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Introduction
============
Non-vitamin K oral anticoagulant (NOAC) therapy has been increasingly used for stroke prevention in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF)[@b1-vhrm-15-019] due to its proven effectiveness and safety. Real-world data have confirmed Phase III trial results,[@b2-vhrm-15-019] even showing further advantages in the older population,[@b3-vhrm-15-019],[@b4-vhrm-15-019] which shows the highest risk of bleeding, as well as stroke with a worse prognosis.[@b5-vhrm-15-019] In elderly patients, NOACs seem to be more effective than and as safe as vitamin K antagonists (VKA).[@b6-vhrm-15-019] Nevertheless, real-world prospective studies in this population, including octogenarians, are still scarce. On the contrary, these patients are more and more frequent in clinical practice. The decision-making process to initiate them to a chronic anticoagulant therapy can be difficult due to the risk/benefit ratio.
We, therefore, aimed to analyze data from the local REGIstry of patients on Non-vitamin k oral Anticoagulants (REGINA) to assess the efficacy and safety of NOACs in an elderly and comorbid population, such as the one cardiologists increasingly follow in the cardiac rehabilitation setting.
Patients and methods
====================
REGINA is a single-center, prospective, observational study that was conducted at the IRCCS Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri, Milano, Italy. The Local Ethics Committee (Comitato Etico ICS Maugeri SpA SB, Pavia) approved the study (1053CE). It adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki, and each patient signed a written informed consent form.
NVAF patients on NOAC treatment followed at our inpatient or outpatient cardiac rehabilitation clinic were consecutively enrolled from April 14, 2015 to July 31, 2016. All patients were followed up to 1 year. Follow-up (FU) visits were scheduled at 1, 6, and 12 months from the first NOAC dose. Patients with severe cognitive impairment (Mini-Mental State Examination score \<20), active cancer, and/or any-end stage disease and those who had undergone cardiac surgery in the previous 12 months were excluded. NOAC choice was based on the knowledge and expertise of each prescriber to ensure the collection of real-life data. Note that edoxaban was not available in Italy at the time of enrollment. Updated international and national guidelines' recommendations and appropriate local diagnostic--therapeutic instructions were available on our institution's Intranet. Periodic meetings for the discussion of clinical cases were scheduled throughout the study period.
The primary endpoint of the study was represented by the incidence rate of major bleeding (MB) and/or clinically relevant non-major bleeding (CRNMB), defined according to International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostatis (ISTH) criteria.[@b7-vhrm-15-019],[@b8-vhrm-15-019]
The secondary endpoints included the incidence of 1) stroke or systemic embolism, 2) hospitalization, 3) death, and 4) any drug-related adverse event.
Data collection
---------------
A specific electronic case report form (eCRF; Promeditec, Milan, Italy) was developed for this study. On enrollment, eCRF mandatory fields included age, gender, weight, height, calculated body mass index (BMI), heart rhythm (sinus rhythm or atrial fibrillation), concurrent therapies, Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS)[@b9-vhrm-15-019] to quantify the presence of comorbidities (CIRSc) and their severity (CIRSs), CHA~2~DS~2~-VASc,[@b10-vhrm-15-019] and HAS-BLED[@b11-vhrm-15-019] for all patients. Each participant underwent a complete physical examination. Baseline blood tests were also obtained, with hemoglobin (HGB), platelet count (PLT), serum creatinine, ALT, and AST being mandatory. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated through the Cockcroft--Gault formula.[@b12-vhrm-15-019] In the eCRF, medical history details were also recorded.
At each FU visit, a detailed medical history, including specific, multiple questions regarding treatment adherence and adverse effects, and a repeated physical examination were obtained. The results of repeated blood tests, occurrence of death, hospitalization, undercurrent disease, and any relevant information were recorded in the eCRF.
Statistical analyses
--------------------
Baseline characteristics are presented as percentages for categorical variables and medians (IQR) or mean ± SD for continuous variables. The chi-squared test was used for univariate comparisons of categorical variables between groups. The unpaired *t*-test (or Wilcoxon rank sum test when appropriate) was used for continuous variables. The incidence rate of outcomes per 100 patient-years of FU and corresponding 95% CIs are presented. All available FU data were used in the calculation of these rates. We chose to apply on-treatment analysis to describe the safety and efficacy of NOAC treatment in this cohort of real-life patients. Therefore, we calculated the incidence rates on the population available at each time point. Kaplan--Meier curves were realized to describe event-free survival.
Results
=======
We consecutively enrolled 227 patients (F/M 105/122), of whom 183 (80.6%) were inpatients. Only three patients dropped out at FU. Patients' age was 81.6±6.1 years (range 67--95 years). A large proportion of patients (59.4%) were aged ≥80 years. BMI was 26±5 kg/m^2^, and eGFR was 59.27±24.12 mL/min. Patients with permanent NVAF numbered 125 (55%), those with paroxysmal NVAF were 81 (35.7%), and those with persistent NVAF numbered 21 (9.3%). Median CHA~2~DS~2~-VASc was 5 (IQR, 4--5) and median HAS-BLED was 4 (IQR, 3--5), thus grading this population at high risk for both stroke and bleeding. Furthermore, CIRSc was 4.99±1.74 and CIRSs was 1.94±0.29, demonstrating that the enrolled population was also characterized by a very high clinical complexity. The prevalence of the main comorbidities is detailed in [Table 1](#t1-vhrm-15-019){ref-type="table"}, where the proportion of patients with a CIRSc \>3 is also reported.
Naïve patients to any type of anticoagulation numbered 96 (42.3%), while the remaining ones were switched from VKA. The switch to an NOAC was proposed to all eligible patients without contraindications, such as eGFR \<30 mL/min, mechanical valve prostheses, and surgical valve disease. None of these patients refused the therapy change.
One-hundred and twenty-four patients (54.6%) were treated with apixaban, 45 (19.8%) with dabigatran, and 58 (25.6%) with rivaroxaban. [Table 2](#t2-vhrm-15-019){ref-type="table"} shows the clinical details of each subgroup, that is, according to the prescribed NOAC (drug and dose).
Overall, blood tests remained stable throughout the FU compared to baseline. We observed no changes in HGB (12.2±1.7, 12±1.6, 12.4±1.6, and 12.7±1.6 g/dL, respectively), PLT (230.8±85, 222.9±85.4, 227.3±72, and 224.3±86.4×10^9^/L, respectively), ALT (21.3±13.1, 19.9±9.7, 21.3±15.1, and 19.2±5.8 units/L, respectively), AST (22.3±9.5, 20±7.9, 21.1±9.7, and 19.3±5.1 units/L, respectively), and creatinine levels (1.1±0.3, 1.06±0.4, 1.09±0.4, and 1.1±0.4 mg/dL, respectively). Finally, we observed a good self-reported adherence to NOACs treatment. A fully correct therapeutic scheme was followed by 92% of patients, while only 8% of patients reported having occasionally forgotten a tablet intake, never for more than two consecutive pills.
Primary endpoint
----------------
Upon completion of FU, MB occurred in only 10 patients, for a total incidence of 4.4% (95% CI: 1.73%--7.07%), and CRNMB occurred in 13, for a total incidence of 5.7% (95% CI: 2.68%--8.72%). There was no fatal bleeding. Out of ten MB cases, only one was intracranial and the patient underwent successful surgery, five were gastrointestinal, and four were urogenital. Forty percent of total bleeding occurred in the first 3 months of therapy and the remaining events were evenly spaced during the remaining FU period, as shown in the Kaplan--Meier plot of [Figure 1A](#f1-vhrm-15-019){ref-type="fig"}. The incidence of MB and CRNMB according to NOAC subgroups is presented in [Table 3](#t3-vhrm-15-019){ref-type="table"}.
Neither CHA^2^DS^2^-VASc nor HAS-BLED was correlated with the occurrence of MB or CRNMB.
Secondary endpoints
-------------------
We observed the following: 1) two embolic events, namely, a transient ischemic attack (TIA) and a minor stroke, with a total incidence of 0.88% (95% CI: -- 0.33% to 2.09%), that occurred at the ninth and fourth months of FU, respectively; 2) 69 hospitalizations (rate of 30.3% per year), of which 23 (33%) were NOAC related, while the other causes for the hospital admission were either congestive heart failure (45%) or infections (22%); all hospitalizations involved patients who had been enrolled in the study during their first hospital stay, truly representing hospital readmissions that mainly occurred in the first 3 months of FU (64% of the events), as shown in the Kaplan--Meier plot of [Figure 1B](#f1-vhrm-15-019){ref-type="fig"}; 3) 20 deaths (total death rate of 8.8% per year), of which 8 were because of cardiac causes (heart failure or sudden death) and 12 were due to pneumonia, other infections, or cancer; there were no NOAC-related deaths; and 4) rare drug-related adverse events, that is, only 4 patients, all on dabigatran, complained of dyspepsia, and a switch to a different NOAC was necessary in 3 of them.
Reduced dose of NOAC
--------------------
A post hoc analysis of the data revealed that reduced dose (RD) of NOAC was used in 135 patients. Among these patients, RD was appropriately selected based on the Phase III trial criteria[@b13-vhrm-15-019]--[@b15-vhrm-15-019] in 89 (66%) patients, while in the remaining patients, RD was prescribed based on clinical judgment. More specifically, 40% of patients on apixaban 2.5 mg bis in die (BID) met one criterion only, mainly, the age criterion, 32% of patients on dabigatran 110 mg BID and 50% of those on rivaroxaban 15 mg quaque die had either borderline eGFR or advanced age, in addition to high CIRS. Compared to the remaining population, that is, patients on full dose, those treated with an RD of apixaban were older and had lower body weight, eGFR, and HGB levels at enrollment ([Table 4](#t4-vhrm-15-019){ref-type="table"}). Regarding the endpoints, in these RD groups, MB occurred in three patients with a total incidence of 3.49% (95% CI: 1.1%--5.87%) and CRNMB occurred in four patients with a total incidence of 4.65% (95% CI: 1.91%--7.38%), while embolic events occurred in two patients with a total incidence of 1.48% (95% CI: -- 0.09% to 3.05%). These two embolic events consisted of a minor stroke in a patient with fulfilled RD criteria and a TIA in another patient with borderline criteria, that is, age of 82 years and creatinine equal to 1.5 mg/dL.
Discussion
==========
REGINA is a single-center, prospective, observational study that enrolled an elderly population, treated with an NOAC for NVAF, mainly over 80 years old, and characterized by a high number of comorbidities and a high clinical complexity, as well as a high risk for stroke and bleeding. During a 1-year FU, there were rare embolic and few bleeding complications. Our data strengthen the concept that NOACs are safe and effective in the elderly, even in highly complex octogenarians.
Phase III trials clearly demonstrated NOACs' effectiveness and safety in NVAF patients,[@b1-vhrm-15-019],[@b2-vhrm-15-019] although aged, frail, comorbid patients were represented to a lesser extent.[@b16-vhrm-15-019] In the last years, several real-world studies have confirmed the effectiveness and safety of NOACs in the elderly, although most of them were retrospective and/or based on health insurance databases.[@b17-vhrm-15-019]--[@b22-vhrm-15-019] In the present study, in a cohort of 227 patients, with an average age of 81 years and about 60% of cases aged over 80 years, who had been prospectively observed up to 1 year, there were no fatal bleedings and MB occurred in only 4.4% (95% CI: 1.73%--7.07%), of which only 1 case was intracranial and life threatening. These data are in line with the results of a recent large retrospective study, which showed that compared to VKA, NOACs were associated with a lower rate of MB events.[@b22-vhrm-15-019]
In addition to old age, we must underline that the population of the present study displayed very high-risk features. Indeed, all measured scores depicted a profile of high clinical complexity. Given these premises, in agreement with the literature,[@b23-vhrm-15-019] nearly one-third of the patients were rehospitalized during the observational period, mainly for cardiovascular causes. In keeping with several studies,[@b18-vhrm-15-019]--[@b22-vhrm-15-019] only one-third of the hospitalizations were related to bleeding events. Furthermore, no deaths were related to the use of NOACs, although the overall death rate was 8.8% per year due to cardiac causes, infections, or cancer.
It is worth discussing that a high percentage (59%) of our population was treated with an NOAC at RD. As prespecified in the "Patients and methods" section, in order to collect real-world data, the selection of the specific NOAC and its dosage was based on the prescribers' evaluation. In 34% of these patients, the RD was chosen based on clinical judgment rather than Phase III trials' criteria[@b14-vhrm-15-019]--[@b16-vhrm-15-019] and international consensus recommendations on NOAC use.[@b24-vhrm-15-019] Previous studies[@b25-vhrm-15-019],[@b26-vhrm-15-019] have reported the use of a lower-than-recommended dose of NOACs in clinical practice. Probably, the individual assessment of patients' risks for bleeding often plays a major role in guiding the choice of drug and dosage, in particular, in the elderly. In fact, patients treated with RD were even more fragile than the remaining patients were, as they had lower body weight, worse eGFR, and higher CIRSc and CIRSs. Not surprisingly, the only two cardioembolic events occurred in this group of patients. It is known that NVAF patients with advanced age or low body weight or renal dysfunction have a higher risk of stroke and MB,[@b27-vhrm-15-019] irrespective of the chosen dosage or NOAC. It has to be emphasized that inappropriate dose reduction has been associated with a higher risk for embolism,[@b28-vhrm-15-019],[@b29-vhrm-15-019] while in other studies, it did not seem to be the case.[@b26-vhrm-15-019],[@b30-vhrm-15-019] Thus, transposing the recommendations of the randomized Phase III trials to the more complex real world remains a challenge for each clinician. Accordingly, the updated European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) practical guide on NOAC management,[@b24-vhrm-15-019] that is based on expert opinions, suggests dose reduction considering a number of clinical variables, not even mentioned in Phase III trials. While adequate dose prescription is certainly mandatory, such appropriateness remains to be further elucidated. Given the escalating complexity, we face in the daily clinical practice of geriatric patients, there is a growing need for a modern approach that integrates information from large trials and single patient's evaluation.[@b31-vhrm-15-019]
Lastly, we observed a good self-reported adherence to NOACs (eg, 92% compliance to the prescribed therapy) and a stability of blood tests throughout the FU period. Both these findings might depend on the peculiar organization that characterizes a prospective registry, in which both careful patient management and the periodic phone calls reduce the nonadherence and allow correction of possible undercurrent factors. Indeed, this might also have contributed to improve NOACs' efficacy and safety. However, this is a mere speculation. Since adherence was considered high and events were low, no relation could be found between them.
A limitation of our study is the lack of a control group on VKA. According to the current guidelines, NOACs are often preferred; thus, it is extremely difficult to have comparable prospective data. Indeed, recent real-life studies that compared NOACs to VKAs were retrospective using the propensity score matching analysis.[@b18-vhrm-15-019],[@b22-vhrm-15-019] They showed that MB and overall bleeding episodes are less frequent in patients treated with NOACs rather than with VKA. We used the results of the aforementioned studies as a landmark to draw our conclusions.
Conclusion
==========
Thus, despite the limited number of patients enrolled in this study, there is evidence that in a population of comorbid, clinically complex elderly NVAF patients, including octogenarians, NOACs were safe and effective. These results further encourage the use of NOACs in a population that is followed by the cardiologist and that is at very high risk of disabling events. There are also some clues that careful FU of elderly patients on NOAC therapy could contribute to improve their prognosis.
We thank Daniela Loi for her valuable help in scheduling follow-up visits for these elderly patients.
**Disclosure**
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.
{#f1-vhrm-15-019}
######
Patients' clinical complexity
Comorbidities n (%)
------------------------ ------------
Hypertension 156 (68.7)
CHF 99 (43.6)
Diabetes 57 (25.1)
CAD 65 (28.7)
Previous MI 47 (20.7)
PAD 63 (27.7)
Previous stroke or TIA 42 (18.5)
CIRSc \>3 180 (79.3)
**Note:** Values are expressed as n, total number, and (%), percentage.
**Abbreviations:** CAD, coronary artery disease; CHF, chronic heart failure; CIRSc, Cumulative Illness Rating Scale complexity; MI, myocardial infarction; PAD, peripheral artery disease; TIA, transient ischemic attack.
######
Patients' clinical details according to the prescribed NOAC therapy
Apixaban 2.5 mg BID (n=86) Apixaban 5 mg BID (n=35) Dabigatran 110 mg BID (n=31) Dabigatran 150 mg BID (n=14) Rivaroxaban 15 mg QD (n=18) Rivaroxaban 20 mg QD (n=40)
-------------- ---------------------------- -------------------------- ------------------------------ ------------------------------ ----------------------------- -----------------------------
Age, years 84.13±5.54 75.42±7.31 81.77±5.97 72.86±5.88 81.83±7.82 76.62±10.39
Weight, kg 69.28±15.39 76.11±13.7 67.65±12.15 76.97±17.97 64.86±9.56 73.99±13.98
eGFR, mL/min 46.62±15.75 72.11±24.67 54.55±20.55 87.58±28.82 54.02±21.73 73.48±22.72
**Note:** Values are expressed as n, total number, and mean ± SD.
**Abbreviations:** BID, bis in die; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; NOAC, non-vitamin K oral anticoagulant; QD, quaque die.
######
Occurrence of MB and CRNMB according to the prescribed NOAC therapy
NOAC MB (n=10) CRNMB (n=13)
----------------------- ----------- --------------
Apixaban 2.5 mg BID 3 (3.49) 4 (4.65)
Apixaban 5 mg BID 2 (5.71) 3 (8.57)
Dabigatran 110 mg BID 1 (3.23) 2 (6.45)
Dabigatran 150 mg BID 3 (21.43) 1(7.14)
Rivaroxaban 15 mg QD 0 (0) 3 (16.67)
Rivaroxaban 20 mg QD 1 (2.5) 0 (0)
**Notes:** Values are expressed as n, total number, and (%), percentage.
**Abbreviations:** BID, bis in die; CRNMB, clinically relevant non-major bleeding; MB, major bleeding; NOAC, non-vitamin K oral anticoagulant; QD, quaque die.
######
Clinical details of patients on a reduced dose of NOAC compared to those on full dose
-------------- --------------------------- --------------- ---------------
**Apixaban 2.5 mg BID** **Full dose** ***P*-value**
Age, years 84.13±5.54 77.74±8.52 \<0.001
Weight, kg 69.28±15.39 72±13.91 0.13
eGFR, mL/min 46.62±15.75 67.05±25.25 \<0.001
CIRSc 5.21±1.73 4.83±1.75 0.202
CIRSs 2±0.31 1.91±0.29 0.109
HGB, g/dL 11.8±1.68 12.59±1.72 \<0.001
**Dabigatran 110 mg BID** **Full dose** ***P*-value**
Age, years 81.77±5.97 80±8.41 0.263
Weight, kg 67.65±12.15 71.62±14.84 0.263
eGFR, mL/min 54.55±20.55 60.06±24.64 0.348
CIRSc 5.5±2.04 4.93±1.7 0.158
CIRSs 2.01±0.31 1.94±0.3 0.234
HGB, g/dL 11.73±0.45 11.68±1.5 0.672
**Rivaroxaban 15 mg QD** **Full dose** ***P*-value**
Age, years 81.83±7.82 80.11±8.16 0.367
Weight, kg 64.86±9.56 71.65±14.8 0.062
eGFR, mL/min 54.02±21.73 59.75±24.33 0.433
CIRSc 5.29±1.68 4.97±1.75 0.463
CIRSs 1.96±0.32 1.95±0.3 0.757
HGB, g/dL 12.32±1.6 12.24±1.77 0.7
-------------- --------------------------- --------------- ---------------
**Notes:** Values are expressed as mean ± SD. *P*\<0.05 was considered as significant.
**Abbreviations:** BID, bis in die; c, complexity; CIRS, Cumulative Illness Rating Scale; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; HGB, hemoglobin; NOAC, non-vitamin K oral anticoagulant; QD, quaque die; s, severity.
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Chicago's bills for police misconduct cases climbs
CHICAGO (AP) -- With three new settlements this week and more lawsuits pending, Chicago's price tag for legal claims against its police force is climbing and has already surpassed the $27 million the city set aside for this year.
The City Council agreed to settle three lawsuits this week for nearly $7 million. That's on top of the more than $32 million aldermen signed off on weeks ago in two police misconduct cases. With three more lawsuits stemming from one of the most shameful chapters in the department's history — the torture of murder suspects by detectives under the command of former Lt. Jon Burge — still in the legal pipeline and two more federal lawsuits filed this week, the total could climb significantly higher.
City law department spokesman Roderick Drew said the city now will use bonds to cover settlements, as it has done in the past.
The largest settlement this week was for $4.5 million to the family of 22-year-old Rekia Boyd. Drew said that Boyd was walking down the street on March 21, 2012, when an off-duty police detective sitting in his own vehicle got into an argument with a group of men nearby. Thinking one of the men had a gun as he approached his vehicle, the detective "started firing blindly over his shoulder," with one of the bullets striking Boyd in the head, killing her. "She had nothing to do with any of it," Drew said.
A second settlement, for $550,000, stemmed from a lawsuit filed by a woman who was injured in a traffic accident involving a police car.
In another settlement, the city agreed pay $1.8 million to James Andrews, 45, who spent more than half his life in prison for two 1983 homicides and alleged in his lawsuit that detectives working under Burge beat him until he confessed. Andrews was released from prison in 2007, and prosecutors decided to drop the charges against him the next year.
The settlement with Andrews follows another $1.8 million settlement last summer to his co-defendant, David Fauntleroy. Drew said that at the City Council's meeting this week, Corporation Counsel Stephen Patton noted there was substantial ballistics evidence that indicated that that Andrews was guilty in one of the slayings. But there was also strong evidence that he was tortured, Drew said.
Six cases in which men alleged they were victims of the Burge police unit that tortured black suspects in the 1970s and 1980s have been settled or gone to trial, Drew said. Three more cases are pending. Burge was convicted in 2010 of lying about the torture of suspects.
Aldermen said that while they believed the three settlements last week were fair, they're angry that such cases continue to come before the council. They said they still hear that the officers involved either remain on the payroll or continue to receive their pension, including Burge.
"These guys are untouched and unscathed, and they keep their jobs by and large and they keep getting a paycheck," said Alderman Howard Brookins Jr. "It has to stop."
Earlier this year, the city agreed to pay $22.5 million in the largest settlement in a police misconduct case in Chicago history. That involved a woman who was raped and severely injured after she was released from police custody despite her obvious mental illness.
In another case settled this year, $10.25 million went to a man who spent 26 years in prison for a murder he did not commit after Burge's detectives tortured another man until he implicated him in the crime.
Meanwhile, two federal lawsuits were filed against Chicago police this week, including one by Bassil Abdelal, who alleges police, responding to a robbery at his store last March, mistook him for a robber and shot him 11 times.
In the other case, Rita King alleges that after she was taken into custody following a domestic disturbance, an officer "proceeded to violently press his fist into (her) nose for approximately 3 to 5 minutes" according to the complaint.
Drew said he could not comment on the two lawsuits because the law department had not reviewed them. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Genetic and DAT imaging studies of familial parkinsonism in a Taiwanese cohort.
We here summarize the results of genetic investigations on a series of 82 parkinsonian patients from 60 families in Taiwan. We found 13 parkin patients in 7 families (12%), 2 PINK1 sibs from 1 family, and 1 LRRK2 patient from 1 family with I2012T mutation. We also identified SCA2 in 8 patients from 5 families (8%) and SCA3 in 3 patients from 1 family, all presenting with parkinsonian phenotype. In the available patients with parkin, PINK1, SCA2 and SCA3, the dopamine transporter (DAT) scan revealed that the reduction of uptake was primarily observed in the bilateral putamen, basically sharing a similar pattern with that in idiopathic Parkinson's disease. We concluded that the genetic causes contributed to about 25% of our series of familial parkinsonism. The parkin mutations and SCA2 were the most frequent genetic causes in our series with Chinese ethnicity. The results of DAT scan indicated that bilateral putamen was essentially involved in various genetically-caused familial parkinsonism. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Grooming
Shampoo regularly. As fetching as they are, moustaches collect all sorts of things. No matter how fine the food, it doesn’t belong in your Mo. Approach sticky, slimey and flaky foods with caution.
Moustache hair is coarse and benefits from regular conditioning. Work a dollop of conditioner into your Mo then rinse thoroughly. It will make your hairy journey that bit softer, for both you and your intimate friends.
Wash your face with a hot towel to steam and cleanse the skin under your moustache as it can suffer from drying and itching. No one wants that. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
The influence of chronic subcutaneous nicotine administration on aldosterone and corticosterone plasma concentrations and the plasma renin activity.
Since adrenocortical hormones and the renin-angiotensin system are capable of inducing defined pathophysiologic changes in the cardiovascular system, similar to those observed after nicotine, experiments were performed in rats to investigate the effect of chronic nicotine administration on the plasma concentrations of aldosterone (PAC) and corticosterone (PCC) and on the plasma renin activity (PRA). The administration of nicotine (0.5 or 1.0 mg/kg s.c. twice daily) over a period of 8 weeks did not significantly affect PCC. However, PAC showed a marked decrease, which did not appear to be the result of a nicotine-induced ACTH inhibition, since a similar decrease in PAC was observed after suppression of ACTH by dexamethasone. PAC in rats with hereditary diabetes insipidus was depressed by nicotine to the same extent as in control rats. This argues against nicotine-induced stimulation of ADH leading to extracellular volume expansion, the cause of the observed decrease in PAC. Further experiments were carried out in which nicotine was administered chronically over 4 weeks (implanted osmotic minipumps infusing 0.17 mg/kg) in rats in which the endogenous activity of the renin-angiotensin system was modified by either a low- or high-salt diet. Nicotine did not influence PRA in the low-sodium group, whereas in the high-sodium group PRA increased after nicotine. The data show that chronic nicotine administration in rats does not activate salt- and volume-retaining endocrine systems. Plasma aldosterone even decreased, except in animals kept on a high-sodium diet, in which an increase of PRA under nicotine was observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
READ 415 - Reading Across Disciplines
Pass/No Pass grading. Open entry/open exit. Minimum of 24 to 80 lab hours per term. Recommended Preparation: eligibility for ENGL 838/848 and completion of READ 400 or 405 with a grade of C or higher OR concurrent enrollment in READ 400 or 405 or appropriate skill level as indicated by the Reading placement tests and other measures. Corequisite: concurrent enrollment in a specific transfer-level course in collaboration with this course.
Description: Individualized instruction designed to acquire or improve reading strategies/skills in the various content area classes. Course offerings vary, depending upon the needs and abilities of the student. Designed/coordinated with ongoing academic courses in content areas such as, but not limited to, sociology, psychology, history political science, biology, philosophy and nursing. Weekly scheduled reading appointment required. May include textbook comprehension, principles of learning and retention, note-taking, annotating, discipline-based vocabulary, paraphrasing, reading graphics, test taking, and research techniques. Registration is open through the 12th week of the semester. (May be taken four times for a maximum of 6 units.) (AA, CSU) | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Tape reels, such as video or computer tape reels having large diameter hubs, are stored, handled, and shipped in shipping or storage cases with the tape reel frictionally placed on a central aligned hub projecting from the side walls of the case. Such containers or cases are well known. Early containers included annular flexible rings over which the tape reels are fit to prevent the reels from rotating. This configuration was found to damage the tape when the case was dropped or mishandled.
U.S Pat. No. 3,353,660 to Will, discloses a shipping container for tape reels having an annular friction-reducing bearing ring disposed in each container side wall. The bearing ring is slipped over each side wall hub to provide a surface on which the tape reel is seated. This bearing ring prevents axial translational tape reel movement while permitting the reel to rotate with respect to the container when subject to external movements. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, a pair of annular bosses are provided to increase the thickness of the bearing ring and provide additional support against bending forces. However, while resisting bending forces, this bearing ring does not flex to provide axial shock absorption. Additionally, there is no mechanism to prevent the bearing ring from rotating relative the tape reel to improve the protection afforded the tape reel.
There is no known shock shield which provides sufficient shock absorption for tape reels when the storage or shipping case is subjected to mechanical shock. None of the known tape reel cases provides an adequate level of protection against damage to the tape and tape reel during shipping, storage, and handling. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Bon Bini na Bonaire .........Welcome to Bonaire !
Bonaire is an "undiscovered gem" - the authentic Caribbean - as it used to be.
Bonaire is very small, very relaxed and very peaceful, with a surprising number of things to do around the island, but all done in that authentic Caribbean way no rush no fuss. Bonaire gives you the Caribbean as it used to be undeveloped and unspoilt and a friendly atmosphere - unlike anywhere else in the world. We say "undiscovered" as it will be new to many people only 60,000 people visit Bonaire each year and Bonaire captures the heart of each and every one. Bonaire is famous for being the best diving and snorkelling destination in the world the reef is very close to shore, a warm clear ocean and a staggering diversity of marine life. The island motto is Divers Paradise which means it is heaven for snorkellers too.
Bonaire is an "undiscovered gem" - the authentic Caribbean - as it used to be. If it is possible for an island to be "unpretentious" - then Bonaire is precisely that ! A small, charming, undeveloped island that has so much to offer. Bonaire will capture your heart.
Please select the links above for lots more information about this wonderful island
The local people are welcoming and helpful, and unlikely to approach you, unless asked. Do not mistake this for aloofness we can assure you local people are naturally shy. There is nowhere quite like Bonaire a charming island where you can relax and unwind completely. No hassle, no fuss, no one constantly trying to sell you something. A holiday on Bonaire is a genuinely memorable experience. No surprise that so many people fall in love with Bonaire and return, year after year ! In 1976 Bonaire's residents voted - in an island referendum - to resist over-development and introduce measures to conserve the natural environment of the island. This has made Bonaire a peaceful, natural "oasis" - in our hectic, busy world. There is a lot to see and do but in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. This wonderful small island is not a major tourist destination - no crowds on Bonaire - on land or sea ! No mass tourism, no theme parks, no fun fairs. The lack of commercial development, wonderful weather and friendliness of the local people, lets you enjoy your holiday to the full, without feeling like a tourist.
Perfect Weather !
Warm and sunny in January or July with a cooling breeze that keeps you fresh and comfortable. Bonaire is outside the hurricane belt. "Perfect weather" means that no matter what kind of holiday you prefer, you can enjoy it to the full. When is a good time to go ? ......Anytime - is a good time to go !
The Ocean
Ocean conditions are perfect for the many water sports on offer. Easy ocean conditions, a superb reef and extensive shore access to the ocean means that diving and snorkelling does not get any easier than this ! Often your bed will be less than 200 metres from the reef. Bonaire is paradise for "old hands ", inexperienced divers and snorkellers. Click the Diving page for lots more information about the diving and the services we can offer you.
Bonaire - one of the safest places in the world
Destination Travel on msnbc.com says " The safest destinations around the world - Where you can travel without worry, and feel super-secure. . we analyzed piles of data, from U.S. State Department warnings on crime and the latest United Nations survey on global crime trends to the Mercer rankings of the world's safest cities,...include the Dutch ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) on a list of the world's safest places to travel"
Somewhere Different
We are the only holiday specialist for the Dutch Caribbean in the UK. For many people our islands are "undiscovered" destinations exciting new holiday destinations. We are regular visitors and love talking about the islands. We would be delighted to discuss any plans you have for a holiday to this very special part of the world. We can answer any questions from personal experience. Our local knowledge and extensive choice means that we can advise and tailor make the holiday itinerary that suits you best to your requirements and wishes. We have a wider choice of accommodation and services in the Dutch Caribbean than any other travel company. We are the preferred tour operator for many resorts and have the best prices and offers. Quotes for holidays are given with no obligation. Select one of the links above to get more information about BONAIRE or another of "our" wonderful islands. You will find picture galleries on each island page. View our brochure online by clicking the image in the right hand column. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
This pandemic is getting out of control. And besides the obvious problems it’s causing, like widespread death and suffering, it’s also affecting me personally in a huge way: I’m, like, practially broke! The organic tampon startup I work at is temporarily closed, so I had to take a huge cut in pay. So I’ve decided to pack my bags and leave the city to join my parents in my suburban hometown. Because I moved to a hip city to pretend to be poor, not to actually be poor!
When I made the move to a bigger, cooler metropolitan area from my boring, bunk-ass, incredibly wealthy hometown, I knew that things would be different. If I was gonna make it, I was gonna have to get used to a lot of new things. And I’ve mostly adapted – to the public transportation, to the trash everywhere, even to the people of color. But if there’s one thing I absolutely cannot tolerate, it’s this virus forcing me to have to make the transition from intentionally looking like I don’t have any money to really not having any money. That’s where I draw the line.
I totally understand that me leaving my major city, which has some of the highest COVID-19 infection and death rates, could have devastating implications for not only the people I come into contact with while I’m traveling, but also the residents and medical capacities of my hometown. I could obviously be an asymptomatic carrier and not know it! But what my Uber driver to the airport, the airport staff, my airplane’s pilot and flight attendants, my Uber driver from the airport, the workers at the Taco Bell I made him stop at on the way to my parents’ house, my hometown neighbors and liquor store staff and grocery workers, and even my parents don’t understand is that being poor is really hard! If I had known that I’d have to literally struggle financially, instead of just wearing things I found at the thrift store and being a real stickler about my friends Venmoing me for everything, I would’ve never moved to the city.
I’m just not cut out for actual poverty, and I don’t feel like I should be judged for that!
Plus, if you think about it, me leaving the city is a humanitarian act. I’m technically a gentrifier (ugh, I know!), so me and all the other gentrifiers fleeing at the first sign of having to struggle in any way will lower the price of rent for people who have no choice but to stay poor. At least for a few years. Isn’t that kind of me?
Look, I understand how the decision I’m making looks. But I’m just one person taking the steps I need to personally take to preserve my mental health and my capability to buy as many Drunk Elephant products as I want, whenever I want. But I think people need to offer me a little empathy about the whole thing. I can’t possibly stay here and continue to pretend to be something I’m not if it means I actually have to become the thing I’m pretending to be. At least not until this is all over. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
On this week's episode of the Digital City video podcast, municipal Wi-Fi comes to Chicago thanks to AT&T, but at the same time, New York suffers a partial Verizon outage. We take on New York's annoying taxicab TV screens and present a quick tour of some of the best free comic books available for Apple's iPad.
On this week's episode, municipal Wi-Fi comes to Chicago thanks to AT&T, but at the same time, New York suffers a partial Verizon outage. We take on New York's annoying taxicab TV screens and the AMOLED display shortage currently affecting mobile phone manufacturers, then take a quick tour of some of the best free comic books available for Apple's iPad.
The city once known for the summer of love is now dealing with a different kind of emotion. An influx of thousands of techies is feeding an unprecedented economic boom -- and generating a whole lot of angst.
Gaps in free wireless Internet access are slowly being filled in by public and private organizations, as well as by ad hoc groups of wireless-network users offering a portion of their bandwidth to the public. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Q:
smoothing of auto-correlated time series data with ggplot2
Is there a way to incorporate smoothing function for an auto-correlated time series in ggplot2?
I have time series data that is auto-correlated for which I currently use a manual process to determine 95% CI for the fitted spline.
Usage and Date are in a data frame AB. The main components of the model I use are as follows:
d<-AB$Date
a<-AB$Usage
o<-order(d)
d<-d[o]
a<-a[o]
id<-ts(1:length(d))
a1<-ts(a)
a2<-lag(a1-1)
tg<-ts.union(a1,id,a2)
mg<-lm(a1~a2+bs(id,df=df1), data=tg)
From this model I obtain fitted means and standard errors of the fit which are used to work out the 95% CI for the fitted spline.
I have seen examples of the lm method in ggplot2 with a term to specify the model formula.
Is this kind of time series model achievable when the time series is auto-correlated?
Thanks.
A:
The CI will be biased if you use the simple formula in ggplot2 for adding any model fit if there is dependence in the residuals.
If I were doing this, I would fit whatever model I wanted outside of gpplot2. Then predict from that model over a grid evenly spaced points in the range of the covariates. Compute confidence intervals for those predictions and combine these and the fitted values and the data into a single data frame. From there you can use geom_line() and geom_ribbon() for the fitted model and confidence interval respectively. This allows you to compute proper confidence intervals that account for the lack of independence in the residuals.
One issue I foresee is that you have a model that includes two covariates, whereas ggplot() would normally consider the relationship between a response and a single covariate. For example, if you are plotting a1 vs id in ggplot but the model is for a2 + bs(id) then you'd need to account a2 in some manner first, say be predicting for a range of values in id but keep a2 fixed at some reasonable value, say the sample mean.
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Neurocognitive deficits are among the most consistent correlates and predictors of functional outcome in schizophrenia, and we have proposed that the relationships between neurocognition and functional outcome are probably mediated by key intervening variables, including social cognition. Social cognition refers to the mental operations underlying social interactions, which includes the human capacity to perceive the intentions and dispositions of others. The goal of this project is to work closely with noted basic behavioral scientists to apply innovative social cognitive measures to the study of schizophrenia. Because the proposed measures were developed within theoretical models, they will yield a better understanding about how core components of these areas of social cognition are related to functional outcome in schizophrenia. First, we will extend previous studies of face and voice emotion perception in schizophrenia. For this goal, we will work with Peter Salovey from Yale University who, along with his colleagues, has developed an influential multidimensional model and test of emotional processing. Second, we plan to extend the previous studies of social perception in schizophrenia that have involved perception of situational contexts or social roles and social relationships. We will build on the pioneering basic work of Alan Fiske, a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at UCLA, and Nicholas Haslam, a consultant to this project, to test how well patients identify the types of interpersonal relationships that are described in various vignettes. Third, we will examine measures of theory of mind (ToM) that involve the ability of subjects to attribute mental states to other people. Alan Fiske will be the basic behavioral expert for these last two components of the proposal. We plan to test three clinical samples (prodromal, first episode and chronic) and demographically-comparable controls to assess the magnitude of the deficit at each stage. We will examine prospective associations between these measures and 12-month changes in functional outcome in prodromal and first episode patients, and course of illness in the chronic sample. Lastly, we will examine relationships between these tests of social cognition and selected measures from other Center projects. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
James Madison imagined the Constitution here. Imagine what YOU could do...at Montpelier.
You are here
Burmese Officials Look to Madison for Constitutional Reform Process
Blog
On December 3 and 4, the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution will host eight Burmese Parliament members and consultants for a two-day training on federalism and constitutional amendment processes. The Burmese Parliament is expected to take up significant reforms of its 2008 constitution in 2014.
The training will be conducted by Dr. David S. Law, Professor of Law and Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. The participants are key players in Burma’s constitutional reform process and are visiting the United States for a multi-week study trip sponsored by the Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program. The program is administered by the International Institute Graduate School USA.
The program objectives for the delegation include:
· Examining the role of an independent judiciary in a democratic society and establishing respect for the rule of law among civil society;
· Exploring the field of constitutional law and methods to amend constitutions and laws to adapt to recent political, economic, and other developments;
· Taking a comparative view of the role of military-civilian relations in different countries;
· Gaining an understanding of how to protect the rights of minority and ethnic groups; and
· Discussing the advantages and disadvantages of the federal system of government and the power and jurisdictions of local, state, and federal government in the United States.
During the Montpelier portion of the program, the group will focus on the foundations of representative democracy, federalism, and factionalism in Burma, political trends across Asia, and best practices in the amendment process. Professor Law’s interdisciplinary scholarship on global constitutionalism, constitutional adjudication, and judicial decision-making will serve as a sounding board for the discussion.
"The core ideas of American constitutionalism were championed by James Madison. We are deeply honored to have leaders from Burma at Montpelier, Madison's life-long home. We wish them the best in their democratic pursuits and are grateful for our chance to share tenants of constitution building,” said Kat Imhoff, President and CEO of The Montpelier Foundation.
Among the participants are representatives from the Unity and Democracy Party, the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, the All Nationals’ Democracy Party, and National League for Democracy Party.
Professor Law, who Montpelier has engaged as the lead scholar for the training, has a Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University and a degree in European and comparative law from the University of Oxford. A native of Canada, he has served as a visiting professor at the National Taiwan University College of Law, Seoul National University School of Law, and Keio University Faculty of Law in Tokyo. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
The flaw allow the attacker to write arbitrary text to file and direct victims to external payloads and even the computer can take over. The popular gaming platform uses the steam:// URL protocol in order to run, install and uninstall games, backup files, connect to servers and reach various sections dedicated to customers.
It is possible to Safari, Maxthon and Firefox and other browsers based on the Mozilla engine, this quietly Steam URLs to invoke.
In report they said that browsers including Firefox and software clients including RealPlayer would execute the external URL handler without warnings and were “a perfect vector to perform silent Steam browser protocol calls”.
The researchers demonstrated how users on the massive Source game engine, which hosts games like Half-Life and CounterStrike, could be attacked. They used four commands to write custom code to file, including a bat file that executes commands when users started up Steam. They were also able to execute remote malicious code via the Unreal engine which was affected by many integer overflow vulnerabilities.
"In one proof of concept involving the Steam browser, attackers used malicious YouTube links within Steam user profiles to bait users. Users who viewed the videos and wished to leave comments would be phished with malicious steam:// URLs that pointed to external sites." explained by Darren Pauli. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Q:
Does \listfiles work on Overleaf?
I don't have my notebook available for some days, hence I was trying to answer to a TeX.SE question using Overleaf.
I've realized, unfortunately, that Overleaf hasn't the most recent release of the packages (for example, biblatex).
I would like to see the versions used, adding \listfiles at the top of my code but it doesn't work.
\listfiles
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[british]{babel}
\begin{document}
\just to create an error and get the log on Overleaf
\end{document}
A:
This is quite a pain, but if you download a ZIP-file of the project, then you can choose Input and Output files. The .log file will be included in the ZIP when using that option.
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Interesting...Its like node watermarking....
>
> As a side note, this offers some interesting possibilites for using multiple
> passphrases and tracking where they propagate through the network.
> This might be a weakness, or a method of excorcising rogue peers based
> on which passphrases they used, and subsequently which parts of the
> network might be compromised...
>
> Any thoughts?
>
--
Justin Chapweske, Onion Networks
http://onionnetworks.com/
I was thinking about initial introduction in Tristero-China and other filter
avoidance networks. This is done out-of-band to prevent the abuse of
an initial introduction mechanism by the _evil party_ to locate and
target relay nodes.
Right now most systems only require and IP and Port for initial
introduction, which is provided out of band, however, there is nothing
to prevent a malicious entity (China Gov?) from simply scanning
entire subnets looking for relays. They would attempt a handshake on
a port, and if they connected, they found a relay, and they could then
shut it down, arrest the user, etc.
To protect against this each node could require a "passphrase" to be
included in the initial introduction connection request. This passphrase
or key/token would be different for each node, and passed around out
of band like the IP and Port of the node itself.
In this manner you can avoid the subnet scanning vulnerabilities while
keeping the initial introduction simple and secure.
One problem this creates is during transitive introduction, for example
when a node requests their subset of peers from an AChord index. The
passphrase must then be provided during transitive introduction in
addition to the IP and Port information. This should not be a big deal,
but something to account for during implementation.
As a side note, this offers some interesting possibilites for using multiple
passphrases and tracking where they propagate through the network.
This might be a weakness, or a method of excorcising rogue peers based
on which passphrases they used, and subsequently which parts of the
network might be compromised...
Any thoughts?
coderman@...
I've been thinking about Brandon's proposal. The problem it has is that
serves requests is based on the hash of the URL, which doesn't make a lot of
sense to me. By merging the Achord proposal with the Crowds stuff, I came up
with the following idea which improves upon the original by reducing
reliance on nodes who hash to certain URLs.
* Proposal
Get the nodes to form a Chord-like circle based on the hash of their IP.
When a node has a request to make, it picks a random node from the set it
knows and forwards it. That node then either fulfills the request (if it
can) or passes it on to another node it knows. This continues recursively
until the request is fulfilled and the response goes back the same way, with
potential caching along the way.
The Chord could be modified in such a way that a host behind the firewall
wouldn't actually join the Chord network. (This assumes nodes know whether
they're being blocked or not.) This would provide greater protection against
mapping the network, since nodes behind the firewall (assumedly nodes we are
most trying to protect) are simply not part of the network.
We could protect the nodes outside the firewall by limiting the number of
nodes that a user can discover to a small number (possibly one or two).
Since the system isn't based on hashing URLs, this shouldn't degrade
performance very much, but may cause a lot of load on some nodes.
This would also allow nodes behind the firewall to use the system without a
specialized client. All they would need to know is the address of one or
more (hopefully unblocked) nodes. Then the user could type the URLs of these
nodes into a standard web browser and get back a "please retrieve this page
for me" form, like the FProxy system.
* Issues
This system might be slower since the final node is unlikely to have the
requested page in its cache. On the other hand, it'll be faster to get to
the final node since we flip coins instead of routing. Also, it will be
faster/safer in the case that the final node is overloaded, or worse, an
enemy.
Hope this is helpful,
--
[ "Aaron Swartz" ; <mailto:me@...> ; <http://www.aaronsw.com/> ]
I've been thinking about Brandon's proposal. The problem it has is that
serves requests is based on the hash of the URL, which doesn't make a lot of
sense to me. By merging the Achord proposal with the Crowds stuff, I came up
with the following idea which improves upon the original by reducing
reliance on nodes who hash to certain URLs.
* Proposal
Get the nodes to form a Chord-like circle based on the hash of their IP.
When a node has a request to make, it picks a random node from the set it
knows and forwards it. That node then either fulfills the request (if it
can) or passes it on to another node it knows. This continues recursively
until the request is fulfilled and the response goes back the same way, with
potential caching along the way.
The Chord could be modified in such a way that a host behind the firewall
wouldn't actually join the Chord network. (This assumes nodes know whether
they're being blocked or not.) This would provide greater protection against
mapping the network, since nodes behind the firewall (assumedly nodes we are
most trying to protect) are simply not part of the network.
We could protect the nodes outside the firewall by limiting the number of
nodes that a user can discover to a small number (possibly one or two).
Since the system isn't based on hashing URLs, this shouldn't degrade
performance very much, but may cause a lot of load on some nodes.
This would also allow nodes behind the firewall to use the system without a
specialized client. All they would need to know is the address of one or
more (hopefully unblocked) nodes. Then the user could type the URLs of these
nodes into a standard web browser and get back a "please retrieve this page
for me" form, like the FProxy system.
* Issues
This system might be slower since the final node is unlikely to have the
requested page in its cache. On the other hand, it'll be faster to get to
the final node since we flip coins instead of routing. Also, it will be
faster/safer in the case that the final node is overloaded, or worse, an
enemy.
Hope this is helpful,
--
[ "Aaron Swartz" ; <mailto:me@...> ; <http://www.aaronsw.com/> ]
FYI, there is a project, under the auspices of the cDc, called
"hacktivismo" or "Project X", which acts as an SSL mixnet
HTTP proxy. I haven't been following the progress in detail
for several months, but it is consistently progressing, to the
best of my knowledge.
The basic idea is to proxy HTTP connections through hosts which can
bypass the firewall. This problem has a couple of parts. First of all,
you need to be able to quickly find a node which is accessible by you
(i.e. not blacklisted) but also able to reach the desired host (i.e. on
the other side of the firewall). Also, you do not want the enemy, who
may also be running a node, to get the master list of all nodes as it
could then add them all to the blacklist.
So, what we need is an unmappable network (i.e. you can only see part of
the network and have trouble finding out about the whole network) which
also quickly lets us find a node with a particular property (it's on the
other side of the firewall).
My best suggestion for this is the Anonymized Chord system. I'm not
going to going it and how it differs from MIT Chord as that is in a
different paper also currently being written. So I'll just describe it's
properties. Anonymized Chord has approximately the same properties as
Chord with the added property that it is difficult to find out about
nodes other than your "ideal set". Your ideal set of nodes is the 160
nodes in the network that most closely match the 160 slots your node has
to fill in its address table. The slots are algorithmically generated
from a node's IP, so it is evident when talking to any node what its
ideal set is. Since it is difficult to harvest IPs which are not in your
ideal set, harvesting a large number of IPs requires running a large
number of nodes, each on a different IP. Since Freenet apparently works
in practice and this is a more difficult attack than would be necessary
to accomplish the same task with Freenet, this system should
sufficiently defend against mapping the network.
The useful property of a Chord network being used in this system is that
it allows for key to be looked up in O(n), so it scales very well to a
lot of nodes. The questions which remains to be answered is how you can
generate a key which will lead you to a node on the other side of the
firewall.
Typically, a key is a 160-bit SHA1 hash. The network routes to the node
whose IP's SHA1 hash most closely matches the key out of all of the
nodes in the network.
My suggestion is to make each node an HTTP proxy in which the URL being
requested is the hashed to generate the key. Of course, this is not a
complete system, but it does have a useful property. It distributes the
load for various URLs among different nodes. It even distributes
multiple requests to different URLs on the same host to different nodes,
aiding slightly in defeating traffic analysis.
One problem with this scheme is that a very popular URL, for instance
http://www.cnn.com/, will have all of its traffic proxied through a
single node. This could be a lot of load on a node. However, this is
easily fixed by making each proxy into a caching proxy. In fact, an
existing caching proxy could be used as the basis for this system as the
only difference in this system is that instead of contacting the host
directly it might request it from another proxy instead. The semantics
of caching, expiry, etc. have all already been worked out, except for
one problem. How do you make sure that none of the caches mess up the
data? That is an orthogonal problem of how to have untrusted caches and
will be dealy with separately.
One thing is still missing from this system. While it can find a node to
use as a proxy, it doesn't find a node which is on the other side of the
firewall to use as a proxy. Somehow a key must be generated which leads
you to the other side of the firewall. To describe the solution, to
this, I must first describe the concept of a jurisdiction.
A jurisdiction is a set of IPs with a particular set of restrictions on
what sites they can contact. Here are some example jurisdictions: China,
Saudi Arabia, USA, Latvia, Sealand. The goal is to find a node in the
same jurisdiction as the site you want to request. If the node which
requests the site is in the same jurisdiction as the site then it should
be able to get to it.
So obviously in order for this system to work the jurisdiction needs to
be in the key. If the jurisdiction is encoded in the most significant
byte of the key then Chord routing will quickly hop through the network
of nodes to the proper jurisdiction and from there proceed to find the
node assigned to the particular URL, for purpose of load balancing.
The problem of putting the jurisdiction in the keys has several parts.
First of all, each node has to be assigned a jurisdiction. So there
needs to be a master list of jurisdictions and what bits they correspond
to. I suggest allocating one byte of the key to jurisdictions, giving
256 possible ones. Each node can set its jurisdiction byte when the
software is installed.
Next, a jurisdiction byte must be assigned to each key being requested.
So when a user requests a URL a jurisdiction byte needs to be tacked on
in order for the proxy to work properly.
There are several ways to generate the jurisdiction byte for the URL.
First of all, the user can select which jurisdiction they are browsing
in the UI that they use to control the proxy. With a properly designed
UI, this could be made so that it's not that much of a pain. Also,
people tend to generally browse things in one jurisdiction at a time.
Another method would be to look up host names in a blacklist file
maintained by a central authority.
There is also the possibility to use the services which map IPs to
geographical locations. The problem with these services is that they
generally require access to a centralized and non-free database. Access
to those services could be blocked.
Anyway, this has gotten too long and so I'll just go ahead and post it
and then follow up later with some clarifications.
The goal is to allow people to view banned websites, particularly in
cases such as China where it is not just an illicit activity but
actually technically challenging due to a firewall blocking traffic to
banned sites. The goal is to find a technical solution to this problem
which is actually deployable in the real world.
Discussion I have had with Freenet users in China and the people behind
Red Rover has yielded some insight into the practical possibilities
regarding firewall evasion in China. I'd be interested in hearing what
anyone might know regarding how other restrictive legal jurisdictions
differ from China.
The first important point is that China (and indeed most censoring
firewalls) works with blacklists. So sites that move around a lot can
evade being blocked. Of course if the channel advertising their current
locations is publically know then it will either get added to the
blacklist or else the firewall maintainers will subscribe to the channel
and continuously update the blacklist.
Another important point is that people are using Freenet in China right
now and it works for them. So while there are a lot of theoretical
issues with potential systems such as whether or not encryption is okay
and how hard it will be to get the software into the firewalled area we
can at least for the moment ignore them. If Freenet is working for the
people then any system with Freenet's problems may still work for the
people.
However, having talked to some Chinese Freenet users it is obvious that
Freenet is not entirely suitable. They want to be able to browse
arbitrary websites, not just ones hosted in Freenet specifically.
So, taking the knowledge that I have about what can actually be deployed
in China, I have designed a system which I think will most perfectly
suit the actual needs of the people attempting to circumvent the Chinese
firewall and also anyone else with similar constraints attempting to
access blocked content. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Change Management
Coaching and management support
The IRG offers services in coaching and management support across areas of Indigenous health and mental health, community engagement and change management. With an extensive network across Canada of coaches and consultants, we can help you find the right partner to help your organization succeed. Contact us to discuss your needs.
Community of Practice for organizations implementing cultural competence and reconciliation
Health and mental health organizations across Canada are committed to doing their part for reconciliation. But what does that look like? It probably involves a number of areas of improvement and change, and each organization will start from a different place. Most organizations likely address the following areas of improvement and change: build the capacity of employees for cultural competence, build effective relationships with local Indigenous communities and partner organizations, adapt organizational processes to be more inclusive of Indigenous knowledge and Indigenous employees, increase cultural safety for Indigenous clients, and practice the art of being an ally for Indigenous wellbeing and inclusion.
The IRG is planning to offering a structured Community of Practice for organizations to continue on their reconciliation journey, based in change management principles. The details have not yet been confirmed, but expect to see a year-long process to learn about organizational cultural competence and change management, organizational cultural competence, the role of ally, and more. It’s an opportunity to share lessons learned as an organizational leader, and learn from leaders across Canada on similar journeys. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an aluminum nitride sintered body that is preferable as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus member such as heater material or electrostatic chuck material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an aluminum nitride sintered body has superior heat resistance and corrosion resistance and has a high thermal conductivity. Thus, an aluminum nitride sintered body is used, in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus (e.g., plasma etching apparatus, plasma CVD apparatus), as base material of an electrostatic chuck for fixing a wafer or a ceramics heater for heating a wafer. For example, a current application for an electrostatic chuck mainly uses a Johnson Rahbeck force as a chucking force. In order to obtain a favorable chucking property, this electrostatic chuck as base material requires a relatively-low volume resistivity of 108 to 1012 Ωcm. However, aluminum nitride itself is high-resistance material having a volume resistivity at a room temperature of 1014 Ωcm or more and thus must have a lower resistivity. Due to the background as described above, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3457495, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-163672, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-55052, and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-262750, the applicant of the present application has developed an aluminum nitride sintered body having a low resistivity of about 108 to 1012 Ωcm by adding rare-earth oxide (e.g., yttrium oxide, cerium oxide, samarium oxide, and europium oxide) to aluminum nitride sintered body.
As described above, the base material used for an electrostatic chuck application requires a volume resistivity of about 108 to 1012 Ωcm in order to obtain a chucking force based on the Johnson Rahbeck principle. However, among ceramic members used in semiconductor-manufacturing apparatuses, there is a case where a lower resistivity is required depending on an application. For example, in a plasma etching apparatus or the like, a ring-shaped ceramic member is placed around the electrostatic chuck to prevent the base substance of the electrostatic chuck from corrosion by halide gas. An insulative ceramic has been conventionally used for this ring-shaped member.
However, to generate uniform and stable plasma on a wafer to be placed on the electrostatic chuck, it is desired to use a material having the volume resistivity equivalent to that of the wafer as the ring-shaped member which is exposed around the wafer. Accordingly, it is necessary to provide the base substance material for the ring-shaped member with electric conductivity equal to or below 104 Ωcm, which represents a semiconductor region equivalent to a silicon wafer, for example. Moreover, a ceramic member having higher electric conductivity can diversify usability not only for semiconductors but also for various applications as an electrically conductive member provided with corrosion resistance, heat resistance and strength.
For example, a method of adding an electrically conductive material such as titanium nitride (TiN) with an insulative ceramic material is known as a method of reducing a value of resistance of a ceramic. However, to obtain the volume resistivity equal to or below 104 Ωcm according to by this method, a large amount of the electrically conductive material equal to or above 20 vol % must be added because it is necessary to form electrically conductive paths inside the ceramic material by use of the electrically conductive material.
However, when such a large amount of the electrically conductive material is added, it is difficult to maintain characteristics properties of the ceramic material being a mother material. For example, when aluminum nitride is used as the mother material, there is a risk of damaging the high thermal conductivity, the heat resistance, and halogen resistance of aluminum nitride. Therefore, to maintain the characteristics properties of the mother material, it is desired to use an additive material which can reduce the value of volume resistivity by adding the material as little as possible.
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described disadvantages. It is an objective of the invention to provide an aluminum nitride sintered body that retains the property unique to aluminum nitride and that has a resistance controlled in a wide range. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has stopped holding weekly press conferences on asylum seeker boat arrivals, instead issuing a written statement with no opportunity for journalists to ask questions.
Mr Morrison put an end to the practice of the Immigration Department announcing asylum seeker boat arrivals in real time, saying this amounted to a ''shipping news service for people smugglers''.
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison. Credit:Ben Rushton
Instead, he pledged to front weekly media briefings on the Coalition's progress in stopping asylum seeker boats. But he provided his last briefing for the year a week ago.
For the first time since late September, Mr Morrison did not appear before the media despite his office insisting he was not on leave. His spokesman would not say when or whether the briefings would resume, saying the government would have more to say on this in the new year. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Q:
Javascript : Set the href attribute of an image map area
How can I address an existing image map area in JS, to set its href property?
A:
Like anything else:
document.getElementById('areaId').href=newLink;
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Products
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Offering mentors, architects, and engineers to work alongside your team, providing assistance and thought leadership throughout the lifecycle of your project
Tell us a little about your software engineering challenges, and we'll help you determine if a transition to an Open Source infrastructure could benefit your organization!
Looking for product support? Our subject matter experts (SMEs) are available to provide technical support for the five Open Source products we maintain: Grails, Micronaut, OpenDDS, TAO, and ACE. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Impact of Tumor Factors on Survival in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Classified Based on Kinki Criteria Stage B2.
Tumors classified based on the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage B hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are heterogeneous in nature. Previously, the Kinki criterion was proposed for a more precise subclassification of tumors in BCLC-stage B. However, tumors in sub-stage B2 include various size and number of HCCs even with the Kinki criteria, which could lead to heterogeneity for overall survival (OS). In this study, we assessed how the size and number of tumors affect the OS and time to progression (TTP) in patients with Kinki criteria stage B2 tumors and treated with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Of 906 HCC patients treated with TACE at Kindai University Hospital, 236 patients with HCC considered as Kinki criteria stage B2 were examined. They were classified into the following 4 groups according to the maximum tumor diameter and number of tumors: B2a group, tumor size ≤6 cm and total number of tumors ≤6; B2b group, size ≤6 cm and number >6; B2c group, size >6 cm and number ≤6; and B2d group, size >6 cm and number >6. The OS and TTP of patients in each group were compared. There were 131 patients (55.5%) in the B2a group, 58 (24.6%) in the B2b group, 41 (17.4%) in the B2c group, and 6 (0.03%) in the B2d group. Comparison of the survivals revealed that the median OS was 2.8 years (95% CI 2.0-3.5) in the B2a group, 2.8 years (95% CI 2.0-3.3) in the B2b group, 1.9 years (95% CI 0.8-4.0) in the B2c group, and 2.3 years (95% CI 1.2-ND [no data]) in the B2d group, respectively (p = 0.896). The median TTP in B2a, B2b, B2c, and B2d sub-substage HCC were13.2, 12.1, 13.8, and 11.5 months, respectively (p = 0.047). The median TTP in B2a + B2c sub-substage patients was longer than that in B2b + B2d sub-substage HCC patients (14.0 months and 10.4 months; p = 0.002). No significant differences were observed in the OS among HCC patients subclassified based on the maximum tumor diameter and tumor number in Kinki criteria stage B2. Consequently, Kinki criteria stage B2 HCC is a homogeneous subgroup in terms of OS prediction. However, shorter TTP in B2b+B2c sub-substage HCC patients than that in B2a + B2c sub-substage HCC patients suggests that different treatment strategy, such as systemic therapy with targeted agents instead of TACE, may be suitable to preserve the liver function. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Have you been with us since the beginning?
Today marks the 5th anniversary of PlayStation Plus and we’d like to thank all of you for being part of five fantastic years.
PS Plus has provided SCEE members with over 350 games since its launch on 29th June 2010 and continues to offer hand-picked titles for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. That’s a lot of games!
It’s also provided members with unforgettable PS4 online multiplayer experiences, with more than 270 million hours being spent playing FIFA 15 online – the same as playing 181.2 million 90-minute football matches!
To celebrate those of you that have been with us from the very beginning, a limited edition gift will be arriving in the mail for those of you that have been part of the journey since the very start. Think you may be one of them? Then keep a close eye on your emails as we’ll be getting in touch today.
Here’s to another five years! | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Strategic nuclear forces have unique communications requirements, which are: (1) global coverage, (2) near 100% availability, (3) long lifetime, (4) low probability of detection/interception (LPI/LPD), (5) able to operate without ground intervention, (6) capable of working through challenging atmospheric environments, (7) capable of working through post-nuclear atmospheric effects, (8) resilient to manmade and natural threats, and (9) providing against natural threats, such as Van Allen radiation belts, solar storms, and geomagnetic storms.
Currently, there are a number of communications systems employed and being developed. However, these systems do not meet all of the requirements. These systems include, but are not limited to, the Military Strategic and Tactical Relay (Milstar) communications network/Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite system, the Lunar Laser Communications Demo (LLCD), the Laser Communications Research Demo (LCRD), and the European Data Relay System (EDRS).
Regarding Milstar/AEHF, AEHF satellites are expensive. In addition, since AEHF satellites are in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO), they are easy to detect and track.
LLCD demonstrated laser communications between the Earth and the Moon. LLCD's space element was placed into lunar orbit and was designed to relay scientific data from the Moon to the Earth. Although laser communications is inherently LPI/LPD, and the lunar orbit provides some resiliency to threats, LLCD does not provide global coverage, high availability, long lifetime, or the ability to operate without ground intervention.
LCRD is a planned GEO satellite being developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a laser communications technology demonstration. However, LCRD is to be located in and easily detectable GEO and does not provide global coverage, high availability, long lifetime, or the ability to operate without ground intervention.
EDRS is a planned GEO-based satellite system being developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) that utilizes an optical crosslink between two satellites. EDRS does not provide global coverage, high availability, long lifetime, or the ability to operate without ground intervention.
As such, there is a need for an improved communications system that is able to meet all of the strategic nuclear forces requirements. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Concerns have been raised that the transplants performed in the local context at the time of procedures reported in this article \[[@pone.0220430.ref001]\] may have involved organs/tissues procured from prisoners \[[@pone.0220430.ref002]\].
Details as to the donor sources and methods of obtaining informed consent from donors were not reported in \[[@pone.0220430.ref001]\], and when following up on these concerns the authors did not clarify these issues or the cause(s) of donor death in response to journal inquiries. International ethical standards call for transparency in organ donor and transplantation programs and clear informed consent procedures including considerations to ensure that donors are not subject to coercion \[[@pone.0220430.ref003],[@pone.0220430.ref004],[@pone.0220430.ref005]\].
The authors state that no vulnerable populations were involved in their research and all organs were obtained voluntarily but did not provide ethics approval documentation or consent forms to support their claim or clarify whether organs had been procured from prisoners.
The authors did not respond to inquiries about the availability of underlying data supporting this study.
Owing to the lack of documentation to demonstrate this study had prospective ethical approval, insufficient reporting, unresolved concerns around the source of transplanted organs and whether they included organs from prisoners, and in compliance with international ethical standards for organ/tissue donation and transplantation, the *PLOS ONE* Editors retract this article.
The corresponding author notified the journal that all authors disagree with the retraction. The other authors either could not be reached or did not respond directly.
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Estimating the risk of chemotherapy toxicity in older patients with cancer: The role of the Vulnerable Elders Survey-13 (VES-13).
Some parameters of the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) are predictive of chemotherapy toxicity. The Vulnerable Elders Survey-13 (VES-13) is a short instrument that has been tested as a means of identifying patients who need a full CGA, but its ability to predict chemotherapy toxicity is still unclear. We performed a pooled analysis of four published clinical trials studying VES-13 as a means of diagnosing vulnerability, in order to evaluate its accuracy in predicting the risk of grade 3/4 toxicity in older patients undergoing chemotherapy. The study involved patients aged ≥ 66 years with a diagnosis of solid or hematological cancer, all of whom were administered VES-13. The number of medications taken by each patient, their comorbidities, their Cumulative Illness Rating Scale for Geriatrics (CIRS-G) score and index, the type of chemotherapy and treatment line, and their Mini Mental State Evaluation (MMSE), and Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) scores were recorded. Information was available concerning the grades 3-4 hematological and non-hematological toxicities experienced by each patient. The study involved 648 patients aged ≥ 66 years (mean age 76.2±4.5, range 66-90) of whom 336 (51.9%) were female. VES-13 identified 287 patients (44.3%) as vulnerable. Grades 3-4 hematological and non-hematological toxicities were more prevalent in the vulnerable subjects (35.2% vs 20.8%, p<0.0001, and 18.5% vs 10.8%, p=0.0055), who were also at higher risk of both (adjusted ORs 2.15, 95% CI 1.46-3.17, p<0.001); and 1.66 (95% CI 1.02-2.72, p=0.043). VES-13 could be considered to be a good candidate for future prospective studies to assess older patients with cancer at risk of toxicity. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
South African Private-Healthcare Inquiry to Proceed Until 2015
April 16 (Bloomberg) -- South Africa’s Competition
Commission will start its probe into the private-healthcare
industry even as hospital operator Netcare Ltd. objects to the
use of accountants KPMG in the inquiry.
The investigating panel plans to make its initial findings
and recommendations available for public comment in October
2015, Chairman Sandile Ngcobo said in a presentation to
reporters in Johannesburg today. This will follow public
hearings planned for March and April next year.
“There is no interference,” Ngcobo said, when asked about
the Netcare complaint. “What we are saying is that the market
inquiry has commenced.”
Netcare applied to the South Gauteng High Court in January
to challenge the commission’s use of KPMG as its technical
service provider because the consultant had also done work for
the Johannesburg-based health company.
The inquiry aims to determine factors that restrict
competition and cause rising private healthcare prices. The
panel was announced on Jan. 30 to preside over the investigation
and produce final recommendations to the regulator. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B, nonvolatile (NV) semiconductor memory 10 may include flash memory, static random access memory (SRAM), nitride read only memory (NROM), phase change memory, magnetic RAM, multi-state memory, etc. The NV semiconductor memory 10 may include one or more arrays 16 that may each be arranged on one or more memory chips. The arrays 16 may include data structures, such as blocks and pages. The arrays 16 may therefore be arranged as B blocks 18-1, 18-2, . . . , and 18-B (collectively referred to as blocks 18).
In FIG. 2A, each block 18 includes P pages 20-1, 20-2, . . . , and 20-P (collectively referred to as pages 20). In FIG. 2B, each page 20 may include memory cells that are associated with a data portion 24 and may include other memory cells that are associated with an overhead data portion 26, such as error correcting code (ECC) data or other (O) overhead data.
Referring now to FIG. 2C, a memory drive may include one or more arrays 16-1, 16-2, . . . , and 16-C (collectively referred to as arrays 16) and each include blocks 18. Usually, the control module addresses the memory drive according to a hardwired physical block size. Pages 20 in the blocks 18 may also have a hardwired physical page size and may therefore be referred to as physical pages. The number of memory cells in the data and overhead portions of the pages 20 may also be hardwired.
For example only, a NAND flash array may include 2048 blocks for a total of 2 Gigabytes (GB) of memory. Each block may include 128 kilobytes (KB) in 64 pages. Each page 20 may include 2112 bytes. Of the 2112 bytes, 2048 bytes may be associated with the data portion and 64 bytes may be associated with the overhead portion. Each memory cell may store a bit.
The memory control module erases pages 20 and blocks 18 according to predetermined erase blocks 29-1, 29-2, . . . , and 29-R (collectively referred to as erase blocks 29). The memory control module generally requires data in an entire erase block to be erased simultaneously.
A host device may initiate a read operation and provide data files to the memory control module that are arranged in multiples of allocation units (AUs) of predefined size that fit in a physical block. AUs correspond to the smallest logical amount of memory space that can be allocated by the control module to store a file and may therefore be referred to as logical pages. Groupings of logical pages may be referred to as logical blocks.
When a write command is issued, data is sent in multiples of logical block size to the memory control module. The memory control module allocates the exact number of physical pages 20 to accommodate the logical pages. Even when ECC is used on logical page data, the number of parity bits are kept within the number of spare bits per overhead portion of a respective physical page. Therefore, one (ECC) coded logical page fits in an integer number of physical pages, and one coded logical block fits within an integer number of physical blocks. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
This is not a simple question, although it appears to be so. A simple, answer, however, acknowledges the complexity while recognizing that Geertz’s focus on systems of symbols, “pervasive, long lasting moods and motivations” and “aura of facticity” were used by Douglas J. Davies in his the Mormon Culture of Salvation to great effect.
Yes, Geertz’s definition can fit Mormonism.
However, a more critical look at the definition, that takes into account problems with the notion of symbols and their formation, power, the difficulty of system, breaks in pervasiveness, and problems with perceptions of facticity as are also found in anthropological work, can also be used to make sense of Mormonism.
The question, however, asks if it is a religious system according to Geertz. Well, that is more difficult because Geertz is focusing on system as defining religion and not religion as defining system. Mormonism has system and it functions as a religion. Despite the analytical concerns here, I would still argue that Geertz’s definition productively fits Mormonism.
Douglas J. Davies also wrote in to recommend that you read his book in which he engages this question at length:
Q: “Does being LGBT in a non-affirming environment, such as the LDS Church, contribute to worse mental health outcomes and quality of life scores than an individual would have in an affirming environment?”
A: Luckily, there is a growing body of research that specifically addresses this question. A number of articles have come out just in the last year that present the results of a survey of LGBTQ individuals who are or were members of the LDS Church. Among the publications are a number of findings that directly address this question.
For instance, in Dehlin, Galliher, Bradshaw, and Crowell 2015, the authors note that LGB individuals fall into four categories when it comes to their relationship with religion (similar to other research on this topic):
Individuals who reject their LGB identity (5.5% of their sample)
Individuals who compartmentalize their sexual and religious identities (37.2% of their sample)
Individuals who rejected their religious identity (53% of their sample)
Individuals who integrated their religious and sexual identities (4.4% of their sample)
After categorizing the participants in their survey into these groups, they then compared these groups on a variety of measures, including some related to mental health and quality of life. Individuals in the first two groups had the worst mental health outcomes. Specifically, members of the first two groups had statistically significantly higher scores on internalized homophobia, identity confusion, and depression than did individuals in the other two groups. Individuals in the last group, who were quite rare, actually fared well, but were unlikely to live in Utah and had lots of family support, allowing them to integrate their sexual and religious identities.
In another study drawing on the same data set, Crowell, Galliher, Dehlin, and Bradshaw 2015, found that more active LGB members of the LDS Church had statistically significantly higher levels of both minority stress indicators (i.e., higher levels of internalized homophobia, greater need for privacy or concealment, greater need for acceptance, greater identity confusion, greater difficulty in coming to terms with and disclosing sexual identity, and higher levels of prejudice against heterosexual individuals) as well higher levels of depression. This research aligns with other research with similar findings outside the LDS Church (Herek, Gillis, and Cogan 2009).
In short, the existing research to date does indicate that participation in a non LGBTQ affirming, conservative, organization like the LDS Church does result in worse mental health and quality of life outcomes than does not affiliating with such an organization.
Q: Do you have any insight on how often a spouse leaving the church leads directly to divorce? I am most interested in the statistic for divorce attributed primarily to the spouse changing their beliefs and controlled for other behaviors that are independent of simply no longer believing or participating.
A: Arland Thornton provided a citation that had a statistic on this. He found the statistic in a post by Bob McCue:
“And what of my relationship with my wife and children? My wife and I were on the brink of divorce because she could not respect and love me as I am now in the fashion she did the priesthood leader I used to be. I could feel a loss of intimacy – an emptiness and sorrow where her love for me used to be. Something had died between us. Thankfully, she now recognizes the legitimacy of my concerns respecting the Church’s influence in our lives and the importance of ensuring that our children are raised with an understanding that religious matters are not clear-cut. The world is full of shades of grey, and the Church is no different. And while she continues to be an active and faithful member, she respects what I have done and supports me. We made it over the precipice with nothing to spare. I recently became aware of an unpublished master’s degree thesis in anthropology at a Canadian university that surveyed LDS returned missionaries who had gone through something similar to what I have, and found an 80% divorce rate. That does not surprise me given my recent experience.”
Unfortunately, Bob McCue did not note what that unpublished Master’s thesis was, so we don’t have a specific reference on this.
I (Ryan Cragun) did a little more sleuthing on this topic as I was wondering if there might be a dataset that could provide some information on this. What I found is far from perfect, but may be helpful to you. The General Social Survey (GSS) asks participants their religious affiliation at the time of the survey (variable = “relig”) and when they were 16 (variable = “relig16”). If respondents indicated “Mormon” as their religion, that gets coded into separate variables (Mormon at present = 64 in the variable “other”; Mormon at 16 = 64 in the variable “oth16”). Combining these two variables, it’s possible to isolate individuals who were Mormon at 16 but have since left the religion (there are 186 such individuals in the combined 1972-2014 GSS data set).
Of those 186 individuals, 46 had never married, which means they were never at a risk of divorcing. Of the remaining 140 who had married, 34 were currently divorced or separated at the time of their participation in the survey, for a divorce/separation percentage of 24%. Compare that to individuals who were Mormon at 16 and still Mormon at the time of the survey: their divorce/separation percentage was 11%. In other words, individuals who left the Mormon Church were more than twice as likely to divorce than did those who stayed.
This is somewhat problematic for several reasons. First, the variable for marital status (“marital”) does not indicate whether the respondents have ever divorced (there is a variable that asks that, but it’s not included in every wave of the survey). So, it is likely that the percentage of respondents indicating they are currently divorced is lower than the percentage who have ever divorced. Second, the GSS does not include a variable indicating when people left a religion or switched their religious affiliation. As a result, we can’t say that those who left the religion did so when they were married. Third, we don’t know what the cause of divorce or separation was. The higher rate of divorce among those who left the LDS Church could be due to a number of other factors and not exclusively the result of them having left the LDS Church.
Taking all of the above into account, data from the General Social Survey suggest that about 1 in 4 people who were Mormon at 16 but have since left the religion have divorced or separated from their spouse, versus about 1 in 10 who remained Mormon.
In the interest of looking just a little further into this, I also examined whether marital satisfaction was higher among Mormons married to Mormons (variable in the GSS is “spoth”) versus Mormons married to non-Mormons. Turns out, marital satisfaction is significantly and substantially higher among Mormons married to other Mormons. Of the 315 Mormons who were married to other Mormons, 71% said their marriage was very happy, 28% said it was pretty happy, just 1.6% said it was not too happy. Of the 69 Mormons married to non-Mormons, 54% said their marriage was very happy, 36% said it was pretty happy, and 10% said it was not too happy. Admittedly, these numbers are rather small, but they are sufficient to find that the differences in marital satisfaction are statistically significant (Chi-Square = 17.169, p < .001). Again, these numbers are not a direct answer to the question since it isn’t clear whether those who are married to non-Mormons are married to people who used to be Mormon or someone who never was Mormon. Even so, they do indicate that Mormons who are not married to other Mormons have substantially lower marital satisfaction than do Mormons who are married to Mormons, which would likely increase the odds of divorce and separation.
Overall, it does not appear as though there is a readily available citation to answer your question. However, evidence does seem to suggest that the odds of divorce increase when one member of a couple leaves the LDS Church.
Q: I am writing a paper on the concept and image of God in Mormonism (with a focus on the LDS Church). My question therefore is, if you can name any specific ‘must read’ articles that deal with this topic? Are there any scholars, Mormon or from other denominations, that have particularly dealt with this topic, it’s historical development and effect on the religious lives of Mormons?
Q: Where could I find demographic information regarding both number and relative growth over time of American LDS members who were either educated in, or work within, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields?
A: Andrew Miles provided a very helpful and succinct answer for this question:
I believe all of the following surveys have fairly extensive occupational information, as well as at least some LDS in the sample. It will be a bit of work, but perhaps by looking at several a person could get a sense for how members of the LDS church of different ages are related to STEM fields. Unfortunately, all have a limited number of LDS in their samples.
The General Social Survey (repeated cross-section, so can possibly trace over time)
The Health and Retirement Study (older)
National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
Ryan Cragun also recommended the General Social Survey.
Pulling and classifying the relevant data will take some doing if you use the GSS. First, you’ll need to use the variable “OTHER” to locate members of the LDS Church (codes are 59, 60, and 62). You’d then need to choose between (or maybe use all three) of the following variables to determine participants’ occupations: “INDUSTRY” (pre 1980), “OCC80” (uses 1980 census occupation codes), or “OCC10” (uses 2010 census occupation codes). You’ll then need to use Appendix F from the GSS to determine which census codes belong to the various STEM fields. This will likely take the longest time (I considered doing it, but it looks like it’s going to take at least several hours). Once you figure the codes out, you could probably recode the data into STEM versus non-STEM and then maybe look over time (probably by decade). That’s how I’d do it.
Q: I’m thinking about doing a serious paper on the previous occupations of Mormons who are called into senior leadership positions (Apostles, various Quorums of the Seventy, Area presidencies, mission presidents, stake presidencies, etc). I was wondering if anyone can give me some good pointers as to where to start?
A: Several members of the MSSA responded with helpful suggestions.
Robert Lively Jr. gave the following suggestion:
The magazine Church News (which comes together with my copy of the newspaper Deseret News) features pictures and short bios of new mission presidents and their wives. Their occupations are generally included in the write-ups. As you know, given the expectations of what is required of mission presidents — putting their lives and careers on hold for three years — means that they typically are well educated, have financial resources to see them through the period, and can expect to return and pick up where they left off (although I certainly have heard of mission presidents who returned to dire financial straits.) The magazine also features new temple presidents.
Armand Mauss offered the following:
I don’t think this information is compiled anywhere in a single place or reference book, though it would be worth asking someone in both Public Affairs and in Research Information. Usually a leader’s occupation at the time of his call is mentioned in the article announcing the call. Such articles usually mention also his date and place of birth, wife’s name, number of children, educational attainment, home stake, previous callings, etc. These articles usually appear in the Ensign and/or in the Church News, at least for the general and area authorities. I’m not sure that comparable information for mission presidents and stake presidents can be found in these periodicals, at least not systematically. As an example, see this account about Elder Robbins from the May Ensign – plus comparable articles about other newly called leaders in the same issue. Such a time-consuming study will be overwhelming if one attempts to cover totally a long chronological period. Perhaps a sample, starting with just 2013, would be enough for an initial paper on the subject. After that, if it goes well, one might attempt a larger sample based, let’s say, on every other year for a given decade, or even two decades. Especially noteworthy, in my recollection, is the proportion of area and general leaders from outside the US who have already had careers as employees of the Church in welfare, CES, etc.
Tim Heaton noted:
The Church Almanac published by the Deseret News has biographical information, including occupation, about General Authorities.
Mary Jane Woodger offered the following:
I use a packet in my Teachings of the Living Prophets called Know Them That Labor Among You. That has at least the current 17s previous occupations available and you can get one at BYU bookstore.
Ryan Cragun also suggested:
This sounds like an interesting project. Do you have some sort of theoretical framework that is guiding the project? As some of the prior responses suggested, it’s likely many of these individuals are well-educated and successful. But why is that the case and what does it mean for the church if that is true? I would think about both the “why” and the implications of the “why” as you head into the project. Considering those issues may result in a paper with an engaging and compelling conclusion.
Q: Where can I find current statistics on the demographics of LDS family structures? Specifically, I am wanting figures on percentages of LDS families that fit the heteronormative nuclear family model prescribed in LDS texts such as “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” 1995.
A: Tim Heaton, the leading expert on the demographics of Mormons, suggested several of his publications:
Additionally, he recommended an article from the Encyclopedia of Mormonism that is available online: Vital Statistics.
Ryan T. Cragun provided a couple of figures from the General Social Survey to illustrate the current statistics (well, relatively current statistics; in order to have sufficient cases he aggregated data from 1990-2012). The first figure shows the marital status of Mormons. Using the Mormons in the GSS from 1990-2012, 60% were married, 16% were never married, 2% were separated, 12% were divorced, and 10% were widowed.
(click for larger size)
The second figure looks just at the married Mormons in the GSS and shows that 87% of those who are married have kids; 13% do not.
Q: Are you aware of any studies or research relating to LDS home teaching, its history, relationship to similar home visitation that John Calvin instituted, or setting it in a sociological or anthropological background?
A: We received three responses from members of the MSSA.
Benjamin Pykles noted five publications in Mormon History on home teaching at the BYU library, including:
Home Teaching–Attempts by the Latter-day Saints to Establish an Effective Program during the Nineteenth Century by Phelps, Gary L. 1975
Changes in the Numbers and the Priesthood Affiliation of the Men Used as Ward Teachers in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1908-1922 by Israelsen, Vernon L. 1975
A Documentary History of the Lord’s Way of Watching Over the Church by the Priesthood Through the Ages by Anderson, Rex A. 1974
Elijah F. Sheets : The Half-century Bishop by Pace, D. Gene 1985
Home Teaching by Hartley, William G. 2000
Jeffery Johnson recommended a book with important research on the history of home teaching (formerly called “Block Teaching”):
My Fellow Servants: Essays on the History of the Priesthood, by William G. Hartley, (Provo, Utah: BYU Studies, 2010)
Armand Mauss suggested that you also contact Reid Neilson or another librarian at the LDS Library/Archives. You can ask a librarian here. He also suggested you consider contacting a member of the Church Research Information Division.
Q: Having recently read Johnnie Glad’s study of the Latter Day Saints’ missions to Norway in the C19th I have become intrigued by the idea that the English Quakers who advised and supported the tiny number of Norwegian Friends in the C19th may have been aware of the LDS missions both in Norway and in England. I would therefore like to ask if there is evidence of LDS-Quaker interactions or indeed, of any LDS missions in North-east England in the C19th. There are several LDS churches in the North-east at present, but I have found it difficult to locate relevant archival material in order to date their congregations. I am trying to gain a sense of whether Quakers viewed the LDS as a rival both in Norway and in the NE (as they may have seen Methodists some decades earlier) or if they were unlikely to have known much about them (although I find this less likely, at least in the Norwegian context, as the LDS were in Stavanger, Norway at around the same time as the Quakers).
A: This was a tricky question for the MSSA as it is more historical than social scientific, but we had some excellent responses.
First, Benjamin Pykles noted that there is a very nice resource on the LDS Church’s website for historical queries: Ask a Librarian. For individuals asking historical questions in the future, this is a good resource.
Second, Michael Nielsen contacted several individuals who are better connected on the historical side of things (Michael Van Wagenen and Matt Bowman) and here was the response from Matt Bowman:
Hey, folks – Mormon missiology is a sadly underdeveloped field. I don’t know this off the top of my head either, alas; the people it seems to me would be best to ask are David Whittaker (who just retired as manager of the Mormon collections in the BYU library’s special collections) or Ron Esplin (director of the Joseph Smith Papers documentary editing project). Whittaker’s done the most work on early Mormon missions of anybody I know, and he and Esplin co-wrote a history of the 1837-1841 mission of several Mormon leaders to the British Isles, which was both the first Mormon mission to the country and wildly successful. As I said, Whittaker just retired; the search to replace him is underway right now. His email at BYU was [email protected]; I don’t know if he still checks it or not, alas. Esplin’s email, I believe, is [email protected].
Finally, another MSSA member, Shawn Bennion, received a very helpful response from Michael Bennion, who provided a number of very useful links:
Q: In the 1973 missionary system The Uniform System for Teaching Families, Tracting approaches included “business contacting,” which included going to businesses and asking to speak with “managers, directors, and other executive and supervisory personnel,” to make appointments to give a family home evening to the families of these men in their homes. In addition, missionaries were challenged to “seek invitations to speak to men’s service and civic organizations.” Based on this information, I have two questions:
Are there any studies that focus on the marketing targets of Mormon missionary work, including which segments of each market are most targeted?
Does any data exist that breaks down the occupations of Mormons, both of converts and non-converts?
A: The answer to the first question is pretty straightforward: No. Of course, that is only referring to published studies. It is possible that the researchers working for the LDS Church have information on this question, but that information has not been made public and a request would have to be directed toward them to find out if they: (a) have that information, and (b) would share it.
There is some data available on the occupations of Mormons. Two members of the MSSA wrote in with suggestions.
Andrew Miles noted, “Though it probably won’t be helpful given small sample sizes of Mormons, there are a few nationally representative data sets that have a few Mormons in them, as well as occupation information. The Health and Retirement Study will get older/retired Mormons (about 100 or so), and the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (1979 cohort) has somewhere between 50-100 as well. You might also look at the National Study of Youth and Religion, which has some Mormons in it and probably has occupation data as well. None of these data have information about non-converts, nor, I think do they provide information about whether or not someone is a convert (though you might be able to deduce it from changing religious affiliation, since all are longitudinal).”
Matthew Butler suggested that IPUMS International would be a good source to identify Mormon occupations internationally (although you will not be able to identify convert status):
From a quick glance it appears that the following country-years have Mormon religious identification and occupation:
Argentina 2001
Brazil 1991, 2000
Chile 2002
Mexico 2000, 2010
Philippines 1990, 2000
South Africa 1996, 2001
Finally, there is some data in the General Social Survey on Mormons and occupational codes. While it requires some data manipulation and familiarity with the data set, Mormons can be identified (found in variable “OTHER”, code is 64) and some degree of conversion can as well (use OTH16 and the same code 64). The occupational codes aren’t included for every Mormon, but there are some. Ryan Cragun ran the occupational codes from 1970 (OCC) on various categories of Mormons (lifetime, convert, former, and adult but convert status not known) and created a spreadsheet with the resulting information. The spreadsheet doesn’t include all of the Mormons in the GSS, as not all of them have a code for the 1970 occupation categories; more have it for the 1980 occupational categories (OCC80). You can see the spreadsheet here and a PDF version here. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Evolving issues in the management of reflux disease?
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common chronic disorder often successfully treated, although there are several evolving issues in management. We reviewed the issues related to unmet needs over the past 12 months. A substantial number of patients fail to respond adequately to once or even twice daily proton pump inhibitor (PPI). There is no standard definition of PPI failure in GERD; a universally accepted definition for treatment success is also not available. Differentiation between erosive esophagitis and nonerosive reflux disease can be made but requires endoscopy; but studies still confuse functional heartburn and nonerosive reflux disease, which impacts management. Acid reflux plays an important role in GERD pathogenesis and the precise role of acid requires more studies of differences between erosive esophagitis and nonerosive reflux disease symptom generation and the implication of nocturnal acidification. Several possible mechanisms may explain GERD refractory to PPIs. Management of PPI nonresponders remains a challenge. Objective and precise evaluation of symptoms and treatment response requires study in high-quality trials. New therapeutic approaches are under investigation to answer unmet needs and improve erosive esophagitis healing rates and symptom control. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
599 F.2d 1051
Ed Smith Ford, Inc., In re***
No. 79-1288
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
7/19/79
1
S.D.Tex.
AFFIRMED
*
Summary Calendar case; Rule 18, 5 Cir.; see Isbell Enterprises, Inc. v. Citizens Casualty Co. of New York et al., 5 Cir., 1970, 431 F.2d 409
**
Local Rule 21 case; see NLRB v. Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, 5 Cir., 1970, 430 F.2d 966
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Podcast
Recent Comments
About The IGF
IndieGames.com is presented by the UBM TechWeb Game Network, which runs the Independent Games Festival & Summit every year at Game Developers Conference. The company (producer of the Game Developers Conference series, Gamasutra.com and Game Developer magazine) established the Independent Games Festival in 1998 to encourage innovation in game development and to recognize the best independent game developers.
I first came across Santa Ragione in 2010, when the small studio released first-person running game Tales of Unspoken World. The title formed the basis for the wonderful Fotonica, one of the most intriguing indie releases of 2011.
Even then, it was obvious that the Milan-based company was meant to great things. Then at the start of 2012, the team took part in the Global Game Jam, and MirrorMoon was born -- a first-person exploration puzzler that has now been nominated for the Nuovo award at the IGF.
Santa Ragione's Pietro Righi Riva and Nicolo Tedeschi worked alongside fellow Italian indie Paolo Taje of Bloody Monkey on the game, and the trio is now planning to expand on the concept off the back of its popularity.
As part of Gamasutra's Road to the IGF series, Riva discusses where the idea for MirrorMoon came from, and why game jams are so important to indie studios.
Paolo Taje made a cool arena-shooter called Naac and a game design tool called LAYERS. Aside from that, between the three of us, we've probably worked on twenty or so small prototypes (many of them currently unreleased).
We have basically no experience in the traditional game industry and we often question what we do, possibly because we feel a little alienated in a world we don't always understand. We've always played games, but at Santa Ragione we lack any programming background. We are, technically speaking, a designer and an artist. I think the stuff we studied at university has been very helpful in finding a style and a design practice. But, like many, our experience was built working on game after game.
What development tools are you using to develop MirrorMoon?
MirrorMoon is made in Unity3D and all the assets in Blender. Of the three of us working on MirrorMoon, only Paolo has some professional programming skills, but using an engine like Unity enables all of us to work on the game.
How long have you worked on the game?
The game was almost entirely crafted during the two days of the Global Game Jam 2012 in Genova. We put an extra eight hours into it after that, mainly to solve game breaking bugs and misleading splash screens ("better enjoyed with joypad" became "vaguely compatible with joypad").
After that, the game was, to our surprise, selected for last year's Experimental Gameplay Sessions at GDC2012. So we designed a brand new, unreleased level to see where the game could go and to have something new to show on stage (it was not part of the IGF submission).
How did you come up with the concept?
We started with the GGJ theme, the Ouroboros -- the snake biting its tale. The first idea was to build something that was based on a recursive system and at the same time on the idea of endlessness. A sphere is a closed system, a system that, lacking any other kind of visual reference, becomes infinite if you see it from a bi-dimensional perspective.
This generated the initial game concept of being on a sphere with a first person perspective, such that the camera is so near to the horizon that you almost feel like you are walking on a plane. We first wanted to superimpose two representations of this system, one where it shows that you are walking in a circle and one where you have the illusion of progressing indefinitely.
We asked ourselves, "what if these two representations coexisted in the same physical space?" instead of, say, using two different cameras or GUI elements like maps. We ended up designing the recursive system of the moon and the beacon pointer to create landmarks.
Can you explain exactly how the game works, and what you're supposed to do, for anyone who is intrigued yet confused by the various videos and screenshots.
It would be really easy to spoil the game with too much explanation, since part of the enjoyment is how little is explicitly revealed to the player. MirrorMoon is a game about getting lost in an empty space, and finding your way without knowing where you are going or what your objectives are. It's about space perception and a tribute to space exploration: fictional space, cosmic space as well as physical space.
All you see around you is flat red ground, but you'll soon realize this desert world is hiding some strange structures and tools. In order to navigate the planet, players have to understand the relationship between the red satellite and the main planet, and how tools and buildings interact.
What do you think it is about MirrorMoon that has captured the attention of the IGF judges, such that they believed it was worthy of the Nuovo award?
This nomination was honestly very unexpected. We hope that the reason why they chose it is that, although it's a little confusing, it presents a consistent, unusual experience. It's an attempt at experimental narrative in games, where the unsettling feelings of displacement and inadequacy are conveyed through interaction.
We wanted to talk about science fiction, and to create something that makes you experience space and lets you play around with perception in a way that is different from how books or movies approach it.
The game first came about as a result of the Global Game Jam. How important are game jams to your team and, in general, to the indie community?
Jams are extremely important: they are a very inspiring and humbling form of collaboration, where you get to work with people from whom you can learn a lot, or surprise yourself with your own contributions you didn't think you were capable of. Plus, we find the time limit really forces us to solve problems in unusual ways.
We believe jams are essential to indie communities, because they offer deadlines and the pressure needed to actually complete a project. For us, they are an excellent tool to try out new ideas and work with new people. We organize jams as part of our Lunarcade collective. We even do board game jams, which are tons of fun because you can start literally playing with your game ideas straight away.
What are the next steps in the development of the game? What is your vision of the final product?
Well, we worked some more on MirrorMoon and it turned out to be a really hard game to expand, because it's more similar to an adventure game like Myst than, say, Portal. Now we are thinking about developing MirrorMoon into a bigger release and working on different solutions.
One idea is to have many different scenarios where each one works in its own peculiar way. As mentioned, the problem with this kind of game is that the interesting part is solving the mystery of how the system works. In order to expand the game, we'd have to create several interesting puzzles that work in entirely different ways.
In terms of vision, we imagine a consistent world and a coherent aesthetic (that we have been developing, see also Street Song): we imagine different chapters with a common flavor and look that slowly come together as the game progresses.
Have you played any of the other IGF finalists? Any games you particularly enjoyed?
Let's start with this year's masterpiece: Cart Life. Back in June we tweeted that it deserved to be at IGF and we were right! Forgive the effusive praise, but Cart Life really pushes the medium forward like few games before, in terms of narrative and meaningful interaction.
As I mentioned before, we organize these Lunarcade exhibitions where we show selections of particularly expressive games. Because of that, we are constantly hunting for new games and we end up playing the majority of this year's finalists. Stanley Parable is absolutely worth checking out, as is the beautiful Kentucky Route Zero.
Dys4ia is one of the most important games of this year, and maybe the first truly autobiographical game. Little Inferno is a gem, extremely polished and perfectly captures the perverse pleasure of burning things with similarly perverse plot and graphics.
If there are still readers of indiegames.com that haven't played FTL: go get it now! We would also recommend LiquidSketch: we haven't seen anything this impressive in the genre since Crayon Physics in 2009.
All in all, this year's list of finalists is full of great games. There is a nice variety of titles with different scopes. We loved Thirty Flight of Loving, we played a lot of Super Hexagon on iPhone, Incredipede on PC, and we were extremely impressed with the narrative quality of Bientot l'ete (which debuted publicly at Lunarcade Sydney in August 2012). Hotline Miami is also a very solid and polished game. Ah, don't forget to try Spaceteam!
What do you think of the current state of the indie scene?
Just by looking at the previous answer, you can see that the indie scene is in great shape! Lots of talented people and lots of tremendous output. The diversity and maturity is visibly increasing, finally.
It is still hard to make a living out of it, to find a balance between creative autonomy and profitable products. (It hasn't been easy for us in these last three years). Think about new platforms like Kickstarter or Greenlight and the potential they have to steer the direction of a game based on the participation of the fan community: it's great but scary at the same time.
We think "inclusion" has to be the main topic of discussion in the scene and in the industry as a whole: new, different (diverse?) people must join the creative process, and with them we will be able to reach new audiences, and to free ourselves from the traditional stylistic elements that keep us trapped in the "games for gamers" limbo. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
News
Bautista provides punch for Romero
Having struck out a dozen Rangers, Ricky Romero might have figured to have the spotlight to himself on Saturday, but Jose Bautista elbowed in for his share of the fuss, launching two homers and driving in five. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
The Real Clowns
I was recently quoted in a Diana Britton article in Registered Rep. magazine entitled, “Is Tactical Investing Wall Street’s Next Clown Act?” As you might guess from the unfortunate title, the writer trots out the familiar and tired arguments for buy and hold investing. In a nutshell, you should buy and hold because:
1. There is no theoretical basis for doing anything else.
2. There is no proof that active management works.
The author goes on to wonder whether active management is just a marketing ploy, and quotes me saying that financial advisors who buy and hold are in the difficult position of asking clients to be patient after a decade of poor returns. The clear implication is that changing to a tactical approach might not be the best investment strategy, but it’s the easiest thing to do when clients demand higher returns.
Let’s review these points one at a time.
Buy and hold investing, also known as strategic asset allocation, has its theoretical roots in a Nobel Prize winning body of work known as Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT). MPT provides an algorithm that, as commonly used, utilizes average returns (means), standard deviation (variances), and correlations to determine the most efficient mix of assets to buy and hold (here, “efficient” describes the mix of securities or asset classes that delivers the highest returns for the least risk). The problem with this use of MPT is that it utilizes historical average data to get to a solution, even though the world is constantly changing and the long-term averages become irrelevant for considerable periods of time. The MPT formula doesn’t recognize the changes in the data. Instead, it gives you one solution for portfolio construction, regardless of changes in the economy. The end result is a portfolio construction that only makes sense if the future returns, correlations, and variances of financial markets equal their averages from the past. While this assumption may be rational, and even statistically and mathematically sound, it’s a lousy way to manage risk. The fact is things change, and markets earn less than average returns when they are expensive. While there is yet no Nobel Prize winning theory to promote tactical and active investing, it does at least offer the comfort of common sense. The theoretical basis for buy and hold investing is a tough case to make once you dig down and understand what you are asked to believe in order for the theory to accord with reality.
Those who continually claim that research shows active management doesn’t work are basing the claim on studies that are irrelevant to the question. The second point — that there is no proof that active management really works — is absolutely true. Of course, there is also no proof that active management, as practiced by Pinnacle Advisory Group, doesn’t work. There’s a reason for that. Virtually every study about active management compares the performance of a style-constrained universe of active managers to a well-defined and easily agreed upon benchmark index. Most studies compare the performance of the universe of equity mutual fund managers to an equity benchmark and find that, on average, mutual fund managers trail the performance of their benchmark. This is typically thought to be because the market is too efficient to beat and because funds carry high fees and expenses. In my book, Buy and Hold is Dead (AGAIN), I discuss the work of Martijn Cremers and Antti Petajisto at Yale University, which presents a third reason for the underperformance: fund managers have become closet indexers. In owning the same securities as the index, they doom themselves to underperform. Using their (Cremers and Petajisto’s) metric of measuring active management, called Active Share, they found that most active managers — the ones who don’t simply mimic the index — significantly outperform on a consistent basis.
But more important than that, the definition used for active management in past studies does not describe what we mean by “active.” Instead of a study where the managers are restricted to owning one asset class, researchers should be looking at the universe of managers who are allowed to own every asset class, with no constraints. Unfortunately, there is no such universe of managers to study! Perhaps the hedge fund world offers a few examples, but the notion of being allowed to invest in any asset class globally with no constraints is so rare that, for now at least, it can’t be studied. So while it is true that I can’t prove the validity of active management beyond offering our own track record of performance, those who continually claim that research shows active management doesn’t work are basing the claim on studies that are irrelevant to the question.
If the challenge is to adhere to an investment philosophy that has the best chance of enabling clients to achieve their financial goals regardless of current market conditions, then tactical and active management is the only practical choice. Finally, there’s the question of active management and marketing. Active managers take on the media and academia in their pursuit of a method of money management that they believe offers clients the best means of navigating dangerous and volatile markets. While articles like this one dismiss active managers as “clowns,” in fact tactical managers are pursuing a craft that requires a great deal of skill. Compare that to buy and hold investors who can pick several mutual funds in a diversified portfolio, check the Morningstar ratings twice a year, ‘fire’ a fund now and then so their clients feel like the advisor is doing something, and then go to client meetings where they basically read the Morningstar fund review, along with the latest news from the Wall Street Journal. For this work, which can be done in a few hours each quarter, they get to charge the same fees as the active managers who dedicate their lives to trying to earn excess returns for their clients. Which of these methods sounds like a better marketing scheme to you?
At the end of the day, buy and hold investing offers clients one methodology for managing risk. MPT tells us, correctly, that diversifying a portfolio of non-correlated asset classes will increase portfolio returns for each increment of risk you take. But MPT says nothing about valuation. Active and tactical managers know that owning overvalued asset classes invalidates every assumption in the buy and hold risk management arsenal. I’m not claiming that active management is easy, or that every advisor should attempt it — in fact, it’s a lousy business model and markets tend to make a mockery of you on a daily basis. However, if the challenge is to adhere to an investment philosophy that has the best chance of enabling clients to achieve their financial goals regardless of current market conditions, then tactical and active management is the only practical choice.
Copyright: / 123RF Stock Photo
Author: Ken Solow
Kenneth R. Solow, CFP®, CLU, ChFC is a founding partner and serves as the Investment Committee Chair of Pinnacle Advisory Group, Inc. As a founding Partner, he was instrumental in creating the tactical asset allocation strategy currently used by Pinnacle to manage $1.9 billion in assets. Solow is nationally known for his views on active portfolio management, and his 2009 book, Buy and Hold is Dead (Again): The Case for Active Portfolio Management in Dangerous Markets, is considered the definitive work on Tactical Asset Allocation. Solow appears regularly at events sponsored by the Financial Planning Association, National Association of Financial Planners, the Investment Management Consultants Association, and the AICPA, and has been published in The Journal of Financial Planning, Smart Money, Financial Planning Magazine, The Baltimore Sun, the Globe & Mail, and the Wall Street Journal.READ KEN'S PROFILE HERE
Pinnacle Advisory Group is a private wealth management firm, founded in 1993 and headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, with offices in Miami and Naples, Florida. We work with more than 1250 families and manage over $2 billion in assets for clients both in the mid-Atlantic region, and around the world.
Our affiliated websites: | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Simona Levi
This article contains material translated from the Spanish Wikipedia's version of this page.
Simona Levi is a theatre director, playwright, activist, technopolitical strategist, cultural manager and curator, multidisciplinary artist, researcher, reporter, teacher and lecturer. Born in Italy and naturalized Spanish, she has been living in Barcelona, Spain, since 1990. She is a prominent activist in European social movements supporting the free circulation of knowledge, culture and information, e-democracy, strategic use of digital tools for organization, communication, collective action and the struggle against corruption. She has also participated in movements in defense of the right to housing and use of public space.
She is a key figure in the establishment of Xnet, the Free Culture Forum, the anticorruption movement 15MpaRato, and the Citizens Group against Corruption at both Catalan and Spanish levels.
Simona Levi is coauthor of the book Tecnopolítica, internet y r-evoluciones - Sobre la centralidad de redes digitales en el #15M1 and editor of Cultura libre digital - Nociones básicas para defender lo que es de todxs, both of which were published in 2012 by Icaria.
Since 2018 she is the academic director of the Postgraduate Course in Technopolitics and Rights in the Digital Era at the UPF Barcelona School of Management, in the Pompeu Fabra University.
In October 2019 she co-authored #FakeYou, Fake news and disinformation - Governments, political parties, mass media, corporations, big fortunes: monopolies of information manipulation and cuts to freedom of expression, published by Rayo Verde.
In 2017 Rolling Stone magazine chose Simona Levi, as the founder of Xnet and for her work with 15MpaRato, as one of 25 people in the world who are shaping the future.
Artistic career
A theatre director, actress and dancer by training, Simona Levi studied performing arts at the Jacques Lecoq School in Paris, where she worked as a programmer in the squatter arts space L’oeil du Cyclone. She started touring as an actress with several companies in 1982, eventually settling in Barcelona in 1990. In 1994 she set up Conservas in the city's Raval neighborhood. This is a venue promoting local, innovative, independent performing arts based on a self-production paradigm.
In 1999 she founded Compañia Conservas, and that same year the company presented its first stage production, Femina Ex Machina, directed by Levi and Dominique Grandmougin. The piece was awarded the FAD Special Critics Price and the Aplaudiment Award, and toured extensively to festivals and theatres in Europe (Spain, France, the UK, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Norway...) for more than two years. In 2003, again with Dominique Grandmougin, she directed the company's second work, Seven Dust, which premièred at the Mercat de les Flors in Barcelona. The production toured through several European countries, including Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Finland, Slovenia and Poland. In 2007, with Marc Sampere, she co-directed the third show by Compañia Conservas, Realidades Avanzadas, which questioned representative democracy and the concept of property. This work is based on the open-source model. At the end of the performance, audience members could take home a CD-ROM with the texts, videos, music and images used in the show. The idea for the production was sparked by a video posted on YouTube in October 2006 that denounced real estate speculation and included footage recorded with a hidden camera in the anti-mobbing office at Barcelona City Council. The video was removed from YouTube at the request of the bank La Caixa, which alleged copyright infringement based on the use of images of one of its branches.
From 2001 to 2011 Simona Levi directed the Performing and Applied Arts Festival InnMotion, which is held at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona. Since 2008 she has managed the stage production of the oXcars.
She is scriptwriter and director of the play Hazte Banquero - Tarjetas Black: todo lo que quisieron ocultarte (Become a Banker: Black Cards, Everything They Wanted to Hide from You), a documentary work staging the “black credit cards” corruption case and revealing the modus operandi of the top management of the bank Caja Madrid by means of a selection from 447 emails sent to and by the bank's president Miguel Blesa. The work was premiered in July 2016 in the Poliorama Theatre, Barcelona, as part of the city's Grec Festival and has also been performed in several venues including the Fernán Gómez Theatre in Madrid and the Rosalia de Castro Theatre in A Coruña. After seeing the show in Madrid, the HSBC whistleblower Hervé Falciani said that he could “see the future” in this dramatization of data.
In 2018 she directed the play Advanced Realities, premiered at the Festival Grec de Barcelona.
Activism
Simona Levi is one of the founders of eXgae (now Xnet), a non-profit association created in 2008 which explores alternative models for cultural diffusion, copyright and democracy in the digital age. Since 2008, Xnet, with the support of Conservas, has organised the annual oXcars, a non-competitive awards ceremony, which puts the spotlight on projects created in different arts disciplines based on the paradigm of free culture.
As a member of Xnet, she is director of the staging of the oXcars and also the coordinator of the FCForum, an international arena in which organisations and experts in the field of free/libre knowledge and culture work towards creating a global strategic framework for action and coordination. She is also a founding member of Red Sostenible (Sustainable Network), a citizen platform created in January 2010 to combat the introduction of the anti-download legislation known as the “Sinde Law” in Spain, and to defend Internet rights. The work of this platform would seem to be of concern to the United States government. A cable from the US ambassador in Spain notes that “[…] these populist advocacy groups are very vocal”.
In 2010, she appeared before the European Union Parliamentary Sub-Committee on Intellectual Property Law reform to defend the proposals contained in the “Charter for Innovation, Creativity and Access to Knowledge”, a document that was drafted collectively by participants of the FCForum. In her presentation, she offered an overview of some of the omissions in the legislation and put forward possible solutions included in the Charter, such as the abolition of Spain's levy for private copying or “canon digital” and the need to reform copyright collecting societies which, she pointed out, “hinder the free circulation of knowledge and sustainability for authors.”
In recent years, she has participated as a speaker and observer at national and international events, where she talks about the Xnet project, the situation of free culture, digital democracy, copyright management, and possible alternatives to the present model. These events include the Ministerial Forum for Creative Europe (The Czech Republic), Transmediale (Berlin), Economies of the Commons (Amsterdam) and the seminar “Sustainable Economy Law and the Internet” organized by the Telecommunications Technical Engineering Faculty at the Technical University of Madrid. As a representative of the FCForum, she is a lobbyist at the European Commission.
Simona Levi is a member of the 15M movement in Spain and of the group 15MpaRato, which filed a lawsuit against the banker and former IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato, an action that launched the Bankia trial in Spain after an anonymous source used the Xnet anticorruption mailbox to give access to the web domain http://correosdeblesa.com with more than 8,000 emails from the Inbox of Miguel Blesa, president of Caja Madrid from 1996 to 2009. These revealed, for the first time, the existence of the so-called Black Cards (tax-free, corporate credit cards for Caja Madrid–Bankia cronies), how the bank bought and sold the City National Bank of Florida, and how the bank's customers were defrauded by the preferred stock scheme. In June 2015 Xnet published a selection of the Blesa emails through four online media sources. The National Court admitted the case and charged Rodrigo Rato and the former board of directors with fraud, falsification of accounts in order to attract investment, and improper management, among other crimes.
Simona Levi is a member of the Grupo Ciudadano contra la Corrupción (Citizens Group against Corruption), a network which works at both Catalan and Spanish levels to strengthen already-existing initiatives to protect whistleblowers, coordinate them and facilitate exchange of information among them. The Spanish branch of the Group was presented at the Free Culture Forum 2015 with the support of Xnet, 15MpaRato, David Fernàndez, former member of parliament for the political party CUP (Popular Unity Candidacy), and the Acción Cívica (Civic Action) platform, among others.
In 2015–2016, as a member of the Advisory Council of the Barcelona City Hall Office for Transparency and Best Practice, she initiated and worked to install the Ethical and Good Governance Box, a complaints box by means of which citizens can denounce corruption and other practices that are damaging for good governance in the city of Barcelona. This mailbox, similar to that already produced by Xnet, is the first such box to be promoted by a government (in this case that of the city of Barcelona). Once the mailbox was presented in public, Levi announced her resignation from the advisory board.
Political career
Levi is one of the coordinators of X Party, a Spanish political party that emerged from the 15-M movement (Indignados movement) and was founded on 17 December 2012. She was second on the X Party ballot for the 2014 European Parliament elections, after the party's first candidate Hervé Falciani.
See also
Xnet
FCForum
oXcars
X Party
References
External links
Xnet website
FCForum website
oXcars website
Conservas website
Rolling Stone: 25 People Shaping the Future
Category:Copyright activists
Category:Italian theatre directors
Category:Italian activists
Category:1966 births
Category:Living people | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
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Yah, I know. Two things wrong with the title. First, most people who fall under the category MG, hate the phrase. Second, isn't it oxymoronic? I mean, Raw Veganism is hippie rabbit food. A diet already restricted by veganism compounded with the inability to heat anything past 104 °F (40 °C) to 115 °F (46 °C). Salads and juices, oh my!
Contrast that with the Modernists, Molecular Chefs, Molecular Gastronomers, what ever they want to be called often cook with ingredients whose usage was pioneered in the industrial food industry. Kitchens like laboratories. Ingredients like Hydrocolloids, Transglutaminase, Tapioca Maltodextrin, and Xanthan Gum.
And first glance these forms of cuisine seem to have nothing in common. New Age Hippies vs. the Avante Garde. Let's dig into some similarities:
Creativity. I think creativity comes from two places: constriction or freedom. Modernism frees you. New textures, new techniques, new, new new. Raw constricts you. Trying to consistently prepare interesting meals when you can't use meat, dairy, and, oh I dunno... your fucking oven, is hard. That constriction led to a lot of innovation. I could go on all day about them, but what you should really do is pick up a copy of Charlie Trotter's and Roxanne Klein's Raw, and have your mind twisted.
Polarizing. Both styles of cooking took a lot of heat for being different and bucking mainstream traditions. Don't get me wrong, I do think that Modernism will absolutely have a bigger impact on the culinary world than raw will. But, people definitely try to throw the baby out with the bathwater on both.
Equipment. Pop quiz time: Is this following a raw or modernist kitchen:
Turns out it's a raw kitchen. Coming from a vegetarian perspective, I had the strangest sense of deja vous when I was researching MG for the first time. Champion juicers, Excalibur Dehydrators, and Vita-Prep Vita-Mix high speed blenders are likely to be found in both kitchens.
While researching this blog post I found a raw foods patent that covers:
A method of agglutinating a raw food selected from the group consisting of fruits, vegetables, sprouted grains, unsprouted grains, sweet syrups, honey, and vegetable powders, said method being carried out in a preparation area with a predetermined relative humidity, which methodcomprises...
Obviously there are plenty of differences. But those aren't important to me today. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Where in the world, would there be no news about the killing of a pregnant woman inside the courtroom? Yes, a 32-year-old Egyptian woman, Marwa Sherbini, was killed inside a German courtroom in Dresden as she waited to testify against a German man who had been convicted for calling her a terrorist in a public park because she wore the hidjab.
To my knowledge, there has been no report in any media in the United States of America. What shocked me the most in this story is the strange silence in the America media. The only report I found on the western side of the Atlantic is an opinion by Tarek Fatah in the National Post of Canada. However, this opinion-writer seems to side with the killer.
Fauzia68, a commentator of his opinion, rightfully denounced Tarek Fatah when he blamed the victim for wearing the hidjab.
Tarek Fatah's opinion on the murder of Marwa Sherbini reminds of Uncle Tom's Cabin. He fits the exact image of a runaway slave who becomes a submissive and all-forgiving loyal soul. In this case, Tarek Fatah became submissive to a Western media that currently blames Muslims for all the ills in the world.
However, he takes it even further; he blames Muslims for being murdered by Westerners and even suggests that Muslim fathers, brothers, and sons should be held responsible when Western men murder Muslim women.
Muslim victims or defendants are always blamed. That is western media. An interesting movie to watch is "Arranged," which follows two elementary school female teachers, a Muslim and an orthodox jew, as they are drawn into mutual friendship. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
MEK/ERK signaling pathway regulates the expression of Bcl-2, Bcl-X(L), and Mcl-1 and promotes survival of human pancreatic cancer cells.
Growth factors are well known for their participation in the regulation of cell proliferation and survival. However, the intracellular signaling pathways by which growth factors promote survival are still poorly understood. In the present study, using the MIA PaCa-2 cell line, a well-established model of pancreatic cancer cells, we analyzed the roles of ERK1/2 activities in the regulation of cell survival and investigated some of the mechanisms involved. The ability of the MEK inhibitor PD98059 to modulate survival of the MIA PaCa-2 cells was evaluated, and the responses were correlated with expression of Bcl-2 homologs and caspases 1, 3, 6, 8, and 9 activities. Herein, we showed that inhibition of ERK1/2 activities caused (1) a G1 arrest; (2) a down-regulation of the expression levels of the anti-apoptotic homologs Bcl-2, Mcl-1, and Bcl-X(L) without affecting the pro-apoptotic levels of Bax and Bak; (3) a promotion of caspases 3, 6, 8, and 9 activities; (4) a stimulation of PARP cleavage; and (5) a programmed cell death by apoptosis. Our data suggest that activation of the ERK pathway functions to protect pancreatic tumor cells from apoptosis as well as to regulate their progression in the cell cycle. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
"I have sand in the weirdest places." "Jones beach?" "Don't be so sure it's sand." "Hold up." "We got hitchers." " Made it." " Ý see that." "Hey." "Hi." "Girls, on the hop." "You gotta get up." "All I want to say is I did not plan this." "Nobody talk." "I'm really stoned." "I'm sorry." "You're like a pound or less." "I see you went in." "I like the water." "Can I quote you on that?" "I'm learning." " Oh my God." "You're a slob." " Shh!" "We have to be quiet." "I have a roommate." "God, I love your shoulders." "You look like you're in the Olympics." "You never stop talking." "It was like the movies." "One minute we're listening" "To a lecture on rhododendrons," "The next, Patricia is driving" "Like a speed racer to the hospital." "And Trudy keeps apologizing in the back seat." "We're saying, "it's okay." "Nobody cares." "You're having a baby!"" "Meanwhile, Campbell's on the back nine" "With his father-in-law, who's also a client." "Well, that's a nice way to end a round." "Ken Cosgrove." "Don't get up." "John Flory." "This is my fiancée Cynthia," "Her parents, ed and Lillian Baxter." " Sorry to interrupt." " Ýt's a pleasure." " Nice to meet you." " Aren't you lucky?" "I'm spending my Sunday night with dodge." "Nice to see you, Ken." "And I'm sorry about, you know." " My condolences." " Oh, David Montgomery?" "I was only there for about six months." "I didn't really know him." "Oh." "Right." "Well, I should be on my way." " Ýt was nice meeting you all." " Mmn." "Flory." "Look, you're with your family." " Ý shouldn't have said anything." " You didn't." "What's going on?" "Lucky strike." "They're coming over to us." "What?" "Look, you didn't hear it from me, okay?" "You're winding me up." "No." "American tobacco came in last Monday," "Said they're moving all the brands to us." "Well, that's not true." "Someone should tell Lee garner Jr." "That." "Sorry." "You okay, son?" "Whenever ad men meet, all they ever do is brag and brag." "It's hard not to get rattled." "Ed, Lillian, you'll have to excuse me." "Sweetheart, I swear to you I wouldn't do this" "If it wasn't serious." "Ken!" "What a pleasant surprise!" "There's nothing much to celebrate yet." "They were going to send Trudy home, but her mother protested." "I sent her for food just to get rid of her." "Anyway, I suppose your visit is premature." " Ý shouldn't use that word around here." " Can I talk to you?" "John Flory, some prick over at b." "B.D.O.," "Just told me that lucky strike is going there." "What?" "You made me wait for you" "While you worked." "I'm not waiting anymore." "I should get it." "Of course." "The kids." " Hello?" " Ýt's Pete." "Have you heard anything about lucky strike leaving?" " No." " Ken heard from somebody at b." "B.D.O" " That Lucky's coming over." " Bullshit." "Call Roger." "I did." "He's out." "Wake Cooper." "Meet me in the office." " What happened?" " Ý'm not sure." "I have to make a call." "Hello?" " What's going on?" " Ken here" "Heard that lucky strike is leaving." " That they've already left." " What?" " Who told you what?" " John Flory." "He's an account executive at b." "B. D.O. That's where they're going." " No." "That's impossible." " Call him." "I'm telling you it's impossible." "Don't lose your temper." "Somebody call lane in London?" "Yeah, I don't think he'll go back to sleep." "Could I get a drink?" "It's ringing." "Lee." "Roger sterling." "From your agency?" "Well, it's serious." "He's drunk." "You're damn right I heard." "Because you can consolidate your business here." "Just because your father's non compos mentis" "Doesn't mean you have to listen to the board." "It's bullshit!" "Lee!" "30 years?" "I have to hear it on the street?" "No review?" "Nothing?" "He hung up." "It's true?" "Tomorrow morning we're getting on the 6:00 A. M. To Raleigh-Durham." "I'll do it." "I've known him half my life." "I need a drink." " What time is it?" " Midnight." "You want one?" "Looks like you need both." "It looks like lucky strike might have gone South." "Holy crap." "Obviously we'd like to avoid that information getting out." "What happened?" "Supposedly, they're consolidating" "For a reduced commission at b." "B.D.O." "Hey, watch it." "You have to keep a clear head." "Every day, I tried not to think about what would happen" "If this happened." "Aw, look at that plum." " What's that?" " That face." "You're the most hirable man on Madison Avenue." "I'm not at that point yet." "Okay." " Where's Trudy?" " Her mother's got her all worked up." "She made such a stink." "And that thing's at least another day away." "Can I see her?" "Have you been drinking?" "You need to calm down." "I was at a ballgame when Trudy was born." "Go about your business." "Are you all right?" "Could I speak with you candidly?" "Always." "I'd like to think" "I'm more to you than a typical father-in-law." "You are." "That's the problem." "It's about business." "There's no business in here, son." "We may have lost lucky strike." "I'm sure this agency was a thrill," "But you've had your folly." "That's not right, Tom." "I haven't stayed at Vick chemical for 28 years because I love it." "It's because I have a family." "Any minute here, you will too." " This still can work." " Ý'm not rooting against you." "You've got my account, for God's sake." "It's just..." "You're a frequent topic at c." "G.C." "Apparently you were a tough act to follow" " When we moved Clearasil over there." " Ted Chaough?" " Ý hate him." " He's a good guy." "He's not interested in me." "He's just trying to hobble don." "There's no reward in going down with the ship." "I have an agency." "I'm a partner." "I found him." "He was down at the candy machines dozed off." " Can I see her?" " No." "She finally went to sleep." "Why don't you just go back" "To the candy machines and we'll wait?" "I'm sorry about that." "The air conditioning guy's supposed to be there at 8:00." "I guess I'll see you then." "You don't want me to go?" "I want you to do whatever you usually do." "Hey, I don't usually do anything." " Really?" " Can't you tell by how badly I'm leaving?" "I'm not letting you leave." "What about your air?" "You're unbelievable." "I'm sorry." "I'm not usually like this." " Hello?" " Ý just walked out of there." "It's over." " Ý see." " Since his father got sick," "The board took over." "There's no point in talking to them." "He said we did good work." "Our clients need to hear this from us." "I know, Bert." "Don't wait for me." "I'm standing by Lee's receptionist." "I didn't want to have to pay for the long-distance call." "Very well then." "Lane Pryce isn't coming back." "That's my guess." "I think they'd do that in a memo." "I got $5 that says Cooper's retiring." "No champagne?" "I'd say he's got cancer." "It's in bigger print now." "Everyone?" "Ýf we could have your attention, please?" " Bert." " Ahem." ""we have called this meeting of our nearest and dearest"" "To let you know of a change in the agency." "After 30 years of consummate service," "American tobacco has reluctantly decided" "To consolidate their business" ""At batten, Barton, Durstine Osborn."" "Damn it." ""so what does this mean to you?" "Partner, creative director."" "Pete Campbell and Ken Cosgrove" "Will handle calls to clients." "Those are the only calls we want made with this news." "Now we've had a pretty good year." "We've gained more accounts" "Than we've lost, a lot more," "Because our work is thoughtful and effective..." "Even lucky strike said so..." "Which means that nothing should change." "Nothing will change." "We're gonna push ourselves shoulder to shoulder" "And we're gonna overcome this and succeed tenfold" "And it will be exhilarating." "Joe?" "As don said, nothing is going to change." "There's only a small modification in policy." "Anything out of the ordinary" "Must be approved by myself, Joan Harris or lane Pryce." "That said," "Inquiries as to paychecks and advances..." " What's going on?" " That's the head of accounting." "What do you think's going on?" "Any questions?" "Nothing?" "Okay." "If you want to talk to me individually," "I'll be in my office." " What happened?" " We lost lucky strike." "Jesus." "But it sounds like everything's under control." "I've got to go to a meeting." "Peggy, Freddy, Danny, Stan... in my office." "We're in some trouble here." "Creative needs to be on its toes." "Is it a "last hired, last fired" sort of thing?" "You're in this room." "That's all I can say." "Now myself and the other partners" "Will be out there beating the bushes for new business," "But creative's job is to hold on to what we have." "That means client's ideas should seem better than they normally do." "For the next few weeks the only words you know" " Are "yes, sir."" " Yes, sir." "That means, Stan, you babysit that Samsonite shoot every day." "Peggy, the Playtex presentation is still set for tomorrow." "I'll bring in my notes." "I can prep you in 10 minutes." "No." "You're still gonna do it." "It'll look desperate if I'm suddenly involved." " So what about it then?" " Be successful." "I'm not worried." "Okay." "Let's skip the gossip out there." "Get to work." "Peggy?" "You're not worried?" "I don-t know." "You seem to have everything in hand." "Should I be worried?" "We don't even know how bad this is gonna be" "Until lane shows up." "Every time something good happens," "Something bad happens." "I knew I'd pay for it." "You're not paying for anything." "But I'm counting on you." "Close that, will you?" " Joan Harris." " Joanie, I'm glad you're there." "I'm so sorry." "I feel so guilty." "It's not your fault." "I need to see you." "I need you to come down here." "I'm not flying to Raleigh." " When do you get back?" " No, I'm here." "What are you talking about?" "Mr. Cooper said he spoke with you." "He did, but I didn't go." "Damn it, Roger." "Get on a plane." "You're very persuasive in person." "There's no point." "It's been over for weeks." "Garner was supposed to give me a month." "The bastard couldn't keep to it." "You knew about it?" "I can't believe you." "We could've done something." "Don't yell at me." "You know what it's been like" "Walking around with this?" "I got a hole in my gut." "What am I supposed to do with this information?" "I'm sorry." "But I need you to know why I need you to see you." "You should've told me." "Why didn't you tell me?" "I kept meaning to say something." "I thought I still had time." "I don't know." "I should go." "There's a lot of work to do." "Come after work." "I'm at the Statler." "I had to stay away from midtown." "I'll have to see." "I think my setup is good," "But don always has these little examples at the end" "That explain to the client how big the idea is." "They're always kind of poetic." "So get don to write it." "We can't lose this." "Since when do we have donuts?" "Condemned man always gets his choice of a last meal." "You know what Pete Campbell just said to me?" "He said if anybody sends a resume out of here," " They're gonna get executed." " Fellas, we're on an account right now." "Playtex gloves protect a woman's hands" "So they're soft enough to touch" "All the things a woman wants to touch." "All the things?" "The exciting things she wants to feel" "With her fingertips." "His lips." "The tuft of hair on his chest." "The small of his back." "I can't imagine don saying that." "Excuse me." "I have a delivery for Peggy Olson." " What?" " Are you Peggy Olson?" "It's c." "O.D." "Let me get my purse." "Go ahead without me." "I'm gonna take care of this and then practice." "Am I wrong or is she giving it off?" "Well, it's the last days of Rome." "I was in an agency that went down." "The women get sex-crazed." "The energy is very good." "They said they wanted to revise the media plan," "But I think what they really wanted was a budget" "To see how much of their money we haven't spent yet." " Who are we talking about?" " Birds-eye." "Why are we worrying about existing accounts?" "If anything, they're going to get more attention." "Because they're afraid we won't be here." "I have news from London." "Pete, wake up." "Lane thinks our billings are probably around $22 million without lucky," "But he has to look at everything in person." "When's he coming?" "As soon as he can." "David Montgomery's memorial is tomorrow afternoon." "In case we need cheering up?" "The man was senior vice president of accounts" "At the #4 agency." "There's gonna be a lot of vulnerable clients in attendance." " Ý think Roger knew him." " Sorry to interrupt." " Ýt's Al Weaver from glo-coat." " What does he want?" " Ý don't know." " Do you want me on the call?" "Didn't you talk with him this morning?" "No." " Al, how are you?" " Hello, don." "I'm glad I could reach you." "I just wanted to let you know" "We appreciate everything you've done for us," "But we've decided to take the account in a different direction." " All right, Al..." " Ý want you to know it wasn't an easy decision." " Now can I talk?" " Sure." "I don't think you understand what's happened here." "And I'm not talking about losing lucky strike." " Lucky strike didn't enter into it." " Really?" "So that has nothing to do with this?" "Don, it's a simple coincidence that it happened now." "Okay, you're right." "It is bad timing." "How can you blame us for wanting to move on?" "Because that commercial, that little cowboy kid," "Was the first successful strategy you've been near" "Since you sponsored fibber McGee and Molly." "We won the Clio!" " You won the Clio." " With work we did for you!" "With your direction!" "Believe me, we know how it looks," "But it's just business, plain and simple." "I'm coming out there." "We're gonna talk about this in person." "I'm sorry, don." "The decision's been made." "I just thought you should hear it from me." "You know we're gonna want another shot at this soon." "As long as you're around." "We'll be here." "Don't worry." "Good luck, don." "I hope we can work together again sometime." " Okay." " Goodbye." "Goodbye." "What was that?" "Nothing." " Do you want ice?" " No, but I need a favor." " Make sure I don't overdo it." " Okay." "How do I... um, it's hard to tell with you." "Stop me at three." "This is one." "The doctor says they never let the labor go past two sunsets." "What exactly is the problem?" "Apparently Trudy's pelvis is too small" "And the baby's shoulders can't get through." " They should cut it out." " They don't like to start there." "Go to the hospital." "There's nothing to do here." " Ýt's obviously what matters to you." " What?" "I don't know what the hell you said to them this morning." "So, Joan, that puts us at what?" "20 million and change?" "Are you doubting my efforts?" "All you had to do was tell them everything was fine." "You think that call's easy to make?" "I think you're distracted." "Because of that, I think you scared the shit out of'em." "Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" "Don't blow a gasket." "He called looking for me and my secretary told him where I was." "Incredible." "That was something else." "There he is..." "the man of the hour." "Ted." "How considerate of you to stop by." "I wish the baby was here already," "But I'm sure everyone feels that way." "Good news is always worth waiting for." "Don't let your vanity get the best of you." "There is nothing wrong with being called grandma." "It's a rattle." "You can get it engraved." "Ogilvy sent me one when my son was born." "Thank you." "What do you want, Ted?" "No, this is about what you want." "I mean, you're about to have everything" "The minute that baby comes." "You know your father-in-law never stops talking about you?" "He doesn't know the half of it." "You've brought in a little business since you went out on your own..." "Glo-coat, life cereal," "Sugarberry hams, Vick chemical obviously," "Mountain dew, Fillmore auto, birds-eye, ponds?" "I didn't do all that by myself." "Pete, as far as I'm concerned, you're what's missing from c." "G.C." "Jim cutler's due to retire." ""Campbell, Gleason Chaough"?" "Has a nice ring to it." "Wouldn't you want your name first?" "I'm open to it if we're having that discussion." "You'll have a full voting third." "I'm not don." "It's not the wild West." "We just got Alfa romeo..." "little Italian sports car." "I don't know if you've heard of it, but I think you'll really enjoy driving one." " Ý don't drive." " Ý'll teach you." "Tom, Jeannie, my offer still stands." "If you want a hotel room, I can get you one across the street." "Roger." "I let you come over" "Because you said you needed to talk." "We can talk." " Joanie, I need you." " Stop it," "Or we can talk on the phone." "Is that what you sleep in now?" "What do you want?" "I'm exhausted!" "I waited for you at the hotel." " Why didn't you come?" "Are you mad at me?" " No." "Roger, I can't do this anymore." "You always say that." " Then you come back to me because we belong together." " Don't do that." "I need you right now." "Because I'm a port in a storm?" "No." "Because I feel like shit and you care about me." "I'm not a solution to your problems." "I'm another problem." "Are you serious?" "I can't do this anymore." "You'll change your mind." "You'll see." "I'm sorry." "I just can't do this anymore." "So what are you trying to say?" "Roger." "So that night we got mugged," "That was the last time?" "Wish I'd known that." "God, I'd think this place would be packed still." "It's 8:00." "There's only so much we can pretend like we're doing." " Are you okay?" " You want something?" "I'd rather eat, but that's me." "I'm one over for the day." "See that?" "I kissed you and it got quiet." " How'd it go?" " Ýt was..." "Miserable." "Clients are running scared." "I'm used to having my ideas rejected, not me." "How do you do it?" "My job is to present facts." "If they're unhappy with the agency, it's not my problem." "Who's unhappy?" "Come on." "Clients are always unhappy." "Like who?" " Are you kidding?" " No." "Why?" "I'm drowning here." "You know I can't do that." "If a client is unhappy, they're unhappy." "There's nothing against telling them to have dinner with me." "If you don't want to, tell me who they are." "I'll call'em out of the blue." "I can't do that." "Sure you can." "Who'll know?" "The standard of ethics this business is low enough." "God knows I've done some things I'm not proud of," "But those other agencies pay me." "What about protecting the clients?" "So I'm gonna kill my business to save yours?" "It's not your business." "It's Atherton's." "This is different." " This is everything to me." " Ý don't believe this." "You want a shoulder to cry on, fine." "You want to throw me to the wolves so you can save your neck, forget it." " Ý would do it for you." " Ý would never ask." "I would never use you like that" "Because I know the difference" "Between what we have and this stupid office." "Mr. Cosgrove says Playtex just left the hotel." "Thank you." "God, I'm so nervous." "You need to relax." "I can't do this drunk." "I know a technique" "That can really take the nerves away." "I learned it from a yogi." " Show me." " Close your eyes." "Take a deep breath." "Fill your lungs until you can't anymore." "Stick out your stomach." "Now release it in a cool stream right in my face." "Hey!" "What are you doing?" "You said you wanted to relax, so..." " Let's relax." " Stan, no." "Oh, come on." "You're so horny I can smell it on your breath." "Stan, knock it off." "Hey, I saw you with the delivery boy yesterday." "What?" "He's my boyfriend." "Oh, come on, baby." "It's the end of the world." "Why do you keep making me reject you?" "I was trying to do you a favor." "Well, thank you." "I'm not anxious anymore." " Should I get the door?" " No." "It didn't get any worse." "What exactly did he say?" "He said they were terrified about the British" "Banning cigarette ads from TV and they need to cut costs." "Maybe it's a good time to get out of this business." "That's crap." "Sales were up 10%." "You do what you can do." "David Montgomery's memorial is in 40 minutes" " At the River club." " David Montgomery died?" "Well, there's your silver lining." "Who the hell wants to go to that?" "We're trying to get new accounts." " Remember how to do that?" " You wanna dogpile on me?" "Saving that account was impossible." "Because you ignored it!" "One damn account and you ignored it." "You don't know what you're talking about." "Pete, explain it to him." "You squeezed me off of it, Roger." "You wanted it all to yourself." "He would have never let this happen." "But you do what you can do which is nothing." "Hey." "You're the one who dragged me into your amateur hour." "I was perfectly happy where I was." "Why did I do it?" "Out of friendship." "But now that the account's gone, I guess that went with it." "Get out of here, all of you." "Go Chase a hearse." "Sorry to interrupt." "Mr. Campbell, your father-in-law called." "Your wife and your daughter are resting comfortably." "Oh." "Just now?" "Yes, it happened." "You've got a baby girl." " Congratulations." " Good job." "Thank you, Megan." " Okay, we should get going." " Let me get my coat." "Where does draper get off?" "Lee garner Jr." "Never took you seriously" "Because you never took yourself seriously." " Are you ready?" " Mmm." "No hard feelings?" "None at all." "Everything good?" "Absolutely." "And so I think about that night..." "Staring out the window of that Detroit hotel room," "Knowing we were going home with Buick" "And saying to David," ""is this the best thing we're ever going to do?"" "Lynn, it was your fifth birthday." "The next day when we were in the airport," "He showed me this pendant he'd bought the day before downtown." "As he closed the box, he said," ""Crosby, that's the best thing I'll ever do."" "I know it's hard," "But Dave loved you more than anything, sweetheart." "That's Stu Carlsbad from Ralston Purina." "He's always ripe." "We have dog food experience." "I've got him." "I don't know how prepared I am," "But Dave was always a fan of winging it." "Beth, his beautiful wife." "You were there before he made partner" "And then you gave him to us," "But you know you and Lynnie" "Were always on his mind." "True story." "We'd been in London for three months" "Trying to nail down British petroleum." "Never happened." "But once a week he would drag me to Portobello road" "Looking for thimbles for your collection, Lynn." "Silver thimbles." "And he was an expert." "It's because Playtex is strong enough" "To protect a woman's hands." "Through her fingertips, she can dry the tears of a child" "Or feel the warmth of her husband's skin." "Playtex protects a woman's touch." "It's very romantic." "I have to admit" "When you first brought it up, I didn't think that was possible for latex gloves." "These images are about the moments" "After the housework is over." "They're about the meaningful life" "A woman leads when work is done." "Well, I feel pretty good about this." "Peggy, our pleasure." "We're thrilled to get this in the first try." "Well, I'm gonna let you get back to the hotel" "And then steaks and a show." "That went well." "You have lipstick all over your teeth." "What?" " Why are you still here?" " Ý didn't know if I should leave or not." " How was the funeral?" " We'll see." "Get me the campaign briefs on Ken's accounts" "And then you can go." "And send Peggy in." "Miss Olson's gone r the night," " But if you need help..." " Did you do that?" "I thought in the end you wouldn't want to throw it away." "You're wrong." "That commercial was great" "And nothing they do can change that." "I'll take those." "Thank you." "You can go." "You sure you don't want some help?" "This is a little complicated." "That's okay." "I'd really like to learn what goes on here." "Really." "Well, first of all, I think it would help me" "From making mistakes with your work the way I have." "And secondly," "I think I'd like eventually to do what you do" "Or what miss Olson does." " Ý didn't know that." " Unless you'd rather be alone." "I don't want to be in the way." "No." "I don't mind." "This is a strategy statement" "Signed by Fillmore auto parts." "Copywriters stray from these midstream sometimes" "If they have a better idea," "But we can't take that chance now." "Wouldn't clients want a better idea?" "What'd you like about the commercial?" "You're putting me on the spot." "Um..." "I know it's a floor wax, but I really remember that feeling" "Of being a little kid" "And feeling like I was being punished when my mother cleaned the house." " Where are you from?" " Montreal." "We didn't have glo-coat." " Why'd you move here?" " Well, first of all, it's New York." "For an artist, it's mecca." "You're an artist?" "I wouldn't say I'm an artist." "I'm an artistic person." "I majored in literature" "And I've dabbled in writing and painting" "And a little bit of acting." "What are you laughing about?" "Because I just realized" "I know everything about you." "I mean, you're in my head all day," "Even when I go home." "And you don't know anything about me." "Well, you haven't been here that long." "And you don't know how long I will be," "So why get to know me?" "I can see that's what everybody must think." "You judge people on their work." "I'm the same way." "Everything else is sentimental." " You want one?" " How many is that?" "Four." "I know you're angry, but I hope you're not afraid" "Because you will get through this." "You don't know that." "Why do you care what I think?" "Megan, I don't think this is a good idea." "This has nothing to do with work." "I can't make any mistakes right now." "Let's be clear." "I'm not gonna run out of here crying tomorrow." "I just want you right now." "Hey." "Where are you going?" "I'm exhausted." "How was your day?" "Fine." "I know how to make it better." "I'm really tired." "Sit down." "What'd you buy?" "Look." "Look at it." "Sign it." ""to my loving wife."" "I'm so proud of you." "You should go first." "Actually, I should go first." "Do you want to grab a bite?" "I want you to go home" "And I want you to sleep." "And I don't want you drinking any more tonight." "Wait." "Did you want to go first?" "Good night, Mr. Draper." "Didn't expect to see you here." "I was gonna call," "But I didn't want to do this over the phone." "So you were gonna write it on an envelope." "Can I come inside?" "I got you a meeting with Heinz." "It's vinegar, sauces and beans." "They're at Ketchum Macleod and they're restless." " Faye." " Ý thought about what you said," "I thought about you..." "And I thought about... whatever." "You are my life right now." "You didn't have to do this." "I wanted to." "Thank you." "You're welcome." "Do you wanna stay?" "I'll probably fall asleep on you." "Just sit with me." "a™ª welcome to my world a™ª a™ª won't you come on in?" "A™ª a™ª miracles, I guess a™ª a™ª still happen now and then a™ª" "a™ª step into my heart a™ª" | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Pisa Videos
Pisa Review
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its Leaning Tower (the bell tower of the city's cathedral), the city of over 87,500 residents contains (...) (from Wikipedia).Visit Pisa
We travelled to Pisa by train from Florence. The local train from
Florence S.Maria to Pisa S Ross (the closest station to the tower) cost
16 euro day return and takes about 1 hour 20 minutes...... Arriving at
Pisa S Ross we left the station turned left and walked for a short
distance to a junction where when we looked to the right we could see
the tower. It took about 10 minutes from station to tower. There were
street vendors but they did not cause us any problems. The cathedral is
free, ticket needed to enter, other attractions fee is charged.
What more can I say?i loved it and i wasnt disappointed, took my breath
away the instant i laid my eyes on it. (hmm on second thought, the size
did disappoint me a tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiny bit but what the heck!) i
recommend going to the cathedral as well, really a beauty to behold.
heads
up: lots of tourists during summer, so it can be a little difficult
taking good pictures where no one photobombs(?) your photos.
dont worry about souvenir shops, there is quite a number of them in front of the tower.
Uh so its a tower that leans. I mean it's pretty but there are
approximately 15 million tourists there every minute of the day all
trying to take pics of their friends pretending to hold up the tower. It
is surrounded but buskers etc trying to sell you overpriced souveneers.
If you are in the area already it's worth seeing, but I wouldn't make a
special trip.
i wasnt overly moved when i saw the towers. it is nice to see being that
i have seen about 6 others. i payed 18 euro to go inside and walk up.
nice view from the time. but if u dont go up u are not really missing a
whole lot. if u happen to be in florence i would say it is worth it.
taking a total trip to pisa would not be UNLESS ur totally into it. the
cathedral and baptistry are good to see as well, but cost. u get into
the cathedral with pisa ticket
Battistero
We recommend both climbing to the gallery and waiting for the attendant
to sing. You really get a feel for the place and it's incredible size.
The gallery steps are narrow but manageable, even for the older folks in
our group. It was interesting hearing the attendant chant and how his
voiced rang through every corner. A quick stop is all that is needed to
take in the beauty.
Do not bypass this if you are in Pisa, as it is worth a visit. They are
quite strict on the silence rule once inside, but if you are lucky
enough you will be there when the attendant closes the doors and starts
to sing. The acoustics are amazing, it is as if there is a choir
singing. Rarely a queue to enter, and entry is free so you have nothing
to lose.
The Battistero di San Giovanni in Pisa is the largest baptistery in
Italy. The construction started in 1153 by the architect Diotisalvi and
was completed in 1363. The Baptistery is dedicated to St. John the
Baptist and his statue is crowning the dome. On the lower levels we see
the same open gallery shape with pillars and arches as we see on the
Cathedral and the Leaning Tower, which are very typical for 12th Century
Romanesque style. The upper levels do not have these round shapes, but
have sharp and pointy shapes which are typical Gothic style and more
popular during the later stages of construction. The outside is
decorated with beautiful sculptures. Just above the entrance there is a
relief depicting several episodes in the life of St. John and crowed
with a statue of Madonna with Child. The interior of the Baptistery is
quite basic, although the large baptismal font, the pulpit and the
beautiful stained glass windows are extraordinary. The large octagonal
font was constructed in 1246 and was used for baptism by immersion, or
full body baptism. There is a bronze sculpture of St. John in the centre
of the font.
The Baptistery leans a little, just like the the
Cathedral but not so much as the Bell Tower. It only leans around 0.6
degrees towards the Cathedral, which is not visible with human eyes, but
use your eyes to see the magnificent Baptistery.
It must be easy to miss the entrance and exit to the gallery above the
baptistery, as so few reviewers mention it - and yet the views, both
internal and external, from the gallery are great. I wonder why such a
huge font was necessary - can they have gone in for total immersion
baptisms? Surely not in Catholic Churches. I didn't count the steps,
mind, so beware, it's not for the feint-hearted!
Pisa
We travelled to Pisa by train from Florence. The local train from
Florence S.Maria to Pisa S Ross (the closest station to the tower) cost
16 euro day return and takes about 1 hour 20 minutes...... Arriving at
Pisa S Ross we left the station turned left and walked for a short
distance to a junction where when we looked to the right we could see
the tower. It took about 10 minutes from station to tower. There were
street vendors but they did not cause us any problems. The cathedral is
free, ticket needed to enter, other attractions fee is charged.
What more can I say?i loved it and i wasnt disappointed, took my breath
away the instant i laid my eyes on it. (hmm on second thought, the size
did disappoint me a tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiny bit but what the heck!) i
recommend going to the cathedral as well, really a beauty to behold.
heads
up: lots of tourists during summer, so it can be a little difficult
taking good pictures where no one photobombs(?) your photos.
dont worry about souvenir shops, there is quite a number of them in front of the tower. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
egglaying question
Today I read that chickens start to lay eggs at 4 months of age. That didn't surprise me. What surprised me was that they stop at 12 months of age but can live 5 to 11 years old. Is this true or does the egg laying just slow down? To what age do they lay eggs and then what do I do with them after they're done? Do they just become like grandmothers to the new born chicks?
My other question is at what age would you absolutely not slaughter a chicken to put on the table for dinner?Does the meat get so tough that you can't even slow cook it to tenderize it? What about extra roosters? I don't know what I have yet but I'm guessing there are a couple of roosters in there ... I hope so anyway. How many roosters should I have per chicken and then what do I do with the extras.
I believe that a hen will lay regularly for up to 12 months. After that, they may slow down a couple of eggs per week. I have 2 hens that are 3 years old and they still lay eggs, but they have slowed way down.
You decision as to what you want to do with your hens is up to you. They can live a long time. I've read that they can also be eaten, but need to be cooked a long time.
Your roosters should be slaughtered by 16 weeks of age. Otherwise, the meat gets tough.
I have a BLRW (Madam fluffy butt). she is over 2 years old and lays beautiful brown eggs. She lays two days straight and takes a day off then lays two days and takes a day off. So five a week. She is much better laying than my 6 month old Americaunas. I have three of them and might get 6 eggs a week between all three. You just can never tell how they are going to do. I hope that helps.
My hens are 26 months old, still laying every other day, so I'm getting close to a dozen eggs a day out of 13 hens.
Not all breeds start laying at 4 months (16 weeks). My first hen to lay did so at 19 weeks old, but two of her sisters didn't start until 38 weeks old.
Sounds like the info. you got was geared more towards the commercial market. I know around here in the commercial battery (egg-laying) houses they do away with the hens at 60 weeks.
Unless a hen is very gentle, she won't become anyones grandma. In fact, older hens can kill chicks that don't belong to them.
One roo to every 10 to 12 hens, more if you're not looking for great fertility. Any extras can be eaten, given away or sold. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
A non-comparative trial of the efficacy and safety of fexofenadine for treatment of perennial allergic rhinitis.
An open-label, non-comparative study was performed in three Otolaryngology centers in Bangkok, Thailand, to assess the efficacy, safety and tolerability of fexofenadine in Thai patients with perennial allergic rhinitis. Altogether 101 perennial allergic rhinitis patients were included, 33 males and 68 females. Mean age was 33 years, average duration of symptoms was 6 years. All patients received fexofenadine hydrochloride 120 mg once daily (OD) in the morning for 2 weeks. Patients recorded their allergy symptoms daily using a 5 point rating scales in the diary card. At the end of 2 weeks, patients and investigators assessed the overall efficacy of treatment. Adverse events and onset of symptom relief were also recorded by every patient. Blood test and ECG were performed before and after treatment in one center (Siriraj Hospital). Total symptom scores and nasal scores decreased significantly from a baseline at 1 week and 2 weeks after treatment (p < 0.05). The mean onset of symptom relief was 2 hours and 12 minutes. The global assessment of the treatment by patients and investigators showed significant concordance. There was no significant change in either the vital signs, laboratory tests or ECG. The incidence of treatment related adverse events was 8% but all were mild and easily tolerated. Drowsiness was reported from only one patient. This study suggests that fexofenadine 120 mg once daily was an effective, safe and well tolerated treatment for perennial allergic rhinitis in Thai patients. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
This is a paid press release, which contains forward looking statements, and should be treated as advertising or promotional material. Bitcoin.com does not endorse nor support this product/service. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release. Blockchain has already revolutionized many industries, from finance and security to […]
This is a paid press release, which contains forward looking statements, and should be treated as advertising or promotional material. Bitcoin.com does not endorse nor support this product/service. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release. London, August 30, 2017 – LAToken, the first tokenized assets platform, […]
This is a paid press release, which contains forward looking statements, and should be treated as advertising or promotional material. Bitcoin.com does not endorse nor support this product/service. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release. Through the creation of digital tokens, any asset can be bought, […] | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Background
Many human diseases are correlated with the dysregulation of signal transduction processes. One of the most important protein interaction domains in the context of signal transduction is the Src homology 2 (SH2) domain that binds phosphotyrosine residues. Hence, appropriate methods for the investigation of SH2 proteins are indispensable in diagnostics and medicinal chemistry. Therefore, an affinity resin for the enrichment of all SH2 proteins in one experiment would be desirable. However, current methods are unable to address all SH2 proteins simultaneously with a single compound or a small array of compounds.
Results
In order to overcome these limitations for the investigation of this particular protein family in future experiments, a dipeptide-derived probe has been designed, synthesized and evaluated. This probe successfully enriched 22 SH2 proteins from mixed cell lysates which contained 50 SH2 proteins. Further characterization of the SH2 binding properties of the probe using depletion and competition experiments indicated its ability to enrich complexes consisting of SH2 domain bearing regulatory PI3K subunits and catalytic phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) subunits that have no SH2 domain.
Conclusion
The results make this probe a promising starting point for the development of a mixed affinity resin with complete SH2 protein coverage. Moreover, the additional findings render it a valuable tool for the evaluation of PI3K complex interrupting inhibitors. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
just a detransitioned dog lesbian
Menu
transgender OCD: part 2
This is such a valuable comparison and absolutely rings very true for me. Transition was a gradual process of escalating “tests” to either “check” or “prove” to myself that I was really male all along, with each stage accompanied by hours and hours of obsessive, circular rumination.
This post will only be a list of things I experienced as someone with obsessional thoughts about gender and gender identity. I will discuss some of them in depth in later posts. This list is not a complete list of what I experienced, nor is it a complete list of things a person could possibly experience when having these sorts of obsessions. It is not intended as indicative of a diagnosis of OCD or any other mental health condition.
Transgender individuals struggling with obsessive thinking may want to reverse some of the statements in the list.
Both trans and non-trans individuals without obsessive thinking may experience some of these thoughts or behaviors; the presence of some of these things does not inevitably mean one has OCD or a problem with anxious or obsessive thinking.
And again, having obsessive thoughts or any other sort of uncertainty about one’s gender does not… | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
[Activity of doripenem against Pseudomonas spp. and Acinetobacter spp. rods].
Doripenem, the newest carbapenem was approved in 2008 by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections and complicated urinary tract infections. Its spectrum of activity is similar to that of meropenem and imipenem/cilastatin. The aim of this study was to compare in vitro activity of doripenem against nonfermentative Gram-negative rods. A total of 235 strains of Pseudomonas spp. (74.9%) and Acinetobacter spp. (25.1%) were included into the study. Strains were isolated in The Department of Clinical Microbiology of the University Hospital No 1 in Bydgoszcz and identified using ID GN tests (bioMérieux). To determine susceptibility to doripenem and other carbapenems disc-diffusion method was applied. Percentage of doripenem resistant strains reached 28.4% and 39.0% for Pseudomonas spp. and Acinetobacter spp, respectively. All doripenem sensitive or intermediate Acinetobacter spp. strains were simultaneously sensitive to imipenem and meropenem. Activity of imipenem and meropenem among doripenem resistant Acinetobacter spp. were represented by 60.9% and 56.5% strains, respectively. Activity of imipenem and meropenem among doripenem resistant Pseudomonas spp. strains were represented by 12.0% and 18.0%, respectively. Occurence of one doripenem sensitive Pseudomonas spp. strain simultaneously resistant to imipenem and meropenem was observed. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Q:
Migrating User Profiles/Merging User Accounts in Two AD Domains
We have two domains in separate forests and need to merge/migrate them. I believe a simple migration with ADMT will move all the local user profiles over, and will not be a problem. The potential problem is that all the users in domain2, have identical user accounts (same user/pass) in domain1 so that they can have exchange mailboxes.
If we do a migration with ADMT, will we have any issues since the users need to be merged, whereas computers and local profiles need to be migrated?
A:
You won't have an issue with this. Each step of the migration can have a different action. You can migrate computers and merge users without issue.
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
This invention relates generally to folding tables, and in particular to a folding table base for easily folding and unfolding table legs that latch open.
Tables and chairs are supported by legs that extend from a base. Some table and/or chairs include foldable legs. Folding legs take up less room and facilitate storage of the table or chair when it is not being used. Prior folding tables include a base having two foldable arms extending therefrom. The arms include a pair of legs extending from each of the arms. Each arm is foldable between a horizontal (closed) position and a vertical (open) position. These arms are traditionally locked into a vertical position by folding braces that include two members joined by a pivot point. These braces extend between the bottom of the table and each arm. When the arms are in the vertical position, the braces are straight and form an angle with respect to the bottom of the table. Generally this angle is about 45 degrees. The legs of the table are locked into the vertical position by sliding a collar down over each folding brace such that the two members can not pivot with respect to each other. To close the legs of this prior table, the collar is moved upward so each brace can bend at the pivot point approximately 90 degrees, thus allowing each arm to fold from the vertical position to the horizontal position. These types of folding tables are awkward to fold and unfold and often require more than one person to manipulate. In addition, these prior folding tables are prone to pinching fingers during set-up and take-down. Many prior folding tables are also wobbly, unstable and lack aesthetic appeal.
Therefore, a need exists for a folding table that is sturdy in construction, easy to manipulate and compact when folded to facilitate easy storage.
A folding table base is provided which includes a mounting plate adapted to be secured to the bottom of a table. A hinge plate is hingedly connected to the side of the mounting plate. The hinge plate is adapted to pivot between a first position and a second position. A leg is secured to the hinge plate and extends generally orthogonal thereto. A latching mechanism is secured to the bottom of the table. The latching mechanism includes a latch mounting plate and a pull latch. The pull latch being slidably mounted on the latch mounting plate such that the pull latch is operable between a latched position and an unlatched position. The latching mechanism engages the hinge plate when the pull latch is in the latched position and disengages the hinge plate when the pull latch is in the unlatched position. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
England 4630L Lilly 3 Pc. Sectional
This England 4630L Angie 3-piece sectional from Carolina Furniture can only be described one way! Sleek, simple, and super comfortable. Its clean silhouette is achieved with a tight back, a P - shaped roll arm, and an exposed wood leg. This fashion-forward silhouette can go from understated and sophisticated to fabulous and fun with the change of a fabric. We offer a sofa, loveseat, chair, ottoman, and queen sleeper in this collection. Most collections are available in fabric, “Leather/Match” or “All Leather”. See salesperson for pricing and availability. Pieces include: LAF Corner Sofa, Armless Sofa, RAF Chaise. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Disturbed metabolism of copper and zinc in aspartylglycosaminuria: possible involvement with connective tissue changes.
In aspartylglycosaminuria (AGU), a lysosomal storage disorder of glycoprotein degradation, there are some abnormalities in collagen and proteoglycan metabolism. Because of earlier observations suggesting a disturbance of copper balance, the metabolism of copper and zinc was studied in more detail to find out if possible trace metal disturbances could be correlated with connective tissue disorder. Highly elevated copper concentrations in the hair and significantly reduced zinc levels in serum and urine were detected in AGU patients indicating a disturbance of trace element balance. However, the patients had normal serum copper levels, and the concentrations of zinc and copper in cultured fibroblasts did not differ from those of control cells. Normal lysyl oxidase activities in cell culture indicate that collagen cross-link formation is not affected. The changes in copper and zinc balance are probably secondary to the basic enzyme deficiency, and may contribute to the development of the clinical signs and symptoms of AGU although the mechanisms involved are not yet understood. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Q:
Set the Textview size respective to the device screen size
I am searching for a long time but I was not successful.
Is there any method, so that the TextView size increases depending on the device screen size?
So far I am using the below code but even then I am facing this sort of issue. I want to set larger size than textAppearanceLarge in below code.
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceMedium" />
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge" />
<TextView
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceSmall" />
If I set some fixed size, say android:textSize="32sp" it may look large for Screen sizes like Galaxy Ace but looks small in S3-like devices.
Any related answers are welcomed and thank you in advance.
A:
I think you have to create different value folder so that android will recognize the screen resolution is change. Following link provide you a solution
Different text size for different hardware
A:
Use /res/values/dimens.xml with different dimension like:
<resources>
<!-- Default screen margins, per the Android Design guidelines. -->
<dimen name="activity_horizontal_margin">30dp</dimen>
<dimen name="activity_vertical_margin">30dp</dimen>
<!-- For Login Screens -->
<dimen name="button_text_size">16sp</dimen>
<dimen name="edittext_text">14sp</dimen>
<dimen name="checkbox_text">13sp</dimen>
<!-- for Slide bar -->
<dimen name="slide_text_size">13sp</dimen>
<dimen name="slide_button_text_size">15sp</dimen>
<!-- for City Activity -->
<dimen name="list_item_text_size">16sp</dimen>
Now for /res/values-sw600dp/dimens.xml
<resources>
<!--
Customize dimensions originally defined in res/values/dimens.xml (such as
screen margins) for sw600dp devices (e.g. 7" tablets) here.
-->
<!-- For Login Screens -->
<dimen name="button_text_size">16sp</dimen>
<dimen name="edittext_text">14sp</dimen>
<dimen name="checkbox_text">14sp</dimen>
<!-- for Slide bar -->
<dimen name="slide_text_size">14sp</dimen>
<dimen name="slide_button_text_size">16sp</dimen>
<resources>
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Background {#Sec1}
==========
A heterogeneous subgroup of patients uses the emergency department (ED) frequently and accounts for a substantial proportion of all ED visits in developed countries \[[@CR1]\]. These "frequent users" have a high burden of complex social and medical needs and can be considered a vulnerable population \[[@CR2]\]. Our study is in response to the calls of several authors \[[@CR3]--[@CR5]\] to identify the needs of those at risk of future frequent ED use, by examining the predictive risk factors of frequent ED use and by applying a robust and innovative conceptual framework of vulnerability to characterize this population.
Characterizing vulnerable persons or populations is challenging \[[@CR6]\]. Vulnerability has been defined as "an identifiably increased likelihood of incurring additional or greater wrong" \[[@CR6]\]. Based on the World Health Organization's dimensions of health (physical, psychological, and social) \[[@CR7]\], Aday \[[@CR8]\] introduced a framework for studying vulnerable populations, which includes these three dimensions, with the addition of access to, and cost and quality of, care as variables. Recent studies evaluating the medical and social factors associated with frequent ED use have demonstrated the compounding effect of these variables taken together \[[@CR2], [@CR9]\]. Based on these results, the Lausanne University Hospital created a clinical evaluation grid of vulnerability. This tool was used to assess the multiple dimensions of vulnerability among ED patients, with a particular focus on frequent users \[[@CR10]\]. Based on the clinical experience of using this evaluation grid over 5 years, we created a research-oriented, conceptual framework of vulnerability involving five dimensions: 1) socio-cultural and demographic background (social determinants of health, deprivation, origin, and nationality), 2) at-risk behaviors (addictions to alcohol, tobacco, and/or drugs; violence and/or sexual risk behaviors), 3) somatic health (diagnosis, comorbidity and subjective health), 4) mental health (diagnosis, comorbidity, and subjective health), and 5) health care consumption (resources involved in the previous 12 months).
The case of frequent ED users {#Sec2}
-----------------------------
Frequent ED users, by definition, are patients who visit ED on multiple occasions. Therefore, they already meet one criterion of vulnerability from our conceptual framework--namely, health care consumption. Indeed, frequent ED users tend to have higher hospital admission rates \[[@CR3], [@CR11]--[@CR14]\], and have higher or lower triage scale levels, depending on the definition of frequent ED use \[[@CR15], [@CR16]\]. They also use non-ED based health care services, such as primary care physicians (PCPs), social workers, and psychiatrists, more frequently than non-frequent users \[[@CR4], [@CR12]\]. Frequent ED users have been described in several countries recently \[[@CR14], [@CR17], [@CR18]\] including Switzerland \[[@CR2], [@CR9]\].
A picture of frequent ED users is emerging from the literature demonstrating the presence of many dimensions of vulnerability beyond high health care consumption. Compared to non-frequent ED users, they have higher rates of social isolation \[[@CR4]\], lower socio-economic status \[[@CR2]\], a higher burden of psychiatric and medical disease \[[@CR19]\], and increased rates of substance abuse \[[@CR2], [@CR20]\]. Yet, these findings have not been systematically investigated within a universal health care coverage system, taking into account all of the dimensions of vulnerability.
The context of the Swiss health system {#Sec3}
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ED use is partially determined by the characteristics of health care delivery and insurance. In Switzerland, mandatory health insurance is a central feature of the health care system and provides coverage for the full spectrum of health needs, from ambulatory to hospital care \[[@CR21]\]. It is estimated that more than 99 % of the population in Switzerland is insured \[[@CR22]\]. Insurance premiums are paid by individuals independently of earnings, except for subsidies provided to citizens with low incomes \[[@CR23], [@CR24]\]. Deductibles range from CHF 300 to 2500 (279 to 2,325 USD in 2009), with a maximum of CHF 700 (651 USD in 2009) out-of-pocket expenditures charged after the deductible is reached. Cost for outpatient and ED visits are similar and determined by a standardized fee for service scale \[[@CR25]\]. Two recent studies conducted in the French-speaking part of Switzerland report that between 10.7-13.8 % of insured patients did not seek out health care during the previous year for economic reasons \[[@CR26], [@CR27]\]. Given high out-of-pocket expenditures may be a barrier to accessing appropriate health care in Switzerland \[[@CR28]\], avoiding preventive or elective health care for economic reasons could be one of the factors that motivate those who are less well-off and in poorer health to use the ED more frequently than less vulnerable patients.
In this system, patients are free to choose any practitioner \[[@CR29]\]. Both ED and PCP may be accessed relatively expediently. It is estimated 93 % of patients in Switzerland are able to make a same-or next-day appointment with a doctor or nurse, while only 2 % reported waiting six or more days to see a provider. In terms of emergency care, 44 % reported waiting less than 30 min to be treated, and only 6 % waited four or more hours \[[@CR30]\]. In 2013 49 % of Swiss participants in an international survey reported it was very/somewhat easy getting care after hours \[[@CR31]\].
The aim {#Sec4}
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The aim of this study was to characterize frequent ED users and to define the risk factors of frequent ED use, within a universal health care coverage system, applying a robust conceptual framework of vulnerability.
Methods {#Sec5}
=======
Study design, setting, and ethics statement {#Sec6}
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We used a controlled, cross-sectional design to compare frequent and non-frequent users of the ED at the Lausanne University Hospital, in Switzerland. Using validated scales, we applied the five dimensions of the conceptual framework of vulnerability. This design improves the reproducibility of observations, and strengthens evidence. The ED serves as both a first-response facility for the Lausanne area, and an entry point to the tertiary care facility for the canton (or *State*) of Vaud (catchment area of 770,000 people). The ED has 35,000 visits annually. During the daytime, patients with low triage scores are diverted to an urgent care clinic, which is not part of the current study (15,000 visits annually). The study took place from October 2009 to June 2010. Participation in the study consisted of an interview during which a questionnaire was completed, partially self-administered and partially administered by the research team. All reporting is based on the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement \[[@CR32]\].
Study participants {#Sec7}
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In line with other recent studies, frequent ED users were defined as patients who had visited the ED at least five times in the previous 12 months, including the index visit during the study period \[[@CR13], [@CR14]\]. All patients falling into the frequent user category were automatically identified through a computerized alert system, and were invited to participate in the study. Patients with one to four ED visits in the previous 12 months served as the control group of non-frequent users. The control group was selected as follows: 1) at the beginning of the inclusion phase, one non-frequent ED user for four frequent ED users (the tenth to arrive after admission of the last frequent user); 2) later, one non-frequent ED user for each frequent ED user (the tenth to arrive after admission of the last frequent user); and 3) at the end of the inclusion phase, one non-frequent ED user per day (selection by computerized random number generation). This procedure was applied to address the fact that a decreasing number of frequent ED users were being included in the study.
Patients visiting the ED were eligible for study inclusion if they: 1) were at least 18 years old, 2) did not have any severe cognitive impairment, and 3) were not triaged to specialized EDs (psychiatric, gynecologic, or pediatric). To help offset any travel expenses, reimbursement vouchers for 30 Swiss Francs (USD 28 (in 2009)) were given to patients returning to the hospital solely for the interview. An interpreter was available to those unable to speak or understand French. Patients were excluded from all analyses if they did not complete at least 70 % of the questionnaire.
Sample {#Sec8}
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During the study period, 24,277 patients attended the ED, 351 of whom met the definition of frequent user (1.4 % of all ED patients). From the frequent users identified, 46 were excluded (severe cognitive impairments *n* = 31, death *n* = 8, age \<18 *n* = 5, no translator *n* = 2) and 305 were invited to participate in the study. Frequent users, as a group, made 2,030 visits in the year prior to enrollment.
A total of 226 frequent ED users completed the questionnaire (i.e., 74 % of frequent ED users invited to participate in the study; 64 % of all frequent ED users). Frequent ED users interviewed did not differ from those who were not interviewed (79 of 305) in regards to gender, age, month and day of attendance, or mean number of attendances in the previous 12 months. A total of 173 non-frequent ED users were included in the control group. Compared to all ED users (*n* = 27,799) in 2009, the control group was similar in terms of case severity and time of day presenting to the ED, but young men were under-represented.
Data collection {#Sec9}
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The study team included three research assistants: two nurses and one psychologist. Individuals from the team approached eligible patients in the triage area, waiting room, ED examination room, or hospital room after presentation to the ED. After obtaining written informed consent from the patient, a research assistant administered the main questionnaire, except for the sexual risk behavior items, which were self-administered for privacy reasons (Additional file [1](#MOESM1){ref-type="media"}). The self-administered part of the instrument was translated into German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Serbian, Albanian, Turkish, Tamil, Arabic, and Somali, the ten most common languages spoken by non-French speaking patients of the Lausanne University Hospital, and back translated into French to check the validity of the translation. The interviews took 45 min on average, ranging from 20 to 140 min. For participants unable to give informed consent or to be interviewed in person during their ED stay (e.g., intoxicated patients or weekend patients), phone or home interviews were conducted.
Outcome measurements {#Sec10}
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Information was collected on the different dimensions of vulnerability using validated scales (Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"}), applying the conceptual framework described earlier.Table 1Conceptual vulnerability framework for frequent emergency department users: measurement instruments for social characteristics; somatic, mental, and risk behavior indicators; and health care useDimensionIndicatorMeasurement^a^Social-cultural and demographicAge (years)YearsGenderGenderCountry of birth0 = Low/middle-income country; 1 = high-income countryEducation0 = None, incomplete, primary; 1 = Secondary; 2 = TertiaryMarital status0 = Single; 1 = Married/civil partnership; 2 = Separated/divorced; 3 = WidowedHousehold income (per month)1 = \< CHF 3′000 vs 0 = CHF 3′000 or more \[3′000--5′999/more than 6′000/no information\]Income source1 = welfare (unemployed) vs 0 = regular income (employed)Violence (past 12 months)PVS: 1 = experienced violence vs 0 = no violence \[[@CR33]\]Social supportMSSS-5 \[[@CR34]\]Social positionSelf-rated, 10-level, visual, non-numerical scale from 1 = underprivileged to 10 = privileged \[[@CR35]\]French proficiency1 = less than good vs 0 = goodDistance of home from ED1 \< 5 km vs 0 = 5 km or moreSomaticED primary diagnosisMDC classificationSeverity1 = urgent vs 0 = non-urgentComorbidityCharlson-Age comorbidity index \[[@CR36], [@CR37]\]Chronic disease1 = yes vs 0 = no, based on MDC classificationSubjective well-beingSF-12v2: physical component \[[@CR38]\]MentalComorbidityMood, anxiety, or panic disorder (Prime MD: 1 = 1-3 disorders vs 0 = no disorder \[[@CR39]\]), M.I.N.I (1 = PTSD vs. 0 = no PTSD \[[@CR40]\]); 1 = comorbidities vs 0 = no comorbidityChronic disease1 = yes vs 0 = no, based on MDC classificationSubjective well-beingSF-12v2: mental component \[[@CR38]\]Risk behaviorAlcohol consumptionASSIST: 1 = moderate-high risk vs 0 = no--low risk \[[@CR41], [@CR42]\]Lifetime illicit drug useASSIST: 1 = illicit drug use vs 0 = no use \[[@CR41], [@CR42]\]Tobacco consumptionHSI: 1 = medium or high score (1--6) vs 0 = low score (0--1) \[[@CR41]--[@CR43]\]Sexual risk behaviorsSeparate self-administered questionnaire^b^ \[[@CR44]\], 1 = sexual behavior at risk; 0 = no at risk sexual behaviorHealth care usePCP visits0 = no PCP; 1 = PCP, but no visit; 2 = 1 or more PCP visit(s) \[1--2 visit(s)/3--6 visits/more than 6 visits\]Specialist visits0 = 0 visits; 1 = 1-2 visits; 2 = 3 or more visitsHospital admissions0 = 0 stays; 1 = 1-2 stays, 2 = 3 or more staysUse of other EDs1 = yes vs 0 = no^a^in \[...\], codes used in primary analysis: due to non-significant results, some categories have been collapsed^b^See Supplement 1 for a full English version of the questionnaire*ASSIST* alcohol, smoking, and substance involvement screening test, *CHF* Swiss Francs (in January 2009, 1 Swiss Franc = USD 0.9); *ED* emergency department, *HSI* heaviness of smoking index, *km* kilometer(s), *MDC* major diagnostic categories, *M.I.N.I.* mini-international neuropsychiatric interview, *MSSS-5* modified social support survey, *PCP* primary care practitioner, *Prime MD* primary care evaluation of mental disorders, *PVS* partner violence screen, *SF-12v2* 12-item short-form health survey, version 2
Most data were obtained directly from patients (by self-report on questionnaires). The frequency of ED use was collected from ED administrative databases, and the severity of cases at presentation and primary ED diagnoses were abstracted from the medical chart pertaining to current ED visit at the time of enrollment.
Statistical analysis {#Sec11}
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Descriptive statistics were computed using means and standard deviations (or median and inter-quartile range, depending on the distribution) for continuous variables, and frequencies and percentages for categorical variables. Frequent and non-frequent ED users were compared using independent t-tests or Wilcoxon rank-sum tests for continuous variables, and Pearson's Chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test for categorical variables.
To identify the risk factors of frequent ED use, univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze the impact of social-cultural and demographic characteristics, somatic and mental health conditions, at- risk behaviors, and health care use variables. A stepwise selection procedure was used \[[@CR45]\]. Odds ratio (OR) for univariate analysis and adjusted OR (adj OR) for multivariate analysis, and their associated 95 % confidence interval (CI), were reported for each estimated parameter in the final model. Due to the underrepresentation of young men in the control group, we controlled for gender and age in the analysis. All analyses were performed using Stata (StataCorp. 2009. *Stata Statistical Software: Release 11*. College Station, TX (USA): StataCorp LP) with the threshold for statistical significance set at *p* = 0.05.
Ethics, consent and permissions {#Sec12}
-------------------------------
The study received approval from the Ethics Committee of the University of Lausanne (reference number 156/09). We obtained written consent from all study participants.
Results {#Sec13}
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Baseline characteristics of frequent ED users compared to non-frequent ED users {#Sec14}
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In terms of the socio-cultural and demographic characteristics presented in Table [2](#Tab2){ref-type="table"}, frequent and non-frequent ED users were comparable with regards to gender and education. Frequent ED users were significantly younger than controls (*p* \< 0.05) and more likely to have been born in a low- or middle-income country (*p* \< 0.001). In the social dimension, a greater proportion of frequent users had a low monthly household income (*p* \< 0.001), and frequent users were more likely to be unemployed or dependent on social welfare (*p* \< 0.001). Frequent users reported higher rated of suffering violence in the previous 12 months (*p* \< 0.001), and rated their social support (*p* \< 0.05) and social position (*p* \< 0.001) lower than non-frequent users. Finally, they were less proficient in French (*p* \< 0.001), and lived closer to the ED (*p* \< 0.001) than controls.Table 2Characteristics of frequent users of the ED compared to non-frequent users (control group), N = 399Characteristics and indicatorsVariablesFrequent users *n* = 226 Mean (SD), n (%), or Median \[IQR\]Control group *n* = 173 Mean (SD), n (%), or Median \[IQR\]*p*-value^\*^DemographicAge (years)51.5 (21.5)56.2 (22.6)\<0.05Gender (female)102 (45.1)95 (54.9)nsCountry of birth (low/middle-income countries)58 (25.7)17 (9.8)\<0.001Educationns None, incomplete, primary68 (30.2)52 (30.1) Secondary115 (51.1)82 (47.4) Tertiary42 (18.7)39 (22.5)Marital status\<0.05 Single76 (33.6)48 (27.8)ns Married/civil partnership67 (29.7)60 (34.7)ns Separated/divorced59 (26.1)32 (18.5)ns Widowed24 (10.6)33 (19.1)\<0.1^\*\*^SocialHousehold income \< CHF 3,00090 (39.8)34 (19.7)\<0.001Income source (Unemployed or dependent on welfare or social welfare)105 (46.5)26 (15.0)\<0.001Violence (yes)57 (25.5)19 (11.0)\<0.001Social support \[*n* = 393\]75 \[40;100\]80 \[58;100\]\<0.05Social position \[*n* = 385\]5 \[3--6\]5 \[5--7\]\<0.001French proficiency (less than very good)79 (35.1)28 (16.2)\<0.001Distance from home to ED \<5 km162 (73.3)96 (55.5)\<0.001SomaticED primary diagnosis\<0.001 Circulatory29 (12.8)24 (13.9)ns Digestive24 (10.6)13 (7.5)ns Infectious diseases47 (20.8)28 (16.2)ns Injury22 (9.7)42 (24.3)\<0.001^\*\*^ Substance use & mental disorder31 (13.7)7 (4.1)\<0.01^\*\*^ Other73 (32.3)59 (34.1)nsSeverity (triaged as urgent)84 (37.2)56 (32.4)nsComorbidity index \[*n* = 390\]3 \[1;6\]2 \[0;5\]\<0.01Chronic disease (yes)116 (51.8)102 (60.0)nsSubjective well-being^a^ \[*n* = 383\]38.6 (13.3)41.9 (13.4)\<0.05MentalComorbidity (yes)119 (53.9)45 (26.6)\<0.001Chronic disease (yes)68 (30.4)21 (12.4)\<0.001Subjective well-being^b^ \[*n* = 383\]40.9 (14.2)45.3 (14.1)\<0.01Risk behaviorAlcohol use (moderate to severe)54 (24.3)12 (6.9)\<0.001Illegal drug use (yes)38 (17.0)13 (7.5)\<0.01Tobacco consumption (≠ no use)67 (29.7)24 (13.9)\<0.001Sexual behaviors (yes)32 (19.8)14 (10.5)\<.05Health care usePCP, number of visits\<0.001 No PCP50 (22.4)18 (10.5)\<0.01^\*\*^ PCP, no visit15 (6.7)18 (10.5)ns PCP, 1 or 2 visits26 (11.7)51 (29.7)\<0.001^\*\*^ PCP, 3 to 6 visits54 (24.2)50 (29.1)ns PCP, 7 or more visits78 (35.0)35 (20.4)\<0.01^\*\*^Medical specialist visits\<0.001 No visit73 (32.3)81 (47.4)\<0.01^\*\*^ 1 or 2 visits35 (15.5)48 (28.1)\<0.01^\*\*^ 3 or more visits118 (52.2)42 (24.6)\<0.001^\*\*^Hospital admissions\<0.001 No admissions50 (22.4)99 (57.9)\<0.001^\*\*^ 1 or 250 (22.4)62 (36.3)\<0.01^\*\*^ 3 or more123 (55.2)10 (5.9)\<0.001^\*\*^Use of other EDs (yes)60 (26.6)32 (18.5)\<0.001^\*\*\*^ *ns* non-significant^\*\*^A Bonferroni correction for post hoc testing was carried out on this *p*-value (*p*-value multiplied by the number of modalities)Independent *t*-tests or Wilcoxon rank-sum tests for continuous variables and Pearson Chi-squared tests for categorical variables were used. Twenty-seven variables were tested; the results are presented without correction for multiple testing on these variables. When correcting for multiple tests, all *p*-values lower than 0.0018 are still significant*CHF* Swiss Francs (in January 2009, 1 Swiss Franc = USD 0.9), *ED* emergency department, *PCP* primary care practitioner^a^Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) \[[@CR35]\], physical component summary^b^Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) \[[@CR35]\], mental component summary
Concerning somatic vulnerability, frequent ED users had more primary diagnoses (*p* \< 0.001), a higher comorbidity index (*p* \< 0.01), and less subjective well-being related to their somatic health (*p* \< 0.05) compared with non-frequent users.
In the mental health vulnerability dimension, frequent ED users were more likely to have mental comorbidities (*p* \< 0.001), chronic mental illness (*p* \< 0.001), and lower levels of subjective well-being related to their mental health (*p* \< 0.01) than controls.
With regard to at-risk behaviors, frequent ED users had higher rates of moderate-to-severe alcohol use (*p* \< 0.001), illicit drug use (*p* \< 0.01), and tobacco use (*p* \< 0.001) compared to non-frequent ED users. They also reported more risky sexual behavior (*p* \< 0.05).
Finally, within the health care use dimension, the median annual number of ED visits was five for frequent ED users compared to one for controls. All patients in the study had health insurance. Frequent ED users were less likely to have a PCP than controls (*p* \< 0.01); however, if they did have a PCP, they were more likely to visit the provider more than seven times per year (*p* \< 0.01). Frequent ED users were also more likely to visit medical specialists and to have been hospitalized in the previous 12 months (*p* \< 0.001).
Of note, when patients disclosed certain risk factors, including a history of violence or substance abuse, they were referred to the hospital's case management team or to specialized departments (such as the Violence Medical Unit), in order to receive appropriate care (contingent on the patient's consent).
Risk factors for frequent ED use {#Sec15}
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After adjusting for gender and age, 12 variables were found to be significantly associated with frequent ED use. Table [3](#Tab3){ref-type="table"} displays the results of the final multivariate logistic regression model.Table 3Risk factors associated with frequent ED use, *N* = 364Risk factorsUnadjusted ORAdj. OR (95 % CI)*p*-value^\*^DemographicAge (by 10 years over 18 years)0.9 (0.8-1.0)0.8 (0.6-1.0)\<0.05Gender (female)0.7 (0.5-1.0)0.4 (0.2-0.9)\<0.05SocialHousehold income \< CHF 3′0002.7 (1.7-4.3)4.3 (2.0-9.2)\<0.001Distance from home to ED \<5 km2.2 (1.4-3.4)4.4 (2.1-9.0)\<0.001SomaticED primary diagnosis (ref. = circulatory system)1.01.0 Injuries0.4 (0.2-0.9)0.3 (0.1-0.9)\<0.05 Other1.4 (0.7-2.4)0.9 (0.3-2.6)nsComorbidity index1.1 (1.0-1.2)1.2 (1.1-1.4)\<0.01Chronic disease (yes)0.7 (0.5-1.1)0.3 (0.1-0.7)\<0.01MentalComorbidities (yes)3.2 (2.1-4.9)2.3 (1.2-4.7)\<0.05Risk behaviorTobacco consumption (≠ no use)2.6 (1.6-4.4)2.6 (1.1-5.9)\<0.05Health care usePCP and number of visits (ref. = PCP, no visits)1.01.0 No PCP3.3 (1.4-8.0)8.4 (2.1-32.7)\<0.01 PCP, 1 or more visits1.4 (0.7-2.9)1.0 (0.3-3.0)nsHospital admissions (ref = 1 or 2)1.01.0 0 admissions0.6 (0.4-1.0)0.3 (0.1-0.5)\<0.001 3 or more admissions15.3 (7.2-32.1)23.2 (9.1-59.2)\<0.001Use of other EDs (yes)1.6 (1.0-2.6)2.7 (1.2-6.1)\<0.05^\*^ *ns* non-significantSensitivity = 85.8 %, specificity = 81.3 %, and area under curve (AUC) = 0.921*CHF* Swiss Francs (in January 2009, 1 Swiss Franc = USD 0.9), *ED* emergency department, *PCP* primary care physician
The risk of being a frequent user was higher for patients with a low monthly household income compared to those with higher incomes or missing income information (adj OR = 4.3; 95 % CI = 2.0-9.2); for patients living close to the ED versus those living further away (adj OR = 4.4; 95 % CI = 2.1-9.0); for a somatic (adj OR = 1.2; 95 % CI = 1.1-1.4) or a mental (adj OR = 2.3; 95 % CI = 1.2-4.7) comorbidity change of one unit according to the Charlson comorbidity index; for those with moderate to severe tobacco use compared to lower-level users or nonsmokers (adj OR = 2.6; 95 % CI = 1.1-5.9); for patients who had no PCP compared to those who had (adj OR = 8.4; 95 % CI = 2.1-32.7); for patients with three or more admissions to the hospital versus those with 1--2 admissions in the previous 12 months (adj OR = 23.2; 95 % CI = 9.1-59.2); and for patients that attended other EDs versus those who did not (adj OR = 2.7; 95 % CI = 1.2-6.1).
The risk of being a frequent user was lower for women (adj OR = 0.4; 95 % CI = 0.2-0.9); for patients attending for injuries versus those attending for circulatory system ailments (reference category) (adj OR = 0.3; 95 % CI = 0.1-0.9); for those with chronic somatic conditions compared to those without them (adj OR = 0.3; 95 % CI = 0.1-0.7); and for those with no hospital admissions compared to those with one or two in the previous 12 months (adj OR = 0.3; 95 % CI = 01-0.5).
Discussion {#Sec16}
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The aim of the present study was to examine whether frequent ED users could be characterized as a vulnerable population and to define the risk factors of frequent ED use, through a novel conceptual framework of vulnerability. Our study shows that frequent ED users should be considered a highly vulnerable population, given that they were found to have significantly more vulnerability factors than non-frequent users across all five dimensions of the conceptual framework. Additionally, specific vulnerability factors were found to be predictive factors of frequent ED use, which supports the adoption of the vulnerability framework as a tool in clinical practice and future research.
The majority of the results from the univariate analysis are consistent with findings previously described in the literature. One notable exception was that frequent ED users were found to be significantly younger than the control group. In other studies they are either found to be older \[[@CR13], [@CR18], [@CR46]\] or no association between age and frequent ED use is found \[[@CR2], [@CR47]\]. This finding could be related to the fact that younger men were under-represented in the control group. Frequent ED users in our study were more likely to have been born in a low- or middle-income country and to be less proficient in the local language (French). A quarter of the frequent users in the study were migrants from low- and middle-income countries, which far exceeds the proportion found in the general population of Switzerland during that time \[[@CR48]\]. Several factors across all of the vulnerability dimensions are consistent with findings from previous studies, including:Social factors: lack of employment \[[@CR2], [@CR47]\], dependence on social welfare, \[[@CR2]\] low income \[[@CR11], [@CR46], [@CR49]\], limited social support \[[@CR19]\] and living close to the ED \[[@CR2], [@CR18], [@CR47]\].Somatic factors: higher Charlson comorbidity index, lower subjective well-being \[[@CR1]\].Mental factors: chronic mental disease, mental comorbidities, and lower levels of subjective well-being related to their mental health \[[@CR13], [@CR19], [@CR50]\].Risk Behaviors: tobacco, alcohol, illicit drug use, and risky sexual \[[@CR47]\].Health care use: hospital admission \[[@CR3], [@CR14]\], visiting more than one ED in the previous 12 months, and more visits to medical specialists \[[@CR4], [@CR12]\].
The predictive factors for being a frequent ED user identified in the multivariate analysis also yielded several expected results which are consistent with prior literature including male sex \[[@CR16], [@CR18]\], low income \[[@CR5]\], somatic and mental comorbidities \[[@CR2]\], tobacco use \[[@CR47]\], close proximity to the ED \[[@CR2]\] and high overall utilization of health care \[[@CR1]\]. Several notable differences were identified, however. Interestingly, the risk of being a frequent user was lower for participants who reported having chronic somatic diseases, in contrast to previous studies in which chronic medical conditions have been associated with frequent ED use \[[@CR11], [@CR46]\]. This could be due to the existence of a well-established network for specific diseases (e.g. diabetes or congestive heart failure), which directs patients toward specialized services \[[@CR51]\]. Contrary to what is indicated in the literature \[[@CR47]\], alcohol use was not an independent risk factor for frequent ED use in our model, probably because all patients who presented with moderate to severe alcohol use also had mental comorbidities and were attended to by the psychiatrists in our ED setting. Finally, having no PCP was more common for frequent users in our study, in contrast to findings in the literature: some authors \[[@CR11], [@CR19]\] report that frequent users are more likely to have a PCP, while in other studies \[[@CR2], [@CR47]\] no association is found. Lucas and Sanford \[[@CR3]\] show, in an uncontrolled design, that frequent users have access to other sources of primary care, and Hunt et al. \[[@CR49]\] report that having a regular source of care is associated with frequent ED use.
Frequent ED users in this controlled, cross-sectional study were found to be a vulnerable population across all the dimensions of our framework, despite the fact that all these individuals were insured and that they were managed in a system providing high-quality health care \[[@CR21], [@CR29]\]. This finding is in accordance with various studies where medical and social vulnerability factors have been found to be associated with frequent ED use, independent of health care coverage \[[@CR2], [@CR4], [@CR12], [@CR19], [@CR50]\]. In the current debate regarding the need to expand insurance coverage in order to improve health care access \[[@CR52], [@CR53]\], we have observed that frequent ED users still exist in universal health coverage settings. As in our case; they are a vulnerable population and their profiles are similar to those observed in other health care systems. Consequently, in order to address the issue of frequent ED use, health systems with or without universal coverage must proactively identify and anticipate the needs of frequent ED users.
There are several limitations to this study. First, patients presenting during the daytime with low severity scores were directed to an urgent care clinic after triage by ED nurses, and thus were not included. None of the visits on this pathway were included when frequency of use was calculated. This triage pathway was in place because, at the time of the study, the Lausanne University Hospital ED was the referral center during the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic \[[@CR54]\]. As a result, there was overcrowding in the ED. This unexpected set of circumstances caused significant logistical problems for our study. It is possible that the patients we are describing may be a population of more severe cases, although patients with low triage scores presenting at night (when the urgent care clinic was closed) were included. Secondly, although we based our case definition on a careful search and interpretation of the literature \[[@CR13], [@CR14]\], the same definition is not universally applied in the literature, as previously discussed. Thirdly, data on health care use were provided by patients' self-reports and can be subject to bias, since respondents commonly underreport their use of health services \[[@CR4]\]. Therefore, our findings may underestimate the extent of health service use among all patients. Finally, our findings are based on a study conducted at a single, urban ED at a large, public teaching hospital; the external validity for other types of ED settings in Switzerland has not been established. Despite these limitations, the use of a clinically-rooted conceptual framework of vulnerability, which is based on international literature regarding vulnerability, \[[@CR6]--[@CR8]\], as well as our own research \[[@CR2], [@CR9]\] and clinical experience \[[@CR10]\], ensures that all known factors related to vulnerability have been taken into consideration. Additionally, the controlled design is a noted strength, since frequent ED users are compared to non-frequent users within the same facility.
Conclusions {#Sec17}
===========
This study---applying a robust, innovative, and clinically-rooted conceptual framework of vulnerability---showed that frequent users of an ED within a universal health care coverage system represent a socially and medically vulnerable population, cumulating different dimensions of vulnerability. The risk factors found in our study could be used in clinical practice to identify those at risk for future frequent ED use. By doing so, we may be able to develop more personalized and effective interventions, and to reduce related disparities and inequities associated with frequent ED use. Finally, the results of this study support the application of this conceptual framework in future research settings and health care policy efforts targeting various vulnerable patient populations, including frequent ED users, so-called "super-utilizers" of other health care services, or other vulnerable populations.
Additional file {#Sec18}
===============
Additional file 1:**Questionnaire on sexual risk behaviors (self-administered).** (DOC 22 kb)
adj OR
: adjusted odds ratio
ED
: emergency department
PCP
: primary care physician
**Competing interests**
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
**Authors' contribution**
Conceived and designed the experiments: PB, SB, KI, FA, SS, SP, LT, OH, JBD. Performed the experiments: PB, SS, CA, LT. Analyzed the data: PB, SB, KI, FA, VV, JLG. Wrote the paper: PB, SB, FA, VV, JLG, JBD. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
The study was financially supported by the Department of Ambulatory Care and Community Medicine, which is affiliated to the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. The authors wish to thank the research team--namely, Esther-Amélie Diserens, MSc; Catherine Delafontaine, RN; Marina Canepa Allen, RN; Sophie Guyot, MD; and Francis Vu, MD. They also thank David Meier, medical student, Lausanne University, Switzerland, for participating in the MDC classification. Finally, they thank David Brooks (ELCS.ch), George P. Danko, MD, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, USA, and Alejandra Casillas, MD, MSHS**,** Department of Ambulatory Care and Community Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital, and Department of Primary Care, Community Medicine, and Emergencies, Geneva University Hospital, Switzerland and Judith Griffin, MD, Department of Ambulatory Care and Community Medicine, University of Lausanne & Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland for editing the manuscript.
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like transforming growth factor (TGF) activity and EGF receptors in ovine fetal tissues: possible role for TGF in ovine fetal development.
To determine whether epidermal growth factor (EGF) or EGF-like transforming growth factors (TGFs) are present in ovine fetal tissues, we have tested acid-ethanol extracts of ovine fetal kidney for the ability to induce anchorage-independent growth of normal rat kidney fibroblasts in soft agar and to compete with 125I-mouse EGF for binding to receptors in sheep liver. The fetal kidney extract (20-1000 micrograms protein/ml) stimulated a dose-dependent increase in the number of soft agar colonies of normal rat kidney cells. Approximately 70% of these colonies measured greater than or equal to 3100 microM2. The fetal kidney extract was dissolved in 1 M acetic acid and chromatographed on Bio-Gel P 10. Two peaks of TGF-like activity, with approximate MW 14.5K (peak 1) and 9K (peak 2), eluted from the column. Half-maximal effects of pooled peaks 1 and 2 on colony formation were achieved using 100 and 20 micrograms protein/ml, respectively. Peaks 1 and 2 also competed with 125I-mouse EGF for binding to EGF receptors in ovine fetal liver but had no activity in a homologous mouse EGF radioimmunoassay sensitive to 15 pg mouse EGF. Neither TGF activity nor EGF receptor binding activity was detected in Bio-Gel fractions co-eluting with 125I-mouse EGF. Specific 125I-EGF binding sites in fetal liver were detected as early as midgestation, and the number of EGF binding sites increased markedly in late gestation, exceeding the number of EGF binding sites in the livers of pregnant ewes. These findings demonstrate the presence of TGF-like activity in ovine fetal kidney and high affinity EGF receptors in ovine fetal liver.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
STUNNING just amazaing city and the success of Globalization Shenzhen ows its beauty to its older sister Hong Kong and its the most amazing city on the planet.
my personal favorite and it has to be said uncomparble to Dubai. I like Dubai but certainly not as much as Shenzhen | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Cooling Models.
Elementary cooling can be modeled by the function
where Ta is the ambient temperature, To is the
temperature at time zero and k is a constant. If
the ambient temperature and the temperature at time zero are known,
it is a very easy process to calculate k and write the
equation. What if we have a set of cooling data and the
person who created the data forgot to record the ambient temperature?
Then we must use more of a trial and error method to find the
cooling function.
The data set shown below is the cooling data from a cooling
experiment done with water. The water was heated to boiling
and then allowed to cool. The temperature of the water was
recorded every minute for 30 minutes. No ambient temperature
was given. We will find the cooling function and, in the
process, estimate the ambient temperature.
Let's make an initial guess at a cooling function. Assume
an ambient temperature of 75 degrees F and calculate the corresponding
value of k at t = 30 minutes. (see below)
Let's use this value for k and write an initial guess
at the cooling function.
Using this guess, let's create another column in the spreadsheet
and compare the values from the function with the empirical values
in the spreadsheet.
I also added a column for residuals; that is, the differences
between our function estimates and the empirical data. Let's
look at the last few rows of the spreadsheet and see what the
sum of the residuals is. We will use this value as a goodness
of fit test as we make adjustments to the parameters in the function
.
As our function gets to be a better model for the cooling curve,
sum of the residuals should decrease. We can also graph
this data to get a visual idea of how well our function fits the
data.
Not a very good fit, is it? What is wrong? First,
from the shape of the blue diamonds representing the empirical
data it would seem that the ambient temperature is somewhat greater
than 75 degrees. We can say this because the graph is much
less steep between 25 and 30 minutes, indicating that an asymptote
was being approached. Let's try an ambient temperature of
100 degrees F and see what parameters we get and what the effect
is on the residuals. With an assumed ambient of 100 degrees,
k = -0.04391. Using this value for k we
replace the function and look at the result on the residuals and
the graph.
Much better. The sum of the residuals has decreased to
-91.176 and the graph of the function looks much closer to the
empirical data. However, the size of the sum of the residuals
indicates that we can still do better. Lets try 110 degrees
F as an estimate of the ambient temperature and see what happens.
At 110 degrees k = -0.054308. Using these values
in the function we will again look at the residuals and the graph.
Another dramatic decrease in the sum of the residuals to -34.28,
and the graph appears to be almost perfect. Using the sum
of the residuals as a control we can continue incremental increases
in the estimate of the ambient temperature. At some point,
the sum of the residuals will no longer decrease. Then
we must back up and use smaller increments. Using this method,
I found that the probable ambient temperature for this experiment
was 114.2 degrees F. This seems a little high, but if the
container for the water was left on something like a stovetop,
this is not unreasonable. Using this value for the ambient
temperature, k = -0.06076, and we get the following:
The sum of the residuals is now less than 5 one hundredths
and the graphs of the function and the empirical data seem to
lay one on top of the other. This manual technique is similar
to the more rigorous statistical techniques in that the objective
is to minimize the sum of the residuals. In the absence
of sophisticated statistical software, such as SPSS or MiniTab,
this technique can be useful. There are four more spreadsheets
available for different types of data where I have used this technique
to do curve fitting. If you wish to view the spreadsheets,
click on one of the selections below. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Q:
How do I loop through an xmlhttprequest in javascript
I am trying to pull a set of cells from a google spreadsheet into a webpage for reporting. I read a few other posts which suggested using a timeout but I cannot seem to get that working either. If you think that would work, I can add my code that I tried to use for the timeout. Here is my code:
var days = new Array();
days[0] ="G11%3AG11"; /*Today*/
days[1] ="G10%3AG10";
days[2] ="G9%3AG9";
days[3] ="G8%3AG8";
days[4] ="G7%3AG7";
days[5] ="G6%3AG6";
days[6] ="G5%3AG5";
days[7] ="G4%3AG4"; /*One week ago*/
var dayOfWeek = new Array();
dayOfWeek[0] ="day0";
dayOfWeek[1] ="day1";
dayOfWeek[2] ="day2";
dayOfWeek[3] ="day3";
dayOfWeek[4] ="day4";
dayOfWeek[5] ="day5";
dayOfWeek[6] ="day6";
dayOfWeek[7] ="day7";
function getValue(cell, element){
var url = "https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=MyKey&single=true&gid=2&range="+cell+"&output=csv";
temp = new XMLHttpRequest();
temp.onreadystatechange = function () {
if (temp.readyState === 4) {
document.getElementById(element).innerHTML = temp.responseText;
}
};
temp.open("GET", url, true);
temp.send(null);
}
When I call the function in the main body of the code this is what it looks like:
for(var a=0;a<days.length;a++){
getValue(days[a],dayOfWeek[a]);
}
When I run it in a for loop I get the same value for each of my id tags. They are all the value from the last item in the array. I am not sure if the issue is with the xmlhttprequest not getting enough time or what, any help would be appreciated.
A:
You're not properly declaring "temp" as a local variable in the XHR event handler. Add var in front of it. Without that, it's global. That means that each call to "getValue()" overwrites the work of the previous one.
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Angiotensin II does not directly affect Aβ secretion or β-/γ-secretase activity via activation of angiotensin II type 1 receptor.
Recent studies suggest that brain angiotensin II (Ang II), the major effector molecule of the renin-angiotensin system, is implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, it remains unknown whether activation or blockade of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) has an impact on the secretion of amyloid-β (Aβ), the key molecule in the pathogenesis of AD. In this study, the cell models cultured primary hippocampal neurons and human embryonic kidney 293 cells, were transfected with AT1R and amyloid precursor protein/presenilin-1 (PS1). The effects of activation/blockade of the AT1R on Aβ secretion, PS1 level and β-/γ-secretase activity were investigated in different cells. When AT1R was stimulated with Ang II at concentrations from 10nM to 1000nM, only a tendency toward increased Aβ secretion and β-/γ-secretase activity was noticed in cultured primary hippocampal neurons. However, no significant change in soluble Aβ(40) or Aβ(42), the level of PS1, or secretase activity was found in the cells. Similarly, when the AT1R was blocked by losartan, no significant alteration of Aβ secretion, PS1 levels or secretase activity was detected. In conclusion, this in vitro study demonstrates that Ang II does not directly affect Aβ secretion or secretase activity via activation of AT1R. This study is significantly meaningful for exploring the pharmacologic mechanisms of angiotensin II receptor blockers in AD. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
The role of medical home in emergency department use for children with developmental disabilities in the United States.
Children with developmental disabilities (DDs) have higher rates of emergency department use (EDU) than their typically developing peers do. This study sought to elucidate the relationship between EDU frequency and access to a comprehensive medical home for children with DD. This study conducted multivariate logistic regression analysis on data from the 2005-2006 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs to explore the association between EDU frequency among children with DD and medical home. Compared with children with DD reporting zero EDU, children with 3 or more EDU were less likely to report access to usual health care source (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.45-0.88). Moreover, children with DD who had 3 or more EDU were less likely to have clinicians who listen to parental concerns (AOR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.45-0.76), demonstrate sensitivity toward family values and customs (AOR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.46, 0.78), and build meaningful family partnerships (AOR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.53-0.89). The study suggests that children with DD reporting 3 or more EDU per year would likely reduce their EDU by having access to usual source of primary care services and to clinicians with skills in building meaningful partnership with the parents. The inclusion of these medical home attributes in the adoption of patient-centered medical homes with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act presents a mechanism to improve care at lower cost as well as facilitate chronic disease management and coordination between emergency medicine and primary care physicians that may lead to reductions in EDU and unnecessary hospitalization. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
EasyDrugTesting
Item: Strep A Test Strips, 25/bx
Features of Strep A Test Strips: The is a lateral flow, one-step immunoassay for the rapid,qualitative detection of Group A Streptococcal antigen from throat swabs. The test is intended for use as an aid in the diagnosis of Group A Streptococcal infection. Rapid Strep A antigen test. Test results in 5 minutes. CLIA-waived. Dipstick format. Controls included. Includes: 25 test packs, 25 sterile throat swabs, extraction reagent, positive control, and negative control | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Here’s a mid-week dinner that features a pasta sauce you’ve never heard of or tried, but you should!
Austin Slow Burn’s Southwest Pasta Sauce is one of the biggest jars (and heaviest) of product that I brought home from the Houston Hot Sauce Festival. I really wrestled over this one, as I knew I had weight limits for my luggage for the flight back home. But I kept coming back to Austin Slow Burn’s booth and decided I just had to bring their pasta sauce home with me – hey, I was saving on shipping, right?
Since we couldn’t make it out to Cincinnati for Jungle Jim’s Weekend of Fire this year, I thought it would be fun to share a post about Cincinnati Style Chili. We just love to whip this up as a quick meal for a movie. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Resources
The films of Barbra Streisand
The Academy Award-winning actress-singer-director is being honored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center with its 40th annual Chaplin Award, to be presented at a gala career tribute on Monday, April 22, 2013 in New York City.
By CBSNews.com senior editor David Morgan
Credit: Columbia Pictures
A recording and Broadway star, Barbra Streisand recreated her stage triumph as Fanny Brice in the musical "Funny Girl" for the 1968 film, directed by William Wyler. The movie traces Brice's rise from vaudeville to the fabled Ziegfeld Follies, and her tempestuous romantic relationship with gambler Nicky Arnstein.
In an Oscar rarity, Streisand tied for the Academy Award with Katharine Hepburn (for "The Lion in Winter"). Streisand was also in rare company (along with Shirley Booth, Julie Andrews and Marlee Matlin) for winning a Best Actress Oscar for her film debut.
Credit: AMPAS
Barbra Streisand in the musical "Hello, Dolly" (1969).
Though nominated in 1964 for a Tony Award for her star turn in "Funny Girl," Streisand lost the Tony to Carol Channing of "Hello, Dolly!" Yet Streisand ultimately won the role of matchmaker Dolly Levi in the film over Channing and other actresses being considered, including Ethel Merman, Elizabeth Taylor and Ann-Margret.
Credit: 20th Century Fox
Barbra Streisand in the musical "Hello, Dolly" (1969), directed by Gene Kelly. Though the film performed well at the box office, its extravagant cost weighed heavily on the studio.
Credit: 20th Century Fox
Barbra Streisand starred in the film of "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" (1970), a romantic fantasy involving reincarnation adapted from the Alan Jay Lerner-Burton Lane show. Co-starring with Streisand were Yves Montand, Larry Blyden, Bob Newhart, Simon Oakland and Jack Nicholson.
Credit: Paramount PIctures
Herbert Ross directed Barbra Streisand and George Segal in "The Owl and the Pussycat" (1970), a comedy about an actress-prostitute who moves in with an aspiring writer. Screenwriter Buck Henry ("The Graduate") adapted the stage play by Bill Manhoff.
Credit: Columbia Pictures
Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal in the screwball comedy "What's Up, Doc?" (1972), in which a mix-up involving matching luggage brings together a musicologist, jewel thieves, spies, the mob, and a young woman for whom disaster is an ever-present companion.
A poster for the Barbra Streisand film "Up the Sandbox," in which a young wife and mother delves into an increasingly outrageous fantasy life, from African tribal rituals to terrorism. The movie was directed by Irvin Kershner (who later was director of "The Empire Strikes Back").
Credit: First National
Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford in the romantic drama "The Way We Were" (1973), directed by Sydney Pollack. The film told of college lovers whose relationship over the years is torn by differences in background, political upheavals and affairs. The movie also spawned a hit theme song by Marvin Hamlisch, sung by Streisand, which was her first #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100.
Credit: Columbia Pictures
In the farce "For Pete's Sake" (1974), Barbra Streisand plays a struggling Brooklyn housewife who takes out a loan from the Mafia, and gets into increasingly wild adventures in trying to pay off her debt.
Credit: Columbia Pictures
Barbra Streisand recreated her Oscar-winning role as Fanny Brice in the sequel, "Funny Lady" (1975), which continued the story of Brice and her marriage to songwriter Billy Rose.
Credit: Columbia Pictures
"A Star Is Born," the romantic tale of a young artist whose fame ascends as her lover's star falls, had already been filmed twice, in 1937 (with Janet Gaynor and Fredric March as Hollywood actors), and as a 1954 musical (with Judy Garland and James Mason).
In 1976 Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson spun a rock version, in which an aspiring singer-songwriter falls in love with a rock legend spiraling downwards due to drugs and drink.
Credit: Warner Brothers
Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand in "A Star Is Born" (1976).
Streisand shared the Best Song Academy Award with lyricist Paul Williams for the film's signature tune, "Evergreen."
Credit: Warner Brothers
Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal re-teamed for the romantic comedy "The Main Event" (1979), about a woman who finds herself the promoter of a not-terribly-promising boxer.
Credit: Warner Brothers
Gene Hackman and Barbra Streisand in "All Night Long" (1981), a comedy in which a woman finds herself in a triangle between a young man (played by Dennis Quaid) and his father (Hackman).
Credit: Universal Pictures
Barbra Streisand's first film in the director's chair was "Yentl" (1983), inspired by the Isaac Bashevis Singer story of a young Jewish girl who impersonates a boy in order to study the Torah. Co-starring Oscar nominee Amy Irving and Mandy Patinkin, "Yentl" used songs to relate the young "man" 's inner life, struggles with cultural limitations, and dreams of breaking down gender barriers.
The film won an Oscar for Best Song Score (by Michel Legrand, Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman), and received two Best Song nominations as well.
Credit: MGM
In the 1987 drama "Nuts," based on a play by Tom Topor, Barbra Streisand plays a call girl who must prove herself sane or face incarceration in a mental institution after murdering a client. Richard Dreyfuss co-starred.
Credit: Warner Brothers
Nick Nolte played a South Carolina football coach who becomes involved with his suicidal sister's psychiatrist, played by Barbra Streisand, in the drama "The Prince of Tides" (1991), based on the Pat Conroy novel. The film was Streisand's second as a director.
The movie was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture, but not Best Director, prompting accusations of bias on the part of the Academy's Directors Branch.
Credit: Columbia Pictures
Barbra Streisand on the set of her second film as director, "The Prince of Tides."
Credit: Columbia Pictures
Based on a 1958 French film, the romantic comedy-drama "The Mirror Has Two Faces" (1996) starred Barbra Streisand and Jeff Bridges as a couple who are forced to overcome mammoth impediments to intimacy. It was Streisand's third time in the director's chair, and it was co-star Lauren Bacall's first time as an Oscar nominee, playing Streisand's domineering mother.
Credit: TriStar Pictures
Robert Redford embraces his "Way We Were" co-star Barbra Streisand after receiving an Honorary Award by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, during the 74th Annual Academy Awards, Sunday March 24, 2002.
Credit: AMPAS
After an eight-year absence, Streisand returned to the movie screen in the 2004 comedy, "Meet the Fockers." She played Ben Stiller's mother, Roz Focker, a sex therapist.
Streisand told a British interviewer that she sprained both thumbs while filming a scene in which she gave a back rub to Robert De Niro.
Credit: Universal Pictures
Barbra Streisand poses with her husband James Brolin during the 77th Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., on Sunday, February 27, 2005.
Credit: AMPAS
Kathryn Bigelow, winner of the Best Director Oscar for "The Hurt Locker," and presenter Barbara Streisand are seen backstage during the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., on Sunday, March 7, 2010.
Credit: Rick Salyer/AMPAS
Barbra Streisand also starred in a road movie, playing the mother of Seth Rogan in the 2012 comedy, "The Guilt Trip."
Credit: Paramount Pictures
Barbra Streisand performs the theme song of the film "The Way We Were," during a memorial tribute to the late composer Marvin Hamlisch, at the Academy Awards in Hollywood, Calif., February 24, 2013.
Credit: Michael Yada/AMPAS
Barbra Streisand performs the theme song of the film "The Way We Were," during a memorial tribute to the late composer Marvin Hamlisch, at the Academy Awards in Hollywood, Calif., February 24, 2013.
Credit: Darren Decker/AMPAS
The Film Society of Lincoln Center presents its 40th annual Chaplin Award to Barbra Streisand on Monday, April 22, 2013, at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Study: Nature inspires more creative minds
Hikers tested while outdoors showed 50% more creativity.
The more you get away from the stresses of daily life and the more time you spend outdoors, the greater your level of creativity. That's the conclusion from a new study that found a team of backpackers were 50 percent more creative after they had spent four days on the trail.
The study — which has not yet been published in a scientific journal — was conducted by Ruth Ann Atchley, department chair and associate professor of cognitive/clinical psychology at the University of Kansas. It was discussed in the Wall Street Journal this weekend.
"There's a growing advantage over time to being in nature," Atchley said in a press release about the research last month. "We think that it peaks after about three days of really getting away, turning off the cellphone, not hauling the iPad and not looking for Internet coverage. It's when you have an extended period of time surrounded by that softly fascinating environment that you start seeing all kinds of positive effects in how your mind works. "
Atchley and her colleagues gave a standard test of creativity called the Remote Associates Test to four groups of backpackers, totaling 60 people, before they left on long hikes. A second set of 60 backpackers got the same test, but they took it four days into their hikes. The second group of hikers — the ones deep into their nature journeys — scored nearly 50 percent higher in creativity. The results were the same regardless of the participants' ages, which ranged from 18 into their 60s. The research was conducted in partnership with the outdoor leadership nonprofit Outward Bound.
Atchley discussed the value nature provides to the human mind: "Nature is a place where our mind can rest, relax and let down those threat responses," she said. "Therefore, we have resources left over — to be creative, to be imaginative, to problem solve — that allow us to be better, happier people who engage in a more productive way with others." She calls the constant distractions and stimulations of modern life a "threat," saying "they sap our resources to do the fun thinking and cognition humans are capable of — things like creativity, or being kind and generous, along with our ability to feel good and be in a positive mood."
The Journal cites several other recent studies which found that spending time in nature provides cognitive benefits. Among them: a group of teens who spent time walking in an arboretum were in much better moods and did better in short-term memory tests than another group of students who had just walked down a set of busy streets.
Atchley's research was also discussed last month in Backpacker magazine. The article is not available online. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Paris Jackson is outraged about those tabloid reports about her mental health and says she does not have the same level of patience to deal with media attention as her late father Michael Jackson, who is the subject of a disturbing and controversial new documentary that she adds is not her "role" to speak out about.
In January, E! News learned that Paris, 20, had checked into a treatment facility to "take some time off to reboot, realign and prioritize her physical and emotional health." Paris would then tweet that she had "taken a break" and that she was "happy and healthy and feeling better than ever." In recent days, there have been a couple of unflattering tabloid reports about her alleged behavior, which follow growing controversy over the Leaving Neverland documentary, which focuses on two men accusing the King of Pop of past child sex abuse.
When a fan asked Paris on Twitter on Thursday if she would "trade the wealth for the freedom from disgusting press," Paris replied, "I have the same moral compass as my father, but not the level of patience. I'll fight for love n peace in the same way, but I am more aggressively driven. I don't sit by idly when i see injustices happen, especially when they're directed towards me or my family. F--k that noise."
"There's nothing I can say that hasn't already been said in regards to defense," Paris replied. "[My cousin] Taj [Jackson]is doing a perfect job on his own. and i support him. But that's not my role. I'm just tryna get everyone to chill out and go with the flow, be mellow and think about the bigger picture. That's me."
On Wednesday, tabloid magazine In Touchpublished a story about Paris that included a photo showing what it said was her having an "explosive fight" with her boyfriend and Soundflowers band mate, Gabriel Glenn, in New Orleans during Mardi Gras celebrations on March 3. The headline included the words, "Downward Spiral?"
"Damn I'm just now catching wind of these downward spiral articles.. this is like, what ? the 7th time y'all have accused me of this ? the 3rd in the past month? n yet not one OD from all the 'drugs' y'all accuse me of doing or any hospitalizations… 7… but who's counting right…" Paris tweeted on Thursday.
Paris also wrote, "Me and my bf re-enacted 'The Californians' from SNL while we were in NOLA purely for the entertainment of our friends, and paps happened to be taking pictures of it all and.... y'all it looks like a full on break-up scene in a sad drama movie omg."
Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images
Another tabloid, Radar Online, recently alleged that Paris "spiraling out of control, friends fear, in a haze of smoke and booze" after the "damning" Leaving Neverland documentary.
"F------kkkk youuuuuuuuu you lying pieces of s------ttttttttttttt," Paris tweeted in response, adding, "I smoke weed on my story ONE time and all of a sudden I'm a junkie meth alcoholic party raver that's also secretly married and pregnant and may or may not have a penis. I have a job. And dogs. And a bedtime. Go f--k yourself."
In February, Paris was all smiles when she stepped out with her boyfriend in West Hollywood, marking the first time she'd been photographed since it was reported she had sought treatment. Days later, British tabloids posted unconfirmed reports that claimed Paris had suffered a "complete meltdown" over Leaving Neverland and that she allegedly demanded that Macaulay Culkin, her father's friend and her godfather, publicly denounce the TV project.
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Technical Information
Person
*/d_person 1001919
Name
Kawakami Otojiro
Notes
Actor. Born in Fukuoka. He came to Tokyo at the age of 14 and lived a vagabond's life for a while. He was influenced by the Liberal Party and started calling himself "Jiyudoshi". Despite severe regulations against the Freedom and People's Rights Movement, Kawakami became a pupil of the comic storyteller, Bunnosuke Katsura, in Osaka. He obtained popularity through Oppekepe-busi stories that satirized current events and called himself Ukiyotei Maru Maru. He launched Kawakami Shosei Shibai in 1891 and visited France in 1893. Upon returning to Japan the following year, he achieved great success with a war drama titled, "Sozetsu kaizetsu Nisshin senso" (The Sublime, Exhilarating Sino-Japanese War). Kawakami consolidated the foundation of Shinpa dramas. He opened Kawakamiza at Kanda in 1896, and in 1899, he and Sadayakko (actress and his wife) barnstormed in Europe and the United States with an organized troupe. After returning to Japan Kawakami presented translated dramas. After retiring as an actor, he became an impresario. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
NFL Deathwatch is on, baby! And the clock is counting down fast.
A growing number of businesses are boycotting the National Football League until players stop disrespecting the national anthem.
Ohio businessman Bill DeFries decided to stop showing NFL games at his restaurant after more than 200 football players refused to stand for the anthem last Sunday.
“While I respect the right of every American to express their views and voices freely, the actions demonstrated by the NFL players during the national anthem was offensive and disrespectful to me as a proud veteran and all my fellow veterans,” DeFries told Fox Business’ David Asman (see video).
Bill DeFries is a Marine Corps veteran who owns Beef O’Brady’s Restaurant in Beavercreek, Ohio.
He doesn’t care if sales are hurt by his decision because he won’t allow the NFL to continue its anti-American protesting at his restaurant. So far, business has been good, as most of his customers agree with him.
“We are a family restaurant, and we have been for 13 years,” he said. “[Customers] come in to relax and be entertained.”
DeFries said clients don’t want to be lectured at or have propaganda thrown in their faces when they’re trying to relax.
DeFries said President Trump’s comments did not influence his decision. He just got fed up with the NFL’s liberal preaching.
Retired @USMC and Ohio restaurant owner Bill Defries on why he is refusing to show @NFL games in his restaurant: pic.twitter.com/6wbkGY7jGC — FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) September 28, 2017
The only snag is that DirecTV has refused to refund $6,000 to DeFries after he canceled his NFL Sunday Ticket package (yo DirecTV, stop being jerks!) but he hopes they will change their mind.
DirecTV ignored BizPac Review’s multiple requests for comment.
“They wouldn’t refund our $6,000, but they’re doing it for their residential customers,” Bill said. “Hopefully, they’ll change their mind.”
Colin Kaepernick is done! Donated $25,000 to celebrate a notorious convicted cop killer
They’re going to have to, because other restaurants across the nation are also canceling their NFL packages. So far, seven more restaurants have joined Bill DeFries by boycotting the NFL, Sports Illustrated reported. They include:
Baxters Family Food & Fun (Tennessee) Borio’s (New York) Canyon Road Barn and Grill (Texas)
Cooper’s Landing (New York)
Palmetto Restaurant and Ale House (South Carolina)
Sarita’s Grill & Cantina Denham (Louisiana), and
WOW Cafe & Wingery (Louisiana).
These businesses joined Hardwick Clothing — America’s oldest suit maker — which just pulled its ads from NFL games. Take that, kneelers!
Clueless leftists are going to find out real soon that money talks and bullsh*t walks.
NFL star Jack Brewer, a lifelong Dem, puts nail in Left’s coffin with pro-Trump speech | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
List of Monumentum pro Gesualdo stagings
This is a chronological list of stagings of New York City Ballet co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine's Monumentum pro Gesualdo made to Igor Stravinsky's eponymous music:
Premiere
1960 New York City Ballet
NYCB revivals
2009 Winter
Subsequent stagings
1984 Dutch National Ballet
1999 Pennsylvania Ballet
See also
Monumentum pro Gesualdo casts
External links
Balanchine Foundation website
Balanchine Trust website
NYCB website
Category:New York City Ballet repertory
Category:Ballets by George Balanchine
Category:Ballets to the music of Igor Stravinsky
Category:Ballets designed by David Hays
Category:Ballets designed by Ronald Bates
Category:Lists of ballet stagings
Category:1960 ballet premieres
Category:New York City Ballet Salute to Italy | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
's Area
From the land of the rising sun to the pearl of the Pacific, series one of The Travel Bug takes you to unique, exciting and spectacular destinations that every traveller longs to see. There’s a great mix of urban exploration, dream holiday locales and a bit of adventure, so no matter what your taste might be, there’s something for everybody. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
872 F.Supp. 762 (1995)
Kyle HALMOS, Petitioner,
v.
UNITED STATES of America, Respondent.
Crim. No. 92-01608 DAE. Civ. No. 94-00812 DAE.
United States District Court, D. Hawai`i.
January 9, 1995.
*763 Kyle Halmos, pro se.
Richard Ney, Fed. Public Defender, Birney Bervar, Honolulu, HI, for petitioner Kyle Halmos.
Daniel A. Bent by Sharon A. Takeuchi, Asst. U.S. Atty., Honolulu, HI, for respondent U.S.
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO VACATE JUDGMENT AND SENTENCE UNDER 28 U.S.C. § 2255
DAVID ALAN EZRA, District Judge.
Petitioner represents himself in this matter and brings this motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, seeking to vacate the judgment and sentence entered by this court on August 2, 1993. Pursuant to Local Rule 220-2(d) and 28 U.S.C. § 2255, the court considers Petitioner's motion without a hearing. After reviewing the Petitioner's motion and accompanying memorandum, the court DENIES Petitioner's request for reduction in his sentence.
BACKGROUND
Petitioner Kyle Halmos ("Halmos") pled guilty to bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) and received a sentence of 51 months incarceration to be followed by 3 *764 years supervision. Court-appointed attorney Birney B. Bervar, represented Petitioner.
Halmos admitted entering the Aiea branch of the Bank of Hawaii on November 18, 1992, approaching a teller and handing her a note demanding money. According to the teller's testimony at an evidentiary hearing, the note contained the threat: "give me all your money ... or you will die." Transcript of Proceedings ("Transcript"), Aug. 2, 1993, at 6. Halmos verbally communicated the same message. Id. The teller, however, turned out to be related to Halmos and recognized him. After she identified herself to Halmos as his sister's husband's sister, Halmos admonished her not to turn him in and left the bank without receiving any money. Id. at 7.
On November 25, 1992, with the knowledge that the police were looking for him, Halmos contacted investigators, identified himself as the person who attempted to rob the bank, informed them that he was experiencing psychiatric problems and that he desired to surrender himself. Halmos surrendered two days later, on November 27, 1992 but did not at that time admit to committing the offense, refusing to discuss the matter without advice of an attorney. Petitioner's Memorandum of Fact and Law in Support of Motion Pursuant to Title 28 U.S.C. § 2255 ("Petitioner's Memorandum"), at 2. At his arraignment on November 27, the Magistrate ordered a report on Petitioner's mental condition and competency. Halmos was charged in a single-count indictment on December 3, 1992 for attempting to take, by intimidation, from the person or presence of another, money belonging to and in the care of a bank as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2113(f), in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a).
Halmos states that in March 1993, his attorney contacted the Assistant United States Attorney in order to negotiate a plea agreement. Petitioner's Memorandum at 2. An April 5, 1993 hearing on change of plea was continued in order for the court to review the doctor's report finding Halmos competent to stand trial. On April 12, 1993, the court accepted Halmos's guilty plea pursuant to Rule 11.
At sentencing, this court awarded a two-level reduction in offense level for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(a). At the hearing, Halmos, through his attorney, argued that he should receive an additional one-level reduction because either (1) he timely provided complete information to the government concerning his own involvement in the offense, or (2) he timely notified authorities of his intention to plead guilty, thereby permitting the government to avoid preparing for trial. U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(b)(1), (2). This court denied the additional one-level reduction.
Due to the total offense level and criminal history level, the sentencing guidelines called for a prison range of 51 to 63 months. Petitioner's attorney did not argue for a downward departure due to diminished capacity because attempted bank robbery is considered a violent crime. Transcript at 18. However, his attorney did request this court to consider diminished capacity factors within the given range of 51-63 months, which this court did in sentencing Petitioner to 51 months of incarceration, the lowest end of the guidelines.
Halmos alleges that his attorney's representation was ineffective both during the sentencing hearing and in failing to directly appeal. Petitioner bases his arguments on his attorney's (1) failure to assert that an attempted robbery should be subject to a three-level reduction in offense level pursuant to § 2X1.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines; (2) ineffectual argument before the court that Petitioner should have received an additional one-level decrease under § 3E1.1(b) for acceptance of responsibility; and (3) error in stating that Petitioner's offense was a violent crime not eligible for a § 5K2.13 downward departure.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
I. Section 2255 Motions
This court's review of Petitioner's motion is provided for in 28 U.S.C. § 2255:
A prisoner in custody under sentence of a court established by Act of Congress claiming the right to be released upon the ground that the sentence was imposed in *765 violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States, or that the court was without jurisdiction to impose such sentence, or that the sentence was in excess of the maximum authorized by law, or is otherwise subject to collateral attack, may move the court which imposed the sentence to vacate, set aside or correct the sentence.
Because the scope of collateral attack of a sentence under § 2255 is limited, it does not encompass all claimed errors in conviction and sentencing. United States v. Addonizio, 442 U.S. 178, 185, 99 S.Ct. 2235, 2240, 60 L.Ed.2d 805 (1979). However, petitioner alleges that errors in sentencing and his failure to appeal resulted from ineffectiveness of counsel. Ineffectiveness of counsel claims are customarily raised under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, rather than direct appeal. United States v. Hoslett, 998 F.2d 648, 660 (9th Cir.1993). Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, the court may dispose of the motion without requiring a response from the government where the motion, files and records of the case conclusively show that the prisoner is not entitled to relief. Fontaine v. United States, 411 U.S. 213, 215, 93 S.Ct. 1461, 1462, 36 L.Ed.2d 169 (1973); United States v. Moore, 921 F.2d 207, 211 (9th Cir.1990).
II. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
To establish a claim of ineffectiveness of counsel, a petitioner must demonstrate that (1) his counsel's actions "fell below an objective standard of reasonableness" and that (2) he was prejudiced in a way that deprived him of a fair trial resulting in a "reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceedings would have been different." United States v. Espinoza, 866 F.2d 1067, 1070 (9th Cir.1988) (quoting Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687-88, 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064-65, 2068, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984)). Furthermore, the focus of the prejudice analysis is on whether the result of the proceeding was fundamentally unfair or unreliable because of counsel's ineffectiveness. Lockhart v. Fretwell, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 113 S.Ct. 838, 844, 122 L.Ed.2d 180 (1993). "Unreliability or unfairness does not result if the ineffectiveness of counsel does not deprive the defendant of any substantive or procedural right to which the law entitles him." Id.
DISCUSSION
Petitioner asserts that his attorney's representation was ineffective on three grounds: (1) failure to receive a three-point reduction in offense level under U.S.S.G. § 2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy), because his crime consisted in only an attempted robbery; (2) denial of an additional one-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(b); and (3) failure to appeal denial of a downward departure under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.13 for diminished capacity in light of subsequent Ninth Circuit decisions.
I. Petitioner's § 2X1.1 Claim.
In order for Petitioner to succeed in his § 2255 motion, he must show that his counsel's conduct fell outside the range of reasonable professional assistance and probably resulted in a different outcome. The record indicates that his attorney did not argue for a three-level reduction for attempt. Petitioner relies on United States v. Colussi, 22 F.3d 218 (9th Cir.1994), for the proposition that the language of § 2X1.1 is not permissive and leaves no discretion to the sentencing court to refrain from giving the three-level reduction.
Halmos argues that he should have received a decrease of three levels pursuant to § 2X1.1(b)(1) because his offense consisted in only an attempt. However, § 2X1.1(c) provides that "when an attempt ... is expressly covered by another offense guideline section, apply that guideline section." Petitioner's offense is the crime of robbing or attempting to rob, and the substantive offense is therefore covered by § 2B3.1 ("Robbery") of the guidelines. United States v. Toles, 867 F.2d 222 (5th Cir.1989) (concluding sentencing guideline allowing decrease for incomplete offense did not apply to sentencing for attempted robbery).
However, even assuming arguendo that § 2X1.1 does provide for an offense level reduction in bank robbery, Halmos would still not be entitled to a three-level decrease. *766 Section 2X1.1(b)(1) expressly provides that a decrease is not warranted if:
the defendant completed all the acts the defendant believed necessary for successful completion of the substantive offense or the circumstances demonstrate that the defendant was about to complete all such acts but for the apprehension or interruption by some similar event beyond the defendant's control.
A defendant convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) is not entitled to a three-level reduction in offense level when the crime would have been complete "but for" some interceding event outside defendant's control. United States v. Yellowe, 24 F.3d 1110 (9th Cir. 1994) (holding no entitlement to three-level reduction where sole reasons offense not completed was intercession by law enforcement authorities and agents disconnected computer terminals by which defendant attempted to access funds); United States v. Chapdelaine, 989 F.2d 28 (1st Cir.1993) (affirming denial of three-level decrease in offense level because completion of robbery was frustrated only by change in armored truck's schedule); Toles, 867 F.2d 222 (finding defendant who had given demand note to teller without keys to cash box had completed all acts necessary for successful completion of robbery and was not entitled to three-level decrease).
In Petitioner's case, the completion of the robbery was frustrated only by the coincidental recognition of Halmos by the teller who was related to him by marriage. Prior to that recognition, Halmos had entered the bank, handed the demand note to the teller, and twice communicated verbal threats. Transcript, at 6. Because Halmos had completed all acts necessary for completion of the crime, the court finds that § 2X1.1(b) does not apply.
Petitioner's § 2X1.1 claim is meritless and consequently any assertion that counsel was ineffective on this ground is also without merit. The result of the proceeding was not fundamentally unfair and counsel's failure to assert the § 2X1.1 claim caused no prejudice to Halmos. Accordingly, this court DENIES Petitioner's § 2255 motion based on the § 2X1.1 claim.
II. Petitioner's § 3E1.1(b) Claim.
This court granted a two-level reduction in offense level for acceptance of responsibility under § 3E1.1(a). Halmos argues that he should have received an additional one-level decrease under § 3E1.1(b). Petitioner's counsel did present this argument during the sentencing proceeding but failed to persuade this court on its merits. Halmos argues that subsequent Ninth Circuit case law should alter that ruling. However, after reviewing Petitioner's Memorandum, this court still finds Petitioner's argument meritless, even if the attorney had failed to raise the argument and even if recent Ninth Circuit cases applied to Petitioner's sentencing.
To qualify for the additional reduction under § 3E1.1(b), a defendant must meet the conditions for § 3E1.1(a), have an offense level of 16 or greater, and assist authorities by taking one or more of the following steps:
(1) timely providing complete information to the government concerning his own involvement in the offense; or
(2) timely notifying authorities of his intention to enter a plea of guilty, thereby permitting the government to avoid preparing for trial and permitting the court to allocate its resources efficiently[.]
U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(b). The Sentencing Guidelines language "eschews any court discretion to deny" the one-level reduction once all the essential elements of subparagraph (b) are met. Colussi, 22 F.3d at 219-20 (quoting United States v. Tello, 9 F.3d 1119, 1129-30 (5th Cir.1993)).
Halmos attempts to analogize his case to the facts of United States v. Stoops, 25 F.3d 820 (9th Cir.1994). In Stoops, officers apprehended and arrested a bank robber within minutes of the incident. After being advised of his constitutional rights, Stoops confessed to the arresting officers, investigators at the jail, as well as to the FBI on the same day, and informed them of the location of the stolen funds and the demand note. 25 F.3d at 821. The court found that these "multiple consistent confessions" to law enforcement officials qualified Stoops for the additional one-level decrease under § 3E1.1(b)(1), despite *767 his later challenge to the admissibility of the confessions in pretrial motions to suppress. Id. at 823. Halmos argues that his telephonic confession two days prior to his surrender and his discussion of events concerning the robbery attempt with the doctor performing the psychiatric evaluation also qualified him for the one-level reduction, despite his refusal to answer further questions while in custody after having been informed of his constitutional rights.
This court finds Petitioner's reliance on Stoops unpersuasive. The defendant there fully assisted authorities prior to his motion to suppress. In Petitioner's case, the telephonic communication and discussion of events with a court-appointed doctor are not equivalent to the "multiple consistent confessions" to police officers and the FBI in Stoops. In addition, Halmos never acknowledged that his conduct included a death threat, although the evidence indicated that he did make such a threat, both verbally and in writing. Petitioner's actions can hardly be characterized as "timely providing complete information" as required by § 3E1.1(b)(1).
Halmos argues that his exercise of his constitutional right to have an attorney present during questioning is not a refusal to admit guilt and should not preclude the one-level decrease. However, as this court pointed out in the sentencing proceedings, the denial of the additional reduction was not a penalty for the exercise of any constitutional right; Petitioner's conduct simply did not entitle him to any additional reward or incentive. Transcript at 15. As the Ninth Circuit stated recently:
Section (b) allows the defendant to earn an additional reduction by providing timely notice of his intention to plead guilty, and it thus creates an incentive for an early plea. Incentives for plea bargaining are not unconstitutional merely because they are intended to encourage a defendant to forego constitutionally protected conduct.
United States v. Narramore, 36 F.3d 845, 847 (9th Cir.1994) (emphasis added). Halmos did not fully and timely provide information to the government and thus did not earn the additional reduction under § 3E1.1(b)(1).
Petitioner also argues that he should have received the one-level decrease under § 3E1.1(b)(2) for timely notifying the government of his intention to plead guilty, citing United States v. Kimple, 27 F.3d 1409 (9th Cir.1994), for support. In Kimple, the Ninth Circuit determined the meaning of "timely" acceptance of responsibility for the purposes of subsection (b)(2). In considering a case where the district court denied the additional one-level reduction to a narcotics offender who had filed a pretrial motion to suppress, the appellate court held that a defendant is entitled to the decrease only if he has pled guilty before the prosecution has made "meaningful trial preparations." Id. at 1413. The court found that "merely opposing a suppression motion is not sufficient to constitute trial preparation." Id. at 1415.
Applying this holding to the instant case, however, does not benefit Halmos. Petitioner argues that a one-line statement in the presentence report concerning the extent of the government's preparation for trial should not be sufficient proof that "meaningful" trial preparation occurred. However, he ignores the fact that this court questioned the Assistant United States Attorney during the sentencing proceedings and found that preparation of subpoenas, jury instructions and voir dire was sufficient under the § 3E1.1(b)(2) to deny the one-level reduction. See Transcript at 14-16. Because meaningful trial preparation had taken place, Petitioner's claim under this subsection is also groundless.
Petitioner's conduct fails to satisfy all the "essential elements and steps and facets of the tripartite test of subparagraph (b)." See Colussi, 22 F.3d at 219-20. Both his § 3E1.1(b)(1) and (b)(2) arguments are meritless. Because the underlying arguments are flawed, Petitioner's allegation that his counsel was ineffective is also baseless. Accordingly, this court DENIES Petitioner's § 2255 motion based on his § 3E1.1(b) claim.
III. Petitioner's § 5K2.13 Claim.
Petitioner's final argument for resentencing assigns error to this court for denying a downward departure based on diminished capacity under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.13. To *768 qualify for a downward departure under this provision, a defendant's offense must be "non-violent." In the sentencing hearing, Petitioner's counsel agreed that attempted bank robbery is a violent offense precluding any downward departure. Transcript, at 18. However, Halmos maintains that an unarmed bank robbery can be considered a non-violent crime under current Ninth Circuit case law. Petitioner offers no authority in support of this assertion.
In fact, Ninth Circuit case law continues to follow United States v. Borrayo, 898 F.2d 91 (9th Cir.1990), where the court found the defendant ineligible for a § 5K2.13 downward departure because his offense of unarmed bank robbery is considered a violent crime by the Sentencing Guidelines. Id. at 94. The court reasoned:
Because "non-violent offense" is not defined in the guidelines, we defer to the definition of "crime of violence" in the federal criminal statutes, which is used elsewhere in the guidelines. See Guidelines, § 4B1.2. We find no basis for a conclusion that the Commission intended any other meaning. A crime of violence is defined as an offense that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another. Borrayo's acts are included in this definition because he threatened physical force. See also Guidelines, § 4B1.2 commentary (robbery is a crime of violence). As result, § 5K2.13 is not available to Borrayo to support a departure.
Id. The Ninth Circuit continues to hold that the term "non-violent offense" of § 5K2.13 is equivalent to "crime of violence" under § 4B1.2. See, e.g., United States v. Cantu, 12 F.3d 1506, 1513 (9th Cir.1993); United States v. Hunter, 985 F.2d 1003, 1007 (9th Cir.1992); United States v. Sanchez, 933 F.2d 742, 747 (9th Cir.1991). The Sentencing Guidelines, U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2, Commentary, Application n. 2, includes robbery as a crime of violence. In addition, the Ninth Circuit in Sanchez found an unarmed bank robber's use of a threatening demand note sufficiently violent to preclude application of § 5K2.13. 933 F.2d at 747. For support the court cited United States v. Maddalena, 893 F.2d 815, 819 (6th Cir.1989) (holding that an unarmed bank robbery may fall within the "crime of violence" definition because "an ordinary person in the teller's position reasonably could infer a threat of bodily harm"). Similarly, Halmos used a demand note and verbal threats in the robbery attempt. Consequently, his conviction of attempted bank robbery by intimidation also meets the definition of a violent crime.
Because Petitioner's crime is considered a violent offense under Ninth Circuit authority, he is not eligible for a downward departure under § 5K2.13. Like Petitioner's other claims, his allegation of ineffective assistance of counsel in not securing a downward departure is unfounded. Failure by counsel to assert a meritless argument did not cause any prejudice to Halmos. Consequently, the court DENIES Petitioner's § 2255 motion based on his § 5K2.13 claim.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons given, the court DENIES Petitioner's motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to vacate judgment and sentence.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
1.. Introduction
================
Fatigue is one of criteria in asphalt concrete pavement design, and the fatigue failure of asphalt concrete has a correlation with the magnitude of tensile strain at the bottom of the asphalt layer \[[@b1-sensors-12-10001]--[@b3-sensors-12-10001]\]. Therefore, it is very important to monitor the strain response of asphalt layers in service under vehicle loads \[[@b4-sensors-12-10001],[@b5-sensors-12-10001]\]. However, the existing methods are very limited in measuring the strain changes for the low modulus of asphalt concrete, which is approximately 1 GPa. Traditional electronic strain guages have difficulties to work when the insulation and electromagnetism are concerned. Optical Fiber Bragg Gratings (OFBG) sensors have been widely used in civil infrastructures in recent years \[[@b6-sensors-12-10001]--[@b9-sensors-12-10001]\], so some researchers have turned to use optical fiber sensors due to their vibration resistance and electromagnetism immunity \[[@b10-sensors-12-10001]--[@b12-sensors-12-10001]\]. However, the modulus of the traditional optical fiber sensor is so high that it is very hard to obtain the real strain changes of the asphalt pavement \[[@b13-sensors-12-10001]--[@b15-sensors-12-10001]\].
In this research, a novel polypropylene based OFBG strain sensor with low modulus and large strain sensing scale was designed and fabricated. Because it has almost the same modulus and constitutive relationship of strain and stress with asphalt, PP (polypropylene) can be regarded as a proper matrix in packaging bare OFBG to fabricate strain sensors to monitor the strain response of asphalt concrete pavement. In this study, the physical and mechanical performance of the PP resin matrix was studied; the appropriate fabrication techniques were developed and the sensing properties of this kind of sensor were calibrated.
2.. Materials
=============
2.1.. Material Properties
-------------------------
PP with different contents of maleic anhydride graft PP was selected as the matrix materials for the OFBG in this research. The properties of PP are shown in [Table 1](#t1-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="table"}, and the properties of MA-G-PP (maleic anhydride graft polypropylene) are shown in [Table 2](#t2-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="table"}. The sensing coefficients of strain and temperature of the OFBG are 1.2 pm/με and 10 pm/°C, respectively.
2.2.. Rheology Performance of the Resin Matrix
----------------------------------------------
The rheology behaviors of seven kinds of PP with different contents of MA-G-PP were tested using the AR2000 rheometer produced by TA Instruments. It can be seen from [Figure 1](#f1-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"} that the apparent viscosity of melting PP is very sensitive to temperature. With the temperature raises from 180 °C to 260 °C, the viscosity decreases to about the 1/3 of the original value of each specimen. The higher the content of the MA-G-PP, the lower the viscosity is. For low levels of MA-G-PP content, such as 0%, 1% and 3%, the change of viscosity is not apparent. A sudden drop appears for the 5% content, while 7%, 10% and 15% show almost identical results as the former. The viscosity of the PP with 5% of MA-G-PP is much lower than that of the PP without MA-G-PP, as shown in [Figure 1](#f1-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"}. Concerning both the viscosity and the degradation of PP, 220 °C is a proper operating temperature.
It can be seen in [Figure 2](#f2-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"} that melted PP with different contents of MA-G-PP is a typical non-Newtonian fluid, and the viscosity decreases as the shear rate ascends. Concerning both the rheology behavior and the mechanical performance, the PP with 5% content of MA-G-PP was chosen as the proper matrix in this research to package the bare OFBG.
3.. Fabrication of the PP Based OFBG Strain Sensor (Processing Techniques)
==========================================================================
3.1.. Interface Strain Transfer of PP and OFBG
----------------------------------------------
The idea of the paralleled semi-extension rule based algorithm is as follows: firstly, the algorithm decomposes the maximum terms space of the clause set into several partial maximum terms spaces, which convert the SAT problem of the clause set into the SAT problem of the partial maximum terms spaces. If there is a certain partial maximum terms space that is satisfied, then the clause set is satisfied. If all the partial maximum terms spaces are unsatisfied, then the clause set is unsatisfied. In other words, the clause set is satisfied. In the following, the concept of the partial maximum terms space is discussed.
The internal force of PP and OFBG can be calculated as follows: $$\sigma_{p} = \frac{\varepsilon_{sp}}{\frac{1 + C}{E_{p}} + \frac{A_{p}}{A_{f}E_{f}}}$$where: *σ~p~, E~P~* and *A~p~* represent the internal stress, modulus and sectional area of PP matrix, respectively; *ε~sp~* is the free shrinkage strain of PP matrix without any restraint. *E~f~* and *A~f~* refer to the modulus and sectional area of optical fiber, respectively, *C* is creep coefficient.
Considering the size of sensor designed in this study, *σ~p~* should be very small, which is about 0.0832 Pa. The creep of the sensor should not be significant and the strain in the sensor can remain the same level as that in the concrete or asphalt pavement. Therefore, it can test the real strain changes.
According to the model given by Ou and Zhou \[[@b16-sensors-12-10001]\], the strain transfer performance of the interface between the fiber and PP as shown in [Figure 3](#f3-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"} can also be expressed by the following equation: $$\lambda^{2} = \frac{2G_{\text{PP}}}{E_{\text{c}}{r_{\text{c}}}^{2}\ln\frac{r_{\text{PP}}}{r_{\text{c}}}}$$where *λ*---strain transfer eigenvalue, *E*~c~---modulus of OFBG, *r*~c~---radius of OFBG, *G*~pp~---shear modulus of the matrix, *r*~pp~---radius of the matrix.
So, the error rate of the strain transfer of the interface between OFBG and matrix (*η*) and correction factor (k) can be described as: $$\eta = \frac{\text{ch}(\lambda l_{\text{f}}) - 1}{\lambda l_{\text{f}}\ \text{sh}(\lambda l_{\text{f}})}$$ $$k = \frac{1}{1 - \eta}$$
The shear modulus of PP ranges from 0.32 to 0.75 GPa, and the diameter of sensor is 5∼20 mm. *E*~c~ is about 70 GPa and *r*~c~ is about 6.25 × 10^−2^ mm, the l~f~ is 10 mm. The relationship of *η* and *G*~pp~ and *r*~pp~ is shown in [Figures 4](#f4-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"} and [5](#f5-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"}, respectively.
With the *G*~pp~ (0.4 Gpa) and *r*~c~ (14 mm), the error rates of the strain transfer of the interface between OFBG and matrix (*η*) and correction factor (k) are 0.126898 and 1.145342, respectively, and the strain sensing coefficient is 1.04 pm/με.
3.2.. Fabricating Techniques
----------------------------
The rate of extrusion for the PP based OFBG strain sensor is set as 16 r/min. The temperature settings of the extruder are shown in [Table 3](#t3-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="table"}.
The fabrication process includes the following four steps as shown in [Figure 6](#f6-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"}: (1) PP matrix is melted and extruded from the extruder; (2) Melted PP matrix enters a mould with a bare OFBG fixed along the axis; (3) The mould is put into a cooling water channel to harden the PP matrix; (4) Open the mould and the sensor is obtained. The PP-packaged OFBG strain sensor is as shown in [Figure 7](#f7-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"}.
3.3.. Hardening Process Monitoring of PP Based OFBG Strain Sensor
-----------------------------------------------------------------
OFBG have been used for monitoring FRP or concrete inner strain changes during their hardening process, and valuable conclusion were obtained \[[@b17-sensors-12-10001],[@b18-sensors-12-10001]\]. Thus, during the fabricating of the sensor, the inner strain and temperature changes of the PP matrix with the OFBG were monitored to ensure that the bare OFBG was bonding well with the PP matrix.
The temperature-time relationship of OFBG is shown in [Figure 8](#f8-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"}. The extrusion temperature of PP was originally set at about 220 °C. After PP went inside the mould and reached the OFBG position, the temperature of PP became 152.57 °C and continued descending. This would increase the viscosity of PP and hence, the viscous force increases accordingly. [Figure 9](#f9-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"} shows the strain changes of the OFBG, and from which it can be seen that the shrinkage of PP is very large. By hardening for 50 minutes, the inner strain reached −12,000 με. Three days later, the wavelength was stable at about 1,524,320 nm, and the inner strain change was about −13,060 με, which truly reflected the shrinkage of PP. Because of the high ultimate strain of PP, this sensor maybe suitable to monitor large scale tensile strains.
4.. Tensile Sensing Test of the PP Based OFBG Strain Sensor
===========================================================
The tensile sensing tests were carried out using an universal testing machine. The load measurement precision is 0.001 kg. A 50 mm extensometer was used to measure the tensile strain of the sensor. The strain measurement precision is 0.001 mm. The calibration test is shown as [Figure 10](#f10-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"}. The wavelength of OFBG was measured with the FBG-SLI Interrogator SI720 of Micron Optics. The load, tensile strain, and wavelength of OFBG were recorded, as shown in [Figures 11](#f11-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"} and [12](#f12-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"}. Because the PP matrix is in an elastomeric state with a low modulus like asphalt at normal atmospheric a temperature, time-lag phenomenon appears, but the repetitive properties are very good, so it can be used in monitoring low modulus materials or structures.
It can be seen in [Figure 11](#f11-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"} that the sensing coefficient of this new sensor is about 0.85 pm/με. The calculation result in Section 3.1. is about 1.04 pm/με. The sensibility factor of OFBG is 1.20 pm/με. The difference among them is due to the difference between the micro-mechanics interface strain transfer performance and the materials\' actual performance. To verify the repetitive properties of this new kind of sensor, the specimens were subjected to several loading and unloading cycles. The test results reveal that PP-OFBG strain sensor can work very well in load-unload loops because it is in the elastic range, as shown in [Figure 12](#f12-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"}.
5.. Concrete and Asphalt Concrete Test
======================================
5.1.. Compressive Test in Concrete Column
-----------------------------------------
Axial compressive test is performed to concrete column embedded with the proposed sensor to monitor strain under different load. In order to comparison, resistance strain gauges are also stuck on the lateral sides of the concrete column as shown in [Figure 13](#f13-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"}. The test using load instrumentation were conducted obtain force of three load-unload cycle in elastic stage and the course to failure. The results are shown in [Figure 14](#f14-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"}.
[Figure 14(a)](#f14-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"} shows the strain curves of the developed sensor and resistance gauge. It can be seen that they are similar. Due to the high stiffness of resistance gauges, strain measured by them is a bit smaller. Three curves under three load-unload cycles in [Figure 14(b)](#f14-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"} possess good repeatability and linearity. It can be verified that stickiness between optical fiber Bragg grating and polypropylene, sensor and concrete are all reliable. The whole response in [Figure 14(c)](#f14-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"} correlatively tracks the course of load and strain. When the strain is less than 600 με, elastic deformation arises. When the strain reaches 1,200 με, failure occurs. Correlative curve between load and central wavelength of the developed sensor is shown in [Figure 14(d)](#f14-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"}. It is almost a straight line with a proportion coefficient of 4.35 pm/kN and correlative coefficient of 0.9999.
5.2.. Test in Asphalt Concrete Beam
-----------------------------------
Steel dies with inner size of 100 mm × 100 mm × 400 mm were prepared. The new developed sensor is embedded after 10 mm thick asphalt concrete is spread. The following operation is the same as the fabrication of regular asphalt specimens. The MTS810 test machine is used to press the beam as shown in [Figure 15](#f15-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"}. The load is from 0.5 KN∼5 KN, and the steps are 0.5 KN. Two displacement transducers are also installed to measure the flexibility of the beam. According to the monitoring results, we can see that the deformation of the asphalt specimen can be divided into two parts, recoverable and unrecoverable, as shown in [Figure 16](#f16-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"}.
The strain changes of the asphalt specimen can be calculated according to the knowledge of materials mechanics: $$\varepsilon_{\textit{sensor}} = \varepsilon \times \frac{y}{(\frac{h}{2})} = \frac{108\delta h}{23L^{2}} \times \frac{2y}{h} = \frac{24\delta}{23a^{2}}y$$where: *a* = *h* = *(1/3)L, y* = *(2/5)h*=*(2/15)L*. And δ can be obtained by two methods. One is by MTS, and the other is by LVDT.
Measured and actual strains are drawn in [Figure 17](#f17-sensors-12-10001){ref-type="fig"}. From the results we can say that measured strain matches linearly with the actual one. The correlation coefficient was 0.9916, although maybe due to the position of the sensors in the specimens, the two fitted equations show a small difference.
6.. Conclusions
===============
Aiming at measuring and monitoring low modulus materials or structures such as asphalt concrete pavement, a novel polypropylene based OFBG strain sensor was designed and produced. Its micro-structure, mechanical, strain sensing properties were also studied. The strain sensing coefficient is about 0.85 pm/με, which is lower than that of bare OFBG. This is mainly because of the micro-mechanics interface strain delivery. The results show that the interface of PP matrix and bare OFBG is very good and this new PP-based OFBG sensor has a good sensitivity with low modulus, which can meet the requirements of the strain measurement or monitoring of low modulus materials or structures such as asphalt pavement.
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Funds for Youth Grant (No. 51008092), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. HIT. NSRIF. 201196), Key Projects in the National Science & Technology Pillar Program during the Twelfth Five-Year Plan Period (2011BAK02B00), and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (20110491081).
{#f1-sensors-12-10001}
{#f2-sensors-12-10001}
{#f3-sensors-12-10001}
{#f4-sensors-12-10001}
{#f5-sensors-12-10001}
{#f6-sensors-12-10001}
{#f7-sensors-12-10001}
{#f8-sensors-12-10001}
{#f9-sensors-12-10001}
{#f10-sensors-12-10001}
{#f11-sensors-12-10001}
{#f12-sensors-12-10001}
{#f13-sensors-12-10001}
{#f14-sensors-12-10001}
{#f15-sensors-12-10001}
{#f16-sensors-12-10001}
{#f17-sensors-12-10001}
######
Properties of polypropylene.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**Appearance** **Melt Flow Index**\ **Isotactic Index**\ **Apparent Density**\ **Tensile Yield Strength**\ **Processing Temperature**\
**(g/10 min)** **(%)** **(g/cm^3^)** **(MPa)** **(°C)**
---------------- ---------------------- ---------------------- ----------------------- ----------------------------- -----------------------------
white 37∼50 96 0.41 31.5 180∼240
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
######
Properties of maleic anhydride drafted polypropylene.
**Brand** **Appearance** **Melt Flow Index(g/10 min)** **MAH Graft Content (%)**
---------------- ---------------- ------------------------------- ---------------------------
BonpTM-GPM200A white 160∼180 1.4
######
Temperature control of PP based OFBG strain sensor fabricating process.
**Zone 1** **Zone 2** **Zone 3** **Zone 4**
---------------------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
**Temperature (°C)** 180 200 220 100
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
😀Dark browns with metallic look, bag by. The Sak
Luscious browns with metallic look The Sak purse. Medium in size. No pockets on outside. Inside, one compartment.and a smaller zipper storage. Also has two small pockets on one side. Looks like stitching on inside but it's not. Just the design of the material | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Samuel Rutherford on Infant Baptism (Part 1)
Chapter 13 of The Covenant of Life Opened (published in 1655)
There are two sorts of Covenanting, one external, professed, visible, conditional, another internal, real, absolute and the differences betwixt them. 2. Infants Externally in Covenant under the New Testament 3. Some Questions touching infants.
Persons are two ways in Covenant with God, externally by Visible profession, and conditionally, not in reference to the Covenant, but to the thing promised in Covenant, which none obtains, but such as fulfill the condition of the Covenant: For consent of parties, promise and restipulation whether express, by word of mouth, Deut. 5.27. We will hear and do, Josh. 24.24. And the people said unto Joshua, the Lord our God will we serve and his voice will we obey. Or yet tacit and implicit by profession. I will be thy God, and the God of thy seed, makes parties in Covenant. The keeping or breaking of the Covenant, must then be extrinsical to ones being confederate with God. And 2. Infants born of Covenanted Parents are in Covenant with God, because they are born of such Parents, as are in Covenant with God, Gen. 17.7. I will be a God to thy seed after thee. (2.) The Covenant choice on Gods part is extended to the seed, Deut. 4.37. And because he loved thy Fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them. Deut. 10.15. Only the Lord had a delight in thy Fathers, to love them, (and) he chose their seed after them, (even you (Fathers and Children) above all people, (as it is) this day. And the Covenant choice of seed is extended to the seed in the New Testament. Act. 2.39. For to you, and to your children is the promise made. He speaks in the very terms and words of the Covenant, Gen. 17.7., every one of you be baptized, he saith not every one of you, old and young, Parents and Children, repent. For that command of Repentance is given only personally to them who moved the Question, What shall we do, Men and Brethren? (v. 37). For we are under great wrath, and crucified the Lord of Glory. The Answer is, you aged, Repent. (v. 39). True. But ah, we prayed, his blood be upon us and our Children. He Answers to that, every one of you be baptized. Why, that must be every one of you who are commanded to repent? No. It must be every one of you to whom the promise is made, but the promise is made to you and to your children. (The promise of the Covenant must be made to infants, else the meaning cannot stand, Acts 2.39).
Observe the very two Pronouns that are, Gen. 17.7. Deu. 4.37. Deut. 10.15. to thee and thy seed. To you and your seed, and children. Now the Answer had been most impertinent, if he had mentioned their children, except in order to their Baptism, and their being in Covenant. For 1. their Children crucified not the Lord Jesus; Nay by Anabaptists grounds, their Children not being visibly in Covenant with their Parents, and not capable of actual hearing the Word, of actual mourning for, and repenting of their sins, as Zech. 12.10. Mat. 3.8,9,10. they were not concerned either in the evil of their Parents, who crucified the Lord of Glory, nor in the good of their Repentance more then stones. So that (every one of you be baptized, for the promise is to you and to your Children) should be impertinent, and also false; for Covenant promises are no more made to Children, then to stones, say the opposites of Infant Baptism. Yea also, as the Lord in the Old Testament, calls Israel his people. My people old and young. Saul shall be Captain of my people. David shall feed my people, old and young, and shall punish with the sword the murdering of Infants. 2. Because he chose (with a Covenant choice) the Jews and their seed, Deut. 4.37, Deut. 10.15, Gen. 17.7, then he must be the God of their seed. But he chooseth with a Covenant choice, and calling all the Nations, Isa. 2.2,3, All the kindreds of the earth under the New Testament, Psal. 22.27, All Egypt and Assyria under the New Testament, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hand, Isa. 19.29. All the Kingdoms of the World are the Lords, and his Sons, and he reigns in them, by his Word and Gospel, as the seventh Angel soundeth, Revel. 11.15. All the Gentiles are his, Isa. 60.1-4, Mal. 1.11. All the ends of the earth, and the heathen, Psal. 2.8-9, Psal. 72, 7-10. Now if they be not his by visible and externally professed Covenant, they must be the Lords Kingdoms only, because some in these Kingdoms. 1. Are come to age. 2. Profess the truth. 3. Given a signification that they are converted and chosen, and so baptized. But so infants and all the rest of these Kingdoms who fixedly, in a Church, hear the Word, profess they are followers, and by so doing are witnesses against themselves that they have chosen the Lord to be their God, and have consented to the Covenant, as Joshua saith, Josh. 24.22, must be under the New Testament cut off from the Covenant, and a place must be shown where God hath now under the New Testament, broken the staves of beauty and bands, and hath laid this curse upon all the Infants of Egypt, Assyria, of all the Kingdoms of the earth, that the Lord is now no God to them, and feeds them no more, and therefore that which dies, let it die, and that which is cut off, let it be cut off, as it is, Zech. 11.9. And the like must be said of all that are come to age, and not baptized, or as good as not baptized. And Covenant promises are not to the Children of Believers, contrary to Acts 2.39. nor to the aged, until they be converted visibly and Baptized; This then hath never yet been fulfilled, that the Gentiles and Heathen are become to Lords people. Sure, it is (2.) and was a mercy for the seed to be in Covenant, Exod. 20.6. I am the Lord shewing mercies unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my Commandments. Psal. 89. 28. My mercy will I keep with David and his seed. What mercy? My Covenant shall stand fast with him. Hence they are called the sure mercies of David. Isa. 55. The Lord following the seed of the Godly with real mercies (so that it cannot be called the favour of a ceremony and instituted or positive privilege belonging only to the Jews) as that his seed is blessed, Psal. 37.26. Psal. 112. 2.
This mercy must be taken away either in mercy or in wrath: but that a real mercy of a blessing should be taken away in mercy, except a spiritual mercy of saving grace in Christ were given in place thereof, cannot be said, far less hath it any truth that a real mercy can be removed in wrath from Infants in Jesus Christ, in whom the Nations are blessed. And we see, Deut. 28. the blessing of an observed Covenant, and the curses of a broken Covenant are extended to the fruit of the body to the sons and the daughters, v. 4 18.32. Job 21. 19. Job 29. 14. Job 18.15,16,17. And that this is not a New Testament dispensation, who can say? And that outward positive favours are bestowed on Infants, is clear.
(1.) That Christ laid his hands on them and blessed them, making them a fixed copy of the indwellers of his Kingdom.
(2) The promises of the Covenant are made to them, Act. 2. 39.
(3.) They are clean and holy by Covenant holiness, 1 Cor. 7.14. which cannot be meant of being born of the marriage-bed. For Paul, Rom. 11. 16. saith the same, of the Jews, root and branches, Fathers and Children: And no man dreamed that Paul, Rom. 11. intends to prove that the Jews shall be insert in again, because they are free of bastardie Father and sons. Now Infants understand no more any of these to be blessed by the laying on of the hands of Christ, and to be such as have title to the promises, Acts 2. 39. and to be Covenant-wise holy, 1 Cor. 7. then they understand Baptism.
(4.) The same Covenant made with Abraham is made with the Corinthians, 2. Cor. 6. 16. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Which is Prophesied of the Gentiles under the New Testament, Ezek 11.17,18,19,20. Ezek 34.23,24,25. Jer. 31,31,32,33,34,35,36. Jer. 32.36,37,38,39,40. Zech. 13.9. Hos. 1.10,11. 1 1 Pet. 2.9,10. And it is made to the Gentiles with an eke of a new heart, and a larger extent of the Covenant under the New Test, for which cause it is called a better Covenant, hath better promises, Heb. 7.22. Heb. 8 6,7,8,9,10,11,12. Now that were a strange eke and excellency of the New Testament Covenant above the Old, to forfeit, without farther process, all Infants under the New Testament of all Covenant-right, which was due to them of old under the Covenant which the Lord calls faulty: Egypt shall be my people, except their 1. Infants. 2. And except their aged, and their non-Saints.
(5.) Infants in the former Covenant had right by birth to the means of salvation, to be taught and Catechized in the Law of the Lord, because born of Covenanting Parents within the Visible Church, and so had title to Covenant calling, and GODS Covenant choosing, Mat. 22.4. as is clear, Gen. 18. 19. I know Abraham will command his Children and his household after him, and they shall keep they way of the Lord, Exod 20.10. Deut.6,6,7. And thou shall teach them diligently unto thy Children, Exod. 12.26,27. Ps. 78.4,5,6. Now if Infants be without the Covenant as the Infants of Pagans, then they have no more Covenant-right to the hearing of the Gospel, and a treaty with Christ, and Covenant, then Pagans have. Its not enough to say their Father owe that much natural compassion to their souls, as to teach them, it being a Parents duty; Yea, but what warrant hath a Father as a Father to make offer of a Covenant of Grace in the Name of GOD to one Pagan more then to another, since all are equally without the Covenant, if there be a Covenant-call warranted to them, where is the Fathers command to propone and engage the Covenanters consent, if the Children by Pagans? but as they have a right by birth to the call, they being born where the call foundeth, they must have some visible right to the Covenant it self, more then other Pagans. Its but of small weight to say that, Rom. 9. Paul expoundeth that in the New Testament, I will be thy God, and the God of thy seed, only of the spiritual seed, such as Jacob, who was predestinated to Glory, not of those that are carnally descended of Abraham, otherwise it should follow, that these that are in the Covenant, might believe that they should be saved, though void of Faith and Repentance.
Answ. The purpose of the Apostle, Rom. 9. is to Answer a sad Objection: if the Jews be cast off, and rejected of God, as Paul, by his extreme desire to have them saved, insinuates, then the Word of God takes no effect, and his calling and choosing of them for his people, takes no effect, v. 6. He Answers, it is not failed, though the body of Israel be rejected. For there are two kinds of Israelites, some only carnal and born according to the flesh: Others sons of promise, and chosen of God. Now the word of promise takes effect in the latter sort, to wit, in the chosen, and in the sons of promise, for they are not cast off of God, and so the Word of God takes effect, v. 6.
(2.) But the truth is, if there be none Covenanted with God, but the chosen under the New Testament, then there is no such thing as an external and visible Covenanting with God, under the New Testament, then must all the Nations. Isa. 2. 1, 2. Kingdoms of the World, Rev. 11.15. all Egypt, Assyria, Isa. 19. 25. all the Gentiles, Isa. 60. be internally Covenanted and sons of promise, and predestinated to life? And that, 2 Cor. 6. 16. I will be your God, and ye shall be my people, under the New Testament, must infer, that all in Covenant under Christ must be spiritual y, in Covenant, and the Visible Church of Corinth, and of all the Kingdoms of the world, Rev. 11.15. must be the invisible and chosen Church, and as many as are called, must be chosen, contrary to Mat. 22.14.
Hence Q. 1. Have Infants now under Christ no privilege nor Covenant Grace external by their birth and descent from believing Parents?
Ans. Sure they have. For Acts 2. 39. the promise is to you and to your children. Either to all children or to some, the Text makes no exception.
If it be said to all conditionally, if they believe, not absolutely?
Ans. That must be an internal covenanting proper to the elect, and the promise is not made to the aged but conditionally, so they believe. And yet the promise shall be made to Infants and Children, but not while they come to age. 2. To be cut off and casten out of Covenant is a dreadful Judgement, Zecha. 11.9. Hos. 2.3,4,5. Rom. 11. 20. well, because of unbelief they are broken off. Then because the Jewes believe in Christ already comed, all their children, for no fault, but for the beleef of their Parents, must be cut off.
(3.) Whereas Paul makes it a misery that the Ephesians, 2. 12. were strangers from the Covenants of promise, having no hope and without God, without Christ. And Peter, that the Gentiles were no people, 1 Pet. 2. then that misery lyes upon the Infants of Christians and all within the Visible Church, until they be converted and baptized, and the Gospel is no favour to them, that they are within the net, and in the office-house of Grace the Visible Church, where the word is Preached to children, who are to be taught, Gen. 18.19. Deut. 6. 7. Exod. 12. 26, 27. Psal. 78. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. 2 Tim. 3. 15. and the Lord reckons it among the favours, that he bestows not on every Nation, but only on his own Covenanted Ifrad, that the Word of the Gospel to gather them and their Children, Math. 23. 37. 2 Tim. 3. 15. Psal. 78. 1,2,3,4,5. and his Statutes and his Judgments are declared and Preached to them, Psal. 147. 19, 20. Deut. 5. 1,2,3,4. 5.6. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7. Psal. 81. 4. and that the Oracles of God, and the promises are committed to them, Rom. 3. 1,2. Rom. 9. 4. the promises and the giving of the Law, and the Covenants and the service of God. And that this is a special blessing in the New Testament to old and young is clear from Acts 13. when Paul turns from the blaspheming Jews to the Gentiles. 47. I have set thee to be a light to the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation to the end of the earth. Now this Covenant salvation is, Isa. 49. 6. I wil give thee to restore the preserved of Israel.&c ;8. I will give thee for a Covenant to the people to establish the earth.&c ;9. That thou mayest say to the prisoners go forth, &c. Now if it be said, it was indeed a singular privilege to the Jews, but what places of the New Testament make it a Covenant privilege to the Gentiles and their seed, if the Word of the Covenant Preached to the aged under the New Testament, can the same ways, by accident, be Preached and promises come to the ears of the unbaptised Children, now growing to be capable of hearing the Gospel, Acts 2. 39. 2 Tim. 3. 15. as to Pagans, and such as are no less strangers to the Covenant, and void of all right by the Covenant made with their Parents, them Indians and their children who worship Satan?
Paul not without a command Preacheth the Word of the Covenant to the discerning Gentiles, Acts 13. 47. from Isa. 49.6,9,10. must not the fathers have command to speak the Gospel to their children? Or doth not the warrant that Parents and Pastors have to take within the Covenant the fathers, warrant them to preach the same Covenant to the children? where as, otherwise the Apostles should have said, we have no warrant to offer the Covenant to any or to Preach Christ a given Covenant to any: But 1. To such as are come to age. 2. Such as are Converts. 3. To such as can give signification by confession, that they are not only visible but also invisible and chosen confederates, and they should have said all children are now by Christ excluded as profane Gentiles and heathen from the Covenant of Grace, because there can be none (say Anabaptists) but real Believers under the New Testament in Covenant with God.
Yea but the New Testament offers Christ a Covenant, in the preached promises, alike to fathers and sons. Math. 4. 16. The people (fathers and sons) that sate in darkness saw great light, &c. Math. 19. 43. Therefore I say unto you, the Kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And is it not a punishment to be deprived of the Kingdom? If the Kingdom of God come where the Preached Covenant is, Math. 3. 2. Math. 12. 28. and the Bridegroom among them, and so cause of joy, Math. 9.15. and the Golden Candlesticks be there and the Son of God walking in the midst of the Golden Candlesticks, Rev. 1. 20. c. 2. 1. sure this is much to children. If it be said, it is very nothing, for children understand nothing of this. What then is meant by the Prophecy of the incoming of the Gentiles, Psal. 87. 3, Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. 4. I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me; behold Phylistia and Tyre, with Æthiopia, that man was born there. 5. And of Zion it shall bee said, this and that man was born in her. 6. The Lord shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. And Christ Prophesying of the desolation extends the judgement of a despised Covenant to the children and the house, Math. 23.37.38. Luke 19. 44. Luke 22. 24. how should there be under the New Testament Covenant wrath, for the fathers Covenant breaking derived to the children, if in their fathers the sucking children brake not the Covenant, then they have been in Covenant with their parents, especially since a Visible Covenanting, by borrowed allusions to altars, speaking the language of Canaan, offering incense, swearing by the Lord, is spoken of Egypt and of five, that is, of many cities of Egypt, and of all the Gentiles, Esa. 19. 18. 19, 20. 21. Mal. 1. 18. and Covenant blessings shall be derived from fathers to children. The Lord shall say, 25, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance. It must be a narrow blessing of Covenanted Egypt, Assyria, Israel, if it be a blessing of these come to age. 2. Professing the faith. 3. And baptised. How can the Lord say, blessed be Egypt, and though the whole seed be visibly in Covenant, old and young, yet it followeth not that therefore every promise that is absolute, that is, that of a new heart is made to all and every one within the Visible Covenant: for it is promised, Deut. 30. 6. to the Jews, and was given to them and undeniably the visible body of the Jews and their seed were the chosen and externally Adopted and Covenanted people of God, Deut. 29. 10, 11, 12, 13. Deut. 7.6. Deut. 10. 19. and the Lord calls them those whom he delivered out of Egypt, his people, Exod. 3. 7. I have seen the affliction of my people, Ezek. 37. 12. O my people, I will open your graves, as many as Saul and David did feed, whether they have a new heart or not, the Lord calls them his people, 1 Sam. 9. 16. 2. 2 Sam. 7. 8. See Psal. 50.7. Hear O my people, Psal. 81.13. Jer. 9. 26. and so the Church of Corinth, 2 Cor. 16. is called his people, and the Kingdoms of the world the Lords Kingdoms in Covenant, Rev. 11. 15. and there were many of them uncircumcised in heart, Jer. 9. 26. Isa. 1. 10. Amos 9. 7. and with many of them, God was not well pleased, 1 Cor. 10. 5. and so it is most false that none are in Covenant under the New Testament, but only Believers; For Judas, Demas, Simon Magus, and all the externally called (for they cannot be baptized but as in Covenant with God) Math. 22. 10. are by their profession in Covenant externally, as the Jews profession sayeth they accepted of, and consented unto the Covenant of Grace, for 1 Cor. 10. 7. Be not ye Idolaters, as some of them, commit not fornication, tempt not Christ, murmur not, as some of them, v. 8.9. these and the like say we are the same way in Covenant as they were and our Visible Church, now, and the Visible Church then are of the same constitution.
Q. And may we not say, that the same Covenant of Grace, we are under, is the same in nature and substance with that Covenant made with Abraham? Ans. The same Christ was their Mediator, as ours, Heb. 13. 8. their Rock and our Rock, Christ. 1 Cor. 10. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Ioh. 8. 56.
3. They were saved by Grace, the Gentiles as well as they, Acts 15.11. by faith, Acts 10.43. Heb. 11. 1,2,3,4. 13.&c.
4. There is no more reason to say, it was a civill Covenant made with Abraham, because it distinguished Abrahams seed from other Nations, and an earthly Covenant, because Canaan was promised to them, not to us, then to say there be two Covenants of Works, one made to Adam, with a promise of an earthly Paradise, and another Covenant of Works to the Jews, with an earthly Canaan; And a third to these who in the Gospel time are under a Covenant of Works. Yea upon the same account, the Covenant of Grace made, Psal 89. 2 Sam. 7. with David, having a Throne promised to him, should be yet another Covenant different from the other two; And since a Covenant here is a way of obtaining salvation up
(2.) We are justified as Abraham, and David. Rom, 4.1,2,3,4,5. Gen. 15.6. Ps. 32.1,2. in condition of obedience, John Baptist should be under another Covenant of Grace, then the Apostles: For to their faith is promised the working of miracles, Mark 16. 16, 17, 18. But John wrought no miracles, and many thousands of believers work no miracles, and they must be under a third Covenant: For though Canaan was promised to Abrahams seed, there is no reason to call it an earthly Covenant, or another different covenant, for to all believers the blessings of their land are promised, Ezek. 36. 25,26,30,31. Jer. 31.31. compared with 38,39,40,41,42,43. Mat. 6.33. Luke 12.31. 1 Tim. 4.8. Heb. 13. 5,6. 5. What if we say the Covenant made with Abraham, Exod. 3. proves by our Saviours reasoning, Mat. 22. 31, 32, 33. that Infants shall not rise again and be in Angel state and saved, otherwise if Infants and all believers in the Saducees time be not under the same Covenant with Abraham, no Infants shall have a Covenant-Resurrection, nor a Covenant-Salvation; Or then there is some other salvation for Infants that are saved, to wit, some Pagan heaven without the Covenant, and without Christ, and if Infants be Pagans without the Covenant, either none of them are saved and chosen to life. Contrary to Christ, Mat. 18.2,3,4. Mark 10.13,14, 15, 16. and the Anabaptists grant. Or there is a salvation 1 without a Covenant, and so without the New and Old Testament. 2. Without the Name of Jesus and the Blood of the Covenant: Contrary to Acts 4.12. 1 Joh. 1.8. Rev. 1.5. (3.) they shall be saved without the Visible Church, the way that Pagans are saved.
Q 3. Are they not saved all of them? Is not this enough? But because the Kingdom of Christ is spiritual, the Element of water can do them no good, except they believe?
Ans. If his Kingdom be not spiritual, because his wisdom hath appointed external sings, then no promise (which is but good words) shall be made to Children, contrary to Acts 2. 39. for they can do them no good until they believe. 2. Then should there be no Preaching of the Gospel to all Nations, as Mat. 28.20. for impossible it is that all Nations can be profited by the Gospel. 3. The doubt supposes that it is legal servility and Jewish to be under the Gospel Preached and the dispensation of signs and seals, even to the aged, such as are Baptism, the Supper, rebukes, censures. 4. To be a visible member, and visibly is Covenant, and to be baptized, except all be sound believers, must be Jewish. Now certain, it is a new Testament Ordinance that Ministers Preach and baptize all nations, though the greatest part believe not.
Q. 4. If faith sanctify as faith, then an unbelieving whore might be sanctified by a believing fornicator: For faith will do its formal work in every subject?
Answ. Paul never meant that faith doth sanctify in every subject, but in subjecto capaci. Faith sanctifieth not incest and sin, they are not capable to be separated to a holy use: If fire as fire burn, then might all the water in the Ocean be dryed up with the least sparkle of fire. If prayer as prayer obtain all things, shall it obtain that the sacrificing of your son to God, shall be accepted of him as holy and lawful worship? Mr. Baxter saith excellently upon this subject. A thing must be first lawful, before it be sanctified; God sanctifieth not sin in, or to any. See the Argument 1 Cor. 7. learnedly and solidly vindicated by him, so as the dispute is at an end now.
Q. 5. What holiness is it that is called federal, or Covenant holiness which is in Infants?
Ans. It is not so much personal holiness (though it may so be called, because the person is a Church member, separated from the world to God) as holiness of the seed, Society, Family, or Nation, which is derived from father to son, as if the father be a free man of such a City, that privilege is so personal, as it is by the Law hereditary freedom derived from father to son, if the father have jus ad media salutis right to the means of salvation, so hath the son. Hence this was first domestical, God made the Covenant with Abraham and his family: I will be thy God, and the God of thy seed, Gen. 17. it was extended to him, not as a father only, but as to the head of the family; the children of Servants born in Abrahams family were to be circumcised and to be instructed as having right to the means of salvation. Gen. 17.12. He that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man-child in your Generations (so it is Generation-holiness) he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, that is not of thy seed. So God shows clearly that in Abraham he chose the Nation and the house, Gen. 18 19. I know Abraham, that he will command his children (that is too narrow a Church Visible) and his household after him, that they shall keep the way of the Lord. 2. Afterward he chose the Nation to be a peculiar people holy to himself, Deut. 7.6,7. but not with another new distinct Covenant, but in the same Covenant. 8. But because the Lord loved you, and would keep the oath that he had sworn to your fathers, to wit, to Abraham. Deut. 10.15. He chose their seed after them, even you, above all people, not above all houses. Amos 3.2. You only have I known of all the families of the earth. So the external Church Covenant and Church right to the means of grace is given to a society and made with Nations under the New Testament, Isa. 2.1,2,3. Psal. 2.8,9. Psal. 22.27. Psal. 87. 2,3,4. Rev. 11.15. Matth. 28. 19,20. And not any are baptized in the New Testament, (except the Eunuch, and Saul, Acts 8.39.) who were baptized firstly, but they were baptized as publick men representing a seed; also, societies are baptized. All Judea, Mat. 3. 3. All the land of Judea, Mark 1. 5. All the multitude, all the people, Luke 4.7.21. Sure the fathers were so Christianed and Baptized as their children had right to the same seal. So Joh. 3.22,23,26. Cornelius his house and all with him were baptized, Acts 10.33.47. Three thousand at once, Acts 2. 39,40,41. The Jailer and his house, Acts 16.33. servants and friends. The household of Stephanas, 1 Cor. 1.16. was Baptized. And this 3. is holden forth as the Church, as the household of Narcissus which are in the Lord, Rom. 16.11. Aquila and Priscilla, and all the Church at their house. v. 5. The Church at the house of Philemon, Phil. v.3. which teacheth that the Covenant holiness is of societies and house under the New Testament as in Abrahams house, and as Abrahams house was Circumcised, so are whole houses under the New Testament Baptized. 4. Paul aptly calls it the holiness of the lump, or Nation, and the first fruits, root-holiness, the holiness of the root and the branches. Of the Olive Tree and the branches, Rom. 11. 16,17. (5.) The special intent of God in sending the word of the Covenant must evidence this; he sends not the Gospel unto, and for the cause of one man, to bring him in, but to gather a Church and his elect ones, by a visibly and audibly Preached Covenant to a society, to a City; to Samaria. Acts 8. To the Gentiles, Acts 13. To all Nations, Mat. 28. 19,20. that they and their children may have right to salvation and to the means thereof, and to the Covenant, and therefore we are not curiously to inquire whether the faith of the father be real or not, if the Gospel be come to the Nation, to the House, to the Society. The Lord in one Abraham, in one Cornelius, in one Jayler, (whom he effectually converts as far as we can gather from the Scriptures) chooses the race, house, society, nation, and gives them a Covenant-holiness, the mans being born where the call of God is, does the turn, as much as the faith of the Parent. For by the root is not necessarily meant the Physical root the father. For Abraham was not the Physical root and father, nor Cornelius of all the servants and friends in the house. But if a friend be in the house, or society, and profess the Gospel, he and his obtain right to Baptism and the means of salvation. But as touching real holiness, it is not derived from a believing father, to make the son a believer, Scripture and experience say the contrary. Nor 2. is internal and effectual confederacy with God, that, by which one is a son of promise, Rom. 9. and predestinate to life, a national favour. For 1. no man is chosen to life in his father, because the father is chosen: A chosen father may have a reprobate son. 2. Election to life is not of nations or houses or societies, but of single persons. It is not said, before the nation had done good or evil, I chose this nation all and whole, not this, but I loved this man, not this man.
Q. What is the formal reason and ground that any hath right to Baptism?
Ans. If we speak of a passive right, if the Eunuch believe, Act. 8. and if such have received the Spirit, Acts 10. they may receive baptism, The Eunuch moves not the Question whether Philip should sin in baptizing him or not. The Eunuch was troubled to make sure his own, not Philips Conversion. They who bring that Argument, Acts 8. and that, Mark 16. to prove that only such should be baptized, who believe actually and are come to age: They prove that the Church sinneth, if they baptize any, but such as are predestinated to life and really believe. For the faith that Philip asked for, was real, with all the heart, not as the faith of Simon Magus: And the faith, Mark 16.15. is real saving faith, that brings salvation; he that believes is saved. 2. It can not be visible faith only, for that is in Simon Magus, he doth visibly so believe and is baptized. Yet upon that faith he was not saved, being in the gall of bitterness (3.) He that believes not, is damned. The meaning must be, he that believes not savingly is damned: Or then he that believes not visibly, as Magus, and Judas, is damned, but this is most false, for Peter believes not as Judas, and yet he is not damned: Or then the meaning must be, he that believeth both really, savingly, and also professedly and visibly, is saved. And that is true, but it conclude that none are to be baptized, but both real and visible believers. 4. If it be true that none are to be baptized but Covenanted ones, as Acts 2.39. And if none be Covenanted ones under the New Testament, but real believers and such as are predestinated to life, as our Anabaptists teach from Rom. 9. then must the Church without warrant of the Word baptize Magus, Demas, Judas. (5.) Then must also all Judea; all the Generations of vipers baptized have been both real and visible believers, for they were all baptized, Mat. 3.3,4. Mark. 1.5. Luke 1.7.21. Let Independents consider this, and what D. Fuilk, and Mr. Cartwright, Paræus, Calvin, Beza; and our Divines speak on these places against the auricular confession of all the huge multitude. (6.) It is a wonder that any man should dream that the Eunuch made a case of conscience, Acts 8. whether it was lawful to Philip to baptize, and not whether he himself did believe and could worthily receive the seal, Act. 8.36, here is water (saith he) what hinders me to be baptized? (7.) So none can warrantably baptize any but persons dying in faith, and its not certain these have the faith that is, Acts 8.37. Mar. 16.16. But for the formal warrant of such as baptize: neither are the aged as the aged, nor Infants as Infants to be baptized; for so all the aged and all Infants even of Pagans are to be baptized. Nor 2. are all in Covenant, to be baptized: For such as are only really and invisibly in Covenant, and do make no profession of Christ at all, are not warrantably by the Church to be baptized. Only these whether old or young that are tali modo visibili federati, such as professedly and visibly in Covenant, and called, Acts 2. 39. are warrantably baptized. Hence they must be so in Covenant, as they be called by the word of the Covenant, for they cannot be baptized against their will, Luke 7.29.30.
Q. What warrant is there, Act. 2.39, for Infant Baptism?
Ans. I shall not contend for the actual baptizing of them at that instant. But every one of you be baptized, father and sons. Why? the promise is to you and to your children, break the Text into an hundred pieces, and blood it as men please, the Genuine Thesis which cannot be neglected, is, These to whom the promise of the Covenant does belong, these should be baptized, But the promise of the Covenant is to you and to your children. Ergo, you and your children should be baptized. The assumption is the express words of Peter and the Proposition is Peters. Every one of you be baptized, for to you is the promise of the Covenant. Calvin, Bullinger, Brentius, Gualther clear it.
Who they are, who are in the nearest capacity to be baptized, he explains, when he showeth, that the Covenant promise is made to these who are far off, to the Gentiles, whom the Lord shall call, then all that are under the call and offer of Christ in the Preached Gospel, as Prov. 9. 1,2,3,4. Math. 22 bid them come to the wedding, Luke 14. 16, 17, 18. &c. are externally in Covenant, and such to whom the Covenant is made, and should be baptized, its presumed they give some professed consent to the call and do not right down deny to come, else they should be baptized against their will.
Calvine shows Acts 2. 39. that the Anabaptists in his time, said, the promise was made to Believers only, but the Text saith, it is made to you and to your children, to infants, to the children of the Prophets and of the Covenant made with the fathers, Acts 3.25. Now what ground doc Anabaptists give that all infants believe, or that some believe, since to them, their children were as Pagans without Christ, without the Covenant? if to the children when they come to age and shall believe? but what need to adde, and to your believing Children? for these are not children but men of age, their fathers and they both being believers. Now Peter sets down two ranks, the aged who heard the word with gladnesse, and were pricked in the heart, v. 37.41. and the children, and to both the promise is made, and what ground is their to exclude sucking children? for the word, Acts 2. 39. is Math. 2.18. 1 Cor. 7.14. where sure the word is taken for sucking children of whose actuall faith the Scripture speaks not.
The promise is to you and to your children, can have no other sense then, the promise and word of the Covenant is preached to you and to your children in you, and this is to be externally in Covenant, both under the Old and New Testament. If it have another sense it must be this, the Lord hath internally Covenanted with you the 3000, who have heard the word and with your children, and you are the spiritual seed, and sons of promise, predestinate to life eternall: as Rom. 9. they expone the seed in Covenant:
But 1. Were all the 3000. Ananias and Saphira and their children the spiritual and chosen seed? for he commands all, whom he exhorts to repent, to be baptized: And 2. Now to Simon Magus and Demas, and numbers of such, Peter could not have said, the promise is made to you and to your children, if it be only made to real and actuall believers, as they say, Peter therefore must owne them all whom he exhorts to repent, as the chosen seed. But if the former sense be intended (as how can it be denyed?) to wit, the word of the Covenant is preached to you, an offer of Christ is made in the preached Gospel to you. Then it cannot be denyed, but the promise is to all the Reprobate in the Visible Church whether they believe or not, for Christ is preached and promises of the Covenant are preached to Simon Magus, to judas and all the Hypocrites who stumble at the Word, to all the Pharisees, as is clear, Math. 13. 20,21,22,23. Acts 13. 44,45. Acts 18. 5,6. Math. 21.43, 1 Pet. 2.7,8.
The promise, I will be your God, and ye shall be my people, must be one way expounded in the Old Testament, to wit, you are externally only in Covenant with God. But in the New Testament, it must have this meaning, I wil be your God, 2 Cor. 6.16. that is, you are all predestinate to life, and the sons, by promise, and the spiritual seed, to whom I say, I will be your God: But so it may well be said, there were no internall Covenanters in the Old Testament, and there be none but only internall Covenanters in the New Testament, so that when the Lord sayeth, Rev. 11.15. The Kingdomes of the earth are mine, and my sons. He must say, the Kingdomes, Egypt, Assyria, Tyrus, Ethiopia, &c. are chosen and the spiritual seed, and these Covenanted Nations and the Kingdomes of the Gentiles are all internally and effectually called, and there are no Visible Churches in the New Test, but only all invisible and saved.
If these words, The promise is to you, and to your children, be limited, to as many as the Lord shall effectually call, either fathers or children. But Mr. Stev. Marshel judiciouslie observes; there is no more a Covenant favour holden forth to their children, then to the children of Pagans; for the children of Pagans, if God effectually call them, have the promises made to them. Its clear that externall Covenant-holiness, is to these men ceremoniall holiness now out of date; and then externall calling the only means of internall and effectuall calling, Math. 22.14. 1 Cor. 1.18.23,24. Luke 15. 1,2. and the fixed Church-hearing of the Preached Gospel is a ceremony. That God should be the God of Infants of the seed of the Jews, a mercy to fathers and sons coming from free love, Deut. 10.15. Gen. 17.7. Deut. 7.6.7.8. and Prophesied as a mercy to the Gentiles by all the Prophets was a ceremony removed now in Christ. Yea 3. externall Covenanting, and adopting, and choising of Israel is no mercy, except that a Pedagogie of the Law is a mercy for a time. The promise is to you and to your children, must be in a contradictory way expounded, to wit, the promise is no more made to your children so long as they are Infants, then to Devils. Yea fathers and children not believing, though chosen to life, are excommunicated from Visible adoption, calling, hearing the Gospel promises, for there is no Covenanting now under the New Testament, but only internall Covenanting of the elect. Young Timothy and children of believing Parents, and all the aged within the Visible Church, have no right to hear the Preached Gospel, before they believe and be the holy seed, more than Pagans. Yea they can have no command of God, to hear the Gospel, nor any Covenant or Gospel warrant, untill they be believers, for if there were no promise made to hearing and considering the word, if they shall believe, while as yet they believe not, and untill they be effectually called, there can be no command, and no Law, to hear the Gospel and the Covenant-offer made in Christ. It shall then be no more sin for unconverted persons to turn away their ears from the Law, and not to hear the Gospel.
It were nonsense to say to men under the externally proposed Covenant, repent, hear the Gospel, use the means, receive the seals, and yet you have no right to hear, nor have we any warrant to baptize you, untill ye believe; for there is no promise made to you, nor to your seed and children, untill first you believe. And it must say there was no threatening to Adam, Gen. 2.17. before he sinned, and no promise to Adam nor to any now, do this and live, untill Adam first sinned, and first obeyed the Covenant; and so, if John Covenant to labour in Peters Vineyard, and Peter promise to him four pence, so he work twelve hours, otherwise he shall not pay him four pence, though John accept of the Covenant, and work but one hour, whereas his Covenant is to work for twelve hours, then no man can say to John (work, for there is a promise made of four pence to you) the other might deny; no such promise was made to me, except I work twelve hours. It were, sure, unfaithfull dealing to John to say so. For the four pence ought not, by this Covenant, to be given to him, except he work twelve hours: but he cannot, without palpable falshood, say, I have broken no Covenant, in not working twelve hours: For though I consented to the Covenant, and began to work an hour, yet the promise was to be simply, but to me as working twelve hours; but there is neither face nor faith in this Answer: For the fulfilling of the Covenant is only to give four pence to John, if he work twelve hours; But the promise and Covenant was made to him, and he hath foully broken, Yea a conditionall Covenant agreed unto and accepted, is a Covenant, if we shall distinguish between a Covenant, in its essence and nature, and a Covenant broken or fulfilled, a Covenant or threatening, is a Covenant and threatening oblidging Adam, if it shall be agreed unto, by silence, as Adam accepted the threatening, Gen. 2. 17. by silence, and Professours within the Visible Church, by their professing of the Doctrine of the Gospel or Covenant of Grace, their receiving of the seals and professed hearing of the Word, are under the Covenant of Grace, and engadge themselves to obey commands, promises, threatenings, and therefore promises are as properly made to them. Acts 2.39. as commands, and threatenings, exhortations, invitations, and Gospel requests are made to them. But tho the Anabaptists ignorantly confound the promise, and the thing promised; the Covenant, and benefits Covenanted. The promise is to you, and so are the commands, & threatenings, whether ye believe or not, the command is to you, and layes an obligation on you, whether ye obey or obey not, and the threatenings are to you, whether ye transgress, or transgresse not. It is true, indeed, the promise, that is, the blessing promised, righteousnesse and eternall life is not given to you, untill ye first believe.
Objection. Is not the promise made the same way to the aged as to the children, and the same thing required of both: The promise is to you and to your children. But the promise is made to the aged only, if they actually believe. Ergo, the promise is made to the children only, if they actually believe, and so not to Infants.
Answer. Neither proposition nor assumption can bear weight. For the proposition, when God saith, I will be thy God O Abraham, and the God of thy seed. Is it needfull that God require the same conditions, that is actuall believing, that he may save Father Abraham, and also actuall believing from hearing the word of the Covenant Preached from all Infants born of Abraham and dying in Infancy, or then all these Infants so dying must be eternally damned? Nay. We believe many Infants (we reserve to the Holy and Glorious Lord his liberty of election and reprobation, Rom. 9.11,12.) among the Jews were saved by the Covenant of Grace, though they died Infants. And this we condemn in Anabaptists, that they show no revealed way of God of saving Infants of believing Parents dying in Infancy, more then of saving Pagans and their Infants, for to them both are alike without the Covenant of Grace and without Christ; and therefore believing Parents have no word of faith or of the Gospel to pray for the salvation of their Children dying in Infancy, for such prayers have neither warrant in the Covenant of Works, nor in the Covenant of Grace, by their way. And yet that we are to pray, is to be gathered from Gen. 19.18. 2 Sam, 12.16. Job 1.5. Mark 10.16. Psal. 28.9. and if we pray for their salvation, they must be saved by either Law or Gospel. It’s not enough, to say that we may pray for savages that never heard of the Gospel, nor of the Covenant of Grace, that they may be saved. For seeing there is no name under Heaven by which men may be saved, but by the Name of Jesus, Acts 4.12. Joh. 14.6. There is no other warrant of praying for such, then that God would send them the Gospel; and since Christ prayed for Infants and blessed them, which is a praying for them, Gen. 48.15,16. Deut. 33.1.6,7,8. &c. Eph. 1.2. Gal. 1.3. 1 Cor. 1.3. 1 Tim. 1.2. 2 Tim. 1.3. See Mar. 10.16. he must own them as blessed in Christ in whom all the Nations of the earth are blessed, and so Covenanted with God in Christ.
2. It is false that the promise is made only to the aged, upon condition of actuall believing. 1. It is made to their children expresly in the Text, and for the way of their believing, we leave it to the Lord. Nor is it true, that the promise is made to the aged, upon condition of believing. The promise is made to them absolutely, whether they believe or not. But the blessing of the promise and Covenant of Grace is given and bestowed only conditionally, if they believe. The promise is absolutely made: its called conditional from the thing conditionally given.
Obj. But is not this an approved distinction, that persons are within the Covenant, either externally, professedly, visibly, or internally, really, or according to the intention of God? Ergo, such as are externally within the Covenant, are not really & indeed within the Covenant of Grace.
Ans. The Adverb (really) relates to the real fruit of the fulfilled Covenant, and so such as are only externally within the Covenant, are not really within the Covenant, for God never directed, nor intended to bestow the blessing Covenanted, nor grace to perform the condition of the Covenant upon them? But they are really Covenanted and engaged by their consented profession to fulfill the Covenant. And as the Commands and threatening of the Covenant of Grace lay on a real obligation, upon such as are only externally in Covenant, either to obey or suffer, so the promise of the Covenant imposes an engagement and obligation upon such to believe the promise, but some times, we say the promises of the Covenant of Grace are not really made to the Reprobate within the Visible Church, because God intends and decrees to, and for them, neither the blessing promised, nor the saving grace to fulfill the condition or to believe. And therefore these words are figurative, Heb. 8.10. This is the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, I will write my Law in their minds, &c. that is, this is the special and principal Covenanted blessing, I will give them a new heart: which must not be called a simple prediction, though a prediction it is, but it is also a real promise made absolutely to the elect, which the Lord fulfills in them: And this is called the Covenant. Because 1. they are no better then non-Covenanters upon whom the Lord bestows not this part and blessing of the Covenant. 2. The truth is, the promise of a new heart is not made to the Visible Church, which is only Visible: but to the Elect and Invisible Church. And if Anabaptists shall expone these words, Acts 2.39. The promise of a new heart is made to you and to your children , upon condition that you and your children believe, which they cannot do until first they have a new heart, its as good as Peter had said, God promiseth to you and to your children grace to believe, and a new heart to obey him, upon condition that you first believe. And that is, Gods promise to you to believe upon condition that ye believe, which is ridiculous, and therefore we cannot say that this promise of a new heart is made to all that are commanded to believe and repent and be baptized. For Elect and Reprobate and all are under these commands, if they be members of the Visible Church: But the promise of a new heart is not made to all within the Visible Church.
Quest. How then? Must the promise of a new heart be here excluded? And shall nothing be meant in the Word, but a promise of forgiveness and life is made to you and your Children.
Ans. I should judge it hard, to say, that were the only promise here made, the promise of a new heart is made to you all, therefore repent and be baptized. The Antecedent is not true. 2. Therefore because Peter speaks unto, and of a mixed multitude, Fathers, Children, Elect and Reprobate, who must first understand, the promise of life and forgiveness is made to you. Ergo, all come to age, repent and be baptized. And because the promise is made to your children, therefore let them be baptized. And 3. the promise of new heart is not to be excluded, because there were in the company to whom, and of whom the Apostle Peter speaks, many Elect, in whom the old Prophecy, Jer. 31. Ezek. 11. was to be fulfilled; For he saith, The promise is made to as many as the Lord shall call; to the Gentiles, it were a sense too narrow, to exclude that promise, and therefore, as the great promise, I will be thy God, and the God of thy seed (which chiefly is meant, Acts 2.39.) requires not the same condition in fathers and infants, nor the same condition in fathers, wives, hewers of wood, officers and Commanders, litle ones, and such as were not born, Deu. 29. with whom the Covenant is made. For the same faith in fathers and in infants, and faith working in the same duties cannot be required of husbands, wives, Magistrates, and hewers of wood) so neither is the promise made the same way to fathers, children, Jews near hand, and Gentiles far off, to Elect and Reprobate.
Q. How can the promise of the Covenant, to write the Law in the heart, be made absolutely, and not to the Reprobate, but to the Elect only? For the Elect are only these to whom that promise is made, and yet the Reprobate are really in the Covenant of Grace and the promise is made to them, as hath been said.
Answ. It is no inconvenient that the Reprobate in the Visible Church, be so under the Covenant of Grace, as some promises are made to them, and some mercies promised to them conditionally, and some reserved special promises of a new heart, and of perseverance belong not to them. For all the promises belong not the same way, to the parties visibly and externally, and to the parties internally and personally in Covenant with God. So the Lord promiseth life and forgiveness shall be given to these who are externally in the Covenant, providing they believe, but the Lord promiseth not a new heart and grace to believe, to these that are only externally in Covenant. And yet he promiseth both to the Elect.
Hence the Covenant must be considered two ways, in abstracto and formally, in the letter as a simple way of saving sinners, so they believe, so all within the Visible Church are in the Covenant of Grace, and so it contains only the will of precept. 2. In the concrete, as the Lord caries on the Covenant in such and such a way, commensurably with the decrees of Election and Reprobation; As the Lord not only promises, but acts and engraves the Law in the heart, commensurably with his decree of Election, so the Elect only are under the Covenant of Grace. The word tells of no condition or work, or act to be performed by any, which if he do he shall have a new heart: and therefore the promise of the ingraven Law in the heart, is not a simple promise made to the Covenanters as Covenanters, for so it should be a promise to all visible Covenanters (for visible Covenanters are essentially Covenanters) but it is both a promise and a prediction, yea a real execution or an efficacious way of fulfilling the decree of Election to such and such chosen, and specially loved of God Covenanters.
2. A new heart hath a twofold consideration, one as a duty commanded. 2. As a blessing promised, as to the former, Ezech. 18.31. make you a new heart and a new spirit, Jer. 4.4. Circumcise your heart to the Lord, take away the foreskin of your heart, ye men of Judah, Eph. 4.23. be renewed in the Spirit of your mind, Eph. 4. 14. Awake thou that sleeps and rise from the dead, these are either bare commands, without any Gospel strength given to obey, and so they are legal commands in the letter obliging all visible Covenanters to obedience, and so, all Letter all Law, no Gospel strength to perform speaks poor unmixed Law. In this case, God repeats and craves back again from broken men a sound heart, which they sinfully lost in Adam, and may justly seek heart conformity to his holy Law from all men. Or then these commands are backed with Gospel strength to obey, and so they are both commands and blessings promised, as Jer. 31.33. This my Covenant (a Covenant and something more) shall bee&c; I will put my Law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts &c; 34 Ezech. 11.19, Ezech. 36.2,. Heb. 8.6-12. so the more strength promised the more Gospel. Neither is there any inconvenience, to say that the Reprobate visible Covenanters are not thus, as touching the special promises of a new heart and perseverance of the Saints, really in the Covenant of Grace.
Q. Who are they, who are to believe God shall give them a new heart?
Ans. No man is positively to believe it while God work it in him, for no man is to believe that he is predestinated to Glory, while he first have the effects thereof in him, the hid Manna, the white Stone, the new Name. But no man is to despair or to create fatal inferences that he is Reprobate, since God begins kindly with him with a Gospel call. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement: Are We Able to Improve Hemodynamic Outcome?
Aortic valve replacement (AVR) does not usually restore physiological flow profiles. Complex flow profiles are associated with aorta dilatation, ventricle remodeling, aneurysms, and development of atherosclerosis. All these affect long-term morbidity and often require reoperations. In this pilot study, we aim to investigate an ability to optimize the real surgical AVR procedure toward flow profile associated with healthy persons. Four cases of surgical AVR (two with biological and two with mechanical valve prosthesis) with available post-treatment cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including four-dimensional flow MRI and showing abnormal complex post-treatment hemodynamics, were investigated. All cases feature complex hemodynamic outcomes associated with valve-jet eccentricity and strong secondary flow characterized by helical flow and recirculation regions. A commercial computational fluid dynamics solver was used to simulate peak systolic hemodynamics of the real post-treatment outcome using patient-specific MRI measured boundary conditions. Then, an attempt to optimize hemodynamic outcome by modifying valve size and orientation as well as ascending aorta size reduction was made. Pressure drop, wall shear stress, secondary flow degree, helicity, maximal velocity, and turbulent kinetic energy were evaluated to characterize the AVR hemodynamic outcome. The proposed optimization strategy was successful in three of four cases investigated. Although no single parameter was identified as the sole predictor for a successful flow optimization, downsizing of the ascending aorta in combination with the valve orientation was the most effective optimization approach. Simulations promise to become an effective tool to predict hemodynamic outcome. The translation of these tools requires, however, studies with a larger cohort of patients followed by a prospective clinical validation study. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
6/24 - Day 1 San Diego CA to Pine Valley CA, 45 miles
6/25 - Day 2 Pine Valley CA to Brawley CA, 89 miles
6/26 - Day 3 Brawley CA to Blythe CA, 86 miles
6/27 - Day 4 Blythe CA to Salome AZ, 61 miles and the first state line crossed
6/28 - Day 5 Salome AZ to Wickenburg AZ, 54 miles
6/29 - Day 6 REST and visit one of Amy's oldest friends, Matthew Wiener and his family in Phoenix
6/30 - Day 7 Wickenburg Az to Ash Fork AZ, 108 miles and the first century ride!
7/1 - Day 8 Ash Fork AZ to Tusayan AZ (a.k.a Grand Canyon AZ), 64 miles
7/2 - Day 9 REST! Explore the Grand Canyon with the kids!
7/3 - Day 10 More Grand Canyon exploration after a 31 mile ride to keep my muscles from freezing up
7/4 - Day 11 What better day to be at the Grand Canyon than the Fourth of July (though I'm not so sure this break can be called restful!)
7/5 - Day 12 Tusayan AZ to Tuba City AZ, 61 miles
7/6 - Day 13 Tuba City AZ to Kayenta AZ, 73 miles
7/7 - Day 14 Kayenta AZ to Cortez CO, 123 miles, second century ride and the second state line crossed
7/8 - Day 15 REST
7/9 - Day 16 Cortez CO to Pagosa Springs CO, 99 miles (can I count that as a century?) and 1/4 of the way there!
7/10 - Day 17 REST and hot air ballooning!
7/11 - Day 18 Pagosa Springs CO to Del Norte CO, 60 miles
7/12 - Day 19 Del Norte CO to Fort Garland CO, 63 miles
7/13 - Day 20 Fort Garland CO to Walsenburg CO, 50 miles
7/14 - Day 21 Walsenburg CO to Pueblo CO, 57 miles
7/15 - Day 22 REST
7/16 - Day 23 Pueblo CO to Ordway CO, 61 miles
7/17 - Day 24 Ordway CO to Tribune KS, 119 miles, third century, third state line crossed and 1/3 of the way there!
7/18 - Day 25 REST
7/19 - Day 26 Tribune KS to Dighton KS, 72 miles and we're in Central Time!
7/20 - Day 27 Dighton KS to Larned KS, 94 miles
7/21 - Day 28 Larned KS to Hutchinson KS, 72 miles
7/22 - Day 29 REST
7/23 - Day 30 Hutchinson KS to Eureka KS, 116 miles and fourth century
7/24 - Day 31 Eureka KS to Pittsburg KS, 122 miles and fifth century
7/25 - Day 32 REST and travel to Joplin MO for Sarah to present $800 she raised through her Lemon Aid stand to the Parks Department there to help the city replace trees lost to the tornado last year
7/26 - Day 33 Pittsburg KS to Marshfield MO, 116 miles, sixth century, the fourth state line crossed and I'm halfway there!
7/27 - Day 34 Marshfield MO to Eminence MO, 103 miles and seventh century, yes you read right, four century rides in a row!
7/28 - Day 35 REST and zip-lining!
7/29 - Day 36 Eminence MO to Farmington MO, 98 miles
7/30 - Day 37 Farmington MO to Carbondale IL, 91 miles and fifth state line crossed
7/31 - Day 38 Carbondale IL to Cave-in-Rock IL, 88 miles
8/1 - Day 39 REST and visit the cave!
8/2 - Day 40 Cave-in-Rock IL to Owensboro KY, 92 miles and the sixth state line crossed
8/3 - Day 41 Owensboro KY to Cave City KY, 102 miles, eighth century and 2/3 of the way there!
8/4 - Day 42 REST and explore Mammoth Cave National Park
8/5 - Day 43 Cave City KY to Harrodsburg KY, 109 miles and ninth century
8/6 - Day 44 REST
8/7 - Day 45 Harrodsburg KY to Booneville KY, 95 miles
8/8 - Day 46 Booneville KY to Hazard KY, 48 miles
8/9 - Day 47 REST and spend the day with my sister TaMara and her family!
8/10 - Day 48 Hazard KY to Breaks VA, 80 miles and 3/4 of the way there!
8/11 - Day 49 Breaks VA to Damascus VA, 76 miles and the seventh state line crossed
8/12 - Day 50 Damascus VA to Floyd VA, 114 miles and tenth century (do centuries make a millenium?) takes me to a gracious welcome at the home of my mother-in-law's good friends Jack and Ginny Russell
8/13 - Day 51 REST and enjoy Jack and Ginny's farm
8/14 - Day 52 Floyd VA to Lexington VA, 109 miles and the eleventh century
8/15 - Day 53 Lexington VA to Charlottesville VA, 81 miles
8/16 - Day 54 REST
8/17 - Day 55 Charlottesville VA to Fredericksburg VA, 108 miles and the twelfth century
8/18 - Day 56 Fredericksburg VA to Alexandria VA, 86 miles
8/19 - Day 57 REST, revisit some favorite DC sights and find some new ones!
8/20 - Day 58 Alexandria VA to Bel Air North MD, 96 miles and the eighth state line crossed
8/21 - Day 59 Bel Air North MD to Swedesboro NJ, 52 miles, the ninth and tenth state lines crossed, and a night at my sister Angela's house!
8/22 - Day 60 REST and spend the day with Angela, her husband Per and their daughter Annika as well as Grandma and Grandpa Connor! The cousins will have fun visiting and Gene will rest up in preparation for the longest ride of the trip.
8/23 - Day 61 Swedesboro NJ to Fort Lee NJ, 118 miles, thirteenth and last century ride
8/24 - Day 62 Fort Lee NJ across the George Washington Bridge and into NYC then across the 59th Street Bridge and on to Sunrise Day Camp in Wheatley Heights, NY! 69 miles and the eleventh (and final!) state line crossed | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Q:
NullPointerException ContextCompat Error
I have created a custom component ,which on adding to the layout i get the following error
Error is as follows
java.lang.NullPointerException
at android.support.v4.content.ContextCompatApi21.getDrawable(ContextCompatApi21.java:26)
at android.support.v4.content.ContextCompat.getDrawable(ContextCompat.java:321)
at com.test.digitalexperience.widget.testTicketLoaderWidget.createDrawables(testTicketLoaderWidget.java:101)
at com.test.digitalexperience.widget.testTicketLoaderWidget.init(testTicketLoaderWidget.java:69)
at com.test.digitalexperience.widget.testTicketLoaderWidget.<init>(testTicketLoaderWidget.java:52)
at com.test.digitalexperience.widget.testTicketLoaderWidget.<init>(testTicketLoaderWidget.java:44)
at sun.reflect.NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.java:57)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.java:45)
at java.lang.reflect.Constructor.newInstance(Constructor.java:526)
at org.jetbrains.android.uipreview.ViewLoader.createNewInstance(ViewLoader.java:465)
at org.jetbrains.android.uipreview.ViewLoader.loadClass(ViewLoader.java:172)
at org.jetbrains.android.uipreview.ViewLoader.loadView(ViewLoader.java:105)
at com.android.tools.idea.rendering.LayoutlibCallbackImpl.loadView(LayoutlibCallbackImpl.java:170)
at android.view.BridgeInflater.loadCustomView(BridgeInflater.java:247)
at android.view.BridgeInflater.createViewFromTag(BridgeInflater.java:171)
at android.view.LayoutInflater.createViewFromTag(LayoutInflater.java:704)
at android.view.LayoutInflater.rInflate_Original(LayoutInflater.java:835)
at android.view.LayoutInflater_Delegate.rInflate(LayoutInflater_Delegate.java:70)
at android.view.LayoutInflater.rInflate(LayoutInflater.java:811)
at android.view.LayoutInflater.rInflateChildren(LayoutInflater.java:798)
at android.view.LayoutInflater.inflate(LayoutInflater.java:515)
at android.view.LayoutInflater.inflate(LayoutInflater.java:394)
at com.android.layoutlib.bridge.impl.RenderSessionImpl.inflate(RenderSessionImpl.java:223)
at com.android.layoutlib.bridge.Bridge.createSession(Bridge.java:426)
at com.android.ide.common.rendering.LayoutLibrary.createSession(LayoutLibrary.java:350)
at com.android.tools.idea.rendering.RenderTask$2.compute(RenderTask.java:510)
at com.android.tools.idea.rendering.RenderTask$2.compute(RenderTask.java:498)
at com.intellij.openapi.application.impl.ApplicationImpl.runReadAction(ApplicationImpl.java:967)
at com.android.tools.idea.rendering.RenderTask.createRenderSession(RenderTask.java:498)
at com.android.tools.idea.rendering.RenderTask.access$600(RenderTask.java:72)
at com.android.tools.idea.rendering.RenderTask$3.call(RenderTask.java:610)
at com.android.tools.idea.rendering.RenderTask$3.call(RenderTask.java:607)
at com.android.tools.idea.rendering.RenderService.runRenderAction(RenderService.java:359)
at com.android.tools.idea.rendering.RenderTask.render(RenderTask.java:607)
at com.android.tools.idea.rendering.RenderTask.render(RenderTask.java:629)
at org.jetbrains.android.uipreview.AndroidLayoutPreviewToolWindowManager.doRender(AndroidLayoutPreviewToolWindowManager.java:652)
at org.jetbrains.android.uipreview.AndroidLayoutPreviewToolWindowManager.access$1700(AndroidLayoutPreviewToolWindowManager.java:80)
at org.jetbrains.android.uipreview.AndroidLayoutPreviewToolWindowManager$7$1.run(AndroidLayoutPreviewToolWindowManager.java:594)
at com.intellij.openapi.progress.impl.CoreProgressManager$2.run(CoreProgressManager.java:142)
at com.intellij.openapi.progress.impl.CoreProgressManager.registerIndicatorAndRun(CoreProgressManager.java:446)
at com.intellij.openapi.progress.impl.CoreProgressManager.executeProcessUnderProgress(CoreProgressManager.java:392)
at com.intellij.openapi.progress.impl.ProgressManagerImpl.executeProcessUnderProgress(ProgressManagerImpl.java:54)
at com.intellij.openapi.progress.impl.CoreProgressManager.runProcess(CoreProgressManager.java:127)
at org.jetbrains.android.uipreview.AndroidLayoutPreviewToolWindowManager$7.run(AndroidLayoutPreviewToolWindowManager.java:589)
at com.intellij.util.ui.update.MergingUpdateQueue.execute(MergingUpdateQueue.java:337)
at com.intellij.util.ui.update.MergingUpdateQueue.execute(MergingUpdateQueue.java:327)
at com.intellij.util.ui.update.MergingUpdateQueue$3.run(MergingUpdateQueue.java:271)
at com.intellij.util.ui.update.MergingUpdateQueue.flush(MergingUpdateQueue.java:286)
at com.intellij.util.ui.update.MergingUpdateQueue.flush(MergingUpdateQueue.java:244)
at com.intellij.util.ui.update.MergingUpdateQueue.run(MergingUpdateQueue.java:234)
at com.intellij.util.concurrency.QueueProcessor.runSafely(QueueProcessor.java:238)
at com.intellij.util.Alarm$Request$1.run(Alarm.java:352)
at java.util.concurrent.Executors$RunnableAdapter.call(Executors.java:471)
at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:262)
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1145)
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:615)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:745)
In my java class i have imported
android.support.v4.content.ContextCompat;
In dependencies i have added
dependencies {
compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:23.1.0'
}
and i am using gradle version
com.android.tools.build:gradle:2.0.0
custom component widget code
http://pastebin.com/nWn46qA3
A:
you are called init(Context context, AttributeSet attributeSet) method before initializing mContext in contructor.
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Opinions and Answers to Infrequently Asked Questions in Theology
Category Archives: divine darkness
This is the third and final installment of my review and critique of Thomas Oord’s book The Uncontrolling Love of God. In the previous two essays I described and analyzed Oord’s argument and criticized three of his crucial assertions. Today I will address a fourth assertion.
4. God’s Nature Limits God.
For Oord, the problem of evil focuses on absolving God of responsibility for the evil that plagues our world. Oord argues that the problem of evil cannot be dealt with as long as we view creation as a voluntary divine act. If God voluntarily created our world then God either allows or positively wills the evil that occurs within it. And no being that allows or permits, much less positively wills, the horrible evils that happen in our world can be considered loving. Oord “solves” the problem of evil by concluding that God did not choose to create a world with randomness and freedom, which are the necessary conditions for evil. Because God is love by nature, God creates our world by necessity.
Oord contends not only that God is love by nature but also that love is the preeminent divine attribute and limits the other attributes. God’s power extends only as far as his love. God cannot act contrary to his loving essence and must express that essence by creating. Let’s listen to some of Oord’s claims:
For many readers, the familiar idea that God cannot contradict his nature seems correct. God cannot lie or sin or die. We could add that God cannot act in an unloving or unjust way. I too agree with these statements. But Oord goes further. He contends that God’s nature limits God, which in effect makes God a prisoner of his nature. The traditional teaching that God cannot contradict his nature was never understood as “limiting” God, that is to say, depriving God of an option that God might otherwise have willed to use for some good purpose. On the contrary, the idea that God cannot die or sin or act unlovingly expresses God’s unlimited perfection! It would be silly to say that there is something good or great in dying or sinning that God is missing because he cannot do it. Dying is not something you. It is something that happens to you. Nothing just happens to God!
But Oord insists that “Divine love limits divine power”? In the traditional doctrine of God, God’s power is thought to be unlimited, which means that God’s power extends to everything that is logically possible. Oord adds a further qualification by excluding some logically possible things. Specifically, Oord wants to exclude God using power to control or coerce his creatures. These actions are, according to Oord, logically possible, but given the priority of divine love in the divine nature, are impossible for God. It is logically possible for God to prevent evil actions but impossible for God actually to do this. God cannot act contrary to his loving nature, and his loving nature demands that he give irrevocable randomness and freedom to creatures.
Darkness and Evil Within the Divine Nature?
Our suspicions are rightly raised when we hear a thinker using one divine attribute to limit the others. Oord speaks as if God were essentially love but not essentially power or eternity or justice or others. It seems to me that we ought to reject out of hand the attribution of incoherence and disharmony to the divine being. Instead we ought to allow all the divine attributes modify and enrich each other. If we believe God is perfect in every respect, we should also assume that there is no tension much less conflict between divine love and divine justice or power or eternity or omniscience. God’s love is just and his justice is loving. And God’s love is powerful and his power is loving.
Oord, to the contrary, defines God’s love independently of the other essential attributes and seems to base his definition of divine love on a human conception of love. He then uses this human conception to restrict divine power. Consequently his conception of divine power is likewise distorted. Oord seems to think of divine power as force and coercion, which must be limited by divine love. Divine power is obviously conceived as the possibility for evil as well as good. Amazingly, this move grounds the tension in creation between love and evil in a tension within the divine being. Hence to escape rooting evil in the divine will Oord places its possibility in the divine nature! The problem of evil has infected the divine being. And God must continually overcome his possibility for evil. Evil has been eternalized.
But divine power is not the possibility for good or evil, love or coercion. Divine power is the power of being; it is unambiguously good. God is the power of his own being and consequently the power for the being of creatures. God’s power always manifests itself in creation as giving being. There is no reason to see any tension between God’s power and his love. Every act of love is also an act of power. God loves by giving being in all its richness to creatures.
Conclusion
In sum, Oord solves one problem of evil only to create an even worse one. He succeeds in absolving God of any responsibility for evil by transferring the possibility for evil from the divine will to the divine nature. However, the price of this transfer may be greater than many are willing to pay. If the suffering we endure in this world is somehow rooted in the unfathomable divine will and purpose, we can still hope that evil will be overcome and “every tear will be dried.” But if evil is rooted in the eternal divine nature, God has no place to stand to pull us out of the pit. How can he sympathize with our pain when he is distracted by his own suffering? How can God “lead us not into temptation” when he must continually overcome his own temptation?
Coming Soon: Eschatology. What can we know about something that hasn’t happened yet? | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Your World Beyond The Sound BytesWe are all citizens of the world...stay informed!Look to this blog to bring you occasional, eclectic news, videos and viewpoints you might not otherwise be exposed to.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. More tax cuts for the wealthy and large corporations with no strings attached.
2. Increase Corporate Welfare (but disguise it under another name so the "little people" don't catch on). Offshore as many profits as possible, jobs too.
3. Regulate all Uteruses via nation-wide or state by state Forced-Birth (anti-choice) Mandates. Ignore babies after birth until we can put them to use (we need more cannon-fodder for our next for-profit war. The grown children of the uneducated make ripe pickings... | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Q:
Using MVVM with mutiple controls in a single form
I am new to WPF and starting to learn the MVVM concept.
I am working on an application that create a graphic objects that holds data that is coming from a DB.
I have a group box that contain several labels and comboboxes.
Each should hold a list that is coming from my DB.
For the first combobox I manage to fill it using MVVVM for that specific list.
But how can I fill the other comboboxes if I already initiate the DataContext with the first list?
Should I create for each ComboBox a ModelView?
And in general, how can I bind few comboboxes to lists dynamically?
<Label Grid.Row="0"
Grid.Column="0"
Grid.ColumnSpan="2"
Name="lblTiNam">Test Item Name :</Label>
<TextBox Grid.Row="0"
Grid.Column="2"
Name="tbTiName"
MinWidth="100"
MaxWidth="100"></TextBox>
<Label Grid.Row="1"
Grid.Column="0"
Grid.ColumnSpan="2"
Name="lblTiExStat">Execution Status :</Label>
<ComboBox Grid.Row="1"
Grid.Column="2"
x:Name="cbTiExStat"
MinWidth="100"
MaxWidth="100"
SelectedValuePath="Content"
ItemsSource="{Binding Binding QcLists.FieldList}"
DisplayMemberPath="Name">
</ComboBox>
<Label Grid.Row="2"
Grid.Column="0"
Grid.ColumnSpan="2"
Name="lblTiVersion">Version :</Label>
<ComboBox Grid.Row="2"
Grid.Column="2"
Name="cbTiVersion"
MinWidth="100"
MaxWidth="100"
SelectedValuePath="Content"
SelectedIndex="1">
<ComboBoxItem>To BE Bind From QC</ComboBoxItem>
</ComboBox>
<Label Grid.Row="3"
Grid.Column="0"
Grid.ColumnSpan="2"
Name="lblTiCRID">CRID :</Label>
<ComboBox Grid.Row="3"
Grid.Column="2"
Name="cbTiCRID"
MinWidth="100"
MaxWidth="100"
SelectedValuePath="Content">
<ComboBoxItem>To BE Bind From QC</ComboBoxItem>
</ComboBox>
<Label Grid.Row="4"
Grid.Column="0"
Grid.ColumnSpan="2"
Name="lblTiApplication">Application :</Label>
<ComboBox Grid.Row="4"
Grid.Column="2"
Name="cbTiApplication"
MinWidth="100"
MaxWidth="100"
SelectedValuePath="Content">
<ComboBoxItem>To BE Bind From QC</ComboBoxItem>
</ComboBox>
<Label Grid.Row="5"
Grid.Column="0"
Grid.ColumnSpan="2"
Name="lblTiTestLevel">Test Level :</Label>
<ComboBox Grid.Row="5"
Grid.Column="2"
Name="cbTiTestLevel"
MinWidth="100"
MaxWidth="100"
SelectedValuePath="Content">
<ComboBoxItem>To BE Bind From QC</ComboBoxItem>
</ComboBox>
im editing my qustion to add more information:
internal class TestableItemViewModel
{
public QCLists QcLists
{
get { return _qcLists; }
}
#endregion
#region Constructor
public TestableItemViewModel()
{
_qcconnect = QCConnection.QCConnect.getInstance();
// LoadListSettings();
LoadListSettings( "TS_USER_05");
SaveCommand = new TestableItemSaveDetailsCommand(this);
}
#endregion
private void LoadListSettings(String FieldName)
{
Customization cust = QCConnection.QCConnect.getInstance().GetTD.Customization;
CustomizationFields fields = cust.Fields;
CustomizationListNode node;
CustomizationField field;
field = fields.get_Field("TEST", FieldName);
node = field.List.RootNode;
_qcLists = new QCLists(node.Children, node.Name);
}
}
class QCLists:INotifyPropertyChanged
{
TDAPIOLELib.List _fieldList;
List<String> myTestList;
String listName;
public String ListName
{
get { return listName; }
set { listName = value; }
}
public List<String> MyTestList
{
get { return myTestList; }
set { myTestList = value; }
}
public QCLists(TDAPIOLELib.List List,String name)
{
_fieldList = List;
myTestList = new List<String>();
listName = name;
}
public TDAPIOLELib.List FieldList
{
get
{
return _fieldList;
}
set
{
_fieldList = value;
OnPropertyChanged("FieldList");
}
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
private void OnPropertyChanged(string propertyName)
{
PropertyChangedEventHandler handler = PropertyChanged;
if (handler != null)
{
handler(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
}
and for the code behind of the xaml above:
DataContext = new TestableItemViewModel();
those are my classes that i used.
as you can see in my xaml,the first combocox is binded to the requierd list and i can see
the values as i expected.
how do i keep binding the other combobox's?
since i only have one instance of TestableItemViewModel that is already bind to the first list and the data context is using that list.
i have other lists(4 actually) that i need to bind to the other controls.
of course that im using a query to get the requierd list but this is another issue since the list name can be changed at any given time.
for now i only need to solve the problem with the 5 binding.
A:
One way to achieve this is if you have a Model for the db record and a model for the list of records i.e.
I will use a Year example for convenience.
class YearModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
#region Members
myService.Year _year;
#endregion
#region Properties
public myService.Year Year
{
get { return _year; }
}
public Int32 id
{
get { return Year.id; }
set
{
Year.id = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("id");
}
}
public String Code
{
get { return Year.Code; }
set
{
Year.Code = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("Code");
}
}
#region Construction
public YearModel()
{
this._year = new SchoolMonitor_Service.Year
{
id = 0,
Code = "",
};
}
#endregion
}
Then the list
class YearListModel
{
myService.myServcieClient service = new myService.myServcieClient();
#region Members
private ObservableCollection<YearModel> _years;
#endregion
#region Properties
public ObservableCollection<YearModel> Years
{
get { return _years; }
}
#endregion
#region Construction
public YearListModel()
{
_years = new ObservableCollection<YearModel>();
foreach (SchoolMonitor_Service.Year y in service.GetYearList())
{
_years.Add(new YearModel
{
id = y.id,
Code = y.Code
}
);
}
}
#endregion
}
Then you create a ViewModel getting all the lists you need I have added YearGroups as an example:
class YearFormViewModel
{
public YearListModel YearList { get; set; }
public YearGroupListModel YearGroupList { get; set; }
public YearFormViewModel()
{
YearList = new YearListModel;
YearGroupList = new YearGroupListModel();
}
}
You can then get the ViewModel in the window/page:
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:myProject.Models"
<Page.Resources>
<local:YearFormViewModel x:Key="myViewModel" />
</Page.Resources>
Then bind accordingly:
<ComboBox x:Name="cbYears"
DataContext="{StaticResource ResourceKey=myViewModel}"
ItemsSource="{Binding Path=YearList.Years}"
SelectedValuePath="id"
DisplayMemberPath="Code"/>
<ComboBox x:Name="cbYearGroups"
DataContext="{StaticResource ResourceKey=myViewModel}"
ItemsSource="{Binding Path=YearGroupList.YearGroups}"
SelectedValuePath="id"
DisplayMemberPath="Code"/>
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
A few years ago the applicant observed that either oral or parenteral administration of the common amino acid and food additive, monosodium glutamate (MSG), to infant animals induced hypothalamic lesions involving the rapid destruction of developing neurons. He has been examining such aspects of the phenomenon as regional, species and molecular specificity in an attempt to clarify its pathophysiology and determine what significance the neurotoxicity of this common amino acid might have for human health. In the process of investigating this brain damage syndrome, the applicant discovered that it can be reproduced by certain other amino acids which, like glutamate, are acidic amino acids. He also has found that the non-acidic amino acid, L-cysteine, produces brain lesions but not in the same regions or developing brain as are affected by acidic amino acids. The applicant is applying for renewal of grant support to enable him to continue studying these intriguing amino acid-induced neurotoxic phenomena. Methods and objectives will include: Ultrastructural analysis of brain tissue changes following exposure of fetal or neonatal animals (including primates) to sulphur amino acids (cysteine and homocysteine); use of radioactive cysteine (S35) to clarify the mechanism of cysteine-induced brain damage and see if it can be related to the mechanism of glutamate-induced brain damage; and microinjection of acidic amino acids into various regions of adult rat brain followed by ultrastructural analysis of the injection site to investigate possible differences in sensitivity of various neuronal groups to the toxic action of acidic amino acids. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Today we mostly continued on the tasks we’ve been talking about lately. The AI interface is coming together nicely, work on the outposts is ongoing and we’ve added a whole ton more monster attacks. Here are just a couple. We’re aiming to make sure every unique monster piece has it’s own attacks and affects the monsters behaviour differently.
Starbound on the Discord Store Hi everyone, Starbound is launching on the new Discord store! As you might have seen from our last post, we’ve added some updates to the PC version for Discord integration. Those changes are going live to the stable version today on all platforms, we didn’t think it made sense to update Discord but leave the […]
Starbound's 2 Year Anniversary! Hi everyone! Today is a special day for the team here, as it marks Starbound’s (official) 2 Year Anniversary since 1.0 and the game’s full release on Steam. Since then we’ve had a few major updates (woo Mechs!) and are looking ahead to the future of Starbound, including the upcoming Xbox One release. It’s coming […] | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
---
abstract: 'This paper addresses the problem of extracting periodic oscillatory features in vibration signals for detecting faults in rotating machinery. To extract the feature, we propose an approach in the short-time Fourier transform (STFT) domain where the periodic oscillatory feature manifests itself as a relatively sparse grid. To estimate the sparse grid, we formulate an optimization problem using customized binary weights in the regularizer, where the weights are formulated to promote periodicity. In order to solve the proposed optimization problem, we develop an algorithm called augmented Lagrangian majorization-minimization algorithm, which combines the split augmented Lagrangian shrinkage algorithm (SALSA) with majorization-minimization (MM), and is guaranteed to converge for both convex and non-convex formulation. As examples, the proposed approach is applied to simulated data, and used as a tool for diagnosing faults in bearings and gearboxes for real data, and compared to some state-of-the-art methods. The results show the proposed approach can effectively detect and extract the periodical oscillatory features.'
author:
- 'Yin Ding[^1]'
- Wangpeng He
- Binqiang Chen
- Yanyang Zi
- 'Ivan W. Selesnick'
title: |
Detection of Faults in Rotating Machinery Using\
Periodic Time-Frequency Sparsity[^2]
---
Introduction
============
Condition monitoring and fault diagnosis of rotating machines are of great importance to prevent machinery breakdown in numerous industrial applications. Vibration signals generated by faults in rotating components have been widely studied. Detecting and extracting transient vibration signatures is of vital importance for vibration-based detection of faults in rotating machinery. However, the observed vibration signals are usually corrupted by very heavy background noise [@randall2011rolling; @feng2012vibration]. Many diagnostic techniques have been developed to extract the fault features based on different transforms, such as short time Fourier transform (STFT) [@fd_Yang_mssp_2005; @feng2013recent; @fd_Kar_jsv_2008; @fd_He_jsv_2013; @fd_Qin_jsv_2013] and wavelet transform [@yan2014wavelets; @chen2012fault; @yan2010harmonic; @fd_Kar_mssp_2006; @fd_Zhen_jsv_2008; @he2013vibration; @he2014automatic; @fd_Bozchalooi_jsv_2007; @fd_Kankar_2011]. Some methods use morphological decomposition methods, such as empirical mode decomposition (EMD) [@lei2013review; @guo2013novel], or demodulation [@fd_Sheen_JSV_2004; @fd_Liang_mssp_2010; @fd_Wang_jsv_2014]. Some methods combine conventional time-frequency analysis with other techniques suitable for transients detection, such as bispectrum-based method [@fd_Benbouzid_2000; @fd_bispectrum_Chow_1995] and spectral kurtosis (SK) based methods [@antoni2006spectral; @antoni2007fast; @zhang2009rolling; @fd_Chen_mssp_2013].
The use of sparse representations for fault detection was initially illustrated in Ref. [@fd_Yang_mssp_2005], where basis pursuit denoising (BPD) [@Chen_1994_BP; @Chen_SIAM_1998] was adopted to exploit the sparsity of vibration signals in different domains in order to detect and extract fault features. In Ref. [@fd_Qin_jsv_2013], the author considered a morphological component analysis (MCA) problem [@Elad_etal_2005_ACHA; @mca_Starck_2004; @Starck_2005_TIP], which is a sparsity-based decomposition approach, to improve the extraction of fault features. In Ref. [@fd_Cui_jsv_2014] matching pursuit (MP) [@Mallat_1993] was used on a customized dictionary to extract oscillatory fault features. In Ref. [@he2013tunable], a sparse representation using the tunable Q-factor wavelet transform [@Selesnick_TQWT_2011; @Selesnick_2011_SPIE_TQWT] is utilized to extract oscillatory fault features. Most recently, sparse coding techniques are introduced for fault feature extraction [@tang2014sparse].
The periodicity (also called fault characteristic or fundamental frequency in some cases) of potential fault features is very important information for fault diagnosis. In many cases, this information can be simply obtained using the geometry of the specific components under steady rotating speed, or directly obtained from the user operation manual. It is already required as necessary information in many fault diagnosis methods [@yan2014wavelets; @fd_Liang_mssp_2010; @fd_Su_mssp_2010; @fd_Wang_jsv_2015]. Some fault diagnosis methods use periodicity information as a verification step after feature extraction (e.g. [@fd_Liang_esa_2014; @fd_Qin_jsv_2013]), and some methods use it to determine an optimal frequency band when extracting the oscillation frequency of the fault feature [@fd_Liang_mssp_2010; @fd_Su_mssp_2010; @fd_Wang_jsv_2015]. Only a few very recent works use the temporal periodic structure to extract fault features [@fd_McDonald_mssp_2012; @He_mssp_2016].
The overlapping group sparsity (OGS) approach has been discussed in [@Chen_Selesnick_2014_OGS; @Chen_Selesnick_2014_GSSD], where a multi-dimensional group structure has been modeled in various domains and convex optimization problems have been formulated, to take advantage of group behavior (e.g. coefficients in STFT domain) to recover signals from noisy observations. Using OGS to extract fault features was introduced and formulated as an convex optimization problem in [@He_mssp_2016], in which the fault features are assumed to be a periodic sequence of pulses. In addition, it was shown that the objective function can be convex even if some specified non-convex penalty functions are used to promote sparsity. Moreover, when the periodicity information is known, a binary-weighted group structure was used in the regularization, capturing the period of the potential fault features.
In this work, we consider the problem wherein the fault features are comprised of a sequence of oscillatory transients, and sparsity should be promoted in the time-frequency domain. The discrete-time vibration observation $y$ is modeled by $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_model}
y = x + w,\end{aligned}$$ where $x$ is an approximately-periodic sequence of oscillatory transients where the period is determined by the characteristic frequency of potential faults, and $w$ is additive Gaussian noise. Moreover, we assume that the oscillation frequencies of the transient component $x$ are unknown but relatively sparse, and the periodicity is over the time domain.
Under the signal model, we seek a solution to the optimization problem $$\label{eq:optimization}
c{^{\star}}=\arg \min_{c} \Big \{ F(c)= {\frac{1}{2}}{\lVert y - Ac \rVert}_2^2 + { \lambda}\Phi(c) \Big \},$$ for the purpose of extracting the fault feature $x\in {\mathbb{R}}^{N}$, where $c$ denotes the coefficients corresponding to an overcomplete transform $A$ of $x$, where $x=Ac$, and ${ \lambda}>$ 0 is a regularization parameter and $\Phi$ is a sparsity-promoting penalty function (regularizer) in the domain of $c$. This paper aims to extract the oscillatory fault features as periodically structured groups of coefficients in the time-frequency domain. We set the operator $A$ to be the normalized inverse STFT, and the function $\Phi$ is customized to capture the periodicity in the STFT domain.
To solve a relatively complicated sparsity-based optimization problem, where an iterative scheme has to be adopted, methods are usually based on two algorithms. One is based on majorization-minimization (MM) [@FBDN_2007_TIP; @mm_Lange_2000; @mm_Hunter_tutorial_2004], such as the algorithms given in [@FBDN_2007_TIP; @Oliveira_sp_2009; @Ding_2015_SP; @Selesnick_tara_2014; @Selesnick_tv_ncvx_2015; @Selesnick_spl_2015], and further the method of iterated soft-thresholding algorithm (ISTA) [@Beck_2009_SIAM; @DDDM_2003] can be considered as a special case of MM asa well (majorizing data fidelity term based on Lipschitz constant). Another trend is based on alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) [@Boyd_2011_admm; @opt_Eckstein_1992], and its extension such as split augmented Lagrangian shrinkage algorithm (SALSA) [@Afonso_2010_TIP_SALSA], and some recent applications using such algorithm are presented in [@Ning_QRS_2013; @Selesnick_2011_SPIE_TQWT].
Some algorithms can be explained as a combination of ADMM and MM as a special case. For instance, a specific function of Bregman distance was described in [@opt_Osher_2005], which is similar to a majorizer, utilized to derive an iterative method for total variation problem [@ROF_1992]. Such concept has been used on total variation problem with multiple extensions such as combinations with wavelet-based denoising, compressive sensing [@tv_Xu_tip_2007; @cs_Yin_2008; @cs_Ma_2008]. Moreover, the Bregman distance function in [@opt_Osher_2005] was used to in other iterative algorithms for convex problems as well, such as the methods proposed in [@opt_Zhang_2010; @opt_Zhang_jsc_2010]. Some recent work in the field of optimization also consider this problem. In [@opt_Li_admm_preprint], a framework is given that instead of using the Bregman distance function in [@opt_Osher_2005], but using proper ‘indefinite proximal terms’ to majorize augmented Lagrangian, the resulting majorized ADMM-style algorithm will converge for convex problem. Moreover, in [@opt_Chen_admm_2015_preprint], an ADMM-style algorithm with a embedded criteria checking step is proposed based on majorizing the corresponding augmented Lagrangian as well. Additionally, in [@opt_Cui_admm_preprint], a scheme of majoring a cross term with the ADMM-style iteration is proposed for convex problem.
In this work, we propose an algorithm that combines ADMM and MM with a more general and simpler formulation, based on block successive upper-bound minimization (BSUM) algorithm [@opt_Razaviyayn_2013]. Moreover, the algorithm allows non-convex regularization to promote the resulting sparsity, and it is guaranteed to converge to a local minimum even though the objective function is not convex.
Notation
--------
In this paper, the elements of a vector $ x \in {\mathbb{R}}^N$ are denoted as $x_n$ or $[x]_n$, and the norms are defined as
$$\begin{aligned}
{\lVertx\rVert}_1 & : = \sum_{n} {\left\vert x_n \right\vert} , \\
{\lVertx\rVert}_2^2 & : = \sum_{n} {\left\vert x_n \right\vert}^2 .\end{aligned}$$
The norms of a complex vector $ z \in {\mathbb{C}}^{N}$ is defined as
$$\begin{aligned}
{\lVertz\rVert}_1 & : = \sum_{n} {\left\vert z_n \right\vert} , \\
{\lVertz\rVert}_2^2 & : = \sum_{n} {\left\vert z_n \right\vert}^2 ,\end{aligned}$$
where the definition of absolute value of a complex number $a \in {\mathbb{C}}$ is given by $$\begin{aligned}
{\left\vert a \right\vert} : = \sqrt{ [{\mathsf{Re}}(a)]^2 + [{\mathsf{Im}}(a)]^2 },\end{aligned}$$ where ${\mathsf{Re}}(\cdot)$ and ${\mathsf{Im}}(\cdot)$ are operators taking the real and imaginary part of a complex number respectively. As a consequence, ${\lVertz\rVert}_2^2 $ can be written explicitly as
$$\begin{aligned}
{\lVertz\rVert}_2^2
& = \sum_n [{\mathsf{Re}}([z]_n)]^2 + [{\mathsf{Im}}([z]_n)]^2 \\
& = {\lVertz_r\rVert}_2^2 + {\lVertz_i\rVert}_2^2, \end{aligned}$$
where $z = z_r + {\mathrm{i}}z_i$, and $ z_r, z_i \in {\mathbb{R}}^{N} $ are vectors of the real and imaginary part of $z$, respectively.
For multi-dimensional matrices, e.g. $B \in {\mathbb{R}}^{M \times N}$, we denote its elements as $[B]_{m,n}$. We use bold $\mathbf{0}$ and $\mathbf{1}$ to express all $0$’s and $1$’s matrices. More specifically, $\mathbf{0}(K,N)$ is a matrix of size $K \times N$, and all its elements are zero, and $\mathbf{1}(K,N)$ is a matrix, the elements of which are all one.
Review of Majorization-minimization
-----------------------------------
The majorization-minimization (MM) method [@FBDN_2007_TIP; @mm_Lange_2000; @mm_Hunter_tutorial_2004] simplifies a complicated optimization problem into a sequence of easier ones. To solve a convex optimization problem $$\begin{aligned}
u {^{\star}}= \arg \min_{u} F(u),\end{aligned}$$ the MM method is described by iteration $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:bsum_mm_iteration}
u^{(i+1)} = \arg \min_{u} G( u , u^{(i)} ),\end{aligned}$$ where $G : {\mathbb{R}}^{N} \times {\mathbb{R}}^{N} \to {\mathbb{R}}$ is a continuously differentiable function, satisfying
\[eqn:bsum\_mm\_condition\] $$\begin{aligned}
&G(u,v) \ge F(u),\quad \text{ for all } u, v,\\
&G(u,u) = F(u).\end{aligned}$$
The detailed proof of convergence for convex problems has been given in Ref. [@mm_Lange_2000 Chapter 10].
Review of BSUM
--------------
Block successive upper-bound minimization algorithm (BSUM) is described in [@opt_Razaviyayn_2013]. Its original goal is to overcome the uniqueness requirement of block coordinate descent (BCD) method (also known as Gauss-Seidel method) [@opt_Beck_BCD_2013; @opt_Luo_BCD_1992]. BSUM is an iterative method to solve optimization problems, which allows the objective function to be non-convex and/or non-smooth. When the objective function is neither convex nor smooth, the algorithm will at least converge to a stationary point under some weak assumptions [@opt_Razaviyayn_2013 Theorem 2]. This algorithm has been applied to transceiver design in MIMO multi-cellular communication system, which has a non-convex formulation [@Razaviyayn_TSP_2014]. In order to facilitate our proposed algorithm, as a short review, we only rewrite a special case of BSUM using our notation.
The problem is defined as $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:bsum_bsum_cost}
x{^{\star}}= \arg \min_{x} Q(x) ,\end{aligned}$$ where $Q : {\mathbb{R}}^{N} \to {\mathbb{R}}$ is continuous and has at least one stationary point. In this case, we slightly relax the definition of ‘optimal solution’, whereas if the objective function is not convex, we allow the ‘optimum’ to be merely a local minimizer. Note that, when function $Q$ is strictly convex, the unique minimizer is the global minimizer, therefore the relaxation of optimal does not affect convex problems, where $x {^{\star}}$ is still the true global minimizer. We assume the unknown $x \in {\mathbb{R}}^{N}$ can be divided into three blocks: $x_0 \in {\mathbb{R}}^{N_0}$, $x_1 \in {\mathbb{R}}^{N_1}$ and $x_2 \in {\mathbb{R}}^{ N_2}$ with $N = N_0 + N_1 + N_2$. Then the objective function $Q$ in can be rewritten using the expression of the three blocks, where the problem is $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:bsum_bsum_cost2}
\{ x_0{^{\star}}, x_1{^{\star}}, x_2{^{\star}}\} = & \arg \min_{x\in {\mathbb{R}}^{N}} Q(x_0, x_1, x_2), \text{ where } x = \begin{bmatrix} x_0 \\ x_1 \\ x_2 \end{bmatrix},\end{aligned}$$ and if we can find a continuous function $G: {\mathbb{R}}^{N} \times {\mathbb{R}}^{N} \to {\mathbb{R}}$, which is the block-wise upper-bound of $Q$, defined as
\[eqn:bsum\_block\_condition\] $$\begin{aligned}
& G( ( x_0, x_1, x_2 ), ( v_0, x_1, x_2) ) \ge Q(x_0, x_1, x_2), \quad \text{ for all } x \text{ and } v_0 \in {\mathbb{R}}^{N_0}, \\
& G( ( x_0, x_1, x_2 ), ( x_0, v_1, x_2) ) \ge Q(x_0, x_1, x_2), \quad \text{ for all } x \text{ and } v_1 \in {\mathbb{R}}^{N_1}, \\
& G( ( x_0, x_1, x_2 ), ( x_0, x_1, v_2) ) \ge Q(x_0, x_1, x_2), \quad \text{ for all } x \text{ and } v_2 \in {\mathbb{R}}^{N_2}, \\
& G( ( x_0, x_1, x_2 ), ( x_0, x_1, x_2) ) = Q(x_0, x_1, x_2), \quad \text{ for all } x,\end{aligned}$$
then problem can be solved by BSUM by the algorithm illustrated in [@opt_Razaviyayn_2013 Figure 2]. For the special case of three blocks, we can write the algorithm explicitly as the steps in [Table \[alg:bsum\]]{}.
The condition implies all the assumptions listed in [@opt_Razaviyayn_2013 Assumption 2], which ensures that the algorithm in [Table \[alg:bsum\]]{} converges, and the mathematical proof of convergence can be found in Section IV of [@opt_Razaviyayn_2013]. It is worth noting that the convergence behavior of BSUM does not rely on the convexity of the problem.
[align\*]{} & x \^[N]{}\
&\
& x\_0 = \_[u\_0]{} G( ( u\_0, x\_1, x\_2 ), ( x\_0, x\_1, x\_2) )\
& x\_1 = \_[u\_1]{} G( ( x\_0, u\_1, x\_2 ), ( x\_0, x\_1, x\_2) )\
& x\_2 = \_[u\_2]{} G( ( x\_0, x\_1, u\_2 ), ( x\_0, x\_1, x\_2) )\
&\
& x = { x\_0, x\_1, x\_2}
SALMA
=====
Split augmented Lagrangian shrinkage algorithm (SALSA) [@Afonso_2010_TIP_SALSA] is a recently developed method for solving convex optimization problems. As an efficient $\ell_1$-norm regularized convex problem solver, it has been widely used to solve various signal processing problems. SALSA adopts variable splitting technique and the concept of alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) [@Boyd_2011_admm; @opt_Eckstein_1992], achieving a very simply structured and efficient iterative algorithm. In this section, we propose an algorithm formulated very similar to SALSA. However, in contrast to SALSA, the proposed method converges when used to solve non-convex problems. Because we use the concept of majorization-minimization (MM) in the proposed algorithm, it is termed split augmented Lagrangian majorization-minimization algorithm (SALMA), and can be stated as the following theorem.
\[the:salma\] For optimization problem $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:bsum_problem}
x{^{\star}}= & \arg \min_{x \in {\mathbb{R}}^{N}}F_0(x) + F_1(x),\end{aligned}$$ where function $F_0 : {\mathbb{R}}^{N} \to {\mathbb{R}}$ and $ F_1 : {\mathbb{R}}^{N} \to {\mathbb{R}}$ are both finite and continuously differentiable, if a function $G_1: {\mathbb{R}}^{N} \times {\mathbb{R}}^{N} \to {\mathbb{R}}$ majorizes $F_1$, i.e., satisfying $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_the_condition}
& G_1(u,v) \ge F_1(u),\quad \text{ for all } u, v \in {\mathbb{R}}^{N},\\
& G_1(u,u) = F_1(u),\end{aligned}$$ can be found, and it enables the following iterative algorithm
\[eqn:bsum\_salma\_0\] $$\begin{aligned}
u^{(i+1)} & = \arg \min_{u} G_1(u, u^{(i)}) + \frac{\mu}{2} {\lVertu-x-d\rVert}_2^2, \label{eqn:bsum_salma_0_a} \\
x^{(i+1)} & = \arg \min_{x} F_0(x) + \frac{\mu}{2} {\lVertu-x-d\rVert}_2^2, \\
d^{(i+1)} & = d^{(i)} - (u-x) \label{eqn:bsum_salma_0_c} \end{aligned}$$
having unique solution at each step, then the algorithm will converge, and converges to a local minimizer of problem .
The proof of the above theorem in detail is given in [Appendix \[app:proof\]]{}. Note that the algorithm has two steps identical to SALSA, and the difference is in the sub-problem , where the cost function is based on a continuously differentiable majorizer of $F_1$. In contrast to SALSA, the proposed method will converge when the objective function is not convex, because it is actually a special case of BSUM. In other words, the proposed algorithm utilizes a Gauss-Seidel procedure to solve a majorization-minimization (MM) problem. This leads us to term the algorithm SALMA (split augmented Lagrangian majorization-minimization algorithm), which combines SALSA and majorization-minimization methods.
Proposed method
===============
Smoothed penalty function
-------------------------
In this work, we use smoothed penalty function ${\phi_{\epsilon}}: {\mathbb{R}}\to {\mathbb{R}}_{+}$ to induce sparsity, which is a smoothed version of $\phi : {\mathbb{R}}\to {\mathbb{R}}_{+}$ in [Table \[tab:etea\_penalty\]]{}. It is defined as: $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_phie}
{\phi_{\epsilon}}(u ; a) : = \phi( \sqrt{ u^2 +{ \epsilon}} ; a ), \quad { \epsilon}> 0,\end{aligned}$$ where $\phi$ is the non-smooth penalty function satisfies the following properties:
1. $\phi(u;a)$ is continuous on ${\mathbb{R}}$.
2. $\phi(u;a)$ is twice continuously differentiable on $\mathbb{R} \backslash \{0\}$.
3. $\phi(u;a)$ is even symmetric: $\phi(u) = \phi(-u)$.
4. $\phi(u;a)$ is increasing and concave on ${\mathbb{R}}_{+}$.
5. $\phi(u;a) = {\left\vert x \right\vert}$, when $a = 0$.
Several typical examples of $\phi$ are given in [Table \[tab:etea\_penalty\]]{}. [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_0\_penalty\]]{}(a-b) gives two specific examples of $\phi$ in dashed line, and corresponding smoothed versions with ${ \epsilon}= 0.01$ in solid line.
In this work, we use the smoothed penalty function ${\phi_{\epsilon}}$ instead of $\phi$, because after the smoothing, the function is continuously differentiable on $u \in {\mathbb{R}}$, and we can easily find the corresponding majorizer, $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_g}
g( u , v ) := \frac{u^2}{ 2 \psi(v) } - \underbrace{ \bigg( \frac{v^2}{2 \psi(v)} - {\phi_{\epsilon}}(v;a) \bigg) }_{\text{only depends on $v$}}.\end{aligned}$$ where $\psi(v) := v / {\phi_{\epsilon}}'(v ; a)$, and $g(u , v )$ is quadratic in $u$. In Ref. [@Ding_2015_SP], the same smoothed penalty functions are used and a detailed proof is given to show that when $\phi$ satisfies the above 5 conditions, the majorizer satisfies
\[eqn:fs\_g\_mm\] $$\begin{aligned}
&g(u,v) \ge {\phi_{\epsilon}}(u;a),\quad \text{ for all } u, v,\\
&g(u,u) = {\phi_{\epsilon}}(u;a).\end{aligned}$$
[Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_0\_penalty\]]{}(c-d) illustrates the majorizer $g$ of two penalty functions when $ v = 0.5 $. Note that $g$ never goes to extrema (i.e. $ \pm \infty $) if $u$ and $v$ are both finite. [Table \[tab:etea\_penalty\]]{} provides four examples of smoothed penalty functions. Among all these functions, only the first one (‘abs’) is convex, and the rest are all non-convex. In , $\phi$ is not differentiable at $0$, but ${\phi_{\epsilon}}$ is differentiable, and when ${ \epsilon}\to 0$, function ${\phi_{\epsilon}}\approx \phi$, but preserving the differentiability at the origin. In practice, we recommend to set ${ \epsilon}$ very small, e.g. $10^{-8}$.
\[tab:etea\_penalty\]
\
Problem definition
------------------
To estimate a sequence of oscillatory transients modeled by , through an optimization problem prototyped by , we further formulate the optimization problem explicitly as $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_cost}
c {^{\star}}= \arg \min_{c}
\Bigg\{ P(c) =
{\frac{1}{2}}{\lVerty - A c\rVert}_2^2 + { \lambda}\sum_{m_1,m_2} \phi_{{ \epsilon}} \big( \bnorm(c, B, m_1,m_2) ; a \big)
\Bigg\}\end{aligned}$$ where $ y \in {\mathbb{R}}^{N}$, $ c \in \mathbb{C}^{M_1 \times M_2} $ are STFT coefficients, and the matrix $A : \mathbb{C}^{M_1 \times M_2} \to \mathbb{C}^{N}$ here denotes the inverse short-time Fourier transform operator. When a local optimal of problem is obtained, component $x$ (periodic sequence of oscillatory transients) in signal model is given by $$\begin{aligned}
\hat x = A c{^{\star}}.\end{aligned}$$ In problem , we defined the regularizer by function ${\theta}: {\mathbb{C}}^{M_1 \times M_2} \times {\mathbb{R}}^{K_1 \times K_2} \times \mathbb{Z} \times \mathbb{Z} \to {\mathbb{R}}$, $$\begin{aligned}
\bnorm(c,B, m_1,m_2)
& = \bigg[ \sum_{k_1=0}^{K_1 - 1} \sum_{k_2=0}^{K_2 - 1} [B]_{k_1,k_2} [c]_{m_1 + k_1, m_2 + k_2}^2 \bigg]^{1/2}, \end{aligned}$$ which is similar to a 2-D convolution. Note that $B \in {\mathbb{R}}^{K_1 \times K_2}$ is a two-dimensional binary-valued mask describing the group structure, which is to be determined beforehand by the time-frequency information of $x$ and the STFT.
We use $\odot$ to denote element-wise multiplication, so the function $\bnorm$ can be written as a weighted norm of a segment of STFT coefficient $c$, $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_bnorm}
\bnorm(c,B, m_1,m_2) : = {\lVert B \odot S(c, m_1, m_2) \rVert}_2.\end{aligned}$$ Here $S(c,m_1, m_2)$ denotes a $K_1 \times K_2$ segment of matrix $c \in {\mathbb{C}}^{M_1 \times M_2}$, where the first element (up and left) is $[c]_{m_1,m_2}$. Moreover, since $c$ is a complex-valued array, where $ c = c_r + {\mathrm{i}}c_i $, it follows that, $$\begin{aligned}
{\lVert B \odot S(c, m_1, m_2) \rVert}_2^2 = {\lVert B \odot S(c_r, m_1, m_2) \rVert}_2^2 + {\lVert B \odot S(c_i, m_1, m_2) \rVert}_2^2\end{aligned}$$ where $ S(c_r, m_1, m_2), S(c_i, m_1, m_2) \in {\mathbb{R}}^{K_1 \times K_2} $ are the corresponding arrays of the real and imaginary parts of $S(c, m_1, m_2)$. Then, in implementation, the real and imaginary parts of the problem can be calculated separately as real values.
For problem , in order to capture the known periodicity of $x$ as modeled in , we further define binary weighting vectors $b_1 \in \{ 0,1 \}^{K_1}$ and $b_2 \in \{ 0,1 \}^{K_2}$ in the following structure,
\[eqn:fd\_preoid\_b\] $$\begin{aligned}
b_1 & = \mathbf{1}{(1, K_1)} = [\underbrace{ 1, 1, \ldots , 1 }_{K_{1}}] \\
b_2 & = [ \mathbf{1}(1, N_1), \ \mathbf{0}(1, N_0), \ \mathbf{1}(1, N_1), \ \mathbf{0}(1, N_0), \ \ldots, \ \mathbf{1}(1, N_1) ] \nonumber \\
& = [
\ \underbrace{ 1, 1, \ldots , 1 }_{N_{1}},
\ \underbrace{ 0, 0, \ldots , 0 }_{N_{0}},
\ \underbrace{ 1, 1, \ldots , 1 }_{N_{1}},
\ \underbrace{ 0, 0, \ldots , 0 }_{N_{0}} ,
\ \ldots, \
\ \underbrace{ 1, 1, \ldots , 1 }_{N_{1}} \
],\end{aligned}$$
where $b_2$ captures the feature periodicity with a periodic binary structure, so that the binary block $B$ spanning $M$ periods can be written explicitly as $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_block}
B & = b_1^{{\mathsf{T}}} \times b_2
= [ \ \underbrace{ \mathbf{1}(K_1, N_1), \ \mathbf{0}(K_1, N_0), \ \mathbf{1}(K_1, N_1), \ \mathbf{0}(K_1, N_0), \
\ldots, \ \mathbf{1}(K_1, N_1) }_{\text{spanning } M \text{ periods}} \ ],\end{aligned}$$ which is concatenating of $M$ all-$1$’s blocks and $M-1$ all-$0$’s blocks intervally. For instance, when $M = 4$, $K_1 = 4$, $N_0 = 4$ and $N_1 = 2$, the block $B$ is a binary grid illustrated in [Figure \[fig:fs\_B\]]{}.
From we can derive that the two-dimensional binary-weight block $B \in {\mathbb{R}}^{K_1 \times K_2}$ has a size determined by $K_1$ and $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_block_K}
K_2 & = (N_{0} + N_{1}) \times (M-1) + N_{1}.\end{aligned}$$ Using $B$ in the objective function of , the regularization term groups a 2-D structure of STFT coefficients with the respect to the periodicity information of $x$ in .
Algorithm derivation
--------------------
To solve the optimization problem , we split the variable $c$ by introducing an extra equality constraint, and solve the equivalent problem
\[eqn:fs\_cost\_2\] $$\begin{aligned}
\{ c{^{\star}}, u{^{\star}}\} =
& \arg \min_{c, u} P_0(c) + P_1(u) \\
& \text{ subject to } c - u = 0\end{aligned}$$
where $P_0 : {\mathbb{C}}^{M_1 \times M_2} \to {\mathbb{R}}$ and $P_1 : {\mathbb{C}}^{M_1 \times M_2} \to {\mathbb{R}}$ are defined as,
\[eqn:fs\_vs\] $$\begin{aligned}
P_0(c) & : = {\frac{1}{2}}{\lVerty - A c\rVert}_2^2 \\
P_1(u) & : = { \lambda}\sum_{m_1}\sum_{m_2} \phi_{{ \epsilon}} \big( \bnorm(u,B, m_1,m_2) ; a \big),\end{aligned}$$
which leads to a same solution by $ c = u $ to problem .
The majorizer of $P_1$ in can be found by $g(u,v)$ in as,
\[eqn:fs\_Guv\] $$\begin{aligned}
G_1(u,v)
& = { \lambda}\sum_{m_1}\sum_{m_2} g\big( \bnorm(u,B, m_1,m_2) , \bnorm(v,B, m_1,m_2) \big) \\
& = { \lambda}\sum_{m_1}\sum_{m_2} g\big( {\lVert B \odot S(u,m_1,m_2)\rVert}_2 , {\lVert B \odot S(v,m_1,m_2)\rVert}_2 \big) \\
& = \frac{{ \lambda}}{2} \sum_{m_1}\sum_{m_2} [r(v)]_{m_1,m_2} [u]_{m_1,m_2}^2 + C\end{aligned}$$
where $C$ is a constant, and $ r(v) \in {\mathbb{R}}^{ M_1 \times M_2 } $ is a matrix having an explicit form $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_rmn}
[r(v)]_{m_1,m_2} = \sum_{k_1 = 0} ^{K_1-1} \sum_{k_2 = 0} ^{K_2-1} \frac{ [B]_{k_1,k_2}^2 }{ \psi( {\lVertB \odot S( v, m_1-k_1, m_2-k_2 )\rVert}_2 ) }.\end{aligned}$$ Then using SALMA ([Theorem \[the:salma\]]{}), problem can be solved iteratively by
\[eqn:fs\_salma\_1\] $$\begin{aligned}
u^{(i+1)} & = \arg \min_{u} G_1(u, u^{(i)}) + \frac{\mu}{2} {\lVertu-c-d\rVert}_2^2 \label{eqn:fs_salma_1_a} \\
c^{(i+1)} & = \arg \min_{c} P_0(c) + \frac{\mu}{2} {\lVertu-c-d\rVert}_2^2 \label{eqn:fs_salma_1_b} \\
d^{(i+1)} & = d^{(i)} - (u-c). \end{aligned}$$
### Sub-problem
The step can be written as $$\begin{aligned}
u & = \arg \min_{u} G_1(u, v) + \frac{\mu}{2} {\lVertu-c-d\rVert}_2^2\end{aligned}$$ where $G_1(u, v)$ is given by , therefore the problem has a more explicit formulation $$\begin{aligned}
u & = \arg \min_{u} \frac{\mu}{2} {\lVertu-(c+d)\rVert}_2^2 + \frac{{ \lambda}}{2} \sum_{m_1}\sum_{m_2} [r(v)]_{m_1,m_2} [u]_{m_1,m_2}^2,\end{aligned}$$ which is a least square problem with explicit solution $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_salma_1_a_solution_2}
u & = ( c + d ) ./ \Big[ 1 + \frac{{ \lambda}[r(v)] }{\mu} \Big],\end{aligned}$$ where $ ./ $ denotes the point-wise division.
### Sub-problem
The sub-problem can be written as $$\begin{aligned}
c & = \arg \min_{c} {\frac{1}{2}}{\lVerty - A c\rVert}_2^2+ \frac{\mu}{2} {\lVertu-c-d\rVert}_2^2\end{aligned}$$ which is also a least-square problem, and it has an explicit solution $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_salma_1_b_solution_1}
c = \Big[ A^{{\mathsf{H}}} A + \mu I \Big]^{-1} \Big[ A^{{\mathsf{H}}} y + \mu( u-d ) \Big].\end{aligned}$$ The operator $A^{{\mathsf{H}}}$ is the complex conjugate transpose (Hermitian) of $A$. Note that to compute $c$ by we need to solve an inverse system $\Big[ A^{{\mathsf{H}}} A + \mu I \Big]^{-1}$. To overcome the computational cost, we use the matrix inverse lemma (see the formulation in [Appendix \[app:A\]]{}),
$$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_inverse_1}
\Big[ A^{{\mathsf{H}}} A + \mu I \Big]^{-1}
& = \frac{1}{\mu} \bigg\{ I - A^{{\mathsf{H}}} \Big[ \mu I + A A^{{\mathsf{H}}} \Big]^{-1} A \bigg\} \\
& = \frac{1}{\mu} \Big[ I - \frac{1}{\mu+1}A^{{\mathsf{H}}} A \Big],\end{aligned}$$
where since the operators $A^{{\mathsf{H}}}$ and $A$ here are the forward and inverse STFT, where $x = A A^{{\mathsf{H}}} x$, then the property $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_property}
A A^{{\mathsf{H}}} = I\end{aligned}$$ holds. As a consequence, equation can be written as,
\[eqn:fs\_salma\_1\_b\_solution\_2\] $$\begin{aligned}
c & = \frac{1}{\mu} \Big[ I - \frac{1}{\mu+1}A^{{\mathsf{H}}} A \Big] \Big[ A^{{\mathsf{H}}} y + \mu( u-d ) \Big] \\
& = \frac{1}{\mu}A^{{\mathsf{H}}} y + ( u-d ) - \frac{1}{\mu(\mu+1)} A^{{\mathsf{H}}} y - \frac{1}{1+\mu} A^{{\mathsf{H}}} A( u-d ) \\
& = ( u-d ) + \frac{1}{\mu+1} A^{{\mathsf{H}}} \Big[y - A( u-d ) \Big],\end{aligned}$$
which is equivalent to , but does not require solving a linear system in .
Using the results derived in and , which solve the problems and respectively, the algorithm has explicit solutions of each step,
\[eqn:fs\_salma\_2\] $$\begin{aligned}
u^{(i+1)} & = ( c + d ) ./ \Big[ 1 + \frac{{ \lambda}r( u^{(i)} ) }{\mu} \Big] \\
c^{(i+1)} & = ( u-d ) + \frac{1}{\mu+1} A^{{\mathsf{H}}} \Big[y - A( u-d ) \Big] \\
d^{(i+1)} & = d^{(i)} - (u-c) . \end{aligned}$$
The entire algorithm to solve problem is summarized in [Table \[alg:main\]]{}. Note that although the variables $u, c, d \in {\mathbb{C}}^{M_1 \times M_2 }$ in the algorithm are all 2-D complex-valued matrices, in fact this does not affect the feasibility of SALMA. In each step of the algorithm ([Table \[alg:main\]]{}), the real and imaginary parts can be computed parallelly and separately, using real-valued expressions. More specifically, it is equivalent to implement the algorithm using 3-D matrices on ${\mathbb{R}}^{M_1 \times M_2 \times 2}$, and each step leads to a same result. Hence, SALMA ([Theorem \[the:salma\]]{}) defined in real domain, is still valid to solve the problem (see [Appendix \[app:B\]]{} for more details).
[align\*]{} & c, u, d \^[ M\_1 M\_2]{}, > 0,\
&\
& \_[m\_1,m\_2]{} = \_[k\_1]{} \_[k\_2]{}\
& u = ( c + d ) ./\
& c = ( u-d ) + A\^\
& d = d - (u-c)\
&\
& c, x = Ac.
Simulated data example
======================
Example 1
---------
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We apply the proposed method to the simulated data illustrated in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_y\]]{}(a). The simulated data is a 0.25 second signal with sampling rate $f_s = 16$ kHz. We simulate the vibration features caused by fault as a transient containing two oscillation components at $1$ kHz and $2$ kHz. Each transient lasts for about $4$ milliseconds with a random amplitude within a range, and the two oscillatory components in one transient have independently random initial phases. The detail of a simulated oscillatory fault is shown in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_y\]]{}(a) (inside the dashed line box). The clean data shown in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_y\]]{}(a) is a sequence of the simulated faults with a period $T = 10$ milliseconds. Note that since each transient has a random phase, in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_y\]]{}(a), each transient is different than the others. We add heavy noise to the test data, and the noisy signal is shown in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_y\]]{}(b).
In this example, we set the STFT to have a window size $ R = 32 $ with $ 50\% $ window overlapping, and the length of Fourier transform is $ L = 256 $. We can establish the block $B$ in problem by a condition of $b_2$ in using the periodicity information, where the length of one period in the STFT domain is $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_parameter}
\frac{ 2 T f_s }{ R } \approx N_{0} + N_{1}.\end{aligned}$$ In this example, we set $K_{1} = N_{1} = 2$, and $N_{0} + N_{1} = 2 T f_s /R = 10$, and $b_2$ as a binary weight vector is spanning $M = 4$ periods. Hence, by , the size of binary weight block $B$ is $ 2 \times 32 $. When using to express the block, $B$ consists of four blocks with $ 2 \times 2$ ones and three blocks with $ 2 \times 8 $ zeros.
[Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_cn\_x\]]{} shows the results obtained using the proposed method with convex (smoothed $\ell_1$-norm) penalty function. [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_cn\_x\]]{}(b) is the STFT coefficients achieved by solving problem , and [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_cn\_x\]]{}(a) is the estimated $\hat x$ calculated from the STFT coefficients in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_cn\_x\]]{}(b). The proposed method recovers the oscillatory transients at accurate time and frequency. Although the amplitude of the estimated $\hat x$ is slightly diminished, all the ‘fault features’ (transients) are recovered at accurate locations, and in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_cn\_x\]]{}(b), a grid of sparse blocks is distributed at the correct frequencies (about $1$ and $2$ kHz). In this example, we set ${ \lambda}= 18$ (the method to select the parameters will be discussed in the following section). Note that, similar to SALSA, the proposed method requires a parameter $ \mu > 0 $ which effects the convergence rate. We use several values of $\mu$ for this example, the comparison of convergence speed is shown in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_mu\]]{}. Through numerical experiments, we find that setting $\mu = 1$ gives a reasonable convergence rate, not only in this example, but also for the applications illustrated in the following sections. To identify the frequency components, we sum the obtained STFT spectrum over time, to obtain a frequency distribution in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_cn\_x\]]{}(c), where two peaks indicate the true oscillatory frequencies. Meanwhile, the Hilbert envelope spectrum of the estimated signal is illustrate in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_cn\_x\]]{}(d). The useful fault frequency (inter-transient period) and its harmonic components are clearly revealed in the Hilbert envelope spectrum.
For comparison, we utilize bandpass filtering. Bandpass filtering is a conventional and effective method in fault diagnosis field to extract oscillatory features or emphasize specific frequency components, and is used in conjunction with some other techniques [@fd_Jiang_2007; @fd_Wang_2001; @fd_Sheen_JSV_2004; @fd_Cong_jsv_2015]. For instance, in [@fd_Wang_2001], the author uses bandpass filtering after removing detected harmonics, and in [@fd_Sheen_JSV_2004; @fd_Sheen_JSV_2007], the author demodulates vibration signals at characteristic frequency after using specially designed bandpass filters as pre-processing, and in [@fd_Cong_jsv_2015], bandpass filtering is used as a pre-processing for a singular value decomposition (SVD) based analysis. In this example, we use two third-order Butterworth bandpass filters with center frequencies at $1$ kHz and $2$ kHz respectively with ‘forward-backward’ zero-phase filtering, and the passband is about $400$ Hz for both filters. Because the the passbands of the two filters do not overlap, we simply add the output signals from these two filters, and the result is shown in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_bp\_x\]]{}(a). This result shows that linear time-invariant (LTI) filtering technique hardly recovers a zero baseline. Moreover, although some transients with large amplitude can be visually distinguished in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_bp\_x\]]{}(a), it is hard to distinguish the transients with small amplitudes, e.g., at about $t = 0.08$ to $0.12$ second. Furthermore, the result in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_bp\_x\]]{}(a) is obtained by knowing the oscillatory frequencies exactly, but in practice, especially in the area of fault diagnosis, it is rarely possible. In this example, even though we use the accurate frequencies as prior-knowledge for the bandpass filters, the proposed method still attains a significantly better root-mean-square error (RMSE) value.
Wavelet-based denoising has also been used to extracted fault features [@yan2014wavelets; @fd_Yang_tpd_2001; @fd_Abbasion_mssp_2007; @fd_Zhen_jsv_2008]. In this example, we adopt a conventional wavelet-coefficient thresholding method to denoise the test signal. More specifically, a 5-scale undecimated wavelet transform [@Coifman_1995; @LGOBW96] with 3 vanishing moments is used, and the result is shown in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_bp\_x\]]{}(b). For denoising, we apply hard-thresholding and chose the threshold value by $3\sigma$-rule for each subband. In [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_bp\_x\]]{}(b), although some large amplitude transients can be recovered at correct locations, they lose the oscillatory structure, where most recovered transients have irregular waveforms \[see the cropped example inside the dashed line box in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_bp\_x\]]{}(b)\]. In the time range from about $0.10$ to $0.13$ seconds, the transients are almost completely diminished.
As an application of fault diagnosis, we apply maximum correlated Kurtosis deconvolution (MCKD) [@fd_McDonald_mssp_2012] to the test data[^3]. This method deconvolves the signal from an estimated FIR filter that maximizes the correlated Kurtosis value locally. It requires the period of potential fault features. To proceed with the algorithm, we set the period length to be the true period (160 samples), and the FIR filter length to be 100, and the M-shift value to be 5 as suggested in the Matlab implementation available online. The result of MCKD is shown in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_mckd\_x\]]{}(a), where we found that the algorithm is not able to give a deconvolution result that properly indicates most of the fault features at the noise level of our test signal. When comparing to the noisy data in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_y\]]{}(b), we can see the algorithm mistakenly promotes the impulsive features in noise. When we reduce the noise level, the algorithm is capable to properly indicate periodic fault features as promoted impulses after deconvolution. In [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_mckd\_x\]]{}(b), we show an example of applying MCKD to the data in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_y\]]{}(b), but with a reduced noise level from $\sigma = 150$ to $50$.
Enhancement by non-convex penalty
---------------------------------
Non-convex penalty functions can be utilized to further enhance the effectiveness of our proposed formulation. When the objective function has a non-convex regularizer, the problem is generally non-convex, and when minimizing a non-convex function, the algorithm may get trapped in a local minima. To reduce this problem, we use the solution from the convex formulation to initialize the algorithm. Through numerical experiments, we suggest a range of values for parameter $a$, which controls the ‘non-convexity’ of the penalty functions in [Table \[tab:etea\_penalty\]]{}, $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_suggest_a}
0 \le a \le \frac{1}{{ \lambda}K}, \quad K = \sum_{k_1,k_2} [B]_{k_1,k_2},\end{aligned}$$ where $K$ is also the number of $1$’s when we restrict $B$ to be a binary block as . This range does not guarantee the problem is convex, but in practice, using the non-convex penalty regularizers in this range significantly enhances the result and gives a stable convergence behavior. To further reduce the problem of local minima, we can gradually increase the parameter $a$ to its maximum value. For instance, when the upper bound of $a$ is $0.25$ in , we can run the algorithm (in [Table \[alg:main\]]{}) starting with $ a = 0 $ obtaining a result with convex penalty function, and then run the algorithm with non-convex penalty function five more times initialized by previous iteration, gradually increasing $a$ by $0.05$ each time. This simultaneously helps to restrict the non-convex solution close to the convex solution and promote stronger sparsity.
In this example, we use the arctangent function (‘atan’ in [Table \[tab:etea\_penalty\]]{}), and the result is shown in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_x\]]{}(a). There is a significant improvement reflected by the RMSE value compared to the convex penalty function in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_cn\_x\]]{}. We also show the absolute value of STFT coefficients in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_x\]]{}(b), and the frequency component indication in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_x\]]{}(c), where significant enhancement of sparsity can be seen. Meanwhile, the Hilbert envelope spectrum of estimated signals is illustrate in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_x\]]{}(d). The useful fault frequency and its harmonic components are clearly detected in the Hilbert envelope spectrum.
Parameter selection
-------------------
**Setting STFT parameters.** Setting STFT parameters. To use the proposed method, we suggest choosing a relatively small window length because, assuming the length of the periodic transient is unknown, a short window length can preserve the resolution of the time-frequency spectrum. Moreover, in order to promote the sparsity effectively, the transform A should be over-complete. We suggest choosing the length of the FFT for each window (the value L in the examples) 4 or 8 times the window length (the value R in the examples). If $L$ is too large, it will affect the computation efficiency. In all the tests and examples, we consistently used the STFT with a squared-sine window with 50 % overlapping.
**Setting binary weighting grid $B$.** Presumably, other than the information of periodicity, any other facts about the oscillatory feature is not given in the proposed method. Consequently, as a lower limit of grouping scheme, we can chose the grid on the time-frequency domain adhering $K_1 = N_1 = 2$, so that a neighboring coefficients on both time and frequency domain are considered. Moreover, the value of $M$, which is the number spanning in $B$, has no specific limits, and in all tests and examples, we consistently set the value of $M$ to 4 or 8.
**Setting regularization parameter ${ \lambda}$.** Based on signal model , we assume the noise (excluding the periodic oscillatory transients) is white noise. Consequently, when the observation $y$ is noise only as $w$, the solution of problemn should be almost all zero. In this case, if the variance of noise $\sigma_w^2$ is known, a signal with only noise $ \hat w_n \sim \mathcal{N}(0,\sigma_w)$ can be built, and the regularization parameter ${ \lambda}$ in can be trained by letting $ x{^{\star}}= Ac{^{\star}}\approx \mathbf{0}$ through when $ y = \hat w $. It is well-known that in most signal denoising methods using sparsity-based optimization the regularization parameter is proportional to the noise level, wherein the heavier the noise is, the larger regularization parameter should be utilized. Through numerical experiments, we found that for problem , the optimal lambda is an approximately linear function of $\sigma_w$. Moreover, it is certain that when there is no noise in the observation signal, ${ \lambda}$ should be 0, therefore other than building a noise signal to select ${ \lambda}$ for , alternatively it is only necessary to determine a factor $\eta$ and set ${ \lambda}\approx \eta \sigma_w$. For guidance, we provide a table as a reference to select ${ \lambda}$ at the variance of noise $\sigma = 1$, under several typical settings of STFT parameters.
Parameters of STFT $\eta$ ($M=4$) $\eta$ ($M=8$)
------------------------- ---------------- ---------------- -- --
$R = 16, L = 64 $ 0.120 0.060
$R = 16, L = 128 $ 0.085 0.060
$R = 32, L = 128 $ 0.120 0.065
$R = 32, L = 256 $ 0.090 0.060
: Factor $\eta$ for selecting ${ \lambda}= \eta \sigma$, when fixing $K_1 = N_1 = 2, \sigma = 1$.
\[tab:fs\_eta\]
Note that in practice when the deviation of noise $\sigma_w$ is not unity, it is just proportional to the case of $\sigma = 1$, so it is enough to provide a suggestion of $\eta$ for ${ \lambda}= \eta \sigma$ when $\sigma = 1$ in [Table \[tab:fs\_eta\]]{}. Using the table, we can set ${ \lambda}$ by $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_lambda}
{ \lambda}= \eta \cdot \alpha = \eta \cdot \sigma_w.\end{aligned}$$ For instance, in the example shown in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_cn\_x\]]{} and [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_1\_x\]]{}, since we know the noise level is $\sigma_w = 150$, then when the STFT has the parameters $R = 16, L = 64 $ and the binary grid has $M=4$, ${ \lambda}$ can be selected by ${ \lambda}= 0.120 \times 150 = 18$.
Moreover, when the noise level is not known, we suggest to use a method given in [@wav_Donoho_93_ideal] to estimate the noise level, which is $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_mad}
\hat \sigma_w = \mathsf{MAD}(y) / 0.6745\end{aligned}$$ which is a conventional estimator of noise level dependent on the noisy observation only, used for wavelet-based denoising, where $ \mathsf{MAD}$ is the median absolute deviation operator defined as $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_mad_2}
\mathsf{MAD}(y) := \mathsf{median} ( {\left\vert y_n - \mathsf{median}(y) \right\vert}).\end{aligned}$$
Note that all the examples in this paper use the above method to select parameters, including the examples of synthetic data before this section and the examples of experimental data (Example 2 and Example 3) following this section, and all the specific parameters used in the examples are listed in the figures.
Experiment and engineering validation
=====================================
In this section, we illustrate the proposed method by applying it to data recorded from two different machines. One is from a public dataset concerning bearing faults. The other data was collected by State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing and Systems Engineering of Xi’an Jiaotong University for fault diagnosis of gearbox [@chen2012fault].
Example 2: experimental data validation
---------------------------------------
Inner race Outer race Cage train Rolling element
------------ ------------ ------------ -----------------
5.4152 3.5848 0.39828 4.7135
: Defect frequencies of drive end bearing (multiple by running speed)
\[tab:fault\_frequency\]
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In this example, we utilized the proposed method to detect potential inner race fault of the drive end bearing from an experimental setup. The experimental vibration data was acquired from the Case Western Reserve University Bearing Data Center[^4].
As shown in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_2\_test\_stand\]]{}, the test stand consists of a 2 hp motor (left), a torque transducer/encoder (center), and a dynamometer (right). The bearing installed on the drive end is a 6205-2RS-JEM SKF deep-groove ball bearing. The potential defect frequencies of drive end bearing are listed in Table \[tab:fault\_frequency\], dependent on the location of the fault. More details about the experiment setup can be found at the website <http://csegroups.case.edu/bearingdatacenter/pages/apparatus-procedures>.
A measured vibration signal is shown in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_3\]]{}(a), with a sampling rate $f_s = 12$ kHz. The signal was collected using accelerometers, which were attached to the housing with magnetic bases. The current rotational speed of the motor is approximately 1730 r/min. Thus, according to Table \[tab:fault\_frequency\], the fault characteristic frequency of the drive end bearing inner race is about $f_i = 1730/60 \times 5.4152 \approx 156$ Hz. To run the proposed algorithm, we set the STFT window length to $R = 16$ samples, and the number of the frequency bins to $128$ for each window. For the binary block in the STFT domain, we set that each block spans $M = 4$ periods, and $K_{1} = 2$, $N_{1} = 2$, then the block $B$ can be determined by , and . Moreover, the regularization parameter ${ \lambda}$ is selected using [Table \[tab:fs\_eta\]]{} and formula with an estimated $\hat \sigma_w =0.225$ calculated by .
In order to validate the reliability of the proposed algorithm, we also test it on a normal (no fault) setup under the same rotation speed. The test signal is shown in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_3\_normal\]]{}(a), and using the same parameters, there is no oscillatory feature extracted, and the output of the proposed method is almost zero \[see [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_3\_normal\]]{}(b)\].
To achieve a more visualizable oscillatory feature detection signal, we sum the absolute values of STFT coefficients $c {^{\star}}$ through frequency domain, and then the obtained result is lowpass filtered, $$\begin{aligned}
s(m_2) = \textsf{LPF} \Bigg\{ \sum_{m_1} {\left\vert [c{^{\star}}]_{m_1,m_2} \right\vert} \Bigg\},\end{aligned}$$ where $m_1$ denotes the frequency index and $\textsf{LPF}$ denotes a lowpass filter. Then we can obtain a smooth time series $s \in {\mathbb{R}}^{M_2}$, indicating the time and strength of extracted oscillatory features caused by faults \[see [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_3\]]{}(c)\]. For comparison, we utilize fast spectral kurtosis (SK) [@antoni2006spectral; @antoni2007fast] [^5] to analyze the same vibration data. This method extracts the ‘envelope’ of the optimal subband indicating potential fault features. The Kurtogram and the envelope of the optimal subband is shown in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_3\_kurtogram\]]{}, where we use the optimal subband SK detected automatically at $3$ kHz and level $2.2$. In [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_3\_kurtogram\]]{}(b) the large spikes indicate the fault features. The profile in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_3\]]{}(d) more clearly indicates the fault features than the one in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_3\_kurtogram\]]{}(b). We can apply lowpass filtering to the ‘noisy’ envelop extracted by SK as well, but in this case, it tends to eliminate some spikes with small amplitudes, such as the one at about $t=0.03$ second.
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Example 3: rub-impact fault detection in the gearbox of an oil refinery
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
In this engineering application, we applied the proposed method to detect a rub-impact fault developed in the gearbox of an oil refinery to further verify its effectiveness. One large oxygen separation and compression unit of this oil refinery was operating with severely abnormal sounds after an overhaul and thus suspected to have faults induced in its components.
The schematic of the oxygen separation and compression unit is illustrated in [Figure \[fig:oxygenunit\]]{}. The characteristic frequencies of interest are listed in [Table \[tab:fault\_frequency2\]]{}. The sampling frequency of the acquired vibration signals is 15 kHz, and each epoch of signal is of length 1024. One acceleration signal measured from Sensor 5 and its Fourier spectrum are displayed in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_3\_y\]]{}(a) and [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_3\_y\]]{}(b), respectively. Peak frequencies of 1479 Hz, 2947 Hz, and 4219 Hz can be observed in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_3\_y\]]{}(b). In addition, the peak frequencies are all surrounded by sidebands spaced at about 213 Hz. Note that 213 Hz exactly corresponds to the rotating frequency of shaft II, as shown in Table \[tab:fault\_frequency2\]. Thus, the rotating frequency of shaft II ($f_2=$ 213 Hz) can be utilized as prior knowledge of fault features.
In the practical shutdown inspection, a rub-impact fault between the end face of the anti-thrust plate on the pinion and that of the bull gear was found. The fault was due to the inappropriate installation of the pinion [@chen2012fault]. The end face of the anti-thrust plate and that of the bull gear were not strictly parallel due to non-perpendicularity between the pinion and Shaft II. [Figure \[fig:oxygenunit\]]{} illustrates the rubbing fault occurred between the end face of the anti-thrust plate on the pinion and that of the bull gear.
In order to capture the potential fault feature in Shaft II, the formula is implemented with $T = 1/f_{2}$ to build the binary weight block . More specifically, in this example, we set $M = 8$, $K_{1} = 2$, $N_{1} = 2$, and $ N_{0} + N_{1} = 9 $, to establish the the binary weight block $B$ with and , and the regularization parameter ${ \lambda}$ is determined by with an estimated $\hat \sigma_w =167$ calculated by . [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_2\_x\]]{} shows the result using proposed method with non-convex (‘atan’) penalty function, where a periodic sequence of oscillatory transients is obtained with a baseline almost zero. In the STFT domain, a sequence of periodic clusters can be observed at about $4$ kHz, which coincides to the peak signature frequency around $4$ kHz in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_3\_y\]]{}(b). The proposed method not only extracts the periodic oscillatory fault features, but also gives the oscillation frequency precisely.
\
\
\
As a comparison, we tested the cyclic spectral analysis method proposed in [@fd_Antoni_mssp_2007; @fd_Antoni_jsv_2007; @fd_Antoni_mssp_2009][^6], which is one of the ‘state-of-the-art’ analysis method for vibration signal based on cyclostationary processes. The results are shown in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_2\_csc\]]{}. More specifically, [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_2\_csc\]]{}(a) shows the cyclic spectral density, where several suspicious frequency components can be observed on the density map. In [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_2\_csc\]]{}(a), at the location where the period (or cyclic frequency) is close to the truth (213 Hz), two main components at about 1.5 kHz and 4 kHz respectively can be observed, which coincides to the result given in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_2\_x\]]{}(c), however there exists several other suspicious components on the map as well, such as the one close to 3.5 kHz at cyclic frequency close to 1050 Hz and 1250 Hz. Note that the cyclic spectral analysis method does not require a period (or cyclic frequency), wherein a suitable range of possible cyclic frequency is needed to be defined (here we use 0 to 1500 Hz), therefore as a more fair compassion, we can assume that all the components observed at 213 Hz are the trustable results, and ignore other suspicious high density points. In this case, due to the lack of denoising procedure, the density map are quite blurred comparing the a clear sparse indication given in [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_2\_x\]]{}(b) and (c). In addition, the proposed method in this work, is able to achieve a sparse time-frequency spectrum indicating not only the frequency but also the time information, where the cyclostationary process based method does not have such feasibility. Moreover, we found in this example, the cyclic spectral coherence \[see [Figure \[fig:fs\_Example\_2\_csc\]]{}(b)\] fails to indicate any frequency information.
\
\
--------------------------------------- -----------------
Rotating speed of motor (r/m) 2985
Rotating frequency of shaft I (Hz) 49.75
Rotating frequency of shaft II (Hz) **213**
Meshing frequency of gearbox (Hz) 6815.75
Rotating frequency of fan blades (Hz) 3620.86/4472.83
--------------------------------------- -----------------
: The relevant characteristic frequencies of oxygen separation and compression unit
\[tab:fault\_frequency2\]
Conclusion
==========
This paper proposes an approach using structured sparsity in the STFT domain to extract oscillatory features caused by faults in rotating machinery. We model the feature caused by a potential fault as a quasi-periodic sequence of oscillatory transients, where each transient may contain multiple consistent frequency components. The proposed approach uses smoothed (convex or non-convex) penalty functions to promote the sparsity of specially grouped STFT domain coefficients in an optimization problem. This approach detects sparse and periodically distributed coefficients, and the periodically oscillatory fault features can be extracted. Using the estimated STFT coefficients, the signature frequency of the fault feature can be directly observed due to the nature of sparsity in the time-frequency domain. To solve the proposed optimization problem efficiently, an iterative algorithm which combines majorization-minimization and split augmented Lagrangian shrinkage algorithm has been illustrated. When the problem is not convex, this algorithm still converges to a local optimum. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is verified by simulation data, experimental data, and engineering data. The results demonstrate the notable effectiveness of the proposed approach in extracting transients for detecting faults in rotating machines.
Proof of [Theorem \[the:salma\]]{} {#app:proof}
==================================
By introducing a variable $u \in {\mathbb{R}}^{N}$ and adding an equality constraint, we can split the variable $x$, and then problem is equivalent to $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:bsum_problem_cost}
\{ x{^{\star}}, u{^{\star}}\} = & \arg \min_{x,u} \Big\{ F(x,u) = F_0(x) + F_1(u) \Big\}\\
& \text{subject to } x - u = 0 \nonumber.\end{aligned}$$
This problem has an augmented Lagrangian $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:bsum_problem_LA}
L_A(x,u,\beta) = F(x,u) + \beta^{{\mathsf{T}}}(u-x) + \frac{\mu}{2} {\lVertu-x\rVert}_2^2,\end{aligned}$$ where $\beta \in {\mathbb{R}}^{N}$, and $\mu >0$. Moreover, we assume that $L_A$ in is finite when $x,u,\beta$ are all finite, and the saddle point $( x{^{\star}}, u {^{\star}}, \beta{^{\star}})$ exists and should be finite. This implies that the saddle point $( x{^{\star}}, u {^{\star}}, \beta{^{\star}})$ is at least a local minimizer of problem . If function $G_1 : {\mathbb{R}}^{N} \times {\mathbb{R}}^{N} \to {\mathbb{R}}$ is continuously differentiable and majorizes \[is a upper-bound satisfying \] of $F_1$, then a upper-bound of $L_A$ can be found as $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:bsum_problem_GA}
G_A((x,u,\beta), (x,v,\gamma) ) = F_0(x) + G_1(u,v) + G_2((x,u,\beta), \gamma) + \frac{\mu}{2} {\lVertu-x\rVert}_2^2,\end{aligned}$$ where $G_2((x,u,\beta), \gamma)$ is a upper-bound of $\beta^{{\mathsf{T}}} (u-x)$, defined as $$\begin{aligned}
G_2((x,u,\beta), \gamma) := \beta^{{\mathsf{T}}} (u-x) + \frac{1}{2\mu} {\lVert \beta -\gamma \rVert}_2^2 \ge \beta^{{\mathsf{T}}} (u-x), \quad \text{for all } \beta, \gamma \in {\mathbb{R}}^{N}.\end{aligned}$$ Note that, different to the algorithms proposed in [@opt_Li_admm_preprint; @opt_Chen_admm_2015_preprint; @opt_Cui_admm_preprint], since the augmented Lagrangian is also a function of the introduced multiplier \[denoted as $\beta$ in \], BSUM can be utilized directly, so that $G_{A}$ in satisfies the block-wise upper-bound conditions listed in , when vectorizing $\{ x,u,\beta \}$ as a single variable. Hence, BSUM for three blocks ([Table \[alg:bsum\]]{}) can be directly applied to find the stationary point of $L_A$. Moreover, since $L_A$ goes to extrema only when $\{ x,u,\beta \}$ goes to extrema, BSUM will converge to a non-extremal stationary point of $L_A$, which is the saddle point (see convergence analysis in Ref. [@opt_Razaviyayn_2013]).
As a consequence, we can write the algorithm in [Table \[alg:bsum\]]{} explicitly ‘minimizing’ $L_A$ in , and it will converge to a saddle point of $L_A$,
\[eqn:bsum\_salma\_1\] $$\begin{aligned}
u^{(i+1)} & = \arg \min_{u} G_1(u, u^{(i)}) + \beta^{{\mathsf{T}}}(u-x) + \frac{\mu}{2} {\lVertu-x\rVert}_2^2, \\
x^{(i+1)} & = \arg \min_{x} F_0(x) + \beta^{{\mathsf{T}}}(u-x) + \frac{\mu}{2} {\lVertu-x\rVert}_2^2, \\
\beta^{(i+1)} & = \arg \min_{\beta} \beta^{{\mathsf{T}}}(u-x) +\frac{1}{2\mu} {\lVert \beta - \beta^{(i)} \rVert}_2^2 \label{eqn:bsum_salma_1_c} \end{aligned}$$
where the step can be solved explicitly as $$\begin{aligned}
\beta^{(i+1)} = \beta^{(i)} + \mu(x-u).\end{aligned}$$
Similar to SALSA, we can reorganize the steps by introducing a variable $d\in {\mathbb{R}}^N$, and then after simple variable substitutions (same to change ALM/MM version I to version II in Section II of Ref. [@Afonso_2010_TIP_SALSA]), solving for $\{ x{^{\star}}, u{^{\star}}\}$ turns out to be iteratively computing the steps illustrated in .
Matrix inverse lemma {#app:A}
====================
The matrix inverse lemma has several forms. A common form is $$\begin{aligned}
\left( A+ B D^{-1} C \right)^{-1} & = A^{-1} - A^{-1}B\left( D + C A^{-1} B\right)^{-1} CA^{-1}.\end{aligned}$$
Equivalent formulation of real values {#app:B}
=====================================
To rewrite the algorithm into real value formulation, we consider the complex variables as an extended real value array, such that $$\begin{aligned}
\label{enq:fs_cbar}
\bar c = \begin{bmatrix} c_{r} \\ c_{i} \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} {\mathsf{Re}}(c) \\ {\mathsf{Im}}(c) \end{bmatrix} \in {\mathbb{R}}^{M_1 \times M_2 \times 2 },\end{aligned}$$ and correspondingly the original variable $c$ can be recovered by $c = c_r + c_i {\mathrm{i}}$. Additionally, to facilitate further derivations, we also define all the other complex variables into a formulation of real values, $$\begin{aligned}
\bar u = \begin{bmatrix} u_{r} \\ u_{i} \end{bmatrix},
\quad
\bar d = \begin{bmatrix} d_{r} \\ d_{i} \end{bmatrix},
\quad
\bar v = \begin{bmatrix} v_{r} \\ v_{i} \end{bmatrix}.\end{aligned}$$ Moreover, we also consider the short-time Fourier transform operator $A^{{\mathsf{H}}}$ and its inverse operator $A$ in into a formulation that works on real domain. We define $ \bar A : {\mathbb{R}}^{M_1 \times M_2 \times 2} \to {\mathbb{R}}^{N}$ is a operator working equivalently to $A$ when realigning $c$ as $\bar c$ in , where $$\begin{aligned}
\bar A \bar c = x,\end{aligned}$$ and its inverse is to do the transform and then align the real and imaginary parts of the output, $$\begin{aligned}
\bar A^{{\mathsf{T}}} x = \begin{bmatrix} {\mathsf{Re}}(A^{{\mathsf{H}}}x) \\ {\mathsf{Im}}(A^{{\mathsf{H}}}x) \end{bmatrix},\end{aligned}$$ Hence, the property is still persevered as $ \bar A \bar A^{{\mathsf{T}}} = I $. As a consequence, solving the problem sequence is equivalent to compute the following steps,
\[eqn:fs\_salma\_1\_real\] $$\begin{aligned}
u^{(i+1)} =
& \left\{ \begin{array}{lr}
\displaystyle
\bar u^{(i+1)} = ( \bar c + \bar d ) ./ \Big[ 1 + \frac{{ \lambda}\bar r( \bar u^{(i)} ) }{\mu} \Big] \label{eqn:fs_salma_1_real_a} \\[0.8em]
u^{(i+1)} = u_r^{(i+1)} + {\mathrm{i}}u_i^{(i+1)}
\end{array}\right.
\\[0.4em]
c^{(i+1)} =
& \left\{ \begin{array}{lr}
\displaystyle
\bar c^{(i+1)} = ( \bar u - \bar d ) + \frac{1}{\mu+1} \bar A^{{\mathsf{T}}} \Big[y - \bar A( \bar u - \bar d ) \Big] \\[0.8em]
c^{(i+1)} = c_r^{(i+1)} + {\mathrm{i}}c_i^{(i+1)}
\end{array}\right.
\\[0.4em]
d^{(i+1)} =
& \left\{ \begin{array}{lr}
\displaystyle
\bar d^{(i+1)} = \bar d^{(i)} - ( \bar u - \bar c ) \\[0.4em]
d^{(i+1)} = d_r^{(i+1)} + {\mathrm{i}}d_i^{(i+1)}
\end{array}\right. \end{aligned}$$
where $ \bar r( \bar v ) \in {\mathbb{R}}^{ M_1 \times M_2 \times 2} $ in is defined as $$\begin{aligned}
\label{eqn:fs_rmnj}
[\bar r( \bar v)]_{m_1,m_2,j}
= \sum_{k_1 = 0} ^{K_1-1} \sum_{k_2 = 0} ^{K_2-1} \frac{ [B]_{k_1,k_2}^2 }{ \psi( p(\bar v, B, m_1-k_1, m_2-k_2) ) },
\quad \text{for } j = 1, 2.\end{aligned}$$ where $$\begin{aligned}
p(\bar v, B, j_1, j_2) = \Big[ {\lVert B \odot S(v_r,j_1, j_2) \rVert}_2^2 + {\lVert B \odot S(v_i, j_1, j_2) \rVert}_2^2 \Big]^{1/2}.\end{aligned}$$ Note that when comparing to , $$\begin{aligned}
[\bar r( \bar v)]_{m_1,m_2,j} = [ r( v)]_{m_1,m_2}, \quad \text{for } j = 1, 2.\end{aligned}$$
Therefore, each step of can be understood as computing corresponding real and imaginary parts as real values, and then recovering the corresponding complex results afterwards. When we denote the steps on complex domain as , it does not affect the independency of real and imaginary parts. Hence, the convergence of using SALMA for this problem is ensured as each step solved on real domain with proper vectorization equivalently.
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[^1]: email: [email protected]
[^2]: pre-print submitted to Journal of Sound and Vibration
[^3]: Matlab implementation is available online: <http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/31326-maximum-correlated-kurtosis-deconvolution--mckd->
[^4]: The data is available online at: <http://csegroups.case.edu/bearingdatacenter/pages/download-data-file>
[^5]: The matlab implementation is available online: <http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/48912-fast-kurtogram>
[^6]: The matlab implementation is available online at <http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/48909-cyclic-spectral-analysis>
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Global Environmental Protection Packaging Materials market analysis report contains all study material about Market Overview, Growth, Demand and Forecast Research in all over the world. This report offers some penetrating overview and solution in the complex world of Global Environmental Protection Packaging Materials Market.
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Natural paper materials
To begin with, the report elaborates the Global Environmental Protection Packaging Materials Market overview. Various definitions and classification of the industry, applications of the industry and chain structure are given. Present day status of the Global Environmental Protection Packaging Materials Market in key regions is stated and industry policies and news are analysed.
Next part of the Global Environmental Protection Packaging Materials Market Industry analysis report speaks about the manufacturing process. The process is analysed thoroughly with respect three points, viz. raw material and equipment suppliers, various manufacturing associated costs (material cost, labour cost, etc.) and the actual process.
Split by Applications, this report focuses on consumption, market share and growth rate of Environmental Protection Packaging Materials in each application, can be divided into
Food
Electrical appliances
Furniture
Building materials
Others
After the basic information, the Global Environmental Protection Packaging Materials Market report sheds light on the production. Production plants, their capacities, global production and revenue are studied. Also, the Global Environmental Protection Packaging Materials Market growth in various regions and R&D status are also covered.
Following are the key players covered in this Global Environmental Protection Packaging Materials Market research report:
Further in the Global Environmental Protection Packaging Materials Market Industry Analysis report, the Global Environmental Protection Packaging Materials Market is examined for price, cost and gross. These three points are analysed for types, companies and regions. In continuation with this data sale price is for various types, applications and region is also included. The Global Environmental Protection Packaging Materials Market for major regions is given. Additionally, type wise and application wise consumption figures are also given.
Regions covered in the report:
• North America
• China
• Europe
• Japan
• India
• Southeast Asia
With the help of supply and consumption data, gap between these two is also explained.
In this Global Environmental Protection Packaging Materials Market report analysis, traders and distributors analysis is given along with contact details. For material and equipment suppliers also, contact details are given. New investment feasibility analysis and Global Environmental Protection Packaging Materials Market Industry growth is included in the report.
Absolute Reports is an upscale platform to help key personnel in the business world in strategizing and taking visionary decisions based on facts and figures derived from in depth market research. We are one of the top report resellers in the market, dedicated towards bringing you an ingenious concoction of data parameters. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Extradition: Again, court stops NDLEA, others from arresting Kashamu
A day after the Federal High Court, Lagos ordered the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, to vacate the premises of Ogun East Senator-elect, Prince Buruji Kashamu, another court of equal jurisdiction, has restrained the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, the NDLEA and eight others from arresting him for extradition to the United States of America over alleged drug offences.
While the restraining order was given by Justice Abang Okon yesterday, Justice Ibrahim Buba on Tuesday ordered operatives of the NDLEA, who had laid siege on the Lagos house of Kashamu, to vacate it with immediate effect.
Delivering judgment in a fundamental human rights suit filed by Prince Kashamu to prevent his extradition, Justice Okon said the order affects all the respondents: the NDLEA Chairman, Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Director-General, Department of State Security, DSS, the INTERPOL National Central Bureau, NCB and the AGF.
Others are the Clerk of the National Assembly, the National Security Adviser to the President, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Nigeria Custom Service, NCS, the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC.
In the suit, Kashamu prayed for an order restraining the defendants and their agents from arresting, detaining or otherwise effecting his abduction upon spurious allegations.
He specifically asked the court to direct the Clerk of the National Assembly to accord him every facility and privileges due to him as a Senator-elect of Nigeria.
Kashamu also sought the court’s declaration that arrangements being made by the defendants in collusion with United States of America security operatives in West Africa and his political opponents led by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to abduct him and forcibly transport him to the US on the basis of allegations which have been the subject of investigation by Interpol and litigation in competent court in United Kingdom and concerning him which he have been exonerated are illegal, unlawful, ultra vires and constitute a breach of his fundamental rights to freedom of movement as enshrined in Section 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.
The IGP and the INTERPOL in their counter-affidavit in opposition to the applicant’s motion said no cause of action was declared against them in the suit and that the judge cannot base his judgement on speculations.
The NDLEA said that it had not received any instruction from the AGF or anywhere to extradite the applicant.
The agency said it is not aware of any plan to forcefully transport Kashamu to the US for prosecution over alleged drug-related offences.
The EFCC Chairman and the Director-General of DSS, in their counter affidavit declared that they were not in collusion with the US government or Obasanjo or anyone to kidnap or arrest the applicant.
The AGF and the NIS in a written statement to support their counter affidavits said the applicant ought to have reported the matter to the police.
The AGF stated that Kashamu should have waited for a request for his extradition before rushing to the court. He then urged the court to refuse the application on the basis of the fact that the suit was wrongly commenced as a fundamental human rights enforcement suit.
Clerk of the National Assembly said he was not aware of any plan to abduct or transport Kashamu to the US to face drug charges and that there was no petition or request to him that the applicant should not be accorded his rights and privileges as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The ICPC and NCS did not file any objection to the processes served on them and they were not represented in court throughout the proceedings.
In his judgement, Justice Abang while dismissing the preliminary objections of the NDLEA, AGF, NSA, and the NSCDC, said for the purpose of determining whether or not a reasonable cause of action had been disclosed, he was enjoyed by law to accept the fact as presented by the applicant.
On the objections of the NDLEA, the court held that the insinuation by its chairman, Ahmadu Giade, that he cannot be sued, does not hold water.
The court held that the NDLEA boss is a natural person that can sue and be sued.
Justice Abang also dismissed the objections raised by the AGF, NSA and the NSCDC.
The court said the applicants claims are in line with the provisions of Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution.
“The claims of the applicant are fundamental rights claims and the court has the jurisdiction to entertain them,” the judge held.
Consequently, a cost of N10,000 was awarded against the NDLEA in favour of the applicant.
The same amount was also awarded against the AGF, NSA and the NSCDC.
The court went ahead to restrain the respondents from arresting Kashamu for a possible extradition to the United States for drug related offence based on an existing judgement of the court that was delivered on January 6, 2014.
In the judgment, the court had restrained the IGP, SSS, NDLEA, NCS and the AGF from taking any step from arresting Kashamu based on a petition linking him to a drug offence.
Justice Abang held that the order is still subsisting since there has been no order staying its execution.
“The respondents cannot in the exercise of their statutory powers, without appealing the earlier judgement, acts on any application seeking the extradition of the applicant”, the judge said.
Justice Abang, however declined to grant all the reliefs sought by the applicant that has to do with the involvement of a former Nigeria’s President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, in his alleged planned arrest.
The judge said it noted that the alleged roles of Chief Obasanjo were mentioned in several places in the applicant’s motion and so it is compelling that the court should hear from Obasanjo.
“Obasanjo ought to have been joined and this would have helped the court in deciding whether or not to grant the reliefs. The court cannot agree with the applicant that Chief Obasanjo colluded with others to abduct him”, the judge held.
The court also turned down Kashamu’s request for a perpetual injunction against the respondents from assuming his position as a Senator. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
2/11/16 Ferris Wheel Massacre
The February 11, 2016 Ferris Wheel Massacre was the second-deadliest terrorist attack that occurred on Los Santos soil, and the second to involve The Coin Killer. It occurred on February 11, 2016 and resulted in 171 casualties.
Summary
On the morning of 2/11/16, The Coin Killer dressed up as a normal civilian and drove into the Del Perro Pier. He parked the car and walked normally toward the Ferris Wheel. He then discreetly placed two super charged, GTA universe sticky bombs near the base of the Ferris Wheel. No one saw this. Afterward, he drove away from the pier and detonated the bombs at 11:09 AM
The bombs caused the Ferris Wheel to immediately collapse and fall through the pier, to the water. This instantly killed all 27 passengers. 5 people fell through the pier when this happened and were killed. About 20 seconds after, at 11:10 AM, the Ferris Wheel fell through, it exploded, resulting in the entire Del Perro pier collapsing except for a small chunk at the end, where 9 people survived by remaining on that section.
139 people were killed on the pier when it exploded, which resulted in a total of 171 casualties. This made it the Coin Killer's second worst terrorist attack. Also, the Del Perro Pier's security camera headquarters were destroyed, so no footage of The Coin Killer's real face when he planted the bombs was able to be recovered. Thus, The Coin Killer is STILL at large.
The damage was estimated to cost approximately $1.6 billion. Reconstruction started on February 20, 2016 and is expected to last until 2018, with a new Del Perro Pier, stronger and better than the last one. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
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| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Pages
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Under natural and common law - but apparently not Missouri statute - Officer Darren Wilson had an obligation to retreat, if he was the aggressor. If he struck Michael Brown with his car door (battery) and threatened Brown (assault), then Brown had the right to defend himself, regardless what "government" authority Officer Wikson had.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Police militarization is a symptom of the growth of centralized morality, not universal morality but the implementation of a government definition of morality sponsored by the federal government - and other central states.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
A recurring thought I have had, since I first heard about the killing of Michael Brown by an unnamed Ferguson, Missouri cop is:
The confrontation wouldn't have occurred, if the police were not enforcing victimless, petty "crimes."
Others are thinking along the same lines. Reason.com's Ed Krayewski penned this gem:
"America's various polities
pass laws that demand cops police what used to be understood as
harmless (selling loosies) or at-your-own-risk (walking in the
street) behavior, these encounters will continue, especially among
poor and marginalized communities, whom these laws tend to effect
and in whose communities they tend to be more strictly enforced." from "Some Thoughts on Ferguson, Newark, State Violence, Insurrections, and Democracy"
Apparently, Michael Brown and his friend were jaywalking. According to Brown's friend, they were instructed in some manner to get out of the street, then the cop started to drive away. But apparently, the two friends did not move quickly enough, because the cop reversed his car to confront the two about leaving the street.
Now, I'm sure that there are plenty of people out there that think a "young punk" deserves to be slammed to the ground for disrespecting authority. But respect is earned, and it is not by being a petty dictator forcing petty victimless "laws." Respect is learned, when one is respected, and one is taught to respect others - in a respectful way.
As far as I have heard, the two dominant versions of the incident quickly diverged. Brown's friend said that, when the cop had reversed his car back to their position, he swung open his door so swiftly that the door hit the friends rebounding and hit the cop. The "official" version is that the two nonsupercitizens slammed the door against the cop.
The friend claims that the cop pulled Brown into the cop car and threatened to shoot Brown. The "official" version claims that Brown attempted to seize the unnamed cop's gun.
The friend and other witnesses claim that Brown was shot multiple times while he had his hands up. The "official" version obviously claims something else.
I used to be a big proponent of police enforcing petty "laws." I used to be a big "there aught to be a law" kind of guy, and cheered when cops confronted those littering, speeding, or being general assholes.
I loved it when Mayor Rudy Guiliani was clearing the NYC streets of drug dealers and "illegal" gun possessors by enforcing victimless license plate "laws" and other moving "violations." But I also believed at the time that the government should be locking people up for the victimless "crimes" of drug dealing or exercising their 2nd-Amendment-enumerated right. (And yes I know that drug dealers do sell poison, but the Drug War actually encourages more dangerous drugs - look it up.).
It all comes down to this: Should we allow government agents to force victimless "laws" with violence? Should we allow government agents to lock people up for victimless "crimes," allowing the cops to commit the violent, forceful act of imprisoning the petty nonlaw breaker? There are a myriad way of getting people to abide by social norms without turning those norms into ordinances, statutes, and "laws" that are backed up with the force of government agents.
Oh, yeah. If you believe in the nonaggression principle and freedom in general, then the answer to the last couple of questions is an absolute NO.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
A recent post on The Federalists Papers blog featured an app available through iTunes. The app allows you to scan products and determine the political contributions of the products' manufacturers (and I also assume the brands' owners, if they vary from the manufacturers).
My key problem with the app is that it breaks down donations by "Republican," "Democrat," and "Others." My reaction? I want to see a version that breaks down donors by "libertarian" and "Other."
And that led me to think: In the final analysis, your political affiliation only really matters on a one-dimensional scale from "libertarian" to "Other." I like political charts that are multidimensional, but when you parse things too far then you miss the forest for the trees.
And what could possibly be represented by only those the two categories of "libertarian" and "Other?"
I know that there are libertarians that are affiliated with the Republican AND Democrat parties, and there are all shades in between "libertarian" and "Other," so the lists above are just maps NOT the terrain. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
The SitePoint Forums have moved.
You can now find them here.
This forum is now closed to new posts, but you can browse existing content.
You can find out more information about the move and how to open a new account (if necessary) here.
If you get stuck you can get support by emailing [email protected]
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I have been using 0fees.net for couple of months now for temporary uses.
They are really good and have good uptime, but the bandwidth is limited and you will have to keep on checking your email, they basically send a email and if you do not click on reactivation link in email, your website will be removed from their hosting. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Theophrastus tried to lift the veil of superstition to understand the natural world. He railed against those who advised to be guided by the moon when it came to practical garden matters: “One should not in fact be governed by the celestial conditions and revolution rather than by the trees and slips and seeds” and he dismissed other myths as having been revealed as “sheer fable.”
Among ancient naturalists, Theophrastus was uniquely sensitive to the relationship between plants and their environment. Habitat was so important, he wrote, because plants were bound to it. They were “not free from it like animals.” He explained that a plant thrives best in a “favorable place,” or as ecologist would say today, in its “niche.” He studied soil, moisture, temperature, wind, and exposure. He discussed the adaption of plants to a particular environment and even wrote about “mutation according to place.”
Theophrastus was interested in the effect plants had on each other and noted that olives, myrtles and pines thrived when growing together but that the almond tree was a “bad neighbor.” He saw how trees grew tall and more upright when they stood close together. He noticed that jays buried acorns, helping them to germinate, and that mistletoe “lives by taking the food that belongs to the tree’.”
Aristotle saw similar relationships between animals and their environment but believed that plants and animals had been created “specifically for the sake of man.” Theophrastus, on the other hand, insisted that plants had their own purpose and were not made to serve humans, to feed us, or to provide building materials. In the twentieth century, some historians and botanists began to call him the ‘father of plant ecology’.
Laërtius wrote that Theophrastus devoted “his whole leisure to learning” and that he was “a man of extraordinary acuteness.” He certainly must have been busy because he wrote almost 300 books and treatises with subjects ranging from politics, morals and law to others on animals voices, on love, history, and astronomy. “These works contain in all two hundred and thirty–two thousand and eight lines,” Laërtius reports rather precisely, but few have survived.
After Theophrastus succeeded his old friend and collaborator Aristotle as the head of the Lyceum, he taught there for more than three decades. Laërtius says 2,000 pupils attended his lectures. When Theophrastus died at 85, the whole of Athens mourned him, according to Laërtius. Nature and gardens were places of learning, Theophrastus believed, and bequeathed his garden and promenade to his friends “to hold a school in them and to devote themselves to the study of philosophy … and to use them in common as if they were sacred ground.”
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to [email protected]. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
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Brian Quick on the Vincent jackson plan
Do you think so? I'm not sure they'd have Quick trying to learn his duties on special teams when he is having so much trouble learning his WR stuff. No offense to Quick but I don't think they think Quick can handle much new information to say it nicely. What's your thought on that aspect?
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I might have not worded that right. It could get to a number game at WR if a player like Watkins is drafted and which Wr's that can play special teams would be of more value.
Bailey did a great job on St but if he's getting starter snaps a guy needs to step up.
I agree that Quick shouldn't have the burden of learning something else but he might not have no choice.
Some guy are going to like him others are not going to be willing to see that there are a lot of factors that go into a WR's numbers. Just because KC started 9 games and the Rams only threw the ball on average 20 times a game Quick should have had 10 catches a game even if they only threw it to him twice a game.
I don't see why he'd be targeted more with Sam as QB, it's not like Clemens thought "there goes Brian Quick running wide open again, I wish I could throw to him but I'm not Sam Bradford so I'll look elsewhere."
I reserve the right to shut my mouth about Quick because this could very well be the year that he puts it all together. As such, I don't want to be on record speculating about what a waste of a pick he turned out to be. Snead knew gyot damn well how far behind the curve he was. He knew he had seen zero complexity as it relates to offensive schemes. He knew his route tree had two branches in college. And he knew it could take upwards to 3 years before he became productive. I know he knew because he said so and it's true.
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When did he say this? Right after the draft or after Quick had played in the NFL, it carries more weight if it was after the draft otherwise he may have been covering for an awful pick.
Every draft is different - you really think there was a #1 Receiver prospect in that draft? Because I don't.
However I did see Tavon as one hell of a weapon - someone with a mix of barry sander's feet and agility spliced with Desean Jackson speed and the vision of a running back (because he was a running back in high school, and actually wanted to be a RB in College).
I think he'll end up being better than Randall Cobb - and he's not a #1 Receiver for GB either.
I don't think it's a stretch to assume that there was no other receiver as highly rated on their board, and that receiver was their top ranked position of need coupled with Austin being the BPA on said board. That's their prerogative, obviously, but I would have waited for Cordarrelle Patterson myself. I don't know what to say about your Blackmon comment. I have no indication that they even wanted him that badly, and that's evidenced by the fact that they stayed put and gambled on losing him. In my opinion, they could have yielded more picks IF he fell, and that would explain the famous "slammed his glasses on the table" comment offered by Mike Silver. In fact, I think Demoff commented on that scenario in one of our chats. Austin, on the other hand, was someone they HAD to have. Is he worth two players? Sure. Why not? It's an entirely subjective question that only Snead/Fisher can answer. 49ers traded up for Jerry Rice. Rams gave up two picks for Marshall Faulk. Cowboys gave up 4 picks for Tony Dorsett. Tavon could end up being the kind of player who warrants a trade of one extra pick. History will bear that out one way or another.
Vincent Jackson was selected under a different CBA agreement. If he had been selected under the current agreement he would likely have left the Chargers, (as a big disappointment), as a FA after 4 years. Quick hasn't shown he should be a starter up to this point and I think any sudden change is unlikely. If he's a top 2 WR for us by the end of pre-season he should start. If he's #6 or lower he should be cut. I don't blame Quick for his situation with the Rams. I blame Fisher and Snead. After he was selected they both kept saying that Quick was someone who could 'turn on a dime' - the implication being he was so dynamic he could create DB separation simply by sharp changes of speed and direction. I see potential in him but I don't see 'that'. If Fisher and Snead had been honest with fans and said Quick was a project things would have been smoother.
Yamahopper refining his statement:
I might have not worded that right. It could get to a number game at WR if a player like Watkins is drafted and which Wr's that can play special teams would be of more value.
Bailey did a great job on St but if he's getting starter snaps a guy needs to step up.
I agree that Quick shouldn't have the burden of learning something else but he might not have no choice.
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Could be Yamahopper but I think it's more likely that they just decide to bite the bullet on the ST thing and either keep him or just cut/trade him. Not much point in trying to teach me to fly.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to use that new smiley BTW.
I don't think their numbers really compare and I really don't think their situations compare. VJ had to fight through established starters at his position and then compete for touches on a somewhat loaded team. Quick hasn't had any competition and has failed as much or more than he's succeeded with his opportunities.
If he wasn't a pet-project and a source of extreme embarrassment for Snisher, I think he'd be out the door already.
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While they had Gates & Tomlinson, the starting WRs were only a mere solid Eric Parker and Keenan McCardell, who was clearly near the end of his career. The guy was a raw prospect coming out that simply wasn't ready until he was ready.
Maybe we're expecting too much from Quick because he was an early 2nd round pick. With the emergence of Bailey, Austin, and Givens, I hope Quick is the big play guy. If the rams or fans expect Quick to be a route tree running WR than we'll be disappointed. Quick is 6'3 210+. Rams should put him in situations to run deep posts and fade routes.
Vincent Jackson was selected under a different CBA agreement. If he had been selected under the current agreement he would likely have left the Chargers, (as a big disappointment), as a FA after 4 years. Quick hasn't shown he should be a starter up to this point and I think any sudden change is unlikely. If he's a top 2 WR for us by the end of pre-season he should start. If he's #6 or lower he should be cut. I don't blame Quick for his situation with the Rams. I blame Fisher and Snead. After he was selected they both kept saying that Quick was someone who could 'turn on a dime' - the implication being he was so dynamic he could create DB separation simply by sharp changes of speed and direction. I see potential in him but I don't see 'that'. If Fisher and Snead had been honest with fans and said Quick was a project things would have been smoother.
I want Watkins. We need one more offensive weapon, if we intend on keeping defensive coordinators up past midnight. After the first game against the Cardinals, defenses concentrated on stopping Cook up the seam, and swarming Tavon Austin as soon he caught the ball.
About the time Zak Stacy emerges as a threat, Bradford goes down to injury. We won both games, we had Stacy and Bradford on the field the entire game. The Rams averaged 36 points a game in those contests.
Which players will a defensive coordinator focus on when you have Sammy Watkins, Tavon Austin, Cook, Quick, Zak Stacy, and a healthy Sam Bradford all on the field at the same time?
Zak Stacy's running threat will open up Sam Bradford's play action pass potential. It won't be easy for defenses to crowd the box, like Seattle did the last game. And visa versa. Add Watkins to the mix, and suddenly Zak Stacy has even more room to run.
Throw occasional uptempo, no huddle in to the mix. Suppose we line up with 4 wide outs Watkins, Austin, Cook, and Quick, with Stacy in the backfield. A defense would have to commit 5 players, including a deep free safety on those 4 WR's. Somebody is going to be wide open. Also there's a lot of room for Zak Stacy to rumble, if he breaks past the front six.
Watkins would allow the Rams to further explore multiple mismatches. Mismatches are what it's all about. Meanwhile Givens, Bailey and Quick have the 3rd or 4th best DB covering them, instead of one of the top two corners.
Try to resign Saffold and draft 3 or 4 offensive linemen, after all it's possible we may have 13 draft picks.
Of course, I defer to Les Snead and Jeff Fisher. If they take Robinson or Mathews with our first pick, I'll assume they know what they're doing.
Amazing how things 'magically' get fixed when we get a decent OL that Sam has time to throw (as well as stay healthy) and gives the WR's have to to create seperation. If the ingrates would stop dropping the balls all the time that would help as well...
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nailed it, Watkins would be a luxury. an OL to keep SB in the pocket, GOLD
train
nailed it, Watkins would be a luxury. an OL to keep SB in the pocket, GOLD
train
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Amen...It doesn't seem like rocket science but alot of people want the flashy stuff. Kinda like worrying about making sure your car has a flawless body but don't care about the actual thing that makes your car go and gives it realibility, your engine. (or OL) No point having all rest when your engine (OL) needs worked on....
A Go-to receiver that consistently separates, wins 1 on 1 coverage, and catches the ball.. When the games on the line and everyone knows the ball is going to him, he can still make the play.
This team does not have a receiver in that mold. Size, measurables are irrelevant when talking about the niches of the wide receiver position - you don't have to be a world track star or a giant to get open and catch the ball
Well actually -X-, I wasn't confusing him with Quick. That won't happen until later tonight. I was referring to the pick we didn't make in the second round. Kind of like Doyle's "the dog that didn't bark".
I don't see why he'd be targeted more with Sam as QB, it's not like Clemens thought "there goes Brian Quick running wide open again, I wish I could throw to him but I'm not Sam Bradford so I'll look elsewhere."
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Instead of just talking I went to the box scores and got the stats you know as much as I do about what Clemens thought. Quick did not get enough targets for anyone to evaluate his progress 14 targets in 9 games with Clemens at QB.
Instead of just talking I went to the box scores and got the stats you know as much as I do about what Clemens thought. Quick did not get enough targets for anyone to evaluate his progress 14 targets in 9 games with Clemens at QB.
So you're saying that his targets per game followed a poisson distribution, and that the difference between his number of targets with Bradford and Clemens isn't statistically significant at the conventional 5% level? So you think it's conceivable that he wouldn't of been targeted more with Bradford as his QB? I don't necessarily disagree with your argument, but I think it's logical that he would have been targeted slightly more.
You also make an interesting point on how Quick's receptions per targets is higher with Clemens than Bradford (but again as you say it's not statistically significant), are you contending that Sam is less accurate or that Clemens was only willing to throw him passes on shorter routes while Sam took more deep shots and Quick is better suited to that?
I don't feel this way. We saw enough - AS A ROOKIE - to believe he's worth the investment. Give it time, grasshopper.
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For the life of me, I cannot understand why some people are down on Austin. I've heard people complain because he didn't outproduce every rookie receiver despite being the top receiver drafted.
As if we should assess Austin based on petty jealousy rather than judging him as an individual.
He did exactly what we drafted him to do. End of discussion. What Keenan Allen did shouldn't make any difference.
Austin didn't just flash production. He flashed an ability to completely take over a football game. Not since Marshall Faulk have we had a skill-position player who can completely turn a game around in seconds.
And some people are down on him... Give me a break. He's the most exciting thing to happen to the offensive side of the football since 99-01.
So you're saying that his targets per game followed a poisson distribution, and that the difference between his number of targets with Bradford and Clemens isn't statistically significant at the conventional 5% level? So you think it's conceivable that he wouldn't of been targeted more with Bradford as his QB? I don't necessarily disagree with your argument, but I think it's logical that he would have been targeted slightly more.
You also make an interesting point on how Quick's receptions per targets is higher with Clemens than Bradford (but again as you say it's not statistically significant), are you contending that Sam is less accurate or that Clemens was only willing to throw him passes on shorter routes while Sam took more deep shots and Quick is better suited to that?
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There are several things the numbers bear out that I think are over looked when trying to assess Quick progress.
Targets per game were on the rise with Bradford (small sample size) but it was there.
Throws per game in general went down with the change at QB. Clemens just could not be expected to have the same game plan as Bradford
2 of the last 9 games Quick did not get 1 target. There is no way he was not open the entire game and he was getting PT so it has to be considered that Clemens was not confident enough to make the throws and instead chose safer throws to protect the ball.
This offense is not going to be one where 1 guy gets targeted 10 times a game every week. They want to distribute the ball to multiple players and keep the D guessing. If they throw 30 times a game and run 30 times a game Quick will probably see no more than 5 targets on average. Cook, Austin, Bailey if all four of these guys get 5 a game that is 20. Add in the other TEs and RBs and you are running out of targets quickly.
Quick had a couple of jacked up plays everyone remembers where he did not make adjustments to be on the same page as Sam, he was never expected to be a polished WR in 2013. He is not going to be what everyone thinks is the definition of a true #1, neither is anyone else on this team in this offense. The thing is the Rams do not need that kind of WR in this offense to be a winning team.
As for the Bradford vs Clemens targets for Quick, it was pretty obvious that Clemens did not ever want to throw the ball more than ten yards down field. For any WR to get those explosive plays they need those opportunities outside the numbers down field. Clemens did better over all than I expected but he certainly does not have the tools Bradford has.
Since Quick only had 2 drops it makes you think Bradford was less accurate but you still have to factor the lack of PT together and not reading the defense the same attributing to some of the plays that make people say what the heck was he thinking???? | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
The rise of multilingual user interface has bought an interesting shift in the way complex information is perceived by today’s web users. These days, a variety of web projects demand the use of multilingual graphical interface to cater the needs of an international audience. Creating a unique international application requires you to make use of translated resource strings which ultimately lets you render the data using locale-sensitive objects.
Designing a mobile application interface that supports a great deal of languages can help you make headways to the international market in the quickest possible manner. It also lets you earn a large number of installation base as you provide the user freedom to use your app in a language which is relevant to their choice.
Since English is not enough to stay competitive, one needs to give a thought to multilingual applications to unlock the doors of other cultures. English is a global language, but there are chances that you’ll miss some other opportunities if it is all we follow, especially in a business scenario.
With this in mind, I am going to explain you a process of creating a multilingual mobile app with Angularjs. Angularjs is a cutting-edge amongst all JavaScript frameworks that allows you to create striking mobile apps efficiently.
So, let’s begin.
To begin with, we need to create a language setting function for our interface. There are two types of components wherein this function needs to be added.
Labels
Dropdown lists
We are provided with a route parameter that allows us define the actual language the user prefers to choose. The route parameter looks something like this:
$routeSegmentProvider.when('/:lang/module/...', 'moduleName')
Here, notice the use of :lang parameter that allows us to render the user current language by calling.
$routeParams.lang
Now, we will use an easy to use angular translate. It’s quite simple to set up. All you need is just add angular-translate.js file to your index.html and use a reference of ‘pascalprecht.translate’ function while defining the module. Below is an example showcasing the entire process.
var myApp = angular.module('myApp', ['pascalprecht.translate']);
Once you are done with this, let’s proceed to create a json file for any language you want to define. For example- for English, it would be like en.js file that also contains some critical components of English language. You can go on to define any language you want like this.
(function(){
var myApp = angular.module("myApp");
myApp.labels_en = {
"version": "Version",
"name": "Name",
"surname": "Surname"
};
}());
Next, it’s time to inform our app about the language translation configuration we are playing around with for quite a while. For this, it is recommended to create an individual configuration file which we can name as translation.js. Also, make sure you reference this file to index.html. Look at the following piece of code to understand the concept better.
(function(){
var myApp = angular.module("myApp");
myApp.config(["$translateProvider", function ($translateProvider) {
$translateProvider.translations("en", myApp.labels_en);
$translateProvider.preferredLanguage("en");
}]);
}());
If you want to add a translation for Albanian language, you need to create a sq.js file which contains all the translation relating stuff.
(function(){
var myApp = angular.module("myApp");
myApp.labels_sq = {
"version": "Verzioni",
"name": "Emri",
"surname": "Mbiemri"
};
}());
Now, the above code should be added to translation.js file.
$translateProvider.translations("sq", myApp.labels_sq);
Congrats! You have successfully created an automatic support for a different language.
Also Check: 5 Free Beginner Friendly Books for Learning Node.js
After this, we need to instruct our controller about the language we wish to use by fetching the param from the route and passing it to the $translate object.
$translate.use($routeParams.lang);
We’ll now add the dynamic labels and messages with the help of angularjs binding and filtering the same using translate.
{{ 'version' | translate }}
The above code will help us translate our labels on the basis of route parameter :lang .
As of now we have successfully translated our labels, after this it’s time to translate our dropdown lists. As we already have a list of languages to be offered to our visitors, you can choose to save this list within the database lookup tables. This way every lookup will have a structure just like this:
id name_en name_sq
Now, as soon as we return the json object for the lockup values, we will return an object that looks something like this.
$scope.list = {
"id": 1,
"name": [
"en": "name in english",
"sq": "name in albanian"
] }
After this we will receive an element that looks like this:
To Conclude
Hope you’ve gained a pretty good understanding of adding a multilingual function in your angularjs application. It’s a nice way to attract international audience in the manner most effective.
Author Bio: Rick Brown is a veteran iPhone app programmer for Mobiers Ltd – a leading iOS apps development company. In case, you are willing to dig-out more information about the related services, get in touch with him. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Call for Papers: Digital History in Finland, Wednesday, 9.12.2015
Call for Papers: Digital History in Finland, Wednesday, 9.12.2015
The Digital History in Finland Network (#DigiHistFi) will organise a one-day symposium on Digital History in Finland at the University of Helsinki on Wednesday 9th of December 2015. The motto of the network and symposium is: History first, digital second.
Digital History is an area within the emerging field of Digital Humanities that is combining humanities and social sciences with contemporary information and communication technologies. Digital history aims to further historical practice by applying computational methods to various types of historical source materials and data. While there is a tradition, for example, among corpus linguists to use computational methods, the study of history has been slower to take up new approaches in a productive manner. In Finland, the computational approach to history has so far rarely impacted on the core of the historian’s craft in such a way that those who have not already any previous interests in digital humanities would pay attention. Yet, the potential for revisiting old and creating new research questions through computational methods is considerable. This is what the network and symposium seeks to explore further.
The idea of this symposium is to bring together historians working on different aspects of digital history in Finland to talk about their research and meet other scholars interested in similar questions.
We invite submissions of short papers of 15-20 minutes (abstracts of 100 words) on any aspect of digital history. We especially encourage submissions of project ideas and sketches of emerging work. In the morning session it is also possible to present papers through skype. So, it is strongly encouraged that historians from all Finnish organisations participate.
The deadline for submitting a paper is Friday 30.10.2015. Please send the title of the presentation and 100 word abstract to: [email protected]. Notification of acceptance and symposium practicalities of the symposium will be communicated by 13.11.2015. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Q:
Determining the number of files and subdirectories in Linux
When displaying directories in Linux using ls -ld, I get something like this:
user@shell:~/somedirectory$ ls -ld
drwxr-xr-x 2014 K-rock users 65536 20011-11-05 11:34
user@shell:~/somedirectory$
How would I find the number of subdirectories and files in the somedirectory using the result above? From what I understand, the number of links corresponds to the number of subdirectories, but what about the number of files? How would I read the result of the ls -ld to find those numbers?
Also, this is an assignment and I have to say the number of files and subdir that are in somedirectory using the result shown above. So I can't really use any other code unfortunately.
A:
Since, you want to decipher from the output that you have got, we will try and simplify things.
ls -ld
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Nov 11 14:29 .
Now, ls -ld on a directory gives me the output as above. Now, the number 4 is something that you need to concentrate on. The 4 corresponds to:
the entry for that directory in its parent directory;
the directory's own entry for .;
the .. entries in the 2 sub-directories inside the directory.
To verify this, if I just issue ls I could see that I have couple of more directories. So, this gives an idea of what we could decipher from the output of your case.
drwxr-xr-x 2014 K-rock users 65536 20011-11-05 11:34
There are 2012 sub-directories inside which is why you get 2014 in the output.
As to the number of files, it is not possible to find it out from the output that you have.
To test if my theory is correct, I did the below testing.
ls -la | grep -E '[d]' #Display only directories
drwxr-xr-x 12 root root 4096 Nov 11 14:42 .
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Nov 11 14:20 ..
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Nov 11 14:45 hello1
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 11 14:42 hello2
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 11 14:42 hello3
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 11 14:42 hello4
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 11 14:42 hello5
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 11 14:42 hello6
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 11 14:42 hello7
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 11 14:42 hello8
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 11 14:21 hello-subdir
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 11 14:29 spaced hello
Now, I issue ls -ld command and the output I get is,
ls -ld
drwxr-xr-x 12 root root 4096 Nov 11 14:42 .
It did not take into consideration the files or subdirectories nested inside the subdirectories of the folder. Basically, the above command says I have 10 directories inside my folder.
P.S.: It is often a bad idea to parse something from ls output as it is not reliable. Use find with -maxdepth instead if you have a chance to use it.
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Feasibility and safety of transradial arterial approach for simultaneous right and left vertebral artery angiographic studies and stenting.
This study investigated whether the transradial artery (TRA) approach using a 6-French (F) Kimny guiding catheter for right vertebral artery (VA) angiographic study and stenting is safe and effective for patients with significant VA stenosis. The TRA approach is commonly performed worldwide for both diagnostic cardiac catheterization and catheter-based coronary intervention. However, to our knowledge, the safety and feasibility of left and right VA angiographic study and stenting, in the same procedure, using the TRA approach for patients with brain ischemia have not been reported. The study included 24 consecutive patients (22 male,2 female; age, 63-78 years). Indications for VA angiographic study and stenting were (1) prior stroke or symptoms related to vertebrobasilar ischemia and (2) an asymptomatic but vertebral angiographic finding of severe stenosis (>70%). A combination of the ipsilateral and retrograde-engagement technique, which involved a looping 6-F Kimny guiding catheter, was utilized for VA angiographic study. For VA stenting, an ipsilateral TRA approach with either a Kimny guiding catheter or a left internal mammary artery guiding catheter was utilized in 22 patients and retrograde-engagement technique in 2 patients. A technically successful procedure was achieved in all patients, including left VA stenting in 15 patients and right VA stenting in 9 patients. The mean time for stenting (from engagement to stent deployment) was 12.7 min. There were no vascular complications or mortality. However, one patient suffered from a transient ischemic attack that resolved within 3 h. We conclude that TRA access for both VA angiographic study and VA stenting is safe and effective, and provides a simple and useful clinical tool for patients unsuited for femoral arterial access. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Regional Banks About To Send Important Message
Large and Regional banks have struggled this year, as both indices have declined nearly 15% in 2018. These declines have taken place as interest rates have been moving higher, which historically is positive for banks.
The declines of late in Regional Bank ETF (KRE) has it testing 7-year rising support as well as the 2007 highs at (1).
The Power of the Pattern is of the opinion, what KRE does at (1), will send an important message to the banking industry and the broad markets.
Keep a close eye on KRE in the weeks ahead friends, this looks to be an important test of support.
Chris Kimble is the founder and CEO of Kimble Charting Solutions. His firm provides research for individual investors, financial professionals, 401k managers and hedge funds around the world. He ...
more
Chris Kimble is the founder and CEO of Kimble Charting Solutions. His firm provides research for individual investors, financial professionals, 401k managers and hedge funds around the world. He specializes in pattern analysis in stock indexes, bonds, currencies, commodities and individual stocks, using pictures to highlight the opportunity at hand with a touch of humor. His mission is to help investors enlarge portfolios regardless of market direction.
Chris’ mentor is Sir John Templeton and is an Occam’s razor fan, believing that investors should strive to eliminate unnecessary information in the decision making process.
Chris has 33 years of experience in the financial industry. He spent 25 years as a financial planner, before turning to helping people as a chart technician. He has coined such phrases as the "Power of the Pattern", "Eiffel tower" pattern, and "Emotipoints". Having a business and psychology background he combines the footprint of chart pattern analysis with investor sentiment to find opportunities and solutions for investors. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Q:
Customizing headings using scrlayer-scrpage
Using the scrbook class, how do I customize the chapter plain pagestyle? I'd like to have the page number on the left on even pages and on the right on odd ones. Also, how do I get rid of the 'Chapter' in the headings? Here's a MWE
\documentclass[chapterprefix]{scrbook}
\usepackage{xcolor, graphicx, lipsum}
\definecolor{chaptergrey}{rgb}{0.7,0.7,0.7}
\usepackage{scrlayer-scrpage}
\let\raggedchapter\raggedleft
\addtokomafont{disposition}{\normalfont}
\setkomafont{chapter}{\LARGE}
\renewcommand*{\chapterformat}{%
\scalebox{5}{\color{chaptergrey}\thechapter}%
}
\clearmainofpairofpagestyles
\lehead{\leftmark}
\rohead{\leftmark}
\lohead{\pagemark}
\rehead{\pagemark}
\begin{document}
\chapter{A chapter}
\lipsum[1-30]
\end{document}
Note: I can't load the fancyhdr package because it causes problems, and I cannot remove the chapterprefix class option because I need it to have the chapter title below the chapter number.
A:
As I've already told in my answer to your last question you can manipulate the chapter number in the running head by redefining \chaptermarkformat. The default definition is shown in the KOMA-Script manual:
\newcommand*{\chaptermarkformat}{%
\chapappifchapterprefix{\ }\thechapter\autodot\enskip}
\chapappifchapterprefix{\ } prints \chapapp followed by a space if option chapterprefix is enabled. \chapapp is the same like \@chapapp, which is \chaptername before \appendix and \appendixname after \appendix. So, if you do not want the prefix, redefine \chaptermarkformat like this:
\renewcommand*{\chaptermarkformat}{\thechapter\autodot\endskip}
If you even do not like the number, just use
\renewcommand*{\chaptermarkformat}{}
As also shown in the same answer, to get automatic running heads, you have to load scrlayer-scrpage with option automark. This would use chapter titles for the even pages and section titles for the odd pages. Alternatively you can use command \automark and \automark* to influence the content of the automatic running head. See the KOMA-Script manual for more information.
If you want the running head aligned to the inner margin and the page number aligned to the outer margin, you can use \ihead for the running head marks and \ohead for the pagination marks. To add the page numbers also to the plain pages, you should use the *-variant. To remove the default marks from the headings and the plain page style you should use \clearpairofpagestyles. \clearmainofpagestyles only cleans up the marks from the headings pagestyle of the pair.
So
\documentclass[chapterprefix]{scrbook}
\usepackage{xcolor, graphicx, blindtext}
\usepackage[automark]{scrlayer-scrpage}
\definecolor{chaptergrey}{rgb}{0.7,0.7,0.7}
\let\raggedchapter\raggedleft
\addtokomafont{disposition}{\normalfont}
\setkomafont{chapter}{\LARGE}
\renewcommand*{\chapterformat}{%
\scalebox{5}{\color{chaptergrey}\thechapter}%
}
\renewcommand*{\chaptermarkformat}{}% If you want running heads without
% chapter number.
\clearpairofpagestyles
\ihead*{\pagemark}% page number also on plain pages
\ohead{\headmark}
\begin{document}
\blinddocument
\end{document}
will result in:
and
\documentclass[chapterprefix]{scrbook}
\usepackage{xcolor, graphicx, blindtext}
\usepackage[automark]{scrlayer-scrpage}
\definecolor{chaptergrey}{rgb}{0.7,0.7,0.7}
\let\raggedchapter\raggedleft
\addtokomafont{disposition}{\normalfont}
\setkomafont{chapter}{\LARGE}
\renewcommand*{\chapterformat}{%
\scalebox{5}{\color{chaptergrey}\thechapter}%
}
\renewcommand*{\chaptermarkformat}{\thechapter\autodot\enskip}% only number,
% opional dot and white space, but no prefix
\clearpairofpagestyles
\ihead*{\pagemark}% page number also on plain pages
\ohead{\headmark}
\begin{document}
\blinddocument
\end{document}
results in:
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Search Results
Disclaimer: I see this as a nice little hack, and something that I’ll use for development and fast prototyping. I’m not recommending it for production use and I know and appreciate that the guys behind Umbraco would probably discourage this in terms of 'best practices'. There is nothing here you couldn't do with C#.
Anyway, having said that, I think Perl is a great and very current technology. I use it day in day out as part of my work with Interwoven TeamSite and it still powers some of the biggest sites on the web including the BBC and parts of Amazon. Web frameworks like Catalyst are excellent and I’m quite prepared to argue my corner with anyone who thinks that Perl is old ‘skool’ and dated.
For those of you who aren’t | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Various methods have been devised for inputting text into a data processing apparatus. However, in most such methods, each word, phrase or sentence has to be inputted, by typing, afresh every time it is required. As more and more words, phrases or sentences are inputted, more spelling mistakes will occur. In addition, although there are ways of locating all occurrences of the same word, phrase or sentence in a document file in a data processing apparatus, e.g. a computer, all such occurrences of the word, phrase or sentence are located in isolation, i.e. out of the context in which such are located.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a method of inputting text into such an apparatus in which the aforesaid shortcomings are mitigated, or at least to provide a useful alternative to the public. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Q:
SMLoginItemSetEnabled sometimes silently fails to launch sandboxed UI helper
I have an app that is sandboxed, and includes a helper that presents some UI (as a full-screen window, but could be a status item or similar too).
This works... most of the time. But sometimes it doesn't; it just silently fails to start the helper.
Since the helper has UI, I use SMLoginItemSetEnabled to load it, then NSXPCConnection to communicate with it. But sometimes SMLoginItemSetEnabled fails to launch it, while still returning YES.
This seems to be due to an old build of the app somewhere on the machine; that seems to confuse the login mechanism. Deleting the old app fixes it, but I can't reasonably expect users to do this (some people like to keep old versions around).
I can detect this situation by comparing the result of -[NSWorkspace URLForApplicationWithBundleIdentifier:] with the URL of the helper in the app bundle, but having to ask the user to remove the other app isn't a very elegant solution.
Is there any way to make SMLoginItemSetEnabled always use the login item from the current app bundle, rather than some random one elsewhere on the disk?
Or has anything changed in recent OS releases to support a more elegant mechanism for helpers with UI?
I've read many other questions here and elsewhere on this topic, and it appears that this clunky mechanism is still the best solution, but maybe I missed something.
A:
Is there any way to make SMLoginItemSetEnabled always use the login item from the current app bundle, rather than some random one elsewhere on the disk?
It seems that there is is a bug in SMLoginItemSetEnabled. When I test my application, the executable is in the DerivedData folder of Xcode.
When I build the release, I put the application and it's helper in the /Applications folder. But for some obvious reasons, the helper that is launched is the helper which is in the DeriveData folder. That's why I'm used to remove everything that is in this folder before launching the main application in /Applications.
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
No it wouldn't. The UN is a useless organization full of corrupt politicians that never get anything done. Giving the UN control of anything is a bad idea.You just like the idea because you hate America so much.
The UN is a useless organization full of corrupt politicians that never get anything done. Giving the UN control of anything is a bad idea.
The diplomatic side of the UN is only one aspect of the organisation. Unfortunately it is the highest profile role of the UN and one which is paralysed by the use of vetoes by permanent members of the Security Council - particularly by the US, China and Russia. However, the UN does an incredible amount of very important work and UNESCO is a good example of that (unfortunately the US has dramatically undermined it since Palestine was admitted by a majority vote).
The reason that the US distrusts the UN - despite having huge influence over the organisation, including being home to the United Nations Headquarters - is that the US likes to consider itself above international law and it would rather dictate policy than work to form a consensus with other nations.
No it wouldn't. The UN is a useless organization full of corrupt politicians that never get anything done. Giving the UN control of anything is a bad idea.
Do you honestly believe that the UN is more corrupt than the US Congress? Because approval numbers would suggest the opposite. | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
#DESCRIPTION
## Algebra problem: sequences and series
##ENDDESCRIPTION
## Tagged by ynw2d
## DBsubject(Algebra)
## DBchapter(Finite sequences and series)
## DBsection(Summation formulas)
## Institution(ASU)
## Level(2)
## KEYWORDS('algebra', 'sequence')
DOCUMENT(); # This should be the first executable line in the problem.
loadMacros(
"PGstandard.pl",
"PGchoicemacros.pl",
"PGcourse.pl"
);
TEXT(beginproblem());
$showPartialCorrectAnswers = 1;
$a=random(80,240,1);
$a1=$a+1;
BEGIN_TEXT
Write the sum using sigma notation:
$BR
\( \frac{1}{1\cdot 2} + \frac{1}{2\cdot 3} + \frac{1}{3\cdot 4} + \cdots +
\frac{1}{$a\cdot $a1} =\sum_{n=1}^{A} B \), where
$BR
\(A=\) \{ans_rule(15) \},
$BR
\(B=\) \{ans_rule(15) \}.
$BR
END_TEXT
$ans1 = $a;
$ans2 = "1/(n*(n+1))";
ANS(num_cmp($ans1));
ANS(fun_cmp($ans2,vars=>['n']));
ENDDOCUMENT(); # This should be the last executable line in the problem.
| null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
Tag Archives: Liberty
By Jack Weatherly The golden age of hydraulic fracturing began about 10 years ago “as oil and gas producers began to explore the nation’s massive shale formations in earnest,” according to an essay on the American Society of Mechanical Engineers website. Expansion of the technique in subterranean shale formations has pushed the United States toward oil and natural gas self-sufficiency in ...
Stockholders of the Farm Credit Bank of Texas (FCBT) recently elected Brad C. Bean of Liberty to the FCBT board of directors. He will serve a three-year term. Bean owns a 250-cow dairy operation. His other farming interests include corn, sorghum, grass and timber. He currently chairs the Southern AgCredit board of directors and is a member of the Farm ... | null | minipile | NaturalLanguage | mit | null |
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