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Tom Selleck Movie Posters: My First Tumblr In a moment of moustachioed, hirsute inspiration I have made my first foray into Tumblr. Find it here. As a bit of explanation: I was browsing through LoveFilm instant, and noticed it was full of bad Tom Selleck TV movies. I was highly enjoying their silly photoshop covers and thought someone should put them all in one place.

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859 F.2d 1490 273 U.S.App.D.C. 343 Anna May WOODv.Rocky Alan DAY and Giant Food, Inc., Appellants. No. 87-7231. United States Court of Appeals,District of Columbia Circuit. Argued Sept. 15, 1988.Decided Oct. 28, 1988. Jayson L. Spiegel, with whom Dwight D. Murray and David P. Durbin, Washington, D.C., were on the brief, for appellants. Mary Ann Snow, Washington, D.C., also entered an appearance for appellants. H. Vincent McKnight, Jr., Washington, D.C., with whom James M. Hanny, Landover, Md., was on the brief, for appellee. Before WILLIAMS, D.H. GINSBURG and SENTELLE, Circuit Judges. Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge SENTELLE. SENTELLE, Circuit Judge: 1 This appeal is from a judgment entered on a jury's verdict in a case of negligence arising from a rear-end collision. Because liability was admitted by defendants, Rocky Alan Day and Giant Food, Inc. (collectively "appellants"), the sole issue at trial was damages. The jury awarded plaintiff Anna May Wood ("Wood" or "appellee") damages of $100,000 via a general verdict. Appellants argue that the verdict was based on erroneous instructions allowing recovery for elements of damages not supported by the evidence. We agree, vacate the award, and remand for further proceedings. FACTUAL BACKGROUND 2 The facts, considered in the light most favorable to the appellee, are as follows: 3 Appellee, a woman of approximately fifty-two years of age, had been living asymptomatically with a degenerative spinal condition known as spondylolisthesis, the breaking down or slipping of the vertebral column. On November 17, 1983, a taxi cab occupied by Ms. Wood was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer driven by appellant Day, an employee of the trailer's owner, appellant Giant Food, Inc. Ms. Wood was taken from the scene to Prince George's General Hospital, where she was examined, x-rayed, and released shortly thereafter. 4 Beginning on November 28, 1983, and over the next three years, Ms. Wood made 22 visits to an orthopedist, Dr. Rida Azer. Dr. Azer initially recommended physical therapy and prescribed medication, opining that further testing would be required if her condition did not improve. For approximately three years, Ms. Wood underwent numerous tests and treatments, including regular participation in physical therapy. Over the years, the frequency of her consultations and treatment tapered off, so that by May 1987, Ms. Wood had seen Dr. Azer only twice in the preceding eleven months, and had been advised by him to cease therapy. 5 At trial Ms. Wood testified that prior to the accident she had been a cashier at a department store for more than twenty years, and that, though limited to "light duties" after the accident, she remained employed by the company in an associated store. Ms. Wood testified that she was in constant pain and that her range of activities was considerably diminished. Although appellee introduced no evidence as to her pre-accident earnings, she testified that her new position paid $6.80 per hour. 6 The evidence at trial established that Ms. Wood had sustained permanent injury to the lumbosacral spine and a narrowing of the intervertebral disc space as a result of the accident, causing further spinal degeneration. Though Dr. Azer testified that Ms. Wood's condition worsened from a grade one to a grade two spondylolisthesis within two weeks of the accident, appellants' expert witness, Dr. Edward Anthony Rankin, testified that Ms. Wood's preexisting vertebral condition eventually would have become symptomatic had the accident not occurred. 7 Dr. Azer testified that in his opinion Ms. Wood's injury was permanent, would result in continued spinal deterioration, and would permanently restrict her ability to engage in a range of endeavors, including strenuous activity and prolonged sitting or standing, limitations "that she will have to abide by for the rest of her life." Dr. Azer also testified that while surgery would normally be the optimal course of action, he did not believe it was appropriate for Ms. Wood because of her significant heart and weight problems. For these reasons, Dr. Azer was "very reluctant" to recommend surgery, as Ms. Wood could "end up by having a blood clot or a heart attack, or something." In his opinion, surgery should be "avoid[ed] as long as possible, until it becomes almost an emergency." Though Dr. Azer stated that Ms. Wood would need further medical attention, upon appellants' objection the District Court ruled that Dr. Azer was not able to render an opinion as to the likelihood of surgery with the requisite degree of certainty. Though the Court indicated its willingness to permit the introduction of evidence pertaining to prospective non-surgical medical attention, none was offered. 8 In its original charge, the Court instructed the jury over appellants' objection that "you should award such a sum as will reasonably and adequately compensate the plaintiff for any loss of earnings which you find that the plaintiff will probably suffer in the future." Appellants took exception to the instruction, arguing that the only evidence tending to show a loss of future earnings--that relating to a convalescence period following surgery--had been stricken. The Court disagreed, stating that "I heard something about having to go to the doctor." 9 During its deliberations, the jury inquired of the Court as follows: "Can we consider probable future medical costs related to Miss Wood's condition if we determine defendant is at fault?" Despite a previous statement by appellee's counsel that such expenses were no longer sought, and over appellants' objection, the District Court instructed the jury that "you may consider probable future medical expenses, if any, except that you may not consider the cost of surgery." The Court did so because, in its opinion, the jury (1) could "extrapolate" the number of visits Ms. Wood would make for treatment based on the frequency of her visits in the past; and (2) it could "infer" from the evidence regarding Ms. Wood's pain that a doctor "will be giving her aspirin or valium, or whatever." 10 Before trial, appellants stipulated that as of September 1986, Ms. Wood had accumulated $1,459.90 in lost wages, and medical bills totalling $6,199.13 as a result of the accident. By way of a general verdict, the jury awarded appellee $100,000. After appellants' motions for a new trial and for remittitur were denied, this appeal followed. ANALYSIS 11 The primary purpose of compensatory damages in personal injury cases "is to make the plaintiff whole." Kassman v. American University, 546 F.2d 1029, 1033 (D.C.Cir.1976). Accordingly, if properly proved at trial, both future medical expenses and loss of future earnings are recoverable. Cf. District of Columbia v. Barriteau, 399 A.2d 563, 567 (D.C.1979). 12 It is well established that notwithstanding the jury's broad discretion in awarding damages, its award must be supported by substantial evidence. Doe v. Binker, 492 A.2d 857, 860 (D.C.1985). Damages may not be based on mere speculation or guesswork. Eureka Invest. Corp., N.V. v. Chicago Title Ins. Co., 743 F.2d 932, 939 (D.C.Cir.1984); Romer v. District of Columbia, 449 A.2d 1097, 1100 (D.C.1982); Story Parchment Co. v. Paterson Parchment Paper Co., 282 U.S. 555, 563, 51 S.Ct. 248, 250-51, 75 L.Ed. 544 (1931). Thus, "[w]hile damages are not required to be proven with mathematical certainty, there must be some reasonable basis on which to estimate damages." Romer, 449 A.2d at 1100 (citing Designers of Georgetown, Inc. v. E.C. Keys & Sons, 436 A.2d 1280, 1281 (D.C.1981); District Concrete Co. v. Bernstein Concrete Corp., 418 A.2d 1030, 1038 (D.C.1980)). 13 And despite the jury's discretion, "[i]t is elementary that an instruction should not be given if there is no evidence to support it." Ceco Corp. v. Coleman, 441 A.2d 940, 949 (D.C.1982); Kasmer v. Sternal, 165 F.2d 624, 626 (D.C.Cir.1948). The evidence presented must be more than a "scintilla," Doe, 492 A.2d at 860, and, indeed, when recovery is sought for future consequences of a tort, damages are "available only if such consequences are reasonably certain. Unless there is nonspeculative evidence demonstrating that future suffering, additional medical expense, and loss of income will occur, the question should not be submitted to the jury." Curry v. Giant Food Co., 522 A.2d 1283, 1291 (D.C.1987) (citing American Marietta Co. v. Griffin, 203 A.2d 710, 712 (D.C.1964); Wilson v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp., 684 F.2d 111, 119 (D.C.Cir.1982)). This Circuit has previously stated that damages for future consequences are recoverable only if plaintiff establishes that it is "more likely than not (a greater than 50% chance) that the projected consequence will occur." Wilson, 684 F.2d at 119. See also Griffin, 203 A.2d at 712. 14 While errors limited to individual components of an instruction must be viewed in context, and not in isolation, Ceco Corp. v. Coleman, 441 A.2d at 950, and may be ignored if they are "immaterial" in light of the jury's verdict, 11 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice & Procedure Sec. 2886, 290-91 (1973) ("Wright & Miller"), a reviewing court should not turn its back on significant errors that may have substantially prejudiced a party's rights. Cf. Ceco, 441 A.2d at 950; Wright & Miller, supra, at 291-92. 15 Appellee's pretrial and trial documents undeniably demonstrate an intention to recover for future medical expenses and loss of future earnings. The sole theory upon which such recoveries were predicated was the possibility of future surgery, and a concomitant convalescence period. When asked by the Court whether he intended to introduce evidence of loss of future earnings, appellee's counsel responded that "the doctor will testify that if the surgery is performed, [Ms. Wood] will be out of work for a six-month period of time. So there will be evidence of that." Likewise, the only evidence offered regarding future medical expenses was Dr. Azer's estimation of expenses associated with orthopedic surgery. However, the Court ultimately disallowed the introduction of Dr. Azer's testimony as to the likelihood of surgery, ruling that Dr. Azer lacked the requisite degree of certainty to give an expert opinion. That decision is not challenged herein. 16 A careful search of the record reveals no word of testimony from any witness that would otherwise support an award of future medical expenses or loss of future earnings. Indeed, after his attempts to introduce evidence as to future surgery were rebuffed, appellee's counsel abandoned his quest for future medical expenses, indicating to the Court that "we are not going to be arguing ... future medical expenses," and thus requested that the Court omit a portion of the previously agreed-to jury instructions that would have allowed appellants to comment on Ms. Wood's failure to call the physician who would perform the contemplated surgery. The Court consented. As noted above, it was only after the jury later inquired that the Court gave its instruction that permitted the jury to consider future medical expenses. 17 While it is true that evidence was introduced regarding past expenses and lost wages, this was not sufficient to support the Court's instruction on the future elements. Appellee's reliance on American Marietta Co. v. Griffin, 203 A.2d 710 (D.C.1964), is misplaced. In Griffin, the Court rejected an appellant's argument that because there was no medical testimony indicating that plaintiff's injury was permanent, the jury should not have been allowed to award permanent residual damages. The Court concluded that "when the bad effects of an injury have continued for years, laymen may reasonably infer permanence, even though there is no expert prediction that these injury residuals will continue," and that "[e]vidence of pain and suffering in existence at the time of trial has been held sufficient to take the question of permanence to the jury." Id. at 712 (citations omitted). Griffin has been interpreted as standing for the proposition that "absent medical testimony that injuries are temporary, a plaintiff's testimony concerning continuing pain and suffering will be sufficient to send the issue of permanency to the jury." Davis v. Abbuhl, 461 A.2d 473, 476 n. 5 (D.C.1983) (latter emphasis added). Griffin did not discuss--and we do not interpret it to imply--what quantum of evidence is sufficient to send the issues of future lost wages and medical expenses to the jury. More germane to the present case is Curry v. Giant Food Co., 522 A.2d at 1291, where the Court affirmed the trial judge's refusal to submit the issue of future loss of income to the jury. After noting that only "reasonably certain" future damages are recoverable, the Court stated that "[u]nless there is nonspeculative evidence demonstrating that future suffering, additional medical expenses, and loss of income will occur, the question should not be submitted to the jury." Id. See also Snead v. United States, 595 F.Supp. 658, 667 (D.D.C.1984) (allowing a claim for future damages on the basis of "the reasoned and persuasive testimony ... as to [plaintiff's] life expectancy and anticipated medical needs, including the likelihood of future radiation, therapy, chemotherapy and surgery"). 18 Even if the trial judge were correct that he "heard something about having to go to the doctor," this was not sufficient to submit appellee's claim of loss of future earnings to the jury. Similarly, even if it was reasonable to surmise that Ms. Wood would require "aspirin or valium, or whatever," this would not be sufficient to submit her claim for future medical expenses to the jury. Neither amounts to the "reasonable certainty" required under District of Columbia law to take these elements out of the realm of speculation. In short, there was no substantial evidence upon which the jury could "extrapolate" Ms. Wood's future medical expenses. CONCLUSION 19 As we have shown, once the testimony as to the possibility of surgery was excluded, there was no evidence in the record to support instructions as to loss of future earnings or future medical expenses. In such a case a jury may not be allowed to speculate, and this, under the instructions it was given, is what this jury was allowed to do. 20 Vacated and remanded for a new trial, limited to the issue of damages.

Q: how to get the url inserted into a Ext.form.TextField in a variable value in EXTJS how to get the url inserted into a Ext.form.TextField in a variable value??. if I create a variable x in Javascript, but I need to add a url as the value that a user in a Ext.form.TextField, but the variable and Ext.form.TextField are in different script on the same page. thanks for your help and attention A: I couldn't understand your question but if you say how to get the field value and set the return value to a variable, try to find the field with Ext then call the .getValue() and set the return value to your variable

Q: SFML SoundBuffer to Music buffer I have SoundBuffer. I want this buffer move to Music. For now I save in file and read out, but I don't want saving. What can I do? Now I have this code: sf::SoundBuffer sb = getSoundBuffer(new_channels,sample_rate); sb.saveToFile("sound.wav"); std::unique_ptr<sf::Music> Buffer(new sf::Music()); Buffer->openFromFile("sound.wav") musicAlias[alias] = std::move(Buffer); ... music->selected = musicAlias[alias].get(); A: The class sf::Music is designed to be used for playing long audio data loaded from a file. If you want to play music that is in a sound buffer, then use sf::Sound like this: sf::SoundBuffer sb = getSoundBuffer(new_channels,sample_rate); std::unique_ptr<sf::Sound> Buffer(new sf::Sound( sb )); musicAlias[alias] = std::move(Buffer); ... music->selected = musicAlias[alias].get(); You may need to change the type of musicAlias to be a container of std::unique_ptr<sf::Sound>, but that should work, because the sf::Sound class provides a very similar interface as the sf::Music class.

NU’EST shared fun stories as they appeared as guests on JTBC’s “Idol Room”! On the October 22 broadcast, the group appeared on the show to promote their latest title track “LOVE ME.” NU’EST opened the show with a performance of their debut track “FACE” and mesmerized the MCs with their in-sync choreography despite performing the song eight years after their debut. MC Jung Hyung Don congratulated the group’s contract renewal with Pledis Entertainment, and the idols thanked him in return. “After we renewed our contracts, our CEO gifted us expensive watches,” said Baekho. MC Defconn joked, “Did you renew the contract because of the watch?” and Baekho denied this with a laugh. MC Jung Hyung Don also brought up a moving story about Aron, and Aron explained, “It’s embarrassing for me to talk about it, but all of the members got up when a mother sitting next to us screamed in a plane from New York to Incheon. When I looked closely, a young child was really sick. She wasn’t conscious.” He continued, “The flight attendants searched for a doctor, and an American doctor appeared. They couldn’t communicate well, so I translated between them.” The MC asked for more touching stories, and Aron said, “I filmed a video for the fan meeting and purchased chopped noodles for the staff.” Ren added, “There was a time when I helped a grandmother on the street. Last year around this time, a grandmother looked tired at a neighborhood that’s famous for spicy rice cakes. I pulled her handcart.” NU’EST competed in the show’s make-believe “audition program” called “Idol 999” by fanboying over one another, rapping, and playing a dance game. In the end, Baekho was crowned as the 21st member of “Idol 999.” Check out the MV for NU’EST’s title track “LOVE ME” here! Source (1)

Q: Trouble restoring checkpointed TensorFlow net I have built an auto encoder to "convert" the activations from VGG19.relu4_1 into pixels. I use the new convenience functions in tensorflow.contrib.layers (as in TF 0.10rc0). The code is have similar layout as TensorFlow's CIFAR10 tutorial with a train.py that does the training and checkpoints the model to disk and one eval.py that polls for new checkpoints files and run inference on them. My problem is that the evaluation is never as good as the training, neither in terms of the value of the loss function nor when I look at the output images (even when running on the same images as the training does). This makes me think it has something to do with the restore process. When I look at the output from the training in TensorBoard it looks good (eventually) so I don't think there is anything wrong with my net per se. My net looks like this: import tensorflow.contrib.layers as contrib bn_params = { "is_training": is_training, "center": True, "scale": True } tensor = contrib.convolution2d_transpose(vgg_output, 64*4, 4, stride=2, normalizer_fn=contrib.batch_norm, normalizer_params=bn_params, scope="deconv1") tensor = contrib.convolution2d_transpose(tensor, 64*2, 4, stride=2, normalizer_fn=contrib.batch_norm, normalizer_params=bn_params, scope="deconv2") . . . And in train.py I do this to save the checkpoint: variable_averages = tf.train.ExponentialMovingAverage(mynet.MOVING_AVERAGE_DECAY) variables_averages_op = variable_averages.apply(tf.trainable_variables()) with tf.control_dependencies([apply_gradient_op, variables_averages_op]): train_op = tf.no_op(name='train') while training: # train (with batch normalization's is_training = True) if time_to_checkpoint: saver.save(sess, checkpoint_path, global_step=step) In eval.py I do this: # run code that creates the net variable_averages = tf.train.ExponentialMovingAverage( mynet.MOVING_AVERAGE_DECAY) saver = tf.train.Saver(variable_averages.variables_to_restore()) while polling: # sleep and check for new checkpoint files with tf.Session() as sess: init = tf.initialize_all_variables() init_local = tf.initialize_local_variables() sess.run([init, init_local]) saver.restore(sess, checkpoint_path) # run inference (with batch normalization's is_training = False) The blue is the training loss, and the orange is the eval loss. A: The problem was that I used the tf.train.AdamOptimizer() directly. During the optimization it didn't call the operations defined in contrib.batch_norm to calculate the running mean/variance of the input so the mean/variance was always 0.0/1.0. The solution is to add a dependency to the GraphKeys.UPDATE_OPS collection. There already is a function defined in the contrib module that does this (optimize_loss())

Tag Archives: Sadness hi everyone it me taylor i be feling sad i not sure why my hart jus hurts i fink it cuz i had nitemares about my grandad hes dead now and i miss him i wanted to tok to dr barry yeserday but ther wasnt time that maked me sad to i lik dr barry shes alwas nise to me actuly shes nise to all us kids alwas i hav a buny rabit that i snugle wif her nam is nibbles shes soft and has long ears later today mabe i wil make a video and i can post it here if people want to see me and my buny rabit wat do you fink is dat a gud idea I will greet this day with love in my heart. And how will I do this? Henceforth will I look on all things with love and be born again. I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will welcome happiness as it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge. Og Mandino So my beloved partner is going through a really rough time right now. I am very stressed out and worried about her. Thought I’d write here to let it out. Each day I miss you Each hour and minute Our long conversations Our text messages Long emails That say everything and nothing But we didnt care what they said We were just happy to hear from one another And now I can hardly talk to you 10 or 15 minutes max And I want to help you but I cant Oh how I wish I could do something Anything to take this tough time away If I could I would move mountains for you I would gladly switch places But I know thats not what you’d want for me Be strong, be brave This too shall pass And soon we will be back to normal Our normal Our normal that is sometimes crazy But I always loved the crazy bits Its what made us unique So I’ve posted on our blog a few times, that our grandad was very ill. It was kidney failure he had. He died last Sunday. At 1:25 in the afternoon. It was a really peaceful death, but the lead up to it was awfully hard on him. The week before he died he was extremely sick. The toxins from his kidneys went into his brain. He had severe agitation, confusion, etc. It was really awful to watch him go through that. On Friday morning he got a morphine pump on…and that was the beginning of the end. He slipped into a coma then and only woke up for brief periods, where his eyes would flicker open and he make little sounds. We were all there when he passed, all of his six kids, and 10 grandkids. He died smiling. The funeral was yesterday. It was so very sad. But it was also so beautiful. He got cremated. That was his wish. The service was beautiful, with lots of singing, readings, my aunt spoke about him, and we did the prayers of the faithful. I almost fell apart as I read them but somehow I held it together. Its been a really emotional few days. To be honest I am glad its all over. It has really taken an emotional toll on us. I know my grandad is happy now and he isnt suffering any longer. Its a relief for him really. He had such a fear of dying, however he fought such a courageous and brave battle. He inspires me to be positive or try to be positive about life and keep fighting and battling on even when I dont want to.

New Pattern Release and Giveaway (CLOSED)!!!!! The Out for Lunch Dress Yay yay yay!!!!! I’m so glad to be able to release this pattern now! Without further ado, I present the Out for Lunch Dress: As always, I was inspired to make this dress for my daughter and decided to go ahead and create a pattern. The pattern is for sizes 18 months – 8 and is designed to be about knee length for most. Chest Height 18 months 19” 32” 2 20” 35” 3 21” 38” 4 22” 41” 5 23” 44” 6 24” 47” 7 25” 50” 8 27” 52” {circle skirt option and shoulder bows} There are two skirt options, circle and gathered, and there are instructions on how to create the shoulder bows. The dress is created with an elastic waistband for an easy fit. The instructions are 30 pages, full of lots of pictures to help. My pattern testers help ensure that it is written well and is as easy as possible to understand for even beginner sewers. It is emailed in PDF format and comes with three attachments: instructions, pattern pieces, and a Happy Together Pattern’s Sewing Reference to help beginners understand sewing terms (also full of pictures). I had a lot of fun using up fabric from my stash to create the three dresses I did, but let me tell you what. My pattern testers blew it out of the water!!!! I think they did fantastic jobs. I want them to make my daughters dresses! lol Here is their creations: For those of you who cannot wait, I have a few patterns listed in my Etsy shop. And for those of you who would like to win a copy, I’m giving away 3!!!! Two here on the blog and 1 on the Facebook fan page. To enter, just leave a comment. That’s it! Please make sure to include your email address if it isn’t linked to your profile. Otherwise I can’t get a hold of you if you win. {GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED} Now I leave you with a “trash the dress” session we had impromptu 😉 (It cleaned up fine though 🙂 lol PS: Someone usually wants to know, so if you are interested in testing patterns, please email me with some pictures (or links to) of things you have sewn. Also let me know what you are interested in sewing. Thanks! What a sweet little dress. I have one who would love the circle skirt option, and one who would do better with the gathered option. Funny how that works out, but this is cool, both options are included!Thanks! Super cute dress! I am sure my nieces would look so chic in it! Love all the pictures of the variations of the pattern! I make handbags, diaper bags, and just started on little dresses! Blessings!! Lisa Adore this pattern and your blog, so glad I found you, thanks to coles corner creations. I just love sewing blogs so I was excited to go through yours. Please add me to the give away (crossing my fingers) Adorable!!! I am happy to hear you’ve got 30 pages of fully-explained (and photographed) instructions – sounds like even I could do this one 🙂 I’ve never tried to make such a super cute dress, but oh boy I’m willing to try it!!! obviously I am too late for this giveaway, but where can I purchase the book? I’m not even sure how I came about your blog, but I am LOVING it!! You seriously make me want to go buy a sewing machine. like, now! This just may be my new favorite blog! Categories Categories Copyright The images and content of Happy Together are protected by copyright laws. DO NOT distribute or copy the content found within this blog without written permission. DO NOT edit or remove watermarks from any image. If you want to share an image feel free to pick just ONE IMAGE with a direct link to its original post. For questions contact me. Thank you!

Q: How to provide alternative layout resources I have a requirement where I have to provide different layout resources with my application. This application is supposed to run on many screen sizes (as always) and I want to be able to address many of them as precisely as possible. As of now, I am targeting following screen sizes: 1280x800 800x480 800x600 1024x600 For this, I created a layout structure like this: And in XML, I have declared the following support: <supports-screens android:resizeable="true" android:smallScreens="true" android:normalScreens="true" android:largeScreens="true" android:xlargeScreens="true" android:anyDensity="true"/> I am testing in it emulator and the problem is: it accepts layout-w480dp-land xml, but when I go in portrait mode, it falls back to default layout. Any idea where I might be going wrong? A: As I said in the Android Chatroom, Pixels and Density-independent pixel (dp) are different: Density-independent pixel (dp) A virtual pixel unit that you should use when defining UI layout, to express layout dimensions or position in a density-independent way. The density-independent pixel is equivalent to one physical pixel on a 160 dpi screen, which is the baseline density assumed by the system for a "medium" density screen. At runtime, the system transparently handles any scaling of the dp units, as necessary, based on the actual density of the screen in use. The conversion of dp units to screen pixels is simple: px = dp * (dpi / 160). For example, on a 240 dpi screen, 1 dp equals 1.5 physical pixels. You should always use dp units when defining your application's UI, to ensure proper display of your UI on screens with different densities. When you have a folder named layout-w480dp what you're saying is: "Use this layout folder as long as the width dimension is equal to or greater than 480 dp." Now, if you have a device with 240dpi with a screen size 480x800 pixels (which is very likely) then you actually only have 320dp to play with - explaining why you're folder is now being skipped. dp = px / (dpi / 160) 320dp = 480px / (240dpi / 160)

INTL FCStone Company information Potentially more than in any other amphitheatre, the selection of the right partner for business in Africa is crucial. With less liquid and more opaque markets than other regions, it is vital to ensure that any partner brings genuine expertise to the table and can transparently demonstrate the value of their offering. It is on the back of this principle that INTL FCStone Ltd (IFL) has built its business and relationships across the African continent. Having been in operation since 1986, the Global Payments team has built an unrivalled network of local correspondent banks across the African continent, enabling it to engage in genuine local price discovery on behalf of its clients. With 130 banking relationships in Africa, IFL has multiple sources in each country, ensuring much greater transparency in its dealings, but also resulting in very extensive reach and the ability to service almost any African location with the minimum possible delay. Thanks to this network, IFL is not only extensively and heavily relied upon by a large section of the Aid and Development community, particularly by many branches of the UN family of organisations, but is also now a key supplier to an ever-growing number of the world’s largest banks, who use IFL to price and deliver payments for their customers in Africa, Asia and Latin America. With access to local banking relationships in 53 of the 54 countries in Africa (Somalia being the odd one out) and 40 local currencies, IFL’s reach and service in Africa should interest any organisation hoping to do business on the continent. In addition to its ability to price and deliver African currencies, IFL also houses extensive local market knowledge and expertise on African currency markets. IFL travels extensively and regularly across Africa, meeting with local banks and Central Banks in order to keep itself and its clients informed of local developments. These are then passed on in regular reports distributed to IFL’s client network. IFL also has an active interest in commodities in Africa, not only transactionally, but also providing training seminars in commodity risk management across the continent. These seminars engage not only the local economy, but also regulators, governments and Central Banks. IFL is able to present opportunities to engage with local markets across Africa that is unique. We Open Markets. In order to send this company a message you need to login to NABC first.

Bill Staples, Jr. ( @BillStaplesJr ) is an award-winning baseball historian and author living in Chandler, Arizona. Read more.

Powder spraying is often used to apply a powder coating material to an article. Various spray technologies may be used including many electrostatic and non-electrostatic techniques. In most powder spraying operations, a significant amount of powder overspray is produced, meaning powder that is directed at the article but does not adhere to the article. Even with spray technologies that have a high transfer ratio, significant amounts of powder overspray may be produced. The presence of powder overspray typically necessitates the use of a spray booth. A spray booth is used to contain or confine the powder overspray within a partially enclosed area. The spray booth may also be equipped with powder collection and recovery systems. Powder containment and collection are especially important for manual spraying operations wherein an operator is usually in relatively close proximity to the powder spray. Spray booths can vary substantially in size depending on the articles being sprayed and the quantity of articles being sprayed. Some spray booths are conveyorized to permit automatic transfer of the articles into and through the booth. A known spray booth design for containing and recovering powder uses cartridge filters and containment airflow. Such a system is sold by NORDSON(copyright) Corporation, Amherst, Ohio under the name ECONO-COAT(copyright) and VERSA-COAT(copyright) powder coating systems. The powder recovery system includes a series of vertically oriented cartridge style filters along one or more walls of the spray booth. A fan is used to create a substantial airflow within the booth. This airflow entrains the powder overspray. The fan draws the powder-laden air through the cartridge filters and exhausts the filtered air to the plant through a second set of filters called final filters. Powder collects on the cartridges, and the cartridges may be cleaned by applying a reverse pulse of air that knocks the powder off the cartridges to the collector base or booth floor. The motor fan, final filters and cartridge filters are assembled into a sealed housing to form a powder recovery module that can be mounted to a spray booth. A significant limitation of such known systems, however, is that each powder recovery module is uniquely designed for a specific spray booth size. For example, for a given size booth, a fan and associated fan drive motor is used to produce an adequate air flow to contain the powder and draw the powder entrained air into the filters. The number and size of the cartridge filters are also determined by the size of the spray booth and required airflow to contain and recover the powder. Thus, for a given size spray booth, a powder recovery module is designed and fixed in terms of its air handling capacity. Although it is possible to add more modules for larger booths, this technique is not particularly efficient for smaller increases in spray booth size. Another limitation of the known cartridge type recovery system is that to make a color change requires an extensive cleaning operation. While the filters are easy to replace, the associated housing and wrappers need to be cleaned prior to using a new powder color in the booth. The need exists therefore for a more flexible and preferably modular cartridge-type powder recovery system that can have capacity added as the spray booth size increases. Such a design preferably will facilitate, if required, efficient color change operations. In accordance with the invention, a powder recovery apparatus for a spray booth is provided that is modular in design to facilitate modifying the apparatus for increased or decreased air and filter capacity when the associated spray booth volume is changed. The modular design includes a base housing that encloses a motor driven fan wheel and one or more final or secondary filters. Vertically mounted on the base are one or more cartridge-style filters through which powder-laden air is drawn down into the base from the spray booth. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the cartridges are partially surrounded by a wrapper that extends vertically to a height just above the cartridges. The wrapper is constructed such that additional wrappers may be vertically stacked to accommodate larger cartridges without having to modify the base. When the spray booth is increased in size, a larger motor and fan wheel or additional final filters may be installed when necessary in the same modular base. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the cartridge filters are arranged within a modular wrapper structure that is installed as a complete unit in a base. The modular cartridge assembly thus facilitates faster and easier color changes. Still a farther aspect of the invention provides a fan cone in the base between the fan wheel and the air inlets to the base from the cartridges. The fan cone provides a transition air flow path such that the size of the fan wheel can be changed and easily interfaced to the air inlet without having to modify the base structure. These and other aspects of the present invention will be fully explained and understood from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention in view of the accompanying drawings.

Q: Horizontally scrollable tabs focus on center with snap in flutter Here I want to ask or can I make a tutorial like tabs, focusing center but the left and right tabs is 30% transparent like this, thank you! A: Same can be achieved using - unselectedLabelColor: & indicatorColor: of TabBar widget. Example Code: @override Widget build(BuildContext context) { return DefaultTabController( length: 6, child: Scaffold( appBar: AppBar( centerTitle: true, leading: Icon(Icons.person_outline), title: Text('DASHBOARD',style: TextStyle(fontSize: 16.0),), bottom: PreferredSize( child: TabBar( isScrollable: true, unselectedLabelColor: Colors.white.withOpacity(0.3), indicatorColor: Colors.white, tabs: [ Tab( child: Text('Tab 1'), ), Tab( child: Text('Investment'), ), Tab( child: Text('Your Earning'), ), Tab( child: Text('Current Balance'), ), Tab( child: Text('Tab 5'), ), Tab( child: Text('Tab 6'), ) ]), preferredSize: Size.fromHeight(30.0)), actions: <Widget>[ Padding( padding: const EdgeInsets.only(right: 16.0), child: Icon(Icons.add_alert), ), ], ), body: TabBarView( children: <Widget>[ Container( child: Center( child: Text('Tab 1'), ), ), Container( child: Center( child: Text('Tab 2'), ), ), Container( child: Center( child: Text('Tab 3'), ), ), Container( child: Center( child: Text('Tab 4'), ), ), Container( child: Center( child: Text('Tab 5'), ), ), Container( child: Center( child: Text('Tab 6'), ), ), ], )), ); } Output: A: add isScrollable: true, inside TabBar like TabBar( isScrollable: true, . . . )

Estola hispida Estola hispida is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It was described by Lameere in 1893. It is known from Venezuela. References Category:Estola Category:Beetles described in 1893

Hypodermin C improves the survival of kidney allografts. Although immunosuppressive therapies have made organ transplantation a common medical procedure worldwide, chronic toxicity is a major issue of long-term treatment. One method to improve such therapies is the application of immunomodulatory agents from parasites, such as Hypoderma lineatum (Diptera: Oestridae). Hypodermin C (HC) is an enzyme secreted by H. lineatum larvae, and our previous study showed that recombinant HC could degrade guinea pig C3 and inhibit the complement pathway in vitro, suggesting potential activity for inhibiting transplant rejection. However, such properties have not been fully demonstrated in vivo. In this study, we investigated the impact of HC on a fully MHC-mismatched, life-sustaining, murine model of kidney allograft rejection using B6 donors and BABL/c (HC transgenic or wild-type) recipients. Kidney grafts were analyzed by histology, immunohistochemistry and western blotting. The results suggested that HC could effectively inhibit kidney allograft rejection. These findings suggest HC is a promising strategy to improve the survival of human implants.

Q: How to setup TLS Server to authenticate client in spring integration? Refer to Running the client with SSL/TLS. This explains a scenario where server does a client authentication. I am using Spring Integration to process TLS connections. My spring-context file is: <bean id="sslContextSupport" class="org.springframework.integration.ip.tcp.connection.DefaultTcpSSLContextSupport"> <constructor-arg value="file:keystore.jks"/> <constructor-arg value="file:truststore.jks"/> <constructor-arg value="keystorepass"/> <constructor-arg value="trustpass"/> </bean> <int-ip:tcp-connection-factory id="crLfServer" type="server" port="${availableServerSocket}" single-use="true" so-timeout="10000" using-nio="false" ssl-context-support="sslContextSupport" /> My Server is accepting SSL connections and processing with certificates installed on my server and client. I am not sure whether the above spring configuration is setup for client authentication or not. is the client authentication done at the SSL transaport level or in the Application code? A: The Spring Integration DefaultTcpSSLContextSupport is fully based on the SSLContext sslContext = SSLContext.getInstance(protocol);. So, what you see in the standard Java SSL/TLS documentation is applied here as well. Since that your <int-ip:tcp-connection-factory> produces type="server", that is definitely the case of the server does client authentication All the hard SSL work is done in the SSLContext layer, not in the TcpNetServerConnectionFactory, if that is the question. In other words: it doesn't matter that it is Spring Integration or not. Everything works the same way as in any other Java application which users standard SSL/TLS approach.

Project Management As construction sites became more complex with a combination of different trades working together to build a new home they required competent project managers who were able to organise the multitude of different people and processes that came together to complete the project. As it is with the different trades working together towards the client’s desires, imagine the different aspects/systems of the Smart House having to be designed and coordinated together to give the client a fully integrated system that is consistent throughout the home. SMARTHOMEWORKS provides project management as part of our key services to ensure that our customers end up with a home that has been designed to their specifications with full explanation and recommendation by us. Our design, programming & project management works include on-site and off-site meetings to co-ordinate the works of any trades involved in the automation system, review building design changes and incorporating them into the automation system design. This includes: Booking & Scheduling Management Cost Estimating & Price Comparisons Stock Management & Procurement SHW Team Management & On-site Lead Clients First Point of Contact Liaising With On-Site Trades and Professionals Project Advice Change Management, Design & Drawings The Things We Often Hear ‘You want to find a comparable speaker set for a cheaper price’ ‘You’re looking for information on the best way to set up a your tv/streaming services’ ‘The electrician contracted has no clue what smart wiring is and will need induction into how to understand the documentation to ensure the job is completed properly’ ‘Your amplifier has disconnected from the network and needs assessment for repair or replacement’ ‘You want automated sensors and timers to control aspects of your home – how do you want it to work?’

Cell growth on immobilized cell growth factor. I. Acceleration of the growth of fibroblast cells on insulin-immobilized polymer matrix in culture medium without serum. Culture of fibroblast cells in serum-free medium in the presence of insulin-immobilized films of poly(ethylene terephthalate) or poly(methyl methacrylate) accelerated the cell growth to several times that in the presence of free insulin molecules. The immobilization of insulin was useful also for elucidation of the mechanism of signal transmission through receptor molecules in the cell membrane. Free insulin molecules are known to be bound by receptors and the complex formed internalized and degraded in the cytoplasm. However, it is not clear what process is indispensable for transmission of the biological signals to the nucleus of the cell. The present investigation revealed that cell growth was enhanced by the addition of immobilized insulins which were not internalized. It appears that insulin-receptor binding is enough for transmission of the cell growth signal to the cell nucleus. The enhanced cell growth by the immobilized insulins compared with free insulin molecules is ascribable to suppression of the down-regulation which is a consequence of intracellular decomposition of the insulin-receptor complex.

Q: Python gzip fails on Ubuntu 11.04 This function is based on the Python sample code @ http://docs.python.org/library/gzip.html. It runs reliably on Ubuntu 10.04 with its default Python 2.6x. On Ubuntu 11.04, however, the code fails @ writelines(). On one 11.04 machine, the failure message reported "'module' object has no attribute 'BufferedIOBase'". Another 11.04 machine reported a different message "No module named numpy". Does anyone know of any missing Python dependencies or other problems on 11.04 that would cause this? def _compress(inp,out): import gzip f_out = gzip.open(out,'wb') f_in = open(inp,'rb') f_out.writelines(f_in) f_out.close() f_in.close() os.unlink(inp) A: tahoar solved the problem in a comment: Sorry, xubuntix, I traced the problem to the existence of a non-standard io.py module in the sys.path(). Python's gzip module ignored it on 2.6x (Ubuntu 10.04) but tried to load it on 2.7x (Ubuntu 11.04+). Removing/renaming the io.sys module fixed the problem. Thanks

Friday, 12 February 2016 Becky, Taeko Kono and Japan's 'Kawaii' Culture When I was at the Daiwa Foundation in London last week I met for the first time a Facebook friend called Lucy North, who had come up specially from Hastings for the event. Lucy is one of those fascinating people that you feel you need a couple of evenings of conversation to sufficiently navigate your way around: I discovered that she had been raised in Malaysia, had specialized in Japanese Studies at Cambridge, done a PhD in Japanese Literature at Harvard, lived for eight years in the US and another thirteen in Tokyo... She handed me a copy of a collection of short stories by a writer called Taeko Kono (pictured below) which she had translated some 20 years ago. 'Was I familiar with Kono's work?', she asked, telling me she was passionate about her writings. The book had the distinctly unusual (and to be honest pretty off-putting) title, 'Toddler-Hunting'. It's probably not a book I would I have picked up if left to my own devices, but since it had been expressly handed to me I made it my business to start reading it on the train home the next evening. I've already had my share of 'unsettling' Japanese books in the last few months, having written a review (forthcoming next month) of Ryu Murakami's 'Tokyo Decadence', a collection of short stories featuring explicit sado-masochistic sex, and Akiyuki Nosaka's 'The Whale that Fell in Love with a Submarine', in which all manner of gruesome wartime horrors are described (albeit in a beautiful fairy tale format). But I would have to say that by far the most disturbing, stimulating read I've had in a long time is 'Toddler-Hunting', a collection of short stories from the 1960s all featuring female protagonists by one of the most significant, though still relatively obscure, female writers of postwar Japan. Taeko Kono - who died in January last year at the age of 88 - freely admitted the influence of the writings of Junichiro Tanizaki, who explored in his writings the taboo of perverted desires. Kono's female protagonists too seethe with neuroses and barely suppressed hatreds and desires. Many of them are sexually masochistic: one character despises pre-pubescent girls and wishes to exert power over pre-pubescent boys. Where the stories gain their power and traction however is the way in which Kono describes such complexes as being entirely normalized. Where Ryu Murakami's writes of sado-masochism in graphic, sensationalistic terms, as usually the realm of sex workers, for Kono this is something which is coolly dropped into the narrative almost as an aside. The stories are more disturbing than anything Tanizaki ever penned because the 'perversions' are not overtly flaunted in front of us, but stoically, internally borne by her female characters and often revealed with biting satire and black humour. There is a strong sense that these are universal conditions that must arise when the characters are forced to live under psychologically oppressive cultural constraints. If a woman in 1960s Japan felt forced to marry and live a sequestered life in support of her husband, as a child-like dependent, and pressured to fulfill the biological destiny of becoming a mother, why would her daily psychological frustration not transmute and vent itself in some perverted form, whether taking pleasure in self-harm or in a visceral hatred for infants of her own gender? A recurring theme of Kono is that of the 'false parent', in which it either transpires that someone imagined as blood relative turns out to be a stranger or that a step parent entrusted with the child's care secretly hates them but is agonizingly bound to them. In one of her most disturbing stories, 'Snow', the female protagonist is the illegitimate child of her father with a mistress and her upbringing is forcibly imposed upon the father's wife as a stepmother. Overcome with hysteria, the stepmother, Medusa-like, murders her own infant child of the same age by leaving her out to die in the snow. You very strongly sense in all these stories that Kono judges Japan itself as a 'false parent' to its psychologically oppressed female population. seeking to smother their natural identity and replace it with something which is fake and imposed. At the same time as reading Kono's trenchant if occasionally torturous stories, I've been following the ongoing fallout from the sudden fall from grace of Japanese TV Tarento 'Becky' (pictured top and below) - a pretty, vivacious 31-year-old who was until recently a ubiquitous presence on Japanese television and advertising. An idol and role model to Japanese youth, Becky suddenly found herself frozen out of the Japanese television firmament once a Line conversation supposedly sent to a 27-year-old married pop singer Enon Kawatani implying an illicit affair came to light. (It should be noted the general circumstances were bizarre, with Kawatani's own marriage last summer being made public at the same time.) There's been quite a brouhaha particularly from the Western media about how this incident illustrates the vice-like grip of managers in the Japanese entertainment world (Becky's own management team even apparently suggested she be dropped from her ten regular TV programmes) and of sexist double standards: Kawatani, who was the alleged 'adulterer' - it all sounds very 19th century - has not had his career similarly affected. I sympathize with the sentiment but I don't personally think this analysis actually gets to the heart of the matter. Indeed I think there is something far more symptomatic about Japanese expectations of women in general revealed. Becky was the epitome of Japanese 'kawaii' (meaning 'cute' in a child-like way) culture. I watched her on a show over the Christmas break which starred the seven male members of a popular band called Third Generation J Soul Brothers in a Christmas special. The 'boys' - all in their twenties and thirties - had each been asked to come up with the perfect Christmas gift for a girlfriend. Becky and another female presenter were brought in to judge and rank their choices. One member of the band chose a gift which he said would be delivered as a surprise to the hotel room he was staying in with his girlfriend. Becky, with her beautiful manga-esque wide eyes, primly chided him for thinking he could take his girlfriend to a hotel room so quickly, even though it's a tradition in Japan for courting couples to spend Christmas eve in a hotel together. Instead, two members of the band chose as their Christmas gifts tickets to Tokyo Disneyland. Becky and the other presenter were in agreement that this was the most 'romantic' gift. In the West, Disneyland is a place that you generally think of taking pre-teen children and if a man in his thirties were to suggest taking a 31-year-old woman there on a date, it's likely he would be thought either slightly strange or studiously ironic. But in Japan's 'kawaii' culture, where girls are encouraged to remain eternally child-like, a trip to Disneyland is considered not just unobjectionable, but an ideal romantic day out. The show was of course a piece of artifice from start to finish. We can comfortably assume that the male members of a rock band with a colossal female fan base have a steady stream of young girls at hand to afford pleasure in their hotel rooms. In this fantasy scenario however, Becky was appearing not just as a participant but as the very arbiter of 'kawaii'. It's pretty inevitable therefore that if one is found out to be actually far more worldly - a pretty normal adult woman in fact - then your TV persona is going to be difficult to maintain. For me though, the Becky incident is not about the methodology of TV management or indeed of sexism and double standards on television. It's more an extraordinarily vivid representation of a usually hidden pressure in Japan for women to play along with the child-like, naive role. Failure to do so, to be one's natural self - an intelligent, independent, occasionally risk-taking woman - threatens, as in Kono's story 'Snow', the female being pushed out to perish in the metaphorical snow while a more compliant substitute takes your place. I don't want to sound too down on 'kawaii' culture, which of course has its charms, and I don't want to suggest that replacing it with cynical, in-your-face Western attitudes would represent a step forward. But you can't help thinking that for many intelligent Japanese women being trapped in a culture dominated by constant demands for 'kawaii' must solicit a long, intense psychological scream. What can be done about it? To really empathetically connect with the experience of women in modern Japan, to hear their true inner voices, not the fabricated constraints of 'cutishness' you have I think to turn to the great Japanese female writers and listen carefully to what they have to say. At the top of any reading list in this area I would now place this very oddly named book, a cri de coeur for women to be treated as complex adults not children: 'Toddler-Hunting'. 2 comments: Great Post!Everytime I think about the "psychological scream" of some japanese women trapped into the all-loving pastel-toned kawaii bubble I remember Takashi Miike's 1999 film "Audition". The main female character is the embodiment of this childlike existence, but with a twist in the end that makes us think about the duality the children as a creature both to be cheerished, once it brings joy, and to be feared, once it does not know yet a clear distinction between good and evil. The asociation with Becky was right on point too, I hope she does not freak out as some idols out thereJust found out your blog but I will be definetly following it now. Keep up with the good job ^_^ Right on the mark, I have thought the same for so long. I have lived in Sapporo for 20 years, and have observed this "Kawai" phenomenon. As a woman it makes me sick. There definitely needs to be in the Japanese media more empowering, intelligent role models for young women, in Japan and universally! Great blog, thanks for sharing.

Learn Why Having a Business Bank Account Is Important Keep Your Personal and Business Finances Separate When you open a business, one of your first tasks should be to open a ​business bank account. It is important to keep your business banking separate from your personal banking. It's not enough to just keep separate records. You should actually keep the money physically separate in different bank accounts, one set up as a business checking account. Some business owners even use different banks for their business and personal accounts, one being a business bank only. Here are some reasons to keep your business funds separate from your personal funds. 01 Imagine your checkbook and your bank statement if you mix your business and personal transactions. Now imagine that over the course of a year. That's what you would have to deal with at income tax time if you mix your personal and business finances. No one wants to deal with that mess. If you have a separate account for your business transactions, you have a clean record to give to your accountant at the end of the year. Remember to keep all your invoices and receipts to match up to your checkbook and bank statement entries and you will be in good shape when income tax time rolls around. 02 Prove Your Business Is Not a Hobby The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is really picky about you being able to show that your business is really a business and not a hobby. Basically, you have to show a profit on Federal Tax Form Schedule C three years out of every five. If you have losses that you deduct from your income three consecutive years, the IRS may decide you are conducting a "hobby business." You will be inviting an audit. Even if you pass the "3 out of 5" rule, you are not necessarily safe from an IRS audit. You can further prove you are a business and not a hobby business if you have a separate business bank account, business cards, or a well-maintained set of business books. 03 Separate Business Account Required for Incorporated Businesses If your business is incorporated, the IRS requires that you keep a separate business bank account. It doesn't matter if your business is a corporation or a partnership or an incorporated sole proprietorship. If you're incorporated, you must have a separate account. 04 Hopefully, you will never be audited by the IRS. There is always that chance. If that happens, it's not the end of the world as long as you have clean recordkeeping and a separate bank account. You also need to be sure and keep all your invoices and expense receipts as backup material. If you mix your personal and business finances in one bank account, an audit by the IRS could turn into a nightmare. 05 Professionalism You always want your business to maintain a professional appearance. If you keep your business finances separate from your personal finances, that helps enhance your image of professionalism. It means that when you write checks to suppliers, they see that those checks are coming from a real on-going business concern. If you pay taxes, the IRS sees that the tax payments come from a real business.

Lung maturity? Hi ladies, does anyone know the "skinny" on baby's lung development and delivery dates? I'm 37 weeks (yay!!!) and just when I thought we were "safe", I had someone mention that mamas with DM sometimes have babies whose lungs take longer to develop. This means, apparently that "term" for a diabetic mommy could be later than a non-diabetic one. Anyone heard this before? When can we breathe our own sighs of relief knowing that our baby will stand the best chance of an uneventful arrival? Replies to This Discussion My daughter was born at 34 weeks and they told me the same thing. Orginally they told me she would be in the nicu for 6 weeks on a vent and feeding tube. She was out of the nicu in 6 days not even supplemental oxygen. My first OB (whom I went to for pre-conception counseling and then he retired) said the opposite. He said that usually DMs' babies' lungs mature more quickly because of the rapid growth in the final trimester. My current OB and I didn't discuss it because we were pretty much on schedule for 38 wks. So you've got me. I hope someone is able to give you a definitive answer. Hi! I'm glad you and baby are doing well, Tziporah!!! :-) My twins were 100% ready to be born at 34 weeks and 3 days. No oxygen needed at all. I think if your control is good, you can expect development to be similar to a non-D pregnancy. Well, I have to say, this is all super reassuring! I feel more and more ready pretty much every day for this little one to arrive, (or at least to have my physiology back!) and it's nice to know I'm inching closer to a time when it's safe for both of us. We'll see what our OB says this week... thanks Mamas! Crazy you bring this up... I just had an appointment this morning and I was talking about this with my doctor. supposively their is a small (very small risk) in type 1 diabetics that lung development takes slightly longer..... I am having an amnio this week to see if my babies lungs are good to go.. if they are I will deliver on Saturday... I will be 36 weeks exactly. Wow...so close! I hope all goes well with the amnio, and the DELIVERY!!! :-) Part of me wishes my OB would just deliver this baby already, but if she's still happy cooking in there, I suppose thats good. Let us know how it goes! I know the feeling the only reason they are willing to deliver early was because my baby is breeched.. and i need to have a c-section. If the lungs are developed their really is no point in waiting.. I will totally let everyone know how it goes :) I had my son via c-section at 38 weeks, (just 10 weeks ago) and all went well. I had a previous Doctor that wanted to do a amnio at 37 weeks then proceed with a c-section the next day if lungs were ok. I switched Doctors at 32 weeks, because I was uncomfortable with this line of thinking. Are you asking because you are afraid you are going into labor? I may be too late in my reply, then! I was sent for an amnio at 35 weeks for that very reason - to check lung development. I developed chloreostasis (a liver condition that is not associated with being diabetic) diagnosed at week 34 and if I were not a diabetic, the resolution would have been to induce labor to be sure the baby's liver would be ok. However, because I am diabetic they were concerned that the baby's lungs would not be developed and thus I was sent for the amnio so they could figure out what to do with us ... needless to say, I never got the amnio because when I arrived at that amnio appointment, a quick check showed I was 5 cm dilated and they told me to head right to the hospital!!!! She was born the next day and her lungs were perfectly fine. :-) No, I'm not in labor yet. I'm reasonably sure about this, mostly because I still feel this little girl up in my rib cage and no signs of her descent. I have been struggling with high blood pressure but luckily no other signs of pre-e. Just enough to keep me on my toes, or rather, off of them. :-) As the pressures have been high, I've figured it was just a matter of time before our OB says, "ok, it's time...NOW", not because of my being in labor but because the PIH turns into something else. I can only imagine what it may be like to arrive at the hospital so far dilated! Actually, I've fantasized that I'd be *that mama" who doesn't even really feel contractions or anything until I'm, oh, I don't know, 8 cm. :-) I can dream, right? Thanks for all the support, ladies. Much appreciated! So far so good all around with this pregnancy, and with this baby; today's biophysical shows her head down, big cheeks, full head of hair, and six and a half pounds! :-) Hey Tziporah - I was 5 cm and did not know the difference from the week before, in terms of discomfort. It can happen! I remember being at the hospital and being close to 10 cm and thinking "piece of cake" till I got the really strong contraction that made me yell "I need the drug!" Wow, this is reassuring. :-) Honestly, I can only hope my labor mimics yours in this regard. :-) We'll see, I guess... think I've got an official dilation/effacement check this week, so that will help me know what's happening, too. Thanks Donna and I hope you're super-enjoying that little girl of yours! She's a cutie! From the Diabetes Hands Foundation blog... Diabetes Hands Foundation is incredibly honored to join the Diabetes Advocacy Alliance, an organization with the drive and potential to affect a powerful, positive impact on diabetes and healthcare policy. Diabetes Advocacy Alliance is a 20-member coalition of leading professional Read on! → HELMSLEY CHARITABLE TRUST GRANTS SUPPORT TO DIABETES HANDS FOUNDATION FOR FOURTH YEAR Funding in 2015 to support major transitions in programs and leadership at Diabetes Hands Foundation BERKELEY, CA: February 18, 2015 – The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Read on! →

SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers will have a different starting quarterback and a new backup on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. Only the identity of the 49ers’ No. 3 quarterback will not change after Jimmy Garoppolo’s season-ending injury. The team's emergency quarterback is still Kyle Juszczyk, whose day job is being the 49ers’ starting fullback. Because the 49ers have not carried a true third quarterback for any game the past two seasons, Juszczyk is the man who remains in the emergency role. “Last week when Jimmy got hurt, it flashed in my head a little,” Juszczyk said of the possibility of getting in a game at quarterback. “But, honestly, there’s comfort in knowing that not much is expected from me. I’m sure it would be a very basic package. I’m sure I’d be handing the ball off, mostly. And if I did throw, it would be mostly three-step sorts of things.” Head coach Kyle Shanahan said he has never been forced to go with the emergency fill-in during his NFL coaching career. And Juszczyk, who was also Baltimore’s emergency quarterback during his first four pro seasons, has never taken a snap at the position in an NFL game. Juszczyk played many positions in high school, including quarterback, which makes him the most-qualified candidate to step in if the team's top two quarterbacks became unavailable. He also ran some wildcat plays at Harvard, where he was a three-time All-Ivy League selection as a tight end. Juszczyk said he sets aside some time every Friday to take snaps on the side from 49ers center Weston Richburg. Juszczyk even ran a play from quarterback for the first time this season during the team’s walk-through on Friday, he said. The 49ers would have counted on running back Jerick McKinnon to be the emergency quarterback, based on his play at that position during his college days at Georgia Southern, Shanahan said. But McKinnon sustained a season-ending knee injury eight days before the team’s season opener, which cleared the way for Juszczyk to again fill that role. But even if McKinnon were healthy, Juszczyk was not ready to hand him the job. “’Jet’ threw, like, one pass a game in college,” Juszczyk quipped. “People think he was a quarterback, but he really wasn’t.” (Fact check: McKinnon completed 34 of 81 pass attempts for 829 yards with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions during his college career.) The 49ers appear set with C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens as the team’s top two quarterbacks. At some point, the club would like to add a quarterback to develop on the practice squad. But, regardless, Juszczyk will continue to fill the role of the No. 3 spot. “Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that,” Juszczyk said. “But if it does, I’m going to have a great time.”

Outcome of cirrhotic patients undergoing cholecystectomy: applying Bayesian analysis in gastroenterology. Cholelithiasis is a common finding in patients with cirrhosis. Previous studies showed that open cholecystectomy (OC) carries a high risk of postoperative complications and deaths in cirrhotic patients. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has significantly decreased hospital stay and postoperative morbidity in non-cirrhotic patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of cirrhotic patients after LC and OC in a tertiary center. The outcomes of 33 cirrhotic patients matched by age and sex to 66 non-cirrhotic controls who underwent cholecystectomy were assessed using Bayesian analysis. Both non-informative and informative priors were used to calculate posterior distributions for parameters under investigation. Twenty-four (72%) cirrhotic patients had LC and 9 (27%) OC. A similar percentage of patients in the control group underwent LC (78%) and OC (21%). Emergent cholecystectomy was not different between cirrhotic and controls (95% credible interval [CrI]-0.35, 0.02). Mean blood loss, duration of surgery and conversion rate was not different between cirrhotic and controls, but cirrhotic patients had a longer length of hospital stay than controls (CrI 0.88, 4.71). Cirrhotic patients undergoing LC had lower volume of blood loss (CrI -363.85 mL, -49.28 mL), shorter duration of surgery (CrI -79.82 min, -19.74 min), lower amount of intravenous fluid during surgery (CrI -1532.9 mL, -495.4 mL) and shorter hospital stay (CrI -11.14 days, -1.20 days) than cirrhotic patients undergoing OC. Child-Pugh class B class and admission diagnosis of biliary pancreatitis were associated with a longer hospital stay. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a safe and effective alternative to OC in Child-Pugh class A and B cirrhotic patients undergoing elective or emergent cholecystectomy. Although outcomes of cirrhotic patients undergoing LC and OC in a tertiary center are not different, LC is associated with less intraoperative bleeding, shorter duration of surgery and fewer days of in-hospital care.

ZappRx ZappRx is a Boston, MA-based digital health company that provides a secure online platform used by patients, physicians, and pharmacists for the management of specialty medications. Founded in 2012 by CEO Zoe Barry, ZappRx works with pharmaceutical companies to help fast-track the prescription process for patients affected by severe or life-threatening diseases who need access to specialty drugs. Investors ZappRx has raised $42M in funding. In 2017, Qiming US Healthcare Fund, a venture capital firm based in Seattle that is part of a broader family of Qiming Venture Partners led the company's Series B round of funding. This round included participation from SR One, who led ZappRx's Series A round in 2014, and GV (formerly Google Ventures). References External links Category:Health information technology companies Category:American companies established in 2012 Category:Companies based in Boston Category:Privately held companies based in Massachusetts

# put your Google API Key here export OSPI_API_KEY='abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890123' # put your public calendar id here export OSPI_CALENDAR_ID='[email protected]' # Email Config # export OSPI_EMAIL_FROM="[email protected]" # export OSPI_EMAIL_TO="[email protected]" export OSPI_MAX_STATION=5 export OSPI_STATION_0="frontyard,front yard" export OSPI_STATION_1="backyard,back yard" export OSPI_STATION_2="northside,north side" export OSPI_STATION_3="southside,south side" export OSPI_STATION_4="frontflowers,front flowers" export OSPI_STATION_5="pool" export OSPI_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG

Three Rivers Rambler Train RideALL ABOARD! Enjoy a 90 minute, 11 mile excursion train ride along the Tennessee River aboard the historic Three Rivers Rambler. Our journey starts in Downtown Knoxville and is fun for all ages. Passengers can ride in our air conditioned coach car or outdoors to enjoy the weather. Restrooms and gift shop on board. Ask about our Engine Cab rides or Engineer for a Day program. Special trains include Pumpkin Express, Christmas Express, and Circus Train (new for 2007). Timberwinds CabinsLuxury log cabins located in Pigeon Forge, Wears Valley, and Townsend. Mountain view, creek-side and wooded settings. Amenities include hot tubs, fireplaces, pool tables, and covered porches. Cabins located in Townsend are near the Cad... Pigeon Forge ChaletsCome and visit Pigeon Forge Chalet Rentals! Walking distance to Dollywood and Splash Country and just minutes to downtown Pigeon Forge. Youll love our hometown service and smiles. From 1 bedroom romantic chalets to our largest 9... Volunteer Cabin RentalsVolunteer Cabin Rentals are located throughout the beautiful Wears Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains. Wears Valley has something for everyone. We offer 1 to 4 bedroom rental cabins with all amenities. The welcome mat is out so come on out to Wears ... Alpine Mountain VillageCome back to a simpler time when long walks and spending time with your family was all that mattered. We offer splendid log cabins from small quaint honeymooners to large family cabin... Ski Mountain Chalet RentalsPack your bags, its time to relax ....... experience how much better your vacation can be in your own Gatlinburg chalet or condo which includes the best of all amenities. And with the Smoky Mountains as your bac... Heritage Mountain RentalsHeritage Mountain Rentals offer a selection of beautiful 1 to 7 bedroom gatlinburg cabin and chalet vacation rentals convenient to fun-filled Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Dollywood, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. All of our cabins and c... Auntie Belhams Realty & Nightly Rentals, Inc.Experience a whole new way of vacationing in the Smoky Mountains! Relax in a spectacular log cabin or chalet with hot tubs, jacuzzis, fireplaces, and more! From cute & country to simply elegan... Little Valley Mountain ResortsLittle Valley Mountain Resort is almost 300 acres of nature at its finest:wooded settings, streams, mountain views, a picnic area, and even a stocked fishing pond for use by owners a...

Farm women come full circle in agriculture What is in this article?: Best friends Robyn Ollerton and Melissa Campbell of Pinal County, Ariz., are good examples of rural women who cherish growing up on family farms, attending college to study agriculture, and returning home to land successful agricultural jobs in their hometowns. Ollerton and Campbell share a deep love and appreciation for their families’ deep roots in agriculture. More About: Mellisa Campbell, left, (holding daughter Stella), and Robyn Ollerton, both of Pinal County, Ariz., are young farm women living an agricultural dream-come true: growing up on family farms, earning college degrees in agriculture, and landing great jobs in their hometowns. Agriculture privilege Campbell initially performed office work and quickly learned the ropes of the gin operation. When long-time gin manager Steve Straussner retired, the gin’s board of directors early last year offered the position to Campbell. Campbell was shocked and excited, but then had to level with the board. She was three-weeks pregnant with the baby due Oct. 1, the beginning of the ginning season. The somewhat apprehensive board of cotton producers hired Campbell. She is the second female gin manager in Arizona. After almost a year on the job, Campbell enjoys her new challenge. She said, “One of the people I conduct business with calls me the gin managerette.” The successful ginning season ended in mid-January with 60,000 bales of Upland cotton grown by 41 grower entities on about 25,000 acres. Last fall, the nine-months-pregnant Campbell attended the Calcot cotton cooperative annual meeting in Tempe. This journalist sat at the table with Campbell. Her face said it all — delivering a bundle of joy was by far Campbell’s top priority over cotton. Baby Stella was four-months young when Western Farm Press interviewed the women at the gin in January. As gin manager, Campbell created the River Cooperative Gin website. She helps conduct public tours of the gin property. Campbell laughed, “During one tour, a group asked where the animals were that the cotton came from.” With the first ginning season under her belt, Campbell feels extremely blessed. “I am very fortunate to work in an industry which I love, with the people I love, near home, and with the ability to help support my family,” Campbell shared. “I’ve respected the local cotton growers my entire life. I now have these guys on speed dial,” she chuckled. “They are highly respected people. It’s a privilege to work with them.” Campbell and Ollerton first met while showing livestock at the Pinal County 4-H Fair in Casa Grande. Their focus then was watching each other in the show ring as competitors. The term “friends” back then would have been an oxymoron. Their mutual involvement in the FFA led to friendship which blossomed quickly. Robyn participated in the Casa Grande chapter; Melissa in the Coolidge chapter. Both women held all chapter office positions. As young adults, the women participated in the National Cotton Council’s Producer Exchange Program, or PIE tour. Ollerton visited cotton operations in North Carolina; Campbell visited Texas. Discuss this Article 1 Linda K (not verified) on Mar 8, 2013 This is in reference to the comment that Mrs. Campbell is the second female gin manager in Arizona. I know of at least three prior to her. Barbara Haralson, Safford Valley Cotton, Kathy Lambert ( I don't remember name of gin), and Cheryl Soto, Safford Valley Cotton, who became manager in 2008 following Mrs. Haralson's retirement and currently holds that position. Additionally, Barbara Haralson and Kathy Lambert are both past presidents of the Arizona Cotton Ginner's Association. Please check your facts. Mrs. Campbell is at least the fourth, not the second.

Site Navigation Site Mobile Navigation A Writing Class Focused on Goodbyes Simon Critchley, a philosophy professor at the New School, taught a class billed as a “Suicide Note Writing Workshop."Credit Victor J. Blue for The New York Times “The suicide note — and I’m being deadly earnest — is moving, strange, harrowing and peculiar literature,” said Simon Critchley, an author and philosophy professor at the New School. “People’s interest in them is almost pornographic.” Mr. Critchley was teaching a class billed as a “Suicide Note Writing Workshop,” part of a monthlong series of performances, installations and lectures called the School of Death and sponsored by Cabinet Magazine and the Family Business exhibition space on West 21st Street. The glass doors to his storefront classroom were flung open to the chilly rain falling outside, inviting passers-by to stop, listen, and sometimes contribute to the discussion. The pop-up school came about as a smart-alecky reaction to a program in London called the School of Life, which Mr. Critchley described as “a particularly nauseating philosophy of self-help.” “It’s also a way of mocking creative-writing workshops,” Mr. Critchley, 53, said. “We’re not mocking suicide. We’re doing this as a way to understand it. And why not be a little insensitive? People are terrified in talking about death.” With Mr. Critchley kneeling before a blackboard on Saturday and his 15 attendees gathered tightly around, class began with a discussion of the shifting ethics of suicide, from antiquity to modern-day Christianity to right-to-die debates in the news media. The suicide note, which he identified as a literary genre with a unique form, is a fairly recent invention coinciding with the rise of literacy and the press, he told the class. “In antiquity, there was no need to leave a note,” he said. “It would have been obvious why you killed yourself.” A student raised her hand to share a note she brought, a personal favorite found in an anthology. “Dear Betty, I hate you. Love, George,” she read. The class laughed but quickly began talking about the dichotomies in the letter — love and hate, humor and anger — and then moved on to the larger question of the purpose of a suicide note. Nadja Argyropoulou, curator at Family Business, shared one of the afternoon’s more stark compositions, written by a classmate. “I am so filled with love it is still all too much to bear,” the note read. “I cannot find my way. The world is all wrong and although I withstood the worst of it, I lost out.” Andrew Riddles, 44, a Web developer visiting from Canada, read from a classmate’s note: “Offstage was always best.” He found tenderness in the experience of attending the workshop. “It’s very embracing of life, the opposite of what you’d expect,” he said. The second half of the afternoon format focused on epitaph writing, led by Jeff Dolven, an English professor at Princeton University, who called the epitaph a “very different genre” from the suicide note. The students wrote their own epitaphs. Some were stoic, some self-aggrandizing, some humorous. “An imprint light,/Or deeply pressed/She moved among us/Then she left,” wrote Karen Houppert, a journalist. “He was kind to all animals, except his family,” Mr. Riddles wrote. As evening approached Mr. Dolven dismissed class and left the students with a final epitaph from W.B. Yeats. “Cast a cold eye/On life, on death./Horseman, pass by,” he read, and a chilly quiet permeated the room. “I’ll leave you with that enigmatic epitaph,” Professor Dolven said. “Reconcilable, though not perfectly reconcilable.” Correction: May 20, 2013 An earlier version of this post misidentified the author of a note read aloud by Andrew Riddles and misquoted the note. The note was written by a classmate, not by Mr. Riddles, and it read “Offstage was always best,” not “Offstage is always best.” The post also misidentified the author of a note read aloud by Nadja Argyropoulou. It was written by a classmate, not by Ms. Argyropoulou. A version of this article appears in print on 05/20/2013, on page A16 of the NewYork edition with the headline: A Writing Class Focuses on Goodbyes. What's Next Looking for New York Today? New York Today is still going strong! Though no longer on City Room, New York Today continues to appear every weekday morning, offering a roundup of news and events for the city. You can find the latest New York Today at nytoday.com or in the morning, on The New York Times homepage or its New York section. You can also receive it via email. Lookin for Metropolitan Diary? Metropolitan Diary continues to publish! Since 1976, Metropolitan Diary has been a place for New Yorkers, past and present, to share odd fleeting moments in the city. We will continue to publish one item each weekday morning and a round-up in Monday's print edition. You can find the latest entries at nytimes.com/diary and on our New York section online. About City Room®, a news blog of live reporting, features and reader conversations about New York City, has been archived. Send questions or suggestions by e-mail.

2019 Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé (Documentary) (writer: "Don't Hurt Yourself") (Documentary) (writer: "Don't Hurt Yourself") 2018 Welcome to Marwen (performer: "I'm Shakin'") (performer: "I'm Shakin'") 2018 Forza Horizon 4 (Video Game) (performer: "Over and Over and Over") (Video Game) (performer: "Over and Over and Over") 2018 Jack White: Kneeling at the Anthem D.C. (Documentary) (performer: "Corporation", "Over and Over and Over", "Blunderbuss", "Ice Station Zebra", "Connected By Love", "Icky Thump", "Kneeling at The Anthem D.C.", "Freedom at 21", "What's Done Is Done") / (writer: "Corporation", "Over and Over and Over", "Blunderbuss", "Ice Station Zebra", "Connected By Love", "Icky Thump", "Kneeling at The Anthem D.C.", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "I Cut Like a Buffalo", "I Think I Smell A Rat", "Hotel Yorba", "Steady As She Goes", "Freedom at 21", "Seven Nation Army", "What's Done Is Done") (Documentary) (performer: "Corporation", "Over and Over and Over", "Blunderbuss", "Ice Station Zebra", "Connected By Love", "Icky Thump", "Kneeling at The Anthem D.C.", "Freedom at 21", "What's Done Is Done") / (writer: "Corporation", "Over and Over and Over", "Blunderbuss", "Ice Station Zebra", "Connected By Love", "Icky Thump", "Kneeling at The Anthem D.C.", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "I Cut Like a Buffalo", "I Think I Smell A Rat", "Hotel Yorba", "Steady As She Goes", "Freedom at 21", "Seven Nation Army", "What's Done Is Done") 2018 A Family of Killers (writer: "Fell in Love with a Girl") (writer: "Fell in Love with a Girl") 2017 007 Fragrances for Men 'More Than Meets the Eye' Television Commercial (Video short) (music: "Another Way to Die") (Video short) (music: "Another Way to Die") 2017 007 Fragrances for Women 'More Than Meets the Eye' Television Commercial (Video short) (music: "Another Way to Die") (Video short) (music: "Another Way to Die") 2017/II Pierce (Short) (writer: "Fell in Love With a Girl") (Short) (writer: "Fell in Love With a Girl") 2017/I Wonder (writer: "We're Going to Be Friends") (writer: "We're Going to Be Friends") 2017 Justice League (writer: "Icky Thump") (writer: "Icky Thump") 2017 Only the Brave (writer: "Salute Your Solution") (writer: "Salute Your Solution") 2017 James Bond '007 for Women III' Television Commercial (Video short) (music: "Another Way to Die") (Video short) (music: "Another Way to Die") Arena (TV Series documentary) (arranger - 1 episode, 2017) (performer - 1 episode, 2017) (producer - 1 episode, 2017) The American Epic Sessions (2017) ... (arranger: "Matrimonial Intentions") / (performer: "Matrimonial Intentions", "On The Road Again", "Two Fingers of Whiskey", "Closer Walk With Thee" (Reprise)) / (producer: "Matrimonial Intentions", "On The Road Again", "Killer Diller Blues", "El Cascabel", "Two Fingers of Whiskey", "High Water Everywhere, Part 2", "St. Louis Blues", "The Coo Coo", "Nobody's Dirty Business", "Closer Walk With Thee", "Mal Hombre", "Fourteen Rivers, Fourteen Floods", "One Hour Mama", "Allons A Lafayette", "Stealin' Stealin'", "The Only Man Wilder Than Me", "Old Fashioned Love", "Jordan Am a Hard Road (To Travel)") (TV Series documentary) (arranger - 1 episode, 2017) (performer - 1 episode, 2017) (producer - 1 episode, 2017) 2017 Power Rangers (writer: "Salute Your Solution" - as John Anthony White) (writer: "Salute Your Solution" - as John Anthony White) 2017 Dealt (Documentary) (writer: "Hello Operator") (Documentary) (writer: "Hello Operator") 2016 Procter and Gamble '007 for Women II' Television Commercial (Video short) (music: "Another Way to Die") (Video short) (music: "Another Way to Die") 2016 Battlefield 1 (Video Game) (writer: "Seven Nation Army (Glitch Mob Remix)") (Video Game) (writer: "Seven Nation Army (Glitch Mob Remix)") 2016 The Late Bloomer (performer: "I'm Shakin") (performer: "I'm Shakin") 2016 The Edge of Seventeen (writer: "Go It Alone") (writer: "Go It Alone") 2016 Tschick (writer: "Ball and Biscuit") (writer: "Ball and Biscuit") 2016 Sing (writer: "Love Interruption") (writer: "Love Interruption") 2016 Suicide Squad (writer: "Seven Nation Army") (writer: "Seven Nation Army") The Muppets. (TV Series) (performer - 1 episode, 2016) (writer - 1 episode, 2016) Because... Love (2016) ... (performer: "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" - uncredited) / (writer: "Fell in Love with a Girl" - uncredited) (TV Series) (performer - 1 episode, 2016) (writer - 1 episode, 2016) 2016 Soy Nero ("High Ball Stepper") ("High Ball Stepper") 2015 The Hateful Eight (writer: "Apple Blossom") (writer: "Apple Blossom") 2015 James Bond: The Story So Far (Video documentary short) (lyrics: "Another Way to Die") / (music: "Another Way to Die") / (performer: "Another Way to Die") (Video documentary short) (lyrics: "Another Way to Die") / (music: "Another Way to Die") / (performer: "Another Way to Die") 2015 Postmodern Jukebox Feat. Haley Reinhart: Seven Nation Army (Video short) (writer: "Seven Nation Army") (Video short) (writer: "Seven Nation Army") 2015 Becks letzter Sommer (writer: "Seven Nation Army") (writer: "Seven Nation Army") 2015 Procter and Gamble '007 for Women' Television Commercial (Video short) (music: "Another Way to Die") (Video short) (music: "Another Way to Die") 2014 Fantasia: Music Evolved (Video Game) (writer: "Seven Nation Army") (Video Game) (writer: "Seven Nation Army") 2014 Gotham (TV Series) (writer - 1 episode) Pilot (2014) ... (writer: "Treat Me Like Your Mother" - uncredited) (TV Series) (writer - 1 episode) 2014 England's Top 53 Footy Goals (TV Special) (writer: "Seven Nation Army" - uncredited) (TV Special) (writer: "Seven Nation Army" - uncredited) 2013 2 Guns (performer: "Two Against One") / (writer: "Two Against One") (performer: "Two Against One") / (writer: "Two Against One") 2013 The Lone Ranger (arranger: "Beautiful Dreamer", "The Girl In The Flying Trapeze") / (producer: "Red's Theater of the Absurd", "Beautiful Dreamer", "The Girl In The Flying Trapeze") / (writer: "Red's Theater of the Absurd") (arranger: "Beautiful Dreamer", "The Girl In The Flying Trapeze") / (producer: "Red's Theater of the Absurd", "Beautiful Dreamer", "The Girl In The Flying Trapeze") / (writer: "Red's Theater of the Absurd") 2013 The Great Gatsby (performer: "Love Is Blindness") / (producer: "Love Is Blindness") (performer: "Love Is Blindness") / (producer: "Love Is Blindness") 2013 The 55th Annual Grammy Awards (TV Special) (performer: "Love Interruption", "Freedom at 21") / (writer: "Love Interruption", "Freedom at 21") (TV Special) (performer: "Love Interruption", "Freedom at 21") / (writer: "Love Interruption", "Freedom at 21") 2012 Jack White aux Eurokéennes de Belfort (TV Special) (performer: "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "Missing Pieces", "Love Interruption", "Hotel Yorba", "Top Yourself", "Weep Themselves to Sleep", "I Guess I Should Go to Sleep", "Blue Blood Blues", "The Hardest Button to Button", "Steady, As She Goes", "Ball and Biscuit", "Take Me with You When You Go", "Carolina Drama", "Seven Nation Army") / (writer: "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "Missing Pieces", "Love Interruption", "Hotel Yorba", "Top Yourself", "Weep Themselves to Sleep", "I Guess I Should Go to Sleep", "Blue Blood Blues", "The Hardest Button to Button", "Steady, As She Goes", "Ball and Biscuit", "Take Me with You When You Go", "Carolina Drama", "Seven Nation Army") (TV Special) (performer: "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "Missing Pieces", "Love Interruption", "Hotel Yorba", "Top Yourself", "Weep Themselves to Sleep", "I Guess I Should Go to Sleep", "Blue Blood Blues", "The Hardest Button to Button", "Steady, As She Goes", "Ball and Biscuit", "Take Me with You When You Go", "Carolina Drama", "Seven Nation Army") / (writer: "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "Missing Pieces", "Love Interruption", "Hotel Yorba", "Top Yourself", "Weep Themselves to Sleep", "I Guess I Should Go to Sleep", "Blue Blood Blues", "The Hardest Button to Button", "Steady, As She Goes", "Ball and Biscuit", "Take Me with You When You Go", "Carolina Drama", "Seven Nation Army") 2012 Sassy Pants (performer: "Don't Think Twice") / (writer: "Don't Think Twice") (performer: "Don't Think Twice") / (writer: "Don't Think Twice") 2012 Flow State (Documentary) (performer: "Take Me With You When You Go") (Documentary) (performer: "Take Me With You When You Go") 2012 Silver Linings Playbook (writer: "Hello Operator", "Fell In Love With A Girl") (writer: "Hello Operator", "Fell In Love With A Girl") 2012 Girl Most Likely (writer: "Effect and Cause") (writer: "Effect and Cause") 2012 Premium Rush (writer: "Salute Your Solution" - as Jack White, III) (writer: "Salute Your Solution" - as Jack White, III) 2012 The Campaign (writer: "Salute Your Solution") (writer: "Salute Your Solution") 2012 ParaNorman (writer: "Little Ghost") (writer: "Little Ghost") 2012 Bliss (writer: "Aluminium") (writer: "Aluminium") 2012 Wanderlust (writer: "Old Enough" - as Jack White III) (writer: "Old Enough" - as Jack White III) 2012 A.C.A.B. - All Cops Are Bastards (writer: "Seven Nation Army" - as J. White) (writer: "Seven Nation Army" - as J. White) 2011 Footloose (writer: "Catch Hell Blues") (writer: "Catch Hell Blues") 2011 Un heureux événement (writer: "Consoler Of The Lonely" - as John White) (writer: "Consoler Of The Lonely" - as John White) 2011 Crazy, Stupid, Love (writer: "I Can't Hear You") (writer: "I Can't Hear You") 2011 Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (Documentary) (writer: "Seven Nation Army") (Documentary) (writer: "Seven Nation Army") 2011 The Green Hornet (writer: "Red Death At 6:14", "Blue Orchid" - as Jack White, III) (writer: "Red Death At 6:14", "Blue Orchid" - as Jack White, III) 2010 Rock Band 3 (Video Game) (writer: "The Hardest Button to Button") (Video Game) (writer: "The Hardest Button to Button") 2010 Elvira's Movie Macabre (TV Series) (producer: "What Can I Do?") (TV Series) (producer: "What Can I Do?") 2010 The Social Network (writer: "Ball And Biscuit" - as Jack White III) (writer: "Ball And Biscuit" - as Jack White III) 2010 Sisko tahtoisin jäädä (writer: "Broken Boy Soldiers") (writer: "Broken Boy Soldiers") 2010 The Other Guys (writer: "Icky Thump" - as Jack White III) (writer: "Icky Thump" - as Jack White III) 2010 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (writer: "Rolling in on a Burning Tire") (writer: "Rolling in on a Burning Tire") 2009 A Girls Night Out (Short) (music: "Ball and Biscuit") (Short) (music: "Ball and Biscuit") 2009 Zombieland (writer: "Salute Your Solution" - as Jack White, III) (writer: "Salute Your Solution" - as Jack White, III) 2009 The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights (Documentary) (writer: "The Union Forever") (Documentary) (writer: "The Union Forever") 2009 Guitar Hero 5 (Video Game) (writer: "Steady As She Goes", "Blue Orchid") (Video Game) (writer: "Steady As She Goes", "Blue Orchid") 2009/I Tapped (Documentary) (writer: "Effect and Cause") (Documentary) (writer: "Effect and Cause") 2008 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs (TV Movie) (writer: "Seven Nation Army") (TV Movie) (writer: "Seven Nation Army") 2008 Yes Man (writer: "Old Enough") (writer: "Old Enough") 2008 Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2 (Video Game) (writer: "Seven Nation Army") (Video Game) (writer: "Seven Nation Army") 2008 Quantum of Solace: Royal World Premiere Special (TV Short) (lyrics: "Another Way to Die") / (music: "Another Way to Die") / (performer: "Another Way to Die") (TV Short) (lyrics: "Another Way to Die") / (music: "Another Way to Die") / (performer: "Another Way to Die") 2008 Quantum of Solace (lyrics: "Another Way to Die") / (music: "Another Way to Die") / (performer: "Another Way to Die") (lyrics: "Another Way to Die") / (music: "Another Way to Die") / (performer: "Another Way to Die") 2008 Coca-Cola Zero Zero 7 (Video short) (music: "Another Way to Die") (Video short) (music: "Another Way to Die") 2008 It Might Get Loud (Documentary) (performer: "Cokey Bottle Blues", "Sitting on Top of the World", "Round Up the Cows Blues", "I Will Follow", "Untitled (Slide Blues Riffs)", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "Fly Farm Blues", "In My Time of Dying", "The Weight") / (writer: "Cokey Bottle Blues", "Blue Orchid", "Apple Blossom", "Hotel Yorba", "Blue Veins", "Broken Boy Soldier", "Hello Operator", "Round Up the Cows Blues", "Do", "Icky Thump", "Apple of My Eye", "Fell in Love with a Girl", "Untitled (Slide Blues Riffs)", "Steady, As She Goes", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "Screwdriver", "Fly Farm Blues", "300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues") (Documentary) (performer: "Cokey Bottle Blues", "Sitting on Top of the World", "Round Up the Cows Blues", "I Will Follow", "Untitled (Slide Blues Riffs)", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "Fly Farm Blues", "In My Time of Dying", "The Weight") / (writer: "Cokey Bottle Blues", "Blue Orchid", "Apple Blossom", "Hotel Yorba", "Blue Veins", "Broken Boy Soldier", "Hello Operator", "Round Up the Cows Blues", "Do", "Icky Thump", "Apple of My Eye", "Fell in Love with a Girl", "Untitled (Slide Blues Riffs)", "Steady, As She Goes", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "Screwdriver", "Fly Farm Blues", "300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues") 2008 Shine a Light (Documentary) (performer: "Loving Cup") (Documentary) (performer: "Loving Cup") 2007 Skate. (Video Game) (writer: "Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine") (Video Game) (writer: "Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine") 2007 Damages (TV Series) (writer - 1 episode) Pilot (2007) ... (writer: "I Think I Smell A Rat") (TV Series) (writer - 1 episode) 2007 SingStar Pop (Video Game) (writer: "Steady, As She Goes") (Video Game) (writer: "Steady, As She Goes") 2007 Full of It (writer: "Go It Alone") (writer: "Go It Alone") Teatr Telewizji (TV Series) (lyrics - 1 episode, 2006) (music - 1 episode, 2006) H (2006) ... (lyrics: "Seven Nation Army") / (music: "Seven Nation Army") (TV Series) (lyrics - 1 episode, 2006) (music - 1 episode, 2006) 2006 School for Scoundrels (writer: "Blue Orchid") (writer: "Blue Orchid") 2006 The Science of Sleep (writer: "Instinct Blues" - as Jack White III) (writer: "Instinct Blues" - as Jack White III) 2006 Ha-Shminiya (TV Series) (writer - 1 episode) Clumsy (2006) ... (writer: "The Hardest Button to Button" - uncredited) (TV Series) (writer - 1 episode) 2006 Om Gud vill (lyrics: "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground") / (music: "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground") (lyrics: "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground") / (music: "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground") 2006 Coachella (Documentary) (writer: "Hotel Yorba") (Documentary) (writer: "Hotel Yorba") 2005 The White Stripes: The Denial Twist (Video short) (producer: "The Denial Twist") / (writer: "The Denial Twist") (Video short) (producer: "The Denial Twist") / (writer: "The Denial Twist") 2004 White Stripes: Under Blackpool Lights (Video documentary) (writer: "When I Hear My Name", "Black Math", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "I Think I Smell a Rat", "Astro", "Hotel Yorba", "Do", "The Hardest Button to Button", "Truth Doesn't Make a Noise", "The Big Three Killed My Baby", "Wasting My Time", "You're Pretty Good Looking (for a Girl"), "Hello Operator", "Apple Blossom", "Ball and Biscuit", "Let's Shake Hands", "I Fought Piranhas/Let's Build a Home", "Seven Nation Army") (Video documentary) (writer: "When I Hear My Name", "Black Math", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "I Think I Smell a Rat", "Astro", "Hotel Yorba", "Do", "The Hardest Button to Button", "Truth Doesn't Make a Noise", "The Big Three Killed My Baby", "Wasting My Time", "You're Pretty Good Looking (for a Girl"), "Hello Operator", "Apple Blossom", "Ball and Biscuit", "Let's Shake Hands", "I Fought Piranhas/Let's Build a Home", "Seven Nation Army") 2004 Napoleon Dynamite (writer: "We're Going to be Friends") (writer: "We're Going to be Friends") 2003 Cold Mountain (arranger: "Christmas Time will Soon be Over") / (lyrics: "Christmas Time will Soon be Over") / (performer: "Christmas Time will Soon be Over", "Wayfaring Stranger", "Great High Mountain") (arranger: "Christmas Time will Soon be Over") / (lyrics: "Christmas Time will Soon be Over") / (performer: "Christmas Time will Soon be Over", "Wayfaring Stranger", "Great High Mountain") 2003 The Work of Director Michel Gondry (Video) (writer: "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground", "The Hardest Button to Button") (Video) (writer: "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground", "The Hardest Button to Button")

PIVKA-II correlates with INR but not protein C or protein S concentrations in cord blood among newborns. Protein induced by vitamin K absence (PIVKA)-II, inactive precursor of prothrombin, is elevated in vitamin K (VK) deficiency. Our aims were to find the prevalence of VK deficiency in neonates, assess the utility of international normalized ratio (INR) as a screening tool, and explore the relationship between PIVKA-II, activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and VK dependent anticoagulants. INR, aPTT, PIVKA-II, and proteins C and S activities were measured in neonatal cord blood prior to VK administration. We found 45% of neonates had subclinical VK deficiency based on PIVKA-II levels and 7% based on INR. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis assessed the utility of INR in detecting >4 ng/mL of PIVKA-II and ROC of the area under the curve was 0.70 (95% CI 0.46-0.92, p = 0.07). Proteins C and S activities were normal for age and did not correlate with PIVKA-II [(r = 0.40, p = 0.14) and (r = 0.29, p = 0.29), respectively]. There was no association between aPTT and PIVKA-II (p = 0.83). PIVKA-II seems to be a sensitive indicator of mild VK deficiency. Further studies are needed to investigate the lack of relationship between PIVKA-II and functional protein C or S levels.

Microsurgical approach to the conjunctival flap. To describe a microsurgical approach to a selective pedunculated conjunctival flap for the treatment of chronic corneal ulceration with or without corneal perforation, and to present the results of 50 consecutive cases. Retrospective, noncomparative case series and case reports. Patients All patients who had microsurgical conjunctival flap procedures for the treatment of chronic corneal ulcers between 1982 and 1996 at the Connecticut Eyecare Center, New Haven. Partial pedunculated conjunctival flap surgery. Review of the initial ocular diagnoses and characteristics as well as retrospective study of the postoperative course. Resolution of the corneal ulcer and postoperative stability of the conjunctival flap. Sixty-two percent of the corneal ulcers treated were nonperforated, and 38% were perforated. The diagnoses included herpes simplex virus (14 patients), bacterial ulcer (11 patients), rheumatoid arthritis (8 patients), aphakic bullous keratopathy (6 patients), graft rejection (4 patients), herpes zoster virus (5 patients), and other (2 patients). Postoperatively, 94% of the conjunctival flaps were stable, and 3% had failed. The procedures were definitive in 64% of cases and temporary in 36%; 61% of patients received a corneal transplant 6 to 24 months postoperatively, and in 38% the flaps were removed 6 to 12 months after the original lesion had healed. A selective pedunculated conjunctival flap is an effective and practical surgical approach to the treatment of perforated and nonperforated corneal ulcers that have not responded to other types of medical therapy.

Role of human oocyte-enriched factors in somatic cell reprograming. Cellular reprograming paves the way for creating functional patient-specific tissues to eliminate immune rejection responses by applying the same genetic profile. However, the epigenetic memory of a cell remains a challenge facing the current reprograming methods and does not allow transcription factors to bind properly. Because somatic cells can be reprogramed by transferring their nuclear contents into oocytes, introducing specific oocyte factors into differentiated cells is considered a promising approach for mimicking the reprograming process that occurs during fertilization. Mammalian metaphase II oocyte possesses a superior capacity to epigenetically reprogram somatic cell nuclei towards an embryonic stem cell-like state than the current factor-based reprograming approaches. This may be due to the presence of specific factors that are lacking in the current factor-based reprograming approaches. In this review, we focus on studies identifying human oocyte-enriched factors aiming to understand the molecular mechanisms mediating cellular reprograming. We describe the role of oocyte-enriched factors in metabolic switch, chromatin remodelling, and global epigenetic transformation. This is critical for improving the quality of resulting reprogramed cells, which is crucial for therapeutic applications.

[Research advances in the pathogenesis of familial Kawasaki disease]. Kawasaki disease has become the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children in North America and Japan. The incidence rate of Kawasaki disease varies significantly across regions and races. The first-degree relatives of patients with Kawasaki disease have a significantly higher risk of this disease than the general population. This article reviews the onset of familial Kawasaki disease and possible pathogenesis.

See, in trying to figure out the "WHY" of all the evil conspiracies, all roads seem to lead to the keeping the hidden (not lost) history of mankind, hidden. To this day, we still wipe out evidence, language and culture etc. of peoples we "beat", yet folk would still rather believe Masonic tales of UFO's, 'seeding' us, than accept our 'lost' origins, were simply lied about as man zig-zagged, mixed, mingled and scattered around this Whole World, that The Bible tells us about from the age when we did still live on one Super-Continant.

Background {#Sec1} ========== A short overview of the autophagy process {#Sec2} ----------------------------------------- Autophagy (meaning "to eat oneself") is a term to describe the intracellular processes responsible for the delivery of the cell's own macromolecules to the lysosomes (or vacuoles) for degradation and recycling \[[@CR1]\]. Three main types of autophagy can be distinguished based on their mechanism of delivery. In microautophagy, direct delivery happens through invagination of the lysosomal membrane, while chaperone-mediated autophagy relies on molecular chaperones and lysosome-associated membrane protein 2 LAMP2 to guide misfolded proteins to the lysosomes. The best studied type of autophagy, macroautophagy (hereafter referred to as "autophagy"), involves the transport and delivery of intracellular macromolecules or organellar fragments to the lysosomes inside double-membranous vesicles (autophagosomes). Due to their relatively large size (0.5 -- 1.5 μm in mammalian cells \[[@CR2]\]), autophagosomes were already discovered by transmission electron microscopy in the early sixties and the term "autophagy" launched by Nobel Prize-winning lysosomal expert Christian de Duve in 1963 \[[@CR3]\]. However, its importance became only acknowledged in 1999, when Levine and co-workers discovered that a critical autophagy protein, Beclin 1, is a tumor suppressor \[[@CR4]\]. This seminal work and further investigation established autophagy as a crucial player in cellular life and death during stress and disease. Indeed, upon nutritional, hypoxic, chemical or mechanical stress, autophagy is often stimulated, leading to enhanced degradation and recycling of molecular components. This way, possibly toxic damaged macromolecules, aggregates or organelles can be swiftly removed, especially those that are too large to be degraded by the proteasome or when the proteasomal degradation is blocked \[[@CR5]\]. Moreover, lysosome-dependent autophagic recycling creates a new pool of cellular building blocks to be incorporated into the required anti-stress proteins. This is particularly convenient during nutrient deprivation, when non-selective bulk recycling of macromolecules ensures the availability of amino acids and cellular survival. In contrast, specific autophagic degradation of protein aggregates or organelles (e.g. mitochondria, a process termed mitophagy) is mediated by specific proteins tagging and sequestering polyubiquitin chains or damaged organelles. As such, it is clear that autophagy is a self-protective process that removes possible toxic cell death-inducing signals and enhances survival. However, in certain situations, autophagy may actually provoke cell death. Although autophagy-dependent cell death is likely less frequent than pro-survival autophagy and while its mechanistic details are still unclear, it is a clinically relevant phenomenon (e.g. upon ischemia) \[[@CR6]--[@CR8]\]. To ensure that the formation, transport and fusion of autophagosomes is correctly executed, a network of molecular pathways and proteins are involved (Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}). Many of these players are shared with the endocytic pathway \[[@CR9]\]. However, the autophagic pathway also contains a set of autophagy-specific proteins (Atg proteins) that function in the formation of the double membranous structure (phagophore), its subsequent elongation and closure into an autophagosome and the sequestration of its cargo \[[@CR10], [@CR11]\]. The origin of the phagophore is still debated, with different organelles postulated as candidates as source of this lipid bilayer \[[@CR12]\]. This likely depends on the type of stress that induces autophagy and the material that needs to be degraded (specific organelles or structures or non-selective cytoplasmic in bulk degradation). At the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), clear observations have been made of the phagophore gradually originating and protruding from PtdIns(3)P-rich sites called omegasomes \[[@CR13], [@CR14]\]. This is mediated by the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) Class III complex, consisting of (among others) Vps34, Vps15, Beclin 1 (Atg6) and Atg14L, which phosphorylates PtdIns to PtdIns(3)P. The PtdIns(3)P signal recruits several proteins (e.g. WIPI1 and2 (Atg18) \[[@CR15]\] that induce the protrusion of the phagophore from the ER membranes. PI3K Class III activity is regulated by the nature of its interacting partners (including anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-X~L~ \[[@CR16], [@CR17]\]) and by the ULK1/2 complex \[[@CR18]\]. The latter consists of ULK1/2, Atg13 and FIP200 and mediates the response of autophagy towards nutrient availability and energy status, as it is regulated by the nutrient sensing kinase mTOR and the energy sensing AMP-dependent kinase AMPK, respectively. mTOR inhibits the ULK1/2 complex by phosphorylation when amino acids and growth factors are abundant. When nutrients are scarce however, mTOR activity is repressed and ULK1/2 active. Upon energy deprivation, AMPK phosphorylates ULK1/2 at different sites than mTOR, activating the complex \[[@CR19]\], which stimulates PI3K Class III and triggers the formation of the phagophore. AMPK also inhibits mTOR activity by phosphorylating TSC1/TSC2 (tuberous sclerosis complex 1 and 2), thereby suppressing RHEB (Ras homologue enriched in brain) activity \[[@CR20]\]. Further elongation of the phagophore is mediated by delivery of novel lipids transported by lipid carrier protein Atg9 \[[@CR21]\], and by two ubiquitin-like reaction processes that are dependent on Atg7 \[[@CR10], [@CR22]\]. First, Atg5 is covalently linked Atg12 by Atg7 (E1-like) and Atg10 (E2-like). The Atg5-Atg12 complex then binds Atg16L1, resulting in an Atg12-Atg5-Atg16L1 complex that attaches to the autophagosomal membranes. Second, LC3-I is generated from the LC3 precursor mediated by proteolytic cleavage by Atg4 and becomes lipidated in a series of ubiquitin-like reactions executed by E1-like (Atg7), E2-like (Atg3) and E3-like (Atg12-Atg5-Atg16L1) enzymes, resulting in LC3-II \[[@CR11]\]. These reactions are crucial for the autophagy process, as Atg5-, Atg7-deficient mice and cells lack autophagic features \[[@CR23], [@CR24]\], although in specific tissues, Atg5 and Atg7-independent autophagy has been described \[[@CR25]\]. LC3-II attaches to the autophagosomal membrane. This is exploited to determine the amount of autophagosomes by LC3-II detection. However, this does not necessarily reflect autophagic activity, since an inhibition of autophagosome-lysosome fusion too can lead to an accumulation (and thus increase) of autophagosomes \[[@CR26]\]. As such, LC3 data are often obtained in the absence and presence of lysosomal inhibitors and combined with experiments determining the levels of Sqstm1/p62, a long-lived protein, in order to carefully assess autophagic flux. This autophagy receptor links the cargo (e.g. polyubiquitin) to LC3-II at the autophagosomal membranes to be sequestered. Ultimately, p62 is degraded in the lysosomes, making its levels a valuable marker for the autophagic degradation rate \[[@CR27]\].Fig. 1Macroautophagy is a major recycling pathway for long-lived proteins, protein aggregates and organelles. Autophagy induction is controlled by the AMPK/mTOR-signaling axis. In nutrient-rich conditions, AMPK activity is low and mTOR activity is high, thereby suppressing the autophagic pathway. Upon nutrient starvation and/or energy deprivation, AMPK activity is high, causing the inhibition of mTOR (directly and indirectly via the TSC1/2-Rheb GTPase pathway) and activation of the ULK1 complex involving a complex network of phosphorylations. mTOR inhibition and autophagy activation can also be achieved in nutrient-rich conditions using chemical mTOR inhibitors like rapamycin. Activation of the ULK1 complex contributes to the activation of the class III PI3K complex (Atg14L/Beclin 1 (Atg6)/Vps34 and the Vps34-regulatory protein Vps15 (not shown)) by phosphorylating Beclin 1, producing PtdIns(3)P from PtIns at the pre-autophagosomal structures (PAS) necessary for the formation of the phagophore. This structure then elongates into a double-membranous vesicle, the autophagosome, by recruitment of the Atg12/Atg5/Atg16 complex and the lipidation of LC3-I into phosphatidylethanolamine-conjugated LC3-II. LC3-II formation involves the production of LC3-I by Atg4-mediated proteolytic cleavage of LC3 and the action of E1-like ligases (Atg7), E2-like ligases (Atg3) and E3-like ligase complexes (Atg12/Atg5/Atg16L1). Furthermore, ubiquitin-binding proteins like p62 can bind LC3, thereby linking ubiquitinated proteins to LC3-II and targeting them for autophagic degradation. The Atg12/Atg5/Atg16 complex present in the outer membrane dissociates from mature autophagosomes, which then fuse with the lysosomes, degrading the inner membrane and the cargo present in the autophagosomes via luminal hydrolysases and subsequently releasing the digested material via permeases back into the cytosol. The fusion of autophagosomes with lysosomes can also involve endosomes, leading to intermediate amphisome formation Here, we will focus on the emerging role of autophagy as a novel connexin-turnover pathway with a brief summary of the earlier work implicating proteasomal and endosomal/lysosomal pathways for which we would like to refer to the many excellent and recent reviews on this topic published elsewhere \[[@CR28]--[@CR31]\]. Connexin turnover and degradation by proteasomal and lysosomal pathways {#Sec3} ======================================================================= Connexin proteins, together with pannexins and CALHM1, form the basis for intercellular communication between cells and cell types in different tissues and organs \[[@CR32], [@CR33]\]. Hexameric connexin structures, called "connexons", form the functional units, being unopposed hemichannels or head-to-head docked gap junctions, providing flux pathways for a variety of ions, amino acids, nucleotides, metabolites and signaling molecules with molecular weights below 1.5 kDa and small RNA molecules. Cx43, which represents the 43-kDa connexin protein, is the most abundant connexin ubiquitously expressed in a plethora of tissues and organs. As gap junctions, connexins control a plethora of cellular and physiological processes, including the regulation of cell growth, migration, apoptosis, and cell signaling \[[@CR34]--[@CR37]\]. Gap junction dysregulation has been implicated in different pathophysiological conditions, including ischemia/reperfusion in the heart, epilepsy, inflammation, neurodegeneration and myocardial infarctions \[[@CR38]--[@CR40]\]. Different mutations in connexin-encoding genes causing dysfunctional, mislocalized or downregulated gap junctions have been linked to human diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, congenital deafness, skin diseases, myelin-related diseases and cataracts \[[@CR41]--[@CR43]\]. Recently, hemichannels too have been emerging as important signaling hubs not only in pathophysiology (like ischemia reperfusion in brain and heart tissues), but also in physiology \[[@CR44]\], like in fear memory consolidation in astroglia of the basolateral amygdala \[[@CR45]\], in osteocyte viability important for bone structure, integrity and function \[[@CR46], [@CR47]\] and as natural oncosuppressors that counteract cancer growth and metastasis to the bone \[[@CR48]\]. Importantly, connexin gap junction complexes are very dynamically different regulated in a variety of physiological and pathophysiological conditions in different cell types and systems (reviewed in \[[@CR49]\]). In comparison to other membrane proteins characterized by half-lives between 17 and 100 h, the turnover of connexin proteins is very rapid, between 1.5 and 5 h in various cell lines, cell types and tissue \[[@CR49]\]. Rapid degradation may be an important mechanism for adjusting intercellular coupling of cells under normal and pathophysiological conditions. As an exception, a subpopulation of connexins expressed in the lens, like Cx45.6, Cx46 and Cx56 has a prolonged half-life (up to days) \[[@CR49]\]. The turnover of connexin gap junctions is also dynamically regulated in response to physiological and pathophysiological conditions, including the response to EGF, phorbolesters or injury. This involves a well-characterized cascade of phosphorylation events \[[@CR50]\]. For instance, Akt phosphorylation on Cx43 Ser373 promotes Cx43 gap junction assembly in an open state in response to EGF/injury, which is followed by a MAPK-mediated phosphorylation of Ser278/Ser282, closing gap junction, and a Src-mediated phosphorylation of Tyr247 causing Cx43 gap junction internalization \[[@CR50], [@CR51]\]. Degradation of Cx43 gap junctions may occur via the degradation of the "oldest subdomains" (i.e. containing the "oldest proteins") within the gap junction or via the internalization of the complete gap junction in a double membranous structure, called an "annular" junction or "connexisome" \[[@CR50], [@CR51]\]. This internalization of Cx43 gap junctions occurs at least in part via small endocytic double-membrane vesicles \[[@CR52]\] in a clathrin-dependent manner \[[@CR53], [@CR54]\]. A plethora of studies revealed that the degradation of Cx43 proteins involve proteasomal and lysosomal pathways, including autophagy. The dynamic regulation of Cx43 gap junction size and levels by phosphorylation events triggered by physiological and pathophysiological stimuli is discussed elsewhere in different excellent reviews by others \[[@CR50], [@CR51]\]. Seminal work by Beyer and his team showed a prominent role for the ubiquitin-dependent proteasome as a major connexin-turnover pathway in normal conditions and stress conditions like heat stress \[[@CR55]\]. Inhibitors of the proteasome significantly increased the half-life of Cx43 proteins in pulse-chase experiments. Besides pharmacological approaches, his team also used genetic-based approaches thereby elegantly comparing the turnover of Cx43 in E36 chinese hamster ovary cells and in E36 cells containing a temperature-sensitive version of the ubiquitin-activating protein, E1 (ts-E36). The ts-E36 cells are defective in the proteasomal degradation of short-lived or abnormal proteins at high temperatures (39 °C) but not at low temperatures (30 °C). While Cx43-protein levels were similar in E36 and ts-E36 cells at low temperatures, Cx43-protein levels were prominently higher in ts-E36 cells than in wild-type E36 cells at high temperatures. The decline of Cx43 in E36 cells could be rescued by proteasomal inhibitors. Consistent with these findings, Cx43-ubiquitin conjugates could be identified in lysates of E36 cells treated with proteasomal inhibitors. A similar role for proteasomal degradation of Cx43 was described in rat heart-derived BWEM cells in which the loss of plasmalemmal Cx43 triggered by treating the cells with brefeldin A or monensin could be prevented by proteasomal inhibitors. Follow-up studies based on primary cultures from neonatal rat ventricular myocytes demonstrated that heat stress could enhance Cx43 degradation by the proteasome \[[@CR56]\]. Interestingly, heat shock protein 70, upregulated in response to heat stress, emerged as a protective factor preventing Cx43 degradation upon repeated heat stress stimuli. The proteasome not only appears to be important for plasmalemmal Cx43 degradation, but likely assists in the ER-associated degradation (ERAD) mechanism (Fig. [2](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}) of Cx43 dislocated from the ER of cells exposed to cellular stress (like in cells exposed to the reducing agent DTT) \[[@CR28], [@CR57]\]. Further molecular studies provided evidence that ER-localized Cx43 could directly interact with a 75-kDa protein \[[@CR58], [@CR59]\], named Cx43-interacting protein of 75-kDa or CIP75. This protein belongs to the ubiquitin-like (UbL) and ubiquitin-associated (UBA) domain protein family \[[@CR60]\]. UBL/UBA-domain-containing proteins serve as shuttle/adapter proteins interacting on the one hand with ubiquitinated targets and on the other hand with the Rpn1 and Rpn10 subunits of the 19S regulatory particle, which together with the 20S core particle forms the 26S proteasome holoenzyme \[[@CR58], [@CR60]\]. Here, the UBA domain of CIP75 directly bound to the carboxyl terminus (CT) of Cx43 via a low-affinity interaction (K~d~ of about 300 μM), involving several regions within the intrinsically disorder part of the CT tail of Cx43 \[[@CR61]\]. Further studies confirmed the presence of a multi-protein complex involving ER-localized Cx43/CIP75/Rpn1/Rpn10 \[[@CR62]\] in which CIP75 is essential for the interaction of Cx43 with the proteasomal components. CIP75 controlled Cx43 half-life, which increased in the absence of CIP75 and decreased upon CIP75 overexpression \[[@CR58]\]. CIP75-induced Cx43 degradation could be prevented by proteasomal inhibitors. Interestingly, although CIP75 directly interacts with different ubiquitinated proteins, including the well-documented p27 (Cip/Kip family of cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 1B (CDKN1B)), to direct them to the proteasome for degradation, the interaction of CIP75 with ER-localized Cx43 occurred in an ubiquitin-independent manner \[[@CR59]\]. Indeed, ER-localized Cx43 co-immunoprecipitated with CIP75 was not ubiquitinated, while immunoprecipitation of ubiquitinated proteins did not yield any Cx43. This finding was corroborated by experiments showing the binding of CIP75 to lysine-mutated Cx43, void of potential ubiquitin-acceptor sites. Further experiments indicated that the interaction of CIP75 with Cx43 was increased upon misfolding of the Cx43 protein, either induced by mutations or by DTT \[[@CR62]\]. Hence, CIP75 was proposed to facilitate the dislocation of Cx43 from the ER membranes into the cytosol, where it can be targeted to the proteasome for degradation by associating with the Rpn1 and Rpn10 components \[[@CR62]\]. Very recently, the role of CIP75 in the proteasomal degradation of connexin proteins appeared not to be limited to the Cx43 isoform, but also impacted the degradation of other connexin isoforms, including Cx40 and Cx45 \[[@CR61]\]. Similarly as for Cx43, the UBA domain of CIP75 was found to directly interact with the CT regions of Cx40 and Cx45 via low-affinity interactions involving several intrinsically disordered regions, which were not conserved among the different Cx43, Cx40 and Cx45 proteins. Consistent with these molecular findings, CIP75 levels affected the degradation of Cx40 and Cx45 proteins, in which CIP75 shRNAs augmented Cx40- and Cx45-protein levels, likely by hampering their proteasomal degradation via ERAD. This is supported by the fact that cells expressing ER-targeted Cx40 or Cx45, treated with brefeldin A/DTT to induce Cx40 or Cx45 misfolding and degradation by ERAD, displayed augmented Cx40/CIP75 or Cx45/CIP75-complex formation and co-localization at the ER membranes. Besides Cx40, Cx43 and Cx45, also Cx32 appears to be degraded via the proteasome involving ERAD, but this likely involves the canonical ubiquitination pathway of Cx32 \[[@CR57], [@CR63], [@CR64]\]. This appears to be supported by biochemical evidence that CIP75 could be co-immunoprecipitated with cellular Cx32 but not with the bacterially expressed and purified CT of Cx32 \[[@CR61]\]. Proteasomal degradation has also been implicated in the turnover of pathological mutant connexin channels that are inherently unstable \[[@CR65]\]. For instance, a frame shift mutation in Cx50 causing recessive congenital cataract resulted in an unstable Cx50 protein that is rapidly degraded via ERAD and the proteasome, thereby reducing Cx50 gap junctions and impairing intercellular communication \[[@CR65]\]. Epoxomicin, a proteasomal inhibitor, prevented the degradation of the mutant Cx50 protein, increasing Cx50-protein levels and their presence as functional gap junctions, capable of restoring intercellular coupling.Fig. 2Proteasomal degradation of Cx43 via ERAD: CIP75 binds to the C-terminal tail of ER-localized Cx43 via its UBA domain, and then facilitates the translocation of Cx43 from the ER membrane into the cytosol. This complex interacts with 19S proteasome subunit via the CIP75 UBL domain, leads to the proteasomal degradation However, early on in connexin research, it became also very clear that lysosomal pathways contributed to the connexin degradation, potentially as a minor component in normal physiological conditions, but gaining more importance upon stress \[[@CR55], [@CR66]\]. Lysosomotropic amines slightly increased the half-life of Cx43 in response to heat stress \[[@CR55]\]. However, follow-up studies showed that endogenous Cx43 levels were about 4-fold higher in BWEM cells exposed to proteosomal or lysosomal inhibitors than in untreated BWEM cells \[[@CR66]\]. In brefeldin A-induced Cx43-degradation experiments, proteasomal and lysosomal inhibitors appeared both effective in counteracting Cx43 degradation. Also, brefeldin A caused internalization of Cx43 gap junction, as a step preceding degradation. Strikingly, proteasomal inhibitors could largely restore the presence of Cx43 in gap junctional plaques at appositional membranes in brefeldin A-treated cells, while lysosomal inhibitors were much less effective. In the latter, Cx43 gap junctions mainly appeared in intracellular vesicles. Different studies provided evidence for endolysosomal Cx43 degradation (reviewed in \[[@CR28]\]). Plasmalemmal Cx43 gap junctions internalized via the endocytic pathway and subsequently fused with lysosomal structures (Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}). As discussed elsewhere \[[@CR29]\], Cx43 internalization depended on the presence of clathrin, clathrin-adaptor proteins (including AP-2 and Dab2) and dynamin 2 and on dynamin GTPase activity. Also, the Cx43-interacting protein of 85 kDa, CIP85, an ubiquitously expressed Rab GTPase-activating protein, emerged as a critical factor for Cx43 internalization and lysosomal degradation \[[@CR67]\]. CIP85 co-localized with Cx43 at the cell surface by means of a direct interaction between CIP85 and Cx43, involving the SH3 domain and the proline-rich region P^253^LSP^256^, respectively. Overexpression of CIP85, but not CIP85 lacking its SH3 domain, increased Cx43 turnover likely by recruiting clathrin and subsequently enhancing Cx43 internalization as gap junctions from the plasma membrane \[[@CR67]\]. Strikingly, lysosomal inhibitors, such as NH~4~Cl or leupeptin, but not proteasomal inhibitors, such as MG132, prevented the increased turnover of Cx43 by CIP85 overexpression \[[@CR68]\]. Further studies showed the accumulation of connexins in lysosomes in cells exposed to lysosomal inhibitors, preventing their degradation and correlating with an increased appearance of Cx43 at the cell surface in such conditions \[[@CR69]\].Fig. 3Endolysosomal degradation: CIP85 interacts with Cx43 via SH3 domain at plasma membrane. Initiation of clathrin-mediated endocytosis starts at PtdIns(4,5)P~2~-rich sites in the plasma membrane where the AP2 adaptor complex associates and recruits further accessory proteins. AP2 complexes connect the cargo membrane protein to clathrin coat. GTPase dynamin is necessary for movement of the vesicle and cargo into the cell. Internalized Cx43 are degraded via lysosomal degradation Autophagy: an emerging connexin-degradation pathway {#Sec4} =================================================== Besides the endosomal/lysosomal pathway, in recent years, autophagy emerged as an important connexin-degradation pathway. This is supported by electron microscopic observations made about 30 years ago showing the presence of gap junctions in autophagic structures, the typical double membrane vesicles containing cellular material \[[@CR52]\]. However, only recently, mechanistic insights in the role of autophagy for connexin turnover have been obtained. Basic molecular mechanisms underlying connexin degradation by autophagy {#Sec5} ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The first direct evidence for a role of autophagy in connexin degradation was provided by the work of Beyer and his team \[[@CR70]\]. Nutrient starvation, a potent inducer of the canonical mTOR-controlled autophagy pathway, triggered a rapid decline in the protein levels of wild-type Cx50, ectopically expressed in HeLa cells, and of wild-type Cx43, endogenously expressed in NRK cells. Nutrient starvation periods of just 2 h already impacted Cx43- and Cx50-protein levels. This corresponded with a marked decline in Cx43 and Cx50 levels at the plasma membrane and in perinuclear regions and a prominent increase in cytosolic LC3-positive autophagosomal punctae that stained positive for Cx50. About 1/3 of the intracellular Cx50 co-localized with LC3 in cells undergoing starvation for 4 h. Also, p62, another autophagic marker, could be detected in punctae that co-localized with intracellular, but not plasmalemmal, Cx50 or Cx43. Importantly, intracellular connexin gap junctions appeared in intracellular double membrane vesicles that were in close proximity of the endoplasmic reticulum, a hall-mark of autophagosome formation and autophagy. Basal autophagy appeared to contribute to the normal turn-over of Cx50 and Cx43 proteins, since chloroquine, a lysosomal inhibitor, caused an increase of about 30 % in basal Cx50-protein levels in transfected HeLa cells and of more than 100 % in basal, endogenous Cx43-protein levels in NRK cells, both grown in normal, nutrient-rich medium conditions. In these cell systems, chloroquine largely prevented the starvation-induced decline in Cx50- and Cx43-protein levels. These observations correlated with the co-localization of LC3 with both Cx50 and Cx43 under normal growth conditions, suggesting connexin turnover by basal autophagy and an increased co-localization during starvation periods (in the presence of chloroquine to prevent connexin degradation). Also depleting cells of Atg (autophagy-related) proteins, essential for autophagic flux, impacted connexin-protein levels. Knocking down Atg5 caused an increase of about 50 % in the basal Cx50-protein levels in non-starved HeLa cells and largely prevented the starvation-induced decline in Cx50-protein levels in starved HeLa cells. Similar results were obtained for Cx43 in MEF cells, in which Atg5-knockout MEF did not display any decline in Cx43-protein levels upon starvation. This study also implicated autophagy as an important degradation pathway for mutant Cx50 proteins, like Cx50^P88S^ associated with cataract. In fluorescent microscopy experiments, cytoplasmic accumulation of Cx50^P88S^ co-localized with the endogenous autophagosomal markers LC3 and p62, and with the lysosomal markers LAMP1. Consistently, starvation caused a major decline in the Cx50P88S-protein levels compared to non-starved conditions. The co-localization of p62 with Cx43 and Cx50 might imply a role for p62 in targeting connexins to the autophagic machinery for degradation, given p62's role as a linker protein between ubiquitinated proteins and LC3. In subsequent work by Cuervo and co-workers \[[@CR71]\], molecular determinants controlling Cx43 degradation by autophagy were elucidated. In this study, it was shown that several endogenously expressed connexins, Cx26, Cx32 and Cx43, in the liver were present in autophagic vesicles (autophagosomes and autophagolysosomes) and co-fractionated with LC3. Connexin accumulation in the autophagic vesicles became more pronounced in liver samples starved for 6 h and in cultured cells from which serum was removed. Depletion of essential autophagy proteins in cells by Atg7 knockdown or Atg5 knockout prevented the degradation of connexins in response to serum removal. Similar effects were obtained using 3-methyladenine, a PI3K inhibitor that inhibits autophagy by suppressing autophagosome formation. Using photoswitchable Dendra-fused connexins to track *de novo* synthesized proteins as red fluorescent proteins, it was observed that serum-starvation caused the rapid degradation of Cx26, Cx32 and Cx43. However, in contrast to Cx26 and Cx32, Cx43 could be completely rescued by Atg7 knockdown, implying different roles for autophagy in the degradation of different connexin isoforms. Consistent with these findings, serum removal caused Cx43 relocalization from the plasma membrane to autophagosomes. The presence of Cx43 in these LC3/p62-positive vesicles was enhanced upon treatment with lysosomal inhibitors. In serum removal conditions, the degradation of Cx43 appeared to be mediated via the lysosomes but not the proteasome, since proteasomal inhibitors (MG132 or lactacystin) did not prevent the decline in Cx43-protein levels. Further cell surface biotinylation and confocal microscopy experiments revealed that mainly Cx43 gap junctions are rapidly degraded by autophagy in conditions of nutrient starvation. As a consequence, Cx43 remained present in the plasma membrane of starved cells treated with 3-MA or in which Atg5 or Atg7 was ablated. These findings were supported by in vivo evidence in liver-specific ATG7-knockout mice, displaying increased Cx43 levels and enhanced appearance of Cx43 at the plasma membrane. These molecular findings were also supported by evidence obtained at the functional level. Intercellular dye spreading, a measure for gap junctional coupling, was markedly declined upon nutrient starvation, while this decline could be alleviated upon chemical or genetic inhibition of autophagy. In addition, a link between internalization and autophagy was established. Indeed, lindane caused Cx43 internalization and degradation involving a time-dependent and autophagy-dependent redistribution of Cx43 from the plasma membrane to late endosomal/lysosomal vesicles identified by LAMP-1. The requirement of Cx43 internalization for its autophagic degradation was further elegantly illustrated by the use of the endocytosis-deficient Cx43^Y286A^ mutant. Interestingly, in contrast to wild-type GFP-Cx43, GFP-Cx43^Y286A^ persisted at gap junctions in the plasma membrane in starved cells. The internalization and autophagic degradation of Cx43 appeared to be dependent on ubiquitination of Cx43 by Nedd4 (Fig. [4a](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}) and the further recruitment of the endocytic protein epidermal growth factor receptor substrate 15 (Eps15). Nedd4, an ubiquitin ligase enzyme, was previously implicated in binding the C-terminus of Cx43 and mediating Cx43 ubiquitination \[[@CR72]--[@CR74]\]. Eps15, an endocytic adaptor protein containing ubiquitin-binding domain, was previously identified to interact with ubiquitinated Cx43 and promote its internalization \[[@CR74]\]. Serum starvation induced Nedd4-dependent ubiquitination of Cx43, but not of the Cx43^Y286A^ mutant, before its accumulation in autophagosomes \[[@CR71]\]. Cx43 expressed in Nedd4-deficient cells was resistant to degradation by nutrient starvation. These findings were corroborated by showing that ectopically expressed Cx43, but not Cx43^Y286A^, fused to a single ubiquitin molecule was rapidly degraded in an autophagy-dependent manner in response to nutrient starvation. It was here confirmed that p62 served as cargo-recognition factor, forming a bridge between ubiquitinated Cx43 and LC3. Cx43-p62 interaction was enhanced during starvation, but was strongly diminished in cells lacking Nedd4. Furthermore, a critical role for Eps15 was identified in the early steps of Cx43 degradation.Cx43-Eps15 interaction was enhanced upon starvation, directing Cx43 for autophagic degradation. In cells lacking Eps15, Cx43 persisted at gap junctions in the plasma membrane upon nutrient starvation. Cx43-Eps15 interaction did not require autophagy, since cells lacking Atg5 or Atg7 or treated with 3-MA even displayed higher levels of Cx43-Eps15-complex formation. However, ubiquitination of Cx43 was critical for Eps15 interaction, since Cx43^Y286A^ and Cx43 expressed in Nedd4-deficient cells failed to recruit Eps15 in response to serum starvation. Excitingly, in this study \[[@CR71]\], Eps15 was also identified as a novel autophagy cargo recognition molecule, given its ability to interact with LC3 in LC3-immunoprecipitation assays and its ability to recruit LC3 and Cx43 in Eps15-immunoprecipitation assays. In any case, these data revealed autophagy as a major turn-over pathway for Cx43 via a mechanism that involves Nedd4-dependent ubiquitination, recruitment of Eps15 and associations with the autophagic machinery, thereby facilitating Cx43 gap junction internalization and autophagic degradation via the lysosomes.Fig. 4Connexin degradation by autophagy pathway: **a** Nedd4 mediates ubiquitination of Cx43 (shown Cx43 subunit) in gap junction plaques and recruits Eps15 to gap junctions upon nutrient starvation. Eps15 can interact with Cx43 via ubiquitin-binding domain, thereby promoting its internalization. Upon starvation, Cx43-p62-LC3 interaction can direct Cx43 for autophagy degradation. **b** In normal conditions, autophagosome precursor proteins such as PI3K complex (Beclin 1, Vps34 and Vps15) and Atg16 are associated with Cx43 (as Cx-Atg complex) at the plasma membrane. The Cx-Atg complex negatively regulates autophagy. During starvation, the arrival of Atg14 and Atg9 to the Cx43-enriched plasma membrane, activates Vps34 kinase, thereby inducing internalization of the Cx-Atg complex and the delivery of these pre-autophagosomal components to the sites of autophagosome formation. Internalization of Cx43 requires the presence of Eps15 (not shown). For clarity reasons, the internalization of only one Cx43 subunit is shown in both channels A detailed ultrastructural, microscopy-based study also revealed autophagy as a major clearance/degradation pathway for internalized annular gap junctions from the cytoplasm \[[@CR75]\]. Internalized annular gap junctions appeared to co-localize with autophagosomal cargo, sequestration and degradation markers, like p62, RAB-7 and LC3. Double-membrane phagophore formation could be observed around annular gap junctions, eventually resulting in lysosomal degradation. Interfering with autophagy using pharmacological agents or by knocking down essential autophagy or cargo proteins increased total Cx43-protein levels and augmented the number of Cx43-containing annular gap junctions. It was postulated that these annular gap junctions resemble large and complex protein/vesicular structures (e.g. like protein aggregates, multi-protein complexes, damaged organelles and pathogens) that are typically removed from the cytoplasm via autophagy rather than via the proteasome \[[@CR75]\]. However, a subset of the annular gap junctions could be directed to the lysosomes via the endosomal system, as has been observed for hyperphosphorylated and hyperubiquitinated Cx43 in response to chemical PKC hyperactivation \[[@CR76]\]. Shuttling of ubiquitinated Cx43 from endosomes to lysosomes appears to be dependent on two ubiquitin-binding proteins, namely Hrs (hepatocyte growth factor-regulated tyrosine kinase substrate; also known as Hgs) and Tsg101 (tumor susceptibility gene 101) \[[@CR77]\]. Another recent ultrastructural study revealed that annular gap junctions could be recycled to the plasma membrane or degraded via three pathways, including endo-lysososomal pathways, autophagosomal pathways and a direct engulfment by lysosomes \[[@CR78]\]. Connexin degradation by autophagy in different cellular and physiological systems and pathophysiological conditions {#Sec6} ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An increasing number of studies report an emerging role for autophagy as the turnover pathway of connexins in pathophysiological conditions and diseases, including ischemic insults and cancers. ### Low pH in pancreatic acinar cells {#Sec7} Besides starvation, low pH, a condition known to uncouple connexin gap junctions in heart \[[@CR79]\], has been implicated in the degradation of Cx32 gap junctions present in pancreatic acinar cells \[[@CR80]\]. In particular, low pH in combination with cerulein, which triggers IP~3~-induced Ca^2+^ oscillations synchronized by gap junctions, caused a striking decline in Cx32-protein levels and Cx32 gap junction-mediated coupling of acinar cells. In these conditions, Cx32 gap junctions were lost and rapidly turned over, correlating with a punctate intracellular localization. The decline in Cx32-protein levels by the low pH/cerulean treatment could be prevented by lysosomal inhibitors and by the PI3K/autophagy inhibitor 3-MA. However, also proteasomal degradation pathways appeared to contribute to Cx32 degradation in this system. In another study, cadmium-induced toxicity in BRL 3A rat liver cells was linked to an increase in autophagic markers and an upregulation of essential autophagy proteins Atg5, Atg7 and Beclin 1. This coincided with a decrease in Cx43-protein levels and gap junctional coupling, which could be counteracted by lysosomal inhibitors and aggravated by the autophagy-inducer rapamycin. ### Heart failure and ischemia in the heart {#Sec8} A first study focusing on normal and failing heart was able to link autophagic markers to lateralized and subsequently internalized Cx43 gap junctions in cardiomyocytes \[[@CR81]\]. In normal hearts, Cx43 gap junctions appear at the intercalated disc region of the cardiomyocyte plasma membrane to properly propagate and spread electrical signals coordinating heart contractions. In failing hearts, Cx43 gap junctions relocalize to lateral cell membranes. In these failing hearts, Cx43 gap junctions became internalized and appeared in multilamellar membrane structures. The membranes appeared to contain buoyant, cholesterol and sphingolipid-rich membrane domains (referred to as lipid raft or LR membrane domains), in which a subset of the Cx43 gap junction population can be accumulating. Interestingly, in failing hearts, the total Cx43 protein levels declined correlating with an increased accumulation of the Cx43 protein in these LR membrane domains compared to the Cx43 levels in LR membrane domains from normal hearts. These structures also resembled the properties of autophagosomes and accumulated the lipidated protein LC3-II, which too became upregulated in failing hearts. As such, the LR fractions contained both Cx43 and LC3 protein. Interestingly, Cx43 and GFP-LC3 co-localized in intracellular punctae resembling autophagosomes in HeLa cells and in neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes. However, this study did not show whether autophagy or its increased flux was responsible for the turnover and degradation of the Cx43 gap junctions. Further work on the cardiac system focused on the role of autophagy in degrading Cx43 upon ischemia and ischemia/reperfusion. Ischemia/reperfusion has been associated with excessive autophagy induction in different physiological systems like the heart \[[@CR82]\], liver \[[@CR83]\] and kidneys \[[@CR84]\], resulting in detrimental effects like autophagy-dependent cell death or autosis \[[@CR85]\]. In the cardiomyocyte cell line HL-1, ischemia diminished total Cx43-protein levels and plasmalemmal Cx43 levels, including hemichannels and gap junctions \[[@CR86]\]. This decline in Cx43 could be partially rescued by lysosomal inhibitor Bafilomycin A, implying ischemia-induced Cx43 degradation by autophagy in HL-1 cells. These observations correlated with an increased appearance of autophagosomes, LC3-II accumulation, GFP-LC3-punctae formation and Cx43-LC3 co-localization in HL-1 during ischemia. These findings were also observed in organotypic heart slices and in Langendorff heart preparations. Functionally, ischemia in HL-1 reduced intercellular coupling via gap junctions, which could be rescued by the autophagy inhibitor 3-MA. Consistent with previous studies, a "proximal" role for Eps15 was found for the internalization of Cx43 that became ubiquitinated during ischemia and a more "distal" role for p62 for the targeting of the internalized, ubiquitinated Cx43 to the autophagic machinery. Unexpectedly, while Nedd4 controlled ubiquitination of Cx43 and impacted basal Cx43 level in HL-1 cells, ischemia-induced ubiquitination and degradation of Cx43 was not altered in HL-1 cells in which Nedd4 was knocked down. This suggests that other E3 ubiquitin ligases may be involved in ubiquitination of Cx43 during ischemia. Also ischemia/reperfusion caused Cx43 degradation in a more excessive manner than ischemia alone. Cx43 degradation too relied on autophagy, although 3-MA added only during reperfusion could not prevent Cx43 degradation, implying an important role for Cx43-containing autophagosomes that have been accumulating during the ischemia period. Interestingly, AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) and Beclin 1 appeared to play different key roles in the Cx43 degradation upon ischemia versus ischemia reperfusion. Early on during ischemia, AMPK is robustly activated, implying a marked decline in cellular ATP levels. Chemical inhibition of AMPK could partially prevent ischemia-induced Cx43 degradation during these early periods of ischemia. Extended periods of ischemia led to a decline in AMPK activity and a failure of the AMPK inhibitor to stabilize Cx43. During these extended periods, Beclin 1 appeared important, since siRNA against Beclin 1 could prevent Cx43 degradation during the longer ischemia periods. During ischemia/reperfusion, only Beclin 1 siRNA but not AMPK inhibition was effective in preventing Cx43 degradation. Thus, these data imply different molecular autophagy key players become activated during the different periods of ischemia and ischemia/reperfusion, ultimately controlling Cx43 degradation. Very interestingly, a recent study aiming to document the proteomic changes associated with the susceptibility of neonatal versus adult murine hearts to ischemia/reperfusion reported an increase in Cx43 levels but a decrease in Beclin 1 levels upon maturation \[[@CR87]\]. ### Oncogenesis in different tumors {#Sec9} Both altered autophagy \[[@CR88], [@CR89]\] and altered connexin expression \[[@CR90]--[@CR92]\] have been implicated in oncogenesis in a variety of tumors. In particular, in a variety of tumors connexin gap junctions appear to be downregulated \[[@CR93]\], yet the contribution of autophagy in oncogenic connexin downregulation is definitely not clear. Nevertheless, a number of studies appear to suggest the involvement of autophagy in connexin turnover in tumors. For instance, in non-small cell lung cancer cells (NSCLC), autophagy is responsible for the rapid degradation and downregulation of the Cx31.1. isoform. In H1299, a NSCLC cell line, Cx31.1 overexpression resulted in an intracellular localization of the protein, consistent with the very rapid turn-over of Cx31.1 in these cells. The rapid turnover of Cx31.1 could only be partially prevented by proteasomal inhibitors. Moreover, autophagy-inducing conditions like starvation and brefeldinA further increased the rapid decline in Cx31.1 that was only mildly impacted by proteasomal inhibitors. In contrast, knockdown of Atg5 prominently protected Cx31.1 against starvation-induced degradation. In these cells, Cx31.1 appeared in intracellular punctae that co-localized with the autophagic marker LC3 upon starvation. An unbiased mass spectrometry analysis of GFP-Cx31.1 immunoprecipitated samples revealed clathrin as a potential Cx31.1-binding partner, confirmed in direct co-immunoprecipitation assays. Cx31.1 and clathrin co-localized in cells, including in intracellular punctae that became more pronounced in starved cells. Knockdown of clathrin appeared to augment basal Cx31.1 levels and prevented the starvation-induced decrease of Cx31.1 in these cells. Hence, this study shows that autophagy may contribute to the degradation of different connexin isoforms in cancer cells, although the impact of restoring Cx31.1 expression through autophagy inhibition on the oncogenic properties of these tumors ought to be further characterized. A further role for altered connexin presence in tumors linked to autophagy has been observed in keratocystic odontogenic tumors \[[@CR94]\]. In these tumor samples, Cx43 and Cx32 levels were significantly downregulated compared to normal oral mucosa samples. The Cx43 and Cx32 levels negatively correlated with the expression of the autophagy markers LC3 and p62. This may imply that excessive autophagy and upregulation of autophagy markers linked to both Cx43 and Cx32 degradation could contribute to the downregulation of Cx43 and Cx32 in these tumors. Thus, inhibiting autophagy may have a tumor suppressive potential in these patients by restoring normal Cx43 and Cx32 levels. Connexin degradation by autophagy also has been implicated as an escape mechanism of tumor cells for immune surveillance by natural killer cells \[[@CR95]\]. In particular, hypoxic stress, occurring in the tumor micro-environment, appears to be involved in escaping immune surveillance, including a suppressed susceptibility of tumor cell lysis by natural killer cells \[[@CR96]\]. While hypoxic stress increased the total Cx43-protein levels in a HIF1α-driven manner in melanoma cells, the presence of Cx43 gap junctions at the immunological synapse between melanoma cells and natural killer cells was strongly diminished \[[@CR95]\]. The decline of Cx43 gap junctions at the immunological sequence was dependent on the increased autophagic flux occurring during hypoxia. Indeed, the presence of Cx43 at the immunological synapse could be restored by inhibiting lysosomes or knocking down Atg5. Importantly, inhibiting autophagy and thus preventing the subsequent degradation of Cx43 at the immunological synapse was very effective in restoring the susceptibility of hypoxic melanoma cells towards natural killer cell-mediated lysis. These findings were corroborated by the use of the endocytic Cx43^Y286A^ mutant, which remained present at the immunological synapse during hypoxic stress and also restored the susceptibility of tumor cells towards lysis by natural killer cells in hypoxic conditions. Thus, this study suggests that inhibition of autophagy may serve as a strategy to render tumors more vulnerable to attacks by the immune system (e.g. through lysis by natural killer cells) by restoring the presence of connexin at immunological synapses. Relevance of connexin degradation by autophagy {#Sec10} ---------------------------------------------- The cellular and physiological relevance of connexin degradation by autophagy, in particular in response to stress conditions like nutrient starvation, remains to be further explored. In general, it is proposed that autophagy activation as an initial response to stress serves as a cell survival pathway while evading cell death. However, excessive or prolonged autophagy will lead to and/or contribute to cell death. Also, autosis, a new form of cell death associated with high levels of autophagy, has been described \[[@CR85]\]. Furthermore, there are several mechanistic links between autophagy and several cell death processes \[[@CR85], [@CR97]\]. For instance, anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins can bind Beclin 1, thereby preventing its pro-autophagic function and thus co-regulating apoptosis and autophagy \[[@CR98]\]. Also, receptor-interacting protein kinase-1 (RIPK1), a signaling node in the control of apoptosis and necroptosis in response to extrinsic death factors, suppresses basal autophagy by promoting ERK-dependent phosphorylation of TFEB, thereby suppressing its transcriptional activity that is involved in the expression of genes with functions in autophagy and lysosomal biogenesis \[[@CR99], [@CR100]\]. Moreover, several proteins with pro-death functions have been shown to be degraded by autophagy \[[@CR85]\]. For instance, FDA-approved inhibitors of mTOR decrease RIPK1 and RIPK3 levels in human renal cell carcinoma cells by activating autophagy, which underlies their resistance to these mTOR inhibitors \[[@CR101]\]. Inhibition of autophagy using the lysosomal inhibitor chloroquine leads to RIPK1/RIPK3 stabilization in mTOR inhibitor-treated cells, thereby promoting necroptotic cell death in these cells. Autophagy also impacts the phosphatase FAP1 (Fas-associated phosphatase 1), which counteracts Fas/CD95-induced apoptotic cell death \[[@CR102]\]. Cells with increased autophagy flux display reduced levels of FAP1, thereby sensitizing these cells to apoptosis elicited by Fas/CD95 signaling. Finally, also activated caspase 8 has been reported to be sequestered into autophagosomes and degraded in the lysosomes, thereby rendering Bax-deficient Hct116 cells resistant to TRAIL-induced apoptosis \[[@CR103]\]. Inhibiting autophagy restored TRAIL-induced caspase 8-dependent apoptotic responses in these cells. Importantly, connexin gap junctions too have been linked to cell death processes and were shown to be responsible for the spreading of cell death factors between neighboring cells involving the diffusion of IP~3~ as a critical factor \[[@CR104], [@CR105]\]. Connexin hemichannels may mediate the loss of essential survival factors and release of ATP, glutamate and prostaglandins as factors that participate in cell-death spreading through paracrine signaling \[[@CR106]\]. Also, Cx43 gap junctions and ATP release contribute in vivo to the spreading of radiation-induced damage from the irradiated region (e.g. containing tumor cells) to other neighboring unexposed regions (e.g. healthy tissues) \[[@CR107]\]. In that sense, the increased turnover of connexin proteins as pro-death signaling complexes by autophagy could be a manner to prevent cell death or cell death spreading during these early adaptive responses. Further work using strategies that favor the stabilization of connexin proteins during autophagy induction treatments and subsequently assess the impact on cell viability, susceptibility to cell death stimuli and cell death spreading should provide further insights in this process. In addition, Cx43 is also present in intracellular organelles, including the mitochondria, and can also control cell survival. Yet, their susceptibility towards stress conditions and autophagy degradation has not yet been studied. For a detailed discussion of the role of connexins as gap junctions and hemichannels or their channel-independent functions in controlling cell death and survival, we wish to refer to different reviews dealing with these topics \[[@CR34], [@CR36], [@CR106]\]. At the physiological level, it will be interesting to understand how autophagy impacts connexin functions as gap junctions and hemichannels and connexin-mediated signaling processes in native tissues like brain, including the astroglial network, heart and bone. In particular, the use of tissue-specific knockouts for autophagy-dependent genes will be instrumental to unravel the physiological role of autophagy-dependent regulation of connexins, connexin-mediated signaling and connexin-controlled processes in vivo. Also, autophagy has been shown to decrease during ageing, to be impaired in different pathologies including neurodegenerative diseases and to play an anti-inflammatory role \[[@CR108], [@CR109]\]. Now, connexins too have been implicated in these processes with severe alterations in function and expression in several disease conditions \[[@CR43], [@CR110], [@CR111]\]. For instance, the excessive opening of astroglial hemichannels has been implicated in response to inflammatory cytokines and amyloid β, leading to neuronal cell death \[[@CR112]--[@CR114]\]. Hence, alterations in autophagy might impact the surface level of connexins in gap junctions and hemichannels in these cell types and thus the pathophysiological outcome. Connexins: an emerging negative regulator of autophagic flux {#Sec11} ============================================================ While autophagy impacts connexin levels, it is also clear that connexins by themselves can suppress the autophagy process by recruiting pre-autophagosomal Atg proteins and PI3K components (Fig. [4b](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}), as recently reported in a seminal paper by Cuervo and co-workers \[[@CR115]\]. Cx43 could co-localize and associate with Atg16, a marker for pre-autophagosomal structures. The co-localization of Cx43 with Atg16 was not altered in cells undergoing nutrient starvation, in cells exposed with 3-MA or in cells lacking Atg15. The Cx43-Atg16 complex appeared prior to autophagy activation, since it did not contain Atg5. Importantly, mouse osteoblasts obtained from wild-type versus Cx43-knockout mice displayed altered autophagy. In the absence of Cx43, autophagic flux was enhanced with an increase in the number of autophagic vesicles and of steady state LC3-II levels. The inhibition of autophagy by Cx43 was independent of its ability to form functional gap junctions, since chemical inhibition of Cx43 gap junctions did not increase autophagic flux, while GFP-Cx43, a fusion protein that is located at the plasma membrane but that fails to form functional gap junctions, was fully capable of inhibiting autophagy. Interestingly, a C-terminally truncated Cx43 protein at position 258 too could repress autophagy correlating with its ability to interact with Atg16, while Cx43 truncated at position 245 failed to repress autophagy and to interact with Atg16. The 245--258 region also contains a Src-phosphorylation site. Inhibiting Src activity robustly increased autophagy in Cx43-expressing but not in Cx43-knockout cells, indicating a role for Src-dependent phosphorylation of Cx43 in suppressing autophagy. Besides Atg16, Cx43 also recruited different components of the class III PI3K complex. Different members of this initiation complex, Vps34, Beclin 1 and Vps15, were found to interact with Cx43 in normal, starved or rapamycin-treated conditions and independent on the expression of Atg5 or Atg16. Also other connexin isoforms appeared to negatively impact autophagic flux, indicating that many connexin-family members might serve as general autophagy regulators. Knockdown of Cx26 or Cx32 in MEF cells resulted in increased autophagy, coinciding with their ability to bind and recruit Atg16. Agents that promoted acute internalization of Cx43 also increased autophagic flux in a Cx43-dependent manner. Indeed, tamoxifen and lindane increased autophagy in Cx43-expressing cells, but not in Cx43-knockout cells, which displayed already high autophagy in basal conditions. The internalization of Cx43 also resulted in a decrease in Cx43-Atg16-complex formation, while Atg16-positive pre-autophagic compartments became more prevalent. Internalization of Cx43 appeared to be dependent on the recruitment of Atg9 and Atg14 towards Cx43-enriched plasma membrane regions. Upon starvation, several Atg9 (multimembrane-spanning protein) vesicles are redistributed from *trans*-Golgi network and interact with phagophores during early steps of autophagosome formation \[[@CR116]\]. Both Atg9 and Atg14 must be present in these regions in a spatiotemporal manner before Cx43 gap junctions can be internalized and degraded by autophagy. Interestingly, the presence of Atg9 and Atg14 at the plasma membrane and their interaction with Cx43 was prominently increased upon conditions of serum starvation, explaining the increased Cx43 internalization during nutrient starvation. It is interesting to note that other channels have been implicated as regulators of the autophagy process by scaffolding/recruiting essential autophagy proteins. For instance, the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP~3~R), an intracellular Ca^2+^-release channel located at the endoplasmic reticulum, has been shown to recruit Beclin 1, thereby limiting its availability for the PI3K initiation complex and thus suppressing autophagy \[[@CR117]--[@CR119]\]. However, other studies proposed a stimulatory role for IP~3~Rs in autophagy by recruiting Beclin 1, sensitizing the IP~3~R channel to its agonist IP~3~ and promoting intracellular Ca^2+^-signaling events that are essential to upregulate autophagic flux in response to nutrient starvation \[[@CR120]--[@CR123]\]. Further studies have implicated that connexins could regulate the autophagy pathway. In hippocampal tissues obtained from rats exposed to traumatic brain injuries, astrocytic phosphorylated Cx43 levels increased, coinciding with an increase in the autophagic marker LC3-II in the neurons \[[@CR124]\]. Carbenoxolone, a Cx43 gap junction/hemichannel inhibitor, prevented the increase in phosphorylated Cx43 caused by traumatic brain injury and also suppressed the increase in LC3-II levels. These experiments therefore suggested a link between the appearance of phosphorylated Cx43 in astrocytes and autophagy induction in neurons as a potential mechanism for brain injuries. This was further underpinned by in vivo experiments, in which both carbenoxolone and 3-MA could alleviate the memory deficits induced by traumatic brain injuries in an assay testing for spatial memory \[[@CR125]\]. This correlated with a partial reversal of the loss of long-term potentiation in rat hippocampal slices induced by traumatic brain injury. Thus, both increased phosphorylated Cx43 and autophagy appeared to negatively impact brain function in this setup. At the molecular level, traumatic brain injury reduced the expression of the glutamate transporter GLT-1 and increased the expression of the ionotropic purinergic receptor P2X7R. Collectively, suppressing Cx43 phosphorylation by carbenoxolone, inhibiting P2X7R using oxATP or activating the GLT-1 transporter were able to counteract traumatic brain injury-induced Beclin 1 upregulation. Furthermore, phosphorylated Cx43 and the upregulation of the P2X7R were also able to prevent the injury-induced decline in GLT-1 levels. Collectively, these data imply a cascade in which the accumulation of phosphorylated Cx43 in astrocytes during brain injury leads to an upregulation of P2X7R, augmenting ATP release and ATP-induced signaling processes that result in a decrease in GLT-1 and excessive activation of the autophagic pathway via a marked upregulation of Beclin 1. This "toxic" signaling cascade appears to negatively impact brain functions after traumatic injury, since interfering with either Cx43 or autophagy is able to partially restore neuronal functions. However, the molecular mechanisms by which elevated levels of phosphorylated Cx43 in astrocytes upregulate autophagy in neurons require further studies. Conclusions {#Sec12} =========== There is increasing evidence that autophagy and connexins are interrelated. On the one hand, autophagy is emerging as an important connexin-degradation pathway not only under basal and normal growth conditions and well-established autophagy-inducing conditions like nutrient starvation but also in a variety of pathological conditions. Autophagic degradation of Cx43 critically depends on Cx43 internalization, thereby requiring ubiquitination (e.g. by Nedd4), ubiquitin-binding proteins (e.g. Eps15), interactions with autophagic cargo proteins (e.g. p62), autophagosome markers (e.g. LC3) and other autophagy proteins that act early on in the process (e.g. Atg9 and Atg14). Furthermore, the degradation by autophagy is not limited to Cx43 but seems to contribute to the rapid turnover of many connexin isoforms, in particular during conditions of autophagy activation like nutrient starvation. In addition, autophagy is also important for the rapid turnover of mutant connexins associated with severe human diseases and altered autophagy in pathophysiological conditions can lead to impaired or enhanced connexin degradation. On the other hand, connexins are also emerging as novel negative regulators of the autophagy process by recruiting essential autophagy proteins to the plasma membrane, including Atg16 and PI3K-complex components like Vps34, Beclin 1 and Vps15 that act in the earlier steps of the autophagy process. As such, connexins can be limiting their availability for inducing autophagy upstream of autophagosome formation. As highlighted by Cuervo and co-workers \[[@CR71], [@CR115]\], the important interplay between connexins and autophagy is underscored by the fact that many connexin-associated diseases have been linked with altered autophagy, including cardiovascular diseases, ocular diseases, diabetes and cancer. **Competing interests** The authors declare that they have no competing interests. **Authors' contributions** GB designed the conceptual organization of the manuscript. JY, JDPC and GB participated in drafting and writing the manuscript and making the figures. LL and CDH critically corrected and amended the manuscript and its figures. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. The work has been supported by Concerted Actions of the K.U. Leuven (GOA/09/012), the Research Foundation -- Flanders (F.W.O.; grant G.0298.11 to LL and GB), Interuniversity Attraction Poles Program (Belgian Science Policy; P6/28 and P7/13 to G.B, and P6/31 and P7/10 to L.L.) and a "Krediet aan Navorser" grant of the FWO (15117.14 N to CDH and GB). We thank all group members for helpful discussions. Declarations {#FPar1} ============ The publication charges for this article were funded by a grant obtained from the Research Foundation -- Flanders (FWO grant 15117.14 N to CDH and GB). This article has been published as part of *BMC Cell Biology* Volume 17 Supplement 1, 2016: Proceedings of the International Gap Junction Conference 2015. The full contents of the supplement are available online at <http://bmccellbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/supplements/volume-17-supplement-1>.

NFL Week 1 Pick EM Sheet The printable 2017 week 1 Pick EM sheet includes NFL schedule with times, TV channels, and matchups. Before the first game starts circle the teams that you think will win on the NFL week 1 Pick EM office pool sheet. For the tiebreaker pick the winner of the Monday Night Football game and write down the total number of points scored in the game.

Profile of exhaled-breath volatile organic compounds to diagnose pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer has a very poor prognosis as most patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage when curative treatments are not possible. Breath volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have shown potential as novel biomarkers to detect cancer. The aim of the study was to quantify differences in exhaled breath VOCs of patients with pancreatic cancers compared with cohorts without cancer. Patients were recruited to an initial development cohort and a second validation cohort. The cancer group included patients with localized and metastatic cancers, whereas the control group included patients with benign pancreatic disease or normal pancreas. The reference test for comparison was radiological imaging using abdominal CT, ultrasound imaging or endoscopic ultrasonography, confirmed by histopathological examination as appropriate. Breath was collected from the development cohort with steel bags, and from the validation cohort using the ReCIVA™ system. Analysis was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A total of 68 patients were recruited to the development cohort (25 with cancer, 43 no cancer) and 64 to the validation cohort (32 with cancer, 32 no cancer). Of 66 VOCs identified, 12 were significantly different between groups in the development cohort on univariable analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis using significant volatile compounds and the validation cohort produced an area under the curve of 0·736 (sensitivity 81 per cent, specificity 58 per cent) for differentiating cancer from no cancer, and 0·744 (sensitivity 70 per cent, specificity 74 per cent) for differentiating adenocarcinoma from no cancer. Breath VOCs may distinguish patients with pancreatic cancer from those without cancer.

On Aaron Miller becoming the first Baylor player to hit three home runs at Baylor Ballpark: "Hitting is contagious, and the guys swung the bats very well. Obviously he's (Aaron Miller) got some juice in his bat; it was quite a display. He's a pretty special kid." On the offensive outburst: "We got extra opportunities. They kicked it around a little bit on defense and they left the guy out there. They weren't in any hurry to go to their bullpen, and our guys were seeing him well and taking good swings." "Kendal (Volz) was good. He did what he had to do. We spotted him that big inning, and the objective and the goal after that was to just throw strikes. No free bases. We didn't give up free bases of any kind while he was in the game. They got about four or five late with wild pitches, walks and things like that. While he (Volz) was out there they scored some runs, but a lot of that was him trying to pound the strike zone a little bit and not walk guys." "We all know he (Aaron Miller) can hit, and tonight he just showed his potential. He's a great hitter; one of the best hitters. Throwing against him in all of the intrasquads in the fall, he's one of the best hitters that we'll throw to, and we could say that about almost every hitter on our team. He was hitting the ball well tonight, and it was not awesome. There aren't too many times you'll see that, or even hear about that." "I was on the soccer field running, and I saw it and had no doubt. Supposedly everyone just knew it was gone. When he gets locked-in like that, it's hard to get him out. He might be one of the toughest outs in the country. It was a bomb." "In one high school game I'd done it before, but it definitely wasn't on a stage this big, a field this big, or against as good of an opponent. I'll take it." On the lineup putting up 20 runs on 21 hits: "We've always had the ability to do something like that, and I think we're going to do it quite a bit more. Tonight we showed a little bit about what our lineup can do. Up and down the lineup, (we had) doubles, home runs, just absolutely killing the ball. Once we get in a flow, it's going to be a really hard lineup for opposing pitchers to attack." On tonight's offensive performance: "It definitely does (help) with the way Adam (Hornung) is swinging, and Dustin (Dickerson) behind him. Dustin had three doubles today, and Beamer (Weems) ahead of me got a few hits. There are really no weaknesses in our lineup. I really feel bad for other teams when you come out and guys are swinging this well. Landis (Ware) had three hits in the nine-hole, and when teams are swinging it that well, there's just really not much you can do." On adjustments he's made since last season: "The biggest adjustment I've made is just attacking early - being aggressive at the plate and swinging at pitches early in the count. I got a few pitches early in the count today that I was able to get a hold of."

The owner of a corgi has captured on camera the friendship between her dog and a tiny baby bunny. The corgi, Ripley, met the little rabbit one day while she was out walking with her owner, Lareina Tan. After that, whenever Ripley left the house in West Lafayette, Indiana, for a walk, the bunny would pop up, ready to play. 'This has happened two days in a row. We'd take the corgi out to potty, and she'd go sniffing around. Bunny pops out, play-date starts,' Tan wrote on Reddit. 'I was lucky enough to have my phone on me the third time this happened.' Tan was slightly concerned her dog, who is named after Ellen Ripley from the Hollywood movie Alien, might hurt the rabbit, but realized after watching the pair that she had no intention of injuring her new playmate. 'The bunny ran around in circles around us instead of away, and jumped onto Ripley's front paw while she was sitting. I want to believe the bunny chose to hang with her,' wrote Tan. Corgis are of Welsh origin, trained to herd animals. They're reportedly one of the few breeds that can herd geese. Perhaps Ripley's herding instincts were at work as she rounded the bunny up off the road and towards the sidewalk. This cute encounter could have had a different outcome if the tiny bunny had met a different dog. 'Ripley is pretty much one of the least threatening dogs around... it could be because she grew up with a huge bunny and a hamster,' wrote Tan. The bunny hopped off after Tan called Ripley inside, but she doesn't think that's the last Ripley will see of the rabbit. Tan hopes that as the rabbit grows older, it will build its nest nearby so that Ripley and her new mate can maintain their friendship - and she can take more cute photos.Source Gr8 story! We have a 6 yo female corgi, Luci! She isn't so kind to rabbits! Chased them away if she can, along with squirrels! Your corgi appears v young? Thank you for sharing a touching story! 02 May 2015 My curiosity was peaked by the lead image I saw, as someone's Facebook share-post, and inspired me to seek out the complete story.The honesty of heart warming account,seemed confirmed in the many cute still pictures of pet dog and befriended young rabbit interacting in varied situations. A light joyous wonder filled my heart sufficient to remark the pics and the story are awesome, amazing, fabulously remarkable, and astonishingly wonderful.

Earth Animals and birds have been our precursors on this earth. Since all creatures have their own unique appearance, man has often wondered about the infinite variety in shape,colour and form among livi ... Animals and birds have been our precursors on this earth. Since all creatures have their own unique appearance, man has often wondered about the infinite variety in shape, colour and form among liv ... Animals and birds have been our precursors on this earth. Since all creatures have their own unique appearance, man has often wondered about the infinite variety in shape,colour and form among livi ... Effective communication with the audience is an essential element to jumpstart your career. This practical and easy to use book will show you how to influence your audience with crisp and immaculat ... Birds are the most fascinating creatures on our earth. They have figured prominently in human art and literature, since time immemorial. But more recently, bird-watching has become a widespread fav ...

A case of chronic pancreatitis complicated by massive pericardial and right pleural effusion. A 42-year-old man was admitted complaining of dyspnea. Chest X-ray showed an increase in cardiac size, and echocardiography revealed a large volume of pericardial effusion. Pancreatic enzyme levels were elevated in both serum and pericardial effusion. Computed tomography and endoscopic retrograde pancreatography demonstrated a fistula connecting a pancreatic pseudocyst with the pericardium and the right pleural cavity. Massive pericardial and right pleural effusion is an extremely rare complication of chronic pancreatitis. In this case, computed tomography and endoscopic retrograde pancreatography were useful for diagnosing the fistula.

On Monday night, President Trump declared himself a nationalist. At a rally in Houston, he distinguished nationalists from “globalists,” people who, according to Trump, care more about the world than about their own tribe. Nationalism has a fascist pedigree, and Trump has a history of using race, religion, and ethnicity to turn the people he sees as real Americans—people who look like him—against those who have “Arab” or “Mexican heritage.” But violent nationalism, the kind that devoured Europe a century ago, couldn’t happen in America today, could it? A president wouldn’t encourage criminal violence against innocent people. If he did, his party wouldn’t stand for it. Actually, it would. Trump has been testing the GOP’s tolerance for demagoguery that explicitly promotes brutality. And so far, Republicans seem willing to go along. Trump has repeatedly invited his supporters to beat up protesters at his rallies. Initially, he implied that the protesters brought this on themselves by disrupting the rallies. But now he’s endorsing violence against people who simply ask questions. Last year in Montana, Greg Gianforte, a Republican candidate for Congress, assaulted a reporter, Ben Jacobs, who was asking the candidate about health care. Gianforte “grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands,” “slammed him into the ground,” and “began punching” him, according to a Fox News correspondent who witnessed the attack. The sheriff’s office announced that Gianforte would be charged with assault. Nevertheless, the next day, Montanans elected him to Congress. Two weeks later, Public Policy Polling asked a national sample of registered voters: “Do you think it is appropriate or inappropriate for Republican politicians to body slam members of the media?” Most people said no. But Republicans were closely divided. Last Thursday, at a political rally in Montana, Trump mimicked and praised Gianforte’s assault on Jacobs. “Any guy that can do a body slam, he’s my kind of—he’s my guy,” said Trump. The crowd roared its approval. Now a phalanx is forming around the demagogue. Prominent Republicans are excusing or defending Trump’s remarks. Here’s what they’re saying: 1. No comment. To build support for political violence, you need potential adversaries within your party to clam up or look the other way. Trump is getting that from the GOP. CNBC says it asked Republican lawmakers, “including every Republican senator,” for reactions to the president’s comments. The network got no replies. Montana Public Radio asked Steve Daines, the state’s Republican senator, whether Trump’s remarks were wrong. Three times, Daines ducked the question—“You’ll have to ask President Trump that”—and his aide cut off the interview. 2. It’s not news. Americans are becoming accustomed to Trump’s erosion of norms. Their indifference, in turn, has numbed Trump’s former critics. On Sunday, Sen. Ben Sasse was asked on CNN about what Trump had said in Montana. “Most people tune most of it out,” Sasse shrugged. The president’s “amoralistic take” he explained, was already “baked in” to public expectations. When Sasse was pressed for his own views, he said Trump’s remarks were “not OK.” But he added, “There’s a danger in pretending each new rally is immediate, urgent.” What Sasse meant was that if you speak up every time Trump says or does something bad, people will get tired and ignore you. But that’s exactly how Trump has immobilized his critics: by repeatedly breaching moral boundaries, destroying the novelty of such attacks, and sapping opponents of the will to challenge him. When Republicans call this incident “fun,” they’re not talking about joking at the perpetrator’s expense. They’re talking about joking at the victim’s expense. 3. Nobody got hurt this time. If any Republican were willing to speak up against the rhetoric of violence, you’d think it would be House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who was shot and gravely wounded last year by a man who was angry at Republicans. Instead, Scalise has written a series of tweets defending Trump. “Not one person harassed the numerous media reporters who were present,” Scalise said of the Montana rally. That argument glosses over the rally attendee who made a throat-slitting gesture at a CNN correspondent. It ignores the many rallies at which Trump’s followers have harassed reporters. It also ignores the assault on Jacobs. And that’s the point: to deflect attention. 4. It’s fun. Scalise says Trump was just “ribbing” Gianforte. Sasse says many people see Trump’s rhetoric as “playful.” Eric Trump, the president’s son, says his dad was just having “fun.” But the attack on Jacobs was no joke: It broke his glasses and sent him to the hospital for X-rays. It resulted in a guilty plea to misdemeanor assault. And when Trump congratulated Gianforte for the attack, he waved off the congressman’s embarrassment about it. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” said the president. So when Republicans call this incident “fun,” they’re not talking about joking at the perpetrator’s expense. They’re talking about joking at the victim’s expense. 5. It’s politically incorrect. “This is exactly why my father won: because so many people are so sick and tired of … the perfectly scripted politician,” Eric Trump argued during an interview on Fox News. What voters like about President Trump, said Eric, is that “he is un-PC,” willing to “joke about” the body slam. This is what Sen. Marco Rubio meant two years ago when he observed that Trump’s assault on political correctness was an assault on correctness. Taking assault seriously is PC. Therefore, in the upside-down ethos of defying PC, praising the assailant and making light of the assault is virtuous. 6. It’s strong. Alex Castellanos, a veteran Republican political strategist, says the president’s praise of the attack on Jacobs shows “Trump is all about strength. In an uncertain world where everything is falling apart, where people don’t know what to believe in, where everything is uncertain, you want someone to hold it together.” That’s what Americans want, Castellanos argued during a panel discussion on ABC’s This Week. “They want a president who projects strength.” Sensing encouragement and no opposition from his party, Trump has pushed forward. A day after the Montana rally, a journalist asked him, “Do you regret bringing up … the assault on a reporter by a congressman?” Trump replied, “No. Not at all.” He repeated the phrase he had used to praise Gianforte at the rally: “He’s a tough cookie. And I’ll stay with that.” A president can call himself a nationalist without hurting people. But if he also seeks to divide people by race, ethnicity, and religion, his nationalism becomes insidious. If he endorses violence, he puts people’s lives in danger. And if his party falls in line behind him, the ingredients for a catastrophe are in place. A day after Trump celebrated Gianforte’s assault on Jacobs, a Republican official in Montana called in to a radio show to say she would have gone further. “If that kid had done to me what he did to Greg, I would have shot him,” she said. Don’t pretend it can’t happen here. It’s happening.

--- abstract: 'We derive analytical formula for the optimal trade-off between the mean estimation fidelity and the mean fidelity of the qubit state after a partial measurement on $N$ identically prepared qubits. We also conjecture analytical expression for the optimal fidelity trade-off in case of a partial measurement on $N$ identical copies of a $d$-level system.' author: - 'Ladislav Mišta Jr.' - Jaromír Fiurášek title: Optimal partial estimation of quantum states from several copies --- Introduction ============ Certain operations permitted in classical physics cannot be done perfectly in quantum mechanics. This is best exemplified by the celebrated no-cloning theorem [@Wootters_82] which forbids to create two perfect copies of an unknown quantum state. The no-cloning theorem is closely related to another no-go theorem stating that one cannot gain some information on an unknown quantum state without disturbing it. Namely, if this would be possible one would be able to prepare two approximate replicas of this state which would be better than the best ones allowed by quantum mechanics [@Niu_98; @Cerf98; @Buzek98; @Cerf00]. Therefore, in quantum mechanics any operation on an unknown quantum state giving some information on the state inevitably disturbs the state and in addition, the more information it extracts the larger is the disturbance. This fundamental property of quantum operations is reflected in the plane of values of quantities quantifying the information gain and the state disturbance by a certain optimal trade-off curve that cannot be overcome by any quantum operation. Among all quantum operations particularly interesting are those which lie on this curve since they to the best possible extent as quantum mechanics allows approximate ideal disturbance-free measurement device. These operations, conventionally denoted as minimal disturbance measurements (MDMs), in general depend on the set of input states, their a priori distribution and also on the quantities quantifying the information gain and the state disturbance [@Banaszek_05]. The most successful approach to the finding of the optimal trade-offs and corresponding MDMs proved to be that based on the quantification of the information gain by the mean estimation fidelity $G$ and the state disturbance by the mean output fidelity $F$ [@Banaszek_01a]. Using this approach it was possible to derive analytically the optimal trade-offs between $G$ and $F$ and to find the MDMs for a single copy of a completely unknown pure state of a $d$-level system [@Banaszek_01a], a completely unknown pure state of a $d$-level system produced by $d$ independent phase shifts of some reference state [@Mista_05] and a completely unknown maximally entangled state of two $d$-level systems [@Sacchi_06]. Besides, the first two above mentioned MDMs were also demonstrated experimentally for $d=2$ (qubit) [@Sciarrino_06]. The studies on MDM were not restricted to finite-dimensional quantum systems and also MDM for a completely unknown coherent state was found and realized experimentally in [@Andersen_06]. Multi-copy MDMs were introduced by Banaszek and Devetak who considered partial measurement on $N$ identical copies of a pure qubit state. They assumed MDMs which output $N$ disturbed quantum copies of the state and a classical estimate and they [*numerically*]{} found the optimal fidelity trade-off for this scenario [@Banaszek_01b]. The MDMs are not only of fundamental importance but they can be also applied to increase transmission fidelity of certain lossy and noisy channels [@Ricci_05; @Andersen_06]. In this paper we further investigate the minimum disturbance measurement on several copies of the state. In contrast to Ref. [@Banaszek_01b] we assume operations which output only a *single* quantum copy of the input state. We derive *analytically* the optimal trade-off between the mean estimation fidelity $G$ and the mean output fidelity $F$ for an ensemble of $N$ identical pure qubits which is given by the formula $$\label{Nqubit} \sqrt{F-\frac{1}{N+2}}= \sqrt{\frac{N+1}{N+2}-G}+\sqrt{N\left(G-\frac{N}{N+2}\right)}.$$ Moreover, we also conjecture that the optimal fidelity trade-off for an ensemble of $N$ identical pure states of a $d$-level system has the form $$\begin{aligned} \label{Nqudit} \sqrt{F-\frac{1}{N+d}}&=&\sqrt{(d-1)\left(\frac{N+1}{N+d}-G\right)}\nonumber\\ &&+\sqrt{N\left(G-\frac{N}{N+d}\right)}.\end{aligned}$$ The paper is organized as follows. The general formalism allowing to determine the MDM is presented in Sec. \[sec\_1\]. In Sec. \[sec\_qubits\] we find the optimal fidelity trade-off and the corresponding MDM for $N$ identical qubits. In Sec. \[sec\_2\] we present a conjecture of the optimal fidelity trade-off for $N$ identical $d$-level systems. Finally, Sec. \[sec\_3\] contains conclusions. Minimal disturbance measurement {#sec_1} =============================== Let us investigate a general MDM for $N$ identical pure states of a $d$-level system (qudit). Such states are represented by vectors in a $d$-dimensional Hilbert space $\mathcal{H}^{(d)}$ with an orthonormal basis $\{|0\rangle,|1\rangle,\ldots,|d-1\rangle\}$. The qudits form an orbit of the group $\mathrm{SU}(d)$ of $d\times d$ unitary matrices with determinant $+1$, $|\psi(g)\rangle=U_{d}(g)|0\rangle$, where $U_{d}(g)$, $g\in \mathrm{SU}(d)$, is a unitary representation of $\mathrm{SU}(d)$ on $\mathcal{H}^{(d)}$. We consider here quantum operations on $N$ identical qudits $$\label{Nquditstate} |\psi(g)\rangle^{\otimes N}=[U_{d}(g)]^{\otimes N}|0\rangle^{\otimes N}.$$ The operation outputs a [*single*]{} qudit - an approximate replica of $|\psi(g)\rangle$ - and also yields a classical estimate of $|\psi(g)\rangle$. Without loss of generality, these estimates can be labeled by the elements of the group $\mathrm{SU}(d)$. Note that the input Hilbert space of the operation is the symmetric subspace of the Hilbert space of $N$ qudits, $\mathcal{H}_{\mathrm{in}}=\mathcal{H}_{+,N}^{(d)}$ and the output Hilbert space is the space of a single qudit, $\mathcal{H}_{\mathrm{out}}=\mathcal{H}^{(d)}$. Our task is to find an operation which exhibits the best possible performance in the following protocol [@Banaszek_01a]. In each run of the protocol, the operation is applied on the quantum state (\[Nquditstate\]). We assume that $|\psi(g)\rangle^{\otimes N}$ is chosen randomly with uniform a priori distribution from the set of states $\{|\psi(g)\rangle^{\otimes N}\}_{g\in \mathrm{SU}(d)}$. If the outcome $h\in \mathrm{SU}(d)$ is detected the operation produces a single qudit output state $\rho(h|g)$. This state is not normalized and its trace $P(h|g)\equiv\mathrm{Tr}[\rho(h|g)]$ is the probability density of obtaining the outcome $h$ on the state (\[Nquditstate\]). The information on the state $|\psi(g)\rangle$ contained in the measurement outcome $h$ is converted into a guess of the state which is in our case a single qudit state $|\psi(h)\rangle$. The performance of this procedure can be quantified by two mean fidelities: mean output fidelity $F$ defined as $$\label{F} F=\int_{\mathrm{SU}(d)}\int_{\mathrm{SU}(d)}\langle\psi(g)|\rho(h|g)|\psi(g)\rangle d h d g,$$ which quatifies the average state disturbance and the mean estimation fidelity $G$ defined by the formula $$\label{G} G=\int_{\mathrm{SU}(d)}\int_{\mathrm{SU}(d)}P(h|g)|\langle\psi(g)|\psi(h)\rangle|^{2} d h d g,$$ which quantifies the average information gain. Here, the integrals are taken over the whole group $\mathrm{SU}(d)$ and $dg$ is the normalized invariant Haar measure on the group. Quantum mechanics sets a fundamental bound on the maximum value of the fidelity $F$ that can be attained for a given value of the fidelity $G$ for any considered quantum operation. The bound can be expressed in the form of a nontrivial optimal trade-off relation between $F$ and $G$ and the MDM is defined as a quantum operation for which the fidelities $G$ and $F$ satisfy the trade-off. Two extreme cases of the trade-off are well-known. First, if $G$ is the optimal estimation fidelity of the qudit state from $N$ identical copies, i.e. $G=(N+1)/(N+d)$ [@Bruss_99], then $F$ can be at most equal to $F=(N+1)/(N+d)$. Second, if $F=1$ then $G$ cannot be larger than the optimal estimation fidelity of a qudit from $N-1$ identical copies, i.e. $G=N/(N-1+d)$. To find the whole optimal trade-off we can use the method developed in [@Mista_05]. With the help of Jamiolkowski-Choi isomorphism [@Jamiolkowski72; @Choi75] we can represent the completely positive map corresponding to each particular outcome $h$ by a positive-semidefinite operator $\chi_N^{(d)}(h)$ acting on the tensor product of the input and output Hilbert spaces $\mathcal{H}_{+,N}^{(d)}\otimes \mathcal{H}^{(d)}$. It holds that $\rho(h|g)=\mathrm{Tr}_{\rm in}[\chi_{N}^{(d)}(h) (\psi^{\mathrm{T}}(g))^{\otimes N} \otimes \openone_{\mathrm{out}}]$ where $\psi(g)\equiv|\psi(g)\rangle\langle\psi(g)|$. As shown in [@Mista_05] the optimal partial measurement can be assumed to be covariant which means that $\chi_N^{(d)}(h)$ are generated from a single properly normalized operator $\chi^{(d)}_{N}$, $$\chi_{N}^{(d)}(h)= [U_d^{\ast \otimes N}(h) \otimes U_d(h)] \,\chi_N^{(d)} \,[U_d^{T \otimes N}(h) \otimes U_d^\dagger(h)]. \label{chicovariant}$$ The overall operation must be trace-preserving which imposes the constraint, $$\int_{\mathrm{SU}(d)} \mathrm{Tr}_{\mathrm{out}}[\chi_N^{(d)}(h)] d h = \openone_{\mathrm{in}}, \label{chinorm}$$ where $\mathrm{Tr}_{\mathrm{out}}$ stands for the partial trace over the output single-qudit Hilbert space and $\openone_{\mathrm{in}}$ denotes the identity operator on the input space $\mathcal{H}_{+,N}^{(d)}$. The formula (\[chinorm\]) expresses the completeness of the measurement carried on the input state. The unitary representation $U_d^{\otimes N}$ of $\mathrm{SU}(d)$ acts irreducibly on $\mathcal{H}_{+,N}^{(d)}$. For the covariant map (\[chicovariant\]) the integral in Eq. (\[chinorm\]) can thus be evaluated with the help of Schur’s lemma and we get $D(N,d)^{-1}\mathrm{Tr}[\chi_N^{(d)}]\openone_{\mathrm{in}}$ where $D(N,d)={N-1+d\choose d-1}$ is the dimension of the symmetric Hilbert space $\mathcal{H}_{+,N}^{(d)}$. The trace-preservation condition (\[chinorm\]) thus boils down to the proper normalization of the map that should read $\mathrm{Tr}[\chi^{(d)}_{N}]=D(N,d)$. The operator $\chi^{(d)}_{N}$ generating the optimal partial measurement is proportional to a rank-one projector and can be written as $|\chi^{(d)}_{N}\rangle\langle\chi^{(d)}_{N}|$ where $|\chi^{(d)}_{N}\rangle$ is the eigenvector of a positive-semidefinite operator $$\label{Rp} R^{(d)}_{p}=p R_{F}^{(d)}+(1-p)R_{G}^{(d)},\quad p\in[0,1]$$ corresponding to its maximum eigenvalue [@Mista_05]. Here $$\begin{aligned} R^{(d)}_{F}&=&\int_{\mathrm{SU}(d)}[\psi(g)^{\otimes N}]^{\rm T}\otimes \psi(g) dg,\label{RF}\\ R^{(d)}_{G}&=&\mathrm{Tr}_{\rm out}[R^{(d)}_F \openone_{\rm in} \otimes \psi(0)]\otimes\openone_{\rm out}\label{RG}.\end{aligned}$$ Using the map $\chi^{(d)}_{N}$ the fidelities $F$ and $G$ can be expressed as $$\label{FG} F=\mathrm{Tr}[\chi^{(d)}_{N}R^{(d)}_{F}], \qquad G=\mathrm{Tr}[\chi^{(d)}_{N}R^{(d)}_{G}].$$ The operator $R^{(d)}_{F}$ can be easily evaluated using Schur’s lemma and after some algebra we arrive at [@Fiurasek_04] $$\begin{aligned} \label{RFd} R^{(d)}_{F}&=&\frac{1}{D(N+1,d)}\left(\Pi^{(d)}_{+,N+1}\right)^{\rm T_{N}},\end{aligned}$$ where $(\,\,\,)^{T_N}$ stands for the partial transposition with respect to the first $N$ qudits and $\Pi^{(d)}_{+,N+1}$ is the projector onto the subspace $\mathcal{H}_{+,N+1}^{(d)}$ . In what follows it is convenient to work with the occupation number basis $$\begin{aligned} \label{occupation} |\{N_{i}\};N\rangle&=&|N_{0},N_{1},\ldots,N_{d-1};N\rangle= \sqrt{\frac{N!}{\prod_{i=0}^{d-1}N_{i}!}}\nonumber\\ &\times&S_{N}|\underbrace{00\ldots0}_{N_{0}}\underbrace{11\ldots1}_{N_{1}} \cdots\underbrace{d-1\ldots d-1}_{N_{d-1}}\rangle,\nonumber\\\end{aligned}$$ that forms an orthonormal basis in the subspace $\mathcal{H}^{(d)}_{+,N}$. Here $S_{N}=(1/N!)\sum_{\{\pi\}}P_{\pi}^{(N)}$ is the symmetrization operator for $N$ qudits, the symbol $\{\pi\}$ stands for summation over all $N!$ permutations of $N$ qudits and $P_{\pi}^{(N)}$ denotes the permutation operator of $N$ qudits; the integers $N_{i}$, $N\geq N_{i}\geq 0$, $i=0,\ldots, d-1$ are the numbers of qudits in the states $|i\rangle$, $i=0,\ldots, d-1$ that satisfy the constraint $\sum_{i=0}^{d-1}N_{i}=N$. Making use of the occupation number basis the operator $\Pi^{(d)}_{+,N+1}$ can be expressed as $$\begin{aligned} \label{Pi} \Pi^{(d)}_{+,N+1}=\!\!\!\sum_{\sum_{i=0}^{d-1}N_{i}=N+1}\!\!\!\!\!\!\!\!|\{N_{i}\};N+1\rangle\langle\{N_{i}\};N+1|. \end{aligned}$$ To find the desired MDM for $N$ identical qudits we have to diagonalize a large matrix $R^{(d)}_{p}$. For a general $d$ this is a complex task which can be solved numerically. However, if we resort to the qubit case ($d=2$) we can find the optimal fidelity trade-off and the MDM analytically. The obtained result then can be used to make at least a conjecture about the optimal fidelity trade-off for $N$ qudits. $N$ identical qubits {#sec_qubits} ==================== For qubits the operator (\[Pi\]) reads as $$\begin{aligned} \Pi^{(2)}_{+,N+1}=\sum_{k=0}^{N+1}|N+1,k\rangle\langle N+1,k|,\end{aligned}$$ where $|N,k\rangle\equiv|N_{0}=N-k,N_{1}=k;N\rangle$ is a completely symmetric state of $N$ qubits in which $k$ qubits are in the basis state $|1\rangle$ and the remaining $N-k$ qubits are in the basis state $|0\rangle$. Hence, making use of the formula $$\begin{aligned} |N+1,k\rangle&=&\sqrt{\frac{N-k+1}{N+1}}|N,k\rangle|0\rangle\nonumber\\ &&+\sqrt{\frac{k}{N+1}}|N,k-1\rangle|1\rangle\end{aligned}$$ and Eq. (\[RFd\]) one finds that $$\begin{aligned} R^{(2)}_{F}&=&\frac{1}{(N+1)(N+2)}\nonumber\\ &&\times\sum_{k=0}^{N+1}\left[(N-k+1)|N,k\rangle|0\rangle \langle N,k|\langle0|\right.\nonumber\\ &&\left.+k|N,k-1\rangle|1\rangle\langle N,k-1|\langle 1|\right.\nonumber\\ &&\left.+\sqrt{k(N-k+1)}\left(|N,k\rangle|1\rangle\langle N,k-1|\langle 0|\right.\right.\nonumber\\ &&\left.\left.+|N,k-1\rangle|0\rangle\langle N,k|\langle 1|\right)\right].\end{aligned}$$ Further, substitution of the obtained expression into Eq. (\[RG\]) gives the operator $R^{(2)}_{G}$ in the form $$R^{(2)}_G=\sum_{k=0}^{N+1}\frac{(N-k+1)}{(N+1)(N+2)}|N,k\rangle\langle N,k|\otimes\openone_{\rm out}.$$ In order to determine the optimal $\chi^{(2)}_{N}$ we have to find the maximum eigenvalue and the corresponding eigenvector of the matrix $R^{(2)}_p$. The matrix $R^{(2)}_p$ has a block diagonal structure with two one-dimensional blocks and $N$ two-dimensional blocks. The elements of the one-dimensional blocks are the eigenvalues $\lambda^{(0)}=\frac{(1-p)N+1}{(N+1)(N+2)}$ and $\lambda^{(N+1)}=1/(N+1)(N+2)$ with the characteristic subspaces spanned by the basis vectors $|N,0\rangle|1\rangle$ and $|N,N\rangle|0\rangle$, respectively. The two-dimensional blocks correspond to the invariant subspaces spanned by the basis vectors $\{|N,k-1\rangle|0\rangle, |N,k\rangle|1\rangle\}$, $k=1,2,\ldots,N$ and have the form ${\bf M}_{k}/(N+1)(N+2)$, where $$\begin{aligned} {\bf M}_{k}= \left(\begin{array}{cc} N-k+2 & p\sqrt{k(N-k+1)} \\ p\sqrt{k(N-k+1)} & N-k+1+p(2k-N) \end{array}\right).\nonumber\\\end{aligned}$$ The matrix ${\bf M}_{k}$ possesses two eigenvalues $$\label{lambda} \mu^{(k)}_{1,2}=\frac{2N+3-pN}{2}-k(1-p)\pm\frac{\sqrt{(1+pN)^{2}-4pk(1-p)}}{2}$$ from which one obtains the remaining eigenvalues of the matrix $R^{(2)}_{p}$ as $\lambda^{(k)}_{1,2}=\mu^{(k)}_{1,2}/(N+1)(N+2)$. The larger eigenvalue $\lambda^{(k)}_{1}$ is a decreasing function of $k$ attaining maximum for $k=1$. Obviously, $\lambda^{(1)}_{1}\geq\lambda^{(N+1)}$. Moreover, using in Eq. (\[lambda\]) the inequality $\sqrt{(1+Np)^{2}-4p(1-p)}\geq1-p$ following from the inequality $N\geq 1$ one can show that also $\lambda^{(1)}_{1}\geq\lambda^{(0)}$ holds and therefore $\lambda^{(1)}_{1}$ is the maximum eigenvalue of the matrix $R^{(2)}_{p}$. The eigenvalue is non-degenerate and its eigenvector determining the optimal map $\chi^{(2)}_{N}$ reads as $$\label{Nqubitmap1} |\chi^{(2)}_{N}\rangle=\sqrt{N+1}\left(\alpha|N,0\rangle|0\rangle+ \beta|N,1\rangle|1\rangle\right),$$ where $\alpha$ and $\beta$ are nonnegative real numbers satisfying the condition $\alpha^{2}+\beta^{2}=1$. On inserting $\chi^{(2)}_{N}=|\chi^{(2)}_{N}\rangle\langle\chi^{(2)}_{N}|$ into Eqs. (\[FG\]) one arrives after some algebra at the optimal fidelities $$\begin{aligned} F&=&\frac{1}{N+2}\left[\left(\sqrt{N}\alpha+\beta\right)^{2}+1\right],\label{qubitF}\\ G&=&\frac{1}{N+2}\left(N+\alpha^{2}\right)\label{qubitG}.\end{aligned}$$ Expressing now the parameters $\alpha,\beta$ using Eq. (\[qubitG\]) and the normalization condition $\alpha^{2}+\beta^{2}=1$ and substituting the obtained formulas into Eq. (\[qubitF\]) we finally obtain the optimal fidelity trade-off for $N$ identical qubits (\[Nqubit\]). The trade-off is depicted for several numbers of copies $N$ in Fig. \[fig1\]. The specific feature of the optimal map (\[Nqubitmap1\]) is that it can be rewritten as the following coherent superposition of two maps: $$\begin{aligned} \label{Nqubitmap2} |\chi^{(2)}_{N}\rangle&=&\sqrt{N+1}\left(\alpha'|N,0\rangle|0\rangle\right.\nonumber\\ &&\left.+\sqrt{\frac{2N}{N+1}}\beta'S_{N}|0\rangle^{\otimes N-1}|\Phi^{(2)}_{+}\rangle\right)\end{aligned}$$ where $\alpha'=\alpha-\sqrt{N}\beta$, $\beta'=\sqrt{N+1}\beta$ and $|\Phi^{(2)}_{+}\rangle=(1/\sqrt{2})(|00\rangle+|11\rangle)$. The first map in the superposition is described by the vector $|N,0\rangle|0\rangle$ and corresponds to the choice $\alpha'=1$ ($\beta'=0$). Since in this case $F=G=\frac{N+1}{N+2}$ the map apparently realizes optimal estimation of a qubit from $N$ identical copies [@Massar_95]. The second map is obtained by choosing $\beta'=1$ ($\alpha'=0$) and it is represented by the second vector on the right hand side of Eq. (\[Nqubitmap2\]). It gives $F=1$ and $G=N/(N+1)$ which corresponds to optimal estimation of a qubit from $N-1$ copies while one copy is left intact by the map. Optimal partial measurement on $N$ qudits {#sec_2} ========================================= Interestingly, the fact that one can create a MDM as a coherent superposition of the two extreme maps is a general property of the MDMs that is valid not only for the present case of $N$ qubits, but it holds also for a single phase covariant qudit [@Mista_05], two maximally entangled qudits [@Sacchi_06] or a single completely unknown qudit when $$\label{quditmap} |\chi^{(d)}_{1}\rangle=\sqrt{d}\left(\tilde{\alpha}|00\rangle+\tilde{\beta}|\Phi^{(d)}_{+}\rangle\right),$$ where $|\Phi^{(d)}_{+}\rangle=(1/\sqrt{d})\sum_{j=0}^{d-1}|jj\rangle$ is the maximally entangled state of two qudits and $\tilde{\alpha},\tilde{\beta}\geq0$ satisfy the condition ${\tilde\alpha}^{2}+{\tilde{\beta}}^{2}+2\tilde{\alpha}\tilde{\beta}/\sqrt{d}=1$. Thus although we are not able to solve analytically the above optimization task of finding the MDM for $N$ qudits for a general $d$ we can use the superposition principle together with Eqs. (\[Nqubitmap2\]) and (\[quditmap\]) to guess the desired optimal map to read $$\label{Nquditmap1} |\chi^{(d)}_{N}\rangle=\sqrt{D(N,d)}\left(\bar{\alpha}|0\rangle^{\otimes N+1}+ \bar{\beta}S_{N}|0\rangle^{\otimes N-1}|\Phi^{(d)}_{+}\rangle\right),$$ where $\bar{\alpha},\bar{\beta}\geq0$ and $${\bar{\alpha}}^{2}+\frac{2\bar{\alpha}\bar{\beta}}{\sqrt{d}}+\frac{N+d-1}{Nd}{\bar{\beta}}^{2}=1.$$ In order to facilitate the following calculations we rearrange the terms on the right hand side of the map (\[Nquditmap1\]) and rewrite it in the form: $$\begin{aligned} \label{Nquditmap2} |\chi^{(d)}_{N}\rangle&=&\sqrt{D(N,d)}\left(\alpha|0\rangle^{\otimes N+1}+ \frac{\beta}{\sqrt{d-1}}\times\right.\nonumber\\ &\times&\left.\sum_{j=1}^{d-1}|N_{0}=N-1,N_{j}=1\rangle|j\rangle\right), \nonumber\\\end{aligned}$$ where $\alpha,\beta\geq0$ fulfill the condition $\alpha^{2}+\beta^{2}=1$ and where we have used the short hand notation $|N_{0}=N-1,N_{j}=1\rangle$ for a completely symmetric state of $N$ qudits containing $N-1$ qudits in the basis state $|0\rangle$ and a single qudit in the basis state $|j\rangle$. The fidelities $F$ and $G$ for this map can be again calculated with the help of Eq. (\[FG\]). Substituting Eq. (\[Nquditmap2\]) into Eq. (\[FG\]) and taking into account the symmetry of the projector $\Pi^{(d)}_{+,N+1}$ that implies $\left(\Pi^{(d)}_{+,N+1}\right)^{\rm T_N}=\left(\Pi^{(d)}_{+,N+1}\right)^{\rm T_{\rm out}}$ the problem of finding $F$ and $G$ reduces to the calculation of the following scalar products $$\begin{aligned} &&A_{j}=\langle N_{0}=N-1,N_{j}=1|\langle 0|N_{0}=N,N_{j}=1\rangle,\nonumber\\ &&B_{j}=\langle N_{0}=N,N_{j}=1|0\rangle^{\otimes N}|j\rangle,\nonumber\\ &&C_{kj}=\nonumber\\ &&\langle N_{0}=N-1,N_{k}=1|\langle j|N_{0}=N-1,N_{k}=1,N_{j}=1\rangle,\nonumber\\\end{aligned}$$ where we have used the short hand notation $|N_{0}=N-1,N_{k}=1,N_{j}=1\rangle$ for a completely symmetric state of $N+1$ qudits containing $N-1$ qudits in the basis state $|0\rangle$, a single qudit in the state $|k\rangle$ and a single qudit in the state $|j\rangle$. The scalar products can be easily evaluated using Eq. (\[occupation\]) as $A_{j}=\sqrt{N/(N+1)}$, $B_{j}=1/\sqrt{N+1}$ and $C_{jk}=\sqrt{(1+\delta_{jk})/(N+1)}$. Hence, one obtains $$\begin{aligned} \label{quditFG} F&=&\frac{1}{N+d}\left[\left(\sqrt{N}\alpha+\sqrt{d-1}\beta\right)^{2}+1\right],\nonumber\\ G&=&\frac{1}{N+d}\left(N+\alpha^{2}\right).\end{aligned}$$ Eliminating now the parameters $\alpha$ and $\beta$ from these equations using the same procedure as in the qubit case we arrive finally at the fidelity trade-off (\[Nqudit\]). Although the found trade-off was not shown to be optimal here, there are several indications supporting our conjecture that it is really optimal. First, for $\beta=0$ we obtain $F=G=\frac{N+1}{N+d}$ using Eqs. (\[quditFG\]) and therefore these optimal fidelities satisfy our trade-off. Second, by putting $\alpha=\sqrt{N/(N+d-1)}$ and $\beta=\sqrt{(d-1)/(N+d-1)}$ one finds that $F=1$ and $G=N/(N+d-1)$ which means that also the second extreme case is fulfilled. Finally, for $d=2$ the trade-off reduces to the optimal trade-off for $N$ identical qubits (\[Nqubit\]) while for $N=1$ it boils down to the optimal trade-off for a single completely unknown qudit [@Banaszek_01a]. The trade-off (\[Nqudit\]) is depicted in Fig. \[fig2\] for $N=2$ and $d=2,3,4,5$. Conclusions {#sec_3} =========== In summary, in the present paper we have derived analytically the optimal trade-off between the mean estimation fidelity and the mean output fidelity for partial measurements on $N$ identical pure qubits. Furthermore, based on the structure of the optimal map saturating the trade-off we have made a conjecture about the optimal fidelity trade-off for partial measurements on $N$ identical pure qudits. The obtained results provide an insight into the generic structure and properties of MDMs. The optimal partial measurements saturate the fundamental bound on conversion of quantum information onto classical information and may thus find applications in quantum communication and information processing. The research has been supported by the research projects “Measurement and Information in Optics,” (MSM 6198959213) and Center of Modern Optics (LC06007) of the Czech Ministry of Education. Partial support by the SECOQC (IST-2002-506813) project of the sixth framework program of EU is also acknowledged. [99]{} W. K. Wootters and W. H. Zurek, Nature (London) [**299**]{}, 802 (1982). C.-S. Niu and R. B. Griffiths, Phys. Rev. A [**58**]{}, 4377 (1998); N.J. Cerf, Acta Phys. Slovaca **48**, 115 (1998). V. Bužek, M. Hillery, and R. Bednik, Acta Phys. Slov. [**48**]{}, 177 (1998). N. Cerf, Phys. Rev. Lett. [**84**]{}, 4497 (2000). K. Banaszek, arXiv: quantum-ph/0006062. K. Banaszek, Phys. Rev. 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Noel's Stock The general consensus seems to be that Noel will still be a top 10 pick, and I find this sentiment to be a little risky for such a high pick. Everyone is cheering for Noel, he's a good kid, super talented, and a great attitude towards his unfortunate injury and its hard to not wish him the best, but by June, he won't even be half way through his rehab. This is an era where teams get spooked by injury. Sullingers back dropped him at least 5 spots and he's now out with a back injury. Dejuan Blair's knees dropped him an entire round. A false rumor about Darrell Arthur's kidney dropped him 10 spots and the list goes on and on. I may be wrong, but not everyone is Adrian Peterson and this injury just took out two of the best players in the NBA in the past calendar year. I just have a hard time a team will draft Noel with a top 10 pick in 4 months. Maybe late lotto or mid teens for a playoff team that may have a legit PF or C already. Everything that I have read (and seen) is that he is a unique talent with an exceptional (and seemingly inherent) defensive timing and shot blocking ability. Based on that alone and what I have seen in his limited stint with Kentucky, if I am a top ten team who is lacking an inside defensive presence, I roll the dice and gamble on this kid. I think he will maintain his status as a top 5 pick. Scouts have seen enough of his college games to figure out what type of player he will become, the tough task now is rehab and recovering from the injury. Kyrie Irving played a total of 8 college games and was still the #1 pick. If he can show he is on track for recovery when the combine comes around, then I think teams will draft him no later than top 5. while this is true....Irving's condition was thought to be potentially career threatening if re-injured. however unlikely that was, there was some concerns about his durability, so I wouldnt say drafting Irving didnt come without a certain amount of concern or risk. does this injury concern scouts about Noel? I am sure it does....but there is only so far he is gonna slide because some organization is out there licking their chops. He he was lotto bound but guys with Noel's athleticism, size, defensive instincts don't come walking through the door everyday. He's only 18 and with the way modern medicine is tearing his ACL isn't a death sentence. Blair had ZERO ACLs in his knees I agree about Blair, and I also would like to add, I dont know of any chronic issues with Noel. Sullinger had chronic back problems. The injury Noel suffered could have happened to anyone. Total freak injury. Also, I like Noel's body as opposed to a guy like Oden, who is all top heavy and his upper body adds stress on his legs and knees. I like him in my top 5...and a no-brainer still in the top 10. I think the Cavs should gamble on him. They have insurance in AV and Zeller. They severely need a defensive presence around the rim, a shot blocker. Tristan was a great shot blocker in college but he seemed to have lost that presence of mind somewhere in his transition to the NBA. I think Noel could be a great piece for the cavs, and is worth the risk. He's an exceptional talent - as long as he rehabs correctly he will remain so. If he just landed normally and it tore, I could see how teams might be scared to pick him as it might be a chronic issue in that case. But his knee completely buckled sideways. Anyone's ACL would've torn if they did what he did. I think he'll recover and be back just the same as he was before he got hurt Noel is in a whole nother league far as potential and talent wise go compared to Dejaun Blair, Jared Sullinger, plus another knock on those guys is they were undersized. Noel is 18 years old, a true 7 footer and has alot of talent and potential, Noel will recover and possibly be even better by the time next year rolls around, the thing that's going to really save Noel is that before he got hurt his last few games he really started to blossom and thats the last thing the scouts will remember, besides the injury. In my eyes, the problem with Noel isn't the injury so much as the fact he just is not that good a prospect. What exactly differentiates him from John Henson other than the fact Henson will occasionally flash a skill offensively. Neither are big enough to guard a real big man with any sort of skill, so they would be matchup dependent if a team tries to compete with them. People fall in love with shot blockers, but it doesn't pay off with lottery picks when they don't offer much else. How is Noel not a good prospect? Look at John Hensons freshman year compared to Noel's. Noel is more than a shotblocker he is a fabulous passer, a very good help defender, and he can play the passing lanes well The difference is the presence of Ed Davis, Tyler Zeller, and Deon Thompson and the fact that UNC didn't assemble the kind of cupcake schedule Kentucky did. When Kentucky has played competitive teams, Noel wasn't very good and neither was Kentucky. It is nice to throw up big numbers against bad teams, but not all that meaningful for an NBA prospect. Passing the ball against LIU Brooklyn doesn't make him Greg Monroe. And how many of these guys who come out early end up broke with nothing to land on? An awful lot. Guys who made over a hundred million are now broke. Come on. He has no real skill set. He runs and jumps and his ceiling is Camby the definition of a Journeyman but he isn't close to Camby. Anyone who spends money faster then they make it ends up broke, college education or no. If staying in school is more likely to cost you millions of dollars in lost revenue (because we all know a raw freshman will get picked before a polished senior every time), then coming out early and using some of the millions of dollars you receive on tuition is the smart move. Or just not wasting all of the money, if you're not interested in your education. While an ACL injury isn't career ending anymore and we're hearing more and more success stories, I don't think people realize just how serious it still is. It really tests you physically and mentally. First, look at the way the surgery is done. You're either using a graft from your hamstring, patella tendon or a donor ligament. IF you're harvesting it from your own body, there's a possibility of you getting weakness in that area. Taking it from the patella tendon comes attached with a piece of bone, so there's a possibility of patella tendinitis. A donor ligament doesn't come from your own body, but those supposedly stretch more over time. Then once the graft is determined, there are holes drilled in your bone and then screws placed there to hold up the graft until it fuses with the bone. This surgery is no joke... That's why it's called reconstructive surgery. I don't think people realize that you have to basically learn to walk again with that leg after surgery. Your quad is basically gone. You have to rebuild that, which is the biggest part of the recovery and the physical therapy is hard, especially if you have scar tissue that needs to be broken up. I'm not saying this kid won't come back 100%, but I think it's crazy to act like he's a no brainer top five pick still. He's got a looong journey ahead of him. This is his first major injury and it's the scariest one for an athletic athlete, especially one who relies on it primarily. It takes two full years to return to normal for this injury. This is a tough injury both physically and mentally. He will be a top 5 pick in this draft because let's face it, this draft sucks! Might be one of the worst drafts ever. Say someone like the Bobcats or Kings take him, he sits out this year and they have a lottery pick next year and take someone like Wiggins or Parker...Win win situation. WHAT?? Maurice Cheeks? He's like 50 and he's coaching! What type of comparison is that???? And the technology that have now is way more advance then it was in the 80s. And I disagree with the dude who says get a "degree" get drafted make millions and go back and get your degree! College isn't going anywhere. Stay in college an extra year lose significant amount of money like PJ3 and Jared Sully did. Plays for IU looked like a first round lock in a year as a freshmen then blew his knee out. No one knows what he can do and no one at the top of the draft can afford to wait. GM's lose jobs on healthy players like him, let alone one who is hurt He will be MID rehab. Probably not even close to returning. Bad teams don't have the time to invest in a guy who may not be ready until late in the season, when he isn't a slam dunk. I agree with BTPH on many levels. Sure he's had some nice passing games, and some huge shotblocking numbers. But vs who? Sure he'll be a shot blocker, but his offensive game is so weak and incomplete, he was worth the risk as a high pick in this lottery, but I think with this injury he slides a bit.

Phenylethanoid and iridoid glycosides from Veronica persica. A new phenylethanoid glycoside, persicoside (1) and three known phenylethanoid glycosides, acteoside (2), isoacteoside (3) and lavandulifolioside (4) were isolated from the aerial parts of Veronica persica. On the basis of spectral analyses, the structure of the new compound was elucidated to be 3,4-dihydroxy-beta-phenylethoxy-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->2)]-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->3)]-4-O-caffeoyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside. Persicoside (1) and acteoside (2) exhibited radical scavenging activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical. Beside phenylethanoid glycosides, a hexitol, dulcitol (5) and seven known iridoid glucosides, aucubin (6), veronicoside (7), amphicoside (8), 6-O-veratroyl-catalpol (9), catalposide (10), verproside (11) and verminoside (12) were isolated.

Q: FIN omitted, FIN-ACK sent As it's written on Wikipedia closing TCP connection should be using packets FIN->(FIN,ACK)->ACK. However when I use close() function to close socket I don't see FIN packet, there is instantly sent (FIN,ACK) packet from server to client, then client closes also connection by sending (FIN,ACK) and server responds with ACK packet. So where is the missing FIN packet (maybe it's merged to FIN,ACK)? A: The closing sequence can also be different and don't need to have FIN+ACK inside the same packet: ACK just acknowledges the receipt of data (e.g. received everything up to given sequence number) packets will be re-send until one receives an ACK for them FIN just says that the side sending the FIN will not send any more data. It gives no information if it will still receive data. like every other packet FIN will be re-send until the receipt is acknowledged Protocols like HTTP support a one-sided shutdown, e.g. the client sends the request data followed by a FIN to notify the server, that it will not send anymore data. But it will still receive the data send by the server. The server will acknowledge the FIN like it did with all the data before. Once the server is done it will send its own FIN which the client ACKs. In this case you have 1. client: FIN (will not send more) 2. server: ACK (received the FIN) .. server: sends more data..., client ACKs these data 3. server: FIN (will not send more) 4. client: ACK (received the FIN) Note that the packet you see in step#1 might have an ACK inside too. But this ACK just acknowledges data send before by the server. If the server has no more data to send it might close the connection also. In this case steps 2+3 can be merged, e.g. the server sends a FIN+ACK, where the ACK acknowledges the FIN received by the client. If one side sends its FIN the connection is called half-closed. It is fully closed once both sides send their FIN and received the ACK for the FIN, no matter if they do this in 3 or 4 packets.

Hello guys, my name is ben and I'm the most recent addition to the ever-growing Balto mod team. As mapper, my job is to take the story ideas of team and transform them into fun, good-looking gameplay. And so.......without further ado, here's the beginning of my recent map work. This hospital room is similar to one found inside the Elmendorf Air Force Base Hospital, near Anchorage, Alaska. We plan on having the player (Balto) visit various places in Alaska, as well as Europe and the Middle East. I have read about 1/3 of the story so far and it gets pretty intense action-wise. I have planned out much of the first part of the game and there will be much more added to this location as time moves forward. So get ready because it's going to be an awesome adventure. Unfortunately, our work in other areas (modeling, A.I., etc) has been somewhat slow. We here at the Balto mod are hoping to pick up a few extra members over the next few weeks and expand our work flow to more people. We are diligent and thorough in our work so please dont be intimidated by teh scope of our project. Here's a list of what we could really use right now :) Modeler (weapons) Modeler (environment/props) Modeler (characters (why would you want to play as a human in a Balto mod) Programmer (creating new weapon scripts, implementing terrorist AI techniques) Texture Artist (for weapons / props / terrorists) ??? What else can you do that would help out our mod team? Message us!! We hope you like our Balto mod as much as we do, and do justice to Balto fans everywhere. please join or watch as we get bigger and better than ever!!

Q: Django Admin - how to prevent deletion of some of the inlines I have 2 models - for example, Book and Page. Page has a foreign key to Book. Each page can be marked as "was_read" (boolean), and I want to prevent deleting pages that were read (in the admin). In the admin - Page is an inline within Book (I don't want Page to be a standalone model in the admin). My problem - how can I achieve the behavior that a page that was read won't be deleted? I'm using Django 1.4 and I tried several options: Override "delete" to throw a ValidationError - the problem is that the admin doesn't "catch" the ValidationError on delete and you get an error page, so this is not a good option. Override in the PageAdminInline the method - has_delete_permission - the problem here -it's per type so either I allow to delete all pages or I don't. Are there any other good options without overriding the html code? Thanks, Li A: The solution is as follows (no HTML code is required): In admin file, define the following: from django.forms.models import BaseInlineFormSet class PageFormSet(BaseInlineFormSet): def clean(self): super(PageFormSet, self).clean() for form in self.forms: if not hasattr(form, 'cleaned_data'): continue data = form.cleaned_data curr_instance = form.instance was_read = curr_instance.was_read if (data.get('DELETE') and was_read): raise ValidationError('Error') class PageInline(admin.TabularInline): model = Page formset = PageFormSet

Formation and decomposition of chemically activated and stabilized hydrazine. Recombination of two amidogen radicals, NH(2) (X(2)B1), is relevant to hydrazine formation, ammonia oxidation and pyrolysis, nitrogen reduction (fixation), and a variety of other N/H/X combustion, environmental, and interstellar processes. We have performed a comprehensive analysis of the N(2)H(4) potential energy surface, using a variety of theoretical methods, with thermochemical kinetic analysis and master equation simulations used to treat branching to different product sets in the chemically activated NH(2) + NH(2) process. For the first time, iminoammonium ylide (NH(3)NH), the less stable isomer of hydrazine, is involved in the kinetic modeling of N(2)H(4). A new, low-energy pathway is identified for the formation of NH(3) plus triplet NH, via initial production of NH(3)NH followed by singlet-triplet intersystem crossing. This new reaction channel results in the formation of dissociated products at a relatively rapid rate at even moderate temperatures and above. A further novel pathway is described for the decomposition of activated N(2)H(4), which eventually leads to the formation of the simple products N(2) + 2H(2), via H(2) elimination to cis-N(2)H(2). This process, termed as "dihydrogen catalysis", may have significant implications in the formation and decomposition chemistry of hydrazine and ammonia in diverse environments. In this mechanism, stereoselective attack of cis-N(2)H(2) by molecular hydrogen results in decomposition to N(2) with a fairly low barrier. The reverse termolecular reaction leading to the gas-phase formation of cis-N(2)H(2) + H(2) achieves non-heterogeneous catalytic nitrogen fixation with a relatively low activation barrier (77 kcal mol(-1)), much lower than the 125 kcal mol(-1) barrier recently reported for bimolecular addition of H(2) to N(2). This termolecular reaction is an entropically disfavored path, but it does describe a new means of activating the notoriously unreactive N(2). We design heterogeneous analogues of this reaction using the model compound (CH(3))(2)FeH(2) as a source of the H(2) catalyst and apply it to the decomposition of cis-diazene. The reaction is seen to proceed via a topologically similar transition state, suggesting that our newly described mechanism is general in nature.

Hit up ScTetra. Put "MYO clan" in FR so he accepts you. We are Meet Your Owners. MYO Gaming on app. 80 members. Clan wars tomorrow, you will see how we own. Many lobbies will be running so you can meet some of the peeps. Hit me up with questions. I'm on PS3 though. We have just under half of members on PS4. Check out our site myoclan.com

Q: Frequency table made on subset of data includes zero values that were filtered out I have a data table which for the purposes of the question can be simplified to this: eg.ID <- rep(LETTERS[1:26], length.out=30) eg.filter <- rep(0:1, length.out=30) eg.df <- data.frame(eg.ID, eg.filter) Which gives: > eg.df eg.ID eg.filter 1 A 0 2 B 1 3 C 0 4 D 1 ... ... ... 23 W 0 24 X 1 25 Y 0 26 Z 1 27 A 0 28 B 1 29 C 0 30 D 1 I want to use the eg.filter column to ignore all the rows where the value is 0, and then to count how many times each eg.ID occurs: eg.df[eg.df$eg.filter==1,]$eg.ID table(eg.df[eg.df$eg.filter==1,]$eg.ID) The initial output I get is as expected: > eg.df[eg.df$eg.filter==1,]$eg.ID [1] B D F H J L N P R T V X Z B D Levels: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Just the letters where eg.filter==1. However, I then run table() > table(eg.df[eg.df$eg.filter==1,]$eg.ID) A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 And all the letters where e.g.filter==0 reappear (albeit with a correct count of 0). I don't want them. I suspect I've made a fundamental misunderstanding of the [] operator, but despite trawling the manual can't work out what it is. Help appreciated. Thanks. A: We can use droplevels to remove the unused levels in the 'eg.ID' column. table(droplevels(eg.df[eg.df$eg.filter>0,])) # eg.filter #eg.ID 1 # B 2 # D 2 # F 1 # H 1 # J 1 # L 1 # N 1 # P 1 # R 1 # T 1 # V 1 # X 1 # Z 1

Psychosocial factors associated with preterm uterine contractions. The aim of our study was to evaluate how sociodemographic factors, psychosocial adaptation to pregnancy and well-being levels are associated with the onset of preterm uterine contractions allowing symptomatic preterm labor. In a prospective case-control design, 51 consecutive women admitted for threatened preterm labor were enrolled. The patients received standard care. The day before discharge, once contractions had been stopped, the patients were administered 2 questionnaires: the Prenatal Self-Evaluation Questionnaire of Lederman and the Psychological Well-Being Scales. Controls were enrolled among asymptomatic, healthy women attending routine prenatal care. They were matched for parity and gestational age. Gestational age at inclusion ranged from 25 to 34 weeks. Fourteen cases and 4 controls delivered preterm. Cases were less educated than controls, showed a lower acceptance of pregnancy and worse relationship with others, namely with the husband, compared to controls. They also displayed a reduced environmental mastery. Having a low education, poor relationship with others, including the husband, and impaired coping skills appeared to be independent risk factors for the development of symptomatic preterm labor in urbanized women.

#include "f2c.h" #include "blaswrap.h" /* Table of constant values */ static real c_b6 = 1.f; static real c_b7 = 0.f; /* Subroutine */ int clacrm_(integer *m, integer *n, complex *a, integer *lda, real *b, integer *ldb, complex *c__, integer *ldc, real *rwork) { /* System generated locals */ integer b_dim1, b_offset, a_dim1, a_offset, c_dim1, c_offset, i__1, i__2, i__3, i__4, i__5; real r__1; complex q__1; /* Builtin functions */ double r_imag(complex *); /* Local variables */ integer i__, j, l; extern /* Subroutine */ int sgemm_(char *, char *, integer *, integer *, integer *, real *, real *, integer *, real *, integer *, real *, real *, integer *); /* -- LAPACK auxiliary routine (version 3.1) -- */ /* Univ. of Tennessee, Univ. of California Berkeley and NAG Ltd.. */ /* November 2006 */ /* .. Scalar Arguments .. */ /* .. */ /* .. Array Arguments .. */ /* .. */ /* Purpose */ /* ======= */ /* CLACRM performs a very simple matrix-matrix multiplication: */ /* C := A * B, */ /* where A is M by N and complex; B is N by N and real; */ /* C is M by N and complex. */ /* Arguments */ /* ========= */ /* M (input) INTEGER */ /* The number of rows of the matrix A and of the matrix C. */ /* M >= 0. */ /* N (input) INTEGER */ /* The number of columns and rows of the matrix B and */ /* the number of columns of the matrix C. */ /* N >= 0. */ /* A (input) COMPLEX array, dimension (LDA, N) */ /* A contains the M by N matrix A. */ /* LDA (input) INTEGER */ /* The leading dimension of the array A. LDA >=max(1,M). */ /* B (input) REAL array, dimension (LDB, N) */ /* B contains the N by N matrix B. */ /* LDB (input) INTEGER */ /* The leading dimension of the array B. LDB >=max(1,N). */ /* C (input) COMPLEX array, dimension (LDC, N) */ /* C contains the M by N matrix C. */ /* LDC (input) INTEGER */ /* The leading dimension of the array C. LDC >=max(1,N). */ /* RWORK (workspace) REAL array, dimension (2*M*N) */ /* ===================================================================== */ /* .. Parameters .. */ /* .. */ /* .. Local Scalars .. */ /* .. */ /* .. Intrinsic Functions .. */ /* .. */ /* .. External Subroutines .. */ /* .. */ /* .. Executable Statements .. */ /* Quick return if possible. */ /* Parameter adjustments */ a_dim1 = *lda; a_offset = 1 + a_dim1; a -= a_offset; b_dim1 = *ldb; b_offset = 1 + b_dim1; b -= b_offset; c_dim1 = *ldc; c_offset = 1 + c_dim1; c__ -= c_offset; --rwork; /* Function Body */ if (*m == 0 || *n == 0) { return 0; } i__1 = *n; for (j = 1; j <= i__1; ++j) { i__2 = *m; for (i__ = 1; i__ <= i__2; ++i__) { i__3 = i__ + j * a_dim1; rwork[(j - 1) * *m + i__] = a[i__3].r; /* L10: */ } /* L20: */ } l = *m * *n + 1; sgemm_("N", "N", m, n, n, &c_b6, &rwork[1], m, &b[b_offset], ldb, &c_b7, & rwork[l], m); i__1 = *n; for (j = 1; j <= i__1; ++j) { i__2 = *m; for (i__ = 1; i__ <= i__2; ++i__) { i__3 = i__ + j * c_dim1; i__4 = l + (j - 1) * *m + i__ - 1; c__[i__3].r = rwork[i__4], c__[i__3].i = 0.f; /* L30: */ } /* L40: */ } i__1 = *n; for (j = 1; j <= i__1; ++j) { i__2 = *m; for (i__ = 1; i__ <= i__2; ++i__) { rwork[(j - 1) * *m + i__] = r_imag(&a[i__ + j * a_dim1]); /* L50: */ } /* L60: */ } sgemm_("N", "N", m, n, n, &c_b6, &rwork[1], m, &b[b_offset], ldb, &c_b7, & rwork[l], m); i__1 = *n; for (j = 1; j <= i__1; ++j) { i__2 = *m; for (i__ = 1; i__ <= i__2; ++i__) { i__3 = i__ + j * c_dim1; i__4 = i__ + j * c_dim1; r__1 = c__[i__4].r; i__5 = l + (j - 1) * *m + i__ - 1; q__1.r = r__1, q__1.i = rwork[i__5]; c__[i__3].r = q__1.r, c__[i__3].i = q__1.i; /* L70: */ } /* L80: */ } return 0; /* End of CLACRM */ } /* clacrm_ */

A new working paper by researchers at Yale University finds that the kind of people more likely to believe stories that are literally “fake news” — who fall for the hoaxes, if you will — are those who believe in delusions (like telepathic communication), are dogmatic in their thinking, and are just flat-out religious fundamentalists. It makes a lot of sense. After all, the paper notes, evidence “suggests that religious fundamentalists may engage in less analytic and actively open-minded thinking.” I believe that. They already believe in huge amount of nonsensical garbage — a talking snake, a young Earth, God watches over you, Jesus performed miracles, etc. — in large part because they live in bubbles where those stories feel convincing despite not measuring up to reality. When pastors tell you those lies with conviction, and a sacred book reiterates the lies, and your parents teach you that doubting the lies could lead you down the path to eternal punishment, it makes a lot of sense that news articles that appear legitimate would just be taken as gospel. NiemanLab’s Laura Hazard Owen has more on the methodology and details. But while those results may not surprise most readers here, the more important question is if there’s a good way to make those people better critical thinkers. Can you teach them how to spot bullshit when their entire life revolves around accepting bullshit? The researchers say that’s possible if those groups focus on “the search for alternative explanations and the use of evidence to revise beliefs” and analytic thinking. Seems obvious… and also futile. The problem with dogmatic, fundamentalist people is that they have predetermined conclusions before they ever consider the evidence. Just look at Creationist Ken Ham. His organization literally believes the answers are in Genesis — that God created everything in six days, a few thousand years ago. All evidence must be shoved into that idea. And if it doesn’t, or can’t, the evidence is discarded, never the conclusion. Searching for alternative explanations or wrestling with the evidence are excellent habits for most people to build, but they’re also heresy for religious fundamentalists. I think it’s much harder to change someone’s thought process the older they get, and the more comfortable they get with their lies. While these researchers like the idea of promoting “open-minded and analytic thinking,” perhaps the better solution is getting through to kids when they’re as young as possible, before they’ve been brainwashed by other delusional people. A lot of skeptics have said religious fundamentalism is a form of mental child abuse. That looks to be the case here. By teaching kids to accept fiction as fact because it’s promoted by their religion and authority figures in their lives, those kids will struggle down the road when it comes to figuring out what is and isn’t a lie. (Image via Shutterstock)

An exotic type of symmetry -- suggested by string theory and theories of high-energy particle physics, and also conjectured for electrons in solids under certain conditions -- has been observed experimentally for the first time. An international team, led by scientists from Oxford University, report in a recent article in Science how they spotted the symmetry, termed E8, in the patterns formed by the magnetic spins in crystals of the material cobalt niobate, cooled to near absolute zero and subject to a powerful applied magnetic field. The material contains cobalt atoms arranged in long chains and each atom acts like a tiny bar magnet that can point either 'up' or 'down'. When a magnetic field is applied at right angles to the aligned spin directions, the spins can 'quantum tunnel' between the 'up' and 'down' orientations. At a precise value of the applied field these fluctuations 'melt' the ferromagnetic order of the material resulting in a 'quantum critical' state. 'You might expect to see random fluctuations of the spins at this critical point but what we uncovered was a remarkable structure in the resonances of the magnetic spins indicating a perfectly harmonious state,' said Radu Coldea from Oxford University's Department of Physics who led the team. As the critical state was approached the researchers observed that the chain of atoms behaved like a 'magnetic guitar string'. Radu added: 'The tension comes from the interaction between spins causing them to magnetically resonate. We found a series of resonant modes. Close to the critical field the two lowest resonant frequencies approached closely the golden ratio 1.618…, a characteristic signature of the predicted E8 symmetry.' He is convinced that this is no coincidence and it reflects a subtle form of order present in the quantum system. The resonant states seen experimentally in cobalt niobate may be our first glimpse of complex symmetries that can occur in the quantum world. "The results suggest that similar 'hidden' symmetries may also govern the physics of other materials near quantum critical points where electrons organize themselves according to quantum rules for strong interactions,' Radu told us. The research was supported by EPSRC and Radu aims to use a new EPSRC grant to explore the physics of materials near quantum criticality. The team included Dr Radu Coldea, Dr Elisa Wheeler and Dr D Prabhakaran from Oxford University's Department of Physics, as well as researchers from Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, ISIS Rutherford Laboratory, and Bristol University.

Q: hide empty images with same id in slider How can I hide one or two empty input images inside of slider? I tried with this code and I thought that it worked because just showed one image when another two are empty, but when I insert a second or the three images always shows only the first one, where is my error? can you help me.. Here the code: libraries js: <script src="js/jquery-ui.min.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery.nerveSlider.min.js"></script> <script> $(document).ready(function() { $(".myslider").show(); $(".myslider").startslider({ slideTransitionSpeed: 900, slideImageScaleMode: "fit", sliderKeepAspectRatio: true, slideTransitionEasing: "easeOutExpo", slidesDraggable: true, sliderResizable: true, showDots:true, }); }); </script> <?php try { $query = "SELECT id, foto1, foto2, foto3 FROM FOTOS WHERE id = ?"; $stmt = $conn->prepare( $query ); $stmt->bindParam(1, $_REQUEST['id']); $stmt->execute(); $row = $stmt->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC); $id = $row['id']; } catch(PDOException $exception) { echo "Error: " . $exception->getMessage(); } ?> <div class="myslider" id="<?php echo $id; ?>"> <?php if (!empty($row['foto1'])) { echo '<img src="assets/img/'.$row["foto1"].'" alt="imagen 1" style="max-width:600px; max-height:400px;" />'; } else if (!empty($row['foto2'])) { echo '<img src="assets/img/'.$row["foto2"].'" alt="imagen 2" style="max-width:600px; max-height:400px;" />'; } else if (!empty($row['foto3'])) { echo '<img src="assets/img/'.$row["foto3"].'" alt="imagen 3" style="max-width:600px; max-height:400px;" />'; } ?> </div> A: The problem is in your PHP code; an if-else if-else if group will only process until the first if or else if check that returns true; it will then process that statement and skip the rest of the else if statements. So to fix it just replace your else ifs with ifs - like this: ...snip... <div class="myslider" id="<?php echo $id; ?>"> <?php if (!empty($row['foto1'])) { echo '<img src="assets/img/'.$row["foto1"].'" alt="imagen 1" style="max-width:600px; max-height:400px;" />'; } if (!empty($row['foto2'])) { echo '<img src="assets/img/'.$row["foto2"].'" alt="imagen 2" style="max-width:600px; max-height:400px;" />'; } if (!empty($row['foto3'])) { echo '<img src="assets/img/'.$row["foto3"].'" alt="imagen 3" style="max-width:600px; max-height:400px;" />'; } ?> </div>

Asthma UK calls on Scottish scientists to lead the way in transforming the lives of over 300m people with asthma Asthma UK is calling on Scotland to lead the way in finding much-needed breakthroughs for people with asthma. With its world class reputation of research [1] and strong infrastructure for life sciences innovation, Scotland can develop the tools and treatments that will transform the lives of over 300 million people across the world and help drive a global market expected to reach £14 billion by 2017 [2]. Dr Samantha Walker, Director of Research and Policy at Asthma UK, said: "There is nothing as frightening as not being able to breathe yet that is the reality for thousands of people in Scotland with asthma. We now have a once in a generation opportunity to attract investment into asthma research, helping millions of people across the UK as well as driving Scotland’s productivity, economy and long term growth." To launch the campaign, a Cross Party Group meeting was held at the Scottish Parliament last night [3], attended by leading academics, politicians and policy makers from across Scotland, including Professor Andrew Morris, Chief Scientist at the Scottish Government. There are 368,000 people with asthma in Scotland, including 72,000 children. As many as 15,000 people in Scotland have asthma so severe current treatments simply do not work. Asthma UK is calling for research into: Improved diagnostics - Diagnosing asthma is complex and there are no simple, reliable diagnostic tests for the condition, delaying access to treatments. Better treatments – 15,000 people in Scotland have asthma that is so severe that current treatments do not work. We need to change this. Dr Walker adds: "This is a hugely exciting time for asthma research and Scotland is ideally placed to deliver the latest breakthroughs. Through the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research - co-ordinated and led by Edinburgh University - we look forward to working with Scotland’s world-leading universities, the Scottish Government, life science businesses and academics to improve the outlook for people with asthma in Scotland, throughout the UK, and across the world." ENDS The Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research was launched in May 2014 and is a collaboration between leading asthma researchers from 13 universities across the UK. It is coordinated and led by the University of Edinburgh. About Asthma UK Asthma UK’s mission is to stop asthma attacks and cure asthma. We do this by funding world leading research, campaigning for improved care and supporting people to reduce their risk of a potentially life threatening asthma attack. Asthma UK is solely funded by public donations The Asthma UK Helpline is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm on 0300 222 5800. For more information about asthma please visit www.asthma.org.uk Background information on asthma In the UK, 5.4 million people are currently receiving treatment for asthma: 1.1 million children (1 in 11) and 4.3 million adults (1 in 12). The UK has one of the highest prevalence rates for asthma in Europe, according to the ERS Whitebook.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Heuchera of hybrid origin, botanically known as a Heuchera and is hereinafter referred to by its cultivar name ‘Red Pearls’. The new cultivar was discovered by the Inventor in Hantay, France, as a chance seedling amongst many different Heuchera varieties in a trial plot in May of 2011. The trial plot contained hundreds of cultivars and proprietary seedlings of Heuchera from the Inventor's breeding program. The parentage of ‘Red Pearls’ is therefore unknown. The objectives of the breeding program were to select cultivars that were floriferous with distinct foliage coloration. Asexual propagation of the new cultivar was first accomplished under the direction of the Inventor by tissue culture initiated with meristem tissue in Rijswijk, The Netherlands in April of 2015. Asexual propagation of the new cultivar by division and tissue culture has shown that the unique features are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

ISIS jihadists laughing and joking while a slave girl is heard screaming Harrowing footage from a dead terrorist's phone appears to show ISIS fighters laughing and joking while a woman can be heard being raped in the background. One suspected ISIS fighter sits in the middle of the floor playing with his friend's underwear and sipping from a small glass in what appears to be a living room. Two far affiliates sit on a large sofa laughing at the seated man as he gestures with the clothing and a fourth man can be seen milling around in the room. All the while, a woman can be heard wailing nearby, but the pictures are not picked up on video. Speaking in an Iraqi accent, the man sitting on the floor says: 'I went to Abu Aziz when he shouting for his slave and I stole his clothes - now I came here and now he has no clothes. 'I arrested his clothes (joke). 'Now I'll let him go out of the house naked with no clothes. This video is for my love Abu Aziz.' His fat friends sat on the sofa say, 'don't film, don't film', while laughing. The video was captured on the phone of a dead ISIS terrorist, according to Radio Sawa, who say the clothes belong to the seated man's friend who is carrying out the rape. As well as the distressing screams of the woman, commands can be heard coming from a walkie-talkie which is sat on the floor next to the terrorist who is sat cross-legged on the floor with a tray in front of him. It is understood the slayed terrorist died in Shirqat near Mosul, Iraq.

T wave complexity in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The complexity of the T wave assessed by principal component analysis (PCA) has been proposed to reflect abnormal repolarization, which may be arrhythmogenic. To determine whether PCA can differentiate patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) from normal subjects and whether PCA is of prognostic importance in HCM, 112 patients with HCM (41 +/- 14 years, 64 males) and 72 healthy subjects (39 +/- 9 years, 41 males) were studied. Patients with sinus node dysfunction, AV conduction block, flat T waves, QRS > 140 ms, and those < 15 years were excluded from this study. Standard 12-lead ECGs were recorded digitally using the MAC-VU system (Marquette Medical Systems). PCA parameters were computed using the QT Guard software package by Marquette. PCA ratio was significantly greater in HCM patients than in normal controls (23.9% +/- 12.4% vs 16.1% +/- 7.6%, P < 0.0001) and was correlated with QT-end dispersion (r = 0.24, P = 0.01) and QT peak (Q point to T peak) dispersion (r = 0.35, P < 0.0001). HCM patients with syncope (n = 23) had increased PCA ratios compared with those without syncope (29.1% +/- 11.5% vs 22.5% +/- 12.3%, P = 0.01). PCA ratio was similar in patients with and without nonsustained ventricular tachycardia on Holter (25.9% +/- 11.4% vs 22.7% +/- 12.1%, P = 0.2), as well as in patients treated with amiodarone or sotalol versus those not on therapy. In conclusion, assessment of the complexity of the T wave by PCA differentiates HCM patients from normal subjects. PCA ratio correlated with QT dispersion and an increased PCA ratio was associated with a history of syncope in HCM.

Q: Intersection observer "unloads" images after looping on carousel (Siema) I have this fiddle to show my problem. I have made an intersection observer for lazy loading images, code: const images = document.querySelectorAll("[data-src]"); function preloadImage(img){ const src = img.getAttribute("data-src"); if (!src) { return; } img.src= src; } const imgOptions = { threshold: 0, rootMargin: "0px 0px 300px 0px" }; const imgObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries, imgObserver) => { entries.forEach(entry => { if(!entry.isIntersecting){ return; } else { preloadImage(entry.target); imgObserver.unobserve(entry.target); } }) }, imgOptions); images.forEach( image => { imgObserver.observe(image); }); The problem arises when I loop through the Siema carousel, the last and first images "unloads", meaning, src is returned to data-src, despite it being told to unobserve after intersecting. To see the problem simply click 'prev' in the fiddle. The first image will disappear, but it was already loaded. Why is this happening, what am I doing wrong? EDIT: Fixed working fiddle, thank you @ohladkov A: This happens because of this value: loop: 1. When loading the page in const images = document.querySelectorAll ("[data-src]") are only 6 pictures contained, and when you initialize the slider, it has 10 images. You need to get images and call your observer when the slider is initialized. Siema has an onInit callback. Something like that: onInit() { const el = document.querySelector(this.config.selector); // get siema container const images = el.querySelectorAll("[data-src]"); // get all siema images images.forEach( image => { imgObserver.observe(image); }); }, I hope this helps you!

762 So.2d 1105 (2000) Joseph R. ROSSON v. RUST CONSTRUCTORS, INC. No. 2000-C-0914. Supreme Court of Louisiana. May 26, 2000. Denied. VICTORY, J., not on panel. CALOGERO, C.J., and JOHNSON, J., would grant the writ.

Generating level-dependent models of cervical and thoracic spinal cord injury: Exploring the interplay of neuroanatomy, physiology, and function. The majority of spinal cord injuries (SCI) occur at the cervical level, which results in significant impairment. Neurologic level and severity of injury are primary endpoints in clinical trials; however, how level-specific damages relate to behavioural performance in cervical injury is incompletely understood. We hypothesized that ascending level of injury leads to worsening forelimb performance, and correlates with loss of neural tissue and muscle-specific neuron pools. A direct comparison of multiple models was made with injury realized at the C5, C6, C7 and T7 vertebral levels using clip compression with sham-operated controls. Animals were assessed for 10weeks post-injury with numerous (40) outcome measures, including: classic behavioural tests, CatWalk, non-invasive MRI, electrophysiology, histologic lesion morphometry, neuron counts, and motor compartment quantification, and multivariate statistics on the total dataset. Histologic staining and T1-weighted MR imaging revealed similar structural changes and distinct tissue loss with cystic cavitation across all injuries. Forelimb tests, including grip strength, F-WARP motor scale, Inclined Plane, and forelimb ladder walk, exhibited stratification between all groups and marked impairment with C5 and C6 injuries. Classic hindlimb tests including BBB, hindlimb ladder walk, bladder recovery, and mortality were not different between cervical and thoracic injuries. CatWalk multivariate gait analysis showed reciprocal and progressive changes forelimb and hindlimb function with ascending level of injury. Electrophysiology revealed poor forelimb axonal conduction in cervical C5 and C6 groups alone. The cervical enlargement (C5-T2) showed progressive ventral horn atrophy and loss of specific motor neuron populations with ascending injury. Multivariate statistics revealed a robust dataset, rank-order contribution of outcomes, and allowed prediction of injury level with single-level discrimination using forelimb performance and neuron counts. Level-dependent models were generated using clip-compression SCI, with marked and reliable differences in forelimb performance and specific neuron pool loss.

Frontier calls on Yawman Frontier Communications Corp. has chosen a local telecom industry veteran to head its Rochester operations. Phil Yawman, a former executive at ACC Corp. and Choice One Communications Inc., will serve as vice president and general manager of Frontier's Rochester market. Yawman takes over a post previously held by Ann Burr, who became president of new product trials and integration for Frontier late last year. Kevin Smith, Frontier senior vice president and general manager for New York State, said Burr will remain integral to the company's strategy on a global level. "Ann has a tremendous background in the telecom and cable industry in tons of leadership roles," Smith said. "Now she's looking at things across the whole company, which will play a huge part in our growth going forward. "The day-to-day business itself falls back to me for New York State and to Phil for the Rochester focus. When you look at Phil's background and everything he has done, we're very lucky to have him leading things in Rochester." Prior to being named general manager for Frontier in Rochester, Yawman served as regional vice president of commercial sales for the company. It was his second stint with Frontier. Yawman first joined Frontier in 1989, working his way up to director of investor relations. He left in 1997 to become vice president of investor relations for ACC Corp. From there, Yawman went on to become a co-founder of Choice One Communications Inc. with fellow ACC Corp. alumni Mae Squier-Dow, Kevin Dickens and Steve Dubnik. Choice One became one of the area's fastest-growing telecom firms during the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, Choice One's meteoric rise eventually came to a halt as the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004. Yawman left Choice One in 2005. He became CEO of another startup company, Rocket Broadband Networks Inc. The company provides bundled telephone, high-speed Internet and satellite television services in bulk to apartment complexes. Yawman remained with Rocket Broadband until May 2009, when he returned to Frontier as regional vice president. "I don't really look at it like I'm returning to a company," Yawman said. "Frontier doesn't look anything like the company I worked for from 1989 to 1997. The industry has evolved." Shortly after Yawman signed on as Frontier's regional vice president of commercial sales, the company announced it had signed an $8.6 million agreement to acquire Verizon Communications Inc.'s landline assets in 14 states. Verizon was eager to shed its declining traditional phone accounts and concentrate on its booming wireless business. Frontier saw the acquisition as an opportunity to boost revenues by increasing its service offerings and broadband penetration. Frontier closed the deal in July 2010 and spent the next two years integrating Verizon's operating, financial and human resources systems into Frontier's own IT network. With the integration done, Yawman said, Frontier now is reintegrating control of its operations and sales on a local and regional scale. The move gives more oversight to regional and local leadership like Yawman and Smith in hopes of advancing Frontier's local engagement, which has been a key focus of Chairman and CEO Maggie Wilderotter for the past few years. "Our focus will be to continue to drive a great customer experience, residential and commercial, and continue to drive improvements in our network to meet the growing demand for data services," Yawman said. "The world is moving from voice to data. Frontier is very much a data-services-driven company." Frontier also has increased its marketing efforts. In late 2012 the company began targeting cable customers by offering new subscribers a $500 Apple gift card. More recently, Frontier launched an ad campaign for print, broadcasting and online that features the character "Frank the American Buffalo" and offers new subscribers DSL service for $19.99 a month with a three-year contract. Yawman said "Frank the American Buffalo" is Frontier's first national marketing campaign in years. Yawman said the Rochester market remains a big part of Frontier's growth plans. The company has roughly 1,360 employees in the area. Rochester represents one of Frontier's largest markets nationwide. Smith said the local market makes up roughly 50 percent of Frontier's New York operations. Recently, Frontier detailed network enhancements and capital investments in New York totaling more than $123 million. The company said Rochester was an integral part of the investment with funding for software upgrades and engineering projects being made locally that will benefit Frontier's operations in 27 states. "I'm honored to be named the lead for Frontier's largest market," Yawman said. "Our performance in this market still drives a lot of the success in New York State. I'm committed to this market and really looking forward to working more closely with our Rochester employees and customers."

Q: Django: dependencies reference nonexistent parent node When I run the following command python manage.py migrate I receive this error from django so can't step forward in my practice: Traceback (most recent call last): File "manage.py", line 10, in <module> execute_from_command_line(sys.argv) File "/home/nikhil/testWeb-devEnv/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/django/core/management/__init__.py", line 385, in execute_from_command_line utility.execute() File "/home/nikhil/testWeb-devEnv/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/django/core/management/__init__.py", line 377, in execute self.fetch_command(subcommand).run_from_argv(self.argv) File "/home/nikhil/testWeb-devEnv/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/django/core/management/base.py", line 288, in run_from_argv self.execute(*args, **options.__dict__) File "/home/nikhil/testWeb-devEnv/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/django/core/management/base.py", line 338, in execute output = self.handle(*args, **options) File "/home/nikhil/testWeb-devEnv/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/django/core/management/commands/migrate.py", line 63, in handle executor = MigrationExecutor(connection, self.migration_progress_callback) File "/home/nikhil/testWeb-devEnv/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/django/db/migrations/executor.py", line 17, in __init__ self.loader = MigrationLoader(self.connection) File "/home/nikhil/testWeb-devEnv/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/django/db/migrations/loader.py", line 48, in __init__ self.build_graph() File "/home/nikhil/testWeb-devEnv/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/django/db/migrations/loader.py", line 241, in build_graph self.graph.add_dependency(migration, key, parent) File "/home/nikhil/testWeb-devEnv/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/django/db/migrations/graph.py", line 42, in add_dependency raise KeyError("Migration %s dependencies reference nonexistent parent node %r" % (migration, parent)) KeyError: u"Migration testBolt.0001_initial dependencies reference nonexistent parent node (u'delivery_boy', u'0004_auto_20150221_2011')" How do I solve this problem? A: Solution - 1 Remove pyc files from your migrations folder. Solution - 2 Need to remove that reference from testBolt.0001_initial by editing migration file. Solution - 3 Remove the new changes from the models and run python manage.py migrate --fake Now again modify your models with new changes Run python manage.py makemigrations And then again run python manage.py migrate A: I had the same problem. In my case, because I played with migrations manually, I forgot to create __init__.py inside of migrations folder. A: This works for me In your app migrations folder Delete all the files pyc in your app folder (except the __init__) Delete all the files in the migrations (except the __init__ ) python manage.py makemigrations python manage.py migrate runserver

Q: Redirect to "/login" if is not logged in I need to redirect everyone to route /login if: Access to / route (app.php or app_dev.php) Try to access any restricted area and the client belongs to group or have the right credentials but it's not logged in (not so sure this will be necessary since maybe Symfony handle this part) So I did this in my security.yml: security: encoders: FOS\UserBundle\Model\UserInterface: sha512 role_hierarchy: ROLE_ADMIN: ROLE_USER ROLE_SUPER_ADMIN: ROLE_ADMIN providers: fos_userbundle: id: fos_user.user_provider.username_email firewalls: main: pattern: ^/ anonymous: ~ form_login: provider: fos_userbundle csrf_provider: form.csrf_provider logout: true dev: pattern: ^/(_(profiler|wdt)|css|images|js)/ security: false access_control: - { path: ^/login$, role: IS_AUTHENTICATED_ANONYMOUSLY } - { path: ^/register, role: IS_AUTHENTICATED_ANONYMOUSLY } - { path: ^/resetting, role: IS_AUTHENTICATED_ANONYMOUSLY } - { path: ^/admin/, role: ROLE_ADMIN } And this in routing.yml: common: resource: "@CommonBundle/Controller/" type: annotation options: expose: true user: resource: "@UserBundle/Controller/" type: annotation options: expose: true # FOSUserBundle Routes fos_user_security: resource: "@FOSUserBundle/Resources/config/routing/security.xml" fos_user_profile: resource: "@FOSUserBundle/Resources/config/routing/profile.xml" prefix: /profile fos_user_register: resource: "@FOSUserBundle/Resources/config/routing/registration.xml" prefix: /register fos_user_resetting: resource: "@FOSUserBundle/Resources/config/routing/resetting.xml" prefix: /resetting fos_user_change_password: resource: "@FOSUserBundle/Resources/config/routing/change_password.xml" prefix: /profile fos_user_group: resource: "@FOSUserBundle/Resources/config/routing/group.xml" prefix: /group #FOSJsRouting fos_js_routing: resource: "@FOSJsRoutingBundle/Resources/config/routing/routing.xml" Any time I access app_dev.php I go to CommonController.php at indexAction() and don't redirect to login, what I miss? A: You need to make the entire site closed off to non authenticated users by adding a rule to the access_control. However, ensure that /login is an exception to this rule, by putting the exception before it. access_control: - { path: ^/login, role: IS_AUTHENTICATED_ANONYMOUSLY } - { path: ^/, role: ROLE_USER }

Background ========== Assessment of patients\' satisfaction with mental health services has become accepted by health planners as a measure of quality of care \[[@B1],[@B2]\]. Knowledge of the pattern of service satisfaction could help to identify the strengths and weaknesses of services, and provide guidance for further development \[[@B3]-[@B5]\]. Despite the reservations in the literature about the capacity of patients with severe mental disorders to give reliable opinion about satisfaction with services, and the possibility of biased opinion because of a tendency towards \"an agreeing response set\" \[[@B6]\], it was found that, patient satisfaction, but not clinician or referrer satisfaction, was a more accurate indicator of quality of care than standard indicators \[[@B7]\]. A review of the literature showed that the factors associated with psychiatric service satisfaction could be classified into three broad groups, namely: institutional/treatment - related issues of quality of care; clinical severity and socio-demographic characteristics; and socio-cultural/psychological attributes of the patient \[[@B1],[@B5],[@B6]\]. In general, patients receiving care in community settings express higher satisfaction than those in hospital - based services \[[@B8]\], and service effectiveness is associated with higher satisfaction \[[@B9]-[@B11]\]. There have been fewer attempts to relate service satisfaction with other indices of quality of care, such as patients\' unmet needs for care, quality of life (QOL) and family caregiver burden \[[@B1],[@B4],[@B12],[@B13]\]. On the other hand, there are more reports indicating that dissatisfaction with service provided is associated with lower physical and mental health, severity of behavior problems, level of psychosocial functioning, and duration of illness \[[@B2],[@B14]-[@B17]\]. However, there are conflicting findings about the relationship of socio-demographic characteristics with service satisfaction \[[@B16]\]. While most studies found no significant gender difference \[[@B1],[@B17]-[@B20]\], others found that women had higher satisfaction scores than men \[[@B15],[@B21]\]. Also, age was reported to be correlated with aspects of service satisfaction in most studies \[[@B18],[@B19],[@B21]\], but not in others \[[@B17]\]. Furthermore, there are conflicting reports about the role of socio-economic indices (such as education, money and housing) \[[@B17],[@B22]\] and marital status \[[@B23]\]. With regard to psychological attributes, the most consistent findings are that, service satisfaction is significantly associated with subjective quality of life (QOL) \[[@B12],[@B24],[@B25]\]; and abnormal personality traits are negatively correlated with satisfaction \[[@B22],[@B26]\]. Service satisfaction has usually been viewed as a multidimensional construct and has, therefore, been measured as such, in order to assess its various facets \[[@B5]-[@B7],[@B16],[@B18],[@B19]\]. In a recent (2009) review of related instruments, it was found that, although there are currently many instruments, the methods used to generate them are heterogeneous, causing the content of questionnaires to vary; and reliability and validity were not systematically tested \[[@B5]\]. In addition, instruments have often been limited to a few broad items which require only one or two dimensions of mental health care \[[@B19]\]. In view of this situation, we chose the 54-item Verona Service Satisfaction Scale (VSSS -EU version) because it has received the most research attention in psychiatry, having been validated in the five-nation European Psychiatric Services: Input Linked to Outcome Domains and Needs (EPSILON) study \[[@B27]\]. Unlike other instruments that focus on specific services (e.g., inpatient or outpatient services) \[[@B5],[@B6],[@B16]\], the VSSS attempts a broad - based assessment. It covers seven broad domains, namely, \"overall satisfaction\" (3 items), \"professionals\' skills and behavior\" (16 items), \"information\" (3 items), \"access\" (2 items), \"efficacy\" (8 items), \"types of intervention\" (17 items), and \"relatives\' involvement\" (5 items). However, it has been noted that satisfaction with health care depends more on factors external to the health care system than on the experience of care as a patient \[[@B28]\]. Some of these external factors concern objective QOL and psychological well-being \[[@B1],[@B16]\]. Hence, it is important to assess the relationship of indices of objective QOL (i.e., living situation, finances, and social relationships), and indices of psychological well -being, such as self-esteem, positive affect (i.e., positive mood states), and negative affect (i.e., negative mood states), with scores on domains of service satisfaction. First, variables related to self-esteem and affect (e.g., feeling happy with aspects of life) have been found to be associated with service satisfaction \[[@B1],[@B4]\]. Second, reports from the field of positive psychology have shown the inter-relatedness of the constructs of satisfaction, self-esteem and positive/negative affect across cultures \[[@B29]-[@B32]\]. In view of the above relationships, our conceptual framework was Ware et al\'s \[[@B33]\] definition of service satisfaction, elaborated by Chow et al \[[@B18]\], as consisting of \"satisfaction determinants\" and \"satisfaction components\". Satisfaction and dissatisfaction indicate patients\' judgment about the strengths and weaknesses, respectively, of the service \[[@B18]\]. The term \"satisfaction components\" refers to satisfaction with services actually provided (as in the domains of VSSS), while \"satisfaction determinants\" consist of patient\'s expectations, preferences, and individual characteristics (including socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, quality of life, self-esteem and ethnic origin) \[[@B18]\]. Accordingly, our analysis was geared towards assessing the association between indices of \"satisfaction components\" (i.e., VSSS domain scores) and indices of \"satisfaction determinants\", with a view to understanding the relationship between the strengths and weaknesses of the service, on the one hand, and individual characteristics, on the other hand. The rationale for our study is that reports on service satisfaction from the Arab world concerned only studies of general/private hospitals and primary health care centers (PHC) \[[@B14],[@B34]-[@B38]\], these studies did not link satisfaction components with satisfaction determinants, and there are no reports on psychiatric services. One Saudi Arabia primary health care study reported that 40% of the patients were dissatisfied \[[@B36]\], while two other reports found discrepancies between the reported satisfaction and the inadequacy of the resources \[[@B35],[@B39]\]. Indeed, the ordinary expectation from psychological theory is that, despite differences in expectation \[[@B33]\], the all-pervading conservative religious culture, typical of what has been described as a \"collectivistic society\" \[[@B29],[@B32]\], would tend to encourage people in these settings to express more satisfaction with services provided to them, in comparison with the \"individualistic societies\" of the western world \[[@B18],[@B31]\]. In this study, we examined a wide variety of issues related to psychiatric hospital service satisfaction among Kuwaiti subjects with schizophrenia, with a view to contributing information on the factors associated with the strengths and weaknesses of the mental health care system in Kuwait. Taking a cue from the EPSILON study reports \[[@B12],[@B40]\], we have done this by relating data on domains of satisfaction components (as in the VSSS-EU), with indices of satisfaction determinants, such as, socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as broad indices of quality of care, namely, met/unmet needs for care as in the Camberwell Assessment of Needs (CAN) \[[@B41]\], and family caregiver burden as in the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire (IEQ) \[[@B42]\]. The specific objectives of the study were to: (i) assess the pattern of satisfaction with psychiatric hospital care for a sample of people with schizophrenia in Kuwait, using the VSSS-EU, with a view to seeing the areas of the service that the patients were satisfied and dissatisfied with; ii) compare the pattern of patient satisfaction with hospital care of people with schizophrenia in Kuwait with those of similar studies \[[@B12],[@B19]\]; and iii) assess the association of seven VSSS domains of service satisfaction with a number of variables representing met and unmet needs for care, family caregiver burden, severity of psychopathology, level of global psychosocial functioning, socio-demographic characteristics, psychological well-being and objective quality of life. These factors have been found to have variable predictive powers on service satisfaction \[[@B1],[@B12],[@B16],[@B18],[@B19]\]. Considering the nature of the Kuwaiti society \[[@B18],[@B29]-[@B32]\] and the type of mental health care service (details provided below), we hypothesized that the patients would be generally satisfied with the service, especially those aspects of the service that relate to the strengths of the conservative culture, namely, the involvement of relatives. The differences in pattern of satisfaction with the international literature would be a reflection of differences in culture and type of service \[[@B12],[@B18]\]. Furthermore, in multivariate analyses, service satisfaction would be significantly associated with socio-demographic characteristics and indices of quality of care, objective QOL, clinical severity and psychological well-being \[[@B1],[@B18],[@B19]\]. Methods ======= The setting ----------- Kuwait is an Arab country, a city - state located in the Arabian Gulf. Of the total 3.4 million population, Kuwaiti nationals make up 1.1 million (2007 census). For Kuwaiti nationals, there is an effective national social welfare system. The country has a conservative Muslim culture, with traditional gender roles and sexual segregation, and the extended family system and family social support are the norms. According to psychological theory, these characteristics place Kuwait in the category of a so called \"collectivistic society\", which is said to have different patterns of satisfaction with the so called \"individualistic societies\" of the Western world \[[@B29]-[@B32]\]. The study was carried out at the Psychological Medicine Hospital, the only facility of its kind in Kuwait. The hospital is housed in a modern, spacious, well equipped set of buildings, and consists of 691 in-patient beds. There are no community - based mental health care services. All services provided to Kuwaiti nationals are free - of - charge. Health care delivery is sectorized (i.e., in catchment areas). There are five general adult psychiatric catchment area units. Patients involved in this study belonged to the catchment area of one of us (MAZ). In view of the uniform socio-economic and cultural circumstances in such a small country, there is no reason to believe that the characteristics of these patients are different from those of patients from the other catchment areas. Subjects -------- The participants consisted of consecutive attendees at the unit, who fulfilled the study\'s inclusion criteria. We sought to have participants that were comparable with those of studies that have used the same instruments to study patients of comparable diagnostic groups \[[@B12],[@B19]\]. Hence, the participants had recently been discharged from admission, had attended follow - up clinic appointment, had been ill for at least one year, were aged less than 65 years, were literate in Arabic, could independently provide informed consent to participate, and were in stable clinical condition. In addition, they were accompanied by family caregivers who lived with them. All patients had a stable (at least one year) case note diagnosis of schizophrenia, which was verified by the administration of the ICD-10 Symptom Checklist as in the Schedule for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry \[[@B43]\]. Of the 146 patient - family caregiver dyads that fulfilled the inclusion criteria during the study period, 16 did not complete the full interviews because they failed to attend follow-up appointments. The 16 patients who did not complete the interviews consisted of 13 men and three women, mean age 44.1(13.1). This report concerns the 130 patients who completed the interviews (68.5% men, aged 14-61 yrs, mean 36.8, SD 10) Over 80% (of 130 full participants) had at least high school education, 35 (26.9%) were currently married, and 95.5% were living together with either their spouses or families of origin. Their global level of psychosocial functioning was average (as assessed by the Global Assessment of Functioning - GAF score = 50.2), and the mean BPRS (psychopathology) (18 - item) score of 44.4 indicated that they were clinically \"moderately ill\" \[[@B44]\]. Ethical approval ---------------- Ethical approval for the work was obtained from the Research and Ethical Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University. Patients and family caregivers gave verbal informed consent after the objectives of the study had been explained to them. They were duly informed that there would be no negative consequences for declining to participate, and that they were within their rights to refuse to participate. As is well known in this culture for such non-invasive studies \[[@B25]\], all families approached freely consented to participate. Assessment instruments ---------------------- The subjects were assessed with the instruments used for the EPSILON study, namely: the European versions of: (i) the Verona Service Satisfaction Scale \[[@B27]\]; (ii) the Camberwell Assessment of Need (CAN-EU) \[[@B41]\]; (iii) the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire - for the relatives (IEQ-EU) \[[@B42]\]; and (iv) the Lancashire Quality of Life Profile (LQoLP-EU) \[[@B45]\]. All these instruments were slightly modified to suit the Kuwaiti situation and translated into Arabic by the method of back - translation. Psychopathology was assessed with the following instruments: 14 items of the ICD-10 Symptom Checklist \[[@B43]\], and the 24-item version of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) \[[@B46]\]. Global level of psychosocial functioning was assessed with the Global Assessment of Functioning scale (GAF) \[[@B46]\]. We obtained all the assessment instruments of the EPSILON study from the authors \[[@B46]\], who approved our Arabic translation. Only the VSSS-EU will be described in detail here because it is the focus of this report. Details about the reliability indices and contents of the other questionnaires have been presented elsewhere \[[@B25]\]. In brief, they were found to be applicable in Kuwait, and both the inter-rater reliability tests (for the two raters, using intra-class correlation coefficient) and internal consistency for all participants (using Cronbach\'s alpha) were all adequate (i.e., \> 0.7). The Verona Service Satisfaction Scale (VSSS-EU) ----------------------------------------------- The VSSS-EU \[[@B27]\] is a 54 - item self - administered instrument that consists of seven domains (already highlighted). The response options are: \"terrible\", \"mostly dissatisfied\", \"mixed\", \"mostly satisfied\", and \"excellent\", on a scale of 1-5; so that higher subscale/domain scores indicate better satisfaction. The most important subscale is the \"overall satisfaction\", as it gives a global impression of satisfaction with services by assessing the \"amount of help received\", \"kind of services\" and \"overall satisfaction\". The subscale on professionals (we focused only on the attitudes towards psychiatrists) assesses perceptions of the competence and manners of the professionals. The information subscale is concerned with explanations given to the patient about the services offered. Access subscale deals with the physical layout and costs of the service. The efficacy domain concerns the perceived effectiveness of the service in helping the patient in the clinical and psychosocial areas of living. The subscale on \"types of intervention\" assesses the service\'s response to crises situations, as well as the provision of opportunities for activities outside the hospital\'s premises. The subscale on \"relatives\' involvement\" concerns perceptions of how much the professionals have been able to help the family caregiver to cope with the patient\'s problems. The subscale scores are computed by the average of the total for the relevant subscale items \[[@B27]\]. The recommended cut-off score for dissatisfaction for each subscale is \< 3.5 \[[@B12]\]. The VSSS has been validated in various international studies \[[@B47],[@B48]\]. It required minor modifications to make it suitable for our setting. Thus, six items of the service provision section were not included in our analysis for the following reasons: (i) compulsory treatment: this service is provided only for forensic cases; (ii) sheltered accommodation is not available in Kuwait; (iii) leisure activities outside the hospital is provided occasionally for only inpatients; (iv) sheltered work is not available for patients; (v) help from the hospital to find open employment is not provided; (vi) the leisure activities (e.g., sports) are within the hospital. As a result, the subscale for \"types of interventions\" consisted of 11 items rather than 17, and the total number of items we used was 48. In the Danish study of patients with affective disorders, these were also among the items removed from the VSSS because they were found to be irrelevant for such patients \[[@B19]\]. It is recommended that the VSSS should be self-administered \[[@B27]\]. However, because of the length of the questionnaire and the need to ensure that the participants understood the questions, all assessments were interview-based, and carried out in Arabic by two Arab psychiatric registrars. But the participants were duly assured that this was a research activity, their responses would be recorded anonymously, and that their responses would not lead to any adverse consequences. The reliability coefficients were quite satisfactory. First, the inter-rater reliability for the two interviewers, using the responses of 14 subjects, who did not take part in the main study, was as follows: intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) for the items (i.e., 48 + 48) was 0.94 (95% C.I. = 0.86 - 0.99). Kendall\'s tau correlation (r) for each pair of subscale scores (i.e., for both interviewers) was as follows: intervention: 0.85; information: 0.82; access: 0.60; overall satisfaction: 0.43; efficacy: 0.88; relatives\' involvement: 0.76; professionals\' skills: 0.67; total scores: 0.78. We used Kendall\'s tau because it is more conservative than Pearson\'s correlation as it takes ties into consideration. For the responses of the participants of the main study (N = 130, number of items = 48), the internal consistency (Cronbach\'s alpha) was 0.97. The internal consistency values for each of the subscales are presented in Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"} for the main study\'s participants. ###### VSSS domain scores, internal consistency, and proportion of subjects satisfied with domains: compared with other studies --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VSSS domain/subscale No. of items Reliability: Cronbach\'s Alpha (N = 130) Unadjusted mean score (SD): N = 130 Adjusted mean score\* (SE) N = 111 (%) dissatisfied with domain i.e. unadjusted score \< 3.5 \*\* (%) satisfied with domain i.e. unadjusted score \>/= 3.5 Unadjusted mean (SD) scores EPSILON: Pooled data N = 399\*\*\* Danish study of subjects with mood disorders: Aged \< 40 yrs/Aged ≥40 yrs Mean (SD)\*\*\*\* ------------------------- -------------- ------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall satisfaction 3 0.81 4.04(0.71) 4.07(0.06) 28(21.5) 102(69.4) 3.83(0.79) 3.63(1.06)/\ 4.00(1.00) Professional skills 16 0.94 3.85(0.66) 3.89(0.06) 35(26.9) 95(73.1) 3.88(0.57) 3.60(0.98)/\ 3.98(0.84) Information 3 0.66 3.26(0.81) 3.26(0.08) 89(68.5) 41(31.5) 3.39(0.93) 3.44(1.10)/\ 3.76(1.08) Access 2 \- 3.59(0.87) 3.58(0.08) 44(33.8) 86(66.2) 3.83(0.73) 3.41(1.46)/\ 3.56(1.33) Efficacy 8 0.91 3.83(0.68) 3.87(0.06) 31(23.8) 99(76.2) 3.56(0.74) 3.38(1.08)/\ 3.65(1.00) Types of\ 11\*\*\*\*\* 0.75 3.39(0.45) 3.42(0.04) 87(66.9) 43(33.1) 3.64(0.42) 3.54(0.61)/\ Intervention 3.85(0.93) Relatives\' involvement 5 0.88 3.79(0.68) 3.82(0.06) 36(27.7) 94(72.3) 3.39(0.96) 2.92(1.26)/\ 3.19(1.34) Total VSSS score 48 0.97 3.68(0.54) 3.71(0.05) 42(32.3) 88(67.7) 3.70(0.50) 3.40(0.98)/\ 3.73(0.93) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- \*Adjusted for sex, age, education, marital status, family income, duration of illness, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale score, and Global Assessment of Functioning score. N is \< 130 because of missing values. \*\* Using the recommended cut-off score (\< 3.5) for dissatisfaction/satisfaction (Ruggeri et al., 2003) \[[@B12]\]. \*\*\* Ruggeri M et al 2000 \[[@B27]\]; \*\*\*\* Kessing LV et al 2006 \[[@B19]\]; \*\*\*\*\* Six items of the service provision section were not included (see text for details) Patients\' met/unmet needs -------------------------- The CAN-EU \[[@B41]\], an interviewer-administered instrument, assesses patients\' needs as perceived by them (as users) and the staff who have knowledge of them. It comprises 22 items of met and unmet needs (user and staff perceptions). The scores of the 22 items are gathered into five groups of met and unmet needs, namely: basic (3 items), health (7 items), social (3 items), functioning (5 items), and service (4 items). We used only the data for user (i.e., patient) for this report. Caregiving consequences ----------------------- The IEQ-EU \[[@B42]\] is an 81-item self-administered instrument that measures the consequences of psychiatric disorders for relatives of patients in the past four weeks. The 31 items on caregiving consequences are grouped into four scales, namely, tension, worrying, urging, and supervision. The 12 - item Goldberg\'s General Health Questionnaire \[[@B49]\] is included. Lancashire Quality of Life Profile (LQoLP-EU) --------------------------------------------- The LQoLP-EU \[[@B45]\], a structured interviewer - administered instrument for measuring the health and welfare of people with mental disorders, is one of the most widely used instruments for the assessment of QOL in schizophrenia research \[[@B50]\]. It combines objective, factual, material related to several different life domains (i.e., objective QOL indicators) with subjective satisfaction with those domains (i.e., subjective QOL indicators). This report concerns only the objective QOL indicators. The objective components are evaluated on a scale of: Yes/No/Don\'t know. The objective QOL items involved in this report are: (i) participation in leisure activities; (ii) finances; (iii) living situation; (iv) family relations; and (v) social relations. The questionnaire allows for the assessment of the following additional areas: (a) five positive items for positive affect and five negative items for negative affect from the Bradburn Scale \[[@B44]\]; and (b) the 10 - item Rosenberg Self-esteem scale \[[@B51]\]. Data collection procedure ------------------------- At the preliminary stage of the study, the research team scrutinized the questionnaires for appropriateness of content in the Kuwaiti setting. After slight modifications, two native Arabs, who are fluent in English, jointly produced the Arabic translations of the instruments by the method of back - translation. Thereafter, one of us (MAZ), an experienced British - trained psychiatrist, trained two Arab psychiatric registrars in the use of the questionnaires. Assessments generally took place at intervals over a period of one week, to suit the convenience of the families. The BPRS and GAF were administered first, so that the ratings would not be influenced by performance or responses on subsequent measures \[[@B52]\]. Data analysis ------------- Data were analyzed by the SPSS 15 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois). We used parametric statistics because the VSSS data were fairly normally distributed. Dependent and independent variables ----------------------------------- Following our conceptual framework \[[@B18],[@B33]\], the seven VSSS subscales scores and total score were the dependent variables for all subsequent analyses. The scores from all the other questionnaires constituted the independent variables. Thus, the five groups of met and unmet needs were computed from the items of the CAN-EU. From the items of the IEQ-EU, we computed the four scales of caregiving consequences and the total GHQ-12 score. From the LQoLP-EU, we computed the scores for positive/negative self-esteem, and positive/negative affect. The following psychopathological scores were computed: (a) the scores of the ICD-10 symptom checklist were grouped into positive and negative symptoms; and (b) total BPRS score. Pattern of VSSS subscale scores and international comparisons ------------------------------------------------------------- For the first objective, we used frequency counts and mean scores to examine the pattern of VSSS subscale scores. We examined the relative strengths and weaknesses of the service by assessing significant differences between domain scores using paired t-test. For the second objective, quantitative differences between our domain scores and those of similar reports \[[@B19],[@B27]\] were analyzed by standardized effect size calculations. Associations of VSSS subscale scores ------------------------------------ For the third objective, we used t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson\'s correlations, to examine the univariate association between the VSSS subscale scores and each of the independent variables. In view of the results of the univariate analyses, the association of VSSS subscale scores with all the independent variables was assessed by step-wise multiple regression analyses. Based on the pattern of their associations from the univariate analyses, the independent variables were entered in six steps, thus: Block 1: socio-demographics; block 2: clinical characteristics highlighted above; block 3: positive affect, negative affect, positive self-esteem, negative self-esteem, total self-esteem; block 4: met needs\' subscales and total for user; block 5: unmet needs and total for user; block 6: IEQ subscale scores. For the multiple regression data, multi-collinearity was assessed by the values of \"tolerance\" (cut-off score \</= 0.2) and variance inflation factor (VIF - cut-off score \> 4.0). All tests were two-tailed. A Bonferroni correction (P = 0.01) was applied for multiple tests; otherwise, the level of statistical significance was set at P \< 0.05 Results ======= VSSS subscale scores -------------------- Using a cut-off score of \< 3.5, we found that the participants were generally satisfied with the services, because at least two-thirds expressed overall satisfaction, as well as satisfaction with the other domains; except \"information\" and \"types of intervention\" where less than one-third expressed satisfaction. Accordingly, the least scores were for \"information\" and \"types of intervention\". The subscale score for \"information\" was significantly lower than those for \"professionals\' skills\", \"access\", \"relatives\' involvement\", \"efficacy\", and \"overall satisfaction\" (paired t ranged from 3.7 - 10.1, df = 129, P \< 0.0001). Similarly, the \"types of intervention\" score was significantly lower than those for \"professionals\' skills\", \"efficacy\" and \"overall satisfaction\" (t = 10.1, P \< 0.0001). In other words, the patients indicated that the weakest aspects of the service were in the domains of \"information\" and \"types of intervention\". Comparison with similar data ---------------------------- We could only compare our mean scores with the EPSILON data for unadjusted scores, because the values for standard deviation were presented for only the unadjusted scores \[[@B27]\]. Also, we could not compute significant differences with the Danish report \[[@B19]\] because they did not present details for number of subjects by age group. The highlights are as follows (Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"}): \(i\) Our VSSS subscale scores were either similar to, or not significantly different from the EPSILON pooled data (N = 399) for \"professionals\' skills\", \"information\" and total scores (P \> 0.05). Our subscale scores were significantly higher than the EPSILON pooled data for \"overall satisfaction\" (E.S: 0.27: 0.07 - 0.47); \"efficacy\" (0.37: 0.17 - 0.57); and \"relatives\' involvement\" (0.44: 0.24 - 0.64). The EPSILON pooled data for \"types of interventions\" was significantly higher than the Kuwaiti score (0.58: 0.38 - 0.78). \(ii\) The Kuwaiti subscale scores for \"information\" and \"types of intervention\" tended to be lower than those from the five EPSILON sites. For \"information\", this trend reached significance for Amsterdam (0.50: 0.19 - 0.82), Copenhagen, and Verona (P \< 0.001) When examined from the perspective of percentage of people with dissatisfaction (i.e., score \< 3.5 for each subscale) \[[@B12]\], we found that (see Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"}), while 21.5% of Kuwaiti participants were judged to be dissatisfied for the \"overall satisfaction\" subscale, the range for the EPSILON sites was 26.0% to 42.2% for four sites, and 20.6% for Verona. Judging by the VSSS total score, the Kuwaiti dissatisfaction rate of 32.3% was at the middle of the range for the EPSILON sites (from 19.6% for Copenhagen to 60.2% for London). For the Danish report \[[@B19]\], although the Kuwaiti subscale scores were numerically similar to the Danes aged \> 40 years, the Kuwaiti scores were higher for \"relatives\' involvement\" and \"efficacy\"; and lower for \"information\" and \"types of intervention\". Univariate associations of VSSS subscale scores ----------------------------------------------- \(i\) T-tests and one-way ANOVA: There was a tendency for women to have higher domain satisfaction scores than men. While this trend seemed to reach significance only for \"overall satisfaction\" (t = 2.9, df = 128, P \< 0.02), it was not up to our Bonferroni correction threshold. The tendency for those who were divorced to have higher satisfaction scores than those who were married, reached significance for \"overall satisfaction\" (F = 5.2, df = 2/127, P \< 0.007). \(ii\) Correlation analyses: After Bonferroni correction, age was significantly correlated only with \"types of intervention\" (r = 0.22, P \< 0.01). Years of education was not significantly correlated with satisfaction (P \> 0.05). Of the psychopathological indices, the BPRS scores were significantly associated with \"relatives\' involvement\" (r = 0.22, P \< 0.01). For level of psychosocial functioning, the GAF score was significantly associated with \"types of intervention\" (r = -0.23, P \< 0.008). \(iii\) With further reference to our third objective, VSSS subscale scores were not significantly correlated with any of the subscales of the CAN and IEQ, as well as caregiver GHQ-12 (P \> 0.05). \(iv\) However, self-esteem was significantly correlated with a number of the VSSS subscale scores, viz: (a) \"professionals\' skills\": with self-esteem (r = 0.3, P \< 0.001); (b) \"information\": with negative self-esteem (r = -0.21, P \< 0.015); (c) \"efficacy\" with: self-esteem (r = 0.31, P \< 0.001); (d) \"types of intervention\": with negative self-esteem (r = -0.19, P \< 0.026); and (e) total VSSS score: with self-esteem (r = 0.28, P \< 0.0001). The tendency for VSSS subscale scores to be associated with negative/positive affect (P \< 0.02) did not meet the Bonferroni correction criterion. \(v\) Of the objective QOL indices, those who were satisfied with their living condition (N = 31/77) had significantly higher satisfaction scores in all the VSSS subscales, except \"information\" and \"types of intervention\" (t ranged from 2.0 to 3.1, df = 106, P \< 0.002). The relationship between VSSS subscale scores and other objective QOL indices did not meet the Bonferroni correction threshold. Hence, those who claimed to have enough money to enjoy themselves (N = 54/60), tended to have significantly higher satisfaction scores in all VSSS subscales (t ranged from 1.97 to 2.4, P \< 0.03). Multiple regression analyses (Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"}) --------------------------------------------------------------- ###### Association of VSSS subscales with socio-demographic, clinical variables, needs for care, caregiver burden, affect and self-esteem -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dependent variables: VSSS Subscales Independent variables\* Variance (%) Standard beta T value P value Tolerance \*\* VIF \*\* ------------------------------------- ---------------------------- --------------- --------------- --------- --------- ---------------- ---------- Total VSSS score Self-esteem\ 15.5\ 0.31\ 3.1\ 0.003\ 0.88\ 1.14\ Positive affect 5.0\ 0.24 2.4 0.02 0.88 1.14 (total: 20.5) Overall SS Positive self-esteem\ 11.1\ 0.36\ 3.8\ 0.0001\ 0.99\ 1.01\ Negative affect 6.0\ 0.24 2.6 0.01 0.99 1.01 (total: 17.1) Professionals\' skills Self-esteem 15.6 0.39 4.1 0.0001 1.0 1.00 Information Negative self-esteem\ 7.1\ -0.26\ 2.7\ 0.01\ 0.99\ 1.00\ Health unmet need: user 5.9\ 0.24 2.5 0.02 0.99 1.00 (total: 13.0) Access \- \- \- \- \- \- \- Efficacy Positive self-esteem\ 18.9\ 0.42\ 4.6\ 0.0001\ 0.99\ 1.00\ Urge IEQ caregiver 3.8\ 0.19 2.1 0.04 0.99 1.00 (total: 22.7) Types of interventions Positive symptoms: ICD 10\ 5.5\ 0.21\ 2.1\ 0.04\ 0.98\ 1.00\ Positive affect\ 4.7\ 0.18\ 1.8\ 0.08\ 0.95\ 1.10\ Health unmet need user 4.1\ 0.21 2.1 0.04 0.97 1.03 (total: 14.3) Relatives\'involvement BPRS score\ 4.3\ 0.18\ 1.8\ 0.08\ 0.99\ 1.02\ Self-esteem 6.5\ 0.26 2.6 0.01 0.99 1.02 (total: 10.9) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- \*Independent variables entered: Block 1: socio-demographics; block 2: clinical variables: duration illness, BPRS, GAF, number of ICD-10 checklist positive and negative symptoms; block 3: positive affect, negative affect, positive self-esteem, negative self-esteem, total self-esteem; block 4: met needs subscales and total for user; block 5: unmet needs and total for user; block 6: IEQ subscale scores. \*\* Multicollinearity values showed no significant multicollinearity: cut-off values are: Tolerance: ≤ 0.2; VIF: \> 4 When the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, along with the subscale scores for the CAN and IEQ, as well as positive/negative self-esteem and positive/negative affect were entered in step-wise regression analyses as independent variables, the following relationships with the VSSS subscale scores emerged (Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"}): \(i\) self-esteem and affective state were the most frequent and important associations of the VSSS subscale scores. Self-esteem was the more important of the two, being significantly associated with all the VSSS subscales, except \"access\". Self-esteem and affective state were the only significant associations of the scores for total VSSS, \"overall satisfaction\" and \"professionals\' skills\". However, self-esteem and affect accounted for only 15.6% to 20.5% of the variance explained in the three VSSS subscales. \(ii\) Of the clinical characteristics, only the BPRS score (4.3% of variance for \"relatives\' involvement\"), and ICD-10 positive symptoms (5.5% of the variance for \"types of intervention\") entered the equations. \(iii\) Of the CAN subscales, only the health unmet need entered the equations, being significantly associated with VSSS \"information\" (5.9% of variance) and \"types of intervention\" (4.1% of variance). \(iv\) Of the family caregiver burden subscales, only the \"urge\" IEQ domain entered the equations, accounting for 3.8% of the variance for VSSS \"efficacy\". Discussion ========== Using the responses of 130 Kuwaitis in stable condition with schizophrenia, we assessed the pattern of satisfaction with the national psychiatric service, in comparison with the international data, and examined the factors associated with satisfaction in the seven domains of the VSSS. Although the participants generally expressed satisfaction with the service, their responses indicated that the system was rather weak in the areas of information provided to users and the range of available interventions. However, the system was judged to have strengths in the behavior of professionals, the effectiveness of treatment and in the way that family caregivers were assisted. Comparison with the international data -------------------------------------- Our finding of general satisfaction with the service is in line with those of most surveys \[[@B18],[@B29],[@B53]\], including the Arab world \[[@B39],[@B54]\]. For instance, in all but five of the 21 countries involved in the World Health Survey 2003, more than half of the respondents reported feeling \"very satisfied\" or \"fairly satisfied\" with the services \[[@B28]\]. Interestingly, our subjects\' perceived strengths and weaknesses of the service seemed to define both the similarities and differences between our results and those of the others \[[@B12],[@B19]\], and indicate the possible influence of socio-cultural circumstance and type of service in judgments of satisfaction with service \[[@B55]\]. For example, while the European patients were less satisfied with the involvement of relatives in their care, this was a particular area of strength for our service. This is consequent on the fact that in a conservative culture, the extended family system makes more relatives available for the care of patients. Other reports from Europe have indicated dissatisfaction in the domain of relatives\' involvement \[[@B19]\]. On the other hand, the general pattern of satisfaction with service in our hospital-based service had similarities with both community- and hospital-based services in the five European countries \[[@B12],[@B27]\]. This can be accounted for by the small population and size of Kuwait, the easy accessibility of the service to the population, and the fact that the service is provided free-of-charge. One area of similarity is the fact that patients in both studies were least satisfied with the information provided for their care. This finding has been widely reported \[[@B6],[@B21],[@B26]\]. The dissatisfaction that our patients expressed with the domains of information and types of intervention is in line with our ordinary experience in Kuwait, where there is no program of public mental health education and no community - based services. Our findings indicate that the assessed services need to be developed since they were not perceived as satisfactory. Factors associated with service satisfaction -------------------------------------------- The results of our analyses show the salience of context in determining the factors associated with service satisfaction. First, sex was only a significant variable for overall satisfaction in univariate analysis, but was not significant in multivariate contexts \[[@B19],[@B20]\]. Second, while age was associated with a number of VSSS subscale scores in univariate analyses, it was not a significant predictor of any subscale score in the larger multivariate context (Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"}). This is similar to the results from a Saudi Arabia study of PHC attendees \[[@B35]\]. In the large multivariate context, the most frequent significant associations of VSSS subscale scores were factors related to psychological well-being, namely, self-esteem and affective state, a finding which other authors have stressed \[[@B12],[@B26],[@B28]\]. In a Netherlands\' study, it was found that variations in satisfaction were mostly attributable to variations in individual patient characteristics \[[@B56]\]. The implication of this finding is that the service should be developed with the aim to meet the needs and demands of people with different characteristics. The association of BPRS score with \"relatives\' involvement\" (Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"}) is noteworthy because it supports the impression that the most important contributor to caregiver burden is severity of psychopathology \[[@B57]\]. Equally noteworthy is the contribution of unmet needs for care in the health domain of the CAN, thus showing the salience of meeting patients\' expectations in judgments of service satisfaction \[[@B58]\]. Limitations and strengths ------------------------- The findings are not generalisable, because the participants needed to fulfill several inclusion criteria, the patients were from one catchment area, and the study was cross-sectional \[[@B59]\]. In addition, we could not assess the full range of types of intervention as six of them are not available in our service. Assessment of service satisfaction by questionnaires has been criticized on the grounds that expressions of \"satisfaction\" by this method could hide a variety of negative experiences \[[@B53],[@B60]\]. However, quantitative assessment of service satisfaction has been found to be reliable and valid \[[@B27],[@B47],[@B48],[@B61]\]. Although the assessment was interview-based, the interviewers were junior staff, not authority figures whose presence could predispose the patients to make favorable ratings \[[@B6]\]. In support of our methodology is the high score of the reliability indices (Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"}). Furthermore, their pattern of satisfaction was in line with our reality experience and with the international reports. Conclusion ========== Our findings support the impression that patients\' attitudes towards psychiatric care involve a complex relationship between clinical and socio-cultural characteristics \[[@B1],[@B28],[@B55]\]. Furthermore, the predictive power of self-esteem and affective state is in line with cross-national data from the field of positive psychology \[[@B27]\]. Since the patients indicated that the weaknesses of the service were mainly in the domains of \"information\" and \"types of intervention\", this suggests that there are gaps in the provision of comprehensive psychiatric care in the country, and obviates the need for public mental health education and other services perceived as not being satisfactory, in order to enhance the quality of care. Competing interests =================== The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Authors\' contributions ======================= MAA and JUO designed the study, analyzed the data and prepared the manuscript. MAA supervised data collection. AAA played an invaluable role in data collection. All the authors read the manuscript and approved it. Pre-publication history ======================= The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here: <http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6963/10/294/prepub> Acknowledgements ================ Funded by Kuwait University Grant Number: MQ01/05. The following played invaluable roles in data collection: Drs A.S. Elshazli, M.A. Basiouny, and H. M. Hamoda. Ms Ramani Varghese played invaluable roles in data analysis and locating literature. Drs H. M. Hamoda and A.W. Awadalla assisted in translating the questionnaires.

Q: How to target events to different types of document libraries? I have the requirement for multiple document libraries. Each document library will contain the same types of document, images, office documents; however, when items are added to the library, a custom event receiver will trigger, and perform very different actions on the items placed within the library. Given the scenario above, would it be benefical for me to create a number of custom document libraries based from the document library template, each with its own ID, so that I can target specific event receivers to libraries of a particular type? A: A list item adding event receiver can be associated with either a content type, list, site or a site collection. So your requirement suggests multiple document libraries and you will then associate the various event receivers with them. In fact I can't think of an alternative way of achieving this ([edit] that makes sense given what you have told us).

Introduction {#s1} ============ In the advent of the post-genomic era, the mechanisms of gene regulation have become a highly active research area. Genome-wide approaches have revealed gene regulatory networks [@pone.0075754-Beyer1], [@pone.0075754-Kim1] that are comprised of intricate genetic interactions. However, the mechanism by which such networks exert an effect on the body plan during mammalian embryonic development is still far from being well elucidated. To better understand the gene regulatory network in the developmental context, it is essential to document the embryonic gene expression patterns, which are expected to provide clues to elucidate the gene function as well as gene-gene interactions. Recently, several groups have conducted large-scale gene expression profiling studies using *in situ* hybridization, leading to the development of publicly available on-line gene expression databases [@pone.0075754-Visel1]--[@pone.0075754-Gray1]. Many of these databases are advantageous for the investigation of gene expression in highly complex anatomical structures, such as the central nervous system in the late-stage embryo, neonate or adult. On the other hand, we have focused on the transcription factors involved in early embryogenesis in order to understand the functioning of the transcriptional network in the basic body plan and organogenesis. Thus, we performed comprehensive spatial mapping of transcription factors in a whole mouse embryo on embryonic day 9.5, 10.5 and 11.5 [@pone.0075754-Yokoyama1]. These images have been collected in the database named EMBRYS ([Em]{.ul}bryonic gene expression Database as a [B]{.ul}iomedical [Re]{.ul}search [S]{.ul}ource; <http://embrys.jp/embrys/html/MainMenu.html> [@pone.0075754-Yokoyama1]. However, since embryos undergo dynamic three-dimensional morphogenesis during development, it would be of considerable value to be able to record the patterns of gene expression in 3D. To this end, we have adopted a rotational imaging system, which allows three-dimensional recording of gene expression in the entire embryo by capturing serial 2D images. This approach, termed the AERO system, is optimal for generating images viewed in publicly available databases because a simple procedure results in a motion picture in which the embryo is laterally rotated 360 degrees. We constructed over 800 AERO images of 191 transcription factors that had been shown to be clearly expressed in our previous study [@pone.0075754-Yokoyama1]. With the addition of the AERO images of these 191 representative genes, the EMBRYS database has been upgraded from the previous version, which contained only conventional 2D images. This investigation underscores the significance of the EMBRYS database and outlines the features of the AERO system as a newly available technique for recording gene expression patterns in the whole embryo. Results, Discussion, and Conclusions {#s2} ==================================== EMBRYS and AERO Images {#s2a} ---------------------- To build a framework for obtaining a better understanding of the developmental gene regulatory network, we have performed a comprehensive mapping of gene expression of transcription factors in the mouse embryo. EMBRYS is a web-based database that was designed to accommodate all the expression data obtained from this investigation [@pone.0075754-Yokoyama1]. As with other publicly available databases, conventional 2D images that were photographed following colorimetric detection of gene expression may be easily retrieved from EMBRYS. Typically, an entire view and a partial view focusing on the maxillofacial region, limb buds and internal organs, were captured to provide a profile of the pattern of gene expression. In addition, the limb bud was photographed at a high magnification, since it has been widely studied as a model of morphogenesis due to its simple polarities along the developmental axes [@pone.0075754-Fisher1], [@pone.0075754-Capdevila1]. Moreover, additional photos were taken when gene expression was clearly detected in specific organs or tissues. These sets of visual information on gene expression were annotated manually and are provided at the website. The evaluated regions cover multiple tissues and organs, including brain, craniofacial region, limb buds, heart, liver, somites, tail, genitalia and nervous system. However, since these annotation data are secondary information generated by third parties utilizing the primary data, it is desirable to have a method of recording embryo images from a three-dimensional perspective in order to directly provide raw data, thus maximizing the amount of information obtained from a single image. Therefore, we have enhanced the EMBRYS database by introducing an innovative microscopy system (HiRox, Inc, Japan) that enables the capture of 360-degree rotational images of the whole embryo. By using a rotary head equipped with two mirrors ([Fig. 1A](#pone-0075754-g001){ref-type="fig"}) designed to obtain an image tilted at 45 degrees to the microscope stage, images may be captured at 2-degree intervals ([Fig. 1B](#pone-0075754-g001){ref-type="fig"}). One operation yields 180 images, which are then serially arranged so as to produce a motion picture ([Movie S1](#pone.0075754.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Researchers can easily view the rotating "AERO image" at any lateral angle desired using a computer mouse, by clicking and dragging the edge of the screen, and also by moving the mouse circularly. The basic idea underlying this system is to provide an optimal recording system for database construction by maximizing the data obtained from one specimen in a simple procedure. In fact, since a 360-degree view of the specimen is captured, a significant amount of image data can indeed be recorded in a simple operation, in contrast to conventional 2D images, which are snapshots of one aspect deliberately selected by the observer. This feature allows an entire embryo to be viewed from different angles in an unbiased manner. In particular, AERO images enable the assessment of gene expression in regions conventionally unobservable in a typical 2D lateral view, such as the ventral side of the limb buds, the genitalia and the maxillofacial region. {#pone-0075754-g001} Details of the AERO system {#s2b} -------------------------- Among the 1520 genes analyzed in the previous study [@pone.0075754-Yokoyama1], we selected 191 genes for which the expression patterns are tissue- or organ-specific for further analysis with the AERO system ([Table 1](#pone-0075754-t001){ref-type="table"}). The expression patterns of the analyzed genes are summarized in [Table 2](#pone-0075754-t002){ref-type="table"} and [Table S1](#pone.0075754.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. The captured AERO images were added to the EMBRYS database. In this process, following *in situ* hybridization, the AERO images are captured from both the left and right sides during three developmental stages (E9.5, E10.5 and E11.5). To obtain characteristic gene expression patterns in the craniofacial region and the central nervous system, AERO images were taken from dorsal and ventral sides. ([Table 1](#pone-0075754-t001){ref-type="table"}). 10.1371/journal.pone.0075754.t001 ###### Genes analyzed in this study. {#pone-0075754-t001-1} Gene Name No. ----------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Left + Right *Alx4, Atf1, Atoh1, Barhl1, Barx1, Carm1, Cbfa2t1h, Cdk4, Cdx2, Cebpa, Csda, Dlx3, Dlx4, Dlx5, E130309B19Rik, Ebf1, En1, Eomes, Epas1, Etv5, Evx2, Eya2, Fhl2, Fli1, Foxb1, Foxc2, Foxd1, Foxp4, Fus, Fusip1, Gata1, Gata2, Gata6, Gbx2, Gli1, Gli2, Gli3, Gsc, Hand1, Hand2, Hes1, Hes3, Hes5, Hey1, Heyl, Hmgcs1, Hnrpab, Hoxa10, Hoxa11, Hoxa13, Hoxa7, Hoxa9, Hoxb1, Hoxb13, Hoxb5, Hoxc10, Hoxc5, Hoxc6, Hoxd10, Hoxd12, Hoxd3, Hoxd4, Hoxd9, Hspcb, Idb3, Ing3, Irx1, Irx2, Irx3, Irx5, Isl1, Isl2, Jarid2, Jmjd2a, Khdrbs1, Lbxcor1, Lef1, Lhx1, Lhx2, Lhx8, Lmo2, Lmo4, Mbd2, Meis1, Meox1, Meox2, Mrg1, Msx1, Msx2, Mycn, Myog, Nfatc4, Nhlh2, Nol1, Nr2f2, Nrarp, Onecut1, Otx2, Pax1, Pax3, Pax6, Pax9, Pbx2, Pdlim1, Pdlim4, Peg3, Phf12, Phf21b, Phf5a, Pitx1, Pitx3, Pknox2, Pnrc1, Polr2e, Pou2f2, Pou3f1, Pou3f4, Pou4f2, Prdm1, Prox1, Prrx1, Rqcd1, Runx1, Runx2, Ruvbl1, Ruvbl2, Sall3, Sall4, Scx, Sdccag33, Six1, Smarca4, Smarce1, Smyd1, Snip1, Sox9, Sp6, Sp8, Spdef, Spic, Strap, Tbx15, Tbx18, Tbx2, Tbx3, Tcf7, Tcf7l2, Tead2, Thoc4, Trp63, Tsc22d1, Wwtr1, Ybx1, Zfp219, Zfp238, Zfp385, 1700023B02Rik, 4933406N12Rik* 158 Left + Right + Back + Front *Aes, Ankrd1, Ankrd15, Arid3a, Bach1, Btg2, Cited1, Cnbp1, Creb3, Ctbp2, Dlx2, Dmrt2, Dmrtc2, EgR1, Elavl2, Ell2, Emx2, En2, Klf6, Lmx1a, Lmx1b, Mcm2, Mllt3, Myf5, Ncor2, Ndn, Ndnl2, Nfia, Nfil3, Nr1h4, Osr2, Taf1, 4932411N23Rik* 33 10.1371/journal.pone.0075754.t002 ###### The number of genes expressed in respective regions. {#pone-0075754-t002-2} E9.5 E10.5 E11.5 -------------------- ------------ ------------- ------------- Limb 96 (50.3%) 126 (66.0%) 143 (74.9%) Somite 75 (39.3%) 95 (49.7%) 96 (50.3%) Tailbud 25 (13.1%) 29 (15.2%) 23 (12.0%) Heart 30 (15.7%) 44 (23.0%) 18 (9.4%) Liver 7 (3.7%) 15 (7.9%) 16 (8.4%) Maxillary Process 61 (31.9%) 79 (41.4%) 72 (37.7%) Mandiblar Arch 60 (31.4%) 85 (44.5%) 58 (30.4%) Hyoid Arch 43 (22.5%) 69 (36.1%) 36 (18.8%) Eye 37 (19.4%) 55 (28.8%) 64 (33.5%) External Genitalia 12 (6.3%) 39 (20.4%) 35 (18.3%) Olfactory Placode 31 (16.2%) 43 (22.5%) 22 (11.5%) Otic Pit 31 (16.2%) 47 (24.6%) 36 (18.8%) Brain 56 (29.3%) 66 (34.6%) 67 (35.1%) Spinal Cord 42 (22.0%) 51 (26.7%) 56 (29.3%) The population is calculated by dividing by 191, the total number of genes which are analyzed in this study. In [Figure 2](#pone-0075754-g002){ref-type="fig"}, the Aero images of the *Pax1* and *Aes* genes are shown as an example. *Pax1* is predominantly expressed in somites, pharyngeal arches and limb buds. Aero images of *Pax1*, which cover both the left- and right-side of the embryo, clearly demonstrate the expression of this gene in these regions. Similarly, the AERO images of *Aes* cover the left-, front- and back-side of the embryo, revealing the expression in the hindbrain, limb buds and craniofacial region. Although conventional 2D images also show the expression patterns of each of these genes, its angle is fixed. AERO images of *Pax1* and *Aes* cover multiple angles. For example, in the AERO images of *Pax1* expression at E11.5, the left- and right-side images robustly demonstrate its signals in the entire embryo ([Fig. 2A](#pone-0075754-g002){ref-type="fig"} and [Movie S2](#pone.0075754.s003){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). For *Aes*, the front- and back-side images along with the lateral images provide a comprehensive depiction of the gene expression patterns in many different tissues and organs, such as the brain, craniofacial region, limb buds and tail ([Fig. 2B](#pone-0075754-g002){ref-type="fig"} and [Movie S3](#pone.0075754.s004){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). {#pone-0075754-g002} AERO images of *Lmx1b*, *Isl1* and *Cited1* {#s2c} ------------------------------------------- The AERO system provides a novel means to both obtain and assess gene expression profiles. This is an extremely useful system to apply to databases because a whole embryo can be examined by researchers in an unbiased or unpredetermined manner. In particular, AERO images are useful for the assessment of gene expression in regions not fully observable on a typical 2D lateral view, such as the limb buds, genitalia and maxillofacial region. Here, we focus on three genes, *Lmx1b*, *Isl1* and *Cited1*, as vivid examples in which AERO images provide a viewing advantage. The *Lmx1b* gene is expressed in the limb buds at E11.5, but its expression in the limb buds is restricted to the dorsal side. In conventional 2D photographs, it is difficult to distinguish the dorsal and ventral side ([Fig.3A](#pone-0075754-g003){ref-type="fig"}). However, in the AERO images, the specific expression in the dorsal side is clearly observed in both forelimbs (the arrow) and hindlimbs (the arrow-head) ([Fig.3B](#pone-0075754-g003){ref-type="fig"} and [Movie S4](#pone.0075754.s005){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). In the case of *Isl1*, the expression in the genitalia can not be observed in the conventional 2D images while the AERO images depict the expression in this region ([Fig. 3C, D](#pone-0075754-g003){ref-type="fig"} and [Movie S5](#pone.0075754.s006){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Similarly, while *Cited1* expression visibility in the craniofacial region is very limited on the 2D view, the observation of gene expression from multiple angles using the AERO system reveals its expression in the medial pharyngeal arches ([Fig.3E, F](#pone-0075754-g003){ref-type="fig"} and [Movie S6](#pone.0075754.s007){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). {#pone-0075754-g003} Future directions {#s2d} ----------------- The major challenge for the AERO system is to continuously increase the amount of data contained within it while also expanding the database user features. We continue to gather AERO images to cover all of the genes assayed for the EMBRYS project in order to create a more comprehensive gene expression atlas of the whole mouse embryo. We would like to encourage researchers all over the world to utilize this expression information in their own studies and to expand upon it in any that fits with their own expertise. In addition to the AERO system itself, we will continue to update the whole EMBRYS database by adding still more useful features. Using the comprehensive data of whole-mount gene expression mapping, further description of the gene expression that takes place in complex anatomical structures will be investigated by sectional *in situ* hybridization. In fact, a pilot study has been conducted to identify genes expressed in the tooth germ in our laboratory, using an approach in which genes found to be expressed in the maxillofacial region were selected according to the data in EMBRYS [@pone.0075754-Uchibe1]. Furthermore, we have started communicating with other gene expression databases for the purpose of collaborative interaction. As the initial step, we included a direct link in each gene expression profile page to corresponding entries at EMAGE and MGI so as to allow users to more precisely evaluate the gene expression by viewing a variety of images. AERO images can be easily obtained by a less laborious procedure than other complicated methods, which is basically the same as that used to obtain conventional 2D images; an assayed embryo is placed under the microscope and serial images are captured automatically after being manually focused. For this procedure, no particular treatment or processing is required, unlike other 3D imaging systems such as 3D reconstruction of tissue sections [@pone.0075754-Streicher1], [@pone.0075754-HecksherSorensen1] and optical projection tomography (OPT) [@pone.0075754-Sharpe1], [@pone.0075754-Summerhurst1]. Thus, all the images are provided as primary data that are directly obtained from the embryo by a non-destructive method and the images are highly reproducible regardless of individual expertise. These features are advantageous to a large-scale assay in which numerous images are produced. Materials and Methods {#s3} ===================== Ethics statement {#s3a} ---------------- All animal experiments were performed according to protocols approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at National Institute for Child Health and Development (Protocol 2004-003). Preparation of Embryos {#s3b} ---------------------- Pregnant ICR mice were purchased from Sankyo Labo Service Cooperation Inc. (Tokyo, Japan). At E9.5, 10.5 and 11.5, embryos were manually harvested into RNase-free cold PBS treated with DEPC and fixed overnight in a solution of 4% paraformaldehyde in PBS at 4°C. Embryos were subsequently dehydrated through a graded series of methanol washes (25%, 50%, 75% and twice with 100%) in PBT (PBS containing 0.1% Tween-20) and stored at --20°C until needed for WISH assays. Whole-Mount *In Situ* Hybridization {#s3c} ----------------------------------- Prior to probe synthesis, the coding region in each gene was amplified from the mouse cDNA library [@pone.0075754-Kawai1] by add-on mutagenesis PCR, so that the Sp6 RNA polymerase promoter site was added at the 5' end of the PCR product. Following amplification, cRNA riboprobes were synthesized with Sp6 RNA polymerase according to the standard procedure in the presence of digoxigenin-conjugated UTP. A 96-well plate was used for the whole procedure in order to produce 96 probes simultaneously in each reaction. Whole mount *in situ* hybridization (WISH) assays were performed based on the standard protocol. However, to assay many genes efficiently, some modifications introduced for embryo handling. For a detailed description of both the probe preparation and WISH assays, see Shimizu *et al* [@pone.0075754-Shimizu1]. The Capture and Reconstitution of Images {#s3d} ---------------------------------------- 2D images were serially captured from multiple angles by HiRox microscopy (KH-1300, HiRox, Inc, Japan) as follows. An embryo was place on agarose gel prepared in a cylindrical container so that it was stably positioned in various orientations. The rotary head equipped with ring lighting was connected to the microscope and rotational images were captured at 2-degree intervals using a CCD camera. The images were saved in the "AERO" format (an executable file), which contains both the picture data and the viewer program. Users can inspect each expression without the need of any additional software. The raw data and AERO images are available for download from the EMBRYS website (<http://embrys.jp/embrys/html/MainMenu.html>). Supporting Information {#s4} ====================== ###### **Expression patterns of the analyzed genes.** The expression patterns of 191 genes are annotated. (XLSX) ###### Click here for additional data file. ###### **AERO image of** ***Sox9.*** The AERO image of *Sox9* is shown as an example. 180 images which were captured by the rotary head are serially arranged to produce a motion picture. (WMV) ###### Click here for additional data file. ###### **AERO image of** ***Pax1.*** In the AERO images of Pax1 expression at E11.5, the left- and right-side images robustly demonstrate its signals in the entire embryo. (WMV) ###### Click here for additional data file. ###### **AERO image of** ***Aes.*** In the AERO images of *Aes*, the front- and back-side images along with the lateral images provide a comprehensive depiction of the gene expression patterns in many different tissues and organs. (WMV) ###### Click here for additional data file. ###### **AERO image of** ***Lmx1b.*** In the AERO image of *Lmx1b* at E11.5 embryo, the specific expression in the dorsal side is clearly observed in both forelimbs and hindlimbs. (WMV) ###### Click here for additional data file. ###### **AERO image of** ***Isl1.*** The AERO image of *Isl1* at E11.5 embryo clearly depicts the expression in the genitalia. (WMV) ###### Click here for additional data file. ###### **AERO image of** ***Cited1.*** The AERO image of *Cited1* at E11.5 embryo reveals its expression in the medial pharyngeal arches. (WMV) ###### Click here for additional data file. We are grateful to Dr. Yoshihide Hayashizaki, the Director at Genome Science Center, RIKEN, Yokohama, for providing 2,016 of mouse cDNA clones (FANTOM clone) representing transcription factors, which we used as the templates of RNA probes. We also thank Dr. Minako Kiso, Mizuki Sakashita, Yukinari Osaka, Norihiro Yamamoto, Mayuko Yoda, Koji Yanagisawa, and Noritsugu Fukuda for technical assistance. Pacific Edit reviewed the manuscript prior to submission. [^1]: **Competing Interests:**The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. [^2]: Conceived and designed the experiments: HS KU MH SY ST HA. Performed the experiments: HS KU MH SY. Analyzed the data: HS AK KU MH SY ST KM HA. Wrote the paper: HS AK HA. Constructed and updated the EMBRYS database: HS AK KU MH KM. Designed the AERO image software: KM.

The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered, edited by Tom Cardamone, includes appreciations by 28 contemporary writers of significant gay novels and short story collections now out of print. The Lost Library includes an essay on reprints of gay literature by Philip Clark. Published in March 2010, it features a cover illustration by Mel Odom. Table of contents Introduction — Tom Cardamone Rabih Alameddine, The Perv: Stories — Michael Graves Allen Barnett, The Body and Its Dangers — Christopher Bram Neil Bartlett, Ready to Catch Him, Should He Fall — Philip Clark George Baxt, A Queer Kind of Death — Larry Duplechan Bruce Benderson, User — Rob Stephenson Christopher Coe, Such Times — Jameson Currier Daniel Curzon, Something You Do in the Dark — Jesse Monteagudo Melvin Dixon, Vanishing Rooms — Ian Rafael Titus John Donovan, I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip — Martin Wilson Robert Ferro, The Blue Star — Stephen Greco John Gilgun, Music I Never Dreamed Of — Wayne Courtois Agustín Gómez-Arcos, The Carnivorous Lamb — Richard Reitsma Michael Grumley, Life Drawing — Sam Miller Lynn Hall, Sticks and Stones — Sean Meriwether Richard Hall, Couplings — Jonathan Harper J.S. Marcus, The Captain’s Fire — Aaron Hamburger James McCourt, Time Remaining — Tim Young Mark Merlis, American Studies — Rick Whitaker Charles Nelson, The Boy Who Picked the Bullets Up — Jim Marks Kyle Onstott and Lance Horner, Child of the Sun — Michael Bronski Roger Peyrefitte, The Exile of Capri — Gregory Woods Paul Reed, Longing — Bill Brent Paul Rogers, Saul's Book — Paul Russell Patrick Roscoe, Birthmarks — Andy Quan Douglas Sadownick, Sacred Lips of the Bronx — Tom Cardamone Glenway Wescott, The Apple of the Eye — Jerry Rosco George Whitmore, Nebraska — Victor Bumbalo Donald Windham, Two People, Philip Gambone Come Again: A History of the Reprinting of Gay Novels, Philip Clark Awards The Lost Library won the San Francisco Book Festival's gay category for best book of the spring season, and was named one of the 10 best nonfiction books of 2010 in Richard Labonté's Book Marks column. References Category:Gay male literature Category:2010 non-fiction books Category:LGBT anthologies Category:2010s LGBT literature

Visit us on FCA Scotland Facebook Page The Fostering Process We’ve been helping people become incredible foster carers for over 15 years, so we know exactly how the process works. That’s why we’re here for you every step of the way and will begin working with Local Authorities to match you with a child or young person as soon as you’re approved to foster with us. Applying to become a foster carer takes around four to six months. We know that it’s not the quickest process in the world but we also know that by offering you incredible one-to-one support we can help make your journey as easy and straightforward as possible. So you won’t have to worry about a thing. How can we help? If you would like some more information to help you decide whether fostering is for you all you need to do is contact us. Phone us Call us on 0141 646 4805 (lines open Monday – Friday: 9am – 5pm) Fostering a child or young person is a big decision so we’re here to answer any questions you may have. Our friendly fostering advisors can talk you through everything you need to know about becoming a foster carer.

Keith Plume of PayneCrest Electric Company checks that solar panels are lined up correctly at the Ameren O'Fallon Renewable Energy Center in O'Fallon, Missouri on September 18, 2014. When completed the center will have 19,000 solar panels in place and will provide 5.7 megawatts to nearly 700 homes. The Ameren energy center is also the largest investor owned utility scale solar energy center in Missouri. UPI/Bill Greenblatt | License Photo SAN MATEO, Calif., Jan. 18 (UPI) -- The National Solar Jobs Census of 2014, from The Solar Foundation, claims the solar industry is adding jobs 20 times faster than the overall economy in the U.S. The report states there are over 170,000 workers in the solar industry, which represents a 21.8 percent increase from the previous year. That means there are twice as many solar workers as there are coal miners in the United States. "The solar industry has once again proven to be a powerful engine of economic growth and job creation," said Andrea Luecke, President and Executive Director of The Solar Foundation. "It also shows for the fifth consecutive year, the solar industry is attracting highly-skilled, well-paid professionals. That growth is putting people back to work and strengthening our nation's economy." Elon Musk's SolarCity added 4,000 jobs in 2014, and it is the most successful residential solar company in the country. Companies like IKEA have latched onto the solar movement by installing solar panels on top of nearly 90 percent of its stores in the U.S. The industry is expected to add at least 36,000 more jobs in 2015.

Q: Git commit diff show line update in only one line I know that by using the commands git show / git diff I can get the line changes, nevertheless they print line modifications as a + line preceded by a - line. I recall finding somewhere an option to only show the modification in one line, with the changes printed in red (old) and green (new). Note: To clarify it a little, for example, by using the command git show <commitId> I will be getting: - <property>horses</property> + <property>humans</property> The minus line appears in red and the plus line in green. What I want to accomplish is to have the change in only one line, still I do not remember how the prefix appeared, but I believe it was something like: + <property>[horses]humans<property> Where the whole line appears green and the word horses appears red. I know this can be done because I did it in the past with some random command I got from a page that sadly cannot remember. A: If $ git diff --word-diff=color , as Peter mentioned, is not the output you want, you could try: $ git diff --word-diff=plain This will print some additional brackets {} and signs + -, around the differences. But it also will show the same colorful output as word-diff=color will do. To show differences per word in the 7th last commit, use: $ git diff HEAD~7 --word-diff=plain $ git diff » - // check for twice same password + // check is password twice $ git diff --word-diff=color » // check for twice sameis password twice $ git diff --word-diff=plain » // check [-for twice same-]{+is+} password {+twice+}

Roads in South Sudan The following is a list of national roads in South Sudan. The list is not exhaustive. National roads See also Transport in South Sudan References External links South Sudan

Q: Neo4j Embedded Mode with Password Can you connect to Neo4j in embedded mode in a Java application to connect to an existing running Neo4J server that requires a username and password? How do you do that? Apparently without authentication it is: graphDb = new GraphDatabaseFactory().newEmbeddedDatabase( DB_PATH ); registerShutdownHook( graphDb ); A: Http authentication is part of the Neo4j server component. The code snippet that you're using runs an embedded database instance. Please clarify your question if a) you want some code connecting to a running Neo4j remote instance or b) you want to run your own embedded instance and run the web interface on top of it? In case of a) you can either work with the transactional Cypher endpoint, use Neo4j JDBC driver or (starting with Neo4j) the java bolt driver. In case of b) you need to look at Neo4j's source code to understand what org.neo4j.server.Bootstrapper and its derived classes are doing. With those you can run your server on top of an embedded instance.

Q: Omitting props in HOC Have an unusual question about omitting props in HoC I have react component: interface IMyComponentProps { prop1: string, prop2: Function, items1: string[], items2: string[], } and i have HOC which takes this component and pass items1 and items2 to it interface IWithItems { items1: string[], items2: string[], } type WithoutItems<T extends IWithItems> = Omit<T, 'items1'|'items2'>; function HoC<T extends IWithItems>( WrappedComponent: React.ComponentClass<T> | React.FunctionComponent<T>, ): React.ComponentClass<WithoutItems<T>> { class WithItemsWrapper extends React.Component<WithoutItems<T>, IWithItems> { state = { items1: [], items2: [], }; async componentDidMount() { const items1 = await this.getItems1(); const items2 = await this.getItems2(); this.setState({ items1, items2, }); } getItems1 = () => ( // from backend ); getItems2 = () => ( // from backend ); render() { return ( <WrappedComponent {...this.props} items1={this.state.items1} items2={this.state.items2} /> ); } } return hoistNonReactStatics(WithItemsWrapper, WrappedComponent); } Wrapped component has own props and these props contains items1, items2. HoC pulling items from backend and pass it to wrapped component at my index.ts file i exporting it as export default HoC(MyComponent); the idea is that after this export and import this in other file MyComponent should require prop1 and prop2, but not items1 and items2, cuz they had already passed in HoC. But now it says Error:(59, 12) TS2322: Type 'Readonly<Pick<T, Exclude<keyof T, "items1" | "items2">>> & { items1: never[]; items2: never[]; children?: ReactNode; }' is not assignable to type 'IntrinsicAttributes & T & { children?: ReactNode; }'. Type 'Readonly<Pick<T, Exclude<keyof T, "items1" | "items2">>> & { items1: never[]; items2: never[]; children?: ReactNode; }' is not assignable to type 'T'. Is it possible and if it is - what am i doing wrong? A: I think i found the solution First of all simplify WithoutItems and change HOC definition type Omit<T, K> = Pick<T, Exclude<keyof T, K>>; type Diff<T, K> = Omit<T, keyof K>; type WithoutItems<T> = Diff<T, IWithItems>; function HoC<P>( WrappedComponent: React.ComponentClass<P> | React.FunctionComponent<P>, ): React.ComponentClass<WithoutItems<P>> { class WithItemsWrapper extends React.Component<WithoutItems<P>, IWithItems> { and next thing is to make props map explicitly type P // HoC render method render() { return ( <WrappedComponent {...this.props as P} items1={this.state.items1} items2={this.state.items2} /> ); } all other things stay as they were. solution founded here

934 F.Supp. 1052 (1994) Jimmie D. POINDEXTER v. Theron Wayne ARMSTRONG and The Jasher Company. Civil No. 93-2028. United States District Court, W.D. Arkansas, Fort Smith Division. December 19, 1994. *1053 Eddie N. Christian, Matthew T. Horan, Ft. Smith, AR, for plaintiff. Bradley D. Jesson, Hardin, Dawson & Terry, Fort Smith, AR, Harry Scoufos, Jim Jones, Sallisaw, OK, for defendants. ORDER HENDREN, District Judge. NOW on this 19 day of December, 1994, comes on for consideration defendants' Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law, and the Court, being well and sufficiently advised, finds and Orders as follows: 1. Plaintiff, Jimmie D. Poindexter, brought suit against defendant, Theron Wayne Armstrong (Armstrong) and The Jasher Company (Jasher) claiming, inter alia, that the actions of Armstrong toward and about plaintiff, in connection with a certain bible study group Armstrong led and plaintiff attended, amounted to the tort of outrage and that such actions were properly chargeable to Jasher by reason of Armstrong's alleged relationship to the said corporation. 2. Trial was held in this matter before a jury composed of eight persons, commencing Monday, August 15, 1994, and concluding Friday, August 26, 1994, at which time the jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiff against both Armstrong and Jasher, jointly and severally, in the amount of $15,000 for compensatory damages and $125,000 in the amount of punitive damages. Pursuant to that jury verdict, the Court entered its judgment on August 31, 1994. 3. In their motion, defendants say that the jury verdict and resulting judgment should be set aside by the Court and that the Court should enter judgment in favor of both defendants, as a matter of law, since, say defendants, (1) the evidence adduced at trial is not sufficient, as a matter of law, to support the verdict and judgment; and (2) the Court, in fact, had no proper jurisdiction over both of the defendants. 4. In response to defendants' motion, plaintiff says the evidence presented at trial is sufficient, as a matter of law, to show defendant Armstrong is guilty of the tort of outrage and that his conduct is properly attributable to the corporate defendant, Jasher. Plaintiff further says the Court properly has jurisdiction in the matter since Armstrong's activities began in Arkansas when he engineered two of the separations of plaintiff and his former wife, Loretta Poindexter (Loretta), and that the substantial portion of the acts constituting the alleged tort of outrage occurred in the Western District of Arkansas, thereby justifying exercise of this Court's jurisdiction over defendants in the matter. 5. First, with respect to defendants' challenge to this Court's personal jurisdiction over them, the Court believes such challenge is without merit since the majority of the acts alleged by plaintiff occurred within the Western *1054 District of Arkansas. This is unquestionably the case with respect to Armstrong' actions and, in the Court's view, is decidedly the case with respect to the "actions" of Jasher insofar as those of Armstrong are properly attributable to it. Accordingly, the motion is not well-taken on that score. 6. The standard for considering a motion for judgment as a matter of law is set forth in White v. Pence, 961 F.2d 776 (8th Cir.1992), as follows: The question is a legal one, whether there is sufficient evidence to support a jury verdict. This court must analyze the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party and not engage in a weighing or evaluation of the evidence or consider questions of credibility. (citations omitted). We have also stated that to sustain a motion for JNOV, all the evidence must point one way and be susceptible of no reasonable inference sustaining the position of the non-moving party. (citations omitted). Id. at 779. 7. Before addressing the substance of defendants' motion, it is necessary to examine Arkansas law with respect to the tort of outrage since in this diversity action, this Court, sitting in the Western District of Arkansas, is obliged to follow the substantive law of the forum. B.B. v. Continental Ins. Co., 8 F.3d 1288, 1291 (8th Cir.1993). In Arkansas, the tort of outrage was first recognized as such in the 1980 case of M.B.M. Co., Inc. v. Counce, 268 Ark. 269, 596 S.W.2d 681 (1980). That decision, hereinafter referred to as M.B.M. Co., Inc., came about when, on certiorari, the Arkansas Supreme Court reviewed the affirmance by the Arkansas Court of Appeals of a lower court decision. In the Court of Appeals case, Counce v. M.B.M. Co., Inc., 266 Ark. 1064, 597 S.W.2d 92 (Ark.App.1980) (hereinafter referred to as Counce), Chief Judge Ernie Wright concluded that a claim based upon infliction of emotional distress could be brought in the Arkansas courts and quoted, with approval, from the Massachusetts Supreme Court case of Agis v. Howard Johnson Co., 371 Mass. 140, 355 N.E.2d 315 (1976) the rule as to what a plaintiff must prove to establish such a claim. Chief Wright noted that the Massachusetts court had relied on Restatement (Second) of Torts § 46 and decisions from several other states as support for their rule and said that the rule was approved for Arkansas. The rule reads as follows: One who, by extreme and outrageous conduct and without privilege, causes severe emotional distress to another is subject to liability for such emotional distress, even though no bodily harm may result. However, in order for a plaintiff to prevail in a case for liability under this tort, four elements must be established. It must be shown (1) that the actor intended to inflict emotional distress or that he knew or should have known that emotional distress was the likely result of his conduct; (2) that the conduct was "extreme and outrageous," was "beyond all possible bounds of decency" and was "utterly intolerable in a civilized community"; (3) that the actions of the defendant were the cause of plaintiff's distress; and (4) that the emotional distress sustained by the plaintiff was "severe" and of a nature "that no reasonable man could be expected to endure it." Counce, 266 Ark. at 1068, 597 S.W.2d at 94. On certiorari, the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed Counce by its opinion in M.B.M. Co., Inc. saying it found no error in the Court of Appeals' holding. There, in a typically thorough and well reasoned opinion, then Chief Justice John A. Fogleman reviewed the history of claims for emotional distress in the State of Arkansas, and pointed out that the Court had in the past strained to find a constructive physical injury before it would sustain an award for emotional or mental distress or mental suffering. Relying on the teachings of Prof. Prosser in Prosser, Insult & Outrage, 44 Cal.L.Rev. 40 (1956) and the Restatement of Law, Torts 2d, § 46, p. 71 et. seq., Chief Fogleman stated: We need only to abandon our strained efforts to find a tort or a theoretical physical impact or injury and the consequent tenuous reasoning in order to justify the award of damages for mental anguish. By doing so, we can and do now recognize *1055 that one who by extreme and outrageous conduct wilfully or wantonly causes severe emotional distress to another is subject to liability for such emotional distress and for bodily harm resulting from the distress. (Emphasis added). M.B.M. Co., Inc., 268 Ark. at 279-280, 596 S.W.2d at 687. The full text of Restatement of Law, Torts 2d, § 46, as it appears at pages 71-72, is as follows: § 46. Outrageous Conduct Causing Severe Emotional Distress (1) One who by extreme and outrageous conduct intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress to another is subject to liability for such emotional distress, and if bodily harm to the other results from it, for such bodily harm. (2) Where such conduct is directed at a third person, the actor is subject to liability if he intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress (a) to a member of such persons's immediate family who is present at the time, whether or not such distress results in bodily harm, or (b) to any other person who is present at the time, if such distress results in bodily harm. Chief Fogleman's language in M.B.M. Co., Inc. is virtually identical to Section (1) of § 46 of the Restatement. Moreover, in fleshing out the import of the holding recognizing a claim based on intentional infliction of emotional distress (also called the tort of outrage), Chief Fogleman referred to comments j and d to said § 46, as follows: The emotional distress for which damages may be sought must be so severe that no reasonable person could be expected to endure it. It must be reasonable and justified under the circumstances. Liability arises only when the distress is extreme. Restatement, Torts 2d 78, § 46, Comment j. By extreme and outrageous conduct, we mean conduct that is so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized society. See Restatement of the Law, Torts, 2d 72, § 46, Comment d. M.B.M. Co., Inc., 268 Ark. at 280, 596 S.W.2d at 687. Further, citing Comment g to said § 46, Chief Fogleman indicated that one is not liable for doing that which one has a legal right to do. Id. A review of said comments d (Extreme and outrageous conduct), j (Severe emotional distress), and g (Privilege or exercise of legal right) to § 46 shows that Chief Fogleman essentially adopted the reasoning in the comments in his effort to define what does or does not constitute the tort of outrage in Arkansas. It is noteworthy, in the Court's view, that Chief Fogleman did not incorporate into the M.B.M. Co., Inc., opinion any reference to Section (2) of said § 46 which deals with conduct directed to a third person. Likewise, he did not refer to comment 1 under § 46 which is titled (and relates to) Conduct directed at a third person. Since, in M.B.M. Co., Inc., there was no claim advanced by plaintiff by reason of any alleged outrageous conduct toward a third person, there was no reason for Chief Fogleman to address that aspect of the tort of outrage as discussed in § 46. It thus appears that the Arkansas Supreme Court did not, in M.B.M. Co., Inc., fully embrace § 46 of the Restatement of Torts with respect to the tort of outrage. A review of cases cited by both parties in their briefs — as well as those discovered by the Court in its own research — fails to disclose any subsequent case after M.B.M. Co., Inc., in which the Arkansas courts have extended their recognition of the tort of outrage to conduct of third persons as contemplated by section (2) of § 46. Instead, although the Eighth Circuit, in a case decided only one year after M.B.M. Co., Inc., expressed its opinion that "it is probable that the Arkansas Supreme Court would adopt it [section (2)] in an appropriate case," Orlando v. Alamo, 646 F.2d 1288, 1291, n. 5. (8th Cir.1981), the Arkansas Supreme Court subsequently declined to do so when presented with the opportunity in *1056 1989. In Deason v. Farmers & Merchants Bank of Rogers, 299 Ark. 167, 771 S.W.2d 749 (1989), a widower and children of a deceased mortgagor sued a mortgagee and a listing agent for, inter alia, inflicting outrage (as to and on them) by allegedly improperly forcing payment of interest on a note when the mortgagor (and maker of the note) was dying of cancer. In affirming the trial court's dismissal of the tort of outrage claims of the widower (J.W.) and the children (Jack and Virginia), the Arkansas Supreme Court stated: Jack, J.W., and Virginia assert that the restatement section cited above [Restatement (Second) of Torts § 46 (1965)] permits a cause of action to an immediate family member without necessity of bodily harm where the actions of the alleged tortfeasor are directed at a third person, in this case their wife and mother. The restatement section supports their assertion that they have standing to sue; however, we have not adopted the language referring to conduct toward third persons contained in the section. (Bracketed material and emphasis added). Id., 299 Ark. at 173, 771 S.W.2d at 753. Although in Deason, the court went on to observe that the conduct of the defendants, as shown by the facts of the case, "falls far short of extreme and outrageous behavior which is utterly intolerable in a civilized community" and therefore, plaintiffs' cause would have failed in any event, it seems clear that the court, when faced with the opportunity to extend its recognition of the tort of outrage to situations involving conduct of a third party, declined to do so. It therefore appears that the tort of outrage, as adopted and recognized in Arkansas at the present time includes only conduct directed to the person bringing the action. Accordingly, evidence concerning the conduct of Armstrong toward third persons may not properly support plaintiff's claim for the tort of outrage unless this Court should be convinced that Arkansas courts, if and when faced with the instant set of facts, would decide to extend its recognition of the tort of outrage to cover conduct toward a third person. Where the state courts have not passed on the issue, it is left to a federal district court applying the law of that state to make its best guess or prediction as to what the state court would or will do if and when it considers the issue. Jackson v. Anchor Packing Co., 994 F.2d 1295, 1301 (8th Cir. 1993). In this court's view, the Arkansas Supreme Court has clearly been hesitant to expand or extend the tort of outrage. Several cases decided after M.B.M. Co., Inc. emphasize that the Arkansas Supreme Court takes a narrow view of claims for the tort of outrage. Deitsch v. Tillery, 309 Ark. 401, 406, 833 S.W.2d 760, 762 (1992) and that it addresses outrage in a cautious manner. Dillard Dept. Stores, Inc. v. Adams, 315 Ark. 303, 305, 867 S.W.2d 442, 443 (1993). As has been noted above, the 1981 prediction of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Orlando, that the Arkansas Courts would extend the tort of outrage to cover conduct of third persons was apparently mistaken since in 1989, the Arkansas Supreme Court declined to do so in Deason. Based on its review of the Arkansas cases, it is now this Court's view and prediction that the Arkansas Supreme Court would not recognize conduct toward a third party as constituting an actionable tort of outrage when faced with the same facts as in this case. See Deason. It follows, therefore, that in ruling on defendants' motion, the Court must examine only that evidence which tends to establish conduct of Armstrong toward plaintiff, himself, as being outrageous and atrocious to the extent of amounting to the tort of outrage as made actionable in the state of Arkansas. That evidence must, for purposes of this motion for judgment as a matter of law, be considered in the light most favorable to plaintiff and the Court may not weigh or evaluate the evidence or the credibility of the witnesses. In order to properly grant the motion, the evidence must point only one way and not be susceptible to any reasonable inference sustaining plaintiff's position. White v. Pence, 961 F.2d at 779. 8. In order to establish the tort of outrage in Arkansas, the following four (4) elements must be established: *1057 (1) That the actor intended to inflict emotional distress or knew or should have known that emotional distress was the likely result of his conduct; (2) That the conduct was "extreme and outrageous," was "beyond all possible bounds of decency" and was "utterly intolerable in a civilized community"; (3) That the actions of the defendant were the cause of the plaintiff's distress; and (4) That the emotional distress sustained by the plaintiff was so severe that no reasonable man could be expected to endure it. These necessary elements have been reaffirmed and followed by the Arkansas Supreme Court in many cases decided after M.B.M. Co., Inc.. See, e.g., Deitsch v. Tillery, 309 Ark. 401, 833 S.W.2d 760 (1992) and Ross v. Patterson, 307 Ark. 68, 817 S.W.2d 418 (1991). In expressing that narrow view of the tort of outrage in Sterling Drug, Inc. v. Oxford, 294 Ark. 239, 743 S.W.2d 380 (1988), the Arkansas Supreme Court said one is subject to liability for outrage if he or she willfully or wantonly causes severe emotional distress to another by extreme and outrageous conduct — conduct that is so outrageous in character and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized society. The Court has further said that emotional distress for which damages may be sought must be so severe that no reasonable person could be expected to endure it. Tandy Corp. v. Bone, 283 Ark. 399, 678 S.W.2d 312 (1984). The tort of outrage is not easily established and requires clear-cut proof — merely describing conduct as outrageous does not necessarily make it so. Givens v. Hixson, 275 Ark. 370, 631 S.W.2d 263 (1982). In Sterling Drug, the Arkansas Supreme Court found that where a corporate employer suspected that an employee had reported it to the General Services Administration for pricing violations, and had entered on an 18-month campaign to force the employee to resign even though agents of the employer knew that the employee was under pressure because of a recent divorce, the employer's conduct did not rise to a sufficient level to support a verdict for outrage. In so holding, the Court said: The recognition of the tort of outrage does not open the doors of the courts to every slight insult or indignity one must endure in life. Id., 294 Ark. at 244, 743 S.W.2d at 383. This language is reminiscent of the language of comment d to § 46 of Restatement (Second) Torts, which Chief Fogleman cited with approval in M.B.M. Co., Inc.: The liability does not extend to mere insults, indignities, threats, annoyances, petty oppressions, or other trivialities. The rough edges of our society are still in need of a good deal of filing down, and in the meantime plaintiffs must necessarily be expected and required to be hardened to a certain amount of rough language, and to occasional acts that are definitely inconsiderate and unkind. There is no occasion for the law to intervene in every case where some one's feelings are hurt. There must still be freedom to express an unflattering opinion, and some safety valve must be left through which irascible tempers may blow off relatively harmless steam. Restatement (Second) Torts § 46, comment d (second paragraph). Armed with the foregoing understanding of Arkansas law on the tort of outrage, the Court now turns to a review of plaintiff's complaint and the evidence offered by plaintiff in support thereof. 9. In Count II of plaintiff's complaint, wherein he seeks to recover based upon the tort of outrage, he alleged, inter alia: (a) that Armstrong, for many years, tried to get Loretta and others to turn money over to him in the form of cash and that, for many years, Loretta had turned over to Armstrong a significant percentage of her income. Complaint, para. 8. (b) that Armstrong, assisted by others and Jasher who acted under his direction and control, intentionally used the following techniques involving undue influence, deceit and fraud in order to get Loretta to turn her considerable financial assets over to him: *1058 (1) that, in March and April, 1991, Armstrong withheld his services from the religious group he headed and accused Loretta "and another selected individual" of being at fault, thus wrongfully causing Loretta and other members of the group to feel as if Loretta "was guilty" — that Armstrong returned to the group only after he received cash for a new car; Complaint, para. 9(a). (2) that in June and July, 1991, Armstrong utilized group isolation or "shunning," social deprivation, and public disparagement to induce Loretta (and others) to agree to a Jasher business venture; Complaint, para. 9(b). (3) that in August and September, 1991, Armstrong publicly ridiculed and humiliated Loretta for spending money on books, a piano, art, sewing lessons, birth giving preparation classes and maintenance of a riding horse; Complaint, para. 9(c). (4) that in mid-September, 1991 — at a time when plaintiff and Loretta were about to purchase a home — Armstrong caused Loretta, then eight months pregnant, "to be removed from the marital abode and subjected to psychological and emotional indoctrination and programming until she abandoned the idea of purchasing a home"; Complaint, para. 9(d). (5) that in January, 1992 — some two months after the birth of Hanna (daughter of plaintiff and Loretta) — Armstrong again caused Loretta "to be removed from the marital abode and again subjected to psychological and emotional indoctrination and programming until she agreed to stop leasing the marital abode in this judicial district, to move to a remote location in Muldrow, Oklahoma, and to `lay all her wealth at his (Mr. Armstrong's) feet'"; Complaint, para. 9(e). (6) that, although Loretta complied with his directives, Armstrong refused to permit her and Hanna to return to the marital abode in this judicial district (and, therefore) plaintiff "had to move the family out of their home and rent a small accommodation in Muldrow, Oklahoma. Only then were Mrs. Poindexter (Loretta) and Hanna released"; Complaint, para. 9(f). (7) that in 1992, Armstrong induced Loretta and others to work for Jasher without compensation and threatened to again cause Loretta to be removed from the marital abode unless and until plaintiff quit his gainful employment with the U.S. Postal Service and went to work for Armstrong's Jasher business venture and that, "Mr. Poindexter (plaintiff) did both in an attempt to preserve his marriage." Complaint, para. 9(g). (8) that in the latter part of 1992, Armstrong publicly accused Loretta of "not keeping her vow" (the vow to lay all of her wealth at Mr. Armstrong's feet) and again caused Loretta to be removed from the marital abode and subjected to more psychological and emotional indoctrination and programming until she turned over all of her wealth to Armstrong; Complaint, para. 9(i). (9) that since November 12, 1992, Armstrong has caused Loretta and Hanna to refuse to live with plaintiff and, instead, to live with Ole and L. Victoria Raff in this judicial district; Complaint, para. 9(i). (10) that Armstrong caused Loretta to file divorce proceedings against plaintiff; Complaint, para. 9(i). (11) that Armstrong and others acting at his direction and under his control "have wrongfully, tortuously, and without privilege, interfered with the privacy, parental and familial rights of Plaintiff, and/or have conspired and aided and abetted in an actionable manner concerning such interference, and have engaged in an ongoing pattern and practice of extreme and outrageous conduct that they knew or should have known would cause damage to the Plaintiff; Complaint, para. 14. (12) that Armstrong and others acting at his direction and under his control have engaged in the "deliberate and wrongful manipulation of fears, insecurities and other emotions; public humiliation and disparagement; group isolation and social deprivation; physical deprivation and abuse (including physical beatings of Mrs. Poindexter and Hanna Poindexter); and other means and methods of physical, psychological and emotional indoctrination and programming." Complaint, para. 14. (13) that, as a result of Armstrong's alleged wrongful conduct, plaintiff's "marriage *1059 has been severely damaged and possibly destroyed and he has been deprived of the ability and right to live with or meaningfully communicate with his wife and infant daughter or otherwise enjoy and share with his wife and infant daughter the pleasures, love, affection and benefits of marriage and parenthood." Complaint, para. 15. 10. The proof offered by plaintiff included the testimony of several witnesses and the introduction of documentary and other evidence. (a) Plaintiff testified on the 5th, 6th and 7th days of trial. On Direct Examination, plaintiff stated he first met Armstrong in approximately July or August of 1988, and started going to Armstrong's bible study in 1989, where he met Loretta. He started dating Loretta at bible study which they attended together. They dated almost every night and spent most of their dating time with Armstrong and other members of the bible study group. Before he and Loretta married, he heard Armstrong tell Loretta she had to get out from under the influence of her parents. Also before the marriage, Armstrong told him he (plaintiff) also had to get away from his parents with whom he then lived. Plaintiff acknowledged that he had committed adultery with a woman named Linda about thirty days after he had married Loretta in early 1989. He told Armstrong, in confidence, about his adultery in approximately July of 1991, and he confessed it to Loretta in August of 1991. He felt that Armstrong held the adultery over him in order to keep him in line. Armstrong insisted that plaintiff be counselled because he wouldn't conform and because his "beast was up." Plaintiff and Loretta had to go through numerous counselling sessions — if he wasn't in trouble, she was and vice versa. Armstrong urged him and Loretta to buy some acreage and let Armstrong build a home on the edge of it. They declined. Plaintiff said Armstrong wanted Loretta to put up some money to start a business which would build saw mills, build houses for members and make jobs for all. Plaintiff told him it was up to Loretta but if it had been up to plaintiff he was not in favor of it. Armstrong criticized Loretta because she had a "bad attitude"; because she was a yankee; because she had a "money attitude"; because she had education; because she took Lamaze classes; because she was lazy and had a housekeeper; because she liked books; because she had an inordinate affection for her horse and spent money on it; and because she charged a member to give piano lessons to the member's child. Both plaintiff and Loretta were "in trouble" by September or October of 1991, because they were not "of one mind with the group." Shortly before the birth of Hanna Poindexter (daughter of Plaintiff and Loretta, hereinafter called "Hanna"), plaintiff was allowed to sit with Loretta at meetings but was not allowed to talk to her. He was ordered to receive counselling but didn't know why. Armstrong criticized plaintiff and Loretta for having Loretta sit in the back seat of a car with the child while plaintiff drove. At a meeting on or about January 4, 1992, plaintiff was asked to leave because Armstrong left and said he wouldn't be back until "the inequity is off the porch" — referring to plaintiff. Plaintiff was not physically thrown out of the meeting, but it was made plain that he was to leave. Loretta and Hanna stayed at the meeting after he'd been asked to leave. He didn't see them again for about ten days. Armstrong and the others refused to tell him where Loretta and his child were and told him she didn't want to see or talk to him. Armstrong and the others made it plain to him that if he wanted his wife and baby back, he would have to conform and move out from under the dark cloud he was under. Armstrong told him that Loretta was going to "do" Jasher since God wanted her to do so. Plaintiff said he would agree even though he didn't know what Jasher was. Armstrong discouraged Jimmie and Nadine George from repaying a $7,000 debt due Loretta, and Armstrong influenced Loretta to contribute one of her dividends from her parent's company to the Jasher company. *1060 Armstrong "intimidated" plaintiff in front of the bible study group and caused him to quit the post office and to go to work for Jasher. Armstrong ridiculed him by saying, "What do you think of a guy who'd rather work for Moab rather than Jasher?" This happened and he left the post office in July of 1992. He was afraid he'd be separated from wife and child if he didn't quit the post office and go to work for Jasher. He was rarely paid to work for Jasher although he got one or two checks. Loretta spanked Hanna a lot at the urging of Armstrong and, in October of 1992, Loretta told plaintiff that while she was cleaning house for Donna Parker, Parker had beaten Loretta with a belt because she said Loretta wasn't working well. Loretta said Parker beat her two different times — until Loretta said "Thank you" and then "I Love You" — after which they then hugged. When plaintiff objected to the whipping of Loretta, Armstrong and the others showered love and affection on Loretta, but shunned plaintiff. Plaintiff told Armstrong he couldn't be of one mind on the whipping of adults, and Armstrong told him to do what he felt like he had to do. Loretta left him while he was out of town and went to her sister's place. They subsequently divorced. On cross examination, plaintiff stated that no one forced or coerced him to join Armstrong's bible study group. He didn't want to quit the post office and work for Armstrong and Jasher but did so because Armstrong told him to and because he then believed Armstrong was the apostle and that he should do all that Armstrong said. Plaintiff said that, although he came to Armstrong and his meetings voluntarily, he couldn't leave when he didn't like the teachings because he was under "mind control." He said that Armstrong's indoctrination methods puts fear in you; numbs you; makes you afraid God would kill you; makes you believe that if you are disobedient to Armstrong, you are being disobedient to God; and, in plaintiff's case, caused him to be unable to focus or concentrate. Plaintiff could not point to anything hurtful done to him by Armstrong or at his direction during 1988 or during 1989. He said that in 1990, Armstrong caused him to become obligated for an apartment and he had not asked Armstrong for any aid in getting an apartment. Otherwise, he could not point to anything hurtful done to him by Armstrong or at his direction during 1990. Plaintiff said that, in 1992, because of Armstrong's directions and/or influence, he could not see his wife and child for some forty days. Plaintiff said he did not voluntarily get involved with "the cult" and that, because he was under the influence of "mind control" when he quit the post office, he may not be able to get that job back. He stated that neither Armstrong nor anyone else connected with him ever did plaintiff any physical injury, nor did they ever physically restrain him or prevent him from going wherever he wanted to go. He said he was discharged from the group since he was not of the same mind, judgment and unity with the group. He was not of the same mind, he says, because he could not agree with the spanking of Loretta and the spanking of the child. Plaintiff said he was not present and did not see the spanking of Loretta and that all he knows about it is what Loretta told him. He said that both he and Loretta spanked their child. Plaintiff said that, other than what he has testified to, he can't think of any specific instances where Armstrong or others acting pursuant to his directions did things hurtful to him. (b) Plaintiff called as fact witnesses Kathryn Whittaker Avery, Ann Kremers, and Leo Kremers — all of whom had been former members of Armstrong's group, but who had been made to leave. Their testimonies essentially supported plaintiff's allegations about Armstrong's teachings and his attempts to induce Loretta to turn over her wealth to him and the group. They specifically confirmed that Armstrong's methods were verbal and that no physical restraints were imposed on them or anyone else in connection with Armstrong and the group. *1061 All indicated that Armstrong worked to induce them to believe that he was God's apostle or messenger and that they should strive to do what he instructed them to do. None indicated that plaintiff had ever been subjected to physical abuse at the hands of Armstrong or anyone acting at his direction or under his control but, rather, indicated that Armstrong's actions toward plaintiff and his wife, Loretta, involved only preaching, advising and counselling as to what Armstrong believed the bible and right thinking required for them — especially Loretta. (c) Plaintiff also called a psychiatrist named Dr. Lewis Jolyn West, and a psychologist named Dr. Paul Martin, as expert witnesses. Dr. West testified he had done considerable work studying cults, and had participated in a study involving former prisoners of war from the Korean Conflict who had allegedly been subjected to "brainwashing" or "mind control" while prisoners of the North Koreans. Dr West testified, inter alia, that based on his interviews with plaintiff and other former members of the group; the depositions of both Armstrong and Loretta and others; and his examination of documents in the case as well as certain tapes of Armstrong's sermons to the group; he was of the opinion that Armstrong's bible study group met the accepted criteria used to identify a "totalist cult." He was apparently of the opinion that a person could be subjected to "mind control" or "thought reform" even without the use of physical restraints. Dr. Martin, a former cult member, testified he has treated ex-cult members since 1987, and is familiar with the criteria properly used to identify cults. Dr. Martin testified, inter alia, that, based on his review of some of Armstrong's taped sermons; some reports from private investigators who had interviewed former members of Armstrong's group; some depositions of former members of the group; and interviews with former group members including plaintiff, he was of the opinion that former members exhibited typical symptoms of having been members of a "cult." He was further of the opinion, based on his some ten hours of interviews with plaintiff, that plaintiff's story was consistent with what others said about Armstrong's group and that plaintiff exhibited most of the same symptoms which indicated he had been a member of a "cult." He diagnosed plaintiff as having an adjustment disorder, chronic, even though he had not actually treated him and had not been asked to treat him. Dr. Martin said he was only "somewhat aware" of some of plaintiff's past difficulties including his history of alcohol problems and problems with his military service. He said he could not be sure as to how, if at all, knowledge of plaintiff's background would affect his opinion about plaintiff's condition. 11. Although defendants offered expert testimony of their own which was in disagreement with that of Drs. West and Martin, such may not properly be considered in the context at hand. Moreover, defendants offered the testimony of Loretta and Armstrong which strongly differed with that of plaintiff and his witnesses as to whether Armstrong's group was a cult and whether Armstrong had, by his actions in word and deed, intentionally inflicted emotional distress on plaintiff so as to warrant a finding that he had committed the tort of outrage with respect to plaintiff. Again, in the context of the motion for judgment as a matter of law which is before the Court, such contra testimony may not properly be considered by the Court in deciding the motion. The Court must review the evidence which is favorable to plaintiff's position and take it as true and established in determining whether a proper case has been made out on the tort of outrage. Accordingly, the Court has not considered any of the contra testimony — either expert or lay — in addressing the motion. 12. It will be noticed that the majority of plaintiff's allegations against Armstrong — as well as the majority of the evidence offered by him at trial — involve conduct toward and about third persons — principally plaintiff's wife, Loretta, and his daughter, Hanna — and that the impact on plaintiff came about because of the effect of said actions on those third persons and their resulting conduct toward plaintiff because of said effect. Given this Court's belief and holding that conduct *1062 toward a third person may not be considered with reference to whether plaintiff has suffered the tort of outrage, the Court will not consider such evidence in evaluating plaintiff's case against these defendants. 13. Looking at plaintiff's evidence in the light most favorable to him, the Court believes it shows that Armstrong encouraged and even cajoled plaintiff into quitting his job at the post office and going to work for Armstrong and Jasher; that Armstrong preached to plaintiff and others that plaintiff should separate himself from his parents and family and make a full and unrestricted commitment to Armstrong and the bible study group; that Armstrong did not keep confidential but, instead, may have used against plaintiff the knowledge that plaintiff had committed adultery soon after his marriage to Loretta; that Armstrong continually insisted that plaintiff be counselled by members of the bible study group because he wouldn't conform and because his "beast was up"; that Armstrong unsuccessfully urged plaintiff and Loretta to buy an acreage and allow Armstrong to build a house on a part of it; that Armstrong criticized plaintiff for not supporting Loretta's decision to put up money for Armstrong's and Jasher's projects; that Armstrong criticized plaintiff because he was not "of one mind with the group"; that Armstrong dictated to plaintiff as to whether he sat with Loretta at bible study meetings and as to whether he was allowed to talk to Loretta at such meetings; that Armstrong indicated to him that if he didn't conform and comply with Armstrong's apparent wishes for Loretta and Hanna to move to Oklahoma, plaintiff would never be able to get his wife and baby back; that Armstrong ridiculed plaintiff in front of the other members of the bible study group; that Armstrong's indoctrination methods put fear in plaintiff, numbed Court and the fact scenarios presented to the Arkansas Supreme Court, wherein the Court found the standard was not met. In Ross v. Patterson, 307 Ark. 68, 817 S.W.2d 418 (1991), the Court reviewed some of its past cases involving the tort of outrage — some of which had not met the M.B.M Co., Inc., standard and some of which had: In Sterling Drug, Inc. v. Oxford, 294 Ark. 239, 743 S.W.2d 380 (1988), we found that where a corporate employer suspected that an employee had reported it to the General Services Administration for pricing violations, and had entered on an eighteen-month campaign to force the employee to resign even though agents of the employer knew that the employee was under pressure because of a recent divorce, the employer's conduct did not rise to a sufficient level to support a verdict for outrage as recognition of the tort of outrage did not open the doors of the courts to every slight insult or indignity one must endure in life. Likewise, in Sterling v. Upjohn Healthcare Services, Inc., 299 Ark. 278, 772 S.W.2d 329 (1989), we held that where an employee's supervisor had taken a dislike to him and made various attempts to undermine his authority with his employees and to have him fired by falsely accusing him of always being drunk and making untrue statements on his job application, by delaying the processing of his expense vouchers, by having employees watch him and report back to his supervisor, by instructing him not to communicate with other employees, and by cursing him, the conduct did not meet the standard required for the tort of outrage. In Neff v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 304 Ark. 18, 799 S.W.2d 795 (1990), we also noted that where the hospital was doing no more than it had a legal right to do — releasing the 17-week-old fetal remains to one of the parents without consulting the other — the conduct, even if improper, would not equate with outrageous conduct necessary for the tort of outrage. See generally Deason v. Farmers and Merchants Bank, 299 Ark. 167, 771 S.W.2d 749 (1989); Bell v. McManus, 294 Ark. 275, 742 S.W.2d 559 (1988); and Webb v. HCA Health Servs. of Midwest, Inc., 300 Ark. 613, 780 S.W.2d 571 (1989). Id., 307 Ark. at 70-71, 817 S.W.2d at 420-421. In contrast, where an employer interrogated an employee, whom it suspected of theft, at thirty minute intervals for most of a day, denied him valium when he was under obvious stress, and threatened him *1063 with arrest, we found that there was substantial evidence to support the jury verdict for outrage and placed special emphasis on the fact that even though the employer knew of the employee's lower than normal emotional stamina, it refused to permit him to take his medication during the interrogation. [Tandy Corp. v. Bone, 283 Ark. 399, 678 S.W.2d 312 (1984)]. In Hess v. Treece, 286 Ark. 434, 693 S.W.2d 792 (1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1036, 106 S.Ct. 1245, 89 L.Ed.2d 354 (1986), Treece, a police officer, sued Hess, the Little Rock City Director, for outrage. Hess, who was angry with Treece over a personal matter, conducted surveillance of Treece, communicated to other individuals that he would have Treece fired at any cost, and apparently made false reports concerning Treece's employment conduct. Basing our decision in part on the fact that Hess's actions continued over a two year time span, we found substantial evidence to support the jury verdict for outrage. We also found sufficient evidence to support a finding that corporations operating a perpetual care cemetery had committed the tort of outrage where the corporations' agents had repeatedly driven heavy equipment across two gravesites of members of the appellees' family in an attempt to alleviate a drainage problem which the corporations had caused and which could have been solved in other ways, and had continued construction even after the vaults had been exposed and the distress to the appellees had become apparent. Growth Properties I v. Cannon, 282 Ark. 472, 669 S.W.2d 447 (1980). Id., 307 Ark. at 72, 817 S.W.2d at 421. The Arkansas Supreme Court concluded in Ross that although plaintiff's doctor had left town to seek treatment of his personal alcohol and drug abuse problems on the eve of the birth of her child (which died a few hours after delivery) and, therefore, was not with her during the birthing, there was not substantial evidence to satisfy the requirements of the tort of outrage. In so concluding, the Court stated: While we cannot and do not sanction Dr. Ross's intemperate use of alcohol, drug abuse, and lack of professionalism in not assisting in making final arrangements for Mrs. Patterson's delivery, there is no clear-cut proof, as we require in all tort of outrage cases, that his conduct toward Mrs. Patterson was so outrageous in character and so extreme in degree as to rise to the level necessary for the tort of outrage. (Emphasis added.) Id., 307 Ark. at 73-74, 817 S.W.2d at 422. In the 1993 case of Dillard Dept. Stores, Inc. v. Adams, 315 Ark. 303, 867 S.W.2d 442 (1993), the Arkansas Supreme Court held that while the appellee had been accused of a crime of which she was not convicted and had been questioned in a confrontational manner; photographed and banned from appellant's store; and escorted from the store by police; there was not sufficient evidence to submit the tort of outrage claim to the jury. In so holding, the Court noted that the confrontation lasted less than an hour and that appellee had not been physically touched. In so holding the Court stated: We do not mean to say that Dillards' employees' actions were merely a "slight insult." We recognize Ms. Adams may well have suffered mental distress as a result of them. She was accused of a crime of which she was not convicted. We cannot, however, find in the facts alleged or shown the kind of "extreme degree" of outrageous conduct "as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in civilized society." Whatever the merits of the claim of Dillards and Ms. Hallmark as to Ms. Adams's conduct (and we assume no merit in them for purposes of this appeal) nothing that was done constituted conduct fitting our definition of "outrage." Id., 315 Ark. at 306, 867 S.W.2d at 443-444. Finally, in Thornton v. Squyres, 317 Ark. 374, 877 S.W.2d 921 (1994), the Arkansas Supreme Court held that the tort of outrage action is not one that can merely be substituted for a legal malpractice claim which involves inattentive, unprofessional or negligent action of an attorney. The Court observed that "... merely describing such conduct *1064 as outrageous does not make it so." Id., 317 Ark. at 378, 877 S.W.2d at 923. No case decided by the Arkansas Supreme Court has been cited or discovered which featured the allegation that "indoctrination programs, religious teachings and tactics" amounted to the tort of outrage. However, in Orlando v. Alamo, 646 F.2d 1288 (8th Cir.1981), the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas which had applied Arkansas law to just such allegations. There, appellants (the parents/family) had alleged that their son had voluntarily left his parents' home and soon after had become attracted to the teachings of appellees (a religious group). For some two years, the son periodically communicated with his family and the family thereby learned that the son, in conformance with the teachings and directives of the religious group — and under their alleged dominating influence — was repudiating his family in a way that caused the family severe emotional distress. In ruling on a motion for summary dismissal filed by the religious group, the district court — while finding that the religious group's conduct may have constituted "a terrible act," — had concluded as a matter of law that the conduct was not extreme and outrageous. In affirming the decision of the district court, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals said: Though appellees' alleged indoctrination program, religious teachings and tactics may be viewed with some consternation, we hesitate to characterize them as intolerable in a civilized society. Id. at 1290. The thinking of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals seems to be in line with that of other courts which have considered the tort of outrage in the context of religious teaching and practices. These decisions, discussed below, address the constitutional considerations relating to speech and religious practice which arise in such contexts. For example, it has been held that the practice of "shunning" is a constitutionally protected religious practice. See Paul v. Watchtower Bible and Tract Soc. of New York, 819 F.2d 875, 880 (9th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 926, 108 S.Ct. 289, 98 L.Ed.2d 249 (1987); and Rasmussen v. Bennett, 228 Mont. 106, 741 P.2d 755 (1987) wherein it was held that church statements condemning plaintiff's conduct and calling for shunning were privileged under the First Amendment. The Paul court stated: Clearly, the application of tort law to activities of a church or its adherents in the furtherance of their religious belief is an exercise of state power. When the imposition of liability would result in the abridgement of the right to free exercise of religious beliefs, recovery in tort is barred. Id., 819 F.2d at 880. In United States v. Ballard, 322 U.S. 78, 64 S.Ct. 882, 88 L.Ed. 1148 (1944) the Supreme Court observed: The law knows no heresy, and is committed to the support of no dogma, the establishment of no sect. Watson v. Jones, 80 U.S. (13 Wall) 679, 728, 20 L.Ed. 666, 676. The First Amendment has a dual aspect. It not only "forestalls compulsion by law of the acceptance of any creed or the practice of any form of worship" but also "safeguards the free exercise of the chosen form of religion." Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296, 303, 84 L.Ed. 1213, 1217, 60 S.Ct. 900, 903. "Thus the Amendment embraces two concepts, — freedom to believe and freedom to act. The first is absolute but, in the nature of things, the second cannot be." [citation omitted]. Freedom of thought, which includes freedom of religious belief, is basic in a society of free men. [citation omitted]. It embraces the right to maintain theories of life and of death and of the hereafter which are rank heresy to followers of the orthodox faith. Heresy trials are foreign to our Constitution. Men may believe what they cannot prove. They may not be put to the proof of their religious doctrines or beliefs. Religious experiences which are as real as life to some may be incomprehensible to others. Yet the fact that they may be beyond the ken of mortals does not mean that they can be made suspect before the law. Many take their gospel from the New Testament. But it would hardly be supposed that they could be tried before a jury *1065 charged with the duty of determining whether those teachings contained false representations. The miracles of the New Testament, the Divinity of Christ, life after death, the power of prayer are deep in the religious convictions of many. If one could be sent to jail because a jury in a hostile environment found those teachings false, little indeed would be left of religious freedom. Id. at 86-87, 64 S.Ct. at 886. Several lower courts have echoed the teachings of Ballard. In Turner v. Unification Church, 473 F.Supp. 367 (D.R.I.1978), aff'd, 602 F.2d 458 (1st Cir.1979), the Court stated: The first amendment absolutely protects the holding of any religious belief, no matter how bizarre or irrational. Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145, 166-67, 25 L.Ed. 244 (1878); Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296, 303-04, 60 S.Ct. 900, [903] 84 L.Ed. 1213 (1940). Likewise, indoctrination and initiation procedures, conditions of membership and the motivation of one who joins a religious group are usually not subject to judicial review. See United States v. Ballard, 322 U.S. 78, 64 S.Ct. 882, 88 L.Ed. 1148 (1944); United States v. Seeger, 380 U.S. 163, 85 S.Ct. 850, 13 L.Ed.2d 733 (1965). Id. at 371. In Van Schaick v. Church of Scientology of Cal., Inc., 535 F.Supp. 1125 (D.Mass.1982), the court stated: With respect to Count XII, plaintiff alleges only that the Church exhorted her to sever family and marital ties and to depend solely on the Church for emotional support. Neither of these alleged courses of conduct constitutes the kind of extreme and outrageous action which will support a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress ... [citations omitted]. They are similar to the demands for single-minded loyalty and purpose that have characterized numerous religious, political, military and social movements over the ages. Id. at 1130. In Christofferson v. Church of Scientology of Portland, 57 Or.App. 203, 644 P.2d 577 (1982), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1206 and 459 U.S. 1227, 103 S.Ct. 1196, 1234, 75 L.Ed.2d 439, 468 (1983), the Court of Appeals of Oregon held that the tort of outrage was not applicable to church activities which may be highly questionable to most of society. In Christofferson, the Court reversed a judgment for both compensatory and punitive damages in favor of the plaintiff. The first allegedly outrageous act there claimed was a scheme to gain control of plaintiff's mind and to force her into a life of service to the Church of Scientology. In the text of its decision, the Christofferson court mentioned several drills and activities utilized by the defendant church in its instruction of plaintiff. The court remarked that few of such activities conducted by the church and its representatives could properly be considered to evenly remotely be connected to the general public understanding of mainstream religious practice. Nevertheless, the Court held, as a matter of law, that the evidence presented by plaintiff failed to establish conduct that is outrageous in the extreme or "beyond the limits of social toleration." See Christofferson, 644 P.2d at 590. In so holding, the Court pointed out that there was no evidence that plaintiff was threatened or forced to remain involved in Scientology: "[s]he joined the group voluntarily, albeit, as she claims on the basis of misrepresentations made to her. However, she continued to participate and maintained her involvement for whatever reason without actionable threats or coercion by Defendants." Id. at 591. The plaintiff in Christofferson also alleged outrage as a result of what occurred after her "de-programming" — i.e., efforts by the defendant to threaten, humiliate, and intimidate the plaintiff in order to cause her mental distress. The Court held that the conduct was not outrageous. In Lewis v. Holy Spirit Ass'n for Unification of World Christianity, 589 F.Supp. 10 (D.Mass.1983), the plaintiff asserted that he was subjected to brainwashing and indoctrination techniques by the Unification Church, and that as a result, he suffered severe psychiatric disorders. The allegations were not sufficient, however, to withstand a motion to *1066 dismiss. In granting the motion, the court observed that plaintiff voluntarily joined the Unification Church and entered its training program, remaining for fifteen months. The Court said that in order to prove his claim, the plaintiff would be required to establish that the church intended to inflict emotional distress upon him, or knew or should have known that that distress would result to the plaintiff from the church's conduct, and that the conduct was of the extreme and outrageous type that no person could be expected to endure. Finding that plaintiff did not make the required showings, the court granted the motion to dismiss. A similar conclusion was reached in Meroni v. Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, 119 A.D.2d 200, 506 N.Y.S.2d 174 (1986), appeal dismissed, 69 N.Y.2d 742, 512 N.Y.S.2d 1028, 504 N.E.2d 698 (1987). There, the plaintiff's son voluntarily joined the training program for membership in the Unification Church. The son committed suicide several months later. Plaintiff alleged that the suicide was a result of the deceptive recruitment and indoctrination program by the church. The plaintiff brought an action against the church for the tort of outrage. In denying the claim, the Court noted that the plaintiff's son had the right to determine for himself whether to associate with the Unification Church and held that neither he nor his parents could recover damages, since he voluntarily chose to subject himself to the church's discipline, which included accepted practices designed to persuade him to adopt the church's religious beliefs. The Court found, as a matter of law, that the complaint failed to allege conduct so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to constitute a cause of action. The Court also discussed plaintiff's specific allegation that the Unification Church was engaged in "brainwashing." The Court said, with respect to that claim: the claim of brainwashing is based upon the activities heretofore described, which, as previously noted, are commonly used by religious and other groups, and are accepted by society as legitimate means of indoctrination. They are not classifiable as so extreme or outrageous, or offensive to society, as to incur liability therefor. Id., 506 N.Y.S.2d at 178. Comparing what plaintiff alleged and proved in this case with what has been seen in other alleged "brainwashing" cases, it is apparent that Armstrong's alleged "brainwashing" practices were far less extreme than in the other cases wherein such practices were not deemed to have amounted to the tort of outrage, but, rather, have been regarded by the courts as permissible religious practices. Several of those cases concluded that such indoctrination practices are insufficient as a matter of law to establish the tort of outrage. After careful consideration of the cases mentioned above, this Court does not believe that Armstrong's conduct toward plaintiff reaches the standard reasonably required for the tort of outrage as recognized in the state of Arkansas. For one to teach or espouse to another his belief that he, the teacher, is annointed by some divine being to communicate to such other what the divine being requires of the other, and that failure to heed the teaching could have dire consequences, does not, in the Court's view, amount to conduct which is so outrageous in character and so extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency and to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized society. However much an observer might believe such teachings to be utter nonsense and foolish drivel, the respective rights of the one to so teach and the other to so hear and either believe or not believe are protected by the Bill of Rights to our U.S. Constitution. It is not for the law and courts to determine what may or may not be taught or espoused in the name of religion so long as no citizen is forced to listen against his or her will. That is to say that while every citizen has the right to express his or her views on religion, none has the right to insist that others hear what they have to say. Here, there is no evidence that Armstrong or anyone acting under his direction or control ever physically forced plaintiff to listen to Armstrong's teachings or to do or not to *1067 do anything. Further, there is no evidence that plaintiff was subjected to any illegal persuasion such as "blackmail," threats, or other non-physical coercion at the hands of Armstrong and/or his group. Plaintiff complains he was subjected to "mind control" which, according to the proof, consisted of nothing more than Armstrong's personal viewpoints and criticisms, religious convictions, forceful rhetoric and largely self-serving "advice" — all of which were regularly expounded in oral sermons, written epistles and lengthy counselling sessions. There was proof that plaintiff could and did resist Armstrong's views on corporal punishment for wives and children and that he could and did frequently disagree with Armstrong's bald assertions as to what the bible said and what it meant — so much so that Armstrong eventually wanted plaintiff out of the group because he wouldn't conform. These facts suggest that the "mind control" was really just overbearing argumentation by Armstrong which the group found more appealing than that contra to it which was espoused by plaintiff. Accordingly, in the absence of any proof tending to show that plaintiff was personally forced by physical duress or other illegal persuasion to hear what Armstrong had to say about religion, personal conduct or the like, there is no basis for a finding that Armstrong's exercise of his constitutional rights of speech and religious practice amounted to outrageous conduct toward and about plaintiff. While the Court accepts, as it is required to do in this context, that plaintiff's experts believe (and the jury could believe) that Armstrong's bible study group was a "totalist cult" and that plaintiff showed evidence of having been influenced by such, the actual conduct toward plaintiff by Armstrong and others acting by his direction and under his control simply does not, in the Court's view, reach the level required for the tort of outrage even if plaintiff suffered it while being subjected to "mind control." While some might deem it despicable to influence one to quit one's good job in order to follow a religious teaching or belief, others might deem such influencing to be the sacred duty of a teacher in following the dictates of his beliefs relative to spreading the gospel as he sees it. In the Court's view, the art of persuasion itself involves some degree of "mind control" in the sense that the "persuader" seeks to "convert" his listener to his views and mind-set. While such activities may be annoying at times, as long as one has the unfettered right to walk away and not continue to be subjected to the persuader's efforts, it is difficult to see how mere annoyance can rise to the level of outrageous conduct. In the Court's view, it cannot and certainly did not in this case. 15. Finally, even if the Court could properly consider the actions of Armstrong and others toward and about Loretta and plaintiff's child, Hanna, in connection with plaintiff's claim on the tort of outrage, it is the Court's view that plaintiff's complaint in that regard amounts to nothing more than a claim of alienation of affection, a claim which is no longer recognized in Arkansas. Arkansas has not recognized the claim of alienation of affection by a parent with respect to a child. Orlando v. Alamo, 646 F.2d 1288 (8th Cir.1981). Further, although Arkansas did once recognize the claim of alienation of affection by one spouse with respect the other spouse on the basis of loss of consortium, Id. at 1289, it was a judicially created action which the Arkansas Legislature abolished by Act 46 of 1989, § 6 (effective November 14, 1989 and now codified as Ark.Code Ann. § 16-118-106). See Treiber v. Hess, 301 Ark. 97, 782 S.W.2d 43 (1990). The Treiber case was pending when the Arkansas Legislature changed the law and, although Act 46 provided that it was not to apply to litigation pending before its effective date, the Arkansas Supreme Court was asked to, in effect, judicially abolish the action of alienation of affection by dismissing the pending case in which plaintiff had obtained a $100,000.00 judgment. The Court declined to do so and observed that the action of alienation of affection had become an issue of public policy and that, although the court had power to judicially abolish that which had been judicially created, a matter of public policy ordinarily should be decided by *1068 the legislature. The Court elected to follow the legislative enactment. The latest outrage case by the Arkansas Supreme Court seems to be Thornton v. Squyres, 317 Ark. 374, 877 S.W.2d 921 (1994). In Thornton the Court observed that the tort of outrage action is not one that can merely be substituted for a legal malpractice action claim. Id., 317 Ark. at 378, 877 S.W.2d at 923. See also Ross v. Patterson, 307 Ark. 68, 817 S.W.2d 418 (1991) where the Court suggested that the tort of outrage could not be used as a substitute for a medical malpractice action. In affirming the lower court, the Thornton opinion declared the trial judge to be correct in making the following remarks which the Supreme Court characterized as "insightful": I think I even announced it to the jury panel today, [that] I thought what we were trying is a legal malpractice action. [Counsel] has chosen not to pursue a legal malpractice action, but, rather, a tort of outrage, a cause of action which has not really been very well developed in the Arkansas court system. This Court is just rather dubious that this is a tort of outrage. To me, this is just a matter of negligence on the part of an attorney. And ... an attorney malpractice action would be the appropriate remedy here. * * * * * * [I]f this is a tort of outrage, then virtually any act of legal malpractice touching and affecting peoples' lives is also a tort of outrage ... I had an attorney here three months ago who failed to file an answer in time, which resulted in a judgment being entered against his client. There was emotional trauma that would attach under those circumstances. The language that's used in connection with the tort of outrage asks for something more. It's punitive in nature. That's the whole reason the tort of outrage arises, is that any time a person does this we've got to punish them for violating, in almost a penal way, the customs of society. Id., 317 Ark. at 377-378, 877 S.W.2d at 923. This Court believes that plaintiff's case to the jury was essentially one for alienation of the affections of both his wife and child and that, to the extent it was such, it is not properly actionable under current Arkansas law. Accordingly, even if this Court should be of the opinion that Arkansas courts would recognize conduct toward third persons as constituting the tort of outrage (and, of course, it is not), plaintiff's case in that regard would still have to fail since it would simply be the recasting of a no longer recognized alienation of affection claim as a tort of outrage. Since Arkansas has abolished the claim of alienation of affection, this Court does not believe her courts would be inclined to judicially reinstate the same in the guise of the tort of outrage. 16. It follows from what has been said that defendants' motion for judgment as a matter of law is good and must be granted. IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that defendants' motion for judgment as a matter of law be, and the same hereby is, granted. Accordingly, the jury's verdict and the judgment entered by the Court pursuant thereto are both hereby set aside and judgment is entered in favor of both defendants as to plaintiff's complaint against them, and said complaint is hereby dismissed, with prejudice.

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In such cases, the irrevocable bidder will be compensated based on the final hammer price in the event that he or she is not the successful bidder. ‡ NO INTERNET BIDDING AND ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED: This particular lot is available only to specially credentialed bidders who have registered their interest with RM Sotheby's ("RMS") in advance of the auction. Please also note that Internet bidding is not available for this lot. Credentialed bidders that are unable to attend the sale may register to bid by telephone or place a commission bid online at rmsothebys.com. Please contact Client Services at [email protected] for further information. Please note that an import duty of 2.5% of the purchase price is payable on this lot if the buyer is a resident of the United States. No one could have predicted back in 1965 the fabulously successful multi-decade synergy that would develop when two men from the movie business visited Aston Martin’s Newport-Pagnell plant in late 1963. Ken Adam and John Stears, respectively a production designer and a special effects man, were on a mission from producers Albert “Cubby” Broccoli and Harry Saltzman. They were to source a pair of the latest Aston Martins for use in Eon Productions’ third adaptation of an Ian Fleming novel, again about the virile MI6 superspy with a license to kill, James Bond. It was called Goldfinger. In typical moviemaking fashion, the producers wanted two near-identical cars to fulfill various roles during filming. One would be required for stunt driving and chase sequences and therefore needed to be lightweight and fast. The other, to be used for interior shots and close-ups, was to undergo several functional modifications created by Stears, the kind that would furnish James Bond with an unprecedented amount of gadgetry. Despite the filmmakers’ expectation that Aston Martin would happily give them two cars for promotional benefits, marque president David Brown insisted that the production company buy the cars outright. Eventually a compromise was reached in which two cars were loaned to Eon Productions for the duration of filming, after which they would be returned to Aston Martin. Though John Stears’ revolutionary Oscar-winning work on the original Star Wars movie of 1977 was yet more than a decade away, his ingenuity was already evident in the modifications that he made for the special-effects Aston Martin. The first James Bond car was also the DB5 prototype and bore a special chassis number prefix denoting it as a development project, DP/216/1. As Desmond Llewelyn’s legendary weapons-master Q would go on to explain to Sean Connery’s 007, the Snow Shadow Gray–painted DB5 was equipped with front and rear hydraulic over-rider rams on the bumpers, a Browning .30-caliber machine gun in each fender, wheel-hub-mounted tire slashers, a retractable rear bulletproof screen, an in-dash radar-tracking scope, oil-slick, caltrop, and smoke-screen dispensers, revolving license plates, and a passenger-seat ejection system. Also equipped, although never used during the film, was a telephone in the driver’s door to communicate with MI6 headquarters, as well as a hidden compartment under the driver’s seat containing several weapons. “Ejector seat?” Bond exclaimed with a smile. “You’re joking!” “I never joke about my work, 007,” retorted Q, deadly serious. The smash success of Goldfinger was also a success for Aston Martin, which received free promotion around the world and saw DB5 sales surge to fuel an unprecedented level of production. The producers at Eon took notice of the enormous appeal and potential marketing opportunities. In preparation for Thunderball’s release, the company ordered two more DB5 saloons, receiving chassis nos. DB5/2008/R (the featured example) and DB5/2017/R. The two cars were shipped to the United States for media duties for Thunderball. One was dispatched to the East Coast, and the other to the West. The latter DB5 even appeared at Laguna Seca as a pace car driven by Jackie Stewart. Both cars were fitted with all of Adam’s Goldfinger modifications, but this time the gadgets were installed by Aston Martin and intended to be more durable than those on DP/216, whose gadgetry was comparatively very primitive, as they were never designed to function for more than one take, thanks to careful editing! This car’s gadgets, on the other hand, were designed and built to function repeatedly on command, as they do today. After completion of Thunderball, the two cars were largely mothballed as yet two more Bond films followed with different automobiles in the hero roles. Accordingly, the production company’s parent financier, the Swiss-based Danjac S.A., quietly offered the two cars for sale in 1969, and they were soon bought as a pair by the well-known British collector Anthony (now Lord) Bamford. He quickly sold 2017/R but retained possession of 2008/R until 1970, and the British registration for the car in his name remains on file. The Aston Martin build record lists Eon Productions as the original purchaser along with the important designation of this being a “Bond Car.” Under Bamford’s ownership the saloon returned to the factory for service, and it received a host of freshening and mechanical measures, all of which are documented on the build record. Bamford then sold DB5/2008/R to B.H. Atchley, the owner of the Smokey Mountain Car Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The unique Aston Martin was soon featured as the museum’s centerpiece in a rather unusual display, as the car was encased in a large wire-mesh cage that was bolted to the floor, ensuring it would never be idly touched or pawed by starstruck visitors. The DB5 remained in this pristine state of display for 35 years, receiving regular start-ups for exercise during this time. In 2006, RM Auctions was privileged to offer this Bond DB5 for public sale. While some of the Bond contraptions were restored into functioning order prior to the 2006 offering, a majority of the car remained otherwise unrestored. Since that time a no-expense-spared restoration by the esteemed Roos Engineering in Switzerland was completed, as documented by numerous invoices and photographs. Roos Engineering is also one of 13 facilities whom Aston Martin have appointed as official Heritage Specialists, who have the highest order of depth, expertise, and experience with the marque. Not only were the chassis and body completely refinished to proper standards, but all 13 of the Ken Adam–designed modifications were properly refurbished to function as originally built. Following completion of the four-year restoration, the Aston Martin was the subject of a feature article on the Bond DB5 cars that was printed in the October 2012 issue of Motor. Being the third of just four Goldfinger-specification DB5 examples built, this Aston Martin is automatically endowed with a high degree of rarity. It should be noted that the first John Stears–modified car has been lost since 1997, narrowing the number of surviving examples to just three cars. Of these survivors, one car (chassis no. 1486/R) was originally unmodified, as it was used for driving sequences and only had gadgets added later. Most important, this car was built with all gadgetry from new, elevating its status and importance. In addition to this distinction, DB5/2008/R has benefited from an extremely minimal chain of ownership: just three private owners over 50 years, including a 35-year period of museum exhibition. Reached though his son, Stephane Connery, ahead of the sale, Sean Connery said, “These DB5s are amazing. I remember the Furka Pass tire shredding, as well as the promotional events with these cars—they have become increasingly iconic since Goldfinger and Thunderball. In fact, I bought a very fine DB5 myself relatively recently.” Built for Eon Productions, fitted with gadgetry from new, documented with the “Bond Car” designation on the Aston Martin build record, and accompanied by Anthony Bamford’s 1969 registration and restoration invoices and photos, this James Bond Aston Martin is a fabulously rare example of what author Dave Worrall termed “The Most Famous Car in the World,” as he titled his 1993 book on the subject. Noted historian Stephen Archer, who rode in one of the cars in 1965, commented: “The DB5 is a special Aston, but this one has an aura all of its own. Just to be in its presence is exciting. The standard of Roos’ restoration is extremely impressive, and the Swiss Furka Pass awaits…”

The primary objective of this project continues to be the in vivo study of the receptors involved in the actions of morphine and related compounds (including the endogenous opioid peptides and their synthetic analogs). The focus will be on determining the roles played by the receptors and the endogenous ligands in normal homeostasis and in perturbed homeostasis, including opioid tolerance and dependence. Concentration will be on two systems known to be influenced by opioids: temperature regulation and pupillary control, and on two types of opioid receptors: mu and kappa. Other measures such as analgesia, seizure threshold, and EEG changes, as well as other receptors (e.g., delta and sigma) will be studied where appropriate. Whole- animal calorimetry will be used to examine the relationship among body temperature, heat loss, and oxygen consumption on these drug responses. An understanding of the role of opioid receptors in thermoregulatory processes could prove to be of therapeutic value in the "near-drowning" syndrome, hypothermia, and cardiac surgery. Experiments to explore the relationships among pupillary size and fluctuations, intermittent electrographic bursting, site of activation, and respiration will be conducted after acute and chronic drug administration to determine if opioid receptors have a physiological function in pupillary control. Dose-response data on pupillary changes will be collected by means of infrared videopupillography and analyzed by computer. As a possible explanation for the marked qualitative differences observed in temperature, pupil, and seizure threshold responses to centrally vs. peripherally administered drugs, drug distribution following injection by different routes will be studied using autoradiographic, HPLC, and thin-layer chromatographic methods to explore the mechanisms involved. Since no neuroregulatory system operates in isolation in the living organism, investigations into the interactions of opioids with other neuropeptides will be carried out. In addition, in view of the prevalence of polydrug abuse in society, the interactions of opioids with other drugs of abuse such as cocaine and marijuana will be examined. The ultimate goal of these studies is to understand the function of opioid receptors and their ligands in the body and how tolerance, dependence, and other drugs of abuse alter those functions. Such knowledge can be expected to aid in designing ne therapeutic agents and in providing more rational approaches to treating the consequences of drug abuse.

Thursday, August 21, 2014 Senate Candidate Ball Announces Campaign Team Memphian Gale Jones Carson is one of Democratic nominee's picks. NOTE: i am taking a bit of vacation time this week, but political news keeps breaking. So, insofar as is possible to tell that story by quick posts of self-contained texts prepared by or pertaining to principals in ongoing news events, they will appear here, with authorship or point of origin clearly labeled, to speak for themselves. Jackson Baker Gordon Ball The following is a press release from the U.S. Senate campaign of Democratic nominee Gordon Ball:: Gordon Ball Announces Campaign Team U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Gordon Ball announced Wednesday the 2014 Election Campaign Team to lead the way in challenging career politician Sen. Lamar Alexander in the General Election. The campaign election team will be headed by democratic leaders from across the state of Tennessee. Former U.S. Congressional Representative for the 4th District Lincoln Davis. He will lead a team comprising chairs representing the three grand division including former U.S. Senate democrat candidate Terry Adams and 15th District Representative Joe E. Armstrong for the Eastern Division. Nashville Businessman Bill Freeman and Nashville Metro Council Member-At-Large Jerry Maynard will be co-chairs in Middle Tennessee working with the Gordon Ball for Senate campaign. West Tennessee will be headed by co-chairs Minority House Leader Rep. Craig Fitzhugh and TN Democratic Party Secretary and member of the DNC, Gale Jones Carson. "Tennesseans are facing issues which need to be addressed because our state's families, students and seniors are struggling.." Ball said. "Our campaign team is ready to bring tennessee common sense, compassion and leadership to solve the problems that our state is facing. We believe that we help our neighbors, we don't abandon them because it is inconvenient or will interfere with political special interest groups dictating an agenda from DC that doesn't help average people . We must push the discussion for a higher minimum wage, keeping our hospitals open by accepting Medicaid Expansion and taking care of our veterans. "I am humbled to have these amazing state-wide leaders willing to stand with me as we work toward the next generation. None of us are taking anything for granted. We must do what is right. It isn't going to be easy. We know this but we aren't afraid. We won't back down," Ball added. "There is so much we can do together and we all are ready to get to work." Mays to rule on injunction if no agreement is reached; Memphis Mayor Wharton allegedly leading effort to broker a deal. More » Readers also liked… In which Memphis’ Democratic congressman Steve Cohen, addressing an apparent GOP effort to muddy the waters on the Russian inquiry, not only takes no crap but gives it back where it came from. This is worth watching from beginning to end -- even for those who might disagree on the politics of the matter. The giant locomotive whistles, the inspiring speeches, the dazzling display of rainbow lighting on the Harahan Bridge at night, and the first treks across the bridge by foot and by bike are all embedded in Memphis history now, as the "Main St. to Main St. Multi-Modal Connector" project came to pass, linking Memphis to West Memphis, and both to the future. (WITH SLIDESHOW AND VIDEO OF BRIDGE LIGHTS)

With the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D this weekend, Twentieth Century Fox recently hosted a press junket at Skywalker Ranch and Lucasfilm. In an effort to promote the experience for the next generation, my seven year-old daughter, Cyan, interviewed four people who helped bring George Lucas’ vision to life. Her second interview was with ObiShawn, a lightsaber stunt coordinater with Lucasfilm. After a lightsaber battle, they talked about what martial arts he studied, which fight sequence was the most difficult, and what other training a Jedi would need. Hit the jump to watch. And if you missed her first interview with John Goodson, a digital artist with Lucasfilm who worked as a concept model artist on The Phantom Menace, click here. Lightsaber training with Stunt Coordinator ObiShawn After some fighting…. Which fight sequence were the most difficult Did he have to study martial arts to be a stunt coordinator and if so which ones

Exploration of the effectiveness of social distancing on respiratory pathogen transmission implicates environmental contributions. In both military and civilian settings, transmission of respiratory pathogens may be due to person-to-person and environmental contributions. This possibility was explored in a military training setting, where rates of febrile respiratory illness (FRI) often reach epidemic levels. Population size and FRI rates were monitored over 10 months in the units of 50-90 individuals. Some units were open to the influx of potentially infectious convalescents (hereafter referred to as "open units," and some were closed to such an influx (hereafter referred to as "closed units"). Virologic testing and polymerase chain reaction analysis were used to detect adenovirus on surface structures. The odds ratio (OR) associated with FRI in closed units, compared with open units, was 1.13 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.99-1.28). The OR in units with a population greater than the median size, compared with units with a population lower than the median size was 1.38 (95% CI, 1.23-1.55). Between 5% and 9% of surface samples obtained from selected units harbored viable adenovirus. FRI rates were not reduced in units that were closed to potentially contagious individuals. These findings imply that the primary source of the pathogen is likely environmental rather than human, and they underscore what is known about other virus types. Diligence in identifying the relative roles of different transmission routes is suggested for civilian settings similar to those described in the current study.

Students going to China for new year may not be readmitted without quarantine period British universities have warned students considering travelling home to China to celebrate Chinese new year that they risk being quarantined on their return. The University of Chester said it had warned its Chinese students in the UK that if they returned to their homeland they may not be readmitted without a suitable quarantine period. Universities across the UK are closely monitoring the coronavirus outbreak and have followed Foreign Office advice warning people not to travel to the affected region. The vice-chancellors’ group Universities UK said: “Ensuring the safety and welfare of their students is a top priority for universities. UK universities have been monitoring the coronavirus situation as it unfolds and universities with students in affected areas are working to identify appropriate actions. “Universities will continue to follow the latest FCO advice and to monitor the situation, which is evolving rapidly.” Chester has a China Centre based on its campus whose aim is to increase growth of trade and educational links between the UK and China. Quick guide What are coronavirus symptoms and should I go to a doctor? Show Hide What is Covid-19? Covid-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it a pandemic. What are the symptoms this coronavirus causes? According to the WHO, the most common symptoms of Covid-19 are fever, tiredness and a dry cough. Some patients may also have a runny nose, sore throat, nasal congestion and aches and pains or diarrhoea. Some people report losing their sense of taste and/or smell. About 80% of people who get Covid-19 experience a mild case – about as serious as a regular cold – and recover without needing any special treatment. About one in six people, the WHO says, become seriously ill. The elderly and people with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, or chronic respiratory conditions, are at a greater risk of serious illness from Covid-19. In the UK, the National health Service (NHS) has identified the specific symptoms to look for as experiencing either: a high temperature - you feel hot to touch on your chest or back a new continuous cough - this means you’ve started coughing repeatedly As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work, and there is currently no vaccine. Recovery depends on the strength of the immune system. Should I go to the doctor if I have a cough? Medical advice varies around the world - with many countries imposing travel bans and lockdowns to try and prevent the spread of the virus. In many place people are being told to stay at home rather than visit a doctor of hospital in person. Check with your local authorities. In the UK, NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days. If you live with other people, they should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home. It is planning a cultural and economic exchange forum next week for people and organisations to learn more about potential business growth in China. The university’s website says the event will include Chinese delegations and partners of the institution. Wuhan University, in the Chinese city where the outbreak began, has international partnerships with Aberdeen, Glasgow, Birmingham and Leeds universities and Edinburgh university has international partnerships with 42 universities across China. Meanwhile, two police stations were temporarily closed amid fears that a Chinese detainee was displaying flu-like symptoms. Avon and Somerset police said the decision to close Patchway police station, near Bristol, and Trinity Road police station in Bristol city centre on Wednesday night was taken as a precaution. The force said a man being detained had fallen ill and there were fears he may have had contact with people who had travelled from Wuhan. But following investigations it emerged the man did not have the virus. Hospitals in Wuhan have been thrown into chaos and the movement of about 20 million people has been restricted by an unprecedented and indefinite lockdown imposed to halt the spread of the deadly new coronavirus. At least 10 cities in central Hubei province have been shut down in an effort to stop the virus, which by Friday had killed 26 people across China and affected more than 800. Cases have been reported in the US, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong. The World Health Organization described the outbreak as an emergency for China, but stopped short of declaring it to be a public health emergency of international concern. There are no known cases in the UK, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, said, which was “well prepared” to deal with an outbreak. Fourteen people in the UK have now been tested for the virus, according to figures released by Public Health England (PHE). Five tested negative for the virus, while nine are still awaiting results. Earlier, it emerged six people were being tested in hospitals in Scotland and Northern Ireland after showing symptoms. All the patients had been in Wuhan, which can cause lung disease such as pneumonia, first emerged, in the last 14 days. The Scottish patients all travelled from Wuhan, where the outbreak is thought to have originated, within the past two weeks and were showing symptoms of respiratory trouble – a red flag for the virus. While there remain no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Scotland, the Scottish government has set up a daily incident management team with Health Protection Scotland, to continue monitoring the situation. On Thursday night, it was confirmed that two people diagnosed with flu were being tested for the virus in Scotland. Three others were also being tested on a precautionary basis. At least three of the patients are believed to be Chinese nationals. While the Scottish government would not confirm where the patients were being treated, on Friday morning the Courier newspaper reported that two were from the Tayside region, two from Glasgow and one from Lothian. Dundee University, in Tayside, has a joint education partnership with Wuhan University: it said five members of staff had returned from a visit to Wuhan last week but that no health concerns had been raised. Aberdeen University said five of its staff members had also visited Wuhan during the outbreak, and one of those – who has a non-teaching role – was working from home as a precautionary measure. On Wednesday, PHE began carrying out enhanced monitoring of direct flights from China. On Thursday, Hancock told the Commons the UK was one of a few countries to have developed a test for the latest coronavirus, so any suspected case could be diagnosed quickly. However, the symptoms do not develop for five to seven days, and sometimes even up to 14, meaning the virus can circulate undetected. The UK has advised against all but essential travel to Wuhan. While the UK has put in place measures to check passengers at Heathrow airport arriving from Wuhan, the Chinese government has stopped flights out of the city. “The chief medical officer has revised the risk to the UK population from very low to low and concluded that while there is an increased likelihood that cases may arise in this country, we are well-prepared and well-equipped to deal with them,” Hancock told MPs.

An assessment of drug testing within the construction industry. Drug testing in the workplace has gone from virtual nonexistence to widespread employer acceptance during the past two decades. This growth is particularly significant for the construction industry. High rates of alcohol and other drug use, coupled with the high-risk, safety-sensitive nature of the industry, have prompted the development of a variety of drug surveillance and prevention strategies. Despite this growing vigilance, no scholarly works have examined the impact of drug-related policies in the construction industry. To address this limitation, we investigate the efficacy of workplace drug-testing programs in reducing injury incident rates and workers' compensation experience-rating modification factors (MODs) within the construction industry. Analyses indicate that companies with drug-testing programs experienced a 51 percent reduction in incident rates within two years of implementation. Moreover, companies that drug test their employees experienced a significant reduction in their MODs. Policy implications are discussed in light of the current findings.

Titan For some reason, we had been seeing a huge amount of Titans in the early stages of the Destiny beta, but their numbers seem to have taken a bit of a dip as it's gone on. Nevertheless, the burliest Guardians boast the toughest armour in the game, making them the hardest to kill in a straight up gunfight. When it comes to Traveller powers, Titans prefer to render enemies into dust with their fists rather than fancy space magic. You'll often see them running up to foes and smashing them with a Storm Fist, and when the going gets tough, their electrified grenades can either temporarily blind their opponents or send off shockwaves at set intervals after being thrown. Meanwhile, their super ability, Fist of Havoc, boasts an area of effect after they've smashed into the ground with both hands in a display of pure power. Hunter Hunters are the wiliest Guardians of the bunch, and can usually be seen sprinting around the battlefield either stabbing things or blowing them away with a flaming gun. At any range, the Hunter seems to be a preferred class for those looking for something a little devious – especially as they can fling a rather large throwing knife at enemies. Their armour, meanwhile, sports a roguish look complete with hoods and capes, and seeing them blast across the dusty ruins of Old Russia may just conjure up some nostalgia of another popular sci-fi property. Grenade-wise, Hunters can block corridors with homing shards that tear anyone apart if they get too close, while their super sees them infusing a hand cannon with the Traveller's light, making it a weapon of mass destruction. Warlock Commonly referred to as the space mage, the Warlock completes the trio of traditional RPG classes in Destiny. Aside from their helmets, Warlock attire has more in common with clothes or robes than actual armour, but this is so that they can concentrate on gliding around the field of battle, picking off enemies before unleashing some powerful space magic. For their melee attacks, these Guardians lash out with a force-like push from the palm of their hand that sends enemies flying backwards. Meanwhile, their grenades burst creating an area of effect that constantly damages those unfortunate enough to be trapped within it. And finally, their super ability is perhaps the most cinematic of the bunch, as the Warlock jumps into the air and lets loose with a Nova Bomb that detonates below them. Which type of Guardian are you? Has your choice of character influenced your decision? Vote for your winner in our poll, and tell us which side you're fighting for and why in the comments section below. Ive been getting on really well with Hunter, maxed out at level 8 now and upgraded my weapons, their awesome now, i used Titan through the Alpha and Hunter through this beta, ill have a go with Warlock soon enough but at the moment im getting on great with Hunter! Wow, this one's gone all over the place. At first, the Titan was winning by quite a few votes, then the Hunter caught up, then the Warlock gained the lead, then the Titan totally fell behind, and now the Hunter is winning. This could go anywhere.

CHA is officially over, but guess what?! Today, I’m finally posting pictures from opening day of Summer CHA 2010! I know I’m behind on posting, but there’s a reason for that, haha. 😉 Tuesday, July 27th: The floor was busy, busy, busy! Everyone’s exhibit looked amazingly beautiful; they were all loaded with inspiration. I worked mostly at the Imaginisce booth doing make and takes that feature the itop and the latest tool, the irock. The irock was a huge hit. Everyone wanted to give it a whirl! Later on, I stopped by to briefly help at the Punky Sprouts and Zutter booths. Below are a handful of photos from the show floor on opening day. Some of these faces you might recognize. 😉 Kiki, owner of Kiki Art, has become one of my good friends. I HEART this girl! 🙂 I wasn’t joking when I said that I was swamped, hehe. 🙂 …and these are just a handful of the photos from the first day. I also met up with Deana and Jing-Jing, but for some reason we didn’t take photos when we first met up. We must’ve been to busy drooling over all of the new products being released. Overall, it was definitely a good day! …and because I’m feeling generous, I’m doing another giveaway for an exclusive freebie from CHA. How about a free Making Memories apron?! Leave a comment to this post telling me how you know/found out about my blog, and your name will be entered into the drawing. You have until Sunday, August 1st by 11:59 pm to play! Stay tuned for more pictures from Day 2 of CHA. 😉 PS: I fly home today. California, here I come. I totally miss my babies, and I can’t wait to cuddle them to pieces. 😉 Oh, and don’t forget — Kiki Art DT call! I want to see all of you talented ladies applying to this one! I first found out about your blog a couple of years ago I think it was when you were looking for designers to promote some products that you were making…..and I’ve been following you every since! It would be great if we ever got the chance to meet one of these days….maybe at a future CHA!! 🙂 I met my Sarah-bera through my very first DT gig.. along with JILLY & BEKKA!! On ScrapStars!!!! and I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee the photos!!!! You look awesome! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):) Love to see all those pics of the boots and all the lovely ladies!!! And how I found your blog? Like most of the above ladies, I don’t really know anymore. I hop here sometimes through TAAFOMFT or via friends or when I see you somewhere and I have been doing this for over a year so I don”t know when or where it started… you sayyyyyyy you’re busy… but by the looks of it… I think you’re just out there taking photos… laughing…. and having way too much fun!!! I don’t know… you haven’t shown me busy… just fun!!! lol!!! have a great weekend!! {{hugs}} Michelle

Alcohol screening and brief counseling in a primary care hypertensive population: a quality improvement intervention. To determine the effect of an intervention to improve alcohol screening and brief counseling for hypertensive patients in primary care. Two-year randomized, controlled trial. Twenty-one primary care practices across the United States with a common electronic medical record. To promote alcohol screening and brief counseling. Intervention practices received site visits from study personnel and were invited to annual network meetings to review the progress of the project and share improvement strategies. Main outcome measures included rates of documented alcohol screening in hypertensive patients and brief counseling administered in those diagnosed with high-risk drinking, alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence. Secondary outcomes included change in blood pressure among patients with these diagnoses. Hypertensive patients in intervention practices were significantly more likely to have been screened after 2 years than hypertensive patients in control practices [64.5% versus 23.5%; adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 8.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.7-38.2; P < 0.0087]. Patients in intervention practices diagnosed with high-risk drinking, alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence were more likely than those in control practices to have had alcohol counseling documented (50.5% versus 29.6%; adjusted OR = 5.5, 95% CI 1.3-23.3). Systolic (adjusted mean decline = 4.2 mmHg, P = 0.036) and diastolic (adjusted mean decline = 3.3 mmHg, P = 0.006) blood pressure decreased significantly among hypertensive patients receiving alcohol counseling. Primary care practices receiving an alcohol-focused intervention over 2 years improved rates of alcohol screening for their hypertensive population. Implementation of alcohol counseling for high-risk drinking, alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence also improved and led to changes in patient blood pressures.

Circuit breakers having push-pull actuators are typically used in aircraft electrical systems. Due to the limited space and weight available on aircraft, the circuit breakers used in aircraft electrical systems should provide both a manual switching device for turning equipment on and off in order to obviate the need for separate switches for each piece of equipment as well as overcurrent protection. Accordingly, circuit breakers having a short stroke push-pull actuator that terminates in an annular flange are preferred in aircraft applications since the operator can easily close the circuit breaker into an “equipment on” position by a push-button action or open the breaker into an “equipment off” position by pulling upwardly on the annular flange on the end of the actuator. Such push-pull actuated circuit breakers can also be made compactly, which allows them to be densely arranged in the limited space provided by aircraft electrical control panels, which often must accommodate hundreds of circuit breakers. During certain aircraft maintenance procedures, it is essential for the safety of the maintenance workers that the push-pull actuators of some of the circuit breakers remain in a pulled-out, “equipment off” position. Consequently, the prior art circuit breaker locking device 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B was developed. This locking device 1 is designed to lock a circuit breaker 3 having a push-pull actuator 5 that is slidably mounted in a circuit board 6. The push-pull actuator 5 includes a shaft section 7 that terminates in annular flange 8. The actuator 5 is reciprocally movable with respect to the circuit board 6 and may be may be pulled up into the “circuit open/equipment off” position illustrated in FIG. 1A, or pushed down into the “circuit closed/equipment on” position illustrated in phantom in FIG. 1A. The prior art locking device 1 is formed from a pair of mirror-symmetrical body sections 10a, 10b, each of which has a semi-cylindrical outer surface 12 and a flat inner surface 14. A semi-annular groove 16 circumscribes the semi-cylindrical outer surfaces 12 of both of the body sections 10a, 10b near the proximal ends of these components. These semi-annular grooves 16 receive a joining member 18 in the form of an elastic O-ring that pulls the two body sections 10a, 10b together in the position illustrated in FIG. 1B. As is best seen in FIG. 1A, both body sections 10a, 10b include proximal and distal semi-cylindrical recesses 20, 22 that are complementary in shape to the shaft section 7 and annular flange 8 of the push-pull actuator 5, respectively. The semi-cylindrical recesses 20, 22 connect at interface 23 shown in FIG. 1A. Each of the body sections 10a, 10b includes, at its distal end, a lever member 24 formed as shown from a 30° cut-out section. The lever members 24 of the opposing body sections 10a, 10b converge at pivot line 26 as shown. Finally, body section 10a includes, at the upper part of its flat inner surface 14, a protrusion 27a and a cavity 27b which interfit with a corresponding, complementary-shaped cavity 27b and protrusion 27a of the other body section 10b. The interfitting protrusions 27a and cavities 27b prevent the two body sections from axially sliding out of alignment when they are joined by the elastic joining member 18 in the position illustrated in FIG. 1B. In operation, the user grasps and pulls together the lever members 24 of the opposing body sections 10a, 10b with sufficient force to overcome the elastic force applied by the resilient joining member 18. Consequently, the opposing body sections pivot apart along line 26. The resulting 60° spread of the body sections 10a, 10b allows the device 1 to receive the push-pull actuator 5 of the circuit breaker 3. When the user releases the lever members 24, the resilient joining member 18 pulls the body section 10a, 10b back together into the position illustrated in FIG. 1B such that the shaft section 7 and the annular flange 8 of the actuator 5 are respectively captured by the proximal and distal semi-cylindrical recesses 20, 22. In the past, both the diameter D1 of the shaft sections 7 and the diameter D2 and axial length L1 of the annular flanges 8 were of standard and uniform size. Accordingly, the proximal and distal recesses 20, 22 were sized to be complementary in shape to the standard-sized shaft sections 7 and annular flanges 8 and to have corresponding diameters and D1′, D2′ and a length L1′ that were only slightly larger than diameters and D1, D2 and length L1. This prior art locking device 1 achieves a locking action by means of mechanical interference between the bottom surface of the annular flange 8 and the interface 23 between the proximal and distal semi-cylindrical recesses 20, 22. Such mechanical interference effectively immobilizes the actuator 5 from any axial movement and effectively locks the actuator 5 in the “circuit open/equipment off” position illustrated in FIG. 1A. While the prior art locking device 1 works well to lock any one of a set of circuit breakers 1 having push-pull actuators 5 in which the shaft sections 7 and annular flanges 8 are all of a same size, problems arise when the radii of the shaft sections 7 and annular flanges vary. These problems have been exacerbated recently with the availability of button-like plastic collars that may be snap-fitted over the original flanges. These button-like plastic collars are available in a variety of colors, and the applicant has observed that some aircraft maintenance crews are attaching them over the original annular flanges of the circuit breakers in order to indicate, by color coding, the particular electrical system or component that the circuit breaker controls. Such plastic collars also advantageously facilitate the grasping and pulling out of the actuator into the “circuit open/equipment off” position. However, because such collars also have the effect of increasing both the radius and the thickness of the annular flange along its axis, the prior art locking device 1 may not operate to reliably lock the actuator 5 in the pulled-out, “circuit open/equipment off” position illustrated in FIG. 1A. The problems created by such plastic collars have been made worse due to the fact that they come in a variety of sizes. In cases where the largest collars are applied over the flanges 8, it may not possible to spread the body sections 10a, 10b far enough apart with the lever members 24 to allow the user to receive the flange 8 of the actuator 5 at all. And in cases where the body sections 10a, 10b can be spread far enough apart to receive the collar-enlarged flange 8, the edges of the proximal recesses 20 of the body sections 10a, 10b will simply clamp on to opposing sides of the flange 8 with the body sections 10a, 10b in a partially spread position such that a pushing force on the device may depress the actuator into a current-conducting “equipment on” position, creating a potentially unsafe condition.

These are third party data. We did not have any special access privileges that others would not have. Anyone can submit a research proposal online (<https://nhiss.nhis.or.kr/bd/ab/bdaba021eng.do>). If the proposal is accepted by an evaluation committee of NHIC, researcher would receive the de-identified NHIC dataset after paying some fee. Introduction {#sec005} ============ Since their first introduction in the late 1980s, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) have been widely used in clinical practice because they are generally well tolerated and highly effective \[[@pone.0203918.ref001]\]. The number of PPIs prescribed is rapidly increasing primarily due to their expanded applications including the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, peptic ulcer disease, and functional dyspepsia, the eradication of *Helicobacter pylori* infection, and as a prophylaxis against the deleterious effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, healthcare providers often prescribe PPIs for prolonged periods, sometimes lifetime of the patient, even in the absence of appropriate indications \[[@pone.0203918.ref002]\]. Thus, similar to other pharmacologic agents, there is a growing concern regarding the potential adverse effects of long-term PPI exposure \[[@pone.0203918.ref003]\]. Tumorigenesis is one of the major concerns among long-term PPI users. Gastric acid suppression creates a strong stimulus for gastrin production in G cells, which leads to increased plasma gastrin levels. Hypergastrinemia \[[@pone.0203918.ref004], [@pone.0203918.ref005]\] and hyperplasia of enterochromaffin-like cells \[[@pone.0203918.ref004], [@pone.0203918.ref006], [@pone.0203918.ref007]\] are commonly observed among long-term PPI users. *In vitro* and *in vivo* studies have shown that gastrin stimulates the growth of human pancreatic cancer cells through the gastrin receptor \[[@pone.0203918.ref008]--[@pone.0203918.ref010]\]. Notably, gastrin receptor antagonists prevent the growth of pancreatic cancer cells \[[@pone.0203918.ref008]\], and a gastrin inhibitor or antibody prolong survival in patients with pancreatic cancer \[[@pone.0203918.ref011], [@pone.0203918.ref012]\]. Although extensive basic research has focused on the carcinogenicity of PPIs in the pancreas, the relationship between PPIs and pancreatic cancer has not yet been established in humans. To the best of our knowledge, few epidemiologic studies \[[@pone.0203918.ref013]--[@pone.0203918.ref016]\], two of them utilizing the same databases just with different inclusion periods \[[@pone.0203918.ref013], [@pone.0203918.ref014]\], have been conducted to elucidate the associations between long-term PPI exposure and the risk of pancreatic cancer. A recent nested case-control study with an extended time period reported that long-term PPI use might increase the risk of pancreatic cancer in the UK population \[[@pone.0203918.ref013]\]. However, the study did not examine the dose-response relationship due to a lack of PPI dosing information; thus, reverse causation remained a possibility. Therefore, in this prospectively designed national cohort study involving a prescription database, we aimed to investigate the associations between PPI use and incidence of pancreatic cancer in the Korean population. Materials and methods {#sec006} ===================== Data source and study population {#sec007} -------------------------------- South Korea has a compulsory National Health Insurance system and the National Health Insurance Corporation (NHIC), as the single insurer, is responsible for managing this system, which offers universal coverage to nearly the entire population \[[@pone.0203918.ref017]\]. NHIC also provides biennial health examinations to all dependents over 40 years of age, which is used by 65.3% of the eligible subjects \[[@pone.0203918.ref018]\]. We used the data from a twelve-year standardized cohort (2002--2013), which were provided by the NHIC for research purposes under the stipulation that confidentiality be maintained. The NHIC claims database was merged with the national health examination database. We extracted the following information on individuals: age, sex, average insurance premium per month, comorbidities according to the *International Classification of Diseases code--10th Revision* (ICD-10) \[[@pone.0203918.ref019]\], and prescription data including drug name, dosage, and duration. For cancer diagnosis, we also used the Korean diagnosis-related group (DRG) claims for chemotherapy and surgery. Drug prescriptions were validated by cross checking pharmacy visits. We obtained height, weight, blood pressure, fasting glucose levels, and self-reported habits (tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and physical activity) from the health examination data nearest to the index date (January 1, 2007). Health-related habits did not contain the detailed information, such as amounts or forms of tobacco consumption, amounts or high frequency of alcohol consumption, and the types of physical activity. Prior high quality epidemiologic research has used the NHIC databases \[[@pone.0203918.ref020]\]. We identified individuals who were 40 years of age or older who received a health examination at least once between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2006 (N = 514,886). To minimize the effect of PPI use prior to the study period, we excluded PPI users in 2002 (n = 9,060). We also excluded participants who had a history of cancer, as indicated by an ICD-10 "C" code or according to health examination survey data prior to the index date (January 1, 2007), and who had an any missing non-survey health check-up data (n = 52,171). To reduce protopathic bias resulting from cases of undetected pancreatic cancer that were prescribed PPIs based on symptoms, we excluded patients who were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer within 1 year after the index date (n = 24). We included a total of 453,631 participants in the analysis and observed the participants from the index date until the diagnosis of any cancer, death, or until December 31, 2013, whichever came first ([Fig 1](#pone.0203918.g001){ref-type="fig"}). The study protocol was approved by the Seoul National University Hospital Institutional Review Board (IRB number: E-1509-004-699), and the ethic committee waived the requirement for informed participant consent. {#pone.0203918.g001} Determination of incidence of pancreatic cancer {#sec008} ----------------------------------------------- The primary outcome was a new diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, as indicated by an ICD-10 code in the nationwide claims database during the observation period. We defined pancreatic cancer as cases in which patients visited the hospital at least once with a C25 ICD-10 code and met any of the following criteria: (i) made at least three outpatient visits related to the C25 ICD-10 code, (ii) had three or more days of admission related to the code, (iii) received any curative cancer treatments claimed via the Korean DRG code "G60-Digestive Malignancy," or (iv) died due to causes related to the code. The first date of diagnosis under the code was defined as the date of event for cases meeting those criteria. Patients that met the criteria but received a diagnosis other than cancer prior to the date of the event were not considered cases. Assessment of exposure and covariates {#sec009} ------------------------------------- Information regarding all exposures and covariates during the period of four years prior to the index date was extracted. The primary exposure of interest was cumulative PPI use. We collected data on PPI prescriptions such as prescription dates, the daily dose, the number of days supplied, and number of pills per prescription. To indicate the PPI exposure, we used the Defined Daily Dose (DDD) system provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistic Methodology \[[@pone.0203918.ref021]\]. The cumulative daily dose (in units of DDD) was computed, and subjects were categorized into three groups (no exposure, low exposure, and high exposure) based on a cut-off value of 60 DDDs. We expressed comorbid conditions as a Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score, which was calculated using the sum of the weighted scores of all comorbidities (e.g., cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, and liver diseases) excluding diabetes and chronic pancreatitis \[[@pone.0203918.ref019]\]. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) was defined based on the ICD-codes or by a fasting blood glucose level of 126 mg/dL or higher in their health examinations. The body mass index (BMI) was calculated as the weight divided by the value of the height squared (kg/m^2^). For analysis, participants were classified into the following categories: BMI (\<25.0, 25--29.9, or ≥30 kg/m^2^); frequency of physical activity (none, 1--2, or ≥3 times/week); smoking status (never, former, or current smoker); frequency of alcohol consumption (none, 1--2, or ≥3 times/week); CCI score (0, 1--2, or ≥3); and socioeconomic status (quartile 1--2 \[low\] or quartile 3--4 \[high\]). Statistical analysis {#sec010} -------------------- The primary analysis was a Cox proportional hazards analysis (Breslow method) to estimate hazards ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between PPI use and risk of pancreatic cancer. We first identified the relevant factors associated with pancreatic cancer risk in our cohort and conducted sensitivity analyses (e.g., shifting the index date forward and backwards, extending the exclusion period up to 2 years, and confining to exocrine pancreatic cancer). We also looked at PPI use and pancreatic cancer risk according to subgroups of known risk factors for pancreatic cancer. In the stratified multivariable analyses, we reexamined the association between PPI use and the risk of pancreatic cancer among different subgroups. All analyses were performed using STATA Version 11.0 for Windows (STATA Corp., TX). We set the significance level at α = .05. Results {#sec011} ======= [Table 1](#pone.0203918.t001){ref-type="table"} shows the characteristics of the study population based on the PPI exposure levels. The results indicated that PPI exposure was associated with all variables (all *P*-values\<0.001) such as age, gender, habits, comorbidities, and socioeconomic status. 10.1371/journal.pone.0203918.t001 ###### Characteristics of the study population by PPI exposure. {#pone.0203918.t001g} Exposure level to PPI (%) ------------------------------------------------ ------------ ------ --------------------------- ------ ------ Age, years 40--49 48.3 48.6 46.5 37.4 50--59 28.1 27.9 30.3 32.1 ≥60 23.6 23.5 23.2 30.6 Gender, male 53.5 53.4 53.6 58.6 Body mass index, kg/m^2^ \<25.0 65.1 65.1 65.3 62.3 25.0--29.9 32.0 32.0 32.2 34.8 ≥30.0 2.9 2.9 2.5 2.9 Smoking status Never 69.5 69.6 69.4 66.8 Former 8.6 8.5 9.4 10.1 Current 20.6 20.7 20.3 22.3 Alcohol consumption, drinks/week None 72.7 72.7 73.1 73.0 1--2 16.2 16.3 15.7 15.2 ≥3 10.5 10.5 10.7 11.1 Physical activity, times/week None 52.5 52.5 52.0 53.0 1--2 25.4 25.4 25.5 23.9 ≥3 21.3 21.2 21.9 22.2 Type 2 diabetes 10.7 10.7 10.8 13.6 Chronic pancreatitis 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.9 CCI[\*](#t001fn002){ref-type="table-fn"} score 0 29.2 32.2 5.7 3.1 1--2 54.5 53.1 67.1 61.1 ≥3 16.2 14.8 27.2 35.8 SES, low[^†^](#t001fn003){ref-type="table-fn"} 55.6 55.8 53.8 54.8 PPI, proton pump inhibitor; CCI, Charlson Comorbidity Index; SES, socioeconomic status. \*Including acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, cerebral vascular accident, dementia, pulmonary disease, connective tissue disorder, peptic ulcer, liver disease, paraplegia, renal disease, severe liver disease, and HIV infection based on ICD-10 codes of hospital visits during years 2002 through 2006. ^†^By quartiles of insurance premium (Q1--2). [Table 2](#pone.0203918.t002){ref-type="table"} lists the identified risk factors for pancreatic cancer in our cohort. A full adjusted Cox proportional model revealed that pancreatic cancer was more likely among individuals who were elderly (HR, 1.07 per 1 year; 95% CI, 1.06--1.07), male (HR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.30--1.54), current smokers (HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.14--1.38), consumed alcohol more frequently (HR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.20--1.49), or more experienced an increased number of comorbidities (*P*~trend~\<0.001) including T2D (HR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.38--1.77) and chronic pancreatitis (HR, 4.00; 95% CI, 2.96--5.42). Additionally, we found that individuals with increased exposure to PPIs experienced an increased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to individuals that were not exposed (HR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.03--1.70). 10.1371/journal.pone.0203918.t002 ###### Adjusted HRs and 95% CIs for pancreatic cancer associated with PPI and covariates. {#pone.0203918.t002g} Age-adjusted Multivariate adjusted ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- -------------- ----------------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Age (per 1 year) --- **1.07** **1.06** **1.07** Male **1.54** **1.44** **1.66** **1.41** **1.30** **1.54** PPI exposure None 1 1 \<60DDDs 1.08 0.96 1.22 1.00 0.89 1.13 ≥60DDDs **1.48** **1.15** **1.90** **1.32** **1.03** **1.70** Body mass index, kg/m^2^ \<25.0 1 1 25.0--29.9 0.98 0.91 1.06 0.97 0.90 1.05 ≥30.0 1.09 0.88 1.34 1.04 0.84 1.28 Smoking status Never 1 1 Former 1.00 0.87 1.15 0.98 0.85 1.12 Current **1.29** **1.17** **1.42** **1.25** **1.14** **1.38** Alcohol consumption, drinks/week None 1 1 1--2 0.98 0.88 1.10 0.96 0.86 1.08 ≥3 **1.39** **1.25** **1.55** **1.34** **1.20** **1.49** Physical activity, times/week None 0.99 0.90 1.08 0.97 0.89 1.06 1--2 0.94 0.84 1.05 0.95 0.85 1.06 ≥3 1 1 Type 2 diabetes[^†^](#t002fn003){ref-type="table-fn"} No 1 1 Yes **1.53** **1.40** **1.68** **1.56** **1.38** **1.77** Chronic pancreatitis[^†^](#t002fn003){ref-type="table-fn"} No 1 1 Yes **4.65** **3.44** **6.28** **4.00** **2.96** **5.42** CCI[^‡^](#t002fn004){ref-type="table-fn"} score 0 1 1 1--2 **1.19** **1.08** **1.30** **1.17** **1.06** **1.28** ≥3 **1.55** **1.39** **1.72** **1.46** **1.30** **1.63** SES Low[^§^](#t002fn005){ref-type="table-fn"} 1.05 0.98 1.13 1.03 0.96 1.11 High 1 1 HR, hazard ratio; CRC, colorectal cancer; PPI, proton pump inhibitor; CI, confidence interval; CCI, Charlson Comorbidity Index; DDD, Defined Daily Dose; SES, socioeconomic status. \*Using a Cox proportional hazards regression models with adjustment for all listed variables. ^†^Based on ICD-10 codes of hospital visits during years 2002 through 2006. Type 2 diabetes; two-time diagnosis or fasting blood glucose of 126 or higher. ^‡^Including acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, cerebral vascultar accident, dementia, pulmonary disease, connective tissue disorder, peptic ulcer, liver disease, paraplegia, renal disease, severe liver disease, and HIV infection based on ICD-10 codes of hospital visits during years 2002 through 2006. Diabetes mellitus and chronic pancreatitis were not considered for CCI to prevent co-linearity. ^§^By quartiles of insurance premium (Q1--2). There were 3,086 cases of pancreatic cancer in the entire cohort during the observation period of 2,920,000 person-years. In the sensitivity analysis, shifting the index date had an effect on the association between PPI exposure and the risk of pancreatic cancer. The statistical significance was dependent on the duration of follow-up, with a longer follow-up (or more cases) more likely to result in statistical significance ([Table 3](#pone.0203918.t003){ref-type="table"}). Extension of the exclusion period or confining to exocrine pancreatic cancer did not affect the results. PPI exposure seemed to affect the risk of endocrine pancreatic cancer, but it did not reach the statistical significance. [Table 3](#pone.0203918.t003){ref-type="table"} presents the results of the subgroup analyses by the significant pancreatic cancer risk factors identified in [Table 2](#pone.0203918.t002){ref-type="table"}. The significant effects of increased exposure to PPIs on the development of pancreatic cancer remained robust in low risk groups including females and individuals who practiced healthy lifestyle habits or had no history of T2D or chronic pancreatitis. 10.1371/journal.pone.0203918.t003 ###### Risk of PPI exposure for pancreatic cancer (case) development among various risk groups (reference: PPI non-user). {#pone.0203918.t003g} \<60 DDDs ≥60 DDDs ---------------------------------- ---------------------- ------------------- ----------- ---------- ------ ------ ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------- ----------- *Shifting the index*, *year* 2006 3,537 33.7 1.10 0.97 1.25 **1.44** **1.05** **1.98** 0.122 2007 (main) 3,086 29.2 1.00 0.89 1.13 **1.32** **1.03** **1.70** **0.050** 2008 2,625 24.7 1.02 0.91 1.14 1.01 0.90 1.13 0.904 *Extending the exclusion period* 1 year (main) 3,086 29.2 1.00 0.89 1.13 **1.32** **1.03** **1.70** **0.050** 2 years 2,155 29.2 1.01 0.87 1.16 **1.36** **1.00** **1.84** 0.084 *Types of pancreatic cancer* All (main) 3,086 29.2 1.00 0.89 1.13 **1.32** **1.03** **1.70** **0.050** Exocrine only 3,035 29.2 1.00 0.88 1.12 **1.30** **1.00** **1.68** 0.072 Endocrine only 51 29.2 1.19 0.50 2.83 2.79 0.67 11.70 0.318 *Subgroup effect* Age, years 40--49 761 14.6 0.94 0.74 1.21 1.55 0.89 2.69 0.105 ≥50 2,325 14.6 1.01 0.88 1.16 1.27 0.96 1.69 0.154 Sex Female 1,266 13.8 1.08 0.90 1.29 **1.68** **1.16** **2.44** **0.036** Male 1,820 15.4 0.95 0.81 1.11 1.11 0.79 1.57 0.419 Smoking status Never 2,039 20.4 1.00 0.86 1.15 **1.47** **1.09** **1.98** **0.023** Former or Current 1,000 8.5 1.01 0.82 1.24 1.05 0.65 1.70 0.884 Alcohol, drinks/week \<1 2,167 21.2 0.99 0.86 1.14 **1.50** **1.13** **1.98** **0.009** ≥1 897 7.8 1.02 0.82 1.27 0.89 0.50 1.58 0.664 Type 2 diabetes No 2,520 26.2 0.97 0.86 1.11 **1.38** **1.06** **1.80** **0.019** Yes 566 3.0 1.21 0.86 1.70 0.98 0.43 2.20 0.640 Chronic pancreatitis No 3,043 29.1 1.00 0.89 1.13 **1.30** **1.00** **1.69** 0.074 Yes 43 0.07 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- CCI score 0--1 1,551 18.1 0.97 0.78 1.20 1.23 0.71 2.13 0.430 ≥2 1,535 11.1 1.01 0.87 1.16 **1.35** **1.01** **1.79** 0.076 PPI, proton pump inhibitor; DDD, Defined Daily Dose; HR, hazard ratio; CI, confidence interval; BMI, body mass index; CCI, Charlson Comorbidity Index. \*Using Cox proportional hazards regression models with adjustment for all potential confounders listed in [Table 2](#pone.0203918.t002){ref-type="table"}. ^†^Using a χ2 test for heterogeneity between log HR and CIs of \<60 DDD and ≥60 DDD groups. Discussion {#sec012} ========== Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal disease, mainly due to late diagnosis and/or early metastasis \[[@pone.0203918.ref022]\]. Because no standard program for screening high-risk patients currently exists, recognizing potential risk factors as well as conventional risks is important from an epidemiologic perspective. In this large population-based study, we found a positive association between PPI exposure and the risk of pancreatic cancer, which was robust in low risk subpopulations. The mechanism by which PPI increases gastrointestinal malignancies is through the hormone gastrin, which is known to stimulate epithelial cell growth and to prevent apoptosis \[[@pone.0203918.ref023]\]. The normal feedback process that occurs between gastric acid and serum gastrin could lead to a chronic state of hypergastrinemia (i.e., PPI-induced hypergastrinemia). However, although animal studies have consistently demonstrated the carcinogenicity of PPIs \[[@pone.0203918.ref024]\], the association is less evident in humans \[[@pone.0203918.ref025], [@pone.0203918.ref026]\]. Another potential mechanism could be the alteration of the gut microbiome. Gastric acid is one of the barriers that prevent bacterial colonization in the upper gastrointestinal tract, which can influence the environment of the normal intestinal flora. PPI-induced hypochlorhydria could contribute to the proximal shifting of more distally colonized bacteria in the gut \[[@pone.0203918.ref027]\]. A prospective hospital-based study reported that the odds ratio of PPI users having a small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) compared with non-users was 2.46, independent of bowel motility \[[@pone.0203918.ref028]\]. To date, there is no direct evidence regarding the risk of pancreatic cancer in SIBO, but the fact that SIBO is common in patients with chronic pancreatitis suggests a potential biological link for some pancreatic cancers \[[@pone.0203918.ref029]\]. Despite theoretical mechanisms, very few epidemiologic studies have specifically examined the risk of pancreatic cancer among PPI users. Recently, large scale studies \[[@pone.0203918.ref013], [@pone.0203918.ref015], [@pone.0203918.ref016]\] demonstrated a positive association between long-term PPI use and the risk of pancreatic cancer, but the interpretation of their results was limited. Compared to those nested case-control studies, our cohort had a number of strengths. The DDD system from the verified prescription database could reliably assess PPI exposure, which enabled us to elucidate the dose-dependent response. Our sensitivity analysis, which expanded the follow-up duration, supported the strength of the association and indicated that further research involving a sufficient follow-up duration (or more cases) was warranted. In addition, to avoid an "immortal time bias", we reconstructed a prospective cohort design, following up on the same calendar date for PPI users and non-users, and PPI use was treated as a time-dependent variable in Cox models. Likewise, the nested case-control design did not allow subgroup analyses by other covariates, because the follow-up time was truncated when the control reached the age of the case, and other exposure variables that were dependent on the follow-up time might be distorted \[[@pone.0203918.ref030]\]. Our subgroup analyses revealed that the significance of the association between PPI exposure and pancreatic cancer was confined to individuals with a low risk for pancreatic cancer, suggesting the importance of conventional risk factors. Conversely, the anticipated effects of well-known risk factors \[[@pone.0203918.ref031]\] on the development of pancreatic cancer supported the internal validity of our study. Our comprehensive data, which included national health examination results and the claims database, allowed us to assess confounders including chronic pancreatitis \[[@pone.0203918.ref032]\], T2D \[[@pone.0203918.ref033]\], history of smoking \[[@pone.0203918.ref034]\], and directly measured anthropometry \[[@pone.0203918.ref035]\] more extensively. Notably, no matter when these fixed risk factors were considered, higher exposure to PPI increased the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by 32% compared to individuals who were not exposed. We acknowledge that our study had several limitations. First, our results cannot be generalized to other ethnicities due to the substantial geographical variation in known risk factors such as smoking and T2D \[[@pone.0203918.ref022]\]. Second, PPIs used during hospitalization were not considered. However, we believe that patients receiving PPIs by prescription represented most long-term users. Notably, our sensitivity analysis also highlighted the importance of the duration of follow-up over PPI exposure amount. Pancreatic cancer has a long latency period, which takes many years from the initiation to the progression to an advanced cancer stage \[[@pone.0203918.ref036]\]. Third, we could not capture detailed clinical data (e.g., smoking intensity or alcohol amount). In particular, the indications of PPI use, such as peptic ulcers and *Helicobacter pylori* infection, might be associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer \[[@pone.0203918.ref037], [@pone.0203918.ref038]\]. Adherence to prescribed PPIs that fell outside our analysis would also likely bias results. A large-scale hospital-based study or expansion of clinical trial cohort is needed to examine this association. In conclusion, this study demonstrated an increased risk of pancreatic cancer among PPI users, and emphasized the conventional risk factors for pancreatic cancer. Our results might help physicians weigh the risks and benefits of PPI therapy: PPIs should be prescribed at the lowest effective dose over the shortest time period for patients with appropriate indications. Additional studies and collaborative basic research are necessary to confirm and further characterize our findings. We thank the staff of the Korean National Health Insurance Corporation for their cooperation. [^1]: **Competing Interests:**The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

--- abstract: 'The low-temperature resistivity of a SiGe 2-dimensional hole gas has been studied using the gate controlled carrier density as a parameter. A metal-insulator transition is seen in both the temperature and the electric field behaviour. Values of 1 for the dynamical exponent and 2.85 for the correlation length exponent are obtained from scaling plots. No quenching of the metallic phase in a parallel magnetic field is observed. Since in our system there is an easy axis for magnetization, this result supports the hypothesis that the transition is related to spin interactions.' author: - | V. Senz,$^{1}$ U. Dötsch,$^{2}$ U. Gennser,$^{2}$ T. Ihn,$^{1}$ T. Heinzel,$^{1}$ K. Ensslin,$^{1}$\ R. Hartmann,$^{2}$ and D. Grützmacher.$^{2}$ title: 'Metal-insulator transition in a 2-dimensional system with an easy spin axis' --- The recent discovery of a metallic phase at zero magnetic field in two-dimensional systems [@Krav1] challenges the theoretical considerations predicting a localized phase for these systems. There have been reports on MIT in Si-MOSFETs [@Krav1], p-SiGe [@Cole], p-Ga\[Al\]As [@Simm], high density n-Ga\[Al\]As with self-assembled InAs quantum dots [@Ribe], and recently also indications of a transition in n-Ga\[Al\]As with extremely low carrier concentration [@Hane]. Here, we present evidence for temperature scaling and electric field scaling at densities around the MIT in a SiGe 2-dimensional hole gas (2 DHG), and obtain values for the two scaling coefficients. The samples employed in this study were grown by molecular beam epitaxy, and consist of a 200[Å]{} $\rm{Si_{0.85}Ge_{0.15}}$ layer surrounded by undoped Si layers, a 150[Å]{} B-doped Si layer with a setback of 180[Å]{} from the well, and a 200[Å]{} undoped Si cap. The SiGe layer forms a triangular potential well for the 2 DHG (Fig. 1a). Due to the lattice mismatch between the Si and the SiGe and due to size quantization, the heavy hole ($m_J$ = $\pm$3/2) potential is split from the light hole ($m_J$ = $\pm$1/2) potential, and ensures that the lowest bound state has heavy hole character. The transport effective mass of this state is $m^* \approx 0.25 m_0$, as extracted from the temperature dependence of Shubnikov – de Haas oscillations. Conventional Hall bar structures were fabricated with the typical length between voltage probes of the order of 10 $\mu$m, and the length between current contacts and width of the Hall bars 60 – 140 $\mu$m and 10 – 30 $\mu$m, respectively. The carrier density $n_s$ could be tuned, $1.8\cdot 10^{11}\; \mbox{cm}^{-2} \le n_s \le 2.6\cdot 10^{11}\; \mbox{cm}^{-2}$, using a Ti/Al Schottky gate. The mobility in these structures was found to increase strongly with carrier concentration, from 1000 $\mbox{cm}^2/Vs$ (for $n_s = 1.8\cdot 10^{11}\; \mbox{cm}^{-2}$) to 7000 $\mbox{cm}^2/Vs$ ($n_s = 2.6\cdot 10^{11}\; \mbox{cm}^{-2}$). Current-voltage characteristics were measured with a DC-technique at $30\; mK$. In Fig. 1b the differential resistivity $\rho_{xx}$ is plotted as a function of electric field for different carrier concentrations. Plotting the differential resistivity makes undesired DC-offsets caused by our amplifier disappear and allows us to compare directly the different curves. At high carrier densities (low $\rho_{xx}$), the behaviour is that of a metal: for large electric fields the resistivity increases. For the lowest carrier concentrations, the behaviour is instead insulating, with a lower resistance at higher E-fields. At a critical density $n_c = 2.0\cdot 10^{11}\; \mbox{cm}^{-2}$ a resistivity of $\rho_c = 27\; k\Omega$ ($= 1.05\; h/e^2$) is observed, independent of the electric field. By plotting $\rho_{xx}$ vs. $\delta_n/E^q$ for different values of the exponent and $\delta_n = |n-n_c|/n$, it is possible to find a $q$ for which all the resistivity curves fall on one of two branches, one for the insulating ($\rho_{xx} > \rho_c$) and one for the metallic region ($\rho_{xx} < \rho_c$). An example of such a plot is shown in Fig. 2, for $q = 0.175$. In this figure the overlap has been optimized for the metallic phase. Close to the critical point there is a symmetry between the two resistivity branches, but this is lost at higher fields, where the insulator traces no longer fall onto one scaling curve. The transition can also be seen in the temperature dependence of $\rho_{xx}$. In Fig. 1c we show this for $T = 1.5\; K - 5\; K$. The critical density, $n_c = 2.1\cdot 10^{11}\; \mbox{cm}^{-2}$, is very close to that found in the electric field experiments. For densities close to the critical point, $d\rho_{xx}/dT$ changes sign as the temperature is lowered. This makes the determination of the critical density less accurate than in the E-field scaling. For the temperature dependence it is possible to obtain scaling, by plotting $\rho_{xx}$ vs. $\delta_n/T^p$ where the exponent $p$ is chosen such that the measured traces fall onto two separate scaling curves, with a reasonable symmetry between the two phases. For a quantum phase transition the resistivity is expected to be a function of $\delta_n/T^{1/z\nu}$ or $\delta_n/E^{1/(z+1)\nu}$, depending on whether the correlation lengths are controlled by the temperature or the electric field [@Sond]. From the above stated $\rho _{xx}$ dependence on E and T we see that the two exponents determined from E-field and temperature scaling, depend on the dynamical exponent $z$ and the correlation length exponent $\nu$: $q = 1/(z+1)\nu$ and $p = 1/z\nu$. Assuming the same functional form of the resistivity for the E-field and temperature, the two types of scaling behaviour can be mapped onto each other via $T\rightarrow\kappa E^{z/(z+1)}$ with $\kappa$ being a system dependent constant. For a strongly interacting 2D system $z = 1$ is expected [@Sond]. In order to test this we scale $E^{1/2}$ and $T$ on top of each other. In Fig. 2 $\rho_{xx}$ is plotted against $\delta_n/T^{0.35}$ and $\delta_n/(E^{1/2})^{0.35}$, with a reasonable scaling behaviour for both curves. In the inset $E^{1/2}$ has been multiplied by a constant $\kappa = 0.4 K(m/V)^{1/2}$, which demonstrates the highly identical resistivity dependence on $T$ and $E^{1/2}$ in the metallic regime, and strongly supports $z = 1$. This gives a value for $\nu \approx 2.85$. While $z$ is predicted to be equal to 1 [@Sond], we are not aware of any predictions for the value of $\nu$ for the $B = 0$ 2D MIT. The $T\propto E^{1/2}$ dependence suggests that the elctric field can be interpreted in terms of quantum fluctuations [@Sond], but we can not exclude the possibility of a heating mechansim due to the electric field which could lead to the same dependence. In our system the transition is found for $k_Fl \approx 1$, where $l$ is the mean free path as deduced from the mobility, and $k_F = \sqrt{2\pi n}$ is the Fermi wave vector. This point also corresponds to a ratio between the Coulomb interaction and the Fermi energy, $r_s = 4.9$. The value of $r_s > 1$ in the metallic region has been considered as evidence for the electron-electron interaction playing a major role [@Krav1]. In contrast to the Si MOSFET material system [@Simo] in the present hole gases no resistivity increase with magnetic field applied parallel to the 2DHG is observed, and the E-field behaviour remains the same. This is quantified by fitting the resistivity to $\rho_{xx} = \rho_0 + \rho_1 exp{[-T^*/T]}$ [@Puda], with $T = \kappa E^{1/2}$, where $\kappa = 0.4\; Km/V$ (see above), and $\rho_0$ and $\rho_1$ as $T$–independent parameters. $\rho_1$ and $T^*$ are used as fitting parameters, whereas $\rho_0$ has been kept constant for all fits ($= 10 k\Omega$). In Fig. 3, the energy gap $k_BT^*$ vs. carrier density is shown for the case of zero field and a field $B_{||} = 4 T$ applied parallel to the SiGe quantum well. There is no indication of any magnetic quenching of the energy gap. In the inset of Fig. 3, $\rho_{xx}$ vs. $T$ is shown for $B = 0$ and for $B_{||} = 6 T$, for two different carrier densities. Except for an overall increase in the resistivity, the behaviour remains essentially the same. The difference between the magnetic quenching of the transition in a Si MOSFET [@Simo] and the present observation can be understood by considering the Zeeman effect in a SiGe 2 DHG. The carriers populate a heavy hole subband, with the characteristics $(J, m_J) = (3/2, \pm 3/2)$, where $J$ is the total angular momentum. Due to the symmetry of this state, $\bf J$ will be aligned perpendicular to the quantum well, and this arrangement is reinforced by the strain splitting, which further removes the lowest heavy hole state from the light hole states. Thus the total angular momentum feels an easy axis, and the magnetic energy will be dominated by the magnetic field component perpendicular to the quantum well (in order to break the LS coupling, a field of the order of $100 T$ would be needed). The lack of any influence on the metallic conduction by a parallel magnetic field, together with the breakdown of this phase in systems without an easy axis, supports the hypothesis that a spin related mechanism plays a key role for the MIT in 2 D. In conclusion, $E$-field and temperature scaling behaviour have been demonstrated for the MIT observed in a SiGe 2 DHG. Scaling plots lead to a dynamical exponent $z \approx 1$ and a correlation length exponent $\nu \approx 2.85$. A magnetic field up to $6 T$ applied parallel to the interfaces does not quench the transition. [We wish to thank D. Bächle and T. Mezzacasa for assistance with the processing, and P. Studerus for help with the electronics. P. Coleridge is gratefully acknowledged for helpful discussions. This work was supported by the Schweizerischer Nationalfonds and MINAST.\ ]{} [99]{} S.V. Kravchenko, G.V. Kravchenko, J.E. Furneaux, V.M. Pudalov, and M. D’Iorio, Phys. Rev. B, [**50**]{} (1994) 8039; S.V. Kravchenko, D. Simonian, M.P. Sarachik, W. Mason, and J.E. Furneaux, Phys. Rev. Lett., [**77**]{} (1996) 4938. P.T. Coleridge, R.L. Williams, Y. Feng, and P. Zawadzki, Phys. Rev. B, [**56**]{} (1997) 12764. M.Y.Simmons, A.R. Hamilton, M. Pepper, E.H. Linfield, P.D. Rose, D.A. Ritchie, A.K. Savchenko, T.G. Griffiths, Phys. Rev. Lett., [**80**]{} (1998) 1292; Y. Hanein, U. Meirav, D. Shahar, C.C. Li, D.C. Tsui, H. Shtrikman, Phys. Rev. Lett., [**80**]{} (1998) 1288. E. Ribeiro, R.D. J[ä]{}ggi, T. Heinzel, K. Ensslin, G. Medeiros-Ribeiro, P.M. Petroff, Phys. Rev. Lett., [**82**]{} (1999) 996. Y. Hanein, D. Shahar, J. Yoon, C. C. Li, D. C. Tsui, and Hadas Shtrikman, Phys. Rev. B, [**58**]{} (1998) R13338. S.L. Sondhi, S.M. Girvin, J.P. Carini, and D. Shahar, Rev. Mod. Phys., [**69**]{} (1997) 315. V.M. Pudalov, JETP Lett., [**66**]{} (1997) 175. D. Simonian, S.V. Kravchenko, M.P. Sarachik, and V.M. Pudalov, Phys. Rev. Lett., [**79**]{} (1997) 2304.

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Say freeze! Inuits from remote Russia get used to being photographed for the very first time Braving temperatures of -45f to visit a place that is literally located at the end of the earth, Sasha Leahovcenco photographed people who have never had their picture taken before. Trudging through snow drifts and blizzards, across the deep tundra of the northern Russian region of Chukotka, Leahovcenco traveled to meet a small nomadic tribe of reindeer herders - disconnected from the modern world where the way of life has barely changed for thousands of years. Bringing along a digital printer to the region where it the record high is barely above 90f, Leahovcenco photographed the men, women and children of the hardy native people there - and then to their delight showed them pictures of themselves for the first time in their lives. Selfie time? Two members of an Inuit tribe that live in the remote Russian region of Chukotka smile heartily for the camera as part of Sash Leahovcenco's picture project where people had their picture taken for the first time ever The intrepid photographer undertook two expeditions to Chukotka, once in 2011 and another repeat journey earlier this year. In addition to photographing those who have never been photographed before, Leahovcenco was also bringing the nomadic tribes 'warm clothes, shoes, gifts, and simply show them grace and love.' Father and family: A man and his partner pose for their picture - probably one of the first time that they have ever done so under the watchful eye of Sasha Leahovcenco Love and hard work: A member of one of the indigenous tribes of Chukotka poses for a photograph for the first time with his partner in the Russian wilderness Frost: This boy will grow up in temperatures as low as -50f in the wilds of Chukotka in northwestern Russia Rugged: A man and his dog lie on the vast open terrain of the Chukotka territory of Russia - behind are the reindeer the nomads herd and live from Proud: Two men and some of their livestock pose for what could possibly be the first ever picture taken of them - which will be later shown to them to their obvious glee Group hug on the tundra: Sasha Leahovcenco grabs two new buddies for a picture while their dog looks bemused as he stares up at his master Reindeer and their boss: Despite never having had his picture taken before this man seems to strike a natural pose for the camera Smile! Sasha Leahovenco poses with his new-found friends in one of the two remote villages in Chukotka in Russia that he visited for the first time in 2011 and again in March 2013 When asked to describe his incredible experiences in the frozen wilderness and what the photographs meant to the people who snapped, Leahovcenco said that he was sure it changed them - because it definitely changed him. 'If I would choose one word to say, it would be 'memory.' said Leahovcenco according to Help-Portrait.com 'More than that – 'good memories.' And let me explain why. Eight months during the year – it’s winter there. More than that half of this time, people don’t see sun, because its just don’t raise up. People are just depressed. 'And when I was photographing them, that was the moment when they actually could smile and forget all their troubles and problems in life and feel happy for a minute, and I would capture that on a photo, which they will cherish, I believe for the rest their life.' At the end of the world: The Chukotka region of Russia is vast and wild and only 50,000 people live there Assistants: This cute child stands outside of the nomadic tribes tent on the Russian tundra as one of his friends helps with the light hat Gritty: Two friends with cold bitten rosy cheeks stare straight through the camera as the photographer Sasha captures the reality of life for children at the camp This is me: This woman holds her own picture - with a look of pride that reveals it is the first time she has been gifted her own portrait Photograph: This young man brandishes his portrait as he poses for the camera for Sasha at one of the two encampments he visited on the Russian tundra in Chukotka Keepsake: Two children hold their photographic portraits - which they will be able to stash away for years to come Wonder: This little child stares with open amazement at a picture for the first time Freezing: This lady looks bewildered about the process of a photograph and stares sternly at the camera Warmth: When the sun sets the nomads of Chukotka retire indoors to feel the heat from their fire Indeed, for those rare people who live on the roadless terrain, having their first picture taken is one thing. In fact, for most of these people, this was the first time that they had ever entertained or seen a guest. Sustaining themselves through their reindeer herding, whale hunting and fishing, the people Leahovcenco visited can only be reached by airplane. Leahovenco, who was born in the former Soviet republic of Moldova, but who currently lives in Sacremento, found that his life was changed by his experiences with the tribes of Chukotka.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU diplomats will start sketching out a Brexit transition offer on Wednesday that would probably let Britain stay in the single market for about two years after it leaves the bloc in March 2019, EU officials said. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and European Council President Donald Tusk pose before a bilateral meeting at a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium October 20, 2017. REUTERS/Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Pool But some officials and diplomats involved in preparing for the first “orientation debate” among envoys from the other 27 EU states warned London should not assume it can clinch an initial deal next month to open talks on post-Brexit relations. Some governments see benefits in making Britain wait for it. A paper prepared for the discussion, seen by Reuters, showed the envoys would discuss the “scope” and “duration” of a transition, including how far Britain could remain in the single market - with all its obligations - and in other EU programs such as agriculture and fisheries schemes, the nuclear pact Euratom and security and defense arrangements. They would also debate how the transition would affect EU agreements with other states, such as trade, fisheries and aviation treaties. Several officials who spoke to Reuters said Britain would have to abide by all EU laws in the transition period, even if they are changed during that period, but would have no influence over them. “Anything else would be too complicated,” a second official said. Two others expressed the same view. “The EU view on the transition period and the future will in a way be a moment of truth, exposing all the lies of those who campaigned for Brexit saying that Britain will be able to have the cake and eat it,” a third official said. Wednesday’s discussions will also seek to gather views on the trade relationship with London that is to follow a transition, which may finish in December 2020, at the end of the current seven-year EU budget period. EU leaders told Prime Minister Theresa May last month they were not ready to negotiate post-Brexit arrangements until London offered more concessions on its “divorce” terms. But they held out the prospect of opening such talks at a summit in mid-December and ordered their officials to start preparing among the 27 for a move to this new phase of talks. BRIEF ENCOUNTER British Brexit Minister David Davis is expected in Brussels on Friday for the first negotiations since the mid-October summit with May. But the anticipated brief encounter with EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is not expected to produce a breakthrough on how much Britain will pay the EU on leaving. Diplomats and officials said the continued slow pace of the divorce talks was increasing the possibility that EU leaders would again refuse next month to open trade talks. They said some may already be considering that as a useful tactic against Britain, which is anxious to prevent businesses relocating investment. “Some believe that the worse it gets for the British, the better for us... that maybe we could delay it all until for instance March, increasing the uncertainty and triggering the contingency plans in the corporate sector,” the first EU official said. “That would be ruthless and risky, but people have different views on what is risky.” An EU diplomat involved in negotiations said he expected envoys also to discuss how to handle a possible failure next month to open the next phase of talks if May refuses to meet EU demands. “What do we do if they (the British) don’t move?” he said. Some continental negotiators believe British anxiety about businesses starting to shift investments in the new year if there is no transition deal could be to Brussels’ advantage. Officials said Britain’s full membership in the single market, even during a transition, is not a given. “There is no up-front agreement on that. It is part of a bigger package. For instance it is not feasible to expect they would be in the single market ... but not pay into the EU budget,” one said. There will be one or two more meetings of EU envoys before they expect to agree what they might offer Britain in terms of a transition period, officials said. The results of these discussions will not be presented to the British, however, until leaders have agreed to open a new phase of talks.

473 S.W.2d 550 (1971) Hugh TAYLOR, Appellant, v. HOUSTON CHRONICLE PUBLISHING CO., Appellee. No. 15775. Court of Civil Appeals of Texas, Houston (1st Dist.) Rehearing Denied November 11, 1971. Second Rehearing Denied December 2, 1971. Brown, Kronzer, Abraham, Watkins & Steely, Houston, Don Riddle, Ernest H. Cannon, W. James Kronzer, Houston, of counsel, for appellant. Liddell, Sapp, Zivley & Brown, W. Robert Brown, Glen E. Clover, Houston, for appellee. On Motion for Rehearing COLEMAN, Justice. The opinion of this court announced on October 7, 1971 is hereby withdrawn and this opinion is substituted therefor. This is a suit for damages. The cause of action arose from statements published in the Houston Chronicle on January 14 and January 19, 1966, which are alleged to be false and libelous. At the conclusion of the evidence the trial court withdrew the case from the jury and rendered judgment for the defendant. The principal issue relates to whether the published statement was libelous. Hugh "Bones" Taylor was the head football coach of the Houston Oilers professional football team during the 1965 season. The team won all of its exhibition games, but during the regular season play won four games while losing eight. George Blanda was a veteran quarterback on the Oiler team and had previously led the team during two winning seasons. Don Trull was a relatively inexperienced quarterback, but had divided time as quarterback with Blanda during the 1965 season. There had been considerable discussion of the Oiler quarterbacking situation by sportswriters in the Houston newspapers during the season. Bud Adams was the *551 owner of the franchise. At the last season game in December, 1965, he announced that Hugh Taylor had been given a new three year contract. On the morning of January 13, 1966, at a press conference, it was announced that Don Klosterman had been hired as General Manager of the Houston Oilers. Immediately after the press conference Wells Twombly, a sportswriter and columnist for the Houston Chronicle, had an interview with Hugh Taylor at which Chris Chandler, a television sports announcer for KPRC-TV, Channel 2 in Houston, was present. Following the interview Twombly wrote a story for publication in the Houston Chronicle in which he stated that Hugh Taylor had asked owner Bud Adams either to trade George Blanda to another club or to buy up the year remaining on Blanda's contract and release him. He also stated that Taylor put his request to Adams on a "him or me" basis. He quoted Taylor as saying: "I know this: one of us won't be back next year.... You can't let a player dictate to you ... I don't plan to take it from George Blanda." This story was presented to an editor on the 13th of January, and he suggested to Twombly that it be held until he could get the reaction of George Blanda for incorporation into the story. On the morning of the 14th Twombly and Dick Peebles, the sports editor of the Chronicle, talked to Blanda. Blanda's statements were included in the story and it was printed in several editions of the paper on that day. The story quoted Blanda as saying he was shocked by Taylor's attitude. The same day this article appeared in the Chronicle Chris Chandler commented on it in his sports broadcasts over KPRC-TV. He stated that "... the gist of the article is untrue because I sat in that conversation and heard every bit of it, and Mr. Taylor did not even indicate, much less say, that it was `Blanda or me'." He said that Taylor stated that he was going to use Blanda during the next season as the team's kicker, a quarterback and an assistant coach. The following morning, at the invitation of Don Klosterman, Taylor, Twombly and Chandler gave their versions of the interview at a meeting at which Dick Peebles was present. Both Taylor and Chandler denied the accuracy of the quotations attributed to Taylor in the Twombly story to the effect that Blanda would not play for the Oilers and that it was a "Blanda or me" situation. On Tuesday, January 18, 1966, Don Klosterman announced that Taylor's contract as a coach for the Oilers would not be renewed after January 31, 1966. The Oiler press release contained this statement: "Klosterman indicated that this decision was made primarily as a result of recent news media commentary indicating an apparent inharmonious relationship existing between Coach Taylor and Oiler Quarterback George Blanda in which certain statements were attributed to both parties involved creating an atmosphere not conducive to a winning football team." On January 19, 1966, the Chronicle ran another front page story written by Twombly in which the following statement appeared: "Earlier in the week, Taylor had said either he or the veteran quarterback George Blanda would have to leave the Oiler organization next season." The article also stated: "He (Taylor) felt so secure in his job only last week that he talked vehemently —for publication—about the possibility of trading Blanda to another club. It was put on a `him or me' basis. However Edwin Pope, Assistant Sports Editor and columnist for the Miami Herald told Klosterman that he had been told the same thing about Blanda by Taylor at the Sugar Bowl Game last month. *552 "Taylor said that he had never denied making the remarks about Blanda." In his column appearing in the sports section of the same edition of the paper under the heading "What the Man Said", Twombly again discussed the previous interview commenting that it seemed that Taylor wanted the story to get out at last, mainly because he subconsciously desired a showdown between Blanda and himself. He referred to several previous instances when Taylor had stated that "either he or Blanda wouldn't be back in 1966." At the trial Taylor denied making these statements. None of the alleged statements resulted in news stories prior to January 14, 1966. Twombly testified that during the 1965 season he saw no evidence of friction between Blanda and Taylor. Libel is defined by Article 5430, Vernon's Ann.Civ.St., as being "a defamation expressed in printing or writing, * * * tending to injure the reputation of one who is alive, and thereby expose him to public hatred, contempt or ridicule, or financial injury, or to impeach the honesty, integrity, or virtue, or reputation of any one, * * * and thereby expose such person to public hatred, ridicule, or financial injury." The Supreme Court of Texas considered this statute in Guisti v. Galveston Tribune, 105 Tex. 497, 150 S.W. 874 (1912), and stated with reference thereto: "By the express terms of the article of the statute above quoted, in so far as it relates to the case at bar, any written or printed publication tending to injure the reputation of any person alive and thereby expose him to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule, or tending to impeach the honesty, integrity, virtue, or reputation of such person, is a libel. * * * "By the terms of the present law, a libelous publication, contrary to the common law rule, becomes actionable without the proof of malice, whether it is or not libelous per se. "Under the present law, it is not necessary to the right to maintain an action for a publication not libelous per se to allege or prove special damages. * * * "* * * the manifest purpose of the Legislature in enacting this law was to cover the entire subject of libel as applied to civil actions, without regard to the rules of the common law and holding of the courts on the subject, and to materially enlarge the rights of those who may be the subject of libelous publications." In Bell Publishing Co. v. Garrett Engineering Co., 141 Tex. 51, 170 S.W.2d 197 (1943), the court cites in support of its decision Missouri Pac. R. Co. v. Richmond, 73 Tex. 568, 11 S.W. 555; 27 Tex.Jur. p. 602, sec. 10, and Restatement of the Law (Torts), sec. 569. In the Richmond case the court accepted as a correct rule of the law of defamation (quoting Townshend, Sland. & Lib., 182), that language which concerns a person engaged in a lawful occupation "will be actionable, if it affects him therein in a manner that may as a necessary consequence, or does as a natural or proximate consequence, prevent him deriving therefrom that pecuniary reward which probably he might otherwise have obtained." In 36 Tex.Jur.2d, § 18, the text reads: "Malicious and false publication of statements that are reasonably capable of conveying an injurious meaning or producing an injurious effect and that relate to the capacity, reputation, and standing of the plaintiff personally in his business is actionable when pecuniary injury actually follows as the probable and natural result of the words. And words not otherwise actionable per se sometimes become so if spoken of a person engaged in a particular business or profession, where they charge him with fraud, indirect dealings, or incapacity, and tend to injure him in his trade or business..." *553 Libel is defined in § 568, Restatement of the Law (Torts): "Libel consists of the publication of defamatory matter by written or printed words ..." § 569, supra, reads: "One who falsely, and without a privilege to do so, publishes matter defamatory to another in such a manner as to make the publication a libel is liable to the other although no special harm or loss of reputation results therefrom." Comment e under this section states that the publication in writing of matter attributing to one conduct or characteristics incompatible with the proper conduct of his lawful trade or profession is a libel, and that it is enough that the defamatory matter impute any misconduct whatever in the conduct of his calling, although the charge "does not necessarily imply that want of skill, learning or competence which the public reasonably demands of those who carry on a trade, business, or profession ..." In McCullagh v. Houston Chronicle Publishing Co., 211 F.2d 4 (5th Cir. 1954), the court states: "Libel in Texas has an exclusive statutory definition. * * * The courts of Texas have construed said statute to mean that there can be no libel unless the publication claimed to be libelous be a defamation tending to injure or impeach the reputation of the person claimed to have been libeled. * * *" This court, in Houston Chronicle Pub. Co. v. Thomas, 262 S.W. 243 (Tex.Civ. App.—Galv.1924, writ ref.), said: "It is well said by our Supreme Court in the case of Belo v. Smith, 91 Tex. [221] 225, 42 S.W. [850] 851, in discussing the question of when language should be held libelous: "`The question is, what effect would the publication have upon the mind of the ordinary reader? What construction would he have put upon it? For in defamatory language, it is not so much the idea which the speaker or writer intends to convey, as what he does in fact convey. It is the effect upon the character of the person alleged to be defamed by the utterance which the law considers, and therefore the utterer uses the language at his peril.' "But this is only true when the language used is susceptible of defamatory meaning. The law is well settled that unless the language used is reasonably susceptible of a defamatory meaning it cannot form the basis of a charge of libel." "A civil action for the recovery of damages for libel lies because the law makes reputation, as a part of the right of personal security, one of the objects of its protection." Renfro Drug Co. v. Lawson, 138 Tex. 434, 160 S.W.2d 246 (1942). "Libel is defined by statute. * * * Under this definition there can be no libel unless the publication claimed to be libelous be (1) a defamation (2) tending to injure or impeach the reputation of the person claimed to have been libeled. It results, therefore, that not all false statements which cause financial injury are libelous. * * *" Snider v. Leatherwood, 49 S.W.2d 1107 (Tex.Civ.App.— Eastland 1932, writ dism'd). There is evidence that the Houston Chronicle printed stories, which were false, clearly conveying to the ordinary reader the impression that the relationship between Taylor, the coach of the Houston Oilers, and Blanda, the quarterback for the team, had become so inharmonious that both of them could not remain on the team; that the trouble arose over attempts of the player to dictate to the coach; that Taylor had informed Mr. Adams, the owner of the club, that if Blanda remained with the club, he would not remain with the club; and that by reason of the publication of these articles Taylor had suffered financial injury. The action for libel was sustained by the evidence if the statements considered in context were defamatory, and were not privileged. While the publication of the *554 statements attributed to Taylor and Blanda may well have created an "atmosphere not conducive to a winning football team," the crucial question is whether the statements concerning Taylor tended to injure his reputation as a football coach, and thus were defamatory. If the language used is not reasonably capable of a defamatory meaning, it is not libelous. The language alleged to constitute libel must have tended to injure the reputation of Hugh Taylor as a football coach. The meaning attributed to the language is not doubtful. Financial injury did result. Bell Publishing Co. v. Garrett Engineering Co., 141 Tex. 51, 170 S.W.2d 197 (1943); Southern Publishing Co. v. Foster, 53 S.W.2d 1014 (Tex.Com. App.1932); Rawlins v. McKee, 327 S.W.2d 633 (Tex.Civ.App.—Texarkana 1959, writ ref'd, n. r. e.); Herald-Post Publishing Company v. Hervey, 282 S.W.2d 410 (Tex. Civ.App.—El Paso 1955, writ ref'd, n. r. e.); Houston Printing Co. v. Hunter, 105 S.W. 2d 312, aff'd 129 Tex. 652, 106 S.W.2d 1043. The language used in the publications complained of is not ambiguous. It was the duty of the trial court to determine whether it was libelous or not. In determining this question "the words used in the publication must be construed as a whole, giving to all the words contained therein their ordinary meaning as read and construed by persons of ordinary intelligence." Southern Publishing Co. v. Foster, supra; Gartman v. Hedgpeth, 138 Tex. 73, 157 S.W.2d 139 (1941). The language used in the publication made the basis of this action was not reasonably capable of a defamatory meaning. Reasonable minds cannot differ as to the effect of the words used on the reputation of Hugh Taylor as a football coach. A reasonable man would not say that his reputation as a coach was injured by the fact that he determined and stated that he would not coach a team on which a certain man played, but that he would continue to coach the team if the player was traded or paid off. Such a statement rather portrays a man with convictions and the courage to back them up with action. The trial court did not err in withdrawing the case from the jury and entering a judgment for appellee. Newton v. Dallas Morning News, 376 S.W.2d 396 (Tex.Civ.App.—Dallas 1964). Motion for rehearing overruled. Affirmed.

Adsorption of heavy metals from electroplating wastewater by wood sawdust. Poplar wood sawdust was examined for adsorption as a replacement for current, more expensive methods of removing copper, zinc and cadmium from electroplating wastewater. Langmuir, Freundlich, BET and competitive Langmuir (two competing ions) isotherms were fitted to experimental data and the goodness of their fit for adsorption was compared. The shapes of isotherms obtained fitted well with multilayer adsorption. This was established and confirmed through solid correspondence between the BET equation and experimental data, in contrast to an observed monolayer adsorption of metal ions on poplar sawdust in single metal-water solutions. The adsorption of copper ions from a mixture (in wastewater) was better than that from a single metal solution. The adsorptions of zinc ions from wastewater and from model water were approximately equal, while that of cadmium ions was significantly lower from the wastewater than from model water. The aforementioned suggests that the presence of other ions in wastewater hindered adsorption of cadmium ions.

Passengers had to be evacuated via an emergency exit after being stuck for more than an hour Almost 60 passengers were left trapped underground after an issue involving one of Queensland Rail’s (QR) New Generation Rollingstock trains led to damaged power lines, leading to widespread delays. In an incident set to fuel more criticism of the new trains, electrical contact between a train and overhead lines caused damage to the power supply on Saturday night. It resulted in another train on the Brisbane airport line breaking down in the tunnel between Roma Street and Central stations at around 8.30pm. After being stalled for more than an hour, passengers had to be evacuated via an emergency exit, with one person reportedly needing treatment for anxiety. How 'short-term politics' is putting the brakes on Brisbane's public transport Read more The power issue was still being resolved by 1pm on Sunday, with services to Brisbane’s south and east rerouted to avoid inner-city station South Brisbane. Southbound trains between Roma Street and Moorooka were replaced by buses, with delays felt on all other services as they passed through the city. QR has apologised to customers. “On inspection, electrical contact between a New Generation Rollingstock train and the overhead powerlines resulted in damage to the train and power supply,” QR spokesman Nick King said. “Works are now underway to move the train and repair 1,200m of damaged overhead equipment. “The contact between the train and overhead line did cause minor electrical sparking.” QR said it was yet to be determined if the NGR train caused the power problem. The incident is the latest in a series of problems associated with the new trains, which have been delayed and flawed in design after failing to meet Australian requirements around disability access. The procurement process started under Anna Bligh’s Labor government but was signed off by Campbell Newman’s LNP government, with the first trains delivered after Labor returned to power in 2015. The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, was the transport minister at the time the process was started. Robert Dow, from the Rail Back on Track advocacy group, said the group feared there was something wrong with the new trains not properly interacting with existing overhead infrastructure. “We have to find out, do these new trains have a propensity for dewirements that the old trains didn’t have?” he said.

Q: Can we change browser url but not redirect after post back? Context: I have a page to which I navigate from a link in a gridview in a different page. Here's the url for the current page . http://somedomain.com/timesheet.aspx?tskey=0&emplid=10068323&pnbr=10053911&pbdate=03182012&pedate=03312012&emprcd=0&scheduletype=BW On this page , I make some edits and hit Save button .It is submitted to database which generates tskey value for me. tskey is a query string variable. Now that I have the tskey value after I saved the current page, can I change the current page's url to update the tskey value at the end of Save click event without redirecting. A: Think about what you're asking: You want the browser to post to some URL, which will generate some value, and return some kind of HTTP response. ??? Browser now points to a different URL. Step two has to change the URL from one value to another. Whether you do that with a server redirect or JavaScript to change document.location, the browser has to get the contents of that new page and render it. If you want to do a postback to the new URL, that's pretty easy to do from JavaScript, just use Page.ClientScript.GetCallbackEventReference() to put the function in your page, and then invoke it. Of course this will cause the page to reload the new response, but there's no way around that. If that doesn't do exactly what you want, you'll have to render and post the form yourself. It sounds like a fair amount of unnecessary work. Are you sure you need to do this?

Q: Get Google account domain in Android I am using Google+ Sign-In in my Android app. How can I get the domain of the authenticated user's account? It is not a property on the com.google.android.gms.plus.model.people.Person model. Specifically I only want people from one company to be able to access the app using their work Google accounts (everyone in the company has one). I can of course retrieve the email address using Plus.AccountApi.getAccountName(mGoogleApiClient); and could check the domain of the email address, but that seems nasty. A: You are trying to filter on the account domain at the wrong time in the flow. You should do the check before the user signs in. For this, retrieve all accounts on the system and check for an eligible one and only log-in once you have found a fitting account. A simple activity to get all accounts and filter on them could look like this: public class CheckAccounts extends AppCompatActivity { private static final int MY_PERMISSIONS_REQUEST_GET_ACCOUNTS = 8; final String TAG = this.getClass().toString(); private void getPermissions() { // Should we show an explanation? if (ActivityCompat.shouldShowRequestPermissionRationale(this, Manifest.permission.GET_ACCOUNTS)) { // Show an explanation to the user *asynchronously* -- don't block // this thread waiting for the user's response! After the user // sees the explanation, try again to request the permission. } else { // No explanation needed, we can request the permission. ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(this, new String[]{Manifest.permission.GET_ACCOUNTS}, MY_PERMISSIONS_REQUEST_GET_ACCOUNTS); // MY_PERMISSIONS_REQUEST_GET_ACCOUNTS is an // app-defined int constant. The callback method gets the // result of the request. } } private void getAccounts() { // Here, thisActivity is the current activity if (ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, Manifest.permission.GET_ACCOUNTS) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) { getPermissions(); } AccountManager accountManager = AccountManager.get(this); Account[] accounts = accountManager.getAccountsByType("com.google"); for (Account a : accounts){ String accountName = a.name; String domain = accountName.substring(accountName.indexOf("@") + 1, accountName.length()); Log.d(TAG, "account domain: " + domain); } } @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.activity_check_accounts); getAccounts(); } @Override public void onRequestPermissionsResult(int requestCode, String permissions[], int[] grantResults) { switch (requestCode) { case MY_PERMISSIONS_REQUEST_GET_ACCOUNTS: { // If request is cancelled, the result arrays are empty. if (grantResults.length > 0 && grantResults[0] == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) { getAccounts(); // permission was granted, yay! Do the // contacts-related task you need to do. } else { Log.d(TAG, "didn't get perms"); // permission denied, boo! Disable the // functionality that depends on this permission. } return; } // other 'case' lines to check for other // permissions this app might request } } } Once you have found a suitable account you can use GoogleSignInOptions.Builder setAccountName to log-in with this specific account. If you cannot find a fitting account configured on the device, you can simply notify the user rather than logging in to his or her account first. Regards, Mirko