text
stringlengths 0
7.84M
| meta
dict |
|---|---|
19-foot python breaks into Australian charity
AP , Associated Press
Jul. 10, 20138:37 AM ET
CAIRNS, Australia (AP) — Australian police were mystified by a chaotic crime scene including a hole in the ceiling and a smelly pool of vomit-like liquid — until they found the culprit was a 5.7-meter (19-foot) python.
Uncredited
In this photo provided by Queensland Police, staff members hold a large python caught while slithering amongst cloths in a charity store, in Ingham, Queensland, Australia, Wednesday, July 10, 2013. Australian police investigating a suspected break-in at a charity store have discovered the culprit was actually a 5.7-meter (19-foot), 17-kilogram (37-pound) python. (AP Photo/Queensland Police)
In this photo provided by Queensland Police, staff members hold a large python caught while slithering amongst cloths in a charity store, in Ingham, Queensland, Australia, Wednesday, July 10, 2013. Australian police investigating a suspected break-in at a charity store have discovered the culprit was actually a 5.7-meter (19-foot), 17-kilogram (37-pound) python. (AP Photo/Queensland Police)
In this photo provided by Queensland Police, staff members hold a large python caught while slithering amongst cloths in a charity store, in Ingham, Queensland, Australia, Wednesday, July 10, 2013. Australian police investigating a suspected break-in at a charity store have discovered the culprit was actually a 5.7-meter (19-foot), 17-kilogram (37-pound) python. (AP Photo/Queensland Police)
The massive snake weighing in at 17 kilograms (37 pounds) was captured a day after a suspected burglary was reported at a charity store in Queensland in northeastern Australia.
"Its head was the size of a small dog," Police Sgt. Don Auld said Wednesday.
Before they found the python, investigators' working theory was that a human burglar with an appetite for destruction — and a serious illness — had gone on a rampage inside the St. Vincent de Paul store in the small town of Ingham.
"We thought a person had fallen through the ceiling because the roof panel was cut in half," Auld said. "When they've hit the floor, they've vomited and then staggered and fallen over. That's what we thought anyway."
Police now suspect the python entered the store through the roof, which was damaged in a cyclone two years ago.
The animal then plummeted through the ceiling, knocking over dishes, clothes and other items, before relieving itself on the floor. It somehow managed to hide from officials until staff spotted it lying alongside a wall the next day.
A local snake catcher was called in to capture the reptile, which has been relocated to nearby wetlands.
CAIRNS, Australia (AP) — Australian police were mystified by a chaotic crime scene including a hole in the ceiling and a smelly pool of vomit-like liquid — until they found the culprit was a 5.7-meter (19-foot) python. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Q:
View not showing?
In my app when I am switching views with an animation using UIView animations, it does not show anything, the view is black but I know my method is getting called. I have NSLogged where the view is and I printed the results and posted them below.
My code is below, but does anyone see anything that is wrong?
-(void)changeView2ToView3 {
NSLog(@"Before, frame= %@", NSStringFromCGRect(view3.view.frame));
[view2.view.superview addSubview:view3.view];
[view3.view setFrame:CGRectMake(0, kHeight, kWidth, kHeight)];
[UIView animateWithDuration:0.75
animations:^{
[view3.view setFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, kWidth, kHeight)];
}
completion:^(BOOL finished){
[view2.view removeFromSuperview];
}];
NSLog(@"Before, frame= %@", NSStringFromCGRect(view3.view.frame));
}
kHeight and kWidth are the height and width of the screen and they are never 0 or nil.
Also this is what is printed from the console:
2012-02-02 15:58:30.449 App[27578:707] Before, frame= {{0, 0}, {320, 480}}
2012-02-02 15:58:30.452 App[27578:707] Before, frame= {{0, 0}, {320, 480}}
2012-02-02 15:58:36.234 App[27578:707] Before, frame= {{0, 0}, {320, 480}}
2012-02-02 15:58:36.237 App[27578:707] Before, frame= {{0, 0}, {320, 480}}
Thanks!
A:
A similar thing is happening to me with an app I'm working on. I think what's wrong with yours is that you didn't specify a height or width, they are both 0? Correct me if I am wrong.
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
Cost-Utility Analysis of Home-Based Care for Treatment of Thai Hemophilia A and B.
This study aimed to evaluate the cost-utility of the home-based care policy versus the no home-based care policy of factor VIII and factor IX concentrate in Thai patients with hemophilia A and B who had no inhibitor or less than 5 Bethesda units. A Markov model was used to evaluate the cost utility of the two policies. The first policy was "no home-based care" in which patients were treated with blood components only when admitted at the hospital but without home treatment. The second policy was "home-based care" in which factors were prescribed and infused for treatment of early bleeding episodes at home. Input parameters related to clinical and cost were obtained from primary data collection at the National Health Security Office, while patients' quality of life was surveyed from mailed questionnaires. Both costs and health outcomes were discounted at 3%. One-way analysis and probabilistic sensitivity analysis were performed to assess uncertainty surrounding model parameters. Based on governmental perspective, the "home-based care" policy had cost saving in patients with moderate and severe hemophilia when compared with the "no home-based care" policy; in patients with mild hemophilia, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was 80,542 Thailand baht (THB) or US $2,684.73 (US $1 = 30 THB). At the ceiling threshold of one time of gross domestic product per capita (120,000 THB per quality-adjusted life-year gained), the "home-based care" policy was cost-effective when compared with the "no home-based care" policy. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry was in Brussels, Belgium, on April 22 to meet with European Union officials, including European Commission President Manuel Barroso, and to promote the administration’s new push for congressional approval of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). President Obama is calling upon Congress to provide him with Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), also known as “fast-track” to push the TTIP and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact through Congress with little debate and no amendments.
The New American has been following and reporting on the efforts to conclude a TTIP and TPP for many years, throughout the Clinton and Bush administrations. One of the most important objections — though not the only one — regarding both of these efforts is that throughout the various iterations and proposal it is very apparent that the architects and proponents of the agreements are being thoroughly dishonest. They are publicly packaging and promoting the agreements as “trade agreements” when, in fact, they have been designed as evolving projects that will progressively “integrate” the economies and political systems of the signatory nations into a supranational regime modeled along the lines of the European Union.
Dennis Behreandt’s article “Transatlantic Two-Step” of May 10, 2008, during President George W. Bush’s administration, is one of the many articles we have published that details the efforts of globalist elites in organizations such as the Council on Foreign Relations, the Transatlantic Policy Network, the Brookings Institution, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and others, to use the battering ram of trade agreements to smuggle political and economic integration schemes that are aimed at destroying national sovereignty.
Recently, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) held a panel discussion at Princeton University entitled “The G20: Prospects and Challenges for Global Governance.” (See video below.) There are many interesting and revealing comments made by the panel participants, but an admission by Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer is especially noteworthy, in that it publicly confirms what critics of the European Union have been saying for decades, but which CFR globalists like Bremmer have usually denied. Bremmer admits that “there’s real subversion of sovereignty by the EU.”
The CFR panel included:
• Nicolas Berggruen, chairman of the Berggruen Institute on Governance and coauthor of Intelligent Governance for the 21st Century: A Middle Way between West and East;
• Ian Bremmer, president, Eurasia Group;
• Stewart M. Patrick, senior fellow and director of the International Institutions and Global Governance Program at the Council on Foreign Relations; and
• Anne-Marie Slaughter, Bert G. Kerstetter Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University
Professor Slaughter served as the presider of the CFR panel discussion. The context of the Bremmer quote was a venting of frustration by the panelists over the “ineffectiveness” of the G20 process. Professor Slaughter and Mr. Berggruen particularly argued that the G20 needed to be given actual powers that would enable it to do more to effect global governance. Unfortunately, from the panelists’ viewpoints, national sovereignty and national interests get in the way of this objective. This is where Mr. Bremmer commented (see the video at 18:30 minutes): “The EU is much more significant. There’s real subversion of sovereignty by the EU that works.”
It would appear that the panelists all favored this type of EU-style of sovereignty-subverting “governance.”
Secretary Kerry, of course, is also a member of the CFR, as is our top trade negotiator Michael Froman, a former Citigroup exec (and bailout beneficiary) who is now assistant to the president of the United States and deputy national security advisor for International Economic Affairs.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and Trans-Pacific Partnership would effect the same kind of “real subversion of sovereignty.” | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Introduction {#sec1-0300060520933051}
============
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a neurological condition that falls between the cognitive decline of normal aging and dementia.^[@bibr1-0300060520933051]^ With the increasing number of older people worldwide, MCI and dementia have become global challenges for health and social care systems. It has been reported that the annual incidence of MCI has increased from 1% to 12.7% and the prevalence has increased from 3% to 22% within the past 10 years.^[@bibr2-0300060520933051]^ In fact, a recent study showed that in China alone, the prevalence of MCI was around 14.7% in 22 provinces.^[@bibr3-0300060520933051]^ Additionally, MCI represent an early manifestation of AD.^[@bibr4-0300060520933051]^ However, no effective treatment for MCI is available;^[@bibr5-0300060520933051]^ thus, identifying modifiable risk factors to avoid or delay the onset of MCI is a necessary and practical approach that must be emphasized.
Among the various risk factors of MCI, physical frailty has been extensively investigated and implicated in this disease,^[@bibr6-0300060520933051],[@bibr7-0300060520933051]^ Changes in muscle strength such as hand grip strength (HGS) are thought to represent the level of frailty.^[@bibr8-0300060520933051]^ Previous studies have indicated that low HGS is associated with a decline in overall cognitive performance and MCI,^[@bibr9-0300060520933051][@bibr10-0300060520933051]--[@bibr11-0300060520933051]^ and stronger HGS is correlated with slower cognitive loss and decreased risk of MCI.^[@bibr12-0300060520933051]^ In one study, the prevalence of MCI was approximately 50% to 60% lower among older people in a high quartile of HGS versus their counterparts in a low quartile.^[@bibr13-0300060520933051]^ A functional neuromuscular system is essential for stronger HGS, which may boost antioxidative and anti-inflammatory capacity and consequently help to preserve cognitive function.^[@bibr14-0300060520933051],[@bibr15-0300060520933051]^ HGS can be easily and safely evaluated in older adults and used to measure whole-body muscular strength;^[@bibr16-0300060520933051]^ therefore, the decline of HGS has been used as a reliable quantitative measure of frailty in older people.^[@bibr17-0300060520933051],[@bibr18-0300060520933051]^ However, contrasting reports exist on the association between HGS and MCI. For example, decreased HGS failed to predict decline in cognitive function in the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study.^[@bibr19-0300060520933051]^ Another cross-sectional study did not find a significant association between cognitive impairment and reduced muscle strength among women age 75 years and older.^[@bibr20-0300060520933051]^ These inconsistent results highlight the need for further studies on underlying factors modifying the relationship between HGS and MCI.
To date, few studies have shown the impact of potential characteristics, such as age and sex, on the association between HGS and MCI. For example, a longitudinal study reported a stronger association between HGS and depression in female than male participants.^[@bibr21-0300060520933051]^ In an incident hemodialysis cohort, HGS was found to be associated with mortality in a sex-, and age-specific manner.^[@bibr22-0300060520933051]^ The discrepancies in the association between HGS and MCI may be owing to sex and/or age effects; however, such detailed patient information is not currently available.
In the present study, we aimed to examine the effects of sex and age on the relationship between HGS and MCI in a cross-sectional study. We hypothesized that low-level HGS is associated with a higher prevalence of MCI than higher-level HGS in an older population, in an age-dependent manner.
Methods {#sec2-0300060520933051}
=======
Study population {#sec3-0300060520933051}
----------------
Data for this study were acquired from the baseline cohort survey "*Health of Elderly and Controllable Factors of Environment"*, which was conducted in Lu'an city, Anhui Province, China, between June and September 2016. The cohort consisted of a rural district (Jin'an District) and an urban district (Yu'an District), which were randomly selected within Lu'an city. This cohort has been described in detail in our previous work.^[@bibr23-0300060520933051]^ One community in each district was then randomly selected. All people age 60 years or over in the two communities were invited to participate in this study, and a total of approximately 500 people in each community agreed. The questionnaire was completed in a face-to-face interview with every participant, followed by a physical examination at a local community hospital. The whole process lasted about 2 to 3 hours. The interviewers consisted of faculty and students from Anhui Medical University and community hospital physicians. The inclusion criteria for participation were as follows: (1) age ≥60 years, (2) a resident of the community for at least 6 months, (3) no previous history of mental illness, and (4) provided written informed consent. This study abided by the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the ethics commission of Anhui Medical University.
Protocols of HGS measurement and MCI assessment {#sec4-0300060520933051}
-----------------------------------------------
### HGS measurement {#sec5-0300060520933051}
HGS was measured on both hands using a dynamometer (JH-1881; Changzhou Jihao Electronic Co., Ltd, China). The dynamometer was explained and demonstrated to participants before use. Measurements were taken with participants in an upright standing position with feet apart, the elbows flexed at a right angle, and the wrists in a neutral position. Participants were asked to squeeze the dynamometer handle with maximum force for 2 s and HGS was measured three times on each hand. The average value of the three trials was calculated and recorded. The recorded values from the left and right hands were both analyzed in the study. The participants were divided into three groups based on tertiles of HGS, following similar criteria.^[@bibr24-0300060520933051]^ Briefly, HGS was assigned as low (\<20.3 kg), middle (20.3--27.5 kg), and high (\>27.5 kg) levels. Then, participants were divided into sex-specific groups (men: low \<27.3 kg, middle 27.3--33.4 kg, high \>33.4 kg; women: low \<17.7 kg, middle 17.7--22.3 kg, high \>22.3 kg) and age-specific groups (≤70 years: low \<22.2 kg, middle 22.2--29.5 kg, high \>29.5 kg; \>70 years: low \<18.7 kg, middle 18.7--25.4 kg, high \>25.4 kg), based on HGS level.
### MCI assessment {#sec6-0300060520933051}
The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) ^[@bibr25-0300060520933051]^ was used to assess cognitive status among participants. The MMSE consists of a 20-item scale that assesses multiple mental processes including orientation, memory, counting backwards, and language. Participants were asked questions, and they were to respond immediately to the interviewer. MMSE scores ranged from 0 to 30, with lower scores indicating poorer cognitive function. The Cronbach's alpha for participations was 0.79.
The 10-item Activity of Daily Living (ADL) scale^[@bibr26-0300060520933051]^ was used to assess living independence. The maximum score was 100, with higher scores indicating stronger independence and reduced functional dependence in activities of daily living.
The criteria for diagnosing MCI were based on recommendations of the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association,^[@bibr27-0300060520933051]^ which was validated in our previous publication.^[@bibr28-0300060520933051]^ In brief, individuals presenting the following conditions were considered to have MCI: (1) a memory problem reported by the patient or family of the patient; (2) cognitive impairment evaluated using the MMSE test (score of \<17 for illiterate participants, \<20 for participants with 1 to 6 years of education, and \<24 for participants with more than 6 years of education); (3) preservation of functional independence evaluated using questions on self-reported difficulties with basic ADL in the previous 30 days (score of \<95); (4) no history of dementia or any condition impairing cognition so severely as to prevent the participant from completing the survey.
### Covariates {#sec7-0300060520933051}
Sociodemographic variables included age, divided into two subgroups (60--70 years, \>70 years), sex, marital status (widowed, non-widowed), and education level (illiterate, primary school, middle school and above). Health and vital indices included current smoker (yes or no), current consumption of alcohol (yes or no), physical exercise in the past 3 months (none, ≤1 hour, \>1 hour), history of chronic diseases (yes or no), height (m), and body weight (kg). Participants were then grouped based on body mass index (BMI), as follows: underweight (BMI \<18.5 kg/m^2^), normal weight (BMI = 18.5--23.9 kg/m^2^), and overweight (BMI \>23.9 kg/m^2^).
Active smoking was defined for individuals who smoked three or more cigarettes per week during the previous 6 months, alcohol consumption for those who drank at least one alcoholic beverage during the past 30 days, and physical exercise for those who participated in routine physical activities such as jogging or hiking. The history of chronic diseases was self-reported and included the diagnosis of at least one major condition such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease, cancer/malignant tumor, and stroke.
Statistical analysis {#sec8-0300060520933051}
--------------------
We used SPSS 16.0 software to perform statistical analysis (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Continuous variables are showed as mean ± standard deviation whereas categorical variables are given as frequency and percentage. Chi-square tests or *t*-tests were used to identify the differences in MCI prevalence according to sex, age, marital status, education level, smoking, drinking, physical exercise, BMI, and history of chronic diseases.
We analyzed the association between HGS and MCI in binary logistic regression. First, we used binary logistic regression models with or without adjustment for significant confounders to examine the association of different tertiles of HGS with MCI in the total population. Then, two interaction terms (HGS and sex, HGS and age) were included in the multivariate model. Adjusted models were used to assess the sex- and age-specific associations of MCI with HGS in cases where the interaction terms were significant. *P*-values \<0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Results {#sec9-0300060520933051}
=======
Baseline demographic characteristics {#sec10-0300060520933051}
------------------------------------
In total, 1080 participants were initially recruited; after the interviews were completed, those with missing data regarding HGS (n = 71) were excluded and classified as non-participants. Thus, 1009 participants with a mean age of 71.7 years (SD = 6.3) were included in the current study. No significant differences were found for age (mean age 74.6 and 71.7 years, respectively) and proportions of female sex (49.2% and 54.7%, respectively) between participants and non-participants (*P \>* 0.05). Of the included participants, 45.3% (n = 457) were men and 25.9% (n = 261) were widowed. Approximately 46.6% (n = 470), 23.6% (n = 238), and 29.8% (n = 301) of participants were classified as being illiterate or having an elementary school or middle school education, respectively.
As shown in [Table 1](#table1-0300060520933051){ref-type="table"}, the prevalence of MCI was 19.4% (n = 196) and was significantly higher among participants in the low tertile of HGS than among those in the high tertile (*P* \< 0.001). Significant differences in MCI prevalence were observed between men and women, between older and younger subgroups, between widowed and non-widowed participants, among different educational levels and physical exercise levels, between alcohol drinkers and non-drinkers, between those with and without a history of chronic diseases, and among different BMIs ([Table 1](#table1-0300060520933051){ref-type="table"}).
######
Comparison of the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment among different demographic subgroups.
Variables N MCI, n (%) χ^2^ *P-* value
------------------- ------ ------------ ------- ------------
1009 19.4 (196)
Sex
Male 457 16.2 (74) 5.58 0.011
Female 552 22.1 (122)
Age (years)
60--70 483 11.8 (57) 34.40 \<0.001
\>70 526 26.4 (139)
Marital status
Widowed 261 26.8 (70) 12.30 \<0.001
Non-widowed 748 16.8 (126)
Education level
Illiterate 470 28.9 (136) 54.32 \<0.001
Primary school 238 7.6 (18)
≥Middle school 301 14.0 (42)
Smoker
No 816 18.6 (152) 0.50 0.269
Yes 193 21.2 (41)
Drinking
No 629 21.1 (133) 6.39 0.012
Yes 380 14.7 (56)
Physical exercise
No 738 22.0 (162) 19.17 \<0.001
≤1 hour 149 11.4 (17)
\>1 hour 122 8.2 (10)
BMI
Underweight 53 9.4 (18) 11.35 0.003
Normal 444 48.4 (93)
Overweight 502 42.2 (81)
Chronic diseases
No 395 22.5 (89) 4.18 0.019
Yes 614 17.3 (106)
HGS
Low 340 28.5 (97) 30.55 \<0.001
Middle 335 17.6 (59)
High 334 12.0 (40)
MCI, mild cognitive impairment; HGS, hand grip strength; BMI, body mass index.
Low HGS significantly increased the risk of MCI {#sec11-0300060520933051}
-----------------------------------------------
Compared with the high tertile of HGS, the low and middle tertiles of HGS showed significant associations with MCI in the unadjusted model ([Table 2](#table2-0300060520933051){ref-type="table"}, *P* \< 0.001). After adjusting for sex, age, marital status, education level, alcohol consumption, smoking, BMI, physical exercise, and history of chronic diseases, the association with MCI remained for the group in the low tertile of HGS relative to the group in the high tertile of HGS (OR 2.35, 95% CI 1.48--3.73) ([Table 2](#table2-0300060520933051){ref-type="table"}). Furthermore, women and the older subgroup exhibited a stronger relationship with MCI than men (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.05--2.28) and the younger subgroup (OR 2.44, 95% CI 1.68--3.55).
######
Multivariable odds ratios for mild cognitive impairment.
Unadjusted model Adjusted model\*
------------- ------------------- ------------------ ------------------- ---------
HGS
Low 2.93 (1.96--4.40) \<0.001 2.35 (1.48--3.73) \<0.001
Middle 1.57 (1.02--2.42) 0.041 1.43 (0.89--2.30) 0.137
High 1.00 1.00
Sex
Male 1.00 1.00
Female 1.47 (1.07--2.02) \<0.019 1.54 (1.05--2.28) 0.029
Age (years)
60--70 1.00 1.00
71--94 2.68 (1.91--3.76) \<0.001 2.44 (1.68--3.55) \<0.001
\*Adjusted variables included marital status, education, physical exercise, smoking, drinking, body mass index, and chronic diseases.
OR, odds ratio; MCI, mild cognitive impairment; CI, confidence interval.
Effects of sex and age on the relationship between HGS and MCI {#sec12-0300060520933051}
--------------------------------------------------------------
Further analysis showed that HGS and sex, and HGS and age had statistically significant interactions (*P* = 0.028 and *P* = 0.001, respectively); therefore, we performed stratification analyses ([Table 3](#table3-0300060520933051){ref-type="table"}). In men, the low (OR 5.83, 95% CI 2.08--16.38) and middle tertile HGS levels (OR 3.84, 95% CI 1.35--10.94) were significantly associated with MCI, as compared with the high tertile. In contrast, women only showed an association with MCI in the low tertile (OR 2.64, 95% CI 1.46--4.7).
######
Adjusted odd ratios of mild cognitive impairment stratified by sex and age.
MCI, n (%) OR 95% CI *P-*value
------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ ------ ------------- -----------
Male^[1](#table-fn4-0300060520933051){ref-type="table-fn"}^
HGS
Low 39 (25.7) 5.83 2.08--16.38 0.001
Middle 27 (17.5) 3.84 1.35--10.94 0.012
High 8 (5.3) 1.00
Female^[1](#table-fn4-0300060520933051){ref-type="table-fn"}^
HGS
Low 62 (33.7) 2.64 1.46--4.75 0.001
Middle 34 (18.2) 1.07 0.58--1.98 0.826
High 26 (14.4) 1.00
Age 60--70 years^[2](#table-fn5-0300060520933051){ref-type="table-fn"}^
HGS
Low 22 (16.4) 2.47 0.98--6.23 0.055
Middle 16 (11.2) 1.29 0.49--3.43 0.610
High 11 (7.9) 1.00
Age \> 70 years^[2](#table-fn5-0300060520933051){ref-type="table-fn"}^
HGS
Low 71 (34.5) 3.10 1.70--5.65 \<0.001
Middle 43 (22.6) 1.42 0.76--2.64 0.272
High 33 (16.8) 1.00
^1^Adjusted for age, marital status, education, physical exercise, smoking, drinking, body mass index, chronic diseases.
^2^Adjusted for sex, marital status, education, physical exercise, smoking, drinking, body mass index, chronic diseases.
In the younger subgroup, the low and middle HGS tertiles were not found to be significantly related to MCI. In the older subgroup, the low tertile HGS was significantly associated with MCI (OR 3.10, 95% CI 1.70--5.65) ([Table 3](#table3-0300060520933051){ref-type="table"}).
Discussion {#sec13-0300060520933051}
==========
In the present study, we found that a low HGS level was associated with a significantly increased risk of MCI in both men and women. Furthermore, a higher risk of MCI was found in the population over 70 years of age, before and after adjusting for sex, age, marital status, educational level, physical exercise, drinking, smoking, BMI, and chronic diseases. These results are consistent with previous study findings regarding the association of reduced HGS with poor cognitive function.^[@bibr12-0300060520933051],[@bibr13-0300060520933051],[@bibr29-0300060520933051]^
The prevalence of MCI was approximately 19.4% in the present study, which is similar to the results of a report among community residents age 60 years or older in Shanghai (20.1%),^[@bibr30-0300060520933051]^ but higher than those of a systematic review (14.1%) among adults age ≥60 years in China.^[@bibr31-0300060520933051]^ Nevertheless, the present study and others^[@bibr10-0300060520933051],[@bibr32-0300060520933051]^ all showed a higher prevalence of MCI in women than in men and in older than in younger groups.
Interestingly, in the present study, we found that the association between HGS and MCI was sex- and age-specific. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to show that low-level HGS is strongly associated with higher MCI prevalence in men than women and in older than younger adults. These results are supported by those of a previous study,^[@bibr24-0300060520933051]^ which found a sex-dependent relationship between HGS and mortality in older people. Compared with those study participants who had high-level HGS, male participants with low-level HGS had a four-fold greater risk of all-cause mortality than their female counterparts.^[@bibr24-0300060520933051]^ Another longitudinal study found that male participants with low-level HGS were more likely to report depression than female participants with low-level HGS.^[@bibr33-0300060520933051]^ The sex-dependent associations between low-level HGS and poor health outcomes may be partially owing to sex differences regarding inflammatory load. Some inflammatory factors such as interleukin-6 are higher in male individuals than female individuals of similar age,^[@bibr34-0300060520933051]^ which could explain this effect. In fact, inflammatory cytokines are risk factors for a decline in muscle strength and cognitive functioning.^[@bibr35-0300060520933051],[@bibr36-0300060520933051]^ Future studies are needed to explore the role of inflammation in HGS and MCI.
The effect of age on the relationship between HGS and MCI was first reported in the present study. Other studies have shown that low physical activity is correlated with low-level HGS^[@bibr37-0300060520933051]^ and that low-level HGS is significantly and positively associated with MCI, although only in adults age ≥65 years.^[@bibr28-0300060520933051]^An age-specific association of HGS with mortality has also been reported in an incident hemodialysis cohort.^[@bibr22-0300060520933051]^ Thus, our findings support the effects of age on MCI and HGS; however, further studies with long-term follow-ups are needed to confirm the existence of an age-specific association between lower levels of HGS and MCI.
It has been reported that some risk factors can contribute to the increased risk of MCI.^[@bibr38-0300060520933051]^ Changes in BMI and weight have been found to be associated with increased risk of MCI and dementia; however, these findings are not consistent. Some investigators^[@bibr39-0300060520933051][@bibr40-0300060520933051]--[@bibr41-0300060520933051]^ have found an association of lower BMI with higher risk of dementia, although instances where higher BMI can increase the risk of MCI have also been noted.^[@bibr42-0300060520933051],[@bibr43-0300060520933051]^ In the present study, we found fewer participants with MCI in the lower BMI group than in the normal or high BMI groups. Owing to the limited size of our sample, we were unable to further analyze age- and sex-specific associations between BMI and MCI; however, our results indicated that BMI should also be considered as a risk factor for MCI. Nevertheless, our study findings are consistent with those of the abovementioned studies reporting that BMI may be a risk factor for MCI and might be considered in preventing or slowing the development of MCI and dementia.
Limitations in the present study include the cross-sectional study design and the relatively small sample size, which made it impossible to draw causal conclusions regarding the relationship between HGS and MCI. In addition, no participants had a clinical diagnosis of MCI in the present study. Thus, there is a possibility of MCI misclassification, which could affect our results and conclusions. Nevertheless, the prevalence of MCI in our study was consistent with that of previous studies.^[@bibr30-0300060520933051]^
In older people, low-level HGS was found to be significantly associated with a higher prevalence of MCI compared with high-level HGS in a sex- and age-specific manner. A stronger association between low levels of HGS and MCI was observed in men than in women and in participants with older age versus younger participants. These findings strongly suggest the importance of maintaining a high level of HGS later in life. Clinicians should be particularly interested in the findings regarding men with respect to MCI, and in older populations.
The authors are grateful to all participants in the study, the research group *Elderly Health and Modified Factors*, the Lu'an Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chengbei Township Health Center, and Beishi community health service center.
Authors' contributions {#sec16-0300060520933051}
======================
XL and JC: Conceptualization; data curation, methodology, validation, visualization; and writing-original draft.
RW, BC, PX and Lin-Sheng Yang: Validation, formal analysis, resources; and writing-review and editing.
RG and KL: Conceptualization, methodology, validation, visualization; writing-review and editing; funding acquisition and supervision.
All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Declaration of conflicting interest {#sec14-0300060520933051}
===================================
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Funding {#sec15-0300060520933051}
=======
This study was supported by Key Projects on Introduction of Leading Talents and Teams to Anhui for colleges and universities in 2016 (0303011224), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81202209), and the Key Scientific Research Fund of Anhui Provincial Education Department (grant no. KJ2017A189, KJ2018A0164).
ORCID iD
========
Renwen Geng <https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2084-1264>
[^1]: \*These authors contributed equally to this work.
| {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Central"
} |
Q:
update data in a table from a FK referenced table
I have two tables device_test_results and devices.
device_test_results
- id
- device_id (FK)
- brand
- model
- serial_number
devices
- id
- brand
- model
- serial_number
device_test_results has a foreign key - device_id that references to the devices table
It's been a while since I've used this setup and there's plenty of data that references from device_test_results to devices.
I'm currently trying to get rid of this dependency so I added the brand model and serial_number columns in device_test_results to copy all of that existing information from the devices table and then remove this constraint so that these 2 tables become independent.
Any suggestions or places to look for a solution for this?
A:
You should rather try something like below. Get the required data using the SELECT query and JOIN with other table and then perform the INSERT operation accordingly.
INSERT INTO device_test_results (brand, model, serial_number)
SELECT * FROM
(
SELECT d.brand, d.model, d.serial_number
from devices d
inner join device_test_results dtr on dtr.device_id = d.id
) tab
EDIT:
Then use a UPDATE query doing a JOIN with other table like
UPDATE device_test_results AS dtr
SET brand = d.brand
model = d.model
serial_number = d.serial_number
FROM devices AS d
WHERE dtr.device_id = d.id;
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
Reviews & Community QA
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Anonymous from
BeautifulVery light weight without being sheer. Comments from coworkers were all positive and lovely to hear. Best of all - it made me feel good just putting it on. If this fits your style I would strongly suggest that you try it. I definitely enjoy Bob Mackie's style and attention to details.
Date published: 2019-03-16
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Worthit from
BEAUTIFUL BLOUSEThis blouse if far prettier in person. Runs a bit large (length), but it will be fine. My mom will be able to wear it with many different pairs of pants.
Date published: 2018-10-23
Rated 5 out of
5 by
GreenChile from
Love itDefinitely silk like and the print is beautiful. Comfortable and stylish.
Date published: 2018-09-27
Rated 5 out of
5 by
georgia on my mind from
Love the blouse perfect fit !Love this blouse fits perfect. Runs true to size feels great on.
I ordered the Orange in a size medium. My true size. I was worried
about the Orange being too bright. It more of a Rusty Orange in person.
Going to order another one in the Blue .
Date published: 2018-09-24
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Dud from
Love Mr. Mackie's Vibrant-Colored v-neck blouseI ordered this blouse in the russ/multi color to wear this fall. I love the gold zipper that extends around the neck. I read the measurements and decided to order a size L which is one size smaller than I usually wear. It fits perfect! I may move the buttons over a bit on the sleeves since I have short arms. Other than that, there is nothing I would change. It's beautiful!
Date published: 2018-07-30
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Kachina624 from
Shirt PerfectionThis shirt feels and looks exactly like silk. Anyone who says it doesn't, doesn't know what shirt-weight silk feels like. I got the russet which I intend to wear with my collection of Indian-made turquoise jewelry. Makes me wish the hardware on this shirt was silver. Love this color. The fit is true and not generous or oversized. Since it's a woven fabric, there's no "give" or stretch to the fabric. The zipper is functional and can be raised almost to the throat or lowered according to the wearer's preference. My only problem is that the sleeves are about 1" too long for my very average arms. I solved that by turning the cuffs back the width of the cuff. Then they were perfect.
Date published: 2018-07-26
Rated 5 out of
5 by
BethieR from
Quite flattering and comfortableThis blouse is very slenderizing, comfortable and cool in this hot summer weather, and does not wrinkle. Love it!
Date published: 2018-07-24
Rated 1 out of
5 by
lisi from
DisappointedMr. Mackie's artistry is simply without peer. Where this top totally fails for me is in the choice of fabric. It is thin and has a very cheap feel to it rather than the silk like feel described in the presentation. I've had other pieces that have a higher quality fabrication and I feel that this one does a disservice to the magnificent art. Let's stop dumbing down fabrics at QVC. I've had to return a lot more of my purchases, including this one, because of it. If his pieces can't be manufactured with quality goods, then don't do it.
Stay Connected
Download Our QVC Apps
A part of Qurate Retail Group
QVC is not responsible for the availability, content, security, policies, or practices of the above referenced third-party linked sites nor liable for statements, claims, opinions, or representations contained therein. QVC's Privacy Statement does not apply to these third-party web sites. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
The Book Thief
The Book Thief Summary and Analysis of Part Six
Death dryly comments on some of the devastation of World War II, such as the Jews incinerated in Nazi extermination camps and the poorly-armed Russian soldiers being slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands on the Eastern Front. Death likens war to a demanding boss.
THE SNOWMAN
In late 1941, Liesel is 13. On Christmas, she brings pots of snow down to the basement for Max, and they build a snowman, lifting Max's spirits greatly. Soon after, though, Max's health deteriorates, and in mid-February 1942, he collapses, unconscious. He is placed in Liesel's room.
THIRTEEN PRESENTS
Five days later, Max awakes very briefly. Death remarks that it actually visited the room when Liesel was absent and prepared to take Max's soul, but felt a struggle and withdrew. A week later, Max briefly awakes again. Hans suggests that Liesel read to Max, so Liesel starts reading him The Whistler.
While playing soccer, the ball is run over by a car, and Liesel takes it to Max as a gift. She brings Max further presents: a pinecone, a toy soldier, newspapers, etc. At one point Liesel sees a giant cloud and Hans suggests that she give it to Max by writing down a description of it. Liesel finishes The Whistler, but Max remains comatose.
FRESH AIR, AN OLD NIGHTMARE, AND WHAT TO DO WITH A JEWISH CORPSE
Liesel and Rudy decide to steal from the mayor's house again. Liesel sneaks in and takes a red book called The Dream Carrier. Death hints that Ilsa keeps her library window open so that Liesel can steal books. At home, Liesel starts reading the book to Max.
In mid-March Liesel overhears Hans and Rosa discussing what to do with Max's corpse should he die. Liesel insists that Max is not dead yet. That night Liesel has a nightmare about her brother, except this time she sees Max's face on her brother's body.
Eight days later Rosa enters Liesel's classroom and yells at her, then whispers to her that Max is awake. Rosa gives her the toy soldier, which Max said was his favorite. That afternoon Liesel sees Max awake with the soccer ball on his lap. Max is happy about the gifts, and Liesel continues reading to him in his convalescence.
DEATH'S DIARY: COLOGNE
On May 30, 500 people die in the first major bombing raid against a Germany city. Death says the sky was yellow, "like burning newspaper." A group of young children see empty fuel canisters floating down and collect them.
THE VISITOR
Nazi Party members go door to door inspecting basements to identify possible air raid shelter locations. Liesel, who is out on the street playing soccer, sees them and wonders how to go home and tell Hans without seeming suspicious. Liesel accidentally collides with another boy, and Rudy runs to get Hans, who carries Liesel home. Before Hans and Rosa have a chance to figure out how to hide Max, who has since been hidden again in the basement, the party members arrive. They inspect the basement alone, find nothing, and leave. Hans, Rosa, and Liesel go downstairs and find Max hiding behind the drop sheets holding a pair of rusty scissors. He apologizes.
THE SCHMUNZELER
Rudy knocks on the door and asks to see Liesel to check up on her. He teases her for being a thief and smelling like cigarettes, and she shuts the door on him.
DEATH'S DIARY: THE PARISIANS
Death describes the desperation of those trapped inside gas chambers. Death says that it invokes the name of God whenever it tries to understand the gas chambers. God never says anything. Death describes its desolation on June 23, 1942, the first day of operation at the gas gambers in Auschwitz.
Analysis
Death frames Part Six with three sections of dark commentary about the growing devastation of World War II. The bombing of Cologne, a major German city, and the blood-soaked Eastern Front against the USSR indicate Nazi Germany's steadily weakening position. Along with the introduction of gas chambers at the Auschwitz concentration camp, these historical events foreshadow the devastation soon to reach the fictional town of Molching. When the Nazis inspect the Hubermanns' basement for a possible bomb shelter location, the fear that they will discover a hidden Jew overshadows the important indication that Allied bombing raids have become a real threat all across the German heartland.
Liesel's small acts of kindness and devotion towards Max illustrate the loving bond that has developed between the two. Max has in a way morphed into a surrogate for Liesel's dead brother, and Liesel's desperate fight to keep Max alive is one indication of the development of her character: Liesel is four years older now, and while she has not yet hit puberty, she has noticeably matured both intellectually and emotionally.
The Hubermanns' noble desperation to keep Max alive and hidden from the Nazis is a remarkable contrast to the horrors taking place in Germany's death camps. Death's description of the gas chamber is particularly wretching, and the consummately cynical narrator seems to break down emotionally. Notably, Death says the name of God while thinking about the Holocaust. The metaphysics and theology of Death (the character) and dying are not explained in the novel. Death's relationship to God -- or to any other spiritual being, for that matter -- is also ambiguous. To Death, "God never says anything," and to where Death delivers human souls is not explained. As Death carries away the souls from Auschwitz, it again tries to distract itself with colors: the sky turns from "silver to gray to the color of rain," and Death imagines the sky past that, "knowing without question that the sun was blond, and the endless atmosphere was a giant blue eye." The notion that God was "absent" during the death of six million Jews -- God's "chosen people" -- is an enduring theological controversy. Death's frustration in receiving no response or comfort from God echoes this idea, and the "giant blue eye" hidden by the dark clouds over Auschwitz is symbolic of God. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
A transdiagnostic approach to treating sleep disturbance in psychiatric disorders.
Sleep disturbance commonly co-occurs with a range of psychiatric disorders. This is of concern given the accruing evidence that sleep is critically important for mood regulation, physical health, cognitive functioning, and quality of life. There is strong evidence that insomnia, even if it is comorbid with another psychiatric disorder, is treatable with cognitive behavioral therapy. There is a need to develop cognitive behavioral approaches to the other types of sleep disturbance often experienced by patients with psychiatric disorders, such as hypersomnia, reduced sleep need, delayed phase, nocturnal panic attacks, and nightmares. The possibility of developing a transdiagnostic treatment that comprehensively treats sleep disturbance for use across psychiatric disorders is discussed because (a) there are many disorders in which multiple types of sleep disturbance can be characteristic at one time or over the life-course of the disorder and (b) there are considerable challenges inherent to disseminating any new treatments but particularly many "disorder-specific" treatments. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
import * as React from 'react'
import ClassNames from 'classnames'
import { StepsProps, StepProps, StatusTypes } from './interface'
import Icon from '../icon'
import './style/index.scss'
interface StepType {
option: StepProps
index: number
current: string | number
}
interface IconType {
status: StatusTypes
icon?: React.ReactNode
index: number
}
const defaultProps: StepsProps = {
direction: 'horizontal',
size: 'normal',
labelPlacement: 'horizontal',
options: [],
current: 0
}
const prefixCls = 'cp-ui-steps'
const getClassNames = ({ direction, size, labelPlacement, className }: StepsProps) => {
return ClassNames(prefixCls, className, {
[`${prefixCls}-${direction}`]: direction,
[`${prefixCls}-${size}`]: size,
[`${prefixCls}-label-${labelPlacement}`]: labelPlacement
})
}
const getStatus = (index: number, current: string | number) => {
const currentCopy = Number(current)
let status: StatusTypes = 'wait'
if (index === currentCopy) status = 'process'
if (index < currentCopy) status = 'finish'
if (index > currentCopy) status = 'wait'
return status
}
const renderIcon = ({ icon, index, status }: IconType) => {
if (icon) {
return <React.Fragment>{icon}</React.Fragment>
}
let activeIcon: any = index
if (status === 'finish') {
activeIcon = <Icon type="check" />
}
return activeIcon
}
const renderStep = ({ option, index, current }: StepType) => {
const { status, title, describe, icon } = option
const newStatus = getStatus(index, current)
const prefixCls = 'cp-ui-steps-item'
const classStr = ClassNames(prefixCls, `${prefixCls}-${newStatus}`, {
[`${prefixCls}-custom`]: !!icon
})
return (
<div className={classStr} key={`${prefixCls}-${index}`}>
<div className={`${prefixCls}-tail`} />
<div className={`${prefixCls}-icon`}>
<span className={`${prefixCls}-icon-text`}>
{renderIcon({ index, icon, status: status || newStatus })}
</span>
</div>
<div className={`${prefixCls}-content`}>
<div className={`${prefixCls}-content-title`}>{title}</div>
<div className={`${prefixCls}-content-describe`}>{describe}</div>
</div>
</div>
)
}
const renderSteps = ({ options, current }: StepsProps) => {
return (
<React.Fragment>
{options.map((option, index) => {
return renderStep({ option, index, current })
})}
</React.Fragment>
)
}
const Steps: React.FC<StepsProps> & { defaultProps: Partial<StepsProps> } = props => {
const classStr = getClassNames(props)
return <div className={classStr}>{renderSteps(props)}</div>
}
Steps.defaultProps = defaultProps
export default Steps
| {
"pile_set_name": "Github"
} |
Companies in Apple's supply chain are reportedly "gearing up for mass production" of updated iPad and AirPods models, according to Taiwanese site DigiTimes.
Flexible PCB firms Flexium Interconnect and Zhen Ding Technology are gearing up for mass production for Apple's next-generation iPad devices, while Compeq Manufacturing and Unitech PCB supply rigid-flex boards for the forthcoming AirPods, according to industry sources.
The report says that both updates are expected to come at Apple's March 25 event, although reliable sources have indicated the event will focus on Apple's upcoming news and video services with no hardware announcements planned.
Minor hardware updates could come silently alongside the event or via press release around the same time, as DigiTimes's insights via the supply chain are likely limited to production timing rather than event specifics.
Hints of an updated low-cost iPad have been growing, with new iPad models appearing in a regulatory database back in January. Rumors have suggested the entry-level iPad could see its display grow from 9.7 inches to around 10.2 inches thanks to slimmer bezels, but we're not expecting to see Face ID and removal of the home button with this update.
As for AirPods, we've been hearing about an imminent update for many months now, with Apple's plans seemingly delayed as the company continues work on its AirPower charging mat. Updated AirPods would include a wireless charging case to work with the AirPower mat, as well as other upgrades including "Hey Siri" support and possibly new health monitoring features, a "grippy" texture, and maybe even a new black color option. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Published: - Aug 11, 2017
North Korea vows to retaliate against the United States over sanctions
In a statement released through the Korean Central News Agency, a state-run media outlet, General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army, said Trump's comments fail to grasp the ongoing situation by calling the U.S. president a "guy bereft of reason" and commenting that he, Trump, is "extremely getting on the nerves" of the country's army. The statement added that the country is still examining a possible military strike on waters near Guam "to signal a crucial warning to the U.S."
Comments from the North Korean general stated the action against Guam would be "an effective remedy for restraining the frantic moves of the U.S. in the southern part of the Korean peninsula and its vicinity”. Guam hosts strategic United States’ military installations - including both a naval and an air force base - and is more than 3,400km from North Korea. Its population is around 160,000 - but only about 6,000 US troops are currently stationed there.
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has responded to North Korea's threat by saying Pyongyang's move would lead to "the end of its regime and the destruction of its people". "The DPRK must choose to stop isolating itself and stand down its pursuit of nuclear weapons”, Mattis affirmed while using the country's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which added a tone of seriousness to the response.
Robert Kelly, professor of political science at Pusan National University, says that both North Korea and Trump were almost certainly exaggerating their respective rhetoric and that Trump was likely stepping up the rhetoric to pressure China into taking action to curb North Korea's behavior. "If the North Koreans were to strike Guam and kill a lot of Americans, it would lead to a war which would destroy North Korea, so my guess is that there is bluffing on both sides", Kelly affirmed.
South Korea's military has said it has not seen any unusual action in its neighboring nation that might indicate a provocation. China has urged calm, describing the situation as "complex and sensitive". Russia, meanwhile, appealed for both sides to show restraint and to resume dialogue to defuse the tensions building up in the region. Despite rounds of UN’s sanctions, the Asian country carried out two nuclear tests last year and two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July.
North Korea is an isolated, impoverished, but highly militarized state. Its leadership has one essential goal - survival. That is why they have placed vital resources in their nuclear and missile programs as the ultimate insurance policy for the regime. It is frequently affirmed that North Korean artillery and rocket forces could level the South Korean capital Seoul within hours, if there ever was a war outbreak.
"The United States would not allow the North Koreans to take control of Seoul," Professor Bruce Bechtol of the Department of Studies for Security and Criminal Justice at Angelo State University in Texas commented. "In the first week of the conflict, our pilots will not be able to sleep much", clarified Bechtol, who was one of the top Pentagon analysts on North East Asia. "Our initial task would be to use all of our airpower to prevent [the North Koreans] from advancing, as we wait for heavy weaponry to arrive in the region."
Members of the United States’ intelligence community believe that North Korea's nuclear capabilities may be more advanced than what was initially thought and the country might have developed the technology to miniaturize a nuclear warhead so it can be placed inside an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Latin American Post | Carlos Eduardo Gómez Avella
Copy edited by Susana Cicchetto | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
[About microbiological methods for detection of oxacillin resistance in coagulase-negative staphylococci].
Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) take part of the human skin and mucous membranes, but they are also involving in infections with the increasing use of prosthetic, indwelling devices or intravascular catheter-related bacteraemia. They are more resistance than Staphylococcus aureus against a wide range of antimicrobial agents, and it have been observed an increase in morbidity and mortality of patients with incorrect treatment. To analyze the results obtained by different commercial techniques: two automatic microdilution systems (MicroScan and Vitek2 Compact), PBP2a agglutiation test, with and without 1 μg oxacillin disk induction, and detection of mecA gene by nucleic acids amplification techniques, for the diagnosis of methicillin resistance staphylococci in 170 strains of CoNS isolated from blood cultures. One hundred and seventy methicillin resistance staphylococci were detected by MicroScan, 167 strains by Vitek 2 Compact, 115 strains were PBP2a positive without oxacillin induction and 168 after oxacillin induction. Finally, 167 strains were mecA gene positive detected by nucleic acids amplification techniques. It is necessary to do oxacillin induction before PBP2a test to avoid false negatives. There are a great variability in the phenotypic expression of methicillin resistance in CoNS. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
Get Involved
PIAC represents millions of us across Canada to ensure that our rights as consumers are protected. We have a proven track record in achieving ground breaking results, but we need your help to do more. With your support, we can:
expand our research work to identify the public interest issues that really matter to you;
continue to develop new projects that protect vulnerable people in our society;
respond more quickly to breaking issues that undermine our rights as consumers;
increase our resources to keep you better informed of public interest issues that affect your welfare.
There are a number of ways in which you can get involved:
Make a donation right now, through Canada Helps or by sending us a cheque made payable to the “Public Interest Advocacy Centre” to 285 McLeod Street, Suite 200, Ottawa, ON K2P 1A1. Please send a note with your contact details so that we can forward your tax receipt to you. Please quote “PC1” on your note.
Become a regular donor to PIAC. Regular donations enable us to invest in longer term programs that can make a deeper difference in improving consumer protection in Canada. You can make a monthly or annual gift to PIAC through Canada Helps here or through your credit card by contacting us on (613) 562-4002.
Do you have a birthday, wedding or other celebration coming up? Is your house already cluttered up with too many toasters, serving platters and ornaments? Ask your friends to make a donation to PIAC in lieu of a gift through Canada Helps or by sending us a cheque made payable to the “Public Interest Advocacy Centre” to 285 McLeod Street, Suite 200, Ottawa, ON K2P 1A1.
By leaving a gift in your Will to PIAC, you can help us to protect the interests of future generations of Canadians. Speak to your legal adviser about how you can designate your gift to to the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.
If you would like to be kept in the loop with regard to PIAC campaigns, projects and latest appeals, sign up to receive our newsletterand occasional news updates and notices.
PIAC is a non-profit organization and charity that provides legal and research services on behalf of consumer interests, and, in particular, vulnerable consumer interests, concerning the provision of important public services. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Common pathways in mental imagery and pain perception: an fMRI study of a subject with an amputated arm.
The present paper reviews data from two previous studies in our laboratory, as well as some additional new data, on the neuronal representation of movement and pain imagery in a subject with an amputated right arm. The subject imagined painful and non-painful finger movements in the amputated stump while being in a MRI scanner, acquiring EPI-images for fMRI analysis. In Study I (Ersland et al., 1996) the Subject alternated tapping with his intact left hand fingers and imagining "tapping" with the fingers of his amputated right arm. The results showed increased neuronal activation in the right motor cortex (precentral gyrus) when tapping with the fingers of the left hand, and a corresponding activation in the left motor cortex when imagining tapping with the fingers of the amputated right arm. Finger tappings of the intact left hand fingers also resulted in a larger activated precentral area than imagery "finger tapping" of the amputated right arm fingers. In Study II (Rosen et al., 2001 in press) the same subject imagining painful and pleasurable finger movements, and still positions of the fingers of the amputated arm. The results showed larger activations over the motor cortex for movement imagining versus imagining the hand being in a still position, and larger activations over the sensory cortex when imagining painful experiences. It can therefore be concluded that not only does imagery activate the same motor areas as real finger movements, but also that adding instructions of pain together with imaging moving the fingers intensified the activation compared with adding instructions about non-painful experiences. From these studies, it is clear that areas activated during actual motor execution to a large extent also are activated during mental imagery of the same motor commands. In this respect the present studies add to studies of visual imagery that have shown a similar correspondence in activation between actual object perception and imagery of the same object. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
No Plug Brags About Killing Childhood Friend Bankroll Fresh
Fresh was shot and killed in front of 2 Chainz’s Street Execs studio in March.
Various rumors swirled around his death, and several names were attached to the altercation. Bankroll’s former friend No Plug’s name was attached to the situation, but details of his involvement were unclear.
No Plug recently sat down with DJ Vlad and revealed that a female friend of Bankroll’s told him that No Plug was at Street Execs, and Fresh came to the studio immediately to confront him about letting people kick him out of the 9th Ward. No Plug says he kept trying to diffuse the situation but Bankroll Fresh wasn’t trying to hear it.
Plug says he walked out the studio but had to return because he realized he dropped his cell phones. According to No Plug, when he pulled back up to the studio Bankroll Fresh came outside with about 15 people.
They started shooting, Plug and his side shot back and Fresh ended up getting shot. No Plug says he called his lawyer and his name was cleared in the name of self defense because the altercation was caught on camera, and because Bankroll Fresh started the altercation.
Plug basically says their relationship went sour because Bankroll was jealous of him. No Plug believes that if him and Bankroll Fresh could’ve gotten past the situation everything could’ve gone back to normal because they’d known each other for so long. What are your thoughts? | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Sign up for an annual HawgBeat subscription and get $50 for Arkansas gear on the Rivals Fan Shop ––> details
College Students, get a year of HawgBeat coverage for just $11.95. Request details via email from your school account (.edu) to [email protected].
The second Arkansas player taken in the 2020 NFL Draft is Kamren Curl, who went in the seventh round with the 216th overall pick to the Washington Redskins.
Curl joins defensive lineman McTelvin Agim (Broncos, fourth round, 95th overall) as drafted Razorbacks so far. It’s the 11th straight year multiple Arkansas players have been taken in the draft.
The only early entrant from Arkansas in this year’s draft, Curl was a highly sought-after 5.7 three-star safety coming out of Muskogee, Okla., in the Class of 2017. Among his 26 offers were 11 Power Five schools, including Nebraska, Ole Miss, Oklahoma and Texas, and he was a one-time commit to Texas Tech.
Ultimately, he decided to go just a couple of hours east from his hometown and pick Arkansas a couple of weeks before National Signing Day.
Once in Fayetteville, Curl moved to corner. An injury to starter Ryan Pulley in the first half of the season opener thrust him into the starting lineup as a true freshman and he racked up eight pass breakups - the most by an Arkansas freshman in 16 years.
After the coaching change, Curl switched back to his natural safety position and started 22 games over the last two years.
Fairly or not, he’ll likely be remembered by Arkansas fans for one of the three games he didn’t start during his career. Curl and Pulley were suspended for the 2018 finale at Missouri because they were spotted flirting with Mississippi State dance team members before the game a week earlier.
That incident and the historically bad defenses he was a part overshadowed what was actually a solid junior season for the Razorbacks. A preseason third-team All-SEC pick by the coaches, Curl made 76 tackles, including four for a loss and two sacks.
Curl also made a team-high two interceptions, forced a pair of fumbles and had two fumble recoveries, one of which he returned 69 yards for a touchdown against Ole Miss.
He didn’t receive any postseason accolades from the traditional coaches or AP All-SEC teams, but Curl was named a second-team all-conference performer by Pro Football Focus. His 87.6 overall grade from PFF was the highest mark on the team and tied for the third highest among SEC safeties.
By going to the Redskins, Curl becomes Arkansas’ first defensive back to be drafted since Tevin Mitchel in 2015 (sixth round, 182nd overall) and its first safety drafted since Vickiel Vaughn in 2006 (seventh round, 254th overall).
Mitchel was the Razorbacks’ only defensive back taken in the previous 12 NFL Drafts. They had six drafted between 2000-07. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Structural and functional characterization of HQL-79, an orally selective inhibitor of human hematopoietic prostaglandin D synthase.
We determined the crystal structure of human hematopoietic prostaglandin (PG) D synthase (H-PGDS) as the quaternary complex with glutathione (GSH), Mg2+, and an inhibitor, HQL-79, having anti-inflammatory activities in vivo, at a 1.45-A resolution. In the quaternary complex, HQL-79 was found to reside within the catalytic cleft between Trp104 and GSH. HQL-79 was stabilized by interaction of a phenyl ring of its diphenyl group with Trp104 and by its piperidine group with GSH and Arg14 through water molecules, which form a network with hydrogen bonding and salt bridges linked to Mg2+. HQL-79 inhibited human H-PGDS competitively against the substrate PGH2 and non-competitively against GSH with Ki of 5 and 3 microm, respectively. Surface plasmon resonance analysis revealed that HQL-79 bound to H-PGDS with an affinity that was 12-fold higher in the presence of GSH and Mg2+ (Kd, 0.8 microm) than in their absence. Mutational studies revealed that Arg14 was important for the Mg2+-mediated increase in the binding affinity of H-PGDS for HQL-79, and that Trp104, Lys112, and Lys198 were important for maintaining the HQL-binding pocket. HQL-79 selectively inhibited PGD2 production by H-PGDS-expressing human megakaryocytes and rat mastocytoma cells with an IC50 value of about 100 microm but only marginally affected the production of other prostanoids, suggesting the tight functional engagement between H-PGDS and cyclooxygenase. Orally administered HQL-79 (30 mg/kg body weight) inhibited antigen-induced production of PGD2, without affecting the production of PGE2 and PGF2alpha, and ameliorated airway inflammation in wild-type and human H-PGDS-overexpressing mice. Knowledge about this structure of quaternary complex is useful for understanding the inhibitory mechanism of HQL-79 and should accelerate the structure-based development of novel anti-inflammatory drugs that inhibit PGD2 production specifically. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
...On completion of the course delegates will be able to produce accurate results and information instantly using excel. Suitable for: This course is for a person with a good basic understanding of Excel who wishes to learn more about using formulas and working with large spreadsheets... Learn about: Microsoft Excel...
More
... at creating a simple spreadsheet or writing advanced formulae and functions. Learn how to link worksheets and workbooks and set up your spreadsheet for printing... Learn about: Microsoft Excel...
More
...It also explores the use of more complex formulas in a business environment and includes techniques to simplify what could be complicated. We also investigate... Learn about: Microsoft Excel, MS Excel, How to use Excel...
More
...Over the years, the king of all spreadsheet programs has grown from a fairly simple calculator into an application with the ability to perform highly complex operations. The problem for most is figuring out where to start and how each of the functions can be used. Books are great reference tools... Learn about: Microsoft Excel...
More
...Suitable for: By the end of this course, students will have manipulated data contained in spreadsheets using Microsoft Excel formulae, functions, ranges, sorts, filters and formatting commands... Learn about: Microsoft Excel...
More
Price on request
Add to comparator
Microsoft Excel : Level 1 training in Brighton
Am:Pm Services
Training
Brighton
Beginner
1 Day
...Learn basic worksheets skills and how to work with data in worksheets,learn how to use an electronic spreadsheet to create basic data reports... Learn about: Microsoft Excel...
More
...Topics covered on this course will enable you to further enhance your spreadsheets and to use some of the more advanced features to streamline your work. Suitable for: Those with basic skills and some experience of Microsoft Excel... Learn about: Microsoft Excel...
More
... levels, this course may be your next step. Its main focus is to introduce users to more specialist areas of Excels functionality. We would suggest that you have a demand for the skills described below, as the tools are not necessarily part of most peoples Everyday Spreadsheet work... Learn about: Microsoft Excel...
More
...Learn how to program Microsoft Excel using VBA code. The course is designed to give delegates a thorough overview of programming within the Excel environment, enabling them to improve the functionality of their Excel spreadsheets... Learn about: Excel Sheet, Microsoft Excel, MS Excel...
More
£ 201-500
Add to comparator
Google Sheets - Online training
indu khemchandani
Training
Online
Beginner
... connection and a web browser or the Sheets mobile app in case of mobiles. Since Sheets is an online spreadsheet software, you can share and collaborate with multiple people on the same document, tracking revisions, changes, and suggestions all in real time. Google Sheets, built on cloud-based architecture... Learn about: Sort and filter data, File Management, Calculating between Worksheets...
More
£10
Add to comparator
Save 25%
Administration Essentials Course Bundle - Online training
MiTraining
Training
Online
Intermediate
Different dates available
6 Months
... to skill you up in the most common administrative skill areas employers expect in new hires: Course 1: Microsoft Excel Essentials (2013) Microsoft Excel is a widely used spreadsheet package that enables you to organise data, make simple and complex calculations and analyse information. Course... Learn about: Communication Skills, Time management, MS Excel...
More
...In the Introduction course to Excel 2003, you created, edited, formatted, and printed basic spreadsheets. You now have a need to streamline repetitive tasks and display spreadsheet data in more visually effective ways. In this course, you will streamline and enhance your spreadsheets with templates... Learn about: Microsoft Excel...
More
... Spreadsheets test. This Advanced Spreadsheets online course is interactive, and packed with exercises, it enables learners to effectively prepare for their exams by using the spreadsheet application to produce advanced spreadsheet outputs. Upon completion of the course, learners will become fully competent... Learn about: Mathematical Operations, Chart Formatting, Data Validating...
More | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
// -----------------------------------------------------------------------
// <copyright file="ChildSelector.cs" company="SimpleBrowser">
// Copyright © 2010 - 2019, Nathan Ridley and the SimpleBrowser contributors.
// See https://github.com/SimpleBrowserDotNet/SimpleBrowser/blob/master/readme.md
// </copyright>
// -----------------------------------------------------------------------
namespace SimpleBrowser.Query.Selectors
{
using System.Text.RegularExpressions;
using System.Xml.Linq;
public class ChildSelector : IXQuerySelector
{
public void Execute(XQueryResultsContext context)
{
context.PreTranslateResultSet = x => { return x.Elements(); };
}
public bool IsTransposeSelector { get { return true; } }
internal static readonly Regex RxSelector = new Regex(@"^\s*\>\s*");
}
public class ChildSelectorCreator : XQuerySelectorCreator
{
public override Regex MatchNext { get { return ChildSelector.RxSelector; } }
public override IXQuerySelector Create(XQueryParserContext context, Match match)
{
return new ChildSelector();
}
}
} | {
"pile_set_name": "Github"
} |
Q:
combining the text files in to one text file
i have a requirement like the following.
i am using linux
i have a set of text files like text1.txt ,text2.txt, text3.txt.
now i am combining into one final text file.
text1.txt
1
NULL
NULL
4
text2.txt
1
2
NULL
4
text3.txt
a
b
c
d
i am using the following command :
paste -d ' ' text1.txt text2.txt text3.txt >> text4.txt
i am getting the :
text4.txt
1 1 a
2 b
c
4 4 d
but i want the output like the following
text4.txt
1 1 a
NULL 2 b
NULL NULL c
4 4 d
NOTE :- NULL means space
i am passing this text4 to another loop as a input so here there i am reading the variable by positionl
thanks in advance
A:
I expect that you want TABs separating your records in file4.txt... what about this?
NLINES=$(wc -l file1.txt | awk '{print $1}')
rm -f file4.txt
for i in $(seq 1 $NLINES); do
rec1=$(sed -n "$i p" file1.txt)
rec2=$(sed -n "$i p" file2.txt)
rec3=$(sed -n "$i p" file3.txt)
echo -e "$rec1\t$rec2\t$rec3" >> file4.txt
done
But actually paste, without "-d ' '" gave the same exact result!
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
Kate Clark (artist)
Kate Clark is a New York-based sculptor, residing and working in Brooklyn. Her work synthesizes human faces with the bodies of animals, the signature component in all of her work. These sculptures study the tension between personal and mythical realms, and draw a fine line between the characteristics of animals and humans. Kate's preferred medium is actual animal hide. Mary Logan Barmeyer says Clark's work is "meant to make you think twice about what it means to be human, and furthermore, what it means to be animal." Writer Monica Ramirez-Montagut says Clark's works "reclaim storytelling and vintage techniques as strategies to address contemporary discourses on welfare, the environment, and female struggles."
Education/Early Career
Kate Clark comes from a background in arts, with her father being a painter and owning his own company. Kate's art of choice was painting, in fact, she did not get into sculpting until college. In 1994, Kate Clark graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture. She went on to obtain a Master of Fine Arts degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2001. Kate began her work creating a piece called How Are You? which was featured in the Forum Gallery of the Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This museum was first open to the public in 1942. Kate had her first solo exhibit at Claire Oliver Gallery in New York in 2008. Since then Kate has been included in museum exhibitions at the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, The Islip Art Museum, and The Bellevue Arts Museum. Kate had her first solo museum show in 2010 at the Mobile Museum of Art.
Critical reaction
Reviewing "Pretty Tough: Contemporary Storytelling" at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT, Benjamin Genocchio for The New York Times called her work "successful as works of visual theater", praising one work, Matriarch, as "particularly unsettling".
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
2010
Kate Clark: Give and Take, Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL
2008
Perfect Strangers, Claire Oliver Gallery, New York, NY
2007
Kate Clark, Hudson D. Walker Gallery, Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, MA
Group Exhibitions
2016
Dead Animals and the Curious Occurrence of Taxidermy in Contemporary Art, David Winton Bell Gallery - Brown University, Providence, RI
2012
Fairy Tales, Monsters, and the Genetic Imagination, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN; Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
2011
No Object is an Island: New Dialogues with the Cranbrook Collection, Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI
The Sum of Their Parts, Shore Institute of the Contemporary Arts, Asbury Park, NJ
Cute & Creepy, Museum of Fine Arts, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
In Rare Form, Ann Street Gallery, Newburgh, NY
2009
Art Miami, Claire Oliver Gallery
NEXT Chicago, Claire Oliver Gallery
Uber-Portrait, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA
Pretty Tough: Contemporary Storytelling, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT.
2008
I Dream of Genomes, Islip Art Museum, East Islip, New York
New, Next, Now, Claire Oliver Gallery, NY
2007
Posing, Abrons Art Center, Henry Street Settlement, New York, NY
Meta-Majesty, Chashama / Explosivo, New York, NY
SCOPE Hamptons Art Fair, presented by Jack the Pelican Presents, Brooklyn, NY
Our Dark Heroes, Secret Project Robot, Brooklyn, NY
Why Look at Animals? Artspace, New Haven, CT
Fine Arts Work Center Fellows Exhibit, Provincetown Art Museum, Provincetown, MA
SCOPE, Miami, FL
2006
MAD COW: Absurdity and Anxiety in Contemporary Culture NURTUREart Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
SCOPE New York Art Fair, presented by Jack the Pelican Presents, Brooklyn, NY
Allergy, Gallery Velvet, Seoul, Korea
2006 Fellows and Jurors, Hudson D. Walker Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2005
Project Diversity, Tabla Rasa Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation
Biennial, Detroit Artists’ Market, Detroit, MI
2003
A Bestiary, 55 Mercer Gallery, New York, NY
Member’s Invitational, Detroit Artists’ Market, Detroit, MI
2002
Biennial, Detroit Artists’ Market 70th Anniversary, Detroit, MI
Dealer’s Select, Detroit Artists’ Market, Detroit, MI
2001
Fresh Paint, Robert Kidd Gallery, Birmingham, MI
2000
Constructed Images, Mott Community College, Flint, MI
Cranbrook Connection, D’Arcy, Troy, MI
How Are You? Cranbrook Art Museum, Forum Gallery, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Art Pieces
Goat - 2006
A Rough Start - 2007
Antics - 2007
Pack - 2007
A Small Disturbance - 2008
A Map Is Not The Territory - 2008
Untitled (Black Bear) - 2008
Little Girl - 2008
Matriarch - 2009
Bully - 2010
Untitled (Female Bust) - 2011
hi
Kate Clark's work has been collected internationally and is in public collections such as the David Roberts Art Foundation in London and the C-Collection in Switzerland. Her awards and residencies are as follows:
Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation, Space Program, New York, Sept 2011- August 2012
Fine Arts Work Center, Winter Fellowship, Provincetown, Massachusetts October 2006 - May 2007
Jentel Artist Residency Program, Banner, Wyoming October - November 2005
References
Category:Living people
Category:American sculptors
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning alumni
Category:Cranbrook Educational Community alumni | {
"pile_set_name": "Wikipedia (en)"
} |
Want access to the best cardio and strength equipment anywhere? Take your workout to the sand, stairs, and hills to boost your burn and tone in less time.
Stair workouts not only kick your butt, they also firm it like nothing else. When you walk or run on flat ground, your glutes are basically taking a nap. It’s when you have to dig in and climb that they fire up. That’s why running up stairs burns 953 calories per hour. For the same burn on a level surface, you would have to hold an all-out sprint. (Turn Your Stairwell into a Fat-Burning Machine.)
What’s unique about stairs, says Brandon Guild, a trainer for Fulcrum Fitness in Portland, Oregon, is that the flat landing spot of each step causes you to strike with your midfoot rather than the ball of your foot. “You use your whole leg, not just your calf, to push off,” he says. It’s as if you’re doing a lunge and a rep on the leg press machine with every step. That’s a lot of extra firm with your burn.
Plus, if you take two steps at a time, your muscles are contracted—that is, working—over a wider range, says Lewis Halsey, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist at the University of Roehampton in London. “Meanwhile, shorter steps are also great in that they require quicker muscle activation,” Halsey says. In other words, skipping a step requires more power, which can improve your endurance, and striking every step demands faster footwork, which can make you speedier. That’s why we’ve incorporated both methods in this routine—plus some strengtheners that will help you take your toning to the next level.
And since the steps make everything you do tougher, you don’t need to dedicate a ton of time to them to see results. Women who walked up and down stairs for 10 minutes a day five days a week improved their VO2 max (a measure of fitness) by 17 percent within two months, according to a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
How it Works:1. You’ll need at least one flight with 10 steps. Your entire foot should fit on a step tread, Halsey says. This will make it easier to move quickly during runs and give you enough room to do strength moves.2. Handrails are also key. Lightly hold the outside rail on the way up and down until your body and brain get used to the movement, Halsey advises. You can also grab it as you get tired.3. Carpeted stairs may have more traction than bare ones, so don’t discount indoor flights. They’ll also provide a gentler surface for your hands during pushups and dips, Halsey says.
Your Stair WorkoutBurn more calories and firm more muscles with this 32-minute routine created by trainer Brandon Guild.
0 to 3 minutesWarm up with an easy jog up and down. Keep your shoulders back and down, and try to gaze straight ahead rather than at your feet.
3 to 6 minutesDo 10 reps each of the moves below. Repeat the circuit as many times as you can.
Single-Leg HopFacing a railing, stand with right leg on second step from bottom; bend left knee so that left foot is next to right calf. (Lightly hold railing with right hand for balance.) With soft knees, hop down one step, then hop back up. That’s 1 rep. Do 5 reps. Switch sides; repeat.
Decline Pushup Leg LiftStart facing away from bottom of stairs in plank on palms with your feet on first or second step. Raise left leg to hover above step, then bend elbows to do a pushup. That’s 1 rep. Switch legs; repeat. Do 10 reps. (If you love this move, then check out these 5 New-School Exercises for Strong, Sexy Legs.)
Step-Up-and-Down LungeStand at bottom of stairs facing top. Step right foot onto second step, bending leg 90 degrees to start. Push off from right leg to jump, raising left knee. Land at start, step right leg to meet left, then step left leg back into a reverse lunge. That’s 1 rep. Do 5 reps. Switch sides; repeat.
Toe TapLie faceup at top of stairs with your butt at edge of landing. Raise legs to tabletop with knees bent 90 degrees; place fingertips behind ears with elbows bent out to sides to start. Keep knees bent and lower legs so that toes tap first step. Return to start. That’s 1 rep.
6 to 9 minutesSprint Up and Jog DownAlternate, climbing one step at a time for one flight, then two steps at a time for next. Forcefully pump your arms on the way up. (The faster your arms go, the faster your legs can move.)
9 to 10 minutesRest.
10 to 13 minutesDo 10 reps each of the moves below. Repeat the circuit as many times as you can.
Triceps Dip Sit on second step from bottom with legs long and heels on ground; place palms on third step with elbows bent straight back. Straighten arms to press hips up to start. Bend elbows backward to lower hips to hover above first step, then press up to start. That’s 1 rep.
Side Leg LiftSit on third step up with hips perpendicular to tread so side of right hip touches riser of fourth step and torso leans slightly over fourth step. Extend left leg down steps. Keeping knee facing forward, lift left leg to hip height [shown]. That’s 1 rep. Do 5 reps. Switch sides; repeat.
Plank WalkStart in plank at bottom of stairs with palms on first step. Walk right hand up to next step, then left. Walk right hand back down, then left. That’s 1 rep. Switch sides; repeat. (If you love this move, then try the Lower-Body HIIT Workout.)
Climbing LungeStand at bottom facing stairs. Step right leg up to third step, bending knees to lower into a lunge. Step left leg up to meet right. That’s 1 rep. Switch sides; repeat until you get to the top. Jog down and continue until you’ve done 10 reps.
13 to 16 minutesSprint Up and Jog DownAlternate, climbing one step at a time for one flight, then two steps at a time for the next. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Monthly Archives: November 2010
Preliminary versions of the Rule of Law Index already had signaled that its final report would not be encouraging for the U.S. justice system. But the results in the official version of the index released Oct. 14 still paint a surprisingly stark picture of this country’s standing compared with other advanced nations when it comes to incorporating principles of the rule of law, the ABA Journal reported today.
The report, produced by the World Justice Project—a 3-year-old initiative sponsored by the ABA and a number of other organizations representing various disciplines—indicates that the U.S. lags behind other highly developed nations on all but one of nine key measures of adherence to the rule of law.
Every major region of the world is represented in the index. Peer groups of nations are categorized in the study on the basis of income level and region, but not form of government. The U. S. is part of the 11-nation high-income group and seven-nation Western Europe and North America regional group.
The good news for the U.S. is that it ranks no lower than 11th among the 35 countries covered by the index on any of nine key principles. However, when compared with its high-income and regional peers, the U.S. ranks at or near the bottom in nearly all of those categories. The other nations that make up the high-income group are Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Spain and Sweden. The Western European nations and Canada are included in the regional group with the U.S.
Seven of the 11 nations in the high-income group rank in the top three on at least one of the rule of law factors identified by the World Justice Project. At the top is Sweden, which received eight top-three rankings, followed by the Netherlands (seven), Austria (five), Japan (three), Singapore (two), and Australia and the U.S. (one each).
Significantly, the U.S. ranks last within both its income and regional groups on providing access to civil justice, which the index measures primarily on the basis of whether citizens believe they can bring their cases to court and whether representation by lawyers and other legal professionals is available and affordable.
New York’s chief judge will propose a $100 million increase in state financing for lawyers who represent the poor in civil cases that deal with “the essentials of life” like eviction and child support, the New York Times reported.
“The proposal by the chief judge, Jonathan Lippman, is to be released on Wednesday,” the report said. “If approved by the Legislature, it would provide a major source of financing for lawyers for the poor and be a striking acknowledgment that the state’s court system is being overwhelmed by some 2.3 million people a year who cannot afford representation. While criminal defendants are guaranteed a lawyer, people fighting civil cases are not.”
“This would be by several measures the most significant commitment to civil justice any state legislature has made in the country,” said Don Saunders, a vice president of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, the largest national group of lawyers for the poor. “There is nothing even close to that.”
The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that the rights of a child are “transcendent” in termination of parental rights cases, ending confusion among judges about whether the rights of the child or the parent are paramount, the Daily Record reported.
The state’s highest court ruled that a lower court erroneously focused on the mother’s parental rights rather than those of her daughter, “who was flourishing in the care of foster parents who want to adopt her,” the article said.
“This case really restated in a resounding way that the standard is the best interest of the child and the court should not be looking through the lens of the parents,” said Joan Little, chief attorney of Legal Aid Bureau Inc.’s child advocacy unit in Baltimore. Little argued the case, In re: Ta’Niya C., before the Court of Appeals.
The need for pro bono attorneys to help low-income Marylanders with their civil legal problems is on the rise, the Baltimore Sun reported earlier this week (“Need for pro bono legal services rises as economy sags,” Nov. 17).
On Saturday, October 30, the Pro Bono and Access to Legal Services Committee of the Bar Association of Baltimore City, in conjunction with Maryland Legal Aid, the Pro Bono Resource Center, the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service, and Legal Services for the Elderly hosted “Pro Bono Day–Fall 2010” at Legal Aid’s Baltimore City office. Consultations were offered in a wide range of civil practice areas, including housing, consumer, benefits, military benefits, expungement, employment, family law, wills and advance directives, and general practice.
“The event highlighted the tremendous need for access to justice–people began lining up at 8 a.m. and by the end of the day over 166 people received legal consultations on approximately 187 different legal issues,” said Legal Aid’s Yoanna Moisides. “To help in the effort, approximately 60 volunteer attorneys, paralegals, law graduates, law and graduate students, and community members showed up to share their time and expertise. Feedback from the event is still being compiled, but initial response from those individuals served is overwhelmingly positive.”
Press Contact
Search the Newsroom
Search the Newsroom
Our Services
Services provided to low-income people include employment (getting illegally denied unemployment benefits and back pay and wages due), housing (preserving affordable housing, stopping illegal evictions from public and subsidized housing, advocating for the correction of substandard housing, preventing homelessness), income maintenance (helping those with disabilities avoid institutionalization, preserving or obtaining public benefits, overcoming denial of public benefits), juvenile (representing abused and neglected children), consumer (preventing foreclosure, helping homeowners bilked by foreclosure rescue scams, correcting credit ratings, stopping dept-collection activity, overcoming illegal or unfair sales contracts, avoiding utility terminations), health (helping sick children and the elderly get medical assistance, helping seniors get Medicaid assistance so they can live in their communities), family (making sure custodial parents don't lose custody of their children, helping abused women obtain custody, divorce and alimony), farmworkers (educating and representing farmworkers regarding their employment rights and educating service providers, government and the public about farmworkers' rights and needs), and education (helping children get special education services to which they are entitled, avoiding illegal or unfair school suspensions and obtaining correct school records).
Pitch a Poverty Story to Your Editor.
Legal Aid is fielding a record number of calls from reporters. Suddenly, poverty is hot. Could it be it’s because so many middle-class people are slipping into poverty? Here’s why you should pitch your editor a poverty story: You’ll learn a lot about public benefits (such as food stamps, unemployment benefits and foreclosure prevention), meet some of our formidable experts…and gain expertise that could come in handy.
Cynical? You bet. I used to be a reporter.
Some Stats…
In 2011, Maryland Legal Aid helped 70,000 of our neediest citizens with their civil legal needs at no charge to them. Due to funding limitations, we are able to help only 20 percent of those who are financially eligible for our services. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Everybody Dance Now: transfering motion between humans in different videos - hendzen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCBTZh41Ris
======
itsthisjustin
This is mind blowing
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Well if you could have picked any better weather for a two day match, you’d have a hard time selling it to me! For a fall weekend in October, you all know it can go really good or really bad. This past weekend was fantastic, with blue skies and 70 degree temps.
Day 1:
Saturday morning started out a little foggy, so we had to delay the start of the match for a half hour or so but no one was going anywhere. The first day course of fire was a 4- gun Any/Iron format. When we finally got started, it was still a little foggy but that just made it a little more challenging,,, for some. In the first match of the day there where 5 cleans shot, with Erik (birthday boy) Rhode leading the way with a 200-13x in the lead and Jay Johnson close behind with the same score. By the time the second match was underway, the fog was gone and bright skies made the targets just glow. Erik continued to lead the way with a 200-14x, and this time Stacey was close behind with a 200-10x. Theirs were the only 2 cleans shot in this match as the wind started to get a little sneaky. In match 3 there were also 2 cleans shot and you guessed it, Erik shot another great 200-14x, with Bob Peasley shooting a great 200-10x. Then to close out the day with light switchy winds, 5 cleans were shot with Eric again taking the match with a 200-13x, and I finally pulled one out with a 200-12x for second place. For those of you who a math challenged Erik fired a fantastic 800-54x for the day to take the lead.
Day 1 Leader Board:
Erik Rhode: 800-54X
Stacey Tamulinas: 797-46X
Randy Gregory: 794-39X
Steve Knutson: 794-37X
Steve Clark: 793-46X
Master Class Leader Board:
Jeff Jezierski: 793-38X
Kevin Walker: 790-36X
Bruce Rawlings: 783-34X
Expert Class Leader Board:
Larry Weidell: 718-12X
After the match, a bunch of use went into town for a great meal, and a few great stories were also told by all at the Pizza Pub in North Branch.
Day 2:
The weather was perfect again with no need for a fog delay. For this day, the course of fire was a 3-gun Any/Any format. With scopes mounted and at the ready it would make it a big uphill challenge to make up any ground lost on day one but we all came to do our best and have fun on the shooting range with great friends.
In match one there were only 3 cleans shot with myself pulling out a 200-17x and Erik close behind with a 200-14x. In match two the winds were getting a little more tricky, but 5 cleans were shot with Stacey shooting a great 200-13x and Erik just behind with a 200-13x also. Now for the final match of the day and weekend everyone felt the pressure,,, almost all of us! Only 2 cleans were fired in the ever challenging switching winds with myself leading the way with a 200-15x and Phill Klanderud with a 200-7x.
Day 2 - Any Sight Leader Board:
Steve Knutson: 599-48X
Erik Rhode: 599-37X
Steve Clark: 599-30X
Jay Johnson: 587-27X
Master Class Leader Board:
Kevin Walker: 596-31X
Jeff Jezierski: 591-29X
Bruce Rawlings: 585-15X
Expert Class Leader Board:
Larry Weidell: 546-7X
When all the smoke cleared the 2 day medal leader board read as following;
1st Place: Erik Rhode 1399-91X
2nd Place: Steve Knutson 1393-85X
3rd Place: Steve Clark 1392-76X
High Master Class: Jay Johnson 1390-64X
Master Class: Kevin Walker 1386-67X
Expert Class:Larry Weidell 1264-19X
It was great to see everyone at the match and it was great to share drinks and great food with great friends! Until next year, start those new gun projects early!
THANK YOU George Minerich and Steve Naumann for running such a great match, and to Jaleigh Naumann for taking care of stats! | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Q:
Unable to login to Stack Exchange iOS application
I am being unable to log in to the Stack Exchange application on my iPhone 4S running iOS 8.1.
I am trying to log in using the Stack Exchange option but get the following:
'key' is not valid for passed
'access_token', token not found.
The app is version 1.2, the latest available.
This weird error is showing up each time I try to log in.
A:
UPDATE: This change appears in version 1.2.1 which is propagating through the App Store.
This will be fixed in the next release. The app didn't have a proper recovery mechanism when it got in an invalid state. Now it will always create clean requests from the login screen.
An interim solution is to delete and reinstall the app. :/
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
Some printers and printing presses (hereinafter printers) use a condenser to remove heat and/or vapor(s) generated during operation. A condenser uses one or more temperature-controlled surfaces to affect the temperature of a fluid passing by the condenser. The fluid may then be re-circulated back into the printer to maintain an acceptable operating temperature of the printer. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
How Do You Remove Dead Rat Odors From Your Home?
To remove dead rat odors from your home, find the decomposing carcass, remove it from the house, and open windows and doors to expel the smell. Using electric fans, disinfectants and deodorizing air fresheners can also eliminate the smell.
Searching for a decaying rat carcass and removing it from the house takes away most of the odor. Search closets, cabinets, attics and places you may have placed rat traps to find the carcass. If the carcass is in an inaccessible area, remove a part of the wall, or contact a pest-control professional to find the decaying rodent. If you cannot find the carcass, place sanitation bags in areas where the stench is strongest. Sanitation bags, which cover up to 100 square feet, absorb bad odors and can last up to three months.
Leaving doors and windows open facilitates air circulation and takes the dead-rat odor from the house. Although air-freshening sprays and tablets only mask the odor, they can eliminate foul odors if used with fans and vented doors and windows. Use gloves and respirators to clean contaminated areas, and throw away any clothing used during cleaning. To limit rat invasions in the future, keep your home clean, seal holes, cracks and other entryways, and place rodent prevention pouches around the home. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Central nervous system complications of a newly recognized subtype of leukemia: AMML with a pericentric inversion of chromosome 16.
Ten patients with acute myelomonocytic leukemia (AMML) and inversion of chromosome 16 who had CNS involvement were identified at M.D. Anderson Hospital between January 1972 and December 1984. The nervous system signs and symptoms were evaluated in detail. CT scans, CSF cytologies, and treatment modalities were reviewed. Two patients underwent biopsies of lesions that proved to be granulocytic sarcomas. AMML with inversion 16 carries a much higher (33%) incidence of CNS involvement in the form of leptomeningeal metastasis and/or granulocytic sarcoma than all other acute nonlymphocytic leukemias (5%). The reason for this appears to be related to the chromosomal aberration and not to prolonged survival. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
Onderwijsvakbond AOb roept haar leden op om op donderdag 30 en vrijdag 31 januari het werk neer te leggen. De oproep geldt voor zowel het primair als voortgezet onderwijs en volgt op de eendaagse onderwijsstaking begin deze maand. Toen sloten ruim 3500 scholen hun deuren.
De AOb besloot de nieuwe staking te organiseren na een interne peiling onder ruim 6000 leden, waarbij ruim 90 procent aangaf weer te willen staken.
"De leden hebben zich overduidelijk uitgesproken. De actiebereidheid is enorm", zegt AOb-voorzitter Stolk. "Er moet structureel geld bij voor het onderwijs. Zolang dat geld er niet komt, blijven wij actievoeren."
Eenmalig bedrag
Het is nog onduidelijk of andere onderwijsbonden zich net als bij de eerdere staking verbinden aan de actie, lichtte Stolk toe op NPO Radio 1. "Maar we hopen dat ze weer meedoen." Hoe de staking er precies uit gaat zien, wordt volgens Stolk nu "uitgewerkt".
De vorige staking, op 6 november, ging na veel rumoer uiteindelijk alsnog door, nadat de AOb de staking eerst nog had afgeblazen toen onderwijsminister Slob eenmalig 460 miljoen euro had toegezegd aan het onderwijs.
Het afblazen van de staking leidde tot veel onvrede onder docenten en schooldirecteuren. Ze vonden het eenmalige bedrag geen structurele oplossing voor de grote problemen in het onderwijs. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
51 Cal.App.2d 29 (1942)
GRACE HELEN SMITH, Appellant,
v.
JAMES FRANKLIN SMITH, Respondent.
Civ. No. 11773.
California Court of Appeals. First Dist., Div. One.
Apr. 1, 1942.
Joseph F. O'Malley for Appellant.
John Elliott Cook and Louis Oneal for Respondent.
KNIGHT, J.
This is an appeal from an order made pursuant to proceedings supplementary to execution levied on the interest of a beneficiary of a spendthrift trust. Appellant participated in the proceedings without objection and among other things asked for general relief, but now contends that the court decided issues which could be heard and determined by it only in the exercise of its jurisdiction in equity, by way of a creditor's bill.
The parties to the appeal were husband and wife. They separated in 1923, at which time they entered into a property settlement agreement. In 1928 appellant (the wife) obtained an interlocutory decree of divorce, wherein the court approved the property settlement agreement; and in 1929 the final decree of divorce was granted. In 1940 appellant obtained a judgment against respondent for moneys due under said agreement, and thereafter caused an execution to be levied on the trustee of a spendthrift trust created by the will of respondent's sister, of which respondent is principal beneficiary. Respondent moved to release the levy upon the ground that all moneys due him from the trust fund were necessary for his support according to his station in life. It was stated in the notice of motion that the motion would be based on respondent's affidavit and any evidence adduced at the hearing. Such affidavit was attached to the notice of motion, and annexed to the affidavit and made part thereof by special reference was respondent's verified demand wherein in detail he set forth his financial condition, the circumstances attending his mode of life, past and present, and his living requirements and necessities. Appellant appeared by counsel in opposition to the motion and presented her own affidavit wherein she admitted some of the averments made by respondent, and denied others. The affidavit then went on affirmatively to aver facts upon which she relied as showing that no part of the income from said trust was necessary for respondent's support; and the affidavit concluded as follows: "Wherefore, affiant prays the order of court denying said defendant's claim as an exemption of his beneficial interest under his herein stated testamentary trust, and that an order be made directing said testamentary trustee to withhold all *31 of the aforesaid sums of money monthly now being paid to said defendant; and for such other and further relief or orders as to the court may seem meet and proper in the premises." When the motion came on for hearing the parties stipulated that respondent's right to the income from the trust was liable to the levy of execution, subject, however, to his claim of exemption by reason of the spendthrift provisions and his necessities of life; and thereupon the parties proceeded to try to have the court determine the issue of how much money was reasonably necessary for the support of respondent according to his station in life. Evidence was introduced by both parties, and after a full hearing on the merits the trial court made its order whereby it found and determined the maximum amount that was conservatively and reasonably necessary for respondent's support according to his station in life. It was ordered, therefore, that he was entitled to receive and take all income from said trust exempt from legal process "unless and until" the same "shall have attained" the maximum amount fixed by said order; and the sheriff was directed to release the levy of execution as to said income accordingly. Appellant, being dissatisfied with the maximum amount so fixed by the trial court, took this appeal from said order, and as stated, for the first time challenges the jurisdiction of the trial court to hear and determine the issue thus submitted to it. [1] In this regard she contends that it could exercise its jurisdiction in a matter of this kind only in equity through the medium of a creditor's bill. There is no merit in the contention.
In this state it has been held repeatedly that statutory proceedings supplementary to execution (sec. 714 et seq. Code Civ. Proc.) were designed to take the place of a creditor's bill (Adams v. Hackett, 7 Cal. 187; Staples v. May, 87 Cal. 178 [25 P. 346]; Pacific Bank v. Robinson, 57 Cal. 520 [40 Am. Rep. 120]; Travis Glass Co. v. Ibbetson, 186 Cal. 724 [200 P. 595]; McCullough v. Clark, 41 Cal. 298; McKenzie v. Hill, 9 Cal.App. 78 [98 P. 55]; Herrlich v. Kaufmann, 99 Cal. 271 [33 P. 857, 37 Am.St.Rep. 50]; 7 Cal.Jur. p. 800); so that any property which was reachable by a creditor's bill may now be reached by the process of such proceedings (Staples v. May, supra; Pacific Bank v. Robinson, supra). (See also 11 Cal.Jur. p. 156.) As said in 11 Cal.Jur. p. 146-7: "Supplementary proceedings are special proceedings of statutory origin, summary in character, instituted subsequent to *32 a judgment in an action and to the issuance of execution, and sometimes after the return of execution unsatisfied, for the purpose of discovering and reaching assets of a judgment debtor, and applying them to the satisfaction of the judgment. They are regarded as proceedings in an action, but auxiliary and supplementary thereto. Under the old system of practice when a judgment creditor had exhausted the remedy by writ of execution, he had a right to invoke the jurisdiction of a court of equity by a proceeding known as a creditor's suit for the purpose of compelling a discovery of assets tangible or intangible and applying them to the satisfaction of his execution. And formerly this was the only method of reaching assets which could not be seized on execution. Supplementary proceedings were created to provide an easier and less expensive method of reaching the same result, and are intended as a substitute for creditors' suits."
In the leading case of Herrlich v. Kaufmann, supra, at pages 274, 275-6 it was said: "Formerly assets of a judgment debtor which could not be effectively seized by the sheriff under an execution, such as a debt owing to the defendant, could be reached, upon a proper showing, through a court of equity by means of a creditors' bill or suit, but in this state, and in most of the other states, a legal remedy is afforded by statutes providing for proceedings supplementary to execution, and the general rule is that when there are such statutory proceedings they must be pursued ... It has been several times held by this court that the statutory proceedings about proceedings supplementary to execution are a substitute for a creditors' bill. In Adams v. Hackett, 7 Cal. [187] 201, the court say: 'In reference to the chapter prescribing the mode of proceedings supplementary to execution, it seems clear that those provisions were intended as a substitute for what was called "a creditors' bill." This is so stated by the practice commissioners in their original note to this chapter in the New York Code. The design was, in the language of those commissioners, "to furnish a cheaper and easier method." The different sections of this chapter when taken altogether form a consistent and harmonious whole; and when fairly and liberally carried out, afford a cheaper and easier method than the former one by creditors' bill.' In Pacific Bank v. Robinson, 57 Cal. [520] 522, 40 Am. Rep. 120, the court say: 'Proceedings under sections 714 to 721 and section 574 of the Code of Civil Procedure were intended as a substitute for the creditors' bill as formerly used in chancery. (Adams v. Hackett, 7 Cal. [187] *33 201; Lynch v. Johnson, 48 N.Y. [27] 33.) So that any property which was reached by a creditors' bill may now be reached by the process of proceedings supplementary to execution.' In Habenicht v. Lissak, 78 Cal. [351] 357 [20 P. 874] 12 Am.St.Rep. 63 [5 L.R.A. 713], the court say: 'In Pacific Bank v. Robinson, 57 Cal. 520, 40 Am. Rep. 120, it was held that the proceedings supplementary to execution are intended to take the place of the creditors' bill.' (See also McCullough v. Clark, 41 Cal. [298] 302; High v. Bank of Commerce, 95 Cal. 386 [30 P. 556] 29 Am.St.Rep. 121; also Graham v. La Crosse etc. R. R. Co., 10 Wis. 459; Hexter v. Clifford, 5 Colo. 168; and cases cited in note to Lathrop v. Clapp, [40 N.Y. 328] 100 Am. Dec. 501, in support of the statement therein made that 'in nearly all of the states these proceedings supplemental to execution are regarded as a substitute for the creditors' bill of the chancery practice.') It is not necessary, however, to go to the length of saying that a creditors' bill could not be sustained here under any circumstances; for there might, perhaps, be cases in which the statutory proceedings would not afford adequate relief; but they must be pursued, unless in those exceptional cases in which it appears that equity must be invoked because legal remedies are unavailing."
It follows, therefore, that since the parties here elected to invoke the summary proceedings provided by the statute, rather than have their controversy heard and determined in equity by way of a creditor's bill, it was within the scope of the trial court's jurisdiction so to hear and determine the matter at issue in such proceeding.
The case of Canfield v. Security-First Nat. Bank, 13 Cal.2d 1 [87 P.2d 830], involved in part a similar issue, and in passing upon the question of the application of section 859 of the Civil Code the court there said: "Appellants' rights are given to them by section 859 of the Civil Code-- that is by creditor's bill in equity"; and doubtless the matter here could have been so heard and determined. But there is nothing to be found in the Canfield decision, nor in said section 859, which declares that a creditor's bill is the exclusive remedy. Here, unlike the Canfield case, there were no intervening rights of third parties, for under the terms of the spendthrift trust respondent was entitled to a definite nine-tenths of the income after payment of one tenth plus $100 to another. Therefore, even though the trial court had heard and *34 determined the matter through the medium of a creditor's bill rather than by way of this supplementary proceeding, the subject matter of the controversy, the parties thereto, and the issue involved, would have been precisely the same. The same tribunal was vested with original jurisdiction over both cases at law and suits in equity; therefore, since as we have seen under the decisions above cited the controversy could be heard and determined either as a proceeding at law or in equity, and the parties chose to have it disposed of as a proceeding at law, there was no want of jurisdiction in the trial court so to do. If as appellant asserts a contrary rule prevails in some other state, it is doubtless in conflict with the law of this state, and therefore is not here controlling.
[2] Appellant also makes for the first time on appeal the point that the trustee was a necessary and indispensable party to the present proceeding. But the record shows that the execution was levied on the trustee, and that he made answer to the sheriff at the time of the service of the writ; furthermore, the proceeding in no way involved the trustee's title, interests, discretion or management of the trust fund. If the amount to be paid to the beneficiary had been discretionary with the trustee, as in the Canfield case, then a different situation would have been presented; but here, as stated, the trustee was bound to pay to this beneficiary the entire nine-tenths less $100 of the income from the trust; consequently appellant's rights herein were in no way affected by not having the trustee brought in as a party, if in fact he was not already made so by levying the execution on him.
[3] Another contention urged by appellant is that the effect of the order was to "increase" respondent's allowance from the trust fund to $750 a month. But a reading of the order shows that the contention is without merit. The contention is based upon the fact that from 1935, the date of the rendition of the decree of distribution, to October, 1940, the date of the levy of the execution, respondent received from said trust fund monthly payments ranging only from $210.48 to $548.17. The order declared that "a sum of $750 a month is conservatively and reasonably necessary for his support in accordance with his station in life," and that "his receipts from said trust are wholly disbursed so far as they will go for necessary personal and household expenses. They have fallen short, and must continue to fall short so far as is now known, of what is reasonably necessary for his support in accordance with his station in life. He is entitled to receive and take the *35 same exempt from legal process and the claims of creditors, and this plaintiff's claim thereto, unless and until they shall have attained an average amount of $750 a month, the average to be taken in each calendar year." (Italics added.) It will be seen, therefore, that the court simply decided the issue presented, that is, the amount reasonably necessary for respondent's support according to his station in life; and held in effect that any sum paid in excess of this amount was liable to the claims of his creditors. Before the court could find whether there was a surplus, it was necessary for it to determine the amount necessary for the defendant's support, and in doing so it was within its power to fix such sum in excess of what respondent was actually receiving, under the circumstances. It may be conceded that if respondent's financial condition becomes changed, for instance if the trust income ceases to be his sole means of support, such change could be urged as ground for modification of the present order.
The statement is made in appellant's brief that the trial court was "informed in limine that there was then pending a creditor's bill filed by the plaintiff elsewhere"; but this statement is positively denied in respondent's brief, and the record fails to disclose anything which may be taken in support of appellant's statement or from which it may be inferred that a creditor's bill was pending at the time these supplementary proceedings took place. In any event, nowhere does the record show, nor does appellant claim, that she made any objection whatever to the hearing or determination of the issue in the present proceeding.
[4] Nor can we sustain appellant's second major ground of appeal that the evidence is insufficient to support the trial court's basic finding that $750 a month is conservatively and reasonably necessary for respondent's support in accordance with his station in life.
A former appeal was taken by appellant from a judgment in respondent's favor, based on the verdict of a jury in an action brought by appellant to recover money claimed to be due under an agreement made in 1928 modifying the agreement of 1923, wherein the judgment was affirmed (Smith v. Smith, 7 Cal.App.2d 271 [46 P.2d 232]); and the background of the case as it appears from the decision rendered on that appeal and as shown by the record herein may be stated as follows: Respondent is a retired physician, and at the time these supplementary proceedings were had was *36 67 years of age, and resided at the Huntington Apartments in San Francisco. He is a graduate of Cooper Medical School and the Royal College of Surgeons in England, and at the time of his retirement in 1929 enjoyed a lucrative practice averaging $25,000 a year. Following his separation from appellant in 1923 and during the last years of his practice his income from sources apart from his practice ranged from $200,000 to $400,000 a year. But subsequent to his retirement and during the ensuing depression years, the financial reverses he suffered and the heavy expenses he was compelled to meet wiped out his entire fortune, so that for several years preceding the levy of the execution herein his only source of income was from the trust created by his sister's will; and because of having undergone a major abdominal operation a few years ago he has been incapacitated from again entering the medical practice or engaging in any gainful occupation.
By the terms of the 1923 property settlement agreement respondent agreed to pay appellant $250 monthly during her lifetime; and he fully performed his part of that agreement up to May, 1928, when a new agreement was made. It confirmed the 1923 agreement, but provided that the monthly payments be increased to $300; and respondent further agreed to make a cash payment to appellant of $10,000, in consideration of which appellant agreed to refrain from attacking the agreement or from making any demands on respondent or his property; also from molesting or interfering with respondent or his full enjoyment of his property. It was further agreed that upon the breach by appellant of the latter promise, the 1928 agreement should be of no further force; that the rights of the parties should thereafter be governed by the 1923 agreement, and that the extra $50 a month and the $10,000 theretofore paid pursuant to the 1928 agreement should be applied as advance payments on the 1923 agreement. On the day following the execution of the 1928 agreement appellant obtained an interlocutory decree of divorce, and therein the property settlement agreement was approved by the court. In January, 1929, respondent retired from the practice; a few months later the final decree of divorce was entered; and some time thereafter, the year not appearing in the record, respondent again married. He paid the $10,000 and the monthly $300 payments to appellant in compliance with the 1928 agreement until October, 1931, when his monthly payments grew less; and about April, 1933, he discontinued them entirely. Thereafter and in 1934 appellant commenced an action on the *37 1928 agreement, and as a defense respondent pleaded a breach by appellant of the molestation covenants thereof, and claimed that the total extra payments made by him under the 1928 agreement were in excess of all sums accruing under the 1923 agreement. The jury found for respondent, and as stated the judgment entered thereon was affirmed on appeal,the reviewing court saying in part that the evidence of molestation showed that respondent felt obliged to move from San Francisco and seek a new and less troubled home and field for practice in Los Angeles. Thereafter, due to heavy financial losses and the fact that he had given up his medical practice, he fell in arrears in making the payments required by the 1923 agreement, and in June, 1940, appellant obtained a judgment against him therefor in the sum of approximately $11,500. Meanwhile respondent's sister died, leaving the will creating said spendthrift trust. The decree of distribution was rendered in September, 1935, and as above mentioned, from that time until October, 1940, when the execution was levied, respondent's nine-tenths of the income from the trust ranged from some $210 to about $548 monthly, which was paid to him by the trustee.
The trial court found and the evidence shows that respondent has always been accustomed to all reasonable comforts in his home and surroundings, including servants and automobiles, and to extended trips abroad; and that his circle of friends embraces persons of independent means, prominent in professional, business and social groups in his home community. The evidence further shows that on account of his financial reverses he has been compelled to dispense with the use of an automobile and with servants, except occasional household help; that he has been forced to give up recreations and club memberships, and has minimized entertainment of friends to a point where he can but occasionally have guests at his home; that he has had to forego travelling, and many other pleasures he formerly enjoyed; that all of the income from the trust has been expended for his necessary living expenses and household bills, so far as it would go; and that the receipts have fallen very considerably short of his reasonable necessities of life.
Appellant argues that the trial court fixed the amount necessary to support respondent on the basis of his station in life as it was ten years ago, when he was extremely wealthy, rather than on the basis of what is now actually necessary for *38 his support; and in this connection she avers in her affidavit that standing in his present wife's name is an elaborate home in Palo Alto. Respondent testified, however, that the property in Palo Alto is heavily mortgaged; and there is in his testimony and affidavit ample evidentiary support of the trial court's findings in the particulars in which they are attacked by appellant; and there can be no comparison whatever between this case and the Canfield case, wherein it was shown that the beneficiary's "needs" therein included unreasonable extravagances and luxuries, and expenses for lavish entertainment and gambling losses. As said in the Canfield case, the statute fixes no standards by which the amounts necessary for the support of the beneficiary are to be ascertained; and that in ascertaining the proper allowance, the courts of this state have held that the beneficiary is entitled to receive free from the claims of his creditors sufficient income to support himself and those dependent upon him, according to the mode of life to which they have been accustomed, and to care for any affliction from which he or his family may be suffering; that the amount varies according to the station in life of the beneficiary; that no absolute fixed sum can be used to apply to all cases; that the "cost of living, cost of housing, medical cost, the manner in which the beneficiary has been reared, the number and health of his dependents, his own health, his entire background--all these and perhaps others should be considered." Furthermore, as pointed out in that case, the question is one peculiarly proper, primarily at least, for the determination of the trial court, after hearing evidence as to the character, circumstances and condition of the party. Applying the foregoing legal principles to the present case, it is our conclusion that the trial court's finding is not wanting in evidentiary support, and that the maximum amount fixed is not unreasonable.
The judgment is affirmed.
Peters, P. J., and Jones (B. C.), J., pro tem., concurred.
| {
"pile_set_name": "FreeLaw"
} |
---
-api-id: M:Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.ToggleSplitButtonAutomationPeer.Collapse
-api-type: winrt method
ms.custom: RS5
---
<!-- Method syntax.
public void ToggleSplitButtonAutomationPeer.Collapse()
-->
# Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.ToggleSplitButtonAutomationPeer.Collapse
## -description
Hides the control's drop down menu.
## -remarks
## -see-also
## -examples
| {
"pile_set_name": "Github"
} |
Choice is king. That’s why you can easily choose between a boxed or fullwidth layout. In the theme options you can change the layout with one click and thanks to the WordPress Customizer you even will see a live preview of how the boxed design looks compared to the full-width one. Don’t forget that this boxed/fullwidth option is available for every Stack built into X. I've Seen Enough, Where Can I Buy It?
It doesn’t matter if you want to only use a solid color, a pattern, or one of your favorite images. X lets you upload or choose a image or color and you will see the changes in the live preview window. Tweak colors and patterns to your hearts content, and when you are happy with the result, simply press save and publish and the changes are live. If you aren’t liking the changes and want to go back to the old styling simply hit cancel. I've Seen Enough, Where Can I Buy It?
Most of the current smartphones and tablets already use Retina displays or better, with the notebook and computer world quickly catching up. To future-proof your website, it is important that your design look good on even the most cutting edge of displays. With custom and icon fonts built into the theme as well as CSS for other stylistic elements like box shadows, rounded corners, containers, and more – the X design is optimized for high resolution displays and will look crisp and sharp on any device. See for yourself! I've Seen Enough, Where Can I Buy It?
Showcasing your work is important for most of us. Both easy and flexible, X comes with the option to have multiple unique portfolio pages so you can be creative with your creatives. I've Seen Enough, Where Can I Buy It?
Sharing your content on different platforms is getting more and more popular. In addition, having social interaction with your content will increase the exposure Google and other search engines will send your way. That’s why we integrated social sharing in X to get the most out of you when it comes to keep and increase your followers. Enjoy a very customized and tailored approach to social sharing, the X way. I've Seen Enough, Where Can I Buy It?
The Internet has a love-hate relationship with images. The good stuff: they’re beautiful, engaging, and can liven up any post or page by supplementing your content. The bad bits: they’re big, bloated, and slow down your web page (especially on mobile devices). While no perfect solution exists (although many are being proposed and worked on), X does most of the dirty work for you so that you don’t have to worry about this as much. Simply select your layout and how wide you want your content area to be in the Customizer, and X takes care of the rest! X will compute the size of your content area and create perfectly proportioned thumbnails specifically tailored around your options. As web technologies improve, you can rest assured that X will always be using the latest and greatest that is out there to ensure that you and your visitors receive the best (and snappiest) experience on the Internet. I've Seen Enough, Where Can I Buy It?
X features the inclusion WAI-ARIA (Web Accessibility Initiative – Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles throughout all of our templates, ensuring that your site conforms to the latest accessibility standards set forth by the W3C. This greatly benefits users who browse the web using assistive devices—such as screen readers—to quickly and efficiently find your content and scan through your site with ease. I've Seen Enough, Where Can I Buy It? | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Kimmy Fasani
Kimmy isn’t just taking women’s snowboarding to the next level; she’s taking women’s sport to the next level. Advocacy and philanthropy fill up her spare time, but her comeback video part with Burton has the industry buzzing
Years of experience
About 13 or 14 years
Favorite Run on Mammoth Mountain?
All the Parks and then the backside on powder days.
Park or Powder?
Both are amazing. Park in December. Powder from January to April. Park again from April to May.
Favorite Mammoth Moment?
Waking up in my own bed and seeing 3 feet of fresh snow outside. Getting those early morning pow laps in Mammoth is unbeatable.
Favorite Spot to Eat in Mammoth?
Stellar Brew for breakfast and Robertos for dinner.
What Brought You to Mammoth? I moved to Mammoth from Truckee, Ca after high school to go to the community college. I wanted to live in a mountain town, but not the one I had grown up in. Mammoth had everything to offer and now I don't think I will ever leave. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
PRODUCER WEEK: Apollo Brown Aims His .38 Special [EXCLUSIVE]
Detroit, Michigan has a respected and accomplished lineage in hip-hop, specifically among its producers. With artists like Black Milk, J-Dilla, DJ House Shoes and Wajeed laying the foundation, the bar has been set pretty high. Enter Apollo Brown.
The twenty-something track master has been filling iPods providing his dusty, drum heavy compositions for instrumental albums like “Clouds” and collaborative work with MC vets like O.C. and Ghostface Killah, as well as new artists like Guilty Simpson and Ugly Heroes. The work with MCS has been good for establishing his brand, but Apollo thinks the people behind the boards are in a new era.
“I think in the last couple of years it’s that time for the producer,” he says. “The DJ had his forefront. The MC had his forefront and I think it’s the producer’s time. The demand for good beats is out there. I travel the world playing beats! It’s a crazy phenomenon. I can be in Germany, France or Russia and play beats for an hour and people always want more. People just want to vibe out.”
On one of the first warm evenings of New York’s fickle Spring, Apollo has taken the stage for the second time in as many nights for a special segment of Beat Society, a highly anticipated producer showcase that brings out the most respected in the field. Just hours before this Apollo was in Philadelphia rocking out with Jahlil Beats, Chad Wes and Antman Wonder and on this night he will take turns playing beats with !llmind, Lee Stone and DJ Skizz. The appearance is well-timed to help promote his latest release, an instrumental album called “.38.”
“It’s kind of an instrumental soundtrack. I wanted to give the people something they can create their own story to,” he explains. “The .38 caliber weapon in its prime was one of the most reliable calibers you could get. It was that gun in your grandma’s purse. When all else fails, when the automatics jam, you can depend on that reliable .38. It will always work for you. That’s why I named it that.”
Watch our interview with Apollo Brown where he goes more into depth about his new album, past projects and his production techniques. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
89 Cal.App.2d 194 (1948)
MADGE ROCKS et al., Plaintiffs and Respondents,
v.
LOUIS HAMBURGER et al., Defendants and Respondents; EDWARD W. JONES et al., Cross-complainants and Appellants; BANK OF AMERICA NATIONAL TRUST AND SAVINGS ASSOCIATION, Cross-defendant and Respondent.
Civ. No. 3864.
California Court of Appeals. Fourth Dist.
Dec. 16, 1948.
Vernon P. Spencer and Philip H. Harris for Cross-complainants and Appellants.
Thompson & Colegate for Plaintiffs and Respondents.
K. E. Schwinn for Defendants and Respondents. *196
MUSSELL, J.
Appeal from judgment in an action for real estate broker's commission.
Plaintiffs Madge Rocks and Lowell Wheeler commenced this action against Louis Hamburger and Celia Hamburger, defendants, to recover a real estate commission. Plaintiffs alleged that as real estate brokers, and pursuant to agreements with the defendants they, the plaintiffs, were entitled to a commission in the sum of $1,500 from defendants Louis Hamburger and Celia Hamburger, owners of the real property. The defendants filed their answer alleging that the purchasers of the property, Edward W. Jones and Viola F. Jones, did not carry out the terms of the contract of purchase and sale and that plaintiff brokers had not found purchasers who were ready, willing or able to purchase the property. It was further alleged that they, the defendants, under the terms of a certain sales deposit slip, were entitled to one-half of the $1,500 deposit money paid by the purchasers. Defendant owners then filed a cross-complaint against the plaintiff brokers, the Bank of America as escrow agent of and holder of the deposit money, and against the purchasers of the property. By their cross-complaint defendant owners sought to recover one-half of the deposit money. Plaintiff brokers, in their answer to the cross-complaint, filed a general denial and took issue with the defendant owners' interpretation of the terms of the sales deposit receipt. Cross-defendants Jones, in their answer to the owners' cross- complaint alleged that they were at all times ready, willing and able to perform their obligations under the contract of purchase and sale; that the defendant owners had defaulted under the agreement; that the sales deposit receipt attached to the owners' cross-complaint was not a true copy of the deposit receipt as signed by them. The Joneses filed a cross-complaint for money had and received and asked for the return to them of the deposit of $1,500, and that the plaintiff brokers and defendant owners take nothing.
Some time prior to August 14, 1946, the defendants Mr. and Mrs. Hamburger authorized the plaintiffs Rocks and Wheeler, as real estate brokers, to procure a purchaser for a duplex then being constructed at Palm Springs, and owned by Mr. and Mrs. Hamburger. The brokers prepared and presented to the purchasers a sales deposit receipt and Edward W. and Viola F. Jones signed one copy as purchasers. A carbon copy of the receipt was presented to the Hamburgers for signature. The receipt contained a provision to the *197 effect that if the balance of the first payment on the property was not deposited in escrow on or before December 10, 1946, the amount paid ($1,500) was to be retained and forfeited to realtor. The words "& seller--50-50" were added immediately after the word "realtor" and the Hamburgers then signed the carbon copy indicating their acceptance of the terms thereof. The change was made in the receipt without the knowledge and consent of the purchasers and was not called to their attention until after suit was filed. On September 11, 1946, the sellers and purchasers executed escrow instructions and the deposit of $1,500 was received by the bank as escrow agent. On December 10, 1946, the escrow instructions were modified, at the request of purchasers, extending the time to January 2, 1947. The purchasers inspected the premises prior to December 10, 1946, at which time sellers had not installed a Panel Ray heating unit, as agreed. Mr. Hamburger informed Mrs. Jones that he would install an electric heater temporarily, and the Panel Ray heater was installed at the end of December, 1946.
The purchasers were not given permission to inspect the premises after December 10, 1946. On January 2, 1947, the owners made demand for performance of the contract on the part of the purchasers, who did not deposit any further sums in escrow. The escrow was not concluded and the owners later sold the property to a third party.
The bank, named as cross-defendant, deposited in court the sum of $1,500, less $25 escrow charges, and the action was by stipulation dismissed as to it.
The judgment of the trial court was that the plaintiff brokers were entitled to one-half of the deposit; that the owners of the property were entitled to the remaining one-half and that the purchasers had no right, title, or interest in the sum deposited by them.
Appellants Edward W. and Viola F. Jones first contend that since they were not named as defendants in the original complaint, no judgment could be rendered against them in the action.
This contention is not tenable. [1] In determining the issues raised and the relief to be granted, the pleadings of all parties are to be considered. (Estrin v. Superior Court, 14 Cal.2d 670, 676 [96 P.2d 340].) [2] Appellants were brought into the action by the cross-complaint of the owners of the property who claimed one-half of the deposit made by appellants. In their cross- complaint appellants sought the *198 return of all the money deposited by them. The court had jurisdiction of the parties and the subject matter. It had the authority to hear and determine and to render judgment on the issues presented. (Estrin v. Superior Court, supra, p. 678.)
[3] It is next contended that when the original sales deposit receipt was signed by the purchasers it constituted an offer to buy the property, which offer was not accepted because of the addition of the words which in effect provided that in the event of forfeiture the deposit should be forfeited one-half to the brokers and the remaining one-half to the owners. The copies of the receipt retained by the owners and brokers contained the additional words, while the signed copy returned to the purchasers was unchanged. Appellants now argue that this was a conditional acceptance, constituting a rejection of the offer to purchase. We cannot agree with this contention. The owners accepted the offer in the exact terms upon which the purchasers offered to buy. The addition of the words transferring one-half of any forfeited deposit to the owners did not change the terms of the offer to purchase, and the purchasers were not in any way prejudiced by it nor were their rights affected.
[4] It is next contended that the clause in the deposit agreement providing for the forfeiture of the deposit in the event the balance of the purchase price was not paid within the time specified, is void, being a contract for liquidated damages. Sections 1670 and 1671 of the Civil Code are cited in support of this contention. These sections have no application to the contract for the sale of real property here involved. (Wright v. Rodgers, 198 Cal. 137 [243 P. 866].)
[5] A vendee who is in default cannot maintain an action to recover sums previously paid on the contract for the sale of real property. (Keelan v. Belmont Co., 73 Cal.App.2d 6, 10 [165 P.2d 930].) [6] The sellers of the real property herein, assuming that the contract was breached by the purchasers, were entitled to treat the contract as at an end and retain whatever had been paid thereon. (Peak v. Jurgens, 5 Cal.App.2d 573, 577 [43 P.2d 569].)
[7] It is finally urged that the evidence is not sufficient to sustain the finding of the court that the defendants and cross-complainants had performed all of their obligations under the terms of the contract. The escrow instructions were modified to extend the time within which the purchasers could make the deposit called for in the agreement. The payment was not made. The only particulars in which the purchasers *199 claimed that the building was not completed were in the installation of Panel Ray heaters, and the building of a fence. There was substantial evidence that the heaters were installed and the fence built within the time limit specified in the amended escrow instructions, and the court's finding in this particular cannot be disturbed.
Judgment affirmed.
Barnard, P. J., and Griffin, J., concurred.
| {
"pile_set_name": "FreeLaw"
} |
Cutting Ties With Pro-Ana: A Narrative Inquiry Concerning the Experiences of Pro-Ana Disengagement From Six Former Site Users.
Websites advocating the benefits of eating disorders ("Pro-Ana") tend to reinforce and maintain restrictive eating and purging behaviors. Yet remarkably, no study has explored individual accounts of disengagement from these sites and the associated meanings. Using narrative inquiry, this study sought to address this gap. From the interviews of six women, two overarching storylines emerged. The first closely tied disengagement to recovery with varying positions of personal agency claimed: this ranged from enforced and unwelcomed breaks that ignited change, to a personal choice that became viable through the development of alternative social and personal identities. A strong counternarrative to "disengagement as recovery" also emerged. Here, disengagement from Pro-Ana was storied alongside a need to retain an ED lifestyle. With "recovery" being just one reason for withdrawal from Pro-Ana sites, clinicians must remain curious about the meanings individuals ascribe to this act, without assuming it represents a step toward recovery. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
Expression of NDRG1, a differentiation-related gene, in human tissues.
NDRG1 is a member of the new N-myc downregulated gene (NDRG) family which belongs to the alpha/beta hydrolase superfamily, but without presenting a hydrolytic catalytic site. Diverse physiological and pathological conditions (hypoxia, cellular differentiation, heavy metal, N-myc, neoplasia) modulate NDRG1 transcription, mRNA stability, and translation. In this report we present the immunohistochemical localization of NDRG1 in a large set of normal human tissues at light and electron microscopic levels. The immunoreactivity of NDRG1 is mostly found in epithelial cells with different aspects. We observed NDRG1 primarily in the cytoplasm, but it is also associated with the cellular membrane and adherens junctions. Given the strong upregulation of NDRG1 under hypoxia and its nuclear localization, we propose a role for NDRG1 in protection from ischemic cell damage. The multiple localizations of this protein also suggest pleiotropic functions amongst which a functional involvement in the E-cadherin/catenin complex. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
Thermoregulatory influences on common carotid blood flow in the dog.
Common carotid blood flow (CCBF) and respiratory water loss (RWL) were measured in dogs resting at ambient temperatures between 25 and 50 degrees C, during hypothalamic heating, and during light and heavy exercise at ambient temperatures of 25 and 35 degrees C. In resting dogs, CCBF varied with the level of RWL. Elevations in CCBF and RWL occurred within seconds of each other during bursts of panting. Mean unilateral CCBF increased from 6.2 ml . min-1 . kg-1 at 25 degrees C to 16.8 ml . min-1 . kg-1 at 45 degrees C, in parallel with increasing RWL. Hypothalamic heating elicited simultaneous elevations in CCBF and RWL, and the level of CCBF was strongly correlated with the hypothalamic temperature. Both CCBF and RWL increased rapidly at the onset of exercise and continued to rise during a 15-min run. Highest rates of blood flow and evaporation occurred during heavy exercise at 35 degrees C. It is concluded that the rate of blood flow through the common carotid arteries in the dog is related to the thermoregulatory needs of the animal, and most of the increased flow occurring during heat stress is destined for evaporative surfaces of the nose, mouth, and tongue. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
The governor's septics bill, part of his legislative package introduced Monday night in Annapolis, tries a new, more complex "tiered" approach. It replaces his controversial proposal last year to ban large housing projects using "onsite sewage disposal," which officials say is a growing source of the nutrient pollution fouling the Chesapeake Bay.
The new plan would take off on Maryland's 15-year-old Smart Growth policies and impose increasingly stringent restrictions on the use of septic systems the farther new housing would be built from existing cities, towns and unincorporated communities. It's an approach recommended by a 28-member task force he appointed to study the issue after legislative leaders shelved his earlier bill.
It remains to be seen if the new proposal will quell the outcry from developers and rural and suburban officials that septic limits will kill growth in their communities.
Instead of banning such development outright, the bill would encourage counties and municipalities to put more growth on centralized sewer systems, while discouraging septic-based construction on farmland and in watershed areas where officials say it's likely to pollute streams and the bay.
State officials point to data showing that septic systems release far more water-fouling nitrogen into ground water and nearby streams than do households connected to properly functioning wastewater treatment plants. Some rural officials dispute that, and accuse the O'Malley administration of waging "war" on their communities by trying to curtail low-density, outlying development through septic limits and "PlanMaryland," a new statewide growth blueprint.
The governor's bill is expected to draw enthusiastic support from environmental activists, though, who have made limiting septic-based development one of their top legislative priorities this year. A coalition of green groups released a poll by OpinionWorks last week indicating that nearly three-quarters of Maryland voters - including 62 percent of those in rural areas that would be most affected - support tightening regulations on septic systems and limiting the number of houses built with them. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Histological evaluation of repair of the rotator cuff in a primate model.
The establishment of a suitable animal model of repair of the rotator cuff is difficult since the presence of a true rotator cuff anatomically appears to be restricted almost exclusively to advanced primates. Our observational study describes the healing process after repair of the cuff in a primate model. Lesions were prepared and repaired in eight 'middle-aged' baboons. Two each were killed at four, eight, 12 and 15 weeks post-operatively. The bone-tendon repair zones were assessed macroscopically and histologically. Healing of the baboon supraspinatus involved a sequence of stages resulting in the reestablishment of the bone-tendon junction. It was not uniform and occurred more rapidly at the sites of suture fixation than between them. Four weeks after repair the bone-tendon healing was immature. Whereas macroscopically the repair appeared to be healed at eight weeks, the Sharpey fibres holding the repair together did not appear in any considerable number before 12 weeks. By 15 weeks, the bone-tendon junction was almost, but not quite mature. Our results support the use of a post-operative rehabilitation programme in man which protects the surgical repair for at least 12 to 15 weeks in order to allow maturation of tendon-to-bone healing. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
April 11, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — President Trump has appointed social conservative Roger Severino to head the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in a choice celebrated by pro-family advocates and condemned by pro-LGBTQ leftists.
Severino, a Harvard Law School graduate who served as director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at the conservative Heritage Foundation, has written and published extensively against leftist “gender ideology” and the Obama administration’s promotion of transgenderism in the military.
His new boss at HHS is Tom Price, a conservative, pro-life former congressman from Georgia whose appointment, like Severino’s, has enraged pro-LGTBQ activists as well as the pro-abortion lobby.
Conservatives overjoyed
Social conservatives were overjoyed at the appointment of Severino, who previously worked as CEO and legal counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, one of the world’s premier legal organizations defending religious freedom.
“It’s a super appointment. Roger Severino is a very balanced thinker who is also an experienced litigator,” Ken Blackwell, formerly a senior domestic policy adviser on the Trump transition team, told LifeSiteNews. Blackwell, a former Ohio Secretary of State, served as undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President George W. Bush.
Currently Family Research Council’s senior fellow for human rights and constitutional governance, Blackwell said Severino is “associated with some of the best thinkers in the area of civil rights policy,” citing his experience with Becket, on whose Board Blackwell formerly served.
He said HHS Secretary Price is “building a team” and “has a game plan” to “attack the administrative state,” which includes dismantling the far-reaching tentacles of Obama’s pro-LGBT agenda across the federal government’s bureaucracy.
Mario Diaz, legal counsel for Concerned Women for America, had similar high praise of Severino.
“With the appointment of Robert Severino as director of HHS’s Office of Civil Rights, President Trump demonstrates once again that he is only interested in what is best for the American people and not in politics as usual,” Diaz told LifeSiteNews. “Severino is an honorable man, respected by all who have had the pleasure of working with him. His keen intellect and full commitment to freedom and liberty make him the perfect choice for such an important position.”
Social leftists outraged
If it is true that in politics (and life) a man is known by his enemies, then Severino is a very effective conservative and pro-family advocate. In a piece by the leftist group Think Progress, a big booster of Democratic Party causes, Ian Millhiser writes that with the HHS appointment, “Trump potentially gives Severino an opportunity to dismantle civil rights protections he criticized as a staffer at the conservative Heritage Foundation.”
“As the head of the HHS civil rights office, Severino will not only be able to push from within the department to dismantle existing protections for LGBT Americans, he could also potentially push for special rights for anti-LGBT employers and health providers — such as regulations explicitly permitting these employers and providers to engage in discrimination if they believe that their faith requires them to do so,” Millhiser writes.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the world’s leading lobby group for homosexuality and transgenderism,” had an even harsher take on Severino.
“I could not think of a more dangerous person to head up the Office of Civil Rights at HHS,” said JoDee Winterhof, HRC’s senior vice president of policy and political affairs. “Once again, Donald Trump is declaring war against our community by appointing anti-LGBTQ people at all levels of his administration.”
“Mr. Severino takes pride in being a stark opponent of the LGBTQ community and has made it clear that his number one priority is to vilify and degrade us. We will fight tooth and nail against any attempts to roll back civil rights, including access to healthcare,” Winterhof said.
LGBTQ activists have a tendency to personalize public policy disagreements on homosexuality and transgenderism. LifeSiteNews could not find any examples of Severino “vilifying” homosexuals (or anyone), although he has spoken and written prodigiously and with articulation against LGBTQ ideology and policy goals.
Writing in 2007 as a Becket attorney for the Harvard Journal of Law, Severino explained in an article titled “How Same-Sex Marriage Threatens Religious Liberty” that, “Although it is difficult to predict with certainty the long-term effects of this profound change in the law, it is clear that the effects will be far‐reaching. The legal definition of marriage does not exist in isolation; changing it alters many areas of the law.
“For example, the definition of marriage plays an important role in the law of adoption, education, employee benefits, employment discrimination, government contracts and subsidies, taxation, tort law, and trusts and estates,” he wrote. “In turn, these legal regimes directly govern the ongoing daily operations of religious organizations of all stripes, including parishes, schools, temples, hospitals, orphanages, retreat centers, soup kitchens, and universities. Moreover, current law provides little room for non‐uniform definitions of marriage within a state and even across states because of difficult questions like child custody.”
That was long before homosexuality-based “marriage” was imposed nationwide by the Supreme Court.
Against transgender activism in military
Severino has appeared as a friendly guest on Family Research Council’s “Washington Watch” radio program, critiquing Obama’s “imperialist” promotion of the LGBTQ agenda abroad through the U.S. Agency for International Development.
He forcefully criticized Obama Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s 2016 order allowing gender-confused (“transgender”) service members, calling it a “disruption to morale, privacy, and readiness.” Congress had no say on the policy change.
“Some obvious questions arise from the new policy. Will biological males who identify as female be subject to physical fitness requirements for men or women? Will they be required to do 35 pushups or 13 pushups to pass basic training?” Severino wrote in the conservative Daily Signal. “Will American taxpayers be required to pay for expensive “sex reassignment” surgeries, including breast implants in men and shaving down Adam’s apples when that money can be spent on better weapons or more training?”
“Will service members who have addressed an officer as “sir” for years be booted out of the military if they refuse to address him as “ma’am?” he continued. “Wouldn’t the loss and impact on recruiting offset any supposed gains of allowing a relatively few transgender troops the ability to dress according to their chosen identity? These are but a few questions Carter neglected to address in his announcement.”
Severino fears that Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) will be used to make taxpayers pay for body-disfiguring “transgender” “sex reassignment surgeries.”
“Section 1557 … guarantees that no individual can be denied benefits in a health program that is either federally run or federally funded because of the individual’s membership in well-established categories of civil rights law, including race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability,” he wrote.
According to his HHS bio, Severino “holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, received a master’s degree in public policy, with highest distinction, from Carnegie Mellon University, and has a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Southern California, where he was a National Merit Scholar.” | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Merscom Launches Mystic Emporium
Merscom announced today the official
release of Mystic Emporium. Developed by Bamtang Games, Mystic Emporium is a
time management game where the player runs an amazing shop full of mystical
potions, mysterious customers and magical monsters! The English version is
available immediately on major game download sites, including Big Fish Games,
RealArcade, iWin and other popular gaming destinations. Japanese, German,
French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Portuguese and Dutch version will launch next
month.
Players take on the role of a witch
who has saved for years to chase her dream of opening her own magic shop. After
finally saving enough money to buy a location, she finds herself in a run-down
shop with just a single cauldron, a handful of potion recipes and just a few
customers. It~s up to the players to take her new magic shop and turn it into
something magical!
Over time, the shop earns new
upgrades, including new potions, magical artifacts and even a pet phoenix! But
as the shop improves, more and more customers come shopping and keep the witch,
and the players, busier than ever. If players can keep up with the growing
demand, they can turn their little magic shop into the best business in town.
Key Features include:
24 levels of magical fun!
Run your own magic shop & buy
upgrades to improve it every day!
Earn trophies and magic charms as
rewards
Interesting and mysterious
customers
Over 30 unique magical items for
use and sale
Relaxing collapse minigame
Mystic Emporium brings the magic of
Harry Potter to the stalwart time management category and this combination is
perfect for our customers, said Lloyd Melnick, Chief Customer Officer at
Merscom. ~We are confident this game will continue the string of hits we've had
over the past 15 months. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Kinins in cardiac inflammation and regeneration: insights from ischemic and diabetic cardiomyopathy.
The kallikrein-kinin system (KKS) is a system of vasoactive peptides, the kinins, involved in different aspects of remodeling, inflammation and angiogenesis. Kinins mediate their actions through two receptors, B1R and B2R. It is increasingly recognized that the KKS is involved in the inflammatory processes of the heart. Evidence shows that the B2R is beneficial in myocardial diseases, protecting from inflammation, fibrosis and apoptosis, while B1R shows a proinflammatory character contributing to the disease progression by increasing the production of cytokines and stimulating the migration of immune cells. Furthermore, novel important actions of the KKS and its receptors contribute to neovascularization and recruitment of endothelial progenitor cells in ischemic areas and endothelial dysfunction. The kinin receptors could therefore constitute potential therapeutic targets in the treatment of myocardial ischemia and diabetic cardiomyopathy. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
Menu
One-Liner Wednesday
“Yell ape for next stop.”
–Sign seen on a New York City bus back in the 90s; it had been altered from its original wording, “Press yellow tape for next stop.” This has always amused me and my only regret is that I saw this before we all had phones with cameras in our pockets! At least I have the memory, though, and I wanted to share it with you…Just try to avoid laughing about it to yourself if it comes to mind next time you’re on a bus, as has happened with me. People will assume things… | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
require "bundler/gem_tasks"
require "rake/testtask"
task :default => :test
Rake::TestTask.new do |t|
t.libs << "test"
t.test_files = FileList["test/**/test_*.rb"]
t.verbose = true
t.warning = true
end
| {
"pile_set_name": "Github"
} |
John William Sayer
John William Sayer (12 April 1879 – 18 April 1918) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
He was 38 years old, and a Lance Corporal in the 8th Battalion, The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 21 March 1918 at Le Verguier, France, Lance Corporal Sayer held the flank of a small isolated post for two hours. Owing to mist the enemy approached from both sides to within 30 yards before being discovered, but the lance corporal, on his own initiative without assistance, beat off a succession of attacks, inflicting heavy losses. During the whole time he was exposed to heavy fire but his contempt of danger and skill in the use of his fire-arms enabled the post to hold out until nearly all the garrison had been killed and he himself wounded and captured. He died as a result of wounds four weeks later.
Sayer's actions on the day have been cited as having an immense effect on holding back the German offensive which stalled as they were held up by the Queen's Regiment defence.
References
Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
VCs of the First World War - Spring Offensive 1918 (Gerald Gliddon, 1997)
Category:1879 births
Category:1918 deaths
Category:Queen's Royal Regiment soldiers
Category:British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross
Category:British Army personnel of World War I
Category:British military personnel killed in World War I
Category:British World War I prisoners of war
Category:World War I prisoners of war held by Germany
Category:People from Ilford
Category:British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross
Category:People from Islington (district) | {
"pile_set_name": "Wikipedia (en)"
} |
심사위원들이 점수 주는게 아니고 추첨인들에게 무작위로 보내 투표하는 방식이라 그동안 황예지 참가는 전혀 몰랐는데 오늘 누가 까서 공개됨 ㄷㄷ
황예지는 아마도 2PM 준호가 추천한듯. 춤으로는 역대 최고급이라던데 기대됨.
도끼랑 박정현도 참가해서 1명씩 추천하고 참가한 상태라고 함. 도끼는 의외로(?) R&B 가수 추천했다는 루머.
셀럽들이 자기가 아는 스타성 있는 연습생이나 신인 추천해서 서바이벌 대결해서 최종 우승자 가린다고..
K팝스타, 판듀 제작진이 만듦.
5 * 비회원 참여 가능 공유 심사위원들이 점수 주는게 아니고 추첨인들에게 무작위로 보내 투표하는 방식이라 그동안 황예지 참가는 전혀 몰랐는데 오늘 누가 까서 공개됨 ㄷㄷ황예지는 아마도 2PM 준호가 추천한듯. 춤으로는 역대 최고급이라던데 기대됨.도끼랑 박정현도 참가해서 1명씩 추천하고 참가한 상태라고 함. 도끼는 의외로(?) R&B 가수 추천했다는 루머.셀럽들이 자기가 아는 스타성 있는 연습생이나 신인 추천해서 서바이벌 대결해서 최종 우승자 가린다고..K팝스타, 판듀 제작진이 만듦. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
L-ascorbic acid amplification of bladder carcinogenesis promotion by K2CO3.
The dose dependence of K2CO3 promotion of two-stage urinary bladder carcinogenesis and the amplifying effects of additional L-ascorbic acid (AsA) administration were investigated. Male F344 rats were given 0.05% N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine in their drinking water for 4 weeks and then fed basal diet containing K2CO3 at levels of 0, 1, 1.5, 2.2, and 3% with or without 5% AsA or 3% NaHCO3 supplementation from weeks 5 to 8 (4 weeks) and weeks 12 to 20 (9 weeks). During weeks 9 to 11 (3 weeks), the rats were fed 3% uracil in their diet. For controls, rats without N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine treatment were given either 3% K2CO3, 5% AsA, or both plus the uracil treatment. The total observation period was 20 weeks. K2CO3 dose dependently increased the numbers of the putative preneoplastic lesion, papillary or nodular hyperplasia, and papillomas in rats initiated with N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine. AsA (5%), while itself exerting no promoting effect, amplified the enhancing influence of K2CO3 on the induction of papillary or nodular hyperplasia and papillomas. The dose-dependent elevation of urinary pH and K+ concentration was associated with K2CO3 treatment with or without AsA. Thus, increased urinary pH and K+ concentration appear to play important roles in K2CO3 promotion, and AsA amplifies this promotion. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
In utero AAV-mediated gene transfer to rabbit pulmonary epithelium.
In utero intra-amniotic administration of adeno-associated virus (AAV) for treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) has the potential to be an efficient way to target the rapidly dividing undifferentiated cells of the fetal pulmonary epithelium, while simultaneously treating other tissues involved in CF (such as the intestines), but has never before been studied. Intra-amniotic administration of 1x10(12) particles of AAV-luciferase vector to 110 fetal rabbits at 24-25 days gestation resulted in transgene expression in amniotic membranes, trachea, and pulmonary epithelium. The highest level of transgene expression was found in amniotic membranes. Transgene expression peaked in the lungs 10 days after vector delivery, decreased at day 17, and was no longer detectable after 24 days. The number of pulmonary cells transduced was approximately 1 in 500 and immunohistochemical analysis showed expression in varying cell types, including alveolar cells. Transgene expression was not detected in fetal rabbit intestines, skin or liver, nor in maternal ovaries or liver. Intra-amniotic administration of AAV does not result in the tissue inflammation and fetal loss previously documented with in utero adenoviral administration, and results in high levels of transgene expression in amniotic membranes with lower levels in fetal pulmonary epithelium. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
RICHMOND, Va. — On Wednesday, Governor Terry McAuliffe announced Coyote Hole Ciderworks, LLC will soon open in Louisa County, and use only state-grown apples in production.
Cider continues to be “a new shining star” for the economy, with state cider sales spiking annually. Last year saw a 200 percent spike over 2014 sales, an explosive trend expected to continue in future years. Sales continued to grow in 2016, with nearly 417,000 cases of Virginia cider sold — an increase of more than 52 percent over 2015 sales.
Coyote Hole Ciderworks will create five new jobs and invest $775,000 in a new production cidery and tasting room in Mineral. In addition, the company will purchase more than 1 million pounds of Virginia-grown apples and fruit over the next three years.
The cidery, founded by Chris and Laura Denkers, Michael Baier and Sarah Conine, has a spring opening planned at their Mineral location. The name is a nod to the rich mining history of the town. A “Coyote Hole” is a small blast hole used in mining operations which looks similar to the holes that coyotes use as their dens.
The Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) Fund will assist Louisa County and Coyote Hole Ciderworks on this project with a $20,000 grant, and Louisa is matching it with local funds.
“This grant will help us get up and running, grow more quickly and bring new jobs into Louisa County while supporting local businesses throughout Virginia,” Chris Denkers said.
“Louisa County is fortunate to have Coyote Hole Ciderworks as part of our business community, the first of its kind in the County,” added Chairman Lloyd Runnett of the Louisa County Industrial Development Authority. “
While the concentration of breweries and cideries in the metro-area can be found within city limits, the past few years has seen the successful launch of several breweries in nearby Goochland. Midnight Brewing opened in 2011, Lickinghole Creek opened in 2013 and Hardywood has started work on a $28 million expansion in the West Creek office park.
Agriculture and forestry are two of Virginia’s largest industries with a combined economic impact of $70 billion annually, according to a 2013 economic impact. Agriculture generates more than $52 billion per annum, while forestry induces over $17 billion.
The industries also provide more than 400,000 jobs in the Commonwealth.
There are approximately 20 cideries in Virginia, which places it in the top 10 nationally. Foggy Ridge Cider in Carroll County first established its orchards in 1998 and opened for business in 2006. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Socioeconomic inequalities in stroke incidence among migrant groups: analysis of nationwide data.
Low socioeconomic status has been linked to high incidence of stroke in industrialized countries; therefore, reducing socioeconomic disparities is an important goal of health policy. The evidence on migrant groups is, however, limited and inconsistent. We assessed socioeconomic inequalities in relation to stroke incidence among major ethnic groups in the Netherlands. A nationwide register-based cohort study was conducted (n=2 397 446) between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2010, among ethnic Dutch and ethnic minority groups. Standardized disposable household income was used as a measure of socioeconomic position. Among ethnic Dutch, the incidence of stroke was higher in the low-income group than in the high-income group (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.18; 95% confidence interval, 1.16-1.20). Similar socioeconomic inequalities in stroke incidence were found among Surinamese (1.36; 1.17-1.58), Indonesians (1.15; 1.03-1.28), Moroccans (1.54; 0.97-2.43), Turkish (1.19; 0.97-1.46), and to a lesser extent among Antilleans (1.24; 0.84-1.84). When compared with ethnic Dutch, the incidence of stroke was lower in Moroccans, similar in Turkish, but higher in Surinamese among all income groups. The incidence of stroke was higher in Indonesian low- and high-income groups than in their ethnic Dutch counterparts. Among Antilleans, the risk of stroke was higher than ethnic Dutch but only in the low-income group. Our findings reveal socioeconomic inequalities in stroke incidence among all ethnic groups. Reduction of socioeconomic inequalities in stroke incidence among all ethnic groups may lead to a major public health improvement for all. Policy measures tackling socioeconomic inequalities should take into account the increased risk of stroke among ethnic minority populations. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
i ordered some gear a few weeks back from two diff places..and on sat i got two peach slips in my mail box saying i had registered mail i could either get them redilvered or got to the post office and pick it up..on the form it marked parcel and registerd is marked..but i never selected the registered shipping service when i ordered my shit..when i track the tracking number on the notice it shows when the package entered the country and went thourgh customs and they tried to deliver it to my house..what should i do.. should i schedule a redilvery or just take a loss...
I'd contact your source and ask them did they make it registered. If it cleared customs and no ICE knocking on your door questioning the packages, then I would think you'd be gtg. I guess it's how you feel about it all. Do some research and if anything, sign for it and don't open it for a couple of weeks. Someone else chime in
Then you're taking another chance with customs. There was a recent thread about this topic and with the USPS holding packages and what the postal inspector can and can't do. Hopefully a seasoned vet will chime in with some advice.
YEs contact the source to see if they sent it requiring a signature. It may just be that the mailman didn't feel conformable leaving the package. Ether way I'd clean your house. Then sign the slip for them to deliver them. When you get them take them inside and write return to sender on them packages and let them sit unopened for a few days.
You have not way of knowing what has been shipped to you.
The term "sell out comes from progressives" It is propaganda to make your feel better about not having the opportunities they have taken away. I was raised to succeed. Opportunity is wealth of prosperity. Fight the power! .....LOL
OK. I have had this happen a few times. Maybe we used the same source who knows. Anyway it is no big deal. Seriously. I know how you feel though. Like a deer stepping out into the meadow on opening day? I know. Just walk into the post office, give them the peach slip, show ID, sign for the package, and leave. Sounds simple? It is. Rest assured btw your source is tracking the package too. I don't think they would re-ship because you are too scared to go to the post office.
I'd just open your package up right there at the post office in front of the lady at the counter and draw the gear and ask her if she'll pin your glute. And if she won't, tell her to kiss your ass and walk out.
I'd just open your package up right there at the post office in front of the lady at the counter and draw the gear and ask her if she'll pin your glute. And if she won't, tell her to kiss your ass and walk out.
I picked up a register package at the PO yesterday, no big deal I knew it was coming registered mail. If customs knew what it was they would just take it and send a seizure letter. If they wanted to bust you, they would do a controlled delivery to your house and/or come with a warrant and take your computer and anything else you have. There will not be anybody waiting all day at the PO just to bust you.
Go Pick it up, its no big deal. Like Stone says, most releible sources do this now. They can track if its been picked up or stopped by customs. By the time it gets to your local PO its not a big deal. You just hand them the slip and walkout with your gear. I have signed for my last 4 shipments. My source will reship only if stopped by Customs or lost, by them tracking it, they know that it reached u or not. It is really the best way to do business.
If you do have problem with the cops lawyer up right away. You have no clue about anything.
The term "sell out comes from progressives" It is propaganda to make your feel better about not having the opportunities they have taken away. I was raised to succeed. Opportunity is wealth of prosperity. Fight the power! .....LOL
Go pick up your order and stop being paranoid. If there was something up with the package it wouldn't have cleared customs. I highly doubt they're sending Feds to arrest you for your 4 vials of test cyp and clomid
OK. I have had this happen a few times. Maybe we used the same source who knows. Anyway it is no big deal. Seriously. I know how you feel though. Like a deer stepping out into the meadow on opening day? I know. Just walk into the post office, give them the peach slip, show ID, sign for the package, and leave. Sounds simple? It is. Rest assured btw your source is tracking the package too. I don't think they would re-ship because you are too scared to go to the post office.
I know a little of the inside of the P.O........
They WILL schedule a Re-delivery.
Register mail is under lock and key at all time in a special holding area. your carrier picks it up in the A.M. before heading out on route. If you are not there, they WILL NOT EVER leave it in your box if they value their job. Upon no answer, you get the slip. 9 outta 10 times they try to redeliver the pack NEXT DAY. You get (3) tries and your pack gets sent back to shipper.
Provided you used your REAL NAME, you will get your pack, if you didnt, it's a loss.
Dont expect to walk in there tell them your there to pick up pack for "So and So" and not have the ID that matches name on the pack. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Importance of central serotonin neurons in the hypotensive action of methyldopa in the rat.
Normotensive (WKY) and stroke prone spontaneously hypertensive (SHR-SP) rats were given methyldopa (200 mg/kg i.p.) daily for five days and their brains were then sectioned and processed with the Faglu method for catecholamine fluorescence. This treatment with methyldopa induced a green fluorescence not seen in control animals, in cells coinciding with the B1-B9 groups of serotonin neurons in the brainstem. Pretreatment with the neurotoxin 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT, i.c.v.), which is relatively specific for serotonin neurons, prevented the appearance of this green fluorescence in the serotonin cell groups of rats given methyldopa. Pretreatment with 5,7-DHT, i.c.v. approximately halved the magnitude of the hypotensive response to a single dose of methyldopa (80 mg/kg i.p.). We suggest that central serotonin nerves contribute to the hypotensive action of methyldopa. It is our hypothesis that methyldopa is taken up by these serotonin cells and that the green fluorescence reflects the production of alpha-methyldopamine, as a result of decarboxylation by the ubiquitous enzyme, L-aromatic amino acid decarboxylase. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
Portable telephone systems and personal digital assistants (“PDA”) have gained widespread acceptance as an efficient means for voice and data communications. While early mobile units were large and complex, miniaturization has made possible hand-held units with full functional telephony capabilities allowing the user freedom to use a phone in a mobile environment or at a location remote from a hard wired connection to an existing telephone system. In addition, the cost of purchasing and using a portable phone has substantially declined and the quality and clarity of communication over a portable phone has increased causing increased and widespread demand for portable phones by the public. Such a demand has resulted in the competitive need for increased reliability in the portable phone and PDA.
Portable phones and PDA's typically include an electrical interface connector having both a power port and data port for charging and transferring data to the portable phone and PDA. Such an interface connector includes a dielectric elongate housing with electrically conductive terminals in each of the power port and data ports for electrically conducting and engaging with a power cable and data cable. The electrically conductive terminals are interconnected to circuitry in the portable phone and PDA.
The power cable and data cable are most often configured to engage with the interface connector and maintain such engagement with a latching system which holds the power cable and/or data cable in a mated condition. Such a latching system also is releasable to allow the power cable and/or data cable to be disengaged from the mated condition.
One of the problems with latching systems for the power cable and data cable described above is the potential of damage to the latches, themselves. In other words, too often the power cable and/or the data cable are hastily positioned and latched in a misaligned fashion which causes strain and fatigue on the latches. The result may be inadvertent damage to the latches. Often the latches of the latching system are formed from a polymeric material that experiences torque and stresses reducing the life span of the latches.
Another problem with such systems relates to the interface connector of the portable phone and PDA. Such an interface connector is a small, elongated and narrow structure which includes a housing molded of dielectric or polymeric material or the like. When latching cavities are formed in the very narrow housing along with the cavities for the power port and data ports, open spaces are created which tend to allow the molded plastic housing of the interface connector to bow. The interface connector is designed for mounting on a printed circuit board, and even the slightest bowing of the housing prevents the connector from lying completely flat on the circuit board. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
/**
* @file
* @copyright defined in go-seele/LICENSE
*/
package qvic
import (
"bytes"
"fmt"
"testing"
)
func Test_VBitVec_check(t *testing.T) {
v1 := new(VBitVec)
v1.Init(64)
v2 := new(VBitVec)
v2.Init(64)
v1.InitPattern(0x80, 1)
v2.InitPattern(0x80, 1)
v2.SetBit(0, false)
v2.SetBit(1, false)
ret := v1.has1fecBit(v2)
if ret != false {
fmt.Println("VBitVec_check ret=", ret)
t.Fail()
}
}
func Test_Init(t *testing.T) {
v1 := new(VBitVec)
v1.Init(64)
if v1.BitLen != 64 || v1.bufLen != 8 || v1.ExtFlag != 0 {
fmt.Println("Init", v1.BitLen, v1.bufLen, v1.ExtFlag)
t.Fail()
}
// pBuf must be 0
zeroArray := [8]byte{}
if !bytes.Equal(v1.pBuf[:], zeroArray[:]) {
fmt.Println("Init pBuf:", v1.pBuf)
t.Fail()
}
}
func Test_Attatch(t *testing.T) {
v1 := new(VBitVec)
v1.Init(64)
p := []byte{1, 2, 3}
var flag byte
for bitLen := uint(1); bitLen < 64; bitLen++ {
v1.Attatch(p, bitLen, flag)
if v1.BitLen != bitLen || v1.ExtFlag != flag || !bytes.Equal(v1.pBuf[:], p[:]) {
fmt.Println("Attatch", v1.BitLen, v1.bufLen, v1.ExtFlag)
t.Fail()
}
// Checks the bufLen
var bufLen = bitLen / MaxBitLength
if bufLen*MaxBitLength < bitLen {
bufLen++
}
if v1.bufLen != bufLen {
fmt.Println("Attatch bufLen:", v1.bufLen, bufLen)
t.Fail()
}
}
}
func Test_Detach(t *testing.T) {
v1 := new(VBitVec)
v1.Init(64)
v1.Detach()
if v1.BitLen != 0 || v1.bufLen != 0 || v1.ExtFlag != 0 {
fmt.Println("Detach", v1.BitLen, v1.bufLen, v1.ExtFlag)
t.Fail()
}
if v1.pBuf != nil {
fmt.Println("Detach pBuf:", v1.pBuf)
t.Fail()
}
}
func Test_SetAndGetBit(t *testing.T) {
v1 := new(VBitVec)
v1.Init(64)
// 1
v1.SetBit(1, true)
p := []byte{64, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0}
if !bytes.Equal(v1.pBuf, p) {
fmt.Println("Detach pBuf:", v1.pBuf)
t.Fail()
}
if !v1.GetBit(1) {
t.Fail()
}
// 2
v1.SetBit(2, true)
p = []byte{96, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0}
if !bytes.Equal(v1.pBuf, p) {
fmt.Println("Detach pBuf:", v1.pBuf)
t.Fail()
}
if !v1.GetBit(2) {
t.Fail()
}
// 3
v1.SetBit(3, false)
p = []byte{96, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0}
if !bytes.Equal(v1.pBuf, p) {
fmt.Println("Detach pBuf:", v1.pBuf)
t.Fail()
}
if v1.GetBit(3) {
t.Fail()
}
}
func Test_BitXor(t *testing.T) {
v1 := new(VBitVec)
v1.Init(64)
v2 := new(VBitVec)
v2.Init(64)
v3 := new(VBitVec)
v3.Init(64)
v3.SetBit(1, true)
v1.BitXor(v2, v3)
if !bytes.Equal(v1.pBuf, v3.pBuf) {
fmt.Println("Detach pBuf:", v1.pBuf, v3.pBuf)
t.Fail()
}
v4 := new(VBitVec)
v4.Init(64)
v4.SetBit(2, true)
v2.BitXor1(v4)
if !bytes.Equal(v2.pBuf, v4.pBuf) {
fmt.Println("Detach pBuf:", v2.pBuf, v4.pBuf)
t.Fail()
}
}
| {
"pile_set_name": "Github"
} |
The H-II transfer vehicle appears to have been the target of a spyware attack
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has confirmed that sensitive data has been stolen from a staff computer. The agency said that a virus infection was detected on an employee's terminal on 6 January. The employee is involved with the H-II transfer vehicle that carries cargo to the International Space Station. The agency added that, apart from the email addresses stored on the computer, data related to the transfer vehicle and its schedule, as well as system login data, is potentially at risk because of the intrusion.
According to the statement, "an anomaly" was detected on the computer in mid-August, prompting an examination of the computer and the removal of a virus that was found. However, the agency noted that the computer was still unstable and it has, therefore, been continuously monitored since then. No reason was given why a further data-harvesting virus was only detected on 6 January. The agency apologised in its statement, saying that it will strengthen its information security, attempt to limit the damage and investigate the causes. All system passwords have been changed and the scale of damage, as well as its impact on the space program, is currently being investigated. No information on the origin and nature of the malware has been released.
(ehe) | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
The Coast Guard said the drugs were seized in six interdictions by three cutters. Coast Guard Cutter Seneca seized about 500 kilograms from one smuggling vessel. Another cutter, the Tampa, intercepted two vessels, bringing in about 1,855 kilograms. The Tahoma itself intercepted three smugglers and confiscated an estimated 3,962 kilograms of cocaine.
The Coast Guard remains active in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean basin, known transit zones for drugs passing from South and Central America into the United States. The US Defence Department, Justice and several other government agencies come together to detect, intercept and eventually prosecute those responsible.
“It is critical that our Coast Guard crews and partner agencies work persistently in ensuring these illegal drugs are stopped from coming to the streets of the United States,” said Cmdr. Michael Sarnowski, commanding officer of the Tahoma.
In all, the estimated street value of that much cocaine amounts to over $US170 million. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
HMD announced an April availability for Nokia 1 and it is already on pre-order in some of the markets globally. But in a surprise Nokia 1 has become available in two markets now.
Update: It is available in Iraq too as per the tip by one of our regular readers. It is priced around $80 in Iraq.
In Germany, few of the retailers has it in stock and MindFactory is selling it for a price of EUR 98. It shows the device availability in its central warehouse.
Buy link
Nokia 1 has also become available in Ghana and can be bought now from mobile phone retailers across the country.
Nokia 1 details:
You can read Nokia 1 complete detailed specs, price, features and check out images, 360-deg view, and video by clicking here
Hands-on & First Impressions: You can check our hands-on demo and first impressions of Nokia 1 by clicking here. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Teemu Pulkkinen likes to score goals, lots of goals. The Red Wings have several very exciting forward prospects who are NHL ready (See: Jurco, Tomas) or are at least going to be ready soon (See: Mantha, Anthony) as well as several who are a little further away, so sometimes it's easy to leave Pulkkinen out of the "should he be called up" conversation. Teemu Pulkkinen isn't known for his stick handling skills, and he rarely dekes and dangles on the ice. What he is known for, is scoring goals. Goals are pretty good, in my opinion.
Last year in his rookie season with the Griffins, Pulkkinen
Finished 4th in the AHL in regular season goals with 31, the league leader had 36.
Finished 2nd in AHL regular season rookie scoring with 59 points, the league leader had 65.
Finished 16th in the AHL in points and tied for 18th in the league in shots on goal
In the regular season, he led the Griffins in goals (31), points (59) shots on goal (201), power play goals (9), and was 2nd on the team in +/- (+18) even though he spend a lot of time on the top PP unit.
In the playoffs he tied Tomas Jurco for team lead in goals (5) and power play goals (2), led the team in points (11), shots on goal (28), and +/- (+8)
Broke the Griffins' rookie goal scoring record.
In Europe he was probably the most widely known for his "Holy Slapper". In the 2013 playoffs when Pulkkinen came over to play in the AHL, he often employed the holy slapper; winding up big and taking an ungodly hard shot. On the smaller North American ice, and the faster paced game, that huge wind-up doesn't work as well as it did in Europe and so Teemu has adapted. There are still times when a big slap shot is appropriate and useful, but we've also seen a wider variety of shots from him that result in goals. His ability to score goals is amazing.
There are several aspects of Pulkkinen's abilities that make his goal scoring impressive. Why don't we take a look at all of Angus his goals last season and see exactly how he scored his goals. Here's the video I created with all of Pulkkinen's goals from last season, regular season and playoffs.
Pulkkinen certainly has "his" style that he plays, and he loves to take wristers and slappers from between the circles and blue line, and hey, what's not to love! His shot is so hard, so fast, and so accurate, that goalies often don't even have to time react before the puck is behind them. Sometimes when he shoots the puck it seems to go right through three or four players standing in front of it, past the goalie, and into a precise spot in the net. Did you notice how many times the puck went top corner with little room for error? That's a tough shot to make, yet Pulkkinen blasts it through multiple players at lightning speed and the goalies often don't even move to stop the puck at all because they don't see it coming. His shot is harder, faster, and more accurate than a lot of NHL'ers, and his ability to score goals from anywhere on the ice is a valuable commodity. Pulkkinen keeps is simple, shoots a LOT, and scores goals. He plays with energy and when he's on the ice you get the feeling that he might score at any second. He's exciting!
Griffins coach Jeff Blashill has said a lot of great things about Pulkkinen since he joined the team, including the following.
"Teemu is one of those guys where the puck seems to follow him around the ice … He finds a way to win puck battles. When he’s got the puck on his stick, he’s got a real weapon of a shot. Jeff Blashill (January 2014, GriffinsHockey.com) "He can create something out of nothing. He can score goals from everywhere on the ice because he has an extremely dynamic shot - both his slap shot and his wrist shot. When goals are at such a premium in hockey, he's one of those few guys who only needs one chance to score. His shot is that good. The thing I like about Teemu is he wants to get better. He listens, and he's working at trying to get better. When he gets better (in the defensive zone), and when you have that ability to score ... Boy, you become a commodity in a hurry." - Blashill (February 2014) "Teemu is a goal-scorer. He's somebody who can play average and still have an impact on the game by shooting one puck in the net. That's how good of a shot he has. Blashill (May 2014, foxsports.com). Quotes taken from Red Wings Central
I don't know how much we'll see of Pulkkinen in Detroit this year, because Jurco should be on the team, but will have to settle for being the top call up. I think Anthony Mantha will start in Grand Rapids, but depending on how his transition goes, he may be second in line. I believe Pulkkinen will be pushing to be in the NHL very soon. He's improved in his defensive game a lot last year, and while I don't think he'll ever win the Selke, I don't care one iota. He can score all the goals his heart desires and let his line-mates watch his back a little. Watch out Detroit, Teemu is coming for YOU! | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
It's been nearly two days since British divers found 12 young boys and their soccer coach in a flooded maze of underground caves. Now, new images show the boys wrapped in foil blankets for warmth as experts plan the delicate rescue mission. NBC's Janis Mackey Frayer is in Chiang Rye with the latest. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
// @flow
import * as React from 'react';
import {Button} from 'baseui/button';
import {ButtonGroup} from 'baseui/button-group';
export default () => (
<ButtonGroup>
<Button disabled>Label</Button>
<Button>Label</Button>
<Button>Label</Button>
</ButtonGroup>
);
| {
"pile_set_name": "Github"
} |
Q:
How to Use ASM Library in Maven Project
I am trying to use the ASM byte code engineering library in a maven project. I put this in my pom
<dependency>
<groupId>asm</groupId>
<artifactId>asm-parent</artifactId>
<version>3.3.1</version>
</dependency>
But my code fails to build, because no jar is present. When I examine the contents of .m2 I see
ll ~/.m2/repository/asm/asm-parent/3.3.1/
total 40
drwxr-xr-x 6 david staff 204 Oct 25 08:25 .
drwxr-xr-x 5 david staff 170 Dec 24 2013 ..
-rw-r--r-- 1 david staff 156 Dec 18 2013 _maven.repositories
-rw-r--r-- 1 david staff 242 Oct 25 08:25 asm-parent-3.3.1.jar.lastUpdated
-rw-r--r-- 1 david staff 4332 Dec 18 2013 asm-parent-3.3.1.pom
-rw-r--r-- 1 david staff 40 Dec 18 2013 asm-parent-3.3.1.pom.sha1
And this:
[ERROR] Failed to execute goal on project asm-test:
Could not resolve dependencies for project com.example:asm-test:jar:1.0-SNAPSHOT:
Could not find artifact asm:asm-parent:jar:3.3.1 in central
(http://repo.maven.apache.org/maven2),
try downloading from http://mojo.codehaus.org/my-project -> [Help 1]
A:
According to http://mvnrepository.com/artifact/asm/asm/3.3.1 The suggested usage is like this:
<dependency>
<groupId>asm</groupId>
<artifactId>asm</artifactId>
<version>3.3.1</version>
</dependency>
You were trying to use the parent project with defines only a pom.
BTW, there is a note:
Note: This artifact was moved to:
New Group org.ow2.asm
New Artifact asm
A:
asm-parent dependencey type is pom,
try below
<dependency>
<groupId>asm</groupId>
<artifactId>asm-parent</artifactId>
<version>3.3.1</version>
<type>pom</type>
</dependency>
if you want to use asm only
<dependency>
<groupId>asm</groupId>
<artifactId>asm</artifactId>
<version>3.3.1</version>
</dependency>
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
Protein-embedding technique: a potential approach to standardization of immunohistochemistry for formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections.
A serial study was performed to develop a protein-embedding technique for standardization of immunohistochemistry (IHC) on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue sections. A protein carrier matrix must have two phases, a liquid phase to allow uniform mixing of a protein and a solid phase forming a 'block' that can be fixed and processed in the same manner as human tissue. This standardized protein block would serve as a source of thin sections for control of IHC and therefore must also withstand the boiling conditions of antigen retrieval (AR). After multiple experiments, a method was developed utilizing polymer microsphere (beads) as a support medium for protein. The method showed particular promise for quantitative IHC. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
Q:
Add image to left of text via css
How can I add an image to some text via css?
I've got this:
<span class="create">Create something</span>
and I want to add a 16x16 image to the left of that by using css. Is this possible or should i just manually add this image like so:
<span class="create"><img src="somewhere"/>Create something</span>
I'd rather not have to manually change all of the places which is why I wanted to do it via css.
thanks!
A:
.create
{
background-image: url('somewhere.jpg');
background-repeat: no-repeat;
padding-left: 30px; /* width of the image plus a little extra padding */
display: block; /* may not need this, but I've found I do */
}
Play around with padding and possibly margin until you get your desired result. You can also play with the position of the background image (*nod to Tom Wright) with "background-position" or doing a completely definition of "background" (link to w3).
A:
Very simple method:
.create:before {
content: url(image.png);
}
Works in all modern browsers and IE8+.
Edit
Don't use this on large sites though. The :before pseudo-element is horrible in terms of performance.
A:
Try something like:
.create
{
margin: 0px;
padding-left: 20px;
background-image: url('yourpic.gif');
background-repeat: no-repeat;
}
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
Background {#Sec1}
==========
Takayasu's arteritis (TA) is a form of chronic vasculitis primarily involving the large arteries and their main branches, and the pathological manifestation is arterial full-thickness inflammation \[[@CR1]\]. TA can affect the aorta, subclavian artery, renal artery, iliac artery, coronary artery, and other blood vessels. The clinical manifestations vary greatly depending on the area, severity, and duration of vascular involvement. TA usually progresses through three stages \[[@CR2]\]: an early stage characterized by nonspecific symptoms, a vasculitis stage characterized by a systemic inflammatory response and thickening of the vascular walls, and a static stage characterized by dissipating inflammation and occlusion of affected vessels. Notably, the vasculitis stage is a crucial period for diagnosis and treatment.
TA can involve the pulmonary artery \[[@CR3], [@CR4]\]. The incidence of pulmonary arteritis (PA) in patients with TA varies greatly among studies (0--56%) \[[@CR5], [@CR6]\]. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) occurs in 12 to 13% of patients with TA and in 42.2% of patients with PA \[[@CR3], [@CR6], [@CR7]\]. No large-sample study of PA and PH in patients with TA has been performed to date. Only one Chinese hospital specializing in cardiovascular diseases reported that the incidence of PH in patients with TA involving the pulmonary artery reached 78.1% \[[@CR8]\]. Pulmonary artery involvement in patients with TA increases the likelihood of misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis because of the nonspecific respiratory manifestations and lack of symptoms of systemic vessel involvement \[[@CR9]\]. PH is a late manifestation of PA that indicates a weaker response to treatment and a poor prognosis \[[@CR3]\]; thus, it is vital to achieve an early diagnosis of PA in patients with TA.
This study was performed to analyze the clinical manifestations, imaging features, and prognosis of TA with PA, focusing on the difference between patients with and without PH. Additionally, the early manifestations of PA were explored so that diagnosis can be achieved as early as possible before the occurrence of PH.
Methods {#Sec2}
=======
Study population {#Sec3}
----------------
Patients with TA who were hospitalized at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) from January 1986 to December 2015 were identified from the medical records system. Patients with TA who fulfilled the criteria for pulmonary artery involvement were included.
Inclusion criteria {#Sec4}
------------------
Satisfaction of the diagnostic criteria for TA as defined by the American College of Rheumatology \[[@CR10]\].Pulmonary artery involvement as determined by satisfaction of at least one of the following three items: (1) computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA), pulmonary perfusion imaging, or pulmonary arteriography findings suggestive of thickening of the vessel wall or stenosis or occlusion of the pulmonary artery branches; (2) ^18^F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) findings suggestive of high intake of local radioactive material in the pulmonary artery wall; or (3) transthoracic echocardiography findings consistent with presumptive PH without left ventricular disease. PH was defined as an estimated pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) of \>50 mmHg and peak tricuspid regurgitation velocity (TRV) of \>3.4 m/s, which suggests a high probability of PH according to the European Society of Cardiology/European Respiratory Society PH guideline \[[@CR11], [@CR12]\]. Estimation of the PASP was based on the peak TRV, taking into account the right atrial pressure as described by the simplified Bernoulli equation. The right atrial pressure was estimated by echocardiography and was based on the diameter and respiratory variation in diameter of the inferior vena cava \[[@CR12], [@CR13]\].
Characteristics {#Sec5}
---------------
All patients' case records and imaging findings were retrospectively reviewed. Observation indices included demographic information, clinical manifestations, radiologic findings, laboratory examination findings, diagnostic procedures, therapeutic interventions, and outcomes. Patients with TA with pulmonary artery involvement were further divided into a PH group and non-PH group for comparison. The prognostic information was collected by telephone follow-up.
Statistical analysis {#Sec6}
--------------------
Data were analyzed using SPSS 17.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) and are expressed as median (range). The measurement data were analyzed by analysis of variance or the Mann--Whitney U test to compare within- or between-group differences. The enumeration data were analyzed by the χ^2^ test. Survival rate analysis was performed using Kaplan--Meier and Cox regression methods. A *P* value of \<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results {#Sec7}
=======
General information {#Sec8}
-------------------
From January 1986 to December 2015, a total of 815 patients with TA were hospitalized in PUMCH, among whom 51 (6.26%) were found to have PA (Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}). According to their date of diagnosis, the patients were divided into six groups at 5-year intervals. The number of patients with TA increased over time (*n* = 37, 58, 54, 143, 209, and 314). In addition, the proportion of patients with PA among those with TA also showed an upward trend with time (0.0, 0.0, 1.9, 2.1, 7.2, and 10.2%) (Fig. [2](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}). Fig. 1Diagnostic flow chart of patients who had Takayasu's arteritis with pulmonary artery involvement Fig. 2Number of patients with Takayasu's arteritis (TA) and proportion of patients with pulmonary arteritis (PA) among those with TA gradually increased over 30 years
The 51 patients comprised 39 females and 12 males at a male:female ratio of 1.0:3.2; the median age of the patients was 33 (14--67) years. Among the 51 patients with PA, 30 (58.8%) were diagnosed with presumptive PH \[median estimated PASP, 84.5 (52--139) mmHg; median peak TRV, 4.25 (3.5--5.6) m/s\] by transthoracic echocardiography. This number of patients with PH accounted for 93% of those in the previous 5 years (2006--2010) but for only 50% of those in the more recent 5 years (2011--2015). The median duration from onset to hospitalization was 28 (1--540) months. The median duration from disease onset to hospitalization was longer in the PH group \[45.5 (1--540) months\] than in the non-PH group \[17 (1--120) months, *P* = 0.009\] (Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"}). Table 1demographics, clinical manifestations, imaging features of Takayasu's arteritis patients with pulmonary arteritistotal (*n* = 51)non-PH (*n* = 21)PH (*n* = 30)*P*Sex (female)39 (76.5%)15 (71.4%)24 (80%)0.518Age (year)33 (14--67)30 (15--65)35.5 (22--67)0.196Median duration of disease (months)28 (1--540)17 (1--120)45.5 (1--540)0.009\*Clinical symptoms Cough34 (66.7%)15 (71.4%)19 (63.3%)0.546 Hemoptysis24 (47.1%)14 (66.7%)10 (33.3%)0.019\* Dyspnea36 (70.6%)11 (52.4%)25 (83.3%)0.017\* Chest pain23 (45.1%)15 (71.4%)8 (26.7%)0.002\* Palpitation12 (23.5%)4 (19.0%)8 (26.7%)0.767 Fever22 (43.1%)13 (61.9%)9 (30.0%)0.024\*Lab tests WBC (×10^9^/L)9.07 (4.06--18.46)9.80 (8.92--17.00)8.48 (4.06--18.46)0.246 ESR (mm/h)16 (1--178)34 (2--178)8.5 (1--140)0.027\* CRP (mg/dL)7.17 (0.11--238.31)13.7 (0.37--238.31)5.65 (0.11--155.00)0.284Radiological features Cavity7 (13.7%)5 (23.8%)2 (6.7%)0.181 Nodule25 (49.0%)11 (52.4%)14 (46.7%)0.688 Pleural thickening27 (52.9%)10 (47.6%)17 (56.7%)0.524 irregular linear opacities26 (51.0%)11 (52.4%)15 (50.0%)0.867 Patchy opacities27 (52.9%)12 (57.1%)15 (50.0%)0.615 Subpleural wedge-shaped shadow13 (25.5%)10 (42.9%)3 (10.0%)0.002\* Mosaic perfusion3 (5.9%)03 (10.0%)0.259Extrapulmonary vascular involvement39 (76.5%)13 (61.9%)26 (86.7%)0.040\* Aorta25 (49.0%)8 (38.1%)17 (56.7%)0.192 Carotid artery32 (62.7%)10 (47.6%)22 (73.3%)0.062 Vertebral artery6 (11.8%)3 (14.3%)3 (10.0%)0.979 Subclavian artery30 (58.8%)10 (47.6%)20 (66.7%)0.174 Mesenteric artery6 (11.8%)06 (20.0%)0.036\* Renal artery18 (35.3%)4 (19.0%)14 (46.7%)0.083 Iliac artery3 (5.9%)1 (4.8%)2 (6.7%)1.000 Coronary artery2 (3.9%)1 (4.8%)1 (3.3%)1.000Values in parentheses indicate percentage or range. *CRP* C-reactive protein, *ESR* Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, *WBC* White blood cells. \**P* \< 0.05
Clinical manifestations {#Sec9}
-----------------------
Respiratory symptoms occurred in 48 patients (94.1%): dyspnea, 70.6% (36/51); cough, 66.7% (34/51); hemoptysis, 47.1% (24/51); and chest pain, 45.1% (23/51). Respiratory symptoms were the initial manifestation in 37 patients (72.5%). Patients without PH were more likely to have symptoms such as fever (61.9% vs. 30.0%, *P* = 0.024), chest pain (71.4% vs. 26.7%, *P* = 0.002), or hemoptysis (66.7% vs. 33.3%, *P* = 0.019) but were less likely to feel dyspnea than patients with PH (52.4% vs. 83.3%, *P* = 0.017) (Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"}).
In terms of the distribution of involved vessels, 12 of 51 patients (23.5%) only had PA and no evidence of extrapulmonary large artery involvement. Extrapulmonary vascular involvement occurred in 39 patients, including the aorta in 25 patients, carotid artery in 32, subclavian artery in 30, renal artery in 18, vertebral artery in 6, mesenteric artery in 6, iliac artery in 3, and coronary artery in 2.
Laboratory examinations {#Sec10}
-----------------------
The leukocyte count in peripheral blood was 9.07 (4.06--18.46) × 10^9^/L, and the neutrophil count was 5.72 (3.56--16.29) × 10^9^/L. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was 16 (1--178) mm/h and C-reactive protein level was 7.17 (0.11--238.31) mg/dL. The ESR was markedly higher in the patients without than with PH (34 vs. 8.5 mm/h, *P* = 0.027) (Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"}).
Imaging findings {#Sec11}
----------------
Chest CT showed pulmonary parenchymal involvement in 42 of 51 (82.4%) patients with TA involving the pulmonary artery: pleural thickening in 27 patients (52.9%), patchy opacities in 27 (52.9%), irregular linear opacities in 26 (51.0%) (Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}b, e and Fig. [4](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}e), nodules in 25 (49.0%) (Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}a), subpleural wedge-shaped shadows in 13 (25.5%) (Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}c and Fig. [4](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}a to c), cavities in 7 (13.7%) (Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}a), and mosaic perfusion in 3 (5.9%) (Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}a). The proportion of subpleural wedge-shaped shadows was significantly higher in the non-PH group than PH group (χ^2^ = 9.204, *P* = 0.002) (Table [1](#Tab1){ref-type="table"}). Fig. 3Imaging findings of pulmonary arteritis in patients with Takayasu's arteritis. **a**, Axial computed tomography (CT) image shows mosaic perfusion with reduced vessels in the darker lung (right lung), indicating occlusive vascular disease; a thin wall cavity is present in the right upper lung, consistent with pulmonary infarction. **b**, CT image obtained 2 years later shows a healing residual lesion from the cavity of the right upper lobe; subpleural scarring is also present. **c**, CT image shows a subpleural wedge-shaped opacity suggestive of pulmonary infarction. **d**, Contrast-enhanced CT image shows corresponding pulmonary artery occlusion in the right lower lobe. **e**, CT image shows peripheral scarring from previous infarcts in the right lower lung. **f**, Coronal reformatted image from CT pulmonary angiography in the same patient as in (**e)** shows occlusion of the right upper lobe artery and stenosis of the right interlobar artery and lower lobe artery Fig. 4Serial computed tomography (CT) images in a 40-year-old woman with Takayasu's arteritis. The patient was admitted to our hospital because of shortness of breath. She had developed recurrent chest and back pain and hemoptysis 4 years previously. **a--c**, CT images show recurrent subpleural wedge-shaped opacities during the initial 6 months after disease onset. **d** CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) image obtained at the same time as in (**c**) showed right pulmonary artery stenosis. **e**, four years later, a CT image shows peripheral scarring from previous infarcts. **f**, CTPA image obtained at the same time showed right pulmonary artery occlusion
Of the 44 patients who underwent pulmonary vascular imaging, 41 underwent CTPA showing pulmonary artery stenosis in 33 patients (Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}f and Fig. [4](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}d), pulmonary artery occlusion in 32 (Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}d, f and Fig. [4](#Fig4){ref-type="fig"}f), pulmonary artery wall thickening in 14, and pulmonary artery expansion in 7. Five patients underwent pulmonary arteriography, which showed pulmonary artery stenosis and occlusion. Pulmonary perfusion imaging in 14 patient revealed perfusion defects.
Diagnosis and differential diagnosis {#Sec12}
------------------------------------
Forty-four patients with PA were diagnosed by pulmonary vascular imaging examinations (CTPA in 41, pulmonary perfusion imaging in 14, and pulmonary arteriography in 5; at least two pulmonary vascular imaging abnormalities were found in 14 patients). Three patients underwent systemic PET/CT scans showing pulmonary artery involvement. Six patients were diagnosed only by echocardiography (Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}).
Forty-two (82.4%) patients had been diagnosed with other diseases before the diagnosis of PA, including pulmonary infection in 21 (50.0%), pulmonary tuberculosis in 13 (31.0%), idiopathic PH in 9 (21.4%), pulmonary embolism in 5 (11.9%), bronchial dilatation in 4 (9.5%), myocarditis in 2 (4.8%), heart failure in 2 (4.8%), lung malignancies in 1 (2.4%), and allergic pneumonia in 1 (2.4%).
Treatment and prognosis {#Sec13}
-----------------------
Fifty-one patients were treated with a glucocorticoid at a starting dose of 0.5 to 1.0 mg/kg/day; 45 patients received immunosuppressive therapy (39 with cyclophosphamide, 4 with methotrexate, 3 with azathioprine, 1 with tacrolimus, 1 with cyclosporine A, 1 with mycophenolate mofetil, and 1 with triptolide; 3 patients received treatment with two or more disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs). Seventeen patients received aspirin antiplatelet therapy, 17 were treated with warfarin anticoagulation, and 5 were treated with both aspirin and warfarin.
Fifty-one patients with TA involving the pulmonary artery were followed up for 48(1--212) months. Three of these patients died, and all were in the PH group. Eleven patients were readmitted to the hospital because of TA-related clinical manifestations, including nine patients in the PH group and two in the non-PH group. Patients without PH had significantly lower mortality and readmission rates than those with PH (9.5% vs. 33.3%). The Kaplan--Meier survival analysis showed that the risk of death or repeated hospital admissions significantly decreased if the PASP was \<100 mmHg (Fig. [5](#Fig5){ref-type="fig"}). Cox regression analysis showed that the risk of death or readmission significantly increased if the PASP was ≥100 mmHg in patients with PA after adjusting for the patients' demographics (age and sex), PASP, ESR, CRP, and presence or absence of extrapulmonary involvement \[hazard ratio (HR), 18.00; 95% confidence interval, 3.51--92.29; *P* = 0.001\]. An ESR of ≥20 mm/h was the key factor for reducing the risk of death or repeated hospital admissions (HR, 0.15; 95% confidence interval, 0.03--0.78; *P* = 0.024). Fig. 5Kaplan--Meier analysis of the risk of death or repeated hospital admissions. Patients with a PASP of ≥100 mmHg had a greater risk of death or repeated hospital admissions than patients with a PASP of \<100 mmHg
Discussion {#Sec14}
==========
In the present study, we reviewed 815 patients with TA during a 30-year period in a single center and found that (1) PA was present in 6.3% of patients with TA and that this proportion increased over time, (2) 58.8% (30/51) of patients with PA developed PH, and (3) 82.4% (42/51) of patients with PA had lung parenchymal lesions on CT scans, representing indirect signs of pulmonary artery involvement. Compared with the PH group, the non-PH group had different clinical features and imaging findings and a better prognosis.
The proportion of PA among patients with TA is still unclear and varies greatly among previous studies, which may be related to differences between study populations or diagnostic methods \[[@CR5], [@CR6], [@CR14]--[@CR18]\]. In the present study, we found that PA occurred in 6.3% of patients with TA. Notably, the rate of PA in patients with TA continually increased over time and reached 10% of patients with TA. The increasing diagnosis rate was due to the increasing awareness of TA and pulmonary vasculitis among clinicians in our center; it was also associated with improvements in diagnostic methods. For example, CTPA and PET/CT have become more widely used during the past 10 years in our clinic. This result also suggests that a previously considerable number of patients who had TA with PA were probably underdiagnosed, implying that more attention should be paid to screening these patients in future.
The symptoms of PA are insidious and nonspecific. The main symptoms in this study were dyspnea (70.6%), cough (66.7%), hemoptysis (47.1%), and chest pain (45.1%), while 5.9% of patients had no respiratory symptoms. This finding is consistent with a meta-analysis by Toledano et al \[[@CR3]\]. Patients who have TA with pulmonary artery involvement have occult-onset and nonspecific symptoms, making early diagnosis difficult. Previous studies have shown that the delays in diagnosis and treatment range from 3 to 72 months in patients with PA \[[@CR9], [@CR19], [@CR20]\]. In the present study, the median time from the initial symptoms to definitive diagnosis was 13.5 (1--186) months. In addition, 80% of patients in this study were diagnosed with other diseases at their first visit, mostly pulmonary infection, pulmonary tuberculosis, idiopathic PH, and pulmonary embolism, consistent with previous studies \[[@CR9], [@CR20], [@CR21]\]. Thus, identification of PA in patients with TA is challenging for physicians.
Accurate diagnosis of pulmonary artery involvement virtually always depends on imaging studies because the clinical manifestations and laboratory test results are usually nonspecific. Typical CT manifestations of pulmonary artery involvement include artery wall thickening and enhancement in the early disease stages and luminal stenosis or occlusion in the chronic stages \[[@CR22], [@CR23]\]. Few previous studies or monographs have mentioned changes in the lung parenchyma \[[@CR22]--[@CR24]\]. Occasional case reports have shown that pulmonary infarction is a rare clinical manifestation in patients with TA \[[@CR25], [@CR26]\] and that chest CT commonly shows a subpleural wedge-shaped shadow \[[@CR27], [@CR28]\]. Unlike the results of previous studies, our results showed that up to 82.4% of patients who had TA with PA showed lung parenchymal changes on chest CT, which might have been secondary to pulmonary vasculitis. The subpleural wedge-shaped shadow was probably the pulmonary infarction caused by PA inflammation-induced vascular stenosis, occlusion, or in situ thrombosis. Pulmonary cavities were probably due to pulmonary parenchymal ischemia and necrosis. Mosaic perfusion indicated vascular occlusion and reduced blood flow. Peripheral irregular linear opacities indicated prior lung infarction. Our results showed that in addition to direct signs such as pulmonary artery wall thickening or narrowing, the imaging findings of pulmonary vasculitis also have indirect signs; i.e., changes in the lung parenchyma that indicate pulmonary artery involvement and should prompt further pulmonary vascular investigations such as CTPA.
TA-related PH is classified as group 4 PH (i.e., chronic thromboembolic PH and other pulmonary obstruction) \[[@CR12]\]. The present study showed that PH occurred in 58.8% of patients with PA, consistent with previous studies (42.2--78.1%) \[[@CR3], [@CR8]\]. All three deaths in this study were related to severe PH, suggesting that PH might be related to a poor prognosis and increased mortality. Therefore, early diagnosis is particularly important. Notably, the rate of PH decreased during the most recent 5 years (2011--2015) compared with the previous 5 years (2006--2010) in our center (50.0% vs. 94.3%, respectively). This result prompts us to consider the possibility of further reducing the incidence of PH in patients with TA with pulmonary artery involvement in the future. The present study showed that the clinical and imaging findings differed between the PH and non-PH group. Compared with the PH group, the non-PH group was characterized by a shorter disease course; more symptoms such as fever, chest pain, and hemoptysis; an increased ESR; and a higher incidence of subpleural wedge-shaped shadows on chest CT, suggesting that patients in the non-PH group were in the early and active inflammatory stage. Therefore, the early manifestations of PA include recurrent fever, chest pain, hemoptysis, an elevated ESR, and recurrent subpleural wedge-shaped shadows, which should raise suspicious for PA and prompt further vascular imaging investigations. This may allow TA to be diagnosed before the occurrence of PH.
Our study has several limitations. It was retrospective in nature, not all patients routinely received pulmonary vascular-related examinations, and the diagnostic approaches were inconsistent. Right ventricular catheterization, which is the gold standard for the diagnosis of PH, was not performed. Thus, the exact incidence of PH in patients with TA is unknown and should be confirmed in future studies. Additionally, we only included hospitalized patients with TA, whose condition was more severe than that of outpatients, possibly leading to selection bias. Therefore, a multicenter prospective cohort study will be required to confirm our results.
Conclusions {#Sec15}
===========
The clinical manifestations of TA involving the pulmonary artery are nonspecific, making this condition subject to misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis. PH often complicates PA and is associated with a poor prognosis. Early clinical manifestations such as repeated fever, chest pain, hemoptysis with or without dyspnea, and recurrence of subpleural wedge-shaped shadows on chest CT should arouse suspicion for PA in patients with TA and prompt further vascular imaging investigations. This may allow TA to be diagnosed early, before the occurrence of irreversible stenotic and fibrotic vascular lesions.
CRP
: C-reactive protein
CTPA
: Computed tomography pulmonary angiography
ESR
: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
PA
: Pulmonary arteritis
PASP
: Pulmonary arterial systolic pressure
PET/CT
: Positron emission tomography/computed tomography
PH
: Pulmonary hypertension
PUMCH
: Peking Union Medical College Hospital
TA
: Takayasu's arteritis
TRV
: Tricuspid regurgitation velocity
WBC
: White blood cells
HR
: Hazard ratio
**Publisher's Note**
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Min Peng and Juhong Shi contributed equally to this work.
Not applicable.
JY and MP collected the data and images. JS, MP and JY analyzed the information of pulmonary artery involved TA patients. JY was a major contributor in writing the manuscript. JS, MP, WZ and XY reviewed the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. MP and JS made equal contribution to this study.
This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China "Precision medicine project" \[grant number 2016YFC0905603\]. This funding was used for data collection and manuscript writing.
The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are available in the *ClinicalTrials* repository \[<https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?recrs=&cond=&term=NCT03189602&cntry=&state=&city=&dist=>\].
All patients in this study were informed at admission that their medical records were likely to be used for clinical studies, and written informed consent was provided by the patient or his or her family. This study was approved by the Peking Union Medical College Ethics Review Committee (ethics number: s-634).
Information (including data and images) were obtained from patients (or their legal guardian) with consent.
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
| {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Central"
} |
Laura Forster
Laura Elizabeth Forster (1858–1917) was an Australian medical doctor, surgeon and nurse noted for her service in France, Belgium, Turkey and Russia during World War I.
Early life
Forster was born in the Sydney suburb of Ryde in 1858 to William Forster (1818-1882), a landowner, poet, politician and Premier of New South Wales during 1859–1860, and his wife Eliza Jane Wall (1828-1862). Laura was the fifth of six children to William and Eliza Forster. Eliza Wall Forster died in 1862 and William married Maud Julia Edwards (1846-1893). With Maud, William had five children, including three sons who were killed in World War I while with the Australian Imperial Force. Shortly after William Forster's death in 1882, Laura accompanied her stepmother and half sister, Enid, to England. Maud eventually married John Burn Murdoch, of Edinburgh, and a captain in the Royal Engineers. Laura remained in England. On Nov. 1, 1887, she entered Bern University in Switzerland, as a medical student. She graduated in 1894 and was certified to practice medicine in the United Kingdom the following year. At Bern University she studied 12 semesters at the Pathological Institute researching muscle spindle fibers.
Career
Forster attended Sydney schools through about 1879. After completing dual training as both a doctor and a nurse, Forster settled in England and practiced medicine in Oxford. She was also licensed by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow; Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh; and Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh. In 1900 she was appointed medical officer of the Cutler Boulter Dispensary in Oxford. While at Cutler Boulter she was interested in determining the causes and effects of ovarian diseases in mentally ill women. At the Claybury Asylum pathology laboratory in London, she performed autopsies on about 100 deceased women received from London and Charing Cross hospitals. Dr. Frederick Mott published Forster’s findings posthumously in 1917. In 1907, she published a research paper on the histology of tubercular human lymphatic glands under the supervision of Dr. Gustav Mann.
The influence of Gustav Mann (experienced in histological staining) together with her interest to gain a greater command of neurohistological techniques prompted Laura Forster to spend a few months between 1910 and 1911 at the Cajal´s laboratory (since 1920, Instituto Cajal) located in Madrid (Spain) . At that time, Dr. Santiago Ramón y Cajal was beginning to be a prestigious and recognized scientist internationally in the world of Neurohistology, thanks to the international awards that he received between 1900 and 1906, including the Nobel Prize (1906). In 1911, under Cajal supervision, Forster published her third scientific paper (Foster, 1911) developed in Cajal’s laboratory that was written completely in Spanish language. On the front page of this publication, she writes a brief introduction in Spanish: “by indication of professor Cajal, in whose laboratory I had the honour to work during some months”. Laura Forster declares that Santiago Ramón y Cajal suggested she focused her research in the lab on whether the degeneration of nerve fibers after traumatic lesion of the spinal cord in birds corresponded with events observed in previous studies on mammals performed by Cajal himself and others. Forster’s study was the first time that neurofibrillary techniques were applied to birds for this purpose and her results demonstrated similarities with the process in mammals, although these occurred more rapidly in birds. This paper, elegantly illustrated, is dated August 1911 and was the longest of her scientific papers to date. She expresses “cordial thanks to Dr. Cajal for his amicable advice, as well as to Drs N. Achúcarro and F. Tello for the generous help that they gave me while performing this work” (Forster, 1911). Afterwards, Cajal cited the work carried out by Laura Forster’s in his laboratory at least three times . She can be considered as a pioneer woman Neuroscientist.
In 1912, at the outbreak of the First Balkan War, she travelled to Epirus to work as a nurse because women were not permitted to work as physicians at the front.
War service
In September 1914 during World War I she began working for the British Red Cross at Belgian Field Hospital in Antwerp. She was the first Australian female doctor to travel to Belgium to assist in the wartime medical effort, at a time women doctors were not allowed to enlist in the Allied Medical Corps. When Belgium came under German bombardment in September and October 1914, Forster and her colleagues evacuated Belgian and British soldiers under heavy fire. Following the devastating bombing by German aircraft, she went to France, where she assisted Belgians who had been wounded in the German bombardment. She then relocated to Russia and volunteered in the surgical department of Petrograd's largest hospital, where she was the first Australian or British female surgeon to perform surgery. She remained at the hospital for several months before joining the Russian Red Cross to serve in the Caucasus. From there, she went to Erzurum, Turkey, where she supervised a field hospital. Through the Caucasian Committee of the All-Russian Union of Towns, which operated 11 medical-related facilities, Forster managed a 150-bed infectious diseases hospital. The facility treated Typhus, which took by the end of the summer of 1916 an estimated 70 percent of the 40,000 infected refugees, soldiers and residents of the city. In September 1916 she joined a hospital unit financed by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, which funded its operations for the wounded and refugees with donations from Britain's wealthy establishment. She was then placed in charge of a hospital in Zalishchyky, Galicia.
At Zalishchyky, the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies operated the Millicent Fawcett Hospital Units, named for the famed suffragette in England. The Zalishchyky unit was one of five hospitals in the Galicia region. The doctor and nursing staff treated thousands of civilian refugees for typhoid, scarlet fever, dysentery and for farming accidents involving heavy equipment. In addition to civilians, the staff treated wounded Russian soldiers return from the front just 30 miles away. In December 1916, Forster transferred to the unit's 80-bed Fifty-Second Epidemic Hospital, in Zalishchyky, Galicia. She joined Dr. Helena Hall to replace Dr. Kate King May-Atkinson, who was returning to England to raise more funds for the operation. The medical facility was attached to the Russian Ninth Army but later transferred to the Seventh Army under General Aleksei Brusilov.
Death
At 58 years old, the 20-hour days, constant bombardment and huge influx of the sick and wounded took a toll on Forster as she often looked exhausted and thin. She died on 11 February 1917 in Zalishchyky, from heart failure following a week-long illness with influenza. She was buried in Zalishchyky with Russian rites, which included burial in an open coffin and Russian Orthodox Church icons. Nurses from the hospital that Forster ran placed a homemade Union Jack flag over her body.
References
Category:1858 births
Category:1917 deaths
Category:Australian military doctors
Category:Australian women medical doctors
Category:Australian surgeons
Category:Australian women of World War I
Category:Female nurses in World War I
Category:People from Sydney
Category:Australian women neuroscientists | {
"pile_set_name": "Wikipedia (en)"
} |
3 years ago, over a frisbee toss at a July 4th barbeque, I pitched a story to my friend and screenwriter Micah McFarland that would eventually become our first feature film Harmony. Originally conceived as a no-budget sci-fi horror film to be shot the following year, neither of us could have imagined the gauntlet we were to go through, with only our belief in the idea keeping us from totally giving up.
What follows is a story of frustration, setbacks, recognizing your mistakes, and listening to your gut.
The Exposition
Along with a few other filmmakers, Micah and I are part of Hand Me Down Films, a production company based right outside of Washington D.C. Created to distribute all our creative content under one name, up until now we’ve mainly focused on creating short films and music videos for the internet and festivals. From the very beginning though, producing a feature has always been the dream. And in fact, the first project the team ever produced together was a 56 minute “almost-feature” made for $6,000 that has thankfully been seen by less than a hundred people.
To be clear from the start, Hand Me Down Films does NOT pay our bills. I currently work as a DP for a small but successful DC production company that focuses on documentaries, government, corporate and nonprofit video. You know those videos you see in museum installations? Yeah, I shoot those.
Micah lives and works in LA, handling web design for a tech company while pursuing a screenwriting career. Just like most of you out there, we’re working the normal job as we chase the filmmaker’s dream.
Alright, back to the story.
Sophia (Marili Mejias)
The (Initial) Plan
After quickly nailing down characters and an outline together, Micah and I split off. While he went off to write the first draft of the script, I pulled together a business plan. In general terms, here’s how it went:
Having had previous success on Kickstarter with our past projects, but looking to kick this production up a notch and bring in some real investors, my idea was to do both, half crowdfund, half investors, to reach a goal of $50,000.
The first stage of the plan would be the crowdfunding campaign. Along with organizing the usual tiered perks, we wanted to write and shoot a short film to wrap the whole campaign around and introduce the concept of the feature. What better way to show our resolve and capability in pulling a production together, right?
Once the campaign had finished, we would then source the rest of our budget from our investors, already armed with half the money, a successful crowdfund, and a proof of concept to show them, not to mention HMD’s past work. What more could a potential investor want? Basically, they would be investing $25,000, but the ROI would be for a film double that. I also structured the business plan to target multiple investors. This way, more investors could put in less money, opening the investment opportunity up to more people, and giving us more flexibility if someone were to pull out (which happened).
And having done my distribution research, on top of having a few colleagues who had already gone through the hoops, I was sure we could at least get the film onto iTunes to potentially start making the investment back.
For a super low-budget first feature, I thought it was a pretty solid plan…
The Reality
Here’s where we start getting into the “lessons learned”.
As soon as I had completed the business plan, before we even set about the crowdfunding campaign, I reached out to investors. Low and behold, practically everyone on our list said “yes”. Good start, yeah?
But here’s the problem we didn’t think through. Those folks on our list, why did we approach them in the first place? Because they had been our biggest donors on past crowdfunding campaigns. We wanted them to invest so they could be apart of any potential success the film would have later and not just receive a perk for their donation.
Our second problem was the script. In taking a year to figure out draft one, it had ballooned beyond the initial no-budget idea. Multiple characters had been added, the setting had been widely expanded, and lots of action had been written in. Scenes that originally were meant to be small and intimate now had big, complicated sci-fi tech elements. Our finale called for hundreds of extras, all taking part in a mass rebellion, which our main characters had to race through to survive. The script had inflated beyond the scope of production. Thing is, neither Micah or I saw it.
After a long and intense year of working on the script, just the two of us, we couldn’t see the forest through the trees. Our plan was still for a $50,000 film, but our script no longer reflected that. And because of this misperception, I quickly started hitting walls.
Erik (Mark Frazier) with Sophia (Marili Mejias) in our cafeteria set
Self-inflicted Frustration
To help pull production together, I decided to reach out beyond the HMD team to our old film school. I pitched our story and the collaboration to the dean, who thought it a good idea. In essence, we’d be able to utilize a young, highly skilled crew and the department’s resources while the students would gain the firsthand experience of working on a professional indie film set for two weeks.
But from the outset, the misperception of our own project reared it’s ugly head. From the very first meeting with the film department there was miscommunication and confusion; for reasons I couldn’t comprehend at the time. Elements of the script that seemed so miniscule to me caused endless debates in the room. They would say “here’s how I think we should handle this element” and I would reply “don’t worry about that element, we’re not going to do it” or “think smaller; remember this is gonna be super indie.” After hours of this, I would leave our meetings super frustrated and feeling like a total idiot, thinking “all their ideas are too big for this film.” Why was this so difficult for them?
Well, next lesson learned: If it’s on the page, it’s in the vision.
Of course they weren’t getting it! And I was a total idiot! They were following the script! When a script says “hundreds of people fight for their lives” a good producer is going to figure out how to get hundreds of people and a stunt coordinator (or five). When it says “futuristic body scanner” or “huge, advanced medical facility”, they’re going to suggest you hire a good production designer. None of these things were part of my vision of the film. But were they in the script? Yes.
Looking back now, the word “duh!” comes to my mind.
“No Go” on the Indiegogo
As my battles with the film department continued on, the HMD crew and I geared up for the crowdfunding campaign. Over the summer of 2016, while Micah soldiered on with the feature script, I wrote the short, pulled together a great cast of local DC actors and crew, and went about filming our proof of concept Harmony: Funded.
Filming the short ended up going fantastically well. Production took two full days with a cast six and a crew of nine. In fact it went so well that we brought over almost all our crew and two of our actors (Elliott Bales and Jessica Inzeo) when it came time to shoot the feature. Unfortunately with the campaign, I think we made another major error.
As a fail-safe, we decided to make the switch from Kickstarter to Indiegogo (which we had never used before). The move was a practical one. On Kickstarter, if we didn’t hit our crowdfund goal of $25,000 we wouldn’t get anything. On Indiegogo, while they take a larger percentage of your earnings, you still get to keep what you raise. Beyond this however, the two platforms have vast differences that I don’t think we properly took into account.
Let’s face it: Kickstarter is the big one. It was the first and raises the most. It’s the one everyone thinks of when the word “crowdfunding” comes up. And if my Dad can figure out how to donate through it, then it really is simple to use. And this perception of Kickstarter can bring it’s own perks to your project. There’s more traffic to stumble across your project, the site itself helps your project look more professional, and I believe the “all-or-nothing” method unconsciously tells your audience that you aren’t one to sacrifice quality. The stakes of a Kickstarter campaign light a fire under donors to not only support, but support as much as they can.
Indiegogo is a different animal. With a heavy non-profit focus, I find its “raise-what-you-can” method often works against narrative films that are trying to have high production value. If your donors know you’ll get some money, they’re less willing to donate all they can to see a project across the finish line. Film projects on Indiegogo also tend to have smaller campaign goals and the site and community is far less active.
Disappointment
With all these elements at play, and rushing to beat the holiday season, we went ahead with our Indiegogo campaign for Harmony in November of 2016. And just like the title says, it failed. Miserably.
Within two weeks of our four week campaign, we were only able to raise $500 dollars in funding and our short had only received three or four hundred views. So after practically no movement in week three, I decided to close the campaign down, end the collaboration with the film department, and go off to enjoy my holiday season unburdened of the project. Harmony finally seemed to be kaputt.
Or so I thought…
Slice and Dice
Even though the crowdfunding campaign totally tanked, over the 2016 holidays we received lots of positive feedback on the short film; specifically from our investors. With this unexpected gust of enthusiasm taking me into the new year, I once again called Micah and pitched him an alternate direction for Harmony: take it back to basics.
A.D and Producer Zach Griffin (left) and I
From January to May, with the short as our blueprint, we reconceived the entire script and production into what we called a “two-people-in-a-room” version of the film. In the script, multiple secondary characters were condensed, the many action set-pieces throughout were dropped, and an entirely new plot device was added to string the film together. Old scenes and sequences were re-written with a greater focus on character, tension, and suspense.
Scope was also heavily scaled back to fit our new $30,000 budget. First, production was split into two blocks, with Block #1’s focus on all scenes within the Harmony facility and Block #2’s on all the scenes without.
Our Sophia (Marili Mejias) waiting for us to set up…
this shot.
Because studio space is rare and highly expensive in the DC area, we opted instead to film in two enormous, open office spaces we found in Fairfax Virginia. By changing around the set-dec and our camera angles within these rooms, we could create the different spaces the script called for. Props and costumes were also designed to be as multipurpose as possible (and mainly purchased off Amazon). Equipment costs were kept to a minimum as practically all was secondary, non-essential equipment borrowed from my work. Cast was all local non-union or SAG-eligible talent, our skeleton crew consisted of eight, and daily fees were less than $125.
Example of set design in one of our office space “studios”
Lessons Learned
With everything in place, Harmony finally entered production of Block #1 this past Summer, August 2017. And while production had its own teachings awaiting me, that’s another future article for another future (but soon) time.
So, what’s the big lesson we learned from all this? Listen to your gut. Because there’s actually nothing new about this version of Harmony. It’s what we wanted to do from the very beginning; a no-budget sci-fi horror. We’ll be entering Block #2 production in March 2018 and by then, hopefully be even farther down this road and have many more lessons to share with you. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Kim Hwa-gyeong
Kim Hwa-gyeong (born 18 July 1949) is a South Korean wrestler. He competed in the men's freestyle 48 kg at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
References
External links
Category:1949 births
Category:Living people
Category:South Korean male sport wrestlers
Category:Olympic wrestlers of South Korea
Category:Wrestlers at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:Asian Games medalists in wrestling
Category:Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea
Category:Wrestlers at the 1970 Asian Games
Category:Wrestlers at the 1978 Asian Games
Category:Medalists at the 1970 Asian Games
Category:Medalists at the 1978 Asian Games | {
"pile_set_name": "Wikipedia (en)"
} |
Cleveland Township, Nebraska
Cleveland Township, Nebraska may refer to the following places in Nebraska:
Cleveland Township, Cuming County, Nebraska
Cleveland Township, Holt County, Nebraska
Cleveland Township, Knox County, Nebraska
See also
Cleveland Township (disambiguation)
Category:Nebraska township disambiguation pages | {
"pile_set_name": "Wikipedia (en)"
} |
Q:
Nominatim API instllation error on own server
I am installing nominatim for OSM map on my own server having CENT OS with this URL as guide http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Nominatim/Installation.
When I am executing following command to import OSM db file to pgsql:
./utils/setup.php --osm-file /usr/share/osmgeplanet/germany.osm.pbf --all
And I am getting following error:
Create DB
Create DB (2)
string(19) "pgsql://@/nominatim"
object(DB_Error)#4 (8) {
["error_message_prefix"]=>
string(0) ""
["mode"]=>
int(1)
["level"]=>
int(1024)
["code"]=>
int(-25)
["message"]=>
string(29) "DB Error: extension not found"
["userinfo"]=>
string(55) " [DB Error: extension not found] ** pgsql://@/nominatim"
["backtrace"]=>
array(7) {
[0]=>
array(6) {
["file"]=>
string(25) "/usr/local/lib/php/DB.php"
["line"]=>
int(966)
["function"]=>
string(10) "PEAR_Error"
["class"]=>
string(10) "PEAR_Error"
["type"]=>
string(2) "->"
["args"]=>
array(5) {
[0]=>
string(29) "DB Error: extension not found"
[1]=>
int(-25)
[2]=>
int(1)
[3]=>
int(1024)
[4]=>
string(32) " [DB Error: extension not found]"
}
}
[1]=>
array(7) {
["file"]=>
string(21) "/usr/lib/php/PEAR.php"
["line"]=>
int(531)
["function"]=>
string(8) "DB_Error"
["class"]=>
string(8) "DB_Error"
["object"]=>
*RECURSION*
["type"]=>
string(2) "->"
["args"]=>
array(4) {
[0]=>
int(-25)
[1]=>
int(1)
[2]=>
int(1024)
[3]=>
string(32) " [DB Error: extension not found]"
}
}
[2]=>
array(7) {
["file"]=>
string(32) "/usr/local/lib/php/DB/common.php"
["line"]=>
int(1908)
["function"]=>
string(10) "raiseError"
["class"]=>
string(4) "PEAR"
["object"]=>
object(DB_pgsql)#3 (28) {
["phptype"]=>
string(5) "pgsql"
["dbsyntax"]=>
string(5) "pgsql"
["features"]=>
array(7) {
["limit"]=>
string(5) "alter"
["new_link"]=>
string(5) "4.3.0"
["numrows"]=>
bool(true)
["pconnect"]=>
bool(true)
["prepare"]=>
bool(false)
["ssl"]=>
bool(true)
["transactions"]=>
bool(true)
}
["errorcode_map"]=>
array(0) {
}
["connection"]=>
NULL
["dsn"]=>
array(0) {
}
["autocommit"]=>
bool(true)
["transaction_opcount"]=>
int(0)
["affected"]=>
int(0)
["row"]=>
array(0) {
}
["_num_rows"]=>
array(0) {
}
["fetchmode"]=>
int(1)
["fetchmode_object_class"]=>
string(8) "stdClass"
["was_connected"]=>
NULL
["last_query"]=>
string(0) ""
["options"]=>
array(8) {
["result_buffering"]=>
int(500)
["persistent"]=>
bool(false)
["ssl"]=>
bool(false)
["debug"]=>
int(0)
["seqname_format"]=>
string(6) "%s_seq"
["autofree"]=>
bool(false)
["portability"]=>
int(0)
["optimize"]=>
string(11) "performance"
}
["last_parameters"]=>
array(0) {
}
["prepare_tokens"]=>
array(0) {
}
["prepare_types"]=>
array(0) {
}
["prepared_queries"]=>
array(0) {
}
["_last_query_manip"]=>
bool(false)
["_next_query_manip"]=>
bool(false)
["_debug"]=>
bool(false)
["_default_error_mode"]=>
NULL
["_default_error_options"]=>
NULL
["_default_error_handler"]=>
string(0) ""
["_error_class"]=>
string(8) "DB_Error"
["_expected_errors"]=>
array(0) {
}
}
["type"]=>
string(2) "->"
["args"]=>
array(7) {
[0]=>
NULL
[1]=>
int(-25)
[2]=>
NULL
[3]=>
NULL
[4]=>
string(32) " [DB Error: extension not found]"
[5]=>
string(8) "DB_Error"
[6]=>
bool(true)
}
}
[3]=>
array(7) {
["file"]=>
string(31) "/usr/local/lib/php/DB/pgsql.php"
["line"]=>
int(212)
["function"]=>
string(10) "raiseError"
["class"]=>
string(9) "DB_common"
["object"]=>
object(DB_pgsql)#3 (28) {
["phptype"]=>
string(5) "pgsql"
["dbsyntax"]=>
string(5) "pgsql"
["features"]=>
array(7) {
["limit"]=>
string(5) "alter"
["new_link"]=>
string(5) "4.3.0"
["numrows"]=>
bool(true)
["pconnect"]=>
bool(true)
["prepare"]=>
bool(false)
["ssl"]=>
bool(true)
["transactions"]=>
bool(true)
}
["errorcode_map"]=>
array(0) {
}
["connection"]=>
NULL
["dsn"]=>
array(0) {
}
["autocommit"]=>
bool(true)
["transaction_opcount"]=>
int(0)
["affected"]=>
int(0)
["row"]=>
array(0) {
}
["_num_rows"]=>
array(0) {
}
["fetchmode"]=>
int(1)
["fetchmode_object_class"]=>
string(8) "stdClass"
["was_connected"]=>
NULL
["last_query"]=>
string(0) ""
["options"]=>
array(8) {
["result_buffering"]=>
int(500)
["persistent"]=>
bool(false)
["ssl"]=>
bool(false)
["debug"]=>
int(0)
["seqname_format"]=>
string(6) "%s_seq"
["autofree"]=>
bool(false)
["portability"]=>
int(0)
["optimize"]=>
string(11) "performance"
}
["last_parameters"]=>
array(0) {
}
["prepare_tokens"]=>
array(0) {
}
["prepare_types"]=>
array(0) {
}
["prepared_queries"]=>
array(0) {
}
["_last_query_manip"]=>
bool(false)
["_next_query_manip"]=>
bool(false)
["_debug"]=>
bool(false)
["_default_error_mode"]=>
NULL
["_default_error_options"]=>
NULL
["_default_error_handler"]=>
string(0) ""
["_error_class"]=>
string(8) "DB_Error"
["_expected_errors"]=>
array(0) {
}
}
["type"]=>
string(2) "->"
["args"]=>
array(1) {
[0]=>
int(-25)
}
}
[4]=>
array(7) {
["file"]=>
string(25) "/usr/local/lib/php/DB.php"
["line"]=>
int(556)
["function"]=>
string(7) "connect"
["class"]=>
string(8) "DB_pgsql"
["object"]=>
object(DB_pgsql)#3 (28) {
["phptype"]=>
string(5) "pgsql"
["dbsyntax"]=>
string(5) "pgsql"
["features"]=>
array(7) {
["limit"]=>
string(5) "alter"
["new_link"]=>
string(5) "4.3.0"
["numrows"]=>
bool(true)
["pconnect"]=>
bool(true)
["prepare"]=>
bool(false)
["ssl"]=>
bool(true)
["transactions"]=>
bool(true)
}
["errorcode_map"]=>
array(0) {
}
["connection"]=>
NULL
["dsn"]=>
array(0) {
}
["autocommit"]=>
bool(true)
["transaction_opcount"]=>
int(0)
["affected"]=>
int(0)
["row"]=>
array(0) {
}
["_num_rows"]=>
array(0) {
}
["fetchmode"]=>
int(1)
["fetchmode_object_class"]=>
string(8) "stdClass"
["was_connected"]=>
NULL
["last_query"]=>
string(0) ""
["options"]=>
array(8) {
["result_buffering"]=>
int(500)
["persistent"]=>
bool(false)
["ssl"]=>
bool(false)
["debug"]=>
int(0)
["seqname_format"]=>
string(6) "%s_seq"
["autofree"]=>
bool(false)
["portability"]=>
int(0)
["optimize"]=>
string(11) "performance"
}
["last_parameters"]=>
array(0) {
}
["prepare_tokens"]=>
array(0) {
}
["prepare_types"]=>
array(0) {
}
["prepared_queries"]=>
array(0) {
}
["_last_query_manip"]=>
bool(false)
["_next_query_manip"]=>
bool(false)
["_debug"]=>
bool(false)
["_default_error_mode"]=>
NULL
["_default_error_options"]=>
NULL
["_default_error_handler"]=>
string(0) ""
["_error_class"]=>
string(8) "DB_Error"
["_expected_errors"]=>
array(0) {
}
}
["type"]=>
string(2) "->"
["args"]=>
array(2) {
[0]=>
array(9) {
["phptype"]=>
string(5) "pgsql"
["dbsyntax"]=>
string(5) "pgsql"
["username"]=>
string(0) ""
["password"]=>
bool(false)
["protocol"]=>
string(3) "tcp"
["hostspec"]=>
string(0) ""
["port"]=>
bool(false)
["socket"]=>
bool(false)
["database"]=>
string(9) "nominatim"
}
[1]=>
bool(false)
}
}
[5]=>
array(6) {
["file"]=>
string(47) "/home/nominati/public_html/Nominatim/lib/db.php"
["line"]=>
int(7)
["function"]=>
string(7) "connect"
["class"]=>
string(2) "DB"
["type"]=>
string(2) "::"
["args"]=>
array(2) {
[0]=>
string(19) "pgsql://@/nominatim"
[1]=>
bool(false)
}
}
[6]=>
array(4) {
["file"]=>
string(52) "/home/nominati/public_html/Nominatim/utils/setup.php"
["line"]=>
int(94)
["function"]=>
string(5) "getDB"
["args"]=>
array(0) {
}
}
}
["callback"]=>
NULL
}
DB Error: extension not found
Any solution for this?
A:
First install the pgsql and related tools and than your import should work
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication method, and more particularly, to a communication method based on device's property and an apparatus for allocating a resource by using the method.
(b) Description of the Related Art
In recent years, as a wireless communication technology is developed with the development of a wireless communication system, various types of wireless communication systems, not typical communication between a user and a base station, have been emerged.
A machine type communication (MTC) is one type of data communication including at least one entity which does not require user interaction. The MTC is called a concept that a machine, not a terminal used by a human being, provides communication through a network. Compared to the MTC device, a device requiring the user interaction is called a human type communication (HTC) terminal.
The MTC is called machine to machine (M2M) communication. The device used in the MTC is called an MTC device. The MTC device includes a sensor or an actuator which has been variously used in a smart grid, an intelligent transportation system, or the like. An example of the MTC device may include a vending machine, an electricity meter, a water level measurement equipment of a dam, or the like.
In various types of wireless communication systems, when a plurality of devices such as the MTC device transmit a signal, a scheme of reducing a signaling overhead or efficiently performing a connection has been an important issue.
However, characteristics of data transmitted from each device are different, and therefore all the devices need not to apply the same authentication and transmission scheme. Therefore, transmission processing considering the characteristics of data is required.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Dive Brief:
The parent company of Southern California Edison has launched a new business venture aimed at providing "energy as a service" to the largest consumers of power – many of whom do not accurately understand how much they spend, the company said in a statement.
Edison International yesterday launched Irvine, Calif.-based Edison Energy to " focus on meeting the energy needs of the largest users of energy nationwide."
The new consultancy will target clients looking to help major power consumers lower costs in managing their entire energy portfolio, reduce complexity, and deliver on sustainability objectives.
Alongside the company announcement, Edison released a white paper called "The New Energy Future – Challenges and Opportunities in Corporate Energy Management." Among the findings: 25% of companies do not accurately understand their total energy spend, and 94% believe there are remaining opportunities for them to save.
Dive Insight:
Someone had to be first.
Talk of energy as a service and utilities as trusted providers has been growing for some time, so Edison International's decision to wade into the field was all but inevitable. As the New York Times puts it, the company's move is "among the first major forays of a utility into energy management services."
“Edison International has a long history of leading the way in innovative solutions to energy challenges, both through our regulated businesses and our experience in competitive markets,” said Ted Craver, chairman and CEO Edison International in a statement. “Large energy users increasingly need a strategic partner to help them navigate through the diverse energy marketplace."
The new company aims enable large commercial and industrial energy users "to explore the many options available to them and to select the best portfolio of alternatives to power their operations," Craver said.
Edison Energy has made recent "strategic acquisitions in energy consulting, efficiency and engineering, energy procurement and data analytics," the company said, and already serves one in four of the FORTUNE 50 companies and employs more than 200 people.
“Our existing client base illustrates the strong foundation of Edison Energy and the future opportunity to make ‘Energy-as-a-Service’ a reality for the nation’s largest users of energy,” said Allan Schurr, president of Edison Energy.
Alongside the announcement, Edison released a white paper detailing some of its research into the "energy as a service" space.
"Most energy managers believe that the vendors and providers in the current energy services space aren’t capable of providing guidance on the full spectrum of challenges and solutions relevant to large organizations," the company found. More than 40% of companies surveyed cited the "lack of a credible partner as a major barrier to new investments in energy," Edison said. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
---
abstract: 'Marengo and the second author have developed in the last years a geometric model of social choice when this takes place among bundles of interdependent elements, showing that by bundling and unbundling the same set of constituent elements an authority has the power of determining the social outcome. In this paper we will tie the model above to tournament theory, solving some of the mathematical problems arising in their work and opening new questions which are interesting not only from a mathematical and a social choice point of view, but also from an economic and a genetic one. In particular, we will introduce the notion of u-local optima and we will study it from both a theoretical and a numerical/probabilistic point of view; we will also describe an algorithm that computes the universal basin of attraction of a social outcome in $O(M^3\log M)$ time (where $M$ is the number of social outcomes).'
author:
- 'Gennaro [Amendola]{}[^1]'
- 'Simona [Settepanella]{}[^2]'
title: Modularity and Optimality in Social Choice
---
[[**Keywords**]{}:\
Social rule, modularity, object, optimum,\
hyperplane arrangement, tournament, algorithm.]{}
[[**MSC (2010)**]{}: 05C20, 05C85, 52C35.]{}
[[**JEL Classification**]{}: D03, D71, D72.]{}
[[**ACM CCS (1998)**]{}: G.2.2.]{}
Introduction {#introduction .unnumbered}
============
In [@Arrow] Arrow created [*modern social choice theory*]{}, a rigorous melding of social ethics and voting theory with an economic flavor. The central aim of social choice theory is to analyze the aggregation of preferences. Assume there is a society of $n$ agents indexed by $i = 1,\dotsc,m$. Each agent has his own well-behaved preference $\succeq_i$ over some space of possibilities (or [*social outcomes*]{}) $X$, i.e. a total order on the set $X$. Let ${\cal P}$ be the set of well-behaved preferences. The element $(\succeq_1,\dotsc,\succeq_m) \in {\cal P}^m$ is the [*profile*]{} of a society. The goal is to put all of these preferences together to come up with a single [*system of social preferences*]{} or [*social rule*]{}, i.e. a total order on the set $X$, to decide matters of policy and to evaluate welfare. Namely, a [*social choice function*]{} (or [*social decision rule*]{}) $${{\mathcal{R}}}: {\cal P}^m \longrightarrow {\cal P}$$ is needed.
This social decision rule should fulfill the following properties.
[ ]{}
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Completeness and Transitivity</span>With this economists means that society can make a decision about any social outcome and can rank all social outcomes. (Obviously, this property is intrinsic in the definition of the function ${\cal R}$.)
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Paretianity</span>If everyone unanimously prefers $x$ to $y$ then so should society.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Universal Domain Property</span>No matter what kind of wacky preferences people may have, so long as they are well-behaved, ${\cal R}$ has to be able to deal with them. In other words there are no restrictions on the profiles of preferences, i.e. on the elements in ${\cal P}^m$.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Independence of Irrelevant Alternatives</span>Whether or not society prefers $x$ to $y$ does not depend on what people think of any other [*irrelevant alternative*]{} $z$. This can be formally stated by saying that if there are two profiles of individual preferences $(\succeq_1,\dotsc,\succeq_m)$ and $(\succeq'_1,\dotsc,\succeq'_m)$ such that $$x \succeq_i y\quad \text{if and only if}\quad x \succeq'_i y,$$ then $$x\ {\cal R}(\succeq_1, \ldots , \succeq_m)\ y\quad \text{if and only if}\quad
x\ {\cal R}(\succeq'_1, \ldots , \succeq'_m)\ y.$$
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Nondictatorship</span>An agent $a_i$ is said to be [*dictatorial*]{} if, for all $x,y \in X$, whenever $a_i$ prefers $x$ to $y$ society prefers $x$ to $y$, i.e. ${\cal R}$ is the projection on the $i$-th component. The social decision rule ${\cal R}$ is said to be [*nondictatorial*]{} if it is not a projection map.
Arrow [@Arrow] proved that such a function does not exist. Therefore, in order to overcome this problem, in social choice theory it is a customary convention to drop the transitivity request.
Mathematicians and economists studied this problem during the last 50 years with different approaches. For example, tournament (and, in general, graph) theory turned out to be strictly connected to voting and social choice problems, since Landau started to study this subject [@LandauI; @LandauII; @LandauIII]. In the works of Eckmann [@ecman], Eckmann, Ganea and Hilton [@ecmannb], and Weinberger [@wein] there has been an “unexpected application of algebraic topology to a different field of intellectual enterprise,”[^3] i.e. the social choice theory. Topology is also used to study social choice problems as, for instance, Chichilnisky [@cici1; @cici2; @cici3] and Baryshnikov [@bary] have done. Very recently, Saari [@saari94; @Saarib] used geometry to analyze the matter of voting. Moreover, Terao [@terao] introduced an admissible map of chambers of a real central arrangement which is a generalization of a social welfare function.
Social choice theory usually assumes that agents are faced with a set of exogenously given and mutually exclusive alternatives. These alternatives are “simple”, in the sense that are one-dimensional objects or, even when they are multidimensional, they are simply points in some portion of the homogeneous $\mathbb{R}^n$ space and they lack an internal structure that limits the set of possible alternatives.
Many choices in real life situations depart substantially from this simple setting. Choices are often made among bundles of interdependent elements. These bundles may be formed in a variety of ways, which in turn affect the selection process of a social outcome. For instance, in the typical textbook example of social choice, where a group of friends decides what to do for the evening, the choice set is {movie, concert, restaurant, dinner at home,…}. However, at a closer scrutiny, these alternatives are neither primitive nor exogenously given, because they are labels for bundles of elements (e.g. with whom, where, when,…) and the preferences are unlikely to be expressed before the labels get specified in their constituting elements. Moreover, a member of the group could easily obtain a social outcome close to the one he or she prefers by carefully crafting the objects and possibly designing a new set of objects. Other examples can be candidates and parties in political elections (which stand for complex bundles of interdependent policies and personality traits) or packages of policies on which committees and boards are called upon to decide.
In [@MarengoSette] Marengo and the second author develop a model of social choice among bundles of elements, which they call [*objects*]{}. They show that the outcome of the social choice process is highly dependent on the way these bundles are formed. By bundling and unbundling the same set of constituent elements (they call this the [*object construction power*]{}) an authority may have the power to determine the social outcome. The object construction power is stronger than the agenda power (i.e. the power to decide the order on which the social outcomes are decided on), traditionally studied in the literature (for instance, by McKelvey [@mckelvey76]). Moreover, in their approach, objects decompose the computationally complex search space into quasi-separable subspaces (see Simon [@simon82]), simplifying the computational task and making decisions possible. They also show that by appropriately designing objects it is possible to break almost all intransitive cycles, which frequently characterize social choice.
In order to formally analyze the properties of a social choice model with object construction and achieve general results, they use geometric properties of hyperplane arrangements and link them to graph theory by means of Salvetti’s Complex. In this respect, the model of Marengo and the second author is a novel contribution to the analysis of the relation between discrete problems of social choice and their topological structure. It provides a bridge between a geometrical representation and a topological one of a social choice problem to create a more general framework in which the topological space is manipulable through object construction.
A local study is strictly connected to the geometric structure of the hyperplane arrangement and to the “local” structure of the graph, while global properties depend also on the whole graph. Therefore, in the search for global properties also combinatorial and computational problems arise.
In this paper we tie the model described in [@MarengoSette] to tournament theory. This new link allows us to get results and opens new problems. Tournaments are relevant in many fields of science, so they have been greatly studied by many mathematicians, between 1940 and 1970, and almost everything has been done. We translate the voting and social choice problems, arising in [@MarengoSette], into new tournament-theory problems interesting for mathematicians too.
Moreover, modularity plays a fundamental role in many Natural Complex Systems [@Modularity] and hence we believe that this model can be applied to other fields of science, e.g. genetics (see Stadler [@Stadler]). We plan to go into this subject in a subsequent paper.
In Section \[sec:preliminaries\] we will recall some basic notions on Hyperplane Arrangements, Salvetti’s Complex and Tournaments. In Section \[sect:model\] we will give basic notions on social rules, we will describe Marengo and the second author’s model, and we will also recall their main results. In the last part of the section we will define the notion of [*u-local optimum*]{} and ([*u-*]{})[*deepness*]{} of a social outcome. The former is a compromise between the notion of local optimum and global optimum. In order to obtain a particular local optimum after the voting process it is enough to have the power of deciding the [*status quo*]{} from which the voting process starts. In contrast, u-local optima are characterized by the property of being obtainable after the voting process by means of object construction power only. This is significant, because it may happen that whoever has the object construction power does not have the power of deciding the [*status quo*]{} from which the voting process starts. The deepness and the u-deepness measure the length of voting processes.
In Section \[sec:results\] we will give results that tie the model described in [@MarengoSette] to tournament theory. This link will allow us to prove results in order to compute the universal basin of attraction of a given social outcome (which is a studied and open problem in economics).
In Section \[sec:probability\] we will start studying the problem of probability on tournaments with the extra module structure. We will compute the maximum number of local optima that a given social rule can have and the probability to have a given number of local optima in a two dimensional social rule. This probability is related to the phenomenon (very important and studied in economics) of the trade-off between [*decidability*]{} (i.e. the possibility of reaching some social optimum in a feasible time) and [*non manipulability*]{} (i.e. the convergence of the social decision process to a unique global outcome that does not depend upon initial condition and agenda). Then it would be very interesting to generalize this result to an $n$-dimensional space of features.
We will also define a function to measure the gain in using Marengo and the second author’s model instead of the classical one by means of the probabilities that a social outcome is an optimum in the two models.
In Sections \[sec:algorithm\] and \[sec:numerical\] we will approach the far more difficult problem of understanding when a local optimum is an u-local or a global one. In the former section we will give an algorithm that computes the universal basin of attraction of a given social outcome in $O(M^3\log M)$ time, where $M$ is the number of social outcomes. We point out that this problem deals with both object constructions and agendas. Since there could be infinitely many agendas, the problem it is not finite [*a priori*]{}. It is not difficult to reduce the problem to a finite one, but a simple brute-force algorithm would take far more than exponential time. This algorithm has been implemented by the first author who has written the computer program [FOSoR]{} [@FOSoR]. In Section \[sec:numerical\] we will give numerical data obtained by means of the computer program [FOSoRStat]{} [@FOSoRStat] (created by first author) that computes statistics on the number of social rules with a given number of (u-)local optima.
The last section is devoted to one example. It is treated in some detail because it is the smallest in which all kinds of optima (local, u-local and global) appear.
#### Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Prof. Luigi Marengo for his useful comments and corrections.
The first author is grateful to Antonio Caruso for his useful discussions on and help for computer science problems during the beautiful period spent at the Department of Mathematics in Lecce. He would also like to thank the Department of Mathematics and Applications in Milano for the nice welcome.
Preliminaries {#sec:preliminaries}
=============
Hyperplane arrangements and Salvetti’s complex
----------------------------------------------
In this section we will recall some basic notions from the theory of hyperplanes arrangements. The interested reader is referred to, for instance, Orlik and Terao [@OT92] for a much more detailed and extended study.
#### Hyperplane arrangements
In geometry and combinatorics, an [*arrangement of hyperplanes*]{} is a finite set ${\mathcal{A}}$ of hyperplanes in a linear, affine, or projective space $S$. The [*cardinality*]{} $\left|{\mathcal{A}}\right|$ of the arrangement ${\mathcal{A}}$ is the number of hyperplanes in ${\mathcal{A}}$.
One is normally interested both in the real and in the complex case, hence let ${\mathbb{K}}$ be either ${\mathbb{R}}$ or ${\mathbb{C}}$ and let $V$ be either ${\mathbb{R}}^n$ or ${\mathbb{C}}^n$. Thus, given the canonical base $\{e_1,\dotsc ,e_n\}$ in $V$, each hyperplane $H \in {\mathcal{A}}$ is the kernel of a degree-1 polynomial $\alpha_H \in {\mathbb{K}}[x_1,\dotsc, x_n]$, defined up to a constant. The product $${\mathcal{Q}}({\mathcal{A}})= \prod_{H \in {\mathcal{A}}} \alpha_H$$ is called a [*defining polynomial*]{} of ${\mathcal{A}}$.
If ${\mathcal{B}}$ is a subset of ${\mathcal{A}}$, it is called a [*subarrangement*]{} of ${\mathcal{A}}$. The [*intersection semilattice*]{} of ${\mathcal{A}}$, denoted by $L({\mathcal{A}})$, is the set of all non-empty intersections of elements of ${\mathcal{A}}$, i.e. $$L({\mathcal{A}})=\left\{\textstyle{\bigcap_{H \in {\mathcal{B}}} H} \mid {\mathcal{B}} \subseteq {\mathcal{A}} \right\}.$$ These subspaces are called the [*flats*]{} of ${\mathcal{A}}$. The set $L({\mathcal{A}})$ is partially ordered by reverse inclusion.
The [*complement*]{} of ${\mathcal{A}}$ is defined as $$M({\mathcal{A}}) = V \setminus \bigcup_{H \in {\mathcal{A}}} H .$$ The complement of an arrangement ${\mathcal{A}}$ in ${\mathbb{R}}^n$ is clearly disconnected. It is made up of separate pieces called [*chambers*]{} or [*regions*]{}, each of which may be either bounded or unbounded.
Each flat of ${\mathcal{A}}$ is also divided into sections by the hyperplanes that do not contain the flat; these sections are called the [*faces*]{} of ${\mathcal{A}}$. Chambers are faces because the whole space is a flat. The faces of codimension $1$ may be called the [*facets*]{} of ${\mathcal{A}}$. The [*face semilattice*]{} of an arrangement is the set of all faces, ordered by inclusion. The arrangement ${\mathcal{A}}$ said to be [*essential*]{} if the minimal dimensional flats are points (that we call *vertices* of the arrangement).
Every arrangement ${\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{R}}$ in ${\mathbb{R}}^n$ also generates an arrangement over ${\mathbb{C}}$. Let ${\mathcal{Q}}({\mathcal{A}}_{{\mathbb{R}}})=\prod_{H \in {\mathcal{A}}_{{\mathbb{R}}}} \alpha_H$ be the defining (real) polynomial of ${\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{R}}$ in ${\mathbb{R}}^n$. The [*${\mathbb{C}}$-extended*]{} arrangement ${\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}$ is the arrangement in ${\mathbb{C}}^n$ that consists of the hyperplanes that are the kernel of the polynomials $\alpha_H$ in ${\mathbb{C}}^n$ (instead of ${\mathbb{R}}^n$). The arrangement ${\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{C}}$ is also called the [*complexification*]{} of ${\mathcal{A}}_{\mathbb{R}}$.
#### Salvetti’s complex
As shown in [@Sal87], if the arrangement ${{\mathcal{A}}}_{{\mathbb{C}}}$ is the complexification of a real one ${{\mathcal{A}}}_{{\mathbb{R}}}$, there is a regular CW-complex ${\mathcal{S}}({{\mathcal{A}}}_{{\mathbb{R}}})$ having the homotopy type of the complement $M({{\mathcal{A}}}_{{\mathbb{C}}})$. We recall here briefly the construction of this complex, which is called [*Salvetti’s complex*]{}.
Let ${{\mathcal{A}}}_{{\mathbb{R}}}=\{H_{{\mathbb{R}}}\}$ be an essential finite affine hyperplane arrangement in ${\mathbb{R}}^n$. Let $M({{\mathcal{A}}}_{{\mathbb{C}}}) ={\mathbb{C}}^n \setminus \bigcup_{H_{{\mathbb{R}}} \in{\cal A}_{{\mathbb{R}}}} H_{{\mathbb{C}}}$ be the complement to the complexified arrangement. The CW-complex ${\mathcal{S}}({{\mathcal{A}}}_{{\mathbb{R}}})$ can be characterized as follows. Let $\mathbf{S}{\mathrel{\mathop:}=}\{F^k\}$ be the stratification of ${\mathbb{R}}^n$ into facets $F^k$ that is induced by the arrangement [@bourbaki68], where the exponent $k$ stands for codimension. Then $\mathbf S$ has a standard partial ordering defined by $$F^i \ <_{\mathbf S} F^j \quad \text{if}\quad \operatorname{clos}(F^i)\supset F^j$$ where $\operatorname{clos}(F^i)$ is the closure of $F^i$.
The $k$-cells of ${\mathcal{S}}({{\mathcal{A}}}_{{\mathbb{R}}})$ bijectively correspond to the pairs $[C<_{\mathbf S} F^k]$, where $C$ is a chamber of $\mathbf S$. A $k$-cell $[C<_{\mathbf S} F^k]$ is in the boundary of a $j$-cell $[D<_{\mathbf S} G^j]$, with $k<j$, if
- $F^k<_{\mathbf S} G^j$,
- the chambers $C$ and $D$ are contained in the same chamber of the sub-arrangement $$\{H_{{\mathbb{R}}}\in{{\mathcal{A}}}_{{\mathbb{R}}}\mid F\subset H_{{\mathbb{R}}}\}.$$
The previous conditions are equivalent to saying that $C$ is the chamber of ${{\mathcal{A}}}_{{\mathbb{R}}}$ “closest” to $D$ among those containing $F^k$ in their closure.
It is possible to realize $\cal{S}({{\mathcal{A}}}_{{\mathbb{R}}})$ inside ${\mathbb{C}}^n$ with explicitly given attaching maps of the cells (see [@Sal87]).
Graphs and tournaments {#sec:graphs_tournaments}
----------------------
We will give here a short summary of graph theory to fix notation. For a complete discussion we refer the reader to Chartrand and Lesniak [@Chartrand-Lesniak] and Moon [@Moon].
#### Graphs
We will only take oriented simple graphs into account. Hence, throughout the paper, a [*graph*]{} will be a pair $({{\cal V}},{{\cal E}})$, where ${{\cal V}}$ is the set of [*nodes*]{} and ${{\cal E}}$ is the set of [*arcs*]{}, such that each pair of nodes $\{p,q\}$ is connected by at most one arc (either ${\overrightarrow{pq}}$ or ${\overleftarrow{pq}}$). If the arc ${\overrightarrow{pq}}$ (or ${\overleftarrow{qp}}$) is in ${{\cal E}}$, the node $p$ is said to [*dominate*]{} $q$. A [*sub-graph*]{} of $({{\cal V}},{{\cal E}})$ is a graph $({{\cal V}}',{{\cal E}}')$ such that ${{\cal V}}'\subset{{\cal V}}$ and ${{\cal E}}'\subset{{\cal E}}$.
A [*path*]{} ${P\left(p,q\right)}$ from $p$ to $q$ is a sequence of arcs of the type ${\overrightarrow{pp_1}},{\overrightarrow{p_1p_2}},\dotsc,{\overrightarrow{p_{k}q}}$. A [*domination path*]{} ${DP\left(p,q\right)}$ from $p$ to $q$ is a sequence of arcs of the type ${\overleftarrow{pp_1}},{\overleftarrow{p_1p_2}},\dotsc,{\overleftarrow{p_{k}q}}$. A [*cycle*]{} ${P\left(p,p\right)}$ (resp. a [*domination cycle*]{} ${DP\left(p,p\right)}$) is a path (resp. a domination path) from $p$ to itself. The [*length*]{} of a (domination) path is the number of arcs it contains; a cycle of length $k$ is called $k$-cycle.
#### Tournaments
A [*tournament*]{} is a complete graph (i.e. each pair of nodes $\{p,q\}$ is connected by an arc). By ${{\cal T}}$ we will always denote a tournament with $M$ nodes. A [*sub-tournament*]{} of ${{\cal T}}$ is a sub-graph of ${{\cal T}}$ that is a tournament.
A tournament is said to be [*reducible*]{} if it is possible to partition its nodes into two non-empty subsets ${{\cal V}}_1$ and ${{\cal V}}_2$ in such a way that all the nodes in ${{\cal V}}_1$ dominate all the nodes in ${{\cal V}}_2$; otherwise it is called [*irreducible*]{}. A tournament is irreducible if and only if each pair of nodes is contained in a cycle. There is no bound on the length of the cycle, but every node of an irreducible tournament is contained in a $k$-cycle for all $k=3,4,\dotsc,M$. In particular, any irreducible tournament contains a hamiltonian cycle. A path is [*hamiltonian*]{} if it passes through all nodes. A tournament is [*transitive*]{} if it contains no cycle. Every tournament contains a hamiltonian path; if the tournament is transitive the hamiltonian path is unique.
An [*irreducible component*]{} ${{\cal T}}_i$ of ${{\cal T}}$ is a maximal irreducible sub-tournament of ${{\cal T}}$. The nodes of these irreducible components form a partition of the nodes of ${{\cal T}}$. Moreover, all the nodes of a component ${{\cal T}}_i$ either dominate or are dominated by all the nodes of another component ${{\cal T}}_j$. The transitive tournament ${\widetilde{{{\cal T}}}}$ whose nodes are the irreducible components of ${{\cal T}}$ and whose arcs are deduced by any arc between the two irreducible components (see Figure \[fig:derived\_tournament\]) is called the [*condensation*]{} of ${{\cal T}}$.
$\xymatrix@R=35pt{
{\mbox{${{\cal T}}$}} & {*=<14pt>[o][F-]{p_5}} {\ar @{-} [ld] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [rd] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [d] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}}
{\ar @{-} @/^55pt/ [dd] |-(.38){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}}
{\ar@{.} +UL(1.5);+UR(1.5) \ar@{.} +UR(1.5);+DR(1.5)
\ar@{.} +DR(1.5);+DL(1.5) \ar@{.} +DL(1.5);+UL(1.5) }{\ar@{.} +R(1.5);[rrr] |-{\object@{>}}} &
& & {*=<14pt>[F-]{{{\cal T}}_3}} {\ar @{-} [d] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} @/^15pt/ [dd] |-(.4){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}}
& {\mbox{${\widetilde{{{\cal T}}}}$}}
\\
{*=<14pt>[o][F-]{p_2}} {\ar @{-} [r] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [rd] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} & {*=<14pt>[o][F-]{p_3}} {\ar @{-} [r] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [d] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} & {*=<14pt>[o][F-]{p_4}}
{\ar @{-} @/_15pt/ [ll] |-(.65){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [ld] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}}
{\ar@{.} [ll]+UL(1.5);[]+UR(1.5) \ar@{.} []+UR(1.5);[]+DR(1.5)
\ar@{.} []+DR(1.5);[ll]+DL(1.5) \ar@{.} [ll]+DL(1.5);[ll]+UL(1.5) } {\ar@{.} +R(1.5);[rr] |-{\object@{>}}}
& & {*=<14pt>[F-]{{{\cal T}}_2}} {\ar @{-} [d] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}}
\\
& {*=<14pt>[o][F-]{p_1}} {\ar@{.} +UL(1.5);+UR(1.5) \ar@{.} +UR(1.5);+DR(1.5)
\ar@{.} +DR(1.5);+DL(1.5) \ar@{.} +DL(1.5);+UL(1.5) }{\ar@{.} +R(1.5);[rrr] |-{\object@{>}}} &
& & {*=<14pt>[F-]{{{\cal T}}_1}}
}$
Without lack of generality, we will choose the subscripts so that if $i>j$ then ${{\cal T}}_i$ dominates ${{\cal T}}_j$. The maximal component of ${{\cal T}}$ will be denoted by ${{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$.
#### Score
The number of nodes dominated by a node $p$ is called the [*score*]{} of $p$. The sequence of the scores of the the nodes of a tournament is called the [*score sequence*]{} of ${{\cal T}}$. Up to a relabeling of the nodes, we can suppose that the score sequence of ${{\cal T}}$ is non-decreasing. A tournament is transitive if and only if its score sequence is $0,1,\dotsc,M-1$. A non-decreasing sequence $s_1,s_2,\dotsc,s_M$ of nonnegative integers is the score sequence of a tournament if and only if $\sum_{i=1}^{k}s_i\geqslant\binom{k}{2}$ for each $k<M$ and $\sum_{i=1}^{M}s_i=\binom{M}{2}$ hold. A tournament is irreducible if and only if all the $M-1$ inequalities above are strict.
In order to find the irreducible components (and hence the condensation) of ${{\cal T}}$, the following very simple algorithm, having complexity $O(M^2)$, can be applied.
1. Find the smallest $k$ such that $\sum_{i=1}^{k}s_i=\binom{k}{2}$; the sub-tournament ${{\cal T}}_1$ made up of the $k$ nodes with smallest score is an irreducible component of ${{\cal T}}$.
2. Remove ${{\cal T}}_1$ from ${{\cal T}}$ and repeat Step 1 until no node is left.
Note that if the aim is to find the maximal component ${{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$, one can start “from above” and take into account $M-1-s_i$ instead of $s_i$ (i.e. the number of nodes that dominate the $i$-th node), so that only one step is needed. Another algorithm finding the irreducible components of any graph and having complexity $O(M^2)$ is shown in Kocay and Kreher [@Kocay-Kreher].
#### Cycles
A measure of how far a tournament is from being transitive is the number of 3-cycles. If the score sequence of ${{\cal T}}$ is $s_1,s_2,\dotsc,s_M$, then the number of $3$-cycles is at most $\binom{M}{3}-\sum_{i=1}^{M}\binom{s_i}{2}\leqslant
\left\{\begin{array}{ll}\frac{M^3-M}{24} & \mbox{if $2\nmid M$}\\[1pt]
\frac{M^3-4M}{24} & \mbox{if $2\mid M$}\end{array}\right.$. If ${{\cal T}}$ is irreducible, the $3$-cycles are at least $M-2$.
#### Number of tournaments
The number of tournaments with $M$ nodes (up to relabeling) is $T(M)=\displaystyle{\sum_{(d)}\frac{2^D}{N}}$, where
- $(d)=(d_1,d_2,\dotsc,d_M)$ is multi-index with $d_{2i}=0$, $d_{2i+1}\geq0$ and $\sum_{i=1}^{M}i\cdot d_i=M$,
- $D$ is $\frac12\left(\sum_{i,j=1}^{M}d_id_j\gcd(i,j)-\sum_{i=1}^{M}d_i\right)$,
- $N$ is $\prod_{i=1}^M i^{d_i}d_i!$.
The values of $T(M)$ for $M\leqslant12$ are given in Table \[tab:num\_tournaments\].
----- -------- -- ----- -------- -- ----- --------------
$M$ $T(M)$ $M$ $T(M)$ $M$ $T(M)$
1 1 5 12 9 191536
2 1 6 56 10 9733056
3 2 7 456 11 903753248
4 4 8 6880 12 154108311168
----- -------- -- ----- -------- -- ----- --------------
: The number of tournaments.[]{data-label="tab:num_tournaments"}
As $M$ tends to infinity, $T(M)\rightarrow\infty$ and $T(M)\sim\displaystyle{\frac{2^{\binom{M}{2}}}{M!}}$ hold.
The probability $P(M)$ that a tournament with $M$ nodes is irreducible can be computed recursively by the formula $$P(M)=1-\sum_{i=1}^{M-1}\binom{M}{i}\frac{P(i)}{2^{t(M-t)}}.$$ The values of $P(M)$ for $M\leqslant16$ are given in Table \[tab:prob\_irred\_tournament\].
----- -------- -- ----- ---------- -- ----- ---------- -- ----- ----------
$M$ $P(M)$ $M$ $P(M)$ $M$ $P(M)$ $M$ $P(M)$
1 1 5 0.53125 9 0.931702 13 0.993671
2 0 6 0.681152 10 0.961589 14 0.996587
3 0.25 7 0.799889 11 0.978720 15 0.998171
4 0.375 8 0.881115 12 0.988343 16 0.999024
----- -------- -- ----- ---------- -- ----- ---------- -- ----- ----------
: The probability that a tournament is irreducible.[]{data-label="tab:prob_irred_tournament"}
As $M$ tends to infinity, $P(M)\rightarrow1$ and $P(M)\sim1-\displaystyle{\frac{M}{2^{M-2}}}$ hold.
Definitions and structure of the model {#sect:model}
======================================
#### Social decision rules
Consider a population of $\nu$ [*agents*]{}. Each agent $i$ is characterized by a [*system of transitive preferences*]{} $\succeq_i$ over the set of social outcomes $X$. The set of systems of transitive preferences $\succeq$ is denoted by ${\mathcal{P}}$. A [*social decision rule*]{} ${\mathcal{R}}$ is a function: $$\begin{matrix}
{\mathcal{R}}: & {\mathcal{P}}^{\nu} & \longrightarrow & \overline{{\mathcal{P}}} \\
& (\succeq_1 ,\dotsc,\succeq_\nu) & \longmapsto & \succeq_{{\mathcal{R}} (\succeq_1
,\dotsc,\succeq_\nu)}
\end{matrix}$$ which determines a [*system of social preferences*]{} or [*social rule*]{} $\succeq_{{\mathcal{R}}
(\succeq_1 ,\dotsc,\succeq_\nu)}$ from the preferences of $\nu$ individual agents. With $\overline{{\mathcal{P}}}$ we denote the set of systems of (non-necessarily transitive) social preferences; as a matter of fact, we note that the social rule $\succeq_{{\mathcal{R}} (\succeq_1 ,\dotsc,\succeq_\nu)}$ is not, in general, transitive anymore.
If $\Delta$ is the diagonal of the cartesian product $X \times X$, the element $\succeq_{{\mathcal{R}}} \in \overline{{\mathcal{P}}}$ defines a subset $${\mathcal{Y}}_{1,\succeq_{{\mathcal{R}}}}=\{ (x,y)\in X\times X \setminus \Delta \mid
x \succeq_{{\mathcal{R}}} y \}$$ and the set of [*relevant*]{} social outcomes $${\mathcal{Y}}_{0,\succeq_{{\mathcal{R}}}}=\{x \in X \mid \exists y\in{X}\ \text{such that}\ (x,y) \in
{\mathcal{Y}}_{1,\succeq{{\mathcal{R}}}}\ \text{or}\ (y,x) \in {\mathcal{Y}}_{1,\succeq_{{\mathcal{R}}}} \}.$$ If ${\mathcal{Y}}_{0,\succeq_{{\mathcal{R}}}}$ is the whole $X$, the social rule is said to be [*complete*]{}. A complete social rule is said to be [*strict*]{} if for each pair of social outcomes $x$ and $y$ the two conditions $x \succeq_{{\mathcal{R}}} y$ and $y \succeq_{{\mathcal{R}}} x$ are mutually exclusive (i.e. either the social outcome $x$ is preferred to the social outcome $y$ or the converse holds). For the sake of simplicity, we will consider only strict social rules. This restriction is almost always unnecessary, but it simplifies both the investigation and the presentation. Therefore, from now on, $\succ$ will always denote a complete strict social rule; unless explicitly stated, it will be considered as fixed. For the sake of shortness, we will always drop the words “complete” and “strict”.
#### The graph
The sets ${\mathcal{Y}}_{0,\succ}$ and ${\mathcal{Y}}_{1,\succ }$ are, respectively, the sets of nodes and arcs of a graph ${\mathcal{Y}}_{\succ}$. Two nodes $x$ and $y$ in ${\mathcal{Y}}_{0,\succ}$ are connected by an arc if $(x,y) \in {\mathcal{Y}}_{1,\succ}$ or $(y,x) \in {\mathcal{Y}}_{1,\succ}$; the orientation is from $x$ to $y$ in the former case and from $y$ to $x$ in the latter. For the sake of simplicity, we will use the same symbol $x$ for the nodes of ${\mathcal{Y}}_{\succ}$ and $(x,y)$ for its arcs. We decided to use different notations for graphs in regard of the relevance of different theories. Note that the completeness assumption on social rules guarantees that the graph ${\mathcal{Y}}_{\succ}$ is connected.
A cycle $$(x_1,x_2),(x_2,x_3),\dotsc ,(x_h,x_1)$$ in the graph ${\mathcal{Y}}_{\succ}$ corresponds to a cycle [*à la*]{} Condorcet-Arrow [@Condorcet-Arrow], i.e. to the sequence $$x_1 \succ x_2 \succ \dotsb \succ x_h \succ x_1.$$
#### Features
Let $F=\{f_1,\dotsc ,f_n\}$ be a bundle of elements, said [*features*]{}, the $i$-th of which takes $m_i$ values, i.e. $f_i \in \{0,1,2,\dotsc, m_i-1\}$ with $i=1,\dotsc,n$. Denote by $m=(m_1,\dotsc,m_n)$ the multi-index of the numbers of values of the features. From now on, a [*social outcome*]{} (or [*configuration*]{}) will be an $n$-uple $(v_1,\dotsc,v_n)$ of values such that $0\leqslant v_i<m_i$. For the sake of shortness, it will be also denoted by $v_1\dotsm v_n$. The set of all social outcomes will be denoted by ${X}$. The cardinality of ${X}$ is $\prod_{i=1}^n m_i$ and will be denoted by $M$.
#### The hyperplane arrangement
There is a correspondence [@MarengoSette] between the set $X$ of social outcomes and the set ${\mathcal{C}}$ of the chambers of the arrangement $${\mathcal{A}}_{n,m}=\left\{H_{i,j} \mid \alpha_{H_{i,j}}=\lambda_i-j\right\}_{{1 \leqslant i \leqslant n} \atop {0 \leqslant j < m_i-1} }.$$ Namely, $x=v_1\dotsm v_n$ corresponds to the chamber $C$ that contains the open set $$\left\{(\lambda_1,\dotsc ,\lambda_n) \in {\mathbb{R}}^n \mid v_j-1 < \lambda_j < v_j,\ j=1, \dotsc ,n\right\}.$$
#### Salvetti’s complex
There is a correspondence [@MarengoSette] between the oriented graph ${\mathcal{Y}}_{\succ}$ and a subcomplex of the $1$-skeleton of Salvetti’s complex ${\mathcal{S}}({\mathcal{A}}_{n,m})$ as follows. Namely, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the $0$-skeleton ${\mathcal{S}}_0({\mathcal{A}}_{n,m})$ and the set of chambers in ${\mathcal{A}}_{n,m}$, i.e. the set of social outcomes $X$ by means of the correspondence above. The generators of the $1$-skeleton can be described as $${\mathcal{S}}_1({\mathcal{A}}_{n,m})=\{(x,y) \in X \times X \setminus \Delta \mid x\ \text{and}\ y\ \text{are adjacent}\}$$ where two chambers $C$ and $D$ are said to be [*adjacent*]{} if they are separated by only one hyperplane.
Given a subset of consecutive elements $$\{(x_1,x_2),(x_2,x_3),\dotsc, (x_{k-2},x_{k-1}),(x_{k-1},x_k)\}$$ in ${\mathcal{S}}_1({\mathcal{A}}_{n,m})$ their [*formal sum*]{} is $$(x_1,x_k)=\sum_{j=1}^{k-1} (x_j,x_{j+1}).$$ It follows that given a social rule $\succ$ any arc $(x,y) \in {\mathcal{Y}}_{1,\succ}$ can be written as a formal sum of a minimal number of consecutive elements in ${\mathcal{S}}_1({\mathcal{A}}_{n,m})$. The number of elements is exactly the number of hyperplanes that separate the two social outcomes $x,y\in{X}$.
Let $(x,y) \in {\mathcal{Y}}_{1,\succ}$ be an arc given by a formal sum with coefficients $1$ of arcs that are in ${\mathcal{Y}}_{1,\succ}$. If the social rule is transitive the arc can be deleted, because it can be reconstructed by means of the other arcs.
Saari has greatly contributed to establishing general geometric representations of voting models and voting paradoxes [@saari94; @saari00a; @saari00b]. Salvetti’s complex is a CW-complex in ${\mathbb{C}}^n$, but it has an underlying real structure which is a purely simplicial complex. Moreover, vertices in this complex can be freely chosen inside each chamber. This structure can be used in order to recast and generalize some existing geometric models of voting such as those provided by Saari.
#### Objects schemes
Given a non-empty subset $I\subseteq\{1,\dotsc, n\}$, the [*object*]{} ${\mathcal{A}}_I$ is the subset $${\mathcal{A}}_I=\{H_{i,j}\}_{{i \in I} \atop {0 \leqslant j < m_i-1}}$$ of the arrangement ${\mathcal{A}}_{n,m}$. The cardinality of ${\mathcal{A}}_I$ is called [*size*]{} of the object ${\mathcal{A}}_I$ and is denoted by $|{\mathcal{A}}_I|$. The complement of a set $I$ in $\{1,\dotsc, n\}$ will be denoted (as usual) by $I^c$, hence the complement ${\mathcal{A}}_I^c={\mathcal{A}}_{n,m} \setminus {\mathcal{A}}_I$ of the arrangement ${\mathcal{A}}_I$ in ${\mathcal{A}}_{n,m}$ turns out to equal ${\mathcal{A}}_{I^c}$. The [*object instantiation*]{} $x({\mathcal{A}}_I)$ of a social outcome $x$ is the chamber of the subarrangement ${\mathcal{A}}_I$ that contains the chamber corresponding to $x$.
An [*objects scheme*]{} is a set of objects $A=\{{\mathcal{A}}_{I_1},\dotsc, {\mathcal{A}}_{I_k}\}$ such that $\bigcup_{j=1}^k I_j=\{1,\dotsc,n\}$. Note that the sets $I_j$ may have non-empty intersection. The [*size*]{} of an objects scheme is the size of its largest object, $$| A | = \mbox{max}\{| {\mathcal{A}}_{I_1} | ,\dotsc,| {\mathcal{A}}_{I_k} | \}.$$
#### Neighbors of a social outcome
Let be given an objects scheme $A=\{{\mathcal{A}}_{I_1},\dotsc, {\mathcal{A}}_{I_k}\}$. A social outcome $y$ is said to be a [*preferred neighbor*]{} of a social outcome $x$ with respect to an object ${\mathcal{A}}_{I_h} \in A$ if the following conditions hold:
1) $y \succ x$,
2) $y({\mathcal{A}}_{I_h^c})=x({\mathcal{A}}_{I_h^c})$, i.e. $x$ and $y$ belong to the same chamber of the arrangement ${\mathcal{A}}_{I_h^c}$,
3) \[cond:def\_pref\_neigh\] $y({\mathcal{A}}_{I_h}) \neq x({\mathcal{A}}_{I_h})$, i.e. $x$ and $y$ belong to different chambers of the arrangement ${\mathcal{A}}_{I_h}$.
Note that Condition \[cond:def\_pref\_neigh\] is a direct consequence of the first two, but we have left it for the sake of consistency with the non-strict case. The set of all preferred neighbors of the social outcome $x$ with respect to ${\mathcal{A}}_{I_h} \in A$ is denoted by $\Phi(x,{\mathcal{A}}_{I_h})$. The set of all preferred neighbors of the social outcome $x$ is denoted by $\Phi(x,A)=\bigcup_{j=1}^k \Phi(x,{\mathcal{A}}_{I_j})$.
A social outcome $y\in\Phi(x,{\mathcal{A}}_{I_h})$ is said to be a [*best neighbor*]{} of a social outcome $x$ with respect to an object ${\mathcal{A}}_{I_h} \in A$ if $$y \succ w \quad \forall w \in \Phi(x,{\mathcal{A}}_{I_h}).$$ The set of all best neighbors of the social outcome $x$ with respect to ${\mathcal{A}}_{I_h} \in A$ is denoted by $B(x,{\mathcal{A}}_{I_h})$.
Obviously, $B(x,{\mathcal{A}}_{I_h}) \subseteq \Phi(x,{\mathcal{A}}_{I_h})$ holds. Moreover, either $B(x,{\mathcal{A}}_{I_h})$ is empty, or $B(x,{\mathcal{A}}_{I_h})$ contains one social outcome only. Even if this notation seems to be useless, we use it to follow the literature-customary convention; indeed, if one takes also non-strict social rules into account, the set $B(x,{\mathcal{A}}_{I_h})$ may contain more than one social outcome.
The set of all best neighbors of the social outcome $x$ is denoted by $B(x,A)=\bigcup_{j=1}^k B(x,{\mathcal{A}}_{I_j})$.
A [*domination path $DP(x,y,A) $ through $A$, starting from $x$ and ending in $y$*]{}, is a sequence of best neighbors with respect to objects in $A$, i.e. a sequence $$x=x_0 \prec x_1 \prec \dotsb \prec x_s=y$$ such that there exist objects ${\mathcal{A}}_{I_{h_1}}, \dotsc, {\mathcal{A}}_{I_{h_s}} \in A$ with $x_i \in B(x_{i-1},{\mathcal{A}}_{I_{h_i}})$ for all $1 \leqslant i \leqslant s$.
A social outcome $y$ is said to be [*reachable from $x$ with respect to an objects scheme $A$*]{} if there exists a domination path $DP(x,y,A)$. A social outcome $x$ is said to be a [*local optimum for $A$*]{} if $\Phi(x,A)$ is empty.
#### Agenda
Let $A=\{{\mathcal{A}}_{I_1},\dotsc,{\mathcal{A}}_{I_k}\}$ be an objects scheme. An [*agenda $\alpha$ of $A$*]{} is an ordered $t$-uple of indices $(h_1,\dotsc,h_t)$ with $t\geq k$ such that $\{h_1,\dotsc, h_t\} = \{1,\dotsc, k\}$. An agenda $\alpha$ states the order in which the objects ${\mathcal{A}}_{I_i}$ are decided upon. In the model of [@MarengoSette] the agenda is repeated over and over again until either a local optimum or a domination cycle is reached. The ordered $t$-uple of objects $({\mathcal{A}}_{I_{h_1}},\dotsc,{\mathcal{A}}_{I_{h_t}})$ is denoted by $A_{\alpha}$. The set of all possible agendas of $A$ is denoted by $\Lambda(A)$.
Let $\alpha = (h_1,\dotsc,h_t)$ be an agenda. A domination path $$x_0 \prec x_1 \prec \dotsb \prec x_s$$ is said to be [*ordered along $\alpha$*]{} if $$x_i \in B(x_{i-1},{\mathcal{A}}_{I_{h_q+1}})$$ where $h_q$ is the remainder of the division of $i-1$ by $t$. Such a domination path will be denoted by $DP(x_0,x_s,A_{\alpha})$.
A domination path is said to be [*maximal*]{} if it ends in either a local optimum or a limit domination cycle. More precisely, either $x_s$ is a local optimum or $x_{s-t}$ belongs to $B(x_s,{\mathcal{A}}_{I_{h_s+1}})$, where $h_s$ is the remainder of the division of $s-1$ by $t$. Note that in the first case we do not require that $x_{s-1}$ is different from $x_s$, so there is no control on the number of times that $x_s$ appears at the end of the domination path. Also in the second case, there is no control on the number of times that the domination cycle $$x_{s-t} \prec \dotsb \prec x_s$$ appears at the end of the domination path. In the first case, we will say that the domination path [*ends up in $x_s$*]{}.
#### Basin of attraction
The [*basin of attraction $\Psi (x,A)$ of a social outcome $x$ with respect to an objects scheme $A$*]{} is the set of the social outcomes $y$ such that there exists a maximal domination path $DP(y,x,A)$ that ends up in $x$.
\[rem:basin\_local\] Note that $\Psi (x,A)$ is empty if and only if $x$ is not a local optimum for $A$.
The [*ordered basin of attraction $\Psi(x,A_{\alpha})$ of $x$ with respect to an agenda $\alpha$ of $A$*]{} is the set of the social outcomes $y$ such that there exists a maximal domination path $DP(y,x,A_{\alpha})$ that ends up in $x$. Clearly, we have $$\Psi (x,A)= \bigcup_{\alpha \in \Lambda(A)} \Psi (x,A_{\alpha}).$$
#### Global optima
A social outcome $z \in X$ is said to be a [*global optimum for an agenda $\alpha$*]{} if $\Psi(z,A_{\alpha})=X$ holds. It is said to be a [*global optimum for the objects scheme $A$*]{} if and only if $\Psi(z,A_{\alpha})=X$ holds for all agendas $\alpha \in \Lambda(A)$, i.e. it is a global optimum for all the agendas of $A$.
Local and global optima strictly depend on the choice of the objects scheme $A$. In [@MarengoSette] the authors prove that object construction power is, in some sense, stronger than agenda power, i.e. they prove $$\Psi (z,A) \neq \emptyset \quad \Longleftrightarrow \quad
\Psi (z,A_{\alpha}) \neq \emptyset\ \text{for all}\ \alpha \in \Lambda(A).$$
#### Separating hyperplanes and distance between social outcomes
Let $x$ and $y$ be two social outcomes. They are said to be [*separated by an hyperplane $H \in {\mathcal{A}}_{n,m}$*]{} if $H$ separates the chambers $C_x$ and $C_y$. In this case, the notation $x \mid H \mid y$ will be used. Moreover, $x$ and $y$ are said to be [*prominently separated*]{} if there exist two hyperplanes $H_{i_1,j_1}, H_{i_2,j_2} \in {\mathcal{A}}_{n,m}$ with $i_1 \neq i_2$ (i.e. non-parallel) such that $x \mid H_{i_1,j_1} \mid y$ and $x \mid H_{i_2,j_2} \mid y$ hold. We will say that $x$ and $y$ are [*separated by the feature*]{} $f$ if the value of the feature $f$ of $y$ differs from that of the feature $f$ of $x$. The set of the features that separates $x$ and $y$ is denoted by $\overline{{\mathcal{H}}}_{x,y}$.
The [*distance*]{} between $x$ and $y$ is the minimum number of hyperplanes that separate $x$ and $y$. The [*prominent distance*]{} $d_p(x,y)$ is the number of features that separate $x$ and $y$, i.e. $\#\overline{{\mathcal{H}}}_{x,y}$. Note that $d_p(x,y)$ equals the minimum number of hyperplanes that prominently separate $x$ and $y$.
Recall that, by definition, if $H_{i,\bar{\jmath}}$ belongs to the object ${\mathcal{A}}_I$ for some $\bar{\jmath}$, then $H_{i,j}$ belongs to ${\mathcal{A}}_I$ for all $0 \leqslant j < m_i-1$. Therefore, the subarrangement $${\mathcal{H}}_{x,y}=\left\{H_{i,j}\in{\mathcal{A}}_{n,m} \mid i\in\overline{{\mathcal{H}}}_{x,y},\ 0 \leqslant j < m_i-1\right\}$$ of ${\mathcal{A}}_{n,m}$ has been considered. Note that, if we have $d_p(x,y)=1$ and $d(x,y)>1$, all the hyperplanes in ${\mathcal{H}}_{x,y}$ are parallel.
The sets ${\mathcal{H}}_{x,y}$ and $\overline{{\mathcal{H}}}_{x,y}$ are strictly interconnected. For instance, we will use the fact that ${\mathcal{H}}_{x,y}$ is contained in ${\mathcal{H}}_{z,w}$ if and only if $\overline{{\mathcal{H}}}_{x,y}$ is contained in $\overline{{\mathcal{H}}}_{z,w}$.
In [@MarengoSette] the authors prove the following result.
\[principio\] Let $z$ be a social outcome. Then, there exists an objects scheme $A_z$ for which $z$ is a local optimum if and only if the inequality $d_p(w,z)>1$ holds for any social outcome $w$ with $w\succ z$.
The previous theorem explains also the reason of the choice of the name “local optimum”. Namely, a social outcome $z$ is a local optimum for an objects scheme $A$ if and only if any social outcome $x$ such that $d_p(x,z)=1$ belongs to $\Psi(z,A)$.
A social outcome $z$ is said to be [*free*]{} if and only if the inequality $d_p(w,z)>1$ holds for any social outcome $w$ with $w\succ z$. Thus, by means of Theorem \[principio\], we have that $z$ is a local optimum for an objects scheme $A_z$ if and only if $z$ is free.
An interesting question, pointed out in [@MarengoSette], is to understand when a local optimum $z$ for an objects scheme $A$ is a global optimum, i.e. when there exists an agenda $\alpha$ of $A$ such that the basin of attraction $\Psi(z,A_{\alpha})$ is the whole $X$ and when this is true for all agendas $\alpha \in \Lambda(A)$.
In [@MarengoSette] the authors prove the following.
\[pglob1\] Let $z$ be a free social outcome. Then, there exists an objects scheme $A_z$ such that $\Phi(z,A_z)= \emptyset$ and $\Phi(x,A_z) \neq \emptyset$ for all free social outcomes $x$ if and only if the condition $$\label{eq:cond_hyper}
\exists y \succ x\ \text{such that}\ {\mathcal{H}}_{w,z} \nsubseteq {\mathcal{H}}_{x,y} \quad \forall
w \succ z$$ holds for all free $x$.
The equivalent conditions on the free social outcome $z$ above are necessary for $z$ to be a global optimum.
#### Universal basin of attraction and u-local optima
Let $\Pi({\mathcal{A}}_{n,m})$ be the set of all possible objects schemes in ${\mathcal{A}}_{n,m}$. The [*universal basin of attraction*]{} of a social outcome $z \in X$ is the set $$\Psi(z) = \bigcup_{A \in \Pi({\mathcal{A}}_{n,m})} \Psi(z,A),$$ i.e. the set of all the social outcomes $x$ such that there exists an objects scheme through which there is a domination path starting from $x$ and ending up in $z$.
By virtue of Remark \[rem:basin\_local\] and Theorem \[principio\], the universal basin of attraction of the social outcome $z$ is non-empty if and only if $z$ is [*free*]{}.
A social outcome $z$ is said to be an [*u-local optimum*]{} if its universal basin of attraction $\Psi(z)$ is the whole set of social outcomes ${X}$.
\[rem:glob\_uloc\_loc\] A global optimum is necessarily an u-local optimum, and an u-local optimum is necessarily a local optimum for at least one objects scheme.
Let $x$ and $z$ be social outcomes. In [@MarengoSette], when $z$ is free, the authors consider the set $$G_x^z=\{y \succ x \mid {\mathcal{H}}_{w,z} \nsubseteq {\mathcal{H}}_{x,y} \quad \forall w \succ z \mbox { and } B(x, {\mathcal{H}}_{x,y}) \neq \emptyset \}$$ and prove that if $x$ is in the universal basin of attraction of $z$ then $G_x^z \neq \emptyset$. For the sake of completeness, we will define $G_x^z$ to be $\emptyset$ if $z$ is not free.
Suppose $z$ is free. The set $G^z_x$ is non-empty if and only if there exists an objects scheme ${A}_z$ such that $\Phi(z,{A}_z)=\emptyset$ and $\Phi(x,{A}_z)\neq\emptyset$ hold; i.e. if and only if $x$ satisfies Condition of Theorem \[pglob1\].
Suppose now that $x$ is a social outcome such that $G_x^z$ is non-empty (so $z$ is free). If $B(x,{\mathcal{H}}_{x,y})$ is non-empty, its cardinality is one. The only element of $B(x,{\mathcal{H}}_{x,y})$ will be denoted by $b_{x,y}$. In [@MarengoSette] the authors consider the set $$BG^z_x=\{b_{x,y} \mid y \in G_x^z\} \subseteq G_x^z,$$ the sets $$\begin{aligned}
E_0^z &=\{z\}, \\
E_1^z &=\{x \in X \setminus \{z\} \mid z \in BG_x^z\}, \\
E_2^z &=\{ x \in X \setminus \cup_{i=0}^1 E_i^z \mid E_1^z \cap BG_x^z \neq\emptyset\}, \\
& \quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\vdots \\
E_h^z &=\{ x \in X \setminus \cup_{i=0}^{h-1}E_i^z \mid
E_{h-1}^z \cap BG_x^z \neq \emptyset\}, \\
E_{h+1}^z &=\{ x \in X \setminus \cup_{i=0}^{h}E_i^z \mid
E_{h}^z \cap BG_x^z \neq \emptyset\} =\emptyset\end{aligned}$$ (where $h$ is the smallest integer such that $E_{h+1}^z$ is empty), and the set $$E^z=\bigcup_{i=1}^h E_i^z.$$ For the sake of completeness, we define all these sets to be empty if $z$ is not free. They prove the following theorem.
\[teo:universal\_basin\] Let $x$ and $z$ be two social outcomes. Then $x$ is in the universal basin of attraction $\Psi(z)$ if and only if $x$ belongs to $E^z$, i.e. $$\Psi(z)=E^z.$$
Let $z$ be a social outcome. The [*deepness*]{} of a social outcome $x$ with respect to $z$ is
- $d$ if $x$ belong to $E_d^z$,
- $\infty$ if $x$ does not belong to $\Psi(z)$.
Note that this definition makes sense because the $E_*^z$’s form a partition of the universal basin of attraction of $z$.
The deepness of a social outcome $x$ with respect to $z$ is the minimum of the lengths of all maximal domination paths $DP(x,z,A_z)$, among all objects schemes $A_z$ such that $\Phi(z,A_z)$ is empty.
Let $d$ be the deepness of the social outcome $x$ with respect to $z$ and let $h$ be the minimum of the lengths of all maximal domination paths $DP(x,z,A_z)$, among all objects schemes $A_z$ such that $\Phi(z,A_z)$ is empty. If $d$ is $\infty$, by virtue of Theorem \[teo:universal\_basin\], there is no maximal domination path $DP(x,z,A_z)$, where $A_z$ is an objects scheme such that $\Phi(z,A_z)$ is empty, and hence $h$ is $\infty$.
If $d$ is not $\infty$, we can construct a maximal domination path $$x = x_d \prec x_{d-1} \prec \dotsb \prec x_1 \prec x_0 = z$$ such that $x_j$ belongs to $E^z_j\cap BG^z_{x_{j+1}}$ for $j=0,\dotsc,d-1$ and hence we have $h\leq d$. Let $DP(x,z,A_z)$ be a maximal domination path $$x = x_h \prec x_{h-1} \prec \dotsb \prec x_1 \prec x_0 = z$$ of length $h$. If ${{\cal A}}_{I_j}$ is the object of $A_z$ such that $x_{j-1}$ belongs to $B(x_j,{{\cal A}}_{I_j})$, we have ${{\cal H}_{x_j,x_{j-1}}}\subseteq{{\cal A}}_{I_j}$ and $x_{j-1}\in E^z_{j-1} \cap BG^z_{x_j}$. Thus, $x$ belongs to $E^z$ and hence to some $E^z_k$ with $k\leq h$. Since the deepness of $x$ is $d$, we have $k=d$, and then $$d=k\leq h\leq d.$$ The proof is complete.
The [*u-deepness*]{} of a social outcome $z$ is
- the maximum integer $h$ such that $E^z_h$ is not empty,
- $-\infty$ if all $E^z_h$’s are empty.
Note that the u-deepness of a social outcome $z$ is $-\infty$ if and only if $z$ is not free.
Theoretical results {#sec:results}
===================
In this section we will give results that ties the model described in [@MarengoSette] with tournament theory. From now on, we will denote by ${{\cal T}}_i$’s the irreducible components of the graph ${\mathcal{Y}}_{\succ}$, with ${{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$ being the maximal component.
\[prop:univ\_basin\_irred\_comp\] If a social outcome $x \in {{\cal T}}_i$ is in the universal basin of attraction $\Psi(z)$ of a social outcome $z \in {{\cal T}}_j$, then $i \leqslant j$ holds.
Since $x$ belongs to $\Psi(z)$, there exists an objects scheme $A$, an agenda $\alpha$ and a maximal domination path $DP(x,z,A_{\alpha})$, $$x = x_0 \prec x_1 \prec \dotsb \prec x_s = z,$$ ending up in $z$. Two cases may occur: either $x \succ z$ or $x \prec z$. In the former case, there exists a domination cycle $\gamma$ that contains $x$ and $z$, i.e. we have $i=j$. In the latter case, we have $i \leqslant j$. This concludes the proof.
\[cor2\] Each u-local optimum belongs to ${{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$.
The converse of the above corollary is not true. For instance, the social rule whose graph is shown in Figure \[fig:maxcomp\_no\_globalopt\] has only one irreducible component and no u-local optimum.
$\xymatrix{
{*=<12pt>[o][F-]{0}} {\ar @{-} [r] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} & {*=<12pt>[o][F-]{1}} {\ar @{-} [r] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} & {*=<12pt>[o][F-]{2}}
{\ar @{-} @/_13pt/ [ll] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}}
}$
Moreover, for a social outcome $z$ the property of being a local optimum for an objects scheme (and agenda) and the property of belonging to ${{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$ are not related to each other. The social rule whose graph is shown in Figure \[fig:maxcomp\_no\_globalopt\] has no local optimum, while that shown in Figure \[fig:localopt\_no\_maxcomp\], for the objects scheme $\{\{H_1\},\{H_2\}\}$, has a local optimum, $00$, which is not in ${{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}=\{11\}$.
$\xymatrix@R=35pt@C=35pt{
{*=<14pt>[o][F-]{10}} {\ar @{-} [rd] |-(0.4){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} & {*=<14pt>[o][F-]{11}} {\ar @{-} [d] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [l] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}}
{\ar @{-} [ld] |-(0.7){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} \\
{*=<14pt>[o][F-]{00}} {\ar @{-} [r] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [u] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} & {*=<14pt>[o][F-]{01}}
}$
A social outcome $z \in X$ is a local optimum for all objects schemes if and only if $z$ is the only element in ${{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$.
If $z \in X$ is a local optimum for all objects schemes, in particular it is a local optimum for $A=\{{\mathcal{A}}_{n,m}\}$. Then, we have $B(z,{\mathcal{A}}_{n,m})=\emptyset$, i.e. we have $z \succ x$ for all $x \in X\setminus\{z\}$ and hence $z$ is the only social outcome in ${{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$. The converse is obvious.
Let $x \in {{\cal T}}_i$ be a social outcome. We say that $x$ is [*lifting with respect to an objects scheme $A$*]{} if there is an object ${\mathcal{A}} \in A$ such that the best neighbor $y \in B(x,{\mathcal{A}})$ belongs to a component ${{\cal T}}_j$ such that $j >i$.
By definition, in ${{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$ there are no lifting social outcomes. Indeed, social outcomes that are lifting with respect the objects scheme $A$ arise when an arc in a domination path through $A$ has the endpoints in two different irreducible components. In the following theorem we will give an equivalent condition for a social outcome $x \in X$ to be lifting.
A social outcome $x$ in an irreducible component ${{\cal T}}_i$ is lifting for at least an objects scheme $A$ if and only if there exists a social outcome $y \in {{\cal T}}_j$ with $j>i$ such that the following condition holds: $${\mathcal{H}}_{w,y} \nsubseteq {\mathcal{H}}_{x,y} \quad
\forall w \in X\ \text{such that}\ w \succ y.$$
Let $x \in {{\cal T}}_i$ be a lifting social outcome for an objects scheme $A$. Then, there exists $y \in {{\cal T}}_j$ with $j>i$ such that $B(x,{\mathcal{A}})=\{y\}$ for an object ${\mathcal{A}} \in A$. By construction, we have ${\mathcal{H}}_{x,y} \subseteq {\mathcal{A}}$. Suppose by contradiction that there exists a social outcome $w \succ y$ such that ${\mathcal{H}}_{w,y} \subseteq {\mathcal{H}}_{x,y}$. We have ${\mathcal{H}}_{w,y} \subseteq {\mathcal{A}}$, so $y$ cannot belong to $B(x, {\mathcal{A}})$, a contradiction.
Conversely, let $y \in {{\cal T}}_j$, with $j>i$, be a social outcome such that ${\mathcal{H}}_{w,y} \nsubseteq {\mathcal{H}}_{x,y}$ for all $w \succ y$. Then, we have $y \succ x$. Moreover, for each social outcome $w \succ y$ we have $w({\mathcal{H}}_{x,y}^c) \neq y({\mathcal{H}}_{x,y}^c)$, i.e. $w$ is a neighbor neither of $x$ nor of $y$ with respect to ${\mathcal{H}}_{x,y}$. Therefore, we obtain $B(x, {\mathcal{H}}_{x,y})=\{y\}$ and hence the thesis.
Until the end of this section, we fix a social outcome $z$, which will be a candidate for being an u-local optimum. We give the following necessary conditions on the irreducible components ${{\cal T}}_i$ of the graph ${\mathcal{Y}}_{\prec}$ in order for $z$ to be an u-local optimum.
\[prop1\] If $z$ is an u-local optimum, the following statements hold.
(i) \[item:prop1\_exist\] For each social outcome $x\in{{\cal T}}_i$, with ${{\cal T}}_i\neq{{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$, there exist an objects scheme ${A}_x$ such that $\Phi(z,A_x)$ is empty and a domination path $DP(x,y,A_x)$ to a social outcome $y\in{{\cal T}}_i$ lifting with respect to $A_x$.
(ii) \[item:prop1\_lifting\] For each social outcome $x\in{{\cal T}}_i$, with ${{\cal T}}_i\neq{{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$, every domination path $DP(x,z,A)$ through an objects scheme $A$ such that $\Phi(z,A)$ is empty contains a social outcome $y\in{{\cal T}}_i$ lifting with respect to $A$.
(iii) \[item:prop1\_contain\] Each ${{\cal T}}_i$ different from ${{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$ contains a lifting social outcome with respect to an objects scheme $A$ such that $\Phi(z,A)$ is empty.
Let us prove Point (\[item:prop1\_exist\]). Let $x$ be a social outcome belonging to ${{\cal T}}_i$, with ${{\cal T}}_i\neq{{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$. Since $x$ belongs to $\Psi(z)$, there exist an objects scheme ${A}$ such that $\Phi(z,{A})$ is empty and a maximal domination path $DP(x,z,A)$, $$x = x_0 \prec x_1 \prec \dotsb \prec x_s = z,$$ ending up in $z$. For $j=0,\dotsc,s$, let us define the integer $i_j$ such that $x_j$ belongs to ${{\cal T}}_{i_j}$. These integers are ordered non decreasingly and $i_0$ differs from $i_s$. Therefore, there exists a maximal one (say $\bar{\jmath}$) different from $s$ and such that $i_{\bar{\jmath}}=i_0$ and $i_{\bar{\jmath}+1}\neq i_0$ hold. The social outcome $y=x_{\bar{\jmath}}$ belongs to ${{\cal T}}_i$ and is lifting with respect to ${A}$, so the domination path $$x = x_0 \prec x_1 \prec \dotsb \prec x_{\bar{\jmath}} = y,$$ is the path we are looking for.
A proof of Point (\[item:prop1\_lifting\]) is very similar to that of Point (\[item:prop1\_exist\]), so we leave it to the reader. Point (\[item:prop1\_contain\]) is a direct consequence of Point (\[item:prop1\_exist\]).
\[prop:comp\_lifting\] Suppose that there is an irreducible component ${{\cal T}}_i\neq{{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$ such that for each $x\in{{\cal T}}_i$ we have $G^z_x\subseteq{{\cal T}}_i$ (or equivalently $BG_x^z\subseteq{{\cal T}}_i$). Then z is not an u-local optimum.
Suppose by contradiction that $z\in{X}$ is an u-local optimum. Let $x$ be a social outcome that belongs to ${{\cal T}}_i$. By means of Theorem \[teo:universal\_basin\], we obtain an objects scheme $A$ such that $\Phi(z,A)$ is empty and a domination path $DP(x,z,A)$, $$x = x_0 \prec x_1 \prec \dotsb \prec x_s \prec x_{s+1} = z,$$ where $x_j$ belongs to $E^z$ for each $j=0,\dotsc,s+1$, i.e. $x_{j+1}$ belongs to $BG_{x_j}^z$ for each $j=0,\dotsc,s$. By virtue of Proposition \[prop1\]-(\[item:prop1\_lifting\]), there exists $\bar{\jmath}\in\{0,\dotsc,s\}$ such that $x_{\bar{\jmath}}$ belongs to ${{\cal T}}_i$ and is lifting with respect to $A$, a contradiction to the hypothesis.
We will denote by $${\cal S}^z_i=\{x\in{{\cal T}}_i\mid G^z_x\subseteq{{\cal T}}_i\}$$ the set of the social outcomes of the irreducible component ${{\cal T}}_i$ that are not lifting with respect to any objects scheme ${A}$ such that $\Phi(z,A)$ is empty. Therefore, the proposition above can be restated as follows.
If $z$ is an u-local optimum, then ${\cal S}^z_i\neq{{\cal T}}_i$ holds for all ${{\cal T}}_i\neq{{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$.
For each irreducible component ${{\cal T}}_i$, we will now construct a particular sub-graph of ${{\cal T}}_i$. It will give information on the possible domination paths through an objects scheme, starting from a social outcome of ${{\cal T}}_i$ and ending up in $z$. The nodes of this graph are the social outcomes in ${{\cal T}}_i$; if $x$ and $y$ are social outcomes, there is an arc from $x$ to $y$ if $y\in BG_x^z$. Note that lifting social outcomes are maximal elements of this graph.
Suppose $z$ is an u-local optimum. Then the following two conditions are satisfied:
- for each irreducible component ${{\cal T}}_i\neq{{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$, each maximal element of the graph constructed above (considered as a social outcome) is lifting with respect to an objects scheme ${A}$ such that $\Phi(z,A)$ is empty;
- for ${{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$, the u-local optimum $z$ is the only maximal element of the graph constructed above.
Let $y\in{{\cal T}}_i\neq{{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$ be a maximal element of the graph constructed above. By virtue of Proposition \[prop1\]-(\[item:prop1\_exist\]) there exists a domination path $$y=y_0 \prec y_1 \prec \dotsb \prec y_d = y'$$ from $y$ to a lifting social outcome $y'\in{{\cal T}}_i$. Since $y$ is a maximal element, the set $BG_y^z \cap {{\cal T}}_i$ is empty and hence $d$ is zero. Therefore, $y'$ equals $y$ and hence $y$ is lifting.
Similarly, let $y\in{{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$ be a maximal element of the graph constructed above. The set $BG_y^z \cap {{{\cal T}}_{\mathrm{MAX}}}$ is empty and hence the whole $BG_y^z$ is empty. Since $y$ belongs to $\Psi(z)$, we obtain that $y$ equals $z$. This concludes the proof.
The score of a local optimum is at least $\sum_{j=1}^n (m_j-1)$.
By virtue of Theorem \[principio\] each local optimum $z$ must dominate the $\sum_{j=1}^n (m_j-1)$ social outcomes $w$ with $d_p(w,z)=1$.
The bound in the proposition above seems to be quite weak, mainly because in the classical social choice framework the score of an optimum is $M-1$. However, the bound above is attained. Namely, let $\succ$ be any social rule such that $z\succ x$ for each social outcome $x$ with $d_p(x,z)=1$, and $z\prec x$ for each social outcome $x$ with $d_p(x,z)>1$. For $\succ$ the social outcome $z$ is free (and hence is a local optimum for an objects scheme $A_z$) and has score $\sum_{j=1}^n (m_j-1)$.
Moreover, there can be also global optima with score $\sum_{j=1}^n (m_j-1)$. This can be easily obtained by suitably choosing the arcs of the social rule $\succ$ that are not fixed above, so we leave it to the reader.
Probability {#sec:probability}
===========
As above, let $X$ be the set of possible social outcomes given by a bundle of features $F=\{f_1,\dotsc ,f_n\}$ such that $f_i$ belongs to $\{0,1,2,\dotsc, m_i-1\}$ for $i=1,\dotsc,n$. Throughout this section, we will suppose (without loss of generality) that the $m_i$’s are ordered decreasingly: $$m_1 \geqslant m_2 \geqslant \dotsb \geqslant m_n.$$
\[teo:max\_free\] In the hypothesis above, any given social rule $\succ$ on $X$ has at most $$\prod_{i=2}^{n} m_i$$ local optima, and this bound is attained.
The proof of the bound is by induction on the number $n$ of features. If $n$ is $1$, there is at most one local optimum (one when the social rule is transitive, zero otherwise). Suppose now the statement true for $n$ and suppose $\succ$ is defined on social oucomes with $n+1$ features. If $j$ belongs to $\{0,1,2,\dotsc, m_{n+1}-1\}$ for the $(n+1)$-th feature, we define the subspace $V_n^j=\{(y_1,\ldots,y_{n+1})\in {\mathbb{R}}^{n+1} \mid y_{n+1}=j-\frac12\}$ of ${\mathbb{R}}^{n+1}$ having dimension $n$. Let $X_n^j$ be the set of all the social outcomes in $X$ whose corresponding chambers intersect $V_n^j$. Then, for any $j\in\{0,1,2,\dotsc, m_{n+1}-1\}$, $X_n^j$ is given by $n$ features taking $m_1 \geqslant \dotsb \geqslant m_n$ values. By induction, $X_n^j$ has at most $\prod_{i=2}^n m_i$ local optima for any $j\in\{0,1,2,\dotsc, m_{n+1}-1\}$. Moreover, by definition of local optimum, if $x \in X$ is a local optimum for the social rule $\succ$, it is a local optimum also for the social rule $\succ^j$ induced by $\succ$ on $X_n^j$. Therefore, the number of local optima in $X$ is at most the sum over $j\in\{0,1,2,\dotsc, m_{n+1}-1\}$ of the maximum number of local optima of each $X_n^j$, i.e. $\prod_{i=2}^{n+1}m_i$. This concludes the proof of the bound.
In order to prove that the bound is attained, we will prove the following slightly stronger statement.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Assertion.</span> In the hypothesis above, there exist at least $m_n$ social rules with exactly $\prod_{i=2}^{n}m_i$ local optima and such that for any two of them the sets of local optima are disjoint.
The proof of the assertion is by induction on the number $n$ of features. If $n$ is $1$, any transitive social rule has one local optimum (the global one). Moreover, for any social outcome $z$ there is a transitive social rule with $z$ as local optimum. Since there are $m_1$ social outcomes, we obtain the thesis.
Suppose now the statement true for $n$ and let ${X}$ be a set of social outcomes with $n+1$ features. As above, we define the subspace $V_n^j$ and the set $X_n^j$, for $j=0,\dotsc, m_{n+1}-1$. By induction, on each $X_n^j$ we can define a social rule $\succ^j$ with exactly $\prod_{i=2}^{n}m_i$ local optima and such that the local optima in two different $X_n^j$ are separated by at least two features (one of which being $f_{n+1}$), because $m_{n+1} \leqslant m_n$ holds. More precisely, if $v_1\dotsm v_n j \in X_n^j$ is a local optimum for $\succ^j$ and $v'_1\dotsm v'_n j' \in X_n^{j'}$ is a local optimum for $\succ^{j'}$ with $j\neq j'$, then there exists a feature $f_k$ different from $f_{n+1}$ such that $v_k$ differs from $v'_k$. Therefore, there exists a social rule $\succ$ on ${X}$ that satisfies the following properties:
- $\succ$ equals $\succ^j$ on $X_n^j$,
- if $x \in X_n^j$ is a local optimum for $\succ^j$ then $x\succ y$ for all $y \in X \setminus X_n^j$ such that $d_p(x,y)=1$.
This social rule has $\prod_{i=2}^{n+1}m_i$ free social outcomes, which are local optima by virtue of Theorem \[principio\]; therefore, it is one of the social rules we are looking for.
The other ones can be obtained by shifting the pairing of $X_n^*$’s and $\succ^*$’s. More precisely, for $l=0,\dotsc,m_{n+1}-1$, the $l$-th social rule $\succ_l$ is defined by choosing on $X_n^j$ the social rule $\succ^h$, where $h$ is the remainder of the division of $j+l$ by $n+1$, and by repeating the procedure above. These $m_{n+1}$ social rules on ${X}$ have $\prod_{i=2}^{n+1}m_i$ local optima each. Moreover, if $v_1\dotsm v_n j \in X_n^j$ is a local optimum for $\succ_l$ and $v'_1\dotsm v'_n j' \in X_n^{j'}$ is a local optimum for $\succ_{l'}$ with $l\neq l'$, then by construction either $j$ differs from $j'$ or $v_1\dotsm v_n$ differs from $v'_1\dotsm v'_n$. This concludes the proof of the assertion, and hence the proof of the theorem.
#### Social rules with a fixed number of free social outcomes in the two-feature case
We compute the number of social rules with two features and a fixed number of free social outcomes. Note that, by virtue of Theorem \[teo:max\_free\], there are at most $m_2$ free social outcomes. Let us call $e_k$ the number of social rules with $k$ free social outcomes. We will count the graphs corresponding to the social rules.
Call $V_1$ (resp. $V_2$) the set of values of the first (resp. second) feature of the $k$ free social outcomes. Since two free social outcomes are separated by both features, we have $\#V_1=\#V_2=k$. There are $\binom{m_1}k$ (resp. $\binom{m_2}k$) possibilities for choosing $V_1$ (resp. $V_2$). Moreover, in $V_1\times V_2$, the $k$ free social outcomes can be chosen in $k!$ ways.
Suppose now that the position of the $k$ free social outcomes is fixed. For each $k=0,1,\dotsc,m_2$, we compute an integer $a_k$ which is related to (but different from) $e_k$, because we allow some repetitions in the counting process. Since the $k$ social outcomes are free, each of them dominates all the social outcomes that are separated from it by one feature. Therefore, $k\left(m_1+m_2-2\right)$ arcs are fixed. If $k$ equals $m_2$, the other $\binom{m_1m_2}2 - m_2\left(m_1+m_2-2\right)$ arcs are unrestricted and hence we obtain $$e_{m_2} = \binom{m_1}{m_2} \binom{m_2}{m_2} m_2! 2^{\binom{m_1m_2}2 - m_2\left(m_1+m_2-2\right)}$$ graphs. For general $k$, the other $\binom{m_1m_2}2 - k\left(m_1+m_2-2\right)$ arcs are not unrestricted, because there should not be any other free social outcome. However, if we leave them unrestricted, we obtain $$a_k = \binom{m_1}k \binom{m_2}k k! 2^{\binom{m_1m_2}2 - k\left(m_1+m_2-2\right)}$$ graphs. In this process we count each graph with $k+l$ free social outcomes $\binom{k+l}{k}$ times and hence we obtain the system of linear equations $$\left\{
\begin{array}{l}
\sum_{k=0}^{m_2}\binom{k}{0}e_k = a_0 \\
\sum_{k=1}^{m_2}\binom{k}{1}e_k = a_1 \\
\quad\quad\quad\vdots \\
e_{m_2-1} + m_2e_{m_2} = a_{m_2-1} \\
e_{m_2}=a_{m_2}.
\end{array}
\right.$$ By (partially) solving this system, we obtain the recursive formula $$e_k = a_k - \sum_{l=k+1}^{m_2}\binom{l}{k}e_l$$ for computing the number of social rules with two features and $k$ free social outcomes. An explicit formula can be given. If $S$ is a subset of $\{k,k+1,\dotsc,i\}$, we denote by $\mathop{\mathrm{Prod}}(S)$ the product $$\prod_{j=1}^{\#S-1} \binom{s_{j+1}}{s_j},$$ where the $s_*$’s are the elements of $S$ ordered increasingly ($s_1<s_2<\dotsb<s_{\#S}$). The number of social rules with two features and $k$ free social outcomes is $$e_k =
\sum_{i=k}^{m_2}
\left(
\sum_{\substack{S\subseteq\{k,k+1,\dotsc,i\}\\ k,i\in S}}
(-1)^{\#S+1} \mathop{\mathrm{Prod}}(S)
\right)
a_i.$$ The proof of this formula, by means of a recursion from $m_2$ to zero, is straightforward, so we leave it to the reader.
With an effort one may carry out a similar argument to compute the number of social rules with three features and a fixed number of free social outcomes, but a general formula seems to be unfeasible with this technique.
An interesting issue is to study the probability $P_{(m_1,\dotsc,m_n)}(k)$ that a social rule has $k$ free social outcomes. For the social rules with two features, this quotient is $$P_{(m_1,m_2)}(k) = \frac{e_k}{2^{\binom{m_1m_2}2}}.$$ In Table \[table:prob\_fixed\_outcomes\] we have computed it for small values of $m_1$ and $m_2$.
------------- ------- ------------- ------------- -------------
free social
outcomes (2,2) (3,3) (5,5) (10,10)
0 .125 .5063476563 .9053598846 .9996185892
1 .75 .4262695313 .0916594645 .0003813519
2 .125 .0659179688 .0029453066 .0000000589
3 . .0014648438 .0000352051 $<10^{-10}$
4 . . .0000001392 $<10^{-10}$
5 . . .0000000001 $<10^{-10}$
6 . . . $<10^{-10}$
7 . . . $<10^{-10}$
8 . . . $<10^{-10}$
9 . . . $<10^{-10}$
10 . . . $<10^{-10}$
------------- ------- ------------- ------------- -------------
: The probability that a social rule with two features has a fixed number of free social outcomes.[]{data-label="table:prob_fixed_outcomes"}
#### Decidability and manipulability in the new framework
In the classical social choice framework a given social outcome $z$ is an optimum if and only if it dominates all the other social outcomes. Therefore, the probability $P(z)$ that a given social outcome $z$ is an optimum for a social rule on $M$ social outcomes is given by the quotient between the number of graphs with $M-1$ nodes and the number of graphs with $M$ nodes, i.e. $$P(z)=\frac{2^{\binom{M-1}{2}}}{2^{\binom{M}{2}}} = \frac{1}{2^{M-1}}.$$
In Marengo and the second author’s model, global optima play the role of optima in the classical framework, but also a local optimum can be an optimum if the agents vote starting from a particular social outcome. The probability $P(z)$ for a given social outcome $z$ to be a local optimum is given by the quotient between the number of the graphs with $M$ nodes and with $\sum_{i=1}^{n}m_i -n $ fixed arcs, and the number of all the graphs with $M$ nodes, i.e. $$P(z)=\frac{2^{\binom{M}{2}-(\sum_{i=1}^{n}m_i-n)}}{2^{\binom{M}{2}}}
= \frac{1}{2^{\sum_{i=1}^{n}m_i -n}}=\frac{2^n}{2^{\sum_{i=1}^{n}m_i}}.$$
It is clear that, if $n$ is greater than $1$, the probability for $z$ to be a local optimum is far greater than that to be an optimum in the classical framework. Therefore, we define a function $F: \mathbb N^3 \longrightarrow \mathbb
Q $ depending on $n$, $M=\prod_{i=1}^n m_i$ and $\sigma=\sum_{i=1}^n
m_i$, defined to be the quotient between the probability of a social outcome to be an optimum in the classical framework and that to be a local optimum in the new model, $$F(n,M,\sigma)=\frac{2^n}{2^{\sum_{i=1}^{n}m_i}}2^{M-1}=2^{n+M-(\sigma-1)}.$$
The inequality $$F(n,M,\sigma) \geqslant 1$$ holds. However, the inequality becomes strict, $$F(n,M,\sigma) > 1,$$ if and only if $n$ is greater than $1$.
The study of the function $F$ seems to be very important in the social choice context. Indeed, it gives an idea about the decidability and the manipulability of choice in the new model with respect to the old one. We note that, for example, if $m_i$ is $2$ for $i=1,\dotsc,n$, there is a high probability for a social outcome to be a local optimum, while this probability strongly decreases when the values of the $m_i$’s increase. However, the value of $F$ is far greater than $1$ even if the $m_i$’s are greater than $2$. We think that this function $F$ is a measure of the power of this new approach in social decision theory.
The algorithm {#sec:algorithm}
=============
We will describe here an algorithm to compute the universal basin of attraction of a social outcome $z$ of a social rule $\prec$. It finds also the sets $E^z_i$ defined at the end of Section \[sect:model\]. Therefore it obtains also the deepness of each social outcome with respect to $z$ and the u-deepness of $z$.
The algorithm <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">ComputeUniversalBasin</span> works as follows. The pseudocode is shown in Algorithm \[alg:ComputeUniversalBasin\].
A social rule $\succ$ and a social outcome $z$ The non-void $E^z_i$’s and hence the universal basin of attraction $\Psi(z)=\bigcup_i E^z_i$. \[line:initialise\_start\] Initialize ${X}{\mathrel{\mathop:}=}$ the set of all social outcomes Initialize $E^z_i {\mathrel{\mathop:}=}\emptyset$ \[line:initialise\_end\] \[line:compute\_irred\] Compute the irreducible components ${{\cal T}}_j$ \[line:after\_irred\] Let $h {\mathrel{\mathop:}=}$ the integer such that $z\in{{\cal T}}_h$ \[line:remove\_irred\] $X {\mathrel{\mathop:}=}X\setminus\bigcup_{j>h}{{\cal T}}_j$ \[line:is\_local\_opt\] \[line:empty\_basin\] $\emptyset$ \[line:n1\_start\] $E^z_0 {\mathrel{\mathop:}=}\{z\}$ ${X}{\mathrel{\mathop:}=}{X}\setminus\{z\}$ \[line:Bz\] Compute $B(z) {\mathrel{\mathop:}=}\{y\in{X}|
y\prec z,\
{\overline{{\cal H}}_{z,y}}\not\supseteq{\overline{{\cal H}}_{w,z}}\ \forall w\succ z\}$ $E^z_1 {\mathrel{\mathop:}=}B(z)$ \[line:n1\_end\] ${X}{\mathrel{\mathop:}=}{X}\setminus B(z)$ <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Recursion</span>($1$) \[line:first\_part\_end\] \[line:recursion\] **where** <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Recursion</span> **is the following function** An integer $i$ The non-void $E^z_i$’s and hence the universal basin of attraction $\Psi(z)=\bigcup_i E^z_i$. \[line:moving\_new\_elm\_start\] \[line:Byi\] Compute $B(y_i) {\mathrel{\mathop:}=}\{y_{i+1}\in{X}|
y_{i+1}\prec y_i,\
{\overline{{\cal H}}_{y_i,y_{i+1}}}\not\supseteq{\overline{{\cal H}}_{w,y_i}}\ \forall w\succ y_i,$\
${\overline{{\cal H}}_{y_i,y_{i+1}}}\not\supseteq{\overline{{\cal H}}_{w,z}}\ \forall w\succ z\}$ \[line:Ei1\_Byi\] $E^z_{i+1} {\mathrel{\mathop:}=}E^z_{i+1}\cup B(y_i)$ \[line:X\_Byi\] ${X}{\mathrel{\mathop:}=}{X}\setminus B(y_i)$ \[line:moving\_new\_elm\_end\] \[line:another\_step\] \[line:rec\_stop\] $E^z_j$ for all $j=0,\dotsc,i$ \[line:rec\_recall\] <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Recursion</span>($i+1$)
1. Consider the set ${X}$ of all social outcomes. Start with the empty sets $E^z_i$ for $i\in\mathbb{N}$ (we will need only a finite number of them). Eventually, the universal basin of attraction $\Psi(z)$ will be $\bigcup_i E^z_i$.
2. \[step:remove\_irred\] Compute the irreducible components ${{\cal T}}_*$ of the graph corresponding to the social rule $\prec$. Let $h$ be the integer such that $z\in{{\cal T}}_h$. Remove from $X$ all the social outcomes that are in ${{\cal T}}_j$ for all $j>h$.
3. If ${\overline{{\cal H}}_{w,z}}$ is made up of only one feature for some $w\succ z$, then $z$ is not a local optimum and hence $E^z_i$ is empty for all $i\in\mathbb{N}$: go to Step \[item:final\_step\]. Otherwise, $z$ is a local optimum: hence add $z$ to $E^z_0$ and remove it from $X$.
4. Find all the social outcomes $y\in{X}$ such that $$\begin{gathered}
y\prec z,\\
{\overline{{\cal H}}_{z,y}}\not\supseteq{\overline{{\cal H}}_{w,z}}\ \mathrm{for\ all}\ w\succ z.\end{gathered}$$ Add these $y$’s to $E^z_1$ and remove them from ${X}$. Go to Step \[step:iter\] with $i=1$.
5. \[step:iter\] For each $y_i\in E^z_i$ do the following steps.
- Find all the social outcomes $y_{i+1}\in{X}$ such that $$\begin{gathered}
y_{i+1}\prec y_i,\\
{\overline{{\cal H}}_{y_i,y_{i+1}}}\not\supseteq{\overline{{\cal H}}_{w,y_i}}\
\mathrm{for\ all}\ w\succ y_i,\\
{\overline{{\cal H}}_{y_i,y_{i+1}}}\not\supseteq{\overline{{\cal H}}_{w,z}}\
\mathrm{for\ all}\ w\succ z.\end{gathered}$$
- Add these $y_{i+1}$’s to $E^z_{i+1}$ and remove them from ${X}$.
- If $E^z_{i+1}$ is empty, go to Step \[item:final\_step\]; otherwise, repeat Step \[step:iter\] with $i$ incremented by $1$.
6. \[item:final\_step\] The universal basin of attraction $\Psi(z)$ is the union of the $E^z_i$’s (only a finite number of them being non-empty).
If the social rule $\prec$ is defined on $M$ social outcomes and a social outcome $z$ is given, the algorithm <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">ComputeUniversalBasin</span> computes the universal basin of attraction of $z$ in $O(M^3\log M)$ time.
We start by proving that the algorithm comes to an end. The algorithm is tail-recursive, hence we need to prove that the recursive function <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Recursion</span> (Line \[line:recursion\]) does not give rise to an infinite loop. Each time <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Recursion</span> is called, it may move elements (those belonging to $B(y_i)$ for each $y_i\in E^z_i$) from ${X}$ to $E^z_{i+1}$ (Lines \[line:moving\_new\_elm\_start\]-\[line:moving\_new\_elm\_end\]), and then it either stops <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">ComputeUniversalBasin</span> (Line \[line:rec\_stop\]) or calls itself with $i$ incremented by $1$ (Line \[line:rec\_recall\]). Since ${X}$ is finite, there is a minimal $\bar{\imath}\in\mathbb{N}$ such that all $B(y_{\bar{\imath}})$’s (and hence $E^z_{\bar{\imath}+1}$) are empty. When <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Recursion</span>($\bar{\imath}$) is called, it moves no element from ${X}$ to $E^z_{\bar{\imath}+1}$, and then it stops <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">ComputeUniversalBasin</span> (Line \[line:rec\_stop\]).
We now prove that the algorithm is correct. By virtue of Theorem \[teo:universal\_basin\], we have that the universal basin of attraction $\Psi(z)$ is $\bigcup_i E^z_i$. By means of Proposition \[prop:univ\_basin\_irred\_comp\], we know that all the social outcomes that are in ${{\cal T}}_j$ for all $j>h$ cannot be in the universal basin of attraction of $z$, and hence they can be removed from the set ${X}$ of social outcomes that may be in the universal basin of attraction (Lines \[line:compute\_irred\]-\[line:remove\_irred\]). If $z$ is not a local optimum, all $E^z_i$’s are empty; in this case the condition in Line \[line:is\_local\_opt\] is true (in virtue of Theorem \[principio\]) and hence the output is the empty set (Line \[line:empty\_basin\]). Otherwise, if $z$ is a local optimum, $E^z_0$ is $\{z\}$ and $E^z_1$ is not empty (see the end of Section \[sect:model\]); in this case $E^z_0$ and $E^z_1$ are computed, and their elements are removed from ${X}$ (Lines \[line:n1\_start\]-\[line:n1\_end\]). Then <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Recursion</span> is called and $E^z_2$ is computed by means of the conditions of the end of Section \[sect:model\] (Lines \[line:moving\_new\_elm\_start\]-\[line:moving\_new\_elm\_end\]). If $E^z_2$ is empty (Line \[line:another\_step\]), the universal basin of attraction has been computed (see the end of Section \[sect:model\]) and the output is $E^z_0$, $E^z_1$ and $E^z_2$ (Line \[line:rec\_stop\]). Otherwise, <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Recursion</span> is called again and $E^z_3$ is computed. An easy recursive argument now concludes the proof of the correctness of the algorithm.
We eventually show that our algorithm has run-time $O(M^3\log M)$. First of all, we note that if $x$ and $y$ are social outcomes, ${\overline{{\cal H}}_{x,y}}$ has $O(\log M)$ elements at most and hence it can be computed in $O(\log M)$ time. Moreover, if $\bar{x}$ and $\bar{y}$ are other social outcomes, the test ${\overline{{\cal H}}_{x,y}}\not\supseteq{\overline{{\cal H}}_{\bar{x},\bar{y}}}$ can also be performed in $O(\log M)$ time. We denote by $M_i$ the cardinality of the set $E^z_i$ for $i=0,\dotsc,M$.
The initializations in Lines \[line:initialise\_start\]-\[line:initialise\_end\] are done in $O(M)$ time. The computation of the irreducible components of Line \[line:compute\_irred\] is done in $O(M^2)$ time (see Section \[sec:graphs\_tournaments\]). Lines \[line:after\_irred\] and \[line:remove\_irred\] are executed in $O(M)$ time. The condition in Line \[line:is\_local\_opt\] can be checked in $O(M\log M)$ time. Line \[line:Bz\] is executed in $O(M^2\log M)$ time and hence the same holds for Lines \[line:n1\_start\]-\[line:n1\_end\].
We will now take the call of <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Recursion</span>($i$) into account. Line \[line:Byi\] is executed in $O(M^2\log M)$ time, while Lines \[line:Ei1\_Byi\] and \[line:X\_Byi\] are executed in $O(M)$ time. These three lines are executed for all $y_i\in E^z_i$, i.e. $M_i$ times. The condition in Line \[line:another\_step\] is checked in $O(1)$ time, and Line \[line:rec\_stop\] is executed in $O(M)$ time. Therefore, the call of <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Recursion</span>($i$) has run-time $O(M_iM^2\log M)$. Summing the run-time $O(M^2\log M)$ of Lines \[line:initialise\_start\]-\[line:first\_part\_end\] and the run-times of all calls of <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Recursion</span>, we obtain $$M^2\log M + \sum_{i=1}^M M_iM^2\log M =
\left(\sum_{i=0}^M M_i\right)M^2\log M \sim
M^3\log M.$$ This concludes the proof.
The calculus of irreducible components (Step \[step:remove\_irred\]) is not necessary, but it can make the computation faster if there are many social outcomes in the irreducible components that dominate $z$.
In Step \[step:iter\] the social outcomes with deepness $i+1$ with respect to $z$ are found. Therefore, the number of calls of the recursive function <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Recursion</span> is the u-deepness of $z$.
A (faster) simplification of the algorithm described above can be easily constructed to check whether a social outcome is in the universal basin of attraction of another one.
#### FOSoR
The first author has used Algorithm \[alg:ComputeUniversalBasin\] to write the computer program [FOSoR]{} [@FOSoR]. It reads a social rule and can
- compute the universal basin of attractions,
- check whether a social outcome is a local (or an u-local) optimum,
- check whether a social outcome is in the universal basin of attraction of another one,
- check whether there is a local (or an u-local) optimum,
- find the number of local (or u-local) optima,
- find an objects scheme (if there is any) through which there is a maximal dominating path starting from a social outcome and ending up in another one,
- find the deepnesses and the u-deepnesses.
Numerical examples {#sec:numerical}
==================
We give here some numerical results on the numbers of local and u-local optima of social rules. In order to compute these results the first author has written the computer program [FOSoRStat]{} [@FOSoRStat], which is based on Algorithm \[alg:ComputeUniversalBasin\]. It reads the number of values of each feature and the number of random social rules to check. It works as follows:
- it repeatedly
- creates a random social rule,
- computes the number of local (and u-local) optima;
- it computes the percentages and collects the results.
We have shown the results for local (resp. u-local) optima in the case when each feature can assume two values in Table \[table:statistics\_local\_2\] (resp. Table \[table:statistics\_ulocal\_2\]). This case is interesting because it represents the binary choice (i.e. yes/no, true/false, for/against features). We have shown the results for local (resp. u-local) optima in some other cases in Table \[table:statistics\_local\_other\] (resp. Table \[table:statistics\_ulocal\_other\]). Note that the relative frequencies in the cases with two features are consistent with the probabilities (computed in Section \[sec:probability\]) that a social rule with two features has a fixed number of free social outcomes, see Table \[table:prob\_fixed\_outcomes\].
-------- --- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
local
optima 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
0 . .125298 .234797 .296109 .328291 .346168 .359183 .363905
1 1 .749722 .544492 .451488 .410650 .390143 .380017 .375250
2 . .124980 .206551 .210998 .201968 .194522 .188194 .185849
3 . . .013679 .038372 .050962 .056757 .058031 .058879
4 . . .000481 .002934 .007427 .010837 .012366 .013346
5 . . . .000097 .000657 .001444 .001964 .002385
6 . . . .000002 .000043 .000120 .000220 .000341
7 . . . . .000002 .000009 .000024 .000041
8 . . . . . . .000001 .000003
9 . . . . . . . .000001
-------- --- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
: Relative frequencies of social rules with a fixed number of local optima (over $10^6$ social rules): cases of two values for each feature.[]{data-label="table:statistics_local_2"}
--------- --- --- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
u-local
optima 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
0 . .270704 .353896 .377606 .377254 .374337 .369871
1 1 .716457 .608455 .551384 .511074 .472559 .438681
2 . .012335 .036169 .066967 .101588 .133080 .157869
3 . .000504 .001460 .003919 .009610 .018503 .029815
4 . . .000020 .000123 .000456 .001444 .003468
5 . . . .000001 .000016 .000074 .000279
6 . . . . .000002 .000003 .000017
--------- --- --- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
: Relative frequencies of social rules with a fixed number of u-local optima (over $10^6$ social rules): cases of two values for each feature.[]{data-label="table:statistics_ulocal_2"}
------------- ---------- ---------- ----------- ------------ ----------
local
optima (3,3) (3,3,3) (3,3,3,3) (5,5) (10,10)
0 .5065899 .6392066 .7246560 .905331876 .9996083
1 .4260296 .3042338 .2376727 .091717916 .0003917
2 .0659261 .0522738 .0345455 .002915423 .
3 .0014544 .0041184 .0029567 .000034649 .
4 . .0001637 .0001618 .000000136 .
5 . .0000037 .0000071 . .
6 . . .0000002 . .
repetitions $10^7$ $10^7$ $10^7$ $10^9$ $10^7$
------------- ---------- ---------- ----------- ------------ ----------
: Relative frequencies of social rules with a fixed number of local optima (the number of repetitions is indicated in the last line): other cases.[]{data-label="table:statistics_local_other"}
------------- ---------- ---------- ----------- ------------ --------- -- -- --
u-local
optima (3,3) (3,3,3) (3,3,3,3) (5,5) (10,10)
0 .8020871 .9699638 .9966669 .999923702 1
1 .1979129 .0300356 .0033330 .000076298 .
2 . .0000006 . . .
repetitions $10^7$ $10^7$ $10^7$ $10^9$ $10^7$
------------- ---------- ---------- ----------- ------------ --------- -- -- --
: Relative frequencies of social rules with a fixed number of u-local optima (the number of repetitions is indicated in the last line): other cases.[]{data-label="table:statistics_ulocal_other"}
Eventually, we compare Marengo and the second author’s model with the classical one. Note that in the classical model there can be only one optimum and that the probability $P(M)$ that a social rule with $M$ social outcomes has an optimum equals $M$ times the probability that a given social outcome is an optimum, i.e. $\frac{M}{2^{M-1}}$. In Table \[table:statistics\_old\_model\] we have computed this probability for small values of $M$.
----- -------- -- ----- --------- -- ----- --------- -- ----- ---------
$M$ $P(M)$ $M$ $P(M)$ $M$ $P(M)$ $M$ $P(M)$
2 1 6 .1875 10 .019531 14 .001709
3 .75 7 .109375 11 .010742 15 .000915
4 .5 8 .0625 12 .005859 16 .000488
5 .3125 9 .035156 13 .003174 17 .000259
----- -------- -- ----- --------- -- ----- --------- -- ----- ---------
: The probability that a social rule has an optimum in the classical model.[]{data-label="table:statistics_old_model"}
An example
==========
In this section we will describe in detail an example in which all kinds of optima appear. It is so small that we can deal with it by hands. The number of features is three, assuming two values each. The set $X$ is made up of eight social outcomes: $v_1v_2v_3$ with $v_*=0,1$. The social rule is any $\succ$ with $$\begin{aligned}
& 000 \succ 100,\quad 000 \succ 010,\quad 000 \succ 001,\quad 000 \succ 101,\quad 000 \succ 011, \\
& 110 \succ 000,\quad 110 \succ 100,\quad 110 \succ 010,\quad 110 \succ 101,\quad 110 \succ 011, \\
& 101 \succ 100,\quad 101 \succ 001,\quad 101 \succ 111, \\
& 011 \succ 010,\quad 011 \succ 001,\quad 011 \succ 101,\quad 011 \succ 111, \\
& 111 \succ 110,\end{aligned}$$ where the ten preferences that are not defined are arbitrary. The preferences are shown in Figure \[fig:example\], where we have disposed the social outcomes as the vertices of a cube.
$\xymatrix{
& & {*=<16pt>[o][F-]{011}} \ar @{} [l]_<<*+<3pt>{\txt{\begin{small}$g$\end{small}}}
{\ar @{-} [ddd] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [lld] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [rd] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [rrr] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}}
& & & {*=<16pt>[o][F-]{111}} {\ar @{-} [ddd] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} \\
{*=<16pt>[o][F-]{001}} & & &
{*=<16pt>[o][F-]{101}} \ar @{} [u]_<<<*-<2pt>{\txt{\begin{small}$l$\end{small}}}
{\ar @{-} [ddd] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [lll] |-(.46){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [rru] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} & & \\
& & & & & \\
& & {*=<16pt>[o][F-]{010}} & & &
{*=<16pt>[o][F-]{110}} {\ar @{-} [llllld] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [lld] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [lll] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [lluu] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} @/_24pt/ [llluuu] |-(.5){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} \\
{*=<16pt>[o][F-]{000}} \ar @{} [u]^<*+<12pt>{\txt{\begin{small}$u$\end{small}}}
{\ar @{-} [rrr] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [rru] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [uuu] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [rrruuu] |-(.5){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}} {\ar @{-} [rruuuu] |-(0.57){\SelectTips{cm}{}\object@{>}}}
& & & {*=<16pt>[o][F-]{100}} & &
}$
We will show that the social outcome $g=011$ is a global optimum, that the social outcome $u=000$ is an u-local optimum but not a global optimum, and that the social outcome $l=101$ is a local optimum but not an u-local optimum.
The proof that $g$ is a global optimum for the objects scheme $A_g=\{\{H_{1,0},H_{2,0}\},\{H_{3,0}\}\}$ is straightforward, so we leave it to the reader.
In order to prove that $u$ is an u-local optimum, we note that we have $$\Psi (u,(\{H_{2,0},H_{3,0}\},\{H_{1,0}\},\{H_{3,0}\})) = {X}\setminus\{l\}$$ and $$l \in \Psi (u,(\{H_{1,0},H_{3,0}\},\{H_{2,0}\})).$$ Therefore, $\Psi(u)$ is the whole ${X}$, and $u$ is an u-local optimum. We will now prove that $u$ is not a global optimum. Suppose by way of contradiction that $u$ is a global optimum for an agenda $\alpha$ of an objects scheme ${A}$, i.e. $\Psi(u,({{\cal A}}_1,\dotsc,{{\cal A}}_k))=X$ (where ${{\cal A}}_i={{\cal A}}_j$ is allowed). Since $u$ is a local optimum for ${A}$ (see Remark \[rem:basin\_local\]), the objects $\{H_{1,0},H_{2,0}\}$ and $\{H_{1,0},H_{2,0},H_{3,0}\}$ cannot belong to ${A}$. Since $l$ (resp. $g$) belongs to $\Psi(u,({{\cal A}}_1,\dotsc,{{\cal A}}_k))$, the object $\{H_{1,0},H_{3,0}\}$ (resp. $\{H_{2,0},H_{3,0}\}$) belongs to ${A}$ and hence $\{H_{1,0},H_{3,0}\}={{\cal A}}_i$ and $\{H_{2,0},H_{3,0}\}={{\cal A}}_j$ for some $i$ and $j$ in $\{1,\dotsc,k\}$. Since $l$ (resp. $g$) belongs to $\Psi(u,({{\cal A}}_1,\dotsc,{{\cal A}}_k))$, we have $i<j$ (resp. $j<i$). This is a contradiction and hence $u$ is not a global optimum.
Since $l$ is free, it is a local optimum for some objects scheme. We will now prove that $l$ is not an u-local optimum (then, by virtue of Remark \[rem:glob\_uloc\_loc\], it is not a global optimum, either). If ${A}$ is an objects scheme such that $\Phi(l,A)$ is empty, the objects $\{H_{1,0},H_{2,0}\}$, $\{H_{1,0},H_{3,0}\}$, $\{H_{2,0},H_{3,0}\}$ and $\{H_{1,0},H_{2,0},H_{3,0}\}$ cannot belong to ${A}$. Therefore, ${A}$ is $\{\{H_{1,0}\},\{H_{2,0}\},\{H_{3,0}\}\}$ and hence $\Psi(l)$ equals $\Psi(l,\{\{H_{1,0}\},\{H_{2,0}\},\{H_{3,0}\}\})$. Since $u$ does not belong to the last-mentioned basin of attraction, the social outcome $l$ is not an u-local optimum.
The social rule $\succ$ is the smallest one that has a global optimum, an u-local optimum and a local optimum. Indeed, a social rule with less than eight nodes can have at most two features; if there is only one feature, there is at most one local optimum (which is actually a global optimum); if there are two features assuming $m_1$ and $m_2$ values (the smaller of which is $2$), by virtue of Theorem \[teo:max\_free\] there are at most $\min\{m_1,m_2\}=2$ local optima.
[99]{}
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">G. Amendola</span>, [*`FOSoR`*]{},\
http://www.dm.unipi.it/$\sim$amendola/files/software/fosor/.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">G. Amendola</span>, [*`FOSoRStat`*]{},\
http://www.dm.unipi.it/$\sim$amendola/files/software/fosorstat/.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">K. Arrow</span>, “Social Choice and Individual Values,” Wiley, New York, 1951.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Y.M. Baryshnikov</span>, *Topological and discrete social choice: in a search of a theory*, Social Choice and Welfare [**14**]{} (1997), 199–209.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">N. Bourbaki</span>, “Groupes et algèbres de Lie, Chap. IV-VI,” Masson-Dunod, Paris, 1968.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">G. Chartrand – L. Lesniak</span> “Graphs & digraphs,” Fourth edition. Chapman & Hall/CRC, Boca Raton, FL, 2005.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">G. Chichilnisky</span>, *Social choice and topology of spaces of preferences*, Advances in Mathematics [**37**]{} (1980), 165–176.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">G. Chichilnisky</span>, “Social Choice and Game Theory: Recent Results with a Topological Approach,” Social Choice and Welfare, P.K. Pattanaik and M. Salles, North Holland , Amsterdam, 1983, 79–102.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">G. Chichilnisky</span>, *Action of Symmetry Groups*, Social Choice and Welfare [**13**]{} (1996), 357–364.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">M. J. A. N. de Caritat (marquis de Condorcet)</span>, “Essai sur l’Application de l’Analyse aux Probabilités de Decision Rendue à la Pluralité des Voix,” Imprimerie Royale, Paris, 1785.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">B. Eckmann</span>, *Räume mit Mittelbildungen*, Comment. Math. Helv. [**28**]{} (1954), 329–340.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">B. Eckmann – T. Ganea – P. J. Hilton</span>, “Generalized means, Studies in Mathematical Analysis,” Stanford University Press, 1962.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">W. Kocay – D. L. Kreher</span>, “Graphs, algorithms, and optimization,” Discrete Mathematics and its Applications (Boca Raton), Chapman & Hall/CRC, Boca Raton, FL, 2005.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">H. G. Landau</span>, *On dominance relations and the structure of animal societies. I. Effect of inherent characteristics*, Bull. Math. Biophys. [**13**]{} (1951), 1–19.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">H. G. Landau</span>, *On dominance relations and the structure of animal societies. II. Some effects of possible social factors*, Bull. Math. Biophys. [**13**]{} (1951), 245–262.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">H. G. Landau</span>, *On dominance relations and the structure of animal societies. III. The condition for a score structure*, Bull. Math. Biophys. [**15**]{} (1953), 143–148.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">L. Marengo – S. Settepanella</span>, *Social choice among complex objects*, LEM, Working Paper Series, WP 2010/02 (2010).
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">R. McKelvey</span>, *General conditions for global intransitivities in formal voting models*, Econometrica [**47**]{} (1979), 1086–1112.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">J. W. Moon</span>, “Topics on tournaments,” Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York-Montreal, Que.-London, 1968.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">P. Orlik and M. Terao</span>, “Arrangements of Hyperplanes,” Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1992.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">D. Saari</span>, “Geometry of Voting,” Springer-Verlag, New York, 1994.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">D. Saari</span>, *Complexity and the geometry of voting*, Math. Comp. Modelling [**48**]{} (2008), 1335–1356.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">D. Saari</span>, *Mathematical structure of voting paradoxes 1: Pairwise vote*, Economic Theory [**15**]{} (2000), 1–53.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">D. Saari</span>, *Mathematical structure of voting paradoxes 2: Positional voting*, Economic Theory [**15**]{} (2000), 55–101.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">M. Salvetti</span>, *Topology of the complement of real hyperplanes in ${\mathbb{C}}^N$*, Inventiones Mathematicae [**88**]{} (1987), 603–618.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">H. A. Simon</span>, “The Sciences of the Artificial,” MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2nd ed., 1982.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">P. F. Stadler</span>, *Fitness Landscapes*, Biological Evolution and Statistical Physics, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, (2002), 187-207.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">H. Terao</span>, *Chambers of Arrangements of Hyperplanes and Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem*, Advances in Mathematics [**214**]{} (2007), 366–378.
<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">S. Weinberger</span>, *On the topological social choice model*, Journal of Economic Theory [**115**]{} (2004), 377–384.
“Modularity: understanding the development and evolution of natural complex systems,” MIT press, Cambridge, MA, 2005.
[^1]: Department of Mathematics and Applications, University of Milano-Bicocca (Type A Research Fellowship, formerly “E. De Giorgi” grant from the Department of Mathematics of the University of Salento), [email protected]
[^2]: LEM, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, [email protected]
[^3]: Cited by B. Eckmann.
| {
"pile_set_name": "ArXiv"
} |
The medical device industry produces a wide variety of electronic and mechanical devices for treating patient medical conditions. Depending upon the medical condition, medical devices may be surgically implanted or connected externally to a patient receiving treatment. Clinicians use medical devices alone or in combination with drug therapies and surgery to treat patient medical conditions. For some medical conditions, medical devices provide the best (and sometimes the only) therapy to restore an individual to a more healthful condition and a fuller life. Conditions that medical devices may effectively treat include pelvic floor disorders.
Pelvic floor disorders adversely affect the health and quality of life of millions of people. Pelvic floor disorders include urinary control disorders such as urge incontinency, urge frequency, voiding efficiency, fecal control disorders, sexual dysfunction, and pelvic pain. Individuals with urinary control disorders often face debilitating challenges in their everyday lives. These individuals may be preoccupied with trips to the bathroom, fears of embarrassment and sleepless nights. Some suffers become so anxious that they become isolated and depressed. Pelvic floor disorders may be treated with a variety of therapeutic options such as behavior modification including biofeedback, pharmacological treatment, mechanical intervention such as self-catheterization, physical appliances such as diapers, and surgical intervention. Surgical treatments are the most invasive and are often considered after other therapies have proven ineffective.
Urinary incontinence, or the inability to control the passage of urine, is a relatively common problem. Although there are a variety of different types of urinary incontinence, stress incontinence, urge incontinence and urinary retention are the most common.
Stress incontinence is the unacceptable passage of urine under the stress of increased abdominal pressure. This increased pressure typically results from coughing, sneezing, and Valsalva. Stress incontinence is manifested urologically by normal cystometry, obtuse urethral vesicular angle, abnormally low urethral pressures and a physiologically short urethral length. This disorder is most common in multiparous, post-menopausal females. Physiologically, stress incontinence is a disorder of the volitional muscular control of the urethral resistance to the flow of urine. Laxity and partial denervation of the pelvic musculature is the chief abnormality.
Urge incontinence is the involuntary passage of urine with a concomitant sense of urgency. Systometry indicates detrusor (bladder wall muscle) contractions with low bladder filling pressures and volumes. These bladder contractions may not be inhibited in the presence of voluntary EMG signals from the sphincter, indicating reduction or loss of the pudendal-parasympathetic inhibitory reflex. Unsolicited, premature bladder contraction may result from mucosal irritation of varied etiology. These premature contractions of the bladder may also be the result of an abnormally high gain in the detrusor contractile reflex due to the loss of inhibitory control with an upper-motor-neuron lesion.
Urinary retention is characterized by the inability of a patient to spontaneously and controllably urinate or void. Catheterization of the urethra is provided to many patients suffering from urinary retention, which is often a painful and somewhat lengthy procedure having the added risk of causing infection.
Constipation is a life-disturbing problem that afflicts millions of Americans, from the very young to the elderly. Although relatively rare among the young, it is a very common problem in middle age, and is a nearly ubiquitous problem in the elderly. Chronic constipation is a major problem for many individuals, and frequently causes extreme discomfort to the afflicted. Such discomfort may be a major obstacle to leading a normal life, and may consume an enormous amount of the afflicted person's energy and time.
Besides causing severe discomfort, chronic constipation may also be harmful to the patient. For example, chronic constipation may result in an intestinal obstruction that may cause the patient great pain; or that may even cause the patient's death, unless surgically corrected. Chronic constipation may also prevent the patient from receiving the benefit of certain needed prescription medications, because the medications may have undesirable side effects on an already constipated gut.
Conventional therapies for chronic constipation are often distasteful and unpleasant at best, since they may involve treatments such as repeated consumption of large quantities of laxatives, repetitive use of enemas, or both. Repeatedly consuming large quantities of laxatives may be harmful to the patient, since they may result in dehydration or even renal failure. The repetitive use of enemas may be harmful since they may irritate or physically harm the treated portion of the patient's gut.
Chronic constipation is usually thought of in association with problems of the large intestine. Other parts of the patient's gut, however, may also exhibit chronic constipation-like problems, such as the esophagus, the stomach, and less frequently, the small intestine. Problems associated with chronic constipation may include depressed motility of the esophagus, stomach or small intestine. For simplicity, chronic constipation, or chronic constipation-like problems, of any portion of the patient's gut from the esophagus to the anus will be referred to hereafter as simply “constipation”.
The prostate is a glandular and fibromuscular organ in the male, which lies immediately below the bladder and surrounds the urethra. Prostatitis, the third leading disease of the prostate, is a common urologic condition that many clinicians find difficult to treat effectively.
The main symptom of chronic prostatitis (category III) is pain, followed by variable voiding (urgency/frequency) and erectile or sexual dysfunction. Patients have symptoms such as painful ejaculation or pain in the penis, testicles, or scrotum; low back, rectal or perineal pain; pain along the inner aspects of the thighs; irritative or obstructive urinary symptoms; and decreased libido or impotence. As a rule, chronic non-bacterial prostatitis patients do not have recurrent urinary tract infections.
Chronic prostatitis is a major male health issue. The average urologist in the U.S. sees 173 prostatitis patients per year, of which one-third are newly diagnosed. The prevalence of prostatitis in the general male population is estimated to be 5-8.8%, and it has been estimated that about 2 million office visits per year are related to prostatitis. Self-reported histories of prostatitis are as prevalent as 16% of all reported cases. Patients with chronic prostatitis experience a negative impact on quality of life comparable to patients with unstable angina, recent myocardial infarction or active Crohn's disease. The average age of the prostatitis population is estimated at 50 years. Prostatitis is the most common urologic diagnosis in men under 50 years old and the third most common in men over 50 years old. The most common classification of prostatitis is chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (category III), which may include as many as 90% of all patients who meet the criteria of the condition.
Despite the widespread prevalence of prostatitis, the diagnosis of chronic prostatitis represents a particular challenge since its diagnosis is often based on exclusion. Prostatitis remains poorly understood despite its prevalence because it encompasses multiple diverse disorders that cause symptoms related to the prostate gland. The etiology of acute and chronic bacterial prostatitis is clearly defined, and is a result of pathogenic bacteria that may cause systemic symptoms or urinary tract infections. On the other hand, chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome does not have a clearly defined etiology, and there are many theories about the cause of this disease.
Perhaps the most comprehensive or encompassing theory of chronic non-bacterial prostatitis is one which advocates a multifactorial mechanism initiated by a stimulus such as infection or trauma. An interrelated cascade of events may follow, including physical, chemical, immunologic or neurogenic components, resulting in a local response of inflammation and/or neurogenic injury.
In the absence of consistent or clear etiologies for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome, improvement in quality of life and a reduction in symptoms are the usual goals of therapy. The most common treatment for chronic prostatitis involves pharmacologic treatments such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatory agents, alpha blockers, anti-spasmodics, analgesics, allopurinol, and muscle relaxants. Alpha blockers have successfully treated symptoms of prostatitis, although adverse event rates have been high. Muscle relaxants have shown significant improvement in small studies for category IIIB patients with sphincter dyssynergia or muscle spasm. Anti-inflammatory agents, such as pentosan polysulfate, have proven successful for approximately 40% of patients with category IIIA prostatitis.
Phytotherapeutic agents have demonstrated improvements in small studies for pain and irritative voiding. Other treatments include physiotherapy (such as biofeedback and pelvic muscle exercises) and various modalities of invasive and minimally invasive procedures (e.g., transurethral microwave therapy, transurethral incision of the bladder neck, hydrodistensions, acupuncture, electroneuromodulation, balloon dilation, YAG laser therapy and heat therapy). Repetitive prostatic massage is a popular treatment method due to the failure of consistent standard medical therapy to treat the condition. Lifestyle changes, such as meditation, discontinuation of bike riding, sitz-baths, dietary changes and chiropractic therapy, are often prescribed.
As a result of unknown etiology, unsure diagnosis and treatment options that are often myriad and ineffective, chronic prostatitis is a “diagnosis of exclusion” and has a poor record of treatment success. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to provide solutions to the foregoing problems through improved and more effective methods of treating pain and other symptoms associated with chronic prostatitis, prostatalgia and prostatodynia.
Sexual dysfunction comprises a broad range of maladies, including erectile dysfunction, orgasmic dysfunction, premature ejaculation and lack of lubrication. Sexual dysfunctions plague both women and men, and may be life-long or acquired. To treat impotence (also called erectile dysfunction), electrical conductors may be implanted near the surface of the pelvic splanchnic nerve. Stimulation of this nerve with low voltage electrical pulses is believed to cause arterioles dilation and initiate erection. Also, it is known that implantation of an electrode on the cavernous nerves of a male, adjacent to his prostate gland, may also cause penile erection. Further, other electrical impulse devices exist that are not implanted but instead apply electrical stimuli topically to the coccyx region to promote sexual excitation. Impotence, however, should not be confused with orgasmic dysfunction, where satisfactory erection may be obtained but there is an absence of orgasm.
Current treatment of orgasmic dysfunction concentrates on the psychological components of the disorder rather than the physiological components. Orgasmic dysfunction is a physical malady that results in marked distress and interpersonal difficulty. The physical disorder causes psychological performance anxiety and pressure. Sexual desire and frequency usually decline. The patient's intimate relationships usually suffer from resentment and conflict. There is anecdotal evidence of patients who have experienced mild sensations in the genitalia while undergoing spinal cord stimulation for pain relief.
Spinal cord stimulation, on the other hand, has been used as a treatment for chronic painful conditions for approximately thirty years. Commonly, spinal cord stimulation is used to alleviate pain after failed surgery, pain due to neuropathies, or pain due to inadequate blood flow. Neurostimulation systems have been found to relieve chronic, intractable pain in the limbs or trunk.
The basic concept of neurostimulation as it relates to pain relief involves the substitution of sensations that reach the thalamus of the brain. Rather than a pain message, the spinal cord stimulation closes the gate in the spinal cord and replaces the pain sensation with a tingling sensation. Electrodes are positioned effectively to create paresthesia in the painful area. Paresthesia refers to a change in sensation in an area of the body. Usually paresthesia is used to show change in neurologic function caused by damage to a nerve or nerves. Paresthesia is usually not an absence of sensation, but a decrease or alteration of sensation. Patients have described paresthesia as a “buzzing sensation.”
Paresthesia is accomplished through the implantation of stimulating electrodes within or near the spinal cord. The electrodes are inserted between the vertebrae in parallel with the spinal cord. Low-voltage electrical stimulation is precisely applied to the spinal cord. Through direct stimulation of the dorsal column or the targeted peripheral nerve, the sensation of pain is replaced by a more pleasant “tingling” sensation. The sensation may be adjusted in terms of amplitude to control intensity and pulse width to control duration and frequency. Usually such neurostimulation systems are implantable. Medtronic Neurological, a division of Medtronic, Inc. of Minneapolis, Minn., sells a neurostimulator system used for pain relief. The device has been approved by the Federal Drug Administration for implantation in the spinal cord to alleviate pain.
One surgical technique to treat urinary control disorders is the implantable InterStim® therapy, available from Medtronic, Inc., which applies mild electrical stimulation to the sacral nerves in the lower region of the spine to influence the behavior of structures such as the bladder, sphincter and pelvic floor muscles. Generally, implantation of the InterStim system involves surgically implanting a stimulation lead near the sacral nerves. The stimulation lead is a very small, insulated, electrical conductor with electrical stimulation contacts on the distal end for implantation near the sacral nerves and an electrical connector on the proximal end of the lead. The lead electrical connector is typically connected to a small extension, and the extension is connected to a small neurostimulator that operates in a fashion broadly similar to that of a cardiac pacemaker by delivering occasional small electrical pulses that sometimes create a tingling sensation felt by the patient. The stimulation lead, lead extension and neurostimulator are all implanted in the patient in a manner that is typically not perceptible by others. InterStim therapy may improve the condition of a pelvic floor disorder patient and allow the patient to lead a full life. InterStim therapy is also nondestructive and reversible.
Each year thousands of patients have sacral nerve stimulation systems implanted within them for the treatment of urinary incontinence and urinary retention. Therapy success is determined through the evaluation of symptoms related to the disorder. Clinical success for most therapies, including sacral nerve stimulation, is defined as a 50% decrease in the following symptoms:
Urge incontinence as measured by: Average number of incontinent episodes per day, or Average severity ranking of incontinent episodes, or Average number of absorbent pads or diapers replaced due to incontinence.
Urinary frequency and urgency as measured by: Average number of voids per day, or Average voided volume per void, or Average degree of urgency prior to voiding.
Urinary retention as measured by: Decrease in post-void urine residual, or Average number of catheterizations consisting of ≧100 ml of urine, or Average catheter volume per catheterization (post-void residual).
Today, electrical stimulation of the sacral nerve is fairly common for the purpose of treating voiding dysfunction. Although the majority of patients receiving sacral nerve stimulation obtain satisfactory relief of their voiding dysfunction, some patients (less than 50%) do not experience adequate relief from sacral nerve stimulation techniques or desire to obtain better results from the therapy.
Electrical stimulation delivered by an intravaginal or a perineal surface electrode has been shown to inhibit premature and inappropriate detrusor contractions. The mechanism for such effects appears to derive from the electrical stimulation of pudendal nerve afferents (sensory receptors or sensory nerve fibers). Input into the pudendal afferent system inhibits a parasympathetic reflex loop consisting of bladder wall afferents (sensory reflexes) and efferents (motor reflexes). This parasympathetic loop normally senses a distension of the bladder via the afferent limb and responds by sending an efferent signal to contract the bladder. Although such stimulation has shown therapeutic effects, electrode placement and on-going stimulation do not lend themselves easily to chronic stimulation.
Stimulation of the pudendal nerve as an alternative to sacral nerve stimulation has been proposed in past. The invasiveness of the surgical procedure for implanting electrical stimulation leads and other reasons have made stimulation of the pudendal nerve impractical, however. Since the pudendal nerve directly innervates much of the pelvic floor, it is believed to be a more optimal stimulation site with few undesired side effects. Advancements in minimally invasive lead placement techniques along with advancement in lead anchoring techniques have resulted in the increased viability of chronic stimulation of the pudendal nerve.
Some prior art publications relating to various embodiments of the present invention are listed in Table 1 below.
TABLE 1Prior Art PublicationsJuenemann et al., “Clinical Significance of Sacral and Pudendal Nerve Anatomy,”The Journal of Urology, Vol. 139, pp. 74-80 (January, 1988).Schmidt, Richard A., “Technique of Pudendal Nerve Localization for Block orStimulation,” The Journal of Urology, Vol. 142 (December, 1989).U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,288 to Cash for “Bladder Control Device and Method.”U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,639 to Tanagho et al. for “Method and System forControlling Bladder Evacuation.”U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,779 to Tanagho et al. for “System for ControllingBladder Evacuation.”U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,764 to Lue et al. for “Method for Stimulating PelvicFloor Muscles for Regulating Pelvic Viscera.”U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,526 to Johnson et al. for “Intravaginal Electrode andStimulation System for Controlling Female Urinary Incontinence.”U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,751 to Baeten et al. for “Method and Apparatus forOptimum Positioning of a Muscle Stimulating Implant.”U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,730 to Terry, Jr. et al. for “Treatment of MotilityDisorders by Nerve Stimulation.”U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,854 to Ishikawa et al. for “Method for TreatingUrinary Incontinence and Apparatus Therefore.”U.S. Pat. No. 6,055,456 to Gerber for “Single and Multi-PolarImplantable Lead for Sacral Nerve Stimulation.”U.S. Pat. No. 6,366,814 to Boveja for “Electrical Stimulation Adjunct(Add-On) Therapy for Urinary Incontinence and Urological Disorders Usingan External Stimulator.”U.S. Pat. No. 6,449,512 to Boveja for “Apparatus and Method forTreatment of Urological Disorders Using Programmerless Implantable PulseGenerator System.”U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,719 to Barrett et al. for “Treatment of Obesity byBilateral Vagus Nerve Stimulation.”U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,025 to Barrett et al. for “Treatment of Obesity byBilateral Sub-Diaphragmatic Nerve Stimulation.”U.S. Pat. No. patent application Publication No. 2002/0055761 to Mann et al. for“Implantable Stimulator Systems and Methods for Treatment of Incontinenceand Pain.”U.S. Pat. No. patent application Publication No. 2002/0055779 to Andrews for“Neural Prosthesis.”PCT patent application WO 02/078592 to Grill et al. for “Systems and Methods forSelectively Stimulating Components In, On or Near the Pudendal Nerve or ItsBranches to Achieve Selective Physiologic Responses.”European patent application No. 0 245 547 to Tanagho et al. for “Electronic ControlSystem for Controlling Pelvic Viscera via Neuro-Electrical Stimulation.”
All patents and technical papers listed in Table 1 hereinabove are hereby incorporated by reference herein, each in its respective entirety. As those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate readily upon reading the Summary of the Invention, Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments and Claims set forth below, at least some of the devices and methods disclosed in the patents and publications of Table 1 may be modified advantageously in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages, which will now become more readily apparent by referring to the following specification, drawings and claims, are provided by the various embodiments of the present invention. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
We had a great date – Why didn’t they call me back?
One of the most difficult things to contend with when you’re dating is trying not to get downhearted when you don’t hear back from someone who you thought you had a connection with. You know how it is – you go on a date and you seem to both hit it off. You’re laughing, joking, and there’s talk of you both meeting up and you may even share a kiss. In some instances, the person will really add fat to the fire by not only saying they’ll call, but being specific and saying ‘I’ll call you tomorrow’, or ‘Are you free this weekend?’
And then…tumbleweeds…nothing. A day goes by, then three, then a week. Maybe you called and got the ‘I’m really busy at the moment’, or you sent a text and got a short reply, or you got an email explaining how they’re so busy, but either way, things don’t progress.
“I don’t get it! He himself said he had a great time and he went to so much effort, so I don’t get what happened for him to suddenly change his mind! WTF?”
“She said that she hadn’t enjoyed herself so much in ages and that her friends were gonna love me when she introduced me, and next thing you know she’s saying I’m nice and everything but she’s not sure we’d get on in the long run and that her ex wants her back. This is the same guy that left her brokenhearted to shack up with some woman from his office.”
“He told me he’d had an amazing time and that he’d call me the following day. The next time I heard from him was three weeks later acting totally normal and expecting me to ‘hook up’ with him. Telling me some sh*t about how he’s been busy.”
Here’s the thing: Dates are tricky situations.
Guys in particular can be very focused on ‘giving you a great time’ even though they already know that they are unlikely to pursue anything with you.
They shift the focus from impressing you with a view to more dates, to showing you a good time so that you don’t think that their entertaining skills are poor or that they’re a bastard.
I know from personal experience that I haven’t wanted to appear mean, hasty, or even worse, get caught up in a situ that involves me having an uncomfortable discussion.
Let’s be real – both sexes don’t like uncomfortable moments in dating. If you said ‘No actually. I had a really good time but I just don’t think I’m that into you…’ the other person would feel rejected and may even ask ‘But why?’
I have found particularly with the in-need-of-an-ego-stroke-out-to-get-what-he-can kind of guy, that they’re averse to putting themselves in the front line of trouble where it may endanger the possibility of not getting an ego stroke/shag/shoulder to lean on and also have them looking ‘bad’.
If you’ve ever found yourself realising that the guy you thought you had an amazing chemistry with that you thought you were seeing again was actually a one night stand, this centres around much of the same thing.
But at the end of the day, I think what concerns me is how long we can end up dwelling on dates that don’t progress.
Don’t get me wrong, I know after more bad dates and assclowns than I care to dwell on, that it can become pretty tedious after a while, but at some point we have to ask ourselves why we would give weeks or even months of airtime worrying about someone that faded out after one date or a few dates?
The idea of dating is to have social interactions with another person with a potential view to moving it up a gear into a relationship. In an ideal world, people would date because they’re looking for a relationship…but…as many of you have already discovered, people date for a variety of reasons – clocking up numbers in the great ego stroke, lonely, looking for a shag, trying to get over someone by getting on someone else, having fun, and all sorts.
If you imagine you meet each other, at this point you will both form a perception of each other. The dates that follow are like a series of checks and balances on whatever you thought could potentially exist between you both when you first met.
This is why it is important to have boundaries and recognise red flag behaviour and acknowledge and process the information to see whether what you think things are still stands…or needs adjusting.
There are all sorts of reasons why someone may choose not to pursue further dates. It’s annoying, horrible even at times, but certainly in the early stages, I have to question how emotionally invested you should be in someone you hardly know?
After all, in order for a relationship to really progress, you need to get into reality, so holding onto the illusion is really more about holding onto whatever you thought might happen to you and your life and how you might feel as a result of that person.
So here’s the deal: People don’t call back because they don’t want to pursue anything with you.
It could be for any number of reasons and it may not even be about you per se.
People don’t like what they perceive as confrontation.
I’ll be honest, there’s a few guys out there that had to take the hint from me dodging their phonecalls and not responding to their text messages. There are also guys I’ve been honest with and they’ve got even more intense.
This is what a lot of people fear and they may project a past experience and assume you’ll freak out.
People don’t want to have awkward conversations with people they don’t feel emotionally invested in.
Some people are users so if whatever they think is in it for them is going to be endangered, they’ll play the game.
They had a great time but it wasn’t that great a time.
Some people genuinely believe at the time that they are interested and at that moment have intentions to do or be whatever they’ve suggested…and then they wake up in the cold light of day.
It might be that they look for faults, analyse what happened, get a call from their ex, get nostalgic for someone else they want and compare, get a better offer, panic that you might want too much, or realise that you may accept behaviour that indicates you may have poor love habits.
It could be any reason but whatever it is, from the moment that they want out, you’d better start looking for an exit too.
If you don’t register that it hasn’t panned out and that their lack of interest and courtesy is a signal in itself, you will find yourself pursuing the attention of someone who isn’t interested and devaluing yourself in the process as you try to ‘win’ them over.
Hunting down the person and saying ‘Why didn’t you call me? I thought we had a good time together’ will send the message that you don’t recognise a lack of interest when you see it and potentially don’t value yourself enough to recognise when to opt out and focus your energies out there. The wrong type of people will take advantage of this…
This is why it’s important to go out into dating with healthy attitudes, hand baggage instead of excess emotional baggage, and to pay attention to whether you’re drawn to the illusion or the reality by having boundaries and being aware of red flags.
Some people lie. It’s not big, it’s not clever, but it happens. If you keep it real, you won’t lose your mind over people whose words don’t match their actions, opt out, and move on.
Certainly if they stop calling within the first few dates, chalk it up to experience and cut off from them – don’t pursue. Unless you genuinely believe that you had a relationship, they’ll likely rationalise that they’re not in a relationship and ‘just dating’. If you do, don’t be surprised if you find yourself being the person they keep in ice for a rainy day but that they don’t actually want.
42 Responses to We had a great date – Why didn’t they call me back?
I’m in my mid 50’s, and have found that this behavior is rampant with men in my age group. One would hope, that by this age, men would have enough life experience, and good character to ‘man up’ enough to not behave in this low manner. I am speaking of men who have reached a high level in their career life, who would never think of acting this way were I a business contact, but because it’s a ‘date’ they have no compunction about being , plainly, rude.
Yes, perhaps a very young man, with little experience, may take the cowards way, and say he will call, that he enjoyed the date, and was eager to meet again, but a man in his middle years should have a modicum of intestinal fortitude and just thank me for my interest and decline any further contact. Or, as one truly good gentleman once said, ” I don’t feel any chemistry, but I would like to be your friend” and to this day, we remain very good friends.
Me too! I’m in my mid 50s and its been just godawful dating. I dated one guy this summer who hid from me he was an alcoholic, it took me 3 months to figure that out. And right before I had, I was telling friends he might be my first “healthy” relationship. Then came 2 week guy. He wined me and dined me, we had great talks, he called regularly, we did a movie… finally had sex. (big mistake). After that night, I saw him for one more date, he told me what a great evening it was, made plans to for sure call in a day or two, and I never heard from him again. I kind of ran into him at the grocery store last week,he saw me and ran down a different aisle.
Then came 4 week guy. Luckily we didn’t have sex, but had great dates, great conversation, just the way Natalie describes it in the posts. Last date was the best, we went back to his place, looked at family pics, great conversation, cuddled a bit, kissed, he said talk to you in a few days, and that was two weeks ago, no word. These guys are 60. One guy I knew from last year told me recently he was going on a dating site, but he only wanted casual dating and sex. I told him to never talk to me again. These guys are frightful. All kind of commitment issues and are very deceptive as well….. There have to be some goods ones out there, but its scary.
Thanks for the post NML. It’s always good to be reminded that we should not want someone who does not want us…and if that person does not call after the first date when they said they would, then you really shouldn’t want them. That behavior is rude and just impolite.
@ mistechal, alas it’s not just men of your age group I’m inmy mid-thirties and the men is my age group does it too. I really beleive it’s how many men are socialized to behave. I just thinks it’s plain rude and when it has been done to me I’ve learned to cut them off quick.
Natalie,
I thank you for your articles. They are truly insightful and I am sure that they are a lifesaver for many girls!!
But sometimes I cannot believe how “Cold” you are! I do not know if this is a British cultural thing. (I am an American of Italian descent) But I sometimes think that if I were suicidal over some idiot and I read one of your “bracing” posts, that it would send me right over the edge!
Please try to be gentle. You are over these problems, and ensconced in a warm and healthy relationship. Try to remember how cold and lonely it was out here, and inject a little warmth into your advice. I know that it would make your advice go from good to great!
Happy Holidays!
Maria
@Mistechal I do hear a lot of stories about this age group although as others have pointed out, it happens across all dating age groups. That said, some of the petty behaviour is unbecoming beyond a certain age. Some of this is down to online dating – they seem to think they have an endless supply giving them this idea that they don’t need to be decent. There is a lack of empathy and I think what is annoying is that they over egg it so much – they don’t *have* to make a big production and say they’ll see you again and pretend to make plans. I’m sure at times it must feel like being at school or something!
@Wendy So good to hear from you! I was thinking of you recently Some of these guys are consummate actors. They almost believe their own hype and build it up so much and feed you into the fantasy that they set themselves up for a fall because the panic sets in based on expectations that they’ve created and pushed. Next thing they’re thinking you might want, need, or expect more than they’re prepared to give…and bail…It’s tricky when they’re deceptive and at the big reveal, all you can do is bail out quick and be thankful you’re not in it for longer but that doesn’t change how frustrating it is. Online dating is particularly bad for this. The women I speak with in similar situations have found that they’ve refocused on themselves and ended up meeting people unexpectedly rather than trying to actively pursue dating because it’s so wearing.
@Kissie Absolutely, it *is* rude! It’s common courtesy and yet they skip over it. That in itself indicates that they aren’t the type of people you want to be around, especially the ones that creep back with feeble excuses about why they were rude, and then do it again!
Wow Maria! Well this is a first! I apologise that you perceive me as cold. It certainly was not my intention and anything I have said has got jack all to do with my own relationship. I’m sorry that you feel I am cold not only for not pussy footing around the subject but for also being in a relationship. You are, again, the first reader who has made clear their distaste at me being ‘ensconced in a warm and healthy relationship’. It’s not your criticism that bothers me – it’s the fact that you actually suggest that I am tipping someone over the edge to suicide. So offensive it’s unreal! I find it fascinating that you felt the need to say ‘Happy Holidays’ as if that changed the tone of your comment when in actual fact it added to your bite.
I just started coming to this site three weeks ago, and am grateful that someone is finally telling me the truth, both about myself and the men with whom I have been mixed up. I have lived in a fantasy world for so long, and that illusion is what kept me with a few of them. You know, the same lines we all tell ourselves: “I’m different, if he only sees how much I care about him, if I am a bit more patient and understanding, if I keep my feelings to myself, etc.” Like so many women here, I am looking for answers, and also comfort knowing I am not alone. Much of that comfort and trust of absolute strangers comes from the fact that they aren’t lying to me; they are being real about their feelings and the mess of hooking up with AC/EUM. I feel empowered. I feel rejuvenated. I feel happiness for the first time in a long while. This is MY life and I want to know how I can fix the stuff that I can, and accept the rest. I need to hear the way things actually are rather than what I want or hoped that they would be.
I habitually perform this “disappearing act”. If I decide I don’t want to date someone again after one or two (or even three) dates, I simply stop taking or returning communication. It could be for any number of reasons and I don’t feel I owe any explanation to someone I hardly know, even if sex had been involved. The reason I do this is out of fear. The times I have made my disinterest clear I’ve seen tears, heard begging, experienced increased attempts at communication, been called a slut, whore, etc., and even given lists of the reasons why I’m so awful that they wouldn’t want to date me anyway. It seems much safer (and kinder to myself) to just…disappear. It’s usually the ones that get the hint right off the bat that I find myself thinking about later…haha! I’m also starting to think that I may be a Ms. Unavailable…
Loved this article!! I typically default to thinking that something is wrong with me if someone doesn’t return my interest, so this was particularly helpful. You’re so right; it doesn’t matter WHY, what matters is they aren’t. Or if they are interested but still prefer to act ambivalent, this makes them also interested in game playing. Bad news there. I seriously need to beef up on recognizing first and foremost that a lack of interest or initiative is just a road sign for trouble and not worry so much about what I might be lacking in their eyes. Thanks for yet another great article!!
Maria….NML certainly doesn’t need me to defend her, she does a fine job on her own. But sugar coating the issues isn’t going to make them easier to swallow and I for one am glad NML lays it on the line. If I want pity wrapped up in “warmth” all I have to do is look in the mirror and talk to myself.
@Mistechal-I think you are so on point in your comments about men who would never conduct their business/career lives in this manner. However, I think we ladies have to respond accordingly-just as we would never consider giving a job to a candidate that did not show up for the interview and never called to cancel the appointment, we should not spend our time on someone who fails to “man up” as you described it. After all, if you do get a second date with such a person, you will have let him know that it is acceptable for him not to contact you when he says, and that he can expect you to be available only on his schedule. This is road map to disaster.
@NML-I agree with the part about people hating confrontation. Some of these behaviors just come down to lack of manners and lack of empathy for anyone other than themselves.
hi Natalie and all, Natalie, I’ve been lurking for a while, I’m actually studying for the Bar, to go back and be a lawyer at my ripe old age, at least it keeps me focussed on me, which is such a good feeling, after all the years, (read lifetime) of not being able to keep boundaries.
Yes, these men I’ve dated I have met on line, so true. And I validate what you said, its almost like calling out “next”- same lines, same stories, different bodies. At least that one guy was honest when he told me he was straight out lying and was just looking for casual, no commitment and sex, even though he is on an internet dating site most people supposedly use when looking for a “meaningful” (hah!) relationship. At this point, I’m thinking one day, somewhere somehow, I’ll meet a guy who is good enough for me.
PS. I’m super happy for you Natalie that you are in such a loving relationship and have those gorgeous babies. Congrats.
Just wanted to say that I was a very naive woman and a total mess before I found this web-site… had no where else to turn to figure out what was going on for over 2 years with this one guy’s strange behavior, and then when I “stumbled” upon this site, the bluntness and straight-shooting and no-nonsense insight into emotional unavailability and assclowns was what helped me wake up and get back my self-respect and sanity. I’ll never be the same woman ever again when it comes to how I expect to be treated by men. (and that’s a good thing!)
If someone is already on the edge of self-destruction, an on-line article isn’t what pushes them over the edge…. it is their already unhealthy state of mental being.
Just sayin….
Maria, keep reading with an open heart. You will be able to see the truth in what is being written here.
@Lauri I know from personal experience and those of others that it’s the feeling of thinking that you are alone and that it’s just you that can feed into the cycle and keep you around. Relief in knowing others are experiencing what you are adds objectivity because you can start to digest the fact that you haven’t ‘made’ someone do this.
@carrie Always remember that Fallback Girls have their own emotional unavailability to deal with and if you are the one that holds the powerbase in the relationship – ie – it’s on your terms, you are taking up the Mr Unavailable role in the ‘relationship’.
@jenny Hello! Great to see you here (hugs). It is very dangerous to internalise other people’s behaviour. Whilst we can be accountable for our own actions, for a better relationship, your self love needs to remain intact irrespective of what is happening around you. If we internalise every event and the behaviour of our partners, you lose perspective because in assuming the blame for their behaviour and assuming there is something wrong with you, you’ll try to fix things that cannot be fixed or are not down to you to be fixed and then attempt to validate yourself based on how successful you are at it. People are often not interested because their own internal dialogue doesn’t suit the situ. You could be the best person on earth but if someone doesn’t want to be a decent person in a decent relationship, they’ll find reasons to eff it up.
@MaryC I couldn’t help but laugh at your comment! Yes rationalising our dalliances with these men is our way of sugarcoating things. After a while though, having candy floss in our heads though becomes a sickly experience 😉
@Penny This is all about the image that they want to project. They fear losing face professionally and losing out financially. The public persona and the private persona are hugely disparate – this is partly why many women are confused about ending things because the guy appears to be respected by so many people.
@Wendy Congrats on you taking the bar. Remember to stay focused on you and continue to enrich your own life. I don’t doubt that you will meet someone worthy of your time, attention, and love, but I suspect, like many, you will have to weed through the chaff to get to him. Don’t lose heart – instead be thankful that you recognise these situations a lot quicker than you used to.
@lisa I’m so pleased that you have found my site to be a source of support. I write what I do because I wish I’d knon what I know now or that I’d had people around me who would speak honestly and with care rather than project their insecurities onto me and tell me that I should stay..with assclowns. I’m glad you are awake now – you can have a much more conscious experience and surround yourself with people that add to you, not devalue.
@Dancefire You make an interesting point but I started this site about 18 months before I met my partner and have been blogging about relationships even about a year before that via my personal blog so I’ve shared my thoughts from all angles of my life. All I’ve done is share my discoveries and thoughts en route. I don’t feel I need to still be in crap relationships or single to write – but it’s just my perspective and as Maria discovered, she doesn’t like my perspective or feels it’s cold. That’s OK. I don’t feel ‘attacked’ – but as I have already said, I don’t appreciate the sarcasm and suicide comments. I think your last line is very apt – I’d rather focus on real possibilities that have some foothold in the reality of mine and the other persons behaviour.
@Loving Annie It’s been an incredible journey with you and I appreciate you taking the time to share your heartfelt words. It has been wonderful to experience the change with you and you yourself have some brilliant insight into relationships helped by you finding a new found perspective. You’re very much about reality now and that makes a huge difference. You should be very proud of what you have achieved and I know you’ll continue to go from strength to strength. Big hugs x
Waking Up – Thank you! The truth *is* healing. It can be painful initially but on the other side of it is peace and it is great that you have been able to use what I have shared to empower yourself. I *love* that term ‘fierce grace’ – thank you for sharing and giving me a big smile.
@Paul – V interesting video. I understand the reasoning but I don’t think it’s the reason and I do believe it is perpetuating this idea that there are a gazillion wonderful men just aiting to love a woman and be committed that are being thwarted by us being bossy. Whilst in some cases, this can be true, this is not the case for men who by and large had zero intentions of being committed to that person or treating them with love, respect, care and trust *anyway*. If we continue to believe that it’s all about us why these men don’t want to be in a relationship, it perpetuates this idea that women have to run out and ‘fix’ themselves whilst men don’t have to do anything. Man, I’ll have to write about this!
Kathy G – Sing it! We must take back our power! We own this and we should not allow ourselves to be defined by some guy! Men get away with a lot of this stuff because there is no impetus to change because where one woman won’t put up with it, others will. Take back your power ladies because you do have it!
@Michelle The point you make about passive aggression is very interesting and is a key part of the dynamic in dysfunctional relationships where you subtly learn that there will be a negative consequence if you challenge or act in your own interests. I couldn’t help but laugh at the ‘lapdog’ reference – you are above that and don’t let anyone have you place yourself in a position where they get to look down on you.
de-lightedtobefree PMSL! For some reason I had a vision of myself talking like the guy from the A-Team! The fact that a guy needs to set an alarm to remember to call speaks volumes. He just doesn’t care – it’s out of sight, out of mind. A very disconnected individual!
@Nele You’ve been caught up in the classic situation there and it’s great that you see him and his flaky behaviour for what they are – unattractive. You’re right that investigating why people who don’t want you don’t want you is a futile exercise, especially when it’s been a brief spell of dating. There’s room for healthy introspection but to internalise every dalliance and analyse it gives too much weight to a lot of these brief experiences. You’re instead taking the experience, learning from it, and knowing that at the end of the day, he’s a fickle, flaky, feckless man who is reactive and thinks later when he suddenly realises that he’ll have to make good on the crap that he’s been talking and the wild goosechase he’s been leading you on!
@Zuleka Zuleka I wouldn’t want to cross you! But thank you for your straight talking! I think that this post has ended up showing how many of you are in different places in the healing and realisation cycle and that when you’re not ready or willing, you won’t want to hear the reality. I know which book you’re talking about – LOL!
@LuckySweet – see my comment below yours There are plenty of good men out there and I certainly have not said that there aren’t. What I have said though is that are a lot of men out there who when given an inch of an opportunity to take the p*ss in a relationship and cross boundaries, they’ll take a mile. We can continue to try to impose change upon men who aren’t interested in a relationship, or we can adapt our own behaviours and love habits so that we find men with more substance and consistency attractive instead of people who resonate with negative patterns. Loving yourself is separate to the man – you should love yourself in or out of a relationship. Their lack of love doesn’t need to reflect into you, but if you do love yourself, you’ll find a man who doesn’t act with respect, love, trust or care unattractive. I’ve always said you can be with who you want to be, but it’s a choice and if you choose to be with an assclown and keep trying to do the same thing, you can’t go wondering why you keep getting the same result. You’ve either got to accept the man and work with what you have, or accept the man and realise that it’s not for you because someone who doesn’t want to change will not change.
@Wandering Ivy You are absolutely right – I definitely can’t please everyone as a blogger, or even as a person and that part of my life where I get all out of whack over my inability to please everyone is over.I love that word ‘bracing’ – I guess I’m a bit like a very loud wake up call! Judging by the comments and the emails, there are a lot of people hungry for the truth. It can hurt, but it’s freeing because at least you can grab your power and *do something. Thank you x
@am “I SO needed someone to put a mirror up to my own behaviors and mistakes” – the great thing is that with this type of mirror, you can adapt and change what you don’t like
@Halfhappysoul I have a pre-Christmas announcement…as long as my laptop cable finally arrives today then there is new reading just in time for the festive season where some of us weaken 😉
@catchserendipity Thank you! You know understanding goes a long way with us because whilst some of us can recognise poor behaviour and take that as their signal, many of us need to understand why or get their head around the dynamics so that they can not only avoid it again but also be accountable for their own part.
@KLM Thank you! Don’t punish yourself and judging by the experiences of many others, you aren’t alone and you’re human. We want to love and be loved and sometimes, or even often in some cases, we look for love in all the wrong places. The letting you miss him part about the EUM is a very important point because for a lot of these guys, that feeling of missing you is what creates the desire hence why they pursue you when you step back.
@hangingonbyathread I don’t blame you for feeling frustrated and dating is hard, especially the type of dating that many engage in now – the whole online dating, active pursuement, not doing the traditional style of dating, booty calls, speed dating. One thing that does stand out though, is why on earth would you accept a date with every man that asks? I would start at that point. A lot of men operate on the Chancing Their Arm Factor – they know they’re punching above their weight by asking you but do so anyway and if you accept, it sends a signal that something is wrong. Or they do something really outrageous and if you don’t reject the behaviour, they also take it as a signal. It’s a catch 22 – it is frustrating and then if you feel frusrated that adds to your problems. It’s a bit beyond the scope of the comments box to deal with all points but it certainly makes for another post. And people I know that meet guys are busy with their own lives and meet en route in social situations, via work, via friends etc but that’s just my two cents.
@Diane Thanks!
@Madeamistake Actually, the longer these guys stick with these habits, the more distanced from reality that they become. It takes something major to jolt them and some will not change. The ones that loiter around dating sites often don’t have good intentions although there of course exceptions to this. Your comment about the Assclown Jeopardy is possibly my favourite of all time and I couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of you in the airport! Thank you for sharing – I must actually highlight your comment in a post! Glad to be of help
@truthhurts – Thank you! I’m not going anywhere. I actually enjoy what I do and you have all continued to help me in my own personal growth so thank you!
@Michelle You are internalising their behaviour too much. There could be any reason why he wasn’t interested and it may not be on that list and it’s probably not about you. I think you already found a number of reasons that may point to him not being reliable but he also may be in a different place. Maybe he just wants to do a few dates and move on just like he wants to move each year. Unless he’s open to the idea of being in a relationship, you can be damn well near perfect and he’ll likely still do the same. It was just three dates. People normally go on more than one generally to get an idea of whether they want to continue. Some do three dates because it’s just what they do. Unless something majorly bad happens on the first, you’ll often find that people don’t make up their mind until a few dates in. But it is just a date. It’s not a relationship and unfortunately, people do compartmentalise how they want to break up with you if you’re in early dating stages – some won’t even email and just move on. I think that he didn’t attach the same amount of weight to the dates as you did. You now have to choose to let go of the experience and move on as he has already let go of it. If he was ambivalent and all the other things, I would chalk it up to someone who went on a date who doesn’t know what he wants and is dating for datings sake and will no doubt take what he can get.
@Freeatlast – Amen! There are plenty of good guys out there and there are plenty of dodgy ones. You need to be careful that you swim with the fish instead of the sharks. Stay NC – distance gives objectivity and freedom. Going back to him wouldn’t change the person that he is and you’d discover that all too quickly.
@maria, I see how you might find the tone “cold”. I think this tone may be used in order to be very clear, preventing the ambiguity that these guys like to immerse us in. @NML, I’m surprised you took such offense to the post, just based on previous reading (I’ve been checking this blog for about a year.) I didn’t see it as an attack on you or your being in a relationship, though I think that does signifcantly change one’s perspective.
I guess, bottom line, the sooner we can move on and let go of imaginary possibilities, the better.
Maria,
NML saved my sanity and completely turned my life around with her wonderful clear-headed advice.
She’s anything but cold – she’s a warm, supportive relationship coach and person genuinely interested in showing women what kinds of behavior in men is unacceptable – and what things women can do to improve and maintain their self-esteem and self-respect.
She tells the truth and if you are ready to hear it, is it quite welcome because it stops you from making mistakes and not understanding why things are the way they are.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, then NML is EXACTLY the person to take the wool off of your eyes so that you stop hating yourself and begin to love yourself, seeing what an unavailable man and his games are, and that you for one don’t find it interesting to cooperate with that/ play them anymore.
My life was a disaster before NML. Now I feel good about myself and men don’t treat me badly – or if they do, she sets me straight again with her great feedback and I don’t get hurt anywhere near the way I used to !
NML has a warm and healthy relationship precisely because she’s worked so hard to get healthy boundaries and be healthily loving herself — and she is generously passing her knowledge along to us.
In no way does she ever criticize anyone – she just asks you to see clearly the dynamic of what is going on so that you can do what supports you instead of what is self-destructive.
The ‘cold’ people I met in my life never cared about my happiness. Everything NML writes is to get us to that place, with or without a man in it.
@Maria–The reason why I appreciate this site is because there is no bs. Natalie calls it as she sees it. I think this is more compassionate than the “band-aid” approach, where people try to make us feel “better.” The reason why I keep coming back to this site is because it’s Natalie’s unvarnished truth that helps me see the illusions I am creating. The term that comes to mind is “fierce grace.” All of a sudden another world opens up and I am free (or mostly free) from all of that conditioning that I’ve acquired over the last 46 years. It heals me because the truth is healing, and because Natalie has remarkable insight and is skilled at sharing it. I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Hi Natalie! First, I want to say that I love your articles – very informative! I literally just posted a youtube video on the same topic “Why He Didn’t Call You Back.” I’m interested to get your opinion…it’s from a slightly different perspective from what you presented in this piece. In advance, thanks for watching!
All of you ladies commenting today were spot-on and great! We women are finally taking back our power, and moving away from men who do not or cannot deliver. And, to NML, you are not cold at all. You started this site, I believe, because you do care about people. If I want someone to sugarcoat, I can go to an EUM, haha! Keep up the great posts!
Maria I can see why you would think it was cold if you felt that you wanted to be ensconced in a sugarcoated world because I know when I didn’t want to hear it and wanted to continue to believe the illusions, I felt like some stuff was harsh. That’s until I realised if anyone was cold, it was the men I was involved with and myself.
Danceonfire – why would you be surprised that Natalie doesn’t appreciate someone saying that suicidal stuff? Whilst it’s offensive it’s also extremely passive aggressive as much like when I have been involved with assclowns, by making a statement like that the message is sent of ‘if you answer me back and don’t say what I want, you might tip me into suicide’. I personally have been involved with someone who spoke like Maria and I felt powerless after a while and emotionally blackmailed.
Incidentally to actually comment about the article, you and the ladies in the comments are so right and Kathy G echoes my thoughts on taking back our power. In my latter years I’ve realised that I’m ready for honesty – in the past when people were honest I’d be indignant and crying about what they had said but that didn’t change the fact that I was discarded and sometimes used by these men. I’m a valuable person, I need to act like one instead of chasing some 50 year old for attention like a lapdog even though I don’t really want him, I just want him to want me.
Funny, I usually ‘up’ the angry NML voice and make sure I give myself a good old scolding so I really get the point
I agree with Michelle, when you hear the truth for the first time, it feels like knifes sticking in, it hurts.
As for the call backs, this last EUM, took sometimes 5 day’s to call me back, I called him on it everytime. He know tells me with this new girl, he sets an alarm on his phone to make sure he remembers to call her…WTF is that!! I was sooo used, so much so that my protest’s were his measure of what he needed to bring into his next ‘relationship’ to make sure it works. OUCH!! I was an experiment!! Life sucks.
After my recent breakup, I went into myself to work on some issues: boundaries, stuff I want and stuff I don’t.
Lo and behold, days after I was chatted up by this guy who had already hit on me in the summer when I was still with AC.
HE chatted ME up in our local bar, then we went outside, he told me he was happy I wasn’t with AC anymore bla bla. He dropped me off home, we shared a kiss. Kept texting all weekend, another date Monday, very nice. He got all ‘this is me’ and unburdened himself.
I was just my consistent, friendly self, he dropped me off in front of my house again and promised to be in touch … then wasn’t!
I saw him again a few days later – distinctly more reserved. We found some alone-time and he said he had to tell me he just wasn’t ready for a relationship (business, his two children – he’s divorced -, his career). I just sat there and listened politely and thought – well, YOU chatted ME up!
It was totally odd. But I think that stuff is bound to happen as soon as you stop being one-night stand material / fallback girl / armchair therapist, and just convey your beautiful self and the things you expect and desire.
The core of Nat’s message is ‘why should I want anybody who doesn’t want me?’ I’ve given up on finding out why. It doesn’t matter. It’s his loss entirely. Let him root around in his ‘busy’ life for a shag or whatever else he thinks he needs.
This blog is the best of them, it has helped me no end, and I’ve turned into a different, healthier person because of it. Keep up the great work!
I also found your post offensive. Telling the truth, as NML does, is an act of generosity. If you want some touchy-feely rubbish that succeeds only in wasting more of your time, there’s no shortage of it out there. Find a book with a rainbow on its cover telling you to repeat affirmations in front of the mirror every morning, and everything will be ok. Some of us prefer to deal with reality.
I will try to tell it like it is. I find NML’s information always helpful. However, I do not find her apology to Maria an actual apology. Are you really sorry for how you spell things out for people? It’s not actually an apology, but sarcasm and escalation of a disagreement. Maria gave an opinion and because nobody liked it, she was chastised. I take NML’s advice and pair it with several other relationship coaches. Then I come up with my own opinion.
Sometimes, reading this site, it’s hard to feel that there are good men out there. This is in a way a cold and cynical thought. I think it would be nice if NML recognized this struggle and the possibility that there are not enough good men for all of us. Do we stay satisfied if we are alone? How do we balance loving ourselves with so many men who are incapable of loving at all?
If we want relationships with open communication, then we should expect open and non judgemental communication on this site. I disagree with Maria’s comments about suicide. If you feel this way at all you should be getting a counselor and asking for help.
Hi Everyone, thanks for your comments and I feel I should stress a couple of things for clarification.
I’m not offended at criticism. I’m not forcing anyone to read what I write or like it. As I’ve said a number of times before on this blog, people connect and resonate with people for different reasons. Whilst I do find the assertion that I’m a suicide trigger offensive, the whole wanting me to not write in that way to make the medicine go down easier is potentially what others have experienced – you hear things when you want to hear them. That’s not offensive – that’s real. People come at things from different places and our journeys are different – this is why people in the forum or in the comments get frustrated because they want people to be more ready than they are. Maria is not ready, and may never be ready or interested in why I am saying what I am saying. But adding in the suicide bit was unnecessary. Maria may never consider what I write ‘great’ but at the end of the day, if she is happy and gets and does whatever she wants to do from someone who she feels is warmer, or by doing things in the way that she does, then that’s what is most important.
This has been my consistent message – If doing what you’re doing is generating great results, knock yourself out. If you’re doing the same thing and getting crappy results, the answer is not to keep doing it in the hope that the other person will change, but to adapt and put your energies out there. Also, you’re all free to stay with whoever you like, but once you make the conscious decision to stay and you accept the reality, you and only you are responsible for your choice and where you are.
There are 996 posts on this site. I’ve talked about a hell of a lot of things from many different angles and actually, have corresponded with a lot of readers who thought that they couldn’t live anymore. I’ve phoned up women (and men) in far flung places and close to home because I don’t like the feeling that someone out there might throw it all in for someone. These people have either gone on to seek professional help or realised that there life was worth living without that person.
Words can be read in a variety of ways which is why tone is important. That said, this post is not about Maria, it’s about why someone doesn’t call back after a date! I shall respond to comments properly tomorrow but I now have to get ready to go out!
I clung to this website like a dear friend when things ended almost 2 months ago with my ex. One thing I value most about it: you don’t have to sift through the fluff to find the good stuff, the stuff that takes your breath away, that breaks through the stupid thought loops in your head that have kept you in bad situations like the ones we all know — all too well. Reading this site is like having a great conversation with a friend who tells it like it is, the kind of friend who’s not afraid to get in your face because they’re afraid of making you angry, hurting your feelings or losing your friendship.
The point here is I, and others, are hungry for the truth! And we’re longing to get some no bullshit advice, as long as it’s delivered with humor, compassion and a strong admonition to get our act together and start loving ourselves. I’d say this site is spot-on on that front.
One thing I love about Natalie’s “bracing” posts is she’s putting the power to heal your life back in YOUR hands and taking it out of the other person’s. We had it all along, but needed a reminder.
Perhaps you could elaborate on your perceptions, Maria — so that we can also better understand you!
I am with NML on every comment she makes as hard as it may be to hear the truth sometimes, so I definitely defend her tough love on us girls. I SO needed someone to put a mirror up to my own behaviors and mistakes that have brought me to this site.. I love this site..and NML keep doing what you do best!
@Maria, I just want to tell you, Natalie and her wonderful posts keep me going and keep me SANE, actually! Thanks to her and lovely girls here, I learned so much about myself and the guys I met…I used to blame myself, but now I know, that it was not all my fault…
@NML, keep posting, I love your wise articles and I cant wait for your new books!!!
The truth hurts – its often incredibly painful to hear. But after recently and fortuitously dicovering this website – a stroke of pure luck. I have to say that advice is some of the best I have ever heard – and is given with the intention of aiding self-betterment – emotionally and psychologically. And like other readers have found, it has, within a few literally a few weeks, helped me in my underdstanding abotu this incredibly complex terrain of life and relationships – this topic particuarily. And what’s more, at long last, the advice is to the point without any silver lining but with a really really strong message – thank you!
Reading all your posts makes me feel less upset that I’ve wasted three years on an AC after my lovable husband and I divorced. It was as if I needed to punish myself for what I felt had been all my mistakes in my marriage (he was a nurturer while I was depressed and selfish in many ways – just trust me on this).
One thing I did appreciate about my EUM was that he gave me time to miss him, to begin to long for contact. I’m emotionally unavailable myself and often have physically cringed and felt claustrophobic as a relationship sets in. My EUM never annoyed me with a volley of texts asking where I was/what panties I was wearing, like some other men I’ve known. I savored his few choice words and replayed the way he smiled at me while I lay on his bed. He was nine years younger and I probably loved the so-called validation, but it wasn’t….he pulled every AC move described by all you but I would have blamed myself before discovering this blog. Three weeks ago I went NC and I think I’m nearly free of his gravitational pull. As I write tonight, no feelings arise. You’ve all helped me see the light and move on. Thank you.
I’ve started to wonder how anyone gets involved with anyone else in a committed relationship after the age of 30
I found this article painful, as it reiterates that I never know what a date’s modus operandi is, and that I should be wondering.
In many ways, I came to expect a lack of courtesy with regards to online dating because I found that people are not viewed as human beings, per se, but as products to be used and upgraded. I quit after the last guy used me to make his ex jealous, unbenownst to me at the time.
But I never expected a man I was already acquainted with to just ignore me after a date. This happend to me recently, and hurt like hell, because I thought he saw me as a PERSON.
I can hand on heart always say that, if I don’t want to see someone again, I do let them know as gently as possible. I think it’s cruel to keep people hanging, and I’m shocked it seems to be the norm.
To be honest, I feel a bit broken with regards to dating. I don’t think I understand how to play the game at all – because no matter where I’ve looked since I turned thirty three years ago, I haven’t met a single man who’s been interested in anything more than a shag, and when I’ve shut my legs, I haven’t met a single man who’s been in “interested” in “me” at all.
I’ve read many dating books, created a full life, seen a psychologist, done all manner of short courses, travelled and volunteered to enjoy life and meet new people – but still, to no avail. I’ve also dated almost any man who asked me out, bar the married men, and asked out a few myself.
I can spot the wolves in sheep’s clothing now, and the assclowns, but I’m tired of meeting them. It’s really getting me down because the majority of “available” men I meet are “unavailable.” I’m losing faith in men aged 30+.
PS: Where do women aged 30+ meet men to date besides online dating? I would be lucky if I was asked on one date a year outside of it (and no, married men don’t count as they can’t be dated!) Is it just me?
hangingonbyathread,
My best friend introduced me to my ex husband…MY two ACs I met in the jazz bar, it did “work” for two years (each)..I used to meet guys via on-line dating, they were ok, but I never felt chemistry with them, so had to say “good bye” in the beginning. I do prefer meeting people face to face (bars, sport center etc), but when you pass certain age, it is getting difficult, I have to agee with you:-(
First, great post as usual NML. By the way, I think the older they get, they stupider they get (I guess that was harsh, huh?). Especially, if they have been married, they are SO GOOD at reeling off the “one time in band camp” story about their horrific marriage and poor pitiful me, blah, blah, blah, and we women unfortunately just eat it up. My one and only EUM did it to a tee. But it wasn’t until I found your website and your reader’s comments that I realized HOW TRUE this really is–I was completely floored that the EUMs/Assclowns of your readers/commenters used the EXACT SAME LINES that my EUM used. Just the wake up call I needed.
And with that, let me chime in here NML to say that your website was EXACTLY what I had been looking for when I found it. I’ll never forget it–I was in the Sky Club at the airport awaiting a flight when I was futily trying yet again to explain why I was ready to bolt on said EUM and why I could never get a grip on his behavior. You hit it out of the park–I was literally laughing outloud in the Sky Club (several people thought I was nuts and probably were on the verge of calling security). But, more importantly, you sounded like ME–the things you said were EXACTLY what I would have told friends going through similar situations. I just needed someone to say them to ME. The sarcastic humor you use never ceases to make me laugh…and realize how blind I was to what was happening. I had been to other websites (until I finally found yours) and they were, to be honest, no help. I want to thank you for everything.
The sole fact that NML is still writing these blogs while she has for a long time managed to overcome the issues discussed here, means she is a very warm and caring person. How many of us would have the patience to keep repeating a message to people who are struggling with things that are probably a distant but not very happy memory for yourself?
I hope you will continue writing on this subject NML and your happy ending is an inspiration.
What I particularly like about your site is that unlike other sites, you do not blame the woman. You do not intimate if you were just a little more this or that, you would change the outcome. You acknowledge there are two people in an interaction, and when it is not working out, you should only do a healthy amount of introspection.
I have just spent a week literally knocking myself to the floor bloody over someone I went on three dates with, who never called again. While I am very proud that I have not reached out, I am still very bruised. I made a list of all the potential offending things that I did (everything form my looks, to making him feel pressured, to being bad in bed (we did not sleep together, but there was rolling around)).
Now was this guy a commitment phobe, maybe, maybe not? I do know that he is 28, moved every year, and is inexperienced at dating. I am 10 years older, and in my heart I was always surprised he was calling me, so I guess on some level from the beginning I could feel that he was ambivalent. What I do not understand is why we went out three times, why not end it at one. Indeed, what I realized is that the conversation was never getting any deeper, and that is a bad sign. I was to be with someone who is opening up. One potential answer is that he really does enjoy my company, but not enough to go any deeper.
In this situation, I have thought it over and over and over, and while I can find some things I may or may not have done, the bottom line is I know I was as fun and feminine as I have ever been. And indeed I am very proud of how I handled myself, I smiled and was flirty and kept the conversation very light, which I have had issues with before.
Anyhow, I just wish I could stop beating myself up, because any man who after three dates does have the common courtesy to send me an email just to cut it off is clearly a coward.
I love this site. It helped me so much. Even after going NC for a few months I still rely on this site to keep me sane and help me when I feel weak. I was looking through some of the old posts the other day and noticed the link to the self confessed dickhead! That really opened my eyes! It is important that we are aware that these people exist.
I know a lot of us are emotionally unavailable at times for whatever reason and it is good to realise when we are and to do something about it. The problem is when EUM’s play, hurt, cheat and don’t see anything wrong in it. This is what I consider an assclown to be.
This site points out the things we should watch out for and to change any bad love habits that we have picked up from our past. I find it to be very honest, warm and helpful. It certainly doesn’t have you believe that all men are bad, just watch out for the ones that treat you badly and walk away when you are being disrespected or they really aren’t interested.
I see now that I used to run with the illusion. He was what I considered to be good looking, intelligent, had a sob story that I fell for, he even came across as honest at first but I ignored the red flags and got far too emotionally invested. He was a player and still is. The longer I keep away from him and do the NC the better I feel.
Oh My Gosh!!
I just logged back on since my last comment, and i really need to clarify!
1. NML, I totally apologize to you! I am sorry that you perceived me as “offensive” or “not ready” or “passive-aggressive.” I ABSOLUTELY did not mean to offend you!! I LOVE this site, there is nothing else like it, PRECISELY BECAUSE it IS SO “BRACING!” It has changed me, and I am grateful for that. But I think that sometimes, as you said, someone who is “not ready,” or in a “fragile” state, could get knocked right out by the harsh (and it is harsh) truth!
2. I have absolutely NO “distaste” for your healthy relationship!!! I AM HAPPY FOR YOU!! I believe that your healthy bond with your man and your babies make you even STRONGER! I just know that for myself, I sometimes get impatient when I have passed through a bad experience in my life, and I see the people behind me still struggling with lessons I’ve already learned. I sometimes want to come down hard on them, to WAKE THEM UP! But you are right, if they are not ready, they won’t hear it and they may be very hurt!
3. I think that you are performing a very valuable service! I was sincere when I wished you “Happy Holidays!” I simply find your tone a bit cold at times and I was trying to express it. I am sorry if you took offense! Keep up the good work!
4. I SINCERELY, not sarcastically, wish everyone on this site a HAPPY AND CHEERFUL HOLIDAY!
Sorry for the slow reply. Thank you for clarifying what you meant. I can assure you I’m not impatient about peoples progress with getting the message. I do get asked regularly how I can still write about these subjects, correspond and talk to readers – there’s still a lot to say and plenty of people that need help. New people find this blog all the time so I’ve just got to say what I’ve got to say and hope it helps I think this is one of those situ’s where words and tone get misinterpreted but let’s say bygones and move on. Have a good Christmas and new year x
i just love it! thank you for keeping me sane and it all actually in perspective. This blog is my new favourite thing, being back on the dating scene again. Is like a very welcome slap around the face (in a no painful, and actually funny way).
Awards
Copyright Notice
Copyright Natalie Lue 2005-2015 All rights reserved.
Written permission is required from the author to include posts in their entirety on your site or in print. If you use a quote or portion of a post(s), ensure that they include attribution. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Notas de dólar: moeda fechou acima dos R$ 4 pela primeira vez desde fevereiro de 2016 — Foto: Reuters/Dado Ruvic
O dólar comercial disparou e fechou acima dos R$ 4 nesta terça-feira (21), algo que não acontecia há mais de dois anos. A moeda terminou o dia vendida a R$ 4,0358 , alta de 2%, com a divulgação de pesquisa para a eleição de outubro.
Já o dólar turismo fechou a R$ 4,20 nesta terça. Para o consumidor final, porém, a cotação encostou nos R$ 4,50 nos cartões pré-pagos, incluído o Imposto Sobre Operações Financeiras (IOF), segundo comparativo site Melhor Câmbio. Em espécie, o dólar chegou a ser vendido a R$ 4,25.
A alíquota de IOF para a compra de dólares em espécie é de 1,1%, enquanto para os cartões pré-pagos é de 6,38%.
Veja algumas cotações:
Cotação do dólar turismo com IOF Corretora Em espécie No cartão pré-pago Alpha câmbio R$ 4,22 R$ 4,48 SP Mundi R$ 4,25 R$ 4,47 Câmbio Santos R$ 4,22 R$ 4,46 Vip's Câmbio R$ 4,24 R$ 4,45 Tottal Exchange R$ 4,22 R$ 4,44 Federal Câmbio R$ 4,22 R$ 4,43 Vison Câmbio R$ 4,22 R$ 4,43 GetMoney R$ 4,22 R$ 4,43 Ourominas R$ 4,22 R$ 4,44 Frente Corretora R$ 4,22 R$ 4,43
Cenário político incerto
No ano, o dólar comercial já acumula alta de 23,8%, segundo o Valor Pro.
Nesta terça, os investidores repercutiam a divulgação das primeiras pesquisas de intenção de voto após a inscrição das chapas candidatas às eleições de outubro, que mostraram cenário ainda indefinido sobre a disputa presidencial. Eles temem a liderança de candidatos considerados menos comprometidos com as reformas fiscais.
"O novo patamar do dólar nesse novo cenário é entre R$ 4,20 e R$ 4,50", afirmou à Reuters o economista da corretora Nova Futura.
Outros analistas ouvidos pelo G1 não descartam que a cotação chegue próximo dos R$ 5. Para eles, o movimento de alta desta terça é só o começo de um período de volatilidade que não permite prever um patamar seguro para o câmbio.
“Não dá para descartar a possibilidade de o dólar ir a R$ 4,50 e até a R$ 5 neste cenário. Tudo vai depender do que será definido para o segundo turno”, disse Alvaro Bandeira, sócio e economista-chefe da Modalmais.
Com as turbulências, a bolsa brasileira fechou em queda de 1,5% nesta terça-feira, ao redor dos 75 mil pontos.
No exterior, o dólar recuava em relação a uma cesta de moedas e também frente a divisas de países emergentes após o presidente Donald Trump, em entrevista à Reuters na véspera, ter criticado a política de aumento de juros do Federal Reserve, o banco central norte-americano.
Risco-país
A economia brasileira sofre os efeitos do calendário eleitoral devido à indefinição sobre o próximo governo e a política econômica a ser adotada a partir do próximo ano. Com isso, cresce a percepção de risco dos investidores internacionais em relação à economia brasileira. Entre as principais economias latino-americanas, o risco do Brasil só subiu menos que o da Argentina.
O dólar em alta é o indicativo mais visível do crescimento da desconfiança dos investidores em relação ao Brasil.
Atuação do BC
O Banco Central brasileiro ofertou e vendeu integralmente 4,8 mil swaps cambiais tradicionais, equivalentes à venda futura de dólares, rolando US$ 3,6 bilhões do total de US$ 5,255 bilhões que vence em setembro.
Se mantiver essa oferta diária e vendê-la até o final do mês, terá feito a rolagem integral.
"Não há pressão de demanda nem por proteção cambial e nem por demanda no mercado à vista, sendo que a alta do preço decorre do emocional e psicológico, fatores imponderáveis, não alcançáveis por intervenção do BC, que se ocorrer será inócua", disse à Reuters o economista e diretor-executivo da NGO Corretora, Sidnei Nehme, questionado sobre a possibilidade de o Banco Central atuar por meio de leilões extraordinários de swap.
Última sessão
Na segunda-feira, o dólar fechou cotado a R$ 3,9566. Até então, a última vez que o dólar tinha encerrado uma sessão acima de R$ 3,95 havia sido no dia 29 de fevereiro de 2016 (R$ 4,0036). | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally related to vision systems. More specifically, the present invention related to a gesture driven vision system that allows a computing device to perceive the physical world and related interactions in three-dimensions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vision systems that allow computers to perceive the physical world in three dimensions are being developed for use in a variety of applications. Among those applications are gesture interfaces. While attempts have been made for gesture control to supersede the use of remote controls used in televisions and television accessories such as game controllers for video game systems, such attempts have met with little to no success.
These prior art systems have been limited by their ability (or lack thereof) to track the hands or some other appendage of a user in a real-world setting. Complications with such interfaces and their inability to process information include the fact that users may sit in various locations around a room and not directly in front of a television. Other problems arise as a result of variations in ambient light and background. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Ultrastructural analysis of dynamic cellular processes: a survey of current problems, pitfalls and perspectives.
Dynamic phenomena in cells that can be analyzed on the ultrastructural level comprise so different aspects as ion shifts, conformational changes of macromolecules, membrane particle rearrangements, lipid phase transitions, protein-protein interactions (notably ligand-receptor interactions, including their sorting and sequestration), reversible membrane-to-membrane contacts, membrane fusions, transcellular transport phenomena, restructuring of cytoskeletal elements, ciliary and flagellar beat, cell shape changes, etc. Only some of these phenomena can be analyzed under stationary conditions, while others are unidirectional and sometimes very rapid. Therefore, the methodical approaches to be used (primary methods and follow-up procedures) might be widely different. Quite different methods are available, such as fast freezing, specific labeling, low temperature processing and/or analysis, x-ray-microanalysis, etc. Only occasionally are there alternative non-ultrastructural control methods available. This survey paper tries to analyze the degree of reliability (or uncertainty) of current methods and to pinpoint the goals and eventually also new methodical perspectives for an integrative approach to analyze dynamic cellular processes with the high temporal and spatial resolution provided by the electron microscope. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
Are Rising Interest Rates Bad News for REITs?
Bank of Canada’s second interest rate hike in early September saw the overnight rate increase 25 basis points (bps) to 1% and surprise financial markets. This triggered concerns about how it would impact business and financial markets. While rising interest rates indicate that the economy is expanding more robustly than expected, they cause the cost of capital to rise, making finance costlier, which, it is feared, could cause business investments and sentiment to fall. Nonetheless, the impact is far more severe on capital-intensive industries, with one of the most vulnerable being Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Now what? Investment in…
To keep reading, enter your email address or login below.
Register by giving us your email below to continue reading all of the content on the site. Also receive a free Email Newsletter from the Motley Fool. (You may unsubscribe any time.)
I consent to receiving information from The Motley Fool via email, direct mail, and occasional special offer phone calls.
I understand I can unsubscribe from these updates at any time. Please read the Privacy Statement and Terms of Service for more information.
Bank of Canada’s second interest rate hike in early September saw the overnight rate increase 25 basis points (bps) to 1% and surprise financial markets. This triggered concerns about how it would impact business and financial markets. While rising interest rates indicate that the economy is expanding more robustly than expected, they cause the cost of capital to rise, making finance costlier, which, it is feared, could cause business investments and sentiment to fall.
Nonetheless, the impact is far more severe on capital-intensive industries, with one of the most vulnerable being Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).
Now what?
Investment in REITs exploded over the last 10 years as investors flocked to their high yields and almost bond-like stability. This was because with interest rates at historical lows in the wake of the global financial crisis (GFC) and fears of yet another economic calamity, traditional income-generating assets like bonds were yielding little to nothing.
Those exceptionally low interest rates also caused the cost of capital to fall, making it far cheaper for businesses operating in capital-intensive industries to raise the necessary funds to expand their operations. This was particularly beneficial for REITs, especially because they are unable to retain corporate profits and must pay 100% of their income in the form of distributions to unitholders.
As such, historically low near-zero rates allowed REITs to load up on debt to finance the expansion of their property portfolios. That saw income grow and costs remain low, allowing them to reward investors with juicy yields that, in many cases, are well over 5%.
It also means that because rising rates cause financing costs to rise, the profitability of REITs comes under pressure, threatening those tasty yields and making them more vulnerable to financial shocks.
The ability of REITs to obtain capital through equity finance is also impacted.
This is because higher rates cause the yields on newly issued bonds to rise, making them more attractive to investors seeking lower-risk income-generating investments. That causes the risk-free rate to rise, which means that investors want a greater rate of return to justify investing in equities.
While rising rates certainly have a disruptive effect on REITs, it is difficult to see this occurring for some time to come.
You see, even after the last two rate hikes, the headline rate is only at 1%, or less than half of where what was at the end of 2008 when the fallout from the GFC was at its worst. This is roughly a sixth of the average annual rate over the last 27 years, indicating that it would take a considerable number of hikes for rates to reach the level where interest rates could threaten the viability of REITs.
For those reasons, it is difficult to see the last two rate hikes having any material impact on consumption or business confidence.
Rates would need to rise significantly to have a catastrophic impact on Canada’s deeply indebted households or business spending.
Let’s not forget that higher rates signify stronger economic growth. A more robust economy signifies that demand is rising, leading to firmer prices, thereby making REITs more profitable. Increased profits are passed on to investors in the form of increased distributions, because REITs are unable to retain profits.
So what?
For these reasons, the latest rate hikes will have little material impact on REITs and signify that they are superior investments to other income-focused assets. One of the best opportunities is Canada’s largest REIT, RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust(TSX:REI.UN). It reported solid second-quarter 2017 results, operating income shot up 8.5% compared to a year earlier, committed occupancy rose by 1.6% to 96.7%, and renewal rent increases grew by 1.4% year over year to 4.7%.
Despite these impressive results, RioCan is down by 11% for the year to date because of fears that Amazon.com Inc. will continue its assault on traditional retail and lead to the end of shopping malls. This is despite RioCan having key anchor tenants that have proven resistant to Amazon’s advances, including Loblaw, Cineplex, Dollarama, and Wal-Mart.
For these reasons, RioCan, along with its juicy 6% yield, is an attractive investment regardless of recent rate hikes.
The Motley Fool Canada’s top dividend expert and lead adviser of Dividend Investor Canada, Bryan White, recently released a premium “buy report” on a dividend giant he thinks everyone should own. Not only that – but he’s created a must-have, exclusive report that outlines all the alarming traits of dividend stocks that are about to blow up – and how you can avoid them.
For this limited time only, we’re not only taking 57% off Dividend Investor Canada, but we’re offering you special access to two brand-new reports, free of charge upon signing up. They will outline everything you need to know so you steer clear of dividend burn-outs AND take advantage of the dividend giants in the Canadian market.
While this offer is still available, you can find out how to get a copy of these brand-new reports by simply clicking here.
Fool contributor Matt Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. David Gardner owns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of Amazon.
I consent to receiving information from The Motley Fool via email, direct mail, and occasional special offer phone calls. I understand I can unsubscribe from these updates at any time. Please read the Privacy Statement and Terms of Service for more information.
[WATCH LIVE]
Our “Finding 10-Baggers” presentation is now broadcasting as we speak!
Just click the button below to join the event immediately – already in progress!
In it, our Motley Fool Canada team reveals the “missing link” between 95.83% of the 10x Motley Fool U.S. winners… as well as what we consider the best way to unearth the NEXT stocks that stand to offer that kind of potential upside.
You won’t want to miss short-time-only presentation, which you can join by clicking the button below! | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Cryptocurrency Payment UX Process
Cryptocurrency is a hot topic right now, both in and outside the tech world. With interest and awareness growing, so is the attraction to crypto.
More and more people are downloading wallets, buying Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital currencies. Many see it as an investment, but is anyone actually buying anything with it? It’s currency after all, and you buy things with currency.
This article continues where we (Joseph Guerra, Brandon Fancher, Garren DiPasquale, Sam Shaibani) left off with our crypto wallet MVP. We pivoted to a digital currency payment system, which we’re building and learning from now. It’s called Marché. That’s French for merchant. Fancy, oui?
Marché is a website to buy a single item: the genesis block coffee mug, a stylish novelty mug. Our objective is that users experience a usable, gratifying, digital currency payment checkout. We wanted to share our three part process explaining what we’ve done and what we’re doing next.
Part One: Learn some stuff Our biggest assumption was that people who owned digital currency wanted (or were willing) to spend it. We knew there were products out there offering a similar solution, but we didn’t know if they worked well, or if people were using them. Earn Survey Joe sent a survey through Earn.com to understand usage and motives around digital currency. Earn is a great tool to target our technophile persona, since they reward responses in cash or Bitcoin.
We learned that the majority of people surveyed (93%) use digital currency as an investment. Most people (83%) are willing to buy something with digital currency, yet only half (49%) have actually done so.
The last question was open ended to allow for more detailed feedback regarding “what would make you spend your digital currency?” Joe categorized each response into the following chart:
The results conveyed that convenience (28%) was the most important. Then, feeling like it was a good deal, price stability, merchant acceptance, and buying things that you could only get with crypto. These results prompted additional questions.
How might we make buying more convenient? Less screens? QR codes? Gratifying animations? Visibility of system status?
Convenience seems like something that we (and other problem solvers and app builders) can solve, by focusing on user experience.
We were surprised that few survey respondents mentioned fees, taxes, privacy, and feeling cutting edge. Perhaps those are lower order needs, after convenience. Emphasizing these qualities of cryptocurrency may increase ease of use, security, and satisfaction among those looking for convenience in their digital currency purchases.
These results justified continuing to understand the digital currency payment process in Marché.
And if you’re curious, here’s the original response data.
Competitive Analysis
In a competitive analysis exercise, we set out to find e-commerce websites accepting digital currency payments to understand their checkout process. We explored Coinbase Commerce, Purse, PayBear, and Etsy.
In an effort to understand how the checkout process was designed, I found a shop on Etsy that accepted digital currency and simulated a purchase. I put an Ethereum sweatshirt in my cart, followed the steps, and successfully completed a checkout. It took me to a confirmation screen and sent an email, without having entered any payment information. There was nothing left to do or see, so I continued living my life.
A few days later I received a shipping confirmation stating that the Ethereum sweatshirt had been shipped. There was no contact from the seller. I’m not even sure if he knew I hadn’t paid. Woof.
We know the merchant had to specifically opt-in to accepting digital currency, but it certainly didn’t offer enough information on how to collect the payment.
As advocates for non-evil design, we reached out to the seller and explained the situation. As expected, he had no idea. It wasn’t clear on his end that the order hadn’t been paid, or I’m sure he wouldn’t have sent me free merch. He direct messaged me a wallet address and I sent my payment through BitPay.
We’re sharing this knowledge in good faith and to discuss proper design. Please don’t abuse the payment system to receive free merch. Be a good human.
Etsy Google Form Survey
After going through this process, we wanted to gather feedback from other sellers on Etsy to learn about their experiences accepting digital currency. We set up a simple 5 question survey and sent it out to other shop owners.
The results showed us that it was a poor process without a native digital currency payment system built into the checkout process, but that merchants were still willing to continue accepting digital currency.
This validates the path we’re on for Marché, because that’s exactly what we offer. The ability to scan and send a payment directly from the site, during checkout.
Talking to Merchants
As a lean way to spread the word and gather feedback about payment acceptance, we spent time talking to merchants in our local coffee shops and farmers markets. Since digital currency is about true peer-to-peer payments, there is significance in testing in a farmers market, or farm-to-table, environment. All human-to-human, without a middleman.
Almost everyone we talked to used Square Point of Sale systems to accept Apple Pay and Google Pay. We asked, “Do you accept Bitcoin?”
They either said “No”, or “Is that on Apple Pay?”, or “What’s Bitcoin?” We briefly explained what digital currency is, and the benefits for both consumer and merchant.
Thinking back to the Earn survey, how might we encourage merchant acceptance? There’s lots of room for improvement there, with visibility and market momentum. But how might we educate on the benefits?
Part 2: Build some stuff
We wanted to understand what that transaction process would look like, so we built a functional prototype. This was also our technical proof of concept, to prove that we could build a payment system tool.
Turns out, it’s possible when you have blockchain unicorns on your team, like Brandon Fancher. He built a functional version of Marché for us to test with users.
Marché is a React web application that sits on Node and Express, hosted on Heroku. It uses the Bitcore-wallet-service, hierarchical deterministic (HD) wallets, and BIP39 mnemonics to process real Bitcoin Cash (BCH) payments. We chose Bitcoin(BTC) to start, because it offers very low transaction fees, but the technology stack allows us to easily switch to Bitcoin Cash.
Flow Chart
Joe and Brandon created a user and technical flow, meant to capture key stages of user interactions. This high-level view helped identify opportunities for UX improvement, and specifically, where we could make the process more convenient. It’s expected to change over time. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
FROM ubuntu:bionic
SHELL ["/bin/bash", "-o", "pipefail", "-c"]
ARG GO_VERSION=1.14.2
ARG GOLANGCI_LINT_VERSION=1.25.0
ARG HELM_VERSION=3.1.2
ARG DOCKER_VERSION=19.03.8
ARG DOCKER_LOCK_VERSION=0.2.0
RUN apt-get update && \
apt-get -y install vim curl wget gcc software-properties-common && \
add-apt-repository ppa:git-core/ppa -y && \
apt-get update && \
apt-get install git -y && \
curl -fsSL "https://get.helm.sh/helm-v${HELM_VERSION}-linux-amd64.tar.gz" | tar -xz && \
mv linux-amd64/helm /usr/local/bin && \
rm -rf linux-amd64 && \
curl -fsSL "https://download.docker.com/linux/static/stable/x86_64/docker-${DOCKER_VERSION}.tgz" | tar -xz -C /usr/local docker/docker && \
mkdir -p "${HOME}/.docker/cli-plugins" && \
curl -fsSL "https://github.com/michaelperel/docker-lock/releases/download/v${DOCKER_LOCK_VERSION}/docker-lock-linux" -o "${HOME}/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-lock" && \
chmod +x "${HOME}/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-lock" && \
curl -fsSL "https://dl.google.com/go/go${GO_VERSION}.linux-amd64.tar.gz" | tar -xz -C /usr/local && \
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/golangci/golangci-lint/master/install.sh | bash -s -- -b "${HOME}/go/bin" "v${GOLANGCI_LINT_VERSION}" && \
echo "export PATH=/usr/local/go/bin:${HOME}/go/bin:/usr/local/docker:${PATH}" >> "${HOME}/.bashrc" && \
apt-get clean && \
rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
| {
"pile_set_name": "Github"
} |
Q:
Manually assigning weights for Conv2d layer
I have a model that has many conv2d layers. I converted the model to the Tflite model.
After converting I get the weights of single conv2d. The shape of weights looks like this
# code
w2 = get_variable(interpreter, 1)
print(w2.shape)
# output
(16, 3, 3, 3)
w2 is the weight of the conv2d layer which I got from tflite model.
# looking at weights
tf.constant(w2)
# out
<tf.Tensor: shape=(16, 3, 3, 3), dtype=float32, numpy=
array([[[[-0.09935276, 0.02673087, 0.01329462],
[-0.15000243, 0.12058315, 0.06234892],
[-0.04185663, -0.11198951, -0.02449715]],
[[-0.01043741, 0.00516671, -0.04251045],
[ 0.09123346, -0.18056516, -0.15848799],
[ 0.13060766, -0.07997198, -0.01930575]],
[[-0.03572255, -0.01315425, 0.08955526],
[ 0.16559589, 0.03411882, 0.0018566 ],
[-0.14274003, 0.1362513 , 0.02790332]]],
[[[-0.18470907, -0.08563003, -0.1520263 ],
[-0.04288448, -0.18342438, -0.15801121],
[-0.03374813, 0.06371641, 0.03502055]],
Now the the weights as I got from the model file using command model.weights.
# code
model_layer = model.get_layer(index = 1)
model_layer.weights[0]
# out
<tf.Variable 'conv2d/kernel:0' shape=(3, 3, 3, 16) dtype=float32, numpy=
array([[[[-0.09935276, -0.18470907, -0.16035978, -0.00957598,
0.12404141, 0.09072036, 0.08940545, 0.16788253,
-0.09028493, -0.07161955, 0.05057701, 0.00413197,
0.12936822, 0.13274643, -0.11566465, 0.06050111],
[ 0.02673087, -0.08563003, 0.15529695, -0.16517243,
0.09419081, 0.03450985, 0.05399269, 0.06663677,
-0.1096884 , 0.11150008, -0.14434202, 0.08073789,
-0.00857992, 0.17634535, -0.1686475 , -0.02407928],
[ 0.01329462, -0.1520263 , -0.16246322, -0.06716946,
0.18214822, -0.13206367, -0.05873053, 0.13359356,
0.13813934, -0.05382906, 0.1032899 , 0.03165779,
0.01169366, -0.11587013, -0.18203613, -0.10081998]],
[[-0.15000243, -0.04288448, 0.03991991, 0.05653304,
-0.08553669, 0.0082473 , -0.12359683, -0.01954196,
0.15206149, -0.07700901, 0.10358813, 0.04298429,
0.04496023, -0.1466851 , 0.05197817, 0.1237444 ],
I tried to methods to convert w2(16,3,3,3) to the shape that I want my_w2(3,3,3,16).
# Method 1
# code
tf.transpose(tf.constant(w2))
# out
<tf.Tensor: shape=(3, 3, 3, 16), dtype=float32, numpy=
array([[[[-0.09935276, -0.18470907, -0.16035978, -0.00957598,
0.12404141, 0.09072036, 0.08940545, 0.16788253,
-0.09028493, -0.07161955, 0.05057701, 0.00413197,
0.12936822, 0.13274643, -0.11566465, 0.06050111],
[-0.01043741, -0.01095065, -0.13822603, 0.00533092,
-0.02210169, 0.12576985, -0.1342443 , -0.15337837,
0.15577388, 0.17446613, -0.17040835, 0.08397743,
0.11096796, -0.08405711, -0.06032752, 0.01366897],
[-0.03572255, -0.07657725, -0.18410352, 0.08384639,
-0.07809233, -0.06835755, 0.12235427, 0.00525343,
0.04881094, -0.10404772, -0.16282201, -0.15634196,
-0.07554363, -0.10617974, -0.11948892, -0.07697168]],
[[-0.15000243, -0.04288448, 0.03991991, 0.05653304,
-0.08553669, 0.0082473 , -0.12359683, -0.01954196,
0.15206149, -0.07700901, 0.10358813, 0.04298429,
0.04496023, -0.1466851 , 0.05197817, 0.1237444 ],
# Method 2
# code
tf.image.transpose(tf.constant(w2))
#out
<tf.Tensor: shape=(16, 3, 3, 3), dtype=float32, numpy=
array([[[[-0.09935276, 0.02673087, 0.01329462],
[-0.01043741, 0.00516671, -0.04251045],
[-0.03572255, -0.01315425, 0.08955526]],
[[-0.15000243, 0.12058315, 0.06234892],
[ 0.09123346, -0.18056516, -0.15848799],
[ 0.16559589, 0.03411882, 0.0018566 ]],
[[-0.04185663, -0.11198951, -0.02449715],
[ 0.13060766, -0.07997198, -0.01930575],
[-0.14274003, 0.1362513 , 0.02790332]]],
[[[-0.18470907, -0.08563003, -0.1520263 ],
[-0.01095065, 0.13471746, 0.16735196],
[-0.07657725, 0.14455187, 0.07566869]],
What I want is the correct method to transform my weight w2 in order to assign it to my layers.
A:
TFlite changes Conv2D weights shape for optimization reasons. I have not been able to find it in the docs, but here, on the last comment, they explain the difference between "standard" and "lite" tensorflow shape implementations:
In standard tensorflow, Conv2D weight shape is HWIO, meaning (filter_height, filter_width, input_channels, output_channels).
TFlite implementation is OHWI, meaning (output_channels, filter_height, filter_width, input_channels).
To solve your issue we need to reorder the axes. Intutively to go from OHWI to HWIO we just need to move the "O" from OHWI to the last index(3), and the rest of axes should go to a lower index:
Index: 0 1 2 3
O H W I
Reordering axes we have
New index: 1 2 3 0
H W I O
To do so we can use tf.transpose but specifying how we want to swap the axes, as just discussed:
tf.transpose(tf.constant(w2), (1,2,3,0) )
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
How can I uninstall FoxTab -- disabling and deleting it under add-ons does NOT get rid of this malware!
FoxTab is malware. It snuck into my browser through an audio converter. Following the directions for deleting an add-on in Firefox doesn't get rid of it -- meaning, I've deleted the add-on, but it's still there when I open Firefox.
So -- what else needs to be done to get rid of FoxTab?
FoxTab is malware. It snuck into my browser through an audio converter. Following the directions for deleting an add-on in Firefox doesn't get rid of it -- meaning, I've deleted the add-on, but it's still there when I open Firefox.
So -- what else needs to be done to get rid of FoxTab? | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Q:
Adding text to the body of an email
I am trying to add some default text to the body of the email. Can i change the font and the colour of the font used ?
A:
You can specify isHTML = yes and format your email text using HTML tags.
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
The Holy Trinity (The Grand Tour)
"The Holy Trinity" is the first episode of British motoring series The Grand Tour. It was made available exclusively through the Amazon Video streaming service, first on 17 November 2016 at 23:00 GMT. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, who previously presented as a trio on BBC Two motoring programme Top Gear, present the show. Production of the episode was handled by W. Chump and Sons, with executive production done by Andy Wilman, who previously served as the executive producer of Top Gear.
Prior to filming, Clarkson's contract was not renewed by the BBC after he was involved in an altercation with a Top Gear producer in March 2015, leaving Hammond, May, and Wilman to follow him in departing the show following the end of the series. Later in 2015, they signed a deal with Amazon to create an original series. Filming for the introduction and tent scenes took place in Los Angeles, California in September 2016. The episode features the trio introducing the new bits of the show, as well as their film. For the film, the trio traveled in three supercars to the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal, where they had timed laps performed by race car driver Jérôme d'Ambrosio.
The episode received very positive reviews from critics upon its release. Critics had often noted similarities between the episode and Top Gear in their reviews. It attracted nearly two million viewers in its first weekend of release and was eventually made available to non-Amazon Prime members for free viewing from 23 to 26 December 2016.
Summary
Clarkson, Hammond and May launch their new series with a film showing Clarkson leaving London to fly to Los Angeles where he meets Hammond and May. Irish rock band Hothouse Flowers plays "I Can See Clearly Now" as the trio drive Ford Mustangs through the California desert to Rabbit Dry Lake, while being accompanied by a range of cars and a fly-over by the Breitling Jet Team. The trio greet the audience and viewers and also introduce the show's tent.
The film presented in the episode shows Clarkson, Hammond and May testing three hybrid hypercars; the McLaren P1, Porsche 918 and Ferrari LaFerrari at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal. After the first portion of the film, Clarkson, back at the tent, introduces the "Conversation Street" segment, where the trio talk about a speeding ticket that May received for driving a mere 37 MPH. Then the show's new test track, the "Eboladrome" at RAF Wroughton, is revealed, where after a Ferrari 488 is driven, Clarkson test drives a BMW M2, which is then taken around the "Eboladrome" by their new driver, former NASCAR champion Mike Skinner. Afterward, the "Celebrity Brain Crash" segment is introduced, featuring celebrities who are scheduled to appear on the show, but are all humorously "killed" before being able to take part. Jeremy Renner, Armie Hammer and Carol Vorderman all appear individually during this segment.
Returning to Portugal, Belgian race car driver Jérôme d'Ambrosio performs timed laps in the hypercars. Clarkson makes a bet with Hammond and May that they will be able to demolish his house, if the McLaren P1 is not the fastest in a timed lap. The episode ends with the lap times being revealed back in the tent, showing that the P1 did not have the fastest lap. Clarkson's house would later be destroyed in "Opera, Arts and Donuts", the third episode of the first season.
Filming and production
Prior to the filming of The Grand Tour, Clarkson, Hammond, and May presented BBC Two motoring programme Top Gear, with Wilman handling the executive production. In March 2015, it was reported that Clarkson had come under fire by the BBC for entering an altercation with Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon while filming for the show. The BBC chose not to renew Clarkson's contract after news of the altercation came to light. Hammond, May, and Wilman also left the programme afterward. Later in the year, the four signed a deal with Amazon to have an Amazon Video original series. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos had described the deal as "very, very, very expensive" during an interview with The Daily Telegraph. After the deal was made, the four also created their own production company, named W. Chump and Sons.
"The Holy Trinity" marks Jeremy Clarkson's return to presenting since his departure from the BBC. Filming for the arrival in California and the studio recordings took place on 25 September 2016. Amazon had enabled a sweepstakes in July for customers to enter in order to get tickets for the tent recording of the episode. Though acting as the show's first episode to be aired, it was the second episode to have its studio recordings filmed; studio recordings for "Operation Desert Stumble", the second episode, were filmed in Johannesburg, South Africa earlier on 25 July. In October, it was revealed that the opening scene for the episode cost £2.5 million (equivalent to $3.2 million) to make, making it the most expensive scene made in television history. Production of the episode was handled by Clarkson, Hammond, May, and Wilman's independent production company W. Chump & Sons. Similar to Top Gear, Wilman served as the executive producer. The episode is presented, at maximum, in 4K Ultra HD, running at 23.98 frames per second with HDR.
Release and reception
The Grand Tour is an Amazon Video original series and is exclusive to Amazon Prime members. It was scheduled for an 18 November 2016 release at 00:01 GMT, but was released an hour earlier on 17 November at 23:00 GMT instead. The opening weekend for the episode attracted about 1,954,000 viewers in the 18–49 age range, tripling that of The Man in the High Castle, another show on Amazon Video. Non-Prime members were able to watch the episode for free from 23 to 26 December.
"The Holy Trinity" received very positive reviews from critics upon its release. Comparisons were often drawn to Top Gear by critics. Luke Reilly of IGN awarded the episode a score of 8.0/10, stating that the show had gotten off to a "confident start" with the episode and that it "doesn't reinvent the Top Gear formula, but rather refines it." Neela Debnath of Daily Express complimented the episode's similarities with Top Gear, feeling as though it was "basically like Top Gear on steroids." Jack Shepherd of The Independent had a similar feeling about the episode, labeling it as "the best of Top Gear but with a much bigger budget" in his review headline. For The Guardian, Sam Wollaston wrote that the trio "leave the BBC in their dust" and that they are sure to please fans of Top Gear due to the similarities between the two.
References
External links
Category:2016 British television episodes
Category:Amazon Video original programming
Category:The Grand Tour (TV series) | {
"pile_set_name": "Wikipedia (en)"
} |
Effect of methylprednisolone and edaravone administration on spinal cord injury.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most devastating traumatic conditions that primarily affects young males with an annual incidence of 15-40 cases per million. To explore the superior neuroprotective effect of edaravone (ED) on spinal cord injury during maintenance therapy compared with methylprednisolone (MP). Sprague-Dawley rat model of spinal cord injury was established by modified Allen's method. Total 114 rats were divided into two groups and then six subgroups individually: A1 (control group, normal saline injection within 8 h), B1 (MP group, MP injection within 8 h), C1(ED group, ED injection within 8 h), A2 (control group, normal saline injection after 8 h), B1 (MP group, MP injection after 8 h), C1 (ED group, ED injection after 8 h). Further, we investigated the changes of histopathology, caspase-3 and Bcl-xL positive cell. Haemorrhage, swelling, hyperaemia, gliocytes hyperplasia, inflammatory cells infiltration, vacuolar denaturation, and nucleus concentration could be observed, especially in control group. Caspase-3 positive cell was significantly decreased in MP and ED group within 8 h administration, but caspase-3 positive cell was only significantly decreased in ED group after 8 h administration. And B-cell lymphoma extra large (Bcl-xL) was significantly increased in ED group than MP group no matter within 8 h or after 8 h administration. More attention should be paid on the time point of MP administration, and ED administration seem to be more effective for maintenance therapy. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
Services
News
Bolton town centre 'is a mess'
Report this comment
BWFC71 wrote:
Does Councillor Clifford "I dont care about the people just as long as I get my pay and pay rises in ALL of my jobs" Morris ever go into the town centre?
It is a complete eyesore. Manchester Road - boarded up shops, empty spaces where buildings have been knocked down or burnt down. Bradshawgate, boarded-up shops , buildings empty for long periods that vandalism has taken place. Basically on THE main road into Bolton between Great Moor Street and just after Orlando Bridge there is no business, no offuces in use and its a complete wasteland. Infact coming into Bolton from any direction is like as though one is entering a war-torn country with all the wastelands, boarded up buildings, vandalism etc etc etc.
CLIFFORD MORRIS - OPEN YOUR EYES!!!! YOUR PARTY AND LEADERSHIP HAS DESTROYED THE ONCE RICH AND INDUSTRIAL TOWN! YOUR OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED!!!!
Now get back and do your other two jobs which seem to be more important to you than actually trying to get Bolton better!!!
Councillor Clifford most recent working records:
Head of school governors - was replaced as school lost money and could not afford repairs. But now head governor at another school and things, from what I have heard, are going from bad to worse for the school!!!
Head of Bolton NHS - forced out of his job by the government due to failing the community and moeny not, and still not, accounted for. Next thing you know he accepts a job with the AGMA Health department for even more money than what he was on at Bolton NHS (why has he not been questioned by the police or other authorities over the missing money???)
Head of Bolton Council - just look at the state of Bolton Town Centre - chain shops closing, Other shops threatening to leave, full of pound shops and high APR money lending outlets - boarded up shops in the centre of town, wastelands in the centre of town - now currently ranked behind Bury and Chorley who have both survived the recession and actually prospered (as well as Wigan, Manchester, Salford Quays, Walkden and Swinton). Failed Farnworth - in fact Farnworth is just as bad as Bolton now for the shocking state it is in!!!
Was a shareholder in Smithills Coaching House - funny how the council approved the change of use and building on green-belt land so easily, after the restaurant closed down!!! How much money did he make from teh sale to Jones' Homes???
So that is one person with 3 jobs and 2 wages and other income and he has failed at everything he has touched - It is no wonder the town is in a state it is - he is happy with his money, doesn't care about people, jobs, buildings, voters. Its about time Morris and his cronies were either forced to resign through mis-management or vote them out in the next locals!!!
Well said"
Your name
Your email
Reason
Please note we will not accept reports with HTML tags or URLs in them.
A ROW has erupted between one of Bolton’s Labour MPs — who branded the town centre “a disgrace” — and the leader of the council.
David Crausby, MP for Bolton North East, made the claims after he was criticised for publishing a political pamphlet with a picture of empty shops in Bolton town centre headlined “closed for business”.
The Boltonian pamphlet claimed government policies were sending people “from the town centre to the JobCentre”.
“It’s in a mess and we need to pull together and do something about it.
“The reason for it is the state of the economy. I’ve been going on about this for years and years, with the rise of internet shopping and we’re facing a triple-dip recession.
“We need to take action and we need a long-term plan.”
But Bolton Council leader Cllr Cliff Morris called on the MP to get behind the town.
Cllr Morris said: “We don’t think it’s helpful to talk the town centre down. We shouldn’t forget 20,000 people work in the town centre.
“Bolton is actually holding its own compared with our comparable rivals, and we work with businesses to try to attract investment.
“The coalition’s economic policies are hurting the town centre, because people’s spending powers have been reduced due to wage freezes and high VAT on goods.
“We know that the town centre faces a significant challenge and will have to restructure to reflect the changed economy and customers shopping habits.
“We have put a strategy in place, which we believe responds to these challenges.”
Mr Crausby has now spoken to Bolton Council’s director of regeneration, Keith Davies, about the issue.
The MP said: “I’ve met with Keith Davies and told him what I think.
“I don’t think the solution is to have more town centre shopping and more town centre living.
“We need more green space, more industry and leisure in the town centre.”
Mr Crausby’s pamphlet was first criticised by Conservative Bradshaw councillor Mudasir Dean, who said the town’s Tory group had been previously attacked by Bolton Council’s ruling Labour Party in the past for calling for more action to regenerate the town centre.
He claimed Bolton’s Labour Party was sending out “mixed messages”.
At a council meeting in October, Astley Bridge Conservative Cllr John Walsh was jeered by the Labour benches, branded “a dinosaur” and accused of “bashing Bolton” after he called for a debate on town centre regeneration.
Cllr Dean said: “Whenever the Conservatives have tried to contribute by offering positive ideas to improve our town centre, we have always been accused of “knocking the town centre and not supporting it” — these were the exact words of the Labour leader Cliff Morris at a council meeting.
“The Boltonian has been sent out headlined Closed for Business — and if this is not knocking the town centre then what is?
“I suggest Mr Morris and Mr Crausby work out a single message they want to give the people of Bolton on this sensitive matter.”
Bolton’s Conservative leader, Cllr David Greenhalgh added: “I suggest Cllr Morris has a word with Mr Crausby to get him on message.”
Cllr Morris said: “We’ve given this message to the Tories, and we’d ask David Crausby to also support our town centre, rather than knock it.”
Ipsoregulated
This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Sheriff's Office News
This news item expired on 9/26/2013, so the information below could be outdated or incorrect.
Charges Filed in Erwin High School Fight
BUNCOMBE COUNTY – On September 10, 2013, charges were filed by the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office stemming from a fight involving eight students. Three teachers were involved in breaking up the altercation. Two of the teachers involved went to Urgent Care for treatment of minor injuries, and were released; the third teacher declined treatment.
Isael Delgado, 19 years old, and Dequawn Daniels, 18 years old, were charged with disorderly conduct; six other students who are minors were also charged with disorderly conduct. The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office will be providing extra personnel at Erwin High School for the next few days. The investigation into this incident is ongoing.
If you have any questions, please contact Natalie Bailey at (828) 250-4469. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
When he first met Dr Manivannan Ramaswamy, photographer-journalist Kounteya Sinha felt he was the most boring subject he had ever encountered.
Before this assignment, the 37-year-old had interviewed Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, and perhaps it was the memory of that high-stakes project that kept him from truly appreciating Dr Ramaswamy, an Ayurvedic doctor in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.
Sinha spent two hours speaking with Dr Ramaswamy, who he said only smiled once through the conversation – when referring to his wedding, due in two months.
“I was leaving his office when I spotted that in the corner,” Sinha said, pointing to a black and white picture. The photograph depicted Ramaswamy sitting enclosed inside a wooden cupboard – the object that Sinha had spotted in his room. Only his head was visible in the photograph, his eyes closed. The doctor appeared to be in a meditative state.
In just a few weeks, the sun will be scarce. But locals know exactly where to go to sweat it out – Dr Manivannan Ramaswamy’s Ayurveda centre in Ljubljana. Ramaswamy’s steam chamber – an ancient Indian object named 'Vashpaswedana' – has a temperature of 45 degrees. Ramaswamy is also using Ayurveda to help Slovenia’s World War II veterans overcome depression and anxiety. Photo: Kounteya Sinha/Slovenia
A vintage pressure cooker was attached to the cupboard, with a pipe. Ramaswamy, Sinha explained, was in a self-fashioned sauna called Vashpaswedana, the likes of which are available in Kerala and at Ayurveda massage centres all over India.
Kounteya Sinha, along with photo-journalists Paroma Mukherjee and Shome Basu, recently presented New Homelands, an exhibition of their work on the Indian diaspora living in the European Union. According to Tomasz Kozlowski, Ambassador of the European Union, Indians living in the EU form the world’s largest diaspora population, at 16,00,000.
All three photographers travelled to seven countries in total: Mukherjee’s month-long journey took her to Ireland, Sweden, Holland, England, Germany, Austria and Hungary, while Basu went to Bulgaria, Slovakia, Poland, Luxembourg, Belgium, France and Portugal. Sinha spent close to two months exploring Italy, Slovenia, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Lithuania and Denmark.
Indians playing cricket in Sofia, Bulgaria. Prakash Mishra is heading the Asia Team and has been staying in Sofia for several years. In the team, there are people from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Japan. Photo: Shome Basu/Bulgaria
Arts and aesthetics in the EU
Krishna Dutt came to Stockholm about 26 years ago with her husband and never left. A popular figure in Stockholm’s cultural circuit, she has written a book about her time in the city and even teaches Swedish. She has hosted artists such as Zakir Hussain in this very home and even though age has caught up with her, she still visits her sisters in India twice a year. Photo: Paroma Mukherjee/Sweden
“I wanted to interact with people in the field of arts and aesthetics.” Mukherjee said. “Music for me is deeply connected to memory and nostalgia.”
This is evident from Mukherjee’s portraits: a man sitting with a Mridangam covered in velvet, a grey-haired woman preparing her tablas for her daily practice.
Dr Sruti Bala sets up her tabla in her study as she gets ready for her daily practice session. She has been learning the instrument for the past decade and is quite good at it. At the University of Amsterdam, she teaches in the department of theatre studies. Dr Bala studied in Mumbai and her home is in Coimbatore, where her parents still live. Photo: Paroma Mukherjee/Netherlands
Mukherjee’s first time travelling to the EU was when she was on assignment for The Indian Express to cover a Himesh Reshammiya concert in the United Kingdom.
“It was a poor choice of an assignment but at least I got a chance to travel to London,” she said. “I realised that 15,000 Indians had showed up to watch him perform.”
Asker, the head chef at the India Club Bar and Restaurant, came to London 20 years ago from Kerala. Along with his colleague and friend Khaled, he never thought of working anywhere else other than the historic India Club. The menu offers a range of home-cooked Indian dishes and his version of the mango lassi is a favourite with customers. Photo: Paroma Mukherjee/England
Mukherjee’s portraits tend towards pastel palettes. She makes the most exquisite use of this in a portrait showing a woman, Krishna Dutt, gazing out of her flower-covered balcony in Stockholm, and in another image of a woman picking berries by a hillside in Ireland.
Nita Mishra picks berries on a hill close to her home in Dublin. This is where she often comes to think and write. A Ph.D student at the University of Cork, Ireland, Nita has two children – Narayani, 19 and Tanay, 12. She’s been living in Ireland for nine years now along with her family and she’s also a respected and published poet. Photo: Paroma Mukherjee/Ireland
Mukherjee describes herself as an introvert, but said photography forced her to be more social. “I had to get to know the subjects of my photographs, in order to better understand the spaces that gave them a sense of belonging.”
Collateral effects of Brexit
Shome Basu travelled from the Eastern Bloc to Central Europe, ending in Western Europe.
“The journey was shaped kind of like a horse-shoe,” he said. “I wanted to see the mixture of cross-culture and the multi-ethnicity.”
Tanya Desai, born and brought up in Luxembourg, performs Bharatanatyam during India Day celebrations. Photo: Shome Basu/Luxembourg
Basu enquired of every Indian he met, whether they considered themselves migrants or expats, a question that elicited surprising answers.
“Almost everybody wanted to be called an expat,” Basu said. According to him, this was because the label implied more privilege than the term migrant. “But I discovered many migrants among them as well.”
The Central Mosque of Lisbon was inaugurated in 1985. The initiative to build this mosque was taken by an Indian, Abdool Magid Vakil, an economist by profession who felt the need of a mosque in Lisbon when he came to study there. Photo: Shome Basu/Portugal
One of Basu’s subjects, who described himself as a migrant, was an engineering student in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. He told Basu that students like him preferred to enter EU through Eastern Europe, where the cost of life and education is cheaper than in the West.
Apart from the long-term effects of Brexit on the EU, Basu said one of the things that a restaurant named Namastey India in Poland was worried about, was where they would get their masalas from.
Indian delicacies being prepared during a community event in Warsaw. Authentic Indian dishes are served there every year, including 'puri' (deep-fried bread), 'paneer' (cottage cheese) and 'halwa' (dessert), which the Indian community loves. They spend hours there with family and friends. Photo: Shome Basu/Poland
“They import all their Indian masalas from London – such as Shan and Catch,” he said. When Britain leaves the EU next year, the tariff of products from London is likely to skyrocket.
“The restaurant managers will be in a soup,” Basu said.
56 days, 160 interviews, 18,000 photographs
In his artist statement, Sinha compares his interviewees with explorers:
“I found Vasco da Gama in a Sindhi man who started his life selling electronics in Madrid. Marco Polo has a south Indian accent today, and is looking after one of Cyprus’ most respected politicians. Christopher Columbus walks in a nun’s dress, feeding immigrants in Nicosia.”
Sinha’s work is prolific – he conducted 160 interviews in the 56 days he spent in the EU, and took a total of 18,000 photographs.
Unlike Basu and Mukherjee, Sinha said he preferred to spend his time in the “smaller, most difficult countries” of the Union.
Rashmi Bhatt came to Italy 20 years back to purse his Ph.D from Florence University on Italian art history and could never go back. A musician since the age of 13, Bhatt is now one of Europe’s most famous percussionists who has collaborated with Sting, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Shakira and Zakir Hussain. Photo: Kounteya Sinha/Italy
“For me the journey of an Indian who went from India to places like Cyprus, Slovenia was much more challenging than going to the larger countries,” he said.
Forty-three of Sinha’s 18,000 images are part of New Homelands.
Kamal Parwani's office is interesting – every inch of the wall is pasted with family photographs – mainly of his two daughters. He says, “That’s my CV, that’s my encyclopedia”. He got into business at the age of 17 as he didn’t want to waste time on education. Now, 37-year-old Kamal runs a 5,000 square metre warehouse, trading in over 7000 items every day. Photo: Kounteya Sinha/Spain
In Barcelona, Spain, the Indian embassy gave him the name of just one Indian. Sinha discovered 80 more, through a process he referred to as “urban hunting through invisible footprints”.
Sinha’s work is almost encyclopaedic, covering Nicosia in Cyprus to Barcelona and Madrid in Spain. In Italy, he made his way through Venice, Padua and Rome.
'Curry king' Micky Sehgal arrived in Italy in June 1980 with $500 in his pocket. Today, Sehgal owns three of Rome’s most famous Indian restaurants by the name 'Maharajah' and has an annual turnover of over €1.5 million. Sehgal’s first home was 65 square metres but now he lives in a 1600 square metre villa. Maharajah’s clientele includes Anthony Hopkins, Tom Cruise, Clint Eastwood, Sachin Tendulkar, Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Rajnikant. Photo: Kounteya Sinha/Italy
“I went on an assignment, came back a patriot,” Sinha said, acknowledging that he had never felt prouder of being an Indian than after spending two months travelling abroad.
Vinay Venkatraman, 37, is an alumnus of National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and runs a design company called LeapCraft in Copenhagen. He opened the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design and specialises in product design involving sensors and data. He just created an air quality sensor which measures pollution and weather conditions which is now being put on lamp posts across Denmark, Dubai, London and Norway. He has been living in Denmark for the past 10 years. Photo: Kounteya Sinha/Denmark
“The story is always in the last lines,” he said. “It always comes from the unannounced corners.”
New Homelands: The Indian Diaspora in the European Union is on at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi till November 7. Curated walks of the exhibition will be held daily till October 30, at 6.30 pm on weekdays and 5 pm on weekends. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Star Wreck Roleplaying Game
Star Wreck Roleplaying Game is a Finnish role-playing game (RPG) set in the universe of the Star Wreck fan films. First published at Ropecon 2006, it is, as the designer has jokingly pointed out, the first Finnish RPG based on a movie franchise.
Description
The game is, in addition to being a parody of the numerous Star Trek roleplaying games, a fully playable game in its own right. Its rule mechanics are built to emulate the setting of the films, with experienced characters becoming more heroically incompetent instead of getting better at their tasks as is the case in most mainstream games.
In contrast to ability scores that measure a character's strengths in traditional games, Star Wreck characters have Inability scores (Stupidity, Obliviousness, Clumsiness, Repulsiveness and Weakness) that they have to overcome in order to succeed at a given task. As opposed to character classes, the game has four general archetypes that correspond with various characters from the movies. They are Incompetent Idiot (Captain Pirk), Annoying Nerd (Info), Frustrated Grouch (Lt. Swagger) and Psychotic Loud-mouth (Lt. Dwarf)
Star Trek role-playing game designer Kenneth Hite chose Star Wreck to be the second best licensed role-playing game of the year 2006. The game is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike license, and was officially released into the Internet in August, 2007. No further print editions of the game are planned once the first print run is exhausted.
References
External links
Star Wreck Roleplaying Games homepage
Category:Comedy role-playing games
Category:Creative Commons-licensed games
Category:Finnish role-playing games
Category:Parodies of Star Trek
Category:Role-playing games based on Star Trek
Category:Role-playing games introduced in 2006
Category:Science fiction role-playing games
Category:Space opera role-playing games | {
"pile_set_name": "Wikipedia (en)"
} |
require 'active_support/core_ext/range/conversions'
require 'active_support/core_ext/range/overlaps'
require 'active_support/core_ext/range/include_range'
require 'active_support/core_ext/range/blockless_step'
class Range #:nodoc:
include ActiveSupport::CoreExtensions::Range::Conversions
include ActiveSupport::CoreExtensions::Range::Overlaps
include ActiveSupport::CoreExtensions::Range::IncludeRange
include ActiveSupport::CoreExtensions::Range::BlocklessStep
end
| {
"pile_set_name": "Github"
} |
Enhancement of pancreatic islet cell monolayer growth by endothelial cell matrix and insulin.
The roles of glucose and insulin in the promotion of DNA synthesis in pancreatic islet cell monolayers were assessed using a variety of in vitro conditions. Several substrates including collagen, poly-l-lysine, Matrigel, and the extracellular matrix produced by cultured bovine endothelial cells (BCEM) were compared for their ability to promote monolayer growth. Islets grown on BCEM in combination with medium RPMI 1640 supplemented with 22.2 mM glucose or 10 micrograms/ml insulin gave the best results as determined by new DNA synthesis. The new-form monolayers were free of contaminating fibroblasts. These results suggest that insulin is critical to pancreatic islet growth when the cells are attached to biocompatible matrices. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
[Specific features of drug sensitivity of hereditary cancers].
Until recently the detection of carriers of mutations in hereditary cancer genes was aimed almost exclusively to the detection of subjects-at-risk, and consequently, personalized monitoring and preventive actions. However, it was revealed several years ago that some hereditary cancers are characterized by unique biological features and, therefore, unusual spectrum of drug sensitivity. For example, BRCA1/2-associated cancers usually demonstrate somatic loss of the remaining gene allele, and, hence, tumor-specific defects of DNA repair of double-strand breaks. This mechanism determines increased sensitivity of BRCA1/2-related cancers to cisplatin, mitomycin C and PARP inhibitors. Cancers arising as a part of Lynch syndrome can be effectively treated by the modulators of immune response. Tumors in patients with tuberous sclerosis often regress after administration of mTOR inhibitors. For the time being, there is already about a dozen of drugs demonstrating specific activity towards certain categories of hereditary cancers. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
Q:
Specify a Finder item by its path
is it possible to specify a Finder item by its path?
e.g. I want to refresh the icon of a single item. So far, to do this, I call update on every item of the front window:
tell application "Finder" to update every item in front window
But this only works if the folder currently has the item. Is it possible to specify an item with its path, so that the update will work even if the item is not visible in Finder?
tell application "Finder" to update item_x
where item_x is the item i want to update?
A:
sure just give it an alias but then your hard coding it in there
tell application "Finder" to update "path:to:your:file.ext"
of course there are many more approaches you can take for this it just depend on how you want to get the item(s) you could
have a script in your menu that asks for an item using choose file
have a script in your menu that asks for a folder using choose folder
maybe some other options I'm sure.. can you provide more information what the process is ?
| {
"pile_set_name": "StackExchange"
} |
//
// Copyright 2014 The Android Open Source Project
//
// Build resource files from raw assets.
//
#include "ResourceFilter.h"
#include "AaptUtil.h"
#include "AaptConfig.h"
status_t
WeakResourceFilter::parse(const String8& str)
{
Vector<String8> configStrs = AaptUtil::split(str, ',');
const size_t N = configStrs.size();
mConfigs.clear();
mConfigMask = 0;
mConfigs.resize(N);
for (size_t i = 0; i < N; i++) {
const String8& part = configStrs[i];
if (part == "en_XA") {
mContainsPseudoAccented = true;
} else if (part == "ar_XB") {
mContainsPseudoBidi = true;
}
std::pair<ConfigDescription, uint32_t>& entry = mConfigs.editItemAt(i);
AaptLocaleValue val;
if (val.initFromFilterString(part)) {
// For backwards compatibility, we accept configurations that
// only specify locale in the standard 'en_US' format.
val.writeTo(&entry.first);
} else if (!AaptConfig::parse(part, &entry.first)) {
fprintf(stderr, "Invalid configuration: %s\n", part.string());
return UNKNOWN_ERROR;
}
entry.second = mDefault.diff(entry.first);
// Ignore the version
entry.second &= ~ResTable_config::CONFIG_VERSION;
mConfigMask |= entry.second;
}
return NO_ERROR;
}
bool
WeakResourceFilter::match(const ResTable_config& config) const
{
uint32_t mask = mDefault.diff(config);
if ((mConfigMask & mask) == 0) {
// The two configurations don't have any common axis.
return true;
}
uint32_t matchedAxis = 0x0;
const size_t N = mConfigs.size();
for (size_t i = 0; i < N; i++) {
const std::pair<ConfigDescription, uint32_t>& entry = mConfigs[i];
uint32_t diff = entry.first.diff(config);
if ((diff & entry.second) == 0) {
// Mark the axis that was matched.
matchedAxis |= entry.second;
} else if ((diff & entry.second) == ResTable_config::CONFIG_LOCALE) {
// If the locales differ, but the languages are the same and
// the locale we are matching only has a language specified,
// we match.
if (config.language[0] &&
memcmp(config.language, entry.first.language, sizeof(config.language)) == 0) {
if (config.country[0] == 0) {
matchedAxis |= ResTable_config::CONFIG_LOCALE;
}
}
} else if ((diff & entry.second) == ResTable_config::CONFIG_SMALLEST_SCREEN_SIZE) {
// Special case if the smallest screen width doesn't match. We check that the
// config being matched has a smaller screen width than the filter specified.
if (config.smallestScreenWidthDp != 0 &&
config.smallestScreenWidthDp < entry.first.smallestScreenWidthDp) {
matchedAxis |= ResTable_config::CONFIG_SMALLEST_SCREEN_SIZE;
}
}
}
return matchedAxis == (mConfigMask & mask);
}
status_t
StrongResourceFilter::parse(const String8& str) {
Vector<String8> configStrs = AaptUtil::split(str, ',');
ConfigDescription config;
mConfigs.clear();
for (size_t i = 0; i < configStrs.size(); i++) {
if (!AaptConfig::parse(configStrs[i], &config)) {
fprintf(stderr, "Invalid configuration: %s\n", configStrs[i].string());
return UNKNOWN_ERROR;
}
mConfigs.insert(config);
}
return NO_ERROR;
}
| {
"pile_set_name": "Github"
} |
"The really good spots out there are gone. At least we have something out there to surf so that's the main thing," Nathan Rubio, a surfer, said. | {
"pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2"
} |
Jackie Robinson Day 2020
April 15, 2020 in the USA
Jackie Robinson swinging a bat in Dodgers uniform, 1954.
Copyright: Bob Sandberg, license: public domain
Jackie Robinson Day takes place on April 15, 2020. Jackie Robinson Day is a traditional event which occurs annually in Major League Baseball, commemorating and honoring the day Jackie Robinson made his major league debut.
We have placed a detailed description of this event on this page: Jackie Robinson Day 2019. For further information please stop by there! | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Influence of thresholding on centroid statistics: full analytical description.
The centroid method is a common procedure for subpixel location that is applied to a large number of optical sensors. In practice, it is always accompanied by thresholding algorithms used to eliminate undesirable background that may decrease precision. We present a full analytical description of the interaction between centroiding and thresholding applied over an intensity distribution corrupted by additive Gaussian noise. An in depth analysis of the most outstanding statistical properties of this relation (mean and variance) is also presented by means of simulated and experimental data. This work provides fundamental concepts to the designers of sensors that are based on centroid measurements to allow them to use thresholding correctly before centroid computation. | {
"pile_set_name": "PubMed Abstracts"
} |
Subsets and Splits