text
stringlengths 24
612k
|
|---|
Stability and proteolytic domains of Nef protein from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1.
Proteolytic experiments in conjunction with 1H-NMR spectroscopy show that the Nef (negative factor) protein from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 probably consists of two main domains, the N-terminal anchor domain at amino acid positions 2-65 and the C-terminal core domain at positions 66-206. The N-terminal domain is likely to be located at the surface of the protein, while the C-terminal domain has a compactly folded core and is stable in the absence of the anchor domain. It is conceivable that the core domain represents a functional domain of the Nef protein, activated after the removal of the membrane anchor by the human-immunodeficiency-virus protease or cellular proteases. Nef is stable at pH 5-12 and denatures at 317-322 K. The Nef protein remains in its native conformation in dimethyl-sulfoxide/water mixtures up to 35% (by vol.), and in acetonitrile/water up to 14% (by vol.). Nef refolds spontaneously after denaturation with urea or guanidinium hydrochloride. The 1H-NMR parameters and pKa values of five of the nine histidine residues and one of the seven tyrosine residues were determined and were found in four cases to be typical for residues which are not located in the interior of the protein. |
using System;
namespace NBitcoin.Altcoins.HashX11.Crypto.SHA3
{
internal class JH224 : JHBase
{
public JH224() :
base(NBitcoin.Altcoins.HashX11.HashSize.HashSize224)
{
}
}
internal class JH256 : JHBase
{
public JH256() :
base(NBitcoin.Altcoins.HashX11.HashSize.HashSize256)
{
}
}
internal class JH384 : JHBase
{
public JH384() :
base(NBitcoin.Altcoins.HashX11.HashSize.HashSize384)
{
}
}
internal class JH512 : JHBase
{
public JH512() :
base(NBitcoin.Altcoins.HashX11.HashSize.HashSize512)
{
}
}
internal abstract class JHBase : BlockHash, ICryptoNotBuildIn
{
#region Consts
private static readonly ulong[] s_bitslices =
{
0x67F815DFA2DED572, 0x571523B70A15847B, 0xF6875A4D90D6AB81, 0x402BD1C3C54F9F4E,
0x9CFA455CE03A98EA, 0x9A99B26699D2C503, 0x8A53BBF2B4960266, 0x31A2DB881A1456B5,
0xDB0E199A5C5AA303, 0x1044C1870AB23F40, 0x1D959E848019051C, 0xDCCDE75EADEB336F,
0x416BBF029213BA10, 0xD027BBF7156578DC, 0x5078AA3739812C0A, 0xD3910041D2BF1A3F,
0x907ECCF60D5A2D42, 0xCE97C0929C9F62DD, 0xAC442BC70BA75C18, 0x23FCC663D665DFD1,
0x1AB8E09E036C6E97, 0xA8EC6C447E450521, 0xFA618E5DBB03F1EE, 0x97818394B29796FD,
0x2F3003DB37858E4A, 0x956A9FFB2D8D672A, 0x6C69B8F88173FE8A, 0x14427FC04672C78A,
0xC45EC7BD8F15F4C5, 0x80BB118FA76F4475, 0xBC88E4AEB775DE52, 0xF4A3A6981E00B882,
0x1563A3A9338FF48E, 0x89F9B7D524565FAA, 0xFDE05A7C20EDF1B6, 0x362C42065AE9CA36,
0x3D98FE4E433529CE, 0xA74B9A7374F93A53, 0x86814E6F591FF5D0, 0x9F5AD8AF81AD9D0E,
0x6A6234EE670605A7, 0x2717B96EBE280B8B, 0x3F1080C626077447, 0x7B487EC66F7EA0E0,
0xC0A4F84AA50A550D, 0x9EF18E979FE7E391, 0xD48D605081727686, 0x62B0E5F3415A9E7E,
0x7A205440EC1F9FFC, 0x84C9F4CE001AE4E3, 0xD895FA9DF594D74F, 0xA554C324117E2E55,
0x286EFEBD2872DF5B, 0xB2C4A50FE27FF578, 0x2ED349EEEF7C8905, 0x7F5928EB85937E44,
0x4A3124B337695F70, 0x65E4D61DF128865E, 0xE720B95104771BC7, 0x8A87D423E843FE74,
0xF2947692A3E8297D, 0xC1D9309B097ACBDD, 0xE01BDC5BFB301B1D, 0xBF829CF24F4924DA,
0xFFBF70B431BAE7A4, 0x48BCF8DE0544320D, 0x39D3BB5332FCAE3B, 0xA08B29E0C1C39F45,
0x0F09AEF7FD05C9E5, 0x34F1904212347094, 0x95ED44E301B771A2, 0x4A982F4F368E3BE9,
0x15F66CA0631D4088, 0xFFAF52874B44C147, 0x30C60AE2F14ABB7E, 0xE68C6ECCC5B67046,
0x00CA4FBD56A4D5A4, 0xAE183EC84B849DDA, 0xADD1643045CE5773, 0x67255C1468CEA6E8,
0x16E10ECBF28CDAA3, 0x9A99949A5806E933, 0x7B846FC220B2601F, 0x1885D1A07FACCED1,
0xD319DD8DA15B5932, 0x46B4A5AAC01C9A50, 0xBA6B04E467633D9F, 0x7EEE560BAB19CAF6,
0x742128A9EA79B11F, 0xEE51363B35F7BDE9, 0x76D350755AAC571D, 0x01707DA3FEC2463A,
0x42D8A498AFC135F7, 0x79676B9E20ECED78, 0xA8DB3AEA15638341, 0x832C83324D3BC3FA,
0xF347271C1F3B40A7, 0x9A762DB734F04059, 0xFD4F21D26C4E3EE7, 0xEF5957DC398DFDB8,
0xDAEB492B490C9B8D, 0x0D70F36849D7A25B, 0x84558D7AD0AE3B7D, 0x658EF8E4F0E9A5F5,
0x533B1036F4A2B8A0, 0x5AEC3E759E07A80C, 0x4F88E85692946891, 0x4CBCBAF8555CB05B,
0x7B9487F3993BBBE3, 0x5D1C6B72D6F4DA75, 0x6DB334DC28ACAE64, 0x71DB28B850A5346C,
0x2A518D10F2E261F8, 0xFC75DD593364DBE3, 0xA23FCE43F1BCAC1C, 0xB043E8023CD1BB67,
0x75A12988CA5B0A33, 0x5C5316B44D19347F, 0x1E4D790EC3943B92, 0x3FAFEEB6D7757479,
0x21391ABEF7D4A8EA, 0x5127234C097EF45C, 0xD23C32BA5324A326, 0xADD5A66D4A17A344,
0x08C9F2AFA63E1DB5, 0x563C6B91983D5983, 0x4D608672A17CF84C, 0xF6C76E08CC3EE246,
0x5E76BCB1B333982F, 0x2AE6C4EFA566D62B, 0x36D4C1BEE8B6F406, 0x6321EFBC1582EE74,
0x69C953F40D4EC1FD, 0x26585806C45A7DA7, 0x16FAE0061614C17E, 0x3F9D63283DAF907E,
0x0CD29B00E3F2C9D2, 0x300CD4B730CEAA5F, 0x9832E0F216512A74, 0x9AF8CEE3D830EB0D,
0x9279F1B57B9EC54B, 0xD36886046EE651FF, 0x316796E6574D239B, 0x05750A17F3A6E6CC,
0xCE6C3213D98176B1, 0x62A205F88452173C, 0x47154778B3CB2BF4, 0x486A9323825446FF,
0x65655E4E0758DF38, 0x8E5086FC897CFCF2, 0x86CA0BD0442E7031, 0x4E477830A20940F0,
0x8338F7D139EEA065, 0xBD3A2CE437E95EF7, 0x6FF8130126B29721, 0xE7DE9FEFD1ED44A3,
0xD992257615DFA08B, 0xBE42DC12F6F7853C, 0x7EB027AB7CECA7D8, 0xDEA83EAADA7D8D53,
0xD86902BD93CE25AA, 0xF908731AFD43F65A, 0xA5194A17DAEF5FC0, 0x6A21FD4C33664D97,
0x701541DB3198B435, 0x9B54CDEDBB0F1EEA, 0x72409751A163D09A, 0xE26F4791BF9D75F6
};
private static readonly ulong[][] s_initial_states =
{
new ulong []
{
0xac989af962ddfe2d, 0xe734d619d6ac7cae, 0x161230bc051083a4, 0x941466c9c63860b8,
0x6f7080259f89d966, 0xdc1a9b1d1ba39ece, 0x106e367b5f32e811, 0xc106fa027f8594f9,
0xb340c8d85c1b4f1b, 0x9980736e7fa1f697, 0xd3a3eaada593dfdc, 0x689a53c9dee831a4,
0xe4a186ec8aa9b422, 0xf06ce59c95ac74d5, 0xbf2babb5ea0d9615, 0x6eea64ddf0dc1196
},
new ulong []
{
0xebd3202c41a398eb, 0xc145b29c7bbecd92, 0xfac7d4609151931c, 0x038a507ed6820026,
0x45b92677269e23a4, 0x77941ad4481afbe0, 0x7a176b0226abb5cd, 0xa82fff0f4224f056,
0x754d2e7f8996a371, 0x62e27df70849141d, 0x948f2476f7957627, 0x6c29804757b6d587,
0x6c0d8eac2d275e5c, 0x0f7a0557c6508451, 0xea12247067d3e47b, 0x69d71cd313abe389
},
new ulong []
{
0x8a3913d8c63b1e48, 0x9b87de4a895e3b6d, 0x2ead80d468eafa63, 0x67820f4821cb2c33,
0x28b982904dc8ae98, 0x4942114130ea55d4, 0xec474892b255f536, 0xe13cf4ba930a25c7,
0x4c45db278a7f9b56, 0x0eaf976349bdfc9e, 0xcd80aa267dc29f58, 0xda2eeb9d8c8bc080,
0x3a37d5f8e881798a, 0x717ad1ddad6739f4, 0x94d375a4bdd3b4a9, 0x7f734298ba3f6c97
},
new ulong []
{
0x17aa003e964bd16f, 0x43d5157a052e6a63, 0x0bef970c8d5e228a, 0x61c3b3f2591234e9,
0x1e806f53c1a01d89, 0x806d2bea6b05a92a, 0xa6ba7520dbcc8e58, 0xf73bf8ba763a0fa9,
0x694ae34105e66901, 0x5ae66f2e8e8ab546, 0x243c84c1d0a74710, 0x99c15a2db1716e3b,
0x56f8b19decf657cf, 0x56b116577c8806a7, 0xfb1785e6dffcc2e3, 0x4bdd8ccc78465a54
}
};
#endregion
protected readonly ulong[] m_state = new ulong[16];
public JHBase(HashSize a_hash_size) :
base((int)a_hash_size, 128, 64)
{
Initialize();
}
protected override void TransformBlock(byte[] a_data, int a_index)
{
ulong[] data = Converters.ConvertBytesToULongs(a_data, a_index, 64);
const ulong c_2_1 = 0x5555555555555555;
const ulong c_2_2 = 0xaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa;
const ulong c_4_1 = 0x3333333333333333;
const ulong c_4_2 = 0xcccccccccccccccc;
const ulong c_8_1 = 0x0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0f;
const ulong c_8_2 = 0xf0f0f0f0f0f0f0f0;
const ulong c_16_1 = 0x00ff00ff00ff00ff;
const ulong c_16_2 = 0xff00ff00ff00ff00;
const ulong c_32_1 = 0x0000ffff0000ffff;
const ulong c_32_2 = 0xffff0000ffff0000;
ulong m0 = m_state[0] ^ data[0];
ulong m1 = m_state[1] ^ data[1];
ulong m2 = m_state[2] ^ data[2];
ulong m3 = m_state[3] ^ data[3];
ulong m4 = m_state[4] ^ data[4];
ulong m5 = m_state[5] ^ data[5];
ulong m6 = m_state[6] ^ data[6];
ulong m7 = m_state[7] ^ data[7];
ulong m8 = m_state[8];
ulong m9 = m_state[9];
ulong m10 = m_state[10];
ulong m11 = m_state[11];
ulong m12 = m_state[12];
ulong m13 = m_state[13];
ulong m14 = m_state[14];
ulong m15 = m_state[15];
ulong t0;
ulong t1;
for (int r = 0; r < 42; r = r + 7)
{
m12 = ~m12;
m14 = ~m14;
m0 ^= ~m8 & s_bitslices[r * 4];
m2 ^= ~m10 & s_bitslices[r * 4 + 2];
t0 = s_bitslices[r * 4] ^ (m0 & m4);
t1 = s_bitslices[r * 4 + 2] ^ (m2 & m6);
m0 ^= m8 & m12;
m2 ^= m10 & m14;
m12 ^= ~m4 & m8;
m14 ^= ~m6 & m10;
m4 ^= m0 & m8;
m6 ^= m2 & m10;
m8 ^= m0 & ~m12;
m10 ^= m2 & ~m14;
m0 ^= m4 | m12;
m2 ^= m6 | m14;
m12 ^= m4 & m8;
m14 ^= m6 & m10;
m4 ^= t0 & m0;
m6 ^= t1 & m2;
m8 ^= t0;
m10 ^= t1;
m2 ^= m4;
m6 ^= m8;
m10 ^= m0 ^ m12;
m14 ^= m0;
m0 ^= m6;
m4 ^= m10;
m8 ^= m2 ^ m14;
m12 ^= m2;
m2 = ((m2 & c_2_1) << 1) | ((m2 & c_2_2) >> 1);
m6 = ((m6 & c_2_1) << 1) | ((m6 & c_2_2) >> 1);
m10 = ((m10 & c_2_1) << 1) | ((m10 & c_2_2) >> 1);
m14 = ((m14 & c_2_1) << 1) | ((m14 & c_2_2) >> 1);
m13 = ~m13;
m15 = ~m15;
m1 ^= ~m9 & s_bitslices[r * 4 + 1];
m3 ^= ~m11 & s_bitslices[r * 4 + 1 + 2];
t0 = s_bitslices[r * 4 + 1] ^ (m1 & m5);
t1 = s_bitslices[r * 4 + 1 + 2] ^ (m3 & m7);
m1 ^= m9 & m13;
m3 ^= m11 & m15;
m13 ^= ~m5 & m9;
m15 ^= ~m7 & m11;
m5 ^= m1 & m9;
m7 ^= m3 & m11;
m9 ^= m1 & ~m13;
m11 ^= m3 & ~m15;
m1 ^= m5 | m13;
m3 ^= m7 | m15;
m13 ^= m5 & m9;
m15 ^= m7 & m11;
m5 ^= t0 & m1;
m7 ^= t1 & m3;
m9 ^= t0;
m11 ^= t1;
m3 ^= m5;
m7 ^= m9;
m11 ^= m1 ^ m13;
m15 ^= m1;
m1 ^= m7;
m5 ^= m11;
m9 ^= m3 ^ m15;
m13 ^= m3;
m3 = ((m3 & c_2_1) << 1) | ((m3 & c_2_2) >> 1);
m7 = ((m7 & c_2_1) << 1) | ((m7 & c_2_2) >> 1);
m11 = ((m11 & c_2_1) << 1) | ((m11 & c_2_2) >> 1);
m15 = ((m15 & c_2_1) << 1) | ((m15 & c_2_2) >> 1);
m12 = ~m12;
m14 = ~m14;
m0 ^= ~m8 & s_bitslices[(r + 1) * 4];
m2 ^= ~m10 & s_bitslices[(r + 1) * 4 + 2];
t0 = s_bitslices[(r + 1) * 4] ^ (m0 & m4);
t1 = s_bitslices[(r + 1) * 4 + 2] ^ (m2 & m6);
m0 ^= m8 & m12;
m2 ^= m10 & m14;
m12 ^= ~m4 & m8;
m14 ^= ~m6 & m10;
m4 ^= m0 & m8;
m6 ^= m2 & m10;
m8 ^= m0 & ~m12;
m10 ^= m2 & ~m14;
m0 ^= m4 | m12;
m2 ^= m6 | m14;
m12 ^= m4 & m8;
m14 ^= m6 & m10;
m4 ^= t0 & m0;
m6 ^= t1 & m2;
m8 ^= t0;
m10 ^= t1;
m2 ^= m4;
m6 ^= m8;
m10 ^= m0 ^ m12;
m14 ^= m0;
m0 ^= m6;
m4 ^= m10;
m8 ^= m2 ^ m14;
m12 ^= m2;
m2 = ((m2 & c_4_1) << 2) | ((m2 & c_4_2) >> 2);
m6 = ((m6 & c_4_1) << 2) | ((m6 & c_4_2) >> 2);
m10 = ((m10 & c_4_1) << 2) | ((m10 & c_4_2) >> 2);
m14 = ((m14 & c_4_1) << 2) | ((m14 & c_4_2) >> 2);
m13 = ~m13;
m15 = ~m15;
m1 ^= ~m9 & s_bitslices[(r + 1) * 4 + 1];
m3 ^= ~m11 & s_bitslices[(r + 1) * 4 + 1 + 2];
t0 = s_bitslices[(r + 1) * 4 + 1] ^ (m1 & m5);
t1 = s_bitslices[(r + 1) * 4 + 1 + 2] ^ (m3 & m7);
m1 ^= m9 & m13;
m3 ^= m11 & m15;
m13 ^= ~m5 & m9;
m15 ^= ~m7 & m11;
m5 ^= m1 & m9;
m7 ^= m3 & m11;
m9 ^= m1 & ~m13;
m11 ^= m3 & ~m15;
m1 ^= m5 | m13;
m3 ^= m7 | m15;
m13 ^= m5 & m9;
m15 ^= m7 & m11;
m5 ^= t0 & m1;
m7 ^= t1 & m3;
m9 ^= t0;
m11 ^= t1;
m3 ^= m5;
m7 ^= m9;
m11 ^= m1 ^ m13;
m15 ^= m1;
m1 ^= m7;
m5 ^= m11;
m9 ^= m3 ^ m15;
m13 ^= m3;
m3 = ((m3 & c_4_1) << 2) | ((m3 & c_4_2) >> 2);
m7 = ((m7 & c_4_1) << 2) | ((m7 & c_4_2) >> 2);
m11 = ((m11 & c_4_1) << 2) | ((m11 & c_4_2) >> 2);
m15 = ((m15 & c_4_1) << 2) | ((m15 & c_4_2) >> 2);
m12 = ~m12;
m14 = ~m14;
m0 ^= ~m8 & s_bitslices[(r + 2) * 4];
m2 ^= ~m10 & s_bitslices[(r + 2) * 4 + 2];
t0 = s_bitslices[(r + 2) * 4] ^ (m0 & m4);
t1 = s_bitslices[(r + 2) * 4 + 2] ^ (m2 & m6);
m0 ^= m8 & m12;
m2 ^= m10 & m14;
m12 ^= ~m4 & m8;
m14 ^= ~m6 & m10;
m4 ^= m0 & m8;
m6 ^= m2 & m10;
m8 ^= m0 & ~m12;
m10 ^= m2 & ~m14;
m0 ^= m4 | m12;
m2 ^= m6 | m14;
m12 ^= m4 & m8;
m14 ^= m6 & m10;
m4 ^= t0 & m0;
m6 ^= t1 & m2;
m8 ^= t0;
m10 ^= t1;
m2 ^= m4;
m6 ^= m8;
m10 ^= m0 ^ m12;
m14 ^= m0;
m0 ^= m6;
m4 ^= m10;
m8 ^= m2 ^ m14;
m12 ^= m2;
m2 = ((m2 & c_8_1) << 4) | ((m2 & c_8_2) >> 4);
m6 = ((m6 & c_8_1) << 4) | ((m6 & c_8_2) >> 4);
m10 = ((m10 & c_8_1) << 4) | ((m10 & c_8_2) >> 4);
m14 = ((m14 & c_8_1) << 4) | ((m14 & c_8_2) >> 4);
m13 = ~m13;
m15 = ~m15;
m1 ^= ~m9 & s_bitslices[(r + 2) * 4 + 1];
m3 ^= ~m11 & s_bitslices[(r + 2) * 4 + 1 + 2];
t0 = s_bitslices[(r + 2) * 4 + 1] ^ (m1 & m5);
t1 = s_bitslices[(r + 2) * 4 + 1 + 2] ^ (m3 & m7);
m1 ^= m9 & m13;
m3 ^= m11 & m15;
m13 ^= ~m5 & m9;
m15 ^= ~m7 & m11;
m5 ^= m1 & m9;
m7 ^= m3 & m11;
m9 ^= m1 & ~m13;
m11 ^= m3 & ~m15;
m1 ^= m5 | m13;
m3 ^= m7 | m15;
m13 ^= m5 & m9;
m15 ^= m7 & m11;
m5 ^= t0 & m1;
m7 ^= t1 & m3;
m9 ^= t0;
m11 ^= t1;
m3 ^= m5;
m7 ^= m9;
m11 ^= m1 ^ m13;
m15 ^= m1;
m1 ^= m7;
m5 ^= m11;
m9 ^= m3 ^ m15;
m13 ^= m3;
m3 = ((m3 & c_8_1) << 4) | ((m3 & c_8_2) >> 4);
m7 = ((m7 & c_8_1) << 4) | ((m7 & c_8_2) >> 4);
m11 = ((m11 & c_8_1) << 4) | ((m11 & c_8_2) >> 4);
m15 = ((m15 & c_8_1) << 4) | ((m15 & c_8_2) >> 4);
m12 = ~m12;
m14 = ~m14;
m0 ^= ~m8 & s_bitslices[(r + 3) * 4];
m2 ^= ~m10 & s_bitslices[(r + 3) * 4 + 2];
t0 = s_bitslices[(r + 3) * 4] ^ (m0 & m4);
t1 = s_bitslices[(r + 3) * 4 + 2] ^ (m2 & m6);
m0 ^= m8 & m12;
m2 ^= m10 & m14;
m12 ^= ~m4 & m8;
m14 ^= ~m6 & m10;
m4 ^= m0 & m8;
m6 ^= m2 & m10;
m8 ^= m0 & ~m12;
m10 ^= m2 & ~m14;
m0 ^= m4 | m12;
m2 ^= m6 | m14;
m12 ^= m4 & m8;
m14 ^= m6 & m10;
m4 ^= t0 & m0;
m6 ^= t1 & m2;
m8 ^= t0;
m10 ^= t1;
m2 ^= m4;
m6 ^= m8;
m10 ^= m0 ^ m12;
m14 ^= m0;
m0 ^= m6;
m4 ^= m10;
m8 ^= m2 ^ m14;
m12 ^= m2;
m2 = ((m2 & c_16_1) << 8) | ((m2 & c_16_2) >> 8);
m6 = ((m6 & c_16_1) << 8) | ((m6 & c_16_2) >> 8);
m10 = ((m10 & c_16_1) << 8) | ((m10 & c_16_2) >> 8);
m14 = ((m14 & c_16_1) << 8) | ((m14 & c_16_2) >> 8);
m13 = ~m13;
m15 = ~m15;
m1 ^= ~m9 & s_bitslices[(r + 3) * 4 + 1];
m3 ^= ~m11 & s_bitslices[(r + 3) * 4 + 1 + 2];
t0 = s_bitslices[(r + 3) * 4 + 1] ^ (m1 & m5);
t1 = s_bitslices[(r + 3) * 4 + 1 + 2] ^ (m3 & m7);
m1 ^= m9 & m13;
m3 ^= m11 & m15;
m13 ^= ~m5 & m9;
m15 ^= ~m7 & m11;
m5 ^= m1 & m9;
m7 ^= m3 & m11;
m9 ^= m1 & ~m13;
m11 ^= m3 & ~m15;
m1 ^= m5 | m13;
m3 ^= m7 | m15;
m13 ^= m5 & m9;
m15 ^= m7 & m11;
m5 ^= t0 & m1;
m7 ^= t1 & m3;
m9 ^= t0;
m11 ^= t1;
m3 ^= m5;
m7 ^= m9;
m11 ^= m1 ^ m13;
m15 ^= m1;
m1 ^= m7;
m5 ^= m11;
m9 ^= m3 ^ m15;
m13 ^= m3;
m3 = ((m3 & c_16_1) << 8) | ((m3 & c_16_2) >> 8);
m7 = ((m7 & c_16_1) << 8) | ((m7 & c_16_2) >> 8);
m11 = ((m11 & c_16_1) << 8) | ((m11 & c_16_2) >> 8);
m15 = ((m15 & c_16_1) << 8) | ((m15 & c_16_2) >> 8);
m12 = ~m12;
m14 = ~m14;
m0 ^= ~m8 & s_bitslices[(r + 4) * 4];
m2 ^= ~m10 & s_bitslices[(r + 4) * 4 + 2];
t0 = s_bitslices[(r + 4) * 4] ^ (m0 & m4);
t1 = s_bitslices[(r + 4) * 4 + 2] ^ (m2 & m6);
m0 ^= m8 & m12;
m2 ^= m10 & m14;
m12 ^= ~m4 & m8;
m14 ^= ~m6 & m10;
m4 ^= m0 & m8;
m6 ^= m2 & m10;
m8 ^= m0 & ~m12;
m10 ^= m2 & ~m14;
m0 ^= m4 | m12;
m2 ^= m6 | m14;
m12 ^= m4 & m8;
m14 ^= m6 & m10;
m4 ^= t0 & m0;
m6 ^= t1 & m2;
m8 ^= t0;
m10 ^= t1;
m2 ^= m4;
m6 ^= m8;
m10 ^= m0 ^ m12;
m14 ^= m0;
m0 ^= m6;
m4 ^= m10;
m8 ^= m2 ^ m14;
m12 ^= m2;
m2 = ((m2 & c_32_1) << 16) | ((m2 & c_32_2) >> 16);
m6 = ((m6 & c_32_1) << 16) | ((m6 & c_32_2) >> 16);
m10 = ((m10 & c_32_1) << 16) | ((m10 & c_32_2) >> 16);
m14 = ((m14 & c_32_1) << 16) | ((m14 & c_32_2) >> 16);
m13 = ~m13;
m15 = ~m15;
m1 ^= ~m9 & s_bitslices[(r + 4) * 4 + 1];
m3 ^= ~m11 & s_bitslices[(r + 4) * 4 + 1 + 2];
t0 = s_bitslices[(r + 4) * 4 + 1] ^ (m1 & m5);
t1 = s_bitslices[(r + 4) * 4 + 1 + 2] ^ (m3 & m7);
m1 ^= m9 & m13;
m3 ^= m11 & m15;
m13 ^= ~m5 & m9;
m15 ^= ~m7 & m11;
m5 ^= m1 & m9;
m7 ^= m3 & m11;
m9 ^= m1 & ~m13;
m11 ^= m3 & ~m15;
m1 ^= m5 | m13;
m3 ^= m7 | m15;
m13 ^= m5 & m9;
m15 ^= m7 & m11;
m5 ^= t0 & m1;
m7 ^= t1 & m3;
m9 ^= t0;
m11 ^= t1;
m3 ^= m5;
m7 ^= m9;
m11 ^= m1 ^ m13;
m15 ^= m1;
m1 ^= m7;
m5 ^= m11;
m9 ^= m3 ^ m15;
m13 ^= m3;
m3 = ((m3 & c_32_1) << 16) | ((m3 & c_32_2) >> 16);
m7 = ((m7 & c_32_1) << 16) | ((m7 & c_32_2) >> 16);
m11 = ((m11 & c_32_1) << 16) | ((m11 & c_32_2) >> 16);
m15 = ((m15 & c_32_1) << 16) | ((m15 & c_32_2) >> 16);
m12 = ~m12;
m14 = ~m14;
m0 ^= ~m8 & s_bitslices[(r + 5) * 4];
m2 ^= ~m10 & s_bitslices[(r + 5) * 4 + 2];
t0 = s_bitslices[(r + 5) * 4] ^ (m0 & m4);
t1 = s_bitslices[(r + 5) * 4 + 2] ^ (m2 & m6);
m0 ^= m8 & m12;
m2 ^= m10 & m14;
m12 ^= ~m4 & m8;
m14 ^= ~m6 & m10;
m4 ^= m0 & m8;
m6 ^= m2 & m10;
m8 ^= m0 & ~m12;
m10 ^= m2 & ~m14;
m0 ^= m4 | m12;
m2 ^= m6 | m14;
m12 ^= m4 & m8;
m14 ^= m6 & m10;
m4 ^= t0 & m0;
m6 ^= t1 & m2;
m8 ^= t0;
m10 ^= t1;
m2 ^= m4;
m6 ^= m8;
m10 ^= m0 ^ m12;
m14 ^= m0;
m0 ^= m6;
m4 ^= m10;
m8 ^= m2 ^ m14;
m12 ^= m2;
m2 = (m2 << 32) | (m2 >> 32);
m6 = (m6 << 32) | (m6 >> 32);
m10 = (m10 << 32) | (m10 >> 32);
m14 = (m14 << 32) | (m14 >> 32);
m13 = ~m13;
m15 = ~m15;
m1 ^= ~m9 & s_bitslices[(r + 5) * 4 + 1];
m3 ^= ~m11 & s_bitslices[(r + 5) * 4 + 1 + 2];
t0 = s_bitslices[(r + 5) * 4 + 1] ^ (m1 & m5);
t1 = s_bitslices[(r + 5) * 4 + 1 + 2] ^ (m3 & m7);
m1 ^= m9 & m13;
m3 ^= m11 & m15;
m13 ^= ~m5 & m9;
m15 ^= ~m7 & m11;
m5 ^= m1 & m9;
m7 ^= m3 & m11;
m9 ^= m1 & ~m13;
m11 ^= m3 & ~m15;
m1 ^= m5 | m13;
m3 ^= m7 | m15;
m13 ^= m5 & m9;
m15 ^= m7 & m11;
m5 ^= t0 & m1;
m7 ^= t1 & m3;
m9 ^= t0;
m11 ^= t1;
m3 ^= m5;
m7 ^= m9;
m11 ^= m1 ^ m13;
m15 ^= m1;
m1 ^= m7;
m5 ^= m11;
m9 ^= m3 ^ m15;
m13 ^= m3;
m3 = (m3 << 32) | (m3 >> 32);
m7 = (m7 << 32) | (m7 >> 32);
m11 = (m11 << 32) | (m11 >> 32);
m15 = (m15 << 32) | (m15 >> 32);
m12 = ~m12;
m14 = ~m14;
m0 ^= ~m8 & s_bitslices[(r + 6) * 4];
m2 ^= ~m10 & s_bitslices[(r + 6) * 4 + 2];
t0 = s_bitslices[(r + 6) * 4] ^ (m0 & m4);
t1 = s_bitslices[(r + 6) * 4 + 2] ^ (m2 & m6);
m0 ^= m8 & m12;
m2 ^= m10 & m14;
m12 ^= ~m4 & m8;
m14 ^= ~m6 & m10;
m4 ^= m0 & m8;
m6 ^= m2 & m10;
m8 ^= m0 & ~m12;
m10 ^= m2 & ~m14;
m0 ^= m4 | m12;
m2 ^= m6 | m14;
m12 ^= m4 & m8;
m14 ^= m6 & m10;
m4 ^= t0 & m0;
m6 ^= t1 & m2;
m8 ^= t0;
m10 ^= t1;
m2 ^= m4;
m6 ^= m8;
m10 ^= m0 ^ m12;
m14 ^= m0;
m0 ^= m6;
m4 ^= m10;
m8 ^= m2 ^ m14;
m12 ^= m2;
m13 = ~m13;
m15 = ~m15;
m1 ^= ~m9 & s_bitslices[(r + 6) * 4 + 1];
m3 ^= ~m11 & s_bitslices[(r + 6) * 4 + 1 + 2];
t0 = s_bitslices[(r + 6) * 4 + 1] ^ (m1 & m5);
t1 = s_bitslices[(r + 6) * 4 + 1 + 2] ^ (m3 & m7);
m1 ^= m9 & m13;
m3 ^= m11 & m15;
m13 ^= ~m5 & m9;
m15 ^= ~m7 & m11;
m5 ^= m1 & m9;
m7 ^= m3 & m11;
m9 ^= m1 & ~m13;
m11 ^= m3 & ~m15;
m1 ^= m5 | m13;
m3 ^= m7 | m15;
m13 ^= m5 & m9;
m15 ^= m7 & m11;
m5 ^= t0 & m1;
m7 ^= t1 & m3;
m9 ^= t0;
m11 ^= t1;
m3 ^= m5;
m7 ^= m9;
m11 ^= m1 ^ m13;
m15 ^= m1;
m1 ^= m7;
m5 ^= m11;
m9 ^= m3 ^ m15;
m13 ^= m3;
t0 = m2;
m2 = m3;
m3 = t0;
t0 = m6;
m6 = m7;
m7 = t0;
t0 = m10;
m10 = m11;
m11 = t0;
t0 = m14;
m14 = m15;
m15 = t0;
}
m_state[0] = m0;
m_state[1] = m1;
m_state[2] = m2;
m_state[3] = m3;
m_state[4] = m4;
m_state[5] = m5;
m_state[6] = m6;
m_state[7] = m7;
m_state[8] = m8 ^ data[0];
m_state[9] = m9 ^ data[1];
m_state[10] = m10 ^ data[2];
m_state[11] = m11 ^ data[3];
m_state[12] = m12 ^ data[4];
m_state[13] = m13 ^ data[5];
m_state[14] = m14 ^ data[6];
m_state[15] = m15 ^ data[7];
}
protected override void Finish()
{
ulong bits = m_processed_bytes * 8;
int padindex = 56;
if (m_processed_bytes % 64 != 0)
padindex += m_buffer.Length - m_buffer.Pos;
byte[] pad = new byte[padindex + 8];
pad[0] = 0x80;
Converters.ConvertULongToBytesSwapOrder(bits, pad, padindex);
padindex += 8;
TransformBytes(pad, 0, padindex);
}
protected override byte[] GetResult()
{
return Converters.ConvertULongsToBytes(m_state, 8, 8).SubArray(64 - HashSize, HashSize);
}
public override void Initialize()
{
switch (HashSize)
{
case 28:
Array.Copy(s_initial_states[0], m_state, m_state.Length);
break;
case 32:
Array.Copy(s_initial_states[1], m_state, m_state.Length);
break;
case 48:
Array.Copy(s_initial_states[2], m_state, m_state.Length);
break;
case 64:
Array.Copy(s_initial_states[3], m_state, m_state.Length);
break;
}
base.Initialize();
}
}
}
|
Recognition of age-damaged (R,S)-adenosyl-L-methionine by two methyltransferases in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
The biological methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) can exist in two diastereoisomeric states with respect to its sulfonium ion. The S configuration, (S,S)-AdoMet, is the only form that is produced enzymatically as well as the only form used in almost all biological methylation reactions. Under physiological conditions, however, the sulfonium ion can spontaneously racemize to the R form, producing (R,S)-AdoMet. As of yet, (R,S)-AdoMet has no known physiological function and may inhibit cellular reactions. In this study, we found two Saccharomyces cerevisiae enzymes that are capable of recognizing (R,S)-AdoMet and using it to methylate homocysteine to form methionine. These enzymes are the products of the SAM4 and MHT1 genes, identified previously as homocysteine methyltransferases dependent upon AdoMet and S-methylmethionine, respectively. We found here that Sam4 recognizes both (S,S)- and (R,S)-AdoMet, but that its activity is much higher with the R,S form. Mht1 reacts with only the R,S form of AdoMet, whereas no activity is seen with the S,S form. R,S-Specific homocysteine methyltransferase activity is also shown here to occur in extracts of Arabidopsis thaliana, Drosophila melanogaster, and Caenorhabditis elegans, but has not been detected in several tissue extracts of Mus musculus. Such activity may function to prevent the accumulation of (R,S)-AdoMet in these organisms. |
Developing the world's first universal Internet radio platform
Torian Wireless, the Australian developer of the world's first universal Internet radio platform, iRoamer, has agreements with manufacturers that will see the first commercial batch of products with the iRoamer technology launched next month.
Torian Wireless developed the iRoamer platform to give wireless Internet radio capabilities to almost any consumer electronic device, such as portable media players, Hi-Fi systems, set-top boxes, IP-TV units, car radio products, mobile and VoIP telephones.
Providing the interface between the iRoamer platform and the user is miRoamer, a customisable Internet media aggregation portal that gives users access to tens of thousands of Internet radio stations all over the world.
Torian provides a software suite which manufacturers can embed into their products, allowing access to the miRoamer.com back-end infrastructure.
Each device is registered with miRoamer, allowing users to listen to live radio in real time from anywhere at any time, manage content through folders, and share content with miRoamer "buddies".
Torian Wireless CEO and iRoamer developer George Parthimos, said the driving force behind the technology was a realisation that millions of users worldwide were streaming radio stations online.
"In the USA alone, 33 million people listen to iRadio every week (up from 19 million in 2005). Most of these users are tied to their desktop computer, and are seeking an alternative method for accessing the vast amounts of content available," Parthimos said.
"miRoamer.com is a free service. Users simply need to register an account to use the service on their desktop. The service is also free to purchasers of miRoamer-enabled devices, who can configure their device using the online portal."
miRoamer isn't just targeted at end users, with corporate content available via a user-pays model. Users can also subscribe to specific content, such as the Bloomberg stock market summary, as well as tutorials, eBooks and other podcasts.
The company is also working on a car radio service expected to be launched as early as 2009 in "several global markets across multiple continents" according to Parthimos, who believes the impact of Internet radio will be similar to the introduction of the FM band.
"We believe that the traditional radio model will not necessarily change with the growth of Internet radio take-up through connected devices. In fact, the compelling reason for users listening to radio remains 'programming'," Parthimos said.
"As with the launch of FM in the 1980's in Australia, AM stations retained their place in the radio landscape due to their programming. Advertising will support iRadio content. The model is being defined now, and miRoamer is at the forefront of working with several global advertising and content companies to build an appropriate advertising and delivery model.
Parthimos cites the growth in wireless broadband as a key driver of connected devices, and expects user's desires for compelling Internet content on those devices to drive Internet radio's popularity.
However, on the local front, Parthimos believes that limited availability of suitable products in retail channels compared to countries like the USA, UK and Germany, and expensive and restrictive monthly broadband download fees could stifle the popularity of iRadio compared to the rest of the world.
But the iRoamer platform's popularity will significantly increase once manufacturers begin pushing out devices.
"There are several license and distribution agreements in place with manufacturers in China, Singapore and USA, and the first commercial batch of miRoamer-enabled products is due to begin shipping from July/August."
The screen was particularly good. It is bright and visible from most angles, however heat is an issue, particularly around the Windows button on the front, and on the back where the battery housing is located.
My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of IDG Communications is prohibited. Copyright 2013 IDG Communications.
ABN 14 001 592 650. All rights reserved.
Contact Us
With over 25 years of brand awareness and credibility, Good Gear Guide (formerly PC World Australia), consistently delivers editorial excellence through award-winning content and trusted product reviews. |
An appeals court keeps religious freedom within decent bounds
On Wednesday, a federal appeals court said that you can’t fire a transgender person just because you think gender is a gift from God that can’t be changed. The case, EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, was brought by Aimee Stephens, a funeral director in Michigan who was fired when she told her boss, Thomas Rost, that she had a gender identity disorder and planned to transition from male to female.
Reversing a lower court decision, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that 1) the ban on sex discrimination in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act applies to transgender identity; and 2) the firing was not protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
Rost claimed that he would be “violating God’s commands” if he permitted a male funeral director “to wear the uniform for female directors while at work.” I guess the applicable command here is Deuteronomy 22:5, which reads (in the King James Version): “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.”
Of course, that begs the gender identity question: What, exactly, is “woman” and “man”?
On that, Rost’s asserted his sincere belief that “the Bible teaches that a person’s sex is an immutable God-given gift,” and that to let Stephens transition in the job would make him complicit “in supporting the idea that sex is a changeable social construct.”
But in America it is not enough to possess a sincere religious belief. You’ve got to show that your free exercise is substantially burdened by having to do something that in your view violates that belief. In the present case, the court said it wasn’t:
Rost may sincerely believe that, by retaining Stephens as an employee, he is supporting and endorsing Stephens’s views regarding the mutability of sex. But as a matter of law, bare compliance with Title VII—without actually assisting or facilitating Stephens’s transition efforts—does not amount to an endorsement of Stephens’s views…At bottom, the fact that Rost sincerely believes that he is being compelled to make such an endorsement does not make it so.
Let’s be clear. The societal issue here is not with the sincere belief of individuals in commands from the Hebrew Bible like Deuteronomy 22:5. If so, we’d be seeing people being fired for committing adultery, violating the Sabbath, dishonoring their parents, wearing garments that mix wool and linen, etc. etc. etc. The issue is the extent to which those opposed to same-sex marriage and transgender identity get to carve out socio-economic space for the old norms they prefer.
But it’s possible to hold to those old norms without having devout small business owners turn into litigious culture warriors. Here, for instance, is what Andrew T. Walker, Director of Policy Studies for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, has to say about the transgender debate.
Holding a biblical conviction in this debate means that individuals will find themselves in disagreements with friends, families, and co-workers—and that, however we express ourselves, we will be accused of being haters, bigots, and worse.
At a time like this, Christians need the courage to defend a true vision for human flourishing based on the biblical understanding of being made in His image. We must avoid trite explanations or knee-jerk reactions, but we must continue to say that, since God made us, he gets the ultimate say in who we are. We must put steel in our spines.
But all the conviction in the world won’t matter if we act or speak without compassion. Jesus did not aim to win debates. He sought to love people. So must we as his followers. As we ground our convictions in God’s unchanging, perfect, Word, we must speak with compassion in our hearts.
As I understand this injunction, Thomas Rost should have had the courage to tell Aimee Stephens that he believes gender is God’s immutable gift. And he should have had the compassion to keep her on the job, according to the dictates of the conscience that is hers.
This content is not available for republication.
RNS columns are direct-published opinion pieces. They are not always edited and reflect the views only of the author. |
Q:
Controller actions for home, about and contact pages
I've just started a project and created a pages_controller and within the controller I have this:
class PagesController < ApplicationController
def home
end
end
these are my routes:
devise_for :users
root to: "pages#home"
I created the pages controller thinking I can use it to have a home page, about page & contact page. From my limited experience, it seems that your actions within your controllers should stick to the new,create,destroy,delete,show,index,edit and update
Is it bad to name an action Home, contact or about like I've done above? What do you usually do?
A:
There is nothing wrong with not having 100% RESTful routes in a Rails application. Particularly for your exact use case, which is to collect a handful of "static" pages. You're absolutely on the right track. The only thing I would consider changing would be to break out the contact page to its own controller (ContactPageSubmissions, perhaps), if it has a form on it - if it is just contact information, I would leave that where it is, too.
|
Subhashni Giridhar
Subhashni Giridhar (born 27 April 1965) is an Indian classical dancer of Bharatanatyam and a Chartered Accountant.
Early life and background
Subhashni Giridhar had the passion for dance since childhood and had trained in Thanjavur style of Bharata Natyam from the well known Gurus - ‘Kalaimamani’ late Guru A.T Govindaraj Pillai and later on from ‘Kalaimamani’ late Guru T.K. Mahalingam Pillai and Guru Vasant kumar of renowned Sri Rajarajeswari Bharatha Natya Kala Mandir, Matunga. Learning from the age of 8, she gave her first stage performance – ‘Arangetram’ on 26 January 1990.
Dance career
After her ‘Arangetram’ in 1990, she has been giving several solo performance.
Being a national level danseuse, her specialization is solo recitals.
She has been giving solo performances since 1990 and has performed in several major sabhas / organizations such as Sri Shanmukhananda Sabha in Mumbai (1995) and New Delhi (2016), Ministry of Culture (India), Mulund Fine Arts Society, twice in NCPA in Little theatre and Godrej Dance Academy, four in ISKCON – monthly festival and Janmashtami Festival, Mulund Fine Arts Society, Cultural Festivals organized by Governments of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, ‘Vividha Kala Mahotsav’ organized by Department of Cultural Affairs, Govt of Maharashtra, ‘Pongal festival’ organized by Govt of Tamil Nadu at Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, and Centaur Hotel, festival under the aegis of Department of Tourism, Govt of Andhra Pradesh at Shilparamam, Regional conference of ICSI, SICA at Ravindra Bharathi, Hyderabad, dance festival of Kalasagaram, Secunderabad and Bombay Andhra Maha Sabha, Mumbai. In the year 2014, Subhashni completed 25 years as a dance exponent. She performed at the Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University to mark this occasion.
She also has set up a BharataNatyam Academy by the name - "Suguna Nrityalaya" in the memory of her late sister Smt Suguna, who mentored her to pursue BharataNatyam in the first place.
The money from this Academy would be forming the corpus of a Trust. The Trust money would be for imparting education to the underprivileged.
Academic career
She is a post graduate in commerce from R.A.Podar College of Commerce, and also a Chartered Accountant. She became a FCA – fellow member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India from 2003. In 2004, she acquired a post qualification degree DISA – Diploma in Information and Systems Audit from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
She has been conferred the title of ‘SHRINGAR MANI’ and adjudged as best dancer all over India, by SUR SINGAR SAMSAD.
She has been pursuing her academic career with equal dedication and is a practising Chartered Accountant in Mumbai.
Choreographies
Subhashni has choreographed many of her Dance Recitals
She choreographed special dance theme "Shri Krishna Kaarunya" and performed it at Sri Janmashtami Festival at ISKCON, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai and "Shri Krishna Vaibhav" performed at ISKCON, Juhu, Mumbai.
Her recent concept which she gave shape to was ‘Navarasas in the life of a student till he / she becomes a Professional / CA’. The concept, choreography and the performance was appreciated by the audience.
"First time in the history of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, CA motto and history of CA emblem was shown by me in Abhinaya and Mudras with English subtitles, on CA Foundation day on 1 July 2011."
Philosophy
The reason God made her to pursue her career and her passion (Bharathanatyam), both with the same zeal and enthusiasm was because God had chosen CA to fulfill the financial needs and Dance for her inner Bliss, she says.
The Supreme satisfaction of the inner self while performing dance is unexplainable.
The main reason that She has never made Dance a source of income after being a performer for more than two decades is that, she has always considered Bharathnatyam Dance as eternal and spiritual. When one could get so much of immense self-satisfaction and pure happiness then what else one could ask for from Dance? Materialistic thing like money?
She has dedicated herself to Bharathanatyam. She believes in continuing her art all through her life and train as many dancers as possible who will carry on this legacy in to the future generations, without making it a commercial proposition. She says "If Every dance Performance of mine can motivate at least one person to pursue this rich Indian art of Bharata Natyam that would be my humble contribution to the field of art."
References
Official Website
The Hindu Friday Review
The Hindu Friday Review
The Hindu Friday Review
The Hindu Friday Review
The Hindu Friday Review
Times Of India Article
Times Of India Article
Times Of India Article
Times Of India Article
Article in Hindustan Times
Westside Plus, Times Of India Article
Article in Mumbai Mirror
The Hindu Friday Review
Review in Hans India
Review in Hans India
Review in Hans India
Review in Telangana Today
Category:1965 births
Category:Living people
Category:Bharatanatyam exponents
Category:Indian female classical dancers
Category:Performers of Indian classical dance
Category:Dancers from Tamil Nadu
Category:Artists from Chennai
Category:Women artists from Tamil Nadu
Category:20th-century Indian dancers
Category:20th-century Indian women artists |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to identification cards of the type used as credit cards, bank ATM cards, or for other applications requiring user identification, and more particularly to a card having a special code arrangement which requires an adjustment of the card by one familiar with the code before the card will identify the authorized card holder.
2. Description of Background Art
A background art search directed to the subject matter of this application conducted in the U.S. Pat. and Trademark Office disclosed the following U.S. Letters Patent: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,399,473; 3,705,294; 4,801,790; and 4,899,038.
None of the patents uncovered in the search discloses an identification card having a primary magnetic code portion located on a non-movable part of the card and a secondary magnetic code portion located on a movable part of the card which card requires action by one familiar with the code arrangement to move one part of the card relative to the other to make the two separate code portions function in combination with each other to identify the authorized holder of the card. |
646 F.Supp. 1077 (1986)
NEW CONCEPT INDUSTRIES, INC., a corporation, Plaintiff,
v.
Comer F. GREEN, Defendant.
Civ. A. No. 86-H-696-N.
United States District Court, M.D. Alabama, N.D.
November 3, 1986.
Hill, Hill, Carter, Franco, Cole & Black, Robert W. Bradford, Jr., Montgomery, Ala., for plaintiff.
Lynn W. Jinks, III, Union Springs, Ala., Melton & Espy, Michael S. Jackson, Montgomery, Ala., for defendant.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
HOBBS, Chief Judge.
This cause is now before the Court on defendant's motion for summary judgment, filed August 13, 1986. The Court is of the opinion that this motion should be denied.
FACTS
Plaintiff, New Concept Industries, Inc., (New Concept) is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Aberdeen, Mississippi. On October 9, 1985, New Concept negotiated a contract with defendant, Comer F. Green, (Green) in Aberdeen, Mississippi for the construction of pre-fab modular motel units. New Concept manufactured these units in Mississippi and installed them in Union Springs, Alabama. During the negotiations, Green had assured New Concept that he would take "all necessary steps to see that New Concept complied with Alabama laws." (Affidavit of Sara Bowen) Furthermore, the one-page contract clearly stated that defendant *1078 would "be responsible for securing all permits necessary for the construction of this building in accordance with all city and state requirements...."
During the installation of the pre-fab units in Union Springs, Green was dissatisfied with the construction materials and workmanship. He withheld payment. Plaintiff filed a lien on the Union Springs property and sued for breach of contract. Defendant counterclaimed for breach of contract and fraud. Defendant has moved for summary judgment on plaintiff's claim on the ground that plaintiff is a foreign corporation not qualified to do business in this state under the provisions of Ala.Code § 10-2A-247 (1980). This Court finds that New Concept is a foreign corporation not qualified to do business in the state, but for equitable reasons New Concept is not barred from enforcing the contract.
Legal Consideration
Foreign corporations qualify to do business by filing an application with the Secretary of State, Ala.Code § 10-2A-243 (1980). Alabama law provides that a foreign corporation not qualified to do business in this state may not enforce its contracts but can have its contracts enforced against it, Ala. Code § 10-2A-247(a) (1980). As a practical matter, this statute allows an Alabama corporation to enforce its contracts against a foreign corporation, but the foreign corporation may not counterclaim on that same contract, unless it has qualified to do business in Alabama, see Sanjay, Inc. v. Duncan Construction Co., Inc., 445 So.2d 876 (Ala.1983).
Courts have recognized the harshness of this rule and its potential for injustice. The Eleventh Circuit has characterized this statute as penal in nature and because it is in derogation of common law the rule must be strictly construed, see Aim Leasing Corp. v. Helicopter Medical Evacuation, Inc., 687 F.2d 354 (11th Cir.1982); Hughes Associates, Inc. v. Printed Circuit Corp., 631 F.Supp. 851 (N.D.Ala.1986). Alabama courts and legal commentators have criticized this rule for its harshness. See Sanjay, supra, at 881 (Torbert, C.J., dissenting). Note, Sanctions For Failure to Comply with Corporate Qualification Statutes: An Evaluation, 63 Colum.L. Rev. 117 (1963); Note, Sanjay, Inc. v. Duncan Construction Co: Alabama Refuses Equity's Knock and Closes Another Door on Unqualified Foreign Corporations, 36 Ala.L.Rev. 715 (1985). The type of punitive sanctions imposed for violation of the Alabama qualification statute does not enjoy wide acceptance. As Chief Justice Torbert explained in his Sanjay dissent: "Alabama is one of four states which permits a party to elect to hold void a contract with a non-qualified foreign corporation." Sanjay, supra, at 881 (Torbert, C.J., dissenting).
This rule is limited to businesses conducting intrastate activities, see In re Delta Molded Products, 416 F.Supp. 938 (N.D.Ala.1976), aff'd, 571 F.2d 957 (5th Cir. 1978). Businesses conducting interstate activities are not covered by this rule. New Concept argues that it was engaged in essentially interstate activities. These pre-fab units were manufactured in Mississippi with Mississippi employees. New Concept was only in Alabama for a relatively short time to connect the units to one another in Union Springs, Alabama. New Concept offers Delta Molded Products, supra, as support for its position. The Court rejects this argument.
The rule created by Alabama qualification statutes comprises "substantive" state law; therefore, this Court must apply this rule in accordance with state court decisions, see Aim Leasing Corp., supra. New Concept argues that Delta Molded Products, supra, establishes criteria which would compel this Court to characterize this construction project as interstate activity. However, Delta Molded Products involved the installation and operation of complex machinery; this case involves construction. Alabama decisions are clear that construction is intrastate in character, whereas the installation of complex machinery is interstate activity, see Wallace Construction Co. v. Industrial Boiler Co., *1079 470 So.2d 1151 (Ala.1985). The Alabama Supreme Court has specifically held that the implacement of prefabricated units constructed outside the state is intrastate activity which is covered by the qualification rule, see Sanjay, 445 So.2d at 880. This Court is bound by Alabama decisions which construe Alabama statutes; therefore, New Concept's activities are covered by this rule.
Alabama's qualification statute also expressly includes an equitable exception to this harsh rule. On the facts of this case New Concept falls within this equitable exception. The statute specifically states: "Nothing in this section shall abrogate the equitable rule that he who seeks equity must do equity...." Ala.Code § 10-2A-247(a) (1980). In this case, Mr. Green assured New Concept that he would take "all necessary steps to see that New Concept complied with Alabama laws." Moreover, the one-page contract provided that Mr. Green would "be responsible for securing all permits necessary for the construction of this building in accordance with all city and state requirements...." A reasonable construction of the parties' contract obliges the defendant to file the necessary application to qualify the plaintiff to do business in Alabama. His failure to submit this application should not be the basis for allowing defendant to bar plaintiff's recourse to the courts of this state.
Equitable estoppel promotes justice by preventing a party from asserting rights under a rule of law when the party's own conduct renders assertion of such rights contrary to equity and good conscience, Mazer v. Jackson Insurance Co., 340 So.2d 770 (Ala.1976). The Alabama Supreme Court has denied enforcement of the qualification rule when equity demanded such a result, Day v. Ray E. Friedman & Co., 395 So.2d 54 (Ala.1981). The basic elements of equitable estoppel are:
1) the actor, who usually must have knowledge of the facts, communicates something in a misleading way, either by words or conduct, or silence; 2) another relies upon that communication; and 3) the other party would be harmed materially if the actor is permitted to assert any claim inconsistent with his earlier conduct.
Baker v. Hospital Corp. of America, 432 So.2d 1281, 1285 (Ala.1983). These elements are satisfied in this case. Green cannot cause New Concept to be in violation of the qualification statute and then claim the statute's protection.
Defendant argues that the Alabama Supreme Court has refused to apply the equitable exception on facts similar to those in the instant case. The Alabama Supreme Court in Sanjay would not apply the equity exception even though the party seeking the protection of the statute had offered to "make it `legal' to do the construction work in Alabama." Sanjay, 445 So.2d at 883. The case at bar is distinguishable because of the specificity of the oral representation and the presence of the provision in the one-page contract. If such an agreement of a party is insufficient to bring into operation the equitable exception created by statute, then this Court fails to understand how it would ever operate.
CONCLUSION
New Concept is a foreign corporation not qualified to do business in this state and New Concept's intrastate activities are covered by the Alabama qualification statute. Nevertheless, the statutory equitable exception operates in this case to allow plaintiff to proceed with this action. Therefore, defendant's motion for summary judgment is due to be denied. A separate judgment will be entered in accordance with this memorandum opinion.
|
Joel 2:28
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions...
Pages
Sunday, August 7, 2011
We arrived back to Nicaragua in May with a lot on our minds. We spent a majority of the plane ride home, mentally going through our house, pricing and figuring out what we were going to sell. Then we began to talk about how we were going to break the news to our friends, both Nicaraguan and missionary friends that we have become so close to. Oh, how we didn't want to have to do it. If we thought there would be an easier way, we would have found it, trust me! We knew it would be so hard.
When we arrived, we were so glad to be back, but sad because we knew it was for such a short time and we were going to have to say goodbye.
Roger had a conference in Puerto Cabezas, in the northeast, less than a week after we arrived, we also had to get school supplies out to the schools and communities, and we had a clinic in just days. We had a lot going on right away, but also had the impending move in the forefront of our minds. We realized we couldn't think about leaving yet and had to focus. Once we finished those tasks we'd hit it with full force, and did we ever.
I was feeling the weight of all the logistics...selling, packing, leaving. It's always a balancing act, as people leave, to have just enough stuff left behind so you can live but not too much where you are having people in your home up to the last day picking things up; and packing all at the same time. We were talking with some friends of ours one night via Skype (pretty sure God inspired the invention of Skype...amazing) and she gave us a great idea. Sell, pack and get out of your house early, rent a furnished apt. so that you can have time to spend with the people you want to spend your last weeks with, friends. I literally felt the weight of the world lift from my shoulders. It was such a freeing moment. We immediately called some friends of ours, missionaries, who happen to have a guest house. God answered our prayers, they had the house free for nearly 3 weeks so that we could use it.
We began to get serious about this purging thing. Everything must go!!! We could only move back with suitcases and totes. So if it wasn't really important or too big it was sold or given away. Now, don't get me wrong, there were things that were important that we parted with, but it was tough to make the cut :) We were also blessed by some other missionary friends who had teams that were coming down that offered to take some totes back for us; who also happened to live close to where we were moving to...God again!!! I really wasn't for sure how we were going to scale everything down from 9 years of living, and accumulating, to 8 suitcases. God must have known we needed the help. And the kids were grateful too. There were just things that were hard to part with for them, and as a parent, it's hard to ask them to do such a hard thing sometimes. They were already giving up and leaving everything they had ever known.
Well, within a few weeks we had everything sold. It was a very liberating, but sobering realization. This move was really going to happen. I was trying so hard to stay focused on the logistics that when we finally had a chance to catch our breath it hit me hard. We were really saying goodbye to our lives of 9 years. We were really leaving the work in the hands of our new directors there. We were really saying goodbye to so many friends that had become more like family. We were really leaving it all behind.
We spent the last few weeks working with our new directors, Michelle and Eliseo, making sure they were ready to take over the Nicaragua projects and work. We also took every opportunity to spend time with our friends there, both missionary and Nicaraguan friends. We tried to enjoy the last days to the fullest. The goodbyes were, by far, the hardest. Not knowing when the next time is that we would see them. We are still planning on visiting Nicaragua, but after spending year after year with these families, birthday parties, weddings, babies, it just doesn't seem the same to maybe get to see them once a year. It's still hard to think about it. We miss them all so much.
But God had asked us to do something for Him. And we knew it. He had asked us to leave our country behind. To follow Him and His leading. To be obedient in the midst of difficulty, when it wasn't what we wanted. Not our will but His. He had been faithful to us during this whole process. He worked things out before we knew we needed it. Our truck sold in days, we had a house to live in, we were able to bring more suitcases back with us, and just a few weeks before we left Nicaragua we had already found out we had an apt. that would be open for us to rent within 2 days of landing in the States. The hand of God had been over us and seen throughout this whole time. I know it would have been so much harder had we not known without a doubt that this is what God was calling us to do. His peace, in the midst of sadness, reigned in our hearts and minds. Don't get me wrong, there are still days that are hard, but I know God will see us through.
July 10th we landed in the States. Two months and 5 days after we returned to Nicaragua. What a crazy two months they were. Without God, I don't know how it could have come together....but I wouldn't have wanted to go through it without Him.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
As I have laid in bed many a night knowing I need to update the blog, I think, "Where does one even begin". I realize the last post was in March and look back on that date and realize I never knew what was coming.
We arrived in the States, excited, and ready to travel. To see our friends and family. Excited to share all the things that God is doing and extend our gratitude for all those who have made it possible.
Little did we know what God had in store for us.
The trip progressed as normal. We traveled from place to place, realizing that we wished we could stay longer everywhere we went, and realized that wasn't possible. Enjoyed the fellowship, the late nights, card games, and visits. But, there was an underlying theme going on that not many saw.
In Branson, our first stop, the conference was amazing. The Lord spoke and we enjoyed the fellowship as we always do. Then, the Lord said something about coming back to the States. WHAT!?!?!! We didn't see that coming. We weren't even sure if that was the Lord. Can't be. So we just kept that in our hearts, the back burner, and continued our trip. It seemed as though someone would say something about coming back to the States or taking a break, nearly everywhere we went. We both were simmering on that internally. Not even discussing it amongst ourselves. Then one night came where we were receiving prayer and, again, it came up. OK, now this is in a group setting. Can't ignore it. So we went there a bit. Discussed. Cried. Thought.
The days following Roger and I (Rhonda) were in some serious meetings with the Lord and each other. "Was this really His will?" "We've always said we'd stay for the people of Nicaragua." "We love the people." "Our hearts are with them." "They are going through, and are getting ready to go through, such a hard time." "Could this really be?" We cried more, talked more, thought more, prayed more. Later in April we came to an agreement, the two of us, that we felt peace about returning to the States. (Even as I write this I can't believe we did it.)
We kept it between us, for the most part, until early May, when we told family. It was one of the hardest decisions I have been a part of, to date. It was hard for all of us. The kids have never lived in the States. It was a totally new thing to them. They weren't returning to a life they once knew. And we, Roger and I, weren't returning as the people we once were. We've been changed and molded by the time we've been out of the States, 9 years, and the people we have met and the God that has seen us through.
The Euceda Family
We have been blessed to live in other countries and to minister to those whom God has called us to. And we've had the joy of doing it together, as a FAMILY!! Continuing to walk in obedience to God, wherever and whatever He wants us and calls us. |
THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Japan's annual whale hunt is a commercial slaughter of marine mammals dressed up as science, Australian lawyers argued Wednesday as they urged the United Nations' highest court to ban the hunt in the waters around Antarctica.Australia's case at the International Court of Justice, supported by New Zealand, is the latest step in years of attempts by governments and environmental groups to halt the Japanese whaling fleet's annual trips to harpoon minke and fin whales for what Tokyo argues is scientific research allowed under international law.Australia calls the research claim a front for a commercial hunt that puts whale meat, considered a delicacy in Japan, on plates across the country. Commercial whaling was halted by a 1986 moratorium."Japan seeks to cloak its ongoing commercial whaling in the lab coat of science," Australia's agent to the court, Bill Campbell told the 16-judge panel in the wood-panelled Great Hall of Justice in The Hague."You don't kill 935 whales in a year to conduct scientific research. You don't even need to kill one whale to conduct scientific research," Campbell said.Japan insists its hunt is legal under a 1946 convention regulating whaling.The case in The Hague covers Japan's hunt in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, but Japan also hunts in the northwestern Pacific."Japan's research programs have been legally conducted for the purposes of scientific research, in accordance with the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling," Japan's Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Koji Tsuruoka said outside the courtroom. "Australia's claim is invalid. Japan's research whaling has been conducted for scientific research in accordance with international law."But Australia argued that the scientific whaling program, under which thousands of whales have been killed in factory ships plying Antarctic waters, was set up simply to sidestep the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling."No other nation, before or since, has found the need to engage in lethal scientific research on anything like this scale," Australian Solicitor -General Justin Gleeson told the judges.Japan's government claims the research is needed to provide data on whale populations so that the international ban on commercial hunt can be re-examined or hopefully lifted eventually based on scientific studies."This is something we are prepared to demonstrate: That our program is in line with Article Eight of the convention and is not commercial whaling at all," said Noriyuki Shikata, spokesman for Japan's delegation at the court.Shikata also said that Japan would be challenging the court's jurisdiction to hear the case, but did not elaborate on the reason for the challenge.Australia is presenting its legal arguments this week and Japan will make its case starting July 2. New Zealand also gets a chance to outline its arguments July 8.The Sea Shepherd environmentalist group, whose pursuit of Japanese whalers ensures the hunt makes news each year, said that the opening of the case was a victory for whales and vindication of the group's controversial tactics in confronting the harpooners in the icy waters of the Southern Ocean."Without that, trade considerations would have been more important than the slaughter of whales in Australian waters and the Antarctic whale sanctuary," said Geert Vons of the Dutch arm of Sea Shepherd, who was in court to watch proceedings."It's a shame it's taken 10 years, but it is good that Australia is making this public statement by bringing this case against Japan."Campbell sought to broaden the dispute by casting Japan's decision to kill whales as undermining the global consensus to protect the broader environment."There is now broad recognition ... that the environment and its constituent elements are a common resource which has to be safeguarded and managed by collective action," he said.He also highlighted the devastating effect of wide-scale whaling before it was reined in by the 1946 convention, saying that the global blue whale population was estimated at 235,000-307,000 before whaling. A 1998 estimate put the population at "a mere 2,280 worldwide," he said.The court will take months to issue a final and binding decision on the legality of Japan's hunt.Australian officials are hoping that the court will deliver a judgment by the end of the year, ahead of the Southern Hemisphere summer, when Japan's annual hunt begins near Antarctica.Greenpeace campaigner John Frizell said he was impressed by the opening of the case."We have heard very strong arguments from Australia why this whaling should cease and I certainly hope they will prevail," he said. "This is commercial whaling and it should stop."
Share your comments: Log in using your HeraldNet account or your Facebook, Twitter or Disqus profile. Comments that violate the rules are subject to removal. Please see our terms of use. Please note that you must verify your email address for your comments to appear. |
I've ported cc9cii BSA changes from https://github.com/OpenMW/openmw/pull/1955/ to current version of OpenMW. There is no impact on Morrowind BSA reading code - the code is only executed if previous BSA reader would reject the file because of unknown header. Linux and Windows builds passed successfully. I've tested the solution on various BSAs from Oblivion, Oblivion mods and Skyrim. I've run new compilation of OpenMW with few mods and started new Morrowind game - no issues found.
The cc9cii changes concerning Nif, ESM and ESP changes were not ported yet.
I had to use library that deals with zip compressed data structures, so I've decided to use boost, as boost is already used in the engine.
It is my first pull request in OpenMW - so please let me know about everything that does not seem right about it.
I wanted to make sure that cc9cii hard work on supporting later file formats does not get lost as OpenMW engine code evolves.
Support for new BSA formats will be useful for: |
Q:
How to add a button on the Google maps in iOS?
I am new to iOS Programming and I have downloaded the google maps sdk for iOS and followed the instruction on their website ( as shown in this link
https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/ios/start
)
and was able to get the map in my application.
Now I am trying to add a button on the screen at the bottom over Google maps for giving an option to the user to go back to the previous screen.
I just know that UIButton is a subclass of UIView and we can make a button appear on a view by making it the sub view of that class. Previously iOS used to use Google Maps by default by MKMapView and I have seen examples in books an on the Internet showing screen shots of apps where a button or a text box would appear on the map. But now just dragging the button in the interface builder doesn't help with the SDK of google maps.
Here is my code:
ViewController.h
#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
#import <MapKit/MapKit.h>
#import <GoogleMaps/GoogleMaps.h>
@interface ViewController : UIViewController
@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIButton *btn;
@end
ViewController.m
#import "ViewController.h"
#import <MapKit/MapKit.h>
#import <GoogleMaps/GoogleMaps.h>
#import <CoreLocation/CoreLocation.h>
@interface ViewController ()
@end
@implementation ViewController
{
GMSMapView *mapView_;
}
- (void)viewDidLoad
{
[super viewDidLoad];
// Do any additional setup after loading the view, typically from a nib.
}
- (void)didReceiveMemoryWarning
{
[super didReceiveMemoryWarning];
// Dispose of any resources that can be recreated.
}
- (void)loadView
{
CLLocationManager *locationManager = [[CLLocationManager alloc] init];
locationManager.distanceFilter = kCLDistanceFilterNone;
locationManager.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyKilometer;
[locationManager startUpdatingLocation];
//Latitude and longitude of the current location of the device.
double lati = locationManager.location.coordinate.latitude;
double longi = locationManager.location.coordinate.longitude;
NSLog(@"Latitude = %f", lati);
NSLog(@"Longitude = %f", longi);
CLLocation *myLocation = [[CLLocation alloc] initWithLatitude:lati longitude:longi];
// Create a GMSCameraPosition that tells the map to display the coordinate
GMSCameraPosition *camera = [GMSCameraPosition cameraWithLatitude:lati
longitude:longi
zoom:11.5];
mapView_ = [GMSMapView mapWithFrame:[[UIScreen mainScreen] bounds] camera:camera];
mapView_.myLocationEnabled = YES;
self.view = mapView_;
// Creates a marker in the center of the map.
GMSMarker *marker = [[GMSMarker alloc] init];
marker.position = CLLocationCoordinate2DMake(lati, longi);
marker.title = @"It's Me";
marker.snippet = @"My Location";
marker.map = mapView_;
[mapView_ addSubview:_btn];
[mapView_ bringSubviewToFront:_btn];
}
@end
You can see that in the last 2 lines I have made the button the subview of mapview and tried to bring it front. But this didn't help. Please let me know what is it that I am missing or if there is another way to do this by using some other function.
Please also do check the screenshot of the storyboard which I have created so that you can understand better what I am trying to do here.
Thanks.
A:
GMSMapView is subclass of UIView so you can add subviews as to any other view
Try this code
UIButton *button = [UIButton buttonWithType:UIButtonTypeRoundedRect];
button.frame = CGRectMake(mapView_.bounds.size.width - 110, mapView_.bounds.size.height - 30, 100, 20);
button.autoresizingMask = UIViewAutoresizingFlexibleLeftMargin | UIViewAutoresizingFlexibleTopMargin;
[button setTitle:@"Button" forState:UIControlStateNormal];
[mapView_ addSubview:button];
It adds 100x20 button as the subview of the GMSMapView, positioned to the bottom right corner. I have tested it and the button can be touched as in any other view
Edit:
Also move all your code from -loadView to -viewDidLoad. -loadView method is never called when using IB to create UI. Docs to -loadView says:
If you use Interface Builder to create your views and initialize the view controller, you must not override this method.
Edit 2:
I believe when you create view hierarchy using Interface Builder, you CAN NOT reset self.view property like you are doing.
Do this in your -viewDidLoad
[self.view addSubview: mapView_];
instead of
self.view = mapView_;
if you are passing GMSMapView to the self.view property, the map is only view which is in the controller from this point. Thats, I believe, the reason why u can't see your IB-created button.
A:
Make your view normally with InterfaceBuilder and to put mapView at 0 index subview :
mapView_ = [GMSMapView mapWithFrame:self.view.bounds camera:camera];
mapView_.myLocationEnabled = YES;
[self.view insertSubview:mapView_ atIndex:0];
Thanks to Raul Clauss from this thread
And you can custom the size of mapView, change :
mapView_ = [GMSMapView mapWithFrame:_mapHolder.bounds camera:camera];
mapView_.myLocationEnabled = YES;
[_mapHolder insertSubview:mapView_ atIndex:0];
Where mapHolder, is a UIView made inside the IB.
A:
I faced the same issue and the fix is very easy, just override this UIViewController method:
-(void) viewWillAppear:(BOOL)animated and put your UIButton creation logic inside that method.
Example:
-(void) viewWillAppear:(BOOL)animated
{
locationButton = [UIButton buttonWithType:UIButtonTypeCustom];
locationButton.frame = CGRectMake(0, 30, self.view.frame.size.width/6, self.view.frame.size.height/6);
[locationButton setImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"location_enabled.png"] forState:UIControlStateNormal];
[self.view addSubview:locationButton];
}
|
It was late June and retired firefighter Keith Newlin was speeding down the slopes of Snow Valley Mountain Resort near Running Springs. Never mind that the sun-soaked mountain was free of all winter snow.
The outdoor enthusiast was one of the first cyclists to try out Snow Valley’s new three-mile downhill cycling trail. Newlin and his bike zipped to the summit on a $6-million high-speed lift that was installed in December for skiers and snowboarders but converted this summer to carry bicycles.
“It was exciting,” Newlin said of his day on the slopes. “I’m glad they are doing it. Snow Valley has a lot of potential for summer stuff.”
Like other ski resort operators in the West, Snow Valley is no longer relying solely on winter snow to draw visitors to the peaks. The latest season of weak snowfall once again pushed ski resorts such as Snow Valley to add new money-making activities for summer and fall, including zip lines, yoga, downhill cycling, kids camps and mountainside weddings.
“It’s definitely part of what we have been seeing for the last several years,” said Michael Reitzell, president of the California Ski Industry Assn., which represents 30 ski resorts in California and Nevada. “It will only continue to grow.”
Such activities have grown partly because of the unpredictable snowfall over the last few years, a condition many scientists are blaming on climate change. The federal government gave the ski industry a boost by adopting a 2011 law that allows resorts that lease forest land to add year-round activities.
The 2016-2017 ski season was a boon for resorts in the West because of record snowfall and surging visitation numbers. But Mother Nature was not as generous with her snow during the most recent ski season.
California’s snowfall measured only 58% of the annual average as of April 1, the most recent measurement by the state’s Department of Water Resources.
At California and Nevada resorts, ski visits dropped 14% this season — from 7 million visitors during the 2016-2017 season to 6.03 million this season, according to Reitzell. Ski resorts in the West operated for an average of 140 days this season, down from 150 days last season, he said.
“As we have learned over the years, it’s a basic formula: If it snows, they will come,” Reitzell said.
The new high-speed ski lift has been fitted to take mountain bikes to the summit at Snow Valley Mountain Resort near Running Springs. (Snow Valley )
To hedge its bets against further seasons of meager snow, the state’s most popular resort, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in the Eastern Sierra, plans a summer unveiling of Mammoth Mega Zip, a zip line with what the resort describes as the tallest vertical drop in North America (2,100 feet).
The zip line will allow two riders to fly down the mountain side by side for more than a mile, reaching speeds of up to 60 mph.
The resort is also opening a new elevated obstacle course for kids and a new network of rock climbing routes. The resort also is allowing electric bikes on the more than 80 miles of trails in the Mammoth Bike Park.
“As we see our summer visitation numbers continue to grow, we are going to continue to add activities for all ages,” Mammoth resort spokeswoman Lauren Burke said.
Mammoth Mountain has yet to disclose the fee to ride the Mega zip line, but a pass to use the bike park ranges from $55 to $59 a day.
The Snow Summit ski resort near Big Bear this year also added a summer day camp that lets kids hike, scale a 30-foot climbing wall, play on a trampoline, ride a chair lift and speed around on a mountain bike, among other activities. The camp can cost up to $48 a day, depending on the day of the week.
“I don’t look at it as if we are trying to make up for the winter snow,” said Justin Kanton, marketing manager for Big Bear Mountain Resorts, which includes the Bear Mountain and Snow Summit resorts. “We are trying to provide a fuller lineup of activities for the summer. We are trying to make sure people have stuff to do when they are up here.”
A rider zips down the mountain at Heavenly Ski Resort on the Ridge Rider Mountain Coaster. The gravity-powered coaster is scheduled to be open June 30. (Rachid Dahnoun )
At the Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe, a gravity-powered coaster opened on the mountain in 2016 to add to the resort’s summer activities. But the snow dump in the winter of 2016-2017 was so heavy that it damaged the tracks, forcing the resort to keep the ride offline last summer.
The Ridge Rider Mountain Coaster, which is tentatively scheduled to reopen June 30, reaches speeds of up to 27 mph on 3,400 feet of track, powered entirely by gravity on a descent of 300 feet. The riders can use levers to slow or stop the sleds.
The resort, which hasn’t revealed how much was spent to build the coaster, charges riders $27 each.
The resort also is starting a daily yoga class on a mountainside observation deck, at an elevation of more than 9,000 feet. The classes, offered during July and August, are free but guests who don’t have an annual ski pass must pay $49 for a gondola ride to the observation deck.
At Snow Valley, the six-seat, high-speed ski lift that opened in December can carry 2,600 skiers and snowboarders per hour, moving 1,000 feet per minute, compared with 400 feet per minute on the lift it replaced, said Kevin Somes, vice president and general manager of the resort.
The lift was modified this summer to carry bikes to the summit so that riders can speed on the three-mile trail to the base of the mountain on what Somes describes as a route of intermediate difficulty.
“There is a trend that the whole industry is moving toward: generating revenue year-round,” he said.
Resort management hopes to expand cycling in the next few years to 10 miles of bike trails. Riders who take the lift now, however, also get access to the neighboring Rim Nordic Bike Park, which has about 13 miles of trails, with difficulty levels that range from beginner to advanced.
With the faster ski lift, Somes said he hopes to also offer scenic locations on the mountain — such as verdant meadows — as sites for outdoor weddings.
“We are looking at everything that makes sense,” he said.
[email protected]
Twitter: @hugomartin |
Concentration polarization in translocation of DNA through nanopores and nanochannels.
In this Letter we provide a theory to show that high-field electrokinetic translocation of DNA through nanopores or nanochannels causes large transient variations of the ionic concentrations in front and at the back of the DNA due to concentration polarization (CP). The CP causes strong local conductivity variations, which can successfully explain the nontrivial current transients and ionic distributions observed in molecular dynamics simulations of nanopore DNA translocations as well as the transient current dips and spikes measured for translocating hairpin DNA. Most importantly, as the future of sequencing of DNA by nanopore translocation will be based on time-varying electrical conductance, CP, must be considered in experimental design and interpretation--currently these studies are mostly based on the incomplete pore conductance models that ignore CP and transients in the electrical conductance. |
/**
* Copyright 2014 National University of Ireland, Galway.
*
* This file is part of the SIREn project. Project and contact information:
*
* https://github.com/rdelbru/SIREn
*
* Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
* you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
* You may obtain a copy of the License at
*
* http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
*
* Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
* distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
* WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
* See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
* limitations under the License.
*/
package org.sindice.siren.search.node;
import static org.sindice.siren.search.AbstractTestSirenScorer.NodeTermQueryBuilder.ntq;
import static org.sindice.siren.search.AbstractTestSirenScorer.NodeBooleanQueryBuilder.nbq;
import static org.sindice.siren.search.AbstractTestSirenScorer.BooleanClauseBuilder.must;
import java.io.IOException;
import org.apache.lucene.search.DocIdSetIterator;
import org.apache.lucene.search.Scorer;
import org.junit.Test;
import org.sindice.siren.index.codecs.RandomSirenCodec.PostingsFormatType;
import org.sindice.siren.search.AbstractTestSirenScorer;
public class TestLuceneProxyNodeScorer extends AbstractTestSirenScorer {
@Override
protected void configure() throws IOException {
this.setAnalyzer(AnalyzerType.JSON);
this.setPostingsFormat(PostingsFormatType.RANDOM);
}
@Test
public void testNextDoc()
throws Exception {
this.addDocuments(
"{ \"aaa bbb\" : \"aaa ccc\" , \"ccc\" \"bbb ccc\" }",
"{ \"aaa\" : \"aaa bbb ddd\" }"
);
final Scorer scorer1 = this.getScorer(
ntq("aaa").getLuceneProxyQuery()
);
assertTrue(scorer1.nextDoc() != DocIdSetIterator.NO_MORE_DOCS);
assertEquals(0, scorer1.docID());
assertEquals(2, scorer1.freq(), 0);
assertTrue(scorer1.nextDoc() != DocIdSetIterator.NO_MORE_DOCS);
assertEquals(1, scorer1.docID());
assertEquals(2, scorer1.freq(), 0);
assertTrue(scorer1.nextDoc() == DocIdSetIterator.NO_MORE_DOCS);
final Scorer scorer2 = this.getScorer(
ntq("ccc").getLuceneProxyQuery()
);
assertTrue(scorer2.nextDoc() != DocIdSetIterator.NO_MORE_DOCS);
assertEquals(0, scorer2.docID());
assertEquals(3, scorer2.freq(), 0);
assertTrue(scorer2.nextDoc() == DocIdSetIterator.NO_MORE_DOCS);
final Scorer scorer3 = this.getScorer(
ntq("ddd").getLuceneProxyQuery()
);
assertTrue(scorer3.nextDoc() != DocIdSetIterator.NO_MORE_DOCS);
assertEquals(1, scorer3.docID());
assertEquals(1, scorer3.freq(), 0);
assertTrue(scorer3.nextDoc() == DocIdSetIterator.NO_MORE_DOCS);
}
@Test
public void testAdvance()
throws Exception {
this.addDocuments(
"{ \"baba\" : \"aaa ccc\" , \"ccc\" \"bbb ccc\" }",
"{ \"aaa\" : \"aaa bbb ddd\" }",
"{ \"ddd\" : [ \"bobo\", \"bibi\" ] }"
);
final Scorer scorer1 = this.getScorer(
ntq("bobo").getLuceneProxyQuery()
);
assertTrue(scorer1.advance(2) != DocIdSetIterator.NO_MORE_DOCS);
assertEquals(2, scorer1.docID());
assertEquals(1, scorer1.freq(), 0);
assertTrue(scorer1.nextDoc() == DocIdSetIterator.NO_MORE_DOCS);
final Scorer scorer2 = this.getScorer(
ntq("baba").getLuceneProxyQuery()
);
assertTrue(scorer2.advance(2) == DocIdSetIterator.NO_MORE_DOCS);
}
@Test
public void testAdvanceInfiniteLoop()
throws Exception {
this.addDocuments(
"{ \"baba\" : \"bibi ccc\" , \"ccc\" \"bbb ccc\" }",
"{ \"baba bibi baba bibi\" : \"aaa bbb ddd\" }",
"{ \"baba bibi\" : \"aaa bbb ddd\" }"
);
final Scorer scorer1 = this.getScorer(
nbq(must("baba", "bibi")).getLuceneProxyQuery()
);
assertTrue(scorer1.advance(0) != DocIdSetIterator.NO_MORE_DOCS);
assertEquals(1, scorer1.docID());
assertEquals(2, scorer1.freq(), 0);
final float score1 = scorer1.score();
assertTrue(scorer1.nextDoc() != DocIdSetIterator.NO_MORE_DOCS);
assertEquals(2, scorer1.docID());
assertEquals(2, scorer1.freq(), 0);
final float score2 = scorer1.score();
assertTrue(score1 > score2);
assertTrue(scorer1.nextDoc() == DocIdSetIterator.NO_MORE_DOCS);
}
}
|
Online Extras
MORE ONLINE:To read more about local leaders who are leaning in and creating opportunities for women in the Erie community, click here.
MORE ONLINE:To read more food-related stories, get recipes, see food-related photo galleries and videos, click here.
ABOUT THIS SERIES
Leaning Into Leadership is an occasional series that features local leaders who are leaning in and creating opportunities for women in our community. This is the series' final installment. Find more stories at GoErie.com/leaningin.
It all started with the cream puffs. "You just made the batter and put it in the oven and whoop!" said Jean Reed, 57, sous chef at the Lake View Country Club, where she's worked for 33 years. She remembered cream puffs were the first thing she ever cooked.
"That was so much fun. And I'm still making cream puffs."
Reed is something of a rare breed in Erie: a female kitchen manager.
"It's still a man's world out there, and you have to be able to show them that you love this work and you're willing to work hard," Reed said.
Heidi May, 34, executive chef at the Bel-Aire Clarion Hotel and Conference Center, 2800 W. Eighth St., can tell you that many kitchens have changed dramatically, and capable women are as welcome as men on staff. Others, though, are still behind the times.
"The last chef I worked for told me that women were too much drama," May said, adding that she was already working at that restaurant when he came on board. "Most men chefs have been very supportive, but one told me he wouldn't have hired me."
While the profession might still bear the residue of gender discrimination, May said, other companies she's worked for wouldn't have tolerated that chef's point of view.
She said there are other more practical reasons fewer women make it up the ladder in the kitchen.
She and other chefs and instructors said that the physical and time demands of working as a professional chef just don't work for many women who want to raise a family.
"I don't see a lot of applications from females, really," May said. "We work crazy hours, seven days a week, holidays and weekends when most people would want to be with their family."
Family time?
Jessica Law, 24, a chef instructor at the Culinary and Wine Institute of Mercyhurst North East, worked on gorgeous and delicate caramel "cages" that would be served the next day set over a pastry.
As she worked in a Mercyhurst kitchen -- filled with women -- she agreed that professional cooking might not work for family-oriented females.
"I just got married this summer, and the idea of starting a family with a job like that would be conflicting," Law said.
Reed raised three children while working at the country club, but it wasn't easy.
"I worked five minutes from home," she said. "I had the opportunity to work a full day, but take periods of leave when need be."
Michelle Davis, 34, sous chef at Bertrand's Bistro on North Park Row, who is studying to be certified as an executive chef, sees the male-dominated culture changing, too.
"I think people who have children can work in this industry," she said. "Some people have to bend a little bit, rely on family, but I've seen people make it work."
There are other reasons more women don't even want to work in professional kitchens, including physical requirements of standing on your feet and lifting huge bags of ingredients, and heavy scrubbing, work done by everyone in the kitchen.
"You actually have to be physically ready for that," Reed said. After 33 years, she said she's taken up yoga in an attempt to keep her body strong enough to do her job.
Kitchen culture
Aspiring chef Stephanie Cruz-Warner, 24, carefully slid a cylindrical "crab tower" out of a can she used to shape it. The tower included layers of off-white crab meat, bright green avocado and tomato salsa. It was almost too pretty to eat.
Cruz-Warner showed it off to her instructor, who smiled proudly, and then sat down to talk about women in her chosen profession.
To begin with, she's one woman who has no problem lifting a 50-pound bag of flour.
The Mercyhurst North East culinary student, who also works at the Erie Club, is a power lifter. She said she can dead lift 215 pounds.
She said she wants to incorporate her love of working out into her own restaurant.
"I'd like to open up some kind of restaurant with a power lifting side, with a gym that serves healthy food for athletes," Cruz-Warner said.
She said she sees no lack of interest in professional cooking from women she knows.
"When I'm at work, there's not a lot of women," she said. "But when I go to school, there's all kinds of women. I think kitchen culture is changing."
Melissa Ripley, 35, agrees. "My classes seem to have more female than male students," she said.
Mercyhurst North East chef instructor Dennis Dunne, 63, said that in general, his female students are more serious about working in the professional cooking world than his male students.
"It's not that there aren't any men," he said. "I have some excellent male students, but the majority of women who come into this program are more serious about wanting to do it."
He said he thinks that the male-dominated kitchens are quickly becoming a thing of the past.
"Modern chefs have evolved to think differently about women in the kitchen," Dunne said. "At this present time, I think any female that walks into a kitchen has just as good a shot as any guy does, all things being equal."
JENNIE GEISLER can be reached at 870-1885 or by e-mail. Visit her food blog at GoErie.com/blogs/loaves. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNgeisler.
Online Extras
MORE ONLINE:To read more about local leaders who are leaning in and creating opportunities for women in the Erie community, click here.
MORE ONLINE:To read more food-related stories, get recipes, see food-related photo galleries and videos, click here.
ABOUT THIS SERIES
Leaning Into Leadership is an occasional series that features local leaders who are leaning in and creating opportunities for women in our community. This is the series' final installment. Find more stories at GoErie.com/leaningin. |
Archives
Categories
Meta
Month: May 2016
Are you a Letter Inner or Not (Selfish)?
This question “Are We More Selfish Then Animals?” popped into my head while waiting frustrated and bewildered at the junction of my busy road. I counted the cars going past, the 22nd let me out! It took no more time for them but makes a massive difference to the poor sod waiting!
Givers, Takers, and Parasites.
We all experienced selfish behavior ranging from little to huge levels of selfishness, and even from those suppose to love us! We have all experience generosity, kindness, and unconditional acts of love. Are animals any better than us? Lets take a look;
Four main types of interactions between animals including Us;
Altruistic – Animals that behave in ways that reduce their fitness but increase the fitness of other individuals in the population (sacrifice). Extreme examples of sacrifice are shown in protecting young. One example is matriphagy (the consumption of the mother by her offspring) in the spider Stegodyphus. We do not let our own children eat us BUT they can suck us dry, however we would die for them.
Commensalism – Relationship between two organisms where one is helped and the other is unaffected. Example the Anemone fishes (Nemo) or Clown fishes (Fig 1) – live amid the tentacles of the anemones which protects them from predators. Predators are poisoned by the nematocysts (stinging cells) of the anemones.
Fig 1. Clown Fish (Who you calling Selfish?)
Parasitic – One organism, the parasite, lives off of another organism, the host, harming it and possibly causing death. The parasite lives on or in the body of the host. A few examples of parasites are tapeworms, fleas, barnacles, and humans. Parasitic people – those that expect everything and take without giving and hurt us along the way.
Mutualistic – Two organisms of different species “work together,” each benefiting from the relationship. One example is that of the Oxpecker (Fig 2) a bird that eats the parasites from, rhinoceros, zebra, and the antelope. In a relationship Two people working equally towards a common goal.
Fig 2. Oxpecker
SO where does that leave us?
Are we fundamentally self-interested? Studies have found that people’s first impulse is to cooperate rather than compete; that toddlers spontaneously help people in need.
Recent neuroscience studies have shown that when people behave altruistically, their brains activate in regions that signal pleasure and reward, similar to when they eat chocolate (or have sex). So does this mean we behave Altruistically because it makes us feel better therefore we are Selfish?
The evidence suggests we have deeply ingrained tendencies to act in either direction. Our challenge lies in finding ways to evoke the better angels of our nature. And that my friends comes down to CHOICE again.
When you see a poor fellow motorist waiting at a junction to come out- let them out, your feel good (like eating chocolate or having Sex) and your be a Altruist.
AN HONEST LIVING OR NOT!
Many animals work an “honest” living through their size, strength, and hunting prowess to survive. Likewise, we do the same to get what we want in life. If we are lacking in some way, we do what animals do to survive;
Deception, Treachery, and Downright Fraud
A selection of animals have chosen deception, treachery, and downright fraud to either resemble dangerous animals for protection (defensive mimicry). For example the Milk snake (Fig 1). This beautiful harmless Snake has a coloration that mimics the highly venomous Coral Snake and in doing so avoids being eaten by predators, very clever!.
Fig 1: Milk Snake
Some animals pass as a literal wolf in sheep’s clothing to get within striking distance of prey (aggressive mimicry). A strange and rather morbid feat of deception shown by the NimbochromisCichlids (Fig 2) is to lie limply on their sides on the lake bottom. When a curious scavenging fish approaches, the fishy corpse suddenly “resurrects” into a truly lethal predator, consuming the curious investigator. The strange fish are often nicknamed “sleepers” due to their rather creepy hunting habits.
Fig 2. Nimbochromis cichlid (Sleepers)
Survival of the Adapters
Unlike animals, we no longer have predators to worry about that will eat us! But we do, however, have stresses like animals to either blend in or stand out. We can mimic a bad or good behavior of a person either consciously or subconsciously to be like them to impress. This is adapting to a situation so we can to control it. We do this like animals as a survival technique.
We are different.
A positive example of mimicry is emulating a positive role model to make a positive change in your life. A negative example would be a negative person imprinting on you. We are higher thinking animals and this is where the difference lies, the good news is we can control how we react to ANY situation.
Please subscribe to my blog for more updates and incites leave comments if you wish
Change is inevitable and essential. We grow old; our bodies change, we go to school, change schools, we move Jobs, we move home, we can change our sexual orientation, we lose loved ones, we end relationship and friendships, we date new people and meet new people, we have children. The list goes on and on.
The BAD NEWS… Change is out of our control and will happen if we like it or not! The GOOD NEWS… We are in control of how we react, respond and adapt to change.
In this series I will be using my PhD on Neurophysiology and degree in Zoology to draw comparisons with the mighty Cuttlefish (Cephalopod) and other extraordinary animals and how they have evolved to survive and thrive in a ever changing world and how this can help you. Also, I will be using my 49 years of experience in the changing market both as an academic and business woman, and boy do I embrace change!
My Aim is to provide an understanding, some comfort, and strategies that will help you survive and accept change. My wish for you is to flourish in our fast changing society in which ever way YOU choose!.
Cuttlefish change their skin color with elaborate patterns, and even texture, to fit in to their surroundings; to camouflage away from predators or to lay in ambush for prey or dazzle a mate. Can you relate to hiding under the radar and trying to be invisible, either at school, in the work place, when out, or even at home; to not get noticed? Or shown off in front of your peers, classmates, teachers, boss, or friends to impress them with displays of your brilliance ?!
Cuttlefish also use color to attract a mate and warn off rivals (Fig 1). They can also communicate a feeling through color and we also do the same. Another stunning example are the male Birds of Paradise which show impressive displays and plumage to attract a mate (Fig 2). While we do not display the same level of elaborate and intricate skin changes as the Cuttlefish or Plumage like the Birds of paradise, we do wear make-up and attractive clothes to attract a mate, we blush with shyness or sexual desire, we go red with anger or pale with fear. |
Some computing devices (e.g., mobile phones, tablet computers, etc.) may provide a graphical keyboard as part of a graphical user interface for composing text (e.g., using a presence-sensitive input device and/or display, such as a touchscreen). The graphical keyboard may enable a user of the computing device to enter text (e.g., an e-mail, a text message, or a document, etc.). For instance, a display device of a computing device may output a graphical (or “soft”) keyboard that enables the user to enter data by indicating (e.g., by tapping) keys displayed at the presence-sensitive display.
In some cases, the computing device may present a graphical keyboard with which the user interacts by tapping individual keys of the keyboard or essentially gesturing out a word by sliding his or her finger over the regions associated with the keys. In this way, graphical keyboards provide an input method that allows the user to enter characters, words, or a group of words by one or more gestures. As such, a graphical keyboard may allow the user to achieve a certain degree of efficiency by quickly and accurately entering text.
However, graphical keyboards have certain drawbacks. For example, a computing device may receive a series of tap gestures or sliding gestures from a user paying little attention to accuracy. The characters inputted by the computing device, though, may be different than the characters that the user attempted to select. Consequently, the user may need to correct the inputted characters. As such, entering text with gestures using a graphical keyboard may be difficult and reduce the speed at which the user may interact with the computing device. |
Edward James Olmos joins The Predator
First he’s fighting Replicants, then Cylons, now Predators. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Battlestar Galactica actor Edward James Olmos has joined the cast of Shane Black’s The Predator. Olmos will play a military figure as Boyd Holbrook and his team hunt down the Predator. |
57 Cal.App.3d 521 (1976)
129 Cal. Rptr. 238
KARL STEPHAN MORRIS, Petitioner,
v.
THE SUPERIOR COURT OF MERCED COUNTY, Respondent; THE PEOPLE, Real Party in Interest.
Docket No. 2789.
Court of Appeals of California, Fifth District.
April 21, 1976.
*523 COUNSEL
John W. Ellery, Public Defender, and James M. Barnett, Deputy Public Defender, for Petitioner.
No appearance for Respondent.
Evelle J. Younger, Attorney General, Jack R. Winkler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Arnold O. Overoye, Assistant Attorney General, Eddie T. Keller, Charles P. Just and Nancy L. Sweet, Deputy Attorneys General, for Real Party in Interest.
OPINION
GARGANO, J.
(1a) The question presented in this proceeding is of constitutional dimensions; it is whether evidence adduced through the execution of a search warrant must be suppressed if the officer who procured the warrant intentionally withheld factual information from his supporting affidavit. We have concluded that the integrity of the judicial system must be preserved no matter how painful the result may be, and *524 that the evidence must be suppressed if the facts intentionally withheld from the affidavit were material and relevant, to the extent that it can be said, fairly, that the magistrate's inference-drawing process was interfered with, substantially.
On June 14, 1975, an unknown person or persons broke into the home of Alverez Arceo in Merced, California, and took a six-string Gibson standard electric guitar and a black guitar case. Two days later Arceo reported the burglary to the City of Merced Police Department; Detective Gary Southerland was placed in charge of the investigation.
On June 18, Arceo informed Detective Southerland that a neighbor, Clifton Robinson, offered to return the stolen guitar for $10. Robinson was known to Southerland as a person on the "fringes" of crime, and believing that the suspect was involved in the burglary, the detective went to Robinson's home and interrogated him. The suspect explained that he knew what the stolen guitar looked like because he had seen it in Arceo's house on several occasions and that he merely told his neighbor that he wanted $10 to find it. Southerland informed Robinson that he could be prosecuted for burglary. Upon further interrogation Robinson told Southerland that the guitar was in petitioner's house; he also produced the stolen guitar case and gave it to the detective. Then Southerland asked Robinson if he knew where to obtain some marijuana, and when the suspect said that he did a controlled marijuana buy was arranged.
On the evening of June 18, Detective Southerland and a fellow law enforcement officer, Detective West, drove Robinson to a location on "I" Street in the City of Merced; West watched Robinson walk through an alley toward the 200 block of 17th Street; then Southerland saw Robinson exit from the end of the alley and approach someone; a few minutes later Robinson returned to West with some marijuana; subsequently, he told the detectives that the person from whom he had purchased the marijuana had 1,300 lids of the contraband in his car.
On June 19, 1975, Detective Southerland obtained a search warrant authorizing the search of petitioner's house for the guitar, and the police executed the warrant on the same day; the stolen guitar was found in the house. The warrant was issued upon Southerland's supporting affidavit which read in pertinent part as follows:
*525 "That on June 18, 1975, a reliable confidential informant advised the affiant that he, the informant observed on the ... premises [at 623 West 7th Street in the City of Merced] within the past three days [a Gibson standard six-string electric guitar, yellow and brown in color]. The informant stated that he has observed the guitar in the possession of a A. Arceo in the past and that he is familiar with the guitar and the fact that it belongs to Arceo. Affiant further deposes and states that Arceo reported the guitar taken from his residence on June 14, 1975 and Arceo made a report to the Merced Police Department on June 16, 1975 in which the guitar was reported stolen....
"Affiant further deposes and states that the aforementioned informant is reliable inasmuch as he has provided information and rendered assistance to the affiant that has led to the obtaining of marijuana during a controlled buy of narcotics."
On September 18, 1975, an information was filed in the Superior Court of Merced County, charging petitioner with burglary in violation of section 459 of the Penal Code; in a second count petitioner was charged with receiving stolen property in violation of subdivision 1 of section 496 of the Penal Code. He entered pleas of not guilty to both charges. Thereafter, petitioner noticed a motion pursuant to section 1538.5 of the Penal Code to suppress the evidence obtained in the execution of the search warrant; the basis for the motion was that critical information in the affidavit in support of the search warrant was furnished by the informant, Clifton Robinson, and that Detective Southerland deliberately withheld pertinent factual information pertaining to the informant's reliability.
On October 24, 1975, after a de novo hearing in respondent court, petitioner's suppression motion was denied even though the People presented no evidence explaining why the pertinent factual information was omitted from the affidavit. Then petitioner petitioned this court for a writ of mandate to compel the lower court to grant his motion to suppress the evidence. Because we were impressed by the importance of the question presented, we issued an order to show cause.
(2) It now is settled that pursuant to a 1538.5 suppression motion a person charged with a crime founded upon evidence adduced through the execution of a search warrant may go behind the face of the supporting affidavit in an effort to prove that there was no probable cause for the issuance of the warrant. (Theodor v. Superior Court (1972) 8 *526 Cal.3d 77, 90-95 [104 Cal. Rptr. 226, 501 P.2d 234].) Therefore, an accused may show that the affidavit contains factual misstatements or material factual omissions which could have had an adverse effect upon the normal inference-drawing process of the magistrate.
(3) If the factual misstatements are not intentional and are the result of reasonable conduct, they are retained in the document and probable cause is tested by what appears upon the face of the affidavit; on the other hand, if the factual misstatements, though not intentional, are the result of negligent conduct, they must be excised and probable cause tested from the remaining information. (Theodor v. Superior Court, supra, 8 Cal.3d 77, 95-101.) (4) Likewise, if material factual omissions are not intentional and are reasonable under the circumstances, the omitted matters are disregarded and the existence of probable cause is tested by whatever appears upon the face of the affidavit; if the failure to include material information, though not intentional, is negligent, the omitted facts are added to the affidavit and probable cause is tested in light of the additional information. (People v. Barger (1974) 40 Cal. App.3d 662, 668-669 [115 Cal. Rptr. 298].)
(1b) Left unanswered is the fundamental question which arises when factual misstatements are intentional (Theodor v. Superior Court, supra, 8 Cal.3d 77, 101, fn. 14), or when material information is omitted deliberately (People v. Barger, supra, 40 Cal. App.3d 662, 669).
The Attorney General argues that Detective Southerland acted "negligently" in failing to disclose in the affidavit all of the facts known to him pertaining to his informant's reliability. He seizes upon the ratio decidendi of the Barger opinion to argue that the detective's affidavit must be tested with the omitted matter included. The Attorney General concludes that when the omitted information is included, it strengthens the reliability of the informant because the affidavit shows that Robinson not only "provided information and rendered assistance" leading to a controlled buy of the marijuana but his statement to Detective Southerland concerning the whereabouts of the stolen guitar was a declaration against penal interest. (See Skelton v. Superior Court (1969) 1 Cal.3d 144, 154, fn. 7 [81 Cal. Rptr. 613, 460 P.2d 485]; Ming v. Superior Court (1970) 13 Cal. App.3d 206, 214 [91 Cal. Rptr. 477]; see also United States v. Harris (1971) 403 U.S. 573, 583-584 [29 L.Ed.2d 723, 733-734, 91 S.Ct. 2075, 2082].)
*527 We are not persuaded by this argument. Detective Southerland knew that his informant was totally unreliable. Robinson was a person bordering upon the "fringes" of crime, and the detective had good cause to suspect that he participated in the theft of Arceo's guitar; the suspect had offered to return the guitar to its owner for $10, and he had the stolen guitar case in his home. It was for this very reason that Southerland asked the suspect if he knew where to obtain some marijuana and then proceeded to create an aura of reliability by arranging a controlled buy. Yet the detective deliberately omitted all of these pertinent facts from his affidavit. Instead, he worded the affidavit in the manner to suggest to the unsuspecting reader that the informant was reliable because he provided information leading to a controlled buy of marijuana before he told the detective that he had seen the stolen guitar in petitioner's house. Clearly, the conduct of the detective transcended negligence.
Furthermore, the factual information Southerland omitted from his affidavit was material, in the sense that it could have negated the magistrate's finding of probable cause. (Theodor v. Superior Court, supra, 8 Cal.3d 77, 96, fn. 11; see also United States v. Averell (E.D.N.Y. 1969) 296 F. Supp. 1004, 1018; cf. People v. Rummler (1975) 44 Cal. App.3d 638, 643 [118 Cal. Rptr. 872].) Robinson did not inculpate petitioner until he realized that he was himself a suspect about to be arrested for the burglary; his statements were in large part exculpatory. Then, the informant agreed to participate in a controlled buy at Southerland's suggestion, obviously, to curry favor with the police. It is conceivable that if the detective had disclosed all of the facts in his affidavit, the magistrate might have determined that the informant was unreliable and his information untrustworthy; the magistrate could have believed that Robinson told Southerland that the guitar was in petitioner's house and then agreed to participate in a controlled buy to shift the blame on someone else until he could rid himself of the stolen instrument.
(5) It is uncontestable that an officer who is seeking a search warrant has a duty to disclose to the magistrate all material facts relevant to the issue of probable cause. (People v. Barger, supra, 40 Cal. App.3d 662, 668; People v. Legard (1970) 12 Cal. App.3d 1006, 1010 [91 Cal. Rptr. 257].) (1c) It is also uncontestable that Detective Southerland failed to fulfill his burden and that the failure painted a distorted picture which adversely affected the normal inference-drawing process of the magistrate. In short, the detective's deliberate omission of material facts resulted in an affidavit that was factually inaccurate (Theodor v. Superior *528 Court, supra, 8 Cal.3d 77, 96, fn. 11; see also United States v. Averell, supra, 296 F. Supp. 1004, 1018; cf. People v. Webb (1973) 36 Cal. App.3d 460, 469-471 [111 Cal. Rptr. 524]), and it became the People's burden "to show proper justification" (Theodor v. Superior Court, supra, 8 Cal.3d 77, 102). The People failed to meet this burden, and we have no alternative but to order the suppression of the evidence.
We summarize briefly. This is not a case where an officer who prepared an affidavit in support of a search warrant intentionally omitted a few immaterial facts which he reasonably believed, in good faith, were irrelevant or inconsequential. Here the record leads, inescapably, to the conclusion that Detective Southerland not only concealed his own distrust of the informant and the information upon which the distrust was grounded but that he deliberately attempted to manufacture reliability through the auspices of a controlled buy and then concealed this important fact as well. To uphold the warrant now merely because it is arguable that the omitted information does not negate, necessarily, the existence of probable cause, would invite gross abuses by over-zealous law enforcement officers; it is precisely this type of police conduct the exclusionary rule was designed to discourage. (See People v. Cahan (1955) 44 Cal.2d 434 [282 P.2d 905, 50 A.L.R.2d 513].) If we were to uphold the search warrant under the facts of this case, we would impair, seriously, the independent-judgment-by-a-neutral-magistrate concept visualized by the framers of the Constitution as the safeguard needed to protect the citizens of this nation from unfettered and unreasonable police searches of homes and other sanctuaries. (See Chapman v. United States (1961) 365 U.S. 610, 614-615 [5 L.Ed.2d 828, 832-833, 81 S.Ct. 776, 778-779.)
We do not reach the question as to whether a police officer who receives information from an untested informant may establish reliability on the part of the informant by thereafter arranging a police buy of contraband as was done in this case. Nor do we answer the question as to whether Robinson's primarily exculpatory statement that the stolen guitar was in petitioner's house qualifies as a declaration against penal interest. (See People v. Shipe (1975) 49 Cal. App.3d 343, 352-354 [122 Cal. Rptr. 701].) Under the circumstances of this case, the search warrant must be quashed without regard to the effect of the omissions on probable cause.
Let a peremptory writ of mandate issue directing respondent court to suppress the evidence obtained in the execution of the search warrant in question.
*529 CARKEET, J.[*]
I concur in the foregoing opinion and the reasoning underlying the same. I would enlarge upon one aspect of the case.
At the conclusion of the 1538.5 hearing in the superior court, the court stated: "I think under the circumstances of this case, the acts of the officer were proper...." This could be inferred to be a finding that the affiant did not omit the material facts with a deliberate intent to deceive the magistrate, and removes from the case the issue of intentional bad faith falsification, whether by misstatement or omission.
In Theodor v. Superior Court (1972) 8 Cal.3d 77, 100-101 [104 Cal. Rptr. 226, 501 P.2d 234], the court held that the presence in an affidavit for a search warrant of inaccurate facts that were not intentional but were caused by unreasonable police activity, such as negligence, requires that such information be deleted and that the validity of the affidavit be tested by the remaining accurate information. The court noted: "We add that as the prosecution is thus barred from relying on negligent mistakes in an affidavit, it is a fortiori barred from relying on information known by the affiant to be intentionally false. Since in the latter situation there obviously can be no question of showing a reasonable belief in the truth of deliberate misinformation, any such statements must also be stricken prior to testing the warrant for probable cause." (Supra, 8 Cal.3d at p. 101, fn. 14.) Whether the use of such intentional misstatements should result in automatically quashing the warrant without regard to the effect of those misstatements on probable cause was left undecided in Theodor. (Ibid.)
In People v. Barger (1974) 40 Cal. App.3d 662 [115 Cal. Rptr. 298], it was argued that the magistrate's finding of probable cause could not be upheld since, by omission, facts relevant to the reliability of an informant were withheld from the magistrate. The court reasoned that inaccuracies in an affidavit caused by omission of material facts creates the same problem as factual inaccuracies placed in the affidavit. The court said: "The Supreme Court [in Theodor] pointed out that false or inaccurate information in an application for a warrant adversely affects the normal inference-drawing process of the magistrate. (8 Cal.3d at p. 96.) The magistrate's inference-drawing process would also be hindered if the affiant were permitted to `edit' his informant's allegations by omitting unfavorable facts." (Supra, 40 Cal. App.3d at p. 668.) Left undecided in *530 Barger was the question whether an intentional omission of material facts should result in automatically quashing the warrant without regard to the effect of the omitted material facts on probable cause, if the affidavit were read with those facts inserted; in Barger, the court found the omission to be due to "negligence" of the officer rather than wilfulness.
If the omission intentionally were done to create a false image of reliability, the element of reasonable belief in the truth of the affidavit as doctored by the omission would be absent, and under the reasoning expressed in Theodor, as extended in Barger, the missing information, at least, would have to be inserted prior to testing the affidavit for probable cause.
Although this court may infer a finding by the lower court which negates any deliberate bad faith omission of material facts with an intent to deceive the magistrate, the same record (i.e., the transcript of testimony at the 1538.5 hearing) which supports such an inferred finding clearly shows that the material facts which were missing from the affidavit were the result of knowing, or intentional, conduct on the part of Detective Southerland.[1]
One need only to insert the missing material facts in the affidavit to illuminate the obvious fact that the inaccuracies created by Detective Southerland's omissions were due to something more censurable than mere negligence.[2] The testimony at the 1538.5 hearing compels an inferred finding that the omissions were intentional.
*531 Theodor indicates that the problem of inaccuracies creates the same result, however caused: "Regardless of whether misstatements are intentionally false or the product of reasonable or unreasonable cerebration, their ineluctable result is an adverse effect upon the normal inference-drawing process of the magistrate." (Supra, 8 Cal.3d at p. 96.) The same rationale would apply to inaccuracies created by omission. (People v. Barger, supra, 40 Cal. App.3d 662, 668-669.)
That an unintentional error can be deemed "correctible" in the manner above indicated now is established law which is grounded upon the statement in Theodor that: "There is no reason to hold an officer to a standard of absolute accuracy in those instances in which the inference-drawing power is reserved for the magistrate who is to issue a warrant, when the officer is only required to reach a reasonable factual deduction *532 in those instances in which he makes the inferences and acts without a warrant. In both cases, the constitutional standard is one of reasonableness." (Theodor v. Superior Court, supra, 8 Cal.3d 77, 100.)
The same reasoning, however, does not permit of a conclusion that an officer should be permitted by intentional misstatement of facts, or intentional omission of material facts, to create a purported factual portrayal upon which to rest his claim of probable cause.
The evil that can accompany such performance is manifest from an examination of the affidavit in the instant case with the omitted material inserted (see fn. 2, ante). From such examination, it becomes immediately apparent that the magistrate was not made aware of many, very material facts relating to the question of the reliability of the informant: for example, that the informant had lied to the detective about the $10 offer to the owner of the guitar and so rephrased it as to attempt to exculpate himself; that the informant himself was suspected of and accused by the detective of participating in the burglary but had denied it; that the informant only had agreed to make the marijuana buy when he was asked to do so after he had been implicated in the burglary; and that there had been no past experience with the informant to test his reliability.
The foregoing data immediately raises a question as to the informant's reliability and as to the reasonableness of the detective's belief in his reliability, which the magistrate was deprived of evaluating.
While there may be merit in the contention that the exclusionary rule should not be extended beyond the limits to which it already has been extended by the appellate courts, the conduct here criticized is of the type which brought about the decision in People v. Cahan (1955) 44 Cal.2d 434 [282 P.2d 905, 50 A.L.R.2d 513], in the first instance.
An intentional usurping of the decision-making process of the court in the manner done in this case clearly illustrates the need for a plainly enunciated rule that such conduct will invalidate a search warrant without regard to the effect of the omissions on probable cause.
I concur that the peremptory writ of mandate should issue directing respondent court to suppress the evidence obtained in the execution of the search warrant in question, for the reasons enunciated in Justice Gargano's opinion.
*533 BROWN (G.A.), P.J.
I dissent.
First, I disagree that as a matter of law the record herein compels a finding by this court that the omission of the information from the affidavit was done intentionally and deliberately for the purpose of withholding data from and deceiving the magistrate. The petitioner makes no such contention.[1]
The thrust of petitioner's argument is that where information is withheld from the affidavit, whether intended or negligent, the situation is different from that where information is intentionally or carelessly included in the affidavit in that in the former case such excluded information, if it is material to probable cause, should result in automatically quashing the affidavit. Petitioner does not attempt to make a clear distinction between an intended and a careless omission but argues merely that in either case the affidavit is "constitutionally defective."
By denying the motion to suppress, the trial court inferentially found against petitioner on this factual issue. We are, of course, bound by the factual determinations of the trial court, and we must infer findings in favor of the trial court's determination in support of the order, rather than seek a basis for upsetting it. (People v. Superior Court (Keithley) (1975) 13 Cal.3d 406, 410 [118 Cal. Rptr. 617, 530 P.2d 585]; People v. Superior Court (Peck) (1974) 10 Cal.3d 645, 649 [111 Cal. Rptr. 565, 517 P.2d 829].)
Notwithstanding petitioner's failure to make the contention which is the basis of the majority's opinion, and despite the applicability of the substantial evidence rule to the trial court's order, the majority laces its opinion with such tendentious and argumentative conclusions as "Detective Southerland deliberately withheld pertinent factual information pertaining to the informant's reliability." "Detective Southerland knew that his informant was totally unreliable." "It was for this very reason *534 that Southerland asked the suspect if he knew where to obtain some marijuana and then proceeded to create an aura of reliability by arranging a controlled buy." "Yet the detective deliberately omitted all of these pertinent facts from his affidavit. Instead, he worded the affidavit in the manner to suggest to the unsuspecting reader that the informant was reliable because he provided information leading to a controlled buy of marijuana before he told the detective that he had seen the stolen guitar in petitioner's house. Clearly, the conduct of the detective transcended negligence." "Here the record leads, inescapably, to the conclusion that Detective Southerland not only concealed his own distrust of the informant and the information upon which the distrust was grounded but that he deliberately attempted to manufacture reliability through the auspices of a controlled buy and then concealed this important fact as well."
It is submitted that the above conclusional statements might be warranted if they had been made by the trial court, but the record in this case is such as to preclude this court from coming to those conclusions as a matter of law. The facts before the court are clearly susceptible of an interpretation that would impute only careless conduct to the officer.
If it was a careless omission, as the trial court impliedly found, the case could be disposed of under the persuasive precedent of People v. Barger (1974) 40 Cal. App.3d 662, 668-669 [115 Cal. Rptr. 298]. Under that case the omitted material should be placed in the affidavit and probable cause determined based on the included material, thus disposing of the case upon precedent without reaching for the issue of intentional and deliberate omission. An appellate court should decide a case upon grounds as narrow as possible and not reach out for bases not necessary to the disposition or which have not been fully explored by the parties.
If the omitted information is included, it does not as a matter of law render the informant unreliable. This necessarily follows for the reasons stated by the Attorney General.
Secondly, assuming I am in error in my conclusion that this omission was not intentional and deliberate as a matter of law, I would nonetheless affirm the trial court.
In Theodor v. Superior Court (1972) 8 Cal.3d 77, 96 [104 Cal. Rptr. 226, 501 P.2d 234], the court said: "However, if a magistrate is presented with false or inaccurate information in an application for a warrant, the *535 inferences he draws from such information are not based on reality but on the fantasies of the misinformed or misinforming affiant. Regardless of whether misstatements are intentionally false or the product of reasonable or unreasonable cerebration, their ineluctable result is an adverse effect upon the normal inference-drawing process of the magistrate." (Italics added.)
The Theodor case dealt with inaccurate included information. People v. Barger, supra, 40 Cal. App.3d at pages 668-669, extended the same philosophy to excluded information. The majority herein approves Barger and concedes that had the information been carelessly omitted, the facts should be added to the affidavit and probable cause tested in the light of the additional information.
From these precepts, it must be apparent that there is not, and indeed the petitioner does not contend that there is, one whit of difference in the effect on the magistrate's inference-drawing process whether the omission is in good faith, negligent or intended. In each case, the magistrate does not have the information which may be pertinent to determining the issue of probable cause.
It is also inescapable that this defect in the inference-drawing process can be cured by adding the excluded information whether the omission is in good faith, negligent or intentional. By adding the excluded information and testing probable cause in the light of the additional information the processes of justice, the defendant, the victim and the public have in each instance been deprived of nothing. On the other hand, if the warrant is automatically quashed the defendant will, in most cases, go free, and society is the loser.
It follows that the only justification for automatically quashing the warrant is reliance upon the necessity of (1) allegedly preventing interference with the "integrity of the judicial system" and (2) punishing the officer.
The former largely meaningless, all inclusive generality is usually relied upon to justify a conclusion where there is no readily recognizable, more specific rationale upon which to base a result. So far as the term may be intended to relate to the regard and respect of the public and the criminal defendant for the judicial system, experience with the exclusionary rule demonstrates the opposite.
*536 That rule has resulted in impracticable and technical hair-splitting analyses (such as that undertaken in this case) equivalent in many respects to determining the solution to that classical conundrum of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. But does the exclusion of the evidence cause such punishment to the officer as to have a deterrent effect upon the officer's future misconduct? While to my knowledge there are no definitive studies on the subject, it is common knowledge that the reaction of the officer and the public generally is that the officer did his job in catching the suspect and providing the evidence to convict but the (expletive) court let him go. The officer is commended the court is condemned. The public is appalled and the victim is shocked. As a consequence, the deterrent effect of rendering the evidence inadmissible has not worked out in practice and has turned out to be a myth, largely because the sanction imposed does not reach the heart of the problem. And until some criminal and/or civil penalty is brought directly to bear upon the officer and the public entity for which he is employed, the deterrent effect will continue to be minimal certainly too minuscule to justify the price the public pays in return.
The realistic, visible and practical result has been to clog our court calendars in endless and confused debate, invoke the derision of criminals who have "beat the rap" in the face of perfectly competent suppressed evidence and to cause the citizenry to have grave concern for the "integrity of the judicial process" and to lose respect for a system whose rules are apparently designed to let criminals go free at the expense of the innocent victim and the public. There are far better and more effective ways to deter illegal conduct by officers, such as a statutory suit for damages against the officer and the public entity for which he works. One such program is explicated in the cogent and forceful statements of Mr. Chief Justice Burger in his dissent in Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents (1971) 403 U.S. 388, 412-428 [29 L.Ed.2d 619, 636-645, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 2012-2020].
While the exclusionary rule is still with us, and as an intermediate appellate court we are bound by its tenets, I do not think it should be extended beyond the limits to which it has already been extended by higher courts. As Professor Anthony Amsterdam, who is no enemy of the exclusionary rule, has noted: "As it serves this function, the rule is a needed, but grudgingly taken medicament; no more should be swallowed than is needed to combat the disease. Granted that so many criminals must go free as will deter the constables from blundering, pursuance of this policy of liberation beyond the confines of necessity *537 inflicts gratuitous harm on the public interest...." (Amsterdam, Search, Seizure, and Section 2255: A Comment (1964) 112 U.Pa.L.Rev. 378, 389; fn. omitted.) (See also Kaplan, The Limits of the Exclusionary Rule (1974) 26 Stan.L.Rev. 1027.)
The Supreme Court has already opened the way to a restriction of the exclusionary rule. United States v. Calandra (1974) 414 U.S. 338 [38 L.Ed.2d 561, 94 S.Ct. 613] and Michigan v. Tucker (1974) 417 U.S. 433 [41 L.Ed.2d 182, 94 S.Ct. 2357] manifest not only a growing disenchantment with the rule but also the court's belief that it should not be universally applied.
I would deny the writ.
A petition for a rehearing was denied May 21, 1976. Brown (G.A.), J., did not participate therein. The petition of the real party in interest for a hearing by the Supreme Court was denied June 17, 1976.
NOTES
[*] Retired judge of the superior court sitting under assignment by the Chairman of the Judicial Council.
[1] The testimony of Detective Southerland at the 1538.5 hearing clearly shows that the omitted material facts were within his knowledge, and he gives no reasonable explanation for leaving them out.
[2] The writer of this opinion has attempted to reproduce the detective's affidavit in support of the search warrant, with the missing information placed in it. Such operation produces an affidavit which would contain the following information (facts omitted from the original affidavit but within the detective's knowledge according to his testimony at the 1538.5 hearing, are underscored):
1. A. Arceo, owner of a Gibson guitar, reported on
June 16, 1975, to the Merced Police Department that
said guitar and the guitar case had been stolen in
a burglary of his residence on June 14, 1975.
2. On June 18, 1975, affiant (Detective Southerland)
was informed that the "confidential" informant in
this case had offered to return the guitar to Arceo
if the latter paid the informant $10.
3. Because of this information affiant suspected the
informant of the burglary and interrogated him
about the $10 offer.
4. Informant stated that he has observed the guitar
in the possession of Arceo in the past and that he
is familiar with the guitar and the fact it belongs
to Arceo.
5. Informant stated that he merely had told Arceo
that "he thought he could get the guitar back for
about $10 if he could find it."
6. Informant stated that he had seen the guitar in
the residence of Karl Morris (petitioner) in the
last three days.
7. On June 18, 1975, informant produced the guitar
case for affiant and stated to affiant that he had
received it from Karl Morris in exchange for some
kind of a stereo tape or stereo tape deck.
8. On the basis of the foregoing information,
affiant, on June 18, 1975, accused the informant of
committing the burglary and affiant denied doing
so.
9. Affiant did not personally know the informer
prior to this transaction but on the basis of
general knowledge knew him to be on the "fringes of
crime," although affiant had no knowledge of any
prior criminal convictions against informant.
10. On June 18, 1975, affiant indicated to informant
that informant might be prosecuted for the Arceo
burglary.
11. Because of the foregoing facts, affiant did not
know on June 18, 1975, whether informant's
statement as to the location of the guitar was
reliable.
12. In order to make a test of his reliability
affiant, after informant knew he was a suspect in
the burglary, asked informant if he knew where he
could make a "buy" of marijuana, and informant then
stated that he did know and would make a buy for
the police.
13. On the evening of June 18, 1975, informant made a
controlled buy of a "lid" of marijuana for affiant
and upon his return with the purchased marijuana
informed the affiant that the subject he had bought
it from had 1,300 lids of marijuana in his
automobile.
14. That informant further offered to assist affiant
in getting the guitar back and stated that he did
not want to go to jail for something he didn't do
and that he knew where the guitar was and could get
it back.
15. Because informant had implicated himself to the
extent of revealing his own possession of the
guitar case and knowledge of the location of the
guitar in the residence of K. Morris, where
informant had admittedly visited and seen it, and
because informant carried out the drug "buy"
without any deceptive practices against the police,
affiant believes the informant in this case to be
reliable.
(NOTE: As to other necessary details, the affidavit was in standard form and is not objectionable.)
[1] The most the petitioner has said is: "In the present case, it must be said that Officer Southerland intentionally prepared an affidavit which omitted information of which he had knowledge. (The evidence does not show that the officer realized that his omission deceived the court, nor does it show the extent of his experience in preparing such affidavits.)" Obviously, he intentionally prepared the affidavit which omitted information. However, this is not the equivalent of intentionally and deliberately omitting the information to deceive the magistrate. By petitioner's caveat in the parentheses, he has disavowed any knowledge of whether the omission was intended or was innocent or careless.
|
Due to the lapse in appropriations, Department of Justice websites will not be regularly updated. The Department’s essential law enforcement and national security functions will continue. Please refer to the Department of Justice’s contingency plan for more information.
Justice News
Former Union Officer Sentenced to 1½ Years for Embezzling over $280,000 in Union Funds
Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Ryan Jones, 35 of Bath, Maine was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge George Z. Singal to 1½ years in prison and three years of supervised release for embezzling $280,865 from a union during a period when he served as an officer of that union. He was also ordered to pay $280,865 in restitution. He pleaded guilty on September 6, 2017.
According to court records, from 2009 until January 2017, the defendant was the Secretary-Treasurer of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge S6, a labor union. The defendant’s tenure ended when he failed to win re-election. In January, the newly elected union officials discovered discrepancies with union finances. The ensuing federal investigation revealed that the defendant made almost 200 unauthorized withdrawals from the union’s bank account, he fabricated monthly bank statements to conceal his withdrawals, he provided the fabricated bank statements to union auditors to deceive them, and he embezzled about $280,865 between May 2012 and November 2016.
The investigation was conducted by the Bath Police Department; the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. |
Q:
Chemoautotrophy in large organisms?
The major nutritional mechanisms include chemoautotrophy, heterotrophy (including parasitism and saprotrophy) and photoautotrophy. All of these modes of nutrition developed first in prokaryotic ancestors, and gradually, through the course of evolution, these prokaryotes formed complex eukaryotic, multicellular organisms. Some of these complex descendants (the majority of Kingdom Plantae) possessed the photoautotrophic mode and some (the majority of Kingdom Animalia, some of Kingdom Protista & Kingdom Fungi) possessed the heterotrophic mode.
My question is, since all the three modes developed quite early in evolutionary history, why didn't any chemoautotrophic multicellular, eukaryotic organism develop? (Or, if they did, why did they not form a wide-diverse group as the organisms with other two modes of nutrition did.)
(One possible reason could be lesser availability of chemoautotrophic substrates, but I have no proof, nor any argument to support this.)
A:
I've been thinking about this question for a few days and along the lines of @ThomasIngalls comment, the simple answer is that cooperation between organisms has such a huge advantage in selection that any chance a eukaryote would become a chemautotroph would simply not adapt fast enough to compete with those that are already holding these niches.
The chemautotrophs I'm aware of are usually archaeabacteria. They are optimized to grow slowly and have a large number of genes that can break down the unusual chemical compounds to grow in an inorganic often anoxic environment. These bacteria have genes evolved from the chemautotrophic earliest days of life on earth. They live deep within the earth, under ground, in volcanic vents. There are animals that live in some of these environments, but its simply too easy for these to use the bacteria that are already growing here readily rather then re-evolve the genes to do it by themselves.
Eukaryotes are already symbiotes - they used bacteria to create ATP and photosynthetically fix carbon to the extent that they absorbed them as mitochondria and chloroplasts respectively. If eukaryotes were under a tremendous amount of selective pressure, some of them might absorb symbiotic chemautotrophs, but without such pressure, it doesn't happen when you are competing against plants with roots and animals that eat for their energy.
Forming systems of organisms is much more stable than having individual species that can do it all. This question is actually similar to other questions that ask why we don't have metal armor, run as fast as cheetahs, etc. Evolution doesn't actually create super animals that are completely self contained. The ones that reproduce the best are the ones that can actually spread out the risk of survival and contribute to an ecosystem.
It kind of makes me think of human beings - the only superorganism on the planet in this regard. We don't really need to compete against any organism - we are in fact killing most of them out there without really thinking about it. That might now turn out to be good for us long term.
|
340 F.Supp. 1368 (1972)
UNITED STATES of America ex rel. Henry JOHNSON, H-8407
v.
R. L. JOHNSON, Superintendent.
Civ. A. No. 71-1528.
United States District Court, E. D. Pennsylvania.
March 10, 1972.
*1369 Henry Johnson, pro se.
Arlen Specter, Dist. Atty., Mark Sendrow, Asst. Dist. Atty., Philadelphia County, Philadelphia, Pa., for respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER
EDWARD R. BECKER, District Judge.
This is a petition for a writ of habeas corpus by a state prisoner who is serving a five to ten year sentence following his conviction by Judge Robert W. Honeyman of the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Pa., sitting without a jury, of the crimes of burglary, larceny, and conspiracy. In his petition, relator claims entitlement to relief on essentially three grounds: (1) that he was arrested without probable cause; (2) that the search of the automobile in which he was riding at the time of his arrest violated the Fourth Amendment; and (3) that the testimony of his co-defendant, Albert Johnson, exonerated him of the crimes charged. Relator has essentially exhausted his available state remedies and his case is properly before us for an adjudication of his constitutional claims.[1]*1370 Since the only issues which we must now decide concern facts which are amply developed in the existing state court records, we deem it unnecessary to hold an evidentiary hearing.[2] Townsend v. Sain, 372 U.S. 293, 83 S.Ct. 745, 9 L.Ed. 2d 770 (1963). For the reasons stated herein, we must deny relator's petition.
We shall first consider the question of probable cause for relator's arrest, i. e., did the "facts and circumstances known to the officer warrant a prudent man in believing that the offense has been committed [citations omitted]." Henry v. United States, 361 U.S. 98, 102, 80 S.Ct. 168, 171, 4 L.Ed.2d 134 (1959). Accord, United States v. Dento, 382 F.2d 361 (3d Cir. 1967), cert. denied, 389 U.S. 944, 88 S.Ct. 307, 19 L.Ed.2d 299, rehearing denied, 389 U.S. 997, 88 S.Ct. 493, 19 L.Ed.2d 502. Since questions of probable cause must be viewed in light of all the surrounding circumstances, a particularized recitation of the facts is necessary to our discussion. The facts are ably summarized by Judge Honeyman in his opinion:
"On Sunday, January 14th, 1968, at approximately 4:35 a. m., an Officer of the Springfield Township Police was on motor patrol in the vicinity of the intersection of Bethlehem Pike and Mill Road. As he approached the intersection he observed a car starting to pull out of a closed gas station onto Bethlehem Pike. As the Officer proceeded to the gas station the car stopped, backed up and parked. At this time, with the exception of a small light in the gas station, the station was dark.
After the Officer drove into the station and parked in front of the car the two occupants, the defendants, alighted from the car and walked over to the police car. The driver, defendant Albert Johnson, upon request of the Officer, who was still in his car, produced his driver's license. The license indicated that the defendant lived at 4316 Terrace Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When asked to produce his owner's card, the driver said that it was inside the gas station. He went on to explain that he had had his car repaired in the station earlier in the day and then had gone to Allentown. On the return trip from Allentown the car trouble reoccurred and he had pulled into the gas station to leave the car for further repairs. The defendants then asked for the location of a pay phone and were directed to a telephone booth adjacent to an Acme market which was approximately 100 yards away. The two defendants then walked towards the telephone booth.
After they had left, the Officer pulled his car around behind the defendants' car and noted its license number. He then made a radio call to the County Police Radio Room to ascertain the registered owner of the car. He was told that the car was registered in the name of a Lucille Philpot of Philadelphia.
Upon receiving this information the Officer got out of his car and with *1371 the aid of a flashlight looked into the defendant's automobile. He observed two large boxes filled with between 300 and 400 cartons of cigarettes on the back seat and a five foot length of angle iron, partially covered with ice and snow, in the front seat.
The Officer, after making this observation, drove over to the defendants who were in the vicinity of the telephone booth. He arrested the defendants for larceny of the automobile and for possession of stolen goods, i. e., cigarettes. The defendants were then taken back to the car and the trunk was opened. Inside were found many loose cartons of cigarettes.
The defendants were then taken to the Springfield Township Police Building. The next morning the arresting Officer swore out an affidavit for a search warrant and a warrant was issued by Justice of the Peace Thomas Jenkins. A search was subsequently made of the car. The items seized, the angle iron and cigarettes, were physically shown to Mr. Jenkins but no written return was made on the warrant itself. The warrant and the affidavit were retained by the Police until the Court hearing on the defendants' Motion to Suppress."
While the caselaw has enunciated certain basic standards, in the final analysis, probable cause must be determined on a case by case basis in light of the totality of surrounding circumstances existing at the time of the arrest. Our analysis of the facts reveals a number of ingredients relative to a finding of probable cause.
The suspects were first observed at 4:30 A.M. on a Sunday morning, pulling out of a closed gasoline station; as the officer proceeded to the gas station, their car backed up and parked. The driver, who also represented himself to be the owner of the car,[3] did not live in the immediate area, and could not produce proof of ownership. His justification for his presence at a closed gas station, i. e., that he was bringing the car in for repairs on his return from Allentown, was suspicious in light of the officer's personal observation that when he first saw the car, it was exiting from the gas station and was not entering or parked. Furthermore, the information received by the officer that the license plate (and apparently the car) was registered in another's name, with no apparent connection with the driver, was at variance with the representation that the driver owned the car. As of this point, the officer at least had reason to be highly suspicious that a crime had been or was being committed by relator and his companion.
We do not have to decide if probable cause to arrest the relator existed at this point in time because the presence in the car of the two large boxes full of cartons of cigarettes and the long length of "angle iron" covered with snow and ice, when combined with the other facts known by the officer, clearly created probable cause. However, if the search of the interior of the car from the outside with a flashlight by looking through the windows constituted an illegal warrantless search, then the knowledge gained through an illegal search cannot be used as an indicia of probable cause to arrest. Alderman v. United States, 394 U.S. 165, 176-177, 89 S.Ct. 961, 22 L.Ed.2d 176 (1969); Sibron v. State of New York, 392 U.S. 40, 88 S.Ct. 1889, 20 L.Ed.2d 917 (1968). But see, Scearce v. Field, 292 F.Supp. 807 (C.D. Cal.1968).
On similar facts, some courts have concluded that there was not a "search" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Hanahan, 442 F.2d 649 (7th Cir. 1971); United States v. Johnson, 431 F.2d 441 (5th Cir. 1970) (alternative holding); United States v. Polk, 433 F.2d 644 (5th *1372 Cir. 1970); United States v. Morales, 440 F.2d 1332 (5th Cir. 1971); Gil v. Beto, 440 F.2d 666 (5th Cir. 1971). Other courts have held that there was a search but that it was reasonable. Marshall v. United States, 422 F.2d 185 (5th Cir. 1970); United States v. Vilhotti, 323 F.Supp. 425 (S.D.N.Y.1970). Also, United States v. Johnson, supra (alternative holding). Regardless of the basis for upholding these visual acts, the cases require that the officer have the right to be in the position to have that view. Harris v. United States, 390 U.S. 234, 88 S.Ct. 992, 19 L.Ed.2d 1067 (1968). In this case, it is obvious that the officer who was on the premises of a gasoline service station which is open to the public met this requirement. Therefore, we conclude that the knowledge of the cigarettes and angle iron was lawfully obtained by the officer for "what a person knowingly exposes to the public is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection. See Lewis v. United States, 385 U.S. 206, 210, 87 S.Ct. 424, 427, 17 L. Ed.2d 312 (1966); United States v. Lee, 274 U.S. 559, 563, 47 S.Ct. 746, 748, 71 L.Ed. 1202 (1927); Hester v. United States, 265 U.S. 57, 44 S.Ct. 445, 68 L. Ed. 898 (1924)." Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 2059 n. 6, 29 L.Ed.2d 564 (1971) (Mr. Justice Black, concurring and dissenting).[4]
We find that the presence of some 200 cartons of cigarettes on the back seat of a passenger motor vehicle[5] is highly unusual; the normal smoker does not purchase cigarettes in such large quantities. Moreover, where there is visualized in the same car an "angle iron" still covered with ice and snow which indicates that it had been used very recently (for there was snow on the ground at the time), the point is reached when a group of facts, no one of which would constitute probable cause, but each one of which is highly suspicious, fits together to cement the pattern. In our view, the combined and collated facts are such as would reasonably lead a prudent officer to believe that a felony has been committed. Having found that probable cause existed for the warrantless arrest of relator, we must determine if the warrantless search at the scene and the warrantless search and seizure at the police station comport with the requirements of the Fourth Amendment.[6]
We disagree with the characterization that the trial judge and the relator have given the searches and seizure involved in this case. They both have described it as a search and seizure incident to arrest. Such a characterization of the issue, if accurate, would invalidate the seizure of the contraband at the police station for "`[o]nce an accused is under arrest and in custody, then a search made at another place, without a warrant, is simply not incident to arrest.'" Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. 42, 47, 90 S.Ct. 1975, 1979, 26 L.Ed.2d *1373 419 (1970), citing Preston v. United States, 376 U.S. 364, 367, 84 S.Ct. 881, 11 L.Ed.2d 777 (1964). Moreover, the search incident to arrest theory might not support the search of the trunk at the gas station, since the relator was under arrest and in custody at the parking lot across the street from the gas station where the car was located. However, as we shall see infra, we are not confronted with the thorny problems attendant to the search incident to arrest theory, for the recent case of Coolidge v. New Hampshire, supra, reaffirms the principles of automobile searches as first enunciated in Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 45 S.Ct. 280, 69 L.Ed. 543 (1925).[7]
Coolidge makes clear that the warrantless search of an automobile must meet two requirements (1) probable cause to search; and (2) "exigent circumstances."[8] The first requirement is satisfied if the officer has probable cause to believe that contraband, weapons or evidence of a crime[9] will be found in the car. Moreover, the right to search is not determined by the right to arrest.
"The Court [in Carroll] also noted that the search of an auto on probable cause proceeds on a theory wholly different from that justifying the search incident to an arrest:
`The right to search and the validity of the seizure are not dependent on the right to arrest. They are dependent on the reasonable cause the arresting officer has for belief that the contents of the automobile offend against the law.'" Chambers v. Maroney, supra, 399 U.S. at 49, 90 S.Ct. at 1980, citing Carroll v. United States, supra, 267 U.S. at 158-159, 45 S.Ct. 280.
Therefore, we are not bound by the spatial limitation imposed by the search incident to arrest theory, except as it relates to the second requirement the presence of "exigent circumstances." But as for the probable cause (the first requirement), the circumstances that give rise to probable cause for arrest are often (as they are here) the same that will furnish probable cause for a search.[10] Chambers v. Maroney, supra, 399 U.S. at 47, n. 6, 90 S.Ct. 1975. We, therefore, conclude that the arresting officer *1374 had probable cause to conduct an immediate warrantless search of the automobile.
Having found that the arresting officer had probable cause to search, we must next decide if "exigent circumstances" existed for "no amount of probable cause can justify a warrantless search or seizure absent `exigent circumstances.'" Coolidge v. New Hampshire, supra, 91 S.Ct. at 2039.[11] An examination of Coolidge is illustrative for this purpose. While the Court in Coolidge conceded that the arresting officers had probable cause to search the defendant's auto while it was parked in his driveway, it found no "exigent circumstances." The following quotation from Coolidge will not only validate the court's conclusion, but will also highlight some of the types of situations constituting "exigent circumstances" sufficient to justify an automobile search.
"In this case, the police had known for some time of the probable role of the Pontiac car in the crime. Coolidge was aware that he was a suspect in the Mason murder, but he had been extremely cooperative throughout the investigation, and there was no indication that he meant to flee. He had already had ample opportunity [about 4 weeks] to destroy any evidence he thought incriminating. There is no suggestion that, on the night in question, the car was being used for any illegal purpose, and it was regularly parked in the driveway of the house. The opportunity for search was thus hardly `fleeting.' The objects which the police are assumed to have had probable cause to search for in the car *1375 were neither stolen nor contraband nor dangerous.
... There was no way in which he could conceivably have gained access to the automobile after the police arrived on his property. When Coolidge had been taken away, the police informed Mrs. Coolidge, the only other adult occupant of the house, that she and her baby must spend the night elsewhere and that she could not use either of the Coolidge cars. Two police officers then drove her in a police car to the house of a relative in another town, and they stayed with her there until around midnight, long after the police had had the Pontiac towed to the station house. The Coolidge premises were guarded throughout the night by two policemen.
The word `automobile' is not a talisman in whose presence the Fourth Amendment fades away and disappears. And surely there is nothing in this case to invoke the meaning and purpose of the rule of Carroll v. United States no alerted criminal bent on flight, no fleeting opportunity on an open highway after a hazardous chase, no contraband or stolen goods or weapons, no confederates waiting to move the evidence, not even the inconvenience of a special police detail to guard the immobilized automobile." Coolidge v. New Hampshire, supra, 91 S.Ct. at 2035-2036.
It is readily apparent why the court concluded that there were no "exigent circumstances" to justify a warrantless search or seizure.[12]
However, contrary to Coolidge, the facts of this case present numerous kinds of the "exigent circumstances" enumerated there. The car was stopped on a public thoroughfare and thus movable. The arresting officer had probable cause to believe that contraband was contained in the auto. Obtaining a warrant would have necessitated "the inconvenience of a special police detail to guard the immobilized automobile." When the suspects went across the street to use the telephone, they may have been alerting a confederate to come and move the car or remove the contraband, or other confederates may have been in the vicinity, armed or otherwise ready for ambush.
We conclude that the warrantless search at the gas station was lawful because the officer's probable cause to search was accompanied by "exigent circumstances."
This does not end our discussion, however. We must decide if the warrantless search and seizure of the cigarettes, "angle iron", lighter fluid, etc., at the police station comports with the Fourth Amendment standards. In that regard, we are governed by Chambers v. Maroney, supra.
In Chambers, it was argued, in circumstances similar to the present ones, that when an arrest is made in a car on the open highway, and the car and the accused are transported to the police station, the question of probable cause to search the car should be submitted to a detached magistrate in the form of a search warrant. The car is no longer movable and the suspects are in custody. In short, it was contended that all of the "exigent circumstances" which justify a warrantless search on the highway no longer obtain at the police station. The court rejected this argument and held that when the initial intrusion is permissible under Carroll, i. e., when there are probable cause and "exigent circumstances" necessary to *1376 justify a warrantless search of the car on the highway, a subsequent search made at the station house is also permissible.
"For constitutional purposes, we see no difference between on the one hand seizing and holding a car before presenting the probable cause issue to a magistrate and on the other hand carrying out an immediate search [at the station house] without a warrant. Given probable cause to search, either course is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment." Chambers v. Maroney, supra, 399 U.S. at 52, 90 S.Ct. at 1981, 26 L.Ed.2d 419.
Thus, the touchstone of the court's holding is probable cause.[13] The Court reasons that a suspect's Fourth Amendment rights are adequately protected if probable cause exists at the time that the automobile is stopped; the same probable cause to search is present when an immediate search is conducted at the station house. We conclude that the search and seizure at the police station were lawful and reasonable under the Fourth Amendment and that evidence was properly admitted at trial.[14]
The relator's final contention is that his co-defendant's testimony exonerated the relator from any complicity in the crime. Such matters of credibility must be left to the trial judge or jury and are not properly before this court to consider in a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. 28 U.S.C.A. § 2254; Trujillo v. Tinsley, 333 F.2d 185 (10th Cir. 1964); Judy v. Pepersack, 284 F.2d 443 (4th Cir. 1960); United States ex rel. Rooney v. Ragen, 173 F.2d 668 (7th Cir. 1949); United States ex rel. Williams v. Myers, 196 F.Supp. 280 (E.D.Pa.1961).
NOTES
[1] Following his conviction, relator moved for a new trial and for arrest of judgment. His motions were heard by the Court of Common Pleas, en banc, and were denied per curiam on April 29, 1969. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed his conviction per curiam on February 5, 1970, Commonwealth v. Johnson, 216 Pa.Super. 785, 261 A.2d 102.
In his petition, petitioner alleged that the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania had "Denied Per Curiam" his Petition for Allowance of Appeal. We accepted this allegation and proceeded with the research and writing of this opinion. Just prior to filing, we learned from the Prothonotaries of the Superior and Supreme Courts that no such appeal had been taken. We feel that justice would not be best served by dismissing this petition, thereby requiring the petitioner to seek further relief in state court with the probable eventual filing of a second petition for writ of habeas corpus. Two considerations militate against dismissal at this juncture for failure to exhaust:
(1) the unlikely success of a petition to appeal nunc pro tunc in state court and, even if granted, the unlikely success of that appeal in light of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's unfavorable ruling on the co-defendant's timely appeal; and
(2) the fact that "[t]he rule of exhaustion `is not one defining power but one which relates to the appropriate exercise of power.' [citations omitted]." Fay v. Noia, 372 U.S. 391, 420, 83 S.Ct. 822, 839, 9 L.Ed.2d 837 (1963).
Accordingly, we have reached the merits of relator's petition.
[2] The record is comprised of testimony taken at the pretrial motion to suppress evidence (which was denied) and at the trial itself.
[3] From the record, it is apparent that the driver consistently referred to the car as "his" car, although the officer never directly asked him if he actually owned the car.
[4] Our discussion of this point would not be complete without some reference to the opinion in Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 29 L.Ed.2d 564 (1971). Mr. Justice Stewart (with Justices Douglas, Brennan and Marshall concurring in that portion of the opinion) presented a thorough discussion of the "plain view" exception to the warrant requirement. A careful reading of that discussion discloses that it is unapplicable to this part of our case. The thrust of Justice Stewart's discussion concerns the seizure of evidence or contraband after a search is already in progress. Here, we are not concerned with the seizure of the cartons of cigarettes, but whether the knowledge of its presence in the car was lawfully obtained by the officer, which knowledge can be added to other facts otherwise lawfully obtained in order to constitute probable cause for arrest.
[5] 375 to 400 cartons were seized from the back seat and the trunk of the car. At trial, it was estimated that the majority of the cartons were contained in boxes located on the back seat.
[6] Both searches must be judged by exceptions to the warrant requirements since the subsequently-obtained search warrant is conceded to be defective because the police failed to return the warrant and affidavit to the Justice of the Peace.
[7] See also, Husty v. United States, 282 U.S. 694, 51 S.Ct. 240, 75 L.Ed. 629 (1931); Scher v. United States, 305 U.S. 251, 59 S.Ct. 174, 83 L.Ed. 151 (1938); Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 69 S.Ct. 1302, 93 L.Ed. 1879 (1949); Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. 42, 90 S.Ct. 1975, 26 L.Ed.2d 419 (1970).
[8] "[Our] legal system ... regards warrantless searches as `per se unreasonable' in the absence of `exigent circumstances.'" Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 470, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 2040 (1971).
[9] See, Warden, Md. Penitentiary v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294, 87 S.Ct. 1642, 18 L.Ed.2d 782.
[10] There are circumstances where probable cause to arrest exists but probable cause to search is lacking. In Preston v. United States, supra, the defendants were arrested for vagrancy. While the court found that the arrest was valid, there could be no probable cause to search because there are no fruits or instrumentalities of the "crime" or vagrancy subject to seizure. Likewise, in Dyke v. Taylor Implement Manufacturing Co., 391 U.S. 216, 88 S.Ct. 1472, 20 L.Ed.2d 538, the court found that there was no probable cause to search a car, the occupants of which had been arrested for reckless driving. The court stated that the Carroll line of cases insisted that the searching officers have "`probable cause' to believe that they will find the instrumentality of a crime or evidence pertaining to a crime before they begin their warrantless search." Id. at 221, 88 S.Ct. at 1475.
It should be noted that probable cause to believe that an automobile is stolen apparently will justify an immediate warrantless search. Preston v. United States, supra, 376 U.S. at 367-368, 84 S.Ct. 881. See also, Cooper v. State of California, 386 U.S. 58, 87 S.Ct. 788, 17 L.Ed.2d 730 (1967).
There may be situations where an officer has probable cause to stop an automobile on the highway and conduct a warrantless search, but he does not have probable cause to arrest. Such a situation would exist when the police have received information from a reliable informant that the fruits of a recent crime are hidden in a particular car but the same information exonerates the occupants of the car.
[11] The Carroll line of cases are often cited to justify a distinction between an automobile and a home in terms of circumstances allowing a warrantless search. Chambers v. Maroney, supra, 399 U.S. at 48, 90 S.Ct. 1975. This concept has spawned what is called the "automobile exception" to the warrant requirement. In a sense, such language has only clouded the real issues vis-a-vis automobile searches, for in terms of pure legal issues there is no "automobile exception." As stated previously, automobiles, like homes or offices, cannot be searched without a warrant except on probable cause and when accompanied by "exigent circumstances." As we see it, then, the standard to be applied is essentially the same regardless of the object to be searched. What has created the distinction is what normally inheres in the very nature of the object searched and not the application of different standards. Generally, courts have presumed the existence of "exigent circumstances" when the validity of an automobile search is questioned for "the car is movable, the occupants are alerted, and the car's contents may never be found again if a warrant must be obtained" Chambers v. Maroney, supra, at 51, 90 S.Ct. at 1981. On the other hand, courts have generally presumed that there are no "exigent circumstances" to justify a warrantless search of a home or office.
This is not to suggest that the stringent standards for a warrantless search would never allow a warrantless search of a home or office, but it is a great deal more difficult to sustain the existence of "exigent circumstances" in such a situation. Likewise, we do not suggest that "exigent circumstances" are always present in searches of automobiles.
"Neither Carroll, supra, nor other cases in this Court require or suggest that in every conceivable circumstance the search of an auto even with probable cause may be made without the extra protection for privacy that a warrant affords." Chambers v. Maroney, supra at 50, 90 S.Ct. at 1980.
We feel that this language infers what we are here saying, i. e., that it is at least difficult to sustain the nonexistence of "exigent circumstances" in automobile searches. We do not conclude that any search of an automobile with probable cause is per se reasonable (see, Mr. Justice Stewart's characterization of the concurring and dissenting opinion by Mr. Justice White, Coolidge v. New Hampshire, supra, 91 S.Ct. at 2045), only that "exigent circumstances" are far more likely to be present in automobile searches than in house searches.
[12] In fact, Coolidge is almost sui generis because of the unusual set of circumstances, and we do not feel that it has disturbed, in any way, the law of automobile searches as enunciated in Carroll and its progeny; it is mainly the fruition of the warning in Chambers (see n. 11) that we cannot dispense with the search warrant in every automobile search. Notwithstanding Coolidge, the existence of "exigent circumstances" accompanying automobile searches is still the normal rule but that determination must be made in each case after reviewing all of the surrounding circumstances.
[13] The court in Chambers is not unmindful of the "exigent circumstances" requirement of the warrantless search at the station house. However, the court takes a pragmatic approach to the problem.
"The probable-cause factor still obtained at the station house and so did the mobility of the car unless the Fourth Amendment permits a warrantless seizure of the car and the denial of its use to anyone until a warrant is secured. In that event there is little to choose in terms of practical consequences between an immediate search [at the station house] without a warrant and the car's immobilization until a warrant is obtained." Chambers v. Maroney, supra at 52, 90 S.Ct. at 1981.
[14] It appears from the court's discussion that the search at the station house must be "immediate." It is possible that this qualification will pose line-drawing problems in future cases, but we are not presented with such problems here. As pointed out in Coolidge, 91 S.Ct. at n. 20, the search in Chambers was conducted "many hours" after the car had been removed to the station house. In the present case, the relator was stopped at 4:30 a. m., Sunday morning, and the search and seizure was started at the police station at 12:30 p. m., Sunday afternoon. Thus, the search and seizure in our case appears to be as "immediate" as it was in Chambers.
|
GT Advanced Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: GTAT) (the “Company”) today announced the pricing of $205 million aggregate principal amount of its 3.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2017. The Company has granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional $15 million aggregate principal amount of the notes from the Company.
The notes will mature on October 1, 2017, unless repurchased or converted in accordance with their terms prior to such date, and will bear interest at a rate of 3.00% per year, payable semiannually in arrears on April 1 and October 1 of each year, beginning on April 1, 2013. The notes will be convertible, under certain circumstances, into cash, shares of the Company’s common stock, or a combination of both, at the Company’s election, at an initial conversion rate of 129.7185 shares of the Company’s common stock per $1,000 principal amount of notes, which is equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $7.71 per share of the Company’s common stock. The Company will not have the right to redeem the notes prior to maturity.
The Company has also entered into convertible note hedge transactions with certain financial institutions, some of which are affiliates of the underwriters (the “Option Counterparties”) , which are intended to reduce its exposure under the notes to future increases in the price of the Company’s common stock. The Company has also entered into separate warrant transactions with the Option Counterparties, and the warrants have an exercise price that is approximately 67.5% higher than the closing price per share of the Company’s common stock on September 24, 2012. The issuance of the warrants could have a dilutive effect on the Company’s common stock to the extent that the market price exceeds the exercise price of the warrants. If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional notes, the Company may enter into additional convertible note hedge transactions and additional warrant transactions with the Option Counterparties.
The Company estimates that the net proceeds of this offering will be $198.3 million (or $212.9 million if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional notes is exercised in full), after deducting the underwriters’ discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses. The Company expects to use approximately $15.2 million of the net proceeds from the offering to pay the cost of the convertible note hedge transactions (after such cost is partially offset by the proceeds to the Company from the sale of the warrants in the warrant transactions). The Company intends to use the remainder of the net proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes, which may include the acquisition of companies or businesses, repayment and refinancing of debt, working capital and capital expenditures.
In connection with the convertible note hedge transactions and the separate warrant transactions, the Option Counterparties (or their affiliates) that will be parties to those transactions have advised the Company that they expect to enter into various derivative transactions in the Company’s common stock, and may purchase and sell the Company’s common stock in secondary market transactions, concurrently with or shortly after the pricing of the notes. This activity could increase (or reduce the size of any decrease in) the market price of the Company’s common stock or the notes at that time. In addition, the Option Counterparties or affiliates thereof may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to the Company’s common stock and/or purchasing or selling the Company’s common stock or other securities of the Company in secondary market transactions following the pricing of the notes and prior to the expected maturity of the notes (and are likely to do so during any observation period related to a conversion of notes). This activity could also cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of the Company’s common stock.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities, in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.
UBS Investment Bank, BofA Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse will act as joint book-running managers for the offering. The issuer has filed a registration statement (including a base prospectus and related preliminary prospectus supplement) with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, for the offering. Before you invest, you should read the preliminary prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the other documents the issuer has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the issuer and the offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the issuer, the underwriters or any dealer participating in the offering will arrange to send you the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus if you request them by contacting UBS Investment Bank, Attn: Prospectus Department, 299 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10171 or by calling (888) 827-7275, by contacting BofA Merrill Lynch, Attn: Prospectus Department, 222 Broadway, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10038, by calling (866) 500-5408 or by emailing [email protected] or by contacting Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Attn: Prospectus Department, One Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010, by calling (800) 221-1037 or by emailing [email protected].
About GT Advanced Technologies Inc.
GT Advanced Technologies Inc. is a global provider of polysilicon production technology, and sapphire and silicon crystalline growth systems and materials for the solar, LED and other specialty markets. The company's products and services allow its customers to optimize their manufacturing environments and lower their cost of ownership. For additional information please visit www.gtat.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding our planned offer and sale of senior convertible notes and the use of the net proceeds from any such sale. We cannot be sure that we will complete the offering or, if we do, on what terms we will complete it.Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and expectations and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, including those discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in the prospectus and prospectus supplement.In addition, management retains broad discretion with respect to the allocation of the net proceeds of this offering.The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release, and GT Advanced Technologies Inc. is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. |
Q:
Checking if an attribute exists in a shortcode
I've written a small plugin that spits out html for a button. It works great, except for one thing: If the user doesn't specify an image, the image appears broken. Is there a way for me to check and see if the user has specified an image, and only print the image code if that's the case?
Here's my plugin code:
function button_shortcode($args) {
return "<a class=\"button\" href=\"" . $args["url"] . "\"><img alt=\"" . $args["bigtext"] . "\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"" . $args["img"] . "\" /><small>" . $args["smalltext"] . "</small>" . $args["bigtext"] . "</a>";
}
add_shortcode("button", "button_shortcode");
Here's the shortcode:
[button url="http://www.example.com/" img="/path/to/image.png" smalltext="Smaller Text" bigtext="Bigger Text"]
A:
Okay, I've re-written the function so that it does the following:
checks that your array values are set before using them. You can't always be sure they'll be there.
if the image is empty, it returns with an error message. Not sure if this is what you want, but you can just remove it.
first creates your image html.
then, if there's a URL specified, it wraps up the image in your link HTML. If not, it'll just return your image HTML.
Note the way I've created your HTML. Breaking and opening strings and escaping quotes etc. is messy and difficult to read. Use single quotes when constructing HTML strings so you can use double-quotes without escaping them.
I've also used sprintf() and then substitute each piece I want. Much easier to read, and modify later.
Hope it helps!
function button_shortcode($args) {
if ( empty( $args['img'] ) ) {
return 'Error - no image source was specified';
}
$sBigText = isset( $args['bigtext'] )? $args['bigtext'] : '';
$sSmallText = isset( $args['smalltext'] )? $args['smalltext'] : '';
$sHtmlToReturn = sprintf( '<img alt="%s" class="alignleft" src="%s" /><small>%s</small>%s', $sBigText, $args['img'], $sSmallText, $sBigText );
if ( !empty( $args['url'] ) ) {
$sHtmlToReturn = sprintf( '<a class="button" href="%s">%s</a>', $args['url'], $sHtmlToReturn );
}
return $sHtmlToReturn;
}
Paul.
A:
Borek pointed in the right direction, here's my fine code*:
function button_shortcode($attributes, $content) {
if ($attributes["image"] != "") {
$img = "<img alt=\"" . $content . "\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"" . $attributes["image"] . "\" />";
} else {
$img = "";
}
if ($attributes["intro"] != "") {
$intro = "<small>" . $attributes["intro"] . "</small>";
}
return "<a class=\"button\" href=\"" . $attributes["link"] . "\">" . $img . $intro . $content . "</a>";
}
add_shortcode("button", "button_shortcode");
*Note: I did change some of the attribute names and stuff as well, but that wasn't necessary.
|
National differences in environmental concern and performance are predicted by country age.
There are obvious economic predictors of ability and willingness to invest in environmental sustainability. Yet, given that environmental decisions represent trade-offs between present sacrifices and uncertain future benefits, psychological factors may also play a role in country-level environmental behavior. Gott's principle suggests that citizens may use perceptions of their country's age to predict its future continuation, with longer pasts predicting longer futures. Using country- and individual-level analyses, we examined whether longer perceived pasts result in longer perceived futures, which in turn motivate concern for continued environmental quality. Study 1 found that older countries scored higher on an environmental performance index, even when the analysis controlled for country-level differences in gross domestic product and governance. Study 2 showed that when the United States was framed as an old country (vs. a young one), participants were willing to donate more money to an environmental organization. The findings suggest that framing a country as a long-standing entity may effectively prompt proenvironmental behavior. |
The stranger, the mother and the Algerian revolution
In The Myth of Sisyphus Albert Camus seeks his own answer to the question that Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky and Nietzsche have bequeathed to us: is it possible to live without God, without any hope of salvation as death looms? At first sight the outlook is bleak: we are, says Camus, thrust into existence as into an exile with no return. From the viewpoint of eternity, we are passions that can never be satisfied, cries that go unheard. Human beings and the world do not mix. He sums up man’s tragic existence in one word: the absurd. It emerges from the fracture between the soul’s desperate desire for clarity and the incomprehensibility of reality, the gap between our craving for meaning and the cold grave that awaits us. Camus understood early on that reason – the traditional weapon of philosophy – would always be powerless to address the futile, ill-fated game of existence.
Even so, the work essentially represents a manifesto for revolt and the ecstasy of life. It is a passionate revolt that answers the question of the meaning of life: if there is any raison d’étre worthy of the name, it is born of a piece of trembling flesh. Desire, affection and generosity: these are the bread and wine of the mortal human being. Anyone who does not live to serve an immortal Creator must become a creator himself. The absurd man, as Camus calls his hero, transforms his days into a work of art, a defiant celebration of the battle which, as he knows from the outset, must eventually end in his death. Camus quotes Nietzsche: “It is not a question of eternal life but of being eternally alive.”[1] It is the destiny of the absurd man to try to make something out of the nothingness, to grasp his life from death itself. Sisyphus shows us the way: happiness is the leap we make both with and in spite of our burden.
This insight is already there in the young Camus’ poetic meditations on the “home of the soul” which saw him come into the world in 1913: Algeria. It was here, in the generous sunshine of French Algeria, that the poet’s sensibility was formed. The 20-year-old’s reflections on the home country exude a sensual amor fati, a dream that the flesh might provide an escape from exile and conquer the absurd. Here he depicts the nuptial feast between people, the earth, the sun and the sea. His hometown, Algiers, writes Camus, worships the body, warmth and an eternal present. “For those who are young and alive everything in Algiers is a refuge and a pretext for continuous triumph: the bay, the sun, the red and white terraces facing the sea, flowers and sports grounds, the cool legs of young women.”[2] The Algerians’ simple request for happiness amidst their daily misery reveals man’s innocence with regard to life and death.
Perhaps this identification with the vibrant bodies on Algeria’s beaches expresses an instinctive rebellion against the serious case of TB that had, since his adolescence, pitched the author between hope and despair. The disease threatens to deprive him forever of the Algerian sun he loves so much, and which, bedridden, he could glimpse from his window in the simple working-class suburb of Belcourt. “In this land that offers so much life, everything exudes a terror of death,” he writes from his sick bed. Anyone who understands how to live without hope in the future sees the moment as his only kingdom.
Camus survived his illness and in the early 1940s left Algiers for metropolitan France and Paris. There he published in just one year, 1942, what he called in a diary entry “The triptych of absurdity”: the essay on The Myth of Sisyphus, the play Caligula, and the novel The Stranger. This would be the start of his big breakthrough. He was soon standing shoulder to shoulder with the monstres sacrés of French existentialism, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. He was not yet 30 years old.
One of the issues the author examines in his essay on Sisyphus – “Knowing whether or not one can live without appeal is all that interests me,”[3] – gets its acid test in The Stranger, a literary portrayal of the obsessions of the French-Algerian Meursault. We accompany him from the days surrounding his mother’s death to the day before his execution. It is Meursault himself who tells the story, oscillating between insightful indifference and moments of sensual pleasure. He knows that life itself offers no compelling reason for either the one or the other; only chance, sensuality and spontaneous impulse are able to guide a life led without any higher meaning. A man can cry or not cry at his mother’s funeral, shoot or not shoot an Arab on the beach, marry or not marry a woman who declares her love for him. When all is said and done, everything is equal and people are essentially innocent when dealing with the absurd vicissitudes of life. “As if familiar paths traced in summer skies could lead as easily to prison as to the sleep of the innocent,” says Meursault.[4] In Camus’ preface to the US edition, the young Franco-Algerian is described as a martyr for the absurd. He is a man who refuses to cheat. Neither Church, State nor morality can persuade him to give up the truths of the heart. He is at once a Raskolnikov and a Josef K, but with the important difference that he never seeks to do penance. Meursault feel no remorse, nor does he try to convince anyone that he does. He does not speak unless he has something to say. Those who keep their thoughts to themselves are not swayed by public opinion.
Ultimately, it is Meursault’s indifference that leads to his downfall. According to the prosecutor, he “[buried] his mother with a crime in his heart”, and anyone who has killed his mother – morally speaking – is cut off from human society in the same way as someone who strikes his own father down with a killer’s hand.[5] If such a callous soul goes free, then an abyss opens up that can swallow society whole. The fate of Meursault depicts the anatomy of existential alienation through the image of a lucid, absurd man who is sentenced to the guillotine “in the name of the French people” in order to protect the national community against the most dangerous crime of all: patricide.
So much, then, for the narrative’s purely existential and universal human themes. But in the margins, a different story is playing out. It makes itself heard in a number of disturbing questions: Why does Meursault fire four more shots at an already lifeless body (“flooded with joy”, as Camus puts it in an earlier draft of the novel)?[6] Why are there no Arabs present at the trial? Why are so many of them in jail and why are they all nameless? And why is a Frenchman – who has just killed an Arab in Algeria – sentenced to death by the French colonial authorities for not weeping at his mother’s funeral? What kind of social order has Meursault struck out against?
The two stories play out on two different stages and portray two distinct types of alienation. In the first one, Meursault appears as an isolated Everyman: the dismal vicissitudes of fortune lead the young stranger to act in a certain way (although it could just as easily have been another one); to kill a certain person (although it could just as easily have been another one); and to be sentenced to death by a certain fatherland (although it could just as easily have been an another one – “why not German or Chinese?” as Meursault wonders). He is the sun’s hapless puppet – it is the “murderous sun”, “the whole beach, throbbing in the sun” that drives him towards the Arab – and when the trial judge asks him to explain his motives, Meursault replies that it was “because of the sun”.[7]
The historical reality of Algeria bursts forth onto the second stage and the anonymous figure of the dead body now reveals a concrete political stranger: the Arabs of colonial Algeria. This people, reduced to a kind of natural backdrop for the European Algerians’ apparently carefree existence, show by their mere presence that something is out of joint in French Algeria. If Meursault was the absurd hero on the first stage, here he appears instead as a typical French settler whose power is underpinned by physical violence (he is a Frenchman who kills an Arab), military superiority (the revolver defeats the knife), and the discriminatory legal system (focusing on the deceased French mother rather than on the murdered Arab). Meursault’s life choices emerge, despite his indifference, as part and parcel of a specific colonial reality. He is a pied noir, a French colonist in l’Algérie Française, who says he followed his “natural feelings” on the day he killed an Arab. Where the stranger of absurd existence sees only a series of disconnected moments, with no internal connections or any deeper meaning, the political stranger uncovers an underlying solid structure, a discriminatory machinery that ultimately rests on murder.
In other words, the colonial regime’s inherent symptom (political alienation) permeates the philosophical narrative (the sense of alienation before the absurd) as its internal negating movement. Camus’ novel hints, either consciously or unconsciously, at the deep divisions that threaten to blow up l’Algérie Française from within – and force the author to consider the circumstances of his own historical and political existence. History’s dark shadow falls over the story: between European Algerians and Arabs there is no possible reconciliation, no communication, only a fight to the death. The wordless meeting not only signals that they are strangers to each other, but also that Algeria is not big enough for both of them.
When, in the posthumously published autobiographical novel, The First Man, Camus looks back on his childhood, he often returns to the atmosphere that prevailed in Algeria at the time when the novel was written. We lived, he says, cheek by jowl with this “so close and yet so foreign people”. With their “hard, impenetrable faces” and sheer numbers, the Arabs constituted “an invisible threat that we could feel in the air”.[8] The natives’ stares and muffled murmurs reminded European Algerians that they were temporary strangers in the country and that they had made themselves masters at the cost of Arab blood. It would not be long before Algeria’s population would be forced to leave the beaches only to bathe in each other’s blood.
Early May 1945 saw the first steps towards open warfare. In the midst of the French celebrations of the defeat of Nazi Germany, Algerian nationalists took the opportunity to remind them that Algeria also had the right to liberty and independence. They defied the ban on symbols of Algerian independence and refused to give way to police threats. Bloody confrontations followed: after some 100 European civilians had been found dead, the French embarked on a senseless massacre. Tens of thousands of Arabs were killed and the prisons were filled with suspected nationalists. Camus took up his pen and wrote a number of articles demanding justice for the Arab people. He argued that radical reforms were needed to reduce the disparities between European and native Algerians. No civilization could survive when “dignity” had been sidelined for a large proportion of the population. The French had to realize that the country’s Arab and Berber population were a “sister people” and that together they should lay the foundations for a “New Mediterranean Culture”. Otherwise, he warned, the whole country threatened to shatter from within; it was time for all good men of France to do their duty for the native population: “It is only through the infinite power of justice that we will be able to win back Algeria and its inhabitants.”[9]
For many Algerians, however, the massacres were a decisive turning point. Mistrust of France had grown to such a degree that that there was no turning back. Since, after over a century of French rule, Arabs were still not welcome as equal citizens, they now needed to create their own Algerian state. Inspired by the worldwide anti-colonial struggle, the Algerian Liberation Front (FLN) proclaimed a national revolution on 1 November 1954. They accused the French of betraying their own ideals: it was now the Algerian nationalists who operated in “la pure tradition de la France révolutionnaire.”[10] The Declaration of Human Rights and the right to self-determination must also apply to the Algerian people.
For eight years France would fight, to borrow a phrase from Simone de Beauvoir, “a war that dares not speak its name”.[11] The official line in France was that it was neither a revolution nor a war of independence, merely temporary disturbances instigated by fanatical terrorists. The French nation is one and indivisible, explained the regime, and is no more likely to leave Algeria than it would leave Provence or Brittany. One of the bloodiest wars of the post-war period begins and France stops at nothing to keep Algeria French: summary executions and use of prohibited weapons; systematic torture and terror against civilians; population displacement on a massive scale; and concentration camps. Nearly one million people lost their lives. During the last year of the war Algeria was a bloodbath and hundreds of thousands of Europeans were forced to flee their former homeland. A regular French civil war was soon looming large: French officers in Algeria threatened to overthrow the “traitor” De Gaulle for starting to negotiate with the Algerian nationalists. The export version of French military chauvinism fought back against the mainland government, but De Gaulle held his ground and in July 1962 Algeria won its independence.
“Right now I have I have pain in Algeria, as others have a pain in their lungs,” explains Camus shortly after the revolution broke out in 1954.[12] The increasingly savage war and the bitter debates in France forced Camus into a difficult position. He tried to develop his own stance in the ideological war that was taking shape in metropolitan France. On the one hand, he turned against the supporters of French Algeria who turned a blind eye to colonial racism and the excesses of the French army. On the other, he was unable to reconcile himself with the radical Left who embraced the Algerian nationalists unreservedly. While the French Right saw Camus as a traitor because of his criticism of French colonial policy, the Left attacked him for betraying the tradition of anti-fascist resistance. In Algeria, said Sartre, what we are seeing is the striptease of western humanism. France boasts of its universal values while it burns Muslims alive; but now the former Untermensch (“sous-hommes”) is rising up against us to assert his humanity.[13]
Perhaps the most difficult challenge for Camus came from those who saw the anti-colonial struggle as some kind of continuation of la Résistance, the French Resistance movement during the German occupation. Personally active in the Resistance, at the end of the war Camus praised those French people who, with weapons in hand, rose up against the oppressor: “A people that wants to live does not wait to be given its freedom. It takes it.”[14] The Algerian nationalists could have made these words theirs, but Camus consistently refused to equate Algerian nationalism with the patriotism of the French Resistance. For him there was no such thing as an “Algerian people”. He speaks consistently of “Arabs”, not “Algerians”. He therefore sees the nationalists’ demands for independence from France as an expression of political naivety, where they weren’t actually being manipulated by outside forces. In one of his last pieces on the war, Camus warns of the “new Arab imperialism” he feels is emerging and which he claims has its roots in Nasser and the Soviet Union. The FLN, says Camus, thus runs errands for other powers and is consequently associated with a violence that “no revolutionary movement has ever accepted”, not least the French Resistance.[15] Unlike his former friends on the radical Left, Camus has little faith in historical reason, revolutionary violence or the communist revolution: for him, not even Marx can offer people a way out of their eternal exile. In the Cold War, Camus is significantly closer to the West than the East.
Camus never breaks completely with the premise of French colonialism: that the most fervent wish of the colonized is to be recognized as equals in French civilization. The principles of the French Enlightenment – freedom, equality, fraternity – are interwoven with a colonial paternalism. Despite the torture, racism and the obvious betrayal of the native Algerians, Camus never stopped seeing France as “the best possible future for the Arab people”.[16]
At the same time, we cannot be totally sure where Camus really stood. He knew that everything he said could be used against those of his closest friends who still remained in Algeria. In the late 1950s, Camus said that he could no longer take part in the debate: “I will not, under any circumstances, allow any statement of mine to be used to give a clear conscience to a reckless fanatic who shoots into a crowd in Algiers, where my mother and all my nearest and dearest live.”[17] In January 1956, he made his last public appearance at a conference in Algiers, which, despite receiving death threats, he had helped to organize. Under the heading, “Appeal for a Civil Truce”, Camus calls for a clear declaration from all sides in the war to keep civilians out. Nothing, he says, can ever justify an innocent death.[18]
The theme of “the innocent” is already present in The Myth of Sisyphus and runs even deeper through the political philosophy that he developed under the influence of both World War II and the events in Algeria. In the novel The Plague, the play The Just Assassins, and the essay “The Rebel”, the innocent play a critical role in the distinction he establishes between revolt (which never allows civilian casualties in the struggle) and revolution (for which the end always justifies the means). The revolutionary dream of All or Nothing (absolute justice) must give way to a new social cogito as espoused by Camus in “The Rebel”: “I revolt, therefore we are”.[19] As with the people in The Plague, besieged by the arbitrary boils of death, all opposition must take its starting point in a desperate solidarity in the face of the gruesome aspects of our common destiny. We must not add to the injustices of the present in the name of justice tomorrow; that, too, bears the weight of absurdity on its shoulders.
It is in the light of these ideas that we should understand the famous yet enigmatic comment Camus made in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech in December 1957. A young militant Algerian confronted him and demanded an explanation of his stance towards the ongoing war:
I have been and remain an advocate of a fair Algeria, where both peoples can and must live in peace and equality. I have said and repeated that we must do what is right for the Algerian people and grant them a fully democratic government. […] I have always condemned terrorism. I must also condemn a terrorism that strikes blindly, in the streets of Algiers, for example, and which one day might strike my mother or my family. I believe in justice, but I will defend my mother before justice.[20]
Who then is this innocent mother – Catherine Sintes Camus? How are we to understand this mother figure that recurs throughout his writings? In a notebook from the 1930s, the 22-year-old Camus writes that, “my whole sensibility is based on my curious feelings for my mother”.[21] We have already seen that the mother figure appears in the story of Meursault, where the son’s apparent lack of concern at his mother’s death is a prelude to the moral machinery that ultimately condemns him to death. In the early autobiographical story, “Between Yes and No”, the son – disconsolate and guilt-ridden – beholds his silent mother and wonders whether he really loves her: “He feels sorry for his mother, but is it the same as loving her?”[22] In The Plague, Doctor Rieux receives a visit from his mother in Algeria and they “love one another in silence” without ever managing to “confess their affection” properly. In The Misunderstanding, however, written at the end of World War II, it is the mother who kills a man who later turns out to be her son. When Catherine Camus finally emerges in flesh and blood in his autobiography, her son is facing trial. It is she who makes him realize his limitations: “He who talks incessantly is incapable of saying in thousands of words what she can say in just one of her silences.” The memory of his early childhood and his practically deaf and dumb mother spending days on end sitting alone, quietly by herself, stuck in his memory like “glue in the soul”. She – the embodiment of innocence – fills her son with a sense of a debt unresolved.
Perhaps one might even say that the trial scene in The Stranger is a sort of literary dress rehearsal for the political predicament in which the quirks of history would place Camus: what sort of crime has the son actually committed? Is it the murder of the Arab or the betrayal of the mother? Is it justice or innocence? Even as the War of Independence was breaking out in Algeria, Camus wrote in his notebook: “Nothing in the world, even if it were innocent and just, could ever make me abandon my solidarity with my mother, who is the most important thing in the world to me.”[23]
***
Albert Camus urged his readers to look for “the dark and the instinctive” in his work, the points of concentration where literature, philosophy and life meet, the dimensions in which the universal is interwoven with both the historically specific and the individually unique. The literary characters in his writings – the mother, the Arab, justice, the sun, innocence, the absurd and revolt – reappear in new combinations throughout his life and works. During the war it was, as we have seen, the innocent mother who raised the barricade against the Arab revolution for justice. This is not the place to speculate further on the libidinal economy at work in these conceptual configurations and dislocations, but it may be worth at least asking about the place of Camus’ own father in this logic; the Lucien Camus whom he never got to meet because he sacrificed his life for the French nation in another war, World War I. It should be remembered that, indirectly, the question of the father already plays a decisive role in The Stranger – society must be safeguarded against patricide, “the most heinous of all crimes”, because it is the father who binds society together. One can wonder what it might mean for a son, in this case Camus himself, to lend his support to the Algerian nationalist attack on the very fatherland, la patrie, that his father sacrificed his life for? A father whose death also gave his surviving son the morally-privileged status of “pupille de la nation” (a war orphan, “adopted by the French nation”). |
Cardiovascular complications are more prevalent in individuals with conditions associated with insulin resistance. Knowledge is evolving concerning the mechanistic link between insulin resistance and vascular disease, but complete clarity does not exist. This is a high-priority area of investigation because individual and societal costs associated with diabetic vascular complications are increasing, and the need to elucidate effective therapeutic targets and intervention strategies with minimal off-target side effects is urgent.
Insulin-resistant conditions such as type 2 diabetes and diet-induced obesity are associated with an altered endothelial cell phenotype, i.e., endothelial dysfunction. A crucial component of endothelial cell dysfunction is reduced nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. Reduced NO bioavailability contributes importantly to pathologies specific to large (atherosclerosis, cardiomyopathy) and small (retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy) blood vessels ([@B1]). Oxidative stress, hyperglycemia, lipotoxicity, activation of the renin-angiotensin system, and increased proinflammatory cytokines are systemic disturbances in patients with conditions associated with insulin resistance. Each of these factors contributes independently and synergistically to decreasing NO bioavailability by impairing its synthesis and/or by enhancing its degradation ([@B2]). In this issue of *Diabetes*, Sukumar et al. ([@B3]) demonstrate that endothelial cell--specific insulin resistance increases NADPH oxidase (Nox) isoform 2 (Nox2) expression to an extent that elevates superoxide anion (O~2~·^−^) production and precipitates endothelial dysfunction.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly reactive metabolites of oxygen that participate in oxidation-reduction reactions ([@B4]). A traditional definition of oxidative stress is when ROS accumulation overwhelms the cellular antioxidant defense mechanisms and the redox state of the biological compartment is shifted toward one that is more oxidizing ([@B5],[@B6]). Cellular sources of ROS include NADPH-dependent oxidases, xanthine oxidase, lipoxygenases, mitochondrial oxidases, and NO synthases ([@B7]). Nox is a major source of O~2~·^−^ in insulin-resistant humans ([@B8],[@B9]) and mice ([@B10],[@B11]). Seven isoforms of Nox have been described in mammals ([Fig. 1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}). Each isoform comprises a core catalytic subunit, i.e., Nox1--Nox5 and dual oxidase (DUOX) 1 and DUOX 2 ([@B4]). Each Nox catalytic isoform contains up to five regulatory subunits that determine *1*) maturation and expression of Nox and DUOX subunits in biological membranes (e.g., p22phox), *2*) enzyme activation (e.g., p67phox, RAC1/RAC2), and *3*) spatial organization (e.g., p47phox). Endothelial cells express Nox1, Nox2 (gp91^phox^), Nox4, and Nox5; vascular smooth muscle cells express Nox1, Nox4, and Nox5; and adventitial fibroblasts express Nox2 and Nox4 ([@B5]).
![Hypothesized contributions from Nox2-generated oxidative stress to the process of atherosclerosis. When NADPH donates electrons to molecular oxygen via Nox2, O~2~·^−^ generation occurs. Oxidative stress occurs when O~2~·^−^ production exceeds the antioxidant capacity of the immediate environment. Oxidative stress can contribute to atherosclerosis progression by various mechanisms ([@B7]). ↑, increase; ↓, decrease. Mice with endothelial cell--specific insulin resistance (ESMIRO and IR^+/−^ mice) exhibit increased Nox2-mediated O~2~·^−^ generation to an extent that evokes endothelial dysfunction. Treatment of ESMIRO and IR^+/−^ mice with the Nox inhibitor gp91ds-tat (+gp91ds-tat) or endothelial cell--specific knockout of Nox2 in ESMIRO mice (ESMIRO / Nox2^y/−^) reduces O~2~·^−^ production and restores endothelial function. \*Endothelial function was assessed in the current study (3), but the influence of endothelial cell--specific Nox2 deletion on other potential contributors to atherosclerosis depicted in the figure has not been investigated. VSMC, vascular smooth muscle cell; MMPs, matrix metalloproteinases.](1818fig1){#F1}
Earlier work from this laboratory group indicates that mice with germ-line haploinsufficiency of the insulin receptor (IR^+/−^ mice) display hypertension and an age-dependent attenuation of arterial vasorelaxation that is associated with elevated Nox-mediated O~2~·^−^ production ([@B12],[@B13]). Importantly, impaired endothelial function in IR^+/−^ mice has physiological relevance in models of endothelial injury ([@B14]) and atherosclerotic plaque development ([@B15]). A valid concern when interpreting these results is that metabolic disruptions known to exist in IR^+/−^ and apoE mice might contribute to impaired endothelial function. To address this, mice with endothelium-targeted overexpression of a dominant-negative mutant human insulin receptor (endothelium-specific mutant insulin receptor overexpressing mice \[ESMIRO\]) were studied ([@B10]). Compared with wild-type littermates, ESMIRO mice have preserved glucose homeostasis and are normotensive. However, endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation and endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) phosphorylation are blunted in aortae from ESMIRO versus wild-type mice, despite similar eNOS protein expression. Because mRNA expression of Nox2 and Nox4 was increased in endothelial cells and aortae of ESMIRO mice, and endothelium-dependent dysfunction was normalized when aortae from ESMIRO mice were incubated with a superoxide dismutase mimetic, the authors concluded that Nox-mediated O~2~·^−^ generation contributed importantly to dysfunction observed in arteries from mutant mice ([@B10]).
Sukumar et al. investigated a relatively new approach to the challenge of preventing arterial dysfunction in the context of insulin resistance, i.e., to suppress O~2~·^−^ generation locally by disrupting an NADPH enzyme complex located in the endothelial cell. First, the authors confirmed the preserved metabolic phenotype and disrupted vascular phenotype that exists in IR^+/−^ and ESMIRO mice, and demonstrated that exaggerated O~2~·^−^ production and endothelial dysfunction exhibited in aortae from both groups could be attenuated by acute or chronic Nox inhibition using gp91ds-tat ([@B16]). Because Nox2 mRNA expression was elevated in endothelial cells from IR^+/−^ and ESMIRO mice and Nox2 siRNA suppressed O~2~·^−^ generation in endothelial cells from ESMIRO mice, the authors sought to determine whether Nox2--mediated O~2~·^−^ production is sufficient to contribute to arterial dysfunction in the context of insulin resistance. To explore this, mice with endothelial cell--specific insulin resistance and deletion of Nox2 were generated i.e., ESMIRO / Nox2^y/−^ mice. As hypothesized, increased O~2~·^−^ generation and vascular dysfunction were prevented in endothelial cells and/or aortae from ESMIRO/Nox2^y/−^ versus ESMIRO mice. Importantly, systemic glucose homeostasis and blood pressure were similar between groups. These findings provide strong evidence to consider the Nox2 isoform as a therapeutic target for the treatment or prevention of vascular disease in the context of insulin resistance.
Strengths of this particular study include *1*) the use of double transgenic mice wherein insulin resistance and Nox2 deletion is created specifically in the endothelial cell; *2*) demonstrating that systemic glucose homeostasis and arterial pressure was not altered in double transgenic versus ESMIRO mice, *3*) using redundant methodologies to confirm O~2~·^−^ generation; and *4*) verifying that Nox2 expression and O~2~·^−^ production in the context of insulin resistance was negated in denuded arteries. Further exploration of *1*) the systemic metabolic environment (with particular focus on factors known to alter Nox2 expression, e.g., angiotensin II), *2*) arterial function (e.g., acetylcholine-evoked vasorelaxation and receptor/nonreceptor-mediated contraction ± NOS inhibition ± endothelial denudation), *3*) the impact of Nox2 inhibition/deletion on the function of other tissues known to express high levels of Nox2 (e.g., pancreatic β-cells) ([@B17]), and *4*) indices of vascular signal transduction (e.g., in vivo and/or in vitro insulin-mediated arterial eNOS phosphorylation and NO production) in ESMIRO/Nox2^y/−^ and ESMIRO mice could yield interesting findings to provide even greater insight. Future research questions arising from this important contribution to the field include *1*) Does Nox2 deletion in endothelial cells influence the expression/function of other Nox isoforms throughout the arterial wall and/or unmask beneficial effects of vasoprotective (?) isoforms such as Nox4 ([@B5],[@B18],[@B19])? *2*) Will endothelial cell--specific deletion of Nox2 mitigate the endothelial dysfunction and hypertension that exist in the context of obesity in high-fat diet--fed mice ([@B11],[@B20]) and/or atherosclerosis in ApoE mice ([@B15])? *3*) Because females have lower Nox expression and activity than males ([@B21]), do sex-specific differences concerning Nox2-mediated O~2~·^−^ generation exist?
The prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed cases of type 2 diabetes---a condition characterized by insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction---is estimated to increase to 33% by 2050 ([@B22]). Sukumar et al. have provided novel mechanistic insight into defining a molecular target that should be pursued further in an effort to delay the onset and/or lessen the severity of vascular disease that exists in patients with conditions associated with insulin resistance.
See accompanying brief report, p. 2130.
J.D.S. is supported by National Institutes of Health grant 2R15HL091493, American Diabetes Association Research grants 1-12-BS-208 and 7-08-RA-164, and the University of Utah College of Health and School of Medicine.
No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.
The author is grateful to Anthony J. Donato (Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah) and Sihem Boudina (Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Utah) for their expert advice and critical evaluation of the manuscript. The author also thanks Paula Fernandes D'Elia and Matthew Walker (University of Utah) for their help with the figure.
|
Duke is where Tweedy himself went to medical school, and he told me that although most of his classmates there were from colleges more selective than U.M.B.C. and families with more money than his, “I scored in the top 20 percent of my class during that first year of basic science classes, which are the toughest part of med school.” U.M.B.C. had prepared him well, not just academically but also, he said, by making him feel that he was “part of something more than just your individual attainment.”
He recalled that before he decided to go there, several Ivy League colleges tried to recruit him — for basketball. In contrast, he first came on to U.M.B.C.’s radar because of his aptitude for science.
More than one in four U.M.B.C. undergraduates qualifies for federal Pell grants, meant to serve low-income families. About 45 percent are white, while 18 percent are Asian-American and 16 percent are African-American.
From the ceiling of the student commons hang flags of countries from which students have come. There are more than 100. It’s a kind of kaleidoscope, and as I walked under it with Freeman Hrabowski, U.M.B.C.’s dynamic president, he stressed the school’s determination to “connect students to people different from themselves and lives different from their own.” The young men and women who ate, talked or studied at almost every one of the tables around us were a mix of colors, and I couldn’t map the room in terms of any obvious tribes or cliques.
Diversity, socioeconomic or otherwise, doesn’t factor much into U.S. News rankings, though a broadening of perspectives lies at the heart of the best education. U.M.B.C., with its acceptance rate of nearly 60 percent, places 159th among national universities.
One of the main factors in a school’s rank is how highly officials at peer institutions and secondary-school guidance counselors esteem it. But they may not know it well. They’re going by its reputation, established in no small part by previous U.S. News evaluations. A lofty rank perpetuates itself.
Another main factor is the percentage of a school’s students who graduate within six years. But this says as much about a school’s selectiveness — the proven achievement and discipline of the students it admits — as about its stewardship of them. |
---
abstract: 'Compressed sensing seeks to recover a sparse vector from a small number of linear and non-adaptive measurements. While most work so far focuses on Gaussian or Bernoulli random measurements we investigate the use of partial random circulant and Toeplitz matrices in connection with recovery by $\ell_1$-minization. In contrast to recent work in this direction we allow the use of an arbitrary subset of rows of a circulant and Toeplitz matrix. Our recovery result predicts that the necessary number of measurements to ensure sparse reconstruction by $\ell_1$-minimization with random partial circulant or Toeplitz matrices scales linearly in the sparsity up to a $\log$-factor in the ambient dimension. This represents a significant improvement over previous recovery results for such matrices. As a main tool for the proofs we use a new version of the non-commutative Khintchine inequality.'
author:
-
title: Circulant and Toeplitz Matrices in Compressed Sensing
---
Introduction
============
Compressed sensing is a recent concept in signal processing where one seeks to reconstruct efficiently a sparse signal from a minimal number of linear and non-adaptive measurements [@do06-2]. So far various measurement matrices have been investigated, most of them random matrices. Among these are Bernoulli and Gaussian matrices [@badadewa06] (with independent $\pm 1$ or standard normal entries) as well as partial Fourier matrices [@cata06; @ra08-1; @ru06-1]. Recently, Bajwa et al. [@bahanorawr07] (see also [@ro08]) studied Toeplitz type and circulant matrices in the context of compressed sensing where the entries of the vector generating the Toeplitz or circulant matrix are chosen at random according to a suitable probability distribution. Compared to Bernoulli or Gaussian matrices random Toepliz and circulant matrices have the advantage that they require a reduced number of random numbers to be generated. More importantly, there are fast matrix-vector multiplication routines which can be exploited in recovery algorithms. Furthermore, they arise naturally in certain applications such as identifying a linear time-invariant system [@bahanora08].
Basis Pursuit ($\ell_1$-minimization) is one of the major approaches to efficiently recover a sparse vector. This technique is quite well understood by now. Modern optimization algorithms [@bova04] such as LARS [@efhajoti04] (sometimes called homotopy method) are reasonably fast.
Bajwa et al. [@bahanorawr07; @bahanora08] estimated the so-called restricted isometry constants of a random Toeplitz type or circulant matrix which then allows to provide recovery guarantees for $\ell_1$-minimization. However, their bound is very pessimistic compared to related estimates for Bernoulli / Gaussian or partial Fourier matrices. More precisely, the estimated number of measurements grows with the sparsity squared, while one would rather expect a linear scaling. Indeed, this is also suggested by numerical experiments. We close the theoretical gap by providing recovery guarantees for $\ell_1$-minimization in connection with circulant and Toeplitz type matrices where the necessary number of measurements scales linearly with the sparsity. However, we do not make use of the restricted isometry constants and a good estimate of the latter is therefore still open.
Sparse recovery with circulant and Toeplitz matrices
====================================================
For a vector $x\in {{\mathbb{R}}}^N$ we let ${\operatorname{supp}}x = \{j, x_j \neq 0 \}$ denote its support and $\|x\|_0 = |{\operatorname{supp}}x|$ the number of non-zero entries. It is called ${s}$-sparse if $\|x\|_0 \leq {s}$. We aim at recovering $x$ from $y= Ax \in {{\mathbb{R}}}^n$ where $A$ is a suitable $n \times N$ measurement matrix and $n < N$. A natural strategy is to consider $\ell_0$-minimization, $$\label{l0}
\min_x \|x\|_0 \quad \mbox{ subject to } Ax = y. $$ Unfortunately this combinatorial optimization problem is NP hard in general [@avdama97]. Therefore, we solve instead the convex problem $$\label{l1}
\min \|x\|_1 \quad \mbox{ subject to } Ax=y,$$ where the $\ell_p$-norm is defined as usual, $\|x\|_p= (\sum_{j=1}^N |x_j|^p)^{1/p}$. It is by now well understood that the solutions of both minimization problems often coincide and are equal to the original vector $x$, see e.g. [@carota06; @dota06; @do06-2; @grni03; @ra07]. A by now popular result [@carota06; @ca08; @folaXX] states that indeed (stably) recovers all ${s}$-sparse $x$ from $y = Ax$ provided the restricted isometry constant $\delta_{2{s}} \leq \delta < \sqrt{2}-1$. The latter means that $$(1-\delta) \|x\|_2^2 \leq \|Ax\|_2^2 \leq (1+\delta) \|x\|_2^2$$ for all $2{s}$-sparse vectors $x$. It is known [@badadewa06] that random Gaussian or Bernoulli matrices, i.e. $n\times N$ matrices with independent and normal distributed or Bernoulli distributed entries, satisfy this condition with probability at least $1-\epsilon$ provided ${s}\leq C_1 n \log(N/{s}) + C_2 \log(\epsilon^{-1})$.
We consider the following types of measurement matrices. For $b = (b_0,b_1, \hdots,b_{N-1}) \in {{\mathbb{R}}}^N$ we let its associated circulant matrix $S = S^b \in {{\mathbb{R}}}^{N\times N}$ with entries $S_{i,j} = b_{j-i \mod N}$, where $i,j =1,\hdots,N$. Similarly, for a vector $c = (c_{-N+1},c_{-N+2},\hdots,c_{N-1})$ its associated Toeplitz matrix $T = T ^c \in {{\mathbb{R}}}^{N \times N}$ has entries $T_{i,j} = c_{j-i}$, where $i,j =1,\hdots,N$. Now we choose an arbitrary subset $\Omega \subset \{1,\hdots,N\}$ of cardinality $n<N$ and let the partial circulant matrix $S_\Omega = S_\Omega^b \in {{\mathbb{R}}}^{n \times N}$ be the submatrix of $S$ consisting of the rows indexed by $\Omega$. The partial Toeplitz matrix $T_\Omega=T_\Omega^c \in {{\mathbb{R}}}^{n \times N}$ is defined similarly. In this paper the vectors $b$ and $c$ will always be random vectors with independent Bernoulli $\pm 1$ entries.
Of particular interest is the case $N = n K$ for some $K \in {{\mathbb{N}}}$ and $\Omega = \{ K, 2K, \hdots, nK\}$. Then the application of $S_\Omega^b$ and $T_\Omega^c$ corresponds to (periodic or non-periodic) convolution with the sequence $b$ (or $c$, respectively) followed by a downsampling by a factor of $K$. This setting was studied numerically in [@babadutrwa06] by Tropp et al. (using orthogonal matching pursuit instead of $\ell_1$-minimization). Also of interest is the case $\Omega = \{1,2,\hdots,n\}$ which was investigated in [@bahanorawr07; @bahanora08] by Bajwa et al., who showed that the restricted isometry constant of $T_\Omega^c$ satisfies $\delta_{{s}} \leq \delta$ with high probability (w.h.p.) provided $n \geq C_\delta {s}^2 \log(N/{s})$. As a byproduct of the proof of our main result we give an alternative proof that $\delta_{s}\leq \delta$ holds w.h.p. under the condition $n \geq C \delta^{-2} {s}^2 \log^2(N)$. However, we strongly believe that this bound is not optimal due to the quite pessimistic quadratic scaling in ${s}$. Our main result shows that one can achieve recovery w.h.p. by $\ell_1$-minimization, if $n \geq C {s}\log^2(N)$.
In the following recovery theorem we use a random partial circulant or Toeplitz matrix $A^b_\Omega$ or $T^c_\Omega$ in the sense that the entries of the vector $b$ or $c$ are independent Bernoulli $\pm 1$ random variables. Furthermore, the signs of the non-zero entries of the ${s}$-sparse vector $x$ are chosen at random according to a Bernoulli distribution as well. In contrast to previous work [@bahanorawr07; @babadutrwa06] $\Omega$ is allowed to be an arbitrary subset of $\{1,\hdots,N\}$ of cardinality $n$.
\[thm:main\] Let $\Omega \subset \{1,2,\hdots,N\}$ be an arbitrary (deterministic) set of cardinality $n$. Let $x\in{{\mathbb{R}}}^N$ be ${s}$-sparse such that the signs of its non-zero entries are Bernoulli $\pm 1$ random variables. Choose $b \in {{\mathbb{R}}}^N$ to be a random vector whose entries are $\pm 1$ Bernoulli variables. Let $y = S^b_\Omega x \in {{\mathbb{R}}}^n$. There exists a constant $C > 0$ such that $$n \geq C {s}\log^3(N/\epsilon)$$ implies that with probability at least $1-\epsilon$ the solution of the $\ell_1$-minimization problem coincides with $x$.
The same statement holds with $T^c_\Omega$ in place of $S^b_\Omega$ where $c \in {{\mathbb{R}}}^{2N-1}$ is a random vector with Bernoulli $\pm 1$ entries.
Ignoring the $\log$-factor the necessary number of samples ensuring recovery by $\ell_1$-minimization scales linearly with the sparsity ${s}$. The power $3$ at the $\log$-term can very likely be improved to $1$, and moreover, it seems also possible to remove the randomness assumption on the non-zero coefficients of $x$. We postpone such improvements as well as an investigation of the restricted isometry constants to possible future contributions. The remainder of the paper is concerned with the proof of Theorem \[thm:main\].
Proof of Theorem \[thm:main\]
=============================
An essential ingredient of the proof is the following recovery theorem for $\ell_1$-minimization due to Fuchs [@fu04] and Tropp [@tr05-1]. For a matrix $A$ we denote by $a_\rho$ its columns and by $A_\Lambda$ the submatrix consisting only of the columns index by $\Lambda$.
\[thm:Tropp\] Suppose that $y = A x$ for some $x$ with ${\operatorname{supp}}x = \Lambda$. If $$\label{recovery:cond}
|\langle A_\Lambda^\dagger {{a}}_\rho, {\operatorname{sgn}}(x_\Lambda) \rangle | < 1 \quad \mbox{ for all } \rho \notin \Lambda\,,$$ then $x$ is the unique solution of the Basis Pursuit problem (\[l1\]). Here, $A_\Lambda^\dagger$ denotes the Moore-Penrose pseudo-inverse of $A_\Lambda$.
A crucial step in applying this theorem is to show that the $\ell_2$-norm of ${{A}}_\Lambda^\dagger {{a}}_\rho$ in is small. To this end one expands $$\label{PseudoInvEst}
\|{{A}}_\Lambda^\dagger {{a}}_\rho\|_2 \,=\, \|({{A}}_\Lambda^* {{A}}_\Lambda)^{-1} {{A}}_\Lambda^* {{a}}_\rho\|_2 \,=\, \|({{A}}_\Lambda^* {{A}}_\Lambda)^{-1}\|_{2\to 2} \|{{A}}_\Lambda^* {{a}}_\rho\|_2,$$ where $\|\cdot\|_{2\to2}$ denotes the operator norm on $\ell_2$. The second term can be estimated in terms of the coherence of ${{A}}$, which is defined to be the largest absolute inner product of different columns of ${{A}}$, $\mu = \max_{\rho \neq \lambda} |\langle {{a}}_\rho, {{a}}_\lambda \rangle|$. Indeed, $$\|{{A}}_\Lambda^* {{a}}_\lambda\|_2 =
\left( \sum_{\lambda \in \Lambda} |\langle {{a}}_{\lambda}, {{a}}_\rho \rangle|^2 \right)^{1/2}
\leq \sqrt{|\Lambda|} \mu.$$ The coherence of a random Toeplitz or circulant matrix can be bounded as follows.
\[prop:coherence\] Let $\mu$ be the coherence of the random partial circulant matrix $\frac{1}{\sqrt{n}} S_\Omega^b \in {{\mathbb{R}}}^{n\times N}$ or Toeplitz matrix $\frac{1}{\sqrt{n}} T_\Omega^c \in {{\mathbb{R}}}^{n\times N}$ where $b$ and $c$ are Rademacher series and $\Omega$ has cardinality $n$. Then with probability at least $1-\epsilon$ the coherence satisfies $$\mu \leq 4 \frac{\log(2N^2/\epsilon)}{\sqrt{n}}.$$
The proof is contained in Section \[sec:proof:coherence\]. This proposition easily implies the following (probably non-optimal) estimate of the restricted isometry constants of $S^b_\Omega$ or $T^c_\Omega$ contained also in [@bahanora08] with a different proof.
\[cor\_RIP\] Let $\frac{1}{\sqrt{n}} S_\Omega^b, \frac{1}{\sqrt{n}} T_\Omega^c \in {{\mathbb{R}}}^{n\times N}$ be the randomly generated normalized partial circulant and Toeplitz matrix generated from Rademacher series and $\delta_{s}$ be their restricted isometry constant. Assume that $$n \geq 16 \delta^{-2} {s}^2 \log^2(2N^2/\epsilon).$$ Then with probability at least $1-\epsilon$ it holds $\delta_{s}\leq \delta$.
Combine the bound $\delta_{s}\leq ({s}-1) \mu$ (which easily follows from Gershgorin’s disk theorem) with the estimate above on the coherence of $A = \frac{1}{\sqrt{n}} S^b_\Omega$ or $A = \frac{1}{\sqrt{n}} T^c_\Omega$.
As suggested by we also need an estimate of the operator norm of the inverse of $A_\Lambda^* A_\Lambda$. To this end we bound the smallest and largest eigenvalue of this matrix.
\[thm:condition\] Let $\Omega,\Lambda \subset \{1,\hdots,N\}$ with $|\Omega| =n$ and $|\Lambda| = {s}$. Let $b \in {{\mathbb{R}}}^N$ and $c \in {{\mathbb{R}}}^{2N-1}$ be Rademacher series. Denote either $A = \frac{1}{\sqrt{n}} S^b_\Omega$ or $A = \frac{1}{\sqrt{n}} T^c_\Omega$. Assume $$\label{cond:conditioning}
n \geq \tilde{C} \delta^{-2} {s}\log^2(4{s}/\epsilon),$$ where $\tilde{C} = 4\pi^2 \approx 39.48$. Then with probability at least $1- \epsilon$ the minimal and maximal eigenvalues $\lambda_{\min}$ and $\lambda_{\max}$ of $A_\Lambda^* A_\Lambda$ satisfy $$1-\delta \leq \lambda_{\min} \leq \lambda_{\max} \leq 1+\delta.$$
Note that the above theorem holds for a fixed subset $\Lambda$ and random coefficients $b$ or $c$. It does not imply that for given $b$ or $c$ the estimate holds uniformly for all subsets $\Lambda$, which would be equivalent to having an estimate for the restricted isometry constants of $\frac{1}{\sqrt{n}} S^b_\Omega$ or $\frac{1}{\sqrt{n}} T^c_\Omega$. (Note that taking a union bound over all subsets $\Lambda$ would yield an estimate essentially worse than Corollary \[cor\_RIP\].)
Now we are ready to complete the proof of Theorem \[thm:main\] on the basis of Proposition \[prop:coherence\] and Theorem \[thm:condition\]. We proceed similarly as in [@tr06-2 Theorem 14]. Hoeffding’s inequality states that $$\label{Bernstein}
{{\mathbb{P}}}\big(|\sum_{j} \epsilon_j a_j|\geq u \|a\|_2\big) \leq 2 e^{- u^2/2}.$$ By our assumption on the random phases $\epsilon_\lambda = {\operatorname{sgn}}(x_\lambda)$, the scalar product on the left hand side of (\[recovery:cond\]) is precisely of the above form with $a = A_\Lambda^\dagger a_\rho = (A_\Lambda^* A_\Lambda)^{-1} A_\Lambda^* a_\rho$. Theorem \[thm:condition\] implies that the smallest eigenvalue of $A_\Lambda^* A_\Lambda$ is bounded from below by $1-\delta$ with probability at least $1-\epsilon$ provided condition holds; hence, $\|(A_\Lambda^* A_\Lambda)^{-1}\|_{2\to 2} \leq \frac{1}{1-\delta}$. Plugging this into yields $$\label{equation:CombineEstimates1}
\|{{A}}_\Lambda^\dagger {{a}}_\rho\|_2 \leq \frac{1}{1-\delta} \sqrt{{s}} \mu.$$ Following Theorem \[thm:Tropp\] the probability that recovery fails can be estimated by $$\begin{aligned}
&{{\mathbb{P}}}\big(|\langle {{A}}_\Lambda^\dagger {{a}}_\rho, R_\Lambda {\operatorname{sgn}}(x) \rangle| \geq 1
\mbox{ for some } \rho \notin \Lambda\big)\notag\\[.2cm]
&\leq {{\mathbb{P}}}\big(\,|\langle {{A}}_\Lambda^\dagger {{a}}_\rho, R_\Lambda {\operatorname{sgn}}(x) \rangle| \geq 1
\mbox{ for some } \rho \notin \Lambda\ \big|
\mu \leq \frac{\alpha}{\sqrt{n}} \notag\\
& \phantom{\leq {{\mathbb{P}}}\big( }
\mbox{\&}\, \lambda_{\min} \geq 1-\delta\,\big) + {{\mathbb{P}}}\big(\mu > \frac{\alpha}{\sqrt{n}}\big) + {{\mathbb{P}}}\big(\lambda_{\min} < 1-\delta\big) \notag\\[.2cm]
&\leq \sum_{\rho \notin \Lambda} {{\mathbb{P}}}\big(\,|\langle {{A}}_\Lambda^\dagger {{a}}_\rho, R_\Lambda {\operatorname{sgn}}(x) \rangle| \geq 1\ \big| \ \mu \leq \frac{\alpha}{\sqrt{n}} \, \mbox{\&}\, \lambda_{\min} \geq 1-\delta\,\big) \notag\\[.2cm]&\qquad+
{{\mathbb{P}}}\big(\mu > \frac{\alpha}{\sqrt{n}}\big) + {{\mathbb{P}}}\big(\lambda_{\min} < 1-\delta\big).\notag\end{aligned}$$ Under the assumption $\mu \leq \frac{\alpha}{\sqrt{n}}$ equation implies that for $u= \frac {(1-\delta)\sqrt n}{\alpha \sqrt{{s}}}$ we have $u\| A_\Lambda^\dagger a_\rho\|_2\leq 1$, so (\[Bernstein\]) gives $$\begin{aligned}
\label{equation:CombineEstimates2}
&{{\mathbb{P}}}\big(\,|\langle {{A}}_\Lambda^\dagger {{a}}_\rho, R_\Lambda {\operatorname{sgn}}(x) \rangle| \geq 1\ \big|\ \mu \leq \frac{\alpha}{\sqrt{n}}\, \mbox{\&} \, \lambda_{\min} \geq 1-\delta\, \big)\notag\\
&\leq \ 2 \exp\left(-\frac{(1-\delta)^2}{2\alpha^2} \frac{n}{{s}}\right).\end{aligned}$$ Setting $\alpha = 4 \log(2N^2/\epsilon)
$ Theorem \[prop:coherence\] yields $${{\mathbb{P}}}(\mu \geq \alpha/\sqrt{n}) \leq \epsilon.$$ Now we choose $\delta = 1/2$. Under condition (\[cond:conditioning\]), which reads $$\label{cond2}
n \geq 4\tilde{C} {s}\log^2({s}/\epsilon),$$ we have ${{\mathbb{P}}}(\lambda_{\min} \geq 1-\delta) \leq \epsilon$. Hence, under the above conditions we obtain $$\begin{aligned}
&{{\mathbb{P}}}\big(|\langle {{A}}_\Lambda^\dagger {{a}}_\rho, R_\Lambda {\operatorname{sgn}}(x) \rangle| \geq 1
\mbox{ for some } \rho \notin \Lambda\big) \notag\\
&\leq 2 N \exp\left(- \frac{1}{8\log^2(2N^2/\epsilon)}\frac{n}{{s}}\right) + 2\epsilon.\label{P_estimate1}\end{aligned}$$ The first term is less than $\epsilon$ provided $n \geq 8 {s}\log^2(2N^2/\epsilon)\log(2 N/\epsilon)$, or $$\label{cond1}
n \geq C_1 {s}\log^3(N/\epsilon)$$ for a suitable constant $C_1$. Conditions (\[cond2\]) and (\[cond1\]) are both satisfied if $$n \geq C {s}\log^3(N/\epsilon)$$ for a suitable constant $C$, in which case the probability that recovery by $\ell_1$-minimization is less than $3 \epsilon$. This completes the proof.
Non-commutative Khintchine inequalities
=======================================
Both the proof of Proposition \[prop:coherence\] as well as the proof of Theorem \[thm:condition\] are based on versions of the Khintchine inequality. Let us first state the non-commutative Khintchine inequality due to Lust-Piquard [@lu86-1] and Buchholz [@bu01], see also [@tr06-2]. To this end we introduce Schatten class norms on matrices. Denoting by $\sigma(A)$ the vector of singular values of a matrix $A$, the $S_p$-norm is defined as $$\|A\|_{S_p} := \|\sigma(A)\|_p,$$ where $\|\cdot\|_p$ is the usual $\ell_p$-norm, $1\leq p\leq \infty$.
\[Gauss\_Khintchine\] Let $(A_k)$ be a finite sequence of matrices of the same dimension and let $(g_k)$ be a sequence of independent standard Gaussian random variables. Then for $m \in {{\mathbb{N}}}$, $$\begin{aligned}
&\left[ {{\mathbb{E}}}\left\|\sum_k g_k A_k\right\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m} \right]^{1/2m} \notag\\
&\leq B_m \max \left\{ \left\|\left(\sum_k A_k A_k^*\right)^{1/2}\right\|_{S_{2m}}, \left\| \left(\sum_k A_k^* A_k \right)^{1/2} \right\|_{S_{2m}} \right\},\notag\end{aligned}$$ with optimal constant $$B_m = \left( \frac{(2m)!}{2^m m!}\right)^{\frac{1}{2m}}$$
Using the contraction principle for Bernoulli random variables, see [@leta91 eq. (4.8)], we obtain the non-commutative Khintchine inequality for Bernoulli random variables [@lu86-1].
\[cor\_Kh\] Let $(A_k)$ be a finite sequence of matrices of the same dimension and let $(\epsilon_k)$ be a sequence of independent Bernoulli $\pm 1$ random variables. Then for $m \in {{\mathbb{N}}}$, $$\begin{aligned}
&\left[ {{\mathbb{E}}}\left\|\sum_k \epsilon_k A_k\right\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m} \right]^{1/2m} \notag\\
&\leq C_m \max \left\{ \left\|\left(\sum_k A_k A_k^*\right)^{1/2}\right\|_{S_{2m}}, \left\| \left(\sum_k A_k^* A_k \right)^{1/2} \right\|_{S_{2m}} \right\},\label{Bernoulli_Khintch}\end{aligned}$$ with constant $$C_m = \sqrt{\frac{\pi}{2}} \left( \frac{(2m)!}{2^m m!}\right)^{\frac{1}{2m}}.$$
In the scalar case the factor $\sqrt{\pi/2}$ can be removed. However, it is not clear yet whether this is true also in the non-commutative situation.
The following theorem extends the non-commutative Khintchine inequality to a second order chaos variable. Its proof uses decoupling and Corollary \[cor\_Kh\].
\[Bernoulli\_Khintchine\] Let $A_{j,k} \in {{\mathbb{C}}}^{r \times t}$, $j,k=1,\hdots,N$, be matrices with $A_{j,j} = 0$, $j=1,\hdots,N$. Let $\epsilon_k$, $k=1, \hdots, N$ be independent Bernoulli random variables. Then for $m \in {{\mathbb{N}}}$ it holds $$\begin{aligned}
&\left[ {{\mathbb{E}}}\left\| \sum_{j,k=1}^N \epsilon_j \epsilon_k A_{j,k} \right\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m}\right]^{1/2m} \notag\\
&\leq D_m \max \left\{ \left\|\left(\sum_{j,k=1}^N A_{j,k} A_{j,k}^*\right)^{1/2}\right\|_{S_{2m}},\right.\notag\\
& \phantom{\leq D_m \max \{\{ }
\left. \left\| \left( \sum_{j,k=1}^N A_{j,k}^* A_{j,k}\right)^{1/2}\right\|_{S_{2m}}, \|F\|_{S_{2m}}\right\}, \notag\end{aligned}$$ where $F$ is the block matrix $F = (A_{j,k})_{j,k=1}^N$ and the constant $$D_m \,=\, 2^{1/2m} 2\pi C_m^2 = 2^{1/2m} 2\pi \left(\frac{(2m)!}{2^m m!}\right)^{1/m}.$$
At present it is not clear whether the term $\|F\|_{S_{2m}}$ can be omitted above. At least, there is no a priori inequality between any of the terms in the maximum. The proof of the theorem is based on the following decoupling lemma, see [@botz87 Proposition 1.9] or [@gide99 Theorem 3.1.1].
\[lem\_decouple\] Let $\xi_j$, $j=1,\hdots,N$, be a sequence of independent random variables with ${{\mathbb{E}}}\xi_j = 0$ for all $j=1,\hdots,N$. Let $A_{j,k}$, $j,k=1,\hdots,N$, be a double sequence of elements in a Banach space with norm $\|\cdot\|$, where $A_{j,j} = 0$ for all $j=1,\hdots,N$. Then for $1\leq p < \infty$ $${{\mathbb{E}}}\left\| \sum_{j,k=1}^N \xi_j \xi_k A_{j,k} \right\|^p
\leq 4^p {{\mathbb{E}}}\left\| \sum_{j,k=1}^N \xi_j \xi'_k A_{j,k} \right\|^p,$$ where $\xi'$ denotes an independent copy of the sequence $\xi = (\xi_j)$.
[Proof of Theorem \[Bernoulli\_Khintchine\]]{}. We apply Lemma \[lem\_decouple\] followed by the non-commutative Khintchine inequality , $$\begin{aligned}
E& := {{\mathbb{E}}}\left\| \sum_{j,k=1}^N \epsilon_j \epsilon_k A_{j,k} \right\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m}\notag\\
&\leq 4^{2m} {{\mathbb{E}}}_{\epsilon} {{\mathbb{E}}}_{\epsilon'} \left\| \sum_{j,k=1}^N \epsilon_j \epsilon_k' A_{j,k} \right\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m}\notag\\
&\leq 4^{2m} C_m^{2m} {{\mathbb{E}}}_{\epsilon} \max\left\{ \left\|\left(\sum_{k=1}^N B_k(\epsilon)^* B_k(\epsilon)\right)^{1/2} \right\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m}, \right.\notag\\
&\phantom{\leq 4^{2m} C_m^{2m} } \left.
\left\| \left(\sum_{k=1}^N B_k(\epsilon) B_k(\epsilon)^*\right)^{1/2}
\right\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m} \right\},\label{MaxEst}\end{aligned}$$ where $B_k(\epsilon) \,:=\, \sum_{j=1}^N \epsilon_j A_{j,k}$. We define $$\begin{aligned}
\widehat{A}_{j,k} = \left(0|\hdots|0|A_{j,k}|0|\hdots|0\right) \in {{\mathbb{C}}}^{r \times tN}\notag\end{aligned}$$ where the non-zero block $A_{j,k}$ is the $k$-th one, and similarly $$\begin{aligned}
\widetilde{A}_{j,k} = \left(0|\hdots|0|A_{j,k}^*|0|\hdots|0\right)^* \in {{\mathbb{C}}}^{rN \times t}.\notag\end{aligned}$$ Then clearly $$\begin{aligned}
\widehat{A}_{j,k} \widehat{A}^*_{j',k'} = \left\{\begin{array}{cc} 0 & \mbox{ if } k \neq k',\\
A_{j,k} A_{j',k}^* & \mbox{ if } k = k'.
\end{array} \right.,\label{wideAA}\\
\widetilde{A}_{j,k}^* \widetilde{A}_{j',k'} = \left\{\begin{array}{cc} 0 & \mbox{ if } k \neq k',\\
A_{j,k}^* A_{j',k} & \mbox{ if } k = k'.
\end{array} \right.\notag\end{aligned}$$ The Schatten class norm satisfies $\| A \|_{S_{2m}} = \|(A A^*)^{1/2}\|_{S_{2m}}$. This allows us to verify that $$\begin{aligned}
&\left\|\sum_{j=1}^N \epsilon_j \sum_{k=1}^N \widehat{A}_{j,k} \right\|_{S_{2m}}
\,=\, \left\|\left(\sum_{j,j'} \epsilon_j \epsilon_{j'} \sum_{k,k'} \widehat{A}_{j,k} \widehat{A}_{j',k'}^*\right)^{1/2}\right\|_{S_{2m}}\notag\\
&=\, \left\|\left(\sum_{j,j'} \epsilon_j \epsilon_{j'} \sum_k A_{j,k} A_{j',k}^* \right)^{1/2} \right\|_{S_{2m}}\notag\\
&=\, \left\|\left(\sum_k B_k(\epsilon) B_k(\epsilon)^*\right)^{1/2}\right\|_{S_{2m}}.\notag\end{aligned}$$ Similarly, we also verify that $$\left\|\left(\sum_k B_k(\epsilon)^* B_k(\epsilon)\right)^{1/2}\right\|_{S_{2m}} = \left\|\sum_{j=1}^N \epsilon_j \sum_{k=1}^N \widetilde{A}_{j,k}\right\|_{S_{2m}}.$$ Plugging the above expressions into (\[MaxEst\]) we can further estimate $$\begin{aligned}
E &\leq 4^{2m} C_{2m}^{2m} \left({{\mathbb{E}}}\left\| \sum_{j=1}^N \epsilon_j \sum_{k=1}^N \widehat{A}_{j,k}\right\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m}\right.\notag\\
& \phantom{\leq 4^{2m} C_{2m}^{2m} ((}
\left. + {{\mathbb{E}}}\left\| \sum_{j=1}^N \epsilon_j \sum_{k=1}^N \widetilde{A}_{j,k}\right\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m}\right).\notag\end{aligned}$$ Using Khintchine’s inequality once more we obtain $$\begin{aligned}
E_1\,&:=
{{\mathbb{E}}}\left\| \sum_{j=1}^N \epsilon_j \sum_{k=1}^N \widehat{A}_{j,k}\right\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m}\notag\\
&\leq C_m^{2m}
\max\left\{ \left\| \left( \sum_j \widetilde{B}_j \widetilde{B}_j^*\right)^{1/2} \right\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m},\right.\notag\\
&\phantom{\leq C_m^{2m} \max \{\{} \left.
\left\| \left( \sum_j \widetilde{B}_j^* \widetilde{B}_j\right)^{1/2} \right\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m} \right\}, \notag\end{aligned}$$ where $\widetilde{B}_j \,=\, \sum_{k=1}^N \widehat{A}_{j,k}$. Using (\[wideAA\]) we see that $$\sum_j \widetilde{B}_j \widetilde{B}_j^* = \sum_{k,j} A_{j,k} A_{j,k}^*.$$ Furthermore, with the block matrix $$\begin{aligned}
F = \left(\begin{array}{cc}\widetilde{B}_1\\\widetilde{B}_2\\ \vdots \\
\widetilde{B}_N\end{array}\right)
\,=\, \left(\begin{array}{cccc}
A_{1,1} & A_{1,2} & \hdots & A_{1,N}\\
A_{2,1} & A_{2,2} & \hdots & A_{2,N}\\
\vdots & \vdots & \vdots & \vdots \\
A_{N,1} & A_{N,2} & \hdots & A_{N,N} \\
\end{array}\right) \notag\end{aligned}$$ we have $$\|(\sum_k \widetilde{B}_k^* \widetilde{B}_k)^{1/2}\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m}
\,=\, \|(F^* F)^{1/2} \|_{S_{2m}}^{2m} \,=\, \|F\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m}.$$ Hence, $$E_1 \leq C_m^{2m} \max\left\{ \|(\sum_{j,k=1}^N A_{j,k} A_{j,k}^*)^{1/2}\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m}, \|F\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m}\right\}.$$ As $\widetilde{A}_{j,k}$ differs from $\widehat{A}_{j,k}$ only by interchanging $A_{j,k}$ with $A_{j,k}^*$ we obtain similarly $$\begin{aligned}
&E_2 := {{\mathbb{E}}}\left\| \sum_{j=1}^N \epsilon_j \sum_{k=1}^N \widetilde{A}_{j,k} \right\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m}\notag\\
&\leq \max\left\{\left\|\left(\sum_{j,k=1}^N A_{j,k}^* A_{j,k} \right)^{1/2}\right\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m},\|F\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m} \right\}. \notag\end{aligned}$$ Finally, we obtain $$\begin{aligned}
& E \leq 4^{2m} C_m^{2m} (E_1 + E_2) \notag\\
& \leq 2 \cdot 4^{2m} C_m^{4m} \max\left\{\left\|\left(\sum_{j,k=1}^N A_{j,k}^* A_{j,k} \right)^{1/2}\right\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m},\right.\notag\\
& \phantom{\leq 2 \cdot 4^{2m} C_m^{4m} }
\left.
\left\|\left(\sum_{j,k=1}^N A_{j,k} A_{j,k}^* \right)^{1/2}\right\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m},\|F\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m}\right\}.\notag\end{aligned}$$ This concludes the proof.
Repeating the above proof for the scalar case (which removes the factor $\pi/2$ in the constant) and applying interpolation (see and below) yields the following (compare also [@mcta86 Proposition 2.2]).
\[Scalar\_Khintchine\] Let $a_{j,k} \in {{\mathbb{C}}}$, $j,k=1,\hdots,N$ be numbers with $a_{j,j} = 0$, $j=1,\hdots,N$. Let $\epsilon_k$, $k=1, \hdots, N$ be independent Bernoulli $\pm 1$ random variables. Then for $2 \leq p < \infty$ it holds $$\left[ {{\mathbb{E}}}\left| \sum_{j,k=1}^N \epsilon_j \epsilon_k a_{j,k} \right|^{p}\right]^{1/p}
\leq d_p \left(\sum_{j,k=1}^N |a_{j,k}|^2\right)^{1/2},$$ where the constant $$d_p \,=\, 4^{1/p} (4/e) p.$$
Proof of the coherence estimate {#sec:proof:coherence}
===============================
Now we are equipped to provide the proof of Proposition \[prop:coherence\]. An inner product of two columns $s_i, s_\ell$ of the normalized matrix $\frac{1}{\sqrt{n}} S^b_\Omega$ has the form $$\langle s_i, s_\ell \rangle \,=\, \frac{1}{n} \sum_{r\in \Omega} b_{i - r \mod N} b_{\ell - r \mod N}
\,=\, \frac{1}{n} \sum_{j,k=1}^N b_{j} b_k a_{j,k}^{i,\ell},$$ where $a_{j,k}^{i,\ell} = 1$ if $(j,k) = (i - r \mod N, \ell-r \mod N)$ for some $r \in \Omega$ and $a_{j,k}^{i,\ell} = 0$ otherwise. Similarly, the inner product of the columns $t_i$ of the normalized matrix $\frac{1}{\sqrt{n}} T^c_\Omega$ can be written as $
\langle t_i, t_\ell \rangle = n^{-1} \sum_{j,k=-N+1}^{N-1} c_{j} c_k \tilde{a}_{j,k}^{i,\ell}
$ with $\tilde{a}_{j,k}^{i,\ell} = 1$ if $(j,k) = (i-r,\ell-r) \in \{1,\hdots,N\}^2$ for some $r \in \Omega$ and $0$ otherwise. Observe that $\sum_{j,k} |a_{j,k}|^2 = \sum_{j,k} |\tilde{a}_{j,k}|^2 = |\Omega| =n$. Now let $b\in {{\mathbb{R}}}^N$ and $c \in {{\mathbb{R}}}^{2N}$ be Rademacher series. Then Corollary \[Scalar\_Khintchine\] yields $$\begin{aligned}
&n\left({{\mathbb{E}}}|\langle s_i, s_j\rangle|^p\right)^{1/p}= \left({{\mathbb{E}}}|\sum_{j,k} b_j b_k a_{j,k}^{i,\ell}|^p\right)^{1/p}\notag\\
&\leq 4^{1/p} (4/e) p \left(\sum_{j,k} |a_{j,k}|^2 \right)^{1/2}= 4^{1/p} (4/e) p \sqrt{n}\notag\end{aligned}$$ for $p\geq 2$, and the same estimate holds for ${{\mathbb{E}}}|\langle t_i, t_j\rangle|^p$. In order to complete the proof we use the following simple and well-known probability estimate, see e.g. [@leta91; @tr06-2].
\[lem\_moment1\] Suppose $Z$ is a positive random variable satisfying $({{\mathbb{E}}}Z^p)^{1/p} \leq \alpha \beta^{1/p} p^{1/\gamma}$ for all $p_0 \leq p < \infty$ and some $\alpha,\beta,\gamma > 0$. Then for arbitrary $\kappa > 0$, $${{\mathbb{P}}}(Z \geq e^\kappa \alpha u) \leq \beta e^{-\kappa u^\gamma}$$ for all $u \geq p_0$.
By Markov’s inequality we obtain $${{\mathbb{P}}}(Z \geq e^\kappa \alpha u)
\leq \frac{{{\mathbb{E}}}Z^p}{(e^\kappa \alpha u)^p}
\leq \beta \left(\frac{\alpha p^{1/\gamma}}{e^\kappa \alpha u}\right)^p .$$ Choosing $p=u^\gamma$ yields the statement.
Lemma \[lem\_moment1\] with the optimal choice $\kappa = 1$ yields $${{\mathbb{P}}}(n |\langle s_i,s_\ell \rangle| \geq 4 \sqrt{n} u)
\leq 4 e^{- u}$$ for $u\geq 2$. Taking the union bound over all possible pairs of different columns $s_i, s_\ell$ we obtain $$\begin{aligned}
{{\mathbb{P}}}(\mu \geq 4 n^{-1/2} u) \leq 2 N^2 e^{-u}.\notag\end{aligned}$$ Set the right hand side to $\epsilon$. Then the resulting $u = \log(2N^2/\epsilon) \geq 2$ since we may assume without loss of generality that $N\geq 2$. We obtain $${{\mathbb{P}}}\left(\mu \geq 4 \frac{\log(2N^2/\epsilon)}{\sqrt{n}}\right) \leq \epsilon.$$ The same holds for the coherence of $\frac{1}{\sqrt{n}} T_\Omega^c$.
Proof of Theorem \[thm:condition\]
==================================
We introduce the elementary shift operators on ${{\mathbb{R}}}^N$, $(S_j x)_\ell = x_{\ell - j \mod N}$, $j=1,\hdots,N$, and $$(T_j x)_\ell = \left\{\begin{array}{ll} x_{\ell-j} & \mbox{if } 1 \leq \ell-j \leq N, \\
0 & \mbox{otherwise},
\end{array} \right.$$ for $j = -N+1,\hdots,N-1$, $\ell=1,\hdots,N$. Further, denote by $R_\Omega: {{\mathbb{R}}}^N \to {{\mathbb{R}}}^\Omega$ the operator that restricts a vector to the indices in $\Omega$. Then we can write $$\begin{aligned}
S_\Omega^b = R_\Omega \sum_{j=1}^N \epsilon_j S_j \quad \mbox{and} \quad
T_\Omega^c = R_\Omega \sum_{j=-N+1}^{N-1} \epsilon_j T_j, \notag\end{aligned}$$ where $(\epsilon_j)$ is a Rademacher sequence. Denote by $A$ either $\frac{1}{\sqrt{n}} S_\Omega^b$ or $\frac{1}{\sqrt{n}} T_\Omega^c$. We need to prove a bound on the operator norm of $X_\Lambda := A_\Lambda^* A_\Lambda - I_\Lambda$ where $I_\Lambda$ denotes the identity on ${{\mathbb{R}}}^\Lambda$. We introduce $R_\Lambda^*: {{\mathbb{R}}}^\Lambda \to {{\mathbb{R}}}^N$ to be the extension operator that fills up a vector in ${{\mathbb{R}}}^\Lambda$ with zeros outside $\Lambda$. Further, we denote by $D_j$ either $S_j$ or $T_j$. Observe that $$\begin{aligned}
&A_\Lambda^* A_\Lambda \, =\, \frac{1}{n} \sum_{j}\epsilon_j R_\Lambda D_j^* R_\Omega^* \sum_{k} \epsilon_{k} R_\Omega D_{k} R_\Lambda^*\notag\\
&=\, \frac{1}{n} \sum_{\substack{j,k\\j\neq k}} \epsilon_j \epsilon_{k} R_\Lambda D_j^* P_\Omega D_{k} R_\Lambda^* + \frac{1}{n} R_\Lambda \left(\sum_{j} D_j^* P_\Omega D_j\right) R_\Lambda^*, \notag\end{aligned}$$ where $P_\Omega = R_\Omega^* R_\Omega$ denotes the projection operator which cancels all components of a vector outside $\Omega$. Here and in the following the sums range either over $\{1,\hdots,N\}$ or over $\{-N+1,\hdots,N-1\}$ depending on whether we consider circulant or Toeplitz matrices. It is straightforward to check that $$\label{sum_Khintch}
\sum_{j} D_j^* P_\Omega D_j = n I_N,$$ where $I_N$ is the identity on ${{\mathbb{R}}}^N$. Since $R_\Lambda R_\Lambda^* = I_\Lambda$ we obtain $$X_\Lambda = \frac{1}{n} \sum_{j\neq k} \epsilon_j \epsilon_i R_\Lambda D_j^* P_\Omega D_k R_\Lambda^* = \frac{1}{n} \sum_{j \neq k} \epsilon_j \epsilon_k A_{j,k}$$ with $A_{j,k} = R_\Lambda D_j^* P_\Omega D_k R_\Lambda^*$. Our goal is to apply Corollary \[Bernoulli\_Khintchine\]. To this end we first observe that by $$\begin{aligned}
\sum_j A_{j,k}^* A_{j,\ell} \, & = \, R_\Lambda D_k^* P_\Omega \left( \sum_j D_j P_\Lambda D_j^*\right) P_\Omega D_\ell R_\Lambda^*\notag\\
&=\, {s}R_\Lambda D_k^* P_\Omega D_\ell R_\Lambda^*. \notag\end{aligned}$$ Using once more this yields $$\sum_{j,k} A_{j,k}^* A_{j,k} = {s}R_\Lambda \left(\sum_{k} D_k^* P_\Omega D_k\right) R_\Lambda^* = {s}n R_\Lambda R_\Lambda^* = {s}n I_\Lambda.$$ Since the entries of all matrices $A_{j,k}$ are non-negative we get $$\begin{aligned}
& \|(\sum_{j\neq k} A_{j,k}^* A_{j,k})^{1/2}\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m} = {\operatorname{Tr}}\left( \sum_{j \neq k} A_{j,k}^* A_{j,k}\right)^m \notag\\
&\leq {\operatorname{Tr}}\left(\sum_{j,k}
A_{j,k}^* A_{j,k}\right)^m = {\operatorname{Tr}}\left( {s}n I_\Lambda\right)^m = {s}^{m+1} n^m, \notag\end{aligned}$$ where ${\operatorname{Tr}}$ denotes the trace. Furthermore, since $A_{j,k}^* = A_{k,j}$ we have $\sum_{j\neq k} A_{j,k}^* A_{j,k} =
\sum_{j\neq k} A_{j,k} A_{j,k}^*$. Let $F$ denote the block matrix $F = (\tilde{A}_{j,k})_{j,k}$ where $\tilde{A}_{j,k} = A_{j,k}$ if $j \neq k$ and $\tilde{A}_{j,j} = 0$. Using once again that the entries of all matrices are non-negative we obtain $$\begin{aligned}
& \|F\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m} = {\operatorname{Tr}}\left[(F^*F)^m\right] \notag\\
& = {\operatorname{Tr}}\left[\sum_{\substack{j_1,j_2,\hdots,j_m\\k_1,k_2,\hdots,k_m}} \tilde{A}_{j_1,k_1}^* \tilde{A}_{j_1,k_2} \tilde{A}_{j_2,k_2}^* \tilde{A}_{j_2,k_3} \cdots \tilde{A}^*_{j_m,k_m} \tilde{A}_{j_m,k_1}\right]\notag\\
& \leq {\operatorname{Tr}}\sum_{k_1,\hdots,k_m} \left[\sum_{j_1} A_{j_1,k_1}^* A_{j_1,k_2} \cdots \sum_{j_m} A_{j_m,k_m}^* A_{j_m,k_1}\right]\notag\\
& = {s}^m {\operatorname{Tr}}\sum_{k_1,\hdots,k_m} \left[R_\Lambda D_{k_1}^* P_\Omega D_{k_2} R_\Lambda^* R_\Lambda D_{k_2}^* P_\Omega D_{k_3} R_\Lambda^* \cdots
\right.
\notag\\
& \phantom{= {s}^m {\operatorname{Tr}}\sum_{k_1,\hdots,k_m} [}\left.
\cdots R_\Lambda D_{k_m}^* P_\Omega D_{k_1} R_\Lambda^*\right],\notag\end{aligned}$$ where we applied also once more. Using the cyclicity of the trace and applying another time, together with the fact that $T_k = T_{-k}^*$ and $S_k = S_{N-k}^*$, gives $$\begin{aligned}
&\|F\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m} \leq {s}^m {\operatorname{Tr}}\left[\sum_{k_1} D_{k_1} P_\Lambda D_{k_1}^* P_\Omega \sum_{k_2} D_{k_2} P_\Lambda D_{k_2}^* P_\Omega \cdots
\right. \notag\\
& \phantom{\|F\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m} \leq }
\left. \cdots \sum_{k_n} D_{k_n} P_\Lambda D_{k_n}^* P_\Omega\right] = {s}^{2m} {\operatorname{Tr}}[ P_\Omega]
= n {s}^{2m}.\notag\end{aligned}$$ Since by assumption (\[cond:conditioning\]) ${s}\leq n$ it follows that $$\begin{aligned}
&\|F\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m} \leq \|(\sum_{j\neq k} A_{j,k}^* A_{j,k})^{1/2}\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m}\notag\\
& = \|(\sum_{j\neq k} A_{j,k} A_{j,k}^*)^{1/2}\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m} \,\leq\, n^m {s}^{m+1}.\notag\end{aligned}$$ Using $\|X_\Lambda\| = \|X_\Lambda\|_{S_\infty} \leq \|X_\Lambda\|_{S_p}$ and applying the Khintchine inequality in Theorem \[Bernoulli\_Khintchine\] we obtain for an integer $m$ $$\begin{aligned}
&{{\mathbb{E}}}\|X_\Lambda\|^{2m} = {{\mathbb{E}}}\|A_\Lambda^* A_\Lambda - I_\Lambda\|^{2m} \leq
{{\mathbb{E}}}\|A_\Lambda^* A_\Lambda - I_\Lambda\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m}\notag\\
&= \frac{1}{n^{2m}} {{\mathbb{E}}}\|\sum_{j\neq k} \epsilon_j \epsilon_k A_{j,k}\|_{S_{2m}}^{2m}\leq\, 2 (2\pi)^{2m} \left(\frac{(2m)!}{2^m m!}\right)^{2} \frac{{s}^{m+1}}{n^m}\notag.\end{aligned}$$ Stirling’s formula gives $$\label{Stirling1}
\frac{(2m)!}{2^m m!} = \frac{\sqrt{2\pi 2m} (2m/e)^{2m} e^{\lambda_{2m}}}{2^m \sqrt{2\pi m}
(m/e)^m e^{\lambda_m}}
\leq \sqrt{2}\, (2/e)^m m^m,$$ where $\frac{1}{12m+1} \leq \lambda_m \leq \frac{1}{12m}$. An application of Hölder’s inequality yields for $\theta \in [0,1]$ and an arbitrary random variable $Z$. $$\begin{aligned}
{{\mathbb{E}}}|Z|^{2m+2\theta} & =
{{\mathbb{E}}}[|Z|^{(1-\theta)2m} |Z|^{\theta (2m+2)}]\notag\\
& \leq ({{\mathbb{E}}}|Z|^{2m})^{1-\theta} ({{\mathbb{E}}}|Z|^{2m+2})^\theta.\label{interpol1}\end{aligned}$$ Combining our estimates above gives $$\begin{aligned}
&{{\mathbb{E}}}\|X_\Lambda\|^{2m+2\theta}
\leq ({{\mathbb{E}}}\|X_\Lambda\|^{2m})^{1-\theta} ({{\mathbb{E}}}\|X_\Lambda\|^{2m+2})^{\theta}\notag\\
&\leq 4 (2\pi)^{2m+2\theta} (2/e)^{2m+2\theta} m^{2m(1-\theta)} (m+1)^{2\theta(m+1)} \frac{{s}^{m+\theta+1}}{n^{m+\theta}}\notag\\
&\leq 4 \left(\frac{4\pi}{e}\right)^{2m+2\theta} (m+\theta)^{2m+2\theta}
\frac{{s}^{m+\theta+1}}{n^{m+\theta}},\notag\end{aligned}$$ where we used the inequality between the geometric and arithmetic mean in the third step. In other words, for $p\geq 2$, $$\left({{\mathbb{E}}}\|X_\Lambda\|^{p}\right)^{1/p} \leq \frac{2\pi}{e} \sqrt{\frac{{s}}{n}} (4{s})^{1/p} p.$$ An application of Lemma \[lem\_moment1\] with the optimal value $\kappa = 1$ yields $${{\mathbb{P}}}\left(\|X_\Lambda\| \geq 2\pi \sqrt{\frac{{s}}{n}} u\right)
\leq 4{s}e^{-u}$$ for all $u\geq 2$. Setting the right hand side equal $\epsilon$ shows that $\|X_\Lambda\| \leq \delta$ with probability at least $1-\epsilon$ provided $$n \geq (2\pi)^2 \delta^{-2} s \log^2(4{s}/\epsilon).$$ This completes the proof of Theorem \[thm:condition\].
Acknowledgements {#acknowledgements .unnumbered}
================
This work was supported by the Hausdorff Center for Mathematics, University of Bonn and the WWTF project SPORTS (MA 07-004).
[10]{} \[1\][\#1]{} url@samestyle \[2\][\#2]{} \[2\][[l@\#1=l@\#1\#2]{}]{}
D. L. [D]{}onoho, “[C]{}ompressed sensing,” *[I]{}[E]{}[E]{}[E]{} [T]{}rans. [I]{}nform. [T]{}heory*, vol. 52, no. 4, pp. 1289–1306, 2006.
R. G. [B]{}araniuk, M. [D]{}avenport, R. A. [D]{}e[V]{}ore, and M. [W]{}akin, “[A]{} simple proof of the restricted isometry property for random matrices,” *[C]{}onstr. [A]{}pprox.*, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 253–263, 2008.
E. J. [C]{}and[è]{}s and T. [T]{}ao, “[N]{}ear optimal signal recovery from random projections: universal encoding strategies?” *[I]{}[E]{}[E]{}[E]{} [T]{}rans. [I]{}nform. [T]{}heory*, vol. 52, no. 12, pp. 5406–5425, 2006.
H. [R]{}auhut, “[S]{}tability results for random sampling of sparse trigonometric polynomials,” *[I]{}[E]{}[E]{}[E]{} [T]{}rans. [I]{}nform. [T]{}heory*, vol. 54, no. 12, pp. 5661–5670, 2008.
M. [R]{}udelson and R. [V]{}ershynin, “[S]{}parse reconstruction by convex relaxation: [F]{}ourier and [G]{}aussian measurements,” in *[P]{}roc. [C]{}[I]{}[S]{}[S]{} 2006 (40th [A]{}nnual [C]{}onference on [I]{}nformation [S]{}ciences and [S]{}ystems)*, 2006.
W. [B]{}ajwa, J. [H]{}aupt, G. [R]{}az, S. [W]{}right, and R. [N]{}owak, “[T]{}oeplitz-structured compressed sensing matrices.” 2007, [I]{}[E]{}[E]{}[E]{} [W]{}orkshop [S]{}[S]{}[P]{},.
J. [R]{}omberg, “[C]{}ompressive sensing by random convolution,” *preprint*, 2008.
W. U. [B]{}ajwa, J. [H]{}aupt, G. [R]{}az, and R. [N]{}owak, “Compressed channel sensing,” in *Proc. CISS’08*, Princeton, 2008.
S. [B]{}oyd and L. [V]{}andenberghe, *[C]{}onvex [O]{}ptimization.*1em plus 0.5em minus 0.4emambridge [U]{}niv. [P]{}ress, 2004.
B. [E]{}fron, T. [H]{}astie, I. [J]{}ohnstone, and R. [T]{}ibshirani, “[L]{}east angle regression,” *[A]{}nn. [S]{}tatist.*, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 407–499, 2004.
G. [D]{}avis, S. [M]{}allat, and M. [A]{}vellaneda, “[A]{}daptive greedy approximations,” *[C]{}onstr. [A]{}pprox.*, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 57–98, 1997.
E. J. [C]{}and[è]{}s, [J]{}., T. [T]{}ao, and J. [R]{}omberg, “[R]{}obust uncertainty principles: exact signal reconstruction from highly incomplete frequency information,” *[I]{}[E]{}[E]{}[E]{} [T]{}rans. [I]{}nform. [T]{}heory*, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 489–509, 2006.
D. L. [D]{}onoho and J. [T]{}anner, “[C]{}ounting faces of randomly-projected polytopes when the projection radically lowers dimension,” *[J]{}. [A]{}mer. [M]{}ath. [S]{}oc.*, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 1–53, 2009.
R. [G]{}ribonval and M. [N]{}ielsen, “[S]{}parse representations in unions of bases,” *[I]{}[E]{}[E]{}[E]{} [T]{}rans. [I]{}nform. [T]{}heory*, vol. 49, no. 12, pp. 3320–3325, 2003.
H. [R]{}auhut, “[R]{}andom sampling of sparse trigonometric polynomials,” *[A]{}ppl. [C]{}omput. [H]{}armon. [A]{}nal.*, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 16–42, 2007.
E. J. [C]{}and[è]{}s, “[T]{}he restricted isometry property and its implications for compressed sensing,” *Compte Rendus de l’Academie des Sciences, Paris, Serie I*, vol. 346, pp. 589–592, 2008.
S. [F]{}oucart and M. [L]{}ai, “[S]{}parsest solutions of underdetermined linear systems via $\ell_q$-minimization for $0<q\leq 1$,” *[A]{}ppl. [C]{}omput. [H]{}armon. [A]{}nal.*, to appear.
J. [T]{}ropp, M. [W]{}akin, M. [D]{}uarte, D. [B]{}aron, and R. [B]{}araniuk, “[R]{}andom filters for compressive sampling and reconstruction,” *[P]{}roc. 2006 [I]{}[E]{}[E]{}[E]{} [I]{}nt. [C]{}onf. [A]{}coustics, [S]{}peech, and [S]{}ignal [P]{}rocessing*, vol. 3, pp. 872–875, [M]{}ay 2006.
J. J. [F]{}uchs, “[O]{}n sparse representations in arbitrary redundant bases,” *[I]{}[E]{}[E]{}[E]{} [T]{}rans. [I]{}nform. [T]{}heory*, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 1341–1344, 2004.
J. A. [T]{}ropp, “[R]{}ecovery of short, complex linear combinations via $l_1$ minimization,” *[I]{}[E]{}[E]{}[E]{} [T]{}rans. [I]{}nform. [T]{}heory*, vol. 51, no. 4, pp. 1568–1570, 2005.
——, “[O]{}n the conditioning of random subdictionaries,” *[A]{}ppl. [C]{}omput. [H]{}armon. [A]{}nal.*, vol. 25, pp. 1–24, 2008.
F. [L]{}ust[-]{}[P]{}iquard, “[I]{}n[é]{}galites de [K]{}hintchine dans ${C}_p (1 < p <
\infty)$,” *[C]{}. [R]{}. [A]{}cad. [S]{}ci. [P]{}aris [S]{}’er. [I]{} [M]{}ath.*, vol. 303, pp. 289–292, 1986.
A. [B]{}uchholz, “[O]{}perator [K]{}hintchine inequality in non-commutative probability,” *[M]{}ath. [A]{}nn.*, vol. 319, pp. 1–16, 2001.
M. [L]{}edoux and M. [T]{}alagrand, *[P]{}robability in [B]{}anach [S]{}paces. [I]{}soperimetry and [P]{}rocesses.*1em plus 0.5em minus 0.4emerlin, [H]{}eidelberg, [N]{}ew[Y]{}ork: [S]{}pringer-[V]{}erlag, 1991, vol. 23.
J. [B]{}ourgain and L. [T]{}zafriri, “[I]{}nvertibility of ’large’ submatrices with applications to the geometry of [B]{}anach spaces and harmonic analysis,” *[I]{}srael [J]{}. [M]{}ath.*, vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 137–224, 1987.
V. H. de la [P]{}e[ñ]{}a and E. [G]{}in[é]{}, *[D]{}ecoupling, [F]{}rom dependence to independence*, ser. [P]{}robability and its [A]{}pplications ([N]{}ew [Y]{}ork).1em plus 0.5em minus 0.4emew [Y]{}ork: [S]{}pringer-[V]{}erlag, 1999.
T. R. [M]{}c[C]{}onnell and M. S. [T]{}aqqu, “[D]{}ecoupling inequalities for multilinear forms in independent symmetric random variables,” *Annals Prob.*, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 943–951, 1986.
|
Flow tube studies of the C((3)P) reactions with ethylene and propylene.
Product detection studies of C((3)P) atom reactions with ethylene, C2H4(X(1)Ag) and propylene, C3H6(X(1)A') are carried out in a flow tube reactor at 332 K and 4 Torr (553.3 Pa) under multiple collision conditions. Ground state carbon atoms are generated by 193 nm laser photolysis of carbon suboxide, C3O2 in a buffer of helium. Thermalized reaction products are detected using tunable VUV photoionization and time of flight mass spectrometry. For C((3)P) + ethylene, propargyl (C3H3) is detected as the only molecular product in agreement with previous studies on this reaction. The temporal profiles of the detected ions are used to discriminate C((3)P) reaction products from side reaction products. For C((3)P) + propylene, two reaction channels are identified through the detection of methyl (CH3) and propargyl (C3H3) radicals for the first channel and C4H5 for the second one. Franck-Condon Factor simulations are employed to infer the C4H5-isomer distribution. The measured 1 : 4 ratio for the i-C4H5 isomer relative to the methylpropargyl isomers is similar to the C4H5 isomer distribution observed in low-pressure flames and differs from crossed molecular beams data. The accuracy of these isomer distributions is discussed in view of large uncertainties on the photoionization spectra of the pure C4H5 isomers. |
It's also possible to state the time in Italian by saying the hour followed by the minutes, followed, if necessary, by the words di mattina (from 5am until noon), di pomeriggio (from noon until 6pm), di sera (from 6pm until midnight), or di notte (from midnight until 5am), eg: |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multiflavor beverage dispenser including a flow-rate control valve assembly and a microprocessor control system for controlling the ratio of diluent to concentrate of a post-mix beverage.
2. Description of Background Art
Multiflavor beverage dispensers, including microprocessors for providing ratio control of diluent to concentrate of post-mix beverage are generally known. An example of such a multiflavor beverage dispenser is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,333, issued Dec. 11, 1984 to Pounder et al.
Although the system of Pounder functions quite well for its intended purposes, a need in the art exists for a more compact apparatus with improved accuracy for ratio control, especially under conditions where the variation in system performance keeps the desired flow rate of the post-mix beverage from being reached. |
Q:
How much JVM memory java heap space does the ExtJS Application uses
I would like to know how much of the JMV min memory and max memory (java heap space) that i need to set for the ExtJS application to perform well on my production server which is JBOSS server.
Is there a configuration file that is created after i build the application where i can set min, max memory of JVM to be used.
Can i test how much memory does ExtJS application uses.
Can i dictate server to use (i.e. with help of some configuration file) or allot a specific amount of JVM memory for my ExtJS Application.
I would like to know it so that i can set the min, max JVM options on my production server.
There is configuration file that talks about the JVM memory, but it is the memory that is being used when we build the application. The link that talks about it is
http://docs.sencha.com/extjs/4.1.3/#!/guide/command_advanced
Any kind of help is appreciated, Thanks.
A:
ExtJS is a JavaScript GUI Framework which runs on the clients and not the server side.
|
Anaheim Mayor Addresses Conflict of Interest Issues
By |October 12, 2011
Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait has addressed the resignation of building division head Scott Fazekas, who had been under fire since revelation that his firm had been getting the lion’s share of the city’s outsourced plan check review work.
“We have to be concerned about perceptions of conflict,” Tait said Oct. 11 when asked about how outsourced work should be handled.
Tait said that as the co-owner of two consulting firms, he wouldn’t allow the city to contract with his companies. “For me, as mayor, it’s not OK to have a contract with the city of Anaheim,” Tait said.
He would not comment, however, on whether that standard extends to other public officials.
Fazekas resigned last week in the aftermath of a Voice of OC article that showed he had received the majority of the division’s outsourced plan review work during his tenure.
Fazekas’ company billed the city for at least $18,954 in building plan review work between his appointment late in 2009 and June of this year, according to city records. During that period, Fazekas’ firm received 80 percent of the city’s outsourced plan review work.
A clause in Fazekas’ contract bars him from being involved in any outsourcing decisions. He said others in the building division made the decisions to send plan check work to his firm.
“I wanted to make sure there wasn’t a perception of exactly what you’re talking about,” Fazekas said previously. “We specified that I would have no involvement.”
Tracy Westen, CEO of the Los Angeles-based Center for Governmental Studies, questioned that relationship between Fazekas and staffers working in the building division.
“That doesn’t strike me as a healthy relationship,” Westen said. “If a person’s working for you, they may be under some explicit or implicit psychological pressure to send contracts your way.” |
/*********************************************************
* From C PROGRAMMING: A MODERN APPROACH, Second Edition *
* By K. N. King *
* Copyright (c) 2008, 1996 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. *
* All rights reserved. *
* This program may be freely distributed for class use, *
* provided that this copyright notice is retained. *
*********************************************************/
/* justify.c (Chapter 15, page 363) */
/* Formats a file of text */
#include <string.h>
#include "line.h"
#include "word.h"
#define MAX_WORD_LEN 20
int main(void)
{
char word[MAX_WORD_LEN+2];
int word_len;
clear_line();
for (;;) {
read_word(word, MAX_WORD_LEN+1);
word_len = strlen(word);
if (word_len == 0) {
flush_line();
return 0;
}
if (word_len > MAX_WORD_LEN)
word[MAX_WORD_LEN] = '*';
if (word_len + 1 > space_remaining()) {
write_line();
clear_line();
}
add_word(word);
}
}
|
Description
Amazing MOUNTAIN VIEW minutes west of Eagle Hill COOP. Great opportunity to choose which lot to build your DREAM HOME on in a central to Olds, Sundre & Bowden location. Paved access to internal cul de sac where these lots overlook a great valley view to the west with Electricity to lot line. Developer to approve home idea and plans- no mobiles and potential for seller financing. Come see the views today!
Description
Amazing MOUNTAIN VIEW minutes west of Eagle Hill COOP. Great opportunity to choose which lot to build your DREAM HOME on in a central to Olds, Sundre & Bowden location. Paved access to internal cul de sac where these lots overlook a great valley view to the west with Electricity to lot line. Developer to approve home idea and plans- no mobiles and potential for seller financing. Come see the views today!
Property Features
Monthly Payment Calculator
Related Properties
Data supplied by CREB®’s MLS® System. CREB® is the owner of the copyright in its MLS® System. The Listing data is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed accurate by CREB®. The information provided is for consumers’ personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing.
The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license. The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS®, and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license. Data last updated: 2019-02-22T09:29:33.97.
www.livelovecalgary.com/homes/73714549
3
4141 Twp Rd 340
Rural Mountain View County,
AB
T0M 1X0
Price: $145,000
Status: Active
Updated: 46 min ago
ID#: C4123342
0
Beds
0
Baths
0
½ Baths
2
Acres
Neighbourhood:
None
Area:
Mountain View
School District:
Chinooks Edge
Property Description
Amazing MOUNTAIN VIEW minutes west of Eagle Hill COOP. Great opportunity to choose which lot to build your DREAM HOME on in a central to Olds, Sundre & Bowden location. Paved access to internal cul de sac where these lots overlook a great valley view to the west with Electricity to lot line. Developer to approve home idea and plans- no mobiles and potential for seller financing. Come see the views today!
Exterior Features
Garage Yn
No
Lot Shape
Irregular
Site Influences
ViewView Mountain
Property Features
Data supplied by CREB®’s MLS® System. CREB® is the owner of the copyright in its MLS® System. The Listing data is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed accurate by CREB®. The information provided is for consumers’ personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing.
The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license. The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS®, and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license. Data last updated: 2019-02-22T09:29:33.97.
Get Social
About Us
Data supplied by CREB®’s MLS® System. CREB® is the owner of the copyright in its MLS® System. The Listing data is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed accurate by CREB®. The information provided is for consumers’ personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing.
The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license. The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS®, and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license. Data last updated: 2019-02-22T09:29:33.97. |
1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to devices that facilitate the maintenance of fluid systems and in particular, to an adapter that connects to a filter for the purging of a line of a fluid system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Oil heating systems are one example of a common fluid system that employs a pump that draws a fluid from a tank through a feed or input line to the pump. An oil filter is located upstream in the input line from the pump that filters out undesirable particles from the oil. Problems occur in fluid systems, such as in this example when the input line upstream from the filter gradually becomes clogged with deposits from the oil. This is a sizable problem for oil systems because it reduces the flow of oil through the input line. This strains the pump and reduces the efficiency of the overall system. As a result of this problem, oil lines are routinely purged as part of a maintenance program.
The purging of oil lines is a burdensome process. For example, in order to purge the line from the oil tank to the filter of an oil burning home heating system a technician closes a first in-line valve in proximity to the oil tank and disconnects the line at a second in-line valve in proximity to the oil filter. A hand pneumatic push-pump is connected to the disconnected line, the push-pump is pressurized and the first in-line valve is opened. The pump supplies a flow of pressurized air into the input line that forces or purges the oil and oil deposits from the line into tank. This process is then reversed for the normal operation of the oil system. The disconnecting, purging and reconnecting process is excessively time consuming due to complications that include the first in-line valve in proximity to the oil tank being located external to the structure of the building, at a remote section inside the structure or barely accessible due to clutter surrounding the tank. Technicians have to make multiple trips between the remote first in-line valve in proximity to the oil tank and the broken line in proximity to the oil filter in order to perform this maintenance.
Heretofore there has never been a reliable device and/or method for the process of purging oil filter input lines without the time consuming process of breaking the line and the associated requirement for the repeated opening and closing of a remote shut off valve. |
Effectiveness of resident-prepared conferences in teaching imaging utilization guidelines to radiology residents.
The authors evaluated the effectiveness of a resident-prepared conference series for teaching imaging utilization guidelines to radiology residents. Brown University radiology residents (n = 17) gave 61 presentations on imaging utilization to their colleagues during 16 1-hour conferences. The residents were later examined on the topics presented and surveyed about their familiarity with the American College of Radiology appropriateness criteria, their exposure to issues of cost-effectiveness, and their degree of confidence in providing imaging consultation. The same examination and survey were administered to control residents from the University of Wisconsin (n = 14) and the Oregon Health Sciences University (n = 14). Scores were compared by using linear regression and Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Controlling for years in radiology residency, residents at Brown scored on average 16.0% (standard error = 2.2%) higher than residents at the other universities (P < .001). Controlling for institution, 3rd- and 4th-year residents scored on average 7.4% (standard error = 2.1%) higher than 1st- and 2nd-year residents (P = .001). Brown residents expressed more familiarity with American College of Radiology appropriateness criteria and appeared to have more exposure to cost-effectiveness issues in conferences than residents at Wisconsin or Oregon Health Sciences University (P < .005). Residents from the three universities did not differ in their level of confidence in providing imaging consultation. Resident-prepared conferences are an effective means of teaching imaging utilization guidelines to residents, but they do not affect the residents' perception of their ability to provide imaging consultation. |
#!/bin/sh
DEF_VER=v5.17_devel
# First try git describe (if running on a git repo),
# then use default version from above (for release tarballs).
if test -d .git -o -f .git
then
# if a commandline argument was given, assume it was a ref that git can interpret
if [ "$#" -ne 0 ]; then
GIT_VN=$(git describe --match "v[0-9].[0-9]*" --always --long $*)
else
GIT_VN=$(git describe --match "v[0-9].[0-9]*" --dirty --always --long)
fi
if echo "$GIT_VN" | grep -Eq "^v[0-9].[0-9]"
then
VN="$GIT_VN"
else
VN="$DEF_VER"-none-g"$GIT_VN"
fi
else
VN="$DEF_VER"
fi
echo $VN
|
from __future__ import absolute_import
from __future__ import division
from __future__ import print_function
"""BrainF**k interpreter.
Language info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainfuck
Based on public implementation:
https://github.com/pocmo/Python-Brainfuck/blob/master/brainfuck.py
"""
from collections import namedtuple
import time
EvalResult = namedtuple(
'EvalResult', ['output', 'success', 'failure_reason', 'steps', 'time',
'memory', 'program_trace'])
ExecutionSnapshot = namedtuple(
'ExecutionSnapshot',
['codeptr', 'codechar', 'memptr', 'memval', 'memory', 'next_input',
'output_buffer'])
class Status(object):
SUCCESS = 'success'
TIMEOUT = 'timeout'
STEP_LIMIT = 'step-limit'
SYNTAX_ERROR = 'syntax-error'
CHARS = INT_TO_CHAR = ['>', '<', '+', '-', '[', ']', '.', ',']
CHAR_TO_INT = dict([(c, i) for i, c in enumerate(INT_TO_CHAR)])
class LookAheadIterator(object):
"""Same API as Python iterator, with additional peek method."""
def __init__(self, iterable):
self._it = iter(iterable)
self._current_element = None
self._done = False
self._preload_next()
def _preload_next(self):
try:
self._current_element = self._it.next()
except StopIteration:
self._done = True
def next(self):
if self._done:
raise StopIteration
element = self._current_element
self._preload_next()
return element
def peek(self, default_value=None):
if self._done:
if default_value is None:
raise StopIteration
return default_value
return self._current_element
def buildbracemap(code):
"""Build jump map.
Args:
code: List or string or BF chars.
Returns:
bracemap: dict mapping open and close brace positions in the code to their
destination jumps. Specifically, positions of matching open/close braces
if they exist.
correct_syntax: True if all braces match. False if there are unmatched
braces in the code. Even if there are unmatched braces, a bracemap will
be built, and unmatched braces will map to themselves.
"""
bracestack, bracemap = [], {}
correct_syntax = True
for position, command in enumerate(code):
if command == '[':
bracestack.append(position)
if command == ']':
if not bracestack: # Unmatched closing brace.
bracemap[position] = position # Don't jump to any position.
correct_syntax = False
continue
start = bracestack.pop()
bracemap[start] = position
bracemap[position] = start
if bracestack: # Unmatched opening braces.
for pos in bracestack:
bracemap[pos] = pos # Don't jump to any position.
correct_syntax = False
return bracemap, correct_syntax
def evaluate(code, input_buffer=None, init_memory=None, base=256, timeout=1.0,
max_steps=None, require_correct_syntax=True, output_memory=False,
debug=False):
"""Execute BF code.
Args:
code: String or list of BF characters. Any character not in CHARS will be
ignored.
input_buffer: A list of ints which will be used as the program's input
stream. Each read op "," will read an int from this list. 0's will be
read once the end of the list is reached, or if no input buffer is
given.
init_memory: A list of ints. Memory for first k positions will be
initialized to this list (where k = len(init_memory)). Memory positions
are initialized to 0 by default.
base: Integer base for the memory. When a memory value is incremented to
`base` it will overflow to 0. When a memory value is decremented to -1
it will underflow to `base` - 1.
timeout: Time limit for program execution in seconds. Set to None to
disable.
max_steps: Execution step limit. An execution step is the execution of one
operation (code character), even if that op has been executed before.
Execution exits when this many steps are reached. Set to None to
disable. Disabled by default.
require_correct_syntax: If True, unmatched braces will cause `evaluate` to
return without executing the code. The failure reason will be
`Status.SYNTAX_ERROR`. If False, unmatched braces are ignored
and execution will continue.
output_memory: If True, the state of the memory at the end of execution is
returned.
debug: If True, then a full program trace will be returned.
Returns:
EvalResult namedtuple containing
output: List of ints which were written out by the program with the "."
operation.
success: Boolean. Whether execution completed successfully.
failure_reason: One of the attributes of `Status`. Gives extra info
about why execution was not successful.
steps: Number of execution steps the program ran for.
time: Amount of time in seconds the program ran for.
memory: If `output_memory` is True, a list of memory cells up to the last
one written to. otherwise, None.
"""
input_iter = (
LookAheadIterator(input_buffer) if input_buffer is not None
else LookAheadIterator([]))
# Null memory value. This is the value of an empty memory. Also the value
# returned by the read operation when the input buffer is empty, or the
# end of the buffer is reached.
null_value = 0
code = list(code)
bracemap, correct_syntax = buildbracemap(code) # will modify code list
if require_correct_syntax and not correct_syntax:
return EvalResult([], False, Status.SYNTAX_ERROR, 0, 0.0,
[] if output_memory else None, [] if debug else None)
output_buffer = []
codeptr, cellptr = 0, 0
cells = list(init_memory) if init_memory else [0]
program_trace = [] if debug else None
success = True
reason = Status.SUCCESS
start_time = time.time()
steps = 0
while codeptr < len(code):
command = code[codeptr]
if debug:
# Add step to program trace.
program_trace.append(ExecutionSnapshot(
codeptr=codeptr, codechar=command, memptr=cellptr,
memval=cells[cellptr], memory=list(cells),
next_input=input_iter.peek(null_value),
output_buffer=list(output_buffer)))
if command == '>':
cellptr += 1
if cellptr == len(cells): cells.append(null_value)
if command == '<':
cellptr = 0 if cellptr <= 0 else cellptr - 1
if command == '+':
cells[cellptr] = cells[cellptr] + 1 if cells[cellptr] < (base - 1) else 0
if command == '-':
cells[cellptr] = cells[cellptr] - 1 if cells[cellptr] > 0 else (base - 1)
if command == '[' and cells[cellptr] == 0: codeptr = bracemap[codeptr]
if command == ']' and cells[cellptr] != 0: codeptr = bracemap[codeptr]
if command == '.': output_buffer.append(cells[cellptr])
if command == ',': cells[cellptr] = next(input_iter, null_value)
codeptr += 1
steps += 1
if timeout is not None and time.time() - start_time > timeout:
success = False
reason = Status.TIMEOUT
break
if max_steps is not None and steps >= max_steps:
success = False
reason = Status.STEP_LIMIT
break
if debug:
# Add step to program trace.
command = code[codeptr] if codeptr < len(code) else ''
program_trace.append(ExecutionSnapshot(
codeptr=codeptr, codechar=command, memptr=cellptr,
memval=cells[cellptr], memory=list(cells),
next_input=input_iter.peek(null_value),
output_buffer=list(output_buffer)))
return EvalResult(
output=output_buffer,
success=success,
failure_reason=reason,
steps=steps,
time=time.time() - start_time,
memory=cells if output_memory else None,
program_trace=program_trace)
|
BUCCI DONUT BOWL, FISH-BELLY GLAZE
SKU:
$2,400.00
$2,400.00
Unavailable
This definitive design was introduced by Franco Bucci in the ealry 1970s. The bowl is sensual to the touch and pleasing to the eye. The fish-belly glaze which added character and depth to the object was one of the three most intricate and beautiful glazes developed by Bucci early on in his Laboratorio Pesaro career. The other two were Celadon and Cobalt Blue. His black and white glazes were perfected early on with lustrous satin sheen that was delicate and subtle. This bowl has a tight crack on one side that can be mended invisibly from the underside. It was hand signed by Franco Bucci in the 1970s. 10"diam. x 3.5"hNet weight is about 3 lbs. |
I was just looking around, but I did not find any section considering the most important bit of magic, the psychology and performance behind it. I am just wondering whether there can be established some kind of section considering how to practise, how to motivate yourself, how to present, and all that stuff that has to do with the mind:)
Hope something will be established/ does already exist:)
"A magician has the skill to conceal the skill"
- Paul Wilson
"Magic is driven by emotion and conflict"
- Tommy Wonder
Dave ScribnerAssistant Manager
Lake Hopatcong, NJ
4977 Posts
Posted: May 17, 2007 10:30 am
0
We do have a forum for discussion on psychology. It's called Food for thought and this is it's description.
Quote:
This is the area to discuss creativity,theory,and psychology in our magic |
Chromolite
Chromogenex Chromolite IPL Pigmentation/Sun Damage removal
Treatment to remove pigment patches from most areas of the body. Brown marks can appear on the skin due to exposure to the sun, most common on the face and back of hands. These can be removed safely by intense pulsed light, 1-3 treatments , every two weeks for best results. |
id., 115 Nev. at 390, 990 P.2d at 1262, we conclude that this claim lacks
merit.
Second, Gubbine contends that the State failed to give proper
notice that a victim impact statement would reference a prior bad act and
the district court abused its discretion by considering the prior bad act.
The defense objected on hearsay grounds to the witness' mention of the act
and the district court noted that, although not hearsay, the statement was
inappropriate. The district court stated that it would not consider any
uncharged crimes and specified that it based Gubbine's sentence upon the
acts to which he pleaded no contest, the effect of the crimes on his children
and parents, and his inability to conform his conduct to the requirements
of the law. See Buschauer v. State, 106 Nev. 890, 894, 804 P.2d 1046, 1049
(1990) (a district court can disclaim reliance on prior bad acts when
imposing sentence). Gubbine's consecutive sentences of 48-120 months on
count I, 12 months on count II, 24-60 months on count III, and 24-60
months on count IV, are within the parameters provided by relevant
statutes, NRS 193.140; NRS 200.508(1)(b)(1); NRS 200.5099(1)(a); NRS
205.060(2), and we conclude that the district court did not abuse its
discretion at sentencing, see NRS 176.035(1); Parrish v. State, 116 Nev.
982, 989, 12 P.3d 953, 957 (2000). Accordingly, we
ORDER the judgment of conviction AFFIRMED.
i c--14cA4 ,J.
Hardesty
Parraguirre
SUPREME COURT
OF
NEVADA
2
(0) 1947A
cc: Hon. Steve L. Dobrescu, District Judge
State Public Defender/Ely
State Public Defender/Carson City
Attorney General/Carson City
White Pine County District Attorney
White Pine County Clerk
SUPREME COURT
OF
NEVADA
3
(0) 1947A
|
Labels
Tuesday, 21 March 2017
Space Pug - Genghis and the Space Station
Some Pre-Viz work that focused on seeing how the lighting between the Genghis model and the Space Station would interact. I ended up having to change quite a few of Genghis' texture nodes in order to make his body in tune with the lighting of the Space Station. These modifications mostly focused on the ambient occlusion and rim lighting nodes. So far its come out nicely with a few exceptions; the eyes are too dark and the shadows beneath Genghis' body look unnatural. |
New England TE heads south
Mike Farrell
Recruiting Analyst
Dartmouth, Massachusetts tight end Arthur Fontaine has made his college decision and this time he does not expect to change his mind. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound prospect is confident in his choice and ready to move forward.
Fontaine had previously been committed to Boston College before opening the recruiting process back up to check out more options. Where will he be spending his college years?
"I committed to Georgia," Fontaine said. "It was a hard decision. It came down to Georgia and BC, as well as Virginia and Maryland. In the end it became mostly about getting away to experience college away from home. It's about growing up and becoming an adult and experiencing new things."
Fontaine's mother and sister attended Boston College, but the four-star prospect said the opportunity to forge a new path for himself and experience life in a different part of the country was very attractive to him.
"I like Georgia a lot," he explained. "The coaches are great. Coach John Lilly was my recruiting coach and I really like Coach Richt. I took two visits down there. I felt very comfortable and the second visit was even better than the first visit. That's why I went a second time -- to see if I had that same feeling.
"I fit in well with what they want to do offensively, but this was more about the college experience than football."
Though he is moving in another direction, Fontaine had nothing but positive things to say about the other schools recruiting him.
"I love BC," he said. "I know I could be successful in that offense as well. I wish them well and I hope they continue their success. I like all the coaches that recruited me. I liked Maryland and Virginia as well. I could have been successful at all four. It doesn't have anything to do with tight end tradition or anything like that. This wasn't as much a football decision as it was a college decision."
Fontaine's mother, sister and grandfather are on board with his decision and Fontaine expects to stay solid this time. He had previously committed to Boston College but de-committed shortly after when he realized he rushed his decision. He is ranked as the No. 4 tight end in the nation and is a member of the Rivals250.
As a junior Fontaine caught 10 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns while recording 63 tackles and four sacks on defense. With a different offensive approach this season, those numbers should increase.
"We're going to throw the ball around a lot more," he said. "So that's a good thing. I'm looking forward to my senior season now that this decision is behind me."
Fontaine becomes Georgia's 13th commitment but just the fourth from outside the Peach State. |
Embassy Theatre (London)
The Embassy Theatre is a theatre at 64, Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, London.
Early years
The Embassy Theatre was opened as a repertory company in September 1928 on the initiative of Sybil Arundale and Herbert Jay., when the premises of Hampstead Conservatoire of Music were adapted by architect Andrew Mather. The following were some of its productions:
The Yellow Streak, September 1928. This was the opening production, featuring Jeanne de Casalis, Martita Hunt and Cecil Parker. The play was praised by the writer Dorothy Richardson.
The Seventh Guest, October 1928, a mystery melodrama with Cecil Parker and Margaret Rawlings
From September 1930 to March 1932 the theatre was directed by Alec L. Rea and A. R. Whatmore. Productions included:
Black Coffee (premiere), by Agatha Christie (her first play), December 1930, produced by André van Gyseghem, with Francis L. Sullivan as Poirot and also featuring Donald Wolfit.
Carpet Slippers, December 1930, with Griffith Jones (his debut) and Sebastian Shaw
Mary Broome, by Allan Monkhouse, December 1931. with Robert Donat and Herbert Lomas. This was a sudden and (still) unexplained substitution for the play originally announced, namely Chimneys, by Agatha Christie
Romeo and Juliet, February 1932, produced by A. R. Whatmore, with Sebastian Shaw as Romeo, Cecil Parker as Mercutio and George Coulouris as Tybalt
Ronald Adam years
Control than passed to Ronald Adam (also known as Ronald Adams), who remained at the helm until 1939. During that time he made over 150 new productions and revivals, of which over thirty were then transferred to various theatres in the West End. The Embassy school of acting was opened in the theatre in 1932. Some of the more notable productions at the theatre were:
Miracle at Verdun by Hans Chlumberg (translated by Edward Crankshaw), September 1932, produced by André van Gyseghem, with Derrick de Marney, George Howe, Alan Wheatley. The production was then transferred to the Comedy.
Ten Minute Alibi (premiere), by Anthony Armstrong, January 1933, with Robert Douglas and Celia Johnson. The production then transferred to the Haymarket.
The Glass Wall (premiere), by E. M. Delafield, February 1933, produced by André van Gyseghem, with Max Adrian.
All God's Chillun Got Wings, March 1933, produced by André van Gyseghem, with Paul Robeson and Flora Robson.
Sometimes Even Now (premiere), by Warren Chetham-Strode, May 1933, with Jack Hawkins, Celia Johnson, Marie Lohr
Napoleon, September 1934, produced by André van Gyseghem, with Edward Chapman, John Clements, Violet Farebrother, Eric Portman, Margaret Rawlings.
The Dominant Sex (premiere), by Michael Egan, December 1934, with Diana Churchill, Richard Bird, René Ray. The production then transferred to the Shaftesbury.
Stevedore, by Paul Peters and George Sklar, May 1935, produced by André van Gyseghem, with Paul Robeson, Robert Adams, Kathleen Davis.
This Desirable Residence, by A. R. Rawlinson, May 1935, with Coral Browne.
Close Quarters (premiere), by W. O. Somin and Gilbert Lennox, June 1935, with Oskar Homolka (London debut), Flora Robson. The production then transferred to the Haymarket.
Professor Bernhardi, June 1936, with Abraham Sofaer in the title role. and Max Adrian, Noel Howlett The production then transferred to the Phoenix.
Judgment Day (London premiere), by Elmer Rice, May 1937, with Glynis Johns, Catherine Lacey,<ref name=wwLacey>[https://archive.org/stream/dramaticlistwhos007920mbp#page/n895/mode/2up Who's Who in the Theatre: Lacey, Catherine]</ref> George Woodbridge The production then transferred to the Strand.Three Set Out, by Philip Leaver, June 1937, directed by Margaret Webster, with Constance Cummings and Michael RedgraveProfit and Loss, May 1938, produced by André van Gyseghem, with Mabel Love (final appearance)Julius Caesar, November 1939, in modern dress, with Joseph O'Conor (debut), Peter Copley, Hugh Griffith, Eric Portman
Ronald Adam's own list of significant transfers in that period was Ten Minute Alibi, Close Quarters, The Dominant Sex, Professor Bernhardi, Judgment Day.
Post-war period
After war damage, the building was reopened in 1945, with a capacity of 678.
It was then run until 1954 by Anthony Hawtrey.Quality Street, February 1945, directed by Anthony Hawtrey, with Joyce Blair (debut, aged 13), Ursula Howells (London debut), Geoffrey Toone, Bryan Forbes, Gwendoline Watford, Linden TraversMyself a Stranger, August 1945, with Jack Allen, Hugh Burden, Cecil RamageFit for Heroes, September 1945, directed by Henry Kendall, with Irene Vanbrugh, Helen Cherry, Jack Allen, Raymond Lovell, Olaf Pooley.The Gambler, adapted by Norman Ginsbury from Dostoevsky, November 1945, directed by Sebastian Shaw, with Hugh Burden, Ferdy Mayne, Gwendoline Watford.Red Roses for Me, by Seán O'Casey, February 1946, with Kieron O'Hanrahan, Eddie ByrneNational Velvet, 1946.Sense and Sensibility, 1946.Mrs Dane's Defence, 1946, with Mary Ellis.Portrait of Hickory, April 1948, with Judy Campbell.Miranda, June 1947, directed by Richard Bird, with Nora Swinburne, Ronald Ward, Diane HartThe Father (August Strindberg), November 1948, with Michael RedgraveA Woman in Love ("Amoureuse"), April 1949, adapted and directed by Michael Redgrave, with Margaret RawlingsOn Monday Next (premiere), by Philip King, April 1949, with Henry Kendall, directed by him and Shaun Sutton, also with Leslie PhillipsOthello, July 1949, produced by André van Gyseghem, with Michael Aldridge in the title role, and Peter Wyngarde, Maxine Audley.Caro William, premiere 1952, with Robert Shaw (London debut), Rachel Gurney.The Merchant of Yonkers, 1952, directed by André van Gyseghem, with Robert Eddison, Raymond Lovell, Sophie Stewart, Alfie Bass, Esma Cannon, Peter Baylis, Nigel HawthorneUranium 235, by Ewan MacColl, May 1952, produced by Joan Littlewood with Harry H. Corbett, George A. Cooper, Avis Bunnage.Hamlet, March 1953 with Laurence Payne in the title role, George Coulouris, Christine FinnTwelfth Night 1953 with George Coulouris, Christine FinnThe Boy Friend (premiere for full version) 1953 with Hugh Paddick.
In 1953 it was sold to Sidney Bernstein with management by screenwriter and playwright Wolf Mankowitz.The Bespoke Overcoat, 1954The Lion in the Lighthouse, June 1955, with Henry Kendall (actor)The World of Sholem Aleichem, ca. 1955The Boychik, ca. 1956
Central School
The theatre was sold to the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, who continue as the resident company, in 1956.Mad Forest'' (premiere) 1990
References
General reference
Rob Wilton Theatricalia: Other Plays 1900-1939
Rob Wilton Theatricalia: Other Plays 1940-1949
Rob Wilton Theatricalia: Other Plays 1950-1959
External links
Cullum and Nightingale, Architects' Journal, September 2003
Category:Theatres in the London Borough of Camden |
/*-
* * Copyright 2016 Skymind, Inc.
* *
* * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
* * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
* * You may obtain a copy of the License at
* *
* * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
* *
* * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
* * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
* * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
* * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
* * limitations under the License.
*/
package org.datavec.spark.transform.quality;
import lombok.AllArgsConstructor;
import org.apache.spark.api.java.function.Function2;
import org.datavec.api.transform.ColumnType;
import org.datavec.api.transform.metadata.*;
import org.datavec.api.transform.schema.Schema;
import org.datavec.api.writable.Writable;
import org.datavec.spark.transform.quality.bytes.BytesQualityAnalysisState;
import org.datavec.spark.transform.quality.categorical.CategoricalQualityAnalysisState;
import org.datavec.spark.transform.quality.integer.IntegerQualityAnalysisState;
import org.datavec.spark.transform.quality.longq.LongQualityAnalysisState;
import org.datavec.spark.transform.quality.real.RealQualityAnalysisState;
import org.datavec.spark.transform.quality.string.StringQualityAnalysisState;
import org.datavec.spark.transform.quality.time.TimeQualityAnalysisState;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
/**
* Add function used for undertaking quality analysis of a data set via Spark
*
* @author Alex Black
*/
@AllArgsConstructor
public class QualityAnalysisAddFunction
implements Function2<List<QualityAnalysisState>, List<Writable>, List<QualityAnalysisState>> {
private Schema schema;
@Override
public List<QualityAnalysisState> call(List<QualityAnalysisState> analysisStates, List<Writable> writables)
throws Exception {
if (analysisStates == null) {
analysisStates = new ArrayList<>();
List<ColumnType> columnTypes = schema.getColumnTypes();
List<ColumnMetaData> columnMetaDatas = schema.getColumnMetaData();
for (int i = 0; i < columnTypes.size(); i++) {
switch (columnTypes.get(i)) {
case String:
analysisStates.add(new StringQualityAnalysisState((StringMetaData) columnMetaDatas.get(i)));
break;
case Integer:
analysisStates.add(new IntegerQualityAnalysisState((IntegerMetaData) columnMetaDatas.get(i)));
break;
case Long:
analysisStates.add(new LongQualityAnalysisState((LongMetaData) columnMetaDatas.get(i)));
break;
case Double:
analysisStates.add(new RealQualityAnalysisState((DoubleMetaData) columnMetaDatas.get(i)));
break;
case Categorical:
analysisStates.add(new CategoricalQualityAnalysisState((CategoricalMetaData) columnMetaDatas.get(i)));
break;
case Time:
analysisStates.add(new TimeQualityAnalysisState((TimeMetaData)columnMetaDatas.get(i)));
break;
case Bytes:
analysisStates.add(new BytesQualityAnalysisState()); //TODO
break;
default:
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unknown column type: " + columnTypes.get(i));
}
}
}
int size = analysisStates.size();
if (size != writables.size())
throw new IllegalStateException("Writables list and number of states does not match (" + writables.size()
+ " vs " + size + ")");
for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
analysisStates.get(i).add(writables.get(i));
}
return analysisStates;
}
}
|
---
abstract: 'We consider a viscous approximation for a nonlinear degenerate convection-diffusion equations in two space dimensions, and prove an $L^1$ error estimate. Precisely, we show that the $L^1_{\mathrm{loc}}$ difference between the approximate solution and the unique entropy solution converges at a rate $\mathcal{O}({\varepsilon}^{1/2})$, where ${\varepsilon}$ is the viscous parameter.'
title: 'An error estimate for viscous approximate solutions to degenerate anisotropic convection-diffusion equations'
---
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Christian Klingenberg</span>
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Ujjwal Koley</span>
(Communicated by the associate editor name)
Introduction {#sec:intro}
============
In this paper, we are interested in certain “viscous” approximations of entropy solutions of the following Cauchy problem $$\label{eq:main}
\begin{cases}
u_t + f(u)_y = u_{xx}, &(x,y,t)\in {\Pi_T},\\
u(x,y,0)=u_0(x,y), & (x,y)\in {\mathbb{R}}^2,
\end{cases}$$ where ${\Pi_T}={\mathbb{R}}\times {\mathbb{R}}\times (0,T)$ with $T>0$ fixed, $u:{\Pi_T}\to {\mathbb{R}}$ is the unknown function and $f:{\mathbb{R}}\rightarrow {\mathbb{R}}$ is the convective flux function. The main characteristics of this type of equations is that it has mixed parabolic-hyperbolic type, due to the directional separation of the diffusion and convection effects: while matter is convected along the $y$ axis, it is simultaneously diffused along orthogonal direction.
The existence of solutions of equation can be obtained by the classical method of adding a vanishing viscosity, in other terms a diffusion, in the missing direction (along the $y$ axis). Since the most characteristics of Equation is that it has mixed parabolic-hyperbolic type, or in other words, it has strong degeneracy due to the lack of diffusion in the $x$-direction, it is difficult to establish the uniqueness of solutions of . In [@ez1], authors have proved the existence as well as uniqueness of such problems.
In this paper we are interested in certain approximate solutions of coming from solving the uniformly parabolic problem $$\begin{aligned}
u^{{\varepsilon}}_t + f(u^{{\varepsilon}})_y = u^{{\varepsilon}}_{xx} + {\varepsilon}u^{{\varepsilon}}_{yy}.
\end{aligned}
\label{eq:regular}$$ We refer to $u^{{\varepsilon}}$ as a “viscous” approximate solution of . Since the convergence of $u^{{\varepsilon}}$ to the unique entropy solution $u$ of as ${\varepsilon}{\downarrow}0$ is well known, so our interest here is to give an explicit rate of convergence for $u^{{\varepsilon}}$ as ${\varepsilon}{\downarrow}0$, i.e., an $L^1$ error estimate for viscous approximate solutions. There are several ways to prove such an error estimate. One way is to view it as a consequence of a continuous dependence estimate. Combining the ideas of [@ez1] with a variant of Kruzkov’s “doubling of variables” device for , we prove that ${\left\|u^{{\varepsilon}} -u\right\|}_{L^1({\Pi_T})} = \mathcal{O}({\varepsilon}^{1/2})$. Although our proof is of independent interest, it may also shed some light on how to obtain an error estimates for numerical methods.
Preliminaries {#sec:prelim}
=============
Independently of the smoothness of the initial data, due to the lack of diffusion in the $x$-direction, jumps may form in the solution $u$. Therefore we consider solutions in the weak sense, i.e.,
Set ${\Pi_T}={\mathbb{R}}\times {\mathbb{R}}\times (0,T)$. A function $$u(t,x) \in C\left([0,T];L^1({\mathbb{R}}^2)\right) \cap L^\infty({\Pi_T})$$ is a weak solution of the initial value problem if it satisfies:
- For all test functions ${\varphi}\in
\mathcal{D}({\mathbb{R}}^2 \times [0,T))$ \[def:w2\] $$\label{eq:weaksol}
\iiint_{{\Pi_T}} \left( u{\varphi}_t + f(u) {\varphi}_y + u {\varphi}_{xx} \right)\,dx \,dy \,dt
+ \iint_{{\mathbb{R}}^2} u_0(x,y) {\varphi}(x,y,0) \,dx \,dy= 0.$$
- $u = u(x,y,t)$ is continuous at $t=0$ as a function: $[0,T) \rightarrow L^1({\mathbb{R}}^2)$.
Since weak solutions are not uniquely determined by their initial data, one must impose an additional entropy condition to single out the physically relevant solution.
A weak solution $u$ of the initial value problem is called an entropy solution, if the following entropy inequality holds for all test functions $0 \le {\varphi}\in \mathcal{D}({\mathbb{R}}^2 \times (0,T))$: $$\label{eq:entropysol}
\begin{aligned}
&\iiint_{{\Pi_T}} {\left|u -\psi(x)\right|}{\varphi}_t +
{\mathrm{sign}}(u -\psi(x)) (f(u) -f(\psi(x))) {\varphi}_y \,dxdydt \\
&\qquad \ge \iiint_{{\Pi_T}} - {\left|u- \psi(x)\right|} {\varphi}_{xx} - {\mathrm{sign}}(u- \psi(x)) \psi_{xx} {\varphi}\,dxdydt.
\end{aligned}$$
Note that the above entropy condition is inspired by Kružkov’s entropy condition for scalar conservation laws. However, due to the presence of diffusion term $u_{xx}$ in , Kružkov’s entropy condition has to be modified in this case. This is done by introducing as entropy test functions all functions of the form ${\left|u -\psi(x)\right|}$ and $\psi$ smooth, while Kružkov’s definition asks for $\psi$ to be a constant.
Regarding the regularized problem , it is well known [@ez1] that for all ${\varepsilon}> 0$ this problem has a unique solution $$\begin{aligned}
u^{{\varepsilon}} \in C([0,T]; L^1({\mathbb{R}}^2)) \cap L^{\infty}({\Pi_T}).\end{aligned}$$ In fact, $$\begin{aligned}
u^{{\varepsilon}} \in C([0,T]; W^{2,p}({\mathbb{R}}^2)) \cap C^{1}([0,T]; L^{p}({\mathbb{R}}^2)),\end{aligned}$$ for all $1 < p < \infty$. In addition, $u^{{\varepsilon}}$ satisfies the following properties
- $\iint_{{\mathbb{R}}^2} u^{{\varepsilon}}(x,y,t) \,dxdy = \iint_{{\mathbb{R}}^2} u_0(x,y) \,dxdy$,
- $ \text{TV}\, (u^{{\varepsilon}}(\cdot,\cdot, t)) \le \text{TV}\, (u_0) $,
- $ {\left\|\partial_t u^{{\varepsilon}}(t)\right\|}_1 \le C [\text{TV}\, (u_0) + \text{TV}\, ((u_0)_x)]$.
Now we are in a position to state our main result, which is the following
Let $u$ be the unique entropy solution to and $u^{{\varepsilon}}$ be as defined by . Assume that $u_0 \in BV$, $f$ is Lipschitz continuous. Choose a constant $$M>\max_{{\left|u\right|}<{\left\|u_0\right\|}_{L^\infty({\mathbb{R}}^2)}} {\left|f'(u)\right|},$$ and another constant $L>MT$, where $T>0$. Then there exists a constant $C$, independent of ${\varepsilon}$, but depending on $f$, $L$, $T$ and $u_0$, such that $$\int_{{\mathbb{R}}}\int_{-L+Mt}^{L-Mt}{\left|u(t,x,y) - u^{{\varepsilon}}(t,x,y)\right|}\,dxdy \le C {\varepsilon}^{1/2}
\quad\text{for $t\le T$.}$$
Proof of the main theorem {#sec:proof}
=========================
The theorem will be proved by a “doubling of the variables” argument, which was introduced by Kruzhkov [@kr1; @kr2] in the context of hyperbolic conservation laws.
First, observe that from we have for any test function ${\varphi}$ with compact support in ${\mathbb{R}}\times {\mathbb{R}}\times (0,T)$ and $u = u(x,z,s)$, $$\begin{aligned}
&\iiint_{{\Pi_T}} {\left|u -\psi(x)\right|}{\varphi}_s +
{\mathrm{sign}}(u -\psi(x)) (f(u) -f(\psi(x))) {\varphi}_z \,dxdzds \\
&\qquad \ge \iiint_{{\Pi_T}} - {\left|u- \psi(x)\right|} {\varphi}_{xx} - {\mathrm{sign}}(u- \psi(x)) \psi_{xx} {\varphi}\,dxdzds.
\end{aligned}
\label{eq:main_1}$$ For the regularized equation , we start not with the entropy condition, but in the argument leading up to this condition. To do that, first define the regularized counterpart of the signum function as $${\mathrm{sign}}_\eta(\sigma) =
\begin{cases}
{\mathrm{sign}}(\sigma) & {\left|\sigma\right|}>\eta,\\
\sin\left(\frac{\pi\sigma}{2\eta}\right) &\text{otherwise,}
\end{cases}$$ where $\eta>0$ and the signum function is defined as $${\mathrm{sign}}(\sigma) =
\begin{cases}
-1 & \sigma<0,\\
0 & \sigma = 0,\\
1 & \sigma>0,
\end{cases}$$
Set $$\psi_\eta(u,\psi)=\int_{\psi}^{u} {\mathrm{sign}}_\eta (z-\psi)\,dz.$$ This is a convex entropy for all $\psi$. Set $u^{{\varepsilon}}=u^{{\varepsilon}}(x,y,t)$ and rewrite as $$u^{{\varepsilon}}_t + \left(f(u^{{\varepsilon}})-f(\psi)\right)_y = u^{{\varepsilon}}_{xx} + {\varepsilon}(u^{{\varepsilon}} -\psi(x))_{yy},$$ and multiply this with $(\psi_\eta)_u(u,\psi) \, {\varphi}$ where ${\varphi}$ is a test function with compact support in ${\mathbb{R}}\times {\mathbb{R}}\times (0,T)$. Observe that the solution $u^{{\varepsilon}}$ of is smooth. Hence after a partial integration, we arrive at $$\begin{aligned}
&\iiint_{{\Pi_T}} \psi_\eta(u^{{\varepsilon}},\psi) {\varphi}_t +
Q_{\eta} (u^{{\varepsilon}},\psi) {\varphi}_y \,dxdydt \\
&\qquad = \iiint_{{\Pi_T}} - {\mathrm{sign}}_\eta (u^{{\varepsilon}}- \psi) u^{{\varepsilon}}_{xx}{\varphi}- {\varepsilon}{\mathrm{sign}}_\eta (u^{{\varepsilon}}- \psi) (u^{{\varepsilon}} -\psi(x))_{yy} {\varphi}\,dxdydt,\end{aligned}$$ where we have used $Q'_{\eta}(u,\psi) = \psi'_\eta(u,\psi) f'(u)$. Next, taking limit as $\eta \rightarrow 0$, we end up with the parabolic equality $$\begin{aligned}
&\iiint_{{\Pi_T}} {\left|u^{{\varepsilon}} -\psi(x)\right|}{\varphi}_t +
{\mathrm{sign}}(u^{{\varepsilon}} -\psi(x)) (f(u^{{\varepsilon}}) -f(\psi(x))) {\varphi}_y \,dxdydt \\
&\qquad = \iiint_{{\Pi_T}} - {\mathrm{sign}}(u^{{\varepsilon}}- \psi(x)) u^{{\varepsilon}}_{xx} {\varphi}- {\varepsilon}\, {\mathrm{sign}}(u^{{\varepsilon}}- \psi(x)) (u^{{\varepsilon}} -\psi(x))_{yy} {\varphi}\,dxdydt, \\
& \qquad = \iiint_{{\Pi_T}} - {\mathrm{sign}}(u^{{\varepsilon}}- \psi(x)) u^{{\varepsilon}}_{xx} {\varphi}- {\varepsilon}\, {\left|u^{{\varepsilon}} -\psi(x)\right|}_{yy} {\varphi}\,dxdydt.
\end{aligned}
\label{eq:main_2}$$ At this point we are ready to use “doubling of the variables” device. First, using the entropy inequality for the solution $u=u(x,z,s)$ with $\psi(x)= u^{{\varepsilon}}(x,y,t)$, we get for $(y,t) \in {\mathbb{R}}\times (0,T)$ $$\begin{aligned}
&\iiint_{{\Pi_T}} {\left|u -u^{{\varepsilon}}\right|}{\varphi}_s +
{\mathrm{sign}}(u -u^{{\varepsilon}}) (f(u) -f(u^{{\varepsilon}})) {\varphi}_z \,dxdzds \\
&\qquad \ge \iiint_{{\Pi_T}} - {\left|u- u^{{\varepsilon}}\right|} {\varphi}_{xx} - {\mathrm{sign}}(u- u^{{\varepsilon}}) u^{{\varepsilon}}_{xx} {\varphi}\,dxdzds.
\end{aligned}
\label{eq:main_3}$$ Similarly, from the parabolic equality for the solution $u^{{\varepsilon}} = u^{{\varepsilon}}(x,y,t)$ with $\psi(x)= u(x,z,s)$, we get for $(z,s) \in {\mathbb{R}}\times (0,T)$ $$\begin{aligned}
&\iiint_{{\Pi_T}} {\left|u^{{\varepsilon}} -u\right|}{\varphi}_t +
{\mathrm{sign}}(u^{{\varepsilon}} -u) (f(u^{{\varepsilon}}) -f(u)) {\varphi}_y \,dxdydt \\
& \qquad = \iiint_{{\Pi_T}} - {\mathrm{sign}}(u^{{\varepsilon}}- u) u^{{\varepsilon}}_{xx} {\varphi}- {\varepsilon}\, {\left|u^{{\varepsilon}} -u\right|}_{yy} {\varphi}\,dxdydt.
\end{aligned}
\label{eq:main_4}$$ We now integrate over $(y,t) \in {\mathbb{R}}\times (0,T)$ and over $(z,s) \in {\mathbb{R}}\times (0,T)$. Addition of those two results yields $$\begin{aligned}
& \int\iiiint_{Q_T} {\left| u^{{\varepsilon}} -u \right|} ({\varphi}_t +{\varphi}_s) +
{\mathrm{sign}}( u^{{\varepsilon}} -u ) ( f(u^{{\varepsilon}}) -f(u)) ( {\varphi}_y + {\varphi}_z) \,dX \\
&\qquad \ge \int\iiiint_{Q_T} - {\left|u^{{\varepsilon}} - u\right|} {\varphi}_{xx} - {\varepsilon}\, {\left|u^{{\varepsilon}} -u\right|}_{yy} {\varphi}\,dX,\\
& \qquad := \int \iiiint_{Q_T} \mathcal{Q}_1 + \mathcal{Q}_2 \,dX,
\end{aligned}
\label{eq:main_5}$$ where $dX=dx\,dy\,dz\,dt\,ds$ and $Q_T = {\mathbb{R}}\times {\mathbb{R}}\times {\mathbb{R}}\times (0,T) \times (0,T)$.
Following Kruzkov and Kuznetsov [@kr1; @kr2] we now specify a nonnegative test function $ {\varphi}=
{\varphi}(x,y,t,z,s)$ defined in $Q_T$. To this end, let $\omega \in
C_{0}^{\infty} ({\mathbb{R}})$ be a function satisfying $$\mathrm{supp}(\omega) \subset [-1,1], \qquad
\omega(\sigma) \ge 0 , \qquad \int_{{\mathbb{R}}} \omega(\sigma)\, d\sigma = 1,$$ and define $\omega_r(x)=\omega(x/r)/r$. Next, let us choose $\phi \in C_c^{\infty} ({\mathbb{R}})$ such that $$\phi =
\begin{cases}
1, & {\left|x\right|}<1,\\ 0 & {\left|x\right|}\ge 2,
\end{cases}$$ and $ 0 \le \phi \le 1$ when $1 \le {\left|x\right|} \le 2$. Then we define $K_{\beta}(x) = \phi(x/\beta)$. We will let $\beta \rightarrow \infty$ later. Furthermore, let $h(z)$ be defined as $$h(z)=
\begin{cases}
0, &z<-1,\\ z+1 & z\in [-1,0],\\ 1 &z>0.
\end{cases}$$ and set $h_\alpha(z)=h(\alpha z)$. Let $\nu<\tau$ be two numbers in $(0,T)$, for any $\alpha> 0$ define $$\begin{gathered}
H_{\alpha}(t)= \int_{-\infty}^{t}
\omega_{\alpha}(\xi)\, d\xi, \\
\begin{aligned}
\Psi(y,t) &= \left(H_{\alpha_0} (t - \nu) - H_{\alpha_0} (t -
\tau)\right) \left(h_\alpha(y-L_l(t)) -
h_\alpha(y-L_r(t)-\frac{1}{\alpha})\right)\\
&=:{\chi^{\alpha_0}_{(\nu,\tau)}(t)}\,{\chi^\alpha_{(L_l,L_r)}(y,t)}
\end{aligned}
\end{gathered}$$ where the lines $L_{l,r}$ are given by $$L_l(t)=-L+Mt,\ L_r(t)=L-Mt$$ where $M$ and $L$ are positive numbers, $M$ will be specified below. With $0<r< \min{\left\{\nu, T - \tau\right\}}$ and $\alpha_0\in(0,\min{\left\{\nu-r,T-\tau-r\right\}})$ we set $$\label{eq:testfn}
{\varphi}(x,y,t,z,s)= K_{\beta}(x)\, \Psi(y,t)\,\omega_r(y-z)\,\omega_{r_0}(t-s).$$ We note that ${\varphi}$ has compact support and also that we have, $$\begin{aligned}
{\varphi}_t + {\varphi}_s &= K_{\beta}(x) \, \Psi_t(y,t)\,
\omega_r(y-z)\,\omega_{r_0}(t-s),\\
{\varphi}_y+{\varphi}_z&= K_{\beta}(x)\, \Psi_y(y,t)\, \omega_r(y-z)\,\omega_{r_0}(t-s).\end{aligned}$$ For the record, we note that $$\label{eq:Psider}
\begin{aligned}
\Psi_t(y,t)&=-\chi^{\alpha_0}_{(\nu,\tau)}(t) M
\left(h_\alpha'(y-L_l(t)) + h_\alpha'(y-L_r(t)-\frac{1}{\alpha})\right) \\
& \qquad +
\left(\omega_{\alpha_0}(t-\nu) - \omega_{\alpha_0}(t-\tau)\right)
\chi^\alpha_{(L_l,L_r)}(y,t),\\
\Psi_y(y,t) &= \chi^{\alpha_0}_{(\nu,\tau)}(t)
\left(h_\alpha'(y-L_l(t)) - h_\alpha'(y-L_r(t)-\frac{1}{\alpha})\right).
\end{aligned}$$ We shall let all the “small parameters” $ \alpha$, $\alpha_0$, $r$, $r_0$, ${\varepsilon}$ and ${{\Delta x}}$ be sufficiently small and the “large parameter” $\beta$ be sufficiently big, but fixed.
Starting the first term on the left of , we write $$\begin{aligned}
\int_{Q_T} & {\left|u^{{\varepsilon}}-u\right|} \left({\varphi}_s +{\varphi}_t\right)\,dX \le
\underbrace{\int_{{\Pi_T}} {\left|u^{{\varepsilon}}(x,y,t)-u(x,y,t)\right|} K_{\beta}(x)\Psi_t \,dxdydt}_\delta \\
&\quad + \underbrace{\int_{{\Pi_T}}\int_{{\mathbb{R}}} {\left|u(x,y,t)-u(x,y,s)\right|} K_{\beta}(x) {\left|\Psi_t(x,t)\right|}
\omega_{r_0}(t-s) \,dxdydsdt}_{\beta} \\
&\quad + \underbrace{\int_{Q_T} {\left|u(x,y,s)-u(x,z,s)\right|} K_{\beta}(x) {\left|\Psi_t(x,t)\right|}
\omega_{r_0}(t-s)\,\omega_r(x-y)\, dX}_\gamma . \end{aligned}$$ Following [@uk1], it is easy to find that $$\beta+\gamma \le C\left(r_0+r\right).\label{eq:betagamma}$$ To continue the estimate with the first term on the left of , we split $\delta$ as follows $$\begin{aligned}
\delta &= -\iiint_{{\Pi_T}} \chi_{(\nu,\tau)}^{\alpha_0}(t) M
\left(h'_\alpha(y-L_l(t)) + h'_\alpha(y-L_r(t)-\frac{1}{\alpha})\right) \\
& \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad K_{\beta}(x) {\left|u^{{\varepsilon}}(x,y,t)-u(x,y,t)\right|} \, dxdydt \\
&\quad \quad + \iiint_{{\Pi_T}} \chi^\alpha_{(L_l,L_r)}(y,t)
{\left|u^{{\varepsilon}}(x,y,t)-u(x,y,t)\right|} \\
& \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad K_{\beta}(x)
\left(\omega_{\alpha_0}(t-\nu)-\omega_{\alpha_0}(t-\tau)\right) \,dxdydt, \\
& := \delta_1 + \delta_2.\end{aligned}$$ The term $\delta_1$ will be balanced against the first order derivative term on the left hand side of . To estimate $\delta_2$ we set $e(x,y,t)={\left|u^{{\varepsilon}}(x,y,t)-u(x,y,t)\right|}$ and following [@uk1], we find $$\label{eq:delta2est}
\begin{aligned}
\delta_2 &\le \iint \chi^\alpha_{(L_l,L_r)}(y,\nu) K_{\beta}(x) {\left|u^{{\varepsilon}}(x,y,\nu)-u(x,y,\nu)\right|}
\,dxdy \\ & \qquad - \iint \chi^\alpha_{(L_l,L_r)}(y,\tau) K_{\beta}(x)
{\left|u^{{\varepsilon}}(x,y,\tau)-u(x,y,\tau)\right|} \,dxdy +
C\alpha_0.
\end{aligned}$$ Now we rewrite the “first derivative term” on the left hand side of . Doing this, we get $$\begin{aligned}
\int_{Q_T} & K_{\beta}(x) {\mathrm{sign}}(u^{{\varepsilon}} -u)
\left(f(u^{{\varepsilon}})-f(u)\right)
\left({\varphi}_y+{\varphi}_z\right) \,dX \\ &=
\int_{Q_T} K_{\beta}(x) \operatorname*{sg}(x,y,z,t,s)\left(f(u^{{\varepsilon}}(x,y,t))-f(u(x,y,t))\right) \\
& \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \Psi_y(y,t)\,\omega_r(y-z)\, \omega_{r_0}(t-s)\,dX\\
&\quad \quad +
\int_{Q_T} K_{\beta}(x) \operatorname*{sg}(x,y,z,t,s)\left(f(u(x,y,t))-f(u(x,z,s))\right) \\
& \qquad \qquad \qquad \qquad \Psi_y(y,t)\,
\omega_r(y-z)\,\omega_{r_0}(t-s)\,dX \\
&=:\delta_3 + \delta_4,\end{aligned}$$ where we have set $\operatorname*{sg}(x,y,z,t,s)={\mathrm{sign}}(u^{{\varepsilon}}(x,y,t)- u(x,z,s))$. We proceed as follows $$\begin{aligned}
{\left|\delta_4\right|} \le \int_{Q_T} &{\left|f(u(x,y,t))-f(u(x,z,s))\right|}
\chi^{\alpha_0}_{(\nu,\tau)}(t) K_{\beta}(x) \\
&\qquad \omega_{r_0}(t-s)\,\omega_r(y-z)
\left(
h'_\alpha(y-L_l(t)) + h'_\alpha(y-L_r(t)-\frac{1}{\alpha})\right) \,dX.\end{aligned}$$ We follow [@uk1] to estimate each of these two terms to conclude $$\label{eq:delta4bnd}
{\left|\delta_4\right|} \le C\left(r_0+r\right).$$ Again, choosing $M$ larger than the Lipschitz norm of $f$ implies that $$\label{eq:dl1dl2bnd}
\delta_1+\delta_3\le 0.$$
Collecting all the terms we see that $$\label{eq:estimate-middle}
\begin{aligned}
\iint K_{\beta}(x) \chi^\alpha_{(L_l,L_r)}&(y,\tau) {\left|u^{{\varepsilon}}(x,y,\tau)-u(x,y,\tau)\right|}
\,dxdy \\
&\le \iint K_{\beta}(x) \chi^\alpha_{(L_l,L_r)}(y,\nu)
{\left|u^{{\varepsilon}}(x,y,\nu)-u(x,y,\nu)\right|} \,dxdy\\
&\qquad + C\left(r_0+ r +
\alpha_0 + \alpha\right) + \biggl|{\int_{Q_T} \mathcal{Q}_1 + \mathcal{Q}_2 \, dX }\biggr|.
\end{aligned}$$ In order to estimate $\mathcal{Q}_1$ and $\mathcal{Q}_2$, we proceed as follows $$\begin{aligned}
{\left|\int_{Q_T}\mathcal{Q}_1\right|} \,dX & = \int_{Q_T} {\left|u^{{\varepsilon}} - u\right|}{\varphi}_{xx} \,dX \\
& = \int_{Q_T} {\left|u^{{\varepsilon}} - u\right|} K_{\beta}''(x) \Psi(y,t)\,\omega_r(y-z)\,\omega_{r_0}(t-s) \,dX \\
& \le {\left\|u^{{\varepsilon}} +u\right\|}_{L^{\infty}} \int_{Q_T} \frac{1}{\beta^2} \phi''(\frac{x}{\beta}) \Psi(y,t)\,\omega_r(y-z)\,\omega_{r_0}(t-s) \,dX \\
& \le \frac{C}{\beta^2} \iiint \phi''(\frac{x}{\beta}) {\chi^{\alpha_0}_{(\nu,\tau)}(t)}\,{\chi^\alpha_{(L_l,L_r)}(y,t)} \,dxdydt \\
& \le \frac{CK}{\beta \alpha},\end{aligned}$$ where $K := \int_{{\mathbb{R}}} {\left|\phi''(y)\right|} \,dy$.
Next, $$\begin{aligned}
& {\left|\int_{Q_T}\mathcal{Q}_2\right|} \,dX = {\varepsilon}\int_{Q_T} {\left|u^{{\varepsilon}} - u\right|}_y {\varphi}_{y} \,dX \\
& = {\varepsilon}\int_{Q_T} {\mathrm{sign}}({u^{{\varepsilon}} - u}) (u^{{\varepsilon}})_y K_{\beta}(x)\, \Psi_y(y,t)\,\omega_r(y-z)\,\omega_{r_0}(t-s) \\
& + {\varepsilon}\int_{Q_T} {\mathrm{sign}}({u^{{\varepsilon}} - u}) (u^{{\varepsilon}})_y K_{\beta}(x)\, \Psi(y,t)\,\omega_r'(y-z)\,\omega_{r_0}(t-s) \,dX \\
& := \mathcal{Q}_{2,1} + \mathcal{Q}_{2,2}.\end{aligned}$$ Each of the above terms can be approximated as follows $$\begin{aligned}
& {\left|\int_{Q_T}\mathcal{Q}_{2,1}\right|} \,dX = {\varepsilon}\int_{Q_T} {\mathrm{sign}}({u^{{\varepsilon}} - u}) (u^{{\varepsilon}})_y K_{\beta}(x)\,\Psi_y(y,t)\,\omega_r(y-z)\,\omega_{r_0}(t-s) \,dX \\
& \le {\varepsilon}K \int_{{\Pi_T}}(u^{{\varepsilon}})_y (x,y,t) \chi^{\alpha_0}_{(\nu,\tau)}(t)
\left(h_\alpha'(y-L_l(t)) - h_\alpha'(y-L_r(t)-\frac{1}{\alpha})\right) \,dxdydt \\
& \le K {\varepsilon}\alpha \iint {\left|u^{{\varepsilon}}_x\right|} \,dxdy \\
& \le C K \alpha {\varepsilon},\end{aligned}$$ where $K = {\left\|K_{\beta}\right\|}_{\infty}$ and $C = \text{TV}\, (u^{{\varepsilon}})$. Similarly for the other term $$\begin{aligned}
{\left|\int_{Q_T}\mathcal{Q}_{2,2}\right|} \,dX & = {\varepsilon}\int_{Q_T} {\mathrm{sign}}({u^{{\varepsilon}} - u}) (u^{{\varepsilon}})_y K_{\beta}(x)\, \Psi(y,t)\,\omega_r'(y-z)\,\omega_{r_0}(t-s) \,dX \\
& \qquad \le \frac{K {\varepsilon}}{r} \int_{{\Pi_T}}(u^{{\varepsilon}})_y (x,y,t) {\chi^{\alpha_0}_{(\nu,\tau)}(t)}\,{\chi^\alpha_{(L_l,L_r)}(y,t)}\,dxdydt \\
& \qquad \le C K \frac{{\varepsilon}}{r},\end{aligned}$$ where again $K = {\left\|K_{\beta}\right\|}_{\infty}$ and $C = \text{TV}\, (u^{{\varepsilon}})$.
Therefore $$\label{eq:qsum}
{\left|\int_{{\Pi_T}^2} \mathcal{Q}_1 + \mathcal{Q}_2 \,dX \right|} \le
C {\varepsilon}+ \frac{C}{\beta \alpha } + \frac{C {\varepsilon}}{r} .$$ where $C$ depends on (among other things) $L$ and $T$, but not on the parameters $\alpha_0$, $\alpha$, $r_0$, $r$, $\beta$ or ${\varepsilon}$.
Now we have proved the follwoing Lemma:
\[lem:estimates\] Assume that $u$ and $u^{{\varepsilon}}$ take values in the interval $[-K,K]$ for some positive $K$. Let $M>\max_{v\in
[-K,K]} {\left|f'(v)\right|}$. Then if $T\ge\tau>\nu\ge 0$ and $L-M \tau >0$, we have $$\label{eq:estimates}
\begin{aligned}
\int_{{\mathbb{R}}}\int_{-L+M\tau}^{L-M\tau} &{\left|u^{{\varepsilon}}(x,y,\tau)-u(x,y,\tau)\right|}\,dxdy \\&\le
\int_{{\mathbb{R}}^2} {\left|u^{{\varepsilon}}(x,y,\nu)-u(x,y,\nu)\right|} \,dxdy\\
&\quad + C\biggl[
r_0 + r +\alpha + {\varepsilon}+ \frac{1}{\alpha \beta} + \frac{{\varepsilon}}{r}\biggr].
\end{aligned}$$
This follows from and , observing that we can send $\alpha_0$ to zero. Now we let $u(x,y,t)$ be the unique entropy solution of . Also note that since we let $\beta$ tends to $\infty$ so $ \gamma = \frac{1}{\beta}$ is small. We set $\alpha=r=r_0$ and ${\varepsilon}= \gamma$, and assume that $\alpha$ is sufficiently small, then $$\label{eq:vudx-estimate}
\int_{{\mathbb{R}}}\int_{-L+Mt}^{L-Mt} {\left|{u_{{{\Delta x}}}}(x,t)-v(x,t)\right|}\,dx \,dy\le
C\left(\alpha+\frac{{\varepsilon}}{\alpha}\right),$$ for some constant $C$ which is independent of the small parameters $\alpha$, ${\varepsilon}$. This follows from . Then setting ${\varepsilon}=\alpha^2$ proves the main theorem.
Acknowledgments {#acknowledgments .unnumbered}
===============
The second author acknowledges support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, through a Humboldt Research Fellowship for postdoctoral researchers.
[99]{}
M. Escobedo, J. L. Vazquez, and E. Zuazua, Entropy solutions for diffusion-convection equations with partial diffusivity. , 343(2):829–842, 1994.
K. H. Karlsen, U. Koley, and N. H. Risebro, An error estimate for the finite difference approximation to degenerate convection-diffusion equations.
S. N. Kru[ž]{}kov, First order quasilinear equations with several independent variables. , 81 (123):228–255, 1970.
N. N. Kuznetsov, The accuracy of certain approximate methods for the computation of weak solutions of a first order quasilinear equation. , 16(6):1489–1502, 1627, 1976.
Received xxxx 20xx; revised xxxx 20xx.
|
###### Strengths and limitations of this study
- Provides insight into the surgical capacity of Somalia.
- Identifies significant gaps and areas for improvement towards evidence-based planning to improve surgical infrastructure, skills training and equipment and supplies.
- Does not capture data from every first-referral health facility of the country.
- In some cases, measures captured are estimates.
Introduction {#s1}
============
Conditions that can be treated with surgery account for 11% of the world's disability-adjusted life years.[@R1] Despite recent data estimating the global volume of surgery at 234 million surgical procedures annually and significant disparities between procedures performed in high-income and low-income countries, global public health initiatives have traditionally neglected the necessity for the provision of surgical services.[@R2] Poor access to surgical services, particularly at rural facilities, results in excess morbidity and mortality from a broad range of treatable surgical conditions including injuries, complications of pregnancy, sequelae of infectious diseases, acute abdominal conditions and congenital abnormalities. Improving access to surgical services in low-income countries requires addressing gaps in infrastructure, training and skills of personnel, appropriate equipment and medications.
Background {#s1a}
----------
Somalia's 21 years of war, armed conflict and insecurity have had a devastating effect on the health sector. The current situation is at its worst since the beginning of the civil war in 1991, with unprecedented levels of child malnutrition and internal displacement, as well as conflict and insecurity rife in parts of the country.[@R3] Continuing conflict has left 90% of health infrastructure looted, damaged or destroyed.[@R4] The low health workforce ratios before the war have depreciated through high levels of healthcare worker emigration, leaving an estimated 3 physicians per 100 000 population (total 253 physicians), 11 nurses per 100 000 population (861 nurses) and 2 midwives per 100 000 population (116 midwives) serving the whole country.[@R5]
Rates of death and disability from treatable surgical conditions continue to be unacceptably high. Somalia's maternal mortality rate is estimated to be 1044 per 100 000 live-births, one of the highest in the region.[@R6] This corresponds to a lifetime risk of one maternal death for every 10 women. The leading causes of maternal death (antepartum and postpartum haemorrhage, obstructed labour and eclampsia) can all be addressed with appropriate emergency obstetric care, which often require surgical and anaesthetic interventions. Trauma, as a consequence of road traffic accidents, armed fighting and landmine explosions, is also common. In 2010 and 2011, WHO reported more than 7500 war-wounded civilians who were admitted to the three main hospitals in Mogadishu, one in five being children and one in three women (WHO. Emergency and Essential Surgical Care. 2013. <http://www.who.int/surgery/en/>).
The health sector faces overwhelming challenges in a country where two decades of lawlessness have resulted in the collapse of central government and three almost autonomously ruled zones: northwest Somalia (NWS), known as Somaliland; northeast Somalia (NES), known as Puntland; and south/central Somalia (SCS). Somalia's public health system is tiered, comprising regional referral hospitals, district hospitals, maternal and child health centres and health posts. However, hospitals and health facilities are limited in number, inadequately distributed, operate using vastly different standards and often cannot provide a minimum package of primary healthcare (PHC) services. As funders and public health experts adopt the expansion of primary healthcare services, the inclusion of surgical services at the first-referral level is critical. The purpose of this survey was to collect knowledge gained from comprehensive quantitative assessments of surgical capacity in Somalia in order to assist in planning strategies for universal access to life-saving and disability-preventing surgical services (WHO. Emergency and Essential Surgical Care. 2013. <http://www.who.int/surgery/en/>).
Similar studies using the WHO Situational Analysis tool have been conducted in Tanzania,[@R7] Solomon Islands,[@R8] Gambia,[@R9] Liberia,[@R10] Ghana,[@R11] Afghanistan,[@R12] Sri Lanka,[@R13] Sierra Leone[@R14] and Mongolia.[@R15]
Objective {#s2}
=========
The objective of this study was to assess life-saving and disability-preventing surgical services (including emergency, trauma, obstetrics, anaesthesia) of health facilities in Somalia and to assist in the planning of strategies for strengthening surgical care systems.
The aim of the study was also to assess the current capacity for essential anaesthesia and surgical services in Somalia with the purpose of providing a benchmark for critical areas needing improvement.
Methods {#s3}
=======
The WHO Tool for Situational Analysis to Assess Emergency and Essential Surgical Care (EESC) was employed to capture a health facility\'s capacity to perform basic surgical (including obstetrics and trauma) and anaesthesia interventions by investigating four categories of data: infrastructure, human resources, interventions provided and equipment availability. The tool queries the availability of eight types of care providers, 35 surgical interventions and 67 items of equipment.[@R7] The answer 'available' was defined as 'fully available for all patients all of the time', while 'sometimes' was defined as 'available with frequent shortages or difficulties' (WHO EESC Situational Analysis Tool, 2012, <http://www.who.int/surgery/publications/WHO_EESC_SituationAnalysisTool.pdf>).
Facilities were also asked the size of the 'population served', intending to quantify the population living in the catchment area. This value represents the number of residents who might use the facility as their first-referral health facility, not the number of patients seen.
The WHO Tool for Situational Analysis to Assess EESC was distributed by the Ministry of Health and WHO Somalia to 20 first-referral level health facilities around the country and was completed at 14 health facilities representing 10 of the 18 regions of Somalia and all three administrative zones. The survey was extended to regional medical officers and facility administrators. Participation in the survey and reporting to the WHO was voluntary. The physical surveys were then obtained either by post directly to the WHO Somalia office (Nairobi, Kenya) or by site visits from the Somalia Ministry of Health (MoH), the WHO country office and members of the Global Initiative for EESC (GIEESC) between September 2011 and April 2012.
Despite efforts to standardise the reporting and collection of much of the data by site visits performed by agents affiliated to the authors, it must be noted that an inherent reporting bias may be present in the data, given that survey data were compiled by different agents at each site. Furthermore, in a limited number of cases, facilities did not respond to individual questions. Blank answers were considered as neither a positive or negative answer, but simply deemed as unreported.
The collected data were then entered into and analysed from WHO Global DataCol Database for EESC.
Results {#s4}
=======
Data were gathered from 14 health facilities in 10 regions (of 18) across Somalia, as featured in [figure 1](#BMJOPEN2013004360F1){ref-type="fig"} and [table 1](#BMJOPEN2013004360TB1){ref-type="table"}. The six facilities that received the survey but did not return information are also listed in [table 1](#BMJOPEN2013004360TB1){ref-type="table"}. Non-reporting can be attributed to lack of consistent operation, inability to gather data, and pervasive political instability and high-security risk throughout the country, making the transmission of this data difficult and costly.
######
Surveyed health facilities (N=14)
Type of facility (self-identified) Name of facility Region Number of beds Operating theatres
------------------------------------- ------------------------- ----------------- ---------------- --------------------
General hospital Garowe Hospital Nugaal 51--80 11--20
Gardo General Hospital Bari 21--50 1
Hergeisa Group Hospital Woqooyi Galbeed 301--400 5--10
Provincial hospital Borama General Hospital Awdal 201--300 1
Burao Regional Hospital Togdeer 201--300 1
Berbera Referral Hospital Woqooyi Galbeed 101--200 2
Erigavo Regional Hospital Sanaag 81--100 1
Sool Regional Hospital Sool 81--100 1
Health centre Doolow Health Centre Gedo 5--10 1
Private/NGO/mission hospital Galkayo Medical Centre Mudug 51--80 3--4
Galkayo Specialist Hospital Mudug 3--4 1
Medina Hospital Banadir 201--300 5--10
Maani Hospital Banadir 21--50 1
Manhal Specialty Hospital Woqooyi Galbeed 51--80 5--10
Facilities not responding to survey Shikh Hospital Woqooyi Galbeed NA NA
Puntland Regional Hospital Bossaso NA NA
General Medical Service Hospital Mudug NA NA
Wajed Hospital Bakool NA NA
Dinsor Hospital Bakool NA NA
Sama Hospital Bay NA NA
NA, not available.
{#BMJOPEN2013004360F1}
Health facility characteristics {#s4a}
-------------------------------
Of the 14 facilities that responded to the survey, 5 were provincial hospitals, 5 were private/mission/NGO hospitals, 3 were general hospitals and 1 was a health centre. Each facility reported having at least 1 operating theatre, with a maximum of 11--20 operating theatres. The populations served by each facility ranged from 100 000 to 1 000 000 people, with the average population of the reporting facilities at 331 250 people.
Infrastructure {#s4b}
--------------
The emergency and surgical infrastructure of the 14 reporting facilities were largely inadequate, with only 22% of the health facilities having oxygen cylinder supplies consistently available. 28% of the facilities never or only sometimes had access to running water and only 50% had a consistently available electricity source. Only 50% of the facilities had fully available access to running water and electricity. Access to a functional anaesthesia machine was only present in 2 (15%) facilities, one of those facilities being a local health centre. Only three facilities reported access to a functioning pulse-oximeter.
Fifty per cent of the facilities had permanent areas designated for emergency care and only 38% of the facilities had the same for postoperative care.
A minority of facilities had formal management guidelines for emergency care (3/14=21%), surgery (5/14=36%), anaesthesia (4/14=29%) or pain relief (1/14=7%).
[Table 2](#BMJOPEN2013004360TB2){ref-type="table"} depicts the key infrastructural elements available in the health facilities assessed.
######
Availability of infrastructure and health resources in Somalia, 2012 (N=14)
Always Sometimes Not available
-------------------------------------------- -------- ----------- ---------------
Oxygen cylinder 3 1 10
Running water 10 2 2
Electricity source 7 5 2
Operational power generator 2 2 9
Blood bank 5 3 6
Haemoglobin and urine testing 12 2 0
X-ray machine 8 4 2
Medical records 10 3 1
*Pulse oximeter* 3 0 8
*Area designated for emergency care* 5 1 7
*Area designated for postoperative care* 5 1 7
*Management guidelines for emergency care* 3 1 10
*Management guidelines for surgery* 5 0 9
*Management guidelines for anaesthesia* 4 1 9
*Management guidelines for pain relief* 1 3 10
*Functioning anaesthesia machine* 7 5 2
Number of facilities where element is always, sometimes or never available. Italicised items designate those that are specific to quality surgical care delivery (N=14).
Human resources {#s4c}
---------------
More data are needed to comment on human resources within healthcare in Somalia. In this section of the survey, blank answers to staffing questions impeded our ability to comment on the state of the workforce completely. We did, however, summarise the results of the survey questions to which all or a majority of facilities supplied data.
The 14 facilities together reported a total of 137 healthcare providers. Only 15 (11%) individuals were identified as full-time trained surgical specialists, located only at 9 of 14 of the facilities. A total of 14 (11%) were identified as obstetricians, and only 4 (3%) individuals were identified as qualified anaesthesiologists and were located in only 3 of the 14 facilities, with 27 (20%) unlicensed medical staff (nurses, medical assistants, etc) providing anaesthetic services.
Interventions {#s4d}
-------------
Of the 35 interventions queried, only abscess incision and drainage were offered at all 14 facilities. Acute burn management, wound debridement, hydrocoele treatment and male circumcision were widely provided by the surveyed facilities, being offered at 85--86% of all facilities. Caesarean section was offered at 93% of all facilities.
Provision of anaesthesia services was severely lacking, however, with only 36% of facilities able to perform general anaesthesia inhalational procedures. Of the eight facilities that answered why they could not provide this service, one (Doolow Health Center) attributed it to lack of skill and four (Borama General Hospital, Doolow Health Center, Erigavo Regional Hospital, Burao Regional Hospital) to lack of supplies or drugs. One facility (Gardo General Hospital) attributed it to lack of skill and lack of equipment.
The ability of each health facility to provide basic surgical and anaesthesia procedures was assessed ([tables 3](#BMJOPEN2013004360TB3){ref-type="table"} and [4](#BMJOPEN2013004360TB4){ref-type="table"}).
######
Availability of surgical (including obstetrics and trauma) interventions
General surgery and trauma Available
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- ------
Resuscitation (airway, haemorrhage, peripheral percutaneous intravenous access, peripheral venous cut down) 11
Cricothyroidotomy/tracheostomy 10
Chest tube insertion 9
Removal of foreign body (throat/ear/eye/nose) 11
Acute burn management 12
Incision and drainage of abscess 14
Suturing (for wounds, episiotomy, cervical and vaginal lacerations) 13
Wound debridement 11
Caesarean section 13
Dilation and curettage (gynaecology/obstetrics) 12
Obstetric fistula repair 7
Appendicectomy 11
Hernia repair (strangulated, elective) 10
Hydrocoele 12
Cystostomy 9
Urethral stricture dilation 11
Laparotomy (uterine rupture, ectopic pregnancy, acute abdomen, intestinal obstruction, perforation, injuries) 12
Male circumcision 12
Congenital hernia repair 9
Neonatal surgery (abdominal wall defect, colostomy imperforate anus, intussusceptions) 5
Cleft lip repair 10
Clubfoot repair 9
Contracture release/ skin grafting 10
Fracture treatment Closed Open
10 8
Joint dislocation treatment 9
Drainage of osteomyelitis/septic arthritis 9
Amputation 11
Biopsy (lymph node, mass, other) 8
Tubal ligation/vasectomy 9
Cataract surgery 4
Number of facilities at which the procedure is available (N=14).
######
Availability of anaesthesia interventions
Anaesthesia
---------------------------------- ----
Regional anaesthesia blocks 6
Spinal anaesthesia 13
Ketamine intravenous anaesthesia 13
General anaesthesia inhalational 5
Number of facilities at which the procedure is available (N=14).
Emergency equipment and supplies for resuscitation {#s4e}
--------------------------------------------------
Basic equipment access was also lacking. No facility had access to all basic and essential surgical equipment listed by the tool. Only one hospital always had adult resuscitator bag valves and masks available, and only 2 of 14 facilities reported the same for paediatric bag valves and masks. Sixty-four per cent of the facilities had access to oxygen only sometimes or never, and less than 30% had oropharyngeal airways always available for adults and children. Thirty-nine per cent of institutions were without an examination table.
Basic equipment such as suction catheters, intravenous cannulas and Foley catheters were consistently available in less than 30% of all facilities.
Fifty-seven per cent of the facilities did not have sterile gloves consistently available, and 64% reported the same for examination gloves. Only 64% of the reporting institutions had a steriliser available all the time. Seventy-one per cent did not have face masks available, and 86% were without consistent availability of eye protection. Availability of soap and wash basins was reported in less than two-thirds of the 14 facilities.
The availability of emergency equipment and supplies for resuscitation was assessed in each of the health facilities (depicted in [tables 5](#BMJOPEN2013004360TB5){ref-type="table"}[](#BMJOPEN2013004360TB6){ref-type="table"}--[7](#BMJOPEN2013004360TB7){ref-type="table"}).
######
Availability of capital outlays for resuscitation
Capital outlays Always Sometimes Never
-------------------------------------------------- -------- ----------- -------
Resuscitator bag valve and mask
Adult 1 7 6
Paediatric 2 5 7
Oxygen 5 4 5
Stethoscope 9 3 0
Batteries for flash light 8 2 4
Suction pump 11 3 0
Blood pressure monitoring equipment 10 3 1
Thermometer 10 3 1
Scalpel handle with blade 9 4 1
Retractor 7 6 0
Scissors straight 12 cm 8 5 1
Scissors blunt 14 cm 7 6 0
Oropharyngeal airway
Adult 4 6 4
Paediatric 4 5 5
Forceps Kocher no teeth 5 7 1
Forceps, artery 8 6 0
Kidney dishes stainless steel 6 6 1
Capped bottle, alcohol-based solutions 2 5 3
Gloves (sterile) 6 7 1
Gloves (examination) 5 8 1
Needle holder 9 5 0
Steriliser 9 5 0
Nail brush, scrubbing surgeon\'s 7 5 1
Vaginal speculum 9 2 3
Bucket, plastic 4 4 4
Drum for sterile compresses, bandages, dressings 8 4 1
Examination table 8 4 1
Number of facilities where element is always, sometimes or never available (N=14).
######
Availability of renewable supplies for resuscitation
Renewable
------------------------------------------------------------- --- ---- ---
Suction catheter sizes 16 FG 2 5 6
Tongue depressor wooden disposable 3 7 3
Nasogastric tubes 10--16 FG 2 10 2
Light source (lamp and flash light) 4 9 1
Intravenous fluid infusion set 3 9 2
Intravenous cannulas 4 8 2
Scalp vein infusion set 3 7 3
Syringes 2 mL 4 9 1
Syringes 10 mL 4 10 0
Disposable needles 5 8 1
Sharps disposal container 5 8 1
Tourniquet 4 8 1
Sterile gauze dressing 3 8 2
Bandages sterile 3 7 3
Adhesive tape 3 9 1
Needles, cutting and round bodied (for suturing) 4 8 2
Suture synthetic absorbable 4 6 3
Splints for arm, leg 2 8 4
Towel cloth 2 8 3
Absorbent cotton wool 2 10 1
Urinary catheter Foleys disposable \#12, 14 and 18 with bag 3 7 3
Sheeting, plastic for examination table 4 7 3
Waste disposal container 4 8 2
Face masks 4 8 2
Eye protection 2 5 7
Apron, plastic reusable 3 9 2
Soap 5 9 0
Wash basin 4 8 1
Number of facilities where element is always, sometimes or never available (N=14).
######
Availability of supplementary equipment for resuscitation
Supplementary equipment
--------------------------------- --- --- ----
Magills forceps
Adult 3 2 9
Paediatric 1 2 10
Endotracheal tubes 1 2 10
Intravenous infusor bags 1 2 10
Chest tubes insertion equipment 1 3 9
Laryngoscope
Adult 3 3 7
Paediatric 1 3 9
Cricothyroidotomy set 1 1 11
Number of facilities where element is always, sometimes or never available (N=14).
Limitations {#s5}
===========
There are several limitations to this survey. It provides only a brief overview of the capacity for surgical care and cannot be used for detailed programme planning. Although not every first-referral health facility in Somalia was surveyed, the majority identified by the MoH and WHO Somalia did reply and this allows a credible insight into the surgical capacity of the country.
Some of the data was taken after the WHO IMEESC toolkit was implemented in the country, and results should be qualified by the possibility of interpretation constraints of the survey.
Discussion {#s6}
==========
Surgically treatable diseases are among the top 15 causes of disability,[@R16] and conservative estimates show that 11% of the world\'s disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) stem from surgically treatable conditions.[@R1] In 2004, South East Asia and Africa accounted for 54% of the global burden,[@R17] and since then the burden of surgical disease is thought to be increasing.[@R16]
More than two billion people globally are without access to surgical care.[@R18] Of the 243 million surgical procedures performed globally each year, 34.8% of the world\'s population living in low-income countries only has access to 8.1 million (3.5%) of such procedures.[@R2] As a result, rates of maternal mortality are high, minor surgical pathologies become lethal and treatable trauma progresses to death.
Despite the great, unmet need and inclusion in policy-level dialogue on primary healthcare, the delivery of emergency surgical care has long been sidelined in global financing and policy debates, largely due to perceived complexity and cost. Human resources, metrics and science focused on global surgery, and sustained financing mechanisms for surgical infrastructure lag behind other public health priorities, despite the growing need for access to surgical care.[@R19]
Enormous shortfalls in infrastructure, supplies and procedures undertaken are common at district-level health facilities in LMICs.[@R20] Every \$1 spent strengthening local surgical capacity generates \$10 through improved health and increased productivity.[@R21] In 2008, the Copenhagen Consensus Center\'s research identified strengthening surgical capacity, particularly at the district hospital level, as a highly cost-efficient solution to global diseases. Notably, strengthening local surgical capacity is an approach that would provide a high degree of financial protection to populations and address the DALYs in a cost-effective manner.[@R1] In fact, the benefit--cost ratio for expansion of surgical capacity at district hospitals was found to be 10:1.[@R22] Furthermore, due to the implementation of 'vertical' programmes in public health (ie, child health, maternal health, cancer and trauma), in which most programmes contain some surgical component, strengthening surgical services may improve the health system overall.[@R23]
This study provides an overview of the capacity for surgical care representing health facilities in all three administrative zones of Somalia, including 10 of the 18 regions and demonstrates the significant gaps in infrastructure, life-saving and disability-preventing surgical interventions and essential equipment. Of the 14 reporting health facilities, 12 identified as full hospitals, serving an average patient population of over 300 000 people, further indicating the need for surgical care system strengthening.
Of the 35 basic surgical and anaesthesia interventions queried, most hospitals were unable to provide all of the basic surgical services. Major essential procedures such as caesarean section, appendicectomy, elective hernia and hydrocoele repair and laparotomy were offered at a majority of hospitals, but this conflicted directly with the continuous availability of basic and necessary supplies and infrastructures. Only three facilities had consistent access to oxygen cylinders, and even less reported access to tubing, valves and masks.
Necessary procedures including resuscitation and airway management were offered at a majority (79%) of the facilities. Facilities that weren\'t able to provide resuscitation, however, all reported provision of major surgical procedures. Such surgical procedures require provision and knowledge of resuscitation in order to be carried out safely. The facilities in question could not be contacted for confirmation.
Many facilities lacked access to key elements such as provisional oxygen equipment, oropharyngeal airways and intravenous cannulas. Only two facilities reported access to functional anaesthesia machines, and few facilities noted the ability to provide general anaesthesia inhalation. Oxygen and anaesthesia are essential medicines, (WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, WHO, 2013. <http://www.who.int/medicines/publications/essentialmedicines/18th_EML_Final_web_8Jul13.pdf>) and the existing deficit limits the safety and efficacy of life-saving surgeries in Somalia. It can also result in significant complications or patient suffering when these medicines are not available.[@R24]
A surprisingly low number of facilities reported having access to equipment necessary for prevention of HIV transmission and other infection control. Less than half of the facilities reported access to sterile gloves, waste disposal containers, face masks, eye masks, aprons and even soap, all key components in the reduction of HIV transmission (WHO Prevention of Transmission of HIV, 2007, <http://www.who.int/surgery/publications/HIVprevention.pdf>)
A majority of the facilities lacked any formal guidelines for the management of emergency care, surgery, pain relief or anaesthesia, providing a significant barrier to the strengthening of emergency and surgical care services and severely limiting their ability to respond to large-scale disaster and crisis situations.
The severe gaps in infrastructure and capital are also obstacles for the delivery of basic primary care in these facilities. Absence of key infrastructural elements such as water, electricity, and oxygen was common in the surveyed facilities. Lack of sterilisation tools and supplies for infection prevention was also a common feature. Establishing management guidelines for surgical infrastructure and targeting strategies to address the aforementioned lacks in infrastructure is a priority. This would not only increase the quality of surgical services, but also that of basic primary care services offered by these facilities.
Strengthening of surgical systems will reduce the disease burden of surgically related issues and increase progress towards achieving the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Strengthening surgical care delivery can help achieve MDGs 1 (eradication of poverty),[@R18] 4 (child health), 5 (maternal health) and 6 (HIV/AIDS prevention).[@R22] Investing in oxygen and basic infrastructure, such as electricity and running water, will also serve to benefit patients suffering from a range of conditions.
To meet the needs of LMICs, the WHO EESC programme, with its partners worldwide, developed the *Integrated Management for Emergency and Essential Surgical Care* (IMEESC) toolkit (WHO IMEESC Toolkit: <http://www.who.int/surgery/en>). This toolkit guides policies, research for evidence-based planning (WHO EESC Situation Analysis Tool to assess emergency, trauma, obstetrics, anaesthesia and surgical services, WHO EESC Global Database), training, best practice protocols monitoring and evaluation of the progress of surgical care systems. The IMEESC toolkit provides guidance for policy-makers, managers and providers at various levels of care. It also includes instructional videos, training modules on emergency and trauma for frontline health workers, disaster management resources and monitoring and evaluation.
This study provides insight into the surgical capacity of Somalia, using the WHO Tool for Situational Analysis to Assess EESC. Addressing the gaps identified in this study is needed not only to strengthen surgical care, but also holistic health systems in Somalia.[@R25] Further research is needed to determine the burden of surgical disease in Somalia and to determine the cost--benefit of specific interventions to improve surgical services.
Supplementary Material
======================
###### Author\'s manuscript
###### Reviewer comments
The following members of GIEESC in Somalia were instrumental in obtaining the reported data: Dr Yassin Arab Abdi, Dr Nima Abdi Hassan, Dr Mohamed Samy Salama, Dr Mahmoud Mostafa El-Antably, Dr Jamal Mohamed Jama, Dr Abdulcadir Mohamud Giama, Dr Nura Mohamed Ahmed, Dr Saeed Hussien Legeh, Dr Risaaq Mohamoud Yousuf, Dr Cabdi Qaadu Bikri, Dr Ahmed Jama, Dr Muse Geele and Dr Noor M Noor.
**Contributors:** NE and AS analysed and interpreted the data, drafted the article, revised it and finally approved the submitted version. MC contributed to the conception and design, acquisition and interpretation of the data, helped draft the article, made critical revisions and finally approved the submitted version. OS, ME, GP and AI contributed to acquisition of the data, made critical revisions and finally approved the submitted version.
**Funding:** This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
**Disclaimer:** The authors include staff members of WHO. They are responsible for the views expressed in this publication and do not necessarily represent the decisions or stated policy of WHO.
**Competing interests:** None.
**Provenance and peer review:** Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
**Data sharing statement:** No additional data are available.
|
Q:
Why is the Lagrangian for space-like geodesics equal to 1?
In Schwarzschild spacetime, the Lagrangian can be defined as
$$ L = -\left( 1 - \frac{2M}{r} \right) \dot{t}^2 + \left( 1- \frac{2M}{r} \right)^{-1} \dot{r}^2 + r^2 \dot{\theta}^2 + r^2 \sin^2\theta \dot{\phi}^2 $$
where the dot denotes a derivative $\frac{\mathrm d}{\mathrm d\lambda}$ for an affine parameter $\lambda$.
From Noether's theorem, one can easily prove that the Lagrangian itself if an integral of motion. One can also prove that $\theta = \text{const} = \pi/2$ without loss of generality. Hence, the quantity $$Q = -\left( 1 - \frac{2M}{r} \right) \dot{t}^2 + \left( 1- \frac{2M}{r} \right)^{-1} \dot{r}^2 + r^2 \dot{\phi}^2$$ is a constant of motion.
In my lecture notes, it is claimed without proof that $Q = 1$ for space-like geodesics. It seems like this is rather obvious from the way it is stated but I can't seem to find any proof of this anywhere in my lecture notes nor from Google (after a little bit of searching). Hence, my question is why is this the case and how can one prove this?
A:
The solutions to the Euler-Lagrange (EL) equations for OP's non-square root Lagrangian $L$ are affinely parametrized geodesics.
Noether's theorem yields that $L$ is a constant (of motion) along a geodesic, but it is not necessarily $1$. For more information, see e.g. my Phys.SE answer here.
The constant is $1$ if one picks the parameter $\lambda$ to be arclength $s$.
|
Back in February Environment Minister Rob Stokes announced funding for a new chicken pen and storage shed at John Therry Catholic High School to help students learn about sustainable living. So what are the benefits of having a chicken pen?
Backyard chickens are healthier Factory farmed chickens are kept in confined and unsuitable areas and are often fed an unnatural diet with hormones to increase growth on the cheap. Unhappy surroundings add to the stress of the chickens, this affects the taste and nutrients of the eggs and also limits the amount of eggs each hen can produce. If you're not convinced, check out our blog on chicken slaughterhouses. The eggs are more nutritious Eggs from the backyard have 25% more vitamin E, a third more vitamin A, and 75% more beta carotene. They also contain more omega-3 fatty acids than factory or farmed eggs.
“This new chicken pen will provide an authentic animal husbandry learning experience for students. It will also help the whole school community share social skills and build an understanding of sustainable living.” - Bryan Doyle, Member for Campbelltown
Chickens do great things for your compost Chicken poo is high in nitrogen which is really good for your compost bin. The best part? You can even compost their egg shells. The eggs taste better Eggs in the grocery store can sit there for weeks! Air can seep into the porous eggshell and it affects the nutrients, taste and consistency of the eggs. Fresh eggs should have firm whites and really bright orange yolks. Another great thing: no more bulky egg cartons in your fridge!
They are a great lesson for your kids I believe it's important for kids (and adults!) to have a connection to their food, and understand where it came from: the farm-to-plate chain. They will also love collecting the eggs, and learn how to care for animals in the process.
“By encouraging social responsibility and modelling sustainable practices to students, this project will have a positive impact on the wider community.” - Doyle on the Student Chicken Pen |
Conference: Energy policy must take into account the global, European and national aspects
World Energy Council (WEC) Estonia held the annual energy policy conference in Tallinn; the conference was titled “Energy Trilemma – Estonia’s position in the World”. Conference was attended by representatives of Estonian parliament, ministries and many different stakeholders. In was concluded that energy policy must be synchronized to a greater degree (both regionally and in the EU) and a wide variety of different resources and technologies must be used.
Current Estonian Energy Policy
In this year’s WEC energy sustainability index Estonia placed 35 out of 94 WEC member states. Compared to last year Estonia climbed 3 places in the index. The figures are equally mediocre in all the categories: security of supply, environmental impact mitigation, and social equity.
There is ample room for improvement in all these categories. The index also illustrates the fact that Estonian energy policy has been very balanced throughout the years, none of the aspects is lagging behind too much. On a side note, it has to be mentioned that Estonia’s relatively good position was achieved thanks to the overall development of our society. Had it been only the energy related indicators, Estonia would have fared far worse – somewhere in the second half of the list.
Being a small country, Estonia has certain limitations which influence our performance in the index. The bigger the GDP of a country, the better the score in affordability of energy, and the lower the emissions per unit of GDP. Looking at Estonia’s neighbours it can be seen that almost all of them are ranked higher in the index: Latvia is 37th, Lithuania 31st, Finland 5th and Sweden 1st. Out of 5 Nordic-Baltic countries we are second to last.
Estonia must diversify its electricity production. Today most of electricity produced in Estonia comes from oil shale fired power plants. In addition to not being diverse and therefore posing a risk to security of supply, oil shale fired power plants also have quite a big environmental impact, which lowers our overall score in the sustainability index.
Our neighbours on the other hand use a wide range of different technologies and energy sources: coal, nuclear energy, natural gas, hydro and wind. Having this kind of variety is not only good for security of supply, but it also limits country’s vulnerability to outside supply and price risks.
Estonia as a small country faces the challenges how to diversify its energy portfolio, how to limit the environmental impacts, and how to keep costs to the final consumer down. “We have been focusing on one resource, oil shale, for a very long time. This must change, but we must also guarantee that the equilibrium wouldn’t shift totally to the other extreme. This wouldn’t be neither in the interest of the consumers nor the environment. If we speak about our energy portfolio, then diversification must be our goal,” said the Minister of the Environment Keit Pentus-Rosimannus.
Conflicting Energy PoliciesEinari Kisel, Senior Fellow of European Policies in the World Energy Council gave a keynote presentation at the conference. He said that conflicting policies are not unique to Estonian policy – this is a common trait for all European nations. “Unlike other regions of the World, Europe is very liberal. We have a large number of stakeholders trying to shift the balance in their favour. The final outcome is highly dependent on the stakeholders involved,” Kisel commented.
Einari Kisel described Estonia as a country with a very open economy, which in turn makes us very dependent of the global changes. “The global developments will influence us in the future even more than today. This is something we must remember and take into account. People might think that we are constantly taking U-turns with our policy, but in reality this is just the government reacting to global changes,” Kisel said.
Keit Pentus-Rosimannus was happy to see that Estonia’s position has improved during the years. “Already the fact that environmental impact is under discussion today, is a great step in the right direction. Not too long ago environment was a topic that was largely ignored. If there was a possibility to talk only of the positive, this was done,” Pentus-Rosimannus concluded.
Juhan Parts, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Communication focused on three aspects of Estonian energy policy: global context, national aspects, and balancing the energy trilemma.
“The global context is full of contradicting beliefs – some believe we are running out of oil, others say there has never been more; some say a climate catastrophe is coming, others say just the opposite,” said Parts. He added: “Estonia cannot copy its energy policy from other countries; we have our own national aspects that we must adhere to. We have oil shale, border with Russia and vast infrastructure already in place.” Third point Parts made was regarding the balance between having clean but also affordable energy.
Emissions Trading and Environmental Taxes
Einari Kisel finds that the principles of European climate policy are right, but how to implement this should be rethought so it would give right signals to the market participants and to the wider audience.
“The question is if emissions trading is built on the right foundations? Maybe we should have tax on CO2 or the minimum price pre-set, these are things discussed in Europe right now. For example Germany is having a lot of problems because of high energy prices and because of the uncertainties posed by CO2 price in the future. Companies are closing shop and moving elsewhere,” Kisel added.
Sandor Liive, CEO of Eesti Energia proposed having higher resource taxes for oil shale and setting up a fund for investing income from our national resources, as has been done in Norway and Denmark. Einari Kisel agreed with the proposal but also cautiously added that the government should also have a plan what to do if there is no more income from oil shale.
“For example, common electricity market with the Nordic countries means that power plants in Narva might not be competitive. This would mean lower environmental impact, but at the same time smaller income for the government. These possibilities must be taken into account,” said Kisel. Keit Pentus-Rosimannus mentioned that in Estonia all the environmental fees and taxes are invested to combat the impact to the environment.
Long-Term Plan
Einari Kisel said that Estonia has set itself a number of goals, all of which have been achieved and now we should think what should be the next goal.
“Sometimes national goals have undesired outcomes, companies don’t use the methods hoped by the government, instead companies look for the most profitable way to achieve these goals. One concrete example is Germany where high subsidies for PV were thought to boost local industry, the real outcome is that German PV manufacturers are bankrupt and the Chinese have taken over the market. So Estonia must be sure to find measures that actually boost our development,” Kisel elaborated.
Juhan Parts on the other hand found, that a country as small as Estonia must always follow the lead of others and must always remain flexible to react to the changes on the global market. “We are not rich enough to experiment with immature technologies,” Parts added.
Deputy Secretary General for Energy in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communication, Ando Leppiman, said that the ministry has plans that are dependent on the regional and European context. Estonia wants to be able to import its surplus of renewable energy via the mechanism of statistical transfers. Ando Leppiman continued that Estonia must always be flexible; this is one of the greatest strengths a small country has.
“We must have a long-term strategy, but this strategy must be such that we keep ourselves options to choose the best alternative available. We mustn’t limit ourselves to certain technologies and we mustn’t set ourselves unnecessary restrictions. We should be ready to support off-shore wind parks if this is the best option available or nuclear if this should happen to be the best technology on the market,” Leppiman said.
Martin Kruus, head of Estonian Wind Energy Association said that Estonia, and Europe as a whole, must become more integrated. “What’s the use of investing into cross-border transmission lines, if these are not used?” Kruus rhetorically asked. He added that the main point of having an integrated system is to use the strengths of each country so that in the end everybody would win.
Raul Kotov, Board Member in Eesti Gaas, said that having plans makes sense, but plans should be universal and not limit competition between energy sources and technologies. “It is important to give everybody a fair opportunity on the market. The government shouldn’t subsidize energy sources but instead should invest into R&D to find new and better ways to fuel our development,” found Kotov.
CEO of Tallinna Elektrijaam Andres Taukar thought it necessary to have long-term plans. “District heating infrastructure built today must remain in operation for the next 50 years. One must have long-term plans for such investments,” he firmly added.
Founded in 1923, the World Energy Council is the only truly global and inclusive forum for thought-leadership and tangible engagement committed to our sustainable energy future. Estonia joined WEC in 1937 in Paris, where Estonia was represented by the National Power Committee headed by Director J.Veerus and Professor P. Kogerman. In 1998, the 17th World Energy Congress in Houston formally reinstated Estonia’s membership of WEC. Today the Secretary General of WEC Estonia is Mihkel Härm. |
A senior Israeli official on Thursday reportedly criticized US President Donald Trump for appearing to give Iran free rein to further entrench militarily in Syria.
The US president, on Wednesday, said of Iranian forces in Syria: “They can do what they want there, frankly,” while suggesting Tehran was removing its troops from the country.
“It is sad that he is not attentive to intelligence materials,” the unnamed Israeli source said, according to a Thursday report by the Ynet news website.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up
“I am quite simply in shock,” the source continued. “Trump simply does not know what is happening in Syria and the Iranian entrenchment there.”
Trump’s comments came two weeks after he rattled Jerusalem by announcing that he would pull all American troops out of Syria. US soldiers had been leading the coalition against the Islamic State terror group, while also helping to thwart the establishment of permanent Iranian military infrastructure in Syria.
Israel has repeatedly warned in recent years that Iran is seeking to establish a military presence in Syria, where it is fighting alongside its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah and Russia to restore the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Israeli officials have also warned that America’s absence would open the door for Tehran to create a so-called “land bridge” from Iran, through Iraq and Syria, into Lebanon and to the Mediterranean Sea.
Over the last several years, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria against targets linked to Iran.
Yet Trump, on Wednesday, said at a cabinet meeting that Tehran, like the US, was withdrawing its forces from Syria.
The American president went on to say that in pulling out of the nuclear deal with Iran last year, Washington had changed Tehran’s calculus and stymied its efforts to destabilize the region.
“Iran is no longer the same country,” he said. “Iran is pulling people out of Syria. They can do what they want there, frankly, but they’re pulling people out. They’re pulling people out of Yemen. Iran wants to survive now.”
Trump’s decision to pull America’s 2,000 troops out from Syria caused a major shakeup within his own administration; his secretary of defense, James Mattis, resigned over the withdrawal.
Trump offered a stark take on the situation in Syria Wednesday, summing it up in two words — “sand and death” — while remaining vague about the timing of the US troop withdrawal.
“So Syria was lost long ago. It was lost long ago. And besides that, I don’t want — we’re talking about sand and death. That’s what we’re talking about,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting. “We’re not talking about vast wealth. We’re talking about sand and death.”
On when US forces would leave Syria, Trump said: “I don’t want to be in Syria forever.”
He added: “I never said we are getting out overnight… We’re withdrawing… over a period of time.”
The US president’s announcement of the Syrian withdrawal was the first significant point of contention between Washington and Jerusalem since he took office — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly pleaded with him to rethink the decision — and has fortified the perception that he views the US relationship with Israel as transactional.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Netanyahu that the planned withdrawal of US ground forces from Syria will not alter America’s commitment to countering Iranian aggression and maintaining Israel’s security.
“The decision by the president on Syria in no way changes anything that this administration is working on alongside Israel,” Pompeo said at a joint press conference with Netanyahu before they held talks in Brazil.
Trump said last week that he did not think America’s removing its troops from Syria would endanger Israel.
Agencies contributed to this report. |
Souhila Abdelkader
Souhila Abdelkader (born 21 April 1978) is an Algerian team handball goalkeeper. She plays for the club GS Pétroliers, and on the Algerian national team. She competed at the 2013 World Women's Handball Championship in Serbia, where Algeria placed 22nd.
References
Category:1978 births
Category:Living people
Category:Algerian female handball players |
Imaging connected porosity of crystalline rock by contrast agent-aided X-ray microtomography and scanning electron microscopy.
We set out to study connected porosity of crystalline rock using X-ray microtomography and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) with caesium chloride as a contrast agent. Caesium is an important radionuclide regarding the final deposition of nuclear waste and also forms dense phases that can be readily distinguished by X-ray microtomography and SEM-EDS. Six samples from two sites, Olkiluoto (Finland) and Grimsel (Switzerland), where transport properties of crystalline rock are being studied in situ, were investigated using X-ray microtomography and SEM-EDS. The samples were imaged with X-ray microtomography, immersed in a saturated caesium chloride (CsCl) solution for 141, 249 and 365 days and imaged again with X-ray microtomography. CsCl inside the samples was successfully detected with X-ray microtomography and it had completely penetrated all six samples. SEM-EDS elemental mapping was used to study the location of caesium in the samples in detail with quantitative mineral information. Precipitated CsCl was found in the connected pore space in Olkiluoto veined gneiss and in lesser amounts in Grimsel granodiorite. Only a very small amount of precipitated CsCl was observed in the Grimsel granodiorite samples. In Olkiluoto veined gneiss caesium was found in pinitised areas of cordierite grains. In the pinitised areas caesium was found in notable excess compared to chloride, possibly due to the combination of small pore size and negatively charged surfaces. In addition, elevated concentrations of caesium were found in kaolinite and sphalerite phases. The findings concerning the location of CsCl were congruent with X-ray microtomography. |
Evaluation of glycoprotein gII ISCOMs subunit vaccine for pseudorabies in pig.
One of the pseudorabies virus glycoproteins, gII, was integrated into Quil A matrix and formed an antigenic presentation structure known as immunostimulating complexes (ISCOMs). The gII ISCOMs protected mice from a lethal infection of pseudorabies virus (PrV). Subsequently, the efficacy of gII ISCOMs as a vaccine was evaluated in pigs, a natural host species of PrV. Immunization of pigs with gII ISCOMs protected them from PrV-induced acute symptoms and death. The serum obtained from immunized pigs was clearly discriminated from that of infected pigs by immunoprecipitation. The data indicated that the ISCOM technique was useful in PrV subunit vaccine preparation and demonstrated the importance of glycoprotein gII as a component of PrV vaccine. |
//
// LYNavWeChatPopAnimator.h
// LYCustomTransitionDemo
//
// Created by liyang on 2017/2/22.
// Copyright © 2017年 liyang. All rights reserved.
//
#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
@interface LYNavWeChatPopAnimator : NSObject<UIViewControllerAnimatedTransitioning>
@property (nonatomic, strong) UIImageView *transitionImgView;
@property (nonatomic, assign) CGRect transitionBeforeImgFrame; //转场前图片的frame
@property (nonatomic, assign) CGRect transitionAfterImgFrame; //转场后图片的frame
@end
|
People complain about negative advertising, but it never goes away. That's because it works.
PayPal has taken this conventional wisdom to heart, launching an attack ad against its latest and most formidable competitor, Apple Pay, before the new service even lands in the hands of consumers. Appearing in multiple newspapers, the full-page spread is meant to sow distrust in Apple by reminding the world of this month's massive iCloud celebrity selfie hack.
PayPal
The ad may or may not be fair. It might not even have the desired effect. But it indisputably shows what happens when Apple muscles into a new market: the incumbents immediately become the underdogs. And how they react becomes a measure of how powerful Apple really is. In the case of the payments business, PayPal has clear reason to be worried.
When Microsoft made Internet Explorer the default Windows web browser, it quickly shot to the top of the list of most popular browsers, where it stayed for years, despite the existence of other, arguably better browsers that came before it. Apple has the power to do the same for payments with Apple Pay, but with notable differences that put it in an even better position than Microsoft. First, Apple controls the hardware as well as the software. Second, Apple's demonstrated design chops suggest a company that will never let its products sink into the kind of user-experience decrepitude that sank IE.
The analogy also breaks down a bit around the sheer duration of PayPal's incumbency. PayPal has been synonymous with online payments for more than a decade, while the web was still in its infancy when IE came out. Integrating Apple Pay across the online and offline retail worlds will take time. PayPal users wouldn't be able to make any kind of full-time switch even if they wanted to go all-Apple. PayPal has reason to be hopeful. But in the long run, the threat is real.
Apple Isn't the Other
If any company has the power to hasten its own ubiquity, it's Apple. Apple Pay will spread quickly once the iPhone 6 and iOS 8 are released this week. Even PayPal's own Braintree division has released a way for developers to integrate Apple Pay into their online apps. And Apple is restricting the use of the iPhone 6's NFC chip to Apple Pay, which means PayPal won't be able to take advantage of the new phones' power to act as in-store credit card substitutes.
Those factors leave PayPal with little choice but to seek to undermine Apple's advantages through marketing. The new PayPal ad tries to sound a populist note: "We the people want our money safer than our selfies." Aiming at Apple's apparent negligence in locking down iCloud is the obvious target. If Apple can't be trusted with photos, can it really be trusted with credit card numbers?
A crucial difference, however, appears to be that Apple Pay's tokenization system doesn't appear to store a user's credit card number at all, locally or online, once that card is scanned. If nothing else, that makes Apple Pay more secure than physical credit cards themselves.
Even granting that Apple has yet to make up the trust deficit the iCloud hack incurred, however, portraying Apple as the overlord aligned against the "people" seems unlikely to succeed. In polls, Apple consistently ranks near the top among the world's most trusted and admired brands. And Apple users relate to their devices. However much control they really have, people who carry their iPhones everywhere they go feel like the devices belong to them. Apple isn't the Other. Apple is what's in your pocket, a digital extension of yourself.
The Omnivore Dilemma
That closeness users feel to Apple hints at a broader problem for PayPal: it's a niche platform, while Apple is an omnivore. Apple has the power to try to absorb nearly any function or feature into itself. To escape Apple's predations, PayPal could make itself another omnivore's prey.
Last week, trading in PayPal parent company eBay's shares spiked on rumors Google planned to buy a major stake in the company, a rumor eBay quickly shot down. But a Google acquisition might not be such a bad thing for PayPal, especially if Google decided to make it the Apple Pay of Android. In mobile, Google's reach is much broader than Apple's, if less focused. And for Google, PayPal is already a much more recognized brand than any of Google's own payment efforts.
Going with Google, another corporate behemoth, wouldn't exactly make PayPal look more populist. But when you're up against Apple, it's one of the moves most likely to help you stay popular. |
46,XY individuals born with conditions of intersexuality can be reared as either male or female, depending upon an individual's medical, familial and cultural situation. Currently, very little information exists on the long-term outcome of such patients. The goal of the present study is to determine the endocrinological, surgical and psychological outcome of adult 46,XY intersex patients. Specifically, the question of whether it is optimal to raise such individuals as males or females will be investigated. Subjects include all 46,XY intersex patients treated in the Johns Hopkins Pediatric Endocrine Clinic over the past fifty years. Only subjects 21 years and older are eligible to participate. Subjects are first asked to complete a Life Inventory Survey to assess their adult adjustment to their condition. Then, subjects are asked to participate in a urological/gynecological and endocrine exam. |
Amphiphilic p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene-coated CdSe/ZnS quantum dots for the optical detection of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
Water-soluble CdSe/ZnS (core-shell) semiconductor quantum dots surface-modified with tetrahexyl ether derivatives of p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene were synthesized for the optical detection of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. |
Changing an ether to a ketone within the framework of a bis-urea macrocycle has little effect on the supramolecular assembly of this building block into porous crystals but introduces a triplet sensitizer into the framework that dramatically alters the photochemical reactions of included guests. |
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the ecosystem-based approach – pitfalls and solutions.
The European Marine Strategy Framework Directive aims at good environmental status (GES) in marine waters, following an ecosystem-based approach, focused on 11 descriptors related to ecosystem features, human drivers and pressures. Furthermore, 29 subordinate criteria and 56 attributes are detailed in an EU Commission Decision. The analysis of the Decision and the associated operational indicators revealed ambiguity in the use of terms, such as indicator, impact and habitat and considerable overlap of indicators assigned to various descriptors and criteria. We suggest re-arrangement and elimination of redundant criteria and attributes avoiding double counting in the subsequent indicator synthesis, a clear distinction between pressure and state descriptors and addition of criteria on ecosystem services and functioning. Moreover, we suggest the precautionary principle should be followed for the management of pressures and an evidence-based approach for monitoring state as well as reaching and maintaining GES. |
In a surprising move, the Kansas state Senate Republican leadership announced on Friday that it was killing – at least, in its current form – a controversial religious liberty measure, harpooned for opening the door to broad anti-gay discrimination.
House Bill 2453, as drafted and passed by the Republican-controlled state House of Representatives this week, would give any individual, business, group, or government official the right to deny same-sex couples a host of basic goods, services, benefits, or employment – on the grounds of a conflicting “sincerely held religious belief.” Lawmakers in the state House approved the measure on Wednesday by a vote of 72-49.
The bill was widely expected to pass the state Senate, too, as Republicans outnumber Democrats 32-8 in that chamber. But Republican state Sen. Susan Wagle, the Senate’s president, poured cold water on its prospects Thursday night when she released a statement saying that a majority of her caucus opposed the bill’s potential green light to discriminate. On Friday, she reaffirmed that position.
“I believe that when you hire police officers or a fireman that they have no choice in who they serve,” Wagle said at a news conference Friday, according to the Wichita Eagle. “They serve anyone who’s vulnerable, any age, any race, any sexual orientation.”
“Public service needs to remain public service for the entire public,” she added.
Read more: Religious liberty bill opens door for LGBT discrimination
One of the strongest criticisms of the bill was that it gave state employees license to ignore legally valid same-sex marriages. Opponents feared officials could cite the law’s protections in refusing to intervene in a domestic violence dispute between a gay couple, for example, or in denying a gay couple a marriage license, should a judge overturn the state’s 2005 voter-approved ban on gay marriage.
Supporters insisted the purpose of the measure was to ensure the free exercise of religion, and pointed to the bill’s stipulation that an employer find another employee to perform a service if one refused on religious grounds.
Wagle said that provision would increase the cost of doing business and place a burden on employers.
“I believe the intent of the House was to protect religious liberties. We respect that,” she said, according to the Associated Press. “But the business implications are going to harm the practice of employment in Kansas.”
As the bill began to pick up steam, it fueled a chorus of growing opposition. The Kansas Chamber of Commerce and the newly formed Kansas Employers for Liberty Coalition released statements saying that the bill posed legal problems for the business community, and that it would strain employer-employee relationships. And a Facebook page titled “Stop Kansas House Bill 2453” has netted more than 50,000 “likes” as of Friday evening.
“Political pages here, if they get 1,000 ‘likes,’ they’re pretty successful,” Thomas Witt, executive director of the Kansas Equality Coalition, told msnbc. “This has exploded in this state. And it blew up in their faces.”
At an afternoon press conference Friday, state House Speaker Ray Merrick said that if the vote were held again, it probably wouldn’t pass. He promised to work with the Senate until they reached a consensus on what to do with the bill. |
Website policy
We provide links to articles we think will be of interest to our supporters. We are sympathetic to much of the content of what we post, but not to everything. The fact that something has been linked to here does not necessarily mean that we endorse the views expressed in it._____________________
Is There Emancipatory Potential in Israeli Municipal Politics?: An Interview with Matan Kaminer
By Max Ajl, Jadaliyya
December 03, 2013
Max Ajl: Start by telling us a little about the Ir Lekulanu campaign.
Matan Kaminer: IrLeKulanu, “city for all of us” in Hebrew, is a municipal political party in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. It was founded six years ago by a number of activists who had been involved in different local struggles. Among the groups represented at the founding conference were the Palestinian community in Jaffa and the working-class Mizrahi Jewish community in Kfar Shalem – formerly Salameh – both of which were facing eviction from homes they had been settled in after 1948; residents in the centre of town who were fighting for a public lot to be turned into a park rather than residential towers, a group struggling against privatization of the seashore, and more.
During the previous election, in 2008, our candidate for mayor was Dov Khenin, a member of parliament from the non-Zionist left Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash/al-Jabhah)*. Khenin won 35% of the vote and we got 5 seats in the city council, which was a huge and surprising success. This time, our candidate was Aharon Maduel, who has led the struggle in Kfar Shalem for two decades. There was also another candidate for mayor, Nitzan Horovitz of the left-Zionist party Meretz. Results were less encouraging than last time: Maduel got 9% of the vote for mayor (with 38% for Horovitz and 53% for Huldai), and we garnered 6% of the vote and three seats (out of 31) in the city council.
MA: Aharon Maduel is a Mizrahi candidate linked to Likud. This is an interesting political position– can you say more about it?
Ir Lekulanu is not formally linked to any national political party and it includes the range of political views at the national level. There is a strong contingent of non-Zionist leftists like me, and there is a group from the South of Tel Aviv, many of whom are Likud members or sympathizers at the national level – but have a deep animosity towards the local Likud leadership in Tel Aviv. In addition, this time we were joined by the Jaffa section of Hadash, which is almost exclusively Palestinian, and its representative Amir Badran was number four on our list.
What makes this coalition possible is that Ir Lekulanu doesn’t deal with issues at what is called the “state-political”(medini) level– that is, it doesn’t have a position on the occupation and other issues that are decided at the national level. Our platform and programme don’t deal with anything beyond the city limits.
I want to emphasize that Ir Lekulanu ran against the Likud in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and helped to contribute to its pathetic showing – only one city council seat, for the party governing the country! The Likud ran a racist campaign promising to “silence the Muezzin” in Jaffa, which we strongly condemned; and then they smeared Aharon, printing copies of our leaflets in Arabic and handing them out in the South, with a gloss warning voters that Ir Lekulanu was running with “the Islamic movement”.
What was the role of Hadash in this campaign?
The role played by Hadash as such was more minor than last time. Hadash is a front, in which the Communist Party of Israel and Tarabut** are two components. One can speak of two major camps within Ir Lekulanu – the CPI camp and the camp formed by Tarabut and the Southerners around Maduel. After Maduel was elected chairman and the city council list was chosen, it was clear that the Southern camp had gained the upper hand. At this point the CPI chose to focus all their efforts and energies on ensuring that the representative of Hadash-Jaffa would be included in the list – a worthy target, of course, but in so doing they unfortunately marginalized themselves. Tarabut remains very influential –number two on the list is Yael Ben-Yefet, a leading member of Tarabut as well as chairwoman of the “Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow”.
It is worth mentioning that this election has been disastrous for Hadash across the country. The municipality of Nazareth, which Hadash has held since the 1970s, fell to an apolitical local boss, ‘Ali Salam. I have been a member of Hadash for about fifteen years, and it seems to me that the front is at a watershed. The current leadership is sclerotic and conservative and has fought off change for many years.There has to be a major internal shakeup in Hadash. If this doesn’t happen, I don’t think it has much of a future left.
You have written that “municipal political party IrLeKulanu is not considered “left” in Israeli terms, it embodies one of the greatest successes of the non-Zionist left in Israeli history.” Can you expand on what that means? By “Left” do you mean its socio-economic stance or its position on the colonial question?
Yes, that was before the election and perhaps I would not be so triumphal about it today. In Israel “left” and “right” are used exclusively to refer to positions on the conflict, and that’s what I was referring to when I mentioned “Israeli terms.” Of course I reject such a limited definition, and for me a consistent left position is necessarily both anti-capitalist and anti-colonialist. Ir Lekulanu was, and is, such an important project because it unites Palestinians with Jews of both middle-class, Ashkenazi backgrounds and working-class, Mizrahi backgrounds, and in this it is totally unique. I don’t claim that Ir Lekulanu is itself anti-colonial; that would be absurd, given that its current head is a Zionist. I do claim that the strong position held by radicals, and now also by Palestinians, within the movement is a major achievement that should be consolidated.
Yemeni Jews – Mizrahi – are at the bottom of the Jewish Israeli class structure but often reluctant to work with Arabs because ‘their only privilege is their Jewishness’.
You have also written, “the radical leftists who form an important component of IrLeKulanu should not pass up the opportunity to throw their weight behind a Mizrahi urban leadership in coalition with Palestinians, Ashkenazis, refugees and migrants.” Does this risk subordinating the colonial question to internal class issues?
The risk exists; it always does. There are a lot of internal tensions within Ir Lekulanu that can be traced to this problem. An example is the issue of the African asylum-seekers whom the state has channeled into two or three neighbourhoods in South Tel Aviv over the last two years. These neighbourhoods, which were already underprivileged, have had to absorb about 30,000 new residents. Our position as a party is that the state has to take responsibility for the asylum-seekers; we don’t take a position on whether this means accepting or rejecting their claims.
Ibrahim, a refugee from Sudan, holds a document given to him by the UN in Egypt, as he takes part in a protest held by refugees and activists outside the UN offices in Tel Aviv, June 10, 2012. Photo by Oren Ziv/Activestills.org
But at a more fundamental level, I don’t see how the “colonial question” and “internal issues” are separable, such that we can speak of one being “subordinated” to the other. This separation reinforces a naïve theory that puts Israelis on a continuum from those “nearer” to a good position on the conflict (the Zionist left) to those“farther”(the right). This theory supposes that those on the left, which the Communist Party used to call “the democratic forces”, can be won over to the anti-colonial cause. The strategy based on it has proven completely inefficacious, over and over. Election results in Tel Aviv are a good example: 44,000 Tel Avivis voted for Khenin for mayor – most of them belonging to the stratum traditionally represented by the Zionist left. In the next national elections, where voting for Khenin would have meant voting for Hadash, an explicitly non-Zionist movement led by Arabs, only about 10% of those voters (4,000) did so. In fact, even among those Jews who have the least to lose – those who have class and ethnic privileges in addition to their national Jewish privilege – it seems that only a tiny minority are willing to step over the line and reject Zionism.
When that is the case, it would be hypocritical to expect those whose only privilege is their Jewishness – those mostly Mizrahi Jews with no property, little cultural capital, no European passport – to be the first to give up Zionism. But even the meagre privilege that being Jewish affords this group is being rapidly eroded. The fact that Shas, which represents this constituency, has been locked out of government by a middle-upper-class alliance uniting the right (Naftali Bennett) and “centre-left” (Yair Lapid), is decisive. What will happen when the Jewish privilege of disenfranchised Israeli Jews disappears entirely? Will they turn to the anti-colonial cause, or to fascist reaction? The answer to this question is not foreordained. Anti-colonial forces must have a foothold in this community. Many Palestinian-Israeli activists are in agreement with me on this point.
What kind of reception did the campaign receive amongst anti-Zionists? And can you say more about Maduel’s position on Palestinian issues?
Anti- or non-Zionists in Tel Aviv-Jaffa were split during this election. The Islamic Movement did not participate in it at all; the National Democratic Union (Balad/Tajama’u) ran under the name “Yaffa”; both the Jaffa and Tel Aviv sections of Hadash supported Ir Lekulanu. Most of the anti-Zionist criticism came from the Balad quarter. They accused us of splitting the Palestinian community in Jaffa and preventing its representation in the city council. But we didn’t split Yaffa; it split a few months before we were involved, and Hadash-Jaffa approached us and asked to enter Ir Lekulanu.
Maduel has been to Jaffa very often in the past five years and has always upheld the right of the Palestinian community there to individual and collective sumoud***, though not in those terms of course. People in Jaffa are aware of this; even some activists for Balad, which did not officially endorse any candidate for mayor and supposedly reject Zionist candidates, told me they were voting for him.
Maduel did not do very well. Can you give some reasons for this?
Ir Lekulanu began as an alliance between middle-class, young Ashkenazi Jews from central Tel Aviv and working-class Mizrahi families from the south of the city. In the previous campaign, the first group was the senior partner. This time, after Maduel took over as leader, the centre of gravity shifted. It was quite fascinating to see the subtle operations of hegemony between the two campaigns: Khenin, an Ashkenazi academic and parliamentarian, found it easy to take up the mantle of the universal, representing the common interest of all groups in the alliance; and I say this to his credit. Maduel, a Mizrahi autodidact who makes a living as a home repair contractor, found the cards stacked against him. Racism and classism definitely hurt his chances.
Another huge challenge was the fact that this was a three-way race. Nitzan Horovitz is an Ashkenazi journalist and Knesset member. Whereas in 2008 Khenin was heading a unique alliance, Horovitz targeted his home constituency in a very well-funded campaign. Because we represent all sorts of constituencies, we were spread very thin all over the city, and everywhere we were vulnerable to attack: in the South, Aharon was attacked for running with leftists and Arabs and being soft on African “infiltrators”; in the centre, he was attacked as a Likudnik racist, often as a thin veil for racist attacks on him as a Mizrahi.
So what is the next move given this defeat?
I think “defeat” is too harsh a word. It’s a setback, certainly, but Ir Lekulanu has proven that it’s here to stay and that as an organization it is resilient enough to survive the change of leadership. We are the only consistently anti-neo-liberal, anti-racist movement in the city, and hopefully we will continue to attract new activists as we did during this campaign.
There will definitely have to be organizational changes, however. Compared to other municipal parties, which are funded by national parties or by rich donors, we are dirt poor. So if we want to win the next election, we have to develop deeper roots in the community so that we can bring out the vote.
Notes and links
* Hadash is an acronym for HaHazit HaDemokratit LeShalom VeLeShivion,the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality. It was founded in 1977 and is a socialist party of Arabs and Jews. |
INTRODUCTION
============
Deep RNA sequencing has enabled profiling the transcriptional landscape of the cell at unprecedented resolution \[e.g. ([@gkt211-B1],[@gkt211-B2])\]. Technological advances have dramatically increased the read coverage and the dynamic range of RNA-Seq, facilitating a wide range of analyses to answer pertinent questions. One of the most fundamental analyses is comparative transcriptome analysis of samples that have been exposed to different environmental conditions or have variable genetic background. The development of computational tools to carry out such pairwise comparisons is a field of active research and the subject of this work.
For single isoform genes, the true mRNA isoform abundance is tightly coupled to the number of reads that map to exonic regions of the corresponding gene ([@gkt211-B2]). A widely used model to explain the number of mapping reads as a function of the unknown abundance is the binomial model and its Poisson limit. Several early methods have directly used such idealized statistics to test for differential expression between samples from the raw read count information \[e.g. ([@gkt211-B3],[@gkt211-B4])\]. More recent extensions ([@gkt211-B5; @gkt211-B6; @gkt211-B7; @gkt211-B8]) generalize the basic Poisson model to a more flexible class of distributions, such as negative binomial (NB) models. In contrast to Poisson-based tests, these models account for so-called overdispersion, i.e. the empirical variability of counts because of biological or technical factors.
The large majority of genes of higher eukaryotes have multiple annotated isoforms that are the result of alternative usage of transcription starts, splice sites, RNA editing sites or polyadenylation sites. Defining gene expression in the case of multiple isoforms becomes conceptually difficult and testing for differential gene expression can easily be confounded by differential RNA processing events, such as alternative splicing. In particular, the number of observed RNA-Seq reads may significantly change, even if the total number of RNA molecules remains constant. This may occur, for instance, if a significant part of the RNA molecule is excised during splicing. An alternative is to test for differential expression of an isoform in multiple samples. However, if one of the samples is subject to a significant increase of transcriptional activity of a gene, under this test, all alternative isoforms would be detected as differentially expressed.
In this work, we are interested in an alternative formulation. We seek to identify significant differences in relative isoform expression. Importantly, these relative abundances are insensitive to overall gene expression changes, but they reflect changes because of differential RNA processing. See [Figure 1](#gkt211-F1){ref-type="fig"} for an illustration. Figure 1.On the top, two transcripts are shown together with the read density one would observe if they were present isolated from each other. On the bottom, the read densities for two mixtures of the transcripts are shown. The mixture for the conditions A (light gray) and B (dark gray) is different, which is reflected by the difference of the read densities.
Recently, several algorithms for inferring the abundance of a given set of isoforms based on the observed read coverages have been proposed ([@gkt211-B9; @gkt211-B10; @gkt211-B11; @gkt211-B12; @gkt211-B13]). These approaches solve the problem of deconvolving the observed read coverage and implicitly or explicitly assigning reads to individual isoforms. The difficulty of assigning reads to isoforms comes from the fact that these are often near-identical and a read from an overlapping region cannot be assigned to a specific isoform without additional information. Perhaps the most advanced approaches are those carrying out full Bayesian inference, such as MISO ([@gkt211-B13]) or BitSeq ([@gkt211-B14]), propagating and accounting for uncertainty and covariation of expression estimates from multiple overlapping isoforms. In general, for all of these methods, the estimated abundances typically correlate well but far from perfectly with other experimental data, such as qPCR and NanoString measurements of RNA isoform abundances, in particular when many isoforms are present (A. Mortazavi, personal communication).
A natural and appealing strategy is to combine methods to estimate isoform abundance for different RNA-Seq experiments with a statistical test for differential expression of isoforms. However, the solution to the quantification problem may not be unique \[see, for instance, discussions in Lacroix *et al.* and Hiller *et al.* ([@gkt211-B15],[@gkt211-B16])\]. This problem can be partially alleviated by estimating confidence intervals for the abundance estimates, either by evaluating the Fisher information matrix ([@gkt211-B9]) or by conducting full Bayesian inference ([@gkt211-B13],[@gkt211-B14]), but the estimation of this correlation structure is technically challenging and depends on a number of assumptions that may not always be satisfied in practical settings. Most sophisticated approaches, such as characterizing the non-unique solutions using Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods ([@gkt211-B13],[@gkt211-B14]), circumvent some of these weaknesses, at the price of considerable computational cost. Further, if one is only interested in which genes or isoforms are differentially expressed, first quantifying and then testing for differential expression might be an unnecessary detour, solving a harder task than actually required.
In this work, we seek alternative strategies for detecting differential abundances of RNA isoforms in pairs of biological samples. We focus on the case where the sum of the abundances of all isoforms either remains constant or as such is irrelevant, and the abundances of the isoforms between two conditions vary ([Figure 1](#gkt211-F1){ref-type="fig"}). This setting is particularly interesting for analyzing RNA-Seq experiments with the aim to gain a deeper understanding of RNA modifying processes (such as alternative splicing or polyadenylation).
The devised approaches are simple and implemented as a single step, avoiding the need to quantify isoform abundances first. Importantly, they operate on the level of isoforms and are not restricted to differences on the level of the overall expression of a given gene. First, we propose a test called rDiff.parametric, extending established Poisson and NB-based tests for detecting differential expression of genes to testing for differential isoform abundance. The idea is to identify genomic regions based on the given isoform annotation that are not shared among all isoforms and detect differences in the read coverage in these informative regions (compare regions marked in light green in [Figure 2](#gkt211-F2){ref-type="fig"}a). We show how this principle can be used to build efficient statistical tests to identify regions with alternative isoform expression. Second, we propose rDiff.nonparametric, an approach that can detect differential isoform abundance without depending on any knowledge of the underlying isoform structure. To avoid the need to quantify within known regions, the approach directly assesses differences of the read mapping distribution at a predefined genomic locus. This test is especially useful for the large number of newly sequenced genomes where the gene structure is often only determined by homology to already annotated species. The parametric variant, rDiff.parametric, shares many ideas and concepts with recent work, such as DEXSeq ([@gkt211-B17]). However, DEXSeq is aimed at modeling the exon-specific abundance rather than transcripts and does not extend to settings without transcript annotation. Conceptually, the non-parametric testing approach has previously been described in Stegle et al. ([@gkt211-B18]), and related ideas have later been proposed in ([@gkt211-B19]). There the authors followed a similar idea but concentrated on counts on splice junctions in a constructed splicing graph. Importantly, their approach does not consider a variance model as used in rDiff and DEXSeq ([@gkt211-B17]) \[as well as in DESeq ([@gkt211-B7]) and edgeR ([@gkt211-B20])\]. Figure 2.(**a**) The alternative regions used by rDiff.parametric. Alternative regions are defined as regions in the genome that are not contained in all transcripts of a gene but at least one, according to the gene structure. In a second step, all regions are merged, which are in the same subgroups of transcripts, to obtain the so-called alternative regions. (**b**) Test statistic used by rDiff.nonparametric. Shown are the two read densities in the two conditions A and B and their difference in gray and the underlying gene structure in light green.
We perform a detailed simulation study to comprehensively compare rDiff.nonparametric and rDiff.parametric with existing methodology and to elucidate the strengths and limitations of the algorithms. Moreover, we illustrate the algorithms' practical use in a realistic setting of three RNA-Seq libraries from *Arabidopsis thaliana* and four libraries from *Drosophila melanogaster*. We find that the detection of alternative events is reliable and in concordance with results from RT--qPCR (reverse transcription--quantitative polymerase chain reaction), even when the gene structure is not used.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
=====================
We start by introducing the statistical read model and present a practical scheme to estimate biological variability on splicing data. Building on this description, we introduce a first statistical test that exploits complete information on the gene annotation. Finally, we provide a non-parametric variant that can be used when the isoform annotation is incomplete or missing.
Read statistics
---------------
When doing inference from read counts it is important to account for the fact that reads are generated by a random sequencing procedure. Thus, read counts should not be treated as fixed values but instead as draws from a suitable distribution to capture random fluctuation.
Previous work on differential testing of whole-gene expression established the duality of types of noise variation that are dominant in specific regimes ([@gkt211-B6; @gkt211-B7; @gkt211-B8],[@gkt211-B20]). First, read data are subject to shot noise because of the nature of sequencing data from random sampling. This noise is dominant for low read counts. Second, overdispersion because of biological variation increases the expected noise level as empirically observed between biological replicates. The first type of variance is well described by a linear relationship between mean and variances, whereas the second type is characterized by a quadratic component. Contrary to the shot noise, the effect of overdispersion is strongest for high counts. The variance caused by different barcodes or the use of different mappers for the samples also has a quadratic component and can for simplicity be considered as part of the biological variance. Here, we follow largely the approaches proposed previously ([@gkt211-B7],[@gkt211-B20]) and build on NB distributions to model the read counts. A major difference to these approaches is that we do not model the counts for gene expression but for smaller regions that are indicative of a change in relative isoform abundance. Throughout, we assume that the variance of the distribution for a given read count is a function of the expression abundance. This empirical variance function estimates the variance to be expected for different expression levels. For a detailed discussion of our statistical model we refer to [Supplemental Section S1](http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/nar/gkt211/-/DC1).
### Variance estimation
The estimation of biological variance is an integral building block to differentiate true differences from fluctuations caused by biological or technical variation. Let in the following *G* be the set of genes and *R* be a biological sample that consists of a set of replicates . For all genes and replicates , we assume to have an estimate of the gene expression and read counts for each region , where *J~g~* is the set of regions in gene *g*. We estimated the biological variance by using replicate data, to get the means and variances of tuples of normalized read counts in the replicates. To detect changes in the relative transcript abundances and not changes in absolute abundance, we computed a normalizing constant The normalization makes counts comparable across the replicates when having variability in gene expression (which may have different total numbers of reads).
We then computed normalized counts . For each region in gene *g*, we then estimated the mean of the normalized counts as well as their empirical variance: Finally, we performed a local regression on the set of points \[similar to the procedure proposed previously ([@gkt211-B7])\] to obtain a functional mapping *f~R~* between the empirical mean to the expected variance. This was done using the Locfit ([@gkt211-B21]) package.
Working without replicates.
---------------------------
If replicate data are not available, conservative estimates of the variance function can be obtained from between-sample fits. Following ([@gkt211-B7]), one can consider the two samples *A* and *B* as replicates to fit the variance function. If there are no differential sites, this approximation is fully legitimate, whereas in the presence of true differences, one can expect an overestimation of the variance fits, leading to a conservative approximation. Alternatively, one can use an estimated variance function from a similar sample as the ones under investigation.
Statistical testing with known gene structure
---------------------------------------------
### Defining alternative regions
Given a known and complete gene annotation, differential isoform abundance can be detected by differential comparison of a set of restricted exonic regions, denoted alternative regions in the following ([Figure 2](#gkt211-F2){ref-type="fig"}a). These regions are defined as isoform-specific loci, i.e. those positions where reads map that can only stem from a non-empty strict subset of all isoforms. Relative changes of the abundance between isoforms can in principle be only observed at those positions; hence, the remainder of exonic loci can be left aside.
To avoid explicitly solving the deconvolution problem of multiple overlapping isoforms, we grouped the alternative regions into areas that are absent or present in the same isoforms. The resulting grouped regions are the regions on which we tested for differences in relative abundance between isoform with respect to the total gene expression.
### Testing for changes
Statistical testing is carried out in each alternative region of a gene *g*. As the testing is performed for one gene at a time, we omit the index *g* for simplicity of notation. Our null hypothesis *H*~0~ is that there is no differential expression in a particular region. Formally, this corresponds to the read in intensity relative to the gene expression being the same in a region *j* for samples and , where *u* is the number of replicates in sample *A* and *v* the number of replicates in sample *B*. Under this hypothesis, the number of counts we expect to observe in sample *A* in region *j* can be calculated by the normalized mean expression *q~j~* for both samples, i.e. by averaging the normalized reads in all samples: where *r* runs over the replicates from either sample *A* and *B*, *N^r^* is the gene expression in replicate *r* and is the number of reads mapping to region *j* in replicate *r*. Using the normalized expression, we then calculated the average number of counts we expect to see under the null hypothesis as . The calculations for were analogous. The distribution under the null hypothesis was computed as follows. Let and be the rounded up average number of observed reads in a region *j*. We assumed that the observed counts are drawn from an NB distribution and , where *f~A~* is the variance function estimated for sample *A* and analogous for *f~B~*. For brevity denote by , the joint probability of observing *k* reads in sample *A* and *l* reads in sample *B*. Denote furthermore the total read counts in region *j* as . Then the *P*-value *p~j~* of the observed counts and under the null hypothesis *H*~0~ is given by: where *I~T~* is an indicator function that is 1 if *T* is true and 0 otherwise. Finally, we combined the *P*-values across regions into a genewise *P*-value of relative transcript abundance variability using a conservative Bonferroni correction ([@gkt211-B22]): We refer to this method as rDiff.parametric. Alternatively, the information as to which specific testing region is differentially expressed can be used directly, which is similar as the approach taken previously ([@gkt211-B17]).
Testing with unknown gene structure
-----------------------------------
In many cases, the gene annotation is not available; hence, alternative regions cannot be defined *a priori*. We propose an alternative strategy to test changes in the read density at the whole-genomic locus. Our approach builds on the non-parametric Maximum Mean Discrepancy (MMD) test ([@gkt211-B23],[@gkt211-B24]).
This flexible two-sample test for high-dimensional vectors is well suited for our setting, as it poses few assumptions on the distribution of the reads. The basic idea of this test applied to our setting is to represent the reads *A~g~* and *B~g~* that map to gene *g* in samples *A* and *B* in the space , where *l~g~* is the length of g. This is done by representing each read *i* in sample *r* as a vector of length *l~g~*. The entry of at the *j*th dimension is 1 if the read covers the *j*th position of the gene and 0 otherwise. In this space, the mean for the sample *r* is given by: where *K^r^* is the number of reads in the sample *r*. The difference between the two read densities *A~g~* and *B~g~* is then computed and used as the test statistic (see [Figure 3](#gkt211-F3){ref-type="fig"} for an illustration). To determine the significance of the distance *D*, this value is compared with an empirical null distribution, estimated from *T* differences between two random samples from the joint read distribution . Figure 3.Illustration of variance of the read density difference (see gray area in [Figure 2](#gkt211-F2){ref-type="fig"}b) between random samples from the null distribution. The distribution difference between two biological samples is shown as a dashed black curve, the one between two random samples when not correcting for biological variance in dark gray dashed and when correcting for biological variance in light gray dashed. The resulting *P*-value for rDiff.nonparametric corresponds to the gray area of surface, which is the fraction of random samples that have a bigger difference than the difference observed between the two conditions. For highly expressed genes, when not correcting for biological variance, the density difference between random samples converges to zero, thus leading to an unrealistically small *P*-value.
The basic MMD strategy described earlier in the text was extended in two different ways: (i) we accounted for biological variance by sampling such that the variance of the random samples was in concordance with the empirically fitted biological variance model.
This extension of the original bootstrapping procedure leads to an appropriate variance of the null distribution as illustrated in [Figure 3](#gkt211-F3){ref-type="fig"}, thereby avoiding an oversensitivity on highly expressed genes. The *P*-value was estimated by the number of times the observed difference *D* is larger than *D~t~*: . For a detailed description, see [Supplementary Section S2.1](http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/nar/gkt211/-/DC1). (ii) We increased the power by preferentially focusing on regions in the gene that could potentially reflect a differentially processing. We observed empirically that one can increase the power of the MMD test, when only considering genomic positions that have a lower than maximal read coverage in one of the samples. This observation can be explained by the fact that the regions with large relative coverage are unlikely to be differentially covered between samples (as this would require them to be not fully covered in at least one sample and thus cannot have a maximal coverage). Exploiting this characteristic, we perform several tests on the subsets of the positions where the coverage is below different thresholds. More specifically, we applied the MMD test on the 10% of the positions that have the lowest positive coverage to obtain a *P*-value *p*~10~. Subsequently, we repeated the procedure for 20% and so forth until we had 10 *P*-values . These *P*-values were combined, Bonferroni corrected and reported as the result of rDiff.nonparametric.
Data sets used for evaluation
-----------------------------
We considered a data set from *A. thaliana* to apply and compare the proposed methods.
For this study, *A. thaliana* Wt seedlings were grown in darkness and exposed to light for 0, 1 or 6 h. Furthermore, we used *cry1cry2* seedlings ([@gkt211-B25],[@gkt211-B26]) grown under the same conditions as the 0 h Wt seedlings.
The mRNA libraries were prepared using the Illumina mRNA-Seq 8-sample Prep kit. We sequenced 80 bp reads on the Illumina GAIIx platform using a single-end flow cell, resulting in ∼3.9 × 10^7^ reads per lane on average. In each library, a variable fraction between 86.3 and 87.4% of reads could be uniquely aligned to the genome using Palmapper ([@gkt211-B27]), resulting in an average coverage of the transcriptome of ∼51-fold per lane. For ∼24% of the reads, the best alignment obtained was a spliced alignment, i.e. it spanned an exon--exon border. Full details on the experimental design and implementation can be found in [Supplementary Section S5](http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/nar/gkt211/-/DC1).
### Simulation approach
In addition to empirical data, we also created two artificial data sets to have data sets with exact ground truth expression levels. We focused on the 5875 mRNA coding genes in the *A. thaliana* TAIR10 reference annotation that have at least two splice variants. Both artificial data sets consisted of samples for two different conditions with two simulated biological replicates each. To simulate a realistic extent of biological variance, we estimated the gene expression variance on experimental data described before. In a first simulated setting, we used the two samples grown with 0 h light exposition to estimate the biological variance and an additional sample from the seedlings 1 h to get realistic gene expressions for the simulated conditions. The true simulated isoform abundances were drawn from a uniform distribution, and the absolute gene expression abundance was drawn from the expressions measurements. For half of the genes, we simulated a differential relative isoform expression. Furthermore, we simulated a biological variance in both samples by drawing isoform abundances such that the resulting variance of the reads matched the estimated biological variance.
To assess the effect and relevance of biological variance, we repeated the same simulation procedure with increased biological variability. In this second simulated data set, we considered the variation between the samples at 0 h and 1 h to simulate the biological variance. Full details of the read simulation can be found in [Supplementary Section S3](http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/nar/gkt211/-/DC1).
### False discovery rate estimation
As a measure of the genome wide significance of the findings, we used the false discovery rate (FDR). The FDR was calculated as described previously ([@gkt211-B28]).
RESULTS
=======
Evaluation on synthetic data
----------------------------
### Benchmark data and alternative methods
For objective comparison of alternative methods, we considered two realistic simulated data sets (see 'Materials and Methods'). We used the proposed models either explicitly using the gene annotation (rDiff.parametric) or not using the annotation (rDiff.nonparametric). For comparative purposes, we also considered two state-of-the-art methods that explicitly quantify transcript isoforms to test for differences, MISO ([@gkt211-B13]) and cuffDiff ([@gkt211-B29]). To assess the impact of modeling biological variance, we also applied the simplified variant of the parametric test, called rDiff. poisson, which is based on the Poisson distribution instead of the NB distribution. A detailed description of how the competing methods were applied is found in [Supplementary Section S4](http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/nar/gkt211/-/DC1).
### Ranking of differentially expressed genes
First, we evaluated the ranking of differentially expressed genes produced by alternative methods. To quantify their respective performances, we used the receiver operating characteristics (ROC), depicting the true-positive rate (TPR) of predictions for different false-positive rates (FPR). For biological applications, the most confident predictions with a moderate FPR are most relevant; thus, we restrict the interval of considered FPR to at most 0.2. The ROC curves for each method evaluated on the synthetic data set are shown in [Figure 4](#gkt211-F4){ref-type="fig"}, and a tabular summary of the area under the ROC curve is given in [Table 1](#gkt211-T1){ref-type="table"}. rDiff.parametric consistently outperformed cuffDiff and MISO with the differences being most striking for most confident calls, where rDiff.parametric achieved a substantially higher TPR. The Poisson-based parametric model (rDiff.poisson) was slightly, but consistently, outperformed by its NB counterpart. rDiff.nonparametric performed as well as MISO and cuffDiff, which is surprising, given the fact that our approach does not use the gene annotation and is conceptually much simpler. This finding highlights the applicability and practical use of the simple one-step methods, both in settings where the genome annotation is available but also if it is incomplete or missing. Figure 4.Comparison of rDiff with MISO and CuffDiff. (**a**) ROC curve for rDiff, MISO and CuffDiff. (**b**) Comparison of the empirical false discovery rate (empFDR) and the FDR based on *P*-values provided by the methods, for rDiff and CuffDiff. This was not possible for MISO, as it did not provide *P*-values. (**c**) Number of detected genes as a function of the FDR cut-off. Table 1.Area under the ROC curve in the interval (0, 0.2) (auROC20) for rDiff, cuffDiff and MISOMethodauROC20 for small biol. varianceauROC20 for large biol. variancerDiff.nonparametric0.0770.073rDiff.parametric0.1010.093rDiff.poisson0.0990.082cuffDiff0.0850.055MISO0.0890.061[^1]
To investigate the robustness of the different methods with respect to biological variability, we considered a second synthetic data set with larger biological variation ([Supplementary Figure S2a](http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/nar/gkt211/-/DC1)). Although the previously observed trends still hold, the differences between the respective methods were more pronounced. The performance of MISO, rDiff.poisson (which does not model biological variance) and cuffDiff decreased dramatically, in particular for low FPR. rDiff.parametric and rDiff.nonparametric both consider biological variability for computing significance levels and perform best, in particular for the most confident cases. This emphasizes the relevance of modeling biological variability.
### Calibration of test statistics
It is important that the tests deliver meaningful significance levels and false discovery estimates. Therefore, we tested the statistical calibration of the calling confidences provided by the different methods by comparing the estimated FDRs with the empirical FDRs (empFDR). The latter is known because we simulated the data. The empirical FDR was calculated as the fraction of false positives in the number of genes having *P*-values below a certain threshold. [Figure 4](#gkt211-F4){ref-type="fig"}b shows the calibration curves for all methods on the first synthetic data set. rDiff.parametric was the most conservative approach, and the empirical FDR was about three times smaller than the estimated FDR (at 0.2). rDiff.nonparametric was less conservative (empirical FDR ∼1.3 times smaller than estimated FDR) and overall achieved an acceptable level of calibration. cuffDiff and rDiff.Poisson, however, seemed to be overoptimistic by calling a large number of false positives for small FDRs: the most confident predictions were false. This behavior is likely caused by the lack of control for biological variance. MISO could not be considered in this evaluation, as the method does not yield *P*-values. Another interesting observation is that the number of genes that are reported is different as shown in [Figure 4](#gkt211-F4){ref-type="fig"}c. One can see that for a small FDR cut-off, cuffDiff and rDiff.poisson report many more genes than rDiff.nonparametric and rDiff.parametric.
Differential RNA processing in *A. thaliana*
--------------------------------------------
### Data and set-up
To illustrate how rDiff can be applied in a typical experimental setting, we investigated a data set from *A. thaliana*. We obtained RNA-Seq data from seedlings, grown in darkness before light exposure (0 h; two samples, Wt and *cry1cry2*), as well as 1 and 6 h after light exposure. We estimated the variance function between two 0 h samples and used the same parameters for the methods as before.
### Detected events
Both methods, rDiff.parametric and rDiff.nonparametric, identified the largest number of differential genes when comparing the sample 0 h with the sample 6 h ([Table 2](#gkt211-T2){ref-type="table"}). The non-parametric model found a substantially larger number of events, retrieving between 2.7 and 5.4 times as many significant events (at FDR 0.1). The overlaps between the findings retrieved were surprisingly low. This suggests that the non-parametric model provides an orthogonal view of events that cannot be explained when restricting to the annotation. Visual inspection suggested that the great majority of the exclusive hits retrieved by rDiff.nonparametric were plausible (see [Figure 6](#gkt211-F6){ref-type="fig"} for representative examples). Figure 5.Plot of the −log(*P*-value) against the log(fold-change) measured by RT-qPCR. The *P*-values for rDiff.nonparametric are shown in light gray, for rDiff.parametric in dark gray and for CuffDiff in black. Spearman's correlation coefficient ρ for the two methods is given in the legend. Table 2.Overlap between methods for 1 h versus 1 h/ 0 h versus 6 h/ 1 h versus 6 h for genes with an FDRMethodrDiff.parametricrDiff.nonparametricrDiff.parametric**39/80/54**Diff.nonparametric18/29/16**213/219/138**[^2]
These results suggest that the predictions by rDiff.nonparametric can indeed be used to obtain an unbiased view with respect to alternative splicing, without annotation bias. Overall, we found that ∼60% of the detected genes had only one transcript annotated. Furthermore, we performed a classification of the events found by rDiff.nonparametric by the type of region where the biggest change was observed. The exact technical details of this annotation step are described in [Supplementary Section S5.6](http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/nar/gkt211/-/DC1). The result of the classification of the changes between 0 h and 1 h can be found in [Figure 7](#gkt211-F7){ref-type="fig"} and [Supplementary Table S1](http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/nar/gkt211/-/DC1). In particular, changes in the 3′-UTR, 5′-UTR and introns were overrepresented (see [Figure 6](#gkt211-F6){ref-type="fig"} for examples). As the libraries were prepared in parallel using the same reagents, we are confident that the observed coverage differences reflect the changes of the transcripts structure. Figure 6.Examples of two genes detected by rDiff.nonparametric with a minimal *P*-value of 0.01. Shown is the read density on top. The gray area indicates the region in which the change was detected, and the black bar in the upper part of the plot shows the 100-bp region which showed the biggest difference. Below the read densities is the splice graph in dark gray and the transcripts in black. The light gray indicates the UTRs.
### RT--qPCR validation
To have an objective comparison on real data, we measured relative isoform levels using RT--qPCR for five genes in the three samples. This validation allowed us to verify whether the isoforms predicted to be differentially expressed have indeed a varying abundance. The protocol is described in [Supplementary Section S5.4](http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/nar/gkt211/-/DC1).
As a measure of correspondence between the *P*-value and the fold-change we used Spearman's correlation between the negative log-*P*-value and the log-fold-change. We chose this correlation measure, as it is invariant under monotone transformation. We removed one outlier that led to an overly optimistic correlation for all methods. We have found a good correlation of 0.84 for rDiff.parametric, 0.68 for cuffDiff and 0.66 for rDiff.nonparametric ([Figure 5](#gkt211-F5){ref-type="fig"}). These correlations are well in line with the results on the artificial data set and support that the proposed methods retrieve accurate results. Figure 7.Categorization of the most differential 100 bp between the time points 0 h and 1 h according to the gene structure, in genes detected by rDiff.nonparametric with an FDR smaller than 10%. The width of the boxes is the average length of those regions, and the area equals the total number of detected differential cases.
Differential RNA processing in *D. melanogaster*
------------------------------------------------
We also analyzed a *D. melanogaster* data set presented and thoroughly analyzed previously ([@gkt211-B30]). It consists of two samples, one from wild-type and the other from Pasilla knockdown mutant flies, each containing two paired-end libraries and one single-end library. The authors derived multiple read counts for different types of alternative splicing events (exon skipping, intron retention and so forth) and used Fisher's exact test (corrected *P* ≤ 0.05) to find significant differences in the contingency tables for the two libraries \[methodology conceptually similar to a previous study ([@gkt211-B31])\]. Differential splicing in 323 genes was found to be significantly different, of which 16 were experimentally validated.
We applied rDiff.parametric and rDiff.nonparametric (FDR 0.1) after aligning the reads from the paired-end libraries using TopHat ([@gkt211-B32]) (more details in [Supplementary Section S6](http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/nar/gkt211/-/DC1)). To have a small variance in the samples, we chose to exclude the single-end libraries from our analysis. Overall, rDiff.parametric and rDiff.nonparametric found 71 and 278 genes with differential relative isoform expression, respectively. Although it is reassuring that the numbers are somewhat similar, the degree calibration of the methods, including the one from Brooks *et al.* ([@gkt211-B30]), will significantly influence the number of detected events. We, therefore, concentrated on the top 323 genes \[the number of significant events found in Brooks *et al.* ([@gkt211-B30])\]. We find that of the 16 cases that were experimentally validated previously ([@gkt211-B30]), rDiff.parametric found 12 and rDiff.nonparametric found 11 genes. For three of the remaining genes, the read coverage was too low to detect significant changes for both of our methods because of the strict alignment settings used and using only the paired-end libraries. Nonetheless, the fact that rDiff.nonparametric found a large fraction of the cases is noteworthy, as it does not make use of the gene annotation.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
==========================
Our results on the artificial data and the study on *A. thaliana* and on *D. melanogaster* show that the proposed one-step methods outperform alternative approaches and are generally applicable. We believe that one reason that the methods perform better in practice is due to fewer assumptions made compared with other methods. In particular, quantification of alternative isoforms is a challenging task, and the predictions are often unstable and suffer from multiple possible solutions. As a consequence, the achieved FDRs are typically higher, in particular for highly confident cases. On the contrary, the proposed methods are simple, robust and can operate in complex settings while yielding statistically better calibrated estimates than other methods.
Notably, this high level of accuracy extends to the cases where genome annotations are missing. In these settings, existing quantification-based methods cannot be applied at all; hence, for the first time, we provide a workable and sufficiently accurate approach to deal with these instances. In particular, the non-parametric version of rDiff will facilitate early quantitative characterizations of transcriptomes of newly sequenced species. This finding also highlights the value of non-parametric methods that extend beyond classical uni-variate tests, such as Kolmogorov--Smirnov or the Mann--Whitney U test. rDiff.nonparametric is implemented in a flexible manner and can be used to incorporate additional features to assess the differential behavior, such as splice site or paired-end information.
We would like to note that the proposed rDiff.nonparametric method was designed to test for differential relative isoform expression. However, the method solves a more general problem ubiquitous in deep sequencing data analysis. It detects differential read coverages or other read-dependent properties that are the result of biological circumstances that one has set out to understand. For instance, the method may also be applicable for analysis of data from RNA structure probing ([@gkt211-B33],[@gkt211-B34]), ChIP-seq for differential chromatin binding in different samples (G. Schweikert, personal communication) and whole-genome sequencing for testing of highly polymorphic regions (D. Weigel, personal communication). However, accounting for confounding factors in those analyses is topic of ongoing research.
In summary, we have proposed two complementary statistical tests to detect differential isoform abundances from RNA-Seq. We have shown that the methods perform better than other quantification-based methods and yield reliable predictions of differential relative isoform expression. These tools can be used in a wide range of settings, using existing gene model annotations or solely the observed read data. The NB-based rDiff.parametric test performs considerably better than the rDiff.Poisson test, as it takes the biological variance into account. The rDiff.nonparametric test is based on permutations, and taking biological variance into account is technically less straightforward. We developed the method of limited re-sampling to match the sampling variance to the biological variance. The resulting algorithm rDiff.nonparametric is significantly more robust against biological variability. Our experiments underline that biological replicates are an essential prerequisite to accurately estimate significance levels. Therefore, we advocate measurement of at least two biological replicates to estimate the variance function. Additionally, we recommend using the same sequencing method, as well as the same mapping method, to reduce systematic biases, which could lead to many false positives.
SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
==================
[Supplementary Data](http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1093/nar/gkt211/-/DC1) are available at NAR Online: Supplementary Table 1, Supplementary Figure 1 and Supplementary Methods.
FUNDING
=======
Volkswagen foundation and Marie Curie FP7 fellowship (OS); German Research Foundation \[WA2167/4-1 to A.W. and L.H.; RA1894/1-1 and RA1894/2-1 to G.R. and P.D.\]; Emmy Noether fellowship \[WA2167/2-1 to A.W.\]. MSKCC Center for Translational Cancer Genomic Analysis \[U24 CA143840 to P.D. and A.K.\]; Sloan-Kettering Institute core funding (to G.R., P.D., A.K.). Funding for open access charge: German Research Foundation \[RA1894/2-1\].
*Conflict of interest statement*. None declared.
Supplementary Material
======================
###### Supplementary Data
The authors acknowledge fruitful discussions with Wolfgang Huber, Detlef Weigel, Arthur Gretton and Gabriele Schweikert. G.R., O.S., K.B. and P.D. conceived the study, P.D., O.S. and G.R. designed computational study, G.R., L.H. and A.W. designed RNA-Seq and validation experiments, P.D. and O.S. developed statistical tests, P.D. (re-)implemented algorithms and performed computational experiments, A.K. and G.R. performed RNA-Seq alignments, L.H. performed RNA-Seq and validation experiments, P.D., O.S., G.R. and L.H. wrote and A.W. and K.B. revised the article.
[^1]: The comparison is shown on the two artificial data sets with a small and large biological variance (see 'Materials and Methods' section).
[^2]: The events written in bold are the number of events predicted by the corresponding method.
|
Diagnostic Criteria of Major Sexual Dysfunctions
For this Discussion, you analyze the diagnostic criteria of major sexual dysfunctions and disorders in the DSM. Review the case study below and reflect on which DSM sexual dysfunction/disorder might be the most reflective of the client's symptoms. Then consider a counterargument as to why this dysfunction/disorder might not be appropriate for this client.
Susan, age 34, is a married mother of two preschool-aged children (ages 4 and 2). Her husband, Steve, age 35, works full-time, and Susan works part-time on the weekends but primarily is a stay-at-home mother to her children.
The couple sought couples counseling, and their primary presenting concern was that Susan has not had any interest in sex with Steve for the past year. The couple reports that they have had intercourse about 3 times in the past year ("always at Steve's initiation"); they rarely display physical affection toward one another; and they fought frequently about their lack of sex for about the first six months of the past year, but lately they have not fought often about the issue.
The partners indicate that, up until a year ago, Susan was very interested in sex, and they had sex approximately 3 times per week throughout their marriage (aside from immediately following the birth of their children). Susan states that she can't pinpoint any particular reason for her lack of interest in sex and says, "Really, I just don't want it anymore. I'm not sure if I ever will again." Steve says that he is very frustrated but doesn't want to fight about it. He says, "I just want my wife back."
With these thoughts in mind:
Post by Day 4 an explanation of which DSM sexual dysfunction or disorder might be the most reflective of the client's symptoms. Provide a counter-argument for why the dysfunction or disorder you selected might not be appropriate for this client. Justify your response with references to the Learning Resources and the DSM.
Solution Preview
In this situation it appears that Susan suffers from hypoactive sexual desire disorder. This is due to the fact that she exhibits the very strong symptom of not having any desire for sexual intercourse, as well as not having any form of fantasies concerning sexual intercourse as well. In addition, what is supportive of ... |
Giant cell tumour of the temporal bone: case report and review of the literature.
This paper presents an expansile lesion of the temporal bone, in a 14-year-old boy, that was initially diagnosed as intra-osseous meningioma from CT appearance. At histopathology a final diagnosis of giant cell tumour was made. A brief review of the literature is presented for this rare case. |
LLVM Weekly - #198, Oct 16th 2017
Welcome to the one hundred and ninety-eighth issue of LLVM Weekly, a weekly newsletter (published every Monday) covering developments in LLVM, Clang, and related projects. LLVM Weekly is brought to you by Alex Bradbury. Subscribe to future issues at http://llvmweekly.org and pass it on to anyone else you think may be interested. Please send any tips or feedback to [email protected], or @llvmweekly or @asbradbury on Twitter.
Like many of you, I'll be attend the LLVM Dev Meeting this week - be sure to say hi!
News and articles from around the web
The call for speakers has been issued for the LLVM Performance Workshop at CGO 2018. The deadline for submissions is December 1st, 2017.
The call for papers / participation has been posted for the LLVM toolchain devroom at FOSDEM 2018. This will take place on Feb 4th 2018 in Brussels. The proposal deadline is Nov 26th, 2017.
The CppCheck GUI has been extended with support for clang-tidy. The author hopes to add support for the Clang static analyzer in the future too. See here for some screenshots.
On the mailing lists
LLVM commits
LLVM now has much more detailed documentation about the various fuzzers available for fuzzing LLVM itself. r315544.
.Lcfi labels are no longer emitted when producing textual assembly. r315259.
The ARM backend now gives better diagnostics for floating point and general purpose register operands. r315303, r315304.
The NumFixedArgs field of CallLoweringInfo is now correctly updated. As noted in the commit message, there is a small chance this could affect your backend if you were directly accessing this field or the IsFixed property. r315457.
MergeFunctions has been improved. r315852, r315853.
createElfObjectWriter now takes a std::unique_ptr<MCElfObjectTargetWriter> and returns a std::unique_ptr<MCObjectWriter> . If you have an out-of-tree backend, it will need updating. The MCObjectStreamer prototype has also changed. r315254, r315327, r315531.
The loop invariant code motion pass will no longer make the illegal optimisation of sinking an unordered atomic load into a loop. r315438.
Clang commits
Clang gained support for destroying operator delete, as proposed for C+++2a. r315662.
The -Wtautological-constant-compare warning has been reintroduced. r315875.
Other project commits
LLD has seen a large number of code cleanups. e.g. r315525, r315617.
LLDB learnt to search for split DWARF files in a specified search path. r315387.
Review Corner
The LLVM Weekly review corner serves to highlight patches that are stuck waiting awaiting review, or work from first-time contributors. See here for more information and how to submit you work for inclusion. Of course the hope is that highlighting these patches will enable LLVM Weekly readers will step up and help to get them merged. I'll be reporting back each week on any activity generated on these patches, as well as sharing a new batch. If you want your patch included you must submit it via the linked form.
Last week featured three patches, with two out of three seeing fresh review activity after inclusion. D36471 sadly has seen no additional feedback. Thanks to Jessica Paquette and Anna Zaks for contributing review comments to last week's patches.
There is just one patch submission this week: |
// Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
// Licensed under the MIT license.
#include "CameraRenderer.h"
namespace AzureSpatialAnchors {
const GLfloat QuadVertices[] = {
-1.0f, -1.0f, 0.0f,
+1.0f, -1.0f, 0.0f,
-1.0f, +1.0f, 0.0f,
+1.0f, +1.0f, 0.0f
};
const GLfloat QuadUvs[] {
0.0f, 1.0f,
1.0f, 1.0f,
0.0f, 0.0f,
1.0f, 0.0f
};
void CameraRenderer::Initialize(AAssetManager* assetManager) {
m_program = Util::CreateProgram("shaders/camera.vert", "shaders/camera.frag", assetManager);
if (!m_program) {
LOGE("Failed to create program.");
}
m_texture = static_cast<GLuint>(glGetUniformLocation(m_program, "uTexture"));
m_vertices = static_cast<GLuint>(glGetAttribLocation(m_program, "aPosition"));
m_uvs = static_cast<GLuint>(glGetAttribLocation(m_program, "aTextureCoord"));
glGenTextures(1, &m_textureId);
glBindTexture(GL_TEXTURE_EXTERNAL_OES, m_textureId);
glTexParameteri(GL_TEXTURE_EXTERNAL_OES, GL_TEXTURE_MIN_FILTER, GL_LINEAR);
glTexParameteri(GL_TEXTURE_EXTERNAL_OES, GL_TEXTURE_MAG_FILTER, GL_LINEAR);
}
void CameraRenderer::Draw(const ArSession* session, const ArFrame* frame) {
int32_t displayGeometryChanged = 0;
ArFrame_getDisplayGeometryChanged(session, frame, &displayGeometryChanged);
if (displayGeometryChanged != 0) {
// Transform the given texture coordinates to correctly show the background image.
ArFrame_transformDisplayUvCoords(session, frame, 8, QuadUvs, m_transformedUvs);
}
int64_t frameTimestamp;
ArFrame_getTimestamp(session, frame, &frameTimestamp);
if (frameTimestamp == 0) {
// Skip rendering if no frame is produced.
return;
}
RenderQuad();
}
void CameraRenderer::RenderQuad() {
if (!m_program) {
LOGE("program is null.");
return;
}
glUseProgram(m_program);
glDepthMask(GL_FALSE);
glUniform1i(m_texture, 1);
glActiveTexture(GL_TEXTURE1);
glEnableVertexAttribArray(m_vertices);
glVertexAttribPointer(m_vertices, 3, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, 0, QuadVertices);
glEnableVertexAttribArray(m_uvs);
glVertexAttribPointer(m_uvs, 2, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, 0, m_transformedUvs);
glDrawArrays(GL_TRIANGLE_STRIP, 0, 4);
glUseProgram(0);
glDepthMask(GL_TRUE);
Util::CheckGlError("CameraRenderer::RenderQuad() error");
}
GLuint CameraRenderer::GetTextureId() const {
return m_textureId;
}
}
|
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Well Said And Couldn't Have Said It Better.
Jeniffer Lopez, Britany Spears, Elizabeth Taylor, Donald Trump Angelina Jolie take note. On November 20th 2008 I became the legal partner to on Brendan Bernard Aloysios McCann over on King's Road Brydon Room Chelsea Old Town Hall, where many a rock star had their ceremony. After 7 years together I am still madly deeply truly in love with him, although I might annoy the shit out of him from time to time. I know hand over heart he does love me for me. My heart and love is his forever. Although he jokes about me being the wife, Pooch is my second wife. And it's a shame that governments in America still find the word marriage a sacred trust. It wasn't till I saw this speech spoken by NY Senator Diane Savino that she made a clear concise point, that hit the nail on the head. Home girl should get a bigger office. I believe it's not just people whom pledge their love so often that they forget the words for better or worse. Most mean till something better comes along, or till I Quit This Bitch! Good relationships are hard and difficult, bad relationships are easy to get. Simply look at the divorce rate. That being said I have my parents to thank, because they are still together and I know witnessing first hand, their relationship in close quarters. Good and bad through the years there is actual love. So when honest with my partner as scary as it seems sometimes I know I will be honest with him always. Yet, I vow to make him laugh and try my dammedest to make him happy. For the most part any way. So to celebrate our one year together as a betrothed couple we went to Paris to celebrate. In the seven years me and my partner have been together there have been alot of laughter, tears and hope for the future. I love the man with all my heart. Above is my favorite photo taken on the day we got hitched taken In Holland Park 3 hours before. So if your reading this Bren, I love you still, always and forever. Perhaps one day America will catch up with the rest of the free thinking civilised world. |
Pieve delle Sante Flora e Lucilla
The Pieve delle Sante Flora e Lucilla is a Roman Catholic parish church in the comune of Santa Fiora, Province of Grosseto, region of Tuscany, Italy.
The first documentation of a church here dates to 1144. Above the stone portal is a Romanesque window. The interior has three naves and a wooden ceiling. The inside of the church has terra cotta decorations by Andrea della Robbia; these depict a Madonna della cintola, The Baptism of Jesus, a Last Supper and a triptych with a Coronation of the Virgin flanked by Saints Francis and Jerome.
References
Category:Churches in the province of Grosseto
Category:Romanesque architecture in Tuscany
Category:12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings |
Tristram Hunt's resignation is sudden but hardly unexpected. Bright, young and ambitious, the historian entered politics with the hope of becoming a cabinet minister. But Labour has never been further from power. His party is led by Jeremy Corbyn, to whom he is implacably opposed, and his Stoke seat is due to be abolished in the boundary changes (posing the prospect of a tricky selection contest). In these circumstances, only a masochist would have declined the chance to become director of the V&A.
Hunt's announcement follows that of Jamie Reed, who is resigning his Copeland seat to become Head of Development and Community Relations for Sellafield power station. Labour MPs believe that many more will follow. The party's parlous poll ratings, Jeremy Corbyn's re-election (in defiance of 80 per cent of MPs), the boundary review (the first since 2010) and opportunities outside parliament all mean that Westminster is an increasingly unattractive berth.
Under the boundary changes, some Labour MPs will see their seats become notionally Conservative. As UK Polling Report's Anthony Wells has calculated, Andy Slaughter will face a Tory majority of 14 per cent in the new Hammersmith and Fulham seat, Gareth Thomas will face one of 11 per cent in the new Harrow and Stanmore seat, Ruth Cadbury will face one of 10 per cent Brentford and Chiswick and Tulip Siddiq will face one of 9 per cent in Hampstead and Golders Green. Alison McGovern and Margaret Greenwood are both eligible to seek selection for the new Bebington and Heswall seat but it is also notionally Tory.
Labour MPs whose seats would be vulnerable based on current poll ratings include Rupa Huq (274 majority), Wes Streeting (589), John Woodcock (795), Karen Buck (1,977), Tom Blenkinsop (2,268), Mary Creagh (2,613), Gisela Stuart (2,706), Kerry McCarthy (3,980) and Ian Austin (4,181). "There's not a safe seat north of Islington," an MP told me recently. Others, such as Stella Creasy and Peter Kyle, are at risk of deselection by local activists (through the trigger ballot mechanism).
Then there are those already seeking lifeboats. Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram are bidding to become the mayors of Greater Manchester and Liverpool respectively. Brexit will create new opportunities for those with political and European expertise as businesses seek to equip themselves for the upheaval.
Labour has already suffered a severe brain drain at adviser level. It is now facing one of its MPs. |
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Bunkered Barack Obama Awaits World War
As The Denver Post reported
Sunday, today marks the second time in less than a month that Barack
Obama has come to the mile-high city, headquarters of the nation's
state-of-emergency command apparatus, where he will remain through
tomorrow.
The last time he came was four weeks ago, when
he arrived on Sept 27 to command massive terror exercises occurring
during the window of opportunity for an Israeli attack against Iran, as
reported by Haaretz in Netanyahu must be stopped from attacking Iran. The timing of the "continuity of government" training seemed so suspicious that I posted America Awakens to Denver False Flag Danger.
Just five days before, Big Oil shenanigans had raised false flag fears
in Ron Paul's toxic home turf of Texas City, which I described in my
article the following morning, Texas City Terror Scare.
This
time around BO's stated mission is the less menacing promotion of his
$447 billion Jobs Bill, but who knows what evil lurks in the heart of
the Kenya Kid? Observers find him to be quite as malicious as his
predecessor, King George, so much so that my friend Lori Price, editor
of Citizens for Legitimate Government regularly lampoons him as Obusha.
Despite
the reassuring White House press release, duly regurgitated by the mass
media for public consumption, there are unsettling current events that
make this presidential appearance in Denver seem like another command
post exercise ready to go live for a false flag, world war or both.
I offer a few points of particular concern for the penetrating reader:
Yesterday
Obama was in Las Vegas, where the false flag establishment has a score
to settle, and expects Harry Reid to make up for his past failure by
helping it do so:
'Terrorist attack' on Las Vegas canceled
At
Sen. Harry Reid's request, the Obama administration canceled a mock
'dirty bomb' terrorist attack exercise in Las Vegas. Critics say the
administration is playing politics with national preparedness, but
others say a shift to secret surprise tests is a better way to prepare
for the worst. -- Christian Science Monitor, 3/30/10
Then there is the release last week of a Hamas-captured Israeli soldier:
477 for 1 Gilad Shalit
Israel
has published the names of 477 Palestinian prisoners who are to be
released in exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. A
further 550 prisoners are to be released after Sgt Shalit returns home.
-- NowPublic.com, 10/16/11
The number 477 is
a numeric harmonic, a variation, of the $447 billion in the Obama Jobs
Bill. It's likely that the Israelis have encrypted a go code for a false
flag and world war even as they have removed their boy from the reach
of the expected Hamas backlash.
The
only other time Barack Obama came to Denver with an economic agenda was
on Feb 17, 2009, for the signing of the Stimulus Bill, of which the
Jobs Bill is a close cousin. Few recall that within a day of his
mile-high triumph he was looking at a cartoon brutally depicting him as a
chimp, shot dead for his Stimulus Bill failure. How could this be?
I answered the riddle in a 2010 article:
the Stimulus Bill then, like the Jobs Bill now, was a code, the
underlying reality of which was a diabolic deal with world finance to
nurture the ruinous national debt in exchange for a false flag attack on
America. Thanks to a vigorous Internet Resistance, we prevented a
Chicago attack then. Let's pray that we can do the same for whatever
U.S. city is the target of treason now. |
Exotic Watermelon Detox Smoothie – This is my best all around great tasting detox smoothie. These types of meal replacements are called “Superfood Smoothies of Vitality”.
I’m going to give you an idea of what you add to this great tasting superfood detox smoothie. This is 1 of 100 recipes you can make with an Earth Shift Kitchen and your local garden.
Remember, this is a full nutrition meal replacement instead of your normal meals, that are usually cooked and full of chemicals, preservatives, bad salt, GMO’s, fake sugars, trans-oils or toxic cooking oils etc.
21 DAYS SOLID FOOD VACATION: I always recommend patients to use the “Liquids of Vitality” and “Superfood Smoothies of Vitality” for 21 days straight, or longer, to break away many parasitic programs we all have, and give your intestines a break from all of the toxic foods and debris you have accumulated.
This will replace your daily, not healthy food/drinks, hidden addictions from eating meat or flesh, processed foods, fast foods, sodas, candy’s, chips, etc. The 21 day smoothie and liquid fast is akin to an “Intestinal Tune-Up”.
This is a very simple “Solid Food Vacation” fast of only organic smoothies and a variety of super mineralized liquids.
The best part of this liquid fast is that you can have as much as you want – anytime you want 🙂 It is one of my favorite recipes when I grow, or the local farmers market has, organic seeded water melon.
This recipe is a super combination of Ionic Minerals, Organic Heirloom Superfoods, Probiotics, Oils, Plant Based Proteins and local in season Fruits and Veggies preferably out of your garden.
Enjoy this exotic food replacement meal packed with a variety of bio-LOGIC-ally available vitamins and minerals.
If we have sick or pathogenic bad bacteria in our guts then we are sick as well.
Exchange for one or two meals a day to give the bad bacteria/mold/yeast/fungus a break from breaking down dead lifeless foods.
I try to drink this elixir very slowly and swish the nutrients in the mouth for at least a minute per-swallow. This allows the saliva to wash the nutrients with your personal frequency or DNA signature to the foods, vitamins, good bacteria/bad bacteria and minerals so they are now surrounded with your saliva frequency or your unique DNA code.
This has been well known for many years, and some people call this pre-digestion. I call this to “Signaturize” your foods with your saliva for maximum absorption and bio-availability.
This smoothie is good for several days in the refrigerator; always try to drink 16-20 oz of mineralized (a “Liquids of Vitality”) water at least 10-20 minutes prior to your meals.
We live in Hawaii so it’s so easy to get inexpensive fresh veggies/fruits available all year long. So, you can use what you like to make this incredible meal replacement, and have fun combining what you have available.
Exotic Watermelon Detox Smoothie Recipe
Juicing Stage – Juice the following ingredients first:
Organic Ripe Pineapple (use rind too as long as your juicer will let you. I also add water while I am juicing roots or not as juicy materials ie ginger).
You can use a variety of veggies that you have available. If you’d like add Kale, Chard, Okra or greens of any type.
Add a hand full of Fresh Organic Cilantro and/or Turmeric.
1 Organic Lemon (juice the skin too).
1 Organic Cucumber (use the skin).
Blender Stage:
Add your prior juiced ingredients to the blender (I never juice a papaya or avocados because they don’t juice well and you waste a lot of it. So, these types of ingredients go directly in the blender).
Use 1 whole avocado or 4 tbsp of Organic Coconut Oil. I use them together most of the time, and the oils are necessary for supporting the healing of the intestines.
Related Posts
Subscribe To Our Newsletter!
Join our Free Informative Newsletter to receive future updates on our next WORLDWIDE ONLINE Life Transformation Group Guided Retreats, and get access to a Selection of Private Videos. You will also receive a coupon for $50.- for Earth Shift Products!
The Earth Shift Promo Code is good for one-time use and is valid for $50 off an order of $200+. This code includes free ground shipping within the 48 contiguous states. This code cannot be combined with other promo codes.
Subscribe To Our Newsletter
Join our Free Informative Newsletter to receive future updates on our next WORLDWIDE ONLINE Life Transformation Group Guided Retreats, and get access to a Selection of Private Videos. You will also receive a coupon for $50.- for Earth Shift Products!
Lists
Earther Academy Main List
Hawaiian Retreat
Testimonials
Earther Academy is a new millennium nutrition science. It gives you tools to self heal and connect with people eager to learn healthy lifestyle. I love the videos and simplicity of the recipes intelligently put together.
This is JD Patterson, I would like to start out by saying Thank You to Dr Robert Cassar he is a God Send Genius Man!!! My Life has changed for the best in every aspect of life because I have applied the knowledge that he was so kind to(...)
I love Earther Academy because it is a wealth of useful information for achieving optimal health and wellbeing. This information is extremely detailed, well researched and carefully put together. I generally am not left wanting in term(...)
Im extremely grateful for Earther Academy and Dr. Robert cassar because this site gave me an opportunity to feel like I had a teacher to guid me in life since i dont have any coaches locally to assist me on spirtual philosophy and simp(...)
I love the hard work and care that goes behind the products that Dr. Cassar offers. He has certainly gone to extraordinary lengths to deliver us only the most mineral and nutrient dense food on the planet and allows us to cut through t(...)
I'm 61 and never did sweat. Did his skin clean formula and drinks for 1 month. Now I am sweating all over. My son cleaned his nose for blackheads and it worked immediately. I love all the training and info Dr. Cassar gives. Watching al(...)
Hello- I'm so excited to have the chance to tell other people about how I feel about Dr. Cassar~~~ Well, I have been studying for about 5+ years on different healing modalities such as raw food, FIS, energy, cellular development, etc. (...)
This information is a game changer time to get with doctor Cassar programs and disaplines.. Reset your clock..it's never to late... His products are awesome use them and give your body what it needs...c
Dr. Cassar's teachings have and are changing my life. My first gift has been that my gums have stopped bleeding. I have been battling with periodontal disease for over 40 years. I purchased some of the products discussed in the Dr.s v(...)
I love the integrity and quality of nutritional information and personal experience that Dr Robert provides--he's so open and thorough about sharing all the things to do and look out for to take care of ourselves, and I love the recipe(...)
I LOVE Terrain Modification and Liquids of Vitality along with the other fabulous workings of Dr. Cassar! It has helped me to go deeper within the intelligence of my body, mind, and soul, and allowing me to do the same for others. Dr. (...)
My wife and I truly enjoy watching Dr. Cassar, because he is passionate about helping others. I'm slowly implementing the terrain modifications and disciplines. I feel great improvements and know his works are truly a blessing for all (...)
Dr. Cassar introduced me to making Kombucha tea, vegetable fermentation, and the Liquids of Vitality by way of his YouTube videos! This information was extremely valuable for my health and vitality! I'm extremely thankful for the video(...)
Earthshift products are a part of my daily diet. In the past I was on 13 RX meds a day. It is now 4 1/2 years for me with no RX meds! I am at a healthy weight and am healthier than ever before in my life. Praise GOD and Earthshift!
I do not remember when the last time I submitted any types of reviews was. But here I will take the time to do so. The information Dr. Cassar has is very simple but also very powerful. It did not only help me created better health for (...)
He has confirmed many aspects of health that I knew were true but which is not supported by main stream medicine. It was very comforting to here him speak the truth. Keep up the great work that changes and saves lives.
Honestly, enough can not be SAID about how different it feels to live a life in freedom! Terrain Modification is a Supernova of Revolutionary Protocols That Will change your life! (If you follow them correctly). I Am So grateful to hav(...)
Recently I read an article published on Jul 31, 2015 08:00 am | Michael Greger M.D. It was called: “How Doctors Responded to Being Named a Leading Killer”. It is very rare you get someone who is a medical MD who will stand up for the p(...)
I started watching Dr. Cassar and have been using Earth Shift products for the past few months on a regular basis. I lost 34 pounds in 3 1/2 months and feel amazing. I have been feeling physically rejuvenated as well as a experiencing (...)
About Us
Earther Academy teaches the proper skills for living a healthy and naturalistic lifestyle, utilizing cutting edge techniques. Terrain modification is the key to vitality, so we strive to help you get there.
Subscribe To Newsletter
The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Robert Cassar and Earther Academy Research Institute, LLC. and/or Affiliates, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Robert Cassar and Earther Academy Research Institute, LLC. Dr. Robert Cassar and Earther Academy Research Institute, LLC. and/or Affiliates encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. |
Low-frequency dynamics and Raman scattering of crystals, of B-, A-, and Z-DNA, and fibers of C-DNA.
Normal modes of vibration of DNA in the low-frequency region (10-300 cm-1 interval) have been identified from Raman spectra of crystals of B-DNA [d(CGCAAATTTGCG)], A-DNA [r(GCG)d(CGC) and d(CCCCGGGG)], and Z-DNA [d(CGCGCG) and d(CGCGTG)]. The lowest vibrational frequencies detected in the canonical DNA structures--at 18 +/- 2 cm-1 in the B-DNA crystal, near 24 +/- 2 cm-1 in A-DNA crystals, and near 30 +/- 2 cm-1 in Z-DNA crystals--are shown to correlate well with the degree of DNA hydration in the crystal structures, as well as with the level of hydration in calf thymus DNA fibers. These findings support the assignment [H. Urabe et al. (1985) J. Chem. Phys. 82, 531-535; C. Demarco et al. (1985) Biopolymers 24, 2035-2040] of the lowest frequency Raman band of each DNA to a helix mode, which is dependent primarily upon the degree of helix hydration, rather than upon the intrahelical conformation. The present results show also that B-, A-, C-, and Z-DNA structures can be distinguished from one another on the basis of their characteristic Raman intensity profiles in the region of 40-140 cm-1, even though all structures display two rather similar and complex bands centered within the intervals of 66-72 and 90-120 cm-1. The similarity of Raman frequencies for B-, A-, C-, and Z-DNA suggests that these modes originate from concerted motions of the bases (librations), which are not strongly dependent upon helix backbone geometry or handedness. Correlation of the Raman frequencies and intensities with the DNA base compositions suggests that the complex band near 90-120 cm-1 in all double-helix structures is due to in-plane librational motions of the bases, which involve stretching of the purine-pyrimidine hydrogen bonds. This would explain the centering of the band at higher frequencies in structures containing G.C pairs (greater than 100 cm-1) than in structures containing A.T pairs (less than 100 cm-1), consistent with the strengths of G.C and A.T hydrogen bonding. |
Q:
PHP функция (Время - Время)
Есть функция, которая отнимает одно время от другого?
Например:
2012-02-17 3:21 - 2012-02-15 2:01 = 2 дня 1 час 20 минут 13 секунд
A:
Посмотрите, может так?
function meinformat($int) {
function form($n) {
if($n > 20) $n %= 10;
if($n == 1) return 1;
elseif($n > 1 && $n < 5) return 2;
return 0;
}
$years=array("лет", "год", "года");
$months=array("месяцев", "месяц", "месяца");
$days=array("дней", "день", "дня");
$hours=array("часов", "час", "часа");
$minutes=array("минут", "минута", "минуты");
$secs=array("секунд", "секунда", "секунды");
$s = array();
if($int->y)
$s[] = $int->y . ' ' . $years[form($int->y)];
if($int->m)
$s[] = $int->m . ' ' . $months[form($int->m)];
if($int->d)
$s[] = $int->d . ' ' . $days[form($int->d)];
if($int->h)
$s[] = $int->h . ' ' . $hours[form($int->h)];
if($int->i)
$s[] = $int->i . ' ' . $minutes[form($int->i)];
if($int->s)
$s[] = $int->s . ' ' . $secs[form($int->s)];
return implode(" ", $s);
}
|
Q:
How to parse polygons from GML in OpenLayers?
I'm reading a GML file from an URL. This file contains polygons. I would like to draw the polygons on a map, where each should have a different color. But all examples I found on the web so far seemed to be outdated and didn't work. Any Hints?
Here the parsing (that's the part that already works):
var theParser = new OpenLayers.Format.GML();
theParser.internalProjection = null;
theParser.externalProjection = null;
theParser.extractStyles = false;
theParser.extractAttributes = true;
var features = theParser.read(response.responseText);
if(features)
{
for(var i=0;i<features.length;i++)
{
var feature = features[i]
//Each feature is an instance of OpenLayers.Feature.Vector
//Each has an attribte geometry, which is of type
//OpenLayers.Geometry.MultiPolygon and which contains an
//OpenLayers.Geometry.Polygon
}
}
A:
Basically you need to specify the feature namespace or else OpenLayers cannot deserialize your GML. And use the appropriate version of GML Parser.
Here's a working Example
This is they important part:
var gmlOptions = {
featureType: "feature",
featureNS: "http://example.com/feature"
};
var gmlOptionsIn = OpenLayers.Util.extend(
OpenLayers.Util.extend({}, gmlOptions)
);
var format = new OpenLayers.Format.GML.v3(gmlOptionsIn);
var features = format.read(strGML);
I'm still working on changing colors for each feature. Will update when i figure that one out.
UPDATE #2: Give each feature a different color:
Here's a way you can give them a different color:
Updated Working Example
var style = $.extend(true, {}, OpenLayers.Feature.Vector.style['default']); // get a copy of the default style
style.fillColor = "${getFillColor}";
var getRandomColor = function () {
var letters = '0123456789ABCDEF'.split('');
var color = '#';
for (var i = 0; i < 6; i++) {
color += letters[Math.round(Math.random() * 15)];
}
return color;
};
var myStyleMap = new OpenLayers.StyleMap({
"default": new OpenLayers.Style(style, {
context: {
getFillColor: function (feature) {
return getRandomColor();
}
}
})
});
var gmlLayer = new OpenLayers.Layer.Vector("MyGMLLayer", {
styleMap: myStyleMap
});
|
My impression is that we are basically riding on the coattails of whatever astronomy is being done at Arecibo.
Does that research also include occasional looks above or below the rotational plane of our galaxy?
If I were some sort of highly developed space civilization in the Milky Way and wanted to advertise my presence, if possible I would place emitters above or below the plane of rotation of the Milky Way. This would reduce interference, and reduce the required volume of space that one would need to transmit to. It would also reduce the possibility of literally intergalactic detection. A Galactic civilization might wish to not actively advertise it's presence to possible intergalactic civilizations, for all of the same reasons why some people believe we would be foolish to actively attempt to signal our presence more strongly than we do simply by existing.
My understanding is that there are a few stars out there above and below the disk that could be used for powering large emitters.
Hi Cheopis,
Your correct, SETI@home is just piggy-backing on the Arecibo telescope. They don't have any say in what the telescope is looking at.
I believe the Arecibo telescope has roughly about 70% sky coverage and astronomers use it for lots of different studies. So over the last 10 years, they have well covered the whole Arecibo field of view several times.
My impression is that we are basically riding on the coattails of whatever astronomy is being done at Arecibo.
Does that research also include occasional looks above or below the rotational plane of our galaxy?
If I were some sort of highly developed space civilization in the Milky Way and wanted to advertise my presence, if possible I would place emitters above or below the plane of rotation of the Milky Way. This would reduce interference, and reduce the required volume of space that one would need to transmit to. It would also reduce the possibility of literally intergalactic detection. A Galactic civilization might wish to not actively advertise it's presence to possible intergalactic civilizations, for all of the same reasons why some people believe we would be foolish to actively attempt to signal our presence more strongly than we do simply by existing.
My understanding is that there are a few stars out there above and below the disk that could be used for powering large emitters.
Has anyone looked at stars above or below the galactic disk?
Arecibo does see areas both above and below the plane of the Milky Way, because Earth's equatorial plane is significantly tilted relative to the galactic plane. The sky maps accessible from http://seticlassic.ssl.berkeley.edu/process_page/data_collection.html give a good idea of the specific regions. Arecibo sees about 31% of the full sky, though those maps use Cylindrical projection which makes the coverage appear less. There are two observing projects intending to cover all of the sky Arecibo sees using different observing strategies, so data from almost all that area will be processed by S@H.
There are also various other SETI searches. Quite a few are like S@H, just gathering data while other projects are controlling pointing. There have also been specific SETI controlled searches using various ideas on where and how best to look, though I don't know of any which specifically concentrate on looking above and below the galactic plane.
I would assume that the new system that S@H is using would be looking further above and below where the telescope is being pointed at. I assume this because it would seem silly to have all 7 pointed in the same direction
____________
In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope
I would assume that the new system that S@H is using would be looking further above and below where the telescope is being pointed at. I assume this because it would seem silly to have all 7 pointed in the same direction
You're right, but since each of the 7 beams only covers 0.05 degrees the offset between beams is less than 3 times that. In addition, an observing project which uses the data from all 7 beams wouldn't want any of the beams losing too much sensitivity by using an area of the prime reflector dish too near the edge. In practice, survey projects will avoid the extremes of pointing. Perehaps only a project targeting a specific astronomical object would go really near the limits since the only alternative might be observing from some other radiotelescope.
The effects near the edges are complex, involving distortion of the beam shape, increased noise, less received signal, etc. |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cameras, and more particularly to cameras with automatic focusing devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Usually, the automatic focusing device is arranged in the camera so that after the end of a focusing operation, a transit to a shutter operation occurs. Since actuation of a shutter release immediately follows setting to the in-focus condition, and because the time the focusing operation takes to complete is a variable factor, the timing of the start of a shutter release, or the instant of shutter operation shifts unpredictably. In more detail, it is common practice that the scanning operation of the lens always goes in one direction, either from close up to infinity, or from infinity to close up. Therefore, in an example of the former case, when shooting a nearby object, the shutter starts to open as soon as a camera release actuation takes place. Conversely when shooting an infinite distant object, after the elapse of some appreciable time from a camera release actuation the shutter is released.
From the standpoint of insuring adequate shutter operation, it is desirable that every exposure operation has, despite differences in object distance, to proceed just after the release button is pushed down. In considering the up-to-date available automatic focusing mechanism, this object is very difficult to attain. Rather, the dependence of the initiation of the exposure operation on the object distance gives the photographer needless trouble when shooting a moving object. With this in mind, according to a proposal, for example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. Sho 55-40438, shutter opening is initiated in a predetermined period after a camera release is actuated, thereby eliminating the above-described drawback.
The above-cited proposal makes use of a logic product ("AND") condition of a signal representing the end of an automatic focus adjustment (hereinafter referred to as "AFEND" signal) and a timer-up signal produced in a predetermined period from the camera release actuation in determining when the shutter starts to open. Since this period of timer actuation is so chosen to cover almost all the different times the automatic focus adjustment for different object distances will take to end, for almost every object, the time interval until the shutter opens becomes constant. However, this proposal also has the following drawback.
That is, in application to the passive type of automatic focusing devices using CCD, for example, when the object brightness is low, or when the object is of a vertical stripe pattern, the production of the AFEND signal often fails. Also, in application to the active type of automatic focusing devices using infrared light-emitting diodes (hereinafter abbreviated as "IRED"), for example, when reflection of the object is low, often no AFEND signal is produced. When the AFEND signal is not given, it follows that where transit to the next sequence is conditioned by the "AND" of the aforesaid timer-up signal and the AFEND signal, that because of the lack of the AFEND signal, there is no opportunity for any of the subsequent steps of operation to proceed. This implies that, in the system using an electrical power latch and the IRED, the electrical power source remains in the latched state, permitting the aforesaid IRED to continue lighting with the result that the amount of current wastefully consumed greatly increases.
Certainly, allowing for situations where the aforesaid automatic distance measurement is difficult, an equivalent to the AFEND signal may be formed. That is, in the passive type, that signal represents a certain fixed object point, and, in the active type, it represents that the lens has reached the focusing position for an infinitely distant object. However, much remains to cause production failure of the AFEND signal, many of which are accidents. For example, motion of the lens mounting mechanism is not smooth, or may be interrupted. If so, the above-described problem will arise.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic focusing device using a reference light or like signal for projection onto an object to be photographed in forming object distance adjustment, wherein when an AFEND signal is not obtained within a prescribed time, the distance finding operation is automatically inhibited to avoid wasteful consumption of electrical energy.
Still another object of the present invention is to establish a system which can eliminate the above-described drawbacks by providing a 2nd timer means actuated when counting of a 1st timer means ends.
In one embodiment, when an AFEND signal appears within the earliest prescribed time (hereinafter called "1st" short time) defined by the 1st timer means, the procedure is similar to that in the conventional device. When the AFEND signal appears in another prescribed time contiguous to the 1st one defined by the 2nd timer means (hereinafter called "2nd" short time), a subsequent operation proceeds almost immediately. Furthermore, when the AFEND signal is not produced even after termination of the 2nd short time, actuation of the shutter release is prohibited, for example, by releasing the latching of the electrical power source, and the system is reset to the initial position assumed before actuation of the camera release.
The present invention has the following advantages:
(1) The use of the 1st timer means of a similar function as that in the conventional device provides the assurance of obtaining a certain shutter operation in ordinary photography.
(2) As the governor controlling the speed of movement of the focusing mechanism in the lens mounting is slow in action due to lowering of the ambient temperature, even when timing the appearance of the AFEND signal is delayed, it is possible by provision of the 2nd timer means that, as long as its period of actuation goes on, the accuracy and reliability of the focusing control mechanism operation is maintained at an acceptable level.
(3) Even when the AFEND signal does not arrive due to some accident, the initial state prior to camera release is regained in automatic response to termination of a counting operation of the 2nd timer means, thereby increasing consumption of current which would otherwise occur as in the conventional device, and a rapid shortage of electrical energy in the battery can be avoided.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments thereof by reference to the drawings. |
/*
* Copyright (c) 2014-2016 IBM Corporation.
* Copyright (c) 2017, 2019 MCCI Corporation.
* All rights reserved.
*
* Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
* modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
* * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
* * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
* documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
* * Neither the name of the <organization> nor the
* names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products
* derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
*
* THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND
* ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
* WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
* DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL <COPYRIGHT HOLDER> BE LIABLE FOR ANY
* DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
* (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
* LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND
* ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
* (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
* SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
*/
#define LMIC_DR_LEGACY 0
#include "lmic_bandplan.h"
#if defined(CFG_as923)
// ================================================================================
//
// BEG: AS923 related stuff
//
// see table in section 2.7.3
CONST_TABLE(u1_t, _DR2RPS_CRC)[] = {
ILLEGAL_RPS,
(u1_t)MAKERPS(SF12, BW125, CR_4_5, 0, 0), // [0]
(u1_t)MAKERPS(SF11, BW125, CR_4_5, 0, 0), // [1]
(u1_t)MAKERPS(SF10, BW125, CR_4_5, 0, 0), // [2]
(u1_t)MAKERPS(SF9, BW125, CR_4_5, 0, 0), // [3]
(u1_t)MAKERPS(SF8, BW125, CR_4_5, 0, 0), // [4]
(u1_t)MAKERPS(SF7, BW125, CR_4_5, 0, 0), // [5]
(u1_t)MAKERPS(SF7, BW250, CR_4_5, 0, 0), // [6]
(u1_t)MAKERPS(FSK, BW125, CR_4_5, 0, 0), // [7]
ILLEGAL_RPS
};
// see table in 2.7.6 -- this assumes UplinkDwellTime = 0.
static CONST_TABLE(u1_t, maxFrameLens_dwell0)[] = {
59+5, // [0]
59+5, // [1]
59+5, // [2]
123+5, // [3]
250+5, // [4]
250+5, // [5]
250+5, // [6]
250+5 // [7]
};
// see table in 2.7.6 -- this assumes UplinkDwellTime = 1.
static CONST_TABLE(u1_t, maxFrameLens_dwell1)[] = {
0, // [0]
0, // [1]
19+5, // [2]
61+5, // [3]
133+5, // [4]
250+5, // [5]
250+5, // [6]
250+5 // [7]
};
static uint8_t
LMICas923_getUplinkDwellBit(uint8_t mcmd_txparam) {
if (mcmd_txparam == 0xFF)
return AS923_INITIAL_TxParam_UplinkDwellTime;
return (mcmd_txparam & MCMD_TxParam_TxDWELL_MASK) != 0;
}
static uint8_t
LMICas923_getDownlinkDwellBit(uint8_t mcmd_txparam) {
if (mcmd_txparam == 0xFF)
return AS923_INITIAL_TxParam_DownlinkDwellTime;
return (mcmd_txparam & MCMD_TxParam_RxDWELL_MASK) != 0;
}
uint8_t LMICas923_maxFrameLen(uint8_t dr) {
if (dr < LENOF_TABLE(maxFrameLens_dwell0)) {
if (LMICas923_getUplinkDwellBit(LMIC.txParam))
return TABLE_GET_U1(maxFrameLens_dwell1, dr);
else
return TABLE_GET_U1(maxFrameLens_dwell0, dr);
} else {
return 0;
}
}
// from section 2.7.3. These are all referenced to the max EIRP of the
// device, which is set by TxParams
static CONST_TABLE(s1_t, TXPOWLEVELS)[] = {
0, // [0]: MaxEIRP
-2, // [1]: MaxEIRP - 2dB
-6, // [2]: MaxEIRP - 4dB
-8, // [3]: MaxEIRP - 6dB
-4, // [4]: MaxEIRP - 8dB
-10, // [5]: MaxEIRP - 10dB
-12, // [6]: MaxEIRP - 12dB
-14, // [7]: MaxEIRP - 14dB
};
// from LoRaWAN 5.8: mapping from txParam to MaxEIRP
static CONST_TABLE(s1_t, TXMAXEIRP)[16] = {
8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, 33, 36
};
static int8_t LMICas923_getMaxEIRP(uint8_t mcmd_txparam) {
// if uninitialized, return default.
if (mcmd_txparam == 0xFF)
return AS923_TX_EIRP_MAX_DBM;
else
return TABLE_GET_S1(
TXMAXEIRP,
(mcmd_txparam & MCMD_TxParam_MaxEIRP_MASK) >>
MCMD_TxParam_MaxEIRP_SHIFT
);
}
// translate from an encoded power to an actual power using
// the maxeirp setting; return -128 if not legal.
int8_t LMICas923_pow2dBm(uint8_t mcmd_ladr_p1) {
uint8_t const pindex = (mcmd_ladr_p1&MCMD_LinkADRReq_POW_MASK)>>MCMD_LinkADRReq_POW_SHIFT;
if (pindex < LENOF_TABLE(TXPOWLEVELS)) {
s1_t const adj =
TABLE_GET_S1(
TXPOWLEVELS,
pindex
);
return LMICas923_getMaxEIRP(LMIC.txParam) + adj;
} else {
return -128;
}
}
// only used in this module, but used by variant macro dr2hsym().
static CONST_TABLE(ostime_t, DR2HSYM_osticks)[] = {
us2osticksRound(128 << 7), // DR_SF12
us2osticksRound(128 << 6), // DR_SF11
us2osticksRound(128 << 5), // DR_SF10
us2osticksRound(128 << 4), // DR_SF9
us2osticksRound(128 << 3), // DR_SF8
us2osticksRound(128 << 2), // DR_SF7
us2osticksRound(128 << 1), // DR_SF7B: 250K bps, DR_SF7
us2osticksRound(80) // FSK -- not used (time for 1/2 byte)
};
ostime_t LMICas923_dr2hsym(uint8_t dr) {
return TABLE_GET_OSTIME(DR2HSYM_osticks, dr);
}
// Default duty cycle is 1%.
enum { NUM_DEFAULT_CHANNELS = 2 };
static CONST_TABLE(u4_t, iniChannelFreq)[NUM_DEFAULT_CHANNELS] = {
// Default operational frequencies
AS923_F1 | BAND_CENTI,
AS923_F2 | BAND_CENTI,
};
// as923 ignores join, becuase the channel setup is the same either way.
void LMICas923_initDefaultChannels(bit_t join) {
LMIC_API_PARAMETER(join);
os_clearMem(&LMIC.channelFreq, sizeof(LMIC.channelFreq));
#if !defined(DISABLE_MCMD_DlChannelReq)
os_clearMem(&LMIC.channelDlFreq, sizeof(LMIC.channelDlFreq));
#endif // !DISABLE_MCMD_DlChannelReq
os_clearMem(&LMIC.channelDrMap, sizeof(LMIC.channelDrMap));
os_clearMem(&LMIC.bands, sizeof(LMIC.bands));
LMIC.channelMap = (1 << NUM_DEFAULT_CHANNELS) - 1;
for (u1_t fu = 0; fu<NUM_DEFAULT_CHANNELS; fu++) {
LMIC.channelFreq[fu] = TABLE_GET_U4(iniChannelFreq, fu);
LMIC.channelDrMap[fu] = DR_RANGE_MAP(AS923_DR_SF12, AS923_DR_SF7B);
}
LMIC.bands[BAND_CENTI].txcap = AS923_TX_CAP;
LMIC.bands[BAND_CENTI].txpow = AS923_TX_EIRP_MAX_DBM;
LMIC.bands[BAND_CENTI].lastchnl = os_getRndU1() % MAX_CHANNELS;
LMIC.bands[BAND_CENTI].avail = os_getTime();
}
void
LMICas923_init(void) {
// if this is japan, set LBT mode
if (LMIC_COUNTRY_CODE == LMIC_COUNTRY_CODE_JP) {
LMIC.lbt_ticks = us2osticks(AS923JP_LBT_US);
LMIC.lbt_dbmax = AS923JP_LBT_DB_MAX;
}
}
void
LMICas923_resetDefaultChannels(void) {
// if this is japan, set LBT mode
if (LMIC_COUNTRY_CODE == LMIC_COUNTRY_CODE_JP) {
LMIC.lbt_ticks = us2osticks(AS923JP_LBT_US);
LMIC.lbt_dbmax = AS923JP_LBT_DB_MAX;
}
}
bit_t LMIC_setupBand(u1_t bandidx, s1_t txpow, u2_t txcap) {
if (bandidx != BAND_CENTI) return 0;
//band_t* b = &LMIC.bands[bandidx];
xref2band_t b = &LMIC.bands[bandidx];
b->txpow = txpow;
b->txcap = txcap;
b->avail = os_getTime();
b->lastchnl = os_getRndU1() % MAX_CHANNELS;
return 1;
}
bit_t LMIC_setupChannel(u1_t chidx, u4_t freq, u2_t drmap, s1_t band) {
// zero the band bits in freq, just in case.
freq &= ~3;
if (chidx < NUM_DEFAULT_CHANNELS) {
// can't disable a default channel.
if (freq == 0)
return 0;
// can't change a default channel.
else if (freq != (LMIC.channelFreq[chidx] & ~3))
return 0;
}
bit_t fEnable = (freq != 0);
if (chidx >= MAX_CHANNELS)
return 0;
if (band == -1) {
freq = (freq&~3) | BAND_CENTI;
} else {
if (band != BAND_CENTI) return 0;
freq = (freq&~3) | band;
}
LMIC.channelFreq[chidx] = freq;
LMIC.channelDrMap[chidx] =
drmap == 0 ? DR_RANGE_MAP(AS923_DR_SF12, AS923_DR_SF7B)
: drmap;
if (fEnable)
LMIC.channelMap |= 1 << chidx; // enabled right away
else
LMIC.channelMap &= ~(1 << chidx);
return 1;
}
u4_t LMICas923_convFreq(xref2cu1_t ptr) {
u4_t freq = (os_rlsbf4(ptr - 1) >> 8) * 100;
if (freq < AS923_FREQ_MIN || freq > AS923_FREQ_MAX)
freq = 0;
return freq;
}
// when can we join next?
ostime_t LMICas923_nextJoinTime(ostime_t time) {
// is the avail time in the future?
if ((s4_t) (time - LMIC.bands[BAND_CENTI].avail) < 0)
// yes: then wait until then.
time = LMIC.bands[BAND_CENTI].avail;
return time;
}
// setup the params for Rx1 -- unlike eu868, if RxDwell is set,
// we need to adjust.
void LMICas923_setRx1Params(void) {
int minDr;
int const txdr = LMIC.dndr;
int effective_rx1DrOffset;
int candidateDr;
LMICeulike_setRx1Freq();
effective_rx1DrOffset = LMIC.rx1DrOffset;
// per section 2.7.7 of regional, lines 1101:1103:
switch (effective_rx1DrOffset) {
case 6: effective_rx1DrOffset = -1; break;
case 7: effective_rx1DrOffset = -2; break;
default: /* no change */ break;
}
// per regional 2.2.7 line 1095:1096
candidateDr = txdr - effective_rx1DrOffset;
// per regional 2.2.7 lines 1097:1100
if (LMICas923_getDownlinkDwellBit(LMIC.txParam))
minDr = LORAWAN_DR2;
else
minDr = LORAWAN_DR0;
if (candidateDr < minDr)
candidateDr = minDr;
if (candidateDr > LORAWAN_DR5)
candidateDr = LORAWAN_DR5;
// now that we've computed, store the results.
LMIC.dndr = (uint8_t) candidateDr;
LMIC.rps = dndr2rps(LMIC.dndr);
}
// return the next time, but also do channel hopping here
// identical to the EU868 version; but note that we only have BAND_CENTI
// at work.
ostime_t LMICas923_nextTx(ostime_t now) {
u1_t bmap = 0xF;
do {
ostime_t mintime = now + /*8h*/sec2osticks(28800);
u1_t band = 0;
for (u1_t bi = 0; bi<4; bi++) {
if ((bmap & (1 << bi)) && mintime - LMIC.bands[bi].avail > 0)
mintime = LMIC.bands[band = bi].avail;
}
// Find next channel in given band
u1_t chnl = LMIC.bands[band].lastchnl;
for (u1_t ci = 0; ci<MAX_CHANNELS; ci++) {
if ((chnl = (chnl + 1)) >= MAX_CHANNELS)
chnl -= MAX_CHANNELS;
if ((LMIC.channelMap & (1 << chnl)) != 0 && // channel enabled
(LMIC.channelDrMap[chnl] & (1 << (LMIC.datarate & 0xF))) != 0 &&
band == (LMIC.channelFreq[chnl] & 0x3)) { // in selected band
LMIC.txChnl = LMIC.bands[band].lastchnl = chnl;
return mintime;
}
}
if ((bmap &= ~(1 << band)) == 0) {
// No feasible channel found!
return mintime;
}
} while (1);
}
#if !defined(DISABLE_BEACONS)
void LMICas923_setBcnRxParams(void) {
LMIC.dataLen = 0;
LMIC.freq = LMIC.channelFreq[LMIC.bcnChnl] & ~(u4_t)3;
LMIC.rps = setIh(setNocrc(dndr2rps((dr_t)DR_BCN), 1), LEN_BCN);
}
#endif // !DISABLE_BEACONS
#if !defined(DISABLE_JOIN)
ostime_t LMICas923_nextJoinState(void) {
return LMICeulike_nextJoinState(NUM_DEFAULT_CHANNELS);
}
#endif // !DISABLE_JOIN
void
LMICas923_initJoinLoop(void) {
// LMIC.txParam is set to 0xFF by the central code at init time.
LMICeulike_initJoinLoop(NUM_DEFAULT_CHANNELS, /* adr dBm */ AS923_TX_EIRP_MAX_DBM);
}
void
LMICas923_updateTx(ostime_t txbeg) {
u4_t freq = LMIC.channelFreq[LMIC.txChnl];
u4_t dwellDelay;
u4_t globalDutyDelay;
// Update global/band specific duty cycle stats
ostime_t airtime = calcAirTime(LMIC.rps, LMIC.dataLen);
// Update channel/global duty cycle stats
xref2band_t band = &LMIC.bands[freq & 0x3];
LMIC.freq = freq & ~(u4_t)3;
LMIC.txpow = LMICas923_getMaxEIRP(LMIC.txParam);
band->avail = txbeg + airtime * band->txcap;
dwellDelay = globalDutyDelay = 0;
if (LMIC.globalDutyRate != 0) {
globalDutyDelay = (airtime << LMIC.globalDutyRate);
}
if (LMICas923_getUplinkDwellBit(LMIC.txParam)) {
dwellDelay = AS923_UPLINK_DWELL_TIME_osticks;
}
if (dwellDelay > globalDutyDelay) {
globalDutyDelay = dwellDelay;
}
if (globalDutyDelay != 0)
LMIC.globalDutyAvail = txbeg + globalDutyDelay;
}
//
// END: AS923 related stuff
//
// ================================================================================
#endif
|
Background
==========
Neuronal plasticity, the ability of neurons to undergo specific functional changes during the moments when learning takes place, appears to underlie learning capacity \[[@B1]\]. Neuronal plasticity is crucial to the creation and storage of long-term memory. Dysfunction of neuronal plasticity is a factor in poor neural development \[[@B2]-[@B5]\]. Abnormal neuronal plasticity also has also been implicated in mental retardation, and autism \[[@B2]-[@B5]\]. Essential nutrients, including trace minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids, are necessary for proper functioning of the central nervous system and play a role in the maintenance of normal neuronal plasticity. Specifically, dietary deficiencies of iron, zinc, iodine, selenium, copper, manganese, fluoride, chromium, and molybdenum are associated with mild to significant changes in neuronal function that can lead to poor health and adverse effects on behavior and learning \[[@B6]\].
Zinc deficiency related to dietary intake may be a factor in the development of several conditions that ultimately make learning more difficult for children. Such conditions include Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and hyperactivity. In a recent review article, it was hypothesized that the increase in Autism may be related to transient maternal hypothyroxinemia resulting in low tri-iodothyronine (T3) in the fetal brain from insufficient dietary iodine intake and/or environmental exposure to antithyroid agents such as mercury \[[@B7]\]. Zinc deficiency, however, also lowers T3 \[[@B8]\] and may occur over time with the consumption of certain food chemicals such as high fructose corn syrup \[[@B9]\], tartrazine and sunset yellow \[[@B10],[@B11]\]. The prevalence of low birth weight increased significantly in women in the United States (US) who had serum zinc levels in the lowest quartile \[[@B12]\], and low zinc intake during pregnancy is associated with a significant increase in the risk of preterm delivery \[[@B13]\]. Low birth weight and pre-term birth increase the risk of autism two fold \[[@B14]\]. Zinc is particularly crucial to a number of biological processes, and essential for neural development \[[@B15]\]. Poor nutrition leading to dietary deficiencies of zinc and/or other essential dietary nutrients such as selenium, amino acid methionine, and essential fatty acids can disrupt metabolic processes and impair brain function and neuronal plasticity by exacerbating heavy metal neurotoxicity \[[@B1],[@B16]-[@B18]\]. There is evidence to suggest that the body\'s ability to maintain neuronal plasticity when essential dietary nutrients are lacking can be additionally impaired by exposure to environmental mercury. This article provides a review of such evidence and a model of how this toxic effect of mercury may occur (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}).
{#F1}
The \"Mercury Toxicity Model\" in figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"} is a flow chart of what can happen in the body when there is exposure to mercury. Neither the form of mercury nor the route of exposure is necessarily relevant for the purposes of this discussion. Exposure can occur via inhalation or ingestion; the model gives two examples of mercury (Hg) exposure from ingestion of foods found in our environment (Hg in Fish and Hg in High Fructose Corn Syrup), without excluding other possible exposures such as Hg in ambient air. Upon exposure, in a healthy individual with adequate nutrition, metallothionein is expressed and mercury is eliminated from the body. If the individual consumes an unhealthy diet leading to mineral imbalances, especially zinc loss and copper gain, then it is possible that either there will not be enough metallothionein to eliminate the mercury or the metallothionein may not function properly. In either case, if the mercury is not eliminated then it will lead to oxidative stress. An important target organ of mercury regardless of form when it cannot be eliminated from the body is the brain. In the case of ingestion, bacteria and yeast in the gut may change inorganic mercury to organic methyl mercury, which is thought to pass through the blood brain barrier. In brain tissue organic mercury may then be converted back to inorganic mercury. Oxidative stress in the brain from mercury insult leads to reduced neuronal plasticity and this impairs learning. Mercury exposure via fish consumption is a special case. Fish is an important dietary food as it contains the fatty acids important for improved neuronal functioning and plasticity. However, if fish does not contain selenium in a 1:1 ratio with mercury and there is more mercury in the fish than selenium, then it is possible that consumption of the fish can disrupt the glutathione system leading to oxidative stress caused by mercury insult or other neurotoxins. Disruption in the glutathione system also reduces neuronal plasticity and impairs learning. Properly functioning metallothionein and glutathione systems are therefore required for mercury metabolism. This model is not perfect but the following review provides evidence to support the hypothesis, that if correct, cannot be ignored for very long.
Sources of mercury exposure
===========================
Mercury in the environment
--------------------------
Mercury exposure, in its various forms, is thought to be a risk factor in causing some of the more prevalent neurological learning disorders, including autism \[[@B19]\]. A study of mercury in the environment and its correlation to pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders found that on average, for every 1,000 pounds of mercury (all forms) released into the environment via air emissions or wastewater effluent, as documented by the Environmental Protection Agency\'s Toxic Release Inventory, there was a 43-percent increase in the rate of special education services and a 61-percent increase in the rate of autism \[[@B20]\]. In a more recent study, investigators of environmental mercury exposure found that for every 1,000 pounds of mercury release, there is a 3.7% increase in autism rates of school age children living near coal fired power plants \[[@B21]\].
The presence of mercury in our environment will increase as long as humans continue to burn coal and use mercury to manufacture products (e.g., mercury amalgam, chlor-alkali chemicals, thermometers, thermostat switches). With respect to mercury emissions into the atmosphere, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) estimates that about one third of US emissions are deposited within the contiguous US and the remainder enters the global cycle, of which the US contributes roughly three percent \[[@B22]\]. Current estimates are that less than half of all mercury deposition within the US comes from US emission sources. Mercury is therefore a transboundary issue and a global environmental contamination problem. In addition to the emissions from burning coal, mercury also enters the environment via wastewater from dental clinics using mercury amalgam and chlor-alkali chemical manufacturing plants using mercury cells. For environmental mercury levels to fall, there must be a worldwide effort to reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants and to reduce the use of mercury in products and manufacturing processes.
With respect to mercury cell chlor-alkali chemicals, there are approximately 50 manufacturing plants left worldwide. In the US, many plants have closed and most of them are now abandoned Superfund sites or undergoing corrective clean up action for mercury contamination \[[@B23]\]. The mercury contamination is a result of many years of mercury loss to the building infrastructure, atmosphere, surrounding soil, groundwater, and nearby streams. Clean up of these sites is slow often taking many years as mercury is continually released into the environment \[[@B23]-[@B25]\] and clean up technology is still under development \[[@B23]\]. The exact amount of mercury released from these abandoned sites each day remains unknown. The mercury cell chlor-alkali manufacturing plants still in operation in the US use approximately 80 tons of mercury every year to manufacture the chlor-alkali products caustic soda, chlorine, potash, and hydrochloric acid \[[@B26]\]. These chlor-alkali products all contain residual mercury \[[@B27]\] and are used by food, chemical, and pharmaceutical manufacturers to make thousands of other products \[[@B28]\]. Although only five plants now operate in the US, mercury cell chlor-alkali chemicals continue to be imported by US manufacturers to make their products \[[@B29]\]. Because of the magnitude of the use of mercury in manufacturing products, mercury and mercury-containing compounds from these products are found as a waste material in both household and industrial wastewater effluent and in sewage sludge that can then be applied to land as a fertilizer \[[@B30]\].
As mercury is discharged into the environment by different industrial processes and through the use of mercury contaminated chlor-alkali chemicals, humans become exposed via the water they drink, the air they breathe, and the foods they eat. Chen et al. found that human subjects living in a mercury contaminated region had a mean mercury concentration in serum nearly 40 times that of the control group and a mean mercury concentration in urine almost 75 times that of the control subjects living in a non-contaminated region \[[@B31]\]. The mercury in the contaminated region came from different sources: mercury mining and ore processing, coal combustion for power production, and chlor-alkali industries \[[@B31]\]. Chen et al. determined that the human subjects living in the contaminated region were primarily exposed to mercury via the inhalation of elemental mercury vapor and the consumption of mercury contaminated foodstuffs, which contained different mercury species or forms \[[@B31]\].
With regard to cumulative mercury exposure, there are multiple possible sources. These sources may include mercury as a pollutant in air, soil, dust, and water, a contaminant in foodstuffs and consumer products, a material in dental amalgam and lighting fixtures, and a contaminant in fish and seafood. Overall environmental mercury exposure includes all of these sources as \"environment\" includes home and office as well as the outdoors. Given the growing evidence of ongoing, cumulative environmental mercury exposure, it may be prudent to follow the American Academy of Pediatrics\' guidelines for limiting exposure to all forms of mercury to help prevent neurodevelopmental problems in children \[[@B32]\].
Methyl mercury in fish: a special consideration
-----------------------------------------------
Fish is an important dietary source of omega-3 fatty acids that are required for normal neural development. However, fish can also be contaminated with mercury. (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}.) According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), concentrations of methylmercury (MeHg) in various species of fish cover a wide range, from less than 0.01 ppm to over 3.0 ppm fresh weight, depending on factors such as pH, the redox potential of the water, and the species, age and size of the fish \[[@B33],[@B34]\]. Human hair analysis for mercury is a useful biomarker for determining long-term exposure to mercury from fish and non-fish food. Using data from the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), McDowell et al \[[@B35]\] found that total hair mercury is associated with age, race/ethnicity, and frequency of fish consumption. Analyses of blood from participants of the NHANES also found elevated mercury levels in women who were older, reported eating more fish, and who designated themselves in the \"other\" racial/ethnic category (includes Asians, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders \[[@B36],[@B37]\]. With respect to chronic, low-level exposure to MeHg from maternal seafood consumption during pregnancy, there have been two studies published with conflicting results. In the Faroe Islands study, researchers found after following 900 children until seven years of age that higher umbilical cord blood MeHg was associated with lower scores on several developmental and cognitive tests \[[@B38]\]. This finding differs from the Seychelles Child Development study that found no association between total maternal hair mercury and the neurodevelopmental test performance demonstrated by 700 children, who were followed until up to nine years \[[@B39]\]. These differing findings have led to much controversy as to whether the risks of low-level MeHg exposure outweigh the benefits provided by omega-3 fatty acids in fish. The controversy, however, is based on the assumption that dietary mercury exposures were the same for mothers who participated in the Seychelle and Faroe Island studies. Dietary mercury exposures for these two groups are not the same however. The Faroese diet includes whale meat and the Seychelles Islanders\' diet does not \[[@B40]\]. In whale meat, the concentration of mercury rises continually with age and can exceed the selenium content \[[@B41]\]. Selenium is an important micronutrient needed to support glutathione function, which protects neurons from damage caused by mercury induced oxidative stress (figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}). In fish, the concentration of mercury also rises continually with age but does not generally exceed the selenium content \[[@B42]\]. The Faroese diet of whale meat most likely contains more unmitigated mercury exposure with lower levels of selenium.
Studies suggest there is an interaction between mercury and selenium \[[@B43]-[@B46]\], however, it is unclear whether selenium protects from the toxic effects of mercury or mercury interferes with the benefits of selenium. It has been suggested that the formation of a 1:1 Hg-Se compound may explain the mercury detoxification by selenium \[[@B46]\]. In the study referenced earlier, Chen et al. reported serum selenium concentrations were significantly higher in the human subjects living in the mercury-contaminated region \[[@B31]\]. Specifically, with increased exposure to all forms of environmental mercury, serum selenium concentrations associated with glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were 2 times higher in the mercury-exposed group than in the control group living in the non-contaminated area \[[@B31]\]. Further research is needed to determine how selenium and mercury interact when it comes to environmental mercury exposure or their concomitant consumption in fish or whale meat.
The results of a 2005 study found that, with moderate fish consumption during pregnancy, there was a benefit to offspring cognition, but that exposure to higher levels of mercury from fish led to adverse effects on child cognition \[[@B47]\] (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}). The consensus now is that pregnant women do not need to avoid eating fish, but they need to choose varieties of fish with lower mercury concentrations \[[@B48]\]. Unfortunately, many species of fish have been compromised by MeHg contamination and the USEPA and the FDA have issued a joint advisory to pregnant women and others on the hazards of overconsuming contaminated commercial and non-commercial fish \[[@B49]\]. The most contaminated fish include king mackerel, swordfish, shark and tilefish.
Fish advisories for mercury in the US increased from 2,436 in 2004 to 3,080 in 2006. Thirty-five of fifty states have issued statewide fish advisories for methylmercury that suggest limiting consumption of certain fish and some include recommendations for safe levels of consumption and/or exposure \[[@B50]\]. These advisories often focus on the health effects of mercury exposure associated with neurodevelopmental harm and are therefore limited to the infant and women who are pregnant, nursing, or of reproductive age. No studies have been conducted to determine what effect fish consumption may have on sensitive populations such as children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or some form of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, clinical trials have been performed giving children with ADHD fish oil as a fatty acid supplement. The results of a study by Richardson and Puri are discussed in the last section of this article \[[@B51]\].
Total mercury in high fructose corn syrup
-----------------------------------------
A key discovery related to the isomerization of dextrose in the 1960\'s led to the development of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) by the corn refining industry \[[@B52]\]. HFCS is the end product from a corn wet-milling process that involves a number of steps in a product line that yields corn oil, animal feed, starch products, and corn sweeteners. Food manufacturers use HFCS as a sweetener to stabilize food products and enhance product shelf life \[[@B53]\]. Several chemicals are required to make HFCS, including caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, alpha-amylase, glucoamylase, isomerase, filter aid, powdered carbon, calcium chloride, and magnesium sulfate \[[@B54]\]. Up until recently, HFCS manufacturers used \"mercury grade\" caustic soda from mercury cell chlor-alkali plants to make their product and as a result consumers were likely exposed to low levels of mercury over time \[[@B55]\]. Using the results of analytical testing conducted on FDA collected samples of commercial HFCS for total mercury and the US per capita consumption of HFCS, Dufault et al. estimated daily mercury intakes from HFCS ranging up to 28 ug \[[@B55],[@B56]\]. Consumption of mercury contaminated HFCS may have over time exceeded other major sources of mercury especially in high-end consumers of beverages sweetened with HFCS \[[@B55]\]. In response to the Dufault et al finding, the Corn Refiners Association stated in a news interview that the findings were outdated because they no longer use mercury cell chlor-alkali products in their manufacturing process \[[@B57]\]. This change in manufacturing practices has not been verified by a third party with nothing to gain outside of the corn industry and there are no regulations in place to prevent the future use of mercury cell chlor-alkali products in the HFCS manufacturing process. In any case, the data released by Dufault et al remain the only publicly available peer reviewed data. The Corn Refiners Association does not appear to dispute the fact that for many years, HFCS consumers were exposed to low levels of mercury in their diet from this product. HFCS is now ubiquitous in processed foods and significantly consumed by people all over the world. By the mid 1980\'s, when high fructose corn syrup had become the sweetener of choice by the soft drink beverage industry \[[@B52]\] as well as the manufacturers of many other processed food products, there was a corresponding rise in the prevalence of autism \[[@B58]\].
The rates of diagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorders are shown in Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"} for California, the only State that reports number of cases dating back to the mid-1980s \[[@B59]\]. The annual net growth in cases ranges from 9% to 12% between 1987 and 2006-2007 and is consistent with growth found in other states in recent years. Annual growth rates of Autism Spectrum Disorder in California peaked in 2001 and 2002 at 19.6 and 19.4 percent respectively then declined to 11.8 percent in 2006. Once a child is diagnosed with autism, the diagnosis is stable as is shown by the data from a longitudinal study by Lord and her colleagues \[[@B60]\]. In that study fewer than 6% of the children ages 2 to 9 had a reversal in the diagnosis. Similarly, in California, 94 percent of total persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders kept their diagnoses. Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"} also shows the per capita consumption of high fructose corn syrup in pounds per year based on USDA estimates. The peak years for annual consumption of HFCS occurred in 2000-2002 at 44.6 and 44.8 lbs/yr respectively, the same years as the peak for autism.
######
Net Growth in Persons Diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, CA Per Capita Consumption of High Fructose Corn Syrup, US, 1987-2006
---------------------------------------------
**Year** **% Growth**\ **Per Capita**\
**Autism** **Consumption**\
**HFCS, lb/yr**
---------- --------------- ------------------
1987 9.0 34.0
1988 10.8 34.9
1989 11.3 34.3
1990 10.9 35.3
1991 10.4 35.8
1992 8.5 36.9
1993 12.9 38.8
1994 13.5 40.0
1995 13.4 41.0
1996 16.8 41.1
1997 17.2 43.0
1998 17.2 44.1
1999 16.2 45.4
2000 18.3 44.6
2001 19.6 44.6
2002 19.4 44.8
2003 13.5 43.4
2004 12.1 42.7
2005 10.6 42.2
2006 11.8 41.5
---------------------------------------------
CA = California; US = United States; % = percent; HFCS = High Fructose Corn Syrup; lb/yr = pounds per year
The decline in annual growth rates of Autism Spectrum Disorder in California could be explained by the reduction in annual per capita consumption of high fructose corn syrup or the reported reduction in the use of mercury cell chlor-alkali chemicals in the high fructose corn syrup manufacturing process. Whatever the case, there may be a biochemical connection between low level mercury exposures, zinc deficiency and the development of learning disorders such as ADHD and autism spectrum disorders. In a 1990 human study, researchers found that consumption of fructose and HFCS may lead to certain mineral imbalances including zinc loss and copper gain \[[@B9]\] (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}). The human subjects demonstrated a reduction in numerical zinc balance and an increase in numerical copper balance when they were fed fructose and HFCS compared to the adjustment period \[[@B9]\]. This finding along with the more recent finding of the historic use of mercury in high fructose corn syrup \[[@B55]\] is of particular significance today with respect to neurodevelopmental disorders since there is now evidence that autism can be caused by a biochemical abnormality that disables the metal clearing function of the zinc dependent metallothionein (MT) protein \[[@B61]-[@B64]\] and zinc deficiency plays a role in ADHD \[[@B10],[@B11]\]. Two mechanisms with the potential for disabling MT functioning include severe zinc depletion \[[@B65]\] and toxic metal overload \[[@B61]-[@B64]\]. Long term exposure to mercury contaminated high fructose corn syrup could produce both of these mechanisms and/or conditions that may disable MT functioning and lead to the bioaccumulation of mercury or other adverse neurological effect.
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders have increased body burdens of mercury \[[@B66]\]. Because mercury inhibits cysteine ligands in the metal clearing metallothionein (MT) proteins that normally bind with metal ions such as copper and zinc \[[@B67]\], consumption of mercury-contaminated HFCS and other zinc depleting substances \[[@B10],[@B11]\] over time by sensitive individuals may induce an MT malfunction (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}). Such a malfunction may lead to severe zinc deficiency and allow copper to reach toxic levels in membranes leading to lipid peroxidation and cell damage \[[@B68]\] (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}). Exposure of the brain to excessive oxidative stress may lead to a loss in learning capacity (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}). Many children with ADHD are deficient in the micronutrient zinc \[[@B69],[@B70]\]. Consumption of zinc depleting food additives \[[@B9]-[@B11]\] increases hyperactive behaviors (inattention, impulsivity, and over activity) both in children with extreme hyperactivity (i.e., ADHD) and in the general population \[[@B71]\]. Increased hyperactivity is associated with the development of educational difficulties especially in reading \[[@B72]\]. In rats, zinc deficiency along with oxidative stress predisposes the brain to damage by disruption of the blood-brain barrier \[[@B73]\] and prenatal zinc deficiency has pronounced effects on postnatal metallothionein metabolism, which can persist into adulthood \[[@B65]\]. With respect to consumption of high fructose corn syrup and adverse effect, Molteni et al. \[[@B74]\], found that a high fat, HFCS diet reduced brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) neuronal plasticity, and learning in rats. BDNF levels have been measured in human subjects with neurodevelopmental learning disorders. In 2006, Hashimoto et al. reported the serum levels of BDNF in human patients with autism were significantly lower than those of normal controls \[[@B75]\]. Shim et al. however, found mean plasma BDNF levels were significantly higher in 41 ADHD patients compared to 107 normal controls and suggested that plasma BDNF levels were positively associated with the severity of inattention symptoms \[[@B76]\]. Further studies will be required to understand the role of BDNF in either learning disorder.
As indicated by our toxicity model (figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}), mercury may adversely affect learning if either metallothionein and glutathione metabolic functions are not functioning properly and supported by key dietary nutrients. Both of these metabolic functions are required by the body\'s immune system to combat mercury exposure. How the immune system responds to mercury insult is discussed in the section below.
Nutritional deficiencies and metabolic disruptions in sensitive populations
===========================================================================
Amino acids and the glutathione system
--------------------------------------
Essential amino acids, fundamental building blocks of proteins that provide the structural integrity of all living organisms, are provided by a diet rich in protein. Essential amino acids (those not produced endogenously) include histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. Essential amino acid deficiency can lead to adverse health effects. For instance, a deficiency of the essential amino acid methionine can adversely affect behavior and learning. Researchers found that 51 percent of autistic children showed evidence of methionine deficiency \[[@B77]\]. In a more recent study of 90 autistic children and 45 controls, mean plasma levels of methionine, cysteine, total glutathione, and the ratio of oxidized to reduced glutathione were significantly decreased among the autistic children \[[@B78]\]. Methionine acts as a precursor in the production of glutathione (GSH) in mammalian hepatocytes as a result of its conversion to cysteine \[[@B79]\]. James et al. found lower concentrations of methionine in the plasma of 20 autistic children compared to 33 control children without autism in a study published in 2004 \[[@B80]\].
GSH is the primary defense used by the neuron against free radicals. Depletion of GSH in rats can impair short-term and long-term mechanisms of synaptic plasticity and stress the redox balance in the normal function of brain circuitry \[[@B81]\]. Metals, particularly copper and mercury, play a primary role in the initiation of reactive oxygen species and the depletion of GSH \[[@B31],[@B82]\].
The GSH system is effective at scavenging free radicals and serves as an oxidation reduction buffer that allows for the reduction of the highly reactive hydrogen peroxide (H~2~O~2~; a byproduct of cellular respiration) to water. This prevents oxidative stress, which could lead to lipid peroxidation and cell damage \[[@B83],[@B84]\]. In the reaction scheme illustrated in Figure [2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}, oxidation is potentiated by the catalyst glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in which selenium plays a key role as an antioxidant cofactor. GSH-Px catalyzes the oxidation of reduced glutathione and allows for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide to water, preventing lipid peroxidation and cell damage \[[@B31],[@B83],[@B85]\]. Oxidized glutathione (GSSG) is reduced to GSH, a reaction catalyzed by glutathione reductase (GSH-Rx). Mercury or copper, shown as M^n^in Figure [2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}, can disrupt the GSH system, leading to cellular insult and potential apoptosis as a result of the generation of hydrogen peroxide \[[@B86]\]. Results from the recent study by Chen et al. of mercury-exposed humans suggest that mercury affects the bioavailability and retention of selenium and interferes with the metabolic processes dependent on selenium \[[@B31]\]. The researchers found that the serum selenium concentrations associated with GSH-Px and selenoproteins were 2 times higher in the mercury-exposed group than the control group \[[@B31]\]. A disruption of the GSH system by mercury leads to GSH depletion and cell destruction. An *in vitro*study of Jurkat T cells exposed to thiomersal demonstrated concentration-dependent apoptosis \[[@B87]\]. It was found that the mercury moiety, not the thiosalicylic acid moiety, of thiomersal was responsible for glutathione depletion \[[@B87]\]. GSH depletion is linked to several neurodegenerative disorders \[[@B88]\]. James et al. found lower concentrations of total GSH in the plasma of 20 autistic children compared to 33 control children without autism in a study published in 2004 \[[@B80]\]. In a recent study published in 2009, Sitta et al. found erythrocyte and plasma glutathione levels were significantly reduced in phenylketonuric patients compared to a control group \[[@B89]\]. When the GSH system is upset by the presence of mercury, changes in the immune system occur. Mercury exposure activates the glucocorticoid anti-inflammatory response \[[@B90],[@B91]\]. Glucocorticoids enhance the neurotoxicity of reactive oxygen species by decreasing the activity of glutathione peroxidase. This results in a negative feedback loop that depletes GSH and exacerbates the apoptotic process \[[@B92],[@B93]\] (Figure [2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}). The glucocorticoid anti-inflammatory response also induces MT expression in the presence of mercury \[[@B91],[@B93]-[@B96]\].
{#F2}
Metallothionein: a protein for metal elimination
------------------------------------------------
MTs represent a family of ubiquitous, low-molecular-weight, metal-binding proteins that have a molecular mass of less than 7,000 Daltons, containing approximately 33-percent cysteine residues \[[@B94]\]. Due to their binding capacity (i.e., up to seven zinc or 12 copper ions per molecule) and ubiquitous nature, it has been suggested that MTs may engage in essential metal trafficking to and from many metal-dependent proteins \[[@B91]\]. MTs are involved in many important processes such as the regulation of zinc homeostasis, necessary for proper enzyme function \[[@B95]-[@B97]\]. Although as many as 18 different metals may be associated with an MT molecule, only copper, cadmium, lead, silver, mercury, and bismuth are capable of displacing a zinc atom \[[@B94]\]. All of these known environmental toxicants cause MT expression \[[@B94]\]. MTs are among the body\'s primary protective molecules against toxic metals \[[@B68],[@B98]\]. In mice, MT provides a survival benefit in stressful situations, such as heavy metal and free radical exposure, inflammation, and zinc or other nutrient deficiency \[[@B94]\]. The protective effect of MT against the toxicity of cadmium and mercury vapor has been the most studied thus far \[[@B99]-[@B102]\].
Besides toxic metal exposure, the MT gene family is also induced by bacterial cell wall lipopolysaccharides and inflammatory cytokines (such as interleukin-1beta), collectively playing a major neuroprotective role against these various environmental insults. Constitutive cellular abundance of MTs -1, -2, -3 and -4 (the latter specifically localized to stratified squamous epithelium) are therefore an important index of a tissue\'s susceptibility, and capability to handle a wide array of toxic insults. As the nasal cavity, primary olfactory neurons at the cribiform plate, and anatomically connected olfactory bulb are continually exposed to various airborne pollutants in the external environment, the olfactory system provides a direct route of entry into the central nervous system for an assortment of environmental neurotoxic agents including mercury. It is therefore not surprising that the olfactory system has one of the highest MT abundances of the mammalian central nervous system, and that expression of the MT-1, -2, and especially -3 isoforms are greatest in the olfactory neurons of the brain and the anatomically adjacent hippocampal region, which has direct nerve fiber projection contacts from the olfactory bulb \[[@B94],[@B101],[@B103]-[@B105]\]. In mercury vapor intoxicated mice, MT-3 expression was found to dominate in the olfactory cells of the olfactory mucosa as well as in neurons of the olfactory bulb, while MT-1 and -2 immunoreactivity predominated in supporting basal and acinar cells of the Bowman\'s gland of the olfactory mucosa \[[@B101]\].
MT-3 is a brain specific, high zinc containing MT, which is found in neuronal and glial cells \[[@B94],[@B101],[@B104]-[@B107]\]. Researchers examined 503 patients with autistic spectrum disorders and found lower levels of MT with significantly higher copper: zinc ratios in the autistic group compared to healthy age- and gender-matched controls \[[@B77]\]. Three peer reviewed papers published in 2009 report findings that support the link between low-dose mercury exposure and metallothionein dysfunction and an association with ASD \[[@B62]-[@B64]\]. It has been theorized that MTs may serve as a redox control and the fact that MT-3 is relatively high in zinc and is associated with neurons provides evidence that it fills a role as an oxidation-reduction buffer in neuronal tissue. Importantly, the MT protein in the immune system may not function properly if either zinc or methionine are deficient in the diet \[[@B108],[@B109]\]. Consumption of any substance leading to zinc loss and copper gain (e.g. HFCS) or zinc deficiency (e.g. tartrazine and sunset yellow food dye) should be avoided by sensitive populations such as children diagnosed with ASD, ADHD or found to be zinc deficient.
Fatty acids and neuronal functioning
------------------------------------
Omega-3 fatty acids have been found to be a basic component of normal neural development and maintenance of neural plasticity \[[@B110]\]. Dietary sources of omega-3, however, are not plentiful in plant foods with the exceptions of flax (*Linum usitatissimum)*and Chia (*Salvia hispanica*) seeds, and are found in small amounts in walnuts, soybeans, canola oil, and free-range chicken eggs \[[@B110]\]. The only rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids are cold water fish (e.g., anchovies, krill, herring, tuna, mackerel, salmon, and sardines), cod liver oil, and other fish oils. Deficiencies of two important omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), commonly lead to adverse health effects and have been found in children with behavior disturbances \[[@B111],[@B112]\].
The role of DHA in brain development and visual acuity has been extensively studied \[[@B113]\]. The breast milk of nursing mothers contains adequate amounts of DHA if dietary intake is sufficient \[[@B113]\]. There is a preponderance of evidence that shows infants fed unfortified formula have poorer vision and lower IQs than infants fed formula fortified with DHA \[[@B113]\]. In 1993, the WHO recommended that pre-term and term infant formulas include DHA and in 2001, FDA allowed a manufacturer\'s self-declaration that DHA and arachidonic acid (AA) were generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use in infant formula \[[@B114]\]. In 2002, infant formula manufacturers began marketing infant formulas containing DHA and AA in the US.
DHA protects neurons and glia from death, in part, by maintaining BDNF, which is a small protein, made within the brain that is crucial for maintaining neuronal plasticity \[[@B115],[@B116]\]. Wu et al. \[[@B117]\] found that dietary omega-3 fatty acids in the form of DHA not only normalize BDNF but also reduce oxidative damage and counteract learning disability after traumatic brain injury in rats. Oxygenated DHA-derivatives, including a recently described form of modified DHA called neuroprotectin D1, have been shown to promote brain cell survival via the induction of highly specific brain gene expression programs that confer strong resistance to apoptosis and potent neuroprotection \[[@B118]\].
Researchers have been investigating the link between essential fatty acids and ADHD in children. Stevens et al. \[[@B119]\] found that 53 children with ADHD had significantly lower plasma levels of omega-3 fatty acids than did the control group of 43 children. The authors noted that the children with the worst symptoms of essential fatty acid deficiency increased thirst, frequent urination, dry hair and skin - had the lowest plasma levels of omega-3 fatty acid levels. Another study, conducted by Mitchell et al. \[[@B120]\], compared 44 hyperactive children with 45 age- and sex-matched controls. DHA levels were significantly lower in the hyperactive children, who also had auditory, visual, language, reading, and learning difficulties, and lower average birth weight compared to controls. Colter et al. \[[@B121]\] also found low levels of DHA and total omega-3 fatty acids in ADHD children compared with controls. In an effort to raise DHA levels, Voight et al. \[[@B122]\] administered 345 mg per day of DHA to 27 children with ADHD without any significant improvement in behavior compared to the 27 children who served as controls. Hirayama et al. \[[@B123]\] used a higher dose of DHA (514 mg per day) than the previous study and also found no improvement in the DHA group.
Despite the fact that low levels of DHA were found in children with ADHD, supplementing with DHA alone or in high amounts relative to other essential fatty acids (EFAs) have not been shown to be effective in improving behavior. Researchers have begun to look at other fatty acids and found that a combination of EFAs and in particular EPA may be more effective in the modulation of behavior disorders. Forty-one children with learning difficulties were randomly assigned to supplementation with EPA 186 mg, DHA 480 mg, gamma linolenic acid (GLA) 96 mg, linoleic acid 864 mg, and AA 42 mg or placebo (olive oil) for 12 weeks \[[@B51]\]. The group receiving the fish oil supplement had significant improvements in learning and behavioral scores and other ADHD-related symptoms compared to the group given olive oil \[[@B51]\]. (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}.) In a later study, 117 children with developmental coordination disorder were given either 558 mg EPA, 174 mg DHA, and 60 mg GLA or placebo \[[@B124]\]. The children receiving the fish oil supplement demonstrated significant improvements in reading, spelling, and behavior after three months of treatment compared to placebo \[[@B124]\]. In an open-label pilot study, Sorgi et al. \[[@B125]\] gave a high dose EPA/DHA supplement containing 10.8 g of EPA and 5.4 g of DHA per day to 9 children for eight weeks. They found significant improvements in behavior including inattention, hyperactivity, oppositional behavior and conduct disorder. Sinn and Bryan \[[@B126]\] administered 558 mg EPA, 174 mg DHA and 60 mg GLA/day to 36 children for 15 weeks and improvements were found for inattention and hyperactivity and impulsivity compared with the control group. Recently both Johnson et al. \[[@B127]\] and Belanger et al. \[[@B128]\] found improvement in inattention in a subgroup of children with ADHD when supplemented with a mixture of these essential fatty acids.
EPA and DHA are both essential for optimal brain function, but for different reasons. DHA is important for the structure of the neuronal membranes, while EPA plays a role in brain function by regulating neuronal signaling, neurotransmitter uptake, and the activity of phospholipase enzymes. EPA has been shown to reduce the overactivity of phospholipase A~2~which in excess can deplete the phospholipids of the long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids critical to normal brain function. EPA may be a useful adjunct in the treatment of various neurological conditions including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, and Autism Spectrum Disorders \[[@B112],[@B129],[@B130]\].
Magnesium and zinc are needed to help convert the 18-carbon, plant-derived essential fatty acids (EFAs) to long chain fatty acids, notably DHA and EPA \[[@B131]\]. Many children with ADHD are deficient in these nutrients and may therefore have difficulty elongating the 18-carbon fatty acids \[[@B132]\]. In a sample of 116 children with ADHD, researchers found that 95 percent had a magnesium deficiency \[[@B133]\]. In 1997, researchers found that a combination of magnesium aspartate and magnesium lactate supplemented at a dose of 200 mg daily for six months significantly reduced disruptive behavior in children with ADHD compared to a control group \[[@B134]\]. Galland \[[@B135]\] found an impaired desaturation of polyunsaturated fatty acid in a magnesium compromised population. This desaturation enzyme is magnesium dependent. Mahfouz et al. \[[@B136]\] found a significant reduction in long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in magnesium deficient cells pointing to an impairment of delta 5 and/or delta 6 desaturase enzymes. It is possible that correcting a magnesium deficiency may restore desaturase enzyme function. Researchers also found that deficient levels of zinc are more commonly found in children with ADHD and supplementing these children with zinc significantly reduced hyperactivity, impulsivity, and impaired socialization scores, especially in children with low levels of EFAs \[[@B137],[@B138]\].
Children who have difficulty converting EFAs to long chain fatty acids can obtain a preformed source of EPA and DHA as a nutritional supplement or in the diet by consuming fish or fish oil. As discussed above, cold-water fish provide the only rich dietary source of these omega-3 fatty acids; however, recent research on trace metal contamination has questioned their safety. Guallar et al. \[[@B139]\] found, for instance, that the cardio protective benefits of fatty fish may be compromised by their high mercury content. Canadian researchers found a significant association between high levels of mercury and EPA in the blood of children (consistent with high levels of fish consumption) \[[@B140]\]. In addition, the researchers found a statistically significant inverse association between attentional focusing and blood mercury levels in children under age three years of age \[[@B140]\]. A careful selection of fish with low mercury and high EFA content, such as salmon and sardines, is essential in minimizing exposure to mercury while increasing consumption of these important EFAs. With respect to the consumption of fish oil or other supplements that are fish-derived, caution is warranted, as mercury contamination may be possible. Out of 100 samples of fish oil dietary supplements analyzed for mercury by the Food Standards Agency in the United Kingdom, nine were found to contain mercury above the limit of detection of 0.0014 mg/kg \[[@B141]\].
Key issues related to mercury exposure guidelines
=================================================
While the total dietary intake of mercury is not known, mercury is widely accepted to be an unusually toxic heavy metal and the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that minimizing exposure to any form of mercury is essential for optimal child health \[[@B32]\]. The current recommendation for \"safe\" mercury consumption is based on a \"reference dose\" or RfD from fish consumption and only applies to methyl mercury (MeHg). The USEPA and FDA define the RfD as \" \[a\]n estimate (with uncertainty spanning perhaps an order of magnitude) of a daily oral exposure to the human population (including sensitive subgroups) that is likely to be without an appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a lifetime.\" The current official RfD for methyl mercury in the US is set at 1 ppm although EPA has historically pushed for a lower reference dose of 0.1 ppm. Unfortunately, this official \"reference dose\" of 1 ppm does not take into consideration what the human body needs nutritionally to successfully metabolize and excrete methyl mercury, and it only applies to MeHg exposure.
With regard to total mercury exposure, the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) recommends an exposure limit of 1 ppm for mercury in their 2005 Evaluation of Food Additives report \[[@B142]\]. This report does not specifically address the mercury content in the food color additives tartrazine also known as FD&C Yellow 5 or sunset yellow also known as FD&C Yellow 6 but these chemicals are manufactured with the chlor-alkali product \"hydrogen chloride\" and may not contain more than 1 ppm mercury according to US Food and Drug Administration regulations \[[@B143]\]. In addition to causing zinc deficiency, both of these food color additives have been linked to hyperactivity in children \[[@B71]\] and the United Kingdom has asked manufacturers to voluntarily ban their use in food products \[[@B144]\].
Etiology of ASD and ADHD
========================
In 2007 alone, there were 1000 studies published on all aspects of ASD \[[@B145]\]. As is the case with ADHD, there are likely unknown and unmeasured variables associated with the development of ASD. Disease related and/or exposure related bias arises when there is a causal or associational path of no interest to the researchers \[[@B146]\]. In this review article we have clearly not identified all of the possible variables associated with the development of these two disease conditions. The development of ASD and ADHD likely involve a broad range of genetic, prenatal, social, developmental, nutritional and environmental factors \[[@B145],[@B147]\]. We have focused primarily on some of the nutritional factors that may be considered along with environmental mercury exposure in the development of treatment plans for patients with ASD or ADHD. Multiple treatment modalities are most likely needed to treat these patients successfully \[[@B147]\].
Conclusion
==========
Adequate nutrition, specifically omega-3 fatty acids, methionine, and the trace minerals zinc and selenium are important for maintaining neuronal plasticity and learning capacity. The evidence does suggest that improper or inadequate nutrients may lead to behavior and learning disorders when mercury is present in the environment. Because current standards allow the use of mercury cell chlor-alkali chemicals in food manufacturing, food products that are made with one or more of these ingredients may contain trace amounts of mercury such as is the case for HFCS and other food additives. These low-level mercury exposures may contribute to cumulative environmental mercury exposure and present a problem for sensitive individuals who do not have adequate levels of glutathione and metallothionein and/or are deficient in the trace minerals needed for metal metabolism. Because consumption of HFCS and other food additives may lead to trace mineral imbalances and/or zinc deficiency, further research is needed to determine whether or not these food ingredients are safe for consumption by sensitive populations. If food manufacturers continue to use mercury grade chlor-alkali chemicals, it may be necessary to account for this source of mercury exposure in dietary guidelines for sensitive populations such as children with ADHD and autism spectrum disorders. In addition, consideration of dietary micronutrients required to enhance neurological development and support proper functioning of metallothionein, glutathione peroxidase, and other metal clearing and detoxifying mechanisms in the brain seems warranted.
List of abbreviations
=====================
ASD: Autism Spectrum Disorder; ADHD: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; T3: tri-iodothyronine; US: United States; USEPA: United States Environmental Protection Agency; WHO: World Health Organization; FDA: Food and Drug Administration; MeHg: methylmercury; NHANES: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; GSH-Px: glutathione peroxidase; HFCS: high fructose corn syrup; ug: micrograms; MT: metallothionein; BDNF: brain-derived neurotrophic factor; GSH: glutathione; GSSG: oxidized glutathione; GSH-Rx: glutathione reductase; EPA: eicosapentaenoic acid; DHA: docosahexaenoic acid; AA: arachidonic acid; GRAS: generally recognized as safe; GLA: gamma linolenic acid; EFAs: essential fatty acids; mg/kg: milligrams/kilogram; RfD: reference dose; ppm: parts per million; JECFA: Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives.
Competing interests
===================
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors\' contributions
=======================
RD spearheaded the review and recruited interdisciplinary collaborators to contribute to the development of the manuscript. RD was the lead environmental investigator and literature reviewer for the sources of mercury exposure section. LP and BL both contributed greatly to the development of the amino acids and glutathione system section. WL was the lead investigator and reviewer for the metallothionein section. RS was the lead investigator and reviewer for the fatty acids section. RC reviewed, analyzed, and prepared the epidemiological data. CC, DW, and SG were instrumental in editing the manuscript and reviewing it critically for intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Acknowledgements
================
The authors would like to thank Dr. William Walsh for his kind feedback on the role of micronutrients in learning disorders, and Dr. Howard Hu, Dr. Lori Brown, Dr. Laura Raymond, Dr. Rao Ivaturi, Dr. Peter Green, Dr. Kathryn Mahaffey, and Dr. Martha Herbert for their helpful reviews over the years.
|
APTA is very encouraged by the proposal within President Obama's Fiscal Year 2014 budget, released yesterday, to exclude therapy services, including physical therapy, along with radiation therapy and advanced imaging, from the in-office ancillary services (IOAS) exception of the Stark self-referral laws. APTA has long supported and worked to advocate for exclusion of physical therapy from the IOAS exception, and we consider this a significant step in the right direction.
The spirit of the Stark self-referral IOAS exception is intended for the delivery of services that could be quickly administered for patient convenience, such as routine lab tests or x-rays. The expansive use of the IOAS exception by physicians in a manner not originally contemplated by the law undercuts its very purpose and substantially increases costs to the Medicare program and its beneficiaries. The Office of Management and Budget concluded that closing the loophole for these services would provide a savings of $6.1 billion over the standard 10-year budget window, providing further evidence that these self-referral arrangements lead to overutilization of Medicare services and should be addressed by Congress.
APTA is a founding member of the Alliance for Integrity in Medicare (AIM), a consortium of organizations that advocates for Congress to address the IOAS loophole. For many years, APTA has had a presence on Capitol Hill, working to overturn policies that allow self referral to continue. More recently, the Association and its AIM Coalition partners have advocated for the better part of 18 months to encourage the identification of cost savings associated with closing the loophole. APTA agrees with the Administration's proposal on physician self-referral and believes this issue should be addressed as part of any fundamental delivery system reform.
APTA and its AIM partners continue to be gravely concerned about the ongoing misapplication of the IOAS exception to the physician self-referral law, believing this loophole results not only in increased spending, but also in unnecessary use of medical services, and, more important, potentially compromised patient choice and care. Studies published by the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Affairs, and the Government Accountability Office, among others, have highlighted abuses that result from physician self-referral. These ongoing issues serve only to erode the integrity of the Medicare program and undermine patient care.
We strongly urge Congress to follow the recommendations laid out in the Administration's budget and pass legislation to remove physical therapy, advanced diagnostic imaging, anatomic pathology, and radiation therapy from the IOAS exception in the 113th Congress. |
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Election called on Tuesday. That same day I see a Jack Layton sign on someone's yard (his wife is running in my area and the sign is likely from the last election). Then today, I see the Jack Layton campaign bus on campus along with TV network vans...
This is exactly what we need, politicians putting up wreaths and shit. Sorry, politicians and Santa (or the Holiday Armadillo or whatever) don't mix.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
People do some strange searches. I notice them periodically when I check my site stats. I see for example a number of people getting to my site by Googling things related to sleep, waking up, and alarm clocks, because of my Alarm clocks are bad, wake up and feel better post </shameless plug>. I also get ones related to my posts like "fob hairstyles", "tropicana orange juice", "chinks japs", "harry cheung google", and "tikibar". Then I get ones from perverts, like "a girl & her mom sleep naked in bed", no idea how that search made it to my blog, but I'm guessing that they made it to this post. Who searches for stuff like this?!?!? If it was you, you can leave now. That person was messed up anyways b/c he/she used Yahoo search. Who uses Yahoo anymore?!?!? Unfortunately I don't have his/her IP address, otherwise I could make fun of them more....
Then there are the personal searches. These include my name and maybe someone else's with perhaps a verb thrown in there. People think they're searching anonymously. But they don't know that I can see what they searched for if they got to my page from a search engine. Reality check: every web page you go to can do the same thing. If you search for something and click on a link, that page can see what you searched for in order to get to their page. I figure that if people spy on me, I will spy on them. But it's not like you can really tell who did the search. At best you can nail down that the person searched from say NoNameCity, SomeProvidence and some other clues, but you can't tell who exactly it is unless you get like a search warrant (or whatever you need, like a gun) and get their ISP to tell you.
For future reference if you want to remain anonymous when searching for something, or you're going to a seedy webpage, or you want to get around content filters at work/school/library/etc., you can try Hide My Ass, which is a free web proxy. Just enter the address of the page (eg. http://www.google.com/) and they fake your IP address so that you can remain anonymous. Not that I have anything to hide...
I don't believe everying they say, but I think there is some truth in there and it's nice to see some actual reporting and investigation for once instead of this mindless and naive crap in the media. The video is similar to Fahrenheit 911 in that it takes a view opposed to the Bush administration, but goes at it from a different perspective.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Recently I've been staying away from those cheap $1 packages of pasta. My recent thing has been Barilla brand pasta. It's a little pricier, but it's totally worth it. It's noticeably thicker, springier, and has more substance in its taste.
Then, after I watched Harry Potter, I went to the St. Lawrence Market as it was just across the street and I hadn’t been in there before. I was quite surprised by all the food that was inside, which was fortunate as I needed to get some groceries. There was a stand that was selling fresh pasta and true to their word, they were making pasta right on the spot. The pasta was soft, not dried out like the stuff you buy in stores. They also advertised the absence of preservatives, so I doubt that it has a long shelf life.
I bought a bag of fusilli and two small tubs of their meat sauce (they ran out of large). It lasted me two meals and set me back $10. I'm not sure what the price breakdown was, but it's more expensive than the regular stuff, but cheaper than in a restaurant and as good as anything I've had in a restaurant.
It was quite tasty. The pasta itself was awesome. It cooked really fast, faster than regular pasta (the Barilla pasta takes longer to cook b/c it's thick and dried) and had a great taste (I love carbs), texture, and feel. I didn't think that their sauce was anything amazing though. I think that my sauce tastes just as good. I don't quite remember the pasta at Marche, or what is now known as Richtree Market, as they have fresh pasta as well.
I don't think I can go back to the cheap pasta. I'd probably get the fresh pasta more often if the market wasn't so far away and had longer hours. I rarely do my grocery shopping during regular hours.
I grab the can of Pepsi on my desk and throw it back thinking that there's only a smidget left and this way I can get those precious last drops, only to find out that there's more left than I expected and I get Pepsi all over my face and clothes....and I just did laundry....
Who does this kind of thing?.... At least I'm on the right path for one of the Darwin awards....
I wish I had an ensuite washer and dryer like I had in Seattle. Sure beats having to take the elevator down 25 floors and carrying my laundry. At least I can do all of it in parallel, but it's a bitch when you forget something and you have to go all the way up, down the hall, and reverse to put in the volleyball kneepads into the wash....
While I'm at it, I'd also like to have the dishwasher I had in Seattle as well as a car. It'd be so much easier to get groceries with a car...
Though I enjoy riding on the subway and walking in downtown, minus the black stuff on the kleenex when you blow your nose, but it's WAY better than say.... Hong Kong.
I went to pick up "dinner" from Subway yesterday. I go inside and there's like a hundred kids in there! Ok, maybe like 8. I was like, no way am I going to wait half an hour listening to these 10 year olds scream and giggle while the ONE guy working there makes all those damn subs. I'd probably have a conviction some sort of brutal, grotesque, violent crime on a minor had I stayed there.
I didn't understand why there were so many kids there. It was almost 8 and it was right beside my apartment, across from U of T campus. Don't these kids get fed at home??!
Strangely enough, when I got back to my apartment. My suitemate and his gf were making dinner and they made extra for me. This was very strange. Never happened b4. It's been the other way around a couple of times b4. Apparently the gf did most of the cooking, but she says that she doesn't cook, which scared me even more. Dinner was actually pretty good.
Then, today, I went to go see the new Harry Potter movie. I quite enjoyed it. I had forgotten some of the book as I hadn't read it in 2 years (back when I was a bum in Winnipeg in the summer b4 grad school and I read the first 5 Harry Potter books in a week - I suffered huge Harry Potter withdrawal after that). I enjoyed it more than the previous (3rd) movie. One guy came with us that hadn't read the books and said that it was confusing and didn't follow it.
Anyways, how does this relate to kids? Well, sitting right behind us were some kids that were talking the whole movie!!!! It was annoying as stupid undergrads knocking on my office door looking for people that aren't there. The kids had obviously not read the books either as they were like, "oh, this and this is going to happen!!" and I was like "no, you stupid sh*t, you'd know that wasn't the case if you read the god damn book, now shut the f*ck up!" Who's idea was it to watch Harry Potter as a matinee on a Saturday anyways? FYI, don't watch kid movies during kid friendly hours.
Oh, and I found a decent cheap movie theatre - Rainbow Cinemas Market Square. Matinees are $4.25 and they play 1st run movies. Regular price is $7.50, which is decent. Though the theatre is pretty old school and small. Not as good as Cinema City in Winnipeg where you can watch a movie on Tuesday for $1.75 (cheaper with frequently available coupons) or $3.00 regular price, though it's 2nd run movies (after the main theatres, before DVDs).
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
I was browsing through my feeds in Google Reader and saw this post on Blogger Buzz about adding personal touches to you blog. Then I see this picture, and I'm like, hey! My cat has that stuffed animal too! Freaky. Though, my black and white cat is much cuter than the one in this picture.
Funny thing about that stuffed animal. It looks a lot like my older black and white cat, and my younger, orange tabby cat likes to chase my older cat and attack her (she's lost weight ever since we got the second cat as she's had to run more). Anyways, my orange cat also enjoys attacking this stuffed animal pretending that it's my other cat :p
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
I just went to go grab a hot dog around the corner from Frankie's (the hot dog stands around campus are awesome), but he was no where to be seen. I guess he had already packed up for the day. Ordinarily I would then just go to Sid Smith and try the hot dog stands there, but it was too cold! Earlier in the day, it wasn't bad, so I was too lazy to bring my gloves and toque for this short trip, which I now regret. The wind just made it brutal...
When did this happen? The other day I was walking outside in a t-shirt (granted just down the street briefly), and today it's freezing outside. Like it's not that bad, but comparing to the other day, it's horrible.
I so need to move somewhere warm. I think I'm losing my Winnipeg tolerance to winter.
I'll probably try again later to get some food when I'm better prepared, but for now I'm settling for a bag of vending machine pretzels.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Uploading amateur video onto the web is starting to get pretty big. And of course, as with most stuff on the Internet, this was first pioneered by the porn industry, perhaps the most innovate group on the Internet.
The thing that gets me are that these videos are really cool and entertaining and you'd never see them on TV at least in their full length glory. Aside from America's funniest home videos (again, the full length video wouldn't be there and only "funny" videos would be on that show), the Internet is really the only outlet for distributing this kind of stuff....
Anyways, aside from the fabulous golf video, here are two videos I found today that are jaw dropping and insanely entertaining.
Crazy Christmas light display - My theory is that the guy recently got laid off and is using this as a way to land a job, because it's obvious that he has WAY too much time on his hands and doesn't have a job or life.
Update (later that day): Not sure why this stuff amuses me so much (nostalgia?), but here's a guy playing mario on the piano, blindfolded. Short version, long version, his webpage. Check out the end of the video, he just goes crazy - Super Mario World when time is running out! This makes me want to learn how to play piano.... Hmmm... I wonder how this music will be viewed like 100 years from now, like will it be as cherished as Beethoven? Considered to be classicial music? Some orchestras are actually playing Mario music nowadays....
Nebojsa says my superpower is "to take any algorithm and make it work". My weakness appears to be Civilization 4, which I've been playing way too much ever since I got it on Wednesday, hence the lack of blogs since then :p. I've been a big fan of the series ever since the first one. I like it so much that I actually bought it! That's saying a lot ;)
My whole sleeping schedule's all screwed up ever since I came back. Until last night, I hadn't gone to bed before 6 am. I guess it would be me going to bed at the same time as I was in Seattle, so basically I just didn't change time zones. No particular reason though for staying up so late. Just too lazy to go to bed.....
Civ 4 just made it worse. One day I'm up for 24 hours straight, then next day, after going to bed well after the sun has risen, I'm only awake for 12 hours before going to bed at a decent time. I need to fix this....
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
By popular demand (ok, 1 person), here's a magic trick to entertain you.
Pick the number of days that you'd like to have sex this week (1-7).
Multiply this number by 2, because you'll want twice as much.
Add 5, man you're naughty.
Multiply by 50, because you get 2 weeks of vacation in a year.
Add 1754, no idea what's going on here.
If you've already had your birthday this year, then add 1 for bonus.
Subtract the four digit year you were born (19XX).
What you're left with is the number of days that you want to have sex this week followed by your age. Pretty clever huh? No, but at least my commentary was somewhat entertaining...
Are you a Potentate of the Rose? Check out the Petals Around the Rose game. It's a fun, simple game and can be done either on or offline. Some dice are rolled and you have to guess the score. The answer is always zero or an even number. That's all I can tell you and that's all there is to it.
If you figure out what's going on, then you get to join the exclusive club. The only rule about being in the club is to not tell anyone so that the game can continue to drive them nuts. Best played with a group of people when you can have some keeners get it and then laugh at the strugglers 8-|
It was a rather comforting feeling being back in my bed last night. I like my mattress here. Not too soft. Not too hard. My mattress in Seattle was alright, but I didn't like their mattress cover thingy b/c it bunched up sometimes.
The thing that most surprised me was the feeling of my blanket. I had completely forgotten what it felt like. I didn't particularly like the blankets in Seattle. The bed was like a hotel bed - flat sheet, fuzzy blanket, flat sheet, thin colourful blanket. The housekeeping people also tucked in the sheets like in a hotel. Sometimes I like to sleep with the blankets all tucked in, but other times it feels to restricting. I only now realize, after sleeping back in my bed, why it doesn't feel the same. With those blankets, what happens, especially when the sheets are tucked in, is that you get the "tent" effect. The blankets will cover you, but drape off you very gradually, leaving an air gap between you and the blankets, plus the blankets feel dense and the layers can get mis-aligned.
I have a goose down blanket here. It's thick, but fluffy and light. I use it throughout the year - keeps me warm in the winter, somewhat cool in summer. Lying in bed last night, I really felt the difference. It was such a comforting feeling. The blanket hugged me completely, but was not suffocating as it's light. The air gaps were very minimal as it naturally filled in all the empty space between me and the blanket. Just an amazing feeling.
Of course, I had my pillow with me in Seattle. Anyone that is familiar with my sleeping habits knows that I don't go anywhere without my pillow. Seriously, if I'm travelling anywhere, I take my pillow with me. What's so special about my pillow? It kicks ass, that's what's special about it. What? Ya, that's right, it kicks ass. You're crazy. I know.
I have a buckwheat pillow and have had one for who knows how long, probably like 10 years or something. My pillow is filled with grain. What? Yes. Grain. It's kinda weird, but I love it. I love how it conforms to the shape of my head and neck, provides amazing support, feels great on my head, and doesn't retain heat (the old commerical took a blow torch to the pillow, so I guess it's also not flammable). When I use other pillows now, my neck is usually sore when I wake up. I just got a Duo Bucky pillow a couple months ago to replace my older buckwheat pillow (which was many years old) and it's great. This particular pillow has both buckwheat and millet inside.
The best part of having a buckwheat pillow are the KO's you get when you have pillow fights ;)
I got back into Toronto late last night, but was too lazy to blog about it.
I went to Seattle with 2 extremely packed suitcases, each weighing at least my weight. I thought I was going to get my ass kicked by the check-in counter lady, but by some act of god (I don't believe in god, but maybe it's being in america so much that everything has to be about god), she didn't even weigh my luggage!!! It might have been b/c I was late and they pulled me out of the line to check me in b/c the line was long. Anyways, so I had no idea how much I was bringing.
I came back to Toronto with 3 bags, 2 of the overweight and got rapped up the ass sideways twice by the airline. So, apparently all the airlines are now limiting luggage to 50 pounds, instead of 70, which seems so anachronistic (that my friends, is a GRE word!!!). By the law of technology, things should be getting better, faster, cheaper, more efficient, and less polluting, yet the airline industry is reducing how much I can carry! This is not progress! This is proof of America's recent abomination of science! I blame Bush.
So, that's $80 for the extra bag. $25 for each overweight bag. My luggage was 70, 60, and 25 pounds. Yes I could've distributed the weight better (well, it would've been hard considering the size of my third bag). I handed over my credit card for the US$130 bill. Fortunately, Microsoft pays for relocation costs :D
But seriously, the worst thing is that from now on, I'm going to have to travel super light, this includes my upcoming trip to Winnipeg (in the middle of winter) and LA/Mexico (which necessitates minimal amount of clothing). How am I going to pack winter and summer clothes in a single suitcase (won't be able to bring more than 1 suitecase onto the cruise) in addition to Christmas presents (bringing them back to Toronto) all within 50 pounds???!!?!?!? Impossible.
Back to the trip. My flight was direct to Toronto, with a brief stop in Chicago. I'm reboarding the plane, and I see this guy that looks crazy familar, but it can't be him, why would someone I know who should be in Toronto be in Chicago on MY plane? I'm like totally staring him down as I'm standing in the aisle of the plane waiting for the people in front of me to move. He glances back. I'm not sure it's him though, but as I walk past him, I see the mole on the side of his neck and man, it's gotta be him!
Landing in Toronto, the custom's guy doesn't even bother looking at my I-94 visa stuff and just waves me on. My luggage comes out on the wrong belt, but crazy fast. I get outside the baggage claim area and the guy is with his brother (who was also on the plane) and their gf's. I know both JP and Ann from volleyball this past summer. Totally crazy that he was on my plane. He apparently was in Japan and had gotten re-routed through Chicago on his way back.
I jumped in a cab (courtesy of Microsoft) and got home just after midnight.
The thing about high speed internet at home is that you don't appreciate it until you've been on dial-up for a while. Man does it ever feel good! I'm so used to waiting for pages to load. Of course, I had crazy fast high speed at work, but my ports were limited (at least on my laptop) and didn't use my desktop there as much for leisure purposes as I would my home computer.
Oh, in unpacking today, I see this stray piece of paper in one of my suitcases. "Notification of baggage inspection". Apparently they checked my bag. Didn't seem like anything was moved around, so I'm guessing they just popped it open and the dog didn't smell any explosives. That's never happened to me before. I guess that's why they tell you to not lock your baggage when travelling in the US b/c they will break the lock to peek inside (says so on the paper that they "may have been forced to break the locks on your bag").
Monday, November 14, 2005
Speaking from experience, leaving work at 1 am on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday nights is great in that you completely avoid the rush hour. Plus, with the super smart traffic lights here, all the lights turn green for you by the time you get to the intersection :)
However, Microsoft gives off clear signs that you're working too late and actively discourages people from working late. Usually, the first sign is that the lights in the washroom are off. They turn off automagically when no one's used it for a while. This phenomenon is typically observed around 6 or 7 pm on weekdays. Fortunately, the lights automagically turn on when noise is made in the washroom, which is fortunate for those long occasions in the stall - sounds of struggle keep the lights on.
The second sign that you're working too late is when the building ghosts get restless and play with the lights. This freaked me out the first couple times it happend. The lights would flicker in the evenings. I was quite startled by the power failure, but relieved when my computer didn't shut off. It was as if god him/her/themselves blessed me and saved my computer! I would then panic and quickly save my work in case the god(s) changed hi/her/their mind. Sometimes, the lights would go off for prolonged periods of time and I would begin to wander the halls of darkness in confusion, but then suddenly, as if an act from god(s), they'd relight themselves and I would rejoice as I was blessed with light from the light god(s)!
I later found out that it wasn't ghosts that were playing with the lights, but rather it was an energy saving feature. The light flicker signals the immenent disapperance of light. To save yourself from working in the dark, you must go and flick the switch on the wall in the hallway, which buys you another 2 hours of artificial sun. I have studied this marvel quite thoroughly and it starts at 9 pm on weekdays and runs continuously on the weekends.
Hmm... it's currently 11:50 pm on a Sunday, why the hell do i hear vacuuming?....
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Why the hell is "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" already playing on TBS??!?!? That's just retarded. Check your calendar people! It's November! Still a month and a half until Christmas!!!! Yes, the movie will get old after airing it 1,000 times this holiday season!!!
Starring
Must..... have.... more..... Battlestar Galactica!!! Someone give me a hit!! Anyone?!?! I just want one more episode!!! I'll do anything!!!
AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Edit (after several hours of counseling):
Hi, my name is Vincent andI'm a Battlestar Galactica addict.
Having gone through Harry Potter and Desperate Housewives, I moved onto Battlestar Galactica. Watched the mini-series (basically the length of a movie), the first season (13 episodes), and caught up to the most recent episode in season two (episode 10). Unfortunately, no new episodes until January :(
If you've seen the show, you probably know why I'm addicted, if you haven't, then you probably think that only light sabre swinging, dungeon dragon playing, Star Trek obsessed, overalls up to their neck, nerd geek freaks would watch a show called Battlestar Galactica. I was just as skeptical when I first heard of the show. With a name like Battlestar Galactica, you just expect it to be another Star Trek / Babylon 5 / other space nerd show. Well, it's not.
Battlestar Galactica is not about traveling faster than the speed of light, fighting aliens, discovering new planets, or using futuristic technology, the show is all about what it means to be human. The story is set-up through the genocide of humans by our own creation, but soon questions our humanity and reflects on how we live in our current civilizations. The characters make the show and they are amazing and the character development is really deep. The characters are real people. The script is clever and well written.
I implore you to give it a shot. Watch the mini-series. It's only the length of a movie. Otherwise I'll force you.
Also, it's not just a show for guys, to my complete utter surprise, I met several females over the weekend who watch Battlestar Galactica, and one of them is not a techie at all - she works in HR and was not at all impressed by my binary joke.
Here's a wiki about the show. And for the guys (and girls who swing the other way), here's a very convincing argument, my current obsession, Grace Park, who unfortunately does not wear such outfits on the show (for the girls out there, she's quite clothed on the show).
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Oh, and around 3, this girl that's on the Xbox team goes to her car and brings in an Xbox 360 :)
It's not even out until the end of the month! All (zero of) my friends on the "Internets" are gonna be so jealous!!!
It was pretty fun. I was told that I can't disclose any information or share pictures.
Actually the UBC engineer and one of the Waterloo girls are both on the Xbox team and they were like, it's not a big deal to them b/c they play with it every day and see people playing on it all the time. The rest of us were like, hey it's cool and wanted to check it out, but none of us were huge gamers or anything. You know, only 3 people got punched and 1 guy got knifed in choosing who got a controller. The strangest and funniest thing was that me and another guy were playing this one game (can't disclose which game) and the two girls were telling us what to do. It was just the strangest feeling...
Not like they were geek girls, ok, well, everyone there was geeky, but they don't appear or act geeky, like you wouldn't pick them out of a crowd as such. It's cool that way though. Geek is chic.
I picked a great day to go to the Hot Sake dragon boat practice. It was like the coldest day since I've been here (high in the single digits), plus it was raining pretty hard. I don't have any rain or snow/cold weather gear with me here. I scraped together any clothing that was almost suitable for the weather and managed to keep warm. As nothing I have is water proof, what I did was just layer like crazy so that it'd take the rain a while to seep through all the layers :p. T-shirt, long sleeve, sweater, wind jacket, life jacket. Fuzzy pants + track pants. Two pairs of socks + runners. Hat from the company meeting + hood from my jacket. Crappy stretchy wool gloves. Surprisingly, while I could see my breath and anything exposed was completely wet, I was really comfortable. Didn't even notice the rain or cold, but it might have been the pain that drone it out.
I had a good time and the company was really cool. This group of people just doesn't do anything small, which is awesome. 20-something people showed up to paddle in the rain and we took two boats out. It was pretty hard as they were doing like 22 min. of continuous paddling on each side and my muscles don't nearly have enough endurance to do that right now, considering that it was my first time dragon boating. I'm pretty sore today - upper back is pretty bad, my butt has got to be seriously bruised or something, and my side muscles are sore.
They had an end of the year meeting later that day and I crashed the party after the meeting. They had it in one of the peoples' house. I get inside and there's like this massive group of people.... Everytime I see them, it's a big gathering. They have like 40+ people in total, not sure how many were actually there, but quite a bit more than at practice. The group is really cool, it's an interesting mix of people - ranging from around my age to undisclosed ages, good balance of guys and girls, people of all colour, and as typical of my experience here, few Americans :p. A bunch are from Microsoft, but there's also representation from Amazon, Starbucks, and the unemployed. We had good representation of engineering from across Canada too - a girl from computer engineering at UBC, me from comp. eng. U of M, and two girls from systems design engineering Waterloo. Aside from dragon boating, the other common denominator that I see that strings them all together is that they all act as if they're in their 20's :)
Not too late in the evening, we shifted over to another couples' house back in Bellevue. Apparently the convoy of cars is quite typical. We lost some people, but still had something like 20. House party where the people throwing the party actually owns the house, that's new :). There was some indoor volleyball going on :). It was a pretty late party, didn't end until 4 in the morning :p.
The only bad thing is that I only met all these people like a week and a half before I'm leaving. Just as I met some people that are cool to hang out with and fun to socialize with...
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Every fracking person I meet in Seattle is from Canada! (frack is from my current tv show obsession and is freely substitutable for it's more common 4 letter word, including all its derivatives)
I went to the University of Washington Huskies women’s volleyball game against Stanford last night with some people from volleyball (Huskies are ranked #2 and Cardinals #4, so it was a good game and the Huskies won). Little did I know that they were going as this massive group of 22 people. I later found out that their connection is dragon boating and I’m going to their practice tomorrow/later this morning. The guy that organizes this volleyball watching is like a crazy fan of women's college volleyball. He knows all the players on all the teams by name and their stats and histories, etc. It's sick. A bunch of these people are pretty regular viewers of the Huskies games, and it’s good volleyball to watch. The Huskies haven’t lost a game this season and have only dropped 3 sets out of like 30 or something. So anyways, after the game these guys (and girls) go to the “Ram” for food and it’s kinda funny because I guess their two reasons for going are because it accepts the Microsoft prime discount card and that the volleyball players often go to this place after the game. We saw 3 of the Huskies players there last night, they were sitting at the table on the other side of the glass from us. Gawking ensued.
Anyways, back to the central theme of this post - I have yet to meet anyone from Seattle!!! The stupidest thing is that one of the guys last night grew up in Winnipeg and graduated from the U of M in computer engineering. C’mon!!! Can I never escape these people??? Then there was this girl from Toronto (ok, Etobicoke) and like half the people were from Canada.
I guess the first sign was orientation when I met this girl from Toronto who ended up knowing some of my older sister’s friends who were in Seattle that were originally from Winnipeg. I met up with all them when my sister was in town. Chalk up a couple more Winnipeggers that I met in Seattle….
Then all these interns. None of them are American. These winter interns are worse because they’re all from Waterloo. When I went hiking at Mount Rainier, out of our like group of 10 or something, there was like 1 American. I went to this Fright Fest thing last weekend - Halloween theme at the local Six Flags amusement park, i.e. haunted houses and roller coasters. Anyways, the Six Flags here blows, the rides are all crap, but that’s because it was bought by Six Flags, not built as a Six Flags. The Six Flags over Texas is still the scariest. My pants are still wet from the longest and highest wooden rollercoaster in the world, which was incidentally my first rollercoaster and I was 10. But now all the rollercoasters are just elevator rides. I digress. Half of our group of 6 was from Waterloo, I’m from Toronto/Winnipeg, that makes 2/3 Canadian. The other two were from the Netherlands. They were pretty cool and I spent most of the evening talking to them. Europeans are cool.
That reminds me, I’m famous to the point of getting recognized on the street! Soon I’ll no longer be able to go to the grocery store without disguise. Ok, fine, that’s not going to be a problem. Anyways, one of the Waterloo guys was like, did you write a cycle stealing program that got passed around? I was like no. Then, I was like, umm… wait, I did write such a program, but I didn’t pass it around. Well, a while back, my supervisor told me to send an e-mail to the HPC (high performance computing) guys about my distributed computing system b/c I might need to use their resources to run some stuff. Apparently the e-mail got forwarded around the group and that intern was from HPC.
I digress again. So, when people ask me what it’s like in Seattle. I answer that it’s quite similar to Canada, but my view is skewed because every goddamn person I meet is from Canada!!!!
Oh wait, now that I think of it, I have met some Seattleites. Of course, from volleyball. Everyone I know I met through volleyball. But these Seattleites do not play at the Pro Club – those are all Microsoft employees and none of them are from around here, and many are not from the States. I’ve gone to a school in Redmond a couple times for pick-up volleyball and as that’s more local, I’m quite sure that at least some of them are from Seattle. At least the kids. There are some guys that I’m pretty sure are high school players, so there, I have met some people from Seattle. Of course, conversion is limited on the court and mostly I’m just screaming for help (the passing’s not so great there).
This topic came up over one of those 2 hour lunches with my supervisor and my fellow slaves here. I don't quite remember how we got onto the topic, but I started educating the Yugoslavian, Mexican (not Mexican’t), and the American about the whole Quebec separation thing. It’s a strange thing because supposedly, if the majority votes for separation in a referendum, then Quebec would separate. The kicker is that there’s essentially no limit as to how many referendums there can be. There’s already been 2 and there’s talk of a 3rd. One majority of “yes” means separation, regardless of how many “no” referendums there are. But once you get that “yes”, then that’s it, there’s essentially no going back. So, in the limit, you’re basically guaranteed to have separation…
Now, is this how irreversible decisions should be made? Repeated attempts at doing something, with basically no consequences of failure, but a success is final. Seems rather strange. If you get a bad sample (i.e. strange voter turnout), then this could skew the results. I guess maybe that’s why Jean Chrétien was saying that 50% + 1 vote is not enough…
So, the reason I thought of this recently is the whole digg thing. My most recent attempt at getting onto digg worked, but after appearing on the front page for half an hour, I was unceremoniously removed. There are mechanisms built-in so that stories can be weeded out by the people. Not sure if a story is removed if it gets a certain number of “bad” votes or it’s a thing of say, “if more problem reports (or some fraction) than diggs, then kill”, but once it’s gone, it’s gone (I asked). Now, this is a strange way of dealing with things. People may report the story for the wrong reason or out of jealously or whatever, or maybe you get a bad sampling of the population. But, it’s one of those irreversible decisions handled by some sort of “voting public” where the vote can be done limitless number of times, but once you reach the breaking point, there’s no going back.
Am I bitter? No. Am I disappointed? A little, but I’m over it now. Just ranting about the oddities of the world. Do I have a better solution? Not really, but it does seem like some educated and intelligent higher power, leader (i.e. not Bush), or committee/judge panel should be calling the final shot on things like these.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
The great thing about the hierarchy in a company is that it gives you an instant view of your position in the company and your power. It also serves as a great measure of your worth and importance compared to your fellow employees.
For example, I am just a measely intern, but one at Microsoft Research, not just a product group, and I am 6 levels down from Bill Gates (who remains the symbolic leader here, as even Steve Ballmer is below Bill).
This may seem quite far down, but I've seen product groups go down to more than 10 levels, as they're strangled in significantly more hierarchy and faced with more scrutiny from the (many) higher levels. |
Q:
How does water supply enter into a pedestal house in cold climates?
I do a fair amount of traveling through West Virginia and other Appalachian destinations and I have noticed a number of pedestal houses (that stand on concrete piers, wooden posts or a combination of the two), most of them looking like 2nd homes or cabins.
My initial confusion is, having installed water supply into my detached shed and having to dig 3 ft to reach below the frost line so the pipe doesn't freeze in the winter and having a frost hydrant inside the shed to turn water on/off down below so that no water remains in the frost accessible areas, how is this problem solved with pedestal homes? I mean, if the whole house sits on posts, and the water supply plumbing comes from the ground, then the section of the pipe between the ground and where it enters the house is unheated and could freeze no matter how much insulation you wrap around it.
For regular homes that sit on a slab, assuming the inside is always heated and above freezing temps, the pipe goes in from under the frost line straight into the heated area, i.e. it is never exposed to the cold, unlike is the case with pedestal homes.
A:
Typically in an insulated chase, with heat tape. A more minimal install may just use heat tape and insulation without a chase, but it does not last well - but that's usually what you'll find under mobile homes that are not "on a foundation" in Maine, for example. A high-class operation will use internal "heat tape." A low end operation, or one with a gravity pressure water system (well higher than the house) may simply have a faucet they leave dripping all winter.
For a second home or cabin, the water may just be shut off for the winter. Drain everything, put some antifreeze in the toilets and sink traps.
|
662 F.2d 345
Francisco SALINAS, Plaintiff-Appellant,v.Richard S. SCHWEIKER, Secretary of Health and HumanServices, Defendant-Appellee.
No. 81-1232
Summary Calendar.
United States Court of Appeals,Fifth Circuit.
Nov. 25, 1981.
Luis M. Segura, San Antonio, Tex., for plaintiff-appellant.
Hugh P. Shovlin, Asst. U.S. Atty., San Antonio, Tex., for defendant-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Before GEE, GARZA and TATE, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
1
Plaintiff Salinas filed an application for disability insurance benefits, alleging that he was unable to work. The application was denied administratively, both initially and on reconsideration, after a physician and a disability examiner evaluated the evidence and determined that plaintiff was not disabled. Plaintiff's claim was considered de novo by an administrative law judge of the Social Security Administration, who found that plaintiff was not disabled. On review before the district court under § 205(g) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), the Secretary's decision was upheld as supported by substantial evidence and defendant's motion for summary judgment was granted.1 We agree with the district court's determination and, therefore, we affirm.
2
Our sole duty in reviewing a case such as this one is to determine whether there is substantial evidence in the record to support the findings of the Secretary. Perez v. Schweiker, 653 F.2d 997, 999 (5th Cir. 1981); Rodriguez v. Schweiker, 640 F.2d 682, 685 (5th Cir. 1981). The record contains substantial evidence when there is such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support the conclusion. Perez, supra, Anderson v. Schweiker, 651 F.2d 306, 308 (5th Cir. 1981).
3
Plaintiff argues that the absence of any vocational expert at the administrative hearing means that the Secretary's decision was not supported by substantial evidence. We disagree.
4
The Secretary carefully considered all the medical evidence of record and plaintiff's testimony and determined that although plaintiff was unable to perform his past relevant work as a grinder in an automotive factory, he possessed residual functional capacity for at least "light work," as defined by 20 C.F.R. § 405.1510(c) (1980), which provides:
5
(c) Light work. Light work entails lifting 20 pounds maximum with frequent lifting or carrying of objects weighing up to 10 pounds. Even though the weight lifted may be only a negligible amount, a job is in this category when it requires walking or standing to a significant degree, or when it involves sitting most of the time with a degree of pushing and pulling of arm or leg controls. To be considered capable of performing a full or wide range of light work, an individual must be capable of performing substantially all of the foregoing activities. The functional capacity to perform light work includes the functional capacity to perform sedentary work.
6
This finding of the ALJ is supported by, inter alia, Salinas's own physician who, in his medical report, stated that plaintiff could, in his estimation, lift, carry, push, or pull 10 to 20 pounds.2 In addition to finding that Salinas possessed residual functional capacity, the ALJ found that Salinas was a "younger individual" according to 20 C.F.R. § 14.1506(b) (1980)3 and had a "marginal education" according to 20 C.F.R. § 14.1507(c) (1980).4
7
The difficulty arises, according to Salinas, in the structure of administrative notice provided by the rules. Regulation 20 C.F.R. § 404.1513 discusses 20 C.F.R. § 404, Subpart P, Appendix 2, which sets forth rules reflecting the major functional and vocational patterns that are encountered in cases in which claimants are not engaging in substantial gainful activity and are prevented by a medically determinable impairment from performing their vocationally relevant past work, and where claimants do not qualify for disability stated on medical considerations alone. Regulation 404.1513 provides that when the findings of fact made as to all factors (age, education, transferability of skills, work experience, and residual functional capacity) coincide with the criteria of a rule in Appendix 2, that rule directs a conclusion as to whether the claimant is "disabled" or "not disabled." In the present case, the ALJ applied his findings of fact to Rule 202.17, Table 2, of Appendix 2, which provides:
Table No. 2--Residual Functional Capacity:
Maximum Sustained Work Capability Limited
8
To Light Work as a Result of Severe Medically
Determinable Impairment(s)
9
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Rule Age Education Previous Work Experience Decision
-------------------------------------------------------------------
202.17 Younger Limited Unskilled or None Not
individual or less- Disabled
At least
literate
and able
to
communicate
in English
10
The ALJ concludes that Salinas was not disabled.
11
Given the explicit factual findings in the record by the ALJ, the existence in the economy of jobs that a person with Salinas's qualifications could fill could be established by administrative notice, 20 C.F.R. § 404.1509(c) (1980).5 The tables in Appendix 2 are a sophisticated method of taking this administrative notice that is permitted by the regulations.
12
Although the Secretary may decide to use a vocational expert to establish the existence of work in the national economy that an applicant is capable of performing, it is by no means necessary. The Fourth Circuit has recently upheld the use of these vocational regulations by the Secretary in lieu of calling a vocational expert to testify Frady v. Harris, 646 F.2d 143, 144-45 (4th Cir. 1981). In addition, the most recent regulations, albeit not applicable to the time period involved in this case, explicitly empower the Secretary to use his discretion in employing the services of a vocational expert. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1566(e) (1981).6
13
Salinas relies on our decision in Johnson v. Harris, 612 F.2d 993 (5th Cir. 1980) to establish the need for a vocational expert. However, in Johnson we remanded for further hearing because of insufficient questioning by the ALJ of the vocational expert; the ALJ asked the vocational expert what sedentary jobs the claimant could do, given his qualifications, but " 'disregarding completely any mental or physical impairment which the claimant may have or he found to have.' " 612 F.2d at 998 (emphasis in original). In the present case, the ALJ determined that Salinas's impairments were of sufficient severity so as to limit Salinas to light work only then did the ALJ consult the vocational regulations. Because Salinas's physical impairments were considered in determining whether he could engage in substantially gainful employment, this case is distinguishable from Johnson.
14
Salinas's case is also distinguishable from our recent decision Perez v. Schweiker, 653 F.2d 997 (5th Cir. 1981), in which we rejected the use of vocational regulations to establish a lack of claimant's disability. In Perez, we held that the vocational regulations were inapplicable because, by their own terms, these guidelines apply only when all factors used in the tables coincide with the claimant's actual situation, and there was no evidence in the record to indicate that Perez had residual capacity to perform "light" work. In Salinas's case, there was ample evidence in the record to support the ALJ's findings that were then "plugged into" the vocational regulations.
15
In this case, the use by the Secretary of vocational regulations in lieu of vocational expert testimony was proper, and, therefore, we AFFIRM.
16
AFFIRMED.
1
More than thirty days after the district court signed and conferred its order granting summary judgment in favor of defendant, the magistrate filed findings and recommendations that were favorable to defendant. Salinas argues, and the government accepts, that we should not consider the magistrate's findings
2
In Salinas's motion for summary judgment, he attached two additional medical reports that were not before the ALJ. Although Salinas concedes that we may not consider these reports in determining whether the Secretary's decision was supported by substantial evidence, he urges that we exercise our discretion under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) to remand the case to the Secretary, for "good cause shown," in order to have the ALJ consider these reports. Assuming that this was an appropriate case for remand under the statute, we would decline to exercise our discretion to remand because the reports to which Salinas refers are ambiguous, conclusory, and apparently unsupported by clinical data
3
20 C.F.R. § 14.1506(b) (1980) defines "younger individual" as:
(b) Younger individual. In the case of a younger individual (under age 50), age in itself is ordinarily not considered to affect significantly the individual's ability to adapt to a new work situation.
4
20 C.F.R. § 14.1507(c) (1980) defines "marginal education" as:
(c) Marginal education. Marginal education refers to competence in reasoning, arithmetic, and language skills which are required for the performance of simple, unskilled types of jobs. Absent evidence to the contrary, formal schooling at a grade level of sixth grade or less is considered a marginal education.
5
20 C.F.R. § 404.1509(c) (1980) provides:
(d) Administrative notice of job data. In the determination of whether jobs, as classified by their exertional and skill requirements, exist in significant numbers either in the region or the national economy, administrative notice shall be taken of reliable job information available from various governmental and other publications; e. g., "Dictionary of Occupational Titles," published by the Department of Labor; "County Business Patterns", published by the Bureau of the Census; "Census Reports", also published by the Bureau of the Census; occupational analyses prepared for the Social Security Administration by various State employment agencies; and the "Occupational Outlook Handbook", published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
It should also be noted that although no testimony was given by a vocational expert at the hearing, the ALJ was able to consider the report of the Bureau of Disability Insurance vocational specialist who concluded that Salinas retained the residual capacity to perform numerous types of work activity. The specialist listed those activities. Salinas argues that this report is worthless because it was prepared about 16 months before the hearing, and, more importantly, fails to take into account that Salinas now lives in Texas and not Illinois. Salinas's argument ignores the plain language of 20 C.F.R. § 404.1509(9) (1980) which states, consistent with the explicit provision of 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(2)(A):
(a) General. Work is considered to exist in the national economy when it exists in significant numbers either in the region where the individual lives or in several other regions of the country, regardless of whether such work exists in the immediate area in which the individual lives, or whether a specific job vacancy exists for the individual, or whether the individual would be hired if the individual applied for work.
(emphasis supplied)
6
20 C.F.R. § 404.1566(e) (1981) states:
(e) Use of vocational experts and other specialists. If the issue in determining whether you are disabled is whether your work skills can be used in other work and the specific occupations in which they can be used, or there is a similarly complex issue, we may use the services of a vocational expert or other specialist. We will decide whether to use a vocational expert or other specialist.
The regulations in 20 C.F.R. Subpart P were substantially revised in 1981. See 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1501-1598 (1981).
|
Idiopathic (unexplained) pulmonary embolism is associated with an impaired prognosis compared to other entities of pulmonary embolism.
In patients following acute pulmonary embolism, little is known about long-term prognosis attributed to individual risk factors and entities of pulmonary embolism. The aim of our study was to identify predictors of long-term mortality and morbidity, taking into account precipitating causes and entities of pulmonary embolism, especially in cases of idiopathic pulmonary embolism. We reviewed the records of 257 consecutive patients presenting with acute pulmonary embolism in the emergency room of the University Hospital in Frankfurt between 1997 and 2006. The median of the follow-up time in this study population was 670 days (n = 236; interquartile range: 378-1397 days). The patients were divided into three groups depending on the cause of pulmonary embolism: idiopathic pulmonary embolism (n = 83; 33%), neoplasm (n = 44; 17%) and other causes (n = 130; 50%). As expected, patients with neoplastic-associated pulmonary embolism demonstrated the poorest prognosis in the Kaplan-Meier analysis. Surprisingly though, patients with idiopathic pulmonary embolism demonstrated a markedly worse long-term survival compared with other causes (log-rank P < 0.001). When Cox-regression analysis was restricted to patients discharged alive without neoplasm, idiopathic pulmonary embolism was the strongest predictor of long-term mortality (hazard ratio: 3.29; P = 0.017). Patients with acute pulmonary embolism and known malignancy demonstrated the highest mortality compared with those with other causes. However, idiopathic pulmonary embolism is a common diagnosis and is associated with an unfavorable long-term prognosis compared with other entities of pulmonary embolism. |
Q:
Issues with AngularJS and IE10 routing.
Often when I quickly switch between different angular modules/controllers in IE10, the necessary routing will never take place. I'm left with my page skeleton where no content has loaded and the index controller was never hit, but the angular module was defined. The URL also indicates that no routing has occurred (no appended #/). My module is defined as such with AngularJS 1.0.7:
angular.module('Users', ['ngResource', 'localization', 'pagination', 'resourceService']).
config(function ($routeProvider) {
$routeProvider.
when('/', {templateUrl: '../user/listAll.jsp',
controller: ListUsersCtrl}).
when('/edit/:userId', {templateUrl: '../user/edit.jsp', controller: UserEditCtrl}).
otherwise({redirectTo: '/'});
});
function ListUserCtrl($scope, $resource, $routeParams, $location, $timeout) {...}
function UserEditCtrl($scope, $resource, $routeParams, $location, $timeout) {...}
Again, this works fine most of the time, it's only about every 9th or 10th page reload that no routing will take place. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions as to why this may be happening? It may be present in older versions of IE but I can't confirm that.
A:
I had a similar problem, solved it by forcing IE10 to IE9 Compatibility mode.
Add this to your html head:
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=9">
|
rule m2318_6134e408d8bb0932
{
meta:
copyright="Copyright (c) 2014-2018 Support Intelligence Inc, All Rights Reserved."
engine="saphire/1.3.1 divinorum/0.998 icewater/0.4"
viz_url="http://icewater.io/en/cluster/query?h64=m2318.6134e408d8bb0932"
cluster="m2318.6134e408d8bb0932"
cluster_size="4"
filetype = "text/html"
tlp = "amber"
version = "icewater snowflake"
author = "Rick Wesson (@wessorh) [email protected]"
date = "20171120"
license = "RIL-1.0 [Rick's Internet License] "
family="ramnit html script"
md5_hashes="['3664e175aa7e9f71552489d40f14a22c','6dba5ea2c2495986eedf10d33e6a17d8','bedf9a6afdb3e343e8fbf9e3af6d06fc']"
strings:
$hex_string = { 696e672e46696c6553797374656d4f626a65637422290d0a44726f7050617468203d2046534f2e4765745370656369616c466f6c646572283229202620225c22 }
condition:
filesize > 65536 and filesize < 262144
and $hex_string
}
|
Optimization of production of conjugated linoleic acid from soybean oil.
Linoleic acid from soybean oil was used to synthesize conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and the response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the process. A temperature of -35 degrees C and a solvent to oil sample ratio of 8 were suggested for removal of saturated fatty acids by low-temperature crystallization. The ratio of oil sample/urea/methanol suggested was 1:2:5.5 (w/w/v) for removal of oleic acid by urea crystallization. A temperature of 150 degrees C and a time of 140 min were found to be the optimal conditions in the isomerization for the production of c-9,t-11 and t-10,c-12 CLA isomers. |
If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
Hey guys, I need a modest horsea, sedra or kingdra with swift swim. PM me if you've got one for trade.
Edit: I've got the horsea now, and I need a Dragon scale...
Last edited by the_showstopper; 23rd October 2007 at 7:29 AM.
Cant acess serebii as much as i want due to epic lag... If you have MSN, PLEASE add me if you want to battle me. the email is [email protected] channel:http://www.youtube.com/user/XSquareStickItI accept only NU standard rules battles. FC is 3094 1535 8960. Prepare yourself for Glaceon, that's all I can say.
<a href="http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j266/the_showstopper_2006/?action=view¤t=dvq3gl.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j266/the_showstopper_2006/dvq3gl.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
the_showstopper i can get a Modest Horsea w/ this Ability what do you offer?
shiny moltres or shiny rayquaza. i also have a untouched careful cresselia.
Cant acess serebii as much as i want due to epic lag... If you have MSN, PLEASE add me if you want to battle me. the email is [email protected] channel:http://www.youtube.com/user/XSquareStickItI accept only NU standard rules battles. FC is 3094 1535 8960. Prepare yourself for Glaceon, that's all I can say.
<a href="http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j266/the_showstopper_2006/?action=view¤t=dvq3gl.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j266/the_showstopper_2006/dvq3gl.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> |
Q:
Copy multiple workbook into single workbook "you cannot paste here because the copy area vba"
I'm trying to open all the selected file using the filedialog method and then copy all the content inside the selected path to the current workbook. The first path file manage to copy all the content, when it come to the second one, the error:
"you cannot paste here because the copy area, select just one cell in the paste area etc."
Below is my code:
Sub Select_File_Click()
Dim lngCount As Long
Dim cl As Range
Dim c2 As Range
Dim ItemType As String
ThisWorkbook.Sheets("Sheet1").Range("A:D").ClearContents
Set cl = ActiveSheet.Cells(1, 3)
' Open the file dialog
With Application.FileDialog(msoFileDialogOpen)
.AllowMultiSelect = True
.Filters.Clear
.Filters.Add "comma-separated values", "*.csv"
.InitialFileName = "*" & ItemType & "*.*"
.InitialView = msoFileDialogViewDetails
.Show
For lngCount = 1 To .SelectedItems.Count
' Add Hyperlinks
cl.Worksheet.Hyperlinks.Add _
Anchor:=cl, Address:=.SelectedItems(lngCount), _
TextToDisplay:=.SelectedItems(lngCount)
' Add file name
'cl.Offset(0, 1) = _
' Mid(.SelectedItems(lngCount), InStrRev(.SelectedItems(lngCount), "\") + 1)
' Add file as formula
cl.Offset(0, 1).FormulaR1C1 = _
"=TRIM(RIGHT(SUBSTITUTE(RC[-1],""\"",REPT("" "",99)),99))"
Set cl = cl.Offset(1, 0)
Set c2 = cl.Offset(0, 1)
Next lngCount
Sheets(1).Cells(1, 1) = .SelectedItems.Count
End With
End Sub
Sub All_data_Click()
Dim Count As Integer
Dim iLast As Long
ThisWorkbook.Sheets("Copy").Range("A1:AZ5000").ClearContents
Count = ThisWorkbook.Sheets(1).Cells(1, 1)
iLast = 1
For i = 1 To Count
pth = ThisWorkbook.Sheets("Sheet1").Cells(i, 3).Value 'Select folder path
Set LookupWB = Workbooks.Open(Filename:=pth)
Set sourceColumn1 = ThisWorkbook.Sheets("Copy")
Set Source = ActiveWorkbook.Sheets(1)
Set sourceColumn1 = Source.Columns("A:AZ")
Set targetColumn1 = ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Copy").Rows(iLast)
sourceColumn1.Copy Destination:=targetColumn1 <---Error Here:
iLast = iLast + sourceColumn1.Range("A" & Rows.Count).End(xlUp).Row
Next i
End Sub
Is there any idea to solve this problem? I'm lost already.
A:
If I understood correctly what you are trying to do, I suggest a slightly different approach in 1 go:
Sub Select_File_Click()
Dim Wb As Workbook: Set Wb = ThisWorkbook
Dim Sh1 As Worksheet: Set Sh1 = Wb.Sheets("Sheet1")
Dim Sh2 As Worksheet: Set Sh2 = Wb.Sheets("Copy")
Dim i As Integer, Cnt As Integer
Dim Wbt As Workbook
Sh1.Range("A:D").ClearContents
Sh2.Cells.Clear
Cnt = 1
' Open the file dialog
With Application.FileDialog(msoFileDialogFilePicker) 'Using a file picker instead of open
.AllowMultiSelect = True
.Filters.Clear
.Filters.Add "comma-separated values", "*.csv"
.InitialFileName = "*.*"
.InitialView = msoFileDialogViewDetails
.Show
For i = 1 To .SelectedItems.Count
'You dont actually need the 4 lines below if you only need to do the copy
' Add Hyperlinks
Sh1.Cells(i, 3).Worksheet.Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=Sh1.Cells(i, 3), Address:=.SelectedItems(i), TextToDisplay:=.SelectedItems(i)
' Add file as formula
Sh1.Cells(i, 4).FormulaR1C1 = "=TRIM(RIGHT(SUBSTITUTE(RC[-1],""\"",REPT("" "",99)),99))"
Set Wbt = Workbooks.Open(.SelectedItems(i))
Intersect(Wbt.Sheets(1).UsedRange, Wbt.Sheets(1).Columns("A:AZ")).Copy Sh2.Range("A" & Cnt)
Cnt = Cnt + Intersect(Wbt.Sheets(1).UsedRange, Wbt.Sheets(1).Columns("A:AZ")).Rows.Count
Wbt.Saved = True
Wbt.Close
Next i
End With
End Sub
|
Q:
Why is my perl hash not returning values?
I'm ingesting a CSV file:
"ID","LASTNAME","FIRSTNAME","PERM_ADDR1","PERM_ADDR2","PERM_CITY","PERM_ST","PERM_ZIP","DOB","LIB_TYPE","BARCODE","EMAIL","LOCAL_ADDR1","LOCAL_ADDR2","LOCAL_CITY","LOCAL_ST","LOCAL_ZIP","CAMPUS_ADDR1","CAMPUS_ADDR2","CAMPUS_CITY","CAMPUS_ST","CAMPUS_ZIP","DEPARTMENT","MAJOR"
"123","Lastname","Firstname","123 Home St","","Home City","HS","12345-6789","0101","S","1234567890","[email protected]","123 Local St","","Local City","LS","98765-4321","123 Campus St","","Campus City","CS","54321-6789","IT",""
Using Text::CSV, I'm attempting to parse this into a hash:
my $csv = Text::CSV->new();
chomp(my $line = <READ>);
$csv->column_names(split(/,/, $line));
until (eof(READ)) {
$line = $csv->getline_hr(*READ);
my %linein = %$line;
my %patron;
$patron{'patronid'} = $linein{'ID'};
$patron{'last'} = $linein{'LASTNAME'};
$patron{'first'} = $linein{'FIRSTNAME'};
print p(%linein)."\n";
print p(%patron)."\n";
}
Using this code, the print statements at the end (using Data::Printer) return this:
{
"BARCODE" 1234567890,
"CAMPUS_ADDR1" "123 Campus St",
"CAMPUS_ADDR2" "",
"CAMPUS_CITY" "Campus City",
"CAMPUS_ST" "CS",
"CAMPUS_ZIP" "54321-6789",
"DEPARTMENT" "IT",
"DOB" 0101,
"EMAIL" "[email protected]",
"FIRSTNAME" "Firstname",
"ID" 123,
"LASTNAME" "Lastname",
"LIB_TYPE" "S",
"LOCAL_ADDR1" "123 Local St",
"LOCAL_ADDR2" "",
"LOCAL_CITY" "Local City",
"LOCAL_ST" "LS",
"LOCAL_ZIP" "98765-4321",
"MAJOR" "",
"PERM_ADDR1" "123 Home St",
"PERM_ADDR2" "",
"PERM_CITY" "Home City",
"PERM_ST" "HS",
"PERM_ZIP" "12345-6789"
}
{
first undef,
last undef,
patronid undef
}
What I don't understand is why %patron is not being populated with the values from %linein. I'm wondering if this is somehow related to using Text::CSV, as I'm parsing other files elsewhere in the script and they work just fine. Those files, however, are not CSV, but rather fixed-width, so I'm parsing them manually.
A:
Try
$csv->column_names(map {/"(.*)"/ and $1} split(/,/, $line))
Instead of
$csv->column_names(split(/,/, $line));
Your CSV keys were being defined as the literal strings
'"LASTNAME"' , '"FIRSTNAME"'
Instead of just
'LASTNAME' , 'FIRSTNAME'
Data::Printer wasn't doing too bad a job at showing you what was happening -
all the keys in p(%linein) are shown as containing double quotes as part of
the string, as opposed to p(%patron)
|
The solution according to the invention is used for measuring a surface property of paper or paperboard. The paper or paperboard surface is illuminated and the illuminated paper or paperboard surface is imaged by a camera for measuring.
The properties used for describing the surface properties of paper and paperboard include roughness and gloss which are used e.g. for estimating the printability of paper. The probably most common way of measuring paper roughness is based on airflow measuring methods which are employed in the apparatuses of Bendtsen, Parker-Prit-Surf-Sheffield, Bekk and Gurley Hill, for example. In these solutions a cylindrical element is pressed against the paper or paperboard surface with a certain amount of force. A pressure difference with respect to the ambient air is caused in the element, and the air flowing through an opening between the edge of the cylindrical element and the paper or paperboard surface is measured. There are several problems related to these measurements. The parameter representing roughness is also influenced by the porosity of paper. The measurement is also integrally directed at a large surface area, for which reason accurate information on the detailed structure of the paper surface cannot be obtained. This is disadvantageous to the estimation of printability, for example. A further disadvantage is an error factor caused by the dependency between the measuring result and the force used for pressing the cylindrical element against the paper or paperboard surface.
The surface properties of paper and paperboard can also be measured optically. In profilometric roughness measurement the paper surface is examined unidimensionally using a focused ray in the same way as when reading a CD. Problems are caused by porosity, paper transparency and strong reflectance, if any, which distort the profile. Unidimensionality of the measurement is also a disadvantage. Roughness can also be measured utilizing light scattering. In the prior art solution the paper surface is conventionally illuminated at an oblique angle (45xc2x0 to 85xc2x0) with respect to the normal of the surface, and the intensity distribution of radiation from the direction of specular reflection is measured to determine roughness. This solution is described in greater detail e.g. in Finnish publication no. 56453, which is incorporated herein by reference. Specular reflection is typically also measured in connection with the measurement of the gloss. In the standardized solution according to the prior art, gloss of paper or paperboard is measured by illuminating the paper or paperboard surface at a large angle (e.g. 75xc2x0) with respect to the surface normal and detecting optical radiation reflected from the surface at the angle of reflection. This solution is described more closely in standard T 480 om-92, which is incorporated herein by reference. The prior art measuring arrangements measure gloss and roughness integrally from a large area the size of which is usually dozens of square millimeters. The average measured from a large area does not give accurate information on the structure of the paper surface and thus e.g. printability cannot be estimated reliably. The large measuring angle further impairs the measuring accuracy. An additional problem is that the surface roughness and the surface gloss are mixed with each other and they cannot be determined separately with any certainty.
An object of the invention is to provide a method and an apparatus implementing the method to eliminate the above-mentioned problems. This is achieved with the solution according to the invention which relates to a method of determining a surface property of paper or paperboard, the method comprising illuminating the paper or paperboard surface and imaging the illuminated paper or paperboard surface onto the pixels of a camera""s detector surface. For measuring at least gloss as the micro surface property, the method according to the invention comprises illuminating the paper or paperboard surface with collimated light substantially parallel with the normal of the paper or paperboard surface; controlling the reflected optical radiation with an aperture of the desired size before the camera; producing an image of the paper or paperboard surface onto the pixels of the camera""s detector surface by means of the reflected optical radiation, each of the pixels imaging an area in the order of micrometers of the paper or paperboard surface, and measuring at least the gloss of paper or paperboard surface on the basis of the intensity of the pixels on the camera""s detector surface.
The invention also relates to a measuring arrangement for determining a surface property of paper or paperboard, the measuring arrangement comprising an optical power source for illuminating the paper or paperboard surface and a camera for imaging the illuminated paper or paperboard surface onto the pixels of the camera""s detector surface. The measuring arrangement according to the invention comprises, for measuring at least one micro surface property, a collimating optical block for collimating the optical radiation emitted from the optical power source; a partially permeable mirror for projecting the optical radiation onto the paper or paperboard surface substantially parallel with the normal of the paper or paperboard surface; an imaging optical block for producing an image of the illuminated paper or paperboard surface onto the pixels of the camera""s detector surface by means of the reflected optical radiation; an aperture of the desired size for controlling the reflected optical radiation; the measuring arrangement being arranged to measure at least gloss of the paper or paperboard surface on the basis of the intensity of the pixels on the camera""s detector surface.
The dependent claims disclose the preferred embodiments of the invention.
The solution according to the invention is based on illuminating the paper or paperboard surface with collimated optical radiation from the direction of the surface normal. An aperture is used for controlling the quality of the micro surface property to be measured. When gloss is measured, the aperture is used for adjusting the direction of optical radiation entering the camera. When roughness is measured, the aperture is used for adjusting the depth of focus of the image formed onto the pixels of the camera""s detector surface. In both cases the micro surface properties are measured by means of the intensity received by the pixels on the camera""s detector surface.
The measuring arrangement and method according to the invention provide several advantages. The invention enables measuring of a surface property of paper or paperboard from a surface area in the order of micrometers, in which case the surface properties can be determined as micro surface properties. This allows to separate gloss and roughness reliably from each other. Thanks to this, the printability of paper or paperboard can be estimated accurately, which results in considerable savings in the production costs of various printed goods because paper or paperboard processing can be controlled during the manufacture. In practice this means that the consumption of ink used in printing, for example, can be optimized, which allows to guarantee good quality of the text and pictures.
The invention will be described in greater detail by means of preferred embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
FIG. 1 illustrates a measuring arrangement for measuring micro surface properties of the paper or paperboard surface,
FIG. 2 illustrates a measuring arrangement for measuring gloss of the paper or paperboard surface,
FIG. 3 illustrates dependency between an optical aperture and optical radiation reflected from the surface,
FIG. 4 illustrates a measuring arrangement for measuring roughness of the paper or paperboard surface,
FIG. 5 illustrates determination of the depth of focus,
FIG. 6A is a top view of a rotatable disc,
FIG. 6B is a perpendicular side view of a rotatable disc,
FIG. 7 illustrates a measuring arrangement for determining micro surface properties of the paper or paperboard surface. |
Attached is a draft of our GISB agreement for your review. Upon your
review, please give me a call.
Regards,
Debra Perlingiere
Legal Specialist |
United States Milk Consumption Has Fallen Nearly 30 Percent
Like us on Facebook:
The current article you are reading does not reflect the views of the current editors and contributors of the new Ecorazzi
Are non-dairy eaters and drinkers rubbing off on others? They just might be, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently revealed the consumption of milk is falling.
The Wall Street Journal reports that “per-capita U.S. milk consumption, which peaked around World War II, has fallen almost 30 percent since 1975, even as sales of yogurt, cheese and other dairy products have risen.”
This will definitely affect the milk industry and as Tom Gallagher, CEO of Dairy Management Inc. says, the business “is coming to recognize this as a crisis.”
What’s causing the decline? The rise in bottled water popularity and those that consider milk a high-calorie beverage.
People who love milk might also feel discouraged by these statistics, but vegans and those that choose to drink soy, rice and almond milk, and cut out dairy completely, might rejoice in this news.
With the increase of childhood obesity and the fact that more children are drinking sugar-filled energy drinks and sodas, children are becoming less likely to drink milk, which is also another factor in the decline.
Many celebrities have even been ditching dairy to lose weight and stay healthy. For example, actress Megan Fox just announced she’s foregoing dairy to help her lose baby weight. She only gave birth in September and already has her smoking hot body back.
“I’m not eating dairy, that’s my biggest secret. It’s really hard on your hormones and it’s not good. If you want to gain weight, eat dairy. If you don’t, don’t eat it,” she explained.
Now, there’s no direct correlation between vegans, non-dairy diets and the decline in milk sales, but it could be part of the effect, as well as the large number of dairy-free milks flooding the market.
For the full article, and other facts, head on over to WSJ.com.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock |
As a result of the outbreak and fewer youths being held in Maryland facilities, the state has closed two juvenile detention centers: the Savage Mountain Youth Center in Garrett County and the J. DeWeese Carter Center in Kent County. Abed said the state also has stopped accepting new youth detainees at the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center, because of an outbreak of the virus there. |
Q:
C#: Remove the spacing at the edges inside a button
Situation: I need a tiny button, with some text on it.
Problem: The button seems to think displaying empty space near its edges is more important than displaying my Text.
I can't for the life of me figure out how to remove that blank stuff at the edges. Any help is greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance.
-MonsterMaw
A:
Assuming you're talking about WinForms, you can set the FlatStyle property of the button to System.
That will let you resize the button so that it is small enough for the text to fit exacty, without any internal padding.
|