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Produced by Chris Curnow, Charlie Howard and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive)
By Alois Senefelder
Translated from the Original German
by J. W. MULLER
THE INVENTION OF LITHOGRAPHY
Cloth 4to $5.00 Postpaid
THE FUCHS & LANG MANUFACTURING CO.
NEW YORK
THE INVENTION OF LITHOGRAPHY
[Illustration: SENEFELDER]
THE INVENTION OF
LITHOGRAPHY
BY
ALOIS SENEFELDER
TRANSLATED
FROM THE ORIGINAL GERMAN BY
J. W. MULLER
[Illustration]
NEW YORK: THE FUCHS & LANG
MANUFACTURING COMPANY
1911
COPYRIGHT, 1911,
BY THE FUCHS & LANG MANUFACTURING COMPANY
NEW YORK AND LONDON
_Entered at Stationers' Hall, London_
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE
Alois Senefelder, not only the inventor, but the father and perfecter of
Lithography, wrote this story of his life and his invention in 1817. The
translator has followed his style closely, because he felt that the
readers would prefer to have this English edition represent Senefelder's
original German faithfully.
When Senefelder wrote, he had to invent many names for the processes,
manipulation-methods, and tools. These terms have been translated
literally even where modern practice has adopted other names.
The original German edition carried the following title-page:--
"COMPLETE | TEXT-BOOK OF STONE-PRINTING | CONTAINING | A CORRECT
AND LUCID INSTRUCTION | FOR ALL | VARIOUS MANIPULATIONS IN ALL
ITS BRANCHES AND METHODS | AND ALSO A | FULL HISTORY OF THIS ART
| FROM ITS ORIGIN TO THE PRESENT DAY. | WRITTEN AND PUBLISHED |
BY THE INVENTOR OF LITHOGRAPHY AND CHEMICAL PRINTING, | ALOIS
SENEFELDER. | WITH A PREFACE BY THE GENERAL-SECRETARY OF THE
ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES IN | MUNICH, THE DIRECTOR | FRIEDERICH
VON SCHLICHTEGROLL | MUNICH, 1821 | OBTAINABLE FROM THE AUTHOR
AND FROM E. A. FLEISCHMANN" |
The book was dedicated by Senefelder to Maximilian Joseph, then King
of Bavaria.
_July, 1911._
J. W. M.
PREFACE
A book like this requires no preface; it makes its own way, supported by
its contents. But the famous author deems that his acquaintance with me
gave him the direct impulse for producing this work, which has been
desired so long and from all sides; and he wishes that I shall say
something about the history of its production. I seize the opportunity
gladly to prove the esteem and the friendship that the talent of this
honorable contemporary and fellow countryman, a talent combined with the
utmost ambition and with childlike good nature and unselfishness, have
inspired in me.
One may not declare that his contemporaries showed indifference to the
invention of lithography to which his fortunate star led Herr Alois
Senefelder, and to the improvements that he sought with thousands of
experiments and restless labor. On the contrary, the invention has
spread itself with surprising speed through Europe and beyond, and has
been received with admiration everywhere. But the lack of proper
instruction, due to the many who had learned it only partially and
introduced it only for the sake of a small, passing profit, has hampered
its perfect success.
Therefore the inventor, who, happily, still lives among us, has been
urged from near and far to tell the story of his important, many-sided
discovery, and to give instructions for its use, that is, to produce
such a work as is before us now.
But the artistic genius, full of his subject, would far rather work,
experiment, strive, than write! Many times Herr Senefelder decided to
set down how he happened on this art, how the successive steps of its
development were reached, and at what point of development its various
processes now stand; but always his ceaselessly striving spirit showed
him something new that might be achieved, and forced him back again into
his element,--experimentation.
Thus the "Pattern Book," begun in 1809, remained unfinished and without
text; and the other work, announced two years ago by Herr Andre, in
Offenbach, as being undertaken by him with Herr Alois Senefelder, hardly
would have seen the light.
A forceful impetus from without was needed to compel Herr Senefelder to
fulfill the general request of the public. It came as follows. Many
statements in print attracted my attention. They credited the invention
of lithography to Paris, to London; and in Munich there were various
contradictory legends, some alleging that Herr Alois Senefelder had made
the very first experiments and others crediting them to Herr Schmidt in
Miesbach, at that time Professor in Munich. I considered it my duty to
clear away this uncertainty and to prepare a critical history of this
invention while it still was possible.
The weekly _Anzeiger fuer Kunst und Gewerbfleiss_ in the kingdom of
Bavaria, which has appeared since 1815, exists for the purpose of
producing annals of the art and industrial history of Bavaria.
Therefore, toward the end of 1816 and early in 1817, I inserted some
letters about the invention of lithography and called on all friends of
native art history to point out any inaccuracies and send proofs to the
contrary, that the truth might thus be ascertained about a subject of
great literary value for this generation and for posterity. More than
all, I urged Herr Alois Senefelder, then absent, "to produce a detailed
history of his invention as soon as possible, with a text-book
embellished by specimen plates, in which the full use of the art might
be truly and clearly explained." I sent this printed letter to Herr
Senefelder in Vienna.
The first object of my request has been without much result. Hardly a
single voice has been raised to uncover the correct and the incorrect in
the various stories with strictly historical accuracy, and thus to bring
the truth to light, that lithography may not experience what our
Klopstock sings: "Too oft in eternal night is cloaked the inventor's
great name!"
I have been more fortunate in my second object. Herr Alois Senefelder
recognized my good intention and my pure pleasure in this important art
that will give our Bavaria unending fame and spreading celebrity. Since
his return to Munich, it has been the subject of many conversations
between us, and I have endeavored to enliven the courage and
self-confidence of this remarkable man, who often was depressed by the
failure of many an enterprise.
My three endeavors--to win the gracious attention of our most high royal
family for the latest improvements in chemical printing attained through
Herr Senefelder's work; to impel the venerable national institution to
which I belong to investigate the art scientifically; and the
publication of the text-book and the history of the inventor--these have
been not without result.
His Majesty, our most gracious King, this all-honored Father of his
nation and his people, and long a gracious promoter of lithography, has
taken gracious cognizance of the newest, amazing experiments in
metallography and papyrography with which Herr Senefelder busied himself
last winter, has encouraged him magnanimously to publish the present
work, and has permitted that it shall be dedicated to his noble name.
Her Majesty, our supremely honored Queen, herself a connoisseur in the
creative arts, also has honored these experiments with her gracious
attention, and thus has enlivened the courage and the energy of the
artist.
The most celebrated technicians in the Royal Academy have examined these
processes and also the various small presses lately invented by Herr
Senefelder in order to make stone-printing, and also metal and paper
printing available for private use and business, and have given him the
most flattering testimonials. The Polytechnic Association of Bavaria
also has aided, through its before-mentioned weekly publication, in
making Herr Senefelder and his art, and especially his most recent
achievements, known in a wider field than might otherwise be possible,
and to bring him to the attention of his fellow citizens and interested
travelers.
At last, Herr Alois Senefelder has used the hours that he could spare
from his continuous experiments and investigations to write down the
history of his labors out of his faithful memory; and also to give a
full description of all methods invented by him to this time,
accompanied by highly instructive specimen pages, partly made by himself
and partly by artistic friends, but all printed either with his own
hand or under his direct supervision.
Thus with the past winter there developed a new, still more busy life of
this rare, useful man; and thus there originated the present work that I
do not hesitate to declare as belonging among the most noteworthy
productions of the present Leipsic Book Fair.
The book is in two parts: (1) the history of the invention and of the
various applications of the new art: (2) the description of the methods
for writing, drawing, engraving, transferring, etching, and printing,
stated with all the clearness possible, and accompanied with
object-lessons in the form of wonderfully successful and instructive
specimen plates.
With the great candor inherent in the character of the author he tells
faithfully how he came to make his first experiments, what mistakes he
made, with what inner and outer difficulties he contended, how one idea
led to another, what combinations he tried, what plans, successful and
unsuccessful, he made, and under what unrest and embarrassments he lived
for many years.
The minute detail of the history and the interpolation of the personal
relations of the author and his acquaintances may surprise many readers
at first sight; but many of these are intimately connected with the
development of stone-printing, and in the cases of others, the author
did not have time to re-write what really had been written as only the
first draft, because his original intention of re-writing would have
prevented the appearance of the book in the present Easter Book Fair.
In the history of an important invention, minuteness hardly can be
called a fault. How gladly would we read all the family circumstances of
Johann Gutenberg and Johann Fust, if there were such a history of the
beginnings of typography as now is before us about lithography!
Thus there has been fulfilled the desire that Herr Alois Senefelder tell
openly and plainly how he came to discover stone-printing. Now that his
testimony and claims lie open to all eyes, it is possible to compare it
with the other stories that are told, and to bring the necessary
accuracy into the investigation by sharply defining those things that
properly may be called stone-print. It is time to urge contemporaries
once more to declare anything known to them that is in contradiction of
this history, so that a critical history of stone-printing may be
produced, with a chronicle of what was done in the early years of the
art, how and by whom, so that we may learn if several minds had the idea
simultaneously, and thus to do justice to all. It is to be desired that
a writer equipped for the purpose with total non-partisanship, utter
truthfulness, and clearness of perception and judgment may do this not
unimportant service to literature very soon!
As to the text-book, forming the second part of this publication, it has
been demanded even more than the history.
Stone-printing has spread so much in recent years that a few certain
lithographers could no doubt give satisfactory instruction. But there
is only one voice among those who are acquainted with the matter
thoroughly, and that is, that Herr Alois Senefelder made not only the
earliest but the most numerous and various experiments, and therefore is
the foremost man to give instruction.
He is of an upright spirit, and I can assert with full conviction that
in this text-book his aim was not only to tell everything fully, but
also with the utmost accuracy. Already he has instructed many in
the art, trained many others, and thus has learned what are the
circumstances that ordinarily hinder the efforts of a beginner.
Even recently, according to his statement and that of Professor
Mitterer, whom I consider the best expert in lithography next to
Senefelder, there still have been phenomena that surprised lithographers
most unpleasantly in the midst of a piece of work, and ruined results as
if by witchcraft,--cases wherein, in two apparently perfectly similar
manipulations, there would not succeed to-day that which had succeeded
yesterday, nay, even an hour before. The text-book gives all
explanations and remedies for such cases that the wide experiences of
Senefelder have made known to him. Therefore, if an artist proceeds
exactly according to the instructions given here, and yet meets
obstacles, he need merely look for the reason in some small, unnoticed
detail or in the quality of his materials. He need not become
discouraged, for if he has faith in his faithful and candid teacher, he
will attain the goal.
Besides the branches and methods already known and practiced with
success outside of Munich, as in Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Berlin, London,
Paris, etc., this text-book teaches several methods that had not been
made public by the inventor till now; and the fundamental principles of
those methods already known are stated here solidly. He gives
information also of his most recent attempts to use metal plates as well
as the stone paper recently invented by him.
Although the procedure in these two latter methods resembles
stone-printing largely, it differs so much in some points from real
lithography that Herr Senefelder proposes to publish a work about these
processes especially, which may then serve as a supplement to this one.
So may this work go forth in the world under good auspices, to increase
the fame of its author, secure for him the respect of all friends of art
in and outside of Germany, and become an encouragement for him to
dedicate his life further to his greatly promising art and its fullest
development!
Honor in rich measure has come to him already through his art. A worldly
wise man in his place would have become a wealthy one. That he is not;
but our magnanimous King has made him secure against want during his
remaining life, and my knowledge of his character assures me that he
will utilize this, and any other advantage that may accrue to him in
time to come through this work or his art, for perfecting it, and then
to train his only son, now five years old, to the art, so that he may
practice it in future with honor to his father's name.
FRIEDRICH VON SCHLICHTEGROLL.
MUNICH, EASTER DAY, 1818.
SECTION I
HISTORY OF STONE-PRINTING
PART I
FROM 1796 TO 1800
As my father, Peter Senefelder of Koenigshofen in Franken, was court
actor in Munich, I had ample opportunity in early youth to see and read
many theatrical pieces. Thus I developed such a love for this branch of
literature and for the theatre that I would have become an actor myself
had I been permitted to obey my inclination. But my father, who was
determined not to permit any of his children to choose the stage,
compelled me to study law. I could satisfy my longings only occasionally
by playing a few times in private theatricals and by venturing on a few
dramatic writings in my hours of recreation. In my eighteenth year
(1789) the question arose, at a gathering of youngsters, as to how we
should entertain ourselves in the approaching Carnival time. We decided
to give a little private play.
Many pieces were proposed, but none seemed suitable, because each one
wished to play a good and suitable part, and, besides, we could not fill
most of the parts, as we lacked women. We were almost giving up hope
when Herr Kuerzinger, now court actor, proposed to me to write a play,
as I had begun one shortly before that happened to suit each of my
friends.
I finished the little piece, _Die Maedchen Kenner_, in a short time. It
was ready for production, when through accident we were disappointed
about securing the private theatre on which we had counted. We were
emboldened to request leave to produce it in the Kurfuerst's Court
Theatre and succeeded, thanks to my father's aid. The over-kind praise
which it won encouraged me to have the play printed. Although I was
pretty generous with free copies among my friends, I received so much
from Lentner, the book-dealer in Munich, that a net profit of fifty
gulden remained to me.
I had not worked eight days on the little thing, and had made all this
money, without counting the pleasure of the work. No wonder that now I
feared no longer for my future! My love for the theatre became
overpowering, and as my father died soon afterward (1791), and I found
no further assistance toward completing my studies in Ingolstadt, I
resolved to become a dramatic author and actor.
I found no place for me in the Court Theatre. Its leaders were opposed
to my family, because my mother with her large family received a larger
pension, through the favor of the Kurfuerst, than she could have expected
in ordinary course. In a few strolling theatres, such as Regensburg,
Nuernberg, Erlangen, and Augsburg, where I endured privation and
misfortune enough, my enthusiasm was well dampened in the course of two
years. I decided, as I could see no other prospects for the moment
despite my not inconsiderable attainments, to support myself in future
as author.
I had written several dramatic pieces already that had won sufficient
applause. Therefore I decided to have some of these printed in order to
meet my immediate expenses. I gave one of them to the printing
establishment of Herr Huebschmann, in Munich, and when the first folio
was finished, I made the proposition to Herr Lentner to take some or all
of the copies. He told me that I would have done better to let him have
the manuscript; but since it had been begun, he told me to make sure
that it be finished before the beginning of the Leipsic Easter Fair, in
which case he promised to obtain for me one hundred gulden net, after
deducting all costs. I begged Herr Huebschmann to finish the printing,
but, as he assured me that it was impossible, I took the remaining
folios to another printer. Despite this the play was not printed till
two weeks after the fair, and I received from Herr Lentner barely enough
to pay the printing cost.
My hope of profit was lost. I had, however, seen the entire procedure of
printing, because I had spent many a day in the establishments. I found
that it would not be hard for me to learn, and could not withstand the
desire to own a small printing establishment myself. "Thus," thought I,
"I can print my productions myself, and so alternate healthfully between
mental and physical activities." I could earn a decent living, too, and
thus become an independent man.
This idea controlled me so that I studied all sorts of ways to realize
it. If I had possessed the necessary money, I would have bought types, a
press and paper, and printing on stone probably would not have been
invented so soon. The lack of funds, however, forced me to other
expedients. At first I thought of etching letters in steel. These
matrices I planned then to impress on pear wood, in which the letters
would show in relief, somewhat like the cast type of the book printers,
and they could have been printed like a wood-cut. A few experiments
showed me the possibility of this, and I could easily have invented a
machine with which the moulding could have been done more quickly than a
printer could set his type. I reserve the right to use this possibly
fruitful idea in future with improvements. At the time, however, I had
to give up the whole thing through lack of implements and sufficient
skill in engraving.
Then it struck me that if I had only enough types to set one column or
folio, I could press this into a soft material, transfer the impression
to a board covered with soft sealing-wax, and reproduce the relief plate
thus obtained in stereotype form. The attempt succeeded perfectly. I
made a sort of dough of clay, fine sand, flour, and coal-dust, which,
being firmly kneaded, took the impression very well, and was so dry in a
quarter of an hour that I could print warmed sealing-wax thoroughly well
with a small press. I inked these letters of sealing-wax relief with
printing-ink laid on with a leather roller stuffed with horse-hair and
obtained a result as clean as any obtained from ordinary types. By
mixing finely powdered gypsum with the sealing-wax I made the latter
harder than the ordinary type composition. Thus there was nothing in the
way of my making stereotype plates (which I did not know by this name at
that time), except a few minor appliances and a small stock of types.
But even this exceeded my financial power and I gave up the plan,
especially as I had conceived a new one during my experiments.
This was to learn to write out ordinary type letters exactly, but
reversed. I planned that as soon as I attained the skill, I would write
them with an elastic steel pen on a copper plate covered in ordinary
manner with etching surface, etch, and let the copper-plate printers
print them. In a few days I had such skill in reverse writing that I
attacked the etching on copper bravely. Here, to be sure, I met greater
difficulties. Writing on copper over the etching surface was far more
difficult than writing on paper. Then the preparation of the plate, the
etching, etc., demanded some practice; but all this I hoped to conquer
in time. The one thing that troubled me was that I could not correct the
errors made during writing. The accessories of copper-plate engravers,
especially the so-called cover varnish, were quite unknown to me. I knew
no remedy except to paint the faulty places over with molten wax, but
the covering generally became so thick that I could not work through it
properly and had to leave the corrections for the graving stilus, which,
however, I could not handle at the time.
As, however, the proofs were thoroughly satisfactory to me, I labored
desperately to overcome the difficulty. During my student years I had
attained much chemical knowledge, and I knew that most of the resinous
products which withstand acid, as well as the fats, wax, tallow, and so
forth, can be dissolved and diluted partly in etheric oils and spirits
of wine, and partly in alkalies. My problem was to obtain a thin mass
which would permit itself to be spread very thinly in cold condition
over the copper etching surface, dry quickly, become sufficiently firm
after drying without getting tough, and, above all, be something that
would not attack the etching surface. A few trials with spirits of wine
and various resinous forms gave no satisfaction. The one experiment that
I made with oil of turpentine and wax also failed, presumably because I
diluted the mixture more than necessary, which caused it to flow too
much and dissolve the etching surface, at which time several well-done
parts of the engraving were ruined. Besides, this mixture dried only
slowly to the degree necessary for working. Fortunately I made no
further experiments with this material, because then I should not have
invented stone-printing, as I know now how to make a cover varnish that
is quite satisfactory.
I turned, instead, to an experiment with wax and soap, which succeeded
beyond all expectations. A mixture of three parts of wax with one part
of common tallow soap, melted over the fire, mixed with some fine
lampblack, and then dissolved in rainwater, gave me a sort of black ink
with which I could correct faulty spots most easily.
Now I needed only practice in order to carry out my project of etching
my literary productions in copper. This presented a new difficulty.
After I had written on my single little copper plate, etched it, and
pulled proofs at the house of a friend who possessed a copper-plate
press, I had to spend some hours again laboriously grinding and
polishing the plate, a process which also wore away the copper fast.
This led me to practice on zinc, which was easier to scrape and polish.
An old zinc plate of my mother's was requisitioned at once, but the
results were very unsatisfactory, because the zinc probably was mixed
with lead, and I had used only aqua fortis instead of more powerful
acid.
I did not continue trials with zinc, because just then I obtained a
handsome piece of Kellheimer stone for the purpose of rubbing down my
colors on it; and it occurred to me that if I painted this stone plate
with my wax ink, it would serve as well for practicing as copper or
zinc, with very little labor in grinding and polishing. The experiments
succeeded, and though I had not thought originally that the stone itself
might be used for printing (the samples I had seen hitherto of this
Kellheim limestone were too thin to withstand the pressure exerted in
printing), I soon began to believe that it was possible. It was much
easier to do good work on the stone than on the copper. I observed also
that I needed weaker and much diluted aqua fortis.
A stone mason told me that he could provide me with this sort of
limestone in plates from one inch to eight inches thick. Thus I needed
not to fear cracking of the stone; and the only thing that I needed to
invent, in order to use the stone just like copper, was either a way to
give the stone a better polish, or else a tint which would be easier to
rub away than the ordinary copper-plate printing-ink. The stone will not
take the polish that is demanded with ordinary printer's ink,--and
perhaps this is the reason why the stone has not been used long before
my time as substitute for copper, for I imagine that such attempts must
have been made.
I tried all possible kinds of polishing and grinding without attaining
my purpose completely. The result was best when I poured a mixture of
one part of concentrated oil of vitriol and four or five parts of water
over the stone after polishing it. This mixture, which is very sharp,
has the property of boiling immediately when poured over the stone, but
ceasing instantly, so that one is tempted to believe that the vitriol
has sated itself and lost its power. This is not so, however; for the
same fluid, placed on an untouched part of the stone, boils again at
once. The reason is that a firm skin of gypsum forms at once on the
stone, and this remains impervious to the fluid. If now the etching
fluid is poured off and the stone is rubbed lightly with a rag, it
attains a shining polish. Unfortunately this is so thin and weak that
one can make barely fifty impressions without repeating the process,
which involves some loss to the drawing. But if one desires to print in
the present chemical style, that is, wet, and the stone is polished
before the drawing, one can make several thousand imprints, which will
be described in the proper place.
All experiments to find a color easy to wipe away showed me that on a
stone prepared with oil of vitriol none was better than a light oil
varnish with fine Frankfurter black and some tartar. This mixture could
be washed off with a weak solution in spring water of potash and common
salt. However, it happened often that slight carelessness in washing
destroyed designed parts which took color again afterward only after
much trouble. Recollection of this occurrence, which I could not
understand clearly at the time, led me some years later to the invention
of the chemical stone-printing of to-day.
I have told all these things fully in order to prove to the reader that
I did not invent stone-printing through lucky accident, but that I
arrived at it by a way pointed out by industrious thought. It will be
seen that I knew the ink, before I thought of its use on stone. The
stone I used at first only to practice writing. The ease of writing on
stone lured me then to try to make it available for direct printing. To
do this, I had to discover a way to rub away the black as completely
from all unetched parts of the stone as the copper-plate printer can do
it from his surface, in comparison with which the stone was but slightly
smooth.
At this time my further experiments with this etched form of
stone-printing were entirely checked by a new, accidental discovery.
Until now I had invented little that was new, but simply had applied the
copper-plate etching method to stone. But this new discovery founded an
entirely new form of printing, which basically became the foundation of
all succeeding methods.
Had the stone merely proved available as substitute for copper, I would
have returned to copper as soon as I could afford it, despite several
advantages of stone, and for the following reasons: first, the necessary
weight and thickness of the stones; second, because the printing process
was slower than with copper; third, because probably I never would have
become sufficiently skilled in the difficult manipulation of washing
off; but chiefly, because the necessary spur, the originality of the
discovery, would have been lacking, since I remembered that as a child
of five or six I had seen a music-printery in Frankfurt or Mainz where
the notes were etched in black slate-stone. I had played often with the
broken stones, which lay in a heap near our house. Enough, I was not the
first discoverer of stone-etching, nor of stone-printing; and only after
I made this new discovery which I will describe now, which led me from
the engraved to the relief process, with my new ink, might I call myself
the inventor of an art.
At that time I could not guess that I was to invent a form of printing
different even from this new and original form, a method which was to be
based not on mechanical but purely chemical properties. Even this
method, new in 1796, still was purely mechanical in its purpose, whereas
the present printing method, which I began in 1799, may be called purely
chemical.
I had just ground a stone plate smooth in order to treat it with etching
fluid and to pursue on it my practice in reverse writing, when my mother
asked me to write a laundry list for her. The laundress was waiting, but
we could find no paper. My own supply had been used up by pulling
proofs. Even the writing-ink was dried up. Without bothering to look
for writing materials, I wrote the list hastily on the clean stone, with
my prepared stone ink of wax, soap, and lampblack, intending to copy it
as soon as paper was supplied.
As I was preparing afterward to wash the writing from the stone, I
became curious to see what would happen with writing made thus of
prepared ink, if the stone were now etched with aqua fortis. I thought
that possibly the letters would be left in relief and admit of being
inked and printed like book-types or wood-cuts. My experience in
etching, which had showed me that the fluid acted in all directions, did
not encourage me to hope that the writing would be left in much relief.
But the work was coarse, and therefore not so likely to be under-cut as
ordinary work, so I made the trial. I poured a mixture of one part aqua
fortis and ten parts of water over the plate and let it stand two inches
deep for about five minutes. Then I examined the result and found the
writing about one tenth of a line or the thickness of a playing-card in
relief.
A few finer strokes had been injured slightly, but the others had hardly
lost breadth noticeably and not at all in depth, so that I had good
reason to hope that a well-written plate, particularly in type letter,
would be susceptible of much better relief.
Eagerly I began inking in. I used a fine leather ball, stuffed with
horsehair, and inked it very gently with thick linseed oil varnish and
lampblack. I patted the inscription many times with this ball. The
letters all took the color well, but it also went into all spaces
greater than half a line. That this was due to the over-great elasticity
of the ball was clear to me. So I cleansed my plate with soap and water,
made the leather tense, and used less color. Now I found color only in
such spaces as were two or more lines apart.
I saw that I could attain my purpose better with a dauber of stiffer
material. I tried at once with a piece of glass from a broken mirror,
and as this succeeded fairly well, I tried elastic metal plates. Finally
I made an entirely satisfactory appliance out of a thin board, very
smoothly planed and covered with a fine cloth.
My further experiments with this relief plate succeeded far better than
my previous ones with etched letters. The inking in was much easier, and
hardly one quarter of the force was necessary for making impressions.
Thus the stones were not so liable to crack, and, what was the most
important for me, this method of printing was entirely new, and I might
hope to obtain a franchise and even financial aid. This hope grew when I
learned that Riegel of Munich, who had invented a new sort of
Frankfurter black, had received ten thousand gulden to erect a factory,
although no human being could use it as a sufficient substitute, as I
proved by many trials. I saw the great field for my stone-printing art
and did not doubt that I would obtain assistance, even should it be only
a twentieth part of what Herr Riegel had received for his entirely
worthless process.
The new art was invented, and soon was sufficiently practiced; but again
came the need for a little capital, to buy a press, some stones, paper,
tools, and so forth. If I did not wish to give up my hopes again, I must
seek some way to obtain the necessary means. All my endeavors were
fruitless. Only one way showed itself. An acquaintance, who served in
the artillery, had offered to pay two hundred gulden for a substitute.
In my helplessness I offered myself. I thought: "Once you are in the
artillery and have mastered the exercises, you can get furlough and the
permission to do your printing. You can pay others to do your sentry
goes, and thus there will be only a few weeks a year in which the
regiment will demand your presence. As soon as you have earned a few
hundred gulden you can get a substitute yourself, or, at worst--how soon
six years will pass! Perhaps you can make your fortune in the artillery,
too! You will display zeal, and your knowledge is such that probably few
in the corps will be superior to you. Mathematics, and especially
mechanics and geography, were ever your favorite studies; you were one
of the first of the Munich Lyceum in these branches; therefore it is
certain that you will be noticed and promoted"--and other such
chimerical hopes.
On the third day I went with a transport of recruits to Ingolstadt,
which then was the quarters of the Bavarian artillery. I entered that
city with feelings different from those with which I had left it as
Academician. But the thought of my invention elevated my spirit to a
certain dignity and comforted me with the prophecy of a better future. I
was presented to the chief of company and slept a night in the barracks,
where unpleasant remarks and the conduct of a vulgar corporal cast heavy
shadows over the coming soldiering. Next morning, when I was to be
enrolled and named Prague as my birth-place, I was informed that a
recent royal order shut out all foreigners from the Bavarian service. So
I started on my return, poorer by a hope, but not in entire despair. As
I looked down from the Danube bridge into the majestic stream, where as
a student I was nearly drowned once, I could not quite prevent the
thought that my rescue at that time had not been fortunate, since a too
unkind fate seemed to deny me even the one means of support, open to the
most helpless, that of the army.
Still, though cheated by hope a thousand times, I ever followed her
lures again, and a new plan instantly formed itself to replace the one
that had just gone to wreck. I decided to give up my literary work for
the time being and work as a printer for wages.
Some very badly printed music that I bought in Ingolstadt awakened the
idea that with my new printing process I could furnish much better work.
I decided to go at once to Herr Falter, the music-dealer of Munich, to
interest him in my invention and obtain a small advance of money. Had I
done this, my art might have been more thoroughly perfected long ago;
but, again, it might never have been developed as it has been, for it
was amply sufficient already for music-printing. My shyness, however,
prevented me from addressing Herr Falter. Twice I was at his door, and
each time I retreated. The second time I met a good acquaintance, a
musician named Schrott. In reply to my inquiry if he knew Herr Falter,
he said "No," but he told me that the court musician, Gleissner, had
paid recently to have several masses printed and intended to publish
some more church music soon. Who was happier than I over this news!
Herr Gleissner was a good friend of old. While I was in the theatre I
had engaged him to compose several songs, and had found him a humane and
righteous man. Within half an hour I was in his house and explaining my
invention to his wife, he being absent. I aroused her interest so much
that she seemed thoroughly eager to have me hurry back with a little
press model, in order to show them both the working of the process.
The entire behavior of the woman was so open and artless that I
dismissed my first thought, "I might be cheated out of my invention,"
and hurried to Herr Gleissner in the afternoon with my simple apparatus.
My printing succeeded absolutely. Gleissner marveled at the swiftness
and beauty of the impressions, and, knowing my penniless condition, he
offered of his own free will to pay for a small printery.
My mother had given me a press already. It was the ordinary copper-plate
press with two cylinders. True, it was very roughly made, being a house
carpenter's work, but it had cost only six gulden. However, one could
make very pretty impressions from stone with it. To spare Herr
Gleissner's treasury, I contented myself with it for the time. I bought
a small stock of stones, paper, and other necessary articles.
Herr Gleissner composed twelve songs with clavier accompaniment. I wrote
them rapidly on stone and made one hundred and twenty impressions with
the aid of a day laborer. Everything, composition, writing on stone and
printing, was finished in fourteen days. From Herr Falter, who bought
one hundred copies, Herr Gleissner received the sum of one hundred
gulden. Stones, which could be used over and over again, paper, color,
and wages had cost barely thirty gulden; thus we had a clear profit of
seventy gulden, earned in fourteen days, and I gained so much happy hope
that I thought myself richer than Croesus.
We were gay and merry. Through his patron, Count von Toerring, then
President of the Royal Chamber, Herr Gleissner had presented an
impression of our first work to the Kurfuerst Karl Theodor, and had
received one hundred gulden out of the Cabinet Treasury, with the
promise of a franchise.
A succeeding little piece of work, "Duets for Two Flutes, by Gleissner,"
brought forty gulden more into our chest, and finally our finances, as
well as a bright success for our institution, seemed assured by a
contract closed with the Countess von Herting to print a cantata on the
death of Mozart by Cannabich, the musical director, which promised us a
profit of one hundred and fifty gulden for two or three weeks' work.
During this time I had presented specimens of work to the Royal Academy
of Sciences, with a description of the advantages of the art, in which I
named particularly the cheapness, and said that the impression had been
made on a press costing not more than six gulden. To my amazement,
instead of the expected honorable mention, I received a sum of twelve
gulden from the vice-president of the Academy, Herr von Vachiery, with
the information that the members had voted favorably for my invention,
and that, as my expenses amounted to only six gulden, according to my
own statement, I would, no doubt, be satisfied with a sum double this. I
had expected an entirely different appreciation from the sentinels of
the arts and sciences, whose office was to test the value of this new
discovery and call the Government's attention to it if favorable. A mere
monetary reward, therefore, especially so small a one, could not
possibly give me much pleasure.
Promising as our beginning was (1793), there came a sad period soon
enough for the art, for me, and also for Herr Gleissner. We had ordered
a new press as soon as our income permitted. I expected to produce a
masterpiece with the first impression. Instead of that, there appeared
the very opposite, a dirty and smeared imprint. We suspected that we had
made some mistake in method. The second attempt, however, was worse than
the first, if possible. To be brief, of twenty trials, made with the
greatest industry and toil, we obtained only two or three that were even
average.
As long as I live I shall be unable to understand how we could have been
so blind at that time. We sought the cause of failure in everything
except the true thing,--an alteration that made the new press different
from the old one, which unfortunately had been already destroyed. Later,
after I had invented the so-called lever or gallows press, the thing was
clear to me at once. But by that time it had cost me and Herr Gleissner
two years full of toil, worry, and sorrow. In the contract with the
Countess von Herting the date of completion of the work had been
stipulated, because she wished to surprise Herr Cannabich with it on his
birthday. We had barely four weeks left and not a single sheet had been
finished. With press alterations, trial impressions, and so forth, we
had wasted money and time, and paper by the ream. Our loss amounted to
more than one hundred and fifty gulden, and still there was no prospect
of final success. Pressed for results by the Countess, our entire
reputation and the honor of my invention were at stake. Added to this
came many other annoyances, especially the complaints of Frau Gleissner,
who charged that I had destroyed the original, perfectly satisfactory
press against her will. These tested my courage sadly.
The cause of all this trouble was so petty that I really must have been
half-stupefied by the fear of not keeping our pledges, otherwise I must
have perceived it at once.
To make my first imperfect press I had bought a piece of wood from a
wheelwright in order to have it turned into two cylinders. Hardly had
the two been in the house a day before each one split so that a
longitudinal crack of two inches width appeared. As the upper cylinder
was thick enough to make an impression of a whole folio of sheet music
without revolving so far as to let the crack reach the stone, I
contented myself with it temporarily. Now, in order not to spoil the
impressions, I had to begin each revolution of the cylinder at the
crack, for otherwise the crack might have come at the middle or end of
the impression and given no imprint of that part. Therefore, as the
stone was pushed under the cylinder at the crack, it was already gripped
before the impression began, and was drawn through at once. With the new
press, however, the upper cylinder had to draw the stone between both
cylinders in order to bring it under its pressure. But in doing this,
the new press first pulled the linen stretched over the printing-frame
till it would yield no more and forced the stone powerfully under the
cylinder, during which of course the paper under the linen was pulled
over the inked stone and smeared.
Several attempts to rectify this trouble were unsuccessful. Probably I
would have discovered the remedy finally,--either that the upper
cylinder must not first be pressed on the stone, which must be under it
before each impression began, or that I need only use tightly stretched
leather instead of linen. But I decided, instead, in order to complete
our work if possible, to have a press made in all haste by a carpenter,
of a style like the book-printers' press, wherein the force is applied
instantly from above.
As everything was very rough, the new press was ready in eight days. The
first experiment, with a small stone, seemed to succeed. But the larger
stones would not give thorough impressions, probably because of the
uneven surface of the press, which was merely of wood. I increased the
power enormously. A stone of three hundredweight was elevated with
pulleys and released suddenly to fall ten feet. It forced a lever down
on the press with a pressure of more than ten thousand pounds. The
plates gave fair impressions by this means, but generally they were
cracked after the first, second, or third impression.
To determine how much downward force was needed to print a sheet of
music, I took a well-ground stone a square inch in area, laid moistened
paper on an inked printing-stone, over this a sixfold layer of paper,
then a double layer of fine cloth, finally the square inch of stone, and
then weights ranging from one to three hundredweight.
This experience taught me that the square inch of surface demanded three
hundredweights of force to make a good impression in a few seconds, and
almost less than half that weight when I allowed it to act for a whole
minute. According to this calculation the entire sheet, which contained
about one hundred square inches, would have demanded thirty thousand
pounds; and the stone could have withstood this without cracking, had I
been able to apply the pressure evenly. But the imperfections of the
press made it necessary to apply a pressure three times as great, and
this the stones could not bear.
To correct the defects of this press was more than I cared about,
after I was nearly killed by the three hundredweights, which fell
accidentally, and, as I stood immediately under it, would have beaten
out my brains had not a miracle caused the load to catch and hold. The
thought that a similar accident might cause the death of one of my men
made me hate the whole press, all the more so as I had conceived what
seemed to me at the time an exceedingly happy idea for a very simple
and not costly printing-machine.
Before I possessed a press of my own, I used to pull proofs of my work
in the following manner, in order to avoid the constant trips to a
printer. I laid the dampened paper on the inked stone. Over it I laid
some heavy paper, and then a sheet of stiff, carefully smoothed dry
paper. Then I took a piece of polished wood and rubbed this over the
upper sheet of paper, holding the latter firmly to prevent slipping. I
continued the rubbing, using more or less power according to whether I
wanted the impressions deep or pale. Thus I obtained impressions very
often that could not have been better.
I wondered why this could not be done on a large scale, and proceeded to
try at once. I stretched a piece of linen firmly over a wooden frame two
feet long and wide. On this linen I pasted a sheet of strong paper,
polished on the upper side with wax. Then with two bands the frame was
fastened to an ordinary wooden table. Then the stone was fastened on the
table under the frame. Inside of the printing-frame was a smaller frame
with cords, to hold the paper, which had a layer of gray blotting-paper
under it. With a piece of polished wood, or a piece of glass such as is
used by polishers, I rubbed the upper waxed paper thoroughly, making
sure that every spot was touched.
The first proof, and several succeeding ones, which I made myself,
turned out so excellent that probably few better impressions ever
have been made since. Two more presses were made at once, and six
printers hired. The work might still be finished in the stipulated
time. New hopes thrilled us. Hastily I inscribed the stones and the
printing began. But--oh, human weakness! Does it seem credible that
of my six helpers not one could master the extremely simple method of
manipulation, the mere matter of rubbing evenly and thoroughly? Of six
impressions hardly one ever reached perfection. There were blank spaces
here and there. Yes, even when, accidentally, they produced three
sections of a sheet correctly, the fourth invariably was a flat failure,
and thus ruined the entire sheet. We would have been glad enough had we
lost even one half the paper, if only we could have saved our credit by
completing the work, regardless of our money loss. But of three reams of
paper only thirty-three impressions were won in the end.
I will merely touch on the painful scenes that ensued. The stipulated
time had almost expired and no prospect of results. The manuscript and
the paper remaining in stock were taken away from us and given to Herr
Falter, while we had to suffer severe censure from the Countess, and in
her name from others. Herr Gleissner had to pay for new paper, which
made a monthly deduction from his salary necessary. The grant of our
privilege was endangered, for the Kurfuerst had obtained a poor opinion
of our process. Indeed, so long as the Kurfuerst Karl Theodor lived, all
our efforts to obtain a privilege were fruitless. We could not even
succeed in having it proposed, although the referee, Herr von
Stubenrauch, made us promises from month to month.
All the money we had earned was lost; debts burdened us; and a monthly
deduction of pay, with the mocking laughter of those who had been made
envious by our first successes, was the entire reward for our endeavors
to make a new art. As it was only the lack of a good press that had
caused our failure, I went to Herr Falter, with whom I had become
acquainted through Herr Gleissner, and told him the reasons for not
finishing the cantata in time. I told him that if he were willing to
have a proper press built, I was willing to print his works for him, in
his own residence, which was his stipulation, provided I could prepare
the stones at home. We agreed, and I ordered a great cylinder press made
at his expense. To avoid the old trouble I had both cylinders fitted
with cogs, which gave satisfactory results if both printers who handled
the press were careful to begin turning the cylinders at the same
moment. The double friction of the two rollers made them both pull on
the printing-frame and the stone, where, before, the lower cylinder had
done just the opposite. The greater periphery of the upper cylinder,
which was almost fifteen inches thick, helped also. And to this day I
consider this form of press the best for all methods, especially if the
stones are thick enough, if one has not to consider the very greatest
speed; for in speed this press is decidedly inferior to the lever press
and other styles. On the other hand, the pressure is much more gentle,
more perpendicular, and less liable to pull the paper out of place than
is possible with even the best so-called friction presses. Only there
should be added to the cogs an appliance by which the upper cylinder has
a screw adjusted over its centre, so that it can be forced down for each
impression after the stone is under it. Figure 1, plate I, is the
picture of such a cylinder press, made for stone-printing.
As soon as the press was ready and erected, I began to inscribe on stone
the music of _Die Zauberfloete_, arranged for quartette by Herr Danzy,
and with Herr Gleissner we began the printing.
But Herr Gleissner became dangerously ill. I trained two soldiers to do
the printing, left the entire printing process to Herr Falter, and
limited myself to the work of delivering the stones to him. The workers
ruined so much paper that Herr Falter could not make it pay, and
returned to etching on copper.
During this time Herr Schmidt, professor at the military academy, had
begun to etch on stone. As I discovered long afterwards, he was a good
acquaintance of Herr Gleissner, who visited him often. Within the last
year there is a strenuous attempt to make this Herr Schmidt appear to be
the inventor of printing from stone, though probably he never desired
this. There have been publications about it already. I shall not notice
what has been said, and will let the matter speak for itself. From the
foregoing the reader will have seen the natural but laborious way in
which fate led me to this invention. If Herr Schmidt made a similar
discovery at that time, he was much more fortunate than I. According to
his own letter, printed in the _Anzeiger fuer Kunst und Gewerbfleiss_,
the course of his invention was as follows. He saw a gravestone in the
Frauen-Kirche, in Munich, on which letters and pictures were in relief.
"That must have been done with acid; it would be possible to print from
it!" thought he, and the invention was completed.
If it is so easy to gain the honor of an invention, then, indeed, I was
unlucky to have undergone so much toil. But according to my opinion,
there was nothing new in the whole discovery. The thought that "this
was etched" assumed the invention and the use of etching beforehand.
That such coarse, thick, and highly relieved inscriptions as those on
gravestones could be inked and used for printing would strike anybody
who knew even a little of printing. If, however, Herr Schmidt added to
his idea the second, that fine and, therefore, only slightly elevated
inscriptions and illustrations could be inked and printed with the aid
of appliances to be invented for the purpose,--if he did this and
executed it before me, or, at least, before he had knowledge of my work,
then indeed the honor belongs to him of having invented mechanical
printing from stone, either before me or simultaneously. But as a matter
of fact, neither he nor I can claim to be the first who thought of using
stones for printing. Only the "how?" is the new thing in the case.
At that time (1796) I had not invented stone-printing, but, firstly, an
ink available for writing on stone and resistant to acid, which ink I
invented out of my brains and not, like Herr Schmidt, out of an old
Nuernberg book: secondly, I invented a practical tool for inking the
slightly elevated letters: and thirdly, the so-called gallows or lever
press, of which I shall speak later.
As I do not know what were the circumstances surrounding Herr Schmidt at
the time, and I cannot, therefore, make any inquiries, I am willing to
take his word if he will declare as an honest man that he printed from
stone before July, 1796. That his method of printing was different from
mine, and that he had absolutely not the slightest knowledge of chemical
printing from stone, which I invented in 1798, I know from indubitable
evidence.
He made many attempts with his pupils to produce drawings on stones, but
presumably his impressions were not successful, for those stones that I
saw afterward at Herr Schulrath Steiner's had been etched first and the
spaces then engraved away very deeply with all sorts of steel
instruments, after the manner of wood-cuts, so that they might properly
be called stone-cuts in relief. He had these stones printed in the
Schul-fond's book-printery, and I hear that the impressions were very
good. I saw none myself.
However, Professor Schmidt's experiments were the means of making me
acquainted with Herr Schulrath Steiner, who encouraged me so much that I
conceived many ideas in order to fulfill his wishes, so that at last the
art of printing from stone achieved its present honorable position.
Herr Schulrath Steiner, an intimate friend of Professor Schmidt, was
director of the Schul-fond's printery. As such he was concerned with
many prints. Herr Schmidt's idea of publishing stone-etched pictures of
poisonous plants for school use was approved by him; and as the attempts
did not satisfy him, he decided to turn to me. At that time the
Schul-fond was to print some church songs. This gave him the opportunity
of visiting me. He asked me if the musical notes could not be so etched
or cut in relief in stone that they could be made up with ordinary
book-types and thus printed in the ordinary book-presses. I promised to
try it. However, the necessary deep engraving of the spaces was too
laborious, so that it would have been easier to do it in wood. As an
expedient we printed the text first with ordinary types in the
book-press and then printed in the music with stones in the stone-press.
Meantime I tried to attain our purpose in other ways, connected with
some of my early experiments. My best success was with the following
method. On a stone polished with sand I painted a layer, equal to two or
three card-thicknesses, of burned, finely powdered gypsum, butter, and
alum, mixed with a proper amount of water. As soon as it was dry I
inscribed the music with steel needles of various sizes on the surface
of the stone, which was of a somewhat dark, almost gray color, so that I
could see it more easily through the soft, white mass. Having finished
the drawing I took warm sealing-wax smeared on wood, and applied it to
the stone while it was warm with a hand-press. After cooling, the white
mass was fast to the sealing-wax and quite loose from the stone, and it
was scrubbed away clean with water and a brush, after which the drawing
appeared on the wood in elevated wax extremely clear and clean, like a
wood-cut. The spaces were so deep that the plate could be printed in
regular book-printing manner.
Later I made trial of a composition of lead, zinc, and bismuth, and
this succeeds thoroughly with proper care. So here we would have still
another printing process, which has the advantage over all others that
the inscription need not be made reversed, as the impression on the wax
or lead reverses it automatically.
If the white mass is laid on more thickly, one can make the handsomest
patterns for calico much more quickly than has been possible heretofore
with wood-cuts. A little more care is necessary, because no stroke must
be made entirely through the mass, when it is laid on thick. My
experiments in that direction all exceeded expectations, and it is to be
regretted that I had no opportunity thereafter to perfect this invention
more, or use it practically. The experiments had no value even for Herr
Schulrath Steiner, for whom I made them, as he never had use for the
process afterward. Indeed, I would have forgotten the matter almost
entirely, if it had not been brought back to mind by this work of
writing my story. In the second part of this book, in describing
stone-printing itself, I will show various methods of making patterns
for work on cotton, such as I conceived later in Vienna where I busied
myself very much with cotton-printing.
I happened to print for Herr Lentner a little song about the great fire
of Neuoetting in Bavaria and used a little vignette showing a burning
house. This induced Herr Steiner to let me etch a few small pictures for
a catechism. So far as execution of drawing goes, they were very
ordinary; but he continued to encourage me to try if the new printing
process would not be available for art work. With the exception of Herr
Andre of Offenbach, he was the only one who reasoned thus: "These
strokes and points, of such great fineness and again of such great
strength, can evidently be made on the stone, therefore it is possible
to make drawings similar to copper-plate etchings. That this cannot be
done yet is due not to a fault in the art of stone-printing, but to the
insufficient skill of the artists."
Even at that time he did not say: "The art is still in its infancy," as
many a would-be wise man does to-day, thus exposing his lack of
knowledge of the entire matter. Even at that time he was convinced, more
so even than I, that the art of stone-printing had reached its climax
when I gave him the first specimens of stone-printing improved by the
chemical process. Artists might cultivate and perfect themselves,
manipulation be simplified and processes be increased in number and
variety, but the art itself could not be improved greatly.
To be sure, when I glance hurriedly over the manifold results of the
last twenty years, all that I have done myself for perfection, the
brilliant achievements of which this book will furnish proof, I am
tempted to think for a moment that the Now and the Then cannot be
compared. But considered correctly, I had invented and discovered the
entire art at that time. Everything that I and others have done since
then are only improvements. Everything rests still on the same
principle: ink of wax, soap, etc., then gum, aqua fortis or another acid
of which none has an advantage over the others, further oil varnish and
lampblack,--these are, ever and in the same manner, the chief elements
of stone-printing as they were then. Not the slightest thing has been
changed, improved, or invented in the fundamental principle. No
illustration has been published by any lithographer containing cleaner,
stronger, or blacker lines and points than my first proofs had in part.
Therefore, those people are wrong who seek to excuse the lack of
assistance that I received in the beginning, by alleging that at the
time no one knew if the process could be used to any great extent. They
declare many productions of the present day to be far better, simply
because the illustrator is more skillful, though in truth the printing
is not so good as many of the first ones made by me. It has even
happened that the assertion has found its way into print that I had
invented only the rough part of the art, and never had been able to use
it for more than music-printing, whereas this one or that one are the
true artists, having succeeded in producing pictures.
These gentlemen, who are so quick with verdicts, should inform
themselves a little. They would discover that aside from me (with the
exception of Professor Mitterer's invention of the cylinder press),
nobody has made a noteworthy improvement in the branches of lithography
without having received it primarily or indirectly through me. Further
they would have learned that these illustrators either made their first
attempts under my personal direction, or else owe their skill to persons
whom I taught; and lastly, that none of my critics can boast of having
penetrated into the very inmost spirit of the art like only Herr Rapp of
Munich, the venerable author of the work published by Cotta, _The Secret
of Lithography_. If they learned all this, they might feel a little
ashamed. But then, they would have much to do.
Had my skill in writing and drawing on stone been greater at that time,
Herr Steiner would have given me opportunity enough and manifold. He
permitted me to do a small book, _Rules for Girls_, in German script,
which, on the whole, turned out of only average quality, as I had not
practiced this style sufficiently.
Then he wanted me to draw Biblical pictures on stone or to let others
draw them. At that time he was having Herr Schoen in Augsburg etch the
Seven Holy Sacraments after Poussin. As the etching was expensive, the
impressions could not be sold for less than four kreuzer each. Herr
Steiner wished to circulate these pictures so generally that they could
serve as gifts from the country preachers to their little Christian
pupils. He wished, also, to ornament various school-books with pictures
of this kind, and thus, gradually, to replace the miserably drawn
species of saints that generally fill the prayer-books of the pious
households.
Only the utmost cheapness could make this possible, and this naturally
suggested the stone process to him. Even if the pictures were not so
fine as those etched on copper, they would serve amply if they were
correctly drawn, noble in design, and handsomely printed. It was
necessary either to draw myself and practice faithfully, or to train a
skilled artist to draw with fatty ink on stone. We preferred the latter
method and trained several young men, who produced various works,
sometimes good, sometimes inferior.
Through all this I ran more and more danger of losing my secret. Indeed,
it was lost already except perhaps so far as concerned the exact
composition of the ink. But I hoped still to obtain the privilege for
Bavaria, toward which end the Schulrath promised me his best aid, and so
I let the matter proceed, and trained the men. But among all these
young men there was not one who did not desire a substantial reward for
his very first attempts, and when they found that they were expected
first to learn, they stayed away, one by one. Herr Steiner was hurt. I,
however, was indifferent, for I was just beginning to plan to use a new
and important discovery in such a manner that my stone-printing would be
greatly improved and we could hope to carry out our idea of
illustrations without the aid of artists.
I had been assigned to write a prayer-book on stone for the Schul-fond.
It was mostly in a style of writing in which I was least expert. When I
wrote music notes, our method, proved best by experience, had been to
write the entire sheet in reverse on the stone with lead pencil to serve
as pattern. This was mostly Herr Gleissner's work, and being a musician
he had achieved great perfection. For me this preparatory work was far
less agreeable than the final execution with the stone-ink. Therefore,
as ever in my life, when a difficulty or a burden was before me, I
studied for some way to make it easier for me. Previously I had found
that if one wrote on paper with good English lead pencils, then
moistened the paper, laid it on a polished stone and passed it through a
powerful press, a good impression was the result. I had used the method
on various occasions. I wished that I possessed an ink that could be
used the same way. Trials showed that fine red chalk needed merely to be
rubbed down gently in a solution of gum, and that even the ordinary
writing-ink of nut gall and vitriol of iron would serve when mixed with
a little sugar. But this did not satisfy my ambition, which always
demanded the best and most perfect. The gum in one and the vitriol in
the other did not agree well with the stone-ink. In addition, the
impression often squashed. Therefore I tried a mixture in water of
linseed oil, soap, and lampblack which met my demands better. I had a
music-writer write notes correctly on note-paper with this ink, printed
it on the stone, and thus had an accurate pattern, which was at the same
time reversed, as was necessary.
I now planned to do this with the book. But why could I not invent an
ink that would serve on the stone without making it necessary to trace
over it with the stone-ink? Why not make an ink that would leave the
paper under pressure and transfer itself to the stone entirely? Could
one give the paper itself some property so that it would let go of the
ink under given conditions? So reflected I, and it seemed to me not
impossible. At once I began to experiment. I had observed that the
stone-ink at once began to congeal and stiffen when it came into contact
with ordinary writing-ink, because of the action of the vitriol of iron,
which devoured the alkali that the stone-ink needed to keep it in
solution. Therefore I wrote with ordinary ink, into which I put still
more vitriol of iron. After it was dry, I dipped the sheet into a weak
solution in water of my stone-ink. After a few seconds I withdrew it and
washed it very gently in rainwater. I found that the ink had fastened
itself on the written places, and pretty thickly, too. I allowed the
paper to dry slightly and transferred the writing to the stone. The
impression was fair, but not sufficiently complete. I tried it
repeatedly but could obtain no transfers that were sharp and uniform
enough to represent a handsome script. So I tried another way. I painted
the paper with gum solution in which vitriol of iron was dissolved.
After it dried I wrote on it with my ordinary stone-ink and dried it
again. Then I dampened the paper and let it lie a while to soften, after
which I transferred it to the stone, which had been treated with strong
oil varnish diluted in oil of turpentine, laid on so lightly that it was
only like the blurring from a breath.
These attempts were far more successful, but it was impossible to write
as delicately on this paper as I desired. Therefore I made new
experiments. I changed the mixture of my ink. I tried to make it more
adhesive with mixtures of resin, oil varnish, gum elastic, turpentine,
mastic, and similar substances. In short, I do not exaggerate when I
declare that this matter cost me several thousands of experiments. I was
rewarded sufficiently by succeeding. And at the same time through these
investigations I discovered the chemical printing on stone of to-day.
As the transfer from paper to stone depended mainly on the greater or
lesser powers of adhesion between one material and another, it was
natural that in my many experiments with such various ingredients I
should observe that a mucous fluid, as, for instance, the gum solution,
resisted the adhesion of the greasy ink. Nearer still to the new
invention did the following experiment bring me: I noticed that if there
happened to be a few drops of oil in the water into which I dipped paper
inscribed with my greasy stone-ink, the oil would distribute itself
evenly over all parts of the writing, whereas the rest of the paper
would take no oil, and especially so if it had been treated with gum
solution or very thin starch paste. This fact led me to investigate the
behavior of paper printed with common printing-ink.
A sheet of an old book was drawn through thin gum solution, then laid on
a stone and touched carefully everywhere with a sponge that had been
dipped into a thin oil color. The printed letters took the color well
everywhere and the paper itself remained white. Now I laid another clean
white sheet on this, put both through the press, and obtained a very
good transfer, in reverse, of course. In this manner, if I used great
care, I found I could make fifty and more transfers from the same sheet.
If I allowed such a transfer to dry thoroughly and then treated it like
the original sheet, why should it not produce transfers that are like
the original, not reversed? So thought I, and the result showed that I
had not been wrong! Only for the first transfer I needed to use a
somewhat stiffer color that had been dried more with litharge of silver,
and then to let the transfer dry for at least four or six days.
So I came to find that I could print without a stone, from the paper
alone; and this process, depending solely on chemical action, was
totally, fundamentally different from all other processes of printing.
Old books could be republished in this manner easily and without great
cost. New ones also. I needed only to invent a fatty ink, similar to the
printing-ink and drying thoroughly, and I could use every sheet of
printed paper instead of type. I invented this ink soon. Resin, finely
pulverized litharge of silver, lampblack, thick oil varnish, and potash
properly diluted with water gave me a good ink for the purpose. The only
obstacle that prevented me from using this process at once on a large
scale was the fragility of the paper, which tore into pieces under the
slightest carelessness in handling. The natural and simple thought that
was bound to come to me under the circumstances was this, Could not a
stronger material, perhaps the stone plate itself, be so prepared that
it would take ink or color only on the parts covered with fatty ink,
while the wet parts of the stone resisted it? I feared that the stone
might not absorb the grease sufficiently, and this really is the case
with many stones, such as slate, pebble, grindstone, glass, porcelain,
etc.; but experiments showed that exactly the opposite is true in the
case of the Solenhofer limestone. This stone has a great affinity for
fat, which often is absorbed so deeply that in many cases even extensive
grinding will not remove it.
I took a cleanly polished stone, inscribed it with a piece of soap,
poured thin gum solution over it and passed over all with a sponge
dipped in oil color. All the places marked with the fat became black at
once, the rest remained white. I could make as many impressions as I
pleased; simply wetting the stone after each impression and treating it
again with the sponge produced the same result each time. The
impressions became somewhat pale, because the color on the sponge was
too thin; but I obtained perfectly black and handsome impressions as
soon as I used an ink roller of leather stuffed with horse-hair.
I hurried to write a sheet of note music at once to print it in the new
way; but the ink flowed too much on the polished stone. Previously I had
corrected this by rubbing the stone with linseed oil or soap-water,
which checked the trouble entirely. But I knew that I could not do that
in this new method, because then the stone would have a coating of
grease all over, and would take color on the entire surface. However, I
was able to take this coating away after writing, by etching with aqua
fortis, though etching would not have been necessary otherwise in this
chemical form of printing. However, it was easy to see that a drawing
etched into relief would be easier to print from than one not etched at
all. It did not require much etching, and I saved a great deal of acid,
while the stone, also, remained useful for new work for a much longer
period. Therefore, without making further experiments, I adhered to my
old method, first washing the stone lightly with soap-water, drying it
well, writing on it with wax ink, and then etching with acid before I
finished it for printing by pouring gum solution over it.
At first I imagined that I might do without the gum entirely; but I
found soon that it really formed a sort of chemical union with the
stone, making its pores more receptive to the grease and closing them
more effectively against water. I found also that neither aqua fortis
nor gum was so valuable alone as when both were used in the process.
I needed to make only a few more experiments to obtain the proper
consistency of ink, and the new process would be practically perfect so
far as the fundamental principle was concerned. And, in fact, I made
such handsome, clean, and strong impressions after three days of trial
that few better ones have been made since. Now it was necessary merely
to train skillful workmen and artists as quickly as possible for this
new art, that was susceptible of innumerable valuable uses, as I could
see at once.
It made no difference now whether the design was worked in relief or
intaglio, as good impressions could be obtained even when the drawing
was perfectly level with the surface of the stone. But all three methods
could be combined on one stone, if desired. If I reversed the method, by
rubbing oil over the stone instead of water, while for printing I used
an ink prepared with gum solution (of which I will describe the best
composition afterward), then the greasy places would resist color while
the wet ones took it, and thus I could print with all water colors, and
this is necessary sometimes with colored pictures because of the greater
height of the colors. The inscription with dry soap gave me the logical
idea toward crayon work, which I used afterward. My previous experiments
with etching, that recurred to my memory, now assumed entirely different
aspects and I could understand many things that had puzzled me then.
It was a simple step now to the etched method, in which the stone is
prepared first with aqua fortis and gum, after which the design is
engraved in intaglio without first being treated with aqua fortis.
Indeed, this method was used for the first work that I undertook.
A piece of music by Herr Gleissner (which afterward was greatly praised
in the musical paper) had been completed before I invented the new
process. Only the title-page remained to do. As I wished to make this as
handsome as possible, since Herr Gleissner intended to dedicate the work
to Count von Toerring, I chose this new intaglio style, because I hoped
to do my best work in it. Any one who still possesses a copy of this
symphony can see by slight examination that the printing was done from
an etched engraving. Therefore Herr Rapp in Stuttgart is mistaken when
he assumes that he is the first who treated the stone in this manner. As
early as the year 1800 I deposited in the archives of the Patent Office
in London a full description of this and several other methods, some of
which have not been used yet generally, and in 1803 I had to submit my
descriptions to the Austrian Government when they gave me a franchise.
A year before this, I had invented the lever press, with which I could
make several thousand of the handsomest impressions during a day. This,
combined with the new treatment of the stone, enabled me to enlarge my
operations greatly. I took in two of my brothers, Theobald and George,
who had been in the theatre hitherto, and taught them to write and etch
on stone. Also I took in two boy apprentices, sons of poor parents, to
train them properly. Herr Schulrath Steiner and Herr Falter, with
several others, gave me various orders, and a pretty good outlook began
to appear for me and Herr Gleissner.
Until now we had been forced to suffer much grief, disappointment,
deprivation, and poverty. Herr Gleissner's salary was only three hundred
gulden a year. A yearly deduction of one hundred gulden was being made
from this by the Government to pay debts. Then there were new expenses
to repair the printery and keep it in some sort of order. My support and
that of the family Gleissner,--which consisted of five persons,--then a
larger residence, on account of the room needed for stones and for
printing, also had to be paid for. My own yearly earnings were barely a
few hundred gulden, as most of my time was used for experiments. It is
no wonder, then, that during this sad period of two years, we spent
almost all that could be spent of Herr Gleissner's estate, and still
made new debts, despite all imaginable economies.
I can say for the honor of this man, and especially his wife, that,
despite all their losses and despite the warnings and inciting of their
friends and relatives, they remained unshaken, and by making all kinds
of sacrifices they enabled me to win at last. On my part they saw
faithful and eager will, and a restless endeavor that went so far that I
hardly took any time for eating or sleeping, but thought only of
improving my art.
Now, however, our condition was changed at once. Many days we earned as
much as ten to twelve gulden; and at the same time we received an
exclusive franchise for fifteen years through the favor of King
Maximilian Joseph, who began his glorious reign then. This privilege
gave us the right to print and sell exclusively in all of Bavaria, while
infringers were liable to a fine of one hundred gulden and confiscation
of all stock and apparatus.
We were determined to do our utmost, to work day and night, to establish
an honorable reputation for our printery at last, though we foresaw many
obstacles, owing to the entire lack of assistance. Already I had
half-determined to contract with the Schul-fond, permitting it to
establish a lithographic press for its own use, when an accidental
circumstance gave our whole undertaking a new direction.
Depending on the protection given to us by our franchise, we were making
no further secret of any part of our process. We were quite content with
having the monopoly in Bavaria, and cared little that other printeries
might arise in other countries. Indeed, this expectation flattered my
vanity as inventor, and I thought that in time I might make commercial
connections with such establishments. For this reason I was very
hospitable toward every stranger who came to visit us. I hoped that
perhaps I might induce some such visitor to participate in our
undertaking, and therefore I exhibited all the advantages of the process
and permitted them to see the manipulations with their own eyes.
Just then Herr Andre of Offenbach visited Munich on business. He read
about the grant of our franchise and asked his friend Falter about the
process. That gentleman showed him some sheets of music printed by us
and offered to introduce him to our printery, where, as technical
expert, he could decide for himself as to the value or worthlessness of
the new art.
Herr Andre, who possessed an extensive musical publishing institution
and owned a large zinc-plate printing-plant, was delighted with the
beauty of our print, and was especially impressed by the fact that the
color did not off-set when rubbed with the hand, as was the case with
zinc printing. He accepted Herr Falter's offer at once and was
introduced as a merchant. The attention with which he noted even the
slightest operations led me to conclude at once that this man had some
especial interest in printing. I took particular pains to display the
whole process to the best advantage.
Several plates that were already inscribed were etched and printed with
beautiful results. The speed (seventy-five sheets in a quarter-hour, two
being printed simultaneously each time), the quickness of drying, the
economy in color, were things that increased his interest to a high
pitch. He told who he was and proposed to me that I teach him the entire
art for an adequate remuneration. I accepted at once and agreed to go to
Offenbach within a few months, erect a press, and train men in all
branches of the process. For this he promised me the sum of two thousand
gulden, of which he paid down three hundred gulden on the spot.
This change from poverty to comfort made me happy mainly on Herr
Gleissner's account. We could furnish our printery properly now and pay
our old debts. We were assured, also, of enough work to permit
enlargement of the establishment in future. What was there left to wish?
In the very beginning, however, the behavior of my own family gave me
great displeasure. My mother demanded that I share my profit with my
brothers, as they had a better right than Herr Gleissner and his family.
I could not quite see this; therefore my mother ordered a press for my
brothers and bought the necessary stones. They went to Herr Falter and
asked him for his work, representing that I had made my fortune through
Herr Andre, whereas they were unprovided for. They offered at the same
time to furnish each plate for thirty kreuzer less than I charged. Herr
Falter permitted himself to be convinced, and when Madame Gleissner
discovered it she was intensely angry, and did not rest till the
Government ordered my brothers to refrain from utilizing the process in
Bavaria for their own account.
My brothers went to Augsburg to erect a stone-press for Herr Gombart.
They must have been unequal to the attempt or there must have been other
difficulties: in brief, I know only that, after Herr Gombart had
incurred many useless expenses, he discarded printing from stone.
During the three months before my journey to Offenbach I practiced my
art busily, and especially studied to attain thoroughness in one branch
that was of importance to Herr Schulrath Steiner. I have spoken already
of his idea for pictures for children. As soon as I had invented the new
chemical printing, I thought of inking an etched copper plate with a
composition of tallow, soap, lampblack, and oil varnish, making an
impression, laying this on stone, and putting it through the press. The
picture transferred itself to the stone as I had expected. Then I poured
the water and gum solution over it and inked it with the ink roller. The
design took the color well; and thus, if the stone was very clean in the
beginning and the proof from the copper had been made very carefully
indeed, I could print several thousands of copies which resembled the
original so closely that only a slightly greater degree of sharpness,
clearness, and strength gave the copper etching an advantage over the
stone impressions. At last I succeeded in perfecting the process so that
actually my best impressions from the stone were better than those that
had been made with less care from the original copper plate.
The main requisite in this process was that the ink be firm enough not
to spread in printing, and still so greasy and tender that the very
finest lines would come out. The copper plate had to be washed with
extraordinary care, for the least bit of grease that should off-set on
the white paper would, of course, transfer itself to the stone and make
that part take color.
This latter circumstance was intensely difficult to overcome. It
occurred to me to treat the copper plate chemically, like the stone, so
that its surface would resist the ink. I succeeded, as, in future, I
succeeded with other metals. The fundamental principle in each case
remained the same. Only in the choice of materials for each metal was
there a difference. I discovered soon that there are two kinds of
preparations, one acid and one alkaline, for all solid bodies which have
the property of taking and absorbing oil colors. The alkalines seemed to
be best for use on copper plate, and I obtained such clean impressions
that the stone did not take on even a vestige of ink in any spot except
the design. At the same time I found that chemical printing does not
limit itself to stone, but can be done on wood and metal, as well as on
paper, as stated already. Yes, though apparently it is incredible--even
fats, such as wax, shellac, resin, etc., can acquire the attribute,
under certain circumstances, of resisting color, and, therefore, are
available for chemical printing. This fact gave me hopes of discovering
a sort of artificial stone some day, which might be less costly, less
massive, and less fragile; and, as a matter of fact, I succeeded in
inventing an artificial stone-paper in 1813, a stony mass that is
smeared on paper or linen and looks somewhat like parchment.
Since the illustrations on etched copper plates were so readily
transferable to the stone, Herr Schulrath Steiner could now let the best
masters etch his pictures. The sales of the original impressions as
works of art always covered the costs. He paid me five gulden for each
transfer that I made from the copper to stone. For this extremely small
sum he obtained a stone plate from which there could be made countless
impressions, which, although not so fine as those from the copper,
answered his purpose of circulating good pictures by making them
extremely cheap. Lively prosecution of this process was prevented only
by the delays of copper etchers, so that we were able to utilize it only
five times on a large scale before I had to leave Munich.
Herr Gleissner, who wished to visit a friend in Frankfurt, accompanied
me on my way to Offenbach. I started at once on the new work and within
fourteen days I pulled the first proof on Herr Andre's own press. He was
so well satisfied, and, besides, had so thoroughly considered the
advantages of stone-printing, that he proposed to me to leave Munich
entirely and, with him as associate, extend the art in the best possible
way. He had three brothers, none of whom was engaged in a fixed
occupation. He intended to bring these into the partnership. Two were
in London, the youngest and the eldest. The latter was to return soon.
One brother had lived long in Paris, and was well acquainted with that
city as well as with French affairs. So he laid out the following plan.
We would try to obtain exclusive franchises in Paris, London, Berlin,
and Vienna. Then a stone-printery and art publication house was to be
opened in each city. His brothers should manage affairs, one each in
London, Paris, and Berlin, while I was to take the management in Vienna.
Offenbach and Frankfurt would remain under Herr Andre's management and
be the centre of control and union.
The plan seemed to be easy to realize, as there was no lack of means. I
could look for one fifth of the profits which would be earned by the
combined, very considerable capital of the Andre family. In addition,
Herr Andre possessed all the requisite knowledge and owned a great
business already. Therefore I agreed gladly, after making the condition
that Herr Gleissner was to remain a partner of mine and receive a decent
remuneration till the business was in working order.
Herr Andre was well content, for Herr Gleissner could be used as
compositor, corrector, and writer in the business, which was to consist
largely of music publication in the beginning.
Herr Gleissner and I returned to Munich to arrange our affairs there. He
intended to ask for three years' leave of absence. I planned, in order
to save Herr Steiner any embarrassment, and also to maintain our
privilege in Bavaria, since one could not tell how the Andre undertaking
might turn out, to so arrange that our work could be printed properly
during our absence, whether done by the Schul-fond, the Government, or
private persons. It gratified me also to have an opportunity to satisfy
my mother's wishes in regard to my brothers; and I gave my brothers,
Theobald and George, my press, my stones, and everything else that was
on hand, also the two trained apprentices, and only stipulated for
myself that I should have one fourth of the net profits, leaving the
accounting entirely to their sense of honor. They promised to keep
accurate books and work steadily and economically, and they received
from me minute instructions about transferring from the copper for Herr
Steiner. I taught them also how to handle the crayon process, which
promised an early harvest.
As soon as all was done I went to Offenbach with the whole Gleissner
family. A good quantity of stones had arrived there, and a few men,
previously trained, had been practicing in transcribing music. We were
able to begin on a large scale at once. Herr Andre had ten copper- and
zinc-plate presses at work. He stopped five and used the workmen for
stone-printing. He went to London, partly for business, partly to get
his youngest brother and to inform himself thoroughly about the
procedure necessary to obtain English patents.
One of our chief speculations in England was to be the application of
stone-printing to cotton. Once, when Herr Steiner conceived the idea of
illuminating pictures with stencils in the way used by card-makers, I
had made many experiments in that line. I cut out the parts to be
colored in oil-soaked paper, laid this on the picture, and passed a
roller over it with the desired color. The color was more even than with
a brush, but not everything could be cut out, because the stencils had
to have the necessary connection. Therefore I needed two stencils for
every color shade. Again, these thin stencils easily slipped out of
place, a defect that displeased me. Now, it happened that at times when
I was a little careless, the whole stencil would roll itself up on the
ink-roller. I found that it was possible to work even more surely when
this happened, provided one found the exact beginning of the stencil and
applied it minutely. But it was not possible to make more than twelve
impressions. Then the stencil had to be taken from the roller that the
latter might be inked again.
In this work the stencil paper often tore. To overcome this there was
only one remedy, which was to make the roller hollow and feed it with
color from inside. I did not have the time to try this and worked out
another plan. I cut out the places to be colored in felt or leather,
applied paste to their obverse sides, laid them face down on the exact
parts of the picture which were to be colored, rolled a perfectly round
roller over them, and the pieces adhered to the roller in their right
places. Then the roller was inked with the required color, and of course
took it only in the elevated parts. At both ends the roller had a strip
of leather of the same thickness as the cut-outs, thus making it certain
that it would not touch the ink except in the proper places. In this way
pictures could be illuminated very quickly, and several shades of color
could be obtained if the pieces were of different qualities of leather,
or of leather, cloth, and cotton, according to the shades desired. A
very moderate pressure sufficed for good and even work.
What could be more natural than that I should deduce that this sort of
printing might be utilized for cotton? Once inked, the roller was good
for ten to twelve impressions, if the operator merely used a little more
pressure as he proceeded. I saw also that the roller could easily be
colored by attaching another to revolve with it and convey the ink. That
would give us a form of cotton-printing that would proceed
automatically.
The idea was too important to be left untried. I took a little roller,
two inches in diameter and six inches long. I glued a piece of calfskin
completely around it and then cut a design into it. Then this roller was
so adjusted with relation to another of exactly the same dimensions that
both touched perfectly. On this second one, which was to convey the
color to the other, there rested a little box without a bottom, so that
the roller itself represented the bottom as soon as the box was pressed
on it, which was most easily done with two screws. The color was poured
into this box. Now when the lower roller was passed over linen or cotton
which was stretched on an evenly planed board with an under layer of
cloth, a continuous print was obtained, without off-set, and with such
celerity that it could be reckoned easily that with this process several
thousand yards a day could be produced.
When I invented the chemical printing afterward, I held that a stone
roller could be used for this work as well as a wooden one. I had too
little knowledge of the industry at that time and believed that cotton
print was done with oil-colors; for I thought that water-colors would
wash out. I was a complete stranger to this work. Therefore, I drew a
pretty cotton pattern on a stone plate and printed from it with oil
varnish and finely pulverized indigo. The impressions turned out very
handsome, so that I considered the matter settled and made no further
experiments. I imparted this idea to Herr Andre, who saw its importance
at once and determined to obtain a patent for it specially.
However, we had much to learn. As soon as he arrived in England he
discovered that rollers with the design on them were in general use in
England. So I had imagined mistakenly that my invention was new.
However, printing from stone was in itself valuable for a patent, but
Herr Andre unfortunately received the incorrect information that the
inventor himself must appear in England, and he decided to send me
there. I did not care to go; firstly, because I was vexed at the failure
of my hopes in regard to cotton-printing; and secondly, because I wished
to go to Vienna. However, I yielded to his representations, and within a
few weeks journeyed to London with one of his brothers who spoke
English.
We went through Hamburg to Cuxhafen and thence in an English packet-boat
to Yarmouth, where we landed after a six days' stormy passage.
My sojourn in London did not achieve its purpose, which was to establish
printing from stone. The exaggerated caution and precision of Herr
Philip Andre, who had been named as the man who was to manage the London
negotiations, caused a waste of seven months, during which nothing was
done to reach our object.
We lived with Herr Philip and he kept me at home most of the time, for
fear that I might betray our purpose, in which case some speculative
spirit might take out a patent before us and then compel us to buy him
off for some heavy sum. He did not reflect that a mere declaration is
not sufficient in England, but that an exact description of a process
must be deposited with the Patent Office.
As he could have rendered all these fears unnecessary by simply taking
out the patent, I could not understand why he delayed from month to
month, and at last I voiced my suspicion that he was not honest with me
and had some unknown designs. I declared that nothing would keep me
longer in England, which had become wearisome to me owing to my constant
seclusion; and my suspicions were increased by the entire lack of all
news from the Gleissners and from my family. When Herr Philip Andre
realized that I could be held back no longer, he went to work at last,
and in twelve days we had the patent in our hands. As I had trained Herr
Philip already in the art of stone-work, there was nothing to keep me
longer, and I began my homeward voyage at once with my former companion,
Herr Friedrich Andre.
My seven months' sojourn in London had the following results for myself
and for lithography:--
First, I had decided in Offenbach to use my spare time entirely for the
study of chemistry. Particularly did I want to learn everything that was
known about color, that I might use stone for cotton-printing. I bought
the best books and worked steadily, testing the teachings by experiment.
Second, I made many experiments with stone-ink, to find the very best
composition. The ingredients which I utilized in course of the time were
about as follows:--
Soap--_a_, common tallow soaps; _b_, Venetian soap.
B, wax.
C, tallow, butter, and other animal fats.
D, spermaceti.
E, shellac.
F, resins and Venetian turpentine.
G, gum elastic.
H, linseed oil.
I, the fat contained in chocolate.
L, various resinous products, such as mastic, copal, dragon's
blood, gum elemi, quajac pensoe, etc.
Then I used various solvents besides the soap, such as--
M, vegetable alkalies, among them tartaric acid.
N, similar mineral alkalies.
O, animal lyes, spirits of sal ammoniac, and sal volatile with
spirits of ammonia.
P, borax.
Q, various metallic solutions.
It is evident that with these substances an endless number of
experiments can be made, not to count the variety of proportions.
Certainly it is not exaggeration when I say that during that time and
later I made many thousands of experiments, only to confirm my
experience that accidentally I had discovered the best compositions
during the first twenty or thirty investigations, and that my time after
that had been wasted, unless I counted the knowledge I had gained of
chemistry.
Thirdly, I made my first attempts at that time in the aqua-tint style,
and also practiced printing with several plates, which I had begun
previously under suggestion of Herr Steiner. The son of the Swiss
idyllic poet, Gessner, was in London at that time and was a good friend
of Herr Philip. He made some neat sketches for us in the crayon process,
which I had invented in Munich immediately after my invention of
chemical printing. I had exhibited the process to Professor Mitterer at
that time, and he thought that it might become valuable for art.
Thus my residence in London was not unimportant for lithography. The
complete lack of disturbance, the adequacy of all needed material,
enabled me to discover more than I might have learned in Offenbach. I
left England with a certain satisfaction, gained from the certainty that
I had raised my art to a high degree of perfection.
I am satisfied even to this day that the world would have many
masterpieces as the result, had I come into contact at that time with an
enterprising art publisher who would have engaged the needed artists and
undertaken interesting works. As it was, however, and as I shall show,
circumstances forced me into untoward positions, so that little or no
opportunity was left me to use my knowledge practically and in an
important way.
Immediately on my arrival in Offenbach, I received the displeasing news
that Herr Andre had sent Madame Gleissner to Vienna to claim the
exclusive franchise for the new printing process, and to enter lawsuit
against my mother, who had gone to Vienna with the same purpose.
The reason for this was as follows: My two brothers, Theobald and
George, who could not earn enough in Munich, had been engaged as
lithographers by Herr Andre in Offenbach on my request. In a
confidential mood I told them that I hoped to go to Vienna and open a
great printing establishment and art publication house with assistance
of Herr Andre, and that this establishment should make my fortune as
well as that of my family.
Probably they did not believe my promise, or they did not care to depend
on my fraternal feeling for something which they believed they could get
for themselves: enough, they wrote to my mother that it was unfair to
let Herr Andre become exclusive proprietor of the new process
everywhere, and as I was well established in London anyway, she would
better travel to Vienna and ask for a franchise. They sent her several
good proofs from the Andre press.
Would to Heaven this plan of theirs had succeeded! I should have been
spared many a succeeding sorrow, and I would have been glad for their
sakes. The world was large enough for me, and certainly it was not
thoroughly fair that they, the nearest relatives of the inventor, should
be shut out by the far-reaching plans of Herr Andre to obtain exclusive
franchises everywhere. To be sure, I had told them that I would give
them the Bavarian franchise; but as they had enjoyed it for several
months with little profit, this did not seem to them a tempting
equivalent.
The news of my mother's journey to Vienna had been brought to Madame
Gleissner quite accidentally, and it made her almost frantic.
When she used to charge me with depending so completely on Herr Andre's
promises, without possessing anything in writing, I used to comfort her
by pointing out his righteous character, and also by reminding her that
it was all agreed that I and Herr Gleissner should undertake the
printery in Vienna as part of the general enterprise, and that we were
to obtain the necessary advance funds as soon as I returned from
England. The repeated complaints that she made, many of them in the
presence of my brothers, possibly helped to give them the idea of trying
themselves for a franchise in Austria. They may have thought, "If our
brother is careless enough to depend on empty words, we will be wise
enough to obtain a certainty. It remains open to us always to share our
fortune with the inventor."
Madame Gleissner had entertained great hopes about living in splendid
Vienna and having means enough to take part in its brilliant life. This
made the news about my mother's errand all the more irritating. She did
not consider that an Imperial franchise is not easily obtained by women
who are not even well informed on the case at issue. She succeeded in
imparting her fears to Herr Andre, and as he himself was prevented from
going, he entered into her fool's counsel to send her to Vienna at once.
She had strong hopes of success, because as a matter of fact the
Bavarian franchise had been obtained entirely through her efforts, and
she also calculated that the Austrian Government would pay more heed to
the inventor himself than to his brothers, who could not equal his
attainments.
Herr Andre had kept it all, even to the journey of Madame Gleissner, a
secret from me, presumably because he wanted to save me annoyance and
also to prevent my hasty return from England.
Unfortunately I had conceived some suspicions in England, and these were
increased when I received this unexpected news on my arrival in
Offenbach. What was worse, Herr Gleissner gave me a letter from his
wife, in which she adjured me to hurry to Vienna with all speed, as
Andre was planning to deceive me and set me aside as a mere tool as soon
as I had founded his own fortune.
This letter, which contained no evidence but only lamentations, was
accompanied by another from her landlord in Vienna, a very reputable
merchant. It seemed to bear her out, for he warned me in it to be
cautious in my relations with Andre and to hurry to Vienna if I wished
to obtain the franchise, which could not escape me as a most influential
man had come to our support and it depended merely on the evidence to be
furnished by me.
Greatly as my suspicions were increased by this, I hoped that everything
was due merely to misunderstanding, and I proposed to Herr Andre to let
me go to Vienna, where I would inform myself thoroughly and make strong
efforts to obtain the franchise. He denied my request, saying that there
was nothing more to do in Vienna, as the Government had turned both
women away, and the whole plan was spoiled as the whole art and
copper-etching trade had become apprehensive and was united in
opposition to the new process. He said that I should rather go quickly
to work to transfer his music from zinc plates to the stone, because he
had an excellent opportunity to sell his entire stock of zincs, which
would give us a new capital of forty thousand gulden for the greater
enterprises.
I realized the good sense of this, but would not admit that a delay of
three or four weeks could interfere with it, as the entire transfers
could not be completed in less than a year, and the slight delay,
therefore, could be made up by additional work or by engaging a few more
assistants. I insisted on my demand, all the more as I had spent seven
months in England on his account. In the heat of the succeeding dispute
he reminded me of the helpless position in which he had found me, and
said that as partner in his business, I owed him all my present fortune.
Conscious as I was of my honest intention to help him to the best of my
ability, and also of the unbounded trustfulness with which I had
imparted to him far more than was called for in our contract, I was so
deeply hurt that I forgot myself and tore up our agreement, which had
been signed only the day before and which assured for me one fifth of
all profits of the Andre business. I threw the pieces down with the
exclamation that I did not wish to make my fortune through his means.
This was one of the most important moments in my life, and in the
process of lithography. It gave my work an entirely new direction,
hurled me into a mass of troubles, and brought it about that Herr Andre
himself did not gain anything like the expected profits from the new
art. Indeed, he lost heavily in London and France, whereas, had we
remained together, lithography might now be highly perfected in both
these countries and produce no small wealth for its users.
When Andre saw that I was determined to go to Vienna, he yielded, but
assured me that I would go in vain and achieve no result.
The lawsuit between Madame Gleissner and my mother, which Herr Andre
considered the greatest obstacle in his way, still continued; and in
order to get it out of the way once and for all, I took my brothers,
George and Theobald, who had been dismissed by Herr Andre, to Vienna
with me to combine with me. Andre told me afterward, after our
relations had reached final rupture, that this act had annoyed him most,
and that it was the main reason for giving up all dealings with me,
because it was inconceivable to him how any one, without the utmost
weakness of character, could forgive such treachery as theirs. He did
not reflect that I, who knew selfishness only by name, had not felt
their affront so keenly, and that my brotherly affection excused it and
made me trust that it never had been their intention to shut me out
entirely from any gains they might make.
PART II
FROM 1800 TO 1806
It was in August, 1800, that I went to Vienna with my brothers. In
Regensburg we met my mother, who had come to visit one of her daughters
because the decision of the Imperial Austrian Government had been
delayed too long for her patience. She assured me that when she
petitioned for the privilege she had named not only my brothers but me,
too, and had asked it for us three.
This assurance gave me great joy, and I determined absolutely to urge
Madame Gleissner to accept my brothers as partners. I thought that if we
three worked industriously and unitedly, we would succeed much better
and more quickly. I entered Vienna with excellent hopes, based mostly on
a letter from Madame Gleissner, saying that the influential man who was
interested in our cause had promised to advance us six thousand gulden.
But these fine things retired into dark shadows when I learned, in my
first conversation with her, that all these promises were made dependent
on conditions.
The whole understanding rested on the following: Madame Gleissner lodged
with a prominent family. Andre himself had told her that she was to live
well and exhibit no lack of money, because she was much more likely to
obtain the franchise if the Government were led to expect that it would
bring wealthy people into the country. Therefore Madame Gleissner
considered it necessary to take part in all amusements and fashions of
her hosts. Her monthly expenditures were beyond the sum considered
necessary by Herr Andre's friend in Vienna, who had been authorized to
pay her an allowance. Friendly solicitude caused him to write to
Offenbach that Madame Gleissner knew nothing of economy, and that it was
to be feared if the franchise were not granted in Herr Andre's name, he
would have too little power to check her extravagance in the future. He
added that judging from her utterances and her present behavior, with
the franchise still in question, it was only too likely that she
intended to spend Herr Andre's money for show and society instead of for
the business.
Therefore, he advised that, unless Andre was sure that Senefelder had
enough character to oppose her with the necessary firmness, we be
treated solely as subordinates and thus be prevented from using his
credit to his loss.
Well meant as this counsel was, it simply furnishes an addition to the
thousands of cases where exaggerated timidity, coupled with secrecy,
does more harm than good.
Andre knew my intense gratitude to Herr Gleissner and his family, and he
suspected that I would always live in a certain dependence on them and
would pay little attention to their financial doings. The Gleissners had
awakened a fear of their extravagance in him before this time. He knew,
for instance, that I had kept little of the money he had paid me for the
secret of our process, but had turned almost all over to them. Again, he
had granted us the sum of one thousand six hundred gulden for our
support in Offenbach until the business should be in operation. Of this
Herr Gleissner was to draw six hundred gulden and I one thousand gulden.
I was a bachelor and did not need so much as a family. Therefore I
reversed this, and gave Herr Gleissner one thousand gulden, keeping six
hundred for myself. But the latter also went into the Gleissner
treasury, because Herr Andre, who had come to like me very much, made me
live in his house and eat with him. He even kept a horse for me, that I
might have the exercise necessary for my health, and if he bought
himself a new article of dress I was sure to get one like it; and I had
to take part in all the amusements of his home, though many times I
would rather have worked.
Thus I had absolutely no needs and did not require money. All the more
did Madame Gleissner require. She strained everything to be very elegant
and could not get along with the money she received, but asked for
further, quite considerable advances while I was in London, and Herr
Andre granted these willingly through friendship for me.
Therefore Andre's suspicions seemed well founded; and as in his heart he
was firmly determined to treat me as a brother, he believed that a mere
outward formality and my hitherto quite unknown name would make no real
difference, but rather that the Vienna undertaking would benefit if it
had his own well-known name and excellent credit at its head in the very
beginning.
So he wrote to his friend in Vienna that he agreed with him, and he gave
authority to him to act as he thought best for the mutual good.
This gentleman told Madame Gleissner at once that Herr Andre had decided
to ask for the franchise in his own name to give value to the
undertaking, and that she was to appear before court and declare that
she withdrew her petition and turned it over to him. She suspected a
trick and refused. A dispute followed, and there came rebukes for her
heavy expenditures. The climax was reached with the threat that, if she
insisted on her refusal, Herr Andre would cease from that moment to let
her have any money and would let her support herself.
This last, which Madame Gleissner wrote me in a very bitter letter,
outraged me; for I held it cruel to send a woman to a strange city where
she had no relatives or friends, and then to tell her: "Now do my will,
or I will leave it to bitter necessity and your own helplessness to tame
you." To be sure, it was only a threat, and surely it never lay in Herr
Andre's mind. His friend never ceased to give her money. But the harm
had been done.
Madame Gleissner appeared at her host's table with signs of tears that
aroused the sympathy of her host, Herr von Bogner, a most worthy and
reputable merchant. She told him everything, complained bitterly about
my gullibility, and generally painted everything in such colors that
Herr Bogner could not well help thinking that Herr Andre did not
consider promises any too sincerely. It was only then that he learned
Madame Gleissner's business and was told that the new art promised a
great profit.
Herr Andre's far-reaching plans for foreign exploitation seemed to him
to confirm what she said. Herr Bogner thought that Herr Andre would not
invest so much money if stone-print were not a valuable invention, and
he asked Madame Gleissner, point-blank: "Why do you need Herr Andre at
all? Try to obtain the Austrian franchise for yourself, and then, if you
choose, you can take him into the company. Then he will be obligated to
you and will have to meet your wishes, whereas now the reverse is the
case."
Madame Gleissner interposed that Herr Andre had the capital necessary
for establishing the process on a large scale, to which Herr Bogner
responded that it was better to begin modestly. "A good thing," said he,
"grows of itself. And you must not imagine that we here in Austria have
no appreciation of useful inventions and undertakings. There are many
who will assist the arts and industries. There is even a special fund
from which as much as one thousand gulden may be advanced to develop an
invention that has proved itself to be of merit. I myself might not be
disinclined to become a partner after I have examined the matter
properly; also I can recommend a very enterprising, active man, who has
much weight with the Ministers and even with His Majesty the Emperor,
and who has obtained exclusive franchises for others. He is named von
Hartl, is Imperial Court Agent, and is a very sensible and honorable
man, who will surely tell you at once whether or not anything can be
done here with the process."
Herr von Bogner kept his promise, and introduced Madame Gleissner the
very next day to Herr von Hartl. She explained our relations with Andre
and described the new invention, wherein, to be sure, she did not fail
to boast of its advantages and beauties. Among other specimens she
produced a piece of cotton which I had printed in Offenbach.
This was very pretty, the print being so sharp and clear that it seemed
to exceed the best English work. It happened that just then a great
company with a capital of one and one half million gulden had been
formed by Herr von Hartl to introduce English machine-spinning in
Austria. They had secured a very skillful English mechanic named
Thornton, who had been under contract to erect similar machines for a
Hamburg merchant. They had paid a great sum to have him released from
this contract, had bought his machines, and had done enough sample work
so that it had been resolved to push the enterprise through even if
several more millions were needed. The chief objection that was urged at
that time was that an adequate sale of the products was doubtful because
of the widespread business that the English controlled. The reply was
that they must seek to work up a great part of their product
themselves,--that is, combine with their spinnery the industries of
weaving, dyeing, and cotton-printing.
As soon as Herr von Hartl heard that the new invention promised great
advantages for cotton-printing, he pledged himself to lay the matter
before His Majesty at once, and he promised that if I would come to
Vienna and produce the necessary proofs he would surely get the
exclusive franchise for me. Furthermore, when Madame Gleissner told him,
in reply to a question, that we would need about six thousand gulden in
the beginning, he announced his readiness to furnish that sum himself if
I could convince him that a real benefit was to be produced by the new
art.
Madame Gleissner wrote to me, but withheld the condition of Herr von
Hartl that I must convince him. I would have taken care not to give such
greedy heed to her, for I knew from experience how difficult it is to
convince most people. But, I was determined to show my friend Andre that
I and my art were by no means at a loss without him. Besides, I always
had the royal Bavarian franchise to fall back on. His secrecy had shaken
my confidence, and I was determined to find out everything for myself.
Many years later, when I reviewed everything calmly, I was sufficiently
convinced that Herr Andre always had meant honestly by me; and I count
myself fortunate to have him still as my friend. But at that time
various misunderstandings brought it about that he did not give me full
knowledge of everything, before he took steps contrary to our agreement
and without my cognizance that could not fail to impress me as strange,
since I was ignorant of the circumstances. Besides, he defended himself
against my accusations in a manner that affronted my vanity deeply, for
he gave me to understand plainly that my past weakness in the matter of
the Gleissners' extravagance proved that I should always have to dance
to their tune. It angered me that he should turn against me, as
weakness, my recognition of the patient faithfulness of the Gleissners
through the many sorrows that had overwhelmed us since the beginning of
the process; and the more so as I was giving them merely that which I
did not require and which was my own undisputed property. According to
that, I would have earned the reputation of being a firm, strong man had
I used my superfluous earnings to buy a few watches, a ring, or some
garments, rather than to use it to pay a debt of gratitude! Besides,
whatever Herr Andre had advanced to them was something that had been
done without my knowledge; therefore I accounted all his charges as
being only empty words, used to cover a proposed piece of trickery.
After my first conversation with Madame Gleissner, but more especially
with Herr Andre's representative in Vienna, I realized that the latter
could not be censured for his measures of prudence, and I repented that
I had so easily given way to my quick sensitiveness. The _franchise_
evidently was very uncertain. The only hope for it lay in the assistance
of Herr von Hartl, and, therefore, depended on my ability to convince
him. I had spent my money traveling, and instead of finding Madame
Gleissner in funds, as I had assumed from her letter, I found her ill
with only a few guldens, and in addition I had two brothers on my hands
who also were penniless and looked to me for their support.
Madame Gleissner assured me that Herr von Hartl would assist us and that
I could reckon also on help from her host, who had counseled her to part
from Herr Andre and seek the privilege for herself. I mustered up
sufficient courage to explain our situation to the latter gentleman and
to ask him if we could count on his help for the beginning. This request
must have been unexpected by Herr von Bogner, as Madame Gleissner's
manner of living had indicated anything rather than lack of wealth.
However, he liked my frankness, and promised active aid. He gave me a
handsome room, and I and Madame Gleissner ate at his own table. He paid,
also, for the lodging of my brothers in another house.
Two days after our arrival, I and my brothers visited Herr von Hartl in
his country residence in Dornbach. We were received most kindly, and he
promised me his aid if I could give satisfactory proofs. So far as the
franchise was concerned, however, he showed me that it could be taken
out only in my name, and this, he explained, would be difficult enough,
as all the art dealers were against it. To ask for it in the name of
three brothers was out of the question. Neither, said he, would it be
necessary, as I could make a separate contract with them through which
they could be partners with me.
Herr von Hartl, who, as Court Agent, naturally knew all that was to be
done, would not have said this without good reason. My brothers,
however, were highly incensed, and declared that they would not be
dependent on me, but would be their own masters. Had they possessed the
money necessary to travel they would, no doubt, have carried out this
resolve at once, for they had been angered already by the fact that Herr
von Bogner kept only me as his guest. My representations were without
effect. They told me that they would return to Munich and practice the
Bavarian privilege in my name if Herr von Hartl would give them the
journey money; otherwise they would be forced to listen to the
proposition of several Viennese art dealers and sell them the secret of
the stone-printing art.
As this would have destroyed all chance for getting an exclusive
privilege, Herr von Hartl gave them the money, and Theobald and George
Senefelder returned to Munich, after making a contract with me which
permitted them to establish a printing business and, if possible, an art
business, my share in which was to be one third of the net profit after
deducting the cost of their own support. This contract was necessary to
authorize them to practice under my privilege.
Meantime I had a small hand-press made and produced several pieces of
work for Herr von Hartl, which gave him a clearer idea of the new art,
and convinced him finally that it was worth while to risk something on
it. He made a full contract with me, in which he bound himself to
furnish money and everything necessary, and use all his influence to
further the business, while I was to give all my time and knowledge. The
profits were to be divided into two equal parts, one of which was to be
his, while the other was to be divided between myself and Herr
Gleissner. He allotted a proper sum for my support, told me to rent a
comfortable residence, and authorized me to buy some large presses. He
told me frankly that the use of stone for cotton-printing had the most
interest for him, and that he cared about the other forms of printing
only as paying for our expenditures. When the big spinning-shops were
ready, said he, he would give me so great an opportunity that I could
let Herr Gleissner have all the art- and music-printing to himself.
What glorious prospects opened themselves to me! What could I think
except that it would require merely industry to become a famous, happy
man in a short period?
Here I must interpolate the account of a happening that brought about a
total rupture with Andre. Until now our relations had not been wholly
severed. His last word was that I would, no doubt, go to Vienna in vain,
and in that case I should return to him, as he would receive me with
open arms. When I saw his correspondent in Vienna and learned from him
that he had orders to let me have money if I wanted it; when I perceived
further that Madame Gleissner had been too hasty, and that all the
tangle was caused by misunderstandings, I dismissed all anger and wrote
to my friend Andre at once, telling him that I had found things not
nearly so bad in Vienna as he imagined. It was true, I said, that the
two women had failed to obtain the franchise, but mostly because they
could give no demonstrations. It was quite different, now that the
inventor himself was petitioning for it, especially as Herr von Hartl
had promised absolutely to take our part. If, therefore, Andre were
willing to spend at most one thousand gulden for a press and to pay for
our support and necessary working expenses for six months, there would
be absolutely no doubt of fortunate outcome.
Had I had the happy thought to ask Herr von Hartl to add a few lines, my
letter might have had the intended result. But I considered my word
sufficient, and unluckily my letter reached Offenbach when Andre was
absent, and was answered by his brother in about the following fashion:
His brother, he said, was absent; but as he knew his opinion exactly,
he would not keep me waiting. I must not be offended, but he believed
that my ready trustfulness, caused by my good-heartedness, had played me
a prank again. He was completely convinced from the advices of their
Vienna friends that the privilege would be granted only if his brother
removed bag and baggage to Vienna and had himself naturalized there,
something which his affairs did not permit. I would discover, soon
enough, that the lovely promises made me were nothing but air.
Then he went on to say that even if the sum of one thousand gulden
really were only a trifle, it would not produce the desired result.
Madame Gleissner, said he, had incurred debts of one hundred and fifty
gulden since she had broken with his brother, and as she had used this
sum not for his good but rather for his harm, it was only fair that she
pay it herself. I, probably, would be in debt nearly one hundred gulden,
now that I had been in Vienna some weeks with my brothers. If I wanted
to build a press in Vienna where wood is dear, it would cost easily one
hundred and fifty gulden. Then there would be one hundred gulden for
stones, etc. I would need a dwelling, for which I would have to pay at
least one hundred gulden in advance. This would leave only four hundred
gulden. The winter was at hand, neither my brothers nor Madame Gleissner
had the necessary clothing, everything would be needed. In brief, he
assured me, before many weeks the one thousand gulden would be spent and
in the end there would be no press, no stones, and no specimen work.
Therefore, he concluded, I should not feel affronted if he told me his
heartfelt thoughts. The aspect of the Vienna matter would, probably, be
different if my over-great good-heartedness did not put fetters upon me
that must prevent anybody from placing full confidence in my advice. I
would better, therefore, dismiss the plans, and be sure that nobody
meant it more sincerely with me than, etc.
It may be supposed that this letter gave me little pleasure; and I made
up my mind to show Herr Andre that he had made a mistake and had thrown
away a great profit idly. I made the contract with Herr von Hartl, and
we went to work actively at once. I had a large lever press built and
asked the Austrian Government to appoint a commission to examine the
process. This was done, and besides the Mayor, there appeared the
factory inspector, Herr von Jaquin, who was a Professor of Chemistry,
and the director of the academy of copper-plate engravers, Herr
Schmutzer. I showed them the various methods of printing from stone on
paper, cotton, and calico, and explained the difference of my process
from all others. My demonstrations were applauded, and the commission
certified most heartily in favor of my petition for the exclusive
privilege.
In addition, Herr von Hartl went with me to a meeting of the Imperial
Councilors, then to the Imperial Counsel of State, von Gruber, to Count
Lazansky, and, finally, to His Majesty, the Emperor himself. Everywhere
I had to make demonstrations with my little hand-press, at which time
Herr von Hartl, to my great joy, always acted as cicerone and eagerly
described the manifold advantage which the new art had for so many
branches of the arts and sciences.
Everywhere we received praise and were promised the speedy issuance of
the privilege. As, however, the matter had to take a regular course, and
it was evident that some time must elapse, we petitioned meantime for a
mere license to work, which we received within a few weeks, so that I
was able to begin printing without further delay.
Herr von Hartl became more friendly each day, and opened for me the most
beautiful outlook on the future. My easily moved imagination interpreted
his speeches as brightly as possible, and I imagined that I saw fortune
and position close at hand. I worked all the harder, therefore, to
fulfill his expectations; and as his chief object was printing on cotton
I threw myself zealously into the study of color, as absolute permanence
was needed besides beauty of printing.
During this time Herr Gleissner had left Offenbach and had returned to
Munich with his children. As I was in partnership with him, and he could
make himself useful in the printing of music, Herr von Hartl decided to
have him come to Vienna, and his wife took it on herself to get him and
arrange for an extension of his leave of absence. She found him in the
saddest of circumstances. In his ignorance of such things, he had sold
all the furniture in Offenbach for a mere joke of a sum. Most of this
money had been used to defray his traveling expenses, and she found the
family stripped of even necessaries. What was to be done? Her husband
and children needed clothing that they might not make a bad impression
in Vienna, her husband's debts had to be paid, and then came the
traveling expenses. The money advanced by Herr von Hartl was not nearly
enough for all this. She wrote to me to ask him for an additional sum of
three or four hundred gulden.
This was exceedingly unpleasant for me. I should have to tell him the
truth, and thus place Herr Gleissner in a bad light right in the
beginning. Furthermore, he had received no too favorable a report about
the domestic management of the two, either from Herr Andre's friend in
Vienna or perhaps from Herr Andre himself. It was torture for me to ask
him for money, especially if it was to be used for something not
absolutely necessary for the business in hand, as I knew his opinions in
that respect. Willingly as Herr von Hartl gave money when it was needed
to achieve a useful object, so reluctant was he if he deemed that it was
to be wasted. In my embarrassment I dropped a hint as to the situation
to our hostess, Madame von Tannenberg. She counseled me at once not to
ask, as the family would lose the respect of Herr von Hartl entirely,
and offered voluntarily to advance Madame Gleissner four hundred gulden
herself, if I would guarantee the payment of it in half a year. Nothing
seemed more certain to me than that I could save such a sum in that
time. I accepted her offer and sent the money to Munich on the same day.
I would not mention this apparently trivial matter, if it were not for
the fact that in the end it was the cause of the ruin of all my hopes in
Vienna.
The dealers had spared no pains to oppose my franchise in the beginning,
before they knew of my connection with Herr von Hartl, and while they
still considered me an unimportant foreigner, who had neither friends
nor influence. When they discovered the truth, their noise became
clamorous, for they had to fear in earnest now that their trade would
suffer, since so eminent and rich a man was associated with the new art.
The more important art dealers feared it less than the smaller ones,
among whom Herr Sauer and the new Industrie-Komptoir were my most active
enemies. Despite this, there opened a way suddenly by which I could
make peace with the art dealers and even draw considerable profit from
them.
Through Herr von Hartl, I became acquainted with a skillful
clavier-player, Teuber, who was also a composer, and at once showed
great interest in my invention. He spoke to his acquaintances, Herr
Sonnleithner and Herr Ricci. Through their intervention the art dealers
asked me if I would abstain from establishing a music-printery of my
own, providing they guaranteed me a sufficient amount of work. I
calculated that I could print six thousand sheets of music a day with
the three presses that I had planned. This, at the low price of
twenty-five kreuzer per hundred impressions, would amount in all to a
sum of twenty-five gulden. Also if I accepted, say, work that would
average three hundred impressions, there would be needed ten stones,
counting two sheets to each stone. Thus there would be a further
engraving profit of ten gulden, because I received fifty kreuzer for
each sheet, but paid my note-writer only twenty kreuzer. For house,
color, acids, polisher's wages, etc., there must be reckoned four gulden
a day. The six printers to operate the three presses would cost four
gulden a day also. Now if I reckoned two gulden a day for possible
accidental errors, etc., there would still remain twenty-five gulden a
day profit. This meant seven thousand and five hundred gulden clear
profit in the three hundred working days of a year, without the least
risk.
As I considered this a satisfactory profit for one single branch of my
art, I told Herr Sonnleithner that I would attempt to induce Herr von
Hartl to give up the idea of establishing his own publishing house,
provided that the united art dealers would guarantee me that amount of
work and agree also to reimburse me if the presses were not kept busy,
excepting through my own fault. Herr Sonnleithner welcomed the proposal,
not doubting that the dealers would need all the work stipulated, and,
indeed, declaring that the Art and Industrie-Komptoir alone might give
me twice that much.
I knew that Herr von Hartl had entertained little regard for this branch
of work. Therefore I thought it would delight him to find that he could
not only relieve himself from further expense in this line, but gain
several thousand gulden. I was mistaken. He deduced that music-printing
was not so unimportant as he had imagined; and he told me to inform the
dealers that I would take as much work as they offered at low prices,
but that we could not make ourselves dependent on them.
As the dealers refused decidedly to give me the means with their own
hands of building up a great establishment, the project fell entirely.
However, Herr von Hartl now had declared himself in favor of
establishing a music-printery; and a few days later there came a highly
favorable opportunity to start one at once under happy auspices,
together with a complete art publishing establishment.
An acquaintance of my landlady, to whom I had showed my printery, sent
for me to tell me that Herr Eder, an art dealer, wished to give up his
business because of illness and was willing to sell reasonably. This
friend enlarged on the luck it would be to obtain this well-situated
shop, which earned several thousand gulden by printing birthday and New
Year's cards alone, at the very easy terms which Herr Eder had suggested
provisionally. He desired me to see him at once, under the pledge of
secrecy, which pledge Herr von Hartl was to give also, as Herr Eder did
not wish to injure his credit by offering his establishment openly for
sale.
Herr Eder did, indeed, offer most favorable terms, according to my
opinion. He showed me that on the average the net profit of his business
had been ten thousand gulden annually during the last ten years. (At
that time the gulden notes stood at par.) Furthermore he estimated the
value of all his printed stock only at the cost of manufacture, and the
great stock of copper plates, many newly etched, at merely their value
as copper. The large stock of different papers, with the many writing
and drawing materials, were estimated at cost value, also. For his
trading rights, and for his excellent rental contract which had many
years to run, he did not ask anything. The sum that he asked for
everything was forty thousand gulden, of which only ten thousand gulden
were to be paid at once, the rest being paid in annual installments
during the following ten years.
If Herr von Hartl had accepted this, there would have been four thousand
gulden net profit a year in it. And by combining with it the advantages
of the new process, the profit was certain to be greater. To begin a
new publishing house without mercantile knowledge, without knowing what
the public wanted, would be far more difficult than to continue one that
already was in operation, especially so as Herr Eder had offered to
remain for a year as associate to teach me the business.
I cannot yet understand why Herr von Hartl discarded this proposition.
Perhaps he feared that he would be overreached in some way. He might
have been more receptive had he been able to foresee that his new
establishment would cost him a sum of twenty thousand gulden within a
very few years without advancing toward being even the ghost of a
business. Perhaps I did not possess the gift of convincing others. At
any rate, both projects failed to meet with approval. That Herr von
Hartl could be convinced, however, even to his plain injury, I will
prove later. For lithography the failure of this plan was a great loss,
because it would have given me opportunity to get into the art line ten
years earlier than I did, and make useful application of my inventions.
The family Gleissner now arrived in Vienna and brought one of my former
apprentices, Mathias Gruenewald. Meantime some presses had been
completed, and we could begin to print. Gleissner's symphonies recently
had been much praised in a musical paper of Leipsic, and he proposed to
us to begin with a few of his works. Of course it would have been wiser
to begin with a good work by a famous man, whose name was sufficiently
popular in Vienna. I did visit Herr Doctor Haydn, but received the reply
that he could not compose any more and would only review old works
thenceforth.
Immediately at the commencement a stock of stones was needed. As we
could foresee that we should need some thousands of stones in the course
of time, Herr von Hartl decided to make a trip with me, by way of Munich
and Augsburg, to the quarries of Solenhofen that we might inform
ourselves on the spot about the best way to get stones.
A further inducement to make this journey was that he wished to examine
the estate of Niedau, which had been described as being very favorably
situated for the erection of manufactories. Herr von Hartl already had a
large spinnery in operation. This, and perhaps the printery, he planned
to establish in Niedau, because there both workers and property were
cheaper. He intended to leave only the business offices in Vienna.
The establishment of this spinnery had so important an effect on my fate
as well as on the future of lithography that I must describe it here.
When I arrived in Vienna, Count von Saurau had just gone to Petersburg
as Austrian Ambassador. Being a patron of home industries, he had
advanced ten thousand gulden some time before to an expert spinner named
Mistelbauer, to erect looms for manufacturing fine English and French
stuffs in Austria, a work for which Mistelbauer was perfectly qualified.
When the Count departed, Herr von Hartl took charge of several of his
interests, among them the Mistelbauer spinnery. Thus at the next Vienna
Messe (market-fair), Mistelbauer visited Herr von Hartl to make an
accounting. The goods that Mistelbauer had brought convinced Herr von
Hartl of his skill and technical capacity. The details of his processes,
and his ingenuity in operating so many looms with so little capital,
indicated to Herr von Hartl that increased capital would bring
enormously increased results. As the spinnery company had as good as
decided that a good part of their own products should be further worked
by themselves, Herr von Hartl considered it a lucky circumstance to meet
a particularly good weaver and also a cotton-printer, who alleged that
he could print the home-made cottons exactly as well as the English
printers and possibly at smaller cost.
He wrote to Count von Saurau that he was willing to assist Mistelbauer
with more money. Count Saurau agreed, and Herr von Hartl advanced money
to Mistelbauer till it reached a sum of forty thousand gulden. He
appeared only as a creditor, however, and held a mortgage on the entire
spinnery, with all its present and future stock, in order to be covered
should the operations fail.
Now Mistelbauer was a man who had little or no mercantile talent. He did
not understand book-keeping, and though he had managed the original
small establishment pretty well, he was not equal to the bigger one. A
factor should have been appointed to manage the commercial end and the
accounts. Another trouble was that Herr von Hartl, in order to satisfy
himself, continually demanded new sample work from him, which, on the
other hand, pleased Mistelbauer, as it enabled him to show his skill.
Thus, instead of working steadily along the original sound lines, he
kept going into new things. Among others he erected looms to make color,
and print Manchester fabrics. Regardless of the fact that I (as he well
knew) was working at cotton-printing, and that Herr von Hartl intended
to work my inventions, he managed to induce that gentleman to let him
erect a cotton-printery, a matter which he did not understand in the
least.
Mistelbauer had been a poor peasant boy of Helmannsoed by Linz. He had
gone into foreign lands in his youth, but when he obtained the ten
thousand gulden from Count Saurau, he selected his native place for the
works. Even at that time his improved condition aroused the envy of the
village; but he lived in a poor hut and differed in nothing from the
other inhabitants. When Herr von Hartl assisted him, he succeeded soon
in convincing him that they needed more room, and obtained his consent
for building. Instead of erecting a factory, he erected a considerable
dwelling, the cost of which was far beyond the original estimates. On
account of all the other work undertaken at the same time, nothing could
be finished in time, and Mistelbauer was continually too late for the
markets with his product. As a result, instead of being punctual with
all his payments as he had been heretofore, he could not even pay his
interest, and Herr von Hartl had to make new advances all the time.
Naturally Herr von Hartl began to feel apprehensive, and he decided to
visit Mistelbauer on the occasion of our journey to Solenhofen.
When we reached Helmannsoed, Herr von Hartl shook his head dubiously,
especially when he found the accounts in the greatest disorder. But the
great stock of goods, though most of them were only half finished, and
the thought that everything could be made to go smoothly again with
better management, encouraged him, and he instructed Mistelbauer,
showing him how to establish order in his works as well as in the
accounts.
Then we continued our journey. In Munich, where we remained three days,
I visited my mother and my brothers, who all lived together and were
operating a press that worked mostly for Herr Falter. According to their
assurances, their income had hardly sufficed to support them.
In Augsburg, Herr von Hartl contracted with a paper dealer for the paper
necessary for music-printing, and in Solenhofen he bought several
hundred stones for this work and made arrangements for future supplies.
Then we returned through Regensburg and Passau. This whole journey was
one of the greatest pleasures of my life. The weather was excellent, and
Herr von Hartl was so kind to me that I was more than ever convinced of
his sincere desire for my success.
We engaged two writers of music immediately on our return to Vienna. One
was J. Held, a young man recently married, who earned his living by
teaching and copying. The second was his brother-in-law. They
comprehended the process quickly and soon were so skillful that each
earned twelve gulden and more a week, despite the fact that we rarely
paid them more than twenty and twenty-four kreuzer for each sheet.
The new smaller works of Herr Gleissner were finished very soon, and it
became necessary to find more work to keep my etchers and four printers
busy. I asked Herr von Hartl to buy some compositions from Vienna's best
musicians, such as Krommer, Beethoven, etc. He was willing, but desired
to wait for a proper opportunity to speak to Herr Krommer. Thus some
weeks passed, and in order to keep the force busy, Herr Gleissner
composed continually and printed his work. Nearly a whole year passed
that way, and still Herr von Hartl had found no opportunity (owing to
his many affairs) to arrange with Herr Krommer or other composers.
So it happened that, with the exception of a few overtures, our whole
stock of paper and a whole year's work were used solely to print Herr
Gleissner's compositions. I myself had hardly anything to do with this
printing, which was managed entirely by Herr Gleissner; for I devoted
all my time to the study of color and to the necessary thousands of
experiments.
Here I had made the unpleasant discovery that most of what was in the
books was incorrect, or so incompletely stated that, before one could
understand the instructions, one needed to know the entire process of
cotton-making and printing. I cannot understand now why it never struck
Herr von Hartl or me that I did not need this knowledge at all, and that
all that was necessary in order to apply my method to cotton-printing
was for me to demonstrate how the printing could be done well and
quickly. To get color results it was necessary merely to engage a good
color expert, who could analyze colors and decide if they were available
for my process. That would have saved us a year and a considerable sum
of money which my experiments had cost. I confess that I had a mistaken
ambition on this point, wishing to understand everything myself. Then
the study of chemistry was most attractive to me, because I found myself
discovering new things of importance for my art all the time.
When at last I was completely informed in the matter of color, I went
with Herr von Hartl to the great machine-spinnery in Pottendorf. Here I
became acquainted with Herr Thornton and his remarkably complete
installation. With his assistance we made a stone-press for cotton, to
print the cotton from large plates. But the correct register of each
impression made so much trouble for us that I foresaw the need for many
further experiments and inventions. Besides, Herr Thornton was too
partial to the English process of cylinder-printing to feel particularly
favorable to the stone-process; and in the end it was considered best to
order a great piece of stone from Solenhofen from which we might make an
eight-inch cylinder.
It was six months before we obtained the requisite stone. During this
period it struck me that perhaps the cylinder did not need to be stone,
but that we might use copper cylinders, as in England. Herr Thornton
objected that copper cylinders must be engraved with the graving tool,
and that patterns for cotton should not be etched, since, if etching
were practical, the English, who understand etching perfectly, no doubt
would etch the cylinders.
To be sure, I could not answer this argument, but I was convinced that a
deep-etched stone would print as perfectly and handsomely as the best
copper plate. Why, then, could it not be done with copper, since copper
permitted itself to be etched so well? I made a little experiment at
once, and it succeeded perfectly. Herr Thornton proposed to make
completely sure. He had a small model press from England, the cylinder
of which had been engraved by the best cotton copper engraver of
England. Though it was only six inches long and three inches thick it
had cost twenty pounds to engrave. He proposed to have an exactly
similar cylinder made, which I was to etch in the same design, so that
competitive impressions could be made with both cylinders. The
proposition was accepted. To save money, it was decided to make a
cylinder from zinc instead of from copper.
After a few days it was ready and I drove with Herr von Hartl to
Pottendorf, where we arrived at half-past ten o'clock in the morning. I
started eagerly to do the drawing. As I perceived immediately, it
consisted purely of circular lines, and therefore I succeeded in
preparing the cylinder, drawing the design, and etching it before two
o'clock, at which time we were to have luncheon.
Mr. Thornton, who had expected that I would need at least eight days,
was astonished by my speed. To all appearances, the etched cylinder was
as good as the engraved one, and now it was merely a question of the
printing. He made the first impression with the copper cylinder, which,
of course, produced a very pretty piece of work. But when mine was
adjusted and the first impression came out, the astonishment of all
present reached its maximum, for the impressions were exactly as clear,
but at least twice as strong and therefore more beautiful. The reason
for this was that the engraving became narrower at the bottom, and
therefore held hardly half as much color as the etched lines.
The practicability of my etching process was settled; and Herr von Hartl
waited only to lay the matter before the society at the next general
meeting before proceeding to its exploitation on a large scale.
Truly it was high time for him to get some returns for his many
expenses. The stone-printery had cost him at least six thousand gulden
to this date. In return for this investment he had a good quantity of
stones, several presses, and a great stock of Gleissner's music, which
represented an income of twenty thousand gulden, if it could be sold.
At last we obtained the long-sought franchise (in 1803), and Herr von
Hartl decided to begin the business. I proposed to him to rent a shop
and engage an experienced man to manage it. But he replied that I was
merely suggesting another burden of nearly two thousand gulden a year,
with no certain prospect of a penny's income. Rather, said he, I was to
give the finished work to the dealers and let them sell them on a
percentage, so that we could see how the public liked stone-printing.
Herr von Hartl was trying at this time to rid himself of all expenses
that were not absolutely necessary. He was growing more and more
dissatisfied with Mistelbauer, his health was poor, and irritating
business troubles were anything but good for him. He expressed his
regret many times because he had undertaken so many things. His many
enterprises, which up to this time had proved anything but profitable,
took so much of his time that he had to give up his far more
advantageous interests as Imperial Court Agent, and thus lost heavily in
that direction also. The stock of spun wool kept piling up in the
company's magazines, and this, too, seemed to promise no greatly
satisfactory results.
However, I could see that I could expect only small sales in Vienna if I
depended on the dealers, who were my opponents and would hardly be very
eager to aid my success. Therefore, I conceived the thought, equally
unpractical, as it turned out, of putting our work into the hands of a
book publisher; and as I had just observed much empty space in the shop
of Peter Rehm's widow, I agreed with her to turn over our stock to her
at twenty-five per cent discount.
It was arranged that there be an accounting each month, and I looked
forward to the end of the first month with great impatience, because I
hoped for a considerable income. It was highly necessary, to help me pay
off the debt that I had loaded on myself to defray Herr Gleissner's
traveling expenses,--a debt that now had stood for two years, and that
the skillful manipulations of my dear landlady and her faithful legal
adviser had increased from four hundred gulden to two thousand. Many
times during the month I inquired as to the sales and received the
answer that they were good. I was satisfied, and did not require further
statements, as I did not wish to anticipate the pleasant surprise that
I expected when the month's accounting was made. But alas! How I was
shocked at the end of the month when the sum of ten gulden and
forty-eight kreuzer turned out to be all! I did not know how I could
appear before Herr von Hartl with the news. My walk to his house was one
of the bitterest of my life. I was not received as badly as I had
expected. On the contrary, Herr von Hartl comforted me and advised me to
have patience, that all beginnings were slow, etc. In short, I enjoyed
the most pleasant anticipations again. Unhappily, at the end of the
second month the accounting gave us one gulden, thirty-six kreuzer. Now
the patience of Herr von Hartl reached its end.
He had just lost heavily again in the Mistelbauer affair. It worried him
seriously, and as his health continued poor, he inclined to listen to
the advice of his wife, who represented to him that he did not need to
burden himself thus, and that he would better pocket his losses and
retire from all the matters that worried him.
Therefore, when his secretary, Steiner, advised him to send a certain
Grasnitzky to Helmannsoed, he accepted the suggestion, and Grasnitzky
went there with unlimited power to do what he thought best. Now of
course it was vital that Grasnitzky be absolutely honest, as otherwise
it was certain that he would make the worst possible report in order to
get everything into his own hands. Hardly had he made a superficial
inspection before he reported that Herr von Hartl was being cheated by
Mistelbauer. As soon as he had driven the man and his family out of the
house and had gained possession of the finished stock that was on hand,
he took away everything that was in the hands of the local weavers, and
transported it to Linz to be finished and sold.
Hardly had Herr von Hartl received the alarming news that only the
highest degree of commercial talent could save the capital that he had
invested in this business, before worse news came. While Grasnitzky was
in Linz, fire started in Helmannsoed and spread to Mistelbauer's house,
which Grasnitzky had locked up. The peasants saved their own houses and
were not at all displeased to let the handsome new building, with all
its machinery and stock, burn down.
The hard blows were too much for poor Mistelbauer, who was now reduced
to total beggary. He became ill and died soon afterward in great misery.
Nothing was left now except for Grasnitzky to finish the goods he had
saved, and to sell them as well as possible.
Naturally the loss was considerable, despite all efforts; and of course
it was an unfavorable circumstance for me that this affair should be
contemporary with my failure to sell the sheet-music. Herr von Hartl
lost all hope of success with stone-printing, and probably would have
given it up entirely, had his secretary, Steiner, not advised him to
continue. He pointed out that the small sales were due not to the
printing, but to the unwise selection of work, which was almost wholly
the composition of a composer quite unknown in Vienna. He said that they
needed a man as manager who had the necessary knowledge and who also had
a good shop for making sales, and that thus stone-printing would become
a veritable gold mine. He proposed the antiquarian Grund, who had a shop
in the same street as Herr von Hartl's house. Herr von Hartl agreed.
I was informed that hereafter I was to communicate only with Herr Grund
about work, and that he would make all payments in Herr von Hartl's
name, select the works to be published, and make quarterly accountings,
at which he would deduct thirty per cent for himself.
I was glad, because it relieved me of many cares and I foresaw success
once more. New life came into the work. We hired two more writers, and
printed bravely. Grund succeeded in inducing Herr von Hartl to increase
his investment during the first year so that the original capital of six
thousand gulden that was already sunk in the work had grown to twenty
thousand gulden. But when at last the fourth quarter passed without an
accounting from Grund, and still there was no dividend, he lost patience
again, and no doubt Steiner had to bear some censure because of his
unfortunate suggestion. To soothe his master he proposed to take
everything out of Grund's hands and establish a publishing house. As
this would demand more capital, Herr von Hartl declined, being quite
sated. Then Steiner came out with the project: he would seek to induce
Grasnitzky, who had done so much already, to undertake this business
also; he added that he himself was disposed to put in some capital and
take a personal part in the business, for a third part of the profits.
Just then I was in fatal embarrassment. The legal adviser of our
landlady pressed harshly for payment. He even went to Herr von Hartl.
That gentleman sent for me immediately and declared that he would try
Steiner's plan, and that it would be his last attempt, and that I could
see myself that there was nothing else to do. Since he promised to pay
my debt, and I hoped for good results anyway from Herr Steiner's
cooeperation, I agreed willingly.
Now passed another year, during which a number of pieces of music were
printed under Grasnitzky's and Steiner's directions, and some
experiments made in art work. An artist, Karl Mueller, learned to draw
nicely on stone partly with the pen, partly with the brush. Among many,
often very excellent efforts, one of his most successful was a copy of
Preissler's drawing-lessons. The first number was printed under my
direction and came out very well. The other numbers, which were printed
when I was in Munich again, were reported as not having been so good.
The reason probably was that they were printed with a new press ordered
by Herr Grasnitzky, which did not have the power necessary for printing
from stone, thus making necessary a softer color not satisfactory for
pen-drawing. In the end Herr Steiner is credited with having improved
this press very much. I shall describe it in its most complete form in
my description of presses which will follow.
Judging from the amount of printing done, Steiner and Grasnitzky
appeared to understand their business. In a short time they actually
printed a second impression of some of the Gleissner compositions, which
met with good sales, especially in Poland.
I was delighted with this activity, especially as I hoped for a part of
the profit for myself at the end of the year; but Herr Steiner, instead
of accounting to me, assured me that I could entertain no hopes for ten
years, as Herr von Hartl's investment of twenty thousand gulden would
have to be repaid before there could be any question of dividing
profits. I realized what this meant; and to avoid bringing a lawsuit,
for which I lacked the means anyway, I decided to sell Herr Steiner my
interests. He offered me six hundred gulden, and when, at last, I
accepted it, he paid me fifty gulden because he had a claim on Herr
Gleissner for five hundred and fifty gulden, something of which I had
been in ignorance.
The loss of this business pained me, but Herr von Hartl comforted me
with the example of other inventors, who had received no better returns.
Now the cotton-printery was my only hope. A third of the Pottendorf
Company had declared itself in favor of erecting a factory, and in fact
one thousand two hundred gulden had been appropriated to make a trial on
a large scale. I went to Pottendorf and ordered a machine in which the
cylinders were of cast-iron instead of copper, because Herr Thornton had
two very handsome iron cylinders, two yards long and eight inches in
diameter, which had been intended for another purpose but were
sufficient for my trials.
As soon as the printing-machine was ready, Herr Thornton had it
connected with the water-wheel of the cotton-spinnery, so that one
needed only to pull a cord to set the cylinders in motion and see the
printing of the cotton proceed without human help, as if of itself.
Nothing was needed now except to etch the design in the upper cylinder.
The design consisted of a simple little flower, many times repeated, and
it seemed to me to be anything except difficult. But after I had covered
the cylinder with the etching surface and started to work with the
graver, I saw, after a very few strokes, why it had not been possible
before this to produce cotton patterns by etching and why engraving had
been necessary.
It was not possible for me to draw even three of the little flowers into
the etching surface with the free hand so firmly and evenly as this sort
of printing demanded if it was to appear thoroughly accurate to the eye.
This was in spite of the fact that I had first drawn the design
carefully in measured squares on stone and transferred it in red to the
black cylinder. My strokes were too trembling and uneven, so that I
nearly gave up the hope of ever doing anything excellent in this way,
unless I were to expend as much or more time than would be needed for
the regular process of engraving.
The failure of this attempt, and the disgrace that would come to me as a
result, spurred me on to invent some method to overcome the difficulty
of drawing. I succeeded so unexpectedly that the very failure became the
means to greater perfection.
To cover the entire surface of the cylinder it would be necessary to
draw thirty thousand flowers. Had I not experienced the slightest
difficulty, I still would have needed half a minute for each flower, and
thus I would scarcely have been able to finish an entire cylinder inside
of a month. But I invented a drawing-machine with which, though I was
not a skillful draftsman, I could draw the entire design within two
days, and with an accuracy that hardly could be attained by the
engraving-tool. With this instrument I drew the design on the black
etching surface of the cylinder, etched it and made a sample printing
which, when it was repeated afterward in presence of Fuerst von Esterhazy
and other members of the company, earned universal praise.
Herr von Hartl planned to obtain an exclusive franchise for this
cylinder cotton-printing, sell it to the company, and have me appointed
as director, something like Herr Thornton, who drew not only a decent
salary but also a fourth part of the profit from the entire spinnery. As
I could see readily that a company with such enormous resources could
soon bring a cotton-print establishment to a great stage, it did not
seem impossible to me that the annual income might rise to a million, as
in the Ebreichsdorfer factory. If the net profits were only five per
cent, there still would be more than twelve thousand gulden annually for
me, and I was sure to be a rich man in a short time. So I thanked Herr
von Hartl heartily and continued to perfect my process in every tiny
detail.
The fear had arisen that iron cylinders might affect the handsome reds
and other fine colors. Herr Thornton, who had become my friend, promised
to make for me cast copper cylinders with iron cores: and his
preparations for this work were almost completed when again fate ruined
all my hopes.
Napoleon had just completed the Continental blockade; and the English
cotton stuffs were not to be had anywhere. This forced all the weavers
and manufacturers of the inland to buy from the Pottendorfer Works, and
the sale of their output became so great that the formerly overcrowded
storehouses were emptied in a short time. "Why should we erect a new,
different factory? Rather let us enlarge the present one." This was the
general and entirely sensible decision of the company. Herr von Hartl
would not interest himself further in the process, because our hope of
an exclusive franchise had been ruined through the treachery of a
foreman in the spinnery, who had made drawings of our machine and sold
them to various cotton-making establishments, who were already imitating
the process. So there was nothing left for me except to seek my fortune
elsewhere.
In my pain over my oft-ruined hopes I complained to a good friend, Herr
Madlener, a tinner in Pottendorf, and this noble man was ready at once
to seek another opportunity for me. The very next day he told me that a
cotton-printer in Vienna, Herr Blumauer, would pay me five hundred
gulden for a small model press for cylinder printing on cotton. This
turned out true. Fourteen days later he made me acquainted with the
brothers Faber, who had a cotton-works in St. Polten, and who, on
Madlener's recommendation, made an extremely satisfactory contract with
me for the erection of a complete cylinder printery.
I thought myself happy to come into relations with this firm at whose
head were two of the noblest of men, and was just ready to go to St.
Polten, when my destinies received a new direction through a strange
chain of circumstances, that opened for me an excellent prospect again
of making great advances in improving my lithographic invention.
My brothers had written to me several times while I was in Vienna,
complaining about scarcity of work and their resultant poverty.
Therefore it is not to be wondered at that I did not exactly long to
return to Munich, despite the fact that my hopes in Vienna had become
steadily less. Probably I should have returned again to Herr Andre in
Offenbach, as Gleissner and his family were pretty well placed with
Steiner and Grasnitzky, had not Madame Gleissner conceived the idea of
making personal inquiries about the conditions in Munich.
Shortly before, a Bavarian court musician had visited Vienna and had
visited his friend Gleissner. From him we learned that my brothers were
doing very well. They had good positions with the Feyertag School and
had sold their franchise for stone-printing to the Royal Government. It
was even reported that they had formed a company with Herr von Hazzi to
establish a press and publishing house, and that they expected to get a
comfortable building from the Government.
Madame Gleissner went to Munich at once and ascertained that the report
was true. She also met our old apprentice, Gruenewald, who had left
Vienna in 1804 with one of our note-writers, Held, to erect a
stone-printing establishment for Breitkopf and Haertl in Leipsic. He had
just returned to Munich, and he induced Madame Gleissner to join him in
erecting a small printing-house, which she did all the more willingly,
since she hoped that it would earn her expenses for her in Munich. This
occasion led to her acquaintance with Abt Vogler, who gave her several
pieces of music to print.
Stone-printing pleased Abt Vogler so much that he proposed to Freiherr
Christoph von Aretin, Royal Court and Central Library Director, to
establish a printery and take into partnership the inventor as well as
Herr Gleissner. Freiherr von Aretin was willing, and they made a
provisional contract with Madame Gleissner, under which I and her
husband were to go to Munich and establish a stone-press, for which
Freiherr von Aretin and Abt Vogler would furnish the money.
I was pleasantly surprised when Madame Gleissner returned to Vienna with
this news. Freiherr von Aretin was one of my old schoolmates in the
Munich Gymnasium; and as he always used to gain the first prize in
everything from the lowest class to the highest, I had entertained the
greatest respect for him since youth. I would have thought myself
fortunate even then to make his nearer acquaintance, because I ever have
had a decided admiration for remarkable persons.
In later days it happened once that my mother dwelled in his house and
could not pay her rent, owing to certain misfortunes, and when she asked
him to excuse the delay he made her a present of the entire sum. This
proof of a noble soul was not calculated to lessen my regard for him.
Therefore I snatched at the proposal with joy.
She had been urged earnestly to hurry matters, as Abt Vogler had various
works which he wished to have printed as soon as possible. Unfortunately
my contract with the brothers Faber, which I had signed the day before,
would have delayed me for many months. I tried, therefore, if I could
induce them to permit me to spend a few months in Munich before I
started their work in St. Polten. The excellent men agreed gladly, and
even advanced money to me that I might have various copper cylinders
made in Munich, so that I would be able to go ahead without delay later
in St. Polten.
PART III
FROM 1806 TO 1817
I left Vienna with Herr Gleissner and his family in October, 1806. First
we traveled to Cloister Atl near Wasserburg in Bavaria, which Freiherr
von Aretin had bought recently, and where Abt Vogler awaited us. He
proposed to erect the printery in the cloister; but when he saw that I
was not at all pleased with the idea, he started with us for Munich.
Hardly had we arrived there before Abt Vogler suggested several plans
which all contemplated only his own profit, and which would have
redounded to Freiherr von Aretin's disadvantage. When he realized at
last that we would not agree to his demands, and when Freiherr von
Aretin insisted that Herr Vogler pay his share of the capital at once
and in cash, instead of paying it by furnishing music whose value he set
very high, he severed his connection with our company. There was also
the added reason that the Royal Academy of Sciences did not reelect him
as a member, a fact which made him wish to leave Munich as soon as
possible.
At this time a former workman of my younger brother Karl, a man named
Strohhofer, commenced a printery. Madame Gleissner stopped this unlawful
violation of our rights with the aid of the royal police, and this
impelled Strohhofer to seek Abt Vogler, probably in order to gain his
intercession with Freiherr von Aretin.
Vogler thought that he had made an important discovery, as the man knew
how to speak very impressively of his knowledge and skill. He imagined
that he could publish his works without our aid, perhaps even without
cost. Therefore he promised to assist Strohhofer, made an appointment
with him for a future day, and suggested to him how he could support
himself meantime by selling the secret of the art.
Stuttgart was one of the towns suggested to him. Strohhofer circulated a
pompous proclamation there, boasting of his talents and offering his
services to anybody and everybody. Thus he came into communication with
Herr Cotta. The inferiority and incompleteness of his knowledge were
perceived very soon; but as even the imperfect results hinted at the
importance of the new printing process, the result was that finally,
through the assistance of an art-lover, Herr Rapp, the book, _The Secret
of Stone-Printing_, was published by Herr Cotta. It was the first
publication that showed true appreciation publicly of the art.
Immediately in the beginning of our establishment in Munich, our
enterprise gained brilliant aspects through Freiherr von Aretin's
activity. Several presses were operated, for music, for governmental
work, and even for art. Then came the publication of Albrecht Duerer's
_Prayer-Book_, which gave us an honorable reputation. This work was
acclaimed by all art-lovers, and the conviction gained ground everywhere
that the new process which hitherto had possessed few friends, was not
so unimportant as had been believed generally.
The professor of the Feyertag School, Herr Mitterer, had done important
preparatory work in Munich to gain a favorable decision. My brothers had
imparted to him the entire process. He had found that the so-called
crayon process, of which I had shown proofs as early as 1799, was best
adapted for his purpose of reproducing elementary drawing-lessons, and
he had succeeded in inducing the Government to establish a lithographic
institute under his direction, in which my brothers were employed as
lithographers. To be sure, this was a violation of my franchise; but the
reason was that the authorities supposed my brothers to be the owners of
the franchise, both on account of the name and because they had
conducted the Munich printery for some years in my name.
Freiherr von Aretin counted on the sole use of the franchise, which he
had believed to be unassailable when he formed our company and advanced
the necessary money; but when in time he complained because the Royal
Government as well as private persons established printeries, he
received the reply that the art had long ceased to be a secret,--as if a
condition of the franchise had been that a useful process must be kept
secret. In that case I could not have employed any man either for
drawing or printing, as that would have involved the loss of secrecy and
thus the loss of the franchise.
My connection with Freiherr von Aretin lasted four years. During this
time I turned out a great amount of government work, such as circulars,
statistical tables, charts, etc., besides many specimens in various
forms of art. At that time the idea was first conceived for the present
text-book of lithography, and, indeed, we published the first
installment of the sample plates. Still, our enterprise was far less
successful than Freiherr von Aretin and I had hoped.
It was very difficult to obtain skillful workmen, especially writers and
artists. Even Strixner and Pilotti, whom we had engaged and who worked
at producing facsimiles of the Royal Manual Drawing Cabinet, were very
slow to gain the necessary perfection and speed. And again we lacked the
manager, namely, a man who understood business and knew what to produce
and how to sell it.
I myself was heavily burdened, as I had not only to exercise continual
supervision of the five presses, but also was practically the only one
who could prepare the plates for those presses. Added to this was the
fact that the printers were almost all uneducated men, some of whom
could not even read, and they spoiled many plates that I had to
reproduce. This caused so much loss of time that already was
insufficient, that it is no wonder that several presses came to a
standstill frequently. Luckily there were government jobs at times that
demanded fifteen thousand and more impressions. This enabled me to
prepare new material while the presses were busy. On the whole, however,
this work had the disadvantage of demanding such speed that usually all
the five presses had to work at it, so that, when it was done, they were
all at a standstill together, sometimes for weeks; and then the wages,
etc., consumed the previous profit, so that in the end little or nothing
was left.
Thus it was natural that Herr von Aretin, who was being annoyed at this
time by other affairs, began to lose his enthusiasm for lithography.
Therefore, when he had to go to Neuburg as Governmental-Director, and
could not participate personally any more, and when, at the same time,
Herr Gleissner and I obtained situations with the Royal Tax Service, he
sold the establishment to Herr von Manlich, the Director of the Royal
Gallery, and to Herr Zeller, a merchant.
Although our connection was broken in this manner, and despite the fact
that we had not won the expected results, still stone-printing had
attained respect and support through Freiherr von Aretin's patronage. We
had to thank him for the fact that our institution was praised by the
most celebrated native and foreign statesmen, and even by their Royal
Highnesses, the Crown Prince of Bavaria and his most noble sister
Charlotte, present Empress of Austria. Our beloved Crown Prince wrote on
paper with the so-called chemical or stone-ink, "Lithography is one of
the most important inventions of the century." And his noble sister
wrote the short but eloquent words, "I honor the Bavarians!" These lines
were printed on the stone in their presence.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince exhibited so much interest in this
Bavarian invention that he condescended to order the sculptor,
Kirchmeier, of Munich, to model my bust in plaster, so that in the
future, when lithography should have attained an honorable place in the
whole public estimation, it could be carved in stone and erected among
the most celebrated artists of Bavaria.
In general my connection with Freiherr von Aretin had given me several
well-founded prospects for an active and honorable future. He promised
that, when his circumstances permitted, he would put me into position to
use my entire time only for making useful inventions, for which purpose
I should have all the material and workers that I might need. We would
then investigate all branches of art and industry, to discover
possibilities of improvement. He possessed the true viewpoint,
appreciating how I could best be useful to the fatherland, and perhaps
to all humanity. I shall ever consider it as my greatest misfortune that
circumstances made it impossible to carry out this plan, and thus to
justify the great confidence that he reposed in my inventiveness and
ability.
A second beautiful hope arose in France, where I was encouraged by
Freiherr von Aretin to expect the management of an imperial lithographic
institute, with a great financial allowance, Herr von Manlich, and the
French artist, Herr Denon, who was in high favor with Napoleon, having
made strong efforts to that end. This hope also met disappointment owing
to the circumstances of the times.
A third hope of no less importance was to erect a cotton-printery in
Munich or Augsburg in association with His Excellency Count von Arco,
Court Chamberlain of Her Royal Highness the widowed Kurfuerstin of
Bavaria. This was ruined by the clumsiness of a Munich wood-turner, who
made such uneven cylinders that we could not produce any satisfactory
specimens. Although I made arrangements at once for a large English
machine, like those used by Mr. Thornton, its manufacture was so slow
that two years elapsed, and during this time our entire lithographic
establishment was dissolved.
The idea of a cotton-printery was an unfortunate one, which not only
cost much time and a great sum of money, but also had the unpleasant
result that I could not fulfill my contract with the Faber brothers and
thus, in addition to the resultant personal financial loss, had the pain
of appearing before these most noble men in a poor light.
All this trouble was caused as follows. On invitation of Count von Arco,
his brother-in-law, Count von Montgelas, Royal Minister of State,
visited our institution and examined our work. At the request of
Freiherr von Aretin I made an experimental printing with the little
model cotton-printing press that I had brought from Vienna. It won his
approval. Freiherr von Aretin intended to ask for a franchise for this
process in Bavaria, where it had not yet been introduced. The Minister
promised this and also held out the hope of a considerable financial
assistance from the Government. Then I was foolish enough to try to
increase his interest by telling him of the value that foreign lands set
on this process, and thus I informed him of my contract with the Fabers.
But this had an unexpected result. His Excellency heard the information
most ungraciously, and said that I must not hope for the least
assistance in Bavaria if I permitted myself to be used for the
advantage of another state. He even declared that there was a royal
rescript forbidding Bavarian subjects from using an art in foreign lands
if its exclusive use were of importance for Bavaria. This rescript, said
he, fitted my case exactly, and it was forbidden to me, under pain of
highest disfavor, to proceed farther with the Austrians.
This embarrassed me mightily. Freiherr von Aretin and Count von Arco
promised to urge the Minister to permit me to go to Vienna, on the
ground that this method of printing cotton was no invention of mine,
having been used long ago in England and for some time in Austria. But
Freiherr von Aretin was not very desirous that I should absent myself
for several months in the very beginning of our enterprise, and thus
time passed without the hoped-for permission.
As the Fabers pressed me earnestly to fulfill my agreement, I devised a
subterfuge that might permit me to keep my promise and still not lay
myself open to too great a responsibility. I wrote to them advising them
to have their correspondent in Munich demand through the court that I be
forced to fulfill the contract. I considered that the city courts in
Munich would have no particular knowledge of the royal rescript or, at
least, that they would not immediately remember it, and that, when I
admitted the existence of the contract, they would command me to keep it
at once. Then I would obey immediately, and afterward could justify
myself with the Bavarian Government by pointing to the court's decree.
It would surely have succeeded had not the correspondent of the Fabers
failed in business after bringing suit, owing to which the matter got
into another lawyer's hands. This man immediately adopted a new strange
course. Instead of demanding a fulfillment of the contract, he sued for
twelve thousand gulden damages for their loss of time. Of course I had
to fight for my skin now; and as he refused to content himself with my
agreement to fulfill the contract, I was forced at last to defend myself
by falling back on the royal rescript. Thus I escaped by merely repaying
the money already advanced; but I lost the considerable sum that would
have been assured to me had I been permitted to spend only two months in
St. Polten.
Thus none of the good prospects that opened themselves through my
connection with Freiherr von Aretin proved so good as I had been
justified in hoping: nay, it seemed as if I had only labored day and
night to give others the benefits accruing from my painful labors, while
I barely supported existence.
Freiherr von Aretin wished that the management of the business be in the
hands of a man who possessed his own fullest confidence, but whom I did
not consider at all suitable, as he was a royal official and as such
could not do business in a public shop. Consequently the trade was
carried on in his own residence, which was known to only few people and
where nobody looked for the manifold things that we could have produced
to good profit. This at last lowered our establishment to a mere job
printery, which finally could not maintain itself, because more and more
similar establishments were started in Munich, and the prices for work
became lower and lower through their hungry competition.
It may not be uninteresting to tell briefly how so many printeries
happened to be undertaken.
The first was established by Gleissner and myself, and was continued
afterward in my name by my brothers Theobald and George, until 1805.
They sold the secret to the Feyertag School, where an excellent art
institute developed gradually under Herr Mitterer.
Strohhofer learned the elements of the process from my brother Karl, and
associated himself, in 1806, with Herr Sidler, royal court musician, who
had studied first with my brothers, then with Madame Gleissner, and then
in the Aretin printery. When Strohhofer left Munich, Sidler erected a
stone-printery for the Government, and after he had obtained an official
permit before the expiration of my franchise, he established his own
institution, producing very good work.
During this time Madame Gleissner had petitioned the Government
frequently for sufficient work to assist her, and had obtained the
promise through His Excellency the Minister of State, von Montgelas.
Then it happened that the chief of a newly organized bureau, Freiherr
von Hartmann, having a great deal of writing to do in beginning his new
work, decided to introduce lithography for the purpose of saving labor.
His intention was to have it all done in our institution. No doubt he
had communicated this plan to von Montgelas; for as he met Madame
Gleissner about this time, and she asked again for work, he said that he
had given Senefelder enough work to keep ten presses busy, and if he had
not yet received it, he would get it soon through Freiherr von Hartmann.
There evidently was a misunderstanding here on account of the name. When
Freiherr von Hartmann sent one of his subordinates to call Senefelder to
him, he brought my brother Theobald, who immediately got orders to
establish a lithographic office, and shortly afterward was appointed
Inspector of Lithography. Beside a considerable salary, he received the
following other incomes, first, excellent pay for all work that was
turned in; second, an agreement that if his ten presses could not be
sufficiently employed by the bureau, he might work for other
governmental bureaus and for private persons. Thus he received a great
deal of work, among other jobs the printing of passports for the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which earned large sums for him in a short
time and placed him in very good circumstances.
He could not conceal his good luck, and so it came that many people
imagined that stone-printing was a means for getting rich quickly, which
resulted in a disproportionate growth of new shops. Out of his own there
sprang two, namely, those of Helmle and Roth, who erected their own
printeries under the permit of the police.
At the same time a lithographic institution was erected in the Royal
Asylum for the Poor on the Anger; and a Herr Dietrich, of a government
bureau, also established one.
My own prospects became worse and worse toward the year 1810. Though I
may flatter myself that I perfected myself very greatly through
unceasing practice and thousands of experiments, still, without a
fortunate accident, it might well have happened that I would have been
forced to think it lucky if I could obtain work under one of my former
apprentices.
I even suffered the insult of having the papers declare that though I
had invented the art roughly, I had kept it secret for a long time
through selfishness, and had never understood how to use it for anything
except merely printing music. The falsity and humiliating character of
this statement were bound to pain me the more bitterly, since all other
stone-artists and stone-printers had learned only from me, and not one
(not even Herr Mitterer, the most expert and, perhaps because of that,
the most modest) possessed the art as a whole, in all its parts, as
perfectly as I did. I hope that my text-book will prove this.
So far as the secret was concerned, the statement was an evident
falsehood. Since the moment when I received the exclusive franchise in
Bavaria, in the year 1799, I had made no secret of any part of my
process toward any living being. I showed the whole manipulation to my
workmen as well as to all strangers. Those who knew me more intimately
and realized, therefore, that I could not resist the desire for
communicating anything that I discovered to benefit mankind, often
censured me severely for my frankness, saying that I could have been a
millionaire had I kept my art a secret. But this was equally erroneous.
I never could have succeeded to any degree with my own means.
The false belief that I desired exclusive enjoyment of the results of
stone-printing, is in direct contradiction of the fact that the lack of
secrecy was held to invalidate my exclusive franchise. The idea may have
arisen, at least partly, through the circumstance that several of my
former workmen, or others who learned something of the art, made a
wonderful secret of it, in order to be considered more important. This
was carried to such an extent that some traveled from place to place and
sold their knowledge to many people for large sums under the seal of
confidence. I pity those who thus received in exchange for their money
something of little or no use, when they could have learned from me for
practically nothing, as it always was my greatest delight to converse
with intelligent men about those subjects that interested me so deeply
as inventor.
After making this little excursion, which was needed for my
justification, I return to my story.
There were, then, in 1809, six public printeries in Munich besides mine,
without reckoning those which several artists had made for their own
use. The foremost among the latter was Herr Mettenleithner, Royal
Copper Plate Engraver. He was one of the first to whom I had shown
specimens, as early as 1796, of the new process, but he had paid little
attention to it. Partly through various very excellent specimens from
Herr Mitterer's print, and partly through the work of Strixner and
Pilotti, he was induced to make experiments. A son of Herr von Dall'
Armi, who was taking lessons just then in drawing and copper etching for
his own pleasure, interested himself in the process. As a result, the
latter established a lithographic institution in Rome, which, so far as
I know, never achieved any decided success.
Soon afterward Herr Mettenleithner, in association with one of the best
of the Aretin printers, a man named Weishaupt, laid the foundation for
the stone-printery of the Royal Tax Commission (Koenigliche Unmittelbare
Steuer-Kataster-Kommission), which is now the most important of all the
lithographic institutions of Munich. A little later a similar
institution was founded for reproduction purposes by the Royal Privy
Council, through Herr Mettenleithner's son-in-law, Herr Winter.
Herr Mettenleithner was appointed director of the great establishment,
which employed some thirty engravers, to etch the plans of the
Steuer-Kataster, which received fifteen to twenty thousand impressions
each. At this time the Kingdom of Bavaria was being charted in great
detail for tax-regulation purposes, under the management of Privy
Councilor von Utzschneider, the man who has done so much for Bavaria's
home industries. There were required at least two exact copies of each
map, and close calculation proved that it would be possible to etch the
charts on stone and make several hundred impressions for the money that
these two copies would cost if done by hand. In addition, each of these
impressions was good enough to serve as an original.
The lithographic institution of the Royal Steuer-Kataster had been in
operation for some time when a trivial occurrence had the most important
effect on my fate.
It became necessary to print a sheet of such great size that there
happened to be no stone in Munich large enough. Weishaupt remembered
that he had seen stones in my possession which I had purchased partly
for map-work and partly for printing cotton and tapestries. He sent a
printer to me with a letter from Royal Tax Councilor von Badhauser,
requesting that I sell the Government a stone of the necessary
dimensions. Herr von Badhauser was a friend of my father, and I myself
always had entertained the highest respect for him. He was also a friend
of Herr Gleissner, and had done many things to oblige him. I embraced
the opportunity of doing him a favor with joy, and the matter probably
would have had no further consequences, had not Madame Gleissner arrived
just as the stone was being taken away.
She suspected that the stone might be desired for a purpose other than
the one stated, and sought Herr von Badhauser to ascertain the truth. On
this occasion she complained to him that the Government, not content
with infringing our franchise by erecting its own printeries, also took
away our workmen after I had trained them with much labor and expense.
Herr von Badhauser was surprised. He said that Privy Councilor von
Utzschneider had wished to turn work over to me, but that my reply to
his proposal, which had been laid before me by a designer named Schiesl,
had been that it was against my arrangements to collaborate with any
other establishment, and that, on the contrary, it was my intention,
with the assistance of Freiherr von Aretin, to press our suit against
the Government for infringement.
This Herr Schiesl, a pupil of Herr Methleithner, had worked for us
occasionally, and, indeed, was one of the first to use the new process
for drawings, especially pen-drawings. As he was rather adept and showed
great interest, I gave him full instructions in everything, and he knew
all my circumstances exactly. Thus he understood thoroughly that my
future depended on the turn that Freiherr von Aretin's affairs might
take, and that our situation was precarious, owing to the competition of
so many establishments. Therefore, I cannot understand how he came to
utter a statement so contrary to the truth.
Madame Gleissner hurried to Herr von Utzschneider and explained my real
intentions to him. He promised to consider the matter earnestly.
Herr Professor Schiegg, an excellent geometrician and astronomer, was
member of the Steuer-Kataster-Kommission, and had the supervision over
the entire institution. He was not well satisfied. Too many costly
proof-prints were being made, and the impressions did not please him.
Accidentally he saw my receipt for payment for the stone which I had
furnished, and he observed that I did not ask more for it than the
Commission had to pay for stones only half as large. Also I charged only
twenty-four kreuzer for polishing, whereas the Commission had been
paying one gulden for stones of four square feet. He took occasion to
represent to the Commission that it might be well to give me the
management of the establishment.
Herr von Utzschneider sent for me and asked for a proposition. After
discussion with Freiherr von Aretin I proposed that the Commission let
me print their etched plates for two kreuzer per impression, in return
for which I would pay the workmen, defray the cost of all printing
material, and also keep the presses in repair, pull necessary proofs
without charge, and bear the cost of all imperfect work.
This plan seemed very fair to me, as the Royal Commission would save two
thirds of the expenses it had defrayed hitherto; but it met with such
opposition that Herr von Utzschneider advised me to make another
proposition, preferably one that involved a good salary for myself and
Herr Gleissner, which, probably, would be received with more favor. He
added the flattering statement that the Royal Commission would be proud
to have me, the inventor of the art, in its employ, and thus to reward
my struggles in the name of the fatherland. The excellent man fulfilled
the expectations thus raised, and became my greatest benefactor and
founder of my fortune; for through him I won the prospect of an unvexed
old age, and was placed in a position where I did not need any longer to
consider my art merely as a livelihood. Everything useful that I have
invented since then, and I hope it is not inconsiderable, is due to the
serene and happy position in which I was placed through his goodness.
At the time I thought also that, if we were both employed by the Royal
Steuer-Kataster-Kommission, it would save Freiherr von Aretin the burden
of supporting us, without causing him damage, as according to the
preliminary promise of the Commission we should have time enough left to
manage his institution. So I agreed to assume supervision over the
Commission's printery, to give it my best knowledge, and give the
workmen complete instructions and training, for which there was to be a
salary for life of one thousand five hundred gulden for me and one
thousand gulden for my friend Gleissner, with the rank of Royal
Inspector of Lithography, and with the right to maintain and conduct our
own printery. My terms were graciously accepted, and in October, 1809,
we received our appointment.
Only in the beginning were my personal services especially necessary.
Later, as the workmen grew equal to their tasks, I found more and more
leisure for dedicating myself to inventing improvements. I was rather
fortunate in this endeavor, and the various processes invented since
1809 would now be generally known through the publication of many
interesting works, had Freiherr von Aretin not been forced to leave
Munich to assume his new duties in the Royal Service. This left my art
without his assistance, and our partnership reached its end just as it
was beginning to attain fruit. My own circumstances did not permit me to
continue the establishment on its former scale; therefore, Freiherr von
Aretin turned over part of it, especially the art-branches, to von
Manlich, the Director of the Royal Gallery, and another part to Herr
Zeller. The latter soon gave up the printing business as incompatible
with his other interests, but he did a great deal for domestic art and
industry later by opening a warehouse for its products, also by
publishing a paper and issuing many lithographic art productions.
I kept one or two presses for myself, and as I married the daughter of
the Royal Chief Auditor Versch in January, 1810, I hoped to teach my
wife to manage a small business. In the very beginning I obtained a
large order for passports from the Royal Commission of the Isar, which
kept the presses busy for a month. At the same time I contracted with
the Royal War Economy Council to furnish all their printing. Besides
this, I had many orders from another Royal Commission and from Herr
Falter, so that my little establishment was very busy. Unfortunately it
happened that I was not paid at once by the Royal Commission of the
Isar, but only after four years. Added to this, after some months I had
to support my workmen in idleness for several weeks, because there
happened to be no work for them. This gave my wife so ill an idea of the
business that she kept at me till I promised her to give up the whole
thing.
Madame Gleissner was not so timid. She offered to take over my men if I
would turn over to her the government work that I had. At first she did
very well, because just then orders came from many directions. She might
have made a great success, had her husband not been stricken with
paralysis, which rendered him so miserable that at last he lost his
mind. Then came the ever-growing competition and at last the government
bureau installed its own plant. Her daughter lost her eyesight almost
wholly at this time, so that the family fell into a woeful condition,
which would be still worse now if they were not sustained by faith in
the mercy and grace of our best of kings, who will surely reward their
efforts for lithography, which art, according to the belief of all
experts, will ever remain a beautiful flower in the shining wreath of
the noble Maximilian.
As soon as I did not need any longer to give up my time to earning a
mere livelihood, I began seriously to plan publication of my
lithographic text-book, the first number of which had appeared
previously and been well received. But the skill of the various
lithographers made noticeable advances every day, so that I was not
content with the specimen pages that had seemed so satisfactory a year
earlier. At last I fell under the delusion that it was absolutely vital
to my honor that everything that might appear in my text-book must
represent the _non plus ultra_ of the process. Therefore I decided to
suppress the first number entirely, because there were sample pages in
it that represented a style which had been done much better since then.
However, many obstacles opposed me. For instance, good artists are very
costly, especially if they must learn new methods and practice them. I
felt, also, that many of my inventions still demanded many improvements
before I could intrust them to the hands of any artists. Still, I hoped
finally to accomplish my plan for publishing a splendid work which
should be unique, because I invented improvements and perfections
daily. When my dear friend Andre came to Munich in 1811, I laid my
project before him and he was so taken with it that he offered his
cordial cooeperation. We agreed that the work was to be done by
Frankfurter artists and printed there. But when I journeyed to Offenbach
some months later, I discovered that the right kind of artists were not
so easy to find as Andre had led me to hope. Some, who might have been
competent, demanded such exorbitant terms that the work would
necessarily have been published only at a huge loss. "Copper-etching,"
said they, "we understand. Stone-etching we must learn. The latter seems
to us, who are unpracticed in it, three times as difficult. Therefore it
is but fair that we shall be paid three times as much." This sort of
reasoning led me to return to Munich to print the work there.
Now two years passed with many experiments. Many a plate was made,
printed, and discarded because meantime I had found something better.
Then I lost my beloved wife in child-bed, and in my anguish over this
loss, irredeemable as I thought at the time, I forgot all my projects
till my second wife, a niece of our worthy Choir-Master Ritter von
Winter, reconciled me with Providence, notably through her truly
motherly behavior toward the son left behind by my first wife. I
considered it my duty now to publish my work, that in case of my death
their claims to honor should be established. Without this incentive, it
would have been much more indifferent to me what men might think of my
art or its inventor.
In 1816, Herr Andre came to Munich again, and I imparted to him many of
my recent inventions in regard to lithography. On this occasion we
decided ultimately which of our plates should be put into the work and
which should be discarded. I promised to get seriously to work and we
looked forward so confidently to the completion of the entire
publication that Herr Andre circulated a preliminary notice of it in the
Easter-Messe at Leipsic, whither he went after leaving Munich.
Despite this, there came many delays, the chief one being caused by my
meeting Herr Gerold, book-dealer and printer of Vienna, who invited me
to establish a printery for him. As my presence in Vienna would be
needed for only three months, I believed that this would cause no delay
in the publication of the text-book, because the plates ordered from the
Munich artists could be completed during that time, while I could
furnish the text as well in Vienna as in Munich. But I had the
misfortune of becoming seriously ill soon after reaching Vienna. A great
weakness remained as result, and this made it impossible for me to
undertake the return voyage in the bad weather that marked the winter of
1816-17.
Lithography did not progress particularly with Herr Gerold during my
stay, because he could not obtain the franchise, though he had
petitioned for it a year ago. The greatest blame for this was due to
Herr Steiner's opposition. This man, who had done but little for the art
in the entire time during which he enjoyed the exclusive Austrian
franchise that I had turned over to him, did this from pure ill-will,
because he had suffered similar ill-luck, as he said.
So Gerold could not establish so complete a printery as I wished,
without going into expenses based on an uncertainty. However, various
drawings were made that served to show art-lovers what could be done
with lithography. It would be easy to perfect this art immensely in
Vienna, because there is no lack of excellent artists. Among those who
interested themselves at the very beginning in Herr Gerold's undertaking
were Herr Colonel von Aurach, Herr Captain Kohl, and Herr Kunike, the
drawing-master for the family of Prince von Schwarzenberg. They
convinced themselves with many experiments that lithography was
eminently suitable for the easy reproduction of many styles of drawing,
and recommended the method to all their acquaintances. Through the
experiments of Herr Kunike I gained the conviction that one could print
true originals by using a method of touching up the impressions.
The crayon method in combination with one or two tint plates is the
method that is easiest for the artist to handle. Now this method is very
difficult to print, demanding great practice if good, strong, and clear
impressions are to be produced. Since there are as yet no complete
printeries where an artist can have his own plates printed without
danger of damage, there is nothing left except to print them himself,
which causes many imperfect impressions that must be destroyed for the
credit of the artist. Herr Kunike had this experience; but he took his
imperfect impressions, when they were not entirely spoiled, and worked
them over with black crayon. It developed that twelve impressions could
be so well touched up by hand that they would fittingly pass as
originals, in the time which would be required to copy a single picture
properly. As this treatment of illustrations produces their value only
by merit of the final finishing, they may be considered as being the
same as copies that are made by an artist of his own work, wherein it
happens often that the copy turns out better than the original.
Just as I was preparing to leave Vienna I received several numbers of
the _Anzeiger fuer Kunst und Gewerbfleiss_, in which Herr Direktor von
Schlichtegroll, General Secretary of the Royal Bavarian Academy of
Sciences, had inserted several letters suggesting an inquiry into the
invention of lithography. He had used the information obtained from my
brothers and from other inhabitants of Munich. On my arrival there I
visited him at once to thank him for his patriotic endeavors, and to
make some corrections of the story told by him. I had the fortune to win
him as a steady friend, who became continually interested in giving my
work a greater field.
The completion of this text-book is due to his steadfast encouragement.
He furnished me with the opportunity to meet many worthy men and also to
demonstrate my many improvements before the Royal Academy of Sciences,
the Polytechnical Union, and at last even before their majesties, our
most gracious King and his most highly venerated spouse, that
illustrious connoisseur and protectress of the arts. Never to be
forgotten by me will be the moment when the gracious applause of the
royal pair rewarded me for all the exertions of my life. Oh! If only
human life were not so limited, if it were granted to me to execute only
one tenth part of my designs, I would make myself worthy of this great
honor by making many another useful invention! But the time passes
swiftly during our helpless wishing and striving; and when twenty or
thirty years have been lived, there remains for us only amazement at
beholding how little has been done of all that which glowing
imagination and fiery energy painted as being so easy to carry out.
When I saw before me the first successful impressions from a stone, and
conceived the plan of making the invention useful for myself, I did not
think that it would demand the greatest part of my life. Rather, because
it seemed to be a cheap process, I considered it merely a first step
toward putting me into a position where I would be able to make
inventions far more useful and important. I must, however, count myself
fortunate among thousands, because my invention received such thorough
recognition during my lifetime, and because I myself was able to bring
it to a degree of perfection such as other inventions generally attained
only after many years and long after the inventor himself was dead.
Herr von Manlich, the Director of the Royal Gallery, has had his skilled
pupils, Strixner and Pilotti, copy many collections in the Royal Drawing
Cabinet (Koenigliche Zeichnungs Kabinett), and many of these sheets are
so good that competent critics have declared them to be perfect
facsimiles.
But on the whole the publication of the Royal Gallery of Paintings is
still more excellent and has aroused general attention, which would be
even greater if the printers had been as expert as the artists were.
Many of these pages would leave nothing to be desired if the pictures
appeared on the paper in perfection equal to the perfection of the
drawings on the stone.
The method used for these illustrations is the crayon method, with one
or more tint plates. It is the easiest method for the artists because it
demands little previous experience. To give it its correct emphasis,
however, one must know especially how to get the best effect out of the
tint plates. If this is done just right, and if, of course, the drawing
bears the impress of a masterly hand, and if the printer understands his
art, the impression will be perfectly like an original drawing, so that
the most skilled etcher in copper hardly can attain the same effect.
Therefore this method, which has the further advantage of being a quick
one, is excellently well adapted for copying paintings.
Hereby I wish to express my deepest gratitude publicly to the worthy
Herr Direktor von Manlich and his industrious pupils for the service
they have done for the fame of lithography by utilizing my inventions.
To their labors, as well as to those of Herr Professor Mitterer, is due
the ever-growing sympathy and interest of the public.
Herr Mitterer now has attained such perfection, especially in the simple
crayon method, that many of his productions probably will remain the
_non plus ultra_ of this method. Lithography also owes to his unresting
energy the triumph of having been become the mother of many useful works
of instruction, which are so cheap that they only require the active
work of a good art-dealer or book-dealer to become widely circulated.
Besides this, Herr Mitterer is the inventor of the so-called cylinder or
pilot-wheel press, which he has improved so much lately that it does
almost everything that one can demand from a perfect press in point of
power, speed, and ease of operation.
Since 1809, I have dedicated myself almost uninterruptedly to
improvements, and to the work of reducing all manipulation and processes
in all branches to their simple elementary principles. Thus some of my
earlier inventions--such as transfers from paper which has been
inscribed with fatty inks, and the transfers from new and old books and
copper-plate impressions--have been brought to a high degree of
excellence through my manifold experiments, so that one can make
lithographic stereotypes in the easiest manner.
Furthermore I have made such progress in color printing that, besides
pictures illuminated with colors, I can also produce pictures quite
similar to oil paintings, so that nobody can discover that they have
been printed, because they possess all the distinguishing points of
paintings.
At the same time I have invented a new method for printing pictures,
wall tapestry, playing-cards, and even cotton, which enables two men to
make two thousand impressions of the size of a sheet of letter-paper
daily, even though the picture may contain a hundred or more colors.
Incredible as this may seem, I surely shall produce extraordinary and
amazing proofs of this in a few years if I remain alive and well.
Among the other methods that I have invented since this time the most
excellent are some aqua tint processes, the spatter-work method, the
intaglio crayon method, the conversion of the relief method into
intaglio and vice versa, and the machine-written text for editions de
luxe.
Among other things I also sought to remedy the difficulty which arises
from the great dependence on the skill and industry of the printers.
Therefore I planned a printing-machine wherein the dampening and inking
of the stones should be done not by hands but by the mechanism of the
press itself, which, in addition, could be operated by water and thus
work almost without human intervention. With this invention I believed
that I had set my art on the pinnacle of completion; and when in 1817 I
exhibited a model of this press (which also was adapted by me for
utilizing the principles of stone or chemical printing on metal plates)
before the Royal Academy of Sciences in Munich, I was so fortunate as to
receive its golden medal in sign of universal approval.
But the most important of all my inventions since my employment in the
service of the Royal Government was, without question, the invention of
a sufficient substitute for the natural limestone plates, which often
incurred well-founded censure because of their unevenness, weight, and
fragility, and have the further fault of demanding a great deal of
storage room.
Before the Royal Academy of Sciences, and also before the Polytechnical
Society of Bavaria, I demonstrated that chemical printing could be
utilized with advantage on metal plates; but that still more useful was
a composition of artificial stone which could be painted on metal, wood,
stone, and even on plain paper or linen, and used in all processes
exactly like the natural Solenhofen stone.
The countless experiments that I have made in the past four years with
this substitute (or, as some call it, stone-paper), in order to prove
its usefulness under all circumstances, have filled me with the absolute
conviction that it replaces the natural stone completely without having
the many faults that in the nature of the case are inseparable from the
use of the latter. In many respects it is far superior. The fragility of
the Solenhofen stone requires the use of thick slabs for printing. If
the impression is to be letter-sheet size, the stone must be at least
one and one half inches thick if it is not to crack under pressure. If
the stone is to be used for more than one job, the thickness must be two
to three inches. To be sure, it can be ground and used over again some
hundreds of times, a valuable consideration in view of the capital
invested in a stone. But such a stone weighs from sixty to eighty
pounds, sometimes more, and occupies considerable space. Add the
investment necessary for laying in any great number of stones, and it
becomes a difficult matter financially to undertake work that requires
that the stones be held for a number of years, to be used for new
impressions according to the sales of the work. Therefore it is
necessary, generally, to print a maximum quantity at once, so that the
stones may be ground and used for new work.
If the stones are of thickness correctly proportioned to their area, the
danger of cracking under the press is fairly remote; still, it does
happen occasionally that a stone incurs damage through clumsiness of
workmen. It can occur also through careless warming, or through sharp
frost. In such cases even a strong stone will crack, especially if the
workmen apply undue pressure.
Besides, the necessary stones are not to be found in all places, so that
the cost of transportation prevents the establishment of lithographic
shops in many regions.
All these objections are overcome by the invention of stone-paper. The
material advantages of it are as follows: (1) The cost is much smaller
than that of a stone of equal size. (2) The weight is inconsiderable; a
plate of letter-sheet size weighs scarcely four ounces. (3) Hundreds of
such plates piled on each other require scarcely as much space as a
single stone, and can, therefore, be stored or shipped easily. (4) They
resist the most powerful press better than do stone, copper, and even
iron plates. Their inner elasticity supports the most extreme pressure
without alteration if only they are handled properly. (5) The
application of fatty inks, and also engraving with the steel graver is
easier. Indeed, because of the great toughness of the stone-paper, the
engraving process approaches copper engraving more closely. (6) Inking
and printing are easier, and demand no such powerful pressure, because
the artificial stone receives and imparts color more readily, than does
the natural stone. (7) Finally, they are so excellent for all methods of
printing that it is possible to reproduce the original plates at will
merely by transferring a fresh imprint to another plate. And this can be
done with such accuracy that none of these plates can be distinguished
from the original, so that the stone-paper surely must become of
enormous importance for stereotyping in the book-printing trade.
These advantages, and others to be described on suitable occasion,
elevate this invention unquestionably to the highest importance in the
art of chemical printing, despite all that may have been said recently
by a certain writer whose lack of knowledge forbade correct judgment.
The matter already has attained a degree of perfection that makes every
further improvement unnecessary, nay, almost impossible.
My many employments, mostly caused by the publication of this text-book,
thus far have prevented the erection of my own manufactory for making
these artificial stone-plates or stone-paper. I hope to do it soon, and
then everybody can convince himself of the truth of my assertions, if he
will use the material according to my instructions.
This invention will facilitate the introduction of lithography in all
places, because one can make the stones himself. However, lithography
has expanded very considerably in its present form, and has been brought
into use in the foremost cities of Europe. For instance, it was
introduced into France and England, first by Herr Andre, in latter days
by the Count von Lasterie in Paris and Herr Ackermann in London, being
utilized for many kinds of printed work. In Berlin, Herr Major von
Reiche has erected a great institution. In Petersburg the art has
existed for some years, and is being especially well cultivated now by
Freiherr von Schilling. The art has entered even Philadelphia, and, more
extraordinarily, Astrakan, and, so far as I can learn, has been welcomed
heartily.
I desire that soon it shall be spread over the whole world, bringing
much good to humanity through many excellent productions, and that it
may work toward man's greater culture, but never be misused for evil
purposes. This grant the Almighty! Then may the hour be blessed in which
I invented it!
SECTION II
TEXT-BOOK OF PRINTING FROM THE STONE
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
EXPLANATION OF THE PRINCIPLES AND THE PECULIARITIES OF STONE-PRINTING
AND OF CHEMICAL-PRINTING IN GENERAL
PART I
General objects and principles governing--
(1) the stone.
(2) the ink, crayon, etching surface and color.
(3) the acids and other preparing materials.
(4) the necessary tools.
(5) the paper.
(6) the presses.
PART II
Enumeration and description of the various processes and particular
objects in manipulating them, such as:--
RELIEF PROCESS--
to which belong--
(1) Pen and brush designs.
(2) Crayon drawing, simple and with several plates.
(3) Transfer and Tracing.
(4) Woodcut style.
(5) Two kinds of Touche drawing, one of which is similar to the
Scraped style, while the other is done in the usual way with
the brush.
(6) Spatter-Work.
(7) Touche drawing.
(8) Color printing with several plates.
(9) Gold and silver print.
INTAGLIO PROCESS--
(1) Carved or engraved.
(2) Etched.
(3) Drawn with prepared ink; with spattered aquatint.
(4) Aquatint in copper engraved style, and with etching ground.
(5) Aquatint through crayon ground.
(6) Intaglio crayon through tracing.
(7) Touche drawing with etching color and citric acid.
MIXED METHOD: RELIEF AND INTAGLIO UNITED--
(1) Pen drawing combined with engraving.
(2) Intaglio drawing with relief tint.
(3) Intaglio and relief with several plates.
(4) Transformation of relief into intaglio, and vice versa.
APPENDIX
(1) Printing simultaneously with water colors and oil colors.
(2) Simultaneous chemical and mechanical printing.
(3) Application of the stone for cotton-printing through wiping--a
unique printing method.
(4) Color print through wiping.
(5) Oil painting print through transfers.
(6) Stone-paper.
(7) Applying the chemical printing process to metal plates, etc.
INTRODUCTION
Printing from stone is a branch of a new process, different in
fundamental principle from all others, namely, the chemical process.
Heretofore there have been two leading printing processes for
manifolding writings and drawings, one working with characters in
relief, the other with sunken characters.
Of the first kind is the ordinary book-printing, in which the characters
are made of metal or wood in such form that only those lines and points
are elevated that are to take color, everything else being depressed.
The wooden forms for cotton-printing are made thus also.
Of the second kind are all copper and zinc plates, and the cotton-print
process with copper plates or cylinders. In this method the lines and
points to be printed are depressed, being either engraved, etched, or
stamped.
As is well known, the first method of printing is as follows: The
letters, which are all at the same elevation and, therefore, furnish a
plane surface, are inked with a leather ball, stuffed with horsehair.
As the ball is so firm and elastic that it can touch only the
elevated parts, these alone can take the color, which adheres because
of its sticky nature. The same is true of the carved wood used in
cotton-printing, with only the difference that, instead of rubbing with
a leather ball, the wooden plate itself is laid on a cushion covered
with the color, and then, being placed face down on the cloth, is
hammered gently to produce the imprint.
In copper and zinc printing the method is reversed. In order to force
the color into the depressed parts, which alone are to be printed, the
entire plate is coated with color, and then the elevated surface is
cleansed again carefully. The cleaning rag cannot reach the depressed
grooves, so that more or less color adheres to these according to their
various depths. Under the powerful press, which forces the paper into
all the engraved parts, this color transfers itself and thus gives the
desired impression.
It is evident that both methods rest on purely mechanical principles:
book-printing being based on the fact that the color adheres only on
those places that it can reach, and copper-plate printing depending on
the fact that the color remains only in those places from which it
cannot be removed by cleansing.
It is different with the chemical print. This does not depend on either
elevation or depression of the design. It depends on the fact that the
design is coated with a preparation of such nature that afterward the
printing color, which is made from a related substance, adheres because
of its chemical similarity; and furthermore, because all parts of the
plate that are to remain white, have been so treated that they repel the
color. These two purely chemical objects are attained fully with the new
process. Daily experience proves that all fatty bodies, such as oil,
butter, tallow, fish oils, etc., and all such as easily dissolve in oil,
like wax, resin, etc., refuse to unite with any watery substance without
the aid of some third body that will bring about such union. The chief
solvent for this purpose is alkali, which, under proper manipulation,
always produces a sort of soap that then is soluble in water. Sometimes,
to be sure, an apparent union can be produced by violent shaking or
mixing, without the use of the alkali, but at the first opportunity the
fatty substances separate themselves again from the watery ones.
It is on this fact that the entire method of the new process is based.
It is termed chemical printing with perfect propriety, as the reason why
a fatty color, say, linseed oil varnish, will adhere only on the
designed parts of the plate and is repelled by the rest of the surface,
is due to the chemical properties of the materials.
It might be maintained that in the other forms of printing, color
adheres from the same reason. This is true, to be sure; for it is a
general law that water and oil will adhere to all bodies that are dry.
But it is not the case with these fluids mutually; and in this fact lies
the unique difference between the older and the new processes. A dry
plate would take color over its entire surface. If, however, it is
dampened, it will take oil color only on those places that are in a
condition opposite to dampness. Therefore, the repelling of the color
from those parts that are to remain white is the novelty.
It must not be imagined, however, that to print chemically it suffices
to dampen certain parts of the plate and to coat others with fatty
substance. With most of the materials available for printing, mere water
does not suffice to produce a sufficiently repelling obstacle between
the plate and the color.
With flinty and clayey bodies,--for example, glass, porcelain, slate,
etc.,--one can manage with mere water; but then the slight adherence of
the fatty color to the plate produces an opposite difficulty, by
preventing any large number of impressions. Still, by using very firm
and readily drying fatty substances, such as linseed oil varnish dried
with litharge of silver it is possible, in case of need, to succeed
fairly well.
But with such bodies as attract the color powerfully, such as all
metals, wood, limestone, artificial stone-paper, etc., it is necessary
so to treat all the parts of the plate that are to remain white that
they attain an especial resistance to color, and thus change their
natures, so to speak.
That this is possible under certain circumstances and with the proper
means, with all bodies belonging to this class, I have proved by many
experiments, and I shall describe the methods in this book.
Thus the new process is not to be used only on limestone, but is
applicable to metal, etc.; and stone-printing or lithography is to be
considered only as a branch of general chemical printing. However, as
this book is to teach mainly lithography, I will occupy myself chiefly
with it.
Among the bodies available for chemical printing, limestone maintains an
eminent place. Not only has it an especial property of uniting with
fats,--sucking them in and holding them,--but it has, also, the same
propensity for taking all fluids that repel fats. Indeed, its surface
unites so thoroughly with many of the latter that it forms a chemical
union with them, becoming practically impenetrable for oil colors and
remaining constant thereafter in repelling them so that they cannot
adhere perfectly. Therefore when a plate thus prepared is dry and
covered entirely with oil color, it still remains an easy matter to wash
it completely, using merely water for the purpose.
This good property, combined with the low cost and the ease of obtaining
the stone in Bavaria; then the advantage that it is easily polished and
prepared; the further advantage that a stone of medium thickness can be
ground as often as a hundred times and utilized for new work--all these
properties combined made me willing to overlook a few faults, such as
their weight, great volume, frequent unevenness of quality, and lastly
the occasional danger of cracking. Thus I came to use these stones as
the principal means for making my countless experiments, whose happy
result has been to elevate stone-printing to an art by itself.
Having stated the process and the character of this form of printing, it
remains only to say a few words about its value.
With every new invention there arises the question if it is useful, and
if so, in how far, for science, arts, and industry. Therefore all who
have no sufficient knowledge of lithography, will ask justly: What is
its value? What advantages does it give that are not to be found in any
other forms of printing?
To answer this, let me say the following merely in advance till later
descriptions of the various processes will convince in themselves.
It is the nature of earthly being and of human imperfection that rarely
is anything found that combines in itself everything to be wished for
and required. So it may be said of stone-printing that it makes neither
book-printing nor copper-plate printing entirely superfluous. It is
possible that in the future, by perfecting the presses, lithography may
equal book-printing in point of speed, as it does not now; but the
convenience of the latter, enabling the printer, by merely setting cast
characters side by side, to do with speed, accuracy, and symmetry what
the writer can hardly do with all his skill and industry, gives
book-printing its own eminent value. When, however, we come to many
things produced hitherto by book-printing, such as statistical tables,
letters, circulars, letters of exchange, bills of lading, visiting-cards
and addresses, and other similar work, we find that these can be
produced more conveniently, more readily, more cheaply, and faster and
handsomer with lithography.
As to copper-printing: in the future, as lithography extends, there
probably will remain an advantage with the copper in the case of only
two styles, the engraving done with the engraving needle, and the
etching, the latter being worked up with the graver and the cold needle.
In this respect, however, the skill of the artist must be taken into
account, for a good man can produce better work on stone, even in those
two styles, than a less skillful man can produce on copper. We can
declare the same of the stipple style in copper, when done in the style
of Herr Bartolozzi, or even like the very foremost of the copper
engravers in this style, Herr John of Vienna.
All other methods (and even these three if done with less care or skill
on copper) must yield place to a good design on stone; especially if one
takes into account the ease of execution, the lesser need for skill, the
greater speed of printing, and the almost countless impressions that are
possible.
For instance, printing music from the stone has a decided advantage over
zinc plates, both because of smaller cost and greater beauty. It is
easier to produce all kinds of script on stone, both with fatty inks and
with the engraving needle. Therefore lithography serves excellently for
charts and similar work, which can be done at least three times faster
on stone than on copper.
If copper-printing is to reach a high degree of perfection, the printing
itself must be done by very excellent workmen. Indeed, some persons
allege that the very best German copper-plate printers do not yet equal
the Parisians. Printing from stone is not so difficult, and only a few
particular methods demand especial care or unusual knowledge. Because of
the greater ease of inking, the speed of stone-printing may be assumed
to be at least five times as great, often ten times, and especially so
when large plates are to be printed. Besides, it is much easier to make
corrections on stone than on copper and zinc.
From all this it appears that lithography makes it much easier to write
and design and then to print swiftly and produce any desired number of
impressions, of all those works that heretofore could be produced only
on copper or zinc, providing they do not demand the very greatest degree
of delicacy, strength, and sharpness obtainable with copper; in a word,
so long as it is not vital to attain the utmost possible artistic
beauty. Further, most of these works done on stone, by only average
artists and printers, usually are more beautiful than if they had been
done by the same men in copper or zinc.
This property alone gives lithography a preeminent value, the more so as
no great expense is incurred in establishing a plant. But in addition to
this, there are several art methods peculiar to it, which cannot be
imitated by book-printing or copper-print, and which make it possible
for almost every writer or artist to manifold his works without any
especial skill.
I will mention now only the crayon process, which enables every artist
or painter to make several thousand impressions of his original
drawings; also the transfer method, by means of which all that is
written or drawn with fatty ink on ordinary paper can be transferred to
the stone, giving countless faithful impressions. This latter process is
particularly useful for government bureaus, and is being used already
with great profit.
All this I believe that I can claim for lithography with fullest
confidence, and I hope that everybody who becomes sufficiently
conversant with it will share my belief. Thus, besides the properties
of the art, we have stated its uses, and I proceed to the real
instructions, through which I hope to make good artists and printers on
stone.
PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER I
OF THE STONES
I
The stone that has been used exclusively hitherto in Munich for printing
is a stratified limestone, found in the territory from Dietfurt to
Pappenheim, and along the Danube down to Kellheim; hence the name
Kellheimer plates, presumably because in past times the stone was
quarried there first, or else found in its best quality. Now the
Kellheimer quarry is exhausted, and the trade in the stones has
transferred itself to Solenhofen, a village in the judicial district of
Mannheim, three hours distant from Neuberg-on-the-Danube. All the
inhabitants of Solenhofen are quarrymen, and the entire surrounding
country seems to have a surplus of the stone, so that even with the
greatest demand no scarcity is to be feared for centuries.
When the upper layer of earth is removed to the depth of six to ten feet
in Solenhofen, the stones are found in strata lying horizontally on each
other. First come strata of brittle stone, which often are composed of
hundreds of plates as thin as paper. With proper care, each plate can be
loosened and lifted whole. These layers are useless, being too brittle,
and yet being too firm and not white enough to permit their possible use
as chalk.
The Solenhofen stone consists chemically mostly of lime earth and
carbonate. It is almost wholly soluble in nitric and other acids, the
carbonate being liberated in gaseous form and disappearing. Since the
various kinds of marble have almost the same component parts, one might
suppose that marble should be available for lithography. But the many
dark, uneven colors of marble and chiefly the many cracks and veins make
considerable difficulty. However, I have found many evenly colored
greenish, gray, bluish, and brownish Bavarian and Tyrolean marbles very
useful for some methods, especially because of their superior hardness.
Still, the Solenhofen stone will retain the advantage because of its
light color and its greater cheapness.
The white Parian or Carrara marble is still lighter in color, to be
sure, and really is rather useful for pen and crayon work. But though in
part it is harder, on the whole it is much more porous and not so finely
grained as the Solenhofen stone, and therefore not at all available for
the intaglio method.
Since lithography began to arouse general interest, there have been
attempts to find a stone similar to the Solenhofen, and there has been
some fair success in France, Italy, England, and lately in the Kingdom
of Prussia. With the enormous masses of limestone which cover the
surface of the earth, it is not unlikely that this stone will be found
in many places, either in layers of plates one, two, or more inches
thick, or in great blocks which can be cut into plates.
In the Solenhofen stones one layer is not as good as another, and even
in the same layer there may be a decided difference. Therefore, if one
would produce perfectly beautiful work, it is necessary to obtain
selected and perfect stones. This should be stipulated beforehand with
the quarrymen, who now know pretty well how the best stones should be
constituted.
A good stone must have the following properties:--
(1) _The proper thickness._ Thickness must be proportionate to the size.
Smaller plates will resist the pressure of printing even if they are not
so thick as the larger ones must be. But it is best to buy no stone less
than one and one half or more than three and one half inches thick,
because the thinner ones will not bear frequent grinding and the thicker
ones are too heavy and inconvenient, besides taking up too much room.
The best thickness of a stone is two to two and one half inches.
(2) _Good mass._ There are soft and hard stones. Sometimes the same
stone is hard above and soft underneath, or the reverse. Often, also, a
stone may consist of several thin and unequal layers. In the latter
case, if the union is good and the layers are not easily separated, it
will make no difference, so long as the stone is good in other respects.
On the whole, however, it may be assumed that the harder stones are the
best for all methods, so long as their mass is entirely uniform and they
are not marred, as is the case with many, with white dots and patches.
Then, to be sure, they are not worth much for any process, and at best
can be used only for pen designs or for such of the intaglio processes
where the lines need no particular sharpness. Such stones, generally
gray, very hard, with softer, somewhat lighter patches or specks, are
very hard to grind evenly because the softer parts are most powerfully
attacked by the grinding material and become depressed. This produces
the following defects:--
(_a_) In pen work, the pen will catch often, whenever it comes to such a
place. This, however, is not so important: but
(_b_) In the crayon method there will be defects and lights in the
shadings on the softer places, which are very hard to correct.
(_c_) In the etched or engraved methods, the needle will sink in much
deeper when it passes over such softer spots, making a deeper and
broader line which injures the clearness of the drawing. In etching,
also, the softer places are more affected by the acid; and it is better,
therefore, to use a soft stone whose entire surface is uniform, than to
have a stone that is hard but uneven.
A very soft stone cracks easily in the press, unless it consists of
several layers, the lower of which are hard. But it is easier to
engrave, and as a rule gives blacker impressions, because it sucks more
color in, and holds it because of its greater porosity. Printing,
however, is somewhat more difficult, because these stones take dirt
readily; nor is it possible to get so many impressions. They are not
useful for crayon work because the finest shadings are too easily etched
away; and pen work is difficult on them, because the steel pen easily
cuts into the stone, fills its point with fine dust, and thus gives no
ink flow. This softest stone in Solenhofen generally looks yellow, or
is marbled with red and white or has many yellow veins.
Even those stones whose uniformity, thickness, and hardness make them
best for all methods, often have defects, such as so-called glass spots
or tiny, sometimes invisible holes, broad veins and cracks. All these
must be avoided when selecting stone. Very small deep veins, which often
are fine as hairs, yellowish and grayish spots, impressions of fossil
plants and fishes, etc., are not harmful. It is rare to find a stone as
large as a sheet of note-paper that is entirely free from these little
defects.
(3) The form of the stones also is to be considered, and must be
selected according to need. To be sure, a small design can be drawn on a
large stone; but apart from the inconvenience, the construction of the
press demands that the stone be not much larger than the drawing.
However, at the end where the impression begins and stops, there must be
at least an inch margin to give sufficient room for the roller to take
hold, as will be explained more particularly later.
When one has to print small things like visiting-cards, etc., it will
not be profitable to use large stones, especially if they are to be
saved for future use. Small stones of the size of an octavo sheet are
better. Therefore it will be wise to have stones cut to various sizes in
the beginning. It would be well also that one of the printers, or the
polisher, strive to attain skill in cutting stones to size. Sometimes
polishing discloses defects in a stone, making it useless for a design
of any size. But it is possible to cut it up into many small ones that
are perfect. Sometimes a stone cracks under the press or breaks through
accident. Skill in cutting will enable one to make small and good stones
out of the pieces.
It is essential for good work in the press that the stones be cut very
true. The stones that are used for flooring in churches, etc., usually
are cut so that the upper face is larger than the lower. This is done to
make them set better in the mortar and to enable the stone-cutters to
fit them closely together on the top. But this must not be done with
stones for printing, because such stones could not be tightened properly
in the press and would lift during the printing. Printing-stones must be
cut absolutely true vertically. Indeed, in work where several plates
are to be used to make one complete impression, and where steel
guide-points in the frame are used instead of laying the paper on the
plate, it is beneficial to cut the stones conically, so that the base is
one fourth inch greater than the top. The plate can be tightened better
and is less likely to be moved from its place during the impressions.
Despite their hardness the stones are brittle, and a single light but
sudden blow with any hard body, such as a steel tool, may cause a crack
in the thickest stone. It is necessary to exercise great care to avoid
all shocks.
This property of the stone is used in Solenhofen to cut the stones
according to desire. A small hammer of hard steel, weighing scarcely two
ounces, is used. Its end is somewhat like a stone-chisel, but not nearly
so sharp. With this hammer, which is set on a thin handle two or three
feet long, the workman strikes light but very swift blows along the line
of desired cleavage, each tap being about an inch from the preceding
one. The stone is so laid that its greater part is free, resting on
nothing. This light operation is sufficient to cleave the largest
stones.
The cleavage is not always uniform and true. Therefore the stone usually
is finished with a sharp stone-chisel. It is possible also to divide a
stone as desired by supporting it at both ends so that there is nothing
under the part to be split, and then cutting along the line with a
chisel of hardened steel, not too sharp, which is tapped lightly with a
light hammer. The varying sound tells at once when the stone cracks, and
then a few light taps with the hammer on the other side suffice to
separate it. Before one attains the necessary skill, however, he will
smash many a stone. Therefore it is not advisable to try this on a stone
that has a design on it, for a single incorrect or over-heavy blow often
will split the stone in the wrong direction. Blows that are too light,
on the other hand, often make it almost impossible in the end to cause a
cleavage along the desired lines.
II
POLISHING
The stone plates that come from Solenhofen, even if polished according
to stipulations, rarely are available for printing, but must be
specially polished by one who understands the work thoroughly.
The first requisite for this is a straightedge of iron or brass, as true
as possible. This ruler must be laid on the stone in various directions,
and the lithographer must note all parts where there is space between
the straightedge and the stone. The greater the space, the greater the
unevenness of the stone; and those that show especial unevenness should
be set aside from those that have little.
When this has been done, the very uneven stones must be ground with a
coarse sandstone and plenty of water applied to the elevated places till
the straightedge can be applied in all directions without showing any
material interstices. Then these ground stones may be placed with the
others that were fairly even in the beginning.
Now we take one of these stones, and lay it on a strong, firm table, the
best being one to be described later. Finely grained sand is sprinkled
over its surface. In the absence of sand, a substitute can be made by
powdering a common sandstone of the kind used for coarse grindstones. A
spoonful of water is poured over this. A little soap may be mixed with
the sand. It facilitates the grinding and makes the sand take hold of
the stone better. Now another stone is laid on the first one, and is
moved back and forth continually in all directions. The sand and water
must be renewed often. Thus both stones, the upper and lower, will be
ground simultaneously, and very evenly and true, if the work is done
right.
One must take care never to draw the upper stone far beyond the lower
one, because that would throw the centre of gravity of the upper plate
too near its ends, as a result of which the upper plate would become
concave and the lower plate convex. To avoid this defect, the upper
plate should be moved around only in small circles. It is good also to
change the plates around frequently, so that the upper shall be the
lower. Another good plan is not to use two stones of equal size, but to
take for the upper stone one only half as large as the lower. It is
necessary also that the straightedge be applied frequently. The stone
must always be cleansed thoroughly before this test.
Once one has the proper experience, it is possible to tell by mere touch
if the plates have been sufficiently ground. So long as they still have
uneven spots, a certain resistance is noticeable, so strongly sometimes
that it is impossible to move the upper plate further without lifting it
and sprinkling new sand. Sometimes this friction is so great that manual
strength does not suffice to separate the stones, especially if they
happen to dry. If tools are used to separate them, it happens often that
pieces are torn from the stones, because they adhere so mightily. In
this case a very simple and convenient remedy is the best. An ordinary
table-knife is inserted gently and then tapped very lightly, when the
stones will separate at once.
Whenever sand is applied, water must be applied also, but not too much,
as in that case it would only wash away the sand. Here, too, practice
must teach the exact proportions.
From the stone-cutter's work, as well as from the primary grinding with
sandstone, the plates will have visible furrows and scratches made by
the coarser grains of sand. Under the polishing all these disappear bit
by bit, and there appears a fine grain, consisting entirely of fine
dots; and this is the finer in proportion as the sand is crushed by the
process of polishing and also according as less fresh sand has been
used.
When the marks of the sand have vanished completely, it is fairly
certain that the stones are polished sufficiently. To make sure, the
straightedge can be applied again. It must not be imagined, however,
that it is necessary or possible to polish a plate so perfectly that
there will be absolutely no spaces between any part of its surface and
the straightedge. A perfect and mathematically level plane surface is
hardly likely ever to be produced. If the stone is almost level, and the
unevennesses do not exceed the thickness of letter-paper, it is quite
sufficient.
Although this sort of polishing, with two plates at once, is not used
in all lithographies, some preferring to polish with small pieces of
sandstone, I give it here as the best, because it demands little skill
and is quicker, so that one can grind off four stones in the time
required for one under other methods.
In this matter of smoothness of the stone it is impossible to be too
careful. The beauty of the imprint depends upon it. Errors in the
polishing cause great trouble afterward. Therefore the manager of a
lithography must pay close attention to this work. In the Lithographic
Institute in Berlin the rule has been adopted that no engraver shall
accept a plate that he has not found thoroughly good, under penalty of
reimbursing the printers for all extra trouble and work.
This first polishing, however, is only the general preparation of the
stone. Afterward they must be polished and prepared especially for each
particular method, as will be explained in the proper place.
III
SORTING AND STORING
When the plates have been polished, they are cleansed with water and
sorted for their various uses. Now it is easier to see just what quality
the stones have, their defects, and consequently, what work they are
best for. Those not uniform are best for coarse pen work. Those of
uneven coloring, but hard and thick mass, can be used for the finer pen
drawings, for etching and engraving, or for transfer work. For crayon
work the clearest and most evenly colored stones of extreme hardness are
to be selected.
They can be stored anywhere that is not too damp and not too much
exposed to winter cold. Dry cold does not hurt them; but if they are wet
through and through and then freeze, they will crack. In constant
dampness, too, saltpetre and other salts enter them and they crumble. In
clean water they do not undergo any changes.
I will describe the storage of etched and designed stones later.
If the stones are to be used after being stored in any damp place, they
should be kept for several days in a temperate and dry place till they
have dried thoroughly, as otherwise they are not easy to work in any
style. This is not necessary if their place of storage has been
perfectly dry.
CHAPTER II
OF INK, CRAYON, ETCHING, AND COLOR
I
CHEMICAL INK
The first and most necessary material in a stone printery is the
so-called chemical ink, which would better be named fatty or alkaline
ink, since it is a mixture of fatty and resinous materials with alkali.
It is used partly to write or draw directly on the stone, partly to
cover the stone as with an etching surface, and partly to transfer to
the stone from paper.
The purpose of this ink is, first, to cause a mass of oily, fatty
substances to soak into the pores of the stone and also make certain
portions of its surface fatty; and secondly, to resist acids according
to requirement in such degree that the stone shall remain fat where
needed, that thus the design, applied with this ink, shall be left
untouched by acid.
I have remarked before that countless different mixtures can be made,
most of which fulfill the purpose. But there enters the consideration
that it must be an ink easy to use, that handsome work may be done by
the artists with perfect ease.
Various mixtures answer this purpose very well, and I have found
sometimes that men could work better with mixtures made by themselves
than they could with those that I used for my own work. Perhaps this was
a matter of imagination, or the real reason lay in the pen-cutting, it
being well known that one man can use a pen that is absolutely worthless
for another.
I myself have tested the values of some mixtures so thoroughly that I
can declare almost positively that it will not be easy to find better
ones for any purposes. I will describe these fully.
First of all, stone-ink is divided into two great classes. One is
thicker, being used for drawing on stone. The other is more fluid, being
used for transfers.
The following mixtures of the first kind are the best:--
(1) White Wax 8 parts
Soap 2 parts
Lampblack 1 part
This ink does not really serve for writing or drawing on the stone, but
is used mostly for coating those places that are to be protected from
the etching fluid. If this ink is needed in a thickened form, the wax
should be heated in an iron pan till it burns and the combustion should
continue till one half of it is consumed. The longer it burns, the
harder will be the remnant.
(2) White Wax 12 parts
Tallow (Ox Fats) 4 parts
Soap 4 parts
Lampblack 1 part
(3) Wax 12 parts
Shellac 4 parts
Soap 4 parts
Lampblack 1 part
(4) Tallow 8 parts
Shellac 8 parts
Soap 4 parts
Lampblack 1 part
(5) Wax 8 parts
Shellac 4 parts
Mastic 4 parts
Soap 4 parts
Lampblack 1 part
(6) Wax 8 parts
Tallow 4 parts
Shellac 4 parts
Soap 4 parts
Lampblack 1 part
(7) Wax and Gum quajak 12 parts
Tallow 4 parts
Soap 4 parts
Lampbblack 1 part
The wax and gum are melted in equal proportions, the undissolved portion
is discarded and of the mixture twelve parts is used as above.
(8) Wax 6 parts
Shellac 4 parts
Tallow 2 parts
Mastic 3 parts
Venetian turpentine 1 part
Soap 4 parts
Lampblack 1 part
There is no important difference between the inks in the seven last
formulas. Those that contain shellac remain fluid a little longer but
are harder to prepare. It is not necessary to be painfully minute about
the proportions of the various materials, providing the proportions of
soap and lampblack be correct. The soap is about one fifth and the
lampblack about one twentieth part of the whole. If too much soap is
used, the ink will dissolve more readily, but the solution will become
slimy more quickly. Too much lampblack would make the ink run.
MAKING THE CHEMICAL INK
In making any of the inks mentioned, first divide the required quantity
of soap into two equal parts. Put one part into an iron pan with the
other substances, and heat till the mass begins to burn. Let it burn
till almost one half is consumed. Then cover the pan with an iron lid,
or place it very carefully into a basin of water to extinguish and cool
the mixture.
One part of the soap is mixed in at once, that the combustion may make
it mix well with the other substances. But it loses some of its strength
and sates itself with carbonic acid, so that it is not quite so powerful
as before to attack the fats. Therefore a second part is added after the
combustion. Then the complete mixture is heated again, but only to a
degree sufficient to melt the soap.
Now take up a bit of the mass with a clean knife and see if it is easily
soluble in river or rain water. If the soap was good (something not
always the case), the quantity named in the formulas always suffices. If
it does not contain enough alkali, little pieces of soap must be added
till the mass is soluble. Then the lampblack is added while the mass is
being stirred without cessation.
The lampblack must be of the finest sort, and should be roasted and
burned in a closed vessel until it ceases to give off any yellow smoke.
When everything has been stirred till the mass is nearly cold, it is
kneaded into any desired shape, sticks being the best, and so saved for
use.
The following remarks are to be noted especially:--
(1) The soap is to be the ordinary soap made from ox fat and lye. In the
formulas its weight is calculated in fresh form, which, of course,
includes considerable water. If the soap is very dry, less must be used.
Venetian or vegetable oil soap is not so good because the ink easily
becomes slimy afterward when dissolved in water. It does not resist
acids so well, either. If, however, the other kind is not to be had, or
to be had only in poor quality, the Venetian soap will do. It will be
necessary merely to make frequent fresh solutions in water of the ink.
(2) Lampblack is not the only substance available for giving color to
the ink. Vermilion, red chalk, indigo, blue lake of logwood, and several
other colors can be used, so long as they do not consist of acids or
other salts, and thus have properties that could alter the nature of the
soap. The finer kinds of ordinary lampblack can be used without burning,
but then a part of the soap always is rendered inactive, because the
lampblack usually contains a considerable quantity of inflammable wood
acid which unites with the alkali, neutralizes it, and thus destroys
its effectiveness against fats. Therefore, if it is not roasted
beforehand, it may be necessary to mix more soap with the ink after it
is made, and this does not completely remedy the trouble. Lampblack can
be purified by rubbing down with strong lye and then boiling in
sufficient water till no trace of alkali remains, if roasting and
burning be undesirable for any reason.
Better even than this purified lampblack is one that one makes for
himself from ox or other animal fat, from wax, or better still, from a
mixture of ox fat and resin. The fat is melted and poured into an
earthen lamp similar to those used for city lighting, with a cotton
wick. The lamp is lit and placed under a plate of iron or brass, so that
the smoke must settle on it. The plate must be close to the flame. The
soot is scraped off from time to time and dropped into a glass, which is
kept covered. This process continues, the lamp being refilled till one
has the desired quantity. This soot is very fine and bland, and so good
that one can do more with an ounce of it than with three ounces of the
ordinary kind. The ink made from it is extraordinarily fine and good.
It is to be noted in conclusion that the more soot is used, the blacker
will be the ink, but the coarser will be the work, because the ink will
have the tendency to spread. The less soot is used, the finer will be
the work; but it is not easy then to see what one is doing or to judge
if the design is strong enough. The quantities given in the formulas
appear to me to be the best, especially if the self-manufactured soot is
used.
(3) To dissolve the ink, rain water or pure soft river water is best.
The rain water must not be very old or stale, otherwise the solution
will get slimy.
(4) The severe combustion is not vital for making the ink, but helps
very much in making it easy to use.
(5) When shellac is part of the mixture, it is vital to burn the mass
well, as only thus will shellac dissolve properly.
Shellac, which is made in China and East India from an insect belonging
to the bee family, will melt under moderate heat, but will not dissolve
in any animal fat or oil unless it has previously lost its inherent
acid, which occurs only under combustion. If shellac is melted with oil
or fat, it covers the bottom of the vessel in the beginning. With heat
increased till it causes combustion, it begins to swell, rises to the
surface, and at last covers the surface in the form of a spongy mass. If
the heat still increases, it begins to dissolve into foam. Then it is
time to remove the mass from the fire and to cover it with a tight lid,
that the flame may be extinguished.
If shellac has been once melted and has hardened, it dissolves only
slowly even under severe combustion. It is better, therefore, to bring
the other substances to combustion first, and then to mix the shellac in
small portions, which will dissolve much more readily because they will
be attacked by the great heat in the moment of melting and will not have
time to swell first and get hard.
As soon as the mass has cooled a little, the second part of soap is
added, and the whole heated, without burning, merely enough to melt the
soap.
(6) None of these mixtures can be kept well any length of time in fluid
form, that is, dissolved in water, because it becomes slimy after a very
few days, sometimes sooner. It can be liquefied again by mixing with
water, but not without affecting its durability. Therefore the ink must
be stored dry, in which form it lasts for years without change. When
required, a small quantity, about the size of two peas, is rubbed down
in a very clean small earthen or porcelain vessel, such as a saucer.
Those mixtures that contain tallow rub the easiest. The others,
containing harder substances, require more pressure. The ink should be
spread evenly over the bottom of the vessel. Then a coffee-spoonful of
rain or other soft water is poured in, and the mixture is rubbed with
the finger till the solution is perfect. Then it is put into a small,
very clean pot of glass or porcelain and is ready for use.
(7) A great deal depends on the proper quantity of water. A good ink
must be completely dissolved, with no solid particles left. It should be
about as fluid as a good, fat milk or vegetable oil. If it is too thick,
it makes the work difficult. If it is too thin, it will not withstand
the etching fluid. A few experiments will teach the proper proportions.
Even a good ink will make poor lines if it is laid on too thinly and not
firmly enough. This, however, is due to the artist's lack of skill or to
defective pens, of which I will treat hereafter.
With this quantity of ink it is possible to work for a whole day. Thus
each day fresh ink can be mixed; and it is to be noted that the vessels
must be cleansed scrupulously that no trace of the previous day's ink be
left in them. The ink will dry during the work, and as soon as this
begins to interfere with its use, one or two drops of water will thin it
again sufficiently.
This is about all that need be said about the chemical fatty or alkaline
stone-ink in general. Particular remarks will be found in the
description of its use for particular methods.
II
HARD BORAX INK
Besides the inks described, it is well to make the following and keep it
in stock for uses whose great value will be explained later.
Shellac 4 parts
Borax 1 part
Water 16 parts
Borax and shellac must be put into a clean pot filled two thirds with
water and boiled for an hour. As the water boils away it must be
replaced. When the shellac has been mostly dissolved, the mass is
removed from the fire, cooled, and filtered through a clean cloth to
separate the undissolved portions of the shellac.
This solution can be kept for years in a tightly closed glass. To color
it, a portion is to be cooked in a copper or iron ladle till it is thick
as honey. Fine lampblack or vermilion is stirred in till the mass is
thoroughly united. Then water is added, and the composition boiled again
till it is a perfect solution. This black or red ink is first-class and
can be kept well in tightly closed glass.
III
FLUID INK
Herr Andre, in Offenbach, uses an ink which has the useful property of
remaining good for years in fluid form. I do not find it so good for the
very finest work as those I have described, but for music and script it
is excellent. It consists of:--
12 parts shellac
4 parts mastic
1 part pure ox-fat soap
1 part purified crystallized soda
1 part lampblack
This is mixed with water and boiled in a clean vessel, being constantly
stirred till it is dissolved. Then the boiling is continued till the
water has disappeared almost entirely. Fresh water is added and the
boiling continued till everything has dissolved anew. Then the mixture
is filtered through a cloth and kept in a vessel where it is secure
against dust. If it is seen on cooling that it is too thick it can be
thinned easily with water. Also, when it dries during use it can be
liquefied by adding water, unless dust has entered it.
IV
TRANSFER INK
All the above-named inks are intended for use directly on stone. If it
is desired to write on paper and transfer this writing to the stone,
those inks mostly prove too hard, unless one would use warmed stones, as
described later. This, however, makes added work: therefore, I give here
the recipe for an ink excellent for cold transfers.
Shellac 3 parts
Wax 1 part
Tallow 6 parts
Mastic 5 parts
Soap 4 parts
Lampblack 1 part
The mode of preparation is exactly like that of the rest. The mass can
be kept only in dried form, not mixed with water. The evidence that this
ink is good for transfer work is that, after it has stood for some days,
it still manifests stickiness when touched with the finger. If the ink
does not transfer well to the stone under moderate pressure, it is too
hard, and can be improved by mixing in a little butter or vegetable oil,
but it is necessary to dissolve the whole mass again over the fire. If
the design squashes under pressure, the ink is too soft. It is necessary
to consider the temperature of the place where it is kept, and even the
time of year, in order to produce the proper consistency of ink for the
best transfer work.
V
HARD ETCHING GROUND
Certain methods of stone-printing demand, besides the ink, a fatty,
acid-resisting mass to coat the plates. It is either the same as the
material used by copper-plate etchers, or, at least, is very similar to
it.
Etching Ground for stone is as follows:--
Wax 12 parts
Mastic 6 parts
Asphalt 4 parts
Resin 2 parts
Tallow 1 part
This is melted in an iron pan over a fire hot enough to melt the asphalt
perfectly. Combustion is allowed to ensue till a third of the mixture
has been consumed. When thoroughly cooled, it may be shaped in any
desired form and saved for use.
A good surface is made also by common wax, boiled and burned till almost
five parts of it have been consumed.
VI
SOFT ETCHING GROUND
For some processes there is needed an etching ground which has the
property of not coating the entire surface, permitting the etching fluid
to penetrate at many spots uniformly, or, if it resists the etching
fluid, still so easily affected by manipulation that it will admit the
acid according to such manipulation. There are two ways to make it.
(1) Thick linseed oil varnish 1 part
Tallow 2 parts
(2) Wax 1 part
Tallow 5 parts
Linseed oil varnish 3 parts
The application will be described in the instructions about aquatints,
etc.
VII
ACID PROOF INK
So I name a color which has the property of resisting acid when the
stone is inked with it. It is useful in many cases, and even necessary.
It is well, therefore, to make a supply of it.
2 parts thick linseed oil varnish
4 parts tallow
1 part Venetian turpentine
1 part wax
All must be well melted, mixed with four parts lampblack, well rubbed
down and kept in a closed tin vessel.
VIII
CRAYON
Chemical or fatty crayon is a composition intended to be used on the
stone plate in dry form like Spanish or Parisian chalk. The inks
described previously have the property of soaking into the stone and
making it greasy where applied. The same happens if they are applied
dry, the degree of their penetration and adherence merely being less.
The mixtures that may be used to make crayons are countless. Wax and
soaps, however, are better than resinous materials. Therefore it is
likely that the compositions here named will be pretty nearly the best.
(2) Wax 4 parts
Soap 6 parts
Lampblack 2 parts, roasted, or better still,
made as explained before.
The wax and soap are melted together. The lampblack is added then. All
is rubbed down fine on a hot plate, and then placed on the fire again
till it is fluid once more. Then it is poured on a stone plate coated
with a little oil, so that it forms a cake of about one eighth inch
thickness. When this has cooled a little, it is cut into thin pieces and
put away till needed.
(2) Wax 8 parts
Soap 4 parts
Lampblack 2 parts
Burn the wax till one half is consumed, then melt the soap with it, and
treat the mixture as before.
(3) Wax 4 parts
Spermaceti 4 parts
Soap 4 parts
Lampblack 2 parts
The first three materials are melted together, the lampblack is added,
and then the whole is treated as before.
(4) Wax 8 parts
Spermaceti 4 parts
Soap 4 parts
Lampblack 2 parts
The wax is to be half burned away, then the spermaceti and soap are to
be melted into it, and the whole treated as the other formulas.
(5) Shellac 4 parts
Wax 8 parts
Soap 5 parts
Lampblack 3 parts
The shellac is to be completely dissolved with the wax by means of
combustion after which the rest of the treatment is the same as before.
(6) Shellac 4 parts
Wax 8 parts
Tallow 2 parts
Soap 5 parts
Lampblack 3 parts
The same treatment, except that the tallow is to be mixed in after the
shellac has dissolved. This crayon is a little softer than the others.
The same is true of the following two.
(7) Wax 8 parts
Tallow 4 parts
Soap 6 parts
Lampblack 3 parts
Wax, tallow, and soap are melted together and burned till one third of
the mass has been consumed. Then the lampblack is added and the rest of
the process is as before.
(8) Wax 2 parts
Tallow 6 parts
Mennig 2 parts
Lampblack 2 parts
Wax, mennig, and lampblack are heated and constantly stirred till the
mennig dissolves in froth and changes from red to brown. Then the
lampblack is rubbed in thoroughly, the whole warmed again properly and
shaped into sticks.
These are the best compositions, thoroughly tested by me, and it is very
good to make a stock of all or most of them. In the case of the recipes
for chemical ink, the differences are not great, and it is largely a
matter of taste as to which kind one may use. But in the case of the
crayons, each of them produces a different grain which creates a
particular effect; so that by using various kinds of crayon one will
gain greater perfection of work, or, at least, find execution easier
than with only one crayon. Also, they are in proportion to the greater
or lesser roughness of the stones; and the darker shadings are easier to
produce with soft crayons than with hard ones, while the hard ones are
best for fine shading and outlines.
The lampblack used for crayons must be burned out first, else it will
develop blisters, which is the case also if the composition is poured on
the plates too hot.
Crayon that contains much shellac is likely to soften in damp air;
therefore it should be kept in tightly closed vessels.
IX
CONCERNING COLOR FOR PRINTING
The manufacture of printing-ink or color is very difficult and dangerous
on a large scale. I counsel all to take lessons from a book printer when
he makes it.
The varnish must be prepared in the open, far from buildings, because of
its combustibility. The best utensils and skilled workmen are required,
because otherwise terrible accidents may occur, and even life be lost
through explosion of the copper receptacle. Whoever does not require as
much as one or more hundredweight of varnish in a year, would better buy
it from printers or make only a small quantity, one or two pounds, and
in an open vessel. For this purpose I will describe the process.
One, or at most two pounds of good old but not rancid linseed oil are
poured into a clean iron pan which has a long, strong handle and is so
large that the oil takes up only one half or, better, one third of the
space. This is heated over a good fire till it burns, which is
facilitated by applying flame to it. Oil that is too new has much water
and other impurities that make it froth and run over. In that case the
oil must be poured into the pan only in small quantities, when one must
take great care to avoid spattering. As soon as the oil burns, the pan
is removed from the fire and placed in a safe spot. If it is hot enough,
it will continue to burn. It must now be stirred from time to time with
an iron rod. Usually the flame increases under this stirring, but sinks
again immediately at its cessation. So long as it does this, there is no
danger that the flame cannot be easily extinguished if need be. But when
it begins to continue burning with a great flame after the stirring
stops, and at the same time to bubble and froth, it is high time to
cover the pan with a close lid and leave it covered till the oil no
longer takes fire when exposed again to the air. Then a dry knife is
introduced and as much oil removed as will adhere to its point. If it
does not permit itself to be pulled into long threads when cool, but is
too thin, it must be heated again until it gets the required
consistency.
A good varnish dries very readily of itself, and it is not only
unnecessary but inadvisable to mix a drier with it, as varnish so
treated is too likely to off-set on the stone.
Several strengths of printing-varnish are needed for the various methods
of lithography. Therefore a stock of thin, medium, and thick varnish is
needed.
In making the thin, the oil has been reduced to about two thirds through
combustion. It is somewhat like fluid honey and does not pull into
threads.
Only a little more than half the oil is left in the case of medium
varnish. It is thick as old honey and can be pulled into threads a foot
long.
In the thick varnish the mass is not much less, but it can be pulled
into threads of a yard in length; and further boiling makes it thick and
tough like gum elastic. In the latter case it can be used with advantage
when rubbed down with oil and properly thinned. But as soon as it has
obtained the last-mentioned degree of thickness and toughness, it must
be cooled quickly, for then it is not far from hardening completely and
becoming worthless. In the beginning it requires a long while for the
oil to reach the first degree of thickness, an hour or more for a pound.
But after that period the thickening progresses rapidly, so that a
quarter of the time will bring it to the point of total toughness.
To make printing color of the varnish, the proper amount of lampblack
must be mixed in. The roasted or burned-out is best in this also,
because the ordinary lampblack delays the drying and turns yellow with
time.
The more lampblack is mixed in, and the more thoroughly they are
combined by rubbing down, the better will be the color. But lampblack
must not be added in such quantities that the color becomes dough-like.
In describing the various styles of printing I will describe the best
printing-inks also. I will merely make the general note here that
designs on stone take the ink best when it is thin and fluid, but that
there is less danger of off-set on the parts of the stone that are to
remain white, if the ink is tougher or contains more lampblack.
Too much lampblack and too tough a varnish endanger the finer strokes
and dots, however, so that they will not take ink, being, as
lithographers say, rubbed out. The rubbing or grinding effect of too
tough an ink is like that of pumice or other grinding material. With
tougher varnish, clearer imprints can be made and they do not become
yellow easily. But the inking is more difficult and demands greater
skill, as well as heavier pressure in the press.
The varnish can be mixed not only with lampblack but with many other
colors, which will be described when I reach color printing in this
essay. Sometimes black lacquer is used with advantage instead of
lampblack; and Frankfurter black is successful in the intaglio and
aquatint methods.
X
RUBBING-UP INK
It happens often that weak parts of a design cannot withstand the
etching fluid and are cut away; also, that fine lines are rubbed away
through unskilled treatment during printing. Then frequently a very
simple remedy is to ink the plate with the so-called rubbing-up ink.
This color consists of a thin varnish in which a portion of litharge of
silver or mennig or white lead has been dissolved thoroughly over the
fire, and a proper amount of lampblack added. Often it is good to add
some finely powdered sand or powdered pumice stone.
To prepare this, a portion of the thinnest varnish is heated in a pan
till it burns. Then about an ounce of finely powdered mennig (or another
lead oxide) is stirred in to each sixteen ounces of varnish till all is
thoroughly mixed.
A rubbing-up ink can be made also by mixing common printer's ink with
vegetable oil, tallow, and a very little soap.
Each of these colors adheres to all those places that have a trace of
fat and thus gradually makes faint places in a design receptive again.
Later I will describe how to use care in applying this color, so that
the entire stone shall not be smutted and spoiled.
CHAPTER III
CONCERNING ACIDS AND OTHER MATERIALS
I
GENERAL PROPERTIES OF ACIDS
Probably most lithographers still believe, as I did once, that the
etching with acids prepares the stone, and that the succeeding
application of gum merely increases this preparation. Countless
experiments have taught me that the exact reverse is true. Gum arabic
and a few other similar bodies are the true factors in preparation, and
the acids simply make the stone more receptive for them. Only sulphuric
acid, which changes the surface of the stone into gypsum, prepares it
without gum; but this is available only for a few intaglio methods.
The stone used for lithography consists mostly of limestone sated with
carbonic acid. Most acids, and even the salts, possess more affinity for
limestone than the carbonic acid, which latter is freed and escapes in
gaseous form as soon as another acid touches the stone. If aquafortis,
muriatic acid, vinegar, etc., is poured on the stone, there rise a
number of air blisters, which are nothing except the escaping carbonic
acid, and the applied fluid seems to boil, in degree according to its
strength. The boiling and bubbling last till the fluid has sated itself
with lime, after which it becomes still, and is impotent for further
etching.
The direct effect is the solution and destruction of parts of the
surface of the stone. If it has been coated in parts with a fatty
substance that resists the etching fluid, the places so coated are left
untouched, so that, when the stone is cleaned, all the fat-coated lines
and dots are in relief.
If the stone is coated with fatty matter, but not so thickly that the
acid is entirely resisted, it will pierce the covering and eat away more
or less of the stone. If the etching is continued or if the acid is
strong, the fatty coat will be destroyed entirely, the surface of the
stone will be clean, and ready for the ensuing preparation. The
preparation of the stone for pen drawings with oil or soap-water and
several aquatint methods, is based on this principle, that a very thin
coating of grease can be etched away partly or wholly, at will.
After eating away the surface of the stone the acids have the property
of giving it a fine polish.
Therefore if the stone has been covered with a design, and then etched
with an acid, it could be inked and printed many times, as long as it is
kept properly dampened and not too much pressure is used in applying the
ink. However, this could be done also with a thoroughly clean stone,
using only water, though the polish obtained from etching makes it much
easier. But this apparent preparation is not by any means sufficient to
print with certainty; and it becomes perfect only if the stone is coated
with a solution of gum arabic in water after being etched. If a plate
that has been merely etched and not treated with gum becomes dry during
printing, or even if too much pressure be used in applying ink or in
cleaning with the more or less smutty cleaning rags, it generally takes
color and smut which are extremely hard to remove.
We may assume, therefore, that the acids have the following effects on
the stone:--
(1) They will not attack the parts coated with grease.
(2) They will penetrate more or less if the fatty coating is only thin.
(3) Where they touch the stone they dissolve it and eat it away.
(4) They give it a polish that facilitates printing. This polish
disappears after a time on account of the cleaning with sponge or rag,
but is replaced by a new polish produced by this very means.
(5) They do not prevent the adherence of fatty material later, as soon
as the stone is dry, for which reason the parts prepared in the
beginning with acid and gum arabic must be prepared again by renewed
etching, to take the ink.
(6) Finally the acids have the property of giving to prepared stones
that have been used for impressions, a rough surface instead of a polish
when they are applied again, because they attack some parts more than
others, producing little pores with sharp edges which catch the ink.
This fact, as I will show more clearly later, makes necessary
extraordinary care if one wishes to clean prepared plates or correct
defects with new etching, because unskilled handling will often make
them worse.
II
THE ACIDS SPECIFICALLY
Nitric acid or aquafortis, muriatic acid, vinegar, tartaric acid, and
acid of wood sorrel, all have nearly similar effects, but aquafortis and
muriatic acid are used because of their greater cheapness.
Oil of vitriol or sulphuric acid, very much diluted with water, is
available for light but not for extensive etching, because it transforms
the surface of the stone into gypsum and deposits it again, so that
after that the acid cannot penetrate at all, or only partially. If a
part of vitriol, say diluted with twelve parts of water, is poured on a
cleanly ground stone, there ensues a violent action which, however, is
only brief. It might be supposed that the acid is sated with lime when
it ceases to act, but if it is moved to another part of the stone it
etches anew.
If the acid is washed from the stone and a woolen rag be used to rub it
after it is dry, it takes on a mirror-like polish. In this dry condition
it can be cleansed of color as easily as a copper plate, and if a stone
thus polished is engraved with a steel tool, it is possible to make
several impressions from it just as from copper. The polish is not
lasting, however, because the skin of gypsum is very thin. But it is a
useful method if it is desired to engrave the stone and ink it
frequently to see the effect.
All the acids named have the property, previously mentioned, of etching
the stone rough if it has been prepared before or used for impressions.
It seems that the gum unites more strongly with some parts of the stone
than with others, admitting the acid in these latter places. Possibly,
also, the bubbles caused by etching may help to produce this roughness
by hindering the uniform action of the acid. This seems to be confirmed
by the fact that an etched stone, prepared with gum, does not get nearly
so rough when etched again with very weak acid as it does when stronger
fluid is used.
In still greater degree does this appear when using citric acid or a
solution of alum in water. Take a finely ground stone, pour diluted
aquafortis over it, prepare it with the gum solution, and then dry it
thoroughly with a clean rag. Now pour a little citric acid or alum
solution on parts of it and let it dry. Then paint the parts so treated
with a fat or printing-ink. If the color is rubbed off with a wet rag,
it will be seen that the stone has become white again in all places
except those where the citric acid or alum are. Those parts will have
taken the color exactly as if they had been painted with chemical ink.
The same occurs when applying other acids, but in a lesser degree. This
effect will be mentioned in future for many methods. Here I will remark
only:--
It happens often that the stone takes color on places where it should
remain clean. This is caused by clumsy handling, unclean rags, etc., and
occurs particularly at the ends, because they dry first and are more
exposed to careless manipulation. These smutted places usually can be
cleansed with a clean woolen rag and gum solution or even with a wetted
clean finger. But sometimes the defect will not yield so easily,
especially if the printing-color is soft. Then the only remedy is to
prepare the stone over again, and that is the time when one must have
regard to the roughening that ensues, if the stone is not to be rendered
worse instead of better.
Therefore it is best in such cases to polish the ends of the stone with
pumice stone till all dirt is gone, and then to etch with diluted acid
and prepare anew with gum arabic.
To be sure, it is possible to dip a clean woolen rag in strong, even
pure acid, and thus etch dirt away from the ends; but great care is
necessary that no drop may touch the design, as the ink that adheres to
the latter is not strong enough to resist the acid. In thus cleansing
the plate, the roughening is etched away by the violent action, and a
new polish is obtained.
Still, in either method of cleaning dirty places, great care must be
taken not to touch roughly, press, or rub with dirty fatty rags or with
dirty, fatty fingers before the gum arabic is on it. The acid eats away
all the previous material used in preparation, and leaves the plate
practically in its clean, natural state. Consequently it will take on
grease readily, and the application of gum is essential.
It is feasible to mix the gum directly with the acid solution, but this
mixture must be made fresh again each day, as otherwise it loses much of
its value.
The following points are important:--
_First_: If the grease remain long on a stone that, though prepared, has
lost its coating of gum, it will penetrate the surface, and according to
its amount and fluidity, will sink more or less into the stone, which
will retain its polish on the surface but become more inclined to take
dirt. It is better, therefore, to leave a small amount of gum coating on
the stone in such cases.
_Second_: As only the extreme outer surface of the stone is prepared by
the gum, and this is rubbed away gradually by wiping during the
printing, so in the same proportion of wear and tear the original
preparation would become lost, if it were not renewed from time to time,
that is, if the stone were not again coated with gum. Twice a day,
however, is enough.
_Third_: Because of this susceptibility of the surface to injury, a
prepared stone must not be rubbed strongly with fatty material, because
this damages the surface and the stone would readily soak up the fat.
_Fourth_: If a prepared plate is totally denuded of gum, and has been
dry for a time, especially if it has already lost a part of the
preparation through printing, it will incline very much to take color
and smut. Therefore, when it is necessary to stop printing, it is well
to coat the plate at once with gum, but only with a very thin coat. If
this has not been done, and it is desired to use the plate again, great
care must be taken to wet it with the very purest water, or, better
still, with diluted etching fluid, for instance one part aquafortis to
five hundred parts of water; and then to coat it with gum. To neglect
this precaution may cause the total ruin of the plate. For safe-keeping
of the plates, if they are to be used again for printing, the coating
with gum is, therefore, absolutely necessary.
_Fifth_: Gum can prepare only a thoroughly clean stone or one properly
etched. Therefore, if the surface of the stone has even the least trace
of grease, it will take color, no matter how thickly it may be coated
with gum. On this fact is based the method of transferring copper-plate
impressions and other printed subjects, as will be described later.
_Sixth_: If the stone has had fat on its surface, and this fat has been
etched away again, the power of the gum asserts itself, and the stone
will be thoroughly prepared even if the fat has soaked considerably into
the body of the stone.
_Seventh_: Mere grinding of the stone is not sufficient to attain a
complete preparation through gum alone. Therefore, if an otherwise clean
stone has some places after grinding where the fat has soaked in deeply,
and one coats it with gum, the stone will take color after a time on
these fatty places, as soon as the inked rag has been rubbed over the
stone many times. However, this taking-on of color is only slight if the
gum solution is thick, and long-continued cleaning will transform it
into complete preparation.
_Eighth_: From both preceding observations we learn:--
Printing forces the color to sink considerably into the stone. If such a
stone is required for new designs, it is not practicable to grind it so
much that all the fatty places can be ground away. Therefore it is
ground only till it is thoroughly even again. Then it must be well
etched; otherwise it may happen that in printing the surface will rub
away and the entire previous writing or design will appear again, a
trouble hardly to be remedied.
If the stone is dirty in the middle, it can be cleaned in many cases by
pouring on a few drops of oil of turpentine and the same quantity of gum
solution, and rubbing it clean with a woolen rag. Then it must be washed
with a wet sponge, after which it is inked. If it has not lost the smut,
the only remedy is new preparation. As this must be done differently for
each different lithographic style, it will be described in its place.
If fat has soaked well into the stone in places where it is not desired,
it is always very difficult to remove it without injuring adjoining
parts. Correction of crayon work, if it has been etched and used for
printing, is especially difficult. It is true that the defective parts
can be cut out easily with a sharp instrument, but then these places
must be prepared again. If weak etching fluid is used, it will not
suffice. If strong fluid is used, the fine parts are easily attacked,
and at the same time the surface will become roughened so that the stone
often blackens entirely in the corrected parts. To avoid this trouble,
and to facilitate corrections, I made many experiments to discover an
acid composition that should prepare a stone anew and perfectly and yet
not roughen the surface. I found the best material in phosphoric acid,
especially when mixed with finely crushed nutgall.
Water in which phosphorus has been kept a long time becomes acid and
etches the stone. The acid can be obtained more quickly by burning the
phosphorus and catching the smoke. This method is somewhat expensive,
but one does not need much, as it is used only for correcting defects.
If a few drops of aquafortis or other acid are poured on a clean ground
stone, it will be etched. Now wipe the etching fluid off clean and coat
the plate with soap-water or chemical ink. As soon as it is dry, clean
it of the fatty coating with a few drops of oil of turpentine. If it is
dampened then with water and inked, it will take color everywhere, even
at the etched places. If gum is mixed with the acid, the same result
occurs, though the stone has been thoroughly prepared where this mixture
touched it. From this it appears that soap-water (and the alkalis in
general) can destroy the preparation given to the stone and make it
receptive again to fats. It is different if phosphoric acid is used.
This makes a preparation that can be destroyed only by very frequent
coating of soapy water.
Still more durable and resistant to soap is the preparation if fine
nutgall is mixed with the phosphoric acid and water solution. Nutgall
gives even the other acids the property of resisting soap more than
ordinarily. The study of this effect led me to invent the method of
transforming a relief design into intaglio. Also, it is only by the use
of phosphoric acid that one can do thoroughly that style of lithographic
work which resembles the scraped style in copper, or the so-called black
art.
III
GUM AS THE REAL PREPARATION
If a cleanly polished plate is sprinkled with a few drops of gum arabic
dissolved in water, the sprinkled places will take no color so long as
they are wet. When they dry, color will adhere, but can be washed away
easily with a wet sponge. This shows that the gum alone will prepare the
stone. The preparation will become more durable, however, if the stone
is etched first.
In both cases, however, the preparation extends only over the outermost
surface of the stone, penetrating only slightly, so that the least
injury will make it take color as soon as it is dry. On this fact is
founded the intaglio style of lithography. Therefore, if a clean ground
stone is etched, then prepared with gum and dried clean, it can be
coated with printing-ink or other fat substance (excepting soap and all
alkaline compositions), and there will be no danger that it will lose
its preparation. The thicker the gum coating, the less can the fat
penetrate.
In printing, during which the stone must be kept wet, only the original
coating of gum is necessary; but as the surface thus prepared soon
diminishes under the frequent wiping, it is necessary in some forms of
work to mix gum with the printing-color or with the water used to dampen
the stone. More of this will be explained in the proper place.
Here I will add only that the domestic gum of cherry and plum trees is
good for preparing stones some years and worthless in others, when it
cannot be dissolved in water. In possessing the properties for preparing
stone, the juice of many plants and fruits, sugar, and most mucous
materials of the vegetable and animal kingdom, such as white of egg,
approach gum arabic more or less. The latter, however, is to be
preferred because of its reliability.
IV
CONCERNING PARTIAL PREPARATION
Here I impart my experiences in regard to an astonishing phenomenon that
occurs often in lithography and gives much trouble, especially to
beginners. It is the so-called imperfect or semi-preparation, wherein
the stone betrays a strong inclination to take color, and still will not
do it or will do it only partially.
(_a_) If a cleanly ground stone is marked with chemical ink, etched, and
prepared, the marked places will take the printing-color and produce
impressions. If, after the stone is inked, one rubs strongly with the
wetted finger, the color can be wiped from the design, especially if it
has not been on the stone long and has been standing in a damp place. A
place whence the color thus has been removed does not take it readily
when the inking-roller is applied again; and the reluctance is the
greater in proportion to the length and violence of the rubbing and the
toughness of the printing-color. The stone shows clearly the traces of
the penetrating fat; indeed, if the stone is rubbed with a wet linen rag
that is inky from previous use, the design will reappear in black. But
as soon as the roller is used, instead of inking these places, it takes
the color off; and whatever means may be tried to make the defective
places receptive again to color, it remains difficult, often impossible.
What has happened is that the wet rubbing has cleansed the surface of
the stone of all its fat and at the same time has polished it and made
it slippery. It is a sort of preparation; and though the fat of the ink
has penetrated into the interior of the stone, the accidental
preparation still offers an obstacle which prevents the printing-ink
from adhering to the fat in those places. As I will show, these places
can be prepared again thoroughly.
(_b_) Another case is when the design is too weak, and has been attacked
by the etching-fluid too powerfully, though without being destroyed.
Here the printing-color usually is removed by the ink-roller, even
though it adheres pretty well when being wiped.
(_c_) A third kind of imperfect preparation is when a stone inclines to
take color or smut on prepared places. This happens sometimes in part,
sometimes over the whole surface, which latter effect is described by
saying that the stone has acquired a tone.
The cause of this phenomenon may be one of many. It is either due to the
appearance of a fat that has been in the stone, or to the fact that
unskilled manipulation has destroyed the preparation partially.
Thence follow several observations again:--
(1) Mere wiping with clean water will give the stone a sort of
preparation if the material used for wiping is suitable. This
preparation is incomplete, but can be transformed very easily into a
complete one. This incomplete preparation is according to the strength
with which the rubbing material affects the stone. Linen and cotton
stuffs have the least effect. More potent are animal wools and hair,
silk or wet leather. The printing-color itself has a preparing property
if it is made of very tough varnish or contains much lampblack. This
effect is increased if Frankfurter black or powdered charcoal is mixed
with the color, and the stone is kept very wet.
(2) The partial preparation is produced more quickly and made more
durable if the water contains gum or gummy stuffs.
(3) The operation is still quicker if a weak etching fluid is used. A
stronger fluid would make the preparation a complete one, but would also
injure the good spots. Then again one must remember that the second
etching produces the roughness discussed already.
(4) Grinding with sand, pumice, and other grinding materials also
produces partial preparation, which is transformed easily into complete
preparation by applying gum. Here, however, the circumstance is
noteworthy that a plate that has been blemished by rubbing can be made
to do the reverse, namely, to take color, by means of light grinding
with water. Assume, for instance, that a plate designed and prepared
in relief style has been spoiled by handling so that the design refuses
to take color. It is necessary merely to rub it all over with water
and fine sand or to clean it with oil of turpentine so that all
printing-color is removed from the surface. Then place it in a
receptacle containing a great deal of very clean water. If it is ground
delicately then with a very clean pumice stone, without destroying the
traces of the fatty material that has soaked in, it can be brought to
take color again as well as ever. Take a little of the before-mentioned
acid-proof ink, smear it on the color-stone, and apply a clean linen or
cotton rag. Wipe the stone that is lying in the water very gently with
this rag, and the color will fix itself bit by bit on all parts of the
design, even if the entire relief produced by the etching should have
been ground away. It is necessary only that the fat shall have soaked in
sufficiently; and this usually is produced soon enough by the printing.
After the plate has accepted color completely, it is to be completely
prepared by light etching and with gum, and then it will take the color
properly from the ink-roller.
If this experiment is to succeed, it is to be noted that in grinding
there must be no trace of fat on the stone or the pumice, because the
rubbing during grinding might transfer this greasiness to those parts of
the stone that are to remain white. Care must be taken, also, not to
press too hard in applying the etching color, because the places that
have been cleansed of all gum by the water, and thus are inclined to
accept color, will smut easily. Finally, the stone must not be permitted
to dry before it is fully prepared again by etching and gum coating, for
it might easily become entirely smutted and useless.
This experiment leads to the conclusion, which has been proved correct
in many ways, that a soft rubbing in clean water with printing-color,
especially if it contains tallow, is very well adapted for transforming
the incomplete preparation into a condition of accepting fat perfectly,
and of giving injured places new potency. Also, that the contrary
effect can be produced by violent rubbing, especially with wool,
leather, or tough colors, because this prepares the wet stone and makes
it useless for accepting fat. The first method may be used with
advantage, therefore, for reestablishing a vanished design. The second
method is good for getting rid of smut. If the smut has occurred in
previously clean and thoroughly prepared places, it can be destroyed
entirely. But if it is only that the deeper fat has lost its superficial
polish, and has appeared again, the stone will be only partially
prepared by this last method and must be newly prepared on the desired
places with weak etching-fluid and gum, for durability's sake. It is
easy to see how important this circumstance is. With the one and the
same process in various degrees of manipulation, opposite results can be
produced; and I may declare that only he is to be termed a perfect
lithographer who has exact knowledge of this especial matter.
(5) It has been mentioned already that every sort of preparation can be
destroyed by a renewed etching, and particularly with alum and citric
acid. The same is caused by soap and alkaline compositions; therefore
also by chemical ink if it contains a sufficient amount of alkali.
(6) Simply letting the stone plate rest produces important, often
contradictory, phenomena. If smeared parts refuse color, clean water
poured over these places runs from them as quickly as it does from the
fatty parts. This is the surest sign that they still have fat, though it
is not sufficient to attract the color. If such a stone is permitted to
lie idle a few days, even if coated with gum, it will often take the
color thereafter. On the contrary, if a stone plate has taken on color
at the well-prepared places (usually readily removable by wiping with
oil of turpentine and gum solution, but generally reappearing), it need
merely be inked after such cleansing, coated with gum and left idle, and
in a few days it loses the readiness to take dirt.
The cause of both phenomena is that in the first case the fats that lie
deep gradually work upward into the partly prepared surface and
practically reestablish their interrupted communication with the
printing-color. In the second case, the small quantity of fat that has
adhered merely to the surface has penetrated into the stone, so that it
loses its effectiveness. Added to this, in the latter case, is the fact
that the linseed oil, and the varnish prepared from it, acquire the
property of losing their fats when they are dried in the air, and thus
will take color poorly or not at all. This observation led to the
invention of an artificial stone or stone-paper.
(7) In contrast with preparation by wet wiping there is the wiping with
dry and fatty bodies, which produces full acceptance of color on the
partially prepared plate, while in the case of the fully prepared plate
there occurs at least partial color acceptance or semi-preparation. As
every property of the stone can be used for good impressions just as
well as it serves in unskilled hands to ruin a design, so in this case;
the lost parts can be restored through proper use of rubbing with a dry,
fatty substance, and the clean, prepared portions of the plate can be
smutted. There will be more about this.
V
SHORT REVIEW OF THE PRECEDING
As the entire art of stone-printing depends on proper preparation, it
will not be out of place to express my views as to the nature of the
process. This will serve also as recapitulation.
(1) Limestone has countless little pores. These can soak up fatty as
well as watery substances.
(2) These can adhere easily to the limestone particles, but are easily
separated again, as long as the nature of the stone is not altered. This
alteration is produced most readily by sulphuric acid, tartaric acid and
phosphoric acid.
(3) Water evaporates from the pores as the stone dries. Gum and other
slimy substances do not.
(4) Fats soak into the stone more and more. There is no means of
destroying them except to remove the limestone itself by grinding or
etching.
(5) Printing-color cannot adhere to the stone so long as a proper amount
of moisture forms a wall between it and the stone. Under any
circumstances it adheres only poorly to the lime particles, and assumes
great power of adherence only when the pores of the stone are filled
with fat, which are pinched in them, so to speak, and with which the
printing-color strives to unite because of mutual affinity.
(6) This stronger adherence (or complete color reception) thus happens
only when the outer color can reach and touch the inner fat. If the
latter is deep in the stone, so that the communication is broken, it
becomes difficult and the communication must be restored.
(7) This interruption occurs either if the color is rubbed away by force
and with help of moisture, or if a substance that closes the pores
unites with the stone.
(8) The rougher, sharper, and more angular the pores are, the more
readily does the color find adhering points. It adheres at first to the
surface by virtue of merely mechanical conditions. But when the moisture
which hinders a complete union and greater penetration has dried, the
color begins to penetrate deeper into the stone and to fill its pores.
The most color will always adhere to rough spots. Therefore, it happens
often, in some styles of work, that a stone too highly polished will
seem perfectly black when inked, and still fail to yield a strong
impression. For the same reason the impressions from soft stones usually
are the stronger, especially if the mode of printing demands the use of
thin printing-color.
(9) The effect of the etching fluid is in part a greater polishing of
the surface, in part a filling of pores. Both make the stone reluctant
to take color.
(10) If the stone has been prepared and polished already, it can be made
rough again and receptive to color by being reetched. At the same time
the prepared surface can be destroyed by etching, and a communication
established with the fat lying in the interior. The result is according
to the manipulation.
So much in general. In describing the various styles I will make
everything clearer.
CHAPTER IV
THE NECESSARY TOOLS AND APPLIANCES
In lithography there is use for many various tools and utensils. I will
mention here merely those that are made primarily and exclusively for
the art.
I
CONCERNING STEEL PENS
One of the most necessary tools of lithography is the steel pen for
writing and drawing on the stone. Simple as its manufacture is in
principle, it demands much care and skill. The beauty of the work
depends largely on a good and well-cut pen. The best artist, using the
best chemical ink on a perfectly prepared plate, cannot do good work
unless the pen is good and cut to suit his hand. Therefore it is
necessary to learn how to make these pens, because, apart from their
costliness, it is difficult to get a suitable one from a worker in
steel. The ordinary steel pens that can be bought ready-made from
stationers are fairly available for coarser writing and drawing; but for
better work one must have much finer pens.
Following is the way to make them:--
Take the spring of a pocket watch, not too small nor too broad; one and
a half to two lines in breadth is best. Clean off all fat by polishing
with sand or chalk. Lay it in a glass or porcelain vessel, and cover it
with a solution of aquafortis and water in equal parts. Let the acid
etch the steel till it has lost about three fourths of its thickness,
and has become as pliable as a similar strip of letter-paper. From time
to time the steel must be removed from the fluid and dried with tissue
paper. This produces uniformity of etching. The steel rarely is quite
uniform, and it has happened to me often that it is attacked unequally
and that holes are eaten into it before it has been etched away
sufficiently. That this, however, is due mainly to the quality of the
acid, I learned because I found that the same steel would be attacked
clean and uniformly as soon as I obtained aquafortis from some other
source.
A pen is poorly etched if it has many elevated points or pits and holes.
The former appears to result from insufficient cleansing, the latter is
due to the quality of the acid.
Oil of vitriol diluted with water, or nitric acid can be used.
Those who have a very light touch may etch their pens to great thinness,
and will be enabled to do very delicate work. For a heavy touch they
must be firmer, otherwise fine strokes will look shaky.
When the steel is thin enough, it is removed and cleansed with fine sand
that it may not become rusty in future. Then it is cut into pieces two
inches long with good English shears. Now these must be shaped
half-round. To do this, lay them on a flat stone and beat them
lengthwise till they bend, using a small watchmaker's hammer, whose
faces are pretty thin but well rounded. Two or three sheets of paper
laid under the steel facilitate the work.
Another way to give it the half-round form is to file a groove into a
stone, giving it the exact shape the pen is to have. Into this groove
lay the piece of steel, put in a drop of vegetable oil, and polish with
a steel instrument whose end resembles a broken but well-rounded nail.
Use sufficient pressure, and the steel will gradually assume the desired
shape.
Either of these methods may be used, according to preference. It is to
be noted that the degree of roundness depends on the artist's need, one
finding a well-rounded pen better, another preferring one not so
well-rounded. The less the pen is rounded, the more it will resemble a
brush when used, but the points will not spread so well without
considerable pressure. The more they are hollowed, the stiffer are the
pens and the more easily will the points spread when pressed.
After the pen is curved, it must be cut. With small, well-sharpened
scissors cut a slit about one line in length into one end. Then cut away
from the two sides as much as necessary till the point is sufficiently
fine. Do not cut away too much at once, as the pen bends easily and then
must be straightened out again, which demands especial skill. It is
well to do the cutting from the point toward the sides.
A good pen must have both points very uniform, so that they touch
perfectly and lie on the stone evenly in the position given them by the
hand when working. The cutting alone will do this, but a small, very
fine whetstone may be used to aid.
A newly cut pen is somewhat rough at times and cuts into the stone, thus
gathering powder that hinders the work. This defect generally cures
itself after a few strokes on the stone. Beginners generally spoil their
pens by bending them every few moments. Then they must be straightened
out, which demands practice and judgment. It cannot be described,
because the bending may assume a thousand shapes. It may be mentioned,
however, that the points must always touch, but must under no
circumstances interfere, one being forced behind the other. It is good,
sometimes, if one can see through the slit when looking backward from
the point. Some even cut a tiny bit out of the middle for this purpose,
but that demands great skill and extremely good scissors, as otherwise
the opening will be too large, which will spoil the pen entirely.
The ordinary drawing-pens, which can be loosened or tightened with
screws, can be used very readily for drawing lines, if their points are
made from very good steel that can be ground very fine and thin.
However, for much line-work, for instance the background of a picture
which consists of lines hatched crosswise, it is better to use the other
pens. The ordinary drawing-pens are too likely to catch a little dust or
dirt between their points, and then will spoil the lines.
Of all work of the pen style in lithography, the most difficult is to
draw very fine and even lines with a ruler. I have succeeded best by
using a pen previously so cut or ground that both points touched in the
position in which I was accustomed to hold the pen when guiding it with
the ruler. It is evident that the pen must be held to the ruler on its
side, so that the groove that contains the ink does not point in the
direction of the ruler, but away from it. It is well if there is a tiny
space in the slit, as it helps the free supply of ink.
II
CONCERNING BRUSHES
Brushes are used for various purposes, as to prepare the plates,
cleanse, etch, etc. Here, however, we speak chiefly of the small brushes
required for writing and designing. For this are used the very smallest
and best miniature brushes, and they must be especially treated.
If it is desired that the brush make thicker strokes under pressure, the
ordinary condition of it, in which all the bristles come to a point, is
quite sufficient. But it is very difficult to lay on strokes of uniform
thickness with them. Press the brush on the table, spread the bristles
fanwise with a knife and cut away from each side about a half-line deep.
Turn the pencil to the other side, stroke it again to spread it, and cut
the same amount as before from each side. Continue this till there
remain only ten or twelve bristles of the original length in the brush.
Then cut these even at the ends. These should not be altogether the
middle ones if the pencil is to be first-class. Neither should they be
too far apart. They should hang together well when the brush is dipped
into the ink, but not so closely that they will not let the ink pass
well. With a brush successfully trimmed thus, the handsomest drawings,
resembling copper plate, can be done with ease.
For coarser strokes, coarser brushes are needed. More bristles are
permitted to remain in them.
III
CONCERNING ENGRAVING NEEDLES
These serve for the intaglio process, to draw into the stone, and must
be of the best and hardest steel. In Munich there are also used the
little five-angled watchmakers' borers, which are glued between two
pieces of wood planed round in form of a pencil and so cut at the end
that only a bit of the tool is visible. In using very thin needles one
has the advantage that they are ground and sharpened easily.
For coarser strokes, coarser needles are needed. For fine strokes,
especially if they are to go in all directions, the needles are best
ground perfectly round.
IV
CONCERNING THE DRAWING-MACHINE
To transfer drawings very accurately and reversed on the stone, which is
necessary especially in the case of charts and plans, a pantograph is
used in Munich, which is so arranged that the stone is upside down and
elevated. The inscribing-needle is just opposite the one that is managed
by the hand, and when one follows the lines of the original exactly,
there results a perfect but reversed copy on the stone. Such
drawing-machines can be obtained from Herr Liebherr and Company in
Munich. This skilled mechanician also makes a sort of pantograph of his
own invention, with which drawings can be transferred to stone, reversed
or otherwise, and in any desired proportion. Pictures of such machines
may be obtained from him.
V
CONCERNING OTHER APPLIANCES
These are: a grinding-table, an etching-trough, some rulers, a
writing-table, some music-writing pens and rastrums for those who wish
to print music, small brush for spatter-work, a wiping-machine for the
wiping method, several rollers and balls for inking, and some presses
for wetting and pressing the paper.
Any firm table may be used for grinding, but it is better to have one
made heavy enough to resist the strain of the powerful friction, and so
made that the stones can be fastened on it readily. If this work is done
in a room, it must have a depression in the middle and a hole, that the
water may run off into a receptacle. Along the sides should be a low
rim, that the sand and dust may not drip all over the floor.
The etching-trough is a square, well-pitched box whose bottom is
depressed toward the middle, that the etching fluid may gather there and
run through a hole into a receptacle, so that it can be poured over the
stone again. The trough must be large enough to accommodate the stones
easily. These must not, however, touch the bottom, but must rest on
little pieces of wood or cross-pieces.
Besides the ordinary rulers, a large, broad one is required, about three
to four feet long, five inches wide, and so shaped that on one side it
is one-half inch thick, on the other only two lines thick. On this
latter side a strip of pear wood must be glued and very truly planed
off. Thus it can be used for drawing lines, although the real purpose of
this ruler is only for supporting the hands when working on stone, that
they may not touch the prepared surface.
If the work-table is made with high pieces at the ends so that the ruler
can rest on them without touching the stone, no ruler supports are
required. Otherwise one must have these two pieces, a little higher than
the stone, so that the ruler may rest on them.
A specially made work-table has another advantage. In the middle there
can be a turntable on which the stone rests, so that it can be moved
easily into any position, something that is very difficult with large
stones without this arrangement.
Music-writing pens are brass or silver tubes which have the shape of
musical notes underneath, and which take up such a quantity of chemical
ink that one can make about twenty notes without re-dipping. That they
shall not take up too much ink, a fine wire is fastened in the centre.
These instruments must be very exactly ground and their use demands some
skill if the notes are to be uniform.
Instead of this instrument a piece of wood may be used, but this must be
inked anew for each note. To avoid dipping too deep, it is best to
spread some ink on a little stone and ink the instrument from this. It
must be wetted in the beginning, that the ink may be sucked up about
three lines high. After that the ink on the stone need merely be touched
with it, and this makes the work very uniform. Beginners find this easy
to use. But one works more swiftly with the other.
Of the rastrums, there is nothing to say except that they are of steel
and very even at the ends so that they touch the stone in all places.
They serve to draw the five lines for music. For making the broad
strokes for notes, one can use coarse drawing-pens, or coarsely cut
steel pens; but the best are those adjustable drawing-pens that are made
from three blades.
The brush for spatter-work, the wiping-machine, and the dauber will be
described in the description of the styles of work for which they are
used.
Ink-rollers and balls are for laying on the printing-color. The latter
are made from soft leather, stuffed with horsehair, like the ordinary
book-printer's balls. The former are wooden cylinders with thin handles,
of any requisite length and about four to five inches thick. They are
wound with two or three thicknesses of woolen cloth and then covered
very firmly and evenly with leather. Usually there is used sheep's
leather from which the grease has not been entirely removed. Calfskin,
worked white, is good and more durable. Dogskin is considered best. Some
printers use soft red calfskin, turning the inner side out. The leather
must not be stitched with linen but with silk thread, because linen does
not take the ink as well as leather and silk do. The leather must be
dampened when being drawn over the cylinder.
A fair stock of these rollers is required, because they are liable to
become water-soaked during use, when they lose much elasticity and fail
to give good service, so that dry ones must be on hand.
It is not well to have movable handles on the rollers, because then they
are likely to roll over the stone too lightly and it is not within one's
power to lay on the ink thoroughly. To prevent blistering the hands,
thick leather covers may be used. Then it is possible to use any desired
pressure.
Paper presses are needed both to obtain a uniform dampening of the paper
as also to restore the proper flatness to the printed paper. Models are
to be seen at the shops of all book-printers and binders.
CHAPTER V
CONCERNING PAPER
Three kinds of paper are used mainly in lithography. They are:--
(_a_) the transparent, oiled or varnished paper;
(_b_) underlay or waste paper; and
(_c_) the printing-paper.
I
TRANSPARENT PAPER, AND THE TRANSFER OF OUTLINES TO THE STONE
Oiled paper is used for tracing a drawing accurately and then
transferring it to the stone either by transferring or by re-tracing it
on the stone. It must have the following properties:--
(1) It must not smut the original drawing on which it is laid.
Consequently it must be absolutely dry.
(2) It must be very transparent, like glass, so that the underlying
drawing or painting can be seen perfectly.
(3) The ink or lead crayon used for copying must lie on it easily and
plainly.
It is at its best if it is easy to work on it with a fine brush, using
Chinese ink, or, (if the drawing is to be transferred directly to the
stone), with the soft chemical ink described under the caption "Transfer
Ink." Generally this can be done without further preparation in the case
of most papers made transparent by oiling. Varnished paper, however,
which is far more transparent, generally must be well washed with milk
and dried again beforehand, that it may take the ink well and permit
work with the finest strokes.
(4) Finally, a good tracing-paper must be very fine, pliable, tender and
yet not in the least brittle. There is some very transparent varnished
paper, but it breaks at the first attempt to bend it, so that it is hard
to trace the drawing afterward on stone with the tracing-needle,
because nearly every stroke tears the paper and the lines and outlines
become coarse.
Very good transparent paper may be made as follows:--
Take the finest writing or vellum paper and soak it with nut or poppy
oil, mixed with a little sugar of lead to make it dry more readily. When
well soaked with oil, dry it a bit between waste paper and hang it up.
Usually it is available in a few days. This paper is cheaper than the
paper sold by stationers under the names of straw paper, etc., and about
equally transparent. Still more transparent will it be if instead of the
oil a varnish cooked from the oils is used. In this also the sugar of
lead is an excellent drier. To make the varnish easier to manipulate and
more readily penetrative for the paper, it may be thinned down with oil
of turpentine. If it is desired to manufacture a greater quantity of
this paper, one sheet is laid on another and painted with varnish. Then
the whole mass is left for some time covered with a stone plate or a
board, that the varnish may soak properly and evenly into all the
sheets. Afterward the sheets are hung up singly to dry. The more varnish
they have, the more transparent will they be; but too much is not good.
Care must be taken that no drops of varnish adhere. It is best to brush
the varnish evenly over each sheet before hanging it up.
Silk paper, such as is used in copper-printing to lay between
impressions to prevent off-set, is still better for varnishing because
it is finer. Only it must be very even and have no holes. The very
greatest fineness of paper is desirable, for the reason that then the
strokes made by the needle on the stone are fine and not coarse.
Instead of varnish made by boiling down nut or poppy oil, one can use
Venetian turpentine, which merely has been thinned down with one half as
much oil of turpentine. Such paper generally is dry enough after
twenty-four hours. Too large a quantity must not be made at one time,
because it becomes tough and brittle after a while.
Even with the most transparent paper it occurs that certain delicate
drawings, and especially color pictures, will not show through
sufficiently. Then the drawing must be fastened to a window pane to
obtain added illumination. This manner of work is very uncomfortable,
however, and the arms hurt one soon, so that it is necessary to stop. It
is better to have a tracing-board made with a strong, clear pane of
glass in the centre. Under it is a mirror so adjusted that it reflects
light upward through the drawing.
It is understood, of course, that in tracing only the outlines are
copied and not every stroke of shading, etc. Although the final work is
greatly facilitated by the observation of the utmost care in tracing,
the tracing of every little detail will merely make the work involved
and perplexing. Practice must show the proper degree of exactness. A
very good and skillful artist often needs only a few main outlines, to
reproduce the original picture with the greatest accuracy.
Once the drawing has been traced sufficiently, the transfer paper must
be coated very lightly and evenly with red chalk. Then it is fastened to
the stone with wax and all the lines are traced under moderate pressure
with a well-polished needle whose point is not sharp but rounded. Where
the needle presses the tracing-paper, the color that is on the other
side will take hold of the stone and thus transfer the drawing to it. If
the needle is too sharp, it will injure the paper, and often the stone
and the etching surface. The color on the paper must be rubbed off very
carefully with a soft rag. If it is too thick, it will transfer itself
coarsely to the stone. The red chalk may be put on the side of the paper
that has the drawing on it, or on the reverse. This is decided according
as the picture is to be on the stone in the same position as the
original or reversed. If the impression is to be like the original, the
drawing on the stone must be reversed; therefore in that case the
tracing-paper is coated on the same side as the drawing. This side is
laid on the stone, and the picture, which shows through, is traced.
In some cases it is good to transfer the drawing from the tracing
immediately to the stone without tracing it with the needle. In this
case, the paper is not coated with red chalk. The paper is merely laid
on the prepared stone, drawing face down, and put through the press. If
the drawing has been made with the chemical transfer ink, blackened with
lampblack or colored with vermilion according to need, it will transfer
itself to the stone. This will occur also in the case of a clean stone
prepared for pen drawing if the drawing is made with lead pencil or with
red chalk, wet or dry. Even the ordinary ink made from nutgall and
vitriol of iron will transfer if it contains a little sugar or gum, but
the paper must be well dampened and good pressure must be applied to the
press.
In the pen-drawing process, the stone must be cleansed of possible
surplus of color after the transfer. This is done by light rubbing with
sand. It is not necessary in other processes. Any surplus of color that
may have fixed itself to the stone is removed by gentle dusting with a
soft brush.
II
WASTE PAPER
This is used partly for cleansing plates, partly and chiefly as underlay
in printing.
If sheets are to be printed on both sides, usually a little of the first
impression off-sets on the underlay paper, and if it were used again at
once, it would off-set on the next impression. Therefore a fresh
underlay paper must be used for each impression of the second side.
This must not be coarse, for fear of causing unevenness or holes in the
leather in the printing-frame or in the so-called scraper-wood that
makes the impression. A good quantity of this must be on hand, that
fresh paper may always be available while the used paper is drying
again. Each sheet that has been used should be hung up at once, and not
more than three or four sheets should be hung over each other, to
facilitate the drying. A special appliance is needed for this as well as
for drying the impressions. A number of slats are fastened to the
ceiling, leaving a space under it of about two feet, and about one foot
distant from each other; and the sheets are hung on these with a pole
made for the purpose, such as may be seen in any printery.
III
PRINTING-PAPER
Not all kinds of paper are equally good for lithography. On the whole,
however, it may be assumed that this form of printing is very similar to
copper-printing and book-printing, and that the paper that is good for
these branches is suitable also for the stone, if only it does not
contain too many impurities, grains of sand and other substances that
make any considerable roughnesses. Such roughnesses, if considerable,
have an ill effect not only on the impression, but chiefly on the
leather in the printing frame. If the scraper is of wood, the leather
will suffer less, but there will be caused grooves in the scraper that
must be planed out again, because otherwise each following impression
will show a more or less plain streak. If the scraper is of metal, the
leather may tear or the stone itself may be injured if the foreign
substance in the paper is very hard. Therefore it is well to hold the
paper to the light before dampening or printing and to remove any
apparent defect of magnitude with a little knife.
Usually the paper considered most excellent for copper-plate work is
thick, tender, uniform paper, half-sized or not sized at all. It may be
the same for lithography. However, it must not be supposed that good
impressions cannot be obtained with sized paper. I have seen some that
were as good as, and even better than, impressions made at the same time
on unsized paper. Much depends on the dampening of the paper, on its
make, and chiefly on the manner of sizing it. On the best sized English
vellum paper, I have made blacker impressions than I could make on the
best Swiss copper-plate printing-paper, so that I had to use fifty per
cent less printing-color. On the contrary, in using an indubitably
genuine English vellum paper with a bluish tinge, which had been sized
only too well, I could not get good impressions despite all efforts. It
was very hard to dampen also. Every sheet must be dampened singly,
turned frequently and manipulated to smooth out the thousand
irregularities that are caused by the moisture. Equally difficult to use
were some sorts of genuine Holland paper, because they took color
reluctantly. If, however, the correct degree of moisture is attained,
if the paper takes it well, and, finally, if the color is right for it,
it can be used with thorough success.
I must mention a circumstance that may defeat all efforts of a beginner
should he try to use a certain kind of paper which is very handsome,
durable, very white, well sized, but a little rough and possessing an
odor somewhat resembling honey as well as urine. Sometimes it is called
_Kuehnel_, and comes from a French factory. This paper has the property
of depriving the stone of its preparation, and consequently to smut it.
This paper can be used only for dry printing, where it does not require
any dampening at all.
It is said that this property of smutting the stone is due to the
chemical bleaching. Others ascribe it to a peculiar kind of size.
Perhaps it is both. The same defect is found in many sorts of colored
papers if there is much alum in the coloring-matter, or if the tints are
made from alkaline colors or those that contain soapy matter, or if it
has been smoothed with soap. This, however, is readily understood after
my explanation of the chemistry of the stone.
IV
DAMPENING THE PAPER
Dry paper may be used for printing. In certain work it is necessary, in
order not to spoil the paper. As a rule, however, paper is moistened in
lithography as well as in other forms of printing, to make it softer and
more receptive to the printing-color.
After what I have said of chemical printing, it would seem that, as
dampness is antagonistic to the reception of color, the moisture of the
paper would hinder, rather than aid, printing. But experience proves the
opposite. A damp paper takes color better than a dry one.
But this is not because damp paper is an exception to the rule. On close
study, we see that here, too, it only proves all that I said about the
stone.
Perfectly clean, and especially unsized paper, refuses color like the
prepared stone, when it has been wetted thoroughly so that it is
saturated. But here, too, mere water is not a complete preparation.
Under strong pressure it is forced away readily from the paper, the
printed places are dried and the color adheres. If the pressure is not
sufficient to force all the water away, the impression will be
imperfect. The tougher the printing-color is, the more will it resist
the dampness and the greater must be the pressure.
Experience has taught me the following:--
(1) Every paper not spoiled with fat will permit itself to be prepared,
like the stone, with water so that it will take no color. In the case of
entirely clean, unsized paper, water alone is sufficient. Mucous, gummy,
and acid substances increase its power. Unsized printed paper need
merely be dipped in water, laid on a stone, and coated with oily color,
and the printed parts will all take the color while the rest of the
paper remains white.
(2) Any great pressure will remove this preparation and the whole paper
will take color.
(3) The oil color must be very thin and fluid, because a tougher one
will take hold of the fibres of the paper and tear them off.
The foregoing experiences applied to the theory of the print itself lead
to the following conclusions:--
(_a_) The paper to be used for printing must never be too wet, because
the most powerful pressure could not remove the water sufficiently.
(_b_) Paper that is too wet is prone to adhere to the stone with its
printed parts, which are likely then to tear away easily, thus damaging
or ruining the work. This happens the more readily if the pressure be
not sufficient. If the scraper or the stone is not uniform and even, it
is very prone indeed to tear at the places subjected to the least
pressure, because there, where the water has not been sufficiently
squeezed away, the paper remains soft and fragile, while the pressure
still is great enough to grip the fibres of the paper.
(_c_) Therefore the paper must be only slightly dampened if the color is
very tough, partly to prevent tearing, partly to oppose no undue
obstacle to the reception of the color.
(_d_) Paper dampened too much stretches in printing and produces uneven
and dirty impressions.
(_e_) The quality of the water is not important so long as it is not
dirty or putrid, in which latter case it may infect the paper and rot
it.
(_f_) Just how much the paper must be dampened can be learned only from
experience, because papers vary very much and in the case of sized
papers it depends chiefly on the kind of sizing. On the average, we may
calculate one wet sheet to eight dry ones in sized papers and one wet
one to ten or twelve dry ones in unsized papers.
The following is the best way to dampen paper: Lay two or three dry
sheets on a straight board. Then dip a sheet into water. Let the water
drip off a little and lay the damp sheet carefully on the others. Now
lay eight or ten dry sheets on top of this. Then put on another wet one
and then eight or ten dry ones and so on till all the sheets destined
for printing have been so piled up. Put over all a board weighted with a
medium heavy stone plate. After half an hour increase the weight to
several hundredweight or squeeze the paper in a press. Leave it thus at
least twelve hours. Then it is generally ready for print. In aquatint it
must be dampened more, about six dry sheets coming to one wet one.
Very thoroughly sized paper is easier to moisten if each sheet, or at
least each second one, is wetted with a sponge.
Sometimes it is necessary to turn the dampened paper in order to remove
the creases. Separate the sheets into two piles and lay a few sheets
from one to the other so that the altered positions will press the
sheets flat again.
With many papers, especially the unsized, it is possible to use the
method of book-printers, who immerse a whole book in water and then lay
the sheets in two equal parts. This would be best studied at a
printer's. It requires much practice.
If dampened paper is permitted to lie some hours without being weighted
down, the margins will become too dry, and then there will be creases
during printing, which can be remedied only by a second dampening. The
reason is that dry paper is not so large as wet paper, so that the dry
margins form a kind of frame which is too small for the inner wet
portion.
In printing-processes that require many plates, and especially if the
sheets are large, only dry paper can be used, as otherwise the register
will be imperfect. To be sure, it can be done by using great care, but
too much practice and attentiveness is needed.
With the exception of the aquatint processes, good printing can be done
with dry but unsized paper. But the press must have twice or thrice the
pressure. This makes the printing more difficult and endangers the stone
if it is not thick.
CHAPTER VI
PRESSES
An exact description of all presses used hitherto for lithography would
demand a book that would nearly equal the present one in magnitude. Many
drawings would be necessary, which would increase the cost of this
text-book without adequate benefit, as I have learned that one rarely
can find a mechanician skillful enough to make a machine even when he
has the very best description and a perfect illustration before him. I
advise all who intend to enter lithography to send for a model to Munich
or some other place where the art is being practiced with success. I
myself am willing to furnish exact models for the price of one louis
d'or, which must be remitted with the order.
There is no press as yet that is so perfect for lithography that it
leaves nothing to be desired. The press whose plan I laid before the
Royal Academy of Sciences in Bavaria, which does its own inking-in and
which can be worked by water-power, has not yet been built on a large
scale, so that its value cannot be stated exactly.
I am only too well aware, however, of a grave defect in lithography,
which is that the beauty and even the number of impressions depend
mainly on the skill and the industry of the printers. A good press is
necessary, to be sure; but even with the best a poor workman will
produce nothing but trash, because in this respect lithography is far
more difficult than any other printing-process. I shall not admit that
lithography has made a great step toward the utmost perfection until the
erring work of the human hand has been dispensed with as much as
possible and the printing is done almost entirely by machinery.
Therefore I am determined to realize the ideas I have in this direction
and I shall inform the friends of the art of my success at once.
I
PROPERTIES OF A GOOD PRESS
It has been observed that inscriptions, and particularly drawings, look
better on the stone than on the impression afterward made from the
stone. Partly this may be due to the color of the stone which softens
the picture, because an impression made on yellow paper resembling the
stone color looks very much like the drawing on the stone. But the great
cause of the difference is that the color does not transfer itself to
the paper with the degree of strength and clearness that it possesses on
the stone. That this perfect degree can be attained, none the less,
there are many successful impressions to prove.
If the plate is well designed and well prepared, it will take the color
well and clearly, but the printer may apply too much or too little, the
color may be too hard or too soft, or, even if the stone is properly
inked, the paper may accept color poorly or be too damp or dry. Chiefly,
however, it is the press, according to my experience, that most affects
the quality of an impression.
In most lithographic presses the printing is done by the so-called
scraper. This is a thin slat of hard wood, mostly maple, pear, or
boxwood. It is one line thick on the side intended to do the printing,
and the mechanism of the press forces it on the paper, which is on the
stone and covered with an overlay of waste paper and tensely stretched
leather. This pressure forces the color against the paper along the
whole length of the slat, and only one line broad. The scraper is forced
bit by bit over the entire plate, or it remains motionless and the plate
is drawn underneath it.
It will be observed that this kind of press does not produce the entire
impression vertically and at once as in book-printing, but that it is
successive, as in copper-plate printing, with the difference that the
copper-plate press uses a roller instead of a scraper.
As the scraper must be pressed down with great force (often as much as
sixty and more hundredweight) and must pass over the leather with this
immense pressure, there is a tremendous friction, and despite the fact
that the leather is tensely stretched and lubricated with fat, it is
considerably pulled and strained by the scraper. This pulling and
straining communicates itself to the paper under the leather. Thus all
the lines of the design become a little bit squashed in the direction
described by the scraper. If, however, the leather is very good and very
tensely stretched in the frame, if it is well lubricated, and if the
printing-paper with its underlay is not too wet, the pulling is
inconsiderable so that scripts and drawings in broad effects are not
affected noticeably. Drawings in detail, however, and crayon work
wherein there is hardly a perceptible space between the dots, are so
affected by the slightest displacement that they produce a smeared,
sooty impression.
The scraper has a second fault. If the paper has impurities, it injures
the scraper readily. A groove scratched into the scraper will prevent
any further good impression if the injury is considerable, because it
will leave a streak. The only remedy is to take the scraper off and
plane it, fashioning it accurately to the surface of the stone. I have
tried to remedy this by making a scraper of metal. As this causes even
more friction than wood, I laid a strip of strong paper over the
scraper, which generally was good for three hundred impressions before
it was worn out. Then I merely needed to move it forward a bit; so that
a strip of paper as long as the scraper and six inches wide was
available for some thousands of impressions. The pressure attained with
a metal scraper is greater than with wood; but it has the disadvantage
that it is hard to print a stone whose surface is not absolutely level,
whereas a wooden scraper can be planed to suit any irregularity in the
stone.
The foregoing shows that a good lithographic press must have these two
properties:--
(1) It must not pull or shift the paper in the least.
(2) It must produce a uniform impression without weak spots or streaks.
The other properties it needs in common with other presses, such as:--
(3) It must be powerful enough to produce the necessary pressure.
(4) It must combine the greatest possible speed with this power.
(5) It must be easily operated, to save the workman.
All these qualities combined are not to be found in any press hitherto
applied to lithography.
II
APPLICATION OF BOOK- AND COPPER-PLATE PRESSES TO LITHOGRAPHY
If we consider the peculiarities of book and copper print, we find a
decided difference between them that affects printing importantly.
The letters of book-type are raised, the engraving in copper is
depressed. It is evident that the former requires no such power for
making impressions as the latter. Therefore the presses are so different
that copper plates cannot be printed on a book-press and vice versa.
Now, as the stone combines both the elevated and the depressed
principles, the natural idea would be to combine the fundamental
principles of both presses as nearly as possible for stone-printing. In
book-print, only the types are exposed to the pressure, and in the
average printed sheet these are only one fourth part of the entire
surface. The remaining white space is not affected at all by the press.
In the stone, however, the elevation of any part of a design is so
slight that the entire surface is affected, and consequently a stone
plate offers four times as much resistance. A book-press therefore would
print a stone only if it were arranged for a pressure four times
greater. Now, for a stone of the size of a letter-sheet the power
required to print with one vertical pressure would be five or six
hundred hundredweight, a pressure that could be supported only by a
thick stone laid very exactly on a perfect foundation.
An ordinary copper-plate press increases the pulling of the paper so
much in the case of a stone plate that the impression would be
worthless. This pulling is not caused, as in the case of the scraper,
during the impression itself, as already described, but it is caused
before the impression through the endeavor of the cylinder to force the
plate along under it. Once the stone is under the cylinder, the paper is
not pulled noticeably, because the cylinder glides over the leather much
more gently and with much less friction than the scraper.
This defect might be corrected:--
(_a_) By supporting the cylinder so that it would come down on the stone
only at the point where the print is to begin. But as the stone must be
drawn pretty well forward for convenience in inking, this would demand
that the cylinder be revolved forward and backward again as far as is
needed for the impression, which means a great demand on the strength of
the printers, not to count the loss of time.
(_b_) A second way would be to plane off a piece two inches wide from
the cylinder at the point where the impression is to begin. The stone
could be forced under this space readily, and when the cylinder
revolves, it presses forcibly at once without pulling the paper very
much.
(_c_) The press might be fitted with iron wheels with cog teeth to
engage similar cogs on the cylinder. This would prevent pulling, but the
mechanical work would need to be very accurate.
(_d_) The best arrangement will be the following: Set the upper cylinder
so high that the stone can be brought under it without touching. Then
bring it down with a screw, or better still, with a lever that can be
operated by the foot.
The first figure in the plate showing presses represents about how a
copper-plate press is to be fitted for this work. On the whole, this is
an ordinary copper-plate press, but the upper roller is set with its two
axles or spindles in two iron levers, each of which is fastened to a
piece of wood with iron screws one inch thick. Each of these pieces of
wood is covered with strong sheet iron and can be adjusted higher or
lower with two screws or with underlay of pasteboard. This is necessary
that the press may be adjusted to varying pressures. The two other ends
of the two levers, in which the cylinder sits, can be raised or
lowered, so that the cylinder also can rise or sink. Now two springs or
two weights are so adjusted that the cylinder with the levers always
remains elevated. To force it down on the stone, an iron beam enters
both sides of the press with two pegs so adjusted that when the beam is
turned ninety degrees the levers are depressed at least two inches. As
the cylinder is about in the middle of the two levers, it will thus be
depressed one inch, which suffices to permit the stone to pass under it
freely while it is elevated and gives the greatest pressure when it is
depressed. However, the upper cylinder must not be one inch distant from
the stone, but at the most only one fourth inch, for the remaining space
of three fourths inch is required to provide margin for the elasticity
of the various materials, and also to give margin for increased pressure
whenever demanded.
On one end of the iron beam with the two pegs is an arm or lever which
is joined to a thin stick with a treadle. This tread is so arranged that
it remains elevated of itself. If the pressure is to reach sixty or more
hundredweight, it must not be fastened directly to the treadle, but a
second lever is required which is affixed to the side of the press.
Without going into tedious detail I cannot further describe this press.
Mechanicians will understand me readily and perhaps be able to add many
improvements. My belief is that a copper press so arranged would
diminish all danger of squashing and pulling the impression, furnish
powerful pressure, permit overlays of felt or fine cloth, and make
possible considerable facility and celerity, which is a great advantage,
because impressions always are better if too much time is not lost
between inking and printing.
To safeguard the stone against cracking in such a press, the following
points are to be noted:--
(1) The stone must be ground very true on the under side as well as the
upper.
(2) Both cylinders must be perfectly true, and care is to be taken
particularly that one cylinder is not thin toward the middle and the
other thick, as this would easily crack the stone lengthwise.
The board on which the stone rests must be equally true and uniformly
thick. At the same time it must be very thin, only one half inch thick
at most. It will get very heavily squeezed during the printing, and the
more the impression approaches the centre, the more concave will it
become. The parts farthest from the point of pressure then resist unduly
if the board is thick, and thus become the chief cause of cracking the
stone. If the rollers are very true and the stone is very uniform, it is
almost impossible to crack it if it is passed between the two rollers
without a board underneath. If the board is thin, it is as if it were
not there.
I believe that competent mechanicians can improve the present presses
greatly.
III
LITHOGRAPHIC PRESSES USED HITHERTO
Most owners of lithographic printeries have tried their hands at
inventing presses, but in the end it has always been something based on
the scraper or the cylinder principle. I myself have made more than
twenty designs. Some were very useful and had advantages either in power
or convenience, but generally were handicapped by some defect, so that I
cannot even say with certainty which was the best of them all. So much
depends on the mechanic's execution of one's plans, and a perfect design
can be so spoiled by a workman that it is worthless.
I will, however, recount the best that has been done so far for
lithography.
In Munich two kinds of stone presses are mostly used. They are:--
(1) The lever press, or, as the workmen generally call it because of its
form, the Gallows Press.
(2) The Cylinder or so-called Star Press, the latter term being used
because a star-shaped lever is commonly used instead of a crank to turn
the rollers.
I have tried and found good the following:--
(3) A press with double levers.
(4) A gyrating or sliding press.
I know also--
(5) The roller press used by Herr Andre.
(6) And the press of Herr Steiner in Vienna.
Herr Mueller in Karlsruhe and Herr Ackermann in London have a press with
paper cylinders the construction of which is unknown to me.
IV
THE LEVER PRESS
This was the first press that I used with advantage, and it is used
still in Munich in all important establishments for work that demands
speed particularly. It would be an excellent printing-machine in all
respects if it did not have the defect that its power cannot be
increased much more than six hundredweight without forcing the workmen
to undue exertions. Therefore it is no longer available for large plates
or for works that require immense power. It is very good for pen designs
not larger than a letter-sheet, and two workmen, one to ink-in and the
other to print, can produce twelve hundred impressions in a day without
hardship.
The pressure is produced by a lever six to twelve feet long, fastened to
the scraper below and to a spring (an elastic board) above. It is
connected with a tread, and when forced down, presses with the desired
force on the scraper and so on the plate. The board holding the lever
overhead must be partially movable like a spring because the lever
describes a part of a circle on the plate below. Hence the pressure at
the beginning and end of the impression is not so great as in the
middle, and great care in choice of wood and manufacture is demanded to
give the spring board the necessary elasticity and power combined. I
have found a board of young dried pine the best, the dimensions being
six feet long, eight inches wide, and two inches thick, provided that
the fibres all ran lengthwise. It is not always possible to find a good
board at once. Often I have found that the difference between two boards
made a great difference in the effectiveness of two presses otherwise
exactly the same.
The scraper arm consists of two parts, of which the shorter one, to
which the scraper is fastened with a screw, is only one and one quarter
feet long. The other part is as long as the height of the press permits.
The higher a lever press is, the better is it, because then the circular
motion described by the scraper wood approaches a straight line more and
more, so that the press exercises a more uniform pressure during all
stages of the impression and is easier to handle. The second
illustration shows this kind of press in the moment when the impression
has been finished, the printing-frame opened, and the scraper arm swung
back again.
The printing-frame is much like a book-printing frame, and is furnished
inside with a second small frame which holds the paper, being furnished
with small springs or strings. When the frame has been turned over the
stone, the paper must be at least half an inch from the stone to avoid
smutting, which will occur if it touches. The paper must not touch the
stone till pressure is applied, and then only on the spot pressed
downward by the scraper.
As soon as both parts of the scraper arm are in a straight line, so that
they form practically one piece, the scraper wood is pulled down and the
printer draws it toward himself over the printing-frame and the stone
plate. At this time the following is to be observed:--
(1) Both parts of the arm must be so fastened to each other that they
may be bent like a knee, but once they are straight in line, they must
stay in that position. It is well, therefore, so to adjust the parts
that they will not be directly over each other, but rather exceed a
straight line under pressure, and bend a little inward. The position of
the scraper must be considered also. On the whole the following rule
holds good: the point where both parts are united with a nail or a screw
must not be in a perfectly straight line between the point where the
scraper rests and the point where the arm is fastened above, but should
be at least two and a half inches forward of that point. Otherwise the
arm may spring outwards toward the workman and injure him severely. The
third illustration shows the construction of the scraper arm and the
scraper.
(2) The arm must be grasped as low as possible when being drawn toward
one's self, in order to diminish the danger of springing outward.
(3) The workman must press his body tightly to the table of the press to
get proper leverage. Standing free, a man of moderate strength could not
move the scraper at all when the pressure is on, but a man standing in
correct position can do it without difficulty.
(4) Under very heavy pressure the inker-in, who stands on the other side
of the press, can help by pushing.
The scraper is a piece of pear wood as long as the size of the plate
demands. Its height is about four inches, its thickness one inch. The
end that rests on the leather is trimmed down so that it has a thickness
of only one line. This end must be especially true and planed to fit the
stone, also neatly rounded off. It should be so fastened to the arm that
it may be adjusted to the position of the stone. The stone does not
always lie truly horizontal in the press, sometimes because it is not
uniformly thick, sometimes because the underlay is not quite even, and
sometimes because the press itself has been a little strained. If the
scraper has been made properly, it will adjust itself to the stone, even
if the scraper arm is not quite plumb on the stone, a condition that
often occurs with small work, such as titles and other things that are
at the end of a stone.
(5) For every press a number of scrapers of different dimensions must be
in stock. Generally a lever press is so made that the printing-frame can
be raised or lowered according to the thickness of the stone. Then the
scraper must be changed accordingly.
(6) The connection of the upper board with the tread is made by a thin
stick that is fastened to a lever below, by means of a small iron piece
which contains several holes that serve to adjust the height of the
tread according to need.
(7) The leather in the printing-frame is strong calfskin. It must be
stretched very evenly and tensely and must be smeared from time to time
very thoroughly with tallow.
(8) On the outer side of the frame there are four wooden strips that can
be adjusted as desired. One serves to show the point where the
impression is to begin. Another shows where it is to end. Both must be
so strong that they can resist the scraper. The other two are adjusted
at the sides and guide the scraper.
V
THE CYLINDER PRESSES
When Herr Professor Mitterer installed a lithographic institution for
the Feyertags-Schule, the lever press appeared to him to demand too much
labor, especially when powerful pressures were desired. He invented the
so-called Cylinder or Star Press, which has its place in most
establishments, especially those in other countries. It has had minor
changes made in it by many persons, but on the whole, nobody has
succeeded in improving it notably, except for a considerable improvement
made by Herr Mitterer himself. My description will include this
improvement.
The cylinder press might almost be called a reversed lever press. Herr
Mitterer borrowed from it the idea of effecting the impression with a
scraper, but he did not let it move over the plate, as in the lever
press. He gave the scraper a fixed, immovable position while the stone
was drawn through underneath, thus making his press resemble a
copper-plate printing-press somewhat.
Illustration number 4 shows this machine in the moment when the
impression has been made. In the middle of the machine is a cylinder ten
to twelve inches thick and as long as the breadth of the press. It has
strong iron spindles that revolve in well-lubricated brass bearings.
Above the cylinder is a board on which is fastened the stone with the
printing-frame. The scraper is on a strong lever that is held up by a
counterpoise. When everything is ready for printing, the scraper is
forced down. By means of a strong iron hook it engages the treadle and
thus can be pulled down with the utmost tension. Then the cylinder is
turned by means of two levers affixed to the crank, and this draws the
stone and printing-frame through under the scraper. One workman alone
can do this under ordinary pressure, but an appliance at the other end
of the press enables a second workman to help.
VI
GYRATING SCRAPER AND DOUBLE LEVER PRESSES
I have already mentioned the gyrating scraper press. I have improved it
considerably. It has the form of the ordinary lever press, but all the
parts can be much lighter. For instance, the lever is only one and a
half inches thick. The spring (the elastic board) is very elastic and
need exert a pressure of only one hundred pounds. The little scraper is
only an inch long and presses on the plate with a force of fifty pounds.
The press is useful for very thin stones that might crack under greater
pressure. The pressure, nevertheless, is great, because it is all
exerted on such a small area. The press has two defects. It is easy to
miss many parts of the design with the small scraper, and the paper is
likely to stick to the leather, producing poor register. I have obviated
these faults with the following invention: A large scraper is fastened
to the lever to press on the plate with a force of one hundred pounds. A
small one is fastened to this in such a manner that it can be moved to
and fro easily. While one workman rubs to and fro with the small
scraper, another draws the entire stone and printing-frame slowly along
under the large one. If good underlays are used in addition, this
process will produce beautiful work that cannot be produced so well with
any other machine. However, a large field is left in this form for
improvement.
The fact that the concentric motion produced by a single lever can be
transformed into an almost straight motion by use of a second lever, led
me to design a double lever press, which has turned out very successful,
giving great force with speed. As its description would demand much
space, and since on the whole it ranks equally with the improved
cylinder press, I offer to send models to those who desire to have
everything useful for the art.
VII
THE OTHER STONE PRINTING-PRESSES
The cylinder press of the Chemical Printery in Vienna would, without
question, be of excellent service for the art if it were more powerful.
Its construction is as follows: The stone is fastened to a table with
the printing-frame which has fine felt instead of leather. To make the
impression a brass cylinder eight inches thick is rolled over it. As
this cylinder would not produce enough pressure from itself, despite its
massive make, two iron beams are fastened to the axles. They pass
through the table and are fastened to a box that contains iron or leaden
weights. Unfortunately the space prevents the use of more than five or
six hundredweights, and this is too little for the large surface of the
cylinder, thus forbidding any sharp, clear impressions.
This kind of press could be greatly improved if it were built higher to
give more room below for weights, or the beams could be lengthened and
passed through the floor into a lower room, thus giving space enough to
add weights up to fifty and more hundredweight.
The press of Herr Andre is much like this, except that its cylinder is
only three inches in diameter and that it is forced on the stone not
with weights, but with a lower cylinder that presses upwards. It prints
fast, like the other, but does not possess enough power.
In conclusion, I must remark that the concentration of ideas caused by
writing this chapter has led me to begin experiments toward making a
lithographic press which shall leave nothing to be desired. As soon as
my affairs permit, I shall execute this on a large scale, and if the
result fulfills my hopes, it will be a pleasure to describe it
accurately to all friends of my art, or to furnish them models at cost.
PART II
CONCERNING THE VARIOUS METHODS
There are two principal methods of stone-printing, Relief and Intaglio.
In the former, the fatty parts of the stone are not attacked by the
etching fluid, while the rest of the stone is dissolved more or less.
Therefore the fatty places are left in relief.
In the second method, the design is either engraved into the stone with
a sharp steel instrument or etched-in with acid.
The relief method has the advantage of greater speed and, generally, a
greater number of impressions. It is easy for the artist to apply,
especially in crayon work. The intaglio, however, makes possible finer
and more powerful work, and again, in many cases, is the easier of the
two for the artist. Therefore it is impossible to say in a general way
which is the better. It depends on the work to be done.
CHAPTER I
RELIEF METHOD
To this method belong principally: (_a_) Brush and pen designs; (_b_)
the crayon method; (_c_) the transfer method; (_d_) the wood-cut method;
(_e_) a sort of scraped style; and (_f_) spatter-work.
I
BRUSH AND PEN WORK
This is one of the best in lithography, and perhaps the best, because it
touches daily needs most directly. It can be used not only for all
kinds of writings, but also for illustration that does not demand the
supreme perfection of copper plate. The ease of manipulation, the speed
and the almost countless number of impressions recommend it especially.
It may even be prophesied that in future, when true artists have become
better acquainted with it, it will be used for high forms of art.
Much as this method has to recommend it, it has been used mainly for
script and music, and it is difficult to gain adherents and followers
for it. The reason is an apparently trivial thing, but it has made most
artists averse to it. Since stone-printing exists I have found only two
persons who could do anything with the steel pen at the first attempt.
These were my brother Klemens, and a Herr Porner, who works now in the
establishment of Herr Mueller in Karlsruhe. All others have had to
struggle more or less with this slight trouble, and yet it does not
demand more than a few days of patience and study.
For pen work one must not be too particular in selecting stones, as the
less perfect ones are more available for this than for any other method.
However, the general rule holds good here, too, that the purest and
hardest stones are best.
If they have been used previously, so that the fatty inks have
penetrated pretty well, they still need not be ground too deeply, but it
will suffice to grind them merely till all depressions and elevations of
the previous design have vanished. They may be ground with sand or
pumice, so long as they are made smooth so that no roughness can be
perceived. The smoother and finer the surface is, the easier will it be
to work on it with the pen.
To design well on stone with chemical ink, the stone must be prepared
after grinding so that the ink shall not flow and spread. Dissolve one
part of tallow in three parts of oil of turpentine and coat the dry
stone very quickly. With a clean rag or tissue paper wipe it at once so
thoroughly that the coating vanishes again almost entirely, leaving only
a thin film that can be easily devoured and removed when the etching
fluid is applied later. It is well to do this some hours before
beginning work on the stone, partly to give the turpentine odor time to
evaporate and partly because it is easier to work after a little while
than immediately after coating the stone. The stone can be prepared far
in advance, even so long as some months before using. In that case it is
necessary merely to clean the dust away with a cloth or fine brush. This
should be done anyway at intervals during the work, or it will clog the
pen.
I prefer another way of preparing the stone for designing, because
it is one that insures the stone against containing any hidden
preparation, which can easily occur in grinding owing to carelessness or
uncleanliness on the part of the workman, especially if many old plates
are being reground, when the gum which most of them contain from
previous use will mix with water during grinding and thus form a partial
preparation of the stone.
I coat the plate with strong soap-water containing many soapy particles,
and dry it off as well as possible. Now, there will be too much alkali
on the plate, which will not be good for fine work. I pour a few drops
of clean water on the stone, make it quite wet with this and dry it
again thoroughly. The fat of the soap will then have precipitated itself
on the stone and at the same time has lost all alkali. The soap-water
must not be too thin, as in that case it will precipitate too much fat
on the plate at once and the etching fluid will not be able later to
destroy it properly. This would mean the total destruction of the
design. To make quite sure, I advise beginners, after applying
soap-water and drying it, to coat the stone with the tallow and
turpentine solution, clean it quickly, and thus be absolutely assured
that the plate is thoroughly prepared for the design.
It must not be imagined that this preparation for work is not very
important. I am convinced that less depends on the quality of the ink
than on a surface freed from all acid and mucous substances and provided
with a sufficient amount of fat.
On the stone thus prepared the rough design may be done with lead crayon
or red chalk or by tracings or transfers. Any surplus of lead or red
chalk would make trouble during the succeeding completion of the design
with chemical ink, and must be removed carefully. If the design has
been laid on by transfer, the resultant fattiness must be lightly rubbed
away with a fine sand, but not so as to injure the design.
This method, of first drafting the design on paper with soft chemical
transfer ink and then transferring to stone, offers such advantages that
it pays to practice it. Care must be taken to remove all surplus of
color, as otherwise all lines that should not appear will resist the
etching fluid and gradually show again. Those who fear destruction of
the design by the use of sand can effect the same purpose by printing
off on clean waste paper a few times, or the design may be printed off
on paper before being transferred, thus cleansing it of surplus fat.
When the design has been laid on the stone clean and strongly with
chemical ink, the plate can be etched and prepared, but not till the
whole design is perfectly dry, because otherwise it cannot resist the
action of the fluid.
The parts finished first usually are dry long before the entire work is
finished. A trained eye can recognize the proper degree of dryness from
the sheen, which varies with different kinds of ink, but on the whole is
always duller when the design is dry than while it still is wet. It is
highly necessary that the design be thoroughly dry. It is possible to
keep a designed plate for years without etching it, so long as it is
protected against injury.
Etching is done in two ways, painting the fluid on and pouring it on.
The former method is less circumstantial, but is used only in coarser
work, because there is always danger of damaging delicate parts of the
design. It has the advantage, however, that any dirt caused by
corrections will be removed. A mixture of three or four parts of water
with one part of aquafortis is painted over the stone with a soft brush
of fox- or badger-hair. The brush must be dipped continually because the
fluid loses its power.
For the second method the stone is placed in a large wooden trough or
box, provided with cross-pieces to keep the stone from the bottom. The
acid, thinned down with thirty or forty parts of water, is poured over
it. It is rather immaterial how much one may dilute the acid. Very weak
solutions simply mean that the pouring must be repeated oftener. The
fluid acts on stones according to their degree of hardness. Regard must
be had, too, to the delicacy of the design, very fine lines being unable
to resist etching that does not affect coarse lines.
Only slight experience is needed to recognize the effect of the acid. By
looking at the stone sidewise and against the light, the growing
elevation of the design can be perceived easily. When the fatty coating
caused by the soap or turpentine wash has been etched away completely,
and the water adheres equally everywhere, the stone generally is
sufficiently etched to be ready for preparation and printing.
For the sake of easier printing, and also so that future grinding and
any desired improvement may be done on the stone, there should be a
little more etching, if the design is not too delicate. But if the
design is very fine, the etching absolutely must not be more than
strictly necessary, because the fine lines might easily be eaten away.
Coarser designs can bear strong etching which often may reach the depth
of a thick paper. But an inordinate amount of etching is not to be
recommended, even if the design can bear it, because the edges of a
deeply etched line are rough and take the color so strongly that it
works into the cavities and is very hard to get out.
When the stone has been properly etched, clean water is poured over it
to wash away the free acid. Then the work of preparing the plate with a
solution of gum arabic in four or five parts of water can begin at once,
or the stone may be set aside to dry, thus giving the finer parts of the
design, that may have been most affected by the acid, time to adhere
again to the stone and soak in, which can occur only in the dry state.
This is entirely unnecessary with most pen drawings, but with brush and
especially with crayon work it is of great value.
When the stone has been prepared with gum, it is set aside to rest for a
few minutes. Then pour a few drops of water and exactly the same
quantity of oil of turpentine on it, spread it in all directions
uniformly and wipe the entire design off clean with a woolen rag. Hard
ink, especially if it has been on the stone for some time, is more
difficult to remove and a little more turpentine is required.
The stone should now be inked-in at once, because the turpentine, and
with it all the fattiness, is liable to extensive evaporation, and then
the stone will not take color well.
Inking-in of the pen designs is done as follows: A clean linen or woolen
rag is soaked in clean water and wrung out till it is damp rather than
wet. This is passed over the whole stone so that it becomes a little wet
everywhere. Immediately after this dampening, the well-inked
printing-roller is passed to and fro over the plate several times. The
roller must be lifted frequently during this work so that the points of
contact change. To lay the color on well and quickly, the roller should
be held rather firmly in the beginning, well pressed down and used with
a certain rubbing motion that will tend to lay color on the design
sideways, so to speak. Then the roller must be allowed to roll to and
fro a few times without much pressure, to spread the color and take away
any surplus. Do not roll too long, till the stone dries, because then it
will take dirt immediately. Should this occur, it must be wiped
instantly with the damp cloth till it is clean again. If dirt is left
too long, it will be extremely hard to remove.
Beginners usually wet their plates excessively to counteract this
trouble of drying during the inking-in. This results in wiping away fine
strokes, and the roller gets so wet that no good impression can be made
till it has been dried sufficiently again. For this reason beginners
should not use bath-sponge, because, though it is excellent, it leaves
too much water on the stone unless one knows exactly how to use it.
Some printers put a little gum, others a little aquafortis into the
water to wet the stone. Others use stale beer, or even urine. I consider
all this unnecessary, if the stone has been prepared correctly and the
color is good.
I have described the ink-rollers. I repeat that they must be uniform,
soft, and elastic.
As to the inking-in color, I am not able yet to lay down a strict rule.
All that I can say, as a result of my experiments and experiences,
is:--
(1) The firmer the varnish in a color is, the cleaner is the work of
inking-in.
(2) The same is true the more lampblack it contains.
But in both cases the finer parts of the work are easily rubbed away,
and too much lampblack makes the lines squash the impression.
(3) The toughness or fluidity of the color must bear correct proportion
to the power of the press. The harder the varnish, the more power is
required in the press.
(4) Tough varnish is not so liable to squash under pressure, but if it
has once been pressed into the spaces between the lines of the design it
is not readily removed by the mere action of the inking-roller, and this
causes more and more smutting and, finally, total ruin to the stone.
Generally when a tough color has adhered too much, there is no other
remedy than to clean the stone well with gum and oil of turpentine; and
this, if done too often, damages the preparation and makes the
impressions continuously poorer.
(5) Soft color spreads more readily under pressure, but is removable
after each impression by merely dampening the plate.
(6) In using soft color, the paper may be kept damper than with hard
colors.
(7) Soft as well as hard printing-color, if not mixed with the proper
amount of varnish, has the property of producing poor, sooty impressions
because of a defect called shading. Shading is caused as follows: If a
drop of oil falls into a basin of clean water, a part of the oil will
spread immediately. Now, a stone is wetted before inking-in. After the
inking a considerable portion of dampness remains. If the ink is very
fluid, it will happen often that a part of it will spread away from the
design to the surrounding moisture, producing something that looks like
a shadow around every part of the design. This does not occur instantly,
as in the case of the pure oil, but gradually, so that it is not as
noticeable when the swifter lever press is used as with the slower
cylinder press or if the workmen are slow. If a stone can be dampened so
exactly that with the last touch of the ink-roller the last vestige of
dampness is removed, this is not likely to happen. But it is difficult
to arrive at such accuracy. It is better to add enough lampblack
gradually to the varnish to make it lose its elasticity, when the
shading effect will cease.
(8) While shading is obviated largely through enough intermixture of
lampblack or other coloring substances to take away the fluidity of the
printing-color, this intermixture will cause other troubles. The finer
places will not take the harder color so well, whereas at other places
too much will be taken. Also an impression made with much lampblack will
off-set more than one made with color in which varnish predominates.
Neither will the impressions be so black. Experience teaches that a
printing-color that has less lampblack will be blacker, because the
sheen of the varnish will make the color strong and lacquer-like. I have
tried to invent a kind of varnish that would not be so liable to shading
and thus would permit a greater fluidity with safety, but lack of time
has prevented me from exhausting the possibilities. I am sure, however,
that it can be done, for I have found that the common linseed oil
varnish can be made to lose its property of shading by admixture of
fatty and resinous bodies. For instance, the addition of a slight amount
of Venetian turpentine permits a greater fluidity. Very good is the
following composition: Six parts linseed oil, two parts tallow, one part
wax, melted together and thickened by boiling down and burning like the
ordinary linseed oil varnish.
(9) The inner composition of the stone and the temperature have a
considerable effect on the print and also react on the color. A stone,
especially a porous one, has much less internal moisture on very warm,
dry days. Then the dampening done before each impression often
evaporates instantly and unequally, so that it is difficult to ink-in
uniformly with a soft color or one lacking varnish, unless one wets the
stone unduly, which, again, injures the impressions. In that case one
must use a color that is firmer than should be used according to
ordinary rule. It is also well, before printing from the stone, to lay
it in clean water for a few hours, or overnight, so that it may soak in
enough moisture to make it easier to dampen.
(10) If the drying of the printing-color is to be hastened, as is
necessary with some work, a little finely powdered mennig may be mixed
in. Finely powdered litharge of silver dries still better, but only a
small amount of printing-color must be mixed with it, because it
toughens within an hour. It will not keep for another day, because the
mennig will dissolve after a while.
In printing from the pen design, the following must be observed:--
Even if the stone has been inked-in uniformly and well with a good
color, the impression can be spoiled in various ways: if the paper has
not been dampened as required by the nature of the color and the power
of the press; if the pressure is not in proportion to the consistency of
the color; if the scraper is not even, and if the leather is not
properly stretched.
Therefore care must be taken in printing pen designs:--
(1) The paper must not touch the inked design till the scraper forces it
down. It is not advisable to lay the paper directly on the stone. It
should be in the printing-frame, which, as already described, should be
so arranged that it will keep the paper at least one fourth inch away
from the stone.
(2) The proper dampening of the paper is not a matter of the greatest
importance in pen designs, so long as it is not too wet, in which case
it causes squashed impressions, does not take color uniformly, and, if
the printing-color is tough, will stick to the stone. In general, the
rule holds good that the degree of dampening must be in proportion to
the firmness of the varnish, and that a softer varnish permits increased
dampening. Dampening is done chiefly to soften the paper, and the
qualities of the paper dictate the amount necessary to a large extent.
(3) The tension of the press must be more powerful with hard
printing-color and carefully graduated with soft color. Besides this, it
depends--
(4) On the structure of the scraper. If it is not absolutely uniform and
well fitted to the stone, more power is needed. Thus the defect often is
corrected; but this may make the color squash and spread in other spots,
therefore it always is better to correct any defects in the scraper. The
sharper the scraper is, the clearer are the impressions, because then
the whole force of the pressure concentrates on the smallest area. But
usually the scraper soon becomes dull, and then the press must have
more power.
(5) Insufficient tension of the leather also may produce poor
impressions, especially if the color is soft and the paper very wet.
Therefore as soon as impressions appear blurred and squashed, the
leather should be tautened and well lubricated with tallow.
Now we come to an important matter, namely, the correction of errors. It
does not happen often that a drawing or inscription can be made entirely
without error, and it would be a great imperfection in lithography if
these mistakes could not be corrected at once.
Errors may be observed before etching or afterward. Different ways of
making corrections are required.
It is very easy to make corrections before etching. If the error is
observed as soon as it is made, while the ink still is wet, it may be
corrected by merely wiping out the defect with the finger. If the ink is
dry, oil of turpentine is required. In each case the ink must be well
removed so that it will not resist the etching fluid later. If only tiny
spots are defective they can be corrected by delicate use of a sharp
eraser. Defects that need merely to be destroyed without drawing
anything else in their place may be scraped off with a knife or with
pumice stone.
After the plate is etched, errors demand treatments that differ
according to whether a defect or blemish is merely to be removed,
whether something else is to be drawn in place of the removed part, or
if something has been forgotten and is to be added. The area of the
correction also makes a difference.
If it is only a matter of removing small defects or places, delicate
erasure will do. The same, or polishing with pumice, is done if the area
is larger. Then the corrected spots must be coated with a mixture of gum
and aquafortis, using a soft brush very carefully that it may not touch
any of the sound places.
If something new is to be drawn in, the process is different. Ink-in the
stone very clean, and coat it with gum and water that is very thin and
delicate. Let it dry. Then scrape the defective places away very
carefully or grind them away by rubbing with pumice stone. Coat the
spots cautiously with soap-water or oil of turpentine and clean off
again as thoroughly as possible. (This coating is not necessary in the
case of a few isolated small lines or points.) Now draw in your new
design with chemical ink, and as soon as this is dry, etch the
corrections carefully with a small brush and then prepare with gum.
The third case, where something has been forgotten, is treated almost
the same way. If it is only a very small thing, the stone need merely be
scraped carefully. Then the drawing may be put in, preferably with a
thicker ink. If the area is large, the stone must be ground where the
design is to be added, coated with soap-water or oil of turpentine, and
then treated as explained before.
When the stone has been corrected and prepared for printing, it can be
used at once or set aside for some length of time. In the latter case it
should be inked with a firm color and coated delicately with gum
solution. Then it can be held as long as desired. Coating with gum
solution is advisable not merely for storing away, but for every
interruption of printing that lasts more than five minutes.
If a stone has stood longer than a day without being freshly inked, it
must be wiped off first of all with gum solution and oil of turpentine,
that it may take the color well, so that the very first impression may
be perfect. During the progress of printing, the following points are
important: Uniform distribution of water, the same of printing-color,
frequent inking of the inking-roller, and the very greatest speed
possible.
In the main points the brush process is like that of the pen. The chief
difference is that it is not possible to make the brush strokes as
strong as those with the pen. Therefore, brush work does not resist
etching so well and must not be treated too powerfully. Much depends on
the treatment of the brush and the consistency of the ink. The brush
does not permit such a flow of ink as does the pen, and generally
requires one that is more fluid. A good brush ink is made as follows:--
Mix two parts of pure white wax and one part of good tallow soap into a
mass not larger than a hazel nut. The ink loses its good properties
quickly and should be made fresh day by day. Mix the two materials with
a thick knife on a lukewarm (but positively not warm) stone, separate
into small parts and moisten with rain water. As soon as the water has
softened the mass a trifle, add as much lampblack as will lie on two
knife points and mix the whole mass together once more till it is
thoroughly mixed and quite firm. When required, a bit of this is rubbed
down in a clean saucer with rain water.
As a better flow of ink is needed for brush work than for pen work, it
is evident that it would not be requisite to treat the stone with
soap-water and oil of turpentine, as for pen work. However, it often
pays to make certain fine lines with the pen, and therefore it is better
to combine both processes and prepare the stone as for pen work. It is
well, however, after drying the coating, to rub it very gently with dry
sand, which will not make the pen strokes flow to any extent and still
will prepare the stone so that it will take the brush strokes well and
not make necessary such strong etching.
If a brush design is to be etched in high relief, for ease in printing
or for durability, it must be etched only to the extent absolutely
required at first. Then it must be prepared with gum and inked-in with
good acid-proof color. Set it aside for a while, that the color may
concentrate so that it will resist the acid well, and then etch the
stone to the desired degree. After etching, wash with water, coat with
gum and put aside to dry. Owing to this latter procedure any fine parts
that may have been unduly affected by the acid will adhere to the plate
anew and it can be printed then like a pen design.
If pen and brush work are to be combined on a stone, and absolute
certainty is desired, that even the very finest lines shall not suffer
from etching, the following process will serve:--
Over the cleanly ground plate pour a solution of weakened but pure
aquafortis, about forty parts of water to one part of aquafortis. Repeat
this several times. Then pour a great deal of water over the stone, to
wash off all acid, and let it dry. Pen as well as brush work is easy on
such a stone, by using the proper ink for each method. When the work is
finished and dry, the stone is merely coated with gum solution. After a
few minutes it can be inked-in with acid-proof ink and treated as
described before.
II
THE CRAYON METHOD
The fat of the chemical ink penetrates the stone in dry form as well as
in fluid form, and makes the plate receptive to printing-color. If the
dry ink is cut into long pieces and sharpened, it can be used much like
lead or black crayon. If the stone is ground very smooth, the work can
be made quite fine and resembles that done with fluid ink. The crayon,
however, wears away too quickly. If the stone is ground rough, so that
instead of a polished surface it has one resembling rough paper, the
crayon work appears as a mass of dots that are coarser or finer
according to pressure with the crayon, and produce an effect similar to
crayon designs on paper. As almost every artist and painter knows how to
use crayon, no particular practice is required for working on stone, and
there are no obstacles such as the difficulty of using the steel pen.
That crayon work on stone is capable of high perfection, and that it can
represent the essentials of a painting in a manner scarcely to be
excelled by the best copper-plate engraver, has been demonstrated by
many successful productions. Add to this that in no other style can one
work equally fast, either on copper or stone, and we see that the crayon
method is a genuine advantage for the art.
For crayon work the stones must be uniform and hard. They must either be
new, or, if they have been used, they must be ground so thoroughly that
all traces of fat are destroyed and removed absolutely to a degree where
it is certain that they will not appear again and take color, even if
the stone is etched only lightly. As soon as the plates have been ground
true, they must be grained by strewing some fine sand or powdered
sandstone on them and rubbing in all directions with a small piece of
limestone. The work can be done dry or wet. Soap-water is best. It gives
the stone a handsome grain. Practice is demanded to get good results
without scratching the stone. The artist must decide for himself what
grain he needs. I think that it would be good if the artist himself were
to grain the stone in varying degrees according to the need of his
design. For instance, a coarser grain might be good for foregrounds.
As soon as the stone has been grained, it must be cleansed perfectly
from dust and dirt. It is best to pour clean water over it and wash it
with a clean rag. The dust and sand must all be removed, otherwise they
will not let the crayon reach the stone where it is used delicately.
When the design is finished, it should be set aside for a day, that it
may take good hold of the stone. It does no harm to let plates rest for
years before etching. Etching must be done by pouring. Painting the
etching fluid on is dangerous because of the danger of taking away fine
spots. About one hundred parts of water are used to one part of
aquafortis. Everything depends on not etching a bit more than necessary.
It is best to etch the coarser parts specially with a small brush and
stronger etching solution, and it is very good to wash the stone with
clean water after etching and let it dry completely before coating with
gum.
When the stone has been prepared, it should not be cleansed at once with
oil of turpentine, but should be inked-in first with a light
printing-color. Only after it has taken this well should it be cleansed
of the crayon and treated to a firmer color. In the first inking-in
there should be very little pressure with the sponge or wet cloth when
dampening it, as the lightest parts of the design are easily rubbed away
before they have taken color. If such parts should vanish, the easiest
way to restore them is as follows:--
Coat the plate with gum solution and wipe with a clean dry cloth till it
is perfectly dry. Then take a flat, knife-like instrument of steel,
which is cleanly ground so that it has no nicks or other defects that
might injure the stone. Scrape with moderate pressure to and fro over
the defective places, but only so that it touches the elevated points
and not the surface of the stone itself. Smear a little fat, such as
linseed oil varnish, over it and wash this away again instantly with gum
solution. Generally the parts all reappear very nicely when the stone is
inked-in again.
A second kind of correction is as follows: Ink the stone with firm
color, wash it well with plenty of pure water and let it dry. Now redraw
the lost places with crayon.
Printing crayon work is the most difficult of all lithography, but can
be done perfectly if all necessary precautions are taken. These are
mainly: (_a_) proper dampening of the paper; (_b_) perfect dampening of
the stone;--too much meaning that the fine points will not take color
well, too little making the stone smut easily; (_c_) good stretching of
the leather, industrious lubrication, and an underlay of taffeta; (_d_)
a good, finely mixed inking-color that will not shade off in printing
and yet does not contain too much lampblack; (_e_) soft and well-dried
ink-rollers; (_f_) proper tension of the press; (_g_) utmost possible
speed in printing. The latter aids enormously, because the stone does
not get so much time to dry out.
Aside from the spreading and running-together of the darker parts, one
of the commonest faults of crayon work is that it is very liable to get
a tone, which spreads over the whole design like a veil; or that the
designs lose their firmness and appear "monotonic" because the shadings
spread and thicken. The first fault comes from weak etching or from oil
that was rancid when it was used to prepare the varnish. The latter
fault makes the color adhere and smut the stone. The same fault is
developed if the printing-color contains soap, which some printers mix
into it for better adherence. It can occur also if the stone has lost
its preparation owing to frequent cleansing and strong rubbing with a
dry rag that is inky. Even strong rubbing with clean water can cause it
if the rag contains fats.
As to the "monotonic" effect, it is frequent, and I have learned that it
can be caused in two ways, namely, if the color is squashed continually
during the print, which makes the stone sooty; or if the color spreads,
as, for instance, during the night or during the noonday rest. The stone
is prepared only on the surface. In the pen style, all lines are
prepared on the sides also, so that they cannot spread because they are
considerably more elevated than the crayon designs.
If a crayon design dries after printing and is not coated properly with
gum, the color is liable to spread away from the design and give the
plate the before-mentioned tone. Even if it is coated with gum, the
color will spread, at least in the inner parts of the stone; and as soon
as the very thin surface has been at all wiped away by rough usage, the
underlying fattiness will appear gradually, and begin to take color.
Both faults of crayon work, namely, the taking of tone and the
development of a "monotonic" condition, can be remedied by inking the
plate for a while with a firmer color. If this does not help, the
following must be resorted to: Ink-in the plate as well as possible, lay
it in the etching-trough and pour over it very weak aquafortis once or
twice. Then wash it with pure water and paint the gum solution over it.
The etching must be done with great caution, with a solution so weak
that the acid is scarcely perceptible. If the plate is to be saved at
all without extensive corrections and re-drawing, this is the best way.
If it is done correctly, it harms the design so little that I advise it
even when the plate looks quite well, but has been standing very long
after the first printing.
I have etched several crayon designs over again, and rather extensively,
to make them more durable and facilitate printing, and with good
success. This gives the further advantage that corrections can be made
at the same time.
The correction of crayon designs, that have been etched already and used
for printing, always has been so difficult a task that few have
succeeded. This has led me to give the matter my best attention; and I
hope that the following rules, based on many experiments, will show the
way, at least, even if they do not produce absolute results.
When a copper-plate engraver has partially finished his plate, he can
have a proof pulled to enable him to study his work. Then he can make
corrections as he pleases,--an advantage that the stone worker has
lacked hitherto.
To produce an impression that shall be faithful to all the beauties of a
crayon design is a matter dependent on so many trivial details that of
the many hundred crayon designs that have been produced by lithographers
since the origin of the art, hardly one has realized the designer's
hopes and ambitions. The commonest fault is that the more delicate
parts of the design print too light and the heavier ones too dark,
thus destroying the balance of tones. The lightening occurs because
the finest parts of the design have lost their power of taking
printing-color. The darkening occurs because the closely shaded parts
flow together, either because the etching has not made enough white
space between the points and lines or because they are squashed in the
pressure of printing.
From this, two other faults may arise, that become visible after
inking-in the plate: The first is the appearance of white dots,
sometimes pretty large. The second is that black dots and smut-marks
appear.
The white dots are caused by speaking during the work, and thus dropping
spittle on the plate. If the spittle is mucous, the plate covers itself
there with a fine crust that resists the chemical crayon so that it does
not soak into the stone and is wiped away by the inking-in. If the
spittle is fatty,--for instance, if one has eaten anything greasy,--the
dots that appear will be black. The same results from touching the plate
with fatty hands. Sometimes a whole picture of the fingers and skin will
appear on the impression.
Let us suppose that after inking-in, a plate shows all these faults: the
finest shadings vanished entirely, the darker places run together, white
and black dots and smut-marks so that the plate has become useless in
every respect. Can this be remedied? If so, how?
I answer that it can be remedied in every point; but that the artist
himself must decide if it will not pay better to do the whole design
anew.
The second question I answer as follows:--
Before everything else, it is necessary to remove all that should not be
on the stone, all smut-marks and black dots; and where the design has
darkened, white points or lights must be graved-in. To accomplish this,
the stone is inked-in first with a firm acid-proof color, and over this
with a lighter one. Then erase or grind away the dirt that is outside of
the design and that would dirty the margin of the printing-paper. No
erasing or grinding must be done within the design itself because then
the grain would be destroyed and the necessary drawing could not be done
as it should be. Therefore the faulty parts must be removed by
engraving, with a more or less sharp needle of good steel, so that what
remains looks quite like a good grain. A little practice will show that
this work is not at all difficult and can be done quickly. Places that
have run together can be cleared and made transparent and clean in a few
minutes. If certain points have become too large, they can be corrected
by engraving a white point in their centre or by engraving a line
through them.
Here I must note that parts of crayon designs thicken sometimes because
the crayon has slipped in drawing, without leaving traces perceptible at
the time. If the etching is weak, it may happen easily that this place
takes printing-color. Skillful engraving may not only correct the
defect, but actually gives the design a beautiful tone and power such as
cannot be easily produced by the crayon itself.
When the plate has been cleansed thus of all surplus and blemishes, weak
aquafortis is poured over it several times and then it is coated with
gum. After a few minutes it is inked-in with fairly firm color. Then it
will be seen that the design is clean, but that all the parts that were
too light are not darker, but perhaps even lighter, having been affected
by the etching. To remedy this, coat the stone with gum solution and
then wipe it off with a dry clean rag so thoroughly that only a thin
film of gum remains behind. To judge this better, it is well to mix a
little red chalk with the gum. When the plate is wholly dry, take a
knife-like tool of steel as described before, and scrape the defective
parts under moderate pressure, without injuring the elevated points of
the design. Great care must be taken during this process to let no
moisture, not even the breath, touch the stone, because that would
produce the very opposite of what is aimed at. When all faulty places
have been treated, a little tallow or linseed oil is smeared over the
plate and then washed away well but gently with thin gum and water. If
this manipulation has been done accurately, the lost parts of the design
will appear when the plate is inked with a somewhat softer color.
Those who fear that they do not possess the skill necessary for this
rubbing-up of the defective parts may attain the object by re-drawing
them. The stone must be washed off first with a great deal of very pure
water and the crayon must contain much soap. This kind of correction
must be finished as quickly as possible and the stone should not be set
aside for any length of time without a gum coating. If the corrections
are extensive, it is better first to ink the stone well with acid-proof
color and then to wash it in pure water and let it dry. Then if it is
inked-in after the design is finished, and if weak aquafortis is poured
over it and it is prepared with gum, it will keep for several months.
Slight blemishes, white specks, etc., can best be corrected by gentle
touching-up with crayon during the proof-printing on the wet plate. It
is understood, of course, that one can also work with pen or brush in a
crayon design that has been already etched. Parts that are too dark can
be made lighter by passing over them a few times with a brush dipped in
weak aquafortis and then re-coating with gum.
These are about the best ways for correcting a crayon design that proves
after etching to be imperfect.
I close with the following:--
(1) The tanners of Munich manufacture an inking-ball, made especially
for printing, of sheepskin, such as I could not obtain in other places,
like London, Offenbach, and Vienna. It is not white like alum-dressed
leather, but yellowish, and the oil has not been completely washed out.
I have had dogskin and thin calfskin worked in the same way and have
found them even better, because of their greater durability. If a roller
is covered with this leather, so that the side that was hairy comes
outermost (not innermost as many do), it develops a decided property of
taking-on color, probably because of its smoothness and elasticity. This
aids much in spreading the color uniformly over the stone. The property
is increased if the roller is dampened slightly before being inked; but
on the contrary, if the stone is kept too wet, the constant moisture
will gradually prepare the roller, so to speak, and it will take less
color and let it go quickly, thus inking the stone badly.
If a roller has been used a long time, it loses its elasticity and
softness and becomes useless for fine work. Still worse is a roller that
has hardened from the drying of the ink. It is surprising to see what a
difference it makes if one has worked for a time with a poor roller and
then replaces it with a good one. It is almost impossible to believe
that the new impressions come from the same stone. I am inclined,
therefore, to believe that the quality of the ink-roller has more effect
on good impressions of crayon and fine pen work than even the quality of
the printing-color.
As stated, it is well to change rollers frequently, and it is wise to
clean them with linseed oil or butter after use to keep them soft and
tender. In working on crayon designs of superior value I advise the use
of new rollers.
(2) It has been remarked before that the color of the stone often
deceives the artist as to the values and proportions of his work and
that the designs always look better on the soft-colored stone than they
do on the glaring white paper. This observation led to printing on paper
tinted like the stone, and the results fulfilled expectations. There
were difficulties however. The very best quality of this paper is
extremely dear, and other qualities had the property of dirtying the
stone, on account of the coloring-matter used for tinting them.
Therefore the attempt was made to print the design on white paper and to
color it afterwards. Here, too, there arose many inconveniences, so that
at last there came the thought of laying a yellow tint over the
impression by means of a second printing. This method proved to be not
only the most economical and quick, but it had the further advantage
that the margins of the paper could be left white, thus enhancing the
value of the design. Hardly had it been used with success a few times
before Herr Piloty conceived the idea of printing the high lights into
the design with white printing-color, so that the impressions would
resemble actual drawings. My experiments toward that end did not result
satisfactorily, because no white oil color will print well enough; and I
proposed that the high lights be engraved into the tint plate and thus
permit the original white of the paper to show. So there came that kind
of crayon impression with one or more tint plates, which has become so
popular that various art connoisseurs hold it to be the triumph of the
lithographic art.
To make and print these tone plates, I have thought out many ways; but
as I am sure that they will suggest themselves to those who have grasped
my text-book, I will describe only the best of them all.
Take a stone of good average quality, the best not being essential, and
grind it as for crayon work with a grain not too coarse. When it is
clean and dry, cover it uniformly with the following chemical ink, which
must be laid on so thickly that it surely will resist the aquafortis
sufficiently, yet not so very thickly that it will hinder the drawing-in
of the lights later on.
The chemical ink for use on the tone plates is made of four parts wax,
one part soap, and two parts vermilion. The two first materials are
melted in a clean vessel over a moderate fire and then the vermilion is
stirred in.
A piece of ink as large as a hazel nut is rubbed down in a clean coffee
cup and then dissolved in rain water till it is just fluid enough to lie
evenly and nicely on the plate when applied with a soft brush.
When the stone thus has been painted red, it must be permitted to dry
thoroughly. When it is dry, a strong impression of the design is made on
sized but well-dampened paper with a printing-color rather soft than
firm. Before the paper has a chance to dry and thus to shrink, the red
stone is placed in the press and the impression is laid on it face down.
Use moderate pressure. The drawing will transfer itself to the red
surface, but the paper will stick. Wet it with weak aquafortis till it
is completely softened and permits itself to be removed. Care must be
taken not to spoil the drawing by violent wiping and rubbing.
This method is easier if a special transfer paper is used. Coat
well-sized, very clean paper with a thin paste of starch such as
laundresses use for stiffening linen. This paper must not be dampened
very much, because then it will not take the impression well. It also is
removed from the tone plate by washing with weak aquafortis and it
yields very easily, because the paste lets go of the color readily.
When the design has been transferred to the tone plate, take good iron
instruments and remove the wax surface wherever the high lights are
desired. As the stone is ground rough, the scraping will produce only
small specks at first, because the instrument will touch only the relief
points. The more the scraping proceeds, the deeper it will go, till at
last one reaches the bottom of the coating and thus obtains a white
light. Experts can so manipulate the tint plates that the lights will be
graduated from the softest to the most glaring.
As soon as the lights are drawn in, the margins of the drawing are
scraped the same way. Then the plate is treated to several washings of
pretty strong aquafortis, about twenty parts of water to one part of
aquafortis. After coating with gum, it is ready for printing.
The most important requisite for this printing is a good arrangement
that will insure an exact register of the second impression with the
first, that the lights may appear exactly where they belong.
To achieve this, the practice used to be to draw two register marks on
the stone holding the original design, which were transferred to the
tint plate with the rest of the design. When the first impression was
made, the printed paper was cut away exactly at the marked points, and
laid accurately, on the tone plate, being guided by the two marks there.
This was effective, but it had the fault that the paper had to be
trimmed off carefully for each impression and that the slightest
inaccuracy spoiled the register. However, it is very useful for printing
proofs.
It is far better to have a printing-frame that is so fixed that it will
never shift its position in the slightest degree. To this is fastened a
little movable frame that has two steel needles whose position is
adjustable at will. Lubricate the leather inside with wax and lay a
sheet of white paper on it. See that the tint plate is so fastened in
the press that it cannot stir out of place. Make an impression and take
care especially that the two register marks print off well. Now set the
needles in the little frame so that they will be exactly over these two
marks. If, then, an impression of the design is laid on so that the two
guiding-marks on it come exactly under the two needles, it will, of
course, register perfectly. Of course the little frame must be so
adjusted that it can be folded back out of the way before each
impression, and the printing-frame must hold the sheets of paper so that
they cannot move.
To color the tint plate, use a firm varnish tinted with umber, or any
other color that will give the desired effect. New rollers are best,
insuring a fine, even, unspotted tone.
(3) In rough-grinding the stones, it is difficult to prevent scratches
and furrows caused by the coarse sand. No design of value should be made
on such a stone, but if one is used, the defects should be touched up
with chemical ink and a fine brush, as crayon will hardly do it.
(4) As the delicate places in crayon work are not durable, etching
having the property of reducing the light portions and darkening the
darker ones, I tried the method of drawing the lighter portions on a
separate stone in rather stronger manner and printing from it with paler
ink. The success was so great that I hope in time to produce true
masterpieces with the aid of skilled artists, and here call attention to
it in advance.
(5) After learning how to make a second impression over a first one, it
is not difficult to pass on to printing with several stones and from
that going on to color-printing. In the early days of my invention I
tried color-printing with a crayon plate and had the best success by
using stencils such as are used by the painters of cards. On oiled stiff
paper I made as many impressions of a design as there were to be colors.
Then all that was to be red was cut out from one stencil, green from
another, and so forth. Then the stone was wetted, the stencil laid on it
and the uncovered parts of the stones inked-in with the right color.
After all the colors had been applied, I made the impression, which
generally looked neat enough, but still resembled a sketchy drawing
rather than a painting, because no color except black, zinc red, and
dark blue permitted itself to be printed strongly enough. But by using
several stones, each of which can be designed and treated according to
the necessities of color, impressions can be made that resemble the
English colored copper prints very closely, especially if the crayon and
pen or brush methods are united.
(6) A stone plate may be etched so that it will have the roughness
needed for crayon work. Grind it as clean and smooth as possible with
pumice, pour aquafortis over it and coat with gum. Wash it well in water
and dry with a clean cloth. Coat it very thinly but uniformly with
tallow into which is mixed a little lampblack, so that one can see if
the coating is perfectly even. With a small ball or roller covered with
fine cloth, roll or pat the stone till it has a very uniform tone. Now
pour a little diluted aquafortis on one end as a test to see if it
penetrates uniformly through the fatty coating. Practice is needed to
hit just the right thickness that the tallow coating must be. It must be
thin, and yet sufficiently thick to resist the aquafortis somewhat, so
that it yields only at those places where the roughness of the cloth on
the roller has removed it more or less.
If the test is satisfactory, make a raised border of wax around the
stone and pour the aquafortis solution on it. A solution of forty parts
of water to one part of aquafortis is better than a stronger one because
the stones are more equally attacked. As soon as the resulting bubbles
are as large as the head of a small pin, the etching fluid is poured
away quickly and replaced with pure water to get rid of the bubbles.
Pour away the water and apply etching fluid again. Repeat this four or
five times, according to the grain desired, and in the end wash the
stone well with oil of turpentine to remove all fattiness. Then it must
be washed with weak but very pure aquafortis, followed by a great deal
of very pure water. After cleaning and drying very carefully with a
clean rag, it is ready for use; and if the work has been well done, a
grain will have been produced that is prettier and much more even than
can be produced by rubbing with sand.
(7) The instructions given here teach how to draw on a stone that has
been prepared beforehand with aquafortis and gum. This is not in the
least inimical to the durability of the design if only the union of the
gum with the stone has been destroyed again by washing afterward with
diluted but pure aquafortis and every trace of this acid again has been
removed by copious washing with pure water. If there is a considerable
amount of the soap in the crayon, the good result will be greater than
with an entirely clean stone, because, since it has already been etched
twice, the etching after the design may be very limited, so that it is
not harmful to even the most delicate shadings in the design.
(8) Some attempts made by me to etch crayon designs more powerfully than
usual proved that the more delicate places would suffer, but if I
rubbed them up with a flat knife as described before, they appeared
again and I had the advantage that the whole plate was much better
prepared than it is with weak etching.
(9) If a crayon plate is spoiled in printing through carelessness or
lack of skill, the rules for remedying the trouble are the same as those
named for pen work, and the judgment of the worker must decide which
method is the most applicable. In general, it may be assumed that the
best remedy for blurred spots is to draw them over again with crayon;
and for smutted parts the best is to apply firmer printing-color, or to
cleanse with oil of turpentine and gum and afterward ink-in with
acid-proof ink, and then use light etching with weak aquafortis followed
always by coating with gum and water.
III
TRANSFER AND TRACING
In the pen and crayon method all the lines that are to take
printing-color are drawn directly on the stone with a fatty preparation.
But lithography has a unique way of transferring to the stone a drawing
or inscription that is first put on paper with the fatty substance. This
is possible only for lithography, and I incline to the belief that it is
the most important of all my inventions. It makes it unnecessary to
learn reverse writing. Everybody who can write on paper with ordinary
ink can do so with the chemical transfer ink, and this writing can then
be transferred to the stone and manifolded indefinitely. In Munich and
Petersburg this method has been introduced for government work. The
measures adopted in council are written during the session by the
secretary, with chemical ink on paper, and sent to the printery. Within
an hour impressions are ready to distribute among the members. I am
convinced that within ten years every European Government will have a
lithographic establishment.
In war the method would have a great value. It would replace the field
printery, and it permits greater speed and secrecy. The commander need
merely write his orders himself and have them printed in his presence by
a man who cannot read, to be sure that his plans will not be betrayed.
The engineer officers can draw plans and have them circulated among the
officers who need them.
Authors and scientists will find the method to be the means of
circulating their works in manuscript very cheaply.
Even artists will respect the method when its gradual perfection enables
them to draw their pictures on paper with ink or crayon and reproduce
them.
Not from boastfulness, but from conviction of the importance of the
method, have I thus recounted its advantages. I could fill a whole book
with detailed explanations. I wish to gain friends for the method, that
it may be improved to its ultimate degree by skilled artists.
The chemical ink used for the paper may be soft or firm. The paper may
be specially prepared or not. The stone may be warm or cold. The design
leaves the paper entirely and clings to the stone, or does so only
partly. To describe all this would take too much space. I will describe
only the method that I consider best, namely, a method under which the
work is done with a soft ink, and transferred to an unwarmed stone. This
is the quickest and surest, and has the advantage of not spoiling the
original.
In a clean coffee cup rub down a piece, as large as a hazel nut, of the
chemical ink described under the heading "Transfer Ink" in an earlier
part of this work. Dissolve with rain water or soft river water. The
amount of water is determined according to the need for fine or coarse
work. In the latter case, the ink should be thinner, that there may not
be too much ink in the design after it dries.
While the writing or design is drying, select a stone that either has
not been used before or at least has been thoroughly ground off, and
grind it down once more with pure and dry pumice stone without water,
until it is certain that all parts of the surface have been rubbed down
so thoroughly that the stone may properly be considered a new one. Clean
away the dust with clean paper, fasten the stone in the press, examine
the scraper to make sure that it is even, adjust the press for the
proper pressure; in a word, do all that is necessary for good
impressions. From this time on the greatest care must be taken not to
touch the polished stone with as much as a finger, not to mention
keeping grease and dirt away from it.
As soon as every point in the design on the paper is perfectly dry, wet
it on the reverse side with a sponge dipped into weak but pure
aquafortis until the paper is quite soft. Lay it between waste paper
sheets for a time, to prevent it from pulling out of shape and to remove
the excess moisture. It must be soft, but not wet, when the impression
is made.
Lay the paper face down on the stone. On it lay two sheets of dry waste
paper, then an equally large piece of taffeta, another sheet of waste
paper and make the transfer print with a moderately swift motion of the
press, which must have more tension than is used for ordinary
impressions. The power of a lever press is insufficient for larger
stones, and a cylinder press is required.
After a few minutes the stone is withdrawn from the press, the paper is
lifted off and the stone permitted to dry for a minute. It is better if
one can wait longer. Then put it into the etching-trough, and pour over
it, quickly and only once, a clean but weak solution of one hundred
parts of water to one part of aquafortis. It is necessary to be skillful
enough to cover the whole surface with one application. Then the stone
is washed by pouring pure water over it, and, if time permits, set aside
to dry. If time is limited, the gum solution to prepare the stone can be
put on at once. Now the transfer is on the stone, properly etched and
prepared. To make clean impressions, however, the printing-color must
first be rubbed on, then the stone must be inked-in with acid-proof
color and after that undergo another etching, a trifle stronger.
To rub on the printing-color, rub a little acid-proof color into a piece
of clean linen or cotton, so that it is well permeated but not thickly
covered. Rub this rag gently to and fro over the transfer while the gum
is still on it, till every part of the design is nicely inked. This
rubbing-in of color is an important part of many of the processes that
will be described later.
Now clean the stone well with water, ink-in with acid-proof ink, and
etch it again as has been described several times. Then it is ready for
printing. The last etching is not necessary if only a few impressions
are desired.
Transfer is applicable not only for pen designs but also for crayon. The
crayon used for the purpose should be softened a little with tallow, or,
if the harder crayon is used, the stone should be warmed when making the
transfer. But it must not be inked-in or have color rubbed on, until it
is quite cold again. For crayon transfer the paper used generally is
fine drawing-paper. It must be wetted with somewhat stronger aquafortis
that it may release the crayon more readily. The rest of the process is
the same.
Besides these two methods, the transfer process can be used for all
products of the book-printer's art, type as well as wood-cut. A freshly
printed sheet can be transferred directly to a stone, especially if the
printer has used our before-mentioned acid-proof ink instead of his
ordinary printer's ink. To get a perfectly clear transfer it is
necessary merely to see that the printer does not use too much overlay,
which would stamp the type too deeply into the paper; and that before
trying to transfer the printed sheet to the stone it is subjected to
gentle pressure in the press to free it from all inequalities. To do
this without at the same time risking any loss of ink which might
subsequently weaken the transfer, the sheet is well wetted, laid on a
clean, wet stone that has been prepared so that it will not have any
inclination to take color, and subjected to a very slight pressure, the
press being used with almost no tension. This makes the printed sheet
beautifully even. Then if it is transferred to a stone properly prepared
as described before, the transfer will be perfect.
Even old book pages can be freshened up and transferred. I have spoken
already of those that are on unsized paper. With prints on sized paper
the method is as follows:--
Make a paint-like mixture of fine chalk and starch paste. Thin it down
with water and paint the sheet. Dip a bit of linen rag into a thin color
made of thin varnish and tallow tinted with vermilion. Touch-up the wet
paper with the rag till every bit of type has taken red color. Pour
clean water over it and touch-up the paper everywhere with a ball of
fine cloth stuffed with horsehair. This will remove all surplus color.
Continue this till the type matter is only faintly red. Then the paper
must be washed very thoroughly with many pourings of water and laid
between waste paper sheets to remove all surplus moisture. The transfer
and so on must be done then as in the other cases.
Good transfers can be made also from a copper-plate engraving if the
copper-plate impression is made with our acid-proof ink. The ordinary
copper-plate ink is not so good. It will be self-evident that designs on
stone can be transferred and reproduced the same way.
The tracing process has the property in common with the transfer process
that it transmits only a small amount of fattiness to the stone and
requires subsequent rubbing-in of color to give it strength.
Coat a piece of thin and clean vellum paper with tallow and lampblack
and wipe it off again as neatly as possible, so that there remains only
a thin film, which will not smut the stone when laid face down, unless
pressure is exerted. Now draw on this with a clean English lead pencil
that contains no sand, or with a composition of lead, zinc, and bismuth,
and the pressure will force the design on the stone and transfer its
fat, which then penetrates the stone and will give impressions. In
preparing a stone thus made, greater care in etching is necessary than
even in the transfer process. Very weak aquafortis solution must be
used.
The process is something between pen and crayon work. It is quite
applicable for sketches and pictures that are to be illuminated.
IV
CONCERNING THE WOOD-CUT STYLE
For this purpose, the stone is coated completely with chemical ink on
the places where this style is to be used. As soon as it is dry, the
lights are drawn into it with a steel engraving-needle that is ground to
a sharp or broad point according to requirement. Those parts that are to
be very white, with fine lines and specks, are best drawn in with the
pen. Thus the wood-cut style differs from the ordinary pen design
chiefly in character and in the treatment of the darker parts. Its
practice is much easier on the stone than on wood, and it can be
combined with crayon work. Etching, preparation, and printing are the
same as with other styles.
V
TWO KINDS OF TOUCHE DRAWING
One of these resembles the wood-cut style in method but in effect
approaches copper-plate work. The stone is grained as for crayon,
etched, prepared with gum, cleansed with water, coated well with
soap-water, wiped, dried, and finally coated with a thin, colored
covering of fat, by either coating with acid-proof ink or with hard
chemical ink.
This first etching and preparation are required to prevent the fat to be
applied afterward from penetrating too deeply into the stone, so that it
may adhere only to the surface.
Now the design is made on it with a steel scraper. The manipulation is
like that for making tint plates. It demands greater care, however, and
better etching.
The completed design is etched (phosphoric acid being best) and coated
with gum. A few drops of oil of turpentine are poured on and all the
color is wiped away with a woolen rag, but without any rough rubbing.
Then the plate can be inked-in with fairly firm acid-proof ink.
The second method would excel crayon work if it were perfected. I have
advanced pretty far with it. It is an imitation of the ordinary wash
drawing which is done with a brush and dissolved Chinese ink on paper.
The stone, which must be very clean and free from all fat, is grained,
coated with soap-water, cleaned with oil of turpentine, and dried. Then
a hard chemical ink, which may contain a little more soap than usual, or
the ink described for brush work, is dissolved in pure rain water and
used on the stone with a brush just as it would be used on paper.
When the design is finished and very well dried, the entire surface of
the stone is rubbed gently with a fine cloth, in order to perforate the
color with tiny holes everywhere. As it will perforate more readily in
the parts where the ink has been laid on thinly, the succeeding
aquafortis will eat through there more easily, and thus the etching will
correspond nicely with the tones of the design. It is necessary,
however, to know the strength of the acid and the resisting power of the
ink very accurately. It is well to experiment and write down the best
proportions. In any case, the etching fluid must not be too strong and
the etching must not be done by pouring or brushing, but in the copper
etcher's manner, by framing the stone with wax so that the fluid will
lie on the stone. As soon as the resulting bubbles reach the magnitude
of a pin's head, the fluid is poured off instantly and then poured on
again till the bubbles reappear. How long this must be continued depends
on the strength of the ink.
It is understood, of course, that the etched stone must then be coated
with gum.
VI
THE SPATTER METHOD
This speedy and easily executed style surely will come into wide use
soon. It is done as follows:--
The outlines of a design are laid on a stone prepared for pen work, by
tracing. Then they are traced again, say four times, on sheets of paper.
On each sheet everything that falls into the category of one of the four
chief tones is cut out with a sharp penknife so that the four sheets are
like the stencils of card painters. Now the chief lines of the design
are made on the stone with chemical ink, using either brush or pen. Lay
one of the stencils on it exactly, weight it that it may not move, and
perform the operation of spattering.
This is done by dipping a small brush, such as a clean toothbrush, into
chemical ink and scraping it with a knife so that the ink is spattered
over the stone. Care must be exercised not to have too much ink in the
brush, for fear of blots or over-large spattering. After practice it
will be possible to produce such fine and uniform dots as cannot
possibly be produced by the pen. After the desired grade of shading has
been achieved, the stone is permitted to dry. Then the second stencil is
laid on and the operation repeated till all have been used. If enough
stencils are made, the whole design can be made by spattering. It is not
necessary, however, to make many, as the design has to be finished up by
hand afterward anyway.
This finishing-up is done first with the engraving-needle, which opens
and decreases all dots that are too large, and then with the pen, which
brings out the true proportions of the various tones.
VII
TOUCHE WITH SEVERAL PLATES
This really is only a process of using many tint plates. It makes
splendid effects possible, equal to any produced by an artist with
Chinese ink, and deserves the attention of all artists, especially as it
is the easiest and quickest of all methods, even though it is a little
circumstantial in the printing.
Draw the outlines of a design on the stone in chemical ink with pen or
brush, and then make four, five, or six transfers on stone plates
prepared for pen work. Register marks must be on the design. Now draw-in
the darkest parts on the first plate, the less dark ones on the second,
the lighter ones on the third, and so on till the whole design is
finished. The work is best done with a brush. One or more of the stones
may be designed with crayon; but the number of stones designed with ink
must be greater, in order to make the grain of the crayon designs
unnoticeable.
The etching is done as in pen work. For each stone the printing-color is
chosen according to the tone of its design. Of course particular
accuracy is vital; but the artist should not permit the apparent
difficulties to frighten him, as he will see very soon after trial that
no other method produces such beautiful results.
VIII
COLOR-PRINTING WITH MANY PLATES
This method, in which the various colors are drawn on several stones,
either with pen or crayon, resembles the one just described.
According to treatment the impressions will resemble a painting, a
copper-plate engraving in color, or an illuminated copper-plate
engraving, if the color stones are used merely to lay colors over a
design already printed in its entirety in black.
The whole process is so like the preceding one that I need merely
recount the colors that I have found serviceable for the purpose.
RED. Vermilion, red lake of cochineal, fine madder lake, and finally
carmine if it is mixed first with Venetian turpentine before being
combined with varnish, as otherwise it inclines to separate from the
varnish and unite with water, staining the whole printing-paper red.
BLUE. Berlin blue and mineral blue. Use only a small amount, sufficient
for a few hours. These colors dry quickly, and, besides, make the
varnish too tough, so that they must be thinned down from time to time
with a little linseed oil. Fine indigo is very good, also a blue lake
that is made of logwood and verdigris. This latter is not durable in
sunlight.
I have had no success as yet with green or yellow.
Verdigris is difficult to manipulate because it smuts the stone easily
and does not tolerate many mixtures. Schweinfurther green, one of the
new colors, is much better in all respects, but not dark enough.
Mixtures of yellow lake with indigo or mineral blue are not very
durable. Golden yellow ochre with mineral blue or indigo does not
produce a pretty green, and King's yellow mixed with blue is handsome
but not durable. Neapolitan yellow and the newer chrome yellow with blue
produce a green that is not dark enough.
I have obtained the handsomest and darkest green by printing the design
blue first and then printing over it a yellow plate, so that the yellow
lay over the blue. By using Berlin blue and fine ochre a fairly handsome
color is produced. On account of its loss of color in water, ochre
cannot be used unless Venetian turpentine is first mixed with the
varnish.
A handsome and at the same time dark yellow is equally hard to obtain.
Till a good color is invented, we must content ourselves with ochre,
Terra de Sienna, Neapolitan yellow, mineral yellow or chrome.
This printing with various colors is a process for which the stone is
superior; and it is susceptible of such perfection that in future true
paintings will be produced by its means. My experience convinces me of
this.
IX
GOLD AND SILVER PRINTING
This process is useful for decoration.
Those parts of the design that are to appear in gold or silver are drawn
with chemical ink on a stone prepared for pen work. After the drawing is
dry, it is etched and prepared in the usual way. The printing is done
with a silver gray color of firm varnish, fine crayon and a very little
lampblack. The paper must be entirely dry and very smooth. Soon after
the impression has been made, the printed parts are covered with silver
or gold leaf such as is used by gilders. It is pressed on slightly with
cotton, that it may adhere, and then a sheet of paper is laid over it.
Then the second impression is made, treated the same way, and so on.
No more impressions must be made than one can cover with silver or gold
in two hours. If the ink is on the paper too long, it will draw in and
not take the metal well. After gilding or silvering, the sheets must lie
for some hours or till the next day, that the ink may take perfect hold
of the paper, so that, in the succeeding pressing, it will not penetrate
the metal and make it look sooty. The pressing is done by laying six or
eight impressions on a clean stone under the press and passing them
through as for printing, with the proper tension. This tension must be
adjusted according to the firmness of the printing-color; therefore it
is best to make test with one sheet. Then, if the metal does not adhere
sufficiently, the pressure can be increased.
In the end all surplus gold or silver is removed by gentle wiping with
clean cotton. This is easy, as it will have fastened itself only to the
printed parts. If the impressions can be set aside for some days without
being wiped, it is better, and there is not so much danger of injuring
the brilliancy of the metal.
If gold and silver are to be printed on designs where there is other
color also, or where there is black, the print on which the metal is to
be applied must always be made first. Only when the sheets have been
gilded or silvered, pressed, wiped, and cleaned, is the black design to
be printed on from the next plate. That all this must be done with the
register marks previously described is, of course, self-evident.
So I close my description of the Relief method; and I hope that I have
made it all so clear that good results will come to all who follow my
directions.
CHAPTER II
INTAGLIO METHOD
This differs from the other in that the fat, which is to attract the
printing-color, is under the surface of the stone, the design having
been either engraved-in or etched, and then filled with fat.
Like the preceding method, it has several branches. The best are
these:--
I
THE LINE ENGRAVED STYLE
This is one of the most useful branches of lithography, and if the
artist has attained enough skill and the printer knows his trade, it
approaches very near to the handsomest copper plates, and at the same
time is about three times easier and quicker than work on copper. It is
splendidly adapted for writings and charts.
Choose a hard, uniform stone of the best kind. Grind it as finely as
possible. Etch with aquafortis and prepare with gum. This, at least, was
my early method, and it has remained in use in all printeries. Later,
however, I discovered that it is almost better to coat the stone with
gum without previous etching, because it can be more easily worked then.
Only in that case it must be perfectly clean and contain no concealed
fattiness. Immediately after the stone has been coated with gum (not
some hours later, as many do) the gum must be removed with water, that
it may not penetrate too deeply and thus cause a condition which will
prevent the finest lines from taking on color subsequently.
Then coat the plate with a tint made of gum solution and lampblack or
red chalk. Use a soft brush to make the coating very thin and uniform.
It has the double purpose, first, of giving the stone a color so that
the engraver can see his work, and of covering the prepared surface of
the stone with a protective coat that later will admit the fatty
printing-color only where it has been pierced by the engraving-tool. It
is evident that this latter property is increased according to the
amount of gum in it, yet only little gum must be used in it, the
permissible amount being only just enough to insure that the coating
shall not be easily wiped away during the work of engraving.
The stone must be absolutely dry before any work is done on it. Then the
design is traced on it, or drafted directly on it with lead. Transfer by
printing from paper is not advisable, because the resulting fattiness of
the design makes the graver slip.
For the actual work of engraving there is no counsel to be given except
to choose good and sharp needles of the very best steel, hard enough to
cut glass; and that all lines must be graved clean. There must be no
excessive pressure, and in wide strokes there must be no excessive
depths. In making very fine lines the stone should merely be touched by
the tool. If they appear white, and a little fine dust is observed, one
may be certain that they will appear properly in the printing. Broad
lines often can be made with one stroke of a flat needle, but generally
they are made by continued, gradual scraping. If the stone is to be only
lightly wiped during printing, the broad lines must not be deeper than
strictly necessary to make them clear, as otherwise they will squash. In
true art works, however, which are to be printed with firm color and
under more powerful rubbing and wiping, the depths of all lines must be
considered carefully, as they will print darker or lighter according to
depth.
Of all things the worker must take heed against touching the stone with
dirty or greasy hands, for a plate thus blemished is not only difficult
to engrave, but the grease finally may penetrate through the slightly
gummed coating and enter the stone, making much consequent trouble when
the printing begins.
It is more harmful still to wet the stone in any way, because then the
coating gum will dissolve, penetrate into the engraved lines and give
them a preparation, so that they cannot take color afterward. Therefore,
especially in winter, a very cold stone must be warmed before working on
it with the design, as otherwise the moisture in the room will
precipitate itself on the stone. Even the perspiration of the hands or
the moisture of the breath may cause damage. Therefore a good but
careful warming is very advisable.
If a plate has become moistened, as, for instance, from a breath, it
must be permitted to dry before doing any further work on it, and
especially it must not be wiped.
The dust resulting from the engraving is to be removed either with a
soft brush or by blowing it away.
Faulty lines that are noticed during the engraving may be scraped flat
very carefully so that no furrows are made, or they may be rubbed off
with fine pumice, after which those places must be prepared again, and
coated with gum applied with a small brush. Then the corrections can be
made. If only tiny places are faulty, they need merely be coated with a
mixture of weak phosphoric acid, gum, and lampblack or red chalk. This
prepares them. Thus they will not take color during the print, and so
are practically removed.
When the design is finished, the stone must be very dry that it may take
color well. But it must not be warmed, as this would incline it to take
smut. A color consisting of thin varnish, a little tallow, and lampblack
is now rubbed swiftly into all the depressions, and immediately wiped
away again with a woolen rag wetted with gum solution. This removes the
original red or black coating also.
Thus the hitherto colored stone becomes perfectly white, while the
engraved design, which has appeared white, is now black. The first
impression that the eye will gain will be that now the design appears
much finer than it did before. That is because every white line on a
dark background looks wider than a black line of the same thickness on a
white background. Therefore, while engraving, the artist should aim to
make his lines a trifle bigger than his eye would suggest.
In printing the stone the usual precautions required in every form of
lithographic printing must be observed. Beyond that, the matter of chief
importance is the proper composition of the printing-color.
Stone plates made in this way can be inked-in (1) by rubbing-in the
color and light wiping, and (2) by harder wiping, and (3) by the
ink-roller.
For the first method, a color can be made of thin varnish and burned
lampblack, the latter being present in fairly large quantity but very
finely rubbed-down. Into this color is mixed a quantity, equivalent to
one half the mass, of gum solution that is almost as thick as the color
itself. Everything must be mixed perfectly. If the solution is too
watery, it is not easy to mix it.
Three clean rags of cotton or linen are needed for inking. The first is
used to wet the stone and to clean it again in the end. The second is
colored with a small quantity of printing-color and rubbed in by
thorough wiping to and fro. The third rag is used to clean away any
surplus that may adhere. Then the first clean rag is used to cleanse the
stone thoroughly.
All three rags must be wetted with gum solution, and the first and third
must be washed several times during the day.
The stone plate is harder to clean at first than after some fifty
impressions have been made. Often there will remain little specks of
color on the prepared places, which are easy enough to wipe away but are
inclined to reappear. To remedy this it may be necessary to use more
clean rags in the beginning or more gum solution. If the stone has been
polished very well in grinding, this trouble will not be very noticeable
if at all. Under any circumstances, it will disappear gradually during
the printing, so that at last it will be possible to clean the surface
with the very same rag that lays the color on and is permeated with ink.
In the second method, the wiping is harder in order to take more color
away from the shallower lines, so that they will be pale compared with
the deep ones which then will appear very black and strong.
If the full beauty of a well-made copper plate is to be equaled, care
must be taken, as said before, to achieve the proper depth of
engraving, and the stone must be wiped harder. Otherwise the method is
the same, except that beautiful, shining impressions often can be made
by using a firm color, if the stone can bear the necessary tension.
The inking-in with the ink-roller is like the same process in other
methods, except that the color must be softer and the roller well filled
with it. It is necessary, also, to learn by practice how to work the
color into all the deep lines.
The impression must be made immediately after inking, as otherwise the
color will sink too deeply into the stone and not give a strong
impression without renewed inking.
The paper must be wetted a little more than in the other method.
The tension of the press is according to the size of the plates, but on
the whole must be two or three times greater than for the other methods.
More pressure still may be needed for very fine work, as the finer lines
often are harder to print than the coarse ones.
As soon as the first clean proof is pulled, it must be examined for
errors or faults in the design. If there are any, the stone is removed
from the press after being delicately coated with gum, and the
correction is made as follows: Before anything else, all such faults as
are to be removed entirely are either scraped away with a very sharp
knife or rubbed away with a very fine stone. The manipulation must be
very delicate to avoid grooves and furrows or sharp edges that afterward
will hold dirt. Then the parts thus corrected are coated with a mixture
of about six parts water, two parts gum, and one part aquafortis to
prepare them anew.
If anything new is to be added to the design or drawn in place of an
error, the stone is washed with water throughout, or, if the correction
is to be made only in a very small part, washed at the desired place.
Then it is coated with the red chalk as described in the beginning, but
so thinly that the design can be seen plainly through the red coat. Now
all that is desired can be engraved, filled again with the rubbing-in
color, and turned over to the printer, who cleanses it with gum water
and proceeds to print.
Only a few more useful suggestions:--
(1) It happens often that after the first rubbing-in of fat color and
the succeeding cleansing with water, the stone gets a "tone" over its
whole surface; that is, it takes color at least partly, and thus seems
to have lost its original preparation. This may be due to the fact that
not enough gum has been used in the original coating, or that the
rubbing-in was rough enough to injure the protective coating, or that
the rubbing-in-color was left on too long before being washed away with
gum solution.
A similar fault may develop with the second rubbing-in, after
corrections, and from the following causes: Poor color containing sand;
too much pressure with the greasy rags; the use of rags not sufficiently
cleansed of any soap used in washing them; rubbing-in of color with too
dry a color rag; in brief, from anything that may destroy the stone's
preparation wholly or in part.
Sometimes this defect may be remedied by mixing more gum into the
printing-color and into the water with which the cleaning-rags are
wetted. A firmer color may aid, if it is rubbed away by fairly strong
pressure of the rag as soon as it has adhered. This operates as a remedy
because the firm color takes hold of the dirt that has set itself into
the pores of the stones, and when it is removed, takes the dirt with it.
If none of these have results, there is nothing left except to grind off
the plate very slightly and carefully with an exceedingly fine stone and
gum solution. In the case of very delicate designs, this is not
applicable, because the finest lines have practically no depth.
Therefore they must be washed instead, a rag being dipped into weak
aquafortis or very much diluted phosphoric acid, and passed carefully
over the stone till the dirt disappears. It is well to mix in a little
gum, and also to rub acid-proof ink into the stone first, that the
etching fluid may not attack the design too much.
After this cleansing the tone will disappear, but another fault often
appears in place of it. The color, after rubbing-in, will not permit
itself to be wiped away readily, because the etching has caused some
roughnesses to which the color adheres in the form of little specks. A
number of clean rags with gum solution must then be used, or the stone
should be lightly rolled a few times with the ink-roller after being
rubbed-in. The roller will take the specks. Indeed, the fault hardly
ever appears if the inking-in is done with the roller, as suggested in
the remarks about the third form of inking-in.
As soon as some few impressions have been made, the roughness of the
plate disappears gradually and it can be wiped off without leaving
specks behind. Gentle rubbing with pumice finely powdered and mixed with
gum solution will remove the defect in the very beginning, but care is
needed lest the design be injured.
(2) A line that has so little depth that it is almost level with the
surface of the stone can be made as black as a deeply engraved one by
continued rubbing with the color rag. In using a firmer color the lines,
especially the wider ones, can be so overloaded after a while that the
ink will squash under the press. This surplus can be removed again by
the use of the ink-roller, but it is merely adding unnecessary work, as
proper practice in inking-in and the use of exactly the right
consistency of color will prevent the trouble.
(3) The best way to ink-in an intaglio design is to rub it in at first
with a somewhat firm color that however, contains enough gum, then to
wipe it a bit, and after that to rub gently to and fro over the stone
under gentle pressure, with a rag containing a less heavy color. A
firmer color does not adhere well to the more delicate lines, or, at
least, is hard to print; but by applying it first, the printing of the
wider and deeper lines is facilitated, while the succeeding rubbing with
softer color brings out the perfection of the finer lines.
The second rag with the lighter color must not be filled with it in
mass, but should merely be made sooty with it, so to speak. Otherwise
the lighter color would penetrate the deeper lines also and mix there
with the heavier color.
In the end the stone must be wiped again with an entirely clean rag, as
will be understood, of course, and thoroughly cleansed of all the
color.
II
THE ETCHED METHOD
In this the design is not engraved into the stone by pressure of the
hand, but with aquafortis or other acid, and only so much pressure is
exerted in making the design as is required to cut through the thin
coating of varnish with which the stone is covered. Therefore this
method permits great freedom of action and is applicable especially for
landscape work and for drawings in Rembrandt's style. In treatment as in
effect it resembles copper plate, and has its own advantage in that the
lines may be strengthened gradually by stronger pressure on the
engraving-needle. They may even be engraved a little into the stone so
that afterward the lines will become stronger under etching. This cannot
be done with copper at all or only with great difficulty.
These considerations and the quicker printing permitted by it recommend
the method to artists. In other respects it is not different from
working on copper. But it is necessary that a good lithographer should
be a master of this form of stone work, as it may be used for excellent
work, not only by itself but in combination with the other methods.
The stone must be ground as smoothly as possible, then treated with
aquafortis and coated with gum, so that its surface thus is completely
prepared. The aquafortis may be as strong as that used for etching pen
work. It suffices, also, to wipe the plate merely with a sponge dipped
in stronger aquafortis, the chief point being that no roughnesses shall
be caused by uneven etching.
A few minutes after this first operation is finished, the stone is
rinsed with water, dried and coated with etching-ground. This can be
best done as follows:--
(1) Warm the stone till an ordinary copper etcher's etching-ground will
become so fluid on it that it can be worked with a leather ball like a
varnish, and can be spread very thin and very evenly. Great care must be
exercised lest uneven warming crack the stone. If one can put it into a
nearby baker's oven, it will obviate the necessity for an especial
apparatus, which otherwise is demanded.
After coating the stone with the etching-ground, it is reversed while
still warm, and blackened by applying the flame of a tallow or wax
candle, as the copper-plate etchers do with their plates. Then the stone
is set aside to cool, with great precautions against dust. After it is
cool, dust will not harm it, and it can be kept indefinitely before use,
so long as the coating is protected against injury.
(2) The method given is the best; but if the warming of the stone
is difficult, there is a method applicable to cold stones. The
etching-ground is dissolved in oil of turpentine and laid on the stone
with a clean ball. A stone so treated must be put away for at least a
day in a place safe from dust that the oil of turpentine may evaporate.
To tint this etching-ground, it may be blackened by smoking with a
candle, as in the first case; or color, such as lampblack or vermilion,
may be mixed-in before it is applied. If one wishes to be very certain
that the stone will bear the etching well, it may be coated, very thinly
indeed, with a solution of very firm chemical ink after applying the
etching-ground.
The design is traced through this coating to the stone. It may be
transferred, also, but in that case, as soon as the transfer is on
the stone, it must be coated thinly once more with a solution of
chemical ink that does not, however, contain any lampblack or other
coloring-matter, but is transparent. This is necessary to fill out
any little holes and other injuries that may have been caused by the
pressure during transfer or by the inequalities in the transfer paper.
The designing with the needle is done as in the engraved manner, except
that the design is merely cut into the coating.
When the design is complete, the stone is laid into the etching-trough
and diluted aquafortis, muriatic acid, or strong wine vinegar is poured
over it repeatedly, according to the depth that the lines are to have.
If it is desired to etch so as to produce various tones,--some strong
and some delicate,--after the manner of the copper-plate etchers, the
pouring of acid should cease as soon as the very finest lines of the
design have been etched sufficiently. Wash away every bit of acid with
clean water and let it dry. Then, with a small brush and chemical ink,
coat all parts that are not to be etched further. It is well if the
chemical ink used for this purpose contains a little more soap than
usual, so that it can penetrate well into all the depressions and leave
no little holes. The coating must be done very cautiously, and it is
better to paint on too much ink rather than too little, as the design
will appear very dirty if etching fluid should penetrate here or there
through the coated portions.
When the ink is dry, etching is resumed till the second tones have been
etched as far as desired. Then the procedure is repeated, these second
tones being coated. Thus one continues till all gradations of shading
have been reached.
When the stone is fully etched, clean water is poured over it, and then
all the parts that have not been coated with chemical ink are treated to
a covering. The object of the previous coatings was to prevent access of
acid to the parts; but at the same time the ink prepared the parts.
Therefore the remaining portions of the design also must be sated with
ink before the stone is inked-in for printing.
Let the stone dry and then pour on it as much oil of turpentine as may
be necessary to dissolve this whole ground coating, which then is wiped
off with a woolen rag wet with gum solution. Then the stone maybe
inked-in and printed.
If an error is observed before etching begins, the first question is if
the defect is deeply engraved in the stone or if it has been drawn
merely through the ground coating without affecting the stone itself
materially. In the latter case it is necessary merely to cover the
defective place with chemical ink and draw into it the correction. If
the error has been graved deeply into the stone, it must be covered for
the time being, but nothing new can be drawn there. To do this, one must
wait till the plate has been etched and rubbed-in with color. Then the
incorrect part is scraped or ground off as evenly as possible, the place
prepared anew with aquafortis and gum, and the correction made with the
steel needle.
An intaglio design often is greatly beautified by being printed with a
tint plate like a crayon design. It can be done with a second stone, but
it can be obtained also with the one plate that has the design on it.
Wash the designed stone with clean water and then paint a thick coat of
chemical ink containing more soap than usual over the whole stone or
over only such parts as one desires to improve by adding a tone. If
lights are to be worked into this tone, it can be done, after inking-in,
with a small brush dipped into weak aquafortis.
In printing a stone thus toned, it must be rubbed-in thoroughly with the
black color and then cleaned as well as possible. The tint that shows on
the surface then is usually too dark, and the firmer the color the
darker it is. Then a second rag must be used with a much softer color,
which may even be thinned-down with plain oil or butter. It may also
contain another coloring substance. Rub this rag very gently to and fro
without much pressure till it is apparent that the dark tone has been
replaced by a light one. Then the stone is ready for printing.
Stones to be treated to a tint in this manner must be etched somewhat
deeper than others, because the lines do not appear so dark against a
tone.
In all intaglio methods there is the advantage that parts that turn out
too dark can be modified by fine scraping or grinding. The stone merely
must be rubbed with acid-proof ink beforehand, that the necessary
preparation of the corrected places with aquafortis or phosphoric acid
and gum may not attack the rest of the design. Those who attain skill in
scraping or grinding with a small piece of black slate can make the
softest gradations of shade in uniformly etched designs, and more easily
and quickly than by drawing or coating and etching. If the stone has
been rubbed-in with color for the first time only a short time
previously, the ground or scraped surfaces do not even need to be
etched. It is sufficient to wash them with a rag wetted in gum solution,
because the color will not have penetrated the stone so deeply that it
is likely to reappear.
III
DESIGN WITH PREPARING INK, COMBINED WITH SPATTERED AQUATINT
If a little dissolved gum is painted on a clean stone that then is inked
over its whole surface with printing-ink, none will adhere where the gum
is. In other words, the stone will have been prepared there. If the gum
is permitted to dry before the ink is applied, those parts will become
black, too; but as soon as a few drops of water are poured on and the
ink-roller passes over the stone, all the gummed parts will show up
white at once. This led me to make a color mixed with gum, with which
one can design on stone and that would have the property of preparing it
so that, on printing, the design or inscription will print white.
Some drops of gum arabic dissolved in water are mixed with an equal
amount of lampblack and rubbed very fine. This makes an ink similar to
Chinese ink, and keeps well when dried. It is rubbed down in a saucer
with a little water and then is ready for use.
It can be used on a clean stone, but is likely to flow, for which reason
the stone must be painted with a little weak aquafortis mixed with a
little nutgall, and then well cleaned again. Still better is it to paint
a clean stone some days before with oil of turpentine which is cleaned
off again immediately. In that case, however, it is well to mix a little
phosphoric acid into the drawing-ink, that the designed parts will be
prepared the more surely.
When the design is dry, the whole stone is inked with printing-color,
care being taken that not a drop of water touches it before it is
perfectly black. Then a little water is poured on, after which there
must be a little more rolling with the ink-roller till all the design
that is drawn with the preparing-ink is very white and clean. Now the
stone can be used for printing, being used in the manner used for pen
work. To make the design more durable, that it may not in time thicken
in its finer parts, the stone may be well inked-in with acid-proof ink
and after a few hours, during which it draws together well, the drawing
is etched in intaglio with aquafortis. Then it is coated with gum and
the printing is not likely to damage the design.
Here we have an intaglio design which is prepared and prints white.
The case may be reversed, and the black plate may be made white again
while the design will print black. This is because a stone treated with
preparing-ink gives almost the same result, once it is grounded with
acid-proof ink and etched as if the design had been engraved into
etching-ground. The etched lines need simply be filled with chemical ink
as in engraved work, to make them take color instead of coating them
with gum. Then there remains only the obstacle that the stone is not
prepared over its whole surface and takes color everywhere. However, it
is not difficult to clean the plate and prepare it perfectly, especially
if the stone is finely polished. It must be rubbed well with color, and
wiped clean at once without rubbing too much of it away from the etched
design. To make the color easier to wipe out, Frankfurter black and
tallow may be mixed in it. Then the rag that has been used for inking-in
is dipped into a mixture of twenty parts water, two parts gum, and one
part aquafortis, or better still, phosphoric acid, and rubbed back and
forth. The rag must not be too dirty and heavy with color, but it must
contain some so that the delicate parts of the design shall not be wiped
out and thus rendered susceptible to the acid. The next thing is to try
with the finger to see whether the color on top can be easily rubbed
away or not. In the latter case the wiping must be repeated till the
cleansing mixture has so far prepared the surface that the wet hand or a
wet piece of leather can cleanse it perfectly and free it from the dark
tone. Now the stone is inked-in with firmer color (acid-proof ink is
best). This is wiped off again thoroughly. Very weak aquafortis (or
phosphoric acid if it has been used for the work) is then poured over it
a few times, and this generally prepares it so well that it can be inked
and cleaned easily during the printing.
This method is useful for many kinds of art, and it must not be imagined
that it is superfluous because the other ways are quicker.
The engraving-needle is very good for drawing the finer parts of the
design through the etching-ground, but the coarser ones cause much
trouble, while with the pen, these are the very ones that are easiest to
produce. By using this method, both advantages can be combined and only
that is drawn with the pen which is most readily produced that way.
Thus the whole design, with the exception of the finest parts, is drawn
on the white plate with the black preparing ink touche. Then, when it
has been covered with acid-proof ink and made white, the finer parts are
worked-in with the needle. Or they may be left till the end, when they
are engraved-in.
For grounding or blackening the plate, one may use a substitute for the
acid-proof ink if the ground is to be firmer. Use the etching-ground
(mentioned several times before) of wax, mastic, pitch, and resin,
dissolved in oil of turpentine and mixed with fine lampblack. It will
then be susceptible of being laid beautifully uniform on the stone with
the ink-roller like printing-ink.
The spattered aquatint method resembles this.
The outlines of the design are engraved or etched into the stone very
delicately. After rubbing-in with black printing-ink and cleaning again
thoroughly, it is rinsed with a great deal of clean water to take away
every trace of gum. When it is dry a small brush is dipped into the
preparing-ink, and the stone is spattered as described in the article on
spatter-work. After drying, the dots that are too large are treated with
the needle, and missing ones are drawn in with the pen. Now apply the
roller with the dissolved etching-ground, that must, however, have only
enough color so that the outlines of the design can show through it.
Then the spattered work is brought out by rolling with water. Now coat
the lighter parts of the design and etch. Coat again and etch again, in
short do as already described for the method of successive etching till
the required gradations of shade have been attained. Then proceed as
usual with the inking-in and printing.
IV
AQUATINT IN COPPER-PLATE STYLES AND WITH ETCHING-GROUND
Any one who has the necessary appliances of the copper-plate worker for
making the aquatint ground used by them, and who has the necessary
skill, can do so, although the stone is endangered by the heat, and the
process is not advisable. The stone is dusted with fine resin. A flame
of spirits is applied below until the stone is so hot that the resin
melts and forms the ground.
Better is that copper-plate method in which the resin is dissolved in
highly rectified spirits of wine and poured quickly over the whole
stone. By breathing on this, the resin is made to separate from the
spirits and form tiny pellets, which thus make the required aquatint
ground.
Both methods are better for very coarse work than for fine designs.
Etching-ground, dissolved in oil of turpentine, or consisting simply of
tallow and put on the stone very uniformly with a cotton ball, is much
better, and produces an effect similar to wash drawing. However, it is
better suited to the lighter parts of a design, because it will bear
long and powerful etching only if one hits exactly the proper
proportions between ground and etching fluid. Therefore, it is well,
after the first tones have been etched and printed, to spatter
cautiously with chemical ink all those parts that are to be darker than
half-tones. Thus these dots will prepare the design so well at those
places that they can withstand the most powerful etching.
V
AQUATINT THROUGH CRAYON GROUND
This is a sort of middle process between aquatint and the scraped style.
It has the advantage of great speediness.
A stone that has been grained for crayon work is coated with the black
or red gum ground described for the engraved method, but without
previous etching, which would not do harm but is unnecessary. The
outlines are drawn in with the needle very lightly, because they are to
serve only to make the design visible. Those lines, however, that are
not to disappear in the aquatint tone, but are to show plainly, must be
cut as deeply as necessary for greater or lesser blackness. Then the
stone is rubbed with color and washed with water as in the engraved
method.
When it is entirely clean and dry, all the design will be black and the
stone white. The design must be examined carefully, and the various
gradations of shading should be separated in the mind into about eight
leading classes, of which four are numbered upwards to the lightest
parts, and four numbered downwards to the darkest. Everything in the
category of the four dark parts now is worked strongly with chemical
crayon. The purpose is to mass a number of evenly separated points over
these parts of the design that shall withstand the etching fluid like an
aquatint ground, between which the etching fluid may eat the stone and
thus form a coarser grain than could be attained merely by rough
grinding.
Then the four lighter parts must be coated with chemical ink. The very
lightest parts, and all that is to remain white, must be left white on
the plate and neither touched with crayon or ink.
Then the stone is etched for the first time. Following this pour clean
water over it and let it dry. Then of the four dark parts the lightest
are coated with chemical ink, and when it is dry the etching fluid is
applied again. After washing and drying, the next lighter portions of
the dark sections are coated, and so on till at last the very darkest
shadows have been coated. Then a clean brush is dipped into gum solution
and everything that should remain white is painted.
If a little oil of turpentine is now poured on the stone, and the crayon
and chemical ink are dissolved and wiped off, the stone can be inked
with soft inking-color and wiped again with a woolen rag. Then the
design will look as if a black veil were over it, because the lightest
parts of it and the half-shadows are not worked out at all. Wet a rag
with gum solution and a little phosphoric acid, and hold it in one hand
while with a fine scraper you scrape in the lights according to their
gradation or grind them in with a fine stone, for instance, a slate
pencil. As you scrape wipe over the design with the wet rag; and you
will see exactly what you are doing as the various gradations will
appear bit by bit. The printing in this as in other aquatint methods is
done with soft and thin printing-color, and the paper may be more
dampened than in other forms of lithography. The press needs
considerable tension and the stones must be thick.
VI
INTAGLIO CRAYON AND TRACED DESIGNS
The difficulty of getting impressions from crayon that shall not differ
from the original design on the stone led me to consider the use of the
grained style of the copper-plate engravers. A crayon-like design in
intaglio would have a greater strength in the dark parts and greater
delicacy in the lighter; be more durable and more easily corrected. I
saw at once that if I could attain some perfection, it would mean a
great step forward in color printing, also. Thus there were originated
the following two processes, which no doubt will in time interest
artists to a high degree.
A stone grained for crayon work is prepared with aquafortis and gum.
Then it is cleansed with water and covered with etching-ground when dry,
as is prescribed for the etched process. The ground must be laid on so
thinly and evenly that the design can be put in easily and that it still
will resist the etching.
When the stone is cold and the outlines of the design have been traced
on it, a scraper of the best steel is used to scrape in the lights and
shadows. The scraper touches only the most elevated points of the
grained surface at first, and produces larger points only after
continued work, just as chemical crayon does. When the whole stone is
finished, it is etched as in the etched process and then cleansed and
printed in the same way.
If the stone is etched a little more strongly in all its gradations, it
can afterward be ground down gently with very soft pumice, or, better
still, with black slate and a gum solution, once it has been rubbed-in
with color. This destroys all roughnesses that may remain from the first
manipulations. Parts that have turned out too dark can be lightened by
this polishing, and the over-light ones can be improved with the needle.
The designs made in this manner possess more delicacy as well as more
strength than the ordinary crayon designs, and there remains to be
desired only that they might have the advantage of the latter of being
worked black on white, as it is so much easier for the artist to judge
his work on the stone.
Of trials made in this direction, the two following ones met my views
the best.
One way is to grind the stone rough, pour diluted aquafortis and nutgall
over it, clean it with water and dry it. Then the design is drawn on it
with a black chalk made of oil of vitriol, tartar, and lampblack. The
further treatment is the same as that in the case of designs done with
preparing-ink.
I have not been able to give enough time to this process to invent
a preparing-crayon that shall be very hard without losing its
preparing-property. However, the compound mentioned will produce a
crayon with which one can work well after a few days. It has the
advantage that it may be rubbed on a shading-stump made of rolled paper,
which will prove excellent for working the finest shadings into the
plate.
The other way is as follows: A colorless chemical ink is made of one
part wax, two parts tallow, and one part soap. This I dissolved in water
and with it I coated the stone, which had been ground rough and prepared
with phosphoric acid, nutgall, and gum, and then washed with water. The
coating was applied very lightly, but enough so that it could bear the
succeeding etching.
As soon as it was dry, I drew the design on it with a black crayon made
of tartar, gum, a little sugar, and a good amount of lampblack, or I
used the ordinary black Paris crayon or a fine English lead pencil. Then
the design was etched, after which alum water was poured over it, and it
was set aside to dry.
As soon as it was absolutely dry, I coated it with fatty color, and then
cleaned the stone with oil of turpentine and gum solution. If I wanted
an exceedingly smooth surface, I ground the stone gently; but then the
design had to be etched deeply.
The good results of these two experiments led me to the following
process: By following my instructions exactly the worker can produce
striking imitations of wash as well as crayon drawings, and at the same
time unite the greatest possible ease of drawing as well as certainty of
good impressions, so that this process really deserves to be called one
of the very best of all printing-methods.
The outlines of the drawing must be drawn on the finest and thinnest
paper that can be obtained. Then a very finely polished stone is
prepared with aquafortis and gum, or, better still, with phosphoric
acid, nutgall, and gum, cleansed with water and dried. Then it is coated
very thinly with tallow, which is patted with a very clean leather ball
or with the hand, so that it shall be very uniformly laid over the
stone. Everything depends on the thinness and uniformity of this tallow
coating. Then the stone must be smoked with a wax torch or a tallow
candle. The durability of the ground depends on this smoking, as without
it a very thin coating of tallow would be penetrated by the acid.
Now the stone is ready for the design. It must not be touched by so much
as a finger. The designed paper is pasted to the stone at the ends,
without pulling, as the least motion would injure the stone's surface.
The arrangement of elevated supports for the hand (previously described)
is needed for the succeeding work. The drawing is then done on the paper
with Paris chalk, delicate Spanish chalk, an English lead pencil, or
with a small piece of lead. All that is drawn on the paper will impress
itself on the stone underneath and remove the ground at those places,
thus opening the surface for etching.
When the drawing is finished, it is etched and covered as with the
etched process, and afterward is printed as in that process.
When sufficient practice has made one a master of this style, it will be
amazing what great perfection, what miniature-like delicacy, and also
what strength can be obtained by proper etching.
Besides, this latter process is applicable in combination with the
etched process.
VII
TOUCHE DRAWING WITH ETCHING INK
This method is very useful for filling-out etched or engraved designs,
also for correcting and completing the various aquatint processes.
Dip a little brush into lemon juice mixed with a little lampblack and
draw the design on the finely polished and prepared stone. The acid
will eat little holes into it, which will take color if the lemon juice
is washed away as soon as it has completed its etching, and the etched
part has been dried and rubbed-in with fat color. To produce darker
shadings it can be laid on the same place twice, and for lighter
shadings the acid either is washed away sooner or diluted with water.
I do not doubt that a skillful chemist could invent an etching ink which
would be even more perfect, and then a drawing could be washed on the
stone as easily as on paper, which would mean immense advance for the
art.
CHAPTER III
MIXED METHODS
Stone-printing has the unique property, owned by no other process, that
it is possible to print relief and intaglio simultaneously. This
property makes possible so many combinations of the two processes that a
book might be filled with their description. I assume, however, that the
reader will have understood the entire science of the new art from what
I have said, and that his own reflection will tell him what methods to
use or to combine for each of his purposes. I limit myself, therefore,
to a few leading methods, thus giving some fundamental idea of the
manipulations.
I
PEN DESIGN COMBINED WITH ENGRAVING
This can be utilized in two ways:--
When the pen drawing is finished and etched, the stone may be coated
with red gum covering and the needle used to draw-in the finest lines.
The printing is the same as with pen work. The second way is to make the
engraved or etched part of the design first, and after the stone has
been rubbed-in with acid-proof ink, cleansed and dried, to draw-in the
rest with the pen and chemical ink. As soon as the design is properly
dried, it is etched a little and prepared, and otherwise handled like an
ordinary pen drawing.
Both ways carry the advantage that the pen can be used for those parts
best done with the pen, and the engraving-tool for those parts best done
with it. The latter is especially excellent for very fine and elegant
script, such as title-pages, the finest strokes being made first with
the needle and the broader ones with the pen.
II
INTAGLIO DESIGN WITH RELIEF TINT
This has been described thoroughly in our chapter on etched work.
III
INTAGLIO AND RELIEF WITH SEVERAL PLATES
As already shown, intaglio and relief can be printed on one stone.
Therefore it is evident that the two methods can be utilized still
better for several plates, for instance, printing on an etched design
with one or more plates that are tinted in relief, or by printing over a
crayon or pen design in relief a tone plate in aquatint in intaglio.
How to do this has been explained in the descriptions of relief and
intaglio methods.
IV
TRANSFORMING RELIEF INTO INTAGLIO AND VICE VERSA
This is, so to speak, the test of a good lithographer, as it is the most
difficult of all methods, and demands exact knowledge of all
manipulations. I will try to explain it with a few examples.
EXAMPLE I
_To etch a transfer into intaglio_
Prepare a finely ground plate with phosphoric acid and gum, wash very
well with water, and let it dry. Now transfer to it a design made with
soft ink or crayon, or a fresh copper-plate impression. Let the stone
rest for a few hours, that the fatty colors may take hold well. Coat it
with clean gum water, and with a rag dipped into acid-proof ink try to
rub about as much color on the design as appears to be required to make
it withstand some etching. This etching is done with pure aquafortis
which in addition has a little alum mixed with it. Etch only enough to
eat away the uppermost parts of the prepared surface that have not been
permeated with fat. Pour clean water over the whole stone and coat it
with strong soap-water that is permitted to dry on it. Finally, clean
away the soap with oil of turpentine. Ink-in with acid-proof color which
will color the whole stone. Now as soon as it is wiped gently with a rag
dipped in gum solution and weak phosphoric acid, the whole design will
appear in white as if it had been made with preparing-ink. If the stone
is inked now with acid-proof ink and treated exactly as instructed in
the article on the use of preparing-ink, the design that was in relief
originally will be found in intaglio.
This process is capable of great perfection and can produce true
masterpieces especially if the stone is treated finally with the
engraving tool.
EXAMPLE II
_To etch into intaglio a design made with chemical fatty ink or crayon_
Etch and prepare the clean stone with phosphoric acid and gum. Then put
on the design with ink or crayon, and perform the succeeding etching and
other manipulations exactly as in the preceding case.
EXAMPLE III
_To etch into intaglio any design etched into relief_
In the two examples given, the plate is etched with phosphoric acid
before transfers or designs are made on it. As the weak etching with
aquafortis and alum does not penetrate the places where there is fat,
these retain their phosphorus-preparation, and thus are not so readily
destroyed by the succeeding application of soap, whereas the etched
parts immediately drink in the fat as soon as the soap touches them.
In stones designed in the ordinary way, where the design does not lie on
the prepared surface, but has really penetrated well into the stone, the
transforming is somewhat more difficult, but can always be done after
practice by using the following means:--
Wash the stone with water and then coat chemical ink or strong
soap-water over it and let it dry. Then clean the stone with oil of
turpentine and ink-in well with acid-proof color. Dip a linen rag into
gum water and phosphoric acid and endeavor to wipe away the color from
the relief design. After wiping to and fro quickly a few times, try with
the finger if the design will not whiten, or if the wiping with the acid
must be continued. Care must be taken not to injure the ground through
too much pressure. When the design gets pretty white, ink the stone with
firm acid-proof ink, and then treat as in the preceding cases.
In this way designs in relief that have not turned out as desired can be
changed into intaglio, and then, by the use of successive coatings and
etchings, as described before, improved by making gradations of tones.
But it requires great skill, lacking which one may destroy his plates
utterly.
EXAMPLE IV
_To change an intaglio design into relief for easier printing_
Many kinds of scripts and designs are easier to engrave with a needle
than to do in relief with a pen; or one may have workmen who can use the
engraving tool better than the pen, as the use of the latter requires
more industry and skill than the use of the etching- or
engraving-needle.
If one wishes to transform such a design into one in relief, because
then it can be printed more quickly and easily and also will give more
impressions, the following method will prove useful:--
Ink the stone with good acid-proof ink, and after a few hours etch it
like a pen design till it is apparent that the design is showing up. Let
it rest again a few hours after etching and become quite dry. Then coat
with gum. Otherwise treat it for printing like an ordinary pen design.
* * * * *
Now I believe that I have described faithfully and as clearly as I can
all the lithographic methods to which unceasing research and endless
experimentation have led me. In the following Appendix I merely make a
few useful remarks, which do not pertain exclusively to lithography, yet
are intimately connected with it and surely will not be unwelcome to art
lovers.
[Illustration]
APPENDIX
I
PRINTING WITH WATER AND OIL COLORS SIMULTANEOUSLY
When a plate, whether intaglio or relief, has been inked-in with oil
color, it may be coated with one water color, or it may be illuminated
with several, and then printed-off in one impression. Two parts of gum
and one part of sugar are used for this. They can be dissolved with any
water color. Care need be taken merely that the colors are well dried
before the impression is made.
If, however, it is desired that the colors have shades so that the
impressions may resemble English or French colored copper-plate prints,
the process is as follows:--
Etch all shades of the color pretty deeply in any of the stippled or
aquatint styles. After this, coat the stone with gum solution, that it
shall take no color in these depressions. Clean off the chemical ink or
the ground with oil of turpentine, and prepare the whole plate if it has
not been prepared already on its surface. Then coat it with red gum
surface, and into this inscribe all those lines that are to remain
black. Then the color is rubbed-in and the stone cleansed so that it
will be white everywhere except in the engraved parts. When it is
inked-in now, it can take color there only, and the other depressions
(namely the various shades of the color) will remain white because they
have been prepared. Now it is necessary only to coat each part with the
desired water color and it will be denser, and therefore darker,
wherever there are more and greater depressions.
II
SIMULTANEOUS CHEMICAL AND MECHANICAL PRINTING
When a pen drawing is so constituted that the various lines are close
together and there is no white space on it that is greater than at most
one half inch in diameter, it will permit printing in a purely
mechanical way without being prepared. It need merely be etched into
all the relief possible without under-eating the lines. All that is
needed then is a color-board or a so-called dauber, made as follows:--
A thin board of soft wood, about eight inches long and six inches wide,
is planed down till it is not more than one line in thickness. Glue on
it a piece of fine cloth or felt almost as large as it. Over this glue
another board, of the same area as the first, but one quarter inch
thick. It must be very well-dried wood, and must be made very true with
the plane, or better still, by rubbing on a perfectly level stone with
sand. This latter board is provided with a handle; and when all is dry
this dauber is ground off true again with fine sand and oil on a stone.
Lay the printing-color on this utensil very gently and uniformly with a
leather ball. Tap and pat the stone, which has first been cleaned with
oil of turpentine over its whole surface, very carefully with the
appliance, holding it as horizontal as possible and taking great pains
to distribute the color evenly.
As compared with chemical printing, this process in itself has no
advantages, but can be united with it and thus used to print three
colors from one plate. This is shown by the following
EXAMPLE
Suppose that a design shall be colored black, blue, and red, and that
all these colors shall be put simultaneously on one plate. Take a stone
made ready for pen work, and prepare it first of all with phosphoric
acid, nutgall, and gum, then wash it with water, and let it dry. Now
draw-in all that is to be red with chemical ink, that must, however,
contain only just enough soap to permit its solution. When this drawing
is dry, etch it into pretty high relief, the higher the better. After
this prepare the stone with gum, wash it, and let it dry again. Then
coat it with etching-ground that has been dissolved in oil of
turpentine, and draw-in all that is to be black, between and over the
high etched parts. Then etch this design pretty powerfully into
intaglio, after which wash with water, rinse with alum solution, and
dry. When the plate is thoroughly dry, rub-in printing-color, and clean
with a woolen rag dipped into gum solution and oil of turpentine. Then
it will become white everywhere except in the deep lines where it will
have taken color. After cleansing again with water and drying, draw-in
all parts that are to be blue, using a chemical ink that contains a
great deal of soap. Let this dry well, and cleanse the plate with gum
and oil of turpentine again. Then it is ready for inking-in.
To lay on the color, proceed as follows:--
First the black is rubbed-in, as prescribed in the article on the
intaglio style. In the very deep parts the stone will get very black. In
the parts last drawn, that are level with the surface, it will be only
gray, if the color permits ready wiping, which can be facilitated by the
use of gum and a woolen rag. Then the tone remaining on the level parts
drawn with the chemical ink will be so pale that it will not affect the
blue color. Now wipe a rag dipped in blue color gently to and fro till
everything that is to be blue has taken the color well. Then take the
dauber which has been filled with red color, and pat the stone, which
should be dry by that time. Then the parts of the design in high relief
will take the red color, and thus an impression can be made with the
three colors at once. Each inking-in must be done the same way.
III
USE OF THE STONE FOR COTTON-PRINTING THROUGH WIPING. A UNIQUE PRINTING
PROCESS
Etched copper plates have been used for some considerable time for
cotton-printing, and as the ordinary oil colors were not suitable for
this, while the suitable colors were too fluid, so that they were always
wiped out of the engravings, another method was devised. The plate was
covered with color and then a kind of straight edge was scraped across
it, which removed all color from the surface, leaving it only in the
depressions.
This same sort of wiping is applicable to stone, and it is necessary
merely to see that the stone is very even and highly polished. The color
must be one that permits itself to be wiped off clean, and the wiper
must be very uniform and sharp.
Starch-paste or gum with some caustic material is easily scraped off.
IV
COLOR PRINT WITH WIPING
This process is also useful for printing papers such as cotton papers,
tapestry, etc. Almost all intaglio designs permit good printing in this
way, if a handsome color is used.
Fresh cheese, or drops of congealed milk, mixed with soap, potash,
linseed oil varnish, and the desired tint, make an excellent
composition, with which all intaglio designs, even aquatints, can be
printed handsomely if the plate is very smooth.
If the design is made well, the various colors can be laid on quite
roughly, care being taken merely that each color shall be laid only
where it is desired. Then the stone should be permitted to dry, after
which all the surplus colors can be scraped away with one manipulation,
without danger that one will mix with the other in the design.
V
OIL-PAINTING PRINT THROUGH TRANSFER
Colored impressions resembling oil paintings can be made by printing
with colors and several plates on paper grounded with oil color. But
perfect oil paintings are produced only as follows:--
Make a considerable quantity of special paper by coating unsized paper
thinly with starch-paste or glue. On this make the separate impressions
from each color plate. If the painting itself is to be produced from
these separate parts, take a canvas that has been prepared for oil
painting and lay on it a wetted impression of one of the colors, let us
say, red. Print this off under light tension of the press, and when the
paper is pulled away, it will be seen that the color has been
transferred to the canvas. Then a wet impression of another color is
laid carefully in place so that it will register exactly, and the
process is repeated, till all the colors have been transferred to the
canvas.
The transferring can be done with the hand or with any other method, as
no great power is needed, since the color transfers itself readily.
VI
STONE-PAPER
This is the name already generally adopted for a substitute invented by
me for the Solenhofen stones.
I had been trying for a long time to invent some stone-like mixture that
would be equally suitable for printing. The ordinary parchment of the
writing-tablets would do if its surface were not soluble in water. I
made considerable progress with a composition of lime and freshly
congealed milk after the mixture had aged enough so that the lime could
sate itself with oxygen. Then I made a composition of chalk, gypsum, and
glue, which I dipped into a solution of nutgall and alum, and I was able
to use this for coarser work, at least, if not too many impressions were
required.
I did not get a wholly satisfactory idea, however, until I observed that
fat spots that were caused on a stone by oil, and also designs that had
been transferred to the stone with mere oil color, refused to take color
after a few weeks if they were prepared in only the slightest degree.
I reasoned from this that oil suffered a change from exposure to air,
and by combining itself presumably with oxygen acquired a more earthy
character. This deduction may be correct or not; but it led me to
experiment with oil as a binder for various earthy substances, because I
reasoned that such a composition would be insoluble in water. The only
question, then, would be if despite the intermixed oil it would permit
itself to be prepared, that is, if it could be made resistant to other
fats.
The result justified my hopes so thoroughly that I am convinced now that
with various compositions of clay, chalk, linseed oil, and metallic
oxides a stone-like mass can be made that is excellent for coating
paper, linen, wood, metal, etc., and thus for making plates that not
only replace the stone for printing, but in many cases are far superior
to it.
I shall give the world a book soon about these fortunate attempts of
mine, and thus perhaps give expert chemists an opportunity to perfect my
invention still more.
VII
CHEMICAL PRINT ON METAL PLATES
All metals have great inclination for fats; but if they are quite clean,
being ground with pumice, for instance, or rubbed-down with chalk, they
can be prepared like a stone, that is, they acquire the property of
resisting oil color, thus becoming available for chemical printing.
Iron and zinc can be prepared like the stone with aquafortis and gum.
To prepare zinc and lead, aquafortis with nutgall and gum will serve,
but a slight admixture of blue vitriol will make still a better
preparation, and this in a degree that improves according to the amount
of copper that the surface acquires from the coating. The most durable
preparation for lead and zinc is a mixture of aquafortis, gum, and
nitrate of copper.
Brass and copper are best prepared with aquafortis, gum, and nitrate of
lime, all mixed in proper proportions.
Lime and gum are a good preparation for all metals; also potash with
salt and gum.
This alkaline preparation, however, is applicable only for the intaglio
style. For the relief style, the acids are better.
Recently I have applied chemical printing from metal plates to a new
form of copying-machines, with which everything written or drawn with
chemical ink or crayon on paper can be transferred in a few moments and
manifolded several hundred times. His Royal Majesty of Bavaria has had
the supreme condescension to grant me a six years' patent on this
invention.
Until now I have not been able to give this matter the necessary
attention because the work of publishing this book hindered me; but now
I shall make such a stock of these simple, convenient, and so widely
useful hand-presses that it will be worth while to open a subscription,
which would enable me to sell them for a low price. This would please me
best, as my highest reward would be the general use of my inventions, to
fulfill which desire I have taken the utmost pains in this work.
In the last parts of the book I have gone less into details, merely
because I assume that those who have mastered the first parts of this
work will not need many words to understand the rest.
If the demand for this perhaps prematurely announced book had not become
so vehement lately that I could not possibly delay its publication any
longer, I should have tried to produce sample illustrations that combine
inner art value with good printing. As it is, I postpone this for a
supplementary volume soon to appear, in which I shall occupy myself
mainly with processes and methods not yet generally known, representing
each by means of a true work of art. With which I now end my text-book,
with the hearty wish that it will find many friends and create many good
lithographers. This may God grant!
The Riverside Press
PRINTED BY H. O. HOUGHTON & CO.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
U.S.A.
* * * * *
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:
Punctuation and spelling standardized.
Inconsistent hyphenation retained.
This book has no Table of Contents for Section I.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Invention of Lithography, by Alois Senefelder
***
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A Garveyite's commmentary on world events and other stuff. (10 years of informed commentary)
Days Black People Not Re-Enslaved By Trump
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Arrested For Being An "Uppity Negro"
Sandra Bland was wrongfully arrested for being an Uppity Negro(tm). The dash cam video proves this beyond any doubt whatsoever:
[This link is broken]
You need to watch the video from the beginning because it is instructive on what was going on in the mind of the officer. The footage starts with him giving a "friendly" warning to a driver he had pulled over. Apparently that person did not have their insurance on them. He's friendly to the driver. It is apparent, later that he EXPECTS that people he pulls over should all be happy about being pulled over.
After giving the warning to the driver he pulls a U-turn and heads up the road. He runs up on Sandra's car, which is in the left lane. Sandra seeing the police car running up behind her quickly pulls into the right lane to let the officer pass. She does so without using her signal. A reasonable officer (or any other person for that matter) would have seen the courtesy given to them and moved to pass the slower moving vehicle. This cop uses that courtesy as a pretext to stop Sandra on a technicality. Let me be clear here, under law the officer has a right to pull Sandra over for non indicating a lane change. However, they have discretion as to the enforcement of such an infraction. I would suggest that because Bland had out of state plates, the officer decided to use his "discretion" to "investigate" an out of stater. It happens in parts of Texas often.
I will also point out that Bland pulled over immediately which indicates that she was cooperative. Cooperative does not mean "happy to be in the situation".
The officer approaches the passenger side of the vehicle (standard procedure) asks for Sandra's documents and asks her if she's OK. Now personally I think the officer was being an ass for asking the person he just inconvenienced whether they are OK. BUt maybe in that part of Texas he expects people to be OK with that. She doesn't say much. He returns to his vehicle to run the plates and whatever else police do in such situations. When he returns to Sandra's vehicle, this time at the driver's side, he asks again if she's OK. She says she isn't and he asks why and she tells him that she didn't appreciate being pulled over after moving over to let him pass. That is reasonable. At that point the entire attitude of the police officer changes and he steps outside the law. It is not resisting an officer to tell him why you're bothered by a stop, particularly after that officer just asked for that information. The old rule applies: don't ask questions you don't want the answers to.
Then the officer goes further into abuse of power by telling Sandra to put out her cigarette. Why? What did her smoking have to do with being given a ticket for changing lanes? Sandra was absolutely right to question him on that. When he then takes her refusal to comply with what is CLEARLY an UNLAWFUL order, he orders her out of the vehicle. Although an officer can order a person out of a vehicle, it must be under probable cause. He has none. You cannot give a lawful order to enforce a previous UNLAWFUL order.
The officer tries to tell Bland that he was going to do her a favor by giving her a warning. This goes back to the stop at the top of the video. He expects everyone to smile and be thankful that he's only wasted his time demonstrating his authority. This is why I say that it is clear that Bland was arrested for being an "Uppity Negro". Once Bland answered his question as to why she was upset he should have given her the ticket and gone about his business and he knows this. Everything that happened after that was because he was personally offended. This was not law enforcement this was ego enforcement.
At this point I cannot say beyond reasonable doubt whether Bland was murdered in the jail cell, but I can say for certain that had the officer at the initial point of contact acted in a professional manner that Bland would be alive today.
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Pile-CC
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374 Pa. 418 (1953)
Paustenbaugh, Appellant,
v.
Ward Baking Company.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Argued May 27, 1953.
June 26, 1953.
*419 Before STERN, C.J., STEARNE, JONES, BELL, CHIDSEY, MUSMANNO and ARNOLD, JJ.
Louis Vaira, with him Esler W. Hays, for appellant.
Irwin M. Ringold, for appellee.
OPINION BY MR. JUSTICE ARNOLD, June 26, 1953:
In this action of trespass for damages for personal injuries and property damage, the jury rendered a verdict of $3000 for the plaintiff, and he appeals from the judgment entered thereon after refusal of his motion for a new trial.
The action arose out of a collision between plaintiff's automobile and defendant's truck on July 22, 1949. *420 Liability was admitted by the defendant, and the sole question before the jury was the amount of damages suffered and recoverable by plaintiff.
Plaintiff alleges as grounds for a new trial that: (1) the verdict was inadequate; (2) the court erred in refusing his motion for withdrawal of a juror and continuance, based upon remarks made by plaintiff's wife (who was also a witness for him) to three of the jurors; (3) he did not receive a fair and impartial trial; (4) defendant prejudiced plaintiff's case by improper questions asked of plaintiff and his witnesses on cross-examination.
(1) Plaintiff asserts that his proof showed damages, exclusive of pain and suffering, inconvenience, and loss of earning power, in the amount of $3232.55: consisting of hospital and medical expense ($1091.62), loss of car ($450.00), and loss of earnings ($1690.93). At the outset, it is to be noted that the record does not sustain his position in this regard. The payroll clerk of the plaintiff's employer did testify that he had lost wages of $1690.93, but it was not established that the days lost, except for some 57 days, were the result of the accident. In addition, he was in another accident in November, 1950, after which he was off work for 12 days. The loss-of-car item was his own estimate of depreciation resulting from the collision, based on his own estimates of its value before and after. The total repair bill was $109.70, and the total damage that can be said actually to have been established would be some $1,800.
The guide for determining whether a new trial should be granted for inadequacy of verdict has often been set forth in the cases. "Where the trial court grants a new trial on the ground of inadequacy the appellate courts will not interfere in the absence of a *421 gross abuse of discretion. . . When the trial court refuses relief against an allegedly inadequate verdict the appellate court will exercise even greater caution in reviewing its action. It was said by President Judge RICE in Palmer v. Leader Publishing Co., 7 Pa. Superior Ct. 594, 598: `The power to grant a new trial because of the inadequacy, as well as the excessiveness, of the damages allowed by the jury is undisputed, but this power is much more rarely exercised in the former than in the latter case. If such caution is properly exercisable by the trial court, much more cautiously should an appellate court proceed where the trial court, after a conscientious review of the case, has refused to set aside the verdict. No mere difference of opinion, nothing short of a clear conviction, compelled by the evidence, that the jury must have been influenced by partiality, passion or prejudice or by some misconception of the law or the evidence, will justify an appellate court in declaring that the trial court was guilty of an abuse of discretion in refusing a new trial for inadequacy of damages where neither the evidence in the particular case nor the law applicable thereto furnished any definite standard by which they might be measured, and the jury had no other guide in arriving at the amount to be awarded but pure conjecture.'": Coleman v. Pittsburgh Coal Co., 158 Pa. Superior Ct. 81, 85, 43 A. 2d 540. "Indeed, it would seem that it is only where the verdict was merely nominal that the appellate courts have looked askance on a refusal of the trial court to set it aside and grant a new trial": Carpenelli v. Scranton Bus Company, 350 Pa. 184, 188, 38 A. 2d 44. (Italics supplied). "It is the province of the jury to appraise the worth of the testimony and to accept or reject the estimates given by witnesses. If the verdict bears a reasonable resemblance to damages which were proven, it is not the function of this Court to substitute its *422 judgment for that of the jury": Perzak v. Coulter, 171 Pa. Superior Ct. 475, 478, 90 A. 2d 256.
What was said in Zamojc v. Fisher, 127 Pa. Superior Ct. 171, 172, 193 A. 315, is particularly applicable here: "The verdict is small, having regard to the plaintiff's evidence as to his injuries and expenses in connection with them, but it is substantial and not merely nominal. . . The amount of the verdict was not enough to reimburse plaintiff for his time lost from work because of the accident, according to his testimony, and for his medical and hospital expenses, without any allowance for pain and suffering. But the jury might well have found that the doctor's bill was padded, and it was for them to decide whether the injury he received required his absence from work for eighteen weeks." The foregoing was quoted with approval in Takac v. Bamford, 370 Pa. 389, 88 A. 2d 86, where this Court affirmed plaintiff's judgment of $3000, although his testimony was that his injuries were severe and prevented him from working for 21 months at a job the average salary of which was $2600 yearly, and in addition showed other expenses. We there stated: "In the instant case, the court en banc in an opinion written by the learned trial judge, who saw and heard the plaintiff and his witnesses, both lay and medical, after a careful review of the evidence as to damages and the conflicts therein, concluded that it could not properly disturb the jury's finding. The grant or refusal of a new trial for inadequacy of the verdict is a matter for the sound discretion of the trial court whose action will not be reversed on appeal except for a clear abuse of discretion such as where a new trial is refused when the verdict is so unreasonably low as to present a clear case of injustice."
The court below declared in its opinion that the "record shows that plaintiff did not present a convincing *423 case [as to damages]" and with that we agree. Plaintiff's own medical testimony disclosed conflict as to his condition, and defendant's testimony was that he was not as seriously injured as he claimed. There was no abuse of discretion.
(2) At recess during trial, when only she and three of the jurors were in a rest room, plaintiff's wife approached them and proceeded to tell them "how sick her husband was and she couldn't stand it much longer." In answer to the question of one of them she acknowledged that she was plaintiff's wife, whereupon the jurors went into the hall, followed by plaintiff's wife, who again attempted to talk to them. None of the jurors talked to her beyond what has been noted, but immediately reported the incident to the court. The trial judge, in chambers and in the presence of both counsel, ascertained the facts through his own questioning and that of plaintiff's counsel, determined that they would not be prejudiced, was told by the jurors that they would not be, and after cautioning the jurors to say nothing to the other jurors, refused plaintiff's motion for withdrawal of a juror and continuance. He then examined the plaintiff's wife alone, advised her that she "might very easily be guilty of a criminal offense," but that he did not believe she intended any wrong, and excused her with the admonition that she refrain from talking to the jurors.
Plaintiff offers no proof of prejudice other than the mere happening of the incident, and a review of the record does not disclose that any impression was made on the minds of the jury which was not overcome by the trial judge's instructions and examination of the parties involved. "It is well-settled that the discretion of the trial judge to decide whether a juror should be withdrawn is broad": McClintock v. Pittsburgh Railways Company, 371 Pa. 540, 545, 92 A. 2d 185. It depends *424 largely upon the atmosphere of the trial and the circumstances: Padden v. Local No. 90 United Association of Journeymen Plumbers, 168 Pa. Superior Ct. 611, 82 A. 2d 327.
(3) Plaintiff asserts that "the statement made by the trial judge in his opinion, . . . `that the record shows that plaintiff did not present a convincing case' invites the discussion" that he did not receive a fair and impartial trial. We agree with the trial judge. This observation is frequently made, and respected by appellate courts: See Takac v. Bamford, 370 Pa. 389, 88 A. 2d 86. It is clear that the court was not referring to liability, but to the proof of damages, and the record reveals the basis for such statement.
Plaintiff further complains that upon his testifying to the value of his car before and after the accident, the trial judge cautioned the jury that "this man is giving his opinion," and again did so in his charge. But this is just what he should instruct, and he left the determination of amount to the jury. He also complains that the court instructed the jury that it could decide whether plaintiff lost any wages from the accident occurring in November, 1950. This was a part of the evidence, and certainly an element to be considered by the jury in its determination of what loss was sustained in the instant accident. There is no merit in the plaintiff's claim that the trial judge belittled the plaintiff's testimony, as is clear from the full and complete charge to which only a general exception was taken and upon which the plaintiff stated he had no suggestions to make when asked by the court.
(4) Plaintiff complains that, on cross-examination of plaintiff and his witnesses, information was elicited that his attorneys had sent him to a doctor (one of the medical witnesses) and a hospital where he was detained for some 19 days of the period he was *425 off work; that a Dr. Watson had noted in his hospital report that his condition was "not very bona fide." No objection was raised, and the witness added by way of minimizing its effect that the doctor also stated at the end that his condition was "carotid sinus syndrome". It may well be that plaintiff might have required the production of the doctor making the report. But not having done so, particularly since the witness examined was the physician to whom plaintiff was referred, with whom the reporting doctor collaborated, and who had the information as his own, we cannot let him stand by, take his chances on the verdict, and then reverse on such ground after he finds the verdict was not to his liking.
Judgment affirmed.
DISSENTING OPINION BY MR. JUSTICE MUSMANNO:
From the moment that the wife of the plaintiff spoke to the three jurors outside the courtroom the cold neutrality of the trial disappeared in the flush of embarrassment and self-imposed vindication. The three jurors, being human, could not dismiss from their minds the fact that they had become involved, involuntarily or not, in a situation which could cast doubt upon their undeviating impartiality. How much were they resolved that they must not, by their verdict, show that they had been influenced by Mrs. Paustenbaugh? How far did the jurors lean back to prove this honorable intention? And when one leans back to ostentatiously demonstrate that he has not been improperly persuaded, is there not danger that the spine of fairness itself may crack?
These three jurors, in conjunction with their nine brothers and sisters, had but one duty to perform and that was to evaluate the plaintiff's losses, since the defendant *426 admitted that it was responsible for the accident which gave rise to the lawsuit. The plaintiff's medical expenses amounted to $1091.62. He lost wages in the sum of $1690.93, the damage to his automobile amounted to $450.00. Apart from pain and suffering, as well as impairment of earning power, the plaintiff's monetary loss up to the date of trial was $3232.55. For as long as this case will be recalled, the ghost of suspicion will hover over it that the untoward incident, which happened beyond the courtroom doors, caused the amputation of $232.55 from the established losses and the complete asphyxiation of the items of pain, suffering and inconvenience and impairment of earning power.
In the case of Fitzgerald v. Penn Transit Co., 353 Pa. 43, the plaintiff proved a monetary loss of $1270, and the jury returned a verdict of $3000. This Court held that the verdict was inadequate: "Since the plaintiff was put to a loss of $1270 for expenses and wages, only $1730 was allowed him for pain, suffering, inconvenience and impairment of earning power, past, present and future, which we believe is not fair compensation. This is not a case in which plaintiff was negligent and a verdict could properly be rendered for defendants. Here the jury found the accident was caused by both defendants, not contributed to by plaintiff, and therefore from both, plaintiff should get adequate damages."
With what greater reason should a new trial be granted here where the amount of the verdict is less than the established expenses?
In Todd v. Bercini, 371 Pa. 605, we said that "When it is apparent that a jury by its verdict holds the defendant responsible for a whole loaf of bread, it may not then neglectfully, indifferently, or capriciously cut off a portion of that loaf as it hands it to the plaintiff." *427 The plaintiff in this case was denied a full loaf because of an argument in the bakeshop entirely beyond his control, cognizance or knowledge. A party litigant is entitled to an adjudication of his cause in a tribunal uninfluenced by extraneous matters. Thomas A. Paustenbaugh did not receive that kind of an adjudication.
In his opinion denying a new trial the learned Trial Judge stated that he had asked the involved jurors if they could ignore the incident which had occurred during the court recess. And he then explained that the questioned jurors "were unhesitatingly of the opinion that they could." The testimony of this interrogation reads as follows: "The Court: Ladies, the next problem is whether you feel you can dismiss this out of your mind and decide the case on the evidence you hear from the witness stand and the exhibits, and decide it fairly and justly, not only as to the plaintiff, but as to the defendant. Mrs. Howe: I could. Mrs. Barr: I think I could too. Mrs. Ritchie: I think I could too. Mr. Vaira: Q. Since she talked to you, would you feel her testimony would be colored in any way when she would go on the witness stand and testify to the same thing she stated to you? Would that affect you or would properly evaluate that testimony? A. Oh, I think I could."[1]
I do not find that these replies were so vigorously expressed that one could say their utterers were three pillars of strength unhesitatingly resolved that the incident which brought them before the scrutiny of the judge was now completely wiped out of their consciousness.
Nor is it entirely a matter of unhesitating conviction that the unfortunate episode occurred in the manner described by the juror who apparently spoke for *428 the three. Mrs. Paustenbaugh's version of the occurrence is somewhat different: "A. They wanted to know how two of them [jurors] wanted to know how he was in here and I said how it was. Q. Did you make any statement to them as to your husband's health, the fact he wasn't well. A. Yes, I did say he wasn't well. Q. Of course, you might very easily be guilty of a criminal offense, in this matter. A. I didn't expect anything of it, you know, they asked me Q. I am sure you didn't do it with any malicious intent, but it is a very serious matter. You have put your attorneys in a very embarrassing and difficult position in the trial. We are going to go on with the trial, however. A. You know what I mean, I didn't say anything to them for sympathy or anything, or mean anything about it. They asked me if I was in as a witness and I said I am Mr. Paustenbaugh's wife, that is all I stated."
I do not believe, (no matter which version is accepted as true,) that either the jurors on one side, or Mrs. Paustenbaugh on the other, intended to do anything wrong, and the Trial Judge was entirely justified in coming to that conclusion. But I am equally satisfied that the damage done by the contact between the jurors and the plaintiff's wife, no matter how innocently brought about, could not be undone, and the motion of the plaintiff's attorney for the declaration of a mistrial should have been granted. The trial was far from its termination, and although a continuance would have subjected witnesses to inconvenience, that trouble would not have been so costly to the cause of justice as a trial whose fairness is called into question.
In the case of Gross v. Moore, 166 Pa. Superior Ct. 575, the adjuster of an insurance carrier involved in the litigation spoke on a family matter with a juror who was his niece. In ordering the new trial which the *429 lower court had refused, the Superior Court said: "Although there may have been no actual fraud or gross misbehavior on the part of anyone in this case, on the facts set forth in the record and the additional facts admitted at the argument before this Court a new trial will be granted. In our opinion, a new trial is required to assure a fair and impartial trial in fact as well as in appearance, and to preserve the orderly administration of justice."
I firmly believe that this is a case where, in the words of the Superior Court, ". . . a new trial is required to assure a fair and impartial trial in fact as well as in appearance, and to preserve the orderly administration of justice."
NOTES
[1] Italics throughout, mine.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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FreeLaw
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All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Introduction {#sec005}
============
Monocytes are heterogeneous and highly plastic cells that play critical roles in host defence and tissue homeostasis. Experimental models demonstrate that peripheral blood monocytes continuously traffic to (and probably from \[[@pone.0157771.ref001]\]) the healthy liver, but are recruited in increased numbers in the setting of liver injury, driving liver inflammation and fibrogenesis \[[@pone.0157771.ref002]--[@pone.0157771.ref005]\]. We and others have previously reported elevated numbers of liver monocytes/macrophages from the early stages of chronic liver disease (CLD) in patients with chronic hepatitis C (HCV) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)\[[@pone.0157771.ref006]--[@pone.0157771.ref008]\], in the absence of evidence of local proliferation, supporting a role for infiltrating monocyte-derived macrophages in human disease progression.
Human monocytes are broadly classified into three phenotypically and functionally distinct subsets, based on CD14 and CD16 expression; which likely represent different stages of maturity and differentiation \[[@pone.0157771.ref009]\]. 'Classical' CD14^high^/CD16^-^ monocytes (comprising \~80% of peripheral blood monocytes) express high levels of chemokine (C-C motif) receptor (CCR)2 and exhibit strong phagocytic capacity. CD16^+^ monocytes, which preferentially express the chemokine (C-X3-C motif) receptor (CX3CR)1, were traditionally designated pro-inflammatory, although recent evidence supports a prominent role for the CD14^high^CD16^+^ 'intermediate' subset in inflammation, and angiogenic and surveillance functions for the CD14^+^/CD16^+^ 'non-classical' subset \[[@pone.0157771.ref009], [@pone.0157771.ref010]\]. Alterations in monocyte subsets, in particular an increase in intermediate and/or non-classical monocytes, are frequently observed in infectious and inflammatory diseases, and are associated with clinical outcomes \[[@pone.0157771.ref010]--[@pone.0157771.ref012]\]. However the relationship between circulating monocytes and innate immune-driven disease processes at the site of injury is complex and context dependent.
Multiple chemokines are reported to be elevated in the liver and serum of patients with CLD \[[@pone.0157771.ref013], [@pone.0157771.ref014]\] and regional differences in the expression of intrahepatic chemoattractants \[[@pone.0157771.ref015], [@pone.0157771.ref016]\] may be responsible for regional localisation of distinct leukocyte populations \[[@pone.0157771.ref006], [@pone.0157771.ref007], [@pone.0157771.ref015]\]. Although a key role for classical monocytes and the CCR2/chemokine (C-C motif) ligand (CCL)2 axis in driving liver inflammation and fibrogenesis has been demonstrated in mice \[[@pone.0157771.ref002], [@pone.0157771.ref004], [@pone.0157771.ref005]\], preferential accumulation of hepatic and, in some studies peripheral, CD16^+^ monocytes has been reported in human CLD \[[@pone.0157771.ref008], [@pone.0157771.ref011], [@pone.0157771.ref017], [@pone.0157771.ref018]\], especially in areas of active inflammation and fibrosis \[[@pone.0157771.ref019]\]. Evidence suggests that both enhanced recruitment of CD16^+^ monocytes and local differentiation from CD16^-^ precursors contribute to the preferential accumulation of CD16^+^ monocytes in the liver \[[@pone.0157771.ref008], [@pone.0157771.ref019]\]. Whether peripheral blood monocyte subsets are altered in patients with CLD of different etiologies or at different stages of disease, and how they are recruited and contribute to disease progression, is not well understood.
In addition to supplying the liver with macrophage and dendritic cell precursors, circulating monocytes are functional innate immune cells, mediating host defence against microbial pathogens through phagocytosis, production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammatory and regulatory cytokines. Innate immune dysfunction likely contributes to the high susceptibility to infection in patients with advanced liver disease \[[@pone.0157771.ref020], [@pone.0157771.ref021]\]. Increased numbers of immunosuppressive monocytes were observed in patients with acute on chronic liver failure \[[@pone.0157771.ref022]\], and reduced monocyte major histocompatibility complex class II surface receptor (HLA-DR)(involved in antigen presentation and T-cell activation) levels predicted adverse prognosis and paralleled disease severity in critically ill patients with cirrhosis \[[@pone.0157771.ref023]\]. Poor peritoneal monocyte phagocytic and bactericidal capacity was associated with infection in patients with cirrhosis and ascites \[[@pone.0157771.ref021]\], but whether circulating monocyte function is impaired in people with CLD, and at what stage of disease, has not been widely studied.
The first aim of this study was to characterise the phenotype of circulating monocytes in patients with chronic HCV infection and NAFLD. We sought to determine whether alterations in monocyte subsets or chemokine receptor expression are seen in patients with different etiologies or stages of liver disease, in order to gain insight into the recruitment signals responsible for hepatic monocyte/macrophage accumulation. The second aim was to assess the function of circulating monocytes, to determine whether monocyte immunocompetence is impaired with CLD progression.
Materials and Methods {#sec006}
=====================
Patients and clinical data {#sec007}
--------------------------
Non-fasting peripheral blood samples (12 mL) were collected from inpatients or people reviewed in the hepatology outpatient clinic at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia. Demographic and clinical characteristics, including complete blood counts and blood chemistry, and survival data were obtained from research nurse interview and medical records. Diagnosis of liver disease was based on standard biochemical and serological assays. Chronic HCV infection was confirmed by detection of circulating HCV RNA. A diagnosis of NAFLD required demonstration of hepatic steatosis by imaging or liver biopsy in the presence of metabolic risk factors and the exclusion of significant alcohol consumption (\<10g/day for women and \<20g/day for men) and other causes of hepatic steatosis or other chronic liver disease. Liver disease severity was broadly classified by a hepatologist (EEP) as "no advanced disease", "advanced fibrosis" (determined by transient elastography, liver biopsy if available or liver imaging consistent with cirrhosis and/or portal hypertension), or "decompensated liver disease" (determined by the presence of ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, variceal bleeding or jaundice). Patients with non-advanced fibrosis, compensated and decompensated cirrhosis had median fibroscan readings of 6.3, 14.6 and 43, respectively (data available for 49 patients). Patients with compensated and decompensated cirrhosis had median model for end stage liver disease (MELD) scores of 8 and 15.5 respectively. Eleven blood samples collected from healthy volunteers matched by age and sex were used as control samples to obtain non-diseased values. The protocol was approved by The University of Queensland and Metro South Hospital and Health Services Human Research Ethics Committees, and written informed consent was obtained from each patient and volunteer.
Phenotypic assessment of peripheral blood mononuclear cells {#sec008}
-----------------------------------------------------------
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated using Ficoll-PAQUE (GE Healthcare Life Sciences) as described in the manufacturer's manual before cryopreservation. Phenotyping panels comprised conventional monocyte subset and activation markers and candidate receptors relevant to liver recruitment, identified by literature search and reanalysis of public microarray data (GSE33650 \[[@pone.0157771.ref024]\], GSE40184 \[[@pone.0157771.ref025]\]). 0.5--1x10^6^ cells were resuspended in FACS Buffer (PBS/2% FBS/5 mM EDTA) and stained with optimised panels comprising the following antibodies CD14-BV421 (M5E2), CD163-PerCP-Cy5.5 (GHI/61), CSF1R-PE (AFS98), CCR4-PerCP-Cy5.5 (L291H4), CCR5-PE (2D7), HLA-DR-FITC (L243), CXCR3-PE-Cy7 (G025H7), CXCR4-PerCP-Cy5.5 (12G5), CD62L-FITC (DREG-56), SIGLEC-1-APC (7--239) (all BioLegend), CD16-APC-H7 (3G8; BD Biosciences) and CCR2-APC (48607; R&D Systems) on ice for 30 minutes in the dark. Each panel included CD14 and CD16 to identify the 3 main monocyte subsets as well as LIVE/DEAD Aqua (Molecular Probes) to label non-viable cells. The median fluorescence intensity (MFI) of each monocyte subset marker was normalized by subtracting the MFI of the corresponding fluorescence-minus-one control channel ([S1 Fig](#pone.0157771.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Unstained, single colour and fluorescence-minus-one control tubes were performed to generate compensation matrices that correct for spectral overlap and assist with gating.
Ex vivo functional assays {#sec009}
-------------------------
Monocyte function was assessed in EDTA-coagulated whole blood within 2 hours of collection. Monocyte phagocytic capacity was assessed by the uptake of pHrodo^™^ *E*.*coli* BioParticles^®^ (Molecular Probes), which fluoresce in the decreased pH environment of phagosomes. 100μL of whole blood was incubated with 10μL of 1mg/mL (\~3x10^6^ BioParticles) stock for 60 minutes at 37°C in the presence of monocyte surface marker antibodies, followed by red blood cell lysis (0.17M NH4Cl/0.001M EDTA/0.01M Tris, pH 7.4) and 2 washes in PBS.
Dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA; Molecular Probes) was used to assess monocyte ROS. 100μL of whole blood was loaded with 50μM DCFH-DA, together with monocyte surface marker antibodies for 15 minutes at 37°C. The samples were stimulated for 15 minutes with 200 μg/mL zymosan opsonised with normal human serum (30 minutes at 37°C), or left unstimulated, followed by red blood cell lysis.
To assess monocyte-specific tumour necrosis factor (TNF) production, 200μL of whole blood was stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (100ng/mL), or left unstimulated, in the presence of the protein transport inhibitor Brefeldin A (10μg/mL; Sigma) for 4 hours at 37°C, with the addition of monocyte surface marker antibodies 45 minutes before the end of culture. Following red blood cell lysis samples were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde for 5 minutes, washed in permeabilisation buffer (FACS Buffer containing 0.5% saponin) and stained for intracellular TNF-APC (MAb11; BioLegend).
All phenotypic and functional assay samples were washed twice in PBS and resuspended in 1% paraformaldehyde for analysis, acquired using Beckman Coulter Gallios flow cytometer and analysed using Kaluza Analysis Software.
Statistical Analysis {#sec010}
--------------------
MFI values were log transformed for statistical analysis to normally distribute the data. Statistical analyses utilised one-way analysis of variance, with Tukey's or Dunnett's post-test, the Student's t test and Spearman's rank-correlation coefficient. A P value of \<0.05 was defined as the level of significance and all graphs and analyses were performed using Graph Pad Prism (version 6.04; GraphPad Software Inc.).
Results {#sec011}
=======
Patient characteristics at venesection {#sec012}
--------------------------------------
Of a total of 73 patients, 39 patients had chronic HCV and 34 had NAFLD. A cohort of 11 age and sex-matched healthy volunteers was included to obtain non-diseased values. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the subjects at the time of venesection are summarised in [Table 1](#pone.0157771.t001){ref-type="table"}.
10.1371/journal.pone.0157771.t001
###### Demographic and clinical characteristics of patient cohorts.
{#pone.0157771.t001g}
HCV NAFLD Healthy controls
------------------------------ ------------------- ------------------- ------------------
No. of patients; n 39 34 11
Age, years; median (range) 57.9 (32.7--67.4) 60.4 (27.4--79.2) 55.5 (24--84)
Gender, male; n (%) 25 (64.1) 19 (55.9) 6 (54.5)
BMI, kg/m^2^; median (range) 26.7 (18--42.6) 31.4 (22.8--53.5)
**Cirrhosis status; n (%)**
No advanced fibrosis 16 (41) 11 (32.3) \-
Cirrhotic 12 (30.8) 14 (41.2) \-
Decompensated 11 (28.2) 9 (26.5) \-
**Viral Genotype; n (%)**
1 a/b 25 (64.1) \- \-
2 2 (5.1) \- \-
3 12 (30.8) \- \-
NAFLD is associated with an increase in peripheral monocyte CD16^+^ subset regardless of disease stage {#sec013}
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To determine whether circulating monocyte subsets are altered in different etiologies or stages of disease, PBMC were isolated from control subjects and patients with HCV or NAFLD, stained for monocyte markers CD14 and CD16 and assessed by flow cytometry ([Fig 1A](#pone.0157771.g001){ref-type="fig"}). Automated clinical complete blood cell counts revealed modestly elevated numbers of monocytes in patients with HCV compared to NAFLD ([Fig 1B](#pone.0157771.g001){ref-type="fig"}), however this was not observed following PBMC isolation, where the proportion of monocytes within the PBMC fraction was comparable between control subjects and CLD patients regardless of etiology and stage of disease ([Fig 1C](#pone.0157771.g001){ref-type="fig"}). In our cohort of patients with NAFLD, monocyte subsets were skewed towards the CD16^+^ populations with an increase in both intermediate and non-classical subsets and a commensurate decrease in classical monocytes compared to control subjects, however this was not seen in patients with HCV ([Fig 1D](#pone.0157771.g001){ref-type="fig"}). This increase in the CD16^+^ monocyte subsets was not attributed to a specific stage of disease (data not shown). The proportion of monocytes (total or subsets) was not associated with clinical or demographic parameters, including age, gender, BMI, ALT/AST levels, MELD score, fibroscan result, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio or viral genotype.
{#pone.0157771.g001}
Reduced monocyte CCR2 expression in HCV and NAFLD {#sec014}
-------------------------------------------------
In addition to CD14 and CD16, phenotypic differences between monocyte subsets have been identified, and related to differences in function \[[@pone.0157771.ref009]\]. The distribution of expression of our selected phenotypic markers differed between the three monocyte subsets, and this distribution was conserved across both patient and healthy cohorts. As expected, monocytes were positive for the established subset markers CCR2 and CX3CR1 with preferential expression on CD14^high^/CD16^-^ classical and CD14^+^/CD16^+^ non-classical monocytes respectively, in both control subjects and CLD patients ([Fig 2A and 2B](#pone.0157771.g002){ref-type="fig"}). Similarly, HLA-DR, CD163, CCR5 and colony stimulating factor receptor (CSF1R) were highly expressed on CD14^high^/CD16^+^ intermediate monocytes ([Fig 2B](#pone.0157771.g002){ref-type="fig"}), although CCR5 and CSF1R were expressed at very low levels ([Fig 2A](#pone.0157771.g002){ref-type="fig"}). Interestingly, in both HCV and NAFLD, monocyte CCR2 expression was significantly lower when compared to healthy controls ([Fig 2C](#pone.0157771.g002){ref-type="fig"}).
{#pone.0157771.g002}
Reduced monocyte HLA-DR expression in decompensated cirrhosis {#sec015}
-------------------------------------------------------------
Previous studies have suggested patients with advanced cirrhosis display an "immune paralysis" phenotype, characterised by low HLA-DR expression, contributing to increased mortality \[[@pone.0157771.ref026], [@pone.0157771.ref027]\]. In our cohort, HLA-DR expression was significantly reduced in patients with HCV-related decompensated cirrhosis (P\<0.01), and similarly reduced in patients with NAFLD, although this did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.09) ([Fig 2C](#pone.0157771.g002){ref-type="fig"}). Elevated levels of soluble and monocyte CD163 expression have also been reported in acute-on-chronic liver failure \[[@pone.0157771.ref028]\], and may be predictive of hospital patient mortality in patients with sepsis \[[@pone.0157771.ref029]\]. CD163 levels were similar in patients with NAFLD and control subjects, but were positively correlated with MELD score in patients with HCV (r = 0.53, P = 0.001).
Altered monocyte expression of CCR4, CXCR3, CXCR4 and CD62L in CLD {#sec016}
------------------------------------------------------------------
To gain further insight into monocyte phenotype in CLD, we selected a panel of markers that, in addition to CX3CR1 and CCR2, may be involved in monocyte recruitment to the injured liver. CCR4, a chemokine receptor that was over-expressed in portal areas of patients with HCV, may recognise several chemokines identified in portal tracts or otherwise implicated in CLD progression, including CCL4, CCL5, CCL2 \[[@pone.0157771.ref015]\]. In our cohort, CCR4 was expressed on a variable proportion of monocytes (2--67%), most commonly on intermediate monocytes and a subset of classical monocytes ([Fig 3A and 3B](#pone.0157771.g003){ref-type="fig"}). CCR4 expression was significantly increased in patients with CLD compared to controls, regardless of disease stage or etiology ([Fig 3C](#pone.0157771.g003){ref-type="fig"}). Chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor (CXCR)3 is the receptor for chemokines CXCL9-11 and CXCL4 that are upregulated in HCV infected liver and/or peripheral blood \[[@pone.0157771.ref015], [@pone.0157771.ref024], [@pone.0157771.ref025]\], and liver CXCR3 expression correlated with portal T-cell accumulation \[[@pone.0157771.ref015]\]. CXCR3 was most highly expressed on intermediate monocytes ([Fig 3B](#pone.0157771.g003){ref-type="fig"}), and significantly increased in patients with HCV, but not NAFLD, regardless of disease stage ([Fig 3C](#pone.0157771.g003){ref-type="fig"}). CXCR4, the receptor for CXCL12, a chemokine expressed by inflamed biliary epithelium in primary biliary cirrhosis and HCV \[[@pone.0157771.ref016]\], was enriched in portal compared to parenchymal regions in HCV patients with advanced fibrosis \[[@pone.0157771.ref024]\]. CXCR4 was highly expressed on CD16^-^ monocyte subsets ([Fig 3B](#pone.0157771.g003){ref-type="fig"}) and, like CXCR3, increased in patients with HCV but not NAFLD, regardless of disease stage ([Fig 3C](#pone.0157771.g003){ref-type="fig"}).
{#pone.0157771.g003}
In addition to chemokine receptors, we investigated the expression of the selectin CD62L and sialic acid binding Ig-like lectin (SIGLEC)-1 (also known as CD169) as monocyte recruitment is also highly dependent on adhesion molecules. SIGLEC-1 is specifically expressed on myeloid cells \[[@pone.0157771.ref030]\], and was among the most highly upregulated genes in HCV PBMC at the mRNA level \[[@pone.0157771.ref025]\]. In our cohort, CD14^high^ monocytes displayed higher SIGLEC-1 expression than the CD14^+^CD16^+^ subset ([Fig 3B](#pone.0157771.g003){ref-type="fig"}). There was a modest increase in SIGLEC-1 expression in cirrhotic patients with NAFLD compared to controls, but no alterations in patients with HCV ([Fig 3C](#pone.0157771.g003){ref-type="fig"}). CD62L has been shown to be more highly expressed on inflammatory liver macrophages compared to restorative macrophages in mouse models of CLD \[[@pone.0157771.ref003]\] and the corresponding human CD14^high^CD16^-^ subset also displays high levels of gene expression \[[@pone.0157771.ref031]\]. In our cohort, CD62L was most highly expressed on intermediate monocytes ([Fig 3B](#pone.0157771.g003){ref-type="fig"}), however a small proportion of CD62L^+^ monocytes was observed within each subset suggesting that CD14^+^CD62L^+^ monocytes may represent a unique population, masked by current gating strategies. Monocyte CD62L expression increased in HCV and NAFLD patients with decompensated cirrhosis ([Fig 3C](#pone.0157771.g003){ref-type="fig"}). CD62L expression was positively correlated with MELD score in both HCV and NAFLD cohorts (r = 0.51 P = 0.002 and r = 0.4 P = 0.02, respectively).
Monocytes from patients with CLD have reduced functional capacity {#sec017}
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Monocytes have a crucial role in extracellular bacterial and fungal clearance through phagocytosis and oxidative responses. Impaired monocyte function may contribute to susceptibility to infection observed in end-stage liver disease or prevent effective immune responses during early stages of disease. Here, phagocytic capacity, oxidative responses and inflammatory cytokine production were assessed to determine the consequences of persistent hepatic damage due to viral or metabolic injury.
Monocyte phagocytic capacity for fluorescently labelled *E*.*coli* BioParticles was assessed by flow cytometry ([Fig 4A](#pone.0157771.g004){ref-type="fig"}). Greater than 90% of monocytes from control subjects and patients with CLD phagocytosed FITC-labelled *E*.*coli* particles ([Fig 4B and 4C](#pone.0157771.g004){ref-type="fig"}), with CD14^high^ monocytes having the largest phagocytic capacity (increased fluorescence intensity)(data not shown). Monocytes from patients with HCV had a reduced phagocytic capacity compared to control subjects (P\<0.05) ([Fig 4D](#pone.0157771.g004){ref-type="fig"}), which was more prominent prior to decompensation ([Fig 4E](#pone.0157771.g004){ref-type="fig"}). Monocytes from patients with NAFLD showed a similar trend, but this did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.2) ([Fig 4D and 4E](#pone.0157771.g004){ref-type="fig"}). Monocyte phagocytic capacity was inversely correlated with increasing ALT levels (r~s~ = -0.5061 P\<0.01) ([Fig 4F](#pone.0157771.g004){ref-type="fig"}) but not AST levels (r~s~ = -0.2763, P = 0.09) in patients with HCV, but not NAFLD ([Fig 4G](#pone.0157771.g004){ref-type="fig"}).
{#pone.0157771.g004}
Monocyte capacity to generate a microbicidal oxidative burst was assessed by their production of ROS in response to serum-opsonised zymosan using the oxidisable fluorescent probe DCFH-DA ([Fig 5A](#pone.0157771.g005){ref-type="fig"}). CD14^high^ and CD14^low^ monocytes had equal capacity to produce ROS. Fewer monocytes from both HCV (P\<0.01) and NAFLD (P\<0.05) patient cohorts produced ROS upon stimulation when compared to control subjects ([Fig 5B](#pone.0157771.g005){ref-type="fig"}), which was consistent across all stages of disease but only reached statistical significance for HCV patients with decompensated cirrhosis ([Fig 5C](#pone.0157771.g005){ref-type="fig"}). The amount of ROS generated by monocytes was also significantly blunted (P\<0.01) ([Fig 5D](#pone.0157771.g005){ref-type="fig"}), regardless of disease stage ([Fig 5E](#pone.0157771.g005){ref-type="fig"}). In addition, similar to phagocytic capacity, ROS generation by monocytes from patients with HCV, but not NAFLD, inversely correlated with ALT levels (r~s~ = -0.4268 P\<0.5) ([Fig 5F and 5G](#pone.0157771.g005){ref-type="fig"}).
{#pone.0157771.g005}
Inflammatory cytokine production was assessed by intracellular staining for the prototypical cytokine, TNF, after 4 hours *ex vivo* stimulation with LPS in the presence of the protein transport inhibitor Brefeldin A ([Fig 6A](#pone.0157771.g006){ref-type="fig"}). In the absence of activating stimuli, monocytes were largely negative for TNF, with the exception of 3 patients who displayed production in \>50% of cells. Upon stimulation with LPS, the CD14^high^ and CD14^low^ subsets were equally capable of producing TNF and the percentage of monocytes that responded ranged from 8--95%. The proportion of TNF producing monocytes and the level of cytokine produced upon stimulation (fluorescence intensity) did not differ between control subjects and patients irrespective of stage of disease ([Fig 6B and 6E](#pone.0157771.g006){ref-type="fig"}).
{#pone.0157771.g006}
Reduced Monocyte TNF production is associated with early mortality in patients with decompensated cirrhosis {#sec018}
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The development of life-threatening infections is a common feature of decompensated cirrhosis and is associated with significant patient morbidity and mortality. Having observed features of monocyte dysfunction in our cohort, we assessed whether monocyte dysfunction was indicative of 6 month mortality specifically in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Five patients with decompensated cirrhosis died within 6 months of recruitment, and a further 3 were deceased by 8 months. Monocyte phagocytic capacity and oxidative responses were not associated with 6 month mortality ([Fig 7A and 7B](#pone.0157771.g007){ref-type="fig"}), however monocyte TNF production in response to LPS was significantly blunted in patients who died within 6 months of inclusion in the study (P = 0.01) ([Fig 7C](#pone.0157771.g007){ref-type="fig"}). Furthermore, monocyte TNF production positively correlated with time to death (r~s~ = 0.773, P = 0.05) ([Fig 7D](#pone.0157771.g007){ref-type="fig"}) suggesting that dysregulated cytokine production may contribute to mortality in these patients.
{#pone.0157771.g007}
Discussion {#sec019}
==========
Peripheral blood monocytes are recruited to the chronically injured liver where they have a key role in driving hepatic inflammation and fibrogenesis. Despite their contribution to disease processes at the *site* of injury, whether *circulating* monocyte subsets are altered and how they are recruited in liver disease of diverse etiologies or at different stages of disease remains poorly understood.
Our data show that monocyte subsets are skewed towards the CD16^+^ populations, irrespective of the stage of liver disease or clinico-demographic factors, in patients with NAFLD but not HCV. A similarly modest increase in CD16^+^ monocytes was previously observed in a very large, mixed etiology CLD cohort \[[@pone.0157771.ref018]\], in hepatitis B \[[@pone.0157771.ref011]\] and NAFLD \[[@pone.0157771.ref032]\]. Other studies, however, failed to find statistically significant differences in peripheral blood monocyte subsets between CLD patients and healthy controls \[[@pone.0157771.ref008], [@pone.0157771.ref017]\], underscoring the inter-individual variability in monocyte populations and relatively small effect size. Increased frequency of CD16^+^ monocytes has also been demonstrated in obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and dyslipidemia, metabolic conditions commonly seen in association with NAFLD \[[@pone.0157771.ref033]--[@pone.0157771.ref035]\]. Although these studies support a connection between adiposity, inflammation and CD16^+^ monocytes, it remains unclear whether the alteration in monocyte subsets is a consequence of, or directly adds to the inflammatory response. Of concern, CD14^high^CD16^+^ monocyte counts independently predicted cardiovascular events in a large patient cohort referred for elective coronary angiography (n = 951)\[[@pone.0157771.ref036]\] and another patient cohort with chronic kidney disease (n = 438)\[[@pone.0157771.ref037]\]. Longitudinal clinical outcome studies in people with NAFLD will be important to determine whether the frequency of CD16^+^ monocytes is a predictive biomarker for cardiovascular disease.
In contrast to NAFLD, HCV patients had a different monocyte phenotypic signature, with increased expression of CXCR3 and CXCR4 regardless of disease stage. Multiple CXCR3 ligands, including CXCL9, CXCL10 and CXCL11, are products of interferon-stimulated genes, which may suggest this phenotype is a response to chronic viral infection. Elevated hepatic CXCR3 expression, and peripheral CXCR3 chemokine levels, have been associated with liver inflammation and fibrosis in chronic HCV \[[@pone.0157771.ref015], [@pone.0157771.ref038]\]. Although studied in the context of T cell recruitment to inflamed peripheral tissues, including the liver \[[@pone.0157771.ref039], [@pone.0157771.ref040]\], the role of CXCR3 in hepatic monocyte recruitment, or activation, is unknown. The CXCL12/CXCR4 axis is also implicated in lymphocyte recruitment to the liver in chronic HCV, with infiltrating T and natural killer cells expressing high levels of CXCR4 \[[@pone.0157771.ref041]\]. However, despite known roles in tissue injury \[[@pone.0157771.ref042]\], the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis may have a *protective* role during inflammation and injury by promoting liver regeneration and repair or controlling mobilisation of inflammatory cells from the bone marrow \[[@pone.0157771.ref043]\]. CXCL12, and the CXCR3 ligands CXCL9-11, are expressed in inflamed portal tracts \[[@pone.0157771.ref015], [@pone.0157771.ref016]\], suggesting the hypothesis, that these axes contribute to monocyte recruitment specifically to the portal niche, which contains an abundance of macrophages, myofibroblasts and activated hepatic progenitor cells that are associated with CLD progression \[[@pone.0157771.ref006], [@pone.0157771.ref015]\]. Further studies to assess the expression of CXCR3 and CXCR4 on intrahepatic monocytes, and their location, will provide further evidence as to the role of these chemokine axes in liver inflammation and fibrogenesis.
In both chronic HCV and NAFLD, monocyte CCR2 expression was significantly lower (confirming a previous study \[[@pone.0157771.ref018]\]) and CCR4 expression was significantly higher compared to control subjects, regardless of disease stage. Although high levels of the CCR2 ligand, CCL2, are observed in the serum and liver of patients \[[@pone.0157771.ref013], [@pone.0157771.ref014]\], the contribution of this axis to human CLD is unclear. The reduction in CCR2 expression may reflect a feedback mechanism to control monocyte mobilisation and tissue recruitment, in response to the increased ligand or inflammatory stimuli. This finding corroborates our previous data demonstrating a reduction in the number of CCR2^+^ liver macrophages in patients with HCV \[[@pone.0157771.ref007]\]; and further implicates the CCR2 axis in human CLD. In mice, genetic deletion or pharmacological inhibition of CCR2 impaired monocyte infiltration and modestly reduced fibrogenic parameters in a number of hepatic injury models, although injury often remained significantly elevated over controls \[[@pone.0157771.ref005], [@pone.0157771.ref044]\]. However CCR2, but not CCL2, was dispensable for thioacetamide-induced monocyte recruitment and subsequent liver injury \[[@pone.0157771.ref002]\], implicating additional CCL2 receptors, such as CCR4 \[[@pone.0157771.ref045]\], which was elevated in our patient cohort, in hepatic monocyte recruitment. In contrast to CCR2 and CCR4, CD62L, a selectin implicated in preferential recruitment of blood monocytes to sites of inflammation \[[@pone.0157771.ref046]\], was specifically increased on monocytes from patients with decompensated cirrhosis. CD62L expression positively correlated with MELD score, which may suggest increased hepatic recruitment of inflammatory monocytes exacerbates tissue injury in these patients.
In addition to providing insight into hepatic recruitment, circulating monocyte phenotype may be a valuable indicator of the systemic inflammatory state and monocyte immunocompetence. Monocytes are critical mediators of host defence, and infections are responsible for much of the morbidity, mortality and resource utilisation in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. We demonstrate that monocytes from CLD patients have reduced capacity to produce ROS in response to zymosan stimulation, regardless of etiology or disease stage. These data suggest impaired antimicrobial function in the setting of CLD, although increased susceptibility to infection, which is only clinically manifest in patients with decompensated cirrhosis, is undoubtedly multi-factorial.
In line with previous studies \[[@pone.0157771.ref027]\], we confirmed reduced monocyte HLA-DR expression in decompensated cirrhosis which would likely impair antigen presentation capacity and adaptive immune responses. Reduced monocyte HLA-DR levels and inability to recover expression predicted poor prognosis and paralleled liver disease severity \[[@pone.0157771.ref023]\], leading to significant interest in the therapeutic potential of agents that can restore monocyte HLA-DR expression \[[@pone.0157771.ref047]\]. Reduced monocyte HLA-DR expression and capacity for LPS-stimulated TNF induction, which was associated with early mortality in our cohort, are hallmarks of innate immune hyporesponsiveness, or 'immunoparalysis', that occurs in septic and other critically ill patients, rendering them susceptible to infections. In cirrhosis, and particularly decompensated cirrhosis, this immunosuppressed state may result from continuous translocation of gut microbes and microbial products due to increased intestinal permeability, which can cause infections, but also increase portal pressure, impair liver function and worsen haemostasis \[[@pone.0157771.ref048], [@pone.0157771.ref049]\]. Whether reduced TNF production is simply a biomarker of rapid decline or contributed directly to the death of these patients, in the context of clinical or sub-clinical infections or other pathological processes, is not known. The association between TNF production and mortality, but not decompensated cirrhosis per se, might help us to make sense of apparently contradictory reports of increased \[[@pone.0157771.ref050], [@pone.0157771.ref051]\] as well as reduced \[[@pone.0157771.ref026], [@pone.0157771.ref027]\] monocyte TNF production in cirrhosis. Serum TNF has also been associated with cirrhosis severity, contributing to endothelial activation and hemodynamic disturbance \[[@pone.0157771.ref050]\]. Although we did not measure serum TNF in this study it has been suggested, paradoxically, that reduced stimulated TNF production can co-exist with high serum TNF levels \[[@pone.0157771.ref052]\].
Although the persistence of inflammatory macrophages is associated with liver fibrosis, anti-fibrotic roles for macrophages have also been demonstrated in mouse models, both during active fibrogenesis and disease resolution \[[@pone.0157771.ref053], [@pone.0157771.ref054]\]. Macrophage cell therapy is an area of active investigation, as delivery of mature mouse macrophages (but not their precursors) to mice with toxin-induced chronic liver disease ameliorated fibrosis by dampening inflammation and promoting matrix degradation \[[@pone.0157771.ref055]\]. Injection of human monocyte-derived macrophages in a murine fibrosis model similarly led to a reduction in markers of liver injury and fibrosis, and an increase in markers of liver regeneration \[[@pone.0157771.ref056]\]. More recently, the feasibility of using autologous monocyte-derived macrophages as therapy for human CLD was tested, where circulating monocytes from patients with cirrhosis and healthy control subjects were shown to differentiate into functionally comparable macrophages \[[@pone.0157771.ref056]\]. Whether or not monocytes from patients with decompensated cirrhosis, that display features of monocyte dysfunction, could be restored *in vitro* into functional macrophages may have important implications for cell-based therapy.
In summary, the current study highlights distinct differences in monocyte phenotype and function in patients with chronic HCV and NAFLD and provides insight into how specific injury-induced signals from the liver may alter peripheral blood monocyte phenotype. The relationship between circulating monocyte phenotype and intrahepatic monocyte/macrophage phenotype, localisation and function is not clear; it is not known whether distinct monocyte subsets are recruited to fulfil site-specific functions in CLD or whether circulating monocytes are recruited indiscriminately and alter their phenotype and function in response to the injured microenvironment. These are important questions to answer, as altering the recruitment of specific etiology-dependent monocyte subsets or delivering specific monocyte/macrophage populations are appealing targets for anti-fibrotic therapies in patients with CLD. Furthermore, understanding how the balance between monocyte immunosuppressive and immunoprotective phenotypes effects patient clinical outcomes may aid in the management of end-stage liver disease and provide novel therapeutic targets to restore monocyte function to reduce susceptibility to infection.
Supporting Information {#sec020}
======================
###### Representative histograms of phenotypic marker expression on classical CD14+CD16- and non-classical CD14+CD16- on peripheral blood monocyte subsets.
Monocytes were gated based on forward/side scatter properties and CD14/CD16 expression. Median fluorescence intensities (MFI) of selected phenotypic markers were normalized by subtracting the MFI of the corresponding fluorescence-minus-one control channel.
(TIF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
We thank the patients and staff at the Princess Alexandra Hospital for their participation. In particular we thank Dr Emma Forrester for providing assistance with clinical data collation.
CLD
: chronic liver disease
HCV
: chronic hepatitis C
NAFLD
: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
CCR
: chemokine (C-C motif) receptor
CX3CR
: chemokine (C-X3-C motif) receptor
CCL
: chemokine (C-C motif) ligand
ROS
: reactive oxygen species
HLA-DR
: major histocompatibility complex class II surface receptor
PBMC
: peripheral blood mononuclear cells
DCFH-DA
: dichlorodihydrofluorescein
TNF
: tumour necrosis factor
LPS
: lipopolysaccharide
MFI
: median fluorescence intensity
MELD
: model for end stage liver disease
CSF1R
: colony stimulating factor receptor
CXCR
: chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor
SIGLEC
: sialic acid binding Ig-like lectin
[^1]: **Competing Interests:**The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
[^2]: Conceived and designed the experiments: VLG EEP KMI. Performed the experiments: VLG SJ. Analyzed the data: VLG EEP KMI. Wrote the paper: VLG EEP KMI. Patient sample acquisition and clinical data collation: PJP LH EEP.
|
tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
|
PubMed Central
|
Gerlachovský štít
Gerlachovský štít (, translated into English as Gerlachov Peak), informally referred to as Gerlach, is the highest peak in the High Tatras, in Slovakia, and in the whole long Carpathian mountain chain.
Usually listed at 2,655 metres AMSL (8,711 ft), its exact elevation is actually lower. The pyramidal shape of the massif is marked by a huge cirque. Despite its relatively low elevation, the about 2,000 m vertical rise from the valley floor makes Gerlachovský štít soar. Mistaken for an average mountain in the rugged High Tatras range in the more distant past, it has since played a symbolic role in the eyes of the rulers and populations of several Central European nations, to the point that between the 19th and mid-20th century, it had four different names with six name reversals. It managed to be the highest mountain of the Kingdom of Hungary, and of the countries of Czechoslovakia, Slovakia and then Czechoslovakia again within the span of less than three decades of the 20th century.
Gerlachovský štít shares its geology and ecology with the rest of the High Tatras, but provides a worthwhile environment for biologists as the highest ground anywhere in Europe north of the parallel linking approximately Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna. With the travel restrictions imposed by the Eastern Bloc, the mountain was particularly treasured as the loftiest point available to climb to by Czechs, East Germans, Hungarians, Poles, and Slovaks. It continues to attract its share of visitors although the local authorities have been continually adding new restrictions on access.
Names
Present
Gerlachovský štít means the "Peak (of the village) of Gerlachov". The Slovak colloquial (unofficial) name is Gerlach. The Polish official names are Gerlach or Gierlach, while its Polish colloquial names are Girlach and Garłuch. The name of the village of Gerlachov itself is of German origin, because the Spiš region around the High Tatra Mountains in Slovakia used to be inhabited by German settlers for several centuries.
Past
The peak's earliest recorded name was the Szepes-German Kösselberg (Cauldron Mountain) on a map from 1762. The Slovak name of the mountain was first recorded as Kotol, also meaning "Cauldron", in 1821. Both names referred to the peak's characteristic cauldron-like cirque.
The name that became common in travel books and other literature in the 19th century, however, is its current name, linking the mountain to the village of Gerlachov at its foot. It echoed the oldest known undifferentiated reference to the peaks on or near Gerlachov's municipal lands, Gerlachfalvenses montes (Latin with Hungarian elements for the "Gerlachov Village Mountains"), in a drawing of the High Tatras from 1717. It also paralleled the name Gerlsdorfer Spitze (Gerlachov Peak) used by the first person to identify it as the highest peak in the Tatras in 1838 (see below), which was rendered as gerlachovský chochol (Gerlach crest) in a Slovak version of his report in 1851. Several other mountains in the High Tatras have acquired their names from villages in the foothills.
Once it was determined that the mountain was the highest point in the region, the succession of the authorities that held control over it took an interest in its name and changed it periodically for symbolic reasons. In 1896, as part of Austria-Hungary, the highest peak of the Carpathians received its first government-sponsored name − after the contemporary head of state Emperor Francis Joseph I. Guidebooks sometimes did not catch up on these name changes. After the dissolution of the monarchy in 1918, the mountain continued to be known simply as Gerlachovský štít because it belonged to the village of Gerlachov. The Polish government, claiming the territory of the High Tatras for Poland, simultaneously called the mountain Szczyt Polski (Polish Peak), but never gained control over it. The new Czechoslovak government changed the name to Štít legionárov (Legionnaires Peak) in honor of the Czechoslovak Legions in 1923, but the name was dropped in favor of the earlier Gerlachovský štít in 1932. As a result of the Communist coup d'état in 1948, the mountain was renamed once more − to Stalinov štít (Stalin Peak) in 1949. Its traditional name Gerlachovský štít was restored yet again a decade later and has remained unchanged through the present.
History
Gerlachovský štít was not always considered the highest mountain in the Tatras. After the first official measurement of peaks in the Tatras during the period of the Habsburg Monarchy in the 18th century, Kriváň (2,494 m) was considered the highest. Other candidate peaks for the status of the highest mountain at that time were Lomnický štít (2,633 m) and Ľadový štít (2,627 m). The first person to accurately name Gerlachovský štít as the highest peak was the forester Ľudovít (Ludwig) Greiner in 1838. Greiner's measurement was formally confirmed by an Austrian Army survey party in 1868. However, it was generally accepted only after the Vienna Military Institute for Geography issued a new, authoritative collection of maps of Central Europe in ca. 1875.
The first confirmed ascent was made by Ján (Johann) Still from the village of Nová Lesná in 1834. In 1880, the routes through the Velická próba (Velická Challenge) and Batizovská próba (Batizovská Challenge) were secured by chains.
Access
Only members of a national UIAA club are allowed to climb the peak on their own. Other visitors have to take a certified mountain guide. The two easiest routes, usually up the Velická próba and down the Batizovská próba named after their respective valleys, are protected by chains. Because of an exposed section along the Velická próba and tricky orientation especially on the ridge, both are among the more difficult scrambling routes in the High Tatras, although it's rather climbing, since there are many moments when one must rely on ones hands to hold ones bodyweight. With no snow, guidebooks grade the routes as a II or III climb (UIAA scale) or lower. The total elevation gain is about for those who spend the night at the Sliezsky Dom Hotel or are driven there by a mountain guide, and about for those who hike from Tatranská Polianka. In winter, Gerlachovský štít offers a challenging alpine climb, with mixed climbing and a risk of avalanches.
The unmarked trailhead is on the green-marked trail leading up Velická Valley near the southern edge of the first plateau (Kvetnica) above the Sliezsky Dom. The equally unmarked, indistinct route to Gerlach veers off north-west towards the mountain's eastern slopes at the elevation of ca. , but occasional cairns begin to appear farther on. The fastest and easiest descent is down the Batizovská próba. Mountain guides always follow the route in the east-west direction, ascending from Velická Valley and descending into Batizovská Valley, in order to reduce logjams.
Two most popular multi-pitch routes for technical climbing are on the eastern and south-western walls. Both are exceptionally long and situated on solid granite walls. The best season for climbing is mid September to mid October or until the snow falls. Another good season lasts from late June to early August.
The route to Gerlachovský štít falls under the Tatra National Park ordinance, according to which hikers who depart from marked trails may be subject to fines unless they are UIAA members, or are led by an IFMGA-certified mountain guide. Camping is subject to similar restrictions. Rangers and some mountain guides are authorized to collect fines on the spot. Cairns that hikers build to mark the trailhead are periodically taken apart.
Conditions at the summit
Human response
Although authors estimate that at least some of the manifestations of altitude sickness may appear at elevations as low as it has not been reported in the Tatras. Low air pressure begins to have marginal but detectable effects at the summit (). Water boils at about and arterial oxygen saturation is about 8% lower than at most visitors' places of residence, but it is difficult to distinguish slight oxygen deprivation at the summit from fatigue caused by the exertion required to reach it. Authors speak of possible minimal sensory impairment above . Unlike fitness, age in itself is not a determinant factor in reaching the highest point in the Tatras. The famed Tatra guide Ján Počúvaj took clients to the summit of Gerlach until the age of 76.
View
Like a 19th-century comment in a British guidebook, "impressive and picturesque", modern hikers usually appreciate the panoramic view of the highest and many other peaks in the High Tatras, from Kriváň in the west to Široká in the north and Lomnický štít in the east. Farther on, but often visible, are the eastern Low Tatras in the south and part of the Belianske Tatras in the east. Better than usual visibility, a rare occurrence except in the fall and winter, is needed to see the Stolické vrchy, Volovské vrchy, the Slovak Paradise region, and Branisko. Quite exceptionally, visibility may extend to the Austrian Alps and the Polish–Czech Giant Mountains hundreds of miles away.
Hikers' reported enjoyment of the view is at least partly attributable to their awareness that they are at the highest point in all of northern and central Europe (Visegrád countries). Visibility is merely or less on most summer afternoons because of the amount of water vapor in the air or because of cloudiness (fog). Days with afternoon visibility of or more are common only later in the fall and in winter. The view is partly blocked by the long ridge of Končistá in the west, areas near the mountain towards the south and north are obscured by the Gerlach massif itself. Several other summits in the High Tatras, including some with marked trails, offer views with precipitous drops, varied scenery, and wide vistas.
Weather
The effects of high-altitude weather on those who ascend Gerlachovský štít may be more pronounced than its altitude alone. The temperature gradient between the Tatra mountain resorts () and the summit can be steep. Low air temperature higher up can be masked by high insolation under clear skies, but will take its effect with increased cloud cover. Combined with windy conditions, the impact may be considerably detrimental even without rain or snow. The summit disappears in the clouds for periods of time on most days, which translates to fog at that elevation and possible disorientation as well as anxiety.
While temperatures are somewhat lower on Gerlachovský štít because of its elevation, the weather and its potential impact on visitors is little different from other summits in the High Tatras both with and without marked trails. The typical daily weather pattern in the summer is a clear morning, clouds gathering by mid-morning—noon, occasional showers and storms in the afternoon. The chance of rain is lowest between 9–10 am and peaks between 2–3 pm, with a drop-off after 6 pm. The frequency of storms with lightning (as opposed to rainstorms) on Gerlach's summit and on the other highest ridges is little different from lower elevations, too, but people exposed to wind, (sometimes freezing) rain, and lightning have greater difficulty to cope. The nearest shelter for those who ascend Gerlach is the Sliezsky Dom Hotel, there are no natural shelters along the route.
Climate
See also
Mountain Rescue Service (Slovakia)
References
External links
QTVR 360 degree panorama from the peak
Detailed descriptions of peaks in the High Tatras
Map of the area
Category:Mountains of Slovakia
Category:Mountains of the Western Carpathians
Category:Two-thousanders of Slovakia
Category:Spiš
Category:Cirques of Europe
Category:High Tatras
Category:Highest points of countries
Category:De-Stalinization
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MANILA, Philippines - The legislature in the mainly Catholic Philippines has eliminated the government's budget for contraceptives, the health department said Wednesday, despite a law mandating the state provide them to the poor.
Health Secretary Janette Garin has confirmed the department's 2016 budget for contraceptives was scrapped when it passed through Congress, the bureau's press office said.
"This will have a huge effect since a lot of mothers depend on what the Department of Health provides," the office quoted Garin as saying.
Foreign and local authorities have long cited the need for improved birth control in the Philippines which has one of Asia's highest birth rates as well as high maternal mortality rates.
The country has a population well over 100 million with about 25 percent living in poverty.
The government of President Benigno Aquino had allocated a sum for contraceptives in the 2016 budget but this was removed as the legislature was debating the bill, the department said.
Garin said she only learned of the budget cut on Monday.
The government and the dominant Catholic church have waged a bruising struggle over the issue for years. The church has long opposed efforts to make birth-control more available.
It was only in 2014 that the Supreme Court finally upheld a "reproductive health" law, striking down more than a dozen petitions against it from church-backed groups.
The law requires government health centres to supply free condoms and birth control pills, as well as mandating sex education in schools.
It also requires that public health workers receive family planning training, while medical care after an abortion will also be legalised.
Nearly 80 percent of the population is Catholic, an inheritance of three centuries of Spanish colonial rule that ended in the late 1800s.
The Catholic church opposes birth control and abortion and its hold is strong in the Philippines where divorce and abortion are illegal.
Garin said the department would now seek private donors to provide funds for contraceptives.
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Monday, October 15, 2012
Opening a Yoga Studio
Upon graduating from Yoga Teacher Training in 2000, I
set out to begin my practice.
Like most new yoga instructors, having to teach a
class at various studios, at gyms and the occasional private class is normal.
It can also be challenging and more labor intensive than need to be.But, by 2000 the practice of yoga had become
completely mainstream as a work out regime mainly for women. Yoga studios were popping up as fast as
Starbucks. Different styles of yoga were being created. Rock star yoga
instructors were finding name and notoriety.
Because I lacked finances and a following, I did not
have the notion of opening my own studio. As such, I was relegated to teaching
at someone else’s studio, and following their practice protocol. I even taught
at a few gyms, which I detested. Gym yoga is nothing like studio yoga. In a gym
setting the “students” were looking at me like I had no idea what I was doing.
And the feeling was mutual. It just wasn’t a good match.Since I did not have the marketing skills to
promote myself, I decided to step out of the practice.
Three years later, more financially sound and better
focused, the opportunity arose to embrace a teaching practice and open astudio for men.
Years prior I had a few challenging moments that made
me question my yoga practice and my ability as an instructor. But nothing has
been more challenging than opening my own studio.
It made sense to open an all male facility as females
mainly attended all the neighboring studios.
For some reason, when yoga hit the mainstream it was
embraced mostly by women. Despite the star athletes, male movie stars and other
media worthy men that have embraced the practice of yoga, it has stayed mainly
a female dominated practice. It did not help that the Americanized yoga became
fashion conscious and somewhat materialistic with its accouterments. Yoga was also
viewed as part of the “self help” movement and that in itself detracted men
from jumping on the mat. Not that men are deterred from engaging in self-help,
but that and the “stretchy” part of yoga with the limber females may not be the
most enticing aspect of the practice.
Years ago a friend and I joked about teaching a naked
yoga retreat. Shortly after, during a workshop we were approached by a fellow
student and were asked if we would be interested in assisting him in teaching a
naked yoga class that he had started a few months prior. The classes were
growing, and he felt the need to expand. We accepted, and I ended up teaching
for a few months.
Unfortunately
I had to drop out as the classes and the space had too much of an erotic over
tone. Not that I was teaching that but the original instructor allowed that
essence, and I did not want to teach yoga with an erotic or sensual approach. Quite
the contrary, I wanted to teach a naked yoga class without the essence of eroticism
or sexual energy.
I do not identify as a nudist, but I enjoy being naked,
and I have always scoffed at the belief that nudity is erotic or sexual. Yes,
of course it can be, but it doesn’t have to be. Such a view of nudity can
create insecurity and self-loathing. We
are barraged by the media with pictures of the “perfect” body and socially
worship them. With naked yoga I wanted to approach the idea of being naked in a
communal setting and have the attention drawn to something other than where the
eye is drawn. I wanted to prove that people could be naked together, engaging
in a physical, mental and spiritual practice and putting aside any insecurities
and inhibitions. And to date, it has been successful.
Of course I offer clothed classes as well. Yoga is
yoga with or with out clothes.
So why practice yoga? Why men’s yoga? Why naked Yoga?
I began yoga 27 years ago looking for something that
would help me get in touch with my body and spiritual growth. At the time I had
enjoyed working out at a gym but it seemed to lack something. A few books I had read introduced yoga to me
so I looked for a class.
Throughout the years the practice was many different
things to me. At times I felt it was breaking me down, other times I felt it
was building me up. With more study I realized that was what the practice was
all about.Similar to the practice of
Zen Buddhism, in order to fully realize ones self, one needs to release
preconceptions and accept that everything and everyone is connected.Despite my personal insecurities and
self-imposed limitations, through my yoga practice I began to “lighten up” and
began to accept others and myself.Of
course this is still a process and always will be as long as I draw breath.
Being a gay man or, as I usually put it, “a man who
happens to be gay.” I never found my place in the male society. I didn’t feel
that I fit in with the gay community and even though at times my social circles
were mainly heterosexuals, I didn’t feel at home there either.I was confused for a long time. I felt like I
was supposed to be on one side of the fence or the other but, I didn’t want to
choose just one. I didn’t see why I had to.
Opening a yoga studio gave me the opportunity to
embrace that challenge and combine the differences. I had experienced so much
growth through my yoga practice, and I wanted to share that with as many men as
I could.
Many men use sports or weight lifting as means of
identification.There is this machismo
that comes along with that definitely serving a purpose but it doesn’t need to
be the end all to our identification. Most of us were raised with media
portrayal of what a man is. We could be a businessman, a military man, a
policeman, a cowboy, a sports “hero” or even The President. Take any male
character from any movie and we had a blueprint of what we could be.But the one thing we were not taught was to
embrace our selves.
Yoga worked for me to bring all that together and
through trial, error and success, I have fully embraced myself as a man. Not as
a gay man, but as a man.The yoga I
teach is not for just gay men, nor is it just for straight men. It’s for all
men and the main intention behind the naked classes as well as the clothed
classes is for the students to embrace just that. Shed your clothes, or not,
but shed your ego, embrace yourself in a community of men where there is no
social challenge or bravado that needs to be won.
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Q:
.NET equivalent of Java's Integer.bitCount?
Is there a method similar to Java's Integer.bitCount(int) or Long.bitCount(long) anywhere in the .NET Framework?
(For those unfamiliar with these Java methods) this is also known as:
Hamming Weight
Population Count (often called POPCNT when implemented in hardware.)
Although there are plenty of implementations to be found on the web, I was wondering if there was a standard library implementation.
I know this is not in BitArray, UInt32 or BitConverter, but maybe there's a version hidden somewhere, e.g. in a crypto function.
A:
Neither the BitVector32 nor the BitArray classes have such a method either so I believe that this method is indeed missing from the framework.
Personally, I think these classes aren’t really useful anyway since they miss many natural bit operations. I’m not sure what they are really intended for. As it is, their usefulness very limited.
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StackExchange
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For 46 years, the Birth Defects Research Laboratory (BDRL) has been the major NIH-funded site for collection and distribution of conceptal tissues. The availability of viable conceptal organs and tissues has made the Laboratory a unique and critical non-profit resource for biomedical research. This application seeks to continue and further develop the core fundamental goal of the laboratory: the systematic collection, staging, identification, and processing of normal specimens and distribution of their tissues to recipients. In this renewal application, we will build upon this central aim to extend the biomedical research resource further by making available samples for DNA/RNA extraction and epigenetic assays. In addition, the investigator will develop the resource by 1) extending the systematic collection, identification, and distribution to abnormal fetuses;2) correlating prenatal data with the post-termination findings from examination/postmortem;3) exploiting the virtual histological and phenotyping capabilities of tissue imaging platforms after performing proof-of-principle studies in genitourinary tract and cardiovascular tissues;4) capitalizing on the expected enrichment of genetic defects underlying fetal congenital anomalies by generating copy number variant data through array-based comparative genomic hybridization studies;5) systematically making accessible tissues and their data for investigators;and 6) engaging and working with key collaborators to improve services and increase recipient numbers in their respective fields. This application builds upon ARRA support, evaluating the utility of novel tissue imaging systems to enhance BDRL services, and stimulating and supporting research based in part on this resource into the bases of birth defects and normal development. Systematically characterizing abnormal fetuses and distributing tissues from these fetuses will exploit the unique positioning of the BDRL to develop this as a significant research resource and service to researchers who seek to understand the underlying developmental biology of normal and abnormal human development. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: None described
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NIH ExPorter
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POW/MIA Recognition Day is an awkward one for Trump
The White House issued a proclamation this week that, under normal circumstances, would’ve been quite routine. Today is National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and Donald Trump formally honored the day in writing, just as other modern presidents have done. From the statement:
“It is our sacred obligation to pay tribute to the thousands of men and women of our Armed Forces who have been imprisoned while serving in conflicts and who have yet to return to American soil. We reflect on the brave Americans who, while guarding our freedom and our way of life, spent years of their youth imprisoned in distant lands. They paid an enormous price and remained dedicated to our sacred principles, even while under extreme duress. […]
“As Commander in Chief, it is my solemn duty to keep all Americans safe. I will never forget our heroes held prisoner or who have gone missing in action while serving their country.”
What’s wrong with this? At face value, nothing. It’s exactly the kind of proclamation we’d expect to see from any president on National POW/MIA Recognition Day.
But then we’re reminded of the disconnect between the message and the messenger. During the campaign, Donald Trump became one of the few prominent Americans to ever disparage John McCain’s military service, telling an Iowa audience in reference to the Arizona Republican, “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured, okay?”
So on the one hand, the president “will never forget our heroes held prisoner,” and on the other hand, we know – because he told us – that Trump doesn’t really think they’re heroes, and he prefers people who “weren’t captured.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has run into this kind of problem. In early April, he issued a proclamation recognizing National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, which is inherently problematic given Trump’s record on the issue. He honored World Autism Day, which only brought to mind the ridiculous things Trump has said about autism and vaccines.
As we discussed several months ago, this isn’t a dynamic that will simply go away. If Trump honors those with physical disabilities, we’ll be reminded of his mockery of Serge Kovaleski. If the president recognizes Hispanic Heritage Month, we’ll think of his racist attacks against a Latino judge. If he honors Gold Star parents, we’ll be reminded of his unfortunate remarks about the Khan family.
The president has a weight he’ll drag with him for the remainder of his term: his own record.
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Q:
Splitting a string with regex, ignoring delimiters that occur within braces
Suppose I have a string
Max and Bob and Merry and {Jack and Co.} and Lisa.
I need to split it with and being the delimiter, but only if it does not occur within curly braces.
So from the above string I should get 5 strings:
Max, Bob, Merry, Jack and Co., Lisa.
I tried something like this pattern:
[^\\\{.+]\\band\\b[^.+\\\}]
But it doesn't work - Jack and Co. are still split as well (I use C++ so I have to escape special characters twice).
A:
If lookaheads are supported by the QRegExp you can check if inside braces by looking ahead at the final word boundary if there is a closing } with no opening { in between.
\band\b(?![^{]*})
See this demo at regex101
Need to be escaped as desired or try the raw string literal like @SMeyer commented.
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StackExchange
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for the sake of the ENTIRE FUCKING HUMAN RACE AND POSSIBLY EVEN MOST OF LIFE AS WE KNOW IT ON THIS PLANET
Get over 50 fonts, text formatting, optional watermarks and NO adverts! Get your free account now!
US, Russia, China - Y U NO GET ALONG
Check out all our blank memes
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OpenWebText2
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Silvana (food)
Silvanas, alternatively spelled as sylvanas or sylvannas, is a Filipino frozen cookie consisting of a layer of buttercream sandwiched between two cashew-meringue wafers coated with cookie crumbs. Silvanas are the cookie versions of the Sans rival, a Filipino cake made from similar ingredients.
See also
Caycay
Mango float
Inipit
Ube cheesecake
List of cookies
References
Category:Cookies
Category:Philippine cuisine
Category:Cashew dishes
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Wikipedia (en)
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Lana Wachowski
One half of the fraternal filmmaking duo known as the Wachowski Brothers, Larry Wachowski and sibling Andy were the creative minds behind the "Matrix" trilogy (2000, 2003), one of the most imaginative...
Read More...
The Matrix is one of the most iconic movies released in the past 20 years. We may think we know everything there is to know about the sci-fi classic, but, like Neo, we haven't even begun to learn all there is to know. Below are 21 facts you probably never knew about the movie:
1. The Wachowskis risked the film's entire budget just to make it the way they wanted.
GIPHY/alien-vibe.tumblr.com
The original budget that the Wachowskis pitched Warner Bros. was over $80 million. Warner gave them $10 million, so they used all of it on the opening sequence with Trinity. The opening scene impressed executives at Warner so much when they showed it, they green-lit the original budget.
2. The film differentiates the Matrix and the real world through color.
pandawhale.com
The scenes that take place within the Matrix are tinted green; those that happen in the real world have more of a normal coloring. The fight scene between Neo and Morpheus has a yellow tint, since it takes place in neither.
3. Keanu actually climbed out the window without a stuntman.
During the phone conversation between Neo and Morpheus within the MetaCortex offices, Morpheus instructs Neo to go through the window. Keanu did this himself without the aid of a stunt double, 34 stories in the air.
4. The helicopter scene almost caused the film to be shut down.
GIPHY/thats-n0-moon.tumblr.com
They flew the chopper through restricted airspace in Sydney, Australia. Laws in New South Wales had to be changed in order to let The Matrix proceed with filming.
5. Which might explain why the Morpheus' rescue took six months to prepare and plan.
GIPHY/do-androidsdreamof-electricsheep.tumblr.com
6. The Wachowskis worked on their vision for the movie for five and a half years.
GIPHY/thats-n0-moon.tumblr.com
The final product, arrived after working through 14 screenplay drafts, took up 500 storyboards.
7. Morpheus, in Greek mythology, is the god of dreams.
GIPHY/reddit.com
Which is ironic, since he's the man who wakes people from their dream states and introduces them to reality.
8. Keanu Reeves only has 80 lines in the first 45 minutes of the film.
dodgediz.tumblr.com
Of those 80 lines, 44 are questions. That's over his half his dialogue, and it amounts to about one question per minute.
9. All of the color blue was removed from the exterior shots.
The idea behind this was that it would make the outside world of the Matrix seem more grim.
10. Jean Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation was required reading for all principal cast and crew.
GIPHY/arighe.tumblr.com
The book, which is about hyperreality and the imitation of real-world processes, can be found in Neo's apartment as well. It, along with Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, Karl Marx, Franz Kafka, and Homer's Odyssey, were all hugely influential on the film.
11. Will Smith was approached to play Neo.
gifrific.com
"Welcome to the real Will." He turned it down to star in Wild Wild West instead. Good choice? Maybe not, but Smith has since admitted that it was for the best because he didn't actually understand the script at the time.
12. Other actors considered to play Neo were Nicolas Cage, Tom Cruise, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
GIPHY/thats-n0-moon.tumblr.com
Thankfully, Keanu won out. He's really the only Neo we can imagine. #canttouchthis
13. "Neo" is an anagram for "one."
justmedalsandscars.tumblr.com
Which is fitting, really, since Neo is the One.
14. The opening sequence took six months of training to prepare for and four days to shoot.
GIPHY/do-androidsdreamof-electricsheep.tumblr.com
15. Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity) twisted her ankle during filming, but kept it a secret.
GIPHY/do-androidsdreamof-electricsheep.tumblr.com
She was afraid that if she told someone, they would re-cast her, so she kept it hidden.
16. The glyphs on the screens consist of reversed letters, numbers, and Japanese katakana characters.
GIPHY/thats-n0-moon.tumblr.com
17. Given Neo's choice, the Wachowskis have both said they would choose the blue pill.
jemeursenprepa.tumblr.com
18. Gary Oldman and Samuel L. Jackson were both considered for the role of Morpheus.
film-instant.tumblr.com
19. The film's legacy began to show within 3 years of its release.
vimeo.com
By mid-2002, the Bullet Time sequence had been parodied in over 20 films.
20. When Carrie-Anne Moss saw the first cut, it was the first time she'd ever seen herself in a movie.
GIPHY/thats-n0-moon.tumblr.com
21. Richard Walker, founder of sunglass company Blinde, competed against Ray-Ban and Arnette to design the glasses for the movie.
365filmsbyauroranocte.tumblr.com
He personally designed custom sunglasses for each character based simply on their unique names in order to get the job. Once he got it, Walker was flown into Sydney to make custom glasses for the duration of filming.
British actor Eddie Redmayne has been gifted a portrait of himself as his Jupiter Ascending space villain Balem after complaining directors Andy and Lana Wachowski didn't show off his abdominals in the blockbuster. The Oscar nominee was disappointed when he saw the final cut of the film because all the scenes featuring his sculpted abs had been cut, and there was only one blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot left.
He says, "Part of the deal was I had to be ripped and I've never been ripped in my life, so I did that thing that Hollywood actors do of being fed nothing but chicken for months and doing, like, a gazillion stomach crunches... (but) I don't think there's a moment of observing the abs."
Redmayne had hoped to hit the beach as soon as the film wrapped and show off his toned torso, but then he landed the role of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything and had to slim down.
Explaining his story during an appearance on U.S. late-night show Conan on Monday (02Feb15), the actor was presented with a large framed portrait of himself in character.
Getty Images
Netflix has finally revealed some details about the highly-anticipated new series coming from the Wachowskis. Sens8 will be a 10-episode sci-fi drama starring Naveen Andrews, Daryl Hannah and Stargate Universe‘s Brian J. Smith. Other actors from Gemany, London, and South Korea are also on board.
J. Michael Straczynski is co-showrunner of the series with the famed cinema siblings and he revealed this plot synopsis to Deadline:
“The series follows eight characters around the world who, in the aftermath of a tragic death, find themselves linked to each other mentally and emotionally... They can not only see and talk to each other as though they were in the same place, they have access to each other’s deepest secrets. Not only must they figure out what happened and why and what it means for the future of humanity, they must do so while being hunted by an organization out to capture, kill or vivisect them.”
Sounds pretty, amazingly Wachowskian. And considering the success of pretty much every Netflix series in existence so far, we can expect good things.
Follow @Hollywood_com Follow @shannonmhouston
//
The Matrix directors Lana and Andy Wachowski have triumphed in a copyright lawsuit over the hit movie trilogy. Writer Thomas Althouse launched legal action against the filmmaking siblings, studio Warner Bros. Entertainment, and producer Joel Silver in 2013 claiming the franchise copied aspects of his screenplay The Immortals, which he submitted to Warner Bros. in 1993.
Althouse cited an alleged 118 similarities between the storylines, but claimed to have been unaware of the likeness until he saw the Keanu Reeves films in 2010, 11 years after the first instalment of the franchise hit cinemas. He demanded compensation regarding two sequels in the franchise, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, as well as a portion of the $1.63 billion the films grossed worldwide.
However, in granting a summary judgement, U.S. District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner ruled, "All of Plaintiff's examples are either too general for copyright protection, are scenes a faire (scenes typical of a genre), or are commonly used, unoriginal ideas." Klausner added that any claim that the film concepts shared similarities in plot was unfounded as "the basic premises of the Matrix Trilogy and The Immortals are so different that it would be unreasonable to find their plots substantially similar".
Space dragons, giant planets, Channing Tatum with elf ears. The new trailer for Jupiter Ascending has all of that and then some. The first original film from the Lana and Andy Wachowski since the Matrix trilogy, the film is set in a future where the universe, and the humans who live in it, are ruled by gods. Tatum's character Caine is a hunter who has been sent by the Queen of the Universe to kill Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), a janitor, who she believes is a threat to her rule. However, once they meet, Caine recognizes that Jupiter has the same perfect genetic makeup as the queen, which means that she could be the next ruler of all things intergalactic... if they can keep her alive long enough to get her to the throne.
None of the trailers realeased for the film so far have taken the time to explain the plot, choosing instead to highlight Jupiter's ability to make bees swirl around her and Eddie Redmayne's planetary infinity pool. The Queen who is so central to the story of Jupiter Ascending is barely made mention of, and there's no hint of what kind of role Sean Bean's character plays, despite being given a decent amount of screentime in the the clip.
The Wachowskis have thus far kept many of the film's details under wraps, so the Internet at large doesn't seem to hold any more answers than the trailers do. While much of this secrecy is likely to keep spoilers from being revealed ahead of the film's release, the lack of details makes the plot look somewhat flimsy. Instead of setting up a compelling story, the trailer gives off the impression that whatever story there is exists mostly as a framing device for all of the crazy effects and big-name stars. However, the lack of answers doesn't make the effects appear any less stunning, or the action seem any less intense, which begs the question: does it actually matter if the plot of Jupiter Ascending is any good?
Warner Bros.
Certainly not in terms of attracting audiences to come see it. Based on the the trailer, it's clear that the selling point of the film is the flashy effects, and exciting action sequences rather than any kind of complex plot or intense world-building. It's much more interesting to watch the weird demon-baby/splice-creature climb the walls of the hospital than to sit through the backstory of what it is or why it exists in the first place. Similarly, it's worth cutting down on showcasing why the Queen is after Jupiter in order to highlight all of the stunts and fighting that the film will contain.
In addition to all of the visually stunning effects and intense action sequences that the trailer highlights, Jupiter Ascending also benefit from the presence of big-name stars like Tatum, Kunis, and Bean, all of whom have proved themselves to be big box office draws. Plus, the story, regardless of how well fleshed-out it is, is interesting and original, which will go a long way in terms of attracting audiences. Those who are looking for something different in between the glut of superhero films, sequels and remakes will likely be drawn to Jupiter Ascending, especially since the last time audiences took a chance on an original Wachowski film, they were rewarded with the Matrix trilogy.
But once you've enticed those moviegoers into their seats, you need something to entertain them with, and effects and stunts can go a long way in smoothing over any issues with a film's storyline. Take the Matrix films, for instance: despite the detailed world-building and complexly layered plot, there were plotholes and issues where the storyline was sacrificed in order to create a film that compelling and entertaining, and a few slow-motion fights went along way in keeping the audience happy, and it seems as if Jupiter Ascending would be more than able to do the same.
In the end, filmmakers want to create an experience for their audience. They want to convey a point of view or transport them to another word for a few hours, and that seems to be exactly what the Wachowskis' intention is with this film. If Jupiter Ascending transports us into a new universe, if it lets us experience the rules and limitations of such a universe as if we, too were a part of it, and it gives us a movie-going experience, then the actual story might be less important. The story might just be a framing device that gives us a way into Jupiter's world, but if the time we spend there is memorable and interesting, then the experience is still intact, and we will have gotten our money's worth. The plot of Jupiter Ascending could very well be more rich and layered than a two-minute clip is able to convey, and if we've learned anything from the Wachowskis' films, it's that there's always more there than meets the eye. But if it is just a flimsy frame to hold a more immersive, cinematic experience, that could be just as rewarding.
Jupiter Ascending arrives in theaters on July 18.
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A $300 million (£187.5 million) copyright infringement lawsuit filed against The Matrix directors Lana and Andy Wachowski is heading to trial this summer (14). Scriptwriter Thomas Althouse launched legal action against the filmmaking siblings in January, 2013 amid allegations they copied the ideas for the sci-fi trilogy from his 1992 screenplay for a project called The Immortals.
He claims he submitted The Immortals to executives at Warner Bros. Pictures, the studio behind the franchise, in 1993, but never heard back from movie bosses.
The Hawaiian resident only realised the similarities between the Wachowskis' work and his own script when he checked out the Keanu Reeves films in 2010, 11 years after the first instalment was released, and seven years after the two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, hit theatres in 2003.
The statute of limitations for the original The Matrix has since passed, so Althouse is now demanding compensation over the two follow-ups, in addition to a cut of the $1.63 billion the movies grossed at the global box office.
Andy and Lana Wachowski, formerly known as Larry, joined forces with fellow defendants at Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and producer Joel Silver to file their own countersuit against Althouse last July (13), with movie executives dismissing the legal action as "frivolous".
The case will now go before a judge on 17 June (14) in a trial which is expected to last up to eight days.
We've been waiting a long time for this one — the first original Wachowski project since the termination of the Matrix trilogy. We've heard only nebulous synopses and contextual tidbits since the project was announced, knowing only (thanks to the Wachowski stamp) that it would be BIG. The Matrix was big. Cloud Atlas was big. V for Vendetta, which the pair helped to pen, was pretty big. And though it spans galaxies and envelops the fate of existence altogether, the first trailer for Jupiter Ascending makes it look surprisingly personal and intimate. But those aren't the only adjectives that come to mind.
It also looks a little bit ridiculous. When embraced, this can work. The imagery of the trailer brings to mind flashy, ornate sci-fi/fantasies, notably the effusively goofy The Fifth Element. But is this what the Wachowskis want?
JoBlo.com/YouTube
Fans of The Matrix movies alone might be shocked at the zaniness inherent in the frames of the Jupiter Ascending trailer. The dark and stern story of Neo rarely, if ever, dripped into a state of levity. But Cloud Atlas was imbued with a great deal of merriment — the epic film's lighter segments ranged from sappy sentimentality to outright wacky humor. And since stars Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis are both known as skilled comedic actors, we're inclined to believe that the brow-raising character of the new trailer is wholly intended.
At least, we hope.
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Flashpoint / WENN
I know: it's hard to keep your finger on the blurring lines of human sexual identity. And why should you? Labels don't matter anymore, and the LGBTQIA acronym keeps expanding. But that "T" has been there a mighty long time. So why is the interest in Trans style suddenly peaking again?
The fashion world has always had its share of cult trans models. Stephen Sprouse's trans-muse Teri Toye caused ripples in Lower Manhattan in the '80s, and the mind-blowingly beautiful Andrej Pejic has stomped both men's and women's runways in the here and now. But those are anomalies, right?
Don't tell American Apparel. They just rallied a "transexy" cattle call in their Chelsea Store over Instagram. Publicity? Sure. Pandering to the LGBT customer? They chose the Chelsea location, didn't they?
But maybe we are at a tipping point. Bradley Manning's gender reassignment is only raising eyebrows because he wants the government to pony up for it. And Lana Wachowski's transition barely raised eyebrows at all.
So maybe American Apparel has it right, maybe it's just time. I can buy that. America is nothing if not surprising, and everyone looks good in a tee shirt.
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//
More:Why Can't They Just Get Together Already?What Your Movie Poster Says About YouRobert Pattinson Vs. James Dean
From Our Partners:40 Most Revealing See-Through Red Carpet Looks (Vh1)15 Stars Share Secrets of their Sex Lives (Celebuzz)
Filmmaker Andy Wachowski and his transgender sister Lana have hit back at claims they stole the premise for their popular The Matrix sequels, insisting the full trilogy was their own idea. Scriptwriter Thomas Althouse accused the Wachowskis of copying the ideas for The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions from his screenplay and launched legal action against the pair.
He alleges the siblings ripped off his script for The Immortals, which he claims he submitted to executives at Warner Bros. Pictures, the studio behind the franchise, in 1993 and is demanding $300 million (£200 million), in addition to a percentage of the $1.63 billion the trilogy grossed at the global box office.
Now Andy and Lena Wachowski have filed a countersuit against Althouse's claim, insisting the entirety of both movies was their work and that Althouse's lawsuit should be dismissed. The siblings also want him to pay their legal fees, according to TMZ.com.
Tom Hanks is teaming up with Tom Tykwer, who co-directed Hanks in 2012's disaster/masterpiece/depends who you ask Cloud Atlas, for another ambitious film project. According to Deadline, Tykwer has adapted Dave Eggers' National Book Award finalist A Hologram for the King for the big screen, and Hanks is set to take the starring role.
Now, Deadline describes the book and film's premise by writing, "The story involves a struggling businessman who, after failing in America, heads to a rising Saudi Arabian city for a last ditch attempt to stave off foreclosure, pay his daughter's college tuition, and do something memorable." But fans of the novel (a group to which I belong) know that the truth of the matter is that not a whole lot happens in this book. In fact, I'd say about 85% of the story consists of Hanks' character-to-be sitting and sweating in a tent in Saudi Arabia while he wonders when lunch and a working WiFi signal will appear. Sometimes, in the more exciting moments, our protagonist walks from the tent to a neighboring office building.
Sounds like a scintillating movie, don't it?
In all fairness, Eggers' novel, while rather stationary, is a wonderful slice of life that deftly evokes a place and mood — both of which can be described as stifling. While Cloud Atlas, Tykwer's joint venture with Lana and Andy Wachowski, was generally acknowledged to be too ambitious an undertaking to be entirely successful, his smaller scale Run Lola Run is a cult favorite.
And how do we think Hanks will fare as our hero, Alan Clay? Well, we know he's good at being alone.
More:Tom Hanks is Nora Ephron's 'Lucky Guy' on Broadway The 'Cloud Atlas' Novel Vs. The MovieTom Hanks & Halle Berry Talk 'Cloud Atlas' and Real Life Soulmates
From Our PartnersStars Pose Naked for 'Allure' (Celebuzz)Which Game of Thrones Actor Looks Least Like His Character? (Vulture)
Summary
One half of the fraternal filmmaking duo known as the Wachowski Brothers, Larry Wachowski and sibling Andy were the creative minds behind the "Matrix" trilogy (2000, 2003), one of the most imaginative and influential film series in Hollywood history. Conceived from a childhood steeped in fantasy novels and comic books, the "Matrix" films combined martial arts action with literary and cinematic references and a wide array of world religious and philosophical tenets. The result was a massively popular trio of films that largely redefined the action genre and CGI effects as a whole for a new generation of moviegoers. While the brothers continued to release big-screen epics in its wake, including "V for Vendetta" (2005) and "Ninja Assassin" (2009), Larry Wachowski earned as much press for his personal life, which included a relationship with a dominatrix and rumored gender reassignment, coupled with a new name, Lana Wachowski. Despite the gossip, he and brother Andy remained two of the most successful and mysterious genre directors in Hollywood.
Education
Name
Whitney M. Young Magnet High School
Bard College
Notes
"You talk to people and they always ask, 'Why are action movies so dumb?' We hope people are more interested in a more intelligent approach. We hope they are not just interested in what we call McDonald's movies, the standard you-know-what-you-get [films]." – Wachowski quoted in USA Today, April 5, 1999
"Maybe we'll just retire with a two-film retrospective. We're just so tired at this point." – Warchowski quoted in The New York Times, April 5, 1999
After finishing "Speed Racer" (2008), Wachowski underwent hormone treatments and a sex-change operation to transform into a woman. The filmmaker also changed her name to Lana.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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76 So.3d 300 (2011)
BERNARD
v.
US BANK NAT. ASSOC.
No. 3D11-456.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.
November 23, 2011.
DECISION WITHOUT PUBLISHED OPINION
Appeal dismissed.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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FreeLaw
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Incidence of acute myocardial infarction in the evolution of dialysis patients.
Although the estimated frequency of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients on dialysis is very high, there is considerable variation in the studies published to date regarding the rate of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in these patients. To establish the incidence of AMI and to analyse the characteristics and consequences of this entity on the clinical progression of incident dialysis patients. We recorded AMI in the patients treated in our dialysis unit between 01/01/1999 and 31/12/07. The variables assessed were: prior diagnosis of diabetes, hypertension, CAD (AMI or lesions observed in coronary angiography), ischaemic cerebrovascular accident, advanced peripheral artery disease (PAD), atrial fibrillation and tobacco use. Biochemical analyses included: urea, creatinine, haematocrit, calcium, phosphorous, iPTH, lipids and albumin. Follow-up lasted until transplant, death, loss to follow-up or study end in Dec. 2010. Of the 576 patients recruited (aged 64.6 ± 16 years), 24.7% had diabetes, 82.3% were on haemodialysis (17.7% on peritoneal dialysis), and 34 (5.9%) had a previous diagnosis of CAD. In a follow-up lasting a mean of 40.2 ± 32 months (1931.5 patient-years), 40 patients (6.9%) suffered an AMI. The incidence was 2.13/100 patient-years. The patients without CAD had an incidence of 1.84/100 patient-years and those with a previous diagnosis of CAD had an incidence of 7.53/100 patient-years. In 22.5% of patients, AMI happened in the first 3 months of dialysis, and 37.5% in the 1st year. Of the 40 AMI, 15 were with ST-segment elevation (incidence: 0.79/100 patient-years) and 25 were non ST-segment elevation (incidence: 1.33/100 patient-years). The factors that predicted the occurrence of AMI in dialysis were older age (OR: 1.037; 95% CI: 1.009-1.067; P=.011), previous CAD (OR: 3.35; 95% CI: 1.48-7.16; P=.004), and diabetes as a cause of nephropathy (OR: 2.96; 95% CI: 1.49-5.86; P=.002). In-hospital mortality was 30%, with 72.5% of deaths occurring in the 1st year and 82.5% in the 2nd; 80% of the patients who underwent a coronary angiography had multi-vessel disease. The incidence of AMI in incident dialysis patients is high. In previous coronary disease patients, the incidence is 3-fold higher. Post-infarction mortality is very high and multi-vessel disease is very frequent.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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PubMed Abstracts
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Developmental changes in organic osmolytes in prenatal and postnatal rat tissues.
At high osmotic pressures, mammalian kidney medulla, heart, lens, and brain utilize organic osmolytes to regulate cell volume. However the types and proportions of these solutes vary among tissues in patterns and for non-osmotic roles not fully elucidated. To clarify these, we analyzed osmolyte-type solute contents in rat tissues at 7 and 2 days prenatal and at 0, 7, 14, 21 (weaning), 35 (juvenile) and 77 (adult) days postnatal. Placentas were dominated by betaine, taurine, and creatine, which decreased between the prenatal times. Fetuses were dominated by glutamate and taurine, which increased between the times. In cerebrum, hindbrain and diencephalon, taurine dominated at early stages, but dropped after postnatal day 7, while myo-inositol, glutamine, creatine and glutamate increased after birth, with the latter two dominating in adults. In olfactory bulb, taurine content declined gradually with age and was equal to glutamate in adults. In all brain regions, glycerophosphorylcholine (GPC) reached a peak in juveniles. In postnatal renal medulla, urea, sodium, GPC, betaine, and taurine increased sharply at day 21. Thereafter, most increased, but taurine decreased. In heart, taurine dominated, and increased with age along with creatine and glutamine, while glutamate decreased after postnatal day 7. In lens, taurine dominated and declined in adults. These patterns are discussed in light of hypotheses on non-osmotic and pathological roles of these solutes.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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PubMed Abstracts
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sneakers
Up Close with Nike's Air Tailwind 79 OG
We’re sure you’ve already caught wind of Nike’s classic Air Tailwind runner making a comeback, and these fresh shots from 43einhalb are the breeziest we’ve seen yet.
The on-foot snaps give us a better look at the ‘Vast Grey’/‘Photo Blue’ hues on the mesh and suede upper, as well as the Air sole unit and rubber waffle outsole. The vintage vibes come through strong, highlighted with the foam detailing on the tongue.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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Q:
need help with Field Managers Blackberry
I keep getting an IllegalArgumentException and nothing shows on the BlackBerry simulator when I run this code. What could be wrong with it?
public MyScreen()
{
// Set the displayed title of the screen and add the weather icons
setTitle("PixWeather");
cityField = new LabelField("Queensland", Field.FIELD_LEFT);
tempField = new LabelField("17", Field.FIELD_RIGHT);
condField = new LabelField("sunny",Field.FIELD_RIGHT);
weather_icon = Bitmap.getBitmapResource("sun_icon.png");
bitmapField = new BitmapField(weather_icon, Field.FIELD_LEFT);
VerticalFieldManager vfield = new VerticalFieldManager();
HorizontalFieldManager hfield1 = new HorizontalFieldManager();
hfield1.add(cityField);
hfield1.add(tempField);
HorizontalFieldManager hfield2 = new HorizontalFieldManager();
hfield2.add(bitmapField);
hfield2.add(condField);
vfield.add(hfield1);
vfield.add(hfield2);
}
A:
The IllegalArgumentException could be unrelated, but nothing is showing up on your screen because you didn't add anything to your screen.
You need to add the vfield to the screen itself. Add the following line:
add(vfield);
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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StackExchange
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Q:
How to make an OpenCL program run for large data set?
I am new to OpenCL. I am trying to run a simple OpenCL program for Vector Addition on NVIDIA GPU.
Here is the code :
OpenCL file is :
#define MAX_SOURCE_SIZE (0x10000)
#include<stdio.h>
#include<stdlib.h>
#include "CL/cl.h"
int main()
{
cl_uint ret_num_platforms;
cl_uint ret_num_devices;
cl_platform_id platform_id = NULL;
cl_kernel kernel2 = NULL;
cl_program program2 = NULL;
cl_command_queue command_queue = NULL;
cl_context context = NULL;
cl_device_id device_id = NULL;
cl_int ret;
FILE * fp2;
char fileName2[]="./kernel.cl";
int for_var=0;
char * source_str2;
size_t source_size2;
size_t globalWorkSize[1];
size_t localWorkSize[1];
cl_mem cl_buffer3;
cl_mem cl_buffer2;
cl_mem cl_buffer1;
cl_mem cl_buffer0;
int *A;
int *B;
int *C;
int *n;
int i;
n = ((int *)(malloc((sizeof(int )))));
printf("Enter the number of elements of vector : \n");
scanf("%d",n);
A = ((int *)(malloc((( *n) * sizeof(int )))));
B = ((int *)(malloc((( *n) * sizeof(int )))));
C = ((int *)(malloc((( *n) * sizeof(int )))));
printf("\nInput Vector1 :\n");
for (i = 0; i <= *n - 1; i += 1) {
A[i] = (2 * i);
printf("%d ",A[i]);
}
printf("\n\nInput Vector2 :\n");
for (i = 0; i <= *n - 1; i += 1) {
B[i] = (3 * i);
printf("%d ",B[i]);
}
ret = clGetPlatformIDs(1,&platform_id,&ret_num_platforms);
if (ret != CL_SUCCESS) {
printf("Platform error");
}
ret = clGetDeviceIDs(platform_id,CL_DEVICE_TYPE_DEFAULT,1,&device_id,&ret_num_devices);
if (ret != CL_SUCCESS)
printf("device err");
context=clCreateContext(NULL,1,&device_id,NULL,NULL,&ret);
if (!context)
printf("context err");
command_queue = clCreateCommandQueue(context,device_id,0,&ret);
if (!command_queue)
printf("command queue error");
localWorkSize[0] = 16;
globalWorkSize[0] =16400;
cl_buffer0=clCreateBuffer(context, CL_MEM_WRITE_ONLY, (*n) * sizeof(int), NULL, &ret);
cl_buffer1=clCreateBuffer(context, CL_MEM_WRITE_ONLY, (*n) * sizeof(int), NULL, &ret);
cl_buffer3=clCreateBuffer(context, CL_MEM_WRITE_ONLY, sizeof(int), NULL, &ret);
cl_buffer2=clCreateBuffer(context, CL_MEM_READ_WRITE, (*n) * sizeof(int), NULL, &ret);
ret = clEnqueueWriteBuffer(command_queue, cl_buffer0 , CL_TRUE, 0,(*n) * sizeof(int), A, 0, NULL, NULL);
ret = clEnqueueWriteBuffer(command_queue, cl_buffer1 , CL_TRUE, 0,(*n) * sizeof(int), B, 0, NULL, NULL);
ret = clEnqueueWriteBuffer(command_queue, cl_buffer3 , CL_TRUE, 0, sizeof(int), n, 0, NULL, NULL);
ret = clEnqueueWriteBuffer(command_queue, cl_buffer2 , CL_TRUE, 0,(*n) * sizeof(int), C, 0, NULL, NULL);
fp2 = fopen(fileName2,"r");
if (!fp2) {
fprintf(stderr,"Failed");
exit(1);
}
source_str2 = (char*)malloc(MAX_SOURCE_SIZE);
source_size2 = fread(source_str2,1,MAX_SOURCE_SIZE,fp2);
fclose(fp2);
program2 = clCreateProgramWithSource(context, 1, (const char **)&source_str2,(const size_t *)&source_size2, &ret);
if(!program2)
printf("error creating program2");
ret = clBuildProgram(program2, 1, &device_id, NULL, NULL, NULL);
if (ret)
printf("error building program2");
kernel2 = clCreateKernel(program2, "ADD" , &ret);
ret = clSetKernelArg(kernel2, 0, sizeof(cl_mem), &cl_buffer0);
ret = clSetKernelArg(kernel2, 1, sizeof(cl_mem), &cl_buffer1);
ret = clSetKernelArg(kernel2, 2, sizeof(cl_mem), &cl_buffer2);
ret = clSetKernelArg(kernel2, 3, sizeof(cl_mem), &cl_buffer3);
ret = clEnqueueNDRangeKernel(command_queue, kernel2, 1, NULL, globalWorkSize, localWorkSize, 0 , NULL , NULL);
ret = clEnqueueReadBuffer(command_queue, cl_buffer2 , CL_TRUE, 0,(*n) * sizeof(int), C, 0, NULL, NULL);
printf("\n\nAddition of vectors :\n");
for (i = 0; i <= *n - 1; i += 1) {
printf("%d ",C[i]);
}
clReleaseMemObject(cl_buffer0);
clReleaseMemObject(cl_buffer1);
clReleaseMemObject(cl_buffer2);
clReleaseMemObject(cl_buffer3);
clReleaseCommandQueue(command_queue);
clReleaseContext(context);
return 0;
}
Kernel file is(kernel.cl) :
__kernel void ADD(__constant int *A,__constant int *B,__global int *C,__constant int *n)
{
int i = get_global_id(0);
if (i <= *n - 1) {
C[i] = (A[i] + B[i]);
}
}
The program works fine if I give 16384 as total vector elements but it gives 0 as output for values more than that. I want to run this program with large data set so that I can compare its performance with the one running on CPU.
Please guide me how can I do so?
A:
There's at least one bug in your code - you're copying MEM_SIZE * sizeof(int) bytes from n to buffer 3:
ret = clEnqueueWriteBuffer(command_queue, cl_buffer3 , CL_TRUE, 0,MEM_SIZE * sizeof(int), n, 0, NULL, NULL);
however, n is only sizeof(int) bytes long:
n = ((int *)(malloc((sizeof(int )))));
I don't know what problems this might be causing, and it's entirely possible there are other, more severe bugs, but this one certainly isn't helping.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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StackExchange
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It works if they set up some transparent rules that have good argumentation on how they are carried out.
At the moment it is just a mess. Europe is destroying itself by making it so easy to cross borders and gain advantages in other countries, while putting close to no effort in.
I am from NL and the whole migration thing is costing a shitload. I have always kept a clear mind on judging people from other countries, but when you are more involved with them in regards to work and every day life, it is just out of control.
Apparently there is more attention towards foreigners entering a country, than there is for the people that have been living there for generations.
There are mass people in NL going towards being poor and people being evicted, because they can not pay their mortgages on their houses or rent. However some of the best hotels and camping grounds are being filled with foreigners to give them a roof over their head. That's just sad.
Rules in a country should count for everyone and not provide any exceptions. If you want to live in a different country, why should the people living there adapt to the visiting culture? If I would live in another country, especially one of Islam or Arabic descent, do you think I get any privileges? Of course not.
And that's the whole problem and will destroy Europe some day. If your own people feels disadvantaged all the time towards foreigners, it will be a matter of time.
Funny example is the guy cloned posted, Geert Wilders. They set up a site to report problems regarding foreigners (Polish mainly) that are in the way or causing problems to Dutch working people that could cause harm to their financial/job security. And that actually ain't a bad initiative to go for, but the execution is a bit drastic. Because it is a simple fact that Polish workers will go below the rate a Dutch worker would do. Then take that money back to Poland, where that money is better than the average salary a worker in Poland earns.
That is just unfair and disadvantages our own workers, because they can not drop lower in price rates, because they have to support their family by the Dutch prices of food, drinks, rent etc. While the Polish workers locate themselves in cheap accommodations (with sometimes 8 to 10 people in one house) for temporary residence. Then move back to Poland when they achieved their money goal to spend it there.
There has to be more regulation regarding these things. It will blow up soon enough if the government doesn't involve themselves more and take a step forward for their own people, instead of trying to accommodate for their own gain (votes, bribes, job security in the future).
So I guess it has more angles you can look from. But at the moment it is getting ridiculous. Especially if you see a 18 year old foreigner riding around in a 50.000 euro Mercedes/BMW who is on well fare cheques. And I am saying this, because he is a friend of mine, so not making it up. The clue in this example is that the government is not even bothering to check up on how the hell he can afford that and still receive well fare. Cars are registered on the users name, so it is open information to view.
However another friend of mine works 40 hours a week for 1400 euro a month. He's 25 years old and saved 5 years to buy a 20.000 euro car (new) and a week later they informed him about a inspection on how he could afford such car with a 1400 euro salary. Get that? That is a prime example on why it is going to blow up, because local people and foreigners are going to grow hate towards each other, because of the unfairness of governmental laws and rules and the applying of them.
Conclusion: It will work if they apply the rules and policies to every single person and not make exceptions, just because it is a foreigner. They wanted to unite countries into Europe, but still not apply good foreign policies? It is funny how some countries take a clear statement towards foreigners and tell them to adapt or fuck off. Yet if some like NL would do that, we are a total disgrace and limit their freedom, because they can not feel like they did at home. Are you fucking serious?
Pretty normal in Netherlands, it is filled with Mercedes, BMW and Audi. In Belgium it's even worse (I work on the border), don't think you will come across a lot of cars below 25.000 euro driven by people with a decent salary :)
My car was 11.000 euro (at that time) and is considered budget. I bought it new for the 3 year warranty (which saved me 3000 euro already LOL nice quality?) and tax free driving. Which will be abolished again, because too many people wanted to drive tax free and bought those cars. Government missing that money now!
Depends on what times you go there. When I drive to my work and from my work, then you have those expensive cars going about since they are returning home as well.
If I make a picture of the garage below the apartment building I live in, I think the average price of the cars standing there is 30.000 euro at least. Some peak out to 60.000/70.000 and are BMW or Mercedes.
These are people with an average salary of 2500 to 3500 before taxes. After about 2400/2500.
Funny example is the guy cloned posted, Geert Wilders. They set up a site to report problems regarding foreigners (Polish mainly) that are in the way or causing problems to Dutch working people that could cause harm to their financial/job security. And that actually ain't a bad initiative to go for, but the execution is a bit drastic. Because it is a simple fact that Polish workers will go below the rate a Dutch worker would do. Then take that money back to Poland, where that money is better than the average salary a worker in Poland earns.
That is just unfair and disadvantages our own workers, because they can not drop lower in price rates, because they have to support their family by the Dutch prices of food, drinks, rent etc. While the Polish workers locate themselves in cheap accommodations (with sometimes 8 to 10 people in one house) for temporary residence. Then move back to Poland when they achieved their money goal to spend it there.
Yeah except for the fact the they do the job no-one else wants to do. For example every fucking year at asparagus harvest polish workers stay a couple of weeks in Germany and do the work because even unemployed Germans rather take the unemployment benefit then working there ass of 8 hours a day on the field for maybe 200-300 bucks more a month.
It's just the biggest lie ever that migrants take away jobs because you either learned something in school/uni/job and inherently are better educated than the uneducated migrant or you fucked up and either have to take the pill and work for less or go and beg on the streets :x.
However another friend of mine works 40 hours a week for 1400 euro a month. He's 25 years old and saved 5 years to buy a 20.000 euro car (new) and a week later they informed him about a inspection on how he could afford such car with a 1400 euro salary.
Well your friend is just dumb? Why does he need a 20k bucks car in the first place with that loan :O. That's just plain retarded. I mean it's no-one else's problem what he does with the money but he shouldn't complain about it later. Rather spend the money in further education and he might get more than 1400 bucks in the future -____-
He didn't loan it, he saved up to pay the 20.000 immediately. That is the funny part, that the taxes go after him, even if he paid the total amount by saving for 5 years.
And what you say about they do the jobs no one wants, that has two sides really. Sure there are jobs no one wants to do and they don't care and take them.
However if you look at the truck drivers recently, the Dutch truck drivers are bound by Dutch law and need to follow certain rules, like you can not drive 12 hours straight, you have to take a 15-30 minute break each few hours and have to stop driving after certain hours.
The foreign truck drivers (Poland, Ukraine, w/e) don't give a flying fuck about these rules and do it anyway. Companies rather let their stuff get transported by them then, because they are cheaper and they don't stop during the trip. There is no good inspection regarding this and Dutch truck companies are forced to close up, because they can't compete with that.
Any my point is about applying rules and law to every one in an equal way. This is an example of that not happening and creating unfair competition towards local (Dutch) employees.
I agree with you on the jobs no one wants to do, but there is also more jobs than just that you mentioned.
Please do not put Ukraine and Poland into the same box. As you hopefully now, we're in the EU and we're legally-binded by all regulations, for instance those concerning truck drivers.
Ukraine on the other hand is outside EU and is way behind with all the standards, but how on earth can Ukrainians be possibly allowed to work in Netherlands? They need Schengen-visas to even give you a visit.
Here's a thing about such discussions - they require experts, facts, reliable source of data, or else they mostly create tons of bullshit and lies, mostly based on stereotypes and wrong assumptions. As long as you're not entirely sure about things you want to say, keep it to yourself, unless you want to deliberately mislead us, bearing in mind that "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. ".
At the very end I shall mention that Poles went totally over the top with emigration to Netherlands, numbers raised from 44k to 150k in just few years time (according to Wikipedia), so after all I can understand the anger, but please do not fan this flame with lies :)
Just because you are legally bound to EU legislation, does not mean you will execute it correctly.
And sure you can say that is not a immigration problem, however every single year there is mass fines and imprisonment for illegal working at low wages and living with 10 to 12 people in one house illegally and perform unregistered labor.
You do not need to be an expert for this when you are confronted with this from your own working experience.
You can in no way even try to live with 10 to 12 Dutch registered people in one house, pay 500 euro rent, and get away with that.
But I am not trying to be anti-Poland or any country regarding these problems. There are quite some Polish people I know of that work according to Dutch legislation and they make a good living, just like any other. I oppose the fact that quite a lot of immigrants don't give a fuck about legislation and abuse the conditions they get when allowed to work here.
Did you write that yourself? Because it leaves out about 80 percent of any argument applicable to the Netherlands regarding the subject being described there.
A big rant about saying; maybe work harder for less pay as well. Let's not take standard of living into consideration, rather just rant on about local workers being lazy and doing less, but requiring more money.
I would like you to try and work for 500 euro a month in the Netherlands, then pay for a normal apartment/house, food, clothing, children, holiday, taxes, repairs w/e.
Oh look most basic expenses are double the ones of Poland. Dutch workers won't fucking make it if they worked for the same pay as Polish workers and not decrease their standard of living and gain immigration conditions provided by the government.
-> Which brings me to my main point: Even the playing field and apply the same rules and standards as any other. Right now this is not the case and people are growing hateful towards each other.
Even the playing field and apply the same rules and standards as any other. Right now this is not the case and people are growing hateful towards each other.
I think it's already happening through globalisation. If you get your product/service done where the factors of cost are the lowest you will over time increase life standards in this particular area. Costs of living will increase and so do the costs of production. This process will carry on until every country on this planet is being equalised.
But this process could also be achieved in a more coordinated social way i have no doubts on that (free market economy vs. social market economy).
But what will happen if these "playing fields" are being equalised? I think education will be the main factor to gain an edge in this compeditive market. And hopefully through education more and more people see how crucial it is to have money in order to generate even more of it.
No, it was just a short term ideal that never really worked for anyone but immigrants who came from shittier countries and had everything to gain and nothing to lose.
UK are becoming a lot stricter and taking powers back, people in Brussels just want to dilute the UK so europe becomes one super power of shit and they know the UK has too much identifty and influence so it aims to undermine that, combined that with the shitty labour GVT that installed so many liberal polices that contributed to this mess now and this is why we have the problems we do. As far as I am concerend this recession is a good thing, its gonna allow the UK to take stock of things and re-establish some rules. Germany and France are about to eat humble pie as much of europe starts to fold, while the UK told them their plans sucked from day one, but they HAVE to make it work, which is the only reason they are helping greece out, that will fail again, and then places like italy will be in trouble, and then the shit will hit the fan and it will have a knock on effect.
Luckily the Tories are back in charge and things are changing, but it will take a long time to undo the damage, not even sure its possible.
are you implying that everything the UK stands for, consists of, etc etc is 100% british power? the UK you're relying on is also made by immigrants (like in every other country).
the limits and capabilities are the same for every human.
just because mister uzbekistan is a fucking loser and has a goatfarm doesn't mean he impossibly could run your country in a way. why blaming them for taking chances and sniff civilization?
there is ofc human trash that comes with immigration, but they atleast could manage to get on the level of UK-trash.
so what is your solution? close the door for everyone who can't attend in some of your elitist university? how retarded and antihuman is that? are you saying that the genetic pool of the country is "fixed" now and therefor they need to close the borders? close population models or history so to say since everything is fine for the uk?
how should such a background check work? if someone is willing to work in the UK he will prolly take his whole family with him, and his kids WILL have even more problems raising up/to immigrate, because of the feeling to be not wanted you constantly inflame.
Only allow in skilled people, with no convinctions, and a decent chunk of money in the bank.
The way it is at the moment is a joke. And the kicker is we get told foreign workers are better, if they were better their country would show the benefits of their collective "bettrness" they are "better" because they have bigger incentives when here, often living a poorer quality of life (which they do not deem as poorer because poor in the UK is not poor to them) and sending money home to save, and then going back.
I tell you what, pay me several times more per hour than what I earn now, and I'll gladly move to timbucktoo for a year, work my ass off and live cheaply knowing within a few years I can go home with a pot of cash in the bank.
That's simply not possible for British people to do as we have higher initial standards and costs.
That's why foreigners may appear to be more eager, its just short term BS, if they had to fight for this country tomorrow to stay here most would fuckoff on the banana boat they came here on.
And its that attitude that ruins this country and infects other people to stop caring about it.
People on benefits should also do community service for 2-3 days a week if they do not find employment after 6 months.
Whoever they are.
you didn't respond to my thesis that a constant hostility/xenophobia against foreign workers and immigrants causes a lot of the hate you mention.
i doubt they are considered "better" workers, just cheaper.
your timbucktoo example makes no sense and is pretty sloppy in terms of empathy. since there doesn't have to be just much money there must be some like you said higher initial standard compared to britain and the uk has to be on the ropes with no future, aswell. i doubt the country would be called timbucktoo maybe india or japan w/e.
iam biased because if your mindset would have been applied on germany i wouldn't been born at all.
and be sure i'm all in for germany on a blitzkrieg on britain.
"you didn't respond to my thesis that a constant hostility/xenophobia against foreign workers and immigrants causes a lot of the hate you mention."
Because its BS, Britain is the MOST liberal country in the world (why do you think they all come here), and if we say we do not like something, we are branded racists, which is just a political tactic all minorities use.
Its bullshit. immigration has damaged the UK immensely. luckily, that realisation is now being turned around slowly.
"allowing people of different cultural backgrounds live to side by side without integrating"
who said it can work without integration?
conclusion is to not allow them? is that what you get out of this?
"According to a recent survey, more than 30% of Germans believed that their country was "overrun by foreigners"."
with all the propaganda trumpets by complete moronic mostly nonpoliticians (mainly anti-islamistic), a still pretty active rightwinged scene/regions and the extreme pedantic and egocentric nature of germans i wonder that it was just 30%.
( aswell something like illegal employment of germans all the time is fine, while blaming the foreigners)
there are tons of recent and not so recent comments of the chancellor and others having a more optimistic position.
also, if you call a survey of some human magnets a statistic i can't help you anymore.
That's pretty much what multiculturalism is, if there was integration it would be mono-culturalism because there would be a single culture that's constantly evolving, changing and growing.
The whole point of multiculturalism was that any cultural could exist and survive independently while surrounded by other cultures, i.e. without integrating. The hope was that it would create a diverse and vibrant society while allowing politicians to avoid making tough decisions.
Canada is a really good example because although the English and French areas share a lot of history and culture anyway they are still quite separate and exist as independent cultures from one another.
Compare that to the USA where they had lots of immigrants but they largely all merged into one culture ('the melting pot').
Multiculturalism is basically how the world has developed throughout history though, right? We see the same antagonism between two countries as we do two cultures inside one country. That's why the whole idea was silly.
jamerio, you're here like the foreigner in britain. someone didn't like you back then and it's constantly pushing and whatever. EVEN YOU developed an anti-esr-people mentality and you're running against walls by users all the time.
you are the reason people here hate a lot and have a "bad time". most of them think esr would be a better place without you.please leave the esr-land, is like your own solution, so you seem to project it on the problems of your country.
i'm extremely white polish/german and didn't immigrate, nor had i any problems with that or discussed it. nor did i have bad experience with russians, poles, chinese or blacks (actually havent seen a black like 6months)
this random bullshit. i am polish, yes i like to rob people. yes, iam german and i want the world to be mine. my statement that iam german/prussian totally blows your countryblabla, since a few years ago they were one and the genetics havent changed...
.. if someone at the german border fucks with someone of the polish border, their kid is gonna be a stealing nazi or what? didn't you claim you were smart or something?how retarded. education and the circumstances of growing up does all the job. if some turk grows up in london, hey jamerio, he's another fucking brit.
again i never broadly attentioned that i'm actually 50/50. noone ever cared, i don't care, it doesn't get mentioned in any of my papers (even the etc)
if you want to make this the key of this discussion, i feel free to come at you and punch your little face my friend, since i'm aswell from the former gdr and that makes me want to tune down your oppinion in a harsh way.
you're just turning racial since you really seem to realise that noone likes you here, just like you don't like mustaffa in your hometown or whatever and are ashamed to see the circle and the projection.
I'm coping fine, I'm simply saying most people in the Uk want a change towards immigration. I have polls to backup my opinion. You're just another disagreeing inferior gamer on a website I upset implying I don't get something when I clearly do.
"The website of the Daily Mail saw its traffic reach almost 100 million unique users in January, after recording a 17.8 per cent increase on December's figure, according to the latest results from the Audit Bureau of Circulation."
this is why I know you can't possibly have >100 IQ because average people are capable of grasping this concept. I don't claim anything regarding the truthfulness of the statement, I'm just asking for a more credible source. hint - conservative pamphlets are not credible sources.
The left or middle would probably not publish such a statistic even if it were know to them as being true, anymore than a PG film would show sex or violence. Its not what they discuss.
Your reasoning is flawed, and your attempt to undermine my IQ based on your own flawed reasoning (which I just highlighted beautifully for everyone to see) is not going to help your cause.
Only strenghten mine.
The daily mail is perceived as right wing becuase it has the balls to go up against the liberal cancer of calling people racist for pointing out alarming trends that come with religion or migration, which those minorities use to gain social standing.
A newspaper article is and will never be a credible source. If you actually had had a proper education then you would have known this in the first place. But as is you clearly show your ignorance and dullness but now we know where your racism comes from. No proper education and reading the sun :D
Its a statistic from the police. All the daily mail did was do a graph for it and report a story from that graph which is just pulling data that was provided to them BY<<< the police.
"From September 2010 to August 31 last year, the Met proceeded against 195,714 alleged criminals. Of those, 46,588 were foreign nationals – or 24 per cent of the total. The remaining 149,126 individuals were British."
Its not practical to provide the absolute source for everything given I would have to obtain a freedom of information request off the police which would take months. This is not data they provide by default.
The daily mail is a well estalished paper, its not going to make up random stats and allow itself to be ripped apart by a million lefties out there by LYING about something so petty and easy (by journo standards) to disprove as a statistic from the MET.
You can pretty much deny anything by requesting the source as most things are reported by a third party, if you want to hang on that then be my guest. Enjoy your paranoid life in your bedroom, safely tucked behind your keyboard and firewall.
The bottom line is the Daily Mail has a greater chance of being right than you or anyone here arguing otherwise.
I accept what i said is not 100% proof, but few things are, what matters is I'm confident a multi million dollar news paper/empoire is more liekly to be telling the truth than a few argumentative nobodies like you.
again, brainiac, i can't see oppinions of people as a fact. try again, show me that your country would even be at least competitive without foreigners, let alone the whole "prime" that joins england to go to your universitys.
Surprisingly i do too, tho prob not the same reason as you. My old neighbourhood in London is pretty much Russian/Polish etc as are most of the stops, even in this quiet Suffolk town i live in we have loads that works at the hospital/old folks home. Even a few 'polish' shops have opened up.
Tho i rarely see you talk about eastern europeans and go on about blackie instead when theirs far more of them coming in, tho i dont think we should let Africans in, cant stand them being half west indian, when i was a kid most of the black community were west indian now its african who even tho you dont understand this are very different to us.
What I've never understood is -how- do extreme muslims get to immigrate? Being an extreme muslim in an extreme muslm country isn't a sufficient condition for a refugee, you need to be persecuted against. Someone elaborate.
Multiculturalism works, if you're skilled labour or hot exchange student, humanitarian immigration in other hand is terribly inefficient policy regardless of personal ethics. Open borders for workers and investments on-site rather than mindless transportation of lucky few imo.
Nice video but the thruth is that the west doesn't give a shit about these cuntries because to be honest no-one wants to lower is current life style. Imagine all these people actually had a safe workplace particularly speaking about mine workers, health ensurence blabla. Guess how many spoiled kids couldn't get the new iphone compared to now.
Gotta love those hipster hippy fags in my class talking about how unfair the world is blabla but in the end everyone of those shitheads is running around with the newest apple generation and wearing H&M because hey it's soooooo cheap.
Double standards at its best.
@topic
Immigration is somehow necessary. German birthrate dwindles and the population is growing older and older. I'm aware of the problems and there always will be problems when different cultures collide. From my own experience I can tell that I have seen both sides. Half of my senior year consisted of people with an immigration background whether it be eastern Europeans (Russian, Polish, Kazakh etc) or Turkish ones and there haven't been any problems whatsoever. Otherwise we had some problematic zones in our city created by migrants and going their at night wasn't the best idea one could have. Especially Germany missed it to integrate those waves of migrants in the 70s/80s and now we have to deal with the bad politics in the past. Doesn't suprise me when I see the current :D.
"Sweatjob" labour also to my knowledge refuses workplace safety measures and insurance in some instances, because the workers rather take that amount as extra income if given the choice.
Then again buying apple and h&m products inject more money to foreign economies (china and turkey iirc) instead us just circling money around. We could easily raise the demand of foreign products if we just disbanded some of our retarded customs and subsidies policies in the eu, especially agriculture. It's even iffier reality for those without assembly line job, collecting scrap metal or prostituting.
The point is that we are given a tall order, I do think countries like Sweden are far away from being noncaring assholes, but how on earth do they make any change if over three times the population of nordic countries -adds- to the problem annually? It's just a mathematical impossibility. There is not enough resources on this planet to give everybody 5 global hectares living stardard.
even when it comes to publishing statistics, there are an array of tricks newspapers can use to distort them without changing a single number, like omitting part of the statistics, comparing them with apparently related statistics, slightly altering the headline or titles, etc...
edit: should I really need to be telling you this? you must surely be aware that even 'official statistics' from the police, especially about immigration (a highly political matter, with as you said, about 3/4 of the population demanding a stop/reduction in immigration), can be distorted primarily by politicians and secondarily by the whole 'target-meeting' policy implemented in government services such as police force and national health.
I doubt the daily mail made the stats up becuase they would have no access to such data, not to mention there are plenty of left wing publications who would crucify them, daily mail have been right about a LOT of things from immigration to the euro, we just live in times where sadly if you do not agree with everything you get labelled right wing or a racist. Most people are weak minded.
well, my opinion is that we live in times where sadly you can't trust one word the mass media has to say, and by that I mean no exceptions. if you want the truth, you have to dig deeper than the likes of the daily mail.
I doubt this paper would discredit themselves by lying about a statistic they got from the MET that anyone could obtain with a freedom of information act from the police. This is not news of the world.
If you're going to lie to people, you might aswell keep it for something big, why would they ruin themselves for something so meaningless?
It would be like holding up corner shop that you knew only had 10 dollars in the till, the payback if caught would be a 1000 times worse than any pay off they got from publishing that story and statistic.
Europe and American mean totally different things by "multiculturalism".
Multiculturalism in the USA inevitably invokes the melting pot analogy. Groups of immigrants from different cultures in one country blending together, sometimes under intense pressure. (For instance, an area in Manhattan named "Hell's Kitchen".)
First generation immigrants typically begin less educated and with fewer opportunities, but send their kids to public school. Those kids then grow up American. Perhaps with a different native language inside the home, be it Portuguese, Chinese, etc.
Europe (or at least the UK, Germany, and The Netherlands) seem to mean something closer to "separate cultures coexisting independently from each other in the same country". This is an idealization that never really existed in practice.
While US immigration policy is in need of some updating (in particular: a path to citizenship for non-citizen minors raised in the country), Europe needs to learn that integration and assimilation do not happen overnight; it takes a few generations and requires society to provide opportunities.
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Literature & Views/ ስነ ጽሁፍና ዕይታዎች
Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
Archives
“Lying, Plato says explicity, is to be a prerogative of the government, just as giving medicine is of physicians.”
We can know only that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom.
Leo Tolstoy
The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.
Niccolo Machiavelli
የማይነጋ ህልም ሳልምየማይድን በሽታ ሳክምየማያድግ ችግኝ ሳርምየሰው ሂወት ስከረክምእኔ ለእኔ ኖሬ አላቅም::
ፀጋይ ገ መድህን
A democracy is no more than an aristocracy of orators. The people are so readily moved by demagogues that control must be exercised by the government over speech and press.
Thomas Hobbes
“The principle that the end justifies the means is and remains the only rule of political ethics; anything else is just a vague chatter and melts away between one’s fingers.”
Arthur Koestler
A prince, therefore, being compelled knowingly to adopt the beast, ought to choose the fox and the lion, because the lion cannot defend himself against snares and the fox cannot defend himself against wolves. Therefore, it is necessary to be a fox to discover the snares and a lion to terrify the wolves
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Schizophrenia: a disconnection syndrome?
We review the evidence of pathophysiological changes in the prefrontal and temporal cortices of schizophrenic subjects and of abnormal integration of the physiological dynamics in these two regions. The argument we develop is that some schizophrenic phenomena are best understood in terms of abnormal interactions between different areas, not only at the levels of physiology and functional anatomy, but at the level of cognitive and sensorimotor functioning. We discuss recent functional imaging evidence suggesting abnormal prefronto-temporal interactions in relation to a psychological analysis of experiential symptoms in schizophrenia. Cortico-cortical interactions have been assessed in terms of functional connectivity and eigenimages, using time series of neurophysiological data obtained with positron emission tomography. The results of these analyses suggest that there is a profound disruption of large-scale prefronto-temporal interactions in schizophrenia. These disruptions are particularly relevant if one considers that many positive symptoms of schizophrenia reflect a failure to integrate intrinsically generated behaviour and concurrent perception.
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PubMed Abstracts
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Fusobacterium and colorectal cancer: causal factor or passenger? Results from a large colorectal cancer screening study.
Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide in both men and women. The gut microbiome is increasingly recognized as having an important role in human health and disease. Fusobacterium has been identified in former studies as a leading gut bacterium associated with colorectal cancer, but it is still not clear if it plays an oncogenic role. In the current study, fecal samples were collected prior to bowel preparation from participants of screening colonoscopy in the German BliTz study. Using 16S rRNA gene analysis, we examined the presence and relative abundance of Fusobacterium in fecal samples from 500 participants, including 46, 113, 110 and 231 individuals with colorectal cancer, advanced adenomas, non-advanced adenomas and without any neoplasms, respectively. We found that the abundance of Fusobacterium in feces was strongly associated with the presence of colorectal cancer (P-value < 0.0001). This was confirmed by PCR at the species level for Fusobacterium nucleatum. However, no association was seen with the presence of advanced adenomas (P-value = 0.80) or non-advanced adenomas (P-value = 0.80), nor were there any associations observed with dietary or lifestyle habits. Although a causal role cannot be ruled out, our observations, based on fecal microbiome, support the hypothesis that Fusobacterium is a passenger that multiplies in the more favorable conditions caused by the malignant tumor rather than a causal factor in colorectal cancer development.
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Q:
When is ContextRefreshedEvent fired in Spring?
I know that it is fired once when the ApplicationContext is fully loaded, but what about after that during runtime? The word "Refreshed" implies that it will be triggered on a refresh but I wonder what Spring qualifies as an ApplicationContext refresh?
Followup question:
Can this event be triggered by concurrent threads? Do I need to make the EventHandler for this event thread safe?
A:
it is fired when properties, xml or any schema files are loaded/refreshed, http://docs.spring.io/spring/docs/current/javadoc-api/org/springframework/context/support/AbstractApplicationContext.html#refresh--
Load or refresh the persistent representation of the configuration,
which might an XML file, properties file, or relational database
schema.
It is fired implicitly by spring usually, but you should be able to fire that on certain instances, But here is java doc says when that happens
As this is a startup method, it should destroy already created
singletons if it fails, to avoid dangling resources. In other words,
after invocation of that method, either all or no singletons at all
should be instantiated.
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StackExchange
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Parkinson's HelpLine
Educational Materials
Science News
Study Finds Sleep Disturbances in Parkinson’s May Be Related to Circadian System Dysfunction
- Apr 25 2014
Irregularities in the rhythms of the body’s biological clock may play an important role in the sleep disturbances associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD). This finding, which appears in the February 24 online edition of JAMA Neurology, is among the first to shed light on this poorly-understood issue experienced by people with Parkinson’s disease.
Sleep disturbances are a major challenge for many people with Parkinson’s disease. In fact, close to 90 percent of people with the disease have trouble getting a good night’s sleep. Lack of sleep can cause excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), which can seriously impact quality of life and lead to health problems. Yet because scientists do not yet understand why sleep disturbances occur in PD, there are few effective treatments available.
Changes in circadian rhythms – which are changes in the behavioral, biochemical and physiological processes that control our biological clock – have already been linked to sleep disorders in the general population. Aleksandar Videnovic, M.D., M.Sc., Massachusetts General Hospital, has been studying their relationship to PD, in part with funding from a three-year PDF/American Brain Foundation (ABF) Clinician-Scientist Award. In particular, he and colleagues from Northwestern University and Lund University in Lund, Sweden, looked at melatonin, which regulates sleep-wake cycles and is an indicator of circadian function. Melatonin levels typically cycle up and down slowly, once per day, peaking in the evening hours. To be able to observe this cycling, they measured melatonin levels in 35 people, every half hour for a full day. The group was made up of 20 people with PD who were all taking dopamine medications (12 of whom had reported experiencing excessive daytime sleepiness, or EDS) and 15 people without PD.
Results
People with Parkinson’s disease exhibited normal cycling of their melatonin levels; however, their melatonin levels were significantly lower (about a third as high) as levels in healthy people. In other words, instead of reaching a tall peak, their melatonin levels climbed a little hill.
The people with Parkinson’s who also experienced excessive daytime sleepiness had even lower melatonin levels than the typical person with Parkinson’s – melatonin levels were half of those in people with PD but no EDS.
As seen with healthy participants with and without excessive daytime sleepiness, there was no difference in the reported sleep quality of those people with Parkinson’s with or without excessive daytime sleepiness.
What Does It Mean?
This study is the first to carefully measure the fluctuation of melatonin levels in people with PD and to compare those levels to what is seen in healthy people. Investigators achieved this by measuring melatonin every 30 minutes. The study’s results shed light on the extent to which the circadian rhythms are disrupted in PD, linking the severest changes in these rhythms – evidenced by the very low levels of melatonin – with the excessive daytime sleepiness experiences by some of the participants with Parkinson’s. Previous work using different methods had suggested there were no differences in melatonin levels between those with and without PD.
Dr. Videnovic and his colleagues suggest that treatments such as bright-light therapy and melatonin administration, which have been effective in strengthening circadian function and improving sleep in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and bipolar disorder, may also help people with PD. These treatments may also be effective in treating the sleep problems associated with PD and improve quality of life for thousands of people.
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209 S.W.3d 722 (2006)
Stephon WALTER, Appellant,
v.
The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
No. 06-04-00173-CR.
Court of Appeals of Texas, Texarkana.
Submitted August 10, 2006.
Decided November 15, 2006.
*725 Jeff Harrelson, Harrelson, Moore & Giles, LLP, Texarkana, for appellant.
Michael Shepherd, Asst. Dist. Atty., Texarkana, for appellee.
*726 Before MORRISS, C.J., ROSS and CARTER, JJ.
OPINION
Opinion by Chief Justice MORRISS.
Standing at the open side door of the almost deserted Outback Steakhouse in Texarkana late on the evening of August 31, 2003, Richard Markeil Henson held a bag containing approximately $800.00, which Stephon Walter[1] had taken from inside the restaurant and handed to Henson. Walter, after handing Henson the moneybut still possessing a handgun Walter had borrowed for the purpose of robbing the restaurantdisappeared again into the restaurant, where three restaurant employees awaited. Henson next heard, through the open door, the employees begging for their livesand then the sound of six gunshots. The three employeesgeneral manager, Matthew Hines; manager and expectant mother, Rebecca Shifflett; and systems manager, Chrystal Williswere shot and died where they lay.
Later, as Walter and Henson left the restaurant grounds with the money and the gun, they were the only two people alive who knew what had happened. But each of them told others.
Walter told Billy Ray Johnson, who claims to be the common-law husband of Walter's sister. According to Johnson's testimony, between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m. on September 1, Walter sought a private conversation with Johnson to discuss what had happened at the restaurant a short time earlier.[2]
Henson, on the other hand, told his brother, Roderick, the following morning, September 1. Roderick testified that Henson *727 told him about the events occurring August 31 at the restaurant.[3]
Both Walter and Henson were charged with capital murder in connection with the highly publicized murders. The trial court transferred Walter's case to Collin County due to the extensive publicity of the murders. The Collin County jury found Walter guilty of capital murder and assessed punishment at life in prison. The trial court sentenced Walter accordingly.
We affirm the trial court's judgment based on the following holdings on Walter's points of error:
(1) The trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting testimony regarding statements by Henson that implicated both Henson and Walter.
(2) The trial court did not abuse its discretion when it excluded evidence of witness Johnson's prior murder and robbery convictions as impeachment.
(3) The trial court did not abuse its discretion by changing venue to Collin County, a county which lies outside any judicial district adjoining the Fifth Judicial District.
(4) The trial court did not err when it denied Walter's motion to quash the indictment when the record shows that unauthorized people were present during grand jury proceedings.
(5) The trial court did not err when it granted the State's challenges for cause concerning five jurors who expressed that they would hold the State to a higher standard of proof in a case in which the death penalty is sought.
(6) The trial court did not err when it refused to include an instruction on aggravated robbery.
(1) The Trial Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion by Admitting Evidence Regarding Henson's Statements
As we have mentioned above, Henson's brother, Roderick, testified at trial to various things Henson told him about the August 31 events at the Outback Steakhouse. Walter objected to Roderick's testimony in terms of both hearsay and a violation of the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause. We first address his Confrontation Clause argument.
(a) Crawford Not Applicable to Nontestimonial Statements
We first look at Walter's argument in terms of the Crawford rule: testimonial statements of a witness who does not appear at trial are inadmissible unless that witness was unavailable to testify and the defendant had a prior opportunity for cross-examination. See Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 68, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004). We are aware that *728 Crawford does impose restrictions in the application of certain hearsay exceptions. However, a major limitation of Crawford is that its application is limited to "testimonial statements."
Although the Crawford opinion does not provide a comprehensive definition of "testimonial," it does indicate that the term covers "ex parte in-court testimony or its functional equivalent . . . extrajudicial statements contained in formalized testimonial materials" such as "prior testimony at a preliminary hearing, before a grand jury, or at former trial; and . . . police interrogations." Id. at 52, 124 S.Ct. 1354. While there is no indication that these examples represent an exhaustive list, Crawford's description lends support to our previous reading of Crawford that "testimonial statements" share the characteristics of involving a declarant's knowing responses to structured questioning in an investigative environment or courtroom setting where the declarant could reasonably expect that his or her responses might be used in future judicial proceedings. See Wiggins v. State, 152 S.W.3d 656, 659 (Tex.App.-Texarkana 2004, pet. ref'd) (holding Crawford did not apply to statements against interest made by coconspirator to declarant's supposed friends; such statements nontestimonial).
The United States Supreme Court recently provided further guidance regarding statements that are considered "testimonial" for purposes of Crawford. See Davis v. Washington, ___ U.S. ___, 126 S.Ct. 2266, 2273, 165 L.Ed.2d 224 (2006). The Court compared the statements found to be testimonial in Crawford to the statements in the Davis case and concluded that the portion of a 9-1-1 call at issue in Davis was nontestimonial. Davis, 126 S.Ct. at 2277. The Court pointed out that the declarant in Davis made the statements at issue during a crime in progress and for the purpose of summoning help.[4]Id. at 2276. The Court also observed that the declarant made the statement while still in a dangerous setting and in a frantic state of mind, rather than in the safety of a police interview room or another place of safety. Id. at 2277. So, from Davis, we learn that the timing, purpose, and setting of the statement can be relevant considerations when determining whether the statement is testimonial for the purpose of analysis under Crawford.
Here, Roderick's testimony shows that the conversation involved only the two brothers and took place at Henson's residence. Henson made the statements to his brother spontaneously and apparently in an attempt to enlist his brother's help in eluding identification. It seems that Henson spoke quite nervously with Roderick in an attempt to avoid ever being connected to the crime, leading us to conclude that Henson did not make these statements under circumstances from which a reasonable person might expect the statements to be used in a later criminal trial. Whatever the precise definition of "testimonial statements," it is clear that, here, coconspirator Henson's remarks in a private conversation with his brother only hours after the murders are not "testimonial statements" *729 and, thus, fall outside Crawford's analysis. Henson "simply was not acting as a witness" when he spoke to his brother. See Davis, 126 S.Ct. at 2277.
Several courts, including this one, have held that nontestimonial statements are still governed by Ohio v. Roberts, 448 U.S. 56, 100 S.Ct. 2531, 65 L.Ed.2d 597 (1980). See Wiggins, 152 S.W.3d at 660 (citing United States v. Saget, 377 F.3d 223, 228 (2d Cir.2004); Horton v. Allen, 370 F.3d 75, 84 (1st Cir.2004); People v. Cage, 15 Cal.Rptr.3d 846 (Cal.Ct.App. 2004); State v. Manuel, 275 Wis.2d 146, 685 N.W.2d 525 (2004)). Under Roberts, the introduction of a hearsay statement was permitted if it had sufficient "indicia of reliability." See Crawford, 541 U.S. at 52, 124 S.Ct. 1354; Roberts, 448 U.S. at 66, 100 S.Ct. 2531; Wiggins, 152 S.W.3d at 660. A hearsay statement is per se reliable under the Confrontation Clause if it falls within a "firmly rooted" exception to the hearsay rule. White v. Illinois, 502 U.S. 346, 356, 112 S.Ct. 736, 116 L.Ed.2d 848 (1992).
(b) Firmly-Rooted in Statement Against Penal Interest Exception
Roderick's testimony concerns Henson's out-of-court statements offered "to prove the truth of the matter asserted," that Walter committed the crime. See TEX.R.EVID. 801(d), 802. All seem to agree that this testimony is hearsay. We must determine whether it fits into an exception to the rule excluding hearsayhere, the statement against penal interest exception. Rule 803 provides a definition of a statement against interest:
A statement which was at the time of its making so far contrary to the declarant's pecuniary or proprietary interest, or so far tended to subject the declarant to civil or criminal liability, or to render invalid a claim by the declarant against another, or to make the declarant an object of hatred, ridicule, or disgrace, that a reasonable person in the declarant's position would not have made the statement unless believing it to be true. In a criminal case, a statement tending to expose the declarant to criminal liability is not admissible unless corroborating circumstances clearly indicate the trustworthiness of the statement.
TEX.R. EVID. 803(24). As we pointed out in Wiggins, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has found statements against one's penal interest to be "extremely reliable." See Dewberry v. State, 4 S.W.3d 735, 753 (Tex.Crim.App.1999).
(i) Sufficiently Self-Inculpatory
An admission against a codefendant declarant's interest can be admissible against the defendant so long as it is sufficiently against the declarant's interest to be reliable. See Williamson v. United States, 512 U.S. 594, 603, 114 S.Ct. 2431, 129 L.Ed.2d 476 (1994); Dewberry, 4 S.W.3d at 751; Cofield v. State, 891 S.W.2d 952, 956 (Tex.Crim.App.1994). At issue in Dewberry was testimony concerning statements made to third parties by appellant's brother/codefendant, Chris Dewberry. See Dewberry, 4 S.W.3d at 751. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals concluded that testimony regarding Chris' statements were admissible against defendant John Dewberry because such statements using "we" sufficiently implicated Chris in the commission of capital murder. See id. Due to the self-inculpatory nature of the statements, the Dewberry court characterized the statements as reliable. See id.
Here, we examine similar testimony regarding Henson's statements to his brother. While it is true that Henson's statements seem to depict him as the less culpable one, by making such statements, Henson opened himself to criminal liability *730 at least for robbery, based on the admitted original purpose for Henson and Walter being at the restaurant that night.
Where a defendant conspired[5] to commit robbery that resulted in the murder of a sheriff's deputy, the Fourteenth Court of Appeals affirmed a capital murder conviction based on liability under Section 7.02(b) even when the defendant was not present at the scene of the murder. See Longoria v. State, 154 S.W.3d 747, 755 n. 6 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2004, pet. ref'd). The Longoria court concluded that it should be anticipated that a murder would occur where evidence shows the defendant is aware that cohorts in a planned robbery are armed with guns. See id. at 756-57 n. 7; see also Cienfuegos, 113 S.W.3d at 489-90 (holding evidence legally sufficient to support capital murder conviction based on Section 7.02(b) when, after participating in kidnapping, appellant kept watch over kidnapped victims while coconspirator went elsewhere and fatally shot deceased); Williams v. State, 974 S.W.2d 324, 330 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 1998, pet. ref'd) (finding evidence factually sufficient to support capital murder conviction when jury could infer from evidence appellant knew at least one person involved in robbery was carrying gun and, therefore, record supported conclusion that murder reasonably foreseeable).
Here, by Henson's account, Walter drove the two men to and from the restaurant with the intent to commit aggravated robbery. The record suggests that, all the while, Henson knew that their plan was to commit robbery and that Walter had a loaded gun. Even though Henson may not have planned to actively participate in capital murder, the record supports the conclusion that his utterances were statements against his penal interests and were sufficiently self-inculpatory.
(ii) Sufficient Corroboration of Statement
No definitive test exists by which to gauge the existence of corroborating circumstances for purposes of Rule 803(24). See Davis v. State, 872 S.W.2d 743, 749 (Tex.Crim.App.1994); Lester v. State, 120 S.W.3d 897, 901 (Tex.App.-Texarkana 2003, no pet.). The burden lies with the party seeking to admit the statement, and the test is not an easy one; the evidence of corroborating circumstances must clearly indicate trustworthiness. Davis, 872 S.W.2d at 749. Any number of factors may be considered in this inquiry, including: (1) whether the guilt of the declarant is inconsistent with the guilt of the defendant, (2) whether the declarant was so situated that he or she might have committed the crime, (3) the timing of the declaration, (4) the spontaneity of the declaration, (5) the relationship between the declarant and the party to whom the statement was made, and (6) the existence of independent corroborating facts. See Dewberry, 4 S.W.3d at 751.
Henson's admission to his brother regarding his involvement with the murders is not inconsistent with Walter's guilt. According to Henson, they both entered the restaurant with the intent to commit aggravated robbery. As discussed, the law will then apply to these facts to make Henson criminally responsible for capital murder. However, Henson's guilt with respect to these crimes does not lend itself to a conclusion that Walter is not guilty. In fact, only by implicating Walter in the *731 murders does Henson make himself criminally responsible.
Testimony of several relatives and acquaintances place Henson in the company of Walter the night of August 31. Henson and Walter left together late that night, making both of them clearly situated where they could have committed the crime. Henson told his brother that he was present at the Outback Steakhouse that night and had plans of participating in the robbery.
Additionally, the timing of Henson's statement to his brother lends itself to the trustworthiness of Henson's statements. The brother, Roderick, testified that, when he spoke with the nervous-acting Henson the morning after the murders, Roderick had not yet heard anything about the murders. At that point in time, Henson was not considered a suspect in the murders. Henson contacted Roderick and spontaneously offered the information. That is, Henson spontaneously offered the information and did not divulge the information simply in response to any questioning or suspicion. The fact that Henson spoke with his brother so soon after the murders suggests that Henson was upset and panicked, also lending to the trustworthiness of the statement.
Also relevant is the fact that Henson chose to speak to his older brother, a figure who would typically be sought for guidance or help. Generally, a statement is sufficiently trustworthy for purposes of Rule 803(24) when the statement is made to a relative. See Lester, 120 S.W.3d at 901-02; White v. State, 982 S.W.2d 642, 648 (Tex.App.-Texarkana 1998, pet. ref'd). In Lester, we pointed out that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals had arrived at a similar conclusion when the appellant's out-of-court statements were at issue:
It should also be noted that the statements were made in the presence of appellant's brother . . . and his sister-in-law and thus the speakers reasonably felt they could confide in them and had no motivation to lie or place the blame for the crime on someone else.
Therefore, we consider the fact that Henson spoke privately to his brother about the murders as a factor lending itself to the trustworthiness of the statement.
There is also independent evidence of the statement's trustworthiness. The State produced pictures of the barbeque pit in which Henson and Roderick burned the clothing to alleviate Henson's concerns about identification from surveillance. The State also introduced pictures of the money recovered in an amount and location consistent with Henson's account of the robbery and murders. We conclude the relevant factors clearly point to the trustworthiness of Roderick's testimony.
Since Henson's statements implicate him in capital murder and since the record provides significant corroboration that clearly indicates the trustworthiness of Henson's statements to his brother, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting Roderick's testimony regarding those statements. We overrule Walter's contentions to the contrary.
(2) The Trial Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion by Excluding Certain Prior Convictions of Witness Johnson as Impeachment
Also as we have mentioned above, Johnson testified to various admissions and actions by Walter before, during, and after the events at the restaurant. During his trial testimony, Johnson was questioned regarding his substantial criminal history, including a 1985 sexual assault conviction, a 1992 drug-related conviction, and a 1992 possession of a firearm by a felon conviction. However, the trial court *732 did not allow Walter to inquire into Johnson's 1988 convictions for second-degree murder and aggravated robbery, concluding that such evidence was more prejudicial than probative. Walter argues the trial court abused its discretion by excluding this evidence.
Rule 609 governs the admission of prior convictions as impeachment evidence:
(a) General Rule. For the purpose of attacking the credibility of a witness, evidence that the witness has been convicted of a crime shall be admitted if elicited from the witness or established by public record but only if the crime was a felony or involved moral turpitude, regardless of punishment, and the court determines that the probative value of admitting this evidence outweighs its prejudicial effect to a party.
(b) Time Limit. Evidence of a conviction under this rule is not admissible if a period of more than ten years has elapsed since the date of the conviction or of the release of the witness from the confinement imposed for that conviction, whichever is the later date, unless the court determines, in the interests of justice, that the probative value of the conviction supported by specific facts and circumstances substantially outweighs its prejudicial effect.
TEX.R. EVID. 609. The decision to admit or exclude remote convictions under Rule 609 is within the trial court's discretion. Theus v. State, 845 S.W.2d 874, 876 (Tex. Crim.App.1992).
We, therefore, review for an abuse of discretion the trial court's decision that the probative value of admitting evidence of the 1988 convictions did not outweigh its prejudicial effect.[6] To determine whether the probative value of the evidence outweighs the prejudicial effect, we look to the Theus factors:
(1) the impeachment value of the prior crime, (2) the temporal proximity of the past crime relative to the charged offense and the witness' subsequent history, (3) the similarity between the past crime and the offense being prosecuted, (4) the importance of the . . . testimony, and (5) the importance of the credibility issue.
See id. at 880; Woodall v. State, 77 S.W.3d 388, 395 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2002, pet. ref'd).
*733 The impeachment value of prior crimes involving deception or moral turpitude is greater than for crimes involving violence. See Theus, 845 S.W.2d at 881; Deleon v. State, 126 S.W.3d 210, 215 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2003, pet. dism'd). Violent crimes, in contrast, tend to have more of a prejudicial effect. See Deleon, 126 S.W.3d at 215. Here, certainly, second-degree murder and aggravated robbery are violent crimes, and their evidentiary value tends to be less than their prejudicial effect. With that in mind, we conclude that the first factor favors the trial court's decision.
We next examine the similarity between the past crime and the offense being prosecuted. This Theus factor appears to be more applicable when the witness is the defendant. The concern is that, when a testifying defendant's past offense is more similar to the one for which he or she is being tried, the more likely the jury will be to convict the defendant based on his or her pattern of past criminal conduct, rather than on the evidence of the charged crime. See Theus, 845 S.W.2d at 881. Here, the instant case involves charges against Walter alleging capital murder, which necessarily shares some common elements with the murder and aggravated robbery convictions sought to be used to impeach Johnson. The similarity between Johnson's prior convictions and the offense for which Walter was being tried suggest that the evidence of these prior offenses could have a prejudicial effect on the jury's consideration of the evidence presented against Walter and, instead, potentially shift blame or suspicion onto witness Johnson. This increased potential for prejudice weighs in favor of the trial court's decision.
The final factors concern, respectively, the importance of the testimony at issue and the importance of the credibility issue. Johnson's testimony regarding what Walter told him does seem to have a noticeable impact. However, his testimony was not the only evidence against Walter. So, while Johnson's testimony and, therefore, his credibility, are relatively important here, we note that Walter did introduce several of Johnson's prior convictions (and several bad acts including perjury, another possession of a firearm by a felon, destruction of evidence, and failure to register as a sex offender). Such evidence arguably undermined Johnson's credibility. The State's use of these several convictions to impeach Johnson diminished the need to use the 1988 robbery and murder convictions for impeachment and, therefore, reduces their probative value. See Jackson, 11 S.W.3d at 341 (concluding State "could have relied on appellant's three recent theft convictions to impeach him" and "other prior convictions drastically lessened the State's need to impeach with the remote convictions for aggravated rape and a crime against nature").
The trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding evidence of Johnson's prior second-degree murder and aggravated robbery convictions under these circumstances. Since the value of convictions for such violent offenses has traditionally been questioned and, here, is less than its prejudicial effect, and since there was significant other evidence serving to impeach Johnson, we overrule Walter's point of error.
(3) The Trial Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion by Changing Venue to Collin County
On its own motion, the trial court changed venue to Collin County. Article 31.01 governs the trial court's sua sponte change of venue:
Whenever in any case of felony or misdemeanor punishable by confinement, the judge presiding shall be satisfied that a trial, alike fair and impartial to *734 the accused and to the State, cannot, from any cause, be had in the county in which the case is pending, he may, upon his own motion, after due notice to accused and the State, and after hearing evidence thereon, order a change of venue to any county in the judicial district in which such county is located or in an adjoining district, stating in his order the grounds for such change of venue. The judge, upon his own motion, after ten days notice to the parties or their counsel, may order a change of venue to any county beyond an adjoining district; provided, however, an order changing venue to a county beyond an adjoining district shall be grounds for reversal if, upon timely contest by the defendant, the record of the contest affirmatively shows that any county in his own and the adjoining district is not subject to the same conditions which required the transfer.
TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 31.01 (Vernon 2006). The trial court complied with the notice provisions and heard Walter's objections to venue in Collin County.
In its notice of intent to change venue, the trial court cited extensive "notoriety and pre-trial publicity" as grounds for the venue change. Walter does not challenge the trial court's decision to change venue from Bowie County; he challenges the trial court's decision to change venue to Collin County. Collin County lies outside any judicial district adjoining the Fifth Judicial District in which the case was originally filed. He argues that the trial court could and should have transferred the case to Lamar County, which lies within the Sixth Judicial District and adjoins the Fifth District. Walter wanted the case transferred to Lamar County because its demographic composition more closely resembles that of Bowie County in terms of African-American residents.
At the hearing and in the briefs, parties discuss both the amount of publicity and the availability of facilities in Lamar County. Walter presented testimony from a cable television employee that Lamar County receives channels from the Dallas/Fort Worth-based media, rather than Texarkana/Shreveport sources. He also presented evidence that only one copy of the Texarkana Gazette went to Lamar County and that one was sent to the Paris News. Therefore, he argues, he did show that the high-publicity conditions present in Bowie County which called for a change in venue were not present in Lamar County.
The State presented three articles published in the Paris News the week following the murders. The article cites the Texarkana Gazette and gave full coverage of the murders. The third article detailed the charges brought against Walter and Henson, and provided extensive information concerning how the investigation led to their indictments. Additionally, the State offered the testimony of Bill Feazell concerning the massive renovation that the Lamar County courthouse was undergoing at the time. During the renovation, proceedings in Lamar County were being held at the old post office building and, as a result, courtroom space was very limited for the courts already there.
Noting that Lamar County had practical limitations at the time and that the Fifth Judicial District Court could not force Lamar County to make appropriate accommodations, the trial court concluded that the same conditions surrounding the publicity of the murders and the unavailability of facilities in Lamar County made Collin County the best choice:
Well, based on the matter that we've discussed, I'm going to overrule the motion. I do not believe, first of all, that the defendant has established that Lamar *735 County is not subject to the same conditions that are required to transfer in this case. Based on State's Exhibit One, it's apparent that Lamar County has also had media publications regarding this particular case, so I'm not satisfied that the defendant's met his burden under the statute. But second of all, even if that burden had been met, as a practical matter, Lamar County simply does not have the facilities available now or for the foreseeable future in which to try this case, and though it's not a factor that's stated in the statute, as a practical matter, it simply would have to be something for the Court to take into consideration. There's just not a place available to try the case. No matter how much the Court would desire to go there, it just can't be accomplished. So for those reasons, I'm going to deny the objection, overrule the objection to the transfer and this case will proceed onto Collin County.
On appeal, Walter again urges that the publicity in Lamar County did not rise to the level of that in Bowie County, which made a change in venue appropriate. He also contends that the concerns about the facilities and security in Lamar County are not valid considerations when the trial court must decide whether to change venue to a location outside an adjoining judicial district. Therefore, Walter argues that, in light of his timely contest, the trial court was required to transfer the case to Lamar County, and that the transfer to Collin County calls for reversal.
We review a trial court's decision regarding change of venue under Article 31.01 for an abuse of discretion. See Cook v. State, 667 S.W.2d 520, 522 (Tex.Crim. App.1984). And we turn our attention to three cases addressing this matter: Brimage v. State, 918 S.W.2d 466 (Tex.Crim. App.1996) (op. on reh'g); Aranda v. State, 736 S.W.2d 702 (Tex.Crim.App.1987); and Bath v. State, 951 S.W.2d 11 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 1997, pet. ref'd).
In Brimage, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals made clear that the abuse of discretion standard of review still applied when the trial court changed venue to a location outside an adjoining judicial district. Brimage, 918 S.W.2d at 508. Brimage involved the trial court's sua sponte transfer of the capital murder case from Kleburg County to Comal County, a county located outside any judicial district adjoining the district in which Kleburg County was located, the 105th Judicial District. Id. at 507. Like Walter, Brimage did not insist on being tried in Kleburg County. Instead, he argued he could receive a fair trial elsewhere in the 105th Judicial District or in an adjoining district. Id. at 508. In its highly deferential review, the Brimage court concluded that the trial court "balanced evidence of possible bias created by significant pretrial publicity in the 105th Judicial District and surrounding judicial districts with contrary evidence produced by the appellant" to arrive at its decision and did not abuse its discretion in ordering a change of venue to a county outside an adjoining district. Id.
In Aranda, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reviewed a trial court's order, on its own motion, changing venue in a capital murder case from Webb County (in the 49th Judicial District) to Victoria County (in the 24th Judicial District). Aranda, 736 S.W.2d at 703. In its order, the trial court concluded a fair and impartial trial "could not be had in Webb County, or other counties in the 49th Judicial District or in any counties adjoining said district" due to massive publicity. Id. at 705. The Aranda court noted there was evidence that the offense, the various proceedings, and the separate trial of Aranda's brother on the same charges were "widely covered" *736 by the media. Id. The court also pointed out that newspaper articles provided details of Aranda's and his brother's confessions. Id. From the detailed examination, we note that the nature, not simply the volume, of the publicity, is relevant to the trial court's decision to change venue to a county beyond an adjoining district. Again, we note the highly deferential review of the trial court's decision "in passing upon the question of a change of venue": "When there is conflicting evidence on the issue, a court's decision regarding change of venue will not normally be considered an abuse of discretion." Id.
Another transfer from Webb County was at issue in Bath. After considering evidence on the publicity in Webb and surrounding counties, and evidence of the ability of those surrounding counties "to provide the facilities, personnel, or security," the trial court first transferred the pending capital murder case to Bexar County, a county beyond an adjoining judicial district:
Simply stated, I question whether Webb County could visit on one of the rural, small counties, the task of trying a capital murder case. Not because of the nature of this case or because of the dangerousness of anyone or the danger to the witnesses or the defendant, the Sheriff's departments to handle the traffic and just the matter of security that goes with this type of trial. Not having heard any evidence as to why it should go into one [of] these adjoining counties, even though some evidence was presented concerning the ability of the different Sheriff's departments. My own experience in Zapata tells me that it is indeed a very, very difficult task to select the jury and try the case and provide adequate security for all concerned.
Bath, 951 S.W.2d at 21-22. When Bexar County could not provide "a timely courtroom," the trial court transferred the case to Nueces County (in the 28th Judicial District), beyond an adjoining judicial district.
Bath argued the record failed to show cause for changing venue to a location beyond an adjoining judicial district. Id. at 21. To that, the Corpus Christi court of appeals responded that "valid concerns necessitated the transfer of the case to a county in a non-adjoining judicial district." The court went on to conclude, in language mirroring Article 31.01, that the record showed all counties in the adjoining judicial district were subject to the same conditions that necessitated a transfer. Id. at 22. While there was substantial evidence regarding the level of publicity in surrounding counties, it is important to note that the trial court also heard a good amount of evidence on the capacity of those counties to handle a capital murder case in terms of facilities and security. The Corpus Christi court labeled these considerations as "valid concerns." Id.
Here, we see evidence both supporting and undermining the position that Lamar County was not subject to the same conditions that called for a transfer of the case from Bowie County. In light of this conflicting evidence on the nature and extent of publicity in Lamar County, we hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by changing venue to Collin County. We add that the trial court's consideration of other, practical concerns is consistent with Texas law. The Corpus Christi court in Bath upheld the trial court's decision to change venue to a county beyond an adjoining district when the trial court heard conflicting evidence on the issue of publicity and evidence that potential locations, regardless of publicity concerns, were not equipped to undertake a capital murder trial. See id. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused Bath's petition for discretionary *737 review, and the United States Supreme Court denied Bath's petition for writ of certiorari, suggesting that the Corpus Christi court's reasoning in Bath was sound. Indeed, the trial court is given a considerable amount of discretion on issues of venue. With that in mind, we also expressly reject Walter's argument that the trial court's consideration of the practical limitations present in Lamar County during the time were irrelevant.
(4) The Trial Court Did Not Err by Denying Walter's Motion to Quash Indictment
Walter contends the trial court erred by denying his motion to quash the indictment, urged on the basis that unauthorized persons were present during the grand jury proceedings. See TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 20.011(a) (Vernon 2006). We emphasize that, here, no unauthorized persons were present during grand jury deliberations. See TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 20.011(b) (Vernon 2006).
The State stipulated to the presence of several Texarkana police officers during grand jury testimony. None of these officers testified before the grand jury, and only a few testified at trial. The State argued at trial, as it does in its appellate brief, that Article 20.011(a)(4) relating to witnesses allows for the presence of potential witnesses at trial as well as witnesses before the grand jury.[7] We disagree with this interpretation; since the State stipulated to the presence of officers who were not witnesses before the grand jury, the record supports the conclusion that the State violated Article 20.011.
(a) Historical Perspective
Traditionally, Texas cases have consistently maintained the distinction between presence during grand jury testimony and presence during grand jury deliberations. See Ex parte Rogers, 640 S.W.2d 921, 924 (Tex.Crim.App.1982); Ray v. State, 561 S.W.2d 480, 481 (Tex.Crim.App.1977); Hernandez v. State, 791 S.W.2d 301, 305 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 1990, pet. ref'd).
In one of the early decisions concerning the presence of unauthorized people in the grand jury room during testimony, a sheriff accompanied the young, female complainant into the grand jury room. See Tinker v. State, 95 Tex.Crim. 143, 253 S.W. 531, 532 (1923). The sheriff remained present while she was being questioned. Id. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals pointed out that no one was present while the grand jury deliberated:
This court has held, in regard to the presence of persons acting in various capacities during the investigation of crime, that such presence, extending no further than while testimony was being had before the grand jury, would not come within the forbiddance of such presence while the said grand jury was deliberating upon the finding of the indictment.
Id. (citing Moody v. State, 57 Tex.Crim. 76, 121 S.W. 1117 (1909); McElroy v. State, 49 Tex.Crim. 604, 95 S.W. 539 (1906)).
In Minton v. State, detectives, other than the one detective who testified before the grand jury, were present in the grand jury room to hear testimony. 468 S.W.2d 426, 432 (Tex.Crim.App.1971). The detective who did testify remained in the room "to coordinate the testimony of the witnesses." Id. Again, the court pointed out that the detectives were not present during grand jury deliberations and concluded there was no error:
*738 The Texas rule is that "when the jurors are not deliberating or voting the presence of persons who have official business in the jury chamber, such as police officers or stenographers, is not discountenanced." 27 Tex. Jur.2d 261, Sec. 44. See: Lopez v. State, 158 Tex.Crim. 16, 252 S.W.2d 701; Tinker v. State, 95 Tex.Crim. 143, 253 S.W. 531.
However, better practice would dictate that only the prosecutor, reporter, if any, and such witnesses that are testifying be present.
Id. (emphasis added).[8] "Discountenance" is "to treat or regard with disfavor." WEBSTER'S II NEW COLLEGE DICTIONARY (2d ed.2001).
(b) Codification of the "Better Practice" Rule
If the presence of unauthorized people during grand jury testimony was not disfavored, it became at least somewhat more disfavored in 1995 when the Legislature passed Article 20.011, effectively codifying what had historically been deemed "the better practice." Again, no cases construe or apply Article 20.011. We must apply the plain language of Articles 20.011 and 27.03 to determine whether there is no error when unauthorized people are in the grand jury room during testimony.
(c) Construction of Articles 20.011 and 27.03
Article 20.011 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure became effective September 1, 1995, and limits who may be present during both grand jury proceedings and grand jury deliberations:
(a) Only the following persons may be present in a grand jury room while the grand jury is conducting proceedings:
(1) grand jurors;
(2) bailiffs;
(3) the attorney representing the state;
(4) witnesses while being examined or when necessary to assist the attorney representing the state in examining other witnesses or presenting evidence to the grand jury;
(5) interpreters, if necessary; and
(6) a stenographer or person operating an electronic recording device, as provided by Article 20.012.
(b) Only a grand juror may be in a grand jury room while the grand jury is deliberating.
TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 20.011 (Vernon 2006). Notably absent in Article 20.011 is a specific remedy for a violation of the rule. It is also quite significant that Article 20.011 addresses the presence of unauthorized persons both in grand jury proceedings and in grand jury deliberations.
Article 27.03 specifically provides circumstances in which an indictment may be set aside:
In addition to any other grounds authorized by law, a motion to set aside an indictment or information may be based on the following:
1. That it appears by the records of the court that the indictment was not found by at least nine grand jurors, or that the information was not based upon a valid complaint;
*739 2. That some person not authorized by law was present when the grand jury was deliberating upon the accusation against the defendant, or was voting upon the same; and
3. That the grand jury was illegally impaneled; provided, however, in order to raise such question on motion to set aside the indictment, the defendant must show that he did not have an opportunity to challenge the array at the time the grand jury was impaneled.
TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 27.03 (Vernon 2006) (emphasis added). We note that Article 27.03 refers to the presence of unauthorized persons during grand jury deliberations only. So, the presence of unauthorized persons during grand jury testimony can be a basis for setting aside the indictment only if Article 20.011 serves as authority to do so. That is, only if Article 20.011's list of authorized persons would qualify as "other grounds authorized by law" under Article 27.03, may Walter seek to set aside the indictment on the basis that unauthorized persons were present during testimony before the grand jury. We conclude that Article 20.011 does not authorize an indictment to be set aside on the ground that unauthorized persons were present during grand jury testimony.
(d) Article 20.011 Does Not Authorize Setting Aside the Indictment Based on Presence of Unauthorized Persons During Grand Jury Testimony
It is a well-settled rule of statutory construction not to interpret laws in such a way as to render useless an act of the Legislature. We, therefore, presume that, in enacting legislation, the Legislature did not do a "useless thing." See Childress v. State, 784 S.W.2d 361, 364 (Tex.Crim.App. 1990); Heckert v. State, 612 S.W.2d 549, 552 (Tex.Crim.App.1981); see also TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 311.021(2) (Vernon 2005) (providing "it is presumed that the entire statute is intended to be effective"). Generally, courts are also to presume that every word in a statute has been used for a purpose and each word, phrase, clause, and sentence should be given effect if reasonably possible. State v. Hardy, 963 S.W.2d 516, 520 (Tex.Crim.App.1997); State v. Verhoeven, 151 S.W.3d 637, 640 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2004, pet. ref'd). To achieve this, we must focus "on the literal text of the statute in question and attempt to discern the fair, objective meaning of that text at the time of its enactment." See Ex parte Spann, 132 S.W.3d 390, 393 (Tex.Crim.App.2004); Boykin v. State, 818 S.W.2d 782, 785 (Tex. Crim.App.1991). In doing so, we may consider, among other things, "common law or former statutory provisions, including laws on the same or similar subjects." See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 311.023(4) (Vernon 2005).
We apply these rules of statutory construction to determine whether Article 20.011 calls for an indictment to be set aside when the record shows that unauthorized persons were present during the grand jury testimony. To determine this issue, we return to our earlier observation regarding Article 20.011: while Article 20.011 forbids unauthorized persons to be present with a grand jury during both testimony and deliberations, it does not specify a remedy for either situation. See TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 20.011.
That said, we also re-examine what Article 27.03 does and does not do. Article 27.03 provides that an information or indictment may be set aside when unauthorized persons have been present during grand jury deliberations, but it makes no reference at all to the presence of unauthorized persons during grand jury testimony. In other words, Article 27.03 provides a specific remedy, but with respect to only *740 the deliberations, not the testimony, referenced in Article 20.011. See TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 27.03(2). Therefore, treating Article 20.011's proscriptions as providing "other grounds authorized by law," to set aside an information or indictment, would necessarily render Article 27.03(2)specifically providing a remedy for unauthorized presence during grand jury deliberationsan unnecessary repetition of what Article 20.011 could accomplish as "other grounds." Article 27.03(2) simply would not be necessary if Article 20.011 authorized setting aside the indictment for unauthorized presence during grand jury testimony and deliberations.
To further illustrate, it is helpful to first reconcile the two articles with respect to grand jury deliberations. Article 20.011(b) identifies who may be present during grand jury deliberationsonly grand jurors. Article 27.03(2) then authorizes the trial court to set aside an indictment if a defendant shows that unauthorized persons were present during those deliberations. Similarly, Article 20.011(a) identifies who may be present during testimony before the grand jury. However, there is no specific provision authorizing setting aside the indictment on that basis. The "any other grounds" language cannot be used because, again, to do so would render Article 27.03(2) useless and redundant.
In order to accept Walter's position, we would have to treat Article 27.03(2) as a redundant provision. We are bound by rules of statutory construction not to interpret legislation in such a manner as to render a provision useless. See Fearance v. State, 771 S.W.2d 486, 522 (Tex.Crim. App.1988) (enactment of redundant legislation a "useless thing"). We cannot conclude Article 20.011, as "other grounds" does, in part, what Article 27.03(2) does specifically. To do so would make Article 27.03(2) unnecessary. Therefore, Article 20.011 does not authorize the setting aside of the indictment on the basis that unauthorized persons were present during grand jury testimony.[9]
(5) The Trial Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion by Granting the State's Challenges for Cause
Walter complains the trial court erroneously granted the State's challenges for cause regarding five jurors who indicated they would hold the State to a standard of proof higher than beyond a reasonable doubt.[10]
It is left to the discretion of the trial court to first determine whether bias exists. Anderson v. State, 633 S.W.2d 851, 854 (Tex.Crim.App.1982). An erroneous decision by a trial court to grant the State's challenge for cause will result in a reversal of the conviction only if the appellant can show that he or she was deprived of a lawfully constituted jury as a result of the trial court's action. See Feldman v. State, 71 S.W.3d 738, 749 (Tex.Crim.App. 2002); Jones v. State, 982 S.W.2d 386, 394 (Tex.Crim.App.1998).
A challenge for cause may be made by the State if a juror has a bias or prejudice against any phase of the law on which the State is entitled to rely for *741 conviction or punishment. TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 35.16(b)(3) (Vernon 2006). Bias is an inclination toward one side of an issue that leads to a natural inference that the juror will not act with impartiality; prejudice is prejudgment. See Anderson, 633 S.W.2d at 853. When a juror indicates this type of bias as a matter of law, he or she must be excused despite any protestations by the juror of an ability to set the bias aside and be fair and impartial. See Clark v. State, 717 S.W.2d 910, 917 (Tex. Crim.App.1986); Anderson, 633 S.W.2d at 854; Mize v. State, 754 S.W.2d 732, 742 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 1988, pet. ref'd).
Here, five prospective jurors those assigned numbers 44, 45, 53, 127, and 154 indicated that, when faced with the facts of a case in which the State seeks the death penalty, he or she would hold the State to a standard of proof higher than beyond a reasonable doubt. For instance, Juror 44 explained that he would have to be "absolutely sure without any doubt" in a death penalty case. Jurors 45 and 127 were, initially, less emphatic than the others and, on the defense's request, the trial court spoke with those two individually regarding their positions on the standard of proof. Both jurors clarified that they could not hold the State to the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard, that the State would have to prove its case more convincingly. None of the challenged jurors ever wavered on his or her position by trying to state that he or she could put aside his or her personal position and follow the law. Each consistently indicated that they would have to be convinced by a standard higher than the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard.
Therefore, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by determining that these five jurors were biased against the law to be applied in this case. Based on the rule in Anderson and Clark that a juror who has demonstrated bias as a matter of law must be excused, we conclude the trial court properly granted the State's challenges for cause and overrule Walter's point of error.
(6) The Trial Court Did Not Err by Refusing to Include an Aggravated Robbery Instruction
A defendant is entitled to the submission of a lesser offense if a two-pronged test is met: (1) the lesser-included offense must be included within the proof necessary to establish the offense charged, and (2) some evidence must exist in the record that would permit a jury rationally to find that, if the defendant is guilty, he or she is guilty only of the lesser offense. See Solomon v. State, 49 S.W.3d 356, 368-69 (Tex. Crim.App.2001).
Pursuant to Section 19.03(a)(7)(A) of the Texas Penal Code, the State alleged that Walter
did unlawfully then and there intentionally cause the death of an individual, Chrystal Willis by shooting Chrystal Willis with a firearm and did then and there intentionally cause the death of an individual, Rebecca Shifflett by shooting Rebecca Shifflett with a firearm and did then and there intentionally cause the death of an individual, Matthew Hines by shooting Matthew Hines with a firearm and all murders were committed during the same criminal transaction.
That is, the State characterized the offense as capital murder by virtue of there being three victims murdered in the same criminal transaction. While the State may have charged Walter with capital murder by alleging that he committed murder in the course of committing aggravated robbery, it did not do so. See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 19.03(a)(2) (Vernon Supp.2006). Nevertheless, Walter argues that the trial court erred by refusing to include his requested instruction on aggravated robbery.
*742 Aggravated robbery is not included within the proof necessary to establish that Walter murdered three people in one criminal transaction. Further, even if the first prong were satisfied, we note that there is no evidence that, if Walter is guilty, he is guilty only of aggravated robbery. While Walter denied having shot the victims, he also denied having gone to the restaurant at all that night. Therefore, his testimony does not suggest that, if he is guilty, he is guilty only of aggravated robbery. No other evidence in the record suggests that Walter did not shoot the three victims.
Walter cites Broussard v. State to support his position. 642 S.W.2d 171, 173 (Tex.Crim.App.1982). However, we distinguish Broussard by pointing out that the State in Broussard had alleged capital murder as murder during the commission of robbery. Id. Such is not the case here; Broussard is inapplicable to these facts. The trial court did not err by refusing to include a charge on aggravated robbery.
Having overruled all of Walter's points of error, we affirm the trial court's judgment.
NOTES
[1] Walter began working at the Outback Steakhouse in September 2001 and was, by most accounts, a problem employee, having been fired by at least one manager, and perhaps by another prior manager as well. New general manager Matthew Hines decided to give him another chance, but he also fired Walter August 5, 2003, after continued problems. Since then, Walter had been working at Tyson Chicken and staying with a female friend in nearby Hope, Arkansas. He came to Texarkana to attend his sister's weekly party where he connected with Henson at some point. Henson, also, had been fired from Outback some months earlier. Walter and Henson planned to rob the restaurant. They left together in a Chevrolet Blazer that Walter had been borrowing from his sister. The two gained entry to the restaurant through a side door known by all of the employees to be defective.
[2] Johnson testified that a very serious and nervous Walter admitted committing the robbery and shooting three people at the restaurant. Walter explained that Henson was with him at the restaurant. In response, Johnson advised Walter that Walter should have killed Henson, also, to ensure that Henson would not talk.
Johnson testified that, earlier on August 31, he had loaned Walter the loaded Lorcin semiautomatic .380 caliber handgun used in the murders. He testified that Walter asked him for the gun and left Johnson with the impression that he wanted the gun as protection against crime in his neighborhood. Later that day, Walter returned to Johnson and mentioned "do[ing] Outback." Johnson did not take the comment seriously until Walter returned a second time and continued to talk about robbing the Outback Steakhouse with the gun. Johnson then attempted to dissuade Walter from that idea and suggested Walter return the gun to Johnson. Walter did not return the gun.
Johnson further testified that, after Walter was arrested for the murders, Walter's motherJohnson claims her as his mother-in-lawfound the gun at Walter's apartment and destroyed it. Johnson also admitted that he initially perjured himself before the grand jury by attempting to provide an alibi for Walter, but that later he agreed to cooperate when the State agreed it would not pursue perjury or other charges against Johnson if he would testify in this case.
[3] Roderick was familiar with Walter and testified that Henson and Walter were acquaintances. Roderick further testified that, the morning following the murders, a nervous Henson told him about the events. Before Roderick heard anything about the murders, Henson told him that Walter and Henson had planned on "hit[ting] a lick," slang for committing a robbery, at the Outback Steakhouse. Henson explained to Roderick in their private conversation that Walter went into the back office, came out with a bag of money, and went back to the office to perhaps get keys to the safe. As Henson waited in the hallway, he heard voices pleading with Walter not to shoot and then heard six gunshots. Henson and Walter left in Walter's vehicle and split the money, amounting to approximately $400.00 each. Fearing that cameras may have filmed the two as they left the restaurant, Henson enlisted the help of Roderick to burn the clothing Henson wore that night. Later, Roderick suggested to Henson that he turn himself in and, after Roderick began fearing that he was becoming too involved himself, had his wife call the police and relay the information he had learned from Henson.
[4] The United States Supreme Court added the following distinction:
Statements are nontestimonial when made in the course of police interrogation under circumstances objectively indicating that the primary purpose of the interrogation is to enable police assistance to meet an ongoing emergency. They are testimonial when the circumstances objectively indicate that there is no such ongoing emergency, and that the primary purpose of the interrogation is to establish or prove past events potentially relevant to later criminal prosecution.
Davis, 126 S.Ct. at 2273-74.
[5] A person commits criminal conspiracy if, with intent that a felony be committed, he or she agrees with one or more persons that they or one or more of them engage in conduct that would constitute the offense. See TEX PENAL CODE ANN. § 15.02(a)(1) (Vernon 2003); Cienfuegos v. State, 113 S.W.3d 481, 489-90 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2003, pet. ref'd).
[6] In 1986, Johnson was convicted of sexual assault and placed on probation. This probation was revoked in 1988 when Johnson was convicted for robbery and murder and sentenced to ten years' confinement. Johnson was paroled in 1992 only to return to prison months later after being convicted of possession of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm by a felon. For these 1993 convictions, he was sentenced to three years' confinement, to run concurrently with the remaining sentence from the 1988 convictions. Johnson was again paroled in 1995 and remained on parole until November 15, 2000. So, the record indicates that Johnson was not released from confinement for the 1988 convictions until either 1995 when he was paroled or 2000 when he was released from parole. See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 508.001(6) (Vernon 2004) (describing parole as a "discretionary and conditional release" that allows an inmate to "serve the remainder of the inmate's sentence under the supervision of the pardons and paroles division" and suggesting that parole is not a release from confinement for purposes of Rule 609 of the Texas Rules of Evidence). Under either calculation, the 1988 convictions were not remote convictions to be evaluated under the stricter "substantially outweigh" standard of Rule 609(b). Further, the 1993 convictions for possession of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm by a felon represent intervening felonies which would vitiate the remoteness of any prior convictions and place the older convictions back under the "outweigh" standard of Rule 609(a). See Jackson v. State, 11 S.W.3d 336, 339 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1999, pet. ref'd); Hernandez v. State, 976 S.W.2d 753, 755 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1998, pet. ref'd).
[7] Had the State attended oral argument at this Court's invitation, it may have more thoroughly explained its interpretation of Article 20.011(a).
[8] See also Baldwin v. State, 478 S.W.2d 476, 478 (Tex.Crim.App.1972) (citing long-standing rule such presence "not discountenanced" and concluding no reversible error shown); Harris v. State, 450 S.W.2d 629, 630 (Tex. Crim.App.1970) (holding Article 27.03(2), authorizing dismissal based on presence of unauthorized people during deliberations, means more than "mere examination of witnesses").
[9] Nor does it serve as a basis for setting aside the indictment because unauthorized persons were present during the grand jury's deliberations; Article 27.03(2) plainly does that.
[10] In the same analysis, Walter also argues that the trial court erred by refusing to submit a definition of reasonable doubt in the jury charge. We can readily dispose of that issue, however. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has specifically held that a "reasonable doubt" definition is not required. See Paulson v. State, 28 S.W.3d 570, 573 (Tex.Crim. App.2000). We applied Paulson in Rogers v. State, 85 S.W.3d 359, 362 (Tex.App.-Texarkana 2002, no pet.).
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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FreeLaw
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Yep. Yep. The 2012 Victory Mix
Here’s what, 2012 is about to rock your face off. “Yep. Yep.” is a mix I put together for you and your steady progression toward victory. Leave us your 2012 song recs in comments. Cheers to a new year, my friends.
(I mostly live on Spotify now, so here’s the Yep. Yep. Mix over there, if you like it like that. The one below is from Rdio, which lets me embed the player with song previews.)
Maybe you need some old school punk in there. “Oh Bondage Up Yours” by the X-Ray Spex? Heck. That’s awesome.
On the flip, I always find Bon Iver’s “Holocene” to be so affirming. When he sings “I was not magnificent” — that’s comforting to me, to think that in the grand scheme of things, I am such a small part of it all. And the universe is so large and grand and I exist within it. And —
The Mountain Goats’ “This Year” was my anthem from Dec 2008 to Dec 2009. Hearing it brings me back to the worst time in my life, in a good peaceful way. It’s cathartic to see how far I have come from my life’s most painful moment.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to building construction and interior design, in particular to a foam faux tray ceiling system for new and existing homes.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional home ceiling is flat with a standard height of eight feet, although specialty ceilings may be constructed in a variety of shapes and sizes to appeal to a particular buyer. Unfortunately, specialty ceilings, such as gabled or vaulted ceilings, are often much more expensive than a conventional ceiling, and the price is even higher when replacing an existing conventional ceiling with a specialty ceiling. The present invention teaches the use of ceiling forms to create the look of a particular type of specialty ceiling known in the trade as a tray ceiling, without the associated costs or need for construction expertise as is ordinarily required.
The present invention pertains to tray ceilings. A room with a tray ceiling has a vertical or angled edge soffit around its ceiling""s perimeter and a flat ceiling above that. Some have described a tray ceiling as resembling a room covered by an upside down tray. Presently, tray ceilings are created by cutting wallboard into shaped pieces and attaching the pieces with nails and plaster around the perimeter of an existing traditional ceiling. Molding pieces would then have to be placed along the internal edges of the wallboard to finish the look. The problem with this system is that cutting, shaping and hanging wallboard is a difficult and time consuming process. The average homeowner often lacks the skill and tools necessary to create a presentable tray ceiling with these traditional methods. Also, many homeowners do not have the strength to lift and handle large pieces of uncut wallboard.
There are a number of patents which disclose a variety of material which may be used as suspended ceiling tiles or as moldings attached to ceilings. None of the following patents disclosed the used of preformed, light weight, foam pieces to create a tray ceiling.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. RE37,436 to Santarossa teaches a method of manufacturing an elongated decorative molding having a decorative surface and a desired cross-sectional profile. The Santarossa patent describes moldings and does not suggest a system of interlocking foam tiles for creating a tray ceiling.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,197,235 to Miller et al. discloses a method of manufacture for textured surface panels and panel products made from gypsum fiberboard. This patent teaches forming shaped panels for ceilings but does not show a system of decorative edges and interconnecting pieces that allow for the easily assembly of a tray ceiling as in the present invention. In addition, elongated strips of gypsum fiberboard would be too heavy for convenient, one-person assembly to a ceiling to form a tray ceiling.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,514 to Herrmann discloses a ceiling tile system for providing a light-weight and easy-to-form interlocking plastic ceiling tile system for covering a ceiling. The tile in this patent are made of a very thin plastic sheeting capable of thermal vacuum forming to define reliefs in the sheeting. As such, the ceiling tiles described by Herrmann are not suitable to form a faux tray ceiling with a decorative interior edge, nor are they constructed of light weight foam.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The present invention is a tray ceiling system comprising a plurality of elongated, prefabricated, polymer foam ceiling tiles. Each tile has a decorative surface, an opposing attachment surface, a inside edge, and outside edge, and two connecting edges. The inside edges face the interior of the ceiling and are smoothly finished into a decorative shape (bevel, cove, etc.), while the outside edge faces the wall and may either be a decorative bevel or be adapted for abutment to a wall. The connecting edges may be orthogonal to the length of the tile to form butt joints, or may be at a forty-five degree angle to the length of the tile to form miter joints. The tiles are elongated, preferably between eight and sixteen feet in length, and range in width preferably between six to eighteen inches. The tiles are made from a lightweight foam material, e.g., polyurethane, polystyrene, etc., so that the tiles may be easily installed on the ceiling.
When in use construction adhesive is applied to the attachment surface and the tiles are positioned around the perimeter of a ceiling. The mitered connection edges are positioned adjacent to one another thereby forming right angles that fit into the corners of the ceiling. The light weight of the tiles allows them to be easily manipulated and attached to the ceiling by one person. The smoothly finished inside and outside edges would eliminate the need for molding or for drywall tape and joint compound required to finish edges of drywall or wallboard ceiling tiles. Narrower tiles may be attached to wider tiles to create a stepped look.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a lightweight alternative to existing tray ceiling construction systems.
It is another object of the invention to provide a tray ceiling system that does not require more than an average amount of upper body strength to install.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a tray ceiling system that is easy to install by unskilled workers.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a tray ceiling system that can be installed without tools or with a minimum of simple tools.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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USPTO Backgrounds
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---
abstract: |
Products of random matrices in the max-plus algebra are used as a model for a class of discrete event dynamical systems. This can model a wide range of systems including train or queuing networks, job-shop, timed digital circuits or parallel processing systems.
Some stability results have been proved under the so-called memory loss property.
When the random matrices are i.i.d, we prove that the memory loss property is generic in the following sense: if it is not fulfilled, the support of the common law of the random matrices is included in a union of finitely many affine hyperplanes and in the discrete case the atoms of the measure are linearly related.
author:
- 'G. MERLET'
bibliography:
- 'max+.bib'
title: 'Memory loss property for products of random matrices in the max-plus algebra'
---
Introduction
============
This paper will focus on sequences of $\R^k$ valued random variables $\left(X_n\right)_{n\in\NN}$ defined by a stationary sequence of random matrices $\left(A(n)\right)_{n\in_\NN}$, an initial condition $X_0$ and the recurrence relation $$\label{EqRecCoeffs}
(X_{n+1})_i= \max_j\left( A_{ij}(n)+(X_n)_j\right).$$
Some stability results (J. Mairesse [@Mairesse], S. Gaubert and D. Hong [@GaubertHong], G. M. [@limtop; @TclGM]) for such sequences have been proved under the so-called memory loss property (MLP).
When the matrices are i.i.d., we prove that the property is generic in the following sense: if the sequence has not the MLP, then the support of the common law of the random matrices is included in a union of finitely many affine hyperplanes and in the discrete case the atoms of the measure are linearly related.
This article is divided into four sections. In the first one, we introduce the algebra and illustrate its modeling power with one simple example and many references. In the second section, we define the MLP and explain its interest, then we state and comment our main results. In the third section, we remind the asymptotic theory of matrices in the algebra and we prove a needed extension of those results. In the last section, we prove the main results.
Modeling
========
Practical situations
--------------------
This class of system can model a wide range of situations. Among other examples it has been applied to queuing networks (J. Mairesse [@Mairesse], B. Heidergott [@CaractMpQueuNet]), train networks (B. Heidergott and R. De Vries [@HeidergottDeVriesPubTransNet], H. Braker [@braker]) or job-shop (G. Cohen et al. [@cohen85a]). It also computes the daters of some task resources models (S. Gaubert and J. Mairesse [@gaumair95]) and timed Petri nets including events graphs (F. Baccelli [@Baccelli]) and 1-bounded Petri nets (S. Gaubert and J. Mairesse [@GaubertMairesseIEEE]). The role of the max operation is synchronizing different events. For developments on the max-plus modeling power, see the books by F. Baccelli et al. [@BCOQ] or B. Heidergott et al. [@MpAtWork].\
To illustrate our results, below is a very simple system ruled by equations.
\[exprod\] The process consists in two tasks, performed on the same piece in two different places. Before the first task, the piece is put on a kart. It is removed of it after completion of the second task. There are two karts, used one after the other.
We denote by $(X_n)_1$ the date of completion of the first task for the $n^\mathrm{th}$ time and by $(X_n)_2$ the date of completion of the second task for the $(n-1)^\mathrm{th}$ time. For any $i$, $\gamma_i(n)$ is the duration of the $i^\mathrm{th}$ task for the $n^\mathrm{th}$ time. The kart takes time $t_1(n)$ to go from first to second place for the $n^\mathrm{th}$ time and time $t_2(n)$ to go back to the first place. This is sum up in figure \[BuildSys\].
\
(0,0)![A simple production system[]{data-label="BuildSys"}](atelier "fig:")
\#1\#2\#3\#4\#5[ @font ]{}
(5480,733)(698,-827) (1442,-342)[(0,0)\[lb\]]{} (4513,-342)[(0,0)\[lb\]]{} (2647,-224)[(0,0)\[lb\]]{} (2505,-720)[(0,0)\[lb\]]{}
A task is performed as soon as the place is free and there is an available kart. This means that the sequence $\left(X_n\right)_{n\in\NN}$ is ruled by equations $$(X_{n+1})_1-\gamma_1(n+1)=\max\left((X_n)_1,(X_n)_2+t_2(n-1)\right)\mathrm{ and }(X_{n+1})_2-\gamma_2(n)=\max\left((X_n)_1+t_1(n),(X_n)_2\right),$$ in which we recognize equation (\[EqRecCoeffs\]) with matrix $A(n)=\left(\begin{array}{cc}
\gamma_1(n+1)&\gamma_1(n+1)+t_2(n-1) \\
\gamma_2(n)+t_1(n)&\gamma_2(n) \end{array}\right).$
It is natural to assume that the sequence $\left(t_1(n),t_2(n),\gamma_1(n),\gamma_2(n)\right)_{n\in\NN}$ is stationary. Therefore, so is $\left(A(n)\right)_{n\in\NN}$ . From now on, we also assume that the ’$A(n)$’s are independent. It is the case if the variations in the durations are caused by phenomena completely external to the process.
Max-plus algebra
----------------
Sequences satisfying equation (\[EqRecCoeffs\]) are best understood by introducing the so-called algebra, which is actually a semiring.
The semiring $\rma$ is the set $\R\cup\{-\infty\}$, with the max as a sum (i.e. $a \oplus b = \max(a, b)$) and the usual sum as a product (i.e. $a\otimes b = a + b$). In this semiring, the neutral elements are $-\infty$ and $0$.
We also use the matrix and vector operations induced by the semiring structure. For matrices $A, B$ with appropriate sizes, $(A\oplus B)_{ij} = A_{ij} \oplus B_{ij} = \max(A_{ij} , B_{ij})$, $(A\otimes B)_{ij} =
\bigotimes_k A_{ik}\otimes B_{kj} = \max_k (A_{ik} + B_{kj} )$, and for a scalar $a$, $(a\otimes A)_{ij} = a\otimes A_{ij} = a + A_{ij}$. Given an integer $n$, we denote by $[1,n]$ the set $\{1,\cdots,n\}$.
Let $\mathcal{A}=\left(A(n)\right)_{n\in_\NN}$ be a stationary sequence of random ${k\times k}$-matrices with entries in $\rma$ and no row of $-\infty$.
We investigate the behavior of the sequence $\left(x^\mathcal{A}(n,x_0)\right)_{n\in_\NN}$ defined by $x^\mathcal{A}(0,x_0)=x_0$ and $$x^\mathcal{A}(n+1,x_0)=A(n)\otimes x^\mathcal{A}(n,x_0).$$
With those definitions the random variable $X_n$ of equation (\[EqRecCoeffs\]) is exactly $x^\mathcal{A}(n,X_0)$.
Memory loss property
====================
Definition
----------
Let us remind a few basic facts about matrices with entries in $\rma$. All these facts can be checked by direct computations.
i) A matrix $A\in\rma^{k\times l}$ defines a max-plus linear map $\tilde{A}$ from $\rma^l$ to $\rma^k$ given by: $$\forall x \in\rma^l, \tilde{A}(x):=A\otimes x,$$ and the product of the matrices corresponds to the composition of the maps. If $A$ has no row of $-\infty$, it also defines a map from $\R^l$ to $\R^k$.
ii) The image of $\tilde{A}$ is stable under the operations of $\rma^k$. It is the max-plus moduloid spanned by the columns vectors of $A$. Like in usual linear algebra, we have $\forall x \in\rma^k,A\otimes x=\bigoplus_{j\in [1,k]}x_j\otimes A_{.j}\,. $
\[defMLP\]
- A matrix $A$ has rank 1 if all its columns are proportional in the sense and not all equal to $(-\infty)^k$. It happens if and only if there are $a$ and $b$ in $\rma^k\backslash\{(-\infty)^k\}$ such that $\forall (i,j)\in [1,k]^2$, $A_{ij}=a_i+b_j$. We denote it by $rk(A)=1$.
- A sequence $\left(A(n)\right)_{n\in_\NN}$ is said to have the memory loss property (MLP) if there exist an $N\in\NN$ such that $\mathbb{P}\left( rk\left(A(N)\otimes \cdots \otimes A(1)\right)=1\right)>0$.
The expression “memory loss property” was introduced by S. Gaubert and D. Hong [@GaubertHong] for automata. It expresses that $rk\left(A(n)\otimes \cdots \otimes A(1)\right)=1$ if and only if, for every pair $(i,j)$, the difference $x_i^\mathcal{A}(n,x_0)-x_j^\mathcal{A}(n,x_0)$ does not depend on the initial condition $x_0$.
Let us review the three type of stability results that were proved under the MLP hypothesis.
J. Mairesse introduced the MLP to show the result below:
\[scd\](Mairesse [@Mairesse 6.15]) If $\mathcal{A}$ has the MLP, then for every $i,j\in [1,k]$ the sequences $\left(x_i^\mathcal{A}(n,x_0)-x_j^\mathcal{A}(n,x_0)\right)_{n\in\NN}$ and $\left(x_i^\mathcal{A}(n+1,x_0)-x_j^\mathcal{A}(n,x_0)\right)_{n\in\NN}$ converge in total variation, uniformly in $x_0$.
It is known since J.E. Cohen [@Cohen], that $\left(x^\mathcal{A}_i(n,x_0)\right)_{n\in\NN}$ satisfies a law of large number, at least when the entries are finite and integrable. The limit of $\left(\frac{1}{n}\max_ix^\mathcal{A}_i(n,0)\right)_{n\in\NN}$ exists under the assumption that $\max_{i,j\in [1,k]}\left(A_{ij}(0)\right)^+\in\mathbb{L}^1$ (see J.-M. Vincent [@vincent]) and is called the Lyapunov exponent of $\left(A(n)\right)_{n\in\NN}$. The other two results show that the MLP ensure a kind of stability of the Lyapunov exponent.
If $A(1)$ takes only finitely many values, then the MLP obviously only depends on these values, and not on the law of $A(1)$. If the sequence defined by the uniform distribution on $(A_1,\cdots, A_t)$ has the MLP, then every sequence $\left(A(n)\right)_{n\in\NN}$ of i.i.d random variables, such that also has the MLP. That being the case, we have the following result on the Lyapunov exponent:
(Gaubert and Hong [@GaubertHong 4.1]) Let $(A_1\cdots A_t)$ be a $t$-uple of matrices in $\rma^{k\times k}$ with no row of $-\infty$. We write $p>0$ for $\forall i\in [1,t], p_i>0$. For every probability vector $p$, we call $L(p)$ the Lyapunov exponent of i.i.d random variables $A^p(n)$ such that $$\forall i\in [1,t], \mathbb{P}(A^p(1)=A_i)=p_i.$$ If there is one $p>0$ (or for every $p>0$), such that $\left(A^p(n)\right)_{n\in\NN}$ has the MLP, then $L$ is an analytical function of $p$. The analyticity domain only depends on the $t$-uple and includes all $p>0$.
Eventually, I have proved [@limtop; @TclGM] that if $\mathcal{A}=\left(A(n)\right)_{n\in\NN}$ has the MLP, and the ’$A_n$’s are sufficiently integrable and mixing, then $\left(x^\mathcal{A}(n,X_0)\right)_{n\in\NN}$ satisfies a central limit theorem. If the ’$A_n$’s are independent, it also satisfies local limit theorem, renewal theorem and great deviation principle.
To conclude this section, we give an example of sequence without the MLP:
\[ExNonMlp\] If there is a constant $c\in\R$, such that $\left(A(n)\right)_{n\in\NN}$ takes it values in the set $$A_c=\left\{\left.\left(\begin{array}{cc}\gamma_1&\gamma_1+t \\\gamma_2+t&\gamma_2 \end{array}\right)\right|\gamma_1\ge 0,\gamma_2\ge 0, \gamma_2 -\gamma_1=c,t\ge |c|\right\},$$ then the sequence $\left(A(n)\right)_{n\in\NN}$ has not the MLP.
Let us define vectors $u=(0,0)'$ and $v=(0,c)'$. Matrices in $A_c$ map $u$ on $(\gamma_1+t)\otimes v$ and $v$ on $(\gamma_2+t)\otimes u$.
Therefore, the image of $A(n)\otimes\cdots\otimes A(1)$ always contains $u$ and $v$, which are not proportional in the sense.
Statements of the results
-------------------------
Since we want $x^\mathcal{A}$ to be finite, matrices will take their values in the set of $k\times k$ matrices with entries in $\rma$ and no row of $-\infty$, which we denote by $\mathcal{M}_k$. For convenience, we denote by $\mathcal{P}_k$ the set of the so-called primitive matrices, that is matrices $A\in\mathcal{M}_k$ such that there is an integer $n\in\NN$ such that $A^{\otimes n}$ has only finite entries.
We set a notion of linear forms and hyperplane on these space, which extend the usual notions on $\R^{k\times k}$.
For a finite set $Q$ and $\alpha\in\R^Q$, we define $f_\alpha:\rma^Q\rightarrow \rma$ by: $$f_\alpha(V)=
\left\{\begin{array}{ll}
\sum_{\alpha_i\neq 0}\alpha_iV_i&\mathrm{ if }\forall i\in Q, \alpha_i\neq 0\Rightarrow V_i\in\R,\\
&\textrm{ where the operations are understood in the usual sense}\\
-\infty &\textrm{ otherwise.}
\end{array}\right.$$ Such a function is called a linear form on $\rma^Q$. A hyperplane (rep. affine hyperplane) of $\rma^Q$ is the set of zeros (resp. the level line associated to a finite level) of a non-zero linear form.
A hyperplane of $\mathcal{M}_k$ (resp. $\mathcal{P}_k$) is the intersection of a hyperplane of $\rma^{k\times k}$ with $\mathcal{M}_k$ (resp. $\mathcal{P}_k$).
A hyperplane of $\mathcal{M}_k\times \mathcal{P}_k $ is the intersection of a hyperplane of $\left(\rma^{k\times k}\right)^2$ with $\mathcal{M}_k\times \mathcal{P}_k$.
When $Q=k\times k$, for every indices $i,j\in [1,k]$, we denote by $A^\circ_{ij}$ the function $A\mapsto A_{ij}$. That being the case, we write $f_\alpha=\sum \alpha_{ij}A^\circ_{ij}$ and this decomposition is unique.
Our main results are the two following theorems:
\[thgenedis\] For every $k\in \NN$, the set of pairs of matrices $(A,B)\in\mathcal{P}_k\times\mathcal{M}_k$ such that a sequence of i.i.d. random matrices that take values $A$ and $B$ with positive probability does not have the MLP is included in the union of finitely many hyperplanes of $\mathcal{P}_k\times\mathcal{M}_k$.
For such a pair $(A,B)$, a stationary sequence $\left(A(n)\right)_{n\in\NN}$ has the MLP, provided it satisfies the following relation: $$\forall N\in\NN, \forall (A_i)_{i\in [1,N]}\in \{A,B\}^N, \P\left[\forall i\in [1,N], A(i)=A_i\right]>0.$$
To have a similar result for continuous measures, we need to define the support of a measure. To this aim, we put the following distance on $\mathcal{M}_k$: $d(A,B)=\max\{\left.\left|\arctan(A_{ij})-\arctan(B_{ij})\right|\right|i,j\in [1,k] \}.$
\[thgenesupp\] Let $\mu$ be a probability measure on $\mathcal{M}_k$ with support $S_\mu$. If $S_\mu\cap \mathcal{P}_k$ is not included in a union of finitely many affine hyperplanes of $\mathcal{P}_k$, then a sequence of i.i.d. random matrices with law $\mu$ has the MLP.
For such a probability measure $\mu$, a stationary sequence $\left(A(n)\right)_{n\in\NN}$ has the MLP, provided $A(1)$ has law $\mu$ and for every $N\in\NN$, the product set $(S_\mu\cap \mathcal{P}_k)^N$ is included in the support of $\left(A(n)\right)_{n\in [1,N]}$
Because of example \[ExNonMlp\], it is obviously possible that the sequence ruling the system described in example \[exprod\] has not the MLP. It depends on the possible durations of the tasks and transportation times. However, Theorems \[thgenesupp\] and \[thgenedis\] imply that the sequence generically has the MLP: if it has not, the support of $\left(\gamma_1(2), \gamma_2(1), t_1(1), t_2(0)\right)$ is included in the union of finitely many affine hyperplanes and in the discrete case the atoms of the measure are linearly related.
Together with [@limtop; @TclGM], it means that, if $\left(\gamma_1(2), \gamma_2(1), t_1(1), t_2(0)\right)$ is sufficiently integrable and not almost surely included in a union of finitely many affine hyperplanes, then $\left(X_n\right)_{n\in\NN}$ satisfy a central limit theorem, a local limit theorem, and a renewal theorem.
Outlines of the proof
---------------------
[**Notation**]{} We will denote a $n$-uple of matrices by $(^i\hspace{-4pt}A)_{i\in [1,n]}$ instead of $(A_i)_{i\in [1,n]}$ to use indices for entries of matrices.
Theorem \[thgenedis\] (very partially) answers the following deterministic question: when does the semigroup generated by two matrices in $\rma^{k\times k}$ contains a matrix with rank 1? The asymptotic theory of matrices in $\rma^{k\times k}$ shows that some matrices, called **scs1-cyc1**, have powers of rank 1. Theorem \[thgenedis\] thus readily follows from the next two lemmas which will be proved in sections \[seclem\] and \[deter\] respectively.
\[graphegene\] For every pair $(A,B)\in \mathcal{P}_k\times\mathcal{M}_k$ outside a union of finitely many hyperplanes, there exist two integers $m$ and $n$ such that the matrix $A^{\otimes m}\otimes B\otimes A^{\otimes n}$ has only finite entries and its critical graph has only one node. As a consequence, that matrix is **scs1-cyc1**.
\[scs1-cyc1\] Every **scs1-cyc1** matrix with finite entries has a power with rank 1.
Theorem \[thgenesupp\] will be deduced from lemma \[graphegene\] and the following:
\[puissrg1\] If $A$ is a matrix with finite entries whose critical graph has only one node, then there are a neighborhood $V$ of $A$ and an integer $n$ such that: $$\forall (^i\hspace{-4pt}A)_{i\in [1,n]}\in V^n, rk(^1\hspace{-4pt}A\otimes\cdots\otimes ^n\hspace{-6pt}A)=1.$$
[theorem \[thgenesupp\]]{} \
Every hyperplane $\alpha$ given by lemma \[graphegene\] is the kernel of a linear form $f^\alpha$ on $\mP_k\times\M_k$. This linear form can be written $f_1^\alpha+f_2^\alpha$ where $f^\alpha_1$ depends only on the first matrix and $f^\alpha_2$ on the second one. Since $S_\mu\cap\mP_k$ is not included in $\cup_\alpha \ker f_1^\alpha$, there exists a matrix $A$ in $S_\mu\cap\mP_k$ such that $\forall \alpha, f_1^\alpha(A)\neq 0$. For every $\alpha$, the set $\{B\in\M_k|f_2^\alpha(B)=-f_1^\alpha(A)\}$ is an affine hyperplane of $\M_k$ or the emptyset. Therefore, there exists a $B\in S_\mu$ such that $B\not\in\cup_\alpha\{B\in\R^{k\times k}|f_2^\alpha(B)=-f_1^\alpha(A)\}$. Eventually, $(A,B)\notin \bigcup_\alpha \ker f^\alpha$.
By lemma \[graphegene\], there exist $m$ and $n$ such that the matrix $A^{\otimes m}\otimes B\otimes A^{\otimes n}$ has only finite entries and its critical graph has only one node. By lemma \[puissrg1\], there exists a neighborhood $V$ of $A^{\otimes m}\otimes B\otimes A^{\otimes n}$ and an integer $N$ such that every matrix in $V^{\otimes N}$ has rank $1$. Let $V_1\times V_2$ be a neighborhood of $(A,B)$ such that $V_1^{\otimes m}\otimes V_2\otimes V_1^{\otimes n}\subset V$. The matrices in $\left(V_1^{\otimes m}\otimes V_2\otimes V_1^{\otimes n}\right)^{\otimes N}$ have rank 1. Since $A$ and $B$ are in the support of $\mu$, we have: $$\P\left(rk\left(A\left((n+m+1)N\right)\otimes\cdots\otimes A(1)\right)=1\right)\ge \P\left(\left(A\left((n+m+1)N\right),\cdots, A(1)\right)\in \left(V_1^{m}\times V_2\times V_1^{ n}\right)^{ N}\right)>0.$$
Powers of one matrix
====================
General theory {#deter}
--------------
In this section, we briefly review the spectral and asymptotic theory of matrices with entries in $\rma$. For a complete exposition in English, see Baccelli et al. [@BCOQ].
A circuit on a directed graph is a closed path on the graph. Let $A$ be a square matrix of size $k$ with entries in $\rma$.
i) The graph of $A$ is the directed weighted graph whose nodes are the elements of $[1,k]$ and whose arcs are the $(i,j)$ such that $A_{ij}>-\infty$. The weight on $(i,j)$ is $A_{ij}$. The graph will be denoted by $\mathcal{G}(A)$ and the set of its elementary circuits by $\mathcal{C}(A)$.
ii) The weight of path $pth=(i_1,\cdots,i_n,i_{n+1})$ is $w(A,pth):=\sum_{j=1}^n A_{i_ji_{j+1}}.$ Its length is $|pth|:=n.$
iii) The average weight of a circuit $c$ is $aw(A,c):=\frac{w(A,c)}{|c|}.$
iv) The spectral radius of $A$ is $\rhom(A):=\max_{c\in\mathcal{C}(A)}aw(A,c)$.
v) The critical graph of $A$ is obtained from $\mathcal{G}(A)$ by keeping only nodes and arcs belonging to circuits with average weight $\rhom(A)$. It will be denoted by $\mathcal{G}^c(A)$.
vi) The cyclicity of a graph is the greatest common divisor of the length of its circuits if it is strongly connected (that is if every node can be reached from every other). Otherwise it is the least common multiple of the cyclicities of its strongly connected components. The cyclicity of $A$ is that of $\mathcal{G}^c(A)$ and is denoted by $c(A)$.
vii) The type of $A$ is **scsN-cycC**, where **N** is the number of strongly connected components of $\mathcal{G}^c(A)$ and **C** the cyclicity of $A$.
\[powerint\] Interpretation of powers with $\mathcal{G}(A)$.\
If $(i_1,i_2,\cdots,i_{n+1})$ is a path on $\mathcal{G}(A)$, its weight is $\sum_{j\in [1,n]}A_{i_ji_{j+1}}$, therefore $\left(A^{\otimes n}\right)_{ij}$ is the maximum of the weights of paths from $i$ to $j$ with length $n$.
Since the average weight of a circuit is an affine combination of the average weights of its minimal sub-circuits, the spectral radius is the maximum of the average weights of all circuits.
We first remind the (max,+)-spectral theory: if $\lambda\in\rma$ and $V\in \rma^k\backslash \{(-\infty)^k\}$ satisfy the equation $A\otimes V=\lambda\otimes V$, we say that $\lambda$ is an eigenvalue of $A$ and $V$ an eigenvector.
For every $A\in\M_k$, $\tilde{A}$ defined by $\tilde{A}_{ij}=A_{ij}-\rhom(A)$ satisfies $\rhom\left(\tilde{A}\right)=0$ and for every vector $V$, we have $A\otimes V=\rhom(A)\otimes \tilde{A}\otimes V$, so it is enough to deal with the case $\rhom(A)=0$. To state the spectral theorem, we need the following.
For every $A\in\rma^{k\times k}$ with $\rhom(A)\le 0$, we set: $$A^+:=\bigoplus_{n\in [1,k]} A^{\otimes n}.$$
For every $(i,j)\in [1,k]^2$, $A^+_{ij}$ is the maximum of the weights of paths from $i$ to $j$. Indeed, since $\rhom(A)\le 0$, all circuits have non-positive weights and removing circuits from a path makes its weight greater, so $\bigoplus_{n\in [1,k]} A^{\otimes n} =\bigoplus_{n\ge 1} A^{\otimes n}$ and the remark follows from remark \[powerint\] .
\[propspec\]Eigenvectors, G. Cohen et al. [@cohen83; @cohen85a].
i) If $c$ is a circuit on $\mathcal{G}^c(A)$, then its average weight is $\rhom(A)$.
ii) If $\mathcal{G}(A)$ is strongly connected, then $\rhom(A)$ is the only eigenvalue of $A$.
iii) If $\rhom(A)=0$, then for every $i\in\mathcal{G}^c(A)$, $A^+_{.i}$ is an eigenvector of $A$ with
iv) If $\rhom(A)=0$, then for every eigenvector $y$ of $A$ with eigenvalue $0$, we have $y=\bigoplus_{i\in\mathcal{G}^c(A)}y_i\otimes A^+_{.i}.$
v) If $\rhom(A)=0$, and if $i$ and $j$ are in the same strongly connected component of $\mathcal{G}^c(A)$, then the column vectors $A^+_{.i}$ and $A^+_{.j}$ are proportional in the sense.
vi) If $\rhom(A)=0$, then no column vector $A^+_{.i}$ with $i\in\mathcal{G}^c(A)$ is a max-plus linear combination of the $A^+_{.j}$ with $j$ in other strongly connected components.
\[proppuiss\]Powers, G. Cohen et al. [@cohen83; @cohen85a]\
Assume $\mathcal{G}(A)$ is strongly connected, $\rhom(A)=0$ and $c(A)=1$. Then, there is an $N\in\NN$ such that, for every $n\ge N$, we have $A^{\otimes n}=Q$, where $Q$ is defined by $\forall (i,j)\in
[1,k]^2,Q_{ij}:=\bigoplus_{l\in\mathcal{G}^c(A)}A^+_{il}\otimes
A^+_{lj}.$
For every $(i,j)\in [1,k]^2$, $Q_{ij}$ is the maximum of the weight of paths from $i$ to $j$ that crosses $\mathcal{G}^c(A)$.
Lemma \[scs1-cyc1\] easily follows from propositions \[propspec\] and \[proppuiss\]:
[lemma \[scs1-cyc1\]]{} Let $\tilde{A}$ be the matrix defined by $\tilde{A}_{ij}=A_{ij}-\rhom(A)$. Then, $\rhom(\tilde{A})=0$ and $c(\tilde{A})=c(A)=1$. By proposition \[proppuiss\], when $n$ is greater than some $N\in\NN$, the column vectors of $\tilde{A}^{\otimes n}$ are eigenvectors of $\tilde{A}$. Therefore, by proposition \[propspec\], all these vectors are proportional in the sense, so $\tilde{A}^{\otimes n}$ has rank 1. But for every $i,j\in [1,k]$, $\left(A^{\otimes n}\right)_{ij}=\left(\tilde{A}^{\otimes n}\right)_{ij}+n\rhom(A)$, therefore $A^{\otimes n}$ also has rank 1.
We end this section with a simple but crucial lemma:
\[lemGcA\] For every $A\in \mP_k$, there is an $N\in\NN$ such that every path $pth$ from $i$ to $j$ on $\G(A)$ with length $n\ge N$, and weight $w(A,pth)=A^{\otimes n}_{ij}$ crosses $\Gc(A)$.
Since this lemma is implicit in the published proofs of proposition \[proppuiss\] (G. Cohen et al. [@cohen85a], F. Baccelli et al. [@BCOQ]), we prove it for sake of completeness:
Without loss of generality, we assume $\rhom(A)=0$. By the definition of $\mP_k$, there is $N_1\in\NN$ such that $A^{\otimes N_1}$ has only finite entries. Let $M_1$ be the minimum of those entries.
Let $c$ be a circuit on $\Gc(A)$, with length $|c|$. According to proposition \[propspec\], there exists an index $l\in [1,k]$ such that $A^{\otimes |c|}_{ll}=|c|\rhom(A)=0$. For every $n\in\NN$, and every $i,j\in [1,k]$, we have: $$A^{\otimes (2N_1+n|c|)}_{i,j}\ge A^{\otimes N_1}_{il}+nA^{\otimes |c|}_{ll}+A^{\otimes N_1}_{lj}\ge 2 M_1.$$
Let $-\epsilon$ be the maximal average weight of circuits on $\G(A)$ not crossing $\Gc(A)$. Let $pth=(i_1,\cdots,i_{n})$ be a path on $\G(A)$ not crossing $\Gc(A)$. It splits into a path of length at most $k$ and elementary circuits, with average weight at most $-\epsilon$. Denoting by $M_2$ the greatest entry of $A$, we have: $$w(A, pth)\le k|M_2| -\epsilon (n-k).$$ Every $N$ large enough to satisfy $k(|M_2|+\epsilon)-N\epsilon<2 M_1$ thus satisfies the conclusion of the lemma.
Almost powers
-------------
This section will be devoted to the proof of lemma \[puissrg1\]. This proof is based the ideas from the proofs of propositions \[propspec\] and \[proppuiss\].
To understand the powers of $A$, we considered their entries as the weights of paths on $\mathcal{G}(A)$, as explained in remark \[powerint\]. We want to do the same for products of several matrices, which means the arcs weights can be different at each step.
From now on, $\mathcal{G}$ will be the complete directed graph with the elements of $[1,k]$ as nodes. For every finite sequence of matrices $(^i\hspace{-4pt}A)_{i\in [1,n]}$ we set the following notations:
1. The weight of a path $pth=(i_j)_{j\in [1,n+1]}$ on $\mathcal{G}$ (with respect to $(^i\hspace{-4pt}A)_{i\in [1,n]}$) is $w (pth):=\sum_{j\in [1,n]} {}^j\hspace{-4pt}A_{i_ji_{j+1}}$
2. A path is maximizing if its weight is maximal among the weights of paths with the same origin, the same end, and the same length.
With these definitions $(i_j)_{j\in [1,n+1]}$ is maximizing if and only if its weight is $\left({^1\hspace{-4pt}A}\otimes\cdots\otimes{^n\hspace{-4pt}A}\right)_{i_1i_{n+1}}$.\
[lemma \[puissrg1\]]{} Since $\mathcal{G}^c(A)$ has only one node, there exists an $l\in [1,k]$ such that: $\forall c\in \mathcal{C}(A)\backslash\{(l,l)\},A_{ll}>aw(A,c).$ Thus, there exists an $\epsilon>0$ such that $$\forall c\in \mathcal{C}(A)\backslash\{(l,l)\},A_{ll}-aw(A,c)>3\epsilon.$$ Let $V$ be the open ball with center $A$ and radius $\epsilon$ for infinity norm and $M$ be the maximum of the infinity norm on $V$.
Let us notice that every matrix $B\in V$ has the same critical graph as $A$. Let $\tilde{B}$ be the matrix with spectral radius $0$ defined by $\tilde{B}_{ij}=B_{ij}-B_{ll}$. Then, $\|\tilde{B}-\tilde{A}\|_\infty<2\epsilon$ and for any elementary circuit $c\neq(l,l)$, the average weight of $c$ satisfy $aw(\tilde{A},c)<-3\epsilon$
From now on, $(^i\hspace{-4pt}A)_{i\in [1,n]}$ will be in $V^n$ and the weights of paths will always be with respect to $(\tilde{^i\hspace{-4pt}A})_{i\in [1,n]}$.
Let $pth=(i_j)_{j\in [1,n+1]}$ be a path of length $n$ that does not cross $l$. It can split into a path of length less than $k$ and elementary circuits. Since an elementary circuit $c$ that is not $(l,l)$ and has weight $ w (c)\le aw(\tilde{A},c)|c|+2|c|\epsilon<-|c|\epsilon$, we have: $$w (pth)<-(n-k)\epsilon +2kM.$$ But for every $i,j\in [1,k]$, $$\left(\tilde{^1\hspace{-4pt}A}\otimes\cdots\otimes\tilde{^n\hspace{-4pt}A}\right)_{ij}\ge w ((i,l,\cdots,l,j))>-2M,$$ so there exists an $N$ such that every maximizing path of length $n\ge N$ crosses $l$.
Let $pth=(i_j)_{j\in [1,n+1]}$ be a maximizing path of length $n\ge 2N+1$. Since $(i_j)_{j\in [1,N+1]}$ is also maximizing, there is a $j_0\le N$ such that $i_{j_0}=l$. Since $
(i_j)_{n-N\le j\le n+1}$ is maximizing for $(^j\hspace{-4pt}A)_{n-N\le j\le n}$, there exists $n-N\le j_1\le n+1$ such that $i_{j_1}=l$. The path $
(i_j)_{j_0\le j\le j_1}$ is a circuit, so it can split into elementary circuits. Since elementary circuits have a negative weight, except for $(l,l)$, the only sub-circuit of $(i_j)_{j_0\le j\le j_1} $ is $(l,l)$. Consequently for every $j$ between $j_0$ and $j_1$, and particular for $N+1\le j\le n-N$, $i_j=l$, therefore $$w (pth)= w \left((i_j)_{1\le j\le N+1}\right)+ w \left((i_j)_{n-N\le j\le n+1}\right).$$ This means that: $$\forall n\ge 2N+1,\forall i,j\in [1,k], \left(\tilde{^1\hspace{-4pt}A}\otimes\cdots\otimes\tilde{^n\hspace{-4pt}A}\right)_{i,j}= \left(\tilde{^1\hspace{-4pt}A}\otimes\cdots\otimes\tilde{^N\hspace{-4pt}A}\right)_{il}+\left(^{n-N}\tilde{\hspace{-4pt}A}\otimes\cdots\otimes\tilde{^n\hspace{-4pt}A}\right)_{lj},$$ therefore $rk\left(\tilde{^1\hspace{-4pt}A}\otimes\cdots\otimes\tilde{^n\hspace{-4pt}A}\right)=1$ and also $rk\left(^1\hspace{-4pt}A\otimes\cdots\otimes ^n\hspace{-6pt}A\right)=1$.
Proof of the main lemma {#seclem}
=======================
Reduced matrices
----------------
To prove lemma \[graphegene\], we set the following notions of reduced matrices.
A matrix is called reduced if it has only non-positive entries and at least one zero on each row. It is called strictly reduced if it has only non-positive entries and exactly one zero on each row.
\[matred\]
i) The set of reduced matrices is a semigroup. So is the set of strictly reduced matrices.
ii) Every reduced matrix $A$ has spectral radius $0$ and $\Gc(A)$ is made of the circuits of $\G(A)$ whose arcs have weight $0$.
$i)$ is obvious. If $A$ is reduced, its coefficients are non-positive, and so is $\rhom(A)$. It is possible to build by induction a sequence $(i_j)_{j\in\NN}\in [1,k]^\NN$ such that for every $j\in\NN$, $A_{i_ji_{j+1}}=0$. This sequence takes twice the same value, let us say in $j_1$ and $j_2$. Therefore, $c=(i_j)_{j_1\le j\le j_2}$ is a circuit of $\G(A)$ with arcs of weight $0$. In particular, $w(A,c)=0$, so $\rhom(A)\ge 0$.
This shows that $\rhom(A)=0$, and, since the entries of $A$ are non-positive, the last statement is obvious.
For every $A\in\M_k$ such that $\G(A)$ is connected, we define:
1. A matrix $\tilde{A}$ defined by $\forall i,j\in [1,k], \tilde{A}_{ij}=A_{ij}-\rhom(A)$.
2. A circuit $c_A$ on $\G(A)$: the smallest elementary circuit of $\Gc(A)$ for the lexicographical order.
3. An integer $\kappa(A)\in [1,k]$: the smallest node in $c_A$.
4. A matrix $\bar{A}$ defined by: $$\label{eqdefAbar}
\forall i,j\in [1,k], \bar{A}_{ij}=\tilde{A}_{ij}-\tilde{A}^+_{i\kappa(A)}+\tilde{A}^+_{j\kappa(A)}.$$
We define the hyperplanes of lemma \[graphegene\] by linear forms:
Let $\G$ be the complete directed graph whose nodes are the elements of $[1,k]$.
1. $\mE_1$ is the set of linear forms $aw(.,c_1)-aw(.,c_2)$, where $c_1$ and $c_2$ are two elementary circuits of $\G$ that are different when seen as directed graphs.
2. $\mE_2$ is the set of linear forms $$w(.,pth_1)-|pth_1|aw(.,c)-w(.,pth_2)+|pth_2|aw(.,c),$$ where $pth_1$ and $pth_2$ are two elementary circuits of $\G$ with the same initial node $i$ and same final node $\kappa\neq i$, and where $c$ is an elementary circuit of $\G$ that goes through $\kappa$.
\[A->Abar\]
1. For every matrix $A\in\M_k$ with strongly connected $\G(A)$, $\bar{A}$ is reduced. In particular, the weights of the arcs of $\Gc(\bar{A})$ are $0$.
2. If no linear form of $\mE_1\cup\mE_2$ vanishes at $A$, then $\bar{A}$ is strictly reduced.
3. The $0$-form is not in $\mE_1\cup\mE_2$.
[lemma \[A->Abar\]]{}
1. $\G(\tilde{A})$ is strictly connected because so is $\G(A)$. Moreover $\Gc(\tilde{A})$ is the same non-weighted graph as $\Gc(A)$, therefore $\kappa(A)\in\Gc(\tilde{A})$. Eventually, $\rhom(\tilde{A})=0$, and, by proposition \[propspec\], the column vector $\tilde{A}^+_{.\kappa(A)}$ is an eigenvector of $\tilde{A}$ with eigenvalue 0. This is equivalent to each of the following equations systems:\
----------------------- ----------------------- -------------------------- ------- -----------------------------------------------------
$\forall i\in [1,k],$ $\tilde{A}_{i\kappa(A)}$ = $\max_j (\tilde{A}_{ij}+\tilde{A}^+_{j\kappa(A)}),$
$\forall j\in [1,k],$ $\tilde{A}_{i\kappa(A)}$ $\ge$ $\tilde{A}_{ij}+\tilde{A}^+_{j\kappa(A)}$
$\exists j\in [1,k],$ $\tilde{A}_{i\kappa(A)}$ = $\tilde{A}_{ij}+\tilde{A}^+_{j\kappa(A)}$
$\forall j\in [1,k],$ $\bar{A}_{ij}$ $\le$ $0$
$\exists j\in [1,k],$ $\bar{A}_{ij}$ = $0$.
----------------------- ----------------------- -------------------------- ------- -----------------------------------------------------
The last system exactly means that $\bar{A}$ is reduced.
2. Let us assume that no form in $\mE_1\cup\mE_2$ vanishes at $A$.
For every $i\in [1,k]$, there exists a path $pth_1=(i_1,\cdots, i_{|pth_1|+1})$ on $\G(\tilde{A})$ from $i$ to $\kappa(A)$ with weight $\tilde{A}^+_{i\kappa(A)}$ and with a minimal length among all paths with those properties.
We will show that $j=i_2$ is the only solution of equation $\bar{A}_{ij}=0$, therefore $\bar{A}$ is strictly reduced. This equation is equivalent to: $$\label{eqdefj}
\tilde{A}^+_{i\kappa(A)}=\tilde{A}_{ij}+\tilde{A}^+_{j\kappa(A)}.$$
Let $j\in [1,k]$ be a solution of this equation and let $pth=(j_1,\cdots, j_{|pth|+1})$ be a path from $j$ to $\kappa(A)$ with weight $\tilde{A}^+_{j\kappa(A)}$ and with a minimal length among all paths with those properties.
Since $\rhom(\tilde{A})=0$, the circuits of $\G(\tilde{A})$ have a non-positive weight, therefore the minimality of the lengths implies that $pth_1$ and $pth$ are elementary.\
If $i=\kappa(A)$, then $w(\tilde{A},pth_1)=w(\tilde{A},(i,pth))=\tilde{A}^+_{\kappa(A)\kappa(A)}=0$, therefore $(i,pth)$ and $pth_1$ are circuits on $\G^c(\tilde{A})$, and therefore also circuits on $\G^c(A)$. $(i,pth)$ can be split into elementary circuits of $\G^c(A)$. Let $pth_2$ be the first one. Then, $aw(A,pth_2)=aw(A,pth_1)=\rhom(A)$ and, since no linear form in $\mE_1$ vanishes at $A$, $pth_1=pth_2$, therefore $i_2=j$.\
If $i\neq \kappa(A)$, then we set $pth_2=(i,pth)$, therefore $w(\tilde{A},pth_2)=\tilde{A}^+_{i\kappa(A)}=w(\tilde{A},pth_1)$ or, equivalently $$w(A,pth_1)-|pth_1|\rhom(A)=w(A,pth_2)-|pth_2|\rhom(A),$$ or $$w(A,pth_1)-|pth_1|aw(c_A)=w(A,pth_2)-|pth_2|aw(c_A).$$ Since no linear form of $\mE_2$ vanishes at $A$, $pth_1=pth_2$, and $i_2=j$, provided $pth_2$ is elementary.\
Let us assume it is not. There exists $l\in [1,|pth|+1]$ such that $j_l=i$. Then, we have: $$\begin{aligned}
w(\tilde{A},(i,j_1,\cdots,j_l))&=&w(\tilde{A},(i,pth))-w(\tilde{A},(j_l,\cdots,j_{|pth|+1}))\\
&=&\tilde{A}^+_{i\kappa(A)}-w(\tilde{A},(i,j_{l+1},\cdots,j_{|pth|},\kappa(A)))\ge 0,\end{aligned}$$ therefore $aw(\tilde{A},(i,j_1,\cdots,j_l))=\rhom(\tilde{A})=0$. Therefore, $(i,j_1,\cdots,j_l)$ is a circuit on $\Gc(A)$, so it can be split into elementary circuits on $\G^c(A)$. Let $c_1$ be one of these circuits. Since $aw(A,c_1)=\rhom(A)=aw(A,c_A)$ and no linear form of $\mE_2$ vanishes at $A$, it proves $c_1=c_A$. Therefore, $\kappa(A)\in \{j_1,\cdots,j_l\}$. Since $j_l=i\neq \kappa(A)$, we have $j_{|pth|+1}=\kappa(A)\in \{j_1,\cdots j_{l-1}\}$, therefore $pth$ is not elementary. Since we already noticed that $pth$ is elementary, the assumption that $pth_2$ is not elementary was false, and this concludes the proof of point $(ii)$.
3. Obviously, the zero-form is not an element of $\mE_1$. Let us prove it is not one of $\mE_2$ either.
Let $pth_1=(i_1,\cdots,i_{|pth_1|+1})$, $pth_2=(j_1,\cdots,j_{|pth_2|+1})$ and $c=(l_1,\cdots,l_{|c|},l_1)$ be elementary path such that $i_1=j_1=i$, $i_{|pth_1|+1}=j_{|pth_2|+1}=l_1$ and $i_1\neq l_1$.
Let us assume that $f=w(.,pth_1)-|pth_1|aw(.,c)-w(.,pth_2)+|pth_2|aw(.,c)=0$ and show that $pth_1=pth_2$.
Since $pth_1$ and $pth_2$ are elementary and not circuits, $l_1$ appears only once in each: as last node. So, there is no arc leaving $l_1$ on $pth_1$ or on $pth_2$ and the component in $A^\circ_{l_1,l_2}$ of $w(.,pth_1)$ and $w(.,pth_2)$ is zero. The component of $f$ is then $\frac{(|pth_2|-|pth_1|)}{|c|}A^\circ_{l_1l_2}$. This is zero, thus $|pth_2|=|pth_1|$ and $f=w(.,pth_1)-w(.,pth_2)$.
Since $pth_1$ is elementary, $(i_1,i_2)$ is the only arc of $pth_1$ leaving $i$. Therefore, the component of $w(.,pth_1)$ in $A^\circ_{ii_2}$ is $A^\circ_{ii_2}$ and for every $j\neq i_2$, the component of $w(.,pth_1)$ in $A^\circ_{ij}$ is zero.
For the same reason, the component of $w(.,pth_2)$ in $A^\circ_{ij_2}$ is $A^\circ_{ij_2}$ and for every $j\neq j_2$, the component of $w(.,pth_2)$ in $A^\circ_{ij}$ is zero.
Since $w(.,pth_2)=w(.,pth_1)$, it follows from the last statements that $i_2=j_2$ and $w(.,(i_2,\cdots,i_{|pth_1|+1}))=w(.,(j_2,\cdots,j_{|pth_1|+1}))$.
By a finite induction, $pth_1=pth_2$.
Matrix with dominating diagonal
-------------------------------
Let $A\in\mP_k$ and $B\in\M_k$ be two matrices. By lemma \[A->Abar\], we associate to $A$ a reduced matrix $\bar{A}$ defined by equation (\[eqdefAbar\]). We also define $\hat{B}$ by: $$\label{eqdefBbar}\index{$\hat{B}$}
\hat{B}_{ij}:=B_{ij} -\tilde{A}^+_{i\kappa(A)}+\tilde{A}^+_{j\kappa(A)}.$$ Warning: $\hat{B}$ also depends on $A$.
We want to apply the next lemma with $\bar{A}$ and $\hat{B}$. We will show that if some linear forms do not vanish at $(A,B)$, then $\bar{A}$ and $\hat{B}$ satisfy the hypotheses of this lemma.
\[lemGcM\] Let $A\in\mP_k$ be a reduced matrix such that $\Gc(A)$ is strongly connected. Let $N$ be the integer given by lemma \[lemGcA\].
Let $B\in\M_k$ be a matrix such that $$\label{eqANB}
\forall l_1,l_2,m_1,m_2\in [1,k], \left(A^{\otimes N} \otimes B\right)_{l_1m_1}=\left(A^{\otimes N} \otimes B\right)_{l_2m_2}\Rightarrow m_1=m_2.$$
Then, there is $s\in\NN$ such that for every $p\in s+c(A)\NN$, $\Gc\left(A^{\otimes N} \otimes B\otimes A^{\otimes p}\right)$ is a complete directed graph. Especially, $A^{\otimes N} \otimes B\otimes A^{\otimes p}$ has type **scs1cyc1**.
Moreover, if $A$ is strictly reduced, then $\Gc\left(A^{\otimes N} \otimes B\otimes A^{\otimes p}\right)$ has exactly one node.
We first study the maximal entries of $ A^{\otimes N} \otimes B\otimes A^{\otimes p}$. Such an entry $\left( A^{\otimes N} \otimes B\otimes A^{\otimes p} \right)_{ij}$ is the weight of a path $(i_r)_{r\in [1,N+p+2]}$ from $i$ to $j$ (figure \[cheminmax\]). Let $l$ be $i_{N+1}$ and $m$ be $i_{N+2}$.
(0,0)![Maximal paths of ${A}^{\otimes N}\otimes{B}\otimes {A}^{\otimes p}$.[]{data-label="cheminmax"}](chemmaxGBwin "fig:")
\#1\#2\#3\#4\#5[ @font ]{}
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Since $A$ is reduced, we define step by step a sequence of indices $\tilde{i}_r$ for $r$ between $N+2$ and $N+p+2$ such that $\tilde{i}_{N+2}=m$ and for every $r$, $A_{\tilde{i}_r\tilde{i}_{r+1}}=0$. If we replace the $i_r$ with $r\ge N+3$ by $\tilde{i}_r$, we replace arcs with non positive weight by arcs with weight 0, so we get a path whose weight is greater or equal to $\left( A^{\otimes N} \otimes B\otimes A^{\otimes p} \right)_{ij}$. Since this weight can not be strictly greater, and since $A$ is reduced, it means that $A_{i_ri_{r+1}}=0$. Eventually, the maximal entry $\left( A^{\otimes N} \otimes B\otimes A^{\otimes p} \right)_{ij}$ is equal to $A^{\otimes N}_{il}+ B_{lm}$ and its value does not depend on $p$.
The choice of $N$ ensures that $(i_r)_{r\in [1,N+1]}$ crosses $\mathcal{G}^c(A)$. Let $q$ be the first node of the path on $\mathcal{G}^c(A)$. Starting from $q$ and following backward a circuit on $\Gc(A)$, we define a new path such that all nodes before $q$ are in $\mathcal{G}^c(A)$. Let $i'$ be the starting point of this path (figure \[cheminmax\]). By construction, $i'\in \mathcal{G}^c(A)$ and $\left( A^{\otimes N} \otimes B\right)_{i'm}$ is greater or equal to $\left( A^{\otimes N} \otimes B \right)_{im}$, therefore it is a maximal entry of $A^{\otimes N}\otimes B$.\
It follows from lemma \[matred\] $ii)$ and the strong connectivity of $\mathcal{G}^c(A)$, that there exists $s_1\in N$ such that $A^{\otimes s_1}_{mi'}=0$. Since $c(A)$ is the cyclicity of the only strongly connected component of $\Gc(A)$, there exists $s_2\in\NN$, such that for every $p\in s_2+c(A)\NN$, we have $A^{\otimes p}_{i'i'}=0$. Therefore, setting $s=s_1+s_2$, we have $A^{\otimes p}_{mi'}=0$ for every $p\in s+c(A)\NN$. From now on, we assume $p\in s+c(A)\NN$.
Matrix $M:= A^{\otimes N} \otimes B\otimes A^{\otimes p}$ has a maximal entry on its diagonal. This entry $M_{i'i'}$ is the spectral radius of $M$ and the weight of every arc of $\G^c(M)$. Moreover, $M_{ij}=M_{i'i'}$ if and only if there exists $m\in [1,k]$, such that $(A^{\otimes N}\otimes B)_{im}=M_{i'i'}$ and $A^{\otimes p}_{mj}=0$. Equation (\[eqANB\]) ensures that $m$ is the same for all $i$.
If $i$ and $j$ are on $\Gc(M)$, then there exists an arc of $\Gc(M)$ from $i$ and another one from $j$, so that $(A^{\otimes N}\otimes B)_{im}=(A^{\otimes N}\otimes B)_{jm}=M_{i'i'}$. There are also arcs of $\Gc(M)$ to $i$ and to $j$, so that $A^{\otimes p}_{mi}=A^{\otimes p}_{mj}=0$. Therefore, $M_{ij}=M_{ji}=M_{i'i'}$ and $(i,j)$ and $(j,i)$ are arcs of $\Gc(M)$. Eventually, $\Gc(M)$ is the complete directed graph whose nodes are the $i\in [1,k]$, such that $(A^{\otimes N}\otimes B)_{im}=M_{i'i'}$ and $A^{\otimes p}_{mi}=0$.
If $A$ is strictly reduced, so is $A^{\otimes p}$. Therefore, there is only one $i$ such that $A^{\otimes p}_{mi}=0$ and $\Gc(M)$ has only one node and one arc.
To end the proof of lemma \[graphegene\], we still have to show that if no linear form on $\mP_k\times\M_k$ in some finite set vanishes at $(A,B)$, then the matrices $\bar{A}$ and $\hat{B}$ defined by equations (\[eqdefAbar\]) and (\[eqdefBbar\]) satisfy the hypotheses of lemma \[lemGcM\]. Actually, for every circuit $c$, we have $$aw\left(c,\bar{A}^{\otimes N} \otimes\hat{B}\otimes \bar{A}^{\otimes p}\right)=aw\left(c,A^{\otimes N} \otimes B\otimes A^{\otimes p}\right)+(N+p)\rhom(A),$$ Therefore, $\bar{A}^{\otimes N} \otimes\hat{B}\otimes \bar{A}^{\otimes p}$ and $A^{\otimes N} \otimes B\otimes A^{\otimes p}$ have the same critical graph, with different weights, and for $p$ large enough, $A^{\otimes p}\in\R^{k\times k}$, therefore $A^{\otimes N} \otimes B\otimes A^{\otimes p}\in\R^{k\times k}$.
We set the following definition:
Let $\G$ be the complete directed graph with node in $[1,k]$ and $A^\circ$ (resp. $B^\circ$) the function, that maps $(A,B)\in\mP_k\times\M_k$ to $A$ (resp. $B$).
We denote by $\mE_3$ the set of linear forms on $\mP_k\times\M_k$ of the following type: $$\label{eqflE3}
{\arraycolsep2pt\begin{array}{rl}
B^\circ_{j_1m_1}-B^\circ_{j_2m_2}
+w(A^\circ,pth_{i_1j_1})&-w(A^\circ,pth_{i_1\kappa})+w(A^\circ,pth_{m_1\kappa})\\
-w(A^\circ,pth_{i_2j_2})&+w(A^\circ,pth_{i_2\kappa})-w(A^\circ,pth_{m_2\kappa})\\
-(|pth_{i_1j_1}|-|pth_{i_1\kappa}|+|pth_{m_1\kappa}|-&|pth_{i_2j_2}|+|pth_{i_2\kappa}|-|pth_{m_2\kappa}|)aw(A^\circ,pth_{\kappa\kappa}),
\end{array}}$$ where $i_1,i_2,j_1,j_2,m_1,m_2$ and $\kappa$ are nodes of $\G$ such that $m_1\neq m_2$ and for every $i\in\{i_1,i_2,m_1,m_2,\kappa\}$, $pth_{i\kappa}$ is an elementary path on $\G$ from $i$ to $\kappa$ and for every $l\in [1,2]$, $pth_{i_lj_l}$ is a path on $\G$ from $i_l$ to $j_l$ with length at most $|pth_{\kappa\kappa}|k$.
Since $\mE_3$ obviously does not contain the zero-form, lemma \[graphegene\] follows from the next lemma:
\[lemAbarBbar\]
1. If no form in $\mE_1$ vanishes at $A\in\mP_k$ , then $\Gc(\bar{A})$ is strongly connected.
2. If no form in $\mE_3$ vanishes at $(A,B)\in\mP_k\times\M_k$, then $(\bar{A},\hat{B})$ satisfy relation (\[eqANB\]).
1. Since $\Gc(A)$ and $\Gc(\bar{A})$ are equal as non-weighted graphs, we only have to show that $\Gc(A)$ is strongly connected. But no form in $\mE_1$ vanishes at $A$ means that every two elementary circuits of $\G(A)$ have distinct weights. Therefore, $\Gc(A)$ is an elementary circuit, so it is strongly connected.
2. Let $(A,B)\in\mP_k\times\M_k$ be such that $(\bar{A},\hat{B})$ does not satisfy relation (\[eqANB\]). Then, there exist $i_1,i_2,m_1,m_2\in [1,k]$ such that $m_1\neq m_2$ and: $$\left(\bar{A}^{\otimes N} \otimes\hat{B}\right)_{i_1m_1}=\left(\bar{A}^{\otimes N} \otimes\hat{B}\right)_{i_2m_2}.$$
For each $l\in [1,2]$, we take $j_l\in [1,k]$ such that $\left(\bar{A}^{\otimes N} \otimes\hat{B}\right)_{i_lm_l}=\left(\bar{A}^{\otimes N}\right)_{i_lj_l}+\hat{B}_{j_lm_l}$ and we denote $\kappa(A)$ by $\kappa$.
For each $i\in\{i_1,i_2,m_1,m_2,\kappa\}$, we take $pth_{i\kappa}$ a path on $\G(A)$ from $i$ to $\kappa$ such that $w(\tilde{A},pth_{i\kappa})=\tilde{A}^+_{i\kappa}$ with minimal length among such paths.
For each $l\in [1,2]$, we take $pth_{i_lj_l}$ a path on $\G(A)$ from $i_l$ to $j_l$ such that $w(\tilde{A},pth_{i_lj_l})=\tilde{A}^{\otimes N}_{i_lj_l}$ with minimal length among such paths.
Since $\rhom(\tilde{A})=0$, the circuits on $\G(A)$ have non-positive weight, so the minimality of length ensure that for every $i\in\{i_1,i_2,m_1,m_2,\kappa\}$, the path $pth_{i\kappa}$ is elementary.
Proposition \[proppuiss\] applied to $\tilde{A}^{\otimes c(A)}$ ensures that $|pth_{i_lj_l}|\le 2kc(A)$. And $c(A)$ divides $|pth_{\kappa\kappa}|$, so $|pth_{i_lj_l}|\le 2k|pth_{\kappa\kappa}|$.
With those notations, it follows from the definition of $\bar{A}$ and $\hat{B}$ that the linear form $f\in\mE_3$ defined by formula (\[eqflE3\]) vanishes at $(A,B)$.
Putting all lemmas together, we get the following semi-explicit formulation of theorems \[thgenedis\] and \[thgenesupp\]:
Let $(A,B)\in \mP_k\times\M_k$ be such that no linear form in $\mE_1\cup\mE_2$ vanishes at $A$ and no linear form in $\mE_3$ vanishes at $(A,B)$. Then, every sequence $\left(A(n)\right)_{n\in\NN}$ of i.i.d. random matrices taking values $A$ and $B$ with positive probability has the MLP.
Let $\mu$ be a probability measure on $\M_k$ with support $S_\mu$. If there is $A\in \mP_k\cap S_\mu$ at which no linear form in $\mE_1\cup\mE_2$ vanishes, and if $S_\mu$ is not included in a union of finitely many sets of type $\{A\in\M_k|A_{ij}-A_{\kappa l}=a\}$, with $i,j,\kappa,l\in [1,k]$, $j\neq l$ and $a\in\R$, then every sequence $\left(A(n)\right)_{n\in\NN}$ of i.i.d. random matrices with law $\mu$ has the MLP.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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ArXiv
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All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Introduction {#sec001}
============
Annotating the molecular function as an important component of functional genomics {#sec002}
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sequence of the *Mycobacterium tuberculosis* (Mtb) H37Rv genome suggests that it encodes \~4000 proteins (<http://tuberculist.epfl.ch/>) \[[@pone.0175193.ref001]\]). The functions of many of these proteins have not been determined experimentally so far. Complete characterization of the function of any protein requires the delineation of the biological process in which it participates, its cellular location and molecular function (e.g., reaction catalyzed) ([www.geneontology.org](http://www.geneontology.org/)). For several Mtb proteins, their cellular location and the biological process with which they are associated have been determined by transcriptomics and/or proteomics \[[@pone.0175193.ref002]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref003]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref004]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref005]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref006]\]. For many of these proteins molecular function has been assigned based on similarity in the amino acid sequence to experimentally characterized proteins. Such an assignment need not always be correct since sequence similarity does not necessarily translate to functional similarity. Hence, sequence similarity-based assignment of molecular function needs experimental validation.
SDR superfamily {#sec003}
---------------
Sugar nucleotide epimerases are a class of enzymes that belong to the extended SDR subfamily of the short chain dehydrogenase reductase (SDR) superfamily \[[@pone.0175193.ref007]\]. The other classes of enzymes in this superfamily include SDR type dehydratases, isomerases and decarboxylases. Members of this extended SDR subfamily have a Rossmann fold domain in the N-terminal region and this domain contains the NAD(P) binding motif GxxGxxG. The catalytic site consists of the motif YxxxK in most of the SDR enzymes \[[@pone.0175193.ref008]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref009]\]. In general, dehydratases and epimerases have similar sequences and it is not possible to unambiguously annotate them by sequence comparison alone. Also, reaction mechanisms of epimerases and dehydratases are similar to the extent that both involve proton abstraction and transfer to NAD as the first step of reaction \[[@pone.0175193.ref010]\].
A large number of UDP-Gal/GalNAc epimerases have been characterized with respect to their substrate specificity. Notably, they differ from each other in the utilization of N-acetylated derivatives and are accordingly classified into three types viz., Type I, Type II and Type III. Type I enzymes (e.g., *E*. *coli* GalE) utilize only UDP-Glc/Gal as substrates whereas Type III enzymes (e.g., *P*. *aeruginosa* Gne) use only UDP-GlcNAc/GalNAc as substrates. Type II (e.g., *Homo sapiens* Gne) enzymes can utilize both these as substrates \[[@pone.0175193.ref011]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref008]\].
Sequence similarity-based assignment of molecular function of Rv3634c {#sec004}
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The molecular function of Rv3634c has not yet been determined experimentally. Rv3634c has 314 amino acids and of these, the sequence of residues 3--241 aligns with those of NAD-dependent epimerase / dehydratase family of proteins (accession no. PF01370) in the Pfam database (pfam.sanger.ac.uk) suggesting that Rv3634c belongs to this family. When the Mtb genome was sequenced and putative ORFs annotated, it was found that the Mtb genome has four sequence homologs of dTDP dehydratase (also called as *RmlB*); *Rv3634c* is one of these four homologs \[[@pone.0175193.ref001]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref012]\]. It has been suggested that *Rv3634c* encodes UDP-Gal 4-epimerase and not RmlB, based on its N-terminal sequence similarity to GalE from *M*. *smegmatis* \[[@pone.0175193.ref012]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref013]\].
The sequence of the N-terminal 24 amino acid residues of UDP-Glc 4-epimerase of *M*. *smegmatis* has been published ([Fig 1A](#pone.0175193.g001){ref-type="fig"}) \[[@pone.0175193.ref013]\]. The entry in the NCBI ([www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/)) protein sequence database (MSMEG_6142) which probably corresponds to the experimentally characterized *M*. *smegmatis* UDP-Glc 4-epimerase \[[@pone.0175193.ref013]\] is annotated as nucleoside diphosphate sugar epimerase. This entry has no associated publication. Rv3634c and MSMEG_6142 have highly similar primary structures: they share 71% identity and 84% similarity, and there are no gaps in their pair-wise alignment ([Fig 1B](#pone.0175193.g001){ref-type="fig"}).
![(a) Comparison of the published N-terminal sequence of UDP-glucose 4-epimerase \[[@pone.0175193.ref013]\] with that of nucleoside diphosphate sugar epimerase in the database (MSMEG_6142). Both are from *M*. *smegmatis*. (b) Alignment of Rv3634c (labelled as Mtb) and MSMEG_6142 (315 residues; labelled as Ms) obtained by pair-wise BLAST option at NCBI with default values for all the parameters. Few residues at the termini are excluded from the alignment. These are (i) C-terminal His-Thr-Asp of Rv3634c and (ii) N-terminal Met-Ala and C-terminal Ser-Gln of MSMEG_6142.](pone.0175193.g001){#pone.0175193.g001}
Objective of the present study {#sec005}
------------------------------
*Mycobacterium tuberculosis* is reported to have glycoconjugates on its cell surface as well as in the cytoplasm \[[@pone.0175193.ref014]\]. Many enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of glycoconjugates like arabinogalactan, lipoarabinomannan and phenolic glycolipids have been experimentally identified so far \[[@pone.0175193.ref014]\]. Some of them include rmlC \[[@pone.0175193.ref015]\], glmU \[[@pone.0175193.ref016]\] and pimA \[[@pone.0175193.ref017]\]. The present study was undertaken with the objective of experimentally determining if the protein encoded by *Rv3634c* has epimerase activity. The gene *Rv3634c* was cloned and expressed in *Escherichia coli*. Purified recombinant Rv3634c was indeed found to have epimerase activity when tested with UDP-Gal/Glc and UDP-GalNAc as substrates. Single point mutants S121A and Y146F were found to be inactive whereas K150R is partially active. Secondary structures of these three mutants are similar to that of the wild type as inferred from CD spectroscopy. It is conceivable that *Rv3634c* is part of the glycosylation machinery since Mtb has a variety of cell surface glycoconjugates and some of its proteins are known to be glycosylated.
Materials and methods {#sec006}
=====================
Materials {#sec007}
---------
DH5α and BL21(DE3)pLysS strains of *E*. *coli* are maintained as laboratory stocks. Plasmid pYUB28b and strain *Mycobacterium smegmatis* mc^2^ 4517 were a kind gift from Dr. Ghader Bashiri, New Zealand \[[@pone.0175193.ref018]\]. Oligonucleotide primers were synthesized on order, in desalted form, by Sigma--Aldrich Chemicals Pvt. Ltd., India.
Restriction endonucleases, T4 DNA ligase, DNA molecular weight marker, dNTPs, *Pfu* DNA polymerase, polynucleotide kinase, DNA ligase and *Taq* DNA polymerase were procured from MBI Fermentas, Germany. Protein molecular weight markers were procured from Bangalore Genei or Sigma Aldrich Chemicals Pvt. Ltd., India. Agarose, calcium chloride, PMSF, DTT, acrylamide, N,N^′^-methylene-acrylamide, Coomassie brilliant blue-G and -R, APS, TEMED were procured from Sigma-Aldrich Chemicals Pvt. Ltd., India. Thrombin was purchased from Novagen, USA. *Streptococcus thermophilus* UDP-Gal 4-epimerase was purchased from Calbiochem, USA. Antibiotics and IPTG were from MP Biomedicals, India or Himedia, India. Culture media were from Himedia, India. Qiaexpress Ni-NTA spin kits were procured from Qiagen, USA. All other chemicals were of analytical reagent grade procured from Sisco Research Laboratories, India or Himedia, India. Protease inhibitor cocktail tablets were purchased from Sigma Aldrich Chemicals Pvt. Ltd., India.
Methods {#sec008}
-------
### DNA amplification of the gene *Rv3634c* {#sec009}
The ORF *Rv3634c* was PCR-amplified from the genomic DNA of *Mycobacterium tuberculosis* H37Rv kindly provided by Dr. Vinay Nandicoori, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi. The PCR amplification reactions were carried out with *Pfu* DNA polymerase according to manufacturer's protocol using gene specific primers, having appropriate restriction sites for cloning. Four extra nucleotides were added at the 5′ end of each restriction site to facilitate proper digestion by restriction endonucleases ([S1 Table](#pone.0175193.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). Amplification was confirmed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Restriction analysis was used to ascertain that the amplicons have expected restriction sites.
### Cloning of the wild type gene *Rv3634c* {#sec010}
*Rv3634c* was first cloned in pBSK- in HindIII and BamHI sites. For this, ORF *Rv3634c* was amplified from *Mycobacterium tuberculosis* H37Rv genomic DNA using the primers PSP021 and PSP024. HindIII and BamHI digested amplicon was ligated to HindIII and BamHI digested pBSK- plasmid. The recombinant plasmid was named as pBSK3634. Rv3634c was sub-cloned from pBSK3634 into pYUB28b at NdeI and BamHI sites to express the ORF as N-terminally His-tagged protein. This plasmid was named as pYH3634. *Rv3634c* was also cloned in a direction opposite to that of translation. For this, the HindIII-BamHI fragment was excised from pBSK3634 and ligated to pYUB28b at HindIII and BamHI sites. This plasmid was named as pY3634Rev. All plasmids were maintained in *E*. *coli* DH5α and isolated using standard protocol \[[@pone.0175193.ref019]\].The sequences of the inserts were confirmed by Macrogen plasmid sequencing service, South Korea.
### Expression of Rv3634c in *E*. *coli* {#sec011}
To express the recombinant proteins in *E*. *coli*, chemically competent cells of strains BL21(DE3)pLysS, BL21(DE3), BL21-CodonPlus(DE3)-RIPL, OverExpress C41(DE3), or OverExpress C43(DE3)pLysS were transformed with recombinant plasmids using standard protocols \[[@pone.0175193.ref019]\], and plated on LB+hygromycin agar plates. Transformants were picked and cultured overnight at 37^°^C under shaking conditions (200rpm). Cells were grown on LB broth for IPTG induction or on Auto-Induction Medium (AIM-LB broth) with trace elements. Media were inoculated with 1--2% of overnight culture. In case of LB broth cultures, cells were allowed to grow for 2-3h at 37°C and then induced with varying concentrations of IPTG. Induced cultures were further grown at various temperatures for optimal protein expression and solubility. Auto-Induction Medium cultures were allowed to grow and autoinduce at 25^°^C for 12 h. In all cases, cells were harvested and cell pellets were stored at -80^°^C until further use. To check the expression of the proteins, an aliquot of cell pellets was re-suspended in water and heated at 95^°^C for 5min in water bath. The lysed cells were centrifuged at 8,000×*g* for 10min at 4^°^C to separate cell debris from the supernatant.
To separate soluble and membrane fractions, cell pellets were treated with the lysis buffer 50mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0, 500mM NaCl, 0.5% TritonX100 containing one tablet of protease inhibitor cocktail for 30min at room temperature. After this, the lysate was homogenised by sonication on ice at 30% amplitude with 20x5s pulses in 5s interval. Lysates were centrifuged at 20,000×*g* at 4^°^C for 20min. The supernatant was collected in fresh tubes and pellets were resuspended in lysis buffer. Bradford assay was done according to the standard protocol to determine protein concentration in each fraction. Equal amounts of protein samples were loaded on a 15% SDS PAGE gel and run at 80V following standard protocol \[[@pone.0175193.ref019]\]. Aliquots of supernatant and re-suspended pellet fractions were either used fresh for assaying enzyme activity or stored at -20^°^C until further use.
### Expression of Rv3634c in *Mycobacterium smegmatis* {#sec012}
For expression of recombinant Rv3634c in *Mycobacterium smegmatis* mc^2^ 4517, electrocompetent cells were transformed with pYH3634, pYUB28b or pY3634Rev by electroporation \[[@pone.0175193.ref020]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref018]\]. Briefly, *M*. *smegmatis* culture was grown to saturation (4--5 days) at 37°C by inoculation from a glycerol stock into Middlebrook 7H9 broth containing 0.1% Tween 80 and ADC supplement (7H9-ADC-TW) with 50 μg/ml kanamycin. 1 ml of the saturated culture was then used to inoculate 100 ml of fresh 7H9-ADC-TW medium with 50 μg/ml kanamycin and grown to OD~600~ \~0.7 (15-20h) at 37°C. Cells were harvested and washed thrice with equal volumes of 10% ice-cold glycerol by centrifugation at 18,000×*g* for 10 min. Finally, cell pellets were re-suspended in 1/500^th^ volume of ice-cold glycerol and stored at -80°C until further use. For electroporation, 40 μl of this competent cell suspension was taken and 2 μl of DNA and 260 μl of 10% glycerol were added to it. After mixing by pipetting, the mixture was placed on ice for 1 min and then transferred to 0.2 cm Bio-Rad cuvette. The cuvette was placed in a Bio-Rad Gene Pulser and electroporation was done with these settings: voltage 2500 V, resistance 1000 Ω and capacitance 25 μF for 15--25 msec time constants. Transformed cells were immediately suspended in 1ml of 7H9-ADC-TW broth and incubated for 3 h with constant shaking. The cells were then plated on 7H10-OADC-glycerol agar plates containing 50 μg/ml each of kanamycin and hygromycin.
Transformants were inoculated into 10 ml of 7H9-ADC-TW medium containing 50 μg/ml each of kanamycin and hygromycin and allowed to grow at 37°C at 200 rpm for 48 h. 100 ml of 7H9-ADC-TW medium or ZYM-5052/0.1% Tween 80 auto-induction medium with 50 μg/ml each of kanamycin and hygromycin in 500 ml baffled flasks were inoculated with 1% of the saturated culture and incubated at 37°C at 200 rpm for 12 h. Cultures with 7H9-ADC-TW medium were induced with 1 mM IPTG, leaving 1 flask uninduced to act as negative control. After induction, incubation was continued under same conditions for 72 h. For culture with ZYM-5052/0.1% Tween 80 auto-induction medium, growth was followed up to 8 days. Aliquots were taken after every 6--12 h for induction profile experiments as well as growth curve. For checking the expression and activity, cells were lysed by incubation for 1h at room temperature with lysis buffer containing 50 mM NaH~2~PO~4~ pH 8.0, 500 mM NaCl and 0.5% Triton X-100 followed by sonication on ice at 40% amplitude in 10 s pulses for 5 min with 5 s intervals. Cell debris were separated from soluble fraction by centrifugation at 20,000x*g* for 30 min at 4°C. Epimerase activity in supernatants was measured using GOD-POD assay. Supernatant and pellet fractions were analysed by SDS-PAGE.
### Protein purification {#sec013}
To purify the protein at preparatory scale, cell pellet obtained from 2.5 L culture was re-suspended into 500 ml of lysis/binding buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0, 500 mM NaCl, 5% glycerol, 0.5% Triton X-100) along with one tablet of protease inhibitor cocktail (Sigma-Aldrich) and lysed by sonication on ice at 40% amplitude with 5 s On and 1 s Off cycles for a total of 10 min. Cell debris was removed by centrifugation at 6500×*g* for 60 min at 4°C. The soluble fraction so obtained was loaded onto 5ml of packed Ni-NTA agarose resin pre-equilibrated with 2 column volumes of binding/lysis buffer at 4°C. Flow rate was maintained at 0.2 ml/min. All steps were carried out at 4°C. Unbound fractions were discarded and the column was washed with 150 ml of wash buffer I (20 mM imidazole, 50 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0, 500 mM NaCl, 5% glycerol), 150 ml of wash buffer II (50 mM imidazole, 50 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0, 500 mM NaCl, 5% glycerol) and 15 ml of wash buffer III (80 mM imidazole, 50 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0, 500 mM NaCl, 5% glycerol). The bound protein was eluted using 20 ml of elution buffer (200 mM imidazole, 50 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0, 500 mM NaCl, 5% glycerol). The eluted protein was concentrated using 10 kDa MWCO centrifugal filter (Amicon Ultra) and buffer exchanged to FPLC buffer (20 mM Tris, pH 8.0, 100 mM NaCl). 2 ml of the concentrated protein was loaded onto a size exclusion column (Superdex 200 100 cm 16/600 GL GE Healthcare) pre-equilibrated with FPLC buffer. The protein was eluted with FPLC buffer at a flow rate of 1 ml/min and 500 μl fractions were collected. Peak fractions of the expected size were pooled and concentrated using a 10 kDa MWCO centrifugal filter and used freshly or stored at -20°C in the form of small aliquots until further use. All expression and purification profile experiments were done at least three times.
### GOD-POD assay for UDP-Gal/Glc epimerase activity {#sec014}
Glucose oxidase-horseradish peroxidase (GOD-POD) coupled assay was used to assay the activity of His-tagged Rv3634c (H3634) expressed from pYH3634. This is a convenient spectrophotometric method to determine the amount of glucose released from acid hydrolysis of UDP-Glucose present in the reaction mixture ([S1 Fig](#pone.0175193.s003){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). The protocol was followed as reported \[[@pone.0175193.ref021]\] except that 10 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0 was used as the reaction buffer. Briefly, 0--2 mM UDP-Gal or UDP-Glc dissolved in 10 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0 was incubated with different amounts of cell lysates or purified protein at 37^°^C for varying time intervals in a total reaction volume of 44 μl. Reactions were quenched and acid hydrolysis was done using 7 μl of 0.4 N HCl and heating at 100°C for 6 min. The mixture was neutralized using 7 μl of 0.4 N NaOH. 15 μl aliquots were taken from each reaction mixture and applied to a clean 96 well microtitre plate. To detect the released glucose, 135 μl of reaction cocktail containing 22 U/ml glucose oxidase, 7 U/ml of horseradish peroxidase and 0.3 mg/ml of O-dianisidine in sodium acetate buffer (pH 5.5) were added to each well of the microtitre plate and incubated for 1 h at 37^°^C. Reaction was quenched and colour developed by adding 200 μl of 6 N HCl per well. Absorbance was read at 540 nm. The assay was standardized using glucose and UDP-glucose. Commercially available UDP-Gal 4-epimerase from *Streptococcus thermophilus* (Calbiochem) was used as a positive control for this assay (1.4 mU per reaction). The assay was performed with soluble fractions of induced and uninduced cell lysates as well as purified H3634. Denatured cell lysates were used as negative control. All reactions were performed in duplicates.
### Enzyme assay by HPLC {#sec015}
To confirm the UDP-Glc/Gal and UDP-GlcNAc/GalNAc epimerization activity of H3634, HPLC was used to detect nucleotide sugars. 100mM potassium phosphate with 8mM tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulphate, pH 6.4 was used as mobile phase \[[@pone.0175193.ref022]\]. Zorbax SB-C18 column (4.6 x 250 mm, 5 μm) was equilibrated with the mobile phase by passing a minimum of 300 column volumes of the mobile phase. 20 μl of samples were injected and run at 40°C at a flow rate of 1 ml/min. UV detector was used to detect nucleotide sugars by their absorbance at 254 nm. To standardize the experiment, known concentrations of UDP-Glucose, UDP-Galactose, UDP-GlcNAc, UDP-GalNAc were run on the column. In order to analyse the reactions carried out by H3634, purified H3634 was incubated separately with each of the substrates at 37°C for 2--10 h in a reaction volume of 44 μl. Reactions were quenched by heating the reaction mixture to 100°C for 10 min in a water bath. The precipitated proteins were removed by centrifugation at 24,000×*g* for 10 min and 20 μl of the supernatant was injected into the HPLC column. All the mobile phases were filtered through 0.22 μm filters and degassed using a vacuum pump. All reactions were performed at least twice.
### Site directed mutagenesis {#sec016}
The *Rv3634c* gene was mutated by whole plasmid PCR based site directed mutagenesis method using specific primers ([S1 Table](#pone.0175193.s001){ref-type="supplementary-material"}) to generate 3 single point mutants where Ser121 is replaced by Ala, Tyr146 is replaced by Phe or Lys150 is replaced by Arg. Each 50 μl PCR mixture contained 0.2 mM dNTPs, Pfu buffer/KOD Hotstart buffer, 2.5 mM MgSO~4~, 5% DMSO, 5% glycerol, 150 ng primers, 20 ng template DNA (pYH3634), 1U Pfu polymerase / KOD Hotstart polymerase. Denaturation was at 95°C for 30 s or 98°C for 45 s, annealing at 60°-70°C for 30 s and extension at 72°C for 3 min for 30 cycles. Final extension was done at 72°C for 10 min. 20 μl of the PCR product was treated with 1 U polynucleotide kinase in presence of 1X forward buffer A, at 37°C for 2 h and then with 1 U of T4 DNA ligase in presence of 1X ligation buffer at 22°C for 2 h. Finally, ligated products were treated with DpnI for 2 h at 37°C and used to transform ultracompetent cells of *E*. *coli* DH5α. The transformation cell suspension was spread on LB agar plates containing 50 μg/ml of hygromycin. Transformant colonies were picked after 14 h incubation at 37°C and transferred to fresh LB agar + hygromycin plates. Mutant plasmids from transformed cells were sequenced from both ends of the gene *Rv3634c* using T7 promoter and T7 terminator primers. The sequencing service was provided by Macrogen, South Korea. Plasmids containing desired mutations, as confirmed by DNA sequencing, were used to transform competent *E*. *coli* BL21(DE3)pLysS cells. Mutant proteins were expressed and purified as described for the wild type protein (WT).
### Secondary structure analysis using circular dichroism {#sec017}
3--5 μM of each protein in 100 mM NaCl, 20 mM Tris, pH 8.0, 5% glycerol was taken in a cuvette of 1 mm path length and CD spectra were acquired from 260--198 nm wavelength range. The molar residual ellipticity of each protein was calculated and the spectra of mutant proteins were compared with that of WT in order to determine changes, if any, in the gross secondary structural properties in the mutants as compared to the WT. Deconvolution analysis was done to determine the percentage of each secondary structure type in the protein. Readings from at least two spectra were used to calculate molar ellipitcity.
### Oligomerization status of the WT and mutant proteins {#sec018}
The oligomerization status of proteins were determined using size exclusion column (Superdex 200, 100c m, 16/600 GL GE Healthcare) chromatography using the FPLC buffer. The column was calibrated using Low Molecular Weight calibration kit which includes conalbumin, ovalbumin, carbonic anhydrase, ribonuclease A and aprotinin. Blue dextran was used to find the void volume. The partition coefficient *K*~*av*~ was calculated using the equation $$K_{av} = \frac{V_{e} - V_{0}}{V_{c} - V_{0}}$$ Where *V*~*e*~ is the elution volume of the protein, *V*~0~ is the void volume of the column and *V*~*c*~ is the geometric volume of the column. A plot of *K*~*av*~ against the molecular weight of proteins was used to calculate the molecular weight of unknown protein samples.
Results {#sec019}
=======
Cloning, expression and purification of recombinant Rv3634c {#sec020}
-----------------------------------------------------------
*Rv3634c* is a 945 bp ORF located on the complementary strand of *Mycobacterium tuberculosis* H37Rv genome and codes for a protein of length 314 residues. In order to express Rv3634c with a His-tag at the N-terminus, *Rv3634c* was cloned in pYUB28b, a shuttle vector for *Mycobacterium smegmatis* and *E*. *coli* to give the plasmid pYH3634 ([S2 Fig](#pone.0175193.s004){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). The plasmid pY3634Rev containing the gene *Rv3634c* in the reverse orientation was also generated in order to act as a negative control for protein expression. For this, the gene *Rv3634c* was cloned between HindIII and BamHI in pYUB28b such that its reading frame is opposite to the direction of transcription. This resulted in the plasmid pY3634Rev which cannot express Rv3634c even though it contains the gene *Rv3634c*.
The recombinant protein H3634 was expressed in *E*. *coli* BL21(DE3)pLysS growing in Auto-Induction medium at 25^°^C for 12 h under aerobic conditions. The level of expression of the recombinant protein is low under these conditions and the band cannot be visualised on a SDS-PAGE gel. Ni-NTA affinity chromatography of the soluble fractions obtained from cell lysates under these conditions led to the purification of H3634 ([Fig 2](#pone.0175193.g002){ref-type="fig"}). The yield of the Ni-NTA affinity purified protein was \~500 μg per litre of culture.
{#pone.0175193.g002}
Expression of H3634 was also attempted in other strains of *E*. *coli* such as BL21(DE3), BL21-CodonPlus(DE3)-RIPL, OverExpressC41(DE3), OverExpressC43(DE3)pLysS at different temperatures (37, 25, 20, 16^°^C) and for varying durations (3--6 h) in AIM-LB or in LB broth in presence of varying concentrations of IPTG (0.1--1 mM). Protein expression was also attempted in *M*. *smegmatis* mc^2^ 4517 grown in 7H9/ADC/TW broth in presence of IPTG and acetamide. However, none of these approaches led to expression of H3634 in the soluble form.
Epimerase activity of H3634 {#sec021}
---------------------------
The GOD-POD assay provides a rapid and easy method to determine epimerase activity. This assay method was used to demonstrate that the protein expressed from the clone pY3634 has epimerase activity. Cell lysates were assayed for epimerase activity using 1 mM UDP-Gal as the substrate. Epimerase activity increased with increasing amounts of cell lysate of pY3634 whereas no epimerase activity was observed from the cell lysate of pY3634Rev or those containing parent vector pYUB28b or no plasmid ([Fig 3](#pone.0175193.g003){ref-type="fig"}). This suggested that epimerase activity is derived from the protein H3634 and not from the *E*. *coli* host. To confirm this observation, H3634 was purified from the cell lysates. Purified H3634 was tested for epimerase activity using the GOD-POD assay. It was observed that the epimerization reaction is catalyzed with both UDP-Gal and UDP-Glc as substrates. Varying amounts of protein were added to the reaction mixture containing UDP-Gal or UDP-Glc, and in both the cases activity increased with increasing amounts of H3634 ([Fig 4](#pone.0175193.g004){ref-type="fig"}). Thus, the protein H3634 is observed to have epimerase activity when UDP-Gal or UDP-Glc is used as substrate. Specific activity of purified H3634 with UDP-Gal was found to be 7.2 μmoles/min/mg and with UDP-Glc, it is 0.78 μmoles/min/mg. Thus there is a 10-fold difference in the specific activity of H3634 for UDP-Gal from that for UDP-Glc.
![UDP-Gal 4-epimerase activity in lysates of cells containing pY3634 or negative controls.\
Reaction mixture containing 10mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 1mM UDP-Gal, 0--30μg total protein was incubated at 37°C for 2h. Glucose was released from the nucleotide-sugar and assayed by the GOD-POD coupled reaction \[[@pone.0175193.ref021]\]. Epimerase activity of lysates containing no plasmid (blue circles), parent vector pYUB28b (red squares), pY3634 (green triangles) or pY3634Rev (violet cross).](pone.0175193.g003){#pone.0175193.g003}
![UDP-Gal/Glc epimerase activity of purified H3634 by GOD-POD assay.\
Reaction mixture containing 10mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 2mM UDP-Glc/Gal, 0--0.165μg total protein was incubated at 37°C for 2h. Glucose was released from the nucleotide-sugar and assayed by the GOD-POD coupled reaction \[[@pone.0175193.ref021]\]. Epimerase activity of H3634 with UDP-Gal (red squares) or UDP-Glc as substrate (blue diamonds).](pone.0175193.g004){#pone.0175193.g004}
Reverse phase HPLC for assaying UDP-Gal/Glc epimerase activities of H3634 {#sec022}
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Reverse phase HPLC was used to further confirm UDP-Gal/Glc epimerization activity of H3634. Comparison of the elution profile of enzyme reaction mixture with the standard UDP-Gal and UDP-Glc profiles confirmed the identity of the reaction products ([Fig 5](#pone.0175193.g005){ref-type="fig"}). Elution profiles of reaction mixtures containing different amounts of H3634 incubated with UDP-Gal, indicated that UDP-Glc formation increased with increasing amounts of H3634, with a concomitant decrease of UDP-Gal ([Fig 6](#pone.0175193.g006){ref-type="fig"}). This established that H3634 UDP-Glc/Gal epimerase activity, as also seen in the GOD-POD assay.
{#pone.0175193.g005}
{#pone.0175193.g006}
Analysis by HPLC of epimerase activity of H3634 using N-acetylated substrates {#sec023}
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*C*. *jejuni* Gne, homolog of Rv3634c, has epimerase activity with both UDP-Gal and UDP-GalNAc. To examine if H3634 has epimerase activity on UDP-GalNAc as well, various amounts of H3634 were incubated with UDP-GalNAc and product formation was monitored by HPLC. Retention times of the substrate and product were compared with those of commercially available UDP-GalNAc and UDP-GlcNAc ([Fig 7](#pone.0175193.g007){ref-type="fig"}). It was observed that the amount of UDP-GlcNAc formed increases with increasing amounts of the protein H3634 ([Fig 8](#pone.0175193.g008){ref-type="fig"}). This confirmed that H3634 has UDP-GalNAc epimerase activity. To assay for the activity of H3634 with UDP-GlcNAc as the substrate, the reaction mixture was incubated for 12 h at 37^°^C and HPLC was used to detect the product. A small shoulder was observed with the substrate peak. The retention time of the shoulder coincides with the product peak but it could not be quantified (data not shown). The ability of H3634 to utilize UDP-GlcNAc as substrate could not be demonstrated categorically.
{#pone.0175193.g007}
{#pone.0175193.g008}
Mutation analysis of Rv3634c {#sec024}
----------------------------
Nucleotide sugar epimerases use serine/threonine, tyrosine and lysine as catalytic residues ([Fig 9](#pone.0175193.g009){ref-type="fig"}) \[[@pone.0175193.ref023]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref024]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref025]\]. The first step in the reaction mechanism is abstraction of a hydride. This is followed by the rotation of sugar moiety and transfer of proton back to the sugar giving rise to the epimerised product \[[@pone.0175193.ref008]\]. Based on a multiple sequence alignment of epimerases with known 3-D structures, residues Ser121, Tyr146 and Lys150 in Rv3634c were identified as putative catalytic residues ([Fig 9](#pone.0175193.g009){ref-type="fig"}). In order to characterize essentiality of these residues for the epimerase activity of Rv3634c, Ser121, Tyr146 and Lys150 were mutated to alanine, phenylalanine and arginine, respectively.
{ref-type="supplementary-material"}. Source organism of each protein is mentioned as follows: 1N7H --*Arabidopsis thaliana*, 1R6D - *Streptomyces venezuelae*, 1SB8---*Pseudomonas aeruginosa*, 1XEL*---Escherichia coli*, 2C5E *- Arabidopsis thaliana*, 2HUN*---Pyrococcus horikoshii OT*, 2PK3---*Aneurinibacillus thermoaerophilus*, 2PZM*---Bordetella bronchiseptica*, 2Q1W *- Bordetella bronchiseptica*, 3EHE---*Archaeoglobus fulgidus*, 3KO8*---Pyrobaculum calidifontis*, 3RUA*---Plesiomonas shigelloides*, 3VPS*---Streptomyces chartreusis* NRRL 3882, 4EGB*---Bacillus anthracis* str. Ames, 4GLL*---Homo sapiens*, 2P5Y - *Thermus thermophilus* HB8](pone.0175193.g009){#pone.0175193.g009}
In the case of Ser and Tyr, the suggested role involves the hydroxyl (-OH) group \[[@pone.0175193.ref026]\]. Hence, these residues were mutated in such a way so as to remove the hydroxyl group. If these are indeed the catalytic residues, such a mutation is expected to affect catalysis without destabilizing the folded state of the protein. The suggested role of lysine in *E*. *coli* UDP-Glc/Gal epimerase is to provide positive electrostatic potential so as to decrease the pKa of Tyr \[[@pone.0175193.ref025]\]. One possibility was to substitute it with negatively charged residue Asp or Glu. However, if the resultant mutant is inactive, it will not be possible to unambiguously infer whether Lys has a catalytic or a structural role. In addition, Lys has four -CH~2~ groups that can contribute to the hydrophobic packing of the protein. In light of this, Lys was mutated to Arg with the anticipation that the mutation will have either no effect on activity or partial effect on activity, as it provides a positive charge. The S121A, Y146F and K150R mutants of H3634 were generated by PCR based site directed mutagenesis using the primers PSP025/06, PSP027/028 and PSP029/030, respectively, as described in Materials and Methods. Mutations were confirmed by DNA sequencing. Mutant proteins were expressed under identical conditions as that for the wild type. The solubility and Ni-NTA affinity purification profile ([Fig 10A](#pone.0175193.g010){ref-type="fig"}) of the mutants were found to be same as those for WT. Ni-NTA purified proteins were further subjected to size exclusion chromatography ([Fig 10B](#pone.0175193.g010){ref-type="fig"}) and then used for further biochemical and biophysical characterization. Size exclusion chromatography yielded the WT and mutant proteins in pure form. Yield of the purified proteins after size exclusion chromatography was \~150--250 μg per litre of culture. The low molecular weight bands found on SDS-PAGE are probably due to degradation of the purified protein ([Fig 10B](#pone.0175193.g010){ref-type="fig"}).
{#pone.0175193.g010}
Epimerase activity of H3634 mutants by GOD-POD assay {#sec025}
----------------------------------------------------
To determine the effect of mutation on the epimerase activity of H3634, purified WT and mutant H3634 proteins were assayed with UDP-Gal as the substrate by GOD-POD assay. This revealed that S121A and Y146F mutants were completely inactive whereas K150R showed partial loss of activity ([Fig 11](#pone.0175193.g011){ref-type="fig"}). The highest specific activity of the size exclusion purified K150R mutant was found to be 0.3 μmoles/min/mg, whereas that of the WT was 2.35 μmoles/min/mg. Thus, the mutation K150R led to about 85--90% loss of epimerase activity. The results suggested that S121 and Y146 are indispensable for epimerase activity of H3634, whereas in the case of K150R mutant, arginine may be able to partially substitute for lysine leading to a partially active enzyme. These results are in support of the existing reports for homologous proteins, in which Ser and Tyr residues have been observed to be essential for epimerase activity \[[@pone.0175193.ref025]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref008]\]. These experiments also support the observation that the source of epimerase activity is indeed the recombinant protein H3634.
![UDP-Gal 4-epimerase activity of purified WT and mutant H3634 proteins.\
Activities determined by GOD-POD assay \[[@pone.0175193.ref021]\].](pone.0175193.g011){#pone.0175193.g011}
Secondary structure analysis by CD spectroscopy {#sec026}
-----------------------------------------------
To examine the effect of mutation on gross secondary structure content of H3634, CD spectroscopy was used. CD spectra of the mutant proteins were similar to that of the WT indicating that there are no gross changes in the secondary structures of the mutants ([Fig 12](#pone.0175193.g012){ref-type="fig"}). Deconvolution of spectra showed that the secondary structure content of the mutant proteins is comparable to that of the WT. This suggested that the mutated residues play an important role in catalysis or binding, as the activity is lost without any significant change in secondary structure.
{#pone.0175193.g012}
Addition of NAD^+^ partially restores epimerase activity of K150R {#sec027}
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Lys has been reported to be a part of catalytic site in many of the epimerases \[[@pone.0175193.ref008]\]. It may also be involved in NAD+ binding. In order to examine the possible role of K150 on NAD^*+*^ binding, epimerase activity of the mutant was determined with and without NAD^*+*^ added to the reaction mixture. The K150R mutant showed higher activity with UDP-Gal as the substrate in the presence of added NAD^*+*^, as compared to in its absence ([Fig 13A](#pone.0175193.g013){ref-type="fig"}). Addition of NAD^+^ could increase the epimerase activity of K150R mutant by \~2.5 folds. This showed that K150 may be involved in NAD^*+*^ binding ([Fig 13B](#pone.0175193.g013){ref-type="fig"}). Similar experiments with other two mutants did not show activity even in the presence of NAD^+^ (data not shown).
{#pone.0175193.g013}
Oligomerization status of proteins by size exclusion chromatography {#sec028}
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Most of the reported epimerases exist as dimers in solution \[[@pone.0175193.ref008]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref027]\]. To examine the oligomeric status of H3634 and the effect of mutation on the quaternary structure of H3634, WT and mutant H3634 proteins were subjected to size exclusion chromatography. All four proteins eluted at the same position i.e. \~78 min. Comparison of the elution profiles with the calibration curve revealed that all four proteins existed as dimers of size \~67 kDa ([Fig 14](#pone.0175193.g014){ref-type="fig"}). This showed that none of the mutations affected the quaternary structure of the protein. Hence, loss of activity is not due to loss in the quaternary structure of the recombinant protein.
![Elution profiles of WT and mutant H3634 on gel filtration column.\
Calibration curve was plotted using conalbumin \[75kDa\] (1), ovalbumin \[44kDa\] (2), carbonic anhydrase \[29kDa\] (3), ribonuclease A \[13.7kDa\] (4) and aprotinin \[6.5kDa\] (5).](pone.0175193.g014){#pone.0175193.g014}
Discussion {#sec029}
==========
In organisms belonging to the genus *Mycobacterium*, UDP-Glc/Gal epimerase activity has been reported only from *M*. *smegmatis* so far \[[@pone.0175193.ref013]\]. In the comparative genomics study that used the N-glycosylation pathway enzymes of *C*. *jejuni* as reference sequences \[[@pone.0175193.ref028]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref029]\], only Rv3634c was identified as the homolog of Gne (i.e., UDP-Glc/Gal and UDP-GalNAc/GlcNAc 4-epimerase). This study has focussed on the experimental demonstration of the epimerase activity of recombinant Rv3634c using UDP-Gal/Glc and UDP-GalNAc as substrates *in vitro*. The *Rv3634c* gene was cloned, expressed as a His-tagged protein in *E*. *coli* and the recombinant protein was purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. Recombinant Rv3634c has been shown to have UDP-Gal/Glc 4-epimerase activity by GOD-POD assay and HPLC. Further, it has been established by HPLC that recombinant Rv3634c possesses UDP-GalNAc 4-epimerase activity, *in vitro*.
Residues essential for the structure and/or function of a protein tend to be conserved. Mutation of such residues leads to loss of function with or without concomitant loss of three-dimensional structure. Change or loss of activity on mutation without change in the secondary, tertiary and/or quaternary structure of the protein, indicates a direct role of the mutated residue in catalysis and/or binding. However, if there is any change in the structure of protein on mutation, it reveals the importance of the mutated residue in maintaining the structure of the protein and hence, an indirect role in the function of the protein. Thus, a comparison of overall structures of the mutants and the WT proteins is important to understand the structure-function relationship in recombinant Rv3634c. It was observed that the mutating Ser121 to Ala or Tyr146 to Phe leads to complete loss of epimerase activity of recombinant Rv3634c whereas mutating Lys150 to Arg leads to partial loss but none of these mutations affect the secondary or quaternary structure of the protein. Thus, the loss in epimerase activity of recombinant Rv3634c may be due to loss of functional groups essential for catalysis and/or binding of substrate/NAD^+^. Based on the data for other epimerases in the literature, probable roles can be assigned to the mutated residues. Thus, it can be inferred that in S121A and Y146F mutants, the loss of hydroxyl groups essential for proton abstraction from the nucleotide sugar, leads to loss of function. The partial activity seen in K150R mutant is probably due to the substitution of functional group of Lys by Arg, as both have similar charge on them.
Recombinant Rv3634c does not require added NAD^+^ for UDP-Gal/Glc or UDP-GalNAc epimerase activity, *in vitro*. Addition of NAD^+^ to the reaction mixture with the WT protein did not increase the epimerase activity, indicating that NAD^+^ is bound to the WT protein and hence, is co-purified with the protein. Since mutations are near the probable NAD^+^ binding domain, it was anticipated that these mutations may lead to some subtle local changes, which may not be detected by CD spectra. If the mutations affect binding of the cofactor NAD^+^, it may be lost from the protein during purification. To examine this possibility, the partially active mutant K150R was tested for increase in residual activity with the addition of NAD^+^. Indeed, addition of NAD^+^ increased the epimerase activity of K150R protein confirming that the K150 residue is essential for NAD^+^ binding. If binding alone is affected by the mutation, addition of higher amounts of NAD^+^ should restore the activity of K150R to the WT level. However, the addition of increasing amounts of NAD^+^ could not rescue the complete activity of K150R, thus suggesting that K150 is essential for not just binding but also for the catalysis in the epimerase enzyme. This finding corroborates the existing data for the reported epimerases. The S121A and Y146F mutants were completely inactive, irrespective of the presence or absence of exogenous NAD^+^. Nevertheless, loss of activity without loss of structure in these mutants also suggests that they are essential for binding and/or catalysis, as in the case of reported UDP-Gal/Glc epimerases from various organisms \[[@pone.0175193.ref030]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref031]\].
Cellular location of Rv3634c from high throughput studies {#sec030}
---------------------------------------------------------
To understand the function of *Rv3634c* in the organism, it is important to define its role at cellular level in addition to its molecular function. This has been achieved to some extent by various proteomics, transcriptomics studies. The proteome of *M*. *tuberculosis* H37Rv culture grown on modified Sauton medium analysed by 2-D PAGE and MS/MS revealed that Rv3634c protein is present in cell lysates but not in the spent medium, indicating that this protein is not secreted \[[@pone.0175193.ref005]\]. Expression of Rv3634c was found in the membrane fraction of MtbH37Rv grown in defined medium, indicating that the Rv3634c protein may be membrane associated \[[@pone.0175193.ref004]\]. Rv3634c was found in whole cell lysates as well as in lipid phases of the triton X-114 extract but not in the culture filtrates. Also, Rv3634c does not have any transmembrane helices and its hydropathy score is low. This indicates that Rv3634c is a soluble protein, but may be co-localised with some membrane proteins as part of its function \[[@pone.0175193.ref032]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref033]\]. Proteomics and transposon mutagenesis studies indicate that Rv3634c is neither a membrane protein \[[@pone.0175193.ref004]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref034]\] nor a part of the cell wall proteome \[[@pone.0175193.ref035]\].
Possible biological role of *Rv3634c* {#sec031}
-------------------------------------
As discussed above, *Rv3634c* encodes a soluble protein whose molecular activity is UDP-Glc/Gal and UDP-GalNAc epimerase. It is essential to determine the biological role of this protein at pathway level. In *Drosophila melanogaster*, *Campylobacter jejuni* NCTC 11168, *Lactococcus lactis* and *Candida albicans*, UDP-Gal 4-epimerase has been shown to have both catabolic and anabolic roles. The catabolic role is in the utilization of galactose as a carbon/energy source \[[@pone.0175193.ref036]\]. In *D*. *melanogaster*, knockdown of the *galE* gene was found to be embryonic lethal as well as specific to the stage of growth in a sex dependent manner. In *C*. *jejuni*, disruption of the gene results in structural alterations of lipooligosaccharide as well as the capsule \[[@pone.0175193.ref029]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref037]\]. In *L*. *lactis*, disruption of *galE* results in impaired extracellular polysaccharide production \[[@pone.0175193.ref038]\]. In *C*. *albicans*, disruption of the *gal10* gene impairs cell wall integrity and resistance to stress \[[@pone.0175193.ref039]\]. Thus, UDP-Gal/Glc epimerase has an important role in all the organisms studied and is indispensable for their growth and/or metabolism.
In contrast to the above mentioned organisms, *E*. *coli* O86:B7 has three UDP-sugar 4-epimerase genes, out of which *galE* is a part of galactose metabolism operon and *gne1* and *gne2* belong to the O-antigen gene cluster. Both Gne1 and Gne2 catalyze the interconversion of UDP-Gal/Glc and UDP-GalNAc/GlcNAc, although their activities are not comparable to each other. It has been demonstrated that both *gne1* and *gne2* are required for UDP-GalNAc biosynthesis but not for UDP-Gal biosynthesis. Strains lacking *gne1* and *gne2* are found to have abnormal LPS \[[@pone.0175193.ref040]\].
In the *M*. *tuberculosis* whole genome sequencing project, four ORFs were found to be homologous to *rmlB*. These are *Rv3464*, *Rv3634c*, *Rv3784* and *Rv3468c*. *In vitro* assays have shown that, Rv3464 has dTDP-Glc dehydratase (RmlB) activity whereas Rv3784 and Rv3468c do not have this enzyme activity \[[@pone.0175193.ref012]\]. The molecular functions of Rv3784 and Rv3468c have not been experimentally determined so far and hence, it is not clear whether Rv3634c is the only UDP-Gal/GalNAc 4-epimerase or there are other gene products with this enzyme activity. Functional network analysis by global subcellular protein profiling of *M*. *tuberculosis* H37Rv grown for 14 d on glycerol alanine salts medium showed that Rv3634c is not one of the 1044 proteins identified by tandem mass spectroscopy \[[@pone.0175193.ref041]\]. *Rv3634c* is not expressed even during the log phase of *M*. *tuberculosis* H37Rv grown on 7H9 medium as revealed by gene expression data based on Affymetrix gene chips \[[@pone.0175193.ref042]\]. *Rv3634c* is not expressed even in chemostat-cultures of *M*. *tuberculosis* H37Rv grown on 7H9 medium \[[@pone.0175193.ref043]\]. In contrast, a transposon site hybridization study identified *Rv3634c* as one of the 614 genes required for optimal growth on 7H9 medium \[[@pone.0175193.ref034]\]. High-density mutagenesis and deep sequencing studies predicted that *Rv3634c* is not an essential gene for growth on cholesterol, or for growth in mice models of infection \[[@pone.0175193.ref035]\]\[[@pone.0175193.ref044]\].
In a transcriptomic study of nutrient starvation model of *M*. *tuberculosis* H37Rv, *Rv3634c* RNA expression was found to be about four fold upregulated after 4 h of starvation as compared to the zero time point. But this upregulation was not seen after 24 h or 96 h \[[@pone.0175193.ref002]\]. Rv3634c expression was found to be upregulated by 2.25 folds in *M*. *tuberculosis* H37Rv cells infecting the macrophages as compared to that in *in vitro* culture. This upregulation was absent in the *sigE* mutant infecting the macrophages \[[@pone.0175193.ref045]\]. This indicates that *Rv3634c* is in some way involved in intracellular survival of *M*. *tuberculosis* and is regulated by the sigma factor *sigE*. This sigma factor controls the extracytoplasmic function genes. Most of the genes regulated by this sigma factor are involved in cell wall and membrane component synthesis and maintenance \[[@pone.0175193.ref046]\]. Thus, it is possible that even *Rv3634c* is involved in the biosynthesis of glycoconjugates required for cell wall synthesis. Also, it has been reported that *Rv3631* and *Rv3632* are involved in the synthesis of galactosamine substituent of arabinogalactan in Mtb \[[@pone.0175193.ref047]\]. The close proximity of these genes to *Rv3634c* suggests that *Rv3634c* could be involved in maintaining the UDP-Gal/Glc and UDP-GalNAc/GlcNAc pool for the biosynthesis of these cell wall glycoconjugates. The present study was aimed at the experimental determination of the molecular function of *Rv3634c*. As mentioned in the Introduction, complete description of the function of a protein requires specifying its biological role as well. One of the biological functions ascribed to UDP-Gal 4-epimerase is in the catabolism of galactose through the Leloir pathway \[[@pone.0175193.ref036]\]. In addition, UDP-Gal 4-epimerase has been ascribed an anabolic role in providing Gal and GalNAc for the biosynthesis of extracellular glycans. Given the structural differences in such glycans across strains, species and genera, extrapolating the specific anabolic role can at best be tentative.
Supporting information {#sec032}
======================
###### Oligonucleotide primers used for amplification and mutagenesis of Rv3634c.
(PDF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### Homologs of Rv3634c whose 3D structures are known.
(PDF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### Reaction scheme for epimerase and GOD-POD coupled assay.
(PDF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
###### Strategy used for cloning the gene Rv3634c in the plasmid pYUB28b.
The gene was inserted between the NdeI and BamHI sites to express protein with N-terminal His~6~ tag.
(PDF)
######
Click here for additional data file.
The authors thank Dr. Vinay Nandicoori, National Institute of Immunology, India for the generous gift of Mtb genomic DNA. The authors also thank Dr. G. Bashiri, University of Auckland, New Zealand for the generous gift of pYUB28b. PP thanks IIT Bombay for a research fellowship.
AIM-LB
: Auto induction medium-LB broth with trace elements
BLAST
: Basic local alignment search algorithm
dTDP
: Deoxythymidine diphosphate
Gal
: [D]{.smallcaps}-Galactopyranose
GDP
: Guanosine diphosphate
Glc
: [D]{.smallcaps}-Glucopyranose
GlcA
: [D]{.smallcaps}-Glucuronic acid
GlcNAc
: 2-Deoxy-2-acetamido-[D]{.smallcaps}-glucopyranose
GOD-POD
: Glucose oxidase--peroxidase
Man
: [D]{.smallcaps}-Mannose
MSA
: Multiple sequence alignment
Mtb
: *Mycobacterium tuberculosis* H37Rv
NAD
: Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
Ni-NTA
: Nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid
PDB
: Protein databank
PMSF
: Phenyl methyl sulfonyl fluoride
SDR
: Short-chain dehydrogenase / reductase
UDP
: Uridine diphosphate
X-Gal
: 5-Bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-[D]{.smallcaps}-galactopyranoside
[^1]: **Competing Interests:**The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
[^2]: **Conceptualization:** KKR PVB.**Data curation:** PP KKR PVB.**Formal analysis:** PP.**Funding acquisition:** PVB KKR.**Investigation:** PP.**Methodology:** PP KKR PVB.**Project administration:** PVB KKR.**Resources:** PVB KKR.**Software:** PVB.**Supervision:** KKR PVB.**Validation:** KKR PVB.**Visualization:** PP KKR PVB.**Writing -- original draft:** PP PVB KKR.**Writing -- review & editing:** PP PVB KKR.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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PubMed Central
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The invention relates in particular to a method for authorizing the use of a motor vehicle having at least one first and one second antenna, wherein the first antenna and the second antenna are located at a spatial distance from one another. The motor vehicle is in particular a motor vehicle with two or four wheels.
It is desirable to improve such known methods further against manipulations.
An object of the invention is in particular the provision of a method for authorizing the use of a motor vehicle with improved protection against manipulations.
The method according to the invention proceeds from a method for authorizing the use of a motor vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle with two or four wheels which has at least one first and one second antenna, wherein the first antenna and the second antenna are located at a spatial distance from one another, using a portable identification provider which has an identification provider antenna.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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USPTO Backgrounds
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Friday, March 11, 2016
Primitive tribes fetch sufficient money by spice 'Marathi Mogggu'
Flowering season brings smile on face of primitive farmers who are depend of forest for livelihood. During the months between February and May, the local tribals collect and sale Kapok Buda known popularly as, 'Marathi Moggu', a common spice added in the preparation of Garam Masala.
The tribes soon after the sun rise rush towards the forest to collect the flowers, from the tree species Bombax Ceiba which blossoms during this season, and separate species (Marathi Moggu) from the flower.
Several hundreds of Bombax Ceiba Tree (locally called as Boorugada Mara) can be found in the range of Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (BRT) and Nagarhole Range. Tribals belonging to the Soliga community residing in all the five ranges of BRT are permitted to collect this forest produce. Women and children also join hands with men to collect flowers.
While in Nagarhole Range, tribals residing their such as, Jeenukuruba, Kaduduruba, Yarava communities are forbidden to collect flowers as it is a reserved forest area. They collect only those which grow on the periphery of the forest or along the road side.
An approximate each tribal family collects about half kg to 1 kg of Moggu every day during the season. By selling them in open market they fetch sufficient money to meet their expenses for few months. This apart, they collect Cinnamon leaf which is found in some areas.
Rangegowda, a Soliga residing at Boodipadaga, a colony housing 60 soliga families said: “During summer we neither get Amla or honey as both are of poor quality. We collect honey only between April to June as this being the flowering season, bees collect nectar resulting in collection of good quality honey. We collect Amla (Kadu Nellikayi) between November-January. Thus throughout the year we make some steady source of income.”
Another Soliga tribal Veeregowda said: 'We earn better by selling Marathi Moggu. If I sell four kilos I will get more than 1000 Rupees and enough to manage for few months.'
Dr C Madegowda, who has done a research on Soliga community and is also rendering service as Programme Associate, ATREE, BR Hills said that on an average each family collects 2 to 5 kgs of Marathi Moggu which will be sold for Rs 300 to Rs 350 per kg in the market.
Research guide Jadeswamy said: 'Its a good season for tribals to earn some money. The tree also has some medicinal values as observed by the bees and other birds which suck the sap of the tree to rejuvenate themselves.'
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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---
abstract: 'We present results from a test for the Gaussianity of the whole sky sub-degree scale CMB temperature anisotropy measured by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP). We calculate the genus from the foreground-subtracted and Kp0-masked WMAP maps and measure the genus shift parameters defined at negative and positive threshold levels ($\Delta\nu_{-}$ and $\Delta\nu_{+}$) and the asymmetry parameter ($\Delta g$) to quantify the deviation from the Gaussian relation. At WMAP Q, V, and W bands, the genus and genus-related statistics imply that the observed CMB sky is consistent with Gaussian random phase field. However, from the genus measurement on the Galactic northern and southern hemispheres, we have found two non-Gaussian signatures at the W band resolution ($0\fdg35$ scale), i.e., the large difference of genus amplitudes between the north and the south and the positive genus asymmetry in the south, which are statistically significant at $2.6\sigma$ and $2.4\sigma$ levels, respectively. The large genus amplitude difference also appears in the WMAP Q and V band maps, deviating the Gaussian prediction with a significance level of about $2\sigma$. The probability that the genus curves show such a large genus amplitude difference exceeding the observed values at all Q, V, and W bands in a Gaussian sky is only 1.4%. Such non-Gaussian features are reduced as the higher Galactic cut is applied, but their dependence on the Galactic cut is weak. We discuss possible sources that can induce such non-Gaussian features, such as the Galactic foregrounds, the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe and the Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effects, and the reionisation-induced low $\ell$-mode non-Gaussianity that are aligned along the Galactic plane. We conclude that the CMB data with higher signal-to-noise ratio and the accurate foreground model are needed to understand the non-Gaussian signatures.'
title: 'Non-Gaussian Signatures in the Temperature Fluctuation Observed by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe'
---
\[firstpage\]
cosmology – cosmic microwave background
Introduction
============
Recently the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe[^1] (WMAP) satellite mission has opened a new door to the precision cosmology. The WMAP has measured the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature anisotropy and polarisation with high resolution and sensitivity (Bennett et al. 2003a). The WMAP data implies that the observed CMB fluctuations are consistent with predictions of the concordance $\Lambda$CDM model with scale-invariant and adiabatic fluctuations which have been generated during the inflationary epoch (Hinshaw et al. 2003; Kogut et al. 2003; Spergel et al. 2003; Page et al. 2003; Peiris et al. 2003).
An important feature of the simplest inflation models is that the primordial density fluctuation field has a Gaussian random phase distribution (Guth & Pi 1982; Hawking 1982; Starobinsky 1982; Bardeen, Steinhardt & Turner 1983; see Riotto 2002 for a review). Therefore, an observational test of the Gaussianity of the initial density fluctuation field will provide an important constraint on inflation models. Fortunately, the CMB temperature anisotropy, which reflects the density fluctuation on the last scattering surface, is expected to be the best probe of the primordial Gaussianity.
There have been many tests for the Gaussianity of the CMB anisotropy at large ($\sim 10\degr$; Kogut et al. 1996; Colley, Gott, & Park 1996; Ferreira, Magueijo, & Górski 1998; Heavens 1998; Pando, Valls-Gabaud, & Fang 1998; Novikov, Feldman, & Shandarin 1999; Bromley & Tegmark 1999; Magueijo 2000; Banday, Zaroubi, & Górski 2000; Mukherjee, Hobson, & Lasenby 2000; Barreiro et al. 2000; Aghanim, Forni, & Bouchet 2001; Phillips & Kogut 2001; Komatsu et al. 2002), intermediate ($\sim 1\degr$; Park et al. 2001; Shandarin et al. 2002), and small angular scales ($\sim 10\arcmin$; Wu et al. 2001; Santos et al. 2002, 2003; Polenta et al. 2002; De Troia et al. 2003). Most of the results implies that the primordial density fluctuation is consistent with Gaussian random phase. Recently, Komatsu et al. (2003) have presented limits to the amplitude of non-Gaussian primordial fluctuations in the WMAP 1-year CMB maps by measuring the bispectrum and Minkowski functionals, and found that the WMAP data are consistent with Gaussian primordial fluctuations. Similar result has been obtained by Colley & Gott (2003), who independently have measured the genus, one of the Minkowski functionals, from the WMAP maps. Gaztañaga & Wagg (2003) and Gaztañaga et al. (2003) also have concluded that the WMAP maps are consistent with Gaussian fluctuations from the measurement of the three-point correlation function and the higher-order moment of the two-point correlations, respectively. On the other hand, Chiang et al. (2003) argue that non-Gaussian signature has been detected from the foreground-cleaned WMAP map produced by Tegmark, de Oliveira-Costa, & Hamilton (2003) using the phase mapping technique. However, it should be noted that their analysis has been done for the whole sky map whose Galactic plane region still has significant foreground contamination.
In this paper, we perform an independent test for the Gaussianity of the CMB anisotropy field using the WMAP 1-year maps by measuring the genus and the genus-related statistics. Previous works on the genus measurement from the WMAP simulation can be found in Park et al. (1998) and Park, Park, & Ratra (2002, hereafter PPR). This paper is organized as follows. In $\S2$, we summarise how the recent release of the WMAP 1-year CMB sky maps are reduced for data analysis. In $\S3$, we describe how the genus is measured from the CMB maps, and give results from the WMAP 1-year maps. The genus for the north and the south hemispheres of the WMAP maps are compared in $\S4$. Possible sources that can cause non-Gaussian features in the genus curve are discussed in $\S5$. We conclude in $\S6$.
WMAP 1-year Maps
================
The WMAP mission was designed to make the full sky CMB maps with high accuracy, precision, and reliability. The sky map data products derived from the WMAP observations have 45 times the sensitivity and 33 times the angular resolution of the COBE/DMR mission (Bennett et al. 2003a). There are four W band ($\sim 94$ GHz), two V band ($\sim 61$ GHz), two Q band ($\sim 41$ GHz), one Ka band ($\sim 33$ GHz), and one K band ($\sim 23$ GHz) differencing assemblies, with $0\fdg21$, $0\fdg33$, $0\fdg49$, $0\fdg62$, and $0\fdg82$ FWHM beam widths, respectively. The maps are prepared in the HEALPix[^2] format with ${\rm nside}=512$ (Górski, Hivon, & Wandelt 1999). The total number of pixels of each map is $12\times {\rm nside}^2 = 3,145,728$. Since the K and Ka band maps are dominated by Galactic foregrounds, we use only Q, V, and W band data in our analysis.
The Galactic dust, free-free, and synchrotron emissions are highly non-Gaussian sources, and their contribution to the measured genus is not negligible even at high Galactic latitude (PPR). Therefore, we use the 100 $\mu{\rm m}$ dust (Schlegel, Finkbeiner, & Davis 1998; Finkbeiner, Davis, & Schlegel 1999), H$\alpha$ (Finkbeiner 2003), and synchrotron (Haslam et al. 1981, 1982) emission maps multiplied with coefficients given in Table 3 of Bennett et al. (2003b) to reduce the foreground emission in each differencing assembly map of the Q, V, and W bands. At each frequency band, we combine the foreground-subtracted WMAP differencing assembly maps with noise weight given by $N_{\rm obs}/\sigma_0^2$, where $N_{\rm obs}$ is the effective number of observations at each pixel, and $\sigma_0$ is the global noise level of the map (Bennett et al 2003a, Table 1). Finally, we obtain three foreground-subtracted WMAP CMB maps for Q, V, and W bands. The WMAP team also presented the Internal Linear Combination (ILC) by computing a weighted combination of the maps that have been band-averaged within each of the five WMAP frequency bands, all smoothed to $1\degr$ resolution (Bennett et al. 2003b). Tegmark et al. (2003) independently produced a foreground- and noise-cleaned WMAP map with W band resolution using a foreground-subtraction technique different from that of WMAP team. As compared to the combined Q, V, and W band maps, Tegmark et al.’s cleaned map (TCM) has higher signal-to-noise ratio, and can be used as an independent probe of Gaussianity.
These maps are stereographically projected on to a plane before the genus is measured. The stereographic mapping is conformal and locally preserves shapes of structures (see, e.g., Calabretta & Greisen 2002, $\S5$). The final Q, V, and W band maps have resolution of $0\fdg60$, $0\fdg45$, and $0\fdg35$ FWHM, respectively, due to the additional smoothing during the projection. We mask 23.2% of the sky that has significant foreground contamination from our Galaxy and point sources using the conservative Kp0 mask (Bennett et al. 2003b). We also remove additional 0.3% of the sky corresponding to the small islands outside the north and south caps. The remaining survey area in the genus measurement is 76.5% of the sky.
Genus Measurement
=================
We use the two-dimensional genus statistic introduced by Melott et al. (1989) and Gott et al. (1990) as a quantitative measure of topology of the CMB anisotropy field. For the two-dimensional CMB anisotropy temperature field, the genus is the number of hot spots minus the number of cold spots. Equivalently, the genus at a given threshold level $\nu$ is $$g(\nu) = {1 \over {2\pi}} \int_C \kappa ds,$$ where $\kappa$ is the signed curvature of the iso-temperature contours $C$, and the threshold level $\nu$ is the number of standard deviations from the mean. At a given threshold level, we measure the genus by integrating the curvature along iso-temperature contours. The curvature is positive (negative) if the interior of a contour has higher (lower) temperature than the specified threshold level. Compared to the CONTOUR2D algorithm (Melott et al. 1989) that was used in Colley & Gott (2003), this direct contour-integration method has an advantage that it can accurately calculate the genus when the survey region is enclosed by complicated boundaries (see Fig. 4$a$ below).
{width="84mm"}
{width="84mm"}
We present the genus curves as a function of the area fraction threshold level $\nu_A$. The $\nu_A$ is defined to be the temperature threshold level at which the corresponding iso-temperature contours encloses a fraction of the survey area equal to that at the temperature threshold level $\nu_A$ for a Gaussian field $$f_A = {1 \over {(2\pi)^{1/2}}} \int_{\nu_A}^{\infty} e^{-x^2 /2} dx .$$ The $\nu_A=0$ level corresponds to the median temperature because this threshold level divides the map into high and low regions of equal area. Unlike the genus with the temperature threshold level, the genus with the area fraction threshold level is less sensitive to the higher order information (e.g., skewness) coming from the one-point distribution (Vogeley et al. 1994). For each map we calculate area fraction threshold levels on a sphere with HEALPix format and with the same resolution as the stereographically projected map. This is because the stereographic mapping does not preserve the areas.
For a two-dimensional random phase Gaussian field, the genus has a form of $g(\nu) = A \nu e^{-\nu^2 /2}$ (Gott et al. 1990). The amplitude $A$ is normalised so that $g(\nu)$ is the genus per steradian. Non-Gaussian feature in the CMB anisotropy will appear as deviations of the genus curve from this relation. Non-Gaussianity can shift the observed genus curve to the left or right directions, and also alter the amplitudes of the genus curve at positive and negative levels differently, causing $|g(\nu \approx -1)| \ne |g(\nu \approx +1)|$. We define shifts at negative and positive threshold levels, $\Delta\nu_{-/+}$, with respect to the Gaussian relation by minimizing the $\chi^2$ between the genus points and the fitting function $$G = A_{-/+} \nu' e^{-\nu'^2 /2},$$ where $\nu' = \nu - \Delta\nu_{-/+}$ and the fitting is performed over the range $-2.4 \le \nu \le -0.2$ and $0.2 \le \nu \le 2.4$, respectively. Asymmetry parameter is defined as $$\Delta g \equiv 2 \left( { {A_{+} - A_{-}} \over {A_{+} + A_{-}}}
\right).$$ Positive $\Delta g$ means that more hot spots are present than cold spots. The Galactic foreground emission as well as point sources have significant effects on the genus curve even at high Galactic latitudes. The Galactic foregrounds make the genus shifted to the left at all threshold levels while the radio point sources cause positive genus asymmetry (see Table 3 of PPR).
[lrrrr]{} Maps & $A$ & $\Delta\nu_{-}$ & $\Delta\nu_{+}$ & $\Delta g$\
\
WMAP Q (Foreground-Subtracted) & $842$ & $+0.003$ & $+0.005$ & $+0.006$\
WMAP V (Foreground-Subtracted) & $1361$ & $+0.008$ & $-0.015$ & $+0.017$\
WMAP W (Foreground-Subtracted) & $2029$ & $+0.019$ & $-0.017$ & $+0.018$\
WMAP W (Foreground-Subtracted, North) & $2132$ & $+0.024$ & $-0.019$ & $-0.016$\
WMAP W (Foreground-Subtracted, South) & $1939$ & $+0.006$ & $-0.014$ & ${\bf+0.047}$\
ILC & $ 231$ & $+0.042$ & $-0.002$ & $+0.017$\
TCM (WF) & $ 546$ & $+0.019$ & $+0.012$ & $+0.029$\
TCM & $1509$ & $+0.018$ & $-0.009$ & $+0.030$\
TCM (North)& $1611$ & $+0.015$ & $-0.006$ & $-0.006$\
TCM (South)& $1421$ & $+0.013$ & $-0.009$ & ${\bf+0.057}$\
\
WMAP W & $2031$ & $+0.015$ & $-0.022$ & $+0.025$\
WMAP W (North)& $2107$ & $+0.020$ & $-0.027$ & $+0.007$\
WMAP W (South)& $1960$ & $+0.011$ & $-0.015$ & ${\bf+0.045}$\
TCM & $1523$ & $+0.013$ & $-0.016$ & $+0.020$\
TCM (North)& $1587$ & $+0.008$ & $-0.015$ & $+0.005$\
TCM (South)& $1464$ & $+0.019$ & $-0.013$ & ${\bf+0.047}$\
\
WMAP W & $1982$ & $+0.015$ & $-0.022$ & $+0.018$\
WMAP W (North)& $2038$ & $+0.014$ & $-0.023$ & $+0.005$\
WMAP W (South)& $1944$ & $+0.016$ & $-0.020$ & $+0.033$\
TCM & $1486$ & $+0.017$ & $-0.027$ & $+0.016$\
TCM (North)& $1536$ & $+0.008$ & $-0.022$ & $+0.002$\
TCM (South)& $1456$ & $+0.026$ & $-0.024$ & $+0.033$\
As shown in Figure 1$a$, the genus measured from the foreground-subtracted Q, V, and W band maps appear to have shapes consistent with Gaussian random phase field. Compared to the Gaussian fitting curves, there is not any noticeable shift and asymmetry in the genus curves at all bands. The genus measured from the ILC, TCM, and Wiener filtered TCM also show features similar to those of WMAP Q, V, and W band maps (Fig. 1$b$). Table 1 summarises the genus-related statistics, namely the genus amplitude ($A$), the shift ($\Delta\nu_{-}$ and $\Delta\nu_{+}$), and the asymmetry ($\Delta g$) parameters for the observed WMAP CMB maps of different bands. The measured genus shifts at both negative and positive threshold levels as well as the genus asymmetry are very small.
[lcccc]{} Maps & $A$ & $\Delta\nu_{-}$ & $\Delta\nu_{+}$ & $\Delta g$\
\
WMAP Q &$832\pm25$ & $+0.003\pm0.015$ & $-0.006\pm0.015$ & $-0.002\pm0.020$\
WMAP V &$1351\pm34$ & $+0.007\pm0.012$ & $-0.010\pm0.012$ & $-0.001\pm0.016$\
WMAP W &$1992\pm44$ & $+0.012\pm0.010$ & $-0.013\pm0.011$ & $-0.001\pm0.014$\
WMAP W (North) & $2002\pm64$ & $+0.011\pm0.014$ & $-0.013\pm0.014$ & $-0.001\pm0.019$\
WMAP W (South) & $1986\pm59$ & $+0.012\pm0.014$ & $-0.013\pm0.015$ & $-0.001\pm0.020$\
\
WMAP W & $1950\pm52$ & $+0.014\pm0.012$ & $-0.017\pm0.013$ & $-0.001\pm0.017$\
WMAP W (North)& $1957\pm75$ & $+0.014\pm0.018$ & $-0.016\pm0.018$ & $-0.001\pm0.023$\
WMAP W (South)& $1947\pm72$ & $+0.014\pm0.018$ & $-0.016\pm0.019$ & $-0.001\pm0.025$\
To quantify the significance level for the non-Gaussianity from the measured genus shift and asymmetry, we simulate 500 WMAP Gaussian CMB maps for each differencing assembly at each band. To make the genus amplitudes for the mock observations similar to those for the observed WMAP maps, we use the unbinned WMAP power spectrum (Spergel et al. 2003) at low $\ell$’s ($\le 342$) and the CMBFAST-generated power spectrum (Seljak & Zaldarriaga 1996) that fits the WMAP power spectrum together with the CBI and ACBAR results at high $\ell$’s ($> 342$). For each mock observation, the same initial condition for $a_{\ell m}$’s is used for all frequency channels, where $a_{\ell m}$’s are coefficients in spherical harmonic expansion of the temperature anisotropy field. During the map generation, the WMAP beam transfer function $B_\ell$ is used for each differencing assembly, and the instrument noise at each pixel is randomly drawn from the Gaussian distribution with variance of $\sigma_0^2/N_{\rm obs}$. The average genus measured from the 500 mock WMAP observations are shown in Figure 2.
The genus-related statistics for the 500 mock observations are listed in Table 2, where the mean and standard deviation for each genus-related parameter are shown. Due to the complex noise property in the WMAP data, the genus shift parameters have means far deviating from zero, with $\Delta\nu_{-}$ and $\Delta\nu_{+}$ having opposite signs with each other. Figure 3 shows the distribution of genus shift and asymmetry parameters drawn from the 500 WMAP W band Gaussian mock observations. The shift and asymmetry parameters well follow the Gaussian distribution. Comparing the observed genus-related statistics with those for mock observations, we conclude that the WMAP temperature fluctuation is consistent with the Gaussian field. This confirms the recent results of Komatsu et al. (2003) and Colley & Gott (2003).
{width="84mm"}
The theoretical genus curve expected from the WMAP observation can be obtained by (Park et al. 1998) $$g(\nu) = { 1 \over 2(2\pi)^{3/2}}
{{\sum \ell(\ell+1)(2\ell+1)
\left[ C_\ell W_\ell^2 + N_\ell \right] F_\ell^2 } \over
{\sum (2\ell+1)
\left[ C_\ell W_\ell^2 + N_\ell \right] F_\ell^2 }}
\nu e^{-\nu^2 / 2},$$ where $C_\ell$ and $N_\ell$ are WMAP CMB and noise power spectra, $W_\ell = B_\ell P_\ell$ is the window function that describes the combined smoothing effects of the beam ($B_\ell$) and the finite sky map pixel size ($P_\ell$), and $F_\ell$ is the additional smoothing filter which in our case has been used during the stereographic projection. We use $N_\ell$ as the average noise power spectrum derived from the noise power model given in Hinshaw et al. (2003). The theoretical genus amplitudes expected from the WMAP power spectrum are $A=866$, $1313$, and $2034$ for Q, V, and W bands, respectively, and are very similar to those from mock observations.
Genus in Northern and Southern Hemispheres
==========================================
As we have shown in the previous section, the CMB temperature fluctuation measured by the WMAP appears to be consistent with Gaussian random phase field. However, the temperature distributions of the Galactic northern and southern hemispheres look very different with each other, especially due to the presence of large cold spots near the Galactic plane in the southern hemisphere (see Fig. 4). There are two big cold spots near $(\ell,b) \approx (330\degr, -10\degr)$ and $(200\degr,-20\degr)$. Figures 4$b$ and 4$c$ compare the temperature distributions of the ILC northern and southern hemispheres, showing that both are quite different from each other.
{width="140mm"} {width="140mm"}
The northern hemisphere has very few big spots while the southern hemisphere has many.
We calculate the genus separately from the northern and the southern parts of the WMAP maps and the TCM, and also measure the genus-related statistics. The results for the observed maps and for the 500 mock observations are included in Tables 1 and 2, respectively. At the W band ($0\fdg35$ scale), the asymmetry parameter for the southern hemisphere is very large ($\Delta g = +0.047$), which is a non-Gaussian feature that is statistically significant at $2.4\sigma$ level. However, the $\Delta g$ for the north is consistent with zero. Such a large asymmetry does not appear in the lower resolution Q and V maps.
[llcr]{} Maps & Amp. Diff. & Observed & Simulated\
\
WMAP W & $A_{-}^{\rm N} - A_{-}^{\rm S}$ & 255 & $17\pm90$\
& $A_{+}^{\rm N} - A_{+}^{\rm S}$ & 131 & $15\pm91$\
WMAP V & $A_{-}^{\rm N} - A_{-}^{\rm S}$ & 140 & $9\pm69$\
& $A_{+}^{\rm N} - A_{+}^{\rm S}$ & 142 & $7\pm71$\
WMAP Q & $A_{-}^{\rm N} - A_{-}^{\rm S}$ & 108 & $6\pm51$\
& $A_{+}^{\rm N} - A_{+}^{\rm S}$ & 103 & $5\pm53$\
TCM & $A_{-}^{\rm N} - A_{-}^{\rm S}$ & 235 &\
& $A_{+}^{\rm N} - A_{+}^{\rm S}$ & 145 &\
ILC & $A_{-}^{\rm N} - A_{-}^{\rm S}$ & 56 &\
& $A_{+}^{\rm N} - A_{+}^{\rm S}$ & 33 &\
\
WMAP W & $A_{-}^{\rm N} - A_{-}^{\rm S}$ & 184 & $9\pm107$\
& $A_{+}^{\rm N} - A_{+}^{\rm S}$ & 110 & $10\pm110$\
WMAP V & $A_{-}^{\rm N} - A_{-}^{\rm S}$ & 107 & $4\pm83$\
& $A_{+}^{\rm N} - A_{+}^{\rm S}$ & 125 & $4\pm86$\
WMAP Q & $A_{-}^{\rm N} - A_{-}^{\rm S}$ & 82 & $3\pm62$\
& $A_{+}^{\rm N} - A_{+}^{\rm S}$ & 94 & $2\pm64$\
TCM & $A_{-}^{\rm N} - A_{-}^{\rm S}$ & 152 &\
& $A_{+}^{\rm N} - A_{+}^{\rm S}$ & 93 &\
ILC & $A_{-}^{\rm N} - A_{-}^{\rm S}$ & 32 &\
& $A_{+}^{\rm N} - A_{+}^{\rm S}$ & 40 &\
Figure 5$a$ shows the genus for the northern and southern hemispheres measured from the W band data. Both genus curves have different genus amplitudes, especially at the negative threshold levels. We measure amplitude differences, $A_{-}^{\rm N} - A_{-}^{\rm S}$ and $A_{+}^{\rm N} - A_{+}^{\rm S}$, from the observed W band map (Kp0-masked) and its 500 mock maps, and list the result in Table 3. Here $A_{-}^{\rm N(S)}$ is the amplitude obtained by fitting the genus points at $\nu_A < 0$ measured in the northern (southern) hemisphere with a fitting function in equation (3), and likewise for $A_{+}^{\rm N(S)}$. The $A_{-/+}^{\rm N} - A_{-/+}^{\rm S}$ have non-zero mean values even for the Gaussian mock observations. The measured value $A_{-}^{\rm N} - A_{-}^{\rm S} = 255$ for the W band map is 2.6 times larger than the standard deviation of those expected from the simulated Gaussian observations ($[255-17]/90 \simeq 2.6$). On the other hand, $A_{+}^{\rm N} - A_{+}^{\rm S}$ has smaller value due to the large genus asymmetry ($\Delta g$) in the south.
We also have measured $A_{-/+}^{\rm N} - A_{-/+}^{\rm S}$ from the WMAP Q and V band maps, TCM, and ILC. From Table 3, we find that the large genus amplitude difference between the north and the south also appear at both Q and V bands (Fig. 5$b$ and 5$c$), deviating the Gaussian prediction with significance levels of about $2\sigma$ ($A_{-/+}^{\rm N} - A_{-/+}^{\rm S} = 1.9\sigma$ – $2.0\sigma$), which shows that this non-Gaussian feature does not have any frequency dependence. We have computed a probability of finding such a significant deviation from the Gaussian prediction in the mock WMAP CMB fields with the Gaussian statistics. The probability that the genus curves show such a large genus amplitude differences exceeding the observed values in Table 3 at all Q, V, and W bands is only 1.4%.
{width="160mm"}
With a Galactic cut at $b=30\degr$, the large cold spots are removed (Fig. 4$c$). However, the trend of the genus amplitudes and asymmetries in the north and south are not significantly changed by the Galactic cuts (see Tables 1 and 3). For the Galactic cut at $b=30\degr$, $A_{-}^{\rm N}-A_{-}^{\rm S}$ and $\Delta g$ still deviate from the Gaussian prediction at $1.6\sigma$ and $1.8\sigma$ levels, respectively. Since the genus amplitude significantly decreases with higher Galactic cut, it is natural that the difference between $A_{-/+}^{\rm N}$ and $A_{-/+}^{\rm S}$ should be smaller while its standard deviation in the mock observations becomes larger due to sample variance. However, the probability that such genus amplitude differences are larger than the measured values for $b=30\degr$ cut is still 4.6%. All non-Gaussian features of the W band map described above are also seen in the TCM (Tables 1 and 3; Fig. 5$d$).
Origin of the Non-Gaussianity
=============================
Let us consider possible sources that may induce the non-Gaussian signatures shown in $\S4$. First, the foreground effect on the genus may not be negligible, causing non-Gaussianity. The residual of the foregrounds after foreground-template correction is known to be very low. Bennett et al. (2003b) estimate that the residual Galactic contamination after the template correction is 2.2%, 0.8%, and $< 0.4$% of the CMB power in Q, V, and W band, respectively, when the less conservative Kp2 mask is applied. Tegmark et al. (2003) also show that the foregrounds in their TCM are subdominant in all but the very innermost Galactic plane, for $\ell \la 100$. Furthermore, Galaxy foregrounds induce non-Gaussian feature by making the genus shifted to the left at all threshold levels. As for the positive $\Delta g$ on the southern hemisphere in the high resolution W band data, it is more reliable that such non-Gaussianity is caused by point sources that have not been removed by the Kp0 mask because positive $\Delta g$ means that more hot spots are present than cold spots. Furthermore, another non-Gaussian signature, the large genus amplitude difference between the north and the south, does not show frequency dependence since all WMAP band maps (Q, V, and W), ILC and TCM show the similar non-Gaussian feature. It should be noted that the three independent methods of foreground-subtraction were applied to make the WMAP band maps, ILC, and TCM. However, we cannot conclude that the non-Gaussian signatures are free from the effect of foreground contamination. The $\Delta g$ and $A_{-/+}^N - A_{-/+}^S$ decrease as the higher Galactic cut is applied, though their dependence on the Galactic cut is weak.
Second, the non-Gaussianity can appear due to the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) and the Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SZ) effects. The large-scale structures, which intersect the paths of CMB photons, can affect the primary CMB anisotropy. In a $\Lambda$-dominated CDM universe, the CMB anisotropies are expected to be correlated with matter density fluctuations at $z \la 2$ through the ISW effect (Crittenden & Turok 1996). Nolta et al. (2003) have detected cross-correlation of the NRAO VLA Sky Survey radio source catalog with the WMAP data. Boughn & Crittenden (2003), Fosalba & Gaztañaga (2003), Fosalba, Gaztañaga, & Castander (2003), and Scranton et al. (2003) have reported that there exists a correlation between the WMAP temperature anisotropy and the galaxy distribution. Diego, Silk, & Sliwa (2003) estimate the cross-power spectrum between the WMAP CMB and the ROSAT X-ray maps, and did not find any significant correlation between two data sets. The SZ clusters appear in arcminute scales and the angular resolution and the sensitivity of WMAP are not ideal for detection of the typical SZ effect. However, if a large number of SZ clusters contribute to the CMB map, their imprint can be statistically measurable. Recently, the positive cross-correlation between the X-ray clusters and the WMAP map has been detected. Hernández-Monteagudo & Rubiño-Martín (2003) claim their detection at $2\sigma$ – $5\sigma$ level, which corresponds to the amplitude of typically 20 – 30 $\mu$K in the WMAP map (see also Boughn & Crittenden 2003; Fosalba & Gaztañaga 2003; Fosalba et al. 2003; Myers et al. 2003).
Third, the non-Gaussian signatures may be caused by the inhomogeneous photon damping during the reionisation at the earlier epoch. Reionisation damping depends on the total optical depth $\tau$ and the angular scale subtended by the horizon at the last scattering surface defined during the reionisation epoch. The primary CMB anisotropy $\Delta T$ is damped to $\Delta T e^{-\tau}$ by the Thompson scattering with electrons, and the damping contribution to the anisotropy depends on scales. The characteristic damping scale $\ell_r$ is given by $\ell_r = (1+z_r)^{1/2} (1+0.084\ln\Omega_0)-1$ (Hu & White 1997; Griffiths, Barbosa, & Liddle 1999), where $z_r$ denotes the reionisation epoch. For $z_r \approx 20$ and $\Omega_0 \approx 0.3$, the characteristic damping scale is $\ell_r \approx 3$. Therefore the damping is also important at low $\ell$-modes. For homogeneous reionisation, the reionisation process damps the CMB anisotropy linearly and keeps the Gaussianity of the primordial fluctuations. However, if the reionisation is inhomogeneous, for example, due to the inhomogeneous ionisation fraction or the patchy reionisation, the CMB anisotropy of low $\ell$-modes can be partially contaminated by the inhomogeneous Thompson scattering, and becomes non-Gaussian. These low $\ell$-modes (quadrupole and octopole) happen to be aligned along the Galactic plane, make the biggest spots near the Galactic plane (Tegmark et al. 2003; de Oliveira-Costa et al. 2003), and may change the temperature distributions of the Galactic north and south hemispheres differently.
Finally, the non-Gaussian signatures that have been detected may have the primordial origin. While the simple inflation predicts that the primordial fluctuation field is Gaussian, the non-linear couplings between the inflaton and the fluctuation fields or between the quantum and the classical fluctuation fields can produce weakly non-Gaussian fluctuations (Komatsu & Spergel 2001, references therein). Multi-field inflationary models predict that the primordial metric fluctuations do not need to obey Gaussian statistics (e.g., Bernardeau & Uzan 2002). There are also many mechanisms that can generate non-Gaussian density perturbations during the inflation (e.g., Bartolo, Matarrese, & Riotto 2002; Dvali, Gruzinov, & Zaldarriaga 2003).
Conclusions
===========
We have investigated the topology of CMB anisotropy from the WMAP 1-year maps by measuring the genus and its related statistics. The measured WMAP genus curves clearly deviate from the Gaussian prediction in two distinctive manners. First, the genus asymmetry parameter $\Delta g$ is positive on the Galactic southern hemisphere in the WMAP W band map ($0\fdg35$ scale), a non-Gaussian feature that is significant at $2.4\sigma$ level, while $\Delta g$ on the Galactic northern hemisphere is consistent with zero. Second, the genus amplitude difference between the north and the south hemispheres ($A_{-/+}^{\rm N} - A_{-/+}^{\rm S}$) deviates from Gaussian prediction at $2.0\sigma$ – $2.6\sigma$ levels at WMAP Q, V, and W bands. Compared to the 500 Gaussian mock observations, the observed genus amplitude differences indicate that the Gaussianity of CMB anisotropy field is ruled out at about 99% (95%) confidence level when the Kp0 mask (Kp0 mask and $b=30\degr$ Galactic cut) is applied. These non-Gaussian features have weak dependence on the Galactic cut. Similar results based on the power spectrum analysis have also been reported by Eriksen et al. (2003).
To investigate the nature of the non-Gaussian features that have been detected, we need CMB data with higher signal-to-noise ratio as well as the accurate models for the Galactic foregrounds. We wish that the next release of WMAP data or those of the future CMB experiments would enable us to resolve these problems. As for the possibility of reionisation-induced non-Gaussianity at large scales, we also need to study the topology of the CMB polarisation map (e.g., Park & Park 2002).
Acknowledgments {#acknowledgments .unnumbered}
===============
The author acknowledges valuable comments from Changbom Park and the anonymous referee. This work was supported by the BK21 program of the Korean Government and the Astrophysical Research Center for the Structure and Evolution of the Cosmos (ARCSEC) of the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) through Science Research Center (SRC) program. Some of the results in this paper have been derived using the HEALPix and CMBFAST packages.
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[^1]: http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov
[^2]: http://www.eso.org/science/healpix
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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ArXiv
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The present invention relates to a method and a configuration for compensating for parasitic current losses in a memory cell array including word lines, bit lines which cross the word lines, and memory cells that are provided at points of intersection between the word lines and the bit lines and through which parasitic currents resulting in the parasitic current losses flow.
A memory cell array of a conventional MRAM is illustrated in FIG. 2 and described in greater detail below. In such a memory cell array, memory cells are located at points of intersection having total current levels which stipulate magnetic fields that are available locally for programming the memory cells and can fluctuate greatly. Since the memory cells have a magnetic hysteresis, and particular threshold values need to be exceeded in order to program them, such fluctuations in the magnetic field are extremely undesirable. Therefore, memory cells all having substantially the same structure and threshold values cannot be programmed by using the same magnetic fields.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a method and a configuration for compensating for parasitic current losses in a memory cell array, which overcome the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known methods and configurations of this general type and which permit magnetic fields of the same size to be provided for the individual memory cells in each case.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a method for compensating for parasitic current losses in a memory cell array. The method comprises providing the memory cell array with word lines, bit lines crossing the word lines at points of intersection, and memory cells disposed at the points of intersection for conducting parasitic current flows resulting in the parasitic current losses. Currents individually fed into the word lines and bit lines are proportioned, in such a way that a sum of currents flowing through the word lines and the bit lines associated with each individual point of intersection is substantially constant at the points of intersection.
In the method according to the invention, the word lines and bit lines are thus supplied with currents having a size which is proportioned by taking into account the voltage drop arising across each memory cell. This is done in such a way that the total current level at the points of intersection between the word lines and the bit lines has a value which is substantially constant over the memory cell array. In this context, it is naturally not necessary for exactly the same total current level to be present at all points of intersection. Instead, it is sufficient if the current level at the individual points of intersection has substantially the same size. This can also be achieved by virtue of particular groups of word lines and bit lines being driven by using the same current in each case, which means that certain tolerable discrepancies from the ideal total current level may arise within the individual group. However, in any case, the invention permits fundamental compensation of the parasitic current loss in the individual word lines and bit lines by merely ensuring that the currents supplied to these word lines and bit lines have sizes substantially compensating for the parasitic current losses.
With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a configuration for compensating for parasitic current losses in a memory cell array having word lines, bit lines crossing the word lines at points of intersection, and memory cells disposed at the points of intersection for conducting parasitic current flows resulting in the parasitic current losses. The configuration comprises word line drivers and bit line drivers for individually supplying differently proportioned currents to the word lines and the bit lines, causing a sum of currents flowing through the word lines and the bit lines associated with each individual point of intersection to be substantially constant at the points of intersection.
In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, the memory cell array is a memory cell array of an MRAM.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a method and a configuration for compensating for parasitic current losses, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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USPTO Backgrounds
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« Chaque jour, un Français me demande l’euthanasie » explique le docteur Yves de Locht. Ce médecin pratique l’euthanasie depuis dix ans. Chaque jour, il reçoit une demande d’ouverture de dossier. Ce sont des femmes et des hommes âgés de 28 à 85 ans et issus de tous milieux. Une sollicitation telle qu’il lui est impossible de faire face, tant il a de dossiers en attente. « Il y a tellement d’appels que quand je vois le préfixe français s’afficher sur mon écran, je ne réponds plus. Je ne peux plus faire face. J’ai 73 ans. Ce n’est pas possible. Émotionnellement, je ne peux pas faire cela tous les jours » explique le médecin. Il rajoute : « Moi, j’ai entendu un patient qui demandait une euthanasie ou une sédation profonde dans un hôpital français. Les médecins ont refusé car son état n’était pas assez grave. Ce patient a demandé à être alors euthanasié en Belgique ou en Suisse. L’hôpital français a donc tout fait pour le retaper pour qu’il puisse aller mourir à l’étranger. Ce sont des situations épouvantables qui prouvent qu’il faut une autre loi. »
En France, la loi Leonetti pose question
Cette loi française, c’est la loi Leonetti. Le texte a pour objet d’éviter les pratiques d’euthanasie, et d’empêcher l’acharnement thérapeutique. Il permet au patient de demander, dans un cadre défini, l’arrêt d’un traitement médical trop lourd. Cette volonté peut notamment être exprimée par le biais de directives anticipées par le recours à une personne de confiance. Dans le même temps, cette loi propose de développer les soins palliatifs donnés aux patients en fin de vie, afin de prendre en compte leurs souffrances. Une distinction nette est ainsi tracée entre le traitement médical, qui peut être interrompu s’il est jugé disproportionné par rapport à l’amélioration attendue, et les soins, dont la poursuite est considérée comme essentielle pour préserver la dignité du patient.
Le docteur de Locht est clair : « Je pense que la loi Leonetti n’est pas suffisante parce qu’elle interdit l’euthanasie. Elle permet des sédations profondes et continues qui sont plus ou moins des euthanasies détournées. Le médecin peut toujours s’opposer à la demande du patient. Donc cela n’est pas suffisant. J’ai des patients français qui voulaient mourir mais on leur a dit non car ils n’étaient pas encore en toute fin de vie. »
23 patients étrangers euthanasiés. Officiellement...
« Je pratique une douzaine d’euthanasies par mois, en moyenne. 60% d'entre-elles concernent des Français » explique le docteur de Locht. Pour Jacqueline Herremans, membre de la commission fédérale euthanasie: « En 2016-2017, 23 patients ont été euthanasiés. Mais ces chiffres sont sous-évalués parce que les médecins ne sont pas dans l’obligation d’indiquer le lieu. Il y a donc plus de demandes que cela. »
Le docteur de Locht poursuit : « Je suis encore maintenant, tous les jours confronté à des demandes de patients français qui sont gravement malades. Et cela va même plus loin. Il y a des patients français qui sont tellement angoissés par cette non-évolution de la loi française qui viennent me trouver alors qu’ils sont en bonne santé. Ils veulent ouvrir un dossier en Belgique pour être certain que si un jour ils ont un problème et qu’un jour cela ne va plus, ils pourront alors entreprendre les démarches en Belgique. »
Donner la mort reste un geste auquel on ne s’habitue pas. Pourtant, chaque fois, Yves de Locht sait avoir été utile en mettant fin à des agonies qu’il juge parfois inutiles.
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Tablets, education, and unions
Tablets can help students and track teachers, but not everyone is on board.
At this year’s Bitnorth conference, I gave a presentation on the future of education, tablet computing and teachers’ unions. It was a fairly controversial topic, so I decided to put my research together into a series of blogs on Human 2.0 and provide my references. Here’s the gist of it: If you want more background or links to the sources cited here, you can check out the full posts. What follows is an overview of the topic.
In much of the Western world, education is in decline. Dropout rates are high, and we’re graduating a generation that is, for a large part, functionally illiterate. This generation lacks the numeracy and critical thinking to function in an information world. The U.S., in particular, is doing poorly: Dropout rates are up, and if you’re a low-income American, you have a higher chance of going to jail than getting a four-year college degree.
Why tablets can help education
Despite the problems, digital classrooms provide a reason to be hopeful. A digital classroom can tailor learning to each student’s own styles and speeds. It can tap into vast online resources, from Wikipedia to the Khan Academy.
The poster child for the digital classroom is tablet computing. Tablets are traditionally seen as replacements for textbooks, but they can go much further than that: They’re musical instruments, design tools, personal trainers and art canvases. Tablet prices have dropped dramatically as well. When you add up the cost of a year’s textbooks, a tablet is often cheaper.
Tablets connect all of the stakeholders in a child’s education: parents, teachers, tutors and counsellors. But most importantly, tablets are two-way. When a student uses a tablet, the tablet can collect data: What’s read carefully and what’s glossed over; how long a student spends on certain topics; what works best and worst; and so on. In other words, when you learn from a tablet, it learns from you.
The union roadblock
This is where my research went off the rails. Because a tablet is the perfect collector, it allows us to analyze learning patterns, identify root causes and compare students. What if the conclusion it reaches is that your teacher is simply awful? That Freakonomics piece pointed out that only 13 percent of eighth grade math teachers in New York City get 80 percent of their students to proficiency by the end of the year. Data acquired through a tablet is likely to point toward a bad conclusion for some number of teachers.
After reading a ton on the subject, I came to the conclusion that the unions defend jobs at the expense of a generation’s education — and with it, the future of a nation.
As you might imagine, them’s fighting words. Most critics of unions find themselves tarred and feathered by teachers, accused of class warfare or making teachers scapegoats for lazy parenting and lack of budgets. It’s true that we don’t pay teachers enough. However, teachers’ salaries have risen in the last few years (see chart below), despite fairly static test scores. Also, urban public school teachers are more likely to send their own children to private schools.
Tablet computing and the digital classroom it portends will transform the role of educators. They won’t teach. They’ll manage the learning process of their students. The Freakonomics podcast once referred to this as a student’s “playlist”: a customized curriculum where the teacher helps with hands-on work and identifies problems or outliers. Already, initiatives like New York’s School of One are trying this out (although the project is limited to a three-hour after-school program at the moment).
Screenshot of a spreadsheet dashboard used at School of One to track student performance.
So the irresistible force of digitization — which has already redefined publishing, music, television and dozens of other industries — is about to meet the immovable mountain of teachers’ unions. The unions can step up, helping their members make the transition to tomorrow’s learner-centric, tech-heavy classroom. Or, the unions can dig in their heels, resisting change and fighting the inevitable accountability that comes from analytics and digitization.
Tablet computing and the digital classroom give students access to petabytes of knowledge, tailored to their current situations, abilities, and learning preferences. It’s how we can overcome many of the problems endemic in today’s schools. It’ll mean retooling and retraining teachers, equipping them for the student-centric classroom of tomorrow.
This article reads almost like a parody of the current anti-teacher, anti-teacher-unions hysteria (with a healthy dose of technological utopianism mixed in).
I am as concerned about the need for education reform as anyone, and technology-based solutions certainly have a role to play. But scapegoating teachers (let’s be honest that demonizing teachers unions is just that) is simply lazy analysis. These shallow assessment tools (and standardized tests are the worst of all) are the equivalent of managers who count lines of code to judge programmer efficiency. It’s not that simple. And while something like portfolio-based assessment could be of some benefit, high stakes “assessment” simply does not work.
The problems in our schools are rooted in inequalities in society — income, health, nutrition, etc. And the incredible disparity in support (in dollars and parental involvement) between “rich” and “poor” schools is heartbreaking. To somehow pin the fact that you are more likely go to jail than get a 4 year college degree on teachers & teachers unions (an implicit conclusion here) is both deeply offensive and utterly off the mark.
I suggest that you continue your research and read some of the very important voices in education reform that actually know of what they speak: Diane Ravitch, Deb Meier, Alfie Kohn, Jonathan Kozol, etc.
@PeterK: I don’t think demonizing unions means criticizing teachers. In the original post (which I encourage you to read if you want more detail than I could go into here) I closed with these remarks from the West Wing:
Mallory, education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don’t need little changes, we need gigantic, monumental changes. Schools should be palaces. The competition for the best teachers should be fierce. They should be making six-figure salaries. Schools should be incredibly expensive for government and absolutely free of charge to its citizens, just like national defense. That’s my position. I just haven’t figured out how to do it yet.
The comment on going to jail versus college is specifically tied to low-income students; if anything, I’m calling for fixing those inequalities, not blaming educators.
@steve: I completely agree with your comment that “tablets alone are not the solution and teacher’s unions are not the only problem.” I think I said almost exactly those words.
Here’s why I think we disagree:
I’m a big believer that transparency and accountability are good things. Tablets and digital classrooms increase the visibility we have into how learning happens. They give us data, and data can be used to understand how and where we’re failing, to try new things, and ultimately, to fix the systems. A tablet isn’t the answer — but a digital learning system just might be.
Now look at history. Unions have traditionally lobbied against change, accountability, or compensation based on teacher performance. I’d love to see evidence to the contrary, but I think I’ve provided ample references to make my point both here and elsewhere — and I spent several months looking into the subject.
So if transparency and data analysis will help us, and if an organization is opposing that transparency, it has something to hide. Teachers need respect, money, and patience. But unions are swimming against the tide of change here.
Arbitrator Howard Edelman is quoted in the piece as saying, “What you have 99 percent of the time is an administrator testifying about something they observed one and a half to three years ago.” I submit that having a record of what actually happened to the student, objectively and accurately, would be better for all involved.
Scott
This is a terrible piece – on the one hand the assertion is made that “teachers’ salaries have risen in the last few years (see chart below)” and then a chart of the *total* school expenditure per student is given (table 171 above). Is the difference unclear or is this the parroting of something soaked up from a deluded or incompetent source?
Tablets are no more a solution to these problems than the internet connection was, nor DVD tapes before that, interactive cassette audio before than and on back to film strips with phonograph records.
What they are a solution to is the desire to sell more unnecessary stuff in order to evade the ugly truth that our schools are incompetently administered and often staffed with teachers who have little basic grasp of the subject material, instead relying on an “education” degree – usually the catchbasket program to get students who wash out of everything else.
So the recounting of one administrative train wreck in New York City leads to a conclusion about “how broken the system is?” And costs “us” millions? Do you line in NYC? I don’t. This is hysteria at its worst — why not just go ahead and explicitly advocate for the privitization of schools. Let’s abolish public education — things would be so much simpler. We could engineer solutions for the students we see fit to educate. Conveniently, we could ignore the less advantaged kids. To educate them is just too damn messy.
In my fantasy, there is an education blog out there advocating ham-fisted methods for identifying and rooting out bad programmers. And New York Times is running horror stories about tax-payer money wasted in technology that was doomed by incompetent technologist who were proving unreasonably difficult to fire.
@scott: The compensation of teachers is a complicated topic, since pay scales with time. For example, a sharp increase in starting pay for a first-year teacher often has a small impact on overall average pay across all teachers, but may increase the inflow of new teachers dramatically.
This is a pretty good look at the issue, with statistics by state. It also looks at per-pupil spending, which, as you correctly assume, isn’t directly correlated with teacher compensation. The “per-teacher rate” is a measure of the cost per student versus the teacher’s salary, and it varies from 10.78 (in Utah) to 5.84 (in New Jersey.) If each student costs $5,000 and a teacher is paid $50,000, that’s a 10.0 per-teacher rate; lower numbers may mean low pay for teachers or inefficient administration.
I think that you’re missing the intent of my argument. Tablets have brought interactive learning into the mainstream, and interactivity can be analyzed.
I’ll leave your statements about teacher competence for another day; I haven’t spent enough time looking at that issue to have what I consider an informed opinion. But I hope you’ll agree that transparent analytics of how students learn will allow us to pinpoint incompetent teachers more easily, much as web analytics allows us to pinpoint online bottlenecks.
iPads for learning- what a great idea! Right now, there are a number of schools that have participated in 1-1 computing initiatives, with each student issued a laptop or netbook. The outcome studies for these initiatives have generated mixed results.
It’s complicated.
There are many obstacles to overcome if we really want to move forward and adopt iPad-like technologies for K-12 education.
(Unions are the least of my worries. I work in a state that doesn’t have teacher unions.)
If most students interact with rich multimedia learning content at school during the day, and at home using an iPad or similar device, the infrastructure will collapse. Bandwidth and servers cost money, something that is in short supply in most school districts. School district will have to higher a significant number of educational technology and IT folks, and I’m not sure how this can happen.
By the way, tech workers hired by school districts may not be committed to staying for the long haul, as the salaries are much lower than what is offered in the corporate world. This might not be the case in states that have teacher unions.
If your school district has 40,000 students, how many tech support workers would be needed to make sure everything was working smoothly? How many educational technology specialists would be needed to ensure that the content was student and teacher friendly and appropriately linked to curriculum standards?
What about access to the digitized curriculum for students with special needs? From what I can tell, many text-book writers-turned-educational-interactive multimedia content creators have a full grasp on the concept of “Universal Design for Learning”.
In the era of educational progress monitoring and data-based decision making, how would all of the data generated from these learning applications be organized, stored, interpreted, shared, and used?
And then there’s the problem of privacy & security… and cyberbullying….
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a school psychologist who returned to school to take tech/computer courses. I love technology and blog about on more than one blog!
I call for a little more respect in this thread. Some of the comments here about the piece being “terrible”, “crap” or “lame” are rather unfair. If you’re going to criticize a piece you should at least address specific points, like John Arkansawyer and Joe Grobelny have. And I don’t see how 5000 words of research can be deemed a “lazy analysis”.
Putting the unions issue aside, I do think the potential of tablets is fascinating. It seems like analytics are taking off in every field now from health to games, and tablets could certainly help to measure what works on a per-student basis. It’s well known that in business today, metrics are key, so why not in education too? I would expect direct pupil-based data to be a lot more useful than standardized tests.
Andrew Kitchell raises a great question about the drawbacks. I think one of the biggest challenges would be the distraction factor – just like college students with laptops in lectures today, it’s all too easy to switch to Facebook or start checking e-mail. Perhaps we’ll see new NetNanny type software to keep educational devices in “learning mode”.
Also there are many ways of learning that can’t be digitized – face-to-face interaction, re in front of the class and so on – we’ll need to be careful not to lose the human touch.
scott gray
The tablet can help, BUT the problem with education is the same as it always has been… PEDAGOGY.
We need to attack how to best learn subjects like Math and how computing can help. It certainly isn’t the Khan academy. These lectures are still the traditional form of presentation that hasn’t worked for over 100 years.
What is needed are results from cognitive science that show that these skills are best learned through exploratory means. Computers and COMPUTE and so we can provide a combination of proper narivative combined with computation to give students power over their learning through more empirical methods than ever before. We need to teach students to make math not just accept it.
If we make the tablet just a method of delivering one way presentations or to distribute quizzes.. then you might as well save your money because it’s not going to do a lick of good.
It strikes me that the article and some of the comments are conflating two distinct issues: one, the need for more effective methods of teaching and learning and two, the lack of an adequate context/environment for teaching/learning.
Frankly, I don’t think we are in a crisis on number one — I’m sure improvement can be made, and investigating options like tablets is a worthy undertaking. On number two, I think public education is in crisis, but specifically in the underprivileged schools. There are plenty of public schools that are doing just fine, teachers unions and all. And there are plenty of students in a poorer socio-economic situation that the “system” seems hell-bent on keeping them in. What those poorer schools need is support — the kind of support that takes into account the complex matrix of forces that leads to a situation where effective teaching and learning is doomed to begin with. This article really does strike me as a “let them eat cake” approach.
If you’d like thoughtful analysis, please refer to the authors I cited in my previous comment.
Interesting, there’s a fellow [1] over in Scotland at an independent school [2] who serves as computer instructor and one-man IT department. He is currently writing [3] about his and his school’s experiences in incorporating the iPad into the curriculum. It is well worth reading as it represents a first hand experiment in using tablets as an educational tool including the Good, Bad, and Ugly of it.
I’ll leave your statements about teacher competence for another day; I haven’t spent enough time looking at that issue to have what I consider an informed opinion. But I hope you’ll agree that transparent analytics of how students learn will allow us to pinpoint incompetent teachers more easily, much as web analytics allows us to pinpoint online bottlenecks.
Actually, no, I wouldn’t grant that. You’re making an analogy between humans and web applications which I find unfounded.
It may be true, but I see no reason to assume it to be so and could make arguments to the contrary.
I would say the same about much of what’s in both this piece and the four-parter from which it’s derived.
The reason I call bullshit on this sentence–“despite a lack of teaching ability, 99 percent of teachers get satisfactory ratings from their administrators”–is because I don’t believe 99 percent of teachers lack teaching ability.
(I sure wish the blockquote tag was recognize. It’d make this much easier.)
I could be wrong, but I suspect from reading your work that you have very little, if any, close-hand knowledge of what actually happens in the classroom. It’s much easier to pontificate about Big Solutions if you don’t need to deal with the process itself. And I assure you it is messy, complicated, frustrating, etc. Having spent a bit of time in my wife’s 3rd grade classroom (in which most kids are not native English speakers) my predominant thought was “this is *way* too hard” — I couldn’t wait to get back to programming and architecting large-scale information systems where good solutions can, in fact, be “engineered.”
I’d like to point out one thing in particular. Teachers *constantly* assess their students’ performance and progress. Dealing with that data (including hours spent hand-typing into spreadsheets the scoring of hand-written writing exercises) is a huge time sink, but considered by all involved to be an extremely important part of what it means to be a good teacher. If tablets can somehow be leveraged to reduce that time, great — I’m sure teachers would welcome that. Let’s talk about that simple challenge, though: how do we use technology (and as suggested by other commenters, the challenges are non-trivial) to help teachers do what they do best and what they are already doing (and with information systems that are often not well-managed or supported). Why couch this all in such anti-teacher rhetoric? Unions are utterly beside the point (not to mention that many of the very best schools in the nation are fully unionized without ill effect). I’ve spent a lot of time in the company of teachers and a lot of time in the company of technologists and to suggest that the former are not every bit as passionate about their work and its importance to society and driven to excel based on intrinsic motivations is just absurd. To be honest, I’ve been utterly humbled by the passion and dedication of the teachers I’ve known as relatives, friends, colleagues and spouse.
Rachel
John A Arkansawyer, thanks for your note about blockquote styles in these comments. I’ve updated the styles, so blockquotes should be clearer.
@Lynn — yes, infrastructure is a big issue. One teacher I spoke with when doing my research confided in me that the biggest problem with technology in the classroom was its “one-timeness”, as she put it. The class gets a computer on a cart. Then administration says, “you have your machine, we’re done.” And it inevitably breaks, or gets infected, or something similar. It can’t play videos. It won’t upgrade to the browser needed for a site.
I have some hope that tablets, because they’re a less open, more insulated, less wired platform, will survive better in a classroom environment. But I completely agree with you that this can’t be a “buy everyone a tablet and we’re done” approach — it has to be a retooling of the devices, the classrooms, the infrastructure, the educators, and the administration. I suspect it’s the last two that unions will oppose.
And I’d love to see what paying market rates for technologists would do for schooling. I know dozens of smart geeks who would love to change the world and build educational technology, if only the salaries were competitive.
@Peter — you’re right, I haven’t been a teacher in the public school system. My mother was, and I’ve talked with her about it in detail; and I’ve taught kids before. Your point about digitization of student progress — and making it easier for teachers — is well taken. This is something the folks at School of One told me about why teachers like their service. I remain concerned that once the “digital student data” genie is out of the bottle, it won’t just be students that are evaluated — it’ll be teachers, too, and this is what I think the unions will object to.
I definitely don’t mean to imply teachers aren’t passionate. I do think that some of them aren’t effective, just as some passionate technologists can’t get the job done, and that accountability is a good thing in our schools.
You’re absolutely right that the public school crisis is in low-income, urban school areas, and that this is a broad socio-economic issue. I’m hopeful that technology can change things there, by doing things like reducing costs, giving teachers more time, making it easier to encourage good teachers and get rid of bad ones, identify student problems earlier, and so on.
@scott — absolutely. It’s the two-way nature of tablets, and their ability to analyze and collect, that make them a revolutionary step in learning (as opposed to e-books, DVDs, or tapes that came before them.)
@John — if I understand your core objection, then, it’s that the statement “transparent analytics of how students learn will allow us to pinpoint incompetent teachers more easily” is wrong, and that somehow student learning and performance isn’t tied to teacher effectiveness in ways we can detect through analyzing data.
That’s an interesting question; I’m a believer in behavioral economics and the use of data to understand human problems. The Gates Foundation’s research into teacher effectiveness showed, with good confidence, that the only real predictor of a teacher’s ability to teach was past performance, even within the same school. That suggests to me that we should be using their past performance as a way to determine whether they’re a good teacher or not, something unions have blocked in the past.
As for your remark on teaching ability, I could have been more specific: I don’t believe 99 percent of teachers lack teaching ability. In fact, in the full piece, I make the point (quoting Bill Gates) that if we had the top quartile of U.S. teachers schooling the nation, the country would regain its educational leadership in just a few years. The Gates Foundation found that the top 25% of teachers can improve the average grade of a class by 10% in a year. That’s amazing. But I strongly suspect that the lowest 25% have the opposite effect.
What is “satisfactory”? If we define it as “getting 80% of your students to pass” (which seems like a pretty low bar to me) then there are lots of studies showing that more than 1% of teachers are unsatisfactory. Yet that’s how they’re rated.
A piece of advice: go into the classroom, spend a week with teachers in action. Speak with teachers currently in the workforce, in struggling schools and in successful schools. I’m quite sure almost any public district in the US would allow you to do that sort of observation with proper vetting.
I guarantee you will see a wealth of opportunities for technologists to partner with teachers to make their lives easier and work more effective. I also guarantee that you’ll gain a respect for the profession that your article and previous pieces sorely lack. And you’ll be far less likely to repeat outrageously unrealistic and over-romaticized “opinions” about education that you hear on prime time televison dramas. Sorry, it’s not like that. Public education cannot and should not try to cure all of society’s ills. It’s hard work on all fronts, and determination, passion, experience, open-mindedness, etc. are key indicators of success. And competitive salaries? Sorry — not going to happen. Public sector work has its own rewards.
Don’t have time for that? Well, at least read Larry Cuban’s “As Good As It Gets.” It is a level-headed recounting of reform efforts in the Austin Independent School District in all its complexity, messiness, successes, and failures.
I’m not going to defend or trash teacher unions. Frankly, the topic never comes up (although my wife is in the union). Her school has had bad teachers and there were ample opportunities for administrators to institute measures (which were taken) to either improve their performance (young inexperienced teachers can often benefit from good mentoring/coaching) or remove them from the school. The difficulty of addressing under-performers is *way* overblown.
Your article taps into a deeply disturbing and particularly insidious sort of chauvinism/paternalism/tech-utopianism that seems to be on the rise. Again, it is a real shame — the public sector in general and public education in particular could really benefit from smart technologists ready to deal with real-world situations as peers/partners.
Hitting a bit closer to home (for you and me both) I see far more outrageous wasteful spending, high-salaries for poor performers, dysfunctional administration and management in the tech sector than in public education. Perhaps your next piece should be about that.
Transparent analytics of how students learn will allow us to pinpoint incompetent teachers more easily, much as web analytics allows us to pinpoint online bottlenecks.
Web applications are designed to be instrumented; human beings are not.
Humans have characteristics which can be measured numerically and characteristics which cannot. If we decide on a regime of numeric measurement as our criterion of success, then those subjects which cannot be so measured will be deemphasized.
One teacher I spoke with when doing my research confided in me that the biggest problem with technology in the classroom was its “one-timeness”, as she put it. The class gets a computer on a cart. Then administration says, “you have your machine, we’re done.” And it inevitably breaks, or gets infected, or something similar. It can’t play videos. It won’t upgrade to the browser needed for a site.
I have some hope that tablets, because they’re a less open, more insulated, less wired platform, will survive better in a classroom environment. But I completely agree with you that this can’t be a “buy everyone a tablet and we’re done” approach — it has to be a retooling of the devices, the classrooms, the infrastructure, the educators, and the administration.
This is by *far* the biggest challenge to the effective use of technology in classroom. Money pours in for equipment (corporate grants, etc.) and there are no resource to properly administer and support the equipment or train staff in its use (again — that’s the messy, frustrating part that no corporation is going to get PR points for). The “retooling” you mention is getting away from thinking about hardware as a silver bullet (a serious failing of your article) and focussing on instruction. That philosophy will lead you to a proper integration of the hardware (it’s just a tool — nothing more) into the instruction environment.
You ideas about assessment are speculative and don’t seem to be grounded in any sort of real world experience or scientific research. So just drop that part and start thinking about the ways in which tablets might just possibly offer some benefits (small as those benefits might be) over aging eMacs (remember when those were going to save education??). Now think about “retooling” the idea of technology suport — it is of a piece with the other sorts of support that teachers need to do their jobs effectively. Give it the seriousness of thought it deserves. I can assure you the benefits to teachers would be quite significant. I can also assure you that the teachers union will do nothing but applaud your efforts.
“In most of the highest-performing systems, technology is remarkably absent from classrooms,” says Andreas Schleicher, a veteran education analyst for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development who spends much of his time visiting schools around the world to find out what they are doing right (or wrong). “I have no explanation why that is the case, but it does seem that those systems place their efforts primarily on pedagogical practice rather than digital gadgets.”
@Greg: thanks for the pointer. I commented over there. I think it’s an unfair characterization, particularly his characterization of my conclusions as “tablets are the answer because … well, MIT OpenCourseware exists!” I believe I was pretty clear both here and in the original piece that it’s the the interactivity and analyze-ability of digital learning — not free content – that really changes things.
It’s also disingenuous to say that I claim “the unions are the problem because three pundits say so.” I hope I’ve provided sufficient references here and in the original piece to show that, on numerous occasions, unions lobby for obfuscation and limiting accountability. When digital learning — and the analytics that accompany it — become more commonplace, unions will have a torrent of data to try and fight.
paul
As a teacher, although at the university level, not k-12, I have often thought that having a track on the way my students move through the material would be an interesting measure of their engagement with what I am teaching. I have been looking at web analytics as perhaps a way to approach this, as much of my material is delivered on-line. So, I am not sure if such analytical feedback is possible, or what to make of it if it is. But I do know that when a student comes to me and says, “I tried, but I couldn’t get it,” and I see from the website logs that they haven’t even logged on, I feel much more secure in my response them. But just because a student logged on and was logged on for an hour, doesn’t mean that he or she spent an hour’s worth of time engaging with the material. The real mystery to education (and my speciality is ESL) is that with terrible materials and crappy teachers, so students seem to get it, and with great materials and the best teachers, some students still don’t get it. The disconnect is startling. My worry about the technology, is that from my experience, it is the personal engagement of an adult with a learner that often is the key. And that has more to do with teacher/student ratios than the tech that is thrown at the classroom.
On the other hand, my k-12 friends in San diego are very excited about the possibilities of iPhones and iPads for the classroom.
And whether you agree with this piece or not, it is important to keep the discussion going.
Could not agree more. The three main areas are exactly what you have covered. Been teaching for over 23 years and have been trying all that time to go forward.
Chairs have been thrown in front of me every step of the way. If it requires an ounce more work you can forget it happening from both sides of the aisle teacher and school.
Only if it shows up on the rubric is it considered valuable.
eBooks and tablets are the path to many things but they are just not being accepted because there are just too many obstacles in the way. Too much work to get anything going. At least that is what the current pop sees.
There will be a greater decline in education before it gets any better.
Einstein pointed out the problem, and everyone has been busy ignoring it ever since.
To give someone an education, they MUST WANT IT!
After World War Twice, and the Great Depression, we decided that OUR children would not go through the tribulations WE did (exclude me from OUR and WE, and my kids show it!!!!).
So, we ruined most of them. They are looking for the “easy out” (most of them, anyway), and instead of an education they are looking for tickets to some sort of a concert!
WHEN AND IF we can get the “kids” to WANT to succeed, we may have success. I overcame major obstacles on the way to my doctorate, and so did some of my friends; but with the exception of my kids, I don’t see today’s youth motivated.
NOTE: If someone really WANTS to succeed, poor teachers, inadequate materials, poor facilities, don’t matter. If they don’t REALLY want it, I refer you back to a quotation from over 2000 years ago; there is no royal road to an education!
his is getting a bit more subjective, but I much prefer the Zune Marketplace. The interface is colorful, has more flair, and some cool features like ‘Mixview’ that let you quickly see related albums, songs, or other users related to what you’re listening to. Clicking on one of those will center on that item, and another set of “neighbors” will come into view, allowing you to navigate around exploring by similar artists, songs, or users. Speaking of users, the Zune “Social” is also great fun, letting you find others with shared tastes and becoming friends with them. You then can listen to a playlist created based on an amalgamation of what all your friends are listening to, which is also enjoyable. Those concerned with privacy will be relieved to know you can prevent the public from seeing your personal listening habits if you so choose.
Gerry
I like the part when you say if you’re a low-income person you have more of a chance to go to jail… then you say a tablet help education – like it’s a magic pill that will save everyone. Wasn’t this the same thing they said when the computer and the Internet was invented? Why will a tablet make much difference? What you need is more of the government budget spent on teachers.
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Pile-CC
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Conventionally, variable capacitance elements whose dielectric constant is changed by a control voltage are proposed by Patent Literatures 1 and 2, for example. These variable capacitance elements adopt a laminated structure (i.e., an MIM structure) of a metal, a ferroelectric material, and a metal, and are provided with a ferroelectric thin film so that a large amount of change in the capacitance may be achieved by low voltage.
Patent Literature 1: JP 4502609 B1.
Patent Literature 2: JP 5000660 B1.
A variable capacitance element including a ferroelectric film has a disadvantage in that that an ESD (Electro-Static Discharge) resistance property is poor compared to an MEMS variable capacitance element or a variable capacitance element of a semiconductor, such as a variable capacitance diode.
Moreover, when the thickness of the ferroelectric film is reduced is certain designs, the control sensitivity (the ratio of a change in the capacitance value to a change in the control voltage) will be increased, but the ESD resistance property will deteriorate due to the reduction in the thickness of the ferroelectric film. That is, upon receiving an ESD that exceeds the ESD resistance property, the surge is applied to the ferroelectric film causing the ferroelectric film to break down. Accordingly, there is a restriction in reducing the thickness of the ferroelectric film from the standpoint of the ESD resistance, and the control sensitivity is also restricted.
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USPTO Backgrounds
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Coming Apart (film)
Coming Apart is a 1969 film written and directed by Milton Moses Ginsberg, and starring Rip Torn and Sally Kirkland.
Torn plays a mentally disturbed psychiatrist who secretly films his sexual encounters with women. Ginsberg filmed the entire movie with one static camera setup, in a manner simulating a non-constructed "fake documentary" style, influenced by Jim McBride's David Holzman's Diary. The film was rated X for its sexually explicit scenes.
Plot
New York psychiatrist Joe Glazer, who is going through a divorce, rents an apartment under the assumed name of Glassman and installs a hidden movie camera in a mirrored box to record his life and occasionally talk to. Most of the people who visit his apartment are women, including Joann, a former patient; Monica, an ex-mistress; and Karen, the wife of one of his best friends. Joe has sexual encounters with some of them. The camera records Joe's words and actions as well as his ongoing mental breakdown.
Cast
Rip Torn as Joe Glazer
Sally Kirkland as Joann
Viveca Lindfors as Monica
Megan McCormick as Joy
Lois Markle as Elaine
Lynn Swann as Anita
Phoebe Dorin as Karen
Nancy MacKay as Amy
Julie Garfield as Eugene McCarthy campaign worker
Kevin O'Connor as Armand
Reception
Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote, "As an attempt to elevate pornography ... into art, it is often witty and funny but it fails for several reasons, including Ginsberg's self-imposed limitations on form (to which he's not completely faithful)." He elaborated that "the screenplay, like the film, eventually drifts in a horizontal direction into a kind of foggy confusion." Variety stated, "The problem with 'Coming Apart' is that while it suggests some interesting ideas, it can't deliver any of them in cogent form. If Torn is supposed to be some form of saint in the 20th Century religion of psychiatry, prepared to accept the truth of his perceptions with detached irony, this only adds to the deadness of the film as public entertainment." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4 and praised Rip Torn for "a brilliantly controlled performance. He never appears to be acting." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "In this dreary study of the disintegration of a New York psychologist (Rip Torn), Ginsberg made the mistake of placing professional actors in improvised Warhol-like situations ... What we're left with, consequently, is scarcely more than some mild but mainly tedious pornography for intellectuals." Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote, "Compared to the erotic satire, the film's serious pretensions seem so uninspired and derivative that it's only natural to find that your interest dwindles once the characters start sorting out their souls ... the breakdowns turn morbidly sentimental and theatrically pat." Life reviewer Richard Schickel praised Torn's performance, Ginsberg's inventive use of camera and sound, and the "illuminating" portrayal of a schizophrenic breakdown. Andrew Sarris of The Village Voice gave it a less favorable review, however, and the film was a commercial failure.
The film has since attained a cult following among critics and filmmakers.
See also
List of American films of 1969
References
External links
Category:1969 films
Category:American films
Category:1960s drama films
Category:American black-and-white films
Category:American drama films
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Wikipedia (en)
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We use cookies to enhance your experience on our website. This website uses cookies that provide targeted advertising and which track your use of this website. By clicking ‘continue’ or by continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time.ContinueFind out more
Definition of nuke in US English:
nuke
noun
informal
1A nuclear weapon.
‘I assume they aren't carrying nukes - ICBMs would be the preferred delivery system in that case - so all we have are a few bombers with a few payloads of ordinary bombs.’
‘The United States is now considering developing a new generation of nuclear weapons, smart nukes which could be used to bust open bunkers and destroy weapons of mass destruction stockpiled by rogue states.’
‘There's lots of data available online about suitcase nukes, and nuclear weapons generally.’
‘It's always seemed to me that that likeliest scenario is a loose nuke or a dirty bomb in a shipping container.’
‘Look, I'm no fan of how-to guides for chemical weapons or backyard nukes.’
‘Death is death whether it comes in the form of a nuke, a bomb, a plane or an envelope.’
‘It's increasingly possible now for hostile states to acquire earlier generations of missile technology in the hope of some day being able to top them with nukes or biological weapons, the report warns.’
‘It is only a matter of time before a dirty bomb, a suitcase nuke, or a biological attack hits an American city.’
‘What will the next mayor of London say about war, occupation, new nukes, Trident, nuclear trains?’
‘Syria has no links to al Qaeda, no weapons of mass destruction that could possibly harm the United States, no nukes or even a nuclear program.’
‘That could lead to an Asian rim armed to the teeth with nukes and other weapons.’
‘In addition to the United States and Russia, only China is believed to have a large stockpile of about 120 TNWs or ‘baby nukes.’’
‘The nukes will spur Japanese deployment of ABMs and may nudge Japan toward deploying offensive forces.’
‘In 1984, I participated in a war game featuring a Cessna rigged with a tiny nuke and flown by a suicide pilot.’
‘I can make or disable virtually any explosive except a nuke.’
‘Washington needs a strategy based on the ‘Three No's’: no loose nukes, no nascent nukes, and no new nuclear states.’
‘It fired no nukes or chemical weapons, and posed us no danger.’
‘Tactical nukes can be launched over an unpopulated area from field artillery guns or aircraft to halt an enemy advance or in an effort to intimidate a numerically stronger enemy.’
‘Statistically, you have a much greater chance of meeting your maker as a result of a traffic accident on Sukhumvit Highway than from a car bomb or terrorist nuke.’
‘In 1958, the US began to deploy hundreds of nuclear warheads, atomic mines, artillery shells and air-dropped nukes in South Korea.’
1.1A nuclear power station.
1.2A nuclear-powered vessel.
‘The new enemy uses diesel-electric boats which, when running just on batteries, are much more difficult to find than those always loud Soviet nukes.’
verb
[with object]informal
1Attack or destroy with nuclear weapons.
‘So, why not just use man-made nuclear energy and nuke the planet today?’
‘Though unlike the 1968 version, where we've nuked ourselves and devastated the planet, there's no actual evidence of that here.’
‘You said ‘send conventional troops that he can only repel with his nuclear weapons, which will cause us to nuke him’.’
‘It's not a case of ‘if you're planning to nuke us, we're going to nuke you’ it's a case of ‘if we think you're going to attack us, we're going to nuke you.’’
‘We talked about it in the pub with the usual cross section of people giving off views ranging from the eminently sensible to the completely barking view of nuking them all.’
‘Qualified though my admiration for Lady Thatcher may be, I find it hard to believe that she'd have nuked Buenos Aires just to make a point.’
‘Back on the beach, the rising moon looked really cool - it was orange and smokey and made it look like Melbourne had been nuked until it rose a bit higher and we could see the bottom.’
‘He asks Brigadier General Paul Tibbets, who dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima, how he feels when people say ‘Let's nuke 'em’.’
‘If it doesn't, well he can always nuke the site from orbit and claim there was a nuclear accident.’
‘Otherwise radical moves might result in these two nations ending up nuking each other.’
‘You'd almost think that he wanted them to nuke California or something… perhaps its because they're democrats?’
‘No, we didn't actually get nuked or wiped out by ebola or nerve gas; aliens didn't land on the White House lawn.’
‘Consider the absurdity: We risk escalating a worldwide nuclear arms race to nuke a shadow terrorist enemy whose most effective military action to date was begun with box cutters.’
‘We might stop an attack or two by nuking every Islamic city from Tangier to Islamabad - but, come morning, we'll have to look ourselves in the mirror.’
‘There was constant hysterical invocation of an absurd counterfactual scenario: ‘What if he actually was planning to nuke us in 45 minutes?’’
‘There's nothing Christian about nuking Afghan civilians, nor spying on American students; just as there is nothing Muslim about hijacking planes and flying them into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre or the Pentagon.’
‘Why don't we try to destroy tropical cyclones by nuking them?’
‘Not that I'm saying Shanghai ought to have been nuked, merely if victory was required, then it might have been necessary.’
‘After all, you can't nuke Bethlehem without Israel being exposed to nuclear fallout.’
‘So, if the ultimate nightmare happens, and a terrorist cell gets its hands on a black-market bomb and manages to detonate it, the US proposes to nuke some random country as revenge.’
1.1Destroy; get rid of.
‘I fertilized the lawn and nuked the weeds’
‘So I ended up even sicker, in bed, and in between sleeping, feeling sorry for myself, and nuking the jumping spider (the exciting highlight of the weekend), I did some thinking.’
‘He's disappointed at his lack of strength after nuking himself in a combination carnival ride / X-ray machine, but later when he dreams about his wife's fiery death, he's so angry that he turns into The Hulk.’
‘Don't be afraid to nuke stuff that isn't interesting.’
‘After Valve updated the official FAQ entry with a recommendation to try out the latest beta video drivers, I gave it a try. 67.02 are the latest Detonators, so I nuked the previous set with Driver Cleaner and reinstalled.’
‘You may have trouble finding a copy of this as Real nuked the original downloads a while back, but a bit of googling should find it.’
‘I have escaped, and with the help of your suggestively named, buxom employee, I shall stop you from nuking the U.S. gold supply!’
‘‘I think I just nuked the computer's hard drive,’ I said, quivering.’
‘I have bought some more slug stoppa granules from the DIY store, which was all they had in the slug prevention line that didn't involve nuking the little b * ggers.’
‘Most of us are in the indifferent camp thus allowing politicians, theologians and academics to nuke the world, while producing between them, not one thing of true value.’
‘Suddenly, nuking the Powerbook and going fresh with Tiger is on my mind again.’
1.2Cook or heat up (food) in a microwave oven.
‘I nuked a quick burger’
‘While waiting for the microwave to nuke our meal, w sat down on the stools in the kitchen and began to talk.’
‘‘There you are, Dolly,’ I said, doing my best to avoid tripping over a foot-winding Harry while I nuked a drop of Carnation Milk.’
‘I really need to just shut off all the machines, nuke the leftover pizza and watch ‘Blind Date’ until my brains run out my nose.’
‘We watch through our fingers as another convenience meal is nuked in the microwave, another can of fizzy pop is guzzled, another packet of crisps scoffed.’
‘In fact, you can even cook the rice, the chicken and the pepper and onion mixture in bulk, then quickly nuke them and throw this burrito together in minutes when the craving hits.’
‘If I have been working all day, it's getting late and he is hungry (which he invariably is, all day, every day) then it seems sensible rather than sadistic to nuke him a shepherd's pie in the microwave while boiling up a pot of peas and carrots.’
‘We use technology in our cooking… we nuke stuff.’
‘The food is cooked, not nuked, and cooking takes time. The slow pace suits the service, which is charming.’
‘She poured milk into a glass and put it into the microwave to nuke it.’
‘She pushed things around the refrigerator, looking for some convenient leftovers in a Rubbermaid container to nuke.’
‘The house was filled with the smells of after-school snacks being nuked as we walked in.’
‘It's all very tasty, all very stylish and all very cold when you buy it frozen from Sainsbury's before nuking it in the microwave before your guests arrive.’
‘I got home, nuked yesterday's pizza, read the paper.’
‘After several months when her comfort level increased, I progressed to putting a Hershey bar on a salad plate and nuking it into molten goodness.’
‘He smiled a sexy smile and unwrapped the bowl, nuking it in the microwave for about 3 minutes.’
‘So I nuked a jar of Veet Warm Wax, made a little pot of rooibos tea with honey and soy milk, and set up a portable radio and portable heater in the bathroom.’
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Pile-CC
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Q:
inputHidden binding to a long id field in backing bean
Just wondering how to set a hidden field value so that when I submit my form, JSF sets it as the id in an object in my CDI-managed bean.
My bean is called "discussionManager" and it has an object in it called 'discussion', which is an entity and therefore has an ID of type Long.
I need the ID so I can look it up and do stuff with it. But, JSF doesn't seem to like numeric hidden fields. It is fine with string fields though. Sure it has something to do with converters or the binding attribute, but can't get the syntax. This is what I'm trying in it's simplest form.
<h:inputHidden id="discussionId" value="#{viewDiscussionBean.discussion.id}"/>
I've tried lots of variations. Can anyone point me in the right direction please?
Thanks
A:
You indeed need to explicitly specify a converter. The JSF builtin LongConverter is suitable.
<h:inputHidden id="discussionId" value="#{viewDiscussionBean.discussion.id}" converter="javax.faces.Long" />
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StackExchange
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Holocaust vs. Holodomor: Jews Tell Ukrainian Goyim Their Lives Have No Value
Andrew Anglin
Daily Stormer
July 10, 2015
Every single day, there is evidence in the mainstream media that the Jews view goyim lives as having no value.
Today, there is an extreme case.
The Jerusalem Post:
The Simon Wiesenthal Center has criticized legislation proposed by a Ukrainian Jewish lawmaker to criminalize the denial of both the Holocaust and the Holodomor, claiming that it cheapens the memory of Nazi victims. The Holodomor refers to a massive famine brought about by the forced collectivization of farms that resulted in the deaths of millions of Ukrainians and is regarded in Ukraine as a genocide planned by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. The proposed law, drafted by MP Oleksandr Feldman – the founder of the Ukrainian Jewish Committee – defines the Holodomor as the “genocide of the Ukrainian people” and the Holocaust as the “genocide of the Jewish people.” The legislation proposes that denial of either be grounds for fines or imprisonment. Repeat offenders or government officials would be punishable by a longer incarceration. … Efraim Zuroff, chief Nazi hunter at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, blasted the bill, stating that it equated the Holodomor and the Holocaust, which he termed “a gross distortion of the history of the Holocaust typical of the efforts to equate other tragedies which are not the same as the Holocaust with the crimes of the Nazis.” Feldman, according to Zuroff, is “doing a disservice to the memory of the Holocaust by linking it to a tragedy that is not equivalent.”
This lays naked the mindset of the sickening Jews.
Even if you believe in the holocaust, exactly as the Jews say it happened, the Holodomor was the same thing: a purposeful extermination of an ethnic group.
But the Jews claim that their purposeful extinction was more meaningful than that of Christian goyim. This is what they openly claim. What can that mean, other than that Jews believe themselves to be superior to non-Jews, believe that their own lives hold more value?
And not only do they believe this – it would be one thing if they believed it privately – they wish for the rest of the world to be forced to accept it, and wish to manipulate laws in order to ensure that in legal terms their lives are considered more valuable than those of non-Jews.
And they’re not shy about it.
How can anyone not be disgusted by these people?
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OpenWebText2
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The Rhyming Rabbit
Poor old Rhyming Rabbit is feeling lonely and left out. None of his fellow rabbits appreciate his carefully thought-out poems. And as for the other animals he meets? They just tell him to be quiet! Then one starry night he meets someone who shares his enthusiasm for poetry…
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Pile-CC
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Background {#Sec1}
==========
Since the commencement of the International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005) in 2007, global public health has been faced with numerous emerging and ongoing events such as the avian and pandemic flu, cholera, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Coronavirus, Ebola, and recently the Zika virus epidemic. These events have hindered any progress in implementing core capacities of the prevention, detection, and adequate response to health emergencies. Moreover, the increasing rate and diversity of infectious disease threats jeopardizes the IHR accomplishments and hence the foundations of global health security.
Against this background, between 29th May and 2nd June 2016, a team of World Health Organization (WHO) consultants arrived to the State of Qatar to assess, in collaboration with national experts, the country's capacity to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to threats of public health aspect, whether natural, intentional, or inadvertent; in accordance with IHR 2005 \[[@CR1]\]. The joint assessment was conducted using the WHO IHR (2005) - Joint External Evaluation (JEE) tool which is a data gathering instrument encompassing 19 technical areas categorized within three major components; prevention, detection and response. Every technical area has multiple questions that will help the evaluators determine the appropriate score \[[@CR2]\].
The JEE tool was developed in compliance with the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) that represents a reaction by the international health community towards the increased incidence of emerging and re-emerging diseases (e.g. Ebola, Yellow Fever, avian influenza, MERS coronavirus) and the threat these pose on the global health security due to interconnectedness of today's world \[[@CR3]\]. Additionally, the GHSA aims at promoting the adherence and mobilization of the nations of the world behind the full implementation of the IHR as well as the World Organization of Animal Health's (OIE) Performance of Veterinary Services Pathway, and similar health security frameworks through a multinational and multisectoral approach \[[@CR4]\]. It was established and declared on February 2014 in the White House, as an initiative led by the United States of America with 44 committed countries to become a five-year plan focused on empowering public health capacities regarding human as well as animal infectious threats \[[@CR5]\].
The JEE process {#Sec2}
---------------
The JEE process is a voluntary, collaborative process that is comprised of many steps. The first step involved the completion of Qatar's country survey through self-reporting data on specific indicators. After which, this information is sent to the external evaluation team as well as subject matter specialists who will utilize this information to establish a baseline for Qatar's health security capacity. The third step comprised the site visit by the evaluation team to Qatar, where in-depth discussions with the national experts as well as structured visits to vital ministries, healthcare institutions, and the points of entry were conducted to identify strengths, obstacles, opportunities, and priorities. Then, the team drafted a final report of the findings according to the predefined indicators and shared it with the State of Qatar and after the latter's permission with the international stakeholders and community. Interestingly, the indicators evaluated the country's capacity development on a score of 1 to 5 and were color coded, where 1 (color code red) signified the absence of capacity while 5 (color code green) described a sustainable capacity. Finally, the evaluation team is expected to conduct a consecutive visit to follow up on the findings and recommendations after approximately 5 years from the last visit \[[@CR2]\].
The results {#Sec3}
-----------
The evaluation report classically presents the findings through the aforementioned three core components, which are prevention, detection, and response with an additional miscellaneous section (points of entry, chemical events, radiation emergencies). Within each of the aforementioned core components, the report reveals the strengths, the weaknesses, and recommendations for improvement based on the 19 technical areas. In general, Qatar has demonstrated variable levels of capacity in the different technical areas, with individual scores ranging between 2 (limited capacity) and 5 (sustainable capacity).
Prevention {#Sec4}
----------
Within this component, the report encompasses many sections, such as: national legislation, policy and financing, IHR coordination, communication and advocacy, antimicrobial resistance, zoonotic diseases, food safety, biosafety and biosecurity, and immunization. The most critical of these areas was the antimicrobial resistance section, where Qatar showed limited capacity concerning the antimicrobial stewardship activities. However, Qatar has developed capacity (score:3) in most domains: antimicrobial resistance detection, surveillance of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens, and health care-associated infection prevention and control programs. In order to further build Qatar's capacity, one of the best recommended practices to fight antimicrobial resistance is the One Health approach. The approach includes an integrated global package of activities to combat antimicrobial resistance across human, agricultural, food, animal, and environmental aspects; which was developed in coordination between the WHO, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and OIE \[[@CR6]\]. This practice has been successfully adopted by Qatar in response to MERS ongoing outbreaks \[[@CR7]\].
Interestingly, Qatar has established a legal framework to allow the implementation of the IHR through enabling laws and regulations; thus, it has established capacity (score: 4) with this regards. However, there are recommendations for further improvement through reactivating a previously established IHR national committee, developing a national framework law and bylaws in a unified official document, and updating decrees as well as laws to enable further IHR implementation.
Moreover, Qatar has developed an immunization program characterized by a national coverage, effective cold chain and distribution, equitable access, and continuous quality control measures. Thus, the country attained a sustainable capacity of measles vaccine coverage as well as an established capacity of vaccine access and delivery. Also, Qatar is currently supporting other countries in the region with their attainment of national measles vaccine coverage as per IHR (2005). (Fig. [1](#Fig1){ref-type="fig"}).Fig. 1Score of Qatar against the IHR Joint External Evaluation: Prevention component 1 = No capacity, 2 = Limited capacity, 3 = Developed capacity, 4 = Demonstrated capacity, 5 = Sustainable capacity Data reproducible from JEE report (<http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/254509/1/WHO-WHE-CPI-2017.6-eng.pdf?ua=1>)
Detection {#Sec5}
---------
The detection aspect of the report included the following sections: national laboratory system, real-time surveillance, reporting, and workforce development. Qatar's scores within this component manifest an established capacity in multiple technical areas; however, the system has only developed capacity (score 3) within the laboratory quality system, electronisation and interoperability of the reporting system, analysis of the surveillance data, national field epidemiology training program, and workforce strategy (Fig. [2](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}).Fig. 2Score of Qatar against the IHR Joint External Evaluation: Detection component 1 = No capacity, 2 = Limited capacity, 3 = Developed capacity, 4 = Demonstrated capacity, 5 = Sustainable capacity Data reproducible from JEE report (<http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/254509/1/WHO-WHE-CPI-2017.6-eng.pdf?ua=1>)
The role of national laboratory system is emphasized by the JEE; where this role is a significant prerequisite for establishing real-time biosurveillance and delivering effective modern point-of-care as well as laboratory-based diagnostics. In addition, the evaluation has revealed an urgent need for better coordination of all laboratories at a central level including the medical, veterinary, and environmental sectors.
Regarding the reporting system and surveillance data analysis, IHR and OIE standards demand complementary and synergistic indicator as well as event-based surveillance systems. Qatar currently has a 67 notifiable disease list, relying mainly on indicator-based surveillance, where data is collected and input manually due to the absence of an electronic system. The aforementioned goal requires further capacity building through recruitment of new staff as well as further training of those retained, approval and commencement of the new proposed communicable disease control law, establishment of guiding documents (e.g. guidelines, standard operating procedures, case definitions), and applying the one health approach to the surveillance system. Importantly, the surveillance system should engage the stakeholder through sharing relevant reports and feedback. In addition, the system must undergo routine comprehensive evaluation for its development.
As comes to national field epidemiology and the workforce strategy, the Arab Board Community Medicine Residency Program (4 years) is the only locally available program to provide some field training in Qatar. Thus, establishing a dedicated surveillance and outbreak response training program is recommended; along with a human resource strategy to formulate a clear career pathway and in return allow for the engagement and retaining of homegrown as well as international experts.
Response {#Sec6}
--------
Regarding the response component, the report elaborated on the following issue: preparedness, emergency response operations, linking public health and security authorities, medical countermeasures and personnel deployment, and risk communication. Overall, the country has demonstrated good performance within the emergency preparedness and response subsections; where score ranged mostly between 4 and 5. However, it seems that Qatar has demonstrated but not yet established capacity with regards to risk communication, especially the communication systems, intra- and intersectoral coordination, public communication, engaging the affected communities, and rumor management (Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}). Thus, to develop a comprehensive national risk communication system, there is need for a health sector risk communication strategy, a dedicated risk communication unit at the central level, i.e. Ministry of Public Health, to support the above strategy, mock risk communication emergency exercises within the health sector and nationwide, identification of the target audience in Qatar through maps (nationals and expatriates),and strengthening community engagement activities through staff training as well as research and certified course for community volunteers.Fig. 3Score of Qatar against the IHR Joint External Evaluation: Response and others components 1 = No capacity, 2 = Limited capacity, 3 = Developed capacity, 4 = Demonstrated capacity, 5 = Sustainable capacity Data reproducible from JEE report (<http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/254509/1/WHO-WHE-CPI-2017.6-eng.pdf?ua=1>)
Others {#Sec7}
------
The others' part of the report involved information about Qatar's points of entry, chemical events, and radiation emergencies. In the report, the State of Qatar demonstrated a developed capacity (score:3) in the related six technical areas with regards to capacities and public health response at the points of entry as well as the mechanisms and enabling environment for managing chemical, radiological, and nuclear events or emergencies (Fig. [3](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}).
Qatar has six recognized points of entry that support international traffic and four seaports which are the followings:Doha Port (Mwani Ports), used by general cargo ships and container vessels;Mesaieed Port (Qatar Petroleum), used by vessels in the oil/gas sector together with general cargo and container ships delivering goods to the designated Mesaieed industrial area;Ras Laffan Port (Qatar Petroleum), used by vessels in the oil/gas sector;Al Ruwais seaport, used by dhow-type vessels for smaller cargo trade;Hamad International Airport, a major international airport and the hub airport of Qatar Airways;Abu Samra ground crossing, the main land entry point to Qatar at the border with Saudi Arabia
This reflects recent developments in the transport sector all over the country. One of the aforementioned JEE components was that core capacities and potential hazards management should be applied at the points of entry. As a result, it was revealed that Qatar has a developed capacity in most technical indicators; despite some deficiencies reported in the vector control program as well as the surveillance and inspection program of vessels for sanitation purposes, especially at seaports' points of entry.
Multiple stakeholders are responsible for the chemical safety in Qatar, including the ministries of interior, defense, industry, public health, and municipality and environment as well as Qatar Petroleum. To further develop this sector and fortify national health security, it was recommended to establish channels for sharing information across the aforementioned stakeholders, develop a surveillance system for chemical incidents, and enable laboratory detection and analysis of chemicals hazardous to human and environmental health.
Conclusion {#Sec8}
==========
Qatar has demonstrated a leading role in the region through its commitment to International Health Regulations (2005) and community. Similarly, Qatar was the first Arab state and seventh volunteering country globally to undergo the JEE process. In anticipation of the 2022 World Cup event planned in Qatar, the country has a golden opportunity to fortify its capabilities and rectify the weaknesses of its health security system.
GHSA
: Global Health security agenda
IHR
: International Health regulation
JEE
: Joint external evaluation
MERS
: Middle East respiratory syndrome
OIE
: World Organization of Animal Health
None.
Funding {#FPar1}
=======
No finding requested for this work.
Availability of data and materials {#FPar2}
==================================
Not Applicable.
All authors have contributed in manuscript writing and review. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Ethics approval and consent to participate {#FPar3}
==========================================
Not applicable.
Consent for publication {#FPar4}
=======================
Not applicable.
Competing interests {#FPar5}
===================
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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PubMed Central
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CBD is extracted from Industrial Hemp Plants that contain Cannabinoids. You cannot experience any psychoactive effects “High or Stoned” with our products. They all contain less that .3% THC or 0% THC. Every major civilization in history has recognized hemp as #1 on its list of important plants. The ancient Chinese, Indians, Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks and Romans all revered hemp as an incomparable source of food and medicine. Now modern science is validating what the ancients all knew — and uncovering exciting new discoveries about CBD. Recently (August 2017) FDA has declared CBD as “beneficial” and is asking now all users of CBD products for their input.
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When you are purchasing CBD Oil Products, you have two options: Full Spectrum CBD or Isolated (regular) CBD. Full Spectrum CBD, as Hemp Oil, contains every Cannabinoid present in the Hemp (Cannabis Sativa) plant. This means Cannabidiol, Cannabicyclol, Tetrahyrdocannabivarin, and Cannbichromevinaric acid, to name a few. In Full Spectrum CBD Oil, there is nothing held back or left out. On the other side CBD Isolate contains pure CBD compound, which has a more flexible legal status as well no taste, color or strong odor as Full Spectrum CBD Oil.
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Full spectrum CBD does, however, bring with it the sticky issue of THC. The government regulates concentration levels of THC at 0.3 percent, an amount which results in minimal psychoactivity. But THC metabolites are stored in the fat cells of your body, building up over time. If you ever need to take a drug test, this could create an issue for you.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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352 F.Supp.2d 285 (2005)
Lindell HARVEY, Plaintiff,
v.
Kathy MARK and City of Hartford, Hartford Public Schools, Defendants.
No. 3:02CV1086(DJS).
United States District Court, D. Connecticut.
January 20, 2005.
*286 Francis A. Miniter, Miniter & Associates, Hartford, CT, for Plaintiff.
Joseph W. McQuade, Kainen, Escalera & McHale, PC, Hartford, CT, for Defendant.
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION
SQUATRITO, District Judge.
On June 18, 2002, plaintiff Lindell Harvey filed this action alleging that defendants, Kathy Mark and the City of Hartford, Hartford Public Schools, his alleged employer,[1] discriminated against him on the basis of his sex, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, codified at 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.[2] On May 30, 2003, pursuant to Rule 56(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, defendants filed a motion for summary judgment. (See Dkt. # 36). For the reasons set forth herein, defendants' motion is GRANTED.
I. FACTS
Since 1989 through at least the date the papers pertaining to the pending motion were filed, Mr. Lindell Harvey was a custodian *287 in the Hartford public school system. Ms. Kathy Mark, since 1995 through at least the date the papers pertaining to the pending motion were filed, was the Head Custodian of Bulkeley High School, which is a school in the Hartford public school system. The City of Hartford is a municipality in the State of Connecticut.
This lawsuit concerns Harvey's tenure as Night Lead Custodian at Bulkeley High School, which began on April 28, 1997 and ended on or about August 16, 2001. During this time, Mark supervised Harvey, who in turn supervised about nine employees during the 3:00 p.m. through 11:00 p.m. shift. Harvey was the only supervisor present after 4:00 p.m., which is when the day shift ended.
According to Mark, Harvey's job performance began to deteriorate in 1999. The record contains several memoranda, dated from October of 1998 through October of 2000, from Mark to Harvey relating faculty complaints and detailing problems with the manner in which Harvey was performing his duties. On a yearly performance evaluation dated June 12, 2000, Mark noted that Harvey failed to meet expectations with respect to the quality of his work, his knowledge or expertise, and his dependability. On July 18, 2000, Raymond DelMonte, the Custodial Manager for the school district, and Gerard Rivera, the Custodial Supervisor for the school district, met with Harvey to discuss his performance evaluation and scheduled him for re-evaluation in thirty, sixty, and ninety day increments.
Thereafter, according to Mark, Harvey's performance did not significantly improve. Throughout the ninety-day re-evaluation period, Mark continued to note that Harvey failed to meet expectations with respect to the quality of his work, his knowledge or expertise, and his dependability. On February 5, 2001, DelMonte stated his dissatisfaction with Harvey's job performance and referred Harvey to the human resources department for disciplinary action. On August 16, 2001, following a pre-disciplinary hearing, Robert Stacy, the Executive Director for Human Resources, demoted Harvey to the position of Custodian and transferred Harvey to a different school.
II. DISCUSSION
Harvey alleges that defendants demoted him in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The factual basis for Harvey's claims is that Mark treated the male custodians in her charge, including Harvey, poorly compared to the female custodians. Harvey claims that Mark's criticism of his work was unjustly harsh and was a product of her animosity towards men in general and Harvey specifically.
A. STANDARD
A motion for summary judgment may be granted "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Summary judgment is appropriate if, after discovery, the nonmoving party "has failed to make a sufficient showing on an essential element of [its] case with respect to which [it] has the burden of proof." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). "The burden is on the moving party `to demonstrate the absence of any material factual issue genuinely in dispute.'" American Int'l Group, Inc. v. London Am. Int'l Corp., 664 F.2d 348, 351 (2d Cir.1981) (quoting Heyman v. Commerce & Indus. Ins. Co., 524 F.2d 1317, 1319-20 (2d Cir.1975)). A dispute concerning a material fact is genuine "`if evidence *288 is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.'" Aldrich v. Randolph Cent. Sch. Dist., 963 F.2d 520, 523 (2d Cir.1992) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). The court must view all inferences and ambiguities in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. See Bryant v. Maffucci, 923 F.2d 979, 982 (2d Cir.1991). "Only when reasonable minds could not differ as to the import of the evidence is summary judgment proper." Id.
B. DISCRIMINATION CLAIM
Harvey alleges that defendants discriminated against him on the basis of his sex. Specifically, Harvey claims that Marks was unfairly critical of his work because he is a man, and that Mark's critical view of his job performance was adopted by those who ultimately disciplined him. Defendants claim that Harvey's job performance was in fact poor, and that Harvey has not offered any evidence of discriminatory intent on the part of any defendant. Because Harvey has not offered sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact, defendants' motion for summary judgment on Harvey's discrimination claim is granted.
In McDonnell Douglas Corporation v. Green, the Supreme Court established an "allocation of the burden of production and an order for the presentation of proof in Title VII cases." 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). Under that framework, a plaintiff alleging a violation of the federal anti-discrimination statutes establishes a prima facie case by showing he: (1) was a member of a protected class; (2) was qualified for the position he held; (3) suffered an adverse employment action; (4) in circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination. See Schnabel v. Abramson, 232 F.3d 83, 87 (2d Cir.2000); see also Texas Dept. Of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 253, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981) ("The plaintiff must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that she applied for an available position for which she was qualified, but was rejected under circumstances which give rise to an inference of unlawful discrimination."). If the plaintiff establishes a prima facie case, the employer has the burden of articulating a "legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason" for the adverse employment action. Stern v. Trustees of Columbia University, 131 F.3d 305, 312 (2d Cir.1997). If the employer does so, the plaintiff must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the employer's proffered explanation is unworthy of credence, and that the true reason for the employer's action was unlawful discrimination. See id.
Harvey cannot, as a matter of law, establish that defendants' actions were the product of unlawful discrimination.[3] The ultimate question in an employment discrimination case is whether the evidence offered can reasonably and logically give rise to an inference of discrimination under all of the circumstances. See Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 148, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000); Bickerstaff v. Vassar College, 196 F.3d 435, 448 (2d Cir.1999). Where the plaintiff's evidence barely establishes a prima facie case, the prima *289 facie case alone may not be sufficient to prove that it is more likely than not that discrimination, not defendant's proffered explanation, was the true motivation for the adverse employment action. See Reeves, 530 U.S. at 148, 120 S.Ct. 2097 ("Certainly there will be instances where, although the plaintiff has established a prima facie case and set forth sufficient evidence to reject the defendant's explanation, no rational factfinder could conclude that the action was discriminatory."); Stern, 131 F.3d at 312.
Defendants have offered substantial evidence that Harvey's employment was terminated because of performance issues. Defendants' offer of proof in this regard significantly weakens the persuasive effect of Harvey's prima facie case. An individual is qualified for purposes of establishing a prima facie case when the employee's performance meets the employer's legitimate expectations. See Thornley v. Penton Publishing, 104 F.3d 26, 29 (2d Cir.1997); Meiri v. Dacon, 759 F.2d 989, 998 (2d Cir.1985). A plaintiff's "job performance cannot be assessed in a vacuum; the ultimate inquiry is whether [the] performance `meets his employer's legitimate expectations.'" Meiri, 759 F.2d at 995. The record contains enough evidence to at least suggest that Harvey was an incompetent supervisor during the relevant time period, which limits the persuasive effect of his prima facie offer of proof when weighed against defendants' proffered reason for his demotion. Cf. Mandell v. Suffolk County, 316 F.3d 368, 381 (2d Cir.2003) (reversing grant of summary judgment in favor of the employer when the employer's non-discriminatory proffer was vague and unsubstantiated).
Harvey's evidence in support of his discrimination claim is insufficient to prove illegal discrimination. In support of his claim that defendants' proffered reason for his demotion was a pretext for discrimination, Harvey attempts to prove that Mark harbored a bias against men in general, and that this bias prompted her to unfairly scrutinize his work. As evidence of Mark's bias, Harvey offers the following evidence: (1) the fact that his written performance reviews were satisfactory or better prior to arriving at and subsequent to leaving Bulkeley High School; (2) the fact that Mark assigned "unequal workloads and burdened the male employees with unreasonable and oppressive job assignments in a an effort to portray them as poor workers," (dkt. # 45 ¶ 9); (3) his observation that Mark "treats men more harshly than she treats women, and that performance was not a relevant basis for such treatment," (id. ¶ 10); (4) memoranda to Mark and DelMonte disputing Mark's criticisms of his performance; and (5) statements by two of his male co-workers that they "feel that Ms. Mark discriminated against [us] and the other male employees because we are male," (id., Ex. 8, Malave Aff. ¶ 6; see id., Holton Aff. ¶ 6). These statements are conclusory in that they simply state the speaker's belief that Mark treated men differently. No example, save a vague reference in Malave's affidavit to an incident where Mark instructed a female employee not to do an assignment allegedly because the employee was a woman, is provided about how Mark divided the workload in a discriminatory fashion between men and women. Harvey has not provided any basis to conclude that Mark's motivation for criticizing Harvey was the fact that Harvey was a man. As such, there is no evidence in the record for a factfinder to conclude that Mark's criticism of Harvey's work was the product of sex discrimination, and summary judgment must enter for the defendants on this claim.
C. EQUAL PROTECTION
Harvey argues that defendants violated his right to equal protection under the law *290 by "intend[ing] to deprive Plaintiffs of his rights, privileges and immunities under federal law on the basis of his gender," (Compl.¶ 25), and that "Defendants acted in pursuance of a systematic custom or policy of discriminating against or harassing male members of the Hartford Public School System," (id. ¶ 27). Harvey's claim fails as a matter of law because he has not provided sufficient evidence in support of his claim.
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "no state shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws," and is "essentially a direction that all persons similarly situated should be treated alike." City of Cleburne, Texas v. Cleburne Living Center, 473 U.S. 432, 105 S.Ct. 3249, 87 L.Ed.2d 313 (1985). A plaintiff claiming denial of equal protection rights can proceed according to several theories:
A plaintiff could point to a law or policy that "expressly classifies persons on the basis of race." [Hayden v. County of Nassau, 180 F.3d 42, 48 (2d Cir.1999)] (citing Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena, 515 U.S. 200, 213, 227-29, 115 S.Ct. 2097, 132 L.Ed.2d 158 ... (1995)). Or, a plaintiff could identify a facially neutral law or policy that has been applied in an intentionally discriminatory manner. See Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356, 373-74, 6 S.Ct. 1064, 30 L.Ed. 220, 6... (1886). A plaintiff could also allege that a facially neutral statute or policy has an adverse effect and that it was motivated by discriminatory animus.
Brown v. City of Oneonta, New York, 221 F.3d 329, 337 (2d Cir.2000). Further, the United States Supreme Court has recently held that a plaintiff need not be a member of a traditionally "protected class" in order to allege an equal protection violation. See Village of Willowbrook v. Olech, 528 U.S. 562, 564, 120 S.Ct. 1073, 145 L.Ed.2d 1060 (2000). Instead, a "class of one" may maintain an equal protection claim, as long as the plaintiff alleges that he or she was treated differently than similarly situated persons. See id. In addition, the plaintiff must show that the different treatment was intentional and had no rational basis in order to properly allege an equal protection violation. See, e.g., Ricketts v. City of Hartford, 74 F.3d 1397, 1407 (2d Cir.1996).[4] A government official's decision "can be considered irrational only when [the official] acts with no legitimate reason for [his or her] decision." Harlen Associates v. The Incorporated Village of Mineola, 273 F.3d 494, 500 (2d Cir.2001) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Under either of the two theories that could possibly fit the evidence offered,[5] Harvey cannot prevail on his equal protection claim. With respect to a selective prosecution theory,
To succeed in an action alleging selective prosecution, plaintiffs in this Circuit ["]have been required to show both (1) that they were treated differently from other similarly situated individuals, and (2) that such differential treatment was based on impermissible considerations such as race, religion, intent to inhibit or punish the exercise of constitutional *291 rights, or malicious or bad faith intent to injure a person.["]
Cobb v. Pozzi, 363 F.3d 89, 110 (2d Cir.2004) (quoting Harlen Assocs. v. Inc. Vill. of Mineola, 273 F.3d 494, 499 (2d Cir.2001)). To the extent Harvey is proceeding under an Olech theory, Harvey must show that he was intentionally treated differently from similarly situated individuals and that the basis for this treatment was irrational, although not based on an impermissible classification. Harvey cannot prove that he was treated differently from similarly situated individuals, which is essential to prevailing on either theory.[6] Harvey was a supervisor of about nine employees; the record does not offer any evidence as to how Mark treated a female supervisor. Further, on a more generic level, the record only contains conclusory statements regarding Mark's treatment of male custodians compared to her treatment of female custodians. Therefore, Harvey cannot show that defendants, either because of his sex or simply without any rational basis, treated him differently than other similarly situated employees.[7]
III. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, defendant's motion for summary judgment (dkt.# 36) is GRANTED. Judgment for the defendants shall enter on all counts of the complaint. The Clerk of the Court shall close this file.
NOTES
[1] Harvey seeks to join the State Board of Trustees for the Hartford Public Schools as a defendant in this matter. In a separate order issued herewith, Harvey's motion is denied because his substantive claims against the agents of the responsible principal, whether it is the City of Hartford or the State Board of Trustees for the Hartford Public Schools, lack merit.
[2] Harvey has withdrawn the Third and Fifth claims for relief set forth in the complaint.
[3] Defendants also contend that Harvey was not qualified to hold his position, and therefore cannot even establish a prima facie case of discrimination. The court does not find for the defendants on this ground. Because Harvey's burden when attempting to make out a prima facie case is de minimis, see McDonnell Douglas Corp., 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, the court cannot find that, as a matter of law, Harvey has failed to establish that he was qualified to hold the position of Lead Night Custodian.
[4] Prior to Olech, the Court of Appeals also required the plaintiff to show malice or bad faith on the part of the defendant in a selective treatment case. See Giordano v. City of New York, 274 F.3d 740, 751 (2d Cir.2001). In light of Olech, however, it is unclear whether intentional conduct may be sufficient alone to satisfy an equal protection claim. See id. For the purpose of deciding this motion, the court assumes that intentional conduct is sufficient to state an equal protection claim.
[5] Harvey does not specify a theory upon which he wishes to proceed.
[6] To the extent Harvey proceeds on a selective prosecution theory, his claim also fails because he cannot prove intentional discrimination, as stated previously herein.
[7] Because the court finds that Mark, or any other individual in the employ of the City of Hartford, did not violate the U.S. Constitution, and Harvey's claims against the City of Hartford, or any other purported principal of the agents named in this lawsuit, are derivative of the claims against the agents, Harvey's claims against the City of Hartford fail. To the extent his claims are not derivative of the agents' conduct, Harvey has offered absolutely no evidence in support of his claims, which must necessarily fail.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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FreeLaw
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657 F.3d 488 (2011)
Basil A. FRYE, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
THOMPSON STEEL COMPANY, INCORPORATED, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 10-1900.
United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.
Argued January 13, 2011.
Decided September 2, 2011.
*489 James F. McCluskey, Attorney, Jennifer Friedland (argued), Momkus McCluskey, LLC, Lisle, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Michael T. Graham, Attorney, McDermott, Will & Emery, Chicago, IL, Heather E. Sussman (argued), Attorney, McDermott, Will & Emery, Boston, MA, for Defendant-Appellant.
Before RIPPLE, EVANS[*] and SYKES, Circuit Judges.
RIPPLE, Circuit Judge.
Basil Frye brought this ERISA[1] action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against his former employer, Thompson Steel Company. Mr. Frye sought review of a denial of pension benefits by the Thompson Steel Retirement Committee ("the Committee"), which administers a company-sponsored retirement plan. The Committee had determined that the plan required it to offset against his pension the amount Mr. Frye previously had received from Thompson Steel in settlement of two Illinois workers' compensation permanent partial disability claims. On cross-motions for summary judgment on the administrative record, the district court held that the Committee had misread the plain language of the plan and that the offset therefore was arbitrary and capricious. Accordingly, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of Mr. Frye and remanded the matter to the Committee for a new determination. Thompson Steel now appeals.
We conclude that the decision of the Committee was not arbitrary and capricious. The Committee's determination that the offset provision is applicable has rational support in the plan's terms. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the district court and remand the case with directions that the court grant summary judgment for Thompson Steel.
I
BACKGROUND
A. Facts
In 2007, Mr. Frye, a longtime employee at Thompson Steel and a member of the United Steelworkers of America, Local 7773, retired when Thompson Steel's Franklin Park, Illinois steel plant, at which he had worked for forty-two years, was shut down. At the time of the shutdown, he had the choice of being laid off or of taking early retirement. He chose the latter.
Thompson Steel and Mr. Frye's union had negotiated the terms of the benefit plan. Under its terms, Mr. Frye's pension payment, without any offset, was $688.13 a month. The Committee notified him, however, *490 that payment of his pension would be deferred for eight years and two months. According to the Committee, the terms of the benefit plan required that, before the pension payments could start, Mr. Frye had to pay back the total amount of payments from workers' compensation settlements that he had received after sustaining two on-the-job injuries in 2005 and 2006. The Committee later recalculated the amount due and increased the offset period to about ten years and two months. See R.30-3 at 2 (AR0002).[2]
1.
We now turn to a detailed examination of the payments that are the basis of the claimed deduction from Mr. Frye's retirement pension. During his employment at Thompson Steel, Mr. Frye suffered two workplace injuries, one to his right arm in 2005 and one to his left leg almost exactly one year later. After his arm injury, Mr. Frye missed twelve weeks of work and received $6,893.16or $574.43 per weekin "temporary total disability benefits" for lost wages. Id. at 15 (AR0072). After his leg injury, he missed no work and did not receive any temporary disability benefits. He continued to work for another year until the plant closed.
Mr. Frye also received workers' compensation settlement awards for permanent partial disabilities of $48,597.06 for his arm injury and $35,291.50 for his leg injury from Thompson Steel. The total award amount was $83,888.56. After the subtraction of attorney's fees, the cost of obtaining medical reports and the cost of making copies of exhibits and reports, Mr. Frye actually received $75,622.09. See id. at 16, 18 (AR0073, AR0075).
The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission ("IWCC") calculated the amount of Mr. Frye's settlement awards in the following manner. The Illinois Workers' Compensation Act, 820 ILCS 305, contains a schedule that sets a certain number of weeks' compensation for the loss of a body part or the loss of use of a body part, called a "permanent partial disability" ("PPD").[3] For example, at the time Mr. Frye was injured, the loss of an arm or the full loss of the use of an arm was set at 235 weeks PPD, and the loss of a leg at 215 weeks PPD. See 820 ILCS 305/8(e)(10), (12). Because Mr. Frye lost only part of the use of his limbs, the number of weeks was multiplied by the percentage of lost use. IWCC determined that Mr. Frye had lost 40% of the use of his right arm and 35% of the use of his left leg; after multiplication, this resulted in 94 weeks for the arm and 75.25 weeks for the leg. R.30-3 at 16, 18 (AR0073, AR0075). Therefore, IWCC determined the total settlement amount by multiplying the number of weeks PPD by a statutorily fixed percentage, 60%, of Mr. Frye's average weekly wage for the year preceding the injury.[4] The settlement agreements recite that, given Mr. Frye's life expectancy of 16.8 years from the date of settlement, the settlement amount would compensate Mr. Frye for the equivalent of $86.56 per week for the rest of his life. See id. The award did not include medical expenses, which also were paid by Thompson Steel.
*491 2.
We now examine the deduction of these settlement amounts for permanent partial disability from Mr. Frye's pension. To ensure a comprehensive understanding, we describe the key provisions of the retirement plan that are pertinent to this matter.
The pension offset is based on section 4.8 of the retirement plan. That section provides:
Any amount paid to or on behalf of any Employee or Pensioner on account of injury or occupational disease causing disability in the nature of a permanent disability for which the Company is liable. . . pursuant to Workers' Compensation. . . shall be deducted from or charged against any regular pension payable under this Plan[.]
R.30-5 at 72-73 (AR00221-22) (emphasis added). The Committee determined that this provision applies to Mr. Frye's permanent partial disability awards and that Thompson Steel is entitled to recoup the $83,888.56 by withholding Mr. Frye's pension payments in the full amount of $688.13 a month until the awards are paid back. Under this determination, the Committee will not begin paying Mr. Frye any portion of his pension for 121.9 months, or approximately ten years and two months, from the date of his retirement.
Mr. Frye challenged this determination before the Committee. He contended that a definition of "disability" contained elsewhere in the plan constrains the Committee's discretion to interpret the offset provision as applicable to his injuries. Specifically, section 3.4 of the plan defines "disability" and "disabled" as
totally disabled by bodily injury or disease so as to be prevented thereby from engaging in any occupation or employment for remuneration or profit[,] . . . [which disability] shall have continued for a period of six consecutive months and, in the opinion of a qualified physician,. . . will be permanent and continuous during the remainder of his life.
Id. at 67 (AR00216) (emphasis added). Mr. Frye took the view that this definition does not include his injuries because he continued to work for two years after the first injury until he retired and, presumably, still could work today.
In its letter denying Mr. Frye's challenge, the Committee maintained that it "has consistently interpreted and applied this definition only to determine eligibility for a Disability Retirement and not to determine the applicability of an offset for `permanent disability' under Section 4.8." R.30-3 at 22 (AR0079). Instead, "[t]he characterization of monies received on account of `permanent disability' under Section 4.8 is a function of the payment, itself, not an unrelated eligibility definition under the Plan," and because IWCC characterized Mr. Frye's settlement as a "permanent partial disability," the plan "mandates the offset" to Mr. Frye's pension. Id. Mr. Frye filed an appeal with the Committee, which also was denied. The Committee's decision on appeal provided the following elaboration of its earlier reasoning:
The reference to "permanent disability" in Schedule C, Article 4.8 refers to the legal characterization of the payment received by the employee, not the plan's definition of "permanent disability" for pension eligibility purposes. In Mr. Frye's case, the Illinois Workers Compensation Commission characterized the benefits he received as payments in respect of his "permanent disability." Accordingly, those payments were properly deducted from his pension benefit pursuant to Schedule C, Article 4.8. The Committee's denial of Mr. Frye's claim is consistent with its previous interpretation and application of Schedule C, Article 4.8 to awards for permanent partial *492 disability under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act.
Id. at 28 (AR0085).
B. Proceedings Before the District Court
Mr. Frye then filed this action against Thompson Steel in the district court under section 502 of ERISA. See 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B). This provision permits a plan participant to bring a civil action "to recover benefits due to him under the terms of his plan, to enforce his rights under the terms of the plan, or to clarify his rights to future benefits under the terms of the plan." Id. After both parties moved for summary judgment on the administrative record, the district court granted judgment in favor of Mr. Frye and remanded to the Committee for a new determination.
According to the district court, the Committee's deduction of benefits was arbitrary and capricious because it ignored the plain language of section 3.4 of the plan. The court agreed with Mr. Frye that this section defines "disability" not as a function of IWCC's characterization of the payment, but as being "totally disabled by bodily injury or disease so as to be prevented thereby from engaging in any occupation or employment for remuneration or profit." R.30-5 at 67 (AR00216) (emphasis added); see R.53 at 5-7.
The district court explained that, without this definition, interpreting the offset provision of section 4.8 to require deductions from Mr. Frye's pension because a "permanent partial disability" is "in the nature of a permanent disability" would have been reasonable, which usually is all that is required for a plan administrator's interpretation to survive review. See R.53 at 4. Yet here, the specific definition provided in section 3.4, and made applicable to the offset provision in section 4.8 by section 1.9, controlled. It would be unreasonable, held the court, to employ a new definition for a term already defined in the plan. Instead, what the Committee should have doneand would have to do on remandis to determine whether Mr. Frye received payments on account of an injury that met the requirements for a disability as set out in section 3.4 or that was in the nature of such a disability.
II
DISCUSSION
A.
The parties agree that, because the plan vests in the Committee the discretion to interpret the plan's terms and to determine eligibility for benefits, we, like the district court, must review the Committee's determination deferentially, "asking only whether the . . . decision was arbitrary or capricious." Hess v. Reg-Ellen Mach. Tool Corp. Emp. Stock Ownership Plan, 502 F.3d 725, 727 (7th Cir.2007).
Under arbitrary-or-capricious review, we look to "whether the plan administrator communicated `specific reasons' for its determination to the claimant, whether the plan administrator afforded the claimant `an opportunity for full and fair review,' and `whether there is an absence of reasoning to support the plan administrator's determination.'" Majeski v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., 590 F.3d 478, 484 (7th Cir.2009) (quoting Leger v. Tribune Co. Long Term Disability Benefit Plan, 557 F.3d 823, 832-33 (7th Cir.2009)). This last requirementabsence of reasoninghas been stated in various formulations.[5] The semantical variations no doubt reflect *493 the different situations in which fiduciaries must make determinations affecting eligibility. These situations vary significantly. For instance, a fiduciary may be required in one case to assess the quality and quantity of evidence submitted by a beneficiary to support a claim; in another, the task may be to determine whether the submitted evidence can be characterized as fulfilling a particular requirement of the plan. Here, the Committee was faced with a question of plan interpretation.
As a general rule, "federal common law principles of contract interpretation govern" the interpretation of ERISA plans. Swaback v. Am. Info. Techs. Corp., 103 F.3d 535, 540 (7th Cir.1996). In this context, we have said that the fiduciary, in interpreting the plan, is not free, by virtue of its discretion, "to disregard unambiguous language in the plan." Marrs v. Motorola, Inc., 577 F.3d 783, 786 (7th Cir.2009); Swaback, 103 F.3d at 540. On the other hand, the fiduciary's "use of interpretive tools to disambiguate ambiguous language is . . . entitled to deferential consideration by a reviewing court." Marrs, 577 F.3d at 786 (emphasis omitted). In using such tools, the fiduciary may not, of course, rewrite or modify the plan. See Ross v. Indiana State Teacher's Ass'n Ins. Trust, 159 F.3d 1001, 1011 (7th Cir.1998). "Interpretation and modification are different; the power to do the first does not imply the power to do the second." Cozzie v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., 140 F.3d 1104, 1108 (7th Cir.1998). Rather, the fiduciary must reach an interpretation compatible with the language and the structure of the plan document. Of course, "it is not our function to decide whether we would reach the same conclusion as the administrator." Sisto v. Ameritech Sickness & Accident Disability Benefit Plan, 429 F.3d 698, 701 (7th Cir.2005) (internal quotation marks omitted).
B.
We begin our analysis by examining thoroughly the text of the sections of the plan that are pertinent to the inquiry.
At the time relevant to this action, Thompson Steel had several plants throughout the United States. Before 2003, the company negotiated and entered into separate benefit plan agreements with the local unions representing workers at each plant. In 1997, Thompson Steel entered into a Supplemental Agreement Covering Pensions ("the Supplemental Agreement") with Local Union No. 7773, the union that represented workers at the now-interred Franklin Park Plant where Mr. Frye worked. Thompson Steel then merged the Supplemental Agreement into its Retirement Plan for Salaried Employees of Thompson Steel Company, Inc. ("the Master Plan"), see R.30-4 at 36 (AR00107), which includes special provisions applicable to particular plants.[6]*494 Schedule C to the Master Plan governs workers at the Franklin Park Plant.[7]
Section 1 of Schedule C covers definitions and provides that these definitions apply throughout Schedule C. R.30-5 at 63 (AR00212) ("For purposes of this Schedule C, terms defined in section 1.3 of the Plan shall have the meanings assigned therein, and the following terms shall have the meanings specified below."). One such defined term is "disability." According to section 1.9, the terms "`Permanently incapacitated', `permanent incapacity' and `disability' shall have the meanings stated in section 3.4." Id. at 64 (AR00213) (emphasis added).
Section 3.4, titled "Disability Retirement," sets out the terms upon which an employee who has been permanently incapacitated may retire early. It defines "permanently incapacitated" as follows:
An Employee shall be deemed to be permanently incapacitated (as the term "permanently incapacitated" is used herein) and shall be retired only (i) if he has been totally disabled by bodily injury or disease so as to be prevented thereby from engaging in any occupation or employment for remuneration or profit and (ii) if such total disability shall have continued for a period of six consecutive months and, in the opinion of a qualified physician, it will be permanent and continuous during the remainder of his life.
Id. at 67 (AR00216). Section 3.4 also provides that, "[a]s used herein, the terms `disability' and `disabled' shall have the same meanings as the phrases `permanent incapacity' or `permanently incapacitated', respectively." Id.
Finally, section 4.8, entitled "Deduction for Disability Payments," provides:
Any amount paid to or on behalf of any Employee or Pensioner on account of injury or occupational disease causing disability in the nature of a permanent disability for which the Company is liable. . . pursuant to Workers' Compensation. . . shall be deducted from or charged against any regular pension payable under this Plan[.]
Id. at 72-73 (AR00221-22) (emphasis added). This section continues:
provided, however, there shall not be deducted from any regular pension payable prior to age sixty-five (65) because of eligibility arising under section 3.4 any payments which shall be received by the Pensioner under Workers' Compensation or Occupational Disease laws for any disability in the nature of a permanent disability.
Id. at 73 (AR00222).
C.
Keeping firmly in mind the applicable standards governing the authority of the Committee, we now turn to an examination of the decision of the Committee with respect to these provisions and the review of that decision by the district court.
The Committee determined that Mr. Frye's permanent partial disability workers' compensation payments were subject to the offset provision of section 4.8 of the benefit plan. In its view, the payments he received for his permanent partial disabilities were received on account of disabilities "in the nature of a permanent disability." R.53 at 4. As the district court noted, when section 4.8 is read alone, there is nothing irrational about calling a permanent partial disability a "disability in the nature of a permanent disability" and basing an offset *495 provision on "the legal characterization," R.30-3 at 28 (AR0085), made by a state workers' compensation commission.
The district court believed, however, that there was one major infirmity in accepting this construction of the benefit plan. Employing the definition of disability in section 3.4, which is made applicable throughout Schedule C by section 1.9, "disability" as used anywhere in Schedule C must mean "permanent incapacity," which in turn must mean an injury rendering an employee "totally disabled by bodily injury or disease so as to be prevented thereby from engaging in any occupation or employment for remuneration or profit" and which, in the opinion of a physician, "will be permanent and continuous during the remainder of [the Employee's] life." R.30-5 at 67 (AR00216). Under this reasoning, held the court, Mr. Frye's payments for partial disabilities could not be offset against the retirement plan payments.
Yet, as Thompson Steel observes, importing this definition from section 3.4 into the offset provision in section 4.8 of Schedule C poses an interpretative ambiguity because of section 4.8's double use of "disability." See id. at 72 (AR00221). If the definition from section 1.9 applies to both uses of disability in section 3.4, then the relevant portion of the operative sentence would read something along the lines of "a total and permanent bodily disability preventing further employment in the nature of a total and permanent bodily disability preventing further employment," which is circular.
Alternatively, of course, the section 3.4 definition may not have been intended to apply to the offset provision at all, but it inadvertently was made applicable to the offset provision when the drafters overlooked the roundabout effect of section 1.9.
A review of the rest of the plan does not shed any definitive light on the ambiguity. Neither the language nor the structure of Schedule C or of the Master Plan as a whole can solve conclusively the interpretative difficulties posed by the offset provision. Were we sifting through the pieces independently, we might have concluded that Mr. Frye's interpretation should carry the day. However, reconciling the conflicting provisions of the plan by dealing with the difficulties posed by its language is precisely the task entrusted to a plan administrator vested with interpretative discretion by the plan document.
To be sure, "[d]eferential review is not no review; deference need not be abject. Sometimes the structure of the plan or sheer common sense or inconsistent interpretations will provide the court with a handle for pronouncing the administrator's determination arbitrary and capricious." Gallo v. Amoco Corp., 102 F.3d 918, 922 (7th Cir.1996). Here, however, the plan contains a real ambiguity that the Committee had to face and resolve. The offset provision, when read in relation to the remainder of the plan, is sufficiently ambiguous that its meaning cannot be ascertained from its plain language or from the structure of the document. Resolving how the terms relate to one another calls for a detailed interpretative process, and ERISA permits that process to be entrusted to the Committee. See Comrie v. IPSCO, Inc., 636 F.3d 839, 843 (7th Cir.2011).
The Committee's resolution of this ambiguity was not arbitrary or capricious. To prevail, Mr. Frye had to demonstrate that there was no "rational support in the record," Sellers v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., 627 F.3d 627, 632 (7th Cir.2010) (quotation marks omitted), for the Committee's determination that the offset provision applies to his workers' compensation partial disability payments. He did not carry this burden. Although Mr. Frye's alternate interpretation was also reasonable, the *496 Committee adopted a reasonable construction of the phrase "disability in the nature of a permanent disability," considered Mr. Frye's contention regarding the definition of "disability" in section 3.4 and communicated a rational explanation for its decision. The phrase "in the nature of" suggests a broad and somewhat fluid concept of qualifying disabilities that lends itself quite naturally to payments for injuries denoted permanent partial disabilities by the workers' compensation statute. It also could be indicative of the drafters' intent to widen the scope of the offset provision to include disabilities that are like permanent disabilities but are not permanent in the strictest sense. The specific mention of workers' compensation payments in section 4.8 provides further rational support for the Committee's decision to base the offset on IWCC's characterization of the injury. Moreover, there is no evidence that the Committee has applied the plan provisions inconsistently or that it manufactured its interpretation for the occasion. Therefore, the Committee's decision fell within the bounds of its discretion.
The district court's decision granting summary judgment in favor of Mr. Frye must be reversed. Because it is clear that Mr. Frye cannot prevail as a matter of law, Thompson Steel is entitled on remand to a grant of summary judgment in its favor. See Swaback, 103 F.3d at 544 (stating that, "in instances in which the facts and law establish that the appellant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, we are free to direct the district court to enter judgment in appellant's favor").
Conclusion
The judgment of the district court is reversed and the case is remanded with instructions to grant summary judgment in favor of Thompson Steel. Thompson Steel may recover its costs in this court.
REVERSED and REMANDED with INSTRUCTIONS
NOTES
[*] Circuit Judge Evans died on August 10, 2011, and did not participate in the decision of this case, which is being resolved by a quorum of the panel under 28 U.S.C. § 46(d).
[1] Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.
[2] Citations to documents in the administrative record will contain a citation to the district court record followed by a parallel citation to the administrative record page number (AR) in parentheses.
[3] See 27 Donald Ramsell, Illinois Practice, Illinois Workers' Compensation Law § 18:1 (2009).
[4] For example, in the year preceding the injury to his arm, Mr. Frye's average weekly wage was $861.65, 60% of which is $516.99. $516.99 multiplied by 94 (weeks PPD) equals $48,597.06, the settlement amount for the arm injury. See R.30-3 at 15-16 (AR0072-73).
[5] See, e.g., Majeski v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., 590 F.3d 478, 484 (7th Cir.2009) (holding that an administrator's "failure to address [key] evidence in its determination surely constitutes an absence of reasoning"); Marrs v. Motorola, Inc., 577 F.3d 783, 786 (7th Cir.2009) (stating that a court may "reject the administrator's interpretation only if it is unreasonable (arbitrary and capricious)" (internal quotation marks omitted)); Fischer v. Liberty Life Assurance Co., 576 F.3d 369, 376 (7th Cir.2009) ("We will not uphold a termination of benefits if there is no support in the record for the ultimate decision."); id. at 377 (affirming an administrator's decision because "the evidence permitted it"); Hess v. Reg-Ellen Mach. Tool Corp. Emp. Stock Ownership Plan, 502 F.3d 725, 727 (7th Cir.2007) (insisting that courts will not overturn an administrator's decision unless "it is `downright unreasonable'" (quoting Cozzie v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., 140 F.3d 1104, 1110 (7th Cir.1998))); Dabertin v. HCR Manor Care, Inc., 373 F.3d 822, 828 (7th Cir.2004) ("The committee must articulate a rational connection between the facts found, the issue to be decided, and the choice made."); Ross v. Indiana State Teacher's Ass'n Ins. Trust, 159 F.3d 1001, 1011 (7th Cir.1998) (upholding decision because the administrator's "approach was reasonable in light of the plan language").
[6] See R.30-4 at 39 (AR00110) (listing Exhibit B: Boston Plan; Exhibit C: Worcester Plan; Exhibit D: Randolph Plan; Schedule A: Merger Roseville Plan; Schedule C: Merger Local Union 7773 Plan; and Schedule D: Merger Local Union 5211-01 Plan).
[7] The Master Plan was amended and restated effective January 1, 2007, but Schedule C was not altered by these amendments.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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FreeLaw
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News Article
Rebels claim points over Force in Perth
The Melbourne Rebels have claimed a seven-point victory over the Emirates Western Force in Perth tonight, taking the match 30-23 – an identical scoreline to the two sides’ Week One encounter.
While the home side enjoyed its share of attacking possession and crossed for three tries with another disallowed, it was unable to make up the eventual difference, taking only a bonus point from the to-and-fro encounter.
Emirates Western Force Head Coach Michael Foley said he was disappointed that tonight’s performance did not build on the development the side had shown in its earlier matches.
“That was a game that we could have won,” he said. “Up until this point we’ve had some results that haven’t gone our way but the shape of the game for us has been much, much better previously.
“We’re very disappointed with that performance; within the vicinity of 20 turnovers in that match makes it very, very hard for you to build pressure and ultimately we got pipped.
“There was times out there that we could have got other points and I think had we got away with the result tonight, I’d still feel the same way. I don’t think that was a performance consistent with anything we’ve done this year.”
While the Force controlled possession through the opening exchanges, it was the Rebels that hit the scoreboard first with a James O’Connor penalty goal and tries to Hugh Pyle and Jason Woodward opening up a 15-0 lead after 20 minutes.
The home side appeared to have responded when outside centre Winston Stanley put Hugh McMeniman in down the left wing, only for TMO Matt Goddard to adjudge that McMeniman had knocked on in the act of grounding the ball.
The Force crossed in earnest 13 minutes later when captain Matt Hodgson overlooked a simple shot at goal to drag his team back in to the match. The risk was rewarded with Stanley diving over in the corner two phases later to open the Force’s account.
While his conversion faded across the goal face, Sias Ebersohn landed two penalty goals late in the half to bring the deficit to four points, going into the break at 15-11.
The Rebels restored some breathing space nine minutes into the new term when winger Richard Kingi charged onto a short O’Connor pass to score, with the Melbourne fullback landing a 58th-minute penalty goal for a 23-11 lead.
The Force sparked to life on the hour mark when fullback Will Tupou leapt over for his first Super Rugby try, while a neat Stanley grubber six minutes later allowed winger Pat Dellit to slide in behind the defence for his maiden provincial five-pointer, levelling the scores at 23-all.
With both sides eyeing off a much-needed win, it was the speed of man-of-the-match Woodward that settled the score when he kicked through and beat the converging defence to touch down for the final converted try of the evening.
While the Force battled away in the dying minutes for the draw, it was unable to bridge the gap and will return to nib Stadium next Saturday (13 April) to take on the Crusaders.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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When an emergency or processing of an emergent affair occurs, a congestion of network resources may be caused. However, to ensure the work of people such as government officials, firemen and policemen using the normally used network resources, these people may be given the priority to use the network resources that these people can still access the network and acquire services during a network congestion. The service that a specific user has the priority to access the network is called eMPS.
An EPS (Evolved Packet System, an evolved packet system) is a new mobile communication network defined under the guidance of an evolved plan. Although the EPS has a new network framework, a lot of voice services of an operator run in a CS (Circuit Switched, circuit switched) domain of an original 2G or 3G network. To reuse the existing CS domain in the EPS, the industry provides a technology of connecting a CS domain core network to an EPS network through an MSC (Mobile Switch Center, mobile switch center) entity in a 2G or 3G network and falling back to the CS domain through the connection to execute the voice service. The technology is called CSFB. The main execution process of CSFB includes:
When a UE (User Equipment, user equipment) prepares to initiate a CS mobile originating (Mobile Originating, MO) service, the UE needs to switch to the 2G or 3G network preferentially and choose to camp on one 2G or 3G cell, and then starts the MO service; when the MSC entity receives one mobile terminated (MT, Mobile Terminated) service, through a SGs interface between the MSC entity and an MME (Mobility Management Entity, mobility management entity), the MSC entity sends an MT paging message to the MME, and the MME pages the UE through an EPS network; after receiving the MT paging message, the UE first needs to switch to the 2G or 3G network preferentially and choose to camp on one 2G or 3G cell, and then completes subsequent processing of the MT service.
If a network side fails to learn whether a UE has a priority access right when the eMPS needs to be performed in the CSFB mechanism, the network side fails to provide an eMPS service for the UE.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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USPTO Backgrounds
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Based in San Francisco, the Frite Nite collective is headed up by Salva, the producer who shot to popularity with his synergistic debut album, Complex Housing, earlier this year. The album melded together many of the emerging music styles in dance music, and that same synergy is prevalent on the collective’s compilation, Surreal Estate, featuring 17 tracks that mix everything from house to hip-hop, dubstep to juke, and all of the electronic funk that sitting in-between. The list of names reads like a who’s who of bass, with many artists not traditionally associated with the tight-knit group, such as Sepalcure and Starkey, alongside stalwarts Comma and B. Bravo.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Sepalcure’s “Deep City Insects” acts an overture of themes while maintaining their characteristically deep mood. It’s an evocative track, full of sweeping chords and echoing percussion that back soulful vocal phrases. While much of Surreal Estate ramps up the energy level, the first couple tracks slowly escalate from this point. Normally Comma’s tracks are very kinetic and laden with hip-hop swagger. His “Vacancy,” though, picks up well from Sepalcure, presenting a dark bass line up against diva cut-ups and skeletal beats. It’s a different take on the same mood that bridges the gap to XI’s stuttering “Whiteout” and Kuru & UFO!’s “Aoki,” a bombastic footwork-inflected roller. A brief break comes in the form of Distal’s quirky “Mamanimal,” whose bright synth squiggles and energized beat sound like a Timbaland from the future.
One of the strongest tracks is Starkey & Epcot’s “Surreal Estate,” the seeming theme song for the compilation. Starkey alternates between live-sounding drum breaks and bass heavy grime beats throughout the track, offering a dynamic change for Epcot’s psychedelic chorus. The lyrics refer to a confusion about what’s real in this time and place and fit along with shifting production techniques. The similarly interesting “Street Codes” from Quitter (NastyNasty & So What) is a rough footwork production, using all the frenetic energy it can muster and combining it with wailing synths and MC samples. Boss man Salva comes in late with “Policy,” deep in the second half of the compilation, and it’s quite an escalation from the slinky house funky of Complex Housing. The synth melody has more in common with dubstep, even though he keeps an electro feeling with his drums and bass. It’s an amped track, definitely set for the dance floor, like much of Surreal Estate.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The compilation closes with another trilogy of more subdued tracks. S0n!ka’s “Down Time” is a late night creeper while Danny Corn’s “Curiophilia” maintains a brisk tempo with lighter melodic elements and spooky vocal sampling. The seven-minute descent of Wheez-ie’s “As I Watch It Unravel” does much of the same job as Sepalcure’s opener, except as an epilogue. It folds in elements of much of what has gone before, but in a new context that lays bare the cross points. Deep melodics set against juke, cut-up vocals, and synths that convey real emotion. Compilations are always a difficult beast to analyze. When they are full of disparate styles, it stands out like a sore thumb. When they are full of a lot of seeming devotees of one style, they do not introduce anything new to the listener. Surreal Estate succeeds by presenting an arc of music that shows the ties between variations in current bass music.
Related Posts
[…] hoops of bass music to get there. On the flip, “Run It” would have sounded at home on Frite Nite’s recent Surreal Estate compilation, all irregular rhythms and energetically intricate synth design. It’s not necessarily Lando […]
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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Q:
promise.all then structure not working as expected
I am pretty new on Node stuff so I do apologise in advance if it is quite basic.
I am trying to trigger a function once, three asynchronous functions have already finished. This is my approach:
First file:
./promise.js
var reqHandler = require('./asyncTesting');
var Promise = require('bluebird');
var listOfMed = ["med1","med2","med3"];
function postMethod() {
console.log("Post done");
}
reqHandler.reqHandler(listOfMed)
.then(function() {
console.log("Post done");
});
The second file:
./asyncTesting.js
var Promise = require('bluebird');
function function2() {
// all the stuff you want to happen after that pause
console.log("Requesting json for med2");
}
function callFunction(method){
if (method =="med2"){
setTimeout(function2, 3000);
}else{
console.log("Requesting json for "+method);
}
}
function reqHandler(listOfMed) {
return Promise.all(listOfMed.map(callFunction));
}
exports.reqHandler = reqHandler;
The expected output would be:
Requesting json for med1
Requesting json for med3
Requesting json for med2
Post done
However, what I really got on console is:
Requesting json for med1
Requesting json for med3
Post done
Requesting json for med2
Thanks in advance
A:
function callFunction(method){
return new Promise(function(resolve,reject){
if (method =="med2"){
setTimeout(function(){function2();resolve()}, 3000);
}else{
console.log("Requesting json for "+method);resolve();
}
});
}
Promise.all means when all promises given finished,it will return.
Your code has three promise,though there is a delayed part,but function will finished directly.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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StackExchange
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Mauer bests Royalty
July 25, 2013
Joe Mauer is about the closest thing Minnesota has to royalty, so it is appropriate that he and his wife, Maddie, had twin daughters on Wednesday, one-upping Britain's Royal Couple, who had just one baby earlier this week.
Of course, William and Kate's son, who has been named George Alexander Louis, is third in line to be king of England. It is estimated his birth may add some 250 million pounds to Great Britain's economy in sales of souvenir and commemorative items.
Mauer's daughters will grow up as normal kids (whose dad, unlike other dads, makes millions of dollars a year playing baseball). They?might possibly be prom queen candidates some day at Cretin-Derham Hall.
Whatever the future for the three babies, we wish them and their parents much happiness and success.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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The pitch is perfectly crazy in Anna Kendrick’s walk on the dark side of filmmaker Paul Feig’s warped sense of humor, “A Simple Favor.” It’s martini-sipper mom versus martini-swigger mom. Target mom versus Met Gala mom. Aspirational versus extra.
It’s regular mom-meets-mom business, a modern mom-com – until Emily (Blake Lively) goes missing. Emily’s sudden disappearance prompts Stephanie (Kendrick) to mount an investigation by employing her keen Nancy Drew smarts and posting distressed clips of herself on her dorky craft vlog. (Friendship-bracelet tutorials are just gonna have to wait.)
A bit camp? Yep. A bit queer? Obviously. And naturally so, as Kendrick’s 15-year career is steeped in queerness: at age 17, she cut her acting teeth on “Camp,” the 2003 teen musical-comedy directed by out filmmaker Todd Graff; as Beca, she brought covert aca-gayness to the three-part “Pitch Perfect” franchise; and in 2014, the 33-year-old Oscar-nominated actress slipped into Cinderella’s glass slippers for Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods.” And her long, impulsive kiss – “just another Tuesday,” Emily notes – with Lively in “A Simple Favor,” well, it’s not exactly straight, she says.
Here, the longtime ally talks about attempting to allow the lesbian love to bloom between queer-coded “Pitch Perfect” leads Beca and Chloe (Brittany Snow), what irks her about self-congratulatory reactions to celebs coming out and, when it comes to her own sexuality, being open like Emily.
A car sing-along, a little camp, some martinis and a mom makeout sesh: Anna, you sure know what the gay community wants at this point in your career, don’t you?
(Laughs) Oh my gosh! I wasn’t thinking of it in that way, but yeah, it is kind of camp. It takes itself a little seriously, but we’re always winking or having fun. It’s bright and colorful, and there’s an unabashed campiness to it – even though the stakes are very real in places.
You didn’t recognize a queer sensibility going in?
To be honest, when I was going in, there was just so much to play with. I remember having one of those conversations with Blake where we both felt like, “Are we high right now? Are we having a stoner conversation?” Because we were talking about how in a traditional comedy there’s a slider that you’re on from how subtle to how broad, and with this it felt like you weren’t just on this linear slider – you were in three dimensions, and you could go to all these places.
It was so much fun as actors to have that, and I know that sounds really stoner-y and existential and dumb. But the world Paul created had so much possibility, and so I wasn’t really thinking about one group. I was barely getting my brain around what the movie was in the first place! But I think Stephanie is very much an underdog and she’s finding her place in the world. I feel like that’s something that queer people can relate to at one point in their lives or another.
What was it like coming to set for the first time and seeing the giant painting of Blake-as-Emily’s vagina front and center in Emily’s front room?
OK, this is actually really interesting: So that painting – fun fact – was never once on set. That is all post effects. Sometimes it was green screen, and sometimes it was this other painting that was very nice but very Tumblr art. It was actually Blake’s idea to have it be a little bit more, um, obscene. Certainly it’s art, but a little more shocking for Stephanie to see. Not so polished, not so pretty, not so coy. I thought that was really brilliant.
Regarding “Pitch Perfect”: Are we ever gonna get the Beca and Chloe love story that they so deserve?
I know. I definitely wanted to have an ending that was a Bechloe ending, and we did shoot one version where Brittany and I tricked everybody into just shooting one that was just the two of us getting together. We knew it was a long shot. It meant so much to us that there was this following around their latent relationship and, yeah, I thought it would’ve been really cool if it would have ended up coming to fruition in the end. If we ever do a four, I will fight tooth and nail for it, but I’m not sure it’s gonna happen.
Because the studio doesn’t want to go there with their sexuality?
It wasn’t like Universal was like, “There can be no lesbians in ‘Pitch Perfect’!” Because obviously Cynthia Rose is an openly gay character. But I think they were just confused by it because they weren’t listening to all the online chatter about it, whereas I see it every day, and I’m like, “Are you kidding? This is what they want!”
Best lesbian Bechloe fanfiction you’ve read?
OK, I’ve actually only tried to ever read one. It was so sweet and puppy-lovey that I was like, “Aww, I wanted to read some sauciness!” I thought I was gonna get scandalized! Instead, I was like, “Aww! This is, like, so sweet! This reminds me of ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ books.” But I haven’t actually followed up on it.
You once met a guy at a Gelson’s market who told you he does your “Camp” character, Fritzi, in drag. First of all, how often do you run into drag queens at grocery stores who tell you that you’re their inspiration?
(Laughs) Not often enough! That was one of my favorite moments of being recognized, ever. And I’m sorry, what’s the second part of your question? I got too excited.
Which other characters of yours might make good drag material?
Stephanie has a real Sandy-in-“Grease” vibe, where she doesn’t become the bad girl, exactly, but she loosens up and shakes it off a little bit. But I do always still like Rizzo in “Grease,” who is more fun than Sandy, so I’m not sure that Stephanie is necessarily the one. She’d have to really just be letting her hair down.
You’ve said you downplayed Fritzi’s sexuality when you filmed “Camp.”
The thing that made me uncomfortable about Fritzi was I was 16, but it wasn’t so much that she was gay – it was that unrequited gay love situation. I think if she’d been crushing it and getting girls, I would’ve been like, “Awesome, awesome, awesome!” It was just, at 16 you don’t want to be playing the girl that nobody likes, which I totally recognize as I get older is such a silly insecurity issue. But at the time I was definitely like, “Can’t somebody just have a crush on me in a movie – god!”
Would you have approached Fritzi differently in retrospect?
The truth is, I think would have just enjoyed myself. Todd Graff is amazing, and I’m so lucky to have had him as my first film director. And he really got me to do everything that I think that I would’ve done as a more experienced actor, regardless, but I guess I regret that I didn’t enjoy myself more.
You recently won the Choice Twit award at this year’s Teen Choice Awards, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this was your crowning tweet: “Lot of people seem really proud of themselves for announcing they ‘already knew’ Barry Manilow was gay. Yeah……ur the true heroes today guys.”
When a public figure comes out, taking the attitude of like, “Duh, we knew,” is the weirdest thing to me. Even when celebrities announce that they’re pregnant, people aren’t like, “Duh, we could tell three months ago.” They’re like, “Aww, she’s finally ready to talk about the fact that she’s pregnant! That’s amazing!”
And you would think that your sexuality would just be really supported (because) they feel comfortable talking about it now. It’s a really weird topic to feel a sense of superiority that you figured it out first.
So much of what you do is just a bit gay. Was that the case for your role as Santa Claus’s daughter in the forthcoming “Noelle”?
Again, I would say “Noelle” has a touch of camp, so hopefully that will be enjoyable. It’s been so long and I haven’t even seen a cut of it, so I’m like, “What did we make?” Oh, but they did make a point to have same-sex couples wherever we went, whether we were at the North Pole or outside the North Pole.
Getting back to A Simple Favor: Where do you think Stephanie and Emily fall on the Kinsey Scale?
That’s a good question. I think Emily is a surprise for Stephanie, and she is completely in love with her in a way that she can’t totally understand. I do think that Stephanie probably would define herself as straight, except that there is this woman and she really is kind of in love with her and there is a part of her that is attracted to her.
That scene: I remember Blake and I both feeling like neither of us wanted to be the aggressor in the scene. Blake was worried that she would come off as taking advantage of me in that scene because I’m in a very vulnerable place, and I was worried that I would come off like I wanted so much more, and that Blake is just kind of playing and Emily is very comfortable with the fluid aspects of her sexuality, whereas Stephanie has more of an emotional component to it. So, I was worried it would be, like, really sad. We definitely struggled to find that perfect balance of, there’s just this moment and they both get caught up in it and it’s a little uncomfortable. Yeah, it was a fun day.
You’ve been open about your girl crushes over the years. Have you ever had a girl crush that was or could have been romantic?
Let me think about that. I definitely – there’s somebody I’m still friends with, and when we met we kissed. This was after high school, and it was the first time I had kissed a girl where it wasn’t just like, we’re at a party and boys are watching! That horrible performance silliness. But I think I haven’t had that emotional love for a lady, which isn’t saying it could never happen to me, but I think I’m more of an Emily than a Stephanie.
And your lip-lock with your longtime girl crush Blake Lively in this movie – thoughts?
(Laughs) I mean, all I’m ever thinking about in (kissing) scenes is, who has gum? Who has a mint? And I think Blake is probably the same because I’ve never experienced a guy, like, searching for a mint and searching for gum. So, we were the mintiest, freshest two people to have ever kissed in the history of America.
Congratulations!
Thank you. Call Guinness.
“A Simple Favor” is in theaters everywhere Sept. 14.
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RPM, Volume 15, Number 23, June 2 to June 8, 2013
Five Arguments for the Unity of the Covenant of Grace
...Before we move on to a consideration of the covenant program of God and the execution of God's eternal plan of salvation in history, it only remains to point out in conclusion that Reformed dogmaticians for the most part have come to designate this eternal order of the decrees as the pactum salutis or "covenant of redemption" to distinguish it from the concrete, tangible execution in history of the specifically redemptive aspects of the same eternal decree, which they designate the "covenant of grace"...pg.502
A. Once the covenant of grace had come to expression in the spiritual promises of the Abrahamic covenant, the Abrahamic covenant became salvifically definitive for all ages to come.
Immediately after Adam's tragic transgression of the "covenant of works," which had been sovereignly imposed upon him by his Creator (Gen. 3:1-7; see Hos. 6:7), in the hearing of Adam God said to the serpent, and by extension to Satan himself: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel" (Gen. 3:15). Theologians have long recognized in these words both the inauguration of the "covenant of grace" and God's first gracious promise to men of salvation from sin. Not without good reason then has this divine promise been designated the "first gospel proclamation" (protevangelium). The promise is given in "seed-form," true enough, but God clearly stated that someone out of the human race itself ("the woman's seed"), although fatally wounded in the conflict, would destroy the serpent (Satan).
In accord with this promise, God extended grace to certain antediluvian descendants of Adam, for example, to Abel (Gen. 4:4; Heb. 11:4), to Enoch (Gen. 5:22-23; Heb. 11:5), and to Noah (Gen. 6:8-9; see "my covenant in 6:18) 17 and to Noah's family (Gen. 6-8). But this period between the Fall and the flood, it must be acknowledged, saw only a minimal demonstration of restraining and saving grace, as evidenced by the fact that the human race came to moral ruin and was judged. This was doubtless in order that the true nature of sin might be disclosed. 18 Nor was the situation much different during the postdiluvian age prior to the call of Abraham. There is some indication of the operations of special or redemptive grace in this period of human history, such as the identity of Yahweh as "the God of Shem" and the implicit promise of divine grace to the descendants of Japheth, who would "dwell in the tents of Shem" (9:26-27), but again the main feature of this period is the divine judgment in the form of the confusion of tongues at Babel (Gen. 11:1-11) and the consequent dispersion of the postdiluvian people over the face of the earth (Gen. 10) as punishment for the race's manifest expression of pride (Gen. 11:4). Human moral declension in this period again underscored sin's power to corrupt. In sum, the two emphases of the first eleven chapters of Genesis are the pervasive fact and power of human sinfulness and God's holy recoil against sin in every form. And while we see evidences of the divine operations of salvific grace in accordance with the covenant of grace, it is equally true that we see it only minimally displayed.
But with the call of Abraham, the covenant of grace underwent a remarkable advance, definitive for all time to come. The instrument of that advance is the covenant which God made with Abraham which guaranteed and secured soteric blessing for "all the families of the earth." So significant are the promises of grace in the Abrahamic covenant, found in Genesis 12:1-3; 13:14-16; 15:18-21; 17:1-16; 22:16-18, that it is not an overstatement to declare these verses, from the covenantal perspective, as the most important verses in the Bible. The fact that the Bible sweeps across the thousands of years between the creation of man and Abraham in only eleven chapters, with the call of Abraham coming in Genesis 12, suggests that the information given in the first eleven chapters of the Bible was intended as preparatory "background" to the revelation of the Abrahamic covenant. Revelation subsequent to it discloses that all that God has done savingly in grace since the revelation of the Abrahamic covenant is the result and product of it. In other words, once the covenant of grace had come to expression in the salvific promises of the Abrahamic covenant�"that God would be the God of Abraham and his descendants (17:7), and that in Abraham all the nations of the earth would be blessed (12:3; see Rom. 4:13)�"everything that God has done since to the present moment he has done in order to fulfill his covenant to Abraham (and thus his eternal plan of redemption). This suggests that the divine execution of the soteric program envisioned in the covenant of grace, from Genesis 12 onward, should be viewed in terms of the salvific promises contained in the Abrahamic covenant. 19 This line of evidence demonstrates the unity of the covenant of grace from Genesis 3 to the farthest reaches of the future.
If this representation of the salvific significance of the Abrahamic covenant for the unity of the covenant of grace seems to be an overstatement, the following declarations from later divine revelation should suffice to justify it:
1. It is the Abrahamic covenant and none other that God later confirmed with Isaac (Gen. 17:19; 26:3-4) and with Jacob (Gen. 28:13-15; 35:12).
2. God redeemed Jacob's descendants from Egypt (which redemptive act is the Old Testament type of New Testament redemption in Christ) in order to keep his covenant promise to Abraham: "God heard their groanings and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob" (Exod. 2:24; 4:5).
3. Again and again throughout Israel's history in Old Testament times, the inspired authors trace God's continuing extension of divine grace and mercy to Israel directly to his faithfulness to his covenant promises to Abraham:
Exodus 32:12-14: "Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self....' Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened."
Exodus 33:1 (said immediately after the golden calf incident): "Leave this place... and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants.' "
Leviticus 26:42: "I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham."
Deuteronomy 1:8: "Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore he would give to your fathers�"to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
Deuteronomy 4:31: "For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath." (See Deut. 4:37)
Deuteronomy 7:8: "But it was because the Lord... kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery" (See Deut. 9:5; 10:15)
Deuteronomy 9:27: "Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness of this people, their wickedness and their sin."
Deuteronomy 29:12-13: "You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day and sealing it with an oath, to confirm you this day as his people, that he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
Joshua 21:44: "The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers."
Joshua 24:3-4: "I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the River and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau."
Psalm 105:8-10, 42-43: "He remembers his covenant forever..., the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant.... For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham. He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy."
2 Kings 13:23: "But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To this day he has been unwilling to banish them from his presence.
1 Chronicles 16:15�"17: "He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant.
Micah 7:20: "You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago.
Nehemiah 9:7-8: "You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham. You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him.... You have kept your promise because you are faithful."
4. Both Mary and Zechariah declared the first advent of Jesus Christ, including the very act of the Incarnation itself, to be a vital constituent part of the fulfillment of God's gracious covenant promise to Abraham:
Luke 1:54-55: "He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers."
Luke 1:68-73: "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come... to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham."
It should be noted in passing that, whereas Christians today mainly only celebrate the Incarnation of God's Son at Christmas time, Mary and Zechariah, placing this event in its covenant context, saw reason in his coming to celebrate the covenant faithfulness of God to his people. In their awareness of the broader significance of the event and the words of praise which that awareness evoked from them we see biblical theology at its best being worked out and expressed!
5. Jesus, himself the Seed of Abraham (Matt. 1:1; Gal. 3:16), declared that Abraham "rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad" (John 8:56).
6. Peter declared that God sent Jesus to bless the Jewish nation in keeping with the promise he gave to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, in turning them away from their iniquities (Acts 3:25-26).
7. Paul declared that God, when he promised Abraham that "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Gen. 12:3), was declaring that he was going to justify the Gentiles by faith and was announcing the gospel in advance to Abraham (Gal. 3:8). Accordingly he states that all believers "are blessed [by justification] along with Abraham" (Gal. 3:9).
8. Paul also declared that "Christ became [gegenesthai] a Servant of the circumcision... in order to confirm [eis to bebaisai] the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy" (Rom. 15:8-9).
9. Paul further declared that Christ died on the cross, bearing the law's curse, "in order that [hina] the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, in order that [hina] we [that is, Jews and Gentiles] might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Gal. 3:13-14). The two hina, clauses are coordinate, the latter an elaboration of the first. God, having delivered his covenant people among the Jews from the curse of the law through Christ's cross work, by that same cross work is free to deal likewise in grace with the Gentiles, with both Jew and Gentile receiving the promised Spirit through faith.
10. Paul expressly declared also that the Mosaic law introduced several centuries after God gave his covenant promises to Abraham and to his Seed (Christ), "does not set aside the covenant previously established by God [with Abraham] and thus do away with the promise" (Gal. 3:16-17).
11. Paul also declared (1) that Abraham is the "father of all who believe" among both Jews and Gentiles (Rom. 4:11-12), and (2) that all who belong to Christ "are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" which God gave to Abraham (Gal. 3:29).
12. Finally, Christ described the future state of glory in terms of the redeemed "taking their place at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 8:11).
These passages of Scripture make it clear that the promises of God, covenantally given to Abraham, that he would be the God of Abraham and of his (spiritual) descendants after him forever (Gen. 17:7-8) extend temporally to the farthest reaches of the future and include within their compass the entire community of the redeemed. This is just to say that the Abrahamic covenant, in the specific prospect it holds forth of the salvation of the entire church of God, is identical with the soteric program of the covenant of grace, indeed, is identical with the covenant of grace itself. It also means specifically that the blessings of the covenant of grace which believers enjoy today under the sanctions of the New Testament economy are founded upon the covenant which God made with Abraham. Said another way, the "new covenant" itself is simply the administrative "extension and unfolding of the Abrahamic covenant."20 Thus the temporal and spiritual reach of the Abrahamic covenant establishes and secures the organic unity and continuity of the one church of God composed of the people of God living both before and after the cross.
B. The exodus from Egypt�"the Old Testament type par excellence of biblical redemption�"by divine arrangement exhibited the same great salvific principles which governed Christ's work of atonement, both in its accomplished and applied aspects, in the New Testament, thereby teaching the elect in Israel about salvation by grace through faith in the atoning work of Messiah's mediation.
As a major feature of the Old Testament ground for the truth that "everything that was written in the past was written to teach us" (Rom. 15:4; see 1 Cor. 10:1-11, where Paul employs the exodus and certain subsequent wilderness events for this pastoral purpose), the great exodus redemption of the people of God from Egypt (and Moses' inspired record of it) communicated God's redemptive ways to his Old Testament people as it would do later to us, his New Testament people.
That it is not reading too much into the event of the exodus to characterize it as a redemptive event is borne out by the fact that the biblical text represents it precisely that way:
Exodus 6:6: "I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem [w ga alti] you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment."
Exodus 15:13: "In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed [ga alta]."
Deuteronomy 7:8: "But it was because the Lord loved you ... that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed [wayyipdeka] you from the land of slavery."
Deuteronomy 9:26: "0 Sovereign Lord, do not destroy your people, your own inheritance, that you redeemed [padita] by your great power and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand."
The exodus is also described as "Yahweh's salvation" (yesu at yhwh, Exod. 14:13), Moses also writing: "That day the Lord saved [wayyosa] Israel from the hands of the Egyptians." (Exod. 14:30). Later Stephen applied the title "re- deemer" (lytrotes) to Moses, a type of Christ (Acts 7:35).
Far from their becoming after Sinai a nation living under divinely imposed constraints of legalism, the people of the Mosaic theocracy, having been delivered from their slavery as the result of the great redemptive activity of God in the exodus event, became God's "treasured possession," "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exod. 19:5-6; Deut. 7:6) in order to "declare the praises of him who brought them out of darkness into his marvelous light" (see 1 Pet. 2:9). In the exodus God revealed the following four great salvific principles that regulate all true salvation, taught Israel about faith in Christ, and bind the "soteriologies" of the Old and New Testaments indissolubly together into one "great salvation."
.1. The exodus redemption, in both purpose and execution, originated in the sovereign, loving, electing grace of God. This principle is expressly affirmed in Deuteronomy 7:6-8:
You are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers [which oath itself was grounded in sovereign electing grace�"Heb. 6:13-18] that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (emphases supplied)
And it is implied in God's description of the nation as his "firstborn son" in Exodus 4:22-23 (see Deut. 14:1; Isa. 1:2-3; 43:6; 63:16; 64:8; Jer. 3:4; 31:9; Hos. 11:1; Mal. 1:6; 2:10), sonship from the very nature of the case being nonmeritorious and all the more so since Israel's sonship was not sonship by nature (only God the Son is a Son of God by nature) but by adoption (Rom. 9:4).
In actual execution of the exodus it is highly significant that there was little religious or moral difference between the nation of Egypt and Jacob's descendants in Egypt: both peoples being idolatrous (Exod. 12:12; Josh. 24:14; Ezek. 23:8, 19, 2I; but see Deut. 26:7 for evidence that a "remnant" still worshiped Yahweh) and sinful (Deut. 9:6-7). Accordingly it was God himself who had to "make a distinction" between the Egyptians and the Israelites (Exod. 8:22-23; 9:4, 25-26; 10:22-23; 11:7).
2. The exodus redemption was accomplished by Gods almighty power and not by the strength of man (Exod. 3:19-20). Every detail of the exodus event was divinely arranged to highlight the great salvific truth that it is God who must save his people because they are incapable of saving themselves. God permitted Moses to attempt Israel's deliverance at first by his own strategy and in his own strength, and allowed him to fail (Exod. 2:11-15; Acts 7:23-29). Then he sent Moses back to Egypt with the staff of God in his hand to "perform miraculous signs with it" (Exod. 4:17). God himself promised, precisely in order to "multiply" his signs that he might place his power in the boldest possible relief and this in order that both Egypt and Israel would learn that he is God, that he would harden Pharaoh's heart throughout the course of the plagues, and he did so (Exod. 7:3; 10:1-2; 11:9; see Rom. 9:17). And the Song of Moses in Exodus 15 has as its single theme the extolling of God for his mighty power to save. There should have been no doubt in anyone's mind after the event whose power had effected Israel's redemption.
3. The exodus redemption, notwithstanding the two previous facts that it sprang from God's gracious elective purpose and was accomplished by the power of God, actually delivered only those who availed themselves of the expiation of sin afforded by the efficacious covering of the blood of the paschal lamb (Exod. 12:12-13, 21-23, 24-27). This truth underscores the fact that biblical redemption is not simply deliverance by power but deliverance by price as well. 21
That the paschal lamb was a "sacrifice" is expressly declared in Exodus 12:27, 34:25, and 1 Corinthians 5:7. As a biblical principle, wherever the blood of a sacrifice is shed and applied as God has directed so that he stays his judgment, the expiation or "covering" of sin has been effected. Accordingly the exodus redemption came to its climax precisely in terms of a divinely required substitutionary atonement in which the people had to place their confidence if they were to be redeemed. As we will suggest later, Moses could have informed them of the christological significance of the paschal lamb.
4. The exodus redemption resulted in the creation of a new community liberated from slavery in order to serve its gracious new Redeemer and Lord. Again and again God ordered Pharaoh: "Let my people go that they may serve me" (see Exod. 3:18; 4:23; 5:1; 7:16; 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13; 10:3). The Bible knows nothing of a people of God springing into existence as the result of his redemptive activity who then continue to remain under the hostile power of their former master (see Rom. 6:6, 17-22; 7:4-6, 23-25; 8:2-4; 2 Cor. 5:15, 17). Though Pharaoh suggested compromises that would have resulted in something less than complete liberation for Israel (Exod. 8:25, 28; 10:11, 24), Moses would have none of it. Accordingly, Israel left Egypt completely (Exod. 12:37; 13:20), becoming a guided people (Exod. 13:21-22) and a singing people (Exod. 15), who had their sacraments (Exod. 14:21-23; 16:4, 13-15; 17:1-6; see 1 Cor. 10:2-4), and whose perseverance in their pilgrim struggles was dependent ultimately on the intercession of "the man on top of the hill" and not on their own strength and stratagems (Exod. 17:8-16). And far from Israel "rashly accepting the law" at Sinai and "falling from grace" when the nation promised its obedience to God's law, the very preface of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:1-2) places these ten obligations within the context of and represents them as the anticipated outcome of the redemption which they had just experienced. So it was to be through Israel's very obedience to God's commandments that the nation was to evidence before the surrounding nations that it was God's "treasured possession," his "kingdom of priests," and "a holy nation"�"precisely the same way that the church today evidences before the watching world its relationship to God. Peter informs Christians that they, like Israel in Old Testament times, are a "chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, in order that [hopos] you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Pet. 2:9). And Christians, just as Israel was to do through its obedience to God's laws, are to show forth his praises as "aliens and strangers in the world" by "living such good lives among the pagans that . . . they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us" (1 Pet. 2:11-12).
C. Moses and the prophets prophesied about the events of the New Testament age, including the death and resurrection of Christ.
The New Testament writers, following the example of their Lord, regularly justified the existence and nature of the church of Jesus Christ by grounding them in Old Testament prophecy. A few of the clearest examples follow:
1. Jesus said: "the [Old Testament] Scriptures ... testify about me" (John 5:39); he also said: "[Moses] wrote about me" (John 5:46). Jesus teaches here that there are references to him in the Pentateuch, the specific reference in his mind on this occasion probably being the "prophet like unto Moses" of Deuteronomy 18:15.
2. Jesus also declared that Isaiah 53 "must be fulfilled in me, for that [which is written] concerning me is coming to an end" (Luke 22:37; see also Matt. 26:24, 31, 54, 56; Luke 18:31; Acts 8:32-35).
3. Immediately after his resurrection, Jesus said to the Emmaus road disciples: "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter into his glory"" Then Luke reports that "beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] explained [diermeneusen] to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself" (Luke 24:25-27; see John 13:18; 19:24, 28, 36-37; 20:9). Jesus specifically declares here that Moses and the prophets predicted that the Messiah would suffer the very things which he himself had just endured. And he implies that the Emmaus road disciples should have known about these things as a result of Old Testament prophecy.
Christians today often wish that they could have heard Jesus' interpretation of the Old Testament on that occasion. But they can be assured that both the apostles' sermons recorded in Acts�"Luke's "second work"�"and the apostolic letters themselves, in the very way in which they interpret the Old Testament christologically, reflect major features of Christ's Emmaus road exposition.
4. In addition to the numerous well-known Old Testament citations in his sermons and letters that endorsed his teachings about Christ and his work (see, for example, Acts 2:17-21, 25-28, 34; 1 Pet. 2:6-8, 22), Peter said to a Jewish crowd in Jerusalem: "I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer" (Acts 3:17-18), and then, after citing Moses' predictive reference to Christ in terms of the "prophet like me," declared: "Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these [New Testament] days" (Acts 3:22-24).
5. On another occasion, Peter declared: "All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name" (Acts 10:43). Here Peter teaches that the Old Testament prophets designated the Messiah, described precisely in terms of One who would suffer and rise from the dead in the Acts 10 context as the object of Old Testament faith.
6. In 1 Peter 1:10-12, Peter wrote that the Old Testament prophets (1) "spoke of the grace that was to come to you ['God's elect, strangers in the world']," (2) that they "searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow," and (3) that in response to their searching, "it was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven."
It should be noted that according to the Dallas Doctrinal Statement this passage in Peter teaches that the Old Testament saints (this would include the Old Testaments prophets themselves) "did not understand the redemptive significance of the prophecies and types concerning the sufferings of Christ" (see also in this connection the New American Standard Bible's very misleading translation: "what person or time"). But this is not what Peter says. Rather, he says that it was only the time and circumstances (tina e poion kairon, lit. "which or what kind of time") of the Messiah's sufferings and "the after these things glories" which they investigated intently and with great care, but he certainly does not say that they were ignorant of the Messiah's sufferings as such.22 In other words, Peter's "'or' is not disjunctive (as if two contrasted questions are referred to) but conjunctive (one question that could be stated either way): 'What or what kind of period is this"'"23 This fact is borne out by Peter's description of God's revelatory response which answered to the prophets' intense searching. It dealt only with the time factor of messianic prophecy. He revealed to them, not whose sufferings they were about which they spoke�"this they quite apparently already knew�"but when the Messiah's sufferings were to occur. His sufferings, they were informed, were to occur not in their own time but in a later age (see, e.g., Dan. 2:44; 9:2, 24-27), at the beginning of this present age in which men preach the gospel by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
7. In addition to the many well-known Old Testament citations in his sermons and letters, also too numerous to list here, which endorsed his views of Christ, his death, and justification by faith (see, e.g., Rom. 4:3-8), Paul on his missionary journeys regularly "reasoned with [the Jews] from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead" (Acts 17:2-3). For example, in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch he taught that "the people of Jerusalem and their rulers . . . fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath when they condemned him. ...When they had carried out all that had been written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb." (Acts 13:27-30). Beyond all doubt the Old Testament prophets wrote about a suffering Messiah.
8. Paul also declared that "the gospel concerning God's Son ...Jesus Christ our Lord," to which he had been set apart, "God promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures" (Rom. 1:2-3). Paul expressly declares here that the Old Testament prophets wrote about "the gospel concerning God's Son . . . Jesus Christ our Lord."
9. Paul also wrote that "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures" and "was raised the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3-4). From this passage too we learn that the Old Testament Scriptures spoke about the death and resurrection of the Messiah.
10. While defending himself before Agrippa, Paul testified that he was standing trial only because of his teaching concerning "the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God day and night, concerning which hope I am being accused by the Jews" (Acts 26:627). He then explained what he meant by Israel's hope by declaring that throughout his long missionary ministry of some thirty years he had never said anything "beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen�"that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles" (Acts 26:22-23). From these verses it is clear that Paul believed that the Old Testament hope to which Moses and the prophets witnessed was the Messiah's death, resurrection, and saving ministrations, which "light" the Messiah himself would proclaim both directly and through his apostles to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles (see Eph. 2:17; 4:21).
11. While under house arrest in Rome, Paul told the Jewish leaders: "I am wearing this chain because of the hope of Israel [heneken...tes elpidos tou Israel]" (Acts 28:20), which hope was the death, resurrection, and ministry of Messiah. Then Luke tells us that Paul from morning to evening "explained and declared to them the Kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets" (28:23). It is inconceivable that the author of Galatians and Romans would have talked about Jesus from morning to evening from the Old Testament Scriptures and said nothing about Christ's sufferings (see Acts 13:27-30; 17:2-3; 26:22-23).
12. James, moderating the Jerusalem conference assembled in debate in Acts 15, declared in verse 15 that "the words of the prophets are in agreement with [symphonousin]" the missionary activities of the apostles among the Gentiles, and he proceeded to cite Amos 9:11-12 as a summary description of what God had previously revealed in Old Testament times that he would do in behalf of the Gentiles in this present age.
Dispensational scholars have argued that the verb, symphonousin, means in this context "are in agreement with," not "speak about," and simply indicates that the missionary policies being observed in connection with Gentile evangelism in the present age are harmonious with the policies to be followed in the future Jewish kingdom age�"the real referent of Amos's prophecy. But aside from the fact that such an interpretation imposes an inanity on the text since the Jerusalem assembly hardly needed to be informed that God's prescribed missionary policies throughout history are consistent with each other from age to age, this is a classic example of "theological reaching" in order to avoid the obvious. If there is no connection between the cited "words of the [Old Testament] prophets" and the missionary activity of this present age, beyond the mere fact that the (according to dispensationalists, unpredicted) character of the church's present missionary activity among the Gentiles "fits in with" the (according to dispensationalists, predicted) character of Jewish missionary activity among the Gentiles in the latter half of the dispensationalist's "seven-year tribulation period" just before Christ returns and in their millennium, one is left with no perceivable explanation for James's citation of the Amos prophecy in this context. In fact, by this line of reasoning he is made to introduce an irrelevancy that has no bearing on the issue before the assembly. If the dispensationalist should respond that James cited Amos in order to justify, in light of what allegedly was going to be done in the tribulation period and the millennium, the propriety of the character of Gentile evangelism in the present age, he must acknowledge that James violated one of the cardinal canons of dispensational hermeneutics since, according to dispensational thought, one must never attempt to justify a truth or activity for one dispensation by arguing from the normativity of that truth or activity in another dispensation. To do so is to "confuse the dispensations"�"a cardinal sin in dispensational hermeneutics. Furthermore, if James did utilize a kingdom-age practice in order to demonstrate that Gentiles should not be required to be circumcised now, it is not apparent how his conclusion follows from what dispensationalists allege elsewhere will be the practice in the kingdom age, since they argue on the basis of Ezekiel 44:9 that Gentile believers must be circumcised in the kingdom age! If James was really attempting to justify a church-age practice from a future kingdom-age practice, and if he had held the dispensational interpretation of Ezekiel 44:9, he should have drawn the opposite conclusion�"that circumcision was essential to Gentile salvation! One can only conclude that the dispensational interpretation does justice neither to James's statement in verse 15 nor to his supporting citation of Amos 9:11-12.
Clearly, according to the inspired writers of the New Testament, Moses and the prophets predicted the ministry and death of the Messiah, this present age, and the worldwide preaching of the gospel, and thereby the out-calling of the church in this present age. The evidence for all this is full and certain, and it is regrettable that some evangelical scholars actually labor to avoid the New Testament witness to this effect.
D. The church of Jesus Christ is the present-day expression of the one people of God whose roots go back to Abraham.
The church of Jesus Christ in its earliest "personnel make-up" was Jewish in nature and membership (see Acts 1:8; 2:5-6, 14, 22, 36), and it was only after the passage of some years that this Jewish church began to evangelize the nations (Acts 10). But even after Jewish Christians within the church became a minority because of the sheer number of Gentiles who were being converted, the New Testament makes it clear, in conformity to the details of the "new covenant" prophecy in Jeremiah 31:31-34 (see Luke 22:20; 2 Cor. 3:6; Heb. 8:8-13; 9:15), that, when Gentiles became Christians, they entered into the fellowship of that covenant community designated by the "new covenant" prophecy in Jeremiah 31:31 as "the house of Israel and the house of Judah."
Because of the great number of Gentiles in the church today it is very difficult for many Christians to think of the church of Jesus Christ of which they are privileged members (by "church" here I refer to the true church, that is, the body of truly regenerate saints) as being God's chosen people, the true (not the New) spiritual "Israel." But the New Testament evidence endorses this identification.
1. When Jesus described the man excommunicated from the church which he would build (Matt. 16:18) as "the heathen and the tax collector" (ho ethnikos kai ho telones) (Matt. 18:17), it is clear that his assumption was that his church was "Israel."
2. To the Ephesian church, clearly a Gentile church, Paul wrote:
Remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)�"remember that at that time you were [a] separate from Christ, [b] excluded from citizenship in Israel [politeias tou Israel] and [c] foreigners [xevoi] to the covenants of the promise, [d] without hope and [e] without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. (2:11-13)
Paul teaches here that the blessed state to which the Ephesian Gentiles (who formerly were "far away") have now been "brought near" includes Christ, from whom they had been separated, and hope, and God, which had not been their possessions before (the first, fourth, and fifth items in Paul's list). But Paul also says that they had been excluded from citizenship in Israel and that they had been foreigners to the covenants of the promise (the second and third items). Since Paul suggests that the first, fourth, and fifth of their previous conditions had been reversed, it would seem reasonable that he also intends to teach that the second and third conditions had been reversed as well. On what authority may one eliminate these two from Paul's list of five conditions which he says God addressed in Christ in behalf of Gentiles" Accordingly, I would urge that Paul is teaching here that Gentile Christians are now citizens of (the true) Israel and beneficiaries of the covenants of the promise. And he seems to say this very thing in 2:19 when, summing up, he writes: "Therefore you are no longer foreigners [xenoi] and aliens [paroikoi] but fellow citizens [sympolitai] of the saints and members of God's household [oikeioi tou theou]."
3. To the Gentile churches in Galatia, Paul described those who repudiate judaistic legalism and who "never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" as "the Israel of God" (6:12-16). (It is possible that Paul intended to refer exclusively to Jewish Christians by this expression, but it is equally possible that he intended to refer to the church of Jesus Christ per se, made up of Jews and Gentiles.)
4. To the Gentile church at Philippi, Paul described those "who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh" as "the [true] circumcision" (Phil. 3:3), an Old Testament term, as he notes in Ephesians 2:11, which the nation of Israel had come to use as a designation of itself.
5. Paul's metaphor of the two olive trees (Rom. 11:16�"24) also reflects this same perception: olive shoots from a wild olive tree, that is, Gentiles, are being grafted into the cultivated olive tree, that is, Israel, from which latter tree many natural branches, that is, Jews, had been broken off. This tree, Paul says, has a "holy root" (the patriarchs; see Rom. 11:28). Clearly, Paul envisions saved Gentile Christians as "grafted shoots" in the true "Israel of faith." And just as clearly it is into this same cultivated olive tree (which now includes multitudes of "wild shoots") that the elect "natural branches" of ethnic Israel (Paul speaks of them as "all Israel," Rom. 11:26) are being grafted in again through their coming to faith in Jesus Christ throughout this age. 24
6. Employing Amos 9:11-12 as he did in Acts 15:16-17, James designates the church to which the "remnant of men," even "all the Gentiles who bear my name," was being drawn through the missionary activity of Peter and Paul as Amos's "fallen tabernacle of David" which God was even then in process of "rebuilding" precisely by means of drawing from the Gentiles a people for himself and making them members of the church of Jesus Christ. But for James to represent the church of Jesus Christ as "the fallen tabernacle of David" which Amos predicted was to be "rebuilt" means that James believed that the prophets did speak of this age and the church of this age, that Gentiles were being drawn into "David's fallen tabernacle"�"Amos's picturesque term for spiritual Israel�"and that an unbroken continuity exists between God's people in the Old Testament and Christians in the New Testament. It is of this "rebuilding" of David's fallen tabernacle that Haggai speaks when he predicted that God would someday "shake all nations, and the desire of all nations will come, 25 and . . . fill this house with glory" (2:7).
7. The fact that in the course of their description of the Christian life and the life of the church itself the New Testament writers draw heavily upon Old Testament citations, terminology, and concepts (for example, prior to their salvation, Paul writes, Christians had been in "slavery to sin," the idea of slavery having its roots in the fact of Israel's slavery in Egypt, Rom. 6:17-22; Christ is the Christian's "High Priest" and "Passover lamb," Heb. 9:11-14; 1 Cor. 5:7; Christian baptism is "Christian circumcision," Col. 2:11-12; Christians offer up "sacrifices" of praise and good works, Heb. 13:15-16; Christians live under the rule of "elders," 1 Tim. 3:1-7; Tit. 1:5-9; Heb. 13:17) clearly teaches that they saw no such line of demarcation between Israel and the church as is today urged by the dispensational school.
E. The requisite condition for salvation is identical in both the Old and New Testaments: the elect were saved, are saved, and will be saved only by grace through faith in the (anticipated or accomplished) work of the Messiah.
Dispensational scholars maintain that no Old Testament saint could have been saved through conscious faith in the Messiah's death work, simply because knowledge of this event was "as yet locked up in the secret counsels of God."26 The Westminster confession, on the other hand, affirms that the Holy Spirit employed "promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb, and other types and ordinances . . . , all foresignifying Christ to come," in his Old Testament saving operations "to instruct and build up the elect in faith in the promised Messiah, by whom they had full remission of sins, and eternal salvation" (VII / v, emphasis supplied). The Scriptures alone should decide the issue: I will begin with New Testament data and move back into the Old Testament age.
1. Paul wrote to Timothy that "from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures [the Old Testament), which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 3:15). Apparently Paul believed that the Old Testament contained revelational information about "salvation through faith in the Messiah."
2. Paul argued his doctrine of justification by faith alone, apart from all human works, by citing in support of it David's words in Psalm 32:1-2 (Rom. 4:6-7) and the example of Abraham who "believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:1-3). The last thing that Paul would have wanted anyone to believe is that his was a "new doctrine." In light of these Old Testament examples it would have never dawned on Paul to say: "We know how the New Testament saint is saved�"he is saved by grace through faith in Christ, but how was the Old Testament saint saved"" Instead he would have reversed the order of the sentence: "We know how the Old Testament saint was saved�"he was saved by grace through faith in Messiah; we had better make sure that we are saved the same way, for there is no other way to be saved."
3. From the beginning of his ministry, during his early Judaean ministry (John 2:13-4:3), Jesus himself spoke of his coming death (John 3:14; by implication also in Matt. 9:15; Mark 2:20; Luke 5:35) and resurrection (John 2:19-22). There is no indication in the Gospels of a shift in Jesus' teaching away from an earlier promise to the Jews of an earthly Jewish kingdom to later pronouncements concerning his own death. He spoke about his death from the beginning. We find rather only a shift in emphasis from fewer to more allusions to his death. Vos writes:
Our Lord simply takes for granted that there will he a breach between His followers and the world. And, since the cause of the breach is placed in their identification with Him, the underlying supposition doubtless is that the same conflict is in store for the Master Himself only after a more principial fashion. And there is no point in Jesus' life where this mental attitude can be said to have first begun. The "sunny" and untroubled days of "fair Galilee" are, when exploited in such a sense, a pure fiction. There never was in the life of Jesus an original optimistic period followed later by a pessimistic period. As the approaching crisis did not render Him despondent towards the end, so neither did its comparative remoteness render Him sanguine at the beginning. The intrusion of such a terrifying thought as the thought of His death, in the specific form belonging to it, must have been, could not have failed to leave behind it the evidence of a sudden shock. But there is no evidence of any such sudden shock in the Gospels. 27
4. No dispensationalist would represent John the Baptist as a New Testament prophet, and quite rightly so. As the forerunner of Jesus Christ, he was the last of the Old Testament prophets, ministering in the spirit and power of Elijah. Jesus himself said: "all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come" (Matt. 11:9-14). Accordingly, he is most often depicted in the role of the stern prophet demanding repentance of his hearers, baptizing only those who evidenced the fruit of repentance. He was that, but he was also a remarkable evangelical witness to Christ, identifying Jesus, the one coming after him, not only as the Messiah (John 3:28) in whose hands reside the prerogatives of both salvation and judgment (Matt. 3:10-12) but also as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)�"a clear allusion to Messiah's sacrificial death and one very likely drawn from Isaiah 53:7, I0-12. 28 And what were people to do with him then" "He told the people that they should believe in [pisteusosin eis] the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus" (Acts 19:4). Here is the last of the Old Testament prophets, at the very commencement of his ministry, proclaiming that his hearers should believe in the Christ, who would die for the sins of the world, for their salvation�"the very thing that dispensationalists maintain was "as yet locked up in the secret counsels of God"!
5. While the New Testament evidence indicates that the concept of a suffering Messiah in the first third of the first century A.D. was not widespread, having been overshadowed both in the official theological schools of the day (that had so emphasized particular aspects of messianic prophecy that to a considerable degree they misrepresented the total Old Testament picture) and in the popular imagination that clung to the concept of a nationalistic ruling Messiah, Simeon's Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29�"32), with its phrase "a light for revelation to the Gentiles," alluding to Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6, illustrates that at least one circle within first-century Jewry (the elect) identified the Servant of Isaiah with the Messiah. Moreover, his oracle in Luke 2:34-35, by its prophecy: "This child is . . . to be a sign that will be spoken against. . . . And a sword will pierce your own soul too," intimates that the same circle understood (doubtless from Isaiah 53) that there would be a tragic dimension to the Messiah's ministry
6. Turning to the Old Testament, in Zechariah 12:I0 (and we should note that anything God said about the Messiah before Zechariah's day would have assisted the elect of his day better to understand him) Yahweh declared that the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem would someday "look on me, the one they have pierced, and mourn," and again in 13:7 he commanded: "Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd, against the Man who is my Associate! Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered." Both of these verses are regarded by the New Testament as prophecies having their fulfillment in the crucifixion of Christ (see John 19:37; Rev. 1:7 and Matt. 26:31; Mark 4:27).
7. Seven hundred years before Christ, Isaiah prophesied the substitutionary, atoning death of the Messiah in Isaiah 53. We may legitimately infer that what Isaiah wrote about, he doubtless also proclaimed in the marketplace (see Isa. 20:2-3, Jer. 13:1-11 and Ezek. 4:4-8, 5:1-12, 24:15-24, for vivid examples of the Old Testament prophet's "taking his message" to the people of his own generation). And we may be sure that what he proclaimed in the marketplace the Holy Spirit enabled the elect in Israel (Rom. 11:7), albeit a remnant (Isa. 10:22; Rom. 9:27), to understand and to believe to the saving of their souls.
I am not maintaining that all of the elect of the eighth century B.C. understood as much as the average New Testament saint does about Christ. But aware as I am that what the average Christian today knows about him is shockingly little, I am not denying either that some Old Testament saints may have had a deeper understanding of the things of Christ than some saints today. Nor am I saying that all of the elect of the eighth century B.C. had equal understanding of these matters. For just as among any given generation of true Christians one may find almost every degree of knowledge and understanding from that of the almost "nonknowledge" of some Christians to that depth of knowledge and insight possessed by a Calvin, so also doubtless there were degrees of comprehension among the elect of the Old Testament period. Some would have possessed only the barest minimum of comprehension of Isaiah's message about the Messiah's substitutionary death�"but enough to be saved�"while others, lacking only the knowledge of the time and circumstances (1 Pet. 1:10-11), would have clearly perceived that Isaiah was prophesying the suffering and death of the Lord's Servant-Messiah in their behalf.
8. Earlier in the same prophecy (7:14) Isaiah had announced that the Messiah would be born of a virgin and be "God with us"�"a prediction of the Incarnation (the reader should recall here that the Dallas Doctrinal Statement contends that the Old Testament saint could have known nothing about the Incarnation). Then he described this marvelous Child who would be born to us by the fourfold title, "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (9:6)�" another prophetic allusion to the Incarnation. Again, there is no reason to doubt that the Holy Spirit illumined the elect to understand at least something of the implications in these facts about the Messiah. 9. Three hundred years before Isaiah said what he did about the Messiah (and we should note that anything God said about the Messiah before Isaiah would have assisted the elect of Isaiah's day better to understand him), David prophesied that the "kings of the earth . . . and the rulers would gather [in rebellion] against the Lord and against his Messiah" in order to cast off their restraints upon them (Ps. 2:2; see Acts 4:25-28). Accordingly, in Psalm 22:16 David spoke of the Messiah's crucifixion, while in Psalm 16:9-11 he spoke of his resurrection from the dead. What is particularly interesting about the latter Psalm is that Peter, commenting upon it, argues that David could not have been talking about himself in the Psalm since he "died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day" But, Peter continues, David, seeing what was ahead because he was a prophet, spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah (Acts 2:25-31; see Paul's similar use of Psalm 16:10 in Acts 13:35237), this resurrection necessarily implying his prior death. In these psalms then, David, Messiah's great royal ancestor, expressed a knowledge of his greater Son's rejection, death, and resurrection. And what he knew under the Spirit's inspiration, David expounded through his inspired psalms to his people in order that they might know as well. Again, there is no reason to doubt that the Holy Spirit used David's teaching about the Messiah, revealed through his psalms, to bring David and other elect men and women to a saving trust in the Messiah's anticipated redemptive work.
10. By the Levitical legislation that Moses had given the nation four hundred years before David (and recall again that anything that God had previously revealed to Israel would have assisted the elect better to understand David), Israel was schooled in the great principle of forgiveness through the substitutionary death of a perfect sacrifice. Again and again in that body of legislative material, the guilty Israelite is instructed "to lay his hand on the head of the [unblemished] burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him" (Lev. 1:4; 3:2, 8, 13; 4:4, 15, 24, 29, 33; Num. 8:12). The salvific significance of this ritual was not left to the speculative mind to "unpack" but is clearly explained in connection with the scapegoat of the Day of Atonement: once a year the high priest chose two goats, sacrificed one of them for a sin offering, and then he was "to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites�"all their sins�"and put them on the goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of a man appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert" (Lev. 16:21-22). In this ritual the great salvific principle was being taught that salvation comes to the sinner who turns for forgiveness from his own efforts, who approaches God through the sacrificial death of a perfect substitute offered in his stead, and whose sins are imputed to the sacrifice. J. I. Packer quite properly understands the activity regarding the scapegoat as a "dramatization" of what occurred in the sacrifice of the other goat:
The [other] goat is the one that really counts. The action with the scapegoat is only a picture of what happens through the [other] goat. The [other] goat is killed and offered as a sin-offering in the normal way. Thus atonement was made for the people of Israel. The banishing of the scapegoat into the wilderness was an illustrative device to make plain to God's people that their sin really has been taken away.
When the writer to the Hebrews speaks of Christ achieving what the Day of Atonement typified [Heb. 9:11-14]�"Our perfect and permanent cleansing from sin�"he focuses not on the goat that went away into the wilderness but on the animal that was offered in sacrifice once a year by the high priest . . . the blood of Christ [fulfills] the whole pattern of the Day of Atonement ritual. 29
All this was carried out in connection with the service at the Tabernacle�"a structure, it must not be overlooked, which was built "according to the pattern which was shown to Moses in the mount" (Exod. 25:9, 40; 26:30; Acts 7:44), a pattern, the author of Hebrews affirms, that was a copy and shadow of the true, heavenly Tabernacle into which Christ himself entered with his own blood as the redeemed man's High Priest (Heb. 8:2, 5). And when and where was that entrance" Christ's "entrance into the heavenly sanctuary" occurred when he assumed his high priestly role as Mediator of the new covenant at the incarnation, and the Most Holy Place was his cross! Thus the Levitical system foreshadowed the sacrificial work of Christ who saved the elect in Israel as they placed their faith in him as he was foresignified by the earthly types within that system.
11. Even earlier, at the time of Israel's exodus from Egypt, the same essential lessons were being taught in connection with the blood of the paschal lamb: "The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt" (Exod. 12:13; see I Cor. 5:7). Again, we maybe confident that the Holy Spirit by such words as these instructed and built up the faith of the elect in Messiah's death, which was symbolically and typically depicted in the death of the Passover sacrifice.
12. But did the nation of Israel even know anything about the Messiah and his death during the Mosaic age in order to understand that the bull or goat which the guilty brought to the altar for slaying foresignified Messiah's sacrificial death" The author of Hebrews expressly declares that Moses, Israel's great leader and lawgiver, "regarded as greater riches than the treasures of Egypt the disgrace of the Christ [ton oneidismon tou Christou], for he was looking forward to the reward . . . for he saw him who is invisible" (Heb. 11:26-27). And Jesus stated that Moses personally had written about him (John 5:46-47). A faith looking to the future, a faith that wrote about the Messiah, a faith aware of the disgrace which would befall the Christ, and a faith that preferred "the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings'" to the glories of his own age�"this was Moses' faith. And we can presume that Moses shared his understanding with his people.
13. Of Abraham Christ himself affirmed: "Abraham . . . rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day, and he saw it and was glad" (John 8:56). As with Moses after him, Abraham's faith was directed not only toward God in some general way but also toward the Messiah who was to come. He was not looking toward some temporal blessing to become his in his own time, for as the author of Hebrews says of him: "By faith [anticipating "the day of Christ"] he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country . . . ,for he was looking forward to [exedecheto] the city having foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God" (11:9-10). Indeed, of all of the elect of that age and of those descending from Abraham (11:12) the author of Hebrews affirms a similar faith that looked to the future, indeed, to heaven itself:
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance [porrothen]. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing [oregontai] for a better country�"a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (11:13-16)
14. There are indications of this faith in the Messiah's future deliverance even in pre-Abrahamic times: '"Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied ... : 'Behold, the Lord is coming with thousands of his holy ones'"(Jude 14). The intended referent of the title "Lord" seems rather clearly to be the Messiah, as evidenced by its occurrences with "Christ" in verses 4, 17, 21, and 25. And a significant textual variant actually reads Iesous, in Jude 5, concerning which variant Bruce M. Metzger writes: "Critical principles seem to require the adoption of [Iesous], which admittedly is the best attested reading among Greek and versional."30 One must conclude that Jude viewed the Messiah as present (in his preincarnate state) and active throughout the history of the Old Testament.
15. Abel showed that he understood the principle of the necessity of substitutionary blood atonement when "by faith he offered a better sacrifice than Cain did"' (Gen. 4:3-5; Heb. 11:4). His offering from the flock, its death typifying the "Seed of the woman" (Gen. 3:15) who in crushing the serpent's head would himself be fatally wounded, doubtless reflected what the Holy Spirit had taught him through his parents' instructions concerning the significance of the protevangelium, his need for a blood "covering" before God, and the relationship between the two.
16. Finally how did Abel's parents know about the need for a blood "covering" before God" From their observation of God's killing an animal, even before they were banished from the garden of Eden, and making for them covering garments from the skin of the animal (Gen. 3:21) and most likely by his own direct instruction to them. This divine work, coming as it did hard on God's protevangelium (Gen. 3:15), according to which the Seed of the woman would destroy the Serpent's power through his own death work, illustrated the "covering" significance of that Seed's death. On God's activity here Meredith G. Kline writes:
This remedy [clothing Adam and Eve] for the obstacle to their approach to God (see 3:10) symbolized God's purpose to restore men to fellowship with him. The sinners' shame, as a religious problem, could not be covered by their own efforts (see 3:7). Implied in God's provision is an act of animal sacrifice; what is explicit, however, is not the sacrificial mode but remedial result. 31
These five lines of argument vindicate the covenant theology of the Reformed faith and show that classic dispensationalism is in error when it denies that the Old Testament saint had any awareness of the future Messiah's suffering in his stead. They dearly demonstrate that salvation has always been of one piece in Scripture, that the covenant of grace is one covenant, and that the people of God are one people.
A Disclaimer...
I certainly don not intend to suggest that the Old Testament elect were given all the information about Christ that the New Testament contains about his person and work....
When one takes into account, however, all the data amassed in this chapter, particularly Jesus' own declaration that Abraham "rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad" and the New Testament reiterations that the Old Testament Scriptures ("beginning with Moses and all the Prophets") testified that "the Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations" (Luke 24:25-27, 45-47; John 5:39, 46; Acts 3:24; 10:43; 13:27-30; 26:22-23; 1Pet 1:10-12), the obvious conclusion is that Old Testament saints, including Abraham the father of the faithful, knew much more about the Messiah's suffering than is generally credited to them, and infinitely more about it than the dispensationalist would allow, since he insists that they knew nothing at all.
Notes:
17. Although the word "covenant" occurs for the first time in Genesis 6:18, the fact that it occurs with the pronominal suffix and the Hiphil form of the verb qum, "establish," rather than karat, "cut, make," suggests that this covenant was not first made in Noah's day but rather was already in existence and was being extended into the Noahic Age.
18.. See Geerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1954), 56.
19. Undoubtedly, temporal, earthly, promises of a land were given to Abraham and his descendants in the Abrahamic covenant (Gen. 13:15; 15:18; 17:8). But the land promises were never primary and central to the covenant intention, and a literal and complete fulfillment of these promises under Old Testament conditions was never envisioned by God. Rather, the fulfillment of the land promises must be viewed as arising from the more basic and essential soteric promises, and for their fulfillment they will have to await the final and complete salvation of God's elect in the Eschaton (Rom. 8:19-23). I say this because the Bible declares that Abraham dwelt in the Old Testament land of promise "as in a foreign country dwelling in tents"' (Heb. 11:9) and never possessed it (Acts 7:25), since, as with so many other of God's promises made during the "'shadow" days of Old Testament Heilsgeschichte [Salvation History] (Col. 2:17), he looked forward to this promise's final fulfillment, in the "substance" days of New Testament Heilsgeschichte [Salvation History], that is, in the new heaven and new earth of the Eschaton, whose country "is a better one, that is, a heavenly one (Heb. 11:16), whose "city [the redeemed church; Rev. 21:9-27] has foundations whose builder and maker is God" (Heb. 11:10), and in which he would be "the heir of the world" (Rom. 4:13).?0. Palmer Robertson, in his Understanding the Land of the Bible (Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1996), 7-13, provides a short but helpful study of the land concept in Scripture: "Land" as a factor of theological significance begins with "Paradise." ... In this "land" called "Paradise" man could serve his God and find meaningful purpose for life. As a consequence of [Adam's rebellion], the first man and woman found themselves ejected from this land of bliss. . .?But a divine promise gave [fallen man] hope. There was a "land," a land flowing with milk and honey. Somewhere ahead of him he would find it, for God had purposed to redeem man... to restore him to the land of blessing he had lost.?This glimpse of hope found concrete expression in the promise given to Abraham. As a supreme act of faith, the Patriarch abandoned the land of his fathers and became a wandering stranger, always on the move toward a "land" that God had promised. Abraham arrived at the land but never possessed it... he died owning no more than a family burial plot (Gen. 23:17-20). His whole life-experience forced him to look beyond the present temporal circumstances in which he lived to "the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Heb. 11:10, NKJV). . . . Moses and his contemporaries wandered in the wilderness of Sinai for forty years, and Moses died in faith, not having received the promise (Heb. 11:39). Under Joshua's general leadership the people conquered the land, receiving in a limited fashion the paradise God had promised. But it quickly became obvious that this territory could not be the ultimate paradise. Undefeated Canaanites remained as "hornets." . . . [And because of Israel's sin throughout the monarchy period, finally] the land was devastated, the people banished. Persistently disregarding God's laws, they came to he known as Io-ammi, meaning "not-my-people'" (Hos. 1:9). The fruitful land took on the appearance of a desert, a dwelling place of jackals, owls, and scorpions. . . . Paradise, even in its old covenant shadow form, was taken from them. [Even the restoration of the "second commonwealth"] could not be paradise. But the return to "the land" and the rebuilding of the temple point the way.... The glory of this tiny temple would be greater than Solomon's grand structure, and the wealth of all nations would flow to it (Hag. 2:9) All this hyperbolic language�"what could it mean" It meant that God had something better.... The promise of the land would be fulfilled by nothing less than a restored paradise. As Isaiah had predicted earlier, the wolf would lie down with the lamb, and a little child would lead them (Isa. 11:6). No more would sin and sorrow reign, nor thorns infest the ground. When the Christ actually came, the biblical perspective on the "land" experienced radical revision.... By inaugurating his public ministry in Galilee of the Gentiles along a public trade route, Jesus was making a statement. This land would serve as a springboard to all nations. The kingdom of God [the central theme of Jesus' teaching] encompassed a realm that extended well beyond the borders of ancient Israel. As Paul so pointedly indicates, Abraham's promise from a new covenant perspective meant that he would be heir of the cosmos (Rom. 4:13). The radical implications of Jesus' pointing his ministry toward the whole of the world rather than confining himself to the land of Canaan need to be appreciated fully. By setting this perspective on his ministry, Jesus cleared the way for the old covenant "type" to be replaced by the new covenant "antitype." The imagery of a return to a "land" flowing with milk and honey was refocused on a rejuvenation that would embrace the whole of God's created order. It was not just Canaan that would benefit in the establishment of the kingdom of the Messiah. The whole cosmos would rejoice in the renewal brought about by this newness of life.
20. John Murray, Christian Baptism (Philadephia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1962), 46.
21. See part three, chapter seventeen, "The Character of the Cross Work of Christ," for the fuller argument.
22. BAGD, poios, A Greek English Lexicon, 691, I, a, a, translates the phrase "what time or what kind of time," which repetitive expression Blass-Debrunnser suggests may be a "tautology for emphasis" (A Greek Grammar of the New Testament, 155, sec. 298 [2]
23. R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of the Epistles of St. Peter, St. John and St. Jude (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1945), 45.
24. A helpful chart depicting Paul's olive-tree metaphor may be found in David N. Steele and Curtis C. Thomas, Romans: An Interpretive Outline (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1963), 100�"1.
25. With NASB and NEB, I would say that the "desire of all nations" here is probably not Christ. The verb "will come" (uba'u) is plural, making its subject, the collective noun "desire" (hemdat) also plural. The phrase should be translated: "The precious things [the persons and wealth of the elect] of all nations will come." For an opposing view, see Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Hard Sayings of the Old Testament (Downers Grove, ILL.: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 235-37.
26. Scofield Rcference Bible, 996.
27. Geerhardus Vos, The Self Discloaure of Jesus (1926; reprint, Phillipsburg, NJ.: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1978), 278-79 (emphasis supplied).
28. Many suggestions have been made concerning what John the Baptist would have meant by his identification of Jesus as the "Lamb of God" (see Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1971], 144-48, for a survey of these suggestions). While Morris is not prepared to pinpoint the Old Testament reference which provided the background for this description of Jesus, he does affirm that John, the Gospel's author, by his citation of the Baptist "is making a general allusion to sacrifice" (147). And we must assume that the author of the Gospel would not have used the Baptist's description in a sense the Baptist had not himself intended.
29. J. 1. Packer, "Sacrifice and Satisfaction," in Our Savior God: Man, Christ, and the Atonement, ed. James M. Boice (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1980), 131�"32.
30. Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (New York: United Bible Societies, 1971), 726.
31. Meredith G. Kline, "Genesis," The New Bible Commentary Revised, ed. D. Guthrie and J. A. Motyer (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1970), 85.
Robert L. Reymond. "A New Systematic Theology Of The Christian Faith". Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1998. Pages 512-537.
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OpenWebText2
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Format for proposals to the cleanup committee (Version 14)
October 5, 1988
Replace the text below in >> double inverted angle-brackets <>A short descriptive label, which starts with a name
which occurs in the index of CLtL, and be a suitable
symbol in the Common Lisp style, e.g., CDR-TERMINATION.
When in doubt, let the cleanup committee assign the name.
The name should match the problem description, not the
proposal.<<
References: >>The pages of CLtL which describe the feature being
discussed, and other references.<<
Related issues: >> names of other cleanup issues about the same topic.<<
Category: >>One or more of:
CLARIFICATION -- proposal to resolve an ambiguity or case
of under-specified situation in CLtL, where this
ambiguity interferes with portability of code.
CHANGE -- proposal for an incompatible change.
ADDITION -- proposal for a compatible extension<<
Edit history: >>Author and date of submission (version 1), and author
and date of subsequent versions.<<
Problem description:
>>Describe the problem being addressed -- why is the current situation
unclear or unsatisfactory? Avoid describing the proposal here or arguing
for its adoption. <<
Proposal (>>issue-label:proposal-label<> Describe as precisely as
possible what you are proposing. This can take the form of
text that could be dropped into the new specification document.
Proposals should be for changes to Common Lisp, rather than changes to
CLtL. If necessary, propose a set of labelled alternatives here, rather
than a single proposal. Each proposal must be a complete design; do not
leave out details. Avoid arguing for the proposal here, just describe
it.<<
Examples:
>> Examples are samples of Common Lisp code that illustrates the issue.
along with explanatory text. Please explain what the examples should
do, do in current implementations, and any special tricks.<<
Test Cases:
>> Test Cases are simple stand-alone expressions which are valid and
do not signal an error if the proposal is adhered to. (Use ASSERT
if needed.) Omit if you have none.
<<
Rationale:
>> A one or two sentence summary of the arguments that follow. <<
Current practice:
>>Do some/many/no Common Lisp implementations already work this way?
Survey independent Common Lisp implementations - preferably three or
more. What do they do on the test cases or examples? What do current
user programs do? Are there textbooks which describe this feature? <<
Cost to Implementors:
>>What is the cost to implementors of adopting the proposal? How much
implementation effort is required? Is public-domain code available? For
pervasive changes, can the conversion be automated?<<
Cost to Users:
>>For incompatible changes, what is the cost to users of converting
existing user code? To what extent can the process be automated? How?<<
Cost of non-adoption:
>>How serious is it if nothing is done? <<
Performance impact:
>> what does the proposal do to better or worsen the size or speed
of user programs and implementations? <<
Benefits:
>>What is better if the proposal is adopted? How serious is the problem
if just left as it is? <<
Esthetics:
>>How does this proposal affect the simplicity of the language, ease of
learning, etc. You can spell it aesthetics if you like. <<
Discussion:
>> Additional arguments, discussions, endorsements, testimonials, etc.
should go here. Testimonials are the least effective; the discussion should
be useful to someone not already with the issue or those discussing it.
Avoid a blow-by-blow account of debates or recounting of history. <<
----- End Forwarded Messages -----
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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Rule Before Girlfriend: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
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This is gonna be offensive. I’m not going to win any points with the feminists, future girlfriends of mine, or even “nice guys” by writing what I’m about to write. But it’s what I found to be absolutely true. So I have to write it.
A cruel rule of dating (that’s pretty much immutable) is this: anything “good” or “nice” you do for a woman before sex can and will be used against you. That means any time you go out of your way, put in the extra effort, act more respectful or courteous than you need to, or do anything that can be construed as “kindness,” you’re doing yourself—and the girl you’re with—a serious disservice.
Let me explain how I came to this brutal conclusion.
Fresh Meat
I broke up with my 11-month girlfriend about 4 months ago. Immediately after our breakup, I threw myself into my business, not really concentrating on meeting new girls (plus I needed some recovery time). About six weeks ago, the business really took off and I found myself 28-years-old, pockets full of money, in the summertime, with a lifestyle that completely catered to meeting women.
Feeling emotionally ready to “get back out there,” I hit the trenches like the old days: bars, nightclubs, day game, and dates. Contrary to what the pickup community would have you believe, my approaching skills weren’t rusty after an 11-month relationship—they were actually better. I found myself enjoying make-out sessions, dates, and steamy interactions with gorgeous women.
But as I spent more time with these women, a funny pattern kept emerging…
Friend Zone?! Really?!
Recently two smoking hot girls I’d been seeing (but still hadn’t slept with) gave me the same “Let’s be friends” speech that makes heads explode. I couldn’t believe this. I hadn’t heard that speech in ages. Plus, I’d been physical with both of these girls, made-out with both of them, and thought we were building a solid relationship without rushing things.
Wrong.
When I assessed my behavior, I realized my fatal good deeds. With one girl, I took her out for a $160 dinner on our first date. I did this not to impress her, but because I’d been surprised with a $3,500 check for a published story I’d forgotten I’d even submitted to a major news publication. I wanted to celebrate with a hot girl and great food, so I thought the dinner date would be perfect.
Absolutely wrong.
Girls you haven’t slept with will always mistake kindness for weakness. My “good deed” wasn’t rewarded, it was punished. Objectively, I did everything else on the date flawlessly—perhaps even better than normal. Yet, my generosity bit me in the ass.
Later that week I went out with smoking hot girl number 2. Again, I was tomahawk dunking the date, executing all the right moves. I was making-out with her in under a half hour. And an hour and half into the date, I could tell she was ready to go home with me. But did I pull the trigger? Nope! Why didn’t I? Because I wanted to build a solid relationship based on “respect.”
On our second date, I was welcomed to the friend-zone.
Why So Nice?
Alright, so I’m sure some internet tough guys are laughing at me right now and wondering how someone who writes about dating could make such amateur mistakes. Well, anyone who’d wonder that is someone who’s never been in a long-term relationship. See, when you have a girlfriend, being nice is good—in fact, it’s preferred.
A perennial complaint of my ex-girlfriend was that I wasn’t nice enough. It’s bizarre how the “nice” continuum shifts after you have sex with a woman. As my friend Paul Janka once wrote, he’s nice “on the backend” (I’m assuming he intended the pun), meaning he’s nice and generous after sex.
Unfortunately for a lot of guys, this lesson never sinks in. Guys—including myself—don’t see (or forget to see) the patterns: the way you treat a girl you’re “seeing” is different from how you treat your girlfriend. Now, I’m not saying you have to act like an asshole, but you certainly shouldn’t be acting nice either.
Hitting Close to Home
I sat down to write this article yesterday, inspired by my own failure. But before I finished writing, I was interrupted because I had to meet another girl for a date. Though, I approached this date with the principles of this article in mind.
When we met, rather than overpay for a cab, I decided we were going to take the subway (even though she was wearing heels). When we were walking through the subway terminal, I didn’t continually look over my shoulder to make sure she was “okay” as she followed me (dragging behind in her heels). When we were deciding where to have a drink, I didn’t ask for her input. When we were conversing, I didn’t always feel the need to dispel the “awkward silences” with questions or jokes. When she made a joke, I didn’t feel the need to force a fake laugh or even smile.
When we finished our drinks, I didn’t hesitate to walk her back to my apartment. When we got back to my apartment and she refused to come inside, I didn’t budge. I just looked at her like she was the one with the problem and said, “Why are you being weird?” When we were in my apartment together, I didn’t try to placate her or alleviate the tension. Nor did I make excuses for wanting to play to game that adults play.
And that’s why, when we ended up in bed together, it came as no surprise. By no means did I act like an “asshole” on this date. I didn’t even act rude. But I didn’t act “nice” either. Rather than kissing this girl’s ass and prancing around her as if she walked on water, I treated her like someone who needed to earn my approval.
So, for myself, and for all my “nice” cohorts out there, remember: no good deed will go unpunished. You’re not only cock-blocking yourself with your “niceness,” but you’re also robbing the woman of an experience of being with a desirable man. Until you sleep with her, don’t give her the chance to mistake your kindness for weakness.
>>>To Learn More From Rob, Check Out “The 4 Elements of Game” where he breaks down game into four simple adjustments.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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OpenWebText2
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Kuala Lumpur
Eat and meet
Bars & nightlife
Kuala Lumpur has a vibrant nightlife, which may be surprising to some as the city is the capital of a Muslim-majority country. But KL offers something to suit all tastes once the sun dips, from low-key neighbourhood pubs through to cutting-edge clubs. Whatever kind of place rocks your boat, a near-universal feature is how relaxed and friendly everything is. It's refreshingly easy in KL for... Read our full review of Nightlife in KL.
One of the biggest complaints about Kuala Lumpur, from both visitors and residents alike, is the shocking price of alcohol. It is often more expensive to get a drink in KL than in notoriously expensive cities like London and New York (and er, islands like Bali). Hefty government taxes are partly to blame, but many bars and restaurants contribute to the problem by having extremely high mark-ups.... Read our full review of Happy hours and other ways to get cheap(er) drinks in Kuala Lumpur.
As Kuala Lumpur grows ever upwards, one of the benefits is an increasing number of rooftop bars where you can get spectacular views of the city. For the most part these are based in high end hotels, making for a mixed clientele of well-heeled locals, expats and visitors. The dress code tends towards “smart casual”, so no sandals, shorts or vests for... Read our full review of Best rooftop bars in Kuala Lumpur.
Cafes
With a red and black exterior and a patio occupied to the brim during lunch, Antipodean Cafe on Kuala Lumpur‘s trendy Jalan Telawi is one of Bangsar’s most successful lunch and coffeehouses (though they’re open for dinner too). Drawing inspiration from the taste and lifestyle of the Antipodes to the south, its extensive menu is locally sourced as much as possible and includes classics as... Read our full review of The Antipodean.
If anywhere in KL can claim to have a burgeoning cafe culture it is Bangsar, particularly the area centred on Jalan Telawi and on the upper floor of Bangsar Village II is where you'll find Marmalade -- one of KL's most charming eateries. It serves up an imaginative selection of breakfasts, salads, sandwiches and pasta dishes. The kids menu helps cement its popularity amongst local yummy... Read our full review of Marmalade.
The cafe serves up light-ish food, such as quiches, pies and salads. The selection may be on the small side, but the portions are generous. Staff can be charming or snotty, depending one side of the bed they go out of. Somewhat difficult to find, it's tucked away in the corner of Peter Hoe Evolution, KL's funkiest shop, on the second floor of the Lee Rubber Building.
The closest public... Read our full review of Peter Hoe Cafe.
When I first came to Kuala Lumpur, a workmate of mine offered to take me to their favourite Chinese eatery. I readily accepted the offer, but as we entered the place, I began to have second thoughts. Our “restaurant” was a collection of plastic tables and stools, located inside a car park. Once the food arrived though, my doubts evaporated. This was seriously good stuff — Chinese food with... Read our full review of An introduction to Chinese coffee shops in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia is one of the few places I can think of that has a deeply ingrained culture of both tea and coffee drinking. For the most part, coffee (like tea come to think of it) is served up strong, milky and sweet; an anti-skinny decaff latte if you like. The quality is higher at traditional Malaysian cafes known as kopitiams, which were once common in Kuala Lumpur, but are now an endangered... Read our full review of Where to get a good cup of coffee in Kuala Lumpur.
Tea drinking has been part of Malaysian life for hundreds of years, although exactly when the habit started is unclear. The most likely explanation is that it was brought to the country by traders from China. The word for tea in Malay is teh, derived from Hokkien, the dialect spoken in the Chinese province of Fujian, and by many Malaysian Chinese. Confusingly enough, in Kuala Lumpur, the most... Read our full review of Drinking and buying tea in Kuala Lumpur.
Forget the decor, this eatery is all about the food, which has kept it popular for half a century. While the language and lack of menu are a bit of a headache, it is well worth making the extra effort to enjoy their stand-out dishes including the crispy sweet and sour fish and belly pork.
If in doubt, ask for help from your fellow diners. For character, opt for the older bulding, for air-con,... Read our full review of Sek Yuen.
Its intimate, stylish Bangsar branch, serves a selection of decent thin-crust pizzas and Asian favourites, such as mee siam (Thai style fried noodles), and has a commendable wine list, but it's the desserts which set pulses racing. The pavlova and tiramisu are just two of the shockingly good options. Be warned though, such pleasure does not come cheap -- a dessert and a soft drink will set you... Read our full review of Alexis.
It's part of the BIG Group launched in 2011 by Benjamin Yong, a man with a seeming Midas touch when it comes to food. When it opened, Plan B focused on breakfasts, light pasta dishes, salads and sandwiches, but has now introduced an evening menu too. Prices are very reasonable, and wine bought from the nearby Ben's General Store does not attract a corkage charge.
Bangsar Village is a twenty... Read our full review of Plan B.
Coliseum has been serving food and drink for more than 90 years and while the mostly Western-style food may not hit any great heights, and the service is nothing to shout about, the place is soaked in history, and well worth at least one visit.
Coliseum is on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman about half way (as the crow flies) between Masjid Jemak and Bandaraya LRTs. If you're walking from Masjid... Read our full review of Coliseum Cafe.
Chinese
The steamed meat dumplings are delicious, as are many of the more unusual dishes, such as the noodles mixed with sesame and peanut, and pumpkin with salted duck eggs.
Din Tai Fung has several clearly-marked vegetarian dishes, and is happy to adapt dishes where posssible. It's best to go with at least one other person, so you can smaple a good range of the flavours and textures on offer.... Read our full review of Din Tai Fung.
Worth the visit for its chicken wings alone, it is does superb seafood dishes, like chilli prawns and black pepper crab. The English menu and a willingness to adapt dishes to your taste or dietery needs are other bonuses. Wong Ah Wah's popularity means it has no need to lure in customers with menu-waving waiters, unlike many of its rivals along Jalan Alor. It's open from late afternoon until the... Read our full review of Wong Ah Wah.
One of the finest options is Li Yen in the Ritz Carlton. It is renowned for its service, its sumptuous decor and cassic Cantonese cuisine, including top notch dim sum.
Stand-out dishes include the golden prawns (deep fried with shredded yam) and deep fried fish with salt and pepper. While the food is not outrageously priced for the quality on offer, alcohol prices are another matter entirely.... Read our full review of Li Yen.
This place has a door-stopper size picture menu, most with an English description of the dish. Portions are large, so if you want to sample a a selection of different offerings, best to go in a group. Solo diners are better off opting for good value single plate meals.
Set at the far southern end of Chinatown on Jalan Panggong, the closest monorail station to Wan Fo Yuan is... Read our full review of Wan Fo Yuan.
Kedai Kopi Lai Foong, near to Sze Wa Taoist temple, is well worth popping into if you are in the neighbourhood. The restaurant feels a little like a mini food market as there are a bunch of stalls around the perimeter, each preparing a specific dish. Prices are clearly displayed and you pay as soon as the food arrives. Kedai Kopi Lai Foong is especially well known for its beef noodle soup and... Read our full review of Kedai Kopi Lai Foong.
One of the few proper Chinese coffee shops left in central KL, the decor does not seem to have changed for decades. Or some of the customers for that matter. During the day, you order food from the various stalls, while someone will come to your table to take drinks orders.
Favourites here include char siew (Cantonese barbecued pork), and curry mee (noodle) soup. Zhing Hong has a good... Read our full review of Restoran Zhing Kong.
Yut Kee is a Kuala Lumpur culinary institution, although sadly not one many visitors will have heard of. It’s been serving up tasty food and drink for 83 years, making it one of the city’s very oldest eateries. In that time, this traditional Chinese coffee shop has survived a world war, several recessions, umpteen floods, the communal violence of 1969, and until now, the relentless march of... Read our full review of Yut Kee Restaurant.
Known as century eggs, hundred-year eggs, millennium eggs or pidan, this Chinese delicacy is not as old as its name suggests but might take that long to work up the courage to eat. If you can get over the pungent smell and its odd colour, its a popular dish in Malaysia that you might find yourself... Read our full review of Century eggs.
Ming Tien in Taman Megah is one outdoor food court you shouldn’t miss trying out in Kuala Lumpur. Festooned with coloured lights, wooden huts and trees, Ming Tien is an affordable but popular location to taste local dishes once the sun... Read our full review of Ming Tien Food Court.
Dim sum is a Cantonese custom that you can enjoy at various locations throughout Kuala Lumpur. Dim Sum, literally translated as “to touch your heart,” originated in the teahouses of China but this charming way of dining has made inroads into most parts of Asia and has become part of the culture in Malaysia and beyond. Although it was originally considered inappropriate to enjoy a cup of tea... Read our full review of Dim sum in Kuala Lumpur.
Familiar with Cantonese cuisine? It’s more than just dim sum, with roast duck being an institution all of its own. In London, the Four Seasons’ roast duck restaurant has become famous, particularly in Cantonese circles, for being the best outside of Hong Kong. Now two siblings who worked for eight years in the London Bayswater establishment along with other ex-London based relatives have... Read our full review of Village Roast Duck.
With a large Chinese population in Malaysia, it comes as no surprise that many prized dishes from China have become commonplace. Some of them are just too good to miss, like Beijing’s famous duck dish, Peking... Read our full review of Peking duck in Kuala Lumpur.
Dragon-i has two main specialities, Shanghainese la mian (pulled noodles), which you can see prepared in the open kitchen area, and xiao long bao (steamed dumplings). But the menu it is filled with tasty treats, none of which is likely to break the bank. The braised pork belly, and salt and pepper bean curd are both recommended. Dragon-i wins bonus points for having several clearly-marked... Read our full review of Dragon-i.
Fine dining
French chef Nathalie Arbefeuille has taken the KL fine dining scene by storm over the last few years, with her mix of classic Franco-Italian cuisine and more innovative European/Asian fusion dishes. Of her two KL restaurants, the most convenient for visitors is Cuisine Gourmet by Nathalie.
Her cooking is deceptively simple, forgoing flashiness, to turn out satisfying dishes like foie gras... Read our full review of Cuisine Gourmet by Nathalie.
The weekday three course set lunch costs just 100 ringgit, for some of KL's very best food. Dishes like chicken consomme with black truffle and foie gras terrine; and wagyu beef with roasted eringi (a type of Japanese mushroom), are incredible value for money. The a la carte choices are even more sumptuous. A very nice touch, is that all prices at Sage are quoted nett, so no sneaky plus plus... Read our full review of Sage.
Food courts
Food is a very important draw at these temples to consumerism, split into two distinct types, stand-alone restaurants, and food courts. Every shopping centre has at least one food court, some of the larger ones have several.
They all run on much the same principle though, that you order food from individual outlets, and sit down wherever you can find a free table. This can be somewhat of a... Read our full review of Food courts in KL.
Gastropub
If you are looking for a proper non-halal fried breakfast, with real bacon and pork sausages, then these outlets take a lot of beating. Other highlights include the bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes), burgers and steaks. The sausages are made in house, and are so highly regarded as to be sold in most of the city's best supermarkets. Although very popular with locals, Jarrod's attracts... Read our full review of Jarrod and Rawlins.
Named after the ancient name for Britain, the menu would not be out of place in London, where the two owners (one British, one Malaysian) learnt their trade. Albion KL serves up a mixture of British classics with a twist, such as beer battered fish and chips, as well as more global offerings, like gravadlax (Swedish-style cured salmon).
The express lunch deal, offering three courses for... Read our full review of Albion KL.
Wild mushroom risotto (slow cooked Italian rice), with oyster mushroom tempura, is just one of the imaginative offerings. But the menu has simpler non-fusion fare too, such as the steak sandwich. As an added bonus, vegetarians are well catered for.
Although not cheap, a starter, main course and dessert should still leave change from 100 ringgit. The ground floor has the feel of an upmarket... Read our full review of Twentyone Kitchen and Bar.
It has nine different choices of battered fish, including classics like cod, and more unusual options such as parrot fish. The barramundi is a good option. Away from fish & chips, the hearty pies are also recommended, particularly the steak and Guinness.
For a true taste of home, assuming you come from the north of England that is, the chips with curry sauce are a must. Prices are moderate to... Read our full review of The Magnificent Fish and Chips Bar.
Indian
The Indian dining experience does not get much more sumptuous (or over the top) than at Bombay Palace, set in colonial bungalow on the edge of KLCC. It's on the pricey side, especially if you order wine, but the food is reliably good. Stand-out dishes include the butter chicken (creamy chicken curry) and the palak paneer.
Bombay Palace is at 215 Jalan Tun Razak, just to the north of the Royal... Read our full review of Bombay Palace.
Nagasari is a bit unusual in other ways too. Although it looks like a Mamak shop, and opens nearly as long hours, its menu is a mix of south and north Indian dishes, including banana leaf (12:00-15:00), tandoori chicken and aloo capsicum (potatoes and sweet pepper curry), all done to the same high standards. It also has a stall serving Chinese vegetarian food at lunchtime, and another one,... Read our full review of Nagasari Curry House.
If there is one local food experience which should be tried at least once by every visitor to KL, it is the banana leak curry. At its most basic, this meal consists of rice, south Indian curries, salads and chutneys, served on a banana leaf, all for 5-6 ringgit.
What sets Devi's apart, is not just the quality of the basic selection, but also the range of curry sauces to slop over your rice... Read our full review of Devi's Corner.
Named after nasi kandar, originally a Penang favourite of steamed rice served with a selection of dishes, but now mostly associated with Malaysian Indian Muslims (Mamaks). Other popular offerings include a wide selection of South Indian breads, ketam masala (stewed crab with curry sauce), burung puyuh (fried quail) and ayam kampung goreng (crispy fried chicken).
If you're finding mall eating... Read our full review of Nasi Kandar Pelita.
One of the undoubted culinary highlights of Kuala Lumpur is south Indian food, done with a distinctive Malaysian twist. The eateries can be divided into two main categories: those run by Hindus, and those run by Indians who have converted to Islam, known as Mamaks. Although many dishes turn up at both types of establishment, distinctive differences do exist between... Read our full review of South Indian food in Kuala Lumpur.
A short hop from the Liza De Inn Hotel, you’ll find Kanna Curry House in Section 17, a residential part of Petaling Jaya. With a modest but clean interior and a simple outdoor section with plastic tables and chairs, it may look like any other south Indian joint in Kuala Lumpur. But appearances are not what’s driven this restaurant’s popularity; its banana leaf, on the other hand, has helped... Read our full review of Kanna Curry House.
South Indian restaurants are far more the norm in Kuala Lumpur, but flamboyant Sagar in Bangsar, a 15-minute cab ride from the city centre, offers a wide selection of northern Indian specialties, such as tandoori chicken, rogan gosh and chicken biryani. Vegetarians aren’t forgotten either, with a long list of dishes that’ll suit even the most hardcore vegan’s... Read our full review of Sagar.
A plate of rice topped with four different curries for breakfast? Sounds like a handful (or rather plateful) but that’s exactly what nasi kandar is about; a combination of tantalising, distinct flavours. Once you get used to the idea of consuming so many carbs and so much spice so early in the day, I guarantee you’ll be fighting for a plate of this truly Malaysian dish on... Read our full review of Nasi Kandar.
Now in it's third and largest incarnation in the area over the last five years, it finally looks to have found a long-term home.
Part of a small local chain, SK Corner offers all the classics, including roti canai (fluffy flat bread with curry saunce), tosai (thin savoury pancake, usually served with curry sauces and chutneys), Mamak mee (spicy fried noodles), ayam goreng (fried chicken),... Read our full review of Restoran SK Corner.
The deep fried bitter gourd is worth the trip to this Bangsar outlet almost by itself. Popular extras, like the ikan goreng (fried fish coated in spices), and vegetarian chicken curry, are cheap and tasty too. As an added bonus, Sri Nirwana serves banana leaf all day and all night -- at most other places it is a lunch-time treat only.
Bangsar Village is a twenty minute walk (or five minute... Read our full review of Sri Nirwana Maju.
Introduction
KL is one of world's great unsung culinary destinations. You could stay for a year, eat out every night, and still not exhaust the city's supply of superb eateries. What truly impresses about KL's eateries is how high overall standards are, especially places that are popular with... Read our full review of Great places to eat in Kuala Lumpur.
Malay & Nyonya
It serves up most of the Malay classics, including otak otak (steamed seafood mousse wrapped in a green leaf), rendang (slow cooked dry meat curry), and ayam percik (chargrilled marinated chicken).
Bijan may not be cheap (the least expensive main course is 30 ringgit), but it does represent reasonable value for money. Unusually for Malay cuisine it can be washed down with a glass of beer or... Read our full review of Bijan.
The menu includes a good selection of Malay classics, with some Indonesian ones thrown in for good measure. Recommended dishes include the sup ekor (oxtail soup), sambal tumis udang (prawns in a sour spicy sauce), and the kambing masak merah (slow-cooked marinated lamb shank).
A nice touch is the mini-tasting menus, which give diners the chance to sample a selection of dishes, such as prawns... Read our full review of Enak KL.
Kuala Lumpur is not so much the city that never sleeps, as the city that never stops eating. To say that the city’s residents like their food is a serious understatement. They are obsessed with it. Day to day life is planned around meals, not the other way... Read our full review of Eating around the clock in KL.
Every year, Kuala Lumpur plays host to a global halal conference, an indication of how important the Malaysian government views the international market for products that comply with Islamic rules. The event covers everything from food to financial services, which probably comes as a bit of a surprise to anyone who thinks the term only refers to the way an animal is slaughtered. So what does... Read our full review of Halal and Haram (Haraam) in Kuala Lumpur.
The two main centres of Nyonya cooking are Penang, where Thai influences also feature, and Melaka, where Portuguese and Indonesian cuisines form part of the mix.
The Old China Cafe explores these disparate influences to the full, serving up dishes such as gulai kepala ikan (fish head curry) and ayam cincalok (chicken with preserved shrimp). It's worth a visit for the historic shophouse alone... Read our full review of Old China Cafe.
A good way to start your meal is with the selection of appetisers, which includes popiah goreng (fried spring rolls) and cucur udang (deep fried battered prawns). Other recommended dishes include the ikan siakap masam manis (deep fried sweet and sour sea bass) and ayam panggang kuah percik (chargrilled marinated chicken).
Songket has the bonus (or curse) of live traditional entertainment... Read our full review of Songket.
Makan Kitchen not only tries to show off this regional variety, it also showcases some of Malaysia's non-Malay cuisines, including Indian, Chinese, Nyonya (Malay-Chinese), Ibanese (from the Iban people of Sarawak), and Kristang (Portuguese-Malakan). It's possible to order a la carte, or as a sort of buffet (59-79 ringgit, where you choose a selection of dishes, and it's cooked freshly for you).... Read our full review of Makan Kitchen.
Markets
As I may have mentioned before, Malaysians like their food. It’s one of the few things which cuts across all the main ethnic groups in the country. One big difference between the races though, is that while fantastic Chinese and Indian food is easily accessible to tourists, good Malay cooking is far more difficult to... Read our full review of Ramadan food markets in Kuala Lumpur.
Close to where Kuala Lumpur began in 1857 is a traffic-clogged square called Pasar Medan — literally, “market field” in Malay. It was here that the city’s pioneering tin miners bought their fresh supplies, and around which the early settlement too shape. In the late 19th century, the market was moved to a new site a few hundred metres away, where Central Market now... Read our full review of The best fresh food markets in Kuala Lumpur.
Middle Eastern
The large range of hot and cold meze, and excellent Lebanese bread sandwiches, mostly priced in the 10-15 ringgit mark, all make for high quality, decent value snacks. The same could not be said of its alcohol prices though, which are cheeky to say the least.
Al-Amar's big brother, in Pavilion, is a much more formal, and thus pricier affair, turning out what many people believe to be the best... Read our full review of Al-Amar.
The food, which is described as Arabian, is not only reliably good, but also the best value Middle Eastern cuisine in town. As well as a good range of meze, and grilled meat and fish dishes, Sahara Tent has some more esoteric offerings, like Arayess (lamb stuffed bread), and fried breaded fish fillet on a bed of hummus.
Sahara Tent is a five minute walk from Bukit Bintang monorail... Read our full review of Sahara Tent.
One such place is Naab, which specialises in Iranian fare. While most of the dishes would not look out of place on a Lebanese menu, such as the various kebabs, dolma (vine leaves stuffed with herby rice) and hummus, Naab has a sprinkling of more unusual offerings. These include lamb shank with broad bean rice and ghorme sabzi, a traditional Iranian beef stew.
Naab is good value for money,... Read our full review of Naab.
Tarbush is part of a small local chain but don't let that put you off. The sharing plates of meze (mostly vegetarian appetisers), served with warm flat bread, make for tasty meals in themselves. These include some of the best hummus (chickpea and sesame paste dip) in town, as well as baba ghanoush (smoky aubergine dip), falafel (deep fried chickpea patties) and fattoush (mixed salad topped by... Read our full review of Tarbush.
Though strictly speaking not part of the Middle East, Turkish cuisine shares many of the same dishes. What makes Bosphorus special though, is the offerings which are more particular to Turkey, including imam bayaldi (baked stuffed aubergine), cacik (yoghurt and garlic dip), lahmacun (Turkish lamb pizza), and hunkar begendi (literally the Sultan's favourite, slow cooked lamb served on aubergine... Read our full review of Bosphorus.
Other Asian cuisine
Apart from the well-executed standards, there are also a number of more unusual dishes, such chor ladda (chicken and peanut dumplings) and Yam Hua Plee (banana flower and minced chicken salad), many from the Isaan region of Thailand. Rama V wins further points for having an interesting vegetarian menu.
Rama V is on the south side of Jalan U-Thant, which runs off to the east of Jalan Tun... Read our full review of Rama V Fine Thai Cuisine.
Forget the stained/torn table cloths, and the wobbly tables, and concentrate on the food. The green curries are wonderfully spicy and flavoursome, while the som tam (spicy papaya salad), and pad Thai (sour sweet fried flat noodles), are great too.
Considering its convenient location, at the Jalan Alor end of Changkat Bukit Bintang, and the reasonable prices, this place is a true rough... Read our full review of Restoran Thai Somtam Seafood.
What sets Samira apart from many of its rivals, is that the food has not been altered too much for local tastes. This is proper Thai (and Laotian) fare, with favourites like tom kha (spicy cocount milk soup), and pad thai (sour sweet rice noodles), done reliably well.
Samira has several vegetarian options and is happy to adapt dishes where possible. It's hidden away in Sentul Park, on the... Read our full review of Samira by Asian Terrace.
The two conveniently placed KL outlets (one in Equatorial, the other in Pavilion), are both reliably good places to find authentic cuisine. It is the simple things which Kampachi does well, such as the california rolls (meat, fish or vegetables, wrapped in rice), soba (buckwheat noodle) soup, shioyaki (salt baked fish), and bento (assorted goodies served in a multi-compartment tray).
You'll... Read our full review of Kampachi.
Seafood
Whether you’re seeking a quick culinary expedition or just looking for a new place to visit for a day from Kuala Lumpur, Port Klang is easily accessible and allows you to combine filling your stomach with the discovery of a new location. Relatively unknown by foreigners, Port Klang’s crab and steamboat dishes are highly sought after by tourists visiting from Singapore and other parts of... Read our full review of Seafood in Port Klang.
Fatty Crab is a name on Kuala Lumpur‘s seafood circuit that any self-respecting seafood lover ought to know. It’s impossible to miss with the crowds waiting outside to dine here; even with two floors of seating, you may need to wait more than an hour on weekends for a table. The best strategy is to either go early (before 20:00), late (after 21:30), or dine here on weekdays when the throngs... Read our full review of Fatty Crab.
Anyone up for some fresh seafood in Kuala Lumpur? If heading for the coast is too time-consuming and inconvenient, then this is the place for you in Kuala Lumpur: Unique Seafood is 15 minutes from the city centre by cab and you’ll find more than a hundred fish tanks filled with fresh seafood imported from all over the world, including some rather unique specimens. From abalone and geoduck, to... Read our full review of Unique Seafood 23.
Vegetarian
As well as the lunch-time mixed rice section, it's a great spot to try Chinese and Nyonya dishes which are usually off-limits. The curry mee (thick curry noodle soup), asam laksa (sour spicy soup) and the char kuay teow (spicy fried flat noodles) are particularly good. As with every other vegetarian eatery in town, no alcohol is served.
Blue Boy is just off Jalan Tong Shin a 20-30 minute walk... Read our full review of Blue Boy.
Apart from breads, which are ordered from the waiting staff, the rest of the food is served as a buffet. As many of the dishes, which change every day, are cooked to old family recipes, Annalakshmi is a genuine culinary voyage of discovery. Whatever you choose to pay (15-20 ringgit a head is reasonable), the money goes to a good cause, helping to fund the Temple of Fine Arts.
Annalakshmi is... Read our full review of Annalakshmi.
The cafe is owned by Artisan Roast, purveyor of some of the city's finest coffee. So you can rest assured that you can get a quality caffeine fix to go with your vegetarian and vegan food. As well as savoury snacks, are sweet pastries and ice cream. The only disappointing feature is the lack of decaf coffee.
You'll find RAW Coffee on the ground floor of the Wisma Equity Building on the north... Read our full review of RAW Coffee Kuala Lumpur.
This popular eatery does a range of good value thalis thalis (a selection of dishes normally served on a round stainless steel plate), from various regions of India. A la carte choices include south Indian treats like masala tosai (savoury pancake with spicy potato filling), as well as north Indian favourites like sag paneer (cottage cheese cubes with spinach). While the decor won't win any... Read our full review of Bakti Woodlands.
Horror, pity and grudging admiration: the three main ways Malaysians react when they find out someone is a vegetarian. This would suggest that keeping clear of meat and fish is a tough ask, even in cosmopolitan KL. Which is odd, because there are few places in the world where vegetarians can eat as well.... Read our full review of How to eat vegetarian in Kuala Lumpur.
Saravana Bhavan, which has convenient outlets in Bangsar, Brickfields and Little India, turns out some of the city's best Indian food, all of it vegetarian. Top picks include the superb masala tosai (savoury pancake stuffed with a spicy potato and onion mix), aloo gobi masala (potato and cauliflower curry) and paneer butter masala (cubes of Indian cottage cheese in a rich tomato sauce).... Read our full review of Saravana Bhavan.
Western
Set on the edge of the embassy district, this place is a triumph of substance over style. Forget the plastic furniture, neon lighting, and traffic noise, steaks of this quality, for under 30 ringgit, are worth travelling miles for. The mixed clientele includes plenty of diplomats, who generally know a thing or two when it comes to food. Cold beer is available by the can.
Suzi's Corner can be... Read our full review of Suzi's Corner.
Promising to burger you senseless, Daily Grind has a wide range of burgers to choose from, including two vegetarian options, although the classic beef burger with cheese is hard to beat. Most are in the 30-40 ringgit bracket, so not exactly cheap, but for the taste and quality, it's really not bad value.
Bangsar Village is a twenty minute walk (or five minute cab ride) from Bangsar LRT on the... Read our full review of The Daily Grind.
Named after a frangipani which unfortunately no longer stands out front, the restaurant pulls off the fusion trick, marrying European and Asian cuisines, to make an end result which is greater than the sum of parts. Dishes like the strudel of seared foie gras and apple rendang (unlike the Malaysian dry curry, this is a fried fruit reduction) may sound like a dog's dinner, but are actually very... Read our full review of Frangipani.
Although named after the Spanish for pig, this place is run by an Austrian, and turns out dishes from all over Europe. Thuringer tostbratwurst (sausage with pickled cabbage and mashed potato), may sit uneasily with pan-fired goats cheese wrapped in Serrano ham, but El Cerdo's legion of loyal customers attest to the quality of the food. Despite the rustic nature of the menu, this is not a cheap... Read our full review of El Cerdo.
Quite apart from having a great range of authentic tapas, cold cuts, and main meals, El Meson is the unlikely home to one of KL's best fried breakfasts, with real bacon and pork sausages. Unlikely, because most Spaniards (like Italians) start the day with nothing more substantial than a coffee. The rest of the menu, however, could hardly be more evocative of Spain.
Bangsar Village is a twenty... Read our full review of El Meson.
A favourite amongst expats and well-heeled locals alike, this is a great place for a treat Italian meal while visiting KL. Although by no means cheap, Sassorosso is not outrageously priced, so long as you stick to pizzas and pasta, and avoid the temptations of the extensive wine list. It also does a great value lunchtime deal, with an antipasti buffet, and pizza or pasta, for little more than 50... Read our full review of Sassorosso.
While it is relatively easy to get good Spanish food in Kuala Lumpur, the most prominent local chain, La Bodega, lets itself down by being pork-free. Spanish food without the likes of jamon (ham) and chorizo (spicy pork sausage), is simply not the same. That said, La Bodega is still one of the best places in town for tapas.
The most accessible branch is Bodega @Pavilion KL, which, while being... Read our full review of La Bodega.
With a diverse multiracial society and an evolving food culture, there’s no doubt that diners are spoilt for choice in Malaysia. But you aren’t limited to Asian cuisine if you’re seeking something a little more exotic to this part of the world; if you prefer the zing of jalapenos, jump on the wagon at Las Carretas for affordable Mexican cuisine and refreshing... Read our full review of Las Carretas.
Dishes like lamb shank with soft polenta (cornmeal), roast sea bass with grilled vegetables, and pumpkin ravioli with duck breast, are great examples of less being more. The pizza is good too, although it's best to go for the more classic options, such as funghi (mushroom) or quattro formagi (four cheeses). The wine and food pricing is amongst the fairest in KL, for a restaurant of this quality.... Read our full review of Tatto.
It is an undeniably pleasant setting -- one of KL's very best spots for a romantic date. And the food is generally decent too, especially the pizzas. But the use of pork substitutes, like beef bacon and turkey ham, is somewhat less classy than the decor. Where possible stick to simpler combinations, with real Italian ingredients, such as the gnocchi (potato dumplings) with gorgonzola and rocket;... Read our full review of Nerovivo.
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Background
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Cardiovascular diseases are major causes of mortality and hospitalisation for adult Indigenous peoples. Significant inequalities in CVD morbidity, mortality and the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations have been documented in Australia \[[@B1]\] Canada \[[@B2]\], and New Zealand \[[@B3],[@B4]\]. Explicit evidence-based guidelines for the management of CV risk factors and CVD have been available for many years. Healthy nutrition, exercise, smoking cessation, and medications are the key strategies of primary and secondary prevention. Initiatives such as explicit evidence-based CVD management guidelines \[[@B5]\], health provider education \[[@B6]\] and computerised decision support tools \[[@B7]-[@B11]\] have been implemented to assist health professionals and health services to provide high quality CVD care. However, CVD are chronic diseases and as such, the patient and their family are the primary 'managers' of these diseases. Self-management is central to effective CVD management \[[@B12]\]. A complex array of skills, knowledge and psycho-social factors influence a person's ability to be an effective self-manager of chronic conditions \[[@B13]\]. Knowledge about CVD risk factors and medications is essential to self-management. Published literature on patients' knowledge focuses on CVD risk factors and understanding of CVD risk assessment rather than knowledge and understanding of medications and their use \[[@B14]-[@B18]\]. Available evidence suggests that intermittent and non-adherence with medications is common and is associated with worse outcomes, including poorer control of risk factors, increased hospitalisations, morbidity and mortality \[[@B19]-[@B22]\].
Health literacy, defined as "the ability to access, understand and act on information for health" \[[@B23]\], is an important contributor to knowledge, self-management, and health outcomes generally \[[@B24]-[@B30]\] and for CVD \[[@B31]\]. The Institute of Medicine has reported that differences in health literacy alone account for 25--30 per cent of ethnic differences in health outcomes \[[@B32]\]. International surveys have found that the majority of the population in Australia, Canada and New Zealand (NZ) have inadequate levels of health literacy to effectively engage in health care. In NZ, Māori have higher health literacy needs than non-Māori \[[@B33],[@B34]\]. While rigorous population based Indigenous data are lacking in Australia and Canada, the situation for Indigenous peoples in both countries is likely to be similar to New Zealand given the known inequities in health and education \[[@B35]\].
The intervention used in this trial was designed during a developmental phase. This included in-depth interviews with community members who were taking CVD prevention medications to ascertain their knowledge about their medications, what they would like to know about these medications, and how they would like to be provided with this information. There were significant knowledge gaps at all four locations and, while there was some locality variation, the knowledge gaps and expressed information needs were remarkably similar across sites. The data from these interviews were used to develop the intervention. Interviews with health professionals were also undertaken and explored their awareness and understanding of health literacy and how they addressed health literacy in their practice. Environmental scans have assessed the baseline health literacy demands the health service environment places on its clients. Data from health professional interviews and environmental scans will allow assessment of whether changes in health professionals' awareness, knowledge and practices and changes in the health literacy environment may contribute to the results of the intervention trial.
Study aims
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The aim of this study is to test the effect of a customized, structured CVD medication programme, delivered by health professionals, on the related health literacy of Indigenous people with, or at risk, of CVD. Primary outcomes are patient's knowledge about CVD medications. Secondary outcomes examine changes in health literacy skills and practices. The programme will be implemented in Indigenous primary health care services in Australia (one service), Canada (one service with two sites), and NZ (two services). The intervention will be delivered by nurses in NZ and Canada, and a researcher/health educator in Australia.
Methods and design
==================
The intervention trial utilizes a single arm pre-post design with multiple measurement points. Two factors related to the size of the local Indigenous communities preclude the use of randomised, controlled trial design. Firstly, there is a high likelihood of contamination between control and intervention groups in the Indigenous communities where the trial will be located. Secondly, the use of a control group is not feasible in these communities because the eligible population is relatively small and, in order to have sufficient participants receiving the intervention, all eligible people will have to receive it. The uniqueness of local Indigenous communities and their health services precluded the use of quasi-experimental design with matched primary care service controls located elsewhere.
Indigenous community engagement in the research process
-------------------------------------------------------
In keeping with ethical requirements and evidence based best practices for Indigenous research \[[@B36]-[@B39]\], as well as some site's own research policies \[[@B40],[@B41]\], the participating Indigenous communities have been involved in the development of the project from its inception.
The principal investigators in all three countries are Indigenous peoples and all the Indigenous researchers have pre-existing relationships with the participating Indigenous health services where the research will be based. These services were involved in all aspects of project development including decisions to submit a grant application, development of the application, study design, and the implementation of phase one of the project. Key staff from the health services are project co-investigators, and the intervention will be delivered by Indigenous staff employed by the health services. In all three countries specific policies and processes regarding project governance and implementation; health service provider/community expectations; benefits of the research; ownership, control, and access to research information, and dissemination of project results, including academic publications, have been agreed.
Ethics
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The study design and implementation processes were reviewed and approved by each of the four participating Indigenous health services. The study was approved by the Health and Disabilities Ethics Committees in NZ (MEC/10/061/EXP), the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) at the University of Melbourne, Australia and the Saint Michael's Hospital Research Ethics Board, Toronto, Canada. The study was registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register on 18th December 2012 (ACTRN12612001309875).
Study locations
---------------
The study will be implemented in four Indigenous health services (five sites) across the three countries. In NZ, one service (Te Hononga o Tamaki me Hoturoa) is located in a large metropolitan city that provides nurse-led services but does not provide primary medical care services. Participants from this service will be drawn from nurse-led programmes for people with long-term conditions and for people recently discharged from hospital with a diagnosis of a CVD event. The second NZ site is located in a remote rural area whose health services are provided by Ngati Porou Hauora, an Indigenous health provider that delivers a range of primary care services including medical services.
The Australian partner is the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS). VAHS is an urban community controlled Aboriginal health service that was established in 1973 to address the specific medical needs of local Victorian Aboriginal communities. VAHS now provides a comprehensive range of medical, dental and social services and supports the well-being of the community through contributions to community events and activities.
The Canadian study partner is the Dedwadadehsnye \> s Aboriginal Health Access Centre (DAHAC), a provincially funded urban Indigenous health service which provides primary health care, traditional healing and health promotion programs to Indigenous people living in the cities of Hamilton and Brantford, Ontario. Recruitment and intervention will occur at both DAHAC sites, which are 40 km apart and have similarly structured primary health care services.
Recruitment
-----------
Medical records at the sites will be systematically searched to identify potentially eligible patients. These patients will be contacted by a health service staff member who is not directly involved in the project and asked if they would like to know more about the trial. Patients who accept this invitation will then be contacted by the nurse/health educator who will provide information about the study and undertake formal consent procedures with patients that agree to participate. Participants will be able to invite family members to sit in on the sessions; however, data will not be collected from family members.
Eligibility
-----------
Patient participants are eligible for the trial if they are Indigenous adults ≥ 20 years of age and are enrolled with the participating health services. In addition they need to have been diagnosed with angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, transient ischaemic attacks or stroke OR (for Canada and Australia only) were known to be at risk of a CVD event and receiving medication to manage this risk. In Australia these participants were eligible if they were at high risk (≥15 % risk of a CVD event in the next five years) \[[@B36]\]. In Canada participants were eligible if they were assessed as having at least internediate risk (≥15 % risk of an event in the next 10 years) \[[@B42],[@B43]\]. Finally, all participants need to be taking at least two of the following types of medicines: a statin, aspirin, a beta blocker, or an ACE inhibitor. Eligible participants will be excluded from the trial if they have a condition which means they are unable to provide informed consent or they have a cognitive deficit that interferes with their ability to participate in the intervention.
Power analysis
--------------
A power analysis that allows for the conduct of country specific analyses was undertaken. Hill-Briggs \[[@B44]\] found that a literacy adapted diabetes and CVD education intervention among an urban African American population resulted in a change in mean knowledge score from 2.7 ± 1.7 to 4.7 ± 2.0 (maximum score possible = 9) among people with low health literacy. Assuming the proposed intervention will result in small to medium improvements in medication knowledge and health literacy practices, the minimum sample size required at each of the five sites to detect an effect size of 0.4 respectively for mean pre-post test scores with a power (1-β) of 0.8 and alpha of 0.05 is 52. For an effect size of 0.3, 90 patients would be needed. Our recruitment targets are, therefore, 100 participants at each of the two NZ sites, 100 participants in Australia, and 120 at each Canadian site.
Intervention
------------
The intervention consists of an educational session delivered by health professionals who will have received training in health literacy, and strategies to support knowledge acquisition and the development of health literacy skills using adult education principles. A booklet, designed by the medical and health literacy research team members, will be provided to participants. It includes information about CVD, and medication use in general (including prescription labels, side effects, keeping medicines safely, taking medicines safely, and interactions). The booklet also contains specific information about the four CVD medication classes (statins, aspirin, beta blockers, and ACE inhibitors) including the scientific and brand names of the medications, what the medication does, how to take it, interactions, side effects, contraindications to taking the medicine, what to do if experiencing a serious side effect, how to know if the treatment is working, and lipid and blood pressure treatment targets.
An interactive tablet application has been developed for use during each session. This tablet ensures that the nurse/educator covers the CVD medication information in a structured way and provides interactive opportunities for the participant. The application also prints out a participant specific pill card with images of their medications. A list of three participant identified questions for use next time they see their health professional is also printed. In the context of the trial the application will also ensure that information is provided in a standardised manner across all sites.
The written resource and tablet information were standardized across all three countries, however images and background graphic design features varied with local Indigenous culture and language being used in each country.
Participants will only cover information about the medication classes they are currently taking. That is, if they are currently taking a statin and an ACE inhibitor they will cover these two medication types but will not receive information about aspirin and beta blockers.
The education session will be delivered on three occasions at intervals determined using adult education principles to optimise learning opportunities. The second session is scheduled to occur seven days after the first but can be completed up to two weeks after the scheduled date. The third session is scheduled to occur 28 days after the first session but can be completed up to four weeks after the scheduled date.
The time required to complete each session will vary depending on the number of medications the participant is taking. We anticipate that each session will be no less than 30 minutes and no more than 75 minutes.
Training for research staff will be provided in New Zealand (NZ and Australian research staff) and in Canada. Training sessions with research staff from all three countries will also be undertaken using teleconferences and Skype. Training will be provided in health literacy, principles of adult learning, the delivery of the intervention, and all trial protocols and processes including data collection and quality assurance processes. A detailed training manual will be provided. Training in use of the medication knowledge outcome measures will include the use of standardized scenarios that will be pre-scored by two investigators (SC, SR). Each nurse/educator will score the scenario using the relevant medication knowledge outcomes measures. This process will continue with supplementary training where needed until accuracy and cross-site concordance in scoring is reached. To evaluate scoring practices during the trial this process will be repeated at regular intervals using standardized video scenarios.
Main study outcomes
-------------------
The primary study outcome measures will assess changes from baseline to data collection time points for: (1) patient knowledge about the CVD medication classes they are taking; (2) patient knowledge of their treatment targets for lipids and blood pressure; and (3) the use of participant-specified questions with their usual healthcare provider. Secondary outcomes measures will examine changes in patient health literacy skills and practices. Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"} describes the data collected at the measurement points.
######
Summary of trial contacts and data collection
**Time point** **Measurement**
-------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enrolment visit. T0 Consent and enrolment in study. In Canada baseline demographic and clinical information was also collected at this visit
Session one. T1 Baseline demographic and clinical information (NZ, Australia)
Pre-session one medication knowledge and health literacy practices
T2 Post session one medication knowledge and health literacy practices
Session two. T3 Pre session two medication knowledge and health literacy practices
Seven days after session one. Health literacy practices between sessions one and two
T4 Post session two medication knowledge and health literacy practices
Session three. T5 Pre session three medication knowledge and health literacy practices
28 days after session one. Health literacy practices between sessions two and three
T6 Post session three medication knowledge and health literacy practices
Measurement instruments
-----------------------
Baseline demographic, medical history, medication information, blood pressure and lipid recordings will be collected at the enrolment session or at the start of the first session (T0 or T1 in Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"}). Outcome assessment tools that assess patient knowledge of the scientific and brand name of their medications, class of drug, function of drug, important side effects, special instructions for taking the medicine, and (where relevant) knowledge of lipid and BP treatment targets have been developed for statin, aspirin, beta blockers and ACE inhibitors and will be completed immediately before and after each education session (T1-T6).
Participants' health literacy skills and practices during each outcome assessment will be assessed (T1-T6). Participants will be asked about their health literacy practices prior to the first session and between each session (T0/T1, T3 and T5). Participants will be asked about their use of their questions for health professionals at the beginning of the second and third sessions (T3 and T5).
Statistical analyses
--------------------
Descriptive statistics will describe the baseline characteristics of study participants (age, sex, CVD diagnosis, co-morbidities, medications), baseline blood pressure and lipid measures, and the characteristics of the sessions with respect to location (home/office) and whether or not family members were present. Finally we will describe the baseline health literacy skills and practices of participants including how and from where/whom they acquire information CVD medications.
To assess the effect of the intervention on patient knowledge about their medication we will examine the mean knowledge scores for each of the four CVD medication groups over time. We will test changes in mean scores from pre session one (T1) to post session three (T6). Baseline characteristics of participants who enrolled but did not complete the study will be compared to participants who finished the intervention to examine whether drop out was determined by specific characteristics or not.
Discussion
==========
In all three countries data obtained in the developmental phase showed significant gaps in patients' cardiovascular medication knowledge that are likely to interfere with safe and effective medication use. Improving health literacy about CVD medications is one of a range of strategies necessary to reduce the inequitable burden of cardiovascular disease experienced by Indigenous populations. This study will determine if health professional delivered, health literacy oriented educational sessions delivered in the primary care setting enhances medication knowledge and health literacy practices within Indigenous communities in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. If successful the intervention may also be useful for a wider range of medications associated with other long-term conditions and in non-Indigenous contexts.
The study is one of the first international clinical trials conducted solely among Indigenous populations. Building on previously published work about Indigenous involvement in clinical trials \[[@B45]\] the protocol illustrates the application of Indigenous health research principles and protocols \[[@B46]\], such as Indigenous involvement across all roles and throughout the entire project, to clinical trials. Implementation of these principles and processes requires appropriate relationships and communication with the health services, their staff and the study participants. The use of outcomes measures that assess the development of knowledge, skills and practices is informed by Indigenous preferences for strength-based rather than deficit focused research. This strength-based approach is also consistent with Nutbeam's \[[@B30]\] approach to health literacy.
The study design also illustrates one approach to implementing clinical trials in distinctive local contexts. In Canada, networks of friends and family have been identified by members of our research team as the most important source of health information in diverse local Indigenous communities \[[@B47]\]. Furthermore, the relatively small population sizes of these communities means that, in order to have a sufficient sample to assess the effect of the intervention, it will have to be delivered to all eligible people in the health services. The study design needs to accommodate both these challenges, making a single arm, pre-post design with case studies of the surrounding environments for factors that may influence the effect of the trial, the most suitable design. Similar challenges may be encountered in other studies that are located in relatively small, local populations.
A key audience for our study results will be the Indigenous health service providers who are responsible for providing care to the patients in the study. We will work with these health service provider partners to interpret the study findings and identify recommendations for their practice. We will also share our study findings more broadly with Indigenous and non-Indigenous health policy makers, practitioners, and researchers.
Competing interests
===================
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions
======================
SC conceived of the study, led the design, wrote the protocol, led the NZ research team, co-wrote the manuscript. JS contributed to study design, led the Canadian team, co-wrote the first draft and provided later comment. MK participated in the design, led their country specific research teams and collaborated in drafting the manuscript. ML contributed to writing the protocol, participated in study design, was responsible for international coordination of the study, helped draft the manuscript and prepared it for submission. SR, IA, JL, JH and MH participated in study design and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Pre-publication history
=======================
The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:
<http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/14/714/prepub>
Acknowledgements
================
We thank the funders of this project the Health Research Council of New Zealand, the National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Dr. Smylie was funded by a CIHR new investigator award in knowledge translation at the time of the study.
|
tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
|
PubMed Central
|
[Mechanisms of aphasia recovery and brain imaging].
Aphasia recovery may depend on right hemisphere or non-lesioned left hemisphere structures, pre-morbid brain language organization, and de novo learning of language. Here we review the brain imaging evidence supporting these different hypotheses. CT-scan studies have investigated the prognosis value of size and site of left hemisphere lesions. The size of the lesion is a global but not an individual predictor of the initial severity and subsequent recovery of aphasia. Studies on the site of the lesion have given different results for verbal expression and comprehension. There is no consensus on a single critical site for recovery of verbal expression in non-fluent aphasia, which may depend on sub-cortical more than cortical extend of the lesion. Conversely the extend of the lesion in the superior temporal gyrus emerges as a critical negative factor for comprehension recovery. Rest measurements of brain metabolism have consistently shown that aphasia severity depends much more on the degree of dysfunction of language-related areas in the left hemisphere than on the site of the lesion it-self. This suggests that aphasia recovery may depend on metabolic dysfunction recovery in peri-lesional structures. More recently, activation studies have shown consistent right hemisphere activation during language tasks in aphasic subjects, but their role in recovery remains debated. It is likely limited, and may depend on atypical pre-morbid language lateralization. Left hemisphere activations are also found in aphasic patients. They are often relocalized in peri-lesional areas, and emerge in most studies as the main factor of aphasia recovery.
|
tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
|
PubMed Abstracts
|
Q:
Where am I supposed to start persistent background tasks in ASP.NET Core?
In my web application (ASP.NET Core), I want to run a job in the background that is listening to a remote server, calculating some results and pushing it to the client on Pusher (a websocket).
I'm not sure where I'm supposed to start this task. Currently I start it at the end of
public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IHostingEnvironment env)
in Startup.cs
but I think there is something wrong about that, it doesn't make sense to start background jobs in a method called "Configure". I was expecting to find a Start method somewhere
Also, when I try to use EF Core to generate initial database migration file, it actually executes that method and starts my tasks.. which clearly doesn't make any sense:
dotnet ef migrations add InitialCreate
running that from console creates migration code which will be used to create the database on SQL Server based on my data models.
Why isn't there a method where I can start some a Task? I don't want this to be on a separate process, it really doesn't need its own process and it is essentially a part of the web server because it does communicate with the client (browser) via a websocket, so it makes sense to run it as part of the web server.
A:
I believe you're looking for this
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/cesardelatorre/2017/11/18/implementing-background-tasks-in-microservices-with-ihostedservice-and-the-backgroundservice-class-net-core-2-x/
And i did a 2 hour self-proclaimed-award-winning hackathon against myself to learn abit of that.
https://github.com/nixxholas/nautilus
You can refer the injections here and implement the abstracts from there too.
Many MVC projects are not really required to operate persistent background tasks. This is why you don't see them baked into a fresh new project via the template. It's better to provide developers an interface to tap on and go ahead with it.
Also, with regards to opening that socket connection for such background tasks, I have yet to establish a solution for that. As far as I know/did, I was only able to broadcast payload to clients that are connected to my own socketmanager so you'll have to look elsewhere for that. I'll definitely beep if there is anything regarding websockets in an IHostedService.
Ok anyway here's what happens.
Put this somewhere in your project, its more of an interface for you to overload with to create your own task
/// Copyright(c) .NET Foundation.Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.
/// <summary>
/// Base class for implementing a long running <see cref="IHostedService"/>.
/// </summary>
public abstract class BackgroundService : IHostedService, IDisposable
{
protected readonly IServiceScopeFactory _scopeFactory;
private Task _executingTask;
private readonly CancellationTokenSource _stoppingCts =
new CancellationTokenSource();
public BackgroundService(IServiceScopeFactory scopeFactory) {
_scopeFactory = scopeFactory;
}
protected abstract Task ExecuteAsync(CancellationToken stoppingToken);
public virtual Task StartAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
{
// Store the task we're executing
_executingTask = ExecuteAsync(_stoppingCts.Token);
// If the task is completed then return it,
// this will bubble cancellation and failure to the caller
if (_executingTask.IsCompleted)
{
return _executingTask;
}
// Otherwise it's running
return Task.CompletedTask;
}
public virtual async Task StopAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
{
// Stop called without start
if (_executingTask == null)
{
return;
}
try
{
// Signal cancellation to the executing method
_stoppingCts.Cancel();
}
finally
{
// Wait until the task completes or the stop token triggers
await Task.WhenAny(_executingTask, Task.Delay(Timeout.Infinite,
cancellationToken));
}
}
public virtual void Dispose()
{
_stoppingCts.Cancel();
}
}
Here's how you can actually use it
public class IncomingEthTxService : BackgroundService
{
public IncomingEthTxService(IServiceScopeFactory scopeFactory) : base(scopeFactory)
{
}
protected override async Task ExecuteAsync(CancellationToken stoppingToken)
{
while (!stoppingToken.IsCancellationRequested)
{
using (var scope = _scopeFactory.CreateScope())
{
var dbContext = scope.ServiceProvider.GetRequiredService<NautilusDbContext>();
Console.WriteLine("[IncomingEthTxService] Service is Running");
// Run something
await Task.Delay(5, stoppingToken);
}
}
}
}
If you noticed, there's a bonus there. You'll have to use a servicescope in order to access db operations because its a singleton.
Inject your service in
// Background Service Dependencies
services.AddSingleton<IHostedService, IncomingEthTxService>();
|
tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
|
StackExchange
|
20(S)-camptothecin (CPT), a plant alkaloid, was found to have anticancer activity in 1966 (Wall, M., Wani, M. C., Cooke, C. E., Palmer, K. H., McPhail, A. T. and Slim, G. A. "Plant antitumor agents. I. The isolation and structure of camptothecin, a novel alkaloidal leukemia and tumor inhibitor from Camptotheca acuminata", J. Am. Chem. Soc. 88: 3888-3890, 1966).
During the sixties and seventies the sodium salt of CPT was derived from CPT, and clinical trials of this chemically altered CPT were carried out and then abandoned because of the high toxicity and low potency of this compound (Gottlieb, J. A., Guarino, A. M., Call, J. B., Oliverio, V. T. and Block, J. B. "Preliminary pharmacological and clinical evaluation of camptothecin sodium salt (NSC 100880)", Cancer Chemother. Rep. 54: 461-470; 1979; Muggia, F. M., Creaven, P. J., Hansen, H. H., Cohen, M. N. and Selawry, D. S. "Phase I clinical trials of weekly and daily treatment with camptothecin (NSC 100880). Correlation with clinical studies." Cancer Chemother. Rep. 56: 515-521; 1972; Gottlieb, J. A. and Luce, J. K. "Treatment of malignant melanoma with camptothecin (NSC 100880)." Cancer Chemother. Rep. 56: 103-105; 1972; and Moertel, C. G., Schutt, A. J., Reitemeier, R. J. and Hahn, R. G. "Phase II study of camptothecin (NSC 100880) in the treatment of advanced gastrointestinal cancer." Cancer Chemother. Rep. 56: 95-101; 1972. All these trials were conducted using the hydrosoluble, sodium salt derivative of CPT (CPT Na+), which was administered via i.v. The research of the present inventors has fully confirmed the ineffectiveness and the toxicity of CPT Na+.
Experiments have demonstrated that the non-water soluble CPT is nontoxic and highly effective as an anticancer agent. Furthermore, the present inventors have demonstrated that the intramuscular and oral administration provide unexpectedly better results than the intravenous administration.
Drug therapies have been evaluated with respect to treating human cancer, e.g., human cancer xenograft lines. Human tumors are serially heterotransplanted into immunodeficient, so-called "nude" mice, and the mice then tested for their responsiveness to a specific drug. (Giovanella, B. C., et al., Cancer 52(7):1146 (1983)). The data obtained in these studies strongly support the validity of heterotransplanted human tumors into immunodeficient mammals, such as nude mice, as a predictive model for testing the effectiveness of anticancer agents.
It was determined that 9-Amino-20(S)-Camptothecin (9AC) and 10,11-Methylendioxy-20(S)-Camptothecin (10,11MD) are capable of having high anticancer activity against human colon cancer xenografts (Giovanella, B. C., Wall, M. E., Wani, M. C., Nicholas, A. W., Liu, L. F., Silber, R. and Potmesil, M. "Highly effective topoisomerase-I targeted chemotherapy of human colon cancer in xenografts." Science 246: 1046-1048; 1989). After this finding, the present inventors extended these studies to other human cancers growing as xenografts in nude mice as well as conducted studies on the administration of CPT and its derivatives. It is important to note that the fundamental difference between the chemical used by the present invention (CPT) and the one used ineffectively and with high attendant toxicity in the past (CPT Na+) is that CPT is water-insoluble and CPT Na+ is water-soluble.
|
tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
|
USPTO Backgrounds
|
Summary
This timely book addresses one of the biggest single problems facing society today -- at-risk behavior in one quarter of our nation's youth -- and provides strategies for prevention and treatment that can be implemented in the schools, in the homes, and by helping professionals in a variety of settings. Whether the term "at-risk" connotes a local school district's problems with child and adolescent suicide and school dropouts, the correction system's concerns about juvenile delinquency, or the health system?s concerns with teen pregnancy, child abuse, and AIDs, the individuals labeled at-risk need the ongoing help of professionals -- and this book can set the stage.
Table of Contents
PART 1 AT-RISK CHILDREN AND YOUTH: THE ECOLOGY OF PROBLEMS
1
(92)
CHAPTER 1 AN INTRODUCTION TO AT-RISK ISSUES: THE TREE
3
(17)
THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEMS
4
(6)
Facts of an At-Risk Society
5
(1)
Defining the Term At Risk
6
(3)
Blame Poverty and Racism, Not the Victim
9
(1)
CASE STUDY: THE ANDREWS FAMILY
10
(3)
AT-RISK PROBLEMS AND ISSUES
13
(2)
Cause or Effect?
13
(1)
Vulnerable and Underserved
14
(1)
THE AT-RISK TREE, A METAPHOR
15
(3)
CONCLUSION
18
(1)
FURTHER READINGS
18
(2)
CHAPTER 2 ENVIRONMENTAL/SOCIETAL FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO RISK
20
(18)
THE CHANGING ECONOMY AND POVERTY
22
(4)
Job and Income Loss: Stagnation of the Working Poor
22
(2)
Young Families
24
(1)
Single Mothers
25
(1)
CASE STUDY: THE BAKER FAMILY
26
(3)
Homeless Families
28
(1)
SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS
29
(2)
SES and Health Problems
30
(1)
Parent-Child Relations and SES
31
(1)
SES and At-Risk Categories
31
(1)
AND THE RICH GET RICHER
31
(1)
ENNUI AND PURPOSE
31
(2)
Parenting Networks
32
(1)
Training for Life
32
(1)
MODEST PROPOSALS AND SUGGESTIONS: FAMILY/SCHOOL/COMMUNITY LINK
33
(3)
Child Care
33
(2)
Deficits in Skills
35
(1)
Comprehensive Preschool Programs
35
(1)
CONCLUSION
36
(1)
FURTHER READINGS
36
(2)
CHAPTER 3 FAMILY PROBLEMS OF AT-RISK CHILDREN AND YOUTH
38
(22)
SOCIETAL CHANGES AFFECTING THE FAMILY
39
(2)
Divorce
39
(1)
The Erosion of Extended-Family Networks
40
(1)
CHANGES WITHIN THE FAMILY
41
(4)
The Family Life Cycle
41
(2)
The Family System
43
(2)
CASE STUDY: THE CARTER FAMILY
45
(2)
FAMILY PROBLEMS AND PROBLEM FAMILIES
47
(2)
Stressed Families
47
(1)
Dysfunctional Families
48
(1)
VULNERABLE AND UNDERSERVED FAMILIES
49
(2)
Ethnic Minority Families
49
(1)
Families of Gay and Lesbian Youth
50
(1)
CHILD-REARING PRACTICES
51
(8)
Three Dimensions of Child Rearing
51
(1)
Parental Inconsistency
52
(2)
Clusters of Child-Rearing Behaviors
54
(5)
CONCLUSION
59
(1)
FURTHER READINGS
59
(1)
CHAPTER 4 SCHOOL ISSUES THAT RELATE TO AT-RISK CHILDREN AND YOUTH
60
(18)
THE VALUE OF EDUCATION
61
(3)
RESEARCH ON EFFECTIVE SCHOOLS
64
(1)
Variables in Research on School Effects
64
(1)
Definitional Issues in Research on School Effects
64
(1)
SCHOOL CULTURE
65
(1)
Student Climate
65
(1)
CASE STUDY: THE DIAZ FAMILY
66
(5)
Teacher Climate
70
(1)
EDUCATIONAL STRUCTURE: SCHOOLS AND CLASSROOMS
71
(3)
School Structure
71
(1)
Classroom Structure
72
(2)
PEER GROUP INFLUENCE
74
(2)
CONCLUSION
76
(1)
FURTHER READINGS
77
(1)
CHAPTER 5 INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH-RISK AND LOW-RISK CHILDREN AND YOUTH
78
(15)
RESILIENCY AND INVULNERABILITY
80
(3)
Development of Resiliency Skills
80
(2)
Common Characteristics of Resiliont Youth
82
(1)
SKILLS THAT CHARACTERIZE HIGH-RISK VERSUS LOW-RISK YOUTH
83
(6)
Critical School Competencies
84
(1)
Concept of Self and Self-Esteem
85
(1)
Communication with Others
86
(1)
Coping Ability
87
(1)
Control
88
(1)
THINGS TO DO TO INCREASE THE FIVE CS
89
(1)
CONCLUSION
90
(2)
FURTHER READINGS
92
(1)
PART 2 AT-RISK CATEGORIES
93
(108)
CHAPTER 6 SCHOOL DROPOUTS
95
(19)
DEFINITIONAL ISSUES OF THE DROPOUT PROBLEM
96
(1)
Literacy Standards
96
(1)
Definition of Dropout
97
(1)
SCOPE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROBLEM
97
(2)
Differences Between Stayers and Leavers
98
(1)
Exceptional Students
99
(1)
VULNERABLE AND UNDERSERVED STUDENTS
99
(1)
THE ROOTS OF THE DROPOUT PROBLEM
100
(1)
THE CONSEQUENCES OF DROPPING OUT
101
(2)
Economic Consequences
102
(1)
Social Consequences
102
(1)
IDENTIFICATION AND WARNING SIGNS
102
(7)
SECOND-CHANCE PROGRAMS: ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION
109
(3)
CONCLUSION
112
(1)
FURTHER READINGS
113
(1)
CHAPTER 7 SUBSTANCE USE AND ADDICTION
114
(19)
DEFINITIONAL DIFFICULTIES AND ASSESSMENT
116
(2)
THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM
116
(1)
Vulnerable and Underserved Youth
117
(1)
SOME DETERMINANTS OF SUBSTANCE USE AND COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF USERS
118
(5)
Social Correlates of Substance Use
118
(1)
Personal Correlates of Substance Use
119
(4)
Peer Influence on Substance Use
123
(1)
CONSEQUENCES OF SUBSTANCE USE
123
(2)
Physiological Consequences
123
(1)
Physiological Consequences
124
(1)
Legal Consequences
125
(1)
INTERVENTION: PREVENTION AND TREATMENT STRATEGIES
125
(6)
Prevention
126
(1)
Community Treatment
127
(1)
School Treatment
128
(3)
CONCLUSION
131
(1)
FURTHER READINGS
132
(1)
CHAPTER 8 TEENAGE PREGNANCY AND RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOR
133
(25)
THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM
135
(1)
PRECURSORS OF TEEN PREGNANCY: COMMON BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS
136
(4)
Adolescent Development
137
(1)
Antecedent Characteristics
137
(1)
Interpersonal Influences
138
(1)
Media Influences
138
(2)
CONSEQUENCES OF EARLY CHILDBEARING
140
(2)
Socioeconomic Consequences
140
(1)
Educational Consequences
140
(1)
Health-Related Consequences
141
(1)
Family Development
141
(1)
AIDS AND OTHER SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES
142
(1)
Vulnerable and Underserved Youth
143
(1)
PREVENTION AND TREATMENT STRATEGIES: GENERAL FRAMEWORK
143
(3)
Family-Life Planning and Sex Education
144
(1)
Access to Contraceptive Methods
145
(1)
Increased Life Options
145
(1)
PREVENTION AND TREATMENT STRATEGY: AN ADLERIAN MODEL
146
(10)
Purposiveness of Behavior
147
(1)
Goals of Misbehavior
147
(4)
Corrective Procedures
151
(3)
Natural and Logical Consequences
154
(1)
Encouragement
155
(1)
CONCLUSION
156
(1)
FURTHER READINGS
157
(1)
CHAPTER 9 DELINQUENCY AND PROBLEMS OF VIOLENCE
158
(21)
THE SCOPE AND NATURE OF DELINQUENCY, ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR, AND VIOLENCE
160
(2)
Family Violence
160
(1)
School Problems
160
(1)
Juvenile Crime
161
(1)
Self-Inflicted Violence
161
(1)
Gang Membership and Violence
161
(1)
THE ORIGINS OF THE PROBLEM
162
(5)
The Ecological Theory of Delinquency
162
(2)
The Developmental Perspective on Delinquency
164
(3)
ASSESSMENT OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR: RISK FACTORS
167
(3)
Risk Factors in the Family Environment
167
(2)
Risk Factors in the School Environment
169
(1)
Risk Factors in the Social Environment
169
(1)
Risk Factors for Gang Involvement
170
(1)
GENERAL INTERVENTION APPROACHES
170
(2)
Family Intervention and Prevention
170
(1)
School Intervention
171
(1)
Community Intervention
172
(1)
REALITY THERAPY
172
(6)
Assumptions of Reality Therapy
173
(1)
Theoretical Components of Reality Therapy
173
(3)
The Seven Principles of Reality Therapy
176
(2)
CONCLUSION
178
(1)
FURTHER READINGS
178
(1)
CHAPTER 10 YOUTH SUICIDE
179
(22)
THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM
181
(2)
Vulnerable and Underserved Youth
181
(2)
CAUSES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUTH SUICIDE
183
(5)
Interpersonal, Family, and Psychosocial Characteristics
183
(2)
Intrapersonal and Psychological Characteristics
185
(3)
IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES
188
(2)
Interviews for Suicide Lethality
189
(1)
Self-Report Inventories
189
(1)
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS OF SUICIDE
190
(1)
WARNING SIGNS OF SUICIDE
191
(2)
Behavioral Changes
191
(1)
Verbal Messages
192
(1)
Cognitive Preoccupations
192
(1)
Depression
193
(1)
PREVENTION
193
(1)
EARLY INTERVENTION, CRISIS MANAGEMENT, AND POSTVENTION
194
(5)
Crisis Management and Response
195
(3)
Postvention and Follow-Up Treatment
198
(1)
CONCLUSION
199
(1)
FURTHER READINGS
199
(2)
PART 3 PREVENTION, INTERVENTION, AND TREATMENT APPROACHES
201
(113)
CHAPTER 11 A PREVENTION/EARLY INTERVENTION/TREATMENT FRAMEWORK AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS
203
(17)
A COMPREHENSIVE PREVENTION/EARLY INTERVENTION/TREATMENT FRAMEWORK
204
(9)
Prevention, Treatment, and Risk
204
(1)
History of Prevention Programs
205
(1)
Description of the Framework
205
(1)
The Risk Continuum
206
(1)
The Approach Continuum
207
(2)
The Prevention-Treatment Continuum
209
(1)
Environmental Settings
209
(4)
PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
213
(2)
Cost
213
(1)
Counselor/Psychologist/Teacher Interface
214
(1)
ADDITIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
215
(3)
Relationships
215
(1)
Empowerment
216
(1)
Social Activism
217
(1)
CONCLUSION
218
(1)
FURTHER READINGS
219
(1)
CHAPTER 12 CORE COMPONENTS OF PROGRAMS FOR PREVENTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
|
Pile-CC
|
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pipeline excess flow valve (EFV) and its retrofitting with compatible installation equipment into an existing gas service line.
2. Prior Art
Conventional combustible gas distribution systems bring gas from a street main below ground level, through a tapping tee, a service line, a riser above ground level, a meter cock, a regulator, a meter and then into the customer's structure. An example of such system is shown in FIG. 1.
Rupture of the line or failure of fittings between the consumer property line and the served customer structure can occur for any number of reasons. Among these are digging by the customer or other party, vehicular impact, ground settling, failure of a regulator, failure of a meter, failure of fittings and earthquakes. Rupture of the line or failure of fittings can also occur on the inside customer fuel gas piping or flexible connection. Dangerous explosive conditions can arise when any such rupture occurs.
Prior art patents show various structures for shutting off the gas flow when the flow exceeds a predetermined value, e.g. due to the downstream rupture. Excess flow valves are used in the natural gas industry to prevent explosive pipeline gases such as natural gas, propane, methane, coal gas, town gas, etc. from escaping when a pipe is ruptured. These safety valves will remain open during normal use, when there is backpressure downstream from the valve, but will trip (snap shut) when the downstream pressure disappears. This prevents fires and explosions when gas lines are ruptured.
In operation, the stem of a conventional EFV such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,476 is spring biased opposite to the direction of gas flow. Under normal conditions the poppet on the stem is held away from a valve seat by the bias spring. When the flow is excessive such as when the service line ruptures downstream of the EFV, the forces from the flowing fluid overcome the spring bias and the poppet closes against the seat, shutting off the flow. Thus, the dangerous flow of combustible gas is stopped.
Presently, in order to install an EFV in an existing service line a hole or trench must be dug, the service line pressure must be reduced to zero, and the service line must be cut. This is not only expensive, time consuming, and disruptive to customers and traffic flows, it is also impractical in terms of the human resources required.
The main technology barriers to retrofitting EFVs without digging have been the actual anchoring of the device in the service line. The anchoring of the device has been an issue since it is unacceptable to damage or otherwise alter the interior wall of the service piping. The method of insertion has been an issue because the valves and fittings attached to the meter set have unpredictable geometry and the bend in the service riser presents a constraint in terms of the length of the EFV and the rigidity of the installation tool.
|
tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
|
USPTO Backgrounds
|
Most clinical manifestations of *Plasmodium falciparum* malaria arise from sequestration of parasitized erythrocytes (PEs) in diverse tissues, such as the microvasculature of different organs or the intervillous spaces of the placenta, as well as by adhesion to host cells, such as non-infected erythrocytes and platelets[@b1]. These cytoadhesion phenomena are mainly mediated by the *P. falciparum* erythrocyte membrane protein (PfEMP1) adhesin family, which is encoded by a family of roughly 60 *var* genes[@b2]. PfEMP1 is expressed on the surface of infected erythrocytes during the trophozoite stage, where the large antigenically variable extracellular region comprising several domains belonging to either the Duffy-binding like (DBL) or Cysteine-rich interdomain region (CIDR) protein folds mediates adhesion of PEs to host cell receptors such as CD36, ICAM1, EPCR and CSA[@b3].
Pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM) results from the accumulation of PEs in the placenta *via* attachment to the glycosaminoglycan chondroitin sulphate A (CSA) present in the intervillous spaces[@b4]. VAR2CSA is the only member of the PfEMP1 family that has been associated with PAM[@b5][@b6]. Indeed, *var2csa* is the only *var* gene transcribed in placental isolates or CSA-binding laboratory strains and disruption of *var2csa* leads to the irreversible loss of CSA-binding phenotype[@b7][@b8]. Although VAR2CSA is polymorphic, women become immune to placental infections after one or more pregnancies by the acquisition of a protective humoral response in which antibodies that block CSA binding play a dominant role[@b9][@b10][@b11][@b12]. These antibodies recognize individual recombinant domains of VAR2CSA in a gender- and parity-dependent manner[@b13] and, conversely, antibodies induced by recombinant VAR2CSA domains are surface-reactive with placental PEs[@b14]. Much interest has thus been devoted to developing VAR2CSA as a vaccine against PAM.
The extracellular region of VAR2CSA comprises six DBL domains (type ε or unknown (X)) and a CIDR (CIDRpam) module arranged in the following configuration[@b5][@b15]: DBL1X-DBL2X-CIDRpam-DBL3X-DBL4ε-DBL5ε-DBL6ε.
Although single recombinant domains have been shown to bind CSA[@b16][@b17][@b18], recent data show that only the complete extra-cellular region of VAR2CSA fully reproduces the affinity and specificity of PEs expressing this variant[@b19][@b20]. Furthermore, analysis of the full-length VAR2CSA protein by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) demonstrated that it has a compact structure, probably due to well-defined interdomain interactions. This structural organization may thus be necessary to form the high-affinity, CSA-specific binding site, to which several domains contribute directly. Although the DBL2X domain in combination with the flanking interdomain regions shows high affinity binding similar to that of the full-length VAR2CSA[@b21], only the DBL1X-DBL3X region exhibits the fine specificity for CSA[@b19][@b22]. This suggests that while DBL2X and flanking segments define an important region of the CSA-binding site, other domains also contribute by conferring specificity through additional contacts. Interestingly, the structure of PfEMP1 adhesin IT4VAR13, which binds to ICAM-1 via the DBL2β domain only, contrasts with the compact form of VAR2CSA[@b23]; here, SAXS analysis of IT4VAR13 shows an elongated structure where interdomain contacts appear to be confined largely to adjacent domains. Since an important component of immune protection against placental PEs arises from blocking adhesion to CSA, defining the binding site in atomic detail should contribute to optimization of vaccines based on VAR2CSA. This can be achieved by determining the crystal structures of individual or multiple domains. Until now, only DBL3X and DBL6ε structures have been solved[@b24][@b25][@b26].
We have embarked on a structural study of VAR2CSA multidomain constructs in order to analyze the structural organization of the domains in detail. Here we report the crystal structure of the DBL3X-DBL4ε double domain from the FCR3 strain. The structure of the FCR3-DBL3X domain has already been described[@b24][@b25]; however we report here for the first time the crystal structure of DBL4ε, the least polymorphic domain of VAR2CSA as well as a detailed description of the contact interface between those two domains[@b27]. Of particular note, some novel features in the DBL motif have been identified. Contacts between the DBL3X and DBL4ε domains in the crystal structure are made essentially by invariant or highly conserved residues, suggesting that these also occur in the full-length protein and contribute to its compact organization. Although DBL4ε does not contribute to the binding site[@b28], it induces antibodies that inhibit the binding of placental PEs to CSA[@b29]. These antibodies are PEs surface-reactive and epitope mapping has revealed dominant antigenic regions[@b30]. With the support of the DBL4ε structure, we have examined the antigenicity of a number of loop regions of the domain and analyzed the results in the light of other studies.
Results
=======
Description of the FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε structure
---------------------------------------------
Expression of the recombinant FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε double domain has been previously described[@b22]. The recombinant protein includes residues S1215 to M1950 of VAR2CSA from the FCR3 laboratory strain (GeneBank entry AY372123), together with the four-residue sequence MASM arising from the NheI cloning site at the N-terminus and a C-terminal hexa-histidine tag to facilitate purification. The structure was solved and refined at 2.9 Å resolution ([Table 1](#t1){ref-type="table"}). The DBL3X moiety was oriented and positioned by molecular replacement using the FCR3-DBL3X structure (PDB entry 3BQK) as a search model, while the DBL4ε domain was built progressively into the electron density maps during refinement. The polypeptide chain of the refined structure could be traced from S1218 to V1922 with gaps Q1386-T1398 (DBL3X), N1479-K1485 (DBL3X), G1492-Q1493 (DBL3X), E1614-R1617 (DBL4ε), A1746-G1750 (DBL4ε), D1822-N1835 (DBL4ε), N1871-S1881 (DBL4ε) and N1923-M1950 (DBL4ε). Both domains display the helical secondary structure and the pattern of canonical cysteines ([Fig. S1a and b](#S1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}) characterizing the DBL motif. The double domain forms a compact structure with a short linker (interdomain) region connecting the two DBL modules ([Fig. 1](#f1){ref-type="fig"}). A total of 19 residues separate the last canonical cysteine of DBL3X, C1576 or canonical Cys(12) (the n-th canonical cysteine of a DBL domain is denoted by Cys(n)) and the first of DBL4ε (C1596, Cys(1)). The ten residues, K1583 to K1592, in the central region of the peptide connecting the two domains are significantly more variable in sequence in comparison to the flanking regions, which show the more conserved sequence pattern characteristic of constant blocks of VAR2CSA domains[@b15]. We have therefore defined this segment as the interdomain linker. The DBL3X-DBL4ε interface is extensive and includes 18 polar interactions between residues that are largely conserved in sequence ([Fig. 2](#f2){ref-type="fig"}, [Table S1](#S1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). The polymorphic residues making contacts at the interface (3 out of 22 for DBL3X and 4 out of 16 for DBL4ε; see [Table S1](#S1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}) are located at the periphery where stereochemical accommodation of the different polymorphs is easier than in the more buried central regions ([Fig. 2c,d](#f2){ref-type="fig"}). A total surface accessible area of 1340 Å^2^ is buried at the interface between DBL3X and DBL4ε.
The structure of the FCR3-DBL3X single domain has been previously published[@b24][@b25] (PDB entries 3CML and 3BQK, respectively). The DBL3X domain in the double domain reported here superimposes on the 3CML and 3BQK structures with an r.m.s.d. in the Cα positions of 2.67 Å and 2.29 Å, respectively. The larger difference of DBL3X in the double domain structure with respect to the two single domain structures (3CML and 3BQK superimpose upon each other with a 1.66 Å r.m.s.d. in Cα positions) arises from a large difference in conformation of the loop between C1251 (Cys(2)) and C1264 (Cys(3)); the r.m.s.d. reduces to 1.45 Å and 1.63 Å with the FCR3-DBL3X structures 3CML and 3BQK, respectively, when this region is removed from the superposition. This structural difference is caused by contacts with symmetry-related molecules in this region for the double domain structure.
The structure of DBL4ε, the least polymorphic VAR2CSA domain, has not been previously described; however, the pattern of DBL secondary structure is generally preserved ([Fig. S1a](#S1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}). As in other DBL structures, Subdomain 1 possesses little regular secondary structure; the short conserved α-helix αH1 that is associated with the PPRX motif present in all DBL domains and an additional α-helix αH1′ is located in its C-terminal region. Subdomain 2 contains the conserved four-helix bundle (αH2, αH3, αH4 and αH5) but, unlike other DBL domains, αH5 possesses an 11-residue insertion (N1744-K1754). Subdomain 3 has the two long helices αH6 and αH7, characteristic of this region, and terminates with three short helices αH7, 3~10~H9 and αH9.
Antigenicity of loop regions from the DBL4ε domain
--------------------------------------------------
As our study provided the first experimental structure of the DBL4ε VAR2CSA module, we examined the structural context of antigenic regions in this domain. Accordingly, we assessed the antibody response of a rabbit, immunized with the DBL3X-DBL4ε double domain, to a selected set of DBL4ε peptides. We selected peptide sequences corresponding to exposed loop regions that connect the conserved helices of the DBL fold. Some segments in Subdomain 3, however, were excluded since certain regions could not be traced in the electron density maps or because the presence of several cysteine bridges might compromise structural mimicry of these regions by peptides. Using these criteria, we selected six polypeptide segments denoted Pep-1 to Pep-6, which are detailed in [Fig. 3](#f3){ref-type="fig"}. Peptides were synthesized with a biotin moiety attached to the N-terminus by a linker comprising two glycine residues and ε-aminohexanoic acid. We reasoned that this should allow optimal exposure of the DBL4ε peptides with minimal steric hindrance and thus favour their capture on streptavidin-coated magnetic beads or by the anti-biotin mouse monoclonal antibody[@b31].
Antigenicity of the peptides was examined with protein G-purified IgG from a rabbit immunized with the recombinant FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε protein. Two different experimental protocols were followed to assess consistency of the results. The first approach used solid phase ELISA, where the peptides were coated onto 96-well plates and reacted with the purified IgG ([Fig. 4a](#f4){ref-type="fig"}). Pre-immune antibodies were used as a negative control and the presence of coated peptide was verified using an anti-biotin mAb. Pep-2, Pep-4, Pep-5 and Pep-6 were detected with the purified immune IgG but no reaction was observed with the pre-immune antibodies, showing that these peptides were specifically recognized by the anti-FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε IgG. Pep-1 and Pep-3 showed no reaction with either the immune or pre-immune antibodies. All peptides, except Pep-3, were shown to be coated as they were detected with the anti-biotin mAb. Thus Pep-3 was either not coated on the plates or, was adsorbed in such a way that the biotin moiety was not accessible. These results indicate that peptides Pep-2, Pep-4, Pep-5 and Pep-6 are antigenic.
In the second experimental protocol, peptide-specific antibodies were purified by binding the immune IgG to the peptides immobilized on streptavidin-coated magnetic beads. After elution from the beads, antibodies from each of the peptides were tested in turn by ELISA for reactivity with the FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε immunogen, as well as with 3D7-DBL1X-DBL2X and Bovine Serum Albumin negative controls ([Fig. 4b](#f4){ref-type="fig"}). Consistent with the peptide ELISA results, Pep-2, Pep-4, Pep5 and Pep-6 retained IgG that recognized the recombinant double domain but not the control proteins. Moreover, consistent with the absence of reactivity observed by ELISA on the peptides, no specific IgG was eluted from the immobilized Pep-1. By contrast, immobilized Pep-3 yielded IgG that reacted strongly with FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε, showing that the peptide was indeed antigenic. The negative result for Pep-3 in the peptide ELISA ([Fig. 4a](#f4){ref-type="fig"}) was thus probably due to its poor presentation when coated onto the plastic surface.
We therefore conclude that peptides Pep-2, Pep-3, Pep-4 Pep-5 and Pep-6 are antigenic. More importantly, the fact that immune IgG purified on each of these peptides reacted with the recombinant FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε confirms that the corresponding regions on the DBL4ε structure are also antigenic.
Discussion
==========
Our study has aimed to extend structural knowledge of the individual VAR2CSA domains and to contribute to understanding of the interdomain organization of its extracellular region. The structure of the double domain FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε provides the first structural description of the DBL4ε module, which is the least polymorphic domain of VAR2CSA, and gives a detailed atomic view of the interdomain interactions between the two central domains of this variant. The double domain forms a compact structure with a short linker of ten residues, K1583 to K1592 (interdomain) region connecting the two DBL modules ([Fig. 1](#f1){ref-type="fig"}). The interface between the two domains is highly conserved and is significantly polar as it includes 18 hydrogen bonds. Indeed, contacts between the DBL3X and DBL4ε domains in the crystal structure are made essentially by invariant or highly conserved residues ([Fig. 2](#f2){ref-type="fig"}, [Table S1](#S1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}), suggesting that these contacts also occur in the full-length VAR2CSA and contribute to its compact organization[@b19][@b20].
The three C-terminal domains of VAR2CSA belong to the ε class of the PfEMP1-DBL fold. The ε class is typified, in particular, by the absence of canonical cysteines Cys(2) and Cys(3), which form a disulfide bridge in other DBL classes, and the presence of Cys(10b) and Cys(10c), which form a bridge. Moreover, Cys(10c) always precedes Cys(10a) by two residues[@b3][@b15]. Nonetheless, DBL4ε, DBL5ε and DBL6ε, each separately, present unique features that are preserved within these respective domains of VAR2CSA. Crystal structures have been determined for DBL4ε (this work) and DBL6ε[@b26][@b32].
(a) DBL4ε
---------
Our study provides the first structure determination of a VAR2CSA DBL4ε domain. The canonical Cys(-1)-Cys(5a) disulfide bridge, linking subdomains 1 and 2 of PfEMP1-DBL domains, is absent in FCR3-DBL4ε structure; this absence is characteristic of the DBL4ε-VAR2CSA domain in other VAR2CSA variants[@b15]. Residue S1766, which aligns with Cys(5a) of other DBL domains in both sequence and structural alignments, is invariant in DBL4ε-VAR2CSA[@b15]. A novel disulfide bridge, however, is observed between C1689 and C1906, connecting Subdomains 1 and 2 of DBL4ε-FCR3. These residues are present in all DBL4ε-VAR2CSA sequences[@b15] and we denote these as canonical Cys(5′) and Cys(10′), respectively. The loop between Cys(10b) and Cys(10c) (C1896 and C1907, respectively, in DBL4ε-FCR3) is surface-exposed and is highly conserved, carrying the sequence (N/H)GEINGNYI[@b15]. DBL4ε-FCR3 lacks the pattern of the two C-terminal canonical cysteines, Cys(11) and Cys(12), separated by one residue, which is typical of all other DBL types (except DBL1α)[@b15][@b33]. Indeed, we were uncertain of the C-terminal limit when designing the recombinant construct because of this absence in DBL4ε. Interestingly, canonical Cys(8) and Cys(10), which form disulfide bridges with Cys(12) and Cys(11), respectively, in the DBL motif, are present in DBL4ε-FCR3 (C1830 and C1842, respectively). Three cysteine residues, C1933, C1961 and C1991, occur between the last observed cysteine in the DBL4ε structure (C1909, canonical Cys(10a)) and the first cysteine of DBL5ε (C2001, canonical Cys(-1)); these are C1933, C1961 and C1991. These cysteines are conserved in DBL4ε-VAR2CSA sequences[@b15]. Our construct terminated at D1941 and thus included C1933 only; we were unable to trace this residue in the electron density maps.
In all known structures of DBL domains, whether from PfEMP1 or erythrocyte-binding proteins (EBA-175, DBP), helix αH5 contains a conserved motif WWX~7~W, where this helix is kinked at the 4th residue. In DBL4ε-FCR3, however, the interval between the conserved tryptophan residues comprises 18 amino acids (WWX~18~W), of which 11 form a loop with no regular secondary structure. This loop is surface exposed and does not interact with the DBL3X domain. In different DBL4ε-VAR2CSA domains, the distance between the conserved tryptophan residues varies between 18 to 25 amino acids and the region is highly variable in sequence, except at the N- and C-terminal ends; this would correspond to an insertion of a loop comprising 11 to 18 residues into the αH5 helix in the different VAR2CSA strains. This region has been previously noted as a variable block region unique to the DBL4ε domain[@b34].
(b) DBL5ε
---------
Since the structure of DBL5ε has not yet been determined, the discussion is restricted to sequence analysis only. Canonical Cys(5) and Cys(6) are disulfide bridged in the DBL motif; however, while Cys(6) is present in all known DBL5ε-VAR2CSA sequences (C2171 in FCR3), Cys(5) is absent. The loop between Cys(10b) and Cys(10c) is only two residues long and is quite well conserved in sequence[@b15]. Cys(10a) is the last canonical cysteine of DBL5ε, since it lacks Cys(11) and Cys(12) (which form cysteine bridges to Cys(10) and Cys(8), respectively). Cys(8) is also absent in all known VAR2CSA DBL5ε sequences.
(c) DBL6ε
---------
Crystal structures of DBL6ε from the FCR3 and 3D7 laboratory strains have been solved[@b26][@b32] and the two structures are compared in detail elsewhere[@b32]. In both, Cys(1) and Cys(4) are absent in all known VAR2CSA sequences and this canonical disulfide bridge is thus not formed. A cysteine, denoted Cys(4′) (C2383 in FCR3)[@b32], is unique to DBL6ε and is present in all sequences. This does not form a disulfide bridge within the DBL6ε domain but we do not exclude the possibility of an interdomain bridge involving this residue. Cys(5) is absent in all DBL6ε-VAR2CSA sequences but Cys(6) is present in some; for example it is present in DBL6ε-FCR3 (C2493) but not in DBL6ε-3D7. Cys(10b) and Cys(10c) are separated by a segment that is two or four residues long and is variable in sequence; Cys(10b) and Cys(10c) is absent in some DBL6ε sequences.
Several studies analysing the immune response to VAR2CSA have demonstrated that DBL4ε-specific antibodies are able to label and inhibit the adhesion of *P. falciparum* infected erythrocytes in a strain-independent manner, showing that this domain is surface-exposed in the full-length VAR2CSA[@b29][@b35][@b36][@b37]. Nanobodies raised against the full-length VAR2CSA, but with specificity to DBL4ε domains, were also found to be surface-reactive although not inhibitory[@b38][@b39]. These data and the fact that DBL4ε does not participate in the minimal binding region of VAR2CSA[@b21][@b22], suggest that inhibition could involve steric hindrance and/or abolition of the native higher-order domain organisation. Our structural results led us to explore the antigenicity of exposed regions of DBL4ε using protein G-purified IgG obtained by immunization of a rabbit with the recombinant double domain. Peptides with sequences derived from six different exposed loops of the DBL4ε domain were synthetized and tested for antigenicity using anti FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε polyclonal IgG. Our results demonstrate that the regions on the domain represented by Pep-2, Pep-3, Pep-4, Pep-5 and Pep-6 are antigenic as the peptides are specifically recognized by the immune IgG and antibodies purified on these peptides react with the recombinant double domain ([Fig. 4b](#f4){ref-type="fig"}). Pep-1, by contrast, is not antigenic ([Fig. 4a,b](#f4){ref-type="fig"}). While it may seem very likely that the region of the DBL4ε domain corresponding to Pep-1 is not antigenic either, we cannot exclude the possibility that the peptide showed no response to the immune IgG because it is a poor conformational mimic of this structured region of the native protein. We note, however, that a previous epitope mapping study[@b30] using several different peptides encompassing the Pep-1 sequence were also not reactive to antibodies, reinforcing the conclusion that this region of the native protein is indeed unlikely to be antigenic. Interestingly, this region is in close proximity to DBL3X in the double domain, which could affect its accessibility to antibodies. Pep-5 and Pep-6 correspond to more conserved regions of DBL4ε than the other peptides[@b15], suggesting that in the context of the full-length VAR2CSA these regions might be less exposed to the immune response.
Our results correlate in part with previous pepscan mapping and B-cell epitope prediction of the FCR3-DBL4ε sequence using rat and human immune antibodies[@b30]. The Pep-2 and Pep-6 sequences used in our study comprise complete B-cell epitopes identified by Ditlev *et al.*[@b30] while the Pep-3 and Pep-4 sequences are respectively, the N-terminal and the C-terminal sequences of another predicted B-cell epitope. In the structure, Pep-3 and Pep-4 are separated by the N-terminal section of the kinked α-helix αH5 and Pep-4 corresponds to the inserted loop of αH5 that is unique to DBL4ε. While peptides encompassing Pep-2 and Pep-4 were highly recognized by anti-DBL4ε rat sera, low reactivity was observed for peptides encompassing Pep-5 and Pep-6[@b30]. Contrary to our study, Ditlev *et al.*[@b30] found that a peptide (P34) encompassing Pep-3 was not antigenic. It is highly probable that this negative result in the Pepscan is due to its poor presentation when coated onto the plastic surface, as observed in our study ([Fig. 4a](#f4){ref-type="fig"}). However, the absence of antigenicity of sequences including Pep-1 is concordant with our findings. Importantly, in this study the authors narrowed down a region of DBL4ε that is targeted by inhibitory anti-DBL4ε IgG and is also an important target during PAM[@b30]. This region, ranging from W1670 to S1694, belongs to a predicted B-cell epitope and encompasses the Pep-2 segment. By mapping this region on a predicted structural model, the authors estimated its location around a highly conserved loop flanked by two small helices in the S2-subdomain. However, when mapped on our DBL4ε structure, this region displays a loop formed by 6 residues only (N1674 to G1679), which is significantly smaller than the 11 residues proposed in the model (N1674 to G1684) (Figs S1a and S2). As canonical Cys(5) and Cys(5′) present in the second helix of this region are engaged in disulfide bonds with respectively Cys(6) and Cys(10′) ([Fig. S1b](#S1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}), this could explain why peptides designed by Ditlev *et al.* to cover this loop region and used to immunize rats, failed to elicit an efficient immune response against the native VAR2CSA expressed on infected erythrocytes.
Our crystallographic study of the FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε double domain is a first step towards providing atomic detail of the domain organisation of the extracellular region of VARCSA. It has revealed an interface between the DBL3X and DBL4ε domains that is highly conserved within VAR2CSA variants ([Fig. 2](#f2){ref-type="fig"}, [Table S2](#S1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}) and is thus likely to be preserved in the full length VAR2CSA structure. The configuration of this domain pair quite likely contributes to the compact organization of the full-length VAR2CSA observed by SAXS[@b19][@b20]. Similar crystallographic studies with other domain combinations could therefore hold promise of defining the interdomain interfaces and thus building a three-dimensional structure of this complex, polymorphic, multidomain region of VAR2CSA. Such information will be invaluable for identifying and understanding the nature of the CSA-binding site and regions that are targeted by inhibitory antibodies. In turn, these data should greatly aid the design and development of efficient vaccines that block the interaction between VAR2CSA and the placenta.
Methods
=======
Ethics statement
----------------
All animal vaccination experiments were executed in strict accordance with good animal practices, following the EU animal welfare legislation and after approval of the Biotem and INSERM ethical committees. Every effort was made to minimize suffering.
Expression and purification of recombinant FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε
-----------------------------------------------------------
Expression of the recombinant FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε double domain has been previously described[@b22]. The synthetic gene, from which DBL3X-DBL4ε DNA was amplified, carried mutations at potential N-glycosylation sites to allow production of the recombinant protein in eukaryotic, as well as bacterial, expression systems. N-glycosylation mutations were as follows: N1222Q, N1290Q, S1430G, S1594L, T1746A, T1751P, T1846A, N1916Q. The protein was expressed in *E. coli* SHuffle^®^ strain of (Novagen). Cells were centrifuged and resuspended in lysis buffer (20mM Tris-HCl, 150 mM NaCl, pH8) and lysis was performed with an Emulsiflex homogeniser (Avestin). Lysate was cleared by centrifugation at 8000 g during 1 h. FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε was first captured on a heparin column and eluted with 20mM Tris-HCl, 1M NaCl, pH8. The eluate was loaded on a metal affinity column (TALON, Clontech) and FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε recovered with 20 mM Tris-HCl, 150 mM NaCl, 200 mM Imidazole, pH8. A final purification step to remove possible impurities and aggregates was carried out by gel filtration (S75 16/60, GE Healthcare). In order to improve crystal quality, the protein was subsequently subjected to an additional purification step on a CM-Sepharose column (GE Healthcare) equilibrated in 20 mM HEPES pH 7, 40 mM NaCl. The protein was eluted by increasing NaCl concentration by 5% (w/v) steps and concentrated to 9 mg/ml.
Crystallization
---------------
Crystals were grown using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion technique by mixing 1 μL protein solution with 0.75 or 1 μL reservoir solution and equilibrating against 1 mL reservoir solution. Initial crystallisation conditions were identified using robotic screening with several commercial crystallisation screens at the Crystallography Platform of the Pasteur Institute. These conditions were further refined by manual experiments using the PEG-Ion screen (Hampton). The best crystals were grown in 18% PEG 3000, 100 mM Bis-Tris buffer, pH 6.5, 300 mM NaCl and 10% v/v glycerol for the first data-quality crystal, none for the second one. Crystals were mounted on cryoloops, rapidly passed through 15% glycerol and flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen for data collection.
Data collection, processing and structure determination
-------------------------------------------------------
Native data were collected on the ID29 beamline at the ESRF, Grenoble, France and on Proxima1 at SOLEIL, St. Aubin, France. All data were treated with XDS[@b40], followed by SCALA from the CCP4 programme suite[@b41]. Since diffraction was anisotropic, a variable high resolution cut-off ranging from 2.9 Å to 3.3 Å was applied as a function of crystal orientation in order to achieve a satisfactory scaling of the data frames. The highest resolution shell is thus only complete to 50%. Crystal parameters and data collection statistics are detailed in [Table 1(a)](#t1){ref-type="table"}.
The structure determination was initiated with molecular replacement using AMoRe[@b42] and the high-resolution structure of DBL3X (PDB ID 3BQK[@b24], as a search model. Programs Molrep and FFEAR from the CCP4 programme suite were used to locate helices that would correspond to the DBL4ε domain. The structure of DBL6ε (PDB ID 2Y8D), overlaid upon these helices, was used to help with the tracing of the polypeptide chain. The structure was refined through several cycles using the program Buster (Global Phasing Ltd, Cambridge, England), combined with model rebuilding using Coot[@b43]. The final refinement statistics are presented in Table 1(b)^44^. Although the diffraction was weak, we found it important to include intensities to 2.9 Å resolution. As has been underlined elsewhere[@b45], these highest resolution data were essential in helping to resolve certain less clear regions of the structure in the electron density maps. Portions of Electron Density Map are shown in [Figure S3](#S1){ref-type="supplementary-material"}. The coordinates and diffraction data have been deposited in the Protein Data Bank (PDB entry 4P1T).
Production of anti-FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε antibodies
----------------------------------------------
The anti-FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε rabbit IgGs used in this study were produced by immunization of a New Zealand white rabbit. Immunization with the recombinant double domain was performed by Biotem, France, according to animal immunization guidelines. In brief, a NZ white rabbit received intradermally 40 μg of recombinant protein in Freund's Complete Adjuvant for first immunization and 20 μg subcutaneously for three boosts. Antisera were collected 63 days after the first injection. IgG were purified from sera by affinity chromatography on protein G.
Purification of antibodies on peptides
--------------------------------------
Peptides corresponding to exposed loop regions of the DBL4ε domain ([Fig. 3](#f3){ref-type="fig"}) were provided by Genecust (Luxembourg). A biotin moiety was attached to the N-terminus of each peptide *via* a linker comprising ε-aminohexanoic acid (Ahx) and two glycine residues. This allowed fixing a constant quantity of each peptide to streptavidin-coated beads and minimized potential steric hindrance, favouring more efficient antibody recognition. A quantity of 2.6 × 10^−8^ mol of each biotinylated peptide was incubated with 200 μL streptavidin-coated magnetic beads (Dynabeads Myone Streptavidin T1; Invitrogen) and protein G-purified antibodies from a rabbit immunized with FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε were affinity purified on these peptides. 250 μg of immune or pre-immune protein G-purified antibodies diluted in PBS were incubated with 200μL beads (capacity 0.4 × 10^−9^ mol of peptides/mL), pre-equilibrated with PBS. After extensive washing of the beads with PBS, antibodies bound to the beads were eluted with 100 μL elution buffer (0.1 M glycine, pH 2.7). The eluate was neutralized with 20 μL of neutralizing buffer (1 M Tris, pH 9).
Responses of purified antibodies to recombinant FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε and peptides
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peptide-purified IgG was tested either on the recombinant domain or on the biotinylated peptides. ELISA was performed on recombinant proteins as follows. Recombinant FCR3-DBL3X-DBL4ε or 3D7-DBL1X-DBL2X (used as a negative control) was coated overnight at 4 °C on 96-well plates at a concentration of 1 μg/mL. Wells were coated with blocking buffer (1% bovine serum albumin and 0.05% Tween 20 in PBS) during 1 h at 37 °C. After three further washing steps, wells were incubated with peptide-purified IgG diluted in blocking buffer (1:100) for 1 h at room temperature. IgG were revealed with horseradish-peroxidase-conjugated Ig anti-rabbit IgG (1:200 in blocking buffer), using TMB as a substrate. ELISA was performed on immobilized peptides as follows. Biotinylated peptides were immobilized on 96-well plates at 200 μg/mL in 50 mM carbonate buffer pH 9.6, overnight at 4 °C. After a blocking step, affinity-purified antibodies (dilution 1:100) or an anti-biotin Mouse monoclonal antibody (Jackson Immunoresearch, UK) were added and incubated for 1 h at 37 °C. After extensive washing, horseradish-peroxidase-conjugated Ig anti-rabbit IgG (1:2000) was incubated 1 h at room temperature. TMB was used as a substrate and absorbance measured at 655 nm.
Additional Information
======================
**How to cite this article**: Gangnard, S. *et al.* Structure of the DBL3X-DBL4ε region of the VAR2CSA placental malaria vaccine candidate: insight into DBL domain interactions. *Sci. Rep.* **5**, 14868; doi: 10.1038/srep14868 (2015).
Supplementary Material {#S1}
======================
###### Supplementary Information
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme Grant (\[FP7/2007--2013\]) (to GAB and BG) under Grant agreement 201222. This work was supported by an ATIP-AVENIR grant from the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (BG) and by the "Investissements d'avenir" funded Laboratory of excellence GR-Ex (BG). This study was also supported by grants from the Laboratory of Excellence GR-Ex, reference ANR-11-LABX-0051. The labex GR-Ex is funded by the program "Investissements d'avenir" of the French National Research Agency, reference ANR-11-IDEX-0005-02. AS was supported by a grant from the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM). Financial support was also provided by the Institut Pasteur and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. We acknowledge SOLEIL for provision of synchrotron radiation facilities and would like to thank the staff of SOLEIL beamline PROXIMA-1 for assistance. We also thank the invaluable assistance of the Crystallography Platform of the Pasteur Institute.
**Author Contributions** S.G., A.L.-B., S.D., A.S., F.A. and G.A.B. performed the experiments. S.G., A.L.-B., B.G. and G.A.B. designed the experiments, analysed data and wrote the paper.
{#f1}
{ref-type="supplementary-material"}) are in red for DBL3X and orange for DBL4ε; polymorphic contacting residues are green for both domains. The N- and C-termini of the double domain are in magenta and are labelled N and C. (**a**,**b**) The DBL3X-DBL4ε double domain viewed edge on from the interdomain interface. The two views are rotated by 180° with respect to each other about the vertical (**c**) Semi-transparent surface representation of the DBL3X domain viewed from above the interface with the side chains of the contacting residues shown in red. (**d**) Semi-transparent surface representation of the DBL4ε domain viewed from above the interface with the side chains of the contacting residues shown in orange.](srep14868-f2){#f2}
![Peptide segments used in antigenicity studies of antibodies raised to the DBL3X-DBL4ε recombinant double domain.\
The peptides, chosen from exposed loop regions as described in the main text, are shown in their structural context. Colour code: Pep-1, Ile1640-Lys1651 (IIKNEEGMEKAK), blue; Pep-2, Gln1672-Lys1685 (QYNPTGKGIDDANK), red; Pep-3, Glu1722-Asp1733 (EIFGSSDTNDID), green; Pep-4, Glu1743-ILe1756 (ENETITNGPDRKTI), mauve; Pep-5, Glu1774-Lys1792 (EEKNENFPL**[S]{.ul}**MGVEHIGIAK)**\*,** brown; Pep-6, Asn1864-Asp1890 (NKIYRKSNKESEGGKDYSMIMAPTVID), orange. **\***Underlined residue in Pep-5 was changed from Cys in the cognate sequence to Ser in order to avoid cross-linking of peptides.](srep14868-f3){#f3}
{#f4}
###### Crystallographic data.
R = Σ\|F~o~ -- F~c~\|/ΣF~o~, 5% exclusion was used for R~free~. The percentage of peptide bonds in the most favoured and additional allowed region of the Ramachandran plot was determined by RAMPAGE[@b44].
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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PubMed Central
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537 U.S. 1198
TORRESv.SCHAEFER ET AL.
No. 02-7834.
Supreme Court of United States.
February 24, 2003.
1
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT.
2
C. A. 2d Cir. Certiorari denied.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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FreeLaw
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Ladies and Gentlewomen
Ladies and Gentlewomen is a Tamil language, Indian documentary by Malini Jeevarathnam and produced by Pa. Ranjith. It is about love, life, and suicide among lesbians. The documentary also features a "Lesbian Anthem" for which the music was composed by Justin Prabhakaran and lyrics were penned by Kutti Revati and Damayanthi.
Plot
The documentary narrates the tale of Tija and Bija, a lesbian couple believed to be from Rajasthan, and is also about a Tamil folktale that features the lovers Pappathi and Karupaayi. It also features different perspectives on lesbian women from LGBTQ activists, journalists, lawyers and common people. She says her main aim is to increase the visibility of queer women and to save lesbian women from committing suicide or them being a subject of honor killings.
Production
Director claimed the research for the film took her one-and-a-half years, and the movie took three years to complete altogether. Her main intention, she claims, is to bring focus to the deaths of LGBT persons and their sufferings. As a part of the research, Malini met around 85 women from the Queer community. Many were not ready to talk about their sexuality in front of the camera.
The film premiered at the Chennai Rainbow Film Festival in Chennai on 8 January 2017.
Awards and nominations
This documentary has received Best Documentary awards at the Norway Tamil Film Festival, nominated for an award at the Pune International Queer Film Festival Out & Loud, and received many other accolades around the world. It has been screening at seven different international film festivals and has won the Best Documentary award at three of them. In India, the movie has been screen at Chennai International Queer Film Festival, Bangalore Queer Film Festival, Hyderabad chapter of Queer Campus Bangalore and received rave reviews in many other cities.
2017 Chennai Rainbow Film Festival
Won: Best Documentary
2017 Norway Tamil Film Festival
Won: Best Documentary
References
Category:2010s Tamil-language films
Category:Indian films
Category:Indian films based on actual events
Category:2017 films
Category:Docudramas
Category:Documentary films about lesbians
Category:Indian LGBT-related films
Category:Indian documentary films
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Wikipedia (en)
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1. Introduction {#sec1}
===============
Ghrelin is a 28-amino acid peptide mainly produced in the stomach and small intestines with the kidneys, placenta, and pancreas contributing to miniscule amounts of circuiting ghrelin [@bib1]. Ghrelin exists in circulation in two major forms: acyl ghrelin (AG) and desacyl ghrelin (DAG). During posttranslational processing, proghrelin is coupled with an octanoic acid at the serine-3 residue by the membrane-bound enzyme, ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT), to form AG [@bib2], [@bib3]. This fatty acid modification is entirely unique to ghrelin and is required for the optimal binding of ghrelin to its receptor, the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR) 1a [@bib4], [@bib5], which is a 7-transmembrane G-protein coupled receptor widely expressed in body tissues but with the highest expression in the CNS (i.e. pituitary gland) [@bib5], [@bib6]. AG acts peripherally and centrally to regulate biological functions including stimulating growth hormone secretion, promoting positive energy balance and food reward, regulating glucose metabolism, and enhancing gut motility [@bib7]. DAG is the predominant form of ghrelin, but the lack of acylation precludes it from binding to GHSR 1a and subsequent receptor activation [@bib1], [@bib8]. Despite this, many biological functions have been ascribed to DAG, including the protective effect of cortical neuronal injury, regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism, food intake, and stress behavior [@bib9], [@bib10], [@bib11], [@bib12], [@bib13], [@bib14]. We have shown previously that ghrelin also enhances sniffing and olfactory sensitivity, two important functions for food seeking, by acting directly on the olfactory bulb [@bib15].
It has been long recognized that in the brain, particularly in the hypothalamus, ghrelin plays a key role in the homeostatic regulation of energy and glucose metabolism [@bib10], [@bib16], [@bib17]. Additionally, ghrelin may modulate reward neurocircuits and memory by acting in areas of the brain behind an intact blood--brain barrier (BBB) [@bib7]. Nutrients and signals from the gut, pancreas, and adipose tissue are transported to the central nervous system (CNS) by crossing the BBB or the blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier [@bib18], [@bib19]. To cross the vascular BBB, substances must cross the restrictive brain endothelium and then traverse astrocyte endfeet before reaching brain interstitium [@bib20]. We and others have shown that the BBB plays a direct role in mediating communication between the brain and the gastrointestinal (GI) tract by controlling the transfer of peptides and regulatory proteins between blood and CNS [@bib21]. Not only can the GI tract secrete substances that affect CNS function [@bib22], [@bib23], but GI hormones can modulate brain endothelial cells and alter their ability to secret substances into the CNS affecting behavior or function [@bib24], [@bib25]. An example of such gut-brain communication is the orexigenic effect of ghrelin. The stomach derived hormone works centrally by activating the neuropeptide Y/agouti-related protein (NPY/AgRP) neurons and inhibiting the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the hypothalamus to promote a positive energy balance [@bib26], [@bib27], [@bib28].
We previously studied the ability of human AG (hAG), mouse AG (mAG), and mouse DAG (mDAG) to cross the BBB of the mouse brain in the brain-to-blood and blood-to-brain directions and found that AG (mouse and human) crosses the BBB in a bidirectional and saturable manner, but mDAG only travels from blood to brain unidirectionally and in an unsaturable manner [@bib29]. These paradoxical findings suggest that the transport efficiency of ghrelin may be related to the n-octanoyl side chain. The objective of the current research is to investigate whether AG transport across the BBB is GHSR dependent by using the Ghsr null mouse model. In addition, since the transport of human DAG (hDAG) across the BBB has not been previously characterized, we wanted to test its BBB transport properties to determine if hDAG transport is more efficient than hAG or mDAG. Given the known central action of ghrelin to regulate food intake and food reward, we also examined brain regional transport of ghrelin to see if the pattern correlates with its known functions.
2. Materials and methods {#sec2}
========================
2.1. Animals {#sec2.1}
------------
Generation and characterization of Ghsr null mice has been described previously [@bib30]. Three to six-month old males and females were used for all studies. Mice had *ad libitum* access to food and water and kept on a 12/12 h light/dark cycle. All studies were conducted in the afternoon (∼1PM). All mice were anesthetized with 0.15 mL of 40% urethane injected intraperitoneal prior to experimentation. The right jugular vein was exposed to allow for intravenous (IV) injection of each solution. The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound (Seattle, WA) approved all animal experimental protocols, and all methods were carried out in accordance with the approved guidelines and regulations. The VA Puget Sound is a facility that is certified by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International.
2.2. Radioactive labeling {#sec2.2}
-------------------------
The synthetic ghrelin peptides (CSBio, Inc, Menlo Park, CA) were radioactively labeled as follows. Ten micrograms of each peptide was labeled with 1.0 mCi sodium ^125^I (Perkin Elmer, Waltham, MA) by addition of 10 *μ*g of chloramine-T (Sigma--Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) in 0.25 M chloride-free sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.5. After 1 min, the reaction was terminated by adding 100 *μ*g of sodium metabisulfite. Albumin (Sigma--Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) was labeled with 1.0 mCi ^99m^Tc (GE Healthcare, Seattle, WA) by combining 1 mg albumin with 120 *μ*g stannous tartrate and 20 *μ*L 1M HCl in 500 μL deionized water for 20 min. Radioactively labeled ghrelins (^125^I-ghrelin) and albumin (^99m^Tc-Alb) were purified on Sephadex G-10 columns (Sigma--Aldrich). Protein labeling by iodine or by technetium isotopes was characterized by 30% trichloroacetic acid (TCA) precipitation for albumin and AGs while acidified brine was used to precipitate the DAGs. Greater than 90% radioactivity in the precipitated fraction was consistently observed for the ghrelin peptides and albumin.
2.3. Measurement of brain influx and initial volume of distribution in brain {#sec2.3}
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Multiple-time point regression analysis was used to calculate the blood-to-brain unidirectional influx rate (*K*~i~) as previously described [@bib31], [@bib32]. Following anesthetization, mice were administered 0.2 mL of 1% bovine serum albumin in lactated Ringer\'s solution (1% BSA/LR) containing 1 × 10^6^ cpm of a ^125^I-ghrelin peptide and 5 × 10^5^ cpm of ^99m^Tc-Alb into the jugular vein. The specific activity for each ^125^I-ghrelin peptide is 25 Ci/g, which equals approximately 20 ng per dose of 1 × 10^6^ cpm ^125^I-ghrelin peptide. Blood from the carotid artery was collected between 1 and 10 min after the IV injection. Immediately after the blood draw, mice were decapitated, and brains were removed and weighed. The arterial blood was centrifuged at 3200 g for 10 min at 4 °C, and the serum was collected. Levels of radioactivity in serum (50 μL) and brain were counted in a gamma counter for 3 min and recorded as counts per minute (cpm). The brain/serum (B/S) ratios (μL/g) of the ^125^I-ghrelin in each gram of brain were calculated separately and were plotted against their respective exposure times, which were calculated using the following formulas derived from Patlak and Blasberg [@bib31], [@bib32]:$$\frac{Am}{Cpt} = Ki\ \left( \frac{\int_{0}^{t}Cp\left( t \right)dt}{Cp\left( t \right)} \right) + Vi$$where Am is the level of radioactivity (cpm) per g of brain, Cp is the level of radioactivity (cpm) in arterial serum at time *t*, and exposure time in minutes is measured by the term$$\frac{\int_{0}^{t}Cp\left( t \right)dt}{Cp\left( t \right)}$$
The linear portion of the relation between the B/S ratios and exposure time was used to calculate *K*~i~ (μL/g-min) and *V*~i~ (μL/g), the initial volume of distribution in brain at t = 0, which is defined as the functional volume per unit brain mass of a soluble compound that exchanges rapidly and reversibly with plasma [@bib31]. The slope of the linear portion of the relationship between B/S ratios and exposure time defines *K*~i~ and is reported with its error term. The y-intercept of this linear portion of the relationship defines *V*~i~.
2.4. *In vivo* stability of ^125^I- hDAG in brain and blood {#sec2.4}
-----------------------------------------------------------
^125^I-hDAG containing 1 × 10^6^ cpm in 0.2 mL of 1% BSA/LR solution was injected IV and allowed to circulate for 2, 6, and 10 min. Blood and whole brain were collected. The blood was centrifuged at 3200 g for 10 min and 50 μL of the resulting serum added to 250 μL of 1% BSA/LR. After vortexing, 300 μL of acidified brine was added to it, vortexed again, and then centrifuged for 10 min at 5400 g. The radioactivity in the resulting supernatant (S) and precipitate (P) was counted separately, and the percent cpm in the precipitate was calculated (% Precip). Brains were homogenized in 0.8 mL of 1% BSA/LR using a bead beater for 30 s at 4800 rpm twice. Samples were transferred to a 1.7 mL microfuge tube and centrifuged at 5400 g for 10 min and a portion of the resulting supernatant added to an equal volume of acidified brine, vortexed, and centrifuged at 5400 g for 10 min. The radioactivity in the resulting S and P fractions were counted separately, and the % Precip calculated as above.
To correct for any degradation that might have occurred during the acid precipitation processing, ^125^I-hDAG was added *ex vivo* to non-radioactive blood or to whole brain and processed as above. Biological samples were corrected for degradation during processing by dividing their values by the processing control values. The values for % Precip from the biological samples was corrected by dividing them by the % Precip values for the processing controls and multiplying by 100 to yield the corrected value.
2.5. Complete transfer of ^125^I-hDAG across the brain endothelial cell {#sec2.5}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The capillary depletion method was used to determine whether the ^125^I-hDAG completely crossed the capillary wall to enter brain by separating cerebral capillaries from brain parenchyma. Mice received an IV injection of 1 × 10^6^ cpm of ^125^I-hDAG with 5 × 10^5^ cpm ^99m^Tc-Alb in 0.2 mL 1% BSA/LR. Ten min later, blood was collected from the carotid artery, and the brains were removed. Whole brains were homogenized in glass with 0.8 mL physiological buffer (10 mM HEPES, 141 mM NaCl, 4 mM KCl, 2.8 mM CaCl~2~, 1 mM MgSO~4~, 1 mM NaH~2~PO~4~, 10 mM [d]{.smallcaps}-glucose, pH 7.4) and mixed thoroughly with 1.6 mL 26% dextran in the same physiological buffer. The homogenate was centrifuged at 5400 g for 15 min at 4 °C. The capillary-containing pellet and the supernatant, representing the brain parenchymal/interstitial fluid space, were carefully separated. The ratio of ^125^I-hDAG radioactivity in the supernatant (parenchyma) was corrected for vascular space by subtracting the ratio of ^99m^Tc-Alb in the supernatant. The parenchyma/serum and capillary/serum ratios (μL/g) were calculated by the equation:$$\text{Ratio}\ = \ \left( \text{cpm}/\text{g}\ \text{of}\ \text{tissue} \right)/\left( \text{cpm}/\text{μL}\ \text{of}\ \text{serum} \right)$$
2.6. Competitive transport of ^125^I-hDAG {#sec2.6}
-----------------------------------------
To determine whether brain uptake of ^125^I-hDAG was saturable, 1 and 10 μg/mouse non-radioactive hDAG was included in the IV injection of some mice. Blood was collected from the left carotid artery, and the whole brain was removed and weighed 10 min after IV injection of 1 × 10^6^ cpm of ^125^I-hDAG with 5 × 10^5^ cpm of ^99m^Tc-Alb in 0.2 mL 1% BSA/LR. Results are expressed as B/S ratios (μL/g) after correction for the amount of vascular space.
2.7. Regional distribution {#sec2.7}
--------------------------
Ten min after 0.2 mL IV injection of the radiolabeled solution containing 1 × 10^6^ cpm of ^125^I-ghrelin peptides with 5 × 10^5^ cpm of ^99m^Tc-Alb, blood was collected and brains were removed. Brains were dissected on ice into the olfactory bulb, 10 brain regions according to Glowinski and Iversen [@bib33] and then the cortices combined to represent the cortex. Radioactive values were corrected for vascular space as described above and are expressed as tissue/serum ratios (μL/g). Abbreviations are as follows: whole brain (WB), olfactory bulb (OB), cortex (Ctx), striatum (Str), hypothalamus (Hypo), hippocampus (Hippo), thalamus (Thal), cerebellum (CB), midbrain (Mid), pons (Pons).
2.8. Statistics {#sec2.8}
---------------
Regression analysis and other statistical analyses were performed with the use of Prism 6.0 (GraphPad Software Inc., San Diego, CA, USA). Linear regression lines are reported with their correlation coefficients (r) and *p* values. To determine whether entry rates into brain differ, two or more regression lines can be compared using the statistical package in Prism. Normality of residuals for the linear regression was tested by the Shapiro--Wilk Test and all passed this normal distribution test. Transport characteristics of hDAG were compared by a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Brain region data were compared by two-way ANOVA followed by Sidak\'s multiple comparison post-test. All other data where necessary is reported as the mean with the standard error terms.
3. Results {#sec3}
==========
3.1. Brain influx and initial volume of distribution after intravenous injection {#sec3.1}
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Figure 1](#fig1){ref-type="fig"} is a graphical representation of the rates of brain influx for all the ghrelin peptides completed in wildtype (WT) and Ghsr null mice. A significant blood-to-brain unidirectional influx rate was measurable for all of the ^125^I-ghrelin peptides examined. [Table 1](#tbl1){ref-type="table"} lists the *K*~i~ and *V*~i~ measured for each ghrelin peptide. As shown in [Table 1](#tbl1){ref-type="table"}, hDAG had the fastest influx rate in the WT (0.7944 ± 0.10 μL/g ∙ min, r = 0.959, p \< 0.001; *n* = 10 mice/time curve) and Ghsr null (0.6448 ± 0.07 μL/g ∙ min, r = 0.950, p \< 0.001; *n* = 9 mice/time curve) animals. Mouse AG had the slowest measurable influx rate in the WT mice (0.1852 ± 0.06 μL/g ∙ min, r = 0.758, p = 0.018; *n* = 10 mice/time curve). Mouse DAG had the slowest measurable influx rate in the Gshr null mice (0.2032 ± 0.05 μL/g ∙ min, r = 0.782, p = 0.004; *n* = 6 mice/time curve). No significant difference was detected in brain influx rate between WT and Ghsr null mice among each of the ghrelin peptides tested. The initial volume of distribution (*V*~*i*~) in the brain ranged from 1.192 ± 0.5740 μL/g in the WT hAG to 3.102 μL/g ± 0.41 in the Ghsr null mDAG; *V*~*i*~ for the other ghrelin peptides are listed in [Table 1](#tbl1){ref-type="table"}. Human DAG showed a significant difference in the *V*~*i*~ between WT (1.775 ± 0.81 μL/g ∙ min) and Ghsr null mice (1.555 ± 0.67 μL/g ∙ min). No ^99m^Tc-Alb uptake was observed during this period (data not shown).Figure 1Blood-to-brain influx of ^125^I-ghrelin peptides in WT and Ghsr null mice. No significant difference in A) mAG, B) hAG, C) mDAG, or D) hDAG influx was observed between WT (closed circles, n = 10--11) and Ghsr null mice (open circles, n = 6--9).Figure 1Table 1Pharmacokinetics of ghrelin transport into the whole brain.Table 1Ghrelin PeptideGenotype*K*~i~ (μL/g-min)rp*V*~i~ (μL/g)mAGWT0.1852 ± 0.060.7580.0182.847 ± 0.57Ghsr null0.2976 ± 0.100.7220.0182.560 ± 1.12hAGWT0.2979 ± 0.070.8580.0031.192 ± 0.57Ghsr null0.2853 ± 0.060.8560.0021.478 ± 0.55mDAGWT0.2606 ± 0.070.8720.0242.265 ± 0.75Ghsr null0.2032 ± 0.050.7830.0043.102 ± 0.41hDAGWT0.7944 ± 0.100.959\<0.0011.775 ± 0.81\*Ghsr null0.6448 ± 0.070.950\<0.0011.555 ± 0.67\*[^1]
3.2. ^125^I-hDAG transport characterization {#sec3.2}
-------------------------------------------
After measuring the transport rate of all ghrelins across the BBB, we wanted to further investigate the transport properties of hDAG as this peptide has not been previously characterized. The amount of degradation in serum and brain was measured by acid precipitation of radioactivity recovered from these samples. Serum levels did not fall below 100% ([Figure 2](#fig2){ref-type="fig"}A). In the latest time point studied, 10 min, greater than 60% of the radioactivity recovered from the brain was precipitated by acid. Therefore, we can conclude the level of ^125^I-hDAG present in brain appeared after intact transport across the BBB as the peptide is intact in the serum at this latest time point.Figure 2Characterization of ^125^I-hDAG. A) Stability in serum and whole brain (Whole Brain \*p \< 0.05 vs 2 and 6 min). B) Complete transfer across the brain endothelial cell (n = 3). C) Lack of saturable transport (One-Way ANOVA: p = 0.89, n = 9).Figure 2
In order to determine whether ^125^I-hDAG was able to completely transport across the brain endothelial cell, we separated the capillaries from the brain parenchyma 10 min after circulation and measured radioactivity present in these fractions. Indeed, the majority of the ^125^I-hDAG was present in the parenchyma (10.4 ± 1.95 μL/g) compared to the capillary fraction (1.0 ± 0.30 μL/g) ([Figure 2](#fig2){ref-type="fig"}B).
The uptake for brain ^125^I-hDAG was not saturable at two different doses of unlabeled hDAG (1 μg and 10 μg) 10 min after circulation ([Figure 2](#fig2){ref-type="fig"}C).
3.3. Regional ghrelin distribution {#sec3.3}
----------------------------------
To determine if the brain distribution of the ghrelin peptides varied between WT and Ghsr null mice, we measured regional levels of each ^125^I-ghrelin 10 min after IV injection ([Figure 3](#fig3){ref-type="fig"}). For all ghrelins, there were significant differences within each genotype for brain regions (p \< 0.0001) with the olfactory bulb and pons containing the greatest levels. Using a two-way ANOVA, the only peptide that showed significant differences due to genotype was hAG (p = 0.0025) with 7.68% of total variation ([Figure 3](#fig3){ref-type="fig"}B). There were no individual differences in the post-hoc analysis. The mean ± SEM of each ^125^I-ghrelin present in each brain region is listed in [Table 2](#tbl2){ref-type="table"} with more detailed statistical information regarding brain region differences. [Figure 4](#fig4){ref-type="fig"} represents the brain distribution using a heat map of the cumulative data. Data were collapsed for the ghrelin peptides where there was no difference due to genotype (mAG, mDAG, hDAG). For hAG, data were represented for both WT ([Figure 4](#fig4){ref-type="fig"}D) and Ghsr null ([Figure 4](#fig4){ref-type="fig"}E) mice.Figure 3Regional distribution of ghrelin peptides. Levels of ^125^I-ghrelin peptides were measured in each brain region after 10 min circulation. There were significant differences in the regional distribution of A) mAG, B) hAG, C) mDAG, and D) hDAG levels. There was also a difference due to genotype with B) hAG. (n = 5--7 per region per genotype).Figure 3Table 2Regional distribution of^125^I-ghrelins in WT and Ghsr null mice.Table 2mAGhAGmDAGhDAGWTGhsr NullWTGhsr NullWTGhsr NullWTGhsr NullBrain RegionAbbreviationMeanSEMMeanSEMMeanSEMMeanSEMMeanSEMMeanSEMMeanSEMMeanSEMWhole BrainWB6.010.4146.770.7666.451.025.480.4585.860.6465.790.3248.670.6747.980.289Olfactory BulbOB9.311.04411.430.39910.21.497.791.079.461.018.571.1916.11.7415.92.22CortexCtx5.060.4095.890.6425.840.9045.110.4645.550.6195.150.4767.560.6626.750.246StriatumStr8.050.6788.161.376.521.224.30.6283.140.8025.070.8415.670.7256.670.264HypothalamusHypo9.000.9957.740.8546.831.415.390.4585.020.795.271.299.620.9489.160.806HippocampusHippo6.691.4225.851.0834.190.9064.170.7026.081.266.640.9986.921.038.251.55ThalamusThal5.670.7975.290.9026.171.044.270.6444.530.8114.850.2578.531.116.890.686CerebellumCB6.931.0088.811.5118.091.567.030.8186.770.668.620.477101.019.510.73MidbrainMid5.491.0456.710.8406.160.8345.460.2946.370.6874.910.537.021.225.820.792Pons-MedullaPons8.330.9398.500.6618.091.376.80.4659.041.447.541.0514.80.96514.10.791[^2]Figure 4Pictorial representation of ^125^I-ghrelins brain distribution. A heat map was generated based on the data in [Table 2](#tbl2){ref-type="table"}. A--C) Data are collapsed across genotype. D--E) Data are separated for ^125^I-hAG due to statistically significant differences between genotypes.Figure 4
4. Discussion {#sec4}
=============
The highly-restrictive BBB is the paramount obstacle for the entry of circulating substances into brain tissue and plays a direct role in mediating the communication between the brain and the GI tract. In this study, we have characterized the transport of mouse and human AG and DAG in WT and Ghsr null mice. The data presented here suggest transport of ghrelin across the BBB in either the AG or DAG form does not require the GHSR. However, we did observe differences in the transport efficiency between the two isoforms, dependent on species: mouse or human. We found hDAG was transported faster than the other peptides: mDAG, mAG, and hAG. As hDAG BBB transport has not been characterized previously, we found this peptide was stable in serum, completely transferred across the BBB, and transport was not saturable at the doses tested. Lastly, we found all forms of exogenous ghrelin were regionally distributed throughout the brain, collecting primarily in the olfactory bulb and pons-medulla. Loss of GHSR only resulted in significant differences in hAG accumulation throughout the brain.
Several peripheral hormones that are involved in the central regulation of energy homeostasis, such as leptin, insulin, and amylin [@bib34], [@bib35], [@bib36], [@bib37], [@bib38], cross the BBB by saturable and unsaturable mechanisms. Whether these transport processes are predominantly by signaling receptor-mediated transport is debated. A novel aspect of this study was to determine whether the GHSR mediated transfer of ghrelin from blood to brain. To test this, we compared the transport rate of the human and mouse ghrelin forms in WT mice and Ghsr null mice. We found the transport rate across the BBB did not differ with the loss of GHSR. This suggests the signaling-related receptor for ghrelin is not the ghrelin transporter. This is not the first time it has been shown a peptide is transported via a different protein than the canonical signaling receptor. For example, the efflux transporter for PACAP27, a pluripotent neuropeptide, is β-F1 ATPase, a component of peptide transport system-6, and differs from the canonical signaling-related receptors, PAC1, VPAC1, and VPAC2 [@bib39]. In addition, epidermal growth factor transporters differ from their signaling-related receptor [@bib40].
There is consensus in the field that ghrelin is not synthesized in the brain [@bib41], [@bib42]. Therefore, the orexigenic actions of ghrelin depend on the ability of peripheral ghrelin to assess the neuronal circuits of food intake regulation. Ghrelin can gain access to the brain through the circumventricular organs (CVOs), blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier, and the BBB [@bib43]. We focused our research on ghrelin transport through the BBB and found that, under *ad lib* fed conditions, radioactive mAG has low accessibility to the mouse brain and the levels in the hypothalamus were similar to the cortex, thalamus, and whole brain. These findings raise questions about the physiologic importance of the peripheral AG transported across the BBB to reach its central targets. However, there is evidence for fasting to enhance peripheral metabolic signaling to the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARH) [@bib44], and we have shown enhanced BBB transport of human AG into whole brain [@bib21]. Our previous studies also showed a numerical increase in hAG entry into whole brain in 48-hr starved mice, compared to fed mice; however, this was not statistically significant [@bib21]. We did not examine ghrelin-mediated signaling in neurons in this study, but it is curious whether fasting would increase the BBB transport of ghrelin into the ARH and whether AG and DAG would be affected similarly. While our studies involved large, regional dissections, other studies have investigated more detailed entry into sub-regions [@bib45], especially in the hypothalamus, and found differences in transport within this brain region. AG was able to rapidly access neurons of the ARH near fenestrated capillaries in the median eminence [@bib45]. However, the precise transport mechanism for ghrelin into these regions has yet to be determined.
Various forms of ghrelin (hAG, mAG, and mDAG) have been previously investigated in terms of BBB transport and characteristics [@bib29]. We found the same pattern of transport rate with mDAG \> hAG \> mAG in the current study. Additionally, we also investigated the transport rate of hDAG in comparison to the other ghrelin forms as there are multiple CNS biological functions attributed to DAG despite its inability to activate the GHSR. Surprisingly, we found hDAG was transported approximately three times faster than the other three forms. Therefore, the new hierarchy of transport is hDAG \> mDAG \> hAG \> mAG in mice. It should be noted, our study included males and females combined in determining the transport rate for each ghrelin peptide. Therefore, further studies should investigate a potential sexual dimorphism in the transport of ghrelin across the BBB. Human and mouse AG only differ in sequence at amino acids 11--12 [@bib46], and human and mouse GHSR are 95% identical. To our knowledge, the binding affinity of human ghrelins to mouse GHSR and vice versa has not been addressed. The slower transport of AG could be due to the presence of its octanoyl group since the octanoyl tail allows it to circulate bound to HDL, LDL, and triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, while DAG only binds to HDL [@bib47], [@bib48]. It is also possible the brain-to-blood efflux system for ^125^I-AG contributes to the slower overall transport rate [@bib29].
We have previously shown in the same time frame reported here (10 min) that AG was not degraded into DAG [@bib29] and that the half-life of AG in human serum is ∼10 min [@bib49]. However, we cannot rule out in this study that there is not breakdown to DAG that could contribute to the levels of ^125^I-ghrelin measured in brain. AG breakdown to DAG can be done by numerous circulating esterases, including butylcholinesterase and carboxypeptidase, and it is possible for various esterases to compensate when one is lacking [@bib50]. However, what contributes to the further breakdown of DAG in brain is not known. Whether hAG and mAG are hydrolyzed at different rates in our mice is unknown and may provide another mechanism for the differences we have detected in transport.
To gain insight into brain regions that are involved in the central action of ghrelin, we determined the regional transport of the ghrelin peptides throughout the brain. While the overall accumulation of each ghrelin peptide varies for the brain regions, there is a significant difference in regional accumulation with greater levels present in the hypothalamus compared to the hippocampus and cortex. The differences in peptide accumulation for each brain region are likely due to recognition of the isoform with the transporter. The brain region with the highest level of each ghrelin peptide, regardless of species, was the olfactory bulb. We previously reported that the GHSR1a is present in olfactory circuits in the brain; ghrelin enhances food-seeking behavior by stimulating exploratory sniffing and increasing olfaction sensitivity [@bib15]. Our finding is similar to the previous report by Diano et al. that the olfactory bulb (along with occipital cortex) exhibits the highest uptake of peripherally injected radiolabeled human ghrelin in the mouse brain [@bib51]. We are unaware whether fasting induces changes of ghrelin transport specific to the olfactory bulb. If long-term fasting is altering the structure of the BBB or c-Fos expression, ghrelin transport could also be altered. For most ghrelin forms, there was no effect of genotype on regional distribution. However, for hAG, there was a significant effect of genotype; the Ghsr null mice had consistently lower levels in each brain region compared to WT. Since only a single time point was taken to collect these data, we cannot determine if the decreased level is due to a decrease in binding to the GHSR, altered efflux, or overall transport.
Based on the finding that hDAG BBB transport rate is greater than the other previously characterized ghrelin forms, we wanted to further characterize the transport characteristics of hDAG. We found hDAG was intact in mouse serum yet brain hDAG was ∼60% intact by 10 min. We also observed nearly complete transfer of hDAG across the brain endothelial cell and into the brain parenchyma. Lastly, we investigated the saturability of hDAG transport. At two different doses of unlabeled hDAG, 1 μg and 10 μg, the amount of ^125^I-hDAG present in the brain was not statistically different. These data suggest this system is not saturable at these doses. These results are similar to the data reported previously [@bib29].
5. Conclusions {#sec5}
==============
In conclusion, our results show for the first time the GHSR is not solely responsible for ghrelin transport across the BBB. At this time, it is unclear whether the two forms (AG and DAG) are transported by the same protein. In addition, we show ghrelin levels are highest in the olfactory bulb, regardless of the form of ghrelin. We also newly characterized hDAG transport characteristics in addition to comparing the results from mDAG, hAG, and mAG BBB transport to previously reported literature [@bib29]. Both human and mouse DAGs are transported faster across the BBB compared to AG while human ghrelin peptides are transported more efficiently than mouse ghrelin. The information gained from these results aid in better understanding the gut-brain communication and provide new foundations for future investigations to connect these findings with physiological functions of ghrelin.
Funding {#sec6}
=======
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (RO1DK097550 to JT, RO1AG046619 to WAB and TS, and T32AG000057 to EMR, and T32DK007012 to SG) and by the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System Research and Development.
Conflict of interest {#appsec1}
====================
None.
[^1]: Levels of ^125^I-ghrelin (mAG, hAG, mDAG, and hDAG) present in whole brain in WT and Ghsr null mice were measured 1--10 min after injection and plotted in [Figure 1](#fig1){ref-type="fig"}. Multiple-time point regression analysis was performed to determine the rate of ghrelin transport (K~*i*~) and vascular binding (V~*i*~). Data are presented as mean ± SEM. \*p \< 0.05 between WT and Ghsr null for hDAG.
[^2]: Data are represented in [Figure 3](#fig3){ref-type="fig"} but reported here as mean with SEM (n = 5--7/brain region). Two-Way ANOVA shows a significant effect of regional distribution for each peptide: hDAG p \< 0.0001 WT (WB different from OB, Pons; OB different from all regions; Pons different from all regions) and Ghsr Null (WB different from OB, Pons; OB different from all regions; Pons different from all regions except Mid); mDAG p \< 0.0001 WT (OB different from Str, Hypo, Thal; Pons different from Str, Thal); hAG p = 0.0011 WT (no post-hoc differences); mAG p \< 0.0001 Ghsr Null (OB different from Ctx, Hippo, Thal, Mid).
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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PubMed Central
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Introduction {#S0001}
============
How should valid neuropsychological test performance be determined in the individual with traumatic brain injury (TBI), especially those who have sustained a mild TBI (mTBI)? The commonness of mTBI with annual incidence rates conservatively estimated to be well over 2 million cases per year \[[@CIT0001]\], likely means that mTBI represents one of the most common forms of injury evaluated by neuropsychologists \[[@CIT0002]\]. Validity of neuropsychological test findings has become a critical issue in the assessment of neurocognitive and neurobehavioural sequelae, where hundreds of *Brain Injury* articles and published abstracts include statements about or information on what has been referred to as symptom validity testing (SVT). Currently, SVT research is a dominant theme in the field of neuropsychological assessment \[[@CIT0003], [@CIT0004]\]. As will be discussed in this review, the SVT term may not be the best to use in this context, but for brevity this common acronym will be retained because of its entrenched use in current neuropsychological literature \[[@CIT0004]\].
Over the past decade, there has been wide acceptance for the use of SVT measures in clinical neuropsychological assessment as well as research \[[@CIT0005]\]. Prior to the current era of specific SVT studies, valid neuropsychological test performance was always a concern but essentially left to clinical judgement based on observed test behaviours like patterns of deficit performance that did not fit clinical history or presentation along with obvious signs of lack of engagement in the testing process. In an attempt to bring greater objectivity in reporting test performance validity, about two decades ago externally administered SVT measures began to be routinely applied during neuropsychological assessment batteries, especially in the evaluation of mTBI \[[@CIT0006]\].
SVT tasks may be divided into free-standing measures independently administered from the other neuropsychological tests, but used to infer validity, from devised SVT criteria extracted from embedded tests within a standardized battery of neuropsychological tests administered or a combination of these two approaches. Although recommendations from professional neuropsychological organizations endorse the use of external SVT measures \[[@CIT0005], [@CIT0007], [@CIT0008]\], there is no agreement on which ones should be used for which condition, the timing of when SVT measures should be administered in the context of other tests, how many and what guidelines should be used for interpretation, to identify but a few of the important unresolved issues.
The most common SVT research study and most widely published articles are based on externally administered SVT measures that use an easy to perform task often within a forced-choice (FC) paradigm, typically involving some aspect of recognition memory \[[@CIT0009]\]. The majority of the FC SVT measures in use are commercial products and this review is not about which may be best under what circumstances or a review of the assessment utility of individual SVTs. In that sense, this review will avoid specific mention of commercially available SVTs, will remain neutral on the purported test qualities of particular SVT measures and comment mostly on the SVT paradigm as it relates to inferences about validity.
Embedded SVT measures may capitalize on inherent features of the task, some of which permit utilizing a FC paradigm as well or the ease of some items, especially at the beginning of a measure. For example, even patients with severe TBI are routinely capable of repeating back a few digits in forward and reverse directions and, therefore, the individual who has sustained a mTBI that cannot perform even simple digit repetition is displaying invalid test performance. Most SVT measures, regardless of whether external or embedded, utilize a cut-score approach where performance above a certain cut-score reflects a 'pass' or 'valid' performance and 'failure' occurs with below cut-point performance, thereby inferring 'invalid' test findings. The concept of a SVT 'pass' seemed like a simple, quick unbiased way to comment on validity and, in fact, numerous studies support such a conclusion.
Truly invalid test performance also could be concluded from SVT performance. For example, near chance SVT scores unequivocally merit the 'invalid' moniker. Within the FC paradigm, near chance performance occurs with random responding or guessing, hardly an indication an examinee was trying to perform at their best. Below chance performance clearly implies intentionality and knowingly falsifying the answer. These types of 'failed' SVT performances provide the clinician/researcher with definitive and objective indicia for invalid neuropsychological test findings. Presence of such a pattern requires no further discussion in this review, especially SVT performance substantially below chance because this represents the psychometric *sine qua non* indicator for malingering (knowing the correct answer and intentionally identifying the incorrect).
However, there is an intermediate group, technically a SVT failure, characterized by below SVT cut-score performance but substantially above chance \[[@CIT0010]\]. This represents a common observation in the neuropsychological assessment of mTBI, both paediatric and adult \[[@CIT0011], [@CIT0012]\]. Does this in-between, border zone SVT performance truly reflect invalid performance or do SVT measures tap cognitive or behavioural dimensions of test performance that require additional consideration?
The size of this group with substantially above chance yet below SVT cut-score performance is not trivial. In the various studies referenced in this review, where appropriate data were presented to determine this type of failure rate, it may be upwards of 20% of the total sample of brain injured patients \[[@CIT0013]\]. However, the very nature of how cut-scores are derived calls into question why such a performance would automatically indicate invalid performance. As pointed out by Dwyer (1996), cut-scores (a) always entail judgement, (b) inherently result in some misclassification, (c) impose artificial 'pass/fail' dichotomies and (d) no 'true' cut scores exist \[[@CIT0014]\]. The implications of these problems is easily grasped if in a 50-item FC task the cut-score is set at 90% accurate; in other words a score of 45 is needed to pass. So what does a score of 44 mean--- it is below the cut-point but does this really mean invalid? Even a score of 40 still indicates 80% of the answers were correct. Does this intermediate range always mean 'invalid' performance just because the SVT score is below the cut-point?
This review focuses on the limitations of SVT research findings thus far and the questions that need answered for this intermediate, border zone 'failed' group of SVT performers with a history of TBI. Interpretation of any neuropsychological test requires operational definitions of the terms used to describe test findings. This certainly applies to SVT interpretation which means some historical overview of SVT terminology and potential operational definitions is needed.
What is effort? {#S0002}
===============
Early writings involving SVT studies introduced the term 'effort' to describe what was being measured by the SVT task. Intuitively the ease of the SVT measure has been interpreted as tapping some index of *effort*. In fact, use of the effort term for a while became synonymous with SVT, often used in the title of the study \[[@CIT0015], [@CIT0016]\] and is still being used to describe SVT studies. So what is effort?
This question has been asked before \[[@CIT0010], [@CIT0017]\]. On the surface, this seems straightforward. Effort has to be involved in test taking and must in some way tap the level of cognitive and behavioural engagement in a task. If not putting forth good effort to perform at their best level of ability, indeed their most accurate ability level, how could assessment ever hope to evaluate an individual's ability to function? Instructionally, something to this effect is asked of every examinee prior to administration of any standardized neuropsychological assessment \[[@CIT0018]\] when admonished to 'do their best', to give their 'best effort'.
From a basic neuroscience perspective, effort has been examined in a variety of ways by manipulating several stimulus and task parameters, most often within working memory (attention) and short-term retention paradigms. [Figure 1](#F0001){ref-type="fig"} is from Knight \[[@CIT0019]\], wherein the bottom-up vs. top-down attention network dichotomy is used to show that only bottom-up, primary sensory stimulation engages the cortex in an otherwise 'effortless' manner. All other types of cognitive processes require effort, no matter how insignificant or transitory the task may be. 'Bottom-up' stimuli, especially threat stimuli, immediately engage attentional networks and are, therefore, 'effortless'. However, all other aspects of attention require cognitive effort and a central executive as borne out when functional MRI (fMRI) studies are done using simple FC or SVT measures \[[@CIT0020]\]. These studies all show that SVT measures engage the expected language, memory, attentional and executive functioning networks necessary to perform the FC SVT task. Interesting to note, studies actually show greater and different activation when the subject is asked to malinger, suggesting that the neurobiology of malingering may have a signature fMRI activation profile \[[@CIT0023], [@CIT0024]\]. Figure 1.As shown in this illustration from Knight \[[@CIT0019]\], only the 'Bottom-up' attention network is effortless and automatic. 'Top-down' attention, memory or visual processing all requires effort. The image is based on electrophysiological studies of the mammalian brain, as referenced by the oscillatory findings given as hertz (Hz) frequencies. Used with permission from Science.
In cognitive neuroscience research paradigms, cognitive effort may be operationally defined by task complexity and experimentally manipulated as an independent variable. Such is not the case with SVT measures that have a fixed-battery approach, although several will vary between so-called 'difficult' and 'easy' items. Since all SVT paradigms would tap top-down cognitive processes, none, no matter how easy, could be considered effortless. Are there potential neuropathological factors that relate to 'effort' in cognitive processing? Do they influence performance and relate to validity of test findings, especially in TBI?
SVT, malingering and the nature of deception {#S0003}
============================================
Contemporaneous with emergence of SVT and the 'effort' terminology was equating failed SVT performance with malingering. By DSM-5 standards \[[@CIT0025]\] malingering is defined as '... the intentional reporting of symptoms for personal gain' in contrast to factitious disorder that '... requires the absence of obvious rewards' but both involve '... providing false information or behaving deceptively' (p. 326). Malingering requires intentionality and numerous SVT publications loosely use the 'malingering' term in association with SVT failure, even though the only statistical proof of intentionality is when SVT performance is below chance. So what role does deception plays in SVT performance?
In their textbook titled *Malingering and Illness Deception*, Halligan et al. \[[@CIT0026]\] begin their edited treatise with an overview of the commonness of deception at all levels of human behaviour as well as throughout the animal kingdom. Indeed, even the evolutionary basis to human deception has been written about \[[@CIT0027], [@CIT0028]\]. The crux of the problem with deception for medicine and psychology is the subjectivity of symptom reporting, since diagnosis relies, in part, on the credibility of symptoms. The complexity that surrounds subjective symptom reporting becomes exponentially amplified when issues of intentionality and motivation, conscious or non-conscious, enter the equation \[[@CIT0029], [@CIT0030]\]. So what does one conclude about a clinical presentation of a patient wherein there is no medical explanation or supporting finding for a specific disorder---the so-called 'medically unexplained symptoms' or MUS \[[@CIT0031]\]? MUS patients complain of cognitive impairments \[[@CIT0032]\] and, in fact, a community prevalence study of cognitive impairment found ∼12.5% to have MUS \[[@CIT0033]\]. So if a MUS patient 'passes' SVT measures but has cognitive impairments on neuropsychological testing, are their cognitive problems genuine (valid)? What does it mean to pass SVT measures in those with presumed functional or psychogenic disorder? Kemp et al. \[[@CIT0034]\] examined a sample of 43 non-litigating individuals all assessed with MUS, well characterized as having no medically diagnosable condition. None actually performed at or below chance level on the various SVT measures administered, but 11% 'failed' SVT tasks. Does this mean that those individuals with MUS who 'pass' SVT measures but exhibit neuropsychological impairment have valid test findings and a genuine cognitive disorder? Or, does this mean that even a 'passed' SVT finding does not necessary mean a bona fide cognitive impairment?
This issue is very important in understanding TBI, especially mTBI, because of the role of so-called functional predisposing, pre-injury mental health issues in TBI outcome \[[@CIT0035]\] as well as what has been referred to as central sensitization where symptoms may not fit the clinical history \[[@CIT0036]\]. Does under-performance on SVT measures tap what is referred to as 'illness belief' \[[@CIT0037]\] and relate to psychogenic features related to outcome \[[@CIT0035]\]? Is diminished SVT performance, whether intermediate or at chance, tapping some aspect of illness behaviour? In a large 1-year prospective sample (*n* = 1144) of neurology out-patients, Sharpe et al. \[[@CIT0038]\] showed that illness beliefs and financial benefits predicted 1-year outcome. Although outcome prediction was multi-factorial and did not use specific SVT measures, illness belief and secondary gain predicted 13% of the variance in outcome \[[@CIT0039], [@CIT0040]\]. In neuropsychological assessment, once issues of litigation and secondary gain enter into the clinical picture then the potential explanatory power of failed SVT performance increases, even within the intermediate category of above chance, but below the cut-score performance \[[@CIT0041]\]. Accordingly, performance on SVT measures tap test-taking behaviours that have relevance to issues of secondary gain, deception and illness behaviour. Nevertheless, illness behaviour in the form of what DSM-5 now describes as Somatic Symptom Disorder constitutes a bona fide psychiatric disorder. Is this intermediate, border zone range of SVT performance a reflection of illness behaviour? Can SVT measures for those who perform in this intermediate range be used to decipher what may or may not be illness behaviour?
Historical perspective and nomenclature {#S0004}
=======================================
At the mild end of the TBI spectrum, the debate on the validity of neurocognitive and neurobehavioural symptoms resulting from a mild brain injury is not new. Although Courville's \[[@CIT0042]\] text *Commotio Cerebri* argued for a biological basis to concussion, he acknowledged the absence of objective findings in concussion supported the view by many "... that the symptoms so often complained of consequent to an episode of concussion constitutes nothing more than a psychogenic disorder inherent in the patient's deficient personality (traumatic neurosis), if he is not actually guilty of an *effort* to secure gain by fraud (malingering) (p. 3)."
More than 60 years ago, Courville's \[[@CIT0042]\] use of the word 'effort', which would portend the zeitgeist around validity assessment in psychological and neuropsychological testing in TBI, began with FC methods for the detection of malingering \[[@CIT0043]\]. As implied in the above Courville statement, effort may reflect malevolent aims where deficits are intentionally exaggerated, under-performed or test performance feigned, which has been a long-held view as the basis for many who have persisting problems from a mTBI \[[@CIT0046]\].
Is their intrinsic motivation to perform at maximal effort at all times \[[@CIT0047]\]? The assumption in psychological assessment has always been that the demand characteristics and social context of the examinee--examiner test environment provide motivation to adequately perform \[[@CIT0048]\]. Indeed, for the majority undergoing testing the demand characteristics of the assessment environment results in passing SVT measures. For example, in an active and veteran military study of 214 individuals, many with a history of mTBI, McCormick et al. \[[@CIT0049]\] found that 75% performed above the SVT cut-point used in that study. This implies that in the majority the demand characteristics of the test environment provide sufficient motivation for valid performance, by SVT cut-point standards. However, sufficient motivation is not necessarily the same as optimal performance on neuropsychological measures. Indeed, every neuropsychological measure has its own test--re-test variability which may vary considerably across different time points \[[@CIT0050]\]. So passing a SVT may signify a 'valid' performance but may not address whatsoever the range of test performance or whether performance was optimal.
Traditional neuropsychological testing is not performed with implicit incentives other than 'try your best'. In the traditional sense incentive is not manipulated like an independent variable in a research study on cognitive effort. As such, motivation is not directly assessed unless inferred from SVT measures. Financial incentives have the potential to influence intrinsic motivation \[[@CIT0051]\], so how should SVT measures deal with secondary gain? Do illness behaviours or threats to perceived health status, so-called diagnosis threat, influence motivation to perform \[[@CIT0052]\]? Probably, but what if core features of the neurological or neuropsychiatric disorder influences motivation? Is there an interactive effect between illness behaviour, neurological/neuropsychiatric condition and SVT? There is an entire field within cognitive neuroscience that explores issues of motivation, drive, response-cost and brain function \[[@CIT0055], [@CIT0056]\], as well as how clinical disorders affect motivation \[[@CIT0057]\]---how do these factors influence SVT performance? The case study presented in the next section highlights this interpretive dilemma.
A consistent argument made by SVT publishers and researchers is the ease of the FC tasks could not be simpler and therefore require 'minimal or no effort' to pass. SVT standardization samples include individuals with neurological impairment who make few to no errors under standard format. Even some convenience samples involving those with intellectual disabilities or otherwise severe neurological impairment readily pass SVT measures \[[@CIT0058], [@CIT0059]\], all of which supports a minimalist role of motivation to adequately perform. On the other hand, as will be shown in the TBI case that follows, neurological injury may affect motivational systems and presumably SVT performance. If the neurobiology and neuropathology of the injury may explain intermediate, border zone SVT performance, then concluding invalidity of neuropsychological test findings may not be an empirically supportable conclusion.
A mTBI case study of below cut-score SVT findings with well-documented neuropathology: The prototype problem for the SVT researcher and clinician {#S0005}
=================================================================================================================================================
This patient sustained a high impact front-end collision with immediate loss of consciousness (LOC) and an initial Glasgow Coma Scale score of 5. Multiple fractures were sustained, including orbitofacial and spinal column, internal injuries and CT demonstrated a distinct frontal haemorrhage associated with a right contrecoup parietal haemorrhage, as shown in [Figure 2](#F0002){ref-type="fig"}. Clearly evident (also see [Figure 2](#F0002){ref-type="fig"}), follow-up CT imaging demonstrated even larger parenchymal changes as a result of the original haemorrhagic lesions and brain injury (MRI studies were never done with this patient because of artifact from the craniofacial reconstruction). Behaviourally the family described a change in motivation characterized by apathy and lack of drive as well as reduced cognitive ability, characteristic of trauma-induced frontal lobe disorder \[[@CIT0018]\]. Prior to sustaining the severe TBI, the individual shown in [Figure 2](#F0002){ref-type="fig"} was college educated with executive level employment. By outcome standards the patient had good recovery (Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, Full Scale IQ = 112, Wechsler Memory Scale-III Memory Quotient = 108) and was able to do all levels of personal care and activities of daily living including resuming driving. However, are these scores invalid because of SVT failure? When seen for neuropsychological evaluation, he was 2-years post-injury and litigation was present, but settled out of court. As for SVT performance he scored right at the cut-point on one SVT measure but at only at a 78% correct level on another where the established cut-point is 85%. His Beck Depression Inventory-II score was 37. On mental status exam, he expressed that he '... doesn't give a shit about things!' Does frontal lobe damage, depression and lack of motivation influence SVT performance? Does parietal lobe damage influence attention and lack of task engagement that could lead to infrequent but some errors sufficient to score below the cut-point? Do the neuroimaging findings in this case support top-down disruption of the effort system? SVT researchers have provided few guidelines for what plausibly may be failed SVT performance due to neurogenic motivational and attentional problems in neurologic patients with unequivocally documented brain pathology such as this case; however, some studies are beginning to address these issues \[[@CIT0060]\]. Figure 2.L = Left. The CT image on the left is from the day-of-injury (DOI) and shows focal intraparenchymal haemorrhage in the left frontal lobe with a contrecoup focal haemorrhagic lesion located posteriorly in the right parietal area. By 2 weeks post-injury, focal areas of decreased density deep within the frontal and parietal parenchyma have developed, reflecting damage substantially larger than the original haemorrhagic lesion.
What would it mean in a patient with SVT 'failure', like that in [Figure 2](#F0002){ref-type="fig"}, if the neuropsychological test findings are reflexively interpreted as implicating invalid symptom endorsement and behavioural deficits post-injury? Obviously neuroimaging demonstrates structural damage to key regions associated with motivation and drive as well as attention. Does the SVT 'failure' in this case actually prove the point of poor engagement that would be expected from frontal lobe damage? Is the SVT then acting as a cognitive probe that actually detects what would be predicted from such a brain injury \[[@CIT0061]\]? Why would this patient's neuropsychological test performance be interpreted as invalid because of SVT failure in the intermediate, border zone range, especially since summary scores are all above average?
This case also points out a major limitation of commercially used SVT measure. Their standardization samples combine so-called 'neurological' patients of all types of aetiology within a single group (mixed acquired injury, stroke and dementia, for example). However, as pointed out by the case in [Figure 2](#F0002){ref-type="fig"} there may indeed be variation in SVT performance by type of disorder and location of pathology \[[@CIT0062]\] as well as type of neuropsychiatric disorder \[[@CIT0063]\]. Researchers are showing that the inflexible cut score should be reconsidered \[[@CIT0064], [@CIT0065]\]. Most commercially available SVT measures treat the 'brain damaged' or 'neurologically impaired' group as a singular group assuming there is some unitary dysfunction that would accompany brain damage resulting from multiple aetiologies, without ever really testing this assumption.
What modifies SVT and neuropsychological test performance? {#S0006}
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Changing examiner/examinee demands may indeed change performance or motivation to perform on neuropsychological tests, as shown by Suchy et al. \[[@CIT0066]\], using a most resourceful archival research design involving clinical cases (*n* = 530) with documented multiple sclerosis (MS). Diagnosis was not in question as all patients had all been independently diagnosed with MS, none were in litigation and all were merely being evaluated for treatment planning or follow-up. Eleven per cent failed FC SVT measures. Interestingly, confronting those who initially exhibited below cut-score SVT scores resulted in 68% being able to raise their SVT scores into the 'pass' category, resulting in Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-III Edition, Wechsler) performance equivalent to the group that originally passed (see [Figure 3](#F0003){ref-type="fig"}). Could this be a strategy employed by the clinician or researcher because confronting the patient with below cut-score SVT performance who then improves constitutes some sort of proof that the patient was not fully engaged in performing the task? Figure 3.This illustration is from Suchy et al. \[[@CIT0066]\] and demonstrates the dose--response relationship frequently reported between increasingly lower SVT performance and actual neuropsychological test findings \[[@CIT0003]\]. Mean composite WMS-III T-score for individuals in the four groups were calclated: Valid = patients who produced above cut-score SVT performance during initial administration; Improvers = patients who initially produced non-valid SVT performance, but the repeat administration after confrontation yielded valid results; Non-improvers = patients who produced non-valid SVT performance initially and again after confrontation; N-CONF = patients who initially produced non-valid VSVT performance but were not confronted. Reproduced with permission from the author and Psychology Press/Taylor & Francis.
What about those MS patients who did not improve when challenged, how substantial is the effect on WMS-III performance when SVT is 'failed' below the cut point and does not change during the challenge? [Figure 3](#F0003){ref-type="fig"} shows this comparison. First, what is evident in viewing this figure is the so-called dose--response relation between level of SVT performance and neuropsychological test performance, in this case WMS-III performance \[[@CIT0003]\]. Passing on the first SVT administration resulted in the highest performance, with below cut-point performance related to lower WMS-III performance. However, regardless of whether the SVT was passed, *all* MS groups performed below the normative standard. Furthermore, the 'Non-Improvers'---those who truly 'failed' the SVT measure---were just a 0.5 standard deviation (SD) below those who passed.
In a somewhat similar study, Keary et al. \[[@CIT0067]\] examined patients with intractable epilepsy who were potential candidates for surgery with no know external incentive to malinger. In this cohort they examined three SVT performance findings: Valid (meaning at or above cut-score), Questionable (substantially above chance, but below the SVT cut-point) and Invalid (substantially below the cut point). On the WMS-III the valid group performed at ∼0.75 SD below the standardization sample, with the 'questionable' SVT group performing on average 1.0 SD below. The epilepsy group that failed performed 1.66 SD below the standardization sample or ∼0.9 SD worse than those who passed.
Ignoring whether valid or not, the neuropsychological test performance in these samples of independently diagnosed conditions that would be expected to reduce cognitive ability in fact show lower neuropsychological test performance regardless of whether the SVT was passed or not. While the magnitude of the difference may be influenced by factors such as motivation, test engagement, effort of whatever term might be appropriate, actual SVT performance was irrelevant in terms of the direction of impairment.
Furthermore, Keary et al. \[[@CIT0067]\] observed that both working memory and intellectual level were related to SVT performance, stating the following: "... the cognitive profile should not automatically be judged invalid. Instead, clinicians will need to consider the possibility that lower performance ... may be due to intellectual or working memory limitations (p. 321),"irrespective of SVT findings. These findings point to the limits of hard-and-fast rules of distinguishing valid versus invalid test performance based solely on a SVT cut score without, as Keary et al. \[[@CIT0067]\] state, looking '... for convergence of findings' (p. 321).
Locke et al. \[[@CIT0013]\] examined patients for treatment determination, where the majority had sustained a TBI, none were in litigation, with ∼20% failing SVT measures. For the group that performed below the SVT cut-point, on the majority of neuropsychological measures, test performance was significantly below the group who passed, with effect size differences ranging from 0.21--1.37. While moderate-to-large effect size differences may be substantial enough to result in clinically important and distinguishable differences, small effect size differences may not \[[@CIT0068]\]. In children, universal differences in test performance have not been observed for those who failed SVT in contrast to those who passed \[[@CIT0062], [@CIT0069]\]. Such findings challenge the argument that failed SVT performance collectively and always reflects invalid test performance across the board for all other neuropsychological measures. In fact, Perna and Loughan \[[@CIT0069]\] state that 'sub-optimal effort ... may not predict poorer performance on a neuropsychological evaluation in children, as has been reported in other studies' (p. 31). Nonetheless, substantial rates of SVT failure in paediatric mTBI have been reported \[[@CIT0070]\].
The complexity of motivational factors is demonstrated by studies that use monetary incentives to improve performance \[[@CIT0073]\]. In children, McCauley et al. \[[@CIT0076], [@CIT0077]\] have shown that performance on prospective memory tasks in those with mild/moderate TBI improved over baseline assessment with increased monetary incentive. What does this mean? Was the first assessment done under conventional terms of no incentive less than optimal or invalid?
Schizophrenia is often characterized by deficits in motivational systems \[[@CIT0078]\] and SVT studies that have examined SVT failure rates show high levels of failure in those with schizophrenia \[[@CIT0079]\]. Indeed major discussions in the schizophrenia literature centre on whether amotivational features of the disorder occur as a state vs. trait \[[@CIT0083]\]. If motivation or drive is a state, then if sub-optimal performance is part of that state, even those with below cut-score but above chance SVT performance may be performing at their 'typical' level of task engagement.
Since motivation, intention and choice may be framed by neural structures that underlie drive including medial and orbitofrontal cortices and their relation with limbic and hypothalamic areas \[[@CIT0084]\], SVT explanations in this indistinct category of below cut-score performance must deal with whether certain lesions or neuropathological states are associated with motivational changes that may influence SVT performance. If this is the case, then motivation becomes another term to operationalize and define in understanding SVT findings. Unfortunately, although the motivation term has great face value along with intuitive explanatory appeal, the term possesses many challenges to operationally define \[[@CIT0085], [@CIT0086]\].
All externally administered SVT measures have been standardized via samples of convenience. In clinic situations that have examined consecutive referrals, some find low SVT failure rates comparable to standardization samples, but others do not \[[@CIT0013], [@CIT0066]\], where in multi-specialty clinical services in large metropolitan centres up to 30% fail FC SVT measures \[[@CIT0087], [@CIT0088]\]. Substantially larger numbers have been reported in some military-related clinics where upwards of 60% SVT failure rates have been reported \[[@CIT0089], [@CIT0090]\]. As pointed out by Silver \[[@CIT0035]\], there are many complexities to performance validity issues, especially in mTBI \[[@CIT0091]\]. With such substantial SVT failure rates without either better operationalizing what below cut-score but above chance performance truly means will result in large numbers of assessment findings ostensibly discounted to a non-interpretable category. For the profession of clinical neuropsychology this is an untenable position to be in, if one concludes that these high levels of failure *only* mean invalid test performance.
What is in a name? {#S0007}
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There is more historical context for the operational definition challenges introduced above. The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning (RAVL) test \[[@CIT0018]\], first published in 1941, also was the first neuropsychological measure that became connected with an external SVT, the Rey 15-item test and also the Dot-Counting Test (later referred to as the Rey Dot-counting test \[[@CIT0092]\]). Rey recognized that understanding 'motivation' and 'believability' of test performance was needed. These measures were not FC-based, but rather deemed so basic and easy to perform that even patients with significant neurological impairment could adequately do the task with some minimal level of correctness \[[@CIT0093]\]. As such, the Rey-15 and Dot-Counting measures were thought to tap an element of 'motivation' to participate in the RAVL task \[[@CIT0094]\]. So, as early as 1964, Rey was writing about motivational factors and how to distinguish genuine vs. feigned memory impairment which continued to dominate much of the early writings of neuropsychological test validity prior to the 1990s \[[@CIT0095]\].
Adding to what Rey started, by implementing a FC paradigm applied to the ease and simplicity of performing a task, the statistical improbability of poor test performance provided additional psychometric support for defining presence of implausible and malingered symptoms \[[@CIT0096]\]. For example, implausible symptoms like someone with a history of mTBI who claimed to lose *all* memory of the previous day during sleep \[[@CIT0100]\].
These techniques appear to do well in separating out examinees with truly improbable test findings and true malingerers. The conundrum as introduced by MUS conditions is that, in disorders considered to have a high degree of functional overlay, it would be expected that increased SVT failure occurs in higher rates where symptoms like fatigue and pain dominate, such as in chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia \[[@CIT0101]\]. For example, Johnson-Greene et al. \[[@CIT0102]\], in a study of patients with fibromyalgia, found a 37% SVT failure rate. SVT failure was associated with non-cognitive symptoms of pain, poor sleep and fatigue. Of course, these are the same kinds of symptoms that occur in mTBI, which then begs the question as to whether the SVT task itself is tapping some form of response bias that actually relates to the presenting problem/symptoms experienced by the patient. For example, returning to military sample, including those with mTBI reported earlier in this review, McCormick et al. \[[@CIT0049]\] observed a 25% SVT failure where SVT performance was associated with depression and PTSD.
McGrath et al. \[[@CIT0103]\] discuss 'response bias' and its influence on psychological test performance. Response bias is a well-studied, experimentally proven factor that may contribute to both accurate and false memory \[[@CIT0104]\]. Response bias that occurs in schizophrenia \[[@CIT0105]\] is likely a major factor associated with poor SVT performance \[[@CIT0082]\]. However, in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, response bias is something proven by experimental manipulation of independent variables and test conditions by increasing or decreasing task demands, priming and stimulus complexity. Indeed, when these factors are attempted to be experimentally manipulated they demonstrate the arbitrariness of the SVT cut-point \[[@CIT0106]\].
Much of the SVT research has been driven by forensic neuropsychology \[[@CIT0107]\] where the 'response bias' is assumed because of compensation seeking and issues of secondary gain? In forensic samples often a comparison group is derived that is in litigation in contrast to a non-litigating sample. When greater SVT failure occurs in the litigating sample, a negative response bias is assumed, attributed to the motivation for secondary gain. As Merten and Merckelback \[[@CIT0108]\] state "... to clarify the nature of the atypical symptoms, SVTs are administered and a negative response bias is found, which is explained away by the atypical symptoms. Negative response bias allows for only one conclusion: the patient's self-report of symptoms and life history can no longer be taken at face value (p. 122)."The problem with a singular conclusion like this is that typically nothing other than the SVT measure is used to independently show response bias and no other medical, emotional or injury issues are controlled \[[@CIT0109], [@CIT0110]\]. Thus, inferred negative response bias with SVT failure is a common theme and may be a totally appropriate conclusion, but, unless other evidence explicates the role of response bias, a simple below cut-score but above chance SVT performance does not prove response bias.
Furthermore, there is an anatomical basis to response bias, which involves frontotemporolimbic and basal ganglia circuitry \[[@CIT0111]\]. [Figure 4](#F0004){ref-type="fig"} depicts a very simple model proposed by Geier and Luna \[[@CIT0111]\] that shows the interaction of incentive, inhibitory control, working memory and decision-making. In a very coarse sense, inhibitory control is mediated by networks associated with the basal ganglia and frontal executive, whereas the working memory system would be mediated by temporal and default mode networks. Incentive would be mediated by frontotemporolimbic networks. Response bias would be influenced by how these networks interact in producing behaviour. With an underlying neurobiology sub-serving response bias but current SVT interpretation based solely on behavioural response indices, the entire underlying neurobiology of response bias has not been explored. Figure 4.As presented by Geier and Luna \[[@CIT0111]\], a simple model emphasizing the interaction between incentive processing and basic cognitive control abilities in decision-making. Sub-optimal decision-making has been suggested to contribute to risk-taking behaviour. In the Geir and Luna model, immaturities in brain systems supporting how incentives are represented in the brain as well as in specific cognitive control systems like working memory and inhibitory control are proposed to underlie poor decision-making. As pertaining to SVT performance, damage within inhibitory control, working memory and/or incentive processing systems may result in SVT errors.
Returning to the McCauley et al. \[[@CIT0076], [@CIT0077]\] investigations that showed the influence of incentive on prospective memory function in children, in a 'high-motivation' condition (where a dollar was given for remembering a phrase when the prospective cue was given) incentive to increase performance was found to be mediated by white matter integrity within the orbitofrontal, cingulum bundle and uncinate fasciculi along with injury severity. All of these regions are well known for their role in motivated behaviour. On average control participants and those with moderate injury were able to improve their prospective memory performance by 1--2 more phrases recalled in the 'high motivation' condition. However, the children with severe TBI and reduced white matter integrity did not change under either incentive condition. This study clearly points to an underlying neurobiology related to the effort to perform, with implications for SVT performance.
Examining the influence of incentive in test performance supports the concept that better 'effort' results in better performance \[[@CIT0112]\] and the potential appropriateness of the effort term in understanding SVT performance \[[@CIT0113]\]. However, the operational definition problem with the 'effort' term in SVT studies is that effort is never directly defined independent of the SVT measure, only inferred by SVT performance. The tautological restrictions of defining poor effort by the criterion variable to identify effort become obvious when there is no other criterion used to define 'effort' \[[@CIT0010]\]. Further complicating nomenclature and meaning of labels, some have added additional qualifiers such as 'good' or 'poor' effort, where 'poor effort' becomes synonymous with malingering. The conclusion of malingering is much more than just SVT failure \[[@CIT0116]\].
In reviewing the role of top-down neural control, as shown in [Figure 1](#F0001){ref-type="fig"}, the next step for SVT research is to begin to better understand the role of top-down neural systems that may participate in SVT performance. Better understanding the neural basis of SVT performance may ultimately lead to improved operational definitions for validity testing including use of the 'effort' term. As Ruff \[[@CIT0117]\] states 'How such top-down control processes may ultimately be guided by motivational brain systems is a topic of current debate' (p.88, \[[@CIT0118]\]). To date, there are no SVT studies that comprehensively address these issues using neuroimaging technology.
While below cut-score SVT performance relates to increased symptom endorsement in individuals with mTBI \[[@CIT0119], [@CIT0120]\], since most neuropsychological tests measure cognitive ability, Larrabee \[[@CIT0041]\] suggests that the term 'performance validity' should be used instead of SVT or 'effort' or other terms discussed in this section or previously mentioned in this review. Performance validity testing or PVT is probably a much more accurate description, because the cognitive measure is not necessarily evaluating a symptom. Furthermore, some may be accurately reporting symptoms yet inaccurately displaying the true cognitive performance related to the symptom \[[@CIT0016]\].
The importance of the SVT vs. PVT differentiation is borne out in the study by Van Dyke et al. \[[@CIT0121]\] of a large mixed referral veteran sample (*n* = 120). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the best factor model describing the relation between cognitive performance, symptom self-report, performance validity and symptom validity. They concluded that "the strongest and most parsimonious model was a three-factor model in which cognitive performance, performance validity and self-reported symptoms (including both standard and symptom validity measures) were separate factors. The findings suggest failure in one validity domain does not necessarily invalidate the other domain. Thus, performance validity and symptom validity should be evaluated separately (p. 1234)." [^1]
SVT measures and the role of neuropsychological testing in classification of neural impairment in mTBI {#S0008}
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Prior to contemporary advancements in neuroimaging, neuropsychological assessment techniques were relied on to define the presence of 'organicity', mid-20th Century parlance for neural impairment or 'damage' \[[@CIT0122], [@CIT0123]\]. [Figure 5](#F0005){ref-type="fig"} is from a patient who sustained a mTBI with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) of 14 in transit but 15 in the emergency department. CT imaging was positive for intra-parenchymal haemorrhage within the region of the left basal ganglia. Follow-up MRI more than 1 year post-injury, when neuropsychological testing was undertaken, showed the old haemorrhagic lesion within the left lenticular nucleus but also numerous old haemorrhagic foci that were not detected on the day-of-injury CT. Additionally, several white matter hyperintensities were observed in conjunction with the haemorrhagic foci, an indication of traumatically-induced white matter pathology \[[@CIT0068]\]. Note the frontal distribution. On three separate SVT measures this individual scored one item below the cut-point. Does this invalidate anything? It certainly does not invalidate the objective evidence that a significant brain injury had occurred. Given the frontal pathology and basal ganglia damage, is this not an explanation for deficits in attention, drive and cognitive engagement that could result in slightly reduced SVT performance \[[@CIT0124], [@CIT0125]\]? Figure 5.In this patient who sustained a mTBI, MRI studies performed more than 1 year post-injury show areas of hemosiderin deposition as numerous chronic haemorrhagic lesions (multifocal hypointense regions of dark signal). Note, in association with the hemosiderin depositions are scattered white matter hyper-intense signal abnormalities (white arrows).
Neuroimaging studies, rigorously performed, show a variety of abnormalities and lesion types that may occur in mTBI, including their frontotemporlimbic distribution \[[@CIT0068], [@CIT0126]\]. In the presence of positive neuroimaging findings in mTBI, identification of whether a brain injury has occurred or not is no longer the role of a neuropsychological examination, whether valid or invalid. Recent neuroimaging findings even bring in to question what is the meaning of SVT failure, as described in the above cases shown in [Figures 2](#F0002){ref-type="fig"} and [5](#F0005){ref-type="fig"} or as reported in the Hetherington et al. \[[@CIT0129]\] study of 25 veterans who sustained mTBI from blast injury. These veterans underwent MRI at 7 Tesla that included MR spectroscopic (MRS) studies. MRS findings have been shown to correlate with traumatic axonal injury in TBI \[[@CIT0130]\] along with TBI sequelae \[[@CIT0131]\]. Hetherington et al. demonstrated that high-field MRS findings suggesting metabolic abnormalities were present in the hippocampus in these veterans, including those who 'failed' SVT testing. Could subtle hippocampal pathology disrupt attention, motivation and emotional valence, even for tasks that should be easily performed?
What does this mean for neuropsychological test performance in general and SVT measures specifically? Unknown, but clearly the neuropsychologist is now confronted with major Type 1 vs. Type 2 statistical dilemmas. How would the significance of a mTBI be discounted by a failed SVT measure in the presence of objectively demonstrated hippocampal pathology defined by impaired metabolic functioning? Particularly problematic would be the neuropsychologist who concludes on the grounds of 'SVT Failure' that the veteran's symptoms were malingered, all-the-while knowing the scan findings are abnormal and a possible explanation for why 'failure' occurred. Such examples provide alternative explanations to SVT failure \[[@CIT0012]\].
Rienstra et al. \[[@CIT0132]\] examined 170 consecutive patients in a memory clinic where overall only 6.5% failed FC SVT measures. As such, validity of performance is assumed for the majority of these patients, as addressed by the SVT 'pass'. While hippocampal volume correlated with memory performance in those who passed SVT measures, it was unrelated to memory performance in those who failed FC SVT measures. Does this line of research open up an avenue of examining SVT performance in terms of quantitative neuroimaging? Goodrich-Hunsaker and Hopkins \[[@CIT0133]\] showed that FC SVT performance was right at the cut score in three amnesic patients with anoxic injury who had reduced hippocampal volume. Of interest, in the Hunsaker-Goodrich and Hopkins study, a single additional error and the performance would be marked as 'failed' in each of the three individuals examined. More studies like these are needed to better understand SVT outcome.
fMRI studies in mTBI that examine task complexity and stimulus load, such as required by n-back designs, show additional cortical recruitment to perform similarly to controls \[[@CIT0134], [@CIT0135]\]. In other words, if underlying subtle neuropathology is present in mTBI, additional brain regions must be recruited in order to maintain performance at a level similar to the non-injured control \[[@CIT0136]\]. Callicott et al. \[[@CIT0137]\], in an n-back design with non-TBI, typical developed controls manipulated cognitive load and identified the working memory network, as shown in [Figure 6](#F0006){ref-type="fig"}. These are in fact the same regions where greater recruitment is necessary for individuals with mTBI to perform comparable to controls \[[@CIT0138]\]. This is the default mode network (DMN) critical for attention and working memory (see [Figure 1](#F0001){ref-type="fig"} and the critical role of the DMN in top-down cognitive control of effort) where the Zhou et al. \[[@CIT0141]\] study showed abnormal DMN connectivity associated with mTBI, in patients with otherwise negative MRI. The SVT study in mTBI that examines working memory deficits with subjects that exhibit subtle n-back working memory impairments and more extensive recruitment to maintain 'normal' memory performance has not been done. Likewise, using advanced neuroimaging studies like the Zhou et al. \[[@CIT0141]\] study, no SVT study has been done where DMN abnormalities have been identified and examined systematically. Since problems with working memory occur not only in mTBI, but in associated or co-morbid PTSD, anxiety and depression-related disorders with mTBI, could this be a potential explanation why some studies with a military population and these co-morbidities have such high SVT failure rates? Systematic SVT studies examining these issues are needed. Figure 6.Callicott et al. \[[@CIT0137]\], in an n-back design with non-TBI, typical developed controls manipulated cognitive load and identified the working memory network as shown in the glass brain model. Reproduced with permission from Oxford University Press.
Disruption in DMN integrity may have other implications for SVT performance. WM impairment is present in ADHD \[[@CIT0142]\], which is thought to be related to deficits in the central executive \[[@CIT0146]\]. Marshall et al. \[[@CIT0147]\] found a 22% SVT failure rate in 268 adults referred for ADHD assessment. Are any of these failures associated with working memory/DMN impairment? How would one know without an integrated neuropsychological paradigm with either a functional neuroimaging/electrophysiological study of the DMN network? With the combination of problems in error monitoring, DMN functioning and the central executive in TBI \[[@CIT0148], [@CIT0149]\], plausible explanations potentially exist for SVT errors resulting in below traditional cut-score performance in the individual with a history of mTBI.
Are there neuropathological conditions that routinely affect performance validity? {#S0009}
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Performance validity tests are failed by a variety of neurological conditions directly attributable to the extent and severity of the neurological disorder \[[@CIT0132]\]. Although only a few anecdotal case studies have been published to date showing SVT failures associated with temporal lobectomies and the chronic effects of herpes simplex encephalitis \[[@CIT0010]\], there are also case studies that show patients with hippocampal atrophy and hippocampectomies who readily pass SVTs \[[@CIT0133], [@CIT0150]\]. [Figure 7](#F0007){ref-type="fig"} shows a patient with severe TBI with massive structural damage, including bi-frontal pathology, yet on multiple SVT measures this patient either performed without error or, at the most, one error. Figure 7.T1 weighted image of extensive damage in severe TBI where the patient either performed without error or only made one error across three SVT measures. The scan is in radiological perspective with left on the viewer's right. Note that, despite the distinct bifrontal pathology, this patient with severe structural damage had no difficulty passing all SVT measures administered.
Understandably, more advanced stages of dementia are associated with SVT failure, as are conditions of mental retardation, illiteracy or restricted educational opportunities and schizophrenia \[[@CIT0151]\]. For example, Sieck et al. \[[@CIT0155]\] examined SVT performance in a group of patients with Huntington Disease (HD). The diagnosis was not in dispute and no patients were seeking compensation; however, depending on which SVT was used, somewhere between 8--18% of the sample of 36 HD patients 'failed' the SVT measure. Of major interest was that SVT 'failure' occurred in those with greater motor and cognitive impairment, thereby suggesting that the disease influenced SVT performance. Basal ganglia play critical roles in drive and motivation---are these factors associated with SVT in HD?
Some suggest a 'profile analysis' applied to the SVT task to interpret whether SVT failure may actually be influenced by the disorder being evaluated, especially in cases of dementia \[[@CIT0156]\]. The original idea of a SVT measure for commenting on validity was its brevity and the simplicity of the pass/fail dichotomy, permitting the clinician/researcher to make a quick decision. However, despite their simplicity, memory-based FC measures do test memory function \[[@CIT0157]\] and potentially unique profiles have to be examined for each clinical condition being examined.
Is there a neurobiology of illness or sickness behaviour that relates to test validity {#S0010}
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The concepts of illness or sickness behaviour were presented early in this review. As quoted from Sirri et al. \[[@CIT0158]\], "The concept of illness behaviour was introduced to indicate the ways in which given symptoms may be perceived, evaluated and acted upon at an individual level. Illness behaviour may vary greatly according to illness related, patient-related and doctor-related variables and their complex interactions (p. 74)."A patient who has a legitimate TBI may not only manifest behaviours associated with the brain injury, but so-called 'illness behaviour' \[[@CIT0159]\]. While there are a host of pre-injury/illness and psychological variables that underlie illness behaviour \[[@CIT0158], [@CIT0160]\], inflammation, either systemic or directly within the central nervous system, may mediate aspects of sickness behaviour \[[@CIT0161]\], complicating the expression of illness behaviour as a functional disorder \[[@CIT0162]\]. This becomes a particularly important issue with regards to TBI, because of the vulnerability of white matter in the process of mechanical deformation from head injury and the role that even subtle neuroinflammation from trauma induced pathology may play in the neurobehavioural expression of TBI \[[@CIT0163]\]. The title of Irwin's \[[@CIT0164]\] review---Inflammation at the intersection of behaviour and somatic symptoms---captures the blurring of the biological with what may otherwise be termed psychogenic.
Functional neuroimaging studies are now illuminating potential neural correlates of what may be considered functional disorder \[[@CIT0165], [@CIT0166]\]. These studies show frontotemporlimbic differences in activation. What does it mean to have a so-called functional disorder where these brain regions may activate in anomalous ways in the context of performance validity and neuropsychological testing?
Part of illness or sickness behaviour may be a feeling that anything that requires sustained attention is burdensome \[[@CIT0167]\]. Indeed, some describe this as "mental fatigue" \[[@CIT0170]\]. In depressed patients with prominent rumination over symptoms, increasing the demands of a memory task results in reduced resource allocation to adequately perform \[[@CIT0171]\]. TBI and especially mTBI has as one of its common symptoms a complaint of mental fatigue (also this symptom is related to mental exertion and headache). Within cognitive neuroscience, mental effort can be operationalized in terms of task duration and complexity \[[@CIT0172], [@CIT0173]\]. Interestingly, in such paradigms increased effortful retrieval involves complex interactions between medial temporal lobe structures, the hippocampus in particular, and attentional/default mode networks \[[@CIT0174]\]. How these neural systems function in disorders associated with illness behaviour and SVT performance is unknown.
So, does experiencing a distressing symptom result in network disruption necessary for managing mental effort? Could this be a factor in the high SVT failure rate in mTBI? This is theoretically plausible but to date never empirically tested. Is this another potential explanation as to why SVT failure is so high in OEF/OIF military cases \[[@CIT0049]\]?
In some who have sustained a mTBI, research has shown greater cortical recruitment just to maintain normal levels of test performance and Dobryakova et al. \[[@CIT0175]\] have also shown greater recruitment of the basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex is necessary to perform similarly to controls. In those with subjective complaints of fatigue, what does greater recruitment mean in terms of performance validity and mental effort? This is unknown.
There is an extensive literature on neural correlates of attentional bias \[[@CIT0176]\]. How attentional biases, regardless of whether functional or biological, may influence mTBI performance during SVT measures has not been systematically examined.
Practical questions and issues that need answers {#S0011}
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Dandachi-FitzGerald et al. \[[@CIT0004]\], in their review of practices and beliefs of neuropsychologists using SVT measures, state the following: "There is little consensus among neuropsychologists on how to instruct patients when they are administered SVTs and how to handle test failure. Our findings indicate that the issues regarding how to administer and communicate the SVT results to patients warrant systematic research (p. 771)."This review re-affirms the numerous limitations in the current understanding of SVT findings.
The typical neuropsychological test battery requires several hours of administration time and currently most tests have no built-in SVT measure, which is why external SVT administration was developed. Even screening measures, comprised of tasks that assess several domains of cognitive functioning, will take 30--60 minutes to administer. So the question has been asked as to how many validity tests should be administered \[[@CIT0179], [@CIT0180]\]? Does one need to be administered for each domain \[[@CIT0181]\]?
New test development and re-standardization of existing tests are moving toward having embedded measures within the neuropsychological test. Almost all external SVTs utilize some aspect of memory performance, yet the typical comprehensive neuropsychological examination evaluates motor, sensory-perceptual, language, visual-spatial, processing speed and executive function in addition to memory \[[@CIT0018]\]. Given that the external SVT is never part of the actual target test performance, there will always be the question as to validity with external SVTs and individual test performance on non-memory tasks. Given these current limitations, future neuropsychological test development should focus on internal, not external performance validity measures for each measure and not external SVT tasks.
The inter-relationship of one PVT with others and test--re-test variability within current PVT measures has not been extensively examined. How does normal fluctuation in testing relate to PVT findings? The test--re-test reliability estimates reported by Dikmen et al. \[[@CIT0050]\] for the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test battery ranged from '0.70 to low 90s' (p. 346). What accounts for this variability and is variability just a dimension of performance validity? What are the test--re-test reliability features of PVT measures by diagnostic category of various neurological diseases and disorders? How frequently do patients fail PVT measures during one testing session and not another? Systematic studies comparing different PVT measures and test--re-test variability have never been done. With multiple PVT measures during a neuropsychological battery, is there any practice or order effect of PVT administration and how would this compound test--re-test variability?
Summary and conclusions {#S0012}
=======================
As discussed in this review, the majority of individuals with a history of TBI undergoing neuropsychological testing perform above cut-points on SVT measures. By current practice standards, passing SVT measures is likely the best indicator of generally valid test findings. Likewise, substantially below cut-point performance that nears chance or is at chance signifies invalid test results. Significantly below chance is the *sine qua non* indicator for malingering.
Below the cut-point yet far above chance is where SVT research needs to clarify the meaning of such test findings. Case studies presented in this review show the problems with rigidity in interpretation with traditionally established cut-scores in some cases of TBI. A better understanding of how certain types of neurological or neuropsychiatric or even test conditions may affect SVT performance is needed, especially integrated with what advanced neuroimaging techniques offer in examining these conditions.
Declaration of interest {#S0013}
=======================
No grant funding supported the writing of this review. The author does provide forensic consultation in the course of his clinical work as co-director of the Neuropsychological Research and Clinical Assessment Laboratory.
[^1]: † Although PVT is the better term to use in reference to any cognitive measure, for the remainder of this review the SVT acronym will be retained.
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PubMed Central
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Intramedullary Solitary Fibrous Tumor--A Benign Form of Hemangiopericytoma? Case Report and Review of the Literature.
Solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs) are benign tumors of the soft tissue occurring anywhere in the human body but arise predominantly in the visceral pleura. SFTs of the central nervous system are rare, especially when they occur within the spinal cord. We present a case of an 83-year-old female patient presenting with acute spastic paralysis of the lower extremities after a history of progressive weakness and incontinence. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings were typical for meningioma, but an intradural, mainly intramedullary tumor was found at the first operation. A second operation was performed under neurophysiological monitoring, and complete removal of the tumor was achieved. Neurological conditions improved after the procedure, but the patient remained paraparetic. Histological and immunohistochemical findings revealed an SFT. There is evidence that SFTs and hemangiopericytomas (HPCs) are not different entities but should be considered as different graduations of a common spectrum. The extent of resection is a prognostic factor for recurrence-free survival in SFT; therefore we recommend surgery with complete resection whenever possible depending on the results of mandatory intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring in these cases.
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PubMed Abstracts
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Source: Pixabay
Earlier this week, the APA released practice guidelines on recommended treatment concerns regarding men and masculinity.
The guidelines have sparked significant controversy. They accurately identify some of the health and risks for men and the fact that men are less interested in engaging with . However, the guidelines have been criticized by many for relying on a great number of vague, subjective ideological and political/sociological concepts, rather than psychological science. For instance, the paper uncritically references the concept of micro-aggressions, without acknowledging the severe limitations of the concept recently pointed out by Scott Lilienfeld.
Another area of significant concern in the guidelines was the statement that "Prior to the second-wave feminist movement in the 1960s, all psychology was the psychology of men." This ignores the significant role of many female psychologists such as Anna Freud, Karen Horney, and Virginia Satir. This article reviews the powerful influence of female psychologists through history, many prior to the 1960s. Colleague Marco Del Giudice, with extensive work in differences, has pointed out that this statement also ignores past research on gender differences such as this extensive book from 1905, written by a female psychologist, the director of psychology research at Mount Holyoke University.
Source: Pixabay
In response to the reaction to the guidelines, the APA issued a clarification of a sort, indicating that their real concern was only around some "extreme stereotypical behaviors" held by a few men. Unfortunately, though, neither the guidelines nor the correction offer much assistance on picking out these few unhealthy men from healthy men who are more traditionally masculine. They suggest that their concern is "When a man believes that he must be successful no matter who is harmed." The authors offer no assistance in distinguishing this particular concern from other, more clearly psychological issues, such as Disorder, which is more prevalent in males and would overlap substantially. For clinical guidelines to fail to address such an important issue of differential diagnosis is quite concerning to many in the field.
An in-depth review of the limitations of the guidelines was written by Chris Ferguson, a psychologist at Stetson University. Ferguson notes especially the way in which these guidelines state that social forces play an overwhelming role in gender differences, without taking into account substantial evidence regarding the role of biological influences.
In my view, these guidelines, if implemented widely in training, would make men less comfortable in therapy, not more. The APA is offering continuing units for reading these guidelines, and they are likely to play a significant role in the training of future psychologists. Psychology is increasingly a profession and industry with more women, and guidelines such as these would be one important way for female clinicians to better understand how to treat patients with different gender experiences. These particular guidelines set a poor precedent, suggesting that psychologists can be quite casual with facts and ignore discrepant research when ideological values are deemed more important. That's not how I was trained in psychology, or as a man.
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OpenWebText2
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For the Feb. 6, 2016 Billboard story on Scott Weiland, Billboard spoke at length with Weiland’s widow, Jamie, his parents and friends to learn all about the former Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver frontman's final days. Here are seven things about Weiland — the man behind the star — you probably didn't know.
One time, Stone Temple Pilots accidentally left him in Georgia. During STP’s Core tour, Weiland never told anyone he was getting off the bus to buy cigarettes and use the restroom, so his bandmates accidentally left him behind as they headed south. “We were halfway to Florida and word got around to our tour manager that he wasn’t there. We had to go back and get him when we realized he wasn’t on the bus,” remembers guitarist Dean DeLeo. This was before cell phones, so Weiland went home with a store clerk and sat on the guy’s trailer porch for hours, waiting for his band to find him. “He was really rattled. It wasn’t funny at the time, but it’s kind of funny now looking back.”
Weiland loved pitbulls. The first dog that Scott took home was Buckley, a hermaphrodite pitbull rescued from Compton, Calif., who was very attached to Jamie Weiland, Scott’s widow. “We had to take him everywhere because he had horrible separation anxiety,” Jamie remembers. Later, Jamie asked for a kitten for her birthday; Scott instead got her a second pitbull, Beatrice. “I think he wanted a dog that could be his,” she says. “He was so excited, and he loved her.”
Scott Weiland's Harrowing Final Months: Those Close to Him Reveal His Mental Health and Family Illness Struggles
David Bowie was a huge influence. “He was someone whom Scott certainly had great admiration for,” says his biological father Kent Kline. “When I first heard the news that David Bowie died, I immediately thought of Scott.” Weiland also referred to Bowie as the artist he most wanted to collaborate with, and Stone Temple Pilots frequently covered the singer’s “Andy Warhol” in the ‘90s.
Weiland loved sports, TV and movies. Weiland was obsessed with Notre Dame football and enjoyed The History Channel and vampire shows like True Blood. “Sometimes I wondered if he was a teenage girl, because he watched so many girly TV shows,” says Jamie laughing. Every morning when he wasn’t on tour, Weiland would play Wii on their velvet sofa, often shouting at the TV. He also played Dungeon & Dragons and often had glow-in-the-dark Nerf gun fights late at night with Jamie’s son.
Never-Before-Seen Photos of the Late Scott Weiland
Weiland liked wearing high heels. Mark Racco was a friend of Weiland’s for 16 years and a director of music videos like STP’s “Down.” On a shoot for the song “Drop That Baby” by The Wondergirls --Weiland’s side project with Ashley Hamilton and members of The Cult, Thirty Seconds to Mars and Porno for Pyros -- Racco recalls Weiland dressing up in a patent leather corset, lace gloves, fishnet stockings, a garter belt, and high-heeled pumps. “He was a sight to behold,” says Racco. “He had a sense of humor and a vision.” Weiland’s ex-wife Mary Forsberg was there and Racco remembers her nearly breaking down into tears and storming off the set because of Scott’s outfit. “It was a very awkward moment for the crew, and Scott looked at me to break the tension and said, ‘Sorry, fellas… she’s never been to prison!’”
Stone Temple Pilots Pen Note to Scott Weiland: 'You Were Gifted Beyond Words'
He could be shy. Weiland and Jamie met in October 2011, while filming the music video for “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” a single from the singer’s third solo album The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Jamie, a photographer, was hired to shoot still images of him during the shoot. “I caught him kind of looking at me a couple times. When I looked straight back, he looked away.” Her equipment was all outside, and he kept finding excuses to go out there and talk with her. “I remember thinking, ‘This guy smokes a lot’ and in retrospect, he wanted to come see me, which is so cute.” The next time they saw each other was in December, after a show at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. "I went backstage and after everybody left, we kissed -- and that was it.”
Weiland was very excited about writing a new record with The Wildabouts. On the fall 2015 Blaster tour, guitarist Nick Maybury remembers the frontman talking about working on a new album once the band got home. "He’s like, ‘Get your writing chops up, boy.’ That was an awesome pressure to have."
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Odebrecht Energia
Odebrecht Energia is a Brazilian power company founded in 2010 by the Brazilian multinational Odebrecht.
References
Further reading
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-27/odebrecht-seeks-renewable-energy-partners-as-brazil-funds-dry-up
http://oglobo.globo.com/economia/negocios/santo-antonio-deve-atrair-duas-chinesas-brookfield-20032846
https://books.google.com/books?id=ebDZDAAAQBAJ
External links
Odebrecht Energia on Bloomberg
Category:Electric power companies of Brazil
Category:Odebrecht
Category:Companies based in Rio de Janeiro (state)
Category:Companies established in 2010
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Wikipedia (en)
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Very occasionally, in the morning when the weather is not too hot, I step out onto my front porch and sit on a broad wooden bench, looking out into my front yard and that of my neighbor’s, enjoying the coolness of the air with nothing save birdsong to disturb the silence. I may bring a cup of tea with me, and perhaps one of my cats will come to sit near.
For the moment, I am at rest. I own the ground upon which I sit. I am fully provisioned and no enemies appear on my immediate horizon. I am well aware that this is an illusion, but choose to pretend in the moment, that all is well. Now in my fifties, my ambitions are modest. “A home, respect, freedom, and neighbors who want the same” (Lamar). I desire peace and quiet broken only by the occasional company of my extended family and close friends. I think that this is a desire commonly held by the overwhelming majority of mature adults existent across the face of the earth, irrespective of their culture, their history, or their present social and economic position within their particular communities. In the following pages it is my intention to describe the realization of this desire by a certain class of men among the petit-bourgeoisie whom I shall refer to as neo-patriarchs.To those who rush to praise us when we say
they should do what is right in their own eyes.
All men or women having their own way
to live precisely as they would surmise.
To those who laud our liberality;
our tolerance of every faith, and creed,
and every sexual proclivity,
we ask the same consideration cede.
Each man the Lord and Master of his home.
This is the view WE fervently avow;
if he be familièd or live alone.
…At this they gnash their teeth and knit their brow.
The warrior knows how to deal with these,
who prove at last impossible to please LWRThe Sovereign Self
Those who have reached the conclusion that God is an intellectual construct are faced with the challenge of justifying man’s intrinsic value or ultimate noble purpose. What valid arguments can be made that a man has a right to be sovereign or has claim to autonomy? Why should he have a right to hold some small piece of property and live there in peace, eking out his existence by agriculture or some other rude trade? Why is it wrong for a stronger culture to simply sweep him and his kindred away, or enslave them and take his land? Surely this has been done in the past. Faced with the persistent realization that we live in a shrinking world with limited resources, logical arguments can be made that the world would be a much better place if there were far fewer people in it, given the caveat that we are among those remaining. Others posit a solution where an overarching will be imposed upon the people of the earth with the goal of helping them achieve a “greater good.” I will not attempt to answer these questions in this essay but remind the reader of them because we know from bitter experience that there are those who do not believe that men have such rights. Older men, considering their own increasing vulnerabilities and the safety of their loved ones and property, form alliances for the protection of the same. This is the essence of what is commonly called the “social contract” and it is first formed at the lowest political level, neighbor to neighbor and family to family. It seems to me that any world-wide communitarian effort must acknowledge this basic political reality and moreover recognize that any truly successful effort to develop universally accepted norms would have to be encouraged and driven from this level.
Birth
Those who have reached the conclusion that God is an intellectual construct must also rely on theories such as the ones put forth by the sociologist Max Weber and embraced by the anthropologist Clifford Geertz that “man is an animal suspended in webs of significance that he himself has spun.”(Geertz, Pg 11) Rather, it may be said that he is suspended in webs his forefathers have spun. An individual constructs his or her identity from the impressions and cues they receive from those around them, initially from their parents and siblings and then from others in their immediate community. The neo-patriarch is an example of the “warrior-citizen.” (Taylor, Pg 25) These men purport to value personal liberty over life itself. (McCants, Pg 123) This pride of sovereignty, autonomy, and honor has given rise to a self-perpetuating tradition of sovereign households which, like the arrangement of the several states, lay claim to rights and powers reserved exclusively to the individual. In view of this they operate their households as mini-states with a corresponding hierarchy.
It is obvious that we exist in community. Within that community, each child constructs its identity from its interaction with parents and relatives; as it learns the traditions and attitudes held to be the norm by others around it in the political conditions that prevail. (Taylor, Pg 35) As yet, no child has ever opened his eyes in this world or survived for long without a period of respite in a mother’s womb and the subsequent succor and general assistance of that mother or another human being. I trust that the day will never come when an infant is not assumed to be entitled, ipso facto, to such care and respite. However, the loving care of a mother or of some other guardian, while greatly desired comes with a price. Every child is born into a position of subjection and subordination and that child further incurs an obligation toward its caretaker and to those who have helped to create and support the environment within which that care is given. “But”, the child may say, (then or later) “I did not express a wish to be born.” “Fine”, comes the reply, “There is a precipice, throw yourself off and be done with it.” Assuming that they choose in that instance not to take this advice, they tacitly agree to assume the obligations and responsibilities of birth into the human experience in much the same manner as Socrates agreed to be bound by the laws of Athens (Crito 52b).
What are those minimal obligations that accompany the opportunity that life affords the individual? It would seem first that an obligation of gratitude is incurred to the woman within whose womb he first found shelter. He has a debt of honor to preserve her life as she preserved his or failing that to preserve the lives of others like her who yielded their bodies a haven for others like him. He has an obligation of gratitude to those physicians and midwives and relatives who ushered him into this world and to those who provided his early food, shelter, clothing and rude care. He has a debt of honor to ensure that those who provided for him or others like him will not lack similar assistance when, in their advanced age, they become helpless once again and require food, shelter, clothing, and care for their basic needs culminating in being compassionately ushered out of this earthly sphere. Finally, he has an obligation of gratitude to those who sought to establish, secure, and make prosperous a nation-state within which small communities might find the peace and tranquility to consider possible and profitable the mundane activities of childbearing and domesticity. He has a further debt of honor to ensure that his life contributes in some way to the establishment, security, or prosperity of that nation-state or of others like it. To the extent that our newborn is obligated by the receipt of these boons from those who have come before him, so too are those who will come after him entitled to receipt of the same from his hands. All these may be considered a part of the “natural duties” that Rawls speaks of. (Rawls, Pg 114)
Childhood
To the extent they are accepted and nurtured children in a community have access to basic education and training in those subjects and skills thought necessary by their parents to fully equip them for adulthood. Neo-patriarchal communities view children within their purview as an investment in the community’s future survival. No one knows which child has the capacity to rise above its peers and bring some great good to the society into which it was born. If not the provider of some great benefit to mankind at least a child may be properly raised, indoctrinated and assimilated into the community as a productive, participative member. As such, children must be provided access to the basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, education and mentoring.
Assuming that an individual reaches the age of majority, they arrive at that age prepared or unprepared to assume the responsibilities and partake of the opportunities available to them as an adult. My thoughts on this subject have been that:
They [boys and girls alike] should have received an elementary education in to reading, rhetoric, grammar and penmanship, arithmetic, deportment, and basic etiquette, With a strong grounding in the fundamentals, children in the fourth through six years of elementary school should begin the task of reading in specific areas, and learning to write and speak about what knowledge has been gained during this process.
Students graduating from this type of elementary school would be fully prepared to read about, comprehend, write about and discuss any mundane subject, and would have all the necessary skills to continue to self-educate for the rest of their lives. Students graduating from this type of elementary school would have the mathematical and life skills necessary to function as a citizen in an advanced society, as well an appreciation of what priorities must be set upon work, and what pleasure might be obtained from the enjoyment and practice of the arts (Rose 2003).
Such young people will have been taught how to think, not what to think. Geertz quotes celebrated anthropologist Ward Goodenough’s 1957 pronouncement on culture, stating that “A society’s culture consists of whatever it is one has to know or believe in order to operate in a manner acceptable to its members.” (Geertz, pg 11) These things are best decided within the local community. At a minimum upon reaching adulthood a person must be able to think and act independently and analytically. They should be able to move about their own society; well acquainted with its culture and traditions, as well as those of other societies. They should have a general idea of all the knowledge the world has amassed and an understanding of how an individual might obtain the particulars of any part of it, even as they are taught the specific traditions of their own cultural environment.
Parents who pressure their children to choose the same philosophy, theology, or lifestyle as their own may be motivated by power and control issues or because of a genuine desire to see their offspring follow in a path that has been successful for them. It seems to me that practically without exception, the family provides the only place where an immature person can obtain instruction, advice, and counsel offered in a true spirit of altruism, solely for the benefit of the recipient, and without hope of personal gain or the advancement of some hidden agenda (Rose 2003). Even if a parent does hope to receive some benefit from their offspring, by way of support when they are aged, or from the pride and honor gained from being the sire of outstanding progeny, it is logical for parents to want their children to be provided with every opportunity and skill necessary for them to be give a good account for themselves, to be successful in their lives, and to be happy.
Neo-Patriarchy
Neo-patriarchy is best viewed as a system of subordinate equals. All individuals have their position within the patriarchal society and all are subordinate to someone within it. Children are subordinate to parents, and while not yet equal in adult privilege or maturity, any more than an immature fruit tree is equal to its mature ancestor, certainly both their future potential and present helplessness and innocence accord them other privileges appropriate to their youth. It is also reasonable for their elders to rule over them benevolently always with a concern for their natural bent and future. (Rawls, Pg 209) Goodwives, equal or superior to their husbands in intellect, character, or earning capacity, are by prior voluntary agreement subordinate to their husbands. Single men and women subordinate to the ruling heads of their families by birth, or if they be completely independent, subordinate to the civil authority by obligations I have outlined earlier. Individuals in a society have full political autonomy but still must act within a framework of “principles of justice”. (Rawls, pg 77)
The question will arise, “Why patriarchy instead of matriarchy?” In theory either is possible. The ideas of marriage and family are influenced by social and civic mores. From a purely civil point of view marriage is a contractual agreement between individuals and may be likened to a trading partnership with equal partners, or with senior and junior partners. Liberal philosophers maintain that an individual has the right to form such contracts, including naturally the decision of whom he or she will marry (Nozick, 269) Individuals also have a right to associate with who they wish and not associate with those they do not. If a woman wishes to establish as a private enterprise a family with herself as ruling head, she need only find a man who is willing to agree to such an arrangement. Those who do not wish to enter into such a relationship need not do so, and are free to disassociate themselves at any time should they wish. The current divorce rate is proof enough of this. No one is forced to socialize with those who enter into patriarchal or matriarchal relationships anymore than they are forced to associate with anyone else.
Ruling heads of families are subordinate to the ruling elders of their church, or to the social and political pressures of some other peer group, tribe if you will, and all certainly subordinate to the duly elected civil authorities. Civil authorities subordinate to the will of the electorate at whose pleasure they serve and are additionally accountable to each other by virtue of their respective offices. Ruling elders of churches are accountable to each other and to the group of elders as whole or to ecclesiastical courts. Under girding this society is a political philosophy acknowledging the basic rights of individuals embodied in constitutional forms of government but also declaring those rights to exist inalienably and independent of government.
Adulthood
Individuals who live long enough reach adulthood and are found in various political situations. They may be completely dominated, in abject slavery, abused or imprisoned. They may be in a subordinate position voluntarily or involuntarily as a wife, son, or daughter of a nuclear family, or as lesser brother, sister, aunt or uncle within an extended family. Finally, it may be the case that they find themselves single, independent individuals either voluntarily or involuntarily.
The Single Person
The foremost benefit of remaining single is the retention of complete autonomy over one’s own life. Any opportunity may immediately be taken advantage of without the consultation of others. Life may be lived as luxuriously as one’s budget will allow or as stoically as possible in order to save capital to realize future plans. Travel to anywhere in world is possible and one may leave at any time, on foot if desired. One may seek the company of others wishing to be social, or enjoy solitude indefinitely. Familial responsibilities are usually minimal requiring little more than the occasional card or letter. After satisfying the necessary economic requirements, one’s time is one’s own with much time for reflection, for study, for personal and economic enrichment, for sleep. One’s home and person may be kept meticulously clean and in order or as slovenly as a pig’s sty.
Cohabitate and the picture is dramatically different especially if marriage is the object of the relationship. Any change of plans must be discussed in detail even if it is a choice of which restaurant to frequent that night, let alone major decisions such as changes of career or living quarters. Connubial relationships, while rewarding, require constant emotional maintenance. Substantial blocks of time must be set aside for marital discourse; appropriate tokens of esteem must be acquired and presented at appropriate intervals, and of course there is the responsibility for maintaining a satisfactory level of sexual euphoria for one’s partner, at least in the early decades, a task which, while exceedingly gratifying, nevertheless requires a significant amount of time, effort and imagination. Various mutually agreed upon rules and regulation for the administration of the home must be negotiated and enumerated and accorded their due solemnity. All this and the additional complexity of children has yet to be discussed. To marry and have children causes an individual to bear the responsibility for providing and caring for those children that severely reduce one’s freedom to change careers at will. (Friedan, Pg 137) As for the economic cost, I have often said, “Without my wife I would have nothing – with my wife it seems I must have everything.” Benjamin Franklin quoted an old English proverb in his autobiography: “He that would thrive must ask his wife.”
Marriage
To what end would any individual male or female enter into such a relationship which so dramatically curtails one’s own autonomy? Sexual union and procreation must be the primary motivation for all other objectives may be accomplished outside of the bonds of matrimony. It would seem that friends or siblings could live an entire life together, own property, travel, go into business, care for one another, or embark upon any conceivable number of enterprises. Proponents of evolutionary theory, where changes in species are effected over hundreds of thousands of years, must logically give assent to the idea that nothing has changed the basic overwhelming drive to reproduce the species over a mere eight thousand years of recorded history . It is a universal desire of men and women to procreate their lineage, and further desire that their children should exist in an environment where they should live and prosper. This is the most basic realization of the greater good.
Sex is the lingua franca of youth. The idea of the sexual double standard is a much abused myth. It has never been acceptable in honorable circles for young men to go about sowing wild oats, deflower virgins, or consort with prostitutes. Neither is it appropriate for young men to transfer their affections from one young woman to another, and then to another. No parents who loved their young and inexperienced daughter would ever want to knowingly admit such a visitor into their home. Men who wink the eye and make light of such behavior are themselves equally debauched , not because of some esoteric theological pronouncement but because of the scant value they attach to this most powerful social mechanism. If it appears that women up to this time seem to be more socially stigmatized by engaging in promiscuous behavior it may be due to the fact that they suffer a significant loss of dignity by allowing their physical integrity to be breached merely for the purpose of a recreational activity. (Honneth, Pg 129) Sexual activity is part of the process whereby beautiful, creative, reasoning, human beings of supposedly limitless potential are brought forth upon the earth. This is a further reason why abortion is considered by many to be so heinous an act; it interrupts the process of creating individuals of purportedly immense intrinsic value and therefore is a process that should not be initiated or interrupted haphazardly. Famous prostitutes heralded for their blatant sexuality in the media are not lauded for being “great lovers”. Neither is this meant when the appellation is applied to some infamous Lothario. Rather people such as these, while known for being able to love ubiquitously, are pitied for not being able to love deeply. Sex used solely for the purpose of recreation is akin to writing a grocery list on a Rembrandt. Sexual activity outside of the bounds of marriage is an impediment to personal development in that once an individual has been initiated into its delights he spends considerable time or money in the procurement of same or remains distracted and frustrated at its regular absence. Sexual activity outside the bounds of marriage presents an obstacle to forming a happy and permanent relationship with the person one is having sexual relations with. The passions of the flesh obscure the rational reasoning process that might take place when people who differ on basic issues debate and therefore these issues may remain unresolved. In other scenarios, sexual favors are used as a bargaining chip because the one knows that the other cannot control their sexual appetites and will ultimately give in, a form of coercion counter to rules of discourse ethics.(Habermas, Pg 89) Finally, a casual attitude toward sexual activity presents the person who does eventually marry with an additional obstacle to remain faithful, as they wistfully recall the variety they once had rather than focusing on the task at hand.
Let us instead consider the alternative. Imagine two attractive young people who have reached their majority as virgins. Both are well equipped with all capabilities economic, physical, and intellectual necessary to function within their community as adults. Both are recognized as sovereign, autonomous, responsible, and honorable individuals. If they are not totally independent as well, they are certainly independent of each other. To be sure the great part of the knowledge that they possess is theoretical rather than experiential, including necessarily their own knowledge of carnal matters. Nevertheless, they are well supported by trusted counselors of their own age and older single and married individuals on both sides who support the idea of a chaste and celibate existence before marriage.
Whether thrown together by chance or by the determinate actions of others, the two individuals recognize a mutual attraction. They open negotiations, informally at first, on various fronts, romantic, political, intellectual, religious, and social as each determines if they are in agreement or compatible with the other on scores of issues obvious and subtle. If they arrive at some major philosophical impasse, they may “break off” for a time to consider matters, or may do so permanently and there is no harm done, no betrayal of honor, no personal debasement to be ashamed of. Because both have remained chaste they have respect for each other’s strength of character. They may, will little difficulty, remain friends and rejoin the social gathering of their young unmarried peers. Or, as the case often is, they may decide after a period of reflection to resume negotiation. It is perhaps easier here as in no other type of give and take to put oneself in the position of the “other”, to hear their opinions with an open mind and a true desire to understand. Marriage may be said to be the model of political compromise which is why the marriage of royals has served at times as the linchpin for alliances between sovereign nations. As the discourse proceeds it becomes apparent to the couple that no one has ever listened and considered their individual opinion in the manner that they have with each other, and being more or less agreed, they form an alliance, becoming a couple, leaving their parents and cleaving to each other , while declaring so to the community.
Much has been made of Engel’s comments that marriage was created to control women and children. (Engels) In contrast, Alan Keyes has said that “Marriage … exists in order to respect the responsibilities and obligations of procreation, and to signify society’s recognition of those responsibilities and obligations, and its support for their fulfillment by the parties to the marriage.” (Winn) It is the basic unit of community and of political power and as such may be reasoned to be an “honorable estate” . As our ideal couple consummates their marriage their relationship becomes practically ironclad. They alone are privy to the secret of their love and as it deepens they become better lovers, more familiar with each others idiosyncrasies both physical and psychological. The sex act itself influences the social relationship between the couple. The woman presents herself physically to the man encouraging and supporting his action. She must yield herself if he is to be successful and that happily and willingly if their lovemaking is to be mutually enjoyable. They must both be able to relax and express their desires frankly and honestly. Assuming that the process progresses normally, they become completely trusting of each other and confident in the emotional and practical support that each provides for the other. As such they are able to act more confidently individually in their respective social spheres and as a couple forcefully impacting the local community. As they are now bonafide members of the married society, to the extent that their peers conduct their marriages responsibly and honorably the new couple has access to the additional information and counsel on how they are to exist and progress as husband and wife.
Neo-Patriarchy assumes that marriage will be the standard for a community and that males will provide leadership in family and social situations. This may of course result in males having a great influence in the civil sphere as well. Some religious traditions also mandate that men occupy sole positions of doctrinal authority. This does not preclude women from holding any position of authority in the business world, or in political life. Women may be business owners, corporation presidents, tradesmen, doctors, lawyers, professors, artists, judges, and politicians up to and including head of state without infringing in any way upon the domain of neo-patriarchy.
The Family
In the neo-patriarchal system authority in the home is vested in the husband. The individual male may adopt this ideology for various reasons. While he may be willing to diminish his autonomy as described above in order to enjoy domesticity, he is unwilling to further abrogate his sovereignty. He desires to be in control of his immediate environment. He may have specific plans for his future and the future of his household that he desires to implement. His theology may dictate that he rule his own home. Whatever his reasons, he is sure to make his desire to rule his home clearly understood to women he may be considering as possible spouses. Women desirous of retaining their own sovereignty reject him as a suitor out of hand, wishing to find a partner who will in every situation compromise with them, or one who they can rule over. Nevertheless there seems to be no lack of women who seek a strong and assertive man to whom they are willing to subordinate themselves to, providing that he appears gentle and compassionate; capable of fidelity and love. While a man is expected to provide support for his family just as he would if he were an adult still living in his parent’s home, the fact of his authority does not depend upon his providing all or any of that support. His primary function is to provide leadership. All members of the family including children of a certain age are expected to do whatever they can to ensure that the family prospers. Feminist initiatives have been beneficial for the family in that they have provided women with additional economic opportunities to provide economic support giving them the ability to elect to pay for necessary goods and services that they themselves would have otherwise provided. However, in order that a “home” environment may be created where small children can be nurtured the man often does elect to provide the sole support. Up until the time they marry both individuals are autonomous and individually sovereign, notwithstanding their subordination to the legitimately established government. They mutually commit to a lifestyle that is family oriented. The man does not dictate or rule by force but relies upon the vows of marriage establishing his authority and agreed to by his wife before they marry. He in turn vows to make his wife and his family’s care and happiness his primary overriding concern. As these vows are binding for life, they are “not by any to be enterprised, nor taken in hand, unadvisedly,[or] lightly.” While a divorce has become easy to obtain and thereby discounting lifetime vows, some couples are making the decision to enter into “covenant marriage” a new form of contract that makes it considerably harder to divorce. (Corke) The life long nature of the marriage vows subject them to criticism by those who feel that they unfairly restrict the freedom of choice of the participants who are, if I may rephrase it, liable to “marry in haste and be forced to repent at leisure.” But the argument may still be made that children have a right to a mother and a father near at hand. Parents choose occupy these traditional roles in order to nurture and care for their and raise them up to be capable adults. (O’Beirne, Pg.2) An inviolate, cohesive, established marriage and home is the ideal environment for this activity. A further argument may be made that a man or a woman who devotes a substantial portion of his or her life and/or psyche to so intimate and all-inclusive a relationship should not be able to be so easily cast aside for frivolous reasons. Couples that take on these traditional roles and enter into this ancient form of marriage create a new family, a political entity that stands in opposition to the powerful influences of the state and the public sphere, providing a refuge for the relatively weak, immature, and inexperienced children who are to be born into it.
Friendship and the Public Sphere
It seems that whether gregarious or introverted most men have limited opportunities for socialization once they enter the working world. Out of a hundred and sixty-eight hour week, seventy hours may reasonably be subtracted for sleep and other necessary functions such as bathing, dressing, and the like. Subtract an additional fifty hours for time spent at work and travel and you are left with forty-eight hours, a little less than seven hours per day. Many men work longer than forty hours leaving them even less time to attend to their personal development or chores or getting together with friends to play a round of golf or share a glass of beer. A married man has practically no time for such activities. Encounters with other men that they consider friends or acquaintances are often impromptu and occur in the course of their movements through public spaces, i.e. gyms, taverns, and clubs. (Kimmel, 393) When meeting together corporately, at church for example, incidental conversations are by nature superficial and brief. Nevertheless, the neo-patriarch would agree with Epicurus that “nothing enhances our security so much as friendship.” With a close friend we are able to express concerns and advance ideas while being ready to receive honest criticism without loss to personal reputation. One may even talk of treason without fear. Close friendship, like family, is a relationship outside the civil structure and its law. True friends and family will protect each other from discovery, arrest and prosecution, even while being personally appalled at the other’s behavior. It is this social mechanism that allows revolutionaries, freedom fighters, and of course terrorists to operate successfully. Jews who were hidden from the Nazis were hidden by friends or by individuals who acted as friends. This alter-network of friends acts as a buffer to ill-conceived or undesirable government initiatives.
The percentage of individuals in a particular community who actually involve themselves in local party politics is exceeding small, far less than the number who actually turn out to vote. In the 2004 election, approximately seventy-two percent of the eligible population registered to vote, and eighty-eight percent of those registered, or sixty-four percent of the entire eligible population voted. (Holder, Pg. 2) These figures are impressive for a country with a reputation for voter apathy. But voting is after all the least one can do. More telling is the fact that during the 2004 election in Duval County, Florida the Republican Party had five thousand active volunteers out of one hundred and ninety thousand registered Republican voters or less than three hundredths of one percent who were actually involved in the campaign. This means that the percentage of individuals who actually influence and mold party opinion at the county level is of course substantially less than that and that the overwhelming majority of individuals have made the choice consciously or unconsciously to stay home and not concern themselves about such issues. Even in the tavern or around the dinner table it is rare to hear conversations about particular issues that last for more than a quarter hour without a radical change in subject. Is everyone basically in agreement on this issue? Three cheers and on we go to the next item for discussion. Do deep fundamental disagreements emerging among the company? Well it is not wise to argue for too long, make your points and move on. No need to argue, as no one has any intention about actually doing anything about the issue, save perhaps writing a letter to the editor, or perhaps a check to this organization or that PAC. All that occurs is a brief exchange of ideas, a testing of the political waters. This is a part of the conscience collective, the social combination of members of society that Durkheim spoke of (Giddens, Pg 133); Habermas’ Public Sphere. It is not driven by a desire for political change but rather for a desire for political stability, for maintenance of the status quo if at all possible, to simply live an ordinary life. (Taylor, Pg 14) It is for this reason that Thomas Jefferson wrote:
“Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”
Men wish to be left alone to tend to their businesses or otherwise individual pursuits. They resent the intrusion of the state into their lives even on issues so mundane as seat-belt laws or prohibitions on smoking which many are wont to disregard on principle, even at the risk of their own health and safety. Any initiative to detect universal norms must find a way to survey public opinion unobtrusively using the same sporadic mechanisms by which it is formed.
Conclusion
I have attempted to outline the cultural framework of a small segment of American society and suggest universal norms and practices that may be operational within it. Not the least of these is a simple desire for a status quo within which to live essentially unmolested from the world at large. Nevertheless we are faced with the political reality that the world is a closed system and each day new issues arise which must be dealt with by concerted global action. The management of global warming and other ecological concerns, shortages and fair usage of natural resources such as fresh water, and the ever increasing threat of the use of weapons of mass destruction by rogue states necessitate that the individual give consideration to and cooperate with not just his next door neighbor, but with the fellow on the other side of the planet. Worldwide cooperation through international deliberative bodies, law, and public administration would seem to be the only way that this can be effectively accomplished and it would be naïve to assume that such collaboration would be devoid of strong social influence and change. The more incrementally and unobtrusively such changes are introduced the more likely they are to be accepted and incorporated into the local body politic. But the idea that international bodies must be promulgated to determine and promote the “balance both between rights and responsibilities and between individuality and community” (Ross) contains within it the very seed of tyranny. Historically it would seem that men are willing to tolerate anything and that almost indefinitely. American slavery and the current situation in North Korea are two examples that come immediately to mind. So it seems to me that there is a very real danger of individuals within unique and small viable communities being burdened and compromised by the intrusion of well-intentioned but unrealistic social polices that are doomed to failure in much the same way that Marxist-Stalinist economic policies failed in the Soviet-Bloc nations. The case for true social change that moves decisively toward the greater good must ültimately come as a result of persuasively reasoned arguments that are allowed to percolate and ferment in the soup of the public sphere finally emerging as “obvious” conclusions in the minds of the people who participate in that sphere, including men of good will who rule their homes.
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About Louis William Rose
“I stand for Liberty.
What I do for Liberty I do not do for profit or fame. I seek no office other than the office of parliamentarian, and no reward other than for myself and my fellow men and women to live in a free country.”
Louis William Rose is a member of the National Association of Parliamentarians, he lectures on the subject of parliamentary procedure and political process. He serves as parliamentarian for various organizations. A political philosopher, poet, singer, and writer, his articles have been published on-line and in pro-liberty papers in Florida, Kentucky, Georgia, and Montana.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of North Florida, graduating summa cum laude in 2004.
Mr. Rose is an outspoken supporter of the basic rights of man, especially freedom of speech, association, religion, individual rights to personal defense and property, and of republican, constitutional forms of government.
Mr. Rose is an outspoken supporter of the basic rights of man, especially freedom of speech, association, religion, individual rights to personal defense and property, and of republican, constitutional forms of government.
He is married to the lovely Jamy Sue Rose, an award winning nature photographer and a Florida Master Naturalist and guide. He has two sons, Edward, a local businessman, and Alexander, a successful real estate professional here in Jacksonville.
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Urho Nissilä
Urho Nissilä (born 4 April 1996) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for MVV Maastricht, on loan from Zulte Waregem. He has represented the Finland national under-21 football team. He began his senior club career playing for KuPS, before signing with Zulte Waregem in 2018.
References
External links
MVV Maastricht official profile
Urho Nissilä – SPL competition record
Category:1996 births
Category:Living people
Category:Finnish footballers
Category:Kuopion Palloseura players
Category:S.V. Zulte Waregem players
Category:MVV Maastricht players
Category:Veikkausliiga players
Category:Belgian First Division A players
Category:Eerste Divisie players
Category:Finnish expatriate footballers
Category:Finnish expatriates in Belgium
Category:Expatriate footballers in Belgium
Category:Finnish expatriates in the Netherlands
Category:Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands
Category:Association football midfielders
Category:Finland under-21 international footballers
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In 2014, two UA students who worked as equipment managers separately reported incidents involving nonconsensual sex with football players. In August of that year, police were told that a 21-year-old woman working for the athletic department had sex at least twice with three UA football players while the she was heavily intoxicated. One of the players recorded at least one of the encounters and showed it to other students, the report said.
The woman told police that she lost her job after the recording was released, according to the report.
While investigating the woman’s claim, UA’s Title IX office approached former manager Jacquelyn Hinek, who had quit her job months before, citing pervasive sexual harassment. After speaking to UA investigators, Hinek told Tucson police that she had been sexually assaulted in April 2013 by several men associated with the football team while at an off-campus party. She said the incident was recorded on a cell phone and later shown to other students. (The Star does not typically name victims of sexual violence, but Hinek shared her story with a reporter earlier this year).
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Factors affecting the long-term patency of crossover femorofemoral bypass graft.
To determine the factors affecting long-term patency of crossover femorofemoral bypass (FFB) graft. A retrospective clinical study of a prospectively registered database. Two hundred and sixteen FFBs performed for 192 patients with atherosclerotic iliac occlusive disease. The clinical and surgical variables influencing graft patency were assessed with log-rank test and Cox's proportional hazard analysis. The primary patency rates of all FFB grafts at 3 and 5 years were 73+/-4 and 65+/-5%, respectively. By multivariate analysis, hypertension (Odds ratio 2.8, P=0.002) and critical ischemia (Odds ratio 0.42, P=0.01) significantly (P<.05) influenced long-term patency of FFB grafts. The long-term patency of FFB grafts was not affected by procedural modifications. Graft patency was inferior in patients with severe lower limb ischemia but superior in patients with hypertension. Further study is required to clarify the mechanism of an unexpected beneficial effect of hypertension on FFB graft patency.
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HOBOKEN -— New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning gave an autographed football to a Fund for a Better Waterfront event Tuesday. The football was auctioned off for $650. The event, hosted by FBW and Eastern Environmental Law Center, was held at the Elks club. Manning could not attend but released a statement showing his support of FBW’s efforts opposing local overdevelopment and other waterfront threats.
“The Fund for a Better Waterfront has played an integral role in the planning, development and protection of Hoboken’s beautiful waterfront over the past twenty years. I’d like to see their success continue for many years to come," he said.
Manning lives uptown in the Tea Building on the waterfront.
Fund for a Better Waterfront has protested the possible sale of the Union Dry Dock company to NJ Transit (but NJ Transit has since said the sale won’t happen). The group also has opposed high-rises from NJ Transit, a bill allowing Stevens Institute to circumvent local zoning regulations, and the Shipyard Monarch development project. The Shipyard issue is scheduled to be heard in court this Friday.
Why is this website obsessed with stalking Eli? The strange photos, the constant updates, posting where he lives. Is this really news? Meanwhile, a hudson county mayor testifies before Congress today and I can't read about it here.
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About This Game Defense Technica is the next evolution in hardcore tower defense strategy games. Protect the core from an onslaught of unrelenting biomechanical terrors with a powerful range of tower defense units – each with their own upgradable features and methods of attacks. Engage the opposition in a variety of maps and prepare to rapidly shift tactics as weather, enemy paths, and even the terrain itself physically changes upending the flow of the battlefield. Presented through sharp 3D visuals and backed by a soaring soundtrack, Defense Technica is the ultimate in strategic tower defense! Key Features
Powerful Towers – Select from 8 different tower classes and upgrade to build a nearly impenetrable defense of over 40 different towers. Arm towers with machine guns, long-range missiles, flamethrowers, mortars, lasers, and other powerful weapons to halt the oncoming hordes in their tracks!
Dynamic Battlefields – Variable enemy pathfinding, arduous weather systems, and physical changes in terrain during battles require a shift in strategy and keep each playthrough fresh.
Gorgeous 3D Visuals – Fully 3D backgrounds and amazing lighting effects set the scene for intricately detailed towers and enemy hordes. Maps range from orbital military installations and subterranean ruins to floating islands and futuristic cities.
Formidable Opposition – Battle against nine different enemy types across three different classes each with a strength and weakness against certain tower types requiring careful thought on tower placement.
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Tennis Men v Women debate has reopened
A great deal of controversy was created recently when former tennis pro John McEnroe claimed that multiple major winner Serena Williams would not be among the world's top 700 if she played on the men's circuit.
The eternal debate and comparison that has long existed about men v women in tennis reared its head again, leading to the question: would females be able to compete with their male counterparts on the court?
History says yes, or at least it has happened in the past as there have been four well documented cases of men taking on women.
The Mother's Day Massacre
The first occasion was in 1973 when Bobby Riggs took on Margaret Court when the male, at the age of 55, overcame Court in straight sets (6-2, 6-1).
That year, she was the World No. 1 and had won three major titles, with the win becoming known as the Mother's Day Massacre due to the date it took place on.
Riggs v King
Emboldened by his earlier success, Riggs challenged another female star to a match, this time against Billie Jean King, with the 29-year-old accepting the invitation.
Before more than 30,000 spectators, she taught her cocky opponent a lesson by comfortably beating him in three sets (6-4, 6-3, 6-3).
"I had to win," she said afterwards. "I felt that if I lost it would have set the women's circuit back and affected the self-esteem of all women."
The Battle of the Sexes
Almost 20 years later in 1993, the last official such game took place when Jimmy Connors (40) squared off against Martina Navratilova (35) in a face off dubbed the 'Battle of the Sexes' by the media.
The game was played under hybrid rules as Connors was permitted only one serve for each point and his opponent was allowed to play the ball into half of the doubles court.
A tense first set was won 7-5 by Connors who pulled away in the second to win it 6-2 and with it the match, for which both received close to 1 million dollars for competing.
No. 203 sweeps Williams
At the height of the Williams boom in 1998, an unofficial game took place in Australia after Serena and Venus claimed that no male player outside the top 200 could beat them.
Up stepped a German known as Karsten Braasch who was ranked 203rd in the world and after first beating Serena 6-1, he then disposed of Venus 6-2.
"I didn't know it would be that difficult. I played shots that would have been winners on the women's circuit and he got to them very easily," said Serena.
"They wouldn't have had a chance against anyone inside the top 500 because today I played like someone ranked 600th to keep it fun," was Braasch's assessment.
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Apollinary Goravsky
Apollinary Gilyarievich Goravsky, also seen as Horawski (Belarusian: Апалінарый Гіляравіч Гараўскі, Russian: Аполлинарий Гиляриевич Горавский; 23 January 1833, Uborky, Minsk Governorate - 28 March 1900, Kirilovich, Saint Petersburg Governorate) was a Belarusian painter.
Biography
Apalinar (Apollinary) was born into an impoverished family of the Belarusian landed gentry. His parents were Guilyar Frantsevich and Maryanna Yakauleuna Garausky. The family used the coat of arms "Korab" (since the 17th century) and traced its bloodline to the Belarusian nobleman Grakala-Garausky (in the 19th century the first part of the surname Grakala fell into disuse). The artist's father Guilyar Garausky inherited the land (about 200 ha) from his father and grandfather. In the family, there were three daughters and the sons Ipalit (1828 ― after 1864), Apalinar (Apollinary) (1833―1900), Karl (1838 ― after 1869), Hektar (1843―1893), Guilyar (1847 ― after 1875). Karl and Hektar were professional servicemen, Ipalit, Apalinar and Guilyar ― artists.
Apollinary, at ten, was sent to serve in the Brest-Litovsk Cadet Corps. Cadets studied general subjects of the classical school curriculum, such as languages, natural and social sciences. They were taught military disciplines, marching drill, riding, shooting, fencing, gymnastics, swimming, and also music and dance, drawing and painting. Apollinary had no inclination for military affairs, but liked drawing and painting. The architect Nicholas Benois, who was visiting Goravsky's uncle (Chief of the Cadet Corps), took notice of Apollinary's works and later helped him enroll at the Imperial Academy of Arts, where he studied with Maxim Vorobiev and Fyodor Bruni. He graduated in 1854 with a gold medal. From 1855 to 1860 he travelled and painted throughout Europe, visiting Geneva, Paris and Rome and stopping in Düsseldorf to study with Andreas Achenbach. During this trip, he met Pavel Tretyakov and began a collaboration that would later be very beneficial to his career. On his return to Saint Petersburg, he was awarded the title of "Academician".
In 1869, the Academy gave him a stipend of 300 rubles annually to "complete his education" and produce paintings of folk-life in Belarus and Ukraine, a commission which he pursued diligently, despite the cold weather and rheumatism in his right leg. For twenty years (1865—1885), he occasionally taught drawing at the "Society for the Encouragement of the Arts", although he spent most of his time in Belarus at his estate near Kirilovich.
Apollinary Goravsky died suddenly on March 28, 1900 at the Mariinsky Hospital in St. Petersburg at the age of 67. The death was reported in Novoye Vremya (New Times) and Istorichesky Vestnik (Historical Herald) magazines. The artist was buried at Vyborg cemetery.
His widow, Alexandra, remained without maintenance with daughters, Marya and Yulia, and started selling the artist's works in the 1900s.
The greater part of the works of Apollinary Goravsky are exhibited in the Belarusian National Arts Museum.
In 2009, Belarus issued a stamp featuring his painting "Evening in Minsk".
Works in the Belarusian National Arts Museum
The view of the Narva Gates from Ekateringof Park (1851)
Landscape with a river and a road (1853)
Praying old woman (1872)
The view of the Arve river in the vicinity of Chamonix (1859)
Praying Jew (1857?)
Portrait of the mother (1868)
The bathers (1858)
Evening (1854)
Landscape with a river (1859)
Oaks (1858)
Rural landscape (1855)
The repentant Mary Magdalene (1861)
Portrait of an unknown in a black dress (1868)
Portrait of S.M. Tretyakova (1857)
A weedy pond
Near a forge (1862)
Landscape with a river (1853)
The view of an oak grove on the banks of the Svislach river near Babruisk (1855)
By the piano (1868)
By the easel (1868)
An evening in Minsk province (1870s)
Portrait of a young woman in a white dress (1863)
Portrait of an unknown with a palette (1867)
Portrait of artist L.F. Lagorio (1890s)
Clover in gloom and forest expanses (1895)
Landscape (1897)
Gallery
Literature
Апалінар Гараўскі = Аполлинарий Горавский = Apalinar Garausky. Минск : Беларусь, 2014. ― .
Гiсторыя беларускага мастацтва (History of Belarusian Art) 6 vols. Мінск : 1989.
References
Further reading
L. M. Drobau, Беларускiя мастакi XIX стагоддзя (Belarusian Artists of the Nineteenth Century), Minsk, 1971
External links
Category:1833 births
Category:1900 deaths
Category:Belarusian painters
Category:Belarusian art
Category:Landscape painters
Category:Imperial Academy of Arts alumni
Category:Awarded with a large gold medal of the Academy of Arts
Category:Members of the Imperial Academy of Arts
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Facebook announced today that it’s testing the ability for Marketplace users to promote their listings to their neighbors. Anyone who isn’t directly in Marketplace will see these ads as “sponsored” posts in their News Feed. Facebook says it’s monitoring the small, US-based test for now and doesn’t immediately have plans for a wide rollout. Users will be able to set their budget and determine how long they want their campaign to last. The ads will be pulled immediately once an item is sold.
There isn’t a set price for an ad. Instead, all submitted ads are entered into Facebook’s ad auction where they will be considered alongside other ads trying to target the same people in the same area. The auction doesn’t reward the highest bidder with an ad but attempts to instead figure out what ad delivers the highest value to both the user trying to advertise and the ad viewer.
Facebook launched Marketplace in 2016 as a response to its users selling items through the social network, even without a dedicated place to do so. Since launch, the company’s expanded Marketplace to allow users to sell their cars, hire plumbers and cleaners, and list housing.
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" Contrary to the claims of "sexual rights" propagandists there is no agreement at the United Nations that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) can be used to create "rights" to abortion, to be a prostitute, to be a child who has sex as they choose or for Men who have Sex with men (MSM) to engage in fisting, felching, rimming, farming, scat, chariot racing, jackhammering , anal penetration etc ".
What causes a person to have a particular sexual orientation?
There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay or lesbian orientation. Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors. Many think that nature and nurture both play complex roles; most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation.
Ugandan President Calls For Scientific Proof That Homosexuality Is Not Genetic
“Unless I have got confirmation from scientists that this condition is not genetic, but a behaviour that is acquired, I will not sign” the pending Anti-Homosexuality Bill, President Yoweri Museveni told his party during a meeting Friday, according to a Ugandan newspaper.posted on January 27, 2014 at 12:56pm EST
Ugandan Yoweri Museveni called for scientists to study whether homosexuality is genetic, pledging not to sign the pending Anti-Homosexuality Bill unless they conclude it is not an inborn trait, according to reports in Uganda’s The Observer.
“Unless I have got confirmation from scientists that this condition is not genetic, but a behaviour that is acquired, I will not sign the bill,” Museveni reportedly told members of his National Resistance Movement. He called for a commission to be established and report its findings on during the party’s retreat to be held Feb. 6 to 16.
However, an unnamed source reportedly told The Observer that Museveni “said that he also supports the law 100% especially if it deals with people who promote, abate, recruit and support homosexuality, but [he] was a bit hesitant to accept the law if it seeks to punish homosexuals.”
Members of his party reportedly booed his opposition to the bill, which would impose a maximum sentence of life in prison for homosexual intercourse and criminalize LGBT-rights organizations. Parliament passed it on Dec. 20, and Museveni has 30 days to formally reject the bill after he receives the bill from parliament. But it is not clear that the legislation has been delivered to his desk.
Museveni announced that he opposed the legislation in a letter addressed to parliamentarians dated Dec. 28 that became public in mid-January, in which he explained that he believes “nature goes wrong in a minority of cases,” leading some people to be born gay, though he added that most people are lured into homosexuality in exchange for money.
According to The Observer’s source inside the meeting, Museveni “told us that his views against the law were influenced by a report by some gay rights activists whom he met recently. He said that those activists told him that gays were born just like albinos.”
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The movie Spotlight is being lauded and rightly so. Of all the complex issues related to conspiracies of child sex abuse, Spotlight highlights one of the most important; pedophiles target vulnerable children.
The Catholic priests in Boston, as the film depicts, went after poor children, children who had just lost their fathers, children struggling with identity issues, children who were vulnerable in all the ways that humans can be vulnerable. This is standard operating procedure for pedophiles. It goes far beyond the Catholic Church.
Child rapists are always on the hunt for vulnerable children. Preverbal children like newborns, infants and toddlers, foster children trapped in a broken system, sick children in cancer-wards, minority children, single-parent children in after-school programs and special needs children — the children least able to protect themselves are the highest risk for rape.
Pedophiles wait, watch and prey on the most vulnerable. Always.
For example, pedophiles love to rape special needs children. Why? Because special needs children make terrible witnesses. A Down’s Syndrome child is unlikely to be a witness prosecutors will consider “credible.” No credible witness, no crime. No crime, no prosecution.
When I started researching child pornography arrests I was horrified to see report after report of special education teachers and care-providers arrested for trading in child rape and torture aka child pornography. Some of these cases are profiled here. As with all my research the following examples are not at all comprehensive. Because the Department of Justice is not keeping statistics on child pornography arrests, no one knows how many special education teachers and care-givers have been caught trading in child rape. By the numbers, it appears to be many.
Arrests of Special Education Teachers & Care Providers
Matthew David Kuppe, 21 year old camp counselor at a Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield, Michigan and student at Michigan State University, was arrested, 12 August 2015, on child pornography possession, production and distribution charges. He was sentenced, 11 April 2017, to ten years in prison. Kuppe worked with special needs children.
He posted images of five year old boys, under his care during an overnight camp stay, on a Russian website “frequented by individuals with a sexual interest in children.” In at least one case, he named the child along with the photo and used a folder called “Jewish boys.”
He also filmed “prepubescent boys in the JCC locker room” and shared these images using the name “jcclockerroom” and an email [email protected]. Kuppe told an undercover investigator “I only get to touch him a few times” and said he had “bounced the naked boy on his lap.” He also said he “planned to give the young boy oral sex.”
Matthew Kuppe’s Criminal Complaint citing Kuppe’s responses to an undercover investigator.
Kuppe traded his JCC photos with pedophiles for images of other children. Investigators found at least 60 images of children, including toddlers, on Kuppe’s iPod. He told the undercover agent “I have more pics, but you need to send some first … What would you do to these little boys (be graphic).”
Matthew Kuppe’s Criminal Complaint citing Kuppe’s responses to an undercover investigator.
Several JCC staff had raised concerns about Kuppe’s “inappropriate behavior” prior to his arrest but these were ignored. The JCC, since, launched an internal investigation and fired three employees who failed to act on reports about Kuppe’s behavior.
Although originally held without bond, a federal judge allowed Kuppe free on bond, November 2015, pending sentencing. Kuppe’s trial is currently scheduled for 4 April 2016.
Peter Flynn, a 61 year old special education teacher at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Maryland, was arrested, 30 September 2014, for possessing and distributing child pornography. He pled guilty, 29 June 2015, and was sentenced, 9 November 2015, to nearly 4 years in prison with fifteen years of supervised release. Flynn possessed some 30,000 child rape images/videos including bondage and violence against prepubescent children. He had worked at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School since 1978.
James McGlothlin, a 39 year old adaptive physical education instructional assistant for disabled children with the Oregon City School District in Portland, Oregon, was arrested, 19 February 2016, and charged with one count of producing child pornography.
He was trading images of child rape including infants. McGlothlin had raped a disable child in his care during swimming lessons and he had made plans, in writing, to baby-sit children with the intention of drugging and raping the children. Investigators found photos of children who were McGlothin’s relatives or children of friends, dozen pairs of children’s underwear and “sexually explicit videos of a baby girl and a man believed to be McGlothin.” McGlothin also admitted he molested a friend’s two year old daughter when he was baby-sitting the child. McGlothin is married and lives with his wife and their 2 year old son.
Bruce Omlor, a 49 year old special education teacher with Riverside Elementary School in Toledo, Ohio, was indicted, December 2012, on one count each of child pornography receipt, distribution, and possession.
In a plea agreement two charges were dismissed and Omlor was sentenced, 9 September 2013, to more than six years in jail. At the time of his arrest, Omlor had more than 17,000 images of child sex abuse. He was suspended without pay, upon his arrest. His Ohio teaching license has been revoked. Omlor is a retired US Marine.
Jay Michaud, a 62 year old special education teacher, at Gaiser Middle School in Vancouver, Washington, was arrested, 13 July 2015, on child pornography charges.
Jay Michaud’s Criminal Complaint. His on-line name was Pewter.
Michaud had been using a site called Playpen and trading in video/images of “child rape and some images that showed infants being raped.”
Jay Michaud’s Criminal Complaint describing images he was trading.
At his indictment hearing, 22 January 2016, Michaud entered a not guilty plea. On 22 January 2016, Judge Bryan rejected Michaud’s motion to dismiss.
On 28 January 2016, Judge Bryan rejected Michaud’s motion to suppress evidence. Michaud’s trial is currently scheduled for 19 September 2016. He worked for the Vancouver School District for more than 20 years.
Murray Duncan, a 45 year old special education teacher and boys basketball coach at Mt. Hermon Junior High in New Orleans, Louisiana, was arrested, 16 April 2014, on child pornography and aggravated incest charges. He was re-arrested several times, in May and June 2014, on more child sex abuse and child pornography charges totaling 127 counts in Washington Parish and East Batton Rouge Paris.
Duncan volunteered in activities that provided him access to children, molesting at least 7 children, ages 5 to 15 years old, on an overnight church trip to the zoo, at church camp and in his classroom. One neighbor said, “He was always well known as an outstanding guy in our neighborhood.” Duncan has been free on $250,00 bond pending sentencing. His next court date in Washington Parish is scheduled for 29 March 2016.
Alvin Ray McClellan, a 44 year old special education teacher’s assistant at Mohave Middle School in Arizona, was arrested, 5 March 2014, on 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
Investigators said McClellan was trading in hundreds of images/videos - some of the “worst abuse they’ve ever seen” including of infants.
He pled not guilty on 3 April 2014. McClellan is free on bail with his next court date scheduled for 25 February 2016.
William Foreman, a 70 year old retired special education teacher in Dayton, Ohio Public School system, was arrested, February 2015, on child pornography charges. His teaching certificate was for orthopedic handicapped children.
Foreman had posted more than 70 child rape fantasies in on-line forums and had subscriptions for child porn websites, internet chats about distributing child pornography, stories about incest and documents stating the legal age of consent such be lowered to 8 years old.
After retiring from 35 years in the public school system he worked with special needs children in their homes and at hospitals and operated a pottery studio “where groups like the Girl Scouts and home-schooled students can make pinch-pots and tiles.” His sentencing hearing is scheduled for 26 February 2016.
David James Fisher, a 51 year old former special education teacher in Farmville, Virginia and football and baseball coach in Amelia County, Virginia, was arrested, October 2015, on child pornography charges. He was released on bond and his first court hearing is currently scheduled for February 2016.
Jorge Christian Cervantes, a 31 year old instructional aide for “severely disabled students” at Lincoln Elementary School in Salinas, California, was arrested, 12 May 2011, on child pornography and domestic violence charges.
He assaulted his wife, knocking her to the ground, when she found child sex abuse images on his cell phone.
Cervantes had photographed his female students and said he “lusted” for them, fantasized about them and used methamphetamine to “heighten his pleasure” while looking at the images. Cervantes was sentenced to 14 months in jail and no contact with his wife or young daughter during his three-year probation after jail.
On 15 December 2014, only months after his probation ended on 26 August 2014, Cervantes posed as a Walmart employee and attempted to kidnap a 10 year old girl. He assaulted and molested her, apparently in the bathroom, before the girl was able to get away. He was attempting to take her out of the store. He was charged with kidnapping, child molestation, and false imprisonment. His bail was set at $1 million and he remained in custody pending sentencing. His case was dismissed on 11 March 2015 due to his death while in custody.
Kelly Dan Williams, a 62 year old special needs instructor at Mary Orr Intermediate School in Dallas-Forth Worth, Texas, was arrested, 1 June 2015, and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child and child pornography production. Williams was caught sexually assaulting an 11 year old boy in the school bathroom. Authorities arrested Williams and searched his home where they found child sex abuse images/videos. He pled guilty to both counts on 26 January 2016. His sentencing hearing is set for 24 May 2016.
John David Yoder, 43 year old special education teacher’s assistant at Desert Hot Springs High School in Riverside, California, was arrested, 30 January 2015, on multiple child sex abuse charges. As of 1 February 2016, a trial is underway and sentencing is pending.
Yoder is part of a “significant ring of human traffickers and child pornographers” that targeted young boys. Prosecutors say Yoder “provided a ‘safe haven’ for pedophiles.”
A registered foster parent, with two adopted sons, Yoder used his sons as bait to lure other children including at least one special needs child.
Yoder posted more than 10,000 times on a “boy lover” website of which he was a member. He is being held in lieu of $1 million bail. From jail Yoder attempted to have a witness murdered for $8,000. Prior to his arrest, Child Protective Services (CPS) had received a tip that Yoder was raping children and had child pornography . CPS took no action. Yoder had previously worked as a special education assistant in Fairfax County, Virginia from 2005 to 2007.
Patrik Ian Arsenault, a 28 year old special education elementary school teacher at the Wayne Regional Autism Program in Readfield, Maine was arrested, 21 August 2013, on child pornography charges. He had been hired for a new position working with autistic children but was arrested before his start date.
Arsenault was producing child pornography of himself raping boys as young as six years old, including children with developmental disabilities and children in his care at Woodfords Family Services in Westbrook.
Upon his arrest investigators found more than 7,500 images and more than 250 videos of child sex abuse.
Arsenault pled guilty to transportation, receipt and possession of child pornography and three counts of child pornography production and was sentenced in federal court, 23 January 2015, to 65 years in prison. The state also pressed charges and sentenced Arsenault, 29 January 2015, to 50 years to be served concurrent with the federal sentencing.
Kenneth Hamilton, a 58 year old special education teacher at Phoenixville Middle School in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, was arrested, 1 December 2013, on 13 counts of child pornography possession and distribution charges. Hamilton’s teaching certificate, including for Mentally and/or Physically Handicapped K-12 students, was revoked on 14 October 2015. State charges were dropped when the federal prosecutors took over the case. Hamilton was sentenced, 19 December 2014, to ten years in jail followed by ten years of supervised release. He had been a teacher for 11 years at Phoenixville Middle School. In, apparently, a separate case the school’s former principal, Troy Czukosi, was also sentenced for possessing hundreds of child sex abuse images/videos.
Richard Pitcock, a 51 year old school psychologist for special needs children K-12 from Ashland City, Tennessee, was arrested, 4 August 2015, in Florida on 25 counts of possession of child porn and one count of using a computer to compile child pornography.
He had worked for the Cheatham County School District since 1998 evaluating special-needs students. Pitcock was suspended without pay and held in custody in Florida on a $130,000 bond. He was sentenced, 15 December 2015, to nearly eight years in jail and 15 years of supervised release. Pitcock profile said his client focus was “toddlers/preschoolers and teens faced with learning disabilities.”
Steven Orloff, a 47 year old director of the special needs program at Stoneham public schools in Stoneham, Massachusetts and also a public school liaison for the Germaine Lawrence facility, a home for sexually exploited and intellectually disabled girls, was arrested, 12 December 2012, on child pornography production and possession charges.
The Germaine Lawrence facility houses girls who have been commercially sexually exploited, have intellectual disabilities, eating disorders and substance abuse issues. The Department of Children and Families failed to inform Germaine Lawrence officials about Orloff’s arrest.
Ofloff posed on-line as a 14 year old boy and tricked hundred of girls into producing child pornography for him. He was also a foster parent who sexually abused his foster daughter and hid camera in his bathroom to film her naked. Orloff was charged with state crimes and also held without bail on federal charges. In December 2014, Orloff, apparently, committed suicide, while in custody, prior to his sentencing.
Timothy Cheatwood, a 44 year old, foster care worker who cared for Christian special needs children in Health and Human Services custody, was arrested, 2 September 2015, on two counts of aggravated possession of child pornography, manufacturing child pornography, distributing child pornography and violating the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act.
At least one local child victim was identified. One of the files in Cheatwood’s possession was titled files was entitled “7yo Blond Boy Play With Dady (with sound)”.
Cheatwood worked for the Bair Foundation, an organization contracted by Health and Human Services. He is out on $45,000 bond. An arraignment is scheduled for 8 February 2016.
Benjamin Schwartz, a 32 year old teacher’s aide for special needs students at Brookline High School in Massachusetts, was arrested, 15 November 2012, for child pornography possession and dissemination of obscene matter.
Schwartz had been trading in children, as young as six years old, being raped by adult males.
Schwartz pled guilty to two counts of possession and was sentenced, 21 August 2014, to five years probation and no jail time.
He had worked in the Brookline school system since 2002.
Barry Klein, a 58 year old special education teacher at Bancroft Middle School in Hollywood, California, was arrested, 9 July 2010, on suspicion of possession of child pornography charges. He had given his laptop to the school’s IT department for repair. Staff found concerning material on his computer and contact law enforcement.
Upon his arrest, Klein was immediately removed from school grounds and suspended without pay. He had been a teacher at the school since 2001.
Klein pled no contest, 25 October 2010, to one felony child pornography possession charge and was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.
Chadwick Hamby, a 42 year old special education teacher and principal at Mountain Community School in North Carolina, was arrested, 23 February 2012, and pled guilty to one count of receiving child pornography.
Hamby was arrested along with another special education teacher, Deborah Tipton, who sent Hamby “pornographic images” of a 11 year old former student of Hamby’s to “excite him.” Tipton was also arrested 23 February 2012.
Hamby was sentenced, 18 September 2013, to more than 4 years in prison, to be followed by lifetime of supervised release and ordered to register as a sex offender for 15 years. Tipton was sentenced to 18 years in prison with lifetime supervised release and must register as a sex offender for 25 years.
The couple used on-line chats focused on bestiality, violent rape and child pornography.
Adolfo Payan Chavez, a 39 year old special education assistant at Whittier Elementary School in San Diego, California, was arrested, 18 September 2011, on child pornography charges. He pled guilty, 17 November 2011, to one count of transporting images of minors engaged in sexually explicit acts. On 6 August 2012, Chavez was sentenced to six and half years in jail with ten years of supervised release. He had worked for the school district for over 18 years.
Christopher Toler, a 47 year old special education teacher at North Shore Educational Consortium in Beverly, Massachusetts, was arrested on child pornography charges. He pled guilty, 12 June 2013, and was sentenced to 90 days of a 21/2 year suspended jail term and three years probation. He must register as a sex offender. Toler was trading child rape on a website called Liberal Morality.
David Carl Heinsen, a 69 year old resident of Nashville, Michigan, care-giver for a special needs child, was arrested on child pornography charges and arraigned, 21 September 2015, on four counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim under the age of 13 and possession of child sexually abusive material in addition to previous charges of possession of child sexually abusive material and using a computer to commit a crime in that county. At the time of his arrest he had over 650,000 images and 3,000 videos, including of toddlers, showing children being “sexually abused and tortured.” Heinsen raped, tortured and filmed an eight year old girl with Down syndrome under his care. He was sentenced, 16 February 2016, in state court to 40–60 years in jail. Federal sentencing is pending.
David Harrell, a 48 year special needs teacher from Chaska, Minnesota, was arrested, 16 May 2014, on suspicion of interfering with the privacy of a minor. On 22 September 2015, Harrell pled guilty to fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct, interfering with a child’s privacy and possessing child pornography.
Harrell worked with deaf and hard of hearing students, for the past ten years, at St. Francis and Spring Lake Park schools. At the time of his arrest he had thousands of child sex abuse images, including of his students, on his work computer. He was caught when a colleague reported that he had two female students sitting on his lap. Harrell was placed on leave and school technology staff investigated his computer locating child sex abuse images. He was sentenced, December 2015, to 60 days in jail of a suspended 305 jail sentence and five years probation. He must register as a sex offender.
Angelique Nicole Mendell, a 29 year old mother and care-giver for her ten year old Down Syndrome son, was arrested, 6 February 2015, on multiple child sex abuse charges.
She was caught when investigators, assuming the on-line identity of a “known child pornography distributor,” chatted with a pedophile in Oklahoma who said he had a “BD [Beast Dating] girl with [a] 2 [year old] and 10 [year old] boy and now she wants me to fuck her 14 [year old] girl.” The pedophile said “[the 2 year old] is the one fucking her [with] the dildo and she is sucking a dog cock in front of him on Kik … She’s in OKC … Remember the Kik videos? That’s her.” Mendell told investigators she sexually abused her children and makes her Down Syndrome son perform oral sex on her. She also sexually abused her Chihuahua and was “training her Rottweiler.” Mendell was investigated, in 2002, for similar crimes but never prosecuted. She has been in custody in lieu of $250,000 cash bail. Her jury trial is scheduled for 18 April 2016.
Eric Bean, 32 year old information technology (IT) staff at the Judge Rotenberg Education Center, special needs school in Canton, Massachusetts, was arrested, 22 August 2014, on possession and transfer of child pornography. The school was previously embroiled in controversy for using electric shock therapy on disabled students. Bean entered a no contest plea on 29 July 2015 and was sentenced to five years in jail, with all but 90 days suspended, and five years probation. He must register as a sex offender.
Gary Kliebert, a 62 year old retired special education teacher of Washington Township in Michigan who was actively substitute teaching, was arrested, 17 March 2011, on child pornography charges. Kliebert’s wife is a principal of Rodgers Elementary School where Kliebert was a substitute teacher.
He pled guilty to one count of receiving child pornography and was sentenced, 9 March 2012, to 20 years in prison. At the time of his arrest he had 872,138 videos/images of child sex abuse.
Kliebert also sexually abused several child relatives. He told investigators that he traded in child rape on the internet for 2–3 hours a day for at least the past seven years. Kliebert had been a teacher in Utica Community Schools for 32 years. Lake Shore High School’s student newspaper, The Shoreline, was prevented from reporting on the case by school administrators.
Gregg Alan Larsen, a 49 year old special education teacher in the St. Paul Public School District in Minnesota, was arrested, 20 May 2010, on child pornography charges.
He had been sexually abusing children in his care and producing child pornography of that abuse. Larsen was sentenced, 23 November 2010, to 25 years in prison for producing and possessing child pornography. Larsen was also a foster parent and he filmed children under his care. At the time of his arrest Larsen had more than 100,000 images/videos of child rape.
Jason Wichlinski, a 42 year old special education teacher at Boulder High School in Boulder, Colorado was arrested, April 2013, and charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a child.
Wichlinski was caught when woman who lived with him discovered child pornography on his cell phone and computer and contacted law enforcement.
At the time of his arrest he possessed hundreds of images of children as young as two years old being sexually abused and many videos of “8- or 10-year old girls having sex with men” and images/videos of “teen abuse/agony or teen choking.” He was sentenced, 19 September 2013, and is currently a registered sex offender.
John Allen Wright, a 45 year old bus driver for special needs students for The Provider bus services in New Hampshire, was arrested, 1 September 2011, on child sex abuse and child pornography charges. He pled guilty to five counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography and was sentenced, February 2013, to 160 years in prison.
At the time of his arrest Wright had over 10,000 images/videos of child sex abuse. He sexually abused at least three autistic boys, ages 4 to 8 years old, in his care and filmed himself sexually abusing children on his school bus. Wright had been a bus driver with the Milton School District, an assistant teacher at Rochester Child Care Center and Quirion Preschool and Learning Center in Rochester, New Hampshire. The Provider bus services transports 1,200 special needs children to day cares and schools in New Hampshire.
Keith Miller, a 44 year old special education teacher at Miller’s Run Elementary School in Sheffield, Vermont, was arrested, 20 February 2013, on child pornography charges. He was sentenced, 5 May 2014, to just under two years in prison and five years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender. Miller told investigators he is sexually attracted to girls younger than ten years old.
Mark Allen Cline, a 45 year old special education teacher at Will C. Wood Middle School in Sacramento, California, was arrested, 22 December 2010, on child pornography charges. He pled guilty to one count of receiving child pornography was sentenced, 12 February 2015, to nearly six years in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release. He must register as a sex offender.
At the time of his arrest Cline had over 1,000 images/videos of child rape including the rape of a baby. Cline had told his girlfriend that he fantasized about anally raping his special needs students and raping a two year child.
Michael Scott Cooper, a 42 year old special education teacher at Bakersfield Elementary School in Bakersville, California, was arrested, 7 October 2010, on child pornography charges. He was sentenced, 30 July 2012, to slightly more than three years in jail followed by 15 years of supervised release. Cooper was caught when his wife contacted law enforcement after discovering images of his students on his computer. Investigators found hundreds of images of child sex abuse on Cooper’s electronics. He had also been a special education school teacher at Loudon Elementary School.
Robert Fenn, a 27 year old special education teacher at Poplar Tree Elementary in Chantilly, Virgina, was arrested, 12 June 2012, on child pornography charges. He was sentenced, 21 June 2013, to ten years in jail and 20 years of supervised release.
Fenn was caught when Italian police investigated computer files involved with the website liberalmorality.com. Fenn trading on this site.
He told investigators he was sexually attracted to girls between the ages of 9 and 14. Fenn taught special needs children from kindergarten to third grade and also gave private music lessons in children’s homes. More than 500 child sex abuse images were found, by investigators, on Fenn’s electronics.
Balazs Tarnai, a 36 year old assistant professor of special education professor at Seton Hall University, was arrested, 4 November 2011, on child pornography charges. Tarnai produced videos and images of the sexual abuse of at least four young boys.
He pled guilty to production of sexually explicit material and was sentenced, 23 January 2013, to 15 years in prison and lifetime parole.
Tarnai’s research “focused on social-behavioral aspects of socio-sexual education for students with cognitive disabilities.” He also taught a children’s Bible study class. He was caught when he ordered sex abuse videos from a company that undercover law enforcement had taken over.
Liam Mallon, a 44 year old bus driver for Worcester, Massachusetts Public School children with special needs, was arrested, July 2015, on two child pornography possession charges. Mallon had been appointed as an Aide to the Physically Handicapped on 20 June 2012. School Superintendent Dr. Melinda Boone sent a letter to school administrators saying “at this time, the matter has not reached the media and we hope that it does not.” Mallon’s next court date, a status conference, is schedule for 3 March 2016.
What can be done?
Pedophiles seek out professions that place them in positions of authority and trust over vulnerable children. Judging by the cases profiled here, pedophilia may be epidemic in the special education profession.
Educational institutions must take pro-action measures. Installing NetClean software, working with the Child Rescue Coalition and asking teachers to sign Codes of Conduct allowing for random searches of their computer networks and electronics would all help protect children.
Parents of special needs children should demand that educational institutions and care-providers working with special needs children require all employees to sign Codes of Conduct that include voluntary, random searches by Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces of electronics, including cellphones and IP networks, both work and personal.
Special needs children are easy and ideal prey for pedophiles. It is time parents, educational institutions and care-providers started taking pro-active measure to protect these most vulnerable children.
Dr. Lori Handrahan runs the start-up organization Data4Justice.org and is working on her forthcoming book, Child Porn Nation: America’s Hidden National Security Risk. Her Ph.D. is from The London School of Economics. She can be reached on Twitter @LoriHandrahan2
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Dear men,
You are not the exception.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a “nice guy” who’s just trying to make someone’s day better, it doesn’t matter if you have no intention of making someone uneasy, and it doesn’t matter if you’re convinced that the girl bringing you your dinner is your soulmate. Keep it to yourself. She’s just trying to do her job. And if it’s her job to be nice to you, that means keeping a smile on her face, whether she’d rather dump your drink on your head or not.
Ask any girl. Chances are that she has at least one heebie-jeebie-inducing story about that time some dude made her feel at best like she wanted to shower in Purell , and at worst like she needed to find a weapon to defend herself. But that girl will also have multiple other horror stories about her friends’ similar experiences, and a large percentage of those stories are going to take place in the service industry (though I am certainly not minimizing the many cases of harassment that happen in other industries as well).
For example, I work nights at a hotel and have endured everything from weird compliments about my mouth, to spending half of my shift trying to elude a guy who refused to stop urging me to have parking lot sex with him. (I wish I was kidding.) A few days ago, one of my coworkers was followed into an empty stairwell at 3 AM by a man who had spent two days sexually harassing her. Last week, a guy spent five excruciating minutes wringing every possible euphemism out of his bowl of Fruit Loops to me. (Spoiler alert: there were a lot more than you think.) And none of these events are out of the ordinary.
So this is exactly why your niceness is a non-factor. To the girl who has to serve you in whatever capacity, your come-on will probably just be yet another putrid drop in a giant vat of uninvited attention.
That being said, there are plenty of genuinely kind and well-meaning guys who simply don’t understand how their behavior could possibly be considered shifty, so for them — and for everyone else — I have composed this list:
1. You are exploiting the power discrepancy.
You are a customer. She (either another women or myself) is paid to help you in some way. At the end of your encounter, your money will either directly or indirectly make it into her bank account. She needs it to pay her bills. Her financial security is literally dependent on your business, whether it’s via a tip or repeated patronage. This is the reason that some assholes get away with telling her to “smile, honey,” when she’d rather be puking on their leering faces. You don’t want to be that guy. But if you share his tactics, however accidentally, you’re halfway there.
2. It is almost impossible for her to reject you clearly.
Whatever her instinctive reaction may be to your addresses, she doesn’t have much of a choice beyond laughing it off and continuing to tend to your needs, which makes the whole thing even more unfair. By trapping her at her place of business, you’ve taken away her choice to shut you down in any way other than gently. And in a lot of cases, the gentle letdown isn’t enough to get the message across as thoroughly as is necessary. In fact, it’s often willfully misunderstood, which frees up the customer to plow into even more painful territory. Generally, the firmest she can be is to tell you that she’s already married, whether it’s true or not. And a lot of the time, even that isn’t a strong enough deterrent to get a guy to back off. Either way, making her lie to you is a dick move.
3. She doesn’t have an exit.
Sure, if you’re openly groping her or posing a physical threat, she may have access to security guards or managers who can throw you out. But if you’re just giving her the creeps? Not so much. There may even be some kind of policy that she isn’t allowed to leave a guest unattended if they’re waiting at her post. Therefore, she may be at your mercy for as long as you choose to hang around, despite her feeling awkward and/or hoping that a small explosion breaks out somewhere so she has an excuse to leave.
4. You have the power to get her fired.
Most businesses have some sort of work performance review, and if you decide to retaliate against her rejection by leaving a shitty comment card or complaining to her boss that she was unfriendly/unprofessional, there is nothing that she can do about it. Even in a case of your word versus hers, there may be some company rule that dictates her firing if you’re adamant enough about it. This is especially true if you’re not the first spurned suitor to use that kind of a tactic (and it’s certainly not unheard of). So she can’t afford to make you angry. And since she doesn’t know you personally, she has to be especially cautious with her responses, lest you hulk out on her.
5. It’s less of a hassle to be kind, whether you deserve it or not (and you know it).
Assuming that you don’t stoop to doing something that warrants a permanent ban from the establishment, it’s probably less risky for her to just fake a smile through her discomfort until you finally leave, and then hope that if you come back, you won’t be her problem anymore. And that sucks, especially if it’s an almost constant aspect of her work week. Ultimately, your decision to potentially make her uncomfortable for your own potential gratification is selfish. Leaving a woman with no choice but to put up with whatever you decide to dish out is never kind, so don’t flatter yourself by thinking that it’s okay because you “didn’t mean anything by it.” Creating the situation at all is inappropriate. If you’re so convinced she’s your soulmate, instead of making your move, go watch Serendipity . Let John Cusack convince you that fate will bring you back together at a better time or whatever. Then you can truly claim to be a nice guy.
Signed,
Lindsey
This post was originally published on April 15, 2016, and has since been updated.
Like this story? Follow The Financial Diet on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for daily tips and inspiration, and sign up for our weekly email newsletter here.
*****
Lindsey Litteken has an English degree, a kickass Netflix queue, and a Tetris addiction. She is on Twitter and video blogs here about her (mostly embarrassing) life.
Image via Unsplash
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Dean family
The Dean family are a fictional family in the long-running Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks
The family were first introduced in 2002, appearing until 2017.
History
Johnno Dean was the head of the household. He had met and fell in love with first wife Frankie Dean while still in school, and the two were married by age 21. Together they had four children: Jake Dean, Debbie Dean, Steph Dean and Craig Dean. In 2005, following a midlife crisis caused by the collapse of his workplace, 45-year-old Johnno had an affair with a 19-year-old student named Michelle and had a son with her named Presley (thanks to Johnno's love of Elvis Presley). Johnno left Hollyoaks, Frankie and his previous four children to be with his new girlfriend and son. He returned briefly after realising that he missed his old family but was told by son Craig to go back to Michelle. Johnno and Michelle are now married.
Following the collapse of her marriage to Johnno, Frankie started a new relationship with Jack Osborne whom she went on to marry till her death in 2017.
Jake suffered a mental breakdown after his break-up with wife Becca Dean then went on to marry her sister Nancy Hayton after Becca's death. Jake then found out his son Charlie Dean was in fact the offspring of Becca's schoolboy lover Justin Burton.
Debbie lost the love of her life Dan Hunter in a car crash so then moved to London to follow her theatre dreams.
Steph's husband Max Cunningham died on their wedding day after being run over by Niall Rafferty; she went on to look after Max's little brother Tom Cunningham until she later died in a fire. Tom now lives with the Osbournes.
Frankie's granddaughter, Esther Bloom (Jazmine Franks) arrives in 2011 and is involved in a bullying storyline. It is unknown who Esther's grandfather is, as Esther revealed that her late father, Brian Bloom, was Frankie's son, born when Frankie was 16, who she was forced by her parents to put up for adoption. Frankie has never explicitly stated that she was in another relationship at any time before she met Johnno; neither has she ever confirmed whether Brian was Johnno's son.
Although originally being seen as straight, Craig had a gay affair with best friend John Paul McQueen; the pair moved to Dublin together, though they are now apart and John Paul is raising their son Matthew McQueen (born via surrogate) as a single parent. John Paul is back in Hollyoaks but he later decides to reunite with Craig and be a family in Singapore after his divorce from Ste Hay.
Generations
Johnno Dean, married Frankie Wallace (1981–2005), then Michelle Dean (2005—)
Jake Dean (1982-), son of Johnno and Frankie, married Becca Hayton (2005–2007), then Nancy Hayton (2008)
Debbie Dean (1984-), daughter of Johnno and Frankie
Steph Dean (1986-2010), daughter of Johnno and Frankie, married Max Cunningham (2008), then Gilly Roach (2010)
Craig Dean (1988-), son of Johnno and Frankie
Matthew McQueen (2012-), son of Craig and John Paul McQueen; born via a surrogate, Chloe
Presley Dean (2005-), son of Johnno and Michelle
D
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Category:Television characters introduced in 2000
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Wikipedia (en)
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Military Corruption News Stories
Excerpts of Key Military Corruption News Stories in Major Media
Below are highly revealing excerpts of important military corruption news stories reported in the media that suggest a major cover-up. Links are provided to the full stories on their major media websites. If any link fails to function, read this webpage. These military corruption news stories are listed by date posted to this webpage. You can explore the same articles listed by order of importance or by article date. By choosing to educate ourselves on these important issues and to spread the word, we can and will build a brighter future.
Note: This comprehensive list of military corruption news stories is usually updated once a week. Explore our full index to revealing excerpts of key major media news stories on several dozen engaging topics. And don't miss amazing excerpts from 20 of the most revealing news articles ever published.
Teenage recruits were raped by staff and forced to rape each other as part of initiation practices in the Australian military going back to 1960, a public inquiry heard on Tuesday. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse is hearing evidence from men and women who say they were sexually abused when they were as young as 15, in certain divisions of the Australian defense force. This commission is focusing on alleged abuse at the naval training center HMAS Leeuwin in Western Australia and the army apprentice school Balcombe in Victoria during the 1960s, '70s and '80s and also among cadets with the Australian defense force since 2000. In total, 111 victims came forward to report abuse. More than a dozen of them will give evidence to the inquiry. "On multiple occasions, I was snatched from my bed in the middle of the night by older recruits and dragged to a sports oval," said one male witness who wasn't named. The witness said he was forced to rape other recruits, and was raped himself by older recruits and staff. "The environment made it useless to resist," he said. "One could stand only so much abuse before realizing that saying 'no' was pointless." Many survivors say that when they reported the abuse, they were ignored, punished, or told it was "a rite of passage" in their initiation period. The inquiry also will hear evidence from former and current staff members, and examine the handling of complaints and the responses to claims for compensation.
Note: Watch videos providing powerful evidence rape has also been used to initiate future officers in the US Marine Corps. Watch an excellent segment by Australia's "60-Minutes" team "Spies, Lords and Predators" on a pedophile ring in the UK which leads directly to the highest levels of government. A second suppressed documentary, "Conspiracy of Silence," goes even deeper into this topic in the US. For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing sexual abuse scandal news articles from reliable major media sources.
The Army Chaplain Who Quit Over 'Unaccountable Killing' of Obama’s Secretive Drone Program
As a witness to the removal of fallen U.S. troops from Afghanistan, Army Chaplain Christopher John Antal can’t recall a time when that solemn ceremony wasn’t conducted without the presence of drones passing along the horizon. On April 12, Antal resigned his commission as an officer in the Army because of his conscientious objection to the United States’ drone policy. In a letter addressed to ... Barack Obama, Antal wrote, “The executive branch continues to claim the right to kill anyone, anywhere on Earth, at any time, for secret reasons, based on secret evidence, in a secret process, undertaken by unidentified officials. I refuse to support this policy of unaccountable killing.” In doing so, he joined other previous members of the armed forces who have addressed Obama to criticize his drone strike policy, including four former members of the Air Force who penned a letter in November of 2015 warning the president that the strikes “served as a recruitment tool similar to Guantanamo Bay.” Antal’s resignation concluded nearly eight years of service as an Army chaplain. He publicly voiced [his concerns about the targeted killings] in a Veterans Day sermon Nov. 11, 2012, when he gave a lyrical sermon criticizing drones on his base in Afghanistan and posted it online. Antal ... was called into the office of a general who told him to take down the sermon. “He told me that my message did not support the mission,” Antal said. He worried that his views about drones could land him in a military prison if did not leave his post.
I have rarely seen the Commons so full and so silent as when it met yesterday to hear of the London bombings. Perhaps the loss is hardest to bear because it is so difficult to answer the question why it should have happened. We may be offered a website entry or a video message attempting to justify the impossible, but there is no language that can supply a rational basis for such arbitrary slaughter. In the absence of anyone else owning up to yesterday's crimes, we will be subjected to a spate of articles analysing the threat of militant Islam. Osama bin Laden is [not] a true representative of Islam. Bin Laden was, though, a product of a monumental miscalculation by western security agencies. Throughout the 80s he was armed by the CIA and funded by the Saudis to wage jihad against the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. Al-Qaida ... was originally the computer file of the thousands of mujahideen who were recruited and trained with help from the CIA to defeat the Russians. Inexplicably, and with disastrous consequences, it never appears to have occurred to Washington that once Russia was out of the way, Bin Laden's organisation would turn its attention to the west. The danger now is that the west's current response to the terrorist threat compounds that original error. So long as the struggle against terrorism is conceived as a war that can be won by military means, it is doomed to fail. Whatever else can be said in defence of the war in Iraq today, it cannot be claimed that it has protected us from terrorism on our soil.
Note: The above article was written by Robin Cook, who served as both the Foreign Secretary of the UK and the leader of the House of Commons. Less than one month after this article was written (which was also the day after the 7/7 London bombings), Mr. Cook died of a heart attack while taking a walk. For proof that the CIA developed a silent gun which shot a poison to mimic a heart attack in a way that was not traceable, watch this short video which presents the testimony of a former CIA secretary and Congressional testimony on this secret weapon.
It was Soviet intervention, not the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that caused Japan to surrender. Most Americans cling to the myth that the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 [forced] Japan's surrender without a U.S. invasion. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. As the National Museum of the U.S. Navy makes clear, the atomic bombs ... "made little impact on the Japanese military. However, the Soviet invasion of Manchuria ... changed their minds." As shocking as this may be to Americans today, it was well known to military leaders at the time. In fact, seven of America's eight five-star officers in 1945 said that the bombs were either militarily unnecessary, morally reprehensible or both. Following the defeat at Saipan in July 1944, many Japanese leaders realized the war could not be won militarily. Telegrams going back and forth between Japanese officials in Tokyo and Moscow made it clear that the Japanese were seeking an honorable way to end what they had started. The U.S. had been firebombing and wiping out Japanese cities since early March. Destruction reached 99.5 percent in the city of Toyama. Japanese leaders accepted that the U.S. could and would wipe out Japan's cities. It didn't make a big difference whether this was one plane and one bomb or hundreds of planes and thousands of bombs. The atomic bombs contributed next to nothing to U.S. victory, but they did slaughter hundreds of thousands of civilians.
“When the guilt of our roles in facilitating this systematic loss of innocent life became too much, all of us succumbed to PTSD,” [said] an open letter to the Obama administration, crafted by four former Air Force servicemen, each of whom played a role in the nation’s targeted killing program. The moral pang of the letter reflects a very basic ethical tenet. Concluding the letter, the former soldiers write that after suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, “We were cut loose by the same government we gave so much to - sent out in the world without adequate medical care, reliable health services, or necessary benefits. Some of us are now homeless. Others of us barely make it.” Several years ago now, The New York Times published an op-ed by one of the authors titled “Drones, Ethics, and the Armchair Soldier,” which argued that the physical remove of drone warfare would give pilots the space to engage in moral reflection ... that the urgency and danger of traditional warfare often preclude. In the United States, conscientious objection to engaging in war is permitted on secular and moral ground - but only if the individual objects to war on the whole. Members of the US armed forces are not allowed to [refuse] to engage in particular wars or ... military assignments on the basis of a moral objection. Drones [open] up both moral dilemma and moral opportunity. Every soldier is in fact required to disobey illegal orders (to deliberately kill civilians, for example). But this is different from conscientious objection.
Morley Safer, who was a correspondent on CBS’s 60 Minutes from 1970 until just last week, died Thursday at age 84. In 1965, Safer was sent to Vietnam by CBS. That August he filed a famous report showing American soldiers burning down a Vietnamese village. The next year, he wrote a newspaper column about a visit to Saigon by Arthur Sylvester, the ... head of all the U.S. military’s PR. Sylvester, [who] had arranged to speak with reporters for U.S. outlets, [said] that American correspondents had a patriotic duty to disseminate only information that made the United States look good. A network television correspondent said, “Surely, Arthur, you don’t expect the American press to be the handmaidens of government.” “That’s exactly what I expect,” came the reply. An agency man raised the problem [of] the credibility of American officials. [Sylvester], the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, [responded]: “Look, if you think any American official is going to tell you the truth, then you’re stupid. Did you hear that? Stupid.” A Democratic senator from Indiana, entered Safer’s article into the Congressional Record, and ... a Republican representative from Missouri called for Sylvester to resign. For its part, the Pentagon told CBS executives: “Unless you get Safer out of there, he’s liable to end up with a bullet in his back.” Moreover, Sylvester absolutely meant what he said [to] the journalists in Saigon. [By that time], he’d already told some of the key U.S. government lies about the Cuban missile crisis.
The scariest part of Emily Vorland’s relatively uneventful 2009 deployment to Iraq was that the enemy wore Army green. When a higher-ranking male officer sexually harassed her, her commander told Vorland to file a formal complaint. So she did. The investigation ... concluded she had “acted inappropriately,” engaged in consensual sex and was lying about it. A lesbian, she was concerned that her best defense was one that would end her military career. The Army [discharged her] for “unacceptable conduct.” Even as the military scrambles under congressional pressure to prevent future cases of sexual abuse, past victims are suffering for having stood up for themselves. Thousands of victims have been pushed out of the service with less-than-honorable discharges, which can leave them with no or reduced benefits, poor job prospects and a lifetime of stigma. Worse, when they try to rectify their situation, as Vorland did, fewer than 10% of them succeed, the advocacy group Human Rights Watch estimates. “Military personnel who report a sexual assault frequently find that their military career is the biggest casualty,” the group says in a new report. 163 veterans [were] ousted from the military between 1966 and 2015 after complaining about sexual abuse, ranging from harassment to rape. “Our interviews suggest that all too often superior officers choose to expeditiously discharge sexual-assault victims rather than support their recovery and help them keep their position,” the study says.
Note: A 2015 Associated Press article states that: "the true scope of sex-related violence in the military communities is vastly underreported." For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing sexual abuse scandal news articles from reliable major media sources.
Since 2013, lawmakers have tried to pass a bill that would reform key parts of how the military justice system deals with sexual assault, but during key stages of the legislative debate, the Pentagon misled Congress by “cherry picking” information, later disproved, about a hundred cases, according to a report released by a watchdog group Monday and provided to the Associated Press. At issue is the Military Justice Improvement Act, or MIJA, [which] aimed to change how the military treated sexual-assault cases by basically removing unit commands from the judicial process that decided whether cases should move forward. During testimony to Congress, Navy Adm. James Winnefeld, then the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that if the bill passed, fewer sexual-assault cases in the military would go to trial. He claimed that between 2010 and 2013 there were 93 instances of civilian prosecutors refusing to take certain sexual-assault cases, prompting military commanders to insist on taking them to court-martial. Winnefeld’s claims, echoed by at least four senators, were largely untrue. Out of 81 of the 93 cases, “there was not one example of a commander ‘insisting’ a case be prosecuted,” the report says. “In each case, military investigators or military attorneys requested the case from civilian authorities.” The report goes on to say that in two-thirds of the 93 cases, “there was no sexual-assault allegation, civilian prosecutors never declined the case, or the military failed to prosecute for sexual assault.”
Note: A 2015 Associated Press article states that: "the true scope of sex-related violence in the military communities is vastly underreported." The above article shows that corrupt military officials have lied to Congress to keep it that way. For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing sexual abuse scandal news articles from reliable major media sources.
Vile sex abuse by UN peacekeepers is leaving the United Nations in tatters
Sexual violence in war “is as destructive as any bomb or bullet”, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said a couple of years ago. As he was uttering these words, the UN’s own peacekeepers were themselves carrying out the most appalling abuse. In 2014, when Mr Ban was speaking out on behalf of the victims, three girls in the Central African Republic have alleged they were tied up and forced to have sex with a dog by a French military commander. There were no fewer than 99 allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation by the “blue helmets” – as UN military personnel are nicknamed – last year, and there have been 25 new claims this year. This isn’t the first time such claims have surfaced about the conduct of UN peacekeepers. There was an alleged paedophile ring in the Democratic Republic of Congo, UN police officers in Bosnia were paying for prostitutes and trafficking young women from Eastern Europe, and Pakistani peacekeepers were found guilty of sexual abuse in Haiti. There’s a track record going back decades. In January, an independent review into the abuses accused the UN of failing to respond to allegations of child abuse against the peacekeepers. The UN’s response? Last month, the Security Council passed its first ever resolution to tackle sexual abuse by its peacekeepers. Military or police units would be repatriated “where there is credible evidence of widespread or systemic sexual exploitation and abuse”. Is that really the best the UN can do?
Note: Watch an excellent segment by Australia's "60-Minutes" team titled "Spies, Lords and Predators" on a pedophile ring in the UK which leads directly to the highest levels of government. A second suppressed documentary, "Conspiracy of Silence," goes even deeper into this sad subject in the US. For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing sexual abuse scandal news articles from reliable major media sources.
Intel Analysts: We Were Forced Out for Telling the Truth About Obama’s ISIS War
Two senior intelligence analysts at U.S. Central Command say the military has forced them out of their jobs because of their skeptical reporting on U.S.-backed rebel groups in Syria. It’s the first known instance of possible reprisals against CENTCOM personnel after analysts accused their bosses of manipulating intelligence reports about the U.S.-led campaign against ISIS in order to paint a rosier picture of progress in the war. One of the analysts alleging reprisals is the top analyst in charge of Syria issues at CENTCOM. He and a colleague doubted rebels’ capabilities and their commitment to U.S. objectives in the region. [Their] views put them at odds with military brass, who last year had predicted that a so-called moderate opposition would make up a 15,000-man ground force to take on ISIS. An initial $500 million program to train and arm those fighters failed spectacularly. And until the very end, Pentagon leaders claimed the operation was more or less on track. The Pentagon inspector general and a congressional task force are investigating allegations of doctored intelligence reports about ISIS. More than 50 CENTCOM analysts have said that senior officials gave more scrutiny and pushback on reports that suggested U.S. efforts to destroy ISIS weren’t progressing. The Defense Department inspector general is also looking into ... "whether there was any falsification, distortion, delay, suppression, or improper modification of intelligence information.”
Syrian militias armed by different parts of the U.S. war machine have begun to fight each other on the plains between the besieged city of Aleppo and the Turkish border. The fighting has intensified over the last two months, as CIA-armed units and Pentagon-armed ones have repeatedly shot at each other while maneuvering through contested territory on the northern outskirts of Aleppo. Last year, the Pentagon helped create a new military coalition, the Syrian Democratic Forces ... to take territory away from the Islamic State. The group is dominated by Kurdish outfits known as People's Protection Units or YPG. It has received air-drops of weapons and supplies and assistance from U.S. Special Forces. The U.S. backing for a heavily Kurdish armed force has been a point of tension with the Turkish government, which has a long history of crushing Kurdish rebellions. The CIA, meanwhile, has its own operations center inside Turkey from which it has been directing aid to rebel groups in Syria, providing them with TOW antitank missiles from Saudi Arabian weapons stockpiles. While the Pentagon's actions are part of an overt effort by the U.S. and its allies against Islamic State, the CIA's backing of militias is part of a separate covert U.S. effort aimed at keeping pressure on the Assad government. Over the last several months ... Kurdish-led groups [expanded] their zone of control to the outskirts of Aleppo, bringing them into more frequent conflict with the CIA-backed outfits.
Note: Explore powerful evidence that ISIS is aided and was possibly even created by covert US support. Watch this video which shows how the US and its allies stoke war in order to pad the pockets of mega-corporations which profit greatly from arms sales. For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing war news articles from reliable major media sources.
More high-ranking officers being charged with sex crimes against subordinates
The U.S. military has stepped up investigations of high-ranking officers for sexual assault. The Defense Department ... has revamped its policies to prevent sexual assault and to hold perpetrators accountable. During the federal fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 116 officers of all stripes were court-martialed, discharged or received some sort of punishment after they were criminally investigated for sexual assault. That was more than double the number from three years earlier. Of last year’s cases, eight were against senior officers holding a rank equivalent to colonel or Navy captain or higher. While that figure may seem small, it represented a fourfold increase from 2012. Overall, the vast majority of troops investigated for sexual assault are enlisted personnel, who accounted for 94 percent of all cases last year. Enlisted troops outnumber officers by a ratio of 4.6 to 1. Under the military justice system, senior officers are responsible for deciding whether individuals under their command should be prosecuted. Some lawmakers and advocacy groups are pushing to strip commanders of that power and to give it instead to uniformed prosecutors. The Pentagon has resisted such proposals, saying they would undermine command authority. When senior officers themselves are charged with sexual assault, it “makes it appear as if the fox was guarding the henhouse,” said [Don] Christensen, the president of Protect Our Defenders, which has lobbied Congress to change the law.
Note: A 2015 Associated Press article states that: "the true scope of sex-related violence in the military communities is vastly underreported." For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing sexual abuse scandal news articles from reliable major media sources.
CBC News has learned that a Canadian military effort to formally create integrated forces with the United States for expeditionary operations included an even more ambitious option — a plan to fully integrate military forces. The Canadian military efforts were ultimately ... refocused on improving interoperability between the forces. The Canada-U.S. Integrated Forces program was led at the highest levels, with then Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Tom Lawson and the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey (now retired), meeting on "several occasions" to hash out a plan that included an option for "fully integrated forces." CBC News reported that the Canadian military had been working on a plan to create a binational integrated military force with the U.S., under which air, sea, land and special operations forces would be jointly deployed under unified command outside Canada. "The government has neither expressed interest in the concept of Canada-U.S. force integration nor directed exploration of it," [defense ministry spokesman Daniel] Proussalidis told CBC News. But the new information from the Defence Department shows the planning ... happened at the highest levels of both forces. A fully integrated force could be politically dangerous.
The fifth year of the Syrian conflict was the worst yet for civilians - and Russia, the U.S., France and Britain are partly to blame. That's according to a new report from 30 aid and human rights groups. Titled "Fuelling the Fire," the report says some 50,000 people have been killed since April 2014 and that nearly a million more have been forced to flee their homes. It also says that as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, the U.S., Britain, France and Russia could be doing much more to end the bloodshed. While fixing most of the blame on the Syrian regime and armed opposition groups, as well as violent extremists such as the Islamic State, the report says major world powers are undermining their own calls for peace through the weapons they provide to combatants, their own military strikes and what the report calls inadequate pressure on their allies to stop the killing. Jan Egeland with the Norwegian Refugee Council, one of the groups behind the report, said this week in Geneva that despite recent progress in aiding besieged areas, there are still seven places where they can't get aid to trapped people. "It's very clear that the seven areas where we have not reached, are [controlled] — six by the government, one by Islamic State," he said.
Note: The underlying reason for this war and most wars is the huge profits that are made, as clearly revealed by a top US general in his highly revealing book "War is a Racket." For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing war news articles from reliable major media sources.
President Obama has authorized a limited new plan to train and arm rebel fighters to confront Islamic State militants in Syria, relaunching a Pentagon program that was suspended last fall after a series of embarrassing setbacks. The program is separate from a covert CIA-run training operation. The original plan involved selecting fighters from moderate Syrian rebel groups, taking them to Arab military bases outside Syria, and providing arms, equipment and six weeks of training. They then would [be] sent back to Syria. The first 54 recruits were ambushed in July by Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda affiliate. The second class of 71 surrendered much of their U.S.-issued ammunition and trucks to Nusra Front fighters in September in exchange for safe passage through northern Syria. The program initially was envisioned as a $500-million, three-year plan to recruit, train and equip fighters at bases in Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Thousands of rebels applied. Many were ... ineligible. In addition, the prospective host countries and many of the fighters disagreed with the U.S. emphasis on fighting Islamic State, saying the training should focus on ousting Syrian President Bashar Assad. The Pentagon shut the program down in less than a year. In its place, the Pentagon began providing communications equipment, weapons and ammunition to rebel commanders. The equipment was dropped into Syria by U.S. aircraft and distributed among the units as they pushed into territory controlled by Islamic State.
Note: Explore powerful evidence that ISIS is aided and was possibly even created by covert US support. Watch this video which shows how the US and its allies stoke war in order to pad the pockets of mega-corporations which profit greatly from arms sales. For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing war news articles from reliable major media sources.
Toward the end of a May 27 article in The Times about President Obama’s speech in which, among other things, he mentioned setting new standards for ordering drone strikes against non-Americans, there was this rather disturbing paragraph: “Even as he set new standards, a debate broke out about what they actually meant and what would actually change. For now, officials said, ‘signature strikes’ targeting groups of unidentified armed men presumed to be extremists will continue in the Pakistani tribal areas.” As Glenn Greenwald has pointed out, those two sentences seem to contradict the entire tenor of Mr. Obama’s speech, and of a letter to Congress from Attorney General Eric Holder. Both men seemed to be saying that the administration would stop using unmanned drones to kill targets merely suspected, due to their location or their actions, of a link to Al Qaeda or another terrorist organization. Those strikes have resulted in untold civilian casualties that have poisoned America’s relationship with Yemen and Pakistan. Mr. Obama talked at some length about civilian casualties, and also said that the need to use drone strikes against “forces that are massing to support attacks on coalition forces” will disappear once American forces withdraw from Afghanistan at the end of 2014. But so what to make of that paragraph in the May 27 article? I asked the White House. What I got in response was part of a background briefing given after the president’s speech that repeated the language about how the need for signature strikes will fade.
The US government has long maintained, reasonably enough, that a defining tactic of terrorism is to launch a follow-up attack aimed at those who go to the scene of the original attack to rescue the wounded and remove the dead. Yet ... this has become one of the favorite tactics of the very same US government. Attacking rescuers (and arguably worse, bombing funerals of America's drone victims) is now a tactic routinely used by the US in Pakistan. In February, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism documented that "the CIA's drone campaign in Pakistan has killed dozens of civilians who had gone to help rescue victims or were attending funerals." Specifically: "at least 50 civilians were killed in follow-up strikes when they had gone to help victims."The UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings ... Christof Heyns, said that if "there have been secondary drone strikes on rescuers who are helping (the injured) after an initial drone attack, those further attacks are a war crime." There is no doubt that there have been. The frequency with which the US uses this tactic is reflected by this December 2011 report ... on the drone killing of 16-year-old Tariq Khan and his 12-year-old cousin Waheed, just days after the older boy attended a meeting to protest US drones: "[Witnesses] did not provide pictures of the missile strike scene. Virtually none exist, since drones often target people who show up at the scene."
The Republican-led House intelligence committee wants the Pentagon to provide what it believes are illegally deleted intelligence files pertaining to the U.S. military campaign against ISIS in Syria and Iraq. "We have been made aware that both files and emails have been deleted by personnel at CENTCOM, and we expect that the Department of Defense will provide these and all other relevant documents to the committee," [Committee Chairman Devin] Nunes said at a hearing Thursday. Nunes' assertions led to an extraordinary public acknowledgment from Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, who was testifying before the committee, of the "unusually high" dissatisfaction inside the agency responsible for providing military intelligence on ISIS. There is already an ongoing Defense Department Inspector General investigation into allegations that intelligence analysts at CENTCOM were pressured into changing their analysis to make their reports sound overly optimistic. Congress is conducting a separate investigation. The committee has information from whistleblowers that both intelligence files and emails were deliberately deleted at Central Command, but that copies remain in the hands of analysts. Some Pentagon officials have privately told CNN they believe the problem at Central Command is that some analysts feel their work is not accepted if it shows a negative view of progress.
Note: For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing military corruption news articles from reliable major media sources.
It is worse in Afghanistan now than ... ever. The conflict, begun initially to oust the Taliban that sheltered al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S., has cost the lives of more than 3,500 Coalition service members and tens of thousands of Afghan civilians. The war ... moved back into focus three weeks ago with the death of Wasil Ahmad. Wasil learned firearms and commanded a unit of anti-Taliban fighters briefly, before Taliban gunmen on a motorbike mowed him down as he bought food for his mother and siblings. Wasil was just 11 years old. Dissent in the ranks of the Taliban has led to ISIS becoming a radical, brutal and attractive alternative to the country's disenfranchised youth, for whom the old insurgency isn't moving fast enough. The Taliban hold more territory now than at any time since 2001. There are about 10,000 U.S. troops left, who can hunt extremists, but not hold territory. In terms of Western goals - things are right back where they started: needing to keep Afghanistan free of extremists and a viable country for its people. Without that the result is thousands of refugees in Europe, and ISIS gets a new safe haven. What is left is a country where the West is discredited; ... where most fighters are meaner, better armed, and more chaotic than they were in 2001; and whose name causes opinion-formers in the West to try and change the subject.
Note: The underlying reason for this war and most wars is the huge profits that are made, as clearly revealed by a top US general in his highly revealing book "War is a Racket." For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing war news articles from reliable major media sources.
The Overseas Contingency Operations budget ... was known from 2001 to 2009 as “the supplemental” and is now considered a de facto slush fund. It began as the war budget President George W. Bush needed for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan without having to go back to Congress every time the Defense Department needed to modify its main half-trillion-dollar budget. The Pentagon does not have to release details publicly on how specifically this money will be spent. As a result, [the OCO] has ballooned into an ambiguous part of the budget to which government financiers increasingly turn to pay for other, at times unrelated, costs. This year the proposed budget ... grew by $200 million despite thousands fewer combat troops in Afghanistan and, technically, none in Iraq. Janine Davidson, who is awaiting Senate confirmation to become undersecretary of the Navy, wrote last year about the perils of letting this budget remain unchecked. Adams believes the increased reliance on this budget “fractures budget discipline” for the Defense Department and demonstrates that normal budget process “is completely broken.” It leaves the Defense Department all the money it needs for operations and paying its bills, and then some. “When you’ve done that, you’ve basically said to all the people who run the Pentagon, ‘You’re awash with money. Priority-setting is no longer necessary.’”
Note: For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing military corruption news articles from reliable major media sources.
Important Note: Explore our full index to revealing excerpts of key major media news stories on several dozen engaging topics. And don't miss amazing excerpts from 20 of the most revealing news articles ever published.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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fission
It is said that the first casualty of war is the truth, and few wars have demonstrated that more than World War II. One scientist, whose insights would make the atomic age possible, would learn a harsh lesson at the outset of the war about how scientific truth can easily be trumped by politics and bigotry.
Lise Meitner was born into a prosperous Jewish family in Vienna in 1878. Her father, a lawyer and chess master, took the unusual step of encouraging his daughter’s education. In a time when women were not allowed to attend institutions of higher learning, Lise was able to pursue her interest in physics with a private education funded by her father. His continued support, both emotional and financial, would prove important throughout Lise’s early career. Continue reading “Lise Meitner: A Physicist who Never Lost her Humanity”→
[PunMaster] wrote in to tell us that he has just released the first public demo of FiSSION Project. It’s a homebrew 3D game engine for the Wii. He’s hoping it will make development easier for other people that want to get into the Wii hacking scene. The project was originally spun out of similar work he was doing targeted at XNA for the 360. This is just a demo to generate interest in the project and hopefully get some feedback as to what’s needed to make a full release possible.
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Q:
Don't understand MOSFET as amplifier
When a MOSFET is working in its saturation region, it might be used as an amplifier. But, as far as I understand, the more you increase vGS (voltage between the MOSFET's gate and ground) the less output voltage you get, which is the opposite of amplifying. Let me explain:
Having this (supposed) amplifier:
when it is in saturation region, it behaves as a VCCS, which, apparently, leads to an amplifiers' behaviour:
In the above picture, vO will be VS - eL, if eL is the voltage drop in RL. Following the iD equation, the more vIN incrases, the more voltage drop you will have in RL, right? That means that the more vIN increases, the more vO decreases. That isn't amplifying, but the opposite.
What am I missing?
A:
It is an amplifier because you put a wiggly signal in, and you get a bigger wiggly signal out. The fact that the output wiggles down when the input wiggles up is a trivial detail, that -- if it's a problem at all -- can be solved in any number of ways (not least of which is following one stage by another, because two negative gains, when multiplied, result in a positive gain).
A:
You need to distinguish between large signal and small signal.
Suppose your input is a DC value VIN. This causes a DC current ID which is calculated with your equation.
Now, suppose you add a small signal to this: Then you can use Taylor's expansion to get an approximation, which will yield:
iD = (what you have) + (derivative, evaluated at the point you have)*input.
What this means is for oscillations around a DC value in the input, you get oscillations around a DC Value in the output, and both have the same frequency.
The relationship between the oscillation term in the output and the one in the input is called gain, and sometimes is negative, but that only means the output is a mirrored image of the output. What matters is: if the absolute value of the gain is greater than 1, the output produces a "larger" version of the input.
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StackExchange
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Christopher Buckley (YGtCTO Words #49)
Book written by Christopher Buckley
If you were a smart aleck and had access to a television when I was young, then you probably tried to do an impression of William F. Buckley. It went hand in hand with raising two peace signs and announcing, “I am not a crook.”
This is not to suggest the slightest political savvy. Most of us were young enough that we struggled to keep track the colors and directions that signified conservative or liberal. We just wanted to be funny.
Imagine my surprise to find the name Buckley crop up later attached to brilliant satire. Granted the surprise was primarily generated by the shadow cast by the elder Buckley. The book was either Little Green Men or Thank You For Smoking, sitting among the new books at the library. The former leaves some indelible images, including a portrait of a talk show host rather reminiscent of William F. Yep, won’t ever forget that alien abduction.
Reading Woody Allen and James Thurber as a young man, it felt like current writers had lost their sense of humor. Perhaps the 1980s just weren’t that funny. Maybe we traded all our humor to Latin America for a few years in exchange for their peace of mind. Even our comic books took dark turns. National Lampoon and Mad did their best (though not really at their best in those years), but it was not often humor that was going to make you look less like a buffoon. Basically, if you wanted good laughs, then you had to look further afield- fantasy authors tried to fill the void, for instance.
That doesn’t mean
I stopped looking. Like the definitions for pornography and science fiction, you know humor when you see it. The cover usually tries to scream “This is funny! You are so going to giggle!” Memoirs feature the author looking ridiculous, but fiction books struggle a bit to show the funny.
So, I knew that this Christopher Buckley guy promised jokes. But- was it all just going to be irony, the common mode of book humor… political irony, at that?
Let me cut to the chase. I don’t know what William F. did right, but he gave us our Voltaire, our Jonathan Swift. Before Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee, and all the rest, Christopher Buckley deflated the idiocy of world politics.
Satire has an expiration date, though that doesn’t make it better or worse. It just means that the jokes grow stale and difficult to parse. The palliative is to address timeless issues, ideally matters that we all wish were not timeless, but people are people, life’s a bear, etc., etc. Gulliver’s Travels remains relevant today because Swift was able to make the personal universal. Christopher Buckley does the same, placing him far ahead of my William F. Buckley impression, which nowadays requires a YouTube clip explanation beforehand.
What’s it all about?
You’ve Got to Check This Out is a blog series about music, words, and all sorts of artistic matters. It started with an explanation. 154 more to go.
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Pile-CC
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This blog will cover the collision of two cultures - parents and teen children. They don't understand us, and view us as spoilers or walking ATMs (adults with teen malcontents?) We are left wondering what happened to our cute cuddly kids of a few years back, and when they may return. If ever.
Monday, July 27, 2009
After going to Nordstroms and oohing and aaahing at things we couldn't afford (I set the budget at under $35), she found a nice skirt (bit short, her dad pointed out) and a bangle. Suddenly the world seemed a kinder place.
Then it was over to her best friend's house to start drawing up "I hate Leif" posters that she said (jokingly I think) she and Ashely planned to plaster all over town.
The one smudge on a good 'I'm going to make myself feel better" day was when she told me they texted the ex, and asked him in detail why he broke it off.
NO, NO NO I stated when she told me this as we walked through the frozen food aisle at Tops.
"Look, no matter what answer he gives, unless it's "I've changed my mind," is going to make you feel better, so stop it. Stop texting him now!"
She sulked.
Then I reminded her of a couple of scenes in "he's just not that into you."
Saturday, July 25, 2009
As soon as I picked up Jennifer from her b-friend's home, they'd just gone to a movie, and I saw the tears in her eyes and blotchy face-it came to me. The summer romance had ended with Leif.
We cheered her up some by taking her out for ice cream (I know old fashioned, but it works), but alas, she was busy holed up in her room, texting and crying her eyes out to friends for the rest of the night. I poked in once, brought her dinner and then ordered her to EAT, waving her favchinese dish under her nose. I don't think she ate a bite. Another time, I came in, and she was talking to her ex.
At this point, I ordered her OFF the phone, and dragged her into the tv room for a talk (her dad had already gone to bed, realizing he couldn't fix this) and let her wail. This was the 2nd of 2 b-friends to dump her in the last year, and WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HER!!!
Nothing, I said. Welcome to dating 15 and 16 year olds of the male species. Apparently the ex told her she was too emotional and heavy lifting for a g-friend (which is prob. a bit true, but then was not the time to bring that up) and again WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HER, or WWWWH for short.
Nothing, I purrred into her hair as she sobbed on my lap. The cats all left the room, as they do when any drama occurs.
And I began to recount (in fact surprised, once I added them up) how many b-friends had dumped me during high school and college. All except 2 or 3 I think. And it's painful. And you feel like shit for a bit. Then you shake it off and move on. Unf. the only thing you can do in the feel-like-shit stage, is just that. Feel bad, talk with your loyal pals to cheer you up, conclude the guy is scum, eat a bit of chocolate ,and go shopping, which we intend to do today. Maybe watch lots of 30 Rock reruns.
I'll let you know if this works. We didn't have 30 Rock when the boys were busy dumping me. But we didn't have text dumping either, which I supposed it a good thing.
Friday, July 24, 2009
It was good seeing Jennifer again, after a week away. But it quickly reverted to form: me nagging her on cleaning up after herself, or cleaning at all (no piling your dirty clothes in the middle of the living room is not an option, neither is forgetting for flush the toilet)
She had to get up early this am for a docs appoint, but then promptly went to bed until noon. Now, instead of going to a movie with us, she's out with the b-friend until 8:30 pm.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
That was the only diagnosis I could think of as I took the second call from Jennifer last night. I think she's counting down the hours until b-ball camp is fini. Her dad's on his way to pick her up now.
6:15 pm, call number one: hey mom, how are you doing? How are the cats? The dog? The lizard? My feet hurt and have blisters all over them? Did you tivo that gossip girls episode I asked you to? The food up here is great, but I"m soooo ready to go home. So tired. OK, talk to you later.
9:40 pm, call number two: (there were about 3 texts to her dad in the 3 hours prior) Hey how are you doing? Are you asleep yet? This freshman on our team is driving us crazy. She's snotty, she won't do the freshman chores, and she's insulting to the other girls and won't apologize and the coach doesn't seem to notice. Did I tell you I had more blisters on my feet. When's dad coming up tomorrow? Can he make it earlier?
Okay, see you tomorrow. Can I pick what we have for dinner? Can we stop by the outlet mall on the way down (no). Can we go see a movie (on the weekend). Ok, bye.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Alas, there was little I could do about this, since Jennifer is 200 miles away in b-ham, at a basketball camp.
I told her to ask the coach for a throat lozenge, but aside from that I was stuck. Apparently Gary has been texting her several times a day (Dad just can't stay out of touch for long) and she has been texting him back, prob.when she doesn't think her friends are looking.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
These charming calls came at 10:30 ish pm every night that my daughter was up at a b-ball tourney in Anacortes this last week. I'll be interested to see now that she's keeps it up now that she's a a full-week camp.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
CNET reported yesterday that a teen girl walked right in, and down, a manhole, while she was trying to text (no reports if she texted for help once she was 4-feet-under, sharing the sewer with the rats.
Can totally see Jennifer doing this, as she's texting in the car, while watching tv, sometimes at dinner, definitely while putting her makeup on. The only place she doesn't text is in the shower, for obv. reasons, although I think if she could figure out a way to do so, she would. She does keep her phone on the towel so when it buzzes she can hear it, and it doesn't vibrate its way onto the floor.
I can also see my hubby doing this, as he's become addicted to his blackberry. So sometimes I"ll be watching tv, and the texting clicks are coming in stereo.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
However, I would argue, after watching my daughter text, pretty much non-stop, all day long for 2 weeks while I've been home on vacation, that they twitter all the time. It's just called texting in their world.
And when she gets on my case about being on twitter, facebook or e-mail, I shoot back that observation, saying that in essence, twitter is a grownup texting, since I can't stand texting on my phone.
Monday, July 13, 2009
This request came at about 2 am last night, when my daughter finally decided to go to bed.
But she wasn't feeling well, and so she crawled in the single bed in the spare bedroom(gary had snored me out of our bedroom, again), and nestled under the tangle of covers with me and planted her cold feet on mine.
The book I was reading was digging into my ribs. Sometimes I put it on the floor, and sometimes I just stuff it against the walls (don't ask). I wrapped my arms around her, and she quickly fell asleep, and started turning into a 100-lb, 5.1 heating pad.
Then Gary woke up and noticed that the b-room light had been left on, along with the fish tank. I could hear him mumbling to himself as he turned them off, and then poked his head into her bedroom. I could almost feel the panic begin to crawl up from his stomach.
"Gary, she's in here," I chirp out helpfully. In pokes his head, and he asks how she's feeling. Then he goes back into our room and I can hear him snoring in about 5 minutes.
"Do you think dad would get me a drink?"
Too late for that honey. I'll get you one, but first, let me out of this bed.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
I'm going up to spend a "girls night out" with my cousin in Everett, but I can tell that Jennifer (nor my hubby) aren't exactly happy about it. Now true, this leaves dad open to Jennifer working her "I'm you're only child, daughter" magic on him and getting $$, where I would say no.
However, when I'm gone, there is a hole, and I don't like creating it. But every once and awhile, I need to I guess to recharge. And I guess I like it too. I wouldn't want the opposite of "oh, you were gone" or after talking with a childhood friend recently - actually my oldest friend - Dawn and listening to her recount how her 15 year old is now running away (sort of). Like spending many nights on a friend's couch after fighting with dawn.
True, sometimes Jennifer declares me the worst mom ever..but she knows she'd never get away with the I'm leaving routine. Gary and I would hogtie her before that would happen.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
My best friend of 40 years may arrive tomorrow (I say may, because the appearance of Dawn is always a crap shoot).
It was like that when were young and it is now.
Nevertheless, I'm trying to convince my daughter to clean up the bathroom, and I"ve actually tackled the rat's nest under the phone, which will probably start growing again 9 am PST tomorrow. But for now, it's clean.
I know and Dawn knows I'm not the best of housekeepers. But I figure it's been 3 years since I"ve seen here (she lives in Denmark with her family), so I'll make the effort.
Getting this house clean means making an attempt to clean up the small piles, not the entire house. That would just be too discouraging.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Out to make are regular pilgrimage to all things that sparkle and go boom.
My hubby doesn't approve, but he's out there with a bucket, and lighting the fuses each July 4, as Jennifer and I haul home our loot from the res. This time it's $63 work, and I put this in the staycation budget, so I basically told Gary to suck it up.
When he found out we were at the res, not at the safe and sane fireworks stands, he began to try and convince me not to buy anything there.
Why?
Because the cops are telling us they are going to crack down.
OK, well, I don't see any cops stopping people at the gate or the city limits to Auburn. And besides, we're packing this stuff to Kent, where things can still go up in the sky.
Well, I'm just saying.
OK, we're just going to look anyway. (I can hear an eye roll on the other end).
And of course we end up buying stuff. We kept running into kids going to her high school, so what were we supposed to do. I felt proud we kept it under $75.
Alien Nation
About Me (short version)
This blog will chronicle my journey through the tween and early teen years with my middle school daughter. You'll also be reading posts from other parents, who swear their children have been abducted by aliens, and have returned home..different.
A short synopsis of Barbara Clements. I'm a happily married, South King County mom with one daughter, and hope to someday freelance full-time as a writer for National Geographic. But until then, I have a daughter to raise and get through high school, which she'll hopefully leave in four years with a scholarship, my sanity intact and not pregnant.
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Pile-CC
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22 Kan. App.2d 206 (1996)
913 P.2d 1236
STATE OF KANSAS, Appellee,
v.
LARRY DEAN PARKER, Appellant.
No. 72,185.
Court of Appeals of Kansas.
Opinion filed April 5, 1996.
Debra J. Wilson, assistant appellate defender, and Jessica R. Kunen, chief appellate defender, for the appellant.
Joe E. Lee, assistant county attorney, Rodney H. Symmonds, county attorney, and Carla J. Stovall, attorney general, for the appellee.
Before BRAZIL, C.J., LEWIS and ROYSE, JJ.
LEWIS, J.:
Defendant Larry Dean Parker was convicted of one count of aggravated robbery and sentenced to a term of 9 to 23 years in prison. This is a direct appeal from the conviction and sentence.
The scenario begins in Hot Rods, a tavern in Emporia. Defendant and his brother Glenn had gone to the tavern to drink beer and play pool. In the course of the evening, they met and began drinking with Bruce Niederhauser. The three left Hot Rods sometime during the evening and went to Hooters. At Hooters, they continued to drink beer, and there is an indication that Niederhauser became totally intoxicated and incapacitated. At some point during the evening, all three left Hooters and got into Glenn's pickup.
Sometime between leaving Hooters and 8 o'clock the next morning, Niederhauser was brutally beaten, stripped of his clothing, and left in a ditch. A Lyon County citizen spotted Niederhauser in the ditch and called the sheriff's office. When the sheriff's deputy *207 arrived, Niederhauser was found naked, lying in the ditch, covered with blood and abrasions.
Niederhauser could not remember any details of the beating, but related that he could recall he was with defendant and his brother. A police investigation uncovered incriminating evidence, and defendant and his brother were both charged with the beating and robbery of Niederhauser.
Glenn made a deal with the authorities and, in exchange for his testimony against his brother, was allowed to plead to conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery and was sentenced to community corrections. According to Glenn, it was defendant who beat and stripped Niederhauser and left him in the roadway.
As might be imagined, defendant related a different story of the events than did his brother. Defendant testified at trial that it was Glenn who beat Niederhauser. Defendant insists he attempted to stop his brother and that he did not hit or kick Niederhauser. He did admit that at one point he pretended to kick Niederhauser so that Glenn would not call him a "chicken." Defendant insisted, however, that he only pretended to do so and that he did not actually participate in the beating of Niederhauser.
The jury convicted defendant of aggravated robbery. Defendant raises several issues on appeal.
AIDING AND ABETTING
The trial court gave the jury an instruction on aiding and abetting over the objection of defendant. Defendant argues that the trial court erred in so instructing the jury and that there was not sufficient evidence to convict him on an aiding and abetting theory.
Defendant's basic argument is that under the evidence, he could only have been convicted as a principal or acquitted as an innocent passive observer. We do not agree.
There is no crime of aiding and abetting in this state. An individual is guilty of a crime either because he or she is the principal actor in the event or because he or she aided and abetted in the commission of a crime. In either event, a defendant is simply adjudged to be guilty of a crime charged, and the jury verdict does not specify whether guilt is as a principal or an aider and abettor.
*208 "To be guilty of aiding and abetting in the commission of a crime the defendant must wilfully and knowingly associate himself with the unlawful venture and wilfully participate in it as he would in something he wishes to bring about or to make succeed." State v. Schriner, 215 Kan. 86, Syl. ¶ 6, 523 P.2d 703 (1974). See State v. Green, 237 Kan. 146, Syl. ¶ 4, 697 P.2d 1305 (1985).
There is ample evidence in the record to convict defendant as the principal actor in the aggravated robbery of Niederhauser. The testimony of defendant's brother, Glenn, along with certain other demonstrative evidence, is more than sufficient to sustain a verdict of guilty. Defendant and his brother offered totally different versions of what happened. Glenn testified that defendant did it, and defendant testified that Glenn did it. The jury apparently believed Glenn, which was its prerogative.
There was also sufficient evidence to justify the giving of the aiding and abetting instruction.
For instance, defendant testified that while at Hooters, he learned that Glenn was planning to beat Niederhauser. Niederhauser was so drunk at Hooters that he had to be helped to leave the premises, and defendant aided him and placed him in Glenn's vehicle. Even though defendant now testifies that he thought Glenn had decided not to beat Niederhauser, his assistance in getting Niederhauser to the pickup may very well be considered as aiding and abetting in the commission of the crime. In addition, defendant admits that he pretended to kick Niederhauser. Although he testified that he did not actually do so, he apparently convinced Glenn that he was helping in the beating. This could only have encouraged Glenn to continue his attack on Niederhauser if one chooses to accept defendant's version of the events. In addition to these specific incidents, there is adequate evidence in the record to support an inference that if defendant was not the principal actor in the crime, he certainly aided and abetted in its commission.
After reviewing the record on the issue at hand, we hold there was sufficient evidence that defendant aided and abetted in the commission of the crime of aggravated robbery. The trial court did not err in instructing the jury on this issue.
*209 VOLUNTARY INTOXICATION
Defendant next argues that the trial court erred in refusing to give his requested instruction on voluntary intoxication.
In State v. Montano, 18 Kan. App.2d 502, Syl. ¶ 7, 855 P.2d 979, rev. denied 253 Kan. 862 (1993), we outlined what must be shown in order to require an instruction on voluntary intoxication:
"To require the giving of an instruction on voluntary intoxication, there must be some evidence upon which a jury might find that defendant was so intoxicated that his mental faculties were impaired to the extent that he was incapable of forming the necessary specific intent required to commit the crime. Statements of an accused can negate testimony about consumption of alcohol and, thus, justify a court's refusal to instruct on voluntary intoxication."
The evidence in this case did not require that the trial court give the requested instruction. The testimony of defendant at trial indicates he was able to detail all of the events preceding the beating of Niederhauser and to explain precisely what he did do and did not do during that beating. His testimony also indicates he was able to control himself to the extent of not harming Niederhauser and imploring Glenn to stop his attack on Niederhauser. The ability to recall events leading up to the commission of a crime is evidence that a defendant's mental faculties were not sufficiently impaired by intoxication. State v. Gonzales, 253 Kan. 22, 853 P.2d 644 (1993); State v. Minski, 252 Kan. 806, 812, 850 P.2d 809 (1993); State v. Payton, 229 Kan. 106, 114, 622 P.2d 651 (1981).
"The burden of showing that intoxication has robbed defendant's mental faculties is on defendant." State v. Minski, 252 Kan. 806, Syl. ¶ 3. Defendant's testimony in this case clearly indicates his mental faculties had not been robbed by his intoxication. The record shows that defendant was clearly not "`utterly devoid of consciousness or awareness.'" See State v. Warren, 252 Kan. 169, 174, 843 P.2d 224 (1992). Defendant's testimony in this case indicates he could reason, plan, recall, exercise his motor skills, and pretend to kick at the victim to fool his brother. The evidence indicates the trial court did not err in refusing to give an instruction on voluntary intoxication.
*210 SENTENCE OF CODEFENDANT
As indicated, defendant's brother, Glenn, was convicted of conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, a class E felony, and was sentenced to community corrections. Defendant, on the other hand, was convicted of aggravated robbery, a class B felony, and was sentenced to a term of 9 to 23 years. Defendant argues the trial court erred in giving him a sentence much harsher than that received by his codefendant. He also argues the trial court erred in not stating the reasons for giving him a harsher sentence than was imposed on his brother. In State v. Bailey, 251 Kan. 527, 531, 834 P.2d 1353 (1992), two codefendants were convicted of identical crimes. One defendant received three consecutive sentences while the other received only two. As a result, one defendant's parole eligibility date was 15 years later than the other. The defendant receiving the harsher sentence appealed, making an argument similar to the one made by defendant here. The Supreme Court vacated the harsher sentence and remanded for reconsideration because the trial court had failed to give its reasons for the disparate sentences:
"In sentencing a convicted felon, a second trial judge is not restricted to imposing a sentence no greater than the sentence another judge previously imposed upon a codefendantfor the same crime. The second judge, however, must consider the sentence given to the codefendant and, if a longer sentence is given, the reason for doing so should be set forth on the record." (Emphasis added.) State v. Bailey 251 Kan. 527, Syl. ¶ 2.
On appeal, defendant relies on Bailey. We conclude that this reliance is misplaced. In Bailey, the two defendants were convicted of the same crime. In this case, defendant was convicted of a class B felony while his brother was convicted of a class E felony. A similar factual situation was before the Supreme Court in State v. Castoreno, 255 Kan. 401, 874 P.2d 1173 (1994). In that case, the defendant had been convicted of aggravated criminal sodomy and one count of rape, both class B felonies. The codefendant had entered into a plea agreement and pled guilty to one count of aggravated sexual battery and one count of attempted aggravated criminal sodomy, class D and class C felonies, respectively. Castoreno *211 argued that the trial court erred in giving him a more severe sentence than his codefendant without stating the reasons for that sentence. Castoreno, in his appeal, relied on Bailey. The Supreme Court distinguished Bailey, saying:
"Bailey is not controlling in the present case because Teetzel and Castoreno were not sentenced for the same offenses. Their different convictions were a result of Teetzel's entering into a plea agreement. Neither party cites any authority which offers guidance where, due to one defendant's entering pleas and one defendant's going to trial, codefendants were convicted of very different offenses for very similar conduct and culpability." 255 Kan. at 413.
In State v. Davis, 256 Kan. 1, 34, 883 P.2d 735 (1994), the Supreme Court in a factual situation similar to the one at bar, said: "Davis clearly received a much harsher sentence than his codefendants. The disparity between Davis' and Roddy's sentences really cannot be compared because the defendants were convicted of different crimes."
We adopt the reasoning set forth by our Supreme Court in Bailey and Davis. In the instant matter, the defendant and his brother were convicted of different crimes, and there is no rational means of comparing their sentences. It follows that we do not consider that the trial court was required to give reasons for pronouncing different sentences for the different crimes.
Defendant argues that Glenn is "more culpable" than he. Glenn is only more culpable if we accept defendant's version of the events. If we accept Glenn's version, we reach an entirely different conclusion. We cannot tell and do not intend to judge the credibility of these witnesses. We do not know who is more culpable. For our purposes, the record shows that the two defendants were convicted of entirely different crimes. Under those circumstances, the trial court was not required to give any reasons for imposing a greater sentence on defendant than it did on defendant's brother.
Defendant's sentence is within the statutory guidelines. The record indicates the trial court considered the required sentencing factors. There is no argument that the sentence was a result of partiality, prejudice, oppression, or corrupt motive. We affirm the sentence imposed.
Affirmed.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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FreeLaw
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I suddenly saw Shliakhov’s blade really close. I wanted to yell – “What are you doing!” but there wasn’t time. A hit in the temple, and I fall. A scarlet puddle grows on the ice.
The practice was drawing to a close when Shliakhov and I started having troubles with the triple toe loop. I fell several times. Oleg’s mouth twisted, and he squinted his eyes. I tried as hard as I could, but it wasn’t working.
“Get up, why are you playing zamboni?! A real cow you are! Lift those hands!” growled Oleg.
“Lena, stop by when you get a chance”, called Tamara Nikolayevna. I nodded.
I was used to the coach’s invitations. Moskvina well deserves her reputation of a good psychologist. It’s not for naught that she took us on – a promising pair with a “difficult partner”. Coaches all left us. They’d fire Oleg, and I’d lose the chance to practice along with him.
Moskvina was the one to invite us to Petersburg. She took it seriously, bringing in several professional psychologists who could work with Shliakhov regularly. Oleg was keeping a lid on it, but I could feel him just waiting for a spark to let out his aggression.
“Lena, come on in”, smiled Moskvina when I showed up at the coach’s doorstep.
Over the month we worked together, she asked many questions about my family, my parents, and my relationship with Oleg. At first, I was surprised at Tamara Nikolayevna’s questions. Why were we living together? I answered that he’s my partners, we’ve been practicing together for a long time, and that Oleg said we’d save money this way. We each have a room. There can never be any love between us, so when Oleg says I’m his girlfriend – it’s all a lie. Let him blab whatever he wants. Yeah, Shliakhov forbids me to talk to other skaters. That’s just a kind of person he is. I’m not much interested in looking at or talking to anyone either. I’m happy either way, why make him angry. No, at home he’s quiet, he doesn’t fight or yell. Just one thing – he often locks me in and leaves, and I just sit there on the sofa watching the TV. Of course he has all the money, I don’t need it anyway. What would I spend it on anyhow?
Tamara Nikolayevna never drew any conclusions, but just listened and nodded.
Those conversations usually started from practice analysis. That day, I thought we’d talk about the practice and why the jump wasn’t working. Yet Tamara Nikolayevna poured me some tea, pushed forward a bowl of cookies (“It’d do you good to gain a bit of weight!”), and kept silent. She then got up and walked up to the window behind my back.
“Here is what I wanted to talk to you about”. Moskvina paused. “Do you understand that you’re living in slavery, and there is just no other word for it?”
I was shocked. I just sat there silent. She went on, “Yes, it’s scary to end up without a partner. Perhaps, though, it’s better than to be with such a partner? Lena, you can’t change him. Don’t you see? You’re just nineteen, you’re strong, talented, and you can achieve a lot by yourself. Think about it.”
Her words were like thunder out of a clear sky. How can I be alone? Who needs me?
Still dazed, I walked out into the hallway. Shliakhov set there on a windowsill, “I thought you decided to spend the night there!”
* * *
At home, it took me a long time to get to sleep. Moskvina’s words didn’t let me rest. Mom – that’s whom I urgently needed now. But she wasn’t not nearby, and for many years now I’ve been walking through life on my own, hardly understanding where I was headed or why.
* * *
I was born very small, and only weighed seven kilos [1] by age one. Doctors diagnosed dystrophy. I cried a lot, both during the day and at night. I’d only fall asleep after being rocked so hard it was almost like shaking, together with the song “Enemy Windstorms”.
Mom wanted to find something for me to do. She tried to get me into ballet or dancing, but nobody wanted me. At four, I was at last let into a figure skating club. I was very flexible, almost like a contortionist. I loved whizzing by on the rink – a little fly in a pink dress.
I then acquired a real coach, Nina Ivanovna Ruchkina. She moved to Nevinnomyssk from a Moscow suburb together with her husband and two sons. She often needed to change jobs because of her temper. We, though, were ecstatic – “Nevinka is getting a real Moscow coach!” I was eight when I started working with her.
“How many times do I have to tell you to jump higher?!” I see the furrowed eyebrows, the lips pressed into a thin line, and the white knuckles drawn into a tight fist.
I jump again. Again, it’s no good. Nina Ivanovna roughly grabs me by the shoulder and twists me, trying to explain how I should jump. It’s so painful that I cry.
“Stop that wining and get to work!” yells Ruchkina.
I wipe away the tears and take the ice again. I jump as high as I can. It works!
“Good job!” Nina Ivanovna pets my head. “You can do it when you try.”
I never told mom about what was happening at practices. I really liked skating, and so I put up with it. In general, that’s how children are – they cry and then they forget. Also, I heard how Nina Ivanovna answered other parents when they’d go discuss their kids’ complaints with her, “How else can you talk to those bums? How can you make them work if they don’t understand the gentle touch?”
The moms and the dads would nod agreement – all wanted their kids to become champions and become somebodies.
It would likely continue this way, but one day my step dad noticed my bruises as I was changing.
“What’s that?!” he demanded.
“Nina Ivanovna was showing me hot to jump right…”
Uncle Misha shot out of the room. I don’t know what he said to her, but Ruchkina never laid a finger on me again.
Back then, cruelty in sport was considered the norm. Many coaches exerted both physical and psychological pressure on the athletes. At the summer training camps, Stanislav Zhuk often raised his voice, and one time a coach kicked a guy in the butt so hard he flew several yards. We just laughed as the poor kid was crying.
At least I was living at home, which was a true blessing. My real dad liked to drink, as do many men in little towns like Nevinka. He’d be plastered by the time he got home. Mom kicked him out once, twice… They finally divorced when I was five. My stepfather brought up me and my brother. Uncle Misha was a good person, and did it without moralizing and tedium. We soon learned to love him. He cared for us as if we were his own. After that incident with Ruchkina, uncle Misha didn’t want me to go on skating.
“Why does she need it anyway?” he asked mom.
She just replied, “The child skates, and is good at it, so just let it go.”
* * *
I was indeed the best in the group. One time, Ruchkina came up to me and said, “You wanted to try out pairs, so why not skate with my Sasha, and then you can go train at CSKA in Moscow.”
Nina Ivanovna dreamed of making her son a champion. Sasha was too weak for a pairs partner, and his mother looked for a light girl for him. I was perfect. I wasn’t too keen on it, though. Sasha was the only boy in our girls’ group, and we always mocked him for being so tall and awkward.
“No”, I said. “I changed my mind. I want to skate alone.”
The coach pressed on, but I just shook my head.
She realized it was pointless, and started talking to my mom instead. She talked of the golden mountains awaiting us in Moscow, and mom finally gave in.
I doubt she fully realized what I’d have to deal with at thirteen – a boarding school at a strange city, with practices from dawn till dusk. Today, in order to help their kids’ sports careers, moms quit their jobs, rent something in Moscow, and attend all practices just to be nearby; back then, that wasn’t an option.
As we were leaving, I was hoping we’d fail. “I have poor eyesight, that’s a no-no in pair skating.”
But we passed. Though coach Vladimir Viktorovich Zakharov asked me after seeing us skate, “Do you really want to skate with his boy?”
This was my last chance to get rid of Sasha. “No, I don’t!” said I.
Nina Ivanovna, though, was right there – “Of course she does! She can’t be without him!”
Zakharov shook his head, but didn’t argue.
The “army”[2] routine began. We lived at the CSKA dorm. Normally, it was reserved for the touring athletes. Those included many boxers, almost all of the hot guys from the Caucuses.[3] They all looked like bodybuilders. I cried every day, and was very homesick.
We went to the inter-city phone booth near the Sokol subway station every three days. “It’s all good, mom!” I’d say, scratching the dial with my nail. “Yes, Sasha and I are skating well, we’re getting praise, and it’s all fine.”
In reality, we didn’t skate well. I didn’t accomplish anything in the season. Sasha wasn’t cut out for pair skating. He could hardly lift me, and I was just 28 kilos [4]. Then Sasha would talk to his mom. He’d say the same thing – we’re skating well, it’s all good. Afterward, we’d gloomily stumble back to the dorm. Then there would be a new practice in the morning.
With the army influences, the CSKA figure skating school was especially cruel. Hazing was awful. The girls had it especially tough. “How are you standing, you scarecrow! Go away before you learn it right!” “My partner is so fat, I should really beat her dome”.
And so they did. We, the little ones, saw it all and learned from our elders. The tradition of “beating the dome” passed on generation to generation. At thirteen and even later, I saw nothing wrong with this.
Then we got transferred to the boarding school, I got into the lessons, acquired some friends and it became easier.
When the season started, Zakharov beckoned Sasha and said, “Go and don’t come back.”
To me, he said, “I’ll figure out what to do with you.”
Nina Ivanovna came right away. She didn’t want to give up hope of making us into champions. She asked, pleaded, and insisted. Zakharov, though, was firm – the kid won’t become a skater, so why torture him.
When she finally realized she had no chance with the coach, she started with me. “Go back with us, what will you do alone here?”
saw those furrowed eyebrows and the pressed lips, and knew that if I’d give in, I’d always be under her control. I said no.
“Then please return the uniform, the skates, and the sneakers, I have to answer for them, you know!”
I took everything off and handed her the bag. “How will you skate without the skates?! Come back with us!”
I stared at the floor and was too scared to utter a sound. “You’ll regret this!” she muttered through her teeth, grabbed the bag, and left. I saw Nina Ivanovna one more time before they left. She just couldn’t come to terms with the loss. Seeing me, she almost cried compassionately, “How will you live here alone? Let’s go home, sweetie, you’ll be happier near your mom.”
“True,” I thought. “But I still won’t go anywhere with you.”
So I stayed. Vladimir Viktorovich Zakharov paired me with a boy my age. He had no clue about pair skating. We struggled through for a couple of months until Oleg Shliakhov freed up – he was dumped by his seventh partner.
* * *
…I made an awkward move and knocked over the alarm clock. It rolled off with loud clink. In horror, I searched for it on the carpet, but it was too late. The light went on in the hallway, and Oleg walked into the room.
“Are you nuts? It’s five a.m.!”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
“You know what happens to those who don’t mean to?” he grumbled. “Anyway, why aren’t you asleep? You feeling all right? You want some tea?”
“No, thanks”, I said, “I’ll just go back to sleep.”
Oleg left, and I thought, “Tamara Nikolayevna is wrong after all. Oleg isn’t bad. Sure, he has a temper. But we’ve been skating for four years, what will I do without him? And he used to be so much worse…”
* * *
“Berezhnaya!” I turned to face the coach. “Come here!”
Oleg Shliakhov was standing next to Zakharov. He came from Riga to work with our coaches.
“You want to skate with him?”
I nodded.
Shliakhov was the hope of the national figure skating, and I could only dream of such a partner. “Good. You start training tomorrow.”
Oleg was a strong and experienced athlete four years my senior, and things clicked immediately. My breath would catch during practices – wow! That’s what pair skating is all about! Cool! Oleg was also happy – I was small, light, and picked up everything fast.
We skated well and even won some prizes. Eventually, though, I noticed that he’d get ever more aggressive as the level of competition increased. Shliakhov started yelling at me, “Where’s your head?! Look here! Get a grip!”
One time at a practice, after struggling with a jump, I turned my back to Oleg to catch my breath, and suddenly – wham! – felt a fist between my shoulder blades.
“Where are you going? Do it again!”
“Not good”, I thought, but didn’t say anything because I saw so many times how the girls get “beaten on the dome” like it was normal. Then Oleg came up to me guiltily after the practice.
“I am sorry; I don’t know how it happened. I just lost it. Are you mad?”
“Already forgotten”, I said. This was a mistake.
That was just the start. At first, he’d only hit me when there was nobody around, and would apologize afterward. Then, Oleg seemed to have gone crazy after we started winning the major competitions. If I made the tiniest mistake, he’d get riled up immediately, and start beating me with his fists. He no longer cared if there were people around. People would yank him off, try to reason with him, but he’d just say, “It’s her own fault!”
His mood switches were astounding. At the rink, he’d fight and scream. Once we’d leave, he’d immediately calm down. He’d ask compassionately, “Are you hurt? Let’s stop by the pharmacy for some ointment. It’s nothing, it’ll go away soon. Sorry about it, I didn’t mean it to be so hard.” Then he’d take me for a walk, may be even buy me some chocolates. That got me confused. Every time, it seemed it would never happen again. Yet every day the same thing would repeat, and every day Oleg just got worse.
* * *
… In the morning, Oleg popped his head into my door, “Hey, why aren’t you up yet? You alive there?”
I shuddered at those words. He said in the same exact voice he used at a practice the first time he dropped me onto the ice from his outstretched hands…
“You!” screamed Zakharov. “You touch her one more time, you’ll be training at home! Nobody will work with you here, you get it?”
“What? It’s her fault… She’s not doing… I didn’t want…”
Afterwards, there were many times I’d dropl from the lifts. I’d come home, make compresses, rub some ointment in, and it all became routine.
Strangle as it sounds, I didn’t hate Oleg. I was still a child, and sport was everything to me – I had to compete and try to win medals, and that was that. I didn’t think of myself. I had no one to come to for advice, and no one to look to for protection. At some point, coaches seemed to stop noticing Shliakhov’s antics. Nobody could do anything with him while we did show good results.
I didn’t tell mom what was going on. I worried about her health. I thought it was better for her to not know anything, and that I could handle it all myself.
One time Oleg and his mom were waiting to me in the hallway after the practice.
“Lenochka, here’s the deal”, said Svetlana, clutching her purse nervously. “Oleg and I think it would be better for you to represent Latvia. The country has seceded from Russia, Moscow ice is expensive, and Riga has better conditions. Besides, you’ll have less competition.”
I gasped, “Riga?”
“You’re a team, you need to be together. You can’t let each other down. We have an apartment in Riga. There are three rooms there, plenty of space for everyone. We’ll look for a coach, and you can start competing once we find one.”
I didn’t want to leave but didn’t know what else to do. International competitions were just around the corner. What would I do without Shliakhov? CSKA coaches didn’t make any proposals, and I had nowhere to go.
I called my mom. She just said, “Honey, you have to decide for yourself…”
* * *
So we left. We lived with the Shliakhovs. I had one room, Oleg had another, and his mom lived in the living room.
She knew everything about her son. She thought the evil eye made him that way. She brought in the fortune tellers and the psychics to try to remove it. What evil eye?! Oleg’s father was a sailor who spent six months of the year at sea. Mom raised her darling son alone. She really wanted to see him a champion and spared no expense. She spent a lot of money, but she also pressured him a lot. He still didn’t get outstanding results, though. She’d often blow up, “I put so much into you, I sent you to Moscow, and what do I get in return?!” It got him mad, but Oleg didn’t dare talk back to his mother and got in on his partners instead. He saw us as the reason for his failures. He was too weak to face up to his own shortcomings.
In her own way, Svetlana did love me. She fed me and gave me her stuff to wear – there was no money to buy anything anyway. She’d say, “All right, we need to dress Lena up. You’re going to a competition, after all.” And she’d open up her wardrobe.
If I came home from the practices all beat up, she’d put on a compress, “Hang in there, there is nothing you can do with him. That’s just how he is.” She didn’t understand she was the one who made him that way.
In Riga, everything continued the same way it did in Moscow. Oleg would jump at me, they’d yank him away and reason with him, and then we’d go home, first on one bus, then another. My face would be marked by scratches and bruises.
No one got involved. The alternative was to break up one of the best Latvian teams, and who would dare do such a thing? It was easier not to notice it.
Oleg stayed calm outside the rink. On the weekends he smiled and joked. We’d go to Yurmala[5] together. In the evenings, we’d rent some videos and watch them together. Then, though, there would be weekdays again, we’d be on the ice again, and I’d be tied with fear once more.
His persistent complaints led to a constant guilt in me – Oleg keeps punishing me, that means I am bad, I deserve this, I can’t do anything right!
Seeing my state, Oleg’s mom would say, “You’ve been under the evil eye too! You need to go to the psychic.”
I had a real depression. I wanted to get into some dark corner and turn invisible. I said may times, “If I am so inept, let me leave! You can find another partner.”
The response was always the same – “We put some much money into you, and now you want to leave?!”
Money was the sore point in that family. If there was a fight, you could bet that was the cause. When we didn’t compete well, Svetlana would yell at Oleg, “I paid so much, when are you going to pay me back?!”
Unfortunately, I didn’t have any earphones then…
* * *
“Lenka, come out!” Oleg rapped at the door. “You want to be late for the practice?”
“All set!”
I recalled Moskvina’s words, “Young, strong, talented, you can do anything yourself!”
Was that really the truth? You would I dare?
* * *
In Riga, Shliakhov and I trained on our own for the first year as no coach wanted us. Finally, we found Drei, who miraculously knew nothing of Oleg’s personality, and only knew of our good results. Mikhail Mikhailovich offered to take us to Britain where Tamara Moskvina had a school. We had free ice as long as Drei trained a British pair.
At first, we lived with a British family. I shared a room with a mother and daughter, and Oleg shared one with the owners’ son. It was cramped, uncomfortable, and the day’s schedule didn’t work for us. Finally, Shliakhov demanded that the federation provide us with a room. “Give us just one room. It’ll be cheaper, and we can figure it out”. I wasn’t against it, as Oleg behaved himself at home. We started living together in a small room with two narrow beds.
We bought some bikes, and biked to the rink.
Drei was horrified when he figured out what he got himself into, but it was too late. We were already scheduled for international competitions. Mikhail Mikhailovich tried everything – he talked to Oleg, he disciplined him, but it was all of no use. He’d say, “Don’t touch Lena, you made a mistake, not she.” But what was the use?
At the time, it never occurred to me that I could do anything. I thought that was my fate. I had no money – federation paid the living expenses, and while we got some good money for participating in and even winning competitions, those tended to settle in Oleg’s pockets. I couldn’t run away, and neither did I try – who would need me? Ultimately, Drei fired us. I think he just got to frustrated with not being able to change anything.
People talked to Moskvina about us. “Tamara Nikolayevna, may be you’ll take them on? They’re a good team! You have authority, may be you can get a grip on that boy.” At the 1994 Goodwill Games, she came up to us and said, “Move to Petersburg. We’ll be working together.”
“…Lena, how’re you doing?” asked Moskvina at the morning practice.
“All’s good, Tamara Nikolayevna.”
“You remember what we talked about yesterday?”
I nodded.
Moskvina is a good psychologist. Every day, she’d repeat that I couldn’t go on living like that.
Slowly, I was acquiring a different worldview. Figure skating was no longer the whole life, but only its part. Friends I acquired when we moved to train with Moskvina helped me see it that way.
Peter[1] school was the complete opposite of CSKA. Everyone was calmer and more welcoming. Of course, sometimes people would yell and get all agitated – it is, after all, a sport. But getting physical on the ice? There was none of that here. I wondered at the “Yulibejni” skaters – they smiled and supported each other. They in turn wondered how I could put on with Shliakhov’s behavior. It was too scary to change anything, though. Under the watchful eyes of the psychologists, Oleg at least stopped getting loose with his fists. Who knows what would happen if I tried to get more independent! The pain of his fists was all too vivid in my mind.
Shliakhov didn’t like me acquiring friends. He forbade me from seeing anyone without him. I guess he was too scared to lose control over me. Oleg was especially incensed that Sikhuralidze liked me.
Anton often met up with me in the hallway after practice, would joke and not let me go until I smiled. In a car, he’d be driving, and I’d be in the back with the others. Anton would chat, but watch me in the rear view mirror all the time. Oleg got angry, but didn’t dare show it with everyone there.
I liked Anton but just marveled – what does he see in me? He’s handsome, he could have anyone in Petersburg; what does he need me for?
We all trained together, up to eight teams on the ice at the same time. Anton skated with Masha Petrova with coach Velikov. They didn’t get along. Anton was a trendy guy who liked to show off his businessmen friends and his car. He also liked his freedom and was often late for practices, whereas Velikov needed his skaters to do nothing but train. They argued viciously all the time, though of course it was nothing like Oleg and I. Peter skaters were shocked when they saw what Shliakhov was capable of.
Oleg kept up his model behavior for half a year, and then again dropped me from the lift. This, however, wasn’t Riga where no one would dare say anything, and neither was this CSKA where fighting was the norm. This was a place of civilized people. The guys jumped to my defense.
That was the first time I “revolted”, “You are the one who’s making mistakes!” Then I surprised myself by hitting Shliakhov with my little fist.
He was shocked. He was used to having his partner stay quiet through all kinds of abuse. He didn’t even say anything then, but kept it inside and the next practice found some fault with me, hit me, and yelled, “I’ll kill you!”
Anton was the first to jump in, “You again?”
They almost had a fight. That night, Sikhuralidze gathered his friends together. They waited for Shliakhov. They wanted to explain to him what the rules of behavior were in Petersburg. Oleg, though, is a coward and ran off right after the practice.
Peter skaters like to stay civil, so it didn’t grow into a real scandal, and Oleg did not get the silent treatment. He was still treated like a normal person. For a little while, he even managed to control himself.
Anton really wanted to help, but he saw that you couldn’t approach Shliakhov with brute force. So he devised a plan. He asked some friends to invite Oleg over. Shliakhov left, locking me in like always. I was sitting there, when there was suddenly a knocking on the window. It was Antoha with a friend. They helped me out the window; luckily it was just the first floor. We walked around, laughed, and had some ice cream. Then they helped me back in the same way. Oleg got back, happy and content, to find me at home like I was supposed to be. I was ecstatic to see you could trick Shliakhov!
Yet the new season was approaching, and Oleg was already getting more aggressive. No one could do anything – not the skaters, not the psychologists, and not Moskvina. Then he dropped me from the lift again – fly on, little birdie! It was a huge scandal. Anton and his friends caught him and explained things to him in his own language. “You touch her one more time, and you can forget the road to Peter!”
Oleg quieted down, seeing his antics just wouldn’t cut it here.
I got bolder and said I wouldn’t go back to sharing the apartment with him. Moskvina supported me and got the leadership to provide me with my own room! I was living alone for the first time. I could decide myself how to spend my free time and where to go with whom. It’s standard for people that age, but it made me so happy! I also had reservations, though.
I really liked Anton. He felt the same way. There was nothing yet between us except for long tender looks, shy kisses, and light touches.
The explosive mixture of worrying was literally ripping me apart – the first real feeling of my life with the awful fear of losing everything at once – my newfound freedom, Anton, and figure skating. Both teams could fall apart if anyone found out about out. We were, after all, rivals.
We had to be very careful. At first, we’d sneak out to take a stroll through the city or go watch the Peterhof fountains. Oleg, though, spied us out. We only found out later, as back then he managed to never get noticed.
Soon enough, we went to a championship in France and decided to sneak in a stroll with Anton. We were walking, holding hands, watching the shop windows, and the mood was just great. And then suddenly we see Oleg, his face all twisted with hate. Fear paralyzed me, and I yanked my hand from Anton’s as if we weren’t together. He just whispered,
“Don’t, just take my hand.”
Oleg said haughtily, “Come here, Lena, let’s have a little chat”
Anton responded calmly, “Talk to me.”
“Not you. I need her.”
“You don’t want to talk – fine.”
We turned back and walked away. My legs were wobbling.
I don’t know how Anton put up with all that without giving me up. I was like a knot of nerves, always scared. He, though, could always make me giggle. It was easy to be with him. Then, though, I’d go to the practice where I’d meet Shliakhov. He was now always gloomy and angry, though he no longer gave his hands their freedom.
October eleventh was my birthday. After practice, we went to Anton’s rented apartment. We had so much fun! We danced the night away! I was already tired after the practice, and just fell asleep as the party went on. Oleg wanted to wake me up and walk me home, but they didn’t let him. He left.
In the morning, Anton was the first to get up. I did so later. In the bathroom, there was a paper on the mirror – “I love you.”
That’s how he told me of his feelings. We then decided to stop hiding. Let the dice fall however they may. We saw each other every day and didn’t want to separate. Oleg watched it with eerie calm.
One time he approached me after the practice, “Pack up, we’re going to the Israel competition, and then to Riga to get ready for Europeans.”
“Why?”
“So we don’t have to go here and there needlessly and lose time.”
I didn’t argue. I wanted to do well at Europeans. I counted the days – we’d spend three weeks in Riga.
Anton got upset when he found out, “Lenka, don’t go. Just dump him!”
“What do you mean? I can’t just not go!”
I knew I shouldn’t go, but I was still too dependent on Oleg, and too afraid to draw it to a close.
Anton and I spent the whole night walking the Peter streets. He hugged me tight and didn’t want to let go. I didn’t want to leave him either. Yet in the morning, I grabbed by bag and Anton drove me to the train station.
The second Shliakhov and I were alone, he started recounting all of my “sins”. Using Anton’s absence, he said things about him that made my fists ball up. Oleg was baiting me but I didn’t say anything. It was meaningless to protest, so I could only wait. I was counting the days until getting back to Peter and breathing free again.
We competed in Israel, came to Riga, and again settled in with his mom. Now, though, it was even harder on me then before. I changed and could no longer stand it.
I called Moskvina when Oleg and Svetlana weren’t at home, “It’s awful here, I can’t stand it anymore!”
“Just hang in there, Lenok, just until the Europeans. We’ll figure something out after that.”
Two weeks remained until Europeans. Everything in me protested with a feeling of impending doom. But I gritted my teeth and decided that if I already put up with so much, a little more wouldn’t kill me.
The sixth of January came. One week remained to Europeans. We came to the morning practice. We started the warm-up. Then, suddenly, I saw Shliakhov’s blade really close. I wanted to yell, “What are you doing!” but there was no time. A hit in the temple, and I fall. A scarlet puddle grows on the ice…
There was no sharp pain, I was conscious and watched it all as an outsider. A whole crowd gathered.
“Lena, are you OK?”
“Say something!”
I tried to respond, but couldn’t say a word. Oleg grabbed me and carried me to the medical center. The crowd followed.
The ambulance came. Oleg and Svetlana came with me. On the way, they kept saying, “No big deal. Don’t worry.”
I didn’t. I just thought – that’s that. Finally. No more figure skating, no more suffering, and no more fear. I’ll go home, and won’t ever need competitions or victories again.
In the hospital, the doctors asked, “What’s your name?”
I was silent.
“Don’t worry, it’s just shock. It’ll pass!” They sewed up the wound and got me admitted to a room.
Sometime later, a neurosurgeon stopped by.
“Do you remember what happened?”
I was silent, but blink my eyes.
“Do you understand me?”
I blinked – yes, I understand.
“And you can’t say anything?”
I blinked again. Immediately, she yelled, “X-ray immediately! Get the OR ready!”
It turned out that the blade, cutting through the right temple, damaged the speech center. That’s why I couldn’t talk. I needed immediate brain surgery.
The nurses came to ask for consent for the surgery. I was just apathetic. They were shaving my head, and I was just thinking – do whatever you want with me!
Oleg and his mom showed up the next morning. Shliakhov sat next to the bed, his voice and his hands were shaking. “Forgive me; I don’t know how it happened. I know you’ll get better. We’ll get ready for the Worlds. Europeans is no big deal. We still have time.”
I just wanted to laugh. No, pal! I won’t have no more championships with you!
Svetlana took my hand, “I talked to the fortune teller, and she says you’ll be fine. Oleg and you will soon become Olympic champions.”
If I could talk, I’d scream at her a hundred times, “No! No! Again no! I won’t ever skate with your son again!”
Mom and Moskvina came five days later, bringing with them toys, flowers, and boxes of chocolates. That was from the Peter friends, while Anton sent heart-shaped earrings and a huge stuffed dog.
I was sitting with my mom when Oleg came by. She told him we’d be leaving soon.
Shliakhov got angry.
“What right do you have to leave? Do you have any idea how much money we put into her! You’ll never pay it back!”
Mom shot back, “I’ll see you in prison for what you did to her!”
For Oleg, of course, it was a catastrophe. I was gaining my freedom as he was losing his footing. There was nothing he could do about it.
I am sure Oleg didn’t do it intentionally. An injury is an accident, and comes from a technical mistake. It doesn’t matter if it was his or mine, but it changed both our lives.
I spent a month at the hospital, and mom visited me every day. She talked to me and read me books. I still couldn’t talk well and had difficulty reading – I’d recognize a letter but not remember how to pronounce it. I still have some residual effects of the injury. When I worry, I can’t get a word out, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
When Oleg and his federation realized they couldn’t keep me, I was moved from a double into a common room. The ten beds were occupied, so they put a folding bed for me in the hallway near the door. That’s how Anton found me.
I opened my eyes and so him in a white coat with a bag in his head, “Hi, Masjanya.[2] ”
The poor soul, he must have been terrified to see me. I was thin, pallid, and bold; I could hardly walk, let alone talk. He didn’t let on, though. He hugged and kissed me, and talked to me just as before.
He was a pro in getting my attention away from my troubles. We’d go into a nearby café, and he’d tell me about our friends – who went where and who bought what. He kept telling me jokes and making up outrageous lies. Anton was the only one I really wanted to talk to. I could even forget I wasn’t very good at it yet. Sitting on my folding bed, Anton would read aloud to me and then leave to sleep in his hotel.
In the last few days at the hospitals, doctors showed me off to the students. They asked me to stretch out my hands and hold them parallel. I did, but the second I closed my eyes the right one would fall.
After I checked out, Oleg kept watching me. He couldn’t come to terms with losing me! Just as we entered our hotel room, there was a knock on the door. Oleg’s friends! They came to find out how things were going, and how long I planned to spend in Riga. I said a few more days, but we bought the tickets and left that same night.
Sitting in the train between mom and Anton, and kept saying like a vow, “No more Shliakhov! Freedom!” I was so happy, I didn’t even think of the tomorrow.
* * *
I only spent three days in Petersburg before going to Nevinnomyssk with mom. I wanted to rest to see what to do next.
I arrived to find a whole house full of relatives. My uncle and aunt died, and their three kids moved in with mom. Despite the constant noise and clatter, I was happy there. I was surrounded by my people. Uncle Misha came to visit me – he and mom have divorced by then. “So”, he asked. “Was it worth it?”
Anton soon came as well. He left his coach and was now free. We moved to Pyatigorsk to stay with his grandmother, and spent a whole month there. We were now tied by a whole new set of feelings. It was real love, strong and mature. We were each other’s bedrocks, and so decided to come back to Petersburg together. I figured my legs and arms were moving, so I should be able to skate. I’ll come to Tamara Nikolayevna, and she’ll figure something out.
The most difficult thing in Peter was to find myself among friends again. I was still talking very poorly, always feeling that the tongue couldn’t quite twist the right way, and the words came out really slow. The guys thought it was a joke. They’d horse around – “Say something else!” Sometimes, I’d sit there, and get all ready to say something, and then not be able to do it. It was terrible. I could have lost faith in myself if it weren’t from Anton. He can be an airhead, but he was very sensitive. He talked to me as before, not paying any attention to the speech impediment. That helped me not get too introspective. I don’t know if I could have learned to talk normal without him.
We lived in his rented apartment while I visited all the doctors. One of them said, “The sooner you’ll get back to what you were doing before the injury, the better.” So Anton and I started to skate together to warm up. Then Tamara Nikolayevna put us together as a team.
A little later, there was no longer any money for rent, so we moved in with Anton’s parents. It was just a regular two-roomer, no palace. Toha and I shared a room with his older sister while his mom and dad slept in the other one.
It was cool despite being so crammed. Perhaps this was the first time I saw what a real family looked like. I saw people who loved each other, waited for each other, were interested in each other, and were happy for each other. The house was always noisy and fun.
We still didn’t know that sport and family life don’t mix. There is no pair that skate together and has a good life together.
By May, Anton and I were doing difficult elements and lifts; in the summer, we went to the training camp at Colorado Springs; by the start of the season we decided we were ready to compete.
It then turned out that we took on something important and it was too late to back out. The real work began. Three hours of practice in the morning, three more in the evening, and then you go home or go out. We were known to lose patience at practices, but not at each other. Each one would get angry at himself. Anton would yell,
“Figure skating can just go to hell! To hell with competitions! I’m done!”
I, too, would worry,
“It’s all bad! The program isn’t good! The music is all wrong!”
That’s how it’s supposed to be in a functioning team – each one blames themselves for all the problems. That’s the paradox. You’re in a team, but you’re still alone. You have to do your work yourself.
Half a year later, we came third at the European championships, and that was a huge victory for us. I bought an apartment, and Toha and I rushed around the stores, choosing furniture and dishes. Anton would split his time between my place and his parents’. I am a homebody, whereas he can’t live without friends and parties. All the more often, we’d only see each other at the rink...
* * *
In 1999, Moskvina moved us and one more team to America. We decided to get to know the country a little before the upcoming Olympics. We lived in a small town of Hackensack, typical of a one-story America. Anton and I were too bored. There was just nothing to do.
On Sundays, I’d watch three movies in a movie theater. I signed up for art and karate classes. But that didn’t help. Then I noticed I was gaining weight! I stood in front of the mirror, bent my arm at the elbow, and thought, “My God! I’m turning into Rambo!”
Turned out the culprits were the American products and the preservatives that go into them. I did everything – asked friends to bring in produce from Russia, went to the Russian stores on Brighton Beach, starved myself – but the extra pounds melted away very slowly.
Just before Europeans, I got sick and went into the pharmacy to buy some cold medicine. Anton and I performed, won the gold, and then two months later at Worlds we’re told we’re disqualified. Berezhnaya failed the doping control.
We were shocked – what’s that? What doping?! I’m handed the analysis report – blood contained ephedrine, coefficient 13. We dug in, and then I remembered that cold medicine I bought at the American pharmacy. We fought, trying to prove it was an accident, but we still had to hand back the medals. After my incident, the minimal significant coefficient was raised to 25, but it didn’t get us back our championship.
In other words, our time in America wasn’t all that good. We were homesick, and finally in 2001 we could no longer stand it and returned to Russian half a year before the Olympics. We decided to prepare there; having friends and family nearby provide that support that always makes things easier.
I still recall the Olympics and all that happened afterward as a nightmare. We win the gold medals, we get the award, we are congratulated, and then Anton and I go out with friends. Hurrah to freedom! Later that night, I get back to my hotel room and turned on the TV – Canadian silver medalists Sale and Pelletier were on every channel. They were crying into the cameras, “Berezhnaya and Sikhuralidze stole our hard earned gold medals! It’s unfair judging!”
I pretty much collapsed.
Anton knocked at my door. His eyes round with surprise, he nodded at the TV - you heard?
Our friends all came over – calm down, it’ll be fine. What will be fine? We didn’t even think the Canadians should have medaled – they fell in the short and shouldn’t have made it into the top three going into the free. But you can’t argue with the judges!
We talked through night, discussing how to handle it. In the morning, we came to Moskvina, all pale and scared.
“Will we lose our medals again?”
“Calm down, guys. No one can take your medals away. You certainly didn’t do anything. It’s politics, and it’s a whole different ballgame. Americans are fed up with the Russians winning every Olympics. The Olympics’ rating is fast dropping, they need a scandal. You’re just in the epicenter. We’ll try to smooth it out. Relax and don’t take it personally.”
That, however, was hard to do. Each channel seemed to smear Anton and me with dirt. “Undeserved gold! The Canadians were just one judge away from the gold! Russian mafia bought the judges! Berezhnaya and Sikhuralidze are in cahoots with the Taiwanese!”
They said so many things! It was all a lie. Anton and I walked around hardly looking up. Athletes living in America called to support us. Fetisov said to us, “Guys, my wife said – how can you compare a Honda with a Mercedes? You’re the best!”
One famous director, though, said, “I’d just flush that medals down the drain!”
To which Antoha said, “First, you flush your Oscar there!”
That became a refrain for us.
Three days later, we thought – why is it that they’re talking while we’re silent? We must respond! So we flew to New York and did a few TV and radio shows, even going to the Larry King Live. At the same time, we never wanted a fight with the Canadian pair. Running into each other, we’d just smile and joke – they weren’t at fault.
When the decision came down to do a second medal ceremony and award another set of gold medals to the Canadians, we giggled – it sounded like complete nonsense!
They must really be fed up with Russian dominance of pair skating! I also told myself, “Who else gets a chance to ascend to Olympic podium and hear their anthem not once but twice!”
There was also much noise about it in Russia. I flew to Nevinnomyssk, and happened to run into my father. We’ve run into each other before, and just do small talk. This time, though, he asked me to stop by his office. His coworkers were ecstatic. They asked to take a picture with me. My father then said with pride, “That’s my daughter”.
Following the Olympics, Anton and I turned pro and never planned to come back. We got an offer from Stars on Ice for four years. We agreed – one just doesn’t turn an offer like that away. Canadians Sale and Pelletier also took part in the show, and we even had a number together to commemorate the scandal.
So it was America again. Touring. Hotels. Visits to Russia were rare. The rules dictated we couldn’t leave the continent when we had less than five free days in a row. But we always made it on New Year. Fun, champagne, friends are having fun, and throughout the hour handle slowly inches toward five. I grab the bag – “Bys, guys!” almost crying from not wanting to leave.
One time, we almost missed a performance. We flew through Paris, and the plane was delayed for technical reasons. We spent the night at the hotel and only left in the morning. Like lunatics, we grabbed the taxi and made it to the rink an hour before the show.
We really needed those getaways. They brought us back to life, letting us drag on for a couple of more months. Meanwhile, our relationship has changed and we became friends. We talked a lot, discussing what has happened. We sat there at dinner once, and just realized that our feelings were greater than love. We are like brother and sister – it’s not like we love each other any less now.
Before leaving, he said, “We should have gotten married right away…”
I added, “And never skated together. Then it would have been all right.”
I was always reading on tour, always having with me a large bag with books. That’s when I started understanding myself, what I did and did not like. I was finally becoming myself.
I had a lot of time to think about what I looked for in a man. Our story with Anton taught me I didn’t want to get involved with my coworkers. The same went for actors.
I really liked Alexander Domogarov; I saw all his movies and all his plays. A friend once brought me backstage. I was so scared! The producer said, “Sasha, the Olympic champion wants to congratulate you!” I wasn’t even one at that time. I handed the flowers, and we chatted. I started joking, “Sure, our athletes just all live in America now, sure-sure!”
We became friends. Sasha and I are still close, and I am well aware of what’s going on in his life, though I still worship him a bit. I was never free with him, often feeling embarrassed. No, I knew I couldn’t create a family with him either.
Finally, I concluded that it should be a normal guy, not married, not an actor, not a skater, and not a foreigner – we must have the same language!
Dreaming of Mr. Right, I didn’t notice that I was for the past two years next to the man I’d fall in love with.
Steven and I skated in the same show, but we didn’t really notice each other. We lived in parallel universes so to speak. One time, the tour ended and the skaters all went home. In June, a friend invited me to Toronto. I sent all the Canadians from the show a text message – “I’m in your country, come entertain me!” They came. Steven did as well. We sat in a restaurant, laughing and joking. It turned out we all had a lot to talk about!
I got riled up, “Guys, come to Petersburg! It’s white nights there now!” Steven did. He was a skater, a foreigner, and he was married.
I can’t explain how our relationship started. He came, and it was immediately apparent that something was about to happen. It was like we always knew each other. Steven loved shish-kebob, my friends with their saunas and their dachas with the bathrooms outdoors. He exclaimed, “That’s how one should live!”
We walked, drank coffee, and talked endlessly. It came so easy! There was no tightness, no embarrassment. He even said,
“You’re the only person I can be myself with.”
“What about your wife?”
“Don’t even ask.”
I still don’t know what made him marry the first time. May be he was getting on in years, and all his friends were already married. His wife came from a very religious family. Any step out of line was a sin. He didn’t know what to do in their house.
I looked at Steven, and saw that he was very different form Russian man. He didn’t pressure, but tried to understand and explain everything. If I’m silent, he doesn’t bother me, “Why are you silent? Say something!” For him, as for me, words have no meaning.
Steven was flying off, and was seeing him off at the airport. He said,
“I’ll come over again really soon.”
“Are you just planning to go back and forth?”
“I’m used to traveling. We have phone for communication.”
Once he landed, text message started flying both ways, telling of things we couldn’t say to each other in person. I wrote, “If we happened to be at the altar, and the priest asked me if I was ready to marry you, I’d say yes.”
Steven was floored. He couldn’t believe this was happening to him, who always felt useless in his family. He wrote back, “You saved me from the most terrible marriage on Earth!”
We discussed his divorce and what we were going to do. When he came over again in September, it was all serious. We lived together in my apartment, and I introduced him to my friends as my civil partner.
Steven and I never talked of love. Why? If you love someone, do things to demonstrate it to the other without words.
I felt his attention and care every second. Every detail was important to Steven if it had to do with me – what I thought, what I felt, what I decided. One time in the morning after a party I woke up to find he’d already been to the store, bought breakfast food, and cooked it. “That’s cool!” I thought.
Steven made me realize that relationships are simple. If you can’t be yourself, then it’s the wrong person.
In October, we went to visit his parents in Canada. They’re British, and they spend half-a-year in Britain and half-a-year abroad.
I had a hard time understanding their British accent. I kept asking Steven to explain. He was patient, and nobody gave me any looks. After we left, I got a call from his mom, “Thank you so much! It’s the first time in three years that I’ve seen happiness in my son’s eyes.” His dad also called. This touched me very much.
In the few years before that, I thought I was happy. Loneliness sucks you in and becomes pleasant. It’s easy to be alone, and to not have to care for or worry about others. There are always friends when you need to chat. After meeting Steven, though, I understood how lacking my life had been. Having Steven in my life has made me whole. He’s always with me, even when we’re not together.
We both really wanted a child, and when I found out I was pregnant, I sent him a text message where I called him daddy. He replied back, “You’re pregnant?!” He then called every five minutes. “What are we going to do? Where will we be delivering? What do you need?”
He got really agitated and said, “Don’t tell my parents, I’ll do it myself!” They don’t discuss those things on the phone. He bought some cards, and signed them in the baby’s name, “I don’t know you yet, but mom and dad say you’re great grandma and grandpa, so I love you already.” He planned to give to it to them when he saw them next, but his parents found out from the Internet. He was so upset!
Anton said once, “Mas’, don’t make any babies yet.”
“It’s still half a year until the season ends, you still have time to get a job.”
“Well, and then he’ll dump you and I’ll have to make money to feed you and your kids!” he joked in return.
That’s our thing, that’s how we are.
I worried a lot over where to give birth – in Russia, in Canada, or in Britain. We decided it was important to ensure British citizenship[1] . Just before the due date, we went to Chester where Steven’s family has a small house.
I got a list of Welsh names from the library. The only one I liked was Trysten. So we decided to call the baby that, without even discussing it with anyone else. My relatives and friends were shocked – how can one live with such a name? We held fast, though. Steven later said, “Thank you, I’m so happy we called him Trysten!”
Steven and I went through labor together. He was watching the monitor. British doctors pursue natural childbirth, but it didn’t work for me. I ended up with a Cesarean.
Trysten was born October seventh, like Putin, and we call him President. Eleventh was my birthday. The little house had a whole crowd – grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles. The table was set, everyone ran around with the baby. I felt completely exhausted. But just a few weeks later the three of us drove to London. We strolled around, relaxed, and we knew we were a family.
Steven was very upset that the baby was born before he got the divorce. I just said, “We have to live, not think about what others are going to say. That’s their problem, not ours.”
Our baby is very handsome, active, social, and never stays in one place. He always smiles and babbles. When Anton saw him, he said, “High, Trysten, I’m you grandpa Anton”. So he’s called grandpa now.[2]
Anton himself isn’t eager to start a family. He introduces me to his girlfriends and asks for my advice. But he can’t settle down yet. He likes the feisty ones, but can’t stand it when they start telling him what to do. That’s when he quickly backs out!
Mom often comes over to sit with the little one and read him Russian fairy tales. When we visit Steven’s parents – they adore their grandson – they read to him in English.
Steven tries to spend as much time with us as possible, staying for two weeks every two months. So far, he hasn’t insisted I move to Canada because he knows I have many important projects right here. We’re still happy together. The more I get to know Steven, the more I wonder at how lucky I am!
I trust him and know for sure that Steven is sure to allay any fears I may have. He recently wrapped up the rather unpalatable divorce proceedings, meeting his now ex-wife one more time. He sent me a message, “Without you and Choka (that’s what we call the baby) I was like a broken pencil”.
I am now starting skating from scratch again. I’m learning to skate alone for a new project. More importantly, I have a feeling of a full life. Until Trysten’s birth, I was lukewarm when it came to life. I could jump with a parachute or bungy jump. Now, even if I got a chance to go to the moon, I’d say, “Thanks but no thanks. I’m needed right here on Earth.”
-----------------------
[1] ~15 pounds
[2] CSKA is the “army” sports club
[3] Caucus mountain republics (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan) have a culture very much seeped in machismo.
[4] ~62 pounds
[5] Latvian resort town
[6] Russian internet cartoon character, especially popular among internet users in Saint Petersburg in the late 90’s/ early 00’s.
[7] Anton is also Trysten’s godfather.
Last edited by Ptichka; 05-14-2009 at 11:40 AM.
Reason: Proofread version
Thank you so much for the translation! They are one of my favorite pairs and their exhibition number at 2002 Salt Lake City is a masterpiece. IMO they are the clear winner and are in a league of themselves at that game. Again, this is just my impression and I am no expert. I never knew she went through so much struggle I am so glad that she finally found her peace and happiness
Wow, what an amazing read. I was familiar with much of Elena's story, but hearing it from her own point of view was especially fascinating and entertaining. Elena and Anton's constant off-ice drama was nearly as captivating to me as their skating was.
Elena and Anton will always be one of my favorite pairs ever. I hated what they had to go through after the 2002 Olys... I laughed when I read the part where Elena admits she and Anton didn't think Sale/Pelletier would be in the top 3!
East of the Pacific, West of the Atlantic, South of Canada and North of Mexico
Posts
1,896
Wow thanks for the translation. It's a really great story. I never knew she went through that much. She sounds really happy now and I am glad to hear that Anton is still a part of her life! I really enjoyed watching them skate in Stars on Ice!!
I'm drawing a blank but who is the baby's father and did they ever marry?
I think (unless i've misunderstood) the article was clear that the baby's father is Steven Cousins (GB 10 (or more?) time national champion) and that the baby was born before his final divorce (from Christina now Lenko) came through.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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abstract: 'We investigate the process of fixation of advantageous mutations in an asexual population. We assume that the effect of each beneficial mutation is exponentially distributed with mean value $\omega_{med}=1/\beta$. The model also considers that the effect of each new deleterious mutation reduces the fitness of the organism independent on the previous number of mutations. We use the branching process formulation and also extensive simulations to study the model. The agreement between the analytical predictions and the simulational data is quite satisfactory. Surprisingly, we observe that the dependence of the probability of fixation $P_{fix}$ on the parameter $\omega_{med}$ is precisely described by a power-law relation, $P_{fix} \sim \omega_{med}^{\gamma}$. The exponent $\gamma$ is an increase function of the rate of deleterious mutations $U$, whereas the probability $P_{fix}$ is a decreasing function of $U$. The mean value $\omega_{fix}$ of the beneficial mutations which reach ultimate fixation depends on $U$ and $\omega_{med}$. The ratio $\omega_{fix}/\omega_{med}$ increases as we consider higher values of mutation value $U$ in the region of intermediate to large values of $\omega_{med}$, whereas for low $\omega_{med}$ we observe the opposite behavior.'
author:
- 'Viviane M. de Oliveiraand Paulo R. A. Campos'
title: Dynamics of fixation of advantageous mutations
---
Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin, Universidade Estadual de Campinas\
13083-970 Campinas SP, Brazil
Corresponding author: Paulo R. A. Campos. Phone: 55-19-3788-5373, Fax: 55-19-3788-5376, email: [email protected]
Keywords: fixation, branching processes, population genetics
Introduction
============
The process of adaptation in evolving populations takes place by the continuous production of beneficial mutations and the ultimate fixation of these variants in the population. This mechanism is relevant not only to improve the adaptation of the organisms to the environment, but also to prevent that in an environment where a large supply of slightly deleterious mutations persists, the population presents a continuous decline of the mean population fitness leading to the extinction of the whole population. Besides, beneficial mutations have a crucial role to permit the adaptation in dynamic environments where drastic changes take place. The attempt to understand the dynamics of fixation of beneficial mutations stems from the classical population genetics with the pioneer works of Fisher and Haldane [@fisher22; @fisher30; @haldane27]. With the developments in the experimental biology and the consequent abundance of data from real biological systems, especially those from bacteria and viruses populations , it is now possible to better understand the main mechanisms underlying the process of adaptation in these populations and the rhythm at which it occurs. In this sense, recent theoretical developments have contributed to the advances in the field [@gerrish98; @orr2000; @barton95; @barton2002; @gerrish2001]. For instance, it is known that the increase of the supply of beneficial mutations in an asexual population does not result in a linear response of the evolutionary process due to the competition between distinct lineages in order to reach fixation. In an asexual population beneficial mutations are fixed sequentially and in the case where two or more mutations compete for fixation only one mutation can be kept in the population, with the definitive loss of the remaining ones. This process is named clonal interference.
Here, we consider that beneficial mutations are rare events and so they do not compete for fixation with other mutations. Nevertheless, deleterious mutations occur at a constant rate $U$. Deleterious mutations affect drastically the dynamics of fixation of the beneficial mutations. As previously demonstrated [@CamposBMB2003; @peck94], the probability of fixation $P_{fix}$ of advantageous mutants is a decrease function of the mutation rate $U$. This is a consequence of the possibility of occurrence of such beneficial mutation in a genome with a large amount of segregated deleterious mutations, i.e., in a genome with very low fitness value. In this paper we consider the multiplicative fitness landscape at which the effect of each new deleterious mutation is independent of other genes.
The paper is organized in the following way: In the next Section we describe the model. In Section III we discuss the branching process formulation. In Section IV we show our results, and finally In Section V we present our conclusions.
{width="12cm"}
The evolutionary model
======================
The population consists of $N$ asexual haploid organisms that evolve according to the Wright-Fisher model. In the model, the individuals in generation $t+1$ are direct descendants of the individuals in time $t$. The probability that an organism is descendant of a particular parent in the previous generation is proportional to the parent’s fitness. We also assume that the genome of an individual is represented by an infinitely large sequence of bits $\mathbf{S}=(s_{1},s_{2},\ldots,s_{\infty})$, where the digit $s_{\alpha}$ denotes the state of gene $\alpha$, which can take two distinct values $s_{\alpha}=0,1$. The state $s_{\alpha}=0$ means that the digit $\alpha$ remains in the original state of the ancestor of the population, whereas the state $s_{\alpha}=1$ means that the nucleotide $\alpha$ has been hit by a mutation. Because we assume infinitely large genomes, the probability of reverse mutations is negligible, i.e., we consider that only transitions of the type $s_{\alpha}=0 \rightarrow 1$ can take place.
When a newborn individual arises it acquires the number of mutations present in its parent’s genome and an additional amount of new deleterious mutations $n$ taken from a Poisson distribution with parameter $U$, where $U$ is the mean number of new mutations per individual per generation. The aforesaid model was introduced by Kimura and Watterson [@kimura64; @watterson75] and it is referred to the infinite-sites model. The fitness of an individual depends on the total number $k$ of mutations in its genome and is given by $$w_{k}=(1-s_{d})^{k},$$ where $s_{d}$ is the cost associated to each deleterious mutation. This case corresponds to the multiplicative landscape, where each new mutation reduces the fitness of the organism by the same factor .
For infinitely large populations, the distribution of frequencies of the class of individuals with $k$ mutations in the equilibrium regime, which we denote by $\bar{C}_{k}$, can be calculated by the following set of equations $$\label{frequencies1}
\bar{C}_{k}=\frac{1}{w_{m}-w_{k}}\sum_{j=m}^{k-1}\frac{U^{k-j}}{(k-j)!}w_{j}\bar{C}_{j} ~~~~~ k>m.$$ Using the above expression we can recursively calculate the ratios $\bar{C}_{k}/\bar{C}_{m}$ and estimate $\bar{C}_{m}$ from the normalization condition $\sum_{K} \bar{C}_{k}=1$ [@fontanari], where $m$ is the index of the class of the fittest individuals existing in the population. In our analysis we always assume $m=0$.
In our simulations, the initial population is distributed in different classes of individuals according to the frequencies of equilibrium, given by Eq. (\[frequencies1\]). In this case, it is not necessary to wait the population evolves up to reaching the stationary regime.
In the first generation, we randomly select an individual which acquires an advantageous mutation with selective effect $s_{b}$ obtained from an exponential distribution $$\label{exponential}
g(s_{b}) = \beta\exp(-\beta s_{b}),$$ which is the expected distribution, as argued by the extreme value theory [@gillespie; @orr2003]. Whether this mutation happens in a genotype with $k$ deleterious mutations its adaptation value increases by a factor $(1+s_{b})$, i.e., $$\label{beneficial}
w_{k}=(1+s_{b})(1-s_{d})^{k}.$$ The advantageous mutation can be propagated for future generations as soon as the individuals which have acquired it replicate. The fitness of those individuals carrying the beneficial mutation takes the same form as in Eq. (\[beneficial\].)
In our approach, we consider the beneficial mutation to be fixed when the genotype that has first acquired it becomes the most-recent common ancestor of the whole population .
Branching Process Formulation
=============================
The theory of branching process [@harris63] was first used in the context of population genetics by R. A. Fisher [@fisher22; @fisher30] to study the survival of the progeny of a mutant gene and random fluctuations in the frequencies of genes. Subsequently, Haldane used the theory to investigate the problem of fixation of an advantageous allele [@haldane27].
Haldane demonstrated that the probability $\pi$, that a given genotype with selective advantage $s$ reaches fixation in a two-allele model, is given by the solution of the following equation [@haldane27]: $$\label{pi}
1-\pi = e^{-(1+s)\pi} .$$
![\[fig:figure2\] Probability of fixation $P_{fix}$ as a function of the parameter $\omega_{med}$ for fixed values of mutation rate $U$. The data points are the theoretical predictions and the dashed-lines are the best fits which give a power-law distribution. The parameter values are $s_{d}=0.1$ and from top to bottom $U=0.01$, $U=0.1$ and $U=0.2$.](Powerlaw.eps){width="12cm"}
![\[fig:figure3\] The mean value of the beneficial effect of the advantageous mutations that reached fixation $\omega_{fix}$ as a function of $\omega_{med}$. The parameter values are $N=1000$, $s_{d}=0.1$ and from top to bottom $U=0.3$, $U=0.1$ and $U=0.01$. The data points correspond to the simulational data whereas the lines are the numerical solutions of Eq. (\[wfix\]).](wmed-1.eps){width="12cm"}
For small selective values, the solution of this equation yields $\pi (s)\approx 2s$.
Recently, Barton [@barton95; @barton2002] extended the use of the branching process formulation to heterogeneous genetic background, where the individuals can also produce offsprings which are not identical copies of itself. In the formulation, the probability $P_{i,t}$ that a beneficial mutation reaches fixation when it is present in a single genotype with genetic background $i$ (for instance, $i$ denotes the number of mutations) at generation $t$ is obtained by iterating the following set of equations: $$\label{iterative}
(1-P_{i,t-1})=\sum_{j=0}^{\infty}W_{i,j}(1-P_{i,t}^{*})^{j} ~ ,$$ where $$P_{i,t}^{*}=\sum_{k}M_{i,k}P_{k,t}$$ is the probability that an allele in background $i$ at time $t-1$ would get fixed, given that at time [*t*]{} it is passed to one offspring, and $M_{i,k}$ is an element of the mutation matrix that gives the chance that an offspring from a parent at background $i$ will be at background $k$. The quantity $W_{i,j}$ is the probability that an allele in background $i$ contributes with $j$ offsprings to the next generation. If the distribution of offsprings is given by a Poisson distribution with mean $\xi_{i}=w_{i}/\bar{w}$ (where $\bar{w}$ is the mean fitness population), then $$W_{i,j} = \frac{\xi_{i}^{j}}{j!}e^{-\xi_{i}},$$ and Eq. (\[iterative\]) is written as $$\label{iterative1}
(1-P_{i,t-1})=\exp \left[-\xi_{i}P_{i,t}^{*} \right].$$ The probabilities of fixation correspond to the solution of Eq. (\[iterative\]) obtained in the limit $t \rightarrow \infty$, which we denote by $P_{i}=P_{i,t\rightarrow \infty}$.
{width="12cm"}
We estimate the probability of fixation of a beneficial mutation with fixed selective effect $s_{b}$, $\Theta_{fix} (s_{b})$, by the sum over the distinct genetic backgrounds $i$ $$\label{Pfix}
\Theta_{fix} = \sum_{i} P_{i}\bar{C}_{i}.$$ The concentrations of the classes $i$, $\bar{C}_{i}$, also means the chance of occurrence of the beneficial mutation in an individual in background $i$.
As we consider that the beneficial effect of an advantageous mutation is exponentially distributed according to Eq. (\[exponential\]), the probability of ultimate fixation $P_{fix}$ of a beneficial mutation is then given by $$\label{Pfix}
P_{fix} = \int_{0}^{\infty} g(s_{b})\Theta(s_{b})d s_{b}.$$ Another relevant measurement in our statistics is the quantity $\omega_{fix}$, which represents the mean value of the beneficial effect of those mutations that have reached ultimate fixation, which we calculate as $$\label{wfix}
\omega_{fix} = \frac{1}{P_{fix}}\int_{0}^{\infty} s_{b}g(s_{b})\Theta(s_{b})d s_{b}.$$ Although we only solve Equation (\[wfix\]) numerically, an analytical approximation can be obtained when we consider small values of the parameter $\omega_{med}=1/\beta$ and zero mutation rate. In this case, the probability of fixation $\Theta(s_{b})$ is equal to the solution for the two-allele model (see Eq. (\[pi\])), i.e., $\Theta(s_{b}) \approx 2s_{b}$. Substituting the expression $\Theta(s_{b}) = 2s_{b}$ into Eqs. (\[Pfix\]) and (\[wfix\]) we get $$\omega_{fix} = \frac{2}{\beta},$$ and the ratio between $\omega_{fix}$ and $\omega_{med}$ yields the value 2.
Results and Discussions
=======================
In this section we present and discuss our results from the simulations and also from the theoretical formulation.
In Figure \[fig:figure1\] we plot the probability of ultimate fixation as a function of the mutation rate for parameter values $\beta=10$ and $s_{d}=0.1$. We obtain a good agreement between the simulational data and the theoretical curve obtained integrating numerically Eq. (\[Pfix\]). The simulation results were taken over $100,000$ distinct runs. As expected, we observe a continous decrease of the probability $P_{fix}$ as we increase the mutation value $U$. For high mutation rate $U$ the agreement between the simulations and the theoretical prediction is less satisfactory than those seen for small and intermediate values of $U$. This problem occurs due to the occurrence of the Muller’s ratchet phenomenon in finite populations, at which the continuous accumulation of deleterious mutations leads to loss of the best adapted classes of individuals as the population evolves. Thus, for very high $U$ the population never reaches the equilibrium regime as supposed in the theoretical formulation [@CamposBMB2003].
In Figure \[fig:figure2\] we display the probability $P_{fix}$ as a function of the mean value of the distribution of selective effects $\omega_{med}$ for fixed values of $U$. The probability $P_{fix}$ is an increase function of the parameter $\omega_{med}$ since those mutations with higher selective effect have a greater chance of reaching fixation. We observe that this relation is well described by a power-law scaling, i.e., $P_{fix} \sim \omega_{med}^{\gamma}$ where the exponent $\gamma$ is an increase function of the mutation rate $U$, whereas $P_{fix}$ decreases with $U$, as we can see in Figure \[fig:figure1\].
Figure \[fig:figure3\] shows the mean value of the selective advantages of those mutations that reached fixation $\omega_{fix}$ plotted against the mean value $\omega_{med}$. As expected $\omega_{fix}$ increases with the augment of $\omega_{med}$, although we do not see a linear response. Besides $\omega_{fix}$ increases with the raise of $U$, and in this case $U$ only those mutations awarding a large beneficial effect to the individuals have a non-negligible chance to reach fixation. We can better understand this scenario in Figure \[fig:figure4\] where we plot the ratio $\omega_{fix}/\omega_{med}$ as a function of $\omega_{med}$. From the figure, we see that the ratio $\omega_{fix}/\omega_{med}$ is an increase function of the mutation rate $U$ for about all values of the parameter $\omega_{med}$. Nevertheless, an exception is obtained when we consider very small $\omega_{med}$, where we observe that when $U \rightarrow 0$ the ratio $\omega_{fix}/\omega_{med} \rightarrow 2$. Moreover, we witness that for intermediate to high values of $U$ the ratio $\omega_{fix}/\omega_{med}$ is optimized around $\omega_{c} \approx 0.1$.
Conclusions
===========
We have studied the dynamics of fixation of advantageous mutants in the multiplicative fitness landscape. We have investigated the problem by means of extensive simulations and also by a theoretical approach where we use the branching process formulation introduced by Haldane and extended by Barton to the case of heterogeneous genetic background. The simulation results are in very good accordance with the theoretical predictions. The beneficial effect of these advantageous mutations is assumed to be exponentially distributed with mean value $\omega_{med}$. At once, we witness that the continuous supply of deleterious mutations to the population reduces the chance of fixation of the beneficial variants in the population. We have noticed that the relation between the probability of ultimate fixation $P_{fix}$ and the parameter $\omega_{med}$ obeys a power-law scaling like $P_{fix} \sim \omega_{med}^{\gamma}$, where the exponent $\gamma$ depends on the mutation rate $U$. Surprisingly, we have observed that the ratio $\omega_{fix}/\omega_{med}$ between the selective advantages of those mutations that reached fixation and the mean value of the distribution is optimized around the critical value $\omega_{med}=\omega_{c} = 0.1$ for intermediate to high values of $U$. In this range of $U$, we have also witnessed that an increase of $U$ also means a higher value of $\omega_{fix}/\omega_{med}$. For very low values of $\omega_{med}$, the branching process theory fails to predict $\omega_{fix}/\omega_{med}$ when we consider large values of $U$: while the simulations show that the ratio $\omega_{fix}/\omega_{med}$ goes to $1$, which corresponds to a random stochastic regime, the theoretical analysis gives $\omega_{fix}/\omega_{med}=2$, which is the same value attained when we have mutation rate $U=0$. Actually, a smaller value of $U$ means that the random stochastic regime will be attained at smaller values of $\omega_{med}$.
Acknowledgments {#acknowledgments .unnumbered}
===============
VMO and PRAC are supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo under Proj. No. 03/00182-0.
Barton, N. H. (1995). Linkage and the limits to natural selection. [*140*]{}, 821–841.
Campos, P. R. A. (2003). Fixation of beneficial mutations in the presence of epistatic interactions. .
Campos, P. R. A., C. Adami, and C. O. Wilke (2003). Modelling stochastic clonal interference. .
Campos, P. R. A., M. T. Sonoda, and J. F. Fontanari (2000). On the structure of genealogical trees in the presence of selection. [*283*]{}, 11–16.
Colato, A. and J. F. Fontanari (2001). Soluble model for the accumulation of mutations in asexual populations. [*87*]{}, art. no. 238102.
Cuevas, J. M., S. F. Elena, and A. Moya (2002). Molecular basis of adaptive convergence in experimental populations of rna viruses. [*162*]{}, 533–542.
de Visser, J. A. G. M., C. W. Zeyl, P. J. Gerrish, J. L. Blanchard, and R. E. Lenski (1999). Diminishing returns from mutation supply rate in asexual populations. [*283*]{}, 404–406.
Fisher, R. A. (1922). On the dominance ratio. [*42*]{}, 321–341.
Fisher, R. A. (1930). . Claredon Press.
Gerrish, P. (2001). The rythm of microbial adaptation. [*413*]{}, 299–302.
Gerrish, P. J. and R. E. Lenski (1998). The fate of competing beneficial mutations in an asexual population. [*102*]{}, 127–144.
Gillespie, J. H. (1991). . Oxford University Press.
Haldane, J. B. S. (1927). A mathematical theory of natural and artificial selection. part v: Selection and mutation. [*26*]{}, 220–230.
Harris, T. E. (1963). . Springer.
Hill, W. G. and A. Robertson (1966). The effect of linkage on the limits to artificial selection. [*8*]{}, 269–294.
Johnson, T. and N. H. Barton (2002). The effect of deleterious alleles on adaptation in asexual organisms. [*162*]{}, 395–411.
Kimura, M. and J. F. Crow (1964). The number of alleles that can be maintained in a finite populations. [*49*]{}, 725–738.
Miralles, R., P. J. Gerrish, A. Moya, and S. F. Elena (1999). Clonal interference and the evolution of rna viruses. [*285*]{}, 1745–1747.
Orr, H. A. (2000). The rate of adaptation in asexuals. [*155*]{}, 961–968.
Orr, H. A. (2003). The distribution of fitness effects among beneficial mutations. [*163*]{}, 1519–1526.
Peck, J. R. (1994). A ruby in the rubbish: Beneficial mutations, deleterious mutations and the evolution of sex. [*137*]{}, 597–606.
Rozen, D. E., J. A. G. M. de Visser, and P. J. Gerrish (2002). Fitness effects of fixed beneficial mutations in microbial populations. [*12*]{}, 1040–1045.
Shaver, A. C., P. G. Dombrowski, J. Y. Sweeney, T. Treis, R. M. Zappala, and P. D. Sniegowski (2002). Fitness evolution and the rise of mutator alleles in experimental eschirichia coli populations. [*162*]{}, 557–566.
Watterson, G. A. (1975). Number of segregating sites in genetic models without recombination. [*10*]{}, 256–276.
Wilke, C. O. (2003). Probability of fixation of an advantageous mutant in a viral quasispecies. [*162*]{}, 467–474.
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ArXiv
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Sunday, May 6, 2012
8:26 PM
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett today said he thinks Scott Walker's fundraising advantage will end up hurting the governor by the end of the campaign.
"I think, at the end of the day, that money is going to turn around and bite him in the butt," Barrett told reporters in Bay View. "I think the people in this state don't want to have their government dictated and run and dominated by out-of-state money."
Barrett said some people that had supported Walker are changing their minds after hearing where the governor's money was coming from.
"Whether they're liberal, conservative or independent, I think they're offended that this much out of state money is flowing into this state," he said.
Many at the event wore buttons promoting an eight-hour work day. There didn't appear to be many in the crowd displaying support for any particular Dem candidates. Rather, there was clear support for recalling Walker. Barrett and other politicians in attendance only each spoke to the gathering briefly.
Former Rep. Peter Bock, D-Milwaukee, was also in attendance. Bock is married to former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, one of Barrett's opponents in the Dem primary.
"We cannot let them declare war on us," Bock told the gathering. "This is a class war they have declared on us."
Barrett told those in attendance that Walker ultimately wants to make Wisconsin a right-to-work state.
"You can see what the roadmap is," Barrett told the crowd.
Speaking to reporters, Barrett also connected the governor's fundraising to his argument that Walker ultimately wants to make Wisconsin a right-to-work state. Barrett said he wants to hear the governor say he will veto any right-to-work legislation that reaches his desk.
"Quite honestly, I don't know if he can say that because so much of his money comes from out-of-state interests," Barrett said.
Last week on ""UpFront With Mike Gousha," Walker said he won't pursue right-to-work legislation if he retains office and praised private sector unions as major partners in business development.
"I think it is clear after all that we've been through this past year our state needs to move forward and having a big battle over something like that's not something we'd be interested in doing," Walker said of right-to-work.
Barrett reiterated his position that given Walker's fundraising advantage, the governor should be leading by more.
"By all objective criteria, Scott Walker should be crushing me like an elephant's crushing an ant," Barrett said.
He added later, "If this is based on out-of-state money I lose, but I have a lot of confidence in the people of the state of Wisconsin. I think the people of the state of Wisconsin are smart i think when they see something that doesn't seem right they react to it."
Despite keeping his focus on Walker, Barrett said he is not looking past Tuesday's primary.
"I've been doing this long enough to know that what happens on Tuesday is going to determine what happens on Wednesday," Barrett said. "But I'm taking it very seriously, both Tuesday and then Wednesday morning we'll start looking at the next step. But this is not a situation where you look passed anything. I'm asking people to get out and vote on Tuesday, its very important that people vote on Tuesday."
Asked if anything about June's general election could be learned from turnout on Tuesday, Barrett said it was hard to tell. He noted that the state is in "uncharted waters," when it comes to elections. He added that turnout will be important for the June election.
"Frankly, in 2010, a lot of Democrats stayed home," Barrett said. "I think now though you have situation where the Democratic base is fired up and the Republican base is fired up. I think both camps are fired up in a huge way."
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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Q:
Is an oracle data block similar to a txt file
At this link here it says that the basic unit of oracle storage is a data block.
"One data block corresponds to a specific number of bytes of physical database space on disk."
Is it wrong to say that a data block is a like a .txt file?
A:
A database block is a unit of organisation. So it really isn't very like a .txt file. In fact, it is more like processed cheese.
Perhaps a museum specimen cabinet is a better metaphor. It is a storage device, with a specific location (a table) and broken up into smaller units (rows).
Although, as the data block is actually a unit of I/O we can think of it as a train carriage.
Ultimately, it is best to read the Concepts Guide. Metaphors make for great poetry, but a poor one can confuse more than it enlightens. Find out more.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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StackExchange
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My 5yo daughter is a similar reading level. She loves the Billie B Brown Mysteries, the Real Pigeons series, the Treehouse series and the Far Out! (June Factor, old school nonsense rhyme books) series.
We had this ongoing problem with DD - at 7 she tested at a 17 y.o level. The school didn't know what to do - they kept sending her home with books on things like the Boxing Day Tsunami, Sadako and the Paper Cranes, Anne Frank - she was utterly traumatised.
We ended up asking the school to stop assigning books to her. Instead we gave her:
Like PP -all the Roald Dahl books
Enid Blyton Books - especially loved the "Naughtiest Girl" series
Billie B
Treehouse series - still insists on the latest one now at 11.
Wonder
Truly Tan series
Ella Diaries
By about 10 we moved onto a lot of non-fiction books and she loves them - (although still asked for Weirdo 13 the other day):
I am Mala
Lion
Happiest Refugee
Hope in a Ballet Shoe (although there is violence which still upsets her)
The Barefoot Surgeon
Walking Free
Helen Keller biography
Wish you Happy Forever
Good luck - I still find it really hard now to find books at her level with minimal sex or violence, but will keep her interested. I have an added problem that she is super lazy. She would sit and read the Hot Dog series all day if I let her!
Thank everyone, I am literally taking notes and will check these suggestions out. It's harder now she is reading independently when she was younger I would read to her and just skip over any awkward/upsetting bits. Now of course that's not an option
Blyton’s The Naughtiest Girl books really are great. Also her St Clare’s school stories might suit- they’re set in a high school boarding school but very tame on the drama front, lots of midnight feats and rambles and playing tricks on the French teacher!
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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Hey kids, it’s late spring and that means: BUGS! I am no fan of bugs and, in fact, would just as likely stomp the shit out of one and or run away screaming like a five-year old girl (in the case of a bee). So, why not make these annoying critters into a list of sorts, I actually asked myself? I couldn’t think of a good reason why not, so, here goes. Oh, and just in case you enjoy looking at insects rather than not even being in the same time zone as them, I borrowed these great images from right here: What’s That Bug? Go there, look around, and enjoy the abundance of creepy-ass vermin we have here on Earth. GO! Oh, and enjoy the list!
This bug is related to the dragonflies and damsel flies. Have you ever seen the humongous eyes on these damn things? They look as though thy have some higher form of intelligence. They scare the shit out of me what with their ‘perfect wings’. Oh, and a type of them has been around since the dinosaurs. They’re gonna take over, I just know it.
Evidently this is a cricket. I don’t care what scientists are classifying this as, it’s creepy, nasty, and CRAWLING ALL OVER ME!
Nope, I have no damn idea what this thing is, so I’m going to make it up: This is the larva of a lizard that lives on the moon. They have a nymph period of six years and eat monkeys. I got nothing else, but I have never heard of a thrip.
I used to find these ancient buggers in my grandma’s basement years ago. They’re harmless and just scuttle all over the joint looking like a cross between some kind of ocean dweller and something out of a sci-fi flick. Apparently they’ve been around since the dawn of time, so that’s pretty cool.
HOLY SHIT! RUN!!
Classified as the biggest beetle on earth, these guys can weigh in at around 2 pounds. Good Lord! Anyway, at the Natural History Museum in Chicago they have this huge display of nearly every insect in the world and this guy is just so frickin enormous it looks a little like a football with legs. I’d guess you’d have to throttle it with a hammer or something. Oh, and they fly. Ugh…
Have you all seen a cicada? It’s basically a huge fly that serves to do nothing but hang around every 17 years and make an ear-splitting chirp. This giant wasp, on the other hand, kills them. And, while it’s doing that, it lifts them off the ground and takes them to its burrow to consume them slowly for days. A giant wasp. That eats bugs twice its size. There is no point in ever going outside again. Ever.
Looking at that picture, you would think that this was some kind of deranged deer. Praying mantises are, apparently, great bug hunters and can be leashed to the end of your bed to rid your room of mosquitoes and the like. Or dive on your face and chew out your soul. Either way.
The existence of this guy is to simply survive in your pool in the hot summer and chop off your toes. Fun.
Those same damn scientists claim that this bug’s giant, pointy mandibles are harmless to humans. I do NOT believe them.
Sounds like a barbecue mishap, when in reality, it’s just a really disgusting insect that is also, somehow, a Crustacean. Yum. Dinner.
I do not care if this is technically an arachnid, technically harmless, or full of precious diamonds. Keep it the hell away from me.
The more I think about it the more I purely believe that all bugs are from a Hell on an entirely different planet. What is up with this thing?
*Door Slamming/Echoes of Child-Like Wailing*
Here’s some Japanese Hornets laying waste to some bees. Awful
Hey look! It’s one of those GIGANTIC Centipedes!
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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OpenWebText2
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Increasing use of pre-processed foods in homes and restaurants and other group eating establishments has created a demand for high-capacity automated food processing equipment. That demand is particularly evident with respect to hamburgers, molded steaks, fish cakes, and other molded food patties.
To increase consumer appeal it is known to provide a patty-molding or patty-forming machine with a mold plate having contoured cavities to form a two-dimensional horizontal profile patty that is curved or otherwise irregular to simulate the shape of a food item, such as a chicken drumstick. It is also known to provide a patty-molding or patty-forming machine with a mold plate with contoured cavities to form a two-dimensional horizontal profile patty, and an overlying breather plate with contoured areas, to provide a two-dimensional horizontal profile patty that also has a contoured top surface. However, in this arrangement, the bottom of the mold plate is flat to be flush against the flat fill plate or support plate provided on the mold patty forming machine. The corresponding molded patty has a flat bottom.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a patty-forming apparatus that is capable of molding three-dimensional food patties, each patty having an irregular or curved profile taken through a vertical cross-section and through a horizontal cross-section.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a patty-forming apparatus that is capable of molding food patties, each patty having both a top and a bottom non-flat surface contour.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing tooling for retrofitting a food patty-forming machine, wherein the tooling can provide for the molding of three-dimensional food patties, each patty having an irregular or curved profile taken through a vertical cross-section and through a horizontal cross-section.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a tooling for retrofitting a patty-forming machine, wherein the tooling can provide for the molding of three-dimensional food patties, each patty having both a top irregular or curved contour and a bottom irregular or curved contour.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a patty-forming apparatus or tooling that is capable of molding food patties that more closely simulate the natural shape of a food item.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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USPTO Backgrounds
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In TruTV’s aim to completely wipeout their original format of conspiracy shows, shows about serial killers, and CSI type reality shows they unveil a long list of strange new shows including How To Be A Grown Up. A show that takes a huge page from VH1 by putting comedians in commentary situations, this time waxing poetic about being an adult. It’s a mostly hit or miss affair.
My initial reaction when I read the press release, that the show would star “Top Name Comics”, took me by surprise as I only really recognized Greg Fitzsimmons (Louie) and possibly one other comedian, but probably not. Either case it was the execution of the show and the quality of he commentary by said comedians that counts anyway.
The first episode throws up topics like talking to your kids about the birds and the bee’s, Las Vegas and how to maneuver amongst its neon towers, free drinks, and slew of all you can eat buffets, as well as other not so thought provoking themes that the comedians do their best to make light of.
Honestly, I wasn’t really feeling the show most of the time. The comedians looked like they were sitting in a green room with nothing to interact with aside from the one married couple who occasional bounced ideas off one another and that was only when they could truly relate to a topic. One comic was able to push the envelope and was rewarded with a dramatic, but comedic, recreation of his stories in a short skit. Otherwise the was held together by the thinnest of threads and had a few chuckle worthy moments that, in the end, weren’t that memorable.
After having watched a few shows for the newly revamped network I can only hope that their better shows are enough to pull viewers thoughts away from the notion that a lot of the new shows really feel like revamped old shows from other networks. Here’s hoping this first episode was a fluke.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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Pile-CC
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Natural User Interfaces are not Natural - jaydub
http://interactions.acm.org/content/?p=1355
======
bediger
Let's face it: humans have to learn _all_ interfaces. Nothing is intuitive,
not even the nipple.
~~~
zephjc
The nipple is _absolutely_ intuitive - it's instinctive. All baby mammals
suckle for it. Though, of course, maybe less instinctive for adult mammals :-)
~~~
bediger
I'm going to take a wild guess and state that you (or your wife or partner)
haven't had children.
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tomekkorbak/pile-curse-small
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HackerNews
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