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Mr. Watts: Regular meetings are held between OPRAF and British Rail
to discuss a wide range of issues. The decision to withdraw Motorail
services and the London--Fort William sleeper service from May was taken by
BR on commercial grounds.
Mr. McLeish: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport under what
statutory powers the Director of Franchising and OPRAF were acting when the
decision was taken to exclude the Fort William sleeper and Motorail
services from the passenger service requirement for ScotRail.
[15747]
Mr. Watts: In indicating that he would not include the Fort William
sleeper service and Motorail services in the draft passenger service
requirement for ScotRail, the Franchising Director was acting within the
bounds of the statutory objectives, instructions and guidance issued by my
right hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, South (Mr. MacGregor) on 22 March
1994 in accordance with the provisions of section 5 of the Railways Act
1993.
Mr. Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1)
what assessment he has made of the additional costs associated with
maintenance of the (a) Fort William to London sleeper service, (b) Carlisle
to London sleeper service and (c) Scotland to London motorail services, for
the purpose of an eight week consultation period commencing in May,
indicating the financial assumptions involved; and if he will make a
statement; [15139]
(2) what estimate he has made of the costs associated with the closure of
the (a) Fort William to London sleeper service, (b) Carlisle to London
sleeper service and (c) Scotland to London motorail services; and if he
will make a statement; [15141] (3) what estimate he has made of the
start up costs associated with re-opening, after May, the (a) Fort William
to London sleeper service, (b) Carlisle to London sleeper service and (c)
Scotland to London Motorail services; and if he will make a statement.
[15140]
Mr. Watts: My right hon. Friend has not made any such assessments on
estimates. The decision to withdraw Motorail services and the sleeper
service between London and Carlisle and London and Fort William from 28 May
was a commercial decision by British Rail. It has undertaken to retain the
assets needed to run these services so that they can be restored if the
Franchising Director decides to include them in the passenger service
requirement for the ScotRail franchise.
Birmingham Northern Relief Road
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he
will ensure that the inquiry into the Birmingham northern relief road is
based on a re-assessment of traffic models and growth forecasts;
[15257]
(2) what account he has taken of the effects of congestion of the traffic
model assumption in respect of the Birmingham northern relief road which
assumes that for roads which are full traffic will grow at a reduced rate;
[15255]
(3) on what basis traffic modellers have ignored heavy goods vehicles in
respect of the Birmingham northern relief road; and if he will make a
statement; [15254]
(4) what assessment he has made of the impact of an (a) untolled and (b)
tolled west orbital road in respect of
Column 318
the Birmingham northern relief road.
[15256]
Mr. Watts: These are matters for the Highways Agency. I have asked
the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Laurie Haynes to Ms Joan Walley, dated 23 March 1995:
You asked the Secretary of State for information about the traffic
modelling used for the Birmingham Northern Relief Road. We are satisfied
that the traffic model uses a robust methodology and has taken account of
significant changes, such as the SACTRA report, which have arisen since the
draft Orders were published. The ongoing public inquiry into the proposals
has received much information on traffic flows and techniques. It will be
for the Inspector to form his own judgement on that evidence.
The Original (February 1994) BNRR traffic forecasts assumed a tolled
Western Orbital Route. The latest (November 1994) forecasts assume a WOR
that will be free to motorists. The traffic impacts of these differing
assumptions are contained in evidence placed before the inquiry.
HGVs are not ignored in the traffic model. Tests established the most
appropriate methodology for the evaluation of the BNRR proposals; this
ensures the most realistic estimate of HGV routing. Details of the
methodology used have been presented to the inquiry. The traffic model
takes account of the capacity of the roads in the area. Reduced growth
rates have been assumed for all journeys with one or both ends in the
conurbation, in line with assumptions made by local highway authorities in
the conurbation.
ENVIRONMENT
Hydrofluorocarbons
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the
Environment what plans he has to set targets for the phasing out of HFCs.
[14984]
Mr. Atkins: There are no plans to phase out HFCs, nor to set targets
for phaseout. HFCs have been developed as alternatives to some ozone-
depleting substances and are an important part of the solution to the
problem of depletion of the ozone layer. However, HFCs are also greenhouse
gases and the Government are discussing with industry the scope for
voluntary agreements to limit HFC emissions and to ensure that HFCs are not
used where emissions are unavoidable if safe, practical and more
environmental acceptable alternatives are available.
Local Government Commission
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment
what qualities he will look for in appointing a new chair of the revamped
Local Government Commission. [15058]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: On 21 March my right hon. Friend announced the
appointment of Sir David Cooksey to the chairmanship of the Local
Government Commission, Official Report , column 145 . I believe Sir David
has all the qualities required of the chairman, and I note that his
appointment was immediately welcomed by the hon. Member for Holborn and St.
Pancras (Mr. Dobson).
Local Government Reorganisation
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the
Environment (1) if he will list the English counties, following the current
reorganisation of local government, that will have no administrative
function but will have a
Column 319
lord lieutenant and sheriff; [15072]
(2) if he will list the English counties, following the current
reorganisation of local government, which are to be extended beyond their
administrative boundaries for ceremonial purposes and where lords
lieutenant and sheriffs will have jurisdiction over the wider area;
[15070]
(3) if he will list the English counties, following the current
reorganisation of local government, that will have no functions.
[15071]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: Decisions have not yet been taken in all cases.
However, I expect that the only county areas without any county councils
but with their own lords lieutenant will be Berkshire and East Yorkshire.
Most areas whose local authority is granted unitary powers will be deemed
to be part of a neighbouring county area for ceremonial purposes.
In those areas for which structure orders have been made, North West
Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset will be deemed to be part of
Somerset; South Gloucestershire will be deemed to be part of
Gloucestershire; North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire will be
deemed to be part of Lincolnshire; York will be deemed to be part of North
Yorkshire; and Hull will be deemed to be part of East Yorkshire. We are
still considering the ceremonial arrangements for Cleveland.
Lords Lieutenant
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the
Environment if he will list the English county councils which have their
own lord lieutenant and sheriff. [15073]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: A lord lieutenant and high sheriff are
appointed to the following counties:
Greater London
Greater Manchester
Merseyside
South Yorkshire
Tyne and Wear
West Midlands
West Yorkshire
Avon
Bedfordshire
Berkshire
Buckinghamshire
Cambridgeshire
Cheshire
Cleveland
Cornwall
Cumbria
Derbyshire
Devon
Dorset
Durham
East Sussex
Essex
Gloucestershire
Hampshire
Hereford and Worcester
Hertfordshire
Humberside
Isle of Wight
Kent
Lancashire
Liecestershire
Column 320
Lincolnshire
Norfolk
Northamptonshire
Northumberland
North Yorkshire
Nottinghamshire
Oxfordshire
Shopshire
Somerset
Staffordshire
Suffolk
Surrey
Warwickshire
West Sussex
Wiltshire
Air Pollution
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what
discussions have taken place with his European ministerial counterparts
concerning the need to reduce levels of air pollution. [15127]
Mr. Atkins: I maintain regular contacts with my European ministerial
counterparts on all aspects of environmental protection, including air
pollution. Most recently, I met my European Community counterparts in
Brussels on 9 March at the meeting of the Environment Council. We had a
fruitful discussion on a number of issues related to air pollution,
including the proposed directive on integrated pollution prevention and
control and the proposed framework directive on ambient air quality
assessment and management.
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what
steps he will take to reduce levels of air pollution; and if he will make a
statement. [15133]
Mr. Atkins: The Government announced their strategic policies for
managing air quality in the document "Air Quality: Meeting the Challenge",
published on 19 January. Copies are available in the House Libraries. Those
policies are aimed at delivering sustainable improvements in air quality
throughout the UK. Proposals include a framework of national air quality
standards, a new system of local air quality assessment and management and
an action plan for transport.
National Rivers Authority
Mr. Alan W. Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the
Environment what was the level of (a) grant in aid, (b) internal income
generated and (c) total budget for the National Rivers Authority for each
year since its establishment. [15321]
Mr. Atkins: The level of grant in aid, income generated from charges
and levies and total expenditure of the National Rivers authority are:
Mr. Alan W. Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the
Environment what was the total number of people working (a) full time and
(b) part time for the National Rivers Authority in each year since it was
established. [15322]
Mr. Atkins: The NRA does not separately record numbers of part-time
staff. The data show permanent staff, including part-time staff, and
temporary staff, including those working for limited periods and those on
fixed term contracts:
Mr. Alan W. Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the
Environment if he will list each of the major establishments which are part
of the National Rivers Authority, giving number of employees and budget for
(a) 1993 94, (b) 1994 95 and (c) 1995 96 in 1994 prices. [15316]
Mr. Atkins: The number of people employed by the National Rivers
Authority on each of its functions is:
Regional Water Companies
Ms Armstrong: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if
he will list for each regional water company (a) the net equity proceeds to
Government as a result of privatisation, (b) the market value at the end of
the first day of trading and (c) the current market value. [15351]
Mr. Atkins: Information on the proceeds resulting from
privatisation, the market capitalisation at flotation and movement in share
values at the end of the first day's trading in shares in the 10 water
holding companies in England and Wales, is contained in the National Audit
Office report "Department of the Environment: Sale of the Water Authorities
in England and Wales", a copy of which is in the Library. Current market
values vary according to fluctuations in the share price of the companies.
This information is not held by my Department.
Local Authorities
Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if
he will bring forward legislation to require local authorities to disclose
in their annual accounts (a) the number of staff employed, (b) their total
remuneration, (c) the number of staff in receipt of remuneration in excess
of £10,000 per annum in salary bands of £5, 000 and (d) the
remuneration of the highest paid chief officer in a format similar to that
used in company accounts. [15165]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: There is a strong case for local authorities to
publish details of the pay of their senior staff in broadly the same way as
companies are required to publish details of the pay of their senior
employees. However, I am keen to keep the new obligations on local
authorities under control.
My Department is considering what information it would be appropriate for
local authorities to publish and the best way for the local authorities to
be encouraged to make that information public. Of course, no new
stipulations would be introduced without consultation with the local
authority associations.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what
were the (a) total staff numbers, (b) total revenue and capital expenditure
and (c) local
Column 323
authority housing stock in all district
authorities in East and West Sussex. [14890]
Mr. Robert B. Jones [holding answer 22 March 1995]: The
available information is:
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he
will make a statement on his proposals for local authority participation in
companies and for amending the capital finance regulations. [16203]
Mr. Curry: The Local Authorities (Companies) Order 1995 and the
Local Authorities (Capital Finance and Approved Investments) (Amendment)
Regulations 1995 have today been laid before Parliament. These implement
the package of proposals to encourage closer partnership between local
authorities and the private sector, announced by my right hon. Friend on 31
October 1994.
The Local Authorities (Companies) Order 1995 establishes a regime for local
authority participation in companies, under which those companies,
including companies limited by guarantee, which are led by the private
sector will be subject to few controls other than those applicable
generally under the Companies Acts. We are providing in the regime
transitional provisions for local authority companies established before 1
April 1995, and we are also allowing certain exemptions.
The Local Authorities (Capital Finance and Approved Investments)
(Amendment) Regulations 1995 make a number of changes to the local
authority capital finance rules, with the intention of promoting the use of
private finance.
The order and regulations laid take account of extensive consultation
conducted by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the
Environment and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales with
the local authority associations, individual local authorities, and other
interested parties. The main changes made following this will:
Column 324
free authorities of all subsequent capital
finance impact from a company's operations provided it leaves the public
sector, permanently, by 31 March 1996.
increase to 75 per cent. the usable proportion of receipts of sale of local
authority shareholdings in airport companies arising before 1 April 1997,
and in bus companies arising before 31 March 1996. This was announced by my
right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport on 3 March, Official
Report, column 732 . allow authorities holding leases of non-housing
property taken out before 1988 to extend them for up to 10 years without
capital costs.
allow authorities to transfer assets to companies in return for a mixed
consideration of cash and shares, without needing to set resources aside in
relation to the shares.
The regulations also introduce other beneficial changes which reflect
consultations with and representations from local authorities. These will:
allow authorities to renew, for up to two years without capital cost,
leases on privately owned homes expiring after 20 December 1994. This will
enable authorities to continue present arrangements by renewing short-term
leases on good quality homes in the private rented sector, rather than
using bed-and-breakfast hotels to provide temporary accommodation. The use
of bed and breakfast accommodation has fallen by 43 per cent. over two
years.
allow costs of computer software to be capitalised.
In addition, there are many clarificatory and drafting changes. I will also
be laying before Parliament later in the year further regulations which
will have the effect of increasing to 90 per cent. the usable proportion of
local authorities' receipts from sales of car parks and retail property
arising between 1 September 1995 and 31 August 1996.
Thus local authorities and prospective private sector partners can now look
forward to a total of four targeted
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Introduction
============
Deterioration of the nutritional status affects and is affected by disease, especially among the elderly \[[@B1]\]. Nutritional diagnosis and the identification of factors that contribute to this diagnosis are, therefore, essential but complex processes. This complexity is due to the occurrence of many changes, both physiological and pathological, which may be taken as inherent to the aging or disease process. However, indirect indicators that likely guarantee proper and healthy eating, such as economic, social, lifestyle and quality of life aspects may represent important tools for assessing nutritional risk \[[@B2]\].
The MNA (Mini Nutritional Assessment) \[[@B3]\] has been an extensively used method to identify risk of malnutrition in the elderly and in those that may benefit from early intervention. The MNA is a simple, low cost and non-invasive method that can be done at bedside \[[@B3]\]. Added MNA scores allow one to screen the elderly who have an adequate nutritional status, those who are at risk of malnutrition and those who are malnourished. The MNA consists of anthropometric and global indicators, including information on eating patterns and self-perception of health, such as: reduced food intake; weight loss of \>3 kg body weight; mobility, bed- or chair-bound; psychological stress; neuropsychological problems; body mass index; inability to live independently; taking \>3 prescription drugs; having pressure sores or skin ulcers; number of full meals eaten per day; consumption of high-protein foods; consumption of fruits & vegetables; amount of liquids consumed per day; inability to feed self; difficulty in self-feeding; self-view of nutritional status; self-view of health status; mid-arm circumference \<21 cm; and calf circumference \<31 cm \[[@B3]\]. The tool has been successfully used to assess the nutritional risk of elderly who live independently, receive home care services or are institutionalized, and of patients who are chronically ill, frail, have Alzheimer\'s disease or cognitive impairment \[[@B4]\]. It has been demonstrated that the sensitivity of this scale is of 96%, the specificity is of 98% and the prognostic value for malnutrition is of 97%^3^. This method has been broadly used among the geriatric population \[[@B5]-[@B9]\] and a higher prevalence of malnutrition has been associated with the elderly most in need of care \[[@B10]\].
There are at least 40 screening and assessment tools for subjective nutritional status assessments, and some are for the general population and others for specific populations \[[@B11]\]. The most broadly used of these population-specific tools is the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), developed by Baker et al in 1982 \[[@B3]\]. The SGA has proven to be one of the most efficient methods to determine nutritional status and make the prognosis of clinical complications \[[@B12]\]. Different from the MNA, the SGA was developed to assess hospitalized individuals, investigating recent weight loss, changes in food consumption, gastrointestinal symptoms, loss of functional capacity, disease-associated stress, and depletion, found upon physical examination \[[@B12]\].
Thus, the SGA focuses mainly on the effect of the disease on nutritional status. When the same population of elderly individuals is assessed by the SGA and MNA, the SGA detects already established malnutrition more precisely, while the MNA detects those who need preventive care \[[@B13]\]. The sensitivities of the SGA and MNA were 93 and 96% respectively, and the specificities were 61 and 26% respectively \[[@B13]\]. The Nutritional Risk Screening (NCR-2002), proposed more recently, has proven to be an important instrument to assess nutritional risk and predict length of hospital stay of elderly patients \[[@B14]\]. Thus, the MNA is considered a very useful instrument for assessing long-term nutritional risk but not as useful for short-term prognoses \[[@B15]\]. Regarding functional autonomy, the MNA considers the mobility of the elderly, if bedbound or wheelchair-bound or if he or she is capable of walking but does not leave the home. The MNA does not assess eating autonomy, that is, if the elderly can prepare his or her own food, if he or she eats without help, if he or she can cut the foods and even if he or she can bring the foods to the mouth.
Functional capacity assessment based on self-reported performance of daily tasks was first assessed by Katz, 1963 \[[@B16]\]. The multidimensional OARS (Older Americans Research Survey) \[[@B17]\] questionnaire was validated and has been used in Brazil \[[@B18]\] for some time now. The questionnaire takes into account the basic activities of daily living (ADL) and the instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). The lack of functional autonomy to look after oneself and to prepare and eat foods is a factor that can result in malnutrition and deserves the attention of professionals and family since functional capacity assessment can be an indicator of nutritional risk which is particularly associated with food intake \[[@B19]\].
The prognosis of elderly inpatients depends not only on the acute physiological conditions inherent to the disease but also on a number of preexisting factors, such as loss of functional independence, loss of cognitive functions, low body weight \[[@B20]\] and corrected arm muscle area \[[@B21]\]. Poor eating habits are predictive of a bad hospitalization prognosis among the elderly \[[@B1]\], suggesting that there is a relationship of interdependence with the other factors. Thus, the objective of this work was to assess the relationship between nutritional status and indicators of functional capacity among recently hospitalized elderly in a general hospital.
Casuistic and Method
====================
A cross-sectional study was done from September to November 2006 with 240 elderly aging more than 60 years, of both genders (127 womens and 113 mens), hospitalized in a hospital in Piracicaba, SP, Brazil that provides care for the private and public healthcare systems. This study was submitted and approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the institution, according to Resolution n° 196/96 of the Brazilian Ministry of Health. The work only began after the patient or caregiver was informed of the purpose of the study and agreed to participate, signing a informed consent form.
All patients aged 60 or more years and who stayed in the hospital for one or more days were included in the study. The lower age limit was chosen according to the second article of the National Policy for the Elderly that classifies individuals aged 60 years or older as elderly \[[@B22]\].
Data collection was done from 24 to 72 hours after admittance through a single interview with the patient or caregiver (if the patient had dementia or some other problem that prevented communication), thus guaranteeing that nearly all the elderly admitted in the studied period were included.
The MNA developed by Guigoz et al.\[[@B3]\] was used for the subjective assessment of the nutritional status. MNA includes questions regarding weight change, dietary change, gastrointestinal symptoms that persist for more than two weeks, functional capacity, physical assessment and disease and its relationship with nutritional requirement. A guidance book was created to calibrate the interviewers before the interviews for data collection to be consistent. In the original MNA version, the Body Mass Index (BMI in weight/height^2^) is included in the assessment. To allow the assessment of bedridden individuals, BMI was substituted by arm circumference (AC) with the patient lying preferably on his or her left side. The agreement of this measurement was determined by the Kappa coefficient (r = 0.89) considering the classification by BMI and AC as follows:
BMI \< 19 for AC ≤ P 5
19 ≤ BMI \< 21 for P 5 \< AC ≤ P 10
21 ≤ BMI \< 23 for P 10 \< AC \< P 85
BMI ≥ 23 for AC ≥ P 85
Where: the percentile (P) for man is P5 = 25 cm, P10 = 26 cm, and P85 = 34 cm, and for woman is P5 = 24 cm, P10 = 25 cm, and P85 = 33 cm \[[@B23]\].
Functional capacity indicators were assessed based on the OARS questionnaire, adapted for the Brazilian population \[[@B18]\]. The present work considered in the set the IADL (using a telephone, walking outside, shopping, meal preparation, housework, self-medicating, handling money) and the ADL (eating, dressing, grooming, walking, transferring, bathing, toileting). They were all considered individually, without worrying about scoring or classifying the degree of autonomy of each participant.
The following items were also investigated: if the elderly lived by him or herself; if he or she had a caregiver (hired or family); if he or she had chronic disease (by verifying the medical record); if he or she was tube fed and if he or she made use of dietary supplements.
The data were analyzed with the elderly divided into groups according to their nutritional status classified by the MNA. The answers to the questionnaire were expressed in numbers and percentages and compared. The proportions were compared by the chi-square test. When the expected values were below 5, two categories were combined (some dependence + complete dependence).
Results
=======
Among the 240 studied elderly, only 33.8% were classified as having an adequate nutritional status; 37.1% were classified as being at risk of malnutrition and 29.1% were classified as malnourished. Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"} contains data regarding the variables that correspond to the first MNA phase, showing that all factors were more prevalent among the malnourished individuals. Among these factors, a compromised AC was found in 58.2% of the individuals, which was roughly the proportion found for the other factors (Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"}).
Autonomy to answer the questionnaires was inversely proportional between the elderly classified as malnourished and those at risk of malnutrition or adequately nourished (Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"}). The individuals classified as malnourished presented a higher prevalence of needing a caregiver or tube feeding (Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"}). The use of dietary supplements was lower in these latter two groups (Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"}). Most (85%) of the studied population had a chronic disease and this percentage did not differ among the groups (Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"}). Among the chronic diseases and conditions (one or more conditions in the same individual) of all the assessed individuals, systemic hypertension ranked first (41.7%), followed by diabetes mellitus (29.6%), osteoarticular problems (15.1%), cancer (9.6%), and sequelae of stroke (5.4%). The distribution of chronic diseases and conditions among the malnourished population differed from that of the rest of the sample (*p \< 0.001; χ^2^= 46.7*). The prevalences were as follows: systemic hypertension, 13.7%; diabetes mellitus, 15.7%; osteoarticular problems, 3.9%; cancer, 12.8%; and sequelae of stroke, 15.7%.
All the IADL and ADL variables assessed were significantly more compromised among the malnourished elderly (Table [3](#T3){ref-type="table"}). Among the ADL variables, partial (42.9%) or complete (12.9%) eating dependence is found in more than 50% of the malnourished elderly against 13.4% of those at risk of malnourishment and 2.5% of those adequately nourished.
######
Nutritional screening variables of the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), among recently hospitalized elderly patients (N = 240).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Variable Anwers M\ RM\ A\ Chi-square
(n = 70) (n = 89) (n = 81)
--------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ ---------- ---------- ---------- ------------ ----- ------- ----------------
n \% n \% N \%
Reduced food intake in the last 3 moths Severe 45 64.2 21 23.6 4 4.9 *p \< 0.001*
Moderate 20 28.6 39 43.8 9 11.1 *χ^2^= 118.25*
Absent 5 7.2 29 32.6 68 84.0
Weight loss in the last 3 months More than 3 kg 47 67.2 32 35.9 4 4.9
Does not know 10 14.3 18 20.2 2 2.5 *p \< 0.005*
Between 1 and 3 kg 9 12.8 18 20.2 20 24.7 *χ^2^= 103.34*
Absent 4 5.7 21 23.6 55 67.9
Mobility Bedbound or wheelchair-bound 37 52.8 9 10.2 6 7.4 *p \< 0.001*
Walks only at home 16 22.8 10 11.2 4 4.9 *χ^2^= 80.77*
Normal 17 24.4 70 78.6 71 87.7
Stress or acute illness in the last months Yes\ 42\ 60.0\ 32\ 35.9\ 10\ 12.3\ *p \< 0.007*\
No 28 40.0 57 64.1 71 87.7 *χ^2^= 37.53*
Has neuropsychological problems, dementia or depression Severe 18 25.8 9 10.2 1 1.25 *p \< 0.001*
Mild dementia 15 21.4 3 3.4 1 1.3 *χ^2^= 52.58*
Absent 37 52.8 77 86.5 79 97.5
Arm circumference (AC) ≤5 39 58.2 14 15.9 2 2.5 *p \< 0.003*
(N = 236) P5 \< AC ≤ P10 0 0 13 14.8 9 11.1 *χ^2^= 75.50*
P10 \< AC \< P85 25 37.3 45 51.1 49 60.5
AC ≥ P85 3 4.5 16 18.2 21 25.9
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
M = malnourished; RM = Risk of malnutrition; A = Adequate.
######
Variables associated with health and functional autonomy among hospitalized elderly, distributed according to the nutritional status (N = 240).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Variable Anwers M\ RM\ A\ Chi-square
(n = 70) (n = 89) (n = 81)
------------------------ ----------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ------------ ---- ------ ---------------
n \% n \% N \%
Interviewed individual Caregiver 44 62.8 36 40.4 23 28.4 *p = 0.009*\
*χ^2^= 18.55*
User 26 37.2 53 59.6 58 71.6
Caregiver present Yes 48 68.6 31 34.8 15 18.5 *p \< 0.001*\
*χ^2^= 40.59*
No 22 31.4 58 65.2 66 81.5
Chronic disease Yes 60 85.7 83 93.2 76 93.8 *p = 0.148*\
*χ^2^= 3.81*
No 10 14.3 6 6.8 5 6.2
Tube feeding Yes 23 32.8 3 3.4 2 2.5 *p = 0.004*\
*χ^2^= 43.9*
No 47 67.2 86 96.6 79 97.5
Use of supplement Yes 15 21.4 9 10.1 8 9.9 *p*= 0.06\
*χ^2^= 5.60*
No 55 78.6 80 89.9 73 90.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D = Malnourished; RM = Risk of malnutrition; A = Adequate.
######
Functional autonomy for the activities of daily living among hospitalized elderly distributed according to the nutritional status (n = 240).
Variables Answers M (n = 70) RM (n = 89) A (n = 81) Chi-square
-------------------------------------------------- --------------------- ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------ ------- ------- ---------------
**Instrumental Activity of daily living (IADL)** **n** **%** **n** **%** **n** **%**
Phone use Independence 20 28.6 62 69.7 66 81.5 *p \< 0.003*
Some dependence 17 24.3 20 22.5 10 12.3 *χ^2^= 64.40*
Complete dependence 33 47.1 7 7.9 5 6.2
Walking outside Independence 23 32.9 53 59.6 55 67.9 *p \< 0.001*
Some dependence 17 24.3 34 38.2 22 27.2 *χ^2^= 41.27*
Complete dependence 30 42.9 2 2.2 4 4.9
Shopping Independence 14 20 49 55.1 55 67.9 *p \< 0.001*
Some dependence 17 24.3 29 32.6 19 23.5 *χ^2^= 61.26*
Complete dependence 39 55.7 11 12.4 7 8.6
Meal preparation Independence 17 24.3 44 49.4 60 74.1 *p \< 0.005*
Some dependence 9 12.9 26 29.2 14 17.3 *χ^2^= 63.56*
Complete dependence 44 62.8 19 21.3 7 8.6
Housework Independence 14 20 41 46.1 46 56.8 *p \< 0.003*
Some dependence 10 14.3 23 25.8 24 29.6 *χ^2^= 45.2*
Complete dependence 46 65.7 25 28.1 11 13.6
Self-medicating Independence 21 30 63 70.8 67 82.7 *p \< 0.008*
Some dependence 20 28.6 19 21.3 10 12.3 *χ^2^= 57.7*
Complete dependence 29 41.4 7 7.9 4 4.9
Handling money Independence 14 20 51 57.3 58 71.6 *p \< 0.002*
Some dependence 16 22.8 26 29.2 17 21 *χ^2^= 65.33*
Complete dependence 40 57.2 12 13.5 6 7.4
**Activity of daily living (ADL)**
Eating Independence 31 44.3 77 86.5 79 97.5 *p \< 0.001*
Some dependence 30 42.9 10 11.2 2 2.5 *χ^2^= 67.94*
Complete dependence 9 12.9 2 2.2 0 0
Dressing Independence 28 40 80 89.9 77 95.1 *p \< 0.002*
Some dependence 12 17.1 8 9 3 3.7 *χ^2^= 88.95*
Complete dependence 30 42.9 1 1.1 1 1.2
Grooming Independence 28 40 79 88.8 79 97.5 *p \< 0.001*
Some dependence 8 11.4 8 9 1 1.2 *χ^2^= 94.49*
Complete dependence 34 48.6 2 2.2 1 1.2
Walking Independence 22 31.4 71 79.8 71 87.7 *p \< 0.002*
Some dependence 17 24.3 15 16.9 9 11.1 *χ^2^= 83.81*
Complete dependence 31 44.3 3 3.4 1 1.2
Transferring Independence 21 30 73 82 74 91.4 *p \< 0.005*
Some dependence 15 21.4 14 15.7 6 7.4 *χ^2^= 74.89*
Complete dependence 34 48.6 2 2.2 1 1.2
Bathing Independence 21 30 73 82 74 91.4 *p \< 0.005*
Some dependence 15 21.4 14 15.7 6 7.4 *χ^2^= 74.89*
Complete dependence 34 48.6 2 2.2 1 1.2
Toileting Independence 22 31.4 72 80.9 75 92.6 *p \< 0.007*
Some dependence 16 22.9 15 16.9 6 7.4 *χ^2^= 55.79*
Complete dependence 32 45.7 2 2.2 0 0
D = Malnourished; RM = Risk of malnourishment; A = Adequate
Discussion
==========
This study presents data on the outcome of a study that assessed the relationship between nutritional status and functional capacity of hospitalized elderly and there is clearly the need to improve the knowledge on the mechanisms of association between these factors (nutritional and functional states).
In Brazil, deaths associated with malnutrition \[[@B24]\] among the elderly bring to light the discussion on the need to watch this population and intervene nutritionally whenever necessary. In this study, one third of the population being admitted to the hospital was classified by the MNA as being malnourished and the same proportion was classified as being adequately nourished. This reality reinforces the need to invest in assessment and care protocols, especially when dealing with hospitalized patients, where factors such as poor appetite, fatigue, pain and early satiety can reduce oral food intake \[[@B25]\]. Correct intervention helps reduce mortality, improve quality of life and reduce hospitalization costs \[[@B25]\].
This study showed that malnourished individuals are more dependent on others to communicate and meet other needs and they are also more likely to require tube feeding (Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"}) although not forgetting the effect of the disease and the natural aging process. Furthermore, the distribution of the diseases differed among the nutritional status classifications. The malnourished population presented higher proportions of cancer and sequelae of stroke. Cancer is a disease that promotes physiological stress, while stroke mainly compromises functional capacity.
MNA has been broadly used \[[@B5]-[@B9]\] to classify the nutritional status and has demonstrated adequate sensitivity and specificity \[[@B7]\]. The elements considered in the screening done in the first phase of the assessment regard a global assessment (reduced food intake, involuntary weight loss, mobility, cognition and body mass) while in phase 2 the dietary habits and self-perception of health are investigated \[[@B3]\]. Low body profile indicators (mass and circumferences) are visible characteristics of protein-calorie malnutrition but good values do not always reflect adequate nutrition. BMI had been recommended as the best anthropometric indicator of nutritional status while arm circumference has not been shown to be a good indicator of nutritional status when used alone \[[@B26]\]. In the validation study which preceded the current study we found a good agreement (r = 0.89) between arm circumference and BMI. This allowed the MNA to be used in bedridden patients where the study was performed.
The global MNA nature allows the inclusion of important factors which do not only classify the nutritional status but also indicate when intervention is necessary to guarantee proper care. Inadequate food intake is the cause of malnutrition while physical and cognitive limitations can prevent adequate food intake \[[@B20]\]. Cereda *et al*., 2008 \[[@B27]\], showed that the poorer functional status was associated with low BMI, sarcopenia and reduced oral intake and the MNA reliably identifies at-risk institutionalised elderly needing higher standards of care, particularly related to eating. Routine documentation of oral intakes and feeding assistance might be useful to prevent weight loss, sarcopenia and functional status deterioration.
The large variability is due to differences in level of dependence and health status among the elderly. In hospital settings, a low MNA score is associated with an increase in mortality, prolonged length of stay and greater likelihood of discharge to nursing homes. Malnutrition is associated with functional and cognitive impairment and difficulties eating. The MNA detects risk of malnutrition before severe change in weight or serum proteins occurs \[[@B4]\].
Functional capacity is interconnected with the quality and quantity of food consumed. The IADL include shopping and preparing meals. In the present study, malnourished individuals were 6 times more dependent on others to shop and prepare meals than those that were adequately nourished (Table [3](#T3){ref-type="table"}). Being unable to buy and prepare meals not only interferes with the amount of food ingested but also with the diversity, which may result in boring and unattractive meals. Among the ADL, partial or complete dependence of more than half of the malnourished individuals (Table [3](#T3){ref-type="table"}) to eat warn us of the importance to assess the functional capacity while providing nutritional care, as corroborated by the results of a study \[[@B28]\] done with 130 Japanese older than 65 years, where those (48) who totally depended on others to move around were also the ones with the lowest indicators of nutritional status (anthropometry, albumin and food intake).
There is an interrelationship between nutritional and functional statuses. It has already been shown that malnutrition compromises the functional status of the individual \[[@B29]\]. At the same time, functional status impairment increases vulnerability and may affect food consumption negatively \[[@B19]\]. Functional capacity assessment tools have been included in studies that seek to assess nutritional risk \[[@B30]\].
The MNA is a screening and assessment tool with a reliable scale and clearly defined thresholds, usable by health care professionals. It should be included in the geriatric assessment and is proposed in the minimum data set for nutritional interventions^4^. This study reinforces the importance of the MNA as an instrument to assess the nutritional status of the elderly since it represents a global assessment instrument. It also warns us of the need to pay special attention to functional capacity indicators and food intake among the elderly when planning care for this group, especially when they are debilitated by disease.
Conclusion
==========
A relationship of interdependence between nutritional status and functional status was observed among the studied elderly. Deterioration of the nutritional status was associated with reduced food consumption, recent weight loss, disease-associated stress, degree of self-sufficiency, and functional capacity. The IADL and ADL showed that malnourished elderly were more impaired regarding the activities of daily living, which emphasizes the importance of nutrition. Malnutrition prevalence among the elderly admitted to the hospital was high, probably because of their vulnerability before the disease. Nutritional status deterioration is accompanied by reduced functional capacity. Thus, it is necessary to pay special attention to functional capacity when planning nutritional care for this group, especially when they are debilitated by disease.
Competing interests
===================
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors\' contributions
=======================
MR carried out the statistical analysis, writing of the article and critically reviewed the article. KC participated in the protocol design and reviewed the manuscript. VA was involved in the protocol and study design, analysis and writing of the article. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Acknowledgements
================
Sponsored by: Research Support Fund of the Methodist University of Piracicaba-SP-Brazil (Unimep).
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Introduction {#Sec1}
============
Combination antiretroviral treatment (cART) has markedly increased longevity among individuals infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (Justice [@CR25]; Luther and Wilkin [@CR28]). As the HIV+ population ages, understanding HIV-associated chronic diseases becomes increasingly relevant. Despite successful virologic suppression with cART, cognitive deficits referred to as HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HANDs) persist, affecting up to 50% of those living with HIV (Robertson et al. [@CR35]; Sacktor et al. [@CR36]; Heaton et al. [@CR20]). Similarly, neuroimaging abnormalities such as more white matter disease (e.g., T2 hyperintensities on structural magnetic resonance imaging) and lower neuronal integrity (e.g., *N*-acetyl-aspartate on MR spectroscopy (MRS)) persist in many individuals. While numerous prior studies describe the relationship of these abnormalities to HAND generally (Masters and Ances [@CR29]; Holt et al. [@CR22]), few have evaluated MR measures based on the HAND classification scheme (Rahimian and He [@CR34]).
The Frascati research criteria (Antinori et al. [@CR4]) distinguish three HAND subtypes by the severity of neurocognitive impairment (NCI) and the presence and severity of disability in activities of daily living. While the prevalence of the most severe form, HIV-associated dementia (HAD), has declined substantially with cART (\< 5%), the milder forms of HAND persist (Heaton et al. [@CR20]). The most common form is asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment (ANI, 70%); individuals with ANI perform in the impaired range in at least two cognitive domains on neuropsychological testing, but do not report functional impairment (Heaton et al. [@CR20]; Antinori et al. [@CR4]). Those with mild neurocognitive disorder (MND, 25%) have cognitive deficits and experience mild to moderate impairment in everyday functioning (Heaton et al. [@CR20]; Antinori et al. [@CR4]). Both ANI and MND show poorer functioning in financial (Heaton et al. [@CR19]) and medication management (Hinkin et al. [@CR21]), greater unemployment (Woods et al. [@CR39]), and early mortality (Ellis et al. [@CR14]).
This study's primary aim was to identify imaging alterations that relate to HAND subtypes relative to cognitively unimpaired HIV+ individuals. We evaluated structural and metabolite neuroimaging biomarkers, and we separately evaluated a subset with virologic suppression on cART. We hypothesized that cognitively impaired HIV+ individuals would have less cortical and subcortical gray matter, less total white matter, and more abnormal white matter (aWM) compared to cognitively unimpaired HIV+ individuals. In mid-frontal cortex (FGM), frontal white matter (FWM), and basal ganglia (BG), we evaluated single-voxel MRS metabolites reflecting neuronal integrity and inflammation, including the following: *N*-acetyl aspartate (NAA), a marker of neuronal viability and integrity; choline (Cho), a marker of cell membrane degradation and inflammation; creatine (Cr), a marker of energy metabolism; and myoinositol (MI), a marker of glial proliferation and gliosis. We hypothesized that cognitively impaired HIV+ individuals would have lower NAA, higher Cho, and higher MI in FGM, FWM, and BG relative to cognitively unimpaired HIV+ individuals. We predicted that brain structural and metabolic findings would differ between neurocognitively unimpaired (NU), ANI, MND, and HAD groups, with the largest differences between HAD and the other cognitive groups. We evaluated these hypotheses in a large cohort of prospectively studied HIV+ individuals, most on cART, with neurocognitive, clinical, structural MRI, and MRS methods.
Methods {#Sec2}
=======
Overview of study design {#FPar1}
------------------------
The CNS HIV Antiretroviral Therapy Effects Research (CHARTER) study is a multicenter longitudinal study that recruited HIV+ participants at varying stages of the disease (Heaton et al. [@CR20]). A subset of CHARTER participants underwent brain imaging and had longitudinal follow-up with semi-annual evaluations. The current study used baseline brain imaging data as in (Jernigan et al. [@CR24]).
Study population {#FPar2}
----------------
The 253 participants were studied from May 2004 to August 2007 at five participating sites: Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD, *n* = 38), Mt. Sinai School of Medicine (New York, NY, *n* = 57), University of California at San Diego (San Diego, CA, *n* = 73), University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston, TX, *n* = 56), and University of Washington (Seattle, WA, *n* = 29). The sample was a subset of the HIV+ CHARTER cohort who agreed to undergo neuroimaging (Heaton et al. [@CR20]; Jernigan et al. [@CR24]). Other aspects of the neuroimaging findings in this cohort have been previously published (Archibald et al. [@CR6]). As described in our original baseline neuroimaging study of HIV infection (Woods et al. [@CR39]), we excluded participants with gross morphological abnormalities not consistent with HIV-related neuropathology, comorbid conditions that could fully explain cognitive impairment (Heaton et al. [@CR20]; Woods et al. [@CR39]), a history of AIDS-defining opportunistic infection of the central nervous system (CNS), CNS malignancies, or severe psychiatric conditions that might preclude adequate completion of the study assessments (Heaton et al. [@CR20]; Woods et al. [@CR39]). The Human Subjects Protection Committees of each participating institution approved all procedures, and written informed consent was obtained from all study participants.
Study procedures {#Sec3}
----------------
### Neuromedical assessment {#FPar3}
The assessment included a medical history, neurological physical examination, and laboratory assessment. Medical history included demographics and current and past exposure to specific cART drugs. Blood was collected via phlebotomy and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) via lumbar puncture. Laboratory assessment included measurement of complete blood counts, rapid plasma reagin (RPR), blood and CSF HIV RNA via RT-PCR ultrasensitive assay, current CD4 measured by flow cytometry, and hepatitis C virus antibody. Nadir CD4+ T cell count was based on a combination of self-report and medical records. CSF escape was defined as CSF HIV RNA \> 50 copies/mL when plasma HIV RNA was \< 50 copies/mL, and CSF discordance as HIV RNA in CSF at least 0.5 log~10~ copies greater than in plasma.
### Neurobehavioral assessment {#FPar4}
All participants underwent neuropsychological testing and completed functional status reports; previous work has described the CHARTER neurobehavioral assessment in detail (Heaton et al. [@CR20]). The neuropsychological tests include assessment of seven putative cognitive domains sensitive to the detection of HIV-associated CNS dysfunction. Functional status was assessed using the Patient's Assessment of Own Functioning Inventory (PAOFI), a modified version of the Lawton and Brody Scale, an employment questionnaire, and performance-based measures. To classify severity of neurocognitive impairment, Frascati criteria for diagnosing impairment were used (Antinori et al. [@CR4]; Clifford and Ances [@CR10]). The Frascati criteria for global neurocognitive impairment require impairment in at least two of the seven cognitive domains. All impaired individuals were classified based on their degree of cognitive impairment and functional impairment (Heaton et al. [@CR20]).
### Multi-channel structural MRI {#FPar5}
The following volumes were measured by structural neuroimaging: total cerebral white matter and abnormal white matter, cerebral cortical and subcortical gray smatter, and supratentorial cranial vault. The details related to image sequences and analyses for multi-channel structural MRI were described previously (Jernigan et al. [@CR24]; Fennema-Notestine et al. [@CR16]); we provide an overview here. All imaging was performed on General Electric (GE) 1.5-T scanners that were annually reviewed for quality. Scanner was included as a covariate in the statistical modeling as in previous CHARTER studies (Jernigan et al. [@CR24]; Fennema-Notestine et al. [@CR16]). Four series were acquired including two coronal acquisitions with a thickness of 2 mm and two sagittal acquisitions with a thickness of 1.5 mm. The coronal sequences were 2D T2-weighted and the proton density (PD)-weighted fast spin echoes (FSEs). The sagittal sequences included a T1-weighted and a PD-weighted spoiled gradient recalled acquisition (SPGR).
As described previously (Jernigan et al. [@CR24]; Fennema-Notestine et al. [@CR16]), we used the multi-channel dataset in a semi-automated workflow to measure total cerebral white matter and abnormal white matter (e.g., hyperintense regions on T2-weighted images) and subcortical (including caudate nucleus, putamen, nucleus accumbens, thalamus, and hypothalamic areas) and cerebral cortical gray matter volumes, as well as supratentorial cranial vault volumes to account for individual differences in head size. The workflow includes image inspection for motion and other artifacts, re-slicing to a standard space, intra-subject mutual information (MI) registration, bias correction with non-parametric, non-uniformity normalization (N3), removal of non-brain tissue, three-tissue segmentation (gray matter, white matter, and CSF), aWM designation, and anatomical labeling performed by trained anatomists. This approach includes the identification of regions of white matter with abnormal MR signal characteristics; these regions segmented as gray matter, but are anatomically located within the white matter.
### Single-voxel MR spectroscopy {#FPar6}
The details related to image sequences and analyses for single-voxel MRS are available elsewhere (Anderson et al. [@CR3]); we provide an overview here. All imaging was performed using a standardized point-resolved (PRESS) protocol. Using LC Model with water scaling (using the unsuppressed water reference signal) allowed the quantification of absolute metabolite concentration (Provencher [@CR33]). These metabolites included NAA, Cho, MI, and Cr. Their concentration was measured in three regions: mid-FGM, right FWM, and right BG. Due to demonstrated associations between Cr and HIV-related factors, such as plasma HIV RNA levels (Anderson et al. [@CR3]), we used absolute values rather than ratios to Cr in our analyses. Water scaling allows for the examination of absolute metabolites. Only metabolite estimates for appropriately placed voxels with adequate spectra (standard deviation \< 21) were used; therefore, sample size varied by MRS region or metabolite.
### Statistical analysis {#FPar7}
We explored three different models for MRI and MRS data. To address our primary aim, we used logistic regression with binary outcomes (NCI vs. NU). Included covariates were Nadir CD4 T cell count, plasma HIV RNA level, age, and scanner. To account for legacy effect, in particular, severity of immunosuppression prior to ART availability, we used CD4 nadir as a surrogate marker, and adjusted for it in all statistical analysis. To account for individual differences in head size, supratentorial vault size was included as a covariate in all statistical modeling of structural data. To obtain a normal distribution, in all analyses, HIV RNA level and structural MRI volumes were log transformed, and Nadir CD4 cell count was expressed as a square root. In regard to MRS data, to control for partial volumes, the proportion of relevant tissue volume within each voxel (e.g., amount of gray matter in FGM) was assessed by co-registering the MRS voxels to the morphometry volumes and included as a covariate in all statistical modeling. To address our secondary aim, we used a multinomial logistic regression with the neurocognitive impairment status which included NU, ANI, MND, and HAD categories. The covariates that were included are the same as the logistic regression stated above. Finally, we conducted a sub-analysis including only those with undetectable plasma HIV RNA; with the exception of HIV RNA level, all other covariates were included in these models.
Results {#Sec4}
=======
Study population {#Sec5}
----------------
Demographics and clinical characteristics are summarized in Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"}. Participants were mostly men (81%) and had a mean age of 44.13 years. Forty percent met criteria for HAND, including 54 ANI, 37 MND, and 10 HAD. CSF viral escape was present in one participant and CSF-plasma discordance in four.Table 1Demographic and clinical characteristics. Values are mean (standard deviation), frequency count (percent), or median (IQR)Full sample (*N* = 253)Undetectable viral load subset (*n* = 126)Age, M (SD)44.1 (7.8)45.1 (7.4)Years of education, M (SD)13.1 (2.4)13.3 (2.3)EthnicityAfrican American113 (44.7%)52 (41.3%)Latino28 (11.1%)12 (9.5%)Other5 (2%)1 (0.8%)Non-Latino White107 (42.3%)61 (48.4%)GenderMen205 (81%)101 (80.2%)Women48 (19%)25 (19.8%)AIDS statusAIDS170 (67.2%)92 (73.0%)Non-AIDS83 (32.8%)34 (27.0%)HAND diagnosisANI54 (21.3%)35 (22.2%)MND37 (14.6%)25 (15.8%)HAD10 (4%)6 (3.8%)NU152 (60.1%)92 (58.2%)cART historyCurrent193 (76.3%)123 (97.6%)Past33 (13%)2 (1.6%)Never27 (10.7%)1 (0.8%)Nadir CD4, median (IQR)150 (28, 284)111 (15, 236)Current CD4, median (IQR)458 (289, 622)518 (360, 684)Detectable CSF viral load67 (26.5%)1 (0.8%)
Structural MRI findings {#Sec6}
-----------------------
For all participants, the amount of aWM significantly differentiated NCI (all HAND subtypes together) from NU (*p* \< .05; Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}a). Increase of 1 log10 in aWM was associated with a higher likelihood (OR 2.6; 95% CI 1.01--6.6) of being cognitively impaired (Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}a). We performed a multinomial regression analysis to examine differences between the three cognitive impairment HAND groups and NU (Fig. [2](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}). No significant differences between ANI and NU were found in any structural MRI volume (Fig. [2](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}a). However, HAD compared to the NU and ANI groups had smaller cortical and subcortical gray volumes. For every one standard deviation reduction in log-cortical gray volume, the odds of having HAD increased by 18 times. Finally, smaller cortical gray volumes were associated with higher odds of having MND as compared to NU (*p* \< .05).Fig. 1Structural MRI alterations associated with neurocognitive impairment (NCI = all HAND categories). **a** In all participants and **b** only in individuals with undetectable plasma HIV RNA. Adjusted binary logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds (95% CI) of HAND for each 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in log-transformed values of structural MRI volumes (mm^3^). Values less than 1.0 indicate that HAND was associated with smaller structural volumes, while values greater than 1.0 indicate that HAND was associated with larger volumes. \**p* \< .05Fig. 2Structural MRI alterations associated with HAND classifications. **a** In all participants and **b** only in individuals with undetectable plasma HIV RNA. Adjusted multinomial logistic regression models predicting whether individuals were NU, ANI, MND, or HAD. The odds ratio and 95% CI for the effect of the measure is reported. The OR represents effect size per 1 SD increase in log-transformed values of structural MRI. \*\*\*\**p* \< .001; \*\*\**p* \< .005; \*\**p* \< .01; \**p* \< .05
In analyses of individuals with undetectable plasma HIV RNA viral load, aWM volume no longer significantly differentiated NCI and NU (Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}b), and NU and HAD only differed on total white matter volume (Fig. [2](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}b).
MRS findings {#Sec7}
------------
For all participants, NCI overall did not differ from NU in any MRS measure (Fig. [4](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}a). In multinomial regression analysis of differences between the HAND groups, higher BG-NAA was associated with a lower likelihood of both ANI and HAD compared to NU (OR 0.58; 95% CI 0.38--0.87; OR 0.37; 95% CI 0.14--0.93, respectively; Fig. [5](#Fig5){ref-type="fig"}a). Lower BG-NAA was associated with a higher likelihood of having ANI (Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}b). FWM-Cr was significantly lower in MND than NU with odds ratios of 0.54 (CI 0.32--0. 92) (Fig. [5](#Fig5){ref-type="fig"}a). FGM-Cho was higher in MND than in NU such that with every one-unit increase in FGM-Cho, the odds of having MND increased by 6.24 (CI 1.11--34.9; Fig. [5](#Fig5){ref-type="fig"}a).Fig. 3Probability of cognitive impairment (any HAND) plotted against amount of **a** abnormal white matter (log~10~ mm^3^) and **b** BG-NAA (unit-less absolute values derived using water scaling), after adjusting for nadir CD4 cell count, HIV RNA level count, age, scanner and supratentorial cranial vault size in SMRI and proportion of relevant tissue within each voxel in MRS. The probability curves shown were obtained by setting the covariates to their average values. *p* values for both relationships were significant (see text)
In analyses of persons with undetectable plasma HIV RNA viral load, FGM-Cho was higher and BG-NAA lower in NCI relative to NU (Fig. [4](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}b), unlike when all participants were included. The differences in BG-NAA between NU and both ANI and HAD persisted (*p* \< .05) (Fig. [5](#Fig5){ref-type="fig"}b). FGM-Cho was significantly higher and BG-NAA was lower in NCI than in NU (*p* \< .05). In addition, FGM-Cho was also significantly higher in both MND and ANI relative to NU (*p* \< .005; Fig. [5](#Fig5){ref-type="fig"}b). No other effects were significant.Fig. 4MRS alterations associated with neurocognitive impairment (NCI = all HAND categories). **a** In all participant and **b** in individuals with undetectable plasma HIV RNA. Adjusted binary logistic regression models predicting whether individuals were impaired or not. The odds ratio and 95% CI for the effect of the MRS measure is reported. \**p* \< .05Fig. 5MRS alterations associated with HAND classifications. **a** In all participant and **b** only in individuals with undetectable plasma HIV RNA. Adjusted multinomial logistic regression models predicting whether individuals were NU, ANI, MND, or HAD. The odds ratio and 95% CI for the effect of the measure is reported. \*\*\*\**p* \< .001; \*\*\**p* \< .005; \*\**p* \< .01; \**p* \< .05
Discussion {#Sec8}
==========
In this large, geographically diverse US sample of HIV+ persons, we found evidence for alterations in brain volumes and chemistry associated with neurocognitive impairment and specific HAND subtypes, even during successful viral suppression. As in other cART-era cohorts, the milder subtypes of HAND---ANI and MND---were much more frequent than HAD, but we observed MR differences in all forms of HAND. Structurally, HAD was distinguished from the less severe forms of HAND by greater loss of cortical and subcortical gray matter. HAND groups had more aWM than NU. Chemically, HAD and ANI had a lower marker of neuronal integrity (lower BG-NAA) compared to NU. These associations were not attributable to current virologic failure, current or past immunosuppression, or other relevant variables.
We found more abnormal, T2-hyperintense cerebral white matter (aWM) in HAND. The volume measurements used in our study were based on semi-automated, quantitative, multi-channel morphometry. By incorporating information from multiple sequences, our method measures additional WM alterations not observed on clinical MRI readings (Su et al. [@CR37]; Fazekas et al. [@CR15]); the latter are frequently referred to as white matter hyperintensities (WMHs). Other investigations have reported neurocognitive impairment to be associated with increased amounts of WMH in HIV-infected men (Su et al. [@CR37]), and in older, virologically suppressed men (Watson et al. [@CR38]). These two studies did not distinguish between HAND subtypes and did not systematically assess or exclude individuals with confounding neurocognitive comorbidities such as developmental learning disabilities and head injury (Antinori et al. [@CR4]). Previous studies have identified several risk factors for higher volumes of aWM including lower nadir CD4 (Jernigan et al. [@CR24]); we adjusted for nadir CD4 in our analyses. Related studies using diffusion tensor imaging to delineate white matter abnormalities have also shown these to be correlated with neurocognitive impairment in virally suppressed individuals (Cysique et al. [@CR11]).
The etiology of white matter abnormalities in HIV infection is uncertain. Proposed pathophysiologies include demyelination, inflammation, synaptodendritic injury, and microvascular alterations associated with concomitant cardiovascular risk factors, especially hypertension. cART also may contribute to synaptic injury via oxidative stress as has been demonstrated in vitro and in animal models (Akay et al. [@CR1]). We previously reported that more aWM correlated with reduced dendritic density by MAP-2 immunostaining and with higher burden of HIV protein by gp41 immunoreactivity (Archibald et al. [@CR5]). More WMHs are correlated with lower fractional anisotropy (FA) values on diffusion imaging, consistent with disrupted organization of white matter tracts (Kochunov et al. [@CR26]). Indeed, a recent study found that lower FA in the cingulum and fornix correlated with cognitive impairment in virally suppressed HIV+ individuals (Cysique et al. [@CR12]). Finally, we previously reported that greater CD4 recovery during cART was associated with increases in aWM, suggesting that immune reconstitution may contribute to these lesions (Fennema-Notestine et al. [@CR16]). The aWM observed here might reflect combinations of all of these alterations.
In contrast to a recent report (Kugathasan et al. [@CR27]) in which 15% of patients showed CSF HIV escape or discordance, we found very few such instances (1.9%), and no evidence of an association with aWM. Several methodological differences may explain these discrepant findings. While the participants in the Kugathasan et al. study (Kugathasan et al. [@CR27]) underwent MR evaluation after presenting with acute, subacute, or chronic neurological symptoms, we performed study protocol-determined MRs on ambulatory research study volunteers without reference to any specific neurological symptoms. Whereas Kugathasan et al. graded the presence or absence of diffuse white matter signal abnormalities and focal white matter lesions based on visual inspection by a neuroradiologist, we instead used a semi-automated, multi-channel volumetric assessment to quantify the total volume of abnormal white matter, defined by T1, proton density, and T2 characteristics.
Using MRS, we found lower NAA, a marker of worse neuronal integrity, in the BG of ANI and HAD compared to NU. This was true for both the entire study sample and the suppressed subset. These findings are similar to prior studies showing lower NAA most in subcortical brain regions in HIV+ individuals with poorer neurocognitive performance (Paul et al. [@CR32]), mild cognitive difficulties (Chang et al. [@CR9]), and HAD (Yiannoutsos et al. [@CR40]). However, the prior studies did not employ the current HAND classification system, but rather used systems such as the older Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) AIDS Dementia Complex (ADC) scale (Mohamed et al. [@CR31]). One study (Harezlak et al. [@CR18]) found that patients with ADC had significantly lower BG-NAA/CR relative to HIV-uninfected controls and another found that individuals with HAD had lower NAA in the BG compared to individuals with mild cognitive impairment and those who were unimpaired (Mohamed et al. [@CR31]). Finally, a recent longitudinal study of HIV+ individuals on stable cART showed that neurocognitive decline was associated with marginally significant longitudinal decreases in BG-NAA (Gongvatana et al. [@CR17]) and another recent longitudinal study found sharply decreasing NAA in the posterior cingulate cortex in progressing HAND, relative to an HIV− group (Cysique et al. [@CR13]).
In addition, we found significantly higher Cho, which may reflect neuroinflammation, in the frontal gray matter of the ANI and MND groups compared to NU. This was true for the subset with virologic suppression on cART; however, only the MND vs. NU comparison was significant in the overall study sample, a difference possibly attributable to greater variability in the unsuppressed subjects. Similarly, previous studies found increased Cho in frontal white matter in HIV+ individuals with poorer neurocognitive performance (Paul et al. [@CR32]), mild cognitive difficulties (Chang et al. [@CR9]), and HAD (Yiannoutsos et al. [@CR40]). While we found significantly lower creatine in frontal white matter in MND compared to NU; this finding did not hold in the virally suppressed group; a recent longitudinal study of virally suppressed HIV+ individuals found more robust creatine differences with stable HAND showing decreasing creatine and incident HAND showing steep creatine reductions in frontal white matter relative to HIV− controls (Cysique et al. [@CR13]).
Strengths of this study include a large, geographically and demographically diverse HIV+ cohort from which individuals with severe neurocognitive confounds were excluded. Whereas many previous studies used metabolite ratios (e.g., NAA/Cr), we used absolute metabolite quantitation, which has the advantages of smaller coefficients of variation, reduced bias when creatine concentrations are altered, and more reliable interpretation of spectral data (Minati et al. [@CR30]; Jansen et al. [@CR23]). Our study was limited by a lack of HIV-uninfected controls; therefore, we cannot reliably distinguish whether the neuroimaging correlates of neurocognitive impairment that we observed were related to HIV itself or to other factors present in the cohort. Prior studies have demonstrated structural MRI differences in HIV-infected individuals relative to seronegative controls in the post-cART era. These included atrophy in cortical and subcortical gray and white matter even in virologically suppressed cohorts (Ances et al. [@CR2]; Cardenas et al. [@CR8]; Becker et al. [@CR7]). However, these studies did not evaluate whether these differences were linked to cognitive impairment. Another limitation of our study is its cross-sectional design, which precludes determination of when cerebral alterations may have occurred---for example, prior to or during cART treatment. Lastly, we did not control for multiple comparisons, which may increase the chance of type 1 error; however, the directions of the associations observed were as hypothesized (for example, increased FGM-Cho in MND and ANI compared to NU); in contrast, type 1 errors would be expected to yield random directionality.
In this diverse cohort of HIV+ individuals, we found MR evidence of brain alterations associated with neurocognitive impairment generally and with specific HAND subtypes, even during successful viral suppression. HAND was associated with more abnormal WM, increased MRS markers of neuroinflammation, and reduced markers of neuronal integrity. These different metabolic and structural markers may reflect processes that vary over time and across individuals. For example, structural changes like volume loss and white matter abnormalities might be preceded by increases in metabolic markers of inflammation. Overall, MR alterations linked to cognitive impairment in the cART era reflect inflammation, white matter disruption, and neuronal injury. These effects may result from one or a combination of the following: irreversible injury due to a prior history of untreated HIV infection, continuing accumulation of CNS injury even during treated HIV, HIV-associated CNS coinfections, or toxic effects of specific antiretroviral medications.
Acknowledgments and support {#FPar8}
---------------------------
This work was supported in part by awards from the National Institutes of Health for the CNS HIV Anti-Retroviral Therapy Effects Research (CHARTER) \[N01 MH2205 and HHSN271201000036C to I. Grant\], R01 MH107345 (Heaton, R.K./Letendre, S.L.), and P30 MH62512 (R. Heaton). The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the US Government. The CNS HIV Anti-Retroviral Therapy Effects Research (CHARTER) group is affiliated with Johns Hopkins University; the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; University of California, San Diego; University of Texas, Galveston; University of Washington, Seattle; and Washington University, St. Louis, and is headquartered at the University of California, San Diego, and includes the following: Director---Igor Grant, M.D.; Co-Directors---Scott L. Letendre, M.D., Ronald J. Ellis, M.D., Ph.D., Thomas D. Marcotte, Ph.D.; Center Manager---Donald Franklin, Jr.; Neuromedical Component---Ronald J. Ellis, M.D., Ph.D. (P.I.), J. Allen McCutchan, M.D.; Laboratory and Virology Component---Scott Letendre, M.D. (Co-P.I.), Sara Gianella Weibel, M.D. (Co-P.I.).; Neurobehavioral Component---Robert K. Heaton, Ph.D. (P.I.), J. Hampton Atkinson, M.D., Matthew Dawson; Imaging Component---Christine Fennema-Notestine, Ph.D. (P.I.), Rebecca Theilmann, Ph.D.; Data Management Component---Ian Abramson, Ph.D. (P.I.), Clint Cushman; Statistics Component---Florin Vaida, Ph.D. (P.I.), Ian Abramson, Ph.D.; Johns Hopkins University Site---Ned Sacktor (P.I.), Vincent Rogalski; Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Site---Susan Morgello, M.D. (Co-P.I.) and David Simpson, M.D. (Co-P.I.), Letty Mintz, N.P.; University of California, San Diego Site---J. Allen McCutchan, M.D. (P.I.); University of Washington, Seattle Site---Ann Collier, M.D. (Co-P.I.) and Christina Marra, M.D. (Co-P.I.), Sher Storey, PA-C.; University of Texas, Galveston Site---Benjamin Gelman, M.D., Ph.D. (P.I.), Eleanor Head, R.N., B.S.N.; and Washington University, St. Louis Site---David Clifford, M.D. (P.I.), Mengesha Teshome, M.D.
HAND
: HIV-Associated neurocognitive disorder
NCI
: Neurocognitive impairment
NU
: Neurocognitively unimpaired
ANI
: Asymptomatic neurocognitive disorder
MND
: Mild neurocognitive disorder
HAD
: HIV-associated dementia
cART
: Combined antiretroviral therapy
MRS
: Magnetic resonance spectroscopy
aWM
: Abnormal white matter
CSF
: Cerebrospinal fluid
NAA
: *N*Acetyl aspartate
Cho
: Choline
MI
: Myoinositol
Cr
: Creatine
FGM
: Frontal gray matter
FWM
: Frontal white matter
BG
: Basal ganglia
Conception and design of the study: RJE, RKH, SL, JAM, IG, CFN
Acquisition and analysis of data: AA, RJE, AU, RKH, SL, AC, CM, DBC, BG, NS, SM, DS, JAM, IG, CFN
Drafting a significant portion of the manuscript or figures: AA, RJE, CWM, AU, CFN
The Human Subjects Protection Committees of each participating institution approved all procedures
Conflict of interest {#FPar9}
====================
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Flexoelectric effects in model and native membranes containing ion channels.
An experimental study of flexoelectricity in model membranes containing ion pores and native membranes containing ion channels has been undertaken with the objective of determining the relationship, if any, between flexoelectricity and ion transport. Model membrane patches containing ion pores induced by a blue-green algal toxin, microcystin-LR, and locust muscle membrane patches containing potassium channels were studied using patch-clamp techniques. A correspondence was established between the presence of open channels and pores and the amplitude of the 1st harmonic of the total membrane current when the membranes or patches were subjected to pressure oscillations. The 2nd harmonic of the membrane current provided a measure of the amplitude of a membrane curvature induced by pressure, thus making it possible to determine the membrane flexoelectric coefficient. This study shows that flexoelectricity could be an effective driving force for ion transport through membrane pores and channels, thus further highlighting the possible biological significance of this mechano-electric phenomenon.
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Tegan
Tegan is a hard cheese made with a blend of unpasteurized whole and skim cow's milk. The cheese is pressed lightly and its surface is dry brushed regularly for a distinctive appearance. The flavor is fruity with a slight acidity and mild earthy tones.
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Q:
Drupal temporary wizard form
I am creating a wizard form to order items, I have 4 content types, project | door | dooroptions | projectoptions.
This is done in 4 steps: You give tour measurements, the doors that fit are show, you pick a door, you pick the options for the door. then you can add another door, or you can save the project (with the doors).
Saving the project then requires you to log in, or register. So one project has multiple doors. Only then the nodes should be saved
Everything you selected and configured, should be editable before saving. When filling in the forms, there is no known user.
My question is: how would you handle this?
Any info is welcome.
@edit
I was thinking to save all the content anyhow. Putting a boolean on the most parent node which defines if the project is "stored" or not. Then when the user registers or logs in, the bit is set to true, and a user reference is created in the project node.
Every (... hours) a cron job runs and removes the nodes that have "stored" bit false, and creationdate older then ... hours.
Another way would be to save al the forms in drupacl cache, and when logged in save all the nodes. I don't know if this is possible tough
A:
after save it by unauthorized user, I think you should save Node id in session and after log in you should read from session and do something with it and destroy session. for this I think this steps is necessary:
1- some Drupal Trigger to save Node ID before log in,
2- redirect user after log in to a page with some PHP code that read session and assign them to authorized user
3- some rules for continue
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In a way, I blame my friend Greg Sargent. In the first week in January, he noted, almost in passing, that Mitt Romney seemed to be making a lot of false claims, and someone “really should document them all.” That struck me as a good idea, so I decided to tackle this on my own.
After all, I thought at the time, how hard could this be? Once a week, I’d let readers know about Romney’s whoppers, which I assumed would total about a half-dozen a week, and maybe after the election, I’d do a top 20 list of my favorites. The project would be a nice little Friday-afternoon feature.
Little did I know at the time that Romney would become an ambitious prevaricator, whose rhetoric would come to define post-truth politics. Nearly 11 months after Greg Sargent’s harmless suggestion, I’ve published 40 installments in this series, which, before today, featured 884 falsehoods. (If you include today’s edition, the new total is 917 falsehoods for the year.)
I wish that were a typo. It’s not.
The outcome of next week’s election remains in doubt, but regardless of who wins, I suspect this will be the final edition in the series. If President Obama wins, the project will have run its course. If Romney wins, I rather doubt I’ll be able to keep this going every week for four years. So, with that in mind, enjoy the 41st and probably final installment of my weekly series, chronicling Mitt’s mendacity.
1. At a campaign event yesterday in Roanoke, Virginia, Romney again suggested the president is to blame for the fact that “gasoline prices” have “gone up.”
This is wildly misleading. It’s true that when Obama took office, gas cost about $1.81 a gallon, and it’s more than double now. And how did gas prices get so low in late 2008 and early 2009? Because there was a global economic catastrophe — gas was cheap because the economy had fallen off a cliff, and demand crawled to a stop. As the economy improved, demand went up, and the price of gas started climbing. It’s Economics 101.
2. In the same speech, Romney said he should be elected in order to prevent “four more years of trillion dollar deficits in Washington.”
According to the budget plan Romney endorsed, we’ll have four more years of trillion dollar deficits in Washington anyway.
3. Romney added he has a “five-point plan … that’ll get this economy going.”
The five-point plan — oil drilling, trade, privatizing K-12 education, vague assertions about debt reduction, and ambiguous promises about doing nice things for small businesses — is a rehash of Bush/Cheney promises. No credible analysis of the vague agenda has found it capable of boosting the economy.
——————————————————————————–
4. At a campaign event in Doswell, Virginia, Romney said “Obamacare” is “crushing small businesses across America.”
There is literally no evidence to support this claim in any way. Indeed, a a significant portion of the ongoing cost of the Affordable Care Act is to give small businesses a tax break.
5. In the same speech, Romney also argued, “The president wants to raise taxes on small business.”
In reality, Obama has repeatedly cut taxes on small businesses — by some counts, 18 times — and if given a second term, his tax plan would have no effect on 97% of small businesses.
6. Romney also vowed, “I will not raise tax on … middle-class America.”
There’s ample reason to believe the exact opposite — independent budget analysts have concluded that once Romney slashes taxes on the wealthy, increases defense spending, increases entitlement spending, and cuts corporate tax rates, all while promising to balance the budget, he’ll have no choice but to ask more from the middle class. Indeed, there’s no other way for Romney to keep his other promises.
7. In a television ad, Romney claimed Obama “gutted the work requirement for welfare.”
This continues to be as obvious a lie as Romney has told all year.
8. In the same ad, Romney claimed there’s been “record unemployment” under Obama.
The unemployment rate topped out at 10% a few years ago, and that’s not even close to being a “record.”
9. The ad went on to say the rates of “women in poverty” are at their highest rates “ever.”
Poverty rates were vastly worse during the last global financial crisis, the Great Depression.
10. The same ad claimed Obama financed the debt by “borrowing from China.”
The implication here is that U.S. debt is financed by the Chinese, but this isn’t true — China only holds about 8% of the nation’s debt.
11. In a different ad, Romney claimed to “have a plan to help the auto industry.”
Asked for a copy of that plan, the Romney campaign refused to provide one.
12. The same ad suggests Jeep production is moving “to China.”
This is breathtakingly dishonest.
13. Romney said on Monday he’d cancel his campaign rally in Ohio on Tuesday, out of sensitivity for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.
He held a campaign rally anyway.
14. In a radio ad this week, Romney suggested Obama saved the auto industry “for China,” adding that “GM cut 15,000 American jobs” because of the president.
GM itself responded to this by saying, “We’ve clearly entered some parallel universe during these last few days. No amount of campaign politics at its cynical worst will diminish our record of creating jobs in the U.S. and repatriating profits back to this country.”
15. The same radio spot adds, “Mitt Romney grew up in the Auto Industry. Maybe that’s why the Detroit News endorsed him.”
No, the Detroit News specifically called Romney’s approach to the auto rescue “wrong-headed.”
16. At a campaign event in Avon Lake, Ohio, Romney claimed, “[W]e’re at a 30 year low in the number of new businesses that have started up.”
This still isn’t true.
17. In the same speech, Romney said, “In Europe … their corporate tax rate, which used to be higher than ours is now down to 25 percent. Ours is 35 percent. So businesses that are thinking of investing are interested in going elsewhere.”
This is wildly misleading, since the actual income tax paid by corporations “is one of the lowest in the world.”
18. Romney went on to say, “I’m going to make sure that we finally get America on track to have a balanced budget.”
This is deeply silly. Obama strengthened the Medicare system’s finances by reducing payments to insurance companies and hospitals. Benefits for seniors have been expanded, not cut.
20. Romney also argued, “[T]he president’s been spending massively more than he’s been taking in.”
Government spending is down, not up, under President Obama.
21. Romney went on to boast, “I have a plan that’ll create 12 million new jobs.”
Putting aside the pesky detail that Romney doesn’t actually have a specific jobs plan, the claim about 12 million jobs has been definitely proven fraudulent. His own economic advisor was forced to concede the candidate’s — and the campaign’s — talking point was based on a falsehood.
22. Romney also claimed, “I was governor of a state with a legislature that was 85 percent Democrat. I knew from the very beginning to get anything done, I had to reach across the aisle and I did.”
No he didn’t.
23. At a campaign event in Tampa, Romney said, “Latin America’s economy is almost as large as that of China.”
That’s actually not true.
24. In a speech on the economy in Ames, Iowa, Romney said Obama “doubled” the deficit.
Romney is still having trouble with the definition of “double.” The deficit on Obama’s first day was $1.3 trillion. Last year, it was also $1.3 trillion. This year, it’s $1.08 trillion. When he says the president “doubled” the deficit, as he has many times, Romney’s lying.
25. In the same speech, Romney said Obama has “proposed any solution at all” to address Medicare’s finances.
Actually, Obama shored up Medicare’s finances by finding $716 billion in savings, and has a long term plan through IPAB.
26. Romney went on to say the president “did not tame the spending and borrowing.”
Not only did government spending go down under Obama, the deficit also went down under Obama.
27. Romney added that Obama “did not reach across the aisle.”
Obama repeatedly pleaded with congressional Republicans to work on common solutions. GOP lawmakers responded by opposing every idea, including their own.
28. Romney also said the president “did not stand up to China’s trade practices.”
Yes he did.
29. Romney claimed Obama has “added almost as much debt held by the public as all prior American presidents in history.”
He’s said this before, but it’s not even close to being true.
30. Romney also argued the president “launched an onslaught of new regulations, often to the delight of the biggest banks and corporations.”
Putting aside the irony of Romney suggesting Obama is beholden to corporations, there has been no regulatory onslaught.
31. Romney went on to say, “Energy prices are up in part because energy production on federal lands is down.”
Black Girls Rock!
Flickr Photos
Potus Takes Oath of Office
Flotus & Daughters at Great Wall of China
My Brothers Keeper
AFRO PUFFS
Most Adorable Shoe Stealer
Six Little Babies
Fatherhood
Even though 3Chics Politico is written and curated by three women: Ametia, Rikyrah, and SouthernGirl2, I must nominate this as one of the most engaging blogs I've found. Devoted to politics and culture, these three shine a light on contemporary life with humor and spirit.
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[Clinical evaluation of platelet antagonists on the ex vivo inhibitory effects of platelet aggregation].
It is necessary in clinical to establish the effects of new substances for the primary and secondary prevention of thrombotic illnesses. We measured maximum aggregation after addition of collagen (F.C. 1.7 micrograms/ml) or ADP (F.C. 1.7 mumol/l) in 41 patients without drug treatment, 91 with ticlopidine, 22 with aspirin (ASA); 82-750 mg, 13 with ASA 81 mg, 20 with ticlopidine 100 mg and ASA 81 mg, 13 with cilostazol, 25 with flurbiprofen, 19 with nifedipine and evaluated the ex vivo effect of platelet antagonists. ASA inhibited remarkably collagen-induced platelet aggregation compared with other drugs, but there was significant (p less than 0.01 for 0.5 mumol/l ADP; p less than 0.02 for 1.0 mumol/l ADP) increase of primary aggregation induced by low dose of ADP in 14 healthy volunteers. While ticlopidine only significantly reduced ADP-induced platelet aggregation and we couldn't find dose dependency of ticlopidine (100-300 mg/day) on inhibitory effects of ADP or collagen-induced platelet aggregation. Our results indicate that the administration of one tablet of aspirin for pediatrics (aspirin 81 mg/tab) together with ticlopidine 100 mg is suitable for reduction of platelet aggregation.
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Structural identification of the hematopoietic progenitor antigen ER-MP12 as the vascular endothelial adhesion molecule PECAM-1 (CD31).
The monoclonal antibody ER-MP12 was recently described to recognize an antigen present on cell subpopulations of adult mouse bone marrow, including pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells. In an effort to understand the function of ER-MP12 antigen in hematopoiesis, we used biochemical and physical methods to determine its identity. ER-MP12 antigen was isolated by immunoprecipitation from FDCP-1 cell membrane proteins, yielding a glycosylated 113-kDa band upon analysis by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. Thirteen peptides derived from trypsinized ER-MP12 antigen were analyzed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and compared to a protein sequence database. The search revealed the identity of the ER-MP12 antigen as platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1, CD31 (PECAM-1). This result was subsequently confirmed by Edman sequencing of a single ER-MP12 peptide fragment followed by comparison with PECAM-1 sequence. In addition, flow cytometric analysis of bone marrow and embryonic stem cells revealed highly similar profiles between ER-MP12 and CD31 (MEC 13.3 antibody)-stained cells. The presence of PECAM-1 on primitive hematopoietic stem cells supports the theory for the interaction of hematopoietic progenitor and stem cells with bone marrow stroma and transendothelial migration.
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Should psychologists be able to prescribe medication?
If past performance is any indication, legislation allowing trained psychologists to prescribe medication to patients, rather than referring them to psychiatrists or physicians, is unlikely to become law in the near future despite an Illinois Senate committee's unanimous approval last month.
Comment
By Lauren Leone-CrossGateHouse News Service
The Carmi Times - Carmi, IL
By Lauren Leone-CrossGateHouse News Service
Posted Apr. 5, 2013 at 10:00 PM
By Lauren Leone-CrossGateHouse News Service
Posted Apr. 5, 2013 at 10:00 PM
If past performance is any indication, legislation allowing trained psychologists to prescribe medication to patients, rather than referring them to psychiatrists or physicians, is unlikely to become law in the near future despite an Illinois Senate committee's unanimous approval last month.
The concept is fairly uncharted territory in the United States. Since 1995, just two states — New Mexico and Louisiana — have extending such rights to psychologists. Over that same period, 169 bills have failed in 26 states, with 14 failed attempts in Illinois alone, according to data from a national organization of psychologists opposing the legislation.
A major sticking point in the long-standing debate is whether psychologists are qualified to prescribe medication without completing medical school.
400 hours vs. 4 years
Michele Womontree, a clinical psychologist in Springfield who supports the concept, said psychologists undergo extensive training to obtain their doctorates, including four years of undergraduate courses. Graduate students are required to complete internships amounting to a minimum of 1,500 hours. Another one-year, full-time internship is required before obtaining a degree.
They also have to complete one year of post-doctoral training in their specialized field and pass a nationally recognized exam before getting a license.
"So that's where we start when you come to this prescription privilege. I think people underestimate the amount of training we already undergo," Womontree said. "I think the preparation … would have the psychologist better prepared than many of the current prescribers."
With additional training, psychologists could safely prescribe because of their combined expertise in behavioral and social causes of mental health issues, as well as psychopharmacology (the study of how psychiatric medicine works with the body), said Dr. Beth Rom-Rymer, president of the Illinois Psychological Association.
Rom-Rymer is leading the legislative effort for RxP Illinois, a group of mental health-care professionals led by IPA.
Under Illinois' latest proposal — sponsored by Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, and backed by the American Psychological Association — prescribing psychologists would have to earn a master's degree in psychopharmacology in addition to their doctorate.
Psychologists would also have to undergo 80 hours of supervised clinical assessment training and pathophysiology and complete at least 400 hours of supervised treatment of no fewer than 100 patients with mental disorders.
Experience counts
Psychiatrists, on the other hand, have to complete four years of medical school, a four-year residency program and another two years if they want to specialize in a particular area. In that time, psychiatrists-in-training could come across thousands of patients while supervised by experienced clinicians, said Dr. William Werner, president of the Illinois State Medical Society.
Page 2 of 4 - "To have that hands-on experience, to have that interaction with patients is so important. The concern is that psychologists have not had that clinical experience," Werner said. "You need years of experience in terms of knowing how these drugs will work in the body, how they're eliminated from the body and how they interact with other medications."
Prescribing psychologists would be practicing medicine without ever setting foot in a hospital, said Tim Tumlin, a clinical psychologist and member of Psychologists Opposed to Prescription Privileges for Psychologists.
Another opponent, Dr. Lisa Rone, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Northwestern and former president of the Illinois Psychiatric Society, said if psychologists want to prescribe, the solution is simple: "Go to medical school."
But Rom-Rymer argues that psychologists could potentially surpass psychiatrists in the total number of hours of clinical experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders with additional training. Psychologists who have received this training over the past several years to practice in New Mexico and Louisiana have done so without incidences of malpractice, she added.
Rone said there's not enough data available for RxP Illinois to make that claim.
"We have to remember, there's a small number of prescribing psychologists (in those states)," Rone said.
According to data provided by Rom-Rymer, there are 64 prescribing psychologists in Louisiana and 25 in New Mexico.
Issue of access
As mental health funding in Illinois is slashed year after year, down nearly 32 percent from 2009, supporters believe SB 2187 could lead to greater access to services in underserved communities.
Womontree said she recalls some rural patients driving 60 miles one way just for counseling. Then, she said, they would have to make a second trip to see a psychiatrist.
"If one person can fully assist an individual, there's less opportunity for them for fall through the cracks," Womontree said. "Someone might not have the strength to follow through. People are often seeking mental health services when they're not at their strongest."
But this legislation does not address access issues, Werner said. Just as psychiatrists do, psychologists gravitate toward more densely populated areas. The greater distances between health-care facilities and fewer academic programs graduating these professionals make rural areas less attractives.
"Some of it also has to do with lifestyle," Werner said. "In bigger cities, they work in shifts. In smaller towns and rural areas in the state, you're on call 24 hours a day."
In general, Illinois is also not a "conducive environment" for those who want to practice medicine, especially now with legislation calling for a doubling of doctors' licensing fees, he said.
"I had a student ask me a couple of weeks ago, 'Why would anyone want to practice here?'" Werner said.
Page 3 of 4 - The number of licensed psychiatrists in Illinois declined 21 percent between 2007 and 2012, according to the American Psychological Association Practice Organization.
However, data compiled by the Illinois Hospital Association shows an 5.7 percent increase in actively licensed physicians in Illinois between 2008 and 2012, making up about 12 percent of total health-care professionals as of January 2012. Psychiatrists, who are physicians specializing in the treatment of mental disorders, are included in that category.
Actively licensed psychologists, on the other hand, increased by 16 percent during the same period, making up 1.3 percent of total health-care professionals as of January 2012.
Rom-Rymer noted that of the 46 counties without a psychiatrist, 24 had a psychologist, according to 2007 data.
Addressing shortages
Rone agreed rural communities are dealing with shortages, but said giving prescribing rights to the undertrained is not the way to go.
"We don't address an access issue by putting in people who can't actually do the job. We certainly need to work on ways to recruit more people to go to medical school," Rone said.
While the organization acknowledges serious shortages in the mental health professional workforce, Thomas said she doesn't believe the current legislation would address them.
"Rather than create a new credential and look at it piecemeal as one opportunity at this point in time, we'd really like for people to envision a system and look at it from every angle before making decisions on where the system should go," Thomas said.
Lucrative options
Psychologists in Illinois can already prescribe medication if they receive training as a nurse practitioner or physician's assistant, Tumlin noted.
Combined, actively licensed physicians, APNs and physicians' assistants — all of whom can prescribe at some level — rose 73.1 percent between 2007 and 2012 and account for 14.8 percent of health-care professionals in the state, according to IHA data.
"The problem is those options are not as lucrative as certain psychologists getting their hands on prescriptions pads," Tumlin said. "I assure you, prescribing drugs makes more money than doing psychotherapy."
On the other hand, Rom-Rymer said she thinks the legislation could reduce the number of people using prescription medication as the first line of treatment because psychologists specialize in alternative treatments.
Opponents maintain the legislation is just a way for psychologists to sidestep medical school.
"To come along and say people with basically a summer school course online are ready to prescribe … really reverses all of the work we've done. It really says it's OK to offer substandard care," Rone said.
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All naturalization applicants filing under the military provisions, section 328 or 329, should file their application at the Nebraska Service Center regardless of geographic location or jurisdiction. Please send your application to:
Nebraska Service Center
P.O. Box 87426
Lincoln, NE 68501-7426
Filing Fee : $595 plus a biometrics fee of $80; the fee total is $675. Applicants 75 years of age or older are not charged a biometric fee; their fee total is $595. No fee is required for military applicants filing under Section 328 and 329 of the INA. Special Instructions :
Please note : The Instructions to Form N-400 frequently refer to information in the USCIS document A Guide to Naturalization, M-476. We encourage you to review those referenced sections of the Guide as you complete this form .
This version of the N-400, Application for Naturalization, is available below in two files - the instructions and the form itself.
We recommend that you download the form directly to your local computer, rather than fill it out through your web browser. Using a Windows PC, "right-click" on the link to the fillable form and select "Save Link As" (in Netscape) or "Save Target As" (in Internet Explorer) and work from the copy you save to your hard drive.
Note on Filing Fee:
Fees are accepted in the form of money order, personal check or cashiers check only. Checks should be made payable to Department of Homeland Security or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services .
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Carsten Jensen
Carsten Jensen (born 24 July 1952, Marstal, Denmark) is a Danish author and political columnist. He first earned recognition as a literary critic for the Copenhagen daily, Politiken. His novels, including I Have Seen the World Begin (1996), deal with knowledge of the world. For this novel he won the Danish booksellers award De Gyldne Laurbær (The Golden Laurel) in 1996. The year 2006 saw the publication of his novel Vi, de druknede (We, the Drowned), a chronicle about the birth of modern Denmark, seen through the history of his hometown Marstal.
In 2009, he was awarded the Olof Palme Prize. In 2012 he was awarded the Søren Gyldendal Prize.
In 2015, Den første sten (The First Stone) appeared, a monumental novel about the experiences of a group of Danish soldiers who have volunteered for service in Afghanistan. Through their eyes, we are presented with a wide and disturbing panorama of the war in Afghanistan. As of March 2018, the novel has been translated into German, Der erste Stein, as well as into Norwegian and Swedish. The English translation was released September 1, 2019.
Bibliography
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Souveniers fra 80'erne, 1988
Kannibalernes nadver, 1988
Jorden i munden, 1991
Af en astmatisk kritikers bekendelser, 1992
Forsømmelsernes bog, 1993
Jeg har set verden begynde, 1996
Jeg har hørt et stjerneskud, 1997
År to & tre, 1999
Oprøret mod tyngdeloven, 2001
Jorden rundt (2003)
Livet i Camp Eden (2004)
Det glemte folk – en rejse i Burmas grænseland (2004)
Vi, de druknede (2006)
Sidste rejse (2007)
Vi sejlede bare – virkeligheden bag Vi, de druknede (2009)
Ud (2010)
Den første sten (2015)
Krigen der aldrig ender. News stories from Afghanistan. Co-author: Anders Hammer. (Gyldendal 2016)
Kældermennesker. (Politikens Forlag 2018)
References
External links
Official website (English version).
Carsten Jensen talks about his epic book We, the Drowned (Vi,de Druknede) in an audio slideshow on The Interview Online (In English).
Finnish review about Vi, de druknede in Opettaja magazine 33/2009
Category:1952 births
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Category:Danish people of Romani descent
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Because of their formation from the ground states of simple or composite bosons, atomic Bose-Einstein condensates[@b1][@b2][@b3] were and remain a distinctly ultralow temperature phenomenon that turns on at low densities where the distance between the constituent particles in their ground states approaches their thermal wavelength. The low masses and higher densities of certain quasiparticles in solids-- magnons[@b4][@b5][@b6], polaritons[@b7][@b8], and excitons[@b9][@b10][@b11][@b12] -- have allowed their condensates to be extended to room temperature under certain conditions[@b5][@b13][@b14]. These findings, and the accuracy of associated theories, suggest that condensation is neither particularly complicated nor special. This poses the question of whether more exotic types of condensates could exist, perhaps made of more exotic, i.e., strongly interacting, types of quasiparticles. An especially interesting candidate could be polarons because of their coupling of charge, spin, and lattice degrees of freedom as well as their connection to exotic superconductivity. The polaronic Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) condensate in high temperature superconductors may, in fact, be complemented by BECs[@b15] that are a likely component of two-band superconductivity[@b16][@b17][@b18][@b19][@b20][@b21].
We have previously described structural and both ultrafast optical pump-probe and static x-ray absorption spectroscopy experiments on the chemically and photo-doped, partly filled 5*f* Mott insulator UO~2(+x)~ that we interpreted as the signatures of superfluid droplets of aggregated polarons that self-organized as coherent bosonic states[@b22]. We now report: 1) optical pump-terahertz time domain spectroscopy (TTDS) measurements that display the coherence that is a defining characteristic of a condensate; and 2) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), i.e., microwave absorption spectra, that exhibit dissipation and some very broad, complicated, highly temperature dependent features. This dissipation is like that in cuprate superconductors[@b23][@b24] where it was attributed to vortex reordering,[@b25][@b26][@b27] a phenomenon that also occurs with BECs[@b28][@b29][@b30], and the features are similar to the distinct excitations also found in BECs but at radiofrequency energies consistent with their much lower stability[@b31][@b32][@b33][@b34][@b35]. These mesoscale condensates would be composed of composite bosons formed from phase-coherent fermionic polarons that are charge defects in the lattice and not quantum fluctuations[@b35][@b36]. The formation of these bosons by a dynamic charge transfer between the U ions and their condensation and display of superfluid properties are promoted by a Feshbach resonance, analogous to the formation of the Cooper pairs that give the pseudogap phase and its subsequent condensation in ultracold fermionic atom gases promoted by this type of resonance facilitating the conversion between the original atoms and bosonic diatomic molecules[@b37]. The multiple quantum phases we detect are indicative of the spatial and temporal variations of these coherent domains and their strong interactions with the lattice. Of particular interest is that the properties signifying the condensate persist through ambient temperature despite the large masses involved, indicating a novel BEC formation mechanism. The experimental evidence indicates a dynamic mechanism instead of the conventional static one, which would be a collective charge-transfer disproportionation excitation originating in the confluence of the valence fluctuations of the dynamical polarons and the specific structural chemistry of the UO~2+x~ system[@b22]. This is particularly interesting because it would demonstrate that macroscopic coherence can be obtained not only by placing the constituent particles in their ground state but also more generally by other processes that synchronize them temporally and spatially.
Partly filled Mott insulators exhibit a variety of fascinating properties. In actinide dioxides in particular, the 5*f* character of excitations across the Mott gap may cause other free electron "in gap" states (IGS)[@b38][@b39] in proximity to the Fermi level[@b40]. These would be in addition to the polaronic states within the gap from chemical doping[@b41]. The interactions or even combination of these two types of IGS could be the origin of the unusual structural chemistry of uranium oxides with valences ≥IV, much as it is in two-band models of high temperature superconductors[@b42][@b43]. In particular, the binary[@b44] and ternary[@b45][@b46][@b47][@b48] uranium oxides exhibit an essentially continuous range of U-O bond lengths as their geometries range from highly oblate to perfectly octahedral, defying the normal coupling of valence to geometry. The pair potential controlling the U-O distances must therefore be relatively flat, causing the radial ground and oblate excited state symmetries to intersect more as a conic section than the normal cusp. This property promotes the interchange between the two states and renders dynamics an important component of the structure and other properties[@b49]. The valence-structure dynamics and subsequent non-adiabatic-non-Born-Oppenheimer spin-charge-lattice fluctuations of the anharmonic, double well potential of the polarons[@b50] in cuprates[@b51][@b52][@b53][@b54], manganites[@b55][@b56], and other correlated oxides manifest as differences in the structures found by the different time domains of neutrons vs. x-rays[@b57][@b58]. These properties are greatly magnified in UO~2+x~[@b22], which also exhibits the predicted broadening[@b57] for the 5*f*-6*d* electron manifold. By influencing the dynamics of excited states[@b40][@b59] these polarons evolve into exceptional quasiparticles whose interactions could form a variety of bosonic quantum phases.
Results and Discussion
======================
*Optical pump-TTDS probe experiments on UO*~*2*~. The defining property of a condensate is its coherence, spatially over dozens to hundreds of μm and temporally, in conventional BECs, msec. This is manifested statically as evidence that the 10^3^--10^6^ constituent particles are synchronized by, e.g., exhibiting position and momentum distributions much narrower than the expected thermal ones[@b1][@b2][@b3][@b5][@b7][@b12]. The coherence of the constituent particles of condensates frequently manifests itself as oscillatory or periodic behavior and interference patterns, especially in their excitations[@b14][@b60][@b61][@b62][@b63][@b64][@b65][@b66]. We show here the Fourier-transformed TTDS that contains the combined momentum-averaged phonon density of states and, particularly at low energies, electronic or other excitations that in UO~2.00~ would be the IGS and/or collective states. On pumping at both 3.14 eV (5*f*→5*f*) and 1.57 eV (5*f*→IGS) the THz spectra display a peak around 1.8 THz ([Fig. 1a--d](#f1){ref-type="fig"}, precision limited by the sampling interval dictated by the sample thickness) that is not a UO~2~ phonon ([Fig. 1e](#f1){ref-type="fig"})[@b67][@b68]. Although emission was not measured, the sensitivity of the absorption to the relative orientation of the crystal, the pump, and the probe beams was quite high, indicating a strong correlation between the lattice vectors and the excited state over the duration of the measurement. The experimental geometry and the fact that the 1.8 THz feature is lower in amplitude than the other features in this transmission measurement demonstrate that it originates in absorption and not emission.
The observation of the 1.8 THz state and its extended lifetime after inducing the metal-to-metal-charge-transfer transition with 3.14 eV excitation into the primarily 5*f* portion of the upper Hubbard band ([Fig. 1B](#f1){ref-type="fig"}) are both exceptional. However, pumping at 1.57 eV directly into the gap most remarkably also gives the distinct, regular oscillations in the amplitude of this 1.8 THz peak throughout its two-hundred picosecond lifetime ([Figs 1](#f1){ref-type="fig"}a, c and [2](#f2){ref-type="fig"}). These are a direct demonstration of spatial and temporal coherence in the corresponding state or states throughout the probed volume. The oscillations correspond to fluctuations in the density of the free electrons in the IGS that are the origin of this spectral feature. This modulation therefore corresponds to a phase coherent modulation in the quantity of the polaronic liquid phase, either by direct exchange with a second state that does not give a signal in these spectra or via relaxation and subsequent restoration of these electrons to their original U 5*f* state. The excitation dependence indicates that coherence within the 1.8 THz state is not coupled to the direct transition to the upper Hubbard band but is instead correlated with free electrons within the IGS \~8 meV above the chemical potential. The coherence is not only spatial via some type of long range interactions, it is also maintained temporally, with its amplitude still ≥1/e of its initial value after 170 ps and hundreds of oscillations ([Fig. 2B](#f2){ref-type="fig"}). This can be compared with the few to a few dozen oscillations observed with normal fermionic condensates and gases[@b37][@b64]. Even without the oscillations, the extended lifetime of the photoinduced polarons that give this spectral feature is likely be a consequence of the coherence as well. In addition, this potential stability provided by the condensate and the possibility of spontaneous or facilitated population of the IGS offers explanations for the EPR signals reported below, the photoinduced polarons produced here by pumping into the gap, and other results obtained with UO~2.00~ such as the U-oxo species found by EXAFS in ion-irradiated neutral UO~2~. An important point is that since the TTDS is a transmission experiment the collective excitations of the individual or aggregated polarons that give the oscillations must be synchronous throughout the entire approximately 0.1 mm^3^ volume of the sample that is illuminated and probed so that the coherence is maintained within a quantity of material that can be weighed on a standard balance.
As the fluence is increased the amplitude of the 1.8 THz oscillation shows an initial threshold, a linear region, and saturation ([Fig. 3a](#f3){ref-type="fig"}). This would be expected from a coherent polaronic superfluid that requires a minimum quasiparticle concentration for aggregation and self-organization into the domains of the polaronic liquid phase but also will have a limiting density derived from the optimum overlap of the bosonic wavefunctions. Since the constituent quasiparticles are transient there will also be a contribution from their lifetimes that are extended in the coherent state. Thus the increase in oscillation amplitude below 100 K ([Fig. 3b](#f3){ref-type="fig"}) can be attributed to reduced quasiparticle scattering. At higher temperatures the oscillation amplitude is the same at 100 and 295 K and then diminishes to zero at 325 K. Above 295 K the density of free electrons would be sufficiently high to disrupt the condensate by decoherence and relaxation of the photoinduced polarons so that the state remains intact without any softening as its quantity diminishes to zero. However, *the condensate forms and is relatively stable at ambient temperature despite the large mass of a polaron in UO*~*2*~. The absence of any feature at the 30.8 K Neel temperature[@b69][@b70] indicates the separation of the condensate from the host lattice. That the oscillation frequency is \~2 THz for all fluences and temperatures indicates that this mode is an intrinsic property of the condensate. If it represents or is associated with the lowest energy level of the state giving the condensate, THz relative to the 0.1 Hz frequencies typical of BECs would give a T~c~ of the order of 8000 K[@b62]. This is 27 times higher than the indicated value of T~c~ \~ 300 K found here, but sufficiently close relative to the factor of 10^8^--10^10^ difference with a conventional atomic condensate to be consistent with finding coherence through such a high temperature. This value is also consistent with its loss from competition with the scattering and other thermal processes.
Applying this same interpretation to our earlier report[@b22], if the unusual peak in the transformed time domain spectrum from optically pumped and interrogated UO~2~ is assigned to an oscillation of a condensate instead of to a non-UO~2~ phonon, similar results are obtained. That experiment also found strong dependence on the excitation channel, with μs lifetimes for both 5*f* and 6*d* states but a gap-opening transition in an IGS only for the former. In addition, however, if the observed \~12 GHz signal is coupled to T~c~ as the lowest collective energy level of a condensate, its derived 45 K is almost exactly the 50--60 K of the transition that creates this new state. The high frequencies associated with excitations or transformations of the photoinduced UO~2~ condensates therefore appear to be directly correlated with their high temperatures.
*Microwave absorption in UO*~*2+x*~. Free charges and spins occur in UO~2+x~, perhaps even in stoichiometric UO~2.00~, via the low energy of the IGS and their dynamical attributes and involvement in the condensate. Their collective properties were elucidated by magnetic susceptibility and X band EPR spectroscopy, although in the context of condensates and other collective phenomena microwave spectroscopy in a magnetic field would be probing phenomena other than unpaired spins. Radiowave absorption has been used to identify and characterize the different states that occur in fermionic gases and condensates created by the application of a magnetic field[@b31][@b32][@b33][@b34][@b35]. The higher microwave energies are consistent with the higher temperatures and energies already noted in the pump-probe spectroscopies.
X-ray diffraction patterns show the known phase separation between the UO~2~ and the slightly contracted U~4~O~9~ domains[@b71][@b72], while EXAFS shows the phase separation and the multisite U-O distribution with the short U-O bond[@b73] diagnostic for the oxo moiety. The magnetic susceptibility of UO~2.00~ ([Fig. 4](#f4){ref-type="fig"}) matches previous results, with an antiferromagnetic ordering transition occurring at 30.8 K[@b74][@b75]. The 5*f*^2^ configuration of the non-Kramers U(IV) ion will give an EPR spectrum when the U site is distorted either statically to give a symmetric signal or dynamically to give an asymmetric one with widths around 100 G and g values up to 4.6 at 77 K[@b76]. After scrupulous cleaning of the cryostat we reproducibly measured the spectra shown here ([Fig. 5](#f5){ref-type="fig"}) that exhibit much greater complexity than those from non-interacting U(IV) paramagnetic centers[@b77][@b78]. This complexity impedes integration of the signals that nevertheless represent only a fraction of the U. The UO~2.16~ spectra around 30 K resemble the small regions of those that were reported earlier[@b79] for oxidized UO~2~ at 10 K. Some spectral features occur in all three samples while others vary with the U:O ratio. In contrast to only the two phases found by diffraction, susceptibility, and other bulk spin probes, the microwave absorbance is consistent with the EXAFS, another local probe, in showing a number of distinct states[@b77][@b79].
The spectra that are possibly recognizable are those of UO~2.00~ at g = 2.1 for T ≥ 90 K. These exhibit a flat baseline and a signal that is similar in shape to that expected from a geometrically distorted S = 1/2 system. This could be from the individual polarons, whose increasing amplitude with temperature implies that they are forming from a lower energy EPR-silent state. Like most of the features in these spectra, its width is far too large for simple dipolar broadening[@b23], and would therefore typically signify ferromagnetism. In the susceptibilities of UO~2.08~ and UO~2.16~ ([Fig. 4](#f4){ref-type="fig"}) there appears to be a systematic decrease in effective moment and Weiss temperature with increasing x. The high temperature Curie-Weiss-like susceptibilities show monotonic decreases of the effective moments and Weiss temperatures with increasing x; viz., 3.25 μ~B~/U (257 K), 2.9 μ~B~/U (185 K), and 2.7 μ~B~/U (140 K) for x = 0, 0.08 and 0.16, respectively. The AFM transition occurs at the same temperature for all three compounds. However, the direction is inverted for the doped ones, although the magnitudes of the step are comparable and that of UO~2.16~ less than UO~2.08~. It is also suppressed at high fields, being almost eliminated for UO~2.08~. Since the susceptibility shows that these materials are not ferromagnetic in the normal sense the inversion in direction could signify a change in the canting angle of the U spin vector in the UO~2~ domains. The canting induced by addition of extra oxygen would be minimal, θ ≈ 5.6 × 10^--4^/1.74. The abrupt roll over of χ(T) at 6--7 K in lower fields could be another reorientation of the ordered moment. However, this type of flattening or rollover in the magnetization at low T following an abrupt rise was found in TiCuCl~3~, where it contributed to the interpretation of a magnon BEC in this system[@b4]. In the microwave spectrum of UO~2.16~ the dip near 3400 G is still present, reaching its greatest amplitude at 180 K similar to the UO~2.00~ spectra from 90--140 K. However, the rising portion at lower field of this particular signal is absent in the UO~2.16~ spectrum. This signal in the UO~2.08~ spectrum appears as a mixture of the two, reflecting the UO~2+δ~-U~4~O~9--δ~ phase separation as seen in the diffraction pattern. Two other very broad and complex signals are observed below 25 K in all three samples, albeit in somewhat modified form, at 0--2500 and 3400--5000 G.
The distinctive condensate signature is the extended ramp in amplitude starting near zero field ([Figs 5](#f5){ref-type="fig"} and [6](#f6){ref-type="fig"}). This broad increase towards lower field is obscured in the spectra measured below 25--30 K because it is superimposed on the broad feature that is mostly absent by \~20 K. Comparing the baselines on the two sides of this feature shows, however, that the zero field background is larger so the ramp is still present under the peaks. This ramp becomes much larger through 50--60 K and diminishes again by 80--90 K where it is smaller in UO~2.08~ and UO~2.16~ ([Fig. 5](#f5){ref-type="fig"}) and absent in UO~2.00~ with its flat baseline in this temperature range. This non-specific, low field microwave absorption has on occasion been observed in ferromagnets, but is also a signature of the superconducting phase in cuprates[@b80]. These two origins are differentiated by the direction and shape of the hysteresis when the field is reversed by scanning it through 0 G. For cuprates, a hysteresis curve generated by sweeping to lower field through and past the field reversal (G = 0) exhibits a diminished amplitude on the return when swept from negative to positive G and back, whereas ferromagnets show hysteresis in the opposite direction[@b24]. Since the temperature-field cycling path and doping of the material affect the microwave spectrum, the signal may not always drop through zero field or return to its origin, as found here ([Fig. 6](#f6){ref-type="fig"}). In cuprates this microwave absorption originates in the transformation of the vortices from one pattern and type to another and are specific to the planar atom layers in those compounds[@b27]. Analogously, in the RF rather than microwave region, condensates give similar ramps to lower energy from interactions with defects[@b35] and also most likely from vortex dynamics.
Following initial cooling of the UO~2+x~ samples to 80 K in zero field and then subsequent changes to 10, 28, and 120 K in field, when swept from −100 G through 100--6000 G and back all three samples ([Fig. 6](#f6){ref-type="fig"} shows results for UO~2.00~ and UO~2.16~) exhibit a difference in amplitude throughout the entire sweep that is even superimposed on other features -- like cuprates -- but with the return downfield sweep higher in amplitude than the upfield one -- unlike cuprates. The collective microwave dissipation in UO~2+x~ is therefore of a novel type. The extension of the differential absorption to higher field as the spectral range is increased is a special and possibly unique property of cuprates where the flux line/vortex dis- and reordering from superconducting domains is continuous in energy. The opposite pattern, no change in the field where the hysteresis loop closes so that it is relatively symmetric around zero is characteristic of ferromagnets where the reversal of the magnetization occurs at a well defined energy[@b23][@b24][@b80]. Vortices and their associated lattices and subsequent dis- and reordering are, of course, endemic to all condensates[@b28][@b29][@b30], not only superconductors. This includes magnon condensates[@b66], which would corroborate the presence of a polaronic condensate whose unpaired atomic spins would be coupled in the composite bosons and that would give the very broad dissipation. That the direction of the hysteresis is that of ferromagnets and not cuprates is consistent with the field interacting directly with the particles as in fermionic condensate formation instead of with excluded/expelled flux lines. These UO~2+x~ spectra are also notable in not exhibiting any features coincident with the AFM ordering transition. It is therefore unsurprising that these spins or other phenomena that give the spectra are also decoupled from those giving the anisotropy in the thermal conductivity[@b81]. The absorbing species are separated from the UO~2.00~ domains despite the UO~2.00~ spins being affected by their presence. A notable feature of this separation, however, is that the UO~2.00~ spin system and the condensate domains are presumably intermingled within the crystal on the scale of the domain sizes. In addition, the many features of the spectra and their complicated temperature dependence are analogous to the RF absorbance of the ultracold fermionic systems, where the different states including those from defects give very similar kinds of behaviors[@b31][@b32][@b33][@b34][@b35][@b82]. The totality of these spectra, with the possible exception of the high temperature UO~2.00~ signal, may therefore originate in precisely the type of phenomena observed in fermionic condensates.
Implications
------------
These results validate the conjecture, based on the observed superfluid atom tunneling and broadening of the electronic states in UO~2+x~ and the extremely long lifetimes of the collective phases of the excited states and their coherent oscillations in photodoped material[@b22], that UO~2(+x)~ hosts polaronic condensates. The condensate emerges from individual or aggregated quasiparticles whose collective interactions are enabled by dynamically expanded wavefunctions extending into the UO~2~ host. This interpretation of the unique oscillation observed in the IGS pump-TTDS probe experiment is corroborated by the presence of distinct mesoscale domains of a coherent quasiparticle fluid, as derived from our prior structural measurements and observed for other quasiparticle condensates[@b5][@b63].
A remarkable characteristic of these polaronic condensates is their concomitant high mass and temperature, up to 300 K, indicating a novel coherence mechanism. Insight into this may be found in the structural measurements that demonstrate that the dynamics resides in a disproportionation reaction, 2 U(V)↔U(IV)+U(VI). This can be combined with the finding that stress relief in UO~2~ occurs in its \[111\] plane[@b83][@b84]. The coherence would result from the coupling of this or an alternative boson-forming interaction to the motion of a UO~2~ (111)-type acoustic phonon in which the cubic U(IV/V) "neutron" configuration is more stable when the \[111\] U planes are on the compressed and the layered U(IV/VI) "x-ray" conformation on the expanded sides, respectively, of the vibrational motion ([Fig. 7](#f7){ref-type="fig"}). Concerted motion is then imposed by the geometric and elastic constraints of the crystal that cause the energy to decrease as the number of atoms involved increases and as their motions become synchronized because of reduction of the strain energy from the layered domains within the cubic host. This process involving a non-degenerate double well potential could be considered as a solid state analog of a Feshbach resonance. The fluorite structure with unpaired U(V) electrons is the open channel, connected to the layered structure that is the closed U(IV--VI) channel via this phonon. When excited, not only do the energies correspond but also the Franck-Condon barrier is eliminated when the extended displacement of the atoms intersects with the ground state of the higher energy structure. The system thus resonantly interconverts the kinetic energy of the excited, fermionic vibrational state into the enthalpy of the excited bosonic structural state, oscillating between these two states in coincidence with the phonon controlling the interplanar separation that drives the transformation between the fluorite and layered structures. The role of Feshbach resonances in the formation of the bosonic molecules that compose fermionic condensates has been extensively studied[@b31][@b32][@b37][@b64][@b65][@b82][@b85][@b86][@b87][@b88], concluding that "...near the Feshbach resonance, theory predicts coherent oscillations between the...states[@b85]..." Insofar as the theories developed for ultracold Fermionic liquids and condensates are applicable to solid state phenomena[@b16][@b17][@b18][@b21][@b89], the coherence would therefore be an expected outcome of this chemical reaction that was observed directly in our structural measurements. This supports the idea that the requirement for Bose-Einstein systems that all of the constituent particles be in the same state may be achieved in multiple ways, with the use of ultralow temperatures to place them in the ground state being a matter of convenience rather than necessity.
The coherence and subsequent condensate have additional consequences. One is the superfluidity of the atoms across the oscillation that allows the requisite rapid rearrangement of the O atoms without a barrier. A second is the stability of the condensate that appears to cause the formation of O-enriched domains on irradiation[@b84][@b90] and even, as demonstrated here, spontaneously in undoped UO~2.00~ via metal-to-metal charge transfer reactions to produce the required U(V). Another is the formation of the vortices and other states of the system[@b91] that account for the microwave dissipation. UO~2+x~ is one more example of the valence-structure-coupled polaron dynamics, but an extreme one whose non-adiabatic spin-charge-lattice fluctuations synchronize to become coherent oscillations of the condensate. The persistence of the condensate to high temperature would therefore occur because this reaction in UO~2(+x)~ is a non-degenerate one to an excited state originating in unique aspects of the structural chemistry of U[@b73] (and Pu[@b92]) oxides. This would be in contrast to the dynamical polarons in other mixed valence oxides that involve charge transfer between identical ground state structures. That a more limited version of these behaviors is exhibited by cuprates[@b89], with possible hints in related materials[@b38], supports the idea that a related mechanism might be active in those systems as described in the introduction. Another pertinent finding is a recent report of mixed BCS-BEC superconductivity in FeTe~0.6~Se~0.4~[@b93] involving low lying IGS[@b15] that would corroborate two-state theories[@b16][@b19][@b20]. Although for UO~2(+x)~ the BEC is composed of electrons and not atoms, it is a demonstration that BECs are extensible to the fundamental components of condensed matter[@b21][@b89]. We also call attention to the anomalous broadening of the spectral features in the O XAS of UO~2+x~ relative to UO~2.00~[@b22]. A corresponding enhancement of the dispersion in the now partly filled U 5*f* band that would be at the Fermi level would produce much more complicated Fermi surface topology than the relatively flat band in UO~2.00~ before doping and also contribute to forming and stabilizing a condensate via exchange. These results supporting BEC-formation in UO~2(+x)~ are the next step on this path. To the extent that the proposed mechanism is correct, we note that the Feshbach resonance occurs in the crossover or pseudogap regime, which would suggest that the UO~2(+x)~ condensate could be tuned in both the BEC and BCS directions.
Methods
=======
*UO*~*2+x.*~ The UO~2~ crystal for the TTDS measurements was the same as used earlier and the UO~2+x~ powder samples were prepared identically[@b22].
Terahertz Time Domain Spectroscopy
----------------------------------
In our experiment, we investigated 200 μm thick highly polished uranium dioxide samples. The sample was fixed in a rotational mount to allow the sample orientation to be varied with respect to the laser polarization. A 6 mJ, 40 fs laser pulse was first split with a 90/10 beamsplitter. The stronger portion of the beam was sent through a half-wave plate and then focused with a 12.5 cm focal length lens into an argon filled gas cell for the broadband THz pulse generation .The cell was kept at a pressure of \~700 Torr which was chosen to maximize the THz pulse energy and bandwidth. Also located inside the gas cell was a barium borate (BBO) crystal. This was placed \~2 centimeters before the laser focus to avoid damage to the crystal while also producing a sufficient amount of second harmonic for the THz pulse production. The half-wave plate and the BBO orientation were chosen to provide the maximum THz pulse energy along with a linear p-polarized pulse after the gas cell. Typically we estimated the THz pulse energy at nearly 1 μJ. This was measured by directing the THz photons onto a pyroelectric detector and calibrating the response with a helium-neon laser pulse of known energy. The end of the gas cell contained a silicon filter to remove the residual 800 nm and 400 nm laser light while passing as much of the THz radiation as possible. From there, the THz pulse passed through an 8-f optical arrangement of 2 inch, gold-coated, parabolic mirrors. The UO~2~ sample was located within this arrangement, but was removed when the original THz pulse was to be measured. The THz pulse was finally focused between our detection slits. Meanwhile, the remaining portion of the original laser pulse passed through a 50/50 beamsplitter. The transmitted half of the beam passed through a delay stage, was rotated to p-polarization, and was eventually focused between the detection slits and combined with the THz pulse. The total pulse energy of this beam could be as high as 300 μJ although this was usually further attenuated with a variable ND filter. The slits had a 500 Hz, 2 kV bias applied and it was to this signal that a lock-in amplifier was locked to. A weak second harmonic field was generated between the slits and modulated by the mixing of the two beams. The second harmonic signal then passed through a 400 nm bandpass filter and was detected with a photo multiplier tube. Together, the THz and 800 nm laser beams allowed a time-domain measurement of the THz waveform with the air biased coherent detection (ABCD) method.
The remaining portion reflected from the 50/50 beamsplitter also passed through a delay stage and was focused onto the UO~2~ sample. This served as the pump pulse for our experiments. Within this portion of the beam path was also located a half-wave plate, variable ND filter, and another BBO crystal for possible 3.1 eV pumping of the UO~2~ sample in the future. Additionally, a reflection is seen at \~6 ps resulting from a Fabry-Perot effect from the sample itself. All subsequent data was truncated in the time domain before the reflection to avoid artificial spectral modulations after converting the time-domain signal to the frequency domain with an FFT. Reducing the time window to \~5 ps after time zero reduced the low frequency resolution below 1 THz which was inconsequential to our data accumulation. The pump beam was not collinear with the THz probe beam. The sample was pumped at an angle that could not be captured by the collection optics for the THz, preventing the signal from originating in THz emission stimulated by the pump beam.
Phonon calculations
-------------------
Phonon calculations were performed for UO~2~ through the direct frozen-phonon method using the Vienna Ab-initio Simulation Package (VASP) combined with the phonopy package on supercells consisting of 4 × 4 × 4 primitive cells (192 atoms). To obtain a good description of the electronic structure of this highly correlated system, we have used density functional theory including an additional Hubbard term (DFT+U). The gradient generalized approximation (GGA) was chosen for the DFT exchange-correlation functional. In the employed GGA + U approach, the Hubbard and exchange parameters, U and J, respectively, are introduced to account for the on-site Coulomb correlations between the uranium 5f electrons; the +U term also helps to remove the self-interaction error. We have chosen a Hubbard U value of 4.5 eV and an exchange parameter J value of 0.54 eV, which have been shown to provide good results. To deal with the problem of occurring metastable states when using the DFT+U method, we have used the occupation matrix control (OMC) technique proposed by Dorado *et al.*[@b94] The electron ionic-core interaction on the valence electrons in the systems has been represented by the projector augmented wave potentials (PAWs). For U and O atoms, the (6*s*, 7s, 6p, 6d, 5f) and (2*s*, 2*p*) states were treated as valence states. A plane-wave basis with an energy cutoff of 510 eV was used to expand the electronic wave functions. The Brillouin zone integrations were performed on a special k-point mesh generated by the Monkhorst Pack scheme (6 × 6 × 6 in the bulk and 2 × 2 × 2 for the phonon supercells), and a Gaussian smearing of σ = 0.1 eV was used. The electronic minimization algorithm used for static total-energy calculations was a blocked Davidson algorithm.
In the phonon calculations we corrected the long range macroscopic electric field generated by collective ionic motions near the gamma point by adding a non-analytical term to the dynamical matrix.
Magnetic susceptibility
-----------------------
Magnetic measurements were performed in a Quantum Design SQUID magnetometer over the temperature range 2 ≤ T ≤ 350 K and in various fixed magnetic fields between 1 and 50 kOe. For these measurements, a powder of UO~2+x~ was sandwiched between two plastic discs whose susceptibility was determined independently and subtracted from the magnetic response of the sample plus discs. In plots shown, χ is defined as the magnetic moment of the sample divided by applied field, M/H.
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Spectroscopy
--------------------------------------------------
All samples for EPR spectroscopy were prepared in an inert nitrogen atmosphere glove box equipped with a liquid nitrogen fill port to enable sample freezing to 77 K within the glove box. EPR samples were prepared in 4 mM OD thin wall precision Suprasil quartz screw cap EPR tubes from Wilmad Labglass. All samples for EPR spectroscopy were prepared in the solid state. X-band EPR spectra were recorded on a Bruker EMXplus spectrometer equipped with a 4119HS cavity and an Oxford ESR-900 helium flow cryostat. The instrument parameters employed for all samples were as follows: 2 mW power; time constant 41 ms; modulation amplitude 12 G; 9.38 GHz (10K spectra)/9.83 GHz (298K spectra); modulation frequency 100 kHz.
Additional Information
======================
**How to cite this article**: Conradson, S. D. *et al.* Possible Demonstration of a Polaronic Bose-Einstein(-Mott) Condensate in UO~2(+x)~ by Ultrafast THz Spectroscopy and Microwave Dissipation. *Sci. Rep.* **5**, 15278; doi: 10.1038/srep15278 (2015).
Supplementary Material {#S1}
======================
###### Supplementary Information
Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, for the National Nuclear Security Administration of U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DEAC52-06NA25396. This work was supported by the Los Alamos LDRD program and by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering and the Chemical Sciences, Biosciences, and Geosciences Divisions. Portions of this research were carried out at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, a Directorate of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and an Office of Science User Facility operated for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science by Stanford University. Phonon calculations were supported by EU-FP7 project 'FEMTOSPIN' (grant no. 281943). EPR measurements were supported by the University of Rochester. Preparation of this article was supported by Synchrotron Soleil. Magnetic susceptibility measurements were performed by J. D. Thompson, and we thank H. J. von Bardeleben for useful discussions.
**Author Contributions** S.D.C. organized the microwave experiments, performed the XAFS characterization of the samples, interpreted the microwave absorption data, and wrote this manuscript. S.M.G. performed the TTDS measurements, analyzed the results, and prepared the figures. S.L.D., J.A.K. and M.L.N. performed the microwave absorption measurements and the subsequent data analysis. T.D. provided crucial insight into the interpretation of the TTDS data, contributed to the interpretation of the microwave absorption data, assisted with writing the manuscript, and made the original suggestion of coherence. D.A.A. and A.R.B. assisted with writing the manuscript and provided conceptual advice. D.D.B. prepared the UO~2+x~ samples. P.M. and P.M.O. performed the calculation of the vibrational spectrum of UO~2~. J.A.V. performed the XRD of the UO~2+x~ samples. G.R. was P.I. of the optical spectroscopy laboratory, S.M.G.'s mentor, and provided conceptual advice. All authors reviewed the manuscript.
{ref-type="supplementary-material"}.](srep15278-f1){#f1}
{#f2}
![(a) Fluence dependence of the amplitude of the 1.8 THz peak at its inception. The arrow points to the onset of oscillations, the line is a guide through the region where the amplitude is increasing linearly. Duplicate measurements were performed at 10 and 100 μJ/cm[@b2]. **(b)** The initial oscillation amplitude as a function of temperature.](srep15278-f3){#f3}
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Augmented antitumour effects of combination therapy with TNP-470 and chemoimmunotherapy in mice.
To investigate antitumour efficacy of the combination of the antiangiogenic agent TNP-470 combined with chemoimmunotherapy in different tumour models in mice B6D2F1 mice and BALB/c mice were inoculated in the footpad of the right hind limb with B16F10 melanoma cells or colon adenocarcinoma cells C-26, respectively. Subsequently, they received therapy consisting of TNP-470 and/or IL-12 and tumour growth was observed. In the melanoma model this therapy regimen was combined with cisplatin in a subtherapeutic dose. The antiangiogenic action of the tested agents was evaluated using tumour-induced angiogenesis assay in vivo. In order to analyse interactions between TNP-470 (or cisplatin) and IFN-gamma on tumour cells in vitro, the following methods were used: MTT assay, Western blot analysis, and flow cytometry analysis. Administration of the combined therapy with TNP-470 and IL-12 resulted in augmented antitumour activity in colon-26 and B16F10 melanoma models. Addition of cisplatin further enhanced efficacy of this combined therapy in the melanoma model. We showed that antitumour activity of this combined therapy is mediated by multiple mechanisms: not only is enhancement of the antiangiogenic activity mediated by TNP-470 and IL-12 but also by the synergistic cytostatic/cytotoxic action of IL-12-induced IFN-gamma and TNP-470 or cisplatin on tumour cells. The experiments revealed that TNP-470 together with IFN-gamma leads to the increased expression of p21 protein in cancer cells, which in turn may contribute to their cytostatic/cytotoxic action in vitro. Our experiments show a successful TNP-470-based combination therapy and suggest that the enhancement of the antitumour activity could be explained by a concomitant effect on both endothelial and tumour cell compartments.
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Taurine protects rat bronchioles from acute ozone-induced lung inflammation and hyperplasia.
Ozone is a potent respiratory irritant known to induce lung injury in humans and experimental animals. The present studies determined if ozone-induced lung inflammation was modified by pretreatment of animals with taurine, a detoxifying antioxidant. Rats were pretreated for 10 days with 5% taurine in their drinking water (controls received water only) prior to exposure to 2 ppm ozone for 3 h. At 2, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h after ozone exposure, rats were anesthetized and the lungs were perfusion-fixed for histopathologic evaluation. An additional group of rats was used to examine bronchoalveolar lavage cell counts and hydroxyproline levels. A count of bronchoalveolar lavage cells 48 h after ozone exposure showed significantly fewer total inflammatory cells and fewer polymorphonuclear leukocytes accompanied by a reduction in hydroxyproline in the lavage fluid of ozone-exposed rats pretreated with taurine compared to rats that did not receive taurine. Light microscopy revealed an inflammatory cell infiltrate in the lungs of rats exposed to ozone. This was followed by focal hyperplasia in the terminal and respiratory bronchioles. Rats pretreated with taurine and then exposed to ozone showed none of these alterations. In addition, although there was a significant reduction in cell proliferation as measured by DNA precursor incorporation in the lungs of rats pretreated with taurine prior to ozone exposure compared to unsupplemented rats, the distribution of labeled cells was the same in taurine supplemented and unsupplemented groups. Also, significantly higher levels of taurine were found in the plasma, whole blood, and lavage fluid of rats pretreated with dietary taurine compared to rats that received water only. The results suggest that supplemental taurine protects rat lung epithelium from acute ozone-induced lung inflammation and hyperplasia.
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Nonvolatile memories are memories that retain their contents even when unpowered. Nonvolatile memories have a variety of uses, from storage for portable devices to rewriteable memories in embedded systems. Several types of nonvolatile memories are commonly available, including electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM)-type memories such as flash memory. These memories can be slow and are therefore of limited utility as the throughput requirements of devices using nonvolatile memories increase.
Resistive random access memory (ReRAM) is an emerging memory type that is nonvolatile but potentially fast enough to replace both memories that are currently nonvolatile (e.g. flash memories), and random access memories (e.g. dynamic RAM) that currently use volatile memory technologies. ReRAM is a memory element that changes resistance when a voltage is applied across the element. One voltage (e.g. a “set” voltage Vset) is used to switch to a low resistance state, while another voltage (e.g. a “reset” voltage Vreset) is used to switch to a high resistance state. Another voltage can be applied to determine the resistance of the memory element, thereby reading the contents of the memory element.
In addition to set and reset voltages, various other operating parameters (e.g. on and off current ratios, forming voltages, etc.) of a ReRAM memory element can affect the performance of the memory element. For example, it may be desirable to use a ReRAM memory element that has low set, reset, and forming voltages, while having a high on and off current ratio. Thus, what is needed is a ReRAM memory element that has improved control over critical operating parameters.
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Q:
Reprojection doesn't change the coordinates
Following the StackOverflow guidance, I have reprojected raster layers into WGS84/UTM 36N using the Raster-> Warp -> Reproject tool. According to the Raster Properties, all the rasters are now in the same CRS; however, the coordinate system is different and the rasters do not overlap (even though "On The Fly Projection" is on). Here are two screenshots of the problematic rasters with the different coordinates:
Based on comments from other threads, I understand that the units for the UTM projections is meters; however, the re-projection doesn't seem to properly changing the coordinate units. One remains in longitude/latitute while the other is in decimal degrees. Based on advice online, I have tried starting from scratch to ensure that the Map Project projection is correct, but nothing appears to work. Does anyone have any ideas? I am using QGIS 2.18.
A:
Since your data is crossing two UTM zones 36N and 37N, and assuming you have two images, you have three options:
If the two images are separate and each image is located in a different zone, then reproject each one with its correct UTM zone.
If the two images are merged together (mosaic image), then choose one of the zones such as UTM 37N, since most of Jordan is located in UTM zone 37N and only Aqaba area is located in UTM 36N, which in this case will not be a big deformation.
The last option is you can use EPSG:3066 Jordan TM coordinating reference system (CRS) which is a custom UTM CRS that fit Jordan in one zone.
The choice is up to you whether you want to use UTM to follow the standard CRS or local CRS which is Jordan TM CRS.
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If you're most interested in tips to reduce anxiety on modafinil, skip down to the section Coping With Modafnil-Induced Anxiety. Also, please chime in if you have personal experience with modafinil and anxiety.
Anxious Modafinil Users
Hey, I've been taking Modalert since 2 months now. I take a dosage of 200mg twice in a week right after I wake up around 9am and start working at my home office. However today I got up late around 1pm and took one 200mg(last dose was 4 days ago) This is the first time I'm experiencing an anxiety attack after taking modalert, I tried calming myself down tried meditating but it keeps coming back. Right now this feeling is really shitty, I only feel like smoking cigarettes. Any of you'll had experience like this before? Any advice is appreciated.
And:
New to modafinil. I've been experimenting with dosage of Modalert for the past week (currently at around 100mg a day but I will decrease). I find that a few hours after having some, my anxiety levels shoot up.
When I'm anxious it's always been a nervous "butterfly" tingly type feeling in my chest (rather than the stomach, which I don't think I've ever felt). It gets quite intense with modalert that it's nearly unbearable at times.
There's no question that modafinil can cause anxiety. Until I learned how to manage it, modafinil made me anxious and once precipitated a full-blown panic attack.
Before diving in, let's take a look at modafinil's side effect profile:
In the study referenced in this graphic, 7% of participants on modafinil reported anxiety vs 5% with placebo.
I suspect that the frequency of anxiety with modafinil is much higher than 7%. This suspicion is based on my own experience and anecdotal reports from friends and internet strangers. Other studies[^13] also suggest a higher incidence of anxiety with modafinil.
Why Modafinil Causes Anxiety
The reason that modafinil causes anxiety in some people is straightforward.
Modafinil tends to increase:
wakefulness
arousal
executive function
vigilance
But too much of a good thing leads to a state of overstimulation and heightened anxiety.
Modafinil's Mechanism and Anxiety
Modafinil stimulates specific circuits in the HPA axis to increase adaptive stress[^14]. If you've ever taken an anti-histamine like Benedryl, you know how drowsy antihistamines can make you. Modafinil has the opposite effect - it boosts histamine rather than blocking it - increasing wakefulness.
Baseline Level of Arousal
If you tend to be low-energy, then modafinil is less likely to make you anxious. But if you're relatively energetic to begin with, modafinil can push you into overstimulated territory.
Anxiety is like a sliding scale; it's not continuous rather than discrete. Some people are already prone to anxiety to begin with. Adding modafinil to the mix just unmasks this latent tendency toward anxiety.
How Genetics and Metabolism Affect Response to Modafinil
Genetics play a big role in response to drugs. Pharmacogenomics is the budding field of medicine that deals with how genes affect a person's response to medications.
It's easy to imagine a future where doctors cheaply synthesize a patient's genome to help choose the best drug. This trend of tailored pharmacology is coming to fruition with products like 23andMe. But the field is still in its infancy and such a small fraction of the human genome is understood that the approach has limited value in its current form.
If you have single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in cytochrome P450 enzymes that metabolize a drug, your ability to clear the drug will be reduced. This can lead to higher than normal blood levels. Sex[^15], ethnicity[^16], and age also affect drug pharmacokinetics.
Slowed clearance of modafinil could result in a buildup of the drug in your system, exacerbating anxiety.
Modafinil is metabolized via the following mechanisms:
amide hydrolysis (major mechanism)
CYP1A2
CYP2B6
CYP2C9
CYP2C1
CYP3A4
CYP3A5
A SNP in any of these enzymes could impair the rate at which modafinil is cleared from your body.
Philmore Robertson and colleagues characterize the metabolism of modafinil as follows[^10]:
Modafinil is primarily eliminated via metabolism, mainly in the liver, with subsequent excretion in the urine. Less than 10% of the dose is excreted as unchanged drug. Metabolism is largely via amide hydrolysis, with lesser contributions from cytochrome P450 (CYP)-mediated oxidative pathways. In patients who are renally or hepatically compromised, the elimination processes can be slowed, and in a similar manner (although to a lesser extent), elimination in the elderly may be reduced due to normal effects of aging.
The takeaway is that age, impairment in the kidneys or liver and mutations in CYP enzymes can all impede modafinil clearance. When modafinil excretion is slowed, it builds up in your system and can precipitate anxiety.
Drug-Drug Interactions
Drug-drug interactions can interfere with modafinil metabolism.
Any drug or substance that inhibits one of the six CYP enzymes mentioned above could make you feel more anxious on modafinil.
Modafinil and Caffeine
You look online, you'll find anecdotal reports of modafinil and coffee precipitating panic attacks. Mixing stimulants can have this effect.
Coping With Modafnil-Induced Anxiety
Anxiety on modafinil can be unbearable. Sometimes getting more exercise, sleep, and mediating just won't cut it. I've personally experienced modafinil-induced panic attacks and I've found the following tips helpful.
1. Reduce Your Dose
This is a tried-and-tested method to dealing with modafinil-induced anxiety. If you take 200 mg modalert or modvigil you can reduce your dose to 100 mg and re-evaluate. Some people take as little as 50 mg and benefit.
2. Investigate other causes of anxiety
There are many conditions that can cause or exacerbate anxiety (in addition to modafinil).
If you address other anxiogenic (anxiety-promoting) factors in your life it can make a big difference. Here are some disease and factors that can contribute to anxiety:
Another option worth exploring is adding a supplement to offset modafinil-induced anxiety.
This is not an ideal solution because you've fallen into the trap of taking additional things to treat the side effects of drugs.
But there are benign substances you can stack with modafinil that alleviate anxiety. Since the evidence for benefit of many supplements is often tentative at best, I try to stick with supplements with low downside risk.
These are a few of my favorites:
Lavender
Kasper S et al. conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. The authors compared the efficacy of lavender oil to the SSRI paroxetine for the treatment of anxiety. The lavender oil group that received the highest dose showed improvement on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale by over 50%.
Even the scent of lavender seems to be beneficial. Maryam Kianpour and colleagues investigated the effect of lavender scent inhalation on the prevention of stress and anxiety in women. They reported that lavender scent reduced self-reported stress, anxiety, and depression at two weeks, 1 month, and three months compared to placebo.
Magnesium's endogenous function is to block the pore of NMDA-type glutamate receptors, which reduces hyper-excitability in the brain.
Valerian
Valerian root has been used to treat anxiety in Europe for decades and has grown in popularity in the United States. According to one study, over 1% of the adult population in the United States used valerian in the last week [^8].
How does valerian reduce anxiety?
Valerian extract increases GABA in the synapse. GABA is a neurotransmitter that inhibits neural activity. Santos MS and colleagues[^9] showed that valerian extract induces GABA release from synaptosomes and then blocks GABA's uptake back into nerve cells. Valerian may also inhibit enzymes that degrade GABA.
Reducing Stress
There's no doubt that modafinil can increase your stress levels by modulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.
You can offset modafinil-related stress by creating an environment for yourself that facilitates relaxed concentration.
Here are a few of my favorite tips for reducing stress.
Take baths or hit the sauna. One Finnish study found that sauna bathing is inversely related to dementia risk.[^11] Warm water may help help relieve modafinil-induced tension headaches.
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Michael Panes
Michael Panes (born April 2, 1963) is an American actor, writer, musician and composer. He attended Brown University and graduated with a music degree. He has appeared in numerous off-Broadway plays and has been noted as a gifted comedian with an uncanny resemblance to Peter Sellers. He recently appeared in Lisa Loeb's reality television series Number 1 Single. The two were old friends and during the course of the show began to date. At the end of the series the status of their relationship was in question as Panes had to move to Los Angeles for an acting role. He asked Loeb to accompany him, but she declined his offer, feeling she needed to stay in New York City and concentrate on her music. Loeb has since married.
Panes's film roles include classical musician Levi Panes in The Anniversary Party and Gore Vidal in Infamous.
Filmography
The Anniversary Party (2001)
Girlrillaz (2013)
References
External links
Category:1963 births
Category:Male actors from New York (state)
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:American male stage actors
Category:American television writers
Category:Male television writers
Category:Brown University alumni
Category:Living people
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:20th-century American male actors
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Review: “Death with Interruptions”.
…Saramago skewers the flailing reactions of each of these institutions mercilessly and slyly, as an underground “maphia” emerges to see to the transport of the elderly and infirm across the border, at which point they promptly expire, and before long the maphia and government find themselves working together. The church veers back and forth between explanations for the lack of death. The philosophers spin their wheels in the mud. When Saramago has this country’s citizens wondering how, at a time with death has completely ceased, “what the hell is going on with the government, who have so far given not the slightest sign of life”—it seems like an instantly universal truism about government’s common problems, regardless of the problem at hand…
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Q:
Server becomes unresponsive
Our database-server sometimes become unresponsive.
It runs a fully updated Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.
Notable non-vanilla software running on it are Nimbus, TSM and Oracle.
About once a day, it becomes unresponsive, so far at night-time, when a series of maintenance-tasks are done such as backups.
After it becomes unresponsive, it seems to stay this way forever. I'm not able to SSH into it, and it doesen't accept any database connections.
Weird thing is, the server responds to ping.
If I use telnet to open port 22(SSH) or port 1521(Oracle), I do get a reply from the server. Port 22 even states something like "This is OpenSSH".
But actually using the ssh client or opening a database-connection just hangs.
I've been looking in the log-files, and found absolutely nothing(dmesg, syslog, auth.log etc). It also seem to be suspiciously little activity in the the logfiles during the unresponsive period. After restarting the server, it works again.
My immediate reaction was to run apt-get update and apt-get dist-upgrade, and monitor the max file-descriptor limit being reached. However, the hard limit for Oracle is far from the filesystem max, so it seems weird if thats the case.
Anyone else have any ideas what could cause this?
EDIT: Forgot to mention that CPU, memory and disk space was far from reaching 100%. (They were already monitored, and after this happened, I started monitoring open file descriptors as well, but it has yet to happen again).
I can also add that I don't expect anyone to call out the exact problem, but any ideas for additional things to monitor would be appreciated.
A:
All variables looked quite normal.
However, I wrote a cronjob to output the date/time and filedescriptors every minute, and found the filedescriptors to be within normal values.
However, at 3am, the servers clock suddenly went 2 hours back in time(took me a while to notice that from the logfile), and then it died without any errors in logs.
It turned out to be a problem on the hosting/WMWare-level(which is not my concern). Among other things, the WMWare host had a time that was completely off. After the infrastructure company fixed their WMWare platform, it worked fine again.
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Traditionally, a so called diffusion way is adopted when a microblog message is required to be directionally published to a large number of predetermined target users. The microblog message to be published is written into the inbox of each predetermined target user, and the predetermined target user then reads the microblog message. After that, the predetermined target user may have to delete the microblog message. The disadvantages of the so called diffusion way involves: (1) the operations of the diffusion way are very complex; (2) a microblog message may be sent to some users, while those users do not wish to receive this microblog message.
Therefore, there is needed a new method for acquiring directionally published microblog messages.
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Q:
How to insert text above the close tag of my xml file using sed (Jenkinsfile)?
I have changelog_master.xml as follows:
<databaseChangeLog xmlns="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog
http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog/dbchangelog-3.4.xsd">
<include file="changelog/version/changelog_1.0.xml"/>
</databaseChangeLog>
I would like to insert text above the close tag of my file like this
<databaseChangeLog xmlns="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog
http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog/dbchangelog-3.4.xsd">
<include file="changelog/version/changelog_1.0.xml"/>
<include file="changelog/version/changelog_1.1.xml"/>
</databaseChangeLog>
I have tried by using sed like this because I need to write it in Jenkinsfile for automation
sh "sed -i '/<\/databaseChangelog>/i <include file=\"changelog/version/changelog_${version}.xml\"/>' changelog/changelog_master.xml"
But it's not working. I have also tried many related questions.
What should I do now?
Thanks!
A:
Add a subnode and insert an attribute withxmlstarlet in an XML file with namespaces:
xmlstarlet edit \
--omit-decl -N x="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog" \
--subnode "//x:databaseChangeLog" -t elem -n "include" \
--insert "//x:databaseChangeLog/include" -t attr -n "file" --value "changelog/version/changelog_1.1.xml" file.xml
Output to stdout:
<databaseChangeLog xmlns="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog/dbchangelog-3.4.xsd">
<include file="changelog/version/changelog_1.0.xml"/>
<include file="changelog/version/changelog_1.1.xml"/>
</databaseChangeLog>
If you want to edit file inplace, add option -L.
See: xmlstarlet edit --help
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SoftArtisans FileUp viewsrc.asp remote script source disclosure exploit
Advisory Name: SoftArtisans FileUp(TM) viewsrc.asp remote script source disclosure exploit
Tested and Confirmed Vulerable: SoftArtisans SAFileUp(TM) 5.0.14 (Standard)
Severity: High Type: Script
source disclosure From where: Remote
Discovered by: Inge Henriksen (http://ingehenriksen.blogspot.com/)
Vendor Status: Notified Overview:
SoftArtisans FileUp(TM) is a popular web server component for transactional uploading of files to a
web server using a web browser.
When installing SoftArtisans FileUp(TM) you should avoid installing the samples as viewsrc.asp can
let remote anonymous users see script source code or configuration settings outside the
/SAFileUpSamples virtual directory. This is accomplished by modifying the "path" query variable to
point to files outside the designated directory. A web browser from a remote location is a
sufficient tool to see the source code or configuration settings in plain text.
Proof-of Concept:
The following url would show the configuration settings for www.example.xom:
http://www.example.xom/SAFileUpSamples/util/viewsrc.asp?path=/SAFileUpSamples/%c0%ae./%c0%ae./web.config
The %c0%ae is Unicode for the "." character on a english language server, the url is therefore
interpreted by the server as
http://www.example.xom/SAFileUpSamples/util/viewsrc.asp?path=/SAFileUpSamples/../../web.config, in
addition the unicode character avoids the security checks inside the code of viewsrc.asp which won't
let any ".." pass through. Keep in mind that other unicode's will also work. Also note that OS'es
with other language settings will be vulnerable to different unicodes, thus %c0%ae might not work on
a chinese server but some other unicode's should work just as well.
# milw0rm.com [2006-12-30]
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Friday, 29 March 2013
Being An Only Child
Being the whole churl in the family can be considered as advantageous for more or less people and disadvantageous for others. Although it has nearly advantages like more undivided attention from rises, no cognate rivalry and more material benefits, it also has its disadvantages like a l integrityly nestlinghood, becoming a selfish person when wax up, the pargonnts burden that a child has to carry after some years and the bad manners of a child. The advantages of be the only child in the family can be divided into both sub-categories much(prenominal) as bourgeois and psychological advantages. The former one concerns the benefits thta the child grasps more as in the case of parents who defile more presents to their only child whereas the latter one concerns the parents undivided attention and the non-existence of sibling rivalry. Because of the fact the child knows he or she is the only one, he feels that he doesnt have to be perfect and try to be love more since the parents dont have anyone to make comparisons with. The disadvantages of being the only child in the family can also be divided into the same sub-categories as materialistic and psychological disadvantages. The materialistic ones are that the child may grow up spoil since he or she will get lots of presents from the correct family and attract more attention.
Consequently, this will give rise to the childs bad manners and the worst example of their behaviour. Accordingly, such a person will probably see his or her parents as a burden when they get old. Similarly, the psychological ones are having a lonely childhood and not being fitting to share things with others. Since there will be an absence of a playmate, the child may grow up as a selfish person unless he or she learns the idea from school. Moreover, privacy may cause the child to become depressed or emotionally disturbed. In conclusion, being the only child in the family can be seen as positive or negative depending on peoples point of view. Nevertheless, parents...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com
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New Paulstretch OS X build
As software projects go, PaulStretch is rather a shadowy enigma. Since I did the initial Mac OS X port, I’ve had very, very sporadic communications with the author Nasca Octavian Paul about it.
Then there’s the issue of versioning. Paul started a github repository, but it hasn’t been updated since March. It’s currently at version 2.2.2, but the only difference between 2.2-2 and 2.2-1 is that the version number it reports has changed.
At any rate, today I did a new build which is 1) OS X 10.6 (forward compatible with Lion, but perhaps not backwards compatible to Leopard or Tiger) 2) Up to date build, incorporating all of Paul’s changes. I also spent some time playing with it to make sure it works properly.
It also has the latest refinements of the build scripts used to build PaulStretch from source. I use CMake, which is Kitware’s cross-platform build tool. CMake keeps getting smarter, and my CMake recipe for PaulStretch will download all the prerequisite libraries, build them, and then download the PaulStretch source, build it, and generate an Apple App Bundle.
And CMake really is cross-platform — the same build recipe will work unmodified on Linux (which I have tested) and possibly on Windows (which I haven’t tried).
88 Responses to New Paulstretch OS X build
Paulstretch is cool, but honestly, it kinda makes everything sound the same. I can tell when people use it in tracks after 5 seconds. So Get Lucky probably sounded like Justin Bieber sounded like Bjork after being stretched.
Very good true observation, Tony Zilincik. I’ve gotten really interesting results using all kinds of stuff, and feel that the least satisfying results (when trying to create sounds for my own use) come from stuff that is beat-heavy &/or heavily compressed. The (generally) more sparse, dynamic source files seem to result in stretched output files with loads more timbral contours & magical tones. A lot of those random, miraculous little tones that might pop up for a second can so often inspire a whole piece or song.
Thanks for this! Was bugging me that it didn’t have an icon so i made one quickly, if anyone else wants it you can grab it here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/cmdalfdubx7udqq/paulstretch.icns to change the icon just right click on paulstretch.app > get info, then drag the paulstretch.icns file on top of the little missing icon symbol next to where it says paulstretch.app
Hi guys. Has anyone encountered problems getting this version of Paulstretch to work with different audio devices. It for some reason will not pick up my Presonus audio interface, and will only play through the mac speakers. I’m using 10.6. Is there a hidden preference option somewhere where one can select the audio output for PaulStretch?
I’m getting the static (stuttering popping sound) when I preview, but it doesn’t end up in my final tracks. It’s happening with all my output devices. I’d seriously pay money to help this issue go away. Any plans to tackle this?
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When does an outfit transform from just clothes to a legendary costume with plenty of stories to tell? Leeloo's instantly recognizable orange space suspenders tell of her birth into the world and her...
ability to quickly adjust and respond to any situation. Going forward any dress with flames will be immediately attributed to Katniss Everdeen, the Girl on Fire. What other stories spring to the forefront of your mind when seeing these 100 iconic costumes?
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Tag Archives for dating web
Starting from the understanding of some people who are wrong in understanding what Hipster and Hippies are, then this article is inspired to review it. Maybe there is nothing special about this topic, but the saddest thing is that understanding is said by people who unwittingly imitate Hipster and Hippies. Meanwhile, you may also want to check out the hippie dating website, if you’re interested to find a hippie partner on the internet quickly and easily.
Actually, the solution is very simple, just browse briefly on a smartphone and read carefully. However, the lazy feeling to find out more is the problem. Okay, right now we want to give a little enlightenment to friends who are all about this matter, especially Hipster and Hippies are now again adopted as a reference for young people in appearance.
History
Hippies began to form in the 60s when young people in America gathered in the name of peace and socio-political change. They were here to oppose the war between America and Vietnam which was felt to be incompatible with the concept of peace. Their motto “Make Love Not War”.
They grow and grow quickly, Hippies are also commonly called Flowers Generation. Many bands were born from this concept.
Appearance
Clothes with tie-dye colors, tufted pants, and accessories for motif and color requirements are their trademarks. Usually, Hippies cannot be separated from psychedelic nuances. Hippies tend to be more colorful in expressing their appearance. If you want to see Hippies clearly then watch the documentary music and art festival of The Woodstock on August 15-18, 1969. This event is the biggest Hippies festival in history.
Thought
Hippies are actually nothing more than youth resistance with a way of peace. Hippies are very anti-violent and always campaign for peace. They are usually contemplative, vegetarian and also eco-friendly.
That’s it for the info regarding the hippies that we may share with you this time. We hope you will be able to know the characteristics of these unique people, so you won’t mistake them as hipsters.
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After the events of Sapphire Blue Gwen is heartbroken and confused about who she is and what the real powers of the Raven are. Not knowing who they can trust anymore, Gwen and Leslie try to figure out what nefarious plots the Count has up his sleeve with the help of a sassy gargoyle. Using her personal chronograph Gwen attempts to discover the tightly knit secrets the Lodge has been keeping. Will Gwen be able to turn to Gideon in her time of need or is her mistrust in him justified enough to separate them forever?
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Contribution of yeast and base wine supplementation to sparkling wine composition.
The differential characteristic of sparkling wine is the formation of foam, which is dependent, among other factors, on yeast autolysis, aging and oenological practices. In this study, we analyzed the effects of yeast strain, nutrient supplementation to the base wine and aging process on the sparkling wine composition and its foamability. We determined that the addition of inorganic nitrogen promoted nitrogen liberation to the extracellular medium, while the addition of inactive dry yeast to the base wine caused an increase in the polysaccharide concentration and foaming properties of the sparkling wine. The use of synthetic and natural base wines allowed us to discriminate that the differences in high-molecular-weight polysaccharides and oligosaccharides could be attributed to the yeast cells and that the higher nitrogen content in the natural wine could be due to external proteolysis. The practices of nitrogen addition and supplementation of inactive dry yeast could modulate the main characteristics of the sparkling wine and be a critical element for the design of this kind of wine. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Key Features:
Overview
The Realtree General Duty Gear Backpack in Realtree Xtra keeps your hunting gear clean, organized, dry and easily accesible. This traveling backpack features a large main compartment with plenty of room for your everyday essentials, organizational pockets to house smaller items and a laptop/tablet sleeve to protect your devices.
This heavy-duty backpack is super durable made with 600 denier polyester material to withstand wear and tear for long-lasting performance. The bottom is reinforced with a 1680 denier polyester. The reinforced handle and adjustable padded shoulder straps make transporting this bag around easy.
The rucksack backpack style has a large open main compartment to fit all your gear and stays upright for easy loading and unloading, so no gear gets left behind. Three small accessory pockets can hold cell phones, headphones, pens, keys, and other small parts to keep them easily accessible. The padded laptop sleeve in the main pocket ensures your device stays protected. The interior polyester material of the Realtree Xtra option is a light tan and gray color making it easy to see your stuff in the bag, so you can grab what you need and go.
This backpack is not only perfect for your outdoor excursion. It's also ideal for work, school or vacation.
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Game Theory, Body Scanners and Security Theater
I’m back… and regularly again. After a brief hiatus from blogging to build two of my portfolio companies, I am back to to being the scourge of the ultra right wing posse and the loony left.
Game theory is a personal interest of mine and is widely quoted and misunderstood so it’s hard to master. In a nutshell, it says people or parties act in their own self interest in the conduct of their activities, affairs and negotiations. That’s easy enough to understand but there is a second and perhaps more important aspect in the theory – people or parties will make rational informed decisions as they pursue their self interest.
Here lies the craziness behind all the security theater the country is undertaking. Al Qaeda’s rationale is something we do not fully comprehend or understand, even to this date.
Take for example the use of full body scanners. Scanners are now the “hot technology” du jour and is the nexus of debate between privacy advocates and security hawks. Privacy advocates say it’s a virtual body strip search. People concerned with health want limits on it’s image depth and penetration to body surface fearing radiation-type risks and destruction of your DNA. Security hawks want to put one in every gate in every airport worldwide.
Consider the following stories.
Time Magazine did a story on drug mules getting paid a lousy $3000 a trip to swallow 120 packets of cocaine wrapped in condoms. Each cocaine condom packet was 1 and 1/4 inch long. Considering the intestines are 27 feet long, that makes for a lot of cocaine and a quick $3000.
You can put a lot of cocaine or PETN in a drug mule or terrorist
Did the drug mule act in his best interest? He clearly thought so. Was it rational? Clearly not. Customs caught one of these mules because one of the condoms burst and the guy had a massive cocaine overdose. How many of these guys got through customs? I’ll bet you more than one and perhaps several dozen hapless mules got in and got paid their lousy $3000.
Saudi Arabian deputy minister of interior, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, survived a bombing attack launched by an al Qaeda cell based in Yemen. The assassin used the same PETN explosive to attempt the assassination but he hid the explosive in his rectum with a remote trigger mechanism. There are conflicting reports later of PETN being in his underwear, but the payload location is irrelevant. It’s better to assume, PETN was up his rear end.
An article published in Sada al-Malahim, Al Qaeda’s online magazine titled “War is a Trick,” the group’s leader, Abu Basir al-Wuhayshi, advised would-be al-Qaida members to use small amounts of explosives to kill “apostates” and Western nationals, including on passenger aircraft and in airports.
What’s the game theory perspective?
Western nations do not understand the mind of the terrorist. These terrorists believe in becoming martyrs and going to heaven for blowing themselves up. If they get to the airport or any target for that matter, it’s game over. If some crackpot drug mule will swallow cocaine for $3000, what is stop some guy who wants a fast pass to heaven from shoving PETN up his rectum?
Guess what? Full body pat downs that even includes your crotch area and whole body scan systems WILL NOT catch something inside your body. All the security theater we will spend money on and all the privacy debates will not catch PETN mules. We are applying game theory rules as if we’re playing with ourselves. We are playing with terrorists who have different self interests and concepts of reason.
Does it really make a difference whether they blow themselves up in the crowded TSA lines or the airplane?
The point is there should be far more focus on identifying these bastards before they even get to cab headed to the airport. Sure there is the lone wolf phenomenon but it has proven to be far more rare than one would expect. None of the known thwarted terrorist attempts involved lone wolves. Intelligence simply has to get better before the airport check-in counter.
And in the airport, we just have to do what the Israelis do in Ben-Gurion airport. It will piss off privacy advocates and civil rights activists but if society wants safe air travel, there is a price to pay and an emasculated body scanner system is not enough.
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The invention relates to a motion measuring device, particularly for measuring rotation of a body around an axis, said device comprising means such as a coded wheel drivably connected to said body for rotation and having a plurality of holes spaced regularly around said axis and comprising at least one sensor placed on the path of said holes. With such a device, and said coded wheel being mechanically connected to a wheel of a moving object, the distance travelled by said moving object may be determined, as well as the speed and acceleration of said object by measurement of time of displacement.
Known devices of this type typically include a wheel formed by a disk or a cylinder made from a high magnetic permeability material, said measuring wheel having teeth passing in front of the sensor. This solution has the disadvantage of generating a binary electrical signal whose levels are often insufficiently dissociated for allowing measurement under good conditions.
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Helena man arrested following armed road rage confrontation
A 43-year-old Helena man was arrested late Friday afternoon after a report of a road rage incident.
Officers responded to the area of Custer and Sanders Street at 4:46 p.m. after a caller reported another driver pointing a handgun at him.
Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Deputies located the vehicles involved on North Montana Avenue, just outside the city limits. HPD officers responded to investigate, and arrested the man, charging him with first offense driving under the influence, felony assault with a weapon, and open container in a motor vehicle.
A handgun was recovered in the incident, and the man was booked at the detention center.
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Suitability of a transport box for blood sample shipment over a long period.
Safety transport boxes are increasingly used to ship laboratory specimens but there is little information on their capacity to maintain suitable transportation temperatures. Inner temperature was assessed using a commercially available transport box during an 8-h transportation period in the heat. Temperature stability was unsatisfactory during approximately 64% of the transportation time (i.e., from 125 to 450 min). Transport boxes might be unsuitable for shipping specimens over long periods.
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[Effect of bificol on the intestinal microflora of chronic colitis patients working in antiboitic prodiction].
Data on the use of bificol, a new Soviet preparation, and its effect on the intestine microflora of patients with chronic colitis occupied in production of penicillin are presented. It was shown that by the 28th day of the preparation use the level of the intestine bacteria in the patients' intestine reliably increased. The number of immobile strains decreased from 67.6 to 36.6 per cent. Bifidoflora normalized by the 14th day of the treatment. Some clinical inprovement, i.e. stool normalization, lessening of the stomach pain, increased appetite were observed by the 4th--5th day of the treatment with bificol. On the basis of the microbiological and clinical data it was shown that treatment of the patients with chronic colitis in antibiotic production should continue for at least 28 days and in individual cases for longer periods of time. It is recommended to use the preparation in 10 doses a day divided into 2 parts.
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Kokusai Street is the most famous street in Okinawa. It serves as a tourist attraction, a great place to experience Okinawan cuisine and last stop to buy your souvenirs for your loved ones back home. We personally go to Kokusai Street to buy local produce and try different kinds of food. This time we found something really unique in our opinion. Different flavors of salt for your ice cream! Amazing! Yukisio (meaning snow salt) is a salt, considered to be a healthy food from Miyako Island in Okinawa. According to their website, It was also certified as “The salt that contains the most variety of minerals in the world.” on August 2000 by the Guinness World Records. Yukisio Salt Ice Cream is located inside Heiwadori market but it can also be found in the main street of Kokusai. At the left corner of their store particularly the one we visited, you can find a small soft serve vanilla ice cream shop. You can choose what kind of salt toppings you would like on the tables outside. Of course, we had to taste every single one!
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LONDON/MANCHESTER (REUTERS, AFP) – British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday (May 25) she would tell United States President Donald Trump that intelligence shared between their two countries had to remain secure after leaks to US media about the Manchester attack.
British police stopped sharing information about the suicide bombing with the US, a British counter-terrorism source told Reuters earlier, after police chiefs said the leaks to media risked hindering their investigation.
May said she would talk to Trump at a Nato summit later on Thursday about the leaks, which included the publication of photographs of the bomb site by the New York Times.
“On the issue of the intelligence sharing with the United States of America, we have a special relationship with the USA. It is our deepest defence and security partnership,” May told reporters as she arrived at the summit. “Of course that partnership is built on trust and part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently, and I will be making clear to President Trump today that intelligence that is shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure.”
In a statement in Brussels, Trump slammed the alleged US intelligence leaks, calling the leaks a "grave threat to our national security". He vowed to bring anyone caught leaking US intelligence to justice. “The alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling,” Trump said in the statement. “I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
British police were on Thursday hunting for a network linked to the suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, after he detonated a sophisticated device at a concert venue packed with children on Monday night, killing 22 people.
A source with knowledge of the investigation told Reuters that the attacker, British-born Salman Abedi, may have made the bomb himself or with some assistance from an accomplice. “The focus is still the search for accomplices and the network but he could have made this bomb himself,” the source told Reuters.
The source added that while the 22-year-old bomber may have had some assistance, it was also possible that he made the bomb himself. Some investigators had feared that an experienced bomb-maker was still at large.
British police, who are holding eight people in custody, said Thursday they had made significant arrests and had uncovered important items in their investigation. “I want to reassure people that the arrests that we have made are significant, and initial searches of premises have revealed items that we believe are very important to the investigation,” police chief Ian Hopkins told reporters. “These searches will take several days to complete.”
Britain's decision to stop sharing police information with US agencies was an extraordinary step as Britain sees the United States as its closest ally on security and intelligence.
“This is until such time as we have assurances that no further unauthorised disclosures will occur,” said the counter-terrorism source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Many European cities, including Paris, Berlin and Brussels, have suffered attacks in the last two years, underlining the importance of confidential intelligence cooperation.
Trump was widely criticised this month after it emerged he had discussed sensitive Syria-related intelligence, originating from an ally, with Russian officials at a White House meeting. May said at the time Britain would continue to share intelligence with Washington.
The official threat level in Britain was raised after the Manchester attack to “critical”, its highest level, meaning a further attack could be imminent. Troops have been deployed to free up police officers for patrols and investigations.
FALSE ALARMS
England’s National Health Service said a total of 116 had been injured in the attack, with 75 admitted to hospital. Twenty-three remained under close care.
Soldiers and bomb disposal experts rushed to a street in the south of the city after a call to police, but it turned out to be a false alarm.
In London, commuters were briefly evacuated from the Victoria Station on Thursday after a fire alarm went off in another security scare.
Queen Elizabeth visited the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, where some of the casualties have been treated.
A minute’s silence was observed in honour of the victims at a square in central Manchester and in other places in Britain.
The bombing, which took place at the Manchester Arena indoor venue just after the end of a concert by US pop singer Ariana Grande, was the deadliest in Britain since July 2005, when 52 people were killed in attacks on London’s transport network.
The Manchester attack has caused revulsion across the world because it targeted children and teenagers, who make up the bulk of Grande’s fan base.
The victims range from an eight-year-old schoolgirl to parents who had come to pick up their children.
FAMILY IN FOCUS
A total of 11 people have been arrested in Britain and Libya over the bombing since Tuesday, including Abedi’s father and brother in Libya.
A Libyan security source told the AFP news agency Thursday that Abedi's father was once part of a Libyan militant group with alleged ties to the Al-Qaeda militant group. Ahmed bin Salem, spokesman for Libya's Deterrence Force which acts as the police for Libya's unity government, said Abedi's father "was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group".
Libyan authorities have said Abedi’s brother had been aware of the attack plan. The country said Thursday it was working 'closely' with Britain on the attack probe.
Separately, a source close to Abedi's family in Libya said the attacker had expressed a desire to avenge the killing of a friend in the British city last year. His friend, also of Libyan descent, died after being stabbed by British youths in Manchester in May 2016, the source said on condition of anonymity.
Abedi had also reportedly called his mother just before the vile attack, according to BBC Newsnight. The programme cited a Libyan security source as saying he had called his brother in Libya to ask him to tell their mother Samia Tabbal to return his call. Tabbal is said to be a nuclear science engineer who graduated top of her class from Tripoli University.
"I am sure Salman's mother and father are very shocked by what he did," a close friend of the family told The Daily Mail.
Eight men remain in custody in Britain, most arrested in and around Manchester, including three men near the house where Abedi lived.
British media indicated a 23-year-old man arrested Tuesday is likely to be Abedi’s older brother Ismael.
A woman arrested Wednesday was released a few hours later without charge.
Manchester’s police chief said on Wednesday they believed Abedi was part of a terror network.
Police chiefs have made clear they are furious about the publication of confidential material in US media, including bomb site photographs in the New York Times, saying such leaks undermined relationships with trusted security allies.
“This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter-terrorism investigation,” a National Counter Terrorism Policing spokesman said in a statement.
Britain routinely shares intelligence with the United States bilaterally, and also as part of the “Five Eyes” network which also includes Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
CRIME SCENE PICTURES
The pictures published by the New York Times included remains of the bomb and of the rucksack carried by the suicide bomber, and showed blood stains amid the wreckage.
“I think it’s pretty disgusting,” said Scott Lightfoot, a Manchester resident, speaking outside a train station in the city. He criticised media for publishing such material. “Who’s leaking it? Where’s it coming from? This is British intelligence at the end of the day, people shouldn’t be finding out about this.”
The Financial Times reported that such images are available across a restricted-access encrypted special international database used by government ordnance and explosives experts in about 20 countries allied with Britain. It said the database was built around a longstanding US-British system.
The BBC said Manchester police hoped to resume normal intelligence relationships soon but were furious about the leaks.
US channel ABC News reported that police had found a kind of bomb-making workshop in Abedi’s home and he had apparently stockpiled enough chemicals to make additional bombs.
British news website The Independent also reported bomb-making materials which could be primed for imminent attacks had been found in the raids following the Manchester bombing. The report said one suspect device was blown up in a controlled explosion.
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Drexel University President John A. Fry put out a statement expressing support for students and faculty affected by the now-defunct travel ban.
But what exactly does support mean? And how does it translate into action?
In response to the implementation of the original order — and with a new order expected soon — administrators have been assessing the lengths to which they can go in the interest of protecting students and faculty.
“We actually hired an external legal firm … we’ve been meeting regularly, weekly, and talking about the developments, and then they gave us some advice about what might happen in the worst-case scenario. And some of that is about how immigration might affect campus, and some of what we would be legally obligated to do,” Blake explained.
He continued to describe that the university has been looking at the spectrum of cooperations and what their legal obligations are in these worst case scenarios.
“We are looking at that spectrum to understand it, and at the end of the day we want to go to the legal limits of the law to protect our students, and that’s the cleanest way to put it,” Blake stated.
As for specifics about Drexel’s response, Blake said that action plans are still being developed.
“In the meetings what we’ve been working on is trying to put together a rubric of worst-case scenarios … what’s going to be our statement and our position when and if this occurs,” Blake said.
One of the important distinctions made is in regard to a university distinguishing itself as a safe haven or a sanctuary campus. Many universities decided to designate themselves in these terms, pledging not to alert federal authorities to students and faculty who violate immigration laws.
Drexel officials have elected not to call the university a sanctuary campus.
“[Declaring Drexel a sanctuary campus] may have some appeal, but the concept has no basis in law and the University has no authority to bar enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws on its campus,” Fry said in an email to students in December 2016.
“And by making it clear that we respect the rule of law, the University is more likely to receive a good hearing in the event that [the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program] comes under review again,” he continued.
DACA is a program providing immigrants who unlawfully entered before the age of 16 temporary exemption from deportation and eligibility for a work permit.
By June 2016, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services had approved approximately 750,000 of the 850,000 applications it received for DACA status.
Blake reiterated this viewpoint on the idea of sanctuary campuses, but he also explained that most institutions do the same things, regardless of sanctuary declaration.
“Saying that you’re a safe haven, it’s really just a way of reaffirming support for the students, but if you look at the details of all the places,” Blake said. “We’re all doing the same things, so whether you said it or not, you’re doing the same thing.”
The Trump administration is expected to produce another executive order soon to replace the judicially challenged ban.
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Today (March 22), the province unveiled an awareness campaign focused on preventing sexual assault.
The "Say Something" initiative targets young adults to change attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate sexual violence. The campaign's goals include dispelling myths about sexual assault, raising awareness (with resources on how to offer or to get help), educating bystanders on their role, and empowering them to take action.
In a Ministry of Public Safety news release, the province said it will supply grants to support programs focused on the prevention of sexual violence and assisting its victims. The move follows the release of a long-term Vision for a Violence Free B.C. Strategy that was launched last year.
In a video posted online, Public Safety Minister Mike Morris said the goal of the "Say Something" campaign is to change people’s attitudes and behaviour so they will speak up in defence of people who have been victims of sexual assault.
“Don’t stand by knowing that somebody has gone through this traumatic experience,” he said. “Say something.”
In a telephone interview with the Straight, Janice Abbott, CEO of Atira Women's Resource Society, said that increasing awareness and prevention is important, but she cautioned women who are marginalized can still get left out.
“We predominantly work with women who are marginalized by their experiences of poverty, repeated experiences of violence, struggles with substance abuse, struggles with mental and spiritual wellness,” Abbott told the Straight. She added that many of the women Atira works with have experienced some form of assault for most of their lives.
Abbott explained that building trust between assault victims and those wanting to help plays an important role in engagement and support.
“Often women don't report or make complaints because they haven’t been believed,” she said. “They've been treated badly or they feel reprieved from their assaulter or their assaulter's friends.”
Abbott noted several myths about sexual assault, including women feeling responsible, that women lie about assault, and that it is predominantly a stranger who commits violence against a woman.
“Most sexual assaults happen between people who know each other—acquaintances, friends, relatives,” she said.
A SexAssault.ca report indicates that 80 percent of assailants are friends or family of the victim. According to the General Social Survey on Victimization, there were 70,000 reported sexual-assault incidents in B.C. in 2014.
Meanwhile, Premier Christy Clark has reiterated that her government is working urgently to pass legislation aimed at preventing sexual assaults on college and university campuses.
That action was largely prompted by the B.C. Green party proposing the Post-Secondary Sexual Violence Policies Act.
According to a March 16 Green party media release, the bill, drafted by Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA Andrew Weaver, would create a legal requirement for colleges and universities to "develop and maintain policies that would provide education for students, support for survivors and would work to prevent the occurrences of sexual assault on campuses".
The Liberal government has pledged to pass Weaver's bill or comparable legislation with amendments, according to the release.
Follow Jocelyn Aspa on Twitter @jocelynaspa
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Chronic disease is the leading cause of mortality in Europe. Over one third of the European population above the age of 15 have a chronic disease and two out of three people reaching retirement age will have at least two chronic conditions, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Furthermore, the number of cases of chronic illnesses are on the rise and with it the social and economic burden of the diseases.
Student or retired? Then this plan is for you.
A chronic disease generally progress slowly and is a long-lasting condition. Modern medicine can sometimes control them, but not cure them. Because they also cause disability, chronic conditions have a major impact on the expectancy of life lived in good health.
Chronic illnesses affects people all over the world and the number of deaths from chronic diseases has increased worldwide and in every region since the year 2000, and it is no longer mainly confined to an aging population.
In Europe, chronic illnesses are by far the leading cause of mortality representing 77 percent of all deaths,
“Chronic diseases undermine the quality of life of millions of Europeans, and present the biggest challenge to the EU [...] target of increasing the healthy life years of its citizens by two years, by 2020,” according to EuroHealthNet - an umbrella body for different organisations working for a healthier Europe. The target was set in the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Aging.
The four main kinds of chronic illnesses are cardiovascular diseases - like heart attacks and strokes; diabetes; chronic respiratory diseases - like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma; and some types of cancers.
Medical improvements in the last century
As the 20th century showed a great success in reducing epidemic infectious diseases, it has led to a new focus on chronic diseases. While premature deaths from acute illness have become fewer, the predominance of diseases that builds up over time has steadily increased.
Chronic diseases are a product of multiple influences on health - there is no longer one reason responsible for the disease.
The most common risk factors causing chronic diseases are tobacco use, poor nutrition, lack of physical activity, harmful alcohol consumption, and genetic predispositions.
Social and environmental factors also play an important role in the development of chronic diseases. Furthermore, there is a clear inequality in the burden of the conditions and in the access to prevention and control.
What chronic diseases have in common is that they need a long-term and many-faceted response, organised by different health professionals and extended into social care.
As the cases of chronic illnesses increases, so grows the medical, social and economic burden. WHO research shows that the overall burden will be even larger in the future if nothing is done about the growth of chronic disease cases now.
Between 70 to 80 percent of health care budgets - an estimated 700 billion euros - per year are currently spent on chronic diseases in the European Union, according to the European Commission.
A remodelling of health care systems
Most health care today, however, is still structured around acute episodes. At the moment, 97 percent of health care costs are spent on treatment and only three percent on prevention, according to European Commission numbers.
So the economic implications of chronic diseases are serious.
According to the WHO, chronic conditions “depress wages, earnings, workforce participation and labour productivity, as well as increasing early retirement, high job turnover and disability. [...] As expenditure on chronic care rises across Europe, it takes up increasingly greater proportions of public and private budgets.“
With all the complexity in the matter of chronic diseases, experts recommend prevention and management across different policy sectors and at different health care levels.
Firstly, prevention is an important step both at the private level and policy level. We ought to take better care of ourselves healthwise. While people ought take better care of their health, governments can also legislate in areas that will have direct and indirect effects on chronic diseases.
One example is the introduction of smoking bans. Different studies have shown various improvements in the area of health, both for adults and for children. Another example is how tackling health inequalities, for example, would indirectly help improve the burden of chronic diseases as lower social groups are the ones most affected by chronic diseases.
Management of chronic disease management is equally important. Chronic illnesses are health conditions that require continuous health care management over a period of years or decades. This includes more focus on self-management by patients, formal education for health providers, the use of multi-disciplinary teams and health workers, and IT systems that facilitate the easy exchange of information.
Health care systems need to be redesigned to have a stronger focus on chronically ill patients, experts say.
Therefore, investing in chronic disease management might include a makeover of our health care systems from one that is essentially reactive to one that is proactive and focused on keeping a person as healthy as possible.
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Suspect in Doctor’s Death Found Dead
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) Johnson County authorities say a man charged in the death of a South Carolina pediatrician died in his jail cell.
Master Deputy Tom Erickson says John Meredith Hodges, 45, was found unresponsive in the cell on Monday. Efforts to resuscitate him failed. Erickson says the death is being investigated as a suicide but released no other details.
Hodges was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Franchesca D. Brown, 39, of Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Brown’s body was found last September near an Overland Park hotel. She was in the city to attend a medical conference.
Police say Hodges and Brown had an off-and-on relationship. The Kansas City Star reports Hodges told detectives that he strangled Brown during an argument inside her hotel room.
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aluminum (Al)
A lightweight, silvery-white, ductile,
malleable, metallic element in group IIIA
of the periodic table. It is the
most abundant element in the Earth's crust (8%), but found only in combination,
chiefly in bauxite but also as cryolite,
feldspar, clay,
and many other minerals. It is smelted by the Hall-Héroult process
(see below). Aluminum (British: "aluminium") is widely used for aircraft
parts, engines, window frames, pans, drinks cans, kegs, cooking foil, etc.,
and to form many hard, light, corrosion-resistant
alloys. Its name comes from alumen,
the Latin name for the mineral alum.
Aluminum is extremely useful for several reasons. First, it is light –
weighing only about a third as much as other common metals for the same
volume. It is also strong, and to give the same rigidity need weigh only
half as much as steel. Its strength can be
greatly increased by alloying with other metals.
Second, although aluminum combines readily with other elements, including
oxygen, it does not rust or corrode in the
air, because a thin film of oxide is formed on the surface, and this protects
the metal below. So aluminum has excellent corrosion resistance.
Third, aluminum conducts heat and electricity extremely well. An aluminum
wire will conduct only 60 percent as much electricity as a copper
wire of the same size, but more than twice as much as a copper wire of the
same weight. Its good heat conducting qualities and its resistance to corrosion
have ed to its widespread use in cooking vessels.
atomic number
13
relative atomic mass
26.98154
electron configuration
1s22s22p63s23p1
atomic radius
143.1 pm
oxidation state
3
melting point
660.3°C (1,220.6°F)
boiling point
2,519°C (4,566°F)
relative density
2.69
Discovery and extraction
Compounds of aluminum have been known for centuries, but the metal was first
made from these by Humphry Davy. The metallic
aluminum he produced was too impure for him to have any real idea of its
properties, and a purer metal was first made by the Danish chemist Hans
Oersted in Copenhagen in 1825 and the German
chemist Friedrich Wöhler in 1827. It
was not until 1845 that Wöhler succeeded in producing a sufficient
quantity to discover that it was a very light metal which was malleable.
In later years ways were discovered of making larger quantities of aluminum
through electrolysis – that is,
by passing an electric current through a fused or liquefied aluminum compound.
But the metal remained very expensive, and it was only in 1886 that the
French chemist Hèroult and the American C. M. Hall discovered at
about the same time the method of making aluminum on a larger scale, now
known as the Hall process, which is
still used. This is by electrolysis of alumina
(aluminum oxide) dissolved in a bath of fused cryolite (sodium aluminum
fluoride).
Duralim
One of the most important alloys of aluminum is Duralim, an alloy containing
about 4 percent copper with smaller quantities of magnesium
(1%), manganese (0.7%), and silicon
(0.5%). It was invented in 1908 by a German engineer, Alfred Wilm. This
alloy has been very important in the development of aviation, beginning
with its use for Zeppelins in World War I, owing to its combination of strength
and lightness. It is not as resistant to corrosion as pure aluminum, but
when high corrosion resistance is needed it can be coated nb both sides
with a layer of pure aluminum.
Compounds of aluminum
Compounds of aluminum are trivalent and mainly cationic, though with strong
bases aluminates are formed (see also alum).
Alumina oxide (Al2O3), or alumina,
is a colorless or white solid occurring in several crystalline forms, and
is found naturally as corundum, emery,
and bauxite. Solubility in acid and alkali increases with hydration. Melting
point 2,045°C, boiling point 2,980°C.
Aluminum
chloride (AlCl3) is a colorless crystalline solid, used
as a catalyst (see Friedel-Crafts
reaction). The hexahydrate is used in deodorants and as an astringent.
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Australia's heated same-sex marriage debate By Phil Mercer
BBC News, Sydney Published duration 23 September 2017
image copyright Getty Images
Twenty years after Tasmania became the last remaining Australian state to decriminalise male homosexuality, the country is having its say on same-sex marriage.
Voting is under way in a non-binding, voluntary postal survey to measure support for reform. It has been, at times, an ugly and bruising process.
On Friday, the Australian media was awash with reports of an alleged headbutt on Tony Abbott , the former Australian prime minister and opponent of same-sex marriage. A 38-year-old DJ called Astro Labe was charged following the incident.
Witnesses said he was wearing a badge supporting same-sex marriage, but he told Australian media that his actions were not connected to the debate and he did it "because I didn't think it was an opportunity I'd get again". Mr Abbott described the incident as "politically motivated violence".
Elsewhere, employees have complained they face punishment or unfair treatment at work if they don't show their backing for a "Yes" vote, while police in Sydney were called to a confrontation between rival groups at the University of Sydney.
"The vitriolic abuse people experience for holding views in opposition to the legalisation of same-sex marriage is phenomenal," said Karina Okotel, a federal vice president of the governing Liberal party, and a prominent figure in the "No" campaign.
"A culture has developed whereby it is acceptable to vilify, mock, abuse and shame anyone who stands in the way, or even raises questions, about whether we should legalise same-sex marriage. I've been called a homophobe, a bigot and been told that my views are disgusting."
image copyright Getty Images image caption "No" supporters argue for what they say are traditional values
The government has pleaded for the debate to be civil and respectful, while the Senate, Australia's upper chamber, has gone a step further. It has passed special legislation that bans intimidation, threats and vilification during the vote, which runs until early November.
Advertisements will also need to be vetted and broadcasters must ensure opposing views are shown or heard on air.
In May, Alan Joyce, chief executive of Qantas, Australia's national airline, who is gay, was ambushed during a speech at a business breakfast in Perth by a man who threw a lemon meringue pie in his face.
His assailant was reportedly a church-goer opposed to gay marriage. Qantas is one of 1,300 companies to have joined the push to change the Marriage Act to include same-sex couples, and Mr Joyce has been worried that the postal vote would incite resentment and hostility on both sides of the argument.
image copyright Getty Images image caption Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce has concerns about the tone of the debate
"One of the reasons why we weren't big supporters of the postal ballot was that we were worried the tone wouldn't be respectful and wouldn't be engaging and I think clearly on both sides, the extremities of both sides, that's the case and that is worrying.
"I think there are a lot of vulnerable people in our society, and unfortunately I think they're going to be impacted by this," he explained.
Like other proponents of the Equality Campaign, Alan Joyce believes there has been such a consistently high level of community support for change over time that a vote in parliament, not a survey of public attitudes, was the most effective way to drive marriage reform.
This is the first time the government statisticians have been put in charge of a national ballot, instead of the Australian Electoral Commission.
"It is partly due to a lack of political courage. In other countries the politicians had the courage to make the decision as elected members on behalf of the people," explained Vince Mitchell, a professor at the University of Sydney Business School.
image caption Prof Vince Mitchell believes the postal ballot will have a cleansing effect on Australia
Australia inherited anti-gay laws from British colonisers, who arrived towards the end of the 18th Century.
Until 1949, the death penalty remained on the statute books for sodomy in the southern state of Victoria, but bold legislative change did eventually come in September 1975, when South Australia declared that male homosexuality would no longer be a crime.
It would take the island of Tasmania another 22 years to do the same. In between, police arrested more than 50 people at the first Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade in Sydney in 1978.
Prof Mitchell believes that, although controversial, the postal ballot could have a cleansing effect on a country that continues to harbour unease and mistrust about same-sex relationships.
"Still within (Australian) society there is some latent phobia about what gay relationships stand for," he told the BBC. "It has become politically incorrect and not acceptable to criticise the LGBT community and that lulls people into a false sense of security and a sense that this issue has now been resolved."
image copyright Getty Images image caption The latest polls indicate that the "Yes" campaign is in the lead
Sixteen million Australians are eligible to participate in the survey. Opinion polls are predicting a win for a "Yes" campaign based on messages of equality, inclusion and human rights. But unlike Australian elections, voting in the postal survey isn't compulsory, so complacency and a low turn-out could be decisive factors.
The anti-reform Coalition for Marriage hopes to convince the undecided that should same-sex couples be allowed to marry there would be serious consequences for children, who would be exposed to "radical" views on homosexuality in schools.
Academics say the fight over gay marriage in Australia is a classic political campaign of "hope versus fear".
"I can assure you that if the postal vote delivers a "yes" vote, and I encourage Australians to vote "yes" and I will be voting "yes", then I have no doubt the legislation will sail through the Parliament," said Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, whose centre-right government is split over marriage equality.
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Defense in Hudson family slayings: Case not proved
View full sizeAPJennifer Hudson has attended every day of the testimony
CHICAGO — The defense for the man accused of killing relatives of Jennifer Hudson told jurors Wednesday that prosecutors failed to prove their case, while a prosecutor countered that they had “overwhelming circumstantial evidence” linking him to the crime.
Prosecutor Jennifer Bagby insisted during her closing argument that Hudson’s former brother-in-law, William Balfour, is the killer and showed jurors photos of the victims’ bloody bodies juxtaposed with pictures of them alive.
“This defendant is the one that made (them) into these images,” Bagby said, glancing back at the photos.
Hudson, who attended every day of testimony in her former brother-in-law’s murder trial, bent forward, her head on her knee, and sobbed as Bagby described what she called “the execution” of Hudson’s mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew in October 2008.
The boy’s mother, Hudson’s sister Julia Hudson, fiddled nervously with a piece of string as Bagby described how her ex-husband allegedly shot her son, Jason King, whom she called Juice Box, through the head.
Balfour “left that innocent child to die in his own pool of blood,” covered by an old shower curtain, Bagby told jurors, who looked on intently, many of them taking notes.
Public defender Amy Thompson started her closing by pacing the room, walking up to Balfour and then toward the prosecution table, angrily pointing at the three state’s attorneys.
“They know as they sit there that they have failed to prove the case,” Thompson said almost at a shout.
“I am offended,” she went on, “that they would ask you to throw your logic away.”
During her closing, Bagby laid the alleged murder weapon, a silver and black .45 handgun, on a podium feet in front of the jury, and it clanged as it hit the wood.
She said gunshot residue from it was found on the steering wheel of Balfour’s green Chrysler. Bullets taken from the bodies were fired from the same gun, Bagby said.
“Make no mistake, there is physical evidence ... linking him to the murders,” she said. And, she added, “You have overwhelming circumstantial evidence.”
She took time to describe what circumstantial evidence is, saying it is everything short of a direct witness.
“Contrary to what you may have heard on television ... circumstantial evidence isn’t lesser evidence,” she said.
Prosecutors presented weeks of testimony, starting with Jennifer Hudson. She told jurors about the last time she saw her three family members alive and spoke endearingly about her nephew.
The defense called just two witnesses — two detectives who had testified earlier — in a bid to suggest investigators botched the triple-homicide investigation.
Balfour pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder. If convicted on all counts, he faces a mandatory life prison term.
Balfour and Julia Hudson were estranged but not yet divorced when the shootings occurred, and prosecution witnesses testified he threatened to kill the Hudson family dozens of times if Julia Hudson refused to reconcile with him.
Prosecutors say Balfour shot Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, in the living room of the Hudson family home Oct. 24, 2008, then shot Hudson’s 29-year-old brother, Jason Hudson, in the head as he lay in bed.
Balfour allegedly then abducted Jason and shot him as he lay behind a front seat of an SUV. His body was found in the abandoned vehicle miles away after a three-day search.
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The present invention pertains to the art of domestic appliances and, more particularly, to a handle assembly mounting arrangement for an appliance.
Conventional handle arrangements for domestic appliances, such as refrigerators, are often formed from multiple pieces, including a handle frame and a handle piece having a gripping portion. Such a handle is typically mounted to a refrigerator cabinet utilizing screws which extend through the handle piece and frame, clamping the handle to a panel of the refrigerator cabinet. Once the handle is in place, a cover is inserted over each screw, with the cover either extending only over the screw or along substantially an entire length of the handle. In general, this handle mounting arrangement is rather difficult to assemble and, often times, results in witness lines that detract from an overall aesthetic appearance of the refrigerator.
There exist numerous other types of refrigerator handle arrangements in the art, such as gas assist handles employed in an attempt to simplify the construction and assembly of the handle. However, regardless of these known arrangements, there still exists a need in the art for an improved mounting arrangement for a refrigerator handle assembly. More specifically, there exists a need for a mounting arrangement that provides a secure attachment, is aesthetically appealing and easily assembled. In addition, there exists a need for a mounting arrangement that can be readily mounted without scratching or otherwise damaging an outer surface of the refrigerator during construction of the appliance.
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Holmeson, New Jersey
Holmeson is an unincorporated community located within Millstone Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As it is located along County Route 537 through which the Monmouth–Ocean county line runs down the center, portions of the community are also located in Jackson Township. Owing to its location near Interstate 195 and Six Flags Great Adventure, the community is mostly made up of gas stations, restaurants, and small businesses though the Jackson Premium Outlets occupies land just south of the community.
The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP code 08510. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population for ZIP Code Tabulation Area 08510 was 5,231.
References
Category:Millstone Township, New Jersey
Category:Jackson Township, New Jersey
Category:Unincorporated communities in Monmouth County, New Jersey
Category:Unincorporated communities in Ocean County, New Jersey
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Data classifiers are popular tools for analyzing data produced or otherwise collected by large computer networks. Data classification enables a computer network to analyze and react to a large and evolving data set. Data classifiers can process large data sets (e.g., sometimes referred to as “big data”) that are so large and/or complex that manual data analysis is impracticable. For example, a social networking system can run several application services that continuously produce and collect data. Classifiers can be used to identify new correlations, statistics, trends, patterns, or any combination thereof in datasets of the social networking system. For example, data classification can rely on static rules or evolving machine learning models. To complete a data classification experiment involving machine learning models, a computer system may need to extract and transform input data, train and update machine learning models, deliberate and execute machine learning models, compile and/summarize the classification results, test or evaluate the classification results, or any combination thereof. These actions often consume a large amount of computational resources (e.g., memory capacity, processor capacity, and/or network bandwidth) and require data scientists' or developers' involvement to repeatedly configure each operational step from one data classification experiment to another.
The figures depict various embodiments of this disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of embodiments described herein.
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These elegant pearl earrings feature two 7.0-7.5mm AA+ quality Japanese Akoya pearls, handpicked for their incredible luster and overtones. The pearls are mounted on the finest 14K gold with dazzling SI clarity diamonds.
These earrings come packaged in a beautiful jewelry gift box, perfect for gifting.
If you have any further questions feel free to speak to one of our pearl experts over the phone by calling 866-87-PEARL (866-877-3275).
Product Information
OriginJapan
ShapeRound
Quality
Pearls - AA+ QualityDiamonds - 0.06 Carats SI ClarityGold - 14K
Size
7.0-7.5mm
NacreVery Thick
ColorWhite
LusterVery High
Product Reviews
Krystallee H
- Virgina , MN
December 12, 2018
December 18, 2018
She loved them! They sure helped make her someone's reason to smile!! Thank you for all your support in making this happen! Ps. Happy new year!!
Clara W
- Dumfries, VA
December 12, 2017
The pearls were beautiful, but a lot smaller than I thought they would be.
All necklaces are strung with the highest quality silk thread. A double knot is tied between each pearl for extra safety, as well as to prevent rubbing and scraping.
Safety Clasp
Squeeze the arms of the hook to release, then turn the hook to the size and slide the hook from the safety latch. All clasps have double safety mechanisms. If the hook accidentally releases, your pearl necklace will remain secured since it will catch on the safety latch.
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BILL PLASCHKE
Phil Mickelson's success sits very well with fans
Mickelson, already one of the most popular figures in golf and now gaining more admiration as his wife and mother battle cancer, fires a crowd-pleasing 67 to move to within one shot of the lead. In the process he provides a stark contrast to an increasingly surly Tiger Woods.
With a giant clink, the ball disappeared into the mass of people crowding the left side of the 18th green.
Everyone but Crystal Hodges scattered. The young medical worker from Myrtle Beach, S.C., was not allowed to move. The ball had landed directly under her green folding chair. She was ordered to sit still until her hero arrived.
"Hey, how are you doing?" said Phil Mickelson, approaching with a smile.
"Um, good," she said. "How are you doing?"
How is he doing? Hodges spends her days working with cancer patients. She came to Augusta National for her first Masters on Saturday to cheer Mickelson because he is helping his wife and mother battle cancer. Out of nowhere, her chair had just stopped his ball from further trouble.
How do you think Phil Mickelson is doing? The chair was moved, Hodges was resettled, Mickelson calmly chipped onto the green and saved par to appropriately finish perhaps the most fortuitous round of his life.
"All that he's going through, and he asks how I'm doing?'' Hodges said later. "How could anybody not cheer for him?"
On a pine-scented Southern Saturday filled with wows and whoas and three consecutive holes of good-gawd-almighty, Mickelson turned that into a rhetorical question.
During five hours that transformed a sophisticated gallery into a chest-bumping, high-fiving college basketball mob, the guy with the baggy shirt and shaggy smile shot a 67 that bought him a crowd, a course, and perhaps even a tournament. He enters today's final round one stroke behind leader Lee Westwood, but the moment is already his.
"This is the way I expect to play but this is . . . I haven't played this way in a long time," Mickelson said later.
Masters crowds haven't seen anything like this in a long time, particularly the three-hole stretch on the back nine during which Mickelson came within a couple of feet of the first three consecutive eagles in this tournament's 74-year history.
I stumbled upon his greatness as I was walking back to the clubhouse after following the increasingly surly Tiger Woods. I was walking below the 14th green when I suddenly heard a roar that rattled the wood chips, a roar that carried cigar-chomping men into the arms of plaid and proper women, everyone hugging and dancing through the pollen and the pines.
It turns out I had left Amen Corner for a Hallelujah, for Mickelson's 141-yard wedge shot that rolled into the hole for that second eagle, and that's when I realized it.
He was not only taking this tournament for himself, but he was taking it from Woods, who reverted to his old entitled ways.
"You suck! Goddamnit!" Woods screamed on the sixth tee, one of three times he would loudly curse into the television microphones.
This is the same Woods who promised to show a newfound respect for the game. This is, of course, also the same Woods who this week mindlessly compared his sex scandal comeback to the comeback of Ben Hogan, even though Hogan was injured heroically in 1949 while throwing himself in front of his wife when their car collided with a bus. As the blogs so brilliantly reminded us, Woods threw his wife under a bus.
"As much as everyone still loves Tiger Woods, I think golf people need another hero, and Phil fits that perfectly,'' said Don Everett, a Denver businessman who celebrated Mickelson's second eagle by shoving his cigar into the air and hugging everyone in an executive mosh pit.
Woods wound up shooting a 70 and is tied for third, four strokes behind Westwood, but he was so upset he immediately retired to the practice range and hit balls until dark. For better and for worse, the old Woods is back.
Mickelson was also upset early in his round, missing several big putts on the front nine, but you know what he did? He didn't yell at himself, he yelled at his ball, and you know what he called it?
"C'mon, honey," he would shout as the ball sailed toward the green. "C'mon, honey!"
America will cheer Mickelson today for his bravery in playing golf while overseeing two cancer treatments, for his behavior in the effort, and for the magic it is apparently creating.
Mickelson will be cheered not by the masses, but from the home, as his wife and three children will be with him at a tournament for the first time in 11 months, since the day his wife Amy was first diagnosed with breast cancer.
"It takes a lot of the heartache away," Mickelson said, and Sunday I'll be cheering for him, because I'll be cheering for that.
For the record, when Crystal Hodges asked Mickelson how he was doing Saturday afternoon as she sat upon his ball, he actually answered her.
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---
abstract: 'Weak heating events ($\sim\ 10^{17}$ – $10^{20}$ J) are frequent and ubiquitous in the solar corona, but the underlying heating mechanism is still not very well understood. A major candidate for heating is weak flaring events which leave nearly undetectable signatures in the Extreme Ultra-Violet (EUV) and X-Ray bands. However, these events often lead to various plasma instabilities which produce coherent radiation at radio wavelengths. Hence they can easily be detected and studied using radio imaging studies. But, often multiple such events happen on the Sun or these events get obscured by coherent emission sites that are stronger by orders of magnitude. With the advent of high dynamic range snapshot spectroscopic imaging, it has become possible to monitor indivudual coherent emission sites by generating SPatially REsolved Dynamic Spectra (SPREDS). We present a multi-waveband imaging study of an active region combining SPREDS at metre wavelengths with spatially resolved EUV and X-Ray flux light curves. A simultaneous rise in the temperature, X-Ray flux, the local mean coherent radio flux density and occurrence rate of second-scale coherent radio “spikes” was observed. The “spiky” radio features are indicative of weak particle acceleration events. The lifetime of the “spikes” match ion-electron collisional damping scale in the local plasma. The radio and X-Ray sources also showed strong 30 s pulsations in their fluxes during heating/temperature rise. This timescale match the [Alfven]{} transit time across the bright active region loop segment that coincided with the X-Ray source. Our observations support the picture of coronal heating via numerous faint flares/particle acceleration events which convert the magnetic free energy to heat. We find that the acceleration events are excited in a periodic manner with a periodicity comparable to [Alfven]{} transit time.'
author:
- Atul Mohan
- 'Patrick I. McCauley'
- Alpha Mastrano
- Divya Oberoi
bibliography:
- 'allref.bib'
title: A weak coronal heating event associated with periodic particle acceleration episodes
---
Introduction {#intro}
============
The Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, poses one of the longest-standing open questions in astrophysics, referred to as the coronal heating problem. As we move into outer layers of solar atmosphere from the $6000\ K$ photosphere, the temperature gradually increases and suddenly jumps from $\approx 10000\ K$ in the chromosphere to $\approx 2\ MK$ within a very thin transition layer of thickness $\approx 100\ km$ at the base of the corona. It has been shown that for a typical coronal loop of electron density $\approx 10^9\ cm^{-3}$ and width $1000 km$, a steady heating rate of $\approx 10^{22}\ ergs/s$ is required to maintain an iso-thermal segment of the loop at $2\ MK$ considering cooling losses from conduction and radiation ([@RTV1978]). Obvious candidate heating sources are strong solar flares. As per the X-ray flare classification[^1] by Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), a strong X1 class flare would deliver $\approx 10^{26}\ ergs/s$. Lasting often for hours and varying by orders of magnitude in flux density, flares of the strongest class can deliver up to $\approx 10^{33}\ ergs$ ([@sturrock1984_flareenergetics; @Ash99_flareEnergyCalc_nano2strongest]). However, the occurrence rate of large flares is quite low. [@ash2012_flarestats] showed that among the 338,661 X-Ray flares detected over 37 years by GOES, only 248 were larger than X class, or around one such flare every 55 days. These events are also not ubiquitous in the corona as they are often associated with specific active regions. This excludes them as a candidate source for steady coronal heating.
There are multiple theories proposed to explain the nature of the heating source. For instance, MHD turbulence ([@vanballegoo11_alfwaveturb_corHeat]), various forms of [Alfven]{} wave dissipation ([@ionson78_resAbs_alfwaves; @heyvaerts83_alfWav_phasemix; @vanballegoo11_alfwaveturb_corHeat]), nanoflares ([@Parker72_tangential_discont]), and the Electron Cyclotron Maser Instability (ECMI) ([@robinson1996_burstyECMI]). The current consensus is that different combinations of these processes must be happening in different physical scenarios to produce the high observed coronal temperatures. The observational signatures of most of these events are usually very faint and often undetected in high energy bands. This is because the high energy observations are sensitive to only thermal signatures. These individual heating sources may cause such a low rise in thermal energy that their direct detection above the background is difficult. However, since the local plasma frequency and gyro-frequency at different coronal heights lie in the deci-metric to metric wavelength range, even faint perturbations can give rise to very bright coherent radio emission due to various wave-particle resonant interactions (e.g. [@ginzburg1958; @Tsytovich69; @melrose1972; @melrose2017]). Weak particle acceleration events usually cause between 10 – 1000 orders of flux enhancements in radio wavelengths above the quiet coronal radio flux, which is primarily produced by thermal bremsstrahlung emission. This makes radio observations uniquely sensitive to sites of active heating and weak flaring in the corona.
However, there is a caveat that weak events with a range of coherent flux density levels between 10 – 1000 orders of magnitude often occur at multiple locations on the Sun. The lifetime of these events, especially the weakest bursts, are often just a few seconds or less. So to study these multiple weak events systematically, we need high dynamic range snapshot spectroscopic imaging at metre wavelengths. Such studies became possible only recently with the advent of a new generation of radio interferometers like the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA; [@Lonsdale09; @Tingay2013]), the Jansky-Very Large Array (JVLA; [@Perley2011]) and the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR; [@vanHaarlem13]). The MWA is capable of producing images at 0.5 s and 40 kHz resolution with a dynamic range of a few 100 even during very quiet periods of solar activity. During weak bursts or coherent emission features, the imaging dynamic ranges achieved improves to many 1000. During very strong events the dynamic ranges close to 70,000 are achieved. This allows one to explore continuously the weak events at multiple sites in the corona even during times of strong activity that would otherwise obscure the weak bursts when observed with previous instrumentation.
In this work, we study the corona during a relatively quiet period using snapshot-spectroscopic imaging with MWA. We identify a persistent radio source with high brightness temperature ([$T_B$]{}) in our solar images. Simultaneous high cadence Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) images from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA; [@Lemen2012]) onboard the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) show that the radio source coincided with an active region loop that exhibited a slight increase in emissivity during the radio observations. Further analysis showed that the region was undergoing a weak heating. Soft and hard X-ray light curves from the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI; [@lin2002]) were also used in our analysis, along with vector magnetogram data from the SDO’s Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI; [@Scherrer12]) to extrapolate the coronal magnetic field. We find hints to the mechanism that drove the heating and the associated high radio brightness. To understand the evolution of radio flux density at the region, we employ SPatially REsolved Dynamic Spectra (SPREDS; [@Atul17]). SPREDS is made by recording the integrated flux density within specific regions of the full-Sun radio maps as a function of time and frequency. The SPREDS revealed numerous bright emission features finely structured in frequency and time. Similar fine structures have also been found in numerous previous studies of deci-metric millisecond spiky bursts ([@guedel1990_spikyburst_2-6harmdetect; @feng18_Metricspikybursts]), Type IIIb striae ([@delanoe1975_typIIIbdiscovry; @melnik2010_typeIIIbdecameter]), Type I chains ([@Elgaroy1970_typIcharacterisation]), and ‘spiky’ emission features in some Type IV bursts ([@bernold1980_typ4_catalog]). There are multiple ideas for their generation in literature, such as the ECMI ([@holman1980_spikyBurstsECM; @robinson1996_burstyECMI]), particle trapping, density inhomogenieties ([@mugundhan2017; @kontar2017]), and weak electron jets. Using a suitable model, we derive some fundamental dissipation scales in the plasma using the fine structures in the SPREDS. We identify the energy reservoir that can potentially power the event. A viable mechanism that could power this event is also presented. This study demonstrates the importance of combining SPREDS from meterwave observations with the data products and techniques in high energy observations to identify and study the fundamental aspects of coronal heating.
The organisation of the paper is as follows: The event and the multi-waveband observations are described in Section \[obs\]. The radio, X-Ray, EUV and HMI data analysis and evolution of derived physical parameters are detailed in Section \[analysis\]. Section \[discussion\] presents an interpretation of the various observed trends and the inferences drawn on the mechanism of heating. We present our conclusions in Section \[conclusion\].
Observations {#obs}
============
The radio data were gathered by the MWA on November 3, 2014 between 06:08:02 – 06:20:02 UT. The observations were made across a bandwidth of 15.36 MHz with a time and frequency resolution of 0.5 s and 40 kHz, respectively. The data accumulation was done as three separate observations of four-minute duration with different central frequency setting. The first session (06:08:02 – 06:12:02 UT) and the last session (06:16:02 – 06:20:02 UT) were centred at 199 MHz, but the intervening session (06:12:02 – 06:16:02 UT) was centred at 229 MHz. This choice was not intentional, but a constraint due to the availability of archived data.
The day was characterised as a period of medium activity, with 10 type III radio bursts, 8 type IV radio bursts and a GOES class C1.4 flare[^2]. The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) reported groups of type III bursts from 06:02 – 07:22 UT which includes the period of MWA observations[^3]. The 1 – 8 Å GOES band shows evidence for a B6 class flare. The X-Ray light curves from RHESSI show signatures of a weak flare evident in 3 – 12 keV bands. This event was not reported in the SWPC event list, likely because its flux did not sufficiently exceed the background. Figure \[fig1\] shows the MWA dynamic spectra for the three observation sessions. The data in some frequency bands were bad during the last four minutes of observation. The bottom right panel of the figure shows the GOES and RHESSI X-Ray light curves during our observation period.
![[*Top:*]{} MWA dynamic spectrum during the first 8 minutes of observation. [*Bottom left:* ]{} MWA dynamic spectrum for the last 4 minutes of observation is shown in the left. Black bands denote bad data. [*Bottom right:* ]{} RHESSI X-Ray flux in various energy bands. GOES 1 – 8 Å light curve is shown in dashed blue line. The plot time window is chosen to highlight X-Ray flare during our observations. []{data-label="fig1"}](fig1.jpg){width="17cm" height="12cm"}
![[*Top:* ]{}AIA 131 Å images before and during the type III burst event. Overlayed are simultaneous MWA 229.4 MHz contours. Clearly a new strong source appeared during the burst. Contours are marked at 5, 7, 9, 10, 30, 50, 70, 90 & 95 % of the peak. [*Bottom:* ]{} The contours of the persistent radio source are overlayed on AIA 131 Å image in the left panel revealing its association with a bright active region loop. Contours are marked at 70, 90, 95, 96, 98 & 99 % of the peak. The arrow shows the location of the associated RHESSI source. In the right panel a RHESSI image is shown which corresponds to the flare source with contours marked at 30, 60, 80 & 90 % of the peak. Note that the brightest location in this image overlaps with the coordinates of the top of the bright AIA loop.[]{data-label="fig2"}](fig2.jpg){width="14cm" height="13cm"}
The top panel of figure \[fig2\] shows AIA 131 Å images before (left) and during (right) the type III bursts. Overlaid on each of them are the MWA 229 MHz contours during the respective times. The bright radio source in the north-west part of the solar disk is a persistent source present throughout the observation. The radio source in the south east part of the disk, seen in the top left panel, is not the same as the brightest source in top right panel. The centroids of these two sources are separated by about $4.5^{\prime}$ ($\approx 0.2 R_\odot$). The brightest source in the top-right panel consistently appears during every type III burst event with high brightness temperatures ([$T_B$]{} $\approx 10^8$ – $10^9\ K$). The location of this type III burst source coincides with that of a weak active region jet. A detailed study of the type III event and the associated jet is the subject of another paper. ([ Mohan et al., 2019 (Accepted)]{}). Here we are interested in the persistent radio source in the north-west part of the disk. The bottom-right panel of the figure shows a RHESSI image made by averaging the data over 3 – 12 keV and 120 s (06:13:16 – 06:15:16 UT), covering almost the peak period of the X-ray flare. We find a bright compact X-Ray source that is centred at ($150^{\prime\prime},135^{\prime\prime}$), close to the location of the persistent radio source. We find an X-ray source of similar flux associated with the type III burst source as well. The bottom-left panel of the figure zooms into the north-west region of AIA 131 Å map corresponding to the location of the persistent radio source. Overlaid are the MWA 229 MHz contours. The location of the associated RHESSI source is marked by an arrow. We find a bright active region loop associated with the radio and X-Ray sources. This loop was persistently bright during our observation period like the radio source. The location of the radio source is not centred exactly on the bright loop. This is because the radio source is located much higher up in the corona and its location is determined by magnetic and density field structures in the intervening region. The meterwave radio source is also subject to scattering, refraction and ducting due to coronal plasma structures and turbulence in the medium ([@steinberg1971; @Arzner1999; @Wu2002]). Simulations have shown that these effects can shift the location of the radio source by a few arc minutes ([@robinson_scat1983; @Wu2002]). Hence, within the limits of uncertainty the radio source, the bright active region loop and the X-Ray source are linked. In this paper we will be focusing on understanding this weak active region loop brightening event.
Analysis
========
This section is divided into four subsections, each describing data analysis methods and results obtained from multi-waveband observations. This include radio observations from MWA, simultaneous AIA images across the coronal bands, magnetogram data from HMI, and RHESSI imaging data.
X-Ray analysis
--------------
As discussed in Section \[obs\], we find a rise in the low-energy X-Ray bands of RHESSI (3 – 6 & 6 – 12 keV; Fig.\[fig1\]). We performed an imaging analysis that combines the RHESSI channels from 3 – 12 keV. The data from the 3F, 6F, 8F, and 9F detectors were used. These were chosen based on the detector performance during the observation period. Imaging was done using the CLEAN algorithm. While imaging, our aim was to get the finest time resolution possible with a reasonable signal-to-noise ratio ($SNR$). We could attain $SNR > 10$ with time averaging as low as 5 s during the peak time of the flare. We tried to generate an image of the region before the start and after the end of the GOES flare, but even with several minutes of averaging no evidence for a believable source could be found. The images were clearly noisy with flux spread throughout the field of view. The integrated image fluxes were also similar, suggesting the possibility of having hit the systematic noise level. Hence we will use only the images during the GOES flare for analysis.
In the RHESSI images immediately after the flare onset, we find a bright compact source centred around ($150^{\prime\prime},136^{\prime\prime}$). This later evolved into an extended morphology close to the peak time of GOES flare with the location of the peak flux fixed around ($150^{\prime\prime},136^{\prime\prime}$). All the images overlap with the location of the bright active region loop and the brightest region lies on the loop top.
![[*Left:* ]{}RHESSI image flux light curve (black) during the GOES flare (Blue). [*Right:* ]{} RHESSI contours during the time of peak source flux at 06:13:03 UT. Contour levels are at 30, 60 & 90 % of the peak flux. The RHESSI image was made by averaging over 10 s and 9 kev (3 – 12 keV). AIA 94 Å image obtained as an average over 5 images around 06:13:00 UT is shown in the background.[]{data-label="fig3"}](fig3_GOES+rhessi_V2.pdf){width="18cm" height="6.6cm"}
The right panel of Figure \[fig3\] shows the RHESSI contours from a time when the compact source was the brightest. It is overlaid on an AIA 94 Å image obtained by averaging of 5 consecutive images around the same time. In the left panel, a plot of the total flux enclosed with a contour at 60% of the peak is shown in a black line plot. The dots on the plot are the actual measurements. The GOES 1 – 8 Å light curve is shown in blue. The correspondence between the GOES light curve and RHESSI image flux light curve is noteworthy. We find pulsations of $\approx 30\ s$ width in the RHESSI source.
Radio Analysis
--------------
The MWA data were imaged at a time cadence of 0.5 s and a spectral resolution of 160 kHz. This was done using an automated radio interferometric imaging pipeline called the Automated Imaging Routine for Compact Arrays for Radio Sun (AIRCARS; [@aircars18], [2019(Submitted)]{}), which is optimised for arrays like the MWA with a dense central core of collecting area. The pipeline uses imaging and calibration routines from Common Astronomy Software Applications (CASA; [@casa]) and relies on the technique of self-calibration ([@pearson1984; @cornwell99]).
The images had dynamic ranges (DR) varying from $\approx 250$ – $6900$ depending on the activity level of the Sun. The highest dynamic ranges were obtained during the times of high integrated flux density levels of the Sun. During the type III event we obtained DR of the order of 1000. The [$T_B$]{} of the intermittent type III source varied within $\approx 10^8$ – $10^9$ K while [$T_B$]{} of the persistent radio emission site fluctuated between $\approx 5 \times 10^7$ – $10^9$ K, with a mean [$T_B$]{} well above $10^8$ K (Fig.\[fig3\] Right panel). This suggests that the mechanism of emission must be a non-thermal and/or coherent process. The high dynamic ranges in these images allows us to track the emission from the persistent radio source across the entire time and frequency extent of our observations, despite the presence of significantly more intense radio bursts elsewhere on the disk.
### SPREDS
The flux density of the persistent radio source was recorded across frequency and time to obtain the SPREDS for the source. We use flux density instead of [$T_B$]{} because flux density is more physically meaningful than [$T_B$]{} for non-thermal emission. The region used for our analyses was defined to have an area twice that of the point spread function (PSF) centred at the persistent source. Figure \[fig4\] shows a sample 229 MHz image with the region used for the SPREDS marked in black (bottom left panel). This is from a time when the persistent source was relatively faint, but we still find that the [$T_B$]{} of the source is above $10^8\ K$. The PSF scale is denoted by an ellipse at the bottom left. The full width at half maximum (FWHM; major, minor) of the PSF is ($3.9^{\prime},2.9^{\prime}$). The top panel of the figure shows the SPREDS obtained for the persistent radio source. Numerous fine bright emission features of flux density $>\ 200$ sfu are seen in the SPREDS with a typical extent of $\approx 0.5 $ – $2$ s in time and $\approx 10 - 13$ MHz in frequency during the flare period. The source flux density varies within $\approx 20$ – $525$ sfu (i.e. $\approx 5\times 10^7$ – $10^9\ K$) during the observation across the 15 MHz band.
![[*Top:* ]{} SPREDS obtained for the persistent radio source. [*Bottom left:* ]{}A snapshot image of the Sun at 229.36 MHz. The boundary of the persistent bright radio source chosen for generating SPREDS is marked by black dotted ellipse. Red circle marks the optical disk and the yellow ellipse at the bottom left corner denotes the PSF. The FWHM of the PSF is $(4^{\prime\prime},3^{\prime\prime})$. [*Bottom right:* ]{} GOES light curve and RHESSI image flux evolution overplotted on the mean flux density light curve for the radio source across the observation band. This is obtained as an average of the SPREDS data. The black curve is a running mean of the radio light curve with a window time width of 10 s.[]{data-label="fig4"}](fig4_SPREDS_img_rhessi_goes_V2.pdf){width="15.3cm" height="8.5cm"}
The intensity and rate of occurrence of these fine features are found to follow roughly the GOES light curve. This is evident in the bottom right panel of Fig. \[fig4\] that shows a light curve for the radio source, obtained as an average of SPREDS matrix across the frequency axis. The brightest structures are around the peak time of the flare. The black curve shows the mean radio flux evolution or radio light curve obtained by applying a 10 s wide running mean filter. We note that the pulsations in the RHESSI data coincide with that in the radio flux density quite well. The floor of the radio light curve remained high for over 2 minutes before it declined to the pre-flare value. It is most likely to be constituted by myriads of unresolved faint non-thermal emission features owing to the unusually large flux density. However, the X-Ray flux showed a steady decline post the peak time of GOES flare.
Note that the data used to generate the radio light curve are centred at different frequencies. Assuming a typical density model of the corona, say the one by @zucca2014, we find that the height difference corresponding the frequency gap is $0.03$ [$R_\odot$]{}, which is less than 10 % of the scale height in the region. Therefore, the different observation frequencies roughly probe the same region. This is also justified by the clear continuity in the radio flux density evolution curve.
AIA data analysis
-----------------
We also analyse the bright active region loop seen in the coronal EUV bands of the AIA, namely 94, 131, 171,193, 211 & 335 Å. All of the analysis was done using routines in the SolarSoft Ware (SSW; [@freeland1998_SSW]) package for IDL. Level 1 data were obtained from the Virtual Solar Observatory (VSO) and co-aligned using the SSW routine `aia_prep`. The left panel of Figure \[fig5\] shows a 94 Å image of the bright loop with a black contour that defines the region used for further analysis. The arrow points to the peak flux location of the compact RHESSI source. This boundary was defined by thresholding the image above 40 times the mean value and slightly dilating the resulting mask to encompass fully the region that underwent significant brightening during the event. The light curves in the right panel of Figure \[fig5\] correspond to the average value within this mask, normalized by the intensity at the beginning of the time series, before the onset of the event.
![[*Left:* ]{}The active region hosting the bright loop. A boundary is defined for the bright loop region, marked in black, based on a criteria defined in the text. Yellow star on the right identifies the large loop structure on which the radio contours overlay. The black arrow points to the peak flux location of the RHESSI source. [*Right:* ]{} Light curves observed in various AIA bands sensitive to coronal temperatures, for the bright loop region.[]{data-label="fig5"}](fig5_aia94_aialightcurves.pdf){width="15.6cm" height="6cm"}
In the right panel of Figure \[fig5\], light curves from the region for different AIA bands are shown starting 4 minutes prior to the GOES flare until 4 minutes after the MWA observations. This large time span was chosen to ensure that we fully cover the flaring period and also understand the pre- and post-flare scenario. A clear rise in the normalised intensity is observed starting around 06:11:40 UT. This is co-temporal with the rise in GOES 1 – 8 Å light curve. However, the intensity in different bands peaked at different times with the 94 Å light curve peaking after 06:14:00 UT, which is $\approx 15$ minutes after the GOES flare started declining from the peak. It is difficult to conclude anything about the physical dynamics at the loop region by just examining these light curves, as most of these AIA bands have very broad and overlapping temperature response functions. To understand the plasma dynamics better, we combine the different AIA bands using differential emission measures.
### Differential Emission Measure ($DEM(T)$) {#DEM}
The observed intensity in the various AIA bands is a sum of emission from multiple multi-thermal plasma components emitting simultaneously along the line of sight. The Differential Emission Measure ($DEM(T)$) is a quantity that characterises the individual contribution from these different multi-thermal components. By estimating $DEM(T)$ at various instances of time during our observation, we can detect signatures of heating by looking for a rise in the high temperature component. Using the [$DEM(T)$]{} function we can obtain the total Emission Measure (EM) by simply integrating over [$DEM(T)$]{}. Assuming the number density of electrons ($n_e$) and protons ($n_H$) are the same, the observed intensity at a wavelength, $I_\lambda$, $EM$ and [$DEM(T)$]{} are related as, $$\begin{aligned}
I_\lambda &=& \int [{n_e}^2 \frac{dz}{dT}](T) \Lambda(T,n_e,\lambda,\chi) R_{\lambda} dT \label{eqn1},\\
DEM(T) &=& {n_e}^2\frac{dz}{dT} \label{eqn2},\\
EM &=& \int DEM(T) dT = \int {n_e}^2 dz\label{eqn3},\end{aligned}$$ where dz is a height segment present along the line of sight at a particular temperature, $R_{\lambda}$ is the instrumental response function, and $\Lambda$ is the contribution function that gives the power emitted by the plasma divided by $n_e$ at a given temperature, $n_e$, and wavelength assuming a typical ion abundance of $\chi$ in the corona. $\Lambda$ can be computed for any $n_e$ and $T$ using the CHIANTI database of atomic spectral lines ([@dere97_chianti; @landi99_chianti_releaseIII]). $R_{\lambda}$ is also a well known function. $I_{\lambda}$ can be observed for different AIA bands. By inverting equation \[eqn1\] using observations in different AIA bands, one can estimate [$DEM(T)$]{}.
We integrate the [$DEM(T)$]{} to obtain the total EM and DEM-weighted average temperature ($\langle T \rangle$) along the line of sight (LOS). By assuming a LOS depth, we can then estimate the electron density ($\langle n_e \rangle$) and thermal energy ($\langle E \rangle$) for the emission region, $D$: $$\begin{aligned}
\langle T\rangle &=& \frac{\int DEM(T) T dT}{EM} \label{eqn4},\\
\langle n_e\rangle &=& \sqrt{\frac{EM}{D}}\label{eqn5},\\
\langle E\rangle &=& 2 \langle n_e\rangle k_B \langle T\rangle\label{eqn6},\end{aligned}$$ where $k_B$ is the Boltzmann constant. For the chosen loop region, we estimated $DEM(T)$ at each 12-sec time step between 06:08:00 – 06:20:00 UT. We chose this larger time window to capture the full brightening event, from start to end, seen in the AIA light curves.
To estimate [$DEM(T)$]{}, we used the `xrt_dem_iterative2` algorithm developed by Mark Weber and available in SSW [@Weber04_DEM_xrtDemIterative; @Golub2004_DEM_method]. The code was designed for the X-Ray Telescope (XRT) onboard the Hinode satellite and was later adapted for AIA data (e.g. [@Schmelz11; @Cheng12]). The approach is to forward-fit the DEM by predicting the observed count rates from an initial guess and iteratively modifying the DEM solution to minimize $\chi{}^2$ between the observed and predicted fluxes. Iterations are done using Levenberg–Marquardt least-squares minimization, [$DEM(T)$]{} is interpolated between the available points using spline knots, and this method has been shown to reproduce model DEMs of active regions using simulated AIA data [@Cheng12]. Uncertainties are obtained from 100 Monte Carlo runs for which the data are randomly varied within their uncertainties prior to each pass through the algorithm. We obtained date-dependent AIA response functions from the SSW routine `aia_get_response` using the “chiantifix”, “evenorm”, and “noblend” keywords. Our implementation is adopted from @Reeves15, but we compute [$DEM(T)$]{} over a narrower temperature range of log($T$) = 5.8–7.3. This range spans the breadth of the AIA’s temperature response peaks, and although there is some sensitivity at higher and lower temperatures, the data are not well constrained beyond this range. Incorporating higher-temperature soft X-ray observations would improve the DEM estimation, but those data are not available for this event.
![[*Top:* ]{}[$DEM(T)$]{} results for the bright loop region during 3 periods: before, during peak and after the GOES flare from left to right. [*Bottom:* ]{} The evolution of [$DEM(T)$]{} weighted temperature, mean density and mean energy of the event.[]{data-label="fig6"}](fig6_dem_results_brightloop.pdf){width="17cm" height="8cm"}
![Evolution of the $\langle E\rangle$ is compared with the flux density variation of the persistent radio source. The radio flux density evolution is obtained by applying a 36 s wide running median filter on the light curve data presented in the bottom right panel of Fig.\[fig4\].[]{data-label="fig7"}](fig7_etherm_SPRETS.pdf)
To estimate $\langle n_e\rangle$ and $\langle E\rangle$ we need the depth and volume of the loop respectively. The loop was assumed to be a cylinder with a diameter equal to its observed thickness. This gives it a radius of 7 AIA pixels ($\approx 3$ Mm). The length of the loop segment is about $22$ Mm. The volume of the loop then turns out to be about $6.2 \times 10^{26} cm^{3}$. The top panel of Figure \[fig6\] shows the [$DEM(T)$]{} distribution derived at three epochs; before, during the peak and after the X-Ray flare (left to right). The DEM distribution before and after the flare look very similar with a peak temperature of $\approx 3$ MK. The [$DEM(T)$]{} during the peak time of the flare (06:30:31 UT) shows a significant rise in the high temperature component. Movies of the event and the DEM evolution are available in the supplementary material. The bottom panel of figure \[fig6\] shows the evolution of $\langle T\rangle$, $\langle n_e\rangle$ and [$\langle E\rangle$]{}. The impulsive rise in all of these quantities is evident. The evolution of these quantities also follow the X-Ray light curve closely in terms of the time of rise, peaking and the decline, which primarily owes to the evolution of the high temperature components. We studied the evolution of [$\langle E\rangle$]{} of the bright loop plasma in comparison with the background radio flux density evolution. By background we mean the floor of the radio flux density light curve on which strong fine emission features are embedded. To obtain this we used a running median filter of 36 s temporal width on the radio flux density light curve presented in Figure \[fig4\] (Red curve in bottom right panel). The median is a good estimator to capture the evolution of the radio flux density floor, as it is unbiased towards strong fine emission features. Figure \[fig7\] shows the evolution of [$\langle E\rangle$]{} in tandem with the background radio flux density. We find a clear correlation in the evolution.
![[*Left:* ]{}AIA 171 Å image with the 10 x 10 pixel region centred at the apex of the large loop marked ([*Top*]{}). In the [*bottom*]{} panel the light curves from the region is shown for various AIA bands. [*Right:* ]{} $\langle T\rangle$ and $\langle n_e\rangle$ evolution of the chosen loop segment.[]{data-label="fig8"}](fig8_dem_results_img1.pdf){width="14cm" height="6.8cm"}
However, as discussed in Section \[obs\], the meterwave radio emission is generated at a much higher height in the corona. Since $\omega_p$ in the corona falls in meter wavelengths, the emission region must be located at a height above the region where the observation frequency is close to $\omega_p$. Note that $\omega_p$ is a function of density. Adopting a suitable coronal density model and equating observation frequency to $\omega_p$, one can estimate a lower limit to the height of the radio source. In our analysis we use a scaled version of the density function by @zucca2014 (hereafter the Z model) which predicts a radio source height $\gtrsim 1.14$ [$R_\odot$]{}. To get an estimate of the height of the bright loop region we did the following. Assume a semicircular loop geometry, with the observed length of the loop segment equal to its diameter. The loop can then extend up to a heliocentric height of $\approx 1.03$ [$R_\odot$]{}. So, for the observed synergy between radio and high energy emission, the two regions must be linked via magnetic fields. This is because the corona is magnetically active plasma medium where plasma beta $\ll 1$, implying that the dynamics is primarily driven by magnetic fields. The dynamics at the coronal active regions are primarily driven by footpoint motions of the photospheric magnetic fields. So the radio source and the bright loop region should be sharing one or both of the foot points. We carried out a magnetic field extrapolation to explore this possibility. Section \[hmi\] will describe this effort.
Before we proceed to magnetic field analysis, we would like to focus on the unusually large pre-flare density estimate of $8 \times 10^9 cm^{-3}$ in the bright loop region, which is significantly high compared to the Z model prediction of $2 \times 10^9 cm^{-3}$ at 1 [$R_\odot$]{}. This excess density will increase our radio source height estimate which is crucial while exploring the local magnetic field properties. But, in AIA images we find that the brightness enhancement is restricted only to the low-lying bright loop. The radio source is more likely to be associated with the neighbouring large loop structures which share common footpoint(s) with the bright loop region. This is also evident from the location of the radio source as seen in Fig. \[fig5\]. To study the evolution of density in the radio source harbouring magnetic filed structures, we performed [$DEM(T)$]{} analysis on the large coronal loop region over which the radio source overlay in the AIA images. We performed a similar analysis to understand the evolution of $\langle T\rangle$ and $\langle n_e\rangle$ at this site. A region of size $10\times 10$ AIA pixels ($6^{\prime\prime},6^{\prime\prime}$), centred at the loop apex was used for this analysis (Fig \[fig8\] top left). The intensity in various AIA bands does not evolve significantly during the observation period (Fig. \[fig8\] bottom left panel). [$DEM(T)$]{} could not be well-constrained in this case because there the signal is weak in the hotter AIA bands. However, within the uncertainties of the estimate, there is no evidence for a persistent temperature or density enhancement in the large loop. The temperature remained nearly steady at around $5$ MK (Fig. \[fig8\] right). Assuming a line-of-sight depth equal to that of the bright compact loop implies a density of $3.6 \times 10^9 cm^{-3}$, which we regard as an upper limit because the net contribution from back- and foreground plasma is likely somewhat higher in this case. The density estimate is comparable to that of the Z model. It is most important to note that there is no significant evolution in the total EM, which implies no evolution in density. From this exercise, we conclude that the density enhancement is confined to the bright loop, and the steady mean density in the large loops is not high enough to require modifying the density model used to infer the height of the radio source.
HMI data analysis {#hmi}
-----------------
To reconstruct the coronal magnetic field, we take the HMI vector magnetogram data, which give the values of the magnetic field components at the photosphere, as boundary conditions and assume that the magnetic field is force-free, i.e., the Lorentz force is zero. The relevant HMI magnetogram data are given by Spaceweather HMI Active Region Patch (SHARP) for Active Region (AR) 12203, 2014 November 3, 06:12 UT. The SHARP patch is $608\times 309$ pixels in size, where each pixel is 0.5 arcsec across, and the highest value of the radial field component at the photosphere is $2.48\times 10^3$ G. We used the nonlinear force-free field (NLFFF) code CFIT to solve the NLFFF equations by Grad-Rubin iteration ([@wheatland07_nlfff]). CFIT works in a Cartesian geometry, so we approximate the SHARP field strength data, given in a Lambert cylindrical equal-area projection, as field values on a Cartesian grid and solve for the magnetic field in a Cartesian box, where the photosphere is located on the $x$-$y$ plane at $z=0$ and the positive $z$-direction is the radial direction away from the Sun (in other words, we take $B_\phi=B_x$, $B_\theta=-B_y$, and $B_r=B_z$).
The Grad-Rubin method solves for the magnetic field and the force-free parameter $\alpha$ iteratively, using the value of the normal component of the magnetic field and the value of $\alpha$ at the photosphere as boundary conditions. The other boundary conditions we impose on the solution box are that the field decays to zero as $z\rightarrow\infty$ and that the field is periodic at the sides of the box. Open field lines, i.e., those that cross the boundaries of the box either at the sides or the top, are assigned $\alpha=0$. Values of $\alpha$ on the photosphere are obtained from the local vertical component of the current density, which are calculated from the derivatives of the horizontal components of the magnetic field. In general, HMI magnetogram data over-prescribe the problem by giving values of $\alpha$ over both positive and negative polarities of the active region. Therefore, two solutions can be constructed, depending on which $\alpha$ values are used as boundary conditions, those from the positive (P solution) or the negative magnetic polarity region (N solution).
In practice, P and N solutions can be very different, because the vector magnetogram data are inconsistent with the force-free model ([@DeRosa09_nlfff_CodeAssess]). To address this problem, @Wheatland09_nlfff_implemntActReg proposed the “self-consistency procedure". P and N solutions are separately calculated, then the values of $\alpha$ from the two solutions are averaged, weighted by the associated uncertainties. At the end of one such self-consistency “cycle", we arrive at a new set of boundary conditions for $\alpha$. P and N solutions are then calculated again from the new set of boundary conditions. The process is repeated until the P and N solutions agree and we arrive at a self-consistent NLFFF model.
![[*Top Left:* ]{}HMI magnetogram showing the sunspot group associated with the bright loop is visible in the left. The large loop structure bridges this sunspot group with another sunspot group to its right. [*Top Right:* ]{} The region as seen in AIA 171 Å map. The hot loop region centred around ($150^{\prime\prime},130^{\prime\prime}$)is relatively dim in this AIA band. The small square marked at ($185^{\prime\prime},155^{\prime\prime}$) marks the loop top. [*Bottom:* ]{} Extrapolated magnetic field structures are overlaid on the HMI ([*Left*]{}) and AIA 171 Å map ([*Right*]{}).[]{data-label="fig9"}](fig9_bfield_overlay_bin2.pdf){width="\textwidth"}
Initially, we applied CFIT, with the self-consistency procedure implemented, to the AR 12203, 2014 November 3, 06:12 UT SHARP magnetogram. However, we were unable to reconstruct the large loop structure of interest, clearly visible in EUV, from this SHARP patch alone. We extend the magnetogram to include the neighbouring AR 12202. The magnetogram, now $1367 \times 600$ pixels in size (each 0.5 arcsec across), is rebinned by a factor of 2 to speed up calculations, so that our solution box’s size is $683\times 300\times 300$ pixels, with each pixel being 1.005 arcsec. The top of the solution box is, therefore, at $1.313\ $[$R_\odot$]{}. In addition, to deal with noise in the data, we censor currents on the boundary surface with signal-to-noise ratios less than 1, i.e., we set $\alpha=0$ wherever SNR($J_z$) < 1. We also censor out weak field regions, i.e., we set $\alpha=0$ where $|B_z|<0.05 \mathrm{max}(|B_z|)$.
The resulting coronal field extrapolation is presented in Fig. \[fig9\]. The loop structure connecting the AR 12203 to AR 12202 is well replicated by the model (the yellow field lines). The apex of the tallest loop connecting the two regions is at $1.136\ $[$R_\odot$]{}. The magnetic field strength at $1.14\ $[$R_\odot$]{}is about 5 G. We estimate the available free energy in the magnetic field close to the bright loop region from the difference between the total magnetic energy in the region and the energy of the potential field. We find the magnetic free energy to be $\approx 5.1 \times 10^{29}$ erg, which is one order of magnitude larger than the thermal energy in the region.
Discussion
==========
In the previous sections, we explore the dynamics at the bright loop region in detail using SPREDS, AIA maps, RHESSI imaging, and a magnetic field extrapolation using HMI data. In this section, we explore the co-evolution of the various physical observables discussed in the earlier sections to build a physical picture of the mechanism driving the event. Before we proceed, it should be noted that a [$\langle E\rangle$]{} rise should not be interpreted blindly as due to the usual kinetic temperature in the region because flares are non-equilibrium processes that can modify the local Maxwellian distribution. So the temperature and energy evolution derived using DEM techniques, which rely on thermal equilibrium physics, should be interpreted with caution. During the flare phase, $\langle T\rangle$ would be the equivalent temperature, which is a proxy to the average velocity dispersion, and [$\langle E\rangle$]{} is the mean energy of a modified Maxwellian particle energy/velocity distribution. The rise in these quantities would still reflect the rise in high energy particles or, in general, the free energy in the region.
Analysing the [$DEM(T)$]{} evolution, we find that the evolution of the mean quantities, $\langle T\rangle$, $\langle n_e\rangle$ and [$\langle E\rangle$]{}, is driven by the variations in the [$DEM(T)$]{} of a high temperature component with $T \approx $ $6$ – $7\ MK$ in tandem with the GOES flare. This excess in the high temperature component took several minutes to relax back to its pre-flare state. In the pre-flare period the $\langle T\rangle$ was around $4$ MK, which is likely to be the background coronal plasma along the line of sight, which later rose impulsively to around $6$ MK (Fig. \[fig5\]). Similarly [$\langle E\rangle$]{} showed a jump from its steady value of $0.5 \times 10^{28}$ ergs in the pre-flare phase to $1.5 \times 10^{28}$ erg at the peak time of the flare. An excess energy, $\delta E = \langle E\rangle_{peak-flare} - \langle E\rangle_{pre-flare}$, of $10^{28}$ erg was dumped in the region by some means. This is the energy budget of a typical microflare ([@Ash]). We find that the loop temperature and [$\langle E\rangle$]{} starts to rise steeply around 06:11:40 UT and reaches a peak value around 06:13:30 UT. The temperature evolution curve shows slight signs of quasi-steadiness near the peak for a very short span. We checked the possibility that the excess energy was indeed used for heating the loop to a quasi-steady temperature of $\approx 6$ MK within 2 minutes. To test this argument we use the loop steady heating rate model by @RTV1978 which takes care of conduction and radiative heat losses. The model is very approximate and derived for the case where heating and dissipation are at equilibrium. To increase the temperature of the loop one would require faster non-equilibrium heating rate. However, this model gives us a typical heating time scale required to heat the plasma to $6$ MK. The heating rate, $\dot E_H$ is given by, $$\dot E_H = 0.95 \times 10^{-6} {L}^{-2}T^{7/2}V\ {\textrm{erg s}}^{-1}, \label{rtvHeqn}$$ where $V$ is the radiating emitting volume, $T$ is the temperature to which loop is heated and $L$ the loop length. Using a loop length of $20$ Mm, $T$ of $6$ MK and $V \approx 6.22 \times 10^{26}\ cm^{3}$, we estimate a $\dot E_H$ of $8 \times 10^{25}$ erg s$^{-1}$. A typical loop heating time, $t_{heat}$ would be $\delta E/\dot E_H$, which is about 2 minutes. This is comparable to our observed temperature rise time. Therefore, a sudden enhancement in the power of the heating source from the heating rate that maintained the loop at $4$ MK, to a power capable of maintaining the loop at $6$ MK can cause the observed rise in temperature of the loop within the 2 minute period. Having concluded that, the loop will dissipate the excess energy via radiation and conductive pathways after the heating source comes back to its pre-flare steady or equilibrium heating rate. Since we find that the $6$ MK temperature started steadily decreasing beyond 06:30:30 UT, this would mean that the heating rate had decreased to its earlier value or was declining. As already mentioned, the equation \[rtvHeqn\] is derived assuming equilibrium between heating and cooling rates. We use the equation to estimate the cooling rate for a plasma at a pre-flare equilibrium temperature of $4$ MK. This would give us a typical cooling time, $t_{cool}$, if an excess energy of $\delta E$ is supplied to it. The cooling time is found to be around 10 minutes. This should be the typical time taken to come back to equilibrium at $4$ MK via the cooling mechanisms active since the pre-flare phase. In the chosen observation window, we do not find that the temperature or [$\langle E\rangle$]{} attain a steady state. This implies that the time scale for complete cooling and equilibration is beyond 6.5 minutes (06:13:30 – 06:20:00) and is close to the estimated $t_{cool}$. This exercise suggests that the loop plasma may likely have been heated by some impulsive enhancement in the heating rate that lasted for just a short time and then left to gradually cool down.
The heating mechanism
---------------------
The excess energy responsible for the loop brightening likely came from the major free energy reservoir in the region, the magnetic field. We estimate a magnetic free energy in the loop region of around $5.1 \times 10^{29}$ erg. This is an order of magnitude larger than the energy rise observed in the loop. The problem now boils down to identifying the mechanism that extracted energy from this reservoir and converted it to thermal energy.
The SPREDS shows numerous fine bright emission features with timescale on the order of a few seconds and spectral widths around 10 – 13 MHz. We also find that the intensity of these features and the mean background flux density increased around the peak time of the X-Ray flare (Fig. \[fig4\]). The RHESSI image flux exhibit 30-sec pulsations that correlate well with the quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in the mean radio flux density light curve. Also, the background radio flux density showed a systematic rise in tandem with the [$\langle E\rangle$]{} (Fig. \[fig7\]). From these observations, we infer the link between their sources, which is clearly associated with the dynamics at the bright loop region during the flare.
As mentioned in the section \[DEM\], the typical height of generation of radio emission is around $1.14$ [$R_\odot$]{} and the local temperature is around 5 MK (Fig. \[fig8\] right panel). At these heights, the typical magnetic field was found to be around 5 G, which gives a gyro-frequency, $\omega_B = 88\ MHz$. As height increases in the corona, $\omega_B$ and the plasma frequency $\omega_p$ falls, but the former is always lower than the latter as it decreases relatively faster ([@gary2004_radio_emission_regimes; @Ash]). This rules out the possibility of gyro-resonance or the ECMI as the mechanism for the bright fine structure emission in the SPREDS, because the essential condition for this is $\omega_B > \omega_p$ ([@melrose82_ECME_theory]). This leaves us with only coherent plasma emission mechanisms, which certainly can generate the high flux densities seen in the SPREDS. The high [$T_B$]{} range of the persistent radio source, which overlaps at the low energy end with the distant simultaneous type III event, suggests numerous weak particle jets from the flare site are the most likely drivers of the radio emission. We do not find any clear evidence for frequency drifts in the fine features. This could be due to our time resolution of 0.5 seconds being much coarser than the dynamic timescale of these particle jets.
For further analysis, we assume that the observation frequency is equal to local $\omega_p$. We will also focus on the 229 MHz centred observation that overlaps the flare period. The estimate of the local density using 229 MHz was found to be $6.5\times 10^8\ cm^{-3}$. The height of emission will be assumed to be very close to $1.14$ [$R_\odot$]{} from the Z model. This is because the coherent emission produced by particle jets are known to be generated at the site where observation frequency matches $\omega_p$ ([@ginzburg1958; @Tsytovich69; @melrose1972]). Using the estimate of magnetic field strength of 5 G, we computed [Alfven]{} speed to be $0.4$ Mm s$^{-1}$. On converting the fine feature bandwidth of $10$ – $13$ MHz to a height scale using Z model, we get $\approx 7$ – $8.5$ Mm. This gives an estimate of the minimum speed of the particle jets to be around $14$ – $17$ Mm s$^{-1}$. The lifetime of the fine features are about $\approx 0.5 $ – $2$ s, and we may also check the various timescales in the local plasma at the radio source. At about $ 5$ MK and a density corresponding to $\omega_p = 229$ MHz, the mid-band frequency during the flare period, we calculated a typical ion-electron collision timescale, $\tau_{col}$, using the Lorentz collision model ([@Krall73_plasmaBook]), $$\begin{aligned}
\tau_{col} = \frac{4\pi n_e \lambda_{D}^3}{\omega_p \ln(12 \pi n_e \lambda_{D}^3)} \approx \frac{3\times 10^5 T^{3/2}}{n_e \ln(12 \pi n_e \lambda_{D}^3)},\label{tcol}\end{aligned}$$ where $\lambda_D$ is the Debye length. The logarithmic factor is the Coulomb logarithm, which is usually of the order 20. $\tau_{col}$ was found to be around 2 s. This would mean that the numerous faint particle jets are damped via collisions to heat the ambient plasma. The “spiky” fine emission features we see are just the strong jets, while the persistent high background radio flux density is caused by undetected faint ones. In that case, the bandwidth of the features gives the damping length scales in the plasma, i.e $\approx 7$ – $8.5$ Mm.
In order to get a better estimate of the time scales in the system, we performed an FFT of the flux density light curve at each frequency in the SPREDS during the flare period. We will refer to this data product as FFT-SPREDS hereafter. Figure \[fig10\] shows the FFT-SPREDS in the left panel. We find that the dominant periodicity in the flux density light curve is around 30 s, which also turns out to be the period of the QPOs in X-Ray and radio flux profile (Fig. \[fig4\]). There is a lot of power at large periods, but there is no single dominant period. This randomness in the dissipation scale could be due to its strong dependence on density and density fluctuations being stronger during the flaring time.
![[*Top:* ]{} Left panel shows the FFT-SPREDS and the SPREDS during the X-Ray flare period is shown in the right. Vertical black dotted lines are drawn at 30 s intervals. [*Bottom:* ]{} Mean radio flux density spectrum and the RHESSI source light curve is shown in the left panel. This is the same data presented in the bottom right panel of Figure \[fig4\]. Shaded is the period of GOES flare and the vertical lines are marked at 30 s intervals. The right panel zooms into the bright loop region as seen in an AIA 94 Å image during the time of its peak brightness in the channel. We find two overlapping bright loops.[]{data-label="fig10"}](fig10.pdf){width="17cm" height="9.8cm"}
To understand the signature of the dominant 30 s periodicity in the SPREDS, we marked vertical lines spaced at 30 s. The first line was chosen to centre at the brightest fine feature. We find these lines cut through all major fine structures, hinting that this is some fundamental periodicity in the system. The bottom left panel shows the mean radio light curve obtained by averaging the SPREDS data across frequency and then applying a 10 s wide running mean filter. This is the same as the black curve shown in the bottom right panel of figure \[fig4\]. The vertical lines are again marked at 30 s intervals, and the GOES flare period is shaded in grey. An X-Ray light curve of the region obtained from RHESSI images is also overplotted. As we now believe that the radio “spiky” features are signatures of particle jets, we find that the impulsive episodes happen in groups separated by 30 s. The associated X-Ray pulses could be non-thermal bremsstrahlung signatures driven by the impulsive events. The jets in each of these episodes are damped via collisions on timescales of a few seconds, which results in their spiky nature in the radio flux density. The bottom right panel of figure \[fig10\] zooms in to the AIA 94 Å image of the bright loop region. This suggests a twisted/overlapping loop structure, and the scale of the apparent braid-like structure is around $12$ Mm. This is comparable to the size of the frequency extent of the coherent radio fine features.
The NLFFF extrapolation identified large loops which extend to the height of radio emission. It also identified open loop structures which can potentially interact with the overlying large closed loops. These field structures share a common footpoint with the bright loop. It is expected that photospheric magnetic footpoint motions generate tangential discontinuities in the overlying coronal loops, leading to twisted structures in the overlying coronal fields. Since the dynamics at the bright loop and the radio emission site is likely guided by the same footpoint motions, one can expect twisted structures of similar spatial scales at the radio emission site as well. However, these twisting motions in the magnetic field lead to the build up of magnetic free energy and ultimately a tangential instability. [@Parker72_tangential_discont] showed that the tangential instability grows as the fields lines are twisted forming current sheets and, [@Parker88_nanoflares] arrgued that beyond a critical twist angle of $14^\circ$, the loops undergo magnetic reconnection, generating energetic particle jets. These jets get damped by the interaction with ambient corona leading to local heating. Subsequent authors such as [@ash18_nanoflares_hard_corona] argued that it is hard to generate such large twist angles in the corona, and it takes several hours to do so. In the meantime, before this could even happen the tearing mode instabilities would make the current sheets unstable leading to fast reconnection events ([@Tenerani16_fast_reconn_cur_sheets]). So there must therefore be much faster reconnection events.
[@longcope15_B_reconn_heating] showed that the magnetic free energy is generated at a rate which is equivalent to that required for the steady heating of the corona. Hence they argued that, if the coronal magnetic field is constantly reorganised in tandem with the photospheric footpoint motions via reconnection events, the steady magnetic free energy supply can power coronal heating. This would mean that the typical instability build-up and particle jet production timescale across a coronal loop whose footpoint is constantly in motion, would be equal to the [Alfven]{} timescale across the loop. In our case we compute the [Alfven]{} timescale across the twisted loop segment to be roughly $12\textrm{Mm}/(0.4\textrm{Mm/s}) = 30$ s. This is the observed timescale of the radio and X-Ray flux QPOs. We also see a systematic clumping of strong radio fine-structure emission features at this timescale, pointing to a periodic ignition of acceleration events. This strongly supports the picture of coronal heating via numerous faint particle jets excited at [Alfven]{} or dynamical timescales due to tangential discontinuities.
Conclusion
==========
We present a multi-waveband imaging study of an active region combining SPREDS at metre wavelengths with spatially resolved EUV and hard X-Ray flux light curves. This site showed a systematic rise in EUV and hard X-Ray fluxes along with a GOES B6 class flare. The region was associated with a persistent bright radio source with a mean [$T_B$]{} $\sim 10^8$ K. We performed a Differential Emission Measure (DEM) analysis to estimate the temperature, density and thermal energy evolution of the region. These results showed that simultaneous to the GOES flare, the region showed a systematic rise in the radio flux density, X-Ray flux, and temperature. Using a NLFFF extrapolation of the magnetic field based on HMI data, we found that the free energy content in the magnetic field is sufficient to power the heating. The observed high-[$T_B$]{} radio emission can be generated only via a coherent emission mechanism triggered by electron beams accelerated by numerous faint reconnection events. We find that the radio light curve show a significant rise of the background coherent emission floor in tandem with the evolution of thermal energy. The floor of the coherent emission is formed by numerous weak coherent flux enhancements associated with weak particle jets. The enhancement of the floor of the radio emission during the heating event strongly suggests that faint acceleration events are responsible for both the radio signatures and associated coronal heating, as expected from the nano-flare model.
In addition to the rise in the floor of the radio light curve, we also find strong periodic pulsations in both the radio and hard X-ray fluxes. The pulsations were approximately sinusoidal during the time of the flare and the temperature rise, but more quasi-periodic in the pre- and post-flare period. The time scale of these pulsations could be matched with the [Alfven]{} transit timescales across a segment of the active region loops which displayed an apparent overlapping/twisted shape in the EUV maps. The SPREDS data also revealed numerous bright coherent emission features finely structured in time and frequency during the heating event. Their temporal extents could be matched with the ion-electron collisional damping scale in the local plasma. We conclude that dynamic particle acceleration events due to numerous reconnection events, possibly driven by photospheric magnetic footpoint motions at the active region, are likely responsible for the various observational signatures. The energy in these accelerated particle beams are damped by the ambient plasma, resulting in local heating. Thus, the free energy in the local magnetic fields is converted to heat. The particle acceleration process is episodic with a periodicity equal to the local [Alfven]{} timescale across the loop segment undergoing heating. This is consistent with the idea that tangential instabilities form dynamically in the coronal plasma due to footpoint motions and the free energy built up as a result must quickly be dissipated as numerous reconnection and particle acceleration events. This scientific work makes use of the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO), operated by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). We acknowledge the Wajarri Yamatji people as the traditional owners of the Observatory site. Support for the operation of the MWA is provided by the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), under a contract to Curtin University administered by Astronomy Australia Limited. We acknowledge the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre, which is supported by the Western Australian and Australian Governments. The SDO is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) spacecraft, and we acknowledge the AIA and HMI science team for providing open access to data and software. This research has also made use of NASA’s Astrophysics Data System (ADS) and the Virtual Solar Observatory (VSO; [@Hill09]). We thank Kathy Reeves for helpful discussions related to the DEM analysis and Aimee Norton for help related to vector magnetograms from HMI. AMa is supported by the Australian Research Council Discovery Project (DP160102932).
[^1]: [[](http://spaceweather.com/glossary/flareclasses.html)]{}
[^2]: [[]( http://www.solarmonitor.org)]{}
[^3]: [[](ftp://ftp.swpc.noaa.gov/pub/indices/events/README)]{}
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minipile
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NaturalLanguage
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mit
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Q:
Popping up a Dialog from a non-UI thread
I'm developing a network app, which is group oriented. The thing is that when I'm about to join a group, it first checks if the group is secure, and if so, it asks for user and password. Getting group security may take a couple of seconds so I spawn a new thread for the whole process. I'd like to pop up a Dialog in case the group requires security. I'm thinking it may have to do with background threads, they may not be able to pop up Dialogs... But the thing is that I need to check the group security in the background thread because it takes a bit time.
Hope anyone can come up with the solution or any way to ask user/pass only when the group is secure. Here's the background thread:
public void run() {
secInf = mGroupId.getSecurityInformation();
if (secInf.getAdmissionLevel() == CreateGroupDialog.PRIVATE_KEY_ACCESS) {
showUserPasswordDialog();
} else {
mService.joinGroup(mGroupId);
// Notifies handler to dismiss ProgresDialog and start activity
mHandler.sendMessage(Message.obtain(mHandler,
GroupsActivity.JOIN_SUCCESSFUL));
}
Where showUserPasswordDialog does (mActivity is the activity that spawned this thread):
private void showUserPasswordDialog() {
AlertDialog dialog;
// add this to your code
// This example shows how to add a custom layout to an AlertDialog
LayoutInflater factory = LayoutInflater.from(mActivity);
final View textEntryView = factory.inflate(
R.layout.alert_dialog_text_entry, null);
AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(mActivity);
builder.setIcon(R.drawable.alert_dialog_icon);
builder.setTitle(R.string.ask_user_password);
builder.setView(textEntryView);
builder.setPositiveButton(R.string.ok_text,
new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int whichButton) {
String userName = ((EditText) mActivity
.findViewById(R.id.username_edit_alert_dialog))
.getText().toString();
String password = ((EditText) mActivity
.findViewById(R.id.password_edit_alert_dialog))
.getText().toString();
Credentials cred = new CredentialsL1(userName, password);
mSmeppService.joinGroup(mGroupId, cred);
mHandler.sendMessage(Message.obtain(mHandler,
GroupsActivity.JOIN_SUCCESSFUL));
});
builder.setNegativeButton(R.string.cancel_text,
new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int whichButton) {
dialog.cancel();
mHandler.sendMessage(Message.obtain(mHandler,
GroupsActivity.DISMISS_PROGRESS_DIALOG));
}
});
dialog = builder.create();
/* I found this somewhere, but didn't work either */
// Window window = dialog.getWindow();
// WindowManager.LayoutParams lp = window.getAttributes();
// lp.token = textEntryView.getWindowToken();
// lp.type = WindowManager.LayoutParams.TYPE_APPLICATION_ATTACHED_DIALOG;
// window.setAttributes(lp);
// window.addFlags(WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_ALT_FOCUSABLE_IM);
dialog.show();
}
I'm getting this exception:
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): FATAL EXCEPTION: Thread-38
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): android.view.InflateException: Binary XML file line #17: Error inflating class android.widget.EditText
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at android.view.LayoutInflater.createView(LayoutInflater.java:513)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneLayoutInflater.onCreateView(PhoneLayoutInflater.java:56)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at android.view.LayoutInflater.createViewFromTag(LayoutInflater.java:563)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at android.view.LayoutInflater.rInflate(LayoutInflater.java:618)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at android.view.LayoutInflater.inflate(LayoutInflater.java:407)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at android.view.LayoutInflater.inflate(LayoutInflater.java:320)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at android.view.LayoutInflater.inflate(LayoutInflater.java:276)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at org.pfc.threads.GroupJoinerThread.showUserPasswordDialog(GroupJoinerThread.java:76)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at org.pfc.threads.GroupJoinerThread.run(GroupJoinerThread.java:52)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): Caused by: java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at android.widget.EditText.<init>(EditText.java:51)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at java.lang.reflect.Constructor.constructNative(Native Method)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at java.lang.reflect.Constructor.newInstance(Constructor.java:446)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at android.view.LayoutInflater.createView(LayoutInflater.java:500)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): ... 8 more
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: Can't create handler inside thread that has not called Looper.prepare()
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at android.os.Handler.<init>(Handler.java:121)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at android.text.method.MetaKeyKeyListener$MetaKeyDropbackHandler.<init>(MetaKeyKeyListener.java:605)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at android.text.method.MetaKeyKeyListener.<init>(MetaKeyKeyListener.java:96)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at android.text.method.BaseKeyListener.<init>(BaseKeyListener.java:25)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at android.text.method.TextKeyListener.<init>(TextKeyListener.java:66)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at android.text.method.TextKeyListener.getInstance(TextKeyListener.java:83)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at android.widget.TextView.<init>(TextView.java:806)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): at android.widget.EditText.<init>(EditText.java:55)
12-13 19:18:31.823: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1702): ... 12 more
The XML layout file is:
<EditText
android:id="@+id/username_edit_alert_dialog"
android:enabled="false"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_marginLeft="20dip"
android:layout_marginRight="20dip"
android:scrollHorizontally="true"
android:autoText="false"
android:capitalize="none"
android:gravity="fill_horizontal"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />
<!-- Password -->
<TextView
android:id="@+id/password_view"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginLeft="20dip"
android:layout_marginRight="20dip"
android:text="@string/password_view_text"
android:gravity="left"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />
<EditText
android:id="@+id/password_edit_alert_dialog"
android:enabled="false"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_marginLeft="20dip"
android:layout_marginRight="20dip"
android:scrollHorizontally="true"
android:autoText="false"
android:capitalize="none"
android:gravity="fill_horizontal"
android:password="true"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />
A:
You are correct that you cannot perform UI operations from a background thread. The way to do it is to use the Handler that you have already implemented to popup the dialog. So something like:
private Handler handler = new Handler(){
@Override
public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
switch(msg.what){
case GroupsActivity.DISMISS_PROGRESS_DIALOG:
//your existing dismiss code
break;
case GroupsActivity.CREATE_PROGRESS_DIALOG:
//create the dialog
break;
}
}
};
Then your run method would be:
public void run() {
secInf = mGroupId.getSecurityInformation();
if (secInf.getAdmissionLevel() == CreateGroupDialog.PRIVATE_KEY_ACCESS) {
// do stuff
mHandler.sendMessage(Message.obtain(mHandler,
GroupsActivity.CREATE_PROGRESS_DIALOG));
// do more stuff
} else {
mService.joinGroup(mGroupId);
// Notifies handler to dismiss ProgresDialog and start activity
mHandler.sendMessage(Message.obtain(mHandler,
GroupsActivity.JOIN_SUCCESSFUL));
}
}
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minipile
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NaturalLanguage
|
mit
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Establishment of a novel multiplex PCR assay and detection of toxigenic strains of the species in the Bacillus cereus group.
Five different enterotoxins and one emetic toxin of Bacillus cereus have been characterized. To amplify all of the enterotoxin and emetic-specific sequences of the species in the B. cereus group, a multiplex PCR with 12 primer pairs was established. In developing the assay method, a common terminal sequence at the 3' ends of all primers was chosen and a hot start Taq polymerase was used to overcome primer dimer formation. The assay was successfully applied to analyze the toxigenic potential of 162 food-poisoning and food-related strains. Results showed that there were 10 toxigenic patterns for all the test strains. All of the B. cereus strains carried at least one toxin gene. More than 70% of Bacillus mycoides strains carried no known toxin genes. The toxin profiles and toxin genes of B. mycoides strains were significantly different from B. cereus strains (P < 0.05), although the two species were closely related. The results suggest that many B. mycoides strains might be less prone to cause food poisoning. They also indicate the importance of detecting the toxin genes together with the detection of the species in the B. cereus group.
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minipile
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NaturalLanguage
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mit
| null |
---
abstract: 'In this paper, we consider a class of stochastic delay fractional evolution equations driven by fractional Brownian motion in a Hilbert space. Sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of mild solutions are obtained. An application to the stochastic fractional heat equation is presented to illustrate the theory.'
address: 'School of Mathematics and Statistics, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China'
author:
- Kexue Li
title: Stochastic delay fractional evolution equations driven by fractional Brownian motion
---
[^1]
[^2]
**Introduction**
================
In recent years, fractional calculus and fractional equations have attracted the attention of many researchers due to lots of applications to problems in physics, chemistry, engineering, biology and finance. One branch of the study is the theory of fractional evolution equations, that is, evolution equations where the integer-order derivative with respect to time is replaced by a fractional-order derivative. The increasing interest in fractional evolution equations is motivated by their applications to problems in viscoelasticity, heat conduction in materials with memory, electrodynamics with memory, etc.
Random phenomena exist everywhere in the real world. Systems are often subjected to random perturbations. Stochastic equations have been investigated by many authors, see, for example, Da Prato and Zabczyk [@Da; @Prato], Liu [@Liu], van Neerven et al. [@Neerven], Taniguchi [@Taniguchi], Jentzen and R$\ddot{o}$ckner [@Arnulf], Ren et al. [@RB], Ren and Sakthivel [@YR].
There has been some recent interest in studying evolution equations driven by fractional Brownian motion. Duncan et al. [@Duncan] studied stochastic differential equations driven by cylindrical fractional Brownian motion with Hurst parameter $H\in(\frac{1}{2},1)$. Existence and uniqueness of mild solutions are verified. Tindel et al. [@Tindel] studied linear stochastic evolution equations driven by infinite-dimensional fractional Brownian motion with Hurst parameter in the interval $H\in(0,1)$. A sufficient and necessary condition for the existence and uniqueness of the solution is established. Maslowski and Nualart [@Maslowski] studied nonlinear stochastic evolution equations in a Hilbert space driven by a cylindrical fractional Brownian motion with Hurst parameter $H>\frac{1}{2}$ and nuclear covariance operator. Maslowski and Pospíšil [@MJ] proved the existence and egrodicity of a strictly stationary solution for linear stochastic evolution equations driven by cylindrical fractional Brownian motion. More recently, Caraballo et al. [@Caraballo] investigated the existence, uniqueness and exponential asymptotic bahavior of mild solutions to a class of stochastic delay evolution equations perturbed by a fractional Brownian motion. Boufoussi and Hajji [@Boufoussi] proved the existence and uniqueness of mild solutions of a neutral stochastic differential equations with finite delay, driven by a fractional Brownian motion in a Hilbert space. Ren et al. [@YXR] showed the existence and uniqueness of the mild solution for a class of time-dependent stochastic evolution equations with finite delay driven by a standard cylindrical Wiener process and an independent cylindrical fractional Brownian motion.
Some authors have considered fractional stochastic equations, we refer to EI-Borai [@EIBorai], Ahmed [@Ahmed], Cui and Yan [@Cui], Sakthivel et al. [@RPY], [@RPN], the perturbed terms of these fractional equations are Wiener processes. To the best of our knowledge, there is no paper which studies the fractional evolution equations driven by fractional Brownian motion. We study the following stochastic delay fractional evolution equation $$\label{fbm}
\ \left\{\begin{aligned} &d[J_{t}^{1-\alpha}(x(t)-x(0))]=Ax(t)dt+f(t,x_{t})dt+h(t)dB^{H}(t), \ t\in [0,b],\\
&x(t)=\phi(t), \ t\in[-r,0],
\end{aligned}\right.$$ where $\alpha\in(\frac{1}{2},1]$, $J_{t}^{1-\alpha}$ is the $(1-\alpha)$-order Riemann-Liouville fractional integral operator, $A$ is the infinitesimal generator of a strongly continuous semigroup $T(t)$, $B^{H}(t)$ is a fractional Brownian motion with Hurst parameter $H\in(\frac{1}{2},1)$, $f,h$ are appropriate functions to be specified later.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the existence and uniqueness of mild solutions to the equation (\[fbm\]). The appropriate definition of mild solutions is given and the main results are obtained by using the approximation arguments and an inequality about stochastic integrals with respect to fractional Brownian motion.
The paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, some basic notations and preliminary facts on stochastic integrals for fractional Brownian motion, fractional calculus and some special functions are given. In Section 3, we give the main results of this paper. In Section 4, an example is given to illustrate the obtained theory.
Preliminaries
=============
In this section we recall some notions and lemmas on Wiener integrals with respect to an infinite dimensional fractional Brownian motion and some basic results about fractional calculus and some special functions.
Let $(\Omega,\mathcal{F},\mathbb{P})$ be a complete probability space.\
**Definition 2.1.** An one-dimensional fractional Brownian motion $\{\beta^{H}(t),\ t\geq0\}$ of Hurst index $H\in(0,1)$ is a continuous and centered Gaussian process with covariance function $$R_{H}(t,s)=\mathbb{E}[\beta^{H}(t)\beta^{H}(s)]=\frac{1}{2}(t^{2H}+s^{2H}-|t-s|^{2H}).$$
In the following, we assume $\frac{1}{2}<H<1$. Consider the square integrable kernel $$K_{H}(t,s)=c_{H}s^{\frac{1}{2}-H}\int_{s}^{t}(u-s)u^{H-\frac{1}{2}}du,$$ where $c_{H}=\left[\frac{H(2H-1)}{\beta(2-2H,H-\frac{1}{2}))}\right]^{1/2}$, $t>s$.\
Then $$\frac{\partial K_{H}}{\partial t}(t,s)=c_{H}\left(\frac{t}{s}\right)^{H-\frac{1}{2}}(t-s)^{H-\frac{3}{2}}.$$
Consider a fBM $\{\beta^{H}(t), \ t\in[0,b]\}$. We denote by $\zeta$ the set of step functions on $[0,b]$. Let $\mathcal{H}$ be the Hilbert space defined as the closure of $\zeta$ with respect to the scalar product $$\langle \textbf{1}_{[0,t]}, \textbf{1}_{[0,s]}\rangle_{\mathcal{H}}=R_{H}(t,s).$$ The mapping $\textbf{1}_{[0,t]}\rightarrow \{\beta^{H}(t)\}$ can be extended to an isometry between $\mathcal{H}$ and the first Wiener chaos of the fBM $\overline{\mbox{span}}^{L^{2}(\Omega)}\{\beta^{H}(t), \ t\in[0,b]\}$.
Consider the linear operator $K_{H}^{*}$ from $\zeta$ to $L^{2}([0,b])$ defined by $$(K_{H}^{*}\varphi)(s)=\int_{s}^{b}\varphi(t)\frac{\partial K_{H}}{\partial t}(t,s)dt.$$
The operator $K_{H}^{*}$ is an isometry between $\zeta$ and $L^{2}([0,b])$ that can be extended to the Hilbert space $\mathcal{H}$.
Consider the process $W=W(t),t\in[0,b]$ defined by $$W(t)=\beta^{H}((K_{H}^{\ast})^{-1}\textbf{1}_{[0,t]}).$$ Then $W$ is a Wiener process and $\beta^{H}$ has the integral representation $$\beta^{H}(t)=\int_{0}^{t}K_{H}(t,s)dW(s).$$ Let $|\mathcal{H}|$ be the Banach space of measurable functions $\varphi$ on $[0,b]$ such that $$\|\varphi\|_{|\mathcal{H}|}^{2}=\alpha_{H}\int_{0}^{b}\int_{0}^{b}\varphi(r)\varphi(u)|r-u|^{2H-2}dudr<\infty,$$ where $\alpha_{H}=H(2H-1)$.
We have the embeddings (see [@Nualart]) $$L^{1}([0,t])\subset L^{\frac{1}{H}} \subset |\mathcal{H}|\subset\mathcal{H}.$$ Throughout this paper, $X$ and $Y$ denote two real separable Hilbert spaces. By $\mathcal{L}(Y,X)$, we denote the space of all bounded linear operators from $Y$ to $X$. For convenience, we use the notation $\|\cdot\|$ to denote the norms in $X, Y$ and $\mathcal{L}(Y,Y)$ when no confusion possibly arises. Suppose that there exists a complete orthonormal system $\{e_{n}\}_{n=1}^{\infty}$ in $Y$, let $Q\in \mathcal{L}(Y,Y)$ be an operator with finite trace $trQ=\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\lambda_{n}<\infty \ (\lambda_{n}\geq 0)$ such that $Qe_{n}=\lambda_{n}e_{n}$. The infinite dimensional fBM on $Y$ can be defined by using covariance operator $Q$ as $$B^{H}(t)=B_{Q}^{H}(t)=\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\sqrt{\lambda_{n}}e_{n}\beta_{n}^{H}(t),$$ where $\beta_{n}^{H}(t)$ are one dimensional standard fractional Brownian motions mutually independent on $(\Omega,\mathcal{F},\mathbb{P})$. Consider the space $\mathcal{L}_{2}^{0}:=\mathcal{L}_{2}^{0}(Y,X)$ of all $Q$-Hilbert-Schmidt operators $\varphi: Y\rightarrow X$. We recall that $\varphi\in \mathcal{L}(Y,X)$ is called a $Q$-Hilbert-Schmidt operator, if $$\|\varphi\|_{\mathcal{L}_{2}^{0}}^{2}:=\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\|\sqrt{\lambda_{n}}\varphi e_{n}\|^{2}<\infty,$$ and that the space $\mathcal{L}_{2}^{0}$ equipped with the inner product $\langle\varphi,\psi\rangle_{\mathcal{L}_{2}^{0}}=\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\langle\varphi e_{n}, \psi e_{n}\rangle$ is a separable Hilbert space.
Let $(\phi(s))_{s\in[0,b]}$ be a deterministic function with values in $\mathcal{L}_{2}^{0}(Y,X)$. The stochastic integral of $\phi$ with respect to $B^{H}$ is defined by $$\label{definition}
\int_{0}^{t}\phi(s)dB^{H}(s)=\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\int_{0}^{t}\sqrt{\lambda_{n}}\phi(s)e_{n}d\beta_{n}^{H}(s)=\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\int_{0}^{t}\sqrt{\lambda_{n}}(K_{H}^{*}(\phi e_{n}))(s)d\beta_{n}(s).$$ **Lemma 2.1** ([@Boufoussi]). If $\varphi: [0,b]\rightarrow \mathcal{L}_{2}^{0}(Y,X)$ satisfies $\int_{0}^{b}\|\varphi(s)\|_{\mathcal{L}_{2}^{0}}^{2}<\infty$ then the above sum in (\[definition\]) is well defined as an $X$-valued random variable and we have $$\mathbb{E}\|\int_{0}^{t}\varphi(s)dB^{H}(s)\|^{2}\leq 2Ht^{2H-1}\int_{0}^{t}\|\varphi(s)\|_{\mathcal{L}_{2}^{0}}^{2}ds.$$
Now we recall some notations and preliminary results about fractional calculus and some special functions.
For $\beta>0$, let $$\begin{aligned}
g_\beta(t)=\left\{\begin{aligned}
&\frac{t^{\beta-1}}{\Gamma(\beta)},\;&
t>0,\\
&0,\; &t\leq 0,
\end{aligned}\right.\end{aligned}$$ where $\Gamma(\cdot)$ is the Gamma function. Let $g_{0}(t)=\delta(t)$, the delta distribution.\
**Definition 2.1.** The Riemann-Liouville fractional integral of order $\alpha>0$ of $f:[0,b]\rightarrow X$ is defined by $$\label{0}
J_{t}^{\alpha}f(t)=\frac{1}{\Gamma(\alpha)}\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}f(s)ds.$$ **Definition 2.2.** The Riemann-Liouville fractional derivative of order $\alpha\in (0,1]$ of $f:[0,b]\rightarrow X$ is defined by $$\label{ft}
D_{t}^{\alpha}f(t)=\frac{d}{dt}J_t^{1-\alpha}f(t).$$ **Definition 2.3.** The Caputo fractional derivative of order $\alpha\in (0,1]$ of $f:[0,b]\rightarrow X$ is defined by $$\label{dt}
^{C}D_{t}^{\alpha}f(t)=D_{t}^{\alpha}(f(t)-f(0)).$$ The Laplace transform of the Caputo fractional derivative is given by $$\label{laplace}
L\{^{C}D_{t}^{\alpha}u(t)\}=\lambda^{\alpha}\hat{u}(\lambda)-\lambda^{\alpha-1}u(0),$$ where $\hat{u}(\lambda)$ is the Laplace transform of $u$ defined by $$\label{cute}
\hat{u}(\lambda)=\int_{0}^{\infty}e^{-\lambda t}u(t)dt,\
\mathfrak{R}\lambda>\omega,$$ where $\mathfrak{R}\lambda$ stands for the real part of the complex number $\lambda$.\
**Definition 2.4** The Mittag-Leffler function is defined by $$\label{ML}
E_{\alpha,\beta}(z)=\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}\frac{z^{n}}{\Gamma(\alpha
n+\beta)},\ \alpha,\beta>0,\ z\in \mathbb{C}.$$ When $\beta=1$, set $E_{\alpha}(z)=E_{\alpha,1}(z)$.\
**Definition 2.5** ([@Igor]). The Mainardi’s function is defined by $$\label{rep2}
M_{\alpha}(z)=\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}\frac{(-z)^{n}}{n!\Gamma(-\alpha n+1-\alpha)},\ 0<\alpha<1,\ z\in \mathbb{C}.$$ The Laplace transform of the Mainardi’s function $M_{\alpha}(r)$ is ([@Main]): $$\begin{aligned}
\label{lap}
\int_{0}^{\infty}e^{-r\lambda}M_{\alpha}(r)dr=E_{\alpha}(-\lambda).\end{aligned}$$ By (\[ML\]) and (\[lap\]), it is clear that $$\begin{aligned}
\label{one}
\int_{0}^{\infty}M_{\alpha}(r)dr=1,\ 0<\alpha<1.\end{aligned}$$ On the other hand, $M_{\alpha}(z)$ satisfies the following equality ([@Main], P.249) $$\label{L}
\int_{0}^{\infty}\frac{\alpha}{r^{\alpha+1}}M_{\alpha}(1/r^{\alpha})e^{-\lambda r}dr=e^{-\lambda^{\alpha}}.$$ and the equality ([@Main], (F.33)) $$\begin{aligned}
\label{rm}
\int_{0}^{\infty}r^{\delta}M_{\alpha}(r)dr=\frac{\Gamma(\delta+1)}{\Gamma(\alpha\delta+1)}, \ \delta>-1,\ 0< \alpha<1.\end{aligned}$$
Main results
============
Denote by $C([a,b]; L^{2}(\Omega;X))=C([a,b]; L^{2}(\Omega,\mathcal{F},\mathbb{P};X))$ the Banach space of all continuous functions from $[a,b]$ into $L^{2}(\Omega;X)$ equipped with the sup norm. Let $r>0$ be a real number. If $x\in C([-r,b];L^{2}(\Omega;X))$ for each $t\in [0,b]$, we denote by $x_{t}\in C([-r,b];L^{2}(\Omega;X))$ the function defined by $x_{t}(s)=x(t+s)$ for $s\in [-r,0]$.
Note that if $g=0$ and the delay term in (\[fbm\]) is omitted, thanks to (\[dt\]) and (\[ft\]), we can consider the following deterministic case: $$\label{rb}
\left \{\begin{aligned}
&^{C}D_{t}^{\alpha}u(t)=Au(t)+f(t),\ t\in [0,b],\\
& u(0)=\eta,
\end{aligned}\right.$$ We refer to [@kexue] about the definition of mild solutions to (\[rb\]), for convenience, the details is presented in the following. Since the coefficient operator $A$ is the infinitesimal generator of a $C_{0}$-semigroup $T(t)$, there exists constants $N\geq 1,\ \omega\geq 0$, such that $\|T(t)\|\leq Ne^{\omega t}$, $t\geq 0$. From the subordination principle (see Theorem 3.1 in [@Bazhlekova]), it follows that $A$ generates an exponentially bounded solution operator $T_{\alpha}(t)(0<\alpha<1)$ (see [@Bazhlekova], Definition 2.3), satisfying $T_{\alpha}(0)=I$ (the identity operator on $X$), $$\begin{aligned}
\label{exp}
\|T_{\alpha}(t)\|\leq Ne^{\omega^{1/\alpha}t}, \ t\geq0,\end{aligned}$$ and $$\begin{aligned}
\label{rep1}
T_{\alpha}(t)&=\int_{0}^{\infty}t^{-\alpha}M_{\alpha}(st^{-\alpha})T(s)ds\nonumber\\
&=\int_{0}^{\infty}M_{\alpha}(r)T(t^{\alpha}r)dr,\ t>0,\end{aligned}$$ where $M_{\alpha}(r)$ is the Mainardi’s function.
Since $\|T_{\alpha}(t)\|\leq N_{1}e^{\omega^{1/\alpha}t}$, from the formulas (2.5) and (2.6) in [@Bazhlekova], it follows that $$\label{rep3}
\{\lambda^{\alpha}:\lambda>\omega^{1/\alpha}\}\subset \rho(A),$$ and $$\label{rep4}
\lambda^{\alpha-1}R(\lambda^{\alpha},A)\eta=\int_{0}^{\infty}e^{-\lambda t}T_{\alpha}(t)\eta dt,\ \lambda>\omega^{1/\alpha},\ \eta\in X.$$ By $\widehat{f}(\lambda)=\int_{0}^{\infty}e^{-\lambda t}f(t)dt$, resp. $\widehat{u}(\lambda)=\int_{0}^{\infty}e^{-\lambda t}u(t)dt$, we denote the Laplace transforms of the functions $f\in L^{1}([0,b];X)$ and $u\in C([0,b];X)$, respectively. Taking the Laplace transform to both sides of $^{C}D_{t}^{\alpha}u(t)=Au(t)+f(t)$ and using the initial condition $u(0)=\eta$, we obtain $$\label{rep5}
\widehat{u}(\lambda)=\lambda^{\alpha-1}R(\lambda^{\alpha},A)\eta+R(\lambda^{\alpha},A)\widehat{f}(\lambda).$$ Since $A$ is the infinitesimal generator of $C_{0}$-semigroup $T(t)$, $$\label{rep6}
R(\lambda,A)\eta=\int_{0}^{\infty}e^{-\lambda t}T(t)\eta dt,\ \lambda>\omega,\ \eta\in X.$$ Hence, by (\[rep6\]) and (\[L\]), $$\begin{aligned}
\label{transfer}
&R(\lambda^{\alpha},A)\widehat{f}(\lambda)\\
&=\int_{0}^{\infty}e^{-\lambda^{\alpha}t}T(t)\widehat{f}(\lambda)dt\nonumber\\
&=\int_{0}^{\infty}\int_{0}^{\infty}\alpha t^{\alpha-1}e^{-(\lambda t)^{\alpha}}T(t^{\alpha})f(s)e^{-s\lambda}dsdt\nonumber\\
&=\int_{0}^{\infty}\int_{0}^{\infty}\int_{0}^{\infty}\alpha t^{\alpha-1}\frac{\alpha}{r^{\alpha+1}}M_{\alpha}(1/r^{\alpha})e^{-\lambda tr}T(t^{\alpha})f(s)e^{-s\lambda}drdsdt\nonumber\\
&=\int_{0}^{\infty}\int_{0}^{\infty}\int_{0}^{\infty}\frac{\alpha^{2}}{r^{2\alpha+1}}t^{\alpha-1}M_{\alpha}(1/r^{\alpha})e^{-\lambda t}f(s)e^{-s\lambda}drdsdt\nonumber\\
&=\int_{0}^{\infty}\int_{0}^{\infty}\int_{0}^{\infty}\alpha rt^{\alpha-1}M_{\alpha}(r)T(t^{\alpha}r)f(s)e^{-\lambda(t+s)}drdsdt\nonumber\\
&=\int_{0}^{\infty}e^{-\lambda t}\left(\int_{0}^{t}\int_{0}^{\infty}\alpha rM_{\alpha}(r)(t-s)^{\alpha-1}T((t-s)^{\alpha}r)f(s)drds\right)dt.\end{aligned}$$ By (\[rep4\]), (\[rep5\]), (\[transfer\]), we obtain $$\begin{aligned}
\label{trans}
\widehat{u}(\lambda)&=\int_{0}^{\infty}e^{-\lambda t}T_{\alpha}(t)\eta dt\nonumber\\
&\quad+\int_{0}^{\infty}e^{-\lambda t}\left(\int_{0}^{t}\int_{0}^{\infty}\alpha rM_{\alpha}(r)(t-s)^{\alpha-1}T((t-s)^{\alpha}r)f(s)drds\right)dt.\end{aligned}$$ From the uniqueness theorem of the Laplace transform, it follows that $$\begin{aligned}
\label{tran}
u(t)=T_{\alpha}(t)\eta+\int_{0}^{t}\int_{0}^{\infty}\alpha rM_{\alpha}(r)(t-s)^{\alpha-1}T((t-s)^{\alpha}r)f(s)drds.\end{aligned}$$ Set $$\begin{aligned}
\label{t}
S_{\alpha}(t)\eta=\int_{0}^{\infty}\alpha rM_{\alpha}(r)T(t^{\alpha}r)\eta dr, \ t\geq 0, \ \eta\in X.\end{aligned}$$ By (\[tran\]), (\[t\]), $$\begin{aligned}
\label{tr}
u(t)=T_{\alpha}(t)\eta+\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t-s)f(s)ds,\end{aligned}$$ where $$\begin{aligned}
\label{rep1}
T_{\alpha}(t)=\int_{0}^{\infty}M_{\alpha}(r)T(t^{\alpha}r)dr,\quad t\geq0,\end{aligned}$$ $$\begin{aligned}
\label{tra}
S_{\alpha}(t)=\int_{0}^{\infty}\alpha rM_{\alpha}(r)T(t^{\alpha}r)dr, \quad t\geq 0,\end{aligned}$$ where $M_{\alpha}(r)$ is the Mainardi’s function, $T(t)$ is the semigroup generated by $A$.\
Motivated by (\[tr\]), we give the following definition of mild solutions of Eq. (\[fbm\]).\
**Definition 3.1.** A $X$-valued process $x(t)$ is called a mild solution of Eq. (\[fbm\]) if\
(i) $x(\cdot)\in C([-r,b];L^{2}(\Omega;X))$,\
(ii) $x(t)=\phi(t)$, $t\in [-r,0]$,\
(iii) For all $t\in[0,b]$, $$\begin{aligned}
\label{solution}
x(t)&=T_{\alpha}(t)\phi(0)+\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t-s)f(s,x_{s})ds\nonumber\\
&\quad+\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t-s)h(s)dB^{H}(s) \ \ \mathbb{P}-a.s.\end{aligned}$$
In order to study the existence and uniqueness of mild solutions of Eq. (\[fbm\]), we make the following assumptions:\
$(a_{1})$ $A: D(A)\subset X\rightarrow X$ is the infinitesimal generator of a strongly continuous semigroup of bounded linear operators $T(t)$ on $X$, there exists constants $M\geq 1$, $\omega\geq 0$ such that $\|T(t)\|\leq Me^{\omega t}.$\
The function $f:[0,b]\times C([-r,0];X)\rightarrow X$ satisfies the following conditions:\
$(f_{1})$ The mapping $t\in(0,b)\rightarrow f(t,\xi)\in X$ is Lebesgue measurable, for a.e. $t$ and for all $\xi\in C([-r,0];X)$.\
$(f_{2})$ There exists a positive constant $C_{f}>0$ such that for any $x,\ y\in C([-r,0];X)$ and $t\in [0,b]$, $$\begin{aligned}
\int_{0}^{t}\|f(s,x_{s})-f(s,y_{s})\|^{2}ds\leq C_{f}\int_{-r}^{t}\|x(s)-y(s)\|^{2}ds.\end{aligned}$$ $(f_{3})$ $$\begin{aligned}
\int_{0}^{b}\|f(s,0)\|^{2}ds<\infty.\end{aligned}$$ $(h_{1})$ There exists a constant $p>\frac{1}{2\alpha-1}$ such that the function $h: [0,\infty)\rightarrow L_{2}^{0}(Y,X)$ satisfies $$\begin{aligned}
\int_{0}^{b}\|h(s)\|_{L_{2}^{0}}^{2p}ds<\infty.\end{aligned}$$ **Remark 3.2.** If $\|T(t)\|\leq Me^{\omega t}$ for $M\geq 1$, $\omega\geq 0$, then $\|S_{\alpha}(t)\|\leq ME_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega t^{\alpha})$.\
**Proof.** By (\[tra\]), (\[rm\]) and the property of the Gamma function, we have $$\begin{aligned}
\|S_{\alpha}(t)\|&\leq \alpha M\int_{0}^{\infty}rM_{\alpha}(r)e^{\omega t^{\alpha}r}dr\\
&\leq \alpha M\int_{0}^{\infty}rM_{\alpha}(r)\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}\frac{(\omega t^{\alpha}r)^{n}}{n!}dr\\
&\leq \alpha M\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}\frac{(\omega t^{\alpha})^{n}}{n!}\int_{0}^{\infty}r^{n+1}M_{\alpha}(r)dr\\
&\leq \alpha M\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}\frac{(\omega t^{\alpha})^{n}}{n!}\cdot \frac{\Gamma(n+2)}{\Gamma(\alpha(n+1)+1)}\\
&\leq \alpha M\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}\frac{(\omega t^{\alpha})^{n}}{n!}\cdot \frac{(n+1)\Gamma(n+1)}{\alpha(n+1)\Gamma(\alpha(n+1))}\\
&\leq M E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega t^{\alpha}).\end{aligned}$$ **Theorem 3.3.** Suppose that $(a_{1})$, $(f_{1})$, $(f_{2})$, $(f_{3})$ and $(h_{1})$ are satisfied. Then for every $\phi \in C([-r,0];L^{2}(\Omega;X))$, Eq.(\[fbm\]) has a unique mild solution on $[-r,b]$.\
**Proof.** First, we prove the uniqueness of mild solutions. Suppose that $x,y\in C([-r,b];L^{2}(\Omega;X))$ are two mild solutions of (\[fbm\]). $$\begin{aligned}
\label{gron}
\mathbb{E}\|x(t)-y(t)\|^{2}&=\mathbb{E}\|\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t-s)(f(s,x_{s})-f(s,y_{s}))ds\|^{2}\nonumber\\
&\leq M^{2}(\mathbb{E}_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega t^{\alpha}))^{2} \mathbb{E}\left(\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}\|f(s,x_{s})-f(s,y_{s})\|ds\right)^{2}\nonumber\\
&\leq M^{2}(E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega t^{\alpha}))^{2} \left(\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{2\alpha-2}ds\right)\mathbb{E}\int_{0}^{t}\|f(s,x_{s})-f(s,y_{s})\|^{2}ds\nonumber\\
&\leq \frac{M^{2}(E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega t^{\alpha}))^{2}t^{2\alpha-1}C_{f}}{(2\alpha-1)}\int_{0}^{t}\mathbb{E}\|x(s)-y(s)\|^{2}ds\nonumber\\
&\leq \frac{M^{2}(E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega t^{\alpha}))^{2}t^{2\alpha-1}C_{f}}{(2\alpha-1)}\int_{0}^{t}\sup_{0\leq\tau\leq s}\mathbb{E}\|x(\tau)-y(\tau)\|^{2}ds.\end{aligned}$$ Taking the supremum in (\[gron\]), we have $$\begin{aligned}
\label{uni}
\sup_{0\leq \mu \leq t}\mathbb{E}\|x(\mu)-y(\mu)\|^{2}ds\leq \frac{M^{2}(E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega b^{\alpha}))^{2}b^{2\alpha-1}C_{f}}{(2\alpha-1)} \int_{0}^{t}\sup_{0\leq\tau\leq s}\mathbb{E}\|x(\tau)-y(\tau)\|^{2}ds.\end{aligned}$$ By the Gronwall inequality, we have $$\begin{aligned}
\mathbb{E}\|x(t)-y(t)\|^{2}=0,\ t\in[0,b].\end{aligned}$$ This together with $x(t)=y(t)$ on $[-r,0]$ yield that the mild solution is unique.
Next we prove the existence of mild solutions of Eq.(\[fbm\]).\
Step 1: We show that the stochastic integral term $\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t-s)h(s)dB^{H}(s)$ possesses the required regularity. For sufficiently small $\delta>0$, $$\begin{aligned}
\label{delta}
&\mathbb{E}\|\int_{0}^{t+\delta}(t+\delta-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t+\delta-s)h(s)dB^{H}(s)-\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t-s)h(s)dB^{H}(s)\|^{2}\nonumber\\
&\leq 2\mathbb{E}\|\int_{0}^{t}((t+\delta-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t+\delta-s)-(t-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t-s))h(s)dB^{H}(s)\|^{2}\nonumber\\
&\quad+2\mathbb{E}\|\int_{t}^{t+\delta}(t+\delta-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t+\delta-s)h(s)dB^{H}(s)\|^{2}\nonumber\\
&=I_{1}+I_{2}.\end{aligned}$$ For $I_{1}$, by Lemma 2.1, we have $$\begin{aligned}
\label{I1}
I_{1}&=2\mathbb{E}\|\int_{0}^{t}((t+\delta-s)^{\alpha-1}-(t-s)^{\alpha-1})S_{\alpha}(t+\delta-s)h(s)dB^{H}(s)\nonumber\\
&\quad+\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}(S_{\alpha}(t+\delta-s)-S_{\alpha}(t-s))g(s)dB^{H}(s)\|^{2}\nonumber\\
&\leq 4\mathbb{E}\|\int_{0}^{t}((t+\delta-s)^{\alpha-1}-(t-s)^{\alpha-1})S_{\alpha}(t+\delta-s)h(s)dB^{H}(s)\|^{2}\nonumber\\
&\quad+4\mathbb{E}\|\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}(S_{\alpha}(t+\delta-s)-S_{\alpha}(t-s))h(s)dB^{H}(s)\|^{2}\nonumber\\
&\leq8Ht^{2H-1}M^{2}(E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega (t+\delta)^{\alpha}))^{2}\int_{0}^{t}\|((t+\delta-s)^{\alpha-1}-(t-s)^{\alpha-1})h(s)\|^{2}_{L_{2}^{0}}ds\nonumber\\
&\quad+8Ht^{2H-1}\int_{0}^{t}\|(t-s)^{\alpha-1}(S_{\alpha}(t+\delta-s)-S_{\alpha}(t-s))h(s)\|^{2}_{L_{2}^{0}}ds.\end{aligned}$$ For $p>\frac{1}{2\alpha-1}$, note that $\alpha\in (\frac{1}{2},1]$, we have $$\begin{aligned}
\label{h}
\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{2\alpha-2}\|h(s)\|^{2}_{L_{2}^{0}}ds&\leq \left(\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\frac{(2\alpha-2)p}{p-1}}ds\right)^{\frac{p-1}{p}}\left(\int_{0}^{t}\|h(s)\|_{L_{2}^{0}}^{2p}ds\right)^{\frac{1}{p}}\nonumber\\
&\leq b^{\frac{(2\alpha-1)p-1}{p}}\left(\int_{0}^{b}\|h(s)\|_{L_{2}^{0}}^{2p}ds\right)^{\frac{1}{p}}\nonumber\\
&<\infty.\end{aligned}$$ Similarly, we have $$\begin{aligned}
\label{s}
\int_{0}^{t}(t+\delta-s)^{2\alpha-2}\|h(s)\|^{2}_{L_{2}^{0}}ds<\infty.\end{aligned}$$ Applying the dominated convergence theorem to (\[I1\]), it follows that $$\begin{aligned}
\label{app}
I_{1}\rightarrow 0 \ \ \mbox{as} \ \ \delta\rightarrow 0.\end{aligned}$$ For $I_{2}$, we have $$\begin{aligned}
\label{II}
I_{2}&\leq 8H t^{2H-1}M^{2}(E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega(t+\delta)^{\alpha}))^{2}\int_{t}^{t+\delta}(t+\delta-s)^{2\alpha-2}\|h(s)\|_{L_{2}^{0}}^{2}ds\nonumber\\
&\leq 8H t^{2H-1}M^{2}(E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega(t+\delta)^{\alpha}))^{2} \left(\int_{t}^{t+\delta}(t+\delta-s)^{\frac{(2\alpha-2)p}{p-1}}ds\right)^{\frac{p-1}{p}}\left(\int_{t}^{t+\delta}\|h(s)\|_{L_{2}^{0}}^{2p}ds\right)^{\frac{1}{p}}\nonumber\\
&\leq 8H t^{2H-1}M^{2}(E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega(t+\delta)^{\alpha}))^{2}\delta^{\frac{(2\alpha-1)p-1}{p}}\left(\int_{0}^{b}\|h(s)\|_{L_{2}^{0}}^{2p}ds\right)^{\frac{1}{p}}.\end{aligned}$$ By (\[II\]), we have $$\begin{aligned}
\label{zero}
I_{2}\rightarrow 0 \ \ \mbox{as} \ \ \delta\rightarrow 0.\end{aligned}$$ From (\[delta\]), (\[app\]), (\[zero\]), it follows that the stochastic integral term $\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t-s)h(s)dB^{H}(s)$ belongs to the space $C([-r,b];L^{2}(\Omega;X))$.\
Step 2: Set $x^{0}=0$ and construct a recurrence sequence process $\{x^{n}\}_{n\in \mathbb{N}}$ as $$\label{pro}
\left \{\begin{aligned}
&x^{n}(t)=T_{\alpha}(t)\phi(0)+\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t-s)f(s,x^{n-1}_{s})ds\\
&\quad+\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t-s)h(s)dB^{H}(s),\ t\in [0,b],\\
& x^{n}(t)=\phi(t),\ t\in[-r,0].
\end{aligned}\right.$$ We will prove $x^{n}(t)\in C([-r,b];L^{2}(\Omega;X))$. Assume that $x^{n-1}(t)\in C([-r,b];L^{2}(\Omega;X))$. For sufficiently small $\delta>0$, $$\begin{aligned}
\label{I2}
\mathbb{E}\|x^{n}(t+\delta)-x^{n}(t)\|^{2}&\leq 2\mathbb{E}\|\int_{0}^{t}((t+\delta-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t+\delta-s)-(t-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t-s))f(s,x^{n-1}_{s})ds\|^{2}\nonumber\\
&\quad+2\mathbb{E}\|\int_{t}^{t+\delta}(t+\delta-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t+\delta-s)f(s,x^{n-1}_{s})ds\|^{2}\nonumber\\
& =I_{3}+I_{4}.\end{aligned}$$ For $I_{3}$, we have $$\begin{aligned}
\label{I3}
I_{3}&=2\mathbb{E}\|\int_{0}^{t}((t+\delta-s)^{\alpha-1}-(t-s)^{\alpha-1})S_{\alpha}(t+\delta-s)f(s,x^{n-1}_{s})ds\nonumber\\
&\quad+\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}(S_{\alpha}(t+\delta-s)-S_{\alpha}(t-s))f(s,x^{n-1}_{s})ds\|^{2}\nonumber\\
&\leq 4\mathbb{E}\|\int_{0}^{t}((t+\delta-s)^{\alpha-1}-(t-s)^{\alpha-1})S_{\alpha}(t+\delta-s)f(s,x^{n-1}_{s})ds\|^{2}\nonumber\\
&\quad+4\mathbb{E}\|\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}(S_{\alpha}(t+\delta-s)-S_{\alpha}(t-s))f(s,x^{n-1}_{s})ds\|^{2}\nonumber\\
&\leq 4M^{2}(E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega(t+\delta)^{\alpha}))^{2}\mathbb{E}\left(\int_{0}^{t}\|((t+\delta-s)^{\alpha-1}-(t-s)^{\alpha-1})f(s,x^{n-1}_{s})\|ds\right)^{2}\nonumber\\
&\quad+4\mathbb{E}\left(\int_{0}^{t}\|(t-s)^{\alpha-1}(S_{\alpha}(t+\delta-s)-S_{\alpha}(t-s))f(s,x^{n-1}_{s})\|ds\right)^{2}\nonumber\\
&\leq4M^{2}(E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega(t+\delta)^{\alpha}))^{2}\left(\int_{0}^{t}((t+\delta-s)^{\alpha-1}-(t-s)^{\alpha-1})^{2}ds\right)\mathbb{E}\int_{0}^{t}\|f(s,x^{n-1}_{s})\|^{2}ds\nonumber\\
&\quad+4\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{2\alpha-2}\|S_{\alpha}(t+\delta-s)-S_{\alpha}(t-s)\|^{2}ds\mathbb{E}\int_{0}^{t}\|f(s,x^{n-1}_{s})\|^{2}ds.\end{aligned}$$ By $(f_{2}), \ (f_{3})$, $$\begin{aligned}
\label{expect}
\mathbb{E}\int_{0}^{t}\|f(s,x^{n-1}_{s})\|^{2}ds&=\mathbb{E}\int_{0}^{t}\|f(s,x^{n-1}_{s})-f(s,0)+f(s,0)\|^{2}ds\nonumber\\
&\leq 2\mathbb{E}\int_{0}^{t}\|f(s,x^{n-1}_{s})-f(s,0)\|^{2}ds+2\int_{0}^{t}\|f(s,0)\|^{2}ds\nonumber\\
&\leq 2C_{f}\mathbb{E}\int_{-r}^{t}\|x^{n-1}(s)\|^{2}ds+2\int_{0}^{t}\|f(s,0)\|^{2}ds\nonumber\\
&<\infty,\end{aligned}$$ then applying the dominated convergence theorem to (\[I3\]) to obtain $$\begin{aligned}
\label{dom}
I_{3}\rightarrow 0 \ \ \mbox{as} \ \ \delta\rightarrow 0.\end{aligned}$$ For $I_{4}$, we get $$\begin{aligned}
\label{second}
I_{4}&\leq 2\mathbb{E}\left(\int_{t}^{t+\delta}\|(t+\delta-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t+\delta-s)f(s,x^{n-1}_{s})\|ds\right)^{2}\nonumber\\
&\leq 2M^{2}(E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega(t+\delta)^{\alpha}))^{2}\int_{t}^{t+\delta}(t+\delta-s)^{2\alpha-2}ds\mathbb{E}\int_{0}^{t}\|f(s,x^{n-1}_{s})\|^{2}ds.\end{aligned}$$ Hence $$\begin{aligned}
\label{sum}
I_{4}\rightarrow 0 \ \ \mbox{as} \ \ \delta\rightarrow 0.\end{aligned}$$ By (\[I2\]), (\[dom\]), (\[sum\]), $$\begin{aligned}
\mathbb{E}\|x^{n}(t+\delta)-x^{n}(t)\|^{2}\rightarrow 0 \ \ \mbox{as} \ \ \delta\rightarrow 0.\end{aligned}$$ Step 3: We will prove that $\{x^{n}\}$ is a Cauchy sequence. For $t\in[-r,b]$, since $x^{n}(t)=x^{n-1}(t)$ for $t\in[-r,0]$, we obtain $$\begin{aligned}
\label{u}
\mathbb{E}\|x^{n+1}(t)-x^{n}(t)\|^{2}&\leq\mathbb{E}\left(\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}\|S_{\alpha}(t-s)(f(s,x_{s}^{n})-f(s,x_{s}^{n-1}))\|ds\right)^{2}\nonumber\\
&\leq M^{2}(E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega t^{\alpha}))^{2} \mathbb{E}\left(\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}\|f(s,x_{s}^{n})-f(s,x_{s}^{n-1})\|ds\right)^{2}\nonumber\\
&\leq M^{2}(E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega t^{\alpha}))^{2}\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{2\alpha-2}ds\mathbb{E}\int_{0}^{t}\|f(s,x_{s}^{n})-f(s,x_{s}^{n-1})\|^{2}ds\nonumber\\
&\leq\frac{M^{2}(E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega t^{\alpha}))^{2}C_{f}t^{2\alpha-1}}{(2\alpha-1)}\int_{0}^{t}\mathbb{E}\|x^{n}(s)-x^{n-1}(s)\|^{2}ds.\end{aligned}$$ Set $z^{n}(t)=\sup_{0\leq \theta\leq t}\mathbb{E}\|x^{n+1}(\theta)-x^{n}(\theta)\|^{2}$. By (\[u\]), we have $$\begin{aligned}
z^{n}(t)\leq \frac{M^{2}(E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega t^{\alpha}))^{2}C_{f}t^{2\alpha-1}}{(2\alpha-1)}\int_{0}^{t}z^{n-1}(s)ds,\ n\in\mathbb{N},\ \ n\geq2.\end{aligned}$$ Proceeding by induction we obtain $$\begin{aligned}
z^{n}(t)\leq \frac{(\frac{M^{2}(E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega t^{\alpha}))^{2}C_{f}b^{2\alpha}}{2\alpha-1})^{n-1}}{(n-1)!}z^{1}(t),\ n\in\mathbb{N},\ \ n\geq2, \ t \in [0,b].\end{aligned}$$ This yields that $\{x^{n}\}_{n\in \mathbb{N}}$ is a Cauchy sequence in $C([-r,b];L^{2}(\Omega;X))$.\
Step 4: We will show that the limit $y$ of $\{x^{n}\}_{n\in \mathbb{N}}$ is a solution of (\[fbm\]). By $(f_{2})$ and (\[pro\]), $$\begin{aligned}
\label{last}
&\mathbb{E}\|\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t-s)f(s,x_{s}^{n-1})ds-\int_{0}^{t}(t-s)^{\alpha-1}S_{\alpha}(t-s)f(s,y_{s})ds\|^{2}\nonumber\\
&\leq \frac{M^{2}(E_{\alpha,\alpha}(\omega t^{\alpha}))^{2}C_{f}t^{2\alpha-1}}{(2\alpha-1)}\int_{0}^{t}\mathbb{E}\|x^{n-1}(s)-y(s)\|^{2}ds.\end{aligned}$$ By (\[last\]), (\[solution\]), (\[pro\]), we see that $y$ is the unique mild solution of (\[fbm\]). $\Box$\
**Remark 3.4.** If we consider the special case that $\alpha=1$, then the problem (\[fbm\]) reduces to the problem (1.1) in [@Caraballo]. Therefore, the existence result of mild solutions in this paper generalizes the corresponding existence result in [@Caraballo].
An Example
==========
Consider the following fractional partial differential equation $$\label{cauchy}
\left\{\begin{aligned}
&d[J_{t}^{1-\alpha}((\xi(t,z)-\phi(0,z))]=\frac{\partial^{2}
\xi(t,z)}{\partial z^{2}}dt+\mu(t,\xi(t-r,z))dt+\gamma(t,z)dB^{H}(t), \ \ t\in[0,T], z\in [0,\pi],\\
&\xi(t,0)=\xi(t,\pi)=0,\ t\in(0,T),\\
&\xi(t,z)=\phi(t,z), t\in[-r,0],z\in[0,\pi],
\end{aligned}\right.$$ where $\alpha\in (\frac{1}{2},1)$, $r>0$, $B^{H}(t)$ is a fractional Brownian motion with Hurst parameter $H\in(\frac{1}{2},1)$, $\phi:[-r,0]\times [0,\pi]\rightarrow R$ is a given function.
Let $X=L^{2}[0,\pi]$, $A=\frac{\partial^{2}}{\partial z^{2}}$, $D(A)=\{\tau\in X, \tau, \tau' \ \mbox{are absolutely continuous},
\tau''\in X, \tau(0)=\tau(\pi)=0\}$. Since $e_{n}=\sqrt{2/\pi}\sin nz, n\in N$, is the orthonormal system of eigenvectors of $A$, we see that $A\tau=-\Sigma_{n=1}^{\infty}n^{2}\langle\tau,e_{n}\rangle e_{n}$, $\tau\in D(A)$. It is well-known that $A$ is the generator of a strongly continuous semigroup of bounded linear operators $T(t)\tau=\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}e^{-n^{2}t}\langle\tau,e_{n}\rangle e_{n}$, $\tau\in X, \ t\geq 0$, and $\|T(t)\|\leq e^{-t}$. From Remark 3.2, it follows that $\|S_{\alpha}(t)\|\leq E_{\alpha,\alpha}(-t^{\alpha})$.
Set $$\xi(t)z=\xi(t,z),\ t\in[0,b], \ z\in[0,\pi],$$ $$f(t,\phi)z=\mu(t,\phi(\theta,z)),\ \theta\in[-r,0], \ z\in[0,\pi],$$ $$\phi(\theta)z=\phi(\theta,z),\ \theta\in[-r,0], \ z\in[0,\pi],$$ $$h(t)z=\gamma(t,z),\ t\in[0,b], \ z\in[0,\pi],$$ then problem (\[fbm\]) is the abstract version of problem (\[cauchy\]). We can choose suitable functions $\mu,\ \gamma$ such that the conditions $(f_{1})$, $(f_{2})$, $(f_{3})$ and $(h_{1})$ are satisfied. Then by Theorem 3.3, the problem (\[cauchy\]) has a unique mild solution.
Conclusion
==========
In this paper, we obtain the existence and uniqueness of mild solutions to a class of stochastic fractional functional differential equations driven by fractional Brownian motion. In fact, it is interesting to investigate the longtime behavior and the regularity of mild solutions in the future work. On the other hand, one can consider the qualitative behaviour of such equations, for example, attractors, invariant measures.
[99]{} Da Prato G., Zabczyk J. Stochastic Equations in Infinite Dimensions, Cambridge University Press, 1992. Liu K. Stability of Infinite Dimensional Stochastic Differential Equations with Applications, Chapman and Hall, CRC, London, 2004. van Neerven J M A M, Veraar M C, Weis L. Stochastic evolution equations in UMD Banach spaces. J. Funct. Anal 2008; **255**: 940-993. Taniguchi, T. The existence and uniqueness of energy solutions to local non-Lipschitz stochastic evolution equations. J. Math. Anal. Appl 2009; **360**, 245-253. Jentzen A, R$\ddot{o}$ckner M. Regularity analysis for stochastic differential equations with nonlinear multiplicative trace class noise. J. Dif. Equ 2012; **252**, 114-136. Li K, Peng J, Gao J. Existence results for semilinear fractional differential equations via Kuratowski measure of noncompactness. Fract. Calc. Appl. Anal 2012; **15**, 591-610. E Bazhlekova, Fractional Evolution Equations in Banach Spaces. Ph.D. Thesis. Eindhoven University of Technology, 2001. EI-Borai M.M.,On some stochastic fractional integro-differential equations. Adv. Dyn. Syst. Appl 2006; **1**, 49-57. Ahmed H.M., 2009. On some fractional stochastic integrodifferential equations in Hilbert spaces. Int. J. Math. Math. Sci. doi:10.1155/2009/568078. Tindel S, Tudor C A, Viens, F. Stochastic evolution equations with fractional Brownian motion. Probab. Theory Relat. Fields. 2003; **127**, 186-204. Duncan T E, Pasik-Duncan B, and Maslowski B, Fractional Brownian motion and stochastic equations in Hilbert spaces. Stoch. Dyn 2002; **2**, 225-250. Maslowski B, Nualart D, Evolution equations driven by a fractional Brownian motion. J. Funct. Anal 2003; **202**, 277-305. Maslowski B, Pospíšil J, Ergodicity and parameter estimates for infinite-dimensional fractional Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. Appl. Math. Optim 2008; **57**, 401-429. Cui J, Yan L, Existence result for fractional neutral stochastic integro-differential equations with infinite delay, J. Phys. A: Math. Theor 2011; **44**, 335201. Caraballo T, Garrido-Atienza M J, Taniguchi T, The existence and exponential behavior of solutions to stochastic delay evolution equations with a fractional Brownian motion. Nonlinear. Anal. 2011; **74**, 3671-3684. Nualart D, The Malliavin Calculus and Related Topics, second ed. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2006. Boufoussi B, Hajji S, Neutral stochastic functional differential equations driven by a fractional Brownian motion in a Hilbert space. Statist. Probab. Lett 2012; **82**, 1549-1558. Podlubny, I, Fractional Differential Equations, Academic Press, New York, 1999. Mainardi F, Fractional Calculus and Waves in Linear Viscoelasticity: An Introduction to Mathematical Models, Imperial College Press, 2010. Ren Y, Bi Q, Sakthivel R, Stochastic functional differential equations with infinite delay driven by G-Brownian motion. Math. Method. Appl. Sci. 2013; **36**, 1746-1759. Sakthivel R, Revathi P, Ren Y, Existence of solutions for nonlinear fractional stochastic differential equations. Nonlinear Anal. 2013; **81**, 70-86. Sakthivel R, Revathi P, Mahmudov N I, Asymptotic stability of fractional stochastic neutral differential equations with infinite delays. Abstr. Appl. Anal. 2013; Volume 2013 Article ID 769257, 9 pages. Ren Y, Cheng X, Sakthivel R, On time-dependent stochastic evolution equations driven by fractional Brownian motion in a Hilbert space with finite delay, Math. Method. Appl. Sci. 2013; DOI: 10.1002/mma.2967 Ren Y, Sakthivel R, Existence, uniqueness, and stability of mild solutions for second-order neutral stochastic evolution equations with infinite delay and Poisson jumps, J. Math. Phy. 2012; **53**, 073517.
[^1]: [*2000 Mathematics Subjects Classification*]{}: 26A33
[^2]: This work is partially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China under the contact No. 11201366, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Funded Project under the contact No. 2012M520080 and Shaanxi Province Postdoctoral Science Foundation Funded Project.
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Q:
How to convert different levels of strings into numeric responses in R?
First, I have read some similar questions. My question is very similar to those which have been already solved. But the slight difference causes some problems for me.
In my question, I have a column of data frame with five different levels of strings: "10-20%" "100+%" "21-40%" "41-70%" "71-100%". I have tried both function, as.numeric and as.integer. These two functions did change the strings into numeric responses. The problem is that I want to convert these strings by following the numerically sequence. For example, "10-20%" "100+%" "21-40%" "41-70%" "71-100%", each of the string is corresponding to the strings is 1,2,3,4,5.
But the thing I want is to "10-20%" is 1, "21-40%" is 2, "41-70%" is 3, "71-100%" is 4 and "100+%" is 5.
Do I have to change the sequence of levels of these strings Manually if I want to achieve my goal?
Appendix:
levels(dataset$PercentGrowth)
[1] "" "10-20%" "100+%" "21-40%" "41-70%" "71-100%"
head(as.integer(dataset$PercentGrowth))
[1] 1 4 3 1 3 4
head(as.numeric(dataset$PercentGrowth))
[1] 1 4 3 1 3 4
head((dataset$PercentGrowth))
[1] 21-40% 100+% 100+% 21-40%
Levels: 10-20% 100+% 21-40% 41-70% 71-100%
A:
You may try:
x <- c("10-20%", "100+%" ,"21-40%" ,"41-70%", "21-40%", "71-100%", "10-20%")
library(gtools)
match(x,unique(mixedsort(x)))
#[1] 1 5 2 3 2 4 1
##
as.numeric(factor(x, levels=unique(mixedsort(x))))
#[1] 1 5 2 3 2 4 1
Suppose your vector is: (Not a general solution)
x1 <- c("less than one year", "one year", "more than one year","one year", "less than one year")
?gsub2() From R: replace characters using gsub, how to create a function?
gsub2 <- function(pattern, replacement, x, ...) {
for(i in 1:length(pattern))
x <- gsub(pattern[i], replacement[i], x, ...)
x
}
x1[mixedorder(gsub2(c("less","^one","more"), c(0,1,2), x1))]
[1] "less than one year" "less than one year" "one year"
[4] "one year" "more than one year"
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Q:
Countable additivity does not imply continuity at $\emptyset$ for non-finite measure
An exercise from Probability by Shiryaev:
Give an example to show that if a measure $\mu$ on the algebra $\mathcal{A}$ takes the value $+\infty$, countable additivity ($\sigma$-additivity) in general does not imply continuity at $\emptyset$.
Here, countable additivity for $\mu$ is given by, if, for all pairwise disjoint subsets $A_{1},A_{2},\ldots\in\mathcal{A}$ with $\bigcup_{n=1}^{\infty}A_{n}\in\mathcal{A}$, then
$$\mu\left(\bigcup_{n=1}^{\infty}A_{n}\right)=\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\mu(A_{n}).$$
Here, continuity at $\emptyset$ means that if $\{A_{n}\}_{n=1}^{\infty}$ is a non-increasing sequence in the algebra $\mathcal{A}$ such that $\bigcap_{n=1}^{\infty}A_{n}=\emptyset$, then
$$\lim_{n\rightarrow\infty}\mu(A_{n})=0.$$
A:
You could take for instance $\Omega = \Bbb Z$, $\mu$ to be counting measure, and the $\sigma$-algebra $\mathcal A$ to be the power set of $\Bbb Z$. Then $(\Omega,\mathcal A,\mu)$ is a $\sigma$-finite measure space, and the sets $A_n = [n,\infty)\cap\Bbb Z$ are non-increasing with $\bigcap_{n\ge 1} A_n = \emptyset$, but $\mu(A_n) = \infty$ for each $n$.
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About Bridgeland-Riverside
The community of Bridgeland-Riverside in Calgary is located northeast of the city centre. It is a desirable community to live in because of its proximity to downtown Calgary and natural environments, and its burgeoning community spirit. It has a distinctive village feel and is known for its friendliness and walkability. Bridgeland-Riverside is bounded by Bow River to the south, Deerfoot Trail to the east, Edmonton Trail to the west, and Renfrew to the north. The neighbourhood is consistently rated in the top 10 in Calgary in both Avenue Magazine's "Best neighbourhoods" and rated as one of Calgary’s “Five most livable neighborhoods” in Fast Forward Weekly magazine. It was named "Best Neighbourhood" by Best of Calgary in 2017.
Amenities
Bridgeland-Riverside in Calgary is a primarily residential area that is comprised of a mix of single family homes and park-side condominiums; it’s also home to a variety of shops, offices, churches, schools, parks, and restaurants. If you want to live in a walkable, pedestrian-friendly community with a unique array of bustling small local businesses, Bridgeland-Riverside is an excellent choice that offers easy access to the city’s pedestrian pathways, St.Patrick's Island, Downtown and East Village.
Highlights
In the southern part of Bridgeland-Riverside are St. Patrick’s Island -a beautifully revitalized 31-acre backyard- and St. George’s Island. St. George’s Island is home to the Calgary Zoo, which houses over 1,000 animals from around the world. The Calgary Zoo is the second largest zoo in Canada. Bridgeland-Riverside is also home to Calgary's cutting edge Science Centre, Telus Spark. Creating a welcoming entrance in Bridgeland-Riverside's southwest, a new 4th Avenue Flyover Public Space is being developed. The 4 Avenue Flyover Public Space final concept incorporates a rain garden, public art, play elements and a plaza; all inspired by ideas from Langevin students (#FlyoverKids) and community priorities. In November 2017, the 4th Avenue Flyover Project was recognized with an Honourable Mention, Community Improvement Projects, at the Mayor's Urban Design Awards.
Recreation
Bridgeland-Riverside in Calgary is popular with people who lead active lifestyles, not only for its pedestrian-friendly amenities, but also for its abundance of sports facilities. Recreational facilities that Bridgeland residents can enjoy include a tennis court, various playgrounds, toboggan run, soccer pitch, off-leash dog park and baseball field.
History
Bridgeland-Riverside in Calgary has a rich history. It was first settled by Russian-German immigrants who came to Calgary during the city’s first population boom in the 1880s. At the time, the community was called Germantown. By the early 20th century, however, the majority of residents were Ukrainian and Italian immigrants. By 1908, the community’s name changed to Bridgeland-Riverside.
A portion of lower Bridgeland-Riverside used to have a large concentration of Italian restaurants and shops, and was therefore referred to as Little Italy. Although the Italian influence in Bridgeland-Riverside isn’t as ubiquitous as it once was, some people still call a portion of 1st Avenue NE Little Italy.
A "working man's" district, the community was the first home in Canada for a predominantly immigrant population intent upon establishing a new life in an often challenging land. Although within sight of Calgary's downtown core, the region remained quite separate from the bustling new city during the three decades before the annexation of Bridgeland in 1907 and Riverside in 1910.
In the century's first decade, Calgary’s population skyrocketed from 4,000 to 40,000 people. During this population influx Italian and Ukrainian immigrants seeking inexpensive places to live began flocking to the terrace above Riverside, where Bridgeland is now.
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274 F.2d 815
Frederic E. LYFORD and William C. Eberle, doing business under the firm name and style of Lyford & Eberle, Plaintiffs-Appellants,v.A. F. CARTER, Commonwealth Oil Refining Company, Inc., Jose Guillermo Vivas and Lucas P. Valdivieso, Defendants-Appellees.
No. 156.
Docket 25860.
United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit.
Argued January 14, 1960.
Decided January 27, 1960.
Enrico S. Sanfilippo, New York City, for plaintiffs-appellants.
Stephen Rackow Kaye, of Sullivan & Cromwell, New York City, for defendant-appellee Commonwealth Oil Refining Co., Inc.
Before CLARK, HINCKS, and WATERMAN, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM.
1
In this case plaintiffs filed a complaint and took out a summons on April 5, 1957, in an action claiming damages for misappropriation of property and loss of profits in connection with an oil refining venture in Puerto Rico. The summons and complaint were not served on defendant Commonwealth Oil Refining Company, Inc., until May 8, 1959, and have not yet been served on the other defendants, who are nonresidents of the District. Commonwealth has been amenable to service throughout and, on motion promptly made on May 28, 1959, secured a dismissal of the action1 for failure to prosecute, which the court refused to reopen on motion for reargument. Since no limitation is stated in the order, the dismissal is one with prejudice which "operates as an adjudication upon the merits." F.R.Civ.P. 41(b). Plaintiffs say they delayed the service upon Commonwealth because of continued attempts to effect personal service upon defendant Carter, whom they term the "prime conspirator"; but having recently effected service on Carter in a new action brought in the federal court in South Carolina, they are now prepared to proceed against Commonwealth.
2
The court has, and should have, a wide discretion as to penalties for failure of diligent prosecution of litigation. Had the court contented itself with merely dismissing the present action without prejudice, we should not have thought it necessary to interfere. But as it stands, the plaintiffs face a permanent bar for a delay which in our congested trial courts is hardly unusual. Had the plaintiffs been sophisticated procedurewise, they could have withdrawn their action at this stage without leave, F.R.Civ.P. 41(a) (1), and could have begun again at any time permitted them under applicable statutes of limitations. As it is, they are much worse off than had they delayed suit altogether. We note further that our court has held erroneous a dismissal in favor of unserved defendants who have not sought such relief. Waterman v. Nelson, 2 Cir., 177 F.2d 965. Under the circumstances the doom entered below seems altogether too final and definitive. We think the action should take the more normal course of ordinary pleading and disposition in ways less abrupt.
3
Reversed and remanded.
Notes:
1
The order is somewhat ambiguous as to whether the dismissal is just as to Commonwealth or is as to all defendants. We think the latter was intended, as the court clerk apparently assumed; hence the order is presently appealable
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Microsoft released a suite of new entertainment apps on both Xbox consoles today, with something for fans of sports, movies and competitive gaming.
In addition to the Major League Gaming app that was released yesterday, the Xbox 360's set of apps now includes two new options for streaming movies: Encore Play and MoviePlex Play. Today's debut of those apps follows the December 2013 release of Starz Play; all three are part of the Starz family of premium cable channels. Together, Encore Play and MoviePlex Play offer a catalog of more than 1,500 films, including recent hits such as Zero Dark Thirty and classics like Back to the Future.
MLB.TV, the subscription-based app that allows individuals to livestream out-of-market baseball games, is now available on Xbox One. Major League Baseball Advanced Media, which runs MLB.TV, announced last month that the app would be released on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 this spring.
In addition, Microsoft added support for Time Warner Cable customers to the Xbox 360's existing Epix app. Once they perform authentication with their Time Warner Cable login information, subscribers will be able to access the movies in the app at no additional charge through June 18.
Microsoft also announced that all four of the aforementioned Xbox 360 apps — MLG, Encore Play, MoviePlex Play and Epix — will be available on Xbox One later this year. All five apps, including MLB.TV, require an Xbox Live Gold subscription for access on Xbox platforms.
Update: MLB.TV also launched on PlayStation 4 today.
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Q:
Machine Learning Best Practices for Big Dataset
I am about to graduate from my Master and had learnt about machine learning as well as performed research projects with it. I wonder about the best practices in the industry when performing machine learning tasks with Big Datasets (like 100s GB or TB). Appreciate if fellow data scientists can share their experience. Here are my questions:
Obviously, very large datasets take longer time to train (can be days or weeks). Many times we need to train various models (SVM, Neural Network, etc.) to compare and find better performance model. I suspect, in industry projects, we want the results as quick as possible but produce the best performance. Are there any tips for reducing the training & testing time? If you recommend subsetting the dataset, I will be interested to learn how best to subset the dataset to cover all or majority of scenarios from the dataset.
We know that performing cross validation is better as it may reduce over-fitting. However, cross validation also takes time to train and the model trained with cross validation may not be implemented straight (speaking from python sklearn experience: I need to train the model with dataset again after cross validation testing for it to be implemented). Do you normally do cross validation in your big data projects or getting by with the train-test split?
Appreciate the feedback.
A:
I'll list some practices I've found useful, hope this helps:
Irrespective of whether the data is huge or not, cross validation is a must when building any model. If this takes more time than an end consumer is willing to wait, you may need to reset their expectations, or get faster hardware/software to build the model; but do not skip cross validation. Plotting learning curves and cross-validation are effective steps to help guide us so we recognize and correct mistakes earlier in the process. I've experienced instances when a simple train-test set does not reveal any problems until I run cross-fold validations and find a large variance in the performance of the algorithm on different folds.
Before sizing up a dataset, eliminate the records with missing values of key variables and outliers, columns of highly correlated variables, and near zero variance variables. This will give you a much better estimate of the real usable dataset. Sometimes you may end up with only a fraction of the available dataset that can actually be used to build a model.
When sizing up a dataset for building a model, it is easier to estimate the computing resources if you enumerate the dataset in rows and columns and memory size of the final numeric matrix. Since every machine learning algorithm is ultimately going to convert the dataset into a numeric matrix, enumerating the dataset size in terms of GBs/TBs of raw input data (which may be mostly strings/textual nominal variables/etc.) is often misleading and the dataset may appear to be more daunting and gigantic to work with than it is.
Once you know (or estimate) the final usable size of your dataset, check if you have a suitable machine to be able to load that into memory and train the model. If your dataset size is smaller than memory available/usable by the software, then you need not worry about the size any longer.
If the dataset size is larger than the memory available to train a model, then you could try these approaches (starting from the simplest ones first):
Use a machine with more memory: If you're using a cloud service provider then the simplest approach could be just to provision more memory and continue building the model as usual. For physical machines, try to procure additional RAM, its price continues to reduce and if your dataset is going to remain this big or grow bigger over time, then it is a good investment.
Add nodes to the cluster: For Hadoop and Spark based cluster computing deployments, training on a larger data-set is as easy as adding more machines to the cluster.
Quite often classification tasks require training on data with highly imbalanced classes, the ratio of positive to negative classes could sometimes be as large as 1:1000 or more. A straightforward method to improve accuracy in these cases is to either over-sample the minority class or under-sample the majority class, or do both together. If you have a large dataset, under-sampling the majority class is a very good option which will improve your algorithm's accuracy as well as reduce training time.
Build an ensemble: Split the dataset randomly and train several base learners on each part, then combine these to get the final prediction. This would most effectively make use of the large dataset and produce a more accurate model. But you need to spend more time to carefully build the ensemble and keep clear of the usual pitfalls of ensemble building.
If you're using an ensemble, train many single-thread models in parallel. Almost all ML software provide features to train multiple models on different cores or separate nodes altogether.
Evaluate multiple different algorithms on the time taken to train them for your specific dataset vs. their accuracy. While there is no universal answer, but I've found when using noisy data, SVMs take much longer time to train than carefully built ensemble of regularized regression models, but may be only slightly more accurate in performance; and a well built neural network may take a very long time to train as compared to a CART tree, but perform significantly more accurately that the tree.
To reduce time taken to build the model, try to automate as much of the process as you can. A few hours spent automating a complex error-prone manual task may save your team a hundred hours later in the project.
If available, use those algorithm implementations which use parallel processing, sparse matrices and cache aware computing, these reduce processing time significantly. For example, use xgboost instead of a single-core implementation of GBM.
If nothing else works, train the model on a smaller dataset; as Emre has suggested in his answer, use learning curves to fix the smallest sample size required for training the model, adding more training records than this size does not improve model accuracy noticeably. Here is a good article which explores this situation - largetrain.pdf
A:
The question is, how much data does it take to saturate your model? To determine this you can plot learning curves with varying amounts of data, perhaps scaling up/down in size by a constant factor. If training on all the data is not feasible, the learning curve can help you make an informed trade-off.
Model saturation also comes into play with cross-validation. If you are not near saturation, using a small number of folds will give you pessimistic performance figures because you will be training your model on less data than it can make use of.
Finally and conversely, you can use a more complex model instead of "resizing" the data to suit the model.
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661 F.2d 840
1981-2 Trade Cases 64,321
Homer C. BLANKENSHIP, an individual, and Herzfeld's Beauty &Barber Supply of Muskogee, Inc., an OklahomaCorporation, Plaintiffs-Appellants,v.Gene HERZFELD, an individual; Herzfeld's Beauty & BarberSupply, a partnership; Herzfeld's Beauty & Barber Supply,Inc., an Oklahoma Corporation, Oklahoma City; Helene CurtisIndustries, Inc., a foreign corporation; and Herzfeld'sBeauty & Barber Supply of Amarillo, Inc., a foreigncorporation, Defendants-Appellees.
No. 80-1389.
United States Court of Appeals,Tenth Circuit.
Argued March 17, 1981.Decided Oct. 9, 1981.
Frank M. Hagedorn of Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Collingsworth & Nelson, Tulsa, Okl., for plaintiffs-appellants.
Floyd L. Walker of Pray, Walker, Jackman, Williamson & Marlar, Tulsa, Okl. (John S. Zarbano of Pray, Walker, Jackman, Williamson & Marlar, Tulsa, Okl., with him on the brief for defendant-appellee Helene Curtis; David O. Harris, Tulsa, Okl., and Jack Mattingly, Seminole, Okl., on the brief for Herzfeld defendants-appellees), for defendants-appellees.
Before McWILLIAMS, BARRETT and SEYMOUR, Circuit Judges.
SEYMOUR, Circuit Judge.
1
Plaintiff Herzfeld's Beauty & Barber Supply of Muskogee (HOM) brought this action under sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1 and 2.1 The district court granted defendants' motion to dismiss after plaintiff presented its evidence. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
I.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
2
HOM is an Oklahoma corporation, operating out of Muskogee, Oklahoma, that distributes beauty and barber supplies. The company is owned by Carl Blankenship. Blankenship purchased the stock of HOM from Virgil Herzfeld in 1971. As part of that agreement, Blankenship sold to Virgil Herzfeld his interests in both Herzfeld's Beauty & Barber Supply, Inc., an Oklahoma corporation distributing beauty and barber supplies out of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Herzfeld's Beauty & Barber Supply of Amarillo, Inc., a foreign corporation operating out of Amarillo, Texas. The officers and stockholders of the Oklahoma City and Amarillo stores include Virgil Herzfeld and his sons Gene and Kenneth. Gene and Kenneth Herzfeld also own Herzfeld's Beauty & Barber Supply, a partnership distributing beauty and barber supplies out of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Amarillo, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa stores, along with Gene Herzfeld, are defendants in this case. They hereinafter will be referred to as the Herzfeld defendants. The other defendant is Helene Curtis Industries, Inc. (Helene Curtis), a manufacturer of beauty supplies and cosmetics. The Herzfeld stores sold Helene Curtis products along with the products of many other beauty supply manufacturers.
3
Prior to the sale of HOM to Blankenship, a territorial agreement existed between the four stores under which each store called only on customers in its own specified geographical area. Although the parties dispute whether this arrangement persisted after Blankenship's purchase of HOM, it is apparent that HOM continued to restrict its area of distribution until the events giving rise to this lawsuit occurred.
4
The stores also engaged in other cooperative business practices. They made joint purchases, paid their orders under the name of one store, and divided the goods among the four stores to attain volume discounts and to win prizes for volume purchases. When one store was out of a requested item, another store would ship the goods to the customer. The requesting store was billed at cost and received the profit from the sale. Blankenship also handled the group health and accident insurance for all the stores.
5
In 1975, this cooperative harmony began to unravel. Blankenship attempted to expand HOM's sales area through efforts to hire sales personnel of other beauty and barber supply companies. Blankenship intended for them to work the same territory they had worked during their previous employment. Blankenship spoke to Jim Russian, a salesman for Bottenfield's, a beauty and barber supply distributor in Kansas and Oklahoma, and Lynn Capps, a salesman recently fired by Gene Herzfeld from his sales job with Herzfeld's of Tulsa. Capps went to work for HOM.
6
Capps testified that Gene Herzfeld threatened him with legal prosecution for shortages Capps accrued in his account while working for Herzfeld's of Tulsa unless Capps stopped working for HOM in the Tulsa territory. Capps further testified that Gene told him "he was just protecting what was his," that Gene's brother Ken Herzfeld "would take care of Mr. Blankenship," and that if Capps continued to work the territory, Blankenship would lose the Helene Curtis distributorship. Rec., supp. vol. II, at 544. Similarly, Blankenship testified that Gene called him and said that because Capps was working his old territory, he and his brothers were "going to be out to get you out of business, (and) we're going to do everything we can against you." Id. at 51.
7
It is undisputed that Gene Herzfeld contacted Helene Curtis regarding the Capps "problem." He first spoke to Mike Goldman, President of the Professional Division of Helene Curtis. Gene said he raised the matter with Goldman because he was concerned about the confusion caused by having salesmen from the Tulsa and Muskogee stores calling on the same customers, both representing themselves to be from Herzfeld's. Gene also spoke with Shelly Metz, Vice President of Sales for Helene Curtis, about the alleged dissension and confusion being created by Blankenship's movements into a market where he had not done business before. Significantly, the Herzfeld stores had originally represented themselves to Helene Curtis as one organization, each operating in a separate territory. Gene testified that he was fearful Helene Curtis would believe the Herzfelds had misled it and drop the Herzfeld stores as distributors.
8
Gene stated that he was also concerned about the competitive effect on his stores' dollar volume if Jim Russian and Lynn Capps worked for HOM. Gene telephoned Russian and offered to employ him at Herzfeld's of Tulsa. Gene admitted at trial that he was lying when he made the offer. He had no intention of hiring Russian; he only wanted to confuse the issue.
9
Shelly Metz called Russian and told him he was making a mistake leaving Bottenfield's for HOM. Metz also told Russian that if Blankenship continued to create problems in the marketplace, HOM might lose the Helene Curtis line.
10
After receiving a call from Metz, Bill McBride, then Regional Manager for Helene Curtis, called Carl Blankenship. According to Blankenship's testimony, McBride told Blankenship that he could not hire Russian and that unless Blankenship got Capps out of the territory, he would lose the Helene Curtis line.
11
Fearful of losing Helene Curtis as a supplier, Blankenship testified he called Goldman and asked if the Herzfeld and Bottenfield organizations were putting so much pressure on Helene Curtis that his distributorship would be terminated. According to Blankenship, Goldman told him that it was likely he would be cut off "because the Russian and Capps deal are (sic ) messing up the Bottenfield thirteen-store chain" and the other three Herzfeld stores. Rec., supp. vol. II, at 80. In response, Blankenship wrote a letter to Goldman stating that he would bring legal action if he was terminated as a Helene Curtis distributor. Goldman replied in writing that he was going to recommend to the marketing committee that HOM be terminated as a distributor because Helene Curtis did not do business with anyone who threatens legal action against it. The marketing committee consisted of two individuals, Goldman and Metz. Helene Curtis subsequently ceased doing business with HOM.
II.
DISTRICT COURT PROCEEDINGS
12
HOM filed suit alleging that Helene Curtis and the Herzfeld defendants violated sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1 and 2. For its section 1 claim, HOM contended that: (1) the Herzfeld defendants entered into an agreement to prevent HOM from competing with them in their territories; (2) the Herzfeld defendants sought to induce defendant Helene Curtis to cease doing business with HOM; and (3) all defendants combined and conspired to destroy HOM's business by terminating HOM as a distributor of Helene Curtis products. HOM further alleged that all defendants violated section 2 by combining and conspiring to give the Herzfeld defendants a monopoly in Helene Curtis products.
13
The case went to trial without a jury. After HOM presented its case in chief, the defendants moved under Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(b)2 for a dismissal on the ground that plaintiff had shown no right to relief. The district court granted the motion, ruling that HOM had not proved the essential elements of each cause of action with the requisite credible evidence. Specifically, the court held that HOM had failed to demonstrate it was more probable than not that a combination of conspiracy and a restraint of trade existed. Underlying this conclusion was the factual finding that Helene Curtis acted independently in terminating HOM. Concerning the section 2 claim, the court held HOM had failed to prove a dangerous probability of defendants creating a monopoly. The trial court determined HOM did not show that defendants committed an overt act to further the creation of a monopoly, or prove that defendants had sufficient market control to achieve a monopoly. On appeal, HOM claims that the court erred in making each of these findings and conclusions.
III.
DISMISSAL OF CLAIMS AGAINST HELENE CURTIS
14
In its appeal, HOM argues that Helene Curtis combined and conspired with the Herzfeld defendants to terminate HOM as a distributor of Helene Curtis products. HOM asserts that Helene Curtis, by joining the Herzfeld conspiracy, thereby became part of a horizontal restraint. HOM quotes the following passage from Cernuto, Inc. v. United Cabinet Corp., 595 F.2d 164 (3d Cir. 1979), in support of this claim:
15
"When a marketing decision, although ostensibly taken by a manufacturer, is in fact the result of pressure from another customer, such a decision must be scrutinized more closely than solely unilateral action might be...."
16
"...
17
"Two of the most crucial differences between the conduct under consideration here and other accepted manufacturer actions are, upon analysis, readily apparent. When a manufacturer acts on its own, in pursuing its own market strategy, it is seeking to compete with other manufacturers by imposing what may be defended as reasonable vertical restraints. This would appear to be the rationale of the GTE Sylvania decision. However, if the action of a manufacturer or other supplier is taken at the direction of its customer, the restraint becomes primarily horizontal in nature in that one customer is seeking to suppress its competition by utilizing the power of a common supplier. Therefore, although the termination in such a situation is, itself, a vertical restraint, the desired impact is horizontal and on the dealer, not the manufacturer, level.
18
"... So here, if United and Lappin acted at Famous' direction, both the purpose and effect of the termination was to eliminate competition at the retail level, and not, as in GTE Sylvania (433 U.S. 36, 97 S.Ct. 2549, 53 L.Ed.2d 568), to promote competition at the manufacturer level. Accordingly, the pro-competitive redeeming virtues so critical in GTE Sylvania may not be present here."
19
Id. at 168 (emphasis added) (footnotes omitted).
20
The court in Cernuto reversed a summary judgment in favor of defendants on the theory that if the allegations regarding the termination were proved, there would be a per se violation of section 1 of the Sherman Act. Relying directly on that decision and indirectly on language in Continental T.V. Inc. v. GTE Sylvania, Inc., 433 U.S. 36, 97 S.Ct. 2549, 53 L.Ed.2d 568 (1977), and United States v. Topco Associates, Inc., 405 U.S. 596, 92 S.Ct. 1126, 31 L.Ed.2d 515 (1972), HOM asserts that all dealer induced terminations are per se violations of the antitrust laws, and that it was error for the district court to apply a rule of reason test.
21
However, for HOM to prevail, it still must show that the termination was "the result of pressure from another customer," rather than "a manufacturer act(ing) on its own in pursuing its own market strategy." Cernuto, 595 F.2d at 168.3 A supplier has the right to unilaterally select and terminate its own distributors if its actions have no anticompetitive purpose or effect. Aladdin Oil Co. v. Texaco, Inc., 603 F.2d 1107, 1113-16 (5th Cir. 1979). See also United States v. Colgate & Co., 250 U.S. 300, 39 S.Ct. 465, 63 L.Ed. 992 (1919); Borger v. Yamaha International Corp., 625 F.2d 390 (2d Cir. 1980); Natrona Service, Inc. v. Continental Oil Co., 598 F.2d 1294 (10th Cir. 1979); Burdett Sound, Inc. v. Altec Corp., 515 F.2d 1245 (5th Cir. 1975). See generally P. Areeda, Antitrust Analysis P 512 nn. 42 & 43 (3d ed. 1981).
22
The trial judge found that Helene Curtis acted independently when it terminated HOM. In reviewing that finding, we are governed by the clearly erroneous test. Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(b), 52(a).
23
"In a case tried without a jury, the trial court is not required to consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff in determining whether to grant a motion to dismiss under Rule 41 made at the completion of the plaintiff's case.... In such circumstances we must view the findings in the same way as those at the close of all the evidence, determining only whether they are clearly erroneous."
24
Woods v. North American Rockwell Corp., 480 F.2d 644, 645-46 (10th Cir. 1973); see also Nulf v. International Paper Co., 656 F.2d 553, 558 (10th Cir. 1981). "A choice between two permissible views of the evidence is not 'clearly erroneous.' " Rasmussen Drilling v. Kerr-McGee Nuclear Corp., 571 F.2d 1144, 1148 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 862, 99 S.Ct. 183, 58 L.Ed.2d 171 (1978).
25
The district court made permissible inferences based on the record evidence. While threats and statements made by the Herzfeld defendants to Blankenship, Capps, Russian and other non-Helene Curtis personnel may shed light on whether the Herzfeld defendants themselves engaged in a conspiracy, they do not compel the conclusion that Helene Curtis terminated Blankenship as a result of pressure from the Herzfelds. Although Helene Curtis' actions in contacting Russian and the Herzfeld defendants show that Helene Curtis wanted Blankenship to cease his raiding efforts, Helene Curtis could have taken these actions for its own legitimate business reasons rather than at the behest of the Herzfeld defendants. It is true that the termination followed Gene Herzfeld's call to Helene Curtis informing the company of Blankenship's actions and the alleged confusion in the market caused by his conduct. However, the only direct evidence supporting HOM's contention that Helene Curtis terminated HOM at the Herzfeld defendants' instigation is Goldman's alleged statement that Blankenship would likely be cut off because he was interfering with the Bottenfield chain and the Herzfeld stores. Assuming the trial court found Blankenship's testimony on this statement credible, the remark could be interpreted in either of two ways: (1) as an affirmation of pressure; or (2) as a reflection that Helene Curtis had independently assessed the situation and concluded that its own interest dictated a cessation of the problems HOM was causing in its distribution system.
26
Balanced against this evidence of dealership pressure is evidence that Helene Curtis had legitimate business reasons for terminating Blankenship. Moreover, the evidence indicates that the Herzfeld defendants were not in any position to coerce or exert substantial leverage on Helene Curtis. The Herzfelds had approached Helene Curtis and asked to become a distributor, not the reverse. They did not have exclusive distributorships; Helene Curtis had other distributors who could and did service the areas the Herzfeld stores were working. Also, Gene Herzfeld testified he told Helene Curtis of Blankenship's activities out of fear that his stores would be cut off if Helene Curtis learned the Herzfeld stores were not acting as the one organization they had represented themselves to be when they obtained the distributorships.
27
In light of the above evidence, we cannot say with a "definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed" in the trial court's finding that Helene Curtis acted independently in terminating HOM as a distributor. Therefore, we affirm the district court's dismissal of the section 1 claim against Helene Curtis. See Nulf, 656 F.2d at 558.
28
Because the same distributorship termination is the basis of HOM's claim that Helene Curtis conspired with the Herzfeld defendants to give them a monopoly in the distribution of Helene Curtis products, we also affirm the court's dismissal of the section 2 conspiracy claim against Helene Curtis.
IV.
29
DISMISSAL OF CLAIMS AGAINST HERZFELD DEFENDANTS
A. Section 1 Claim
30
The district court also dismissed the section 1 claim against the Herzfeld defendants. The court reasoned that since the alleged unlawful restraint was the termination of HOM "at the direction of" the Herzfeld defendants or "in combination or conspiracy" with them, its finding of independence meant HOM had not shown an unlawful restraint. The court said: "The evidence fails to show a plurality of actors because Helene Curtis acted independently in terminating Plaintiff." App., vol. I, at 37. If by this finding the court meant that the Herzfeld defendants actually constitute one organization for purposes of Sherman Act liability, then, assuming the correctness of that proposition, it follows that the section 1 claim was properly dismissed. The requirement of conspiracy or agreement necessitates that more than one actor be involved in the unlawful restraint if section 1 is to apply.
31
However, we cannot determine whether the district court actually concluded that the Herzfeld defendants constitute one organization, or whether the court did not realize that HOM's section 1 claim contained an assertion of a horizontal conspiracy apart from the Cernuto theory of a supplier-dealer conspiracy to terminate HOM. Significantly, the court referred only to the alleged Cernuto violation in stating that HOM failed to prove an unlawful restraint.
32
The Herzfeld defendants could be guilty of a section 1 violation even if Helene Curtis never joined the conspiracy. See, e. g., United States v. Topco Associates, 405 U.S. 596, 608-09, 92 S.Ct. 1126, 1133-34, 31 L.Ed.2d 515 (1972) (horizontal territorial restrictions among competitors). The complaint and pretrial orders demonstrate that HOM alleged a conspiracy among the Herzfeld defendants to prevent HOM from competing in their territories and to otherwise destroy HOM as a competitor. According to the pretrial order, HOM contended that after this conspiracy was formed the Herzfeld defendants sought to induce Helene Curtis to terminate HOM. The conspiracy might have failed in that effort and still have been in violation of the antitrust laws. The alleged efforts to keep HOM out of the Herzfeld defendants' territories and to induce Helene Curtis to terminate HOM might sustain a finding of a horizontal conspiracy among the Herzfeld defendants.
33
We therefore remand this case to the district court for evidentiary findings on whether the Herzfeld defendants constitute a single organization, see generally P. Areeda, Antitrust Analysis P 334 (3d ed. 1981), and if not, whether HOM has made a prima facie case that the Herzfeld defendants violated section 1. We, of course, express no opinion on the merits of these contentions.
34
The necessity for a remand highlights the inadequacies of the district court's findings. They are unduly scant. Even if we take the court's statement that the evidence fails to show a plurality of actors as a clear finding that the Herzfeld defendants are one organization, the finding is still deficient. No factual basis is supplied to support the finding. In view of the store's separate corporate structures, the compositions of their stock ownership, and the assertions made by plaintiff, more detailed findings on this issue are required.4 Fed.R.Civ.P. 52 "does not require the making of elaborate findings extending into minute and unnecessary detail on every feature of the case." Nulf, 656 F.2d at 561. But "substantial compliance with the fact-finding requirements of Rule 52(a) necessitates that the findings of fact on the merits include as many of the subsidiary facts as are necessary to disclose to the reviewing court the steps by which the trial court reached its ultimate conclusion on each factual issue." Denofre v. Transportation Insurance Rating Bureau, 532 F.2d 43, 45 (7th Cir. 1976). Accord, Nulf, 656 F.2d at 561; Otero v. Mesa City Valley School District No. 51, 568 F.2d 1312, 1316 (10th Cir. 1977). Only when we have such findings before us can we properly review the trial court's decision.
35
In this case, it is for the trial court to first determine whether it needs to hear defendants' evidence before it makes the necessary additional findings and conclusions.
B. Section 2 Claim
36
The trial court's disposition of HOM's monopolization claim implies that the court may have failed to consider HOM's allegation of conspiracy to monopolize independent of Helene Curtis' participation. If the trial court finds that the Herzfeld defendants are separate organizations for antitrust purposes, it will also have to consider whether HOM proved a conspiracy by the Herzfeld defendants to monopolize "any part" of interstate commerce, see Perington Wholesale, Inc. v. Burger King Corp., 631 F.2d 1369, 1377 (10th Cir. 1979), i. e., an "appreciable part of interstate commerce." United States v. Yellow Cab Co., 332 U.S. 218, 225, 67 S.Ct. 1560, 1564, 91 L.Ed. 2010 (1947). See generally III P. Areeda & D. Turner, Antitrust Law P 839 (1978); L. Sullivan, Antitrust § 49 (1977).
37
Judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part, with remand to the district court for proceedings consistent with this opinion.5
1
Section 1 of the Sherman Act provides in pertinent part:
"Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal ...."
Section 2 in pertinent part specifies:
"Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor ...."
2
Rule 41(b) provides:
"After the plaintiff, in an action tried by the court without a jury, has completed the presentation of his evidence, the defendant, without waiving his right to offer evidence in the event the motion is not granted, may move for a dismissal on the ground that upon the facts and the law the plaintiff has shown no right to relief."
3
HOM does not allege any independent vertical restraint by Helene Curtis
4
Much the same problem plagued us regarding the court's finding that Helene Curtis acted independently. None of the subsidiary factors which led the court to make this broader finding are articulated
5
HOM also argues on appeal that the court erred in refusing to review the taxation of costs against HOM in favor of the Herzfeld defendants. Since we have reversed the judgment on the merits as to these defendants, we do not reach this issue
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Cyclooxygenase-2 is induced by p38 MAPK and promotes cell survival.
The Na+ ionophore monensin affects cellular pH and, depending on its concentration, causes the survival or death of tumor cells. In the present study, we elucidated the survival pathway activated in U937 cells, a human lymphoma-derived cell line. These cells treated with monensin at a concentration of 5 µM were growth-arrested in G1, activated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and showed an increased expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). The latter two molecular events were linked, as pharmacological inhibition of the MAPK did not allow COX-2 increased expression. Furthermore, we showed that p38 and COX-2 keep monensin-stressed U937 cells alive, as pharmacological inhibition of each enzyme caused cell death.
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I'm not sure if it is okay to ask this qn in this forum.<br>Phoneix bios setup flashes the BIOS from a FAT16 floppy or USB device. How does the bios read a file-system? Does it have filesystem support?<br><p>
<hr size=1>Looking for a deal? <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=47094/*http://farechase.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTFicDJoNDllBF9TAzk3NDA3NTg5BHBvcwMxMwRzZWMDZ3JvdXBzBHNsawNlbWFpbC1uY20-">Find great prices on flights and hotels</a> with Yahoo! FareChase.
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Berkley von Feilitzsch and her husband, Harry, have always dreamed of building a house of their own. They wanted to create something beautiful that would last a lifetime, but on a budget they could afford.
So, in spring of 2001, they took matters into their own hands.
"We decided to build our house without hiring a general contractor to have more control over the quality of work and the pace of construction," she said, noting the cost savings in the end more than made up for the extra legwork required.
The von Feilitzschs already owned undeveloped property in Northern Virginia, about 60 miles southwest of Washington, D.C. When baby number three came along, they knew it was time to break ground for a larger home. They selected the blueprints for their new pad and immediately set to work hiring independent contractors, coordinating schedules and filing all the necessary paperwork.
The von Feilitzschs' new house. (Photo taken right before the Thanksgiving Holiday '01)
Initially, they said, friends and relatives questioned their ability to manage the project on their own.
"With my husband working full-time as a management consultant and a new baby on the way, a few people said they thought we were crazy to do it ourselves," Berkley said.
The von Feilitzschs are among the thousands of people each year who embark on home construction - a souped up version of the American dream. If you're planning to join them, be forewarned it requires organizational skills, energy and patience to spare.
Is it worth the risk?
First, building permits and periodic inspections are required throughout the process, notes Robert Metcalfe, author of Housing Contracting and Building. If you're acting as the general contractor to save some dough, you'll have to set those up yourself.
Deposits also are required for all utilities before construction can begin, and getting your building permits can be a frustrating experience, especially for those who are unfamiliar with the system, according to the Arcadian Home Builders Association (AHBA). Mistakes can be costly and time-consuming.
The agency also notes that homeowners may only legally build one home per year, and are required to occupy the home upon completion. Otherwise, they're considered to be professional builders.
Also, homeowner contractors may not be required to carry workman's compensation insurance under state regulations, but it would be wise to require all subcontractors to present certification of their own workman's compensation coverage, according to AHBA.
It also is required by law to know that all your subcontractors who employ workers carry workman's compensation insurance.
Metcalfe warned you should always double check that the house plan you've selected can be physically constructed on your property. Some blueprints, for example, cannot be altered to conform to hilly slopes. This step should be determined prior to purchasing the land.
A watchful eye
Metcalfe said organization and constant oversight are the key elements to being a good general contractor. "If you cannot be on the project each day to check on things, then you should not try and be your own contractor," he advised.
The von Feilitzschs' new house. (As of Dec. 11, 2001) They expect to move into the new home by the end of March.
The Feilitzschs, for example, have three boys, age 8, 4 and 4 months old. As Berkley recalled, she had to call in an inspection from the hospital the day her youngest son was born.
"Our youngest son, Matthias, was born on a Monday morning, and that afternoon I got word that our excavator needed his backfill inspection done as soon as possible, so he could continue without delay," she said. "So I called the building office from my hospital bed and was able to keep things on track."
Metcalfe said managing the construction of your own home, without the help of a general contractor, can save homeowners up to 20 percent on the price of construction. On a $200,000 home, that's a savings of $40,000. But it's by no means the easiest way to get the job done.
For the young von Feilitzsch couple, dollars and cents factored heavily in their decision to go it alone. Their house is nearly complete and so far they they've saved between 25 and 30 percent overall. The price of the land, of course, remains the same.
In addition to the savings, Berkley said the experience helped her and her husband pay closer attention to details, ensuring they end up with exactly what they wanted. They expect to occupy their new house at the end of March.
"I am a housewife, and building the house has taken a considerable amount of time," she said. "But the greatest benefit is that we get to take part in every decision regarding the building of our new home."
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Just when we thought it might be safe to say Republicans learned in last year's election not to underestimate the power of 50 percent of their constituents, aka WOMEN, here comes New Hampshire state Rep. Peter Hansen, referring to women as "vaginas." Yes, like a petulant, pre-pubescent boy.
After a colleague gave a speech on a "stand your ground" gun bill, Hansen had the following to say via email ...
What could possibly be missing from those factual tales of successful retreat in VT, Germany, and the bowels of Amsterdam? Why children and vagina's [sic] of course. While the tales relate the actions of a solitary male the outcome cannot relate to similar situations where children and women and mothers are the potential victims.
Um, WHAT?! Yeah, it's offensive on so many levels. What is this -- 1952? Is government still just a boys' club where old white guys sit around smoking cigars and making decisions for the rest of us? I don't think soooo.
Thankfully, a handful of other Republicans have immediately realized that Hansen's language is hugely offensive to, well, just about half of the country. Not to mention other politicians who happen to HAVE vaginas ... but aren't okay with being referred to as female genitalia. For instance, state Republican chair Jennifer Horn remarked:
There is no excuse for anybody to use such disrespectful language—especially an elected official. I strongly condemn his disrespectful and shameful remarks.
Good job. But Hansen himself doesn't seem prepared to step up to the plate and acknowledge that he screwed up royally. He first responded by saying, "If you find the noun vagina insulting or in some way offensive then perhaps a better exercise might be for you to re-examine your psyche." OMG. Has there ever been a more appropriate time to facepalm?! Then, he only slightly backtracked by saying in a statement:
Can there be any doubt my comment is being misinterpreted and taken completely out of context? ... I apologize to those who took offense.
What. A. @#$!-er. Here's hoping women voters remember this when they take to the polls and consider whether to re-elect a man who, in the 21st century America, clearly only sees women for what's between our legs.
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The present invention relates to a lithium secondary battery; and, in particular, the invention relates to a rechargeable lithium secondary battery, which is improved in safety by having a self imposed safety function, to an electrolyte for the lithium secondary battery, and to an electric apparatus using the same.
A lithium secondary battery has a high voltage, a high energy density, and superior storage performance and repeat charge-discharge characteristics. Therefore, the lithium secondary battery is being used widely for portable electric consumer products. Furthermore, research and development for utilizing lithium secondary batteries as power sources, such as for electric vehicles and home power storage devices which provide power during the night, by developing batteries of increased size is being performed intensely. The lithium secondary battery is a product which is expected to be used widely in daily life as a clean energy source, and which can be expected to have a significant advantage in preventing environmental pollution and the warming-up of the earth from the release of carbon dioxide.
However, a flammable organic solvent is currently used in the battery in view of its reactivity with lithium and a restriction of the potential window. Therefore, if the temperature of the battery is elevated by any means, such as overcharging or exterior heating, the electrolyte causes a thermal runaway reaction and generates a flammable gas causing an increase in the internal pressure of the battery. The gas is released to the outside the battery can and causes an ignition or, in the worst case, an explosion. Therefore, it can not be emphasized too much that how widely the battery is used in the above objects depends on the extent its safety can be ensured. A carbonate group is generally used for the lithium battery, which uses carbon material for its negative electrode, because the carbonate group exhibits preferable battery characteristics. In particular, five membered ring compounds, such as ethylene carbonate and 1,2-propylene carbonate, are employed as a main solvent and are utilized as an indispensable solvent, because these compounds have a high dielectric constant, and readily dissociate lithium salts. These compounds cause a degradation reaction indicated by the following chemical equation (Equation 1), and generate a combustible gas, when they are heated or overcharged.
The internal pressure of the battery is increased by the combustible gas, the combustible gas is released from the battery can, and, in the worst case, an ignition and explosion are caused.
A method of preventing the ignition and explosion of the battery has been disclosed in JP-A-6-290793 (1994); wherein a solvent, which causes a polymerization reaction with LiPF6, i.e., a lithium salt, is mixed as an electrolyte solvent, in order to make sure that the electrolyte will cause no decomposition reaction, but will produce a polymerization reaction when the temperature of the battery is elevated. JPA-6-283206 (1994) and JP-A-9-45369 (1997) disclose methods for solidifying the electrolyte by providing microcapsules, which contain a polymerization initiator and polymerizable material therein, in the electrolyte, in a separator, and the like, whereby these materials are released from the microcapsules to cause a polymerization reaction when the temperature of the battery is elevated.
In accordance with JP-A-6-290793 (1994), the solvent, which causes a polymerization reaction with LiPF6 is restricted, and mixing one of the compounds in a cyclic ether group is indispensable. However, if the battery is composed of a system wherein the use of the compound in the cyclic ether group is not desirable in view of the battery characteristics, the compound in the cyclic ether group can not be used. A result of analyzing the heat generating behavior of an electrolyte solvent, made by mixing ethylene carbonate (EC) and ethylmethyl carbonate (EMC) in a 1:1 ratio, which is one of the carbonate group solvents exhibiting desirable battery characteristics with a carbon negative electrode, using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), indicates that the solvent alone does not exhibit a large heat generation. However, a rapid reaction is indicated near 250xc2x0 C. for the electrolyte dissolving LIPF6 at one mol/liter, the carbonate solvent is decomposed, and a combustible gas is generated. As a result of analyzing an infrared spectrum of the specimens after the above test, it was found that an absorption based on a carbonyl radical of the carbonate molecule still remained at 1700 cmxe2x88x921 with the specimen of the solvent alone. On the contrary, the absorption disappeared with the specimen of the electrolyte dissolving LIPF6 at one mol/liter. That means that the reaction indicated previously by the equation 1 has proceeded, and generation of lithium carbonate and ethylene gas could be observed. Accordingly, LIPF6 can not be used effectively as the polymerization initiator in a system using a carbonate solvent as a main solvent.
In a case where microcapsules are used, as disclosed in JP-A-6-283206 (1994) and JP-A-9-45369 (1997), the temperature at which the polymerization initiator and the polymerizable material are released can be controlled based on the material forming the wall of the capsule. However, using a large amount of the microcapsules in a battery is difficult in view of the need to maintain desirable battery characteristics. It is difficult to interrupt propagation of the thermal runaway reaction with dispersed capsules, if the polymerization reaction does not proceed with a significantly rapid reaction rate, because the reaction will be generated locally with a microscale.
One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a lithium secondary battery, which is capable of terminating functions of the battery safely when any of an overcharge, an overdischarge, or an abnormal temperature rise condition occurs, without an accompanying rapid change in appearance, gas generation, or pressure change, and to provide its electrolyte and an electric apparatus using the same as a power source.
The present invention is characterized by the provision of a lithium secondary battery comprising a negative electrode which is capable of absorbing and desorbing lithium; a positive electrode which is capable of absorbing and desorbing lithium; and an aprotic organic electrolyte, wherein the aprotic organic electrolyte can be solidified by a thermal reaction at a designated temperature. The aprotic organic electrolyte comprises a lithium salt and a non-aqueous solvent; and, the non-aqueous solvent is provided in an amount sufficient to dissolve the lithium salt, and comprises a thermally polymerizable non-aqueous solvent. The content of the non-aqueous solvent, which can dissolve the lithium salt, is in the range of 50-95% by volume, desirably in the range of 65-90% by volume; and, the content of the thermally polymerizable solvent is in the range of 5-50% by volume, and, desirably, it is in the range of 10-35% by volume. The aprotic organic electrolyte can be solidified by a thermal reaction at a designated temperature.
The present invention relates to a lithium secondary battery comprising a negative electrode which is capable of absorbing and desorbing lithium; a positive electrode which is capable of absorbing and desorbing lithium; and an aprotic organic electrolyte, wherein its functions can be terminated safely in a non-returned condition without an accompanying rapid change in appearance, gas generation, or pressure change, particularly a pressure increase, when any of an overcharge, an overdischarge, or an abnormal temperature rise condition occurs.
The present invention also relates to an electrolyte for lithium secondary batteries, the electrolyte being characterized as comprising a lithium salt and a non-aqueous solvent, which pan dissolve the lithium salt, which electrolyte can be solidified by a thermal reaction at a designated temperature.
The present invention further relates to an electric apparatus, which is characterized in that the above described lithium secondary battery is used therein as an electric power source.
In accordance with the present invention, the electric apparatus using the lithium secondary battery as a power source can be free of a protecting means, such as a device for measuring the temperature and pressure of the battery to detect any of an overcharge, an overdischarge, or an abnormal temperature rise condition. The electric apparatus is characterized in that it has only a means for detecting the voltage or the current of the battery and a controlling means for switching the power source based on the above detected values; and, when any of the above abnormal conditions of the secondary battery itself occur, the functions of the battery can be terminated safely in a non-reversible manner without causing damage to the appearance of the battery.
The above described electric apparatus, to which the present invention is applicable, includes electric vehicles, electric power storage devices, and so on.
In accordance with the present invention, a carbonate solvent having superior battery characteristics can be used, such that most of the electrolyte is polymerized and solidified at 100xc2x0 C. or higher in order to make the battery inactive and safe just before causing a degradation of the solvent by thermal runaway with reactions with the positive electrode and the negative electrode. That is, in order to solidify the electrolyte solvent rapidly in a short time by heating, it is advantageous to maintain the reaction initiator in a condition to be dissolved in the electrolyte. In this case, the reaction initiator must be inactive with the electrolyte at room temperature, stable electrochemically in a designated range of operation voltages, and reactive with the solvent at a temperature lower than the temperature for causing reactions with the charged positive electrode and the charged negative electrode. That is, the problem can be solved by mixing a thermal reaction type solvent, which is usable in a dissolved condition, with the carbonate group solvent in a range, wherein a battery characteristics are not deteriorated.
The above object of the invention can be achieved by making an appropriate polymerization initiator coexist at approximately 100xc2x0 C. with a six membered ring carbonate, which can be polymerized by anion polymerization, or cation polymerization; or, the object of the invention can be achieved by making an appropriate polymerization initiator coexist with at least a seven membered ring sulfite, which is known to be capable of causing a polymerization without de-sulfur dioxide. Linear diphenylcarbonate derivatives also operate as polymerization initiators. That is, any one of diphenylcarbonate derivatives, at least six membered ring carbonate derivatives, and at least seven membered ring sulfite derivatives can be used by co-dissolving them with an electrolyte of the carbonate group solvent. The object of the invention can also be achieved by using the polymerization initiator in a dissolved condition.
As an aprotic organic electrolyte, organic solvents dissolving a lithium salt as an electrolyte and their derivatives can be used, particularly, five or less-membered cyclic compounds are desirable. That is, as for an organic solvent, most of them are thermally polymerizable, but the solvents which can generate combustible gases by a thermal decomposition with the addition of a lithium salt are desirable; practically, organic solvents, such as ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, butylene carbonate, pentylene carbonate, hexylene carbonate, heptalene carbonate, octalene carbonate, dimethyl carbonate, diethyl carbonate, dipropyl carbonate, dibutyl carbonate, dipentyl carbonate, dihexyl carbonate, diheptyl carbonate, dioctyl carbonate, methyethyl carbonate, methylpropyl carbonate, methylbutyl carbonate, methylpentyl carbonate, methylhexyl carbonate, methylheptyl carbonate, methyloctyl carbonate, ethylpropyl carbonate, ethylbutyl carbonate, ethylpentyl carbonate, ethylhexyl carbonate, ethylheptyl carbonate, ethyloctyl carbonate, propylbutyl carbonate, propylpentyl carbonate, propylhexyl carbonate, propylheptyl carbonate, propyloctyl carbonate, butylpentyl carbonate, butylhexyl carbonate, butylheptyl carbonate, butyloctyl carbonate, pentylhexyl carbonate, pentylheptyl carbonate, pentyloctyl carbonate, hexylheptyl carbonate, hexyloctyl carbonate, heptyloctyl carbonate, dioxolane, xcex3-butylolactone, tetrahydrofuran, 2-methyl tetrahydrofuran, and their halogenated derivatives, and lactone derivatives, lactam derivatives, phosphoric acid ester derivatives, phosphazene derivatives, and the like, may be used.
As for the thermal reactive solvents, or a thermally polymerizable non-aqueous solvent, six or more-membered cyclic organic compounds are desirable. Practically, a 6- to 10-membered cyclic carbonate, such as the following compounds can be used: 1,3-propylene carbonate, 1,3-butylene carbonate, 1,4-butylene carbonate, 1,5pentylene carbonate, 1,6-hexylene carbonate, 1,7-heptylene carbonate, 1,8-octylene carbonate, and their alkyl substituted derivatives, allyl substituted derivatives, aromatic substituted derivatives, nitro substituted derivatives, amino substituted derivatives, halogen substituted derivatives, diphenyl carbonate, di(nitrophenyl) carbonate, di(methylphenyl) carbonate, di(methoxyphenyl) carbonate, di(aminophenyl) carbonate.
Furthermore, 7 to 11-membered cyclic sulfate compounds such as the following compounds can be used: 1,4-butylene sulfate, 1,5-pentylene sulfate, 1,6-hexylene sulfate, 1,7-heptylene sulfate, 1,8-octylene sulfate, and their alkyl substituted derivatives, allyl substituted derivatives, aromatic substituted derivatives, nitro substituted derivatives, amino substituted derivatives, halogen substituted derivatives, and the like.
The thermal reactive organic solvent of the present invention can solidify the electrolyte by thermal polymerization of the organic solvent itself. However, the non-aqueous solvent itself, which can dissolve the lithium salt, can be thermally polymerized, and the whole body can be solidified.
The thermal reaction initiator for the non-aqueous solvent is an additive for decreasing the initiation temperature of the thermal polymerization; and, practically, the following can be used: iodine, lithium iodide, lithium fluoride, lithium bromide, lithium chloride, tetrakis(4-fluorophenyl) sodium borate, tetrakis(4-fluorophenyl) lithium borate, isoazobutylnitrile, 1,1xe2x80x2-azobis(cyclohexane-carbonitrile), 2,2xe2x80x2-azobis(2-methyl-N-(1,1-bis(hydroxymethyl)ethyl) propionamide, methyl iodide, benzene bromide, tetrabutyl ammonium iodide, trifluorodiethyl borate, triester phosphate, and others.
The kind and content of the reaction initiator is selected so that the polymerization and solidification reaction is initiated desirably at least at 120xc2x0 C. in accordance with the temperature rise caused by an overcharge, or an overdischarge, or a temperature rise based on an external environmental condition. Further, the temperature is desirably at least 100xc2x0 C., and preferably at least 80xc2x0 C. Particularly, the reaction initiator, which is solidified by heating at 150xc2x0 C. for 10 minutes and is not ignited in a safety test, is desirable. Therefore, as the electrolyte, a non-aqueous solvent which can be thermally polymerized at a temperature in the range of 100-150xc2x0 C. is desirable. The content of the reaction initiator is desirably in the range of 0.5-10% by weight to the total weight of the electrolyte, and more desirably it is in the range of 1-5% by weight.
In accordance with the present invention, at least one of the current collectors of the negative electrode and the positive electrode desirably has a metallic layer, such as nickel plating and the like, which is made of a harder metal than the base metal of the current collector, on a roughened surface of the current collector.
In accordance with the present invention, at least one of the negative electrode active material and the positive electrode active material has graphite, and the graphite is desirably composed of 20% by weight or less of rhombohedral crystal and 80% by weight or more of hexagonal crystal.
In accordance with the present invention, a lithium secondary battery comprising a negative electrode having a negative electrode active material, which absorbs or desorbs lithium ions during a charging or a discharging period, on a surface of the current collector made of a thin metallic plate; a positive electrode having a positive electrode active material on the surface of the current collector made of a thin metallic plate; and a lithium ion conductive aprotic organic electrolyte or a polymer electrolyte, is desirably treated by a process, wherein an oxide layer composed of oxide whiskers are formed on the surface of the current collector, and subsequently the oxide layer is reduced for roughening the surface, before forming the respective active material on the surface of the at least one of the current collectors of the negative electrode and the positive electrode.
The active material is desirably formed on the surface of the current collectors composed of a thin metallic plate of at least one of the negative electrode and the positive electrode, after manufacturing the current collector to a desired thickness by cold milling and roughening the manufactured surface by the method previously described.
In accordance with the present invention, a current collector having its surface roughened by the method described previously is desirably used. That is, deterioration of the battery characteristics caused by the condition of a negative electrode current collector made of copper is mainly based on a decrease in the adhesiveness of a negative electrode current collector with the negative electrode active material. Therefore, the battery characteristics can be improved by increasing the adhesiveness of the current collector. Accordingly, a positive electrode, current collector having the same surface as the negative electrode current collector is desirable.
Since the positive electrode active material and the negative electrode active material are generally particles of 100 xcexcm or less in diameter, the above object of the invention can be achieved by improving the adhesiveness of the particles with the materials of the current collector, such as aluminum or copper.
When particles are adhered to a metal, it is effective when the surface of the metal, whereon the particles are to be adhered, is previously treated with various processes, such as a process for forming an oxide on the surface of the metal; a process for reducing a part of or all of the above oxide by a chemical method or an electrical method; or further a process for nickel plating. The copper surface treated as indicated above is in a roughened condition in comparison with the condition before the treatment. The surface of the copper without treating it with the nickel plating does not have the metallic luster of copper, but has a color of dark brown or black due to optical scattering based on the roughened surface. As a method of causing the particles to adhere onto the copper surface which has been roughened, a method comprising the steps of applying a mixture of the particles and a resin onto the roughened surface of the copper, and pressure welding and heating can be used. As another method, a method comprising the steps of applying a slurry formed by mixing the particles with a solvent dissolving a resin onto the roughened surface, and pressure welding and heating can be used. In this case, the pressure welding and the heating can be performed sequentially or concurrently, but the advantages of the present invention can be achieved similarly in either case. The metal, the surface of which has been roughened, is improved in adhesiveness with the particles, but in particular, the ratio of effective surface area to apparent surface area is desirably at least 2. For instance, in a case of a metallic foil 100 mm square and 20 xcexcm in thickness, the apparent surface area of the two planes is 20,000 mm2. When both planes of the metallic foil having the apparent surface area of S (mm2) are treated for roughening by the above method, the apparent surface area still remains as S (mm2). The weight of the roughened metal foil is assumed to be M (g). A specific surface area of the roughened metal foil determined by a BET method is assumed to be xcfx81(mm2/g) Then, the effective surface area obtained from the specific surface area is expressed by xcfx81xc3x97M (mm2). Therefore, the ratio of the effective surface area/apparent surface area is expressed by (xcfx81xc3x97M)/S (mm2/g).
The negative electrode current collector relating to the present invention desirably has an effective surface area which is at least two times the apparent surface area, more desirably at least three times, and preferably at least four times the apparent surface area for obtaining stable characteristics. The upper limit is desirably 30 times, more desirably less than 20, and preferably less than 15. The thickness of the metallic foil of the current collector is desirably in the range of 5-30 xcexcm, and more desirably it is in the range of 8-20 xcexcm.
The metallic foil of the current collector is made of aluminum for the positive electrode and is made of copper for the negative electrode. The metallic foil for surface roughening according to the present invention is desirably manufactured by the steps of roughening the surface of the metallic foil as it is rolled, applying a positive active material or a negative active material onto the surface of the metallic foil in a condition of enhanced surface strength, and fabricating by pressing. Although annealing may be performed after the rolling, its surface hardness is desirably adjusted in connection with the annealing temperature using a method of fabrication by pressing.
The aprotic organic electrolyte secondary battery uses a metallic foil, the surface of which is treated using a method comprising at least the steps of forming an oxide on a surface of the metal, reducing a part of or all of the oxide by a chemical method or an electrical method, and more desirably performing a nickel plating. The positive electrode current collector or the negative electrode current collector, for purposes of improving the adhesiveness of the current collectors with positive electrode active material or negative electrode active material, has preferable charge-discharge cycle characteristics, because neither a falling out nor a break away of the positive electrode active material or the negative electrode active material occurs as a result of the charge-discharge operation.
In order to strengthen the surface of the base metal of the current collector, a metallic film is desirably formed on the surface of the base metal by plating after roughening the surface. The metallic film is desirably made of a metal such as cobalt, nickel, and the like, which is flexible and harder than the base metal. A metallic film is desirable from the point of view of increasing the adhesiveness in forming the positive electrode active material and the negative electrode active material by preventing flattening during the fabrication with pressing, and for purposes of increasing the corrosion resistance of the surface of the aluminum and copper. The thickness of the metallic film is desirably in the range of 0.01-1 xcexcm.
The negative electrode active material can be in the form of particles, which are capable of absorbing and desorbing lithium ions, and examples of such materials are as follows: graphite group, amorphous carbon group, pyrocarbon group, cokes group, carbon fiber, metallic lithium, lithium alloys.(Lixe2x80x94Al, Lixe2x80x94Pb, etc.), inorganic compounds (carbide, oxide, nitride, boride, halide, intermetallic compounds, etc.), and intermetallic particle compounds such as aluminum, tin, and the like.
The above materials, other than the metals, have desirably an average particle diameter in the range of 5-30 xcexcm, and in particular, are preferably in the range of 10-20 xcexcm. Because small particles are harmful to the characteristics, the minimum size of the particles is 5 xcexcm or more, and the maximum size is 50 xcexcm or less. The metallic powder is effective to increase the conductivity of the film, and its average diameter is desirably in the range of 0.1-100 xcexcm, and more desirably in the range of 1-50 xcexcm. The graphite desirably contains rhombohedral crystal of 20% or less by weight, and, in particular, a range of 5-15% by weight is desirable.
For positive electrode active material, a complex oxide such as, lithium.cobalt oxide (LixCoO2), lithium nickel oxide (LixNiO2), lithium manganese oxide (LixMn2O4, LixMnO3) lithium nickel cobalt oxide (LixNiy, Co(1xe2x88x92y)O2), and the like, is usable. The above materials have desirably an average particle diameter in the range of 5-30 xcexcm, and, in particular, the same size as the negative electrode active material, other than metals, is desirable.
For the separator, a microporous polymer resin film such as nylon, cellulose, nitrocellulose, polysulfone, polyacryronitrile, polyvinylidene fluoride, polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyolefin group can be used.
For the electrolyte, lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6), LiBF4, LiClO4, and the like are used. The content of these materials is desirably in the range of 0.2-5 mol/l and more desirably in the range of 0.5-3 mol/l.
For a conducting material used as the negative electrode active material or the positive electrode active material, flaky graphite, massive amorphous carbon, and massive graphite are desirable. Their average particle diameter is desirably equal to or less than 10-30 xcexcm, and the specific surface area is desirably in the range of 2-300 m2/g, more desirably, it is in the range of 15-280 m2/g.
Short carbon fiber 5-10 xcexcm in diameter and 10-30 xcexcm in length can be used desirably. In particular, the massive graphite has a preferable adhesiveness.
The negative electrode active material or the positive electrode active material contains a resin of 2-20% by weight, and is combined to the surface of the current collector by the resin. For the resin, polyvinylidene fluoride is used.
The aprotic organic electrolyte secondary battery relating to the present invention has a negative electrode current collector, the surface of which is appropriately roughened, and the adhesion strength of the current collector with the negative electrode mixture containing the negative electrode active material and the resin can be increased, because an anchor effect of the roughened surface of the negative electrode current collector is larger in comparison with that of a negative electrode current collector having a smooth surface.
Therefore, falling out and break away of the negative electrode mixture which tend to occur during expansion and shrinkage of the negative electrode active material during a charge-discharge operation can be prevented, and charge-discharge cycle characteristics of the aprotic organic electrolyte secondary battery can be improved.
The lithium batteries relating to the present invention can be formed in various shapes, such as a cylindrical shape, a coin shape, a rectangular shape, and the like, and they can be used in various portable electronic apparatus having a rating from several watt-hours to hundreds of watt-hours. In particular, the lithium batteries can be used for notebook type personal computers, note type word processors, palm top (pocket) personal computers, portable telephones, PHSS, portable facsimiles, portable printers, headphone stereo players, video cameras, portable TVs, portable CDs, portable MDs, electric shavers, electronic note books, transceivers, electric tools, radios, tape recorders, digital cameras, portable copiers, and portable game machines. And further, the lithium batteries can be used in electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, automatic vending machines, electric carts, energy storage systems for load levelling, energy storage devices for home appliances, dispersed type energy storage systems (built in installed electric apparatus), energy supply systems for emergency, and others.
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Education has always been a priority for Shamilla Amulega. She left her home country to receive the best education possible.
Born in Kenya, Ms. Amulega was heavily encouraged by her mother to pursue an education. After high school, she attended Daystar University in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city. During her studies, she befriended an American missionary who encouraged her to pursue her further education in the U.S. Ms. Amulega applied to a work program through FaithWorks—a subset of Catholic Relief Services—and moved to Minneapolis.
Moving to Minnesota was a dramatic shift from her life in Kenya. Aside from the biting winters, Shamilla had to adjust to cultural differences like the cuisine and driving laws. When she completed her work program, Shamilla moved in with a host family comprised of former missionaries. She earned her master’s degree from Bethel University and began working for a media production company.
Currently, Ms. Amulega is pursuing a PhD in Media Communications and Culture from Howard University in Washington, D.C. In addition to her professional life, Shamilla contributes to her community by advocating for refugees and for women’s diversity.
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Topic: Where to find bulk cinnamon powder (Read 5163 times)
Had my hopes on the grape jelly mix.but it did not pan out.still have it placed though. played with cinnamon today on a pallet that was over run and lost a colony in that spot. this is a hole yard not five or six.thinking about foging with FGMO.they will probely through dirt on it and keep coming. may have to get serious. piosion is nasty busines.thankyou RDY-B
I talked to my comercial friends and they said spray the ground with diesel fuel.
If this practice is widespread among commercial beekeepers, CCD may not really be much of a mystery...I can easily imagine diesel fumes masking pheremones, since our smokers are able to do that. That stink would probably fill the hive constantly, not to mention the toxicity factor.
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"The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with beer." - Egyptian Proverb, 2200 BC
thank you Dayvalley i will do that. wonder where you get sulphur. moonshae i often wonder about the new trend of buying treated boxes and tops.I bought some tops smell stayed for a year. coppernapanait? ithink cant be good. the granuals are starting to make the most sense. kind of scary :-\
Sorry I took so long, trouble with internet access. Seems MP3 Rocket bans us from the internet. Anyway, all I do is use my finger to smear a film around the base outside and inside. Doesn't take much and lasts real well. Bees ignore it since it's out of their normal traffic. I have SBB so thats why I smear the inside if the base. The film is only as wide as my finger and the ants refuse to pass it.
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Everyone said it couldn't be done. But he with a chuckle replied, "I won't be one to say it is so, until I give it a try." So he buckled right in with a trace of a grin. If he had a worry he hid it and he started to sing as he tackled that thing that couldn't be done, and he did it. (unknown)
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John Kerry has officially complained to Vladimir Putin about the incidents
Former ambassadors say it has escalated since Ukraine intervention
One diplomat says a Russian agent defecated on the carpet in his home
Officials told the Washington Post about the most bizarre complaints
John Kerry is fielding an increasing number of complaints from diplomats in Europe, according to former intel officials briefed on secret memos
Russian agents have been going to extreme and peculiar lengths to harass US diplomats and ambassadors in Europe, a report claims.
Frictions between American envoys and their Kremlin-based counterparts are nothing new.
However, a number of US intelligence officials have told the Washington Post that the intimidation techniques have escalated to new heights in recent years - both illegal and bizarre.
On Monday, State Department spokesman Elizabeth Trudeau confirmed John Kerry has officially complained to President Vladimir Putin about the incidents.
One diplomat claims a Russian official broke into his home and defecated on his carpet.
Scroll down for video
Complaints: A number of US intelligence officials claim that Russia's intimidation against ambassadors has escalated to new heights since the intervention in Ukraine in 2014. Pictured: the US embassy in Moscow
Others say it is common for Russian intel to break into ambassadors' homes simply to rearrange the furniture.
During President Obama's first term, a Russian agent assassinated an envoy's dog in his home.
And others say they are victims of the 'standard' intimidation tactics - being followed by agents, seeing intel at events they weren't invited to, or having Russia pay media to write negative articles.
The allegations were made in a series of secret memos, seen by John Kerry and other intelligence officials, and described to the Washington Post.
State Department press secretary John Kirby told the Post the complaints have spiked since Russia's annexation of Crimea and intervention in Ukraine.
Two former ambassadors corroborated the claims to the Post.
Norm Eisen, US ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2011 to 2014, told the newspaper: 'Since the return of Putin, Russia has been engaged in an increasingly aggressive gray war across Europe. Now it's in retaliation for Western sanctions because of Ukraine. The widely reported harassment is another front in the gray war.
'They are hitting American diplomats literally where they live.'
Norm Eisen, US ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2011 to 2014 (left), and Michael McFaul, US ambassador to Moscow from 2012 to 2014 (right), described their experiences of intimidation on the job
Michael McFaul, US ambassador to Moscow from 2012 to 2014, told the Post: 'It was part of a way to put pressure on government officials who were trying to do their reporting jobs.
'It definitely escalated when I was there. After the invasion of Ukraine, it got much, much worse.
'We were feeling embattled out there in the embassy.'
Defending Russia's actions, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in DC, told the Post: 'The deterioration of U.S.-Russia relations, which was not caused by us, but rather by the current Administrations’ policy of sanctions and attempts to isolate Russian, had a negative affect on the functioning of diplomatic missions, both in U.S. and Russia.'
Daily Mail Online has contacted the Russian embassy for a comment.
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1955
Aerial view of Yeadon Airport taken in 1955, when it was run by Yeadon Aviation Ltd. After the war scheduled civil flights began and by 1955 there were scheduled services to Belfast, Jersey, Ostend, Southend, the Isle of Wight and Dusseldorf. During the war Avro Lancaster parts were made at a nearby factory in Victoria Avenue, now Yeadon Airport Industrial Estate. The two large adjacent buildings at the top are test/flight hangars. Aircraft would be brought here, via the road leading in from the left edge, from the Avro factory to be part-assembled and tested. The road cutting diagonally across the top left hand corner is White House Lane.[internal reference; 2007731_164345:N LIV YEADON (59)]
c1940s.
Group portrait of some of the young women who were part of a staff of more than 17,500 people employed at Avro Yeadon (A.V. Roe) during the years of the Second World War. The Avro factory was built in 1939 close to Yeadon Aerodrome. It was one of several nation-wide 'shadow factories', as they were called, and also the largest in Europe, occupying a site of around 34 acres. Many of the workers were female and a proportion were local girls. However, huge numbers of workers arrived for their shifts in special buses, travelling from all over West Yorkshire. Third from the right on the front row is Audrey Tunnington whose home was in Edgeware Mount, Leeds 8. The Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP) also built temporary homes/accommodation for workers who lived some distance away from the Avro assembly plant, for example, on the Westfield Estate in Yeadon and Greenbanks at Horsforth. Between 1939 and its closure in 1946 around 700 Avro Lancaster bombers and 4,500 Avro Ansons were assembled here by women such as these. A partially built Lancaster is visible in the background.[internal reference; 2013710_174566:LEO 7300]
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Urgent! – Jade Helm 15 Alert! With New Info
I received some information recently from an old friend who does not want to be named but he gave me the go ahead to share the info i am going to. Take this however you want as truth or hearsay or just pretend my uncle told me but here it is.
Some time before jade helm 15 ends isis will apparently Strike targets in the united states mainland. The attacks that will be made by isis will cause panic and the jade helm forces stationed around the us will be given the order to switch a focus from drills to a new mission of tracking and finding 72 isis soldiers hidden in and around the states jade helm is supposed to be acting in. This is apparently why the us border was relaxed and illegals had been allowed to flood in.
This will be the guise under which martial law will be declared and people will be pulled out into the streets, homes will be searched and guns confiscated all in the name of finding these 72 soldiers of isis. People may resist but events are planned to cause more panic and make the public beg for it. Im not sure of the scale of this supposed event but this is all i have but take it for what it is. I trust the source and it sounds plausible with all that is going on. But this may end up being nothing at all.
You should also note: Apparently Joe Biden is involved in this somehow. I received a piece of information from someone on here that mentioned him recently that would also back up this claim but i cant release that info unless i get the go ahead and my source for this thread also mentioned him currently being involved in planning and making sure this is carried out correctly.
Regards Ukshep
Source: http://www.conspiracyoutpost.com/topic/653-urgent-jade-helm-15-alert-new-info
UPDATE WITH NEW INFO
I received permission to post the other info that corroborates my original source.
I can confirm that Biden was in Dallas on Saturday and Sunday. He arrived with a small army of Secret Service, CIA and FBI. Funny how we had the color Mohammad shooting on Sunday. The reported reason for his visit was he was here giving a speech at a LGBT function. It’s just odd that we have never had any sort of terror event in Dallas before…that is until Biden arrived.
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) — Dallas drivers hit road blocks and delays that were out of the ordinary for a Saturday evening.
Streets from downtown to uptown were blocked off for Vice President Joe Biden, who was scheduled to speak at the Gill Foundation’s OutGiving Dinner; a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender event at the Ritz-Carlton in Uptown.
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2015/05/02/vice-president-joe-biden-speaks-at-dallas-lgbt-group/
Main Source for new info
http://www.conspiracyoutpost.com/topic/653-urgent-jade-helm-15-alert-new-info/?page=2
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Q:
Foundation5 grid column height
Foundation 5 provides grid system and I would like to use it to arrange my web page. But the problem is I dont know how to set the height of each column. now it's just as large as the content needs, but it's really ugly.
I've tried the solution Set height with zurb-foundation grid, but it doesnot work. It is a nested grid of 8 columns which is splited into two 6-columns. I just want these two 6-columns to be the same tall but a different background color.
My code is :
<div class="row">
<div class="small-8 columns"> 8
<div class="row" >
<div class="small-6 columns" id="d8">
more and more people want to learn some HTML and CSS.
</div>
<div class="small-6 columns" id="d9">
more and more people want to learn some HTML and CSS. Joining the
designers and programmers are new audiences who need to know
a little bit of code at work (update a content management system
or e-commerce store) and those who want to make their personal
blogs more attractive. Many books teaching HTML and CSS are dry
and only written for those who want to become programmers, which
is why this book takes an entirely new approach. </div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
and the JS from the link is:
<script>
$(window).load(function()({
//equalize function
function equalHeight(group) {
tallest = 0;
group.each(function() {
thisHeight = $(this).height();
if(thisHeight > tallest) {
tallest = thisHeight;
}
});
group.height(tallest);
}
//call the equalize height function
equalHeight($("div.small-6"));
});
</script>
A:
In fact it is easy to set the height. Finally I use
.div[id]
{
height:85px !important;
}
and it works.
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Q:
An algorithm to calculate probability of a sum of the results happening
The algorithm I'm talking about using would allow you to present it with x number of items with each having a range of a to b with the result being y. I would like to have an algorithm which would, when presented with the values as described would output the possibility of it happening.
For example, for two die. Since I already know them(due to the possible results being so low). It'd be able to tell you each of the possibilities.
The setup would be something like. x=2 a=1 b=6. If you wanted to know the chance of having it result in a 2. Then it'd simply spit out 1/36(or it's float value). If you put in 7 as the total sum, it'd tell you 6.
So my question is, is there a simple way to implement such a thing via an algorithm that is already written. Or does one have to go through every single iteration of each and every item to get the total number of combinations for each value.
The exact formula would also, give you the combinations to make each of the values from 1-12.
So it'd give you a distribution array with each one's combinations at each of the indexes. If it does 0-12. Then 0 would have 0, 1 would have 0, and 2 would have 1.
I feel like this is the type of problem that someone else has had and wanted to work with and has the algorithm already done. If anyone has an easy way to do this beyond simply just looping through every possible value would be awesome.
I have no idea why I want to have this problem solved, but for some reason today I just had this feeling of wanting to solve it. And since I've been googling, and using wolfram alpha, along with trying it myself. I think it's time to concede defeat and ask the community.
I'd like the algorithm to be in c, or maybe PHP(even though I'd rather it not be since it's a lot slower). The reason for c is simply because I want raw speed, and I don't want to have to deal with classes or objects.
Pseudo code, or C is the best ways show your algorithm.
Edit:
Also, if I offended the person with a 'b' in his name due to the thing about mathematics I'm sorry. Since I didn't mean to offend, but I wanted to just state that I didn't understand it. But the answer could've stayed on there since I'm sure there are people who might come to this question and understand the mathematics behind it.
Also I cannot decide which way that I want to code this up. I think I'll try using both and then decide which one I like more to see/use inside of my little library.
The final thing that I forgot to say is that, calculus is about four going on five years ago. My understanding of probability, statistics, and randomness come from my own learning via looking at code/reading wikipedia/reading books.
If anyone is curious what sparked this question. I had a book that I was putting off reading called The Drunkards Walk and then once I say XKCD 904, I decided it was time to finally get around to reading it. Then two nights ago, whilst I was going to sleep... I had pondered how to solve this question via a simple algorithm and was able to think of one.
My coding understanding of code comes from tinkering with other programs, seeing what happened when I broke something, and then trying my own things whilst looking over the documentation for the build in functions. I do understand big O notation from reading over wikipedia(as much as one can from that), and pseudo code was because it's so similar to python. I myself, cannot write pseudo code(or says the teachers in college). I kept getting notes like "make it less like real code make it more like pseudo code." That thing hasn't changed.
Edit 2: Incase anyone searching for this question just quickly wanted the code. I've included it below. It is licensed under the LGPLv3 since I'm sure that there exists closed-source equivalents of this code.
It should be fairly portable since it is written entirely in c. If one was wanting to make it into an extension in any of the various languages that are written in c, it should take very little effort to do so. I chose to 'mark' the first one that linked to "Ask Dr. Math" as the answer since it was the implementation that I have used for this question.
The first file's name is "sum_probability.c"
#include <math.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <limits.h>
/*!
* file_name: sum_probability.c
*
* Set of functions to calculate the probabilty of n number of items adding up to s
* with sides x. The question that this program relates to can be found at the url of
* http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6394120/
*
* Copyright 2011-2019, Macarthur Inbody
*
* This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
* it under the terms of the Lesser GNU General Public License as published by
* the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
* (at your option) any later version.
*
* This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
* but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
* MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
* GNU General Public License for more details.
*
* You should have received a copy of the Lesser GNU General Public License
* along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl-3.0.html>.
*
* 2011-06-20 06:03:57 PM -0400
*
* These functions work by any input that is provided. For a function demonstrating it.
* Please look at the second source file at the post of the question on stack overflow.
* It also includes an answer for implenting it using recursion if that is your favored
* way of doing it. I personally do not feel comfortable working with recursion so that is
* why I went with the implementation that I have included.
*
*/
/*
* The following functions implement falling factorials so that we can
* do binomial coefficients more quickly.
* Via the following formula.
*
* K
* PROD (n-(k-i))/i
* i=1;
*
*/
//unsigned int return
unsigned int m_product_c( int k, int n){
int i=1;
float result=1;
for(i=1;i<=k;++i){
result=((n-(k-i))/i)*result;
}
return result;
}
//float return
float m_product_cf(float n, float k){
int i=1;
float result=1;
for(i=1;i<=k;++i){
result=((n-(k-i))/i)*result;
}
return result;
}
/*
* The following functions calculates the probability of n items with x sides
* that add up to a value of s. The formula for this is included below.
*
* The formula comes from. http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/52207.html
*
*s=sum
*n=number of items
*x=sides
*(s-n)/x
* SUM (-1)^k * C(n,k) * C(s-x*k-1,n-1)
* k=0
*
*/
float chance_calc_single(float min, float max, float amount, float desired_result){
float range=(max-min)+1;
float series=ceil((desired_result-amount)/range);
float i;
--amount;
float chances=0.0;
for(i=0;i<=series;++i){
chances=pow((-1),i)*m_product_cf(amount,i)*m_product_cf(desired_result-(range*i)-1,amount)+chances;
}
return chances;
}
And here is the file that shows the implementation as I said in the previous file.
#include "sum_probability.c"
/*
*
* file_name:test.c
*
* Function showing off the algorithms working. User provides input via a cli
* And it will give you the final result.
*
*/
int main(void){
int amount,min,max,desired_results;
printf("%s","Please enter the amount of items.\n");
scanf("%i",&amount);
printf("%s","Please enter the minimum value allowed.\n");
scanf("%i",&min);
printf("%s","Please enter the maximum value allowed.\n");
scanf("%i",&max);
printf("%s","Please enter the value you wish to have them add up to. \n");
scanf("%i",&desired_results);
printf("The total chances for %i is %f.\n", desired_results, chance_calc_single(min, max, amount, desired_results));
}
A:
First of all, you do not need to worry about the range being from a to b. You can just subtract a*x from y and pretend the range goes from 0 to b-a. (Because each item contributes at least a to the sum... So you can subtract off that a once for each of your x items.)
Second, note that what you are really trying to do is count the number of ways of achieving a particular sum. The probability is just that count divided by a simple exponential (b-a+1)^x.
This problem was covered by "Ask Dr. Math" around a decade ago:
http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/52207.html
His formulation is assuming dice numbered from 1 to X, so to use his answer, you probably want to shift your range by a-1 (rather than a) to convert it into that form.
His derivation uses generating functions which I feel deserve a little explanation. The idea is to define a polynomial f(z) such that the coefficient on z^n is the number of ways of rolling n. For a single 6-sided die, for example, this is the generating function:
z + z^2 + z^3 + z^4 + z^5 + z^6
...because there is one way of rolling each number from 1 to 6, and zero ways of rolling anything else.
Now, if you have two generating functions g(z) and h(z) for two sets of dice, it turns out the generating function for the union of those sets is just the product of g and h. (Stare at the "multiply two polynomials" operation for a while to convince yourself this is true.) For example, for two dice, we can just square the above expression to get:
z^2 + 2z^3 + 3z^4 +4z^5 + 5z^6 + 6z^7 + 5z^8 + 4z^9 + 3z^10 + 2z^11 + z^12
Notice how we can read the number of combinations directly off of the coefficients: 1 way to get a 2 (1*z^2), 6 ways to get a 7 (6*z^7), etc.
The cube of the expression would give us the generating function for three dice; the fourth power, four dice; and so on.
The power of this formulation comes when you write the generating functions in closed form, multiply, and then expand them again using the Binomial Theorem. I defer to Dr. Math's explanation for the details.
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Q:
Why is 'misod chachomim unevonim' sometimes said and sometimes omitted in the repetition of the Amidah?
In Askenazi communities, the piece beginning 'misod chachomim unevonim' is said at the repetition of the Amidah at Shacharis when there are piyuttim (except Purim) and on Musaf on Yomim Noraim as well as, in my Machzor, at Mincha and Neilah on Yom Kippur.
I thought the reason was to establish permission to “interrupt” the Amidah with these additional prayers.
But it is not said before the piyuttim in Musaf on (1) Shabbos Shekolim and (2) Shabbos Ha'Chodesh and at the beginning of the (3) Krovets on Purim morning.
Why not?
A:
Possibly the difference has to do with the structure of the piyutim in each case.
The halachah is that you're allowed to add any kind of requests, even private ones, in the middle berachos of Shemoneh Esrei (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 119:1), and you can add public ones even in the first and last ones (ibid. 112:1). In either case, though, the addition has to be thematically related to the berachah.
Arguably, then, the relatively short paragraphs inserted into the berachos, in the instances mentioned in the question, are closely related enough to their parent berachos to not need any kind of special "request for permission" (which is basically what Misod is). In fact, I have a volume of ancient piyutim (found in the Cairo genizah) for individual Shabbasos throughout the year (מחזורי שבעתות לסדרים ולפרשות, ed. Shulamit Elitzur), from which it seems that there were times and places where they used these as replacements for the original bodies of the berachos (i.e., the chazzan would begin his repetition of Shemoneh Esrei by saying a four- or five-line piyut and then continue בא"י מגן אברהם, etc.) - so that there is precedent for considering these to be basically alternate versions of the berachos rather than interpolations.
Whereas when there are longer piyutim, even though the ones inserted in the berachos do (usually) end with a phrase containing the main theme of the berachah, it may be much harder to justify them on that basis.
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Antes que nada, quería reiterar mi opinión sobre Ubuntu 20.04, Focal Fossa. Sinceramente, es soberbia. El tema oscuro, ha venido para quedarse en mi escritorio. Desde luego, si no la has probado, te recomiendo que la pruebes, aunque sea desde un live usb. Aunque está claro que la experiencia no será la misma. Como lo prometido es deuda, llevo unos días actualizando la antes aplicación antes conocida como Start here y recientemente renombrada a Ubuntu First Steps. Sinceramente, esperaba que fueran dos tonterías las que tenían que cambiar. Pero he realizado bastantes mas cambios de lo que esperaba. Y lo que es peor, me ha costado bastante mas de lo que esperaba. Uno de los problemas con los que me he encontrado y que sinceramente, no me esperaba es el adaptar Ubuntu First Steps al tema oscuro. No me termina de convencer como lo he hecho, pero el resultado es el que podrías esperar. Me he juntado con dos aplicaciones, la de este mes de abril, Tasker, sobre la que te hablé en el episodio 168, como el gestor de tareas definitivo y con esta, con Ubuntu First Steps. Claro, que como yo te decía, esperaba sinceramente que con esta fueran cuatro detalles a cambiar. En este nuevo episodio del podcast, te hablaré sobre Ubuntu First Steps, las novedades que he introducido, así como lo que primeros pasos con Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa. Primeros pasos con Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa Sobre Ubuntu First Steps Sobre el nombre Como ves le he ido dando vueltas al nombre desde Start here hasta llegar a Ubuntu First Steps. Lo que si que tenía claro es que el nombre adecuado era First Steps. Sin embargo, he estado dudando hasta el último momento si ponerle Ubuntu delante o no. Al final me he convencido a mi mismo que es lo mas adecuado. Ubuntu First Steps está pensada por y para Ubuntu. En concreto, para el sabor principal de Ubuntu. Muchos de los aspectos, no funcionarán en otros sabores, con lo que este es el nombre correcto. Una cuestión que me ha rondado en los últimos días, es si no llevará a engaño para los recién llegados a Ubuntu. Y es que da la impresión que sean los primeros pasos que tienes que dar para utilizar Ubuntu, y este no es el objetivo. Esta aplicación no es en absoluto necesaria, ni mucho menos. Puedes sobrevivir sin ella sin ningún problema. Se trata de una mínima ayuda para los que siempre instalamos algunos repositorios y aplicaciones que por defecto no vienen instaladas en Ubuntu. Por ejemplo, yo siempre instalo algunas aplicaciones como GIMP, Inkscape, y otras similares. Además añado los repositorios de estas aplicaciones para estar siempre a la última. ¿Porque no hacerlo de forma automatizada? Sobre el icono Finalmente he cambiado también el icono de la aplicación para que exprese claramente lo que trata la aplicación… Primeros pasos. En este caso, he jugado con los colores oficiales de la distribución, y el icono tan característico de GNOME, lo que me ha permitido darle un aspecto interesante. Más información en las notas del podcast sobre primeros pasos con Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa
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Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are often used to improve the efficiency and performance of metal parts which are exposed to high temperatures. Aircraft engines and land-based turbines are made from such parts. The combustion gas temperatures present in turbines are maintained as high as possible for operating efficiency. Turbine blades and other elements of the engine are usually made of alloys which can resist the high temperature environment, e.g., superalloys, which have an operating temperature limit of about 1000.degree. C.-1150.degree. C. Operation above these temperatures may cause the various turbine elements to fail and damage the engine.
The thermal barrier coatings effectively increase the operating temperature of the turbine by maintaining or reducing the surface temperature of the alloys used to form the various engine components. Most thermal barrier coatings are ceramic-based, e.g., based on a material like zirconia (zirconium oxide), which is usually chemically stabilized with another material such as yttria. For a turbine, the coatings are applied to various surfaces, such as turbine blades and vanes, combustor liners, and combustor nozzles. Usually, the thermal barrier coating ceramics are applied to an intervening bond layer which has been applied directly to the surface of the metal part.
The thermal barrier coatings are often applied to the part by a thermal spray technique, such as a plasma spray process. In this technique, an electric arc is typically used to heat various gasses, such as air, oxygen, nitrogen, argon, helium, or hydrogen, to temperatures of about 8000.degree. C. or greater. (When the process is carried out in an air environment, it is often referred to as air plasma spray or "APS".) The gasses are expelled from an annulus at high velocity, creating a characteristic thermal plume. Powder material (e.g., the zirconia-based composition) is fed into the plume, and the melted particles are accelerated toward the substrate being coated. For some applications, plasma-spray techniques have numerous advantages over other coating techniques, such as electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD). As an example, plasma spray systems are usually less costly than EB-PVD. Moreover, they are well suited for coating large parts, with maximum control over the thickness and uniformity of the coatings.
Despite the advantages associated with plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coatings, the use of these processes can present some problems under various circumstances. For example, a plasma-sprayed coating often has a relatively rough surface, e.g., an "R.sub.a " or Ra (arithmetic roughness average) value greater than about 600 micro-inches. Much smoother surfaces are required when the coating is to be applied to turbine components like airfoils, so that the convective component of the heat flux delivered to the coating can be reduced. Moreover, the aerodynamic drag losses can also be reduced.
The thermal barrier coating surface can be smoothed by several techniques, such as grinding, tumbling, or heavy-sanding operations. However, these processes can be very time-consuming, adding considerably to the overall cost of fabrication. Moreover, they can sometimes mechanically damage the thermal barrier coating. For example, a sand-tumbling operation can sometimes result in the preferential smoothing/wearing of certain areas of the coating. The decreased thickness in those areas can undesirably lower the thermal resistance of the thermal barrier coating. Grinding, on the other hand, can induce stresses in the coating, thereby reducing its service life.
Surface-smoothing processes for thermal barrier coatings have been practiced in the art. For example, H. L. Tsai et al describe the use of a continuous wave laser to glaze the surface layer of a plasma-sprayed coating based on yttria-stabilized zirconia (Materials Science and Engineering, A161 (1993), 145-155). The process is said to be capable of producing shiny surfaces of low roughness. However, a laser system can be a considerable capital investment, adding to the cost and complexity of the overall thermal barrier coating process. Moreover, it may sometimes be quite difficult to adjust the wavelength of the laser to melt the most appropriate surface-portion of the thermal barrier coating, i.e., a layer thick enough to form a smooth surface, but thin enough to preserve the overall integrity of the protective coating.
From this discussion, it should be apparent that new methods for modifying the surface of a thermal barrier coating would be welcome in the art. The new processes should smooth the surface to a degree suitable for aerodynamic applications, while maintaining all of the beneficial characteristics of the coating. Moreover, the processes should be fully compatible with the application of the thermal barrier coating over a substrate, and should not add excessive cost or time to the overall production operation.
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No More Martyrs - Recommended Reading
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Valenrich Wellness is on the move again and enjoying the historically Black college and university (HBCU) experience at the National Association of Student Affairs Professionals (NASAP) 59th Annual Conference in Jackson, Mississippi.
In addition to presenting on the importance of mentorship to student mental wellness, I especially enjoyed the Scandal watch party that took place Thursday evening.
Monday, January 28, 2013
In order for new understandings of disability to be developed and truthful representations of Black womanhood that supersede damaging, oppressive representations, it is crucially important that the rhetoric espoused through systems of domination is challenged, dismantled, and replaced with language that encourages a discourse of humanizing value and equality.
Monday, January 21, 2013
The NationalAssociation ofStudent
Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Mental Health Conference in Fort Worth, Texas ended just in time for conference attendees to travel to their various destinations and prepare for a day of historic transition.
Valenrich Wellness congratulates President Barack Obama as he is sworn in for his second term as President of the United States.
The significance of this day is only enhanced by the fact that it falls on Martin Luther King, Jr. day.
Dr. King believed in the power of love.Love fosters respect and encourages community.In order for the stigma of mental health to be dismantled, love of mankind must be given the opportunity to develop respect for human difference and harness the power of advocacy that can transform communities by actively addressing the various forms of discrimination that threaten mental wellness.Thank you Dr. King for your legacy of love.
Friday, January 18, 2013
If you discuss it, they will come.
That was certainly the case today during my presentation at the 2013 National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Mental Health conference. Though my workshop was one of the last workshops of the day, it drew a crowd of student affairs professionals, university mental health professionals, and disability services professionals. Many in the room admitted that discussions regarding the soci-cultural factors impacting the mental wellness of college students do not take forefront in their day to day services. As such, the forum today provided them the relatively unique opportunity to consider the experiences in a way that diagnostic labels, university policies, and administrative paperwork do not. Stronger collaborations between student affairs and academic affairs were a reoccurring theme during our discussions as was the need for faculty training. I most enjoyed the passion apparent in the like-minded, student-centered professionals that attended the workshop. There is still a lot of work to do on many college campuses but, based on what I saw today, I am hopeful.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
What better way for
Valenrich Wellness, LLC to launch then by attending the 2013 NationalAssociation
ofStudent Personnel Administrators(NASPA) Mental Health Conference. For the last seven
years, the NASPA Mental Health Conference has taken place concurrently with the
NASPA Alcohol, Other Drug Abuse, and Violence Prevention Conference. Both
conferences address issues such as prevention, policy development,
intervention, crisis management and substance abuse.
I
have had the pleasure of presenting research at this conference forthe
past two years and, each year, I participated in thought provoking discussions
regarding the challenges faced by students in distress as well as the faculty
and staff that seek to assist them. Tomorrow, I will present a workshop titled:
Strength and Silence - Navigating the Intersection of Race, Gender, and Mental
Illness. It is
always a pleasure to engage audiences in these types of discussions. A special
thank you to NASPA for the opportunity.
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Q:
Dynamic for loops over lists (C#)
I have 3 lists, containing strings
GenderList = ["M", "F"]
AgeList = ["10-15", "16-20", "21-26"]
CityList = ["CityA", "CityB"]
I want to make cross product over the lists, but danamically:
if the user asks for gender_city:
I need the following:
foreach(var g in GenderList)
foreach(var c in CityList
.....
If the user asks for gender_city_age, the loop must be:
foreach(var g in GenderList)
foreach(var c in CityList)
foreach(var a in AgeList)
....
if the user asks for city_age
foreach(var c in CityList)
foreach(var a in AgeList)
...
How can I make this? I have about 20 lists, I need to multiply lists' items dynamically
thanks
A:
Let's start from generalized Cartesian:
private static IEnumerable<T[]> Cartesian<T>(IEnumerable<IEnumerable<T>> source) {
T[][] lists = source
.Select(line => line.ToArray())
.ToArray();
if (source.Any(line => !line.Any()))
yield break;
int[] indexes = new int[lists.Length];
do {
yield return lists.Select((line, index) => line[indexes[index]]).ToArray();
for (int i = 0; i < indexes.Length; ++i)
if (++indexes[i] < lists[i].Length)
break;
else
indexes[i] = 0;
}
while (!indexes.All(index => index == 0));
}
Then we can try using it. Let's organize all the collections we want to query into a single dictionary:
// we allow to use any IEnumerable<string>, not necessary List<string>
Dictionary<string, IEnumerable<string>> data =
new Dictionary<string, IEnumerable<string>>(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase) {
{ "Gender", new [] { "M", "F" } },
{ "Age", new List<string> { "10-15", "16-20", "21-26" } },
{ "City", new [] { "CityA", "CityB" } },
};
And query it:
string userChoice = "gender_city_age";
var result = Cartesian(userChoice.Split('_').Select(name => data[name]));
// Have a look at the result:
string report = string.Join(Environment.NewLine, result
.Select(line => string.Join(", ", line)));
Console.Write(report);
Outcome:
M, CityA, 10-15
F, CityA, 10-15
M, CityB, 10-15
F, CityB, 10-15
M, CityA, 16-20
F, CityA, 16-20
M, CityB, 16-20
F, CityB, 16-20
M, CityA, 21-26
F, CityA, 21-26
M, CityB, 21-26
F, CityB, 21-26
| null |
minipile
|
NaturalLanguage
|
mit
| null |
All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Introduction {#sec001}
============
Taxonomic studies are based on type specimens, which are permanently attached to taxonomic names. The type specimens of red algal seaweeds are basically specimens housed in herbaria. To determine the correct names of modern collections, type specimens have been used for comparisons, including habit and anatomy. In many cases, morphological information from type specimens is not sufficient for taxonomic studies, because many type materials are fragmented and lack reproductive structures required for comparison with modern collections. Instead of type materials, detailed morphological observations and DNA sequencing from topotypes newly collected from their type locality have been used for taxonomic studies \[[@pone.0158944.ref001], [@pone.0158944.ref002]\]. However, in some cases the coastal environment of type localities has changed and the species are missing. The most reliable method to determine the correct name of modern collections involves sequencing of type specimens and comparing them to related sequences from field-collected material \[[@pone.0158944.ref003], [@pone.0158944.ref004]\]. However, DNA fragments of less than 300 base pairs can be obtained typically \[[@pone.0158944.ref003], [@pone.0158944.ref004]\], and thus complete gene sequences required for phylogenetic analyses are not available. Many type specimens were established more than 50 years ago, and the DNA has become highly fragmented due to deterioration over time \[[@pone.0158944.ref005]\]; therefore, Sanger sequencing is not reliable with old DNA samples. Recently, next-generation sequencing (NGS) has been used to examine DNA sequences from old samples \[[@pone.0158944.ref006]\]. For red algal seaweeds, Hughey et al. \[[@pone.0158944.ref007]\] performed NGS to determine the complete plastid and mitochondrial genomes from 140-year-old type specimens of the bangiophycean species of *Pyropia* using the published complete organelle genome data from *Pyropia* spp. for reference mapping and sequence assembly. However, in the case of Florideophyceae, the largest group of red algae, limited genomic data are available as references in NGS, compared with bangiophycean red algae, and thus old DNA sequences have not been determined previously by NGS for molecular phylogenetic analyses.
The red algal genus *Liagora* is the largest genus of Liagoraceae and is widely distributed in warm temperate to tropical regions of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans \[[@pone.0158944.ref008]\]. Recent molecular analyses suggest that *Liagora* is polyphyletic, and the generic concept of *Liagora* sensu stricto has been revised substantially in recent years \[[@pone.0158944.ref009]--[@pone.0158944.ref011]\]. Although three new genera, *Macrocarpus*, *Neoizziella*, and *Titanophycus*, have since been separated from *Liagora* sensu lato \[[@pone.0158944.ref010], [@pone.0158944.ref012]\], the generic positions of some species of *Liagora* remain unresolved.
*Liagora japonica* Yamada was originally described based on plants collected from Misaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on the Pacific side of Japan in 1903 \[[@pone.0158944.ref013]\]. According to our investigations of specimens housed in the Herbarium of the Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University (SAP) and the Department of Botany, National Museum of Nature and Science, Japan (TNS), *L*. *japonica* has not been collected from its type locality since 1927, and the species has not been collected from the Pacific coast of Japan since 1960 (Figure A in [S1 File](#pone.0158944.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"} and Table A in [S2 File](#pone.0158944.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). The coast of the Miura Peninsula (which includes the type locality of *L*. *japonica*) has experienced environmental disturbances several times over the past 100 years, including vertical displacement during the 1923 Kanto Earthquake \[[@pone.0158944.ref014]\], landfill in Tokyo Bay in the 1950s \[[@pone.0158944.ref015]\], and construction of marinas for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo \[[@pone.0158944.ref016]\]. Several seaweeds have disappeared from the peninsula and its vicinity \[[@pone.0158944.ref015], [@pone.0158944.ref016]\], and it seems that *L*. *japonica* has become extinct at its type locality and vicinity.
Recently, we collected samples similar to *L*. *japonica* from Sado Island and Oki Island in the Japan Sea (Figure A in [S1 File](#pone.0158944.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"} Tables A and B in [S2 File](#pone.0158944.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). The collection sites are located on the side opposite the Pacific coast of Honshu, Japan, and the reproductive structures of modern samples do not correspond completely to those originally described by Yamada \[[@pone.0158944.ref013]\]. Therefore, it remains unclear whether modern samples collected from the Japan Sea side of Japan belong to *L*. *japonica*. To determine the identity of *L*. *japonica*, we extracted DNA from topotype material of *L*. *japonica* collected in 1927 and sequenced nuclear-encoded 28S ribosomal RNA (28S *r*RNA), plastid-encoded photosystem I P700 chlorophyll *a* apoprotein A1 (*psaA*), plastid-encoded ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (*rbc*L) genes, and the universal mitochondrial barcode marker cytochrome oxidase 1 (COI) using Illumina NGS and determined the phylogenetic position of the type material of *L*. *japonica*. We also examined herbarium specimens of lectotype and topotype as well as formalin-preserved samples used by Chihara and Yosihzaki \[[@pone.0158944.ref017]\] for anatomical observations. Both morphological characteristics and molecular analyses indicated that the specimens from the Pacific and Japan Sea coasts are the same species and can therefore be referred to as *L*. *japonica*. However, our molecular analyses indicated that *L*. *japonica* is incorrectly placed in *Liagora* and requires assignment to a new genus. We address the generic placement of *L*. *japonica* and propose a new genus, *Otohimella* gen. nov.
Materials and Methods {#sec002}
=====================
Ethics statement {#sec003}
----------------
We collected *Liagora japonica* from Sado Island and Oki Island in Japan. Collection locations and details are shown in Table B in [S2 File](#pone.0158944.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. The collection site in Sado Island is not a protected area, while the coast of Oki Island lies within the ordinary zone of Daisen-Oki National Park. According to the National Park Act in Japan, there are no restrictions collecting marine algae from the ordinary zones of national parks. In addition, no specific permission was required for the locations on Sado Island and Oki Island.
The specimens of *L*. *japonica* housed in herbaria were subjected to morphological and molecular investigations. Official permission for this study was obtained from the Herbarium of the Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University (SAP), and the Department of Botany, National Museum of Nature and Science, Japan (TNS).
Morphological observations {#sec004}
--------------------------
Specimens were preserved in Silica gel for DNA extraction, or 10% formalin/seawater for anatomical observations. Voucher herbarium specimens were deposited at the Department of Botany, National Museum of Nature and Science, Japan (TNS). Lectotype and topotype specimen of *L*. *japonica*, and formalin preserved sample collected from Tsushima used for Chihara and Yoshizaki \[[@pone.0158944.ref017]\] were also studied. Specimens on herbarium sheets, or preserved in formalin seawater were examined under an Olympus BX50 microscope (Olympus, Japan) after the material had been rehydrated and decalcified (in some cases stained with 1% aniline blue, acidified with 1% HCl and mounted in 50% aqueous Karo^®^ syrup (Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA) with 3% formaldehyde to prevent microbial growth. Drawings were made with the aid of a camera lucida.
DNA extraction and sequencing procedures for modern specimens {#sec005}
-------------------------------------------------------------
For phylogenetic analyses, partial 28S *r*RNA, *rbc*L genes and COI were sequenced with Sanger sequencing from two modern samples (Table B in [S2 File](#pone.0158944.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). DNA extractions and sequencing procedures were performed in [S1 Text](#pone.0158944.s003){ref-type="supplementary-material"}.
DNA extraction from the historical herbarium specimens {#sec006}
------------------------------------------------------
DNA was extracted from each of the herbarium specimens, ranging in age from 88 years (collected in 1927) to 57 years (collected in 1958), using a class 100 NK System Clean Bench VSF-1600RA (NK Systems, Tokyo, Japan) to prevent microbial and human contamination. Approximately a 1 × 5 mm^2^ section of material was ruptured manually using a Handy Pestle^®^ (Toyobo, Osaka, Japan) in liquid nitrogen, and DNA was subsequently extracted using a QIAGEN^®^ Genomic-tip 20/G according to the manufacturer's protocol (Qiagen, Valencia, CA, USA). The DNA concentration was determined using a Quant-iT dsDNA HS assay kit with a Qubit fluorometer (Life Technologies, Carlsbad, CA, USA).
Aliquot of DNA (40--80ng) from herbarium specimens were sheared to a target peak size of 500 bp using the Covaris S220 Focused-Ultrasonicator system (Covaris, Woburn, MA, USA) according to the manufacturer's recommendations. To generate DNA sequencing libraries for high-throughput DNA sequencing, the NEBNext Ultra DNA Library Prep kit for Illumina (New England Biolabs) was used, according to the manufacturer's instructions with the exception of performing the 10--12 cycles of PCR. The amplified library products (size range, 250--600 bp) were isolated on agarose gels and purified using the NucleoSpin Gel and PCR Clean-up kit (TaKaRa, Kyoto, Japan).
The paired-end reads were generated on the Illumina MiSeq platform using the MiSeq Reagent Kit version 2 (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA). FASTQ files were generated using the MiSeq Reporter software version 2.3.32 (Illumina). Raw sequence reads, 10,452,985 base pairs (bp) for the 57-year-old Wakayama prefecture specimen and 9,335,303 bp for the 88-year-old Kanagawa prefecture specimen, were generated.
Quality filtering of Illumina sequence data {#sec007}
-------------------------------------------
We discarded the Illumina MiSeq reads that contained ambiguous nucleotides or were mapped to PhiX genomic sequences using Bowtie 2 version 2.2.3 with the default parameters \[[@pone.0158944.ref018]\]. Subsequently, we removed the adapter sequences from the reads, using Cutadapt version 1.2.135, and low-quality regions with a Phred-like quality score \<17within the 3\' end of the reads. In addition, we discarded reads that were \< 20 bp in length or were associated with an average Phred-like quality score \< 25. The quality filtering yielded high-quality reads: 10,057,049 bp for the 57-years-old specimen and 8,913,992 bp for the 88-year-old specimen.
Identification of *Liagora japonica* sequences {#sec008}
----------------------------------------------
The sequences derived from the *L*. *japonica* genomes were identified based on two different methods to avoid sequencing error. The first was a read-based method and the other a scaffold-based method.
### Read-based method {#sec009}
The high-quality MiSeq reads derived from *L*. *japonica* genomes were identified as follows. (1) An in-house nucleotide sequence database consisting of the phylogenetic marker gene sequences of Nemaliales including Liagoraceae and its relatives (designated as in-house Nemaliales database) was constructed by combining previously reported sequence data (Table C in [S2 File](#pone.0158944.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). (2) All of the high-quality reads were subjected to BLASTN 2.2.27 searches \[[@pone.0158944.ref019]\] against the in-house Nemaliales database with an E-value \< 0.01. (3) The reads that matched the sequences in the in-house Nemaliales database were subjected to BLASTN 2.2.27 searches against the GenBank nucleotide database (September 2014) with an E-value \< 0.01. (4) The reads that matched the sequences from Rhodophyta in the GenBank nucleotide database were regarded as genome fragments of *L*. *japonica*. The target read coverages of *L*. *japonica* are shown in Tables D and E in [S2 File](#pone.0158944.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}.
MiSeq reads identified as sequences belonging to nuclear genes or organelle genes of *L*. *japonica* were used for reconstruction of each gene sequence as follows. (1) In each sample, the identified reads were assembled independently for each gene using CAP3 \[[@pone.0158944.ref020]\]. (2) CLUSTALW was used with the default parameters to generate multiple alignments of the assembled contigs and singletons with reference gene sequences in the in-house Nemaliales database \[[@pone.0158944.ref021]\]. (3) Partially matched false-positive reads were removed manually by checking the multiple alignment. (4) In each sample, each gene sequence of *L*. *japonica* was reconstructed manually from the multiple alignment.
### Scaffold-based method {#sec010}
The high-quality MiSeq reads of each sample were assembled using IDBA-UD version 1.1.0 with the following parameters:---mink 20---maxk 120---step 5) (Table F in [S2 File](#pone.0158944.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}) \[[@pone.0158944.ref022]\]. Assembled scaffolds were subjected to BLASTN 2.2.27 searches against the in-house Nemaliales database with an E-value \< 0.0001. The scaffolds that matched the sequences in the in-house Nemaliales database were subjected to BLASTN 2.2.27 searches against the GenBank nucleotide database with an E-value \< 0.001. The scaffolds that matched the sequences from Rhodophyta in the GenBank nucleotide database were regarded as genome fragments of *Liagora japonica*. The sequences similar to the reference nuclear gene sequences or putative organelle gene sequences were obtained from the scaffolds by (1) identifying a similar region within the reference gene sequence from the BLASTN results and (2) extracting a ±500 bp region of the BLASTN-aligned region. CLUSTAL W was used with default parameters to generate multiple alignments of the extracted sequences with reference gene sequences from the in-house Nemaliales database. Partially matched false-positive sequences were removed manually by checking the multiple alignment. In each sample, each gene sequence of *L*. *japonica* was manually reconstructed from the multiple alignment. The results of CLUSTALW and manual refinement of phylogenetic marker genes of two samples were checked, and the read coverage was calculated by Bowtie2 (version 2.2.6) mapping of the corresponding sample reads. The read alignments (BAM files) are available from the web server (<http://liagora.paleogenome.jp>).
Phylogenetic analysis {#sec011}
---------------------
We sequenced two *psaA*, four *rbc*L, four 28S *r*RNA, and four COI gene sequences from modern samples and historical herbarium specimens of *L*. *japonica* (Table B in [S2 File](#pone.0158944.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). *PsaA*, *rbc*L, and 28S *r*RNA genes were selected to infer the phylogeny of Liagoraceae, and the COI gene was selected to assess the effectiveness of DNA barcoding. The sequence data of Liagoraceae, available from GenBank, were compiled. *PsaA* sequences for 55 taxa, *rbc*L sequences for 99 taxa, and COI sequences for 22 taxa were aligned using CLUSTAL W \[[@pone.0158944.ref021]\]. The 28S *r*RNA gene sequences for 51 taxa of Nemaliales were aligned using CLUSTAL W \[[@pone.0158944.ref021]\] and were refined based on published secondary structures of the 28S *r*RNA gene of *Palmaria palmata* (Linnaeus) Kuntze \[[@pone.0158944.ref023]\] using SeaView 4.1 \[[@pone.0158944.ref024]\]. The ambiguous regions of the alignments were removed. Samples with identical nucleotide sequences were treated as a single operational taxonomic unit (OTU). As the Liagoraceae has been resolved previously as a monophyletic group \[[@pone.0158944.ref025]\], four to five other families belonging to the Nemaliales were designated as outgroups for *psaA*, *rbc*L, combined *psaA* and *rbc*L, and 28S *r*RNA gene analyses. Based on the results of *psaA*, *rbc*L, combined *psaA* and *rbc*L, and 28S *r*RNA gene analyses, the genera *Cumagloia*, *Hommersandiophycus*, and *Nemalion* were designated as outgroups for COI analysis. For confirmation of the identification of 18S *r*RNA, *psaB*, and *psbA* genes derived from the historical specimens of *L*. *japonica*, phylogenetic analyses based on those genes were performed. The alignments used for the present phylogenetic analyses are available from TreeBASE at <https://treebase.org/treebase-web/search/study/summary.html?id=18829> (matrix accession number S18829).
Phylogenetic analyses of the aligned sequences from each dataset, were subjected to Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) analysis. The substitution models applied to BI analyses are shown in Table G in [S2 File](#pone.0158944.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. BI analysis was performed using MrBayes 3.2.1 \[[@pone.0158944.ref026]\], as described previously \[[@pone.0158944.ref027]\]. Four chains of Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) iterations were carried out for 2,000,000 or 3,000,000 generations, keeping one tree every 500 generations. Convergence of log-likelihood and parameter values was assessed in Tracer version1.4. \[[@pone.0158944.ref028]\]. A burn-in sample of 5,000--7,500 trees was removed before constructing the majority rule consensus tree, and the remaining trees were used to calculate a 50% majority-rule tree and to determine the posterior probabilities (PP) of the individual branches. The Bayesian analyses are summarized in Table G in [S2 File](#pone.0158944.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. ML analysis was performed using RAxML version7.0.4 software \[[@pone.0158944.ref029]\]. The GTR+I+Γ model was applied to each dataset in the analysis. Bootstrap values (BP) for ML analysis were calculated based on 1000 pseudoreplicates. The *p* distances and K2P genetic distances for each pair of liagoracean species were calculated using PAUP 4.0b10 \[[@pone.0158944.ref030]\].
Nucleotide sequence accession numbers {#sec012}
-------------------------------------
The Sanger sequence datasets have been submitted to DDBJ under accession numbers LC066217 to LC066223, and LC066521 to LC066532 and LC093491 to LC093498, and the Illumina sequence datasets have been submitted to the DDBJ Short Read Archive under accession number DRA003813. IDBA-UD assemblies of two samples can be accessed under BCQK01000001-BCQK01275014 (suzuki-1) and BCQL01000001-BCQL01381344 (suzuki-2), respectively.
Nomenclature acts {#sec013}
-----------------
The electronic version of this article in Portable Document Format (PDF) in a work with an ISSN or ISBN will represent a published work according to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, and hence the new names contained in the electronic publication of a PLOS ONE article are effectively published under that Code from the electronic edition alone, so there is no longer any need to provide printed copies.
In addition, new names contained in this work have been submitted to IPNI, from where they will be made available to the Global Names Index. The IPNI LSIDs can be resolved and the associated information viewed through any standard web browser by appending the LSID contained in this publication to the prefix <http://ipni.org/>. The online version of this work is archived and available from the following digital repositories: PubMed Central, LOCKSS.
Results {#sec014}
=======
Sequences determined from historical specimens {#sec015}
----------------------------------------------
Based on limited publicly available sequence data from the Nemaliales, including Liagoraceae (Table C in [S2 File](#pone.0158944.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}), reliable sequences from *Liagora japonica* were determined for four genes: 28S *r*RNA, *psaA*, *rbc*L, and COI ([Fig 1](#pone.0158944.g001){ref-type="fig"}, Figures B-E in [S1 File](#pone.0158944.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Another three genes, nuclear-encoded 18S *r*RNA, putative plastid-encoded photosystem I P700 chlorophyll *a* apoprotein A2 (*psaB*), and putative plastid-encoded photosystem II core 32 kDa protein (*psbA*) genes of potentially nemalialean affinity, were obtained from the historical specimens (Figure F in [S1 File](#pone.0158944.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"}, Table B in [S2 File](#pone.0158944.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Both the read-based and scaffold based methods, the determined sequences of the seven genes were the same. The *psaA*, *psaB*, *psbA*, *rbc*L, and COI gene sequences were complete, while only partial sequences of the 28S *r*RNA and 18S *r*RNA genes were available. The length of the 28S and 18S *r*RNA gene sequences were 82.8% and 91.5%, respectively, of the published complete 28S and 18S *r*RNA gene sequence of *P*. *palmata* \[[@pone.0158944.ref023]\].
{#pone.0158944.g001}
Phylogenetic markers {#sec016}
--------------------
Analysis of the *rbc*L and COI sequences identified few polymorphisms (Figures B and E in [S1 File](#pone.0158944.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"}) among populations of *L*. *japonica* from Misaki, type locality, Wakayama, Oki Island, and Sado Island. The *rbc*L gene of *L*. *japonica* showed 0--4 bp variation. The *p* distance among the species of the genus *Liagora* sensu stricto used for *rbc*L was 5.5--10.9%, whereas that among populations of *L*. *japonica* was \< 0.3%. The COI gene for *L*. *japonica* showed 0--9 bp variation. The *p* distance among the species of the genus *Liagora* sensu stricto used for COI was 7.8--13.5%, whereas that among populations of *L*. *japonica* was \< 1.5%. The *p* distances and K2P genetic distances among the liagoracean species used in COI analysis are shown in Tables H and I in [S2 File](#pone.0158944.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. Both the *p* distances and K2P genetic distances generated similar results.
Phylogenetic analyses {#sec017}
---------------------
As *psaA*, *rbc*L, and 28S *r*RNA genes have been used for phylogenetic analyses of Liagoraceae \[[@pone.0158944.ref009]--[@pone.0158944.ref011], [@pone.0158944.ref025]\], we performed, *psaA*, *rbc*L, combined *psaA* and *rbc*L, and 28S *r*RNA gene analyses. To determine whether the third nucleotides of the codons of the *psaA* and *rbc*L genes exhibit saturation of substitutions, *p* distances among liagoracean species based on the third nucleotide of codons were compared with those of the first and second nucleotides of the same codons (Figure G in [S1 File](#pone.0158944.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). The data indicated that these third nucleotide positions have been saturated with substitutions in liagoracean species, but not in *L*. *japonica* or four related genera: *Akalaphycus*, *Macrocarpus*, *Neoizziella*, and *Titanophycus*.
The topologies of individual *psaA*, *rbc*L, and combined *psaA* and *rbc*L trees, except the position of *L*. *japonica*, were basically similar to previous phylogenetic analyses for Liagoraceae \[[@pone.0158944.ref009]--[@pone.0158944.ref011], [@pone.0158944.ref025], [@pone.0158944.ref031], [@pone.0158944.ref032]\]. The phylogenetic trees generated by BI and ML showed the same topologies; therefore, we present only the BI tree topology ([Fig 1](#pone.0158944.g001){ref-type="fig"}, Figures B and C in [S1 File](#pone.0158944.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). BI topologies of the individual *psaA* and *rbc*L trees (Figures B and C in [S1 File](#pone.0158944.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"}) were similar to the combined *psaA* and *rbc*L data ([Fig 1](#pone.0158944.g001){ref-type="fig"}), except for the position of *Neoizziella*, but with weaker statistical support. In the individual *rbc*L tree, *L*. *japonica* and *Macrocarpus* were sisters to each other, with low support (\< 0.95 PP and 59% BP), while in the individual *psaA* and combined *psaA* and *rbc*L trees, *L*. *japonica* and *Neoizziella* were sisters to each other, with moderate to high support (0.98--0.99 PP and 79--81% BP). In the combined *psaA* and *rbc*L tree, the monophyly of each genus belonging to Liagoraceae was highly supported (1.00 PP and \> 95% BP), excluding *Izziella*. *Liagora japonica*, *Macrocarpus*, and *Neoizziella* formed a monophyletic clade with full support (1.00 PP and 100% BP), whereas *L*. *japonica* was clearly separated from *Liagora* sensu stricto.
The topology of the 28S *r*RNA gene tree, except the position of *L*. *japonica* was similar to previous phylogenetic analyses for Liagoraceae \[[@pone.0158944.ref010], [@pone.0158944.ref012], [@pone.0158944.ref033]\]. In the tree based on the 28S *r*RNA gene, *Liagora japonica* was separated from *Liagora* sensu stricto; however, the boundaries of the genera belonging to Liagoraceae were not resolved (Figure D in [S1 File](#pone.0158944.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"}).
Morphological observations of modern samples {#sec018}
--------------------------------------------
Thalli were found on rocks at a depth of approximately 1--3 m ([Fig 2A](#pone.0158944.g002){ref-type="fig"}). The thalli were erect, 4--7 cm in height, and composed of 2--3 terete axes branched subdichotomously to 5--7 orders, arising from a small discoid holdfast, loosely calcified, pinkish or reddish brown in color ([Fig 2A and 2B](#pone.0158944.g002){ref-type="fig"}).
{#pone.0158944.g002}
The thalli were multiaxial and composed of assimilatory filaments and medullary filaments ([Fig 2C](#pone.0158944.g002){ref-type="fig"}). The assimilatory filaments were subdichotomously branched 3--4 times. The upper parts of the assimilatory filaments were composed of ellipsoidal cells, which were 10--18 μm long and 5--8 μm wide. The lower parts were composed of elongated cells, which were 30--60 μm long and 4--6 μm wide.
Gametophytes were monoecious. Spermatangial parent cells derived from apical cells and spermatangia were cut off terminally (Figs [2D](#pone.0158944.g002){ref-type="fig"} and [3A](#pone.0158944.g003){ref-type="fig"}). One or, rarely, two spermatangia were cut off from each spermatangial parental cell.
{#pone.0158944.g003}
Carpogonial branches were curved slightly, 4- or 5-celled, and borne on the middle part of assimilatory filaments (Figs [2E and 2F](#pone.0158944.g002){ref-type="fig"}, [3B and 3C](#pone.0158944.g003){ref-type="fig"}). After presumed fertilization, the carpogonium divided transversely to produce a gonimoblast initial, after which the gonimoblast initial cut off primary gonimoblast cells obliquely ([Fig 2G](#pone.0158944.g002){ref-type="fig"}). Meanwhile, the involucral filaments were initiated mostly from cortical cells on the supporting cell (Figs [2G](#pone.0158944.g002){ref-type="fig"}, [3D and 3E](#pone.0158944.g003){ref-type="fig"}). Gonimoblast initials cut off second and third gonimoblast cells, and the gonimoblast developed radially (Figs [2H](#pone.0158944.g002){ref-type="fig"}, [3D and 3E](#pone.0158944.g003){ref-type="fig"}). At an early stage of gonimoblast development, growth of the involucral filaments and gonimoblast cells became dominant ([Fig 2I](#pone.0158944.g002){ref-type="fig"}). At maturity, the gonimoblast cells were embedded in and intermingled with the involucral filaments, and carposporophytes were diffuse (Figs [2J](#pone.0158944.g002){ref-type="fig"} and [3F](#pone.0158944.g003){ref-type="fig"}). The cells of the carpogonial branch were not fused through carposporophyte development (Figs [2G--2J](#pone.0158944.g002){ref-type="fig"} and [3D--3F](#pone.0158944.g003){ref-type="fig"}). Carposporangia were elliptical to oblong, 10--15 μm long and 5--6 μm wide ([Fig 2K](#pone.0158944.g002){ref-type="fig"}).
Morphological observations of historical materials {#sec019}
--------------------------------------------------
Based on habit and vegetative anatomies, the lectotype and topotype specimens examined corresponded to the descriptions of Yamada \[[@pone.0158944.ref013]\], while samples collected from Tsushima fit those of Chihara and Yoshizaki \[[@pone.0158944.ref017]\]. Thalli were erect and bushy, consisting of 3--5 main axes, subdichotomously branched, with 3--9 orders of branching, 7--18 cm in height, arising from a discoid holdfast with moderately calcified branches ([Fig 4A and 4B](#pone.0158944.g004){ref-type="fig"}). After fertilization, cells of the carpogonial branch were not fused. At an early stage of gonimoblast development, gonimoblast cells were loosely elongated, and involucral filaments intermingled with gonimoblast cells ([Fig 4C](#pone.0158944.g004){ref-type="fig"}). Mature carposporophytes were not observed in the lectotype or topotype, while those of Tsushima were diffuse ([Fig 4D](#pone.0158944.g004){ref-type="fig"}).
{#pone.0158944.g004}
Discussion {#sec020}
==========
The *rbc*L and COI have been used for species delineation of Nemaliales, including Liagoraceae \[[@pone.0158944.ref009], [@pone.0158944.ref011], [@pone.0158944.ref034]\]. Analyses of *rbc*L and COI sequences suggest that modern and historical specimens collected from four localities of both the Japan Sea and Pacific sides of Japan, including topotypes, are very closely related. The typical intraspecific divergence of *rbc*L of the Liagoraceae based on *p* distances is \< 0.4% \[[@pone.0158944.ref031]\], while that of COI of the Nemaliales is \< 1.0% \[[@pone.0158944.ref034]\]. *Liagora japonica* showed \< 0.3% intraspecific divergence of *rbc*L, which was within the range of that of Liagoraceae \[[@pone.0158944.ref031]\], while the intraspecific divergence of COI was \< 1.5%, which was higher than typical intraspecific divergence of the Nemaliales \[[@pone.0158944.ref034]\]. The typical minimum interspecific divergence of COI of the Liagoraceae is 5.6% \[[@pone.0158944.ref032]\], and thus the intraspecific divergence of *L*. *japonica* is much lower than the interspecific divergence. Thus, all specimens should be identified as a single species: *L*. *japonica*.
However, the structures of carposporophytes from modern samples differed from those originally described by Yamada \[[@pone.0158944.ref013]\]. Yamada \[[@pone.0158944.ref013]\] presented a drawing of compact carposporophytes, whereas carposporophytes of the modern samples were diffuse. Furthermore, Chihara and Yoshizaki \[[@pone.0158944.ref017]\] observed *L*. *japonica* collected from Tsushima, Japan, and also presented a drawing of compact carposporophytes, similar to Yamada \[[@pone.0158944.ref013]\]. However, the present examination of lectotype and topotype specimens, as well as specimens used by Chihara and Yoshizaki \[[@pone.0158944.ref017]\], showed elongated gonimoblast cells and involucral filaments intermingled with gonimoblast cells, similar to the carposporophyte development of diffuse carposporophytes ([Table 1](#pone.0158944.t001){ref-type="table"}). The habit and vegetative structures of the modern samples collected from the Japan Sea correspond to the original description of Yamada \[[@pone.0158944.ref013]\]. Thus, Yamada \[[@pone.0158944.ref013]\] and Chihara and Yoshizaki \[[@pone.0158944.ref017]\] did not recognize diffuse carposporophytes, because those of the genus *Liagora* sensu lato were not recognized until the 1990s \[[@pone.0158944.ref035], [@pone.0158944.ref036]\].
10.1371/journal.pone.0158944.t001
###### Morphological comparison among the description of Yamada \[[@pone.0158944.ref013]\] and Chihara and Yoshizaki \[[@pone.0158944.ref017]\], type specimens, and related samples with *Liagora japonica*.
{#pone.0158944.t001g}
Yamada \[[@pone.0158944.ref013]\] Chihara and Yoshizaki \[[@pone.0158944.ref017]\] OJ5 OJ1 OJ3 OJ4 OJ10
------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------
Specimen \- \- Lectotype Topotype SAP88755 TNS-AL 182118 TNS-AL 195934 TNS-AL 029955[^a^](#t001fn001){ref-type="table-fn"}
Locality Misaki Tsushima Misaki Misaki Sado Island Oki Island Tsushima
Accession No. of *rbc*L gene sequence \- \- \- LC066217 LC066219 LC066220 \-
Fusion of the cells of carpogonial branch Not observed Absent Absent Absent Absent Absent Absent
Development of gonimoblast cells Not observed Not observed Elongated Elongated Elongated Elongated Elongated
Development of involcural filamnets Intermingled with gonimoblast cells Intermingled with gonimoblast cells Intermingled with gonimoblast cells Intermingled with gonimoblast cells Intermingled with gonimoblast cells
Shape of carposporophyte Rather loose[^b^](#t001fn002){ref-type="table-fn"} Globular aggregation Not observed Not observed Diffuse Diffuse Diffuse
^a^Voucher specimen of Chihara & Yoshizaki \[[@pone.0158944.ref017]\].
^b^Yamada's \[[@pone.0158944.ref013]\] Fig.10D shows compact carposporophyte.
Liagoracean genera have been recognized based on the characteristics of the structures of carposporophyte development including (1) carpogonial branches and whether they form a fusion cell; (2) the origin of the involucral filaments, a specially produced sterile cell; (3) association of the gonimoblast with paraphyses, a specially produced assimilatory filament around the carposporophyte; (4) compact or diffuse carposporophytes; and (5) division of carposporangia \[9--12, 34\]. Lin et al. \[9--11\] suggested that the genus *Liagora* is polyphyletic and should be separated into several genera based on the characteristics of carposporophyte development. Recent taxonomic studies of *Liagora* sensu stricto, including the type species *L*. *viscida* (Forsskål) C. Agardh, suggested that *Liagora* sensu stricto is characterized by fused carpogonial branching and diffuse carposporophyte \[[@pone.0158944.ref009], [@pone.0158944.ref037]\]. Three new genera, *Macrocarpus*, *Neoizziella*, and *Yoshizakia* including species with unfused carpogonial branches and diffuse carposporophytes, were separated from *Liagora* sensu stricto \[[@pone.0158944.ref009], [@pone.0158944.ref031]\]. The other liagoracean genera, *Akalaphycus*, *Patenocarpus*, and *Stenopeltis*, also produce diffuse carposporophytes; however, they produce paraphyses \[[@pone.0158944.ref033], [@pone.0158944.ref038]\]. *Liagora japonica* produces unfused carpogonial branches and diffuse carposporophytes without paraphyses, which are similar to those of *Macrocarpus*, *Neoizziella*, and *Yoshizakia*. *Macrocarpus* is characterized by divided carposporangia, while *Neoizziella* is characterized by the position of involucral filaments, which are produced from cortical cells in the vicinity of the supporting cell \[[@pone.0158944.ref009]\]. *Liagora japonica* differs from *Macrocarpus* and *Neoizziella* by undivided carposporangia and involucral filaments produced from the cortical cell on the supporting cell ([Table 2](#pone.0158944.t002){ref-type="table"}). The critical features of carposporophyte development of *L*. *japonica* are most similar to those of *Yoshizakia*. *Yoshizakia* is characterized by involucral filaments, which are not intermingled with gonimoblast filaments. *Liagora japonica*, however, has involucral filaments that intermingle with gonimoblast filaments. Individual *psaA* and *rbc*L, and combined *psaA* and *rbc*L analyses suggested that *L*. *japonica*, *Macrocarpus*, and *Neoizziella* form a monophyletic clade separated from *Liagora* sensu stricto. However, *L*. *japonica* was not included in the clade of *Macrocarpus* or *Neoizziella*. Unfortunately, *psaA* sequence data for the species of *Yoshizakia* are not yet available, but individual *rbc*L analyses suggest that *L*. *japonica* is clearly separated from *Yoshizakia*. Both morphological and molecular results suggest that *L*. *japonica* is a distinct genus in the Liagoraceae, and we propose a new genus, *Otohimella* Mas. Suzuki, to accommodate this species.
10.1371/journal.pone.0158944.t002
###### Comparisons of features distinguishing among *Liagora japonica*, *Liagora* sensu stricto, and the genera with diffuse carposporophyte belonging to Liagoraceae.
{#pone.0158944.t002g}
*Liagora japonica* *Liagora* sensu stricto *Akalaphycus* *Macrocarpus* *Neoizziella* *Patenocarpus* *Stenopeltis* *Yoshizakia*
------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------- -------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------- --------------------------------------
Type species \- *L*. *viscida* *A*. *setchelliae* *M*. *perennis* *N*. *asiatica* *P*. *paraphysiferus* *S*. *gracilis* *Y*. *indopacifica*
Association of gonimoblast with paraphyses Absent Absent Present Absent Absent Present Present Absent
Fusion of cells of carpogonial branch after fertilisation Absent Present Absent Absent Absent Absent Absent Absent
Involucral filament Present Present Absent Present Present Present Absent Present
Origin of involucral filaments Cortical cell on the supporting cell Cortical cells in the vicinity of the supporting cell or cortical cell on the supporting cell N.A. Cortical cell on the supporting cell Cortical cells in the vicinity of the supporting cell Cortical cells in the vicinity of the supporting cell N.A. Cortical cell on the supporting cell
The gonimoblast intermingled with the involucral filaments Present Present N.A. Present Present Present N.A. Absent
Division of carposporangia Absent Absent or present Absent Present Absent Absent Absent Absent
References This study \[[@pone.0158944.ref010], [@pone.0158944.ref031], [@pone.0158944.ref037]\] \[[@pone.0158944.ref034]\] \[[@pone.0158944.ref009]\] \[[@pone.0158944.ref009]\] \[39\] \[[@pone.0158944.ref033]\] \[[@pone.0158944.ref031]\]
Taxonomic Treatment {#sec021}
-------------------
*Otohimella* Mas. Suzuki gen. nov.
Description: Thalli are moderately calcified, and 5 -- 18 cm in height, arising from a discoid holdfast with a short stipe. Thalli are subdichotomously branched to 5 or 6 orders. The cells of assimilatory filaments are ovoid to ellipsoidal and borne on colorless medullary filaments. Gametophytes are monoecious. Spermatangia are produced terminally on spermatangial parent cells. Carpogonial branches are slightly curved, and 4- or 5-celled. After fertilization, cells of the carpogonial branch are not fused through carposporophyte development. The involucral filaments are initiated mostly from the cortical cell on the supporting cell and eventually intermingled with the gonimoblast filaments. Mature carposporophytes are diffuse. Carposporangia are formed at the distal ends of gonimoblast filaments and are not divided.
Generitype: *Otohimella japonica* (Yamada) Mas. Suzuki, T. Segawa, Hi. Mori et Nozaki comb. nov.
Basionym of *O*. *japonica*: *Liagora japonica* Yamada. Sci. Pap. Inst. Algol. Res., Fac. Sci., Hokkaido Imp. Univ. 2: 16--17 Fig 9 and 10, Pl. IV (1938).
Etymology: Named for Otohime, a sea goddess in Japanese mythology.
Conclusion {#sec022}
==========
NGS can be used to determine DNA sequences from historical herbarium specimens containing highly fragmented DNA molecules. The liagoracean species are non-model organisms; thus, there are no useful complete genome sequences in the GenBank database for reference mapping and sequence assembly of NGS. However, we were able to determine seven gene sequences from historical herbarium specimens of *L*. *japonica* using NGS with limited reference sequence data. Four of the seven genes can be used for phylogenetic analyses and species identification. This study showed that sequencing ofhistorical specimens using NGS is a powerful tool for systematics and identification of not only model, but also non-model, organisms.
We addressed the identity of *L*. *japonica* based on both morphological and molecular data, including those of the lectotype and topotype specimens. The species had been considered extinct on the Pacific Ocean side of Japan. However, we showed that *L*. *japonica* survives on the Japan Sea side of Japan. Further, we propose *Otohimella japonica* gen. et comb. nov. based on this species.
Supporting Information {#sec023}
======================
######
**Figure A. Geographical distribution of *Liagora japonica* based on the herbarium specimen deposited in SAP and TNS.** Detail of collection data is shown in Tables A and B in [S2 File](#pone.0158944.s002){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. **Figure B. Bayesian tree based on *psaA* gene sequences.** Numbers on the branches indicate the corresponding posterior probabilities (PP, left) from Bayesian analysis and bootstrap values (BP, right) from maximum likelihood analysis. Only the PP (≥ 0.95) and BP (≥ 50%) are shown. The thick branches represent highest statistic supports (1.00 PP and 100% BP). **Figure C. Bayesian tree based on *rbc*L gene sequences.** Numbers on the branches indicate the corresponding posterior probabilities (PP, left) from Bayesian analysis and bootstrap values (BP, right) from maximum likelihood analysis. Only the PP (≥ 0.95) and BP (≥ 50%) are shown. The thick branches represent highest statistic supports (1.00 PP and 100% BP). Note that the trifurcation (asterisk) represents lack of bifurcation with 0.50 or more PP values in BI. **Figure D. Bayesian tree based on 28S *r*RNA gene sequences.** Numbers on the branches indicate the corresponding posterior probabilities (PP, left) from Bayesian analysis and bootstrap values (BP, right) from maximum likelihood analysis. Only the PP (≥ 0.95) and BP (≥ 50%) are shown. The thick branches represent highest statistic supports (1.00 PP and 100% BP). Note that the trifurcation (asterisk) represents lack of bifurcation with 0.50 or more PP values in BI. **Figure E. Bayesian tree based on COI gene sequences.** Numbers on the branches indicate the corresponding posterior probabilities (PP, left) from Bayesian analysis and bootstrap values (BP, right) from maximum likelihood analysis. Only the PP (≥ 0.95) and BP (≥ 50%) are shown. The thick branches represent highest statistic supports (1.00 PP and 100% BP). Note that the trifurcation (asterisk) represents lack of bifurcation with 0.50 or more PP values in BI. **Figure F. Bayesian tree based on 18S *r*RNA (A), *psaB* (B), and *psbA* (C) gene sequences.** Numbers on the branches indicate the corresponding posterior probabilities (PP, left) from Bayesian analysis and bootstrap values (BP, right) from maximum likelihood analysis. Only the PP (≥ 0.95) and BP (≥ 50%) are shown. The thick branches represent highest statistic supports (1.00 PP and 100% BP). Note that the trifurcation (asterisk) represents lack of bifurcation with 0.50 or more PP values in BI. **Figure G. Comparson of *p* distances among the liagoracean species based on the first and second nucleotides of codons and based on the third nucleotide of codons in the combined *psaA* and *rbc*L dataset used for the present phylogenetic analyses ([Fig 1](#pone.0158944.g001){ref-type="fig"}).** Red diamonds indicate *p* distances among "*Liagora*" *japonica*, *Akalaphycus*, *Macrocarpus*, *Neoizziella*, and *Titanophycus*.
(PDF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
######
Table A. Collection and herbarium information for specimens of *Liagora japonica* used in the morphological analyses that have no molecular data. Table B. Collection locations and details, and GenBank accession numbers of samples used in the *psaA*, *psaB*, *psbA*, *rbc*L, COI, 18S *r*RNA, and 28S *r*RNA genes analyses. Table C. GenBank accession numbers of species used in the identification of *Liagora japonica* sequences from old herbarium specimens. Table D. Target read coverage of *Liagora japonica* (sample ID: suzuki-2; sample No.: OJ1). Table E. Target read coverage of *Liagora japonica* (sample ID: suzuki-1; sample No.: OJ2). Table F. De novo assembly statistics. Table G. Summary for the Bayesian analyses on the basis of *psaA*, *psaB*, *psbA*, *rbc*L, 18S *r*RNA, and 28S *r*RNA datasets. Table H. Matrix of *p* distances of the liagoracean species used in the COI analysis. Table I. Matrix of Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) genetic distances of the liagoracean species used in the COI analysis.
(DOC)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### The DNA extraction and sequencing procedures for modern specimens.
(DOCX)
######
Click here for additional data file.
We are grateful to the late Dr Makoto Yoshizaki (Toho University) for his many suggestions regarding the description of *Liagora japonica*. We thank Dr Dorothee Huchon, Dr John Huisman, and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful and valuable suggestions. This work was supported by the Center for the Promotion of Integrated Science (CPIS) of Sokendai (to Jun Adachi).
[^1]: **Competing Interests:**The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
[^2]: Conceived and designed the experiments: MS TS HN. Performed the experiments: MS TS AA. Analyzed the data: HM TS RO MS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: MS TS HM AA AK HS TK TA KK HK HN. Wrote the paper: MS TS HM HN.
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[Ovarian carcinomas. Intraperitoneal chemotherapy by needle].
Between January 1980 and February 1988, 61 women with ordinary ovarian carcinoma (OC) were treated with combined intraperitoneal and intravenous first-line therapy. For intraperitoneal infusions we did not use implanted systems which are often poorly tolerated and sometimes create non-negligible complications. We simply used a lumbar puncture needle left in situ for less than 2 hours. In second regard laparotomies, the 7 patients with stage I OC and the 3 patients with stage II OC were in histologically and cytologically proven complete remission, as were 34 of the 43 patients with stage III OC (79 percent) and 1 of the 8 patients with stage IV OC. After a mean follow-up of 56 months, the overall actuarial survival rate was 66 percent and the survival rate without recurrence was 54 percent. During the same period, 26 patients with recurrent OC were treated with second-line intraperitoneal chemotherapy. After a mean follow-up of 30 months, 10 were in apparently complete remission, and after a 27 to 61 months period 7 of these 10 patients had no recurrence. These results must be compared with those obtained with other salvage methods.
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After AHCA fails, Sanders offers Trump single-payer bill [VIDEO]
After the failure of the American Health Care Act in the House on Friday, Bernie Sanders is looking to capitalize in the Senate.
The Vermont Senator appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday with Dana Bash where he announced he will introduce a “Medicare-for-all” single payer bill with the hopes of getting to work with President Trump.
“President Trump, come on board. Let’s work together,” Sanders said. “Let’s end the absurdity of Americans paying by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs.”
While one of the president’s main proposals on the campaign trail regarding health care was to allow consumers to purchase insurance across state lines, the AHCA did not contain that provision.
Sanders was pleased to see the AHCA defeated before unveiling his single-payer proposal.
“It was a disastrous piece of legislation primarily designed to provide $300 billion in tax breaks for the top two percent, throwing 24 million people off of health insurance, raising premiums for older workers in a very, very significant way,” Sanders continued.
Over the course of Sanders’ candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president, he constantly ripped on Obamacare for its high deductibles and skyrocketing premiums. Bernie pushed Hillary Clinton further to the left on health care during the campaign to give people the option to buy into Medicare.
While President Trump has not explicitly stated that he’s in favor of single-payer health care, he has said to CBS’s Scott Pelley in September 2015 that he “wants to take care of everybody.”
Trump: “Everybody’s got to be covered. This is an un-Republican thing for me to say because a lot of times they say, ‘No, no, the lower 25 percent that can’t afford private. But—’”
Pelley: “Universal health care.”
Trump: “I am going to take care of everybody. I don’t care if it costs me votes or not. Everybody’s going to be taken care of much better than they’re taken care of now.”
Pelley: “The uninsured person is going to be taken care of. How? How?”
Trump: “They’re going to be taken care of. I would make a deal with existing hospitals to take care of people. And, you know what, if this is probably—”
Pelley: “Make a deal? Who pays for it?”
Trump: —the government’s gonna pay for it. But we’re going to save so much money on the other side. But for the most it’s going to be a private plan and people are going to be able to go out and negotiate great plans with lots of different competition with lots of competitors with great companies and they can have their doctors, they can have plans, they can have everything.”
So, while a single-payer plan proposed by Sanders would never fly under any other Republican administration or Republican-controlled House or Senate, it shows he’s got the audacity, or chutzpah, to bring Trump to the negotiating table.
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What a MARVEL! The blue and red lizard with a striking resemblance to comic book superhero Spider-Man
One has to wonder whether this lizard's spider-senses are tingling. For the reptile bears more than a passing resemblance to the Marvel comic superhero Spiderman.
The lizard's amazing red and blue markings are strikingly similar to the suit worn by the crime-fighting, web-weaving daredevil.
And - as the reptile was captured crawling around on his rock - he appeared to strike an identical pose to Spidey's favoured crouching pose.
Strike a pose: The brightly-coloured Mwanza Flat Headed Agama lizard even mimics Spidey's famous crouch
The lizard is a Mwanza Flat Headed Agama, which are native to Africa and usually live in groups with one dominant male - usually the most colourful.
Rich Nunn from Nostalgia and Comics in Birmingham said the resemblance was uncanny.
He said: 'This is the only animal I have ever seen with colouring so unbelievably similar. It's especially like Spiderman in the chest, arms and legs.
'His colourings are extremely bright making him look like he's dressed in a suit - crawling around on the rock.
Your friendly neighbourhood Spiderman: The classic Marvel comic superhero in action
'I'm sure there are loads of comic fans who would want a lizard like this one because it looks so much like their hero.'
The colourful creature was captured on camera by photographer Cassio Lopes on a trip to the Masai Mara National Park in Kenya with his wife Alessandra.
The 38-year-old, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, said: 'We were on a photography workshop and on one afternoon we were parked for a couple of hours near Rongai river.
'It was dry at that time of the year and we'd been told a female leopard had been seen in the morning roaming around so we decided to spend some time there looking for it.
Lucky shot: The image of the lizard was captured by photographer Cassio Lopes (right) while he was on holiday in Kenya with his wife Alessandra (left)
'After so much time without spotting the leopard we started looking for other things and my wife spotted this lizard basking in the sun on the top of a rock near the river.
'It was the first time we saw that kind of lizard despite our previous visits in Africa. We were mesmerised by the colourful pattern and had never seen anything like it before.
'It didn't take too much time for the little guy to vanish into the rock hatches after some clicks of my camera.
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Q:
Is a homogeneous space $X$ of a compact Hausdorff group $G$ with closed stabilizer $G_x$ itself Hausdorff?
assume $G \times X \to X$ is a continuous group action of a compact Hausdorff topological group $G$ such that the action is transitive, i.e. $X$ is a homogeneous space. Let $G_x$ be the stabilizer subgroup of $x \in X$ and assume $G_x$ is closed. Is it then true that $X$ is a Hausdorff space?
My ideas:
We can define the map $\varphi: G/H \to X$, $[g] \mapsto gx$, which is a bijective continuous function. Then it is well-known that $G/H$ is Hausdorff since $H$ is closed. However, I'm not sure if we can show that $\varphi$ is a homeomorphism. To deduce this directly would already require the Hausdorff property for $X$.
A:
Let $G=S_{3}$, the symmetric group over $3$ elements, equipped with the discrete topology (so it's a compact Hausdorff group). There is a natural action $\varphi\colon G\curvearrowright X=\{1,2,3\}$ given by $\sigma\cdot x=\sigma(x)$. The action is transitive, and for $x=1$, $G_{x}=\{e,(23)\}$ is closed. Nevertheless, if we give $X$ the trivial topology, $X$ cannot be Hausdorff (and the action is still continuous because $X$ is trivial).
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An integrated cell line-based discovery strategy identified follistatin and kallikrein 6 as serum biomarker candidates of breast carcinoma.
Secreted proteins constitute a relevant source of putative cancer biomarkers. Here, we compared the secretome of a series of four genetically-related breast cancer cell lines as a model of aggressiveness using quantitative mass spectrometry. 537 proteins (59.5% of the total identified proteins) predicted to be released or shed from cells were identified. Using a scoring system based on i) iTRAQ value, ii) breast cancer tissue mRNA expression levels, and iii) immunohistochemical staining (public database), a short list of 10 candidate proteins was selected. Using specific ELISA assays, the expression level of the top five proteins was measured in a verification set of 56 patients. The four significantly differentially expressed proteins were then validated in a second independent set of 353 patients. Finally, follistatin (FST) and kallikrein 6 (KLK6) in serum were significantly higher (p-value < 0.0001) in invasive breast cancer patients compared with non-cancerous controls. Using specific cut-off values, FST distinguished breast cancer samples from healthy controls with a sensitivity of 65% and an accuracy of 68%, whereas KLK6 achieved a sensitivity of 55% and an accuracy of 61%. Therefore, we concluded that FST and KLK6 may have significance in breast cancer detection. Discovery of new serum biomarkers that exhibit increased sensitivity and specificity compared to current biomarkers appears to be an essential field of research in cancer. Most biological markers show insufficient diagnostic sensitivity for early breast cancer detection and, for the majority of them, their concentrations are elevated only in metastatic forms of the disease. It is therefore essential to identify clinically reliable biomarkers and develop effective approaches for cancer diagnosis. One promising approach in this field is the study of secreted proteins through proteomic analysis of in vitro progression breast cancer models. Here we have shown that FST and KLK6 are elevated in breast cancer patient serum compared to healthy controls. We expect that our discovery strategy will help to identify cancer-specific and body-fluid-accessible biomarkers.
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Mother in cold case thankful for resolution
Posted: Monday, November 29, 2010
By CASEY GROVE
ANCHORAGE - The mother of a man murdered in Sitka almost 23 years ago says she's thankful to the determined cold case detectives who caught her son's killer and for bringing the family closure after two decades of mystery surrounding his disappearance.
The Covilles thought it was unlikely that their son Scott had decided to disappear in 1988 without contacting them, but they still wondered if each ringing phone was Scott trying to call, and they did double takes when they saw men who looked like Scott, Reta Coville, his mother, said in a recent interview.
Now that Scott's wife, Jane Reth, has confessed to the murder, Reta can stop worrying about what happened to her son.
"In one aspect, it's less painful to have the knowledge that they didn't cease loving you," she said.
Reth, 45, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Sitka Superior Court on Nov. 22. Reth entered the plea by telephone from Lemon Creek Correctional Center, where she's been since troopers extradited her from Oswego, Ill.
Sometime around her 24th birthday, Reth shot her husband while he was lying in bed in their trailer in Sitka. She admitted to that and to cutting the body into pieces, stuffing the pieces into bags and disposing of the pieces, said Assistant District Attorney Jane Seaton.
"At that time garbage disposal was by incinerator, so no trace (of the victim) was ever found," Seaton said in a report by local radio station KCAW-FM.
Reth avoided the original charges - first-degree murder and a felony charge of tampering with evidence - by taking the second-degree murder plea.
She had been married to Scott Coville for a few months, Reta said. Investigators said Reth told them Scott threatened to divorce her, and that's why Reth killed him, Reta said.
"Realistically, I would rather have her plead guilty rather than go to trial because there was no body, and there never will be, because she disposed so thoroughly of my son's body," Reta said.
There's a definite sense of resolution for the Coville family now that Reth has admitted to killing Scott, the family's only child, Reta said.
"The alternatives we were faced with all these years were he's dead, he was murdered, or he's just completely blown off his entire family, which was maybe harder to deal with," Reta said. "These were the two scenarios we were left with, and neither one of them were tolerable."
Knowing that he was murdered at least means she knows something about what happened to her son, Reta said.
The cold case first started to thaw after investigators got a tip in 2007, troopers said. Troopers wouldn't elaborate on the tip.
The Alaska State Troopers' Cold Case Unit, prosecutor Pat Gullufsen and detective James Gallen with the Alaska Bureau of Investigations started putting together evidence about 20 years after Reta Coville made the first reports that her son was missing.
It was April 1988, Reta said, when she had called to wish a happy 26th birthday to her son, who had worked in Alaska for a couple years fishing and in a cannery. But the newly married couple's phone just rang and rang, she said.
Then, for Mother's Day, Reta got a card signed "love Jane and Scott," but it was in Jane's handwriting and postmarked from San Bernardino, Calif., Reta said.
Reth, who also went by Limm, had family near San Bernardino in Glendale, so Reta thought maybe they'd made a trip there. That, too, didn't make much sense because the Covilles also lived in California and hadn't heard about the trip. But Reta said she didn't always know what was going on in Scott's life.
Some kids tell their parents about everything in their lives, and some don't, Reta said. Scott didn't have a bad relationship with his parents, but he "was more of a picker and a chooser," she said.
Reta personally ruled out substance abuse as a possible explanation for Scott's disappearance. Scott didn't do drugs, Reta said. He didn't drink in excess that Reta knew of, and he had smoked pot on occasion, she said.
"I kept calling, maybe once a week, but nobody answered," Reta said. A check she sent Scott for his birthday had not been cashed months later. Finally, when a phone call got a recording that the number had been disconnected, Reta called the Sitka police.
By then, Reth had moved on. The police could only tell Reta that Alaska was often a temporary destination for people in Scott's line of work, and that they didn't know where he'd gone, nor did they know where to find Jane Limm.
The family heard from Jane once, through a friend, about six months later, Reta said. The friend said Jane wanted something she'd left at the Covilles' house, but she never showed up to get it, Reta said.
Life went on, Reta said.
"After about 10 years, you stop crying about it," Reta said. "Takes a long time, I discovered."
In the meantime, Reta figured, at least 10 members of the Coville family died without knowing what happened to Scott, she said. That included Scott's father, who passed away in 2004, she said.
The Alaska investigators who contacted Reta were very kind, she said. As the investigation picked up, they told her they had taped conversations with Reth, Reta said. At one point, they also obtained physical evidence, she said.
"Some of the evidence, it couldn't have caught her 10 years before because the science wasn't there," she said.
Reta said she wasn't comfortable trying to explain the technology that was involved. Cold case investigators did not return requests to comment for this story.
Asked how she felt toward Reth for killing her only son, Reta said she hated Reth for about 10 years after Scott vanished.
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All incoming Freshman to use EnglishCentral in Blended Learning Program
Tokyo, Japan – April 25th, 2017 – EnglishCentral, the leading provider of online English conversation solutions, today announced that Kyoto Sangyo University has adopted EnglishCentral for all incoming freshman, over 6,000 students, taking the compulsory “General English” class starting this year. EnglishCentral will be used as part of blended learning curriculum that combines a traditional textbook with EnglishCentral’s e-learning platform that emphasizes listening, speaking and vocabulary learning through interactive videos.
Kyoto Sangyo University has been testing EnglishCentral in certain classes for several years. A 2016 study at the University comparing TOEFL scores before and after the use of EnglishCentral showed high levels of student engagement and TOEFL test score increases on average of 40 points, and as high as 80 points for the most engaged students, in just 10 weeks. In 2017, Kyoto Sangyo decided to adopt EnglishCentral for all incoming freshmen.
The university’s compulsory “general English” course covers the 4 primary skills of English: reading, writing, listening and speaking. Lectures are generally led by a Japanese faculty members in combination with classes focused on English communication led by native teachers. The challenge of improving students’ speaking and listening ability is that the native teacher classes are held only once per week, giving limited time for students to engage in listening and speaking practice.
The idea behind adopting EnglishCentral broadly across the curriculum is to give students more exposure to conversational English and more opportunities to practice conversational English outside of class. Each lesson in the students’ textbook corresponds with an interactive video lesson, where students can watch and listen to authentic English, easily build their vocabulary as they watch, and then practice speaking what they’ve learned getting feedback on their pronunciation and fluency.
In addition to allowing teachers to build interactive video courses mapped to textbooks adopted in the class, students are able to use EnglishCentral’s diverse library of 10,000+ video lessons, covering over 50 topics, including, for example, interviews with celebrities, politics, technology and more. This library allows students to enjoy English based on their own interests and level, increasing their motivation to seek out more exposure to conversational English.
“EnglishCentral now plays an important role in our curriculum because students have few opportunities to be immersed in English except for one class a week,” according to Kyoto Sangyo University Associate Professor James Holsworth. “Now that students can enjoy the EnglishCentral video courses linked to their textbook, they have many more opportunities to practice outside of class.”
“We are very pleased that EnglishCentral has been widely adopted and used at Kyoto Sangyo University,” said Hirofumi Matsumura, the General Manager of EnglishCentral in Japan. “After testing our platform for several years, we are very happy to work with the university to create a blended curriculum for their general English classes, allowing over 6,000 students to improve their English with the EnglishCentral app and platform.”
Tokyo, Japan – January 31, 2017 – EnglishCentral, the leading provider of online English conversation solutions, announced its 2017 sponsorship of the Japanese soccer team, Albirex Niigata Singapore, the only Japanese professional soccer team based outside of Japan. As part of the sponsorship, EnglishCentral will provide a curriculum of video-based self study materials as well as live 1:1 tutoring online to all members of the team.
The EnglishCentral Online Learning Solution will be available not only to the professional players on the team, but also to the next generation of soccer players coming up through the team’s soccer school. In addition, EnglishCentral and Albirex Niigata Singapore are planning various campaigns to promote cross-cultural communication during matches at Jurong East Stadium and Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore, at team events and on the team’s website. These activities fit into the broader mission of the club to develop the next generation Japanese soccer player to face the challenges of the world by building a strong character, including global communication skills.
Albirex Niigata Singapore is the first team in 20 years’ history of SLeague to achieve in 2016 the quadruple crown, by capturing four titles: “Community Shield”, “League Cup”, “League Regular Championship”, and “Singapore Cup”. As the Albirex Niigata Singapore team seeks to repeat its championship season in 2017, the EnglishCentral logo will be prominently displayed on the team’s uniform.
Shuto Inaba, the team’s midfielder, who has been using the innovative online learning solution since 2016, commented: “I couldn’t speak English at all before joining the team. Learning English through this platform, I gradually came to understand what opposing team members say during the game and finally am able to communicate with referees smoothly. We will defend our championship, learning English with EnglishCentral, as part of our training.”
This is the 4th year EnglishCentral (formerly know as Langrich) will be sponsoring the Albirex team in the Singapore SLeague. EnglishCentral is “happy to be part of helping the next generation of soccer players become comfortable using English, making them ready for the challenges of the soccer world and beyond”, said Hirofumi Matsumura, General Manager of Japan.
About EnglishCentral
EnglishCentral is the most widely adopted online English language conversation platform in the world, changing the way students and professionals across the globe learn to speak English. Adopted by over 400 universities, schools and corporations in over 100 countries, the company delivers interactive, video-based language learning experiences for both self-study and one-on-one tutoring, providing one of the most widely adopted and complete platforms for practicing and mastering English conversation online. Its extensive library of videos lessons, proprietary IntelliSpeech℠ speech assessment technology, and pre-built course modules guarantees results for English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. EnglishCentral partnerships include the world’s largest private and online English language schools including Open English (Latin America), UOL(Brazil), NTT Learning (Japan), and Siwon (Korea).
Albirex Niigata Singapore organized with only young Japanese players, joined the SLeague, the professional soccer league in Singapore, in 2004, and won the championship in 2016 season for the first time since its establishment. The team also aims to contribute to developing Singapore soccer culture as well as to promote international experience for its players. As a comprehensive community sports club, Albirex Niigata Singapore is expanding its sports business beyond soccer and is developing into Malaysia, Myanmar, and Spain.
Leveraging New Opportunity for Improving the Speaking Proficiency of English Language Learners as Japan Reforms Its University Entrance Exams
ARLINGTON, MA – December 21, 2016 – EnglishCentral, the leading provider ofonline English conversation solutions, today announced a multi-million strategic investment from Kirihara Shoten K.K., the leading provider of high school textbook products and services for the Japanese education market. As part of the deal, the companies also entered into a distribution agreement to integrate EnglishCentral’s engaging and interactive English language speaking solutions into Kirihara Shoten’s English textbooks adopted as an official government textbook for high schools in Japan, giving Japanese students a new way to improve their speaking proficiency.
In an age of globalization and in anticipation of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan is making radical changes in English-language education, elevating the importance of English speaking. Japan’s education ministry has set new standards for those wishing to enter universities in the 2020 academic year, incorporating speaking on the test for the first time. This policy change has triggered a domino effect whereby high school English curriculum designers are eagerly looking for ways to improve student’s English speaking ability to prepare their students for the changes in the college entrance exam.
“Japanese educators now understand that you can’t learn to actually speak English just from a textbook alone,” Kirihara’s CEO, Satoshi Saito. “With EnglishCentral, we now have a low cost solution to offer speaking practice to high school students. We are excited to open this new door and pave the way towards a new era of English education in Japan. We believe so strongly in this approach, we wanted to become shareholders in EnglishCentral to show our commitment.”
EnglishCentral’s expansion into the high school mark is part of a larger program the Japanese government has to introduce Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) into the classroom to enable innovative new technologies in Japanese K-12. During a recent onsite visit to an elementary school in Tokyo, Japan’s Minister of Communications highlighted EnglishCentral’s unique online English conversation solution as an effective method to improve student’s English speaking ability in the elementary school market as well.
“We are pleased to welcome Kirihara as an investor and strategic partner,” said Alan Schwartz, Founder & CEO of EnglishCentral. “Kirihara has a broad portfolio of successful government textbooks and supplementary materials for learning English and a proven track record of creating value in this industry. We believe this mutually beneficial relationship will open new opportunities for our conversation solutions across Japan, particularly in light of the new speaking proficiency requirements in university entrance exams.”
About Kirihara Shoten
Kirihara Shoten is a leading publisher of educational materials for high school students in Japan. Kirihara publishes textbooks on English Language approved by Japanese government for use over 40% of high-end private high schools in Japan. Some of its best-selling title include Forest for Grammar reference, Next Stage for Grammar and PRO-VISION for high school students. Learn more at http://www.kirihara.co.jp
About EnglishCentralEnglishCentral is the most widely adopted online English language conversation platform in the world, changing the way students and professionals across the globe learn to speak English. Adopted by over 400 universities, schools and corporations in over 100 countries, the company delivers interactive, video-based language learning experiences for both self-study and one-on-one tutoring, providing one of the most widely adopted and complete platforms for practicing and mastering English conversation online. Its extensive library of videos lessons, proprietary IntelliSpeech℠ speech assessment technology, and pre-built course modules guarantees results for English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. EnglishCentral partnerships include the world’s largest private and online English language schools including Open English (Latin America), UOL (Brazil), NTT Learning (Japan), and Siwon (Korea). Learn more at www.englishcentral.com.
The Maehara Elementary School in Tokyo is aggressively using new technologies to motivate student to study English. For the class visited by the Minister, the students were using an interactive, video-base version of the English textbook “Hi Friends!”published by the Ministry of Education and adapted by EnglishCentral for use on the Chromebooktablet.
Minister Takaichi commented, “This program is well designed for the school because it helps improve students’ speaking ability, including their pronunciation, as well as makes it easy for teachers to monitor students’ speaking progress at a glance.” The school is also using EnglishCentral’s learning management system (LMS) that allows teachers to monitor student progress and even listen in on their speaking practice sessions.
EnglishCentral’s General Manager for Japan, Hirofumi Matsumura, explains EnglishCentral’s conversational English learning platform to the Minister of Internal Affairs & Communications at a Tokyo Elementary School.
The Minister actually tried the EnglishCentral program herself in the classroom, sitting next to children in the class. She noted that children who practiced their pronunciation operating tablets by themselves seemed to speak English quite fluently using EnglishCentral.
Hirofumi Matsumura, General Managers of EnglishCentral Japan, commented “there is nothing that makes me happier than seeing Japanese children improving their English speaking using the EnglishCentral platform. It’s a true honor for the Minister to have visited this class and tried out EnglishCentral herself. I feel there is a revolution happening in Japan English education, moving from a traditional grammar based curriculum towards a curriculum that emphasizes real listening and speaking skills that students can really use in real life. We are happy to contribute to that revolution with our EnglishCentral platform.”
About EnglishCentral
EnglishCentral is the most widely adopted online English language conversation platform in the world, changing the way students and professionals across the globe learn to speak English. Adopted by over 400 universities, schools and corporations in over 100 countries, the company delivers interactive, video-based language learning experiences for both self-study and one-on-one tutoring, providing one of the most widely adopted and complete platforms for practicing and mastering English conversation online. Its extensive library of videos lessons, proprietary IntelliSpeech℠ speech assessment technology, and pre-built course modules guarantees results for English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. EnglishCentral partnerships include the world’s largest private and online English language schools including Open English (Latin America), UOL(Brazil), NTT Learning (Japan), and Meten (China), Learn more at www.englishcentral.com of find us onFacebook/EnglishCentral or Twitter at @EnglishCentral1.
As part of the Global Studies initiative in 2016, over 14,000 students at Chiba University, in over 10 departments, were given access to EnglishCentral. EnglishCentral surveyed the students who used the system and the responses were extremely positive:
71% of Students said they enjoyed studying on EnglishCentral.
92% of Students said they would continue studying on EnglishCentral after the program ended.
76% of Students said the product was easy to use.
93% of Students said they would recommend to other Students.
The service was particularly helpful in getting students to speak outside of class. Engaged students speaking an average of 30 minutes per week outside of class and getting feedback on their speaking pronunciation and fluency. Students particularly enjoyed the game dynamic built into the Speaking Features on EnglishCentral, which lets students speak and get instant feedback on their pronunciation and fluency and then try to improve their score.
Request for a free trial
Hello and Welcome! My name is Gordon Bateson.I am the main developer of the EnglishCentral activity module for Moodle 3.x. Thank you for your interest in this software. In order to use this module, you need a Partner ID and security key from EnglishCentral. You can apply for your Partner ID and security key by filling out the form on this page, and clicking the “Send” button.
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The Dakota Access Pipeline isn't fully open for business, but it's already suffered a minor oil spill.
Early last month the controversial pipeline leaked roughly 84 gallons of crude oil in South Dakota.
The spill occurred at a rural pump station and didn't pose a threat to the public's drinking water, local authorities said.
"It was immediately contained and cleaned up," said Brian Walsh, an environmental scientist at South Dakota's Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Walsh called the spill "relatively small" and said that while it was the first for Dakota Access in the state, such spills are not uncommon.
He said the incident was caused by a mechanical failure and mitigated by a liner that provides secondary containment.
The April 4 spill was disclosed on the agency's website, but it gained little attention until The Associated Press reported on it on Wednesday.
Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline's developer, confirmed the incident in a statement, saying there was "no impact to the area" and "all remediation" was completed shortly after it occurred.
Related: Oil stocks are the biggest losers of 2017
The spill is sure to give more ammo to the vocal critics of Dakota Access, a 1,172-mile long pipeline. Its construction has been strongly opposed by Native Americans and environmentalists. Despite protests, in January the Trump administration advanced the $3.7 billion pipeline in an effort to create jobs and enhance America's energy security.
"This just proves their hastiness is fueled by greed not in the best interest for tribes or the Dakotas," Joye Braun, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux, said in a statement put out by Indigenous Environmental Network, a nonprofit that has opposed Dakota Access.
"Do we have more spills just waiting to happen? This is our home, our land and our water," Braun said.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe continues to fight Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) in court in an effort to halt the project's expected opening next month.
"This is what we have said all along: oil pipelines leak and spill," Standing Rock Chairman Dave Archambault II said in a statement about the incident.
Archambault argued that the court must halt the project to protect the tribe as well as the "17 million people whose drinking water is at risk."
Once it's operational, Dakota Access is expected to move nearly half a million barrels of crude oil each day across the Midwest.
In March, the company said Dakota Access has been vandalized in several places as part of "coordinated physical attacks."
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Q:
problem with curl piping $_POST and $_FILES in same request
I'm trying to recreate an entire http request including both post and files data however no matter what I do I can't seem to get my files to work, the code I'm using is below...
$count=count($_FILES['photographs']['tmp_name']);
$file_posts=array();
for($i=0;$i<$count;$i++) {
if(!empty($_FILES['photographs']['name'][$i])) {
$_FILES['photographs']['tmp_name'][$i] = "@".$_FILES['photographs']['tmp_name'][$i];
}
}
$post = array_merge($_POST, $_FILES);
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch,CURLOPT_URL,"http://url/to/file.php");
curl_setopt($ch,CURLOPT_USERAGENT, "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.01; Windows NT 5.0)");
curl_setopt($ch,CURLOPT_HEADER,TRUE);
curl_setopt($ch,CURLOPT_POST,TRUE);
curl_setopt($ch,CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS,$post);
curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);
I've tried many variants of this but I can't seem to get files to work no matter what, other post data is fine however.
A:
The problem is that there is a second 'layer' of arrays in your $post.
You need to do:
$file_posts=array();
for($i=0;$i<$count;$i++) {
if(!empty($_FILES['photographs']['name'][$i])) {
$file_posts['photographs'][$i] = "@".$_FILES['photographs']['tmp_name'][$i];
}
}
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Nottingham
OK, dear readers I am not going to lie we had until last week never visited a Nando's restaurant and if I am honest I am not sure why we hadn't as we love Chicken as a family and it features heavily in normal meals.
Recently the Nando's at Nottingham (on Redfield Way, near the Showcase Cinema) ...
This is officially the 3rd year we have been pumpkin picking and this is Jacob's first to actually get out a pushchair and pick out his own pumpkin.
Jacob is not known for his patience and understanding so I was fairly anxious that he would be a little 'wild' in a field.
Thankfully he ...
This summer VTech shared with us their grand plan to help parents and carers get their little people out doors to celebrate the launch of the new VTech 5 in 1 Stroll and Grow Trike!
Suitable for 9months – 6 years, the trike grows with the child as they master each new stage thanks to a ...
I love living in Nottingham, we have so much on our doorstep and yet we have become creatures of habit with the places we visit, the shops we go to and the restaurants we eat in.
So it's always great to hear of new places we haven't been to before and recently I had the pleasure of ...
As Nottingham folk we are totally pants at adventures in our own city and since living here for the last 7 years I had wanted to discover what was on my doorstep.
However with my health being poor over the last few months it had got in the way side slightly.
The week between ...
Just before Christmas we heard that Nottingham was going to become home to a new style of fast food - Pizza!
Needless to say in a household of pizza lovers we were really excited to hear more about the concept and about what would be on offer too. Having never heard of MOD Pizza before I ...
Family time has been high on our priorities this year and with so much going off in December we managed to take some time out and get some much-needed family time.
Every year we travel to a Garden Centre not too far away especially to visit with Father Christmas.
Floralands do an ...
We are exceptionally lucky to be located in a rural Nottinghamshire village and even more lucky to have the city on our doorstep and still be far enough away to enjoy the countryside.
Recently we were asked if would like to discover what else our area had to offer in terms of eateries ...
If you are a regular reader here on my little blog you will be well aware of my love of getting outside and what is even better is going out as a family!
Autumn and winter is my favourite time of the year as a lung full of crisp cold air clears just about everything out your system, ...
If you know me personally you will already know that I grew up in the village of Edwinstowe, a small Nottinghamshire coal mining village nestled in the heart of Sherwood Forest.
As children we had the forest at our disposal every single day and with that kind of gift it's very easy to get ...
Last week Poundworld launched is new Poundworld Plus store in the Trinity Square Branch in Nottingham and we were invited to take a look round the store.
Those of you that know me on a more personal level will be aware of my love for organising and shopping for all things home, from ...
This year I had massively high hopes for the spring/summer months, however with the start of summer being lacking on the sunshine front and instead being packed with rain and cold weather and then sunshine by lunchtime the fluctuating temperatures have had us all confused.
Even if the ...
I am going to admit it has been a while since we last visited our local Pizza Express, the reason? well, we don't have one.
We head into Nottingham fairly regularly but always pass by and declare on the way home we most go in next time.
If you have been reading my blog for a while ...
Although we live in Nottingham I have to say we have been rather fixed with the places we eat, often favouring the same ones over and over again as opposed to trying somewhere new but I don't think we are alone in this.
Recently we were asked to visit the Handmade Burger Co in the Victoria Centre ...
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How to plan your day fast, in two minutes or less
Do you have two minutes to spare?
You can plan your day fast if you do your homework. When you set up your planning system, you can create a daily plan in less than two minutes. The key to keeping your daily planning to two minutes or less is the preparation and planning work you’ve done before. Then your daily plans can be almost automatic and you can remain confident that you’re doing everything you need to be doing. And nothing will be forgotten.
You need a plan.
Did you know you need a plan for planning? You need a system and a routine and a plan to manage your time wisely. When you have a lot to do, it’s easy to get bogged down in “putting out fires” instead of being proactive and working a plan.
If you’ve ever felt like you’ve been running around doing stuff all day, and then at the end of the day wondered what you did all day, you need a plan. Creating a plan helps you stay on track, and work on the projects and tasks that are important to you, as well as all the other mundane things you need to do every day.
You need the right tools.
You need the right tools to plan your day fast. The right tools and the right system makes everything easier. Every person is different, so your style of planning tools will be different, but all systems have the same elements:
1. Calendar.
I recommend having more than one kind of calendar. But at the bare minimum, having at least a monthly calendar will help you stay on track. I like having a year-at-a-glance calendar, as well as a weekly calendar, for different views of my time.
2. An agenda
I recommend something portable, that you can carry along with you everywhere you go. It can be digital or paper. This is where I keep track of my reminders, tasks, and upcoming appointments. I also transfer from my chore planner and my meal planner to my daily agenda. My agenda is my hub, and my daily reference book.
Some people like to keep their household papers as part of their agenda. For example, some will keep a copy of their latest bill, medical information for everyone in the house, clothing sizes and shoe sizes, along with a potential gift list for upcoming special events. I personally don’t keep that in my agenda, but you can use it for whatever is going to be most useful for you.
3. A notebook
I recommend always carrying blank paper or a notebook with your agenda. It can be just stuck in the back, or a separate book. Having a notebook helps jot down the info that may interest you or you want to remember, but isn’t specifically a task or an appointment. For example, I’ll put phone numbers and websites in my notebook, from businesses or people I meet while I’m out. Or I’ll jot down the name of a book or movie I want to see. (It’s also useful as a distraction for wiggly kids, when you have to wait somewhere, unexpectedly!)
4. A journal
I recommend keeping a hardcover journal, near your bed or your coffee maker. I use a journal to record all the moments I want to remember in the future. Things like funny things the kids said, or special moments I had with a friend go in my journal. It helps me focus on the positive. I’ll also put in here the things I’m concerned about, or questions I have. Putting it on paper helps get it out of my head. Keeping a journal helps me sleep better, and as a busy mom, I don’t have time for insomnia!
You need the right technique.
How will you plan your day fast, to make it quick and easy? There are few things I practice regularly to keep my daily planning to a minimum.
1. Brain Dumps
I regularly empty my brain of all the niggling little things that clutter it up. Putting it on paper helps me organize my thoughts, create my long term plans, and keeps my head clear for my daily tasks. For me, this looks like sitting down with a blank notepad, and just free writing all the mental notes-to-self and the someday-I-want-to’s. One thing reminds me of another thing, and it all just goes on the list. I don’t try to organize, or connect them together, or prioritize. And I don’t cross anything off right away either! I just get it out, so I can see it.
2. Planning routines
In order to plan effectively, you have to have a time for it. I make planning a part of my regular routine. This means that I’m sitting down to plan every day, and there are certain times of the month that I do more in depth planning. It’s built into my schedule, so there’s no last minute surprises or sacrifices. I plan to plan!
3. Review and Update
A huge part of planning is looking things over regularly. This may seem obvious, but sometimes we make our plans, and then never look at them again! That defeats the purpose of planning. In order to make planning worth the time, you have to review your plans regularly.
You also have to update them frequently. Plans do you no good if they don’t reflect your current reality. If the last time you made any kind of weekly plans was before Christmas last year, well.. none of those plans have anything to do with summertime. Keep your plans updated and look them over, to get the most out of them.
If you’ve got the right tools and systems in place, then every day, your daily planning session isn’t a lot of work. It’s a matter of reviewing the calendar, the to-do lists and the menu, and choosing accordingly. All the hard work is done before it comes down to your day-to-day life.
Plan your day in two minutes or less.
Keep it simple. Your daily plan should reflect your real life, not what you hope you can do. If you’re in a busy season of life (such as having a small child or two around), then you probably shouldn’t be planning to deep clean your entire home in one day. It’s not realistic. Instead, try something like Daily Minimum Maintenance, to stay on track with your daily plans.
What does your daily planning routine look like?
The story begins..
Once upon a time, there was a single mama of six princesses. This is our real life, real love and our real story.
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Hi I’m Sarah
Welcome to Raising Royalty. I hope you enjoy the stories, the tips and tricks, and the information I give about homeschooling, single parenting, and large family living. I’m a single mom of six, and I’ve seen it all! This is my real life, with my little princesses.
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PROJECT SUMMARY The cost of sequencing a genome has been dramatically reduced in the last decade, and the natural consequence is that an ever-growing number of researchers are sequencing more and more new genomes, both within populations and across species. Each of these researchers are collecting genomic information on a regular basis, but their ability to collaborate and share information and expertise cab be limited by the absence of supporting tools. To address this need, we have developed Apollo, an easy to use web-based environment that empowers distributed researchers to interactively explore and refine accurate genomic structural annotations via informative visualizations. We now propose to extend this tool with the goal fully embedding genomic ?crowdsourcing? into the research lifecycle, upscaling the volume and utility of data that can be processed by the system. We will incorporate more tools for profiling annotations (e.g. protein motifs, multiple sequence alignments, protein family placement, and inferred function) by integrating Apollo with the external tools and services, such as Galaxy, InterPro, and track hubs; and will provide a broader range of automatic checks and quality measures prior to submission. Apollo will serve both as an editing environment and as a collaborative communications center, which will dramatically increase the amount of biological information that can be used in analysis of genome-scale human datasets generating additional insights into human disease risk, progression and potential therapies. Critically, all contributions from scientists working in this collaborative research environment will be individually recognized (using ORCIDs) to assure due credit is given and that the provenance of each annotated genomic feature is available. To realize this vision, we have outlined a series of specific aims, supported by detailed technical plans. We will implement a more streamlined, scalable setup procedure to ease installation and deployment for newly sequenced organisms. We will provide a standardized API providing a platform for the integration of new capabilities and workflows tailored to individual and community needs. We will develop a stand-alone validation package to expedite merging revised gene sets with prior versions, as well as real-time quality control during the annotation process. We will implement an annotation-by-annotation, messaging system to enable curators to explain their decisions and discuss their reasoning with others. We will implement a provenance system to provide scientific credit to contributing researchers. We will introduce support for the co-curation of multiple related genomes and make better use of evolutionary information from homology searches, to improve annotation consistency and save curator time. We will enable Apollo to function both as a ?Track Server?, to dynamically share new annotations via the Ensembl browser (or others), and reciprocally to act as a ?Track Client?, to display tracks pulled from either the EBI or UCSC hubs. Lastly, we will engage with the community to obtain feedback for enhancements, and reciprocally provide training and documentation.
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The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Pentacene is recognized as a good organic semi-conducting material for use in p-type organic thin film transistors (OTFT), due to its high charge mobility. It is currently known that pentacene can be prepared by volatile decarbonylation of a 6,13-bridged-6,13-dihydropentacene precursor, e.g., by heating to 150° C. to liberate carbon monoxide. This precursor is reported to have some degree of solubility in a limited number of organic solvents such as chloroform and might therefore be amenable to spin coating using multiple castings, e.g., coats.
The characteristics of pentacene can be attributed to its high degree of crystallinity in the solid state. However, the high tendency of crystallization also renders its low degree of solubility in organic solvents. Therefore it becomes difficult to prepare thin films through solution processes. In an effort to address this shortcoming, scientists at Philips and IBM have developed a strategy of preparing precursors of pentacene that are soluble in organic solvents, and are able to produce pentacene after the films are prepared. The structures of pentacene precursor are usually cyclo-adducts of pentacene itself (acting as a diene) with another small volatile fragment (acting as a dienophile). After a film is produced by spin coating processes, relatively pure pentacene can be regenerated upon heating through a retro-cyclization process.
Since the purity of pentacene is crucial to the conductivity of films, the volatile fragment(s), which is released during the thermal process, should be expelled out of the crystal lattice as much as possible. The yield of retro-cyclization must be high, and the smaller the leaving fragment the better. Heavy elements such as sulfur and chlorine, which have been present in many leaving groups of previous examples, are known to readily contaminate the resultant films. The preparation of a pentacene precursor, i.e. compound 1, which extrudes a unit of carbon monoxide at 150° C., has been described by Chen et al. The small size and inert nature of carbon monoxide render it the best candidate for serving as a leaving fragment. The pentacene film thus produced exhibited typical OTFT characteristics, i.e. an on/off current ratio about 1.2×105 and field-effect mobility μ close to 0.01 cm2V−1s−1.
The solubility of compound 1 is a relatively low ˜0.7 mg/mL in some common organic solvents, e.g. methylene chloride and THF. However, in order to prepare a film with required thickness therefrom, repeated casting processes are necessary.
However, it would be advantageous to provide a pentacene precursor having improved solubility in various organic solvents, as well as being capable of conversion to pentacene below 360° C. in a step that leaves little, it any, non-pentacene residue in the product. This would permit pentacene to be used in a larger range of commercial applications. Ideally, pentacene processes should be highly soluble in organic solvents such that a limited number of castings are required to obtain useful end-product. In addition to improved pentacene processes, anthracene and tetracene type-oligoacenes useful in organic semiconductor and/or photovoltaic applications are also disclosed and shall be readily processable in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.
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Mamata Banerjee Vs CBI: What It Means For 2019 Lok Sabha Polls
All those who truly know Mamata Banerjee were not surprised by her full throttle attack on the Narendra Modi government on Sunday night. The sitting Chief Minister of West Bengal not only prevented the CBI from arresting Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, her police temporarily detained CBI officials and the Trinamool Congress matriarch sat on a ‘dharna’ against the Centre. The location of the ‘dharna’ in Kolkata’s Esplanade area, popularly called the ‘Metro Channel’, is significant. It was here that over a decade ago, Mamata had gone on an indefinite fast against forcible land acquisition in Singur. It was that ‘fast unto death’ dharna that brought 34 years of Left rule to its knees. On Sunday, Mamata was back at that very spot taking on a newer enemy, the BJP. On both occasions, she alluded to Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha or ‘fight for truth’ as the reason behind her sit-in demonstration.
The location of the ‘dharna’ in Kolkata’s Esplanade area, popularly called the ‘Metro Channel’, is significant. It was here that over a decade ago, Mamata had gone on an indefinite fast against forcible land acquisition in Singur.
This is the kind of politics that Mamata knows well. In her student leader days, it was her fiery speeches that had attracted the attention of senior Congress leaders. When the Bengal unit of the Congress seemed to be going soft on the Left (Mamata always alleged that there was politics of compromise and accommodation at play between the Left Front and the Congress in West Bengal), she upped the ante with her various protests and rallies. No small matter that for years and in several separate incidents, Mamata was physically hurt sometimes by the state police, many times at the hands of CPI(M) goons. The almost fatal blow to the head in 1990 was the most significant attack but not the only one.
When the Bengal unit of the Congress seemed to be going soft on the Left (Mamata always alleged that there was politics of compromise and accommodation at play between the Left Front and the Congress in West Bengal), she upped the ante with her various protests and rallies.
Mamata has grown and matured as a politician and has transitioned from her street-fighter avatar into an able administrator. This kind of confrontational politics should be disconcerting for the Modi government but for Mamata, it comes as easy as her ability to orate poems and Hindu ‘shlokas’. In the last two years, she has been acerbic in her criticism of the Central government and has been gradually shaping her image as one of the primary challengers to Modi & Co. She has kept in touch with all Opposition leaders (H D Deve Gowda, N Chandrababu Naidu, M K Stalin, K Chandrashekhar Rao), including younger ones (such as Jignesh Mevani, Tejaswi Yadav) while making it her priority to speak on national issues. Whether it was demonetisation, job loss, agrarian distress, National Register of Citizens of India etc., Mamata has enthusiastically taken on the Central government. Obviously, when the CBI suddenly wakes up after a reverie of two years and makes its sudden move to arrest Kolkata’s top cop, Mamata was hardly expected to roll out the red carpet.
This kind of confrontational politics should be disconcerting for the Modi government but for Mamata, it comes as easy as her ability to orate poems and Hindu ‘shlokas’.
With the federal structure of the country and the Kolkata High Court order that stayed the questioning of Rajeev Kumar, by her side, and aided by sound constitutional advice coming from one of the best lawyers in the country, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Mamata was more than aware of her actions when she sat on the dharna. The only other Chief Minister to have done so has been Arvind Kejriwal, who has incidentally extended his support. Mamata has also been positioning herself as the rallying point for all anti-BJP parties. The Mahagathbandhan rally titled ‘United India rally’ held in Kolkata last month was a massive success.
Mamata has also been positioning herself as the rallying point for all anti-BJP parties.
It is also interesting to note that going into Lok Sabha elections there are women politicians who are gaining the limelight. Mamata, Priyanka Gandhi and Mayawati would be some of the most-discussed politicians who will be taking on the BJP’s Goliath, Narendra Modi. The race for the 17th Lok Sabha has well and truly started from Kolkata.
Shutapa Paul is a journalist and media entrepreneur. Her book, ‘Didi: The Untold Mamata Banerjee’ published by Penguin India released in November 2018. The views expressed are the author’s own.
About Us
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In India, millions of women are getting online with
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Q:
Convert result from mysql to list in python
How can I convert the results from Mysql query to a list in python?
Here is what I've tried so far
import MySQLdb as mdb
con = mdb.connect('localhost', 'root', 'root', 'sample_db');
with con:
cur = con.cursor()
cur.execute("SELECT site_id FROM positive_outcomes")
for i in range(cur.rowcount):
row = cur.fetchone()
print row[0]
A:
You just have to listify the entire result set from the cursor object and you should be good
con = mdb.connect('localhost', 'root', 'root', 'sample_db');
with con:
cur = con.cursor()
cur.execute("SELECT site_id FROM positive_outcomes")
result_set = list(cursor.fetchall())
for result in result_set:
# do something here
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remainder when 14 is divided by u?
4
Let c(t) = -t**2 + 16*t + 12*t + 0*t**2 - 27*t. Let r(p) = 2*p**3 + 2*p. Let y(s) = c(s) - r(s). Calculate the remainder when y(-3) is divided by 13.
9
What is the remainder when -675 + 680 + 151*(2 + -1) is divided by 7?
2
Suppose -p + 45 = 4*x - 21, -2*x - 390 = -4*p. Calculate the remainder when 494 is divided by p.
24
Suppose -23*z - 169 = 5*r - 776, 3*r - z - 453 = 0. What is the remainder when r is divided by 4?
1
Let m(x) = x + 1. Suppose -3053 = -4*h + f, -5*h + 3*f + 3506 + 319 = 0. Calculate the remainder when 9*(2/(-11) + h/198) is divided by m(6).
5
Let x(h) = -147*h - 47*h - 111*h + 38 + 57*h - 44. Calculate the remainder when x(-1) is divided by 35.
32
Calculate the remainder when 4726 is divided by (-652*6/(-192))/(16/128).
162
Suppose 5*v + 136 = 3*w, -85 = -w + 143*v - 139*v. Let l = -140 + 234. What is the remainder when 1/(-3) - l/(-3) is divided by w?
14
Suppose 0 = u - d - 492, -444 = -u + 62*d - 67*d. Let v = -79 + 133. Calculate the remainder when u is divided by v.
52
Suppose 41*t = 195 + 256. Calculate the remainder when 1579 is divided by t.
6
Let q = 858 + -69. What is the remainder when q is divided by 99?
96
Suppose -30*v = -32*v + 104. Suppose -7540 - 6396 = -v*w. Calculate the remainder when w is divided by 45.
43
Suppose 361*y + 40*y = -25*y + 10224. Let p = 41 - 21. Suppose y = 4*o - p. Calculate the remainder when 20 is divided by o.
9
Suppose -2*m - 34 = -5*c, c + c - 16 = 2*m. Suppose -5*o - z = 151 - 975, o + 5*z - 160 = 0. What is the remainder when o is divided by c?
3
Suppose 4*a = d + 2650, 0 = -68*a + 71*a - 4*d - 1981. Calculate the remainder when a is divided by 78.
39
Let f = 918 - 2300. Let j = 1425 + f. What is the remainder when j is divided by (-8)/1*(-18)/8?
7
Suppose 99 = -2*t + 415. Let m = -150 + t. Let o(z) = -2*z**3 - 6*z**2 + 6*z - 1. What is the remainder when o(-5) is divided by m?
5
Suppose 73*t = -88*t + 32*t + 3096. Let j = -2 - -4. What is the remainder when j + (118 - 1)/1 is divided by t?
23
Let x(m) = m**3 - 132*m**2 + 272*m - 1544. What is the remainder when 7695 is divided by x(130)?
15
Suppose 0 = 7*g - 5*g + 5*k - 4989, 0 = -4*g - 5*k + 9953. Calculate the remainder when g is divided by 36.
34
Let y = -1347 - -1372. Let w(m) = m**3 + 11*m**2 + 6*m - 11. Calculate the remainder when w(-9) is divided by y.
22
Let g be -90 + 94 - 2/(2 - 0). Suppose g*x - 160 = -x. Calculate the remainder when 197 is divided by x.
37
Let s = 684 + -475. Calculate the remainder when 783 is divided by s.
156
Let t(g) = -g**3 - 14*g**2 + 31*g + 28. Let k be t(-16). Suppose 0 = -k*y + 22*y + 3388. Calculate the remainder when y is divided by 35.
14
Suppose -1750*r + 1760*r - 660 = 0. What is the remainder when 326 is divided by r?
62
What is the remainder when 5 + (-209)/38 - 2853/(-2) is divided by 704?
18
Let n = -142 + 143. What is the remainder when 334 is divided by (-232)/(-5 - 3) + -5*n?
22
Suppose o + 4*o + 2*d - 72 = 0, -4*d - 10 = -o. Calculate the remainder when 21670 is divided by o.
12
Let g(i) = -i**3 + 10*i**2 + 6*i - 10. Let x be -49*(-8)/(48 + 8). What is the remainder when g(x) is divided by 10?
9
Suppose -11*o + 12*o + 7 = y, -4*o = 4. What is the remainder when 75 is divided by -1*3/y*-14?
5
Suppose -5*f + 4*f + 7 = 0, -4*v + 80 = 4*f. Calculate the remainder when 624 is divided by v.
0
Let r = 2527 + -2422. What is the remainder when r is divided by (-2)/4*-4 - -55?
48
Let k(p) = p**3 - 18*p**2 + 42*p - 169. What is the remainder when k(19) is divided by 16?
14
Suppose 38 + 7 = 5*q. Let v(j) = -31*j - 103. Let t(f) = -17*f - 395. Let a be t(-23). What is the remainder when v(a) is divided by q?
3
Let p = 100 + -97. Suppose -1202 = -3*h + 2*n, 2*h + p*n + 1200 = 5*h. What is the remainder when h is divided by 27?
24
Let z = -968 - -1005. Calculate the remainder when z is divided by 13.
11
Let t = 68 + -63. Suppose t*b + 41 = -79. What is the remainder when (-90)/21*224/b is divided by 6?
4
Let t(i) = -i**3 + 50*i**2 + 54*i - 128. Let w be t(51). Let j(r) = -r**3 + 26*r**2 - 30. Calculate the remainder when j(w) is divided by 46.
43
Let l(y) = 14*y - 77. Let p = -8 + 11. Suppose z - 1 = -p, -5*z = -4*d + 62. Calculate the remainder when l(9) is divided by d.
10
Let d(v) = 9*v**2 - 37*v + 121. What is the remainder when 983 is divided by d(5)?
17
Let k(j) = 180*j - 1103. What is the remainder when k(7) is divided by 48?
13
Let r be (10/(-45)*33)/(4/(-6)). Suppose -1292 = -r*n - 6*n. What is the remainder when n is divided by 34?
8
Let i = -5729 - -5889. Calculate the remainder when i is divided by 19.
8
Suppose 449 = -3*j + 3*h + 692, -5*h + 111 = j. Calculate the remainder when j is divided by (-176)/(-10) - (-2)/5.
14
Suppose u - 985 = 2*g, 194*u - g + 1006 = 195*u. Calculate the remainder when u is divided by 36.
27
Suppose 2*w = -9*w - 55. Let x(n) = -n**3 + 2*n**2 - 3. Calculate the remainder when x(w) is divided by 58.
56
Let p = 355 - 283. What is the remainder when 431 is divided by p?
71
Suppose -35 = 4*o + 9. Let f = 6 - -14. Let h = f + o. What is the remainder when 24 is divided by h?
6
Let f(b) = b**3 - 7*b**2 - 10*b - 12. Let q be (-1)/(-2 + (-34)/(-18)). Suppose 56*h = 45*h + 231. What is the remainder when f(q) is divided by h?
18
Let m(o) = 64*o + 11397. What is the remainder when m(-177) is divided by 4/18 + (-428)/(-18)?
21
Let n(t) be the first derivative of t**3/3 - 9*t**2 + 18*t + 22. Let w be n(17). Calculate the remainder when w*(-40)/(-5) - -1 is divided by 6.
3
Calculate the remainder when ((-37)/(-111) - 1/(-6))/(5/16640) is divided by 34.
32
Suppose -4*s = 3*m + 58, -3*m + 3*s - 34 = s. Calculate the remainder when (-11)/(-2)*7*2 is divided by 8/m + (-2604)/(-98).
25
Let n(w) = 6*w**2 - 2*w + 9. Let c be n(5). Let j = c + -96. Suppose -59 = -4*z + j. What is the remainder when z is divided by 15?
13
Suppose -50017 = 3*j - 50116. What is the remainder when 5113 is divided by j?
31
Suppose 0 = -k + 120 + 62. Suppose -5*y - 394 = -4*p, -2*p - y = 4*y - k. Let w = p - 58. Calculate the remainder when w is divided by 20.
18
Suppose -26*z + 27*z - 277 = 0. Let g = z - 271. Calculate the remainder when 41 is divided by g.
5
Suppose 3*t = -6, 4*f - 144 = -t - 94. What is the remainder when 818 is divided by f?
12
Suppose 9*g + 24 = -3. Let d(r) = -48*r - 47. What is the remainder when d(g) is divided by 50?
47
Suppose -281 - 123 = -17*f - 149. Let b = -9 - -15. Suppose 5*u = 3*u + b. Calculate the remainder when f is divided by u.
0
Let l = 9 + -3. Let v = 15 - l. Let j(t) = -t**2 - 44*t + 7. What is the remainder when v is divided by j(0)?
2
Let g = 19361 + -16209. Calculate the remainder when g is divided by 243.
236
Let d(w) = -w**3 + 12*w**2 + 9*w + 21. What is the remainder when d(12) is divided by 17395/392 - (-6)/(-16)?
41
Let y(q) = -179*q + 919. Calculate the remainder when 44 is divided by y(5).
20
Suppose -u - u + 0*u = 0. What is the remainder when (51 - -9) + u + -3 is divided by 218/11 + (-16)/(-88)?
17
Let c(a) = 23*a**2 + a - 2. Let t(m) = -m - 17. Let x be t(-18). Let b(s) = -s**2 + 11*s - 19. Calculate the remainder when c(x) is divided by b(8).
2
Suppose -8*b - 3926 + 18512 = 14*b. Calculate the remainder when b is divided by 10.
3
Let b = -8299 + 16735. Suppose 60*y = 3*y + b. What is the remainder when y is divided by 36?
4
Suppose 5*y - 2*i - 188 = 0, y = -i + 27 + 5. Calculate the remainder when 130/(-39)*y/(-10) is divided by 3/((-6)/(-8)) - (-6)/6.
2
Let l = -3440 + 3528. Calculate the remainder when 967 is divided by l.
87
Let c(s) = -3*s - 54. Let f be c(-19). Suppose 15*k = 16*k - f. Calculate the remainder when 24 is divided by (1/k)/(0 + (-1)/(-27)).
6
Let x be ((5/2)/5)/(15/60). Suppose -26 = -x*r - 12. Let k(v) = v + 1. What is the remainder when k(12) is divided by r?
6
Let c(o) = o**3 - 16*o**2 + 2. Let a be c(16). Suppose -4*u + 145 = -f, -4*u + a*f + 2 = -148. Calculate the remainder when -276*(36/(-16))/9 is divided by u.
34
Suppose 4*r = -5*d + 127, 4*r + 8 = -d + 43. Suppose 2*n - 59 = d. What is the remainder when n is divided by 14?
13
Suppose 81*p = 84*p - 396. Let j = p + -112. Let x(u) = 2*u**3 - 2*u**2 + 2*u - 4. Calculate the remainder when x(3) is divided by j.
18
Let l(w) =
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The form of iron oxide deposits in thalassemic tissues varies between different groups of patients: a comparison between Thai beta-thalassemia/hemoglobin E patients and Australian beta-thalassemia patients.
Mössbauer spectra of 12 beta-thalassemia/hemoglobin E spleen samples from Thai patients who had not received multiple blood transfusions and chelation therapy and seven beta-thalassemia spleen samples from Australian patients who had received multiple blood transfusions and chelation therapy were recorded with sample temperatures of 78 K. Each spectrum was found to consist of a superposition of a relatively intense central doublet characteristic of high-spin Fe(III), a low intensity sextet of peaks due to magnetic hyperfine-field splitting, and occasionally a doublet that could be attributed to heme iron. A significant (P=0.01) difference (Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic of 0.71) between the distributions of sextet signal intensity as a fraction (Fs) of the total non-heme iron Mössbauer spectral signal for the two groups of patients was detected. The distribution of Fs for the Thai beta-thalassemia/hemoglobin E spleens had a mean value of 0.128 (S.D. 0.035) while that for the Australian beta-thalassemia spleens had a mean of 0.27 (S.D. 0.12). No significant difference between the distributions of non-heme iron concentrations in the tissues for the two groups of patients was detected by atomic absorption spectrometry. This study shows that the Australian beta-thalassemia patients had a higher fraction of their non-heme spleen iron in a goethite-like form than the Thai beta-thalassemia/Hb E patients.
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<string name="apprater_dialog_title">Valora %s</string>
<string name="apprater_rate_message">Si te gusta esta aplicación, por favor, tómate un momento para valorarla. Gracias!</string>
<string name="apprater_rate">Valorar Ahora</string>
<string name="apprater_later">Más tarde</string>
<string name="apprater_no_thanks">No gracias</string>
</resources>
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Genotypic Characterization of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Derived from Antiretroviral Therapy-Naive Individuals Residing in Sorong, West Papua.
Papua and West Papua provinces have the highest prevalence rate of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in Indonesia; however, data on the molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 are limited. We conducted a genotypic study on HIV-1 genes derived from antiretroviral therapy-naive individuals residing in Sorong, West Papua. HIV-1 genomic fragments were amplified from 43 peripheral blood samples, and sequencing analysis of the genes was carried out. Of the 43 samples, 41 protease (PR), 31 reverse transcriptase (RT), 26 gag, and 25 env genes were sequenced. HIV-1 subtyping revealed that CRF01_AE (48.8%, 21/43) and subtype B (41.9%, 18/43) were the major subtypes prevalent in the region, whereas other recombinant forms were also detected. Major drug resistance-associated mutations for PR inhibitors were not detected; however, mutations for the RT inhibitors, A62V and E138A, appeared in a few samples, indicating the possible emergence of transmitted HIV-1 drug resistance in Sorong, West Papua.
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Democratic state Rep. David Richardson announced Wednesday that he brought in more than $500,000 in the fourth quarter for his campaign to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in Florida’s 27th Congressional District.
In a news release, Richardson’s campaign said it closed out the year with over $1 million in total receipts including approximately $505,000 raised from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31.
“I’m honored to have received such tremendous support from a broad spectrum of Democrats. My campaign for Congress is deeply rooted in my commitment to building a more equitable and inclusive society for all Americans,” Richardson said.
That broad spectrum included more than 8,700 individual donors who combined to make more than 12,000 online contributions. Those small-dollar donors gave an average of $31.58, with about 97 percent weighing in at $100 or less, while nearly nine-tenths were for $25 or less.
In his third-quarter report, Richardson touted 2,400 donors with about 80 percent of them pitching in $25 or less.
The campaign news release also said the fourth-quarter report would show $250,000 in loans from Richardson, which will put the South Florida state lawmaker with about $850,000 on hand in his campaign account. His prior report, which covered July 1 through Sept. 30, also included $250,000 in candidate loans.
The campaign finished the third quarter with $517,254 raised and $441,183 cash on hand. Given Richardson’s projected fourth-quarter tally, his campaign spent approximately $96,000 during the three-month window.
The retired CPA and current HD 113 representative is one of nine Democrats vying for Ros-Lehtinen’s seat, which is shaping up to be one of the biggest battlegrounds of the 2018 election cycle.
CD 27 was one of just 23 House seats nationwide — and one of two in Florida — to vote in favor of Hillary Clinton for president while also sending a Republican to Congress. Clinton won the district by nearly 20 points, while Ros-Lehtinen won re-election 55-45.
Richardson’s chief opponents in the Democratic Primary include former federal judge Mary Barzee-Flores, Matt Haggman, state Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez, and Miami Beach City Commissioners Kristen Rosen Gonzalez and Ken Russell, each of whom boasted six-figure hauls in the third quarter.
Given the stiff competition, Richardson also used his fundraising announcement to talk policy.
“We progressives must strive to implement a single-payer health care system, tackle climate change once and for all, reform our prison and criminal justice systems, and protect as well as expand upon the great strides we have made in this country on the rights of women, Hispanics, African Americans, the LGBT community, and other minority groups. I look forward to continuing our grassroots focused campaign, and I thank my supporters for believing in this campaign.” he continued.
The primary election is set for Aug. 28, and the winner will move on to the general election to face one of the five Republicans looking to take over for Ros-Lehtinen.
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Instagram’s newest Stories sticker lets people ask their followers to join a new group chat and then gives the poster the power to select who can join. The new feature, called the chat sticker, joins a bunch of other stickers Instagram has introduced to Stories, including polls, question boxes, mentions, locations, hashtags, and countdowns, among others. The chat sticker is relatively straightforward, and Instagram is positioning it as a solution for people who want to have a big group conversation about something or for making plans.
If someone places a chat sticker on their story, friends can tap the sticker to request access to the chat. The original poster can then choose who they want to include in the new chat, which will take place in their direct messages inbox. They can then end that chat at anytime.
This feature seems designed for people who interact with their real friends on Instagram; I’m not totally sure how influencers would use the tool. Maybe they could start a conversation with their fans, but that could get unwieldy. The chat sticker specifically harkens back to when Instagram wasn’t just a tool for brands and influencers to grow their following, but when it was a place where friends shared content with each other and talked about things they love. There are certainly people using the platform in that way still, but it’s hard to remember they exist when the platform is inundated with influencers and curated content.
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