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Q:
How to load texts for text mining with R Tidytext?
How do I load a folder of .txt files for textmining with Tidytext?
I came across Silge & Robinson "Text mining with R: A tidy approach" (https://www.tidytextmining.com/) and it seems very promising for my purposes. But I'm very new to R (trying to learn it for this very purpose) so I'm stumbling on some pretty basic problems.
While I can follow and reproduce the examples, they mostly start with importing existing libraries (e.g. janeaustenr or gutenbergr), whereas what I have is a folder of 30 txt files (each containing an annual declaration by the Swedish foreign minister to parliament).
I've sort of managed to do it backwards by using some other tutorials and the tm package to first create a corpus, then a DTM which I can then turn into a tidy data frame, but I guess there must be a simpler way, to go directly from a folder of txt files to a tidy data frame.
A:
If you have a folder with .txt files in it, you can read them into a data frame called tbl that has a single column called text with code like this:
library(tidyverse)
tbl <- list.files(pattern = "*.txt") %>%
map_chr(~ read_file(.)) %>%
data_frame(text = .)
This uses a function from base R to find the files (list.files()) and a function from purrr to iterate over all the files. Check out a related question here.
After that, you can move on to other analytical tasks.
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Yesterday, we announced that the Bespin server is going to be rebuilt from the ground up in node.js with a decentralized model in mind. I’ve seen a lot of positive reaction to that, which is great because I think it’s an important step forward for Bespin. We also mentioned on bespin-core that we have changed from SproutCore , which we adopted during the “reboot” of the Bespin client side code, to jQuery. A handful of people have suggested that we should just build our own “framework”. Our decision to use jQuery came after much deliberation, so I thought I’d go into a little detail about that since this question has now come up many times.
What is Bespin?
It’s hard to say if something is a good choice for Bespin without actually being clear about what Bespin is. Bespin is a customizable programming environment for web applications. There are at least two correct ways to interpret that sentence:
Bespin is a programming environment that you can include in your web applications that you create Bespin is a programming environment for creating web applications
Early in Bespin’s life, people were embedding the editor in their own applications, but this wasn’t well supported. We made a decision to make that a well-supported use of our project and that change has major ramifications for the project.
Frameworks vs. Libraries
A library is something you call from your code
A framework is something that calls your code
Note that this definition says nothing about the size (libraries could certainly be bigger than frameworks, and vice versa). This definition also makes no judgments about which is better or whether the code is loosely coupled or tightly coupled.
Frameworks can make building an application really fast. They do a great job of reducing the amount of code you need to write, as long as your application fits the framework’s design and intended applications well. The farther you stray from the path, the more resistance you’ll get as you try to add new things.
SproutCore is a framework. It attaches event handlers to the page and delegates those events to views that you create. Further, it has a powerful declarative binding/observation system that it updates automatically as part of a runloop that it maintains. It’s really quite a powerful GUI toolkit that runs entirely in your browser.
For Bespin “the application” (the software that runs at bespin.mozillalabs.com), SproutCore seemed like it would be a good fit because what we were doing was more like a desktop app than a website. On the other hand, for Bespin “the customizable, embeddable editor”, the tools we want and need are not such a great fit for a framework. Bespin needs to fit in well with what people are already doing on their pages.
Why use a library at all?
OK, so Bespin and frameworks are not a good match. But there are plenty of libraries out there (jQuery, YUI, Prototype, Mootools, Dojo, Closure, and even MochiKit about which I’ve written extensively in the past) Why not just build our own set of utilities, especially since Bespin exclusively targets modern browsers?
We wrestled a bit with that very question. Even with modern browsers, some conveniences are still handy. Here’s a simple case I can point to: addClass. A function that will add a CSS class to a DOM node. We all need to do that at times, but it’s not yet a method offered by the DOM, nor is it in any proposed standard that I’ve seen.
I believe that every JavaScript library offers addClass. Their APIs vary, but it’s in there somewhere. We could create our own library with our own version of addClass. But that has disadvantages:
we have to write it/test it ourselves or copy it from somewhere
we have to maintain it
for people extending Bespin, there’s that much more surface area that they need to learn
we need to write docs for it
we can’t use fancier things people create (overlays, trees, etc.) without porting them
if people already have a library on their page, our utilities will add additional size
There are probably other disadvantages as well. The only advantages I see to rolling our own are:
we get exactly the functionality we need and no more
we maintain our own release schedule for it
We are considering a “best of both worlds” approach as well, if we feel like slimming down Bespin Embedded “Drop In” (the prepackaged single .js file) even further: we take just the functionality we’re interested in from a library (jQuery) and create our own mini library that uses the exact same API. Our modules/build tooling can make it transparent to switch between the mini library, the full library and one that is already on the page.
Why jQuery?
As I mentioned earlier, when it comes to utilities the libraries all offer a very similar collection of functions. We don’t want to use a library that “leaks” onto the page, either through the creation of globals or the extension of built-in prototypes. That still leaves a number of choices. We evaluated some, but ultimately decided on jQuery because:
It’s very popular, which increases the chance that it’s already on the page (and decreases the size of Bespin)
many people are already familiar with it
there’s lots of good documentation available
there are many decent open source plugins that people can use when extending Bespin
It’s worth noting that these are not technical reasons to use jQuery, and these largely only matter because jQuery is popular and Bespin is intended to be used on other peoples’ pages. The choice of jQuery for Bespin is not a technical choice. We certainly like jQuery, but we like the other libraries as well.
Not just jQuery
One more important point: Bespin Embedded is still designed to be easily built into a self-contained .js file. The current code in our repository puts only one name on the page (bespin) and everything else is hidden away conveniently inside of there. The next release of Bespin Embedded will be less than half the size of the previous release, even with jQuery bundled in. So, Bespin will be a good addition to your application, regardless of which JavaScript library you might use for the rest of your code.
Summary
Bespin has had unusual and competing requirements along the way and as we’ve zeroed in on exactly what Bespin is and will become, we’ve changed our infrastructure to match the needs of the project. We’re really excited about how far we’ve come since “rebooting” the project and are looking forward to these next few releases that lead up to a “1.0” of the Bespin project.
John-David Dalton commented via a gist.
He points out that unless we are using a compatible jQuery, people who already have jQuery on the page will not have any size advantage. Of course, if we have our own library no one will gain a size advantage.
With respect to Bespin users being able to use whatever library they wish without porting additional widgets, we (the Bespin team) want to be able to use things like trees and such without having to port them to our own library. Bespin users do remain free to use whatever they wish without porting anything.
Finally, regarding “fourth time’s a charm”, I’ll just note that the 0.8 version number of the next release of Bespin is actually significant. The client APIs are settling.
Thanks for the comment, jdalton!
ClassList API in HTML5
I was happy to hear from Thomas Bassetto that addClass has indeed been rendered redundant by HTML5’s ClassList API which looks great. element.classList is available today in Firefox 3.6 and, according to the Mozilla Hacks article, WebKit is planning to also support the API. The current version of Chrome does not have it yet.
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Boeing submits Air Force tanker bid
Boeing submitted its bid for the Air Force's $35 billion refueling jet contract as the military tries once again to pick a winner for the troubled program.
Boeing will compete against the European aerospace company EADS, which put in its own bid Thursday.
The proposal was created by an integrated "One Boeing" team from various sites across the company, including employees from the Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Engineering, Operations & Technology organizations, according to a statement from Boeing.
"We are honored to support our U.S. Air Force customer and submit this proposal to meet the critical mission needs of this nation," said Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. "Boeing has more than 60 years of experience developing, manufacturing and supporting tankers for America's warfighters, and we're ready to build the NewGen Tanker now. This revolutionary tanker will deliver widebody capabilities in a narrowbody footprint, operate in any theater or from any base, and - with the lowest operating cost of any tanker in the competition - save the Air Force and the American taxpayers billions of dollars."
The Pentagon has tried for almost a decade to award the contract. But previous attempts have failed over contractor disputes, Air Force errors, and criminal cases involving officials at the Pentagon and Boeing.
The Air Force hopes to choose a contractor by November.
The proposal was created by an integrated "One Boeing" team from various sites across the company, including employees from the Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Engineering, Operations & Technology organizations."We are honored to support our U.S. Air Force customer and submit this proposal to meet the critical mission needs of this nation," said Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. "Boeing has more than 60 years of experience developing, manufacturing and supporting tankers for America's warfighters, and we're ready to build the NewGen Tanker now. This revolutionary tanker will deliver widebody capabilities in a narrowbody footprint, operate in any theater or from any base, and - with the lowest operating cost of any tanker in the competition - save the Air Force and the American taxpayers billions of dollars."
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Pages
Barbie Forteza Shares Her Time at Philippine Childrens Medical Center
Sunday, August 10, 2014
We saw a very happy Barbie Forteza a few days ago when we visited the Philippine Childrens Medical Center in Quezon Avenue, Quezon City. Together with GMA Arist Center, they put up a small program in order to provide entertainment to patients who have been staying in the hospital for quite a while now. I've seen some Cancer patients together with their parents and guardians sitting in front and Barbie giving back to them as this is her 4th year in doing this since she's very fond of the kids and this cause is very close to hear heart.
I always watch her show Half Sisters together with everyone at home. It's very stressful though especially when you see the cast always giving Barbie's character a hard time at work, school and at home. Sometimes, you just sit and wonder if it's even inhuman already. I still remember the things her half sister did throwing her into a ditch and when her Dad slapped her silly when she got home late. Fact is, it was always like that and Jean Garcia would just sit there to console her... since she is blind.
She's also very happy that she got to join Cinemalaya and you know what, she doesn't think much about getting an award for her performance there. She's already overjoyed just by being there in the film Mariquina (Marikina). It's a new world for her, it's not mainstream and it's really a different craft. It's fresh ideas and fresh concepts but very deep, and it's very fulfilling says Barbie. She doesn't want to be typecasted as the good girl, but in the film she's going to be very reasonable and fights when she needs to. She's also happy to hear about the news that Half Sisters will be extended because of its high ratings, rightfully so because the story is becoming really exciting. It was hard making it and this just feels completely rewarding.
Her visit her inspires her too because even if life is hard for the kids, they still manage to get a smile. For some who don't, she'll try to entertain them that afternoon by having a party with them complete with clowns, cakes and giveaways. She wishes them good health in spite of being in the hospital and hopes they can get well and out of it soon. She would like to thank her sponsors Unisilver Time, Tous Le Jours, Posh Nails, BNY for providing goodies for the patients of PCMC.
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What's up, YOOtheme?
Pagekit and our future plans
Aug
08
More than half of a great year has passed by but there are still exciting times ahead of us! Read on to a get short round up of YOOtheme's work and what's happening next at YOOtheme.
Two weeks ago we finally released the first Alpha version of Pagekit to the public. It is such a big relief after more than 2 years of hard work. Make sure to follow the latest Pagekit news on the offical blog. Just head over and check out the first post about the Pagekit launch. But besides Pagekit, there is more... We are really excited about our other product lines. A lot of major updates are coming.
Pagekit
We are diligently working on Pagekit Alpha 2. A new addition to this version will be a tree page view - a hierarchical view of all the site's pages which helps you to handle your pages easily. The main focus is put on stabilizing the API and improving the UI and workflows. Once there are no more breaking changes to expect, a Beta release is planned for the third quarter of 2014. We hope to make the final version available by the end of the year.
To accompany Pagekit’s launch, we will make our own contributions to the Marketplace. Three flexible themes will be available right away so that Pagekit can be applied to lot of use cases. To make the transition from other CMS as straight-forward as possible, we are also providing a first set of extensions:
Analytics - Yes, we will provide a Google analytics extension with beautiful statistics and charts of your website's activity.
Docs - Since Pagekit’s own documentation is powered by an extension that integrates Markdown based documentation files, we are releasing that extension as well.
Importer - In addition, there will be an extension to import existing content from your Joomla or Wordpress installation.
Widgetkit 2
Right now we are also in the process of developing WIdgetkit 2. This version is based on UIkit and will be available for WordPress, Joomla and Pagekit and can be used platform independently. It has a completely revised user interface. The best thing about it: you can add your own widgets.
UIkit 3
UIkit, our second big open source project next to Pagekit, has been very successful in its current version. Now, we’re bringing it to the next stage. UIkit 3 will come with a new architecture to become even more modular and each component can be used without any conflicts. With the new structure we will also want to provide a SASS port, something many of you have been waiting for. With regard to upcoming features, we are planning on integrating new and popular technologies like Flexbox. We would love to get your feedback and ideas for UIkit 3. Just post them on GitHub.
Warp 8
Yes, we are also working on a new Warp version! There is still a lot of work to do but just to give you a sneak peak what can be expected: Warp 8 is going to have an easier and clearer admin interface, a new underlying framework and like always we will integrate new features.
ZOO 3.2
And finally: ZOO! A great update is coming next week. ZOO 3.2 learns to implement Joomla ACL permission rules and improves its frontend editing for items and comments. You are able to tell ZOO precisely what actions a user may take. From frontend editing to the application configurations, everything will be configurable via ACL. Since ZOO will mostly use Joomla Core Permissions, it’s very easy to inherit your existing rules to ZOO.
We are hiring
Beside all work we have also moved into a new office! Yes! Up until now we’ve been making the office comfortable. When all is done we'll share a post and some pictures with you. With more office space and as we continue to grow we are looking for great developers and designers to join our YOOtheme team full-time in Hamburg, Germany! Get more information about our open positions and get in touch with us.
lucas
marcin.drogosz
I want ZOO 4 for Pagekit with rewritten way of data storage (for more modular queries to DB). All elements in just one table field is great for smaller sites but for bigger projects it's not scalable. Because of too much amount of data called by once, each time.
When for example create many custom modules that needs just few elements from items, it anyways need call for whole bunch. Call for everything, would be even right if it would be done once 4 all, but every module call for it again and again instead of using it just from once delivered item data content. But modules is just one way where ZOO have bottlenecks.
jgowans
Like everyone's said, this is great news. I have a running list of things I'd like to see from Yootheme, one of which is to provide theme framework upgrades from version to version. For example, I'm just now moving some clients from Warp 6 to Warp 7... for me, it would be ideal to do this while remaining with the current theme and not have to move to a new theme simply to use the new version of Warp. I am sure that there are reasons that this is not possible (sorry, not a dev), but I will say that it's a bit of a pain... I feel like I'm always having to reinvent client sites and I know they get tired of it. Just my 2 cents.
tomteam
adamo
i agree too.. but ist just a dream.. i was asking for this when moving from archive themes to warp and than again when moving from warp5 to warp6.. always need to redesign all clients sites as yootheme dont update old themes to the latest joomla versions.. and also they never update old themes to newest warp..
richard.toth
oguz.copel
Can't wait for the Widgetkit 2, UIKit 3 and Warp 8. My site is specially runing with Zoo but don't use ACL much. So this version didn't meaned much for me but of course always welcome. Waiting for more options for the Zoo module. Lot of people are searching for a good module and Zoo offers really lot, but it can offer more.
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1. Introduction {#sec1}
===============
Inflammation arises from microbial infection or noninfective physical/chemical irritation. In general, acute (physiologic) inflammation is self-limiting as seen in wound healing. Failure in resolving the acute inflammation may cause chronic inflammation implicated in pathogenesis of many human disorders.[@bib1] Multiple lines of evidence from clinical, epidemiologic, genetic and pharmacological data support the association between inflammation and cancer.[@bib2], [@bib3], [@bib4], [@bib5] It becomes increasingly evident that the tumor microenvironment is largely orchestrated by immune and inflammatory cells surrounding cancer cells, and inflammatory microenvironment is indispensable for the neoplastic process.[@bib3], [@bib4], [@bib5], [@bib6], [@bib7]
The connection between inflammation and tumorigenesis has been well established in both heritable and sporadic forms of colorectal cancer (CRC). Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, is an important risk factor for the CRC.[@bib8] Thus, patients with long-standing IBD have an increased risk of developing CRC than general population.[@bib9]^,^[@bib10] Distinct cytokines, chemokines and other proinflammatory mediators produced by immune cells are involved in virtually all steps of CRC development and progression.[@bib11]
Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), a rate-limiting enzyme in the arachidonic acid cascade, is consistently overexpressed in inflamed tissues. This enzyme converts arachidonic acid to prostaglandin H~2~ which is further converted to prostaglandin E~2~ (PGE~2~). NF-κB is a major transcription factor that regulates expression of prototypic pro-inflammatory enzymes, COX-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). NF-κB is sequestered in the cytoplasm by IκBα in resting cells. Activation of NF-κB is dependent on degradation of IκBα through phosphorylation and ubiquitination. This liberates NF-κB in an active form, mainly as p65/p50 heterodimer, which migrates into the nucleus. p65 also undergoes phosphorylation which facilitates its nuclear translocation and recruitment of coactivators including p300/CBP, thereby regulating the expression of multiple target genes.[@bib12] STAT3 is another key transcription factor involved in inflammation and immunity.[@bib13] STAT3 is activated through phosphorylation at the tyrosine 705 (Tyr705) residue. The phosphorylated STAT3, in turn, dimerizes and translocates to the nucleus, where it directly regulates target gene expression.[@bib13] Persistent activation of NF-κB and STAT3 is implicated in inflammation-associated carcinogenesis. The interaction and cooperation between these two transcription factors play vital roles in controlling the communication between cancer cells and inflammatory cells. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of NF-κB and STAT3 cooperation in cancer will offer opportunities for the successful implementation of chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic approaches.[@bib14]
Korean ginseng (*Panax ginseng* C.A. Meyer) has been used as a medicinal herb for thousands of years. One way to process raw ginseng is steaming and drying to generate red ginseng. Korean red ginseng (KRG) is known for its beneficial effects on immunity, improvement of cognitive function, amelioration of fatigue, cancer survival, etc. The active components of KRG include saponins (ginsenosides), polysaccharides, and fatty acids. Prolonged administration of KRG has been known to have cancer preventive effects.[@bib15] However, molecular mechanisms responsible for its chemopreventive effects remain still to be clarified.
In this study, we have investigated the effects of KRG on dextran sulfated sodium (DSS)-induced colitis and azoxymethane (AOM) plus DSS-induced colon carcinogenesis in C57BL/6J mice which mimic human IBD and inflammation-associated CRC, respectively.
2. Materials and methods {#sec2}
========================
2.1. Materials {#sec2.1}
--------------
DSS with an average molecular weight of 36,000--50,000 was purchased from MP Biomedicals, LLC (Solon, OH, USA). AOM was obtained from Sigma-Aldrich (St Louis, MO, USA). Standardized KRG powder was supplied by Korea Ginseng Corporation (Seoul, South Korea). COX-2 (murine) polyclonal antibody produced from rabbit was supplied by Cayman Chemical (Ann Arbor, MI, USA). Polyclonal rabbit anti-iNOS antibody was provided by BD Biosciences (Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA). Primary antibodies against Cyclin D1, STAT3, p-STAT3 (Tyr705), p65 and p-IκBα (Ser32) were offered by Cell Signaling Technology, Inc. (Danvers, MA, USA). Antibodies against p-p65 (Ser536) and IκBα were obtained from Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc. (Santa Cruz, CA, USA). Antibody against lamin B~1~ was obtained from Invitrogen Corporation (Camarillo, CA, USA). Antibodies against actin and α-tubulin were bought from AbClon, Inc. (Seoul, South Korea). Horseradish peroxidase-conjugated anti-mouse and rabbit secondary antibodies were obtained from Zymed lavoratories (San Fransico, CA, USA). An NF-κB oligonucleotide probe containing the consensus sequence (5′-AGT TGA GGG GAC TTT CCC AGG C-3′, 3′-TCA ACT CCC CTG AAA GGG TCC G-5′) was purchased from Promega (Madison, WI, USA). EPD and pico EPD Western blot detection kit were products of ELPISBIOTECH, Inc. (Daejeon, South Korea). All other chemicals used in our experiments were of the purest grade available from regular commercial sources.
2.2. Animal treatment {#sec2.2}
---------------------
All the animal experiments were performed according to the approved guidelines of the Seoul National University (SNU-120629-1). Four-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were obtained from Central Lab Animal (Seoul, South Korea) and maintained on conventional housing conditions. After an acclimation for 7 days, mice were divided into groups as illustrated in [Supplementary Fig. 1](#appsec1){ref-type="sec"} and fed control or experimental diet throughout the experiment. Composition of experimental diet and content of ginsenosides of KRG are shown in [Supplementary Tables S1 and S2](#appsec1){ref-type="sec"}, respectively.
For a short-term experiment to induce colitis, mice in the control group and the DSS group received the control diet. Mice in the DSS plus KRG group and the KRG alone group received control diet supplemented with 1% (w/w) KRG powder during the entire period of the experiment. DSS (3%, w/v) in drinking water was given for 1 week. To induce CRC formation, mice were given single intraperitoneal (*i.p.*) injection of AOM (10 mg/kg body weight) followed by one week later exposure to 2% DSS in drinking water for 7 days, and then kept without any further treatment for 14 weeks. Mice in the control group and the AOM plus DSS group received control diet, and mice in the AOM + DSS + KRG group received control diet supplemented with 1% KRG powder.
2.3. Macroscopic assessment {#sec2.3}
---------------------------
During 7 days of DSS treatment, the body weight of mice was measured every day. Rectal bleeding and stool consistency were monitored and scored from 0 to 3 in a modified design depending on the severity of blood and diarrhea. Disease activity index (DAI) was determined as the sum of scores of rectal bleeding and stool consistency. In the long-term tumor experiment, collected colon tissues were cut longitudinally and the tumors were identified. After the measurement of the number and the size of tumors, they were excised, collected and weighed.
2.4. Histological examination {#sec2.4}
-----------------------------
Specimens of distal parts of the colon were fixed with 10% phosphate buffered formalin, embedded in paraffin and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E).
2.5. Western blot analysis {#sec2.5}
--------------------------
Mouse colon parts were cut longitudinally, and washed with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), and stored at −70 °C until use. Colon tissue was homogenized in the lysis buffer \[1 mM phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride (PMSF) and EDTA-free protease inhibitor cocktail tablet\] followed by periodical vortex mixing for 2 h. Lysates were centrifuged at 13,000 rpm for 15 min at 4 °C. Supernatants were collected and stored at −70 °C. The total protein concentration was quantified using a bicinchoninic acid protein assay kit (Pierce Biotechnology). After mixing and heating with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) buffer, 20--30 μg of whole protein lysate was separated by SDS-PAGE and transferred to polyvinyliden difluoride membrane at 300 mA for 3 h. The blots were blocked in 5% skim milk in TBST (Tris-buffered saline with 0.1% Tween-20) for 1 h at room temperature and incubated with primary antibodies in TBST at 4 °C overnight. Blots were then washed with TBST for 30 min and incubated in horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibody in TBST for 1 h at room temperature. Blots were washed again three times, and transferred proteins were visualized with an enhanced chemiluminescence detection kit and the LAS-4000 image reader according to the manufacturer's instructions.
2.6. Fractionation of nuclear and cytoplasmic extracts {#sec2.6}
------------------------------------------------------
Nuclear and cytoplasmic extracts of colonic tissues were prepared according to the standard method. Briefly, colon tissue was homogenized in hypotonic buffer A \[10 mM HEPES (pH 7.8), 1.5 mM MgCl~2~, 10 mM KCl, 0.5 mM dithiothreitol (DTT), 0.2 mM PMSF\] and incubated for 1 h on ice, and 0.1% NP-40 was added right before centrifugation. After centrifugation at 13,000 rpm for 15 min at 4 °C, the supernatants containing the cytoplasmic extract were collected and stored at −70 °C. Precipitated pellets were washed with buffer A for 2 times to remove remaining cytoplasmic components. Then pellets were re-suspended in buffer C \[20 mM HEPES (pH 7.8), 20% glycerol, 420 mM NaCl, 1.5 mM MgCl~2~, 0.2 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), 0.5 mM DTT, 0.2 mM PMSF\] and incubated on ice for 1 h with vortex mixing at 5 min interval. After centrifugation at 13,000 rpm for 15 min at 4 °C, the supernatants (the nuclear extract) were collected and stored at −70 °C.
2.7. Electrophoresis mobility shift assay (EMSA) {#sec2.7}
------------------------------------------------
The DNA binding activity of NF-κB was measured with EMSA using a DNA binding detection kit according to manufacturer's protocol (Gibco BRL; Grand island, NY, USA). T4 polynucleotide kinase catalyzes the transfer and exchange of the phosphate group from the γ-position of ATP to the 5′--hydroxyl terminus of the NF-κB oligonucleotide. After purification with a G-50 micro column. The \[γ-^32^P\]-labeled probe was mixed with 10 μg of nuclear extracts and incubation buffer \[10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 100 mM NaCl, 1 mM DTT, 1 mM EDTA, 4% glycerol and 0.1 mg/ml sonicated salmon sperm DNA\]. All the samples were mixed with 2 μl 0.1% bromophenol blue loading dye after 50-min incubation and separated on 6% non-denatured polyacrylamide gel in a cold room. Finally, gels were dried and exposed to X-ray films.
2.8. Statistics {#sec2.8}
---------------
All values were expressed as the mean ± SD or the mean ± SE according to data type. Statistical significance was determined by the Student's *t*-test and *p* \< 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.
3. Results {#sec3}
==========
3.1. Effects of KRG on DSS-induced colitis in mice {#sec3.1}
--------------------------------------------------
DSS is a high molecular weight sulfated polysaccharide commonly used in animal models for inducing acute and chronic colitis.[@bib16] DSS increases the colonic mucosal permeability and activates inflammatory signaling pathways.[@bib17] From the 4th day of 3% DSS exposure, the body weight of mice became significantly decreased compared to the control group. KRG treatment inhibited body weight loss caused by DSS administration ([Fig. 1](#fig1){ref-type="fig"}A). DAI was scored according to the severity of bleeding and stool consistency. The DAI score of mice in the DSS plus KRG group was significantly lower than that of mice in the DSS only group ([Fig. 1](#fig1){ref-type="fig"}B). Moreover, DSS exposure for 7 days shortened the colon length of mice, and KRG treatment partially restored it ([Fig. 1](#fig1){ref-type="fig"}C). H&E staining of distal colon revealed that DSS administration resulted in colitis exhibiting epithelial degeneration, crypt loss and inflammatory cell infiltration. Dietary administration of KRG attenuated DSS-induced colonic mucosal damage ([Fig. 1](#fig1){ref-type="fig"}D).Fig. 1**Effects of KRG on experimentally induced colitis.** Effects of KRG on the body weight change (A), DAI (B) and the colon length (C) in mice exposed to 3% DSS in drinking water for 1 week. (D) Microscopic examination of H&E stained colonic mucosa from control mice and those treated with 3% DSS alone for 1 week, 3% DSS plus 1% dietary KRG and KRG alone. Results are presented as means ± SD. ∗*p* \< 0.05, ∗∗*p* \< 0.01, and ∗∗∗*p* \< 0.001.Fig. 1
3.2. Effects of KRG on DSS-induced inflammatory signaling {#sec3.2}
---------------------------------------------------------
COX-2 and iNOS are prototypic pro-inflammatory enzymes which are often overexpressed in inflammatory conditions. The Western blot analysis of colon revealed that DSS induced overexpression of COX-2 and iNOS, which was significantly reduced by KRG ([Fig. 2](#fig2){ref-type="fig"}).Fig. 2**Inhibition of DSS-induced expression COX-2 and iNOS by KRG in mouse colon.** All mice were killed after 7 days of DSS exposure, and colon tissue was collected. Colon was cut longitudinally and divided equally. Expression of COX-2 and iNOS was measured by Western blot analysis as described in Materials and methods. Results are presented as means ± SE. ∗*p* \< 0.05, ∗∗*p* \< 0.01, and ∗∗∗*p* \< 0.001.Fig. 2
NF-κB is a principal transcription factor responsible for regulating the expression of many signaling molecules involved in inflammation and cell survival. DSS administration activated NF-κB signaling through blockage of phosphorylation ([Fig. 3](#fig3){ref-type="fig"}A) and degradation ([Fig. 3](#fig3){ref-type="fig"}B) of IκBα, an inhibitory protein that sequesters NF-κB in the cytoplasm. p65 is a functionally active subunit of NF-κB. Phosphorylation of p65 facilitates its nuclear localization and interaction with the co-activator, p300/CBP. Phosphorylation ([Fig. 4](#fig4){ref-type="fig"}A) and nuclear accumulation ([Fig. 4](#fig4){ref-type="fig"}B) of p65 were markedly increased in the colon of DSS-treated mice, and both events were abolished by KRG supplementation in the diet ([Fig. 4](#fig4){ref-type="fig"}A and B). Further, we found that DSS-induced colonic DNA binding activity of NF-κB measured by the gel-shift assay was significantly reduced in the KRG-fed group ([Fig. 4](#fig4){ref-type="fig"}C).Fig. 3**Inhibitory effects of KRG on DSS-induced IκBα phosphorylation and degradation.** (A) Effects of KRG on DSS-induced IκBα phosphorylation were determined by Western blot analysis using cytoplasmic extracts. (B) Effects of KRG on DSS-induced IκBα degradation were determined by Western blot analysis. Results are presented as means ± SE. ∗*p* \< 0.05 and ∗∗∗*p* \< 0.001.Fig. 3Fig. 4**Inhibitory effects of KRG on DSS-induced phosphorylation, nuclear accumulation and DNA binding of NF-κB/p65.** Phosphorylation (A) and nuclear accumulation (B) of NF-κB p65 were determined by Western blot analysis. NF-κB-DNA binding activity (C) was determined by EMSA. Incubation conditions and other experimental details are described in Materials and methods. Results are presented as means ± SE. ∗*p* \< 0.05, ∗∗*p* \< 0.01 and ∗∗∗*p* \< 0.001.Fig. 4
3.3. Effects of KRG on AOM plus and DSS-induced colitis and colon carcinogenesis {#sec3.3}
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DSS-induced colitis is necessary, but not sufficient to induce tumor formation in mouse colon. In order to determine whether KRG could prevent the colitis-associated carcinogenesis, we conducted a long-term experiment in which mice were given a single *i.p*. administration of the carcinogen, AOM followed by 2% DSS treatment for 1 week. During 7 days of DSS exposure, the body weight and the DAI of mice in each group were checked. Dietary supplementation of KRG ameliorated the severity of colitis as well as well as body weight loss caused by DSS ([Supplementary Fig. 2](#appsec1){ref-type="sec"}). Combining the systemic administration of AOM with DSS in drinking water facilitates the formation of multiple colon tumors.[@bib18] Mice were sacrificed 16 weeks after the AOM injection. The colonic mucosa of mice given AOM and DSS showed epithelial thickening, hyperplasia and dysplasia ([Fig. 5](#fig5){ref-type="fig"}A), and these changes were ameliorated by KRG supplementation in the diet. All mice in the AOM plus DSS group developed colon tumors ([Fig. 5](#fig5){ref-type="fig"}B). However, mice fed KRG containing diet had a much lower incidence ([Fig. 5](#fig5){ref-type="fig"}C) and multiplicity ([Fig. 5](#fig5){ref-type="fig"}D) as well as the notably reduced volume ([Fig. 5](#fig5){ref-type="fig"}E) of colonic tumors.Fig. 5**Effects of KRG on AOM plus DSS-induced colonic tumorigenesis in mice.** Mice were fed standard or 1% KRG diet for 17 weeks, starting 1 week before the single *i.p.* injection of AOM (10 mg/kg) followed by exposure to 2% DSS for 7 days. (A) H&E stained colonic tissues of control mouse and those treated with AOM and DSS with and without dietary KRG supplementation. (B) Macroscopic examination of mouse colon. Dietary administration of KRG inhibited colitis-induced carcinogenesis. The incidence (C), the number (D) and the total weight (E) of colon tumor were assessed. Results are presented as means ± SD. ∗*p* \< 0.05.Fig. 5
3.4. Effects of KRG on the inflammatory and proliferative signaling in the colon of mice treated with AOM and DSS {#sec3.4}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aberrant upregulation of COX-2 is known to promote CRC. The expression of COX-2 was elevated in the colon of the mice treated with AOM and DSS, and this was abolished by KRG supplementation ([Fig. 6](#fig6){ref-type="fig"}A). c-Myc and Cyclin D1 are representative oncogenic proteins that stimulate cell proliferation. In tumor-free region of colon in the AOM plus DSS group, expression of these proteins was significantly up-regulated compared to the control group, which was suppressed by KRG ([Fig. 6](#fig6){ref-type="fig"}A).Fig. 6**Inhibitory effects of KRG on AOM plus DSS-induced up-regulation of and inflammation and proliferation marker proteins and their regulators.** Whole colons were collected. After excision of all visible tumors, remaining colon tissue was subject to Western blot analysis for the measurement of inflammatory and proliferative protein markers (A) and their upstream regulators (B). Animal treatment and other experimental details are described in Materials and methods. Results are presented as means ± SE. ∗*p* \< 0.05, ∗∗*p* \< 0.01, and ∗∗∗*p* \< 0.001.Fig. 6
NF-κB and STAT3 play a vital role in inflammation-associated carcinogenesis by upregulating the proinflammatory gene transcription. Colons of the mice in the AOM plus DSS group showed persistent activation of NF-κB and STAT3 as evidenced by phosphorylation of IκBα ([Fig. 6](#fig6){ref-type="fig"}B) with subsequent nuclear accumulation of NF-κB/p65 and nuclear accumulation of p-STAT3 ([Fig. 6](#fig6){ref-type="fig"}B), respectively. Dietary administration of KRG inhibited all these events.
4. Discussion {#sec4}
=============
Chronic inflammation is closely related to the pathogenesis of many different types of malignancies.[@bib1], [@bib2], [@bib3], [@bib4], [@bib5], [@bib6], [@bib7] Inflammatory cells, including macrophages and neutrophils, secrete various signaling molecules such as chemokines and cytokines that activate NF-κB and STAT3 in epithelial cells. Chronically inflamed colonic tissues have constitutive activation of these two key proinflammatory transcription factors which upregulate expression of oncogenic proteins, such as COX-2 and c-Myc, respectively. This creates inflammatory microenvironment favourable for tumor development and progression.[@bib19] Therefore, inhibition of chronic inflammation is considered to be a practical way to prevent cancer.
KRG has been known for its preventive effects on development of various cancers.[@bib20] However, molecular mechanisms underlying its chemopreventive effects have not been elucidated well. In this study, we investigated effects of KRG on colitis and colitis-associated colon carcinogenesis in mice. It has been reported that American ginseng has anti-inflammatory effects on experimentally induced mouse colitis which is associated with suppression of key inflammatory markers such as COX-2 and iNOS.[@bib21]^,^[@bib22] Our results showed that KRG ameliorated DSS-induced colitis through down-regulation of COX-2 and iNOS and blockage of NF-κB signaling responsible for regulating these proinflammatory enzymes.
There appears to be a close interrelationship between COX-2 and iNOS and their products in inducing colitis and colitis-induced cancer. PGE~2~, a major catalytic product of COX-2, affects the biosynthesis of iNOS by modulating the expression/catalytic activity of iNOS, whereas nitric oxide (NO) synthesized by iNOS influences COX-2 expression/activity andconsequently, the synthesis of PGE~2~.[@bib23] Therefore, combined blockage of COX-2 and iNOS would provide a more efficient strategy than suppression of each enzyme alone in dietary or pharmacological intervention of IBD and inflammation-associated CRC. It will be of interest to examine the profile of PGE~2~ and NO following intake of KRG in the context of its impact on coordinated regulation of NF-κB-COX-2/PGE~2~-iNOS/NO axis.
Of the numerous ingredients of KRG, saponins (ginsenosides) are potent candidates that exert anti-inflammatory effects.[@bib24], [@bib25], [@bib26] A panaxadiol-type ginsenoside, Rg~3~ inhibited expression of inflammatory mediators in mouse skin challenged with the tumor promoter, phorbol ester[@bib27] and LPS/IFN-γ-stimulated BV-2 cells.[@bib28] Another type of ginsenosides, 20(*S*)-protopanaxatriol, inhibited the expression of COX-2 and iNOS through inactivation of NF-κB in LPS-stimulated macrophages.[@bib29] Based on these findings, ginsenosides are most likely be the main components of KRG responsible for the inhibition of mouse colitis. Ginsenosides have structural similarity to steroids.[@bib30] Thus, ginsenosides contained in KRG could bind to and consequently activate a specific steroid receptor, which may account for the preventive effects of KRG on DSS-induced colitis.
Besides ginsenosides, other ingredients of red ginseng have health beneficial effects. Red ginseng oil (RGO) containing linoleic acid and β-sitosterol as main bioactive components has been shown to inhibit AOM plus DSS-induced colitis.[@bib31] Oral administration of RGO reduced the plasma NO concentration and inhibited the production of proinflammatory factors such as COX-2, iNOS, interleukin-1*β*, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-*α* in the mouse colitis tissue. Phosphorylation of p65 and I*κ*B in the colon of AOM and DSS treated mice was also attenuated by RGO administration.[@bib31] In line with this notion, the hexane fraction of American ginseng that consists mainly of fatty acids and polyacetylenes suppressed DSS-induced murine colitis and AOM-initiated and DSS-promoted intestinal carcinogenesis.[@bib22]
Colon is exposed to a vast variety of environmental factors that can influence the intestinal microbiome. IBD is considered to result from an exaggerated immune response, triggered by environmental insults towards the altered gut microbiota.[@bib32] Thus, imbalance of enterobacteria provokes host immune responses[@bib33] and induces colitis in rats and mice.[@bib34] DSS-induced colitis begins with the penetration of luminal bacteria into colon epithelium.[@bib35]
Recently, probiotics have attracted public interest because of their effective capability of promoting the balance of gut microbiota as well as protecting the intestinal mucosa and strengthening the intestinal barrier. It has been reported that supplement of probiotics ameliorates experimental colitis by restoring/maintaining a balance in the microbial environment in mouse colon.[@bib36] Dietary ginseng has been reported to alter the colonic microbial diversity.[@bib37] Thus, extracts of *Panax ginseng* inhibited the growth of the harmful bacteria, clostria while enhancing the growth of the *Bifidobactierum* spp., a prototypic probiotic organism *in vitro*.[@bib38] Results from animal experiments suggest that saponins can suppress intestinal inflammation, promote intestinal barrier repair, maintain the diversity of the intestinal flora, and decrease the incidence rate of inflammation-associated colon cancer.[@bib39] After treatment with AOM and DSS, gut microbiota and metabolomic profiles were obviously changed. Ginseng inhibited these changes, which may account for its protection against colitis-associated carcinogenesis.[@bib40] Therefore, the beneficial effects of KRG on the intestinal microflora may also contribute to mitigation of DSS-induced colonic inflammation processes and colitis-associated CRC.
The saponin components of ginseng taken orally undergo metabolism by gut microflora, including those with probiotic characteristics (e.g., *Bifidobacterium* spp., *Lactobacillus* spp., and *Saccharomyces* spp.). Considering that the resulting metabolites exert the main pharmacological activities of ginseng, its efficacy after oral administration varies among individuals, depending on their microbiome status. KRG extract fermented with *Bifidobacterium longum* H-1 had anticolitic effects in two experimentally induced murine colitis models.[@bib41] Further, oral administration of KRG powder fermented with *Lactobacillus plantarum* alleviated DSS-induced colitis to a greater extent than that achieved with oral administration of ginseng powder or the probiotics alone.[@bib42]
Compound K (20-*O*-β-[d]{.smallcaps}-glucopyranosyl-20(*S*)-protopanaxadiol) is an enteric gut microbiome metabolite of Rb1. The treatment with the antibiotic metronidazole reduced the serum levels of Compound K following oral administration of ginseng.[@bib37] Compound K is more efficiently absorbed into the systemic circulation and possesses stronger cancer chemopreventive potential than its parent ginsenoside. Likewise, the gut microbial metabolite compound K showed significant anti-inflammatory effects even at low concentrations, compared to its parent ginsenoside Rb~1~. Intestinal microbial metabolites of American ginseng also significantly reduced chemically-induced colitis, possibly through inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokine expression.[@bib43] Likewise, Compound K ameliorated DSS-induced colitis by modulating NF-κB-mediated inflammatory responses.[@bib44] Ginseng inhibited colonic inflammation and tumorigenesis promoted by Western diet, and Compound K appears to contribute to the chemopreventive effects of ginseng on colonic tumorigenesis.[@bib37]
In summary, KRG prevented colitis-induced induced colon carcinogenesis by blocking activation of NF-κB and STAT3 and overexpression of their target proteins ([Fig. 7](#fig7){ref-type="fig"}). Anti-carcinogenic activity of KRG results from the inhibition of colitis which is a prerequisite for promotion of colon carcinogenesis. Therefore, KRG is a potential candidate for chemoprevention of inflammation-associated colon carcinogenesis.Fig. 7Molecular mechanisms by which KRG inhibits experimentally induced colitis and CRC formation.Fig. 7
Funding {#sec5}
=======
This work was supported by the grant from the Korean Society of Ginseng funded by the 10.13039/501100014775Korea Ginseng Corporation (2012--2013).
Declaration of competing interest
=================================
The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work/
Appendix A. Supplementary data {#appsec1}
==============================
The following are the Supplementary data to this article:Multimedia component 1Multimedia component 1Multimedia component 2Multimedia component 2Multimedia component 3Multimedia component 3
Peer review under responsibility of The Center for Food and Biomolecules, National Taiwan University.
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcme.2020.04.004>.
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August 1, 2005
Opponents of Supreme Court elections — among whom I probably fall — will have to come up with better arguments than "people are too stupid" if they expect to prevail. And if the people really are too stupid to take part in these decisions, then what about all those interest groups that claim to represent the people?
I was much more negative toward Davis's proposal in my NYT review of the same book:
Where would the candidates come from? Davis suggests the president could nominate a slate of candidates, and he imagines the Senate holding hearings and issuing reports. But what would the campaigns look like? And what would stop these elections from degenerating into referendums on, say, abortion?
One searches vainly in the pages of this book for any discussion of the changes elections might work on the Court's own conception of its role. It is already accused of being too political. Currently, at least there is an effort to appoint highly qualified jurists who will uphold the rule of law. Even if political ideology underlies the process, the nominee is still generally someone steeped in the legal culture who is going to profess faith in legal principles. Electing justices would not just change the selection phase, it would reshape how justices thought about their role. What would happen to the culture of law once the justices had their own constituents?
UPDATE: I don't know if you've noticed that I've been tinkering with the subheading to this blog and have replaced the old description of the contents, first with a quote from Slate and then, just this morning, with an old quote from Jonah Goldberg. Now, it seems Glenn Reynolds is making a big pitch to get a quote up there. I'm sorely tempted! What do you think?
17 comments:
This puts me in mind of Bruce Ackerman's We the People. To oversimplify, Ackerman says that twice (once after the Civil War and once during the New Deal) the Supreme Court has basically thrown out the old Constitution and enacted a new one by reinterpreting the words on the paper.
But, he says, this was good--because the old Constitution had ceased to be useful, and The People supported the change.
Electing Justices would seem to institutionalize this process. The People could vote for someone who said "affirmative action 'denies equal protection'" or "capital punishment is 'cruel and unusual'."
I agree with Ann. I agree with EddieP that there should be a mandantory retirement age.More than that, the Justices should have to undergo a yearly physical as the President does to determine their continued fitness to serve.
In Texas, a little known lawyer very nearly got on the Supreme Court for no reason other than his name was Gene Kelley. For many years, we had a State Treasurer named Jesse James. In both cases, as far as I know, the names were the primary qualifications.
Most people don't understand what judges are supposed to do and have no business voting on them. The Texas election of judges dates back to an effort to "set right" what Texans perceived as the injustice of Reconstruction.
"Anyone who thinks that judicial elections are a good idea should check out campaigns for the Supreme Courts of Texas and Ohio."
The former Chief Justice Roy Moore of Alabama was elected to that office and will also, if he chooses to run, be our next governor as well. (I'm a Republican, and horrified by the prospect, but I'm sure that he would win by a pretty large margin.)
The idea of electing judges is not so outrageous as some have suggested. Most state have some form of election for judges - retention, non-partisan, or partisan. California, for instance, has retention elections, and went for more than half a century without turning out any statewide judges. So the idea that any form of election will authomatically disrupt the judiciary is specious.
Texas, in contrast, has partisan elections. Despite that, the Texas judiciary was extremely stable from the adoption of partisan elections in 1876 until 25 years ago, when Texas plaintiffs' lawyers decided to run candidates in the Democratic primary in order to shift the direction of Texas law. In response, insurance companies and defense lawyers joined forces with a then little-named political consultant named Karl Rove to put judges less friendly to plaintiffs' lawyers on the bench. 60 Minutes ran an aggressive expose of the plaintiffs' lawyers-Democratic judges connection, and Republicans began a decade-long march to dominance of the Texas bench.
Electing judges forces judges to defend their decisions, either directly or (in some states) by proxy. And part of the process of defending their seats (or seeking to take seats) is about qualifications, in addition to legal and political ideology. In essence, electing judges ensures that the consent of the governed is required for judicial lawmaking, as well as for the legislative kind.
In a world in which judges did not legislate, such a check on their power would not be necessary. As experience has shown, judges do legislate. They claim to do so under the guise of interpretation, but no serious scholar will claim that judges never make it up on the fly (e.g., Dred Scott v. Sandford).
I have worked on Texas Supreme Court campaigns and for the Court. In my experience, the candidates are civil, the discourse is generally conducted at a high level, and a significant number of the voters are well informed. And the results are generally pretty good, both in the quality of the judges and the quality of the jurisprudence.
Periodic retention elections, like California's, will allow voters to reject manifestly unqualified or extreme candidates. It may be conceiveable that Presidents and Senates might place such candidates in the lifetime sinecures of the Court. In the event such a person were placed on the Court, it would be advantageous to have an opportunity to remove him (or her).
David: The Supreme Court is different. And state judges don't get the respect federal judges do and it does have something to do with the selection method. Finally, there is no mechanism in place for a national election -- it would be a new procedure.
Are you sure that quote from Glenn is really an endorsement? It sounds a little like damning with faint praise. : )
It's people like Davis that make me think it's good that it's so hard to amend the constitution. It's people like O'Connor who make be wish it were easier.
The founders didn't like direct democracy, and the results of adopting more of it haven't been too impressive. Would we have senators like Schumer, Kennedy and Biden if they were elected by their state legislatures? Who knows?
Rather than electing justices, wouldn't it make for sense to put individual decisions up for a plebiscite but based on whether the decision should be taken out of the court's jurisdiction: "Shall the Supreme Court be permitted to strike down democratically enacted laws relating to same-sex marriage?"
To me the problem is that the court has taken it on itself to overrule democracy, and if we can't define the kind of society we live in with our votes, why vote? If I object to having to step over homeless people and being accosted by panhandlers every time I go downtown, shouldn't I be able to elect people who will do that?
Maybe a retention election would be useful. Should Justice Anthony Kennedy be retained as a justice of the Supreme Court? That would make removing a justice a rare event, but if they make a decision like Kelo, it could put some of them in jeopardy. Where there have been votes on gay marriage it has lost 70% to 30%. That might make justices less bold about getting too far out ahead of public consensus, which is as it should be.
The test for me is whether Brown v. Board would have been decides as it was or not, and whether an issue as unpopular as same-sex marriage would be established by a SCOTUS decision, not that there's anything wrong with that. Would Roe have been decided the way it was? I doubt it.
I also think that the justices' awareness would have to extend beyond the coasts and academia, which seems to be where it is now.
I completely agree that the Supreme Court is different. I would not, at least at first, endorse on the federal level the kind of contested partisan elections that work so well in Texas. In fact, I'm not sure we want to start this federal experiment at the top -- it might be best to start with retention elections for district judges. All of this would require a constitutional amendment (which makes it extremely unlikely), but it is clear that the view of the founders that the federal courts would be extremely limited in their powers, and therefore few limits were necessary, has turned out to be incorrect.
This error is not necessarily due to the mistakes of the founders in their understanding of the document, but may be instead the result of too much faith in the restraint of the human beings who fill the judiciary.
As for the respect for the federal judiciary, I suspect it has almost as much to do with the national scope of the law and the national scope of the professoriate and the media as it does with the method of selection. I do concede, however, that the certainty of lifetime appointment makes it easier to recruit the very best candidates than does the uncertainty of elections (not unlike tenure). The personality types that are willing (and able) to campaign are different from academics, by and large. I concede that we might get less able judges -- but the trade-off is that we would have judges we could remove, who might therefore be more inclined to exercise restraint.
Today the 8th circuit, en banc on remand, decided White v Mn GOP, saying that if we are going to elect judges, they get to actually campaign for office.As someone who has run for judge, i think that's a good thing.arbitrary aardvark
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Q:
regex to fetch url from string
In php am doing one task -
I want such a regex which will fetch like
$str = "this is my friend's website http://example1.com I think it is coll some text example.com some text t.com/2000 some text rs.500 some text http://www some text"
how can I fetch following with the help of regex -
http://example1.com
example.com
t.com/2000
http://www
rs.500 must be avoided!
actually I need such a regex which can satisfy any link
please help me with that
A:
This regex is what you're looking for (mandatory regex101 link):
(https?:\/\/\S+)|([a-z]+\.[a-z]+(?:\/\S+)?)
It's basically the two regexes https?:\/\/\S+ and [a-z]+\.[a-z]+(?:\/\S+)? placed into capturing groups (so that you can extract all URLs with a global search) and then combined with an OR.
https?:\/\/\S+ finds URLs that are prefixed with http:// or https:// by matching:
The string "http" literally http, followed by
An optional "s" s? followed by
A colon and two forward slashes :\/\/, followed by
One or more non-whitespace characters \S+
If https?:\/\/\S+ doesn't match, then [a-z]+\.[a-z]+(?:\/\S+)? kicks in and finds URLs that are not prefixed with http:// or https:// and whose top level domains don't contain numbers by matching:
One or more lowercase letters [a-z]+, followed by
A dot \., followed by
One or more lowercase letters [a-z]+, followed by
An optional group, which consists of
A forward slash \/, followed by
One or more non-whitespace characters \S+
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Our Mission
The initial goal of Zubaz was to develop the world's most comfortable pants, for this who dared to be different. Today, we strive to advance our unique brand of clothing by merging our classically bold prints, with modern athletic stylings, to deliver a full line of distinctive active wear.
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20th Century Fox’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has become the seventh movie of the year to cross $500 million at the global box office, with the simian sequel currently sitting on $503.9 million, having pulled in $197.8 million domestically and $306.1 million from international markets. That figure makes Dawn the highest grossing instalment of the Apes franchise, with its predecessor Rise of the Planet of the Apes having earned $481.8 million back in 2011.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is directed by Matt Reeves (Let Me In) and sees Rise of the Planet of the Apes star Andy Serkis returning as Caesar alongside Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight Rises), Keri Russell (Mission: Impossible III), Toby Kebbell (Wrath of the Titans), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In), Enrique Murciano (Black Hawk Down), Kirk Acevedo (The Thin Red Line) and Judy Greer (13 Going on 30). Read our reviews here, here and here and listen to our Dawn of the Planet of the Apes podcast here.
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Today’s Advent of Code challenge required us to count how many pairs of three coordinates represented possible triangles. The calculation itself is relatively straightforward – we just sort the sides and then see if the shortest two add up to greater than the longest.
I used regex again to pick the numbers out of the input file. One gotcha of the F# compiler’s type inference is that my code compiled and ran fine with the triangle sides as strings instead of integers since isPossibleTriangle works just fine with strings.
For the second part, it turns out that the sides of each triangle are not all on one line of the input file, but spread across three lines. This meant I wanted a batch function like MoreLINQ has, to batch the input into three lines. And I needed a rotate function that would take input like [a;b][c;d] and turn it into [a;c][b;d]. I also found myself wanting a simple helper to give numbers in the range 0 to n - 1.
I wouldn’t be surprised if F# already has some more elegant ways to solve these, so do let me know in the comments, but implementing them myself did at least give me the chance to use the array comprehension and slicing syntaxes:
With these transformations in place, getting the sides is a case of batching, rotating, and then expanding out again with Seq.collect, which gets us back to a sequence of arrays of triangle side lengths which we can count in the same way as before:
Of course, once again this solution ends up a bit more verbose than the equivalent procedural code would have been, but if you take away the very generic helpers I had to make, the core solution is fairly simple. Full code available here.
As always, do check out the reddit thread for ingenious (and insane) solutions in other languages. Like last year, it does seem that Python is particularly well suited to these types of problems, with some of the most elegant and concise solutions for all three days so far being in Python.
About Mark Heath
I'm a Microsoft MVP and software developer based in Southampton, England, currently working as a Software Architect for NICE Systems. I create courses for Pluralsight and am the author of several open source libraries. I currently specialize in architecting Azure based systems and audio programming. You can find me on:
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global::System.IntPtr cPtr = FbxWrapperNativePINVOKE.FbxLayeredTexture_Create__SWIG_0(FbxManager.getCPtr(pManager), pName);
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public new static FbxLayeredTexture Create(FbxObject pContainer, string pName) {
global::System.IntPtr cPtr = FbxWrapperNativePINVOKE.FbxLayeredTexture_Create__SWIG_1(FbxObject.getCPtr(pContainer), pName);
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return ret;
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public bool eq(FbxLayeredTexture pOther) {
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bool ret = FbxWrapperNativePINVOKE.FbxLayeredTexture_SetTextureBlendMode(swigCPtr, pIndex, (int)pMode);
return ret;
}
public bool GetTextureBlendMode(int pIndex, SWIGTYPE_p_FbxLayeredTexture__EBlendMode pMode) {
bool ret = FbxWrapperNativePINVOKE.FbxLayeredTexture_GetTextureBlendMode(swigCPtr, pIndex, SWIGTYPE_p_FbxLayeredTexture__EBlendMode.getCPtr(pMode));
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public enum EBlendMode {
eTranslucent,
eAdditive,
eModulate,
eModulate2,
eOver,
eNormal,
eDissolve,
eDarken,
eColorBurn,
eLinearBurn,
eDarkerColor,
eLighten,
eScreen,
eColorDodge,
eLinearDodge,
eLighterColor,
eSoftLight,
eHardLight,
eVividLight,
eLinearLight,
ePinLight,
eHardMix,
eDifference,
eExclusion,
eSubtract,
eDivide,
eHue,
eSaturation,
eColor,
eLuminosity,
eOverlay,
eBlendModeCount
}
}
}
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179 Ga. App. 25 (1986)
345 S.E.2d 79
REMLER et al.
v.
COASTAL BANK.
71641.
Court of Appeals of Georgia.
Decided April 23, 1986.
Rehearing Denied May 7, 1986.
Albert N. Remler, Dennis L. Broome, for appellants.
Billy N. Jones, Charles M. Jones, William E. Callaway, Jr., for appellee.
SOGNIER, Judge.
The Coastal Bank brought suit against Albert N. Remler as guarantor of a past due promissory note. The trial court granted The Coastal Bank's motion for summary judgment and Remler appeals.
Appellant's son, Albert Remler III, and Holmes Hodges executed *26 a promissory note with appellee on July 5, 1983. That same day appellant signed a guaranty of the indebtedness of his son and Hodges which provided: "FOR VALUE RECEIVED, the sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, and in consideration of any loan or other financial accommodation heretofore or hereafter at any time made or granted to Albert N. Remler III and Holmes W. Hodges (hereinafter called the "Debtor") by [appellee] . . . [appellant] hereby unconditionally guarantee(s) the full and prompt payment when due . . . of all obligations of the Debtor to [appellee], however and whenever incurred or evidenced, whether direct or indirect, absolute or contingent, or due or to become due (collectively called "Liabilities"). . . . The right of recovery against [appellant] is, however, limited to [$96,705.95], plus interest on such amount and plus all expenses of enforcing this guaranty. . . .
"This guaranty shall be continuing, absolute and unconditional and shall remain in full force and effect as to [appellant] . . . only as follows: [Appellant] may give written notice to [appellee] of discontinuance of this guaranty as to [appellant] by whom or on whose behalf such notice is given. . . .
"[Appellee] may, from time to time, without notice to [appellant] . . . (b) retain or obtain the primary or secondary liability of any party or parties, in addition to [appellant], with respect to any of the Liabilities, (c) extend or renew for any period (whether or not longer than the original period), alter or exchange any of the Liabilities, (d) release or compromise any liability of [appellant] hereunder or any liability of any other party or parties primarily or secondarily liable on any of the Liabilities . . . (f) resort to [appellant] for payment of any of the Liabilities, whether or not [appellee] shall have resorted to any property securing any of the Liabilities . . . or shall have proceeded against [appellant] or any other party primarily or secondarily liable on any of the Liabilities. . . .
"The creation or existence from time to time of Liabilities in excess of the amount to which the right of recovery under this guaranty is limited is hereby authorized, without notice to [appellant] and shall in no way affect or impair this guaranty."
Six months later, on January 3, 1984, the promissory note which is the subject of this lawsuit was executed by appellant's son as general partner for Hodges & Remler Enterprises. The note stated that its purpose was to refinance an existing debt and listed appellant's personal guaranty as security for the note. It is uncontroverted that appellant signed that part of the note requesting the purchase of credit life insurance.
Appellant contends the trial court erred by granting summary judgment to appellee because questions of fact still remain on three issues. Appellant first asserts that he was only liable for the debt of *27 his son and Hodges and therefore a question of fact exists whether he is liable for the January 1984 note executed by appellant's son on behalf of Hodges & Remler Enterprises. "No construction of a contract is required or even permissible when the language employed by the parties in their contract is plain, unambiguous, and capable of only one reasonable interpretation, and in such instances the language used must be afforded its literal meaning and plain ordinary words must be given their usual significance.' [Cit.]" Ga. Farm &c. Ins. Co. v. Franklin, 175 Ga. App. 839, 841 (334 SE2d 728) (1985). This argument is controlled adversely to appellant by the note language allowing appellee to "release or compromise any liability of [appellant]" and to "retain or obtain the primary or secondary liability of any party or parties, in addition to [appellant]. . . ." Likewise, appellant's second argument concerning the relationship between the guaranty he executed and the January 1984 note is controlled adversely to appellant by the language in the guaranty allowing appellee to "extend or renew . . . alter or exchange any of the liabilities. . . ." Appellant in his final argument asserts that because the July 1983 note guaranteed by appellant was surrendered, questions of fact exist whether the note was cancelled. "`Where, after the execution of a promissory note, a renewal or new note is executed for the same debt, it is the general rule that the second instrument does not of itself operate as a payment, or accord and satisfaction, or novation extinguishing the first note, unless there is an agreement between the parties to that effect. [Cits.] . . .' [Cit.]" Wages v. Nat. Bank, 169 Ga. App. 514 (313 SE2d 771) (1984). In his affidavit in opposition to appellee's motion for summary judgment, appellant stated that he was not present at the time of the delivery of the July 1983 note and the execution of the January 1984 note, and that he in no manner participated in, encouraged or consented to the surrender of the July 1983 note. Thus, because appellant failed to present any evidence that the parties agreed that the January 1984 note would act as a novation as to the July 1983 note, no questions of fact remain and the trial court correctly granted summary judgment to appellee.
Judgment affirmed. Banke, C. J., and Birdsong, P. J., concur.
|
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Breathing is important throughout all functions of life and for every form of exercise. According to Beth Shaw, founder and author of YogaFit, because most people have stressful work and lives, commonly they only use the upper third of their lungs to breathe. This “chest breathing” tends to be very shallow. Deeper, fuller “stomach breathing” is more beneficial for the entire body: It opens the blood vessels that are found deeper in the lungs to allow more space for oxygen to enter into the blood, and improves concentration and mental capacity. Stomach breathing can be learned and practiced through various breathing exercises.
Relaxation Breathing
“Relaxation breathing” is a very basic breathing technique that helps you center yourself. Practice it when you are having a stressful day to help lower both your heart rate and blood pressure. Lie in a supine position, face up, on a mat or other comfortable surface. Place your right palm on the center of your chest and your left palm on your abdomen. On the inhalation, try to keep your right hand still as you focus on your left hand rising. On the exhalation, focus on the left hand falling. Give equal length to inhalations and exhalations.
“Relaxation breathing” is a very basic breathing technique that helps you center yourself.
On the inhalation, try to keep your right hand still as you focus on your left hand rising.
Three-Part Breath
Yoga Breathing Exercises for Anxiety
Learn More
Otherwise known as the “complete” breath, the three-part breath is simultaneously stress relieving and energizing. It serves to increase oxygen levels in your blood. To practice it, start by sitting tall in a comfortable position. On the inhalation, allow your diaphragm and lungs to expand fully, first from the belly, then from the ribs, then into the chest, and finally into the throat. On the exhalation, hollow out the lungs, pulling the navel in toward the spine. Repeat several times.
Otherwise known as the “complete” breath, the three-part breath is simultaneously stress relieving and energizing.
On the inhalation, allow your diaphragm and lungs to expand fully, first from the belly, then from the ribs, then into the chest, and finally into the throat.
Alternate Nostril Breathing
Sit tall in a comfortable cross-legged position. With your right hand, extend your thumb, ring finger and pinkie and curl the other fingers in toward your palm. Rest your ring finger on the bridge of your nose. Take your thumb to your right nostril, closing it off. Inhale through your left nostril and pause at the top of the breath. Release your thumb and with your right pinkie, close off your left nostril, exhaling through your right nostril. Inhale again through your right nostril. Pause and alternate nostrils at the top of each breath. Start and end on the left nostril. Repeat for a few rounds.
Sit tall in a comfortable cross-legged position.
Release your thumb and with your right pinkie, close off your left nostril, exhaling through your right nostril.
Ujayi Breathing
Benefits of Alternate Nostril Breathing
Learn More
Practice by either lying down or sitting up on a comfortable surface. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. On your exhalation, pretend like you are fogging up a mirror with your breath. Inhale through your nose again and exhale, this time trying to create that same silent, whispering “ha” sound with your mouth closed. Try to match the length and quality of each inhalation with each exhalation. Repeat several times.
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Vivarium and Terrarium Locks
Grab yourself a strong and effective Reptile Terrarium or Vivarium lock from Swell Reptiles at a better price, keeping the cost of your reptile's safety as low as possible.
No matter how pleasant, healthy and attractive the environment for your reptile is, sometimes curiosity is going to get the better of your reptile and they might try to go for a little impromptu adventure without your knowledge. Most people who have kept reptiles long enough will have spent a few anxious days or even weeks looking for a reptile escapee, and usually this journey concludes with them buying a good quality vivarium or terrarium lock, especially from Swell Reptiles, like these ones below.
Depending on your reptile's habitat setup, you might want to opt for either a padlock type lock, or one that is cut into the glass at the front, operated by a key. Either way, these locks will keep your reptile safely locked away until YOU want to take them out for either feeding, cleaning or handling, NOT when a sense of misadventure grabs your reptile.
Check whether your new vivarium or terrarium comes complete with a lock, if not order one today and rest assured that your reptile is always safe.
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The present invention relates to an optical receiving circuit for converting an input current signal into a voltage signal in an optical communication system.
In recent years, in order to realize future FTTF (Fiber to The Home), researches in an optical subscriber network system are conducted enthusiastically. In the optical subscriber network system, transmission distance differs according to a difference in distances from each home to each station. For this reason, since attenuation of lights in optical fibers also differs, a current signal output from a photodiode becomes a current signal having various amplitudes including an infinitesimal amplitude signal through a large amplitude signal. Therefore, the optical receiving circuit requires a wide dynamic range characteristic which makes it possible to receive the infinitesimal amplitude signal through the large amplitude signal. In order to receive a signal having more infinitesimal amplitude, it is necessary to set a current-voltage converting gain for converting a current signal into a voltage signal to higher value in the optical receiving circuit. However, when the current-voltage converting gain is set to be higher, if a signal having large amplitude is input, an output voltage is saturated, thereby making normal reception difficult.
From such a background, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-85556 (1994) suggests an optical receiving circuit for changing a current splitting amount according to amplitude of an input signal so as to suppress saturation of an output voltage. Namely, in this optical receiving circuit, as the output voltage becomes larger, the current splitting amount is controlled so as to be larger, thereby suppressing the saturation of the output voltage.
As mentioned above, in the system for controlling the current splitting amount according to the output voltage, since the current splitting amount becomes excessive or insufficient because of characteristic fluctuation due to process scattering of a threshold voltage or temperature change in a transistor for current splitting, pulse width distortion, namely, duty deterioration occurs in the output signal. As a result, a clock extracting circuit connected with a later stage malfunctions, and it is difficult to decode received data normally.
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Tumor necrosis factor alpha in autoimmunity: pretty girl or old witch?
The role of TNF-alpha in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders is poorly understood. Evidence in favor of a pathogenic role has come mainly from in vitro experiments, while in vivo studies in animal models have suggested a protective role. In this article, Chaim Jacob attempts to reconcile these apparently contradictory studies.
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The language of soccer games is ripe with phrases, metaphors and clichés that reflect modern life: a coach who parks the bus, a midfielder who shoots rockets, a striker who scores with a bicycle kick. But at 11,000 feet in the Peruvian Andes, the vocabulary changes. That is where Luis Soto, who hosts a daily sports program on Radio Inti Raymi, is narrating Peru’s first appearance at the World Cup since 1982 in his native language, Quechua.
Soto captures the action on the field with references closer to his home in Cusco, Peru. When a midfielder controls the ball and neutralizes attacks, he is hoeing the land. When a player kicks the ball with power, he has eaten a lot of quinoa. And when Edison Flores, one of Peru’s stars, scored an important goal against Ecuador to help the team qualify for the World Cup in Russia, he built roads where there were only narrow walking paths.
Before that, Soto had to clear a basic hurdle: finding a term for “soccer ball.” Quechua was developed by the ancient Incas, and the only word for ball that he knew was used in Cusco referred to a sphere made from pieces of llama neck leather and used in religious ceremonies.
“The term didn’t exist,” he said, “so we had to adapt.”
After canvassing local players, Soto settled on “qara q’ompo,” which means leather ball, or sphere. It is one of about 500 terms and phrases he has compiled over the last decade into what is probably the world’s only Quechua soccer dictionary. He shares it freely with anyone who is interested.
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Early, Incomplete, or Preclinical Autoimmune Systemic Rheumatic Diseases and Pregnancy Outcome.
To evaluate the impact of preclinical systemic autoimmune rheumatic disorders on pregnancy outcome. In this longitudinal cohort study, patients were enrolled during the first trimester of pregnancy if they reported having had connective tissue disorder symptoms, were found to be positive for circulating autoantibodies, and on clinical evaluation were judged to have a preclinical or incomplete rheumatic disorder. The incidence of fetal growth restriction (FGR), preeclampsia, and adverse pregnancy outcomes in patients with preclinical rheumatic disorders was compared with that in selected controls, after adjustment for confounders by penalized logistic regression. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated. Of 5,232 women screened, 150 (2.9%) were initially diagnosed as having a suspected rheumatic disorder. After a mean ± SD postpartum follow-up of 16.7 ± 5.5 months, 64 of these women (42.7%) had no clinically apparent rheumatic disease and 86 (57.3%) had persistent symptoms and positive autoantibody results, including 10 (6.7%) who developed a definitive rheumatic disease. The incidences of preeclampsia/FGR and of small for gestational age (SGA) infants were 5.1% (23 of 450) and 9.3% (42 of 450), respectively, among controls, 12.5% (8 of 640) (OR 2.7 [95% CI 1.1-6.4]) and 18.8% (12 of 64) (OR 2.2 [95% CI 1.1-4.5]), respectively, among women with no clinically apparent disease, and 16.3% (14 of 86) (OR 3.8 [95% CI 1.9-7.7]) and 18.6% (16 of 86) (OR 2.3 [95% CI 1.2-4.3]), respectively, among those with persisting symptoms at follow-up. Mean ± SD umbilical artery Doppler pulsatility indices were higher among women with no clinically apparent disease (0.95 ± 0.2) and those with persisting symptoms (0.96 ± 0.21) than in controls (0.89 ± 0.12) (P = 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively). In our study population, preclinical rheumatic disorders were associated with an increased risk of FGR/preeclampsia and SGA. The impact of these findings and their utility in screening for FGR/preeclampsia need to be confirmed in population studies.
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Perfect replacement for similar handset which was no longer useable due to rubber nozzles breaking. Feels a little lighter and more plasticky than previous one but can't complain for the price. Fast delivery too.
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In order to protect the products from damage due to mechanical, physical and chemical influences from the outside, various coating layers or coating films are being applied to the surface of electric and electronic devices such as mobile phones or various display devices, etc., components of electronic materials, household appliances, automobile interior and exterior materials, or various molded products such as various plastic products. However, scratches on the coated surface of the products or cracks due to external shocks deteriorate the appearance characteristic, main performance and lifespan of the products, and therefore various studies are being conducted to protect the surface of the products, thereby maintaining the quality of the products for a long period of time.
In particular, research and interest in coating materials having self-healing properties have been rapidly increasing in recent years. The self-healing property refers to a property in which, when scratches are made on the coating layer by an external physical force or stimulus applied to the coating layer, the damage such as scratches is gradually healed or reduced itself. Although various coating materials exhibiting such a self-healing property, or mechanisms of the self-healing property are known, in general, a method for using a coating material exhibiting elasticity is widely known. That is, when such a coating material is used, even if a physical damage such as scratches is applied on the coating layer, the damage site is gradually filled in because of the elasticity of the coating material itself, and thus, the self-healing property described above may be exhibited.
However, in the case of a conventional coating layer exhibiting the self-healing property, it had disadvantages in that the mechanical properties of the coating layer such as hardness, abrasion resistance or coating strength, etc. were insufficient as elastic materials were mainly included. In particular, in the case of applying a coating layer exhibiting a self-healing property to the exterior of various household appliances such as refrigerators or washing machines, etc., the mechanical properties of the coating layer are required on a high level, but in most cases, the coating layer having a conventional self-healing property could not satisfy such high mechanical properties. Accordingly, when a strong external stimulus was applied to the existing coating layer, there were many cases where the coating layer itself was permanently damaged, and the self-healing property was also lost.
Due to such problems of the prior arts, there has been a continuing demand for the development of a technique that enables the provision of a coating layer or film that exhibits further improved mechanical properties together with excellent self-healing properties.
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Saturday, June 13, 2009
I had just returned from Washington, D.C., where I attended the Second International Symposium on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. The theme: “Never Again.”
The night before, I had mused over the intense weekend in Washington, the moving testimonials and the lively plane ride where I had become engulfed in conversations that betrayed the pervading culture of confusion surrounding assisted suicide and euthanasia. No, euthanasia is not about withdrawal of life support so as to allow a terminally ill person to die, I had explained to the lady on the plane. No, physician-assisted suicide “guidelines” are not always strictly enforced.......
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“These patients have been isolated since they were tested and will remain isolated until they recover,” Zimmerman said. “Seventeen staff members have tested positive. These staff members are isolated in their homes.”
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It is proposed to synthesize 5-hydroxy-methyl tryptophan and tryptamine derivatives in order to study the effect of these componds on the EEG behavior of rabbits. Furthermore, it is proposed to study the intermediary metabolism of 5-methyltryptophan derivatives.
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We shouldn’t need a reminder that NBA owners, when the cameras are off and the community rallies are over, conceive of fans mostly as walking sacks with dollar signs on them.
That was the trigger for the email from Atlanta Hawks owner Bruce Levenson, sent in 2012 and unearthed again two months ago as part of a Hawks internal investigation, that led to Levenson’s decision over the weekend to sell his share of the franchise: How can we squeeze more money from the few fans loyal enough to actually attend Atlanta Hawks basketball games? Or, more precisely: How can we draw fans who might spend more money at the arena?
Levenson estimated that 70 percent of fans in attendance at Hawks games as recently as a few years ago were black, larger than the African American share of the Atlanta population, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. That was in part, Levenson said in the fatal email, because the Hawks, desperate for live bodies, gave away tickets to young fans from some of Atlanta’s underprivileged communities — common practice among NBA teams struggling with bad attendance.
That led to the crass stereotyping Levenson knew would cause a firestorm once exposed. On Saturday, he chose to sell his controlling stake in the Hawks rather than walk that firestorm, giving the NBA a convenient out to announce the ugly post–Donald Sterling story hours before the first full NFL Sunday. Hell, they could have waited a few more hours and revealed the Levenson story while Twitter was going berserk over the Antonio Brown flying kick. Hardly anyone would have noticed. Nobody ever notices the Hawks, which is the larger point here.
Levenson soaked his remarks in the antiseptic of “business sense” and spread them over a rambling email, so it was easy at first to miss their offensive nature. A few leading black voices, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar this morning, have argued Levenson is in no way a racist. And he probably isn’t, at least in the most virulent sense. Levenson made it clear he was offended that any white Atlanta-area fans might find Hawks’ games “scary” because of the majority-black audience. He called such thinking “racist garbage.”
But Levenson’s email, boiled down to the core, is essentially this: “We have too many black people at our games. How can we get more white people?” You would not see an NBA owner ask the reverse question with such blunt urgency.
Wondering how to maximize profit is reasonable. Every sports franchise behaves that way. Levenson in the same email argued the team might suck in more halftime money by slicing $2 off the price of hot dogs during intermission instead of forking over the $2,000 or $3,000 appearance fee for a halftime draw like Quick Change or Red Panda.
The email is a hyper-local version of the last lockout, and of the ceaseless quest to wring taxpayer money for new arenas. The Hawks are estimated to have lost $23.9 million on basketball operations last season, the fifth-largest loss in the league, trailing Brooklyn, Charlotte, Minnesota, and Detroit, per a confidential league memo obtained by Grantland. About $11 million combined from luxury tax proceeds and the league’s revenue-sharing fund softened the blow, but this has long been one of the NBA’s sad-sack franchises. Attendance is well below league-average capacity when the Hawks are good, and when they’re bad, as they were for most of the early 2000s, they typically rank among the league’s bottom three.
The profit-maximization discussion is fair. And to be frank, so is wondering whether some white people are, in fact, scared of large groups of black people. Some of the nation’s most diverse cities — including New York, where I have lived for more than 10 years — are diverse only by the numbers, and not in the day-to-day realities of their citizenry.
But Levenson veered into unsavory stereotyping in that discussion. He labeled blacks as cheap without using that word, and speculated that racial composition explained why Hawks fans spent so much less on merchandise at games than fans of the Atlanta Thrashers — the hockey team Levenson’s ownership group sold. (To Levenson’s credit, he did at least hint at the socioeconomic forces that could be behind those sales numbers. A more broad-minded course of action would be trying to address those forces instead of swapping out black fans for white, but that’s hard work at which the U.S. has failed for centuries.)
He repeated the old cliché that black people don’t arrive on time, and floated a bizarre theory that black fans don’t cheer as loudly as white fans. He made an indirect link between the majority-black attendance base and the lack of “fathers and sons” at games. He wanted more white cheerleaders, more white people on the Kiss Cam, and less hip-hop music — as if white people don’t enjoy hip-hop.
Levenson had pushed through some of those changes, and in the email, he made a link between those moves and a gradual decline in the percentage share of African Americans at the arena. He characterized that decline as a good thing, which, again, is the thread running through the email: fewer black people at games, please.
This is in step with the league’s larger history of hand-wringing over whether enough rich white people will enjoy a game played primarily by young black men. Levenson simply took that old trope and transported it from the court into the stands. Bill Russell and other black players accused league owners in the 1950s and early 1960s of having an informal quota on the number of black players per team, an allegation no one effectively refuted until it became clear to every owner that such a quota would make it difficult to win.
As the league reached its nadir in the late 1970s, owners and team executives had all kinds of uncomfortable conversations about race, athleticism, and fandom. David Halberstam’s path-breaking book The Breaks of the Game, about the 1979-80 Blazers, is filled with white higher-ups wondering if the genetic after-effects of slavery made black players better athletes, whether black players were as “cerebral” as their white teammates, and whether a majority-black league could even survive in white America.
David Stern talked openly about those sustainability concerns. There is a rather obvious reason the NBA mandates inactive players wear certain kinds of clothes, and not other kinds of clothes, while sitting next to a hardwood floor watching sweaty men in tank tops and shorts throw a ball into a basket. I’d have to change my entire wardrobe if my bosses suggested I dress for a basketball game as if I were attending arguments at the Supreme Court.
Levenson’s email was distasteful at best, offensive at worst. He might have been able to survive it, but he chose not to, and he happens to be selling his controlling (but not majority) share in the franchise at a good time.
The Hawks rediscovered the email after Danny Ferry, running a free-agency meeting about Luol Deng, read aloud a background report on Deng that included a racially insensitive term, according to both ESPN and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo reported today that Ferry referred to Deng as having “some African in him,” before clarifying, “And I don’t say that in a bad way.” It’s unclear as of now whether Ferry ad-libbed that line himself or read it directly from a report by someone else.
The team initiated an internal investigation after at least one executive, Steve Koonin, the team’s CEO, expressed discomfort over the phrase.
The team will discipline Ferry for reading the word, the reports say, though Ferry will remain as GM. That may seem harsh if Ferry didn’t author the report, but it’s an ugly statement either way, and teams are going to engage more in this type of anticipatory house-cleaning after watching the league and the Clippers look the other way on Sterling’s heinous beliefs — until it bit everyone in the ass. No one in the room has come forward to describe Ferry’s reaction in reading the report, and Ferry hasn’t responded to requests for comment.
It’d be interesting to know if there were any minorities in the room when Ferry read the report. The NBA has a strong record of hiring minorities and women compared with the other major U.S. pro sports, but front offices and coaching staffs are still surprisingly white-majority considering how large a portion of NBA players are black.
The sale of Levenson’s stake will be a good test of the Clippers’ effect on team valuations. Sources with expertise in franchise sales have speculated since the announcement of Steve Ballmer’s purchase that Ballmer overpaid, and that the $2 billion price tag may not lift up franchise values across the league as much as we’d typically expect.
The Clips’ sale was an outlier, they suggested — a fast-paced, semi-blind auction for a mega-market team approaching the renegotiation of both its local TV deal and the league’s national package. The sale of the Bucks for $550 million in the spring might be the more meaningful benchmark going forward. We’ll start to see now.
Even that Milwaukee sale marked a bonanza relative to earnings — the Bucks lost $6.5 million on basketball operations last season, per the league memo, and ended up with a profit only due to a massive revenue-sharing check — and the rest of the Hawks’ ownership group has already received calls from several billionaires interested in Levenson’s share, per the Journal-Constitution.
Sources across the league wondered if we might see a mini-wave of sales in minority ownership stakes after the Bucks-Clippers double whammy; rich guys with small stakes and minimal perks are now certain they can turn a quickie profit without risking the bubble might burst down the line. Levenson’s share is too large to really fit in that discussion, but it will be an interesting test case. He doesn’t own a majority of the Hawks, but he’s the controlling owner, and he didn’t need the permission of any of his ownership partners to initiate the sales process, per a league source.
The bubble may not burst for a long time. Sports Business Journal reported this morning that the NBA is close to an agreement with ESPN and Turner on a new national TV rights deal that could crack $2 billion per year on average — up from approximately $900 million under the current agreement, which runs through 2015-16. That could wreak havoc with the salary cap, since the cap level is tied to overall league revenues. Grantland reported in late July that the league is trying to avoid any mammoth one-year jump in the cap level, since such a leap would make it difficult for both players and teams to build long-term plans. Some team executives are inquiring this morning whether the league might bake some of projected TV revenues, scheduled to kick in for the 2016-17 season, into the 2015-16 cap to smooth the increases.
Regardless: what a coup for Levenson, at least financially. The Atlanta Spirit, the group of Hawks owners headed by Levenson, has been messy since before it even officially began. The sale of the team to the Spirit in 2004 sparked immediate litigation from one spurned buyer, who accused Time Warner and Turner Broadcasting, the team’s prior owners, of reneging on an oral agreement because they wanted to sell the team to family and friends of Ted Turner.
Members of the Spirit then began suing one other after a co-owner, Steve Belkin, opposed the Joe Johnson trade and (eventually) sold his stake in the team. The remaining owners sued a major law firm involved with the Belkin issue and the Thrashers sale, and tried to unload the Hawks during the lockout in a busted deal that would have netted much less than what Levenson should get today. This is not unlike the Cavaliers falling ass-backward into a new super-team.
The sale, plus the Hawks’ sad history, sparked immediate talk in NBA circles on Sunday of whether the team might be a candidate for relocation — possibly to Seattle. It’s possible, given skyrocketing franchise values and the chaotic history of the Spirit group, that buyers will come calling for more than just Levenson’s share. A new majority owner is a game-changer in any city.
But we need to slow down. The Hawks have been in Atlanta since 1969, and the league has made it clear in Milwaukee and Sacramento that it values continuity — provided continuity comes with a glistening new arena, which isn’t an urgent need yet with the Hawks. Philips Arena opened in 1999, and though the lifespan of arenas keeps shrinking, there has been no loud outcry about replacing the Hawks’ home. Atlanta is a top-10 TV market, larger than Seattle, and the headquarters of Turner and NBA TV.
Any buyer wishing to relocate the team would have to assume debt and pay a $75 million early-termination fee on the arena lease. Toss in the mandatory relocation fee payable to the other 29 owners and you’re looking at a giant price tag just to get permission for a theoretical move.
Chris Hansen, the head of the Seattle group that tried to buy the Kings, showed the stomach for that kind of overpay. He was ready to value the Kings at around $600 million, fork over the relocation fee, and line up nearly $300 million in private money for a new arena — an arena that doesn’t yet exist.
Perhaps other owners with relocation dreams might be willing to pay that sort of premium. It takes only one, and Seattle itself is a large market. Moving the Sonics from Seattle to Oklahoma City, the league’s third-smallest TV market, with minimal hotel capacity, made zero practical sense.
Any relocation talk at this point is far-fetched speculation, the kind of “What if?” buzz that always follows a story of this magnitude. And the Bucks probably have to get a new arena — an actual, physical building — before any other team becomes a realistic candidate for relocation.
For now, let’s see how the Levenson sale plays out, and whether other ugly comments come to light. Remember: The Sterling litigation is ongoing. That story isn’t dead yet, and the ripple effects continue.
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137 Denman Avenue Caringbah, NSW 2229
Sold By
PRIZED CORNER LOCATION WITH CITY & BAY SKYLINE VIEWS
3 Beds
3 Baths
2 Cars
Occupying a prized North Facing setting and little more than a short level stroll to the heart of Caringbah CBD, this stunning property situated on the high side of the street and offered for the first time in over 32 years is an offering of exceptional rarity and uniqueness. It is situated on a magnificent corner parcel of land of approximately 595m2 and boasts unlimited potential. Exceedingly versatile, there is incredible scope to use the rear of the home as a Bed & Breakfast, create as two separate homes or develop a dual occupancy STCA.
The existing family home offers formal lounge and dining room which enjoys City Skyline Views, air-conditioning & gas, spacious entertainers kitchen, three generous size bedrooms, ensuite to master bedroom, sun-room and Sun-drenched rumpus room which contains compact kitchenette. On the lower ground level there is a studio which can used as a home office/kids playroom, loads of storage space and compact laundry & third bathroom. There is a sparkling in-ground salt water pool which is surrounded by lush landscaping and offers a private oasis.
Enjoy this enviable Corner position and views to the City Skyline, the possibilities are endless.
A great opportunity exists to secure a substantial well presented property in the highly sought after pocket of North Caringbah, nestled a short distance to Caringbah North Public School and Caringbah High School.
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Top court strikes down Mass. abortion clinic buffer; effect on NH law under scrutiny
Manchester resident Marty Dowd, center, leads informational picketers outside the Planned Parenthood clinic in Manchester on Thursday, the day the U.S. Supreme Court ruled such actions in Massachusetts protected under the First Amendment. (MARK HAYWARD / UNION LEADER)
Political leaders and organizations that support abortion rights voiced optimism Thursday that the New Hampshire abortion-clinic buffer zone law will survive constitutional muster, even though a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court struck down a similar law in Massachusetts.
Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan, who signed the law earlier this month, said her office will review the Thursday decision to see what impact it has in New Hampshire.
“Women should be able to safely access health care and family planning services, and the bipartisan legislation that I signed earlier this month was narrowly tailored, with input from the law enforcement community and municipal officials, to ensure the safety and privacy of patients and the public, while also protecting the right to free speech,” Hassan said.
The Supreme Court ruled that a Massachusetts buffer zone that kept protesters 35 feet from abortion clinics was unconstitutional because it restricts constitutional rights to free speech and assembly.
The New Hampshire law, which goes into effect July 10, establishes a 25-foot buffer zone around abortion clinics. The law allows for flexible buffer zones tailored to the facility, advocates said.
The ruling added a spring to the step of nine people who marched outside Planned Parenthood in Manchester on Thursday. The picketers normally gather there on Thursdays, the day they say abortions take place at the clinic.
“We’re happy, (but) it doesn’t mean they won’t try to go forward with it,” said Cathy Kelley. She offered literature to clinic patients, while others walked on the sidewalk and quietly prayed. A security guard manned the parking lot, and clinic employees watched from inside the glass door.
“Hopefully, this will all just go away. We don’t bother anybody down here, for crying out loud. We help people who want to be helped,” Kelley said.
Jerry Bergevin, a former state representative, was among those praying. He said the buffer zone wouldn’t have stopped the picketing, just moved it across the street.
“The First Amendment is upheld,” he said. “The Constitution, at least with this decision, is intact again.”
The Supreme Court ruled the Massachusetts law is too restrictive when the state has other options to address potential clashes outside clinics and to protect patients from intimidation and interference.
Supporters of New Hampshire’s law have said it addresses some of the issues raised during Supreme Court arguments on Massachusetts’ law.
But an opponent of the Granite State law says it mimics the Bay State’s statute and should not go into effect.
“In siding with the plaintiffs in this case, the court has agreed that these buffer zone laws pose an onerous burden to the free speech rights of those who wish to educate, protest, or otherwise exercise their constitutional rights around these facilities,” Carson said.
She noted the court ruled that lawmakers must be mindful of First Amendment rights as they ensure safe and open access to reproductive-health clinics.
The court’s ruling notes that the Massachusetts problems centered on one clinic in Boston; the problems in New Hampshire are limited to the Planned Parenthood clinic in Manchester. She said those issues can be addressed locally.
The Manchester clinic is located on a narrow street in a residential area. The building is just feet from the public sidewalk.
The law’s prime sponsor, Sen. Donna Soucy, D-Manchester, said it is too early to determine the impact of the ruling.
New Hampshire lawmakers “crafted a narrow law which is more limited than the Massachusetts law at issue in the decision,” Soucy said.
Jennifer Frizzell, vice president for public policy for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, said the New Hampshire law addressed some of the issues argued before the Supreme Court, such as allowing law enforcement and other local officials to work with clinics to craft appropriate buffer zones that fit the neighborhood.
She said the zones restrict all protests and picketing, not just anti-abortion activities.
“New Hampshire’s legislation was narrowly tailored to balance important constitutional rights and differs in significant ways from the Massachusetts law that was struck down in today’s decision,” Frizzell said. “It’s too early to speculate how this will affect access to New Hampshire’s reproductive health facilities.”
She said the decision shows a troubling level of disregard for women who should be able to make private medical decisions without running a gauntlet of harassing and threatening protesters.
Bryan McCormack of Cornerstone Action said New Hampshire’s law is unsupportable.
“Peaceful pro-life witness outside abortion facilities is constitutionally protected and must be respected by law, as Cornerstone has held all along,” he said. “The right to abortion does not trump the First Amendment.”
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1606 in Sweden
Events from the year 1606 in Sweden
Incumbents
Monarch – Charles IX
Events
March - The Riksdag of the Estates is summoned to Örebro. The main topic is the claim to the Swedish throne from the Polish monarch Sigismund III Vasa and the counter reformation which his accession is feared to signify.
- Foundation of the city of Vaasa in Finland.
- Prince John is appointed Duke of Östergötland.
Births
- Erik Gabrielsson Emporagrius, professor and bishop (born 1674)
- Arvid Wittenberg, count, field marshal and privy councillor (died 1657)
Deaths
References
Category:1606 in Sweden
Category:Years of the 17th century in Sweden
Category:1606 by country
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All instructors are responsible for maintaining and submitting such records and reports as may be required by the College. All records and reports are to be submitted to the appropriate administrator on or before the date due.
Membership and Web Attendance Record − Attendance is to be kept by each instructor for each section taught, currently through Web Attendance. Codes for showing student status are listed on the Web Attendance form and are to be used as shown. This form will constitute the official back-up record for FTE reporting and for attendance in the class. The first submission in Web Attendance should be done no later than the day after ten (10) percent of the class meetings have taken place. The final submission of Web Attendance is due within 24 hours after completion of the course.
Student Grade Reporting − All grades must be entered into Web Advisor at the completion of the course by the due date designated by the Registrar’s Office.
Grade Report − This report is to be completed on a standard form for each section of each course taught. This report is the official record of the grade assigned. The report is due to the Office for Instruction at the end of the semester.
Incomplete Grades − Instructions regarding incompletes as outlined in the general Catalog shall be followed by all instructors. The following procedure will aid in the enforcement of this policy:
During pre-registration advising, the advisor will be responsible for questioning the student concerning any possible incompletes and for advising students that failure to report any incompletes may result in:
Courses being dropped to create a lighter load, or
Extra expenses incurred in purchasing texts for courses which cannot be taken due to an unresolved incomplete.
The instructor assigning the grade of incomplete will assign the date by which the student must complete the course requirements. This date must be set no later than the end of the following semester. A grade of incomplete, which has not been removed before the end of its succeeding semester, automatically becomes a failure. During the semester or no later than the end of the semester, instructors award the proper grade and submit the proper form through SharePoint.
Two or more incompletes in a semester will result in the student being required to carry a reduced load the following semester. The appropriate Dean must document exceptions to this procedure after consultation with the student's advisor. Students with three or more incompletes may register for the following semester by special permission only.
Student Dismissal or Student Withdrawal from Class by Instructor − Should it become necessary to drop a student from class a Student Dismissal is to be filed with the appropriate Dean. Instructors should file this as soon as possible after the decision to drop the student is made. It is very important that the final grade and each date of attendance be listed on this form. Students who are absent for more than 10% of the class contact hours prior to the 75% point of the class hours should be withdrawn from the course, and the grade and last date of attendance submitted within three days through Colleague. In exceptional circumstances, such as in the case of illness, an instructor may allow a student to remain in class if in the instructor’s opinion the student has a reasonable chance of completing the course objectives. The instructor should maintain documentation of any communication with the student and/or his/her family.
Accident Reports − Accidents are reported on a standard form and should be completed on the date of the accident and filed with the Office of Campus Police and Public Safety.
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June 2017
06/26/2017
Businesspeople in Belfast, North Ireland, are testing a program to encourage cyclists to shop in their area.
With financial support from the EU and the U.K.-based cycling advocacy/support group Sustrans (Sustainable Transportation), businesses in the East Belfast area are joining Pedal Perks, a cyclist loyalty scheme that offers discounts and loyalty rewards to those who arrive on bicycles.
In return, the businesses will have their products and services promoted to the 10,000 cyclists who work near or use the cycleways in the area. Those signing on include health food stores, drug stores, cafes and eateries. Read the Sustrans article here. (And go to the website of the European Cyclists' Federation for other innovative cycling information.)
I latched on to the quote from Sustrans active-travel officer Pamela Grove-White: "People, not cars, spend money."
Yes, so the goal would be to get more people to your business. If there is one parking space in front of your cafe, you may be getting one customer. What if you converted that one parking space to bicycle parking? Cited by the Sustrans article was a University of Birmingham study that said bicycle parking space generates five times more consumer spending per square metre than does automobile parking space.
Try that notion out on Waterloo Region retail businesses, where the hackles often go up at the suggestion of losing a street-side parking space, and few seem to think about bicycle parking.
So, maybe the bicycle parking is a hard sell. But a Pedal Perks loyalty card? Sure, why wouldn't that work? Throw in a bike rack so that cycling consumers feel welcome, and see what happens.
06/25/2017
I was wondering why I was getting notices from Dirt Rag Mountain Bike Magazine, advising me that my sub was almost up and it was time to renew.
I never was a Dirt Rag subscriber, so I thought it was just a marketing ploy.
I was a subscriber to Bicycle Times, which was the recreational cycling spinoff in the Dirt Rag universe. Bicycle Times announced in March of this year that it was ceasing its print publication and continuing as a website and "brand". (How does one continue as a "brand"? If no one was buying Coke, would Coke just keep the name alive and you'd drink "Coke" online?)
Anyway, I apparently missed the notice that my Bicycle Times sub would continue with Dirt Rag. I was never much into Dirt Rag -- too much about racing and mountains.
The current issue (and my last unless I renew, according to the emails I'm getting) has some pretty good reads, including Joe Parkin's guest editor space, Damon Roberson's piece on "chocolate foot", Steve Kinevil's piece on his fave bike, and a selection of bicycling tales in the feature, Let Me Tell You A Story. It is 80 pages of material that reminds me of Bicycling Magazine back in its golden period. (Maybe the influence of Dirt Rag's editor-in-chief Mike Cushionbury, who was on Bicycling's staff back in the early 2000s.)
Am I going to renew? It's $30 USD for a year. It's only $20 USD for a year if you live in the U.S., which totally sucks since someone in Alaska gets a mag shipped from Pittsburgh for less than someone in southern Ontario gets it. Odds are good that the answer will be "no", but I'm still thinking about it.
There are four more accomplished adult cyclists on the streets of Kitchener and Waterloo, thanks to the City of Waterloo, which is hosting of an almost full suite of CAN-BIKE programs from now until the fall.
Five hours of cycling, classroom work and testing on Saturday marked the end of a three-session Level 4 program, the top level for cyclists who want to develop their on-road, in-traffic cycling skills. (Full Disclosure: I'm a CAN-BIKE instructor, and marked the written portion of the last-day testing.)
The instructor for this class was Philip Martin, a former public school teacher who founded the Cycling Into The Future program to deliver cycling education to hundreds of Grade 5 students in Waterloo Region. For three of the four CAN-BIKE students on Saturday, this will be the next stop on their way to taking Level 5 and becoming qualified CAN-BIKE instructors themselves.
These grads will populate cycling education sessions in CITF, and instruct CAN-BIKE programs where municipalities want to see engaged and capable cyclists sharing the roads with motorists.
I am always satisfied to see the expressions on CAN-BIKE students' faces after that last training ride: confident, even exhilarated, about their on-road potentials and abilities.
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Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire saw heavy job losses in January following the meager gains that were posted in December, but California still managed to add nearly 10,000 jobs, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.
L.A. County employers shed 78,700 jobs in January, fueled primarily by a steep decline in seasonal retail positions that were eliminated at the end of the holiday shopping season.
That came in stark contrast to December’s gain of 8,100 jobs. But the region’s unemployment rate dipped to 4.9 percent in January, down from 5.1 percent in December and 5.6 percent a year earlier.
Kimberly Ritter-Martinez, an economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., said the drop-off of seasonal holiday employment is typical for January.
“It’s been pretty consistent,” she said. “It happened in 2016 with 87,000 jobs lost and in 2013 we lost 81,000 jobs.”
The county’s trade, transportation and utilities sector lost 28,800 jobs in January and additional declines were seen in leisure and hospitality (down 19,000 jobs), information (down 7,700), construction (down 4,700) and manufacturing (down 4,000), among others.
Financial activities was the only industry to show an increase over the month with 900 new jobs.
L.A. County added 62,600 jobs over the year at a rate of 1.5 percent. That outpaced December’s year-over-year gain of 58,600 jobs.
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// Copyright (c) Athena Dev Teams - Licensed under GNU GPL
// For more information, see LICENCE in the main folder
#ifndef TXT_ONLY
#include "../common/nullpo.h"
#include "../common/showmsg.h"
#include "mail.h"
#include "atcommand.h"
#include "itemdb.h"
#include "clif.h"
#include "pc.h"
#include "log.h"
#include <time.h>
#include <string.h>
void mail_clear(struct map_session_data *sd)
{
sd->mail.nameid = 0;
sd->mail.index = 0;
sd->mail.amount = 0;
sd->mail.zeny = 0;
sd->auction.amount = 0;
return;
}
int mail_removeitem(struct map_session_data *sd, short flag)
{
nullpo_ret(sd);
if( sd->mail.amount )
{
if (flag)
{ // Item send
log_pick(&sd->bl, LOG_TYPE_MAIL, sd->mail.nameid, -sd->mail.amount, &sd->status.inventory[sd->mail.index]);
pc_delitem(sd, sd->mail.index, sd->mail.amount, 1, 0);
}
else
clif_additem(sd, sd->mail.index, sd->mail.amount, 0);
}
sd->mail.nameid = 0;
sd->mail.index = 0;
sd->mail.amount = 0;
return 1;
}
int mail_removezeny(struct map_session_data *sd, short flag)
{
nullpo_ret(sd);
if (flag && sd->mail.zeny > 0)
{ //Zeny send
log_zeny(sd, LOG_TYPE_MAIL, sd, -sd->mail.zeny);
sd->status.zeny -= sd->mail.zeny;
}
sd->mail.zeny = 0;
pc_onstatuschanged(sd, SP_ZENY);
return 1;
}
unsigned char mail_setitem(struct map_session_data *sd, int idx, int amount)
{
if( idx == 0 )
{ // Zeny Transfer
if( amount < 0 || !pc_can_give_items(pc_isGM(sd)) )
return 1;
if( amount > sd->status.zeny )
amount = sd->status.zeny;
sd->mail.zeny = amount;
// pc_onstatuschanged(sd, SP_ZENY);
return 0;
}
else
{ // Item Transfer
idx -= 2;
mail_removeitem(sd, 0);
if( idx < 0 || idx >= MAX_INVENTORY )
return 1;
if( amount < 0 || amount > sd->status.inventory[idx].amount )
return 1;
if( !pc_candrop(sd, &sd->status.inventory[idx]) )
return 1;
sd->mail.index = idx;
sd->mail.nameid = sd->status.inventory[idx].nameid;
sd->mail.amount = amount;
return 0;
}
}
bool mail_setattachment(struct map_session_data *sd, struct mail_message *msg)
{
int n;
nullpo_retr(false,sd);
nullpo_retr(false,msg);
if( sd->mail.zeny < 0 || sd->mail.zeny > sd->status.zeny )
return false;
n = sd->mail.index;
if( sd->mail.amount )
{
if( sd->status.inventory[n].nameid != sd->mail.nameid )
return false;
if( sd->status.inventory[n].amount < sd->mail.amount )
return false;
if( sd->weight > sd->max_weight )
return false;
memcpy(&msg->item, &sd->status.inventory[n], sizeof(struct item));
msg->item.amount = sd->mail.amount;
}
else
memset(&msg->item, 0x00, sizeof(struct item));
msg->zeny = sd->mail.zeny;
// Removes the attachment from sender
mail_removeitem(sd,1);
mail_removezeny(sd,1);
return true;
}
void mail_getattachment(struct map_session_data* sd, int zeny, struct item* item)
{
if( item->nameid > 0 && item->amount > 0 )
{
pc_additem(sd, item, item->amount);
log_pick(&sd->bl, LOG_TYPE_MAIL, item->nameid, item->amount, item);
clif_Mail_getattachment(sd->fd, 0);
}
if( zeny > 0 )
{ //Zeny recieve
log_zeny(sd, LOG_TYPE_MAIL, sd, zeny);
pc_getzeny(sd, zeny);
}
}
int mail_openmail(struct map_session_data *sd)
{
nullpo_ret(sd);
if( sd->state.storage_flag || sd->state.vending || sd->state.buyingstore || sd->state.trading )
return 0;
clif_Mail_window(sd->fd, 0);
return 1;
}
void mail_deliveryfail(struct map_session_data *sd, struct mail_message *msg)
{
nullpo_retv(sd);
nullpo_retv(msg);
if( msg->item.amount > 0 )
{
// Item recieve (due to failure)
log_pick(&sd->bl, LOG_TYPE_MAIL, msg->item.nameid, msg->item.amount, &msg->item);
pc_additem(sd, &msg->item, msg->item.amount);
}
if( msg->zeny > 0 )
{
//Zeny recieve (due to failure)
log_zeny(sd, LOG_TYPE_MAIL, sd, msg->zeny);
sd->status.zeny += msg->zeny;
pc_onstatuschanged(sd, SP_ZENY);
}
clif_Mail_send(sd->fd, true);
}
// This function only check if the mail operations are valid
bool mail_invalid_operation(struct map_session_data *sd)
{
if( !map[sd->bl.m].flag.town && pc_isGM(sd) < get_atcommand_level(atcommand_mail) )
{
ShowWarning("clif_parse_Mail: char '%s' trying to do invalid mail operations.\n", sd->status.name);
return true;
}
return false;
}
#endif
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Zuckerberg 2020?
There’s a long-running theory that Mark Zuckerberg has presidential aspirations. It makes sense to wonder. After all, if the civically engaged and ambitious billionaire leader of the most powerful media company on the planet wanted to take on a new challenge, why not try running a country? It’s not like he has many other opportunities for a promotion.
But only in recent weeks has a Zuckerberg run for the American presidency started to seem like a legitimate possibility. First there was his personal challenge for 2017: Zuckerberg’s aiming to visit and meet with people in all 50 states by the end of the year.
And not just that, but he framed the exercise in a way that sounds, well, political: “Going into this challenge, it seems we are at a turning point in history,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “For decades, technology and globalization have made us more productive and connected. This has created many benefits, but for a lot of people it has also made life more challenging. This has contributed to a greater sense of division than I have felt in my lifetime. We need to find a way to change the game so it works for everyone.”
Commenting Policy
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, vulgarity, profanity, all caps, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain a courteous and useful public environment where we can engage in reasonable discourse.
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Q:
Removendo o TitleBar do app android
To iniciando no android, e sei muito pouco! To desenvolvendo devagar e a cada mudança eu salvo o apk e vejo ele rodando no meu celular. Observei que fica uma barra no app com o nome da aplicação! Gostaria de tirar essa barra! Vi vários tutoriais na internet, porem nenhum deu certo! Não sei se de fato estou fazendo errado ou se tem haver com a compatibilidade!
Uso o Android Studio e no theme eu coloquei "NoTitleBar", porém não funciona!
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="proj.beta" >
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@mipmap/logo"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name=".MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>
O Title_Bar que me refiro está na seguinte imagem!
A:
Você pode configurar pelo Manifest para deixar o app em fullScreen.
AndroidManifest.xml
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@mipmap/logo"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@android:style/Theme.NoTitleBar">
<activity
android:name=".MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@android:style/Theme.NoTitleBar">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
Via código Java
// onCreate()
getWindow().setFlags(WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_FULLSCREEN,
WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_FULLSCREEN);
// setContentView()
A:
Amigo é barbada, va em res/values/styles.xml
modifique parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar" para parent="Theme.AppCompat.Light.NoActionBar" e faça um rebuild e pronto é só emular.
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Sunday, September 18, 2016
The Fluoride Dragon Cometh! Or does he?
[Editor’s note: With no further ado, and with no introduction necessary, here is a second post from Craig Pearcey; Witness his science and despair, quacks of the world!]
First for the basic chemistry
There is one particular word that tends to get many CAM supporters very vocal and the conspiracists thinking about running for their home-made bunkers in a basement somewhere. It is the word “fluorine” or any of its analogues. However, before getting into their anti-fluorine claims, we need to briefly review it properties as both an element and in various molecular forms. Without this background it may be possible to make certain assumptions about fluorine that are baseless for a given molecular structure and application. It is this very type of error that the antivaxxers and many in the CAM field make in regards thimerosal – i.e. Ethyl(2-mercaptobenzoato-(2-)-O,S) mercurate(1-) sodium, methyl-mercury, and elemental mercury. All three have significantly differing chemical properties based on their molecular structure, but some individuals/groups continue to attribute the toxicity and chemical properties for elemental mercury to thimerosal (Ethyl(2-mercaptobenzoato-(2-)-O,S) mercurate(1-) sodium). Similarly, drawing conclusions on thimerosal toxicity from methyl mercury is equally flawed. In addition, in their instance in equating the three they refuse to provide any viable mechanism how thimerosal is converted into either elemental mercury of methyl mercury, or how they can be attributed the same chemical properties.
And now for fluorine chemistry
Fluorine is one of the halides (i.e. halogen), and is located in Period 2 (the second row of the periodic table), Group 17 / Group VIIa (the column second most from the right of the table). It has the highest electronegativity of any of the elements (i.e. a “love” for accumulating extra electrons) in the periodic table, and consequently is one of the strongest oxidants in nature. This strong oxidizing potential tends to make it dangerous to any living organism that comes into contact with it in it elemental form (typically as molecular fluorine – F2) due to its tendency to cause severe oxidative damage. Fluoride on the other hand, the anion of fluorine, is supplied in various forms for the prevention of cavities. These forms include sodium fluoride, fluorosilicic acid, and sodium fluorosilicate. As an anion, i.e. F–, its potential for oxidation is spent and it tends to form salts like sodium fluoride (NaF) with any cation in its immediate environmental. However, sodium fluoride is still toxic in small to moderate amounts (the lethal dose for a 70kg/154lb individual is 5-10 grams) and has a health warning of three on the NFPA 704 scale. In addition, sodium fluoride is also highly soluble in water. Lithium fluoride on the other hand, is far less water soluble and is typically associated with molten salts, and is used for (among other things) solar energy conduction in solar plants. Fluorosilicic acid (H2SiF6) and sodium fluorosilicate (Na2SiF6) are the acid and conjugate base of the same fluoridated silicon chemical species. Both are highly toxic (given by the NFPA 704 scale numbers of 3 and 2 respectively) and fluorosilicic acid is corrosive, including corrosive to glass. When elemental fluorine is chemically bonded to organics, its high electronegativity allows it to form strongly bonded associations with the organic backbone. This allows multi-fluoro-alkyls to have considerable thermodynamic stability, which lends them to multiple commercial and industrial uses (eg. high performance fire-retardants), particularly when multiple or complete hydrogen-fluorine substitution has been effected such as the various perfluor-alkyls and polyfluoror–alkyls (PFAS).
Turning Flint waters into a merry-go-round…
Given the prior discussion on heavy metals, it is appropriate at this point to move onto another issue Natural News writers often frequent – even though it does not include the topic of fluoride. Most recently, the writers of Natural News have published the an article entitled:- “City governments across America are poisoning children with lead and nothing is being done about it” in which they reference what is now known as the Flint Water Crisis. It is one of a number of articles in the similar vane in which they attempt to link the Flint Water crisis and the hazardously high lead levels in in Flint’s (Michigan) public water system to their unfounded claim of deliberate poisoning of the general US public with elevated levels of heavy metals in all US public and water drinking water. The whole story of the Flint Water crisis is known by most of the US public (though little known outside of the US) and has been extensively covered in the US press. In essence, the metropolitan of Flint changed over its water supply from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the Flint River, but did not add the necessary corrosion inhibiters to the Flint river water supply. This resulting in hazardously elevated levels of lead in the public water supplied to Flint due corrosion / leaching of lead out from the old lead-pipe based public water system into the public water. The effects on the citizens of Flint, particularly the poorer, were severe with as many as 6000-12000 children experiencing health related problems. In addition to, that when the problem became openly known, there were attempts by certain individuals to hide evidence of negligence. At present, extensive efforts have been undertaken to address the problem, include the changing back to the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department water supply, replacing the old lead pipe-lines with something more modern and infrastructure upgrades. Legal action is also being presumed against certain individuals. In addition, the story of the Flint Water Crisis is still developing as these efforts are ongoing. In general, Natural News’ coverage thereof is within acceptable bounds until they move beyond the basic facts of the case. Once, the writers of Natural News attempt to link the events of the Flint Water Crisis to their broader conspiratorial claims of heavy-metal poisoning of the general US public, they move from a factual position to one of unsupported supposition. The general mountainous preponderance of Water Quality testing data/evidence in the US, by the EPA and others, does not support they preposition. In fact the avalanche of evidence actually supports the counter claim. This cannot be more clearly demonstrated than by the fact that Mr Adams’ own CWC laboratory results (a review of which was undertaken earlier) strongly suggests no heavy metal poisoning of the general US public , but overall; adequate to good quality drinking water instead.
The study comes on the heels of the Natural News nationwide water quality assessment effort which analyzed hundreds of water samples via ICP-MS instrumentation to determine that 6.7% of the U.S. water supply is contaminated with toxic heavy metals that exceed allowable EPA limits. Click here to read the results of my own study in the Natural Science Journal, the journal I launched to publish real science in the public interest (without corporate or government influence). My article explaining the illegal heavy metals contamination found in the U.S. water supply is detailed at this link.
This article was subsequently followed reasonably quickly by two further articles on Natural News regarding the same topic and are entitled “Millions of Americans at risk for cancer and other harmful diseases due to toxic tap water” and “California tap water most toxic in nation; Harvard study finds deadly industrial chemicals used to fight fires, insulate pipes and more“. All three articles refer to the same recent joint study undertaken by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences in which the lead author, Xindi Hu, discussed the progressive emergent threat of PFAS in US public drinking water as part of her doctoral thesis. The author of the Harvard study used data supplied by the EPA’s Third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR3) program and a brief review of part of the contents thereof indicates that the Harvard study itself was well designed and executed. However, it is clear from both the title and the quoted contents of Adams’ article that he is trying to ram through his claims of heavy metals poisoning of the US public via its drinking water on the coattails of Hu’s completely unrelated study. A prior debunking of Mr. Mike Adams’ prior claims around heavy-metal poisoning of US public and state water is available on Science-Based Medicine. The impression that all three articles attempt to produce is that the EPA is either neglectfully ignorant of the risks associated with PFAS contamination of the national water supply, or criminally inactive about it. However, neither impression is true as, firstly, the EPA has been aware of the risks associated with PFAS for some time as given by the EPA’s UCMR3 testing program used in the Harvard study and, secondly, they have instituted activities to deal with the threat. In other words, the EPA has not been caught suddenly by surprise, and they are already at work tracking and attempting to address the problem. Furthermore, the issue of PFAS is not just a US problem, as the three Natural News articles appear to imply, but a global problem. This is clearly evident in the considerable amount of work and investigation being undertaken by the UNEF under the UN Global Monitoring Plan on POPs. Data from these and many other sources show similar levels of PFAS’s in the ground water, fauna and populous of all EU countries as compared to the USA. A similar trend is also observed around the rest of the globe. Lastly, given Mr. Adams related claim, a final comparison of the maps provide for heavy-metal results and the EPA on PFAS clearly suggests that there is no significant correlation between Adams’ heavy-metal data and the EPA PFAS data. In the end, these three Natural News articles are nothing more than an attempt to appeal to authority to justify their unfounded claims of US public water heavy-metal poisoning using a good-quality study that is not at all related to their claims – a “guilty by association” approach.
In 2014, the journal Lancet Neurology declared that fluoride is a developmental neurotoxin. A meta-analysis of 27 cross-sectional studies was lead by Dr. Philippe Grandjean of the Harvard School of Public Health, and Dr. Philip Landrigan of the Icahn School of Medicine. The study analyzed the effects fluoridation had on children across the world, though most were from China. What the researchers found was shocking. Exposure to elevated levels of fluoridation led to a decrease in IQ of about seven points, on average. Most of the water supplies in the studies had fluoride levels that would be permissible by current EPA standards, of less than 4mg per liter.
However, these views by the writers of Natural News are unsupported scientifically and have no basis in reality. The science behind the application of fluoride to teeth for good dental health has been extensively studied and is well established. Among the aspects covered by these studies is the chemical mechanics behind the conversion of hydroxyapatite to fluoro-hydroxyapatite in tooth enamel with fluoride application, as well as chemical/solubility equilibrium studies (Le Châtelier’s principle) and reaction kinetic studies associated hydroxyapatite deposition/re-deposition – including some more recent studies. The impact of dosage levels has also been well studied and from these studies, the appropriate and safe levels for fluoride application have been determined (0.7 – 1.2 ppm in drinking water). These studies have also shown that dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis only occur at high and extremely high levels respectively, typically at consumption levels one or more orders of magnitude above those proposed (i.e. 10 or even 100 ppm), at which point community water supplies would begin removing fluoride from the water. Thus, the claim by the Natural News writers that fluoride application at any dosage is dangerous is without any basis. In regards the Lancet study, the writers of Natural News appear to have quoted the Lancet study completely out of context. The language and structure of Natural News article suggests that its writers are attempting to create the impression that the Lancet article was sole about fluoride and its dangers, specifically in regards that added to US drinking water. However, the original Lancet article is actually a study that focuses on a large variety of known neurotoxicants (not just fluoride) and how they impact on cognitive development, with a specific emphasis on children. Some of the neurotoxins referenced in the article are Lead , polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) , arsenic, toluene, manganese, chlorpyrifos, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, tetrachloroethylene, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers. Fluoride is only mention twice in the article, once in table 2 and once in the abstract, however, it is not discussed at all in the article, including in the abstract. Thus, it is difficult to know the context of the fluoride (ie. the dosage level) that the article is referring to. A study of the sources sighted by Dr Gandjean and Dr Landrigan in the original article is more revealing. One of the sources referenced is an article published in the journal of Environmental Health Perspectives that deals with developmental delay in respect to fluoride dosage levels that are abnormally high as given by an article entitled:- “Developmental Fluoride Neurotoxicity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” . An extract from the articles abstract states:-
Conclusions: The results support the possibility of an adverse effect of high fluoride exposure on children’s neurodevelopment. Future research should include detailed individual-level information on prenatal exposure, neurobehavioral performance, and covariates for adjustment.
Lastly, the mention of 4.0 ppm (4.0mg/L) as the current EPA standard by the Natural News writers appears to be a break-down in understanding and general confusion around the NCR 2006 study (which was into the adverse impact of fluoride at the 2-4 ppm level) and the stipulated EPA specifications for fluoride in drinking water (0.7 – 1.2 ppm).
Further afield …
Two other claims that have been made by those in the anti-fluoridation camp are:
That the rest of the world is against the use of fluoride to dental hygiene entirely, and
In regards the rest of the world being against fluoridation, this is completely untrue as both the UN World Health Organization and EU European Food Safety Authority are strongly in favour thereof. This, then, raises the question as to why considerably more countries do not add fluoride to their drinking water than do. The answer is that the majority of the countries whom do not add fluoride to their public water use other methods to provide fluoride to their general public, such as fluoride in toothpaste, oral medications, and dental fluoride treatments typically involving pastes/gels. The reasons behind this are based more political and legal issues, not scientific or health ones. In regards higher heavy-metal uptakes/release by fluoride, the proponents hereof have not provided any viable scientific evidence for these claims, nor have they ever proposed a viable chemical mechanism for this. The single article they reference mentions only increased lead levels in the water supply to certain areas of Flint due to the increased corrosion of lead pipes via fluorosilicate.
Final words on PFAS and fluoride
So, in summary:
PFAS are a clear point of concern in the US, the EU and globally. Presently, the EPA and UN are carefully monitoring PFAS levels and working to address these concerns. However, for the Natural News writer to try link their unfounded claims of heavy-metal poisoning of the general US public via their drinking water with the PFAS study is completely without merit and inherently false.
The use of fluoride for dental health is well documented and thoroughly scientifically proven, provided the dosage of fluoride is maintain within the appropriate range. For the writers of Natural News to claim the use of fluoride at any dosage level, by any mechanism, and at any frequency, to be dangerous and damaging to public health, is totally unfounded and pure misinformation.
Although most of the world does not use fluoridation of water as a means of supplying fluoride to the general populous, they generally are in favour of fluoride application for oral hygiene and supply it in other forms.
The CAM and conspiracy camps have not provided a viable chemical mechanism to explain how fluoride worsens the uptake/release of heavy-metals by the human body to facilitate poisoning thereby.
An unrelated bit of fun chemistry
And now for something completely off topic and of interest in regards Period 2 chemistry. Being in Period 2, each fluorine atom processes only s and p-orbitals (i.e. electron shells), but no d or f-orbitals which gives fluorine some unique properties. Consequently, this is why (together with the number of protons in its nucleus against its size) fluorine has the highest electronegativity of all known elements. This lack of d and f-orbitals also tend to confer unique properties to all the other Period 2 elements such as boron, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, ect. This unique s/p-only orbital property for carbon as well as its four-valence bonding capacity makes it the only element in the universe that can readily and easily form polymers and chains of endless length that are thermodynamically stable. Silicon, the next four-valence bonding element in the Periodic Table (Period 3), does not readily form long polymers due to it having d-orbitals which favour silicon-oxygen linkages. Consequently, silicon tends to form silanes and silicones polymers, but only to a given size due to steric hindrance of the polymer structure. It is for this reason that any possible extra-terrestrial life (if it exists) on any exoplanets (include those recently discovery by either radial-velocity or transit methods – see the Kepler satellite) will always be carbon based rather than silicon based (despite science fiction’s general enthusiasm for silicon based life-forms).
|
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#!/bin/sh
clear
echo "#############################################################"
echo "# Install Shadowsocks for Miwifi"
echo "#############################################################"
# Make sure only root can run our script
if [[ $EUID -ne 0 ]]; then
echo "Error:This script must be run as root!" 1>&2
exit 1
fi
cd /userdisk/data/
rm -f shadowsocks_miwifi.tar.gz
curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/blademainer/miwifi-ss/master/r2d/shadowsocks_miwifi.tar.gz -o shadowsocks_miwifi.tar.gz
tar zxf shadowsocks_miwifi.tar.gz
# Config shadowsocks init script
cp ./shadowsocks_miwifi/myshadowsocks /etc/init.d/myshadowsocks
chmod +x /etc/init.d/myshadowsocks
#config setting and save settings.
echo "#############################################################"
echo "#"
echo "# Please input your shadowsocks configuration"
echo "#"
echo "#############################################################"
echo ""
echo "请输入服务器IP:"
read serverip
echo "请输入服务器端口:"
read serverport
echo "请输入密码"
read shadowsockspwd
echo "请输入加密方式"
read method
# Config shadowsocks
cat > /etc/shadowsocks.json<<-EOF
{
"server":"${serverip}",
"server_port":${serverport},
"local_address":"127.0.0.1",
"local_port":1081,
"password":"${shadowsockspwd}",
"timeout":600,
"method":"${method}"
}
EOF
#config dnsmasq
mkdir -p /etc/dnsmasq.d
cp -f ./shadowsocks_miwifi/dnsmasq_list.conf /etc/dnsmasq.d/dnsmasq_list.conf
#config firewall
cp -f /etc/firewall.user /etc/firewall.user.back
echo "ipset -N gfwlist iphash -! " >> /etc/firewall.user
echo "iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p tcp -m set --match-set gfwlist dst -j REDIRECT --to-port 1081" >> /etc/firewall.user
#restart all service
/etc/init.d/dnsmasq restart
/etc/init.d/firewall restart
/etc/init.d/myshadowsocks start
/etc/init.d/myshadowsocks enable
#install successfully
rm -rf /userdisk/data/shadowsocks_miwifi
rm -f /userdisk/data/shadowsocks_miwifi.tar.gz
echo ""
echo "Shadowsocks安装成功！"
echo ""
exit 0
|
##############################################################################
# MDTraj: A Python Library for Loading, Saving, and Manipulating
# Molecular Dynamics Trajectories.
# Copyright 2012-2013 Stanford University and the Authors
#
# Authors: Jason Swails
# Contributors:
#
# MDTraj is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
# it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as
# published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 2.1
# of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
#
# This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
# GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
#
# You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
# License along with MDTraj. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
##############################################################################
import os
import tempfile
import mdtraj as md
import numpy as np
import pytest
from mdtraj.formats import AmberRestartFile, AmberNetCDFRestartFile
from mdtraj.testing import eq
fd1, temp1 = tempfile.mkstemp(suffix='.rst7')
fd2, temp2 = tempfile.mkstemp(suffix='.ncrst')
os.close(fd1)
os.close(fd2)
def teardown_module(module):
"""remove the temporary file created by tests in this file
this gets automatically called by pytest"""
if os.path.exists(temp1): os.unlink(temp1)
if os.path.exists(temp2): os.unlink(temp2)
def test_read_after_close(get_fn):
f = AmberNetCDFRestartFile(get_fn('ncinpcrd.rst7'))
assert eq(f.n_atoms, 2101)
assert eq(f.n_frames, 1)
f.close()
with pytest.raises(IOError):
f.read()
def test_shape(get_fn):
with AmberRestartFile(get_fn('inpcrd')) as f:
xyz, time, lengths, angles = f.read()
assert eq(xyz.shape, (1, 2101, 3))
assert eq(time.shape, (1,))
assert eq(lengths, np.asarray([[30.2642725] * 3]))
assert eq(angles, np.asarray([[109.471219] * 3]))
def test_shape_2(get_fn):
with AmberNetCDFRestartFile(get_fn('ncinpcrd.rst7')) as f:
xyz, time, lengths, angles = f.read()
assert eq(xyz.shape, (1, 2101, 3))
assert eq(time.shape, (1,))
assert eq(lengths, np.asarray([[30.2642725] * 3]))
assert eq(angles, np.asarray([[109.471219] * 3]))
def test_read_write_1():
xyz = np.random.randn(1, 10, 3)
time = np.random.randn(1)
boxlengths = np.random.randn(1, 3)
boxangles = np.random.randn(1, 3)
with AmberRestartFile(temp1, 'w', force_overwrite=True) as f:
f.write(xyz, time, boxlengths, boxangles)
with AmberRestartFile(temp1) as f:
a, b, c, d = f.read()
assert eq(a, xyz)
assert eq(b, time)
assert eq(c, boxlengths)
assert eq(d, boxangles)
def test_read_write_2():
xyz = np.random.randn(1, 10, 3)
time = np.random.randn(1)
boxlengths = np.random.randn(1, 3)
boxangles = np.random.randn(1, 3)
with AmberNetCDFRestartFile(temp2, 'w', force_overwrite=True) as f:
f.write(xyz, time, boxlengths, boxangles)
with AmberNetCDFRestartFile(temp2) as f:
a, b, c, d = f.read()
assert eq(a, xyz)
assert eq(b, time)
assert eq(c, boxlengths)
assert eq(d, boxangles)
def test_read_write_3(get_fn):
traj = md.load(get_fn('frame0.nc'), top=get_fn('native.pdb'))
traj[0].save(temp1)
assert os.path.exists(temp1)
rsttraj = md.load(temp1, top=get_fn('native.pdb'))
eq(rsttraj.xyz, traj[0].xyz)
os.unlink(temp1)
traj.save(temp1)
for i in range(traj.n_frames):
assert os.path.exists('%s.%03d' % (temp1, i + 1))
os.unlink('%s.%03d' % (temp1, i + 1))
def test_read_write_4(get_fn):
traj = md.load(get_fn('frame0.nc'), top=get_fn('native.pdb'))
traj[0].save(temp2)
assert os.path.exists(temp2)
rsttraj = md.load(temp2, top=get_fn('native.pdb'))
eq(rsttraj.xyz, traj[0].xyz)
os.unlink(temp2)
traj.save(temp2)
for i in range(traj.n_frames):
assert os.path.exists('%s.%03d' % (temp2, i + 1))
os.unlink('%s.%03d' % (temp2, i + 1))
|
Q:
Debugging my letter grade calculator in Java
I am supposed to create a program to do the following:
A student must take two quizzes and two exams during the semester. One quiz and one exam are dropped from the calculation of their final grade. The remaining quiz counts as 40% of the final grade and the exam counts for 60% of their final grade.
The final grade is calculated on a straight scale: 90% and above is an “A”, less than 90% to 80% is a B, etc.
This program should allow a professor to enter a student’s name, id number, two quiz scores and two exam scores and then compute and output the student’s final grade.
Below is the code I have written. It executes just fine, without any errors, and I feel like I have completed everything correctly; however, the program returns the letter grade "A" no matter what scores I put in.
public static void main(String[] args)
{
//Declare all variables
String name;
String idNum;
int q1;
int q2;
int e1;
int e2;
int bestQuiz;
int bestExam;
double score;
char letterGrade;
Scanner kbd;
kbd = new Scanner(System.in);
System.out.println("Enter student's name: ");
name = kbd.nextLine();
System.out.println("Enter student's ID number: ");
idNum = kbd.nextLine();
System.out.println("Enter the quiz scores: ");
q1 = kbd.nextInt();
q2 = kbd.nextInt();
System.out.println("Enter the exam scores: ");
e1 = kbd.nextInt();
e2 = kbd.nextInt();
bestQuiz = max(q1, q2);
bestExam = max(e1, e2);
score = computeRawPercentage(bestQuiz, bestExam);
letterGrade = finalGrade( score );
System.out.print(name + " " + idNum + " ");
System.out.println("Final Grade: " + letterGrade);
}
//Max method
public static int max(int n1, int n2){
int big;
if (n1 > n2){
big = n1;
}
else {
big = n2;
}
return big;
}
//computeRawPercentage method
public static double computeRawPercentage(int quizScore, int examScore){
return ((quizScore * .4)+ (examScore * .6))*100;
}
//finalGrade method
public static char finalGrade(double grade){
char letterGrade;
if (grade >= 90.0)
letterGrade = 'A';
else if ((grade >= 80.0)&&(grade < 90.0))
letterGrade = 'B';
else if ((grade >= 70.0)&&(grade < 80.0))
letterGrade = 'C';
else if ((grade >= 60.0)&&(grade < 70.0))
letterGrade = 'D';
else
letterGrade = 'F';
return letterGrade;
}
}
A:
Your problem is this line:
return ((quizScore * .4)+ (examScore * .6))*100;
Here you are are multiplying your score by 100 which will give you a score of something like 7100 when it should be 71 (which is clearly above 90.0). Delete the 100 multiply and it will work:
return ((quizScore * .4) + (examScore * .6));
Test Run:
Enter student's name:
TestName
Enter student's ID number:
12345
Enter the quiz scores:
55
65
Enter the exam scores:
65
86
77.6
TestName 12345 Final Grade: C
This is assuming you enter a score of 75% as 75.
|
Five Points from a Brookings Event on the Israel-Hamas Conflict in Gaza
“We saw how the conflict exploded and yet even though the status quo is obviously unsustainable, we are headed back to the status quo, and that is the pathology of this conflict, the chronic nature of it that makes this whole situation even more depressing,” explained Martin Indyk, vice president and director of Foreign Policy at Brookings, at an event earlier this week on the policy options and regional implications of the recent round of violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The event was introduced by Tamara Coffman Wittes, senior fellow and director of the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings, who stressed that the “primary obstacles to a peace agreement lie in the domestic politics of the two sides.” In looking at the future implications of the current round of violence, she suggested that “we’re at a moment where I think we can hope that each of the parties involved in this conflict and interested in this conflict will engage in some self-criticism and some internal reflection.”
Effect of the Conflict on U.S.-Israel Relations
Indyk, who recently returned to Brookings after serving as the U.S. special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, commented on whether there has been a structural shift in U.S.-Israeli relations due to this conflict. “On the one hand,” he said, there is “[the critical] language used by both sides”:
The United States [is] on the record criticizing Israel in language that we have not heard before that I can remember; and [senior Israeli officials] backgrounding the Israeli press with vitriolic language about the efforts of the United States to achieve a cease fire that also I think were unprecedented …
So that’s on the one side. On the other side … the president signs a bill for $225 million more in security assistance to pay for additional Iron Dome capabilities for Israel. And both the prime minister on the one side and the secretary of state and the president on the other singing each other’s praises as we come out of this conflict.
“So, take your pick,” Indyk said. Reflecting on the way the U.S.-Israel relationship rebounded after the Israeli war in Lebanon in 1982, he added, “We’ve seen this movie before.”
Somehow each time the relationships survives, moves on, and that’s partly because it has deep roots and there’s this strong, popular support for Israel that I’m sure has been damaged to some extent but probably will rebound. So in a sense, it’s plus ça change, plus seule la même chose.
Related Books
However, Indyk said, “there’s something else going on here that I also felt in the negotiating room. And that is that Israel today is a different country to what it was, say, back in 1982, and for most of its history.” In addition to being stronger economically and militarily, Indyk noted that Israelis feel “more independent of the United States than they have in the past” as Israel has developed strong relationships with other powers around the world beyond the U.S., including in the Arab world.
Unfortunately, he noted, that seems to have been accompanied by a level of disrespect for the United States by some on the right wing in Israel even though the United States remains Israel’s best friend.
On Treating Gaza and the West Bank Separately
“One of the key assumptions of U.S. policy and Israeli policy … that has been a real failure the last eight years,” Elgindy said, is “this policy of separating Gaza from the West Bank, keeping Palestinians divided.”
Authors
Managing Editor, New Digital Products
Communications Intern
“This is not what diplomacy is made of,” Elgindy said. Continuing:
Frankly this is how colonialism operates. It’s not how diplomacy works; it’s not how peacemaking works. … The notion that we could make peace with one group of Palestinians and support war against other Palestinians was never going to work. And that’s now played itself out. It was either going to drive Hamas into the peace camp or drive Mahmoud Abbas to adopt Hamas’s positions.
What is happening, Elgindy explained, is that the conflict is causing the various Palestinian factions and power centers—Fatah, the PLO, the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian leadership, and Hamas—to unify even more. “I think,” he said, “there’s a real sense among Palestinians that Hamas’s way, painful as it is, produces results.” Speaking of the recent reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas, Elgindy observed that “I think Hamas went into this reconciliation agreement very much the junior partner and they came out of this [current conflict] very much as an equal partner at least … Hamas needs Fatah as much as Fatah needs Hamas at this point.”
On Israel’s Difficult Choices
“The Israeli position going in from the start was very clearly to avoid this conflict,” Sachs said. He argued that “Israel, in a sense, was dragged along by Hamas that kept insisting on having this battle until its conditions were met … notwithstanding the human suffering in Gaza [for] which Hamas shares at least some blame.” He considered the “difficult dilemma Israel faces” as it considers what to “do with this territory which is very close to the center of Israel and governed by an organization that makes no qualms about its position.” Sachs emphasized that “Hamas has been the central spoiler of the peace process since the 90s.”
Sachs explained that in Hamas, “you have a quasi-political, quasi-military organization effectively ruling a state or a region and waging war from it” which could only produce “three very bad options” for Israel:
Take over the territory completely
Let Hamas rearm, lift all the restrictions, and hope for the best
Accept a very grim, unsatisfactory status quo
As far as the public goes, Israel is “split down the middle on whether [its ground operation] was a success or not.” While the “support for Netanyahu’s conduct is quite high, the flip side of that is that, Israel going in had no clear goal.” What the Israelis did learn “is that if you let Hamas into the Gaza Strip, it’s not going to build shelters for the civilian population, certainly not hospitals and schools, it’s going to build tunnels.”
On Conflict Management and Conflict Resolution
Elgindy drew a distinction between conflict management and conflict resolution. While not mutually exclusive, he charged that the George W. Bush administration focused too much on conflict management, while the Obama administration focuses on conflict resolution “to the total neglect of any sense conflict management.”
“Any real viable peace process has to have both,” Elgindy said, characterizing this as “another fundamental failure in U.S. policy” because “If we come out of this with anything, other than why it’s important to avoid these kinds of violent conflagrations in the first place, when they do start, I think there have to be rules to the game.”
Indyk offered his perspective when he stated that the policy of the Obama administration to resolve the conflict “came out of a belief that you needed to find a way to break out of the chronic nature of this conflict. You needed to try to resolve it.“ He continued:
To say that it would have been better off engaging in conflict management is essentially to say that we’re not going to be able to resolve this conflict so we should just manage it and try to keep it contained. But there was a fundamental decision made by the secretary and the president that that was only going to lead to more conflicts like the things we’ve seen here.
When asked if the U.S., Israeli and Palestinian negotiating delegations thought they could push resolution of Gaza issues down the road (i.e., conflict management), Indyk replied, “No.”
We didn’t have a choice. Why? Because Hamas controls Gaza and Hamas is not interested in peace with Israel. It’s an inconvenient truth. But Hamas is not interested in peace with Israel and therefore you cannot construct a peace negotiation with Hamas. Now maybe as a result of this it becomes possible that the Palestinian leadership under Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] will somehow convince Hamas that it should go along with a two-state solution, and acceptance of Israel, but there is no indication that Hamas is actually prepared to do that.
So it’s fine to say we should have conflict management but it doesn’t treat the problem. It just ensures that we’re going to have outbreaks of conflict from time to time. There’s nothing that we could do to prevent that from happening other than to try to resolve the conflict.
In response, Elgindy reiterated that it’s not an either/or proposition, “but that we conduct the two together.”
That’s what a peace process ought to do, so that there is a safety net for when the negotiations collapse rather than simply sort of drifting toward the abyss as we often do when negotiations collapse. So there needs to be some thought put into conflict management when negotiations are not happening or possible.
On Israel’s Use of Force and Proportionality
In terms of conflict management, Elgindy offered a critical view of Israel’s prosecution of the conflict as disproportionate to the threat. “The notion that Israel’s military doctrine of overwhelming disproportionate force is somehow acceptable,” he said, should be reconsidered.
I don’t think this is a legitimate way to conduct a military operation by deliberately inflicting as much pain on the other side. After all, that is the essential tenet of the Dahiya Doctrine, is to be disproportionate. There is a reason that proportionality is a basic principle in international humanitarian law. So when you have something that flies in the face of that and you see the kind of death and destruction that you have in the Gaza Strip, out of all proportion to any threat that Hamas may have, this has real consequences. It has human consequences, it has moral consequences, it has political consequences.
Calling the deaths of 400 children, destruction of 10,000 homes and displacement of 400,000 people in Gaza “simply outrageous,” Elgindy asserted that “We need to think about how to prevent these conflicts in the first place,” Elgindy argued, “and when they do happen to make sure that there is a degree of reasonableness to how they’re conducted; otherwise we’ve completely destroyed, in addition to I think losing our humanity, … our credibility.”
Indyk responded to Elgindy’s point on proportionality by asking that we put it into context:
I understand very well Khaled’s criticism and his passionate conviction on this matter, and I share his view that it’s unacceptable that over 400 children could be killed in this conflict. But we do have to put it in context. The context is one in which Hamas was targeting Israeli civilians, and the only reason that the casualty rate wasn’t higher on the Israeli side was because they had a means of protecting their civilians. Whereas Hamas does not have a means of protecting their civilians and never paid any attention to protecting their civilians, whatsoever. It’s not as if they built air raid shelters for them. Instead they were firing rockets from civilian areas. Now we all know that, but I think you can’t just condemn the Israelis on this side without putting into context the circumstances that they faced.
During the event, the panelists also spoke about regional actors’ role in resolving the conflict, how political factions on both sides play out in their respective strategies, and whether Israel would ever withdraw from the West Bank.
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Another set of screenshots has appeared for the upcoming Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition. You can check out the screens from the remastered version of the action game underneath this paragraph.
As you can see, most of the screenshots are focused on the three new playable characters added to the upcoming release: Lady, Trish and Vergil, If you haven’t heard already, Capcom has included an intro and outro for each of the three individuals to add some context.
Aside from the new playable characters, the Special Edition will be visually enhanced when compared to the original Devil May Cry 4 releases for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 last-gen consoles. The native resolution has been upped to 1080p while the frame rate will be at a constant 60 per second. The Legendary Dark Knight Mode, which was previously exclusive to the PC port, will be included in the Special Edition as well.
Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition is coming out for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC gaming platforms next month on the 23rd of June. In North America, the remastered version can only be downloaded (via the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Steam, etc.) as Capcom decided against a physical disc release.
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These past weeks have had the effect of grinding my brains to a pulp, rendering my average attention span no better than that of a hummingbird on Jolt.
To cope with the mess my schedule is in, I've resorted to a few unorthodox techniques that seem to have had some mitigating effect:
Put everything on a task list. A lot of things start to drop out of your head when you're juggling as many things as I am, but they're a bit less likely to drop out of a task list. My 2210 is a great help there.
Changing from one task to another often forces you to close a set of windows, find and re-open another set of documents/terminal sessions, whatever. The trick is to minimize the time you need to change tasks:
Rest. Take forced breaks. Go fill the water bottle or something. Read The Economist before leaving for a meeting - the radical context switch is a welcome pause for your brain.
Do something within the physical realm - sort through actual, paper paperwork you've been neglecting, a drawer, a closet, whatever. These too are welcome breaks from sitting at a computer and keep the 5% of your monkey brain synapses happy.
Use the Del key instantly on distracting e-mail. Instantly. Don't flinch. If it's really important, they'll call. Most do anyway, because people like to chatter about their needs.
Control your caffeine intake. If it's really stressing work, you don't need any more stimulants - it's like giving an adrenaline shot to someone holding a shotgun.
Keep your social interactions short and pleasant - too much detail leads to project-related arguments.
Ignore snide remarks from pointy-haired bosses - if they're complaining, it's because they're covering up for the fact that it was their responsibility to ensure things had gone better in the first place, so they're as edgy as you are.
My favorite quote so far: It's, uhm, fast. It's Igor fast. And by that I mean: remember "Young Frankenstein"? Remember how Gene Wilder would call for Igor, and look to the right, and before he'd finished saying "I-" Marty Feldman would appear to his left? That's how fast it is..
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Q:
Excel vba - How to copy/paste when range varies
Got a sheet holding 7000 rows. Data is in columns A-C. Column A is teams, B is persons, and C is towns. Row 1 holds headers.
Cell A2 is the first team name. Cell B2: C23 is persons and towns (no empty cells). However, cell A3: A23 is empty. The team name is only written out for the first row of persons/towns.
Row 24 is blank.
In A25 there is a new team name. B25:C38 is persons/towns. A26: A38 is empty.
What I want to do is to copy/paste team name in A2 down to empty cells in A3: A23. And then do the same with the team name in A25 to A26: A38. And so on down about 7000 rows for 370 teams.
But the number of rows in use for each team varies, so how can a VBA take this into account?
The only fixed information is that there is an empty row between each team/person/town-section.
A:
I came up with a quick solution that takes into account blank lines:
Option Explicit
Sub completeTeams()
Dim i As Long
Const startDataRow = 2
Dim lastDataRow As Long
Dim lastTeamRow As Long
Dim lastTeamFound As String
Dim teamCellData As String
Dim isEmptyLine As Boolean
Rem getting the last row with data (so using column B or C)
lastDataRow = ActiveSheet.Cells(ActiveSheet.Rows.Count, "B").End(xlUp).Row
teamCellData = vbNullString
lastTeamFound = ActiveSheet.Cells(startDataRow, "A").Text
For i = startDataRow To lastDataRow
Rem trying to get the actual team name
teamCellData = ActiveSheet.Cells(i, "A").Text
Rem check to skip empty lines
isEmptyLine = Len(teamCellData) = 0 And Len(ActiveSheet.Cells(i, "B").Text) = 0
If isEmptyLine Then GoTo skipBlankLine
If Len(teamCellData) > 0 Then
lastTeamFound = teamCellData
End If
ActiveSheet.Cells(i, "A").Value = lastTeamFound
skipBlankLine:
Next
End Sub
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With Jenelle Evans 23 weeks along with their little boy Kaiser, the Teen Mom 2 star seems to be in an amazing place right now with boyfriend Nathan Griffith. Really, have we ever seen her in such a happy, consistently calm relationship?! But that's not to say the couple doesn't have their occasional challenges, just like the rest of us!
Jenelle took to Instagram yesterday to share a video showcasing one of her major gripes with her man, and we can't help but laugh ...
Ha, oh no! Along with the vid, Jenelle did write the caption, "Hahahah this is the response I get all night long from him," so at least she has a sense of humor about it! Also, let's hope she realizes she's SO not alone. How many of us out there have an occasionally tuned-out video game/hockey game/football game freak on our hands?!
But that's okay. As long as the boys ultimately prioritize the relationship over their toys (as it seems Nathan really does!), there should be nothing to flip out over.
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Saksan liittokansleri Angela Merkel piti sunnuntaina voimakkaan puheenvuoron Euroopan unionin yhtenäisyyden puolesta epävarmoina aikoina.
Kampanjatilaisuudessa Münchenissä puhunut Merkel sanoi, että EU-maat eivät voi enää luottaa muiden apuun. Hän viittasi puheessaan Yhdysvaltoihin ja Britanniaan.
– Ajat, jolloin saatoimme luottaa täysin muihin, ovat ohi. Olen kokenut sen viime päivinä, Merkel sanoi uutistoimisto AFP:n mukaan.
Merkel piti puheensa, kun Yhdysvaltain presidentin Donald Trumpin vierailu Euroopassa oli päättynyt juuri edellisenä päivänä. Torstaina Naton huippukokoukseen osallistunut Trump sätti liittolaisiaan siitä, etteivät ne käytä riittävästi rahaa puolustukseensa.
Trump ei myöskään maininnut puheessaan sotilasliiton viidettä artiklaa, jonka mukaan Naton jäsenmailla on velvollisuus auttaa, jos yhtä maata vastaan hyökätään. Monet Nato-maat odottivat Trumpin vakuuttavan, että Yhdysvallat on valmis auttamaan sen eurooppalaisia liittolaisia.
Epävarmuutta luo myös Britannian tuleva ero Euroopan unionista. Merkel korosti, että Saksan ja Euroopan on pidettävä hyvät suhteet Yhdysvaltoihin, Britanniaan ja myös Venäjään. Samalla hän kehotti Euroopan unionia pysymään yhtenäisenä ja taistelemaan kohtalonsa puolesta.
– Meidän eurooppalaisten on todella otettava kohtalomme omiin käsiimme, Merkel sanoi.
"Epätyydyttävä" keskustelu ilmastosopimuksesta
Erimielisyydet jatkuivat myös johtavien teollisuusmaiden G7-kokouksessa, joka järjestettiin Italiassa heti Naton huippukokouksen jälkeen. Trump kieltäytyi kokouksessa ilmaisemasta vielä tukeaan Pariisin ilmastosopimukselle.
Trump ilmoitti päättävänsä ensi viikolla, aikooko Yhdysvallat pysyä sopimuksen takana. Merkel kuvasi keskustelua ilmastokysymyksistä Trumpin kanssa todella vaikeiksi ja epätyydyttäviksi.
Lähteet: AFP, AP, Yle Uutiset
Lue lisää:
Lue koosteemme Trumpin ulkomaankiertueesta: Kristallipallo ja synkkä Melania – Nämä viisi asiaa muistetaan Trumpin Euroopan ja Lähi-idän kiertueesta
Lue juttumme Trumpin puheesta Nato-kokouksessa: Trump vaati Nato-mailta lisää rahaa puolustukseen – "Tämä ei ole reilua amerikkalaisille veronmaksajille"
Lue juttumme G7-maiden kokouksesta: Teollisuusmahtien kokous päättyi erimielisyyteen – Trump ei antanut vielä tukeaan ilmastosopimukselle
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Neovascularization in central retinal vein occlusion: electroretinographic findings.
Electroretinograms (ERGs) were measured in 15 patients with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). Seven of the patients had neovascularization of the iris (NVI) at the time of testing, and two developed NVI within one month of testing; six did not have NVI or any other form of neovascularization (NV) and were no longer considered to be at risk for NV from their present occlusion. The ERGs were recorded as a function of the stimulus intensity and to a 30-Hz flickering stimulus. A Naka-Rushton-type function was fit to b-wave amplitudes, measured as a function of stimulus intensity, to evaluate changes in ERG amplitude and sensitivity. Compared with eyes in the no-NV group, eyes developing NVI had significantly reduced ERG sensitivity and amplitudes. The distributions of sensitivity values in these two groups did not overlap. All of the eyes with NV showed large a- and b-wave and 30-Hz implicit time delays, but only one eye had a b/a-wave amplitude ratio close to or less than 1. A comparison of ERG sensitivity, amplitude data, and flicker timing data with retinal fluorescein angiography in a two-alternative forced-choice analysis showed that ERG sensitivity and amplitude loss were better than retinal fluorescein angiography at discriminating eyes with CRVO and NVI from eyes with CRVO without NVI.
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Westeros is the beating heart of A Song of Ice and Fire. In this map Westeros gets its own official map in the form of a 3 foot by 2 foot poster.
As with the maps of the Free Cities, Slaver’s Bay and the Dothraki Sea, in this map each settlement is illustrated rather than being marked with an icon. I had a great time trawling the references (mostly westeros.org) to pull out the distinguishing features of the different towns and castles.
Each major family has a castle, and those castles are often distinctive – so here’s a quick tour.
The Eyrie sits at the heart of the Vale, perched atop the mountain. The road to the Eyrie is guarded by the three towers of Stone, Snow and Sky before reaching the castle itself. They Eyrie watches over the Vale of Arryn – a patchwork of fertile farmland locked away from the troubles and tribulations of the rest of the Seven Kingdoms by the Mountains of the Moon.
Harrenhal is a monster of a castle, with multiple keeps and towers that bear the scars from centuries of depredation and war. It looms at the top of the Isle of the Faces, near the mouth of the Trident and straddles the Kingsroad. It’s key location makes it strategically key, with many major players based here over the course of the war, but it also holds a curse. Those that hold Harrenhal tend to come to bad ends.
North of Harrenhal lies the Inn at the Crossroads. “Of all the Inn’s in all the world…” – everyone seems to stop here. Westeros is a big continent. And yet many of the main characters can’t but help running into each other here. As a result, it gets a work-up as a classic courtyard inn with stables in one of the wings.
Casterly Rock is an odd case. The Rock stands over Lannisport and is the family seat of the Lannisters. However, with their land grab for the Iron Throne, Casterly Rock becomes more of a retreat for the family, the place where those who fall out of favour are banished.
And then, of course, there is Winterfell. This is the first castle we explore in the books, with it’s two curtain walls, great keep, first keep and the Godswood. The Wolfswood crowds in close against the castle to the west.
North of Winterfell we reach the limits of the Seven Kingdoms – the Wall. This is a smaller scale than the detail we get in the Beyond the Wall map, but we still see Castle Black, the Shadow Tower and Eastwatch-By-The-Sea, along with the ruins of Queenscrown, the Gifts and Mole’s Town. And then there’s the Wall – a ribbon of ice locking out the wild that lies to the north and protecting the lands of men. As winter is only just looming on the horizon in the books, the lands north of the wall are still green, but the first snows are falling.
At the other extreme we have Dorne – a dry arid Kingdom that sits on the edge of the wars of the Seven Kingdoms. The fertile lands tightly hug the rivers, and the people are an exotic bunch compared to the standard knights and ladies of the rest of Westeros. Here we have the castle of Sunspear and the Water Gardens located to the north of the Greenblood.
And I couldn’t resist this little detail. The Fingers were clearly named after their resemblance to a grasping hand. And the paps, well let’s just say they also bear a striking resemblance to their namesake.
To see the rest of the castle details (Highgarden! King’s Landing! Storm’s End!) you’ll need to grab the full poster map folio.
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I joined the Brownies in the first grade, but left after a year because it made me feel insufficient. But apparently the Girl Scout movement is providing an opposite feeling for Muslim American girls. "When you say you are a Girl Scout, they say, 'Oh, my daughter is a Girl Scout, too,' and then they don't think of you as a person from another planet. They are more comfortable about sitting next to me on the train," says 12-year old Asma Haidara of Minneapolis, one of the many Muslim girls who are finding safety, acceptance, a means of shattering stereotypes, and an appetite for S'mores in the Girl Scouts of America.
Muslim girls across the country are flocking to the Girl Scouts because the organization gives them a way to feel less "alienated from mainstream culture." Minneapolis, in particular, is seeing a noted influx: The city counts 280 Muslim scouts and 10 mainly Muslim troops. And their troop leaders want to be clear: They're just regular American girls. Says one of the Muslim Minneapolis troop leaders, Farheen Hakim: "I don't want them to see themselves as Muslim girls doing this 'Look at us, we are trying to be American.' No, no, no, they are American. It is not an issue of trying."
And American they are: Suboohi Khan, age 10, who in addition to earning badges for "writing 4 of God's 99 names in Arabic calligraphy and decorating them, as well as memorizing the Koran's last verse" says her favorite badges came from "how to make body glitter and to see which colors look good on us" and "how to clean up our nails." Other issues arise: "If you break your fast, will your mother get mad at me?," asked troop leader Hakim to one of the girls in her troop. "It's delicious! It's a good way to break my fast," the scout in question stated later, after choosing to throw Ramadan out the window in exchange for a Halal beef hot dog. Wow. No wonder why Asma Haidara says her parents worry that by being in the Girl Scouts "she is "going to become a blue-eyed, blond-haired Barbie doll."
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The role of the gut in insect chilling injury: cold-induced disruption of osmoregulation in the fall field cricket, Gryllus pennsylvanicus.
To predict the effects of changing climates on insect distribution and abundance, a clear understanding of the mechanisms that underlie critical thermal limits is required. In insects, the loss of muscle function and onset of cold-induced injury has previously been correlated with a loss of muscle resting potential. To determine the cause of this loss of function, we measured the effects of cold exposure on ion and water homeostasis in muscle tissue, hemolymph and the alimentary canal of the fall field cricket, Gryllus pennsylvanicus, during an exposure to 0°C that caused chilling injury and death. Low temperature exposure had little effect on muscle osmotic balance but it dissipated muscle ion equilibrium potentials through interactions between the hemolymph and gut. Hemolymph volume declined by 84% during cold exposure whereas gut water content rose in a comparable manner. This rise in water content was driven by a failure to maintain osmotic equilibrium across the gut wall, which resulted in considerable migration of Na(+), Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) into the alimentary canal during cold exposure. This loss of homeostasis is likely to be a primary mechanism driving the cold-induced loss of muscle excitability and progression of chilling injury in chill-susceptible insect species.
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446 F.Supp.2d 1322 (2006)
NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION, INC., a not-for-profit corporation; and Tropical Audubon Society, a Florida not-for-profit corporation, Plaintiffs
v.
UNITED STATES ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS; Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock, Commander and Chief of Engineers in his official capacity; and Atlantic Civil, Inc., Defendants
No. 06-20256-CIV.
United States District Court, S.D. Florida, Miami Division.
August 15, 2006.
*1323 *1324 *1325 *1326 Mark A. Brown, Lily N. Chinn, Barry A. Weiner, and Karen D. Wherry, Counsel for the United States.
ORDER
JORDAN, District Judge.
The National Parks Conservation Association, Inc. and the Tropical Audubon Society (collectively, the "plaintiffs") filed a two-count complaint against the United States Army Corps of Engineers and Lieutenant General Carl A. Strock, the Commander and Chief of the Engineers, in his official capacity (collectively, the "Corps") seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. Count I of the complaint alleges that the Corps' reinstatement and 120-day extension of agricultural fill Permit No. 1995-06797 violated the Clean Water Act ("CWA") and the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"). Count II alleges that these same actions violated the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") and the APA.[1] The parties filed cross-motions *1327 for summary judgement, and presented oral argument. For the reasons explained below, the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment [D.E. 38] is DENIED, and the motions for summary judgment filed by the Corps and ACI [D.E. 47 and 48] are GRANTED.
I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
A. Request for Five-Year Extension of Permit No. 1995-06797
The relevant and undisputed facts in this matter are as follows. In 1996, ACI submitted an application to the Corps for a Department of the Army ("DOA") permit (also referred to as a 404 permit or fill permit in this matter) to fill certain wetlands of the United States situated on its property, pursuant to § 404 of the Clean Water Act, found at 33 U.S.C. § 1344. The CWA, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251-1387, is intended "to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters," by, among other things, prohibiting the discharge of pollutants including dredged spoil, into waters of the United States; except in compliance with various sections of the CWA, including § 404. In relevant part, § 404 authorizes the Secretary of the Army, via the Corps, "to issue permits, after notice and opportunity for public hearings for the discharge of dredged or fill". It further provides that the Secretary of the Army, shall, in reviewing each permit application, apply guidelines, codified at 33 C.F.R. Part 203, to govern the Corps' permit review process. The 1996 application was, accordingly, reviewed pursuant to the Corps' § 404 guidelines, NEPA, and the Endangered Species Act ("ESA").
NEPA, 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq., is a procedural statute which creates "a particular bureaucratic decision making process . . . not a substantive environmental statute which dictates a particular outcome if certain consequences exist." Sierra Club v. United States Army Corps of Eng'rs, 295 F.3d 1209, 1214 (11th Cir. 2002). It requires "[a]gencies to consider the environmental consequences of their actions," before any decision is made with respect to those actions. As a threshold matter, NEPA requires an agency "to determine whether an action is a `major' action with a `significant effect.'" Sierra Club, 295 F.3d at 1215. This determination requires the agency to prepare an environmental assessment ("EA"). Id. at 1215; 40 C.F.R. § 1501.3. The EA "should provide enough evidence and analysis" to yield one of two results:
(1) a finding that the project will have a significant effect, or (2) a finding of no significant impact ("FONSI"). If the latter conclusion is reached, the agency issues a FONSI, which incorporates the EA and explains why the action will not have a significant effect on the human environment. 40 C.F.R. § 1508.13.
If the conclusion in the EA is that the action will have a significant effect, then the project is "major," and the agency must prepare an environmental impact statement ("EIS"), as described in 42 U.S.C. § 4332(2)(c). The EIS must "provide full and fair discussion of significant environmental impacts." 40 C.F.R. § 1502.1. It is to "be used by Federal officials in conjunction with other relevant material to plan actions and make decisions." Id. The discussion should include any potential impact on endangered or threatened species.
Sierra Club, 295 F.3d at 1214-15.
The Endangered Species Act ("ESA"), 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531-1544, was enacted to conserve endangered or threatened plant and animal species. To that end, § 7(a)(2) of the ESA requires every federal agency to insure that any action authorized, funded, *1328 or carried out by such agency is not likely to "jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of habitat of such species which is determined by the Secretary . . . to be critical. . . ." See 16 U.S.C. § 1536(a)(2). To do this, the ESA requires the action agency, here the Corps, to consult with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service ("FWS") and/or the National Marine Fisheries Service ("NMFS") whenever a federal action "may affect" an endangered or threatened species. See 50 C.F.R. § 402.14(h)(3). Accordingly, § 7 and its implementing regulations set out detailed procedures for "formal" and "informal" consultation designed to provide agencies with expert advice to determine the biological impacts of their proposed activities. See 16 U.S.C. § 1536(b); 50 C.F.R. Part 402. "Formal consultation," detailed at 50 C.F.R. § 402.14, concludes with the issuance of a "biological opinion" by the FWS or NMFS, advising the action agency whether any of the listed species are likely to be jeopardized, and if so, whether "reasonable and prudent alternatives" exist to avoid a jeopardy situation. Id. at § 402.14(h)(3).
An action agency may use an "informal procedure" to assist it in determining whether and when further consultation is necessary. Informal consultation "includes all discussions, correspondence, etc. between the Corps and the Federal agency Or the designated non-Federal representative prior to formal consultation, if required." Id. § 402.02. If the agency determines, with written concurrence by the FWS or NMFS, that the action "is not likely to adversely affect listed species or critical habitat, the consultation process is terminated and no further action is necessary." Id. § 402.13(a).
Here, on April 26, 2001, after preparing an EA, a Public Interest Review, and a Statement of Findings, and consulting with the FWS (which concurred with the Corps' determination that the proposed project was not likely to affect any known federal listed species), the Corps issued ACI a 404 permit, Permit No. 1995-06797, which authorized ACI to place 3,606,000 cubic yards of fill over 981 acres, 535.7 acres of which are waters of the United States, and to excavate (rock-mine) 25,800,000 cubic yards of material from 250 acres, 142.4 acres of which are waters of the United States.[2] The site is approximately bounded by Card Sound Road, S.W. 344th Street, S.W. 392nd Street, and S.W. 147th Avenue (the "permit site"). The purpose of the fill and excavation activities was to "improve farmland that has provided only marginal value because of its elevation." The construction period of the permit was originally five years, and was to expire on April 26, 2006.
On March 14, 2005, ACI sent the Corps a letter requesting a five-year extension of Permit No. 1995-06797, citing delay (unrelated to this litigation) in the work authorized by the permit. By May 4, 2005, the Corps, concerned about what ACI planned to do with the permit site in the next five years, and pursuant to 33 C.R. § 325.6,[3]*1329 determined that the request would be treated "anew as a major modification because the attendant circumstances [surrounding the original issuance of the permit] have changed. Namely, it appears that the original purpose was for `agricultural improvements' and that [the permit site] is now scheduled to be residential." AR 734 (internal Corps e-mail). Accordingly, the Corps determined that it would apply the same procedures required by 33 C.F.R. § 325.2 for new permit applications to ACI's extension request. Specifically, the Corps determined it was necessary to issue a public notice and consider all comments received in response to the public notice in subsequent actions it would take on the permit application. See 33 C.F.R. § 325.2(a)(3). Thereafter, the Corps would prepare a Statement of Facts, or, where an EIS has been prepared, the Corps would issue a record of decision ("ROD"). To date, the Corps has not rendered a decision on ACI's request for a five-year extension of its current permit, and is still in the midst of a full review of the application, including formal consultation with the FWS. See AR 738 (letter from Corps to FWS requesting formal consultation on effect five-year extension would have on the wood stork colonies, the Florida Panther, and other endangered species within the permit site). Importantly, the Corps' concerns with respect to the five-year extension request related solely to ACI's future use of the permit site.
B. Suspension of Permit No. 1995-06797
On August 10, 2005, in an internal memorandum, the Corps determined that the circumstances concerning the original issuance of the permit had changed, and that immediate suspension of the permit would be appropriate pursuant to 33 C.F.R. § 325.7(c).[4] According to the memorandum the Corps discovered that on July 18, 2005, ACI submitted a Development Rereinstate, *1330 gional Impact ("DRI") application to South Florida Regional Planning Council in which ACI sought permission from Miami-Dade County to construct 6,000 residences (homes/town homes/condos) and develop commercial space on the permit site. See AR 830-35 (internal Corps memorandum). Specifically, the Corps determined (1) that the new residential/commercial uses deviated from the agricultural use previously permitted; (2) that the permit site lies within the Florida Panther consultation areafor which the Corps made a "may affect" determination regarding the Panther, and initiated § 7 consultation with FWS under the EPA; and (3) that ACI's residential/commercial project might affect the Corps' prospective Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan ("CERP") projectsnamely, the C-111 Spreader project alternatives and the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands ("BBCW"). The CERP project alternatives all "incorporated significant portions of the [permit site]." See id. at 831-32 (internal Corps emails). Moreover, Monroe County residents were concerned that the ACI project would negatively impact the evacuation time of Monroe County residents. Put simply, the Corps' main concern in August of 2005 was that ACI's current activities had deviated from the parameters of the permit as it was issued in 2001.
The Corps memorialized its informal email discussions in an internal memorandum dated August 10, 2005. In that memorandum the Corps explained that "overwhelming information exists to conclude the project may now be contrary to the public interest; that a more detailed examination of the current permit allowing for agricultural fill was warranted; and that public notice and comment was required." By August 18, 2005, the Corps issued a Notice of Permit Suspension ("NOPS") to ACI, notifying it that Permit No. 1995-06797 was immediately suspended in light of the July 18, 2005, DRI that ACI submitted to the South Florida Regional Planning Council indicating ACI's intent to shift from agricultural to residential and commercial use of the permit site; that ACI's change in land use constituted a substantial change of circumstances warranting a reevaluation of the permit under 33 C.F.R. § 325.7(c); and that given the substantial change it was in the public interest to immediately suspend the permit. See AR 904.
C. Partial Reinstatement of Permit No. 1995-06797
On August 29, 2005, pursuant to § 325.7(c), ACI requested a meeting with the Corps to discuss the suspension. See AR 907-08. In that request, ACI argued that the suspension was premature because the prospective changes in land use referred to in the NOPS had not yet been reviewed or approved by any agency; the existing land use on the permit site remained agricultural with some miningin compliance with the permit; and the Application for Development Approval for a proposed DRI was in the preliminary sufficiency review stage of the application process, such that no changes to the land use had taken place or would take place in the foreseeable future.
On September 1, 2005, in an internal email, members of the Corps' team assigned to review the suspension indicated that four BBCW project alternatives impacted the ACI properties and might conflict with ACI's current permitted activity. See AR 912-13.[5] After meeting with ACI on August *1331 29 and September 1, 2005, the Corps, on September 8, 2005, issued a permit reinstatement letter to ACI informing it that the work previously authorized by Permit No. 1995-06797 could resume. See AR 917. In an additional letter to ACI, sent that same day, the Corps warned that it was aware of ACI's pending DRI; that any change in circumstances or any proposed change in land use would require modification of the permit and prompt the Corps to undertake full review of the potential impacts of this change on the watershed and the public interest; and that the Corps was concerned ACI's prospective residential/commercial project could affect at least two of the Corps' BBCW project alternatives. See id. 919-20. Put simply, the Corps reinstated the permit on the grounds that the DRI application was in a preliminary phase, and that ACI had not acted beyond the scope of the original permit, nor would it act beyond scope of the permit in the foreseeable future, but warned that if ACT did act outside the permit, the Corps would respond with a public review process.
The Corps, having determined that the DRI no longer posed a problem and therefore that no substantial change in circumstances had occurred, nevertheless expressed concerns that ACI's current permitted activity on the permit site conflicted with the Corps' CERP projects. On the day the permit was reinstated, ACI sent the Corps a letter acknowledging receipt of the reinstatement letter and indicating that, pursuant to the Corps' request, it agreed to stop all permitted activitiesfilling and/or de-muckingsouth of S.W. 360th Street until November 15, 2005, see AR 918, such that the Corps could have more time to determine which CERP project alternatives it would select and a better understanding of any potential conflicts between the CERP projects and ACI's permitted agricultural activities on the permit site. See id. 971-73 (internal Corps memorandum, dated November 23, 2006, documenting procedural history of the reinstatement decision).
D. 120-Day Extension of Permit No. 1995-06797
On November 17, 2005, ACI sent a letter to the Corps indicating that based on its November 14, 2005, meeting with the Corps, it was requesting an immediate 120-day extension of its permit so that the permit would expire on August 21, 2006, and not in April of 2006, in order to make up for the delays and losses resulting from the August 2005 suspension decision, hurricanes, ineffectiveness of limiting filling activity to areas north of S.W. 360th Street, and demobilizing and remobilizing manpower and machinery on-site. See AR 968. ACI further indicated that it would continue to voluntarily restrict the filling operations to areas north of S.W. 360th Street if the Corps granted the extension. Id. at 969. On November 23, 2005, the Corps had granted ACI's 120-day extension request, but also notified ACI that its five-year extension request was still under review; that the Corps would continue to monitor the DRI application; that if ACI proceeded with construction of infrastructure on fill, such activity would constitute a substantial change in use and require full review; and that full review would still be *1332 required even after the area was entirely filled. See AR 969-70.
In an internal memorandum, dated November 23, 2005, the Corps made a "no effect determination" on the Florida Panther as to the 120-day extension because the extension upheld the original authorization for agricultural fillingthat is, ACI had not deviated from the scope of permitted activitynoted that the extension compensated the permittee for delays caused by the Corps during the suspension of the permit. See AR 971. The Corps also noted that it was aware, based on the DRI, of ACI's potential interest in constructing residential and commercial space in an area that it is currently filling for agriculture, and that if ACI made a decision to proceed with construction of any infrastructure it would need a permit modification from the Corps, which would require a "full and careful public interest review, including public notice." Id. at 972. Additionally, the Corps indicated that it was still engaging in internal efforts to determine whether the current permitted agricultural filling would conflict with the BBCW and C-111 Spreader projects, and that it would have a better understanding of any potential conflicts by December 15, 2005. Accordingly, the Corps determined that a 120-day extension, coupled with ACI's continued cooperation in refraining from any activity in areas south of S.W. 360th Street, was appropriate.
E. Full Reinstatement of Permit No. 1995-06797
On December 12, 2005, in a series of internal e-mails discussing ACI's continued voluntary restriction on its fill permit, Corps employees determined the following regarding five BBCW project alternatives. See generally AR 981-83. As to the Yellow Book alternative (which, according to the Corps, was least likely to be selected as the Tentative Selected Plan or TSP), it was the only project with a physical feature on the ACI property. Alternative E "comes close" to interfering with ACI's property. Alternative J attempts to raise stages on an existing canal within the property. Alternatives E and J would likely increase water levels on the site. Alternative Q, crafted specifically to avoid a high priced "RE", proposed a protective berm/seepage canal system around ACI's proposed fill pad. Alternative M2, like Q, would generate significant bird habitat, and appeared best overall for wetlands restoration. The Corps, however, concluded that it was too early to tell what impact the fill would have on the BBCW alternatives, that the analysis was incomplete, and that it would not have a TSP until mid-February of 2006. These findings were then documented in an internal memorandum dated December 19, 2005. See id. at 984-87. The Corps also determined that the selected C-111 Spreader Canal project alternative would not conflict with the permit site. See id. at 1049. Accordingly, the Corps concluded that it would be inequitable to restrict ACI to working only north of S.W. 360th Street under Permit No. 1995-06797.
On December 20, 2005, in a letter to ACI, the Corps determined that it was "unable to conclude that there exists a direct conflict between the filling [ACT] is authorized to conduct and the CERP project in the areas, since the permitted fill would only allow use of the areas for agricultural purposes." AR 988-89. The letter further indicated that ACI could resume "activities as allowed" under Permit No. 19950-6797, which would expire on August 21, 2006. Id. The Corps also informed ACI that it would continue to monitor ACI's interest in constructing homes on the permit site, as well as the status of the pending DRI, and that any change in circumstances would constitute a modification *1333 and require full review as required by the 404 guidelines, even if the site was completely filled. Id.
II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On January 31, 2006, the plaintiffs filed a two-count complaint against the Corps alleging that its reinstatement and extension actions violated NEPA, the CWA, and the APA for failing to follow the requisite proceduresthat is, among other things, to provide adequate notice and comment regarding its reinstatement of ACI's fill permit, to hold a public hearing, explain the grounds for its reinstatement and extension decisions, to disclose or discuss the effects of reinstatement and extension, to explain how the reinstatement and extension are consistent with the public interest, and to analyze the intended change in use of the property at the time the reinstatement and extension decisions were made. The plaintiffs also argued that such conduct was arbitrary and capricious. The plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief (namely, revocation of Permit No. 1995-06797, cessation of any further filling under authority of the permit, and removal of all fill placed under authority of that permit until a valid NEPA analysis is completed).
On March 2, 2006, the plaintiffs moved for a preliminary injunction. Thereafter the parties, after filing their respective motions for summary judgment, agreed to stay consideration of the preliminary injunction motion and instead proceed to resolve the matter via expedited consideration of their cross-motions for summary judgment. On June 16, 2006, a hearing was held on all pending motions for summary judgment.
III. LEGAL STANDARD
A motion for summary judgment should be granted when "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c). "Where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party, there is no `genuine issue for trial.'" Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (quoting First Nat'l Bank of Arizona v. Cities Serv. Co., 391 U.S. 253, 289, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968)). The inquiry, therefore, is whether "the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require [trial] or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law." See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). In making this assessment, I must "view all the evidence and all factual inferences reasonably drawn from the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party," Stewart v. Happy Herman's Cheshire Bridge, Inc., 117 F.3d 1278, 1285 (11th Cir.1997), and "resolve all reasonable doubts about the facts in favor of the nonmovant." United of Omaha Life Ins. v. Sun Life Ins. Co., 894 F.2d 1555, 1558 (11th Cir.1990). "However, even in the context of summary judgment, an agency action is entitled to great deference." Preserve Endangered Areas of Cobb's History, Inc. v. United States Army Corps of Eng'rs, 87 F.3d 1242, 1246 (11th Cir.1996).
IV. DISCUSSION
A. Jurisdiction
In its cross-motion for summary judgment, ACI contends that I lack jurisdiction to review the Corps' decision to reinstate and then extend Permit No. 1995-06797 because they do not constitute final agency *1334 action, and are therefore, not subject to judicial review under § 704 of the APA. I find ACI's argument unpersuasive in light of well-established Supreme Court and Eleventh Circuit precedent.
In pertinent part, the APA provides that "[a]gency action made reviewable by statute and final agency action for which there is no other adequate remedy in a court are subject to judicial review. A preliminary, procedural, or intermediate agency action or ruling not directly reviewable is subject to review on the review of the final agency action." 5 U.S.C. § 704. "Federal jurisdiction is . . . [therefore] lacking when the administration action in question is not `final' within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. § 704." National Parks Conserv. Assoc. v. Norton, 324 F.3d 1229, 1236 (11th Cir.2003). The Supreme Court defines "final agency action" as follows:
As a general matter, two conditions must be satisfied for agency action to be "final": First, the action must mark the "consummation" of the agency's decision-making processit must not be of a merely tentative or interlocutory nature. And second, the action must be one by which "rights or obligations have been determined," or from which "legal consequences will flow."
Bennett v. Spear, 520 U.S. 154, 177-78, 117 S.Ct. 1154, 137 L.Ed.2d 281 (1997) (quoting Chicago & Southern. Air Lines v. Waterman S.S. Corp., 333 U.S. 103, 113, 68 S.Ct. 431, 92 L.Ed. 568 (1948) and Port of Boston Marine Terminal Assn. v. Rederiaktiebolaget Transatlantic, 400 U.S. 62, 71, 91 S.Ct. 203, 27 L.Ed.2d 203 (1970)). See also Darby v. Cisneros, 509 U.S. 137, 144, 113 S.Ct. 2539, 125 L.Ed.2d 113 (1993) ("[T]he finality requirement is concerned with whether the initial decisionmaker has arrived at a definitive position on the issue that inflicts an actual, concrete injury . ."); Franklin v. Massachusetts, 505 U.S. 788, 797, 112 S.Ct. 2767, 120 L.Ed.2d 636 (1992) ("The core question [in the finality determination] is whether the agency has completed its decision-making process, and whether the result of that process is one that will directly affect the parties."). "By contrast, the Supreme Court has defined a non-final agency order as one that `does not itself adversely affect complainant but only affects his rights adversely on the contingency of future administrative action.'" Norton, 324 F.3d at 1237.
Here, there is little question that the reinstatement and extension decisions were neither "tentative" nor "interlocutory."
As to the reinstatement decision, after the Corps suspended ACI's permit, it proceeded, under 33 C.F.R. § 325.7(c), to determine whether it would ultimately reinstate it, modify it, or revoke it. Id. at § 325.7(c) (after suspension and the completion of a meeting or hearing "the district engineer will take action to reinstate, modify, or revoke the permit") (emphasis added). Pursuant to the plain language of § 325.7, the suspension itself is a preliminary and/or precautionary measure the Corps takes in order to give itself time to determine whether it should ultimately revoke, modify, or reinstate the permit. Thus, the final action under § 325.7 is the revocation, modification, or reinstatement. ACI's contentionthat the Corps' decision to reinstate the permit constituted a decision not to revoke, which constituted a decision to maintain the status quo presuspension is, at best, semantic gymnastics, and, quite simply, inaccurate.
If there is any preliminary, interlocutory, and/or temporary action here it is the Corps' initial act of suspension. The reinstatement decision, in contrast, is not only the consummation or completion of the Corps' suspension decision, it is also the *1335 action by which the rights of ACI under Permit No. 1995-06797 were determined. That is, during the suspension, ACI was in a holding pattern, unable to conduct any activity on the permit site. Once the Corps reinstated the permit, ACI regained the "right" to continue agricultural fill activities on the permit site.
ACI relies on the Eight Circuit's decision in Missouri Coalition for the Environment v. Corps of Engineers, 866 F.2d 1025, 1032 n. 10 (8th Cir.1989) for the proposition that the reinstatement decision, or, as ACI refers to it, the Corps' decision not to revoke under § 404, is committed to the Corps' discretion, constitutes inaction, and is therefore not reviewable under the APA. This reliance, however is misplaced.
In Missouri Coalition, the Corps reevaluated an existing § 404 permit to determine if the permit-holder's change in activity on the permit site constituted a significant increase in the scope of permitted activity, or if potential impacts of the revised project were substantially similar to those evaluated prior to issuance of the original permit, such that revocation, suspension, and/or modification was not appropriate. The Corps determined that there was neither an increase in scope nor a substantial change in circumstances and left the permit unchanged. In holding that "the decision not to modify, suspend or revoke a[§ ] 404 permit is" not reviewable under the APA, the Eight Circuit relied on the Supreme Court's decision in Heckler v. Chaney, 470 U.S. 821, 105 S.Ct. 1649, 84 L.Ed.2d 714 (1985). In that case, the Supreme Court explained the difference between agency action, which is reviewable under the APA, and agency inaction, which is not reviewable. Heckler held that where the FDA was petitioned to review the unapproved use of a drug which had been previously approved by the FDA, and refused to take the requested action, that decision was not judicially reviewable. Heckler explained that "an agency's refusal to institute proceedings" constitutes inaction, and is left to Congress, not to the courts, to review. Id. at 837-38, 105 S.Ct. 1649.
This case is not one involving agency inaction. The Corps did not decline to enforce NEPA, the CWA, or the ESA. To the contrary, this case centers around the Corps' very enforcement of those statutes, that is, whether the Corps properly applied NEPA, the CWA, and the ESA to its reinstatement and 120-day extension decisions. These decisions were, by definition, final agency actions, and are therefore reviewable under the APA. Simply put, there is little question that the Corps' reinstatement decision constituted final agency action under § 704 of the APA, and, therefore, that there is federal jurisdiction to review that action here. See Bennett, 520 U.S. at 177, 117 S.Ct. 1154; Heckler, 470 U.S. at 837, 105 S.Ct. 1649.
A similar rationale applies to the Corps' extension decision. ACI requested a 120-day extension to compensate for the delays and losses it incurred from, among other things, the suspension of the permit. Pursuant to 33 C.F.R. § 325.6(d), the Corps granted ACI the extension request after it determined that there was no substantial change in circumstances, such that Permit No. 1995-06797 is now set to expire on August 21, 2006. ACI's characterization of the Corps' action as a "decision to temporarily extend" the permit may be factually accurate, but is legally irrelevant. The Corps, once it extended the permit for 120-days, had made the ultimate decision required by § 325.6(d) as far as the extension request was concerned. Furthermore, once the Corps decided to grant ACI's 120-day extension request, ACI's rights under the permit were determinedthat *1336 is, ACI was permitted to continue its fill activity under Permit No. 195-06797 until August 21, 2006, rather than having to stop filling in April of 2006.
To the extent ACI argues that the 120-day extension is temporary because of the Corp's upcoming decision on the request to extend the permit for another five years, it mistakenly conflates the 120-day request and the five-year request. ACI requested the 120-day extension after it had submitted its five-year extension request, solely because it sought to be compensated for the delays associated with the suspension of the permit, and not to account for the decision-making delays associated with the five-year extension request.[6] The two extension requests are unrelated. Accordingly, I am convinced that the 120-day extension decision constituted reviewable final agency action.[7]
B. Standard of review
Challenges to agency actions brought under NEPA, the ESA, and the CWA are reviewed under the arbitrary and capricious standard, as defined by the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706. "Under this standard, the reviewing court gives deference to the agency decision by reviewing for clear error, and by refraining from substituting its own judgment for that of the agency." Sierra Club, 295 F.3d at 1216 (citing Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Ass'n of the U.S., Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 463 U.S. 29, 43, 103 S.Ct. 2856, 77 L.Ed.2d 443 (1983)). The court must, however, "look beyond the scope of the decision itself to the relevant factors that the agency considered." Id. (internal citations omitted). The court is duty-bound to "ensure that the agency took a hard look at the environmental consequences of the proposed action." North Buckhead Civic Ass'n v. Skinner, 903 F.2d 1533, 1541 (11th Cir.1990). This duty requires the court to consider not only the final documents prepared by the agency, but also the entire administrative record. See Sierra Club, 295 F.3d at 1216.
The Corps will have met its "hard look" obligation if it has "examine[d] the relevant data and articulate[d] a satisfactory explanation for its actions including rational connection between the facts found and the choice made." Motor Vehicle Mfrs., 463 U.S. at 43, 103 S.Ct. 2856. An agency's decision will be overturned as arbitrary and capricious under "hard look" review if that decision "suffers from one of the following: (1) the decision does not rely on the factors that Congress intended the agency to consider; (2) the agency failed entirely to consider an important aspect of the problem; (3) the agency offers an explanation which runs counter to the evidence; or (4) the decision is so implausible that it cannot be the result of differing viewpoints or the result of agency *1337 expertise." Sierra Club, 295 F.3d at 1216 (internal citations omitted). If the reviewing court finds "deficiencies in the agency's rationale," the matter must be remanded to the agency "so that it may reconsider its own reasoning and decision." Id. The reviewing court may not take it upon itself to rectify those deficiencies or provide a reasoned basis for the decision which the agency itself did not articulate. Id.
Put simply, under the APA, "a court shall set aside an action of an administrative agency where it is arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion. The court shall not substitute its judgment for that of the agency." Cobb's History, 87 F.3d at 1246 (internal citations omitted).
C. Analysis
1. Reinstatement of Permit No. 1995-06797
On August 18, 2005, upon learning that ACI had submitted a Development of Regional Impact application for residential and commercial development on the permit site (governed by DA Permit No. 1995-06797 issued to ACI in 2001), the Corps issued ACI a notice of suspension pursuant to its authority under 33 C.F.R. § 325.7(c). In the notice the Corps explained that the proposed development project as described in the DRI application constituted a "proposed change of use" and represented "a substantial change of circumstances warranting a reevaluation." AR 905. On August 29, 2005, ACI requested a meeting with the Corps, as permitted under § 325.7(c), contending that the DRI application was in the initial stages of the review process, and, therefore, that the suspension was "premature." Id. at 907-08. ACI further noted that at no time had its activities on the permit site deviated from those authorized by the permitthat is, its activities remained agricultural with some mining, as authorized by its permit. Id. at 908. Additionally, a letter from the South Florida Regional Planning Council, dated August 17, 2005, informed ACI that its DRI application was insufficient. Id. at 847. The Council attached 29 multi-part questions which ACI had to answer before its application would be considered. Id. at 847, 851-846. If ACI failed to respond timely, the Council would consider the application withdrawn. Id. at 847. The letter also attached comments and requests for additional information from seven other agencies to which ACI was required to respond. See id. at 855. It was apparent form the Councils letter that approval of the DRI application, let alone any construction on the permit site, was far from occurring any time soon.
By the time it met with ACI on August 30 and September 1, 2005, to discuss the suspension, the Corps knew that ACI's proposed projects were in the early stages of planning. On September 8, 2005, the Corps reinstated ACI's permit in a brief Notice of Permit Reinstatement without a stated reason for the reinstatement. Contemporaneous documents in the administrative record, however, reveal that during its meeting with ACI and pursuant to its independent review of the DRI applications' status, the Corps determined that (1) the residential/commercial project planned for in the DRI was far from being realized, and that (2) any construction or development on the permit site was highly unlikely, if not impossible, from taking place prior to the expiration of ACI's permit (which at the time of the reinstatement decision was scheduled to elapse in April of 2006). The Corps, determined that ACI would not engage in any non-permit activity during the remaining life of Permit No. 1995-06797, and, therefore, that there was no substantial change in circumstances, no need for suspension, revocation, or modification of the permit, and therefore, no *1338 need for a public review of the permit. See AR 919-20
In addition to the DRI application, the Corps was also concerned about how the current permitted agricultural use of the permit site might impact proposed CERP projectsnamely, the C-111 Spreader Canal and the BBCW projects. As to that concern, the parties agreed that ACI would limit its agricultural activities to areas on the site south of S.W. 360th Street in order to give the Corps the opportunity to investigate whether the existing permit would need to be modified so as to avoid any conflicts with the CERP projects.
The administrative record reveals that there was no change in circumstances surrounding Permit No. 1995-06797, let alone a substantial change in circumstances, as the Corps had originally anticipated when it first suspended the permit. That is, despite ACI's DRI application and anticipated plans for a residential/commercial development project on the permit site, ACI had not changed any of its activities on the permit site. According to the administrative record, at no time did ACI engage in conduct prohibited by the agricultural fill permitACI remained faithful to the scope of the permit. The Corps acted well within its authority under the CWA when it suspended the permit sua sponte pursuant to § 325.7(c), believing that there was a substantial change in circumstancesthat is, that ACI was engaging in commercial use of the landand conducted an informal meeting with ACI. The Corps, however, also acted within its authority when it reinstated the permit without a public NEPA or § 404 hearing. Under § 325.7 it is clear that if the permittee requests a meeting, rather than a hearing, the Corps need not issue a public notice or hold a public hearing. The Corps did not abuse its discretion in deciding to reinstate the permit based upon a finding that ACI had not acted outside the scope of the permit, that any un-permitted conduct was at best speculative given that the Council had taken no action on ACI's DRI application, and that approval of the DRI (let alone planned construction on the permit site) was not likely to occur prior to expiration of the permit. Furthermore, the Corps, in its reinstatement letter and contemporaneous correspondence to ACI, warned that although the proposed residential/commercial project was speculative, and that any change of use on the subject property would require a modification of the permit, which would require full review even if the land was completely filled.
On this administrative record I am satisfied that the Corps' reinstatement decision was not implausible or irrational. The record reveals that the DRI application was nowhere near approval, that ACI had not engaged on activities contrary to its DA permit, and that pursuant to an agreement, ACI would restrict its activity to an area that would not conflict with potential CERP projects until the Corps could fully investigate the impact ACI's current activity might have on those projects (and whether a modification to the existing permit was in order). See Sierra Club, 295 F.3d at 1216. The administrative record further reveals that the Corps' reinstatement decision was not contrary to the evidence before itthere is substantial evidence in the record indicating the DRI application was still under review; moreover, the record does not contain any evidence that ACI was acting outside the scope of the permit such that there was a "substantial change in circumstances." Id. To the contrary, the record reveals that there was no change in the circumstances involving Permit No. 1995-06797. Finally, contrary to the plaintiffs' contention, the administrative record makes clear that the Corps did provide a contemporaneous rational *1339 explanation for its reinstatement decisionnamely that circumstances had not changed, and that ACI agreed to refrain from activity south of S.W. 360th Street. Thus, the Corps did not act arbitrarily and capriciously in reinstating the permit.[8]
Finally, the record does not reveal that the Corps failed to consider an important aspect of the project, or that its decision did not comport with Congressional intent. Again, to the contrary, the Corps, once it determined that ACI's proposed development project was still in the planning and approval phase and that ACI was still limiting its activities on the permit site to permitted behavior, switched its attention, again sua sponte, to ACI's permitted conduct (agricultural filling and excavation) to determine its impact on the pending CERP projects. In so doing, it reached an agreement by which ACI would not conduct any activity on the portion of land that the CERP projects might impact specifically so the Corps would have more time to determine whether any conflict would exist. Pursuant to the agreement to limit ACI's activity, ACI would be able to resume activities south of S.W. 360th Street on November 15, 2005. At that time, the Corps had not selected a project alternative for the C-111 Spreader Canal or the BBCW, and asked ACI to continue restricting its activity until December 15, 2005, so that the Corps could further investigate the matter. In late December, the Corps determined that the C-111 Spreader Canal project would not impact the permit site and that a BBCW alternative project would not be selected until February of 2006, and that it would be inequitable to continue restricting ACI from full use of the permit site. I conclude on this record that the Corps took measures to assure that it had fully considered the impact ACT's permitted behavior might have on the CERP projects. Accordingly, the Corps' decision to reinstate Permit No. 1995-06797 was neither arbitrary nor capricious, and that the Corps' actions complied with both the APA, and the CWA.
To the extent the plaintiffs argue that the Corps' decision is entitled to less deference because the reinstatement constituted a change in policy, I disagree. The plaintiffs' reliance on INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U.S. 421, 107 S.Ct. 1207, 94 L.Ed.2d 434 (1987), and its progeny is misplaced. In Cardoza-Fonseca, the Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether an agency's statutory interpretation in cases where Congress has not deliberately left a gap in the legislation for the agency to fillthat is, where Congress has not expressly delegated authority to the agency to elucidate statutory provision via regulationsis entitled to less deference when it results in a change in the agency's prior interpretation or policy. That is not the situation here. The plaintiffs have adduced no evidence suggesting that the Corps has reversed a prior policy or statutory interpretation, or that it did anything more than determine that suspension was unnecessary, all pursuant to its authority under NEPA, the CWA, the ESA, and their respective regulations. Moreover, the plaintiffs have presented *1340 no case law suggesting that the Corps is not authorized to reinstate a suspended permit without a public hearing once it has determined that no substantial change in circumstances has occurred. In light of the plain language of § 325.7 which permits the Corps to suspend a permit until such time as it determines whether to reinstate, revoke or modify that permit and itself contemplates that the Corps may, after suspending a permit, reinstate itI doubt any such case law exists.
The plaintiffs' contention that the Corps' reinstatement decision violated NEPA is equally unconvincing. The plaintiffs argue that the Corps failed to, among other things issue public notice regarding the reinstatement, hold a public hearing, take action on its own "may affect" determination regarding the Florida Panther, or formally consult with FWS or consider its preliminary findings. The record, however, reveals that because there was not a substantial change in circumstances, there was no modification of the permit, and that because the Corps was not issuing a new permit, NEPA procedural requirements were not triggered in this case. Accordingly, the Corps did not have to take any of the NEPA-required actions of reviewing the permit anew under the CWA, see 33 U.S.C. § 1344(a); 33 C.F.R. 352.2. I also fail to see, as the plaintiffs contend, how the suspension and reinstatement decisions constituted a "major" agency action with a "significant effect," such that the Corps would have to produce an environmental assessment, or comport with any other NEPA procedures. See 40 C.F.R. § 1501.3. The anticipated changes in ACI's development plan are merely speculative, at best, and do not constitute a substantial change in circumstances to trigger a public review process. And while the plaintiffs are concerned about the impact that ACI's future residential/commercial development project will have on the permitted area, those concerns, though they may be wellfounded, are of no moment in this litigation, nor is the Corps' actions regarding the request for a five-year extension of the permit. Any impact the future development project might have on the permit site is, I imagine, the subject of the Corps' review of ACI's request for a five-year extension of its current permit, which the Corps has not completed (at least as of the date of the June 16, 2006, hearing), which is not at issue in this case, and over which I do not have jurisdiction.[9] Accordingly, *1341 the Corps was not statutorily obligated to provide public notice, hold a public hearing, or provide the public an opportunity to comment pursuant to § 404 of the CWA and/or NEPA when it decided to reinstate ACI's permit. Thus, summary judgment in favor of the Corps and ACI as to the Corps' reinstatement decision is appropriate.
2. 120-Day Extension of Permit No. 1995-06797
On November 15, 2005, ACI requested a 120-day extension of Permit No. 1995-06797 in order to make up for the delays and losses resulting from the August 2005 suspension decision, hurricanes, ineffectiveness of limiting filling activity to areas north of S.W. 360th Street, and demobilizing and remobilizing manpower and machinery on-site. ACI agreed to continue refraining from any permitted activities south of S.W. 360th Street. The Corps granted the extension since ACI did not request, plan, or anticipate engaging in any activities outside the scope of the original permit. Accordingly, as with the reinstatement decision, the Corps, not faced with any change in circumstances, was not required to apply full NEPA review to the 120-day extension request. Under 33 C.F.R. § 325.6(d) "the permittee must request the extension and explain the basis of the request." The request will be granted, "unless the district engineer determines that an extension would be contrary to the public interest." If the district engineer determines that "there have been significant changes in the attendant circumstances since the authorization was [originally] issued", then the request fore the extension. "will be processed in accordance with the regular procedures of § 325.2, . . . including issuance of a public notice." This process is not required where the district engineer determines that no such changes have occurred. Accordingly, I am similarly satisfied that the Corps did not act arbitrarily or capriciously when it decided to grant ACI the 120-day extension.
3. Plaintiffs' Endangered Species Act Claim
In their motion for summary judgment the plaintiffs, for the first time, argue that the Corps's reinstatement and 120-day extension decisions violated the Endangered Species Act. The plaintiffs, however, failed to explicitly allege a violation of the ESA their complaint, and according to the Corps, have waived that claim, such that I do not have jurisdiction to review it on summary judgment. I disagree.
"It is well settled that where a complaint fails to cite the statute conferring jurisdiction the omission will not defeat jurisdiction if the facts alleged in the complaint satisfy the jurisdictional requirements of the statute." Hildebrand v. Honeywell, Inc., 622 F.2d 179, 181 (5th Cir.1980) (internal citations omitted).[10] "Moreover, the district court has a duty under Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to read the complaint liberally and determine whether the facts set forth justify it in assuming jurisdiction on grounds other than those pleaded." Id. *1342 See also Quality Foods de Centro America, S.A. v. Latin American Agribusiness Development, 711 F.2d 989, 995 (11th Cir. 1983) (for purposes of notice pleading "the complaint need only `give the defendant fair notice of what the plaintiffs claim is and the grounds upon which it rests'")(citing Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957)).
Here, the complaint is rife with references to the ESA and its accompanying regulations, and includes several statements suggestion the Corps' actions violated the ESA. See Complaint at 2 (alleging that the Corps made a "may affect" determination regarding the permitted activity and the Florida Panther habitat, and that the Corps initiated consultations with the FWS pursuant to the ESA); id. at 10 (allegations that the Corps "must consult with the FWS" pursuant to the ESA); id. at 11-15 (detailed discussion about the EPA and its accompanying regulations, and the Corps' duties under the ESA). See also id. at 18 and 34-35. Additionally, during a status conference before Judge Gold, before the case was transferred to me, the plaintiffs notified the Corps that it intended to file an amended complaint to include an ESA claim. The plaintiffs failed to ever do so, and did not specifically argue an ESA violation until summary judgment. However, it is quite clear from both the complaint and the status conference that the plaintiffs from the start of the lawsuit intended to raise an ESA claim, and basically did so in the complaint. Put differently, I am convinced that the Corps was given sufficient notice of the plaintiffs' intention of making allegations of ESA violations from the complaint and more explicitly from the status conference. Accordingly, I am satisfied that the plaintiffs have not waived the ESA violation.
Nevertheless, for reasons already explained regarding the plaintiffs' NEPA, CWA, ESA, and APA claims, I am not convinced that a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether the Corps acted arbitrarily or capriciously under the ESA. Accordingly, summary judgment in favor of the Corps and ACI is also appropriate as to the ESA claims.
Specifically, § 7(a)(2) of the ESA requires every federal agency to insure that any action authorized, funded, or carried out by such agency is not likely to "jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of habitat of such species which is determined by the Secretary . . . to be critical [. .]." 16 U.S.C. § 1536(a)(2). To do this, the ESA requires the Corps to consult with FWS and/or the National Marine Fisheries Service ("NMFS") whenever a federal action "may affect" an endangered or threatened species. 50 C.F.R. § 402.14(h)(3); 50 C.F.R. Part 402 (§ 7 implementing regulations setting out detailed procedures for "formal" and "informal consultation designed to provide agencies with expert advice to determine the biological impacts of their proposed activities").
As noted earlier, the Corps did make a "may effect" finding. It also consulted with the FWS regarding the may effect finding. However, the "may effect" finding, and the consultation with FWS, as noted earlier, related to the Corps' review of the five-year extension request, and was unrelated to the reinstatement and 120-day extension. Moreover, the subsequent "no effect" determination by the Corps was made with respect to the reinstatement decision after the Corps determined that the DRI application and ACI's prospective development project had no impact on the existing permit since no action *1343 would take place prior to the permit's expiration. Accordingly, I am satisfied that the Corps was not required to institute FWS consultation for the reinstatement decision or the 120-day extension decision, and that based on this administrative record, the Corps did not act arbitrarily or capriciously under the ESA. Summary judgment in favor of the defendants is, therefore, appropriate as to the ESA claim as well.
IV. CONCLUSION
The administrative record reveals that at no time during the suspension, reinstatement, or 120-day extension decisions did ACI act outside the scope of the original permit. Similarly, the record does not suggest that either the reinstatement or the 120-extension in any way constituted modifications to the permit, as the plaintiffs suggest. Likewise, the record is devoid of any evidence suggesting that the DRI application had any impact on ACT's activities on the permit site prior to either the April 2006 or August 2006 expiration date. I, therefore, conclude that no issue of fact exists as to whether a substantial change in circumstances occurred, or whether the reinstatement and 120-day extension decisions triggered NEPA and its procedural requirements, or § 404 review. In other words, because (1) their was no change in the circumstances surrounding the initial approval of the original permit, (2) ACI had not attempted to broaden the scope of the permit, and (3) the Corps, via its agreement to ACI to restrict its filling activities, took measures to determine whether the agricultural permit conflicted with the CERP projects and would therefore require modification of the permit, no substantial change in circumstances occurred, the public review process was not triggered, and the Corps did not act arbitrary and capaciously by not conducting such a review process.
ACI's DRI application, and its prospective development project, though the basis of the plaintiffs' lawsuit, may certainly affect circumstances surrounding the five-year extension request. However, they did not and still do not impact Permit No. 1995-06797, the only subject of this lawsuit. To the extent the plaintiffs rely on the DRI application as evidence of a substantial change in circumstances requiring a modification of the permit or consideration of the permit anew, they do so prematurely. The DRI application and ACI's future development projects do not affect Permit No. 1995-06797 because they have done nothing to change ACI's conduct on the permit site. ACI continues its fill activity on the permit site and has limited such activity to the scope of its § 404 agricultural fill permit. Accordingly, the plaintiffs have adduced no evidence to suggest that the Corps was faced with a substantial change in circumstances requiring public notice and hearing, that the Corps' action boiled down to a permit modification, or that the Corps was required to engaged in a full permit review process pursuant to NEPA, CWA, and the ESA.
Put simply, there is no issue of fact suggesting that the Corps acted arbitrarily and capriciously. The Corps examined the relevant data, and articulated a satisfactory and rational explanation for its decisions to reinstate and extend the permit for 120 days, and thus took a "hard look" at the consequences of its actions. See Motor Vehicle, 463 U.S. at 43, 103 S.Ct. 2856.
Accordingly, the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment is denied. The Corps' and ACI's motions for summary judgment are, granted. Final judgment in this matter will be entered by separate order.
FINAL JUDGMENT
On August 15, 2006, summary judgment was granted in favor of the United States *1344 Army Corps of Engineers, Lt. General Carl A. Stock, Commander in Chief of Engineers, in his official capacity (collectively, the "Corps"), and Atlantic Civil, Inc. ("ACI").
Pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 54 and 58, final judgment is entered in favor of the Corps and ACI, and against the National Parks Conservation, Inc. and Topical Audubon Society (collectively the "plaintiffs"). The plaintiffs shall take nothing by this cause. Costs will be taxed upon appropriate motion.
This case is CLOSED and any pending motions are DENIED AS MOOT.
NOTES
[1] The permit holder, Atlantic Civil, Inc. ("ACI"), not originally a party to this suit, filed a motion to intervene as of right under Rule 24(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, arguing that as the owner of the land and holder of the permit at issuewhich allows ACI to fill a portion of federally protected land for agricultural useit maintained sufficient interest in the suit. That motion was granted in an earlier order. [D.E. 52].
[2] Subsequent to the issuance of the permit, the excavation of 142 acres of waters of the United States and associated mitigation was bifurcated from this permit. See Administrative Record ("AR") 836.
[3] The authorization or construction period of a permit automatically expires "if the permittee fails to request and receive an extension of time." 33 C.F.R. § 325.6(d). As ACI did here, "the permittee must request the extension and explain the basis of the request." Id. The request will be granted, "unless the district engineer determines that an extension would be contrary to the public interest." Id. If the district engineer determines that "there have been significant changes in the attendant circumstances since the authorization was [originally] issued", then the request for the extension "will be processed in accordance with the regular procedures of § 325.2 of this Part, including issuance of a public notice." Id. This process is not required where the district engineer determines that no such changes have occurred. Id.
[4] This provision, governing suspension of permits, reads in pertinent part:
The district engineer may suspend a permit after preparing a written determination and finding that immediate suspension would be in the public interest. The district engineer will notify the permittee in writing . . . that the permit has been suspended with the reasons therefor, and order the permittee to stop those activities previously authorized by the suspended permit. The permittee will also be advised that following this suspension a decision will be made to either reinstate, modify, or revoke the permit, and that he may within 10 days of receipt of notice of the suspension, request a meeting with the district engineer and/or a public hearing to present information in this matter. If a hearing is requested, the procedures prescribed in 33 C.F.R. Part 327 will be followed. After the completion of the meeting or hearing (or within a reasonable period of time after issuance of the notice to the permittee that the permit has been suspended if no hearing or meeting is requested), the district engineer will take action to reinstate, modify, or revoke the permit.
33 C.F.R. § 325.1(c) (emphasis added). Accordingly, the regulation authorizes the Corps to, in an abundance of caution, suspend a permit in order to determine if reinstatement, modification, or revocation of the permit is the most appropriate action. Most importantly, however, § 325.7(c) specifically contemplates the possibility that the Corps may suspend a permit and then reinstate that permit without the need for the public hearing procedures set out in Part 327 (requiring, among other things, public notice, public hearing, and consideration of public's submissions and recommendations in the Corps' ultimate decision) where, as here, the permittee requests a meeting with the district engineer.
[5] The permit site is approximately bounded by Card Sound Road, S.W. 344th Street, S.W. 392nd Street, and S.W. 147th Avenue. So, each BBCW alternative project essentially ran through ACI's property site. The four alternatives and their impact were as follows. The Yellow Book alternative had a spreader canal through the northern portion of the ACI property and a large "STA" to the west. Alternatives J, E, and M were all intended to rehydrate all lands to the south of the positioned spreaders and/or S.W. 360th Street. In alternative J, the spreader was positioned south of S.W. 344th Street (midway towards 360th Street), while alternatives E and M used culverts along S.W. 360th Street (stopping somewhere between S.W. 147th Avenue and 152nd Avenue).
[6] Accordingly, the Middle District's decision in Turtle v. County Council of Volusia County, which held that amendments to an interim extension of an ESA permit pending an application for renewal were not final agency action because they constituted intermediate steps associated with final agency action, and on which ACI relies, though only persuasive authority, is nevertheless inapposite. 2005 WL 1227305 *10 (M.D.Fla. May 3, 2005). Here, the 120-day extension was strictly associated with suspension delays (as well as delays unrelated to the Corps, like those caused by weather), and was not an extension request associated with any delays or loss of time relating to the Corps' ongoing decisionmaking process regarding the permit.
[7] Although not a basis for my decision that federal jurisdiction exists here, it is worth noting that the Corps itself neither raised this jurisdictional question nor joined in ACI's jurisdictional challenge in its pleadings or in the June 2006 hearing, and has at no time in these proceedings suggested that this court lacks jurisdiction to review its reinstatement and 120-day extension decisions.
[8] The plaintiffs rely heavily on the fact that the notice of permit reinstatement did not provide a reason for the Corps' reinstatement decision. But I am not restricted to reviewing only the notice of reinstatement. I am instead required, when reviewing an agency decision, to review the entire record. See Sierra Club, 295 F.3d at 1216. Here, the record contains ample contemporaneous evidence of the Corps' basis and rationale for reinstating the permit, including internal Corps emails and memos, and correspondence between the Corps and ACI. Contrary to the plaintiffs' assertions in its motion and at the June 16, 2006, hearing, the Corps did not act on a whim or take inexplicable, inconsistent, or irrational actions as to the reinstatement decision.
[9] I am similarly unmoved by the plaintiffs' reliance on the Corps communications with the FWS as evidence that the Corps did not formally consult with the FWS, disregarded the FWS' recommendations, and/or ignored the "cumulative effects" of the ACI's proposed residential/commercial project on the permit site in violation of NEPA, the CWA or the ESA. First, the Corps was not required to consider any cumulative effects where none existedthat is, during the life of Permit No. 1995-06797 there were no plans for development or actual construction on the permit cite. Accordingly, since the proposed project was not set to begin until after Permit No. 1995-06797 expired, there appears no reason for the Corps to have considered it in its reinstatement or extension decisions (as it had already considered the cumulative effects of that permit when it was first approved in 2001) even though this may be relevant in the Corps' review of the five-year extension request. This is particularly true where, as here, the circumstances were such that there was no substantial change in activity, nor a modification to the permit. Second, according to the record, any comments from the FWS regarding the impact on the Panther and other endangered species related to the Corps' inquiry into the five-year extension request. See AR 749-50 (Corps's letter to FWS requesting review of five-year permit extension), 763 and 826 (email between Corps and FWS regarding five-year extension), 939-44 (FWS report on impact of five-year permit extension on Florida Panther, wood Stork and other endangered species). There is nothing in the administrative record to suggest that the FWS made any findings, let alone negative findings, as to the impact of ACI's permitted activity (agricultural fill and excavation) on the Florida Panther or other endangered species during the suspension and reinstatement process, as the plaintiffs suggest.
[10] The Eleventh Circuit has adopted as precedent the decisions of the former Fifth Circuit render4ed prior to October 1, 1981. Bonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206, 1209 (11th Cir.1981) (en banc.)
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Representatives from the United States and Mexico met in Washington, DC, on August 30 and 31 to begin formal negotiations on a transboundary energy agreement. The agreement is intended to govern the disposition and regulation of hydrocarbon reservoirs that cross our international maritime boundary. continue reading »
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By Jonathan Capehart
“Black history is American history,” thundered Gov. Ralph Northam, D-Va., at a ceremony on Aug. 24 commemorating the arrival of “20 and odd Negroes” who were traded for food by pirates who landed at Point Comfort, Virginia, 400 years ago this month. Coming from a man who just six months ago had to explain how a photo depicting a man in blackface and another person in a Ku Klux Klan uniform ended up on his medical school yearbook page, this was a remarkable acknowledgment.
Northam's declaration spoke of a newfound self-awareness not just of himself, but also of our nation's difficult history. Not the sanitized version that puts a smiley face on racism and ignores the lingering power of white supremacy, but the version that recognizes and honors the violence and suffering that went hand in hand with the creation of this great nation.
“If we are going to begin to truly right the wrongs of our four centuries of history, if we are going to turn the light of truth upon them, we have to start with ourselves,” Northam said, according to The Washington Post’s story on the event. “I’ve had to confront some painful truths. ... Among those truths was my own incomplete understanding involving race and equity.”
Northam isn’t alone in having an incomplete understanding of our nation’s problematic origin and messy history. Most Americans are unaware of it, of how the “dualism [of] high-minded principle and indescribable cruelty has defined us,” as Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said at the same ceremony. Thanks to the 1619 Project at the New York Times, that is going to change. “1619,” as folks are calling it, is a massive retelling of the American story with African Americans appropriately at its center. It is the kind of retelling that continues putting the calls for reparations in their proper context and makes the absence of a national apology all the more galling.
More than a week ago, I read Nikole Hannah-Jones's masterful opening essay for "1619." The power and truth of her words and the other essays have stayed with me. Not only because of the beautiful writing, but also because of the unflinching way they dismantle the myth of America and the white men who founded it.
For many African Americans, the essays of "1619" present nothing new. They were taught all this in high school or college or by conscious family members determined that they know their history. If you listen to my podcast "Cape Up," you have heard some of this history. Bryan Stevenson talked about the terror of lynchings. Daina Ramey Berry talked about how even in death, slaves weren't free. Andrea Ritchie talked about how law enforcement is as aggressive with African American women as it is with black men.
Yet having all the knowledge of "1619" laid out in the pages of an entire New York Times magazine and a dedicated website gives it the national prominence it deserves and forces the nation to take heed. And there were moments when I could only gasp at and cheer on the audacity of the assembled writers, particularly that of Matthew Desmond on how "the brutality of American capitalism" started on the plantation and of Wesley Morris on how "black music, forged in bondage, has been the sound of complete artistic freedom."
Hannah-Jones hammers away at the hypocrisy of Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the immortal words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal," while ignoring the enslaved men, women and children in his midst. She describes the revered home of Jefferson in Charlottesville, Virginia, as "the forced-labor camp he called Monticello."
She compels us to face one of the catalysts for the colonists to declare independence from Great Britain. "Conveniently left out of our founding mythology is the fact that one of the primary reasons the colonists decided to declare their independence from Britain was because they wanted to protect the institution of slavery," Hannah-Jones explains. "The wealth and prominence that allowed Jefferson, at just 33, and the other founding fathers to believe they could successfully break off from one of the mightiest empires in the world came from the dizzying profits generated by chattel slavery." She then goes on to describe how "when it came time to draft the Constitution, the framers carefully constructed a document that preserved and protected slavery without ever using the word."
Fast forward to the adoration of the Greatest Generation and Hannah-Jones casts them in a harsh, but inescapable light. "We like to call those who lived during World War II the Greatest Generation," she notes, "but that allows us to ignore the fact that many of this generation fought for democracy abroad while brutally suppressing democracy for millions of American citizens." Which leads to Hannah-Jones's most compelling statement.
"Yet despite being violently denied the freedom and justice promised to all, black Americans believed fervently in the American creed. Through centuries of black resistance and protest, we have helped the country live up to its founding ideals. And not only for ourselves - black rights struggles paved the way for every other rights struggle, including women's and gay rights, immigrant and disability rights. Without the idealistic, strenuous and patriotic efforts of black Americans, our democracy today would most likely look very different - it might not be a democracy at all."
All these centuries later, I'm one of those black Americans who believes fervently in the American creed, even with the daily reminders that living while black in America still can be undignified on a good day. I believe that this country is great because of the foundational role played by the descendants of those "20 and odd Negroes." They did this despite slavery, despite the state-sanctioned terror that followed, despite the discrimination and bigotry that continue to be a drag on full African American equality and advancement. And I believe we can be greater still once the complete picture of our shared history is learned, internalized and embraced.
"If we're serious about righting the wrong that began here at this place," Northam said at the commemoration in Hampton, Virginia, "we need to do more than talk. We need to take action." And the first course of action for anyone truly serious is to read "1619" from beginning to end. All of it.
Jonathan Capehart is a member of The Post editorial board, writes about politics and social issues, and is host of the “Cape Up” podcast.
The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox.Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.
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Hit ‘em for six
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While the woman was in the kitchen, the man reached for his gun and shot the man as he stood by the door with his wallet.
“I guess he was counting my money,” he said. “I aimed for his leg and I got him.”
The woman yelled that she was afraid he was going to shoot her too.
“It told her, ‘You get your ass out of here and I won’t shoot you,’ ” the homeowner said.
The suspect took the man’s cell phone, home phone and wallet. He said they unhooked the television, but he got the shot in before they were able to take it.
The cell phone was later found by police several streets away.
On Wednesday, the man sat in his home with this dog. His face was red and swollen, but he is recovering. Blood droplets were visible on his porch.
Hamilton detectives said the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about the incident on Pleasant Avenue about 7:30 p.m. is asked to call 513-868-5811 ext. 2002.
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Activity-dependent reorganization of local circuitry in the developing visceral sensory system.
Neural activity during critical periods could fine-tune functional synaptic connections. N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activation is critically implicated in this process and blockade leads to disruption of normal circuit formation. This phenomenon has been well investigated in several neural systems including the somatosensory system, but not yet evidenced in the visceral sensory system. Ultrastructural analysis of GABAergic synapses and electrophysiological analysis of inhibitory and excitatory postsynaptic currents of the rat caudal nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) cells revealed that developmental changes in the synaptic organizations were blocked by MK-801, an NMDA receptor antagonist, when administered at postnatal days 5-8, a presumed critical period for the visceral sensory system. Normal synapse reorganization during postnatal development dictates undifferentiated neonatal caudal NTS neurons in terms of synaptic input patterns measured by electron microscopy and electrophysiology into two cell groups: small and large cells under far stronger excitatory and inhibitory influence, respectively. Blockade by MK-801 during the critical period might leave adult neurons wired in the undifferentiated synaptic networks, possibly preventing synapse elimination and subsequent stabilization of the proper wiring.
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Description Expand Content Trigger
Round neck sweater in soft and warm merino lambswool blanded with nylon to avoid pilling and add nautural stretch feel that gives comfort when weared. It has cotton reinforcement tone on tone on the right shoulder.
Gentleman Sweater
Line of sweater mande in Italy in soft and warm wool with tone on tone cotton reinforcement. The range of colors includes the classical hunting one and some bright colors coordinated with the shirt and ties of the Gentlemen Hunt collection.
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1. So, what’s this “Marine A” malarkey all about then?
Marine A, or Sgt Alexander Blackman, today succeeded in his appeal against his conviction for murdering a wounded Taliban insurgent whilst on a tour of Afghanistan in 2011. The Court Martial Appeal Court (CMAC) quashed his conviction for murder and substituted a conviction for manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
2. This sounds familiar. Hasn’t he already appealed?
He has indeed. Following his conviction for murder before a Court Martial on 8 November 2013, when he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 10 years, he appealed against his conviction and sentence to the CMAC in 2014. On 10 April 2014, the CMAC refused his appeal against conviction, but reduced the minimum term (the minimum period before a life prisoner is eligible for release) from 10 to 8 years.
3. If his appeal against conviction has already been refused, how come he gets another?
Following the refusal of his appeal, Blackman applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the independent statutory body set up in 1995 to investigate potential miscarriages of justice, following a series of notorious errors including the Birmingham Six, Guildford Four and others. If the Criminal Cases Review Commission considers that new evidence or a new legal argument has emerged, which leads them to conclude that there is a “real possibility” that the Court of Appeal (or CMAC) will quash a conviction, they can refer the case back to the Court of Appeal/CMAC. This only happens in a fraction of applications to the CCRC. On 15 December 2016, Blackman became one of the fortunate ones.
4. What was the “new evidence or argument”?
At his first appeal, it was unsuccessfully argued that the Court Martial system – a peculiar, sui generis legal tribunal not entirely misrepresented by the depiction of the trial of Blackadder for the slaughter of Speckled Jim the pigeon – was not compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. Subsequently, psychiatric evidence has emerged which it is said would, had it been available at trial, have afforded him a partial defence to murder.
5. A defence! So he didn’t do it – is that what the Court said?
It depends what you mean by “it”. If you mean murder, then that is correct. The CMAC concluded that, for the reasons below, the conviction for murder was unsafe. However, it was confirmed by the Court – and agreed by Blackman – that he had deliberately shot and killed a wounded, defenceless Afghan insurgent at point blank range. The details of the killing, which were captured on video and later emerged to form the primary evidence against him, are set out in paras 17 to 22 of the judgment and are worth reading in full. They are not pleasant. In summary, on 15 September 2011, Blackman was leading a foot patrol of around eight marines in Helmand Province. After an Apache helicopter opened fire on two armed Taliban insurgents, Blackman was ordered to undertake a battle damage assessment. His patrol found one of the insurgents badly injured in the middle of the field. The marines took away his weapons and moved him to a position where he was out of sight of the operational headquarters. The video then records a discussion between the marines as they contemplated whether to patch the insurgent’s wounds or to kill him. The appellant checked that the helicopter had moved out of sight, and then drew his pistol. He fired a shot into the insurgent’s chest, watched his body writhe back and forth for 15 seconds and said, “There you are, shuffle off this mortal coil, you cunt.” As the insurgent died, Blackman continued: “It’s nothing you wouldn’t do to us. Obviously this doesn’t go anywhere, fellas. I’ve just broken the Geneva Convention.” None of those facts are disputed. The partial defence that the Court found was established, “diminished responsibility”, has the effect of reducing what would otherwise be murder – unlawfully killing someone with intent to kill or cause really serious harm – to manslaughter.
6. He shot a man in cold blood – how is that not murder?
The defence of diminished responsibility is set out in section 2 of the Homicide Act 1957. It applies only to murder, and provides, in short, that a person who would otherwise be guilty of murder should not be convicted of murder if they were suffering “from an abnormality of mental functioning which (a) arose from a recognised medical condition, (b) substantially impaired [the defendant’s] ability to do one or more of the things mentioned in subsection 1A; and (c) provides an explanation for the defendant’s acts in doing or being party to the killing.” The relevant “abilities”, one of which has to be substantially impaired, are set out in ss1A as the ability (a) to understand the nature of the defendant’s conduct; (b) to form a rational judgment; or (c) to exercise self control. In short, the defence is designed to ensure that a defendant whose culpability is reduced because of substantial impairment caused by an “abnormality of mental functioning” is not punished as severely as a defendant who commits murder knowing and understanding exactly what they are doing. The law does not completely exculpate them – a conviction for manslaughter and a hefty sentence follows, but the consequences are not as serious as a conviction for murder, with the mandatory life sentence that attaches.
7. So how was diminished responsibility argued in this case?
After his conviction but before his sentence, a psychiatric report was obtained, which opined that Blackman might be suffering from an undetected combat stress disorder. This was new – there had been no suggestion at the original trial that Blackman was mentally unwell; his (rather implausible) defence had been that he thought the insurgent was dead when he shot him. However the psychiatric report set bells ringing, and a number of further reports were obtained in the course of the CCRC investigation. Three psychiatrists all agreed that at the time of the killing, Blackman was suffering from adjustment disorder, a recognised medical condition with symptoms that include depressed mood, anxiety, inability to cope with a situation and a degree of disability in performance of daily routine. Out of the 20 to 25% of all soldiers who suffer mental health problems, the most common diagnosis is adjustment disorder. The symptoms are often masked and not apparent, either to the person suffering or to onlookers. A sufferer might appear to others to plan and act with apparent rationality. In Blackman’s case, each expert, who had carefully examined him, agreed that this abnormality of mental functioning substantially impaired his ability to form a rational judgment and exercise self-control. In other words, that the defence of diminished responsibility was made out.
8. What did the prosecution say about this?
The prosecution did not dispute the content of the psychiatric evidence, nor did they object to it being adduced at the appeal (there is a high bar for “fresh evidence” being admitted by the Court on an appeal). The prosecution accepted that the appellant suffered from adjustment disorder; however, they said that it did not have the claimed bearing on his actions. It was clear from the video that he knew what he was doing and intended to do it. It could not be proved that the adjustment disorder was operative at the time of the killing, and in any event Blackman’s judgment was not substantially impaired. The conviction for murder, they said, should stand.
9. And the Court agreed with the appellant?
It did indeed. It held that had the psychiatric evidence been before the Court Martial in 2013, the Board would have had to consider the issue of diminished responsibility, and that this could have affected their decision to convict of murder. The verdict was therefore unsafe. In arriving at this conclusion, the Court looked at the evidence of Blackman’s condition prior to his deployment to Afghanistan – how he was an exemplary, mild-tempered soldier up until the death of his father, and became “a husk of his former self” – and the conditions in which he was operating. He had insufficient training in Trauma Risk Management, lost the support of close mentors who were killed in action, and was working in a particularly dangerous, isolated environment. There were numerous stressors, the Court found, including very recent attempts on Blackman’s life, one of which was a grenade attack a month before the killing in which he escaped with his life by a whisker. The Court accepted that Blackman perceived a lack of support from his commanding officers, and that his cognitive function at the time of the killing would have been affected by radio chatter suggesting that another attack was imminent. Taken together, these amounted to “exceptional circumstances” the combination of which, applied to his adjustment disorder, substantially impaired his ability to form a rational judgment and his ability to exercise self-control. His actions, terrible as they were, had to be put in the overarching context of his disorder.
The Court then had to decide whether to remit the case for a retrial for murder, where a Court Martial could consider the evidence and the defence of diminished responsibility afresh, or to substitute a conviction for manslaughter today and be done with it. Given the Court’s findings above, they exercised their power under s.14 of the Court Martial Appeals Act 1968 to substitute a conviction for an alternative offence.
10. So what happens next?
He will be sentenced for manslaughter on a date to be fixed. There are no Sentencing Guidelines for manslaughter, but given the evident sympathy of the Court exhibited in the judgment, it would not be a surprise if they passed a sentence which resulted in Blackman being “time served” and immediately released. At the very least, it will be significantly below the 16-year equivalent sentence passed for murder (to arrive at the “minimum term” for murder, you take the appropriate determinate sentence that would be passed and chop it in half, to reflect the fact that automatic release applies to determinate sentences at the halfway stage).
Meanwhile, we can look forward to lots of angry people getting angrier and angrier, without bothering to read the judgment or acquaint themselves with the facts. For some, Blackman is a national hero who should never have been prosecuted at all for dispatching a murderous terrorist in the fog of war. For others, the prosecution of our own who, in their own, boastful admissions, breach international law and kill harmless, injured enemy combatants, is a mark of civility that stands us apart from the enemy.
For my part, I would urge everyone, whether of either view or none, to read the judgment in full. There is plenty to be learned, whether it’s a grim parable of the casual barbarity into which good people can descend, or an invaluable insight into battlefield conditions that most of us are fortunate enough never to have to endure.
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FOOTNOTE: The barometer of good judgment otherwise known as Matthew Scott (@barristerblog) makes a vital point buried in the judgment. Neither the result nor the judgment in any way amount to a criticism of Blackman’s original legal representatives at trial, nor the original Court Martial. His condition was invisible and he refused to allow his team to pursue a psychiatric defence out of fear of stigma. Those on social media attacking Blackman’s legal team do so from a position of guaranteed ignorance.
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Q:
Message: 'geckodriver' executable needs to be in PATH, but it already is?
I am writing a script that will save the complete contents of a web page. If I try using urllib2 and bs4 it only writes the contents of the logon page and none of the content after navigating to a search within the page. However, if I do a ctrl + s on the search results page, an html file is saved to disk that when opened in a text editor has all of the contents from the search results.
I've read several posts here on the subject and am trying to use the steps in this one:
How to save "complete webpage" not just basic html using Python
However, after installing geckodriver and setting the sys path variable I continue to get errors. Here is my limited code:
from selenium import webdriver
>>> from selenium.webdriver.common.action_chains import ActionChains
>>> from selenium.webdriver.common.keys import Keys
>>> br = webdriver.Firefox()
Here is the error:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<interactive input>", line 1, in <module>
File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\selenium\webdriver\firefox\webdriver.py", line 142, in __init__
self.service.start()
File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\selenium\webdriver\common\service.py", line 81, in start
os.path.basename(self.path), self.start_error_message)
WebDriverException: Message: 'geckodriver' executable needs to be in PATH.
And here is where I set the sys path variable:
I've restarted after setting sys path variable.
UPDATE:
I am now trying to use the chromdriver as this seemed more straight forward. I downloaded hromedriver_win32.zip II'm on a windows laptop) from chromedriver's download page, set the environmetal variable path to:
C:\Python27\Lib\site-packages\selenium\webdriver\chrome\chromedriver.exe
but am getting the similar following error:
>>> br = webdriver.Chrome()
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<interactive input>", line 1, in <module>
File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\selenium\webdriver\chrome\webdriver.py", line 62, in __init__
self.service.start()
File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\selenium\webdriver\common\service.py", line 81, in start
os.path.basename(self.path), self.start_error_message)
WebDriverException: Message: 'chromedriver' executable needs to be in PATH. Please see https://sites.google.com/a/chromium.org/chromedriver/home
A:
You have also to add the path of Firefox to the system variables manually,
you maybe have installed firefox some other location while Selenium is trying to find firefox and launch from default location but it couldn't find. You need to provide explicitly firefox installed binary location:
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.firefox.firefox_binary import FirefoxBinary
binary = FirefoxBinary('path/to/installed firefox binary')
browser = webdriver.Firefox(firefox_binary=binary)
browser = webdriver.Firefox()
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"Will he?" "Now who'll drive it?" "Sir, I have a young civilian driver." "He's very good." "I'll vouch for him." "Banco!" "Before your tour of the town, I'll show you our latest computing innovation." "Gimme that!" "Wear this." " It'll cramp my style." "Even a cretin with mitts on could drive this baby!" "Take him away!" " No, it's OK." "Told you!" " Never mind." "No one'll see." "Go on!" "Ninja!" "How do you stop it?" " You just have to say "Nip"." "Ninja!" "The mission's simple." "We prepared a demonstration." "With fake attacks!" "Like the ghost train?" " Yes, so as to impress the Nip." "Above all, don't worry." "Let things happen." "If the Nip..." "Don't play while I'm talking." " You keep saying "Nip"!" "Great!" " Not bad." "Sir, we shall now escort you to your hotel." "Get in!" "Up shit creek again!" "Forward!" "They're here." "On this road." "It's going as planned." "Very good, Katano." "Let me hear them." "Spring Roll, come in." "Hey, Emilien, come in!" "Do you read me?" " Loud 'n' clear." "We just left for the 1st trap." "Be with you in 20 minutes." "OK, 20 minutes to warm up." "What about us?" "What can we do for about 20 minutes?" "I don't know." "Any ideas?" "Yeah, but 20 centim... minutes is too short!" "Oh yeah?" "So, we need an idea we could start now and finish later." "Yes, that would work!" "But..." "I too have an idea." "I'm sure you'll really like it." "Oh yeah?" "It may be the same one." "That'd be marvellous!" "It'd be ideal!" "Go on, you first." "Make the most of these few quiet moments... to learn Japanese!" "It wasn't the same idea." "He won't see much of Marseille." "Sorry, he's suffering from jetlag." "May I ask why your boss is here?" "To sign very big contract and see anti-gang method." "He'll sure see that!" " You know method?" "Sure I do!" "1st, the suspect." "He's probably guilty." "A foreigner is doubly suspect!" "Then there's the guilty, foreign, tanned suspect!" "He's had it!" "If he's tanned, he just sun-bathes and does nothing all day, he's a suspect!" "So, he's guilty." "Faultless logic!" "That boy any good?" "Very good." "A young doctor, friend of my daughter's." "Something tells me they're flirting." "Only natural at their age." " Quite." "To make the guilty party confess, they use questioning!" "Simple!" "They apply a trilogy like Star Wars." "Episode 1:" "Beat him up!" "Good, healthy exercise!" "Episode 2:" "Tax 'em to raise some cash for the Christmas party!" "Episode 3:" "Drink copiously!" "I'm pleased some youngsters still respect our values." "A good son-in-law." " Think so?" "Many French gangs?" "The most dangerous are the heavy mob: 100,000 - strong!" "Easy to spot:" "Always guzzling beer!" "Go toward the port." " My pleasure, chief." "He sounds very polite." " Affirmative." "Courteous, too." "Polite to your face, shaft you from behind!" "Like in the souk." "A big smile as they steal your cash!" "But I've got my eye on him." "Tell me something." "I've not been in the police long, but try me." "What means the word your captain uses: "Nip"?" "Why'd he stop?" "I said to beware!" "What's going on?" "Just a simultaneous translation problem!" "Cut the crap." "We're at the meeting point in... now." "Don't worry!" "General alert." "Shit!" "There's a missile pointing at me." "Missile?" "What missile?" "Atlas:" "Real-time missile diversion." "Unique!" "The Limeys won't get the ball!" "Impressive, but where's it headed?" "Don't worry." "Somewhere far out at sea." "Shit, my boat!" "The high point of our show." "Impressive!" "Very good work, Gibert." "Thank you, sir, I'm so pleased to be able to try out this equipment at last." "Roadhog!" "OK, the coast is clear." "Impressive" " You get used to it." "A regular day." "Your moves are improving, but not your accent." "Spring Roll!" "Copy?" "Just fine." "Did you make it." "I mean, are you here?" "1st attack completed." "Be with you in 5." "Ready?" "Pétra and I were checking a few things out." "A-OK." "Emilien, Gibert here." "I'm counting on you." "You can count on me, Pétra." "I mean: you can count on Pétra!" "Count on Pétra!" "Go!" "Dammit, I told you to warm up!" "We're hot!" "Gibert will kill you guys!" "Go warm up!" "Just off to the little girls' room." "I'll go with you." "You never know." "Can't you read?" "It says "Green light"!" "Get a move on, you fag!" "Oh shit!" "Now turn left." "I repeat left." "Yes, chief." "I repeat, chief!" "He says you drive well." " I'm not moving!" "It freaks me out not to hear the engine speak to me." "Putting in earplugs?" "Do I talk too much?" "Nein!" "It's a miniature ear transmitter." "Brand-new!" "I'm on channel 1." "But how do we talk?" "I know you French can't handle it, but an order isn't to be discussed!" "Yeah, but if you have a problem what do I do?" "Can you hear me?" "1 bang means yes, 2 means no!" "Mind if we keep chatting?" "That's good, 'cause the closed door makes it easier to talk to you." "I don't dare to say things to your face." "Your eyes trouble me." "They're so... so blue!" "What's Spring Roll up to?" " What?" "It's in code." "I just can't find the translation." "When your eyes look at me... wow!" "It's a 1st, or I had my back turned." "Part of method?" " You bet!" "Daniel's method!" "It's good to open my heart to you." "You don't mind too much?" "Should I go on, then?" "I don't get it!" "Have you noticed that I'm much closer to you now?" ""No"?" "Good!" "OK, Pétra, I'll say something you may find shocking." "Here goes." "He'll screw up!" "Well, since Day One, I've known I love you!" "Well played!" " Told you!" "There, I said it!" "Now put me out of my misery:" "Is it mutual?" "So, uh... 1 bang: yes, 2 means no." "Change channels to talk dirty!" "We're working!" "Left here, kid." " Yes, pops!" "He's not one of us." "That's for sure." "He's not one of us." "What're you playing at?" "Go on!" "Ninja!" "Sorry to be so down:" "I smell a trap." "Smell a trap?" "I don't smell a thing." "Do you, sir?" "Strange how those trucks are parked." "Just room for 1 car!" "No, there's no trap." "I checked the map." "No trap here." "Drive on!" " If you say so." "I should know." "Well, I never!" "A trap!" "What's he up to?" "What page?" "That's not on my list." "Hats off!" "Shit!" "Glad it's not my taxi!" "What happened?" "Where's the Nip?" "Some Ninjas... came, and the Secretary went." "What?" "He didn't fly away?" "He did!" "At that speed, he must be on his way to Mars!" "Ask Atlas." "It must've spotted him!" "General alert!" "Stop!" "Police!" "Shit!" "Complex town, huh?" "Small streets!" "The jails are no bigger!" "Lie down there!" "I'm crack shot, so no tricks!" "You speak French?" "Me warn you: me shoot!" "Spread out!" "Is that how you wanna play it?" "All right!" "Now where are they?" "They didn't fly away, too?" "Where's Emilien?" "Emilien!" "I reckon he's near the garbage." "I was this close to getting 'em, but I was outnumbered." "They took the Secretary!" " Which one?" "The Nip, not ours." "It's a disaster!" "Yeah, and they got Pétra, too." "Good." "She speaks Japanese, so he'll be less alone." "Lilly, I'm coming." "Your dad made me stay!" "But it's been 2 hours." "I'm hot all over." "All over?" " Yeah, all over!" "I'll be on fire soon." "I'm coming." "Watch a documentary - it'll calm you down!" "I'll be 5 minutes." " Too long!" "4 minutes!" "It's my fault for leaving her in the john!" "You shoulda gone with her." " I thought of that." "I did." "But..." "Finished scratching about yet?" "There were indeed cars here. 3 of them." "You read Sherlock Holmes to deduce that?" "Don't you have any clues to get us started?" "We'll analyze the tire samples at the lab." "That'll tell us more." "They'll have time to swim back to Tokyo!" "Thanks for everything, but I need my taxi now." "Want your convertible?" "We're in shit!" "These clowns are shaving the road!" "Please help us find a clue." "Look, Lilly's on fire." "She might burn herself." "They got my girl." "Give me 2 minutes of your time." "Take a look, then I'll handle it." "From below, I saw 3 black Mitsubishis." "A new model." "Tires straight from Japan." " How d'you know?" "Smell it." " Fish." "Meaning?" " A restaurant?" "You got fish oil for brains?" "Restaurants and ports!" "They were on a boat from Japan!" " So, that's why they smell of fish!" "See?" "Now, are they stolen cars?" " Easy!" "Alain!" " I'm onto it." "OK, you put your tweezers down." "On Monday morning, you'll get a whistle and be put on traffic duty!" "Idiots!" "Nothing stolen from the port." "Bingo!" " What?" "It just means you were wrong." "Why wasn't the theft declared?" "'Cause they use the warehouse as a base!" "You can be real smart!" "General alert!" " No, Emilien." "That's always my line." "Explain it to me once more." "I'm on my way!" "You watching TV?" "No, I stopped." "There was a report on animal sex." "I burned the rug!" "Lilly's worried." "Give me that." "Tell your mom it's OK, but I need to commandeer your friend." "He did a great job." "Good recruit." "He'll bring me home." "You can say goodnight then." "Bye, hon." "C'mon, let's go." "The mission's not over." "What's Gibert up to?" "I dunno." "He's been in the john for ages, making weird noises." "What's up?" " I can't tell you." "It's... too horrible!" "They won't come." " What?" "I think this was their 1st base." "They're gone." "Long gone." "Suspect approaching." "Asian male." "They always return to the crime scene!" "Police Academy, lesson 1!" "Positions!" "Captain?" "Suspects approaching front door." "Perfect!" "I'm ready for 'em!" "Hey, you sure about this?" "What?" "It's the heist of the century!" "There's a mountain of VCRs, boxed and awaiting delivery!" "They're about to break in." "We got 'em!" " Emilien!" "You break in to your home?" "Sure." " Oh yeah?" "Well, no." "Uh-oh!" "Chief, are you gonna...?" "I like to stay close to my men." "Some action won't hurt me." "Just like in the old days!" "It was long ago." " The memory is distant." "But the reflexes... are still intact!" "Believe me." "Thanks!" "Sure there's no cops?" " Relax, dammit!" "There's no one here!" "They're all watching the game." "Every cop's in front of a TV." "Ready to attack?" "Wait for my signal." "You worry me." "It's a long way down." "It's OK." "Tie the knot." "I'll do the rest." "Uh-oh." "See?" "They're all at the match, like I said!" "Attack!" "Shit!" "Emilien?" " OK, chief." "Bonzai!" "Someone being knifed?" "The knot's all right." " Yeah." "Maybe the rope." "You got the wrong one." " You're right." "Ambulance!" "Now!" "I should never have left her or let him down." "That's enough crying over spilled milk." "It won't bring her back." "Think!" "I am!" "But we don't have a single lead to go on!" "Ask the right questions." "Why didn't the Yakuza kill him at once?" " They need him?" "Why?" "Did they ask for a ransom?" " No." "Why kidnap him here?" "They must have had a good reason." "Why's he going to Paris?" "To sign contracts." "Security, trains, army, nuclear." "There!" "Maybe they want to stop him." "Makes no sense." "Why do that?" "He's right." "Yuki Tsumoto wants to stop him." "I know you." "Weren't you an air hostess before?" "I'm here to protect the Secretary." "I'm in counter-espionage." "Funny!" "I too am." "I'm in counter-espionage." "That's Daniel." " Intern." "I'm learning to be stupid!" "Clever!" "Who's this Yuki Tsumoto?" "Yakuza." "Controls the north." "Powerful and conservative." "Refuses airplanes, trains, nuclear power." "As France is keen to sell, he's taking steps." "The Secretary won't sign, nor will Japan ever again!" "Tsumoto sent over 2 masters in hypnosis." "The Secretary, when the time is right will shoot someone." "Perhaps the President." "France will sever all diplomatic ties for years?" "Exactly." " Crazy!" "We must free your friend and the Secretary before 11." "I better tell my boss." " The cripple or Sleeping Beauty?" "Listen." "You both got someone to save." "As we're in a rush, we better not disturb the powers that be." "No?" " Right!" "No Nip'll beat us!" "Pardon me!" "Where do we start?" "First, can you find them in Paris?" " No way!" "Easy!" "Child's play!" "Thanks, Joe." "You saved my life!" "See you soon, pal." "They're hiding out in southern Paris." "Sure it's her?" "Uh, them!" "3 black Mitsubishis with a blonde." "OK?" "To the airport!" " No plane for 3 hours." "We can't wait." "We must get there right away!" "Get up!" "It's war!" "Men!" " It's me, Daniel!" "The troops?" " Wiped out!" "Just us to save the day." "You're indebted to me." " Affirmative!" "I need your help." "Shit!" "What 're they up to?" "Cool, pal!" "Way to go!" "I really hope you know what you're doing, 'cause I don't!" "Got a better idea?" " Right now?" "No." "Well, think fast!" "I got it!" "Let me out." " Too late!" "Are you cool?" "You bet!" "Cool as ice!" "Just shout, OK?" "OK, I'm shouting!" "We lost a parachute!" "There are 3. 1 or 2 always screw up!" "Oh, right!" "Got your license?" " Yes." "So, take over here." "C'mon, move!" "I'll steer us." " Where do I go?" "Straight ahead." "Straight ahead?" "OK!" "Come on, just relax." "Be more zen." "That's good." "Real good." "Oh Lilly, you OK?" "Who's the warbler?" " Air hostess." "No, a nurse!" "You in a massage parlour?" " No way, Lilly!" "We're in the sky." "Your dad's guiding us." "Emilien's steering, I'm fixing a parachute... the nurse is singing to calm us down!" "You smoke a tree?" "!" "I'm trying to save Pétra and Japan's Secretary!" "I'll call you when we land!" "Goddammit!" "You OK, hon?" " Just fine!" "What a doubter!" "Try to turn left a bit." "Now, turn left." "I repeat, left." "Hi there!" "It's OK!" "Stay calm!" "Marseille Police!" "Move!" "You know them?" " Yeah." "An old pupil." "Well, I'll walk home." "OK, Lionel?" " Jacques, Mr. Coutta." "Hello there." "All set, Coutta?" " Just Japan's Secretary to come." "I see her." "God, she's lovely!" "I mean, she looks well." "The Secretary?" " Fine." "He's exercising." "Maybe we should get 'em back." " But we must warn your friend." "It won't be easy." "What a jerk I am!" " Really?" "Her earphone!" "Are you ready to kill?" "You hear me?" "We're not far away." "Get up... and turn around." "Show me your hands." "What's going on?" " It's not me." "You suck!" " So do you!" "Sit down." "We're coming." "Easy to say!" " I got a plan." "That's what worries me!" "You hear only what I tell you." "Only what I tell you." "You obey me." "You do only what I tell you." "I wanna go home!" "'Cause it's cold and I'm getting sick." "You're going to sleep." "Raise your arms." "Hey, it's my turn now!" "Come on!" "I'm not bad at hypnosis!" "Sit!" "Good!" "Now lie down!" "Very, very good!" "Now sleep!" "Freeze or you'll sleep, too!" "OK, I'll cover you." "Hey, girls, what're you doing?" "No need." "I had 'em covered." "It's not loaded." "What's that?" "How come?" "It was me." "I emptied the clip yesterday." "So... it was never loaded?" "So you wouldn't get hurt." "I'm late." "Help me out!" "It's OK, I'll manage." "Jump in there!" "Are you sure?" "I don't wanna fall down!" "Catch those clowns!" "Fancy some sushi?" "No exit, Daniel!" "Nips closing in!" "One less!" "We'll get out here." "We're too heavy." "They're good!" "Ask your colleagues to help out." "Forget it." "Paris Police hate us." "You just never asked 'em politely!" "What the... ?" "You faggots not at the parade?" "Soldiers ain't your thing?" "You'd rather stay home and gobble knobs?" "How 'bout a love parade?" "Catch me if you can!" "You went a bit far!" " Don't worry!" "They love it!" "Catch him alive!" "I'll kill him myself!" "Where are you?" "Where's Trocadero?" "Change at Chatelet!" "A bus!" "Oh, the Eiffel Tower!" "Off the grass!" "Straight on!" "OK!" "There's one!" "Get the taxi!" "Kamikaze!" " Kami what?" "I can't shake 'em!" "We're too heavy!" "I'll get out!" " No, try again!" "I can't!" "Call the General." " General!" "Loud 'n clear!" "How's your tour going?" "Whizzing by!" "He's gotta block the Dauphine tunnel." "We'll trap 'em!" "Give me 5 minutes." "Picard?" "Bertineau here." " Sir!" "Got a spare tank or two?" " Sure I have." "He better hurry up!" "We're there." "What's he up to?" "OK, sir, the tunnel is blocked." "4 mins. 32 secs." "Well done, sir." " Hang on!" "I don't wanna play!" " You wanna get shot down?" "I don't wanna hit a tank!" "I wanna spend time with Pétra before I die!" "I'm taking you to Heaven!" "I wanna stay here on Earth!" "Learn to drive, you moron!" "You scared me again!" "Maybe one day you'll trust me!" "You're wonderful." "Be his driver in Japan." "Thanks, but right now, I just want to go home." "Yeah, we're going home." "Want dropping off somewhere?" "Not the TV!" "Just 5 minutes." "I want to see your father." "It looks like Daniel's taxi!" "Well, that's brand-new." "A stealth taxi." "I'll drop you at the grandstand." "This place freaks me out."
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Introduction
============
Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths in women, and it is the third most common gynecological cancer.[@b1-ott-6-1539] In the People's Republic of China, the age-standardized incidence and mortality rates of ovarian cancer are 3.4 and 1.6 per 100,000, respectively.[@b2-ott-6-1539] Despite advances in surgical resections and systemic chemotherapies, the prognosis of ovarian cancer remains poor and the 5-year survival rate is only approximately 30% after the initial diagnosis.[@b3-ott-6-1539] The main reason for the poor rate of survival is that early symptoms of malignant ovarian tumors are silent and most of the patients have an advanced stage of the disease at diagnosis. In addition, primary or secondary multidrug resistances also account for failure in treatment of ovarian cancer.[@b4-ott-6-1539] Thus, identifying novel molecular markers with prognostic value is important for improving therapeutic methods and extending survival of ovarian cancer patients.
Necrosis is a type of cell death and is morphologically characterized by a gain in cell volume, swelling of organelles, plasma membrane rupture, and subsequent loss of intracellular contents.[@b5-ott-6-1539] Necrosis is often observed in solid tumors with overgrowth and many cancer treatments can induce necrotic cell death.[@b6-ott-6-1539],[@b7-ott-6-1539] Necrosis can occur in a controlled and regulated manner, which is called necroptosis.[@b8-ott-6-1539] The initiation of necroptosis can be induced through death receptors including tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor 1, TNF receptor 2, and cluster of differentiation 95 (FasR). The serine/threonine kinases, receptor-interacting protein 1 (RIP1), and receptor-interacting protein 3 (RIP3) are key regulators of necrotic signaling.[@b8-ott-6-1539] The mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL) has been recently identified as a key RIP3 downstream component of TNF-induced necrosis.[@b9-ott-6-1539],[@b10-ott-6-1539] MLKL is phosphorylated by RIP3 and is recruited to the necrosome through its interaction with RIP3. In addition, it has been shown that prolonged c-Jun N terminal kinase activation contributes to TNF-induced necrosis.[@b11-ott-6-1539] Several studies demonstrated that the activation of c-Jun N terminal kinase is associated with poor prognosis in cancer patients.[@b12-ott-6-1539],[@b13-ott-6-1539] However, the prognostic values of RIP1 and RIP3, the key components of the necroptosis pathway, have not been evaluated in cancer patients. Interestingly, a recent study suggested that MLKL expression can serve as a potential prognostic biomarker for patients with early-stage resected pancreatic cancer.[@b14-ott-6-1539] However, the prognostic value of MLKL in other types of cancers and the role of MLKL in cancer necroptosis is unknown. In this study, we investigate the expression and prognostic value of MLKL in patients with ovarian cancer.
Materials and methods
=====================
Patients
--------
This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of The Second Xiangya Hospital, Hunan, People's Republic of China. Informed consent was obtained from all of the patients. The ovarian cancer tissue samples were collected from 153 patients diagnosed with primary ovarian cancer after operation at The Second Xiangya Hospital from January 2005 to December 2008. All of the ovarian cancer patients received cisplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapies following cytoreduction. Briefly, the patients were treated with paclitaxel (135 mg/m^2^, intravenous \[IV\] for 3 hours) plus cisplatin (70 mg/m^2^, IV for 1 hour) and repeated every 21 days for six cycles. Surgical staging was established according to the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) system. Histopathological classification, including the stage, grade, and tumor type, was performed by an experienced pathologist ([Table 1](#t1-ott-6-1539){ref-type="table"}). Disease-free survival (DFS) was calculated from the date of the first cycle of first-line chemotherapy to the first radiological evidence of recurrence. Overall survival (OS) was calculated from the date of histological diagnosis to the date of cancer-caused death or to the date of the last follow-up examination.
Immunohistochemistry
--------------------
Paraffin-embedded tissues were stained with anti-MLKL antibody (1:60 dilution, ab118348; Abcam, Cambridge, MA, USA) at 4°C overnight. Rabbit immunoglobulin G was used as a negative control. After washing three times with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), the slides were incubated with biotinylated secondary antibody (1:200 dilution; Vector Laboratories Inc, Burlingame, CA, USA) at room temperature for 30 minutes. After washing three times with PBS, the slides were stained with the ABC Elite kit (Vector Laboratories Inc). Finally, the slides were counterstained with hematoxylin, dehydrated, cleared, and then mounted with Permount mounting medium (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA). Histological images were captured from the microscope (Carl Zeiss AX10; Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Jena, Germany) with an objective magnification of X40, and high-resolution digital images were acquired and processed with Axionvision software (Carl Zeiss Meditec AG). MLKL staining was scored independently by two pathologists and was calculated using a previously defined scoring system.[@b15-ott-6-1539],[@b16-ott-6-1539] Briefly, the proportion of positive tumor cells was scored as: 0= less than 5%; 1+=5%--20%; 2+=21%--50%; and 3+\>50%. The intensity was arbitrarily scored as 0= weak (no color or light blue), 1= moderate (light yellow), 2= strong (yellow brown), and 3= very strong (brown). The overall score was calculated by multiplying the two scores obtained from each sample. A score of ≥4 was defined as high MLKL expression and a score of \<4 was defined low MLKL expression.
Statistical analysis
--------------------
The relationship between the expression of MLKL and patient's age, histological type, pathologic grade, and FIGO stage were analyzed using the *χ*^2^ test or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate. OS curves and DFS curves were generated using the Kaplan--Meier method and compared using a log-rank test. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using Cox regression models. *P*-values less than 0.05 were regarded as statistically significant. Data were analyzed using the SPSS (version 20.0; IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA) software program.
Results
=======
In this study, we collected a total of 153 ovarian cancer samples from patients with a median age of 66 years. Patient characteristics of the population are summarized in [Table 1](#t1-ott-6-1539){ref-type="table"}. A total of 60.7% of the cases had a serous histology (93/153); 27.4% of the cases had a mucinous histology (42/153); whereas endometrioid and clear cell histotypes were less represented. The median follow-up for survivors was 37 months (range, 3--102 months). At the time of the last follow-up, 71.8% of the patients had died and 15.4% had no evidence of disease. All of the patients in this study were treated with cisplatin-based first-line chemotherapy after surgery.
We examined the expression of MLKL in ovarian tumor samples by immunohistochemical analysis. As shown in [Figure 1](#f1-ott-6-1539){ref-type="fig"}, MLKL positive staining was localized to the cytoplasm in tumor cells. According to established criteria for high-expression and low-expression groups, 75 patients (49%) were defined as having high MLKL expression ([Table 1](#t1-ott-6-1539){ref-type="table"}) and 67 patients (43.7%) had \>80% of cells staining for MLKL. We further analyzed the association of MLKL expression with clinic pathological characteristics in the patients. We found no statistical associations between the expression of MLKL and patient age, histological type, pathologic grade, or FIGO stage ([Table 1](#t1-ott-6-1539){ref-type="table"}).
We then evaluated the prognostic significance of MLKL expression in ovarian cancer patients. Interestingly, we found that high MLKL expression was significantly associated with increased DFS (median 40 months versus 25 months, *P*=0.0282) and showed a trend towards longer OS (median 43 months versus 28 months, *P*=0.0032) ([Figure 2A](#f2-ott-6-1539){ref-type="fig"} and [B](#f2-ott-6-1539){ref-type="fig"}). Furthermore, a multivariate Cox regression analysis was applied to all of the clinicopathologic characteristics with MLKL expression levels. As shown in [Table 2](#t2-ott-6-1539){ref-type="table"}, low MLKL expression levels were independently associated with the poor prognosis of patients with ovarian cancer.
Discussion
==========
MLKL was initially identified as a key mediator in TNF-induced necroptosis. In cancer cells, RIP3 interacts with and phosphorylates MLKL to promote necroptosis.[@b9-ott-6-1539],[@b10-ott-6-1539] Interestingly, one recent study suggested that MLKL expression can be served as a prognostic biomarker in patients with early-stage resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma.[@b14-ott-6-1539] In this study, Colbert et al identified that low MLKL expression was significantly associated with both decreased DFS and OS in the patients receiving adjuvant therapy. This study provides the first evidence that a necroptosis protein has prognostic value in cancer patients. In our current study, by using a relatively large cohort of ovarian carcinoma specimens, we identified that ovarian cancer patients with low MLKL expression showed a worse DFS and OS, which is similar to the pattern described by Colbert et al.[@b14-ott-6-1539] It has been shown that cisplatin can induce both apoptosis and necrosis in cancer cells, which is dependent on the profile of proteins involved in cell death and cell cycle.[@b17-ott-6-1539],[@b18-ott-6-1539] Because MLKL was a key mediator in necroptosis signaling, low expression of MLKL may suggest decreased necroptosis signaling in patients with chemotherapy. Thus, one possible underlying mechanism for the association of low MLKL expression with poor prognosis in ovarian cancer patients may be a result of decreased necroptosis signaling in these patients. In the future, it would be interesting to examine the necroptosis-specific phosphorylation level of MLKL in cancer patients in order to validate the role of MLKL in necroptosis in cancer patients with chemotherapy.
As all of the patients in our study received cisplatin-based chemotherapy, our study provides a potential biomarker for clinicians to better select chemotherapies based on MLKL expression. Patients with low MLKL expression in tumor tissues may be less likely to benefit from the regular cisplatin-based chemotherapy. However, these patients may benefit from combination chemotherapy or participation in clinical trials. Thus, future studies should examine the role of MLKL in predicting response to different therapies for better treatment selection. Recently, there have been reports of several other proteins that may serve as a prognosis biomarker for ovarian cancer patients such as steroid receptor coactivator-3, high-mobility group AT-hook 2, c-Abl, and centromere protein A.[@b16-ott-6-1539],[@b19-ott-6-1539]--[@b21-ott-6-1539] These proteins have been shown to be involved in cell cycle regulation, apoptosis, invasion, and metastasis in cancer. Our study demonstrated that expression of a protein involved in necroptosis exhibits prognostic value in ovarian cancer patients, suggesting that necroptosis may play an important role in determining cancer cell death and patient outcome with chemotherapy. Future studies need to evaluate the association between MLKL and other prognostic biomarkers and may identify a prognostic panel including multiple prognostic biomarkers in ovarian cancer patients.
In conclusion, our study first explored the expression of MLKL in the context of ovarian cancer and suggests that low MLKL expression is associated with decreased DFS and OS in patients with ovarian cancer. This study suggests that MLKL may serve as a potential therapeutic target in ovarian cancer patients. However, since relatively little is known about the detailed role of MLKL in necroptosis or in other signaling pathways, future studies need to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of MLKL in cancer cell death with chemotherapy.
This research was supported by the Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (number 2013SK3045).
**Disclosure**
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.
{#f1-ott-6-1539}
{#f2-ott-6-1539}
######
Clinic pathological characteristics and results of MLKL immunohistochemistry
Characteristics Number of patients MLKL expression *P*-value
-------------------- -------------------- ----------------- ----------- --------
Ages 0.1412
≤60 62 27 35
\>60 91 51 40
Histologic type 0.0782
Serous 93 42 51
Mucinous 42 28 14
Endometrioid 12 5 7
Clear cell 6 3 3
Pathological grade 0.1353
1 25 17 8
2 44 19 25
3 84 42 42
FIGO stage 0.0906
I--II 57 24 33
III--IV 96 54 42
**Abbreviations:** FIGO, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics; MLKL, mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein.
######
Multivariate analyses for all patients (n=153)
Characteristics DFS OS
-------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------- -------- ----------------- --------
Ages (≤60 years vs \>60 years) 1.2 (0.8--2.1) 0.1281 1.3 (0.9--1.8) 0.4586
Histologic type (serous vs mucinous vs endometrioid vs clear cell) 1.5 (0.4--1.5) 0.0926 0.8 (0.2--1.7) 0.8192
Pathological grade (grade 1 vs grade 2 vs grade 3) 1.3 (0.9--2.0) 0.2565 1.0 (0.8--1.4) 0.1328
FIGO stage (I--II vs III--IV) 0.8 (0.6--1.9) 0.2734 0.6 (0.2--1.7) 0.0937
Level of MLKL expression (high vs low) 3.5 (0.5--7.1) 0.0211 4.2 (1.3--11.5) 0.0038
**Abbreviations:** CI, confidence interval; DFS, disease-free survival; FIGO, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics; HR, hazard ratio; MLKL, mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein; OS, overall survival; vs, versus.
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The head coach of Hamilton Academical, Brian Rice, has reported himself to the Scottish FA for a breach of its betting rules and admitted a lapse in his recovery from a gambling addiction. The SFA has charged Rice for bets placed on football, which is prohibited, between July 2015 and October 2019.
Rice and the Scottish Premiership club’s chief executive, Colin McGowan, took the highly unusual step of issuing detailed statements as news of the charges emerged. Hamilton have vowed to fully support Rice, who was appointed as their manager last January. Before that the 56-year-old was assistant manager at Inverness and St Mirren.
“This decision was one of the hardest I have had to take but in a way also the easiest,” said Rice. “I have made no secret of the fact that I have struggled with the disease that is gambling addiction in the past. The reality is I am an addict and, while I have been proud of the fact I have been in recovery from this disease, a key part of the recovery programme is honesty: honesty to myself and honesty to those who have and who continue to support me, including my family and my football family at Hamilton.
“I wrote a letter to the Scottish FA self-reporting my gambling and did so as an admission that my disease has returned, in order that I commit to recovery. I have apologised to those at the club in whom I have sought counsel and I apologise today to the players, fans and colleagues I have let down through my gambling addiction.”
There is no suggestion Rice, who served Hibernian and Nottingham Forest among others during a lengthy playing career, made bets against the clubs who have employed him. The Scottish FA has not detailed the wagers placed but it is understood the number is considerable. It now remains to be seen to what extent Scottish football’s governing body treats Rice’s honesty as a mitigating circumstance when considering sanctions on 30 January.
“I accept that a breach of the rules will come with punishment,” said Rice. “The reason I am speaking out is to remove the stigma attached to this horrible, isolating disease, in the hope that those involved in Scottish football who are similarly in its grasp feel they can seek help and draw strength from my admission.”
McGowan said Hamilton are proud that Rice has taken this public stance. The chief executive added: “Having spoken extensively to Brian since his addiction resurfaced, I know that he’s followed a well-worn path from smaller, less frequent bets to the snowball effect of a daily addiction. He has re-engaged fully with professionals, is committed to recovery and has the full support of all at Hamilton Academical.
“Honesty is a key step in the recovery programme and is non-negotiable. It is why today is such a significant step. I would like to thank the Scottish FA for the empathy shown throughout this process, whilst respectful of the need to safeguard the integrity of the game and the rules upon which football is founded.
“As a head coach in the Scottish Premiership, news of his breach of gambling rules will come with profile, media attention and scrutiny. But this is a far more serious issue than a breach of a football rule, a breach that both Brian and the club accept. It is the latest example of a disease that afflicts many people across Scotland and doesn’t discriminate by profile or professional capability.
“Today, we support our head coach and we feel certain that the community will get fully behind him.”
The long-term scale of Rice’s problem is emphasised by an interview from 2013, when he feared being jailed in Qatar after struggling to repay money lost on online roulette machines. At that time Rice said: “I’m so ashamed. The gambling is something I’ve been hiding for 30 years – all through my playing days.”
• Free help and advice about problem gambling is available online at BeGambleAware.org or by calling the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133.
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Highly porous acrylonitrile-based submicron particles for UO2(2+) absorption in an immunosensor assay.
Our laboratory has previously reported an antibody-based assay for hexavalent uranium (UO(2)(2+)) that could be used on-site to rapidly assess uranium contamination in environmental water samples (Melton, S. J.; et al. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2009, 43, 6703-6709). To extend the utility of this assay to less-characterized sites of uranium contamination, we required a uranium-specific adsorbent that would rapidly remove the uranium from groundwater samples, while leaving the concentrations of other ions in the groundwater relatively unaltered. This study describes the development of hydrogel particles containing amidoxime groups that can rapidly and selectively facilitate the uptake of uranyl ions. A miniemulsion polymerization technique using SDS micelles was employed for the preparation of the hydrogel as linked submicrometer particles. In polymerization, acrylonitrile was used as the initial monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the crosslinker and 2-hydroxymethacrylate, 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone, acrylic acid, or methacrylic acid were added as co-monomers after the initial seed polymerization of acrylonitrle. The particles were characterized by transmission electron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cryo-SEM. The amidoximated particles were superior to a commercially available resin in their ability to rapidly remove dissolved UO(2)(2+) from spiked groundwater samples.
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# frozen_string_literal: true
activate :blog do |blog|
blog.name = 'blog_name_1'
blog.prefix = 'blog1'
blog.sources = ':year-:month-:day-:title.html'
blog.permalink = ':year-:month-:day-:title.html'
blog.calendar_template = 'calendar1.html'
blog.tag_template = 'tag1.html'
blog.paginate = true
blog.per_page = 5
end
activate :blog do |blog2|
blog2.name = 'blog_name_2'
blog2.prefix = 'blog2'
blog2.sources = ':year-:month-:day-:title.html'
blog2.permalink = ':year-:month-:day-:title.html'
blog2.calendar_template = 'calendar2.html'
blog2.tag_template = 'tag2.html'
blog2.paginate = true
blog2.per_page = 3
end
activate :blog do |blog3|
blog3.name = 'blog_name_3'
blog3.prefix = 'blog3'
blog3.sources = ':year-:month-:day-:title.html'
blog3.permalink = ':year-:month-:day-:title.html'
blog3.calendar_template = 'calendar3.html'
blog3.tag_template = 'tag3.html'
blog3.paginate = false
end
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CONFIG_BT=y
CONFIG_BT_DEBUG_LOG=y
CONFIG_BT_SMP=y
CONFIG_BT_PERIPHERAL=y
CONFIG_BT_CENTRAL=y
CONFIG_BT_L2CAP_DYNAMIC_CHANNEL=y
CONFIG_BT_DEVICE_NAME="Zephyr Echo Server"
CONFIG_NET_L2_BT=y
CONFIG_NET_IPV4=n
CONFIG_NET_IPV6=y
CONFIG_NET_CONFIG_BT_NODE=y
CONFIG_NET_CONFIG_NEED_IPV6=y
CONFIG_NET_CONFIG_NEED_IPV4=n
CONFIG_NET_CONFIG_MY_IPV4_ADDR=""
CONFIG_NET_CONFIG_PEER_IPV4_ADDR=""
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Q:
Elixir: equivalent of scriptsIn for less files (concat + compile less files in one css file)?
I'd like to concat+compile all the less files of one folder into a specified css file.
It works well with JS scripts, using the scriptsIn function but I can't find an equivalent for less files.
I've read this thread: Laravel Elixir - Compile/concat all less files into one css file? but don't find it very useful since I don't want to know what's in my folder (I don't know how many different less files there are in it).
I'd like to write something like that, if possible:
elixir(function(mix) {
mix.lessIn('resources/assets/less/myfolder', 'public/css/myfolder.css');
})
A:
I updated laravel-elixir to version 5.0.0 and now this works well:
elixir(function(mix) {
mix.less('resources/assets/less/myfolder/*.less', 'public/css/myfolder.css');
})
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Convoy SC 19
Convoy SC 19 was the 19th of the numbered series of World War II Slow Convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island to Liverpool. The trade convoy left Halifax, Nova Scotia on 12 January 1941 and was found by U-boats of the 7th U-boat Flotilla on 29 January. Seven ships were sunk before the convoy reached Liverpool on 2 February.
Ships in the convoy
Allied merchant ships
A total of 28 merchant vessels joined the slow convoy, composed of ships making 8 knots or less.
Convoy escorts
A series of armed military ships escorted the convoy at various times during its journey.
References
Bibliography
External links
SC.19 at convoyweb
SC019
Category:Naval battles of World War II involving Canada
C
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Walmart has seen a roughly 60% increase in the number of dog- and cat-related health-care items sold on its website over the past year, a company spokeswoman said
Published May 7, 2019 at 7:02 PM
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In this October 7, 2016, file photo, veterinary nurse Lauren Emmett, left, and vet Claire Turner prepare a dog for surgery in London.
Walmart is opening up dozens more veterinary clinics in its stores and launching its first online pet pharmacy, hoping to lure more U.S. pet owners who are spending billions of dollars each year on their dogs and cats.
The biggest retailer in the world already operates 21 veterinary clinics in its stores across six states, but over the next 12 months it will growth that number to 100. It will start the expansion by opening nine new clinics in the Dallas-Fort Worth area later this month and into June, Walmart said in a blog post. There, pets can receive vaccines, care for minor illnesses and other routine exams.
Walmart also will launch an online pet pharmacy, WalmartPetRX.com, rivaling PetSmart’s e-commerce business, Chewy.com, which also has an online pharmacy unit. Walmart said its website will offer low-cost prescriptions for dogs, cats, horses and livestock, from more than 300 brands.
Walmart has seen a roughly 60% increase in the number of dog- and cat-related health-care items sold on its website over the past year, a company spokeswoman said.
More shoppers in the U.S. are pampering their pets, opting to splurge a little more for better care and even organic food options. A record $72.5 billion was spent on pets in the U.S. last year, according to the American Pet Products Association. The industry trade group estimates spending will exceed $75.3 billion this year, compared with $60 billion spent on pets just four years ago.
In 2018, pet parents spent the most on food, APPA said, or $30.32 billion. Another $18.11 billion was spent on vet care; $16.01 billion on supplies and over-the-counter medicines; $2.01 billion on purchasing the pets themselves; and $6.11 billion went toward “other services,” according to the trade group.
With pet food, it’s the “fresh” category that’s really driving sales, as owners become more conscious about what they’re feeding their animals. That’s as many owners — and many millennial pet owners — are taking better care of their own bodies.
Sales of fresh pet food in the U.S. skyrocketed 70%, to more than $546 million, between 2015 and 2018, according to data compiled by Nielsen. And that doesn’t include online sales or people making their own fresh pet food, Nielsen said.
Walmart, in turn, has been expanding its pet assortment online to include more health-conscious brands like Blue Buffalo, Greenies and Hill’s Science Diet, Kieran Shanahan, an executive on Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce team overseeing food, consumables and health-and-wellness, said. Walmart has also been developing more “premium” food options (like those using farm-raised chicken) through its in-house brands Pure Balance, Golden Rewards and Vibrant Life, Shanahan said.
Other retailers are jumping at the opportunity to take a greater share of the billion-dollar pet market, too.
Amazon notably has its own pet food brand called Wag, named after Wag.com, which it acquired when it bought Quidsi in 2011. Target has partnered with popular dog-toy maker BarkBox to sell its treats and chew toys in Target stores and online. And Petco has partnered with “JustFoodForDogs” to open a kitchen at its New York flagship location where it says it will produce more than 2,000 pounds of fresh pet food every day.
“The pet category is one where it’s Amazon that faces a threat from Chewy.com, the top destination for pet sales online,” said Dave Aronson, an analyst at 1010data. “And it’s not surprising to now see Chewy focus on its own private label ... as a way to capitalize on the popularity of its site, in order to generate higher profits. ”
Aronson said pet food and snack sales should continue to grow online, as shoppers appreciate the convenience of not having to lug heavy bags home from the store.
Building on its momentum in the industry, Chewy.com just last month filed documents with regulators to prepare for an initial public offering, as its sales grew to $3.5 billion in fiscal 2018, up from $2.1 billion in 2017. Chewy says it offers free shipping in one to two days on orders over $49, while Walmart offers free two-day shipping for online orders exceeding $35.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a signal output circuit for outputting signals to the transmission line, especially to a signal output system by which, for instance, a waveform distortion on the signal line caused by a high-speed signaling can be suppressed.
2. Description of the Related Arts
FIG. 17 shows the semiconductor integrated circuit with output impedance self correction circuit disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-261948.
In the semiconductor integrated circuit with output impedance self correction circuit of FIG. 17, an internal circuit 105 of a semiconductor integrated circuit 107 is connected to an output circuit 101, and an output terminal 102 is connected to a receiving circuit 108 via a transmission line 109 having an impedance, such as a cable or a print wiring board. According to this conventional art, the input to the receiving circuit 108 needs no termination process, and the input impedance is supposed to be infinite.
The initial state of the output circuit 101, in this conventional art, is set to have the maximum output impedance, meaning the minimum drive ability, at the time just after the power-on of the semiconductor integrated circuit 107. Then, the output impedance is going to be sequentially adjusted.
The internal circuit 105 transmits a test pattern signal to the output circuit 101 in order that the output terminal 102 may repeatedly output a signal of low level and a signal of high level, meaning Low levelxe2x86x92High levelxe2x86x92Low levelxe2x86x92High level.
When the output signal begins the transition from Low level to High level, an initial amplitude voltage output from the output circuit 101 is detected at a specific sampling timing by using an output voltage detecting circuit 103. Then, until the detected initial amplitude voltage is found to be around the half of the maximum output amplitude value, meaning until the output impedance is found to be equal to the impedance of the transmission line 109, the sampling test is repeated by way of changing the output impedance of the output circuit 101, at an impedance control signal generating circuit 101.
The value of the output impedance at the time of becoming equal to that of the transmission line 109 is stored in the impedance control signal generating circuit 104. Then, when a signal is output from the output circuit 101, the output impedance of the output circuit 101 is controlled to be the above value.
FIG. 18 shows signal waveforms according to the above conventional art. An output-terminal-waveform 110 indicates a signal waveform at the output terminal 102 of FIG. 17. A receiving-circuit-input-waveform 111 indicates a signal waveform at the input terminal (not shown) of the receiving circuit 108.
Though an output signal from the output terminal 101 is reflected at the receiving circuit 108, the output signal is not re-reflected at the output terminal 102 because the output impedance of the: output circuit 101 is matched with the characteristic impedance of the transmission line 109. Consequently, useless ringing is not generated.
The followings are problems of the conventional signal output system, resulted from the above-stated configuration.
FIG. 19 shows a general bus line. Each of devices No. 2 through No. 5, that is 202 through 205, is connected to a bus line 207 via a branch line 208. Each of the bus lines 207 and the branch lines 208 has the characteristic impedance of 50xcexa9 and the length of 5 cm.
In FIG. 19, when the above buffer is applied to each of the devices, the output impedance is automatically adjusted to be around 50xcexa9. FIG. 20 shows a simulation result of input waveforms of the No. 2 device 202 and the No. 6 device 206, simulated by using a circuit simulator (SPICE), in the case of the No. 1 device 201 outputting signals which are periodically varied in the toggling state in 200 MHz (5 nsec) cycle. In FIG. 20, the waveform in a solid line denotes the input waveform to the No. 2 device 202 and the waveform in a broken line denotes the input waveform to the No. 6 device 206. A signal at the device, such as No. 2 device 202, closer connected to the output driver (in this case, No. 1 device 201) rises later than other devices far connected to the output terminal, because of the reflection effect. In FIG. 20 case, only about 700 psec is kept as a time for performing the setup.
Consequently, the above defect based on the conventional art principle as shown in FIG. 17 makes the high-speed transmission difficult and enormously restricts the degree of freedom of circuit design.
In view of the foregoing, it is one of objects of the present invention to provide a signal output system in which a wave distortion generated in the high-speed signal transmission is suppressed and the bus operation speed is enhanced, by way of dynamically controlling an output impedance at the beginning of a signal transmission in order to change the output impedance to high from low.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a signal output system in which an output current is suppressed by changing the output impedance from low to high at the beginning of a signal transmission.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a signal output system in which the degree of freedom of circuit design is not restricted because, as stated above, a wave distortion generated in the high-speed signal transmission can be suppressed.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a digital signal output circuit for outputting an output signal to a signal line via an output buffer comprises
an output impedance changing part, connected between the output buffer and the signal line, for changing an output impedance,
an output-signal-state-change detector for detecting a change of the output signal, and
a continuous-change performing part for controlling the output impedance changing part, at a changing timing of the output signal, so as to continuously change the output impedance, when the output-signal-state-change detector detects the change of the output signal.
According to another aspect of the present invention, in the digital signal output circuit, the continuous-change performing part controls the output impedance changing part, at the changing timing of the output signal, so as to continuously change the output impedance from low to high, when the output-signal-state-change detector detects the change of the output signal.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.
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"250)}A brush against the freckles that I hated oh so much... and then I heave a little sigh." "250)}The heavyweight love that I once shared with you... 250)}..." "Miraculously dissolved with the sugar cube." "250)}The little prick that I feel on my bosom that has shrunken... 250)}...from the little thorn really hurts me now." "250)}I guess I cannot trust those... 250)}...silly horoscopes after all... 250)}I wonder what it would be like... 250)}...if we could go further away... right?" "250)}I'd be so happy... 250)}...just because of that!" "250)}Memories I have are always beautiful in my mind." "250)}But they can't feed me:" "they can't fill up my stomach." "250)}In reality tonight was supposed to be somber." "250)}I really do wonder why... 250)}I just can't see how all of the tears were streaming down his face that night." "2000)}I just can't see it anymore... 473)\cH3541B8}D-YFI" "335)}Wandering Samurai 178)}Rurouni Kenshin" "Yummy toasted rice!" "The best tumblers in Japan!" "it's the biggest thing from the West!" "hurry up!" "Over here!" "that there is not." "The snake!" "Look!" "Rice skewers!" "Mermaid!" "all you're going for is the food!" "all you're going for is the food!" "You're doing it too!" "But really..." "You're doing it too!" "But really..." "But really..." "What's wrong with that?" "stop arguing!" "that it is..." "Of course!" "The Sumida River neighborhood is now a landmark!" "What is the matter with you two?" "look there!" "58)\cH4A5867\frz4.192}Haunted House" "This looks good!" "Let's go inside this place!" "It has to be some little trick to fool kids!" "But you're a kid too!" "Wha... let's go in!" "Let's go in!" "378)\frz0.027}Lightning Beast" "T-The wing moved..." "So a lightning monster does exist..." "What?" "It is a rokuro-kubi monster." "A fox-woman!" "A raccoon-man!" "A tengu!" "They seem to be having fun..." "I think they're just scared." "I see..." "So that's how it worked... they put fake wings on a boar and were pulling it with a string." "They sure are tricks to fool kids." "That's how it's usually done." "it seems perfect for Kaoru and the girls." "that it does." "The tengu got beaten up..." "I feel sorry for him." "It's because..." "I feel sorry for him." "It's because he scared helpless little girls..." "I'm gonna quit this business now... 422)\cHFFFFF5}Blast to Your Dream The Adventure of Marimo the Flying Bullet" "3570)}Ebisu cannon circus what's this?" "So many people..." "Let's take a look!" "Maybe it's worth watching!" "is it?" "there are virtually no customers here!" "It's been like this ever since that circus appeared across the way." "that cannon girl!" "She took all our customers out from under our feet!" "now!" "Thank you very much for coming today to our Ebisu Cannon Circus!" "witness this!" "Thanks for waiting." "I will now show you the human cannonball." "please applaud!" "She's cute!" "That girl looks like she's Yahiko's age!" "that it does." "I wonder if she'll be all right... that it is." "but it's no good if there's too little... here we go." "One!" "Two!" "Three!" "Meiji cannon girl!" "It doesn't go well unless the father and daughter synchronize perfectly." "that it is." "she flew!" "hey!" "Outta the way!" "Go home!" "dammit!" "Those guys... why are you stopping him?" "that you should." "what do you mean by this?" "I was worried whether or not your business was doing well." "you know." "You don't have to worry about that at all." "I became independent through a perfectly legal contract." "but I don't want you to forget..." "You still owe us the money that you borrowed when you went independent." "I will return the money." "and the rest tomorrow!" "I see." "Then it is all right." "The promise was that you'd return the money before tomorrow night." "but if you can't pay up you will return to our Circus without complaints." "Let's go back!" "Yeah!" "What are you doing?" "I'll be waiting for you to come with the money tonight." "you know." "terribly sorry about that!" "You have to be careful..." "What a bunch of ruthless guys!" "go beat them up now!" "Yahiko!" "He's not here?" "He's over there!" "When in the world did..." "U-Uh..." "I'm Yahiko Myojin!" "to fly from that cannon!" "I'm impressed!" "I'm Marimo..." "Little Yahiko!" "Stop it with the "little" thing!" "So then what... right?" "It's nothing like that!" "I'm just..." "You don't have to hide it!" "Along with little Tsubame from Akabeko you sure fall for girls easily!" "Yahiko?" "On a walk." "it might be good for you to feel the night breeze and cool off!" "That was such a weak excuse." "just as I thought... that he is." "It is Yahiko's masculinity at work." "Watch out!" "that money..." "Wait!" "Dad!" "Dad!" "Someone!" "You did this to my dad..." "I don't know about that..." "Someone!" "Let go of me!" "My dad..." "You can't perform tomorrow anyway." "You have to come back to Sumidaya!" "Let go of her!" "Little Yahiko!" "You don't need to say "little"!" "Y-You little... first apprentice..." "Yahiko Myojin!" "You little..." "Shit!" "I-I'll get you back for this!" "wait!" "wait!" "Dad is..." "Dad is under all of this!" "What?" "He won't be able to move for a while." "I have to get the money back..." "Dad!" "Sumidaya will pretend not to know anything!" "Dad..." "No!" "I have to hold a performance tomorrow because if we don't have it..." "Y-You're right..." "You don't have to return it!" "They were the ones responsible for toppling the lumber!" "W-We have no evidence..." "They'll say it was an accident." "Sumidaya is someone who does such things." "We went independent because Mr. Sumidaya kept doing horrible things..." "Why do you let such a guy keep running around?" "F-First things first the performance..." "I told you that it's impossible!" "I'll do it by myself." "Teach me how to make the gunpowder..." "It's impossible for an ordinary person!" "It's all right!" "I can do it!" "It's too dangerous!" "you could blow your feet off!" "But..." "I can't let you face such a dangerous situation!" "so..." "It's all right." "All we have to do is go back to Sumidaya." "Is mixing gunpowder similar to mixing medicine?" "maybe I can do it." "I smell blood..." "You like it?" "It's better than the smell of apples..." "Yeah..." "I especially love blood from someone I've slashed..." "How about you?" "Me?" "I have no interest in blood... looking at your thin little neck..." "I just want to crush it with a good squeeze!" "you can if you'll be my target." "There really are no customers coming here!" "But that will end today." "so I'm sure they can't have a performance today!" "That means..." "I was in the wrong." "I'm sure that's how they will come crying back to us." "I'm not sure about that..." "I can't rest assured yet!" "But that girl can't shoot the cannon by herself!" "Such a spirited girl would be one to do it all by herself." "We should be extra cautious." "O-Okay... and let us handle it... the dear cannon girl wouldn't be much use afterwards!" "come all!" "It's not something you can see just anywhere!" "where a cute little girl goes flying with a boom!" "Just as I thought." "But this is it!" "You sure are working hard." "Just watch!" "We'll pull this off perfectly!" "By the way..." "Where is this girl?" "What did you come here for?" "Of course I came here to watch the cannon girl." "Maybe it's not that... that we are." "It's the same thing..." "So you're here to make fun of me after all." "Do I look like a guy who would do that?" "You do!" "Something's wrong!" "Yahiko!" "Marimo?" "The gunpowder..." "The gunpowder is missing!" "Someone stole it!" "What should we do?" "What now?" "We already have a bunch of customers inside..." "A fireworks place..." "This neighborhood has many places that make fireworks." "that you can." "That's it!" "I'll go with you!" "Yahiko!" "Will they make it in time?" "the crowd will get rowdy." "we'll hold the audience!" "We have to do it!" "I-It is a little embarrassing..." "Why me?" "Come on!" "Hurry up and start already!" "We paid money to see this!" "Thank you for waiting." "She's going all out!" "that she is." "Thank you very much for coming here to the Ebisu Cannon Circus today!" "we will have a special presentation!" "I wonder if they'll be all right..." "They'll be all right!" "Ken is with them!" "Y-You're right... 137)}Gunpowder Formula umbrella-spinning and ball-riding featuring..." "Sometarou and Somenosuke Himura!" "Sometarou?" "Sometarou and Somenosuke Himura!" "here we go!" "I-I'm really going to do this?" "there's a way!" "do your best!" "It's like a boat that I'm halfway on... that I will... hold on!" "Big Brother!" "S-Sano!" "H-Hurry!" "Kenshin!" "Kenshin!" "Kenshin!" "Kenshin!" "Kenshin!" "They're all laughing!" "254)}Somenosuke that I am." "Somenosuke!" "Do some more!" "you're awesome!" "Thanks!" "Thank you!" "We have to hurry!" "Yeah!" "Marimo... the preparation of the target has been completed!" "wait!" "Why am I doing this?" "Don't ask me..." "They are Miss Kaoru's instructions..." "What if she hits me?" "correct?" "You bastard!" "are you confident about this?" "Nope!" "Kenshin!" "Hey..." "S-Sano..." "There's blood..." "Kenshin!" "Catch him!" "Hurry!" "I will!" "wait..." "You think I'll wait?" "we only need a moment from you..." "No way!" "Isn't it time for the human cannonball yet?" "yeah!" "Hurry up and start!" "hurry..." "Outta the way!" "Yahiko!" "It's dangerous if you don't pay attention when you run." "Y-You..." "How about you give us that bag you got there?" "You again!" "Stop muttering and give that to us!" "Yahiko." "Y-Yeah... don't let them have the gunpowder!" "Alcohol... drink if you drink..." "Enough already!" "This is boring!" "...watch out for fires watch out for fires one... stop that stupid song!" "Where's the human cannonball?" "give us our money back!" "yeah!" "Hurry up and start!" "We came here to watch the human cannonball!" "Guess this is it..." "What?" "I was pretty confident about the kurodabushi song..." "Kenshin!" "Yahiko!" "Those guys..." "Kenshin!" "I'm leaving the rest to you!" "that you should!" "This is getting more fun!" "It would have been better if you surrendered to us..." "I don't care anymore!" "I'll make sure you can't perform ever again!" "Soubei Sumidaya!" "He sure is up to no good." "I guess I have no choice!" "Sano!" "Hey now!" "I can slay a man for the first time in a while..." "I'll skewer him!" "Let me break his bones... that they are not..." "Don't take these three too lightly." "You know that Imperialist corpse that was floating down the Sumida River?" "The guys responsible for that..." "Keep quiet!" "that I do..." "Kenshin!" "This is supposed to be a show!" "Use this!" "Sorry to keep you waiting." "we'll show you the secrets of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style presented by Somenosuke Himura!" "Hiten Mitsurugi Style..." "Dance of the Umbrella!" "that I will!" "Such a thing exists?" "Hiten Mitsurugi Style..." "Umbrella Spin!" "That was close..." "Hiten Mitsurugi Style..." "Ball Throw!" "go!" "You're doing great!" "the cannon!" "Why did he just charge straight forward?" "Is he a boar or something?" "You idiot!" "Hiten Mitsurugi Style..." "Boar Evasion." "get a hold of him!" "Thanks!" "the rope!" "Yeah!" "It's finally my turn." "You're not going to draw your sword?" "that it is." "Enough of that!" "Hurry up and get him!" "So he says!" "Come on!" "All right!" "What?" "Hiten Mitsurugi Style..." "Umbrella Drop!" "He's not human!" "I won't let you escape!" "twinkling brightly..." "He's getting away!" "I won't let that happen!" "Here we go!" "All ready!" "We did it!" "cannon girl!" "you're so powerful!" "you're so cute!" "This is kinda amazing!" "that it does..." "My popularity is something else!" "this is amazing!" "Soubei Sumidaya!" "This man here has testified to all of your crimes!" "Don't move!" "that it does." "the crowd is really happy about this..." "Do you want to continue performing with us?" "and I'm good at throwing daggers." "Right?" "you two!" "that you should!" "What are you saying?" "It'll all be settled if you stay back there!" "That is a little risky..." "Idiots!" "250)}When your heart is shaken about with tears... 250)}What should I be doing to help you out?" "250)}Even looking up at the sky... 250)}My heart hurts as much as yours." "250)}Something that you don't have to get hurt over... 250)}Everyone accidentally feels... 250)}Just like the times when you're surprised... 250)}...by how cold the water really is." "just being here right next to you... and nothing else... anytime... whenever you need it." "dreams will someday be reality... 250)}Just for you and only for you... because deep inside that heart of yours... 250)}...every piece of sadness turns to wings... 250)}...for you to fly."
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Reaction GIFs of Black People Are More Problematic Than You Think
‘Digital blackface’ dehumanizes Black people by flattening our stories
Credit: giphy.com
The internet is a portal to intercultural awareness. When discussing ramen versus pho, for example, all I have to do is pull out my phone and a quick Google search lets me know the noodle’s country of origin, the differences in their broths, and their evolution over time. Now I know what I’m talking about in future discussions about either, and I’m less likely to make potentially harmful assumptions around the cultures from which these foods come.
On the other hand, technology also makes it much easier to borrow elements of other cultures. When we all live behind the relatively anonymous wall of the internet, we have near-absolute power to display ourselves in whatever manner we like. I can pretend to be an Asian American man living in Wyoming if I want. (I’m not: I’m a Black woman living on the East Coast.)
One prominent problematic example of this is the use of digital blackface in GIFs. While using GIFs is not nearly as extreme as taking on a whole fake online identity, it represents a much more subversive way that cross-cultural blending from the internet can reinforce negative stereotypes and make us less empathetic when it comes to other races.
What is digital blackface?
Depending on whom you ask, digital blackface either refers to non-Black folks claiming Black identities online or to non-Black folks using Black people in GIFs or memes to convey their own thoughts or emotions.
Digital blackface takes its name from real-life blackface. The origins of this harmful tradition lie in mid-19th-century minstrel shows in which white performers darkened their faces and exaggerated their features in an attempt to look stereotypically “Black” while mimicking enslaved Africans in shows performed for primarily white audiences. This trend of putting on Black appearances and acting out insulting stereotypes went a long way toward cementing the damaging white vs. Black narrative that much of the United States is built on.
Digital blackface, while less obviously and intentionally harmful than 19th-century blackface, bears many similarities in the way it reduces Black people to stereotypes and enables non-Black people to use these stereotypes for their own amusement.
Digital blackface in GIFs helps reinforce an insidious dehumanization of Black people by adding a visual component to the concept of the single story.
There is plenty of discussion on this topic, as the trend of non-Black people using often-exaggerated images of Black emotions or Black culture divorced from the original context to represent their own lives is not new. Ellen Jones in the Guardian wonders why reaction memes of Black people are becoming so popular online. Lauren Jackson in Teen Vogue lists a number of examples of Black folks in GIFs used for a wide range of emotional situations. Dr. Aaron Nyerges from the United States Studies Centre argues that the return of blackface in the digital era is a moment we should seize and use to avoid repeating the injustices of earlier years.
Technology is the vehicle that enables the rapid rise in this type of blackface. It allows for a faster and more widespread use of stereotypes in a more insidious and harder-to-fight manner than ever before. Digital blackface is frustrating and hurtful on an individual level. But to add injury to insult, digital blackface in GIFs helps reinforce an insidious dehumanization of Black people by adding a visual component to the concept of the single story.
GIFs help distill complex emotions or reactions into a single animated image. This reduction is common across the internet: Twitter encourages brevity in words with its 280-character limit, and Instagram’s focus on images means captions can be rendered entirely unnecessary if the user so desires. GIFs are useful when you’re making a face in person or feeling a specific emotion but aren’t quite sure how to translate it into text. They help ease the flat nature of words. Images are cross-cultural and often defy the bounds of language; all over the world sighted people process visual information in the same way.
GIFs can be useful digital replacements for our expressions when we communicate online. But they can also reduce the people in the images into a single representation that blocks nuanced understandings of the groups those people come from. Popular GIFs representing Black people abound, from the “think about it” reaction with a Black man tapping his head to the That’s So Raven nervous chewing gum GIF to the “ain’t nobody got time for that” sensation that is Sweet Brown.
Chimamanda Adichie gave a compelling TED Talk in 2009 on the danger of a single story. She discusses how everyone from her white college roommate to herself (a Nigerian writer) was guilty of reducing those they don’t know to single stories based on incomplete narratives. As a child growing up, Adichie had a house boy (as is common in many Nigerian households). She had a mental image of him as being very poor, because that was all she had heard about his family. She was shocked to learn his family was also capable of making beautiful objects; she had simply never imagined another side to his life. The same was true for Adichie’s white college roommate. She had the single story of catastrophe attached to Africans as a whole, and was astounded to learn Adichie knew how to speak English and use a stove.
One danger of non-Black people popularizing funny GIFs of Black people is that these images become the single stories for those who don’t have other meaningful contact with Black folks. The exaggerated emotions often found in these GIFs become a form of entertainment, and the important contexts out of which they came are forgotten. Because of the rapid pace of technology, these single stories spread faster than ever before.
One problem with cross-cultural understanding is that if a person lives their life in a racially homogeneous region, they are unlikely to have significant interactions with someone of another race. If a white person has spent their entire life living in a white suburb, for example, the only experiences they may have had with Black folks might be with those who work in service positions in that suburb.
So is it not a good thing to have popularized images of Black folks, even if it does come in the form of digital blackface?
No. It’s not a good thing.
Having more flat representations of Black people in images and GIFs does nothing to improve cross-cultural understanding. In my experience, it actually decreases the likelihood that people will extend compassion to other racial groups. If the most common image a non-Black person has of a Black person presents that person as humorous and nothing else, anger on a Black person then becomes more extreme. Sadness becomes more extreme; even joy becomes more extreme. Having access to these portrayals may make a non-Black person feel as though they “know” Black people, but using these in GIFs does nothing to actually increase anyone’s cultural understanding of Black folks.
If anything, the false sense of awareness a person may gain from using these types of representations harms their ability to sympathize in reality and hurts cross-cultural understanding overall.
Take Sweet Brown, for example. The “ain’t nobody got time for that” GIF comes from an interview with a local news station she did directly after evacuating from her apartment complex when it caught fire. This GIF is used for everything from homework, to cooking, to any number of day-to-day complaints. These are typically a far cry from the experience of Sweet Brown herself. This GIF inserts humor into the traumatizing experience of a Black woman watching her home burn. Its popularity displays a stark lack of understanding of the reality of her situation. As she says in an interview with Oklahoma TV station KJRH, she wasn’t even trying to be funny.
But it’s not all bad. There are also ways technology is being used to increase empathy between different groups of people that can close the gap that digital blackface in GIFs has helped open. Video games are one of most obvious ways for technology to increase positive representations of racial diversity and help with increasing interracial empathy. My favorite games are those that help people step into cultures and experiences that are not their own.
The Dungeons and Dragons-like game Ehdrigohr is one such example. It’s a nontraditional fantasy world that represents the concept of the different pace of American Indian time and assumes there are no colonizers. Playing this game is a cooperative experience that can teach important lessons about the Native experience.
The Afropunk sci-fantasy setting of Swordsfall is another example. It’s a world of dark faces, in which gods live along humankind. The lore is made up of a world bible, World Anvil, a tabletop RPG coming in 2020, and upcoming novels. A structure like this, which will place RPG players in spaces where Black folks have advanced technology and exist in the beauty and power of a nation in which they are free and sovereign, inserts fundamental humanity back into technology’s representation of Black people.
Virtual reality is another vehicle used to create an entirely immersive artificial space. I am seeing many new ways to simulate experiences common to specific racial groups (like police treatment of Black folks) for other racial groups to experience and understand.
Technology takes away borders and closes distance in some beautiful ways, but there are spaces where it’s gone too far. The trend of blackface in GIF form is another way Black bodies are consumed by non-Black people in a harmful and stereotype-forming manner.
Digital blackface on its own doesn’t seem like a huge deal, but it is part of a much larger trend currently sweeping the United States that dehumanizes Black folks and allows for horrifying treatment in hospitals, police encounters, and even domestic spaces. While technology has the capacity to be a powerful agent for change in all of these spaces, we need to ensure the efforts are not being undercut by insidiously negative examples such as digital blackface.
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I recently received a bottle of Crystal Head Aurora for review, and after a taste, I knew I had to try it in one of my favorite recipes, the Hot Berry-tini.
Aurora is the second vodka for the Crystal Head brand, and it comes in a very cool iridescent skull head bottle, as you can see in the photos.
It is created with high quality English wheat and pristine water from Newfoundland, Canada for an additive-free vodka. It is distilled five times and filtered seven times, three of which pass through layers of Herkimer diamonds.
The result is a drier, spicier vodka, and I had a feeling it would give an extra layer of flavor to my recipe, which also uses strawberry-jalapeno jam, cranberry juice, and a splash of strawberry soda.
Disclaimer: I received a bottle of Crystal Head Aurora vodka for purposes of review. I chose to create a recipe using it. I purchased all other ingredients. As always, my opinions are my own, and honest.
About zengrrl
I'm Michelle Snow, the writer and creator of Zengrrl. I write about travel, entertainment, women's issues, health, body positivity, and more, both for this blog and freelance. I have also authored/co-authored four guidebooks on Orlando and Florida.
If you aren't already following me, the links are below, as well as on the top right of this page. Thanks!
I was twice named one of the "Top 50 Travel Writers on Twitter" (thanks to thanks to Chris Elliott and Merrill @ Voyageek) - which I think is basically a nice way of saying I may talk too much but I do occasionally have something relevant to say. Thanks y'all! I will happily accept the kudos.
Truly believes age ain't nuthin' but a number, and I'm also: a foodie with allergies; body positive; and a realistic optimist with an unquenchable curiosity about the world.
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Stressors affect the use of a wide range of substances involved in drug abuse; for example, stressful environments have been reported to stimulate cigarette smoking. Stressors may affect drug self-administration (SA) through their diverse effects on stress-responsive CNS systems, such as those regulating neurohormonal and noradrenergic function within the hypothalamus (e.g. paraventricular nucleus; PVN) and brainstem, respectively. We hypothesize that chronic nicotine SA, acting as a stressor, activates and modifies these stress-responsive systems, leading to changes in their stress-responsiveness. The specific aims of this application are focused on characterizing and elucidating mechanisms underlying these changes in HPA and PVN stress-responsivity induced by chronic nicotine SA. A unique model of daily (23 h/d) unlimited access to nicotine SA will be used to study the effects of nicotine on HPA and PVN responses to stressors. Spec. Aim 1 will characterize the effects of chronic nicotine SA on hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activation (plasma ACTH/corticosterone) and PVN norepinephrine release by a range of stressors at different intensities. In Spec. Aim 2, mechanisms responsible for the altered stress-responsiveness of chronic nicotine SA rats will be determined. These will include studies on the effects of chronic nicotine SA on PVN neuropeptide mRNA expression, the activation of PVN c-fos expression by stressors, and the role of PVN noradrenergic inputs in the PVN and HPA responses to stressors. Complementary studies will also identify nicotinic cholinergic receptors that mediate activation of the brainstem-PVN noradrenergic axis by nicotine. Spec. Aim 3 will characterize the role of glutamate and NTS NMDA receptors in (1) nicotine-induced PVN NE secretion and HPA activation and in (2) the reduction of stress-induced PVN NE release caused by chronic nicotine SA. Preliminary observations indicate that specific NMDA receptor subunits in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS), with noradrenergic projections to the PVN, are downregulated by nicotine SA and that brainstem glutamate is necessary for the PVN NE response to nicotine. Therefore, studies in this section will involve the quantitation of specific NTS NMDA receptor subunits by immunoblotting. The functional effects of NMDA receptor downregulation also will be characterized by measuring PVN NE responses and the induction of NTS cfos expression by NMDA during nicotine SA. We postulate that NTS glutamate may be involved in stress-induced PVN NE secretion. Therefore, studies will evaluate whether inhibition of NTS NMDA receptors attenuates the PVN NE response to an acute stressor. Together, the studies in this proposal will clarify the effects of chronic nicotine SA on HPA responsiveness to stressors and on underlying adaptive changes in the brainstem HPA axis.
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Q:
Preferred method of indexing bulk data into ElasticSearch?
I've been looking at ElasticSearch as solution get some better search and analytics functionality at my company. All of our data is in SQL Server at the moment and I've successfully installed the JDBC River and gotten some test data into ES.
Rivers seem like they can be deprecated in future releases and the JDBC river is maintained by a third party. And Logstash doesn't seem to support indexing from SQL Server yet (don't know if its a planned feature).
So for my situation where I want to move data from SQL Server to ElasticSearch, what's the preferred method of indexing data and maintaining the index as SQL gets updated with new data?
From the linked thread:
We recommend that you own your indexing process out-of-band from ES and make sure it scales with your needs.
I'm not quite sure where to start with this. Is it on me to use one of the APIs ES provides?
A:
We use RabbitMQ to pipe data from SQL Server to ES. That way Rabbit takes care of the queuing and processing.
As a note, we can run over 4000 records per second from SQL into Rabbit. We do a bit more processing before putting the data into ES but we still insert into ES at over 1000 records per second. Pretty damn impressive on both ends. Rabbit and ES are both awesome!
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Award Winning Art from Past EBSQ Exhibits
Baby Sasquie
I met Baby Sasquie the other day whilst taking a little stroll through the forest. I was startled at first, because I'd always heard that Sasquatches don't exist, and that they might be dangerous. But Baby Sasquie just wanted a friend, she was LONELY, can you imagine??
Poor Baby Sasquie. Poor Bigfeet in general.
So sad.
So misunderstood.
I am entering this piece in the "Woodland Creatures" exhibit, because what better Woodland Creature is there than the one in which nobody believes?
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When the notion of making performance-capture films based on Hergé‘s Tintin stories first came up, the plan was to make three films. Steven Spielbergwould direct the first, Peter Jackson the next, and there was a theoretical third film mentioned here and there. But financing was problematic, and by the time Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin was working its way through post-production the film’s subtitle had been dropped and we weren’t hearing much about the second movie. We knew a screenwriter had been hired, but the future of the sequel was less than certain.
The Adventures of Tintin opens tomorrow in many countries, and reviews so far have been quite good. Suddenly, there is news of the second film once more. Peter Jackson says he will make the movie after he finishes The Hobbit.
In the new print edition of THR (via The Playlist), Peter Jackson is asked if he’ll make the next Tintin movie after The Hobbit, and he simply said “yes.”
And Spielberg adds:
[Sony and Paramount] were willing to do one movie with us and then give us the financial werewithal to develop a script, do all the visual storyboards and get it really in launch position. So we can launch pretty quickly on a second movie. The script is already written.
So there is no greenlight for the sequel at this point — not really an unusual place to be in — but if the first Tintin movie does well, that greenlight could be given very quickly, and the film will be ready to move forward once Jackson’s schedule opens up. (Which won’t be soon.)
The second Tintin script is by Anthony Horowitz, and is based in part on two of Hergé’s books: Prisoners of the Sun (which could be the subtitle for movie #2) and The Seven Crystal Balls. Here’s the plot for Prisoners of the Sun:
After The Seven Crystal Balls set the eerie stage, Tintin and his friends continue their adventures in Peru. There Tintin rescues an orange-seller named Zorrino from being bullied, and the young man becomes their guide in their quest to find the Temple of the Sun. But they find more than they bargained for and end up in a hot spot. The perils of this engaging two-part adventure are especially harrowing in their combination of the supernatural and the real, although the resolution is a little too deus ex machina. Calculus and the Thompsons provide their usual comic relief.
As for that theoretical third film, Spielberg says “We haven’t talked about that,” which I don’t believe for a second, but can be taken to mean that we’re not going to hear anything about a third movie any time soon.
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Recent years have shown exponential growth in interest in 3D printing techniques in the field of medicine. One of the last specialties to adopt this novelty is cardiology, owing to the complexity of the cardiovascular system. Over the last year our team has gained a great deal of experience by adopting 3D printed heart models in daily clinical practice in all its fields -- student education, patient counselling and pre-procedural planning and simulation \[[@cit0001]\]. We present an exemplary case of such 3D printed model application.
Melody valve implantation is considered one of the most complex procedures in structural interventions. We were challenged with a case of a 34-year-old man born with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) palliated with B-T shunt at the age of 3 and 6 years, and treated with a homograft at the age of 8 years. Due to homograft stenosis, the patient underwent balloon angioplasty twice -- at the ages of 18 and 33. In the most recent cardiac catheterization the right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) was 85 mm Hg with a trans-homograft pressure gradient of 64 mm Hg, and due to the recoil the balloon angioplasty did not provide a lasting effect; thus the patient was qualified for Melody valve implantation.
The complexity and the variability of homograft anatomy of post-TOF patients ([Figure 1 A](#f0001){ref-type="fig"}) makes every Melody valve implantation procedure a distinct challenge \[[@cit0002]\]. For that reason, we prepared a 3D model of the region of interest encompassing the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT), homograft and pulmonary branches. The imaging modality was MRI 1.5T, contrast enhanced TWIST sequence on 1.9 mm slice thickness. For post-processing we used commonly available software including Osirix, Meshmixer, Meshlab and a printer dedicated Z-suite slicer to prepare the print. The model was printed with the fused deposition modelling (FDM) technique using Zortax desktop 3D printer available at our department. The image analysis and post-processing took 3 h, printing time was 7 h. Next the model was taken to the cath-lab for simulation ([Figures 1 B--C](#f0001){ref-type="fig"}) to better plan the procedure and shorten the total procedure time, fluoroscopy time and failure rate similarly to the experience of others \[[@cit0003]\].
{#f0001}
The Melody valve implantation on a patient, preceded by double pre-stenting using 20 atm pressure, was carried out uneventfully on the next day ([Figure 1 D](#f0001){ref-type="fig"}). The procedure outcome was assessed to be excellent with good device position and stability, no stent fractures, negligible gradient, and no pulmonary valve incompetence. In the opinion of the interventionist the model precisely reflected the complex anatomy, helping to choose the landing zone, but lacked the elastic properties of the real tissue.
The issue of elasticity could have been addressed by outsourcing the printing of the model to use other techniques, but the material would need to be carefully chosen as some, although elastic, have a low breaking point, thus ruling out their use in simulating dilatation of significant vascular stenosis. Additionally, the higher costs and longer processing time would need to be taken into account.
We conclude that with the advances in software and printing techniques, the 3D printed heart models are a useful addition to daily practice. They may become rapidly available if an in-house facility is established and personnel are trained. The currently available technique has shortcomings, such as reliably reproducing tissue elasticity, that need to be addressed by future research.
Conflict of interest
====================
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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BURGLARS MAKE EARLY-MORNING CALL
BURGLARS MAKE EARLY-MORNING CALL
PIO Number: 19-3-7
Date: March 11, 2019
Two burglars who made an early-morning call to a Deerfield Beach cellphone store are being sought by Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives.
The caper happened around 3:30 a.m. Feb. 5 at Metro PCS at 420 W. Hillsboro Blvd. Surveillance video shows the males walking through a shattered window and rushing toward the cashier’s counter where they take turns kicking a Dunbar safe that is secured to the floor. Once the Dunbar safe is free, the burglars carry it out through the cracked window pane.
In the video, both suspects are dressed in all black. One burglar has a Puma hoodie pulled tightly across his face. The second person sports a beard and eyeglasses. According to detectives, the suspects have committed similar burglaries in Broward County. In the video that detectives are releasing today, the suspects are also seen in a Margate cellphone store.
Anyone with information can contact BSO Det. Derek Diaz at 954-480-4331. If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477) or online at
browardcrimestoppers.org. Anonymous tips that lead to an arrest are eligible for a reward of up to $3,000.
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Large Image
A new policy endorsing the use of warning shots by police to de-escalate potentially deadly confrontations is driving a rift among some law enforcement leaders who believe the practice only heightens risk and should be abandoned, reports USA Today. The controversy broke into the open...
President Trump’s executive order on healthcare received a great deal of attention, but almost all of it emphasized the order’s short-term policy implications. Commentary from the Left ignored the constitutional implications of unilateral executive action, so if anyone was going to speak up about those...
The homegrown problem of prescription painkiller abuse continues to be the biggest, deadliest drug threat to the United States, according to the DEA’s 2017 National Drug Threat Assessment. The report says there were 52,000 overdose deaths in 2015, the most recent year for which data...
Public choice theory is well known as a theory that attempts to provide something of a unified approach to behavior in the economic and political realms. The theory famously argues that people who pursue their selfish interest in the economic realm do not somehow become...
President Trump will order his health secretary to declare the opioid crisis a public health emergency Thursday — but will stop short of declaring a more sweeping state of national emergency, reports USA Today. In an address from the White House, Trump will also try...
There are many subjects on which decent people may disagree and some subjects on which a person may not entirely agree with himself, in so far as he can see both sides of an argument at the same time (assuming there to be only two...
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// RUN: %clang_cc1 -std=c++11 -fsyntax-only -verify %s
// expected-no-diagnostics
struct X {
void f() &;
void g() &&;
};
void (X::*pmf)() & = &X::f;
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Q:
ESXi 5x cluster Hardware Failure Scenario
Hello fellas engineers.
I have a ESXi5.0 cluster setup with 3 ESXi hosts.
Now I need to create a test case for networking hardware failure and preform the test in the datacenter.
My Setup:
1) 3 DELL R820 Servers (all identical in the configuration and hardware)
2) PHYSICAL: Pair of 1GB ports for vSphere Management Network (active/standby)
VIRTUAL: 1 VMkernel Port vmk0 on standard vSwitch0
3) PHYSICAL: Pair of 10GB ports for regular network communications between guests MESH(active/active using IP Hash load balancing connected to the redundant switches)
VIRTUAL: dvSwitch0 with exposed and needed VLANs.
4) PHYSICAL: Pair of 10GB for storage NFS/VMDK (active/passive, Failover Only with "Link Status Only" network failure detection connected to different switches)
VIRTUAL: 1 VMkernel port vmk1 connected to distibuted switch dvSwitch01
5) PHYSICAL: Pair of 10GB for storage (guest initiated) (active/active, load balancing is based on Port ID with "Link Status Only" network failure detection connected to different switches)
HA and DRS enabled.
I was planning just do regular pull cable test but might be missing some factors.
I would appreciate any suggestions and/or best practices to perform such a test.
A:
- Power off a host. - To test high-availability and admission control.
- Power off a switch. - To test failover links.
- Disconnect data and storage network cables independently. - To test resiliency, load balancing and datastore heartbeat/host isolation state. Also storage controller failover.
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Q:
How should I interpret these DirectX Caps Viewer values?
Briefly asking - what do the nodes mean and what the difference is between them in DirectX Caps Viewer?
DXGI Devices
Direct3D9 Devices
DirectDraw Devices
The most interesting for me is 1 vs 2. In the Direct3D9 Devices under HAL node I can see that my GeForce 8800GT supports PixelShaderVersion 3.0. However, under DXGI Devices I have DX 10, DX 10.1 and DX 11 having Shader model 4.0 (actually why DX 11? My card is not compatible with DX 11).
I am implementing a DX 11 application (including d3d11.h) with shaders compiled in 4.0 version, so I can clearly see that 4.0 is supported.
What is the difference between 1 and 2? Could you give me some theory behind the nodes?
A:
There was a huge change in the architecture of DirectX when Vista came out. All versions of Direct3D up to 9 were pretty much all-in APIs. With Direct3D 10, part of the API -mostly all the low level stuff like talking to the hardware- was sent to a different API called DXGI. Direct3D10, 10.1 and 11 are different services that interact with DXGI.
Even though they share the same name, Direct3D 9 and below are completely different APIs to DXGI, and that's why you can have both working side to side on Vista and above (you couldn't have Direct3D8 and 9 installed on the same computer. In fact, Direct3D9 is AFAIK backwards compatible a long way back)
Regarding the caps viewer, "DXGI" makes reference to what your card is available to do when running a DXGI-based program (Direct3D 10 and above), while "Direct3D9" makes reference to what your card is available to do when running a program based on Direct3D 9. That's all there is to it.
You see that PixelShaderVersion is 3 in the Direct3D9 device, because that's the last version supported by Direct3D 9. You cannot use Shader model 4.0 from a Direct3D 9 program, even if the card supports it.
Regarding DXGI support, if your card supports Direct3D9, then it supports DXGI, and therefore Direct3D11. Direct3D11 is not based on "caps" like 9 and before, but on feature levels. The most basic feature level (9_1) is (mostly) equivalent to Direct3D9 support, so any program written with Direct3D11 that targets feature level 9_1 will most likely work on a Direct3D9 capable card, even if it came out before Direct3D11 came out.
Remember that "feature level" is different from the Direct3D version: if the caps viewer says that your card supports up to shader model 4.0, then it probably means that it is unlikely to support feature levels above 10_0, but you can certainly create a Direct3D11 device based on feature level 9_1 if you want.
Supporting feature level 11_0 and above is what manufacturers usually mean with "Direct3D11 support".
Regarding DirectDraw, that's a completely different, and even older (DirectX 7 era) API.
You can read more about DXGI in here, and feature levels in here. The docs are your friends.
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Q:
Using conditional statement in bind-attr Handlebars Ember.js
How can I use a conditional statement inside my Handlebars template with limited results. I can get it to work fine if there is only one button that is clicking because it is static then but when I test against two buttons no dice -
<a {{bind-attr class="isClicked:clicked"}} {{action 'raiseValue'}}><i class="fa fa-caret-up"></i></a>
<a {{bind-attr class="isClicked:clicked"}} {{action 'lowerValue'}}><i class="fa fa-caret-down"></i></a>
And in my controller -
selected: '',
isClicked: function (sender) {
return this.get('selected') === sender;
}.property('selected'),
actions: {
raiseValue: function() { this.set('selected', 'raise'); }
}
What I would expect to happen -
When the value of clicked changes it would pass that in to my anon function and return whether the value of clicked === the clicked value of the object passed in.
What does happen
sender === 'isClicked' in that scenario
I have tried using a conditional statement in the binding but that isn't working at all -
<a {{bind-attr class="(isClicked === 'raise'):clicked"}} {{action 'raiseValue'}}><i class="fa fa-caret-up"></i></a>
Basically I am trying to mimic how a radio button works I guess... Any thoughts as to what is going wrong here?
A:
You cannot pass in parameters into a computed property like that. The simples solution is to split it like this:
isRaiseClicked: function () {
return this.get('selected') === "raise";
}.property('selected'),
isLowerClicked: function () {
return this.get('selected') === "lower";
}.property('selected'),
<a {{bind-attr class="isRaiseClicked:clicked"}} {{action 'raiseValue'}}><i class="fa fa-caret-up"></i></a>
<a {{bind-attr class="isLowerClicked:clicked"}} {{action 'lowerValue'}}><i class="fa fa-caret-down"></i></a>
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Moslem Malakouti
Grand Ayatollah Moslem Malakouti (, 5 June 1924 in Sarab, East Azerbaijan – 24 April 2014 in Tehran) was an Iranian Shiite cleric, Marja and third imam Jumu'ah for Tabriz. His son Ali Malakouti is member of the Assembly of Experts.
References
External links
Moslem Malakouti Website
Moslem Malakouti Images in Fars News
Category:People from Sarab
Category:1924 births
Category:2014 deaths
Category:Iranian Azerbaijani grand ayatollahs and clerics
Category:Shia Muslim scholars
Category:Representatives of the Supreme Leader in the Provinces of Iran
Category:Members of the Assembly of Experts
Category:Iranian Azerbaijani politicians
Category:Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom members
|
Teva USA
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE: TEVA) announced today the immediate donation of more than 6 million doses of hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets through wholesalers to hospitals across the U.S. to meet the urgent demand for the medicine as an investigational target to treat COVID-19. The company is also looking at additional ways to address the global need.
“We are committed to helping to supply as many tablets as possible as demand for this treatment accelerates at no cost,” said Brendan O’Grady, Teva Executive Vice President, North America Commercial. “Immediately upon learning of the potential benefit of hyroxychloroquine, Teva began to assess supply and to urgently acquire additional ingredients to make more product while arranging for all of what we had to be distributed immediately.”
Additional production of hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets is also being assessed and subsequently ramped up with materials that are being sent to Teva from our ingredient supplier. Teva will ship 6 Million tablets through wholesalers to hospitals by March 31, and more than 10 Million within a month.
Read More at Teva USA
|
Serendipity Chorus Battle
The Serendipity Chorus Battle or SCB was a YouTube chorus battle that began early 2014. It was organized and hosted by K*chan. Each group consisted of 6-10 members as well as up to 4 support members (mixers, animators, artists, instrumentalists, etc).[1]
Judging was based on four categories: singing (worth 60 points), mixing (40 points), visuals (40 points), and overall (10 points). Voting, which was worth 20 points, opened in round 2. In total one could achieve 170 points. Songs were allowed to be in either English or Japanese and were not restricted to only VOCALOID songs. The judges were chesu, KoKo, Luna and katie.[1]
The winners of the batte was ONE TRACK NOISE , while A LATTE TROUBLE won runner-up. Both groups recieved the prize of being featured on Serendipity.♔'s channel, along with first place receiving the additional prize of a pixel artwork by Mae.[1]
Serendipity.♔ was originally intended to be the hosting channel of an all-girls chorus group, organized by K-chan, who described the project as "going across YouTube, grabbing a bunch of girls and making choruses with them". Serendipity.♔ covered one song, "KiLLER LADY", featuring K-chan, kuri~n, Leelee, MissP, Nanodo, and Shiroko, before K-chan decided to host the Serendipity Chorus Battle.[3][4]
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Discovering Your Inner Cheese...
Vancouver Travel Blog
A
few months after deciding to go to Ghana and getting the O.K. from the
parental units, Janelle and I still giggle like little schoolgirls when
the topic comes up. This is routinely followed by a couple hours of
spitting out non-stop ideas about what to do when we’re there or what
we’ll need to bring. And as life usually goes, those hours should have
been reserved for things more important, say, for studying for exams.
But let’s be reasonable now, what’s an exam compared to Africa? It’s
not like we’ve actually signed up for the program yet, or bought plane tickets, but we’ve
planned, oh, we’ve planned like no other. In this experience, I’ve
discovered there are a few keys things to know when you’re planning
such a trip, and in honour of David Letterman, the top ten things go as
follows:
10. Find your destination on a map. I’m sure you’ve already done this, but it’s just a precaution for those who think Barcelona is in South America (it’s not).
9. Prepare the parents or worried loved ones. Remember, when travelling on your own or without family, you can’t be self-centred. Be aware of how anxious your loved ones are of your travelling to your destination. For example, don’t let your parents watch Hotel Rwanda before you go to Africa. I foolishly let my movie-guard down and found myself relentlessly defending Ghana the next day.
8. Know your destination. I’d say aim to know enough to write your own travel guide (“WONG’S travel guide to GHANA” �" what do you think?) or to host a travel show, being able to ad-lib the whole time of course, but this comes naturally to me. I’m sure that in no time I’ll be able to recite verbatim sections of the Brandt travel guide.
7. Select a soundtrack. Music, for me, is a way of life. Every situation and experience has a suitable accompanying soundtrack. It’s the music that you picture playing in the background of the movie that’s being made of your life when you’re rich and famous. I’m played by Sandra Oh.
Now playing: “Inaudible Memories” by Jack Johnson.
6. Choose a documentation style. This is important. The way you document your trip decides how accurately you capture the emotions and experiences for every time you look back at your trip. Think big! Think hired camera crews to film your trip, a producer, film editor, stunt doubles and a corporate sponsorship from Starbucks! Or go with a good old-fashioned camera and journal.
5. Stand your ground. The earlier you plan your trip, the longer your parents have to try to convince you not to go. Don’t be swayed by the ‘Are you suuure?’’s, the ‘Have you changed your mind?’’s or the claims that there are no arriving or departing flights to Ghana for the next two years… something about a really long storm. Unbeknownst to any parents, saying that you can’t believe you’re actually going is not code for‘I actually don’t want to go. Help me change my mind!’.
4. Calculate your budget. Are you a lavish, big-spender who only stays in five star hotels? (Sorry, but there are no five star hotels in Ghana… or four star hotels for that matter) Or are you a buy-what-you-need-and-ONLY-what-you-need traveller? (Who needs insoles in your shoes when newspaper works just as well?) If your needs differ from your travel companion, solve the dispute with a friendly game of thumb war. God, that game is awesome.
3. Decide where you want to go. Consult alumni travellers of your destination for the most worthwhile attractions or see travel guides to find information on every possible attraction or town you could possibly visit, worthwhile or not. I, personally, like to scour the internet for the sample itineraries of tour companies, of course that always seems to lead me to a way of seeing the whole country in 5, very full days. If your needs differ from your travel companion, see the above note on thumb wars.
2. Be a tourist. You know you want to. Don’t be ashamed. To absorb your country to the best ofyour ability, you must immerse yourself in the culture and life, and sometimes that requires walking around in confusion with a backpack, money pouch, 5 photocopies of your passport distributed evenly throughout your bag and clothes, and a large map permanently open and in front of you. So bring on the tilly hats and cameras eternally hung around your neck, and let’s see the sights!
1. Discover your inner ‘cheese’. I’m not asking to find out whether you’re gouda (I’m fine, thank you), but instead am asking you to embrace the cheesiness that you know is within you. Everyone has this personality factor. Most like to hide it away and cover it with punk rock anthems and piercings, but incorporating cheesy ideas is the most important thing to do when planning a trip. The cheese, the fromage, the queso becomes the essence of a well-remembered experience. It may be embarrassing, but it’s the best part. And it’s easy: Add to any idea, mix well and enjoy. Not only may it include a Steven Spielberg directed documentary on your trip (see #6) including filmed good-byes from your new friends that plays through the credits, but also a vintage-style journal including meant-to-be-messy handwriting and various restaurant napkins and admission tickets taped haphazardly among the mounds of writing. Whether you’re a lactose-intolerant, macho, tears-are-a-weakness person, or a hand-me-a-tissue-Harry-Potter-is-a-beautiful-story person, don’t forget the extra cheese, and eat it up to your heart’s content.
|
ot of 156978 to the nearest integer?
4
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4
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6
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3633
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102
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1038
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4473
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1450
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257
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1548
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549
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106
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17
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42
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801
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6
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13
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67
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4
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3649
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135
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167
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1033
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10
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100
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4
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7
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4
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619
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5
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5
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22
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4
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106
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84
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100
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4
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61
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13
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263
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20
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21
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5
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78
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113
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826
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4
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51
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2446
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1875
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507
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117
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3
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162
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5
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5
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7
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18
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250
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16
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136
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2671
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699
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12
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58
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111
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118
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4
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429
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67
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138
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516
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10
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4
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606
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64
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5
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5
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39
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6
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15
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184
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6
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4607
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30
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383
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3881
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272
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18
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23
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49
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92
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5
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5
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557
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3523
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1179
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205
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4
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14
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42
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172
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1852
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5
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42
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1895
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65
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71
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472
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235
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11
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151
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178
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213
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4
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455
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4
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48
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17
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11
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114
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13
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5
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1574
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445
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3
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1619
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858
What is 17359
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Q:
Sencha Touch: Changing line marker colors
Is there any way to change the colors of marker in Sencha Touch charts. How can I change the marker colors in Sencha.
A:
You can change the colors of markers in ThemeList.js in Sencha Charts. Please refer to [this following link for clarification.
http://www.sencha.com/forum/showthread.php?175291-Change-marker-color&p=718093&posted=1
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Cheslatta Lake
Cheslatta Lake is a large freshwater lake located between François Lake and the western end of the Nechako Reservoir, Range 4 Coast Land District. It is in the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, British Columbia.
Etymology
The name derives from the Dakelh (pronounced [tákʰɛɬ])/Carrier people word meaning either 'top of small mountain' or 'small rock mountain on east side'. Cheslatta Lake appeared on Trutch's 1871 map of British Columbia as "Chestatta" Lake. In 1884, the spelling was changed to Cheslahta on Mohun's map of British Columbia. In 1891 the name was spelled as "Cheslata" Lake on Poudrier's map of Northern British Columbia. On 30 March 1917 the name "Cheslatta Lake" was adopted in the 15th Report of the Geographic Board of Canada based on the label on Jorgensen's 1895 map of BC, and as labelled on pre-emptor map 1G, 1916.
Trophic levels
The ecosystems of both Cheslatta Lake and the smaller Murray Lake it joins, prior to the flooding by Kenney Dam construction, "were quite productive at all trophic levels including fish, as it is reported the fisheries of these lakes were utilized for centuries by first nation's people as traditional fishing grounds."
Impact of Kenney Dam
The Construction of the Kenny Dam in the 1950s on the Nechako River, reversed water flow and sent water westward to generate electricity for use and sale by the Alcan corporation, devastated the area around Cheslatta Lake, flooding the Cheslatta Carrier Nation village and cemetery and forcing the First Nations to be relocated with little time for preparation and no consultation. Prior to the flooding, Cheslatta Lake was at the centre of the CCN traditional hunting and trapping territory. Before 1957 the Cheslatta River was a small stream with an average annual flow of about . Alcan began releasing water flows far above the Cheslatta's natural capacity, resulting in a deep channel being carved out and large-scale erosion filling the Cheslatta and upper Nechako Rivers with sediment. In addition, the area between the Skins Lake spillway and the headwaters of the Cheslatta River was not a river but rather a series of meadows, pastures, and small lakes. Water released from the reservoir scoured the area between Skins Lake and Cheslatta Lake. Soil, gravel, grass, moss, shrubs, and trees were washed away, down into the Cheslatta River and into the Nechako River.
There has been a 7-fold decline in the productive capacity of Cheslatta Lake to support pelagic fishes, namely kokanee salmon.
Notes
Citations
References
See also
Cheslatta River
Kenney Dam
Nechako Reservoir
Category:Nechako Country
Category:Lakes of British Columbia
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1524 in literature
This article presents lists of the literary events and publications in 1524.
Events
Eyn Gespräch von dem gemaynen Schwabacher Kasten ("als durch Brüder Hainrich, Knecht Ruprecht, Kemerin, Spüler, und irem Maister, des Handtwercks der Wüllen Tuchmacher") is published in Germany, the first publication in the "Schwabacher" blackletter typeface.
New books
Petrus Apianus – Cosmographicus liber (Landshut)
Philippe de Commines – Mémoires (Part 1: Books 1–6; first publication; Paris)
Desiderius Erasmus – De libero arbitrio diatribe sive collatio ("The Freedom of the Will"; Antwerp, September)
Martin Luther and Paul Speratus – Etlich Cristlich Lider: Lobgesang un Psalm ("Achtliederbuch"), the first Lutheran hymnal (Wittenberg)
Martin Luther and others – Eyn Enchiridion oder Handbüchlein (the "Erfurt Enchiridion"), two editions of a hymnal printed respectively by Johannes Loersfeld and Matthes Maler (Erfurt), including Luther's hymn "Christ lag in Todes Banden"
Adam Ries – Coß
Johann Walter – Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn ("A sacred little hymnal") (Wittenberg), including Luther's chorale "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ"
New poetry
Robert Copland – Epilogue to the Syege of Rodes (London)
New drama
Ludovico Ariosto – I suppositi (1509, first publication, in prose)
Niklaus Manuel Deutsch I – Vom Papst und seiner Priesterschaft
Niccolò Machiavelli – The Mandrake (La Mandragola, first published)
Births
May 28 – Selim II, Ottoman Turkish sultan and poet (died 1574)
September 11 – Pierre de Ronsard, French poet (died 1585)
Unknown date – Thomas Tusser, English agriculturalist, poet and chorister (died 1580)
Approximate year of birth
Luís de Camões, Portuguese national poet (died 1580)
Girolamo Parabosco, Italian poet and musician (died 1577)
Deaths
January 5 – Marko Marulić of Split, Croatian Christian humanist and poet (born 1450)
January 7 (or 1523) – Tang Yin (唐寅, also Tang Bohu, 唐伯), Chinese scholar, poet and calligrapher (born 1470)
Giovanni Aurelio Augurello, Italian humanist scholar and alchemist writing Latin poetry (born 1456)
References
Category:1524
Category:1524 books
Category:Years of the 16th century in literature
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Doyle along with her mother and brother were above the “Boulder Field” approximately three-fourths of the way up the White Cross Trail. A previous medical condition made it impossible for Doyle to walk herself down the mountain after the injury and thus rescuers had to evacuate her on a litter. Rescuers reached Monadnock Park Headquarters at 10:15 p.m. and transferred Doyle to the Jaffrey/Rindge Memorial Ambulance.
Doyle was transported to Monadnock Community Hospital for what is believed to be a non-life-threatening injury. Conservation Officers would like to thank the passing hikers who stopped to volunteer their time with the carry-out and remind anyone who ventures outdoors to prepare for the unexpected by leaving adequate time to hike and by carrying the essential equipment such as flashlights and extra layers.
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---
abstract: 'The elliptic flow $v_2$ for strange and multi-strange bayons in 2.76 A TeV Pb+Pb collisions is investigated with [VISHNU]{} hybrid model that connects 2+1-d viscous hydrodynamics with a hadron cascade model. It is found that [VISHNU]{} nicely describes $v_2(p_T)$ data for $\Lambda$, $\Xi$ and $\Omega$ at various centralities. Comparing with the ALICE data, it roughly reproduces the mass-ordering of $v_2$ among $\pi$, K, p, $\Xi$ and $\Omega$ within current statistics, but gives an inverse $v_2$ mass-ordering between p and $\Lambda$.'
address:
- 'Department of Physics and State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China'
- 'Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing 100871, China'
author:
- 'Huichao Song, Fanli Meng, Xianyin Xin, Yu-Xin Liu'
title: 'Elliptic flow of $\Lambda$, $\Xi$ and $\Omega$ in 2.76 A TeV Pb+Pb collisions'
---
Introduction
============
The QGP viscosity is a hot research topic. Viscous hydrodynamic simulations showed that elliptic flow $v_2$ is very sensitive to the QGP shear viscosity to entropy density ratio $\eta/s$. Even the minimum value $1/(4\pi)$ from the AdS/CFT correspondence could lead to 20-25% suppression of $v_2$ [@Song:2007fn; @Romatschke:2007mq]. Generally, the QGP viscosity is extracted from the integrated $v_2$ for all charged hadrons, since it is directly related to the fluid momentum anisotropy and varies monotonously with $\eta/s$ [@Song:2010mg; @Song:2011hk]. The anisotropy flow for common hadrons (pions, kaons and protons) are developed in both QGP and hadronic stages. A precise extraction of the QGP viscosity from these soft hadron data requires a sophisticated hybrid model that nicely describes the kinetics and decoupling of the hadronic matter. In contrast, hadrons contain multiple strange quarks ($\Xi$, $\Omega$ and etc.) are predicted to decouple earlier from the system due to their smaller hadronic cross sections [@Adams:2003fy; @Estienne:2004di]. They may directly probe the QGP phase and can be used to test the QGP viscosity extracted from the elliptic flow of common hadrons [@Song:2012ua].
Recently, the ALICE collaboration measured the multiplicity, $p_T$ spectra and elliptic flow for strange and multi-strange hadrons [@ABELEV:2013zaa; @Zhou:2013uwa], so this is the right time to perform a careful theoretical investigation of these data. In this article, we will briefly report [VISHNU]{} calculations of the elliptic flow for $\Lambda$, $\Xi$ and $\Omega$ hyperons in 2.76 A TeV Pb+Pb collisions. Detailed investigation of these strange and multi-strange hadrons can be found in the incoming article [@Song2013-2]. The [VISHNU]{} predictions for the elliptic flow of $\phi$ meson are documented in Ref [@Song2013].
Set-ups
=======
The theoretical tool used here is [VISHNU]{} hybrid model [@Song:2010aq]. It connects 2+1-d hydrodynamics for the viscous QGP fluid expansion to a hadron cascade model for the kinetic evolution of the hadronic matter. For simplicity, we neglect the net baryon density, heat flow and bulk viscosity. The equation of state (EOS) s95p-PCE used for the hydrodynamic evolution is constructed from recent lattice data [@Huovinen:2009yb]. The hyper-surface switching between hydrodynamics and the hadron cascade is constructed by a switching temperature at $165 \texttt{ MeV}$, which is close to the QCD phase transition and chemical freeze-out temperature at top RHIC energy. Following Ref [@Song:2011qa], we use MC-KLN initial conditions. The initial entropy density profiles for selected centralities are generated from MC-KLN model through averaging over a large number of fluctuating entropy density distributions with recentering and aligning the reaction plane. The QGP specific shear viscosity $(\eta/s)_{QGP}$ is set to 0.16, which gives a nice description of $v_2(p_T)$ for pion, kaon and protons at the LHC [@Song2013]. For $(\eta/s)_{QGP}=0.16$, the starting time $\tau_0$ is 0.9 fm/c, which is obtained from fitting the slope of the $p_T$ spectra for all charged hadrons below 2 GeV [@Song:2011qa]. With these inputs and parameters fixed, we predict the elliptic flow for strange and multi-strange bayons in 2.76 A TeV Pb+Pb collisions.
Results
=======
hybrid model is a successful tool to describe and predict the soft hadron productions at RHIC and the LHC. Using [VISHNU]{} [@Song:2010aq], we extracted the QGP specific shear viscosity from the integrated elliptic flow for all charged hadrons in 200 A GeV Au+Au collisions and found $ 1/(4\pi)<(\eta/s)_{QGP}<2.5/(4\pi)$ ($ 0.08 <(\eta/s)_{QGP}<0.20$), where the uncertainties are dominated by the undetermined initial conditions from [MC-Glauber]{} and [MC-KLN]{} models [@Song:2010mg]. With that extracted QGP viscosity, [VISHNU]{} gives a nice description of the $p_T$ spectra and elliptic flow for all charged and identified hadrons at RHIC [@Song:2011hk].
Ref. [@Song:2011qa] extrapolates the [VISHNU]{} calculations to the LHC and shows that [VISHNU]{} could nicely describe the $p_T$ spectra and elliptic flow for all charged hadrons with [MC-KLN]{} initial conditions and $(\eta/s)_{QGP}=0.20-0.24$, a slightly higher value than the one extracted at RHIC with MC-KLN initial conditions. With the identified soft hadron data becoming available, we further calculated the multiplicity, $p_T$ spectra and differential elliptic flow for pions kaons and protons and found these $v_2(p_T)$ prefer $(\eta/s)_{QGP}=0.16$ for [MC-KLN]{} [@Song2013; @Heinz:2011kt]. It is noticed that the integrated and differential elliptic flow for all charged hadrons are measured by 4 particle cumulants method ($v_2\{4\}$), while the elliptic flow for identified hadrons are measured by scalar product method ($v_2\{sp\}$) based on 2 particle correlations. Comparing with $v_2\{4\}$, non-flow and fluctuations raise the flow signal of $v_2\{sp\}$, leading to a slightly lower value of $(\eta/s)_{QGP}$ to fit $v_2\{sp\}$ data for identified hadrons.
Recently, the ALICE collaboration measured the elliptic flow for $\Lambda$, $\Xi$ and $\Omega$ in 2.76 A TeV Pb+Pb collisions using scalar product method [@Zhou:2013uwa]. Using [VISHNU]{} hybrid model, we calculate the differential elliptic flow $v_2(p_T)$ for these strange and multi-strange hadrons. Here we choose $(\eta/s)_{QGP}=0.16$, [MC-KLN]{} initial conditions and other parameter sets as used in early calculations [@Song2013] that nicely describe the soft hadron data for pions kaons and protons at the LHC. Fig. 1 shows that [VISHNU]{} nicely describes $v_2$($p_T$) data for $\Xi$ and $\Omega$ from central to peripheral collisions and nicely describes $\Lambda$ data at 10% and 40% centralities as measured by ALICE. Due to the very low particle yields, the elliptic flow for $\Omega$ has large error bars in ALICE data and the [VISHNU]{} results. For better comparisons, the statistics for $\Omega$ should be further increased in both experimental and theoretical sides.
Fig. 2 further explores the mass-ordering of elliptic flow among various hadrons in 2.76 A TeV Pb+Pb collisions. Radial flow tends to push low $p_T$ hadrons to higher transverse momenta. Such effects are more efficient for heavier particles, leading to the mass-ordering of $v_2$ as predicted in hydrodynamics [@Huovinen:2001cy]. Comparing with $v_2(p_T)$ for all charge hadrons, the mass-splitting of $v_2$ among various hadrons reflects the interplay of the radial and elliptic flow during hadronic evolution, which is more sensitive to details of theoretical calculations. Fig. 2 shows that, within current statistics, [VISHNU]{} roughly reproduces the $v_2$ mass ordering among $\pi$, K, p, $\Xi$ and $\Omega$ in semi-central collisions, but gives an inverse mass-ordering between p and $\Lambda$ for the two selected (10-20% and 40-50%) centralities. Early OSU calculations [@Shen:2011eg], using pure viscous hydrodynamics [VISH2+1]{}, nicely predicts the mass ordering among $\pi$, K, p, $\Xi$, $\Omega$ and $\Lambda$ as measured in experiments later on, but over-predicts the elliptic flow for proton and $\Lambda$ at 10-20% centrality bin. With the microscopic description of hadronic rescatterings and evolution, [VISHNU]{} hybrid model improves the descriptions of the elliptic flow for proton and $\Lambda$, while the slightly under-predicts of the proton $v_2(p_T)$ below 2 GeV lead to an inverse mass ordering of $v_2$ between p and $\Lambda$. To improve the description of $v_2(p_T)$ for proton as well as for $\Xi$ and $\Omega$, the related hadronic cross sections in [UrQMD]{} need to be improved. On the other hand, to further understand these rare multi-strange hadrons and to test theoretical models, the statistics for $\Xi$ and $\Omega$ need to be increased in both experimental and theoretical sides.\
Summary
=======
In this proceeding, we present [VISHNU]{} hybrid model calculations of the elliptic flow for $\Lambda$, $\Xi$ and $\Omega$ in 2.76 A TeV Pb+Pb collisions. [VISHNU]{} nicely describes $v_2(p_T)$ for these strange and multi-strange hadrons at various centralities measured by ALICE. It roughly reproduce the mass-ordering of $v_2$ among $\pi$, K, p, $\Xi$ and $\Omega$ within current statistics, but gives an inverse mass-ordering between p and $\Lambda$. For a better comparison and understanding of the elliptic flow data for the rare multi-strange hadrons like $\Xi$ and $\Omega$, high statistic runs are needed in both experimental and theoretical sides.\
[*Acknowledgments:*]{} This work was supported by the new faculty startup funding from Peking University. We gratefully acknowledge extensive computing resources provided by Tianhe-1A at National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin, China.
References {#references .unnumbered}
==========
[9]{} Song H and Heinz U 2008 Phys. Lett. [**B658**]{} 279; 2008 Phys. Rev. C [**77**]{} 064901; 2008 Phys. Rev. C [**78**]{} 024902; Song H 2009 Ph.D Thesis, The Ohio State University (August 2009), arXiv:0908.3656 \[nucl-th\]. Romatschke P and Romatschke U 2007 Phys. Rev. Lett. [**99**]{} 172301; Luzum M and Romatschke P 2008 Phys. Rev. C [**78**]{} 034915; Dusling K and Teaney D 2008 Phys. Rev. C [**77**]{} 034905; Molnar D and Huovinen P 2008 J. Phys. G [**35**]{} 104125.
Song H, Bass S A, Heinz U, Hirano T and Shen C 2011 Phys. Rev. Lett. [**106**]{} 192301 \[2012 Erratum-ibid. [**109**]{} 139904\]. Song H, Bass S A, Heinz U, Hirano T and Shen C 2011 Phys. Rev. C [**83**]{} 054910 \[2012 Erratum-ibid. C [**86**]{} 059903\].
Adams J [*et al.*]{} \[STAR Collaboration\] 2004 Phys. Rev. Lett. [**92**]{} 182301. Estienne M \[STAR Collaboration\] 2005 J. Phys. G G [**31**]{} S873. Song H 2013 Nucl. Phys. A [**904-905**]{} 114c; arXiv:1207.2396 \[nucl-th\]; Song H 2014 arXiv:1401.0079 \[nucl-th\]. Abelev B B [*et al.*]{} \[ALICE Collaboration\] 2013 arXiv:1307.5543 \[nucl-ex\]; Abelev B B [*et al.*]{} \[ALICE Collaboration\] 2013 arXiv:1307.5530 \[nucl-ex\]. Zhou Y \[ for the ALICE Collaboration\] 2013 arXiv:1309.3237 \[nucl-ex\]; Noferini F \[ALICE Collaboration\] 2013 Nucl. Phys. A904-905 483c. Meng F, Song H, [*et al.*]{}, in preparation. Song H, Bass S A and Heinz U 2013 arXiv:1311.0157 \[nucl-th\]. Song H, Bass S A and Heinz U 2011 Phys. Rev. C [**83**]{} 024912; Song H 2012 Eur. Phys. J. A [**48**]{} 163.
Huovinen P and Petreczky P 2010 Nucl. Phys. [**A837**]{} 26.
Song H, Bass S A and Heinz U 2011 Phys. Rev. C [**83**]{} 054912 \[2013 Erratum-ibid. C [**87**]{} 019902\].
Heinz U, Shen C and Song H 2012 AIP Conf. Proc. [**1441**]{} 766. Huovinen P, Kolb P F, Heinz U W, Ruuskanen P V and Voloshin S A 2001 Phys. Lett. B [**503**]{} 58. Shen C, Heinz U, Huovinen P and Song H 2011 Phys. Rev. C [**84**]{} 044903.
|
Q:
how to load a variable from "Execute Sql Task" in SSIS package
I have some variables (at package level, at dataflow level, doesn't matter) and I need to load them by running an Execute Sql Task.
I added an Execute Sql Task, I have wrote my sql statement in filed SqlStatement, I have changed the ForcedExecutionValueType to string.
Now I want that when the Execute Sql Task is executed the return value that that select returns, to be the exact value for my variable.
example:
Select employer_name from employers where id=1
Returs="John Doe"
value for @employer_name must be "John Doe"
Any hints?
A:
Your more detailed discussion of the issue is a little difficult to follow, so I aplogize if my following steps cover items with you are already familiar.
Steps:
Under the Control Flow tab, drag over an Execute SQL Task and open it.
Select General on the left.
Define the Connection (based on a database source created in Connection Managers below).
Define the SQL Statement.
For Result Set, select Single Row.
Select Result Set on the left.
Select the Add button and notice that a new record was added above.
Under the Result name column header for the new record, change "NewResultname" to "0".
Under Variable Name column header for the new record, select either an existing User variable you've already created or scroll to the top and create a new one.
Select OK and you're done.
Running the Execute SQL Task by itself will now populate the variable. Make certain you've verified that the SQL will return only one value and no more. Otherwise, you will need to modify your SQL with "TOP 1" in it to be on the safe side. When multiple values are expected, then you to apply a variable defined with a Data Type of "Object" and use "Full Result set" instead of "Single Row" in the Execute SQL Task.
Hope this helps.
|
SINGAPORE DAY TOURS
SINGAPORE DAY TOURS
Singapore Day Tour
Reward yourself with an affordable Singapore Day Tour package! Get familiar with Singapore's popular tourist destinations for only one day. Explore the attractions at the Civic and Cultural District of Singapore. Included in our Singapore Day Tour package are several cultural landmarks and national monuments. Get the chance also to visit the only tropical garden granted with UNESCO World Heritage. Our Singapore Day Tour package is perfect for tourists looking for a hassle-free and affordable tour around Singapore!
THE PADANG – SINGAPORE CRICKET CLUB GROUND
The Padang is an open playing field located in the Central Area of Singapore. It is also where the Singapore Cricket Club Ground is located. Aside from being an open playing field, the Padang has garnered historical significance. With its prime location, it has been used as a venue for various events. In fact, every 9th of August, Singapore’s National Day Parade is held here. Moreover, it is a superb place to tour as it is surrounded by several historical buildings.
THE HISTORIC PARLIAMENT HOUSE
The Parliament House of Singapore is one of its many cultural landmarks. Its architectural structure is built to showcase stateliness and authority. It was renovated several times and now it comprises three new blocks. It was once housed the Attorney-General’s Chambers and was announced as a national monument on 14 February. The Parliament House is not for parliamentary debates only. It is also a research center and a meeting place of the members of parliament. In addition, it is also open for students’ interest and the general public.
NATIONAL GALLERY SINGAPORE
Situated in the heart of Civic District is the National Gallery Singapore. Two national monuments – the City Hall and the former Supreme Court – was restored to house the gallery. It holds the largest public collection of Southeast Asian art. The gallery also exhibits masterpieces in the 19th Century. Truly, the gallery has been a big help in improving Singapore Tourism Landscape. It garnered the award “Breakthrough Contribution to Tourism” from Singapore Awards in 2016. It also won the “Best Attraction Experience,” and “Best Customer Service (Attractions).
MERLION PARK
The Merlion Park is probably the most popular landmark of Singapore. Almost every tourist make sure to take a photo with the tourist-icon Merlion when touring around The Lion City. It is a mythical creature with a lion’s head and a body of a fish. It is also recognized as Singapore’s national personification and mascot. There are two Merlion statues in Singapore. The original 8.6-meter high statue sprouts water from its mouth facing the Marina Bay. Located near it is a merlion cub statue that measures 2-meter tall.
MARINA BAY
Marina Bay offers a picturesque view of the 360 hectare Central Business District. It is also a significant landmark in Singapore as various events were held here. The New Year’s Eve Countdown and Singapore Fireworks Celebration were hosted here. Hence, Marina’s Bay view adds vibrancy to each events’ highlight.
THIAN HOCK KENG TEMPLE
Thian Hock Keng Temple is one of Singapore’s National Monument. Considered as the oldest temple, it is also the most important temple to the Hokkien people. Thian Hock Keng Temple means “Palace of Heavenly Happiness.” In the 1800s, the Hokkien community first worshiped Mazu to thanked the Sea Goddess for their safe arrival to Singapore. The temple has a traditional Chinese design. The main courtyard is surrounded by a group of buildings and pavilion cluster. Behind the temple is another Buddhist shrine dedicated to Guanyin. People visit the temple to also worship other deities as well as the Chinese philosopher, Confucius.
SINGAPORE BOTANIC GARDEN
The Singapore Botanic Garden is a 158-year-old tropical garden. It has Asia’s Park Attraction number one spot since 2013. In fact, in 2014 the Singapore Botanic Garden was the only tropical garden granted with UNESCO World Heritage. It is also the only garden open daily from 5 in the morning until 12 in the midnight. The garden had also played an important role in the nation’s rubber trade boom in the 20th century. Singapore Botanic Garden also offers different attractions. Located within the main gardens is the National Orchid Garden.
NATIONAL ORCHID GARDEN
The National Orchid Garden is located at the uphill part of Singapore Botanical Garden. It is developed with a three-core concept. The heritage core, Tanglin, caters the historical features of the garden. The garden’s acclaimed tourist belt is at the central core. And the last core, Bukit Timah, is an educational and recreational zone. The 3-hectare garden houses 60,000 orchids. There are around 1,000 species of orchids and 2,000 hybrids in the National Orchid Garden. These are aesthetically arranged in four different color zones. The spring zones for the golds, yellows, and creams; reds and pinks on the summer zone; the autumn zone has the matured shares; and the white cool blues are in the winter zone.
LITTLE INDIA
Little India used to be a part of Chulia Kampong area, a former district in Singapore. Due to the British policy of ethnic segregation, the ethnic Indians moves to this land. Today it is usually called “Tekka” by the Indian Singaporean community. Hence, the area is in fact multi-cultural. It is full of several shops, restaurants, temples and other places for worships of different ethnic groups in Singapore.
MOUNT FABER
Mount Faber is formerly known as Telok Blangah Hill. Renamed in the 1840s after the superintendent engineer in Straits, Captain Charles Edward Faber. Mount Faber’s summit is reachable by Mount Faber Road and or Loop via Morse Road. There are also foot trails that lead tourists up the hill. Mount Faber offers a panoramic view of the Central Area’s central business district. Soon, it becomes one of Singapore’s tourist destination. The tower in its slope is a part of the Singapore cable car system. This is connected to the HarbourFront and Sentosa. Hence, the mountain is also accessible from the HarbourFront MRT Station.
INCLUSION
Private air-conditioned transportation
English speaking tour guide
Admission Fees
On car-free Sundays, Mount Fabre will replace National Gallery and the Merlion Park
EXCLUSION
Accommodation
Airplane ticket
Tip and gratuity
Meals not indicated
TOUR SCHEDULE
The tour is around 5 to 6 hours longs.
Please wait in the hotel lobby for your pick-up.
Available pick-up time: 8:30 AM or 1:30 PM
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Tour itinerary/attractions are subject to change.
Tour Operator information will be given once payment has been made.
They will assist you with your needs and questions regarding the services and the tour.
Special request such as “wheelchair assistance” and handicap requirements can be accommodated ahead of time.
Please present your E-Voucher to our local tour provider for confirmation if needed.
CANCELLATION POLICY
Cancellation should be done 7 days prior to the date of the tour to get 100% refund on the service.
Cancellation within 7 days of the tour may result in a partial refund of the service.
FORCE MAJURE
Regent Travel shall not be refunded for failure to execute arrangements specified herein directly or indirectly occasioned by or through or in consequence of war, change of statuses of Philippine Government, strikes, riots, and acts of God or condition beyond the control of Regent Travel.
How about extending your Singapore Day Tour up unto the night? Singapore becomes much lovelier when the sun goes down. See it for yourself by getting our Singapore Night Tour package! Get lost at Singapore City Lights at the Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sand’s Skypark. The Singapore Night Tour is definitely not a tiring journey. Hence, it will fulfill both your eyes and stomach. The tour actually includes a Satay food trip as a starter. This package is great for tourists of all ages.
Have a quick getaway in Sentosa, Singapore! Get our Sentosa Island Package which will definitely give you awesome memories. This tour package includes six attractions to discover for just one day. Get up high on the tallest observatory tower in Singapore – the Tiger Sky Tower. Or see what’s under the ground at S.E.A. Aquarium. Or maybe try the Go Green Segway Eco-Adventure to ride along Sentosa’s beaches. The package also includes Madame Tussauds Singapore with a live exhibit of Singapore’s images! The tour will end with the show Wings of Time! The Sentosa Island Package is a great tour, especially for families.
If you prefer to add an amusement park trip, we have the Universal Studios Singapore. It is one of the must-visit destinations by the tourists in Singapore. This one-of-a-kind amusement park is popular for its seven unique zones. Each zone is designed based on a popular film and or a television series. The Universal Studios Singapore offers over 24 rides, shows, and attractions. This is definitely a great tour package for everyone!
Interested more with the wildlife? Our Singapore Night Safari is definitely the tour package you are looking for! In this tour, you’d get the chance to meet nocturnal animals. This is, of course, guaranteed safe. The friendly animals can roam the Night Safari freely but the wild ones are kept in cages. The Singapore Night Safari also includes two shows – The Thumbuakar Performance and the Creature of the Night Show! Both of which are very interesting and exciting. To end, you can have a unique dining experience at the Ulu Ulu Safari Restaurant.
THE PADANG – SINGAPORE CRICKET CLUB GROUND
The Padang is an open playing field located in the Central Area of Singapore. It is also where the Singapore Cricket Club Ground is located. Aside from being an open playing field, the Padang has garnered historical significance. With its prime location, it has been used as a venue for various events. In fact, every 9th of August, Singapore’s National Day Parade is held here. Moreover, it is a superb place to tour as it is surrounded by several historical buildings.
THE HISTORIC PARLIAMENT HOUSE
The Parliament House of Singapore is one of its many cultural landmarks. Its architectural structure is built to showcase stateliness and authority. It was renovated several times and now it comprises three new blocks. It was once housed the Attorney-General’s Chambers and was announced as a national monument on 14 February. The Parliament House is not for parliamentary debates only. It is also a research center and a meeting place of the members of parliament. In addition, it is also open for students’ interest and the general public.
NATIONAL GALLERY SINGAPORE
Situated in the heart of Civic District is the National Gallery Singapore. Two national monuments – the City Hall and the former Supreme Court – was restored to house the gallery. It holds the largest public collection of Southeast Asian art. The gallery also exhibits masterpieces in the 19th Century. Truly, the gallery has been a big help in improving Singapore Tourism Landscape. It garnered the award “Breakthrough Contribution to Tourism” from Singapore Awards in 2016. It also won the “Best Attraction Experience,” and “Best Customer Service (Attractions).
MERLION PARK
The Merlion Park is probably the most popular landmark of Singapore. Almost every tourist make sure to take a photo with the tourist-icon Merlion when touring around The Lion City. It is a mythical creature with a lion’s head and a body of a fish. It is also recognized as Singapore’s national personification and mascot. There are two Merlion statues in Singapore. The original 8.6-meter high statue sprouts water from its mouth facing the Marina Bay. Located near it is a merlion cub statue that measures 2-meter tall.
MARINA BAY
Marina Bay offers a picturesque view of the 360 hectare Central Business District. It is also a significant landmark in Singapore as various events were held here. The New Year’s Eve Countdown and Singapore Fireworks Celebration were hosted here. Hence, Marina’s Bay view adds vibrancy to each events’ highlight.
THIAN HOCK KENG TEMPLE
Thian Hock Keng Temple is one of Singapore’s National Monument. Considered as the oldest temple, it is also the most important temple to the Hokkien people. Thian Hock Keng Temple means “Palace of Heavenly Happiness.” In the 1800s, the Hokkien community first worshiped Mazu to thanked the Sea Goddess for their safe arrival to Singapore. The temple has a traditional Chinese design. The main courtyard is surrounded by a group of buildings and pavilion cluster. Behind the temple is another Buddhist shrine dedicated to Guanyin. People visit the temple to also worship other deities as well as the Chinese philosopher, Confucius.
SINGAPORE BOTANIC GARDEN
The Singapore Botanic Garden is a 158-year-old tropical garden. It has Asia’s Park Attraction number one spot since 2013. In fact, in 2014 the Singapore Botanic Garden was the only tropical garden granted with UNESCO World Heritage. It is also the only garden open daily from 5 in the morning until 12 in the midnight. The garden had also played an important role in the nation’s rubber trade boom in the 20th century. Singapore Botanic Garden also offers different attractions. Located within the main gardens is the National Orchid Garden.
NATIONAL ORCHID GARDEN
The National Orchid Garden is located at the uphill part of Singapore Botanical Garden. It is developed with a three-core concept. The heritage core, Tanglin, caters the historical features of the garden. The garden’s acclaimed tourist belt is at the central core. And the last core, Bukit Timah, is an educational and recreational zone. The 3-hectare garden houses 60,000 orchids. There are around 1,000 species of orchids and 2,000 hybrids in the National Orchid Garden. These are aesthetically arranged in four different color zones. The spring zones for the golds, yellows, and creams; reds and pinks on the summer zone; the autumn zone has the matured shares; and the white cool blues are in the winter zone.
LITTLE INDIA
Little India used to be a part of Chulia Kampong area, a former district in Singapore. Due to the British policy of ethnic segregation, the ethnic Indians moves to this land. Today it is usually called “Tekka” by the Indian Singaporean community. Hence, the area is in fact multi-cultural. It is full of several shops, restaurants, temples and other places for worships of different ethnic groups in Singapore.
MOUNT FABER
Mount Faber is formerly known as Telok Blangah Hill. Renamed in the 1840s after the superintendent engineer in Straits, Captain Charles Edward Faber. Mount Faber’s summit is reachable by Mount Faber Road and or Loop via Morse Road. There are also foot trails that lead tourists up the hill. Mount Faber offers a panoramic view of the Central Area’s central business district. Soon, it becomes one of Singapore’s tourist destination. The tower in its slope is a part of the Singapore cable car system. This is connected to the HarbourFront and Sentosa. Hence, the mountain is also accessible from the HarbourFront MRT Station.
|
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// <auto-generated>
// This code was generated by a tool.
// Runtime Version:4.0.30319.1
//
// Changes to this file may cause incorrect behavior and will be lost if
// the code is regenerated.
// </auto-generated>
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
namespace ClickForensics.Quartz.Manager.Properties {
using System;
/// <summary>
/// A strongly-typed resource class, for looking up localized strings, etc.
/// </summary>
// This class was auto-generated by the StronglyTypedResourceBuilder
// class via a tool like ResGen or Visual Studio.
// To add or remove a member, edit your .ResX file then rerun ResGen
// with the /str option, or rebuild your VS project.
[global::System.CodeDom.Compiler.GeneratedCodeAttribute("System.Resources.Tools.StronglyTypedResourceBuilder", "4.0.0.0")]
[global::System.Diagnostics.DebuggerNonUserCodeAttribute()]
[global::System.Runtime.CompilerServices.CompilerGeneratedAttribute()]
internal class Resources {
private static global::System.Resources.ResourceManager resourceMan;
private static global::System.Globalization.CultureInfo resourceCulture;
[global::System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis.SuppressMessageAttribute("Microsoft.Performance", "CA1811:AvoidUncalledPrivateCode")]
internal Resources() {
}
/// <summary>
/// Returns the cached ResourceManager instance used by this class.
/// </summary>
[global::System.ComponentModel.EditorBrowsableAttribute(global::System.ComponentModel.EditorBrowsableState.Advanced)]
internal static global::System.Resources.ResourceManager ResourceManager {
get {
if (object.ReferenceEquals(resourceMan, null)) {
global::System.Resources.ResourceManager temp = new global::System.Resources.ResourceManager("ClickForensics.Quartz.Manager.Properties.Resources", typeof(Resources).Assembly);
resourceMan = temp;
}
return resourceMan;
}
}
/// <summary>
/// Overrides the current thread's CurrentUICulture property for all
/// resource lookups using this strongly typed resource class.
/// </summary>
[global::System.ComponentModel.EditorBrowsableAttribute(global::System.ComponentModel.EditorBrowsableState.Advanced)]
internal static global::System.Globalization.CultureInfo Culture {
get {
return resourceCulture;
}
set {
resourceCulture = value;
}
}
}
}
|
This is machine translation
Mouseover text to see original. Click the button below to return to the English version of the page.
Note: This page has been translated by MathWorks. Please click here
To view all translated materials including this page, select Japan from the country navigator on the bottom of this page.
Translate This Page
MathWorks Machine Translation
The automated translation of this page is provided by a general purpose third party translator tool.
MathWorks does not warrant, and disclaims all liability for, the accuracy, suitability, or fitness for purpose of the translation.
Conditional Mean Model Estimation with Equality Constraints
For conditional mean model estimation, estimate requires
an arima model and a vector of univariate time series
data. The model specifies the parametric form of the conditional mean
model that estimate estimates. estimate returns
fitted values for any parameters in the input model with NaN values.
If you pass a T×r exogenous covariate matrix
in the X argument, then estimate returns r regression
estimates . If you specify non-NaN values for any
parameters, estimate views these values as equality
constraints and honors them during estimation.
For example, suppose you are estimating a model without a constant
term. Specify 'Constant',0 in the model you pass
into estimate. estimate views this
non-NaN value as an equality constraint, and does
not estimate the constant term. estimate also honors
all specified equality constraints while estimating parameters without
equality constraints. You can set a subset of regression coefficients
to a constant and estimate the rest. For example, suppose your model
is called model. If your model has three exogenous
covariates, and you want to estimate two of them and set the other
to one to 5, then specify model.Beta = [NaN 5 NaN].
estimate optionally returns the variance-covariance
matrix for estimated parameters. The parameter order in this matrix
is:
|
// Generated by 'transfrom'
/* eslint-disable */
import React from 'react';
import { Svg } from 'react-sketchapp';
const {Path} = Svg;
export default (props) => (
<Svg class="icon" viewBox="0 0 1024 1024" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" name="select1" width={ props.width || 16 } height={ props.height || 16 }
fill={ props.fill || "#666" }>
<Path d="M888 64H136c-39.8 0-72 32.2-72 72v752c0 39.8 32.2 72 72 72h504c19.9 0 36-16.1 36-36s-16.1-36-36-36H136V136h752v504c0 19.9 16.1 36 36 36s36-16.1 36-36V136c0-39.8-32.2-72-72-72z"
p-id="2888" />
<Path d="M633.5 582.5l103.8-103.8c11.3-11.3 3.3-30.7-12.7-30.7H484c-19.9 0-36 16.1-36 36v240.5c0 16 19.4 24.1 30.7 12.7l103.8-103.8 188 188c7 7 16.2 10.5 25.5 10.5s18.4-3.5 25.5-10.5c14.1-14.1 14.1-36.9 0-50.9l-188-188z"
p-id="2889" />
</Svg>
)
|
5
10 20 5
9 18 3
6 6 5
7 9 4
6 12 3
|
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