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Your growing Steelers fan is going to need plenty of clothes, and there's always a great choice in black and gold. Our selection of Steelers youth merchandise will always leave your kid with something to wear, whether it's a children's sized t-shirt, jersey, jacket, fleece, or even accessory. Brighten up your young one's day with Steelers youth merchandise.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a TV (television), in particular to a TV (Television) having a language selection function and a control method of the same which is capable of displaying character information included in a broadcast signal on a screen.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, various types of televisions from a small model such as a 14 inch television to a projection television not less than 60 inch are introduced to a consumer.
In the meantime, the analog TV has lots of problems while developing to a scale-up and a high-function. In other words, there is the problem such as a picture quality lowering, a broadcast channels limitation, an one-way mediums limitation, and market saturation of an analog TV etc. Accordingly, a digital television is introduced in order to make up for the weak points in the analog television.
Presently, developing of the technology about the digital TV is progressing actively, the technology has entered a new phase performing a test broadcast or a regular broadcast about the digital TV.
The digital TV comprises an additional information providing function as well as a basic video and audio information providing function, among them there is a character information and audio information providing functions such as a caption, a EPG (Electronic Program Guide) etc.
Hereinafter, a construction of the digital TV in accordance with the prior art will now be described with reference to accompanying FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of the digital TV in accordance with the prior art.
As depicted in FIG. 1, the digital TV comprises a tuner 1 for tuning in to a broadcast signal of a user selection channel among broadcast signals of each channel received through an antenna, a VSB (Vestigial Side Band) demodulator 2 for correcting an error by demodulating the user selection broadcast signal and outputting the signal after converting it into a transport stream format, a demultiplexer 3 for demultiplexing the transport stream (dividing into video, audio and additional information signal sequence), a MPEG (Moving Picture Expert Group) audio/video decoder 4 for outputting video and audio signals by extending/restoring the demultiplexed transport stream (video and audio signal sequences), an audio processing unit 5 for converting the audio signal into an analog audio signal in order to output the audio signal through a speaker, a video processing unit 7 for converting the video signal into luminance and color signals in order to display the video signal on a screen, a memory unit 8 for storing the additional information outputted from the demultiplexer 3, a control unit 6 for controlling each part of the system and performing an database operation about the stored additional information in order to display the information by a graphic user interface, and a network interface unit 9 for performing a two-way communication such as the internet. An output operation of character information of the digital TV will now be described.
First, the control unit 6 judges whether a character information mode for providing character information such as a caption or an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) to a user is ‘ON’. In addition, when the user operates the character information mode as an ‘ON’ state, the control unit 6 transmits user selection character information to the MPEG audio/video decoder 4 by setting a pertinent packet ID in the demultiplexer 3.
After that, the control unit 6 controls the MPEG audio/video decoder 4 to extract and transmit only the user selection character information in the character information. Herein, the control unit 6 decodes the character information transmitted from the MPEG audio/video decoder 4, constructs an OSD corresponding to the transmitted character information, and stores it temporarily in the memory unit 8.
And, the control unit 6 transmits the OSD to the video processing unit 7 in order to display it by mixing with a broadcast video. At the same time, it performs signal processing of audio information synchronized with the OSD and outputs it to a speaker. Herein, the character information is outputted only as the English language or a certain region language. In other words, because character information of the TV in accordance with the prior art is outputted as only one language, it is impossible to perform a language selection in accordance with a user taste, accordingly it is impossible to satisfy a desire of a user.
As described above, in the digital TV in accordance with the prior art, because character information is outputted as only the English language or a certain region language, it is impossible to select a language in accordance with a user taste, accordingly it can not satisfy a desire of a user.
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Shamrock Rovers manager Pat Fenlon walks off the Dalymount Park pitch after sections of it were deemed unplayable by referee Tom Connolly. Photo: David Maher / SPORTSFILE
What can be done to make the League of Ireland better? It is a recurring question, with a familiar array of answers: more investment, better facilities, a higher calibre of player.
As the end of another campaign draws closer, those long-held ambitions are no closer.
The reality is trying to make the best of imperfection. And, while the bigger picture problems remain, there are still practical adjustments that could be made to ensure that 2015 runs smoother.
Instead of just pointing out the ills, here are a few suggestions:
1. Make the season longer
This is a vexed cry at this stage really but there comes a point where a strong line has to be taken.
Clubs want 40-week contracts for cost reasons, but the long pre-season is becoming counter-productive on so many levels. By September, there are teams with nothing left to play for: Bohs are an example of a club that now have to wait until next March for a game that will attract floating fans.
That's a six-month wait to get punters back through the turnstiles.
A two or three-week extension to the year would spread games out, help player recovery, ease the strain on fans who have to pick and choose in congested runs, and ultimately lead to a better product.
2. Suspension reform
After some pressure, the ludicrous scenario where a player could pick up four bookings across an entire season and end up missing the FAI Cup final no longer exists.
It shouldn't stop there. The same trapdoor exists when it comes to the final weeks of the league where it is entirely possible that players could miss title or relegation deciders for picking up just four yellow cards in 30+ matches.
This is unfair, and clean behaviour should be rewarded. If a player starts five games in a row without a penalty, then one yellow card should be removed from their slate. This would encourage fair play, while also punishing persistent offenders.
3. One last Setanta chance
The cross-border competition is on its last legs. Various ideas have been thrown around, including making it just a four-team tournament.
Scheduling is a consistent worry, though. Perhaps moving the opening round to the summer and using it as preparation for European fare could make it more attractive for the Northern Irish clubs, even if they would only be returning from pre-season.
Regionalising an eight-team affair at that phase would ensure a level playing field with two teams from each section going forward into an autumn conclusion.
If next year is a repeat of the 2014 renewal, and the top Northern sides dodge it again, then scrap it.
4. Tinker with the TV plan
The extension of the TV deal with RTE until 2018 which ensures the future of 'Soccer Republic' is positive.
There are arguably too many live games clustered at certain periods of the season with inconvenient kick-off times. TV matches hit the gates and they are broadcast when a good number of potential viewers are watching their own clubs.
In the interest of fair play, Friday has to be the choice on the run-in with leagues at stake. But in the summer, where there's a shortage of live shows, it's worth tinkering with the schedules to try a new slot even if it's Saturday or Sunday. Home European matches should be broadcast at the expense of run of-the-mill league encounters.
5. Make all cup ties €5
The cup competitions are losing their allure until the semis or even the final because of economic realities. Part of the complication is that clubs do not include cup games in the price of season tickets and that is a turn-off, along with the aforementioned fixture backlog.
Some clubs have looked at concession prices for cup ties; unless it can be factored into season ticket prices than drastically reduced admission as a nationwide initiative is worth trying.
6. Tighten amateur/pro rules
The increasing number of players registered as amateurs in the league has to be a concern. It doesn't sit right when established Premier performers are down in that category; it breeds suspicion.
With youngsters, it is becoming murky territory with the practice of lining out as amateurs until they are suddenly about to secure a move cross channel - which leads to the rushed confirmation of pro status - damaging relations with the feeder clubs that nurtured them.
One solution would be introduce a minimum amount of pros/semi-pros for Premier clubs.
7. First Division time limit
Uncertainty over whether the 'B' team idea will be continued by Shamrock Rovers or adopted by others means that we again have no idea of how many sides will form the graveyard league next year.
For the regional clubs stuck in limbo, it's unacceptable. The better outfits want a smaller top flight but we are reaching a point where it is worth targeting a 16-team Premier and a less intensive and regionalised amateur structure below it. A deadline must be set.
This is a tough one for the FAI.
8. Make Leinster Senior Cup an underage competition
This old event is by now an irrelevance, yet some Premier clubs commit first-team players, and Trevor Croly even tried to group it in with the Setanta Cup and EA Sports Cup as he listed his Shamrock Rovers achievements.
The Munster equivalent is merged with pre-season and is less of an irritation. LOI participants should be forced to treat it as an U-23 or U-21 tournament, especially if 'B' teams are doomed.
9. Monthly pitch reviews
'Divotgate' at Dalymount brought to light widely held grievances about general pitch standards. In an ideal world, clubs would be told to employ their own staff as opposed to using an outside company but that's not viable.
What should be encouraged is monthly reviews of ground standards, with the possibility of sanction for clubs where the surface is consistently below par, or alternatively a helping hand if a portion of the affiliation fees could be laid aside for maintenance.
10. Make U-17 league LOI only
The FAI has sought expressions of interest for the national U-17 league, which kicks off next August.
This invitation has been extended beyond the League of Ireland clubs to the top schoolboy nurseries which is totally unsatisfactory.
A major problem for the league is that LOI sides do not work hard enough to produce their own talent and then merely pick up the best of what is left when they outgrow underage level
This is an ideal chance to put pressure on senior clubs to take control of this area. Once compensation terms with the feeders are ironed out, it could be a game-changer.
Indo Sport
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Evaluation of visual outcome following cataract surgery in a tertiary eye care hospital.
A retrospective study was conducted at the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology (RIO), Kolkata to assess the visual outcome in senile cataract after surgery in the age group of 45-65 years. A total number of 1837 operated eyes (1826 patients) were included in the study during the period of January, 2000 to December, 2000. Patients with low vision unrelated to cataract surgery were excluded. The mean age at cataract extraction was 56 +/- 9 years. Patients were followed for 6 months. Of 1837 operated eyes, 26 (1.4%) were blind (visual acuity < 3/60), 122 (6.6%) had low visual acuity (3/60-6/18) and 1689 eyes (92.2%) gained good vision (visual acuity > 6/18). Of 148 visually compromised eyes posterior capsular opacity (41.2%) was the commonest complication followed by corneal oedema (36.5%) and glaucoma (12.8%). Other posterior segment causes accounted for the remaining cases. The study emphasises the need for proper selection, good pre-operative check-up, skilled surgery and regular follow-up to improve the qualitative aspect of cataract surgery.
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# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later
# Copyright (C) 2009-2016 Stephan Raue ([email protected])
# Copyright (C) 2018-present Team LibreELEC (https://libreelec.tv)
PKG_NAME="libxml2"
PKG_VERSION="2.9.10"
PKG_SHA256="aafee193ffb8fe0c82d4afef6ef91972cbaf5feea100edc2f262750611b4be1f"
PKG_LICENSE="MIT"
PKG_SITE="http://xmlsoft.org"
PKG_URL="ftp://xmlsoft.org/libxml2/$PKG_NAME-$PKG_VERSION.tar.gz"
PKG_DEPENDS_HOST="zlib:host"
PKG_DEPENDS_TARGET="toolchain zlib"
PKG_LONGDESC="The libxml package contains an XML library, which allows you to manipulate XML files."
PKG_CONFIGURE_OPTS_ALL="ac_cv_header_ansidecl_h=no \
--enable-static \
--enable-shared \
--disable-silent-rules \
--enable-ipv6 \
--without-python \
--with-zlib=$TOOLCHAIN \
--without-lzma"
PKG_CONFIGURE_OPTS_HOST="$PKG_CONFIGURE_OPTS_ALL --with-zlib=$TOOLCHAIN"
PKG_CONFIGURE_OPTS_TARGET="$PKG_CONFIGURE_OPTS_ALL --with-zlib=$SYSROOT_PREFIX/usr --with-sysroot=$SYSROOT_PREFIX"
post_makeinstall_target() {
sed -e "s:\(['= ]\)/usr:\\1$SYSROOT_PREFIX/usr:g" -i $SYSROOT_PREFIX/usr/bin/xml2-config
rm -rf $INSTALL/usr/bin
rm -rf $INSTALL/usr/lib/xml2Conf.sh
}
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US Needle:
Washing Instructions:
Weight:
Yardage:
Not just for socks -- this Spud and Chloe sock weight yarn is perfect for Fair Isle and detailed work. It's machine-washable, so it's great for itty-bitty baby knits, too!
Looking for more options, or just a little inspiration?
Manos Del Uruguay Alegria Yarn is a similar yarn: wool, machine wash, fingering (27-32 sts/4 in), and on size 1-3 US needles. You make also like Cascade 220 Fingering Yarn, which is another similar yarn: wool, fingering (27-32 sts/4 in), 7-8 sts / inch, and on size 1-3 US needles.
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/*
* /MathJax/jax/output/HTML-CSS/fonts/Neo-Euler/Size2/Regular/Main.js
*
* Copyright (c) 2009-2013 The MathJax Consortium
*
* Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
* you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
* You may obtain a copy of the License at
*
* http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
*
* Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
* distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
* WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
* See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
* limitations under the License.
*/
MathJax.OutputJax["HTML-CSS"].FONTDATA.FONTS.NeoEulerMathJax_Size2={directory:"Size2/Regular",family:"NeoEulerMathJax_Size2",testString:"\u00A0\u2016\u2044\u2215\u221A\u2223\u2225\u2227\u2228\u2229\u222A\u228E\u22C0\u22C1\u22C2",32:[0,0,333,0,0],40:[1599,199,596,180,574],41:[1599,199,595,22,415],47:[1599,200,811,53,759],91:[1674,125,472,226,453],92:[1599,200,811,53,759],93:[1674,125,472,18,245],123:[1599,200,667,119,547],124:[1897,208,213,86,126],125:[1599,200,667,119,547],160:[0,0,333,0,0],8214:[1897,208,403,86,316],8260:[1599,200,811,53,759],8725:[1599,200,811,53,759],8730:[1800,1,1000,110,1024],8739:[1897,208,213,86,126],8741:[1297,208,403,86,316],8743:[1128,267,1549,56,1492],8744:[1069,326,1549,56,1492],8745:[1359,-1,1110,56,1053],8746:[1317,41,1110,56,1053],8846:[1317,41,1110,56,1053],8896:[1128,267,1549,56,1492],8897:[1069,326,1549,56,1492],8898:[1359,-1,1110,56,1053],8899:[1317,41,1110,56,1053],8968:[1599,200,527,226,509],8969:[1599,200,527,18,301],8970:[1599,200,527,226,509],8971:[1599,200,527,18,301],9001:[1536,234,629,109,520],9002:[1536,234,693,89,500],9180:[794,-414,1911,56,1855],9181:[144,236,1911,56,1855],9182:[912,-484,1911,56,1855],9183:[70,358,1911,56,1855],10216:[939,237,501,95,392],10217:[939,237,568,79,375]};MathJax.Callback.Queue(["initFont",MathJax.OutputJax["HTML-CSS"],"NeoEulerMathJax_Size2"],["loadComplete",MathJax.Ajax,MathJax.OutputJax["HTML-CSS"].fontDir+"/Size2/Regular/Main.js"]);
|
The British parliamentary system, inspired by John Locke, Edmund Burke, John Stuart Mill and many others who believed in a system of checks and balances to guarantee our liberties, has in the past been much admired as a model of liberal democracy, one that has enabled the peaceful evolution that has been an almost unique part of our history. Today it has been superseded.
The doctrine of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, that the will of the people must always prevail, much admired by autocrats ever since the days of Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety, now prevails in Westminster instead.
Speaker after speaker in the House of Commons debates on Article 50 declared that, although he or she voted Remain and believed Brexit was not in the national interest, the referendum vote represents the ultimate expression of democracy and therefore the “will of the people” must be obeyed.
The logic of their argument leads to some strange conclusions. Even if it becomes clear that no agreement can be reached at the end of the two years allowed by Article 50, or only one which entails the hardest of hard Brexits, making all of us, especially the poor, much poorer, MPs must still vote to leave – because they must abide by the June vote even if it forces them to act like lemmings.
Majorities are not always right. There have been times when the public were later forced to admit they were disastrously wrong.
In 1938 Chamberlain came back from Berchtesgaden with a piece of paper declaring “Peace in our time.” His message was almost universally acclaimed.
Only a few dissented: Churchill, Macmillan, a young Heath and several leaders of the Labour Party. They were denounced as warmongers. Then Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia and proved how disastrously wrong the majority had been.
The will of the people does not automatically represent or serve the national interest. Before the Second World War Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin all commanded overwhelming public support. That hardly made them democrats, or leaders who left their subjects better off.
There is no doubt that today Putin and Erdogan are among the most popular populists. Are these leaders, who suppress dissent and trample on the rule of law, therefore democrats?
Another dangerous new constitutional doctrine has been introduced by Mrs May and apparently accepted by the Commons. The referendum vote, it appears, is not only to be sacrosanct but irreversible.
Mrs May made a concession, welcomed by some Labour leaders as well as most Conservatives, which was in effect a worthless sop. MPs and peers will be allowed a vote on whether to accept a final Brexit deal, achieved against an almost impossible timetable and therefore unlikely to be a very favourable one, or walk away from any agreement — and jump over a cliff.
No question of asking her to seek better terms. Much more important, no question of a second referendum to give people a chance to change their minds because circumstances have changed, or because the promises made by Brexit supporters have proved to be no more than pipe dreams.
In fact circumstances have changed. Donald Trump was elected president. He has pledged to end the era when the US led the world as the champion of free trade. He threatens a trade war with China.
So much for the Brexiteers’ promise of a bonanza of free trade deals once we have left the customs union.
Worse still, having vowed to abandon the European Union, Mrs May is driven into the arms of someone whose election (like the Brexit vote) was enthusiastically welcomed by every protectionist and nationalist in Europe, who seeks to destabilise the European Union itself, who has questioned the importance of Nato and who seeks a new deal with Putin as a strongman whom he admires as someone he can do business with.
As for his values as an ally of the democratic West, these seem to include allowing the possible use of state torture to counter terrorism, because “torture works”.
Public opinion has not yet shifted perceptibly since June. If it does not change before the end of next year, it is doubtful if Brexit can still be avoided.
But if the forecasts of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and other independent economists prove right and living standards start to decline, or if the prospect of swapping Trump’s America for the EU as our main partner repels a majority of the public, the June verdict must be open to review.
And a review of a referendum vote must obviously be through a new referendum. Dictatorships do not allow people to change their minds. In a democracy, no decision should ever be irreversible.
Postscript. In her famous Bruges speech, Mrs Thatcher made a profound observation about Europe which has been erased from the memory of Conservative Brexiteers. “On many great issues,” she said, “the countries of Europe should try to speak with a single voice. I want to see us work more closely on the things we can do better together than alone. Europe is stronger when we do so, whether it be in trade, in defence or in our relations with the rest of the world.”
Is now the time, in the dangerous new Trump era, for Britain to leave and weaken the European Union, as well as our own influence in the world?
This article was first published by The Times.
Comments
comments
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Release Notes – Maven 3.5.3
The Apache Maven team would like to announce the release of Maven 3.5.3
Maven 3.5.3 is available for download.
Maven is a software project management and comprehension tool. Based on the concept of a project object model (POM), Maven can manage a project’s build, reporting and documentation from a central place.
The core release is independent of the plugins available. Further releases of plugins will be made separately. See the PluginList for more information.
We hope you enjoy using Maven! If you have any questions, please consult:
the web site: https://maven.apache.org/
the maven-user mailing list: https://maven.apache.org/mailing-lists.html
the reference documentation: https://maven.apache.org/ref/3.5.3/
Reporters and Contributors of this release We really value the contributions of these non committers, so this section is focused on those individuals. Descriptions of the issues fixed can be found at the end of these release notes. Bugs: MNG-6323 reporter: Ben Caradoc-Davies
MNG-6320 reporter: Eugene Pliskin
MNG-6300 reporter: Andreas Kurth
MNG-6298 reporter: Ryan Heaton
MNG-6296 reporter: Robin Müller
MNG-6282 reporter: Dejan Stojadinović
MNG-6255 reporter: Andrew Kennedy Improvements: MNG-6340 reporter: Tony Guan
MNG-6306 reporter: Andy Wilkinson
MNG-5992 reporter: Ryan J. McDonough Many thanks to all reporters and contributors for their time and support.
Preliminary Testers Thank you also for your time and feedback.
Known Issues One new issue was identified during the release testing. This issue affects Windows users. When running Maven with parallel threads, i.e. the -T command line option, Maven may output spurious ANSI escapes such as [0m [0m MNG-6372
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/*
* UnmatchedFieldsProperty.java
*
* This source file is part of the FoundationDB open source project
*
* Copyright 2015-2019 Apple Inc. and the FoundationDB project authors
*
* Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
* you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
* You may obtain a copy of the License at
*
* http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
*
* Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
* distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
* WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
* See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
* limitations under the License.
*/
package com.apple.foundationdb.record.query.plan.temp.properties;
import com.apple.foundationdb.annotation.API;
import com.apple.foundationdb.record.RecordCoreException;
import com.apple.foundationdb.record.metadata.expressions.KeyExpression;
import com.apple.foundationdb.record.query.plan.ScanComparisons;
import com.apple.foundationdb.record.query.plan.plans.RecordQueryPlanWithComparisons;
import com.apple.foundationdb.record.query.plan.plans.RecordQueryPlanWithIndex;
import com.apple.foundationdb.record.query.plan.plans.RecordQueryScanPlan;
import com.apple.foundationdb.record.query.plan.temp.ExpressionRef;
import com.apple.foundationdb.record.query.plan.temp.PlanContext;
import com.apple.foundationdb.record.query.plan.temp.PlannerProperty;
import com.apple.foundationdb.record.query.plan.temp.RelationalExpression;
import com.apple.foundationdb.record.query.plan.temp.expressions.IndexEntrySourceScanExpression;
import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
import java.util.List;
/**
* A property for counting the total number of {@link KeyExpression} columns (i.e., field-like {@code KeyExpression}s
* such as {@link com.apple.foundationdb.record.metadata.expressions.FieldKeyExpression} and
* {@link com.apple.foundationdb.record.metadata.expressions.RecordTypeKeyExpression}) that are not matched with at
* least one {@link com.apple.foundationdb.record.query.expressions.Comparisons.Comparison} in a planner expression
* tree. This is computed over all {@link KeyExpression}s in various {@link IndexEntrySourceScanExpression}s.
*
* <p>
* For example, suppose that a planner expression scans two indexes:
* <ul>
* <li>{@code concat(field1, field2)}, with a comparison {@code field1 = 'foo'}</li>
* <li>{@code concat(field1, field3, field4)}, with a comparison {@code field1 = 'foo', field3 < 5}</li>
* </ul>
* The {@code UnmatchedFieldsProperty} on such a planner expression is 2.
*/
@API(API.Status.EXPERIMENTAL)
public class UnmatchedFieldsProperty implements PlannerProperty<Integer> {
@Nonnull
private final PlanContext planContext;
public UnmatchedFieldsProperty(@Nonnull PlanContext context) {
this.planContext = context;
}
@Nonnull
@Override
public Integer evaluateAtExpression(@Nonnull RelationalExpression expression, @Nonnull List<Integer> childResults) {
int total = 0;
for (Integer result : childResults) {
if (result != null) {
total += result;
}
}
if (expression instanceof RecordQueryPlanWithComparisons) {
final ScanComparisons comparisons = ((RecordQueryPlanWithComparisons)expression).getComparisons();
final int columnSize;
if (expression instanceof RecordQueryPlanWithIndex) {
final String indexName = ((RecordQueryPlanWithIndex)expression).getIndexName();
columnSize = planContext.getIndexByName(indexName).getRootExpression().getColumnSize();
} else if (expression instanceof RecordQueryScanPlan) {
columnSize = planContext.getGreatestPrimaryKeyWidth();
} else {
throw new RecordCoreException("unhandled plan with comparisons: can't find key expression");
}
return total + columnSize - (comparisons.getEqualitySize() +
(comparisons.isEquality() ? 0 : 1));
} else if (expression instanceof IndexEntrySourceScanExpression) {
return total + ((IndexEntrySourceScanExpression)expression).getComparisons().getUnmatchedFieldCount();
} else {
return total;
}
}
@Nonnull
@Override
public Integer evaluateAtRef(@Nonnull ExpressionRef<? extends RelationalExpression> ref, @Nonnull List<Integer> memberResults) {
int min = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
for (Integer memberResult : memberResults) {
if (memberResult != null && memberResult < min) {
min = memberResult;
}
}
return min;
}
public static int evaluate(@Nonnull PlanContext context, @Nonnull RelationalExpression expression) {
Integer result = expression.acceptPropertyVisitor(new UnmatchedFieldsProperty(context));
if (result == null) {
return Integer.MAX_VALUE;
}
return result;
}
}
|
The Inner Product
The inner product (or ``dot product'', or ``scalar product'')
is an operation on two vectors which produces a scalar. Defining an
inner product for a Banach space specializes it to a Hilbert
space (or ``inner product space''). There are many examples of
Hilbert spaces, but we will only need
for this
book (complex length vectors, and complex scalars).
It is straightforward to show that properties 1 and 3 of a norm hold
(see §5.8.2). Property 2 follows easily from the Schwarz
Inequality which is derived in the following subsection.
Alternatively, we can simply observe that the inner product induces
the well known norm on .
Cauchy-Schwarz Inequality
The Cauchy-Schwarz Inequality (or ``Schwarz Inequality'')
states that for all
and
, we have
We can quickly show this for real vectors
,
, as
follows: If either
or
is zero, the inequality holds (as
equality). Assuming both are nonzero, let's scale them to unit-length
by defining the normalized vectors
,
, which are
unit-length vectors lying on the ``unit ball'' in (a hypersphere
of radius ). We have
which implies
or, removing the normalization,
The same derivation holds if
is replaced by
yielding
The last two equations imply
In the complex case, let
, and define
. Then
is real and equal to
. By the same derivation as above,
The triangle inequality states that the length of any side of a
triangle is less than or equal to the sum of the lengths of the other two
sides, with equality occurring only when the triangle degenerates to a
line. In , this becomes
Vector Cosine
In the case of real vectors
, we can always find a real number which satisfies
We thus interpret as the angle between two vectors in .
Orthogonality
The vectors (signals) and
5.11are said to be orthogonal if
, denoted .
That is to say
Note that if and are real and orthogonal, the cosine of the angle
between them is zero. In plane geometry (), the angle between two
perpendicular lines is , and
, as expected. More
generally, orthogonality corresponds to the fact that two vectors in
-space intersect at a right angle and are thus perpendicular
geometrically.
Note that the converse is not true in . That is,
does not imply
in . For a counterexample, consider ,
, in which case
while
.
For real vectors
, the Pythagorean theorem Eq.(5.1)
holds if and only if the vectors are orthogonal. To see this, note
that, from Eq.(5.2), when the Pythagorean theorem holds, either
or is zero, or
is zero or purely imaginary,
by property 1 of norms (see §5.8.2). If the inner product
cannot be imaginary, it must be zero.
Note that we also have an alternate version of the Pythagorean
theorem:
Projection
The orthogonal projection (or simply ``projection'') of
onto
is defined by
The complex scalar is called the
coefficient of projection. When projecting onto a unit
length vector , the coefficient of projection is simply the inner
product of with .
Motivation: The basic idea of orthogonal projection of onto
is to ``drop a perpendicular'' from onto to define a new
vector along which we call the ``projection'' of onto .
This is illustrated for in Fig.5.9 for and
, in which case
Figure:
Projection of
onto
in 2D space.
Derivation: (1) Since any projection onto must lie along the
line collinear with , write the projection as
. (2) Since by definition the projection error
is orthogonal to , we must have
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Q:
URL Rewrite: PHP variable as directory
Alright, how would I get something like:
domain.com/friends.php?id=Fred
Into something like:
domain.com/Fred/friends.php
Previously, I have used:
RewriteRule ^([A-Za-z0-9]+)$ profile.php?id=$1 [L]
To turn
domain.com/profile.php?id=Fred
Into
domain.com/Fred
I know there is a way to do it, I just don't have the knowledge of the operators that would put that extra 'friends.php' in the RewriteRule. Thanks for the help, if my explanation made sense.
A:
You're close:
RewriteRule ^([A-Za-z0-9]+)/friends\.php$ friends.php?id=$1 [L]
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The Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act of 2017 would prohibit the slaughter of dogs and cats in the United States for human consumption.
Background
Although commercial sales of dog and cat meat are illegal in the United States, 44 states still have no prohibition on the killing of dogs and cats for human consumption. What this means is that even though it is illegal for stores to sell dog or cat meat, an individual can kill and eat a dog or cat or sell the meat directly to another person.
By amending the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit the transportation, delivery, possession, and slaughter of dogs and cats for human consumption, the Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act ensures that stolen pets or stray animals aren’t killed for the trade.
Need for Federal Regulations
Although consuming dog and cat meat in the United States is not a common practice, there are horrific examples that attest to the need for this federal legislation. In Hawaii, it is legal to slaughter an animal classified as a pet if the animal is “bred for human consumption” and is killed in a “humane” manner. Besides allowing for a horrific legal market, this has in too many tragic cases also provided cover for the illegal slaughter and sale of meat from dogs who are strays, lost, or stolen. An undercover investigation for EnviroWatch highlighted the brutality of dog meat farms in Hawaii. The investigator ended up rescuing a dog from one dog meat farm where the dog was being sold for $150 dollars, with the additional cost of $35 for him to be slaughtered.[1] The dog is now his cherished pet. Living conditions at the dog meat farm were heinous; makeshift, unkempt, and unclean pens were constructed to house the dogs as they awaited their fate. Many of the dogs victimized by the underground Hawaiian dog meat trade are beloved family pets who have been stolen. In a notorious case in 2007, an eight-month old Labrador mix named Caddy was snatched from a golf course while his owner played golf. Two employees of the golf course were charged with animal cruelty but pleaded guilty to stealing and butchering the puppy with the intention of eating him and only received five years of probation.[2]
The dog and cat meat trade is not confined to Hawaii. Animals intended for personal consumption or use in dishes prepared in restaurants have been found in horrendous conditions in other states. In Wisconsin, for example, Ervin Stebane, a dealer who had been licensed by the USDA to sell animals for use in laboratories, was also a dog butcher. Stebane stole dogs from residential communities, collected stray dogs, and took dogs who were “free to a good home,” then butchered them and sold the meat. With no federal law banning the slaughter of dogs and cats for human consumption, Stebane was only convicted of “improperly killing animals.”
The Pennsylvania Health Department closed a Philadelphia restaurant after learning it was serving cat meat. The restaurant had over 50 cats in chains in its basement and an employee was in the process of slaughtering a cat for human consumption when law enforcement officers from the Pennsylvania SPCA arrived.[3]
Also in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania SPCA shut down a kennel whose owner was hoarding 150 Jindo dogs who, the kennel owner admitted, were being bred for human consumption; however, due to the lack of federal legislation, the kennel was closed solely for unsanitary conditions.[4]
Health Risks
In addition to subjecting animals to brutal living conditions and cruel slaughter methods, the unlicensed and unregulated dog and cat meat industry poses serious threats to human health. Toxoplasmosis, an easily transferable parasitic infection common in dogs and other warm-blooded animals, attacks the lining of the stomach and causes flu-like systems; for those with compromised immune systems, this can be fatal.[5] Moreover, bacteria such as E. coli and V. cholerae are easily transferred to humans during slaughter, handling, and consumption of meat.[6] Further, rabies is readily transmittable through the consumption of meat and is a health risk, given the number of stray dogs fueling the underground dog meat trade.
The Solution
Other countries and territories, such as Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, and the Philippines, have banned the dog and cat meat trade, although enforcement problems exist. In the United States, in the absence of federal legislation, five states—California, Georgia, Michigan, New York, and Virginia—either specifically bar the butchering of dogs and cats for human consumption or otherwise prohibit practices (such as the sale of dog or cat meat) in order to prevent the development of a dog and cat meat market within their borders. This legislation would replace this patchwork of state bans; provide a more powerful tool against the brutality and public health dangers of the dog and cat meat trade; and allow the United States to take a firmer stand against this brutal trade.
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Antileishmanial activities and mechanisms of action of indole-based azoles.
Two 3-(alpha-azolylbenzyl)indoles were evaluated against Leishmania amastigotes. Both compounds proved to be very active against intracellular and axenic amastigotes. The IC50 values of the imidazole derivative, PM17, and the triazole analogue, PM19, against L. mexicana axenic amastigotes, were 4.4 +/- 0.1 and 6.4 +/- 0.1 microM, respectively. Against intracellular amastigotes, PM17 produced a 66% decrease of leishmanial burden at 1 microM and PM19 had an IC50 of 1.3 microM. In a Balb/c mice model of L. major leishmaniasis, administration of PM17 led to a clear-cut parasite burden reduction: 98.9% in the spleen, 79.0% in the liver and 49.9% in the popliteal node draining the cutaneous lesion. As anticipated, it was brought to the fore that PM17 decreases ergosterol biosynthesis leading to membrane fungal cell alterations. Moreover it was proved that this imidazole antifungal agent induces a parasite burden-correlated decrease in interleukine-4 production both in the splenocyte and the popliteal node of the mouse.
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Cooltong, South Australia
Cooltong is a town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia. At the 2011 census, Cooltong had a population of 317.
The name Cooltong is derived from a local Aboriginal name meaning "lizard place", and had been in use in the area for many decades before the town was established.
The town of Cooltong was surveyed in 1949. Much of the land was granted as soldier settlement blocks after World War II, and is irrigated and planted with grapevines, citrus or other fruit trees.
The Cooltong Conservation Park is southwest of the town.
References
Category:Towns in South Australia
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I don't know if I shared this story with any of you. But my first weekend back on the night shift after my mom died a coworker came up to me and told me there was a lady on the oncology ward that wanted me to come visit her. She just learned she had NSCLC the tumor was wrapped around her airway so they told her surgery was out and radiation and chemo were her only options but it would only be pallitive treatment. They started her on radiation right away and were puhing chemo at her but she was not sure she wanted chemo as they said it would not save her life.
My coworker had told her about my mom so she wanted to meet me. After work I went up and met her and she is someone I liked instantly. We talked for about 45 minutes. Then when I came back the next night I brought her a list of websites and wrote down the names of things like cyberknife, Tarceva, avastin for her and her family knowing it would save them hours or research. Her two adult kids were there. ( she had written down some of the things herself when we had talked that morning) and they had already contacted Stanford to ask about Cyberknife . It was a Saturday but Dr. Chang was there and told them what he thought. He had been so helpful when I first researched it for my mom. Great doctor! :)
Anyway it turns out when the oncologist had stopped by that day she asked him about some of the things and he was not happy that someone had given her this information! She was still not wanting chemo and he pretty much said he would not try Tarceva without doing chemo first! I know there are some doctors that now will but so many are still insisting on Chemo first. I told her my mom did chemo first and while it was not fun it was not the horror story we think chemo is. I left her room rather mad that doctors get angry when their patients research their treatment options so they can make intelligent decisions and not just follow the doctor blindly! It does not seem right. Patients need to be informed and to have a say in the treatment.
Her story brings me back to the boiling point where they tell a patient" I can not cure you but can try to buy you time. But only if we do it my way. You don't want chemo..well then no Tarceva for you!" Despite the fact some that did Tarceva first and saw results and are still seeing results months later and have not had any chemo so the quality of their lives has been much greater! ERRR!!
For those of you that followed my mom's story you may remember earlier last year I asked about Avastin and her doctor refused it saying it might cause a bleed in someone her age. He made that decision and did not give one moments thought to the fact that Hey the cancer is going to kill her, maybe the Avastin will buy her more time and if not and if it does cause a bleed that kills her what has she really lost a few Months? Isn't the risk of maybe having it work worth it? More important shouldn't the decision to take that risk belong to the one taking it when you are dealing with a terminal cancer in the late end stage? It is different when they are saying we can try for a cure but when from day one you are told "we can not offer you a cure" shouldn't you be allowed to take a risk? The worst that can happen is you may die but hey they told you you will die if you do it their way too!( this is like an alternative treatment my mom asked her doctor about his reply was Don't do it it might make you sick, it might not work and yes it might kill you" My reply to him was "oh you mean it is just like chemo." He did not see the humor but those are the same truths about chemo!) It seems to me the survivor stories I have read have involved mavrick doctors that are willing to take some risks with willing patients and push that treatment envelope a little doing things a little dufferent then protocol. I have a burning passion about this topic ! ( maybe you can tell?:p )
I left work that weekend knowing that though my mom's battle is over, I am still there to fight lung cancer and assist those that need help.:D JanMarie
Seraph
02-05-2007 09:13 PM
Re: A lady with lung cancer
I agree with you about patients having input into their treatment, but Drs will be much happier about that if the patient who takes the risk does not have relatives who will sue them when it doesn't work...
aggieTs
02-06-2007 06:38 PM
Re: A lady with lung cancer
Bravo to you Janmarie!! Losing three members of my family to cancer and to see the tiptoeing around Drs that goes on makes me crazy. The patient should always be told the truth and give them the options good and bad ,but let THEM make the decisions about their treatment or non treatment! I saw my 46 yr old sister miss a trip to Disneyworld she wanted to take with her 2 small girls , because her Dr would not tell her she was terminal! She had chemo and in her weaken condition went into a coma 7 days before her trip. She had the chemo for her children , but she could have spent quality time with them , instead they just remember her suffering. My biggest regret in life is not going against her husband wishes and telling her myself. So again I say Bravo to you JanMarie for giving this lady the info she needed to make her own informed decision
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Examining the role of cholecystokinin in appetitive learning in the infant rat.
The role of Cholecystokinin (CCK), a gut hormone and neuropeptide, in early learning was examined. Pairing a novel odor (presented away from the nest) with exogenously administered CCK (0.25 & 0.5 microg/kg IP) has been shown to produce a conditioned-odor preference in infant rats (Weller, A.; Blass, E.M. Behav. Neurosci. 104:199-206; 1990). This suggests that CCK can act as a positive unconditioned stimulus (UCS). In the present study the possibility that CCK mediates learning was examined in 12-day-old rats, using rewards that represent aspects of the dam and the nest. In Experiments 1 and 2, pups received the selective CCK1 receptor antagonist devazepide (600 microg/kg), the selective CCK2 receptor antagonist L365,260 (600 microg/kg), or vehicle. In a series of training trials, choosing a particular floor texture was rewarded by 20 sec. on a rug texture (experiment 1) or with maternal (feces) odor (experiment 2). In experiment 3, after administering devazepide (0, 600, or 1000 microg/kg) a novel odor was paired once with reunion of the pup with its dam. The dependent measure in all studies was the pup's relative preference toward the (tactile or olfactory) conditioned stimulus (CS), determined in preference tests. Conditioned preferences were evident in all experiments. The CCK receptor antagonists did not increase conditioned preference levels. L365, 260 (experiment 2) and devazepide (experiment 1) clearly blocked the appearance of the conditioned effect in one of the experiments. In addition, devazepide treatment eliminated the conditioned effect in the two other experiments, by increasing preference levels in the control groups. In summary, the results suggest that endogenous CCK mediates some aspects of the infant's acquisition of new associations. The role of the two receptor-subtypes appears to be different, depending on the context and the nature of the rewarding stimulus.
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https://www.jacksonsart.com/claire-fontaine-orange-label-pastelmat-pad-18x24cm-12-sheets-360gsm?___store=jacksonsart_en68199Claire Fontaine : Orange Label Pastelmat Pad 18x24cm : 12 Sheets 360gsmhttps://media.jacksonsart.com/catalog/product/t/c/tc005_1.jpg15.6000GBPInStock/Brands/Clairefontaine/Clairefontaine : Pastelmat/Surface/Paper & Card/Gummed Pads/New/New Products<p>Pastelmat is a premium card surface (360gsm / 170lb) specially developed for pastelists. Its unique velvety surface, made from a fine coating of cellulose fibers, has the ability to grab and hold multiple layers of even the softest pastels.</p> <p>Pastelmat significantly reduces the need for fixative, which means that colors remain vibrant and fresh once applied. It has the added bonus of being gentle on both fingers and blending tools. It is acid free and lightfast.</p> <p>Pastelmat is ideal for use with all dry media - pastel sticks, PanPastel, pencils and charcoal. It is also water resistant which means that it can be used with wet media – such as acrylics and watercolor for washes and mixed media techniques.</p> 15.6000add-to-cartTC005FreshRelevance-ExcludePastelGBP
Pastelmat is a premium card surface (360gsm / 170lb) specially developed for pastelists. Its unique velvety surface, made from a fine coating of cellulose fibers, has the ability to grab and hold multiple layers of even the softest pastels.
Pastelmat significantly reduces the need for fixative, which means that colors remain vibrant and fresh once applied. It has the added bonus of being gentle on both fingers and blending tools. It is acid free and lightfast.
Pastelmat is ideal for use with all dry media - pastel sticks, PanPastel, pencils and charcoal. It is also water resistant which means that it can be used with wet media – such as acrylics and watercolor for washes and mixed media techniques.
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SKU
TC005
Weight (kg)
0.2850
Size : Metric : CM
18 x 24 cm
Surface Type
Paper - Pad
Surface : Surface
Toothy
Paper : Surface
Toothed
Binding : Cover
Pad
Surface : GSM Range
300 - 399 gsm
Surface : gsm
360 gsm
Surface : Aspect
Rectangular
Binding : Aspect
Short
Paper : Format
Gummed Pad
Quantity : Sheets
12 Sheets
To use with
Pastel
Quality
Excellent
Review by Feefo
Rating
I bought this size and type of paper as I am new to pastels and this paper was recommended for detail pastel work as especially suitable for layering. This pad also lets me try several colours before committing to larger sheets. (Posted on 06/09/2017)
Pastelmat is a premium card surface (360gsm / 170lb) specially developed for pastelists. Its unique velvety surface, made from a fine coating of cellulose fibers, has the ability to grab and hold multiple layers of even the softest pastels.
Pastelmat significantly reduces the need for fixative, which means that colors remain vibrant and fresh once applied. It has the added bonus of being gentle on both fingers and blending tools. It is acid free and lightfast.
Pastelmat is ideal for use with all dry media - pastel sticks, PanPastel, pencils and charcoal. It is also water resistant which means that it can be used with wet media – such as acrylics and watercolor for washes and mixed media techniques.
I bought this size and type of paper as I am new to pastels and this paper was recommended for detail pastel work as especially suitable for layering. This pad also lets me try several colours before committing to larger sheets. (Posted on 06/09/2017)
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Welcome to our new Favorite Casual Games - Reviews and Recommendations thread! This will be a place where our forum members can post recommendations/reviews of games that they particularly enjoyed. It doesn't matter whether a game was released a week ago or five years ago, feel free to post about it here. Be they recent titles, well-known games released years ago, or what you consider to be a buried treasure that only a few people know about or even remember, all comments are welcome and appreciated. With the dizzying number of games available and new ones constantly being released, it's easy to overlook many worthwhile games in the process. Hopefully this thread will prove to be a valuable resource for casual gamers in search of good new games to play.
Any chit-chat/off-topic posts in this thread will be removed, as we would like to confine this topic strictly to reviews and recommendations.
The artwork uses real historical settings, and the play is much like a regular adventure game. Mercy of the Gallows has a pleasingly retro look and was obviously made with lavish attention to historical detail. If you look at the nonscrolling credits page, you'll see a list of the four Netherlands locations incorporated into Mercy of the Gallows.
I don’t remember any undoable puzzles or puzzles requiring manual dexterity. The music is pleasant with a haunting quality. No horrible saturated blue, pink, lavender. A spirit light will lead you around at first. In game scrolls unroll to provide back story, but—huzzah—you don’t have to find stupid hidden items in the scrolls. You can turn off sparkles.
The items in HO screens are carefully chosen to harmoniously fit the atmosphere and are appropriate to the time of the story under investigation with some slight variations, for example, lovely old brass binoculars would not have been around until the 1850s and the mystery, which is the key to the story, is over a century older. That isn’t a true anachronism. Mercy of the Gallows is one of a tiny percentage of HOPAs with HO screens I enjoyed looking at.
The downside to the game is that to move forward, you must find gold coins in the environment, not in a separate screen, and a few of those coins are blooming hard to see. I had to use hints several times. This didn’t bother me because I usually dislike HOG tasks in any form although I like most of the separate HO screens in this particular game; however, I understand that some players have very high standards about ever hitting the hint button.
Agency of Anomalies: Cinderstone Orphanage This plays better on my laptop using the system cursor. The story here reminds me a little of "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children." I should also mention that this game doesn't cover the entirety of my current laptop's screen no matter what settings I use. If a game is immersive enough, I have no trouble getting past that. The HO screens contain appropriate objects and are often interactive in various ways; screens repeat using those variations. I like solving puzzles where moving one item moves others in complex ways, for example, switch C might move switch E down while switch E moves itself up and switch A moves itself up two but only needs to go up one; Cinderstone Orphanage has a fairly difficult one that I solved the first time I played. If I can do it, it's far from too hard.
Break the Curse: Crimson Gems Some hard puzzles.
Christmas Stories: Nutcracker
From Elephant
The first time I played this, I had to make an effort at the beginning to roll along with the premise, helping Albert, who was turned into a nutcracker, and his fiance Mary, now a talking doll whose conversation is mostly limited to repeated cries for help, regain their humanity, stolen by the evil genius Rat King. No one is watching you; nobody will poke fun at your choice of game. Go ahead, cannonball into the fantasy. While the content is appropriate for children who might want this version read to them, some of the puzzles are the most challenging and visually pleasing I have played in any game. There are banners for various things in the more expensive edition. I don't recall if there are morphing items or collectibles because I did my best to ignore them. Other than that, Nutcracker is a stand-out casual with pleasant seasonal music.
9: Dark Side: The usual demonic forces have enveloped Prague and you must discover the secrets of an ancient fortress.
Dark Canvas: A Murder Exposed: This is an actual murder mystery and a pretty good game.
Death and Betrayal in Romania: A Dana Knightstone Novel: If you cannot stomach helpers, the presence of Bandit—a ghostly border collie wearing a red bandana—will be annoying. While I often loathe helpers, I kinda liked Bandit. I have no idea how or even if Bandit fits into the story. Like many border collies, Bandit is exceptionally springy and good at jumping to fetch you things. This game does not have those scrolls with clumsily drawn pictures and ostensible written exposition containing words which you must match to an item in the ugly drawing. The one place with such technique has an array of beautiful, setting appropriate objects on shelves in an armoire. Several of the puzzles are difficult.
Grim Tales: The Legacy
Grim Tales: The Vengeance
Inception of Darkness: Exorcist III: Skip the very first puzzle, a lock on a chest in a cart, then go on with the game. That first puzzle is not worth eating up all the time in the demo. If you like the game, buy it and continue on without starting over. After you finish the game, you can always create a new profile and try that puzzle as it only takes a few minutes to find. I’m only slightly better than average at difficult puzzles but I like them and seek them out; nevertheless, I’m fairly sure I would still be working on that chest puzzle years later even if armed with graph paper, screen shots, and sheer stubbornness. Other puzzles in the game are designed better.
Mystery Trackers: Black Isle: I think this one has HO screens that combine with the use of inventory items, a technique that takes some getting used to. Also skillfully done graphics and a pretty good story.
Mystery Trackers: Blackrow’s Secret
Mystery Trackers: Four Aces
Mystery Trackers: Raincliff’s Phantoms
Nightfall Mysteries: Black Heart
Nightfall Mysteries: Haunted by the Past
Riddles of Fate: Wild Hunt: Good graphics. I’ve replayed it a couple of times. Wish I didn’t remember it so well because that would make playing again more entertaining.
Crystals of Time is a game I keep on my hard drive for when I'm tired of the excessive animations, visual effects, and pop-ups in modern games -- and I want to play an old-style hidden object game, but one that's a bit more than a succession of hidden object scenes held together by cut scenes.
You play as a female thief, breaking into a mansion to look for your missing father, also a thief. New locations open up as you progress in the game, starting with your arrival at the deserted house, to exploring the backyard garden and shore areas, and boating to an island with a ruined church and castle. Animations are subtle (a curtain blowing, the flicker of a torch), or even non-existent -- especially towards the end of the game.
Unfortunately if grammar and spelling mistakes bother you, this game was obviously not created by native English speakers and it shows.
According to http://www.rvlgames.com/index.html"Crystals of Time" was released in December 2013, but it seems at least 2 years older. Normal and Hard modes -- on Normal mode it will occasionally "find" objects in the environment for you without your using the Hint. The game folder is a tiny 172 MB, and as you might expect for such a small folder size, there is no voice acting.
Unfortunately it is NOT a good game for puzzles -- it has very few -- and there is one puzzle I have to play windowed in order for the hotspots to line up with the numbers correctly.
I enjoy replaying "Crystals of Time" because it hits a sort of nostalgic sweet spot, straight hidden object lists, but with some exploration and without the annoying timers of earlier games.
This is a pretty old Casual - so older graphics - and is made up of around 20 or so short cases for Sherlock and Watson to solve - one case at a time. And I find a spare ten minutes or so can happily be filled by solving one.[Whenever you break off, the game is saved so if you don't want to, you don't even have to complete ONE at any sitting.]
There is little animation but there are voices (and text) - and music of sorts. And each case is comprised of a few hidden object type screens and an easy, visual memory test.
I had it permanently installed on my WinXP machine and it's now permanently installed and playing happily on my (current) Win7 machine.
This game is not a brain teaser. Just a nice relaxed way to pass some time.
Regency Solitaire: I enjoyed the music and many of the period details. To progress, I had to hoard wild cards. I don't know how common that is in similar games because this is the first solitaire game that ever caught my attention sufficiently enough to buy.
There is a modest story with a twist at the end. I plan to keep this game installed.
This game is a blending of genres: strategy, adventure, and simulation. My overriding feeling while playing the game, though, was that of playing an adventure game - and there is definitely a storyline. Over the course of the game you will fulfill many quests. There is quite a large area to explore and it is longer than most of the other casual games I have played. I thought it was a great deal of fun and it still stands out in my mind, more than seven years later, as being one of the best games I have played on Big Fish.
At the end of 2011, a second game in this series was released: The Island: Castaway 2. Nearly everyone who played the first game and enjoyed it thought this second game was equally good. I recommend it for the same reasons that I recommend the original.
Another favourite Casual of mine, and one which I would absolutely recommend, is Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles.
[I originally bought it from Frogwares but it is at Big Fish now.]
A long and interesting version of the famous story with the good graphics and voice acting one would expect from a Frogwares game and a way of visiting the past which was novel at the time of the game's release
Being guided by the list Jenny100 offers re this thread I have edited and added :
I didn't encounter any hugely difficult puzzles.I don't remember there being any no pop-ups.Nor do I remember any dexterity issues.It is slightly gruesome in parts.
These are two games I recently played on my iPad. I purchaced them at the app store.Agent A: A Puzzle in DisguiseThis game currently has 4 chapters released. When you buy the game, you get all 4 chapters, you don’t get them separately. You play as a secret agent working to thwart an enemy agent named Ruby. Chapters 1 and 2 take place in her hideout. Chapter 3 has you locked away in a devious series of traps, and chapter 4 has you trying to escape and stop Ruby carrying out her plans.The game is in cartoon style, and has some over the top humour. There are a few cut scenes, and you play as a solitary first person explorer. There are a ton of puzzles, both inventory and not. Each Chapter is a self contained game. All you need is in the location, but there is a bit of back and forthing, especially in the bigger locations, like in Chapter 4. My favourite was Ruby’s Trap, Chapter 3. You have to check eveything to look for clues and investigate all corners of an area. The puzzles range from minigames to inventory, but quite a few had you thinking outside of the box. Apparently there is a Chapter 5 on the way.The Secret of Chimera LabThis was a full game. It took me about 5 or 6 hours to play. It has node based movement. You are called to investigate some unusual goings on at a laboratory. The game involves getting into the building and accessing the rooms, as well as snooping through computers and various notes to work out what was happening. This was a challenging game, but the in game notebook keeps track of everything you need. What I liked is that you get to use the knowledge and equipment as part of the puzzles. While there is some backtracking, the building is pretty compact, so it is not too bad. I was so impressed with this game, that I bought another one from the developer (Aircamp) called Adventure Beyond Time. There was some connection between the two with the story line, but there was no notebook, and you had to traipse all over an island. Interesting, but the puzzles were too spread out.
This game was released on Big Fish in November 2012. This was back in the days before achievements, pop-ups, and announcements, so there are none. No dexterity challenges that I can recall. This is a good detective story set in Victorian England. There is quite a bit of dialogue, which I personally enjoy, but I know that some players find this tiresome. It plays like an adventure game more than a HOG. There are some hidden object scenes but not a huge amount. There are also some good puzzles that I found fun to solve.
I purchased the Collector's Edition. One of the extras in the CE is an interview with the developer, which I found interesting and a welcome addition to the usual.
There are three levels of difficulty from which to choose.
I enjoyed the game very much and am replaying it right now - an oldie but a goodie.
The premise here is switching environments from their ordinary appearances to their dark alter egos. You are called in to help the heir who is frightened by all the magic in the house emanating from the crypt. No sooner do you arrive than the crypt opens and the spirit of an evil grand uncle whisks her away, leaving you to solve a series of puzzles dazzling in their ingenuity and HOs, all carefully thought out and visually pleasing. One of the early HO screens, for example, is a series of steps like a door puzzle to put together animated miniatures of a hot air balloon, chariot, and cannon. This is a difficult game by casual standards in part because there is no map and the ancestral estate is a sprawling compound. I wish Orneon would make more like it.
The newest The Room is, quite simply magnificent. It's gorgeous; lengthy for a casual game; and has a "Help" system that actually helps (If you like those things.) It's probably the best $5.00 puzzle game I've ever played.
_________________________
If all the people were heroes, there would be no one to watch the parades.
A game has to have multiple redeeming features that I enjoy a lot for me to forgive a pink and lavender demon spewing pink and purple everywhere like that old Rolling Stones song "She Comes in Colors." I got past the irksome rainbow because Flower of Shadow has some excellent puzzles and also managed to trick me several times in terms of gameplay. The first time I played, I was lost because I skipped the introduction. Don't do it. Grit your teeth and endure the glowing pastel onslaught. Like the other Secrets of the Dark, Flower of Shadow does not play on full screen on my current laptop.
These were played on my iPad and I purchased them at the App store.The Secret of Raven RockThis is an older game and plays like a typical casual adventure. At the beginning there was an unskippable tutorial and some sparkles to show you where the next spot was. But very shortly it changes into a pure puzzle delight, along the lines of the old PC game Pandora's Box. You enter a Temple full of straight up minigames - sliders, codes and riddles, with some inventory items. Clues are kept in a journal for you. There are 25 challenges to beat, most will gain you access to new parts of the temple. There was a particularly good flip tile slider I had never seen before. You also need to use the physics of a tablet to solve a few of the puzzles. Return to Grisly Manor 2This is a basic adventure casual(no HOGs). You return to your grandfather's house to help him find the original deed, so the evil developers won't bulldoze it down. There are all kinds of seek and find quests here, but what makes it interesting for me is that there is no hand holding. There aren't many mini games in this one, so the puzzles involve thinking about how to get what you need from what you have. Thinking outside the box is a must.
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Bio Groom Groom 'n Fresh Cologne
Finish the grooming process right with this truly elegant, long-lasting fragrance. Groom 'n Fresh Cologne was developed from the finest perfume oils specially selected by the creators of the finest perfumes available on the cosmetic market.
Elegant, long-lasting fragrance
Developed from the finest perfume oils
Keeps pets smelling great between baths
This long-lasting delightful scent will keep your pet smelling fresh and is perfect for all furry breeds. A quick spray after a bath will keep your dog smelling great until the next one! Groom 'n Fresh Cologne is safe to use with topical flea and tick treatments, and is recommended by top breeders and professional groomers worldwide! This product is cruelty-free and non-aerosol.Made in the USA.
Natural Scents White Ginger Cologne
Bio Groom White Ginger Cologne 4 oz works well after a bath with Natural Scents Shampoo, or even use to keep them smelling fresh between baths.
Provides natural fragrance
Great for after and between baths
Keeps pets smelling fresh and clean
Natural Scents Pink Jasmine Cologne for Dogs & Cats
Natural Scents Pink Jasmine Cologne Spray is developed from the finest, all natural grafrances to provide a refreshing, luxurious scent for your pet. Just spray your pet lightly after a bath to keep it smelling fresh and clean for days!
Refreshing cologne spray for pets
Formulated from the finest natural fragrances
Keeps pets smelling great for days
Directions: Spray Pink Jasmine Cologne lightly on pet and work well through the coat. Avoid contact with the eyes. For best results keep spray nozzle 6-8 inches away from coat.
Natural Scents Tuscan Olive Cologne for Dogs & Cats
Natural Scents Tuscan Olive Cologne is developed from the finest, all natural grafrances to provide a refreshing, luxurious scent for your pet. Just spray your pet lightly after a bath to keep it smelling fresh and clean for days!
Refreshing cologne spray for pets
Formulated from the finest natural fragrances
Keeps pets smelling great for days
Directions: Spray Tuscan Olive Cologne lightly on pet and work well through the coat. Avoid contact with the eyes. For best results keep spray nozzle 6-8 inches away from coat.
Natural Scents Lemongrass & Verbena Cologne for Dogs & Cats
Natural Scents Lemongrass & Verbena Cologne is developed from the finest, all natural grafrances to provide a refreshing, luxurious scent for your pet. Just spray your pet lightly after a bath to keep it smelling fresh and clean for days!
Refreshing cologne spray for pets
Formulated from the finest natural fragrances
Keeps pets smelling great for days
Directions: Spray Lemongrass & Verbena Cologne lightly on pet and work well through the coat. Avoid contact with the eyes. For best results keep spray nozzle 6-8 inches away from coat.
Natural Scents Desert Agave Blossom Cologne for Dogs & Cats
Natural Scents Desert Agave Blossom Cologne is developed from the finest, all natural grafrances to provide a refreshing, luxurious scent for your pet. Just spray your pet lightly after a bath to keep it smelling fresh and clean for days!
Refreshing cologne spray for pets
Formulated from the finest natural fragrances
Keeps pets smelling great for days
Directions: Spray Desert Agave Blossom Cologne lightly on pet and work well through the coat. Avoid contact with the eyes. For best results keep spray nozzle 6-8 inches away from coat.
Bio Derm Laboratories manufacturers over 60 different kinds of Bio Groom shampoo, conditioners, and other specialized grooming products for dogs and cats, all in a state of the art manufacturing plant in Longview, Texas. Bio Groom products are made with the very same standards of perfection established by founder Claus Pohl, and Bio Groom is still a family owned business. Bio Groom products are sold through distribution centers in the United States, Canada and over 40 other countries around the world.
With a full line of products designed specifically to meet your pets grooming needs, Bio Groom has long been a leader in the industry. Pet Mountain stocks nearly four dozen individual Bio Groom treatments for fleat and tick relief, grooming shampoos, ear and eye care, deodorizers and colognes, itch relief and first aid for dogs, cats and birds.
Your Online Bio Groom Pet Products Store
Be sure to browse all of our Bio Groom products to make sure you find just the right treatment for your pets grooming and relief needs.
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Halogen and Chalcogen Bond Energies Evaluated Using Electron Density Properties.
Halogen (X-bond) and chalcogen bond (Ch-bond) energies for 36 complexes have been obtained at the RI-MP2/def2-TZVP level of theory, involving the heavier halogen and chalcogen atoms (Br, I, Se, Te). We have explored the existence of linear relationships between the interaction energies and the local kinetic energy densities at the bond critical points that characterize the σ-hole interactions (both electronic G(r) and potential V(r) energy densities). Interestingly, we have found strong relationships for halogen and chalcogen bonding energies, especially for the V(r) energy density, thus allowing to estimate the interaction energy without computing the separate monomers. This is also useful to estimate the interaction in monomeric systems (intramolecular X/Ch-bonds), as illustrated using several examples. Remarkably, we have also found a good relationship when in the same representation both halogen and chalcogen atoms are included, thus allowing to use the same empirical correlation for both interactions.
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Dr. Michael McLendon
Dr. Michael McLendon, Baylor University’s Interim Provost, works with President Livingstone to provide oversight and strategic direction for the university’s academic enterprise. In this episode of Baylor Connections, he discusses Baylor’s vision in preparing the university’s first academic strategic plan—a roadmap to becoming a top research institution while strengthening Baylor’s commitment to outstanding teaching and student formation.
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Wang Dingchang/Xinhua Press/Corbis
China's rise to become the world's largest power producer and source of carbon emissions through burning coal is well recognized. But the nation's renewable-energy systems are expanding even faster than its fossil-fuel and nuclear power. China leads the world in the production and use of wind turbines, solar-photovoltaic cells and smart-grid technologies, generating almost as much water, wind and solar energy as all of France and Germany's power plants combined1. Production of solar cells in China has expanded 100-fold since 2005.
As the scale of Chinese manufacturing has grown, the costs of renewable-energy devices have plummeted2. Innovation has played a part3. But the main driver of cost reduction has been market expansion. Germany and South Korea are following similar paths. In short: industrialization can go hand in hand with decarbonization.
Too many countries have yet to take notice. The United States and European Union are pursuing counterproductive policies, such as increasing trade tariffs on imported Chinese photovoltaic panels. Restricting global trade in renewable devices will only slow the rate at which costs decrease and will decelerate the world's retreat from fossil fuels.
As a result, uptake of renewable energies globally has been too sluggish to seriously reduce greenhouse gases and tackle climate change. For 15 years, countries have failed to deliver their carbon-reduction commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, hindered by the vested interests of the fossil-fuel industry and fears that the alternatives are costly.
LISTEN John Mathews on China’s trend for renewable energy You may need a more recent browser or to install the latest version of the Adobe Flash Plugin.
The narrative around renewable energies needs to change. As in China, renewables must be seen as a source of energy security, not just of reduced carbon emissions. Today's discussions about energy security focus almost exclusively on maintaining access to fossil fuels. But unlike oil, coal and gas, the supplies of which are limited and subject to geopolitical tensions, renewable-energy devices can be built anywhere and implemented wherever there is sufficient water, wind and sun.
Green growth
As the scale of manufacture and use of renewables rises, market forces will make them more accessible, affordable and efficient. Energy policies should therefore focus on promoting manufacturing, trade and competition in low-carbon technologies, rather than supporting ever more expensive, dangerous and inaccessible fossil fuels. Emissions reductions will follow.
China generates more than 5 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, about 1 trillion kWh more than the United States. China's rapid economic expansion since it joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 has been based on fossil fuels: it consumes around 23% of the world's coal production for electricity. But fossil fuels alone cannot power the industrial growth the country needs to keep up with the West.
Since the mid-2000s, China has also pursued a low-carbon energy strategy. Investment in hydroelectric, wind, solar and nuclear-power generating facilities increased by 40% between 2008 and 2012 — from 138 billion renminbi (US$22 billion) to about 200 billion renminbi. The share of investment in fossil-fuel power facilities in China, meanwhile, fell from around 50% to 25% over the same period.
Source: EIA/China Electricity Council
As a result, China's wind-power capacity has increased fivefold in the past four years (see 'Wind speed'). And in 2013, the generating capacity from new water, wind and solar sources exceeded4 that of new fossil-fuel and nuclear facilities for the first time (see 'Renewables powerhouse'). Zero-carbon sources now contribute 9.6% of the energy used in China, up from 5.6% in 2000. This is a considerable achievement.
In 2013, China also hit its target — two years early — to generate almost 30% of electricity from renewables. The Chinese government aims for renewables capacity to reach 550 gigawatts (GW) by 2017, or 48% above the 2013 level. No other country is investing so much money or generating so much renewable energy.
Economies of scale
China is upgrading its power grid to accommodate power fluctuations and distributed generation for intermittent sources. In one demonstration project, the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) is investing 9.4 billion renminbi to integrate wind and solar-photovoltaic generation and storage devices into the main grid. The SGCC is helping to set international product standards for smart-grid elements that will underpin the export of these technologies to countries such as Brazil.
How has China's energy security improved? China became a net importer of oil in 1993, of natural gas in 2007, and of coal in 2011. Hitting its 2017 wind, water and solar power targets, we calculate, would translate into a saving of 45% on current imports of oil, coal and natural gas.
There are two keys to China's success in renewables. Focused policies drive investment in selected sectors and encourage domestic take-up by measures such as feed-in tariffs. And industrial dynamics, including economies of scale and efficiencies gained through learning, drive down unit costs as the global market expands.
Source: Renewables 2014 Global Status Report
Renewable-energy generation requires the manufacture of many components, such as wind turbines, solar-photovoltaic cells, mirrors, lenses, batteries and energy-storage systems. From 2010 to 2013, while total global photovoltaic installation more than tripled from 40 GW to 140 GW, China's installation expanded 22-fold, from 0.8 GW to 18 GW. Supplying the international market, as well as the domestic one, has helped to drive down costs of photovoltaic panels by 80% since 2008. Solar-power users around the world have benefited from lower prices.
A few other countries are following a similar strategy. South Korea, for example, is committed to 'green growth' — expanding its smart grid and focusing its production on emerging clean sectors such as zero-emission vehicles. And Germany has been expanding its manufacture and use of solar and wind power (under its Energiewende energy-transition programme) since the early 2000s, with the aim of replacing its nuclear power with renewables.
The same principle of industrial-scale production established US supremacy in the automotive industry a century ago. Between 1909 and 1916, Henry Ford reduced the cost of his Ford Model T by 62%, from $950 to $360. Each year, sales doubled — from fewer than 6,000 in 1908 to more than 800,000 in 1917.
Yet US energy policy emphasizes exploiting domestic coal seam gas and shale oil, through innovations such as hydraulic fracture (fracking) and horizontal drilling. The problems of diminishing returns and environmental costs of fossil fuels remain5. The United Kingdom, too, is inclined to build up its supplies of coal seam gas by fracking, and to expand its fleet of nuclear reactors, a portfolio approach that will leave the country importing others' technology.
Changing the conversation
Reframing the emissions debate in terms of energy security has profound implications for international negotiations under the terms of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In December, national representatives will gather in Lima for the preparatory meeting to the Paris conference in 2015. Their agenda remains negotiating voluntary national carbon-emissions reductions, rather than promoting renewable-energy industries, as the fastest route to decarbonization.
But governments that build strong renewables sectors can achieve those emissions reductions while enhancing their energy security and building their manufacturing industries. Another advantage of the market-oriented approach is that renewables are not burdened with the task of resolving the entire climate-change problem. Few countries will be able to rely on water, wind and solar power alone, and some fossil fuels will continue to be used.
“No other country is investing so much or generating so much renewable energy.”
Our critics will counter that technology-based solutions raise concerns over the availability of industrial materials and land for building solar and wind devices and farms. But our calculations suggest6 that a global renewables push for an extra 10 terawatts of power-generation capacity could be achieved on current industrial scales over the next 20 years, by which time the world energy system would be well on the way to total conversion. Producing the extra 10 terawatts from renewables needed to transform global electric power would require more than 5 million square kilometres (about twice the size of Kazakhstan) filled with around 3 million wind turbines, 14,000 concentrated solar-power installations and 12,500 solar-photovoltaic farms. These technologies could perhaps be accommodated in the world's desert and semi-desert regions. The targets are large — but they are manageable compared with current world production levels of 1.75 billion mobile phones per year or 84 million vehicles per year6.
Trade solutions
The main obstacles to expanding renewables uptake are failed policies and continuing subsidization of fossil fuels.
All governments should enlarge the market for renewable power by encouraging manufacture and trade of devices. Countries should foster export and import of renewable electric power (from, say, North Africa to Europe under the DESERTEC project, or from Mongolia to China, Japan and South Korea under the east Asian super-grid proposal). Above all, the narrow agenda that the Kyoto process has enforced needs to be broadened.
How? One way involves expanding free trade in renewable devices. Here, the WTO could complement the Kyoto process7. A preliminary agreement to free up trade in renewables was adopted by Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation countries in 2012, and could be proposed to the WTO. A precedent exists with trade in personal computers and other information-technology products. It was expanded from a voluntary agreement to reduce tariffs, signed up to by most major industrial countries, and adopted by the WTO in 1997.
Private finance must also play a part. The Kyoto-process negotiators have so far considered that financing for climate-related initiatives should come from tax-based public finance rather than from private or even government-backed development banks. This emphasis needs to change. Green bonds lower the costs of capital and facilitate the scaling up of investments. One example is the $500-million bond issued by the Export-Import Bank of Korea last year allocated exclusively to finance green projects around the world.
China is leading the way. By placing the emphasis on production scale and market growth, it is contributing more than any other country to a climate-change solution. Its build-up of renewable-energy systems at serious scale is driving cost reductions that will make water, wind and solar power accessible to all.
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What is IPMX?
A dream come true for manufacturers and developers, IPMX is a free, open standard for transporting the highest quality video, audio and control signals over IP networks.
Unlike other AV over IP proposals, there are no licensing fees or restrictions on IPMX. Manufacturers can use it as they wish but be assured that their products will be fully interoperable with all others built to the IPMX specifications.
Even better, IPMX combines the SMPTE 2110 set of standards now in use in the broadcast industry with features and specifications needed for pro AV. In doing so, it opens up new avenues of growth for pro AV manufacturers, integrators and consultants.
Using IPMX, you can transport 4K video at 60 frames per second with 4:4:4 color over standard 1 Gb/s IP networks – and it’s remarkably flexible, ready for 8K and higher resolutions, and for 10, 25, even 40 and 100 Gb networks!
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Effects of neridronate treatment in elderly women with osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is a common disorder, especially among elderly post-menopausal women. Elderly women are often affected by co-morbidities, impaired gastrointestinal function and reduced mobility; therefore, the treatment strategy for their osteoporosis can be difficult. In this randomized pilot study, we have investigated the effects of a 12-month treatment with neridronate on bone mineral density (BMD), bone turnover markers and quality of life (QoL). The study included 40 women (age, 65-80 yr; post-menopausal period, >15yr) from a single osteoporosis centre. Twenty women received a monthly im injection of 25 mg of neridronate associated with a daily dose of 500 mg of calcium and 400 U of vitamin D. Twenty women received calcium plus vitamin D supplements alone. Changes in BMD at the lumbar spine and femoral neck were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Serum type I collagen C-telopeptide (sCTX), urinary free-deoxypyridinoline (ufDPD), bone alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and serum osteocalcin levels were determined. For the QoL assessment, the Italian version of the SF-36 test was administrated. Spine and hip BMD rose by 6.6 +/- 3 and 4.2 +/- 2.3%, respectively (p < 0.05), after 12 months of neridronate treatment. Markers of skeletal turnover significantly fell already after 3 months of neridronate treatment and decreased progressively thereafter within 12 months. The mean decrease at 12 months ranged from 38 +/- 11% for sCTX to 25.2 +/- 15% for ufDPD (p < 0.001, all). The mean improvement in QoL in the treated group was 45.7% for bodily pain, 37.5% for general health perception, 23.1% for vitality, 18% for emotional role functioning and 12% for physical role functioning. The changes observed in BMD, turnover markers and QoL in the untreated group were ns. The intermittent neridronate administration was easily manageable and well tolerated. In conclusion, neridronate currently represents a valid option for the treatment of osteoporosis, since it helps just as much as oral BPs in the improvement of BMD and in particular conditions it can be even more effective.
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West Harwich 2 br Vacation Rental Home
Vacation Home Rental Description:
2015 PRIME SEASON RATE: $900. The owner has made some wonderful improvements including a brand new kitchen, all new windows, and fresh paint! Air conditioning unit in the living and one of the bedrooms. One quarter mile to Pleasant Road Beach in West Harwich. Charcoal grill, dishwasher, new patio table with umbrella, chairs and a picnic table.WIFI
Bedroom:1: 1 QueenBedroom #2: 2 TwinAdditional Sleeping: Single pull out on porch and a single pull out in living room.
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Athens : Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou speaks during a debate on the confidence vote at the Greek Parliament, in Athens, on November 4, 2011.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has agreed to resign following the introduction of a new coalition government. This is according to an Athens news agency, quoting a source close to Papandreou himself.
Sunday’s Greek Cabinet meeting is likely to go down in history as the final with Papandreou in charge.
His resignation has been on everyone’s lips for some time, though he did survive a confidence vote on Saturday, with 153 votes in his favor in the 300-member parliament. At the moment Papandreou is midway through a four-year term.
His resignation was requested by opposition leader Antonis Samaras. His New Democracy – one of the country’s two largest parties – has virtually exclusive power to make the much-needed coalition government work.
“I am ready to help the country, in case if he [Papandreou] steps down. If he does not resign, he does not allow the constitution to operate properly; if he does resign, the things will go as they have to,” Samaras has announced.
Former Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos is most likely candidate to be named Papandreou’s successor. He will represent Greece at Monday’s key euro group to discuss the latest 130-billion-euro bailout package agreed on October 26.
The bailout would wipe out half of the Greece’s current debt (100 billion euro) and inject another 30 billion euro into the country’s crisis-hit private sector. In return Greece has cut government jobs, encourage privatization, and reduce budget spending.
At Venizelos’ request the new government is to govern the country for four months, paving the way for an election in early spring 2012. Papandreou discouraged intentions to hold the election immediately, as that would jeopardize the implementation of the bailout. However, the opposition still intend to hasten the election build-up.
Head of EuroCommission’s monetary affairs Ollie Rehn was quoted by Reuters earlier saying the EU is prepared for every Greek scenario including their exit from the union.
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A 21-month-old girl was reported kidnapped from her family's parked SUV outside an East Oakland mini-market Wednesday, prompting an intensive search for a woman who witnesses told police led the toddler down the street, authorities said.
Dozens of police officers from Oakland and other agencies and FBI agents, some with German shepherds, went door to door in the neighborhood around 79th Avenue and International Boulevard looking for Daphne Viola Webb after her father reported her abduction at 11 a.m.
Police later said they wanted anyone who had seen the father within the past 30 days to contact them, calling it part of a "wide focus" on the case. They said he was not a suspect.
The father, John Webb, told police he had ducked into Gazzali's Supermarket at 7838 International Blvd. to buy an energy drink, leaving his daughter with an adult relative in his Ford Explorer, said Officer Johnna Watson, a police spokeswoman.
When he came out of the store, he said, the girl was gone.
Police said the relative who was with Daphne was disabled, but gave no details. Witnesses described her as an older woman.
The father said he had not seen the kidnapper, but people in the area soon reported seeing a woman carrying Daphne in her arms down the sidewalk, Watson said.
Police said the woman was described as a Latina or light-skinned black woman in her 30s, with very long black hair. She was wearing a light-colored top and blue jeans, police said.
Daphne is black, with short, curly black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing clothing similar to orange pajamas with pink hearts, and pink socks.
About three hours after police issued an Amber Alert, Watson gave an evening briefing at which she said police wanted anyone who had seen Webb, 49, or his daughter within the past 30 days to contact them.
She said investigators still considered the case to be a kidnapping, and said of Webb, "We are not calling him a suspect."
Watson said the need to "keep an open mind to everything that occurred" prompted the unusual public request.
"We want to be cautious, careful and very thorough," Watson said. "We need to have a very wide focus."
She added that police had interviewed Webb and Daphne's mother, who does not live with him, along with other family members. She described them as "extremely cooperative."
Police continue to look for the woman whom neighbors reported seeing leading Daphne away, Watson said.
Acquaintances said Webb lived with Daphne and his mother, who is in her mid-80s.
"I hate that this has happened to them; they are just a great family," said Bill Owens, the owner of a martial arts studio who lived near Webb until the family moved to the Oak Knoll neighborhood a few months ago. "He was just an all-out great guy. He was always trying to do good for people."
Daniel Chavez, a clerk at the mini-market, said Webb was a regular at the store. On Wednesday, Chavez said, "he was here maybe one, two minutes. And then this happened."
Oakland police asked anyone who sees Daphne or has other information about the case to call them at (510) 238-3641.
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There should be a reluctance to mention the two names together. One man, Salmaan Taseer, the late governor of Punjab, was a towering champion of human rights and a historic defender of the marginalised.
Few in contemporary Pakistan have come close to demonstrating the bravery and principles that Taseer embodied.
The other man, Mumtaz Qadri, an assassin, an individual who violated his oath to protect and serve, embodies everything that has gone wrong with state and society in recent years.
Read: Taseer's killer Mumtaz Qadri hanged
Qadri was a criminal and a murderer and the day he was convicted under the country’s anti-terrorism laws, justice was served. Nothing further was going to be gained by putting Qadri to death. Capital punishment has no place in a modern state and a humane society — and that is what Pakistan must aspire to be.
Worrying as it is that the state is determined to keep executing individuals on death row, the national reaction to Qadri’s execution — while a unique case perhaps — demonstrates how far society itself has drifted from the ideals on which this country was founded.
Pakistan is not an extremist society — but extremists find it all too easy to try and project their influence over society.
The supporters of Qadri who took to the streets yesterday, vandalised property, forcibly closed markets and caused a huge loss of work hours nationally by denying many people access to their workplaces were clearly not many in number.
Mostly, it appeared that the security apparatus stood back rather than challenge the protesters, a tactic presumably meant to avoid creating flashpoints. But there is a number that must not be forgotten: one. All it took was one man, Qadri, to act on his violent convictions to plunge the nation into a crisis five years ago. On the streets of Pakistan yesterday, there was a frighteningly larger number than one.
On the other side, Salmaan Taseer too was just one man — and he was the rare ray of light and inspiration that the protesters want to make sure never manifests itself again.
Simply, this country needs more Salmaan Taseers and no more violent monsters. Today, as Qadri is buried, the country has a question it must ask itself: what creates the monsters in our midst and how can it be stopped? In truth, the answer is not yet known.
There are ideas mooted — deradicalisation, counter-extremism, etc — but none have been fleshed out as yet. Qadri is gone, but what of the thousands who, in this age of Zarb-i-Azb, intelligence-based operations and NAP, have felt confident enough to spill out into the streets and threaten violence against the state? Where the law is violated, the justice system should take its course — but what happens when the mind itself is broken and twisted? How are those minds to be saved and the rest of society protected from them? Some deep, urgent thinking is needed.
Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2016
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Monday, January 07, 2013
The Security State Ramps Up
Newly extracted FBI documents show that, under Barack Obama, it's business even worse than usual for the American security state. Chris Hedges, writing for TruthDig.com, warns that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have been unleashed on ordinary Americans, "to silence the voices and obstruct the activity of citizens who question corporate power."
Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director of the [Partnership for Civil Justice Fund], said in a
written statement about the released files: “This production [of
information], which we believe is just the tip of the iceberg, is a
window into the nationwide scope of the FBI’s surveillance, monitoring,
and reporting on peaceful protesters organizing with the Occupy
movement. These documents show that the FBI and the Department of
Homeland Security are treating protests against the corporate and
banking structure of America as potential criminal and terrorist
activity. These documents also show these federal agencies functioning
as a de facto intelligence arm of Wall Street and Corporate America.”
The FBI documents are not only a chilling example of how widespread this
surveillance and obstruction has become, they are an explicit warning
by the security services to all who consider dissent. Anyone who defies
corporate power, even if he or she is nonviolent and acting within
constitutional rights, is a suspect. These documents are part of the
plan to make us fearful, compliant and disempowered. They mark, I
suspect, a government attempt to end peaceful mass protests by
responding with repression to the grievances of Americans.
And what of our country? What of Harper's unaccountable secret police? We know that he's created a task force of officers from the RCMP plus the Calgary and Edmonton police forces together with our national spy agency, CSIS, to monitor opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline. What are they up to? Who are they watching?
This blog has attracted periodic attention from US Navy intelligence, US Army intelligence, the FBI, Homeland Security, Lockheed Martin. Who else is watching, and for what? Maybe that's all part of the game. Hit the site and hope they'll notice you stopped by just to let them know you're keeping an eye on them.
It is truly difficult to see how the right to privacy can ever be restored today. So much personal information is so readily available to strangers and flies through so many hands (or computers) at the speed of electrons. Perhaps we should stop fighting a lost battle and focus our energies, instead, on those who most abuse our privacy. You know who they are. Chances are you even voted for one of them.
@ Anon. You're right, the last lines were a bit ambiguous. What I'm getting at is that the way to restore at least some measure of our privacy is to go at those behind the organizations and institutions that so freely plunder ours. Anonymous has been doing just that recently, hacking into their e-mails, their records, their data and then releasing it.
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The World Series champion Washington Nationals visited the White House Monday, and two players in particular showed their support for President Trump.
Catcher Kurt Suzuki sported a MAGA hat while addressing the crowd. Trump had just propped him up for his solo home run in Game two, the first home run ever hit by a Hawaiian-born player in World Series history, to which Suzuki responded, “I love you all.” (RELATED: Washington Nationals Cap Off Historic World Series Victory)
First baseman Ryan Zimmerman, the first player ever drafted by the Nationals after the franchise relocated from Montreal, called the visit “stuff you dream about.”
“To see all the fans show up, the parade, looking at the crowd here, we couldn’t have done it without you,” he told the crowd before explicitly thanking POTUS. “I would like to thank you for keeping everyone safe in our country and for continuing to make America the greatest country to live in in the world.”
Several players declined Trump’s invitation on Monday, including third baseman Anthony Rendon, who will likely be the top free agent on the market this offseason.
The Nationals’ World Series party came back to Washington, DC over the weekend, when the city celebrated the franchises first ever championship with a parade on Saturday.
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Basement Flooding- Check Out Before it Turns into Reality
Water in your basement might be the last thing you want to ever see in your life. A smell of dampness even sends a chilling wave through your spine. Due to careless habits of homeowners while construction or maintenance of their houses, flooding basements or standing water in basements has become a common problem in the country. This water peeping into the house spoiling your interiors and flooring act as a catalyst for the growth of molds causing the problem to multifold times.
So are you pondering if you have committed any mistake or not and remembering if you have used waterproof options for everything or not as advised by your consultant? But what if you get to know that there are many causes of water entering your basement and you need to look for all the entry points to understand if your basement is safe or not.
Let’s check out some of the leading causes of basement flooding because the basement is one of the best spots in the house maybe as a room, or as a storage area.
Leading causes of basement flooding
Clogged gutter system- You might be sitting back and thinking that your extensions in your gutter systems and the water will always be flowing in an away direction from your house. But that’s not true, if you don’t have a gutter guard system, your gutter might have got clogged, because of which water might be overflowing towards the foundation. Or it might have swelled the walls of the basement, bursting into the basement through cracks or basement windows.
Solution– Only a good gutter guard can save your basement and give you a sign of relief. Other than this you need to make sure with regular check-ups that there is no clogging in your gutter, as this can save your lot of money and time.
Bad drainage system installation– One very common reason is the misplacement of downspouts i.e. they are placed within 6ft closeness to the basement wall, because of which they start flowing towards the foundation.
Solution– Check properly that the gutter extensions are facing in the right direction and are at right distance from your house so that they is no chance water breaking into your house basement.
If you are feeling that problem of water entering your basement has become a daily headache in heavy rainfall then you need to check your basement ceiling and basement flooring. There is a very high probability that your basement tiles of the floor are placed lose, because of which water is getting space to penetrate.
Solution– Take good measures if the seal is loose at the earliest.
Final thoughts
The leading causes of basement flooding increase multiple times during heavy rainfall posing more danger to your house. You need to be smart enough to check all the faults and take measures on time like getting your gutter system cleaned or getting checked all the window leaks, floor leaks. You can use French drainage systems as they are highly recommended to the houses to shun away water.
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Fatty acid synthesis by slices from developing leaves.
Fatty acid synthesis was studied in successive leaf sections from the base to the tip of developing barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), maize (Zea mays L.), rye grass (Lolium perenne L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivium L.) leaves. The basal regions of the leaves had the lowest rates of fatty acid synthesis and accumulated small amounts of very long chain fatty acids. Fatty acid synthesis was highest in the middle leaf sections in all four plants. Linolenic acid synthesis from [1-(14)C]acetate was highest in the distal leaf sections of rye grass. The labelling of the fatty acids of individual lipids of rye grass was examined and it was found that [(14)C]linolenic acid was highest in the galactolipids. Synthesis of this acid in the galactolipids was most active in leaf segment C. Only traces of [(14)C]linolenic acid were ever found in phosphatidylcholine and it is concluded that this phospholipid cannot serve as a substrate for linoleic acid desaturation in rye grass. The synthesis of fatty acids was sensitive to arsenite, fluoride and the herbicide EPTC. The latter was only inhibitory towards those leaf segments which made very long chain fatty acids. Formation of fatty acids from [1-(14)C]acetate was also studied in chloroplasts prepared from successive leaf sections of rye grass. Chloroplasts isolated from the middle leaf sections had the highest activity. Palmitic and oleic acids were the main fatty acid products in all chloroplast preparations. Linolenic acid synthesis was highest in chlorplasts isolated from the distal leaf sections of rye grass.
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"Excuse me, I'm so sorry." "I never do this with celebrities, but are you by any chance the foxy mom on the New Horizon realty ad?" "Am I gonna regret doing that?" "Did the *** man have any regrets?" "This ad is perfect." "See, I'm not just selling houses," "I'm selling myself, and the best part about me is my family." "And my teeth." "And both..." "are on display in this ad." " Mmm. - "I can't be satisfied until you're satisfied"?" "Coming soon to a bus bench near you, not to mention our minivan." "So that's really happening?" "Wait." "What's happening to our minivan?" "Having this bad boy shrink-wrapped on it." "Classy." "Yep." "Now all that driving around your mom does will serve a purpose." "Good morning, family." "How are you all doing on this beautiful day?" "Okay." "What's this?" "Haley's S.A.T. scores are available online." "I hate you." "Oh!" "Today's the big day." "Let's take a look, see how she did." "Do we really have to look at them now?" "Don't worry." "We're not expecting any miracles." "Thank you." "Are those Haley's scores?" "Are you sure?" "Why?" "Are they bad?" "No, they're not bad." "Are they good?" "No, they're average." "Sweetie, we did it." "Our baby's average." "Medium five!" "Oh." "This is just a fluke." "She can take them again." "Yeah, and she'll probably do even better." "You are gonna have your choice of some pretty good colleges when the time comes." "If I go to college." "What?" "I've been thinking about it lately, and I might... not." "Later!" "Well, we took the scenic route, but we ended up in the same place." "From Zimbabwe to Algeria come on, let me hear ya these are the countries, these are the countries" "Cam recently became Franklin Middle School's interim musical director." "Go, Franklin!" "I was volunteering for their spring musical festival when their regular director suddenly and mysteriously became ill." "Oh, sorry." "It may have been a blessing." "Their show lacked focus." "I gave it a theme..." ""A musical trip around the world."" "Yeah, see, he focused it by making it about the world." "You don't like it." "No..." "Cam." "I do." "Do you... do you think that the kids, though, are gonna be able to learn it by tonight?" "I mean, maybe you should stick with something that they already know." "I knew this would happen." "Why do you have to throw a wet blanket on my dreams?" " I do not." " You do it all the time." "And you know what I end up with?" "Wet dreams." "I heard it as soon as I said it." "Just leave it alone." "All right, well, Cam, it's just that sometimes you can be a little, you know, overenthusiastic." "Is it really that big of a deal that I want this to be the best show in the world?" "Well, as long as you heard me." "Be in my corner." "Don't be so critical." "We... is that really how you see me?" "Sometimes, yeah, I do, Mitchell." "Oh." "Cam, well, if... if that's true, then I'm..." "I'm sorry." "No, you know, okay, from now on," "I am in your corner 100%." "Yeah, that song is gonna knock everyone out." "Well, I don't know, but wait till you see the dance I have prepared." "A dance?" "A dance!" "More toast, Manny?" "Why won't you call me, Emma?" "More toast, Emma?" "Do you have to be on all the time?" "Okay, I'm sorry." "Who is this Emma?" "She's in the show with me tonight." "I'm thinking of taking a run at her." "You don't "take a run" at a woman." "You woo her." "You make her feel special." "Hey, hon, take a look at this." "It's a picture of my butt." "And then when you get her, you can tell her whatever you want." "Why do you do this?" "I programmed it so my butt pops up when my brother Donnie calls." "It's a clever way of saying my brother's an ass." "Is it?" "That's him." "Compose yourselves." "Forget I showed you this picture." "I'm trying." "How you doing, you dumb son of a bitch?" "You old mick." "Looks like you've put on a few pounds." "Oh, you too." "What, are you eating your hair?" "Oh, Gloria." "Oh." "What are you still doing here?" "There's got to be an easier way to get a green card." "Hey, Uncle Donnie, are you coming to my school concert tonight?" " Well..." " It's an hour, tops." "...wouldn't miss it." "Hey, you know, I think I misplaced my phone." "Could you call me on yours?" "My phone's at the bottom of my bag." "Why don't you use your home phone?" "Oh, come on." "It's simple." " What are you doing?" " I want the phone." "How about you let go, you..." "Give me the phone, Donnie!" "You still think you can take me?" "!" "What?" "Is this all you got, huh?" "I'm gonna wash your mouth out with fist." "Ow!" "Oh!" "I don't understand this relationship, Emma." "Hey, Emma." "Doing this show, it feels like we've become like a little family, huh?" "You mean like you're my brother?" "No." "N... no, I don't." "Oh, no!" "They're back... dinosaur arms!" "This isn't a good time, Luke." "That is hilarious." "Half boy, half T-Rex." "One foot in both worlds, wanted by neither." "Luke, that's a great way to stretch out a shirt." "Okay, okay!" "Break's over, everyone!" "Let's take it from the top." "Listen, we're running 20 minutes long, so we're gonna go ahead and cut the Bollywood number." "Can I go?" "I'm late for soccer practice." "You know who else missed soccer practice, Delroy?" "The cast of "Rent." And now they have a Tony." "We have a Tony." "You are so funny." "Seriously?" "Hello?" "Hey, honey." "Did they drop the van off yet?" "Yeah, a little while ago." "How's it look?" "Uh, well, believe it or not," "I have resisted the temptation to look." "This whole Haley thing has got me a little preoccupied." "We're on our way out to lunch right now." "About that, I've been thinking." "College is still a ways away." "I say we leave Haley alone." "The more we push, the more she'll push back." "I'm gonna push." "And I support that." "Only dad can make our minivan even lamer." "Excuse me." "What are you doing?" "I'm driving this thing to the reservoir." "Just jump when I say jump." "Honey, slide over." "How is this stupid ad supposed to sell houses anyway?" "You heard your father." "He's not just selling houses... he's selling us." "What are my friends gonna think?" "They are gonna think that you're helping your father put food on the table." "Ay, is the chair broken?" "Almost." "That cheap, freeloading brother of mine can't keep his hands off my good scotch, so, you see, I placed that scotch there." "My brother sits in this chair, goes out from under him..." "Bam!" "Masterpiece." "So you make your brother fall and spill his drink?" "Well, I don't want to jinx it, but that's the plan." "Why are you both so mean?" "Where I come from, brothers respect each other." "That's why Colombia is such a peaceful utopia." "Hello, ladies." "Hey, nice shirt." "Do they sell men's clothes where you got that?" "That's funny because women are so inferior." "You got no taste." "I bought this for Melanie's baptism." " Who's Melanie?" " Michael's kid, my granddaughter." "Oh, I forgot to tell Irene I landed safely." "Hello?" "How could you not know" " that your own brother had a granddaughter?" " I probably knew." "How can you forget when he's family?" "I have 29 cousins, and I know them all..." "Rosa Marina, Gloria Maria, Veronica Maria, Jose Vicente..." "Okay, okay, okay." "What's your point?" "You do the chair, you do the fighting, but you don't know each other." "It's sad." "Look, I may not talk to my brother the way you talk to your sisters, but believe me, we're close in our own way." "When was the last time that you saw him?" "Well, that's not easy, 'cause he lives up..." "Huh." "See, I want to say Buffalo." "All I'm saying is that there's no downside to more education." "I knew this car ride was a trap." "See that?" "That right there shows me just how smart you are." "Really?" "Again?" "What is going on?" "It's the stupid ad." "They're honking on my side, too." "Oh." "Yes, we're the people in the ad." "Yeah." "Hi." "Hey." "Another great thing about college... complete independence." "I'd have that in an apartment." "No, because to have an apartment, you would need a job." "You want to know what your job is in college?" "It's a little bit of class and homework and it's a whole lot of new friends and experiences and the boys think you're cute and you are cute, and, oh, trust me, that doesn't last forever." "Call the number!" "All right!" "You in the mood to lose?" "First time for everything." "You break." "So, how's work?" "Don't worry, moneybags." "I'm not here for a loan." "Nice break." "All right, you're solids, which you won't be able to eat in a few years." "Right, right." "Seriously, though, how are things going with you?" "Swell." "I'm beating a fat guy at pool right now." "Donnie, I'm trying to talk to you." "Why?" "Why?" "'Cause that's what people do." "Talk about things, like their lives." "Oh, Irene opened her big trap." "Look, I'm fine." "It's not like I'm gonna die." "What?" "Yeah, they caught it early." "I took the treatment." "I'm clear for now." "Come on." "It's your shot." "Caught what early?" "Donnie, are you talking about... cancer?" "You don't have to whisper." "I know I got it." "You just get your prostate checked..." "by a doctor, not some guy you met on the Internet." "I can't believe you didn't tell me this." "Because it's not a big deal." "Now, listen." "It's just between us." "Oh, God." "Irene, how the hell do I know where your glasses are?" "And there's frisbee golf, and... and you go snow-sledding on cafeteria trays." "Oh, and you all get a dog together." "I don't really know who takes care of the dog during the summer, but he's there when you get back." "Geez, maybe you should just go back to college." "Oh, honey, do you know what I would give to go back?" "It's this moment when your whole life is in front of you, and it's a magical time." "You don't want to miss that, because when it's gone, it's gone." "Yeah, yeah." "Come on, Alex." "Bus is leaving." "Dad, your phone's been buzzing like crazy." "Sweet Lorna Doone!" "19 missed calls?" "I wonder who's..." "Phil Dunphy." "You saw the ad?" "Great." "Do you know what you're looking for?" "The little one?" "I think I know which one you're talking about." "Um, if you're interested, I also have an older model with a lot of character." "What?" "I think the carpet matches the drapes." "I haven't checked in a while." "Both of them?" "Wow." "Well, I guess that makes sense if you're planning to flip one." "Listen, um, why don't I call you back?" "We'll set up an appointment." "It'll give me a chance to give them both a good scrubbing." "All right." "Thanks a lot." "Bye-bye." "How about that, huh?" "You think all these calls are about the ad?" "Yeah." "My friend Nicole just sent me a picture of the van." "I guess I'll be seeing you Wednesdays and every other weekend." "Hello?" "Okay, um, you sound very angry, which is completely understandable." "I'm not angry." "I'm just sitting here thinking about college and how life has passed me by." "Oh, thank God." "I'll see you at the show." "Love you." "Bye." "We got to go." "And as the music swells, we reveal our letters spelling "we love the world."" "Powerful stuff." "And then the majestic Franklin Middle School insignia will drop into position if Reuben ever finishes painting it." "It's not the Sistine Chapel, Reuben." "Surprise!" "Hey!" "Your supportive boyfriend dropped by to bring you a snack." "P.B. and J." "Pear, brie, and jambon." "My favorite!" "Okay, people, let's take five." "A true five." "Hey, Manny." "How's it going?" "Good, great, couldn't be better." "Can we, uh..." "Yes, we can, uh... all right." "What's up?" "Okay, you got to talk to Cam." "He's driving us crazy." "Kevin is biting his nails again, and Reuben hasn't had a bowel movement in a week." "Don't laugh." "That's how Elvis died." "All right, um, Manny, I..." "I can't get involved." "But... all right, if you have to say something, just tell Bob Fussy that he's overdoing it and you want to go back to your old stuff." "Okay, break's over, people!" "I want to do the French Revolution number again." "Let's bring out the guillotine." "Carefully this time." "No, no, no." "Excuse me?" "We don't want to do the new stuff." "We want to stop rehearsing and go back to the old way, Bob Fussy." "I..." "I don't know where this is coming from." "You all feel this way?" " Yeah." " Yeah." " Yeah." " Yeah." "Well, I had no idea." "I had no idea I was surrounded by a bunch of quitters." "This production was a joke until I introduced these children to the musical-theater greats..." "Bernstein, Sondheim." "Years from now, some of these kids will still be talking about the way I Sondheim-ized them." "Ooh, I'm don't think that's a good way of saying... okay." "You want to do it the old way with the same tired songs, the same drab choreography, the same tepid applause from mom and dad?" "Is that what you want?" "Just say the word." " That's what we want." " Yes." " Yes." "Well, too bad, people!" "We're doing it my way!" "From the top!" "This is a closed rehearsal." "March." "Hi, honey." "What are you doing out here?" "Oh, just waiting for you 'cause I love you." "Haley, come out this side." " Why?" " 'Cause it's fun." "Try it." "Yeah, the doors slide, the seats slide." "What can't the Sienna do?" "That was fun." "Right?" "Let's go see a show!" "Sweetie, we need to close the door." "Yeah, with the key." "I like to see how far I can get from the car and still make it work." "Listen, honey, honey." " Yeah?" " Let me ask you something." "Okay, I need you to be really honest with me." "Yeah, you ca... yes." "Are my best years behind me?" "What?" "No." "The trick is to keep looking forward." "Here we go." "Really?" "Yes, yes, for sure." "You feel good?" "Yeah, I..." "Hello, and welcome, everyone." "And latecomers." "I hope you enjoy the show tonight." "I think you will agree it has a certain flair that has been lacking from this stage in years past." "So, please, I invite you to sit back, relax, and enjoy this musical trip around the world!" "Wow." "Growing up in America sure is great, but I wish I knew more about the world." "Me too." "I think I've got an idea." "See you later, friend." "Where are you going?" "To see the world!" "China looks interesting." "I think I'll land here." "Bring him down!" "Bring him down!" "Just go with it." "Go with it." "Oh." "Hey." "Come on." "Geez, come on, Jay." "You're in the theater." "Try your jacket pocket." "Sorry, folks." " Nice." "He taped it shut." " Okay, that's enough." "Ay!" "Stupid!" "You too!" "Don't hit him." "He has cancer." "What..." "Oh, my God, is Luke stuck up there?" "Phil?" "Come on." "Yeah." "Ye... oh, no." "Come on!" "China sure was fun." "And look, there's merry old England." "Has anyone here ever seen a globe?" "Full steam ahead!" "Ahead!" "Just sing." "Oh, joy to salt-swept eyes fair England, do I see..." "Sorry about what I said to Gloria, okay?" "Just came out." "Let's go back inside." " Hit me." " What?" "You heard me." "Hit me." "I'm not gonna hit you, Donnie." "Yeah, well, that's the whole damn point." "As soon as you heard I was sick, you treated me different." "Let me tell you, I get enough of that at home." "I'm sorry." "I feel a little bad for you, okay?" "I know we don't say this much, but, uh..." "I care for you, you know?" "Do you think I don't know that crap?" "I have known you cared about me since we were 8 and 10 years old and that mook Joey Calieri stole my bike and you put his head in the ice." "What was that he said again?" "Um, "I can't hear no more."" ""I can't hear no more!"" "Oh, Don." "Your staging is all over the place." "The kids are exhausted." "You're making it all about you." "No intermission." "What, are we animals?" "I..." "I'm gonna be fine." "I got great doctors." "The kids call me every day." "Irene even lost 20 pounds due to stress." "Good for you." "You promise me you'll get that liver checked out." "Ah, there's nothing wr..." "Come on, Donna." "Suck it up." "We're missing my kid's show." "You son of a bitch." "Come on." "Come on." ""I can't hear no more!"" "Okay, all right." "That one was my fault, but Joan of Arc's gonna be just fine." "It's not gonna be much fun doing the show without Emma." "Maybe we should just stop this." "No." "No." "There is a saying in the theater world that..." ""It's not worth dying for"?" "No, it's that "endings make shows."" "And we've got a great ending." "Now get out there and sing your hearts out." " Oh, not you, sweetie." "You just mouth the words." " Okay." "Uncle Cam, both my legs are tingly." "Okay, we'll cut you down in just a second, Luke, okay?" "The show must go on." "Have fun with it." "Learning about the world sure was fun." "But I'm glad to have my feet back on the ground again." "Oh, Egypt is a land where the pyramids stand which were built by industrious Jews and windmills go around in Holland town where they all wear wooden shoes these are the things we learned today and there's one last thing we want to say" ""We love the word"" "Where's the "L"?" "That's Luke." "Lower the insignia." "Lower it." ""We love the... " What the hell?" "No, no, no." "No, no." "No, no, no." "No." "No, no, no." "No." "Brava!" "Phil, where have you been?" "Oh, just getting some fresh air." " Honey." " Got it." "Ready to go?" "Hey, look up at the moon." "Would you say that's waxing or waning?" "Who cares?" "We can spend all night looking..." ""I can't be satisfied"?" "!" "My God, Phil." "That makes me look like a prostitute." "No." "Yes." "Yes, it does." "More of an escort, really." "You're just selling your time." " Whereas a prostitute just..." " Okay, Phil." "I have been driving around in this all day." "Well, since you're mad already, why don't you just step over here and have a look at that?" "Oh, God." "My baby." "I am not getting back in that car!" "Oh, how do you think you're gonna get home, honey?" "It doesn't matter!" "I'll go home with anyone!" "That's what it should say on the van." "Alex." "I can't believe we trusted you to put this on the car after the debacle of that last picture." "Damn it." "And that... who was that?" "Probably another..." "I think the word you're looking for is "John."" "Get in the minivan." "You mean to tell me that people have actually been calling about this?" "There are a lot of creeps out there." "That's disgusting." "She's a child." "Well, to be fair, most of them were for you." "Well, it's still sick." "What do you mean, "most"?" "Well, I don't know." "There were 30 calls." "You got 20 or 25 of them." "And they... ask for me?" "They asked for the hot blonde." "Hmm." "Men are pigs." "Did they call me anything else?" "So, thanks to all the perverts in town," "I realized I still have a few good years ahead of me." "And if we have one person to thank for that, it would be me." "No." "Was it as awful as I think?" "Take the flowers." "It must have been really hard for you to be supportive while I made a fool out of myself." "Oh, come here." "Luke, do you mind?" "We're trying to have a moment here." "I can feel my heartbeat in my eyes." " In his eyes?" " Yes." " Okay." " We'll get a janitor." "Okay."
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Wiarumus language
Wiarumus, a.k.a. Mandi, is a Torricelli language of Papua New Guinea, spoken in a village of just under 500. Only those villagers born before ca. 1940 can speak it. It is spoken in Mandi village (), Turubu Rural LLG, East Sepik Province.
External links
Paradisec has two open access collections that include Wiarumus language materials; the first is Don Laycock's (DL2), the second is William Foley's (WF3)
References
Category:Marienberg languages
Category:Languages of Papua New Guinea
Category:Languages of East Sepik Province
Category:Endangered Papuan languages
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A Person-Centered Approach to Cardiovascular Genetic Testing.
Cardiovascular genetic counselors provide guidance to people facing the reality or prospect of inherited cardiovascular conditions. Key activities in this role include discussing clinical cardiac screening for at-risk family members and offering genetic testing. Psychological factors often influence whether patients choose to have genetic testing and how they understand and communicate the results to at-risk relatives, so psychological counseling increases the impact of genetic education and medical recommendations. This work reviews the literature on the factors that influence patient decisions about cardiovascular genetic testing and the psychological impact of results on people who opt to test. It also models use of a psychological framework to apply themes from the literature to routine cardiovascular genetic counseling practice. Modifications of the framework are provided to show how it can be adapted to serve the needs of both new and experienced genetic counselors.
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In vivo evidence that 5-HT2C receptor antagonist but not agonist modulates cocaine-induced dopamine outflow in the rat nucleus accumbens and striatum.
During recent years, much attention has been devoted at investigating the modulatory role of central 5-HT(2C) receptors on dopamine (DA) neuron activity, and it has been proposed that these receptors modulate selectively DA exocytosis associated with increased firing of DA neurons. In the present study, using in vivo microdialysis in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and the striatum of halothane-anesthetized rats, we addressed this hypothesis by assessing the ability of 5-HT(2C) agents to modulate the increase in DA outflow induced by haloperidol and cocaine, of which the effects on DA outflow are associated or not with an increase in DA neuron firing, respectively. The intraperitoneal administration of cocaine (10-30 mg/kg) induced a dose-dependent increase in DA extracellular levels in the NAc and the striatum. The effect of 15 mg/kg cocaine was potentiated by the mixed 5-HT(2C/2B) antagonist SB 206553 (5 mg/kg i.p.) and the selective 5-HT(2C) antagonist SB 242084 (1 mg/kg i.p.) in both brain regions. The mixed 5-HT(2C/2B) agonist, Ro 60-0175 (1 mg/kg i.p.), failed to affect cocaine-induced DA outflow, but reduced significantly the increase in DA outflow induced by the subcutaneous administration of 0.1 mg/kg haloperidol. The obtained results provide evidence that 5-HT(2C) receptors exert similar effects in both the NAc and the striatum, and they modulate DA exocytosis also when its increase occurs independently from an increase in DA neuron impulse activity. Furthermore, they show that 5-HT(2C) agonists, at variance with 5-HT(2C) antagonists, exert a preferential control on the impulse-stimulated release of DA.
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World's Second-Largest Search Engine Starts Selling Ads
Google makes its billions selling ads against its text search results, charging marketers per click. Now its trying the same thing with YouTube, reports the Times:
An advertiser — or a video maker who wants to promote a work — can bid on keywords like “silly cats,” “financial crisis,” “James Bond,” or anything that strikes one’s fancy. The promoted videos are featured on the right-hand side of the YouTube search-results page with a small image and some text. Advertisers are charged when a viewer clicks on the ad, and can set a maximum price per click that they want to pay.
Smart move. Did you know YouTube alone sees more search queries than all of Yahoo's properties and more than twice as many as Microsoft's? See ComScore's expanded search query report for August, below.
But don't go expecting Google search revenues to go up 30% or anywhere close to it; no one searches YouTube looking to buy stuff they way they do with regular search.
So far, against searches like "tech news," "American Idol," and "Razorbacks football," we found movie trailer ads for the new Punisher and James Bond flicks as well as typical TV commercial from Lego -- pretty poor targeting, we think. One better sign: An ad for a Sony and Intel branded YouTube channel showed up next to search results on the terms "tech news."
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Association between the C34T polymorphism of the AMPD1 gene and essential hypertension in Malaysian patients.
The aim of this study was to determine whether C34T, a common polymorphism of the adenosine monophosphate deaminase 1 gene (AMPD1), is associated with essential hypertension (EH). We hypothesize that C34T is associated with the development of EH. A case-control design was used for this study. The DNA was extracted using a commercial kit from the whole blood of 200 patients with hypertension and 200 subjects without hypertension from selected Malaysian ethnicities (Malays, Chinese, and Indians). Polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and agarose gel electrophoresis were used for genotyping. The C34T gene polymorphism of AMPD1 was significantly associated with EH in the Malaysian subjects (P < 0.0001). The genotype frequencies of CC, CT, and TT were 6%, 79%, and 15%, respectively, among hypertensive subjects, while no TT genotypes were observed in the normotensive subjects. Further, the frequency of hypertension was higher among T allele carriers than C carriers (OD = 9.94; 95%CI = 6.851-14.434). There were significant differences in the systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and pulse pressure (P ˂ 0.05) between the normotensive and hypertensive Malaysian subjects; we believe those difference were caused by the C34T polymorphism. For the first time in Malaysia, the current study provides evidence that a common polymorphism of the AMPD1 gene (C34T) is strongly associated with EH.
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Q:
AngularJS call function from click
I can't for the life of me figure out why I can't call this function in my controller.
On clicking an accordion-group attribute I get this error:
Uncaught ReferenceError: getConversationsForUser is not defined
Here is the html:
<ui-view id="smtConvoCard" layout="column" layout-fill layout-padding>
<div layout="row" flex layout-align="center center">
<md-card flex-gt-sm="90" onresize="resize()" flex-gt-md="80">
<md-card-content>
<md-list>
<h2>Conversations</h2>
<accordion close-others="oneAtATime">
<accordion-group heading="{{contact.FirstName}} {{contact.LastName}}" ng-repeat="contact in contacts" onclick="getConversationsForUser(contact.UserUID)">
<div>Test</div>
</accordion-group>
</accordion>
</md-list>
</md-card-content>
</md-card>
</div>
</ui-view>
Here is the controller being used (partial code):
controller('convCtrl', ['$scope', 'messageFactory', function ($scope, messageFactory) {
var currentUser = helpers.storage.get('UID');
$scope.contacts = [];
$scope.getContacts = function () {
/*Does stuff*/
};
//This is the function it is trying to call
$scope.getConversationsForUser = function (userUID) {
/*Does stuff*/
};
//Setup
$scope.getContacts();
}]);
I've tried changing the onclick even to a different element, calling the getContacts function instead and I always get Uncaught ReferenceError
I know that function is within my scope because I'm data binding the contacts variable to the page.
A:
Try :
<accordion-group heading="{{contact.FirstName}} {{contact.LastName}}" ng-repeat="contact in contacts" ng-click="getConversationsForUser(contact.UserUID)">
<div>Test</div>
</accordion-group>
And don't forget to insert a ng-controller="convCtrl" in an element wrapping your accordion.
UPDATE
I add a little explanation : the $scope in a controller MySuperController have to be linked in the DOM via a ng-controller="MySuperController" attribute added to a tag (= a DOM element), so that your $scope variable will represent any variable within this controller.
As soon as you create a function attached to this scope ($scope.myFunction = function () { /* ... */ }), you can then call it, i.e., when an event is fired. This is the case via the ng-click directive that attaches an event handler to the element on which it's set as an attribute.
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Mama’s Meatballs
Growing up in Brooklyn, New York Sunday was the day most Italians would savor a traditional gravy dinner. This is not the kind of gravy for dipping biscuits. I'm talking about a pot of tomato sauce that had been simmered for hours, slowly marrying the flavors of garlic, onions, basil, tomatoes and a variety of meat, of which each family had their own combination. Meatballs, though, are the one common denominator. While recipes may vary, meatballs are the one component of "gravy" that every family makes.
My nana's meatballs were coveted in our family. In fact, I still remember the pink and white speckled skillet she used to fry them. After she died, the torch was passed down to my aunt, along with that skillet. Her meatballs were crisp when fresh from the frying pan and became melt-in-your-mouth tender after hours of cooking slowly in the sauce. Getting an invitation to Sunday dinner at Aunt Barbara's was something I eagerly awaited. Sadly, my aunt had an aneurysm a few years ago and she hasn't been near the stove since. It reminded me how important it is to record these edible heirlooms. Hopefully my girls will cherish this blog and the memories I'm leaving them here.
Since I never got my nana or my aunt's recipe, I've created my own over the years, and settled on one that's a favorite with family and friends. While my family used pure ground beef, I like to use a combination of pork and beef. Flying Pigs Farm sells ground pork at the Grand Army Plaza and Union Square farmer's markets here in NYC. I also make my own using the meat-grinder attachment on my Cuisinart Stand Mixer. Stew, sirloin and brisket cuts work best when making your own ground beef, and be sure to ask your butcher to leave it untrimmed (meaning, keep the fat). You can control just how much fat you want to use but don't skimp on it. When the fat cooks, it breaks down and adds the moistness everyone loves. Shoulder butt is good for making fresh ground pork and the same advice goes for buying it untrimmed.
There's nothing like a simmering pot of marinara sauce, so check out my I Say Tomato post if you're in the market for a good one. You can substitute canned tomatoes since the season is still a bit a way, but don't rush the simmering stage…it'll be worth the wait.
Mama's Meatballs
Makes 24
My first venture into blogging began with the The Mama Chronicles, which is how these got their name. Aside from the obvious health benefit of baking instead of frying, these meatballs also require less work since you don't have to stand over a hot skillet.
1 pound fresh ground beef
1 pound fresh ground pork
½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large eggs
4 1-inch thick pieces of crusty bread, soaked in water & drained
3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
Preheat over to 425º. Add all ingredients to a large bowl and use your hands to mix well until everything is combined. Shape into 24 equal size balls. Place meatballs on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray or olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes, or until well browned and cooked through. Serve hot or add to sauce and let simmer until ready to serve.
Sicilian-Style Meatballs
Makes 24
Currants and pine nuts guest star in this southern-Italian
version. If you have trouble getting dried currants, you can substitute raisins.
1 pound fresh ground beef
1 pound fresh ground pork
½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
¼ cup Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large eggs
½ cup dried currant or raisins
¼ cup pine nuts
Four 1-inch thick pieces of crusty bread, soaked in water & drained
3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
Preheat over to 425º. Add all ingredients to a large bowl and use your hands to mix well until everything is combined. Shape into 24 equal size balls. Place meatballs on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray or olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes, or until well browned and cooked through. Serve hot or add to sauce and let simmer until ready to serve.
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2 Comments
Yummy, I prefer the Mama’s meatballs, and I tried this recipe last night, it is really amazing that the combination of pork and beef works so well with the cheese and tomato that added. Also I did add some raisins while cooking. I served my meatballs with my favorite sauce and it is a really nice dinner last night. Thank you for sharing 😀
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Q:
Why I can not install firewalld on centos6?
I am installing SSL certificate in my CentOS 6. In order to do that, I have to setup firewall rule.
But when I am setting up the firewall I get an error:
$ firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
-bash: firewall-cmd: command not found.
It appears that only the command iptables works in CentOS 6.
I also tried to install firewalld using the command
$sudo yum install firewalld.
But it gives me the followingerror:
No package firewalld available.
A:
Firewalld is only part of CentOS 7. It does not ship with, and afaik is not available for, CentOS 6. If you really can't face dealing with iptables rules (which I personally feel are not all that difficult), some people feel that system-config-firewall is an acceptable substitute.
Or just try
iptables -I INPUT 1 -p tcp --dport 443 -j ACCEPT
though depending on your existing ruleset, this may or may not play well.
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Adam Driver took his role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens very seriously, employing an intense Method-minded approach for his portrayal of Kylo Ren.
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According to his fellow cast members, who recently spoke to Rolling Stone about J.J. Abrams' upcoming film, Driver often remained in character on set, going so far has to keep his mask on between scenes.John Boyega, who took a different approach in playing Finn, discussed Driver's method, saying, "it was great to see him go for his process. It was intense." Driver also discussed his approach, saying his goal was "to forget you're in Star Wars and treat it like any other job that's filled with moments and problems."The Kylo Ren actor also shed light on his experience in delivering a speech to Darth Vader's disfigured helm, adding: "When someone sets the scene for you, it's always very funny. The idea that in this reality, Darth Vader is real."Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens December 18. Harrison Ford has already seen the film and found it to be "a wonderful movie" with "great production values." For more on J.J. Abrams' upcoming space epic, read up on the director's "horrifying" experience screening the film for Disney
Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter
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Effort to Stop Gulf Gusher Delayed Over Sediment
The government's point man for the Gulf oil spill says there's been a delay in a procedure that will help stop the gusher for good.
Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said Friday that debris was found in the bottom of the relief well that must be fished out before crews can pump mud into the busted well in a procedure known as a static kill.
The sediment settled there last week when crews popped in a plug to keep the well safe ahead of Tropical Storm Bonnie.
They found it as they were preparing for the static kill and now they have to remove it. They had hoped to start the static kill as early as Sunday, but removing debris will take 24 to 36 hours.
After the static kill comes the bottom kill, where the relief well will be used to pump in mud and cement from the bottom.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — BP's incoming CEO said Friday that it's time for a "scaleback" of the massive effort to clean up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but he added that the commitment to make things right is the same as ever.
Tens of thousands of people — many of them idled fishermen — have been involved in the cleanup, but more than two weeks after the leak was stopped there is relatively little oil on the surface, leaving less work for oil skimmers to do.
Bob Dudley, who heads BP's oil spill recovery and will take over as CEO in October, said it's "not too soon for a scaleback" in the cleanup, and in areas where there is no oil, "you probably don't need to see people in hazmat suits on the beach."
He added, however, that there is "no pullback" in BP's commitment to clean up the spill. Dudley was in Biloxi to announce that former Federal Emergency Management Agency chief James Lee Witt will be supporting BP's Gulf restoration work.
With the northern Gulf of Mexico largely off-limits to fishing, BP's cleanup program has been the only thing keeping many fishermen working. Losing those jobs would make the region all the more dependent on the checks BP has been writing to compensate fishermen and others who have lost income because of BP's offshore oil spill, the worst in U.S. history.
Many people have complained about long waits and other problems in processing claims, and Dudley conceded that BP lacks expertise in handling claims. He said the company hopes to turn that work over to an independent administrator soon.
"It's because of that lack of competence on our part ... that we want to bring in a professional," Dudley said.
Suggestions that the environmental effects of the spill have been overblown have increased as oil has disappeared from the water's surface, though how much of the oil remains underwater is a mystery. Dudley rejected efforts to downplay the spill's impact, saying, "Anyone who thinks this wasn't a catastrophe must be far away from it."
BP is hiring Witt, FEMA director under President Bill Clinton, and his public safety and crisis management consulting firm. BP did not say how much Witt would be paid.
Witt said he wants to set up teams along the Gulf to work with BP to address long-term restoration and people's needs.
"Our hope is that we can do it as fast as we can," Witt said. "I've seen the anguish and the pain that people have suffered after disaster events. i have seen communities come back better than before."
The gusher set off by an April 20 oil rig explosion spewed between 94 million gallons and 184 million gallons into the Gulf before a temporary cap stopped the flow July 15.
A procedure intended to ease the job of plugging the blown-out well for good could start as early as the weekend, according to Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government's oil-spill response chief. The so-called static kill can begin when crews finish work drilling the relief well 50 miles offshore that is needed for a permanent fix.
The static kill, which involves pumping heavy mud into the busted well from the top, is on track for completion some time next week. Then comes the bottom kill, where the relief well will be used to pump in mud and cement from the bottom; that process will take days or weeks, depending on the effectiveness of the static kill.
The government's point man for the Gulf oil spill says there's been a delay in a procedure that will help stop the gusher for good.Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said Friday that debris was found in the bottom of the relief well that must be fished out before crews can pump...
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Q:
angular-ui-router nested views
I have an app with 3 views (A,B,C) and 2 states(1,2)
html
<div ui-view="A"></div>
<div ui-view="B"></div>
<div ui-view="C"></div>
The two states are called list and create. In both states the template and controller of view A + B stay the same but view c should change templates and controllers. I can get view c's content to change but it refreshes view A and view B as it does ie things that are in their controllers run again.
What is the correct way to organise the router to prevent this?
js so far
$urlRouterProvider.otherwise("/basestate/list");
$stateProvider
.state('baseState', function() {
url:"/basestate",
templateUrl: "basestate.html",
controller: 'BaseStateCtrl'
})
.state('baseState.list', function() {
url: "/list",
views: {
"viewA@baseState": {
templateUrl: "viewA.html"
controller: "ViewACtrl"
},
"viewB@baseState": {
templateUrl: "viewB.html"
controller: "ViewBCtrl"
},
"viewC@baseState": {
templateUrl: "list.html"
controller: "listCtrl"
}
}
})
.state('baseState.create', function() {
url: "/create",
views: {
"viewA@baseState": {
templateUrl: "viewA.html"
controller: "ViewACtrl"
},
"viewB@baseState": {
templateUrl: "viewB.html"
controller: "ViewBCtrl"
},
"viewC@baseState": {
templateUrl: "create.html"
controller: "createCtrl"
}
}
})
A:
To achieve that you basically need to freeze your viewA and viewC at the level of baseState and make that state abstract:
.state('basestate', {
url: '/basestate',
abstract: true,
views: {
"viewA": {
templateUrl: "viewA.html",
controller: "ViewACtrl"
},
"viewB": {
templateUrl: "viewB.html",
controller: "ViewBCtrl"
},
"viewC": {
template: '<div ui-view="viewC_child"></div>'
}
}
})
Note that for viewC we are making a placeholder that will contain our nested view (either list or create):
.state('basestate.list',{
url: "/list",
views: {
"viewC_child": {
templateUrl: "list.html",
controller: "ListCtrl"
}
}
})
.state('basestate.create', {
url: "/create",
views: {
"viewC_child": {
templateUrl: "create.html",
controller: "CreateCtrl"
}
}
})
Check this plunkr and be careful with commas in your code :)
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In people's daily life, restaurants produce a lot of household wastes every day, wherein the main waste includes remaining foods which are rich in organics, and if not treated well, are easy to rot in air, distributing bad smell bad and polluting air and environment. Hence, it is very necessary to perform treatment on the remaining foods and other household wastes. In the prior art, the kitchen wastes are treated mainly by fermentation, that is to say, after undergoing pretreatments such as draining, smashing and dehydration, the prior restaurant wastes are poured into a barrel equipped with an electric heating and stirring rod, then subjected to heating, stirring and drying treatments, kept in the heating barrel for a period of time, then taken out and packaged by a packing bag, and then fermented for decomposition (maturing).
The inventors have found in researches that there are at least the following defects in the treatment of restaurant wastes in the prior art:
firstly, the prior fermentation barrel is provided therein with a heating apparatus, achieves a fermentation process mainly by roasting kitchen wastes with the heating apparatus, and has a high energy consumption of about 600 kWh/ton;
secondly, the prior technology does not comprise an entire composting process, and relies on a high temperature to heat and dry, wherein partial kitchen wastes are carbonized, resulting in very low organic fertilizer content, low fertilizer efficiency and a side effect on the growth of plants, which is not convenient for popularization and application;
thirdly, kitchen waste fermentation devices are mainly mounted in densely populated residential areas which have high requirements for environment protection, however, the prior art fermentation barrels produce a large amount of waste gases during fermentation, and these waste gases greatly pollute the surrounding environment, in particular the air, which is strongly complained and opposed by residents, often resulting in work cannot be normally carried out;
fourthly, the prior art fermentation barrel is required to be provided therein with a stirring device, thus the fermentation barrel has a large volume and occupies a large area, which results in increased cost; and
fifthly, the prior art fermentation barrel has a complicated structure and high production cost and is not convenient for maintenance and installation.
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The iOS platform isn't the only way to make money on the mobile apps scene.
Tech news site Electricpig took a look at eight groups that have made it big – more than six-digits big – with hit Android apps.
Better Android Apps, for example, has made approximately $1.34 million from purchases of its hits Better Keyboard and Open Home. Yongzh created emulators for the PlayStation, Sega, Nintendo and Atari systems, and gathered about $1.81 million from sales of these apps.
“Conventional wisdom told us that to be successful, we had to focus on iOS. Conventional wisdom was wrong," said Gary Gattis, CEO of Spacetime Studios.
That certainly seems to be true with the tower-defense game Robo Defense. It has also been a big winner, netting creator Lupis Labs more than $2.09 million.
An estimated 3.7 billion Android apps have been downloaded to date, according to AndroLib. Many developers wish that number would rise at a faster rate and are counting on tools like in-app payments to spur app purchases and developer earnings. However, that hasn't stopped developers such as Eddie Kim, creator of Car Locator, or almost anyone else on this list, from netting big profits.
These high sales figures illustrate that Android's app market is finally coming to fruition as a solid distribution platform, where software programmers can make good money. Within months of the opening of Apple's App Store in the summer of 2008, a few lucky programmers quickly struck gold with hot sales of their apps.
Android has been around for about the same time, and only now are we beginning to see comparably high sales figures for Android app makers. Though Google's app market has been slower to mature, these success stories should give programmers more incentive to make killer apps for Android-powered tablets and smartphones.
Beautiful Widgets netted its maker, LevelUp Studio, more than $934,000. Halfbrick Studios (maker of Fruit Ninja) has netted more than $242,000 after porting its iOS favorite to Android.
Other big winners, thanks to pop-up advertising, include Rovio, for (what else?) Angry Birds, and Arron La for Advanced Task Manager.
Spacetime Studios' Pocket Legends, a 3-D MMO, has managed to garner profits of $8,000 per day from in-app payments, making it a shoo-in for six-figure earnings in the not-too-distant future.
“The Android platform has seen phenomenal growth, and it’s great that new avenues for app distribution are opening up,” Rovio CEO Mikael Hed said in a recent news release.
The addition of new marketplaces like Amazon's App Store is proof, showing that Google's OS has the potential to be just as lucrative as Apple's, and companies want to get in on the action.
Spacetime's Gattis summed up the Android app scene pretty nicely: "In some ways, it's kind of like the wild, wild West," he said, "but that's where the Gold Rush people made their claim."
Image: Bad Piggy Bank (Rovio)
Meet The Android App Millionaires [Electricpig via Android Guys]
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Introduction {#Sec1}
============
Generation of high-energy, few-cycle mid-infrared (mid-IR) pulses has progressed markedly over the last decade, driven by a number of applications, such as coherent soft X-ray high-harmonic generation (HHG)^[@CR1]--[@CR3]^, incoherent hard X-ray generation in laser-induced plasmas^[@CR4]^, sub-femtosecond electron emission^[@CR5]^, two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy^[@CR6]^ and time-resolved imaging of molecular structures^[@CR7]^. The use of a carrier-envelope phase (CEP)-stable single-cycle or even sub-cycle pulse can inherently isolate the electron dynamics in the strong-field interactions^[@CR8],\ [@CR9]^. Therefore, high-energy, CEP-stable, sub-cycle mid-IR pulses can be a very unique tool for investigating ultrafast dynamics of strong-field interactions in solids and gases. Some examples are the sub-cycle control of electron motions via HHG in solids^[@CR10]--[@CR13]^, the sub-cycle electron tunnelling in nano-devices^[@CR14],\ [@CR15]^, the generation of isolated attosecond^[@CR16]^ or even zeptosecond X-ray pulses^[@CR17]^, controlling strong-field molecular ionisation and dissociation^[@CR18]^, steering the atomic-scale motion of electrons^[@CR8]^, and sub-femtosecond control and metrology of bound-electron dynamics in atoms^[@CR9]^. In particular, the studies on the strong-field interactions in solids and nano-structures are opening a great opportunity towards petahertz electronics^[@CR19],\ [@CR20]^. Recently, intensive effort has been made to generate few-cycle mid-IR pulses using several techniques, such as optical parametric amplifier (OPA)^[@CR21],\ [@CR22]^, laser filamentation^[@CR23]^ and difference-frequency generation (DFG)^[@CR24]^. Adiabatic difference frequency generation has produced few-μJ, shapeable, single-cycle mid-IR pulses^[@CR25]^, though the technique's scalability to the sub-mJ level is not obvious and CEP stability has not yet been demonstrated. Self-compression after spectral broadening in dielectric materials^[@CR26]--[@CR29]^ has also been used for generating sub-two-cycle mid-IR pulses. Regarding to the generation of mid-IR sub-cycle pulses, four-wave mixing through filamentation in a gas^[@CR30]^ and a technique that cascades DFG, spectral broadening, and chirp-compensation^[@CR31]^ have been demonstrated. However, the former gives low pulse energy (\~0.5 μJ)^[@CR32]^ and limited energy scalability as well as conical emission, while the latter has unknown CEP stability due to the complex nonlinear processes involved besides the low energy (\~1 μJ). These impose limitations in the applications to strong-field light--matter interactions. On the other hand, in the visible to short-wavelength IR range, high-energy sub-cycle pulses have been demonstrated using pulse synthesisers^[@CR8],\ [@CR9],\ [@CR33],\ [@CR34]^. Greater-than-octave-spanning spectra are generated and amplified in different spectral bands. After the phase management of individual bands, the multi-colour pulses are coherently combined to form a sub-cycle pulse. The main challenge of this approach is the complexity of the system because sophisticated phase control and stabilisation have to be implemented for eliminating the relative timing and phase jitters from the individual bands.
Coherent synthesis between the signal and idler of a type-I collinear OPA in a passive way is an intriguing alternative for sub-cycle pulse generation. With near-degenerate signal and idler wavelengths, the total OPA bandwidth can be huge in a collinear geometry when the group velocity dispersion at the degenerate wavelength is small^[@CR35]^. The signal and idler pulses are tightly synchronised in an OPA by nature. However, this method is challenging in the visible/near-IR range for several reasons. First, the dispersion over multi-octave bandwidths is very large, such that the signal and idler pulses will require post-compression. Second, the signal and idler need to have a stable relative CEP, which can only be achieved when both the pump and signal pulses are CEP stable, as their phase difference is transferred to the idler CEP. In the visible and near-IR ranges, such schemes usually require active CEP stabilisation. In contrast, in the mid-IR, the dispersion of OPA media can be very low within the transmission window, which enables the direct synthesis of the signal and idler pulses without post-compression. Moreover, in the scheme described below, the 2.1-µm pump laser itself is a passively CEP-stabilised, optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier (OPCPA), and its pulse width is short enough to pump a white-light generation (WLG) stage and generate an octave-spanning CEP-stable signal pulse for a mid-IR OPA.
Here we present a multi-gigawatt (GW) sub-cycle mid-IR pulse synthesiser based on in-line multiplexing of the signal and idler pulses from an OPA. Furthermore, we demonstrate HHG in silicon samples up to \~19th order and observed a continuous spectrum due to the sub-cycle driver pulses. The signal and idler pulses covering 2.5--4.4 µm and 4.4--9.0 µm, respectively, are synthesised automatically in the 2.1-μm pumped collinear type-I OPA, due to the minimal dispersion and temporal walk-off of a thin CdSiP~2~ (CSP) crystal, which also supports a phase-matching bandwidth greater than one octave at the idler wavelength. The CEP stability of both signal and idler pulses is ensured with passive stabilisation, as confirmed by the *f*-3*f* spectral interferometry measurements over more than 6 min. Synthesised pulses with 33 µJ energy and multi-GW peak power having 12.4 fs full-width at half maximum (FWHM) duration, characterised using a cross-correlation frequency-resolved optical gating (XFROG) device, are produced and used for driving HHG in thin silicon samples. Our demonstration offers an energy-scalable and technically simple platform of laser sources generating CEP-stable sub-cycle pulses in the whole midwave-infrared region for investigating isolated phase-sensitive strong-field interactions in solids and gases^[@CR8],\ [@CR9],\ [@CR16],\ [@CR17]^.
Results {#Sec2}
=======
Experimental setup of mid-IR OPA {#Sec3}
--------------------------------
The schematic of the mid-IR sub-cycle pulse generation and characterisation is presented in Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}. An octave-spanning Ti:sapphire oscillator provides the seed for a 2.1-μm OPCPA through an intrapulse DFG stage that ensures passive CEP stabilisation. The kHz, multi-mJ, CEP-stable, 2.1-µm OPCPA^[@CR36]^ serves as the pump of the mid-IR OPA. A 20 µJ portion of the 2.1-µm pump is split for WLG in a 6-mm-thick BaF~2~ plate^[@CR27]^ as the CEP-stable, unamplified signal for the mid-IR OPA. The CEP of the idler pulse is also passively stabilised by a DFG-like parametric process between the WLG signal and the pump pulses, regardless of the CEP stability of the pump. A 1.1-mm-thick CSP is chosen for the type-I parametric conversion for its large nonlinear coefficient, ultrabroad phase-matching bandwidth in the mid-IR, and high damage threshold pumped by 2.1-μm pulses. The pump beam size is \~6 mm in diameter and the intensity is 150 GW cm^−2^ at 800 μJ of pump energy. The output pulse from the mid-IR OPA together with an \~10 µJ, 2.1-µm pulse split from the pump that serves as the reference beam are sent into the XFROG for the temporal characterisation. More details of the setup are found in Methods section.Fig. 1Schematic of the high-energy phase-stable sub-cycle mid-infrared optical parametric amplifier. *CEP* carrier-envelope phase, *CPA* chirped-pulse amplifier, *OPCPA* optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier. Polarisations of the beams are marked by *double-headed arrows* and *concentric circles*. The 300-µm-thick Si wafers at Brewster angle are used as polarisation beam splitter and beam combiner to transmit the 2.1-µm pump pulse and reflect the signal and idler pulses. The synthesised pulses and a branch of 2.1-µm reference pulses are sent into cross-correlation frequency-resolved optical gating with a 30-µm-thick GaSe nonlinear crystal. The synthesis of a sub-cycle mid-IR pulse from coherently combining the sub-2-cycle signal and idler pulses is shown conceptually on the top of the figure
Figure [2a](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"} shows the mid-IR spectrum of the signal pulse that is a part of the supercontinuum from the WLG. We obtain \~50 nJ of pulse energy within the spectral window of 2.5− 4.4 µm. The spectra of the amplified signal and idler with 0.8 mJ pump energy are shown in Fig. [2b](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}, spanning from 2.5 to 9.0 µm. The dip at \~3 µm originates from the WLG seed. It is worth noting that the long-wavelength component of the pump at 2.2--2.3 µm gives excellent phase matching in the spectral range of 4--8 µm, as compared in Supplementary Fig. [1](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}. Therefore, the 2.2--2.3 µm wavelength component of our broadband pump is very helpful to achieve the octave-spanning parametric conversion. The 33 µJ output energy from the mid-IR OPA at 0.8 mJ pump is demonstrated as shown in Fig. [2c](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}, of which there is a 12 µJ idler pulse spanning from 4.4 to 9.0 µm. The conversion efficiency to the synthesised pulse is \~6% considering the Fresnel reflection of the pump at the uncoated CSP crystal. While the available pump energy is higher than 2 mJ, the OPA stage has been designed at \~1 mJ of pump energy in this work because of the energy loss from metallic mirrors (13 bounces) used for the beam delivery. The shot-to-shot energy stability of the mid-IR OPA is \~2.7% rms (10,000 shots) with an oscillation of \~7% peak-to-peak over every \~10 min of period, which is attributed to the on/off operation of the air conditioner in the lab, as shown in Supplementary Fig. [9](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}. There is no noticeable degradation of energy over several hours. The near-Gaussian signal and idler beam profiles, measured with a pyroelectric camera (PyroCam III, Spiricon) are presented in Fig. [2d, e](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}, respectively. It should be noted that the idler spectrum can be even broader (up to 10 μm along with a stronger signal pulse), if we use a higher 2.1 μm pulse energy for WLG, as shown in Supplementary Fig. [3](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}. However, we limit the energy to \~50 nJ within the signal bandwidth because the CEP of the signal generated by WLG is found to be less stable at higher energy.Fig. 2Mid-infrared optical parametric amplifier with broad bandwidth and high energy. **a** The signal spectrum from white-light generation at BaF~2~, measured after a 2400 nm long-pass filter. **b** The measured output spectrum of the mid-infrared optical parametric amplifier (mid-IR OPA). The *dotted line* separates the signal and idler spectra. **c** The output pulse energy of the mid-IR OPA vs. pump energy. The *solid line* connects the measured points to guide the eye. The far-field beam profile of the amplified signal and idler is presented in **d** and **e**, respectively. The *white bars* represent a scale of 1 mm
CEP-stable few-cycle signal and idler pulses {#Sec4}
--------------------------------------------
The temporal profile of the 2.1-µm pulses from the OPCPA, which serves both as the pump of the mid-IR OPA and as reference of the XFROG, is characterised using a second-harmonic generation (SHG) FROG apparatus. As shown in Figs. [3a--d](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}, the pump pulse whose spectrum spans from 1.8 to 2.3 µm is within 5% of its transform limit, with a pulse width of 26 fs in FWHM. The signal pulse from WLG has a slight self-compression in BaF~2~ that has small anomalous dispersion at 2.1 μm^[@CR27]^. The pulse duration of the amplified signal is measured to be \~20 fs using the SHG FROG, as shown in Fig. [3e](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}.Fig. 3Temporal characterisation of pump, signal and idler pulses, and calculated temporal profile of the synthesised pulse. **a**--**d** The temporal characterisation of the 2.1-µm pump pulse using the second-harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating (SHG FROG). The measured (**a**) and retrieved (**b**) FROG traces. **c** The retrieved spectrum (*blue solid*) and phase (*red dash*) in the FROG measurement. The separately measured spectrum is shown by the *black dotted line* that agrees well with the retrieved spectrum in FROG. **d** The retrieved (*blue solid*) and the calculated transform-limited (*red dash*) intensity profiles. The *black dotted curve* is the retrieved phase. The pulse duration of 26 fs FWHM of the pump is measured. **e**, **f** The temporal characterisation of the amplified signal and idler pulses using the SHG FROG and interferometric autocorrelator, respectively. **e** The retrieved (*blue solid*) and the calculated transform-limited (*red dashed line*) intensity profiles of the amplified signal pulses. The *black dotted curve* is the retrieved phase. A pulse duration of 20 fs in FWHM of the amplified signal is obtained. See Supplementary Fig. [7](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"} for the measured and retrieved SHG FROG traces. **f** The measured autocorrelation trace of the idler pulse (*blue solid*) and the calculated autocorrelation trace from the measured spectrum assuming the pulse is transform limited (*red dashed line*). A pulse duration of 31 fs FWHM of the idler is obtained, assuming a Gaussian temporal profile. **g** The calculated electric field of the synthesised mid-IR pulse using the measured spectra of the signal and idler pulses. It is assumed that both the signal and idler pulses are transform limited, the idler leads the signal by 5 fs, and the CEP is zero for both pulses. **h** The calculated intensity profile. The calculated duration of the synthesised pulse is 11 fs in FWHM corresponding to 0.8 cycle at 4.1 μm
Before we explore the coherent pulse synthesis, we investigate the temporal profile of the idler pulse which already contains an octave-spanning spectral content. The amplified idler pulse is independently characterised using a home-built mid-IR second-order interferometric autocorrelator. An uncoated 1-mm-thick ZnSe plate is employed as a beam splitter, and a 4.5-µm long-pass filter is used to isolate the idler pulse from the signal and any residual pump. The anomalous dispersion from the ZnSe plate is well compensated by the normal dispersion from the germanium substrate of the long-pass filter, however there is \~8000 fs^3^ of uncompensated third-order dispersion in this configuration. As shown in Fig. [3f](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}, the measured interferometric autocorrelation trace is plotted together with a transform-limited trace calculated using the measured spectrum. The good agreement between the three central lobes of the pulses manifests that the idler is nearly transform limited with a pulse width \<1.5 optical cycles, centred at 6.4 µm. Approximately 31 fs pulse width is deconvoluted assuming the idler pulse is in the Gaussian profile. The unsuppressed pedestal from the measured pulse accounts for the uncompensated third-order dispersion. This measurement shows that the octave-spanning, \~6.4-μm, sub-1.5-cycle idler pulse, which is CEP stable as will be discussed again, is already usable for phase-sensitive strong-field experiments in solids and nano-structures as a stand-alone mid-IR source.
In the collinear type-I OPA, the signal and idler pulses have the same polarisation and can be synthesised automatically if the temporal walk-off between them is much smaller than an optical cycle and the CEP of both pulses is stable. The temporal walk-off within the 1.1-mm-thick CSP crystal is as small as \~5 fs (less than a quarter cycle of the idler wavelength, \~6.4 μm). The electric field of the synthesised pulse is calculated as shown in Fig. [3g](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}, using the measured spectra and the calculated 5 fs temporal walk-off. Here we assume both signal and idler pulses are transform limited, and the CEP of both pulses is zero. The 11 fs in FWHM of the synthesised pulse is then obtained as shown in Fig. [3h](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}, corresponding to 0.8 optical cycles centred at 4.1 µm. This clearly reveals the feasibility of sub-cycle pulse synthesis. An independent simulation also supports this calculation, as shown in Supplementary Fig. [2](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}, along with the energy scaling to mJ level from the second stage OPA. It should be noted that in the case of multi-stage OPA, the pulse synthesis always occurs in the final stage. The temporal walk-off in the first or intermediate stage is ignored because we use the idler only from the final stage for the pulse synthesis.
The stable CEP of individual pulses as well as the relative phase is crucial for the coherent pulse synthesis in the single-cycle limit. The CEP stability of the 2.1-µm pump is measured using the self-referencing *f*-3*f* spectral interferometry (SI) of the white light that also serves as the signal of the mid-IR OPA. In other words, this *f*-3*f* measurement directly provides the CEP stability of the signal pulses. The third harmonic (TH) of the \~2 μm portion of the signal and the \~680 nm portion of the white light are spectrally interfered, as previously demonstrated^[@CR34],\ [@CR37]^. Figure [4a](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"} shows the stable *f*-3*f* fringes over 10 min with a three-shot average, and the shot-to-shot CEP jitter of the signal is measured as \~220 mrad rms. Similarly, the CEP stability of the idler pulse is measured using the cross-referencing *f*-3*f* SI, which is obtained by interfering the polarisation-rotated \~2.1-µm pump and the TH of the idler at \~6.4 μm. The details are shown in the Methods section and in Supplementary Fig. [5](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}. The fairly stable single-shot interference fringes were observed over 6 min, as shown in Fig. [4b](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}, owing to the passively CEP-stable nature of the white-light-seeded OPA. These two SI measurements indicate that the pump, signal and idler all have shot-to-shot stable CEP. The measured phase jitter in Fig. [4b](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"} is the square root of the sum of the squares of the pump and the idler CEP jitters, i.e. $\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$${{\it{\sigma }}_{\rm Measured}} = \sqrt {{\it{\sigma }}_{\rm Pump}^2 + {\it{\sigma }}_{\rm Idler}^2} $$\end{document}$ because they are not correlated. The shot-to-shot CEP jitter of the idler pulse is then calculated as 270 mrad rms over 6 min. It is worth mentioning that the absolute CEP value of the synthesised pulse can be controlled using a low-dispersion wedge pair. For example, we can use a 1.2-mm-thick wedge pair made of caesium iodide that has very flat dispersion from 2 to 10 µm to change the CEP by 2*π* while the sub-cycle duration is maintained (Supplementary Fig. [10](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}). Due to the ultrabroad spectral bandwidth, it is technically challenging to shift the CEP much more than 2*π* without distorting the pulse shape. The individual CEP of the signal and idler pulses can simultaneously be accessed via the CEP adjustment of the pump pulse before and after the WLG stage, respectively, as discussed in Supplementary Note [1](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}. While the passively stabilised CEP of both signal and idler pulses is expected to be maintained beyond \~10 min of our measurement, the active compensation of potential CEP drift due to the thermal fluctuations in the lab, as evidenced by the energy measurement in Supplementary Fig. [9](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}, using thin wedges could further improve the long-term CEP stability. The CEP of the synthesised waveform could be directly measured using a recently demonstrated electro-optic sampling method^[@CR38]^.Fig. 4Characterisation of shot-to-shot carrier-envelope phase stability. **a** The measured self-referencing *f-*3*f* spectral interferometry (SI) of the 2.1-µm pump pulse over 10 min. Shot-to-shot carrier-envelope phase (CEP) jitter (220 mrad) is measured over 10 min. **b** The measured cross-referencing *f*-3*f* SI of the idler pulse, between the polarisation-rotated \~2.1-µm pump and the third harmonic of the idler at \~6.4 µm over 6 min. Shot-to-shot CEP jitter (270 mrad) of the idler pulse over 6 min is calculated with the measured phase jitters of pump and the cross-referencing SI
Sub-cycle pulse generation and characterisation {#Sec5}
-----------------------------------------------
The temporal profile of the synthesised pulse is characterised with XFROG. The time delay between the signal and pump pulses is finely tuned using a piezo stage within a total delay of \~30 fs, such that the shortest duration is obtained while the amplified energy is maintained at maximum. The measured and retrieved XFROG traces are shown in Fig. [5a and b](#Fig5){ref-type="fig"}, respectively, with 1.8% FROG error. The retrieved spectrum shown in Fig. [5c](#Fig5){ref-type="fig"} agrees well with the measured spectrum in Fig. [2b](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}. There is minor discrepancy with the spectral edge at 2.5−3 μm of the retrieved spectrum due to the phase matching edge of the GaSe crystal in the sum-frequency generation, as shown in Supplementary Fig. [6](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}. The synthesised pulse has a near-transform-limited main peak and rippling wings as shown in Fig. [5d](#Fig5){ref-type="fig"}, attributed to the interference of the signal and idler pulses. The synthesised pulse duration is measured as \~12.4 fs in FWHM centred at \~4.2 µm, corresponding to 0.88 optical cycle, which is within 10% of its transform limit as shown in Fig. [3h](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}. With the energy portion into the main pulse of \~70% the peak power reaches \~1.9 GW. We obtain a similarly broad spectrum and high energy from an OPA with a 0.5-mm-thick ZGP crystal, as shown in Supplementary Fig. [4](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}, which is also similar to an earlier demonstration of ultra-broadband mid-IR OPA with a 12-mm-thick ZGP crystal^[@CR39]^. However, due to a relatively large temporal walk-off of \~11 fs between the signal and idler with our ZGP crystal, it is less favourable than the CSP crystal for the sub-cycle pulse synthesis.Fig. 5Temporal characterisation of the synthesised mid-infrared pulse. The measured (**a**) and the retrieved (**b**) cross-correlation frequency-resolved optical gating (XFROG) traces. The FROG error is 1.8%. The retrieved spectral (**c**) and temporal (**d**) intensity profiles of the synthesised pulse. The *dotted curves* are the retrieved phase. Pulse width (12.4 fs) in full-width at half maximum is measured with a centre wavelength at 4.2 µm. It corresponds to 0.88 optical cycle
HHG in solids {#Sec6}
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We have used the synthesised mid-IR laser pulses to drive HHG in silicon (Si) to show the potential of this source for sub-cycle electron control in solids. A free-standing 200-nm-thick Si (100) sample and a 500-nm-thick Si (100) sample on a 0.5-mm-thick sapphire substrate are used for generating high harmonics. The OPA signal and idler beams with a Gaussian beam diameter of \~5.5 mm are focused using an *f* = 25.4 mm gold-coated off-axis parabolic mirror. The HHG signal is collected using an ultraviolet (UV)-enhanced aluminum-coated off-axis parabolic mirror and spectrally resolved using a visible-to-UV monochromator with an intensified charge-coupled device. It should be noted that due to the large difference in the centre wavelength between the signal (\~3.2 μm) and the idler (\~6.4 μm) beams, the focused beam size of the two beams with the same focal length differs by a factor of \~2. Along with the two times higher energy of the signal beam than the idler beam, the HHG is dominated by the signal pulse at the focus (*z* = 0 mm). To observe the clear contribution of the idler pulse, we have acquired most high-harmonic spectra at *z* = 0.5−1.0 mm after the focus where the spot sizes of the signal and idler beams are comparable. The beam size in 1/*e* ^2^ radius at *z* = 0.5 mm is estimated as \~57 and \~64 μm for the signal and idler, respectively. The estimated intensity of the \~20 μJ synthesised pulse with 60 μm of beam waist is \~9×10^12^ W cm^−2^, corresponding to the electric field strength of 0.8 V Å^−1^. More details on the HHG setup are found in the Methods section.
In the experiment we observed a continuum-like harmonic spectrum using synthesised sub-cycle drive pulses, which will be discussed at the end. To verify that the spectrum originates from HHG in silicon, we have generated harmonics with a clear comb structure using few-cycle pulses and demonstrated four-fold symmetry of the harmonic yields, which reflects the crystal symmetry of Si. This is a feature of HHG rather than incoherent light emission such as fluorescence. A \~16 μJ, few-cycle pulse is obtained by positively chirping the synthesised pulse using a 0.5-mm-thick Si filter (IPA3000, EOC, Inc.) with \~80% transmission over 3−11 μm. The positive dispersion of the Si filter moderately broadens the pulse duration to \~43 fs in FWHM of the double peaks, which is long enough to generate discrete harmonics. The measured OPA spectrum with the filter and the calculated temporal profile are shown in Supplementary Fig. [8](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}. The intensity of the chirped pulse is estimated to be \~2×10^12^ W cm^−2^ corresponding to an electric field strength of 0.4 V Å^−1^. Figure [6a and b](#Fig6){ref-type="fig"} show the harmonic spectra generated using the \~43 fs chirped pulses in the 200-nm-thick and 500-nm-thick Si samples, respectively. Both odd and even harmonics of \~4.6 μm (*black solid lines*) are observed up to \~19th harmonic (\~244 nm) because the two-colour driving field unbalances the electron trajectories and breaks the symmetry^[@CR13]^. For comparison, the odd harmonics of \~3.2 μm from signal-only-driven HHG is also plotted as the *blue dotted line* of Figs. [6a and b](#Fig6){ref-type="fig"}, which are obtained at the beam focus (*z* = 0 mm) where the signal pulse dominates HHG over the idler pulse due to the smaller beam size (half) and higher pulse energy (twice). It is noted that the spectral comb structure is more clearly observed in Fig. [6a](#Fig6){ref-type="fig"}, which is potentially due to the effect from the sample thickness or the sapphire substrate and requires more investigation. The spectral intensity as a function of the crystal orientation, driven by the \~43 fs chirped pulse with the 500-nm-thick Si sample, in Fig. [6c](#Fig6){ref-type="fig"} clearly shows the four-fold symmetry of Si when the sample is rotated around the \<100\> crystal axis, confirming that the emission spectrum originates from HHG in Si. Finally, Fig. [6d](#Fig6){ref-type="fig"} shows the harmonic spectrum driven by the synthesised sub-cycle pulse without the 3−11 μm Si filter. The harmonic comb structure is almost washed out and a near-continuous spectrum is observed due to the sub-cycle nature of the driver pulse that isolates the harmonic emission. Further investigations on the CEP dependence along with the pump-probe analysis will enable the observation and control of isolated sub-cycle electron dynamics.Fig. 6Mid-infrared-driven high-harmonic generation in silicon samples. **a** Harmonic spectra generated in a 200-nm-thick free-standing silicon (Si) sample. The *solid black line* represents the spectrum generated by a chirped, \~43 fs, synthesised pulse, where the odd and even harmonics up to 19th order are observed. The *blue dotted line* represents the spectrum generated by only the signal pulse, where only odd harmonics up to 11th order are observed. **b**--**d** Harmonic spectra generated in a 500-nm-thick Si sample on a 0.5-mm-thick sapphire substrate. **b** The *solid black line* represents the spectrum generated by a chirped, \~43 fs, synthesised pulse, where the odd and even harmonics up to 17th order are observed. The *blue dotted line* represents the spectrum generated by only the signal pulse, where only odd harmonics up to 13th order are observed. **c** The angle dependence of the harmonic spectra about the Si axis \<001\> relative to the laser polarisation. The four-fold symmetry confirms that the harmonic spectra originate from HHG in Si. The high-harmonic generation (HHG) yield is maximised when laser polarisation is along \<011\>. **d** The near-continuous harmonic spectrum generated by the synthesised sub-cycle pulse without chirping. The harmonic comb structure is almost washed out due to the isolated emission from HHG
Discussion {#Sec7}
==========
Multi-mJ sub-cycle or single-cycle mid-IR sources are desired for strong-field interactions in gaseous media, such as isolated zeptosecond HHG in the keV. The scaling of energy and peak power of the demonstrated mid-IR single-cycle synthesiser is relatively straightforward by adding more OPA stages with higher pump energy. The availability of Joule-level picosecond Yb-doped lasers^[@CR40]^ ensures the energy scalability of our 2.1 μm OPCPA to multi-ten mJ level, which can eventually increase the synthesised mid-IR pulse energy to multi-mJ. It is worth mentioning that the mid-IR crystals like CSP and ZnGeP~2~ (ZGP) have damage thresholds \>200 GW cm^−2^ pumped by femtosecond \~2-µm pulses. The availability of \>20 mm × 20 mm crystal aperture^[@CR41]^ allows the employment of a \~2-µm, \~40-fs pump with \>20-mJ pulse energy to achieve the mJ sub-cycle mid-IR pulse amplification, as discussed in Supplementary Fig. [2](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}. Recently, there have been mid-IR OPCPA demonstrations with sub-mJ energy and 4−8 cycle pulse width, pumped by high energy \~2 μm picosecond Ho-doped lasers.^[@CR42],\ [@CR43]^ Our approach can be combined with the advanced \~2--3 μm pump laser technologies^[@CR42]--[@CR44]^ to realise a relatively compact multi-mJ near-single-cycle mid-IR laser source if the sub-50 fs duration can be accessed by these lasers via external pulse compression techniques^[@CR29]^. On the other hand, our passive synthesis scheme can be widely adopted for generating sub-1.5-cycle, sub-mJ mid-IR pulses if existing \~2 μm OPA systems pumped by conventional Ti:sapphire laser amplifiers are used for pumping CSP and ZGP crystals.
In conclusion, we demonstrated a high-energy, CEP-stable, sub-cycle, mid-IR pulse synthesiser based on an OPA covering the bandwidth from 2.5 to 9.0 µm and drove HHG in thin Si samples to show the isolated sub-cycle strong-field interactions in solids. The synthesised pulse width was measured as \~12.4 fs, corresponding to 0.88 optical cycle at \~4.2 μm. The stable CEP was ensured with the passively CEP-stable pump and the WLG-seeded OPA scheme. CEP jitters (220 and 270 mrad rms) were measured for the signal and idler pulses, respectively, over \>6 min. A synthesised pulse with 33 µJ energy and \~1.9 GW peak power was obtained. HHG up to \~19th order was demonstrated in thin Si samples. The continuous harmonic spectrum confirmed that the generated sub-cycle mid-IR pulses allow for isolated harmonic emission. Further investigations in temporal domain along with CEP dependence are required for the detailed studies of strong-field electron dynamics in solids. We note that the energy scaling of this mid-IR source is relatively straightforward by adding OPA stages. Advanced pump laser technologies can potentially push the mid-IR sub-cycle source towards TW peak powers to drive strong-field interactions in gaseous media.
Methods {#Sec8}
=======
Mid-IR OPA construction {#Sec9}
-----------------------
An octave-spanning Ti:sapphire oscillator (650--1100 nm) generates the 2.1-µm signal seed through intrapulse DFG in a MgO:PPLN. The Ti:sapphire oscillator also seeds both picosecond 1047 nm Nd:YLF pump laser and 1030 nm cryo-cooled Yb:YAG pump laser. They provide \~1.5 and \~45 mJ pump energy for the 2.1-μm OPCPA, respectively. The amplified 2.1-μm pulses from the three-stage OPCPA are passively CEP stabilised with 3.5 mJ of maximum pulse energy and 26 fs pulse width. The 0.8 mJ, 2.1-µm pulses are used as the pump of the mid-IR OPA. A 20 µJ portion of the 2.1-µm pump is split for WLG in a 6-mm-thick BaF~2~ plate as the signal of the mid-IR OPA. The polarisation is rotated by 90^o^ using a CaF~2~ half-wave plate to fulfill the type-I phase matching. A 1.1-mm-thick CSP from BAE Systems with *θ = *47^o^ is chosen for the type-I parametric conversion for its large nonlinear coefficient, broad phase-matching bandwidth, and high damage threshold pumped by 2.1 μm pulses. As there is a lack of mid-IR broadband beam combiners and beam splitters, 300-µm thick Si plates are oriented at the Brewster angle of the 2.1 μm pump serving as the beam combiner and beam splitter. With a large refractive index (i.e. *n*\~3.44), Si has a large Brewster angle that is \~74° at 2.1 µm. This requires a \~74° incident angle of the signal and idler beams with orthogonal polarisation to the 2.1-µm pump in the collinear OPA scheme, which gives \~70% reflection of the signal and idler pulses. The energy loss from the Si beam splitter is taken into account in Fig. [2c](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}.
Spectral characterisation {#Sec10}
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The output spectra of the mid-IR OPA are recorded by a scanning-grating monochromator (Horiba) with a liquid-nitrogen-cooled MCT detector. Long-pass filters with cutting wavelengths at 2400, 3600, 4500 and 7300 nm are used to analyse the two-octave-spanning spectrum.
SHG FROG {#Sec11}
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The temporal profile of the 2.1-μm pump and the amplified signal pulses is characterised using a SHG FROG apparatus. A 100-µm thick β-barium borate and a 140-µm thick AgGaS~2~ is used for the SHG of the 2.1-μm pump and the amplified signal, respectively.
XFROG {#Sec12}
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A beam with 10 µJ energy is split from the 2.1-μm pump as the reference of the XFROG. The synthesised pulse and the reference pulse are focused on a 30-µm-thick type-I GaSe crystal. The dispersion of the crystal is as low as 2.5 fs^2^ at 4.2 μm. The generated sum-frequency signal is coupled into a spectrometer with InGaAs detectors (NIRQuest512, Ocean Optics). The spectral resolution of 6.7 nm limits the overall resolution of the measured XFROG trace. An iris aperture and a polariser are used to block the leakage of the fundamental pulses and thus increase the signal-to-noise ratio. The delay scan is done at the synthesised pulse arm. For the XFROG measurement of an optimally synthesised pulse, the time delay between the signal and pump pulses is finely tuned using a piezo stage within a total delay of \~30 fs, such that the shortest duration is obtained while the amplified energy is maintained at maximum. The grid size of XFROG retrieval is 128.
The cross-referencing ***f***-3***f*** nonlinear spectral interferometry {#Sec13}
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We use the CEP-stable 2.1-µm pump beam as the CEP reference for the idler. The optical schematic is shown in Supplementary Fig. [5a](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}. By slightly rotating the CSP crystal and thereby inducing very small birefringence to the 2.1-µm pump, we can generate the weak, vertically polarised component of the residual pump in Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"} (\~5 μJ of energy out of 0.8 mJ) while keeping the same performance of the mid-IR OPA. This polarisation-rotated residual pump is also reflected by the Si beam splitter and collinear with the idler pulse that spans from 4.4 to 9.0 µm. Since the spectrum of the polarisation-rotated residual pump is found to be narrower than the original pump spectrum, it is first focused to a 1-mm-thick ZGP crystal for the moderate spectral broadening through self-phase modulation. After that the collinear pulses, including the broadened residual pump and the idler, are focused to another 0.5-mm-thick ZGP to generate the TH of the idler in the wavelength of 1.7--2.4 µm, with the optimised phase-matching angle of the ZGP crystal. The spectrally overlapped TH of the idler and the broadened residual pump with a fixed time delay are coupled into a spectrometer with InGaAs detectors (NIRQuest512, Ocean Optics) for the cross-referencing SI measurement. The measured spectra of the broadened polarisation-rotated residual pump and the TH of the idler are shown in Supplementary Fig. [5b](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}. The single-shot interference measurements are taken with an integration time of 1 ms, as presented in Supplementary Fig. [5c](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}.
HHG setup {#Sec14}
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The laser beam is focused using an *f* = 25.4 mm off-axis parabolic mirror with gold coating and then collimated using an *f* = 50.8 mm off-axis parabolic mirror with UV-enhanced Al coating that can reflect the high harmonics up to the UV range. The mid-IR and harmonic beams are focused into an UV-visible monochromator (SP-300i, Acton Research Corporation) with an intensified charge-coupled device camera (PI-MAX, Princeton Instruments). Low-order harmonics in the NIR region are not measured because the cutoff region is of main interest. A 200-nm-thick free-standing Si (100) sample and a 500-nm-thick Si (100) sample on a 0.5-mm-thick sapphire substrate are used as the medium of HHG. Each solid sample is mounted on a rotation stage and a translation stage for optimisation of the HHG signal. The laser beam is focused into the sample with the normal angle of incidence and the vertical polarisation. The crystal orientation relative to the laser polarisation is rotated using the rotation stage, whereas the position of the sample relative to the beam focus along the propagation direction is adjusted using the linear stage. While the focused spot sizes of signal and idler beams are estimated as \~13 and \~26 μm in Gaussian waist, respectively, with *M* ^2^ value of \~1.7, the sample position is optimised for the HHG experiment as explained in section HHG in solids.
Data availability {#Sec15}
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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.
Electronic supplementary material
=================================
{#Sec16}
Supplementary Information
**Electronic supplementary material**
**Supplementary Information** accompanies this paper at doi:10.1038/s41467-017-00193-4.
**Publisher\'s note:** Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
We thank Dr. T. Lang for letting us use the 2 + 1 dimensional nonlinear pulse propagation analyzer. We also thank Dr. O.D. Mücke for the theoretical support on solid-state HHG, Dr. P.D. Keathley for technical discussions on laser stability measurements and Dr. O. Novák for the 2 μm beam pointing stabiliser. This material is based upon work supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (award number FA9550-12-1-0499 and FA9550-14-1-0255), the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Hamburg, Germany, and the excellence cluster 'The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging---Structure, Dynamics and Control of Matter at the Atomic Scale' of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. H.K. Liang acknowledges the financial support from SERC (Grant No. 1426500050, and 1426500051) from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A\*STAR), Singapore. P.K. acknowledges support from a NDSEG Graduate Fellowship. Z.W., H.P. and L.F.D. acknowledge support from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under MURI, Award No. FA9550-16-1-0013. Z.W. acknowledges the support from the Presidential Fellowship of The Ohio State University.
H.L., P.K. and K.-H.H. conceived and designed the experiment. K.Z. and P.S. fabricated the CSP and ZGP nonlinear crystals. H.L and P.K. constructed the mid-IR OPA, mid-IR interferometric autocorrelator and XFROG with the help from K.-H.H. H.L., P.K. and K.-H.H. carried out the spectral and temporal characterisation as well as the CEP measurement and interpreted data. The HHG experiment with solid samples was conceived by K.-H.H. and L.F.D., and then carried out by Z.W., H.P., T.K., P.K. and K.-H.H. F.X.K. provided the essential infrastructure for the experiment and J.M. contributed to the setup of the mid-IR OPA, detection and characterisation. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the manuscript.
Competing interests {#FPar1}
===================
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
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Kitty Breastfeedingby Jan Tritten
Why don’t cats have breastfeeding problems? If we answer this we might have an answer to human breastfeeding problems. When Momma Cat had her babies (see last issue’s editorial) they began breastfeeding even before the other babies were born. One would come out, Momma Cat would lick it all over, the kitty would begin nursing and another sibling would be born. I suppose the extra oxytocin helped the next ones be born. This must be how the process works hormonally. The process worked well, and like Momma Cat, other mammals do not seem to have breastfeeding difficulties.
The greatest part of the human breastfeeding problem originates in the birth process. With 1 out of 3 or more babies cut out of moms, mostly for invalid reasons and flimsy excuses, the process of birth, which includes breastfeeding, is disturbed. When a woman is induced, her own natural oxytocin flow is changed and she is not able to breastfeed as easily. She does not have the same mothering hormone which, as Michel Odent says, is the shy hormone and the hormone of love. It seems to me interventions are the biggest barrier to breastfeeding. The second is the human mind, the third is culture and the fourth is choice. Cats do not have a choice as to whether to bottle or breastfeed and their minds do not get in the way of the process. They are not embarrassed—they just nurse the babies.
What would happen to cats if their births were as disturbed as human births with a host of interventions? Would they then have breastfeeding problems? Would they begin feeling embarrassed with breastfeeding as some humans feel because of the messages from culture? Would they bend to peer pressure? Would they get as far away from the intended method of baby feeding that we as humans have? When I was in college taking an anthropology course, one of the assigned books was called, Culture against Man. In birth and breastfeeding this is a very true statement. Culture is against [wo]man. Our culture, in the arena of birth and breastfeeding, has gotten so far away from God’s original design, which has resulted in incredible and immeasurable damage to almost every human born today. Cats, on the other hand, do not technically have culture. They also don’t have a deep thinking brain and have not taken their childbearing cycle into a dangerous choice realm where man, having extremely weird ideas and psychology, has come up with the most bizarre ideas regarding birth. Doctors, in their stolen power over birthing women, have come up with strange torture methods in regard to birth. Some of these methods have gone out of favor because real evidence is understood and research has been done to prove the dangers associated with them. For example, enemas, shaving, routine X-rays of pregnant women and the tying down of hands and feet during labor are practices that have been mostly rejected. We are still stuck with lithotomy position, induction, breaking waters, routine ultrasound and now nearly routine cesareans. It is pure madness and it is “culture against women.”
The battle is in the mind. Eneyda, my friend who was born in Nicaragua, told me that she was raised seeing all the moms around her nursing their babies—all of them. When she had her first baby, there was no question in her mind. The nurse brought her the baby and then left the room. When she came back Eneyda was nursing. The nurse asked, “What are you doing? I have to be with you when you first breastfeed.” This was hospital policy! Eneyda reassured her it was okay. Breastfeeding normalcy was in Eneyda’s mind, and even though she had been separated from her baby, she breastfed easily.
The anthropology courses I took in college influenced me in the area of breastfeeding. When I had my first baby, I had no question that breastfeeding is what mothers did in order for our species to survive. I had seen a couple of moms in our neighborhood breastfeed, and I knew I would breastfeed, too, even though my mother only did for a few weeks. The doctor told her she didn’t have enough milk while he had her supplement with a bottle! I was/am a bit of a rebel and a naturalist, so when I had my first baby in the hospital with a forced saddle block, my mind was so set on breastfeeding that I never questioned it. Even though my baby was taken away from me at birth, I only had to work with her for a few hours to get her going.
Eneyda feels practitioners need to talk about breastfeeding in the prenatal stage much more than we do. This is needed to counteract the bad seeds planted in the minds of women these days. This is more for hospital births. When I did homebirths, we had an almost 100% breastfeeding success rate. I remember only one case in my practice when breastfeeding wasn’t successful, and that was because the pediatrician discouraged the mother from breastfeeding. Another solution then might be a high homebirth rate. I think maybe a 90% homebirth rate would solve this problem. A midwife for every mother has been our call.
The human brain is a big barrier to breastfeeding. If you don’t know you can have a problem, you probably won’t. How many are that blessed in this world? A hundred years ago, in native cultures as well as in our western culture, there would not have been this problem. Have we changed physiologically? No.
There are also devastating effects of having “choice” on whether or not to breastfeed. Animals do not have a choice on whether they will breastfeed. Again, the human mind gets totally in the way of the God-given way to do birth which includes breastfeeding. It makes no sense and yet we cannot challenge that because choice is worshipped in our culture. What about the baby and his choice? We never asked Momma Cat whether or not she wanted to breastfeed. Weren’t her babies blessed? Since two of them are now part of the Tritten household, I say a resounding, YES! They are so healthy. The world’s babies would be healthy, too, if only they all got to breastfeed for at least a year or three!
Toward Better Birth and Breastfeeding,Jan Tritten
Jan Tritten
Jan Tritten is the founder and editor-in-chief of Midwifery Today magazine and a midwife who was in active practice from 1977–1989. She became a midwife in 1977 after the powerful homebirth of one of her daughters. Her mission is to make loving midwifery care the norm for birthing women and their babies throughout the world. Meet Jan at our conferences
around the world! [ PHOTO BY ANDREA NOLL ]
1947 Born in Los Angeles, California.1965 Graduated from Placer High School in Auburn, California.1966 Trained for one year as a psychiatric technician. Courses included
basic nursing, pharmacology, microbiology, anatomy and physiology, psychology.1966–1971 Worked at DeWitt State Hospital in Auburn, California
as a psychiatric technician.1968 Graduated from Sierra College with an Associate of Arts degree.1970 Graduated with honors from Sacramento State College with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science.1971 Earned Lifetime California teaching credential with fifth-year
program from Sacramento State College.1972 First daughter born in a hospital. It changed my
life forever. It was an unsatisfactory birth experience, but I had a wonderful
postpartum experience with 2-1/2 years of breastfeeding.1976 Second daughter born. She was born at home
with a doctor who talked me into a homebirth. The difference between the
two births sent me on a path to do something to help women have positive
birth experiences.1976 Began training as a midwife. Because I was raising young children
and running a business, and because there were no CNM schools in my area,
becoming a CNM was not within my reach.1977 Began attending births with the Birth Co-op in Eugene while
organizing courses in our community taught by CNMs, physicians, nutritionists,
etc.1978 Began a midwifery practice, New Life Care, with a partner,
Chris Howard, and apprentice Monika Dunsmore.1979 Son born at home.1980 Did a one-year program with Marion Toepke McLean, CNM. Four of us completed the program, which was modeled after CNM curriculum at that time. She took a year off from her practice to teach us and to go to our births with us.1982 First group of midwives certified by the Oregon Midwives Council.
Our board was composed of CNMs and physicians.1986 Slowed down practice and started Midwifery Today magazine.
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Good or Bad, Baucus Bill a Start
If our Readers Who Comment are any indication, Post reporter Ceci Connolly could not have produced a more accurate first paragraph when she wrote "it appears that no one is happy" with the health-care reform proposal released Wednesday by Sen. Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.).
Connolly's thesis is that the fragile coalition of interest groups supporting health-care reform remains intact, even though "many of the most influential players found elements to dislike (about the Baucus bill), but not necessarily reasons to kill the effort."
Many of our readers are not in that group. Several of them call for a new start. The most frequently heard demand is for a public option, which many see as the only way to contain what they regard as insurance company abuses. There are readers who suggest Medicare, which works, and the Veterans Administration, which also works, should be the standard. But Baucus has produced something that will start the formal legislative process and perhaps let us move beyond the ideological mudslinging, the patently untrue claims by some, and get down to the real business of legislating.
Just for fun, we'll start with the most optimistic comment I found. jralger wrote, "When no one likes what they see, it usually means that they are willing to make trades. At the very least, such a result provides room for compromise. And in a way, maybe this approach will yeild a better final result than one of initial violent agreement ?..."
Maddogg was one of many who asserted that the bill is "A major victory for the health insurance companies. Their stocks are on a roar. Biggest loser is the consumer."
And postfan1 said, "Just what we were most afraid of. Passage of a bill that doesn't address the main problem with health care: it's costs. I suppose that's good news for everyone interested in the status quo, or with absolutely no means to afford health insurance. The rest of us will be paying more for less."
MikeMcNally alleged that, "...Baucus's committee was made up 100% of greedy politicians who have already been paid off by the healthcare industry (Baucus included)...The result is a bill that requires the middle class to pay 13% of their income DIRECTLY to the insurance companies. If they don't the government will force them to pay half that amount. In return the insurance companies get no regulation...This bill needs to be shredded NOW!"
steve4 wrote, "The only thing the dimwits can do to save their political rear ends is find a way to scrap the whole thing. None of this nonsense will work, and it will cost everyone more. Runaway from these bills if you want to keep your job..."
cbej21 predicted that "...It will take more than a few minutes for Limbaugh, Beck and DeMint to devise the necessary lies to derail this plan. Besides this plan will make the insurance companies so much money that republicans may lose some financial support."
maddymappo said, "...What we need is a march on Washington for a good public option. Why is that not being organized? About 75 thousand blathering fear mongerers marched against what they call "obamacare". So where are the millions and millions who want a good public plan to contain the healthcare industry from earning obscene fortunes while refusing ocverage to people with preexisting problems, and being too expensive for most people to purchase who are not part of a group plan? Let's go people!"
daniel3715 added, "...With no public option we are at the mercy of the Insurance robber barons. Six corrupt Senators, representing about 2% of the American people, recipients of millions of dollars from Insurance and big pharma special interests, are selling out the American people, and it looks like this administration is going along with it. I intend to voice my displeasure to anybody who will listen!!!!!"
seakeys wrote, "Whatever bill passes, this rediculous healthcare war better give all Americans the same policy benefits that the goofball legislators get.....that should be the keystone to any discussion, compromise, or deal maker or buster....."
hammeresq said, "...Everyone inside the Beltway seems to think that the important thing is to just get a bill done. However, if you look at all the plans being floated there doesn't seem to be anything beneficial to the American people in any of these plans. And astonishingly none of the plans contains malpractice reform or provision for health insurance to be sold nationwide. These two items if implemented would pretty much obviate the need for any other government involvement to cure our health care ills."
OldUncleTom wrote, "The only good thing I have heard about this bill is the inclusion of benefits expense on W-2's. At least that will be educational. If this passes, and is called "Reform", what excuses will we use in 6 years when premiums have doubled yet again, and copays are still rising?"
Yamaka said, "There is no employer mandate. Then why there is individual mandate? Individuals will be forced buy unaffordable health insurance, since there is no Public Option, which will provide affordable insurance. Say No to individual mandate if there is No Public Option. Make health insurance optional, period."
MikeJ9116 wrote, "I give Sen. Max Baucus credit for putting a health care bill that shows the seamy underbelly of just what the Democrats are proposing. By this I mean just how much it will cost people. The young will have a heart attack (that mandated health care will be handy then) the first time they do their taxes and get slapped with a huge fine for not buying insurance. Then the government will just take the money from their checks like they do with Medicare... Sen. Max Baucus has at least had the guts to show the pain that comes with government dictating health care requirements to the masses."
Absolute_0-K said, "Even the three Republicans who helped draft this Bill don't support it. It's a watered down piece of trash not worth the paper it's printed on."
mattislavin wrote, "Yes, of course the health insurance industry is excited at the prospect of 30 million new customers. But the Baucus plan does nothing to control costs. Co-ops won't be able to compete in markets dominated by a few large insurers, especially since their pool of potential customers is so limited by the plan..."
dummy4peace predicted that "Not adding a dime to our deficits won't happen if a strong Public Option is not included in the reform bill. The Public Plan will cover the Middle Class, provide real competitions, reduce health care costs, and even reduce the number of Medicaid beneficiaries. The Public Option may even reduce our deficits."
And ancient_mariner said, "This bill is worse than worthless. It provides no competition for the insurance companies and effectively gives them a license to continue picking our pockets with the force of law behind them. What we need is single-payer health insurance similar to medicare available to all citizens, regardless of age. This is the only real reform and we need to get it done this year."
BillWatson1 wrote, "...We have proven systems that could be win win for everyone, why aren't these facts part of the health care debate? America's Veteran Administration is the largest, lowest cost; best outcome producing at any cost, health care delivery system in the US, it uses the world's best medical software, and it has been controlling the problems with access, cost, quality, and malpractice successfully for years..."
We'll close with risejugger, from the Public Option Hope Springs Eternal Department, who predicted, "Everybody... knows the Republicans are stalling the process and have no intention of supporting any bill at all... All that needs to be done is to attach the public option to the Finance Committee bill and game over. Let the Republicans filibuster; I mean really force them to filibuster...It will happen, you watch!"
AMERICAN RELIGIOUS LEADERS ALL ACROSS THE USA HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO COUNT ON THEIR RELIGIOUS FLOCK TO CONTRIBUTE(TITHE)THEIR HARD EARNED MONIES TO THEIR MINISTRIES EVERY WEEK.
THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS ATTENDING RELIGIOUS SERVICES IN THE U.S. ARE MIDDLE~CLASS AND WORKING POOR CITIZENS WHO NOW DESPERATELY NEED THE HELP AND SUPPORT FROM THESE SAME U.S.RELIGIOUS LEADERS IN LOBBYING THE U.S.CONGRESS TO PROVIDE PROPER HEALTH~CARE FOR ALL POORER AMERICANS.
***THERE ARE CURRENTLY AN ESTIMASTED 45 MILLION MEN WOMAN AND CHILDREN WITHOUT HEALTH~CARE IN THE WEALTHIEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD????
SILENT AMERICAN RELIGIOUS LEADERS WHO ALL HAVE HEALTH~CARE FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES IS MUCH MORE FRIGHTENING THEN THE POSSIBLE DENIAL OF A FUTURE HEALTH~CARE PLAN FOR ALL...
It seems that under the Baucus bill the cost for employers to pay a fine or penalty for not providing insurance is much less than the cost of providing the insurance itself. If so, why not pay the fine and do away with the headaches of providing health insurance for your employees. Why set the penalty less than the insurance premiums?
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ing 1 e, 2 b, and 1 k when four letters picked without replacement from bdexdoxxbkoo.
1/495
What is prob of picking 2 f and 1 l when three letters picked without replacement from fllwwwwwlllfwww?
1/91
Two letters picked without replacement from {k: 2, h: 1, r: 1, z: 1}. What is prob of picking 1 k and 1 r?
1/5
Two letters picked without replacement from {g: 2, q: 1, a: 3, m: 4}. Give prob of picking 2 g.
1/45
Four letters picked without replacement from qtqtqqtqzzzqt. What is prob of picking 2 z and 2 q?
9/143
Calculate prob of picking 2 n when two letters picked without replacement from {n: 8, k: 2, j: 5}.
4/15
Calculate prob of picking 1 g and 1 i when two letters picked without replacement from {g: 4, i: 6, v: 1, k: 3}.
24/91
What is prob of picking 1 m and 1 r when two letters picked without replacement from dmmmmdbkddmdrbbdr?
5/68
What is prob of picking 2 d when two letters picked without replacement from dddddd?
1
Two letters picked without replacement from {o: 1, t: 11, q: 1}. Give prob of picking 1 t and 1 o.
11/78
What is prob of picking 2 t when two letters picked without replacement from tttttgyyttttttty?
11/20
Four letters picked without replacement from nqnqqqnqqnnn. What is prob of picking 4 n?
1/33
Calculate prob of picking 2 x when two letters picked without replacement from wwwwxxwwwwxwwwww.
1/40
Two letters picked without replacement from {x: 3, s: 1, i: 4, q: 2, p: 1, g: 1}. What is prob of picking 1 i and 1 s?
2/33
Two letters picked without replacement from {v: 2, c: 1, y: 1, q: 2}. What is prob of picking 1 c and 1 y?
1/15
Calculate prob of picking 4 h when four letters picked without replacement from hhhhhhhuhhhhhhhhhh.
7/9
Two letters picked without replacement from oocookekekm. Give prob of picking 1 c and 1 m.
1/55
Calculate prob of picking 2 r and 1 u when three letters picked without replacement from kkrkrvuzrwrk.
3/110
Four letters picked without replacement from {c: 3, h: 4, n: 1, w: 3}. Give prob of picking 1 c and 3 w.
1/110
What is prob of picking 3 j when three letters picked without replacement from jjjjj?
1
Calculate prob of picking 1 l and 3 v when four letters picked without replacement from {j: 4, l: 1, v: 4, r: 1}.
2/105
Calculate prob of picking 2 d when two letters picked without replacement from {f: 1, d: 7, h: 1, e: 5, q: 1, n: 4}.
7/57
Calculate prob of picking 4 j when four letters picked without replacement from jqjddjjisjjstj.
5/143
Four letters picked without replacement from goooggogeogogo. Give prob of picking 4 g.
15/1001
Calculate prob of picking 2 j and 2 d when four letters picked without replacement from {d: 6, j: 7}.
63/143
What is prob of picking 2 l when two letters picked without replacement from {n: 6, l: 4}?
2/15
Two letters picked without replacement from wbgaxhhxagww. What is prob of picking 1 h and 1 x?
2/33
Three letters picked without replacement from mmmtemeeemmmm. What is prob of picking 3 e?
2/143
Calculate prob of picking 2 r, 1 j, and 1 n when four letters picked without replacement from rnrjnjnjjgjjjjjj.
3/182
Two letters picked without replacement from dtccdmgtmzcm. Give prob of picking 2 t.
1/66
What is prob of picking 2 p and 2 j when four letters picked without replacement from jjjpjjjjjjpjfjfjpj?
13/170
Three letters picked without replacement from mmhhm. Give prob of picking 2 m and 1 h.
3/5
Calculate prob of picking 1 k, 1 j, and 2 r when four letters picked without replacement from {y: 2, k: 1, m: 1, j: 2, r: 2}.
1/35
What is prob of picking 2 p when two letters picked without replacement from {u: 4, b: 3, p: 9}?
3/10
What is prob of picking 1 c and 1 e when two letters picked without replacement from iefifcoifo?
1/45
Four letters picked without replacement from {t: 4, m: 6, a: 1, i: 2, u: 2}. Give prob of picking 1 a, 2 m, and 1 u.
2/91
What is prob of picking 1 l and 2 s when three letters picked without replacement from llssllhssl?
1/4
What is prob of picking 2 w when two letters picked without replacement from www?
1
Calculate prob of picking 1 k and 1 a when two letters picked without replacement from {a: 7, b: 4, k: 4}.
4/15
Calculate prob of picking 2 w when two letters picked without replacement from {w: 2, t: 1, v: 1, g: 1}.
1/10
What is prob of picking 1 a and 1 e when two letters picked without replacement from {j: 1, c: 1, d: 2, a: 1, e: 1, m: 1}?
1/21
Calculate prob of picking 1 h and 1 e when two letters picked without replacement from {h: 5, w: 4, r: 1, b: 4, e: 2}.
1/12
Three letters picked without replacement from {i: 1, b: 1, o: 2, q: 1, l: 1, g: 1}. Give prob of picking 1 b, 1 l, and 1 q.
1/35
Two letters picked without replacement from {s: 2, w: 5, i: 1, h: 1, q: 7}. What is prob of picking 1 i and 1 q?
7/120
Three letters picked without replacement from {r: 2, w: 8}. What is prob of picking 3 w?
7/15
Calculate prob of picking 1 m and 2 e when three letters picked without replacement from {e: 4, n: 3, m: 1}.
3/28
Calculate prob of picking 1 o, 1 l, and 1 q when three letters picked without replacement from lqlqo.
2/5
Two letters picked without replacement from hlhhhhlhhlhh. What is prob of picking 2 h?
6/11
Two letters picked without replacement from lovloolv. Give prob of picking 1 v and 1 l.
3/14
What is prob of picking 1 b, 1 p, and 1 u when three letters picked without replacement from rqpbzbu?
2/35
Three letters picked without replacement from kkykkykkkyk. What is prob of picking 1 y and 2 k?
28/55
What is prob of picking 1 z and 1 q when two letters picked without replacement from bqbbimrrmzizrb?
2/91
Three letters picked without replacement from mmmmmmmmmmmqqqmmmmmm. Give prob of picking 1 q and 2 m.
34/95
Calculate prob of picking 1 n and 1 t when two letters picked without replacement from ntnnntncttnnn.
16/39
Calculate prob of picking 1 k and 1 o when two letters picked without replacement from ggggkgggokocg.
2/39
What is prob of picking 1 y and 1 v when two letters picked without replacement from {c: 4, y: 5, o: 3, v: 4}?
1/6
Calculate prob of picking 1 i, 1 q, and 1 h when three letters picked without replacement from ssbibshbbbwbqhs.
2/455
What is prob of picking 1 u, 1 y, and 1 b when three letters picked without replacement from {h: 1, b: 3, o: 2, u: 6, y: 1}?
9/143
Three letters picked without replacement from {y: 6}. What is prob of picking 3 y?
1
Three letters picked without replacement from xixixgxxxxxxxxgxi. What is prob of picking 1 g and 2 x?
33/170
Calculate prob of picking 3 v when three letters picked without replacement from vvvvvvvvbvvvv.
10/13
What is prob of picking 1 t, 1 n, and 1 d when three letters picked without replacement from twtosnd?
2/35
Four letters picked without replacement from {s: 9, f: 2}. What is prob of picking 3 s and 1 f?
28/55
Two letters picked without replacement from {d: 3, n: 1, f: 4, z: 1, t: 6}. What is prob of picking 1 d and 1 f?
4/35
What is prob of picking 1 n and 1 u when two letters picked without replacement from {u: 3, y: 1, n: 3}?
3/7
What is prob of picking 2 e and 2 d when four letters picked without replacement from {d: 4, e: 2}?
2/5
Calculate prob of picking 1 y and 1 g when two letters picked without replacement from {g: 1, y: 14}.
2/15
Calculate prob of picking 2 e when two letters picked without replacement from eyeyyyyy.
1/28
What is prob of picking 1 b and 1 i when two letters picked without replacement from ixpbxxrpxr?
1/45
Two letters picked without replacement from {v: 1, r: 1, e: 1, k: 2, a: 1, m: 1}. What is prob of picking 1 r and 1 k?
2/21
Two letters picked without replacement from {q: 6, i: 1, o: 2, z: 4}. What is prob of picking 1 z and 1 i?
2/39
What is prob of picking 4 i when four letters picked without replacement from {k: 5, i: 8}?
14/143
What is prob of picking 1 o, 1 n, and 1 z when three letters picked without replacement from noscclonsozcozn?
24/455
Calculate prob of picking 1 f, 1 b, and 1 r when three letters picked without replacement from {s: 1, b: 1, o: 1, u: 1, f: 2, r: 2}.
1/14
What is prob of picking 1 l, 1 u, and 2 k when four letters picked without replacement from kukkuplkpu?
3/35
Three letters picked without replacement from {w: 1, k: 3, y: 1, c: 3, v: 2}. Give prob of picking 1 c, 1 k, and 1 v.
3/20
What is prob of picking 4 o when fo
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Ingrid Guimarães
Ingrid da Silva Guimarães (born July 5, 1972) is a Brazilian actress, comedian and television presenter.
Filmography
Television
1993 - Mulheres de Areia .... Jurema
1996 - Chico Total .... Reporter
1997 - Por Amor .... Tereza
1999 - Você Decide, O Príncipe da Feira
1999 - Você Decide, Meu Passado Condena
1999 - Você Decide, O Dilema de Rosane
2001 - Sai de Baixo, Um Louro Chamado Desejo .... Zildete
2001 - Os Normais, Cair na Rotina é Normal .... Denise
2001 - Escolinha do Professor Raimundo .... Leandra Borges
2003 - Kubanacan .... Rosita
2003 - Zorra Total .... Leandra Borges
2003 - Sob Nova Direção .... Pit
2007 - Mulheres Possíveis .... Presenter
2008 - Casos e Acasos, O Encontro, O Assédio e O Convite .... Camila
2008 - Casos e Acasos, O Encontro, o Homem Ideal e a Estréia .... Nina
2008 - Fantástico .... Leandra Borges
2009 - Caras & Bocas .... Simone
2010 - Fantástico .... Herself
2010 - Os Caras de Pau .... Tati
2010 - Batendo Ponto .... Val (Valquíria)
2011 - Batendo Ponto .... Val (Valquíria)
2011 - Macho Man .... Helô Fragoso Fraga
2011 - Aventuras do Didi .... Herself
2012 - A Grande Família, O Pai do Serginho .... Lili Pessanha
2012 - 220 Volts, Fama
2013 - Sangue Bom .... Tina Leão
2013 - Sai de Baixo, Quem Casa Quer Caco .... Henriqueta do Rego Amado
2019 - Bom Sucesso .... Silvana Nolasco
Film
1997 - Amar
1998 - Alô?! .... Valentina
2002 - Avassaladoras .... Paula
2004 - Um Show de Verão .... Jaqueline
2005 - Depois Daquele Baile .... Beth
2008 - Polaroides Urbanas .... Verley
2010 - De Pernas pro Ar .... Alice Segretto
2011 - Gnomeo & Juliet .... Nanette (Brazilian voice dubbing)
2012 - Totalmente Inocentes .... Raquel
2012 - De Pernas pro Ar 2 .... Alice Segretto
2013 - Minha Mãe é uma Peça .... Soraya
2016 - Entre Idas E Vindas .... Amanda
2016-Fala sério mãe...
Theater
1987 - Jardim das Borboletas
1992 - Confissões de Adolescente
1995 - O Diário de Anne Frank
1997 - Duas Mãos
1998 - Os Sete Gatinhos
2000 - Duas Mãos
2000 - A Espera
2000 - Laboratório de Humor
2001 - Cócegas (2001–present)
2002 - Cosquinha
2012 - Razões Para Ser Bonita .... Steph (2012–present)
References
External links
Category:1972 births
Category:Living people
Category:People from Goiânia
Category:Brazilian telenovela actresses
Category:Brazilian film actresses
Category:Brazilian stage actresses
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"We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading
reality."
-Ayn Rand
"The ego loves its resentment of reality. What is reality? Whatever is.
Buddha called it tatata-the suchness of life, which is no more than the
suchness of this moment. Opposition toward that suchness is one of the main
features of the ego. It creates the negativity that the ego thrives on, the
unhappiness that it loves. In this way, you make yourself and others suffer and
don't even know that you are doing it., don't know that you are creating hell on
earth. To create suffering without recognizing it-this is the essence of
un-conscious living; this is being totally in the grip of the ego. The extent of
the ego's inability to recognize itself and see what it is doing is staggering
and unbelievable. It will be exactly what it condemns others for and not see it.
When it is point out, it will use angry denial, clever arguments and
self-justifications to distort the facts. People do it, corporations do it,
governments do it. When all else fails, the ego will resort to shouting or even
to physical violence. Send in the marines. We can no understand the deep wisdom
in Jesus' words on the cross: "Forgive them for they know not what they do."
-Eckhart Tolle
A New Earth
"Reality is more Fantastic than any fantasy."
-Erich von Daniken
"After all, what is reality anyway?
Nothin' but a collective hunch."
-Jane Wagner
"I am afraid of this word 'reality," not constituting an ordinarily definable
characteristic of the things it is applied to, but used as though it were some
kind of celestial halo. I very much doubt If anyone of us has the faintest idea
of what is meant by the reality or existence of anything but our own egos."
Sir Arthur Eddington
"....all knowledge about reality begins with experience and terminates in
it."
-Albert Einstein
"The distinction between what is real and what is imaginary is not one that
can be finely maintained....all existing things are ....imaginary."
-John S. MacKenzie (1860-1935), philsopher
"We are suspended in language in such a way that we cannot say what is
up and what is down. The word 'reality' is also a word, a word which we must
learn to use correctly."
-Niels Bohr
"The stupendous fact that we stand in the midst of reality will always
be something far more wonderful than anything else we do."
Erich Gutkind
"Pay less attention to kings and troop movements, the squabbles for
power. Let big outer events go by without much notice. What's real is your
friendship with mystery, the intuitive communion there."
-Bahauddin (The Father of Rumi)
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go
away."
-Philip K. Dick
I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon
"If you listen carefully
now you will hear....
Things are not the way
they used to be,
Don't tell no lie;
One and all got to
face reality now."
-Bob Marley
"The real world is not easy to live in. It is rough; it is slippery.
Without the most clear-eyed adjustments we fall and get crushed. A man must stay
sober: not always, but most of the time."
-Clarence Day
"attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be
attained only by someone who is detached."
Simone Weil
"Only when all the crutches and props are broken....and there is no hope
for security, does it become possible to experience....the archetype of
meaning."
-C.G. Jung
"Set up as an ideal the facing of reality as honestly and cheerfully as
possible."
Dr. Karl A. Menninger
"Reality in our century is not something to be faced."
-Graham Greene
Our Man in Havana
"Once you are real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for
always."
-Margery Williams
"To hell with reality! I want to die in music, not in reason or in
prose. People don't deserve the restraint we show by not going into delirium in
front of them. To hell with them."
-Louis-Ferdinand Celine
""How hard it is, sometimes, to trust the evidence of one’s
senses! How reluctantly the mind consents to reality!
Norman Douglas
"Reality is the name we give to our mistakes."
Oscar Wilde
"Some people are still unaware that reality contains unparalleled
beauties. The fantastic and unexpected, the ever-changing and renewing is nowhere
so exemplified as in real life itself."
Berenice Abbot
"This is most people's reality: As soon as something is
perceived, it is named, interpreted, compared with something else, liked,
disliked, or called good or bad by the phantom self, the ego. They are
imprisoned in thought forms, in object consciousness.
You do not awaken spiritually until the compulsive and
unconscious naming ceases, or at least you become aware of it and thus are able
to observe it as it happens. It is through this constant naming that the ego
remains in place as the unobserved mind. Whenever it ceases and even when you
just become aware of it, there is inner space, and you are not possessed by the
mind anymore."
-Eckhart Tolle
A New Earth
"We should tackle reality
in a slightly humorous way;
Otherwise, we miss its point."
Lawrence Durrell
"We loosely talk of Self-realization, for lack of a better term. But how
can one realize or make real that which alone is real? All we need to do is
give up our habit of regarding as real that which is unreal. All religious
practices are meant solely to help us do this. When we stop regarding the unreal
as real, then reality alone will remain, and we will be that."
Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950)
"When we have seen the vision of Reality our world is
changed, utterly and almost beyond recognition, and yet nothing has changed in
things as they are, it is but that we have gained a new vision....It is the new
vision, which is born when man is freed from the tyranny of illusion, that the
whole world is changed and appears radiant with love and beauty, apparently
utterly changed, though the change really is in man himself alone."
J.J. Van Der Leeuw
The Conquest of Illusion
"Reality is simply the loss of the ego. Destroy the ego by seeking its
identity. It will automatically vanish and reality will shine forth by itself.
This is the direct method.
There is no greater mystery than this, that we keep seeking
reality though in fact we are reality. We think that there is something
hiding reality and that this must be destroyed before reality is gained. How
ridiculous! A day will dawn when you will laugh at all your past efforts. That
which will be on the day you laugh is also here and now."
Ramana Maharshi
"Sham and delusions are esteemed for soundest truths, while reality is
fabulous. If men would steadily observe realities only, and not allow themselves
to be deluded, life, to compare it with such things as we know, would be like a
fairy tale and the Arabian Nights' Entertainments. If we respected only what is
inevitable and has a right to be, music and poetry would resound along the
streets. When we are unhurried and wise, we perceive that only great and worthy
things have any permanent and absolute existence, that petty fears and petty
pleasures are but the shadow of reality. This is always exhilarating and
sublime. By closing the eyes and slumbering, and consenting to be deceived by
shows, men establish and confirm their daily of routing and habit everywhere,
which still is built on purely illusory foundations. Children, who play life,
discern its true law...."
Henry David Thoreau
Walden
"I stick my finger into existence-it smells of nothing. Where am I? Who
am I? How came I here? What is this thing called the world? What does this word
mean?
Soren Kierkegaard
""In an age of synthetic images and synthetic emotions, the chances
of an accidental encounter with reality are remote indeed."
"We discover that the universe shows evidence of a designing or controlling
power that has something in common with our own individual minds."
-Sir James Jeans
"That consciousness is a singular of which the plural is unknown; that there
is only one thing and that, which seems to be a plurality, is merely a series of
different aspects of this one thing."
-Erin Schrodinger
"Facing the bluntness of reality is the highest form of sanity and
enlightened vision....Devotion proceeds through various stages of unmasking
until we reach the point of seeing the world directly and simply without
imposing our fabrications....There may be a sense of being lost or exposed a
sense of vulnerability. That is simply a sign that ego is losing its grip on its
territory; it is not a threat."
-Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
"When we are unhurried and wise we perceive that only great and worthy
things have any permanent and absolute existence-that petty fears are but the
shadow of reality. This always exhilarating and sublime."
-Henry David Thoreau
"How reality feels. People addicted to busyness, people who don't just use
their cell phones in public but display in every nuance of cell-phone deportment
their sense of throbbing connectedness to Something important-these people would
suffocate like fish on a dock if they were cut off from the Flow of Events they
have conspired with their fellows to create. To these plugged-in players, the
rest of us look like zombies, coasting on fumes. For them, the feeling of being
busy is the feeling of being alive."
-Thomas de Zengotita
"Everybody wants to know
What can I do? We all want to save the planet
pick up the garbage. Free our brothers and sisters
stop war and bring the millennium
but what can I do, seriously?
Okay, seriously:
get to reality,
get to your own reality
Become yourself.
become incredibly high and real and influence
everyone around you with your vibrations,
no matter how difficult it is.
drop everything else and
start doing the most fantastic, real things you
can think of-
become yourself
get to your own reality."
-Paul Williams
Das energi
"What is reality? Answering this superficially simple
question is like trying to eat porridge with your fingers. It has occupied the
minds of the greatest philosophers such as Ludwig Wittgenstein, whose opinion
was that the solution to the mystery of space and time 'lies outside space and
time.' Emmanuel Kant referred to 'reality' as the 'Ding-an-Sich' or 'Thing in
Itself' which is intrinsically unknowable and perceived dimly through our
natural senses.'
-Frank Close
Lucifer's Legacy: The Meaning of Asymmetry
"One Nature, perfect and pervading, circulates in all natures,
One reality, all-comprehensive, contains within itself all realities.
-Yung-chia Ta-shih
"Man is wiser than his intellect....his whole organism has a wisdom and
purposiveness which goes well beyond his conscious thought.....I think men and
women, individually and collectively are inwardly and organismically rejecting
the view of one single culture-approved reality. i believe they are moving
inevitably toward the acceptance of millions of separate, challenging exciting
informative individual perceptions of reality. i regard it as possible that this
view-like the simultaneous and separate discovery of the principles of quantum
mechanics by scientists in different countries-may begin to come into effective
existence in many parts of the world at once. if so, we would be living in a
totally new universe, different from any in history."
-Carl Rogers
"....We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. and
while you are studying that reality-judiciously, as you will- we'll act again,
creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things
will sort out. We're history's actors....and you all of you, will be left to
just study what we do."
an unnamed aide to President George W. Bush in 2002
New York Times magazine
**************
Book: "The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of
Reality" by Brian Greene
Book: "The Road To Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the
Universe" by Roger Penrose
Book: "The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the
Universe" by Roger Penrose
|
Mitt Romney fought climate change as governor
WASHINGTON — During his first 18 months as governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney spent considerable time hammering out a sweeping climate change plan to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.As staff briefed him on possible measures and environmentalists pressed him to act, Romney frequently repeated a central thought, people at those meetings said: That climate change is occurring, that the United States has the resources to handle its vast impact but that low-lying poor countries like Bangladesh would suffer greatly.“It was like a mantra with him,” said a person who attended those meetings who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the topic. “His Cabinet members would look at him like, ‘What?’ He was the radical in the room.”Before doing an about-face toward the end of his term as he began to prepare for his first run for president, Romney pushed to close old coal-fired plants, encourage the development of renewable energy and contain sprawl — steps similar to some President Barack Obama has taken.Indeed, one of Romney’s top environmental staffers, Gina McCarthy, now runs the air pollution unit of the Environmental Protection Agency under Obama. John Holdren, a scientist Romney turned to on at least one occasion to discuss climate change, is the White House senior advisor on science and technology issues.Romney’s gubernatorial record on energy and the environment has little in common with the positions he has staked out in the presidential race, those who knew him in Massachusetts say. The presumptive Republican nominee expresses doubts about climate science as readily as the majority of his party, and his official website has no mention of environmental policy, except for reining in the Clean Air Act and the EPA.The gulf between his past actions and current rhetoric has many, including some Republicans, wondering which Romney would govern if he won in November. Would Romney stick to an energy plan heavily tilted to boosting oil and gas development, and reducing regulation? Or would he tack back to the moderate positions he once embraced as Massachusetts governor?Romney’s top energy donors are from fossil fuel companies. Oil, coal and natural gas interests are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into defeating Obama. And the Republican base is not shy about speaking out on global warming or oil drilling.“He’s sort of been all over the map on many of these issues, and clearly there’s always a concern that we won’t get the market-based energy policies we’d want,” said Wayne Brough, chief economist with FreedomWorks, a tea party group. “The way you resolve those concerns about his past is for him to hear our activism, to hear from the tea party, ‘This is where we want to go.’ ”The Romney campaign says there is no contradiction between what he says on the stump now and what he did as Massachusetts governor, from 2003 through early 2007.The state climate action plan issued in 2004, for instance, “is consistent with what he’s saying now,” said Oren Cass, Romney’s domestic policy adviser.“He’s a supporter of renewable energy, as long as it’s anything that would be economically competitive. He doesn’t know the extent to which climate change is occurring or that human activity is causing it, but he would pursue a ‘no regrets’ energy policy that has measures that are smart, whether climate change is happening or not.”Cass added: “What you won’t see are mandates or taxes or regulations that interfere with economic activity.”As a presidential candidate at a time when denying climate change and boosting fossil fuels have become articles of faith for most conservatives, Romney plans to aid coal and oil production if elected, pare back environmental regulations and place alternative energy on the back burner.In a March op-ed, he wrote that instead of backing “real energy,” Obama pushed renewables such as wind and solar power. Romney has called for amending the Clean Air Act so that the EPA could not regulate greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide — a move his critics say would allow politicians, not scientists, to determine what is a pollutant.“I exhale carbon dioxide,” Romney said last November in New Hampshire. “I don’t want those guys following me around with a meter to see if I’m breathing too hard.”The EPA curtailed greenhouse gas emissions as a result of a 2007 Supreme Court suit, Massachusetts v. EPA, brought by the state’s attorney general during Romney’s tenure. While Romney played no role in the lawsuit, he wasn’t “hostile to it either,” said Seth Kaplan, vice president of policy at the Conservation Law Foundation in Boston.Among the handful of issues Romney focused on as governor was climate change. “We probably spent more time discussing climate change than anything else,” said Douglas Foy, Romney’s former “supersecretary” who oversaw environmental, energy, transportation and housing policy.Foy’s appointment by a pro-business Republican like Romney heartened environmentalists, who had eyed the new governor skeptically at first. Foy was the chief executive of the Conservation Law Foundation and known for his aggressive stance against polluters. Romney chose him to foster economic development with a close eye on the environment.Foy’s team crafted the 2004 Climate Action Plan, and with Romney’s blessing, led the effort to draft the country’s first interstate compact to reduce greenhouse gases, called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI.But by late 2005, when the compact awaited his signature, Romney halted in his tracks. He decided Massachusetts would not participate. Romney determined that RGGI’s cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could be onerously expensive for state businesses, Cass said. Massachusetts joined RGGI when Deval Patrick succeeded Romney as governor, and it went on to create 16,000 regional jobs and pump $1.6 billion into the economy, according to a November 2011 report by the Analysis Group, a Boston consultancy.A week after his RGGI decision, Romney’s administration adopted a provision that let power plants pay a low fee for emitting harmful toxins like mercury, rather than cleaning them up. Both decisions occurred just as Romney announced he would not seek a second term and began preparations for the 2008 presidential race.“It was almost as if a switch was flipped in December 2005,” said Rob Sargent, Boston-based energy program director for Environment America, about Romney’s decisions. “We always suspected he might have higher aspirations, and that’s when his constituents started saying he must be trying to appeal to people other than Massachusetts voters.”If Romney is elected president, he might govern as he did early in his Massachusetts tenure, some analysts say. But in the fog of the campaign, some find it hard to say what is the truer reflection of Romney — his past or the present.“We thought his record in Massachusetts was quite good,” said David Jenkins, vice president of ConservAmerica, a Republican environmental group, who added that he has found some of Romney’s more recent statements worrisome. “We have heard a lot of campaign trail stuff. We have heard whatever a particular group wants to hear from him, and when you do that, you get yourself into what I call the panderers’ box.”
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Q:
React Router: doesn't update browser url
I'm learning React making a small single page app. Just added react-router-dom today and building it out to do routes and private routes. All is well except for one thing: When the user enters a malformed url in the browser bar, the user should be rerouted to the index (WORKS!), but the browser url bar is not updated on this redirect. Oddly enough, when I hit a private route while not authorized, the redirect DOES update the url bar. What am I missing?
router.js:
const PrivateRoute = ({auth: authenticated, component: Component, ...rest}) => (
<Route {...rest} render={(props) => (
authenticated === true
? <Component {...props} />
: <Redirect to='/login/'/>
)}/>
);
export default function Router() {
const auth = useSelector(isAuthenticated);
return (
<Switch>
<PrivateRoute auth={"auth"} path={"/dashboard/"} component={DashboardContainer}/>
<Route path={"/about/"} component={AboutContainer}/>
<Route path={"/login/"} component={LoginContainer}/>
<Route path={"/terms/"} component={TermsContainer}/>
<Route path={"/"} component={IndexContainer}/>
<Redirect push to={"/"}/>
</Switch>
);
}
A:
I believe your issue is a result of not specifying that the paths should be exact matches, therefore any route will match with your route that is specified as:
<Route path={"/"} component={IndexContainer}/>
Try adding the exact prop to all of your routes (except for your redirect), and you should properly get redirected to the home page with the correct URL.
More details on the exact prop here: React : difference between <Route exact path="/" /> and <Route path="/" />
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Twice a year a stunning 30-mile loop on some of Europe’s most scenic roads is closed to traffic for the Sellaronda Bike Day – and there’s no charge to take part. Trevor Ward joins cyclists of all ages for the event’s 10th anniversary ride
Yesterday (21 June) was the 10th anniversary Sellaronda Bike Day in the Italian Dolomites. The event is held twice a year and involves closing off a 33-mile loop of roads, including four mountain passes, to motorised traffic. Bus services are suspended and workers have to arrive early to beat the 8.30am road closure which affects the communities of Alta Badia, Val Gardena, Arabba and Canazei. And it’s all so that thousands of people can get on their bikes and have some of the most scenic roads in Europe exclusively to themselves.
I was one of an estimated 20,000 cyclists who took part in yesterday’s ride. It felt like being in a closed-road sportive with one big difference – it was entirely free.
To a British cyclist used to hearing about closed-road events being sabotaged by protestors, it was a real eye-opener, and not just in terms of the stunning scenery.
Being a non-competitive event with a route you can join and leave at any of several points along the way made it feel more welcoming and inclusive than the typical British sportive. Though the climbs are quite testing – gradients averaging seven per cent and lengths up to seven miles – I saw children riding mountain bikes, toddlers being towed in trailers and, in one case, a young teenager being pulled along by his dad with a piece of rope tied between their bikes.
If you want a free, closed-road bike ride in the UK, your choices are limited and dramatic natural scenery is in short supply. There’s RideLondon’s FreeCycle, taking place on 1 August, or the Sky Rides being held in 15 towns and cities throughout this year. But all these events are only four to eight miles in length.
Though it’s only fair to point out that an eight-mile city centre road closure probably affects more businesses and residents than a 30-mile loop in a remote mountain region, the small villages on the route of the Bike Day rely on tourist visitors, not all of whom are sympathetic to those who ride bikes.
Sellaronda Bike Day costs €20,000 (£14,000) to organise and promote, and the cost is shared between the local councils in the four valleys it involves. One reason for the low cost is that, unlike at UK events, the police don’t charge for enforcing the road closures, and the bus companies don’t demand compensation for lost revenue.
Oscar Alfreider, the head of tourism for Alta Badia, who rode yesterday’s route on an electric bike, says some of the region’s 600 hotel and guesthouse owners were initially sceptical when the idea was first mooted. Shops and restaurants on the four mountain passes were particularly concerned, as most of their custom came from coach parties, motorcyclists and drivers.
But Alta Badia had the advantage of already hosting one of the most popular closed-road cycling events in Europe, the Maratona dles Dolomites, which next month holds its 29th edition. 35,000 cyclists apply each year to take part, but only 9,000 are accepted, and the event is televised live on national television.
Alfreider says: “If any hotel owner or other business makes a fuss, we remind them that many of the riders are coming here for the first time – maybe they didn’t get a place on the Maratona – and many of them will return with their families.”
Alfreider’s main disappointment is with the city council of Bolzano, the regional capital, who hadn’t completed road repairs on the tricky descent from the Campolongo Pass in time for Wednesday’s event.
Interestingly, the people that did protest during the Bike Day’s early years did so for an unexpected reason.
“Shops, cafes and restaurants on the downhill sections of the route complained they weren’t getting any business because cyclists were less likely to stop for a drink or snack when they were descending. So, four years ago, we introduced a second Bike Day, in September, and changed the direction of the riders,” says Alfreider.
One of the more colourful characters taking part in yesterday’s event was Michil Costa who was riding his lovingly-restored, 120-year-old penny farthing. Costa, the owner of an eco-friendly hotel in Corvara who has been involved in the organisation of the Maratona since 1997, believes the Dolomites – a Unesco World Heritage Site – should be “healed” by the regular banning of motorised traffic. He has a “dream that within the next four to five years”, every day will be Bike Day in Alta Badia, with motorised traffic banned from its mountain roads for a few hours seven days a week.
Costa acknowledges that this idea has the support of “only 15%” of his fellow hoteliers, but says it was the same when the Maratona started. “Now all the businesses love the Maratona because it directly results in 80,000 overnight stays every year. And the Sellaronda Bike Day has also become a tourist attraction in its own right” he says.
The majority of yesterday’s riders were Italians who had driven to one of the “hub” villages where they could park their cars before joining the route on their bikes. Non-cycling tourists I spoke to said their hotels had given them plenty of warning. If they had planned to visit any of the mountain trails or passes on the Bike Day route, they had either driven to their destination before the roads were closed, or used one of the many cable cars that operate during the summer.
On 28 June a third cyclists-only event will be added to the calendar, with 39 miles of roads to be closed in a neighbouring valley for the inaugural Börz-Plose Bike Day.
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Retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase in the rat's brain during halothane anesthesia.
The horseradish peroxidase (HRP) method was used to study the effect of halothane anesthesia on retrograde transport in the central nervous system. Rats received neostriatal injections of 30% HRP (0.3 microl) and were placed in inhalation chambers perfused with air or air containing 1% halothane for up to 24 h. Subsequently, the brain were examined at rostro-caudal levels of the presence and distribution of HRP-containing cells. The number and distribution of HRP-labelled cells appearing at each cranial level were compared in control and halothane-anesthetized animals as a function of time. The results suggest that retrograde transport in the central nervous system is unaffected during halothane anesthesia.
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The near-field scanning thermal microscope.
We report on the design, characterization, and performance of a near-field scanning thermal microscope capable to detect thermal heat currents mediated by evanescent thermal electromagnetic fields close to the surface of a sample. The instrument operates in ultrahigh vacuum and retains its scanning tunneling microscope functionality, so that its miniature, micropipette-based thermocouple sensor can be positioned with high accuracy. Heat currents on the order of 10(-7) W are registered in z spectroscopy at distances from the sample ranging from 1 to about 30 nm. In addition, the device provides detailed thermographic images of a sample's surface.
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Cyanamide route to calcium-manganese oxide foams for water oxidation.
In nature, photosynthetic water oxidation is efficiently catalysed at a protein-bound μ-oxido Mn4Ca cluster. This cluster consists of earth abundant, non-toxic elements and serves as a paragon for development of synthetic catalysts. In this study we developed porous calcium-manganese oxides with a unique foam-like nanostructure prepared via a facile and robust synthetic route using cyanamide as a porogen. A series of such oxide foams annealed at different temperatures was characterized by TEM, SEM, XRD, N2 physisorption, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) in order to correlate crystallinity, atomic structure, surface area and oxidation state of the materials with catalytic activity. Some of the resulting Ca-Mn oxides show high activity as catalysts for water oxidation in the presence of cerium(iv) ammonium nitrate as a non-oxo transfer oxidant. An amorphous calcium-manganese-oxide foam with 130 m(2) g(-1) surface area and Mn oxidation state of +3.6 was identified to be most active; its activity is superior to previously reported Ca-Mn oxides. At the atomic level, this material shares structural motifs with the biological paragon as revealed by dual-edge XAS at the Mn and Ca K-edge. Rather than nanostructure and surface area, the atomic structure of the Ca-Mn oxide and the extent of structural order appear to be crucial determinants of catalytic activity. Fully disordered low-valent Mn materials as well as high-valent but crystalline Mn-Ca oxides are unreactive. Highly disordered variants of layered manganese oxide with Ca and water molecules interfacing layer fragments are most reactive.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radiation-sensitive composition and a compound.
2. Discussion of the Background
When deep ultraviolet rays (e.g., KrF excimer laser light or ArF excimer laser light) or the like are applied to a chemically-amplified radiation-sensitive resin composition, an acid is generated in the exposed area, and a difference in solubility rate in a developer occurs between the exposed area and the unexposed area due to chemical reactions catalyzed by the generated acid. A resist pattern is formed on a substrate by utilizing the difference in solubility rate (see Japanese Patent Application Publication (KOKAI) No. 59-45439 and Perfluorooctyl Sulfonates; Proposed Significant New Use Rule).
A photoacid generator included in the chemically-amplified radiation-sensitive resin composition is required to exhibit excellent transparency to radiation and have a high quantum yield when generating an acid. An acid generated by the photoacid generator is required to have sufficient acidity, a sufficiently high boiling point, and an appropriate diffusion distance (hereinafter may be referred to as “diffusion length”) in the resist film, for example.
When using an ionic photoacid generator, the structure of the anion moiety is important in order to obtain sufficient acidity, a sufficiently high boiling point, and an appropriate diffusion length.
For example, a photoacid generator having a trifluoromethanesulfonyl structure generates an acid having sufficient acidity, and sufficiently increases the resolution of the photoresist.
A photoacid generator having a sulfonyl structure bonded to a large organic group (e.g., 10-camphorsulfonyl structure) generates an acid having a sufficiently high boiling point and an appropriate diffusion length (i.e., a sufficiently short diffusion length).
When precisely controlling the line width (e.g., when the device design dimensions are equal to or less than sub-half micrometers), it is important for a chemically-amplified resist to exhibit an excellent resolution and provide excellent surface flatness. When using a chemically-amplified resist that provides poor surface flatness, elevations and depressions (hereinafter may be referred to as “nano edge roughness”) formed on the surface of the resist film may be transferred to a substrate when transferring the resist pattern to the substrate by etching or the like, so that the dimensional accuracy of the pattern may deteriorate. This may impair the electrical properties of the resulting device (see J. Photopolym. Sci. Tech., p. 571 (1998), Proc. SPIE, Vol. 3333, p. 313, Proc. SPIE, Vol. 3333, p. 634 and J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B16 (1), p. 69 (1998), for example).
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This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/copyright Author's personal copy Predictive coding explains binocular rivalry: An epistemological review Jakob Hohwy a,*, Andreas Roepstorff b,c, Karl Friston d a Department of Philosophy, Monash University, Australia b Department of Social Anthropology, University of Aarhus, Denmark c Danish National Research Foundation's Centre for Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, University of Aarhus, Denmark d The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, UK a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 19 September 2007 Revised 18 April 2008 Accepted 22 May 2008 Keywords: Binocular rivalry Consciousness Predictive coding Empirical Bayes Perceptual inference Learning Free-energy Psychophysics Neurophysiology a b s t r a c t Binocular rivalry occurs when the eyes are presented with different stimuli and subjective perception alternates between them. Though recent years have seen a number of models of this phenomenon, the mechanisms behind binocular rivalry are still debated and we still lack a principled understanding of why a cognitive system such as the brain should exhibit this striking kind of behaviour. Furthermore, psychophysical and neurophysiological (single cell and imaging) studies of rivalry are not unequivocal and have proven difficult to reconcile within one framework. This review takes an epistemological approach to rivalry that considers the brain as engaged in probabilistic unconscious perceptual inference about the causes of its sensory input. We describe a simple empirical Bayesian framework, implemented with predictive coding, which seems capable of explaining binocular rivalry and reconciling many findings. The core of the explanation is that selection of one stimulus, and subsequent alternation between stimuli in rivalry occur when: (i) there is no single model or hypothesis about the causes in the environment that enjoys both high likelihood and high prior probability and (ii) when one stimulus dominates, the bottom–up, driving signal for that stimulus is explained away while, crucially, the bottom–up signal for the suppressed stimulus is not, and remains as an unexplained but explainable prediction error signal. This induces instability in perceptual dynamics that can give rise to perceptual transitions or alternations during rivalry. 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction If one stimulus is shown to one eye and another stimulus to the other, then subjective experience alternates between them. For example, when an image of a house is presented to one eye and an image of a face to the other, then subjective experience alternates between the house and the face. This is known as binocular rivalry. Binocular rivalry is a challenge to our understanding of the visual system, and it is of special importance for studies of phenomenal consciousness in humans and monkeys, because the stimulus presented to subjects can be held constant while the phenomenal percept changes (Frith, Perry, & Lumer, 1999; Koch, 2004). There have been many empirical studies of binocular rivalry but the data they produce are conflicting and it is very difficult to give them an unequivocal interpretation. A number of proposals have been made but the neurocognitive mechanism that explains this striking visual effect remains unresolved (for reviews and overviews, see Alais & Blake, 2005; Blake & Logothetis, 2002; Leopold & Logothetis, 1999; Tong, Meng, & Blake, 2006). There are recent formal models that can explain a growing number of psychophysical findings and which fit with a range of neurophysiological facts (Koene, 2006; Moreno-Bote, Rinzel, & Rubin, 2007; Noest, van Ee, Nijs, & van Wezel, 2007; Wilson, 2007), and there is a general trend towards approaches that integrate top–down and bottom–up 0010-0277/$ see front matter 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2008.05.010 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 3 9905 3208; fax: +61 3 9905 3206. E-mail addresses: [email protected], j.hohwy@gmail. com (J. Hohwy). Cognition 108 (2008) 687–701 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Cognition journal homepage: www.elsevier .com/locate /COGNIT Author's personal copy processes in the brain (Tong et al., 2006); however, we believe the study of binocular rivalry may benefit from a principled theoretical framework that can motivate these new developments. Most approaches to rivalry stress the role of inhibition, adaptation and stochastic noise. We take the approach of epistemology-the theory of knowledge- to go behind these approaches and ask the more fundamental theoretical question: ''why should a perceptual system, such as the brain, have and exploit such mechanisms in the first place?" The motivation behind this approach is the idea that binocular rivalry is an epistemic response to a seemingly incompatible stimulus condition where two distinct objects occupy the same spatiotemporal location. This paves the way for the description of a principled and unified account of rivalling perceptions under dichoptic viewing conditions. Our intent is thus not to add new data to the burgeoning class of data already in hand concerning binocular rivalry but to describe a unifying framework for it. There is growing support of the idea that the brain is an inference machine, or hypothesis tester, which approaches sensory data using principles similar to those that govern the interrogation of scientific data. In this view, perception is a type of unconscious inference. As Gregory states: [P]erceptions are hypotheses, predicting unsensed characteristics of objects, and predicting in time, to compensate neural signalling delay (discovered by von Helmholtz in 1850), so 'reaction time' is generally avoided, as the present is predicted from delayed signals [. . .] Further time prediction frees higher animals from the tyranny of control by reflexes, to allow intelligent behaviour into anticipated futures (1997, p. 1122). This view goes back at least to von Helmholtz (1860) and has been expressed with increasing finesse since that time (Gregory, 1998; MacKay, 1956; Neisser, 1967; Rock, 1983). More recently, it has been proposed that this intuitive idea can be captured in terms of hierarchical Bayesian inference, using generative models with predictive coding or free-energy minimisation; and that this is the main neurocomputational principle for the brain's perception of the environment as well as its learning of new contingencies (Ballard, Hinton, & Sejnowski, 1983; Dayan, Hinton, Neal, & Zemel, 1995; Friston, 2002; Friston, 2003; Friston, 2005; Friston & Stephan, 2007; Kawato, Hayakawa, & Inui, 1993; Kersten, Mamassian, & Yuille, 2004; Knill & Pouget, 2004; Mumford, 1992; Murray, Schrater, & Kersten, 2004; Rao & Ballard, 1999). Our proposal is that this general theoretical framework, in its more recent incarnations, provides the computational mechanism that best explains binocular rivalry and reconciles conflicting evidence. We set out some core properties of predictive coding, show how it explains binocular rivalry, and relate the explanation to a number of empirical neurophysiological, imaging and psychophysical findings concerning binocular rivalry. A Bayesian framework has been suggested recently for bistable perception (slant rivalry) (van Ee, 2003), however, though this framework is congenial to the account given here, it is not couched in terms of generative models, predictive coding and empirical Bayes. As we shall see, in its more complex version Bayesian theory has great explanatory promise. Our account has more in common with an earlier model by Dayan (1998) that uses explicit generative models (A further recent study of bistable perception (monocular rivalry) by Knapen, Kanai, Brascamp, van Boxtel, & van Ee, 2007, seems to count against the use of generative models; we discuss this further in Section 6). 2. Core properties of predictive coding A core task for the brain is to represent the environmental causes of its sensory input. This is computationally difficult; it is difficult to compute the causes when only the effects are known: as Hume (1739–40) reminded us, causes and effects are distinct existences and, in principle, many different environmental events could be causes of the same sensory effect. Conversely, the same environmental causes can occur in different contexts, so the same environmental event can be the cause of many different sensory effects. Hierarchical Bayesian inference, using generative models, can manage or finesse these difficulties by harnessing the causal structure of sensory stimuli to furnish formal constraints on the mapping between cause and effect. Rather than trying to work backwards from sensory effects to environmental causes, neuronal computational systems work with models, or as we shall say hypotheses, that predict what the sensory input should be, if it were really caused by certain environmental events. The hypothesis that generates the best predictions then determines perceptual content. The hierarchical inversion of the generative models needed to finesse this inverse problem can be reduced to quite simple processes that, in principle, can be implemented by the brain. In fact, one can predict many anatomical and physiological aspects of the brain by assuming it is inverting a hierarchical model of its sensory input (e.g., Friston, 2003; Friston, 2005; Friston & Stephan, 2007). Below we give a simplified description, in basic Bayesian terms of prior probability and likelihoods, of some of the core properties of a system, employing predictive coding or free-energy minimisation, that is involved in solving Bayesian perceptual inference. (See Fig. 1). 2.1. Bayesian perceptual inference According to this kind of Bayesian theory, the hypothesis with the highest posterior probability (i.e., most probable given the input) wins and gets to determine the perceptual content of the system. The posterior probability depends on the likelihood (i.e., how well the hypothesis predicts the input); and on the prior probability of the hypothesis (i.e., how probable the hypothesis was before the input) (Friston, 2002; Kersten et al., 2004; Murray, Kersten, Olshausen, Schrater, & Woods, 2002). These prior expectations are constructed hierarchically and are context-sensitive. For example, if the hypothesis is that visual input is caused by a box, then it is possible to predict, on the basis of that hypothesis, what the input is going to be as one moves around it. If the prediction turns out to be right, and if the presence of a box is otherwise probable, 688 J. Hohwy et al. / Cognition 108 (2008) 687–701 Author's personal copy then the probability for the hypothesis that it is a box goes up. If there are no better hypotheses in play, then this hypothesis wins and the perceptual inference will be that the environmental cause is indeed a box (These examples turn on visual perception; Bayesian frameworks are also often used in multisensory contexts, where one modality provides prior constraints for the other, e.g., Alais & Burr, 2004; Ernst & Banks, 2002). 2.2. Explaining away of bottom–up signal The system tries to match bottom–up or driving signals, caused by objects and properties in the environment, with top–down predictions. If the predictions are good, then the bottom–up signal will be explained away such that only the discrepancies between prediction and driving signal – the prediction error signal – remains as a bottom–up signal. As predictions get better, there will be less error signal associated with a given stimulus at relatively lower levels in the neural system (Friston, 2005; Yuille & Kersten, 2006). This suppression of best predicted input will be central for the explanation of rivalry. 2.3. Hierarchy The cognitive system is ordered hierarchically in levels. For any pair of levels, the higher level will have hypotheses that predict the driving bottom–up error signal from the lower level. The higher level will itself provide error signals for a yet higher level. The lower level of the pair will be higher level for a yet lower level. Priors come from higher levels, as in empirical Bayes (for a relevant predictive coding study of face perception, see Summerfield, Egner, Mangels, & Hirsch, 2005). Perceptual inference about different hierarchically organised attributes of the visual scene are made at different levels (Friston, 2005). It is not unusual for theories of visual processing and of binocular rivalry in particular (e.g., Freeman, 2005; Wilson, 2003) to be hierarchical, the crucial point here concerns the computational implications of hierarchical levels and the fact that these provide formal constraints on the generative models that make them empirical Bayes models. 2.4. Updating hypotheses/perceptual learning In a hierarchical setting, that uses empirical Bayes, priors are not extracted directly from the natural scene statistics, nor are they free parameters. They emerge naturally on interaction with the world as learning suppresses prediction errors at all levels of a hierarchical model. The hierarchal nature of these models is central to empirical Bayes because priors on lower levels are themselves constrained by, and accountable to, higher levels. Empirical Bayes is a powerful and ubiquitous inference framework that arises in many contexts; ranging from the distinction between fixed and random effects models in statistical analysis of data to hierarchical models that have been proposed for perceptual inference in the brain. The prediction error signal plays a crucial role in inference since it helps to update hypotheses at higher levels, such that better predictions can be issued and the prediction error continually minimised. Hypotheses also are context-sensitive, via modulation from other hypotheses at the same or higher levels. Thus predictions about sensory input can improve as more hypotheses about the context of the stimulus are generated. 2.5. Prediction error and free-energy minimisation Terms like 'predictions' and 'hypotheses' sound rather intellectualist when it comes to basic perceptual inference. But at its heart the only processing aim of the system is simply to minimise prediction error or free-energy, and indeed, the talk of hypotheses and predictions can be translated into such a less anthropomorphic framework. The notion of free-energy derives from statistical physics and is used widely in machine learning to convert difficult integration problems, inherent in inference, into easier optimisation problems. Free-energy is essentially a mathematical concept that is a function of probability distributions (like entropy, information or surprise) (a useful introduction can be found in Dayan & Abbott, 2001, Chap. 10). This optimisation or free-energy minimisation can, in principle, be implemented using relatively simple neuronal S I H Prediction error Prediction Explaining awayX X Fig. 1. Simplified schematic of a pair of cortical levels based on generative models. An open representational system like the brain (indicated with the black box) must perform perceptual inference about the environmental causes (S) of its sensory input (I). Higher level models or hypotheses (H) about the possible cause are used to generate top–down predictions (dark arrows) about the evolving input, which in turn explain away bottom–up sensory signal (light arrows), leaving only the prediction error as bottom–up signal to be explained away. Subsequent updating of H should further minimise prediction error. J. Hohwy et al. / Cognition 108 (2008) 687–701 689 Author's personal copy infrastructures. The free-energy represents a bound on the surprise inherent in any exchange with the environment, under expectations encoded by its state or configuration. A system can minimise free-energy by changing its configuration to change the way it samples the environment, or to change its expectations. These changes correspond to action and perception, respectively, and lead to an adaptive exchange with the environment that is characteristic of biological systems (Friston & Stephan, 2007 contains numerous further references and discussion). In short, any change to the brain's state or connection parameters that reduces free-energy renders sensory input less surprising. If we discount uncertainty about the states, when optimising the parameters (and vice versa) it is fairly easy to show that the free-energy is the sum of squared prediction errors, weighted by their estimated precision (op.cit.). 2.6. Top–down and bottom–up What ultimately determines the resulting conscious perception is the best hypothesis: the one that makes the best predictions and that, taking priors into consideration, is consequently assigned the highest posterior probability. The model is however interactionist (in the terminology of Tong, 2003) since it is essential to appreciate both activity at relatively higher levels where predictions are made and the nature of lower level activity in order to have a theoretical framework for understanding either. This accords with recent approaches to binocular rivalry that also stress the interactionist element (e.g., Blake & Logothetis, 2002; Nguyen, Freeman, & Alais, 2003; Tong et al., 2006). The interactionist perspective holds for any pair of levels that communicate with each other as top–down and bottom– up throughout the brain. We will assume that a percept corresponds to a prediction. It is important to note that, in a hierarchical setting, predictions exist at all levels of the hierarchy and, implicitly, all levels of perceptual detail. This suggests that the percept is encoded in a distributed way and accords with related notions of phenomenal perception and their neurophysiological underpinnings (e.g., Zeki, 2003). 3. Two problems concerning rivalry: Selection and alternation In dichoptic viewing conditions, where one stimulus is shown to one eye and another to the other eye, binocular matching fails because two different objects seem to occupy the same spatiotemporal position (Blake & Boothroyd, 1985). The epistemological task for the system, given this incompatible or ''un-ecological" condition is then to explain the combined bottom–up signal stemming from the two stimuli: it does this rather elegantly by selecting only one stimulus at a time and then alternating between them. To account for binocular rivalry, two things must then be explained (this important duality is also emphasised in Noest et al., 2007): First, the selection problem: why is there a perceptual decision to select one stimulus for perception rather than the other, and, further why is one of the two stimuli selected rather than some conjunction or blend of them? We propose a solution for this in Section 4. Second, the alternation problem: why does perceptual inference alternate between the two stimuli rather than stick with the selected one? We propose a solution for this in Section 5. 3.1. The current rivalry debate In the last decade or so there has been two main positions on binocular rivalry. One widely held view stressed low-level inter-ocular competition among monocular neurons in early visual cortex. Another view (to a large extent triggered by Logothetis, Leopold, & Sheinberg, 1996) stressed high-level competition among incompatible patterns. There are signs that these may merge in a view that stresses neural competition at multiple levels of the visual system (for review of this development, see Tong et al., 2006). A particular merger of top–down and bottom–up mechanisms in rivalry is central to our proposal too (for another detailed proposal, see Alais & Melcher, 2007). The core of these various approaches to rivalry is that selection and alternation in rivalry must be explained in terms of two mechanisms: inhibition of the incoming signal from the stimulus which is not dominant, which is meant to explain selection; and adaptation of the inhibitory influence of the relevant neural populations, which is meant to explain alternation. Though the brain does exhibit both inhibition and adaptation, this is a rather a priori characterisation of the mechanism behind rivalry: any account of binocular rivalry will have elements of inhibition and adaptation; otherwise a pattern of dominance vs. nondominance of perceptual content can hardly occur. Here, we take a more epistemological view and ask why a representational system such as the brain should have general computational and statistical properties such that it will exhibit rivalry in dichoptic viewing conditions? A model based on predictive coding provides a parsimonious and principled answer to this question, and explains in one move why there should be both inhibition and adaptation in dichoptic viewing. 4. A Bayesian approach to the selection problem Assume the stimuli are a house and a face and that the percept currently experienced by the subject is the face. Then the question, from a Bayesian perspective, is why the face hypothesis (F) has the highest probability, given the conjoint evidence (I) of a house and a face. The question splits into two: (i) why is F favoured over the hypothesis that it is a house (H)? (ii) Why is F selected over some kind of conjunctive or blended hypothesis that it is a 'house-face' (F AND H)? (see Fig. 2). Assuming the contents of the stimuli are independent, F and H explain the evidence equally well even though they each are unable to account for a large part of it. That is to say, they are roughly equally likely. Given equal likelihood, the perceptual inference will tend to depend on the prior probability of the hypotheses. If, for some reason, F has a 690 J. Hohwy et al. / Cognition 108 (2008) 687–701 Author's personal copy higher prior, then it will be selected for perceptual dominance. For the conjoint hypothesis F AND H the situation is the opposite. It has a higher likelihood than F or than H because, in principle, it can predict much more of the evidence. But F AND H has a much lower prior than both F and H: it is a priori very improbable that what is seen is really a ''house-face" and it is difficult to think of interactions with the environment that could have induced a prior for this hypothesis. As long as the low prior off-sets the likelihood advantage for F AND H, over F and H, it will not be selected over F or over H. A prediction follows from this: rivalry will be extinguished if the blended hypothesis happens to have a high prior (this may describe what happens in perceptual grouping under rivalry, see below). Perceptual selection of a unitary hypothesis follows naturally from the predictive coding. This is because, a priori, the brain has learnt that there can be only one cause of sensory input at the same place and time. This generic prior constraint (a ''hyperprior") reflects the way we sample the visual world; binocular vision, in primates, rests upon both eyes foveating the same part of visual space. We have therefore learned that the explanation for binocular visual input is unitary (i.e., has just one cause). In other species, such as reptiles (whose eyes point in different directions) it is possible that a house and face could be perceived conjointly in different places. However, for us, this is a priori highly unlikely. In other words, the prior probability of both a house and face being co-localised in time and space is extremely small, to the extent it is almost impossible for us to support this representation or percept. The neuronal mechanisms mediating this selection are probably very similar to those mediating lateral inhibition in the early visual system. These lateral interactions induce 'winner-takes-all' or 'biased competition' (Desimone, 1998) dynamics and may represent a fundamental mechanism in Bayesian inference. In a recent model (Noest et al., 2007), it is argued that selection and alternation are the results of two fundamentally different mechanisms. Noest et al. accordingly model selection (what they call 'percept choice') using subthreshold facilitation, and alternation with adaptation, inhibition and noise. We agree in principle that these two questions are separate but the account we describe explains them in a unified manner as different facets of the same empirical Bayesian mechanism. 5. Solving the alternation problem The theoretical challenge is to explain why the system, having selected one stimulus for perception, after a few seconds decides to de-select it in favour of the alternative stimulus. It is clear a priori that some kind of reciprocal inhibition must be involved but inhibition cannot be the whole story, if alternation is to be explained. There must be a dynamic evolution of inhibition and activity to ensure alternation. Traditionally, one appeals to adaptation, which allows disinhibition; this seems to be a fundament of any theory of rivalry; so we explain in epistemological terms why the visual system should exhibit adaptation. The predictive coding framework posits a hierarchical inversion of generative models of how inputs are caused: At the higher, hypothesis-generating level only the currently best hypothesis is allowed to generate predictions. It seems plausible that inhibition will be lateral, in relation to other hypotheses at the same level. This gives high activity for the winning hypothesis with the highest posterior and thus for the dominant percept, and lower activity for other hypotheses at that level. At the lower level there is the opposite pattern: the bottom–up driving signal for the dominating percept is explained away by good predictions, meaning the prediction error for the dominant hypothesis is suppressed. Conversely, the bottom–up error signal for the currently suppressed stimulus is not. In our example, there will be predictive activity creating the top–down signal for the dominant face stimulus and much driving activity in the bottom–up prediction error signal for the suppressed house stimulus. The key point is that even though F successfully explains the face-signal, there remains a large error signal, stemming from the house-stimulus (see Fig. 3). This unexplained prediction error renders perceptual inference unstable. It is this instability that causes perceptual alternations. It is probably easiest to understand the mechanisms of perceptual transitions in terms of a bi-stable system: if the brain is trying to minimise prediction error or free-energy, we can associate a free-energy or potential with every brain state, for a fixed stimulus. In bi-stable systems the resulting energy landscape corresponds to a double well (see Fig. 4). The state of the brain will try to minimise the free-energy by occupying one of Fig. 2. Simplified Bayesian account of the selection of one stimulus rather than the other and rather than a blend: no hypothesis enjoys both high likelihood and high prior probability, hence the hypothesis with the highest prior can win (as long as the conjunctive hypothesis does have very low likelihood). J. Hohwy et al. / Cognition 108 (2008) 687–701 691 Author's personal copy the two (face or house) wells. Theoretically, there are two mechanisms that can cause the state of the brain to switch from one well to the other (i.e., cause perceptual alternations). These are dynamical and structural in nature and can be understood in terms of free-energy minimisation: 5.1. Structural instability and adaptation This mechanism rests on changes in the free-energy landscape that make the occupied well unstable. Put simply, the well that is currently occupied increases its freeenergy so that the brain's state is expelled to the other well (i.e., perceptual state). This involves a structural change to the landscape that makes the current state structurally unstable. The reason the current state becomes unstable could be that there is a strong (hyper-)prior that the world changes. A static hypothesis will quickly lose its clout in a changing world. There are many instances of this in terms of neuronal dynamics such as spike-rate adaptation and other adaptation phenomena observed neurophysiologically. In terms of predictive coding, the current hypothesis will always have a decreasing prior probability. In neuronal terms this would be mediated by adaptation of the corresponding neuronal representation. As this hypothesis shows adaptation, it fails to suppress prediction error and the free-energy of that state increases. This means that the occupied energy well becomes unstable and the prediction error associated with the competing hypotheses will eventually supervene and cause the percept to switch to the other energy minimum. See Fig. 4a for a schematic summary of this adaptation hypothesis. 5.2. Dynamical instability and stochastic resonance Structural instability can be mediated using deterministic mechanisms. Another possible mechanism for perceptual alternations relies on stochastic or random effects (for recent discussions, see Brascamp, van Ee, Noest, Jacobs, & van den Berg, 2006; Kim, Grabowecky, & Suzuki, 2006; Moreno-Bote et al., 2007). Because the brain is trying to minimise its free-energy, it has to explore the free-energy landscape. A generic scheme for this exploration relies on random or stochastic effects (cf., random mutations in evolutionary selection or random noise in simulated IF F Prediction error Prediction Explaining away X IH H Inhibition Fig. 3. Simplified schematic of rivalry using generative models and predictive coding for a system consisting of just one pair of levels: even though one hypothesis (F) about the environmental cause leaves only little prediction error from that stimulus (thin light arrow from IF), a large unexplained signal is left unexplained from the other stimulus (thick light arrow from IH). Brain state Fr ee e ne rg y Brain state Fr ee e ne rg y Brain state Fr ee e ne rg y Brain state Fr ee e ne rg y A. Structural instability: adaptation B. Dynamical instability: stochastic resonance Fr ee e ne rg y Fr ee e ne rg y Fr ee e ne rg y Fr ee e ne rg y Fr ee e ne rg y Fr ee e ne rg y Fr ee e ne rg y Fig. 4. Schematic summaries of: (A) Structural instability and adaptation. A hyperprior that makes the system expect change in the environment diminishes the energy well for the current perceptual inference. (B) Dynamical instability and stochastic resonance. Stochastic resonance refers to the same mechanism by which random fluctuations in a system's state enables it to move over energy barriers and explore multi-stable landscapes. See main text for further explanation. 692 J. Hohwy et al. / Cognition 108 (2008) 687–701 Author's personal copy annealing). In multi-stable dynamical systems, this can be expressed as stochastic resonance. Put simply, random changes, due to neuronal noise, in the brain's state can occasionally push it over the free-energy barrier separating the house and face wells. This mechanism does not involve changes in, or adaptation of, the free-energy landscape but rests on dynamical instability introduced by random fluctuations in the brain's state. See Fig. 4b for a schematic illustration of this mechanism. There is good evidence that stochastic resonance plays such a role in rivalry. Kim et al. (2006) subjected rival stimuli to weak periodic contrast modulations and observed dominance peaks predicted by stochastic resonance. Generally, stochastic resonance occurs when the signal-to-noise ratio of a nonlinear system is maximized at a moderate level of noise. It occurs in bistable and excitable systems with sub-threshold inputs. Usually, the inputs constitute a weak periodic signal, which have a greater effect when noise enables the input to surpass threshold. However, in our case we are not dealing with input–output characteristics but the dynamics of a system that is trying to optimise perception. Here, we use stochastic resonance to refer to the same mechanism by which random fluctuations in a system's state enables it to move over energy barriers and explore multi-stable landscapes. In short, either structural or dynamic mechanisms of predictive coding, or a combination, can explain perceptual alternation. Alternation ensues in rivalry conditions specifically where there is a large unexplained but explainable error signal. In Bayesian terms, in this situation no one hypothesis has both high likelihood and high prior, and inference becomes unstable. See Fig. 5 and Dayan (1998) who provides modeling evidence ''that alternation can be generated by competition between top–down cortical explanations for the inputs, rather than by direct competition between the inputs". For some relatively compatible pairs of stimuli, conjoint hypotheses may have a relatively high prior, which would Fig. 5. Simplified Bayesian scheme for the alternation of stimuli in rivalry. When one stimulus achieves dominance and there are diminishing returns for predictions regarding it, the system must consider the best explanation of the unexplained error signal stemming from the currently suppressed stimulus (Starred hypotheses signify explorations of the free-energy landscape). J. Hohwy et al. / Cognition 108 (2008) 687–701 693 Author's personal copy slow down alternation by creating a longer transitional phase (i.e., by adding a third well or attractor). Large differences in prior for F and H may make the system try to revert to F rather than shift to H (see Brascamp et al., 2006, for such transition returns); however, the system will not be stable as long as a predictable but as yet unexplained error signal from the house stimulus remains. These properties of the system correspond well to the often hesitant alternations for various combinations of stimuli (we say more about the psychophysics in the next section). 5.3. Summary In this framework, the inhibition is not of the bottom– up, incoming signal per se. Rather it is inhibition of the competing high-level hypotheses that could explain away the sensory signal. In other words, inhibition decreases top–down predictions of the suppressed stimulus. The epistemological motivation for this is that the best performing hypothesis dominates perceptual content. The explanation for competition among high level explanations (c.f., biased competition; Desimone, 1998) is simple; our experience of the world tells us that only one object can exist in the same place at the same time. This hyperprior is learnt and engrained in our neuronal circuits as an empirical prior. The effect of this hyperprior is that bottom–up signals from the suppressed stimulus are not cancelled by top– down predictions; this increases the free-energy of the system and makes it more unstable. Mechanistically, this may be mediated by a reduction in the strength of lateral connections in the cortex that encode the uncertainty about, or precision of, visual signals (Friston, 2003). These changes may be enacted by modulatory neurotransmission (c.f., Yu & Dayan, 2005) or possibly fast synchronised oscillations (c.f., Womelsdorf & Fries, 2007). The ensuing instability helps explain why random fluctuations may play a significant role in rivalry. In contrast, approaches to rivalry that do not employ predictive coding or free-energy minimisation will tend to view inhibition as decreasing the strength of the bottom–up signal; this stabilises the system and thus makes it harder to see why alternation should occur in the first place. Also, a predictive coding scheme fits particularly well with a system that exploits stochastic effects, since both the effect of the noise and the occurrence of attractors is explained in terms of the brain's free-energy landscape. There are many examples of this interplay in both the physical sciences (e.g., Yang, Onuchic, & Levine, 2006) and neurobiology (e.g., Winterer et al., 1999). With empirical Bayes we can see why there is adaptation: if the system has learned that the world always changes – that there is variability in the environment – then even initially adequate hypotheses will have decreasing posteriors over time; as it will be more and more probable that there will be portions of sensory evidence that it fails to explain away. Notice that a prior for change is not something that the system will be able to extract from static visual scene statistics; instead, it comes down as a hyperprior in an empirical Bayes framework. Once structural and dynamical instability have done their jobs, and the perceptual state has shifted from F to H, the mechanisms kick in again, and the system will then adapt to H, and eventually shift back to F. There is no psychophysical evidence that rivalry can be extinguished altogether except for very weak stimuli (Liu, Tyler, & Schor, 1992) (this seems in contrast to perception of ordinary bistable stimuli) so even though one stimulus may enjoy a high prior probability and be highly variable, and the other a low prior and not be variable, alternation will eventually occur. We explain this by appealing to the fact that incompatible hypotheses (like F and H) will each have low but roughly equal likelihoods, which will always leave an attractor for the non-dominant hypothesis. Given stochastic effects, the system will eventually come to occupy this state too, with probability one. In sum, the proposal therefore motivates inhibition and adaptation in a more principled way than non-epistemological accounts, and thus explains rivalry as an unavoidable and emergent outcome of representational systems like the brain. It rests on the recurrent dynamics required by hierarchical inference and positions itself in direct opposition to conventional heuristics that frame perception in terms of feedforward dynamics; e.g., like the following from Lee, Blake, and Heeger (2005) ''competition between two rival stimuli involves neural circuits in V1, and attention is crucial for the consequences of this neural competition to advance to higher visual areas and promote perceptual waves." 6. Integrating psychophysical evidence under the predictive coding framework 6.1. Less rivalry for consistent stimuli As noted by Blake (1989) rivalry tends to occur when there is an increasing incompatibility between the stimuli presented to the two eyes. More consistent stimuli will tend to fuse. This fits within the predictive coding framework because it is a case where the conjoint hypothesis does have high prior. That is, were the stimuli a mouth-less face and a mouth, then the updated, dominant hypothesis F* (''it's a face with a mouth") would have a substantial prior. Fusion would then be allowed since the most likely hypothesis will have a high prior and the system will settle in a deep third well. 6.2. Patchy break-through of suppressed percept Often, there is no clear-cut shift between percepts in binocular rivalry. Dominance breaks through in small patches of the visual field and gradually spreads before completely or partially suppressing the competing image (Lee et al., 2005; Meenes, 1930; Wheatstone, 1838). So there are periods where the subject experiences some of the face and some of the house. This is explained by the attempts to update the currently dominating hypothesis by exploring the free-energy landscape in response to the prediction error signal. The system does not stabilise with these patches because much prediction error still is unac694 J. Hohwy et al. / Cognition 108 (2008) 687–701 Author's personal copy counted for and because the conjoint hypothesis has a very low prior. This part of the phenomenology may be influenced by perceptual inference for local stimulus attributes at low levels of the visual hierarchy. For example, for a particular area of visual space, where parts of the house and the face do not have much overlap, there may be a good perceptual inference to the occurrence of, say, the elemental features of a nose such that error for that area is efficiently explained away. Solutions for this area may therefore be a starting point for perceptual inference for the whole stimulus. However, even though the local posterior probability of the occurrence of a nose is high, it will decrease when considered in a more global context where 'nose-houses' have very low prior. 6.3. Inter-ocular grouping Subjects may also experience rivalry where they perform visual grouping of items presented to both eyes. For example, if there is an image of half a face and half a house presented to one eye, and an image of the other halves of the face and of the house presented to the other eye, then there may be perceptual rivalry between a house and a face; the two halves of the two images have been grouped together, and it is the re-grouped percepts that are rivalling, not the original segmented images (Diaz-Caneja, 1928). This can also be done with patchy rivalry sets, and the effect is less stable than with non-patchy, conventional rivalry stimuli (Alais & Blake, 1999a; Kovacs, Papathomas, Yang, & Feher, 1996; Lee & Blake, 2004). This can be explained by a higher prior probability for the grouped stimuli than for the divided stimuli. That is, F and H will each have higher priors or stronger attractors than the hypothesis that it is a half face-half house. As F begins to dominate, the face signal from each eye will be explained away, leaving a coherent whole-house signal unaccounted for as the prediction error. This effect would be more top– down or prior driven than when no grouping occurs (since the likelihoods of the competing hypotheses will be similar) and indeed this effect requires some learning and is harder to sustain. For interocular grouping of Díaz-Caneja stimuli (dichoptic viewing of two half-fields of concentric circles and vertical lines) perception alternates between rivalry between the half-fields and rivalry between the coherent stimuli (Ngo, Miller, Liu, & Pettigrew, 2000), and dominance times of the coherent but not the half-field percepts can be modulated with caloric vestibular stimulation (Ngo, Liu, Tilley, Pettigrew, & Miller, 2007). This suggests two pairs of attractors, at different hierarchical levels, that rival within each pair and among pairs (''meta-rivalry", Ngo et al., 2007). This complex energy landscape could be explained by pairwise adaptation of attractors: once the attractors for half-fields have both been occupied the system begins to expect change in the environment away from half-fields. Since a pair of higher level attractors is available the state settles there until they in turn adapt. Lee and Blake (2004) explored the role of patchiness in inter-ocular grouping and found that eye-specific processing may have a role to play in this type of inter-ocular grouping. They propose that dominance patterns comprise local eye-based zones of dominance that are in turn subject to more global grouping forces. This is in fact consistent with the hierarchical nature of predictive coding that allows local solutions to bias priors in favour of one or the other global stimulus. The exact course of dominance and grouping will depend strongly on the choice of rivalling stimuli and the nature of the patchiness since rivalry for local stimulus attributes will depend on the balance of priors and likelihoods for the patch as well as the concurrent updating of probabilities for neighbouring patches. 6.4. Flicker and swap rivalry When flickering stimuli are swapped rapidly between the eyes, normal dominance patterns of rivalry still occur such that one flickering percept may dominate for several seconds, during which period each eye is actually presented with each stimulus numerous times (Logothetis et al., 1996). This is surprising because we would expect, perhaps, that there would be rivalry between difficult-todistinguish trains of flickering, shifting percepts. We again explain this in terms of relatively high priors or attractors for the distinct hypotheses F and H, relative to the conjoint hypothesis. Under these conditions, there is, in fact, change in the world since each eye channel is presented with changing stimuli. This might suggest that the hyperprior for change is satisfied, and that adaptation therefore should not take place. However, the prior probability that two objects could move sufficiently fast between locations to reproduce flicker-stimuli is very low. Indeed such hyperpriors, that flickering stimuli are caused by the motion of a single stimulus, are the cornerstone of many psychophysical and electrophysiological studies of apparent motion (e.g., Billock & Tsou, 2007). The unexpectedly normal pattern of rivalry, where the swapping is not perceived, can be explained by appeal to hierarchical processing, which entrains early visual cortex, before binocular convergence, and imposes higher level constraints on the percept. This has been modelled successfully in a hierarchical neural model (Wilson, 2003). In short, it may be that the hyperprior for a variable environment favours slow change over rapid change (cf. apparent motion). A good case for such a prior for slow change has also been made in relation to tactile perception in a model of the cutaneous rabbit illusion; this is a condition with much noise due to poor tactile acuity, which therefore allows priors to play a pivotal role for perceptual inference (Goldreich, 2007). In a different type of paradigm Blake and colleagues (Blake, Westendorf, & Overton, 1980; Lee & Blake, 2004) allowed one stimulus to achieve dominance before they gradually decreased the intensity of the stimuli and swapped them. When the suppressed stimulus is swapped to the eye of the dominant stimulus, it becomes dominant, suggesting a role for eye-dominance rather than pattern competition in rivalry. This is also consistent with predictive coding. With respect to processing for the dominant eye stimulus it is a situation where there is successful prediction of (gradual or non-rapid) changes in the world. On J. Hohwy et al. / Cognition 108 (2008) 687–701 695 Author's personal copy the assumption that there is less adaptation effect for such changing stimuli the system should remain relatively stable, and one should expect the dominant eye to continue its domination. 6.5. Percept selection repetition (rivalry memory) If viewing of bistable stimuli is interrupted for long periods of time (5 s), then the selected percept post-interruption will tend to be a repeat of the last seen stimulus (Orbach, Ehrlich, & Heath, 1963). At shorter interruptions rivalry alternation is not disturbed in the same way. This has recently been modelled with subthreshold facilitation (Noest et al., 2007), or excitatory synaptic facilitation followed by depression (Wilson, 2007). This phenomenon can also be accommodated within the present framework. Interruptions are changes in the environment and thus, given a hyperprior for change in the environment, something that relieves the need for continued adaptation (i.e., decreased prior) for the dominant percept. Thus when the stimuli are shown again, short-term changes in synaptic efficacy established by the last percept confer an advantage in terms of perceptual inference. Such changes in synaptic efficacy (Noest et al., 2007) are entirely consistent with perceptual learning under empirical Bayes (Friston & Stephan, 2007) and may mediate sensory learning in the auditory domain, when stimuli are repeated (Garrido, Kilner, Kiebel, Stephan, & Friston, 2007). The reason the repetition effect is weaker after shorter interruptions may be that the hyperprior for change (possibly mediated by synaptic depression) is still active. 6.6. Monocular rivalry Rivalry can also occur for a single stimulus presented to one or both eyes (Andrews & Purves, 1997; Breese 1899; Campbell, Gilinsky, Howell, Riggs, & Atkinson, 1973). The experience of monocular rivalry is less stable than in binocular rivalry and seems to occur mostly for fairly rudimentary stimuli such as a mesh of blurred green and red gratings. We think this reflects dynamically stable priors for the hypothesis that the environment has line segments of different distinct orientations. In other words, this is something the visual system is always expecting (Hubel & Wiesel, 1962; Kenet, Bibitchkov, Tsodyks, Grinvald, & Arieli, 2003). Therefore, when no higher level hypotheses are involved and when there is enough uncertainty or noise in the system (e.g., blurring), the system will try to predict the scene for line segments rather than meshes. With these kinds of meshes such predictions will be successful and rivalry will then occur. This would also help explain why there is rivalry for orthogonal gratings presented dichoptically even though the prior for the conjunctive hypothesis is not very low. A recent study of monocular rivalry (Knapen et al., 2007) shows that increased depth perception of blurred orthogonal gratings (such that one is perceived to be behind the other) does not decrease rivalry even though it then is less likely that they are incompatibly occupying the same spatiotemporal location. This supports the view that suppression is ''determined by a distance in a low-level neurally represented space subtended by features such as orientation" rather than by estimation of likelihoods based on the parameters of fully elaborated object representations in internal models. Given the hierarchical nature of our empirical Bayes framework, different stimulus attributes are each processed at distinct levels in the hierarchy where the priors of each model will be influenced from levels above. The question is then why the priors of this low level model do not give the predicted role to depth cues. The answer, as above, is that this may be tied to the specific stimulus used, which is very basic and noisy. It follows that higher-level bistable stimuli should decrease rivalry as incompatibility is lessened, e.g., if depth and context cues allow us to interpret the faces in Rubin's vase as behind the vase, then rivalry should decrease, contrary to the findings for monocular rivalry gratings in Knapen et al.'s study. 6.7. Levelt's Second Proposition (Levelt, 1965) This is the key finding that contrast change in one eye (the ''variable" eye) primarily causes changes in dominance durations in the other, ''fixed" eye, rather than in the variable eye itself (the variable eye still has some dominance change (Bossink, Stalmeier, & De Weert, 1993; Mueller & Blake, 1989). Our account of Levelt's Second Proposition is that, when the fixed eye stimulus is dominant, changes in the unexplained prediction error from the suppressed stimulus in the variable eye induces changes in the overall energy landscape, such that the perceptual decision for the fixed stimulus is brought away from or towards transitions over the free-energy barrier. For example, the probability that the fixed stimulus is the cause decreases as the variable stimulus is strengthened because the hypothesis for the fixed stimulus then predicts less of the total bottom–up signal. The fixed stimulus attractor is then evacuated earlier than if the variable stimulus had not been changed. This decreases its suppression periods, as the Second Proposition says (and vice versa when the variable stimulus is weakened). On the other hand, when the variable stimulus is itself dominant there is not this additional increased prediction error to destabilize the system. In that case, there is only the normal structural and stochastic dynamics in play. The above account of Levelt's Second Proposition is tied to conditions where the fixed stimulus contrast is relatively high. It has recently been found (Brascamp et al., 2006) that when the fixed stimulus contrast is very low, the Proposition is reversed such that the dominance of the variable stimulus is mainly modulated by changes in itself. Under the current account, this may be because the attractor for the fixed stimulus is then already quite shallow and thus already more susceptible to transitions associated with an unstable energy landscape. Levelt's Fourth Proposition is that, when the strength of both stimuli are increased, suppression periods for both will be shortened (Levelt, 1965). Again, the explanation is that when perception of both stimuli is associated with stronger, unpredicted error signals from the other perceptually suppressed stimulus, then the system will be impelled to explore the free-energy landscape earlier. 696 J. Hohwy et al. / Cognition 108 (2008) 687–701 Author's personal copy These considerations also help explain why changes in the suppressed stimulus will be noticed, and thrust the stimulus into dominance, if accompanied by abrupt increases in stimulus strength (Blake, Yu, Lokey, & Norman, 1998). On the other hand, when such probes have less abrupt onsets they tend to go unnoticed irrespective of whether they are congruent or not with the stimulus (Blake & Camisa, 1979). This coheres with the predictive coding account since probes that are congruent with the dominant stimulus are already predicted and probes that are not congruent are not predicted and just adds to the already large error signal. 6.8. Modulation of dominance duration (i) When one stimulus is viewed in a congruent context and the other in a non-congruent context, the dominance duration of the former tend to increase (Alais & Blake, 1999). Introducing a congruent context does not increase bottom–up error signal strength when suppressed, so the predictive coding framework can explain why context modulation does not give shorter dominance periods for the non-congruent stimulus. On the other hand, context increases the prior for a congruent stimulus relative to a noncongruent stimulus, so it would take longer for the posterior for the dominant, updated hypothesis to be destabilised. This would explain the increased dominance periods. (ii) With practice, voluntary (endogenous) attention can prolong dominance periods for the attended stimulus without however being able to extinguish rivalry (on the other hand, endogenous attention to properties of the suppressed stimulus will not bring that stimulus out of suppression) (for discussion, see Blake & Logothetis, 2002; Leopold & Logothetis, 1999). This is an example of a top–down process modulating dominance. In the predictive coding framework we can view endogenous selective attention as increasing or enforcing priors for a certain hypothesis. That would make the system sensitive to what the hypothesis ''wants" to see, which could prolong dominance. This admittedly schematic proposal is also consistent with findings that attention to a cue can determine onset predominance (Mitchell, Stoner, & Reynolds, 2004) and that removing attention from the stimuli slows down rivalry alternations (Paffen, Alais, & Verstraten, 2006) (for more on the relationship between attention and free-energy, see Friston & Stephan, 2007). It also makes sense that this cannot halt rivalry; if the system is using inappropriate priors they will not be sustained, because these priors are themselves subject to top–down influences. This is what happens in rivalry conditions where F and H are in effect bad hypotheses due to the large error signal they must leave unpredicted. On the assumption that the high level hypothesis for the suppressed stimulus is inhibited, it seems plausible that activity in it cannot be artificially maintained, which explains why endogenous attention to the suppressed stimulus will not bring it to dominance. (iii) Whereas endogenous attention has some effect on the dominant stimulus, exogenous attention (attention ''grabbing") in the suppressed stimulus will bring it out of suppression (Fox & Check, 1968). Attention grapping thus decreases the dominance period of the other stimulus and is explained by an increase in strength of the error signal (this seems consistent with findings on continuous flash suppression; Tsuchiya, Koch, Gilroy, & Blake, 2006). 7. Accounting for conflicting neurophysiological and imaging evidence Empirical findings on rivalry using single unit recordings and fMRI seem to be in conflict and are difficult to unify under a single theoretical framework. However, it is important to remember that neuronal implementations of predictive coding require both the representation of the prediction and the prediction error in hierarchically ordered pairs of levels in the brain. It is the hierarchal deployment of reciprocal changes among these that will offer an explanation for diverse empirical findings. Single unit studies in monkeys, yield the following consistent picture. Starting with the LGN, there seems to be no evidence of rivalry related changes in the geniculo-striate system (Lehky & Maunsell, 1996). Successive stages of the visual cortex show increasing levels of activity in phase with the animal's reports of dominance: at low levels (V1) only few units selective for a given stimulus will fire in phase with dominance and suppression. At middle levels (V4, MT) more will, but the picture is somewhat mixed with some cells more active than other, almost no cells completely suppressed and some cells even active when their preferred stimulus were suppressed. This suggests that single unit recording can selectively sample either the predicting neurons or the prediction error neurons. At high visual levels in the temporal lobe there is good correspondence between rivalry alternation and physical stimulus alternation with most units firing only when their preferred stimulus were perceptually dominating and not firing when it was suppressed (Leopold & Logothetis, 1996; Logothetis & Schall, 1989; Logothetis & Sheinberg, 1996; Logothetis et al., 1996; Sheinberg & Logothetis, 1997). This would be expected because this is where high-level predictions are formed. In general, fMRI studies in humans furnish a different picture. These studies have found that activity during rivalry corresponds to activity during physical alternations of stimuli over a large posterior portion of the brain ranging from temporal (fusiform and parahippocampal) areas (Tong, Nakayama, Vaughan, & Kanwisher, 1998), over V1 (Lee & Blake, 2002; Polonsky, Blake, Braun, & Heeger, 2000), including monocular areas such as the blind spot representation (Tong & Engel, 2001) and extending all the way to the lateral geniculate nucleus (Haynes, Deichmann, & Rees, 2005; Wunderlich, Schneider, & Kastner, 2005). Thus, in these areas of the brain, fMRI activity during dominance is comparable to activity during monocular viewing and activity during suppression is comparable to when the stimulus is not presented to the subject. Perceptual rivalry presents a particular challenge to interpreting fMRI results in terms of predictive coding. This is because low-level areas that represent the elemental features of both stimuli will always express prediction error, because only one set of sensory signals can be explained away at any time. This means that there may be no difference in fMRI signals between the two perceptual J. Hohwy et al. / Cognition 108 (2008) 687–701 697 Author's personal copy states in these regions. We would only expect fMRI differences at the first hierarchical levels, encoding one of the perceptual attributes showing rivalry. This signal might reflect the activity of deep pyramidal cells sending predictions to the lower levels or their post-synaptic effects in the subordinate level. The differential signals in the fusiform and parahippocampal areas are easy to understand because these areas show category-specific responses; but what about lower visual areas like V1? Interestingly Tong and Engel found rivalry effects for elemental features (gating orientation) that are encoded in V1. In their study the difference between orientations (which are all represented in V1) was observed in the monocular region corresponding to the blind spot. This region represents or predicts the input from only one eye and can therefore show perceptual differences that are not confounded by predictions or prediction error from the other eye. Although these authors framed their explanation in terms of lateral interactions within V1, their conclusions was based on the same constructivist arguments used by predictive coding. The study by Polonsky et al. (2000) elected difference by using stimuli with differing contrast, another elemental feature encoded by V1. The findings in the LGN are consistent with prolific top–down influences from V1 (backwards connections from visual cortex are an order of magnitude greater in number than forward afferents). These results suggest that fMRI signals reflect the postsynaptic effects of top–down afferents and the inherent predictions these projections convey to lower areas. Physiologically, this is sensible because hemodynamic signals are thought to be driven by pre-synaptic discharges causing depolarization in both target neurons and glial cells (c.f., Logothetis & Pfeuffer, 2004). This depolarization does not necessarily cause the neurons to fire. Exactly the same dissociation between single-unit recordings and fMRI signals has been observed with top– down attentional effects, which are seen with fMRI but not in terms of single unit firing (Somers, Dale, Seiffert, & Tootell, 1999). In short, fMRI correlates of rivalry may be driven by top–down predictions, whereas electrophysiological responses may reflect predictions or prediction error, depending on which population or unit is recorded. Irrespective of these considerations, the highest prediction error (free-energy and BOLD signal) would be anticipated during perceptual transitions, when neither stimulus is explained away. This is exactly what was found in one the first studies of rivalry using fMRI (Lumer, Friston, & Rees, 1998). In summary, generative models and predictive coding therefore provide a framework that is capable of unifying the apparently conflicting findings on binocular rivalry. 8. Discussion Under the account described here, an empirical Bayes framework with generative models and implemented with predictive coding or free-energy minimisation explains many aspects of binocular rivalry; because dichoptic viewing of mutually inconsistent stimuli creates a situation where no hypothesis about the environmental causes of the incoming sensory signal has both a high prior and high likelihood. The system therefore settles into a rhythm, where at any time the hypothesis with the highest posterior probability determines perceptual content but at the cost of leaving a large unexplained but explainable error signal. In the attempt to account for this error signal, the posterior probability for the winning hypothesis is driven down below the free-energy for the alternative hypothesis that therefore begins to dominate. 8.1. Recent models of binocular rivalry A number of formal models have been developed which are able to reproduce aspects of binocular rivalry (Dayan, 1998; Grossberg & Mingolla, 1985; Kalarickal, 2000; Kawamoto & Anderson, 1985; Koene, 2006; Laing & Chow, 2002; Lehky, 1988; Lumer, 1998; Matsuoka, 1984; Noest et al., 2007; Wilson, 2003; Wilson, 2007; Zhou, Gao, White, Merk, & Yao, 2004). The majority of these models analyse binocular rivalry a priori as a phenomenon driven by adaptation of the winning neural population, and lateral and/or top down inhibition of the competing population. Since successive dominance durations are stochastic system noise is often added. Two very recent and impressive models exemplify this. Noest et al. (2007) construct a very simple low-level dynamic model that has terms for adaptation, lateral inhibition and noise. Wilson's (2007) model also has the virtue of simplicity: it too has terms for adaptation, inhibition, and can incorporate noise. These models differ mainly in mathematical complexity, and much of their behaviour can be described in terms of a double well energy landscape. Without appealing to high-level decision-making or memory, they can both reproduce phenomena such as rivalry, Levelt's Second and Fourth Propositions as well as percept choice repetition (explained differently in the two models; Wilson also incorporates a top–down role for attentional bias). This could appear to contrast with the present account that does appeal essentially to top– down processes. However, our account is based on hierarchical Bayes: each pair of levels throughout the cortical hierarchy forms a dynamic, functional unit that exercises perceptual inference. So perceptual inference is not driven directly by ''decision-making" levels very high in the cortical hierarchy, though within each pair of levels rivalry is the outcome of dynamics ensuing from the upper level's attempt to explain the lower level's activity (for some evidence of decision-making processes in rivalry, see Einhauser, Stout, Koch, & Carter, 2008). A further, key difference is that, on our account, the dynamics for the structural and stochastic destabilization requires that there be no direct inhibition, between the lower level populations of any pair of levels, of the prediction error from the suppressed stimulus. The framework thus describes a different functional role for lateral inhibition on which explanation of phenomena such as Levelt's Second Proposition comes out as more surprising than it does for models that are built to directly inhibit competing populations. For these reasons Dayan's (1998) model, which explicitly uses top–down explaining-away, remains the model closest to ours. His model, however, does not motivate the adaptation (or 'fatigue' 698 J. Hohwy et al. / Cognition 108 (2008) 687–701 Author's personal copy function) in terms of hyperpriors and does not give the prediction error a core role in explaining the dynamics. Our framework is based on a principled story about overall brain function that has some biological and epistemic plausibility (Friston, 2002; Friston, 2003; Friston, 2005). 8.2. The role of noise Successive dominance durations are unpredictable (Levelt, 1965) so most models of rivalry operate with added system noise. Recently, there has been an increased focus on the role of noise and stochastic resonance (e.g., Brascamp et al., 2006; Freeman, 2005; Kim et al., 2006; Moreno-Bote et al., 2007). Brascamp et al. (2006) show that the noise that is normally allowed in simple low-level models cannot account for the length of transition periods nor for transition returns. They congenially point to the possibility of a functional role of noise that ''continuously reorganize sensory input to reach a perceptual solution. [N]oise may act to destabilize the present organization and prevent the brain from getting trapped in a single interpretation while others may have more survival value." (1250). If the minimization of free-energy is the overall processing aim of the brain, then we probably should not expect that the system produces blanket noise to disperse perceptual states randomly. However, hyperpriors, such as the expectation of change in the environment, may decrease prior probabilities of specific hypotheses even though they are successfully predicting the input at the moment. This destabilizes the energy landscape in a directed manner. The effect is, as described by Brascamp et al., that the system begins to explore the freeenergy landscape. In addition, our account suggests a pivotal role for increased free-energy that is specific for rivalry conditions, namely the destabilizing effect of the unexplained prediction error from the suppressed stimulus. This is not merely added system noise but ''noise" that occurs as an intrinsic aspect of the basic Bayesian framework. 8.3. Other kinds of bistable perception: the role of attention Our account of binocular rivalry is principled and based on a general view of brain function, and we believe that it may also apply to other kinds of bistable perception, such as Rubin's vase and the Necker cube, but with less involvement at lower cortical areas (a shared type of mechanism is also suggested by the similarity of time courses for different kinds of bistable perception, van Ee, 2005). The difference in levels may be related to an epistemic difference: dichoptic viewing tends to present two different objects with different properties in the same spatiotemporal position (e.g., a red house vs. a green face). This never happens at any level in the causal hierarchy mapped by the cortex, so the hyperprior against it is global and as such encoded at low cortical levels. In contrast, the incompatibility for the dioptically presented bistable stimuli is less severe: e.g., one object that can be interpreted as having different properties (i.e., the Necker cube where transparency creates a situation with matched likelihoods). It is rare but not impossible to be confronted with such scenarios of equally poised likelihoods and priors, so the hyperpriors that influence perceptual inference in these unusual circumstances will probably be less strong and encoded at higher hierarchical levels (since it takes analysis of deeper causal levels to grasp phenomena such as transparency). This leads us to expect that non-binocular rivalry bypasses lower levels. A difference between binocular and non-binocular rivalry is that dominance durations in the former are harder to modulate with selective attention, while on the other hand non-selective attention can increase the alternation rate similarly in both types of rivalry (Meng & Tong, 2004). It is fundamental for the epistemic framework we are describing that there are distinct causes in the environment, so the hyperprior that prohibits spatiotemporal co-occupancy is global: without it the system would always have to consider whether an entirely distinct cause was at the same place and time, which would not be conducive to adaptive behaviour. Selective attention to one rivalling stimulus at the expense of the other is an attempt to get the brain to ignore prediction error at this very fundamental level, and it is thus not surprising that selective attention cannot modulate binocular rivalry so strongly. This does not hold for other kinds of bistable percepts where the stimulus incompatibility is less strong. Non-selective attention, in contrast, can be seen as relaxing the much less fundamental hyperprior that change in the environment is mostly relatively slow, thus speeding up alternation rate. Priors embody our expectations and whereas we can be in a context where unusually fast changes are common we cannot be in context where numerous distinct objects share spatiotemporal location. 8.4. Predictions In this review, we have been most concerned with providing an epistemological framework for the conflicting data on rivalry rather than generating new data. However, a number of predictions can be made. (i) Semantic or subliminal priming will increase priors and thereby facilitate inter-ocular grouping and bias ''meta-rivalry". (ii) Conjoint hypotheses with a high likelihood will tend to facilitate fusion rather than rivalry (e.g., two transparent images on a shared background). (iii) A moving stimulus (e.g., gratings with a chaotic time pattern) will dominate over more predictable moving stimuli since new predictions will continually be needed and there will be less adaptation. (iv) LGN and blind spot representation activity measured with fMRI will not suggest that rivalry is resolved before binocular convergence, if deprived of backwards signals from areas above binocular convergence. 9. Conclusions Core properties of a theoretical framework for perceptual inference in the brain based on generative models and predictive coding can be described in fairly basic probabilistic terms. The framework can explain and unify many aspects of binocular rivalry, in particular why one stimulus J. Hohwy et al. / Cognition 108 (2008) 687–701 699 Author's personal copy is selected for perception and why there is alternation between stimuli. The framework also accommodates many of the major psychophysical findings on rivalry and provides a unified interpretation of the apparently conflicting single-unit and fMRI studies of rivalry. The predictive coding explanation of binocular rivalry allows a principled, theoretically motivated combination of top–down and bottom–up processes. This further integrates the debate on how the primary findings on rivalry should be interpreted (Blake, 1989; Leopold & Logothetis, 1999; Tong et al., 2006). It does this by describing one unifying mechanism – prediction error minimisation – rather than a variety of different mechanisms (Blake & Logothetis, 2002). The framework relates to recent computational models (Noest et al., 2007; Wilson, 2007) in as far as it builds on inhibition, adaptation and noise but it gives these notions a distinct functional role and hierarchical dynamics (Dayan, 1998). Acknowledgements This research was supported by the Danish Research Council for Communication and Culture, The Danish National Research Foundation, The Wellcome Trust, and a Monash Arts/IT Grant. References Alais, D., & Blake, R. (1999). Grouping visual features during binocular rivalry. 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Background {#Sec1}
==========
Over the last few decades, patients' rights have been enforced in many parts of the world by acts of law \[[@CR1]--[@CR4]\]. Nevertheless, their implementation within hospital units varies \[[@CR5]--[@CR7]\] according to the pathology and culture, particularly when comparing North America and Europe \[[@CR8]--[@CR10]\], and various publications \[[@CR11]--[@CR13]\] report insufficient uptake both by carers and the general public. Previous studies have focused more on the carers' theoretical perception of the law \[[@CR14], [@CR15]\] rather than the patients' perception \[[@CR16]\]. In France, the \"Patients' Rights and End-of-Life Care\" Act dated April 22, 2005 \[[@CR4]\], emphasizes the role of the health care proxy (HCP) and advance directives (ADs). However, in 2011, the French National Observatory of the End of Life, described them as \"*misunderstood, difficult to use tools\"*\[[@CR13]\].
To the best of our knowledge, no such studies have been conducted in the context of haematological malignancies (HM). These diseases have a particularly poor prognosis and the risk of dying remains in the foreground throughout the clinical pathway. Moreover, sceptic shock or sudden bleeding can occur during induction therapy or in advanced stage disease. It is thus logical to introduce the concepts of HCP and AD to a patient in this setting.
The main goal of this study was to assess the factors associated with the designation of an HCP and writing ADs by patients presenting with an HM both quantitatively (how many patients) and qualitatively (content of ADs). The secondary objective was to assess the link between these tools and the patient's wish to meet a volunteer or a religious representative.
Methods {#Sec2}
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Additional file [1](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}: Table S1 summarizes the multi-step procedure initiated in 2008 in our centre to implement the 2005 \"Patient's Rights and End-of-Life Care\" Act. Our programme aims to inform patients and carers about HCPs, ADs and to encourage discussions about end-of-life preferences. Carers were trained to present the concept of an HCP and AD to the patient and we revised the patient welcoming procedure. All the patients are asked to complete the \"*patient information form\"* on arrival. They have the choice to designate an HCP, write an AD and express a wish to meet a volunteer or a religious representative. The AD that we use comprises very few instructions so as not to influence the patient's choices and encourage the patient to express him/herself freely. We used a mixed-methods approach to collect the data and combine quantitative and qualitative methods to integrate the various relevant perspectives to study HCP and ADs.
Sample selection {#Sec3}
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Two hundred medical records of patients presenting with an HM and treated in the Haematological Unit of a University Hospital (Limoges, France) from June 1, 2008 to April 30, 2012 were randomly drawn. Data was extracted by a clinical research engineer using an abstraction protocol to perform a retrospective descriptive quantitative analysis \[[@CR17]\]. Demographic and study data were collected from the patient information form which is completed by all patients on their first visit to the centre and kept in their medical records.
Any medical records without this patient information form filled in by the patient or his legal representative were not retained for analysis. Study data included: whether an HCP had been designated, whether an AD had been written and was available, mention of a wish to meet a religious representative or a volunteer. The survival data of the patients was updated on July 5, 2013.
Statistical analysis {#Sec4}
--------------------
The statistical studies were performed by using the software RKward V 0.6.1 with a significance level of 0.05. Analysis was performed in accordance with the STROBE guidelines. The quantitative variables were studied for their average compared to the standard deviation, or median, and for their interquartile range. The qualitative variables were studied by headcount and percentage.
Binomial univariate logistic regression: the significantly associated variables presenting a predictive factor for HCP or ADs were identified using a multivariate logistic regression model with two dependent variables (HCP or ADs) and independent variables (age, diagnosis, gender, date of the patient information form, marital status, pathology, religious representative and volunteer visit). Relevant variables and those presenting a level of significance below 0.20 in univariate analysis were introduced in the multivariate model. A stepdown procedure was performed with a level of significance below 0.05. For statistical analysis, the variables mentioned above were categorized as follows: age group on diagnosis (under 69 or over 70 years); gender (M/F); date (year) of the patient information form (2008--2009, 2010, 2011--2012); marital status (married or with a partner, single, unspecified); pathology (myeloid pathologies and others, lymphoid pathologies); a wish to meet a religious representative (yes, no, n/a); wish to meet a volunteer (yes, no, n/a).
Qualitative analysis {#Sec5}
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### Data collection {#Sec6}
Qualitative data was collected from written ADs available in the patient information form.
### Data analysis {#Sec7}
The aim of the qualitative analysis was not to be exhaustive but rather to provide an overall understanding. All the data were listed on a spreadsheet. No specific qualitative data analysis software was used. The data were analysed according to qualitative content analysis as introduced by Paillet et Mucchielli \[[@CR18]\]. More specifically, we performed a thematic analysis of the content of the ADs after identifying the main messages and keywords and assessing recurrence.
The analytical process was conducted by a multidisciplinary research team consisting of a senior haematologist and a clinical research engineer trained in qualitative research, medical law and clinical ethics. Initially, both researchers read the six ADs independently to familiarize themselves with the data. Then they independently analysed each AD and coded data according to the rules. Codes were subsequently compared, contrasted, and grounded in data before being abstracted to related categories. During the analysis there was an ongoing discussion of emerging themes and keywords, and variance of interpretation in the study was resolved through communicative validation.
Terminology {#Sec8}
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For this study, HCP was defined in accordance with French regulations \[[@CR4]\] as a person chosen by the patient for two types of missions: first, to support him/her in making decisions throughout the healthcare pathway and second, to speak on his/her behalf for future healthcare decisions in case the patient is unable to express wishes him/herself. The HCP can never make a decision in place of the patient.
ADs are a written document by which the patient expresses his/her preferences in case he/she is unable to express them. The patient indicates his/her wishes regarding the end of life and the conditions for limiting or stopping treatment.
Both an HCP and AD are strictly informative and the final decision belongs to the physician.
Ethics {#Sec9}
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The Ethics Committee of the University Hospital of Limoges approved the study. According to French health regulations no written informed consent is required as the research is a retrospective observational study on registered data. Oral consent was obtained prior to the research by all participants.
Results {#Sec10}
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Demographic data {#Sec11}
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A total of 2180 medical records were listed during the study period. Among them, 200 were randomly selected and 197 (98.5%) patient information forms retained for analysis. Three (1.5%) were excluded for missing data. The patients characteristics are summarized in Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"}. There were no significant differences in the number of patients designating an HCP or writing an AD throughout the period (2008--2009, 2010, 2011--2012) from when the information programme was introduced to the end of the study. The sex ratio was 1.26, the average age was 64.4 ± 15.8 \[range: 18--91\] years and 73 (37.0%) were 70 years or older. A total of 136 (69.0%) and 61 (31.0%) patients presented with malignant lymphoid and malignant myeloid pathologies and others, respectively. The 2-year survival rate of the entire cohort was 78.4% \[95% CI: 68.2-90.2\]. Sixteen patients (8.1%) expressed a wish to meet a religious representative and nine (4.6%) a volunteer.Table 1**Characteristics of the cohort of patients**Total sampleHealth care proxyAdvance directivesYesNoN/AYesNoN/An.%n.%n.%n.%n.%n.%n.%**Year medical records were studied**2008-20096030.53558.31423.31118.335.03456.72338.320105427.43870.41018.5611.147.43463.01629.62011-20128342.15465.11416.91518.156.05262.72631.3**Population**197100.012764.53819.33216.2126.112060.96533.0**Gender**Male11055.87164.52119.11816.465.57265.53229.1Female8744.25664.41719.51416.166.94855.23337.9Sex ratio1.261.271**Age groups on diagnosis**\<7012463.07963.72721.81814.554.08366.93629.0≥707337.04865.81115.11419.279.63750.72939.7Median age (years)666773Average age (years) SD (min-max)64.4 ± 15.8 \[18;91\]64.8 ± 14.2 \[23;91\]72.5 ± 5.6 \[62;83\]**Marital status**Married or with a partner13870.19871.02417.41611.696.58763.04230.4Single/Widowed4422.31943.21125.01431.836.82250.01943.2Not filled in157.61066.7320.0213.3\--1173.3426.7**Pathologies**Lymphoid pathologies^1^13669.09166.92619.11914.042.98159.65137.5Myeloid pathologies and others^2^6131.03659.01219.71321.3813.13963.91423.0**Wish to meet a religious representative**168.11275.016.3318.8637.5956.316.3**Wish to meet a volunteer**94.6666.7111.1222.2333.3555.6111.1^1^Lymphoid pathologies: NHL, Hodgkin's disease, Hairy cell leukaemia, myeloma, amyloidosis, Waldenstrom's disease, CLL).^2^Myeloid pathologies and others: acute leukaemia and myelodysplasia (RAEB), CMML, myeloproliferative disorders (CML, primary myelofibrosis, essential thrombocythemia, polycythemia vera, rare non malignant haemopathies (aplastic anemia, severe autoimmune cytopenias, thrombotic microangiopathies, immune deficiencies.
Description of the sample of patients who designated a health care proxy {#Sec12}
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### Quantitative content analysis {#Sec13}
Among the 197 evaluable medical records, 127 patients had designated a HCP (64.5%). The characteristics of these patients are summarized in Table [2](#Tab2){ref-type="table"}. The sex ratio was 1.27 and the average age 64.8 ± 14.2 \[range: 23--91\] years. Among them, only 12 patients (75.0%) expressed a wish to meet a religious representative and six (66.7%) a volunteer.Table 2**Designation and identity of the health care proxy**Designation of a health care proxyn.%Yes127**64.5**No38**19.3**Not filled in32**16.2***Totaln = 197****100%*Identity of the chosen person**Spouse/Partner76**60**Child30**24**Close relative (cousin, nephew, in-law)5**4**Other (doctor, ex-partner)5**4**Sibling4**3**Parent/Grandparent3**2**Unspecified4**3***Totaln = 127****100%***
A total of 118 (93.0%) patients chose a relative as their HCP: either the spouse for 76 patients (60.0%) or a descendant for 30 (24.0%). Patients living with a partner, either married or not, preferentially chose their partner (n = 66, 77.5%). The HCP was somebody from outside of the family for four patients (2.6%) and only three (2.0%) chose their physician. Among the seven patients who designated several HCPs, five were married or with a partner (four of them designated their wife or husband as first choice and chose simultaneously their children or stepchildren, and one chose simultaneously two children and one stepdaughter). The two remaining single patients designated three children or two relatives respectively.
The only factor that emerged in univariate analysis as associated with the designation of an HCP was marital status: OR 2.4 \[95% CI: 1.0-5.9\], p = 0.040. (Table [3](#Tab3){ref-type="table"}).Table 3**Analysis by univariate binomial logistic regression of the factors associated with the designation of a health care proxy**VariablesOdds Ratio95% CI***p-value*Gender**Male1.0Female0.9\[0.4-2.0\]*0.944***Age**\<70 years1.0≥70 years1.4\[0.6-3.3\]*0.320***Marital status**Single1.0Married or with a partner2.4\[1.0-5.9\]*0.040***Pathology**Myeloid and others1.0Lymphoid0.8\[0.3-1.9\]*0.701***Time period** 2008-20091.0*0.333* 20101.5\[0.6-3.9\] 2011-20121.5\[0.6-3.6\]**Wish to meet a religious representative**No1.0Yes4.0\[0.7-76.1\]*0.185***Wish to meet a volunteer**No1.0Yes2.0\[0.3-39.0\]*0.522*
Table [4](#Tab4){ref-type="table"} summarizes the results of the multivariate analysis. Marital status remained a significant factor: OR 2.4 \[95% CI: 1.0-5.9\], p = 0.040.Table 4**Multivariate analysisResult of analysis by multivariate binomial logistic regression using a step-down method of factors associated with the designation of a health care proxy**VariablesOdds Ratio95% CI*p-value***Marital status**Single1.0Married or with a partner2.4\[1.0-5.9\]*0.040***Result of analysis by multivariate binomial logistic regression using a step-down method of factors associated with the writing of advance directives**VariablesOdds Ratio95% CI*p-value***Wish to meet a volunteer**No1.0Yes13.0\[2.2-72.1\]*0.003*
Description of the sample of patients who wrote advance directives {#Sec14}
------------------------------------------------------------------
### Quantitative content analysis {#Sec15}
ADs were sampled in the medical records of 12 (6.1%) patients (Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"}). Patients who wrote ADs were equally men or women, with an average age of 72.5 ± 5.6 \[range: 62--83\] years at the time of diagnosis. Seven (9.6%) were 70 or older and overall this group was statistically older than the rest of the cohort (p = 0.00025). Six of them (37.5%) expressed a wish to meet a religious representative and three (33.3%) a volunteer.
Gender, age and marital status had no predictive value for the writing of ADs, but there were more patients with lymphoid pathologies than with myeloid pathologies (p = 0.027) OR 4.1 \[95% CI: 1.2-16.3\]. The most significant factors for writing an AD were the wish to meet a religious representative (p \< 0.001) or a volunteer (p = 0.003) (Table [5](#Tab5){ref-type="table"}).Table 5**Analysis by univariate binomial logistic regression of the factors associated with the writing of advance directives**VariablesOdds ratio95%CI***p-value*Gender**Male1.0Female1.5\[0.4-5.0\]*0.504***Age**\<701.0≥703.1\[0.9-11.2\]*0.064***Marital status**Single1.0Married or with a partner1.1\[0.2-7.8\]*0.874***Pathology**Myeloid and others1.0Lymphoid4.1\[1.2-16.3\]*0.027***Time period**2008 -20091.0*0.947*20101.3\[0.2-7.2\]2011-20121.0\[0.2-5.5\]**Wish to meet a religious representative**No1.0Yes14.2\[3.6-59.2\]*\<0.001***Wish to meet a volunteer**No1.0Yes13.0\[2.2-72.1\]*0.003*
Multivariate analysis revealed that only the wish of a patient to meet a volunteer was significant (p = 0.003): OR 13.0 \[95% CI: 2.2-72.1\] (Table [4](#Tab4){ref-type="table"}).
Only six ADs (50.0%) were filed. One person confirmed his ADs three years after writing it, which is the maximum period of legal validity. Life expectancy was significantly shorter for patients who wrote an AD than those who did not or who did not express an opinion. The average lapse of time between the filling in the patient information form and the patient's death was 1.41 years.
### Qualitative findings {#Sec16}
Content analysis of the six filed ADs by two researchers revealed two main themes: the first comprised wishes regarding medical care, in particular life-sustaining treatment, and was addressed to the haematologist or the family doctor (Participants 2, 3 and 5); the second theme referred to more personal messages the patients wished to express to their relatives regarding their personal philosophy about end of life (Participants 1, 2, 3 and 4). Six key terms emerged from this analysis: \"life-sustaining treatment\", \"my children,\" \"mental faculties\", \"survival\", \"suffering\" and \"pain\".
Them 1: patients' wishes about medical care decisions {#Sec17}
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Two patients began their directives by asserting that they were of sound mind and emphasizing how important their state of consciousness was for them:"*In full possession of my mental and physical faculties, such are my directives... I intend to be as conscious as possible at the time of my death...* (Participant 2)*I, the undersigned Mr B..., being of sound mind if not of sound body, hereby declare...* (Participant 5)"
The patients anticipated the possibility that they might lose their faculty of expression:"*A worsening of my state of health*... (Participant 1)*A deterioration of my faculties...* (Participant 2)*If the progression of my state suddenly reduces my free will, whatever the cause, I request*... (Participant 5)"
All the patients expressed their refusal of life-sustaining care, but only some of them explained what they meant by that term:"*I wish to be spared from all aggressive therapy, as well as all artificial means of survival that would leave me deprived of my mental faculties or suffering from intolerable pain.* (Participant 3)*I do not want any life-sustaining care...* (Participant 1)*I refuse all life-sustaining care...* (Participant 4)*No life-sustaining care, I do not want to be a guinea pig*... (Participant 6)"
Some ADs were unequivocal, others were more difficult to interpret. Sometimes a discrepancy appeared between the refusal of life-sustaining treatments and the fact that the patient still agreed to receive some of them:"*I request that my life is not prolonged... I have survived thanks to transfusions for four years... Let the medical profession sort this out themselves. I hereby free them of all civil and penal responsibility*... (Participant 5)"
The patients indicated what they agreed to and refused in terms of medical techniques. They mentioned palliative care and pain relief:"*Yes for administration of painkillers, so that the pain will not prevent me from serenely expressing myself...* (Participant 2)*I wish to be spared from intolerable suffering...* (Participant 3)*I fear all pain...* (Participant 5)"
Two concepts of medicine emerged: palliative treatment providing support for the patient on one hand and technical intervention on the other. This led patients to refuse some treatments perceived as futile or associated with a fear of medicine:"*Yes to palliative care. No to all aggressive care. No to any surgery that would leave the final prognosis unchanged...* (Participant 2)*Should the possibility arise, I absolutely refuse all resuscitation* (Participant 4)"
Sometimes, the patient refused treatments which could lead to disability due to secondary effects:"*No to all drugs likely to induce the loss of my remaining faculties (sight, mobility, bodily functions)...* (Participant 2)"
The more explicit AD made references to the patient's medical history, to his quality of life, perceived as less than satisfying, to the disorders or symptoms he suffered from, to his fears and anxiety:"*My main anxiety is choking and suffocation. My own father died in my home by suffocation... unable to express himself... unconscious... The experience I had that day was too acute for time to erase...* (Participant 5)*The serious structural weakness, which is worsening as my disease progresses, is taking me from my armchair to my bed to drowse or to sleep...* (Participant 5)"
ADs were also a means for the patient to bring up the question of the place of death, or to allude to complex family relationships:"*Following the patient information form I just completed, I inform you that in case of hospitalization and worsening of my state, I do not wish to die in L...I express a very doubtful opinion regarding the information my daughter will be supplied with*... (Participant 1)"
Theme 2: personal messages to relatives or a personal philosophy about end of life {#Sec18}
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADs were also used to communicate their thoughts on the meaning of life, personal quest for serenity, and to show how much they trusted their loved ones:"*I have had my time... Life is a marvel but one must know how to end even the best of things. I will have lived enough...* (Participant 5)*My sincere desire is to end the path of my life with the best support, so that it will reach its conclusion in all serenity...* (Participant 4)*In case of deterioration of my faculties, I trust my wife and any of my six children to make a decision according to the spirit of the present document...* (Participant 2)"
Two patients referred to the use of this document and the implications it could have in making future medical decisions:"*I thank you in advance for the attention you will give to me...* (Participant 4)*I thank you for agreeing to take these guidelines into consideration...* (Participant 1)"
Discussion {#Sec19}
==========
The main findings of this mixed-method approach to better understand which factors influence patients with an HM in using end-of-life tools are that: i. patients with partners are more likely to appoint an HCP and, ii. patients wishing to meet a religious representative or a volunteer are more likely to write an AD. This significant difference in ADs in terms of religious belief has never been described before except for euthanasia requests \[[@CR8]\]. Furthermore, this is the first paper to provide a qualitative analysis of the AD content in \[[@CR19]--[@CR22]\] a population of patients with HM. Two main themes emerge: wishes relative to medical treatment on one hand, and personal messages to loved ones on the other.
The patients who designated an HCP in our study were older than those from previously published works presenting with other pathologies \[[@CR23]--[@CR25]\]. The proportion of patients who were married or with a partner in our study was similar to that of patients admitted for surgical procedures (71.0% vs.76.0%, respectively) \[[@CR26]\]. However, this figure is much higher than that found in the general French population (47.0%) \[[@CR27]\].
None of the factors of gender, age, pathology or expression of a wish to meet a volunteer or a religious representative were found to be a significant influence on whether a patient chooses to designate an HCP. This is in contrast to the findings of Halpern *et al.*\[[@CR24]\] who showed that age is a significant factor and that there is a relationship between the designation of an HCP and religion and spirituality. However, it is difficult to compare the studies directly. Demographical data are rarely if ever published at a national level. Furthermore, the concept of ADs in the US \[[@CR2]\] is different as the term is used indiscriminately for both ADs and HCPs.
Overall, patient/carer relationships have been changing recently in France towards a model that encourages more patient autonomy. Talking about a subject as sensitive and difficult as end of life is possibly easier with an HCP.
In our study, we found a higher rate of HCP designation (64.5%) than the national rate in France (5.0%) \[[@CR5]\] though a similar rate to that found in the US \[[@CR24]\]. The main factors for designating an HCP are related to culture and the country, the pathology and also how advanced the society is in dealing with this kind of procedure: percentages vary enormously from nearly 30% in Europe to 0.0% in Japan \[[@CR28]\].
Among the reasons potentially explaining HCP designation is the diagnosis of a severe disease, as in our setting, where patients have more of an acute need. Furthermore, the high rate we observed in our population could also be a reflection of our active information programme including patient information documents and workgroups comprising doctors, caregivers, and a jurist specialized in medical law which might have facilitated exchanges on the subject. However, in spite of this multi-step programme introduced in our service as from 2008, there was no increase in the number of patients designating HCPs or writing ADs over the study period.
The most frequently designated HCP were members of the patient's family (93.0%), which matches other reports found in the literature \[[@CR16], [@CR19], [@CR26], [@CR28], [@CR29]\]. French law stipulates that a patient can only designate a single HCP; however, seven of our patients designated several HCPs. This might indicate a difficulty in choosing between children and spouse \[[@CR19]\].
The people who wrote ADs tended to be older -- 75.5 years as opposed to 65.4 -- similarly to other studies finding that older patients are more likely to write ADs \[[@CR19], [@CR20], [@CR24]\].
People who wrote an AD were also more likely to express a wish to meet a religious representative and a volunteer simultaneously regardless of practice or belief, or religion (although Catholicism was the only religion mentioned by the patients who expressed a wish to meet a religious representative (56.3%)). The need for spirituality and religious support is described in the literature as playing an important role in palliative care \[[@CR10], [@CR30]--[@CR33]\].
The fact that the ADs were written after diagnosis could suggest that the wishes expressed are more the consequence of the patient's personal experience rather than a reaction when faced with imminent death.
The desire to meet a volunteer could attest to a need to open up to others. When someone is diagnosed with a severe disease they are forced to face up to the reality of their own mortality and this leads to introspection or contemplation about their relationships with other people and the world in general. This questioning can result in a need for spirituality.
The low number of ADs written by our patients with an HM (6.0%) was similar to that found in a French study carried out in various medical units (6.0%) \[[@CR15]\], but is higher than the results of a national French observatory study (2.5%) \[[@CR33]\]. These results are close to those observed in Europe (from 2.0% to 18%) and reflect the limited use of ADs despite encouragement through specific legislation \[[@CR19], [@CR34]\]. The low figures can be explained by the fact that patients are either not aware of this concept (90.0%) or have a negative perception of it \[[@CR15], [@CR31], [@CR32]\]. Conversely, more patients write ADs in the US (from 1.5% to 71.0%) depending on the population studied, and this highlights major cultural differences between Europe and the US \[[@CR30], [@CR35]--[@CR39]\].
Among the registered ADs, two were not archived and the haematologist did not ask the patients to transmit them based on the argument of the anxiety it could trigger. ADs are often assimilated to death, making it difficult for the carers to approach the subject. On the data updated on July 5, 2013, most of the patients who wrote an AD had died (n = 4/6) although the mortality for the whole studied cohort was 27.4%.
All ADs were written on blank paper and not on a pre-printed form and comprised one to two pages. When a patient went into more detail about what they accepted or refused in terms of medical care, they referred to their own experience and gave limits for a specific treatment or determined a degree of handicap that was not acceptable to them \[[@CR40]\]. Past family experience of the disease was also referred to with a very accurate description of the symptoms the patient witnessed personally and expressing a desire not to suffer the same fate.
Furthermore, no ADs expressed a wish to have everything done to sustain life regardless of prognosis or cost. Few patients used ADs as a way to ponder on the meaning of life, the end, or to declare his/her spiritual quest.
The people who wrote ADs were able to pursue a personal reflection about their disease, to anticipate their incapacity to express their will and to envisage their own death. They simultaneously designated an HCP (75.0%) suggesting a need to exchange orally as well as in writing. This finding matches other reports in the literature \[[@CR39], [@CR41]\].
The finding that so few ADs are written in this patient population would seem to suggest that this tool only responds to the needs and expectations of a minority of patients. This raises questions about the whole of concept ADs and how best to encourage patients to communicate their wishes concerning treatment and how they would like to be supported.
At a time of particular fragility, HCPs and ADs make tangible a confrontation with the idea of our own end. This is particularly important in the society in which we live as the rituals that previously helped us tame our fear of death gradually fade away. This psychological aspect should not be neglected. The Terror Management theory argues that human understanding of mortality creates an existential anxiety that must be kept under constant control. Defences are erected to keep thoughts about death as far removed from the consciousness as possible \[[@CR42], [@CR43]\]. Not everybody can face their own death and write about it.
Moreover, the implementation of HCPs and ADs could undermine a type of carer/patient communication which is both oral and based on trust. Informal oral ADs do not exist in the US but represent 11.0% of German ADs \[[@CR28]\] while they have not been analysed in France. Trust in relatives and in the medical team is sufficient for some patients who do not see the need to formalize words discussed in private. One publication shows only one patient out of three goes the whole way in the process of writing \[[@CR44]\]. It would thus appear essential to respect the will and rhythm of the patient to communicate in his/her own way on such a sensitive subject as the end of life. ADs and HCP should not replace a discussion with the patient who might prefer to express his/her wishes in this way.
Limitations {#Sec20}
-----------
Apart from concerns of potential selection bias and confounding factors inherent to any retrospective study, some other limitations deserve to be mentioned. First, it took place in a single centre and thus cannot be generalized to all patients presenting with an HM. Furthermore, similar to other mixed-method studies the qualitative and quantitative approaches took place in a sequential order thus limiting the integration of both data forms under a unified process of data analysis. However, the mixed-method approach is highly relevant when dealing with current public health issues, It allows researchers to combine the strengths of qualitative and quantitative methodologies and can reveal which variables are related, the predictive nature of one variable over another and the characteristics of this predictive relation. Another limitation of the study is the low number of ADs available. Moreover, we did not explore what motivates the patient to choose an HCP and whether HCPs provide a true opportunity for dialogue \[[@CR45]\] or rather constitute a mere administrative formality. Gathering the opinions of carers to assess their perception of HCPs and ADs could also have been of interest. These points could be the focus of complementary studies.
Conclusions {#Sec21}
===========
The findings of our study highlight that, despite an advance care planning programme to assist patients and the training of caregivers, few people choose to write ADs. Accompanying a patient through the process of designating an HCP and writing ADs requires time and allocation of support personnel. Both tools are a potential opportunity for starting up a much needed dialogue with a patient facing a life-threatening disease. The fact that only a few patients presenting with severe HM write ADs, would indicate that the need remains to be better defined by French patients. Furthermore, as some patients could find the formal approach of writing difficult, informal oral communication about wishes with carers and relatives should also be encouraged as it represents an opportunity to develop a good doctor/patient relationship.
Electronic supplementary material
=================================
{#Sec22}
######
Additional file 1: Table S1: Multi-step procedure initiated in our clinical haematology department to implement the 2005 Patient's Rights and End-of-Life Care Act. (DOC 178 KB)
HCP
: Healthcare proxy
AD
: Advance directives
HM
: Haematological malignancies.
**Competing interests**
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
**Authors' contributions**
STS conceived the study, participated in the design, coordination and data interpretation, wrote the paper and finalized the manuscript. SM and MPG participated in the conceptualization of the project. AP and GEDL conducted the statistical analysis and helped with the interpretation of results. PMP participated in its design and supervised the statistical analysis. DB participated in its design, coordination and data interpretation and helped to finalize the manuscript. All the authors contributed to and approved the final version of the paper.
This paper originated from a dissertation presented at the Espace Éthique, under the supervision of Pr E. Hirsch within the framework of a Masters Degree 2 in Ethics, Science, Health and Society AP-HP, Paris, France.
The authors are grateful to Danièle Leboul for her training in qualitative analysis, Olivier Chicaud, Nicole Fort, Karen Poole and Lucas Jaccard for their technical assistance.
**Funding**
Financial support that made this study possible: LADRHEC (Limousin Association pour le Développement et la Recherche en Hématologie Clinique), Association in conformity with the French law of 1901 specific to associations. This association allocated a grant to S.Trarieux-Signol for her project.
|
Q:
SwiftUI - CNContactViewController NavigationBar problem
I am trying to implement CNContactViewDelegate to be able to show detail of the CNContact. And apparently, I am the first one to implement it with SwiftUI and getting problems. Anyway, I can see the detail of CNContact with using UIViewControllerRepresentable but I have an issue with the NavigationBar, which there is gap between the Contact's image and StatusBar -because of the NavigationBar and NavigationLink I think- and this gap is not there in the native Contacts app and apparently in this link that implemented the framework in UIKit.
Here is the code;
struct ContactsListView: View {
@ObservedObject var contactsModel: ContactsViewModel
var body: some View {
NavigationView{
List {
//After some ForEach's and Section's
//This view is working.
NavigationLink(destination: ContactDetailView(contact: self.$contactsModel.contacts[sectionIdx].contacts[contactIdx])) {
Text(self.contactsModel.contacts[sectionIdx].contacts[contactIdx].givenName)
}
}
.navigationBarTitle("Contacts")
}
}
}
struct ContactView: UIViewControllerRepresentable {
@Binding var contact: CNContact
func makeCoordinator() -> ContactView.Coordinator {
Coordinator(self)
}
func makeUIViewController(context: UIViewControllerRepresentableContext<ContactView>) -> CNContactViewController {
let controller = CNContactViewController(for: contact)
self.navigationBarHidden(true)
return controller
}
func updateUIViewController(_ uiViewController: CNContactViewController, context: UIViewControllerRepresentableContext<ContactView>) {
print(context)
}
class Coordinator: NSObject, CNContactViewControllerDelegate {
var parent: ContactView
init(_ contactDetail: ContactView) {
self.parent = contactDetail
self.parent.navigationBarHidden(true)
}
}
}
In the ContactView, both of those self.navigationBarHidden(true)'s are not working. As an example of the problem here is the native app's screenshot;
And here is the result of my code;
A:
As the question is got an upvote I thought I can share my half way solution. This solves the gap however during the transition to detail there is a glitch of navigation bar with background color. After the transition it is becoming clear.
struct ContactDetailView: View {
var contact: CNContact
var body: some View {
ZStack {
Color.clear
ContactView(contact: self.contact)
.navigationBarTitle("", displayMode: .inline)
}.edgesIgnoringSafeArea(.top)
}
}
struct ContactView: UIViewControllerRepresentable {
var contact: CNContact
func makeCoordinator() -> ContactView.Coordinator {
Coordinator(self)
}
func makeUIViewController(context: UIViewControllerRepresentableContext<ContactView>) -> CNContactViewController {
let controller = CNContactViewController(forUnknownContact: contact)
controller.allowsActions = true
controller.allowsEditing = false
controller.delegate = context.coordinator
return controller
}
func updateUIViewController(_ uiViewController: CNContactViewController, context: UIViewControllerRepresentableContext<ContactView>) {
print("updated")
}
class Coordinator: NSObject, CNContactViewControllerDelegate {
var parent: ContactView
init(_ contactDetail: ContactView) {
self.parent = contactDetail
}
func contactViewController(_ viewController: CNContactViewController, didCompleteWith contact: CNContact?) {
}
func contactViewController(_ viewController: CNContactViewController, shouldPerformDefaultActionFor property: CNContactProperty) -> Bool {
return true
}
}
}
|
Q:
Generating Random Numbers in C and writing it to a text file
So I've created a project that reads numbers from a text file and draws an isometric projection of it, but now I'm trying to create a program that generates numbers from 0-9 and writes them in the document. This is what my code looks like, but the document remains empty. I'm under the assumption that the error is either in my rand() function usage, or when I convert the integers to characters.
Thank you in advance for all the input, and I apologize if it's just an operator error. I'm pretty new to this stuff:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
int main(void)
{
char str[10];
FILE *fptr;
int i;
int num;
char num2;
i = 0;
fptr = fopen("map.fdf", "w");
if (fptr == NULL)
{
printf("ERROR Creating File!");
exit(1);
}
while (str[i] != '\0')
{
num = rand() % 10;
num2 = num + '0';
str[i] = num2;
i += 1;
}
puts(str);
fprintf(fptr,"%s", str);
fclose(fptr);
return (0);
}
A:
I don't understand your while loop, it seems to wait for some condition that it doesn't contain code to make happen.
Anyway, how about not re-inventing how to convert single-digit integers to characters, and instead using higher-level I/O functions to just print to the file? That's why they're there, after all. :)
for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i)
{
fprintf(fptr, "%d", rand() % 10);
}
fprintf(fptr, "\n"); /* Probably nice to make it a line. */
If you really must make do without for, you can of course always manually transform it into a while loop:
int i = 0;
while(i++ < 10)
{
fprintf(fptr, "%d", rand() % 10);
}
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MUMBAI: They walked ten days, covering a distance of roughly 400kms, negotiating uncharted jungle trails between the borders of Maharashtra and Gujarat. But for this group of migrant workers and their families, the intrepid bid to escape the lockdown has ended in disappointment – they are back where they started, on their way to a construction site in Virar which employed them After the border between the states was sealed, over 3,000 migrants had massed near Achhad village, the last post on the Maharashtra side, on the highway in Talasari taluka.
While a number of migrants were turned away or moved to temporary shelters set up by the district administration, some broke through the cordon and took to forest paths to cross into Gujarat.
Rajesh Dawak, a construction worker, his wife Relam, their two-year-old son Krishna along with extended family comprising around 20, men, women, children, spent nights in the jungle trekking to Gujarat. They were eventually stopped by police at Surat, put in a truck and dropped off at the Maharashtra border. When TOI found them, they were fleeing the camp in Talasari, despite the offer of food and shelter, and circling back to their construction site in Virar.
Rajesh said they decided to take their chances through the forest into Gujarat in a bid to get back to their village near Bhopal.
The walk from Virar to Talasari had taken six days. “The border was sealed, so we sneaked into the jungle,” he said. Aware of the presence of wildlife—it’s a stretch known for leopard sightings—they kept to the periphery of the forest, but ensured they did not get noticed along the way.
The men, around 10 of them, used their phones sparingly, switching on one at a time, so it would help with navigation, phone calls and visibility. “The phone acted as a torch. We had to watch for wild animals at night,” said one of them, Harish Dawak.
The group would walk during the day and break at dusk to cook a meal of rice and dal over firewood found in the jungle before catching up on sleep. The women admitted that the two nights in the jungle left them with a sense of dread, especially for the children’s safety. Relam said she and the other women clung to their children.
Rajesh said they had made it to Surat and would have continued onwards if they had not been stopped. Once they were shipped back to the shelter at Talasari, they collectively decided to leave and head back to their hutments in Virar. When TOI found them, they were resting their sore feet in the shade of a tree; they had another 95kms to go.
|
4*y**2 - 6*y + 2. Let p(f) = 5*q(f) + 2*v(f). Is p(2) composite?
True
Suppose 0 = f + 14 - 312. Is f composite?
True
Let w(l) = l - 11. Let u be w(12). Is (-53)/2*(-1 - u) a prime number?
True
Let n = -2 + 8. Suppose -n*i + 2*i = -136. Is i a prime number?
False
Let i(h) = 2*h**3 - h**2 + 2*h + 5. Is i(6) a prime number?
False
Let o(l) = -9*l + 1. Is o(-4) composite?
False
Let n be (-4)/6*(-9)/2. Suppose 3*p - 92 = -z, -n*p - 189 = -2*z - 50. Is z prime?
False
Suppose 0*k = -2*k - 2324. Let r = 42 + -30. Is k/(-22) - r/(-66) a composite number?
False
Let i = -301 - -710. Is i prime?
True
Let y be 0/((2 - 7) + 4). Suppose 2*n - 4*n + 638 = y. Is n prime?
False
Suppose p + 3*l - 14 = -4, -130 = -5*p + 5*l. Suppose 3*q - 23 = p. Is q a composite number?
True
Let z be 4 - 0 - (2 - 3). Suppose -3*l = l + 3*h - 363, -z*l + 450 = 3*h. Is l a composite number?
True
Let h = 43 - 12. Let d be ((-354)/4)/((-3)/8). Suppose 3*s = d + h. Is s composite?
False
Let d be (4/8)/(1/(-8)). Let u be (-2)/4 + (-137)/(-2). Is (6/d)/((-3)/u) a composite number?
True
Suppose 88 - 14 = -2*l. Let g = 72 + l. Is g prime?
False
Let z = 3006 - -991. Is z prime?
False
Let w = -23 - -54. Is w composite?
False
Let c(x) = 2*x**3 - 19*x**2 - 31*x + 1. Is c(16) composite?
False
Is 2/(1 - -1)*67 prime?
True
Let u be (-4)/((-4)/(-3)) + -27. Is (-2)/12 - 4895/u a composite number?
False
Suppose 5*h + 5*f = -10, 1 + 5 = 3*h - f. Let k be 69*(-1 + (-4)/(-3)). Let p = k - h. Is p a prime number?
False
Suppose -4*p = l - 190, 3*l + 3*p - 4*p - 583 = 0. Is l a composite number?
True
Let y = -26 - -759. Is y a composite number?
False
Let l(k) = 3*k**2 - 5*k + 1. Let c(q) be the first derivative of 2*q**2 - 2*q - 2. Let r be c(2). Is l(r) composite?
False
Suppose 3*s + 6*v - v - 801 = 0, 267 = s - v. Is s prime?
False
Is 326/6 - 14/(-21) prime?
False
Suppose 2*z = -0*z + 6. Suppose -z*o + 2*o = 6. Let r(g) = g**3 + 9*g**2 + 2*g - 7. Is r(o) a composite number?
False
Let g(x) = 2 + 2 - 2 + 6 + 4*x. Let z be g(10). Suppose -3 + z = 3*s. Is s a composite number?
True
Let z(b) = -b**2 - 55*b - 3. Is z(-20) a prime number?
False
Suppose 2*i = i + 2*g - 7, -2*g = -4*i - 16. Is (i + (-222)/2)/(-2) prime?
False
Suppose u = -u + 38. Is u prime?
True
Suppose -4*y + 3 + 16 = j, -3*j - 28 = -5*y. Let i(s) = -4*s + 0*s + s - y*s - 1. Is i(-1) prime?
True
Let l be -3 - (-3 + (-1 - 36)). Let x = l + 90. Is x a prime number?
True
Let i(m) = m**3 - 3*m**2 + 3*m. Let t be i(2). Suppose -u + w - 3*w + t = 0, -9 = -3*u - 3*w. Is (-6)/u + (-355)/(-10) composite?
True
Suppose a - 16 = 469. Is a a composite number?
True
Suppose 5*t - 5212 = b, -t - 4*t + 5*b = -5200. Is t a prime number?
False
Let v(f) = f + 1. Let y be (-296)/(-56) - (-2)/(-7). Let b be v(y). Is (6/9)/(b/387) a prime number?
True
Let s(g) = 169*g**3 - 2*g**2 + 13*g + 13. Let o(f) = 84*f**3 - f**2 + 7*f + 7. Let i(b) = 11*o(b) - 6*s(b). Is i(-1) composite?
True
Is 309 + 0 - (1 + 3) a prime number?
False
Suppose -3*d - 5*r = -265, 7*r = 2*d + 3*r - 206. Is d composite?
True
Let k be 2/16*4*60. Is 50778/k - (-2)/5 a prime number?
True
Let g(x) = -x**2 - 9*x + 10. Let w be g(-10). Suppose 130 = 5*j - f, -j + w*j - 4*f = -47. Let v = j - 16. Is v prime?
True
Let t be (6/(-9))/((-6)/38439). Suppose -n + t = 5*z, 5*z + 2*n = -2*n + 4259. Suppose -2*s + 508 = 4*k - 178, 5*k + 2*s - z = 0. Is k a composite number?
True
Suppose -2*c + 4*z = -17 - 23, -3*z = 4*c - 80. Is c - (-1 + (0 - 2)) a composite number?
False
Let v be (-2)/8 - 6/(-24). Is 1 - ((-2 - 86) + v) a prime number?
True
Let z(m) be the second derivative of 149*m**4/12 + 3*m. Is z(-1) a prime number?
True
Let l(h) = 0 + 1 + 3 - 3 + 17*h. Is l(2) a prime number?
False
Let s(q) = -2*q**3 + 6*q**2 + 4*q + 13. Is s(-4) composite?
True
Let n = -595 - -1298. Is n prime?
False
Let x(a) = -a**2 + 12*a - 14. Let v = -5 + 15. Let c be x(v). Let z(k) = k**3 - 7*k**2 + 8*k - 5. Is z(c) a composite number?
False
Suppose -4*b - 735 = -b. Let w = b + 456. Is w prime?
True
Suppose 15 = r - 6*r. Let c be (-1)/(-1) + (-9)/r. Suppose -c*x = -30 - 46. Is x a composite number?
False
Suppose -2*p + 4 = 4*l, -4*l + 3 = p + 1. Suppose 3*o - p*t = -6, 2*o + 5*t - 15 = 3*o. Suppose -g + 43 + 36 = o. Is g a composite number?
False
Suppose 4*w + d - 3987 = -2*d, 0 = 5*w - d - 4960. Suppose 0 = 2*m - 2393 - w. Is m a prime number?
True
Suppose -11*r + 680 = -3*r. Is r a composite number?
True
Suppose 0 = -5*w + 2*w. Suppose -3*k + w*k = -18. Is k a prime number?
False
Let s(h) = -h**2 + 4*h. Let w be s(2). Let c(n) = n**3 - 5*n**2 + 4*n. Let m be c(w). Suppose 3*d - 125 + 20 = m. Is d composite?
True
Let d(x) = -x**3 + 10*x**2 + 12*x - 13. Let o be d(11). Is o + 1 + -2 + 212 a composite number?
True
Let d = -2 - -3. Is 1/(0 - d/(-19)) composite?
False
Suppose 0 = s - 6*s - 5, 0 = -3*a + 4*s + 295. Is a composite?
False
Suppose -2*k - 91 - 47 = 0. Let h = 17 + -16. Is (1 + h)/((-3)/k) prime?
False
Let c(b) = b**3 - 9*b**2 - 2*b - 3. Is c(10) composite?
True
Let i = 2 - -2. Suppose 0 = i*q + 20, 2*q + q - 51 = -3*p. Suppose 2*t - 9 = -z - 0*z, -t + p = 4*z. Is t prime?
True
Let u(a) = 26*a**2 + a. Is u(-1) composite?
True
Let j = -10 + 113. Is j prime?
True
Let s(j) = 5*j**2 + 3*j - 7. Is s(5) prime?
False
Let j = 136 + 7. Is j prime?
False
Let s = 5506 - 3429. Is s composite?
True
Let y(t) = -t**3 - 4*t**2 + 4. Let n be y(-3). Let c(g) = -24*g + 7. Is c(n) a composite number?
False
Let i = -40 - -142. Let y = -71 + i. Is y a composite number?
False
Let x = 3 - 3. Suppose 3*z - 2*m = 3*m + 24, 3*z + 3*m = x. Is (z - 5)/((-4)/14) a prime number?
True
Suppose 2*m + 9 = 3. Is -1*(74*-1 + m) a prime number?
False
Suppose 4*f + 8 = 0, -2*y - y + 749 = 2*f. Is y a composite number?
False
Suppose c = 3*v - 4 - 7, c = 5*v - 19. Is c*118 + -1 - -2 a prime number?
False
Suppose -2*o + 5*c + 404 = -937, 2*o - 1381 = -3*c. Is o composite?
False
Suppose -21*j = -23*j + 574. Is j a composite number?
True
Suppose 0 = 4*i - 0*i - 16. Suppose -3*v = -i*v + 2, -v + 2 = -p. Suppose -o + 3 + 4 = p. Is o composite?
False
Let p be 18/5 - (-4)/10. Suppose 99 = d + 3*t, p*t = -2*d - t + 203. Let y = d + -61. Is y composite?
False
Let f(n) = n**3 - 2*n**2 - 5*n + 19. Is f(9) a prime number?
True
Suppose -6 = 3*y, 3*h - y = -0*h + 506. Let o = -50 + h. Is o prime?
False
Let p = -15 + 30. Suppose 7*g = 5*n + 3*g - p, 0 = g - 5. Is n prime?
True
Let m = 2036 + -927. Is m prime?
True
Let f be ((-2)/(-4))/(2/44). Let c(a) = -38*a - 2. Let h(s) = -13*s - 1. Let g(d) = f*h(d) - 4*c(d). Is g(2) prime?
False
Suppose o + 6*l - 21 = 2*l, -o - l = -9. Let c be (-1 + o + -1)*19. Suppose -53 = -5*g + c. Is g a prime number?
False
Suppose s + 16 = -3*s. Let c be 771/(-4) - s/(-16). Is (1 - c)*(-7)/(-14) composite?
False
Is ((-2)/(-6))/(6/7326) a prime number?
False
Suppose 14 = 2*n + 4. Suppose -96 = -n*g + 319. Is g composite?
False
Suppose -2*s = -0*s. Suppose -5*h + 3 + 7 = s. Is ((-62)/4)/(-1)*h a composite number?
False
Suppose 0 = -2*v + 3*v - 3. Suppose 2*g + 53 = v*g. Is g a prime number?
True
Suppose 3*a - 39 - 246 = 0. Suppose 3*o - a = 328. Is o a composite number?
True
Let z(y) = 231*y**2 + 4*y - 29. Is z(4) prime?
False
Suppose -125 = -5*i + 5*u, 0 = 4*u + 15 - 3. Let l be 406/10 + 4/10. Let v = l - i. Is v composite?
False
Suppose -5*x + 56 = -4*b, 2*x = -2*x - b + 28. Let z(w) = 3*w**2 + w - 2. Let j be z(x). Suppose 5*l = j + 147. Is l prime?
False
Let n(f) = 2*f**2 - f + 1. Let b = -7 + 13. Let q be 2/(-1) + 42/b. Is n(q) a composite number?
True
Let a(q) be the second derivative of q - 7/12*q**4 - 5*q**2 + 0 - 1/20*q**5 - 1/2*q**3. Is a(-7) composite?
False
Suppose 2*x + s - 12 = 0, 2*x - 2*s = -s + 20. Suppose 0 = -5*g - 15, -5*b = -x*g + 3*g + 295. Let v = 111 + b. Is v a prime number?
False
Let d(y) = -28*y**2 - 2*y - 1. Let c be d(-1). Let x = -16 - c. Is x prime?
True
Suppose 8*i + 4*c = 3*i + 2325, -5*c = 25. Is i a composite number?
True
Is 12/3*12779/26 composite?
True
Let o(n) = n**2 - 7*n. Let d be o(7). Let i(a) = -a**2 + 6 + a + 11 + 9 + d*a**2. Is i(0) composite?
True
Let d(q) = -q**3 - 6*q**2 - q - 4. Let g be d(-6). Is (-1)/g - (-1170)/12 a composite number?
False
Suppose -3*q - s + 8 = 0, -q - 20 = -5*q + s. Suppose q*y
|
Uses of Etravirine:
What do I need to tell my doctor BEFORE I take Etravirine?
For all patients taking etravirine:
If you have an allergy to etravirine or any other part of etravirine.
If you are allergic to any drugs like this one, any other drugs, foods, or other substances. Tell your doctor about the allergy and what
signs you had, like rash; hives; itching; shortness of breath; wheezing; cough; swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat; or any other signs.
If you are taking or will be taking another drug like this one.
If you take any drugs (prescription or OTC, natural products, vitamins) that must not be taken with etravirine, like certain drugs that are
used for HIV, infections, or seizures. There are many drugs that must not be taken with etravirine.
If you are taking St. John's wort. Do not take St. John's wort with etravirine. This medicine may not work as well.
If you are breast-feeding. Do not breast-feed while you take etravirine.
Children:
If your child is younger than 2 years of age. Do not give etravirine to a child younger than 2 years of age.
This is not a list of all drugs or health problems that interact with etravirine.
Tell your doctor and pharmacist about all of your drugs (prescription or OTC, natural products, vitamins) and health problems. You must check
to make sure that it is safe for you to take etravirine with all of your drugs and health problems. Do not start, stop, or change the dose of
any drug without checking with your doctor.
What are some things I need to know or do while I take Etravirine?
For all patients taking etravirine:
Tell all of your health care providers that you take etravirine. This includes your doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and dentists.
Do not run out of etravirine.
Have blood work checked as you have been told by the doctor. Talk with the doctor.
This medicine is not a cure for HIV. Stay under the care of your doctor.
This medicine does not stop the spread of diseases like HIV or hepatitis that are passed through blood or having sex. Do not have any kind of
sex without using a latex or polyurethane condom. Do not share needles or other things like toothbrushes or razors. Talk with your doctor.
This medicine may affect how much of some other drugs are in your body. If you are taking other drugs, talk with your doctor. You may need to
have your blood work checked more closely while taking etravirine with your other drugs.
A very bad and sometimes deadly reaction has happened with etravirine. Most of the time, this reaction has signs like fever, rash, or
swollen glands with problems in body organs like the liver, kidney, blood, heart, muscles and joints, or lungs. Talk with the doctor.
Use with care in children. Talk with the doctor.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan on getting pregnant. You will need to talk about the benefits and risks of using etravirine
while you are pregnant.
Children:
If giving to your child, the dose of etravirine may need to be changed as your child's weight changes. Have your child's weight checked
often. Talk with the doctor before changing your child's dose.
How is this medicine (Etravirine) best taken?
Use etravirine as ordered by your doctor. Read all information given to you. Follow all instructions closely.
Take after meals.
Do not take on an empty stomach.
Take with a full glass of water.
Swallow whole. Do not chew, break, or crush.
You may melt tablets in 1 teaspoon (5 mL) of water. Stir until it looks milky and then add about 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of liquid. Water may
be used but orange juice or milk may taste better. Do not use carbonated drinks. Drink right away. Rinse cup with more water, orange juice, or
milk and drink. This can be done a few times to make sure the full dose has been taken.
Do not mix etravirine in warm or hot drinks.
Keep taking etravirine as you have been told by your doctor or other health care provider, even if you feel well.
It is important that you do not miss or skip a dose of etravirine during treatment.
What do I do if I miss a dose?
Take a missed dose as soon as you think about it.
If it has been 6 hours or more since the missed dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your normal time.
Do not take 2 doses at the same time or extra doses.
If you are not sure what to do if you miss a dose, call your doctor.
See also:
What are some side effects that I need to call my doctor about right away?
WARNING/CAUTION: Even though it may be rare, some people may have very bad and sometimes deadly side effects when taking a drug. Tell your
doctor or get medical help right away if you have any of the following signs or symptoms that may be related to a very bad side effect:
Signs of an allergic reaction, like rash; hives; itching; red, swollen, blistered, or peeling skin with or without fever; wheezing;
tightness in the chest or throat; trouble breathing, swallowing, or talking; unusual hoarseness; or swelling of the mouth, face, lips, tongue,
or throat.
A very bad skin reaction (Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis) may happen. It can cause very bad health problems that may
not go away, and sometimes death. Get medical help right away if you have signs like red, swollen, blistered, or peeling skin (with or without
fever); red or irritated eyes; or sores in your mouth, throat, nose, or eyes.
Changes in your immune system can happen when you start taking drugs to treat HIV. If you have an infection that you did not know you had,
it may show up when you take etravirine. Tell your doctor right away if you have any new signs after you start etravirine, even after taking it
for several months. This includes signs of infection like fever, sore throat, weakness, cough, or shortness of breath.
What are some other side effects of Etravirine?
All drugs may cause side effects. However, many people have no side effects or only have minor side effects. Call your doctor or get medical
help if any of these side effects or any other side effects bother you or do not go away:
See also:
If OVERDOSE is suspected:
If you think there has been an overdose, call your poison control center or get medical care right away. Be ready to tell or show what was
taken, how much, and when it happened.
How do I store and/or throw out Etravirine?
Store in the original container at room temperature.
Store in a dry place. Do not store in a bathroom.
Keep lid tightly closed.
Keep all drugs in a safe place. Keep all drugs out of the reach of children and pets.
Throw away unused or expired drugs. Do not flush down a toilet or pour down a drain unless you are told to do so. Check with your
pharmacist if you have questions about the best way to throw out drugs. There may be drug take-back programs in your area.
Consumer information use
If your symptoms or health problems do not get better or if they become worse, call your doctor.
Do not share your drugs with others and do not take anyone else's drugs.
Keep a list of all your drugs (prescription, natural products, vitamins, OTC) with you. Give this list to your doctor.
Talk with the doctor before starting any new drug, including prescription or OTC, natural products, or vitamins.
Some drugs may have another patient information leaflet. Check with your pharmacist. If you have any questions about etravirine, please talk
with your doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or other health care provider.
If you think there has been an overdose, call your poison control center or get medical care right away. Be ready to tell or show what was
taken, how much, and when it happened.
|
Q:
Bind partial view in MVC View using jQuery ajax call
I have a View as shown below
**<div id = 123 class ="Country">**
<div class = "content">
**<need to load partial view here>**
</div>
**</div>**
**<div id = 234 class ="Country">**
<div class = "content">
**<need to load partial view here>**
</div>
**</div>**
...
...More div's here
...
so on clicking the Country div, i need to load its inner div "content". My jQuery ajax call is like below
$(".country").on('click', function () {
$.ajax({
url: '@(Url.Action("FilesByCountry", "RelatedFiles"))', //Cont & ActionResult
type: "GET",
data: $(this).attr('id'), //getting the click id
contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
success: successFunc,
error: errorFunc
});
function successFunc(data) {
**$(this).attr('id').children($('#content', data).html())**
}
function errorFunc(xhr, errorType, exception) {
alert(xhr.status + ": " + exception);
}
});
});
So the controller is hitting fine and it went through the PartialView in debug mode. But the partial view is not binding in Main View. Any thoughts on this?
A:
I found the answer to this. Actually $(this) is not working inside my successFunc and was returning null always. So i modified my Javascript code to something as below.
$(".country").on('click', function () {
var _this = $(this);
$.ajax({
url: '@(Url.Action("FilesByCountry", "RelatedFiles"))', //Cont & ActionResult
type: "GET",
data: $(this).attr('id'), //getting the click id
contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
success: successFunc,
error: errorFunc
});
function successFunc(data) {
_this.find('.content').html(data);
}
function errorFunc(xhr, errorType, exception) {
alert(xhr.status + ": " + exception);
}
});
});
|
<?php
/**
* PHP表单生成器
*
* @package FormBuilder
* @author xaboy <[email protected]>
* @version 2.0
* @license MIT
* @link https://github.com/xaboy/form-builder
* @document http://php.form-create.com
*/
namespace FormBuilder\Rule;
use FormBuilder\Contract\OptionComponentInterface;
trait OptionsRule
{
/**
* @var array
*/
protected $options = [];
/**
* 添加选项
*
* @param string $value
* @param string $label
* @param bool $disabled
* @return $this
*/
public function appendOption($value, $label, $disabled = false)
{
$label = (string)$label;
$this->options[] = compact('value', 'label', 'disabled');
return $this;
}
/**
* 批量添加选项
*
* @param array $options
* @return $this
*/
public function appendOptions(array $options)
{
$this->options = array_merge($this->options, $options);
return $this;
}
/**
* 批量设置的选项
*
* @param array $options
* @return $this
*/
public function setOptions(array $options)
{
$this->options = $options;
return $this;
}
/**
* 批量设置选项 支持匿名函数
*
* @param array|callable $options
* @return $this
*/
public function options($options)
{
return $this->setOptions(is_callable($options) ? $options($this) : $options);
}
/**
* @return array
*/
public function getOptions()
{
return $this->options;
}
/**
* @param $option
* @return array
*/
protected function parseOption($option)
{
return $option instanceof OptionComponentInterface ? $option->getOption() : $option;
}
/**
* @return array
*/
protected function parseOptions()
{
$options = [];
foreach ($this->options as $option) {
$options[] = $this->parseOption($option);
}
return $options;
}
public function parseOptionsRule()
{
return ['options' => $this->parseOptions()];
}
}
|
About The Essence of This Fractal: This fractal form streams energy from the animal kingdom in a connection to our hearts. For the deep devoting love that IS every dog…. Every animal in the collective charge of all humans (man) is part of the great force attempting to teach humans the essence of unconditional love and the lessons behind primal survival instinct and human behaviors. Being still and making connection with this great energy and consciousness can only spark a caring action to well from within and seek a way to express as a gratitude for [their] efforts to help humans heal the deep empty spot that is hidden within that calls for the joy and unconditional constant love that only a dog (but yet in a way all animals) can show us, and offer us in such a simple way as by just being what, and who, they are…. man’s best friend.
|
1. Field of the Invention
A retraction tube for use with a capless spinal screw which allows for the rotation of the screw locking body within, and relative to, the retraction tube. In another embodiment, a retraction tube for use with a capless spinal screw which attaches rigidly to said screw and is dimensioned to permit rotation of said tubular attachment relative to a fixation element.
2. Description of the Related Art
The placement of spinal screws is a common surgical procedure. There is a need to reduce the size of the incision necessary for the placement of such screws. Small tubular tissue retractors have been used to minimize incision size. More recently, tubular attachments have been developed which attach to the screws themselves, performing tissue retraction during the act of screw placement. Typically, the screws are engaged into bone, while the retraction tubes protrude upward through the skin. At this point a fixation element, typically a metallic rod, is placed either through or adjacent to the retraction tubes in order to engage the screws. Typically, a locking cap is then placed through the tube to lock the fixation element to the screws. As demonstrated in the prior art, such tubes attach rigidly to the screw body and do not permit the rotation of the screw body needed to perform locking of the fixation element to the screws.
Recently, there has been the development of capless spinal screws which utilize rotation of the screw body to achieve locking of the fixation element to the capless screws. Current retraction tubes are not capable of being used with capless screws. Since capless screws require rotation of the screw body in order to perform rod locking, an improved retraction tube is needed which allows for rotational screw locking to take place within the tube.
|
Former enslaved African Americans vote in New Orleans, 1867, during the "Radical Reconstruction" period.
By Malik Miah
May 25, 2012 – Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- The “Reconstruction amendments” — the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the United States constitution — are being targeted in many of the far-right “Tea Party” and Republican campaigns against the rights of immigrants and women, marriage equality and gay rights, and voting rights for African Americans and other minority ethnic groups.
The racist tinge of many of these attacks, whether openly stated or implied, is obvious – but this does not mean that racism is more prevalent now than in the past. Rather, the smear campaign against President Barack Obama’s mixed background and dark skin is calculated to appeal to the most extreme backward elements of the Republican Party.
“Birthism” remains very much alive, with the notorious Sheriff Arpaio in Arizona attempting to challenge Obama’s right to be on the ballot. (As of May 23, the state government announced that it officially accepts Hawaii’s record of the president’s birth there.) Yet Obama still has the support of half the population, and African Americans are more integrated into governmental and corporate structures than ever thought possible before the civil rights revolution of the 1960s.
Institutional racism remains and its ugly forms can be seen in federal and state elections. Yet a majority of Americans still “like” and respect President Obama. Educated and successful businesspeople who happen to be Black are not an issue. Black culture is widely accepted by white America.
The fundamental problem is the absence of mass civil rights or labour movements to counter the ideology of the extreme right, including its racist wing. This is why this organised minority is winning elections and rolling back many gains won decades ago.
Many issues that once seemed legally and socially settled (such as contraception) are now under fierce attack. No civil, democratic or basic liberty can be taken for granted.
The 14th and 15th amendments, in this context of right-wing determination to limit civil rights and civil liberties, are central for the public and the most vulnerable sectors of the population to defend. It is especially urgent to do so since the conservative movement wears the constitution as its badge of “true patriotism”, even as it attempts to trample on the most radical amendments ever made to the founding document.
Civil War amendments
The Reconstruction (or Civil War) amendments were adopted between 1865 and 1870, the five years immediately following the American Civil War.
The amendments were important elements in implementing the reconstruction of the south after the war. Their proponents saw the amendments as transforming the United States, from a country that was, in Abraham Lincoln's. words "half slave and half free" to one where the constitutionally guaranteed "blessings of liberty" would be extended to the entire male populace, including former slaves and their descendants.
The 13th amendment was proposed and ratified in 1865. It abolished slavery. Economically devastating to the old ruling class of the south, abolition made it possible for a modern unified capitalist class to rule the country.
The 14th amendment was proposed in 1866 and ratified in 1868. It included the far-reaching radical democratic clauses that defined citizenship. It includes the clauses now in dispute by the far right concerning who is a citizen, the due process and equal protection clauses.
“Its Citizen Clause”, says Wikipedia, “provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v. Sandford ruling by the Supreme Court (1857) that had held that Blacks could not be citizens of the United States.
“Its Due Process Clause prohibits state and local governments from depriving persons of life, liberty, or property without certain steps being taken to ensure fairness. This clause has been used to make most of the Bill of Rights applicable to the states, as well as to recognize substantive and procedural rights.
“Its Equal Protection Clause requires each state to provide equal protection under the law to all people within its jurisdiction. This clause was the basis for Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Supreme Court decision which precipitated the dismantling “of racial segregation in United States education. In Reed v. Reed (1971), the Supreme Court ruled that laws arbitrarily requiring sex discrimination violated the Equal Protection Clause.”
The 15th amendment was proposed in 1869 and ratified in 1870 under the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant. It grants voting rights regardless of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude".
This was the most important immediate change and battleground: The old southern rulers knew slavery was dead forever, but how much the freed slaves could become equal was tied to the right to vote and to be elected to office.
These initially won gains would be later overturned through violence and by law, or sharply restricted by the 1890s. Blacks were not slaves but barely third-class citizens in the south.
Behind today’s assaults
The rightist attacks on the 14th and 15th amendments aimed at reversing some of the most far-reaching rights won since the second American revolution of 1860-65. These fundamental changes, known popularly as the Civil Rights revolution, were codified into laws in the 1960s. They were followed by the victories for women’s rights and other minorities’ rights. It eventually expanded civil rights for the disabled and other social groups through affirmative action programs.
These gains for society were seen by the ruling white majority, and by many white working people, as undermining the institutional “white skin privileges” enshrined in the original US constitution -- that flawed document which included the legal institution of slavery and defined Black slaves as three-fifths of a person.
After its adoption, the seeds for popular upsurge and revolution were planted. First came the popular revolt by the people who fought in the Revolutionary War. They rose up to demand amendments now known as the “Bill of Rights”.
It took a massive Civil War to eliminate slavery and open the door to Blacks becoming full citizens, as well as forging a national capitalist ruling class. It would take future extra-legal actions (from sit-ins to urban rebellions) to expand the original intent of the constitution by integrating other minorities and women as legal citizens with the right to vote and hold office.
Today the battle is over immigrant rights and gay equality. Immigration has been a wedge and division issue throughout US history. Gays remain a divisive issue for all ethnic groups.
The battles over civil rights, voting rights, marriage equality and immigrant rights are rooted in the 14th and 15th amendments. Not surprisingly, many conservatives seek to reinterpret those amendments to exclude undocumented (and in some cases legal) residents and gays from Constitutional protections. Arizona politicians have explicitly raised the issue of denying US-born children of “illegal” immigrants from having citizenship.
1954 court decision
The due process and equal protect clauses of the 14th amendment were the basis for ending Jim Crow segregation and the famous Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954. The southern bigots and supporters of “states’ rights” opposed those constitutional amendments and fought tooth and nail to prevent their implementation after 1865. They were successful after the end of the period known as Radical Reconstruction, and it took nearly 100 years after Lincoln’s death to win the new civil rights and voting rights laws of the 1960s.
The attack on the 15th amendment is seen in the new voter identification laws pushed mainly by Republican-controlled state legislatures. These laws aim to suppress voting by ethnic minorities, students and elderly citizens.
The fact that “states’ rights” doctrine allows different standards means that voter suppression is possible -- just as it was used in the south under Jim Crow segregation to deny African Americans and other minorities the right to vote. Although the Obama administration is finally pushing back under the Voting Rights Act to stop some of the worst state laws, the refusal of the Democratic Party to enact national standards that supersede states’ rights shows that both major parties allow this corrupt system to persist.
Immigrants and Muslims targeted
The most recent attacks on the 14th amendment’s citizen clause centres on two groups: Muslims and immigrants.
Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks the first people whose citizenship rights were attacked were Muslims — whether American born, legal residents or visitors. The ideological focus of the attack was to demonise all Muslims because of their religious beliefs. The implication was that Muslim equals potential terrorist.
The Patriot Act gave law-enforcement agencies the opening for profiling and harassing those with Muslim-sounding names or of the Islamic faith, including criminalising Muslim charities. The justification for the vast expansion of domestic spying was tied to this discrimination and harassment of Muslims, which unfortunately is widely accepted and supported.
The second group whose citizenship rights are being undermined are immigrants from Mexico and Latin America. Laws in Arizona, Alabama and other states attacking so-called illegal immigrants are aimed directly at the 14th amendment. They further open the door to naturalised citizens and legal residents being legally harassed for looking “suspicious”. The due process and equal protections clauses are openly targeted as only applying to those who look like “us” — meaning white Americans.
Democracy, for conservatives, is about power, not rights. Once again the pretext for undermining these clauses of the US constitution is “states’ rights” to regulate within state borders even if this conflicts with federal regulations -- the argument once used by the slaveholding south to defend its secession from the Union.
The heart of the 14th amendments is the three clauses cited and the meaning is clear: civil or human rights should not be overturned by state law nor, for that matter, subject to referendum vote. The fact that the voices of minorities are drowned out in Alabama and Arizona, based on the false belief that the rights of minorities can be dictated by the tyranny of the majority, is a clear violation of the constitution. Basic civil and human rights should never be subject to the ballot.
Marriage equality
The other issue where the 14th amendment clauses are under attack regards gay and lesbian rights. The attack is centred on the issue of marriage equality. In 32 states where the rights of marriage equality have been on the ballot, it is has been voted down, most recently in North Carolina.
If segregation laws had been allowed on the ballot in the south, Black people would still be denied the rights to vote and legal equality. The equal protection clause requires each state to provide equal protection under the law to all people within its jurisdiction. Each vote on marriage equality is a violation of a basic civil rights and the constitution.
The largest US civil rights organisation, the NAACP, at its May board of directors meeting, voted to endorse marriage equality as a basic civil right. It had never done so before. It is not a surprise that it came after President Obama spoke in support of marriage equality.
The president of the NAACP Benjamin Todd Jealous said afterwards, “Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civil law. The NAACP’s support for marriage equality is deeply rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and equal protection of all people.”
Jealous later pointed out how it was once illegal in most states to have interracial marriages. It took federal court action to end that. (Obama so far sees marriage equality as an issue for individual states, which the NAACP and others reject.)
The NAACP’s decision is an important stance, since many African Americans oppose gay marriage equality on moral and religious grounds. A majority of Blacks voted to ban marriage equality for gays in California by supporting Proposition 8. Those votes were key to its passage. The same was true in North Carolina in a May vote that added the ban to its state constitution.
The far right, on the other hand, sees all civil rights as violations of their narrow interpretation of the US constitution. That’s why the far right opposed the expansion of rights incorporated in the 14th and 15th amendments as going against the Founding Fathers, who of course were not living when the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments were won in a civil war. (Yet this same “originalist” interpretation of the drafted constitution isn’t said to apply to the 2nd amendment regarding the right to bear arms.)
Extremist conservative and libertarian movements opposed the underlying interpretation of laws based on the amendments that expanded rights beyond white men (“attacks on free enterprise”, as they see it). It is not an accident that the broadside attacks on immigrant rights, Muslim and the "war on women's rights" are front and centre in their ideological agenda.
The budget adopted by the House Republicans, entirely aimed at shifting more wealth away from the social safety net from the poor and working classes to the investor class and super rich, is a natural complement to rolling back the expansion of political and social rights.
What to do
To oppose the right-wing agenda on the issues requires a politically and intellectually assertive defence of the Civil War amendments to the US constitution. They expanded basic civil rights and civil liberties that can’t be taken for granted. The failure to take up the battle over the proper interpretation of pro-labour and pro-civil rights amendments is to leave the ideological terrain to the far right.
The fact that the NAACP and other groups are now rooting their defence of marriage equality, as well as voting rights and other gains, in the 14th and 15th amendments of the constitution is an important shift. It broadens the possibility for united front efforts by civil rights organisations, women’s rights and gay rights groups, supporters of civil liberties and potentially the union movement to stand as one against the conservative assault.
The battle to defeat the far right must include defence of these bedrock amendments to the US constitution by all means necessary.
[Malik Miah is a member of the editorial board of the socialist magazine Against The Current.]
|
China Passage
China Passage is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Edward Killy from a screenplay by Edmund L. Hartmann and J. Robert Bren, based on a story by Taylor Caven. RKO Radio Pictures produced the film, which stars Constance Worth, Vinton Haworth, Leslie Fenton and Gordon Jones. After a delay during production due to Haworth getting injured in a car accident in January 1937, the film was released on March 12, 1937.
Plot
Tom Baldwin and Joe Dugan are two American adventurers who are hired to escort the wife of a Chinese general to Shanghai. She is carrying a priceless diamond. Upon their arrival at the destination, there is a firefight, during which the diamond is stolen. The two Americans round up a group of suspects, but have no luck uncovering the stolen jewel. Among the suspects are Jane Dunn and Katherine Collins, an author named Anthony Durand, and Harvey Dinwiddle. They release the suspects, and then make plans to travel to San Francisco. When they board the ship, they are surprised to find that all of the suspects are also aboard the same ship.
As they resume their search for the diamond, Baldwin and Dugan discover that Jane is a US customs agent, who is also searching for the jewel. As the search goes on, Baldwin and Jane fall in love. After their room is tossed, Dugan is killed. Katherine is an insurance investigator, who has uncovered some information, but she is killed before she can pass that information on to Jane and Baldwin. Baldwin is framed for Katherine's murder, but Jane solves the diamond's theft and the murders, revealing that Durand and his henchman, Dinwiddle, are the perpetrators.
Baldwin and Jane are married by the ship's captain.
Cast list
Constance Worth as Jane Dunn
Vinton Haworth as Tom Baldwin
Leslie Fenton as Anthony Durand
Gordon Jones as Joe Dugan
Alec Craig as Harvey Dinwiddle
Dick Elliott as Philip Burton
Frank M. Thomas as Captain Williams
George Irving as Dr. Sibley
Billy Gilbert as Bartender
Joyce Compton as Mrs. Katharine Collins
Philip Ahn as Dr. Feng Tu
Lotus Long as Lia Sen
Huntley Gordon as Arthur Trent
Edgar Dearing as Bill
Lotus Liu as Yo Ling
Tetsu Komai as Wong
Moy Ming as Chang
William Corson as Officer
Alan Curtis as Officer
(cast list as per AFI database)
Production
RKO obtained the rights to Taylor Craven's original story, Miss Customs Agent in July 1936, which was also the working title of the film. Edward Killy was assigned to direct the film in mid-October, and filming was slated to begin on the production in mid-November. In the first week in December it was announced that 7 performers had been assigned to the project: Vinton Hayworth, Constance Worth (in her US screen debut), Frank Thomas, Walter Coy, Diana Gibson, Gordon Jones, and George Irving. Dick Elliot joined the cast in mid-December, and production began shortly before Christmas. In late December Joyce Compton joined the cast, and shortly after the film's title was changed to China Passage. Production was delayed for 2 weeks at the beginning of 1937 when Vincent Haworth was injured in a car accident on New Year's Day. He was released to return to work on January 12. The film was finished with production by the end of January 1937, and had begun the editing process in the first week of February. The film opened on March 12, 1937. Right after it premiered, the National Legion of Decency gave the film an A-1 rating, classifying it as unobjectionable for general audiences.
Critical response
The Film Daily only gave the film a fair review, calling the story "stilted, unoriginal and implausible". While not commenting on the acting, the trade paper only gave the technical aspects of the film a fair rating. Harrison's Reports also gave it a less than positive review, calling the plot "far-fetched and meaningless", and the comedy portions "tired". They were kinder to Constance Worth, stating that her acting was "pleasant", as were the romantic interludes between her and Vinton Hayworth. Motion Picture Daily was a bit kinder to the film, saying it was "unpretentious" and "moderately entertaining". They found Worth "capable" and "attractive", and felt that Hayworth was simply passable, but they enjoyed the sinister performance of Leslie Fenton. Motion Picture Magazine gave the film 2 and a half stars (out of 4), and complimented the plot and locales, while stating that the acting was adequate.
References
External links
Category:1930s mystery films
Category:American mystery films
Category:American films
Category:RKO Pictures films
Category:American black-and-white films
Category:Films directed by Edward Killy
Category:Films produced by Cliff Reid
Category:Films produced by Samuel J. Briskin
Category:Films set on ships
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/*!
* jQuery UI Spinner 1.11.1
* http://jqueryui.com
*
* Copyright 2014 jQuery Foundation and other contributors
* Released under the MIT license.
* http://jquery.org/license
*
* http://api.jqueryui.com/spinner/#theming
*/
.ui-spinner {
position: relative;
display: inline-block;
overflow: hidden;
padding: 0;
vertical-align: middle;
}
.ui-spinner-input {
border: none;
background: none;
color: inherit;
padding: 0;
margin: .2em 0;
vertical-align: middle;
margin-left: .4em;
margin-right: 22px;
}
.ui-spinner-button {
width: 16px;
height: 50%;
font-size: .5em;
padding: 0;
margin: 0;
text-align: center;
position: absolute;
cursor: default;
display: block;
overflow: hidden;
right: 0;
}
/* more specificity required here to override default borders */
.ui-spinner a.ui-spinner-button {
border-top: none;
border-bottom: none;
border-right: none;
}
/* vertically center icon */
.ui-spinner .ui-icon {
position: absolute;
margin-top: -8px;
top: 50%;
left: 0;
}
.ui-spinner-up {
top: 0;
}
.ui-spinner-down {
bottom: 0;
}
/* TR overrides */
.ui-spinner .ui-icon-triangle-1-s {
/* need to fix icons sprite */
background-position: -65px -16px;
}
|
A top executive for Novartis is leaving the drug manufacturer over payments to President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.
Felix Ehrat, the senior lawyer for the Switzerland-based company, said Wednesday that he will leave next month.
Ehrat said that the $1.2 million in payments to Cohen’s firm, which he co-signed, were an “error,” even though he said they were legally in order.
“I take personal responsibility to bring the public debate on this matter to an end,” Ehrat said in a statement on the Novartis website.
Novartis executives said in the statement that they have “the greatest respect” for Ehrat’s decision to step down.
ADVERTISEMENT
Novartis said earlier this month that it hired Cohen on a one-year contract after he promised the company access to Trump and top administration officials for insights on health-care policy.
Novartis said in a statement at the time that the company concluded after a meeting with Cohen that he was “unable to provide the services that Novartis had anticipated related to US healthcare policy matters and the decision was taken not to engage further.”
Cohen did not register his consulting work for Novartis with the Justice Department. Ethics experts say that Cohen may have run afoul of foreign lobbying laws if it was the Swiss parent corporation — Novartis AG — and not the U.S. subsidiary that held the contract or paid him.
The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which governs advocacy on behalf of foreign entities, has a much lower threshold for registration than domestic lobbying laws. In addition to those who actually lobby the government, a person would have to register under FARA if they do any kind of public relations for a foreign client or act as a consultant on U.S. policy, as Cohen was hired to do.
"If the contract was held by the foreign parent, or paid from the the parent, then Michael Cohen would have been subject to FARA. Because it's political activity on behalf of a foreign principal," said Joshua Ian Rosenstein, a partner at Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock who specializes in lobbying compliance.
Ehrat's statement on Wednesday says he was a co-signatory on the contract with Cohen, along with the then-CEO of Novartis AG, who retired at the beginning of this year.
The burden would be on Cohen, not Novartis, to register with the Justice Department as a foreign agent under FARA. Willfully violating registration laws is a felony, though cases are very rarely brought.
Public Citizen, a liberal government watchdog group, filed a complaint with the Justice Department and officials on Capitol Hill earlier this week, asking them to look into whether Cohen violated FARA or the Lobbying Disclosure Act, the U.S. lobbying law, which is overseen by House and Senate record-keeping offices.
Ehrat’s departure comes just days after a top AT&T executive also stepped down. It was revealed that the telecommunications giant made $600,000 in payments to Cohen's firm, Essential Consultants.
Novartis had also paid Cohen into the account, which is the same LLC that Cohen used to pay $130,000 to adult-film star Stormy Daniels, allegedly for her silence about an affair she claims she had with Trump. Daniels is suing Cohen and Trump for defamation, as well as to void a nondisclosure agreement about the alleged affair.
--Updated at 10 a.m.
|
#!/usr/bin/env python3
import os
import argparse
import shelve
import datetime
import shutil
import numpy as np
import gdal
import isce
import isceobj
from isceobj.Constants import SPEED_OF_LIGHT
from isceobj.Util.Poly2D import Poly2D
def createParser():
'''
Command line parser.
'''
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser( description='Create DEM simulation for merged images')
parser.add_argument('-a','--alks', dest='alks', type=int, default=1,
help = 'Number of azimuth looks')
parser.add_argument('-r','--rlks', dest='rlks', type=int, default=1,
help = 'Number of range looks')
parser.add_argument('-d', '--dem', dest='dem', type=str, required=True,
help = 'Input DEM to use')
parser.add_argument('-m', '--reference', dest='reference', type=str, required=True,
help = 'Dir with reference frame')
parser.add_argument('-o', '--output', dest='outdir', type=str, required=True,
help = 'Output directory')
parser.add_argument('-n','--native', dest='nativedop', action='store_true',
default=False, help='Products in native doppler geometry instead of zero doppler')
parser.add_argument('-l','--legendre', dest='legendre', action='store_true',
default=False, help='Use legendre interpolation instead of hermite')
parser.add_argument('-useGPU', '--useGPU', dest='useGPU',action='store_true', default=False,
help='Allow App to use GPU when available')
return parser
def cmdLineParse(iargs = None):
parser = createParser()
return parser.parse_args(args=iargs)
class Dummy(object):
pass
def runTopoGPU(info, demImage, dop=None, nativedop=False, legendre=False):
from isceobj import Constants as CN
from isceobj.Planet.Planet import Planet
from isceobj.Util.Poly2D import Poly2D
from iscesys import DateTimeUtil as DTU
from zerodop.GPUtopozero.GPUtopozero import PyTopozero
## TODO GPU does not support shadow and layover and local inc file generation
full = False
os.makedirs(info.outdir, exist_ok=True)
# define variables to be used later on
r0 = info.rangeFirstSample + ((info.numberRangeLooks - 1)/2) * info.slantRangePixelSpacing
tbef = info.sensingStart + datetime.timedelta(seconds = ((info.numberAzimuthLooks - 1) /2) / info.prf)
pegHdg = np.radians(info.orbit.getENUHeading(tbef))
width = info.width // info.numberRangeLooks
length = info.length // info.numberAzimuthLooks
dr = info.slantRangePixelSpacing*info.numberRangeLooks
# output file names
latFilename = info.latFilename
lonFilename = info.lonFilename
losFilename = info.losFilename
heightFilename = info.heightFilename
incFilename = info.incFilename
maskFilename = info.maskFilename
# orbit interpolator
if legendre:
omethod = 2 # LEGENDRE INTERPOLATION
else:
omethod = 0 # HERMITE INTERPOLATION
# tracking doppler specifications
if nativedop and (dop is not None):
try:
coeffs = dop._coeffs
except:
coeffs = dop
polyDoppler = Poly2D()
polyDoppler.setWidth(width)
polyDoppler.setLength(length)
polyDoppler.initPoly(rangeOrder = len(coeffs)-1, azimuthOrder=0, coeffs=[coeffs])
else:
print('Zero doppler')
polyDoppler = Poly2D(name='stripmapStack_dopplerPoly')
polyDoppler.setWidth(width)
polyDoppler.setLength(length)
polyDoppler.setNormRange(1.0)
polyDoppler.setNormAzimuth(1.0)
polyDoppler.setMeanRange(0.0)
polyDoppler.setMeanAzimuth(0.0)
polyDoppler.initPoly(rangeOrder=0, azimuthOrder=0, coeffs=[[0.0]])
polyDoppler.createPoly2D()
# dem
demImage.setCaster('read','FLOAT')
demImage.createImage()
# slant range file
slantRangeImage = Poly2D()
slantRangeImage.setWidth(width)
slantRangeImage.setLength(length)
slantRangeImage.setNormRange(1.0)
slantRangeImage.setNormAzimuth(1.0)
slantRangeImage.setMeanRange(0.0)
slantRangeImage.setMeanAzimuth(0.0)
slantRangeImage.initPoly(rangeOrder=1,azimuthOrder=0, coeffs=[[r0,dr]])
slantRangeImage.createPoly2D()
# lat file
latImage = isceobj.createImage()
accessMode = 'write'
dataType = 'DOUBLE'
latImage.initImage(latFilename,accessMode,width,dataType)
latImage.createImage()
# lon file
lonImage = isceobj.createImage()
lonImage.initImage(lonFilename,accessMode,width,dataType)
lonImage.createImage()
# LOS file
losImage = isceobj.createImage()
dataType = 'FLOAT'
bands = 2
scheme = 'BIL'
losImage.initImage(losFilename,accessMode,width,dataType,bands=bands,scheme=scheme)
losImage.setCaster('write','DOUBLE')
losImage.createImage()
# height file
heightImage = isceobj.createImage()
dataType = 'DOUBLE'
heightImage.initImage(heightFilename,accessMode,width,dataType)
heightImage.createImage()
# add inc and mask file if requested
if full:
incImage = isceobj.createImage()
dataType = 'FLOAT'
incImage.initImage(incFilename,accessMode,width,dataType,bands=bands,scheme=scheme)
incImage.createImage()
incImagePtr = incImage.getImagePointer()
maskImage = isceobj.createImage()
dataType = 'BYTE'
bands = 1
maskImage.initImage(maskFilename,accessMode,width,dataType,bands=bands,scheme=scheme)
maskImage.createImage()
maskImagePtr = maskImage.getImagePointer()
else:
incImagePtr = 0
maskImagePtr = 0
# initalize planet
elp = Planet(pname='Earth').ellipsoid
# initialize topo object and fill with parameters
topo = PyTopozero()
topo.set_firstlat(demImage.getFirstLatitude())
topo.set_firstlon(demImage.getFirstLongitude())
topo.set_deltalat(demImage.getDeltaLatitude())
topo.set_deltalon(demImage.getDeltaLongitude())
topo.set_major(elp.a)
topo.set_eccentricitySquared(elp.e2)
topo.set_rSpace(info.slantRangePixelSpacing)
topo.set_r0(r0)
topo.set_pegHdg(pegHdg)
topo.set_prf(info.prf)
topo.set_t0(DTU.seconds_since_midnight(tbef))
topo.set_wvl(info.radarWavelength)
topo.set_thresh(.05)
topo.set_demAccessor(demImage.getImagePointer())
topo.set_dopAccessor(polyDoppler.getPointer())
topo.set_slrngAccessor(slantRangeImage.getPointer())
topo.set_latAccessor(latImage.getImagePointer())
topo.set_lonAccessor(lonImage.getImagePointer())
topo.set_losAccessor(losImage.getImagePointer())
topo.set_heightAccessor(heightImage.getImagePointer())
topo.set_incAccessor(incImagePtr)
topo.set_maskAccessor(maskImagePtr)
topo.set_numIter(25)
topo.set_idemWidth(demImage.getWidth())
topo.set_idemLength(demImage.getLength())
topo.set_ilrl(info.lookSide)
topo.set_extraIter(10)
topo.set_length(length)
topo.set_width(width)
topo.set_nRngLooks(info.numberRangeLooks)
topo.set_nAzLooks(info.numberAzimuthLooks)
topo.set_demMethod(5) # BIQUINTIC METHOD
topo.set_orbitMethod(omethod)
# Need to simplify orbit stuff later
nvecs = len(info.orbit.stateVectors.list)
topo.set_orbitNvecs(nvecs)
topo.set_orbitBasis(1) # Is this ever different?
topo.createOrbit() # Initializes the empty orbit to the right allocated size
count = 0
for sv in info.orbit.stateVectors.list:
td = DTU.seconds_since_midnight(sv.getTime())
pos = sv.getPosition()
vel = sv.getVelocity()
topo.set_orbitVector(count,td,pos[0],pos[1],pos[2],vel[0],vel[1],vel[2])
count += 1
# run topo
topo.runTopo()
# close the written files and add description etc
# lat file
latImage.addDescription('Pixel-by-pixel latitude in degrees.')
latImage.finalizeImage()
latImage.renderHdr()
# lon file
lonImage.addDescription('Pixel-by-pixel longitude in degrees.')
lonImage.finalizeImage()
lonImage.renderHdr()
# height file
heightImage.addDescription('Pixel-by-pixel height in meters.')
heightImage.finalizeImage()
heightImage.renderHdr()
# los file
descr = '''Two channel Line-Of-Sight geometry image (all angles in degrees). Represents vector drawn from target to platform.
Channel 1: Incidence angle measured from vertical at target (always +ve).
Channel 2: Azimuth angle measured from North in Anti-clockwise direction.'''
losImage.setImageType('bil')
losImage.addDescription(descr)
losImage.finalizeImage()
losImage.renderHdr()
# dem/ height file
demImage.finalizeImage()
# adding in additional files if requested
if full:
descr = '''Two channel angle file.
Channel 1: Angle between ray to target and the vertical at the sensor
Channel 2: Local incidence angle accounting for DEM slope at target'''
incImage.addDescription(descr)
incImage.finalizeImage()
incImage.renderHdr()
descr = 'Radar shadow-layover mask. 1 - Radar Shadow. 2 - Radar Layover. 3 - Both.'
maskImage.addDescription(descr)
maskImage.finalizeImage()
maskImage.renderHdr()
if slantRangeImage:
try:
slantRangeImage.finalizeImage()
except:
pass
def runTopoCPU(info, demImage, dop=None,
nativedop=False, legendre=False):
from zerodop.topozero import createTopozero
from isceobj.Planet.Planet import Planet
os.makedirs(info.outdir, exist_ok=True)
#####Run Topo
planet = Planet(pname='Earth')
topo = createTopozero()
topo.slantRangePixelSpacing = info.slantRangePixelSpacing
topo.prf = info.prf
topo.radarWavelength = info.radarWavelength
topo.orbit = info.orbit
topo.width = info.width // info.numberRangeLooks
topo.length = info.length //info.numberAzimuthLooks
topo.wireInputPort(name='dem', object=demImage)
topo.wireInputPort(name='planet', object=planet)
topo.numberRangeLooks = info.numberRangeLooks
topo.numberAzimuthLooks = info.numberAzimuthLooks
topo.lookSide = info.lookSide
topo.sensingStart = info.sensingStart + datetime.timedelta(seconds = ((info.numberAzimuthLooks - 1) /2) / info.prf)
topo.rangeFirstSample = info.rangeFirstSample + ((info.numberRangeLooks - 1)/2) * info.slantRangePixelSpacing
topo.demInterpolationMethod='BIQUINTIC'
if legendre:
topo.orbitInterpolationMethod = 'LEGENDRE'
topo.latFilename = info.latFilename
topo.lonFilename = info.lonFilename
topo.losFilename = info.losFilename
topo.heightFilename = info.heightFilename
topo.incFilename = info.incFilename
topo.maskFilename = info.maskFilename
if nativedop and (dop is not None):
try:
coeffs = dop._coeffs
except:
coeffs = dop
doppler = Poly2D()
doppler.setWidth(info.width // info.numberRangeLooks)
doppler.setLength(info.length // info.numberAzimuthLooks)
doppler.initPoly(rangeOrder = len(coeffs)-1, azimuthOrder=0, coeffs=[coeffs])
else:
print('Zero doppler')
doppler = None
topo.polyDoppler = doppler
topo.topo()
return
def runSimamp(outdir, hname='z.rdr'):
from iscesys.StdOEL.StdOELPy import create_writer
#####Run simamp
stdWriter = create_writer("log","",True,filename='sim.log')
objShade = isceobj.createSimamplitude()
objShade.setStdWriter(stdWriter)
hgtImage = isceobj.createImage()
hgtImage.load(os.path.join(outdir, hname) + '.xml')
hgtImage.setAccessMode('read')
hgtImage.createImage()
simImage = isceobj.createImage()
simImage.setFilename(os.path.join(outdir, 'simamp.rdr'))
simImage.dataType = 'FLOAT'
simImage.setAccessMode('write')
simImage.setWidth(hgtImage.getWidth())
simImage.createImage()
objShade.simamplitude(hgtImage, simImage, shade=3.0)
simImage.renderHdr()
hgtImage.finalizeImage()
simImage.finalizeImage()
return
def runMultilook(in_dir, out_dir, alks, rlks, in_ext='.rdr', out_ext='.rdr', method='gdal',
fbase_list=['hgt', 'incLocal', 'lat', 'lon', 'los', 'shadowMask', 'waterMask']):
"""
Multilook geometry files.
"""
from iscesys.Parsers.FileParserFactory import createFileParser
from mroipac.looks.Looks import Looks
msg = 'generate multilooked geometry files with alks={} and rlks={}'.format(alks, rlks)
if method == 'isce':
msg += ' using mroipac.looks.Looks() ...'
else:
msg += ' using gdal.Translate() ...'
print('-'*50+'\n'+msg)
# create 'geom_reference' directory
os.makedirs(out_dir, exist_ok=True)
# multilook files one by one
for fbase in fbase_list:
in_file = os.path.join(in_dir, '{}{}'.format(fbase, in_ext))
out_file = os.path.join(out_dir, '{}{}'.format(fbase, out_ext))
if all(os.path.isfile(in_file+ext) for ext in ['','.vrt','.xml']):
print('multilook {}'.format(in_file))
# option 1 - Looks module (isce)
if method == 'isce':
xmlProp = createFileParser('xml').parse(in_file+'.xml')[0]
if('image_type' in xmlProp and xmlProp['image_type'] == 'dem'):
inImage = isceobj.createDemImage()
else:
inImage = isceobj.createImage()
inImage.load(in_file+'.xml')
inImage.filename = in_file
lkObj = Looks()
lkObj.setDownLooks(alks)
lkObj.setAcrossLooks(rlks)
lkObj.setInputImage(inImage)
lkObj.setOutputFilename(out_file)
lkObj.looks()
# option 2 - gdal_translate (gdal)
elif method == 'gdal':
ds = gdal.Open(in_file, gdal.GA_ReadOnly)
in_wid = ds.RasterXSize
in_len = ds.RasterYSize
out_wid = int(in_wid / rlks)
out_len = int(in_len / alks)
src_wid = out_wid * rlks
src_len = out_len * alks
options_str = '-of ENVI -a_nodata 0 -outsize {ox} {oy} -srcwin 0 0 {sx} {sy} '.format(
ox=out_wid, oy=out_len, sx=src_wid, sy=src_len)
gdal.Translate(out_file, ds, options=options_str)
# generate ISCE .xml file
if not os.path.isfile(out_file+'.xml'):
from isce.applications.gdal2isce_xml import gdal2isce_xml
gdal2isce_xml(out_file+'.vrt')
else:
raise ValueError('un-supported multilook method: {}'.format(method))
# copy the full resolution xml/vrt file from ./merged/geom_reference to ./geom_reference
# to facilitate the number of looks extraction
# the file path inside .xml file is not, but should, updated
if in_file != out_file+'.full':
shutil.copy(in_file+'.xml', out_file+'.full.xml')
shutil.copy(in_file+'.vrt', out_file+'.full.vrt')
return out_dir
def extractInfo(frame, inps):
'''
Extract relevant information only.
'''
info = Dummy()
ins = frame.getInstrument()
info.sensingStart = frame.getSensingStart()
info.lookSide = frame.instrument.platform.pointingDirection
info.rangeFirstSample = frame.startingRange
info.numberRangeLooks = 1 #inps.rlks
info.numberAzimuthLooks = 1 #inps.alks
fsamp = frame.rangeSamplingRate
info.slantRangePixelSpacing = 0.5 * SPEED_OF_LIGHT / fsamp
info.prf = frame.PRF
info.radarWavelength = frame.radarWavelegth
info.orbit = frame.getOrbit()
info.width = frame.getNumberOfSamples()
info.length = frame.getNumberOfLines()
info.sensingStop = frame.getSensingStop()
info.outdir = inps.outdir
return info
def main(iargs=None):
inps = cmdLineParse(iargs)
# see if the user compiled isce with GPU enabled
run_GPU = False
try:
from zerodop.GPUtopozero.GPUtopozero import PyTopozero
from zerodop.GPUgeo2rdr.GPUgeo2rdr import PyGeo2rdr
run_GPU = True
except:
pass
if inps.useGPU and not run_GPU:
print("GPU mode requested but no GPU ISCE code found")
# setting the respective version of geo2rdr for CPU and GPU
if run_GPU and inps.useGPU:
print('GPU mode')
runTopo = runTopoGPU
else:
print('CPU mode')
runTopo = runTopoCPU
db = shelve.open(os.path.join(inps.reference, 'data'))
frame = db['frame']
try:
doppler = db['doppler']
except:
doppler = frame._dopplerVsPixel
db.close()
####Setup dem
demImage = isceobj.createDemImage()
demImage.load(inps.dem + '.xml')
demImage.setAccessMode('read')
info = extractInfo(frame, inps)
# define topo output names:
info.latFilename = os.path.join(info.outdir, 'lat.rdr')
info.lonFilename = os.path.join(info.outdir, 'lon.rdr')
info.losFilename = os.path.join(info.outdir, 'los.rdr')
info.heightFilename = os.path.join(info.outdir, 'hgt.rdr')
info.incFilename = os.path.join(info.outdir, 'incLocal.rdr')
info.maskFilename = os.path.join(info.outdir, 'shadowMask.rdr')
runTopo(info,demImage,dop=doppler,nativedop=inps.nativedop, legendre=inps.legendre)
runSimamp(os.path.dirname(info.heightFilename),os.path.basename(info.heightFilename))
# write multilooked geometry files in "geom_reference" directory, same level as "Igrams"
if inps.rlks * inps.rlks > 1:
out_dir = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(info.outdir)), 'geom_reference')
runMultilook(in_dir=info.outdir, out_dir=out_dir, alks=inps.alks, rlks=inps.rlks)
return
if __name__ == '__main__':
'''
Main driver.
'''
main()
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Saturday, October 04, 2008
Out of School Etiquette
This Saturday my husband and I went to "the fields" to watch our school's rocket science class students launch their first-attempt rockets. There were a mix of students and teachers there, and I introduced my husband to the 2 teachers, but then while I was talking to the students (many that are also mine), I didn't introduce my husband. I always feel goofy (and maybe not quite adult even though I'm in my 40's) and the words don't seem right:
"Student A, this is my husband Mr. ___" (seems stuffy) or"Student A, this is my husband _____ _____" (I guess this would have been the best option: first name last name) or"Student A, this is my husband ____" (first name only seems "wrong")
So like any goofball, I just didn't introduce him at all to any students. Then that feels wrong now, like he's just this shadow following me around while I talk with the students. Okay. In the future, first name last name. Do It!
It could ... or in my case: Miiisss-ter Brownie (since I kept my last name when we married). It still feels "off" to me somehow, so I guess it's just my hang up. I'll have to work on it because saying nothing ALSO feels off.
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686385568815
Calculate -0.2 + 6248578757948.2.
6248578757948
Put together -0.9 and -875308222.
-875308222.9
-0.127+445192653847
445192653846.873
What is the difference between 0.08 and -36028298212?
36028298212.08
What is 6833487 - 531.7605?
6832955.2395
What is 689960 less than 0.3136574?
-689959.6863426
What is -0.3 less than -1607.6428736829?
-1607.3428736829
-116447 - -2889171498
2889055051
Subtract 96 from -443988.319242.
-444084.319242
-17 + 30380186503
30380186486
Calculate -17328 - -11063.3838.
-6264.6162
Total of 3 and 21160883947.
21160883950
Work out -3501 - 11388639.
-11392140
Calculate 152.8 - -37968936797.
37968936949.8
-0.3+-20458156732230
-20458156732230.3
What is the distance between 31443072 and 125.5?
31442946.5
Add 1343491.63055 and -23.3.
1343468.33055
What is -3 less than 1317999048054?
1317999048057
Subtract -951633532817 from 0.5.
951633532817.5
Subtract 47.21 from 43.136920329.
-4.073079671
-241276.6+-173.8
-241450.4
What is -93 minus 3318409464?
-3318409557
What is 53 take away 0.0973869416?
52.9026130584
0.3 + -107559559994
-107559559993.7
What is 18595966 - 0.442085?
18595965.557915
Put together -3 and -50129377715065.
-50129377715068
What is -160100341 - -0.271?
-160100340.729
Subtract -51 from -2004584531.
-2004584480
Calculate 157.6 - -15902582.
15902739.6
Add -5.413122 and -22879.1.
-22884.513122
Calculate -0.3 + 5673111391419.
5673111391418.7
What is 21 plus 17.21700933?
38.21700933
What is -17617.14 take away -0.0588260482?
-17617.0811739518
6706248.63502 + 0.3
6706248.93502
What is -1021895557.9 minus 501?
-1021896058.9
Add together 550371.363 and 474.
550845.363
What is the difference between -0.4 and -669586839717?
669586839716.6
Calculate 0.101973 - 51921.27.
-51921.168027
Sum 112.1 and -185291464265.
-185291464152.9
Total of -3459981.9278 and -0.06.
-3459981.9878
Calculate 0.039408228 + -707.
-706.960591772
Total of 12.046993912 and -0.0029.
12.044093912
What is 35823518555202 minus 0.2?
35823518555201.8
What is -1 take away 16181515345?
-16181515346
Work out -1531976550 + -14.08.
-1531976564.08
What is -2.453 less than -0.345224305?
2.107775695
What is -1923.47 minus 750608?
-752531.47
Calculate 34602.79 - 1914309.
-1879706.21
What is -368358.24 + 0.0830259?
-368358.1569741
Sum -333171 and -563.885.
-333734.885
What is -0.12266 less than 42986.39543?
42986.51809
Calculate -3607275926249 + 5.
-3607275926244
Add together 972081583342 and 1301.
972081584643
-42824 - -67.83474083
-42756.16525917
0.2 - -134141493371729
134141493371729.2
What is -842184.8 - -3714.82?
-838469.98
Work out -120803.1873 + -75.46.
-120878.6473
Subtract 13350.273 from -176645.
-189995.273
Put together 4104 and 4823824.
4827928
What is -11574 plus 141559253?
141547679
What is -1725268908 plus 26?
-1725268882
What is -2111525 take away -1.97855?
-2111523.02145
What is the difference between -152 and 5512209298?
5512209450
Add 2428.2449 and 4744.
7172.2449
Work out 2.9 + -2282676033527.
-2282676033524.1
Add together -12719307649 and 11.
-12719307638
Sum -2893329198.116 and -7.
-2893329205.116
Calculate -441260128500 - -0.187.
-441260128499.813
Work out -66560 - 785539.44.
-852099.44
What is -3897924063776 less than 3?
3897924063779
Calculate 25.782141 + -7048.
-7022.217859
Calculate -70062132999 - 110.
-70062133109
What is the difference between -0.1 and 8984.4824483?
8984.5824483
Subtract 0.0048 from 0.1310145319.
0.1262145319
Work out -7408903 - 38449.
-7447352
80.53 - -0.1135655
80.6435655
Put together 0.2 and 107196283620.
107196283620.2
Work out -16472 - -31578288856.
31578272384
0.2+-3872726357486
-3872726357485.8
What is the distance between 0.025082 and 3955163?
3955162.974918
1+90293729451025
90293729451026
20114+-55569851058
-55569830944
Total of 0.02 and -124829923457.
-124829923456.98
Calculate 135 + 240758287.
240758422
-338406974 + 425064
-337981910
Work out -27132 + 18.141514703.
-27113.858485297
-44476952.83+13257
-44463695.83
Subtract -7 from -3128347558980.
-3128347558973
What is -38891 minus -18.74368?
-38872.25632
What is 2 minus 104132957.279345?
-104132955.279345
What is 0.5 take away -69616116230799?
69616116230799.5
327+235795621350
235795621677
What is -166080022447035 + 5?
-166080022447030
Add 0.2 and 0.002586132091088.
0.202586132091088
Total of 5 and -3.79527238635.
1.20472761365
Total of -6931 and 589069333.
589062402
What is 1410464 - 32783?
1377681
What is the distance between 5793691.8117 and 349?
5793342.8117
What is 126 minus 3253110378.022?
-3253110252.022
What is 0.440955 - 0.330765?
0.11019
0.4131 + -30344411.03
-30344410.6169
What is the difference between -17473.831 and 6754?
24227.831
What is the difference between 22390 and -3347118968?
3347141358
Sum 272373239710749 and -0.3.
272373239710748.7
What is 1.2189609 minus 93144?
-93142.7810391
What is the distance between -922872536.06611 and -2?
922872534.06611
What is the difference between -0.219 and -31.01721664?
30.79821664
-7.7669 - -448.49192
440.72502
Total of 11098 and -7385051.
-7373953
Add 8900 and -0.074356496.
8899.925643504
Add -0.187 and -0.83091991.
-1.01791991
Calculate 1.03265 + 528812.94.
528813.97265
83644.9 + -15214521
-15130876.1
Calculate -0.28379857099 + 13413.
13412.71620142901
What is the difference between 19730660665 and -3900?
19730664565
Add 726567 and -4573620.
-3847053
Subtract 0.0771 from -185082462.
-185082462.0771
What is 339.3486 - -5245?
5584.3486
Add -2291523210214 and 8.
-2291523210206
11882840549+19
11882840568
Add 3927 and -554752.65301.
-550825.65301
Add together -4224 and 6806602657.
6806598433
Put together 838682 and -2491542.
-1652860
What is 51982419931 less than 0.3?
-51982419930.7
Sum -67900931 and 1762769.
-66138162
Add together -6 and -131418419655.
-131418419661
Calculate -109.19 + 10.253011498.
-98.936988502
Work out -6719412276 - 66.8.
-6719412342.8
What is 116616624 take away 4034?
116612590
Calculate -20648.51 - 348.6166.
-20997.1266
What is 0.1534875996 minus 107030?
-107029.8465124004
Put together 24.08321751828 and -0.4.
23.68321751828
Calculate -15462966442 - 0.1059.
-15462966442.1059
What is 0.06471 take away -205159116?
205159116.06471
Sum -1 and -37.028504464.
-38.028504464
What is 5085344749 + 10?
5085344759
What is 79356818 less than 48?
-79356770
5303.0583+-0.009262
5303.049038
Work out 2.4 + 15895905800.
15895905802.4
What is -84.5744262 plus 0.02896?
-84.5454662
Subtract -34710955462 from -6.9.
34710955455.1
Work out -11971366 + -67709.99.
-12039075.99
Calculate 0.1 + 974567337094.
974567337094.1
Calculate 4375701610668 - -4.
4375701610672
Subtract 0.054099605148 from -2.
-2.054099605148
Add -0.0465 and 167.3470119.
167.3005119
Sum 0.3 and -65.7946021.
-65.4946021
What is -5 plus 0.1472636745?
-4.8527363255
What is -17.71162 + -0.1788557?
-17.8904757
Work out 142162207735 - -0.4.
142162207735.4
1834 + -924744.861
-922910.861
What is the distance between 1173174 and 5362.42?
1167811.58
Calculate -13940 - -95941914.
95927974
What is the distance between -141.271693 and -71888?
71746.728307
Work out -602689627 - -224094.
-602465533
What is -0.2424 less than -5964.19562?
-5963.95322
What is -5 + 37779492139275?
37779492139270
What is 12423669 take away -567202?
12990871
What is the distance between -14.89 and 784.42115?
799.31115
-0.391694381+88280
88279.608305619
What is the distance between 0.84000897 and -408053?
408053.84000897
Work out 2 - 32340988385179.
-32340988385177
-126652470317 - 0.2
-126652470317.2
Calculate 3189926219 - -0.26.
3189926219.26
Work out 0.4 + 764800934873.
764800934873.4
0.337619102408 - 122.6
-122.262380897592
What is 116.92790945 minus -22.76?
139.68790945
Add -2 and 5633742672.46.
5633742670.46
What is 0.3 + 6792720.44957?
6792720.74957
Work out 179739836 + -12.93.
179739823.07
1412.2 - -184125170
184126582.2
Calculate -275494679680 + -0.1.
-275494679680.1
Calculate 65511197 + -94583.
65416614
What is -0.2733993575382 less than -36?
-35.7266006424618
What is -1355.30049 plus -5227.62?
-6582.92049
Work out -1870 + 0.0292900704.
-1869.9707099296
Work out -5350 - -0.10073587757.
-5349.89926412243
What is -1.1958845 plus 2894.05?
2892.8541155
Put together -0.69593105 and 40.1.
39.40406895
What is 0.6 less than -80659.3236561?
-80659.9236561
0.4+204082238550
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Great summer wear!
Nice style, pleasent funny colours, great quality (as usual) BUT... collar neckline is very narrow. baby's head barely is threaded. and there are no buttons to expand the cutout!
May 18, 2013
Fits slightly small.
I loved the design of the blue whale one pieces. I bought big for my daughter even though she is a normal size and slightly on the small side. The ''daddy's girl'' one piece fit her perfectly with not very much room to grow. Also the neck hole is small and was an EXTREMELY tight fit over her normal sized head. Cute set but buy one size big and hopefully you have more luck getting your baby's head in and out of the head hole.
May 7, 2013
Absolutely love these outfits!
I recently purchased this set of little outfits for my 6 month old daughter Katherine! I chose the outfits because of their fun coloring, and obviously, the easy one piece step! When I received the package in the mail and opened it, I was elated! The fun colors and soft fabric went above and beyond what I expected! I know that I will always choose Carters, and they will always get great recommendations from me! Not only are the outfits lightweight and comfy, but they allow my daughter to crawl and roll all over the place with no problems at all! I can't wait for her other Summer outfits to get here!!!!
April 19, 2013
Love them
These are both SO cute! The color seems slightly different in real life but it is a gorgeous color regardless. (I ordered the whale set)
April 3, 2013
Quick & easy dressing!
I love these sunsuits because they are snazzier than just a plain onesie, but still a convenient one-piece outfit- always with the cutest detail and appliques!
March 29, 2013
Great summer set!
What a perfect set for a newborn at the beach! So cute!
March 9, 2013
Ready to Cruise!
Bought these adorable rompers (in the whale design!) for our daughter for our celebration cruise for her FIRST birthday! What a cute design! Aside from that, the Carter's line of cotton rompers are true-to-size, super soft on their skin and great for the little... cruiser! She's not quite walking yet, so having something that has a little give in the leg is perfect for the crawling toddler!
March 8, 2013
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Sitting is the New Smoking
When I joined my current team last summer - a Total Rewards group with a thriving employee wellness department - one of the first things I noticed (and heard people talking about) was the fast growing notion that sitting forprolonged periods of timecould be just as bad for someone's healthas being a heavy smoker. Being someone that lost a parent to lung cancer, I've been pretty anti-smoking in all its forms for as long as I can remember; but here I am, an HR professional who finds themselves sitting through huge chunks of their day either checking email, working on a report/presentation/something involving my computer, or sitting at a conference table for a meeting. And with this came a more clear understanding of why the people in my department were so often found standing up, wandering around the back of the room, and the like at organization wide meetings over the last several years - they got it, they tried to help others get it, and now I'm working somewhere that the idea of being more up and about and active is a growing part of the culture. So, I've started to embrace that culture with little things by parking in the back lot which forces me to take the stairs up to my office and when possible walking to someone's desk to respond to quick and easy questions as opposed to firing off another email - but I'm left wondering what are some other things I can do?
One area I can control and enact immediate change upon is how my team of managers meets - we have a group session every other week where we discuss what's been taking place in their areas the past two weeks, what's boiling at the moment, what victories they and their teams have had, and what they see coming on the horizon. The agenda is generally loose and is as much as anything an opportunity for my managers to build relationships, understand how their functions are impacting others, and to have an opportunity to simply debrief. We could have these meetings in my office or a conference room or we could take the steps down to the courtyard and have a walking meeting (an initiative I was able to start yesterday thanks to what looked like lingering rain clouds holding off).
Another area I have some modicum of control over is how my staff does their work, we went through a recent office remodel and we tried to make sure that employees had adequate space and resources (we were moving to smaller workstations), but we also wanted to make sure they had the right kinds of resources (appropriate lighting, wrist friendly mice, good chairs, foot supports, etc.). Now as I think about what we might be able to do looking forward, I get excited about the prospects of innovations like StandDesk- an affordable, user friendly, and aesthetically pleasing sit/stand work desk that's closing out a super successful Kickstarter campaign - needless to say, I'm trying to figure out how I can secure one in the future. But don't take my word (and excitement) for it, check out the video below (and then try and tell me you don't want one too):
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Q:
What is the relation between Descartes' "lumen naturale", God and logic?
This is not a question about the cogito argument in the closer sense. I will try to isolate my questions from the other questions posted concerning Descartes.
If I understood what I've read correctly, Descartes claims that what he knows clearly and distinctly is true as it can't be any differently. That's true for the cogito, and, let's assume for argument's sake, also for the ergo sum.
Now I read in the Cambridge Companion to Descartes (online available here) that apparently this ergo is no syllogism but an intuition as basic as the cogito itself. My early assumption, namely that Descartes uses logic to infer the ergo sum though he didn't prove logic's truthfulness yet, is thereby rebutted.
But what about inuition? A quote from the Cambridge Companion (p.147):
Second, Descartes' talk of intuition and deduction from intuitions as our two sources of knowledge in the Rules gives way to talk of clear and distinct perception in the Discourse, Meditations, and Principles. He never announces that the faculties are the same, but their equivalence is strongly suggested by the fact that he designates them by similar descriptions: "the light of reason" and "the light of nature." We are told in the Rules that: "intuition is the indubitable conception of a clear and attentive mind which proceeds solely from the light of reason [rationis luce]" (Rule III: AT X 368: CSM 114) and in the Principles that: "the light of nature [lumen naturae] or faculty of knowledge which God gave us can never encompass any object which is not true in so far as it is indeed encompassed by this faculty, that is, in so far as it is clearly and distinctly perceived" (Part I, art.30: AT VIIIA 16: CSM I 203; consider too Meditations: AT VII 38-9:CSM II 26-7).
I already highlighted what I'm aiming at: Even if Descartes doesn't need logic to work before he can actually prove that it does, even if he can "reduce" the ergo sum to a basic intuition - isn't he getting ahead of the argument, relying on the natural light of a non-deceiving god, although it's not before the 3. meditation that he actually proves that there is a god and that he is no deceiver? In other words: If he has not yet proven that it is impossible that the "natural light" we rely on in our knowledge is sent by a deceiving or evil entity, can any step after the cogito be called necessarily true?
To underline the importance of god for knowledge, let me quote one more passage (p.151):
Descartes denies that the atheist has "true knowledge" on the grounds that the atheist is uncertain of whether he is deceived by some god. Prior to proving God's existence and nondeceptive nature, Descartes is just as uncertain as the atheist about the existence of a deceptive god. His clear and distinct perceptions should not produce certainty for him either.
Isn't there at least the possibility that even when we make analytical or deductive judgements, we're mistaken for we're not granted the natural light of the God? Am I missing something? Or is Descartes plainly abandoning his method of "geometrical deduction" and anticipating the proof of God's existence to deduce it?
A:
I don't know what lumen naturale is supposed to be, but here's a guess. Descartes is getting the notion from medieval philosophy, but significantly changing it.
It is an old and important part of the Aristotelian tradition in cognitive psychology that a power cannot err with respect to its object. For instance, the object of the power of vision is color, and, for an Aristotelian, it this power is infallible in the sense that when I am sensing red, then I am sensing red. Error creeps in when I make a judgment like "there is something red". Now the objects of the intellect, as medieval Aristotelians thought about them, were concepts. And again, the intellect is infallible in the sense that when I'm thinking of a square, I'm thinking of a square.
The medieval Aristotelians had a hard time explaining how and why we have knowledge of these abstract concepts like squareness, or horsiness, or whatever. Like Aristotle, they were committed to the view that the only things that exist in reality are particular entities, like this particular square, this particular horse, etc. But if the world is full of particulars, and we get our knowledge from the senses, how does it come to be that we have knowledge of universals like the concept of a square? The short answer is that we arrive there by abstraction--i.e. by examining things that appear to be members of a kind and attempting to isolate the necessary and sufficient features for membership in that kind. On this view, the universals are "in" the individual, particular things insofar as we can abstract away the particularity of the individual member of the kind and get the universal concept.
Now, I said this is what medieval Aristotelians believed. There was also a parallel Platonic tradition that was an important part of the medieval Jewish, Christian and Arabic philosophical traditions. According to the Platonists, the concepts were not "in" the things at all. The sensible particular objects down here are just copies of the perfect ideas of a square, horse, etc. in God's mind, according to which he created everything. We do not learn from sensation, but rather the divine mind illuminates us with its own concepts.
My guess is that Descartes's bit about the lumen naturale is something that he's taken from a 15th or 16th century scholastic philosopher who has tried to syncretize these two traditions. Maybe this person said that our act of abstraction is just what illumination was supposed to be. (Henry of Ghent in the late 13th century had tried to make room for both abstraction and illumination in his philosophical psychology.) If you had some kind of sense that the divine light was just the same as the infallible power of the intellect, maybe that's something you could call a natural light?
Be that as it may, it is clear that Descartes has to be helping himself to much more than this. Because Descartes needs it to be not just simple concepts or sensations which are infallible, but rather whole sentences. The C&D rule is a little plausible if you restrict it to concepts: "when I clearly and distinctly conceive of a square, then I am conceiving of a square" sounds (trivially) true. But there's no reason to think that should work for whole sentences like "when I clearly and distinctly conceive the Goldbach conjecture is false, then the Goldbach conjecture is false." So, even if Descartes is using some medieval language here, he is clearly altering its meaning.
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Q:
What steps should I take now that my online gaming account was compromised?
I recently received emails from my Origin account that my email address and security question had been changed (seems to have been someone in Russia since the new security question was in Russian). This was not my doing so I knew immediately that this was due to my account being compromised. Outside of account recovery, the only question I had left was how this happened and what to do next.
The steps I've take thus far are as follows:
Contacted Origin support to recover my account. I did this approximately 1 hour after I was notified that changes had taken place on the account. 2 factor authentication and a new security question were applied to the account. No charges were confirmed to have taken place.
From the machine in question, I changed passwords for other necessary online accounts. The majority of these accounts also use 2-factor authentication.
Malewarebytes scans were performed and no exploits were found.
From the computer in question, necessary files from my Documents folder and Downloads folder were backed up to a NAS.
From the computer in question, necessary drivers were placed on a usb drive.
Windows 10 was re-installed on the same disk after a format was performed using the install media from Microsoft.
My concerns are the following:
Is it likely that whatever exploit was used to compromise my Origin account migrated silently to my NAS
Could this exploit have migrated silently to my usb drive
Could my password changes have been all for not since they were done from the machine in question?
Are their any further steps I should take or any retracing of steps necessary due to what steps I've take already.
Edit: clarified #2 in that I was the one to change those passwords and not an attacker
UPDATE:
I received a curious text message today. Here is a picture of it:
It seems 2-factor authentication has stopped whoever got their hands on my account. I would wager any service should consider 2-factor implementations at this point.
A:
Not every case of fraud is the result of some crazy nation-state sponsored rootkit worming its way through your network.
First, consider the target. It's an online gaming account, existing independently of your own computer(s).
Have you clicked on any phishing emails lately? Let's assume not.
Have you installed any third-party mods for your EA games?
Have you participated in any third-party exchanges unaffiliated with EA, that requires sharing your EA credentials (i.e. anything like tf2outpost)
Did you have 2FA enabled in the first place? I'm guessing not.
Do you share passwords across third-party accounts? Is there some other account you've ever used, ever, that used the same email + password combination?
Could he have exploited the password reset mechanism? EA sends a password reset email to the email address on file in the case of a lost password. He would have had to have access to your email account to intercept it. Gmail in particular will give you an access history (look at the very bottom of your inbox) to see what IPs have logged in, but you might want to follow remediation procedure on this one (and it sounds like you already did).
Could it have been malware? Possibly, but...
Unless he did compromise your email too, it seems to me like he already knew your password. If you had a keylogger or malware on your machine, you likely would have seen other IoCs by now. AV (though not bulletproof against APTs, who have bigger concerns than your online games) also found nothing. So...
Typically anybody after gaming accounts is looking to bust out by stealing digital content (any tradeable loot or currency), playing your games for free for as long as they can (South America is really bad about this due to high tariffs on gaming) or testing/using hacking tools with other peoples' accounts to avoid bans.
Ask yourself truthfully how easy to guess your original password was and/or what steps you might have taken to accidentally provide it to a third party. Not saying it's the case here, but sometimes the simplest solution is the most likely one.
If you answered no to all of my questions and you're still uncomfortable with it, do go ahead and wipe the computer. It's inconvenient, but it's what you'd end up doing anyway if you did have concrete proof of infection.
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Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) made a discovery that could lead to more efficient power plants and new way of extracting energy from the atmosphere, according to a press release.
The researchers were performing work on an extension of a previous project when they unexpectedly discovered tiny water droplets to cause an electrical charge when they form on a super-hydrophobic surface and "jump" off.
The previous work, from the same team, showed the droplets could in fact leap off the super-hydrophobic surface instead of simply rolling down and dropping due to gravity. The spontaneous leaping occurs when the droplets of water condense on a metal surface with a certain super-hydrophobic coating and with the release of excess surface energy.
"We found that when these droplets jump, through analysis of high-speed video, we saw that they repel one another midflight," co-author Nenad Miljkovic, an MIT post-doctoral student, said. "Previous studies have shown no such effect. When we first saw that, we were intrigued."
The researchers were able to confirm the reaction of the water droplets was caused by a net positive electrical charge by introducing an electrode. When they used a positively charged electrode, the droplets were repelled, but the negatively charged one attracted them toward it.
During the charging process, the droplets form a double layer of paired positive and negatively charged surfaces. The leaping occurs when neighboring droplets coalesce and the two different charges separate extremely quickly.
The authors reported their findings in the journal Nature Communications.
Miljkovic said the whole process is so fast, "It leaves a bit of charge on the droplet, and the rest on the surface."
Because the droplets could jump off of a condenser surface, a component vital to most of the world's electricity-generating power plants, many could benefit from the researcher's findings. With the proper mechanism, power plants all over the world could become more energy efficient.
Miljkovic also said there is another use for the team's discovery: converting ambient air condensation into power. He said this would be made possible by placing two metal plates parallel to one another with droplets jumping off one and being collected by the other.
"You just need a cold surface in a moist environment," Miljkovic said. "We're working on demonstrating this concept."
|
Send this page to someone via email
Three new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Ontario, bringing the province’s total number to 23.
Of all the cases, the first four in the province have been resolved, with each of those patients testing negative consecutively at least 24 hours apart.
A Mississauga man in his 60s was seen and assessed at Trillium Health Partners – Mississauga Hospital. According to Peel officials, the man is recovering in self-isolation at home.
The man was aboard the Grand Princess Cruise Ship out of San Francisco from Feb. 11 to 21 and returned to Canada on Feb. 28.
“From a public health perspective, we are going to be following up with that person to find out where they’ve been and who they’ve interacted with,” Peel’s medical officer of health, Jessica Hopkins, said in a video on Twitter.
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Our Public Health team today confirmed the first positive case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Peel Region. The affected individual, a Mississauga resident in his 60s, is well and recovering in self-isolation at home. pic.twitter.com/EkNHup1tRN — Region of Peel (@regionofpeel) March 5, 2020
A woman in her 50s who returned from Italy on Tuesday presented herself in Kitchener, Ont., where she was assessed, tested and sent home the same day. The patient has mild symptoms and is in self-isolation at home in minimal contact with others.
[ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ]
Waterloo Public Health officials say they’ve determined that the woman had mild symptoms on her Air Portugal flight from Milan to Lisbon, Flight 827, and on her Air Portugal flight from Lisbon to Toronto, Flight 259, on March 3.
Waterloo health officials are asking passengers on those flights to self-monitor their symptoms for 14 days and are working to obtain the flight manifest to contact passengers who were in close proximity to the case.
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The woman is a Waterloo Region resident. When she landed at Pearson airport, she took private transportation to Grand River Hospital.
According to Waterloo Region’s acting medical officer of health, Hsiu-Li Wang, the woman has a small family, and its members are also in self-isolation.
Waterloo Public Health is monitoring the situation and is contact tracing.
A man in his 60s who returned from Iran on Saturday went to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre’s emergency department in Toronto on Tuesday.
He was assessed and sent home on the same day. He’s currently in self-isolation, where he remains in minimal contact with others.
Toronto Public Health is participating in contact tracing and case management.
At a press conference at Queen’s Park Thursday, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, David Williams, said over 1,500 tests for COVID-19 have been administered, with 1,466 coming out negative and a number of others still pending.
According to Williams, all cases that were related to Wuhan and China have been resolved.
“With what’s going on in Italy, I would be expecting some more,” Williams said at the press conference.
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Williams said one of Ontario’s COVID-19 cases is in hospital.
Ontario officials say the virus isn’t circulating locally at this time.
At a press conference Thursday, Wang said it’s preparing for the “likelihood of additional cases” in Canada, Ontario and Waterloo Region.
In Canada, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases now sits at 37. One additional presumptive case has been detected in Quebec. If confirmed, the total number of confirmed cases in the country would come to 38.
1:51 COVID-19 coronavirus concerns spark Bank of Canada rate cut COVID-19 coronavirus concerns spark Bank of Canada rate cut
|
# Translation of Odoo Server.
# This file contains the translation of the following modules:
# * website_form_recaptcha
#
# Translators:
# OCA Transbot <[email protected]>, 2016
msgid ""
msgstr ""
"Project-Id-Version: Odoo Server 9.0c\n"
"Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: \n"
"POT-Creation-Date: 2016-09-13 02:52+0000\n"
"PO-Revision-Date: 2016-09-13 02:52+0000\n"
"Last-Translator: OCA Transbot <[email protected]>, 2016\n"
"Language-Team: Greek (Greece) (https://www.transifex.com/oca/teams/23907/"
"el_GR/)\n"
"Language: el_GR\n"
"MIME-Version: 1.0\n"
"Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8\n"
"Content-Transfer-Encoding: \n"
"Plural-Forms: nplurals=2; plural=(n != 1);\n"
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model_terms:ir.ui.view,arch_db:website_form_recaptcha.view_website_config_settings
msgid ""
"<i class=\"fa fa-arrow-right\"/>\n"
" How to get my reCaptcha Key"
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model_terms:ir.ui.view,arch_db:website_form_recaptcha.view_website_config_settings
msgid ""
"<span class=\"fa fa-lg fa-globe\" title=\"Values set here are website-"
"specific.\" groups=\"website.group_multi_website\"/>"
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model:ir.model,name:website_form_recaptcha.model_res_config_settings
msgid "Config Settings"
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model:ir.model.fields,field_description:website_form_recaptcha.field_website_form_recaptcha__display_name
msgid "Display Name"
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model:ir.model.fields,field_description:website_form_recaptcha.field_res_config_settings__has_google_recaptcha
msgid "Google reCaptcha"
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model:ir.model.fields,field_description:website_form_recaptcha.field_website_form_recaptcha__id
msgid "ID"
msgstr "Κωδικός"
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model:ir.model.fields,field_description:website_form_recaptcha.field_website_form_recaptcha____last_update
msgid "Last Modified on"
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model:ir.model,name:website_form_recaptcha.model_ir_model
msgid "Models"
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model_terms:ir.ui.view,arch_db:website_form_recaptcha.view_website_config_settings
msgid "Protect your forms using reCaptcha control."
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model:ir.model.fields,field_description:website_form_recaptcha.field_res_config_settings__recaptcha_key_secret
#: model:ir.model.fields,field_description:website_form_recaptcha.field_website__recaptcha_key_secret
msgid "Recaptcha Key Secret"
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model:ir.model.fields,field_description:website_form_recaptcha.field_res_config_settings__recaptcha_key_site
#: model:ir.model.fields,field_description:website_form_recaptcha.field_website__recaptcha_key_site
msgid "Recaptcha Key Site"
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model:ir.model.fields,field_description:website_form_recaptcha.field_ir_model__website_form_recaptcha
msgid "Require ReCaptcha"
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model:ir.model.fields,help:website_form_recaptcha.field_ir_model__website_form_recaptcha
msgid "Requires successful ReCaptcha for form submission."
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: code:addons/website_form_recaptcha/models/website_form_recaptcha.py:33
#, python-format
msgid "The response parameter is invalid or malformed."
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: code:addons/website_form_recaptcha/models/website_form_recaptcha.py:31
#, python-format
msgid "The response parameter is missing."
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: code:addons/website_form_recaptcha/models/website_form_recaptcha.py:30
#, python-format
msgid "The secret parameter is invalid or malformed."
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: code:addons/website_form_recaptcha/models/website_form_recaptcha.py:28
#, python-format
msgid "The secret parameter is missing."
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: code:addons/website_form_recaptcha/models/website_form_recaptcha.py:35
#, python-format
msgid "There was a problem with the captcha entry."
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model:ir.model,name:website_form_recaptcha.model_website
msgid "Website"
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model:ir.model,name:website_form_recaptcha.model_website_form_recaptcha
msgid "Website Form Recaptcha Validations"
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model_terms:ir.ui.view,arch_db:website_form_recaptcha.view_website_config_settings
msgid "XXXXX"
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model_terms:ir.ui.view,arch_db:website_form_recaptcha.view_website_config_settings
msgid "captcha"
msgstr ""
#. module: website_form_recaptcha
#: model_terms:ir.ui.view,arch_db:website_form_recaptcha.view_website_config_settings
msgid "reCaptcha"
msgstr ""
|
Q:
Wrap every character with span, but keep HTML formatting
I'm trying to wrap every character inside the string in spans, but keep the formatting. I'm pretty much there, but with the below solution the punctuation characters right behind the tags don't get included anywhere. Another problem I'm facing is the regex picking up only the first word inside the tag if there are more than one.
Please have a look below (and at the JS Fiddle: https://jsfiddle.net/um650ma0/4/).
HTML
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc rhoncus ante a cursus porta. Curabitur egestas urna eu arcu tristique, nec malesuada est efficitur.
JS
$('p.home strong').each(function () {
var strong = $(this).html();
$(this).empty();
for (var i = 0; i < strong.length; i++) {
$(this).append('<span>' + strong[i] + '</span>');
}
})
var str = $('p.home').html();
var intro = str.match(/(?:<(\w+)[^>]*>(?:[\w+]+(?:(?!<).*?)<\/\1>?)[^\s\w]?|[^\s]+)/g);
$('p.home').empty();
for (var i = 0; i < intro.length; i++) {
var str = intro[i];
if (str.indexOf('<') !== -1) {
$('p.home').append(intro[i] + ' ')
}
else {
var substr = str.split('');
for (var j = 0; j < substr.length; j++) {
$('p.home').append('<span>' + substr[j] + '</span>')
}
$('p.home').append(' ');
}
}
Any suggestions how to update the regex to get the right result?
Thanks,
E.
A:
The issue with you code is when there are more than one word inside the strong element, in this case a whitespace will be encountered while traversing the inner string and browser will close the parent tag (strong). You need to do specific handling for that in your code.
The other issue of punctuation character missing after tag can also be handled with below logic. Not very elegant but will do the work
var str = $('p.home').html();
var intro = str.match(/(?:<(\w+)[^>]*>(?:[\w+]+(?:(?!<).*?)<\/\1>?)[^\s\w]?|[^\s]+)/g);
$('p.home').empty();
for (var i = 0; i < intro.length; i++) {
var str = intro[i];
if (str.indexOf('<') !== -1) {
if(str.indexOf(',') === str.length -1)
{
$('p.home').append(str.substr(0, str.length - 1));
$('p.home').append('<span>,</span>' + ' ')
}
else if(str.indexOf('.') === str.length -1)
{
$('p.home').append(str.substr(0, str.length - 1));
$('p.home').append('<span>.</span>' + ' ')
}
else
{
$('p.home').append(intro[i] + ' ');
}
}
else {
var substr = str.split('');
for (var j = 0; j < substr.length; j++) {
$('p.home').append('<span>' + substr[j] + '</span>')
}
$('p.home').append(' ');
}
}
$('p.home strong').each(function () {
var strong = $(this).html();
$(this).empty();
for (var i = 0; i < strong.length; i++) {
if($.trim(strong[i]) === "")
{
$(this).append(" ");
}
else
{
$(this).append('<span>' + strong[i] + '</span>');
}
}
})
Updated Fiddle : https://jsfiddle.net/LkqL0b4x/
|
[Risk factors for coronary artery disease in patients admitted in hemodynamics unit].
Transversal study aiming to evaluate the predominance of risk factor (RF) regarding to coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients submitted to cardiac procedures in hemodynamic unit. The study encloses 302 patients of 62 +/- 11-years-old, 270 (89%) predominantly white and 172 (57%) male. The most prevalent RF was 227 (75%) sedentism, followed by 220 (73%) arterial hypertension, 150 (50,5%) dyslipidemia, 87 (29%) obesity, 81 (27%) diabetes mellitus, 77 (25,5%) smoking, 67 (22%) alcohol and 15 (5%) diet poor of fruits and vegetables. The correlation was not relevant between the quantity of RF and its variables: scholarship, income, age, marital status, professional activity and gender in addition to the quantity of procedures submitted, comparing those with five or more RF for CAD; however there is a positive connection that reinforces the importance of strategies towards to reduce or remove modifiable RF.
|
[Criteria for hemostasis in kidney transplant patients. Comparison of patients undergoing immunosuppression with cyclosporin and azathioprine steroids].
Studies on one-year function conducted by the European Multicenter Trial showed that, after renal allograft transplantation, bleeding complications were only found in patients treated with cyclosporin as compared with those treated with azathioprin/steroids. To investigate a possible relationship between the bleeding tendency and the cyclosporin treatment, 18 parameters of hemostasis were studied in 11 patients, 6 of whom received cyclosporin A and the other 5 conventional treatment with azathioprin/steroids. Bleeding tendency could not be related to any specific coagulation parameter. Of interest is that clot retraction was significantly lower in the cyclosporin group (88 +/- 9% vs. 125 +/- 10%). Considering the fact that the skin bleeding time according to Ivy was normal in all patients, the clinical significance of the lower levels of the clot retraction appears to be minor. Discriminant analysis showed that these significantly lower clot retraction values could not be related to the lower platelet count levels in platelet rich plasma (205 000 +/- 85 000/mm3 vs. 280 000 +/- 67 000/mm3) but were associated with cyclosporin A treatment. All factor-VIII related activities were elevated in both groups. The main difference between the cyclosporin group and the conventionally treated group was significantly elevated levels of factor VIII procoagulant antigen (VIII: CAg) (cyclosporin A treated group: VIII: CAg 435 +/- 145%, conventionally treated group: VIII: CAg 215 +/- 99%). These results suggest hypercoagulability rather than bleeding tendency under cyclosporin treatment.
|
Q:
Is there a way to programatically execute the "Create NSMangedObjectSubclass" command in XCode 4?
I find it incredibly tedious every time I edit a core data model in the XCode model builder to select "Editor -> Create NSManagedObjectSubclass", then select the project group and directory in which to place the generated files, and agree that yes, I do want to replace their old versions.
It would be really great to have a one line shell command to generate these with a default group and directory. Does such a tool exist? If not, how would one go about writing such a tool?
A:
I don't think there's any way to automate Xcode like that. The closest you can come is the generic UI automation functionality in AppleScript, but what you're asking for is pretty complex.
Instead, you may want to investigate mogenerator. It doesn't do the exact same thing that Xcode does, but it is basically a tool to regenerate CoreData classes as part of your build system, without interfering with custom code you may want to write for the class.
|
Q:
Cannot find module 'babel-core' but @babel/core is installed
After running jest tests, one of them is getting this error.
Cannot find module 'babel-core'
at Object.<anonymous> (node_modules/vue-jest/lib/compilers/babel-compiler.js:1:15)
It's pretty straightforward. babel-core is not installed. But a newer version of babel-core (@babel/core) is installed!
Here I add my package.json devDependencies
"devDependencies": {
"@babel/core": "^7.4.5",
"@babel/preset-env": "^7.4.5",
"@babel/runtime": "^7.4.4",
"@vue/cli-plugin-babel": "^3.7.0",
"@vue/cli-plugin-eslint": "^3.7.0",
"@vue/cli-plugin-pwa": "^3.7.0",
"@vue/cli-service": "^3.7.0",
"@vue/test-utils": "^1.0.0-beta.29",
"axios-mock-adapter": "^1.16.0",
"babel-eslint": "^10.0.1",
"babel-loader": "^8.0.6",
"babel-preset-env": "^1.7.0",
"bootstrap": "^4.3.1",
"eslint": "^5.8.0",
"eslint-plugin-vue": "^5.0.0",
"gulp-babel": "^8.0.0",
"jest": "^24.8.0",
"jest-serializer-vue": "^2.0.2",
"jest-transform-stub": "^2.0.0",
"jest-watch-typeahead": "^0.3.1",
"json-loader": "^0.5.7",
"less-loader": "^4.1.0",
"postcss-flexbugs-fixes": "^4.1.0",
"postcss-loader": "^3.0.0",
"raw-loader": "^2.0.0",
"sw-precache-webpack-plugin": "^0.11.5",
"vue-jest": "^3.0.4",
"vue-loader": "^15.7.0",
"vue-template-compiler": "^2.5.21",
"webpack": "^4.32.0",
"webpack-cli": "^3.3.2"
},
I want to know how can I get my babel loader or jest to recognize @babel/core and not babel-core. I read that babel-loader 8+ should do the work, but its not working as expected.
Didn't know it was a vue-jest problem, but thanks.
A:
babel-core is not @babel/core – they are different packages.
You should be able to get away here with
installing the babel-core bridge,
or switch to a newer, unreleased version of vue-jest which uses @babel/core.
|
Introduction {#s1}
============
In Brazil, more than 50% of adults is overweight or obese ([@B1]). Obesity is a chronic, complex and multifactorial disease that is associated with increased risk of comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes ([@B2]), dyslipidemia ([@B3]) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) ([@B4]). In addition to affecting physical health, obesity has been associated with decrease in mental and social health ([@B5]). People with obesity have higher levels of anxiety, depression, binge eating, low self-esteem, social discrimination, disability with early retirement, and death ([@B6], [@B7]). Increasing prevalence of this condition is placing a major burden on the public health system with a large impact on the economy ([@B4]).
Several strategies have been used to minimize the impacts caused by obesity. Among these, lifestyle interventions that combine changes in eating behavior and regular exercise should be incorporated as a first step by those seeking weight loss ([@B8]--[@B14]). Current guidelines advocate the need for lifestyle changes, but calorie-restricted diets and/or macronutrient-manipulated diets continue to be the most widely used method to promote weight reduction and prevent CVD ([@B9], [@B15]).
However, it is noteworthy that the consumption of healthy food for a large portion of the Brazilian population is relatively expensive ([@B16]). Low-income families are more likely to choose unhealthy foods, which are industrialized and have high energy density contributing to increases in body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, as well as a low self-assessment of health conditions ([@B17]). Therefore, cost-effective strategies for health promotion in overweight and obese people are essential and need to be incorporated by the Brazilian public health system ([@B18], [@B19]).
Although previous studies have shown that low-calorie diets and/or macronutrient manipulation are effective to promote short-term weight loss, it is not known whether one diet is more effective than others. Regarding weight loss and maintenance of lost weight, \~90--95% of treated people regain body mass over the time ([@B20]). On the other hand, Alvarenga et al. ([@B21]) and Wolever et al. ([@B22]) found that new nutritional strategies based on behavioral treatment without prescribing restrictive diets have satisfactory long-term results. For these authors, food does not perform only the function of nurturing physiological needs, but it goes beyond and fulfills the function of psychological and social needs. Thus, other perspectives for obesity treatment have emerged and were tested by the scientific community ([@B18], [@B19]).
It is noteworthy that overweight people, especially women, are more likely to have self-criticism and negative body image ([@B23]), which is stimulated by the standards of beauty imposed by society. The search for the ideal body promotes body image dissatisfaction and lower self-esteem, resulting in impairments in physical and mental health. Despite the constant efforts of those seeking weight loss, failure rates are high, which demonstrates how difficult it is to combat this twenty first century disease.
Another issue of weight loss intervention program is the adherence to diet changes. The literature points out that adherence rates can be very variable depending on the type of diet adopted and the individual wish for a lifestyle change ([@B24]). People often procrastinate the nutritional planning during a weight loss program, particularly women with poor health status ([@B25]). It is possible that, regardless of the nutritional counseling model, a close follow-up with the dietitian and health team can be the most effective factor to promote weight loss in people with obesity. People need time to change their eating habits and require continuous reinforcement to maintain a new lifestyle ([@B24]).
Given the worrisome prevalence of obesity, the number of strategies for weight loss and the high rates of failure, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of two different nutritional strategies: group nutrition counseling (GNC) or individualized nutrition prescription (INP), with a concurrent exercise program on the physical, nutritional and mental health of overweight or obese women after 12-weeks of intervention. As a hypothesis, it is believed that both nutritional strategies along with concurrent exercise would be effective to improve the health condition of overweight or obese women.
Materials and Methods {#s2}
=====================
Participants
------------
Women aged 40--59 years, with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m^2^, and low-income (evaluated through a socioeconomic questionnaire) were included. All participants received medical clearance before starting physical exercises. The screening was based on the answers from the original sociodemographic questionnaire (more information is described below). We have decided to only include women from low-income backgrounds to reflect a major public health problem in our country. Brazil is a developing country with 54.8 million people living below the so-called income line (\$5,5 a day) ([@B26]). As it is observed in other developing countries, excessive BMI is strongly related to poverty, particularly because of the high intake of ultra-processed foods ([@B27], [@B28]). The exclusion criteria were: (a) physical conditions that could limit the practice of physical activity; (b) diseases or history of use of drugs that affect body mass, body composition, or muscle strength; (c) postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy; (d) current smoking; (e) current participation in a program to reduce body mass or any type of diet; (f) \<75% adherence to the interventions; and (g) failure to complete post-intervention assessments. This research used an experimental and longitudinal study of parallel groups and repeated measurements. Participants were recruited via non-probabilistic sampling, through advertisements on the television, radio, newspapers and internet, and in local basic health units. The sample size calculation identified that 9 participants per experimental group would be enough to detect differences in the dependent variables, with a smaller standard deviation when compared to previous studies with α = 0.05 and β = 80%. All participants were informed about the purposes of the present study and signed the informed consent form. The study was approved by the Ethics and Research Committee of the State University of Maringa by Opinion N^o^. 2,655,268/2018. This study was also submitted and approved by Brazilian Trials Clinical Studies (REBEC) by the Health Minister under register RBR-2YZS76.
Study Protocol
--------------
This study is a clinical trial with parallel groups and repeated measures. The participants were randomized via Excel software (version 2013, Microsoft, US), i.e., the participants were numbered and randomized and allocated to two different intervention groups: group nutrition counseling (GNC) or individualized nutrition prescription (INP), which are detailed below. During the 12-week intervention period, both groups attended sessions led by the nutrition team and received the same schedule of structured exercise training supervised by the kinesiology team, at the university facilities. The intervention protocol was developed by our team. First, medical clearance was performed, blood samples were collected for the measurement of metabolic and other variables (described below), and anthropometrical and body composition variables were assessed. All participants were given instructions to correctly fill out the 3 day food record, which was to be completed on 2 days during the week and 1 day on each weekend. Twenty-four hours later, the different questionnaires were completed (the details are described in the sections below). Thus, the different assessments were performed in 2 days, with 24 h of rest between them. The post-evaluation assessments were performed 2 days after the end of the intervention. In both protocols, the participants were attended by a certified nutritionist. The participants randomized to GNC received group counseling, whereas those in the INP received an individual prescription. [Figure 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"} presents the flowchart of the study.
{#F1}
Sociodemographic Characteristics of the Participants
----------------------------------------------------
Sociodemographic characteristics were reported by participants via a questionnaire developed by the Brazilian Economic Classification Criteria ([@B29]). The following information was collected: age, education (classified by years of study as follows: illiterate, 1--4 years, 5--8 years, 9--11 years and 12 or more years of schooling), and economic class (considered classes A, B, C, and D). Economic class "A" represents higher family income, while economic class "D" represents lower family income ([@B29]).
Anthropometric Assessment and Body Composition
----------------------------------------------
After blood collection, all participants underwent anthropometric assessment with measurement of body mass and stature for the calculation of the BMI, as well as the assessment of body composition through a bioelectrical impedance. The evaluations took place 2 days prior to the exercise and nutritional intervention. The reevaluations followed the same protocol and were performed 2 days after the end of the 12-week intervention. Body mass (kg) and body composition were measured by InBody bioimpedance (model 570®, Body Composition Analyzers, Seoul, South Korea). Stature was measured using a Sanny® wall-mounted stadiometer (São Paulo, Brazil), capable of measuring up to 2.20 meters and accurate to within 0.1 cm. BMI was calculated as BMI = body mass (kg)/stature (m)^2^ and classified according to the WHO cut-off points ([@B30]). The participants were advised to follow these instructions before the assessment: (a) to abstain from alcohol for 12 h before the test, (b) to not perform high-intensity exercise for 12 h before the test, (c) to urinate 30 min before the test, (d) to fast at least 4 h before the assessment time, and (e) to wear light clothing free of metallic objects such as zippers; these instructions followed the recommendations by Heyward ([@B31]) and Branco et al. ([@B32]). The components of body composition used were the lean mass (LM), fat mass (FM), and body fat percentage (BF).
Collection of Blood Samples to Measure Metabolic Tests
------------------------------------------------------
The blood samples were collected in a private laboratory with international ISO 9001 certification by a biomedical team without access to information about the nutritional intervention, and physical activity models. For the evaluation of metabolic parameters, 10 mL of median cubital vein blood was collected 12 h after fasting, with maintenance of the usual diet for 5 days before collection, no alcohol intake 72 h before collection, and no vigorous exercise within the previous 24 h. The following measures were assessed before and after the intervention period: ([@B1]) insulin; ([@B2]) glycated hemoglobin A1c (A1C); ([@B3]) triglycerides; ([@B4]) total cholesterol; ([@B5]) low-density lipoprotein (LDL-c); ([@B6]) high-density lipoprotein (HDL-c); and ([@B7]) liver transaminases (AST and ALT). For the diagnosis of dyslipidemia, the following criteria for at least one of the four analyzed variables needed to be met: total cholesterol ≥ 190 mg/dL, HDL-c ≤ 40 mg/dL, LDL-c ≥ 130 mg/dL, and triglycerides ≥ 150 mg/dL. The cut-off points used were those recommended by the American College of Cardiology Foundation ([@B33]). The references for A1C levels were \<5.7% (normal), ≥ 5.7% and \<6.5% (prediabetes), and ≥ 6.5% (probable diabetes) ([@B2]).
Description of the GNC Protocol
-------------------------------
The participants in GNC received nutrition information provided by the same registered nutritionist, once a week for an average of 40 min. They were given educational material about the contents presented and strategies to adapt their eating behaviors to different daily situations. All participants attended a meeting once a week during the intervention period (a total of 12 meetings). At the meetings, the following topics were addressed: (a) the intervention schedule; (b) the importance of maintaining a healthy body mass (use of behavioral nutrition); (c) the hunger odometer; (d) the food groups and their respective functions; (e) skills for challenging situations (use of nutritional and wellness coaching strategies); (f) reading food labels; (g) knowing the amount of sugar and fat in foods; (h) diet vs. light foods; (i) grocery shopping and meal planning; (j) mindfulness eating (cognitive behavioral therapy); and (k) how to transition to a new diet. In summary, the interventions were based on nutritional counseling and focused on changing eating behaviors adapted by Branco et al. ([@B18], [@B19]).
Description of the INP Protocol
-------------------------------
The participants in INP were followed monthly by a registered nutritionist, with consultations of \~1 h duration. The same nutritionist prescribed all meal planning for the participants in the INP group. The participants had an initial evaluation and fortnightly visits to adjust their eating plans, if necessary. The diet plan prescription was calculated based on the participants resting metabolic rate (RMR) obtained by InBody 570®, multiplied by 1.4, according to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations ([@B34]), for women with low levels of physical activity. The meal plan was individually delivered and comprised a basic menu including information such as mealtimes, food groups, and portions distributed between meals, along with a list of replacement groups and equivalent foods. It is noteworthy that the diet was not controlled in any of the experimental groups; that is, the information was provided to the participants, but adherence to the diet plan or the process of dietary re-education was not monitored on a daily basis. Importantly, the intervention groups did not have contact with each other including during the physical training sessions, which occurred on a different schedule.
Food Record
-----------
The participants had previously been instructed by a nutritionist about how to complete the alternating 3 day food register: 2 days on weekdays and 1 day on the weekend (e.g., Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday), according to the IOM ([@B34]). The participants were instructed to record all foods and beverages consumed, as well as their respective quantities and/or home measures, mealtimes, and places. They were also instructed to take notes right after each meal to avoid forgetting any of the information to be recorded ([@B18], [@B19]). Macronutrients, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, total energy intake, and dietary fiber were calculated using the Avanutri nutritional calculation software program (version 2.0, Avanutri Assessment Equipment Ltd., Três Rios, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). The Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) was used to assess nutrient intake adequacy of the participants ([@B34]).
Questionnaires Applied to Assess the Level of Physical Activity and Mental Health
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following items were evaluated before and after 12-week intervention period: The IPAQ questionnaire validated for Brazilians was used to identify the levels of physical activity before and after the multiprofessional intervention, and to determine whether the women had already engaged in other moderate/intense physical activities before starting the program ([@B35]).Body image dissatisfaction was assessed by applying the body shape questionnaire (BSQ) ([@B36]), validated for the Brazilian population ([@B37], [@B38]). The BSQ is a questionnaire composed of 34 questions about body image dissatisfaction and concern with body measurements. Each question was given a value on a scale from 1 (never) to 6 (always). Higher levels of dissatisfaction were given higher scores. Based on the score, individuals are classified as satisfied (81 to 110 points) or dissatisfied (above 111 points) with body image.Anxiety level were assessed using the Hamilton Anxiety Scale ([@B39]), which aims to assess the severity of anxiety symptoms. The instrument consisted of 14 symptom groups, subdivided into two groups, seven related to anxious mood symptoms and seven related to physical anxiety symptoms. Responses ranged from zero to four, where 0 indicates the absence of a symptom, 1 indicates low average intensity, 2 indicates high average intensity, 3 indicates strong intensity, and 4 indicates disabling intensity. Scores ≥ 18 were defined as mild anxiety; ≥ 25, moderate anxiety; and ≥ 30, severe anxiety ([@B40]).Self-esteem was assessed with the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RAS), which consisted of 10 statements related to a set of feelings of self-acceptance and self-esteem and assessed total self-esteem. The items are expressed in a four-point Likert scale ranging from strongly agree ([@B3]), agree ([@B2]), disagree ([@B1]) and strongly disagree (0). The alternatives are divided into five positive questions ([@B1], [@B2], [@B4], [@B6], [@B7]) and five negative questions ([@B3], [@B5], [@B8]--[@B10]). Each alternative has a value ranging from zero to three points. The higher the score, the higher the self-esteem of the individual. The final scale score can range from zero (low self-esteem) to thirty (high self-esteem) ([@B41]).Pathological eating attitudes screening was performed using the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) ([@B42]), a questionnaire with 26 self-completion questions. The answers were evaluated by their score, giving three points for each item that was marked the most extreme answer (always), two points for the second most extreme answer (very often) and one point for the third most extreme answer (often), with the other answers given no points. Question number 4 has a particularity because it was reverse scored, i.e., "sometimes" was given 1 point, "rarely" was given 2 points and "never" was given 3 points, the other answers received no points; this occurred only for question 4. After application of the instrument, the scores obtained in each of the EAT-26 questions were summed for each person evaluated. A total score higher than 21 (twenty-one) confirmed the presence of pathological eating attitudes and the risk of an eating disorder ([@B43]).
Description of Resistance-Training Protocol
-------------------------------------------
Physical exercises were performed 3 times a week for \~47 to 62 min. Concurrent training was used, alternating resistance and aerobic exercises. In addition, the physical exercises followed the principles of pulling, pushing, knee dominance, and hip dominance, in addition to core work. First, physical exercises for large muscle groups were emphasized, and in the background, resistance exercises were performed for smaller muscle groups. The series alternated back and forth. The emphasis was given to work on muscle strength and endurance, flexibility, and cardiorespiratory fitness. Resistance exercises were accomplished using the participants\' own body mass and the use of accessories such as TRX, medicine balls, rubber bands, Swiss balls, cones, an agility ladder, naval rope, tires, and steps. The use of these accessories is a low-cost method. The intensity was controlled using Borg scale 6--20 ([@B44]). The eccentric and concentric phases were stabilized at 1:1. The volume and intensity were measured during all exercise sessions. The physical trainers were blinded as to the types of nutritional care performed. [Table 1](#T1){ref-type="table"} shows the physical exercise periodization during the 12-week intervention period.
######
Physical exercises periodization during 12-week of intervention.
**Intensity** **Sets** **Time** **Effort: pause ratio** **Weeks**
--------------- ---------- ---------- ------------------------- ---------------
10--12 a.u. 2 sets 52 min 40" per 20" 1st and 2nd
10--12 a.u. 2 sets 47 min 40" per 10" 3rd and 4th
12--14 a.u. 2 sets 52 min 50" per 10" 5th and 6th
12--14 a.u. 2 sets 62 min 60" per 20" 7th and 8th
15--17 a.u. 2 sets 60 min 60" per 15" 9th and 10th
15--17 a.u. 2 sets 58 min 60 per 10" 11th and 12th
*a.u., arbitrary units; effort, relation of time in seconds of physical effort; pause, time in seconds of rest*.
[Table 2](#T2){ref-type="table"} shows the exercises performed during the 12-week training periodization.
######
Training program performed during 12-week training periodization.
**Order** **Training program A** **Sets**
----------- ------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------
1 Warm-up - continuous and interval running 10 min
2 Plank with body weight 2x
3 Hip bridge 2x
4 Unipodal deadlifting with dumbbells 2x
5 Pulling tire with rope 2x
6 Standing calf raise 2x
7 Rope tsunami 2x
8 Mountain climber 2x
9 Lying twist 2x
10 Running at moderate-intensity and alternating with low intensity 5 min
11 General stretching 5 min
**Order** **Training program B** **Sets**
1 Warm-up---continuous and interval running 10 min
2 Plank with body weight 2x
3 Hip bridge 2x
4 In pairs: squat, lift and push the tire 2x
5 Squat---body weight 2x
6 Push-ups (on knees) 2x
7 Squat in isometric position 2x
8 Thruster with medicine ball 2x
9 Crunch abdomen 2x
10 Running at moderate-intensity and alternating with low intensity 5 min
11 General stretching 5 min
Statistical Analysis
--------------------
Initially, all data were tabulated in Excel software (version 2013, Microsoft, US). After data tabulation, statistical analyses were performed via Statistica (version 12.0, Stasoft, US). Data normality was tested using the Shapiro--Wilk test. After this confirmation, a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), group × time, was used, applying the Bonferroni test, if necessary. The significance level was established at 5% for all analyses. For ANOVA, Mauchly\'s sphericity test was employed, and the Greenhouse-Geisser correction was used, if necessary. For data presentation, the mean (±) standard deviation and the relative frequency of data from the food register were used. Finally, based on Cohen ([@B45]), the effect size was calculated according to the classification: up to 0.20 (*small effect*), from 0.20 to 0.80 (*medium effect*), and above 0.80 (*large effect*).
Results {#s3}
=======
General Characteristics
-----------------------
[Table 3](#T3){ref-type="table"} shows that the mean age of the participants was 45.7 years old, and the level of education was heterogeneous, with a predominance of education equal to or lower than high school. In addition, the reported family income was mostly below 6 minimum salaries (96.28%).
######
General characteristics and socioeconomic status of the participants of the present study.
**Variables** **All: pre-intervention (*n =* 27)** **GNC (*n=* 16)** **INP (*n=* 11)**
-------------------------------- -------------------------------------- ------------------- -------------------
Age (years old) 45.7 ± 3.2 45.9 ± 3.1 45.5 ± 3.3
**Scholarity level**
Up to 9th grade 2 (7.40%) 1 (9.09%) 1 (6.25%)
High school 18 (66.67%) 8 (72.72%) 10 (62.5%)
University education 7 (25.92%) 2 (18.18%) 5 (31.25%)
**Socioeconomic level (ABEP)**
A)\> 6 salaries 1 (3.70%) 2 (18.18%) 1 (6.25%)
B\) From 3 to 6 salaries 2 (7.40%) 4 (36.36%) 8 (50%)
C\) From 1 to 3 salaries 23 (85.18%) 4 (36.36%) 7 (43.75%)
D\) Up to 1 salary 1 (3.70%) 1 (9.09%) 0 (0.00%)
*Data are expressed as mean and standard deviation for age and relative frequency for the other variables; GNC, Group nutrition counseling; INP, Individualized Nutrition Prescription; ABEP, Brazilian Association of Research Companies*.
All the variables were tested between the groups and neither significant difference was observed before 12-week intervention (*p* \> 0.05).
The participants age was similar in the GNC and INP groups (*p* \> 0.05).
Anthropometric and Body Composition Responses
---------------------------------------------
[Figure 2](#F2){ref-type="fig"} presents the anthropometric and body composition variables of the participants.
{#F2}
A time effect was identified for body mass (*F* = 27.05; *p* \< 0.001), BMI (*F* = 30.69; *p* \< 0.001), FM (*F* = 20.40; *p* \< 0.001) and BF (*F* = 6.84; *p* = 0.01), with the *post-hoc* showing lower values after the intervention period (*p* = 0.001) for all comparisons. However, no significant differences were detected for LM ([Figure 2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}). The Cohen\'s *d* for the different comparisons between the groups was as follows: for BM in GNC, *d* = −0.13 (*small effect*), and INP, *d* = −0.21 (*medium effect*); for BMI, in GNC, *d* = −0.24 (*medium effect*), and INP, *d* = −0.23 (*medium effect*); for LM in GNC, *d* = −0.08 (*small effect*), and INP, *d* = −0.15 (*small effect*); for FM, in GNC, *d* = −0.22 (*medium effect*), and INP, *d* = −0.20 (*medium effect*); and for BF, in GNC, *d* = −0.18 (*small effect*), and INP, *d* = −0.14 (*small effect*).
Metabolic Responses
-------------------
[Table 4](#T4){ref-type="table"} presents the metabolic variables of women that participated in the present study.
######
Metabolic variables of women that participating in the present study.
**Variables** **GNC (*n* = 16)** **INP (*n* = 11)**
--------------------------- -------------------- -------------------- ------------------ -------------- -------------- ------------------
**Pre** **Post** ***Cohen\'s d*** **Pre** **Post** ***Cohen\'s d***
Insulin (μ/mL) 12.9 ± 13.8 12.8 ± 9.9 0.00 16.1 ± 8.2 14.8 ± 8.7 −0.16
HbA1c (%) 5.4 ± 0.6 5.4 ± 0.4 0.01 5.7 ± 0.9 5.6 ± 0.7 −0.16
Triglycerides (mg/dL) 116.1 ± 61.1 110.4 ± 37.5 −0.09 119.9 ± 47.2 118.0 ± 40.1 −0.04
Total cholesterol (mg/dL) 197.3 ± 43.2 183.3 ± 28.8 −0.32 219.4 ± 22.5 209.8 ± 37.6 −0.42
LDL-c (mg/dL) 113.2 ± 38.9 103.5 ± 26.67 −0.24 138.2 ± 21.9 131.3 ± 26.7 −0.31
HDL-c (mg/dL) 58.3 ± 18.7 56.0 ± 14.9 −0.12 55.0 ± 11.9 50.5 ± 10.5 −0.37
AST (U/L) 23.9 ± 8.8 25.3 ± 12.8 0.15 24.7 ± 5.6 23.5 ± 4.8 −0.21
ALT (U/L) 24.2 ± 8.8 23.0 ± 10.1 −0.12 31.8 ± 11.9 29.1 ± 8.4 −0.22
*Data are expressed by mean and ± standard deviation; GNC, group nutrition counseling; INP, individualized nutrition prescription; pre, pre-intervention; post, post-intervention; HbA1c, glycated hemoglobin; LDL-c, low density lipoproteins; HDL-c, high density lipoproteins; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; for the classification of metabolic variables and effect size, please access the methods*.
For insulin, A1C, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-c, HDL-c, AST, and ALT, no significant differences were observed (*p* \> 0.05). It is noteworthy that the values for insulin, on average, were within the normal range, and the same was found for HDL-c. The mean A1C level was compatible with the diagnosis of prediabetes in the GNC at the time of the pre-intervention, returning to normal values after the intervention period. Both intervention groups had the mean triglyceride levels within the normal range. However, in the GNC group, mean values of total cholesterol were identified in the borderline classification, while the mean values of the INP group were within the normal range. For LDL-c, the average values of GNC were found to be slightly above the proposed recommendations. Although no significant reductions in total cholesterol and LDL-c were identified, Cohen\'s d found a moderate effect size for both lipid-profile variables, with lower values after the intervention period. Such findings may be considered positive since there was a reduction in the cardiometabolic risk at post-intervention, in both experimental groups.
Food Record Data
----------------
[Table 5](#T5){ref-type="table"} presents the participants nutrition intake before and after 12-week intervention period.
######
Food record information of women that participating in this study.
**Diet components** **GNC (*n* = 16)** **INP (*n* = 11)**
--------------------- -------------------- -------------------- ------------------ ---------------- ---------------- ------------------
**Pre** **Post** ***Cohen\'s d*** **Pre** **Post** ***Cohen\'s d***
TCI (kcal/day)\* 1637.0 ± 396.6 1272.5 ± 416.9 −0.91 1816.4 ± 747.2 1194.0 ± 367.5 −0.83
TF (g/day) 11.8 ± 5.3 10.9 ± 4.5 −0.18 11.5 ± 5.8 8.9 ± 3.6 −0.46
CHO g/day\* 201.7 ± 42.5 149.9 ± 50.9 −1.21 198.1 ± 61.1 154.3 ± 60.8 −0.71
CHO % 50.2 ± 4.7 48.2 ± 7.1 −0.44 47.3 ± 9.1 53.2 ± 8.5 0.64
PTN g/day\* 69.4 ± 20.0 62.4 ± 20.1 −0.35 85.7 ± 49.9 53.1 ± 15.0□ −0.64
PTN % 17.5 ± 3.3 19.6 ± 2.7 0.62 18.8 ± 4.2 17.9 ± 2.8 −0.21
PTN g/kg/day 1.4 ± 0.3 1.6 ± 0.5 −0.36 1.4 ± 0.6 1.8 ± 0.6 0.65
LIP g/day\* 61.4 ± 22.4 47.1 ± 20.1 −0.64 73.6 ± 42.2 39.6 ± 13.2 −0.80
LIP % 32.3 ± 6.4 32.6 ± 7.5 0.04 34.3 ± 6.3 29.3 ± 7.0 −0.79
S. F. (g/day)\* 17.1 ± 9.1 13.5 ± 6.6 −0.40 24.4 ± 17.8 11.7 ± 6.2? −0.71
P.F (g/day)\* 10.4 ± 4.9 8.4 ± 4.4 −0.41 10.2 ± 4.5 5.8 ± 2.2 −0.98
M. F. (g/day) 26.7 ± 9.7 13.7 ± 6.8 −1.35 22.8 ± 17.8 11.8 ± 4.9 −0.61
*GNC, group nutrition counseling; INP, individualized nutrition prescription; pre, pre-intervention; post, post-intervention; TF, total fiber; F, fat; S, saturated; P, polyunsaturated; M, monounsaturated; TCI, total caloric intake; CHO, carbohydrate; PTN, protein; LIP, lipid; ^\*^time effect, with pre-intervention different from post-intervention (p \< 0.05); □ = interaction, with lower values for the NOG when compared to itself after the intervention (p = 0.01); for the classification of the effect size, please access the methods*.
A time effect was identified for TCI (*F* = 43.30; *p* \< 0.001), CHOs in grams (*F* = 24.11; *p* \< 0.001) and LIPs in grams (*F* = 21.12; *p* \< 0.001), with the *post-hoc* showing lower values after the intervention period (*p* = 0.001), for all comparisons. For polyunsaturated fat, a time effect was observed (*F* = 8.24; *p* = 0.008), with the *post-hoc* showing lower values after the intervention period (*p* = 0.01). For PTNs, a time effect (*F* = 10.35; *p* = 0.003) was identified with the *post-hoc* showing lower values after the intervention period (*p* = 0.007). In addition, an interaction was detected (*F* = 4.33; *p* = 0.047), in which the *post-hoc* showed lower values in the GNC than in the INP after the intervention period (*p* = 0.01). For saturated fat, a time effect (*F* = 15.80; *p* \< 0.001) was verified, with the *post-hoc* indicating lower values after the intervention period (*p* = 0.001). Additionally, an interaction (*F* = 4.79; *p* = 0.038) was identified with the *post-hoc*, indicating lower values in the GNC group at the post-intervention than values in that group at the pre-intervention period (*p* = 0.002). However, no significant differences were observed for %LIPs, %CHOs, %PTNs, PTNs g/kg/day, fiber consumption, and monounsaturated fat intake (*p* \> 0.05).
Questionnaires Responses
------------------------
The [Figure 3](#F3){ref-type="fig"} presents the results of mental health tests for the women participating in this study.
{#F3}
For the IPAQ, no significant differences were observed after the intervention period (*p* \> 0.05). The only differences observed were on the days of the programmed physical exercises, i.e., on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. For body image dissatisfaction, only a time effect was identified (*F* = 7.1; *p* = 0.013), with the *post-hoc* showing lower values after the intervention period (*p* = 0.011), and the effect size for the GNC was *d* = −0.53 (*medium effect*), whereas for the INP, an effect size of *d* = −0.36 (*medium effect*) was found. For anxiety, only a time effect was detected (*F* = 8.2; *p* = 0.008), with the *post-hoc* indicating lower values after the intervention period (*p* = 0.004), with effect sizes of *d* = −0.54 (*medium effect*) and *d* = −0.33 (*medium effect*) in the GNC and INP, respectively. However, no significant differences were identified in self-esteem (*p* \> 0.05), which presented an effect size of *d* = 0.14 (*small effect*) in the GNC and *d* = −0.50 (*medium effect*) in the INP. Finally, there were no significant differences regarding pathological eating attitudes (*p* \> 0.05), which presented an effect size of *d* = −0.20 (*small effect*) for the GNC and *d* = −0.07 (*small effect*) for the INP.
Discussion {#s4}
==========
Considering that the objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of two different nutritional strategies, namely, individualized nutritional prescription with calorie restriction and group nutritional orientation, combined with the practice of concurrent exercises on anthropometric parameters, body composition, metabolic variables, food intake and mental health of overweight and/or obese women, the main results indicated: ([@B1]) reductions in body mass, BMI and absolute and relative fat mass in both groups; ([@B2]) absence of differences in LM in both groups; ([@B3]) absence of differences in metabolic parameters in both groups; ([@B4]) reductions in total caloric intake/TCI (kcal/day), LIP, saturated and polyunsaturated fat in both groups; ([@B5]) adequacy of CHO and PTN macronutrients in the pre- and post-intervention periods; ([@B6]) reductions in body dissatisfaction and anxiety in both groups; and ([@B7]) no significant differences in self-esteem nor in pathological eating attitudes in both groups.
Reducing body mass, BMI and body fat in overweight and obese people is essential to promote health improvement, thus decreasing the prevalence of chronic diseases in a population context ([@B18], [@B19]). According to Swift et al. ([@B46]), the inclusion of a physical training program in the treatment of obesity is fundamentally relevant to maintain long-term body mass control. Similar findings were also reported by Madjd et al. ([@B15]), who demonstrated that regular exercise increased caloric expenditure, reduced body adiposity, and improved lipid profile and insulin resistance. Although modest reductions in body mass and BMI (\~3 kg and 1 kg/m^2^, respectively) were observed in the present study, the loss of body fat (\~2 kg) was associated with the maintenance of LM, which is a positive result based on the age of the women investigated. Physiologically, there is a loss of muscle mass with the aging process, which can directly affect functional capacity and contribute to a reduction in RMR ([@B47]). Reductions in LM can be minimized through physical exercise and nutritional monitoring ([@B47]). However, muscle mass gain with physical training may be different in everyone based on the type of training, somatotype and motivation for physical activity.
Regarding metabolic parameters, in general, no changes were observed after the 12-week intervention period. Considering the average laboratory results for all participants, it can be concluded that the studied population presents obesity with a healthy metabolic profile, except for some women in the GNC group ([@B48]). Mean total cholesterol and LDL-c levels were found in the borderline classification in the GNC group. Previous evidence has indicated that the prevalence of obesity with a metabolically healthy profile was between 2 and 28% of the population ([@B49]). This condition is more prevalent in women, due to the predominance of a gynecoid pattern distribution in this gender, and less prevalent in the elderly, due to the redistribution of subcutaneous to visceral fat that occurs in the aging process ([@B49]). However, medicine considers the so called "metabolically healthy obesity" with some parsimony as overweight may progress with the development of insulin resistance, changes in lipid profile, osteoarticular diseases and cancer, among other complications ([@B50]).
An interesting finding of this study was that the mean values of A1C in the GNC group, compatible with the diagnosis of prediabetes in the pre-intervention period, returned to normal values after the intervention; a situation previously demonstrated in diabetes prevention studies. Robust scientific evidence has indicated that lifestyle changes are highly effective in preventing the progression of prediabetes to diabetes and are more powerful than drugs such as metformin ([@B51]). Therefore, behavioral changes and the adoption of a healthy and active lifestyle are essential strategies for health promotion and the fight against the current diabetes epidemic that is closely associated with the high prevalence of obesity.
One of the limitations of this study was the possibility of an underestimation of the energy intake from the dietary records. The method chosen to quantify food intake and obtain valid and reliable data from real-world nutritional studies is a difficult task as there is no gold standard for this assessment, and all existing methods are subject to variation and measurement errors ([@B52]). This underestimation may partly explain the low-calorie values reported in the dietary records of the two groups in the present study. Nutrition guidelines state that for healthy individuals, a balanced diet should consist of 45 to 65% CHO, 15 to 25% PTN, and up to 30% LIP of the TCI ([@B34]). Therefore, the adequacy of protein intake may be explained by the increased consumption of meat, milk and dairy products among Brazilians in the last three decades ([@B53], [@B54]). The percentage of CHO can also be explained by the trend observed in the results of the Family Budget Survey ([@B53]). This survey showed an increased in the intake of foods rich in fat, sugar, with low amounts of fiber by the Brazilian population, especially among those with lower purchasing power. On the other hand, according to same survey ([@B53]), the consumption of complex CHO, such as rice, beans and pulses was decreased in the Brazilian diet. This fact may explain the low fiber intake found in the present study, as the nutritional calculation program used to quantify food intake does not distinguish between simple and complex CHO. The reduction in the consumption of these macronutrients can explain the decrease in TCI consumption reported by the participants.
Different dietary patterns modulate multiple aspects of the atherosclerotic process and cardiovascular risk factors. For example, saturated and trans-fat intake are associated with increased plasma LDL-c, and the replacement of saturated dietary fat for monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat may improve the lipid profile, lowering cardiovascular risk ([@B54]). In the present study, both groups had a high intake of saturated fat, which was significantly reduced after the intervention, regardless of the nutritional method. It was also observed that there was an inadequate intake of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which reflected the poor food quality consumed by the participants, which in the long run may contribute to the onset of CVD ([@B55]). The low consumption of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids in the study may be related to the low purchasing power of the participants. In Brazil, foods rich in fatty acids, such as olive oil, canola oil, fatty fish and nuts, are quite expensive.
People who are overweight and/or obese are more likely to develop psychological problems, including body image dissatisfaction. Body image goes hand in hand with mental health, and with improvements in this parameter, the individual becomes more prone to maintain treatment ([@B56]). Thus, reducing body dissatisfaction is certainly a motivational factor in the process of behavior change. The determinants of a positive or negative body image depend on factors such as age, gender, media exposure, cultural, social values and beliefs. Different stages of life imply different yearnings for the desired body pattern ([@B57]). Thus, in the case of obese middle-aged women, exposed to the standards of beauty imposed by the media, improvements in their body acceptance was extremely relevant after the intervention period.
The relationship between anxiety and obesity is bidirectional with one condition affecting the other. For instance, individuals with genetics favorable to weight gain eat more when exposed to stress and anxiety ([@B58]). The aesthetic imposition of body worship also generates anxiety and frustration in obese people. There is the following premise imposed by society "the obese could only be happy being thin," and instead of weight loss, these types of thoughts can worsen self-esteem and cause self-image dissatisfaction ([@B59], [@B60]). The findings of the present study corroborate the study by Bansal et al. ([@B61]), which states that people with obesity present major psychological problems, and that, it seems to be a relationship between anxiety, pathological eating attitudes and obesity.
In the behavioral field, anxious people tend to move away from social life, and exercise could represent a way of engaging these individuals in group activities ([@B62]). A systematic review had identified that physical activity improved symptoms related to depression, anxiety, postpartum depression, among other aspects ([@B63]). In the present study, no significant differences were observed for self-esteem and pathological eating attitudes. These findings may be explained by the short intervention period and the complexity of factors that influence the self-esteem and the possibility of change ([@B64], [@B65]). Because those in the present study were middle-aged and predominantly low-income women, they may have come under less pressure from society and the media to have slim, perfect bodies, unlike younger, higher-income women. Moreover, this sample did not present, on average, significant eating disorders. It should also be considered that the instrument used may not be sensitive to specifically tracking the unique characteristics of the overweight or obese population.
It was evident from a previous study that women with little education or less favorable economic class were more likely to develop obesity and psychological disorders ([@B7]). The differences in self-perception that women belonging to each social class have about their own bodies is one of the factors that interferes with the choice of food and its relationship with health and beauty. da Santos ([@B6]) considered that low-income groups prioritize the ability to work and body strength over the body shape. Thus, low-income women are more susceptible to overweight, low self-esteem and body image distortion and often find themselves in a frustrating situation with the financial inability to acquire the means to lose weight and engage in physical exercise, such as access to gym, personalized diets and aesthetic treatments. Faced with the belief that the picture is irreversible, they focus their anxieties on the pleasures of food, giving immediate expression to their frustrations ([@B7]).
Given the high prevalence of obesity and psychological disorders in underprivileged social classes, as reported above, the short intervention time and the considerable gains in reducing anxiety and decreasing body image dissatisfaction demonstrate that the present study may be a cost-effective measure for use in public health. The findings are also consistent with previous evidence that small changes in food intake and lifestyle are critical to promote moderate and sustainable medium-term weight loss ([@B66]). Thus, multiprofessional programs focusing on weight loss that include physical activity and nutritional counseling can lead to reductions in direct and indirect costs associated with obesity treatment, as a larger number of people can be served at a relatively lower cost, especially in emerging countries such as Brazil, which has been constantly suffering from the scarcity of resources to treat chronic diseases, especially obesity.
Other authors have proposed strategies focused on reducing body mass, specifically in women. Monteiro et al. ([@B67]) identified that nutrition education performed in conjunction with regular and structured exercises were more likely to present satisfactory results when compared to nutrition education programs alone. In addition, data from a meta-analysis published in 2018 showed significant reductions in body mass and body fat in premenopausal and postmenopausal women after nutritional and physical interventions ([@B68]). Therefore, for the success of a weight loss program, it is necessary to prescribe food or nutritional guidance ([@B10]--[@B13]), as well as the incorporation of physical exercises, especially strength exercises, to maintain or increase muscle mass.
Therefore, GNC and INP interventions, as well as competing exercises with similar groups, may be relevant strategies to promote body self-acceptance and anxiety reduction in women. Thus, group nutritional orientation activities combined with concurrent exercise with low-cost equipment can be incorporated by public and private health systems to promote health and reduce the impacts of obesity on middle-aged women. As the two nutritional approaches studied showed similar results, it is suggested that resistance exercise associated GNC may be an economic strategy to combat obesity at the population level, as multiple people can be treated together, minimizing public health costs. In addition, the configuration of these programs is feasible given the low-cost of the equipment needed to perform resistance exercises.
Additionally, the applied method can be tested in other settings, such as primary health care facilities, community centers, and hospitals, as responses were similar in both intervention groups. In view of the points listed, the choice of the nutritional method should be based on the experience and capacity of health professionals as well as the program participant\'s preference. Besides that, this study could be replicated in larger samples in order to confirm these results. The results cannot be generalized to other populations because of the small sample size. However, this research could be replicated in larger samples to confirm these results particularly in developing countries where the wages are relatively low. It may be cost-effective to hire exercise trainers and nutritionists to deliver a similar intervention on a larger scale if health complications could be prevented. As a possible limitation, we can mention the lack of a control group, although Hecksteden et al. ([@B69]) considered that it would not be ethical to use a randomized control group in this situation. We must consider that we are trying to treat a disease that is considered the pandemic of the twenty first century. Therefore, both groups need to receive the benefits of the intervention. As a final consideration, a 12-week intervention is the first point to promote changes in a weight loss program ([@B67], [@B68]) following robust guidelines. Because of this, new studies with several months and even, years, could be investigated to analyze these responses in the long-term.
Conclusion {#s5}
==========
Finally, it is concluded that nutritional counseling or prescription, associated with resistance exercise, can be effective in reducing body mass, BMI, FM, BF, anxiety and body dissatisfaction, as well as the maintenance of LM. Thus, the determination of nutritional intervention should be based on the individual\'s profile and respect for their wishes, which increases the likelihood of adherence to the chosen nutritional program and the maintenance of long-term dietary changes.
Practical Applications {#s6}
======================
The proposed lifestyle intervention program presents aspects of originality regarding nutritional strategies aimed at weight loss. Nutritional counseling based on food choices has been proven to be as effective as delivering a quantity-based eating plan. Interdisciplinarity was practiced, and the psychoeducation techniques used by both nutrition professionals and physical education professionals promoted changes in behavior that may result in improved quality of life. Since the availability of health professionals is limited and poorly distributed in Brazil and other emerging countries with similar public health systems, it seems reasonable to assume that the constitution of groups of patients with the same obesity profile is an alternative to promote an improvement in quality of life. In addition to representing a low-cost strategy, the exposure of an individual to multiple perceptions generates discussion and reflection and points out ways to make patients feel safer and supported. In contrast, for the success of any weight loss program, the pleasure of performing the proposed activities must be substantial. In this sense, topics such as barriers to physical activity, how to adopt a more active lifestyle, and working with experiences and pleasant memories of physical activity should be more intensely debated. As a suggestion, the present study proposes expanding to other age groups and sexes and evaluating the impact of family influences on eating habits and physical inactivity.
Data Availability Statement {#s7}
===========================
The datasets generated for this study are available on request to the corresponding author.
Ethics Statement {#s8}
================
The study was approved by the Ethics and Research Committee of the State University of Maringa by Opinion No. 2,655,268/2018. This study was also submitted and approved by Brazilian Trials Clinical Studies (REBEC) by the Health Minister under register RBR2yzs76. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.
Author Contributions {#s9}
====================
BB drafted the initial manuscript and conducted the data analysis. MB assisted in the drafting of the manuscript. CF, AF, and RB led the data collection team and critically revised the manuscript for intellectual content. BB, MB, CF, AF, RB, SL, NJ, and SB critically revised the manuscript for intellectual content. BB, MB, and NJ designed the study, conducted some analyses, and critically revised the manuscript for intellectual content. All authors contributed significantly to the interpretation of the data.
Conflict of Interest {#s10}
====================
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
The authors thank ICETI -- Instituto Cesumar de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Cesumar Institute of Science, Technology and Innovation), by support to conduct this research.
[^1]: Edited by: William Edson Aaronson, Temple University, United States
[^2]: Reviewed by: Basil H. Aboul-Enein, University of London, United Kingdom; Hemal Shroff, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India
[^3]: This article was submitted to Public Health Education and Promotion, a section of the journal Frontiers in Public Health
[^4]: †These authors have contributed equally to this work
|
THE GOVERNMENT HAS announced plans for a temporary ban on evictions for the duration of the Covid-19 crisis.
The proposals also include a temporary ban on rent increases for those whose incomes have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Tens of thousands people have lost their jobs as a result of the crisis, with a large number of businesses closing temporarily or permanently.
The notice period for tenancies of less than six months is also being increased from 28 to 90 days.
The emergency measures for renters were agreed at a Cabinet meeting today.
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy intends to publish legislation next week to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2004-2019 to give effect to these changes.
It is expected the legislation will amended over one day when the Dail returns next Thursday.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, Murphy said landlords cannot impose a rent increase on their tenents during the crisis, and if a person has received a notice request to leave the apartment or home they are renting that process will now be suspended.
For the period of this emergency we are banning rent increases and notices to leave rental accommodation.
This is so renters can be safe in their homes.
Read more here: https://t.co/C7yTsfDDTt pic.twitter.com/q7RU9QPnS9 — Eoghan Murphy TD (@MurphyEoghan) March 19, 2020 Source: Eoghan Murphy TD /Twitter
He said the government wants to ensure that during these uncertain times, peoples’ homes are protected.
Other issues that will arise after this period will have to be dealt with adding: “We can see what else needs to be done. As we move through this period of emergency, we don’t yet know how long that will be, we don’t yet know what other problems might arise in the interim.”
In a statement, the Department of Housing said the emergency rental measures “complement those announced by the five main retail banks yesterday, in relation to the flexibility – such as three-month mortgage breaks – which will be offered to those with buy-to-let mortgages whose tenants have been impacted by the virus”.
“It is the government’s expectation that landlords will pass that flexibility on their tenants. Tenants are encouraged to engage with their landlords as quickly as possible if they are facing difficulties.”
The statement added that while tenants “will be expected to pay rent during this period, income supports and Rent Supplement is available to those struggling to do so”.
“These supports are provided by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. Any rent arrears built up will be payable, but landlords have been asked to show forbearance and reach local arrangements in such circumstances.”
‘People are worried’
Speaking today, Murphy said he knows that “many people who are renting are worried about their living situation”.
“I want to assure them that over the emergency period they will be able to remain in their homes. Today the government approved new measures to give the strongest possible protection to all renters at this time of national emergency.
“A moratorium on notices to leave rental accommodation is being introduced as is a moratorium on rent increases so that people will be safe in their homes during this period.”
Murphy said he is aware that some renters will find it very difficult to pay the rent due to the impact that Covid-19 is having on businesses and jobs, saying there are “supports in place for people through the Rent Supplement”.
He thanked landlord and tenant organisations for their “engagement and support in these measures”.
The minister added that in terms of a rent break for all renters, that’s not necessary because the majority of people are still going to be at work.
“Yes, people are losing jobs for on reduced hours, and it’s very difficult for them. But a number of people will still be working in our economy and will still be able to pay,” he said.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Fianna Fáil’s Darragh O’Brien said he wrote to Minister Paschal Donohoe about supports for renters last week and he is pleased that ideas he had put forward in his letter had been announced today.
He said a rental and housing crisis that already existed has been made more difficult with the outbreak of Covid-19. O’Brien added that he has heard positive stories from landlords in recent days who have already been in touch with their tenants to work out deals.
Today’s announcement follows engagement in recent days by Murphy with such organisations as well as charities and NGOs in the housing sector.
Related Read Emergency Covid-19 legislation passes all stages in the Dáil
TDs are today debating emergency legislation that deals with a number of issues including social welfare payments and detaining people who have Covid-19 if needed.
Tánaiste Simon Coveney earlier confirmed in the Dáil that renters will be “protected”, stating: “We will legislate to ensure that there will be no evictions during this period.”
‘Absolute panic’
Speaking in the Dáil this afternoon, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said “no threat of eviction should hang over anybody’s head” during the crisis.
“Tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs, many more will lose their jobs in the days and weeks ahead, as businesses have had to close their doors.
“And for these families, the fear of the virus is now matched by the fear of bills that cannot be paid, rents that cannot be paid, mortgages that might go into default.”
Catherine Murphy, co-leader of the Social Democrats, said a number of people who have received eviction notices recently have been in touch with her office and are in “an absolute panic”.
Labour’s Alan Kelly echoed this sentiment, saying any rent that people cannot afford to pay because of the pandemic “cannot be crystallised”.
“This is not like dealing with mortgages. The debt cannot be crystallised. They can’t put it off, they can’t pay it, so the State has to intervene. I cannot be any clearer than that.”
Responding to earlier comments by Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe about potential evictions, Stephen Faughnan, chairperson of the Irish Property Owners’ Association, said the assumption “that landlords will automatically seek to evict tenants in financial difficulty is grossly unfair and serves to portray property owners in a very poor and cynical light”.
Faughnan said the vast majority of property owners “treat their tenants very fairly and enjoy an excellent relationship with their tenants”.
He called on the government “to move quickly to put in place the rental supports necessary to allow the tenants to continue to pay their rent”.
|
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description: "Automatically generated file. DO NOT MODIFY"
---
```csharp
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var contacts = await graphClient.Contacts
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AS Roma vs Real Madrid Preview: How to Watch, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News
In a battle between two of the most historic clubs in European football, ?Real Madrid take on AS Roma in a clash with major consequences over which side finishes top in Group G of the Champions League.
Los Blancos find themselves level on nine points with their Italian counterparts heading into their meeting, with top spot firmly up for grabs.
With a humiliating weekend loss to Eibar fresh in the memory of last season’s Champions League winners, Roma may well fancy causing another upset and adding to Madrid’s recent misery. With all this in mind, check out 90min’s preview for Tuesday’s game below.
How to Watch
?
?When Is Kick Off?
Tuesday 27 November?
What Time Is Kick Off??
20:00 (GMT)?
Where Is it Played??
Stadio Olimpico?
TV Channel/Live Stream??
BT Sport ESPN?
Referee??
Clement Turpin?
Team News
?
After a 1-0 defeat to Udinese, manager Eusebio di Francesco will have to contend with two fresh injury blows after both Lorenzo Pellegrini and goalkeeper Robin Olsen picked up knocks and remain doubtful for Tuesday night.
With the iconic Daniele De Rossi and the influential Diego Perotti and Javier Pastore already ruled out for I Giallorossi, Roma head into the game severely weakened. However, the expected return of Greek centre-back Kostas Manolas will be a welcome boost for the home side.
The visitors have also had their fair share of misfortune over injuries recently with Brazilian Casemiro ruled out for three weeks and teammate Nacho Fernandez suffering a knee ligament injury. Right-back Dani Carvajal returned from a two month lay-off to come off the bench against Eibar and is in line to start against Roma.
Head to Head Record
?
The two European giants have become familiar foes in recent years, with all 11 of their previous Champions League meetings coming from September 2001 onwards. Los Blancos have won seven of those, including a 3-0 victory in the reverse fixture this season thanks to goals from Isco, ?Gareth Bale and Mariano Diaz.
Roma’s last victory in this clash came in the last 16 of the 2007/2008 campaign when they won both legs 2-1, before getting knocked out to eventual winners Manchester United at the quarter-finals stage.
Recent Form
?
The Giallorossi’s form has been incredibly mixed in recent weeks with a resounding 4-1 win over Sampdoria followed by a disappointing defeat to relegation threatened Udinese. In the Champions League however, Di Francesco’s side have fared better.
After falling to Madrid on the opening matchday at the Santiago Bernabeu, Roma have rattled off three successive victories including an impressive 5-0 win over Viktoria Plzen.
Like the home side, Madrid come into Wednesday’s game on the back of a surprising defeat. The loss to Eibar marked Solari’s first defeat at the club after opening his managerial reign with four consecutive wins.
The result leaves Madrid five points off arch-rivals ?Barcelona, and find themselves out of the Champions League places after a disastrous start to the season under former manager Julen Lopetegui.
Here’s how each team has performed in their last five fixtures:
?AS Roma
Real Madrid?
Udinese 1-0 Roma (24/11)?
Eibar 3-0 Real Madrid (24/11)?
Roma 4-1 Sampdoria (11/11)?
Celta Vigo 2-4 Real Madrid (11/11)?
CSKA Moscow 1-2 Roma (07/11)?
Plzen 0-5 Real Madrid (07/11)?
Fiorentina 1-1 Roma (03/11)?
Real Madrid 2-0 Valladolid (03/11)?
Napoli 1-1 Roma (28/10)?
Melilla 0-4 Real Madrid (31/10)?
Prediction
?
Until the weekend defeat to Eibar, Solari had seemingly turned Madrid around the corner. But after another embarrassing loss and performance, the questions have begun to be asked over the temperament and attitude of the side.
However, for all their La Liga troubles, Los Blancos remain a formidable side in European competition. A surprising 1-0 defeat to CSKA Moscow aside, the reigning Champions League winners have been in fine form in the group stages.
With Roma set to be without several key stars, and both sides knowing qualification to the knockout stages virtually already secured, Madrid’s extra individual quality may just guide them to victory and seal top spot in Group G.
|
Rhodium-Catalyzed (Perfluoroalkyl)olefination of Acetanilides Leading to Perfluoroalkylated Aromatics.
We have developed an efficient Rh-catalyzed (perfluoroalkyl)olefination reaction of acetanilides, which provides a versatile synthetic entry to a range of perfluoroalkylated compounds.
|
The extensive and repetitive use of neonicotinoids has led to the development of resistance in several insect species including, the cotton aphid, A. gossypii. A. gossypii is a widely distributed pest that affects watermelons, cucumbers, pumpkin, cotton, and citrus crops, among others, making it one of the most economically important agricultural pests known. Thiamethoxam is a neonicotinoid insecticide that irreversibly binds to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) of cells in the nervous system and interferes with the transmission of nerve impulses in insects (1).
To further understand the mechanisms of resistence to thiamethoxam and other neonicotinoids, Wu et al. recently investigated (2) expression changes in the transcripts of P450 in thiamethoxam-susceptible and thiamethoxam-resistant cotton aphid strains. Nine P450 genes were significantly overexpressed in the resistant strain (especially CYP6CY14). The involvement of overexpressed P450s was examined through RNA interference (RNAi) introduced via artificial diet and dsRNA feeding.
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Chimeric ecotropic MLV envelope proteins that carry EGF receptor-specific ligands and the Pseudomonas exotoxin A translocation domain to target gene transfer to human cancer cells.
Redirecting retroviral vector transduction simply by insertion of a ligand into the envelope (Env) protein has met with several obstacles. For example, virions targeted to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), after receptor binding, rapidly traffic to the lysosomes, where they are degraded. Exotoxin A of Pseudomonas aeruginosa has the ability to translocate from endosomes to the cytoplasm by means of a translocation domain (TLD). We generated a series of chimeric Env proteins of Moloney murine leukemia virus containing EGFR ligands, where TLD was inserted into different regions. These chimeric proteins were successfully produced, if the translocation domain was not located at the immediate N-terminus of Env. The ability to transduce murine cells via the ecotropic receptor varied but correlated with the amount of Env proteins incorporated into the virions. Chimeric vector particles could bind to EGFR, demonstrating the functional exposure of the peptide ligand. However, transduction of human cells expressing EGFR but not the ecotropic receptor by virions carrying the chimeric protein was not observed.
|
/*! \page index
<center>
<title>GXF-3</title>
</center>
<h2>Introduction</h2>
The GXF-3 library is intended to make correct implementation of GXF-3 file
format readers easy. It consists of free (OpenSource) C source code for
functions to read GXF-3 raster files, and an example program using them to
convert GXF data to GeoTIFF format.<p>
GXF (Grid eXchange File) is a standard ASCII file format for exchanging
gridded data among different software systems. Software that supports the
GXF standard will be able to import properly formatted GXF files and export
grids in GXF format. GXF-3 is an adopted standard format of the
Gravity/Magnetics Committee of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG).
GXF-3 is the primary gridded data interchange format for
<a href="http://www.Geosoft.com/">Geosoft</a>.<p>
<h2>Resources</h2>
<ul>
<li> <a href="gxfopen.h.html">GXF-3 API Documentation</a>
<li> <a href="ftp://gdal.velocet.ca/pub/outgoing/gxf3_1_0.tar.gz">GXF-3 API in .tar.gz</a>
<li> <a href="ftp://gdal.velocet.ca/pub/outgoing/gxf3_1_0.zip">GXF-3 API in ZIP</a>
<li> <a href="gxfr3d9_1.pdf">GXF-3 File Format Specification (pdf)</a>
</ul>
<h2>Licensing</h2>
This library is offered as <a href="http://www.opensource.org">Open Source</a>.
In particular, it is offered under the X Consortium license which doesn't
attempt to impose any copyleft, or credit requirements on users of the code.<p>
The precise license text is:<p>
<em>
Copyright (c) 1999, Frank Warmerdam
<p>
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
<p>
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included
in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
<p>
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER
DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
<p>
</em>
<h2>Building the Source</h2>
Unix developers should be able to unpack the .tar.gz file, run configure,
and type make to build the library (libgxf3.a), and a simple test program
(gxftest.c).<p>
Windows developers should unpack the .zip file, and type
<tt>nmake /f makefile.vc</tt> to build with VC++. <p>
<h2>Author and Acknowledgements</h2>
The primary author of the GXF3 library is
<a href="http://pobox.com/warmerdam">Frank Warmerdam</a>,
and I can be reached at
<a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>. I am open to
bug reports, and suggestions.<p>
I would like to thank:<p>
<ul>
<li> <a href="http://www.globalgeo.com/">Global Geomatics</a>
who funded development the majority of the work on this library,
and agreed for it to be Open Source.<p>
<li> Ian Macleod of Geosoft who answered a number of questions I had,
and provided sample files.<p>
</ul>
*/
|
When Saturday night's leap second glitch hit Reddit, Jason Harvey didn't realize it was the leap second glitch. He thought it was some sort of internet slowdown related to the massive Amazon cloud outage that brought down some of the web's most popular services less than 24 hours earlier.
"It looked like the network was just moving really poorly," says Harvey, one of the system administrators who oversee the operation of Reddit, the popular news aggregation and discussion site. "With Amazon going down, a network problem just made sense."
But after about half an hour, Harvey and his team traced the problem to a group of their own machines running the open source Linux operating system. These servers had almost ground to a halt after failing to properly accommodate the "leap second" that was added to the world's atomic clocks on Saturday night, as June turned into July.
Depending on how quickly the earth is spinning, the planet's official time keepers periodically add an extra second to these clocks to keep them in sync with the planet's rotation. This keeps us from drifting away to a place where sunsets happen in the morning, but it can cause problems with computing systems that plug into these clocks but aren't quite agile enough to deal with that extra second.
In Reddit's case, the problem could be traced to a glitch in the Linux kernel, the core of the open source operating system. A Linux subsystem called "hrtimer" – short for high-res timer – got confused by the time change, and suddenly sparked some hyperactivity on those servers, which locked up the machines' CPUs.
Reddit was just one of several web outfits that were hit by leap second glitches just after midnight Greenwich Mean Time on Saturday, including Gawker Media and Mozilla, and these sorts of problems tend to pop up with every time there's a leap second adjustment. In January 2009, for instance, the leap second reportedly caused problems with Sun Microsystems' Solaris operating system and an Oracle software package.
"Almost every time we have a leap second, we find something," Linux's creator, Linus Torvalds, tells Wired. "It's really annoying, because it's a classic case of code that is basically never run, and thus not tested by users under their normal conditions."
The hrtimer glitch was patched in the Linux kernel this past March by a Linux kernel hacker named John Stultz, but some versions of Linux have not yet been updated to include this fix. Stultz was unavailable for comment on Monday, but in an post to an online mailing list, he discusses the problem that seemed to hit Reddit.
Inside the Crash —————-
What actually happened to these machines? It's complicated. Even Linus Torvalds said that in order to really understand what went on, we should talk to Stultz. But after interviews with several others familiar with the problem, we have a pretty good idea of what went down.
Hrtimer is a subsystem that is used when an application is "sleeping," waiting for the OS to complete some other task. In some cases, it sets a kind of alarm clock for these sleeping applications that will go off when the OS is taking too much time with its other work.
Judging from Stultz's mailing list post, when the leap second hit and these hrtimers were suddenly a second ahead of the core OS, they started ringing those alarm clocks, waking up countless sleeping applications at once and overloading the machines' CPUs.
Reddit, however, saw something a little different. Its servers were running an open source database known as Cassandra that was built with the Java programming language and runs atop Linux. From what Jason Harvey can tell, Cassandra was failing to pause Java processes, and these processes were caught in constantly spinning loops, eating up the CPU power on Reddit's servers.
Eventually, Reddit solved the problem by rebooting its servers. The site was all but inoperable for about 30 to 40 minutes, and it was entirely offline for about an hour and a half.
While Reddit was struggling with its Cassandra servers, Gawker had issues with its Tomcat servers, and Mozilla had trouble with Hadoop. Both Hadoop and Tomcat also depend on Linux and Java, and it would seem they were hit by the same glitch.
Other systems, however, experienced problems a day before the leap second arrived. Systems such as Linux use the Network Time Protocol, or NTP, to plug into the world's atomic clocks and check the time. On Friday, NTP began warning servers that this year's leap second was on the way, and according to Opera Software system admin Marco Marongiu, at least some Opera servers started locking up when they received the announcement. This issued is discussed on a Linux mailing list here, and it's unclear how closely this issue is tied to the hrtimer problem experienced by Reddit.
The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Linux Geniuses ———————————————-
We don't know when the next leap second will be. It depends on how quickly the earth spins – and that can slow down or speed up, depending on tides, weather and the flow of molten metals in the earth's core. But when the next leap second does come, there could be more problems.
Whenever you mess around with time, things have a pretty good chance of going wrong, Torvalds says. Developers may test for this stuff before-hand, but there's it's hard to predict how things will play out in the real world.
"Leap seconds and daylight savings time changes are particularly painful, though, because they have the added complexity of being ad hoc without strict rules," he says. "And of those two, leap seconds are the even more painful of the two."
As Torvalds points out, synching up the earth with the time measured by atomic clocks is a tricky business. But, in general, the tech industry hasn't had much experience with leap seconds over the past decade and a half. In fact, that may be part of the problem, says Steve Allen, a programmer with the Lick Observatory, just outside of San Jose, California. "From 1999 to 2005, there hadn't been leap seconds. So all of the notions of cloud services and multiprocessors and so on came into existence during a period of time when leap seconds weren't happening," he says.
Since then, there have been leap seconds in 2005, late 2008, and now 2012. "So there was a long interval when people created all sorts of new stuff and didn't have to think about that," he says. "And then the earth stopped accelerating."
Some have called for an end to leap second – so that these problems can be avoided. But in the meantime, others have proposed master fixes that seek to hide the sudden time changes from systems such as Linux. Opera's Marongiu suggests pausing a system's NTP system for a second, rather than actually moving a system's clock back.
"Basically, you trick NTP, so it won't take that sudden step back, but still adds the extra second," says Marongiu.
But he calls this a "poor man's workaround." The better solution, he says, is the one used by Google. Last fall, with a blog post, Google described a method it calls "leap smear." Rather than add the extra second all at once, Google has modified NTP so that it adds milliseconds to clocks over a relatively long period of time.
It's a clever fix. But don't expect it to become the norm. When the next leap second hits, someone somewhere will go down.
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