]: apparently there was overloading of the grid, and this has happened at a location about 100km from Delhi, in Agra.” Chowdhury said that outages then spread as demand collapsed the northern and eastern grids. He also said that while power remains out in the business centres, the VIP areas that house ministers are now receiving power. About 400 trains were affected by the power outage, a spokesman for the railways told AFP. SK Mohanty, a power official in the eastern state of Orissa, confirmed that the eastern grid had also been knocked out. He said the fault could take several hours to resolve. Power was also cut in the main eastern city of Kolkata, and in most parts of West Bengal state, a local official said. The eastern grid covers five states, including West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Sikkim and Orissa. RN Rayak, the chairman of the Power Grid Corporation of India, told reporters at a press conference late on Tuesday afternoon that he expected power to be restored to all areas by 7:00pm local time (13:30 GMT). Trapped miners Hundreds of coal miners, meanwhile, were trapped in West Bengal because the power cut left them unable to operate their lifts. “We are trying to rescue the coal miners. All efforts are on to resume power supplies,” Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, told reporters in the state capital Kolkata. “You need power supplies to run the lifts in the underground mines.” She said that hundreds of miners were trapped in Burdwan, about 180km northwest of Kolkata. “Over 200 miners are stuck in several coal mines. They cannot come out till the power service is restored,” said Niladri Roy, general manager at Eastern Coalfields in Kolkata. Roy said that the miners were “in no danger”, as they were in a well-ventilated area. Earlier outage Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde blamed the system’s collapse on some states drawing more than their share of electricity from the over-burdened grid. “Everyone overdraws from the grid. Just this morning I held a meeting with power officials from the states and I gave directions that states that overdraw should be punished,” he told reporters. “We have given instructions that their power supply could be cut.” Indians took to social networking sites to ridicule the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, in part for promoting Shinde to Home Minister on Tuesday despite the power cuts. Live Box 201259843999621 On Monday, the northern grid collapsed for six hours shortly after 2:00am (20:30 GMT Sunday), causing travel chaos and widespread inconvenience in nine states and the capital New Delhi. Major hospitals and airports in the region were able to function normally on emergency back-up power on both days, but train services were severely disrupted. Industrial lobby groups say the power outages underline the government’s inability to address India’s acute electricity shortfall. “The increasing gap between electricity supply and demand has long been a matter of concern,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry. The CII, Banerjee said, has “consistently highlighted” the need for urgent steps to improve supplies of coal to thermal power plants and reforming state distribution utilities. “This latest outage is just an urgent reminder for addressing these issues as a priority,” he added. Soaring demand India’s demand for electricity has soared along with its economy in recent years, but it has been unable to meet growing energy needs. The Central Electricity Authority reported power deficits of more than eight per cent in recent months. The power deficit was worsened by a weak monsoon that lowered hydroelectric generation and kept temperatures higher, further increasing electricity usage as people seek to cool off. Even connection to the grid, however, remains a luxury for many. One-third of India’s households do not have electricity to power a light bulb, according to last year’s census. | Low | [
0.495708154506437,
28.875,
29.375
] |
Gurgaon: In a development that should give a big push to solar power generation in the state, incentive given to rooftop solar plants installed under the state's new solar policy for residential buildings for solar power generation has been quadrupled, from 25p per kWh to Rs1 per kWh. The order from Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) says starting from August 2016, till March 2017, an incentive of Rs 1/kWh shall be given by the discoms, instead of the 25 paise/kWh offered earlier, during financial year 2016-17. For rooftop solar systems installed by consumers under the new solar policy (starting April 1, 2016 till July 31, 2016), incentive shall be given at the rate of 25 paise/kWh for the corresponding period. From there on, the incentive shall be applicable at Rs 1/kWh. "The incentive is assessed by HERC every year. This year, the commission has decided to raise it from 25 paise/kWh to Rs 1/kWh. This is applicable for rooftop solar power plants installed in residential homes," said a senior Haryana Renewable Energy Department (HAREDA) official. He added the incentive will be capped at 90% of total consumption in any financial year. Buildings of all categories other than residential, will continue to get paid an incentive at 25 paise/kWh. The development has been received well by industry people. "When a consumer installs a solar power plant, (s)he is bothered about the huge initial capital outlay. Higher incentive will bring down the consumer's return on investment by a great degree, which should encourage more consumers to opt for net metering," said Shubhra Puri, who works in the solar industry. Using net metering, the user can source his supply from both the discom grid and his rooftop solar plant. If supply from any one stops, the system automatically switches to the other. The meter records how much power was used from which source, and charges the user for the difference. So far, Gurgaon has 11 active net meters that supply power back to the grid. Of these, only four are in residential buildings. There are 54 pending applications for net metering with the department. | High | [
0.701670644391408,
36.75,
15.625
] |
Stop, chop, chop, and stuff. We describe a variation of stop and chop phacoemulsification. During chopping the chopper's vertical element is depressed posteriorly toward the optic nerve and is placed well within the capsulorhexis margin, leading to in situ chopping. Each fragment is continuously chopped, and the small pieces are stuffed inside the phaco probe port with the left hand. The phaco probe is used more for aspiration than for cutting. This technique is particularly useful in eyes with hard nuclei or small pupils. | Mid | [
0.6289592760180991,
34.75,
20.5
] |
#include <catch2/catch.hpp> #include <tl/expected.hpp> struct move_detector { move_detector() = default; move_detector(move_detector &&rhs) { rhs.been_moved = true; } bool been_moved = false; }; TEST_CASE("Observers", "[observers]") { tl::expected<int,int> o1 = 42; tl::expected<int,int> o2 {tl::unexpect, 0}; const tl::expected<int,int> o3 = 42; REQUIRE(*o1 == 42); REQUIRE(*o1 == o1.value()); REQUIRE(o2.value_or(42) == 42); REQUIRE(o2.error() == 0); REQUIRE(o3.value() == 42); auto success = std::is_same<decltype(o1.value()), int &>::value; REQUIRE(success); success = std::is_same<decltype(o3.value()), const int &>::value; REQUIRE(success); success = std::is_same<decltype(std::move(o1).value()), int &&>::value; REQUIRE(success); #ifndef TL_EXPECTED_NO_CONSTRR success = std::is_same<decltype(std::move(o3).value()), const int &&>::value; REQUIRE(success); #endif tl::expected<move_detector,int> o4{tl::in_place}; move_detector o5 = std::move(o4).value(); REQUIRE(o4->been_moved); REQUIRE(!o5.been_moved); } | Mid | [
0.623188405797101,
32.25,
19.5
] |
HCPCS Code Definitions 99213 Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of an established patient, which requires at least 2 of these 3 key components: An expanded problem focused history; An expanded problem focused examination; Medical decision making of low complexity. Counseling and coordination of care with other physicians, other qualified health care professionals, or agencies are provided consistent with the nature of the problem(s) and the patient's and/or family's needs. Usually, the presenting problem(s) are of low to moderate severity. Typically, 15 minutes are spent face-to-face with the patient and/or family. I understand that I may be contacted by a third party that may or may not be a physician and that by providing your information to us, you agree to be contacted by phone and or email for the purposes of obtaining information on requesting more information in regards to an appointment with a physician. The health and medical information on our website is not intended to take the place of advice or treatment from healthcare professionals. It is also not intended to substitute for the users' relationships with their own health care/pharmaceutical providers. Health care provider data is provided by CMS.gov and updated periodically. Ratings and reviews should be considered opinions and not statements of fact. | Mid | [
0.5756207674943561,
31.875,
23.5
] |
Munka language The Bamunka language, Niemeng, is a Grassfields Bantu language of Cameroon. References External links The Bamunka Noun Phrase Information about the Bamunka language, including grammar structure Category:Ring languages Category:Languages of Cameroon | Mid | [
0.581896551724137,
33.75,
24.25
] |
I uh, I really thought there was going to be more of a ramp up time for the running. But it's hilarious. He can only run about five paces before he wipes out, so I don't know that it's actually any faster than walking. Don't tell him that, though. He also had some sort of VERBAL EXPLOSION and now he says a ton of words. About half of them are sound effects. He really likes to quack. tzippy turned into a little person overnight. she is working SO hard on crawling but is still mostly just flailing herself about the floor. it's not pretty, but it gets her from A to B (sort of). she is trying to whistle, and talks constantly (new fav consonant is D). but maybe the cutest thing is how decisive she is these days. she launches herself at my boobs and has figured out how to pull my shirt down when she wants to nurse. we nursed in the mei tai a for the first time a couple weeks ago and it was like this crazy revelation to her, that we could nurse, while mommy is hiking! or trying to get on the bus! or grocery shopping! she inspects the chests of everyone who holds her too. i just can't get over how well she is able to communicate now. it's so much less instinctive then when she was a tiny baby... she sees something and wants it, and figures out how to get it! All of these except "all done" and "NO" (his favorite word... but he's such a cheerful baby!) showed up in the past week or two. His pediatrician said to expect about 5 words by 15 months and I was skeptical he'd even have that many, buuut now I guess he does. Emma's 8 and 1/2 months. She finally has her first tooth that has popped through the surface of her gums. She scoots around on the floor but has trouble getting her butt up in the air (except when she sleeps- that thing is so high in the air!). She's babbling a lot and her favorite thing to say is, "DADADA". She can stay in a sitting position much better but hasn't pulled herself up yet. The biggest thing I notice is her receptive language skills improving. The other night we were reading her Owl book and I asked her where the moon was and she found it. Then I showed my husband and he was thinking it was just a fluke until he asked her where the Owl was and she touched it. I forget how awesome normal language development is because I work in the Special Education field. She's amazing! The other night we were reading her Owl book and I asked her where the moon was and she found it. Then I showed my husband and he was thinking it was just a fluke until he asked her where the Owl was and she touched it. I forget how awesome normal language development is because I work in the Special Education field. She's amazing! I love it! She IS amazing! Maybe it's kind of cliched to say it, but... babies are just freakin' amazing. They change SO much in the first year. The Emperor recognizes some things in pictures... people he knows are really exciting for him, so I'm working on finally printing out and hanging up pictures of our family and friends on a wall in the room that will someday be his if he ever moves out of my bed, ha ha. (It's currently where my computer, the guinea pigs, and a billion books are, so I'm in no hurry to get him in here.) I lost the battery charger for my brand new camera so I can't take videos for a while! But I'm hoping the running/quacking will persist. I've been lurking for probably the past six months and thought I'd post an update. I originally got on the PPK when I found out I was pregnant and have been coming back for more of the wonderful wisdom that cannot be found in any other place. So... my daughter will be 16 weeks tonight and I couldn't be more in love! Her name is Zora and she amazes me every day! Right now she's asleep in her sling on my chest, in this ridiculously hyperfeminine suit (ruffles, bows, hearts, puffed sleeves, flowers, and of course, several shades of pink) that was given to her, and I am finding myself surprised at how being a parent is changing me. For instance- I never thought I would become so tolerant of pink and girly stereotypes. I mean, WTH? I'm a single mom, living with my folks on their horse ranch in the middle of nowhere in Idaho. I love it! I go on walks in the mountains every day and take my cruiser to check the mail. I feel so lucky that I can raise my daughter in so much fresh air. We're co-sleeping, nursing on demand and doing the cloth diaper thang, which I am so glad I did, even if my life is dominated by laundry. I did struggle with PPD and am on meds, which have made every tons better. There's lots of continual drama with my ex's family, but they are at the other end of the state. I'm not working but will be soon- my dad is closing his law office and moving into the almost-finished office above the barn. I will be doing his dictation and other menial tasks with my baby right there- we are even installing electrical outlets at waist level so Zora will be that much safer. Zora learned how to roll over last week, from her tummy to her back! She's also in love with this rainforest mobile and spends lots of time singing and squealing. She seems to be about a month ahead developmentally. I'm going to start modeling signs for her this week, starting with "nurse" and "change my diaper." Oh. Does anyone else go through about twenty diapers a day? Zora absolutely despises being wet- although somehow if she's enamored with her mobile she can sit in poop and pee for a bit... I figure she might be easy to potty train. Your babies are all so beautiful! I've really enjoyed seeing them change and hearing about their latest feats! One of my goals for this week is to figure out how to post pics so y'all can see my little Zor. Hope you are all having a fabulous weekend! OH! Does anyone know how to get the water out of a pacifier so that there is no fear of nastiness festering type deal? Hi Garlic! I remember you from the old boards. Glad to hear you and Zora are so happy and healthy, and your living situation sounds wonderfully supportive. I don't have any practical baby knowledge (my dude won't be here for a few weeks!) but I just wanted to say welcome back! oofdiblunk, i study normal language development & i'm STILL amazed when i actually see things happening. garlic, your description of everything sounds so awesome! a horse ranch in the middle of nowhere sounds amazing. about the water in the paci -- i was always able to just squeeze it on the sides & the water would dribble out. is that not working? Eat More Garlic! I'm happy to hear things are going so well for you and little Zora. (Love the name, by the way.) I have a friend whose mother-in-law has a ranch and a TON of horses (she's sort of a one person horse rescue right now) and I really want to overcome my secret fear of riding so I can take the Emperor on a horse! Because how awesome would that be? This morning I realized the Emperor has another word... well, he thinks he's saying a word. He has a couple of stuffed snakes, and every time he shows one to me, I say "ssssssssilly sssssssnake!" Now whenever he picks one up, before I can say it, he holds it up and goes "SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" Sunshower- I squeeze the pacis but there's always a little left that squishes around, making Zora sound like Maggie Simpson. Cute, but makes me wonder about bacteria. The worst is when the water is soapy- gah! coldandsleepy- I love the 'ssssssssss'ness! How cute! Makes me want to get Zora some stuffed snakes. As for the horses, I totally get the fear aspect. Even though I was raised around them, I'm still extremely wary, as accidents happen when I get cocky. For instance, I got stepped on when I was about six months pregnant and got a few bones broken in my foot. And now that I go everywhere with Zora attached, I don't feel as confident because I just can't move as fast as I used to. However, there are plenty of older horses around who are pretty much bomb-proof and love to have their tails pulled. Find one of these and instill a lifelong love of horses in the Emperor. I love his name, by the way- Grey is Zora's middle name, too! olivia (7 mos.) supported herself on hands and knees for the first time today. she wants to crawl so bad, but she is still trying to figure out how to flip her legs around and go from sitting to crawling. she says "da da da!" and "nang nang nang!" jackson (26 mos.) has started saying "love you!" my heart is melting. he also just learned to completely undress himself. | Mid | [
0.567282321899736,
26.875,
20.5
] |
Q: Search for build number on TeamCity via REST API We give our builds unique build numbers, that include a timestamp and a git commit. Given one of these build numbers (and no other information), I want to find the build configuration that built it. If I type the build number into the "Search" box in the upper right corner, it works fine, listing the build and noting: 1 build found (matches in build number — 1) in 662ms How do I access the same information via the REST API? I have checked the API docs, but can't see a call equivalent to the generic "Search" exposed in the UI. Alternatively, I'd like to directly fetch the Build details and/or Build Configuration (http://teamcity:8111/httpAuth/app/rest/buildTypes) via build number alone, but although there is a number: locator, it can only be used in conjunction with buildType: (which is exactly the information I'm trying to identify). A: Try build requests with build number locator in TeamCity REST API. We're using API method in PS script to retrieve builds by id like this: $password = ConvertTo-SecureString -String "$teamcityPassword" -AsPlainText -Force $credentials = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential -ArgumentList $teamcityUsername, $password function GetBuild([string] $buildId) { $url = "$teamcityUrl/httpAuth/app/rest/builds/id:$buildId" Write-Host "GetBuild:$nl$url" return Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $url -Credential $credentials -Verbose -WebSession $session } So i think you should be able to do similar with "number" locator: $url = "$teamcityUrl/httpAuth/app/rest/builds/number:$buildNo" | High | [
0.6761290322580641,
32.75,
15.6875
] |
The Very Important Partner program: integrating family and friends into the health care experience. The hospital experience, especially in critical care units, can be perceived by patients and their family as unwelcoming, intimidating, and anxiety producing. Patients desire the presence of loved ones and family members and may commonly express feelings of helplessness and not feeling valued or important. The Very Important Partner (VIP) program integrates family and friends into the health care experience in order to create an environment that provides opportunities for patients and their loved ones to truly experience healing of the mind, body, and spirit. Patient satisfaction survey results and anecdotal comments demonstrate that the VIP program has a significantly positive effect on the perception of the overall hospital stay. The program is a simple, common sense approach to optimizing the overall healing of patients and family. The implementation of similar programs is recommended in hospitals nationwide. | High | [
0.6650485436893201,
34.25,
17.25
] |
/* ********************************************************** * Copyright (c) 2011-2017 Google, Inc. All rights reserved. * Copyright (c) 2006-2010 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. * **********************************************************/ /* * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: * * * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, * this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. * * * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, * this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation * and/or other materials provided with the distribution. * * * Neither the name of VMware, Inc. nor the names of its contributors may be * used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without * specific prior written permission. * * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" * AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE * IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE * ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL VMWARE, INC. OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE * FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL * DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR * SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER * CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT * LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY * OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH * DAMAGE. */ /* Copyright (c) 2006-2007 Determina Corp. */ #include "globals.h" #include "hashtable.h" /* Returns the proper number of hash bits to have a capacity with the * given load for the given number of entries */ uint hashtable_bits_given_entries(uint entries, uint load) { /* Add 1 for the sentinel */ return hashtable_num_bits(((entries + 1) * 100) / load); } /******************************************************************************* * GENERIC HASHTABLE INSTANTIATION * * We save code space by having hashtables that don't need special inlining * use the same code. We also provide a more "normal" hashtable interface, * with key and payload separation and payload freeing. * * We only support caller synchronization currently (the caller should * use TABLE_RWLOCK) but we could provide a flag specifying whether * synch is intra-routine or not. */ /* 2 macros w/ name and types are duplicated in fragment.h -- keep in sync */ #define NAME_KEY generic #define ENTRY_TYPE generic_entry_t * /* not defining HASHTABLE_USE_LOOKUPTABLE */ #define ENTRY_TAG(f) ((f)->key) #define ENTRY_EMPTY NULL /* we assume that 1 is not a valid value: that keys are in fact pointers */ #define ENTRY_SENTINEL ((generic_entry_t *)(ptr_uint_t)1) #define ENTRY_IS_EMPTY(f) ((f) == NULL) #define ENTRY_IS_SENTINEL(f) ((f) == ENTRY_SENTINEL) #define ENTRY_IS_INVALID(f) (false) /* no invalid entries */ #define ENTRIES_ARE_EQUAL(t, f, g) (ENTRY_TAG(f) == ENTRY_TAG(g)) /* if usage becomes widespread we may need to parameterize this */ #define HASHTABLE_WHICH_HEAP(flags) (ACCT_OTHER) #define HTLOCK_RANK table_rwlock #define HASHTABLE_SUPPORT_PERSISTENCE 0 #include "hashtablex.h" /* all defines are undef-ed at end of hashtablex.h */ #define GENERIC_ENTRY_IS_REAL(e) ((e) != NULL && (e) != (generic_entry_t *)(ptr_uint_t)1) /* required routines for hashtable interface */ static void hashtable_generic_init_internal_custom(dcontext_t *dcontext, generic_table_t *htable) { /* nothing */ } static void hashtable_generic_resized_custom(dcontext_t *dcontext, generic_table_t *htable, uint old_capacity, generic_entry_t **old_table, generic_entry_t **old_table_unaligned, uint old_ref_count, uint old_table_flags) { /* nothing */ } #ifdef DEBUG static void hashtable_generic_study_custom(dcontext_t *dcontext, generic_table_t *htable, uint entries_inc /*amnt table->entries was pre-inced*/) { /* nothing */ } #endif static void hashtable_generic_free_entry(dcontext_t *dcontext, generic_table_t *htable, generic_entry_t *entry) { if (htable->free_payload_func != NULL) (*htable->free_payload_func)(dcontext, entry->payload); HEAP_TYPE_FREE(dcontext, entry, generic_entry_t, ACCT_OTHER, PROTECTED); } /* Wrapper routines to implement our generic_entry_t and free-func layer */ generic_table_t * generic_hash_create(dcontext_t *dcontext, uint bits, uint load_factor_percent, uint table_flags, void (*free_payload_func)(dcontext_t *, void *) _IF_DEBUG(const char *table_name)) { generic_table_t *table = HEAP_TYPE_ALLOC(dcontext, generic_table_t, ACCT_OTHER, PROTECTED); hashtable_generic_init(dcontext, table, bits, load_factor_percent, (hash_function_t)INTERNAL_OPTION(alt_hash_func), 0 /* hash_mask_offset */, table_flags _IF_DEBUG(table_name)); table->free_payload_func = free_payload_func; return table; } void generic_hash_clear(dcontext_t *dcontext, generic_table_t *htable) { hashtable_generic_clear(dcontext, htable); } void generic_hash_destroy(dcontext_t *dcontext, generic_table_t *htable) { /* FIXME: why doesn't hashtablex.h walk the table and call the free routine * in free() or in remove()? It only seems to do it for range_remove(). */ uint i; generic_entry_t *e; for (i = 0; i < htable->capacity; i++) { e = htable->table[i]; /* must check for sentinel */ if (GENERIC_ENTRY_IS_REAL(e)) { hashtable_generic_free_entry(dcontext, htable, e); } } hashtable_generic_free(dcontext, htable); HEAP_TYPE_FREE(dcontext, htable, generic_table_t, ACCT_OTHER, PROTECTED); } void * generic_hash_lookup(dcontext_t *dcontext, generic_table_t *htable, ptr_uint_t key) { generic_entry_t *e = hashtable_generic_lookup(dcontext, key, htable); if (e != NULL) return e->payload; return NULL; } void generic_hash_add(dcontext_t *dcontext, generic_table_t *htable, ptr_uint_t key, void *payload) { generic_entry_t *e = HEAP_TYPE_ALLOC(dcontext, generic_entry_t, ACCT_OTHER, PROTECTED); e->key = key; e->payload = payload; hashtable_generic_add(dcontext, e, htable); } bool generic_hash_remove(dcontext_t *dcontext, generic_table_t *htable, ptr_uint_t key) { /* There is no remove routine that takes in a tag, nor one that frees the * payload, so we construct it. */ generic_entry_t *e = hashtable_generic_lookup(dcontext, key, htable); if (e != NULL && hashtable_generic_remove(e, htable)) { hashtable_generic_free_entry(dcontext, htable, e); return true; } return false; } uint generic_hash_range_remove(dcontext_t *dcontext, generic_table_t *htable, ptr_uint_t start, ptr_uint_t end) { return hashtable_generic_range_remove(dcontext, htable, start, end, NULL); } /* pass 0 to start. returns -1 when there are no more entries. */ int generic_hash_iterate_next(dcontext_t *dcontext, generic_table_t *htable, int iter, OUT ptr_uint_t *key, OUT void **payload) { int i; generic_entry_t *e = NULL; for (i = iter; i < (int)htable->capacity; i++) { e = htable->table[i]; if (!GENERIC_ENTRY_IS_REAL(e)) continue; else break; } if (i >= (int)htable->capacity) return -1; ASSERT(e != NULL); if (key != NULL) *key = e->key; if (payload != NULL) *payload = e->payload; return i + 1; } /* removes from the hashtable in a safe way during iteration. returns an * updated iteration index to pass to generic_hash_iterate_next(). */ int generic_hash_iterate_remove(dcontext_t *dcontext, generic_table_t *htable, int iter, ptr_uint_t key) { generic_entry_t *e = hashtable_generic_lookup(dcontext, key, htable); uint hindex; generic_entry_t **rm = hashtable_generic_lookup_for_removal(e, htable, &hindex); int res = iter; if (rm != NULL) { if (hashtable_generic_remove_helper(htable, hindex, rm)) { /* pulled entry from start to here so skip it as we've already seen it */ } else { /* pulled entry from below us, so step back */ res--; } hashtable_generic_free_entry(dcontext, htable, e); } return res; } /******************************************************************************* * STRING KEY HASHTABLE INSTANTIATION * * We only support caller synchronization currently (the caller should * use TABLE_RWLOCK). */ /* 2 macros w/ name and types are duplicated in fragment.h -- keep in sync */ #define NAME_KEY strhash #define ENTRY_TYPE strhash_entry_t * /* not defining HASHTABLE_USE_LOOKUPTABLE */ #define ENTRY_TAG(f) (ptr_uint_t)((f)->key) #define ENTRY_EMPTY NULL /* we assume that 1 is not a valid value: that keys are in fact pointers */ #define STRHASH_SENTINEL ((strhash_entry_t *)(ptr_uint_t)1) #define ENTRY_SENTINEL STRHASH_SENTINEL #define ENTRY_IS_EMPTY(f) ((f) == NULL) #define ENTRY_IS_SENTINEL(f) ((f) == STRHASH_SENTINEL) #define ENTRY_IS_INVALID(f) (false) /* no invalid entries */ #define TAGS_ARE_EQUAL(table, s1, s2) \ (strhash_key_cmp(table, (const char *)(s1), (const char *)(s2))) #define ENTRIES_ARE_EQUAL(table, f, g) (TAGS_ARE_EQUAL(table, (f)->key, (g)->key)) /* if usage becomes widespread we may need to parameterize this */ #define HASHTABLE_WHICH_HEAP(flags) (ACCT_OTHER) #define HTLOCK_RANK table_rwlock #define HASHTABLE_SUPPORT_PERSISTENCE 0 /* case sensitive by default */ #define STRHASH_CASE_INSENSITIVE HASHTABLE_CUSTOM_FLAGS_START static inline bool strhash_key_cmp(strhash_table_t *htable, const char *s1, const char *s2) { if (TEST(STRHASH_CASE_INSENSITIVE, htable->table_flags)) return strcasecmp(s1, s2) == 0; else return strcmp(s1, s2) == 0; } #include "hashtablex.h" /* all defines are undef-ed at end of hashtablex.h */ #define STRHASH_ENTRY_IS_REAL(e) ((e) != NULL && (e) != STRHASH_SENTINEL) /* required routines for hashtable interface */ static void hashtable_strhash_init_internal_custom(dcontext_t *dcontext, strhash_table_t *htable) { /* nothing */ } static void hashtable_strhash_resized_custom(dcontext_t *dcontext, strhash_table_t *htable, uint old_capacity, strhash_entry_t **old_table, strhash_entry_t **old_table_unaligned, uint old_ref_count, uint old_table_flags) { /* nothing */ } #ifdef DEBUG static void hashtable_strhash_study_custom(dcontext_t *dcontext, strhash_table_t *htable, uint entries_inc /*amnt table->entries was pre-inced*/) { /* nothing */ } #endif static void hashtable_strhash_free_entry(dcontext_t *dcontext, strhash_table_t *htable, strhash_entry_t *entry) { if (htable->free_payload_func != NULL) (*htable->free_payload_func)(entry->payload); HEAP_TYPE_FREE(dcontext, entry, strhash_entry_t, ACCT_OTHER, PROTECTED); } /* Wrapper routines to implement our strhash_entry_t and free-func layer */ strhash_table_t * strhash_hash_create(dcontext_t *dcontext, uint bits, uint load_factor_percent, uint table_flags, void (*free_payload_func)(void *) _IF_DEBUG(const char *table_name)) { strhash_table_t *table = HEAP_TYPE_ALLOC(GLOBAL_DCONTEXT, strhash_table_t, ACCT_OTHER, PROTECTED); hashtable_strhash_init(GLOBAL_DCONTEXT, table, bits, load_factor_percent, TEST(STRHASH_CASE_INSENSITIVE, table_flags) ? HASH_FUNCTION_STRING_NOCASE : HASH_FUNCTION_STRING, 0 /* hash_mask_offset */, table_flags _IF_DEBUG(table_name)); table->free_payload_func = free_payload_func; return table; } void strhash_hash_clear(dcontext_t *dcontext, strhash_table_t *htable) { hashtable_strhash_clear(dcontext, htable); } void strhash_hash_destroy(dcontext_t *dcontext, strhash_table_t *htable) { /* FIXME: why doesn't hashtablex.h walk the table and call the free routine * in free() or in remove()? It only seems to do it for range_remove(). */ uint i; strhash_entry_t *e; for (i = 0; i < htable->capacity; i++) { e = htable->table[i]; /* must check for sentinel */ if (STRHASH_ENTRY_IS_REAL(e)) { hashtable_strhash_free_entry(dcontext, htable, e); } } hashtable_strhash_free(dcontext, htable); HEAP_TYPE_FREE(dcontext, htable, strhash_table_t, ACCT_OTHER, PROTECTED); } void * strhash_hash_lookup(dcontext_t *dcontext, strhash_table_t *htable, const char *key) { strhash_entry_t *e = hashtable_strhash_lookup(dcontext, (ptr_uint_t)key, htable); if (e != NULL) return e->payload; return NULL; } void strhash_hash_add(dcontext_t *dcontext, strhash_table_t *htable, const char *key, void *payload) { strhash_entry_t *e = HEAP_TYPE_ALLOC(dcontext, strhash_entry_t, ACCT_OTHER, PROTECTED); e->key = key; e->payload = payload; hashtable_strhash_add(dcontext, e, htable); } bool strhash_hash_remove(dcontext_t *dcontext, strhash_table_t *htable, const char *key) { /* There is no remove routine that takes in a tag, nor one that frees the * payload, so we construct it */ strhash_entry_t *e = hashtable_strhash_lookup(dcontext, (ptr_uint_t)key, htable); if (e != NULL && hashtable_strhash_remove(e, htable)) { hashtable_strhash_free_entry(dcontext, htable, e); return true; } return false; } /*******************************************************************************/ #ifdef HASHTABLE_STATISTICS /* caller is responsible for any needed synchronization */ void print_hashtable_stats(dcontext_t *dcontext, const char *is_final_str, const char *is_trace_str, const char *lookup_routine_str, const char *brtype_str, hashtable_statistics_t *lookup_stats) { uint64 hits_stat = lookup_stats->hit_stat; uint64 total_lookups; if (lookup_stats->hit_stat < lookup_stats->collision_hit_stat) { /* HACK OVERFLOW: we special case here the case of a single overflow */ /* assuming only one overflow, which is the only case on spec (GAP) */ hits_stat = (uint64)lookup_stats->hit_stat + UINT_MAX + 1; } total_lookups = hits_stat + lookup_stats->miss_stat + lookup_stats->collision_hit_stat; DOLOG(1, LOG_FRAGMENT | LOG_STATS, { uint miss_top = 0; uint miss_bottom = 0; uint hit_top = 0; uint hit_bottom = 0; uint col_top = 0; uint col_bottom = 0; if (total_lookups > 0) { divide_uint64_print(lookup_stats->miss_stat, total_lookups, false, 4, &miss_top, &miss_bottom); } if (hits_stat > 0) { divide_uint64_print(lookup_stats->collision_hit_stat, hits_stat, false, 4, &hit_top, &hit_bottom); divide_uint64_print(hits_stat + lookup_stats->collision_stat, hits_stat, false, 4, &col_top, &col_bottom); } LOG(THREAD, LOG_FRAGMENT | LOG_STATS, 1, "%s %s table %s%s lookup hits%s: " UINT64_FORMAT_STRING ", " "misses: %u, total: " UINT64_FORMAT_STRING ", miss%%=%u.%.4u\n", is_final_str, is_trace_str, lookup_routine_str, brtype_str, (lookup_stats->hit_stat < lookup_stats->collision_hit_stat) ? "[OVFL]" : "", hits_stat, lookup_stats->miss_stat, total_lookups, miss_top, miss_bottom); LOG(THREAD, LOG_FRAGMENT | LOG_STATS, 1, "%s %s table %s%s " "collisions: %u, collision hits: %u, " ">2_or_miss: %u, overwrap: %u\n", is_final_str, is_trace_str, lookup_routine_str, brtype_str, lookup_stats->collision_stat, /* FIXME: collision hit stats are updated only when inlining IBL head */ lookup_stats->collision_hit_stat, lookup_stats->collision_stat - lookup_stats->collision_hit_stat, lookup_stats->overwrap_stat); LOG(THREAD, LOG_FRAGMENT | LOG_STATS, 1, "%s %s table %s%s lookup " " coll%%=%u.%.4u, dyn.avgcoll=%u.%.4u\n", is_final_str, is_trace_str, lookup_routine_str, brtype_str, hit_top, hit_bottom, col_top, col_bottom); if (lookup_stats->race_condition_stat || lookup_stats->unlinked_count_stat) { LOG(THREAD, LOG_FRAGMENT | LOG_STATS, 1, "%s %s table %s%s inlined ibl unlinking races: %d, unlinked: %d\n", is_final_str, is_trace_str, lookup_routine_str, brtype_str, lookup_stats->race_condition_stat, lookup_stats->unlinked_count_stat); } if (lookup_stats->ib_stay_on_trace_stat) { uint ontrace_top = 0; uint ontrace_bottom = 0; uint lastexit_top = 0; uint lastexit_bottom = 0; uint speculate_lastexit_top = 0; uint speculate_lastexit_bottom = 0; /* indirect branch lookups */ uint64 total_dynamic_ibs = total_lookups + lookup_stats->ib_stay_on_trace_stat + (DYNAMO_OPTION(speculate_last_exit) ? lookup_stats->ib_trace_last_ibl_speculate_success : 0); /* FIXME: add ib_stay_on_trace_stat_ovfl here */ if (total_dynamic_ibs > 0) { divide_uint64_print(lookup_stats->ib_stay_on_trace_stat, total_dynamic_ibs, false, 4, &ontrace_top, &ontrace_bottom); divide_uint64_print(lookup_stats->ib_trace_last_ibl_exit, total_dynamic_ibs, false, 4, &lastexit_top, &lastexit_bottom); divide_uint64_print(lookup_stats->ib_trace_last_ibl_speculate_success, total_dynamic_ibs, false, 4, &speculate_lastexit_top, &speculate_lastexit_bottom); } /* all percentages here relative to IB lookups */ /* ontrace is how often we stay on trace wrt all indirect branches */ /* ontrace_fail is assuming IBL's that are not the last exit are due to * ontrace failures */ /* lastexit is how many are on last IBL when it is not speculated */ /* lastexit_speculate is how many are speculatively hit (as of all IBs) */ LOG(THREAD, LOG_FRAGMENT | LOG_STATS, 1, "%s %s table %s%s stay on trace hit:%s %u, last_ibl: %u, " "ontrace%%=%u.%.4u, lastexit%%=%u.%.4u\n", is_final_str, is_trace_str, lookup_routine_str, brtype_str, lookup_stats->ib_stay_on_trace_stat_ovfl ? " OVFL" : "", lookup_stats->ib_stay_on_trace_stat, lookup_stats->ib_trace_last_ibl_exit, ontrace_top, ontrace_bottom, lastexit_top, lastexit_bottom); LOG(THREAD, LOG_FRAGMENT | LOG_STATS, 1, "%s %s table %s%s last trace exit speculation hit: %u, " "lastexit_ontrace%%=%u.%.4u(%%IB)\n", is_final_str, is_trace_str, lookup_routine_str, brtype_str, lookup_stats->ib_trace_last_ibl_speculate_success, speculate_lastexit_top, speculate_lastexit_bottom); } if (lookup_stats->ib_trace_last_ibl_exit > 0) { /* ignoring indirect branches that stayed on trace */ /* FIXME: add ib_stay_on_trace_stat_ovfl here */ uint speculate_only_lastexit_top = 0; uint speculate_only_lastexit_bottom = 0; uint lastexit_ibl_top = 0; uint lastexit_ibl_bottom = 0; uint speculate_lastexit_ibl_top = 0; uint speculate_lastexit_ibl_bottom = 0; uint64 total_dynamic_ibl_no_trace = total_lookups + lookup_stats->ib_trace_last_ibl_exit; if (total_dynamic_ibl_no_trace > 0) { divide_uint64_print(lookup_stats->ib_trace_last_ibl_exit, total_dynamic_ibl_no_trace, false, 4, &lastexit_ibl_top, &lastexit_ibl_bottom); divide_uint64_print(lookup_stats->ib_trace_last_ibl_speculate_success, total_dynamic_ibl_no_trace, false, 4, &speculate_lastexit_ibl_top, &speculate_lastexit_ibl_bottom); } /* ib_trace_last_ibl_exit includes all ib_trace_last_ibl_speculate_success */ divide_uint64_print(lookup_stats->ib_trace_last_ibl_speculate_success, lookup_stats->ib_trace_last_ibl_exit, false, 4, &speculate_only_lastexit_top, &speculate_only_lastexit_bottom); LOG(THREAD, LOG_FRAGMENT | LOG_STATS, 1, "%s %s table %s%s last trace exit speculation hit: %u, speculation miss: " "%u, lastexit%%=%u.%.4u(%%IBL), lastexit_succ%%=%u.%.4u(%%IBL), " "spec hit%%=%u.%.4u(%%last exit)\n", is_final_str, is_trace_str, lookup_routine_str, brtype_str, lookup_stats->ib_trace_last_ibl_speculate_success, lookup_stats->ib_trace_last_ibl_exit - lookup_stats->ib_trace_last_ibl_speculate_success, lastexit_ibl_top, lastexit_ibl_bottom, speculate_lastexit_ibl_top, speculate_lastexit_ibl_bottom, speculate_only_lastexit_top, speculate_only_lastexit_bottom); } }); } #endif /* HASHTABLE_STATISTICS */ | Low | [
0.47245762711864403,
27.875,
31.125
] |
We seek to define the molecular mechanisms controlling eukaryotic mRNA gene transcription by RNA Polymerase II. Defects in mRNA biosynthesis may lead to human maladies such as cancer, diabetes and obesity. Thus, it is imperative to dissect the very first step in gene expression, mRNA gene transcription, so that we can understand both normal and pathological states. Our ongoing work utilizes the genetically-tractable baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as a model to elucidate the multiple roles that the highly evolutionarily-conserved transcription factor complex TFIID plays in mRNA gene transcription. TFIID is composed of 15 subunits (the TATA box Binding Protein, TBP, plus 14 TBP-associated factors, Taf1Taf14). TFIID is unique among the six so-called General Transcription Factors (GTFs: TFIIA, B, D, E, F, H) in that not only is it required for promoter-directed Pre-Initiation Complex (PIC) formation (indeed TFIID is the GTF that recognizes and binds the TATA promoter element), but TFIID also acts as a transcriptional coactivator on certain metazoan mRNA-encoding genes. TFIID is resident on, and its function is required for, the transcription of over 90% of mRNA encoding genes from yeast to humans. Our recent work has shown that yeast TFIID serves as a transcriptional coactivator for the transcription factor Repressor activator protein 1 (Rap1) via collaboration with TFIIA. Rap1 is an essential transfactor that activates transcription of the 100+ genes that encode the complement of proteins composing the ribosome; ribo- some levels and translation are universally rate-limiting for cellular proliferation. Null mutations of Rap1, RNA polymerase II and the six GTFs are all lethal, results indicating that all of these proteins contribute key cellular functions. We propos experiments that employ a multifaceted approach combining biochemical, genetic, proteomic, and structural methods to elucidate how the interplay of TFIID and Rap1 with each other, with enhancer- promoter DNA, and with GTFs and RNA Polymerase II, leads to the precise and controlled activation of gene transcription. Ultimately we plan to study this process on a natural, in vivo-assembled, mRNA-encoding gene. We believe our work will provide novel and global insights to understand mRNA gene transcription regulatory mechanisms. | High | [
0.726256983240223,
32.5,
12.25
] |
Jacqueline Patton Photography (NEW YORK) — It may be the final season of USA Network hacker drama Mr. Robot, but the show still had time to introduce one last baddie. Ashlie Atkinson plays the show’s new favorite villain, Dark Army operative Janice – and she’s having a blast scaring the crap out of fans. “I just really loved the idea of someone who was an ‘order muppet,’ who is really into control and order but was a really joyous person — but a complete psychopath,” Atkinson tells ABC Audio. “I really liked that about her.” Atkinson, who was a huge fan of Mr. Robot before joining the show as a series regular, says she loves to see fans’ reactions to Janice online. Her favorite was the fan who dubbed Janice the scariest Mr. Robot villain after spotting her on another TV show. “Someone said, ‘Ashlie Atkinson was on Emergence and when I saw her face I straight up jumped out of my chair,’” she recalls with a laugh. “And I was like, ‘Oh good. People are afraid of me on other shows now when I’m playing like moms or neighbors.” As for what’s coming up in the final few episodes of the season, Atkinson teases it’s “only going to get crazier from here on out.” Mr. Robot – also starring Oscar winner Rami Malek, Christian Slater and Grace Gummer – airs Sunday at 10 p.m. ET on USA. Copyright © 2019, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. | Mid | [
0.559223300970873,
36,
28.375
] |
1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electromechanical braille board display having solenoids or electromechanical transducers for moving the dot pins of the display. More particularly, the present invention pertains to those electromechanical braille board displays which provide a full page of braille information as defined by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. 2. Description of the Prior Art Electromechanical braille board displays using solenoids to place the dot pins of each cell of the board in either an upward or a downward position are disclosed in the prior art. A cell in the United States is two columns across and three rows down for a total of six dot locations for a cell, while the European braille cell has eight dot locations per cell. Each solenoid is associated with one of the dot pin, requiring six (6) solenoids for each cell using the U.S. braille cell configuration. Due to the number of solenoids required, various schemes have been implemented for tactile displays in order to reduce the number of solenoids required or the use an alternative to solenoids. U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,894 issued Mar. 23, 1993 to Pieter W. C. J. le Blanc discloses a braille mouse having three cells to scan text on a computer screen. The dot pins are selectively raised from their normally lowered position by either a disc, belt, or drum having different character codes thereon. Once the proper code is accessed, a single solenoid is used to raise the pins. U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,290 issued Apr. 28, 1992 to Bror A. Eriksson discloses a device for displaying braille characters by placing balls between two driven belts at different locations along the lengths of the belts as they are rotating. U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,992 issued Oct. 3, 1989 to Robert C. Petersen discloses a tactile display utilizing an electromagnet to move a disk-shaped cam for positioning the dot pins of each cell in their raised or lowered states. A translator is used to convert the ASCII codes from a computer to a code for displaying the braille information by the tactile display board. U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,190 issued Mar. 18, 1980 to Alain Bareau discloses a tactile display device utilizing solenoids to place the dot pins in either their raised or lowered states. Bareau also discloses a converter to translate alphanumeric information to a braille format. U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,945 issued Mar. 18, 1980 to Martin R. Hannen et al disclose a braille board display in which each cell of the braille board may be individually accessed by a selector switch. U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,434 issued Nov. 12, 1991 to Mikiharu Matsuoka et al discloses a controller including a microprocessor to control the flow of data to and from the storage memory. More specifically, RAM is used as a work space to store the scanned information provided by a camera once that information is converted into digital data and ROM is used to store the operating program. U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,444 issued Aug. 18, 1987 to H. Douglas Garner discloses a tactile display using RAMto load a text information and to retrieve only a portion of that text information as needed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,567 issued Sep. 25, 1990 to Mark A. Ealey et al discloses a solenoid using a permanent magnet. U.S. Pat. No. 3,293,502 issued Dec. 20, 1966 to John D. Beierle discloses a cordwood circuit board design. Braille Books and Pamphlets, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped from the Library of Congress, Specification #800, August 1991, pages 1-14. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. | Mid | [
0.6214833759590791,
30.375,
18.5
] |
[Medical ethics in the world's market. Hippocratic fidelity or enterprise fidelity]. The advance which resulted in the mean survival increase from 50 to 75 years between 1920 and 1990 also provoked the rise in health care costs, and the so called "health crisis". In order to contain it, market tactics were put to action, health care was considered a commodity, patients "consumers" and hospitals or physicians "providers". Economists, accountants and business advisors in charge of "Health Maintenance Organizations" (HMO) started the very profitable activity of intervening between patients and physicians. Rationing, use of general practice guides, suboptimal treatments, risk avoidance and other market tactics changed the practice of a profession into a business enterprise. The HMO decides if, when, how and how much will be given to any "consumer". Use of technology more impersonal and easily administered is the leading feature of to-day's medicine over the intellectual activity of the physician who hears, understands, makes the physical examination, diagnosis and treatment. The increasing depreciation of his task obliges the physician to enlarge the number and decrease his communication with his patients. His fiduciary obligation is subordinated to market needs and his practice increasingly compromises his moral integrity. The HMO boasts of the quality of the service given, this is the timely use of to-day's appropriate resources. Nobody wants the 1950 car or medical practice. Tomorrow's practice however depends on increasing knowledge, that is, on research, an activity which is not the HMO object. The academic-medical center, the very place where the interaction of teaching and investigating promotes the excellence is discriminated by the HMO because of its compromise with fiduciary activity imposed by 2500 years of jewish-christian philosophy. The future of these institutions (state's Cinderella's) is progressively compromised; when we loose them how long will it take to recover them? The politicians are always ready to create new hospitals, after they are built consuming large amounts of money, they become disinterested. All hospitals in our country are completely active only 4 hours/day, their physicians travel afterwards to their diverse places of activity consuming much of their time in getting there and complying with the bureaucratic tasks imposed by HMO. In our country with 14% unemployment and 1/3 of the population without any health coverage, the institution of universal health insurance is mandatory. Preventive medicine is not effective for people who lack the means for adequate nutrition, education or transportation, they do not visit doctors or use medicines. | Mid | [
0.6187050359712231,
32.25,
19.875
] |
About This Game Summary Specifications Features Game Editions Designed for American gamers as an RPG for younger players in the days when RPGs were still a niche genre, this was a much simpler and less epic RPG than Final Fantasy fans are used to. The game features simplified controls with easy menus and little customization for weapons and items, plus occasional NPC buddies that join your party and assist in battle. | Mid | [
0.6036960985626281,
36.75,
24.125
] |
SIGMON & SIGMON P.C. Since 1943, we have dedicated our law practice to the stalwart representation of our clients in the areas of DUI law, personal injury law, family law, criminal law, business law, real estate law, probate law, estate planning, & more. We are a general practice law firm that services the areas in and around Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton & Stroudsburg. If you need an auto accident lawyer who will aggressively represent you & ensure you are fully compensated, trust in the attorneys at Sigmon & Sigmon, P.C. Serving Lehigh Valley, PA & surrounding areas. Allentown, PA Location - Business Law Lawyers If you’re in need of experienced attorneys to help you out with a DUI, a painful divorce, or a child custody case, then it’s about time that you contacted Sigmon & Sigmon, P.C. of Allentown. We are the leading choice when it comes to lawyers in Allentown, as well as Bethlehem. Our professionals have been helping people just like you for over 70 years. Bethlehem, PA Location - Receive Top-Tier Counsel If you're battling a DUI in the Bethlehem area, turn to Sigmon and Sigmon, P.C. for experienced legal aid. Turn To Sigmon & Sigmon, P.C., when You Need A DUI Lawyer Bethlehem. Whether you need help getting through a painful divorce, or you’re searching for a DUI lawyer, we can help. The folks at Sigmon & Sigmon, P.C. have been helping out clients just like you all over Bethlehem, as well as, Allentown & Stroudsburg & surrounding Lehigh Valley locations. Whatever your needs are, just know that we are there for you. Our attorneys are educated, experienced, & they truly care. We understand that not everyone has the same needs. That is why we work hard to provide you with legal services that are individualized to meet your specific situation. When you need help legally, we are there for you. We provide help on a large scale & offer legal representation for a wide range of different cases. We’re also available if you’re in need of a divorce lawyer or a business law lawyer. Stroudsburg, PA - Location & Surrounding PA Locations Sigmon & Sigmon, P.C. offers exceptional legal services to clients throughout Stroudsburg & the surrounding areas of Pennsylvania. As your criminal lawyer, personal injury lawyer, business law lawyer, divorce lawyer, child custody attorney, or DUI lawyer, we can provide you with the legal services you need. Our attorneys have helped thousands of clients to attain the results they are looking for. Since 1943, we have worked diligently to produce successful outcomes for our clients. If you are ready to have your case managed by a professional team of attorneys ready to assist you then contact Sigmon & Sigmon, P.C. today. We are proud to offer competent legal assistance to aid you in your case. We offer dedicated and focused representation & we are fully committed to providing you with the legal advice you need for success. Contact Sigmon & Sigmon, P.C. online at [email protected] OR call us at 610-865-3404 to speak with Mark Sigmon. Following in his father's footsteps & dedicated to solving legal issues for clients, since 1943.146 East Broad Street - Bethlehem, PA 18018 Our Practice Areas Include: Business Law Family Law Criminal Law Personal Injury Law Real Estate Law Probate Law Estate Planning Solutions for Legal Matters We have handled thousands of personal injury cases & have seen each case through to a conclusive resolution. Whether you have experienced a dog bite, car accident, truck accident, wrongful death, or work related accident; we will see to it that you receive the settlement that you deserve. We will see to it that the negligent party is held accountable. Comprehensive Legal Representation Sigmon & Sigmon, P.C. offers comprehensive legal representation covering ALL legal specialties. If you are in need of a Business Law Lawyer to help you establish your business, we can assist you in establishing a sole proprietorship, LLCs (Limited Liability Companies), LLPs (Limited Liability Partnerships), Incorporations, & Partnerships. Find Legal Advocates to Resolve Your Case We can also assist you in all aspects of family law & we will be the divorce lawyer that acts as your advocate throughout the entirety of your case. When it comes to your dependents, you can turn to us as the child custody attorney who will ensure the best outcome for you and your children. Discover Competent Legal Counsel in the Lehigh Valley Sigmon & Sigmon, P.C. will put nearly 70 years of combined experience together to give you the representation that you deserve. | High | [
0.6914600550964181,
31.375,
14
] |
Bf 1942Battlefield video games from Electronic Arts, the source for the highest rated and exciting titles like Battlefield 4 and Battlefield Bad Company 2. Download custom Skins, GUIs, Maps, Sprites, Sounds, Mods, Addons, DLCs Scripts for PC games. A page linking to some worthwhile pages and sites about the game Battlefield 1942. There is also a Battlefield 2 and Battlefield Bad Company 2 site set of links...Keywords:Bf 1942Downloads: 37 Pwned Foes #1 - Major WackoMultiplayer kill footage from the game Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII. All footage was taken in the month of October 2005 from the online game server: Test Quin Secret Weapons (69.93.181.162:14668) This is an upgrade from the original Pwn'ed Foes #1, now including proper credits at the end.Keywords:Battlefield; 1942; BF1942; Secret Weapons of WWII; multiplay; kill; pwnDownloads: 222 | High | [
0.679640718562874,
28.375,
13.375
] |
Ireland's Minister for Justice says vote for same-sex marriage should not be taken for granted Frances Fitzgerald says referendum may not support extending civil marriage to same-sex couples Ireland is set to vote on proposals to introduce civil same-sex marriage in the Spring – with early opinion polls suggesting more than 70% support extending civil marriage to same-sex couples. Victory for the Yes side in the same-sex marriage referendum should not be taken for granted, Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald has warned. Ms Fitzgerald said referendums had their own “momentum” and that recent history showed attitudes could shift dramatically during a campaign. The minister cited the recent children’s rights vote and the head of the Catholic Chirch in Ireland calling for Catholics to “make their voice heard” as her reasons for predicting a shock outcome from the vote. The Children’s rights vote was supported by all parties and polls at one stage showed 80% were in favour of the proposal, however when the voters took to the polls the resulting YES vote was only 58%. She added “I wouldn’t take anything for granted in relation to a referendum on anything… The case has to be made, the rationale has to be clearly understood and people have to put their points of view out there.” “This is a topic that elicits a range of views, understandably, but in terms of putting it to the people and changing our Constitution, I believe it will get the support it needs.” The Government hopes to have enacted the Child and Family Relationships Bill, which provides for adoption by same-sex couples, before the referendum. Ms Fitzgerald said the Department of Health was working on a new Assisted Reproduction Bill which includes surrogacy and believes it will be published later this month. The new version will retain the ban on commercial surrogacy, about which Ms Fitzgerald said she had “deep concerns”. Advertisement Write For Us Advertisment The Gay Say The Gay Say is a Northern Ireland based news / entertainment platform established to support the LGBT community. Publicising LGBT rights issues is our main priority but we also cover a wide variety of topics and stories on other aspects of life that may affect Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people around the world. TGS provides a voice for each and every individual who wants to have their say and we encourage stimulating debate across a wide range of topics. | Mid | [
0.60621761658031,
29.25,
19
] |
Q: Android. Catching moment when OS releases application from memory Is there any method or smth like that, where I can catch releasing my app from memory? I need to save some data before it happend. So if it impossible in Android, give me some advices to solve this problem by another way. A: Is there any method or smth like that, where I can catch releasing my app from memory? No. give me some advices to solve this problem by another way Save the data when the data changes. Data in memory is only a cache; if you need the data to live past the end of your process, you need to save that data when it changes. | Low | [
0.522458628841607,
27.625,
25.25
] |
Single quadrupole mass spectrometry for pre-clinical pharmacokinetic analysis: quantitation of carvedilol in dog plasma. The pharmaceutical industry standard for bioanalysis is LC/MS/MS. There are, however, many instances where a single quadrupole detector could successfully be used to provide adequate sensitivity and selectivity for quantitation of drug substances in biological matrices. This paper presents one example of how a single quadrupole detector can be employed in a sensitive and selective analytical method for quantitation of carvedilol. A Synergi Hydro-RP (50 mm x 2 mm i.d.; 4 microm) column was used with acetonitile:water:formic acid mobile phase (32:68:0.01, v/v) at a flow rate of 200 microL/min into a single quadrupole mass spectrometer with an electrospray interface in the positive SIM mode. Using a 300 microL plasma aliquot and a liquid-liquid extraction procedure the limit of quantitation for the assay was 1 ng/mL. The assay utility was demonstrated in the analysis of carvedilol pharmacokinetic profiles in beagle dogs following oral carvedilol administration. | Mid | [
0.64587973273942,
36.25,
19.875
] |
Introduction ============ The efficacy of statins in the secondary prevention of acute myocardial infarction (MI) have been well established and statin therapy has been regarded as essential part of medical therapy in all patients with acute MI.[@B1][@B2][@B3] The benefit of statin was demonstrated, irrespective of plasma level of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). The Cholesterol and Recurrent Event (CARE) trial revealed that cholesterol lowering with statin improved clinical outcome in patients with coronary artery disease who have average cholesterol level.[@B4] Another study reported that statin therapy is also beneficial, even in acute coronary syndrome patients with extremely low baseline LDL-C level (\<70 mg/dL).[@B5] Although the statin is a most powerful drug for lowering LDL-C, the effect of statin on increasing HDL-C and lowering triglyceride are modest or suboptimal. However, there have been few trials that evaluated the benefit of statin in acute MI patients with low HDL-C and high triglyceride. The subgroup analysis of Justification for the Use of Statin in Primary Prevention; An Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin trial revealed that the efficacy of statin was less prominent in patients with metabolic syndrome.[@B6] However, this trial evaluated healthy men and women with elevated C-reactive protein. In real clinical practice, the number of MI patients with lipid profiles of dyslipidemia is substantial, especially in Asian communities.[@B7] Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the benefit of statin in this group of acute MI. We investigated the differential effect of statin according to the baseline level of HDL-C and triglyceride. Subjects and Methods ==================== Study population ---------------- This study enrolled 36580 patients, diagnosed as acute MI consecutively from November 2005 to January 2012, and analyzed retrospectively. This data was collected from the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry (KAMIR), which is a multi-centered and ongoing observational trial designed to evaluate demographic, angiographic, and clinical data about acute myocardial infarction patients. The KAMIR was supported by a research grant from the Korean Society of Cardiology and the study protocol was evaluated and approved by the ethics committee at each institution. Among total enrolled patients, 20703 patients were diagnosed as ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and 15877 patients were diagnosed as non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. The diagnostic criteria for acute myocardial infarction was defined as a typical rise and fall of cardiac biomarker values and at least one of following: 1) symptoms of ischemia, 2) development of pathologic Q wave in the electrocardiogram, 3) new significant ST-segment or T wave change or new-onset left bundle branch block, or 4) identification of intracoronary lesion by angiography.[@B8] All eligible patients were diagnosed as acute MI and \>18 years of age at admission. Fasting lipid profiles were evaluated within 24 hours after admission. The patients who had been treated by statin before the episode of acute myocardial infarction were also included in this study. There was no limitation of enrollment according to the strategy of therapy. The procedure of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was done according to local standard protocol. The administration of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor and selection between unfractionated or low molecular weight heparin were left to the discretion of the individual clinician. In the case of STEMI, PCI was performed with the intention of restoring blood flow in the infarct-related coronary artery as soon as possible. The use of other medications (e.g., aspirin, clopidogrel, beta-blocker, and renin-angiotensin system blocker) was decided based on the clinical state of an individual patient. The exclusion criteria in this study were following: 1) patients with normal coronary artery on angiography, 2) MI because of coronary artery spasm, 3) patients who died in a hospital, or 4) patients with missing records about the use of statin. After excluding these patients, 24653 patients were divided into 4 groups, according to the baseline level of HDL-C and triglyceride, and analyzed: group A (HDL-C≥40 mg/dL and triglyceride\<150 mg/dL; n=11819), group B (HDL-C≥40 mg/dL and triglyceride≥150 mg/dL; n=3329), group C (HDL-C\<40 mg/dL and triglyceride\<150 mg/dL; n=6062), and group D (HDL-C\<40 mg/dL and triglyceride≥150 mg/dL; n=3443). Study protocols --------------- Each of the four groups was divided into two subgroups according to the prescription of statin at discharge after an episode of acute MI. We compared the clinical outcome between a statin user and non-user in each of the 4 groups. The primary end points were cumulative incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE). MACE was defined as the composite of cardiac death, recurrence of non-fatal MI, target vessel revascularization (TVR), and coronary artery bypass surgery. Cardiac death was defined as all-cause mortality without a definite non-cardiac cause and recurrent MI was defined as recurrent symptoms with a new electrocardiographic deviation or abnormal elevation of cardiac marker at least twice the upper limit of the reference range. TVR was defined as any repeated intervention in the treated vessel within and beyond the target lesion. The secondary end points were cardiac death, non-fatal MI, TVR, and target-lesion revascularization (TLR), respectively. TVR was defined as repeated intervention that is limited within the previous target lesion. Clinical follow up was performed during 2 years and the cumulative incidence of the primary and secondary endpoints was compared between the statin and non-statin group in each group A and group B. To adjust the selection bias that inevitably occurs in the analysis of registry data, we adopted propensity score matching. We compared baseline characteristics and clinical outcome and after propensity score matching. To adjust compounding variables more accurately, we also performed multivariate analysis after propensity score matching. Additionally, the benefit of statin in groups B, C, or D was compared with the benefit in group A. Statistical analysis -------------------- All analyses were performed using SPSS Version 21 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Categorical baseline variables are presented as counts and percentages and continuous variables are expressed as mean±standard deviation. Differences in baseline characteristics were compared by the Student t-test for continuous variables and the Pearson chi-square test for categorical variables. Cumulative cardiac event-free survivals were evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by the log-rank test between the statin user and non-user. Because the baseline characteristics were significantly different between these two groups, we performed propensity score matching. Propensity score matching is a statistical matching technique that attempts to estimate the effect of statin therapy in this statistical analysis of observational data. Propensity scores were estimated using a non--parsimonious multivariable logistic regression model, with the dependent variable was the use of statin, and the 13 baseline characteristics were entered as covariates. Matching was performed using R-macro (1-to-1 with a replacement) and a caliper width of 0.25 of the standard deviation. In the propensity score--matched analysis, many patients remained unmatched and were thus excluded from this analysis. The comparison of baseline characteristics and survival analyses was also done after propensity matching. To evaluate the clinical benefit of statin more accurately, we used multivariate Cox regression analysis. The covariates for this analyses were age over 65 years, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, left ventricular ejection fraction, Killip classification, post-thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow, and the use of aspirin, clopidogrel, beta-blocker, and renin-angiotensin system blocker. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated and all tests were two-tailed: the p\<0.05 was considered significant. Results ======= Baseline characteristics ------------------------ Before propensity matching, many clinical baseline characteristics were different between the statin user and non-user in each of the 4 groups. Therefore, we adjusted these differences with propensity score matching. But despite propensity matching, the rate of use of unfractionated heparin or low-molecular weight heparin was significantly different in group A and group C. The average age was different between that in user and non-user in group D. Furthermore, the systolic and diastolic blood pressures were not adjusted appropriately in group C. However, most of other differences of the baseline clinical and procedural characteristics were adjusted appropriately after matching ([Tables 1](#T1){ref-type="table"} and [2](#T2){ref-type="table"}). The angiographic and procedural characteristics were also adjusted by propensity score matching. After adjustment, there was no significant difference between the statin and non-statin groups in groups A, B, and D. However, the pre-TIMI and post-TIMI flows were significantly different between the statin and non-statin groups in group C ([Tables 3](#T3){ref-type="table"} and [4](#T4){ref-type="table"}). Clinical outcome before propensity matching ------------------------------------------- This lipid-lowering therapy with statin significantly reduces the cumulative incidence of MACE in group A (HR=0.676; 95% CI: 0.582-0.785; p\<0.001) and group C (HR=0.798, 95% CI: 0.649-0.980, p=0.031). Although statistically insignificant, statin therapy had a tendency to reduce the rate of MACE in group B. However, the benefit of statin was not prominent in group D before propensity-score matching ([Fig. 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}). The benefit of statin in group A was significantly different from group D (interaction p=0.042) ([Fig. 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}). Clinical outcome after propensity matching ------------------------------------------ In a propensity-matched population, statin therapy significantly reduces the cumulative incidence of MACE in group A (HR=0.752, CI: 0.609-0.929, p=0.008). However, this benefit of statin therapy was not prominent in groups B, C, or D ([Fig. 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}). In particular, the benefit of statin in group D was significantly different from group A (interaction p=0.043) ([Fig. 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}). To evaluate the impact of statin therapy on clinical outcome more accurately, we performed multivariate Cox regression analysis. This analysis demonstrated that the benefit of statin therapy was significant in group A (HR=0.692, CI: 0.543-0.882, p=0.003). However, this benefit was not prominent in groups B, C, or D ([Table 5](#T5){ref-type="table"}). The comparison of the incidence of a secondary end point was performed after propensity matching. Statin therapy significantly reduced cardiac death in group A (HR=0.628, CI: -0.938, p=0.023) ([Fig. 2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}). However, the impact of statin on recurrence of non-fatal MI, TVR, or TLR was not prominent in group A. In groups B, C, or D, the benefit of statin on the secondary end point was not significant ([Fig. 2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}). Discussion ========== Our study evaluated the differential benefit of statin according to the baseline level of HDL-C and triglyceride and revealed that the impact of statin on clinical outcome was not significant in acute MI patients with lipid profiles of dyslipidemia (HDL-C\<40 mg/dL and triglyceride≥150 mg/dL). On contrary, the benefit of statin was prominent in patients without lipid components of dyslipidemia (HDL-C≥40 mg/dL and triglyceride\<150 mg/dL). The benefit of statin was significantly different in these two groups. Although the current guidelines recommend that statin therapy should be initiated and continued in all acute MI patients without contraindications to its use, a trial evaluated the impact of baseline LDL-C on the efficacy of statin and reported that the benefit of high-intensity statin declines as a function of decreasing baseline LDL-C level.[@B9][@B10] However, there was no large-scaled study that evaluated the impact of baseline HDL-C and triglyceride on the benefit of statin in secondary prevention of acute MI. Although a causal relationship was not established, the level of HDL-C is inversely related to the development and prevalence of coronary heart disease.[@B11] Moreover, two randomized-controlled trials reported that increasing HDL-C level improve the clinical cardiovascular outcome.[@B12][@B13] Additionally, most patients with low HDL-C have increased blood level of triglyceride and hypertriglyceridemia also appears to increase cardiovascular risk.[@B14] However, the impact of dyslipidemia on the benefit of statin has been sparsely investigated. There was a slight discrepancy between the results of our study and the subgroup analysis of CARE trial. The subgroup study of CARE trial revealed that the benefit of statin was significant in MI with low HDL-C (\<37 mg/dL) (HR=0.079, p=0.008). The statin therapy also revealed the tendency to reduce cardiovascular risk (HR=0.085, p=0.07) in acute MI patients with a high level of triglyceride (≥144 mg/dL), although it is not statistically significant.[@B4] However, this study did not evaluate the benefit of statin in acute MI patients with both components of lipid profiles of metabolic syndrome. The magnitude of risk reduction was smaller in patients with low HDL-C or high triglyceride, when compared with patients with high HDL-C (≥37 mg/dL) or low triglyceride (\<144 mg/dL) in the CARE trial. This trend was more prominent in our study. The cause of this discrepancy may be explained by difference in the ethnicity of the enrolled patients, as well as the diversity of types and doses of used statin. The main mechanisms, by which statin improves cardiovascular outcomes, are lowering LDL-C level and decreasing systemic inflammation.[@B4][@B6] The effect of statin on increasing HDL-C and decreasing triglyceride is not substantial or optimal. This study revealed that the magnitude of reduction of LDL-C and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were similar between group A and group D after statin therapy for 1 year ([Fig. 3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). This result suggested that the low density lipoprotein (LDL) lowering and anti-inflammatory effect of statin were not different according to the baseline level of HDL-cholesterol and triglyceride. However, the difference of baseline characteristics were not adjusted when we compared the LDL-lowering and anti-inflammatory effect of statin between groups A and D. This is a limitation of this study. Although there were a decrease of triglyceride and increase of HDL-C after statin therapy, the level of triglyceride and HDL-C did not achieve normal range in a group with both components of the lipid profile of the metabolic syndrome. Therefore, a different strategy may be necessary for the secondary prevention of MI in patients with lipid components of the metabolic syndrome. The medications, which target low HDL-C and high triglyceride, were evaluated in several clinical trials. The long-term use of fenofibrate, the most potent type of fibrate, failed to reduce cardiovascular event in the Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes trial.[@B15] Another trial revealed that the combination of fenofibrate and simvastatin did not reduce the rate of fatal cardiovascular events, non-fatal MI or non-fatal stroke, when compared with simvastatin alone.[@B16] Several studies revealed that a combined HDL-C-raising with nicotinic acid and LDL-C lowering with statin regimen significantly reduced the risk of a composite of death, MI, stroke, and revascularization.[@B17][@B18][@B19] The magnitude of risk reduction with this combination therapy was greater than that typically observed in studies that evaluated statin alone. These results suggested that the combination of nicotinic acid and statin provides additional benefit beyond that attributable to simply lowering LDL-C by statin. However, because the population of these studies was relatively small, larger randomized-controlled trials are necessary to demonstrate the additive benefit of nicotinic acid on cardiovascular outcome. Another type of HDL-C-raising medication, cholesterol ester transfer protein inhibitor, is also under investigation.[@B20][@B21] Our study has several limitations. First, the reason for not using statin was omitted in this registry. The total of enrolled patients not treated by statin was 29.5% and this percentage is similar with another study.[@B22] The second limitation is that the enrolled patients were treated by various types and dosages of statin. Therefore, we cannot evaluate the effect of a specific type or dosage of statin. Third, we did not analyze the differential benefit of other current studies. Fourth, the level of TG was not adjusted when we analyzed the change of HDL-C and TG. Moreover, because this study was retrospective, a randomized controlled study is necessary to demonstrate the differential benefit of statin more accurately, according to the levels of HDL-C and triglyceride. Conclusion ---------- The benefit of statin in secondary prevention was significant in acute MI patients with low triglyceride and high HDL-C. However, the benefit was not prominent in patients with high triglyceride and low HDL-C. This study was supported by grants of The Korean Society of Cardiology, The Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013-E63005-00), and The Korean Health Technology R&D Project, Ministry of Health & Welfare (HI13C1527), Republic of Korea. Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction (KAMIR) Investigators: Myung Ho Jeong, MD, Young Keun Ahn, MD, Shung Chull Chae, MD, Jong Hyun Kim, MD, Seung Ho Hur, MD, Young Jo Kim, MD, In Whan Seong, MD, Dong Hoon Choi, MD, Jei Keon Chae, MD, Taek Jong Hong, MD, Jae Young Rhew, MD, Doo Il Kim, MD, In Ho Chae, MD, Jung Han Yoon, MD, Bon Kwon Koo, MD, Byung Ok Kim, MD, Myoung Yong Lee, MD, Kee Sik Kim, MD, Jin Yong Hwang, MD, Myeong Chan Cho, MD, Seok Kyu Oh, MD, Nae Hee Lee, MD, Kyoung Tae Jeong, MD, Seung Jea Tahk, MD, Jang Ho Bae, MD, Seung-Woon Rha, MD, Keum Soo Park, MD, Chong Jin Kim, MD, Kyoo Rok Han, MD, Tae Hoon Ahn, MD, Moo Hyun Kim, MD, Ki Bae Seung, MD, Wook Sung Chung, MD, Ju Young Yang, MD, Chong Yun Rhim, MD, Hyeon Cheol Gwon, MD, Seong Wook Park, MD, Young Youp Koh, MD, Seung Jae Joo, MD, Soo Joong Kim, MD, Dong Kyu Jin, MD, Jin Man Cho, MD, Yang Soo Jang, MD, Jeong Gwan Cho, MD, and Seung Jung Park, MD. The authors have no financial conflicts of interest. {#F1} {#F2} {#F3} ###### Comparison of clinical baseline characteristics after propensity score matching in group A (HDL-C≥40 mg/dL and TG\<150 mg/dL) and group B (HDL-C≥40 mg/dL and TG≥150 mg/dL)  Values are n (%) or mean±standard deviation. HDL-C: high density lipoprotein cholesterol, TG: triglyceride, BMI: body mass index, SBP: systolic blood pressure, DBP: diastolic blood pressure, HR: hazard ratio, IHD Hx.: ischemic heart disease history, HTN Hx.: hypertension history, DM: diabetes mellitus, HL Hx.: hyperlipidemia history, MI: myocardial infarction, STEMI: ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, NSTEMI: non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction, PCI: percutaneous coronary intervention, LVEF: left ventricular ejection fraction, CK-MB: creatine kinase-MB, LDL-C: low density lipoprotein cholesterol, Hs CRP: high sensitivity C-reactive protein, NT pro BNP: N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, HbA1c: hemoglobin A1C, LMWH: low molecular weight heparin, RAAS: rennin angiotensin aldosterone system ###### Comparison of clinical baseline characteristics after propensity score matching in group C (HDL-C\<40 mg/dL and TG\<150 mg/dL) and group D (HDL-C\<40 mg/dL and TG≥150 mg/dL)  Values are n (%) or mean±standard deviation. HDL-C: high density lipoprotein cholesterol, TG: triglyceride, BMI: body mass index, SBP: systolic blood pressure, DBP: diastolic blood pressure, HR: hazard ratio, IHD Hx.: ischemic heart disease history, HTN: hypertension, DM: diabetes mellitus, HL: hyperlipidemia, MI: myocardial infarction, STEMI: ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, NSTEMI: non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction, PCI: percutaneous coronary intervention, LVEF: left ventricular ejection fraction, CK-MB: creatine kinase-MB, LDL-C: low density lipoprotein cholesterol, Hs CRP: high sensitivity C-reactive protein, NT pro BNP: N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, HbA1c: hemoglobin A1C, LMWH: low molecular weight heparin, RAAS: rennin angiotensin aldosterone system ###### Comparison of coronary angiographic and procedural characteristics after propensity score matching in group A (HDL-C≥40 mg/dL and TG\<150 mg/dL) and group B (HDL-C≥40 mg/dL and TG≥150 mg/dL)  Values are n (%) or mean±standard deviation. HDL-C: high density lipoprotein cholesterol, TG: triglyceride, TIMI: thromboysis in myocardial infarction, LM: left main, LAD: left anterior descending artery, LCX: left circumflex artery, RCA: right coronary artery, BMS: bare metal stent, DES: drug-eluting stent ###### Comparison of angiographic and procedural characteristics after propensity score matching in group C (HDL-C\<40 mg/dL and TG\<150 mg/dL) and group D (HDL-C\<40 mg/dL and TG≥150 mg/dL)  Values are n (%) or mean±standard deviation. HDL-C: high density lipoprotein cholesterol, TG: triglyceride, TIMI: thrombolysis in myocardial infarction, LM: left main, LAD: left anterior descending, LCX: left circumflex, RCA: right coronary artery, BMS: bare-metal stent, DES: drug-eluting stent ###### The impact of statin therapy on primary end point after propensity score matching  The covariates in this multivariate analysis were age over 65 years, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, left ventricular ejection fraction, Killip classification, post-TIMI flow, and the use of aspirin, clopidogrel, beta-blocker, and renin-angiotensin system blocker. TIMI: thrombolysis in myocardial infaction, HR: hazard ratio, CI: confidence interval [^1]: ^\*^These authors contributed equally to this work. | Mid | [
0.6537530266343821,
33.75,
17.875
] |
Debating Reality TV That was the question Tuesday night at New York’s Crosby Street Hotel as members from the Harvard Speech and Parliamentary Debate Society and the Parliamentary Debate Society of Columbia University squared off to determine whether Snooki, all those Hoarders and the thousands of Real World castmates are good for our society. The Harvard team’s argument centered around the fact that on shows such as Jersey Shore, its castmembers rise to fame and fortune without any inherent talent, “Snooki and The Situation could very well be multi-millionaires,” the Harvard team argued, “and I don’t think that’s the right message to send to our society.” They went on to contend that reality television rewards those “who act like jerks,” which they argue goes against the traditional societal values that success comes from working hard, not from getting in fights or acting stupid. They finished their argument by stating that reality TV “simplifies” people into their common stereotypes. Columbia countered, arguing that — like it or not — reality television represents our society, because if people didn’t want to watch it, it wouldn’t be on. (At an HRTS Newsmaker Luncheon back in April, Sallyann Salsano, who’s 495 Productions produces Jersey Shore, said that she gets many of her ideas for shows by watching how people interact.) Columbia also took the position that they weren’t there to argue whether reality TV is inherently “good” for our society, just that it’s no worse than anything else on television. They finished by saying that its easy to look at the Jersey Shores and Real Worlds and make assumptions, but those are just two of a wide scope of television shows. Shows like MTV’s World of Jenks, where filmmaker Andrew Jenks follows people from different walks of life, who — as the Columbia team argued — would never have their story told without television as a platform. While both teams made good arguments, there was one glaring omission: American Idol. There was only a slight reference made about Fox’s ratings juggernaut. In the end, the three-judge panel — by a vote of 2 to 1 — decided that the Columbia team made the better argument. Score one for Snooki. | Mid | [
0.621739130434782,
35.75,
21.75
] |
Q: How do I make it so that when I double click on a div, it doesn't select the word? I want to double click on a div, but right now it "selects"/highlights a word. How do I make it so that this doesn't happen? I tried: $(this).hide().show() and $(this).blur() But it still highlights the word. A: You can prevent an element from being selected in most browsers like this: elem.onselectstart = function() { return false; }; elem.unselectable = "on"; $(elem).css({ "-moz-user-select": 'none', "-webkit-user-select": 'none' }); You could try doing that in the click event and undoing it one or two seconds later using setTimeout. | Mid | [
0.595693779904306,
31.125,
21.125
] |
Filed 10/22/13 P. v. Vasquez CA2/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION FOUR THE PEOPLE, B243853 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. GA083223) v. PEDRO CARACUN VASQUEZ, Defendant and Appellant. APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Teri Schwartz, Judge. Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings. Jennifer Hansen, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, Steven D. Matthews and Herbert S. Tetef, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. _______________________________ INTRODUCTION Pedro Caracun Vasquez appeals from a judgment following his conviction for attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, mayhem, and criminal threats. He contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction for attempted murder. He further contends that the trial court erred in admitting a victim‟s prior testimony, after determining that the victim was unavailable. Both parties also raise sentencing issues. We affirm the convictions, correct a sentencing error, and remand for further sentencing. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND A jury convicted appellant of the attempted murder of Juan Carlos Arita 1 (Pen. Code, §§ 187, subd. (a)(1), 664; count 1), assault with a deadly weapon of Noel Pineda (§ 245, subd. (a)(1); count 2), mayhem upon Arita (§ 203; count 3), and criminal threats against Pineda (§ 422; count 4). In addition, on all counts, the jury found that appellant personally used a deadly weapon (§ 12022, subd. (b)(1)). As to count 1, the jury also found that appellant personally inflicted great bodily injury on Arita (§ 12022.7, subd. (a)). On September 6, 2012, the trial court sentenced appellant to prison for nine years and eight months. The sentence consisted of the low term of five years on count 1, plus three years for the great bodily injury enhancement, one year (one- third the middle term of three years) on count 2, and eight months (one-third the middle term of two years) in count 4. The court imposed and stayed a one-year term on count 3, and stayed the weapon use enhancements. The court also imposed various fines and fees, including a $200 restitution fine pursuant to section 1202.4, subdivision (b). Appellant filed a notice of appeal the same day. 1 All further statutory citations are to the Penal Code, unless otherwise stated. 2 On October 31, 2012, the trial court issued a nunc pro tunc order, increasing the restitution fine to $240. FACTUAL BACKGROUND Pineda and Arita worked as day laborers. They knew each other from their time together looking for work. Pineda lived in a house with his wife and children. Arita was homeless. On May 8, 2011, Arita spent the night at Pineda‟s house. The next morning, he showered and left around 7:00 a.m. Around 10:00 a.m., Arita called Pineda and asked him to come to a homeless encampment near a freeway in Pasadena. Arita said it was his birthday. Pineda went. He climbed through a hole in the fence near the freeway and walked down to the encampment. Arita, appellant, and two other individuals were drinking vodka. Pineda had seen appellant on many occasions before near his house; he also identified appellant at trial. Pineda, who did not drink alcohol, stayed at the encampment for about an hour while the other men drank. Then he left. Later that evening, Pineda went back to the encampment. When Pineda arrived, he observed Arita on the ground. Arita was moving and yelling, “No. No.” As Pineda got closer, he saw appellant standing over Arita with a 12-inch screwdriver in his hand. Appellant was repeatedly striking at Arita‟s neck and head with the screwdriver. Pineda yelled at appellant to stop. Appellant turned around and looked at Pineda. He then said, “You saw me now. I‟m going to kill you.” Pineda ran away. Pineda went through the hole in the fence and down the street. Appellant chased him with the screwdriver in his hand. At a street intersection, Pineda turned right and appellant turned left. When Pineda saw that appellant was no 3 longer chasing him, he turned around and followed appellant. After seeing appellant go down a driveway into a residential property, Pineda called the police. Officers arrived and set up a containment of the area. A police dog found appellant and pulled him out from some shrubbery. Appellant was arrested and transported to the hospital for treatment. Meanwhile, Pineda guided an officer to Arita. Arita was moaning and crying in pain. He was holding his ear with one hand and his ribs with the other hand. There was a small amount of blood inside his sleeping bag and on the mattress under the sleeping bag. Paramedics arrived and treated Arita. He was then transported to the hospital. At the hospital, Arita said he was sleeping when someone stabbed him in his head. That person also took his cell phone, phone charger, and $50. At trial, Arita‟s preliminary hearing testimony was read to the jury. At the hearing, Arita testified that he started drinking at 7:00 a.m. on the day of the incident and consumed two or three bottles of vodka. He was sleeping when someone attacked him. The person cut his ear and stabbed him in the left side of his rib cage and his head with a screwdriver. Arita did not see who stabbed him. The parties stipulated that Arita was treated at the hospital for minor abrasions to the left side of his face and puncture wounds to his left chest and upper arm. He also required sutures for a laceration on his left ear. His blood alcohol level was .346 when he was admitted to the hospital. The parties also stipulated that Arita was convicted in September 2011 for misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon and attempted criminal threats arising from an unrelated July 2011 incident. Appellant testified in his defense. Prior to his arrest, he lived at the homeless encampment near the freeway. He had lived there for a year. On the day 4 appellant was arrested, he began drinking at 6:00 a.m. with Arita and some other friends. Later that day, appellant left the encampment because the police had given everyone a deadline to move out of the encampment. Appellant then drank alcohol with some friends at two separate locations. Later, he went to a location to sleep, and was arrested there. Appellant stated he never went back to the encampment, and denied assaulting or attacking Arita. The parties stipulated to the following facts. Appellant‟s blood alcohol level was .34 when he was arrested. Appellant was in possession of a cell phone and $24.36 at the time of his arrest, but the cell phone did not appear to belong to Arita. The weapon used to attack Arita was never recovered. DNA testing on blood found on appellant‟s clothing matched appellant‟s DNA profile; it did not match Arita‟s DNA profile. DISCUSSION Appellant contends (1) that his conviction for attempted murder should be reversed, as there was insufficient evidence to show he had an intent to kill; and (2) that the trial court erred in determining that a victim was unavailable for trial and admitting the victim‟s prior testimony. Both parties also raise sentencing issues. We address each issue in turn. A. Sufficiency of Evidence “In determining whether the evidence is sufficient to support a conviction . . . , „the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.‟ [Citations.] Under this standard, „an appellate court in a criminal case . . . does not ask itself whether it believes that the evidence at the trial established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.‟ [Citation.] Rather, the reviewing court „must review the whole record in 5 the light most favorable to the judgment below to determine whether it discloses substantial evidence -- that is, evidence which is reasonable, credible, and of solid value -- such that a reasonable trier of fact could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.‟ [Citation.]” (People v. Vy (2004) 122 Cal.App.4th 1209, 1224, italics omitted.) “In deciding the sufficiency of the evidence, a reviewing court resolves neither credibility issues nor evidentiary conflicts. [Citation.] Resolution of conflicts and inconsistencies in the testimony is the exclusive province of the trier of fact. [Citation.] Moreover, unless the testimony is physically impossible or inherently improbable, testimony of a single witness is sufficient to support a conviction. [Citation.]” (People v. Young (2005) 34 Cal.4th 1149, 1181.) “„Attempted murder requires the specific intent to kill and the commission of a direct but ineffectual act toward accomplishing the intended killing.‟” (People v. Houston (2012) 54 Cal.4th 1186, 1217, quoting People v. Booker (2011) 51 Cal.4th 141, 177-178.) A defendant‟s intent to kill may be inferred from the defendant‟s acts and the circumstances of the crime. (People v. Avila (2009) 46 Cal.4th 680, 701 (Avila), citing People v. Smith (2005) 37 Cal.4th 733, 741.) Here, Pineda, who knew appellant, observed him stabbing Arita in the head and neck areas repeatedly. As our Supreme Court has stated, evidence that a “defendant repeatedly attempted to stab . . . an unarmed and trapped victim, and succeeded in stabbing him in the arm and leg . . . alone is substantial evidence of defendant‟s intent to kill.” (Avila, at pp. 701-702.) Appellant contends the use of a nontraditional weapon, the “superficial nature of Arita‟s wounds,” and appellant‟s intoxication indicated he had no intent to kill Arita. We disagree. First, the jury found that the 12-inch screwdriver was a deadly weapon, as it was used to attack vulnerable areas, such as the head, neck, and left side of the rib cage. A deep puncture to any of those areas could have 6 caused Arita‟s death. (Cf. People v. Russell (1943) 59 Cal.App.2d 660, 665 [sustaining conviction for assault with a deadly weapon where defendant used a two-and-a-half-inch fingernail file to attack victim‟s face].) Second, “the degree of the resulting injury is not dispositive of defendant‟s intent. Indeed, a defendant may properly be convicted of attempted murder when no injury results.” (Avila, supra, 46 Cal.4th at p. 702.) Finally, the jury was instructed that it “should consider the [appellant‟s] voluntary intoxication” in deciding whether he had the required specific intent or mental state. The jury impliedly found that appellant could, and did, harbor the specific intent to kill. Substantial evidence supports the jury‟s finding. Appellant was sufficiently sober to recognize that he had been observed attacking Arita, to threaten to kill the witness (Pineda), and to pursue Pineda through a hole in a fence and into the nearby streets. Accordingly, there was substantial evidence in the record to sustain appellant‟s conviction for attempted murder of Arita. B. Confrontation Clause Claim Appellant next contends his convictions for attempted murder and mayhem should be reversed, as he was denied his constitutional right to confront his accuser when the trial court admitted Arita‟s preliminary hearing testimony at trial. 1. Relevant Background On August 8, 2012, the day before trial, the prosecutor sought to introduce Arita‟s preliminary hearing testimony at trial, arguing that Arita was unavailable. At the evidentiary hearing held that day, Brent Smith, a supervising investigator with the Los Angeles County District Attorney‟s Office, testified about his efforts to locate Arita. Smith testified that the prosecutor asked him a month before trial to subpoena Arita. When Smith attempted to do so, he discovered that Arita had been deported to Honduras. On August 6, 2012, Smith learned from a contact 7 person at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that Arita had been deported on December 29, 2011. Smith then tried to locate Arita through the CLETS database, which contains information from the Los Angeles County Sheriff‟s Department, the California Department of Justice, and the Department of Motor Vehicles, but he was unsuccessful. Smith did not check with other counties or states, but noted that if Arita had been convicted in other counties or states, the information would have shown up in the CLETS database. Smith also did not attempt to contact Arita in Honduras. On the morning of the hearing, Smith went to a location Arita had been known to frequent when seeking work. Smith showed a photograph of Arita to several day laborers. They said they knew Arita but had not seen him since he had been deported. Smith also went to the homeless encampment but did not find Arita there. Smith was similarly unsuccessful when he tried to contact Pineda to inquire about Arita. After Smith testified, the prosecutor informed the court that Arita had been prosecuted by the “Pasadena city prosecutor,” had been convicted of an assault that occurred in July 2011, and had been deported because of his conviction. Defense counsel argued that the prosecution had not made a sufficient showing of unavailability because it had not attempted to contact Arita in Honduras and had made inadequate attempts to find him locally. Counsel also noted that no evidence had been presented that the United States lacked a treaty with Honduras for “cooperation for the return of witnesses.” The trial court ruled as follows: “The statute requires a reasonable diligence. I think once the People determined that the witness had been deported by the Department of Homeland Security, I don‟t know what more they could have reasonably done. I think what the investigator testified to, though, in checking the databases, in checking whether or not he picked up any other cases, went out 8 looking for him at . . . what he thought was going to be a homeless encampment and then went to a work site. I think those efforts constitute reasonable diligence. “While I agree, perhaps, more could have been done, I don‟t know that I can say more needed to be done before the People could establish his unavailability. He‟s nowhere within the jurisdiction of the court and I don‟t know how the People could compel his attendance when he‟s not within the jurisdiction of the court and, in fact, [was] deported by the federal government. “So I‟m going to allow the prelim[inary hearing] testimony to come in[,] finding that the witness is unavailable by the People‟s exercise of reasonable diligence to compel his attendance.” 2. Analysis Under the confrontation clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, a criminal defendant has the right to confront the prosecution‟s witnesses. An exception to the confrontation requirement is where a witness is “unavailable” and has given testimony at previous judicial proceedings against the same defendant and was subject to cross-examination. (People v. Herrera (2010) 49 Cal.4th 613, 621 (Herrera).) A witness is considered unavailable for purposes of the Sixth Amendment when the prosecution has made a good-faith effort to secure his presence at trial. (Ohio v. Roberts (1980) 448 U.S. 56, 74, overruled on other grounds by Crawford v. Washington (2004) 541 U.S. 36.) Similarly, Evidence Code section 240 provides that a witness is unavailable when he or she is “[a]bsent from the hearing and the proponent of his or her statement has exercised reasonable diligence but has been unable to procure his or her attendance by the court‟s process.” (Evid. Code, § 240, subd. (a)(5).) “The constitutional and statutory requirements are „in harmony.‟” (People v. Smith (2003) 30 Cal.4th 581, 609, quoting People v. Enriquez (1977) 19 Cal.3d 221, 235.) We review the trial 9 court‟s resolution of disputed factual issues under the deferential substantial evidence standard, and independently review whether the facts demonstrate prosecutorial good faith and reasonable or due diligence. (Hererra, supra, 49 Cal.4th at p. 623). In determining whether Arita was unavailable, we find Mancusi v. Stubbs (1972) 408 U.S. 204 (Mancusi) and Herrera instructive. In Mancusi, the United States Supreme Court affirmed a state court‟s determination that a witness who was permanently residing in a foreign country was unavailable for purposes of the Sixth Amendment‟s confrontation clause. The court held that the prosecution had established the desired witness‟s unavailability by showing that the witness resided in a foreign nation and that the state was powerless to compel the witness‟s attendance, either through its own process or through established procedures dependant on the voluntary assistance of another government. Under these circumstances, “good . . . faith” did not require additional efforts by the prosecution. (Mancusi, at pp. 212-213.) In Herrera, the California Supreme Court held that the prosecution had demonstrated good faith and exercised due diligence where: (1) the district attorney investigator testified that he learned from a DHS special agent that the witness had been deported to El Salvador, (2) the investigator unsuccessfully attempted to locate the witness at locations he had formerly frequented and through information in a law enforcement database, (3) a foreign prosecution investigator contacted law enforcement authorities in El Salvador in an unsuccessful attempt to locate the witness there, and (4) the United States and El Salvador did not have an agreement or treaty to compel or facilitate the witness‟s attendance at trial. (Herrera, supra, 49 Cal.4th at pp. 629-630.) The court rejected the contention that the prosecution should have known of the witness‟s pending deportation. It held 10 that the prosecution is not required to keep “„periodic tabs‟” on every material witness in a criminal case. The court also rejected the argument that the prosecution should have started its efforts to locate the witness earlier. The court held that further efforts to locate the witness would have been futile, as El Salvador did not have an agreement with the United States for procuring a witness‟s attendance at trial in California. (Id. at pp. 630-631.) Here, Smith testified he was informed by DHS personnel that Arita had been deported to Honduras on December 29, 2011. He previously attempted to track down Arita through the CLETS database, but was unsuccessful. Moreover, Smith was unsuccessful in his attempts to locate Arita at sites that Arita had frequented. In addition, appellant did not argue below, and does not suggest on appeal, that Honduras has an agreement or treaty with the United States for procuring a victim‟s attendance at trial in this state. Although Smith did not attempt to contact law enforcement in Honduras, we conclude that such an effort was not required in order to demonstrate prosecutorial good faith and due diligence. Neither at trial, or on appeal, has appellant identified how the prosecutor or the court could have secured the presence of Arita, a deportee not charged with any offenses in the instant matter. (Herrera, supra, 49 Cal.4th at p. 631 [good faith does not require prosecutor to engage in futile acts].) For the same reason, earlier attempts or further efforts at locating Arita were not required. People v. Sandoval (2001) 87 Cal.App.4th 1425 (Sandoval), cited by appellant, is distinguishable. There, the appellate court determined that a witness who resided in Mexico was not unavailable, as the United States and Mexico had a mutual legal assistance treaty that would assist the prosecution in procuring the witness for trial. (Id. at pp. 1439, 1443-144.) As noted, appellant does not argue a similar treaty exists between Honduras and the United States. 11 Appellant‟s reliance on People v. Roldan (2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 969 (Roldan), United States v. Tirado-Tirado (5th Cir. 2009) 563 F.3d 117 (Tirado), and United States v. Wilson (N.D. Cal. 1999) 36 F.Supp.2d 1177 (Wilson) is also misplaced. Those cases involved the failure of the prosecutor, who knew the desired witness would be deported, to secure the witness‟s testimony through means such as videotaping the witness‟s testimony or detaining the witness as a material witness. (See Roldan, supra, at pp. 980-981; Tirado, supra, at p. 123; Wilson, supra, at pp. 1179, 1182.) In contrast, here, nothing suggests that the prosecutor knew or should have known that Arita would be deported. Arita was prosecuted for an unrelated crime by a different office -- the Pasadena city attorney. He was convicted in September 2011 and deported four months later, a relatively short time frame. Moreover, as noted in Herrera, a prosecutor is not required to keep “„periodic tabs‟” on every material witness in a criminal case. (Herrera, supra, 49 Cal.4th at p. 630.) Under these circumstances, we conclude that the prosecution made a good faith effort and exercised reasonable diligence in attempting to locate and procure Arita for trial. Moreover, even were we to determine that the prosecution did not show good faith or exercise reasonable diligence, we would find any error in admitting Arita‟s preliminary hearing testimony harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. (Chapman v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 18, 24 (Chapman); Lilly v. Virginia (1999) 527 U.S. 116, 139-140 [applying Chapman harmless error standard to confrontation clause claims]; accord Sandoval, supra, 87 Cal.App.4th at p. 1444.) In his preliminary hearing testimony, Arita testified he was drunk and awoke to someone stabbing him with a screwdriver. Arita also testified that he had his cellular telephone and $50 stolen. Arita never identified appellant as the person who stabbed him. In addition, when arrested, Arita‟s telephone was not found on 12 appellant‟s person, and exactly $24.36 was found on appellant. Thus, Arita‟s prior testimony was only marginally probative. Indeed, the prosecutor never referred to Arita‟s testimony during closing argument. Rather, as the prosecutor argued, the “stars of th[e] trial” were Pineda and appellant. Pineda testified he personally saw appellant stabbing Arita multiple times in the head and neck areas. Pineda knew appellant, having seen him before on several occasions, including earlier that same morning. In addition, Pineda‟s testimony was supported by the injuries sustained by Arita. On this record, the admission of Arita‟s preliminary hearing testimony was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. C. Sentencing Issues Both parties raise sentencing issues. Appellant contends that the trial court erred in not staying the sentence on count 4 (criminal threats against Pineda) under section 654. Respondent contends that section 654 did not bar the trial court from imposing both a weapon use enhancement and a great-bodily-injury enhancement on count 1 (attempted murder of Arita). Finally, appellant contends that the trial court violated the ex post facto clauses of the California and federal constitutions by retroactively increasing the amount of a restitution fine and parole revocation fine. We address each issue in turn. 1. Section 654 The trial court sentenced appellant to one year on count 2 (assault with deadly weapon of Pineda) and a consecutive sentence of eight months on count 4 (criminal threats against Pineda). The court found that the “incident with Mr. Pineda lasted for a little bit of time. . . . I think there were separate acts. The threat was uttered . . . separate and apart from the [assault].” Appellant now contends that his criminal threat against Pineda and his assault with a deadly weapon on 13 Pineda were part of the same course of conduct, and that section 654 barred separate punishment for the two offenses. Section 654, subdivision (a) provides in pertinent part: “An act or omission that is punishable in different ways by different provisions of law shall be punished under the provision that provides for the longest potential term of imprisonment, but in no case shall the act or omission be punished under more than one provision. . . .” Section 654 bars multiple punishment for separate offenses arising out of a single occurrence where all of the offenses were incident to one objective. (People v. McKinzie (2012) 54 Cal.4th 1302, 1368.) A trial court‟s implied finding that a defendant harbored a separate intent and objective for each offense will be upheld on appeal if it is supported by substantial evidence. (Ibid.) Here, the record shows that after Pineda yelled at appellant to stop stabbing Arita, appellant looked at Pineda and threatened to kill him. A trial court could find that appellant had an intent and objective to threaten Pineda when he uttered his threats. The record also shows that Pineda ran away after hearing these words, and that appellant chased after him, with the screwdriver in hand. On this record, a trial court could find that appellant harbored a new and separate intent when he chased Pineda -- to injure Pineda with the screwdriver. Thus, substantial evidence supported the trial court‟s finding that appellant harbored separate intents and objectives when he first made his criminal threats and then assaulted Pineda by pursuing him while armed with a screwdriver he had just used to attack Arita. (See, e.g., People v. Solis (2001) 90 Cal.App.4th 1002, 1009, 1021-1022 [section 654 did not bar consecutive sentences on convictions for terroristic threats and arson where defendant left messages threatening to kill victims and then an hour later, set fire to the victims‟ house].) Accordingly, section 654 did not bar the imposition of the consecutive eight-month sentence on count 4. 14 2. Section 12022, Subdivision (b)(1) Enhancement At sentencing, the trial court stated its belief that as to count 1, it lacked authority to impose both a one-year weapon use enhancement under section 12022, subdivision (b)(1) and a three-year great-bodily-injury enhancement under section 12022.7, subdivision (a). The court stated, “ [M]y feeling is he should get the one year, but I don‟t believe I can do it. So I am going to impose it and stay it under 654. If there is an appeal, perhaps it will be discussed on appeal.” On appeal, the People contend that section 654 does not bar the imposition of both enhancements. We agree that the trial court could have imposed both a weapon use enhancement and a great-bodily-injury enhancement. (See People v. Ahmed (2011) 53 Cal.4th 156, 160, 168 [a trial court may impose both one weapon enhancement and one great-bodily-injury enhancement for all crimes].) The People request that we remand to the trial court to permit it to either impose or strike the weapon use enhancement in count 1. Appellant agrees that the appropriate remedy is remand. Accordingly, we will remand this matter to the trial court for further proceedings on this issue. 3. Restitution and Parole Revocation Fines At appellant‟s September 6, 2012 sentencing, the trial court imposed a $200 restitution fine pursuant to section 1202.4, subdivision (b) and a $200 parole 2 revocation fine pursuant to section 1202.45. Appellant filed his appeal the same day. While the appeal was pending, on October 31, 2012, the trial court issued a 3 nunc pro tunc order, increasing the restitution and parole revocation fines to $240. 2 The amount of the parole revocation fine must match the amount of the restitution fine (§ 1202.45, subd. (a)). 3 In 2011, the amount of a restitution fine under former section 1202.4 -- which “shall be set at the discretion of the court” -- ranged from $200 to $10,000. 15 Appellant contends the increased fines violate the ex post facto clauses of the federal and California constitutions. Although the imposition of the $240 restitution and parole revocation fines do not implicate the ex post facto clauses, we conclude the trial court lacked jurisdiction to increase the fines. “[T]he imposition of restitution fines constitutes punishment, and therefore is subject to the proscriptions of the ex post facto clause and other constitutional provisions.” (See People v. Souza, supra, 54 Cal.4th at p. 143.) Thus, a defendant may challenge the imposition of a restitution fine under section 1202.4 as violating the ex post facto clauses of the California and federal constitutions, if the fine is greater than authorized by section 1202.4 at the time he committed his crimes. (Ibid.) Here, the imposition of the $240 restitution fine was within the trial court‟s discretion under the operative statute at the time appellant committed his crimes. Thus, the trial court‟s nunc pro tunc order increasing the amount of the restitution fine did not implicate the ex post facto clauses of the state and the federal constitutions. Nevertheless, we conclude the trial court lacked authority to increase the amount of the restitution fine. The trial court issued its nunc pro tunc order on October 31, 2012, after appellant had filed his notice of appeal. “Because an appeal divests the trial court of subject matter jurisdiction, the court lacks jurisdiction to vacate the judgment or make any order affecting it,” unless certain exceptions apply. (People v. Alanis (2008) 158 Cal.App.4th 1467, 1472-1473; accord People v. Turrin (2009) 176 Cal.App.4th 1200, 1208.) The exceptions include: (1) recalling a sentence under section 1170, subdivision (d) to resentence (People v. Souza (2012) 54 Cal.4th 90, 143 [explaining former section 1202.4].) Section 1202.4 was amended (effective January 1, 2012) to increase the minimum amount to $240. (§ 1202.4, subd. (b)(1).) 16 the defendant, provided the “new sentence, if any, is no greater than the initial sentence”; (2) correcting an unauthorized sentence; and (3) correcting clerical errors. (People v. Alanis, at pp. 1473-1476.) None of these exceptions applies here. The trial court did not recall the sentence, and the new sentence is greater than the original one. The court‟s original imposition of a $200 restitution fine was not unauthorized, as the court had discretion to impose that amount under former section 1202.4. Finally, there was no clerical error. The court orally pronounced a $200 restitution fine, and the original abstract of judgment correctly reflected that amount. Thus, the trial court lacked jurisdiction to issue its nunc pro tunc order. Accordingly, the order is void, and appellant is subject only to a $200 restitution fine. In addition, appellant‟s parole revocation fine must be reduced to the same amount as his restitution fine ($200). (§ 1202.45, subd. (a).) DISPOSITION The convictions are affirmed. The matter is remanded to the superior court for further proceedings in light of this opinion. The new judgment shall reflect the correct ($200) restitution and parole revocation fines. NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS. MANELLA, J. We concur: EPSTEIN, P. J. WILLHITE, J. 17 | Mid | [
0.6010498687664041,
28.625,
19
] |
Q: Adding react-svg-loader to webpack I want to use react-svg-loader to import and use some svg assets I have for my app. You can find my webpack config below. The problem, however, is that I am also using some file loaders for svg files. These are needed because parts of my app are importing icons from font awesome, e.g. <i className="fa fa-lock" aria-hidden="true" />. So I can get the react-svg-loader working by stop having my file loader look for svg files, but then a lot of the icons on my app won't render. If I don't do this then my webpack will fail to build, saying things like: ERROR in ./node_modules/font-awesome/scss/font-awesome.scss Module build failed (from ./node_modules/mini-css-extract-plugin/dist/loader.js): ModuleBuildError: Module build failed (from ./node_modules/react-svg-loader/lib/loader.js): NonErrorEmittedError: (Emitted value instead of an instance of Error) Error in parsing SVG: Non-whitespace before first tag. So how can I resolve these two conflicts? Thanks. const path = require('path'); const MiniCssExtractPlugin = require("mini-css-extract-plugin"); const DIST_DIR = path.resolve(__dirname, "dist"); const SRC_DIR = path.resolve(__dirname, "src"); const config = { entry: [ "babel-polyfill", `${SRC_DIR}/app/index.js`, `${SRC_DIR}/app/assets/stylesheets/application.scss`, `${SRC_DIR}/app/components/index.scss`, "font-awesome/scss/font-awesome.scss", "react-datepicker/dist/react-datepicker.css", "rc-time-picker/assets/index.css", "react-circular-progressbar/dist/styles.css", "@trendmicro/react-toggle-switch/dist/react-toggle-switch.css", ], output: { path: `${DIST_DIR}/app/`, filename: "bundle.js", publicPath: "/app/" }, module: { rules: [ { test: /\.svg$/, use: [ { loader: "babel-loader" }, { loader: "react-svg-loader", options: { jsx: true } } ] }, { enforce: "pre", test: /\.js$/, exclude: /node_modules/, loader: "eslint-loader", options: { failOnWarning: false, failOnError: true } }, { test: /\.js$/, include: SRC_DIR, loader: 'babel-loader', query: { presets: ['react', 'stage-2'] } }, { test: /\.css$/, use: [ MiniCssExtractPlugin.loader, 'css-loader' ] }, { test: /\.scss$/, use: [ MiniCssExtractPlugin.loader, 'css-loader', 'sass-loader' ] }, { test: /\.(jpe?g|png|gif|svg)$/i, loaders: ['file-loader?context=src/images&name=images/[path][name].[ext]', { loader: 'image-webpack-loader', query: { mozjpeg: { progressive: true, }, gifsicle: { interlaced: false, }, optipng: { optimizationLevel: 7, }, pngquant: { quality: '75-90', speed: 3, }, }, }], exclude: path.resolve(__dirname, "node_modules"), include: __dirname, }, { test: /\.woff2?(\?v=[0-9]\.[0-9]\.[0-9])?$/, // loader: "url?limit=10000" use: "url-loader" }, { test: /\.(ttf|eot|svg)(\?[\s\S]+)?$/, use: 'file-loader' }, ] }, plugins: [ new MiniCssExtractPlugin({ filename: "application.css" }), ] }; module.exports = config; A: I had similar issues, while trying to load SVG's with react-svg-loader, but Font Awesome SVG's with file-loader. This was the config that I used to solve that problem: { test: /\.svg$/, exclude: path.resolve(__dirname, 'node_modules', 'font-awesome'), use: ['babel-loader', 'react-svg-loader'], }, { test: /\.svg$/, include: path.resolve(__dirname, 'node_modules', 'font-awesome'), use: [{ loader: 'file-loader', options: { jsx: true, }, }], }, If your webpack config is not in the root, correct the exclude/include paths accordingly! Note that you have multiple rules for SVG's in your webpack config, play with include/excludes to make them all work for your case. | Mid | [
0.601466992665036,
30.75,
20.375
] |
Dragon Eggs My range of dragon eggs make the perfect gift for those who love the unusual and unique. Over 150 individually hand painted and decorated scales create every beautiful scaled egg. They come presented in a wooden presentation box, lined to keep your egg safe. What makes each egg truly special, the inclusion of an adoption certificate. Imagine opening the hand aged scroll to see their name, and that they are the King or Queen of Dragons! Available as a single egg or a clutch of three, they are the perfect, thoughtful gift. | Mid | [
0.61574074074074,
33.25,
20.75
] |
Rocker-recliners conventionally employ rocker cams having curved lower surfaces that rest on a fixed base and in turn carry the reclining mechanism which supports the seat, back rest and foot rest of the chair. A rocker blocking assembly connected to the reclining mechanism and the base prevents the cams from rocking on the fixed base when the chair is moved from the upright to a reclining position. When the rocker blocking assembly is inactive (when the chair is in the upright position), the rocking motion is controlled by spring assemblies conventionally connected between the rocker cams and the base. The various connections between the mechanisms, cams, spring assemblies and base are not susceptible to convenient adjustment to compensate for differences in the center of gravity of the chair caused by different chair styles, e.g., chairs with heavy or lightweight backs and deep or short seats, and by different body sizes of the people occupying the chair. Typical examples of prior art rocker-recliners are shown in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,537,747, 3,730,585 and 4,519,647. One important object of the present invention is to provide an improved rocker-recliner that enables the spring assemblies to be adjusted forward and backward independently of the reclining mechanism and rocker cams. Another important object of the present invention is to provide a rocker-recliner that enables the rocker cams to be adjusted forward and backward independently of the reclining mechanism and spring assemblies. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method of connecting the various components of a rocker-recliner together in a fashion that is suitable for use with either a metal or wood base and wood, plastic or metal rocker cams. Another object of the present invention is to provide a spring assembly which maintains the preload applied to the springs when the location of the spring assembly is adjusted. To accomplish these and other objects, in accordance with the present invention, the base plates of the reclining mechanism are adjustably connected to and supported on the upper horizontal surface of the rocker cams so that the cams can be moved forward or backward with respect to the mechanism and the seating components of the chair carried by the mechanism. A cross tube assembly is also adjustably connected between the base plates of the reclining mechanism, and the spring assemblies in turn are connected at their tops to the cross tube assembly. The lower ends of the spring assemblies are connected at a fixed position to the base. With these adjustments, the balance of the chair may easily be changed by moving the cams and/or the spring assemblies with respect to the mechanism. These and other objects and features of the invention will be better understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of two embodiments thereof read in connection with the accompanying drawings. | Mid | [
0.646090534979423,
39.25,
21.5
] |
Workflow Management Routes Predetermined Tasks Data Automatically Workflow management is about optimizing and creating the paths for data so that a given process is completed. Workflow management comprises of mapping out in an ideal state the workflow, automating process, finding redundant tasks, and identifying improvement areas or the areas that are bottlenecks. The workflow tasks may be done by a system or a human. A workflow system is designed to assist the routine business process and to streamline for optimal efficiency the processes. The workflow systems create a form to set a sequential task path and to hold data to follow so that the task is processed. | Mid | [
0.6506024096385541,
33.75,
18.125
] |
Government & Politics Ambassador Ross: Big changes on horizon in Middle East Connections Ambassador Dennis Ross and SIS Dean James Goldgeier discuss U.S. policy in the Middle East. When President Bill Clinton tapped Ambassador Dennis Ross to become Middle East envoy in 1993, the region looked very different than it does now. A coalition of nations had just fought in the Gulf War. Iraq had been weakened and peace seemed to be a natural extension of that conflict. Ross and his fellow diplomats were able to broker a number of historic peace agreements including the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace in 1994, the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement in 1995, and Hebron Accord in 1997. Today, there is a markedly different context for the peace process in the region, Ross said Monday during a discussion with SIS Dean James Goldgeier. The Arab “Awakening” as Ross has termed the Arab Spring, the rise of Hamas and Hezbollah, and Iran’s push toward nuclearization, have changed the Middle East and the global approach to peace in the region. Dramatic changes in the region are only just beginning. With regard to Middle East policy during the second Obama administration, Ross suggested that some sort of diplomatic initiative would take place with Iran in 2013 because of the country’s advancing nuclear program. On Saudi Arabia, Ross said there was evidence transition was coming because political appointments in the country were being shaped by ability and not influence. Ross, who serves on the SIS Dean’s Council, spoke at AU as a part of the Dean’s Discussion series co-sponsored by the Center for Israel Studies. He is currently the Zeigler Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Formerly, he served for two years as special assistant to President Obama as well as National Security Council senior director for the Central Region, and a year as Special Advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for The Gulf and Southwest Asia. During the hour-long talk, Ross began with an assessment of the Arab Spring uprisings and an explanation of why he views the changes as an awakening rather than a spring. “Spring connotes a kind of very rapid change all for the better. Everything will flower soon and we’ll have this wonderful springtime. The despotism of the past will be replaced by enlightenment and that was never going to be the case,” Ross said. “It’s an awakening because you have many in the Arab world for the first time seeing themselves as citizens, not subjects. That’s a profound difference. Citizens have rights, they have expectations, they have demands, they can hold their government accountable. And that’s profoundly significant if in fact that accountability can be created.” This awakening will take place over generations, Ross said. Institutions of accountability, like a functioning judiciary, need to be crafted and that won’t happen overnight. In order for the various democratic movements in the Middle East to succeed, Ross outlined four guiding principles he feels “should be the core on which we build our approach to all the countries in the region.” 1.Respect for minority rights: “Egypt is mostly homogenous — 90 percent Sunni, 10 percent Coptic Christian — but that’s not the case throughout the region. So respect for minority rights is tremendously important, but it’s also a practicality. Because if the 10 percent of the population feels there’s no security there and they leave, who will invest in the country? Respect for minority rights is going to be important for every country in the region going through change. “ 2.Respect for women’s rights: “Don’t exclude half your population. Again, it’s a practicality. In Egypt, 56 percent of the women are illiterate. Now is there any prospect that Egypt is going to become a successful society if that doesn’t change? If the new constitution they’re drafting right now is shaped in a way that excludes women or treats them as second-class citizens, it’s very unlikely. “ 3.Respect for pluralism: “This says that there should be a competitive political space. At a time when you have this awakening and people see themselves as citizens, if you don’t do that, it’s a prescription for ongoing upheaval. Again it’s what you’re seeing in Egypt today. “ 4.Respect for international obligations: “Egypt has a treaty with Israel. Who is going to invest in Egypt if they don’t respect that treaty?” Whether the U.S. and allied nations support these nascent democracies depends on how well they embrace these principles, Ross explained. “You live up to these principles, we’ll mobilize support on the international stage for you. If you don’t, don’t expect us to provide support,” he warned. “I would say we pursue the peace issue, but we pursue it with our eyes open.” | Mid | [
0.6551724137931031,
33.25,
17.5
] |
Your Review Thanks for Your Review! All Reviews I feel very welcomed and quite informed on entire visit from start to finish. Sally at the front desk is warm and engaging. Michele my hygienist is very thorough and lets me know what to expect with each step which I personally find comforting. Dr Botti and Dr McCormick are awesome as well. They are professional informative and very kind people. I would definitely recommend this office D Dennis D. 7 months ago Recommends Excellent Service I have nothing but praise for the care given by the Doctor and all of the professional staff. D David H. 7 months ago Recommends Replacement Crown I had a replacement crown put on. Everyone that works there is very friendly and professionial. I have always received good quality work and service. D Douglas F. 8 months ago Recommends Filling I got a filling today and the staff is superb from the front desk to Dr Botti and her support team in the back. Great work! D Deborah F. 8 months ago Recommends High professional and compassionate service. Dr Botti put a crown on a molar that was very damaged with a filling and several severe cracks. The whole experience was painless from the initial shots to the finished crown. Within a few hours I was eating my birthday dinner at Logan's Road House. No worries! 😁 G Gina B. 8 months ago Recommends Ms. Pat is very nice lady that clean my teeth. She tells me everything how to take care my teeth. All the employees of this smile at the exchange are very great and nice. D Denise C. 8 months ago Recommends My husband and I drive from out of town just to visit Dr. Botti's office. Dr. Botti has a very friendly staff from the front desk to Hygiene. Courtney was my Hygienist today and she is fantastic. She has such a nice touch and gentle approach. We will keep coming back for all our dental needs. K K S. 8 months ago Recommends Great dentists - great staff You will love the look and feel of your teeth again. Everything is top-notch at this office and they are conservative and fair and honest. You will feel comfortable enough to ask them anything. S Sharon T. 8 months ago Recommends Excellent Experience I was taken back for my appointment slightly ahead of time, which was nice. My hygienist, Patty, explained every step of the appointment thoroughly and completely in a calm and relaxing voice. I was given personalized, dental care advice in a nonjudgmental manner by Patty that was genuine, caring and supportive. The receptionist was knowledgeable about my bill and my insurance, which was extremely helpful. It was easy to schedule my next appointment.Overall, it was a great experience because of the professionalism of the office and the caring and nurturing nature of the staff. | High | [
0.6563944530046221,
26.625,
13.9375
] |
Q: Remove Linux Mint and restore windows's bootloader I have an old laptop that is setup with dual boot, running Windows Vista and Linux Mint 12. I want to remove the Mint and reclaim the space to Windows. This is a simple task but I've been on it for the whole day and I'm no closer to a solution. I know removing Linux Mint on a dual-boot machine and restoring the windows's bootloader is a simple task of popping in the windows disk and hitting on repair. I've done this before on my old laptop, quite a few times. But that was quite a long time ago. Today, the laptop's CD/DVD drive is not reliable. It almost never works these days. And its also unable to boot from USB, which it used to do in the past. Without a functioning CD/DVD drive and no ability to boot from USB, is this even possible? If there is a way to restore the windows bootloader right from within the currently working Vista OS, that would be perfect. I have the Vista Business disk and I can get files from it by reading it on a different machine and transferring via a usb drive. So, do you guys have any ideas on how I can fix this. The laptop is, as of now, working perfectly fine, booting with grub. But this grub will be gone if I remove the Linux Mint partition. A: This is actually very easy. Use the EasyBCD software and follow the steps from Type 1 recovery on this wiki page. In the next reboot, I didn't get the grub boot menu. I removed the Linux mint and swap partitions and its working just fine. | Mid | [
0.5912806539509531,
27.125,
18.75
] |
Cycling holidays in France We’ve all seen them when we’ve been to France – those packs of Lycra-clad cyclists who power past your holiday café just as you reach for that second mille feuille or croissant… But you don’t have to be a superfit bike fanatic to make the most of the landscape here – cycling is a national past-time in France so you can be sure you’ll be catered for with well-marked paths if you plan a two-wheeled trip with family members, young and old. Velodyssey – the Atlantic cycle route The Velodyssey cycle route (velodyssey.com) covers 746 miles from Brittany down the Atlantic coast to the border with Spain and is conveniently split into 14 sections so you can stop off at various campsites along the way. You’re never very far from the sea along the whole route – or from one of our holiday villages. You can hire a bike at our La Réserve holiday park in Aquitaine, then follow the cycle route past the beautiful on-site lake before heading through the surrounding villages all the way to Biscarrosse, where you can join the Velodyssey. In fact, you can join the route from any of our holiday camps along the coast. That’s if you can tear yourself away from the pools and entertainment on the campsite! Rives de Condrieu: the Via Rhona cycle route Another famous route in this cycle-friendly country is the Via Rhôna, which runs all the way from Lake Geneva in Switzerland to the Mediterranean. It passes close by our newest holiday village Les Rives de Condrieu in the Rhone Alpes region of France. The spectacular scenery around the town of Condrieu – just 875 yards from the campsite – includes forest, caves and mountains as well as the protected natural parks of Vercors and Pilat, so there’s plenty to see as you’re rolling by. The Via Rhôna even has family-friendly sections, noting distances and accessibility, so that even the youngest athletes have a chance of keeping up with the pack. And the best thing about an active day cycling? You work up an appetite for the delicious food and drink that the area is famed for before you retire to your comfy caravan for a well-earned sleep. Cycle routes from our holiday parks Many of our other campsites are close to cycle paths or have dedicated cycle lanes and trails. For example, a 15-minute bike ride away from our Domaine de Dugny holiday park, there’s the Loire Valley circuit with 500 miles of cycle trails. It joins the ‘châteaux à vélos’ route – a 5 to 20 mile cycle trail that takes you past 18 of the most famous Loire châteaux. And there are 16 miles of cycle trails just 220 yards from our two campsites in Vendée, Le Bois Masson and Le Bois Dormant. The trails pass through forests, by the ocean and alongside marshes and you can cycle to the centre of the nearby town Challans. | Mid | [
0.6384039900249371,
32,
18.125
] |
Use of modified radioallergosorbent testing in determining initial immunotherapy doses. Proponents of the modified radioallergosorbent test (RAST) for allergy diagnosis claim an advantage over skin testing in that immunotherapy may often be safely begun at higher initial concentrations and maintenance achieved with fewer injections than with conventional schedules. The resulting fewer visits would offset the greater initial cost and the delay in obtaining results. The most important allergen for 58 consecutive patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis beginning immunotherapy was determined from the history, skin testing, and aeroallergen surveys. A modified RAST was performed for these allergens. Thirty-nine patients (67%) had a modified RAST class 5 (most severe); 18 patients (31%) were class 4, and one patient was class 3. Since the initial concentration and total number of injections projected to reach maintenance vary little between our conventional schedule (1:100,000 w/v, 23 injections), and those for class 5 (1:62,500 w/v, 27 injections) and class 4 (1:12,500 w/v, 21 injections), the modified RAST offers no advantage over skin testing and conventional immunotherapy dosing in our patient population. | Mid | [
0.555555555555555,
28.75,
23
] |
Security researchers Juliano Rizzo and Thai Duong – who released details of an attack on SSL/TLS last year, along with a tool called BEAST – are preparing to present a new attack on SSL/TLS at the Ekoparty Security Conference in Argentina later this month, according to Threatpost. The new attack has been given the name CRIME by the researchers. The CRIME attack is based on a weak spot in a special feature in TLS 1.0, but exactly which that feature is has not been revealed by the researchers. They will say that all versions of TLS/SSL – including TLS 1.2, on which the BEAST attack did not work – are vulnerable. The researchers say that once they have placed themselves in the middle of a given network, they can sniff the HTTPS traffic and launch the attack. Their chosen way to get that position is by running JavaScript code in the victim's browser, but the attack doesn't rely on JavaScript. The cipher suite doesn't matter, say the researchers, noting that one workaround for BEAST attacks was to switch from AES to RC4, but for CRIME that isn't important. The feature that CRIME is leveraging for its attack has, they say, not been a major subject for security research in the past, but for the attack to work it must be supported at the client and server. Both Mozilla's Firefox and Google's Chrome web browsers are vulnerable to the attack, but the researchers say that both vendors have patches created to fix the problem that will be available in a few weeks. Although risks around implementing the feature have been "superficially discussed," the researchers say they haven't found any research showing how efficient an attack could be. Conventional attacks against SSL connections almost always run as an SSL man-in-the-middle where the attacker tries to offer fake certificates to his victim to break the encrypted end-to-end connection. This was not the case with BEAST (Browser Exploit Against SSL/TLS); in that case it succeeded by using special tricks to crack the encryption from within the victim's browser. It could extract cookies and decrypt cookies for PayPal in under ten minutes. CRIME is expected to follow in these pioneering footsteps. (djwm) | High | [
0.661016949152542,
39,
20
] |
A blog launched on the 41st anniversary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), the first pro-life organisation in the world, established on 11 January 1967. SPUC has been a leader in the educational and political battle against abortion, human embryo experimentation and euthanasia since then. I write this blog in my role as SPUC's chief executive, commenting on pro-life news, reflecting on pro-life issues and promoting SPUC's work. Tuesday, 31 July 2012 Last year SPUC re-launched its information on charities as an online index, with new entries and updated information added as and when new information is received. Today's charity is Age UK. Age UK was formed when Age Concern England and Help the Aged mergedin 2009. (Please see the entries in 2006 edition of SPUC's Charities Bulletin for life-related information about these charities). In a letter from SPUC dated 23 July 2012, Tom Wright, Age UK's chief executive, said: "Age UK has a governance framework, agreed by our Board of Trustees, to ensure both legitimacy and corporate ownership of our policy positions. The principles set out within this framework explicitly state that Age UK will not develop policy positions on certain matters, including matters which unnecessarily promote division amongst older people. I can confirm that as a result of this Age UK does not have a policy position on euthanasia or assisted suicide, nor do we fund or support any campaigns in relation to these issues. In relation to your query on advanced directives, as you might expect, this is a subject on which we are asked for advice by older people and we have developed a factsheet...". SPUC comment: As anti-euthanasia groups such as SPUC have pointed out over several decades, "one of the key problems with living wills [advanced directives] is their application in circumstances where it would obviously be contrary to best medical practice enacted in the best interests of the patient. It is no surprise that the pro-euthanasia people are very interested in living wills because they see an opportunity to use the denial of treatment - that would be encouraged as the content of a living will - as a form of soft euthanasia." (Dr Greg Pike, Southern Cross Bioethics Institute, 7 August 2008) Donegal county council back call opposing abortion legislation The Donegal Daily reports that a motion has been passed by Donegal County Council opposing any form of legislation on abortion. The council resolved that: “In keeping with the will of the Irish people, as emphatically expressed in the referendum of 1983, Donegal County Council opposes any form of legalisation of abortion in any circumstances”. 17 councillors backed the motion, 6 abstained and one voted against. [Pat Buckley, 31 July] Saturday, 28 July 2012 Tony O'Brien (pictured), one of the leading campaigners for the legalization of abortion in Ireland, and formerly chief executive of the Irish Family Planning Association, has been appointed Director General of Ireland's Health Service Executive. The Irish Family Planning Association is, of course, an affiilate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), the world's largest abortion-promoting agency. Thus, IPPF has its feet firmly under the top table of Irish government. Read the blogpost of Pat Buckley, European Life Network Ireland director, for further information about the implications of this appointment and pro-lifers' dismay. Last year IPPF launched It's all one curriculum. A quick review of that document shows the kind of policies which the Irish government might reasonably expect an IPPF man to promote as director general of Ireland's health service executive. I urge all Irish citizens, and all those who love Ireland, to read my earlier post on it. It tells you everything you need to know as to what utterly corrupt and corrupting policies, targeted at young children, to which at least some in the Irish government appear to want to sign up. The big question now is: Will Catholic church leaders stand up and be counted - in Ireland, or in Rome - and try to stop what is almost certain to happen to the Irish people unless they act? Accommodation of the pro-abortion lobby, as we saw in 2009 with Archbishop Rino Fisichella, hasn't worked. It's simply served to embolden the most powerful political leaders in the world - Obama in the US, Blair and Cameron in Britain - who know that they can promote their abortion policies without fear of disapproval. It's time to take Catholic doctrine on the sanctity of human life, on the duty to oppose the scandalisation and corruption of young people, off the shelf; shake off the dust on the pages which has accumulated after decades of lack of use; it's time to get up in the pulpits and out in the public square; it's time to speak the truth and to defend this generation's families and children - just as the Scottish bishops have done so well over the years and in recent weeks. As my pro-life colleague in Ireland, Pat Buckley, said to me recently: "Until now Ireland's fidelity to the Christian faith has helped it stand almost alone in Europe in prohibiting abortion. At the same time it has led the world in the reduction of maternal mortality. For both these reasons Ireland is hated by the forces of the culture of death which are preparing the imminent destruction of its pro-life laws." The pro-life groups in Ireland are doing what they can. Will the Church speak out? will they help them? Friday, 27 July 2012 The Catholic diocese of Brentwood website is advertising the annual conference of its Commission for Justice and Social Responsibility. The conference is to be opened by Bishop Thomas McMahon and it's to be addressed by Jon Cruddas MP for Dagenham and Rainham on social justice issues. He is described in the media as a practising Roman Catholic. If the Brentwood Diocese's Commission for Justice and Social Responsibility was actively planning to endanger vulnerable children, in the sense clearly understood and explained by Catholic teaching, they could not have done better than to invite Jon Cruddas MP, who has told Andrew Marr, the TV political journalist: “I fully support the gay adoption proposals the Government put into place.” The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on the other hand, teaches that allowing children to be adopted by couples in homosexual unions "does violence to these children": "As experience has shown, the absence of sexual complementarity in [homosexual] unions creates obstacles in the normal development of children who would be placed in the care of such persons. They would be deprived of the experience of either fatherhood or motherhood. Allowing children to be adopted by persons living in such unions would actually mean doing violence to these children, in the sense that their condition of dependency would be used to place them in an environment that is not conducive to their full human development. This is gravely immoral and in open contradiction to the principle, recognized also in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, that the best interests of the child, as the weaker and more vulnerable party, are to be the paramount consideration in every case." If the Commission for Justice and Social Responsibility had been actively planning to undermine the work of the Catholic Church and the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children in defence of the family, based on marriage - the permanent, exclusive union of one man and one woman - it could not have done better than invite Jon Cruddas to speak to their annual conference on social justice issues a man described as: "Someone who believes ... that same-sex couples should be provided partnership rights equivalent to those of married heterosexual couples ... " The Catholic Church, on the other hand, has very clear teaching in respect of Catholic politicians and legislation in favour of homosexual unions. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith says: "If it is true that all Catholics are obliged to oppose the legal recognition of homosexual unions, Catholic politicians are obliged to do so in a particular way, in keeping with their responsibility as politicians. Faced with legislative proposals in favour of homosexual unions, Catholic politicians are to take account of the following ethical indications. When legislation in favour of the recognition of homosexual unions is proposed for the first time in a legislative assembly, the Catholic law-maker has a moral duty to express his opposition clearly and publicly and to vote against it. To vote in favour of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral." And if the Commission for Justice and Social Responsibility were actively planning to undermine the work of pro-life groups and Catholic teaching on the sanctity of human life, they could not do better than invite an MP who says he supports a woman's right to choose [abortion]; that he's perfectly happy with the current situation (which provides legal sanction for the killing of 550 unborn babies daily); and who has voted 18 times with the anti-life lobby, for example voting in favour of the anti-life Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act at second reading (which denotes approval for the bill's principles) - a law designed to kill millions of innocent human beings deliberately created never to be born. Thursday, 26 July 2012 Today is the 45th anniversary of the Committee stage of David Steel’s Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill in the House of Lords. Although the pro-abortion lobby were buoyed by their success on Second Reading, things did not go quite as well as they had planned when the Bill reached its Committee stage. Although Second Reading decides the principle of the Bill, the Committee stage opens the whole Bill to scrutiny and amendment, with the Bill being debated line by line and Clause by Clause. Two major amendments were carried by the House of Lords against the wishes of Lord Silkin (who sponsored the Bill in the Upper House) and the pro-abortion lobby. Things got off to a ominous start for Lord Silkin and his friends in the pro-abortion lobby when an amendment moved by the former Conservative Lord Chancellor, Viscount Dilhorn, that one of the two doctors required to certify an abortion under the Bill must be employed under the National Health Service as a consultant or must be approved for this purpose by the Minister of Health or in Scotland by the Secretary of State. Viscount Dilhorne said the amendment sought to ensure there was the right medical advice and opinions of the right medical people before the operation was performed to ensure it was performed by a person well qualified to perform it. Lord Silkin on behalf of the sponsors of the Bill argued that in his opinion the Bill as it stood was right. Abortions, he said, could be carried out only in institutions for the purpose. He added that the previous week (during Second Reading) 123 peers had wanted the Bill passed. They approved it. He argued that, quite frankly “time is against us and if we pass any amendments of which the Commons did not approve, we have effectively killed the Bill.” The amendments had all been discussed in the Commons who had come to the conclusion as it stood in the Bill. Silkin begged the House not to play around with it now. He was prepared, if the amendments were withdrawn, to discuss them later and see whether they could find an acceptable form of words to be moved after the summer recess. This drew a rebuke from Viscount Dilhorn who said: “the noble Lord has not promised to put in any words at all. All he has done—and he has done it before—is to say that he would consider it seriously. I am rather tired of that formula. I know the noble Lord does 'consider seriously', but nothing ever happens on this Bill after that consideration.” Despite the opposition of Lord Silkin, the pro-abortion lobby and of the Labour Minister, the amendment was carried by 116 votes to 67. The second amendment carried by a narrow 87 votes to 86 removed the words which permitted an abortion if the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the women’s existing children. Viscount Dilhorn who moved the amendment said the provision was seeking to introduce as a justification for abortion a criterion wholly unrelated to the condition of the pregnant woman. He said he found it difficult to visualise how the birth of a child could affect the physical or mental health of any existing child. Maybe little Willie would get so upset at the prospect of having a little brother or sister that his mental health would become disturbed, but that is no ground for terminating a human life. Other amendments made on this day to the Bill included a re-writing of the conscience clause and at the request of the Home Office an amendment was carried delaying the commencement of the Bill by six months. These two defeats led to a hysterical reaction by the pro-abortion lobby and their allies in the media who spoke of a constitutional crisis should the Lords amendments be rejected by the House of Commons. During the summer recess, there was a campaign led by the pro-abortion lobby about a constitutional crisis if the House of Commons rejected the amendments and the Lords insisted on keeping them. At one point, there were even calls for the Archbishop of Canterbury to lose his Seat in the House of Lords. During the Report stage (held on 23rd October, the first day back from the summer recess), the House of Lords reversed the two amendments to the Bill which they had approved in the Committee stage, and then went on to complete the Bill’s Third Reading. In reversing the two amendments, they thus avoided a clash with the House of Commons which would probably have wrecked the Bill for the 1966-67 Session and could have caused - so the pro-abortion lobby argued - a constitutional crisis. First the House of Lords defeated by 113 votes to 79 the requirement that one of the two doctors needed to agree on an abortion must be a National Health Service consultant. They had voted this amendment into the Bill in July by 116 votes to 67. Later that day the House of Lords voted by 80 to 69 to restore the "social" clause, allowing an abortion on the grounds of injury to the health of children of the family. They had defeated this clause in July by a majority of one. It seemed at first as if the House of Lords would stick with their amendments, led by Viscount Dilhorne, Lord Brock (president of the Royal College of Surgeons), the Marquess of Salisbury, the Earl of Longford, and the Archbishop of Canterbury (pictured above). The first sign of weakening came when the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Ramsey, after speaking firmly against the deletion of the requirement of an NHS doctor, voted in favour of its deletion. Rebuked by Viscount Dilhorne, the Archbishop said he had been convinced by arguments during the debate and changed his mind. Last year SPUC re-launched its information on charities as an online index, with new entries and updated information added as and when new information is received. Today's charity is Macmillan Cancer Support. "Macmillan Cancer Support does not have a policy on euthanasia and assisted suicide. With regard to advance directives or living wills, we have an information page on our website, titled 'Advance decisions'." As anti-euthanasia groups such as SPUC have pointed out over several decades, "one of the key problems with living wills is their application in circumstances where it would obviously be contrary to best medical practice enacted in the best interests of the patient. It is no surprise that the pro-euthanasia people are very interested in living wills because they see an opportunity to use the denial of treatment - that would be encouraged as the content of a living will - as a form of soft euthanasia." (Dr Greg Pike, Southern Cross Bioethics Institute, 7 August 2008). MPs who vote for Cameron gay marriage pledge will be punished at election time MPs who vote for David Cameron's gay marriage pledge will be punished at the general election, says SPUC. SPUC was responding to Mr Cameron's speech, reported by The Telegraphhttp://goo.gl/fNQJn in which he promised to enshrine same-sex marriage in law before the next general election in 2015. John Smeaton, SPUC's chief executive, commented: "There are numerous reports that the Conservative party is already losing huge numbers of voters, members and activists because of Mr Cameron's foolish support of same-sex marriage. SPUC and its colleagues in many pro-family, Christian and Muslim groups, representing countless thousands of supporters and activists up and down the country, will ensure that same-sex marriage becomes a big general election issue, especially in marginal constituencies." [SPUC, 25 July] Other stories: Abortion Disability no longer to be legal ground for abortion, announces Spanish government [ThinkSpain, 22 July] Wednesday, 25 July 2012 SPUC has responded to David Cameron's speech, reported by The Telegraph this morning in which he promised to enshrine same-sex marriage in law before the next general election in 2015. As I told the media this morning, there are numerous reports that the Conservative party is already losing huge numbers of voters, members and activists because of Mr Cameron's foolish support of same-sex marriage. SPUC and its colleagues in many pro-family, Christian and Muslim groups, representing countless thousands of supporters and activists up and down the country, will ensure that same-sex marriage becomes a big general election issue, especially in marginal constituencies. Mr Cameron's speech reveals that his understanding of marriage and religion is woefully simplistic and ignorant. His mantra of 'equality' totally ignores the nature, history and role of marriage, which is the union of one man and one woman ordered towards the procreation of children. Redefining marriage to include same-sex couples is outside Mr Cameron's remit as a political leader. The family - not the government - is the first and vital cell and source of human society, and is therefore a pre-political institution. By seeking to redefine marriage, Mr Cameron is also seeking to redefine the family, which is based upon marriage between one man and one woman. Mr Cameron is clearly doing his best to copy Tony Blair as a social engineering guru. Tuesday, 24 July 2012 SPUC welcomes new Catholic archbishop of Glasgow SPUC has welcomed the appointment of Bishop Philip Tartaglia as the new Catholic archbishop of Glasgow. John Smeaton, SPUC’s chief executive, commented: “Archbishop-elect Tartaglia has been outspoken in the defence of the sanctity of human life, as well as the dignity of the family based solely on marriage between one man and one woman. We at SPUC look forward to supporting Archbishop-elect Tartaglia in his pro-life and pro-family ministry in the coming, challenging years." [SPUC, 24 July] Other stories: Abortion Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martin remains to be convinced that the Oireachtas should legislate for abortion in Ireland [Pat Buckley, 23 July] A large group of Fine Gael deputies will oppose abortion legislation in Ireland [Pat Buckley, 23 July] SPUC has welcomed the appointment of Bishop Philip Tartaglia as the new Catholic archbishop of Glasgow. As I told the media earlier this morning, Archbishop-elect Tartaglia has been outspoken in the defence of the sanctity of human life, as well as the dignity of the family based solely on marriage between one man and one woman. In 2011 he said that: "[T]he fundamental human right is the right to life from conception to its natural end... [L]egalised abortion is the primary fatal injustice of our times, which has no place in a civilised society." (endorsement, 40 Days for Life 2011) "Nature, reason and religion concur that marriage is uniquely the union of a man and a woman, which, by its very nature, is designed for the mutual good of the spouses and to give the children who may be born of that union a father and a mother ... Same-sex ‘marriage’ will change the nature of parenting. The normal mother and father model of parenting will be replaced in law and then gradually in culture by a non gender-specific model of parenting which will deprive children of their right to have a mother and a father" (pastoral letter, 4 October 2011) We at SPUC look forward to supporting Archbishop-elect Tartaglia in his pro-life and pro-family ministry in the coming, challenging years. We thank Archbishop Mario Conti for the support he has given to SPUC and to the pro-life and pro-family cause over many years. Monday, 23 July 2012 On 11 July 2012, over 500 mums streamed into the London Muslim Centre, to hear Dr Lisa Nolland, a leading family issues expert. Most of the parents had been active in collecting over 10,000 signatures for a petition calling on Tower Hamlets council to stop funding explicit sex education in the borough’s primary schools. In a lecture titled, “Giving our children the best”, Dr Nolland gave a social historian’s analysis of how we come to have UK schools showing graphic cartoon sex scenes to young children in the classroom. It all started with Dr Alfred Kinsey (1894-1956), whose “sick-sex ideology” spread through Playboy, pornography, world sexual health organisations and into sex education programmes. Dr Nolland encouraged parents to read up on this, to fully understand the background of what we are facing now. In Dr Nolland’s view Alfred Kinsey’s legacy of perverted sexuality, including sexualising young children through explicit sex education programmes, can be seen today: Friday, 20 July 2012 81 years ago tomorrow a Bill for the sterilisation of certain categories of "mental patient" was proposed in the House of Commons in 1931 by Labour MP Archibald Church as a Ten Minute Rule Bill. Church moved that leave be given to bring in a Bill to “enable mental defectives to undergo sterilizing operations or sterilizing treatment upon their own application, or that of their spouses or parents or guardians; and for purposes connected therewith.” In moving his motion, Church claimed it was necessary to stop the reproduction of those "who are in every way a burden to their parents, a misery to themselves and in my opinion a menace to the social life of the community". He added he would be failing in his duty to the House if he did not state that in his opinion, this Bill was “merely a first step in order that the community as a whole should be able to make an experiment on a small scale so that later on we may have the benefit of the results and experience gained in order to come to conclusions before bringing in a Bill for the compulsory sterilisation of the unfit.” Opposition to the Bill was led by Dr Hyacinth Morgan (Labour MP for Camberwell Norty) who said: “I rise to ask the House not to give leave for the introduction of this Bill. The House has heard a harrowing tale which is mostly moonshine. The Bill is said to be in advance of public opinion, but it is really in advance of common sense and ordinary sanity....If once the principle of maiming or mutilation is admitted, not for the benefit or health of the individual but for the good of others or the State acting for others, there is no brake to sliding down the slippery slope leading to the swamp of State penalisation, where we may get rid of all those obnoxious to the State. Those preaching subversive doctrines may have their tongues cut out. Those writing subversive doctrines may have their hands cut off. The State (those temporarily in power) are the dictators of limb and life. The eugenicist upon a pinnacle of intellectual snobbery, looking down upon the less fortunate mental defective, may gradually raise the standard of mental deficiency and push more and more citizens into the maelstrom of the mentally-maimed." Dr Morgan concluded by appealing to the House to “refuse to give leave to introduce this pagan, anti-democratic, anti-Christian, unethical Bill.” The House then divided and Major Church’s proposed Bill was defeated by 167 votes to 89. It is interesting to note that future Prime Minister Anthony Eden (then a back bencher) voted in favour of the Bill. And in case anyone thinks that such blatant eugenic thinking in political circles is a thing of the past ... completely to the contrary, it has become part and parcel of the British political establishment, and now with lethal consequences on a grand scale: In the UK 92% of babies prenatally diagnosed with Down's syndrome are killed by abortion. This has remained constant since 1989 when the National Down's Syndrome Cytogenetic Register began. Under the UK Abortion Act, a child deemed to have a disability can be aborted up to birth. These are sad and utterly unacceptable facts. As recently as 18th October 2005, Caroline Flint, a junior minister of health under a previous government, told Parliament that a risk of repealing the Abortion Act 1967 (and thus, inter alia, the risk of making the killing of disabled unborn babies unlawful) would be an annual cost to the country of £5 million for the "cost to care for disabled children" (SeePartial Regulatory Assessment of The Prohibition of Abortion (England and Wales) Bill). David Cameron, meanwhile, the current UK prime minister, has made it clear that he supports abortion up to birth for disabled babies. Thursday, 19 July 2012 On 1 and 2 July, a team of SPUC supporters climbed Britain’s three highest peaks – Ben Nevis, Snowdon and Scafell Pike – in order to raise funds for the Glasgow midwives’ appeal costs and SPUC’s other life-affirming work. (Make a donation over the phone, by cheque, or online . If donating online, select 3 Peaks Climb from the drop-down menu). The ascent of Ben Nevis (4370 ft), Scafell Pike (2900 ft) and Snowdon (2400 ft) within 24 hours has long been regarded by many as one of the ultimate physical challenges in the British Isles. The challenge includes a total of 9670 feet of climb, covering a walking distance of approximately 25 miles, with 500 miles of travel by road between the peaks. [Heights given measured from the starting point of each climb] Success depends on several factors, some of which can be controlled, such as personal fitness, scheduling to minimise climbing in the dark and using the correct equipment, food and clothing. But there are other factors over which one has no control; principally the weather and road and traffic conditions between the peaks. The difficulty of this challenge should not be underestimated. It is easy to get lost, particularly when mountains need to be climbed in the dark or in poor weather. With full knowledge of what the challenge involved, a group of SPUC supporters from the Yorkshire Region conquered the peaks. Report from Michael Hill, 5 July 2012 It would be quick and easy just to cobble together a few lines for the SPUC website confirming that this year’s sponsored challenge was completed successfully on 1st & 2nd July, who took part, and how long it took them. But our sponsors deserve more than that. And having been personally involved with this event from the early discussions in 2011 through to the fond farewells in the middle of a rainy Welsh car park at the end of the challenge, I can tell you that every member of the challenge team deserve more as well - so hear goes: William and Andy arrived for the final planning meeting a week before the event. Alex and Gavin had each sent their apologies but confirmed that they would be doing the Challenge. The four of us at the meeting reviewed the schedule, agreed travelling times, decided who would be responsible for the food and confirmed Sat-Nav postcodes. After the meeting we knew that the next time we would see each other would be at the foot of Ben Nevis in the Scottish Highlands. Two days later I received a phone call from a total stranger, a young lady called Gina. She told me she had planned to do the Three Peaks Challenge but her team had cancelled, leaving her high and dry, and she was looking for another team to hook up with. Her search began on Facebook, which led her to contact a Hospice in Wakefield where a member of staff suggested she contacted SPUC. Bingo - how could we say no? Gina was obviously committed to raising funds for her charity and would go to any lengths to do it. That impressed me. We met Gina and her mum, Gill, for the very first time in the Ben Nevis car park just one hour before the Challenge was scheduled to begin. We chatted together while we sorted our rucksacks, waterproofs and boots, and when the 5 o’clock start time came we set off up that first mountain not as strangers, but as friends. Ben Nevis Conditions on Ben Nevis were perfect on that Sunday evening in July, with blue sky, high cloud and sunshine. We had travelled through quite a bit of rain on the way to Fort William, so this was an unexpected pleasure. Climbing is physically challenging even in good weather, and it wasn’t too long before the breathing became laboured and conversation ceased. The girls pulled ahead of the boys to reach the summit first. We claimed that the spectacular views had delayed us, which to a degree was true, but I think the girls were just fitter! There were a good few walkers on the mountain that evening, and being able to exchange banter and pleasantries with like minded people engaged in a common pursuit was another bonus. The only incident to mar the conquest of Ben Nevis was my fall. I was returning from the summit and not far from the finish, when I clipped a rock and toppled like a felled oak onto the rocks! I lay still for a while thinking I must have broken something. My left leg had taken the brunt of the impact and was numb. After a while I struggled to my feet. I had escaped a fracture, but had serious soft tissue damage. I knew I had to continue the descent if only to determine whether or not I was going to be able to complete the challenge. I desperately hoped I could. The others could tell something was wrong as soon as they saw me, and I told them what had happened. I would decide what I would do later. After hot soup and sandwiches at ‘Andy and Sally’s Car Boot Café’ we all got into our respective vehicles and set off for the Lake District and Scafell Pike, 266 miles away. It would soon be getting dark but it remained dry - for a while. The total driving distance between the 3 peaks is approximately 490 miles, which translates to a minimum of 10 hours driving at safe speeds. The travelling element of the challenge is crucial, so you can imagine what colour the air turned when we discovered that the route we had chosen was the subject of an unscheduled overnight closure. It was midnight, we had an extra 22 miles to travel, and it had begun to rain. The mood was changing. Scafell Pike The rain increased as we approached the National Trust car park at the foot of Scafell Pike. It was almost 4am and still dark, but the rest of the gang were already there and ready to go. Weather conditions at the bottom of Scafell were poor, and I explained to the team that conditions would be much worse on the top, but there wasn’t the slightest doubt – they were going for it regardless! I had climbed Scafell Pike twice in the past, and I knew my knowledge of the route would be valuable to the team, especially in the dark and the rain. So despite my injured leg (hero that I am) I decided to accompany them to a place called Hollow Stones, about two thirds of the way up. From there they would be able to follow a chain of Cairns to the top. I recognised that my personal challenge was at an end as I watched those four young men and women disappear into the wind and rain towards the summit. The weather worsened as dawn broke, and my descent was slow and painful. Gina, Alex, William and Gavin all reached the summit safely, but did not linger as the wind chill factor was high. On their return, absolutely soaked to the skin, the team was greeted by the mouth-watering smell of bacon sandwiches. Yes, that’s right - ‘Andy and Sally’s Car Boot Café’ was open for business, but a full change of clothes was needed first. This is not easy in a car park, but with the aid of a towel and a strategically placed umbrella, modesty was preserved! We left Scafell Pike dead on schedule at 7.30am, but arrived at Snowdon one hour behind schedule. This was due to an incompetent and un-cooperative Sat-Nav insisting we take the M58 instead of the M56. The rain and the heavy Monday morning traffic did nothing to improve the 222-mile journey, either. Our only consolation was that it was most unlikely that we would suffer the same weather conditions on Snowdon that we’d had to endure on Scafell Pike (the words ‘Hope’ and ‘Eternal’ spring to mind here) Snowdon We were the last of our team to arrive at the Pen-y-Pass car Park. It was one o’clock in the afternoon and time was slipping away. The rain was coming sideways again. I just couldn’t believe our misfortune. But just like at Scafell Pike, there was simply no doubt in the team’s mind that they were going to complete the challenge, even in these most appalling weather conditions. Gavin and William had already set off on the Miners Track. Alex and Gina cobbled together some waterproofs, and chose the Pyg Track. By sheer coincidence all four met up at the summit for photos. Alex and Gina were the first to finish with William and Gavin not far behind. Again, these four young people showed tremendous grit and determination in the face of real adversity. They had completed the challenge half an hour outside their own schedule, but one hour inside the 24-hour limit! Farewell Sally presented each of the walkers with a chocolate ‘gold’ medal in a light-hearted gesture to mark their achievement, but they had given so much of themselves in completing this challenge that real gold medals would not have been out of place. After the presentation we bid a sad farewell to Gina and her mum. We didn’t know if we would ever see each other again, living at opposite ends of the country, but we knew that we had shared a very special experience, one that we would remember for the rest of our lives. It was a privilege to have been part of it. Edmund Adamus, director for marriage and family life in the Westminster Catholic archdiocese, has an excellent letter in last weekend's Tablet on contraception and women's health. It's worth reading in full and to note the chapter and verse he cites in making his case that "more and more evidence points to the negative moral and physical impact of contraception" as Edmund puts it. Earlier this week, SPUC published an extensively researched document which provides the most up-to-date information on how certain forms of ‘birth control’ operate and whether they have an abortifacient effect. And last week, I reported that the newly-appointed bishop of Portsmouth, Monsignor Philip Egan, has argued that Humanae Vitae is infallible, i.e. irreversibly and without error, by the Catholic Church's ordinary universal magisterium. Humanae Vitae is Pope Paul VI's encyclical letter on the regulation of birth published 44 years ago on 25th July 1968. Wednesday, 18 July 2012 Mayor of Tower Hamlets to investigate explicit sex education programme in schools The mayor of Tower Hamlets in east London has told parents that he will order an investigation into how £80,000 was spent on training and resources for an explicit sex and relationships education (SRE) programme for schools in the borough. Representatives from Tower Hamlets Parents' Action Group on SRE presented a petition of over 10,000 signatures from local people to Mayor Luthfur Rahman. Antonia Tully of the Safe at School campaign has supported the parents throughout the campaign. [SPUC, 17 July] Last week Melinda Gates held a family planning summit, the focus of which was the promotion of contraceptive devices to women in poor countries. So far an estimated US$4.6 billion dollars has been raised by this summit to promote contraceptives in the developing world. In this short video, produced by Human Life International, women around the world respond to Melinda Gates' controversial plans for them, and her supposed charitable assistance. Although the women in the video are addressing Melinda Gates, the same points they make could just as appropriately be made to David Cameron, who addressed the summit and whose government is spending huge amounts of money promoting contraception and abortion in the developing world. SPUC has published an extensive briefing on how the British government, through the Department for International Development (DfID), has repeatedly spent tens of millions of pounds funding abortion and contraception overseas, at the expense of real care: food and basic medical care. Earlier this year SPUC held a conference with some of world's leading experts on maternal care. Sadly, their organisations do not have the backing of international governments and billionaires such as Melinda Gates. Tuesday, 17 July 2012 The mayor of Tower Hamlets in east London has told parents that he will order an investigation into how £80,000 was spent on training and resources for an explicit sex and relationships education (SRE) programme for schools in the borough. Representatives from Tower Hamlets Parents' Action Group on SRE presented a petition of over 10,000 signatures from local people to Mayor Luthfur Rahman. The petition calls upon the Council and the Healthy Lives team to stop any further funding of the Christopher Winter Project, to recall all the resources currently in schools and to ensure that schools consult with parents about sex education. The programme is being used by 25% of the borough's primary schools who responded to a freedom of information request about sex education. (84% of Tower Hamlets primary schools completed the questionnaire.) The mayor expressed his concern about the highly graphic content of the Christopher Winter Project and has agreed to meet with key local parents. Antonia Tully of SPUC's Safe at School campaign has supported the parents throughout the campaign. At the invitation of the Tower Hamlets Parents' Action Group, she spoke at seven meetings in the borough in the weeks leading up to the petition presentation. Parents also called on Yusuf Patel of SREIslamic for support throughout the campaign. Mr Patel told parents about the nature of the Christopher Winter Project and the danger it poses to young children. Later this week I'll be publishing a fuller report about the events in Tower Hamlets. Monday, 16 July 2012 Can birth control cause an abortion, by stopping an unborn child from implanting in the womb? This question, of urgent importance to all pro-lifers, is answered today as SPUC releases "Contraceptives: what you need to know: birth-control (‘contraception’) methods which can cause abortion". This much-needed document, based on extensive research undertaken by the Southern Cross Bioethics Institute (SCBI), gives readers the most up-to-date information on how certain forms of ‘birth control’ operate and whether they have an abortifacient effect. SPUC urges all people who care about pro-life issues to study this and inform themselves and others of ways in which the very newly-conceived are under attack in hidden ways. More in-depth information can be found in SPUC's paper "Birth control methods which can cause abortion" (July 2012) Sunday, 15 July 2012 At the invitation of Mrs Emma Clarke, Antonia Tully (pictured right), of SPUC's Safe at School campaign, spoke last week at a public meeting for parents of children in Northamptonshire. As a result of the meeting, attended by thirty mothers and fathers, the Caroline Chisholm Primary School has suspended its teaching of sex and relationships education. Emma Clarke (who spoke powerfully at SPUC's packed meeting in Westminster last December Sex education as sexual sabotage, co-hosted by the Working Party on the Sexualisation of Children under the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group) and Antonia Tully informed the parents about the sex education video "Living and Growing". This video cartoon depicts a naked couple chasing each other around a bed and engaging in sexual intercourse in numerous positions. It is being shown to children between the ages of seven and nine, including in Catholic schools, without parents' knowledge or consent. Emma Clarke reports: "The meeting received considerable local media attention including a discussion and has caused Caroline Chisholm Primary School to issue the following statement to parents: 'To enable the school an adequate amount of time to consider feedback from parents we have taken the decision to suspend any teaching of Sex & Relationships education.We will review our current scheme of work in the autumn term.' "This is a great success for our campaign and we plan to hold more local public meetings around the county to raise awareness amongst parents, we're also setting up a facebook page and website. "Parents who attended our meeting were so shocked to discover what the school were planning to show their children (and already have in previous years) that another meeting has been arranged on Monday evening for more parents to view the Living & Growing DVD resource currently being used at the school." Last Thursday I reported that Nick Gibb, the schools minister, confirmed in a letter to Antonia Tully, head of SPUC's Safe at School campaign, that primary schools are not required to teach children about sex in National Curriculum science lessons. Saturday, 14 July 2012 Below are some quick-fire rebuttals by Anthony Ozimic, SPUC's communications manager, to David Cameron's keynote speech to Melinda Gates' London Summit on Family Planning last Wednesday. Some of Anthony's other quick-fire comments on the Summit can be read via SPUC's Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/spucprolife Earlier in the week, SPUC issued a series of press releases and videos containing detailed arguments against the population control agenda behind the summit - see: DC: "We’re here for a very simple reason: women should be able to decide freely, and for themselves, whether, when and how many children they have." AO: Women can do this without contraception. The summit is about convincing women that they should avoid having children. DC: "This is not something nice to have. Some sort of add on to our wider development goals." AO: By prioritising contraception, the Department for International Development (DFID) is neglecting real development goals e.g. food. DC: "It’s absolutely fundamental to any hope of tackling poverty in our world." AO: There is no proof that contraception helps to tackle poverty. There is considerable evidence that large family sizes and growing populations help lift nations out of poverty. DC: "Why? Because a country can’t develop properly when its young women are dying from unintended pregnancies and when its children are dying in infancy." AO: Women don’t die from pregnancies. Pregnancy is a healthy outcome of a natural process. Women die from lack of basic healthcare. Contraception can’t save children from dying in infancy. It’s healthcare not contraception that saves lives. DC: "As a result of this Summit, in the next eight years we will avert an unintended pregnancy every two seconds and 212,000 fewer women and girls will die in pregnancy and childbirth. That alone, frankly, is a good enough reason for us to be here." AO: These are figures made up by the abortion-contraception lobby to justify its eugenics and population control agendas. DC: "But there’s another reason why family planning is so important for development. When a woman is prevented from choosing when to have children it’s not just a violation of her human rights it can fundamentally compromise her chances in life, and the opportunities for her children." AO: The issue of forced pregnancy (e.g. through rape or following a forced marriage) is a separate issue from contraception. This wrong is being cynically exploited by the abortion-contraception lobby to justify its eugenics and population control agendas. DC: "Without access to family planning, pregnancy will often come far too early. In Sierra Leone, for example, a UNICEF survey found that a staggering two-fifths of girls give birth for the first time between the ages of 12 and 14. These young girls are not ready physically, emotionally or financially to become mothers. They don’t want to give up school or the chance to go on and run a business and build a better life for themselves." AO: The evil there is statutory rape. Providing contraception will simply allow the rapists and child-marriage criminals to further their crimes. DC: "And yet suddenly their dreams are broken as they become trapped in a potentially life-threatening pregnancy. Even if they survive, many are left with catastrophic scarring." AO: Again, it is irrational to depict pregnancy, a healthy outcome of a natural process, to be life-threatening. Lack of basic healthcare is life-threatening. DC: "They struggle to bring up children that are healthy and educated and they are likely to have many more children than they have the resources to look after." AO: I thought the point of international development was to help mothers raise healthy and educated children and provide resources for them. DC: "It’s a simple fact that as countries get richer, women generally have fewer children." AO: Increases in population lead to countries become richer. The improvement in health following population-driven prosperity means that fewer children die and therefore couples are less driven to achieve more pregnancies. DC: "And by concentrating their resources on a smaller number of children those children are healthier, better educated and more likely get a job and build a prosperous future for themselves and their own children. Family planning helps that process along." AO: It simply doesn’t work like that. Smaller families result in fewer resources, because it leads to future shortfalls in workers who create profit, pay taxes, make products, care for the elderly etc. DC: "The availability of contraception enables women to decide to have fewer children." AO: Contraception has a massive real-world failure-rate. DC: "And as fertility rates decline, having fewer children to support can help the economy to grow." AO: Not true. The 20th century proved that economies grow as population rises. DC: "We should be pragmatic about what works." AO: Indeed. Contraception is based instead on the ideologies of sexual liberalism and eugenics. DC: "In East and Southeast Asia, this reduction in children accounted for more than two-fifths of the growth in per capita GDP between 1970 and 2000. In Matlab in Bangladesh, a twenty year study found that a family planning programme together with improved support for maternal and child health led not just to smaller, healthier families but also to women being better educated and earning more and their families owning more assets with the average value of an educated woman’s home as much as a fifth higher than for women in nearby villages where this programme hadn’t been introduced. So we know this works. So family planning works not just because smaller families can be healthier and wealthier but because empowering women is the key to growing economies and healthy open societies -unlocking what I call the golden thread of development." AO: Whole swathes of Asia are now ageing rapidly with no hope in sight. Korea is a dying society, filling more graves than cradles. Japan is the most rapidly ageing society in the world, with a elderly-care crisis with no solution. China is predicted to be the world’s first developing country that will become old before it becomes rich. Yes, support for maternal and child health and for education makes societies healthier and wealthier. But contraception impoverishes. DC: "The UK government is taking a whole new approach to development. We know that in the long term we cannot help countries develop just by giving them money. Development cannot be done to the poor by outsiders. It has to be driven by the people who need the change. Our role is to help the poorest countries create the building blocks of private sector growth and prosperity. These building blocks are the same the world over. No conflict, access to markets, transparency, property rights, the rule of law, the absence of corruption, a free media, free and fair elections. Together these key enablers of growth make up the golden thread that runs through all stories of successful development across the world. And they are quite simply life changing. Curbing corruption means not having to pay a bribe to lease a plot of land. Transparency means that people can monitor whether revenue from natural resources like oil is being invested in roads or wells for their villages, or wasted. The rule of law means that a woman can go to court to settle a dispute knowing that her evidence will be given the same weight as a man’s. Free and fair elections mean that every citizen has a voice in their government and the opportunity to stand for office." AO: So why are you pumping hundreds of millions of pounds into contraception instead? DC: "But these vital building blocks of freedom and democracy can not be laid down without a transformation in the participation of women. Why? Because where the potential and the perspective of women is locked out of the decisions that shape a society, that society remains stunted and underachieving. So enabling women to have a voice is a vital part of improving governance and achieving sustainable and equitable growth. And this isn’t just the case in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is the case all over the world. A World Bank Study of 100 countries found that the greater the representation of women in parliament the lower the level of corruption. While one of the most powerful signs that real change was afoot in Egypt and Libya was when women turned up and made their voices heard, refusing to be confined to their homes while men decided their future. And one of the standards by which Egyptians will judge their new government must surely be the engagement and participation of women. Crucially, it is by empowering women that countries can unlock their economic potential. Studies show that limited education and employment opportunities for women in Africa mean annual per capita growth is almost a whole percentage point lower than it should be. Had this growth been achieved, Africa’s economies would have doubled in size over the last thirty years. Providing girls with just one extra year of schooling can increase their wages by as much as 20 per cent. And that really matters because a woman who can decide when to have children, will go to school for longer and then invest her extra money in her own family." AO: But none of this has anything to do with contraception. The way to reduce teenage pregnancy is to promote abstinence, outlaw child-marriage, and enforce laws on statutory rape and the age of consent. The UK still has high rates of teenage pregnancy after decades of increasing provision of contraception. DC: "When women have opportunity, resources and a voice, the benefits cascade to her children, her community and her country. So family planning is just the first step on a long journey towards growth, equality and development. But it’s an essential step – saving lives and empowering women to fulfil their potential as great leaders of change." AO: Contraception doesn’t save lives; it prevents lives. It is insulting to women to tell them that they need pills, rubbers, coils etc to ‘fulfil their potential’. DC: "So I am delighted that Britain is taking the lead – together with the Gates Foundation – to tackle an issue that has been ignored for so long." AO: This is a complete myth. Western governments, wealthy foundations, UN agencies and abortion lobbyists have been flooding the developing world with contraception for decades. DC: "Just like the money we gave last year through GAVI to immunise children against preventable diseases this aid is transparent and direct – it reaches the people who need it, and it doesn’t get caught up in bureaucracy. Last year’s vaccines summit is saving 4 million lives. This year’s family planning summit will prevent a further 3 million babies dying in their first year of life giving 120 million women and girls in the world’s poorest countries the chance to access affordable, lifesaving contraception for the first time. And I’m proud to say that Britain will contribute over £500 million between now and 2020 – doubling our annual investment in family planning. This alone will help 24 million women and girls preventing an unintended pregnancy every 10 seconds and saving a woman’s life every two hours." AO: These figures are self-serving fantasies. In many developing countries, there are not even reliable statistics about the population in general, let alone accurate figures for estimates of healthcare outcomes. Lies, damned lies and statistics. DC: "Of course there are some who will oppose this. There are those who will say we can’t afford to spend money on aid at a time like this. And there are those who might accept the case for aid, but who object to supporting family planning and the empowerment of women because they think it’s not our place to tell people what to do, or interfere in other cultures. I think it’s vital that we confront these arguments head on. Let me do so. First, it is morally right to honour our promises to the poorest in the world." AO: We are unaware that the Conservative or Liberal Democrat parties, either separately or in the Coalition agreement, made any promises to bankroll contraception globally. DC: "Every six minutes a woman who did not want to become pregnant will die in pregnancy or childbirth. Every six minutes." AO: Again, this figure is a self-serving fantasy. DC: "So how many minutes do we wait? I say we don’t wait at all." AO: This is tear-jerking 'Mom and apple-pie' rhetoric, cynically wheeled-out to fool the naive. DC: "But there’s not just a strong moral argument for keeping our aid commitment, there’s a second, more practical argument too. If we really care about our own national interest about jobs, growth and security we shouldn’t break off our links with the countries that can hold some of the keys to that future. For if we invest in empowering women in Africa as the key to driving trade and economic growth it’s not just Africa that will grow but Britain too. And that’s why I will always defend our spending on aid." AO: This is another straw-man argument. SPUC does not argue against giving aid but against wasting aid on contraception. DC: "As for those who say we shouldn’t interfere let me be absolutely clear. We’re not talking about some kind of Western imposed population control, forced abortion or sterilisation." AO: Wrong. The UK government has for decades given tens of millions of pounds annually to the very same organisations which support and help manage China’s population control programme of forced abortion and sterilisation. In April, it was alleged that DFID money went to a forced sterilisation programme in India (Observer, 15 April). Melinda Gates' partners, Marie Stopes International and International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF), were founded by leaders in the early eugenics and population control movements, and who were very open that they did not like the idea of poor people of colour having children. DC: "What we’re saying today is quite the opposite. We’re not telling anyone what to do. We’re giving women and girls the power to decide for themselves." AO: The easy availability of contraception enables predatory men and coercive relatives to pressure vulnerable women and girls into sexual activity. DC: "Yes family sizes need to come down but they come down not because we say they should but because the women who have children want them to." AO: This is a reversal of the UK government’s policy under Labour which claimed it was neutral about population sizes. In any case, what is the evidence that mothers want family sizes to come down? DC: "And to those who try to say it is wrong to interfere by giving a woman that power to decide I say they are the ones who are interfering, not me." AO: Most women around the world, including women in the developing world, already exercise the power to decide over the size of their family. They are not in relationships in which they cannot decide, in conjunction with their spouses/partners, to limit the number of children they conceive. In those relationships in which they cannot exercise this power, this is a problem relating to the nature of the relationship, not a lack of contraception. DC: "I’m not dictating who runs her country. I’m not saying how many children she should have. What jobs she can do. How she can dress. When she can speak. It’s those who are imposing their values on women who are doing the interfering. I say that every woman should be able to decide her own future. And yes I say we should stand up against those who want to decide it for her." AO: Mr Cameron is cynically adopting radical feminist rhetoric in order to caricature those who uphold traditional family values. He is pitting himself against the pro-life movement. DC: "Because there are no valid excuses for the denial of basic rights and freedoms for women around the world." AO: There is no international treaty or convention which declares that contraception is a basic right. DC: "So what we are talking about today is the beginning of a much wider battle that will define our century. A fight for female empowerment and equality that cannot be won by having special separate discussions on women every now and then but requires instead that women are at the table in every discussion on every issue. In Britain, we are scaling up and re-prioritising resources for women and girls in all of DFID’s 28 country programmes. We have made a commitment to help 6.5 million of the poorest girls in the world to go to school. We are standing up for women’s rights against horrific sexual crimes, including through the campaign to prevent sexual violence in conflict which William Hague launched in May with Angelina Jolie. We are determined to end the barbaric practice of female genital cutting making it illegal in Britain leading the way in countries like Somalia where it affects a staggering 98 per cent of women and supporting the brave leadership of the first ladies of Burkina Faso and Niger who are here today. And I will personally ensure that the fight for the empowerment of women is at the heart of the international process I am co-chairing to renew the Millennium Development Goals. Because we know today just how important that empowerment is for women, for the well-being of their families and the future growth and prosperity of the whole world." AO: Mr Cameron is again expropriating feminism as a background of justification for flooding the developing world with contraception. Women do not need contraception in order to be empowered, equal and protected. Indeed, contraception often degrades vulnerable women to the level of sex objects. DC: "Just before I came onto this stage today I met Aslefe. Aslefe is an inspiring young woman from Ethiopia. She told me she is the captain of her village football team. She uses football matches to distribute materials, contraceptives and HIV prevention methods. She wants every woman and girl to have access to family planning and wants improved health systems in Ethiopia so girls her age no longer have to suffer." AO: I think the vast majority of both children and parents in the world think that what Aslefe is doing is strange and that the normal thing for her to do would be to stick to sport. DC: "She has hope in her eyes. She has ambition in her voice. She gives you that sense that she believes things really can change. Today we are investing in that hope for Aslefe and for girls like her all over the world. Their future will determine our future. And we will help them fight for it. Today and every day until that battle is won. Thank you." AO: Mr Cameron has now overdone the tear-jerking, heartstring-tugging rhetoric here. More arguments and less Walt Disney please. John Smeaton About Me I became involved in SPUC after graduating, when I established a branch in south London in 1974. I have worked full-time for SPUC for 39 years. I became chief executive of SPUC in the UK in 1996, having been general secretary since 1978. I was elected vice-president of International Right to Life Federation in 2005. At UN conferences in Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing, Istanbul and Rome, I helped coordinate more than 150 pro-life/pro-family groups resulting in pro-life victories in Cairo, Istanbul and Rome. I was educated at Salesian College, London, before going to Oxford where I graduated in English Language and Literature. I qualified as a teacher, becoming head of English at a secondary school. I am married to Josephine. We have a grown-up family and we live in north London. Acknowledgement I am grateful to SPUC's staff, supporters and advisers for their help to me in researching, writing and producing this blog. Sign up for email alerts Twitter @spucprolife Images I believe that I am allowed to use the images accompanying my blog and that they are licence- and royalty-free. However if the owner or the licensor disagrees, please contact me and I will remove it immediately. | Mid | [
0.6051282051282051,
29.5,
19.25
] |
Q: Fadein with css change not working when stacking two functions Hi I am trying to fade In a new background image when i click a div. Currently the image loads instantly and i tried adding in a .fadeIn at the start of it like so: $('body').fadeIn("slow").css({"background-image": "url(Aboutme.jpg)", 'background-size' : 400}); Can anyone tell me what im doing wrong? Have looked everywhere but noeone seems to have the same problem A: Look Here Quote below : From @Marcus Whybrow You can get a similar effect by fading the image opacity to 0, then change the background image, and finally fading the image back in again. This will require a div, behind everything else on your page which is as wide as the body. <body> <div id="bg"></div> ... </body> You can make it as wide as the page using CSS: #bg { position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0; } And then animate it's properties. $('#bg') .animate({opacity: 0}, 'slow', function() { $(this) .css({'background-image': 'url(1.jpg)'}) .animate({opacity: 1}); }); You could get more of a crossover effect, by having a second background div on top of this one, which you can then fade in. | High | [
0.661764705882352,
28.125,
14.375
] |
<?php /* * Copyright (c) Nate Brunette. * Distributed under the MIT License (http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT) */ declare(strict_types=1); namespace Tebru\Gson\Internal\AccessorStrategy; use Tebru\Gson\Internal\SetterStrategy; /** * Class SetByPublicProperty * * This class contains public properties to improve performance. * * @author Nate Brunette <[email protected]> */ final class SetByPublicProperty implements SetterStrategy { /** * @var string */ public $propertyName; /** * Constructor * * @param string $propertyName */ public function __construct(string $propertyName) { $this->propertyName = $propertyName; } /** * Set value to object by method name * * @param object $object * @param mixed $value * @return void */ public function set($object, $value): void { $object->{$this->propertyName} = $value; } } | Mid | [
0.56595744680851,
33.25,
25.5
] |
732 P.2d 1364 (1987) K MART CORPORATION, a Michigan Corporation, Appellant, v. George J. PONSOCK and Barbara Ponsock, Respondents. No. 16736. Supreme Court of Nevada. February 24, 1987. *1365 McDonald, Carano, Wilson, Bergin, Frankovich & Hicks, Reno, for appellant. Woodburn, Wedge, Blakey & Jeppson, and Chris Wicker, Reno, for respondent. Marquis & Haney, Las Vegas, for amicus curiae Nevada Trial Lawyers Ass'n. OPINION SPRINGER, Justice: Ponsock was a tenured employee of K Mart. Evidence supports a jury finding that K Mart dismissed Ponsock in order to save having to pay him retirement benefits provided for in the employment contract. The question is whether such conduct is tortious. We find that it is and approve a jury award for compensatory and punitive damages for the tort of breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. *1366 Ponsock's Status as Tenured Employee Although for some inexplicable reason K Mart insists on referring to the employer-employee relationship with Ponsock as being "at-will",[1] it is not. In contrast to our case of Southwest Gas Corp. v. Ahmad, 99 Nev. 594, 668 P.2d 261 (1983), wherein we held that a factfinder could find from the evidence that an employee handbook was part of an employment contract, here we have K Mart stipulating that the written provisions of its employee handbook are part of the contract of the parties. Ponsock is a tenured employee; K Mart hired him "until retirement" and for "as long as economically possible." K Mart agreed in its contract with Ponsock that if there were any deficiencies in Ponsock's performance, the company would provide "assistance" and would "release" Ponsock only after giving him a series of "correction notices." Ponsock could be released only on a determination that his performance "remain[ed] unacceptable." K Mart breached its contract; it released Ponsock without notifying him of any employment deficiencies, failed to give assistance to him as promised, and certainly, therefore, could not possibly have based Ponsock's dismissal on a conclusion that the employee's conduct had remained unacceptable. Facts Surrounding Discharge In stating these facts we must assume that the jury believed all the evidence favorable to the prevailing party, Ponsock, and give Ponsock the benefit of inferences that might reasonably be drawn from such evidence. Paullin v. Sutton, 102 Nev. 421, 724 P.2d 749 (1986); Novack v. Hoppin, 77 Nev. 33, 359 P.2d 390 (1961). In 1972 Ponsock, 43 years of age, was hired as a fork lift driver at K Mart's Distribution Center in Sparks, Nevada. Ponsock left his former job as a coin counter at a casino in order to take advantage of the increased job security and enhanced benefits offered by K Mart. The starting wages at K Mart were virtually the same as those he had been making at the casino ($3.75 per hour). At K Mart Ponsock was categorized as an excellent employee by his immediate supervisor and was considered to be a good employee by the higher management at the distribution center. After nine and one half years at K Mart, Ponsock was earning $9.40 per hour and was approximately six months away from 100 percent vesting of his retirement benefits, which are paid in full by K Mart. On March 30, 1982, Ponsock was fired for applying gray primer spray paint to the battery cover of the forklift which he operated. Ponsock testified that on this day he noticed that an area on the battery cover where he placed his hand while backing the forklift had become "sticky and gunky." After an unsuccessful attempt to have the maintenance department clean the forklift, and after Ponsock had unsuccessfully attempted to clean the cover himself, he decided to spray gray primer paint on the battery cover to correct the condition. Earlier in the day, Ponsock had found a damaged can of gray primer spray paint, retail value eighty-nine cents, and had taken it to the salvage area. The forklift drivers are authorized to remove damaged merchandise to the salvage area; but, according *1367 to company rules, any employee wanting to retrieve damaged goods from salvage must gain approval from management. After unsuccessful attempts at cleaning the sticky area, Ponsock returned to the salvage area, retrieved the damaged can of paint and sprayed the battery cover. This was done without Ponsock's having secured permission to do so. When a Mr. Williamson of the maintenance department saw that Ponsock had painted the battery cover, he told Ponsock to clean it off. Ponsock complied. While in the process of cleaning off the primer the operations manager at the center, mentioned to Ponsock that he should not have done what he did. After the center manager, the personnel manager and the operations manager conferred about the matter, they decided to terminate Ponsock. Ponsock was then called to the personnel office, whereupon the personnel manager presented him with his final paycheck and told him he was fired. Ponsock was stunned by this statement, and was puzzled as to why he was being terminated. When the personnel manager mentioned the painting incident, Ponsock attempted to defend his actions; but he was given no opportunity to explain the incident. In the days that followed, Ponsock attempted to see the higher management at the center, but the security guard refused to allow Ponsock on the property. The company's separation report listed as the reason for termination: "defacing company property, forklift, with misappropriated merchandise, paint, on company time." When the State Department of Unemployment inquired of K Mart management regarding the reason for Ponsock's termination, K Mart, in referring to Ponsock's retrieval and use of the spray paint, characterized Ponsock as a thief. At trial K Mart claimed that its decision to fire Ponsock was based, to a large extent, on a prior painting incident involving Ponsock. Regarding the claimed prior painting incident, the evidence is in sharp conflict. Ponsock testified that during the time he was assigned to a painting detail, some red paint spilled on his forklift and that while he was attempting to wipe it off, the operations manager had merely commented: "Make sure you clean it up before you leave." Other witnesses for K Mart testified that the paint was green and appeared to have been purposely brushed on the forklift rather than spilled and claimed that Ponsock was warned by the operations manager that he would be fired if caught painting the forklift again. Ponsock flatly denied these allegations, and Ponsock's immediate supervisor, a Mr. Britt, testified that he knew nothing of a prior painting incident even though Ponsock had been under his supervision at the time of the alleged incident. None of K Mart's witnesses could state that they actually observed Ponsock paint the forklift. Much contradictory testimony appears in the record concerning this incident. Testimony revealed that approximately ten percent of the forklifts at the distribution center have unauthorized paint on them and that no other employee has ever been fired, either before or after Ponsock, for applying paint to the vehicles without permission. Also, importantly, during a tour of the distribution center by Ponsock and his counsel, K Mart attempted to hide a forklift that had unauthorized green paint applied to it in a fashion similar to the manner in which K Mart alleges that Ponsock had done in the first painting incident in January of 1982. One of K Mart's maintenance employees admitted that he placed the forklift in the out-of-the-way place in order to hide it from Ponsock's lawyers. After being fired, Ponsock went through a long period of unemployment. Ponsock was unable to obtain any employment comparable to his position at K Mart. After several short term or part time jobs, he finally gained full time employment in a manual labor position at $4.20 per hour with no benefits. After Ponsock lost his job, the family house went into foreclosure *1368 only to be saved from the foreclosure sale by his nephew who purchased the home for $11,000 less than the claimed market value. Contract Liability Under the stated circumstances it cannot be honestly argued that Ponsock was an at-will employee. He had definite rights of employment tenure and was contractually entitled to be retained until dismissal for cause was properly carried out in the manner provided for in the employment contract. The employment contract was violated by K Mart, and Ponsock is entitled to damages for breach of contract. An economist was called to testify as to the damages resulting from the breach. The sum of $382,120.00 was offered as the expert's opinion on the amount of damages suffered by Ponsock. The award of $382,120.00 as compensatory damages for breach of contract is supported by substantial evidence and will be affirmed. A total of $393,120.00 in compensatory damages was awarded by the jury. The difference between this amount and the above-mentioned $382,120.00 in contract damages is $11,000.00, an amount awarded as a result of a claimed $11,000.00 lost by Ponsock when he was forced to sell his home after being fired. It cannot be seriously argued that this $11,000.00 is properly claimable as contract damages. See Las Vegas Oriental, Inc. v. Sabella's of Nev., Inc., 97 Nev. 311, 630 P.2d 255 (1981); Hadley v. Baxendale, 9 Ex. 341, 156 Eng.Rep. 145 (1854). The $11,000.00 award can be affirmed only if tort liability was correctly determined by the jury to exist in this case. Indeed, the only jury instruction allowing for an award based on the loss of Ponsock's home required a jury finding that K Mart tortiously failed to act in good faith; so we now pass to a consideration of whether or not K Mart may be subject to tort liability under the circumstances of this case. Tort Liability Mr. Blackstone tells us: "[C]ourts of justice are instituted in every society in order to protect the weak from the insults of the stronger by expounding and enforcing those laws by which rights are defined and wrongs punished."[2] The impression on reading this record is that K Mart's actions[3] can be described in terms of "insults of the stronger" and appear to be inherently wrong and abusive. One gets the impression that a Rawlsian[4] observer looking at this kind of conduct would have to conclude that if such actions were not actionably tortious, they should be. A tort, as generally defined, is a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, for which the court will provide a remedy in the form of an action for damages. Black's Law Dictionary, Fifth Edition, 1335 *1369 (1979). This court has already recognized the presence of tort liability in non-contractual[5] employment situations "founded upon strong public policy." Hansen v. Harrah's, 100 Nev. 60, 675 P.2d 394 (1984). In Hansen this court recognized a "tortious discharge" or "public policy"[6] tort for retaliatory discharge of an employee dismissed for filing a workmen's compensation claim. Although this kind of a public policy tort cannot ordinarily be committed absent the employer-employee relationship, the tort, the wrong itself, is not dependant upon or directly related to a contract of continued employment such as that existing in the present case. The public policy torts in general and the tort of retaliatory discharge in particular cannot be seen as erosions of the so-called at-will doctrine. An employer still has in the typical at-will employment situation the absolute right to dismiss an employee at-will or at-whim; the employer just cannot do so for reasons which offend public policy, such as the rightful filing of an industrial insurance claim. Such dismissals are contrary to the established public policy of this state, Hansen, 100 Nev. at 64, 675 P.2d at 397, and constitute tortious conduct in this state. Bad Faith Discharge The case before us is distinguishable from the public policy tort of Hansen and can be labeled in accordance with the Koehrer case, cited in the margin, as a "bad faith discharge." K Mart, in light of the evidence most favorable to Ponsock, must be judged to have fired Ponsock to get rid of his retirement claims. This is a bad faith discharge giving rise to tort liability.[7] As we have recognized, in the absence of statutory declaration, a public policy tort *1370 for retaliatory discharge in an industrial compensation case, we now recognize a bad faith discharge case in this fact-specific instance of discharge by a large, nationwide employer of an employee in bad faith for the improper motive of defeating contractual retirement benefits. Had K Mart merely breached its contract by firing Ponsock, as it did, arbitrarily and without providing him with the agreed upon protections of assistance, correction notices and a finding of continued unacceptable performance, then Ponsock would have a remedy, but only a contractual remedy. The holding of this case certainly does not imply that mere breach of an employment contract by a large and powerful employer, or any employer, gives rise to tort damages. Such is not the intention of this ruling. Tort remedies are allowed here only because K Mart's conduct goes well beyond the bounds of ordinary liability for breach of contract. The bad faith discharge case finds its origins in the so-called covenant of good faith and fair dealing implied in law in every contract.[8] The fact that such a covenant exists by legislative fiat most certainly does not mean that out of every contract can emanate a tort action. Still, oftentimes (see, e.g., Summa v. Greenspun, 98 Nev. 528, 655 P.2d 513 (1982)) tortious conduct arises out of or is related to a contractual relationship. A tort, however, requires the presence of a duty created by law, not merely a duty created by contract; and, although a duty of good faith and fair dealing is created by law in all cases, it is only in rare and exceptional cases that the duty is of such a nature as to give rise to tort liability. The kind of breach of duty that brings into play the bad faith tort arises only when there are special relationships between the tort-victim and the tortfeasor as described below. This court has recognized the bad faith tort in cases in which the relationship of the parties is that of insurer and insured. United States Fidelity v. Peterson, 91 Nev. 617, 540 P.2d 1070 (1975). As the tort in the present case arose out of an employment contract of continued tenure with a large corporate employer, the tort in the Peterson case arose out of an insurance contract. As put in Aluevich v. Harrah's, 99 Nev. 215, 660 P.2d 986 (1983), this court "recognized a cause of action in tort for the breach of an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing where an insurer fails to deal fairly and in good faith with its insured by refusing, without proper cause, to compensate for a loss covered by the policy." The tort, we say in Aluevich, 99 Nev. at 217, 660 P.2d at 987, arises "out of a need for a special protection of insured in light of the quasi-public nature of the insurance industry and the element of an insured's heavy reliance upon the insurer's credibility." The court in Aluevich also *1371 recognized that the implied good faith covenant involves a "special element of reliance" by the aggrieved party, the type of reliance that is found, for example, in the relationship engendered by insurance, partnership and franchise agreements. One of the underlying rationales for extending tort liability in the described kinds of cases is that ordinary contract damages do not adequately compensate the victim because they do not require the party in the superior or entrusted position, such as the insurer, the partner, or the franchiser, to account adequately for grievous and perfidious misconduct; and contract damages do not make the aggrieved, weaker, "trusting" party "whole." If we are to be consistent in trying to "protect the weak from the insults of the stronger" (Blackstone, above), we should in the present case be asking ourselves these questions: 1. Is there, as in the insurance cases, such a superior-inferior power differential as to create a "special element of reliance" resulting from the employee's reliance on the employer's credibility and the employer's promise and powerfully expectant guarantee of retirement benefits? 2. Would contract damages hold employers like K Mart accountable for this kind of misconduct? 3. Would contract damages, under circumstances such as these, make an aggrieved employee "whole"? "In holding that a tort action is available for breach of the covenant in an insurance contract, we have emphasized the `special relationship' between insurer and insured, characterized by elements of public interest, adhesion and fiduciary responsibility ... No doubt there are other relationships with similar characteristics and deserving of similar legal treatment." Seaman's Direct Buying Service, Inc. v. Standard Oil Co., 36 Cal.3d 752, 206 Cal. Rptr. 354, 362, 686 P.2d 1158, 1166 (1984). Such an "other relationship" (other than the insurer-insured relationship) has already been recognized by this court. In Mitchell v. Bailey & Selover, Inc., 96 Nev. 147, 605 P.2d 1138 (1980), this court held that the good faith obligation of the Uniform Commercial Code, NRS 104.1203, applies to the enforcement of a warehouseman's lien pursuant to NRS 104.7209-104.7210. In Mitchell a customer had signed a written storage contract with a warehouse company. The warehouse gave notice to the customer that on nonpayment of storage fees the stored goods were to be sold. The customer then advised that she intended to redeem her goods on the anticipated receipt of an ample sum of money from a Social Security settlement. She asked that the foreclosure sale be postponed for this reason; but the warehouse, deeming itself "insecure," refused and sold the property. In a unanimous opinion, this court held that summary judgment in favor of the warehouse must be reversed because "a determination by [the warehouse] that it was insecure with regard to [the customer's] debt is a determination that must be made in good faith," and that the question of good faith is a question of fact that must be decided by the factfinder. In the case at hand we already have an express jury finding that K Mart did not act in good faith. We refused to allow a bad faith tort action in the case of Aluevich v. Harrah's, above. Aluevich involved the cancellation of a lease in accordance with the termination provisions of the lease. The court pointed out in Aluevich that the relationship of the parties was merely that of lessor and lessee, that the unqualified termination privilege in the lease had been the subject of ten years' negotiation and that the plaintiff was an experienced business person and attorney. Under such circumstances this court did not find "the special element of reliance which prompted this court in Peterson to recognize a cause of action in tort... ." Aluevich, 99 Nev. at 218, 660 P.2d at 987. Although careful analysis in Mitchell is lacking, we are still mindful of our having *1372 recognized a bad faith tort arising out of the bailment relationship there existing. Much more worthy of tort recovery, it would seem, is the claim asserted by Ponsock in the case before us. The reality of Ponsock's dependency and economic vulnerability is highlighted by the following expression taken from F. Tannenbaum, A Philosophy of Labor 9 (1951): We have become a nation of employees. We are dependent upon others for our means of livelihood, and most of our people have become completely dependent upon wages. If they lose their jobs they lose every resource except for the relief supplied by the various forms of social security. Such dependence of the mass of the people upon others for all of their income is something new in the world. For our generation, the substance of life is in another man's hands. (Emphasis added). In this case we have a contract in which the relationship of the parties is in many ways analogous to those present in an insurance contract. Ponsock was just as dependant in "specially relying" on K Mart's commitment to his extended employment and subsequent retirement benefits as is an insurance policy holder dependent on the good faith indemnity promised by the insurance carrier. The special relationships of trust between this employer and this employee under this contract under this kind of abusive and arbitrary dismissal cries out for relief and for a remedy beyond that traditionally flowing from breach of contract. To permit only contract damages as the sole remedy for this kind of conduct would be to render K Mart totally unaccountable for these kinds of actions. If all a large corporate employer had to do was to pay contract damages for this kind of conduct, it would allow and even encourage dismissals of employees on the eve of retirement with virtual impunity. Having to pay only contract damages would offer little or no deterrent to the type of practice apparently engaged in by K Mart in this case. Further, an aggrieved employee, relying on, and anxiously awaiting his retirement benefits would not be made whole by an award of contract damages resulting from wrongful discharge, even if he were awarded the expected retirement benefit. The jury was entitled to believe that K Mart did more than merely discharge wrongfully and without cause, that it went further. After involving itself in a relationship of trust and special reliance between itself and its employee and allowing the employee to rely and depend on continued employment and retirement benefits, the company, to serve its own financial ends, wrongfully and in bad faith, breached the employment agreement. The jury specifically found this reliance and concluded that K Mart was guilty of bad faith. Under such circumstances we are loathe to set aside the tort verdict on the ground that K Mart's misconduct does not rise to the level of wrong encompassed by the definition of this tort as expressed in United States Fidelity and other Nevada cases. Given the relationship of the parties and the circumstances of this case, it does not appear that K Mart would be held adequately accountable by mere payment of contract damages. A thief or embezzler is not thought to be held accountable for his crime by merely being required to return the stolen or embezzled goods; an additional penalty must be imposed. Merely having to compensate for its breach of contract would not hold K Mart and other similarly situated employers accountable for this kind of bad faith. Similarly, contract damages do not make the Ponsocks of the world whole. Merely giving to Ponsock that to which he is contractually entitled does not make him whole, does not compensate him for the injury, the insult, the wrong suffered at the hands of K Mart. For these reasons we find that the jury's express finding that K Mart was guilty of bad faith was supported *1373 by the evidence and that the district court's allowance of bad faith tort damages in this case was without error. Punitive Damages The jury awarded Ponsock $50,000.00 in punitive damages. K Mart claims that it was error to instruct the jury on punitive damages. The instruction on this point provided that punitive damages should be awarded only if (1) K Mart breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing and (2) that it was guilty of "actual oppression, fraud or malice." By awarding punitive damages the jury must again be seen to have found K Mart guilty of bad faith and, as well, to have found K Mart guilty of oppression, fraud or malice. There is no difficulty in upholding the jury's finding oppression and malice in this record. The legitimate inference that K Mart fired Ponsock to deprive him of his pension reeks of oppression and malice. In addition, we note, that when Ponsock applied for relief at the Unemployment Security Department, K Mart characterized Ponsock as a thief which, under the circumstances of this case, could well have been construed as a wilfully defamatory act. These facts, coupled with the course of conduct described above, justify a jury finding of malice and oppression. Certainly it cannot be said as a matter of law that these elements are absent from the record. The punitive damage award will be affirmed. Although all legal justification for allowance of punitive damages were present, we decided to disallow punitive damages in Hansen v. Harrah's, above, because it would not be fair. In Hansen we held that although punitive damages might properly be awarded in a retaliatory discharge case where the employee could demonstrate malicious, oppressive or fraudulent conduct on the part of the employer, it would be unfair to punish employers for conduct "which they could not have known beforehand was actionable in this jurisdiction." 100 Nev. at 65, 675 P.2d at 397. If, as the jury was entitled to infer, K Mart maliciously and oppressively discharged Ponsock in order to defeat his retirement entitlement, K Mart cannot very well argue that it could not appreciate the unlawful nature of its bad faith and that it should not therefore be punished for it. The use of punitive damages in appropriate cases of breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing expresses society's disapproval of exploitation by a superior power and creates a strong incentive for employers to conform to clearly defined legal duties. Such duties are so explicit and so subject of common understanding as to justify the punitive award. Other contentions of K Mart have been considered and rejected. The judgment of the district court is affirmed. GUNDERSON, C.J., and STEFFEN, YOUNG and MOWBRAY, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] An "at-will" employee is one that can be properly discharged without cause at the will of the employer. Ponsock most certainly is not an at-will employee; rather, by stipulation of K Mart, Ponsock could not be discharged unless the conditions set forth in the employee handbook were followed. In Southwest Gas Corp. v. Ahmad, 99 Nev. 594, 668 P.2d 261 (1983), a tacit agreement was implied in fact from the conduct of the parties; here there was an express contract in both oral and written form. At the time Ponsock was hired, K Mart agents represented to him that he would remain on the job until he retired as long as he did his job satisfactorily. This understanding was incorporated in the written handbook which is stipulated by K Mart to be the contract of the parties. Such an arrangement cannot possibly be characterized as being "at-will." [2] Commentaries on the Laws of England, Vol. II, Bk. III, p. 2; Lippencott & Co., 1860. [3] We note that K Mart's actions in breaching its obligation of continued employment is not the gravamen of the tort action in this case. The mere discharge of a tenured employee in violation of the employment contract does not constitute tortious conduct. Here, as seen from the fact statement, we have a course of action on the part of K Mart which the jury expressly found to be malicious and oppressive and from which the jury could very reasonably have concluded that K Mart dismissed Ponsock for the very unworthy motive of evading its duty to pay his retirement benefits. This is much more than a mere breach of contract and, as is discussed below, rises to the level of what is termed a bad faith tort. [4] John Rawls, a contemporary jurisprudent, in A Theory of Justice (1972), attempts to establish an objective theory of justice. Rawls postulates a hypothetical situation in which one does not know his place in society or his own fortune and thus formulates principles of justice and fairness from behind a "veil of ignorance." Under such conditions no one would be able to favor his own particular condition and would, accordingly, make disinterested and rational choices. Such an observer would most likely see the justice in affording compensation for the wrong, the tort, suffered by Ponsock at the hands of K Mart. [5] By "non-contractual" is meant the absence of any contractual obligation of continued employment, the so-called at-will employment contract. [6] A worthwhile distinction among the various kinds of actions arising out of employment situations is found in the California case of Koehrer v. Sup. Ct., 181 Cal. App.3d 1155, 1163, 226 Cal. Rptr. 820, 824 (1986), in which we find this useful language: It would be conducive to proper analysis if courts and lawyers used a different nomenclature to denominate these different situations in which liability is imposed after all on different legal theories. Appropriate nomenclature might be "breach of employment contract," for the true breach of contract case, "tortious discharge," for public policy cases, and "bad faith discharge," for the cases involving breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. [7] Even without the jury's express finding of bad faith on the part of K Mart, K Mart's bad faith is manifest. Even though none of the contractual conditions for proper dismissal was followed by K Mart, it still insists that Ponsock was properly dismissed for violating company policy on forklift paintings. Regarding the two incidents of unauthorized forklift painting, it is notable that in the first alleged incident Ponsock's version differed radically from management's version. The jury could have sensibly believed Ponsock's version since his immediate supervisor knew nothing of the incident. No K Mart witness testified that Ponsock intentionally painted the forklift, nor did K Mart, at the time, document the incident as required by the contractual procedure for disciplining serious incidents of employee misconduct. From the stark conflict in the testimony coupled with the inconsistencies in K Mart's version of this supposed infraction by Ponsock, it would have been quite reasonable for the jury to infer that Ponsock's version was correct: that the paint was accidentally spilled, that he was never reprimanded for the incident, and that there must be some other reason for the dismissal than the excuse offered by K Mart. K Mart's actions surrounding the painting of the battery cover are similarly suspect. Ponsock was given no opportunity to explain the incident, even though he was completely cooperative in cleaning off the primer paint. When Ponsock tried to confer with management to explain the incident, he was repelled by the guard at the gate. Again, K Mart failed to follow the promised disciplinary procedure outlined in the employee handbook. The fact that K Mart attempted to hide a forklift with unauthorized paint on it undermines the credibility of its witnesses. Although K Mart's reason for hiding the forklift is unclear, the avowed purpose was to "hide the forklift from the lawyers." The obvious and reasonable inference from the incident is that K Mart had serious doubts about the propriety of Ponsock's firing and felt that the company needed artificially to shore up its justifications for the termination. Finally, although approximately ten percent of the forklifts at K Mart had unauthorized paint on them, no other persons had been terminated either before or after Ponsock for applying paint to their forklifts. This, coupled with the suspect circumstances surrounding Ponsock's painting incidents, would naturally lead a jury to the conclusion that K Mart decided to get rid of Ponsock for a particular, undisclosed reason but, instead of saying so, justified his dismissal on its apparently contrived indignation relative to the painting incidents. K Mart's explanation of the reasons for firing Ponsock does not hold together very well. Ponsock was only six months away from retirement. That K Mart fired Ponsock, an admittedly excellent, long-term employee, over the trivial paint episode may very well have been rejected by the jury. K Mart's characterization of Ponsock as a thief also was likely to have done very little to the company's credit in this lawsuit. All in all, it is likely, rather than merely possible, that the jury saw K Mart's true motive as being to divest Ponsock of his retirement rights. [8] NRS 104.1203 provides that an obligation of good faith and fair dealing applies to the entire Commercial Code embodied in NRS Chapter 104: 104.1203. Obligation of good faith. Every contract or duty within this chapter imposes an obligation of good faith in its performance or enforcement. Section 205 of the Restatement (Second) of Contracts, provides: § 205. Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing Every contract imposes upon each party a duty of good faith and fair dealing in its performance and its enforcement. | Mid | [
0.607329842931937,
29,
18.75
] |
Q: Transition systems that satisfy LTL but not CTL, and vice versa I am learning about temporal logic and model checking systems. One conceptual exercise that I am struggling with is how to create a transition system which satisfies only one of two given properties, when one is in LTL and one is in CTL. For example: Find a transition system that satisfies only one of the following two properties: $FGp$, $AFEGp$ Find a transition system that satisfies only one of the following two properties: $FGp$, $EFEGp$ Find a transition system that satisfies only one of the following two properties: $GFp$, $AGEFp$ How should I begin when trying to reason about these types of problems? In general, is it easier to design transition systems for LTL properties or CTL properties? Or does it depend on the situation? Any insight would be appreciated! A: Technically, LTL and CTL are incomparable in their differentiating power over Kripke structures. So intuitively, it shouldn't be easier to design one or the other. However, most people tend to find it easier to think in linear time. Making sure a certain property holds for all paths is easier than studying a branching-time property. In particular, this is because a counter-example for the satisfaction of an LTL formula is a path, whereas a counterexample for a CTL formula may be a tree. To demonstrate how to approach the questions at hand, let's consider the first one. First, consider what the formulas mean: $FGp$ means "in every path, after a finite prefix, $p$ always holds". $AFEGp$ means "in every path, after a finite prefix, a state is reached from which there exists a path in which $p$ is always true." Now, if $FGp$ holds, then $AFEGp$ must also hold, because in every path, eventually a state is reached from which $Gp$ holds. Thus, our search should restrict to finding a system which satisfies $AFEGp$, but not $FGp$. To achieve this, we need to at least have a state that satisfies $Gp$, so let's start with that. Take the state $A$ to have the transition $A\to A$, and $A$ is labeled with $p$. Let's also have $A$ as the initial state (this is arbitrary). So far, this system also satisfies $FGp$, so now we fix that by adding a "bad path": we add a state $B$, labeled by $\neg p$ with the transitions $A\to B$ and $B\to A$. The path $A,B,A,B,...$ does not satisfy $FGp$, so this is good. However, every path eventually reaches $A$, in which $EGp$ is true, so $AFEGp$ holds, and we are done. | Mid | [
0.6232558139534881,
33.5,
20.25
] |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.